Ayres Insanity

    I remember when Russ and I were dating and in the early stages of marriage, you know, the time when you're still on your best behavior, you brush your teeth before making out and would never think of passing gas in front of one another. Well that was when I made the decision that I'd never be one of those wives that "gave up". I'd always make the effort look pretty for him and never be caught saying things like "why bother getting all dressed up, I have no one to impress". In fact that has always been and still is one of my most hated quotes, I cringe when I hear it come out of married women's mouths, I think to myself "What do you mean you don't have anyone to impress? What about the man that supports you and fathers your children? This is the attitude that causes men's eyes to wander!" So anyway, I've always made a conscious effort to impress my sweet Russ, well that is until about a month ago.   I'll never un...

  I know I know, last Sunday was mothers day, but in all honesty, that one kind of sucked and I was in no mood for writing. I had hardly slept the night before due to a restless toddler, was incredibly uncomfortable with pregnancy heartburn and backache, and had been tortured with a headache for the entire week previous.   On a positive note, my sweet Russ gave me the best of all mothers day gifts, a clean house and a back rub. I seem to remember mothers days as a child when I would ask my mom what she wanted as a gift, most often she would answer, "just clean the house", or "for one day, don't fight with your brothers", I always thought this answer was ridiculous, you know, her way of being nice so I wouldn't have to spend my hard earned allowance on her. I have now, as a mother, realized the significance of this precious gift, and I have been blessed with a husband that gives me this gift far more often that just mothers day.    Today's lesson ...

  What a week! The last few months have been driving me crazy with suspense. It's funny how sometimes you have an instinct with your children, and sometimes you just seem to draw a complete blank.   I remember being pregnant with Taevin and not having any intuition as to whether he was a boy or girl, and it didn't matter, I was just excited to be having a baby. Russ however had a feeling about him, and he was right, a sweet little boy!   My pregnancy with Ryler was practically identical, and from the beginning, I had a strong feeling that he was a boy, Russ disagreed with me but somehow I just knew... another sweet little boy!   This time has been somewhat different, rather that craving bacon and sushi, it was salad and donuts accompanied with more exhaustion and less morning sickness, still, I had little intuition about the sex, although in the back of my mind I thought maybe there was a chance for a girl, I wasn't about to let myself believe that an...

  Talk about a crazy start to the year! It's only February and I'm more overwhelmed than I think I've ever been before. Why? Well, for a number of reasons.   I'll start with the fact that we've just been hit with one of the biggest trials we've ever faced, and in my opinion, it was no fault of our own, but it has challenged us in more ways than I can explain, and I'll never know why we are sometimes pushed beyond what our limits seem to be, but as with everything in life, we take it, try to learn from it, and move forward in an effort to better ourselves for the future.   Our second source of stress (and not necessarily the bad kind) comes from the choice we've made for our children's education. Taevin will be starting kindergarten this year, which in and of itself is enough to put wrinkles on my face, but the real stress comes from the fact that we've chosen to put him in a wonderful school called Quail Run, a charter school. If your ...

Things that I love: Russ, my kids, hot baths in big tubs, sexy shoes, kitchen gadgets, wrapping the kids in a warm blanket, pies, sleeping in, Christmas, having babies, cooking, fall & spring, walk in closets, church, chocolate dipped strawberries, the forth of July, watching a sleeping baby, decorating, flowers, good books, chocolate fondue, Thanksgiving, pretty music, hugs, a warm comfy bed, soup, fresh baked bread, the smell of babies, my grandma's house, Sunday dinner, prayers, cruises, certainty, double ovens, friends, birthdays, yummy smells, fireplaces, fuzzy socks, the fair, temples, bed and breakfasts, good neighbors, back rubs, family life and the list goes on and on... Thing that I don't love: sleeping alone, cold toilet seats, extreme weather conditions, public tantrums, Halloween, mice, horror movies, morning sickness, onions, bathing suits, ignorance, car repairs, hospitals, whining, angry music, dirty houses, phone solicitors, buyers remorse, clea...

  I love Christmas! I love the sights, the music, the yummy smells, and the overall feeling of Christmas. It is over for this year but I never want to forget the overwhelming amount of blessings our family has received this year.   As September came this year, I felt an urge to be prepared for the rapidly approaching holiday, so I started paying a little extra on the monthly bills so as not to be burdened with them in December, I also started buying gifts a little at a time so by November the shopping was done. That's got to be a record! Usually I'm scrambling on Dec 23rd to get things done.   Consequently, my prompting was inspired. About mid December we had a huge $750 car repair, but we were prepared, what a blessing!   Also, on December 1st, we received the happy news of pregnancy! We had an ultrasound on the 23rd and everything looks great. We shared the news on Christmas.   It has been a wonderful season and a wonderful year, we are looking forward to ...

  Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and naturally, a good day to reflect on the many things in life we've been blessed with, so I'd like to take a minute and share them.   First and foremost, my Savior and my Heavenly Father who have given me everything in my life that is worth living for. My sweet husband who loves me unconditionally and has given me the greatest gift a girl could ever ask for, my two beautiful children. They enrich my life in ways I never thought possible. My home, my faith, a country where we have the opportunity to live and worship as we please and the service men and women who sacrifice so much to make that freedom possible. Modern conveniences, a great family (the one I was born into and the one I chose through marriage) a warm bed and the list goes on.   It is important to remember these things every day, not just the last Thursday of November.