Ayres Insanity

  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, for many reasons. I love the opportunity we have to reflect on our blessings and the things that we're thankful for. I love that it's a low pressure holiday, no stress about finances or the obligation to purchase crap we don't need. I love the family time, and last but definitely not least, I LOVE the feast.   On rare occasion I've met people who don't like thanksgiving food and I don't get it, it's shameful really. I mean what kind of person doesn't love turkey, stuffing and fresh baked rolls? To "those people" I say, come to my house, I'll convert you.   What's almost as fun as eating the meal is cooking it, I love spending the day cooking the amazing meal that I know everyone will enjoy. I especially enjoy the pies, so for the last few years, that has been my assignment.   This year I'll be making six pies, Pecan, Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Cranberry, Lemon Meringue, and of cour...

  I probably shouldn't admit to this random act of stupidity that I'm about to confess, but it's funny so here goes.   Yesterday a friend of mine had posted on Facebook that she'd been rear ended and gotten whiplash, so tonight I decided to take her some of the soup I had made for dinner. As I pulled up in front of her house I noticed that the bumper of her car was dented and scratched. I knocked on the door prepared to ask "what happened to your car?" and then it hit me... DUH!   Is there a treatment for chronic airhead syndrome?

  My mom always said that four was her favorite age, and in my experience with Taevin, I concur. I think most parents would agree that 2 and 3 year olds are tough, but 4 year olds are absolutely delightful and a welcome change from the world of daily tantrums .   Two days ago Ryler turned four and I'm so excited! I'm sure he will always be my little firecracker but I have noticed a few improvements. He is becoming slightly more compliant (ever so slightly) and a bit easier to communicate with, and I'm thrilled and looking forward to all of the cuteness that this age brings!   Yesterday we had a fun party for him, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium and saw lots of fun sea creatures and even penguins! After our fun with the fishes, we came back home and had pizza, cupcakes and presents, it was a great day!   We're so grateful for our little Ryler, he makes life interesting and I can't (and wouldn't want to) imagine life without him. ...

  Yesterday I sent Russ off to work at about 1:00pm, he came home at 7:30 this morning, showered and was in bed by 8:00am. I took the kids to church and came home at noon, woke up Russ and sent him off to work at 1:00pm again. He'll do this again tomorrow and the next day.    While Russ was getting ready I overheard Taevin asking him why he doesn't come to church, he said "because I have to work", Taevin said "but all the other dad's are there". Just then, the knife in my heart started to twist. Russ just said "I know buddy, I wish I could be there", I could tell it was killing him too. Just as he was about to leave he kissed me and said "I hope you know that this isn't easy for me either", I managed to fight back the tears until he walked out the door.   Where the hell is an easy button when you need one?

    I HATE snoring! I cannot express the magnitude of my hatred toward that repulsive, horrific sound. I'll never understand how any person can do that all night long and not wake themselves up, or wake up with a completely raw throat.  In fact, I can see how it might even cause a divorce, so hats off to any spouse who can tolerate it without being resentful.   I like sleep... A LOT! In my opinion, there are few things better than 9 or 10 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a warm, plush, cozy bed. Mind you, I can't remember the last time I actually experienced this, but I fantasize about it often. Anyway, when I am sleep deprived something bad happens, I turn into an uncontrollable raging monster (no really, ask my husband).   I expect my sleep to be interrupted by my children, and as most mothers, have learned to deal with it, but when I am woken up to the sound of my husband snoring, there is a rage inside me (which is probably jus...

  Last week might have been the best week of my life. Russ took the week off of Skywest and only worked one job so we could spend some quality time as a family before the craziness with Delta started. We also started an experiment, we committed to not eating out for 30 days to see how much money it would save. I cooked dinner every night and we ate together as a family and it was amazing! I know these things aren't a big deal for most people but for our family, it is a privilege and the result of this togetherness was incredible! I was a great mom all week, more patient & loving and I even made dessert every night. On top of that, the house was cleaner, the kids behaved better and the overall stress level was down.    On Saturday we took a 4 mile hike up Alpine canyon, Russ carried Zoey, Taevin forged ahead, and I had the opportunity to spend most of the hike with Ryler, he is almost four but despite his young age he is so full of inspiration. As we fought through ...

  Have you ever made a mistake? One that maybe didn't seem like a mistake at the moment, but as time went on, you realized that the choice was the wrong one? Well, what can I do but swallow my pride and admit that I made a mistake when I named my daughter. There, I said it, I gave my only little girl the wrong name.   Callae was one of those names that I randomly just threw out there, and Russ happened to love it... and so did I until we started using it on a daily basis. She was only a few months old when I realized how difficult this name was, it just didn't roll off the tongue easily, in fact I even found myself having to practice it in my head before it came out. I mentioned it to Russ a few times but he just blew it off and I tried to deal with it. Finally when she was 8 months old I couldn't take it anymore. After much discussion my idea to change the name completely was shot down (due to the fact that Russ didn't want to take the ridicule), Russ did...