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!!

So excited we can finally....

wear pajamas!! I love winter and I'm so excited it's cooling down.

This girl can't take a good picture!! Lately she won't open her eyes!

Snuggly

Scarlet hasn't slept in, oh I don't know.... 4 DAYS!!!! She has been constantly crying and fussing. In an effort to quiet her, we decided to go for a walk around 7pm. Ella wanted to go, and I didn't want to walk alone anyway, as I am afraid of the dark. So Brent loaded Scarlet into the regular stroller and I put Ella in the jog stroller. She took all her animals with her. Boots, Black Kitty, and Poodle.

I didn't want her to get cold!! She was Ella burrito!! I wrapped her up and plopped her into the stroller and I don't think she had the ability to move!!

Dreams

Last night I dreamt that my sister, and 2 sister in laws conducted an intervention for me. Because I was too fat!! They sat me down, told me I looked like crap and took me to the grocery store to buy vegetables. I woke up depressed.

It did prompt me to think about some of the reoccurring dreams I have.

1- Dinosaurs are chasing me. Not just regular dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus Rex.

2- Bears are chasing me.

3- I have a particular aunt that I don't care much for. (Don't try to guess, I have 11 of them) I dream that I beat the crap out of her!! Vividly!! Pull her hair, punch her, kick her, everything.

4- Brent is getting married to a 2nd wife and I am crushed.

5- I have 8 children but can't see their faces.

What are your reoccurring dreams?

You know it's bad!!!

My Sunday routine for years now, since Brent and I got married, has been as follows: take a bubble bath, deep condition my hair, slather on a good facial mask, file my callus feet, and paint my toenails. Brent has commented that he has never seen my toes with out polish. You see, I hate feet. I think they, in all forms, are ugly. (I also feel this way about knees, but that's for a different day) I make sure I always have toe nail polish as a way to disguise their ugliness. I have worn polish faithfully since I was 12. I also find chipped, unattended-to polish offensive!!!

Well, today, Brent got home form work early. It was especially hectic. Scarlet was screaming for no known reason, Ella was demanding something and Molly was begging for food. I may or may not have forgot to feed her last night. When the chaos finally subsided, Brent sat by me in the recliner. I notice he was observing my feet with a perplexed look on his face. I looked at them and their sorry state. The silver polish was missing from several toes, and chipped on the others. Chunks were missing from random places, giving them a lovely swiss cheese effect. I looked at him, "What? Why are you looking at my feet?"

Brent stroked my hair, tipped his head to the side and asked, "Are you doing ok? Are the kids being crazy? Has it been a long day?"

After round about questioning, he admitted that he had never seen my toenails in such a state of neglect. He was worried about me. Because my toenails were so bad!!

I quickly went to the bathroom, realizing I hadn't been able to perform my routine in 6 weeks, and painted my toes. Sparkly orange, just for Fall!! Hopefully Brent doesn't have to worry about me now!!

Sleepover!!!

Brent left Sunday to go to work and we haven't seen him since!! A fatal combination of court and training has kept him in town for 18+ hours a day. He is staying at his brother's house tonight to get a little sleep. SO Ella, Scarlet and I are all sleeping at Grandma's house! Wish Grandma luck!!

Shows I've Been Into

Scarlet routinely holds me hostage in the rocking chair, so I have developed a liking to a few shows I wouldn't usually watch.

1-The Walking Dead. This show is about a zombie apocalypse. A group of people are trying to find somewhere safe to exist zombie free. It is filled with drama, secret love, prejudice and of course, Zombies. Seriously, a soap opera with dead people!!

2- Sister Wives. This is a reality show that follows a polygamous man who has 4 wives and 17 children. I am deeply fascinated by them. I personally could not share my husband with another woman. I am too insecure and would be too jealous!! Brent assured me, if he took a second wife, he would make sure she was fat, ugly and could cook really well! :)

3- Big Bang Theory. I haven't watched this from the beginning. I only recently starting watching it when it came to TBS. At first I wasn't interested in it, but when I was rocking Scarlet to sleep and the clicker was out of reach, I watched an episode. It is hilarious!! I love snob humor.

4- Who's Line Is It Anyway?- This is an old improvisation show that aired on ABC. It comes on ABC Family every night. It makes me laugh because those guys are so goofy!

So this is my current state of being. Lots of TV with my 2 month old. Because she was 2 months early she has only gestational became a newborn. I am now hoping we will now start moving forward in her development. I.E. SLEEPING

Little Ditty

There is a little song we have always sang in my family. It's a cute Thanksgiving song. Now that I have my own children, I sing it to them. I'm starting to wonder though, if it's a little morbid!

There's a great, big turkey out on Grandpa's farm,

And he thinks he very gay.

He spreads his tail just like a great big fan,

And he struts around all day.

You can hear him gobble at the girls and boys,

thinks he's singing when he makes that noise.

He will sing a different tune,

Upon Thanksgiving day!!

Sing the bold faced part in a menacing tone!! :) I can't believe there is only 19 more days until Thanksgiving. We are extra excited because for the first time in 5 years, Brent doesn't have to work!!

Resident Evils

The current objects that vex me:

1. My next door neighbors 'vampire' truck. Apparently this vehicle can not function unless the sun has set. It roars to life with its original 1960-something engine, surpassing the average truck's sound decibel level. Layman's terms? LOUD truck.

2. The weeds in my back yard. The tallest has now reached a good 12 feet.

3. My inability to officially wake up every day.

4. My three year old's desire to get into everything that doesn't belong to her.

5. My 2 months old's desire to continually cry.

Hypocrite

The following is a list I stole from someone else! Things I swore I would never do, and have not. Things I swore I would never do and have.

Things I will never do:

1- I will never be a fan of reality stars. I.E. Kim Kardashian, Snooki, Paris Hilton

2- I will never drink Pepsi or Coke as my preferred beverage. I just don't like it.

3- I will never smoke.

4- I will never be a relaxed, easy going person.

5- I will never be blond. Not that I have anything against the hair color. I just think I would ridiculous.

Things I said I would never do and have:

1- Own a "sweat suit". One of those valour ones in a bright color. Yeah, I do and it's plum.

2- Run a marathon. I haven't done this, but I have now decided to toy with idea!

3- Have a DVR

4- Play video games

5- Buy an Ipod

6 Get stuck on sitcoms

SO there you are!! All my hypocrisy out in open!!

This is why I have a Bug Man!

I found this dead young lady on the doorstep of my back porch. Her abdomen was the size of a dime. Go get a dime. Look at it. Yep! One big damn spider!!

The red hour glass on the belly confirms, black widow. Big. Spider.

A big thank you to my neighborhood, friendly bug guy of On Target Pest Control.

Don't want spiders? Or ants? Or roaches? Call him!! We love him! ;)

My Ghost Story

Coming off the coat tails of Halloween I thought I would share my first 'paranormal' experience. I have had my fair share, some of them I'm sure there is an explanation for and some there just isn't. I believe in the paranormal, but I also know that the majority of cases can be explained.

I was around the age of 13. We lived in my old house. For years I had notice shadows out of the corner of my eye and would hear noises I didn't recognize. I passed them off, not even considering a different explanation might be in order. I am notorious for my insomnia and would routinely lay awake at night or prowl the house. In my room, if I lie in my bed and faced out, my head was level with my desk. Our rooms were small, so the desk was fairly close to my bed. I would throw towels, or clothes over the back of the chair on a regular basis, until I was ready to put said item in its appropriate place.

I have very poor vision. So bad that if I don't have contacts in or glasses on, my hands extended in front of my face are blurry.

I was laying in bed, trying to sleep, and would occasionally open my eyes to peer out into the hallway. I noticed a white shirt draped over my desk chair was arranged in the shape of a human form. I kept observing this interesting phenomenon, assuming it was a shirt or towel that looked spooky. I squinted hard, trying to remember what I had left there. Finally deciding the image was just too creepy. I swatted my hand in a half hearted attempt to knock the object to the floor. As my fingers met what I had assumed would be material, they felt like I had plunged them into ice cold jello. I jerked my hand away and starred wide eyed at the pale mass in my desk chair. I was stunned. Frozen in place. The specter seemed to turn its head slightly, regard me, and then dissolved into nothing.

Ironically I wasn't afraid of what ever had occupied my desk chair, just surprised.

Other events occurred in that old house, but I digress. Maybe another time.

Brought to you by the letter J

In my family we have a J name over load. George(which is does not begin with J, but has a J sound), Jeanette, Jennifer, Julian, Jed, Joshlyn, Jara, Jack, Jordan. Gasp! Say that 10 times fast! There is an on going joke about the excess of J's, and some of us have decided to branch in a different direction.

Now my husband's family has developed their own over load!! E's!! Ella, Ethan, Elsie, Elizabeth and now my newest niece Elise. (She is actually my sister's new daughter)

I guess great minds all think alike. I am curious to see the next letter that crops up in multiples.

My Challenge

I am taking inspiration from my blogging buddy Whitney, and have challenged myself to blog every day for the month of November. I think it might be slightly cheating to pick a shorter month, but that's only a minor detail!!!

I feel it is only fair to warn you that these posts might be filled with personal opinions, judgement and sarcasm. So tomorrow I will have hopefully pulled together something interesting enough to blog about. Get excited!!!

PS Whitney I'm sorry, but I may rip off a few of your ideas!! Because in all honesty, I'm just not that creative!!