Wow, I have been tagged! Thanks Wendy!
8 shows I love to watch:
1. Jon and Kate Plus 8
2. Project Runway
3. Hannity and Colmes
4. The Office
5. American Idol
6. Tim Gunn's Guide to Style
7. What Not to Wear
8. The Biggest Loser
8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Mansieur's on the Boulevard
2. Arby's
3. Raising Canes
4. Cafe Rio (sadly none in LA)
5. Melting Pot
6. Texas Roadhouse
7. Jason's Deli
8. Taco Bell
8 things that happened today
1. got new dress, shoes, and jewelry for trip to Puerto Rico
2. snuggled with Eric to watch Project runway (he is so tolerant of me and my shows!)
3. got girls Halloween costumes together
4. found Austin's costume online
5. made beef and broccoli for dinner
6. took a nap with Mya
7. helped Austin with homework and talked about "Ba-Ku-Gan" (new action figure)
8. changed diapers on Aliyah's cute chubby bootie
8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Trip to Puerto Rico
2. Going to Bed
3. Trick or Treating with my kids
4. Date night with Eric
5. Painting my nails
6. Getting my laundry done
7. Potty training my last child!
8. Cooler weather (I LOVE the fall!)
8 things on my wish list
1. cure for diabetes
2. free babysitting
3. black pumps
4. a restocked freezer (thanks alot Gustav...cleaned me right out and I had a pretty full freezer and it had taken a long time and alot of sale shopping to get there!)
5. keep in touch better with family
6. monthly massages :)
7. healthy children
8. kids that love to read!
8 people I am tagging
1. Tawnya
2. Courtney
3. anyone else, I would love to hear your answers...this one got me thinking to come up with so many answers for each question!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Funny Kids
Aliyah had surgery this same morning and I think she is recovering nicely. Sure doesn't seem to be in any pain!
Eric had promised to let the kids bathe the dog. It was pretty humorous. If you listen you can hear Mya's latest composition..."Scrub, Scrub, Scrub her Butt" to the tune of "Row, Row, Row your Boat". Aliyah thought it was hilarious anyway!
This baby doll has been the object of many sister conflicts so far. It is Mya's baby doll that she takes meticulous care of, everyday feedings, bathing, rocking, medicating, etc. If you will notice she is strapped into a car seat here and tucked between the girls in the car with a pacifier to keep her happy! Mya brought said doll to the store the other day and in a moment of her weakness Aliyah got a hold of it. I tried to convince Mya that Aliyah was the baby's aunt and she wanted a chance to snuggle her. This is the conversation that followed:
Mya: rather desperately Mom, PLEASE take the baby away from Aliyah.
Me: Mya, just give her a chance to hold it while we shop.
Mya: voice getting more strained Mom, I REALLY don't want her to have my baby!!
Mom: Why Mya?
Mya: near hysteria Because Aliyah might touch the baby's soft spot!!!
Me: holding back laughs Hmm...Seems reasonable. Here's you baby.
Mya: Whew Thank you!
I told you she was meticulous about the baby's care!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Just for Emma
This post is just for Emma. She used to babysit Austin when we were at BYU. She even got him to sleep when I forgot to leave a pacifier with her one time. I knew she was a natural right then! Now she has the cutest little girl herself. Her husband Dan used to teach Austin to open the door during Sunday School so he would escape during class. Thanks Dan! I found this picture and thought she would enjoy it.
"I don't want to take a nap!"
I hear the same thing everyday from Mya, "I don't want to take a nap. I am not tired!" Everyday I let her watch a show and take a "rest". Everyday I find this:
Annabelle (her cousin) is holding out strong!
What an angel. I love her!
Annabelle (her cousin) is holding out strong!
What an angel. I love her!A Few Pics From Gustav
Here are a few pics from around our house in the aftermath of Gustav.
Our fence did not make it. Eric had done some beautiful lattice work on the top of it and it was the first thing to go!
My outdoor kitchen! No sewer and no power equals no doing dishes inside. I was so glad I bought these buckets that I had no use for at the time! I was well prepared with paper everything when Ike came. He only knocked out power for a few hours though.
This was a couple days after the storm. You can tell because the water is beginning to dry up but it was coming in our house before.
The unfortunate shed behind our house. Just glad it was a shed that was insured and not my house!
Eric fixing our roof like a mad man before Ike hit...Ike was not kind to our family either.
Our fence did not make it. Eric had done some beautiful lattice work on the top of it and it was the first thing to go!
My outdoor kitchen! No sewer and no power equals no doing dishes inside. I was so glad I bought these buckets that I had no use for at the time! I was well prepared with paper everything when Ike came. He only knocked out power for a few hours though.
This was a couple days after the storm. You can tell because the water is beginning to dry up but it was coming in our house before.
The unfortunate shed behind our house. Just glad it was a shed that was insured and not my house!
Eric fixing our roof like a mad man before Ike hit...Ike was not kind to our family either.
Friday, September 05, 2008
FYI: Not a Good Idea To Taunt a Hurricane
Okay so in my last blog I told Gustav to "Bring It". I know now that is he a very good listener and taunting hurricanes is a really foolish idea.
We were housing two missionaries during the storm and as we were cooking breakfast on our electric griddle Monday morning Elder Romero mentioned that he was really disappointed in Gustav. He was hoping to see some real storm action and we had not even post power. We promised him it was on the way. I think he was finally satisfied when we lost power at about noon and then I saw our little storage shed outside try to fly away while we were playing Phase Ten. A couple of minutes later we had to send the men out to sand bag the side of the house where water was beginning to creep in. Elder Romero was more than willing to go outside and secure our electrical box that was flapping around. Eric and I began to get nervous when we saw our fence break into pieces. I started to feel the window bulging in and out and thought maybe I should get away from those, as well as keep the kids away. We saw a tree fall on the shed of a church behind our house. That was a little gut wrenching to see.
We really wanted it all to be over when we saw the attic vents from our roof fly off. We went in the attic and saw the gaping holes in our roof and the driving rain pouring in. I jumped on our neighborhood walkie-talkie system and within minutes there were three additional men who had weathered the storm to help cut and fit plywood into the holes. Eric stood on a slippery ladder that was precariously place on 2x6s that had been laid across the trusses. Everything was wet and tricky. Not to mention the fact that we were just stressed about the water getting in the house! He did an awesome job under the circumstances! I just tried to keep the kids out of the way and the floors dry so as not to add an injury to the whole ordeal! I was so grateful for the foresight I had to charge the battery powered drill and saw. We had those two items and a bunch of extra screws handy. Later that evening we found out that another band of the storm was on the way. Once again Eric braved the weather but this time climbed to the top of our VERY steep roof. He was straddling the top of the roof ridge and trying to miss the screws that were sticking up from aforementioned repair attempt. Mind you this was also all with only a head lamp and a few waning flashlights from us down below and a few on looking neighbors who happened to catch a glimpse of him dangling dangerously up there. He nailed down a tarp over the holes in 75 mph winds and made it back down alive. Thanks to my brother Josh and Elder Colvin for their help and supplies on that one. So to sum up total damage:
1. Broken Fence
2. Small amount of water in the house
3. Gaping holes in roof where attic vents came off
4. Ripped off gutters
5. Power outage
6. No functioning sewer system
We lost power at about noon on Monday and found out the next day that our sewer was ending up in the house down the street because the station also lost power and was not pumping for the neighborhood. During Monday evening we had used a line off of our neighbor's generator to keep our fridge cold. The generator eventually blew up and we decided we were out. We gave up and went to my parents house.
We are very fortunate however. This is the worst Hurricane damage this area has ever seen. Apparently because nothing major happen in NOLA the national news has skipped over it almost completely. This storm was devastating! Many people ended up with tress on their home including my Uncle Pat and the Stake President where a tree took off half of a room in his home.
We were without power for 5 days and spent that time at my parents house helping them clean up the mess Gustav left at their house. They were safe, just alot of tree limbs in their yard. We were there along with two of my brothers families. We made out well, as my father has a very large generator that ran his entire house including the A/C with the PTO on his tractor. We were beginning to get nervous as the predictions for power restoration for our house were another ten to fourteen days out. However our neighbor called us last night to say it was on. The kids were almost in bed so we stayed one more night and came back this morning. We lost about half of the freezer contents but that was okay. We were blessed in so many other ways. I feel so fortunate to have been able to make it out with all of my family, my home and somewhere comfortable to stay for the time. We were truly being watched over!
I have been cooking what was not able to be frozen back this afternoon and was able to feed a crew from the church that came to put a FEMA tarp on our roof. Yup, I have officially been FEMA tarpped. Now our little family is recovering physically (just tired from the work involved in outting our lives back together and all the damage to our house), emotionally and mentally. The stores are still closing at 6 pm and some very unfortunate people are still without power, food and supplies. There is a family in our ward who going to need someone to bring supplies to them on a boat tomorrow. They cannot get out because the water is four feet high on there road and they are running out of food, propane to cook it on the grill, and gas to run the generator. Oh yeah, Hurricane Ike about to enter the Gulf and looks like it is headed this way! Am I recovering or preparing for more of the same? Ike, please don't "Bring It!"
(Pics to follow soon)
We were housing two missionaries during the storm and as we were cooking breakfast on our electric griddle Monday morning Elder Romero mentioned that he was really disappointed in Gustav. He was hoping to see some real storm action and we had not even post power. We promised him it was on the way. I think he was finally satisfied when we lost power at about noon and then I saw our little storage shed outside try to fly away while we were playing Phase Ten. A couple of minutes later we had to send the men out to sand bag the side of the house where water was beginning to creep in. Elder Romero was more than willing to go outside and secure our electrical box that was flapping around. Eric and I began to get nervous when we saw our fence break into pieces. I started to feel the window bulging in and out and thought maybe I should get away from those, as well as keep the kids away. We saw a tree fall on the shed of a church behind our house. That was a little gut wrenching to see.
We really wanted it all to be over when we saw the attic vents from our roof fly off. We went in the attic and saw the gaping holes in our roof and the driving rain pouring in. I jumped on our neighborhood walkie-talkie system and within minutes there were three additional men who had weathered the storm to help cut and fit plywood into the holes. Eric stood on a slippery ladder that was precariously place on 2x6s that had been laid across the trusses. Everything was wet and tricky. Not to mention the fact that we were just stressed about the water getting in the house! He did an awesome job under the circumstances! I just tried to keep the kids out of the way and the floors dry so as not to add an injury to the whole ordeal! I was so grateful for the foresight I had to charge the battery powered drill and saw. We had those two items and a bunch of extra screws handy. Later that evening we found out that another band of the storm was on the way. Once again Eric braved the weather but this time climbed to the top of our VERY steep roof. He was straddling the top of the roof ridge and trying to miss the screws that were sticking up from aforementioned repair attempt. Mind you this was also all with only a head lamp and a few waning flashlights from us down below and a few on looking neighbors who happened to catch a glimpse of him dangling dangerously up there. He nailed down a tarp over the holes in 75 mph winds and made it back down alive. Thanks to my brother Josh and Elder Colvin for their help and supplies on that one. So to sum up total damage:
1. Broken Fence
2. Small amount of water in the house
3. Gaping holes in roof where attic vents came off
4. Ripped off gutters
5. Power outage
6. No functioning sewer system
We lost power at about noon on Monday and found out the next day that our sewer was ending up in the house down the street because the station also lost power and was not pumping for the neighborhood. During Monday evening we had used a line off of our neighbor's generator to keep our fridge cold. The generator eventually blew up and we decided we were out. We gave up and went to my parents house.
We are very fortunate however. This is the worst Hurricane damage this area has ever seen. Apparently because nothing major happen in NOLA the national news has skipped over it almost completely. This storm was devastating! Many people ended up with tress on their home including my Uncle Pat and the Stake President where a tree took off half of a room in his home.
We were without power for 5 days and spent that time at my parents house helping them clean up the mess Gustav left at their house. They were safe, just alot of tree limbs in their yard. We were there along with two of my brothers families. We made out well, as my father has a very large generator that ran his entire house including the A/C with the PTO on his tractor. We were beginning to get nervous as the predictions for power restoration for our house were another ten to fourteen days out. However our neighbor called us last night to say it was on. The kids were almost in bed so we stayed one more night and came back this morning. We lost about half of the freezer contents but that was okay. We were blessed in so many other ways. I feel so fortunate to have been able to make it out with all of my family, my home and somewhere comfortable to stay for the time. We were truly being watched over!
I have been cooking what was not able to be frozen back this afternoon and was able to feed a crew from the church that came to put a FEMA tarp on our roof. Yup, I have officially been FEMA tarpped. Now our little family is recovering physically (just tired from the work involved in outting our lives back together and all the damage to our house), emotionally and mentally. The stores are still closing at 6 pm and some very unfortunate people are still without power, food and supplies. There is a family in our ward who going to need someone to bring supplies to them on a boat tomorrow. They cannot get out because the water is four feet high on there road and they are running out of food, propane to cook it on the grill, and gas to run the generator. Oh yeah, Hurricane Ike about to enter the Gulf and looks like it is headed this way! Am I recovering or preparing for more of the same? Ike, please don't "Bring It!"
(Pics to follow soon)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Bring It, Gustav!
So yes I am alive and yes we are well. I am really going to have to be more consistent at this. However, I wanted to be sure and post something before Gustav disconnects us from the rest of reality for several days. I am comparing myself to a squirrel right now, with the hoarding of food and supplies I mean (not the cute bushy tail and the clicking noises to communicate!) I have water jugs lining the wall of the kitchen, enough insulin for three months, batteries over flowing my usual battery box and more gas than we can ever use in our mower in case the stations run out and we run out in our cars. Oh yes and per Eric and the kids request cereal straws...apparently they are up on the survival list with water, food and shelter. Thanks for you ingenious marketing Kelloggs you will be happy to know you saved us during Gustav! Yes we are ready. I am obviously praying for a no repeat of Katrina but we are ready for whatever comes. I remember when I was young and we would have hurricanes that got us out of school for a week. That was always the biggest most exciting part about it for me then. Now I am an adult and have all these little mouths to feed and it is a little more disconcerting. So pray for us and the entire Gulf Coast. You will probably know more than we do as we will only have a small and crank radio to tune into while we have no power. We will also eat like kings if our freezer starts to defrost and we have to cook all 7lbs brisket I have stored for another day, I guess so will my family and neighbors too! I will resume regular posting when this is all over. Maybe I will get to it before, but don't hold your breath!
PS We have no land line phone and the cell phones are usually busy or the towers are down so if you try to call us don't freak out if you can't get to us. We are going to be fine. I was very glad for the hand crank radio we bought after we got rid of our land line because it will charge cell phones!
PS We have no land line phone and the cell phones are usually busy or the towers are down so if you try to call us don't freak out if you can't get to us. We are going to be fine. I was very glad for the hand crank radio we bought after we got rid of our land line because it will charge cell phones!
Monday, August 11, 2008
First Days and Birthdays
So, my little man left for his second day of first grade this morning and I figured it was time to put up the pictures of his first day of first grade and Mya's birthday which were the same day by the way. It was a big day for the Bascom household! Austin is 2 for 2 with his bus being late this year on the first day of school. We waited for an hour for the bus to come. It finally did and he happily hopped on. This kid loves school. He cried his last day of kindergarten and has been so antsy to get back ever since! That is the way Eric was, so I am told. I got a picture of his shoes because he HAD to have Sketcher Z strap shoes for the new year. He also insisted on having a messenger bag as opposed to having a traditional backpack. I thought, "He is not going to like that after a couple of days. I should not let him get it. He is going to get to school and realize that everyone else has a traditional backpack." Boy am I out of the loop. Apparently messenger bags are really popular these days. I guess I am officially "uncool"! Hope you have a great year Austin! You are one awesome dude!
Mya's birthday was on the same day. I don't know what Eric and I were thinking but we decided she could invite a few friends and we would take them to Libby Lu to get all dressed up. We got Austin on the bus and got Aliyah to Grandma's so it would just be Mya's special day. We went and picked up all the little girls she had invited and went to the mall. The girls were so excited! Then we got to Libby Lu and they said they could not fit us in right then. I guess I should have called about that. We got a little nervous when they said they could not get us in for two hours but we took the girls on a carousel ride, to the play area and to Chick-Fil-A which seem to fill our time adequately. We finally got our turn and look out world. There was more glitter flying around than I have seen since making Valentines day cards in the first grade! Mya was insistent on being Hannah Montana and getting the wig. We tried to convince her otherwise because I think the little girls' hair is so cute all done up. I secretly also wanted to see if they could tame the curly cow licked locks that I struggle with every morning. But I will have to just make a guess that they would have struggled too. The girls had a great time and I have lots of pictures to email their parents. That night Eric asked if we could go see "The Dark Knight" to get some of his manhood back. We also celebrated her birthday with the rest of the family on Sunday. My parents came over for cake and ice cream. She got all the things she asked for which included a jewelry box from my Mom, jewelry, a princess book, a fake camera (she explained to me that she did not want a real one because she was not old enough for that yet!), a headband and a little stuffed puppy with its very own carrier. Her friends gave her a play vacuum (I wish it worked for real because she has gone over the carpets about 346 times already with it!) a magnetic princess book (can never go wrong with that!) and jasmine doll and horse which has been everywhere with us since (well every where that she thought she could get away with anyway). She is a very sweet girl who is always thinking of others and loves to be my little shadow. I cannot believe she starts preschool this year and Kindergarten next year. Maybe Aliyah will stay little forever?!?! I love you Mya!
Update to the post: Chrisie Grandma and Grandpa Walt's gift arrived today! Wow, Mya will be busy for weeks! It was a dress up trunk filled to the brim with dress up clothes and a ballerina Barbie. So far she has been a princess, a fairy, a ballerina, a balerina fairy, and a ballerina fairy princess (that's a four year girl for you!)! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa...You know her so well! It helped that she knew exactly what she wanted when you called to ask. The child knows what she likes that is for sure.
I love this shot of Annabelle (my niece). She is getting sprayed with the glitter hairspray.
Mya's birthday was on the same day. I don't know what Eric and I were thinking but we decided she could invite a few friends and we would take them to Libby Lu to get all dressed up. We got Austin on the bus and got Aliyah to Grandma's so it would just be Mya's special day. We went and picked up all the little girls she had invited and went to the mall. The girls were so excited! Then we got to Libby Lu and they said they could not fit us in right then. I guess I should have called about that. We got a little nervous when they said they could not get us in for two hours but we took the girls on a carousel ride, to the play area and to Chick-Fil-A which seem to fill our time adequately. We finally got our turn and look out world. There was more glitter flying around than I have seen since making Valentines day cards in the first grade! Mya was insistent on being Hannah Montana and getting the wig. We tried to convince her otherwise because I think the little girls' hair is so cute all done up. I secretly also wanted to see if they could tame the curly cow licked locks that I struggle with every morning. But I will have to just make a guess that they would have struggled too. The girls had a great time and I have lots of pictures to email their parents. That night Eric asked if we could go see "The Dark Knight" to get some of his manhood back. We also celebrated her birthday with the rest of the family on Sunday. My parents came over for cake and ice cream. She got all the things she asked for which included a jewelry box from my Mom, jewelry, a princess book, a fake camera (she explained to me that she did not want a real one because she was not old enough for that yet!), a headband and a little stuffed puppy with its very own carrier. Her friends gave her a play vacuum (I wish it worked for real because she has gone over the carpets about 346 times already with it!) a magnetic princess book (can never go wrong with that!) and jasmine doll and horse which has been everywhere with us since (well every where that she thought she could get away with anyway). She is a very sweet girl who is always thinking of others and loves to be my little shadow. I cannot believe she starts preschool this year and Kindergarten next year. Maybe Aliyah will stay little forever?!?! I love you Mya!Update to the post: Chrisie Grandma and Grandpa Walt's gift arrived today! Wow, Mya will be busy for weeks! It was a dress up trunk filled to the brim with dress up clothes and a ballerina Barbie. So far she has been a princess, a fairy, a ballerina, a balerina fairy, and a ballerina fairy princess (that's a four year girl for you!)! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa...You know her so well! It helped that she knew exactly what she wanted when you called to ask. The child knows what she likes that is for sure.
I love this shot of Annabelle (my niece). She is getting sprayed with the glitter hairspray.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Ok no fainting for real
Okay so here is the long awaited "real" second post from the Bascom family instead of just a title. I just look at how cute everyone elses' post are and am not sure I can measure up. I am not a very graceful or witty writer so here goes my attempt at a blog that will probably be a little sub par but hey, something is better than nothing. This summer has been a very fun summer for our family. We have had Girls Camp for me, Eric and I's 7th anniversary, Austin's birthday, a very fun "Kid Free" get away with our friends Chris and Sarah to Fort Lauderdale (AWESOME TRIP), cabin building in Mississippi, Mya's birthday and mine still to come. Here are a few pics of the summer. Sorry I am not a better poster...I will practice. Hope my three or four readers enjoy~
This is Penelope, my cousin Rachel and me making jewelry under Rachel's careful and experienced direction.
Here are the kids (minus Aliyah) on Austin's Birthday. They are enjoying the cake I really messed up! They don't seem to mind. We also took Austin and a couple of friends to the movie Kung Fu Panda and to eat all the Pizza their little stomachs could hold at Ci Ci's Pizza. I must admit Eric and I ate all the cinnamon rolls our stomachs could hold!
This is Penelope, my cousin Rachel and me making jewelry under Rachel's careful and experienced direction.
Here are the kids (minus Aliyah) on Austin's Birthday. They are enjoying the cake I really messed up! They don't seem to mind. We also took Austin and a couple of friends to the movie Kung Fu Panda and to eat all the Pizza their little stomachs could hold at Ci Ci's Pizza. I must admit Eric and I ate all the cinnamon rolls our stomachs could hold!
Eric and the kids at LSU by the statue of Mike the Tiger. We took the kids there for a little day and they thought it was AWESOME that they go to "go to college". We even ate lunch in the student union and feed the ducks/turtles at the LSU lakes. We had a great time.
Our wonderful friends Chris and Sarah initiated this trip to Southern Florida. We had such and relaxing and fun week. We love them and miss them!
Still best friends even after seven years. I have to say even better friends than we were seven years ago!
Chrisie Grandma sent the girls Fourth of July dresses and Austin a Dinosaur stencil book. Here are the dresses. Mya wanted to wear hers right away and everyday until Sunday. I luckily got it off of her so it would be clean for church.
Eric was one of the coaches for Austin's team.
Well here's my second post. I hope you have all enjoyed it. I will post more regularly that way I can post more pictures of each event! Pictures of the cabin and the birthdays still to come.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
My First Post!
Here it is! My very first post! I am very proud to have figured this little trick out. Today is Aliyah's birthday party! My baby is turning 1! I will post some pictures later after the party.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
