Car accident....

I am going to make this short, but I just wanted to let everybody know that Taya and I are COMPLETELY ok after our car accident on the interstate last night. Thank you so much to everybody that has shown love and concern... it's been amazing. We really were so lucky to be in the car that we were (A Volvo S-40) and I am just so glad that everybody involved walked away without injuries. Thank you all so much!!

Meow!

Here are a couple of pictures of Taya on Halloween.... Definitely one of the cutest kitties I have ever seen! The night before Halloween, we did a "test run" with the face paint I bought and I put a little bit of pink on her nose and gave her brown whiskers. Then, I put the face paint at the very back of the counter and received a buiness call. When I hung up, I came back into the kitchen to see Taya had pushed a chair over to the face paint and had drawn ALL over the counter, her body, her clothes, EVERYWHERE.... Needless to say, the face paint was completely ruined. (The counters were cleaned easily with a little help from a magic eraser) So, I painted her face with my liquid eyeliner. It didn't turn out perfectly because she didn't want to sit still, but I think it was a great alternative. She had a wonderful Halloween and got a whole bucket-full of Halloween candy just by going to my dad's office. Next year will probably be the first year we actually go trick-or-treating.

ANOTHER song!

Every morning while I'm getting ready for work Taya and I have the same routine and it starts with Britney Spears' new song "Gimme Me." We have Comcast On Demand, so we turn it on really loud and dance around my room singing to it.... haha. As soon as it's over, she starts asking for "another song" So, of course, I turn on another random song. Anything from 50 Cent to Carrie Underwood--huge variety going on. Anyway, for the hour or so that I'm getting ready for work, she dances around my room watching music videos singing and dancing and AS SOON AS they are over, she asks for "another song." It takes me a little bit longer to get ready doing it this way, but it's definitely a lot more entertaining. :-)

handsome couple :-)

I love this picture that was just sent to me of my brother and his beautiful wife, Erika. They were going to a "ball" for the Navy and I think they look like the perfect couple! I just wanted to share :)

I have been really busy with work and school lately, but I hope to become better about posting pictures and blogging within the next couple of weeks when things settle down a little bit..... in the meantime, I hope that everybody is doing well! Hugs!

Happy Face

Here is a picture of Taya with my mom and and dad at the airport in Chicago last month. I just love how happy she looks! Guess it must not have been *that* difficult for her to be away from her parents.... :-)

La la la la

So apparently Taya has a new "friend" named Lala that she pretends to talk to ALL the time on the phone. Finally, I asked my mom if she knew who Lala was (thinking it might be somebody from the church playgroup or something) but she said she had no idea. I guess Taya has made up a new friend! Whenever we ask where Lala is, she usually is at work or at home, so it's not a pretend friend she takes with her wherever she goes. Taya never ceases to entertain me...

Good morning!

This morning I was lying in bed with Taya when she turned, looked at me, moved my hair out of my face, and said "You're a princess, mommy!" It was the sweetest little thing I've ever heard. I said "Thank you, Taya!" and she said "You're welcome very much mommy!" haha she cracks me up.

I can't wait until it's Halloween and she can get all dressed up in her leopard costume. I think we're going to take her to The Group to go around to all of the offices and get candy, and then will take her around the block at home, depending on the weather. I just know she's going to LOVE pretending to be a kitty. Meow!

Mommy Kristi & Daddy Terry

Yep, apparently we have been renamed. We are now known as "Mommy Kristi" and "Daddy Terry" when we are in trouble with our little Taya.... I have no clue where she picked that up, but must say I think it's pretty funny! Also, she has started pretending... meaning she will call Terry "Taya" and want him to call her "daddy." It's so funny! Last night I overheard this conversation (T= Terry and t=taya)

t: Taya, what doing?
T: Nothing daddy, what are you doing?
t: Oh, nothing Taya
*pause*
t: Taya? I love you, Taya.

haha it was so funny! I love her creativity :)

The "Ebbies"

First of all, I am SOOOO happy to have my baby back in town. I know she had a blast, but it felt so weird to not have her home.

So while lil T was gone, she started crying and told my mom she wanted to do "the ebbies." My mom had no clue what she was talking about which frustrated Taya even more... Finally, my mom figured it out and asked her if she meant the ABC's to which Taya replied "Yes, the ebbies... E, B C, D.... " haha I thought it was so cute! She's so much fun :)

This morning we took her to the CSU homecoming parade and she was so happy she could hardly stand it. She had so much fun seeing all of the animals, the police officers, the bands, and best of all, they gave her candy for free! She was so cute because she would hold out her little hand and when they would give her some candy, she would immediately put it in my pocket. We have a whole bag full of candy by the time she was done. It was such a great day.

I'm definitely going to try harder to post more often, so please check back for more. I also am going to post some pics and vids from Taya's adventure to Chicago.

Hugs and love

Dancing queen....

Here is a video of our princess dancing on the bed.... she has been out of town since Wednesday (In Chicago with her grandparents...) so I thought this would be a cute thing to post---T and I laugh every single time we watch it at the end because of her pigtails. Enjoy! Hugs and Love <3

Dinger is a nice dinosaur!!

If you only knew how often Terry and I have the following conversation with Taya:

Taya: "Mommy (or Daddy) I wanna tell you dome-ting..."
Us: "What, Taya?"
Taya: "Dinger id a nice dina-daur....He hug SO much!"

For those of you who don't know, Dinger is the Colorado Rockies mascot. Taya got to meet him about a month or so ago when we took the 3 girls to a game. She has been absolutely enthralled with him ever since! She literally talks about him at *least* once a day. She got to have her picture taken with him and I guess he hugged her, too, since she talks about that all the time as well. Tonight she said "Mommy I go bye-bye to dee (see) Dinger!" It makes me sad because she gets SO upset when we tell her that he's "ni-night."

(Here's a small pic off the Colorado Rockies website of her beloved Dinger....)

Yummy chicken pasta recipe...

Here is one of my favorite recipes.... enjoy!

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) linguine, uncooked
2 pkg. (6 oz. each) Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (Like Oscar Myer or Tyson)
1/4 cup Italian Dressing
1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 clove garlic, minced

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package; drain. Return to pan.
ADD remaining ingredients; toss lightly.

I serve it with a mixed green salad and french bread. It's SO easy and makes awesome leftovers.

Taya's first tea

This afternoon Taya, my dad, and I went to a bed and breakfast to have a tea party. We had special tea with flowers in the cup, iced tea, (taya had milk) 4 different kinds of little sandwiches, truffles, chocolate dipped strawberries, homemade gingerbread, and scones. Taya actually did pretty well! Well, better than I expected anyway ;) Here are some pics!



Forget the cup.... haha



Being a big girl and pouring it by herself! (Although she did spill twice....)


Trying to decide what to eat first...



She kept wanting me to be in a pic with her...


Love her happy face!



Playing with the "lipstick" chess set. (It really was made out of lipstick with jeweled cases)

Taya day!

Yay! Today I get to spend ALL day with my sweet Taya and I can't wait. I have been SO busy with work lately and have been feeling guilty that I haven't been spending enough time with her. (I have been spending every extra minute with her, but it's just not the same as it used to be...)

We don't have much planned, but at 4 we are going to tea with my dad (papa chuck) and one of his customers. Should be interesting to see how Taya handles tea and scones! I hope I remember to take my camera.... The pic above is one I took right after she woke up from her nap and I just love it---she looks so cuddley!

Tired....

The Parade of Homes WEARS me out, so instead of a regular blog today, I am posting this:

YOUR AGE BY EATING OUT

Don't tell me your age; you probably would tell a falsehood anyway-but your waiter may know! YOUR AGE BY DINER & RESTAURANT MATHThis is pretty neat.DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!It takes less than a minute .

Work this out as you read ...Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to go out to eat. (more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)

3. Add 5

4. Multiply it by 50

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1757 .....If you haven't, add 1756.

6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.


You should have a three digit number The first digit of this was your original number (I.e., how! Many times you want to go out to restaurants in a week.)The next two numbers are YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2007) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS

ENJOY YOUR WEEK!!! Kisses and loves <3

Parade of Homes....

This is the house I will be at from 10-6 today and tomorrow if anyone wants to come and visit :) Or even better, buy it! (For the record, I cannot stand the exterior color...)

Break your jaw...

Tonight we went to Target and T's oldest girls, Jitana and Jordyn, each got a "Jawbreaker." One of those HUUUUGE jawbreakers that can takes years to devour. (I remember keeping one in my desk when I was little, and finally breaking it with a hammer... patience is not one of my qualities!) Anyhow, I didn't even think to get Taya one, and most likely wouldn't have anyway because they are PURE sugar.... But that definitely didn't stop her from saying "my candy? my candy? my apple?" After she said "apple," I got a grand idea---a plum!! (Jitana had a green one and Jord had a red one and they were just about the size of a plum.) So, since I had put each of the girls' in ziplock bags, I put a plum in Taya's ziplock and away she licked... I can't believe I completely fooled her! and with something healthy! I felt proud.

Tomorrow it's back to the Parade of Homes, so I probably won't be posting much. It makes for a looonnnngg weekend!

All by herself!

This is what happens when Taya is home with her daddy and sneaks into her mommy's bathroom.... Terry went into my bathroom and asked her what she was doing, to which she replied "getting into mommy's stuff...." He told her she shouldn't be doing that or else she would get in trouble, and she said "Oh, yes!" haha I have no clue where she learned that.... Anyway, during her little adventure, she managed to paint her own toenails. And, if I do say so myself, she did a pretty darn good job. She stayed in my bathroom to do it and didn't even get any on the floor.

Banner

Just a quick shout out to Tiburon for making my "quixotic life" banner.... Thank you so much!

Mirror mirror on the wall....

Lately Taya's favorite thing to do has been to stand on her step stool (which appropriately states "Princess in Training") and make faces at herself in the mirror. I think it's so cute! She'll sing and dance and experiment with sticking her tongue out, squinting her eyes, etc. It cracks me up! She's such a little character.

I have been SO busy with work this lately that it feels like I don't even have a life. There wasn't a night last week that I got home before 9, and most nights it was even later than that. The Parade of Homes for Northern Colorado started this past Saturday, so there was definitely a lot to do to prepare for that. (Especially since we have 3 entries this year!) I love my job though, and hopefully it'll all pay off in the end :) Speaking of that... I'm writing another contract this week hopefully---yay!!! These people are so sweet and it makes me feel so happy to help people make such a huge decision. I'll definitely be updating on that :)

Let's see... not much else is new. We went and got Taya's halloween costume yesterday at the Childrens Place. This year she's going to be a leopard. I think it'll be perfect because she always likes to pretend to be a cat... I think she'll have SOOO much fun with Halloween this year! I also bought a couple of little halloween treats to send to my favorite god-daughter in the WHOLE world, Alwa. I need to get those sent asap so they make it across the ocean in time :)

Hopefully I'll have more time this week than last to blog! Oh also, T and I got a new bed set yesterday, so I'll take pics of that later to post. I suck at posting pics lately! XoX

Taya & the Terrible Two's....

A phenomenon also known as "TTT." We, as parents, have survived the first 2 months of "TTT" and feel fairly confident that we can make it through the remaining 10 months. "TTT" has been gentle thus far with only a few minor mishaps. For example, last night when I came home from work... The picture above illustrates the greeting I had. I simply asked "TTT" what was on her face, to which she replied "Mommy's make-up.....from Mommy's bathroom." Oh joy!! She was SO proud of herself, as I secretly cringed internally. "TTT" also displayed a lovely outfit that she not only picked out by herself, but also put on by herself. She wouldn't let me get a good picture of it, and to be honest, I'm still baffled at how it worked exactly.... She had on a long sleeved Dora pj shirt, a pair of pink pj shorts with both legs through one hole, pull up around her waist, and a pair of denim shorts slightly crooked. Quite the site if I do say so myself! And the saga continues....

Love her face...

Here's a pic of Taya that I just took before our walk.... The print on it means "thank you" in Japanese. My sister-in-law, who is from Japan, brought back the kimono she is wearing during her last trip home. I think she looks so cute in it! :) We had so much fun on our little walk with her pushing her baby.... she walked through water and then took her shoes off, so we had to cut it kind of short. I'll post pics in a little while....

You are still in the running...

towards becoming America's Next Top Model. Um, it's absolutely insane how many times I have heard Tyra Banks say those words over the past two weekends. "Why?" might you ask... The answer is simple: MTV hates me and doesn't want me to do anything other than watch ANTM rerun marathons. It's sickening! I cannot wait for a new season to come out :)

I changed the color of my hair last night and I'm loving it. It's basically dark dark purple....professional purple, that is! I will be posting a pic later today. Right now, Taya and I are on our way to take her baby for a walk :)

Trot like a Turkey!

This picture of Taya inspired me! (haha) I have decided to start training to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. It's only a 5k, but I'm definitely not a runner. I asked T to do it with me, but so far he doesn't seem too excited. He said he's more of a "sprinter" than a distance runner. I just felt like I wanted to get more toned, and having the goal of the 5k, should make that easier. I'm actually really excited even though I don't like running! Right now we're on our way to walk to my dad's house which is a little over 2 miles. I have been walking briskly for 2 miles every day, but I want to start running for 1 and slowly work myself up to running the full 3. Wish me luck! :)

GREAT Movie!

So last night we went to my mom's house to have some hamburgers and watch a movie. I really wanted to watch "Premonition" with Sandra Bullock, but my mom thought it looked "disturbing." SO, we decided to watch "Fracture" with Ryan Gossling and Anthony Hopkins, instead. What a GREAT movie! I really like both of those actors, and thought it was put together extremely well.

Right now we're watching the CU and CSU game....a sign that it's almost fall. I LOVE the fall. I love the cooler days and watching the leaves change. Most of all, I love fall-scented candles like pumpkin and apple.

We got some bad news yesterday that Terry's uncle was found dead. It was his dad's younger brother and he lived in Casper, WY. We don't know very many details, but when they found him, he had been dead for approximately 5 days. They won't be doing an autopsy to determine the cause of death due to the decay of the body. Terry hasn't seen him for 7 or 8 years, so I think he was just more shocked than anything.

The Negotiator

So this morning Taya came and grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen.... When we got in there, she pointed to the counter where her Flintstones gummy vitamins were and said "Please." She hadn't had one today yet, so I took one out and handed it to her.... After she ate it, she said "Please... another one!" to which I replied "No, sorry... only one!" to which she replied "No, only two!" haha I laughed so hard! I almost wanted to give her another one because I thought it was so cute, but of course I didn't. Man, when she knows what she wants, she KNOWS! :)

Today I'm working at the office covering for the reception... So, basically my last 2 days "off" I have spent doing some form of work. (Yesterday I had a meeting with some clients and then a realtor open house for 3 hours.) Luckily, I LOVE my job! I definitely am going to make an effort to keep this weekend all about family though, because sometimes I just need a break from thinking about real estate... Next week I work 6 days in a row, so I am going to be beat.

Tonight we're going to watch a movie and eat POPCORN. I'm not sure why, but I am definitely obsessed lately.... I'm also going to dye my hair this weekend, so I'm excited about that---Yay for change!

and Kristi finally blogs....

Ok, so I am new to the whole blogging thing, but it seems like I'm being left behind if I don't join the crowd! As a mother to a beautiful 2 yo named Taya, I would love to document some of the events of her life. I also think it'll be fun to write about the daily life of being married :)

Truly, no human could possibly make me smile as much as she does. I just am blown away by her creativity and intelligence every single day! Plus, she's pretty darn cute ;)

I'm definitely excited to start blogging, and am also looking forward to reading some of the other blogs out there!

Hugs!