Ashlee loves snow

On Sunday, Ashlee woke up and was so excited to see that it was snowing. While I was getting Erik ready for a bath, she put on her coat, hat, mittens, and boots and out into the back yard she went. Luckily, I caught her before she headed out the door (she didn't want to tell me what she was up to because she thought I wouldn't let her go out) and I made her put on a scarf. It was 9 am and 16 degrees out. She played outside, by herself, for over an hour when I finally made her come in so that she could get ready for church.

They should have been twins

Evan and Ashlee really were meant to be twins, but Heavenly Father knew that neither Erin nor I could handle both of them, so one of them was sent to each of us. They have very similar personality traits and they love each other dearly. They live in a world all their own.



This is the most recent picture that I have taken of the two of them. I was getting ready to take them both to school, however, Ashlee and Evan had an agenda all their own. I'm scared to think of where Ashlee would have driven them to! Maybe to Copperton park or to Dunford bakery to get some donuts or to the ocean because Ashlee is sure that she is going to be a mermaid and Evan is going to be a merman when they grow up. No matter where they were going, they were having a great time. I'm glad that they are such great friends!

My little sister

Well Erin, you requested another blog so I decided to write one about you! Muhahahahaha! alright, i'm all done with the evil laughter and now I will get down to the business of writing!
Erin and I were lucky enough to live in the very isolated suburb of McCutchenville, OH. I jokingly call it a suburb--we lived 3 miles out of town, however, the town only had a population of 500 people. Needless to say, Erin was mostly my only playmate....tho we did have dogs and cats....Erin was more fun to play with than the animals. Growing up, we did most everything together because we didn't have anyone else to play with. This was good for our relationship and we remain best friends to this day; I think that had a lot to do with our upbringing. Also, Erin is the biggest peacemaker I know. I tried to pick many, many, many fights with her and I was usually very unsuccessful. Remember the time I put flour in your drawer and tried to blame it on you? Mom saw right through my ploy, darn it LOL We played my little ponies, polly pockets, barbies, and all sorts of imaginary games. We moved into Tiffin when I was 11 and Erin was 8, but I still took Erin everywhere with me. We swam in the quarry, played GI Joes with Kevin and Joyce, and rode our bikes all over the place. Then we moved to Main St. in Tiffin where Erin and I continued to rollerskate together, play badminton, share clothes, have horrible hairdos together (seriously, what were we thinking???? I'm still mortified that we had mullets!), and go to football games.
Then I graduated high school and went to Idaho to college. We still called each other at least once a week. I got married, but luckily, Adam agreed to take Erin as part of a package deal. Even after she ran out of "Independence Day" screaming with her pillow! Yes, she brought her pillow to a movie! Adam kindly left the movie with us since Erin refused to go back into the movie theater because of her fear of aliens. Yet, Erin will watch Star Trek. I don't think Adam will ever let her live that one down! She was also very angry at first that she and Adam share a birth date--Sept 9th. Don't worry, she forgave me :)
Then Erin got married, we both had kids, she moved to California, moved back, moved to Price, moved back to West Jordan (thank goodness) and now we see each other almost every day. Through all of our life changes, she remains my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without that girl!! So Erin, this blog is for you!

because I really do love my sister, i took off that picture :)

Firsts for the little guy

Erik has had a lot of firsts in his life in the last two days. He had his first thanksgiving during which he had his first taste of mashed potatoes and he loved them. However, he did NOT love the metal spoon I used to feed him with. He hated the spoon so much that he cried and cried.

This is a picture of him prior to the metal spoon.

The kid really hates spoons of any type--he would much prefer if I would feed him from my finger. I don't like doing that though because, well, it's kind of gross, makes mealtime very lengthy, and, at some point in his little life, he's going to need to eat from a spoon!



Adam was determined that Erik would eat from a spoon! I don't think Adam won that battle lol Erik is very stubborn, in true Talbot form!






Erik also got his first haircut. Now all the men in my family have the same haircut, except that they all style their hair differently. Erik was a real trooper through the entire process and just kept trying to eat the cord on the trimmers. Yum?Here's the little guy post haircut. I thought Adam did a pretty good job considering Erik is such a wiggleworm!




Here is a cute pic of my little pilgrims. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! This thanksgiving reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for.

Go Buckeyes

As most of you know, I'm a pretty big Ohio State Buckeye fan, especially with football. Erin and I grew up watching OSU football--almost every year we had a big party with the Gernert family. Poor Tom is a Michigan fan. It was always a lot of fun and a lot of great food. The Gernerts made buckeyes--a tradition that I bug my sister-in-law Heather to continue every year. ( I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends from childhood marry Adam's brother.) How I love those little chocolate covered peanut butter balls....*drool*. That reminds me that I need to see if she will make me some more for christmas...anyway, I am trying to continue the tradition of watching OSU football with my children. Adam doesn't like football at all (his only fault!) because his dad is from England so they watched boxing *shudder*. Unfortunately, Adam is out of town this weekend but I still held the party, albeit a small gathering.
Here are my cute kids decked out in their OSU outfits. My Aunt Annette kindly supplies us with OSU clothes for christmas almost every year. I am proud to say that Ohio State really spanked Michigan this year 7-42! go Buckeyes!!

Erik's first taste of banana

Poor Erik has had a rough week so far. He got sick saturday night--fever, lost his voice, nasty cough. He was finally (thank goodness) feeling better so I decided today would be a great day to try out a new food. Ashlee and I chopped up some banana and popped it into his mouth. He sat like this for about 4-5 minutes before he finally put his tongue back in his mouth and ate his piece of banana. He's such a goofball!




This is completely irrelevant to the title of this blog but one of the things I miss most about Ohio (besides my family and friends) is autumn there. Utah tends to be kind of blah with the changing of the leaves, but my dad took a beautiful picture of our grape vines that reminded me a little bit of Ohio. There is a roadside stand in Ohio that makes the best apple cider ever. Also, on Saturday is the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game--Go Buckeyes!!

Ashlee's obsession with presents

If you know me, then you know that my daughter, Ashlee, is a quirky little gal. Her most recent obsession happened last week when Walmart, ever so kindly, sent us their toy catalog in the mail. Ashlee looked through that catalog until it literally disintegrated. She circled each and every girl toy and told me that she was going to ask Santa for every girl toy. I tried all week to dissuade her. I told her that Santa will only bring her 5 toys because other little girls needed toys from him too. I suggested picking out toys to get her brothers. Yet, she still loving turned the pages and looked at the toys. On Sunday, it was Target's turn to put a toy catalog in with the paper. Ashlee found it and began the exact same process as with the Walmart catalog; circling every girl toy and signing her name on the toys she just couldn't live without. There are apparently many many toys that she cannot live without.




This catalog is so well-loved that she even took it in the bathroom with her when she took a bath. And, yes, she did open it to her favorite page.





This unhealthy desire for all toys girlish had me a bit concerned. When did my daughter become so worldly? and at such a young age too!
Tonight, I decided to try to end the obsessiveness and we wrote our letters to Santa. I know it is a bit early for that, but I'm starting to get tired of looking at the toy catalogs because they are the only books that she wants to read. I am hoping that our letters end the obsession or at least curb it. We only allowed her to ask Santa for 5 toys and it took her over 1/2 an hour to decide which were her favorites.
We will be mailing off our letters tomorrow and, hopefully, Santa enjoys reading our letters as much as we enjoyed writing them!

Halloween

Yep, I know, I'm a little behind the times, but I still thought that I'd post a few pics of my cute little family at halloween. We went trick or treating with my sister, Erin's, family. It was an absolutely beautiful night for halloween and we had a great time.




Here's my scary evil skeleton and the tooth fairy. Who knew that they hung out together?














What a crew! the avatar, the tooth fairy, a dragon, a frog, and a skeleton. Look out world!










Erik really isn't quite sure what to think of Halloween.




















Didn't know I could be so angelic, did you?

Snow Day

We got our first real snow of the winter today. Ashlee wanted to go out and play in the snow immediately after she woke up (7:30 am), so I let her go. After a few minutes, I realized that she was really serious about playing outside, so I brought her back in and bundled her up a bit. I made her come back in at 8:15 am so I could run Alex to school, but, as soon as I got back home she was back outside and she played out there for another hour. She was looking fairly damp, so I forced her to come back inside and take a bath to warm up.
Here is my sopping wet girl. She sure did have fun making snow angels tho! It reminded me of what childhood is all about--doing what you love to do and not being practical about it!

my 6 oddities

Amy tagged me a little while ago, but I've been a slacker about responding. Sorry Amy! better late than never, right?? The six things you might not know or want to know about me...

1. I hate hate hate the sound of cotton tearing. You want to really upset me, tear up a cotton ball when I'm around. For me, it's worse than nails on a chalkboard!!

2. I love to cook, but I don't like to cook for others. I have a deep fear that people will not like what I'm cooking. I know it's something I need to get over. I absolutely dread when the relief society calls and asks me to bring a meal to someone. I agonize over it! So, if you haven't been invited to my house for dinner, don't take it personally, it's just my paranoia rearing its ugly head.

3. I don't like it when people wear sweats out in public. I think sweats should only be worn in the privacy of your own home or at the gym. No one looks good in them and they scream the fact that you were too busy/lazy/slovenly to throw on a pair of jeans instead.

4. Smokers drive me insane. Do it in private, where I don't have to breathe it in and have an asthma attack! I don't want to be sick just because you chose to blow some smoke my way.

5. Whenever I sew, I eat fruit, usually apples. I have no idea why I think that apples and sewing go together, but in my world, they do. I also have to have the TV on when I sew. I don't even watch whatever's on, but I like having the background noise. So there I am, eating an apple and listening to the tv as I sew to my heart's content.

6. I have to put away my clean dishes in a certain order--bowls first, then tupperware, plates, pots and pans, and, finally silverware. I don't let the kids help me do dishes because it messes up my order. I guess that we all have a little OCD in us, right?

well, now the world knows that I'm a little crazy, but, hey, aren't we all?

I got tagged

Ok, i got tagged twice actually, so I'll answer Erin's tag today and Amy's tag tomorrow :)
I am supposed to go to my 4th folder and post the 4th picture. Erin this one's for you:
This picture is from Evan's 3rd birthday party. I think that look says it all!

Hmmm.....the only other person I know who reads my blog is Amy, so Amy, I tag you :)

my addiction to books

I love to read, no doubt about it. That's even how I ended up getting my degree in English--I just kept taking all these literature classes, and, the next thing I knew, that's what I was closest to getting a degree in. I really can't remember a time I didn't read. Mom says I started reading Ten Apples Up on Top at the age of three and I haven't stopped since then. I really had to slow down my reading after the kids were born because I suddenly didn't have enough time in the day to take care of them and read. Since Alex and Ashlee are both in school now and Erik naps in the afternoon, I've started to read a lot more again. Plus, I've been trying to watch less tv lately in the evenings so I've been reading then too. When I read, I read voraciously. I don't want to do anything else until I have finished that book. I had a book reading binge this last week. Adam had an unexpected business trip on wednesday and wasn't able to come back home until saturday night. I was depressed that he was gone--especially since it was unplanned. I had New Moon on hold at the library and Mom watched the kids wednesday night so I could go down to the library and pick it up. I haven't been to the library without the kids in a long long time, so i browsed and ended up w/ 5 books. I read them all in the time Adam was gone. Sometimes it's nice to do that because it reminds me that I have hobbies and interests still. I love being a mother, especially a SAHM, but it's nice to know that I haven't completely lost myself either.

Soccer

Saturday marked the end of soccer season for Alex. The day was pretty nice considering it was towards the end of October. Adam was home sick, so I left Erik and Ashlee home with him and I went to cheer on my little guy. The other team was short some people so Alex got nominated by the substitute coach to go play on the other team for the first half.




Here's Alex looking peeved that he had to play against his own team. In fact, that was the worst I've seen Alex play all season. He tried to be helpful, but he felt guilty that he was playing on the other team. Ah, yes, my competitive little guy.




Alex hadn't scored a goal yet this season and I was beginning to get a little concerned because, for Alex, it is a really big deal that he score one goal per season. I think he just wanted to add to my suspense because in the last minute of the game, literally, he scored his one goal of the season! I was so proud of him!!
I wasn't so much proud that he scored a goal, but I was more proud that he played his best!
Go Alex!!

Gardner Village

As most of you know, Gardner Village (www.gardnervillage.com) is one of my favorite places to go. It reminds me a bit of Ohio with that quaint small-town feel, cobbled pathways, and yummy eateries. I am also a huge fan of small eclectic shops because my parents took Erin and I to many similar shops when I was growing up. Apropos in Wadsworth, OH was one of my favorites! Anyway, the kids and I took our usual jaunt over to Gardner Village last week to look at the witches. The kids think it's great, though, I know Alex is getting bigger because he said to me, "Aren't these all the same witches we saw last year, just in different spots?"





I almost convinced Alex that if he drank that magic potion that the witches were brewing, he'd turn into a frog!














I told Ashlee to give me her best witch face!











It was a freezing, cold day, but even Erik was having fun.









It is nice that Alex is finally big enough to take a decent picture, so I actually make it in one every once in awhile!

Overcoming Fears

Ashlee has been in swim lessons, on and off, for 2 1/2 years and has yet to really put her face in the water. She is deathly afraid to put her face under and I've never tried to force her because I don't want her to become even more scared than she already is. So, I've been letting her learn swimming at her own pace. Though, this summer I did move her up to the lvl 1 class instead of the toddler class. I also bought her some goggles in the hope that she would put her eyes in. As my typical stubborn Ashlee, that didn't help one bit. At least, not until last week. Her teacher is an older woman and not the usual high school boys she has normally had. Ashlee has a way of batting her eyes and getting her way--she is a very good flirt. Her flirting doesn't work well on an older lady LOL This amazing teacher has done what no other person has done before *drumroll* gotten Ashlee to put her entire head underwater, willingly! I don't know what magic voodoo she used on her daughter, but I worked. I am so proud of my daughter for overcoming one of her big fears.

my daughter the soccer player

I often thought this year about signing Ashlee up for soccer. For a long time, she told me that she only wanted to dance, but i thought that soccer might be good for her. I was so very, very wrong. Tonight we decided to go out in the back yard and play some soccer. Alex was on my team and Ashlee was with Adam. Earlier that day, Ashlee had somehow suckered my dad into raking leaves with her to make a leaf pile that she could jump in. Unfortunately for her, there aren't enough leaves on the ground yet to make a good leaf pile.
see, it's a pretty pathetic leaf pile....
As Adam is trying so hard to get her to play soccer with him, she lays down in her leaf pile and makes leaf angels! I really wish I'd been able to get a picture of her doing that! Anyway, so Adam tells her to go get the ball. Ashlee proceeds to get up and get the ball and then goes back to her leaf pile and jumps around. Where's her team spirit? LOL
Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't waste the money putting her in soccer. She is right, dance is definitely her thing.

poor Erik

I have to admit that, when it comes to Erik, I like to let things slide a little. Maybe it's because he's my last baby, or because life's so crazy, I don't really know. The kids finally talked me into feeding Erik some real food this week. They always thought that they would be able to help feed Erik, but Erik, being a stubborn Talbot, refuses to take a bottle. Ever since, the kids have bugged me to start feeding him food. I have to admit that I've been very reluctant to do so because I am lazy. Feeding a baby food is so much more work at first and I just don't want the mess and hassle of it. Plus, deep down, it means my baby is that much closer to not being a baby any longer. This friday, Erik will be 5 months old. I started Alex and Ashlee on food at 4 months old because I wanted them to sleep through the night. Of course, that didn't work with either of them, but I was a sleep deprived mother and willing to try anything except letting them scream through it. Ah well, I am digressing. This week, I finally fed the cute little guy food. Alex and Ash were there helping every bit of the way.
Erik loved it. He loved sitting in his high chair for the first time....
but, mostly, he loved licking the spoon!

My Fab Five (I've been tagged)

10 Years Ago I...
1. Was working at Dynatronics.
2. living in Murray, UT.
3. was in the nursery for my church calling.
4. was still having nightmares that I didn't really graduate from the U of U.
5. cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes every saturday.

5 of my favorite jobs I have had (going from easiest to hardest...)
1. receptionist at Dynatronics
2. sales clerk in the crystal and china department of ZCMI's.
3. quality control at American Standard aka official toilet flusher!
4. cashier at Wendy's
5. MOMMY

5 places I have lived...
1. Tiffin, OH
2. in the suburbs of McCutchenville, OH
3. Logan, UT
4. Rexburg, ID--the only place i've ever lived where it got so cold my nose hairs froze
5. West Jordan, UT

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. Cold StoneIce Cream
2. Fudge
3. Erin's apple and blueberry pies
4. Strawberries
5. Sunflower Oat Honey bread

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1. Get out of debt
2. Buy a '69 red Mustang convertible
3. travel, travel, and more traveling
4. Invest for college, missions, etc.
5. Help out my loved ones

5 things on today's "To-Do list"...
1. Help in Alex's class
2. Go to Alex's soccer game
3. Bug my sister while Alex is at piano lessons
4. Fold that mountain of laundry
5. Make yet even more pear sauce


5 favorite Holidays...
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving
3. Flag Day (it's Alex's birthday)
4.Easter
5. New Year's Eve--even tho I can barely stay awake til midnight

5 favorite Movies of All Time
1. So I Married an Ax Murderer
2. The Man Who Knew Too Little
3. The Chronicles of Riddick
4. Pride and Prejudice
5. Transformers

5 favorite T.V shows...
1. The Office
2. Futurama
3. Paula Deen
4. House Hunters
5. Jon and Kate plus 8--always makes me glad that I only have 3 kids!

5 favorite vacations...
1. Trip to Maine when I was 9
2. Going to Disneyland with my kids
3. Amish country (every time I get to go)
4. Moab, UT
5. Catalina Island, CA

I'm sorry Erin, I'm too lazy to tag anyone, but, hey at least i filled it out ! MUHAHAHAHAHA

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

My genes just might prevail!

As most of you have probably noticed in my children, the Talbot genes are very strong ones! My children don't look much like me or my side of the family. I had some hope for Erik, but, when he was born, he was the spitting image of Alex as a baby. Good thing those Talbot genes are cute ones! Anyway, I had Erik in this outfit the other night :


And my mother says to me, "Jenn, Erik looks just like you did as a baby!" I, of course, laughed at her. Then I dug out my baby pics and what do you know? He does look like me!


Who knew??? Actually, my sister-in-law Katie has been telling me all along that Erik looked like me--and she was right! Now, I'm not sure if I should feel bad for Erik or not since he may just turn out to be the masculine version of me!

my 5 year old photographer

Ashlee decided today that she would like to take some pics so i let her have free reign of the camera. So, what does she take pics of?

1. Her feet
2. Our garbage


3. Her leftover lunch--ah yes, healthy food


So, will i let her continue her photographic endeavors? Definitely!! It was a completely new view for me of my house!

the intro

alright Erin, really this blog is for you!! yes, you should be feeling really special right about now :) I don't even know if anyone else will ever read this.

Adam and I have been married for 11 1/2 years--the big 12 year anniversary is coming up on December 20th. We have 3 beautiful and fantastic children--Alex (7), Ashlee (5), and Erik (3 months). We are also the proud owners of 2 dogs and a rabbit. The children keep us very busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom and Adam is a telecom manager. From the picture, you can see what a cute family I have!

From my point of view, I'm blessed with a great life! It's a little crazy at times, like last week, when both our cars died in the same week and I'm often sleep-deprived...but I wouldn't have it any other way.