And So It Begins....

Tomorrow is the first day of a brand new year. 2011 was a rocky year and 2010 just flat out sucked. So I am hoping this year will be great!!

In 2011 we:

*Had a very difficult pregnancy

*Had a darling little girl in a very dramatic fashion.

*She is now the most expensive thing we own!! Sunrise Hospital ain't cheap!!

* Said good bye to Nick and Bonnie. They are serving in the Denmark mission.

* Welcomed 3 new nieces into our family. Apparently Bowler's can not make boy offspring!!

Tomorrow starts the beginning of a list of goals I have for myself.

* Losing weight

* Finding more time for Ella and Brent

* Making time for myself

* Send Birthday cards to all my family members. This may be difficult as I don't even know when some of my in laws are!!

* One of my greater ambitions is to finally get the yard I've been campaigning for!! I have been on Brent's case for 2 1/2 years for a yard and I'm getting one this year if I have to kick him out to make a point!!

Yay for 2012!! A brand new year!!

Merry Christmas!!

We had a wonderful Christmas at the Bowler house hold! Santa was generous. We had Uncle Jeff with us for Christmas morning. It is so fun to have family here. My in laws are out of the country and I wanted to make sure he wasn't left out. He is such a sweetie if there are any single ladies looking! ;)

Ella's giant barbie house from Grandma. She is so excited!

The coveted Princess Tiana. Ella has been asking for her since she first saw her at Costco back in October.

Tiana's new cradle. This also serve Boots and Black Kitty.

A few of my goodies. Ella accidentally broke my string of pearls so Brent replaced them with a new and improved version. It even includes a bracelet and a ring. Gorgeous! The cutest watch ever, diamond studs, my new beautiful running shoes and a pair of the work out capris he got me. If you see that tiny black square by the studs, that is the new Ipod nano. It is made for runners. In the back in my new blow dryer. You may think this isn't a gift type item, but when you buy professional like I do, it makes me feel better to spend so much on a "gift" not just a regular every day thing. I love leopard skin. I have loved it before it was popular and was even considered a little tacky. :) I got a bunch of other awesome stuff, including beautiful new flatware, very sharp chef's knives and a Kindle. Which I LOVE.

Molly even got a cat stocking full of toys and cat nip. She loved her mouse....full of cat nip. She was as high as a kite for hours!

Ella and the Elmo puzzle.

Christmas dinner. The dynamic duo.

Chelsey hiding behind Elise.

We had so much fun! We now have a bunch of new toys and play things to last us a while. Ella has toy over load and a few new out fits to wear. I love Christmas, but I'm excited for a new year. January 1st brings the a fore mentioned diet, organization and serious cleaning. If any of you know me well, you will know that is like Christmas all over again!!

Cuz There's Nothin' Else To Do

I am so excited that Christmas is coming!! I love Christmas!! I am that anal person who gives out goodies the first weekend of December and has her cards shipped at a reasonable time. Now don't give me any credit, I just have a compulsive personality that requires I do this or I might die!! I also organize my cleaning spray alphabetically and make sure the nozzle points in the same direction. It's a sickness!!

My tree is bursting with wrapped presents. I'm not a 'what ever paper I can find-labeled with a sharpie' kind of girl. I like ribbons and bows and tags that coincide with the paper. Ex: Santa paper-Santa tag. Tree paper- tree tag. Like I said, it's a sickness!!

I am so excited but at the same time I hope Christmas never comes, because when Christmas is over the New Year comes. And when the New Year comes, so comes dieting....dum dum DUMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

When I was pregnant with Ella I gained 43 pounds and lost 30 in the hospital. Can you say water retention!!

When I was pregnant with Scarlet I gained 48. Whoops. Bad news? I only lost 18 in the hospital!! What the hell!? Both summer babies. Retained water with both. What the heck happened!! SO now I face the daunting task of shedding 30 pounds!! I know I can do it. I want to do it. But the task is daunting!! I told Brent I wasn't even going to try until January 1st, way back before she was even born!! I could have started earlier...but I didn't want to. I have been eating all the Christmas goodies I want, avoiding the scale, and gearing myself up for what is ahead. I'm also hoping Santa brings me the running shoes I want and some work out clothes. It's pretty bad when I need to lose weight to fit into my gym shorts!! But oh well!! Maybe next time I have a child (in-5-years-no-I'm-not-kidding) I will not establish a no cookie left behind policy!! Whoops again.

It's someone birthday!!

There is a person I owe my life to. I routinely take her for granted. She is many things.

A nurse practitioner

General surgeon

Diagnostician

Nutritionist

Therapist

Cook

Maid

Laundress

Referee

Firefighter

Gardener

Creator

Designer

Artist

Carpenter

Animal wrangler

Painter

Caregiver

Security guard

Inventor

Tailor

My biggest fan

My closest friend

My mom

Happy Birthday Mom!! We don't know how we'd live with out you!!

(Wish I had a picture. But if you think I avoid the camera, this woman is a master!!)

A Fun Day

We found this singing puppy up in the closet. He was a gift from a few years back and I put him up and forgot about him!! He sings and Ella loves to dance and sing with him. Hours of fun!!

We went to the park with our favorite cousins today. Here is Scarlet and Elise, who I like to call, Eliseeeeeeeeeeeee! These two were born exactly one week apart. Doesn't it look like Elise is saying, "Ta-dah!!" Such a cutie!!

A smile!! Scarlet has been smile a lot lately and it is wonderful. Nothing is happier than a smiley baby. It is fun to hear all the weird voices Brent uses to get her to smile for him, and then the cheer of delight when she does!!

Today I am....

Happy. I do not characterize myself as a happy person. I think I am genetically inclined from one side of my family to be perpetually ornery and from the other side border line psychotic. I try to keep an even balance between the two.

Scarlet has been doing very well with sleeping better. I am so deeply grateful. If this was ancient Israel, I would be sacrificing my goat. I won't go into detail. I know how it feels to read blog after blog about how just perfect some one's child is and feel badly that mine won't conform to the normal rules. I would just like to publicly say, I am so grateful she is doing better.

We went to the park today and played with family and friends. Wonderful girls (and guys, thanks Jeff for keeping Brent company!) were there to talk to. Ella ran around happily and dug in the sand.

We went to the library and Ella found a book shaped like a heart. She was so excited.

We got our new head bands in the mail and 2 Christmas cards. I realized I hadn't ordered mine yet and rushed home to order them from Costco. (I.E. I'll be cutting it close this year!)

We ate dinner. Molly proudly brought us a mouse. Right on in to my kitchen! We caught it, threw it out and disinfected everything in sight! We checked to see if Molly was updated on her rabies shots.

I just feel happy. I feel content that I have been blessed and give great thanks. GREAT THANKS.

The Challege Is Over!

The 30 day challenge is over, and I have to say, I'm sad!! I actually had a lot of fun blogging every day. I feel there was only 3 days where the post was lame or I couldn't think of anything. But it was fun having to find something interesting in each day!

Brent and I decided one Christmas tree just wasn't enough, so we decided to get a real one in addition to our fake one. We did NOT remember how bad it sucks to put lights on a tree! Or how hard it is to get it to stay in a stand! Our big one is pre lit. We just stack 3 pieces on top of each other, let the branches down and wa-hla!! This one we had to work for!

As my previous tirades have indicated, Scarlet has NOT been sleeping. At all. Wednesday night as I entered the 2nd hour of rocking her, I just couldn't wait to pee another minute!! I snuck out from under her and left her in the recliner. She stayed half awake for a few more minutes, and then drifted off to sleep. I was unwilling to move her. She stayed asleep for 9 1/2 hours....wait let me rephrase that 9 1/2 hours!! So this is where she has slept the last few days. I sincerely hope I didn't just set down a terrible jinx on my head and she goes back to getting up 3 times a night and not going to bed until 1 am. Because if that happens I'll burn this blog to the ground to counter act it! Let me tell you, less crying baby + more sleep = less stress. Less stress + more sleep = mommy won't have to be medicated and shipped off to the insane asylum!!

Warning: I have literally not slept in 4 days and I think I might have a brain tumor

I haven't been able to hear out of my right ear for 3 days. I have a friend who found out she had a brain tumor from that symptom. Seeing as I am a hypochondriac, I am convinced my days are numbered!!

Scarlet hasn't slept in a month but the last 4 days have been especially awful. Up until 1am, gets up 3 times, up for the day at 7am, and doesn't take naps.

I threatened my husband that if he didn't get up with her this weekend I was going to mix bleach in his breakfast cereal!!

I find myself falling asleep in weird places....including the car!!! While driving!! On the way home from the store for crying out loud!!

I listen to all the other girls talk about their sweet little new borns, and how they can't get enough of them, and how they sleep through the night or get up once in a 12 hour span. I hear them gush and see how their lives are going back to normal.....and I want to grab my purse and pummel them right in their smiling face!!

I also see them wearing normal pants and hear them bitch about that stubborn 5 more pounds they have left. (eh hem I have twenty five) And I want to force feed them brownies.

Everyone reassures me that the craziness will end....and I look at Ella and burst into tears because her craziness HAS NOT ENDED!! Yes she is a good girl but that was 4 months of hard freaking work!! And she still has enough kinetic energy to power a small country!!

So there is my raging tirade for the day!! I could kick a kitty through an electric fan, but I'm just too damn tired!!

It's Begining To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

One of my nativity scenes. One day I would like to collect them.

My new goodies from Tia Pan. I really like cardinals.

Glowing presents.

My Christmas tree. I even have some presents wrapped!!

I'm excited for Ella and Christmas this year. She is so excited and gets things better. She asks every day if it's time for Santa to come. I am finished with shopping. I have to get Brent 2 more things and then I am FINISHED!! Yay me!!

Black Friday

I am one of those crazy people who get up at 3:30 am to go shopping. We fight for deals and I even stole from a lady once. In my defense she had 6 waffle irons and was reaching for another one! I think it's only fair I swiped one right out of her cart!! Here are some of the fun deals I got!

This awesome mixer from Costco. Notice the red, no bang beaters? Awesome!

A robe for Ella and the cutest ear muffs ever! We go for a walk every morning and she complains of cold ears. A hoodie just doesn't do the trick!

A few things for me and Ella. A flannel shirt for me. I LOVE flannel shirts. The best ones are from my grandpa and properly worn out. Two pairs of pajama pants. I like to have prints that are a little wild. Hence the Scottie dog repetition. Two dresses for Ella for only $12.99. I got a size big so they can be for next year.

I got quite a few other things, but they are for Christmas, so I can't just flaunt then on the blog!! It was so much fun. I will always be the crazy Black Friday shopper!!

Scarlet's Blessing

Scarlet Jorlyn Bowler was blessed by her Daddy this morning. He gave her a beautiful blessing. I didn't even think to have someone write down what was said. I didn't at all with Ella. But my sister and a sweet girl from the ward, Sister Kelley recorded it for me. It was so sweet.

We didn't take hardly any pictures. Scarlet does NOT sleep at ALL, so I'm exhausted. Pictures were pushed to the way side. It was a wonderful day and I'm so grateful for the people who could share it with us.

UNLV

I just watched the Rebels beat #1 North Carolina. Finally feels good to be a Rebel fan!!

There was much swearing and pacing done by my husband. There was much shouting at the players, because of course they do better when you tell them what to do!! Such an exciting game!!

Thanksgiving

We did a little photo shoot for my mom. She wanted some grand kid pictures.

Scarlet with her new favorite person!! Aunt Betsy was the baby whisperer last night. Scarlet just laid on her for like 2 hours!

Clay shooting. Jed, Jordan, Brent and my dad. We have some seriously deadly aims in this family!

Ella hiding in Joshlyn's car. She wasn't a big fan of the noise.

Joshlyn and Elise.

We had a great year! Our whole family was together and my Auntie and cousin Caley came too!! It was fun with lots of people and 3 big kids! I am so grateful for my family and friends and I hope every one had a great year!!

I'm way too tired

Today has been crazy!! We went shooting, cooked all day long, ate too much & now I have to be up and ready to go by 4am!! I will post all about Thanksgiving and Black Friday tomorrow!! Because I am just way too tired!!

I'm Thankful For

This year I am thankful for:

1. My husband

2. My daughters

3. The scriptures

4. Prayer

5. The Ensign

6. My parents

7. My siblings

8. My sister and brother in law

9. My nieces and nephews

10. Brent's family (All 17 of them!)

11. Modern medicine

12. Good doctors. Especially Dr Ofori and Dr. Wold. Awesome men.

13. DRUGS :)

14. My extended family. I have wonderful aunties and uncles and have acquired some really great ones from marriage!

15. My home

16. Brent's job

17. My Tahoe. She ain't as shiny as she used to be, but she still hauls!

18. My raggedy cat

19. Fall weather (or any time that isn't summer)

20. The priesthood and worthy men who hold it.

There are other insignificant things too. Like Scentsy bars, perfume and chocolate chip cookies, but I thought I'd just list the really important things.

Update On Scarlet

Little Miss Scarlet is 3 months old today. She is 9lbs 3oz. 22 inches long. She is in the -5 percentile for all areas. She is wearing size 1 diapers, and wears newborn sized clothes. 0-3 month is a only a little roomy, and when it gets cold she is wearing 3-6 month because that is the size of the winter clothes I have!! I don't think it's necessary to go buy a whole new ward robe. She is just going to have to swim in her clothes her whole life, because even though she and Ella were both born in the summer, she is growing a little bit slower!

Comparison- This is the day we brought her home. She was 5lbs 10oz and 18 inches long. She looks like such a little runt!

This Picture Has Multiple Captions

1st: Ella LOVES the trampoline. I feel like it harnesses her high energy level and gives her lots of fun exercise. She could be on this thing for hours. Maybe one day she will have one of her own in her own back yard!! (hint hint DADDY)

2nd: After picture taking she had to take off her pretty church shoes, but she REFUSED to change her dress. She's a dress girl. Wants to be in a pretty dress regardless of climate or occasion. I'm a mean mom and won't let her wear them in the winter!! But this day was warm so I put on her tennis shoes and let her go! Such a fashionista!!

So Soon!!!

Okay, I think my bitter tirade is over. No promises it won't come back!!

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only 4 days away!! New babies certainly make time fly and confuse me on what day it is. Just yesterday I asked Brent what day it was a hundred times. Being one of my favorite holidays, I thought I would share a few of my favorite memories from Turkey day.

1. My favorite Auntie would come with her 5 boys and we would all climb around the hills around our house. It was so fun!

2. The year we went to my other Aunt's house and our creepy uncle watched us a little too intently climb all over the hills behind her house. That year my cousin Ryan composed a lovely melody to go with said child watching!! It went to the tune 'God is watching us'.

3. I was 18 the first year we got up at 3:30am to go Christmas shopping. I heard my dad get up to go hunting and I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to just get ready. My mom heard me so she got up. Determining we were both up and excited, we decided to just go, crappy hair, little to no make up and all! We were home by 10:30!

4. The year my one of my other Aunts freaked out over a game of Monopoly and threw game pieces everywhere and stomped out side to throw snowballs at our truck. It was shocking at the time, but now it's just a crazy story we tell!! We are now forbidden by my dad to play that game anymore.

5. The year I ate WAY too much pomegranate salad, and drank too much apple juice. Threw up for hours!

6. The year my Granny died. She passed away the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2007. I found out that day I was pregnant with Ella.

Hundreds of other memories too!! I love family and it makes me happy when we can all get together! I'm so excited for this year and for a new member to be introduce to Alderete Family Fun. I think she'll definitely fit in!! (Chelsey!!)

New Born Limbo

Scarlet will be 3 months old in 3 days! Now you would assume at this point that she would be marking milestones and settling herself into a nice rhythm. WRONG. Because although Scarlet is 3 months old according to the calendar, she is only a month old gestational. Instead of progressing and our house hold beginning to regain some of its composure, the unsettling time of 'newborn' status still hovers like a poison cloud. She still has a hard time eating, she still can't determine night from day every so often, she still gets up multiple times at night, and she is still unsettled and unsure of how to sleep with out being held. At 3 months old a regular baby would be falling into a nice little schedule that would make its mother sigh with relief over only getting up once a night. Or even better, sleeping through the night!! Gasp!! Does such an event really exist!? Feeding should become like clock work and play time involves smiles and happy kicking. For a baby that is still stuck in newborn mode, all of these things elude us.

Heaven forbid I complain about it!! I don't dare utter a peep to most, because I met with scathing rebukes about how I should just be grateful to have have my precious little miracle. I should just enjoy being up all night and listening to constant crying. It will be over soon and then I will forget all about it. Yeah, well, to all those lovely people- come over here and deal with it and then you can have an opinion.

SO here we sit, waiting some what patiently for her to even out. Crying along with her and hoping it gets better soon. Yes we love her. Yes she is darling. Yes we are trying to do our best. We would just like a little less CRAZY in the house hold!!

note* can you tell last night was a bad night?

That's right!! They're up!!

The Christmas lights are on the house. We usually wait until the Friday after Thanksgiving, but Ella was so excited when she saw one of our neighbors with theirs on, we decided it was time!!

The inflatable Santa hasn't made his way out of the garage. It was windy so we didn't want something to happen to him!

I stepped on a GIANT goat horn when I stepped off the cement to go around the ladder. I left a bloody trail to the house. It hurts so bad!!

Hello nose

This cute nose belongs to Holly, my dad's black lab. She is the prettiest little girl ever! She was watching us through this crack during our pictures. Just thought it was cute. I want a dog one day. Maybe next year for Christmas. My top choices are:

1. weenie dog

2. Labrador

3. boxer

4. Boston terrier

5. free mutt that is grateful I saved him from the pound, therefore being the best dog ever.

Heard Around Here

Ella says some crazy stuff. And it is getting hilarious!

1. "Ok Captain Mommy!"

2. "Mommy, Squidward ate all the crabby patties!" She is NOT allowed to watch Spongebob. But Daddy forgets. :/

3. "Oh Mommy! Make her be quiet!!" Referring to Scarlet's continuous crying.

4. "Molly!! Come back here, you fat ass cat!!" Also courteous of daddy.

5. "She's bat crap crazy!" My current favorite.

6. Ella: "Have I been good enough for Santa to come?"

Me: "Yes sweetie!! You have been a very good girl."

Ella: "Good. Cuz I really want that brown dolly from Costco." (Princess Tiana)

My Beautiful Daughters...Caution!! Picture Overload!!!

Searching for flowers.

Profile

That is my wedding veil.

Hi little face.

The little angle.

A little smile!

Not a super cute picture, but I really liked the background!

Poor little girl. Flower bigger than her head!

Ella's true spirit.

She kind of looks like a beauty contestant.

My beautiful girl.

Done with me and the camera!

I took these pictures myself with the nice camera Brent got me last year for Christmas. I have photoshop but I only used it minimally. I don't like pictures that have the CRAP photoshopped out of them!! I only used it to crop them and lift out some shadows. I didn't enhance anything because I want my children to LOOK like my children!!

Pet Peeves

Brent asked me to narrow this to the top 10, as I am easily annoyed! :)

1. Excess water on the sink. Like after you wash your face or brush your teeth and don't wipe the splatters up.

2. Clothes left on the floor RIGHT NEXT to the hamper.

3. Excessive gum chewers.

4. People who drive slow in the left hand lane.

5. Smokers who blow smoke haphazardly with out regards for others.

6. Smokers in general.

7. Bad servers

8. Women who flirt with my husband when I'm standing right there.

9. Wet towels on the floor.

10. An empty toilet paper roll with the new roll right on top of it.

Isn't Brent a lucky guy!!

A Girl and her Kitty

I've always said Molly's been a good sport. Here she is displaying her pretty 'necklace' that Ella decided she needed. (They are Scarlet's hair bows) Molly is often seen wearing items of clothing that an average cat wouldn't usually wear!!

Every evening when Ella is watching her cartoon, Molly comes to sit by her for a soothing stroke. I read once that petting a cat (or any pet for that matter) lowers blood pressure and reduces stress! Stress reduction is definitely something we all need around this house!!