Sweet, Sweet Dancing Feet

People's 100 Most Beautiful issue is out. My Dancing with the Stars main man Jason Taylor {he plays football for the Miami Dolphins} has made the cut. Can't say I disagree. I just may have to rethink my controversial "top 5 list" {see here}.

I love his sense of humor--when interviewed about the mag he said "I would never really classify myself as beautiful. I mean, I know I'm not as ugly as the guys I see in the locker room..." I'm guessing he was talking about John Beck. {kidding, Cougars, kidding--okay, maybe not}.

I Need a Baby Mama

My cute next door neighbor just had a darling little baby girl last week. I took some dinner over, and got to hold her and cuddle her and smell her. I'll admit, it made me baby jealous. She was so tiny--and I couldn't even remember the last time I got to hold a baby that tiny. I didn't want to leave. But, eventually, I did. And as I walked home I had a fabulous idea.

Here's how it will work. You, {any of you}, have a baby. You do the throwing up pregnancy part, and the staying up at night part. In return, I will bring you dinner, hold your little bundle of joy, do the mommy bounce with them, cuddle with them and smell them, babysit them, even feed and burp them. Then, when they get to be about 8 months old, I'll leave you alone to enjoy one another, and I'll find a new baby mama. It's genius. And I can't wait. Who's first?

Friends in Low Places

Today, as I was enduring time on the treadmill and watching CMT, my girl Sara Evans reminded me of my last post {you know, the one about the P word}. Obviously, she totally agrees with me. To see why, click here.

Talk Dirty to Me

With all the talks we endure at church meetings about the dangers of pornography, I have to say I'll make an exception for this. It's my kind of eye-candy. Guys {and by that I mean Shane}, take note. There is nothing hotter. Trust me. And if this isn't your cup o' tea, then try this little scenario...

Or this one might just do the trick...
So there you have it {Shane}. I'm happy to help {Shane}. I promise it works {Shane}. You won't be disappointed {Shane}.

As for talking dirty, we can talk floors, windows, walls...take your pick, it's all good.

Coffee Talk

So I let Shane talk me into going to the Blue and White scrimmage at BYU today {I know, I know, wife of the year award to me}.

Saw several pair of these...

Even more of these...
Way too many of these...
Probably a million of these...
And this guy's entire family tree...

And golly gee willickers, now I'm already wishing spring and summer away in excitement for the fall and all the football fun!

My Little Carly

I posted Ashlyn's birthday pictures and realized that I never put Carly's on. I have no idea why they are smaller, and I'm too computer dumb to know how to fix it, but here they are.

Carly is my best little friend during the day. Alot of moms have to get out of the house and socialize, but I love just being with her. I love cuddling on the couch and doing nothing but reading or watching one of her favorite shows. I love this time that I get to have with her, and although it will be nice when she starts pre-school 3 times a week next year, I do have to say that I will miss her!

Carly loves to be outside, anything that Ashlyn is doing, watching Dora or anything that is Princess, tending and taking care of her babies, and wearing pjs or dress-ups. She really is such a happy little person and she is always telling me that she loves me. I am so grateful for this little girl in my life!

Those who know Carly well know that she is always smiling and gets excited over the smallest things. One of my favorite things is surprising her with something she loves and watching her clap her hands and jump up and down with excitement. Carly tells me alot that she never wants to get big and that she wants to stay and live with me forever. Although I am excited for her to grow and experience lots of fun things, I do have to say that in a way I wish I could keep her forever, too!

Holding Them a Little Tighter

I have been saddened by the news this week of a little 7 year old Salt Lake City girl who was abducted on Monday afternoon. I have been watching news breaks for the last couple of days trying to imagine how somebody could take a child away from home and possibly harm her. I have also been watching in sorrow trying to imagine what it would feel like as a parent to have no idea where your child was or if they were being harmed. I think my social work mind comes out and I become obsessed with stories such as this one. I can't think about anything else and I try to sort out all kinds of solutions to these problems.

I was devastated last night as I heard that they had found this little girls body. It had been just a little over 24 hours, and she was literally just next door. I was sick to my stomach and angry that this has happened again. I can't believe that we have no way of searching homes/apartments when a child goes missing. I know it's a big deal to people to have their privacy etc. etc., but when it's a child's life at stake I have no problem with immediate searches. If a child in my neighborhood was missing I would only feel it appropriate to have my home searched. If there is something you are trying to hide, you probably shouldn't be doing it anyway, right? I know that some of you political minds out there may think otherwise about our "rights", but my mind works a little bit differently.

I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking about my own girls and what I can do to better protect them. It is frustrating for me because I don't think there is much more we can do to protect them. We have to send them to school, we can't keep them inside all of the time, and let's face it, sometimes we don't watch them as well as we should. I have often been teased about being an over-protective parent, and at times like these I don't care. I want my children to be afraid of strangers, and I want them to know that it is dangerous for them to wander away from home. This little girl was literally in her front yard when she was taken.

I don't want to dwell on the negative, but I do hope that we all learn a little something from this. I have been talking to my girls about "stranger danger" and for the next couple of days I will be giving them extra tight hugs--just to remind me how lucky we are that we have today, and hopefully tomorrow.

I love this girl!

After we went to the salon on Ashlyn's birthday we went over to the mall to get her pictures taken. I thought that she looked so grown up and I wondered where all the time has gone. I can't believe that she is seven. I know every mom says this but it really does seem just like yesterday that she was such a tiny baby. I have loved her so much from when she was that little until now and I very much look forward to growing with her for so many more years to come.

Ashlyn is my oldest so she sometimes gets the raw end of the deal. I expect alot out of her, and I think that in a way that has made her a very strong personality but also a very accomplished little gal. She really is so smart and excels beyond most expectations. She is a good big sister to Carly and that makes me so happy.

Some of her favorite things are playing outside, reading, High School Musical {especially Troy, yes, at seven}, Hannah Montana, and being with her friends. She is becoming so independent that it sometimes makes me sad, but at the same time I'm so grateful that she can help herself.

I can't imagine my life without sweet Ashlyn. She is a giant part of who I am and the reason that I set new goals each day. I hope she will someday forgive me for all the mistakes that I have made and will make. Above all I hope that she can live her life being happy and finding the things that will complete her. She is a beautiful girl and I love her so much.

Ashlyn's 7th Birthday

Last Saturday was Ashlyn's birthday. I can't believe she is 7 {and already such a diva, I think we are truly in trouble}. Her big day has never fallen this close to Easter before, so we had a busy weekend. We had a bunch of her friends over for a party in the morning. It was so cute. We had them all come in their pjs {which made them so excited, it was hilarious} and Shane made a big breakfast where we let them decorate their pancakes with whipped cream, cherries, etc. Who knew that smiley face pancakes would be such a hit! Then, since it was Easter weekend, we sent them on an Egg Hunt. I hid so many eggs that it kept them busy for awhile and it was so cute to see them running around as fast as they could. I couldn't keep up to get very many good pictures--they were too fast.

Ashlyn wasn't too picky about what her cake was going to look like. She wanted it to look like an egg, but I talked her into cupcakes. {Very smart on my part, I must say}. It saved me hours of cake making...and the cupcakes turned out pretty cute.

After the party I took Ashlyn to the salon to get her nails and hair done. This has become a pretty fun little tradition for us. Ashlyn was quite thrilled with her hair {you can see it in the last picture}. We got pictures taken and then told her she could pick wherever she wanted to go for dinner. The big decision...Purple Turtle. Whatever.

Ashlyn was pretty spoiled by everyone who knows her. And on several occasions throughout the day she played the part of that super spoiled diva perfectly. In fact, I didn't know if Shane was going to make it.

Thank you to all who helped make her day {actually several days} a special treat for her.

Are You Mad?

Alongside the beginning of college football season in the fall, March Madness is a favorite time of year for me. It brings out my competitive, gambling, smack-talking {even though this year there isn't much for me to smack about other than BYU choking...} personality. For sports lovers this can be as exciting as Christmas. Seriously, I am one of those people that doesn't get a thing done during the madness because I'm glued to my tv from 11:00 game time to the last game in the evening {many of Shane's friends have told him how lucky he is to have such a sports enthusiast for a wife, but I am very much underappreciated, I must say}. I figure if there really are people around the country who take sick days for basketball, then why can't I.

The first round is my favorite because upsets happen and it seems that almost every game goes down to the wire. I love seeing the losers cry and the winners rejoice. There usually aren't many fights, but when there are I sure do love 'em. I love sitting on the couch with my orange marker, highlighting the crap out of my brackets. I love comparing brackets to see if I'm doing better or worse. I love, love, love it all.

I'm thinking this year my big money is on North Carolina. I wasn't thinking that way a few days ago, but this morning I made up my mind. Just thought you'd like to know. Oh, and let me in on how your brackets are doing, because I'd love to know I'm beating you! Oh, the madness!