Disneyland

Axton has been asking to go to Disneyland for about a year and I refused to go while I was pregnant because I really wanted to enjoy the "big kid" rides. So now that Kenzington is here, we decided to go while he was out of school for fall break.

It turned into an extended family trip, which made it fun because we had people to trade the kids off with so everyone could ride all day, and Axton had cousins to help him not be afraid to try new rides. Aunt Katie and Uncle Spencer, and Uncle Brad and Aunt Corina with Vanessa, Daniela, and Talia all came. Grandma and Grandpa Leavitt were going to come but Grandpa had meetings that night and Grandma hurt her knee :( so hopefully next time they can come.

We started off ok with pictures but then we got way too interested in the rides to care. Axton didn't like the Haunted Mansion or Space Mountain because they had it all set up for Halloween and he has never like creepy things. He loved the Matterhorn (he begged to go on it repeatedly and we made it the last ride of the night) and all other roller coasters. The day went by way too fast and hopefully next time we can make it for a few days instead of just one.








A very common expression (for both the kids) that would be repeated throughout the entire day, but he only whimpered at the beginning of the Haunted Mansion, and she nevere made a peep on the rides just took it all in, or slept through them.



We got stuck in the Haunted Mansion for a while which was lame, and poor Axton was already scared. The plus side was that everytime we stopped we were able to point out the things in the room and he could really look at them so he'd calm down, but then we'd move onto another room. Our only rule was that he had to try every ride once.




The boat ride was so fun because of Axton. He loved seeing all the "animals" and it was nice to sit and relax without worrying about him running off to the next ride.

Kenzington didn't quite know what to think but that was the story all day.

Showing off his Lightning McQueen/Mickey ears hat that was his souvenir


Axton is sitting with Aunt Katie but he's so little that you can't see him!


Axton was drenched from going down Splash Mountain 3-4 times. He always looked so scared when they took the picture, it was priceless, so we bought one of the pictures but I can't find it to download, so instead this is him afterwards. He loved it though.

Both kids were exhausted by 10pm so the drive to Grandma and Grandpa's was very peaceful! They both did so well, I don't think we had any real melt downs and Axton was a champ at waiting in line which was my biggest fear. Definitely excited for the next trip but that will probably be a while.

The Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies

So today while I was in the middle of my workout my doorbell rang and interrupted me. And what should I find but a package from bzzagent with my newest product to rate and spread the word about. There's nothing like sabatoging the last 1/2 hour of working out in a matter of seconds than eating a couple of chocolate chip cookies that are 120 calories each, ouch!

My disclaimer on this one: I don't like hard cookies, I don't buy the prepackaged kind unless specifically asked to by Greg which isn't often. I don't care much for chocolate. And store made chocolate chip cookies always have too many chocolate chips in them for my taste (when I make them myself I always reduce the amount of chips called for by at least half if not 3/4). So for me these were doomed from the beginning, for others who like chocolate and chips ahoy type cookies you might really enjoy them.



Back to the product. The Kroger brand has come out with a new line of products called "The Truly Awesome..." and the one I received for free from bzzagent to try was obviously chocolate chip cookies. The ironic thing, other than them being hand delivered in the middle of working out, is that since having Kenzington I can't stop craving chocolate chip cookies, and normally I don't really care for them!

So of course I ate one immediately, goodbye rest of my workout, goodbye calories burned, hello sugar! Conversation to myself, "Ummm these are ok. Wouldn't buy them though. Too crunchy for my taste, definitely tastes like a hard store bought cookie, doesn't live up to what I would consider a "homestyle" cookie that "tastes as if mom baked them herself" (or so the package says). What a waste of calories. I was hoping they'd taste better. But really there's nothing like a fresh homemade cookie that comes out soft and warm. They remind me of chips ahoy cookies, but they are a little bigger than those, but not very many to a package, only 8. Guess that's a good thing because if I ate all of them that's only about 1000 calories, better than several thousand from chips ahoy! Luckily they aren't that great so I won't be eating this whole box by myself, Axton and others will get to enjoy them."

Then I sat down to read the whole pamphlet on them and discovered their suggestion to throw one in the microwave to make it warm and soft. Of course I had to try that since that is how I like them, no crunchy cookies for me! BIG MISTAKE!!! It said to warm them for a few seconds, so after 10 I felt it and it was still hard but warm, umm no thanks. Decided what the heck and put it back in for 20 more seconds and .... we had warm and SOFT! It was so much better than eating it cold and hard! Who needs to share, bring on the calories baby!

So in the end, if you want a hard cookie, I'd still go with chips ahoy or whatever brand because for the money and size of the package these just aren't worth it to me, even if they are made with "quality" ingredients and "no preservatives" (unless those matter to you). But if you want a soft cookie, these are more tempting, but maybe because I never thought to try and stick one of the others in the microwave, and don't know how they would turn out. As for me though, I'll be sticking to homemade chocolate chip cookies because either way these store bought ones just aren't as good.

I have coupons though for a $1 off one package making them roughly $2 a box if anyone wants one, otherwise they'll be going in the trash can.

Burt's Bees Products

As I have posted in the past, I am a bzzagent, so they send me stuff to sample, spread the word, and report on. For the last month or so I have been using Burt's Bees Facial cleanser and moisturizer that they sent me for free to try out. I must say I am in LOVE with the cleanser, the moisturizer is ok.


Biggest disclaimer: I acknowledge that I'm not the aficionado when it comes to beauty products! I would like to learn more but for now, it's low on the priorities. But I can give you my opinion on the products I tested.

First of all these products are made from all natural ingredients, which I won't lie, I don't really care about, but I know others do! For me it matters how well they work. To be honest with everyone I rarely use anything but water to clean my face. Everytime I try a cleanser I break out, and when I use soap my face gets way too dried out that it drives me crazy. SO just plain water is what I have been using most of my life and I have very few breakouts, thank heavens! But there are things I love about this product that make me think maybe I should be come a regular facial cleanser user!

I LOVE the cleanser because it has NO soap in it. When I use it, it's like putting on lotion, it's so soft and silky. No bubbles, no drying out the skin, and best of all for me.... NO breakouts! The down side for me is the $10 price tag. Maybe that's because I have no idea what other cleansers cost since I don't buy them, and I know some people use the really fancy brand name stuff from department stores that costs a whole heck of a lot more than that, so maybe I'm just cheap. The bottle is a pretty good size though and so far has lasted me at least a month and is still going strong (but I forget to use it sometimes since I'm not in the habit) so it may not last that long for others, but a little goes a long ways!


Now on to the moisturizer. I do use moisturizer more often than I ever use facial cleanser, but I still don't use it that often, mostly when my face is feeling extra dry. This moisturizer isn't much different than others that I've used in the past. It works fine. But I feel like there are some downs that make me unlikely to buy it again. One pump from the bottle gives you more than you need and often times I pump it out without thinking because I'm used to my Aveeda. So I end up with way too much in my hands and end up washing half of it down the sink. The other thing, it feels to wet for me. I apply it and rub it in and it takes a while for it to stop being wet to the touch so I can put on my makeup (on the rare occasions that I wear it!). No matter how little I put on I always feel like there is too much because it doesn't get soaked up very quickly compared to Aveeda. And it's $15, which is about what I pay for Aveeda, and it's probably about the same amount of product, so I think I'll stick to Aveeda until I find something better.



Well that's my two cents on the subject. Can't wait to try out more free products and expand my horizons with bzzagent.com!

Trying to play catch-up

Well my house is almost clean for all of the coming guests in a week and half and so I have decided I can get back to trying to "catch up" on some other not so crucial things on my list, such as blogging and scrapbooking.

So we'll go back to October! I got a groupon for Vertuccio Farms and since it was only about $8 for all of us to go I figured it would be a fun Saturday activity. Especially since Saturdays with the family are getting fewer and farther apart. It seems like we are lucky if we have one a month, without any other obligations.

We've been here in the past, but this year they had more things to do and Axton was older and so he enjoyed most of it more. I always want to go because of the corn maze, but then I remember that this one isn't all that great compared to the ones I've been to. Add that to a husband who doesn't care for them all that much, a 4 year old who thinks it's too hot to walk (which it was... in the 90s still) and a path that you can't really maneuver a stroller through so you get to carry your sweaty sleeping baby.... yeah the corn maze was a bust, we made it about 10 minutes before exiting.

But at least there were other fun things to do and we were there right when it opened and so it wasn't crowded yet.

They have blow up horses for both adults and kids, everyone gets on and then races them around in a circle to see who wins. Luckily though no one else was there yet so Axton and Greg got to just play around. Axton kept falling over but it was fun to watch.




They also had pedal cars but even with the seat moved all the way forward Axton could just reach the petal (one at a time) but not move them so Greg rode with him a few times and other times he pushed him around while Axton steered. He's a little bit of a scary driver!



There was a "cow" that you could milk. Axton didn't really care for it but allowed me a few shots of him trying anyways.



His 2nd favorite activity there was the bean bag toss. They would have stayed there all day if it wasn't for me wanting to explore!



Greg convinced me to make a fool out of myself and show off how weak I've become. I was lucky to get it past a 6, oh well. They had a kid one as well but I didn't get pictures of Axton doing it.



Then it was on to everyone's favorite: the air pillow. We had never been on one before but it was a blast. Greg tried to bounce me high enough to reach the netting over top but the landing wasn't very friendly so I chickened out after a dozen or so attempts.







On to the playground:




They also have tons of animals and Greg decided to pet the cow. I guess he thought Greg tasted yummy!


Awesome bathroom sign

Kenzington is growing up so fast! I can't believe it has already been 2 months! She sleeps really well at night, has even had a couple of 8 hour stretches already. She loves to be held, actually she screams when she is put down! She's getting better at entertaining herself but only for small stretches of time. She doesn't like any of the chairs yet, like the bouncy chair. The swing depends on the day. She is getting some tummy time and likes it better than being laid on her back, but it too is short lived.

She smiles a lot now, but I can never get it on camera.


We have discovered that she loves to be around lots of people and noise. We took her to her first baseball game when she was 3 weeks old and we were so worried that she was going to cry the whole time, because at that point in life she cried whenever she was awake! But she loved it and didn't make a peep the 4 hours we were there. And yes she chose to be awake almost the entire 4 hours too. What is up with my children and not sleeping as babies?!

I am in love with this little girl and it's hard to believe that I wanted a boy instead! And while she is a little fussier than I would like, I am so glad to have her and I hope as she gets older we have a special bond and that our personalities will mesh!

Axton turned 4!

Axton turned 4 on Saturday (Sept 17)! He got to pull an "Aunt Katie" and make his birthday last almost a week. On his birthday he got to wake up and open presents.

I was too tired to put the presents away after wrapping them so I "hid" them with the blanket incase he woke up before us. Not that he didn't figure out right away what was under it!


Always excited for more cars

Love this face!


Then he got to play with them while mom slept. During that time he also got to pick what he wanted for breakfast and surprise surprise he picked donuts, so him and Dad went to Albertsons to buy donuts. Then he got to play with his toys again, we went swimming, he got to pick what he wanted for lunch, again no surprise he picked McDonald's. Then it was family nap time! After naps we took him for ice cream. The rest of the night was spent playing games that he got for his birthday. He got a couple of games, puzzles, movies, and a remote control car! He was spoiled!

Sunday all of his cousins came over and we had tacos and cake. I tried to talk him into a different cake than last year, but his heart was still set on Lightning Mcqueen so I made him one again this year.



Monday he got to take cupcakes to school and have a tiny celebration there too. I hope he doesn't think he gets to do this every year.

Maybe next year though he'll actually get a birthday party, I was just too tired and busy with the new addition that I barely managed to invite family over for it!

Axton we love you and all the fun you bring to our family. You have been a great big brother so far, and a relatively easy child to raise. You make us laugh daily and we love spending time with you whether it's reading books, doing puzzles, talking, or just cuddling. Happy Birthday and here's a look back at the past!

Birth


1st Birthday


2nd Birthday


3rd Birthday

Changes

Given our fertility issues I went into this pregnancy knowing it could be my last, but hoping it wouldn't be. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could and not complain too much. Then we had her and I found out that there was a real chance of her being our last, but thankfully things worked out and we at least have a shot at having more, God willing.

I knew having two kids would be an adjustment but having another baby in our home has changed me in a way I didn't expect. Despite being tired and not getting anything done (and her crying a lot!) I am actually more patient and happy than I've been in a while.

I can't seem to get enough cuddle time with either of my children. I give (and get) so many more hugs and kisses. I've been forced to slow down and just learn to enjoy my children doing things at their pace instead of the crazy world pace I've gotten used to. I look forward to playing endless rounds of Candyland, and attempting to answer all the questions Axton has these days, even if his many questions are about my boobs right now! I look for things Axton and I can do together. I've started reading books to both kids again, and singing songs to and with them. I am truely enjoying being a mother to two kids and if you asked me today if I was ready for more I would say yes, only can I please skip the bad parts of pregnancy and just have another one delivered in 9 months!

My heart is full these days and I feel like I am accomplishing what God wants me too, even if my house is a wreck, I haven't showered, and I have a headache from all the crying! I have a renewed love for my children and Greg, and a greater appreciation for our parents, extended family, and friends. I'm so grateful that we have been blessed with two precious souls to raise, teach, and love; and that Greg and I are able to do it together. I hope we are blessed with more. This is really what life is all about for me and I'm loving it. Thank you Greg for working hard so that I can stay home all the time with our sweet children, it really is a blessing.