We Officially have the FLU!

Well folks it was bound to happen. The Christensen's have the flu just like everyone else in America. It all started on Friday evening when Zac had a headache and I had a soar throat. That night I started popping Zycam every 3 hours. The next morning Zac woke up with the real deal Flu, and continued to be sick for the next 3 days. I have had body aches and chills, but the Zycam really helped to ward off the really bad stuff. Then yesterday, Maya started to get a bad runny nose and Adam said he was feeling very fatigued. Well this morning, Baby Maya woke up with a fever and green nose and Adam is feeling worse. The only person in our family who is healthy is Kelsey! I am so grateful someone feels good!

We are all hanging in there and trying to make the best of a bad situation. Kelsey had us all laughing so hard at dinner tonight. We were watching the Primary Coverage on CNN tonight and Kelsey said to Adam, "Daddy are you a Democrat?" . Adam said, "No I am a republican but Mommy is a Democrap!" Then Kels said, "Your a Democrack Mommy?" Eveyone laughed so hard there food was flying everywhere!!!!! Then she asked if Adam was going to vote for Hilary and he, politely, said NO. It is so funny what kids pick up on! Even Maya, everytime we turn on CNN says "OOObamaaaa!!!!!! So cute! I love that we have different political views in this house. It leads to great discussions that everyone, even the kids, can get involved in and add to. I think it is so important to teach your kids about politics and government from an early age. We live in a wonderful, democratic, free society and our children need to appreciate it from early on. So as we sit here surrounded by Kleenex, Democrap and Republican alike, we pray for health, we pray for our safety and we pray for our America, that allows us to be a home, politically divided, and still love each other to pieces!!

Maya's Back in Jail!

Do you remember a few posts ago when I blogged about what a big girl Maya was and how she was sleeping in a big girl bed? Well folks, that initial nap Maya took in her bed was the ONLY time she slept for longer than two hours! Every night since that first night she woke up two and three times a night, roaming the halls looking for a playmate! She would come in my room at 4 am and say "Mommy applejuice" in her sweet Maya voice. Zac would come in our room at least once a night and inform us that Maya was in his room. So after a month of sleepless nights for everyone except Kelsey, who can sleep through practically ANYTHING, Adam and I did the unthinkable. We set her crib back up! I have to admit at first I wouldnt tell anyone out of shame. I felt like I was completely regressing with Maya just so I could have a good nights sleep. But lets be honest here, once you get used to sleeping uninteruppted, being woken up night after night by your two year old just makes you crabby! I was starting to get that newborn mom feeling! You know the one I mean, after your have had your newborn and havent slept for more than 2 hours at a time for weeks, you just kind of walk around in this half awake/half asleep state. Always being groggy and onry because you are just desperate for 8 hours of sleep! So I gave up and put Maya back "in jail" as my Dad calls it. Ever since we put her back in her crib we are ALL sleeping through the night and Maya is as happy as ever. She looks really sad in these pictures because I took her binkie away for the photos....ummmm yes that is another confession she still sleeps with her binkie. Maybe I will work on getting rid of the binkie next week....or the week after....

Biggest Snowflakes Ever!

So on Friday it snowed, again, but not with your typical snowflakes. These snowflakes were the biggest snowflakes any of us had ever seen! Zac and his friend Jayden went outside to catch the snowflakes in there mouths and I actually got a picture of Zac catching one on his tongue!! The last picture is the picture of Zac catching the snowflake and believe it or not it was a single snowflake! Look how HUGE it was!!!

St. George Visit

Over President's Day weekend we went to visit my dad in St. George and go to the Parade of Homes show there as well! We couldnt have asked for better weather. It was so warm and beautiful, such a welcome change from gray skies and snow!! We golfed, toured the Home Show homes, took the kids to the park and did a lot of relaxing. It was just wonderful to spend time outside with the kids with no coats! Thanks Dad for a great weekend!!!

Maya in Gymnastics!

Every Tuesday while Kelsey is in preschool, Maya and I go to a Mom and Tot Gymnastics class. She LOVES it! Everytime we put on her Gym outfit she squeals. She screams, "GYM MOMMY GYM!" when we pull into the gymnasium parking lot. It is so fun to see her becoming her own little person and doing her own activities. I was really starting to feel like Maya was spending all of her time watching Kelsey dance or Zac wrestle. I think as the "baby" of the family she will still spend lots of time watching her older siblings do their various activities. But now she feels like a "big girl" because she too has something fun to do! Maya is fearless when it comes to gymnastics. She can already do a somersault by herself and soon will be able to walk across the balance beam alone!!! We are so proud of Maya, and I love to see her darling face light up when she is in class. We Love You Maya!!!!

I have been tagged...

Tagged again, thanks Tiff! This tag is a series of questions to better acquaint yourself with me, as if we are not already well acquainted!

TEN YEARS AGO I WAS...

16 years old!!! Can you believe that! Ten years ago I was living at home with my parents and a junior in high school. That makes me feel so good! Some days I feel so old having 3 kids at home, a husband and a dog. But just thinking that 10 short years ago I was in High School is strangely refreshing!

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED...

Can you believe I have only lived 5 places in my entire life! The first 18 years were spent on Briarwood Lane in Absecon, NJ. Sadly my parents just sold this home after living there for 26 years! I will always have a special place in my heart for "209 Briarwood"!!! After that I lived at Deseret Towers U-Hall for a year. Then I lived in an apartment in Provo. After that it was off to my new house in Springville with my, at the time, new husband. Then we moved to Saratoga Springs and our new home here after 5 years in Springville.

THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST....
Ugh how long can this list be????
-Pack for the Home Show in Saint George
-Buy my kids Valentines Day cards
-Get my car registered (hello that was on my list last week too!)
-Call my BFF Jessica from NJ back!
-Organize Maya's closet and take out all of her too small clothes
-Buy Stamps!!!
-Clean out my office closet
-Send a hand written note to Tylre, just for fun
-Start using my new cookbook, "Deceptively Delicious"
-Watch the Democratic Debates I Tivoed last week
-Get Maya off her Binkies!
-Take all of our old toys to the DI
-Vacuum the backseat of my car (hello cracker crumb heaven!)

And that is just a small list of things I need to do!

PLACES I HAVE WORKED

TW Sports
AtlanticCare Medical
Showboat Casino
Cougar Creations
OfficeMax
City of Orem
Self Employed, Loan Processor
ACDS

5 THINGS YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT ME

I am a political junkie. I Tivo the debates and watch CNN for fun! Hello I have a problem! Kelsey can name everyone who is running for their individual party nomination. That includes Mitt Romney who recently dropped out. Just in case you are curious, Kelsey is not endorsing anyone, but she does like saying "Arack Obama!!". She thinks its sounds funny :-)

I play a lot of pool. My husband loves pool and we recently got a pool table for our basement. So if I am not playing pool at home, I am at the pool hall with our friends! Sound scary? There are actually very nice, non mutant people at pool halls!!!

I hate driving. Absolutely hate it. I would always prefer to be chauffered. Dont get me wrong I love my car, but I cannot stand driving!

I love to golf! I am not the greatest golfer but I love to play. It is a game that you have to be in tune with yourself in order to appreciate it. It makes you slow down, take a deep breath, and observe your surroundings. Adam and I play at least once a week when the weather is warm. It has totally brought us closer as a couple!

I wanted to name my first born Tairalea Lorraine. Tairalea is pronounced Ty-ru-lee. It is the combination of me and all of my sisters names. Lorraine is my mom's name (and oddly enough Adam's mom's name too!). When Adam and I got pregnant with Kelsey I told him about the name. He said NO WAY! I was soooooo sad. We decided on Kelsey Lorraine, so I still got to name my first born after my mom (and his too!) so I was happy!

So, friends near and dear, I am tagging, RAE (yes RAE YOU!!), Abbey, Andy, and Trista! Have Fun!!!

Hannah Montana Movie!!!

Yesterday Trista asked me if Kelsey and I would like to join her and Brynlee to go see the new Hannah Montana movie. I said of course and Kelsey SQUEALED with excitement when I told her. Her friend Kwincee was going as well which made Kelsey even more thrilled. Tiff and I took Kels and Kwinc to McDonalds to eat and play on the playplace and then I took the girls to the movies and met up with Trista and Brynlee. McDonalds and Hannah Montana makes the perfect day for a 5 year old. Kelsey was in HEAVEN! The girls were SO CUTE during Hannah Montana! They got up and started singing and dancing non-stop the entire second half of the movie. All the girls were grinning and giggling and shakin their groove thing! Miss Bethany (all the girls dance teacher) would have been so proud! Each of the girls had these huge pixie sticks that you got to fill with sugar yourself. They all filled them before the movie, then after the movie they filled them again! Sugar and soda makes for hyper and bouncy kids! There tongues turned this weird purplish pink color from all of the sugar! Again they were in heaven! It was a great afternoon. Thank you so much Trista for the invite!