I Wanna Be....

So, in true "Kate Style," Kate went through several ideas before she decided on a Halloween costume this year. First she wanted to be Avril Lavigne from the music video "Girlfriend."

I said NO WAY! I was not thrilled with the idea of my 3-year-old dressing like this.

So, then she wanted to be Cinderella.

But I couldn't find a decent Cinderella costume for a decent price. This one retalied at $59.99. Not in my budget this year.

Then she wanted to be a witch. I was okay with that, so we looked and found one she liked, but at $34.99 it was still not in the budget. Then she decided, with a little persuasion from her dad, that she wanted to be a Pirate. Okay.
I found this one, but at $42.99 it still was way more than I was willing to spend on a Halloween costume.

Then she saw the movie "Barbie as the Island Princess," and she just had to be Ro, the main character.

I searched and searched online for a Ro costume and found this one for a whopping $44.99. Not going to happen. Sorry, Kate.

I really wanted Kate to be a butterfly this whole time, because her kid sister was going to be a bumble bee (which was what Kate was when she was 2). Plus, how cute would it be to have a bumble bee and a butterfly?

This is Kate when she was the bumble bee for Halloween. The jacket even has a stinger on the back. So cute!

Then Kate asked, "Can I be a 'Ro' butterfly?" I said of course! So, a beautiful "Ro" butterfly was born.

Cost:

Leotard - FREE (we already had it)

Skirt - $6.00 at wal-mart

Wings - $5.00 at wal-mart

Antennas - $3.00 at Taylor Maid

Ballet Slippers - FREE (we already had them).

TOTAL COST: $14.00. Definitely a more reasonable price for a Halloween costume.

The Finished Product

Andie got her hair fixed today. I was so worried that we were going to have to buzz it all off. Thank goodness for good hairstylists who know what they are doing. Jamie (the stylist) said it was probably the worst haircut she'd seen (and she's seen several on her nieces).

Andie ended up with a cute, trendy style which will require lots and lots of product. We have to slick the top over to hide her "unicorn patch," as I call it, and then put a little tiny clip in it. This is followed by lots and lots of hairspray to get all the butched pieces to stay in place. Then we use some pomade and flip out the back. Again, this is followed by lots and lots of hairspray. Then I hope and pray we don't have to go anywhere that requires her to get in her carseat. Because once she's in her carseat, there's no hope for the cute little flipped back.

The front. Notice the cute little clip. I'll be investing in a few more, because I'll most likely lose more than one.

The side view. It turned out much better than I thought it would.

The top view. Notice the "unicorn patch."

By the looks of these pictures, I don't think Andie cares too much about her hair. I'm just happy she still looks like a little girl.

What do you think?

Kate the "Hair-Cutter Man"

So, it's been a day. One of those days.

Last week I was talking to my sister about how Andie needed a haircut since she was sporting the "Baby Mullett." Well, Kate must've heard me talking about it, and decided to take matters into her own hands.

Yep. She gave Andie her first haircut this morning. Mom wasn't too happy about it. In fact, Kate spent about 2 hours in her room, cleaning and thinking about what she had done. Mostly those 2 hours were spent in her room for her own safety, seeing as I wanted to ring her neck! But, I was a "good mommy" today, and discussed with her the dangers of using scissors (which, by the way, we have discussed before), why Kate isn't allowed to use scissors without Mommy's supervision, and why we don't cut other people's hair. The sentance of the day was, "We don't cut hair, we only cut paper, and we only use scissors when Mommy has said it's okay and is watching."

My little sister, Crystal, came over on her lunch break and told Kate, "We only cut hair if we have gone to school to learned how to cut hair properly." So now Kate is aspiring to be a "Hair-Cutter Man." (She knows that my friend Mike cuts my hair.)

One might ask how this happened. Let me fill you in. I was in my bathroom applying minimal amounts of make-up and pulling my hair into the ever so mom-friendly ponytail. While I was at the mirror, the girls were laughing and giggling out on the back deck. Nither one was crying, screaming, or quiet (you know what happens when it gets too quiet). So I thought all was well. Obviously I was mistaken. In the 5, maybe 10 minutes, I was in the bathroom, Kate got ahold of the scissors and went to town being a "Hair-Cutter Man."

Here are some pictures of the damage. I have an appointment to get it "fixed," or at least as "fixed" as possible tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we won't have to buz it all off. There are several spots that have been cut right down to the scalp. Guess, we'll see. Tune in tomorrow for the sequel.

As you can see, Andie could care less, and as Rob put it, "At least it's just hair, it'll grow back. At least she didn't stab Andie in the eye with the scissors."

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to get Andie's hair "fixed," or at least as "fixed" as it can get. There are several spots that have been cut right down to the scalp. I'm just hoping we won't have to buzz it all off. Guess we'll find out.

Tune in tomorrow, and see the "fixed" product.

Accident Prone or Something...

It seems we have children who like the emergency room, or urgent care at least. On Saturday evening Andie climbed onto a chair, grabbed a glass decorative ball out of a basket and fell over backwards onto the kitchen tile. In the landing she managed to shatter the ball on the tile and cut her wrist (about 3/4 to 1 inch). Now, seven stitches later she's happily playing again.

We have now had one accident per child this year (knock on wood). We have filled our quota (knock on wood). NO MORE ACCIDENTS (knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood)!!!

My New Baby

I am the proud new owner of this beeeeeeeeautiful 2003 Yukon Denali!!!!!!

We had been thinking about getting a bigger vehicle for some time, but had never decided on anything. We were basically waiting until we found the PERFECT vehicle. This was all thrown out the window, however, when Rob's mom and little RM brother came to town for General Conference.

Terry, my mother-in-law, had mentioned several times before that she was looking for a car, so that Kyle, Rob's little RM brother, could have his car back. When they came to town for Conference, Terry mentioned that she still hadn't found a car. I replied, "Well, do you want to buy my Malibu?" She surprised me when she said, "Sure!"

So Rob and I searched and searched lot after lot of cars for "THE" car. No luck. Then we went to KSL.com and searched the cars there. Finally, after Rob was sick of searching the web, he told me to knock myself out looking for a car.

Rob headed up to bed on Monday night, and I headed down to the office. I went to several dealership sites, and found nothing interesting. Then I searched KSL.com, and still found nothing. Then I searched autotrader.com, and I struck gold!

I found "THE" car!!! I went up and showed Rob the stats and pictures I had printed. He was asleep, although he claimed he was really awake, and remembered nothing of our conversation in the morning. I waited until I could get a sitter, set up a test drive, and went to pick Rob up at work. We drove it a little ways up the canyon, and were impressed with what a smooth ride it provided. I was really excited about this car, and I WANTED it.

The next morning Terry and Kyle left with the sold Malibu, and I was left without a car for the day. Rob and I thought about it, decided it was a good deal, and bought it.

It was ready the next morning at about 10. Rob came and picked me up, we loaded in carseats and kids, and I took him to pick up his Honda. It was finally MINE!

I love my new car. It has heated, leather seats, and is in great condition for a used car. If you can't tell by the picture, it is charcoal grey, not black. I love it!

Our Family Look-a-likes

Just in case you were wondering who our kids look like. I tried about 5 different pictures of Andie, and they all came up as "looks equally like mom and dad." Interesting. Maybe tomorrow I'll try it with pictures of me and Rob as kids.