Always & Forever: November 2012

Nov 30, 2012

What do you do?

When people ask me what I do for my job my quick easy answer is "I'm a recruiter for one of the Big 4 accounting firms". If I actually went into detail it would go more like this...."I wine and dine Masters of Accounting students starting in their Sophmore year. I hold various events throughout the year which include but are not limited to, formal receptions & dinners, massages with lunch, pie events, handing out various collateral (flipflops, sweatshirts, pens, backpacks, cups, USB pens, t-shirts, highlighters, bags, statinary kits, coolers, you name it), interviews, panels, BBQs, faculty lunches, presentations, ect. Phew, I'm already tired...but wait, I'm also the Involve coordinator for my office. This means I run the committee who plans and executes all of the community service events for the year. This also means that I got to have one of my best friends film cheesy video of me for national today (thanks for not laughing Krissy!) and speak in front of the entire office at the town hall meeting each year. Oh yeah, and I'm in charge of our local office orientation. THIS means, I'm in charge of any newhire the SLC office hires (campus or experienced). I get to give a nifty presentation each time along with helping them get set for training and all their technology up and running (which is something to laugh at because I'm the LAST person you want working on technology). AND I make sure they have a friendly face to take them to lunch their first day. In addition to all this normal stuff I also seem to frequently get called for odds and ends around the office. Joking aside, I'm VERY grateful for my job and I can't say it's ever boring (it's also quite flexible most of the year). I'm also grateful that leadership trusts me enough to hold multiple roles for the office. I would prefer to not have to video myself though...EMBARRASSING :-). This post is so my kiddos can look back one day and say, "OH, that's what mom did". ;-)

Nov 28, 2012

McKayla

What has happened to our baby girl??? She is growing up SO fast (too fast if you ask us) and has become a little lady. The thoughts she can process now amaze me and the conversations I have with her were ones I didn't expect to have for years. The way she can understand other's feelings and help others in need seem beyond what her years should be capable of. She is a sweet, gentle heart and she still wants to do the right thing. Even when being defiant she will eventually reason with us and say sorry. The way she takes care of Bodie melts me to pieces and it helps me so much when things are busy (she can help him go potty, get food, get up from his nap, ect). I'm fascinated by her "pretend" play and feel like it helps me see inside her head more....seeing her thoughts, dreams, wishes. I love the way she understands Christmas more this year and she's very excited to celebrate Jesus' birthday (I'm supposed to have a cake for him....do you think he'd like chocolate?). She can get dirty and play hard, but she's also my girly girl and loves to dress up pretty and paint nails with me. She's very into being a princess recently....wearing her snow white dress to store and watching her new favorite movie, Princess Sofia (thank you Disney for making this into a series in 2013!). I'm so proud of the way she has grown at school and the new things she's learning...I know watching this will never go away and it's one of the best blessings you get as a parent. She's truly the best daughter I could ever ask for and although I don't want her to grow up too fast...I'm so excited for the days when we are not only Mother/Daughter, but also best friends (and yes, I do know there will probably be a time in there that I'm her worst enemy...in her eyes...but I also know that's a phase). Love you Kayla Bear....always and forever!!!!

Bodie

Can I just say how much I love our Bodie man?! He's been coming upstairs in the early morning and sneaking into bed with us (which I know I can't let him make a habit of....at least not for too long). It's so cute how he makes sure to close his bedroom door behind him and then the gate at the top of the stairs. And hearing his little footie pj feet shuffle across the floor makes me smile. He snuggles right into me (unless he makes me help him go to the bathroom first) when he gets in bed and his sweet breathe against my neck/cheek melts my heart every time. Sometimes he'll fall back to sleep...other times he pretends and does a little sing/song thing quietly (it's SO freakin sweet/cute and most the time I can figure out which song he's singing). He'll cup my face in his hand and talk to me quietly before asking me to go get his milk and Calliou (the show he loves right now). These mornings are my special time with him and I will never forget them (just like I haven't forgotten those mornings I used to have with McKayla). He gets SOO excited when McKayla wakes up and greets her with a smile and happy "DeeDee!". He loves his sister so much and I can't get enough of watching him copy everything she does. He's ALL boy and he's ALL Todd's son....loves to wrestle, climb, make loud noise, roar, jump, play in puddles/mud/any water, run, throw, motorcycles and trucks. Even the way he puts his hands in his pants pockets reminds me that one day he will be a man...but for now, he is my LITTLE man and I will soak up EVERY cuddle, kiss and love time I can get.

Choo Choo

The kiddos were awesome for me this weekend while shopping so I let them take a quick ride on the mall train...they loved it, of course. I loved it too....it let me have 5 minutes of shoe shopping alone :-).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Kayla's x-mas tree (we ended up adding more ribbon and what not after b/c she said it wasn't done like this ;-) )

X-mas lights on her bed

A fun ride for being SO good during family pictures

Nov 26, 2012

My dress

McKayla fell in love with this dress that used to be mine. It was from my Grandma Lupe so it has a special meaning to me and seeing her in it was awesome...she looked like such a BIG girl...it made me realize how fast she's growing up!!

Bunnysitting

We have been "bunnysitting" 2 bunnies this past week. They are so soft and sweet and the kids adore them :-). I'm sure the neighbors get a great laugh too when I'm trying to catch them in the evening (McKayla is actually REALLY good at catching them...much better than myself or Todd).

Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving started with a traditional yummy breakfast and the Macy's Parade. From there, we went over to Wheeler Farm with my family for a nice walk and seeing the animals. After some good naps, we went to my sister's in-law's house for dinner. The food was great, the company even better and we were super thankful for time together. Oh yeah, my sweet husband also ran out for Black Friday (something we've NEVER done) and got a special gift for the kiddos...after a line of 500 and 2 hours of waiting I owe him one!! Thanks babe :-)