Holy creep out.

I just want to share some creepy ridiculousness that happened to me this afternoon.... emphasis on the creepy.

Right after I finished one of my work appointments I decided to stop my the Wells Fargo ATM by Orem Center Street. As I was pulling up to the ATM I noticed an old man walking across the parking lot toward the bank, but didn't really think anything of it. Right after I got my cash but before I pulled away from the machine I heard somone trying to open my passenger door. It was the old man!

He kept trying to open the door even though it was locked and it was not like I was going to unlock the door for him. I just looked at him and lifted up my hands as to say, "What are you doing?"

He didn't say anything but just kept standing there, trying to open my door. I rolled my back passenger window down a centimeter and asked him if there was something that I could help him with. Except I didn't say it in a helperish tone, rather an annoyed, angry tone.

He said, "Are you going north?"

I said, "Nope, I'm headed south." He just said, "Oh, ok."

With that I rolled up the window and drove away. I'm all for helping people, but I got the heebie jeebies from this guy. Seriously, who tries to open a stranger's car door unless they're 1. nutso or 2. trying to car-jack

Who knows if he was just a harmless old man... or more likely a mentally ill old man, but either way his methods of getting some help seriously creeped me out!

Soapbox alert.

There aren't a lot of things that really get under my skin, but this banner is so frusturating to me!

As most of you know, part of my job is working with foster parents. Some foster parents are really great and come into the foster care program with the best intentions, but there are some that just aren't the best. 

Every pair of foster parents have different motivations for getting into the foster care program, but I really feel that the message of "subsidize your income" is the wrong reason to get started in foster care. Yes, foster parents are given a monthly foster car payment, but that money should not be the reason that you begin fostering children! Fostering children should be about wanting to help children that are in need and wanting to give them a loving home, however temporary it may be!

The type of people that are drawn to foster care for the extra income really should not be foster parents. I think that this banner is sending the wrong message about the reasons that families should foster children. It's about love, not money.

Stepping off my soapbox.

I can't make this stuff up.

Alright, this is my no means a recent event, but for some reason it came to mind when I woke up today.
At our wedding reception, instead of having a guest book we put little cards onto each of the dinner tables and requested that each guest write me and Ben a piece of marital advice and then sign their names. Most of the notes were really sweet, such as:

Oh how I love you guys! Watching you guys at your wedding and the reception made me so happy and I can't wait till my day comes! You guys are awesome and so perfect for each other. Ben, take careof my Chrissi or I'll kill you. Chrissi, do what you will Ben, he's all yours! Ha! I love you guys and keep in touch! (Taylor Kowallis)

or this one....


Our advice: Hold hands, be adventurous, keep dating, always hold hands, stay out of debt, work hard, say what's on your mind, then say sorry, but always hold hands. (Brian Kriddle)

But this one was something else. I have no idea who wrote this one or what kind of advice they were trying to give... all it did was give me the creeps!

The only things I can say is what I know. Since I've never been married (nor do I ever see myself so because of my transgressions...) Always keep the Lord in your life without him you cannot survive-- physically, spiritually, for very long. I've died long ago spiritually and slowly now physically. Never forget the Lord who sent you.

Ummmm, thanks?

From swaddle to sleeping free.

Warning: Long post, likely holds little to no interests for non-mothers of babies.

I remember the day that I brought Dylan home from the hospital thinking that everything was going to be perfect for our first night home... you know, noticing that he's getting sleepy around 8 pm, put him in his crib where he would sleep soundly until morning, except for the middle of the night feedings that I would have to wake him up for.

Yeah right.

The first night home from the hospital was an absolute nightmare, complete with me bawling on the stairs because I was tired and couldn't get my baby to sleep. The night ended with me sleeping on the couch and Dylan catnapping in his swing.

After that first hellacious night, I thought that maybe it would help him to be swaddled. Nope, didn't work. Once he was swaddled, he made it his personal mission to wriggle out and get his hands to his face. And you know when that happens, it's over. I quickly decided to invest in this little treasure:

The Miracle Blanket saved my sanity, because it helped Dylan finally sleep soundly without his pesky arms getting free. He spent every night and naptime in this little straight jacket and really did love it. Unfortunately, he started getting too smart and squirmy for the Miracle Blanket, so we decided to switch to the Woombie around 4 months.

It looks a little funny, but it seemed like a good step from the straight jacket style swaddle and more in the direction of sleeping free. Dylan has loved his Woombie, but over the past few weeks I've decided that it was time for the next transition towards sleeping free. You see, Dylan was quickly growing out of his Woombie and I didn't want him to turn out needing to be swaddled until his 3rd birthday like the kid on the left:

A little too odd for my liking.

Anyway, Dylan is now sleeping in  a Halo sleep sack, which is basically a wearable blanket. Kind of like a Snuggie for babies, right?

Arms are free, lots of moving room, hooray! The transition from Woombie to Halo has not been easy... as soon as I would lay him in his crib he would roll over to all fours and would crawl around his crib, thinking that it was playtime, not naptime. It usually took him 20-30 minutes to finally go to sleep in his own, rather than the 5 or so with the Woombie.

Difficulties aside, I am now happy to report that Dylan went right to sleep for his 2 pm nap with no rolling, playing, or fussing... all while in his Halo. Hooray!

Here's my little pal taking a nap as I type:

Since you've all been wondering...

What do I do with my time when I'm not chasing Dylan around or attempting to get something done around the house?

I'm hanging out in this little box:

Yep, this is my little office, which doubles as a shrine to Dylan. This is where I manage my 2910394 cases (ok, just 20) and answer emails, make calls, write reports, document client contact, and put out various fires. Drama, drama all day long. Not really, but sometimes.

My office is located in what my work pals call "The Annex." See, when my office moved buildings, there was a little grouping of 8 offices off of the normal hallway. None of these offices have windows and they are a little secluded... if you watch "The Office" then you have heard of The Annex. Although in this instance I don't think that it's a bad thing.

That is, unless you don't like listening to my pal/coworker Allison and I yelling things to each other across the hall ( most frequently "Entering/Leaving Annex" so we don't start talking thinking that we are talking to each other when we are actually talking to ourselves) or hearing me rock out to Britney Spears on my Pandora chanel.

You see, I actually do things at my job. Benjamin is kind of under the impression that I don't really do anything for my work, and then when he visits me at the office every once in a blue moon and sees all my files and paperwork strewn about he says,

"Woah, you actually do things at your work. Not that I think you sit around all day, but it's crazy that you have a little piece of your life that I know nothing about and you have a whole group of people who depend on you for things... weird."

It's true honey, I actually do things when I'm not at home. Shocking, I know.

Basement before & after part 1.

While my mom was in town we decided that my basement tv room/office/craft area would be our project for the week. The room was a dark, wood-paneled dungeon with absolutely no charm.... just ugly. Also, our furniture arrangement was not helping anything, nor was our lack of entertainment center.

Here is the fugly before:

The old tv and Lazy Boy were left at the house by the old owners. We have no use for the old tv, but Ben has fallen in love with "Dead Lady Chair" as we lovingly call it. For some reason Ben won't let me DI it, but please know that I have plans in the works for new furniture options. You will see a smattering of home decor pieces that we've picked up throughout the past few years. I didn't really know what to do with them, so why not put them all over the basement, right?

Anyway, here is the much lighter, brighter after:

Still a work in progress, but sooooo much better. Two gallons of Behr's Swiss Coffee paint, and a trip to Ikea and Tai Pan later, we had a room that was much more livable and much less depressing.

I'm still working on the other side of the room.... this side:

I'll share part two of the basement overhaul after I get some much-needed organization done.

To all my pregos.

Shut the front door people, Forever 21 now has a maternity line! Love 21 seems to be a pretty new addition to the Forever 21 family and it couldn't  have come soon enough! No, I promise that I'm not pregnant. Seriously.

You would know if I was, because I would be hospitalized for a heart attack.

Anyway.

This is an amazing idea, because you can get some fab and on-trend maternity pieces without breaking the bank. Way to go Love 21! Hurrah!

Also, now that my sister is out of the pregnancy closet, she can expect to get a few of these courtesy of her favorite sister ever!

9 months.

At 9 months, Dylan is more fun than ever. He has such a happy, cute personality which makes him so wonderful to be around.

Here are a few things about Dylan:

-He has four teeth... two on the bottom and then two that have just barely come in on top
-He sleeps through the night almost every night and usually sleeps until 8 am, sometimes later
-He is getting into everything, as shown below:

{he tears everything off the shelves, gets into all drawers... exhausting}

-He loves eating grown-up food and seems be getting impatient with bottles

-He calls me "Ma" or "Mama" which absolutely melts my heart

-He does not want you to feed him finger food, since he wants to feed himself

-He takes naps at 10, 2, and 6

-He makes the cutest face when he's excited, shown below:

{Wrinkles his nose and snorts}

I love my crazy boy!

A few gems.

My mom and I went to TJ Maxx the other day on a mission to find some cute home decor items. We were definitely victorious, as you can see:

Adorable, right?

Another thing that we did while my mom was here was transform the tv/office/craft area in my basement from a 1960's dungeon to a lovely, beachy space. Before and after photos to come soon. The results are dramatic.

The first of many.

Poor guy whacked his head on the corner of the side table. He didn't seem to mind that much, although my mom and I could not believe how quickly his little head swelled up.

The bump disappeared in a day and the bruise is quickly going away as well.

{ps- this is my 400th post! Hooray!}

Cowboy up.

Dylan got himself some cowboy boots and he is ecstatic! Here he is showing off his new kicks.

I can only assume that he gets his posing skills from me.

{Thank you to Grandpa Carl for helping make my boy so stylin!}

Eclipse!

{me with the book in hand, because I obviously can't have to movie in my hand yet}

Last Tuesday I saw Eclipse with a couple of my best girls Stacey and Erna. We were able to see the movie at 8:30 on Tuesday night... a full 3 1/2 hours before most! I guess we're just cool like that or something. Here are some highlights from the experience:

-In N Out before the movie

-Offering to let Erna smell our food since she is on HCG and her diet currently consists of steak

- Dying over the Eat, Pray, Love and HP7 previews

-Taylor Lautner. Yum. Since he is legal I guess I can say that without being too creepy.

-Bella saying "Change me" to Edward and Stacey immediately thinking of Bella asking Edward to change her diaper.

-Erna reminding me of how I used to picture Jacob  as Sanjaya from American Idol before there was any movie casting. True story.

Hilariously ridiculous, I know.

It's not like I have the hots for Sanjaya or anything, but for some reason he is who I pictured when imagining Jacob Black. 

My thoughts have been appropriately adjusted:

{Hello Jacob. I see that you've been working out}

Now I cannot wait until Breaking Dawn and being able to see the creepiness that will be Renesmee! Yay Twilight!

Back from the dead.

Remember when I posted about my new best friend, Kindle? Did I tell you about it's premature death? If not, here's the story:

Picture this- April 2010. 4 hour airplane ride form SLC to Orlando. 10 days of vacation and relaxation. Tons of reading to be done. Husband spent literally hours scouring Orem retailers to find some type of protective case for the Kindle before we left, although there were none to be found. Boo. Imagine our sadness when we took the Kindle out of Ben's backpack once were were in the air and saw this:

Boo! Boo! My frusturation definitely conjured images of the "Boo! Boo! lady from The Princess Bride."

Anyway, once we were in Florida Ben called Amazon, explained the situation, and they said that they would send a new Kindle right over for no charge.... wait! At the last minute the Amazon rep asked us if he had a warrantee. Ben said that he didn't know... worker checked on it.... wouldn't you know it- no warrantee, which means replacement Kindle was no longer free. Our "free" replacement Kindle would actually cost us $139 due to our lack of warrantee.

Boo!

Anyway, nearly three months went by. We were missing our Kindle, but we were not excited to shell out $139 for a new Kindle. Finally a few weeks ago we decided that we were willing to  bite the bullet and get a new Kindle. Imagine our surprise when Ben called Amazon and the customer service rep was more than willing to send us a new Kindle for free, and didn't say a word about us having to pay a dime. Score! And we were not about to ask her if she was sure that it was supposed to be free, as the other rep said that we would have to pay $139. Hmmm, is that a sin of omission? Not sure. I'm just happy that I didn't have to pay.

Here is a picture of my loveley new Kindle:

Beautiful, right?

And smart too! It even knows that it's my second Kindle, see?

I'm a happy girl!

Friends, do you have any must-reads to suggest? I'm now in the market to read some new books!
ps- just finished "Water for Elephants" and loved it. Also just finished "The Heart of the Matter." Very frusturating, couldn't relate with the characters, didn't love it.