Dangerous Weekend

Blogging is such a great outlet for me :) My kitchen is a mess from dinner, I've been dealing with 4yr old life drama all day and it's family night (we haven't started the lesson yet). My girls just went outside to play (they are Happy and not fighting right now, hurray!) and I am doing several breathing exercises to keep me sane. I've decided to post some pics from a less stressful day!
I about had a heart attack when Jesse put Kaitlyn on the roof. Why must he do these things? He started with the plant shelf on a high vaulted ceiling in the play room. He would put Kelsi and Kaitlyn up there and I just knew it would cave in and they would be stuck between the wall. I guess they got sick of that so now they can play on the roof??? This guy needs some boys to rough house with, let me tell you.
This morning I found Kaitlyn trying to climb up the french door. She broke the curtain trying to squeeze inbetween it and used the fabric tie to sit on. Fabulous!
And the joy of the weekend??? Kennedy learned to crawl! Yay! She's 8 1/2 mos old - Time flies way too quickly. I love it!!

American Idol Alum Josh Gracin

So I have a new favorite song at the moment; Josh Gracin's "We Weren't Crazy". I always have CMT blaring while I clean my house on Sat mornings and this video came on. I was mesmerized...My first thought when I saw him was, "He better still be married" b/c I remember him on AI and his wife was pregnant - he was in the military - and they were so cute together. He was one of my faves! The video shows pics of his family before and after he became popular. A must have download for me!
Check it out!
Has anyone else heard that David Cook is dating Lacey from last season's So You Think You Can Dance??? They met on Idol Gives Back - Sorry all you single lady friends :)

Welcome Home Melinda!

On Tuesday, the Goodman Fam went to the airport to welcome Jesse's sister Melinda back from her mission; she served in Orlando, Fl. We missed her a ton! She is such a great example for our girls and they just love her. Both of them were counting down the days until she got home. All of the cousin's held little signs with one of her many "nicknames" to greet her with. It was so cool to see her meet Kennedy for the first time. We named Kennedy after Minda, and gave her the middle name, Rae. She showered the kids with hugs and gave them each a stuffed minnie mouse. Kelsi is constantly carrying it around and even woke up in the night looking for it.

We Love Ya Girl, Welcome Back!

I've Been Tagged!

Cool, so I've been tagged for the first time! Thanks to my long time high school friend Lindsey!

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Yikes! Getting ready to graduate highschool! I had some pretty good high school years but overall I am glad they are over! I am excited about the reunion in June! Go Toro's '98!

5 Things on my To Do list:
1. Sweep and mop - it's amazing how wonderful it is when your baby can start eating cheerios. Put 'em in the high chair and they can eat and entertain themselves forever. But the mess it creates - thrown cheerios, stepped on cheerios...I find cheerios everywhere!
2. Grocery Shopping - When I got married I loved to go grocery shopping. My cart was completely organized and I had a list! Now, I hate it and I mostly go up and down the snack isle. 3. Get my 2 oldest girls to go to sleep! If I have to go into their room one more time....
4. Organize my desk - an endless stack of piles
5. Watch the movie Juno - Feeling the need for a girl movie!

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. 100 Cal of hershey chocolate pretzels. I usually eat 3 packages
2. Movie popcorn loaded with whatever comes out of that metal pump - lots of salt!
3. Chips and homemade salsa/guac
4. Cereal - While I am pregnant I eat a big bowl of cereal every night!
5. Ice Cream - Marble Slab Creamery, birthday cake icecream with brownie and caramel. You have to try this. They make their brownies fresh right there! It's next to Costa Vida - Great combination!

5 Places I've lived:
1. San Manuel, AZ - born there. Maybe I am half mexican???
2. Mesa, AZ
3. Elk Grove, CA
4. Borderline Apache Junction
5. Back to Mesa

What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?
Hmmm...hard question. Seriously, I would try to give as much as I could to people and children that needed it. I hate to see poverty. But I'm sure I would be very materialistic as well. Hair extensions, maybe some surgical procedures (should I say that?) you know, all the fun stuff!

5 jobs I've had:
1. Java City
2. Haw's Flower Shop
3. SRP Credit Union
4. Group Fitness Instructor
5. MOM of three and lovin it

5 Things you don't know about me:
1. I bite my nails horribly so I have to get fake ones! I hate it!!!!
2. I have a hard time sitting still
3. My all time favorite show is Frasier and I still watch the reruns at night
4. My name is Kristen and I am a recovering caffeineaholic :) I've been caffeine free for 3 full days!
5.I read and reread every email I send/message I post, over and over! I really wish blogger had spell check! I hate grammatical errors/spelling mistakes (not that I don't make a ton of them!) But I try not to! Please don't try to find any :)
I'll tag whoever finished reading this post!

Survivin' without the Good Stuff

I have never attempted a resolution like this before...to stop drinking pop! True confessions...I have had a diet coke everyday since I graduated high school. And I'm not talking about one can either. We're talking about a 32oz with a couple of refills.I'm sure I've skipped a day here or there, but it's definitely a mid day craving that I love and look forward to. I know it's unhealthy...learned in a nutrition class that regular coke is actually better for you - But I always thought, hmmm...zero calories or 180...hard choice. I just love the cold carbonation especially if it is in a styrofoam cup! Sonic happy hour - the best!! It's something I have never had the desire to live without...until now! I have started to feel tired all of the time. Except for the 20 minute caffeine kicks :) But they go away and I feel wiped! So what do I do? Drink more Diet Coke!
I have gone a day and a half without ANY soda. I am done with it! I have been drinking so much water too! It's like my body has been craving it this whole time and I ignored my thirst and went right to the Diet Coke machine.

Spring Fling!

Every year our neighborhood throws a Neighborhood Block Watch party called the "Spring Fling". This is the 3rd one that we have been able to attend and it gets more fun each year as my girls get older. We have a rock climbing wall, 3 huge boucers, cotton candy/snow cone machines, fun games, hotdogs, even fire engine rides. It's great being able to let our kids roam wild while we enjoy visiting with friends.
We really have a tight knit little community over here. Every once and a while I want to go look at model homes in Gilbert and move into a "new" house. These events are what keeps me here. I love our neighbors and our neighborhood.

One Fine Day

I am so happy for my little sister Meagen! She was married on April 4, 2008! I have been the only sister married for almost 8 years - it's exciting to think that by mid June all three of us "Reed girls" will be married.

Meagen is such a wonderful example to me. I always tell my Beehive girls in YW's during my temple marriage lessons that it is OK if you aren't married when you want to be. I have my sister as a perfect example of that! She has traveled to more places and done more things than I could have ever done! (I was barely 20 when Jesse and I got married) She has been the R.S. Prez of her singles ward and now teaches Kindergarten at Johnson Elementary. I know she has definitely been blessed and prepared for this day. I had to fight back tears in the temple as I looked at so many of her friends that were able to be there with her. What a neat experience! Definitley worth the wait!

Shower, Shower, Shower

I was so SUPER excited to throw my sister Meagen a bridal shower. It was a great success! She is so much more popular than I am - I love it! I couldn't believe how many people came and the food was amazing. We had yummy homemade rolls (thanks Celia) and a delish pasta salad and sugar cookies (thanks Debbie) Seriously, these ladies totally saved me! I thought making 2 salads and 2 desserts would be a peice of cake - but I am not baker and don't plan ahead. It took me from 6am until I had to take everything over to set up by 6pm. I made brownies and used a heart cookie cutter to make them into some huge hearts. Topped with pink mint frosting and andes mints- they were yummy! Thanks to AJ's fine foods for some awesome lemon bars as well! My wonderful husband left me alone and occupied the kids for the day. It turned out great though and was a great time!! I love this picure - Sorry Allie! You should be with us! She had taken my girls back home because they were getting tired and restless. Thanks girl!

Deep Breaths!

I have never been the kind of person who has a crazy busy life. I like to keep everything calm and under control. The past few weeks have been enormously out of control!! For real! Jesse and I had the wonderful experience of going on an Exodus (AKA pioneer trek) with our wonderful stake. Thanks again mom for watching our girls. My mom broke her shoulder riding a quad with my dad the day before we left!!

But we had a wonderful time and I am SOO glad that we were able to go! I love being with the youth. It's way more fun as a leader! Your job is basically all about having fun - and making sure the kids have fun too! Of course, I couldn't get by without some other leader thinking that I was a laurel!! She said something to the effect that I would love garments because I said that I couldn't live without my shade undershirts! HA! Actually, I have worn g's for almost 8 years. But whatevah!
I am a much stronger person from going on the trek - sleeping outside under the stars with no chairs to sit in for 2 days and minimal water has made Camp Lomia look like a 5 star resort!
It was fabulous and we had a great family/tribe! I have such great examples around me and am grateful to have had this experience.

More Deep Breaths!

Oh my goodness! I have been without the internet for almost a month! Thanks mom for bringing my computer back to life!! I couldn't have done it without you!! Actually, I didn't do any of it - my mother did! One handed even (she broke her shoulder a few weeks ago). Seriously, my mom is amazing - a totally separate post, one that I will definitely write later :)
So...if you are a computer idiot like myself, you have never bothered to put a virus protection on your computer. It's embarassing to admit, I just never got around to it. My mom told me that cox has one for free even! Did I listen??? NO! I have had to reboot my entire computer, which basically means delete everything!! Pictures, emails (I had over 600 saved!), documents, MUSIC!! - EVERYTHING! It's kind of liberating in a way :) It took a while to save everything on CD's (and my mom's laptop) but now I am up and running!!