Black Friday

I LOVE Black Friday. I have always LOVED Black Friday. I am not sure why. Seems like almost everyone I know hates it. They don't like the traffic, the crowds or all the strange people that start lining up for a good deal at midnight. I stand alone in these lanes, because no one I know will go with me. Excpet for my dad, who went with me this year. Lance was generous to watch the boys while I went out and accomplished all my christmas shopping, thank you very much.
No, I did not wake up at 3 am to get out and start shopping. I got to sleep in until 6:30 am. and I got out the door by 9 am. The streets were clear. I couldn't believe it and then we knew why, because everyone was parked and shopping. It was crazy at some stores. We went to Target, Toys 'R Us and then we tried to go to Kohl's but that was a joke. That store is still too knew around here and there is only one so that is why it was ridiculous. We took one step in the store, saw how long the lines were and ran right back out. I didn't care how good of a deal it was, that line was not worth it.
One of these days, I will have some daughters who will love to shop with me, or find a good friend/family member to go with me. Until then, it will just be me, myself and I. A huge thanks to you dad for going with me. Love ya!

Thanksgiving

This was the first year in three years that we have stayed home for Thanksgiving. Every year we usually make the trek down to Utah to spend with the Snyders, but this year, everyone was doing their own thing. I must say it was a very quite one. I am the type of person that LOVES company, noise and activity. I don't picture the perfect Thanksgiving watching football game after football game. I am sure if you ask any guy, they would tell you otherwise.
We went over to my parents home to spend it with them. We were a small crowd but it was nice. Thanks for letting us come over mom and dad. It was nice to be with you.
We sure missed the Snyder's this year. But momma Snyder would be proud that I have carried on the tradition of making our veggie turkey. Here she is ~

I didn't take any pictures really of anything or anyone. I did however take a few snap shots of the kids. They were so cute.

So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope you had a great one.

New Moon

I finally had a girls night out on Saturday. It was fun to get out and have some fun. We wanted to see New Moon but wanted to wait until the lines of desperate fans died down. But to my suprise there were people still standing in a line an hour previous to its showing just so they could guarantee themselves the best seat in the house.
We arrived about 15 minutes before the movie started and we were worried that we would be stuck sitting in the worst seats in the theater, the very front row. But luckily we found four seats at the very top. Which is the best spot if you ask me. There is no one behind you to bug you and you can see almost everyone, because I am a people watcher too.
We wanted to get something to eat so my sister Rachel and I went down to get something before it started. She was in line before I could catch to her and I saw her laughing. Consessions are such a joke. They wanted $18 for a large popcorn and two medium drinks. Insane? I think so. So we settled for one large popcorn and one large drink for $13. Was it worth it? Absolutely not but we were hungry so we did it. We just made sure every single kernel of popcorn was eaten and the rootbeer was all consumed.
Everyone has had several different opinions of this movie. Everyone who was in favor for Edward prior to this movie is now in favor of Jacob. I am in the same boat. Yes, I must admit, I have always cheered for Edward. But during New Moon, I was cheering for Jacob.
I wasn't a huge fan of the long, indian hair due but after he cut his hair, oh boy! He looked completely different. Funny thing was, I was told before that when Jacob would take his shirt off the crowd would go crazy. They were right. When Jacob took his shirt off all the girls in the audience went crazy. Yes, he was very good looking and yes, he is very built but I didn't see the reason to make a fuss over it. Edward on the other hand, was tall, skinny, and very pale looking. Did anyone notice that his abs were painted on him? I had a good laugh. He was very unhealthy looking in the movie. Not a fan of that.
The acting was a step up from Twilight. Twilight was horrible. I had to see it because I had read all the books in almost one week. I was disappointed with Twilight. It was very slow and it started to get good when it ended. I hating waiting a whole year to see the next one. New Moon was a little better. The acting on Edward's part was pitiful. Jacob, was much better and Bella, well she was still terrible too. Why can't they find good actors. I was suprised that Dakota Manning was in it too. She did terrible.
So after seeing the movie, I give it a thumbs down. I wasn't too impressed. Will I see the next one when it comes out? Of course, because you can't finish half way through. Hopefully Eclipse will prove itself to be the best of the three. With more $ you can afford better acting, props and screening.
Sorry to all you Twilight fans who loved the movie and are reading this. It was nice to get out though. Overall it was ok. Everyone else with me thought the same thing too.

New Moon with a twist

Photography

Here are a few shots I took this past summer. I am working on getting a website up and running so it is easier to see what I have been doing, what I am trying to do, and what I hope to do in the near future. These pictures have been so much fun to work on.


Enjoy! I am still open for pictures. But I am starting to put a price on them. Don't worry, it is nothing expensive. I consider it still rather cheap. I got to make up for the time and effort that is put into it all. Give me a call or post and I will get you booked. Holidays are approaching us fast. Let's get some pictures done!

Survival Mode

We are surviving. I have been getting phone calls making sure we are ok and that the kids are doing well.
Here is what each of us have been up to.
Keaton: Has been busy with preschool. He LOVES preschool. He LOVES his friends and the things he is learning. When I pick him up he is all smiles. He has a back pack full of things to show me and his favorite words to use are " I just love this/that." Each sentence usually begins with this. He has a good friend Kaleb who lives just a few houses down from us. I swear these boys are together 24/7. They are the best of friends. They usually spend mornings at our home and the afternoons at his home. I am trying to get them to be over here more but either way, I am grateful that he has found such a good friend.
He is refusing to take naps. I have had a hard time with this. I have really really enjoyed having an hour or two to myself each afternoon and now that doesn't happen anymore. Yes, it is sad. So he has quite time and we usually read books or he will watch a movie while I do what I want to do, read or work on other projects.
He is growing fast and I just got the sweetest comment on him from his preschool teacher. She said that she was so impressed with how mature and how helpful he was to have around.

Andrew: My sweet Andrew. My one track mind Andrew. He is into everything. He is in Keaton's shadow most of the time. He is where Keaton is. He loves him and follows his every move. It as been fun to watch. When Andrew puts his mind to something, there is no turning back. He will beg, cry and annoy you until he gets what he wants. This has been a hard stage. Three has become the new terrible two stage. But there is a lot of good too. He is talking up a storm. He has a little lisp I am hoping will go away with time but for now I just laugh. He is too cute. My mom tells me that he is a spitting image of me when I was his age. My carbon copy he is.
He goes into the hospital on Dec. 11th for surgery. He has two root canals that have to be taken care of. They call them polpotomys. I guess I had 7 of them before I had my permanant teeth. They have to be taken care of. I wish they could just pull them instead of spending our life savings on his teeth. I keep telling Lance that if he has truly inherited my genetics we need a good dental plan. They will completely put him under while they do the procedure. I feel bad for him but he will not remember a thing, and his reward, two silver capped teeth. Poor boy. Wish us luck. It will be here before you know it.

Owen: Owen has been sick, well feels like forever. If it isn't one thing I than it is another. He was sick while we were in Utah the last weekend in October with a very high fever and it scared me to death. It was not pretty. He then got the croup. You know that ugly sound of your baby coughing and all you hear is barking? Ya, I can't stand that stuff. He couldn't breath, sleep or eat. He was clogged up. I went crazy with my essential oils. They really worked and after 5-6 days he was cleared up. I love essential oils. They do wonders. Thanks to my mother-in-law and all my sisters-in-law also for showing me and informing me on how to use those. They are amazing. Then after he was better we finally decided to ge him sleeping on his own, in his own bedroom all night long. That meant that we were going to have to let hi cry it out. Yes, it is really hard for me to hear my babies cry but it only took him about 2 nights to get the idea. It was great, then Sunday came and he was sick again. He was limp, lethargic and was feeling pretty warm. He was not himself that day so we took him into an Urgent Care center and they told us that he had an ear infection. So we put him on meds for that and he is doing much better. Now we just need to get him back to sleep again. Wish us luck. It is never ending.
Owen just cut his frist tooth. It is so fun to watch him feel it with his tougne, lips or fingers. He loves solid foods. Absolutely refuses to eat green beans. Can't blame him, I hate them too. He isn't rolling over or attempting to crawl yet. He just loves to be held by me and only me. He is starting to warm up to others and that is nice also.
I can't believe he is almost 7 months. It feels like I just had him. Then don't stay little too long do they? But he is my cuddler and he is a momma's boy big time. I LOVE that about him, kind of sorta.

Lance has been really busy with work and his calling in the Young Men's. He loves it and is getting more comfortable with the guys.

As for me, I have started working out 3 days a week and I am LOVING it! It has been my release and I feel so good. It is about time I get this body back into shape. It has been pushing me to new limits and I can feel a huge difference in just a short amount of time. I amd working out with friends so that keeps me motivated.

So there you have it. We are doing well and we are happy. We are healthy as for right now. Hopefully we can all catch up on sleep.

Who needs a laugh?

Check this out!




I want this guy to do the birthday candles at my next party-



This one is for you Justin. American Idol, here we come!

I love Blastoff!!!!

The best part about it is all the money I have saved on Christmas presents. Today everything at Sears was on sale exclusively through the Blastoff Mall up to 75% off. If you don't have your free site yet, you can get one at http://my.blastoffnetwork.com/melissasnyder

The Croup

Yep, I think it has made a visit to our home and it is Owen who has it. I don't need a doctor to tell me that my baby who barks like a dog when he coughs has it. I have seen it before in all my kids and it is no fun. He just started it today. I am so sad. He seems to be getting sick quite often lately. Tis the season right? Why my kids? I hate it when they get sick and I am up all night long. Here's no endless nights of no sleep. Wish us luck.
Anyone have any ideas on how to help me out? I am listening.

I love being a mom

Have you ever had one of those days where you can honestly look at your children and just know that you have the cutest kids on earth? Well today was one of those days. I love my boys!

Volleyball games

My brother Justin has joined a city league team for a co-ed volleyball team with some of his buddies. So friday night they had a match and I took the boys to watch him. My boys were so excited too. It was alittle late but that is ok, I talked up the game to Keaton and Andrew so away we went. We picked up my parents on the way to the game and we had a great time. One of the gals on my brother's team was Juliene. I haven't seen her since high school and when she saw me she came up to me and gave me a huge hug. I feel bad admitting this on my blog, but I couldn't remember her name. Our conversation went something like this :
Juliene: "Melissa, how are you?"
Me " Hey YOU! I am good and you?"
Juliene: " I haven't seen you for a long time, how long has it been?"
Me: "Since high school."
And then she left to go and play her game. It was then that my mom said, "Did you see Juliene Hickenlooper?" That's her name! I felt so bad for not remembering her name,but then I remembered her. Time will do that when you get older. I am showing signs of aging. This is bad!

Of course BSU played the same night and so we had to show our BSU Bronco pride while wearing our jerseys that grandpa got them. So while watching the game, my dad kept us up to date on the game.
We enjoyed our night watching his games. They didn't win but we had a great time cheering him on. Until next game. My boys will be ready. That is all they have talked about. Thanks Justin for inviting us! That made their whole night.

Owen, meet Elmo

Owen meet Elmo. Elmo meet Owen.

Owen has started to sit on his own. This is big in the Snyder home. That means I can sit him on the front room floor with tons of toys and continue doing what I was doing without having to hold him. He love is too! We have this Elmo doll that dances and sings on his own. Owen loves it. So this morning he played with Elmo. When I say he played with him, I mean he smiled for him, laughed and cried when Elmo fell down.
He has found a new favorite toy. He has been playing with him every morning for awhile.

Some of these pictures I just had to post because of his cheeks. I could just squeeze them all day long.

Elmo and golf balls. Those are a great combination for fun.

I love you Owen!

Cruises and Babies

Lance has earned a cruise for the both of us in January. We are not planning on taking Owen since we wouldn't really enjoy the vacation if we have to carry him around. He will be about 9 months old. I am alittle hesitant leaving him so young. I need to get him used to formula and a bottle that can last him for a week, and sleeping better than he is now to make it sound tempting to my mom. I am crossing my fingers that she can take this on. We will see. The cruise is Jan. 4-9th. We are going to Mexico. I am really excited. I have never really been on a cruise before. We are going on the Carnival all expense paid trip. I am really excited, but really nervous to leave my children.
Has anyone had to do this before? Leaving your children so young behind. What can I do or what do you recommend that I do to prepart my baby and my children? We went to the Bahamas almost 2 years ago when Andrew was about 15 months old and I was really scared leaving him so young. I hadn't weaned him, and he wasn't sleeping through the night and my saint of a mother took on the task of watching them and they all did great.
So I am open for any bits of advise that you have for me. I am kind of struggling with this one.