Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Addison

02.20.09

Music randomness

I love blaring my music and singing in the car and I didn’t stop this when I started having babies. I remember once when Austin (my brother) came for a visit and was driving around with me and Ellie in my car (Ellie was 2 at the time). Ellie kept saying “Spiderwebs Spiderwebs Spiderwebs!” Austin thought I was going to turn on Itsy Bitsy Spider or some other kid song when I turned on the song Spiderwebs by No Doubt (second song on my play list) and Ellie and I both started jammin‘ to it. She knew almost every word. Austin got a big kick out of that and it’s still one of her favorite songs.

One of my favorite things about being a mom is the total control you have to influence your own kids. My girls will simply have to rock to Gwen Stefani…and wear a lot of green…and eat a lot of Golden Spoon yogurt…and learn to love their dance classes and pose for yet another picture. They will also have no exposure to country music (ICK!) unless they are forced into listening to it by daddy or grandma (who both lack serious taste in good music…in my humble opinion).

I’m always torn about whether or not I like music on blogs. I like to check out what everyone else is listening to, but I also like to solely concentrate on pictures and words and the music is a big distraction. I usually end up muting any music when I check blogs because I like to give the new post my full attention. I recently added a few songs to my blog just because they are songs the girls and I are particularly enjoying lately. Addison’s favorite song is The Show by Lenka (first song on my play list). At the end of the song the lyrics say, ” I want my money back. I want my money back. I want my money back. Just enjoy the show” Addison’s version: “I want my mommy back. I want my mommy back. I want my mommy back. Just enjoy the show…” Classic! Viewing the world from the eyes of a two year old. So stinkin‘ cute – I had to get it on film.

**push pause on my play list to hear Addison’s version of The Show :)

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie and Addison

02.16.09

LOVE-ly weekend

I’ve never made sugar cookies before (gasp!) but I love eating them and I knew my girls would love decorating them so when my cute friend Josie gave us her mom’s ‘to die for’ recipe (Thanks Josie!) I figured it was time to try. Sad to say that Kenny and Ellie ended up actually making the cookies. I got bored with it and started taking pictures and cleaning instead. :) They did turn out delicious and I’m sure I’ve gained a few pounds this weekend to prove it!

It was a fun weekend full of…

cookie decorating

card making

fondue with friends

eating

surprises on the doorstep

rain rain rain

more eating

movies

exercising

and a little more eating

Hope you all had a LOVE-ly weekend as well!

p.s. Heart my conversation hearts? (previous post) You can make them here.

xoxo, Erin

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Holidays

02.13.09

Happy Valentine’s Day

To all of you!

AND to my Valentine-

BABE – I love you more than…

{you are SOOOOO loved!}

Love, me

xoxo, Erin

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Good Things

02.10.09

Good Things

Yesterday was the best day. We woke up to POURING rain – I’m talking torrential downpour. It was dark, wet, windy and cold. I was so not in the mood to bundle the girls up in rain gear and send Ellie to preschool. (Stuck indoors with hyper-active children… I remember all to well from teaching school what rainy days are like!) Plus I wasn’t in the mood to take off my pajamas. So I didn’t. I kept Ellie with me and the three of us stayed home. All day. We never left the house. Usually this isn’t possible with my little ones because they get stir crazy and start to drive ME crazy, but for some reason the stars aligned and everyone was happy and in the mood to be home. We watched the rain (so did Ellie’s “friends”), made Valentine cards, watched a movie together (Return to Neverland), and then the girls played together while I cleaned, did laundry and a little scrapbooking. Kenny came home from work that evening and we all looked just like we did when he left. It was a perfect pajama day and I went to bed that night feeling very lucky to have spent such a fun day at home with my girls.

Spring sandals are in! I love Target sandals for my girls. They are so cute and so cheap! AND how cute are these shirts for $5 each. Love them! I’m still actually debating if Target is really a good thing since I go there for paper plates, cereal and toilet paper and leave with new clothes and shoes for the girls, a pair of earrings, new scrapbook supplies, seasonal home decor, organizing bins, and ANOTHER pair of pajama bottoms. We have a love/hate relationship with Target at our house. I (the buyer of all things too cute to pass up) love it. Kenny (the family financial planner) hates it. Don’t worry babe. Target just may have a surprise or two for you as well.

The sound of popcorn popping. Great sound. Means the girls are in bed and it’s time to sit down, pull out my laptop, turn on the tv, and chill with Kenny.

Daddy’s home from work!

The smile on Ellie’s face when I pick her up at pre-school.

Listening to Addison playing pretend. Especially when she puts all of her little “friends” in time-out. Clearly she has spent a great deal of time there herself.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Golden Spoon yogurt. A hangout I frequent often. I banned the place for awhile after my Coach sunglasses were stolen there. I left them on the counter, stepped outside to check on my girls, and when I came back they were gone. They were an anniversary present from Kenny and I was SO mad. But…sunglasses have been replaced and I couldn’t stay away from Golden Spoon for long. The place calls my name. (New York Cheesecake is to die for!)

So we’ve had a bit of an obsession at our house. The show: Yo Gabba Gabba. The plot: there is none. The music: terrible. The characters: hideously strange animal/alien things. The host: strange, skinny black man in awful orange wig. The problem with all of this (aside from the obvious): my girls love it! This show is so bad I never know whether to laugh or cry when it’s on! It came on once at the end of a Little Bear we had recorded and Addison fell IN LOVE with the characters. She has assigned us all one to be…she is Toodee (the blue cat/dragon), Ellie is Foofa (the pink flower thing), Kenny is Muno (the one-eyed red guy), I’m Brobee (the green one “because mommy loves green”), and Dayna – my sister-in-law is Plex (the yellow robot). Addison worships Dayna. Are these names for real? Anyway – the show is awful but I get the biggest kick out of seeing my girls when it’s on. They are GLUED to the TV or they are up dancing along with the weirdos. So…because Addison learned to go potty and Ellie was such a good helper my cute mom mailed them their own Toodee and Foofa dolls. They were ecstatic. (thanks mom!) Guess I’m stuck being Brobee and watching this strange show a little longer…

Girls…these are vegetables. And a blue fruit we don’t usually eat. I’m TRYING to feed my girls more veggies. It’s not going well so far… Addison exclaims “pee-yew stinky diaper!” every time she sees them on her plate (that’s what she says anytime she doesn’t like something). Oh well. I feel good about making an attempt and plan on being persistent. I don’t scare that easily.

The current edition of CK (my fav scrapbook magazine). First of all my idol Becky Higgins is on the front – AND get this… it’s a special organization issue.
I was beyond giddy when this came in the mail!

Along with Addison’s Gabba Gabba obsession she is also in love with this outfit. This green shirt and white skirt are all she wants to wear anymore. Has to put it on first thing in the morning…then if I have the strength… I fight her to get other clothes on to leave the house. Then the second we’re home again the outfit goes right back on. Most days (if it’s warm enough) I just let her wear it. She has had this on everyday for the last month. I’m so sick of this outfit! I have to wash it at night when she’s asleep. Good thing? Not really right now, but I’ll save this outfit and I’m quite sure that someday I’ll look back on it as a good thing.

So I love zoning out and letting my mind wander. Something about the random randomness of my thoughts always makes me happy. I tend to zone out at various times throughout the day. (Often happens whenever Kenny starts a discussion including words like taxes, finance, or bills) Some may call this being spacey, but I like to think my mind is extremely complex and always needs to be in motion. :) This happens whenever I’m on the treadmill, which is why I like treadmills so much. A few random thoughts during this morning’s jog…

Is today only Tuesday? ….I have GOT to call and find out what I need to do to get Ellie registered for Kindergarten ….wait – today is Koni’s b-day! Crap. Forgot to send a card. Why didn’t I write that on my to-do list? Oh yeah, I did. I just didn’t read my to-do list….I wish I looked like Natalie Portman….thank goodness for this song (So What by Pink) because it’s the only thing keeping my feet moving right now….I need new gym shoes….is American Idol on tonight?….I should wash sheets today….my new camera is probably too big to carry around with me everywhere….wish I knew how to wink….why am I thinking about winking?….love it when my mind wanders….I should put this as a good thing on my blog.

xoxo, Erin

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Fun with Friends

02.07.09

It all started with this

So the other day my friend Malea posted this lovely Jetette Review group picture on Facebook. (“Jetettes” is the name of the dance team I was on in High School) Everyone was tagged in the photo and we were all having a lot of fun chatting on-line back and forth… laughing about this picture and the good ol‘ days of dancing together. We were such a close group of girls and always had a blast together. I mentioned how great it would be to see everyone again and then Lindsay had a fabulous idea. The current Jetettes are having their review (end of the year performance) in March. What if we all head to St. George and get together to catch up and then go to the review? Next thing I knew we were planning our first ever Jetette Reunion! I’m so freakin‘ excited for this!!! Some of these girls I have stayed in touch with, but a lot of them I haven’t seen in years! Everyone is booking plane tickets and making plans for the party! We’re meeting at my mom’s house for dinner, a slide show, game and plenty of time to catch up, and then heading to the review. Our drill team advisor is even going to stop by and is reserving us seats at the review. I can’t wait to see everyone again! I have so many fun memories of all of our practices, competitions, half-time performances, bus trips and get-togethers. I’m counting down to our reunion. We are going to party like it’s 1994!!!

Thought I’d post a few pictures of us that year together…

Side note*** Nice that we aren’t dancing in any of my pictures (I think we spent more time messing around). AND nice that my pictures are all grotesquely cropped because they are from my old scrapbooks (why did we do that?).

xoxo, Erin

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Addison

02.05.09

Update

This is a random picture I took sometime in December. I happened to have my camera upstairs and caught Addison hugging Ellie goodnight while Ellie was still brushing her teeth. Addie is pretty adamant about hugging and kissing everyone several times before bedtime. She, like her sister, is a master staller.

***Update on the potty training. It’s done. She’s potty trained and was after day one. I don’t know WHAT I did to deserve this but it was so easy with Addison. We haven’t even had an accident! It was like once she got over the fear of going the first time it was no big deal. She does everything herself (on the big potty) like she’s been doing if for years. I’ve been in a state of shock! I don’t know if it’s because I waited longer with her and she was just ready, because she sees Ellie doing it all the time, because I knew better what I was doing, because she doesn’t like messes and keeps saying “I can’t go potty on Cinderella!” (Cinderella panties), or if it’s because she has more of an independent personality. My real theory is that someone up above felt like Addison has given me enough stress in her little lifetime and I deserved a break. :) Whatever the reason, I don’t care. She’s potty trained and I didn’t even have to break out the Resolve. Life is good.

xoxo, Erin

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Ramblings

02.03.09

25 Random things about me

(This is a tag going around onfacebook right now. Kind of fun. I figured I’d put it on my blog since I took the time to do it. **Do not at all feel like you need to take the time to read it!)1) I never do tags. I decided to do this one (my first!) because I’ve had so much fun reading random things about so many friends. :)
2) I love to organize. Organizing cupboards, closets, drawers, etc. makes me calm and happy. It’s how I de-stress.
3) I eat a turkey sandwich for lunch almost every day and have for over ten years.

4) I don’t think I’m high maintenance, but my family would disagree!
5) I really miss dancing. In my dreams I am a dancer on So You Think You Can Dance (love that show!)
6) I feel like I’m always cleaning because well…I’m always cleaning.
7) Right now I’m reading the book 1-2-3 Magic (effective discipline for children 2-12) because of my lovely little 2 year old.
8) I hate my thighs and have since I was little. When I was in Jr. High I bought a Thigh Master and exercised with it every night. One night I was workin’ it so hard that it broke. Car and I laughed our heads off!
9) I’m extremely indecisive. I like to have approval for most of my decisions and usually turn to my mom and sister for this. I used to turn to Kenny too, but he’s had it with me and my inability to DECIDE.
10) I LOVE to take pictures and just got a new camera (my first SLR). I also just signed up for a photography class to learn how to use my new camera. Can’t wait!
11) At this point in my life I’m really happy to not have a baby.
12) I have a love affair with the color green. Green laptop, green ipod, WAY too many green shirts.
13) I love driving fast. My family would say I’m a bad driver, but my girls disagree. Ellie once said “mom…I love that when you drive WE are the ones passing all of the cars!” :)
14) I love to exercise and have thought about someday teaching aerobics. I think I could handle the cardio, but my inability to lift anything over 5 lbs. keeps me from pursuing this!
15) I think The Office is hilarious.
16) I wish I had more time for scrapbooking.
17) I love to decorate and am annoyed right now that my house is pretty much done. Time for a bigger house so I can continue to shop for that perfect item to go in that perfect spot!
18) I have been in love with my husband since I was 15 years old. Even during times when we were dating and (to quote Ross from Friends) “on a break” I still loved him.
19) I’m thrilled to have Disneyland season passes this year.
20) Sometimes I speak in a language that only Kenny and I can understand. I tend to mix up words when I’m trying to articulate my thoughts. Kenny gets a real kick out of this.
21) I hate cooking. I’d rather be doing anything else…scrubbing toilets…you name it.
22) The first year I was a stay at home mom I had a hard time and really missed teaching school. Now I LOVE staying home with my girls.
23) I wish so badly I lived closer to my family. In a perfect world I would still live in San Diego (because I love living here), but St. George, UT would be 10 minutes away.
24) I’m really into sauteed mushrooms right now.
25) I think I have the best girlfriends ever (some in San Diego, some in Utah, and some in Virginia) and I love getting together with them!

xoxo, Erin

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Addison

01.29.09

Seriously…this again?

Add – I think the clothes have to come off BEFORE you sit on the potty.

I’m in for a long day. I’ve been putting off potty training Addison for some time now. The painful memories of potty training Ellie are still fresh in my mind. And this is Addison. Remember this post? She is my Jekyll/Hyde child. Sweet and delightful one minute – stubborn and mischievous the next. She started showing signs of being ready in October, but we were traveling a lot. Then of course I had to wait until after the busy holiday season. Our trip to Disneyland was my next excuse. Alas, I’m out of excuses. It’s got to be done. I am NOT looking forward to this.

I’m all set with our potty chart and stickers, bubble gum (Addison’s all time favorite treat), and LOTS and LOTS of my Resolve Carpet cleaner. Wish me luck. I’m gonna need it.

xoxo, Erin

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Holidays

01.28.09

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Which I just learned this morning means Happy Chinese New Year! At Ellie’s preschool they are celebrating the Chinese New Year today. All the kids wore red and the day is full of fun Chinese New Year festivities – parades, music, and neat art projects to celebrate this holiday. (Last year they brought in a huge paper dragon!) One of Ellie’s best friends is Chinese and she and her mom did the neatest presentation this morning during singing time (her little outfit was so cute!). I have to say that this is one thing I LOVE about Ellie’s preschool and about living in San Diego. Celebrating diversity. Ellie and I have both learned so much the past few years about various traditions and customs. A lot of our friends and neighbors are from all over the world. Everyone has different customs and religous beliefs and it’s all accepted. Anything goes! I remember (from my teaching days) a conversation some of my 5th graders were having about religion…”I’m a Catholic”…”My mom is a Jew and my dad is a Baptist”….”My parents are Methodist.” Each was answered with “cool” and then they ran to play together on the swings. I’ll never forget that. I grew up in Utah and while I really do love Utah, I definitely did not grow up with the diversity my kids are growing up with. It makes me so happy that they are learning first hand to love and accept everyone regardless of ethnicity or religion. So to all of you today…GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!

xoxo, Erin

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San Diego fun

01.27.09

Disneyland

Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth. :) The girls were captivated by all of the characters and in LOVE with all of the rides (Addison is a little daredevil!).

We had a great trip!

{PRINCESSES}

My girls are at such fun ages for meeting the princesses! I wish I could have recorded the dialogue. Addison told them all how pretty they were and couldn’t stop hugging and staring at them. Ellie wanted to discuss life as a princess saying things like “Ariel…you really have to watch out for Ursula, don’t you!?” They loved having their little autograph books signed and were completely awestruck. I don’t know who was having more fun…the girls meeting real princesses or Kenny and I watching them. :)

{MORE FUN CHARACTERS}

{MICKEY & MINNIE}

{RIDES}

I was so impressed with my little 2 year old this trip! When we took Ellie to Disneyland for the first time at age 3 she was scared of everything. I was gearing up to spend the whole day with Addie on the carousel and Dumbo. We took her on the Peter Pan ride thinking she’d probably bawl (like Ellie did) but we were SO wrong. She LOVED IT! She talked through the whole ride saying things like “UH OH…we’re going fast aren’t we mommy! Wheee! This is so fun mommy! Hi Captain Hook! STARS!” Then the second it was over…”AGAIN AGAIN!” We were so excited that we took her on everything in the park that she was tall enough to do – even the roller coaster in Toon Town which is fast. She loved it all and wasn’t scared a bit! I loved that we all stayed together as a family the whole time and never had to separate.

There was only one snag on our trip. We told Ellie she could pick out a toy for her birthday and she fell in love with a baby Minnie. She wanted to carry it with her everywhere. When we were getting ready in our hotel room to hit the park for day 2 she asked if she could bring Minnie. Kenny said no…I said “Oh – let her bring it. She loves it. What’s the big deal?” Kenny didn’t think it was a good idea…I told him to lighten up. The picture above is of Kenny and Ellie on Toads Wild Ride. You can see baby Minnie on her lap before the ride. Addison and I were right behind them and at the end of the ride…no baby Minnie. She was driving the car and must have dropped it somewhere along the way. There wasn’t much we could do (they won’t stop the ride) and Ellie was in TEARS. We of course went and bought her ANOTHER baby Minnie and Kenny had a great time rubbing in how right he was and how the world would be a better place if everyone would just listen to him. I feel it is important to document this tidbit for our family history since it is EXTREMELY RARE that Kenny is right and I am wrong. :)

Whole family in Toon Town. This trip was so fun! We ended up buying season passes to Disneyland for the year. I convinced Kenny it was all for the girls, but we both know that it’s more for me than anyone. Living so close to Disneyland was one of the things I was most excited about when we moved to San Diego. I can’t wait to be able to head up for 4-5 hours on a random Saturday. It’s nice to not feel like you have to rush to see and do everything in one trip. I’m sure we’ll be spending lots of time at this beloved park. Small World has been renovated and improved and will be open in February. I’m so on it – already planning our next trip. Anyone up for a visit??? :)

On the way home…completely worn out!

***side note: This trip was Addison’s first time sleeping in a “big girl bed.” When the crib was brought into our room she said “I’m a big girl – I want to sleep with Ellie!” We let her and couldn’t believe how easy that transition was! They slept great and I couldn’t stop peeking at how cute they looked laying next to each other. Aside from Ellie turning 5 and Addie sleeping in a bed for the first time, Addison also stopped calling Ellie “Lolly” on this trip. :( They really are growing up too fast. Kenny and I still call her Lolly in hopes that Addison will go back and decide to stay LITTLE just a LITTLE bit longer.

xoxo, Erin

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Birthdays

01.20.09

Happy 5th B-day Ellie!

My sweet Ellie turned 5 years old today. I can’t believe it. She is growing up WAY too quickly. I told her she could have a big party with all of her friends OR do something smaller with one friend and then go to Disneyland with the family. She chose Disneyland (YEA!) so today we went to Chuck E Cheese with her friend Madison (and Madison’s family) and then came to our house for pizza, presents, and cake. It was a fun, low key day and she loved it! (Disneyland trip is in the works!)

I love my Ellie so much. She is such a happy, sweet girl and her smile is contagious. She came home from pre-school the other day and told me “mom, I was trying to be mad today like this (attempt to frown), but I just couldn’t!” (huge grin spreads across her face) We laughed and I thought – that just sums up my Ellie…unable to be anything but happy! She is outgoing, considerate of others’ feelings (she can’t stand it if she thinks someone is mad or sad), and the best big sister. She is so cute with Addison – always helping her out and showing her the ropes. She makes me smile every single day and I can’t imagine my life without her. Ellie – I love you more than you’ll ever know. (until you have your own daughter someday…then maybe you’ll know :) Happy 5th birthday!

xoxo, Erin

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Ellie and Addison

01.16.09

Morning at the Beach

***Does this picture look familiar? I love snapping a picture each time the girls head down the walkway to our beach :)

The weather this week has been absolutely amazing, so when Thursday morning came around (our one morning we don’t have anything on our agenda) the girls and I decided it was time for the beach! We had such a fun morning. The beach was so quiet and beautiful…just a few surfers, joggers, and us. Thinking the water would be cold (it is January after all), I put the girls in their play dresses. I thought we would just walk along the beach and then head to the beach park, but they were having so much fun wading in the water (which didn’t feel much colder than it is in July), throwing rocks, running from waves, and chasing the seagulls that we never made it to the park. I wished I would have just put them in swimsuits!

Impressed? j/k no – we didn’t build this fun sand castle but we were glad that whoever did build it left it up for us to enjoy. The girls loved it!

Addison is always a little scared to step into the waves without Ellie’s help. I have so many pictures of the two of them holding hands walking towards the waves. This shot never gets old to me. :)

xoxo, Erin

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