The Election and Sleep

First topic: The Election...loved it!

Second topic: Sleep. My little boys need their sleep and they usually have no problem getting it. Marcus and I recently made a drastic change to their sleep schedule, however, and although they adjusted just fine, I think I am still working on one part of it.

With Daylight Savings Time ending it is nice and dark nice and early. Marcus gets home from work around 4:30 every day so the boys have plenty of time with him. SO we decided to make their bedtime 7:00. That's right folks, 7:00! It's wonderful because Marcus and I get to have a fantastically-kids-free evening every night. Both boys sleep through the night (with the exception of one quick feeding for James) and then wake-up around 6:30. This is the part I am still trying to get used to.

I know many of you out there get up WAY earlier than that, but I have not had to since last fall semester and it has rocked my world. The up-side to it is that Marcus gets up about 6:30 as well so our entire family is on the same schedule. Kind of nice.

James has two little naps during the day and Connor has "quiet time" in the afternoon which leads to him falling asleep about every-other-day. Not too bad.

'Tis the Season

I know some of you out there have very strong feelings about NOT starting the whole Christmas thing until Thanksgiving is over, and I can respect that, but it doesn't mean I agree. I for one LOVE seeing Christmas decorations in stores the day after Halloween (but no earlier please). Marcus and I have a tradition of putting Christmas music on after trick-or-treating. We were disappointed this year when we were driving home from our ward trunk or treat party and couldn't find a station that had switched over yet.

The next day came and went, and with 80 degree weather I kind of forgot about it being Christmas music time. Well, today I went to Wal*Mart with my little boys and it was filled with Christmas sounds, decorations, and products. I LOVED IT! Although I won't decorate my house for Christmas until the Monday before Thanksgiving (that's right folks, Marcus and I love to get our Holiday decorations out for Turkey week)I am ready to pump up the seasonal jams on my ipod. Yahoo!

5 Fantastic Things About Matt Poole

Marcus' big brother Matt is celebrating his 36th birthday today and Marcus and I wanted to wish him a happy birthday AND tell you all 5 FANTASTIC things about him.


1: Matt's a good old boy...seriously one of the most down-to-earth people we've ever known.
2: Matt's always there to help you out if you need it.
3: This guy is loyal. He stood by the Cowboys when they went 1 and 15.
4: Matt's a good husband (not that either of us are married to him--but he sure seems to be) and a good father. It's obvious his kids adore him.
5: Matt's one of a kind (even though he is one of three Uncle Matt's to our boys).

We love you Matt and hope you have a great birthday!

Earthquakes!

How is it that I lived 22 years of my life in Utah--a state full of fault-lines, and the first earthquakes I ever feel are here in Dallas? I've got to be honest, I didn't know earthquakes were even really possible here.

Anyway, there was a 2.something quake centered in Grand Prairie (a city close to us)last night that we barely felt and then a 3.0 quake centered here in Irving that we definitely felt...followed by two little after shocks. They were obviously too small to do any damage, but that made them fun to experience.

A Little Message to My Blog Readers

I started this blog a year and two days ago now and it has been a lot of fun for me. I have enjoyed staying in touch with friends and family, making new friends, sharing the mostly-unexciting-going-on's in my life, sometimes writing about things that matter a lot to me, and sometimes writing about things just because I have nothing else to write.

I'm thankful so many of the people in my life actually take time out of their lives to read my blog. Blogs are kind of a silly thing (at least mine is) but it's nice to have people read whatever it is I have to say and respond to whatever it is I said. Some of your comments have made my day at times, helped me out with whatever it is I needed helping out with, or just made checking my blog more fun and exciting...so thank you!

Here's to another year...and hoping it's filled with lot of good stuff to share with ya'll!

Liars Liars

pants on fire(s)...it is not humid in Dallas like I was lead to believe. Sure, we had a bit of nice humidity in August, but where has it gone and when is it coming back? My James has super-chappy cheeks, Connor has awful patches of dry skin (as do I) and even Marcus has chapped lips (as do I again). We are going through lotion and Carmex like water at our house. No big deal...we're used to it, I just thought Texas would be different. Wrong-O.

5 Fantastic Things About Grippy

(aka my dad)

A few days ago my dad had a birthday and I'd love to share 5 FANTASTIC things about him with you!


1: He loves people...anyone who's ever met him can tell you that.
2: He "loves his babies"...(come on siblings, can't you just hear him saying that in your mind as you read it?)
3: He "loves his wife"...(you know you can hear that one too :)
4: He loves his grandkids.
5: AND he loves taking pictures, sending e-mails, and text-messaging...he's definitely good at staying in touch!

We love you Grippy and hope you had a great birthday!

Sweet Baby James (Bom, bom, bom)...

...Good times never seemed so good (dah dah dah dah)- To get the full effect you have to sing the title and first sentence to the tune of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"...a song I sing to James daily.

Anyway, point of this post.

James Douglas Poole is 3 months old in just a few hours! How did that happen!?! Time sure is flyin' by and my baby is practically off to college...ok maybe not, but he is 1/4 of a year old now...goodness.


Here are a few facts about J.D. at 3 months old:

-Wears size 1 diapers.
-Wears size 0-3m clothes.
-Eats 3-4 oz. bottles every 3-5 hours.
-Is still sleeping like a champ...waking up once in the night for a quick feeding.
-Totally digs bathtime...as well as the getting undressed and dressed again that goes along with it.
-I call him "Goo" because he spends most of his waking hours gooing and gawing...he's on track to be as much of a talker as Connor.
-Is one SMILEY baby...and he loves to giggle.
-Still LOVES to be swaddled nice and tight when it's time for bed.
-Likes his cradle swing.
-Is starting to like his carseat a bit more.
-LOVES his Jumparoo.
-Gets a kick out of Bevo and Hemi.
-Thinks his big brother is something awesome!
-LOVES his daddy...but is a total Momma's boy...Hooray!

We love you sweet baby James, but stop growing up already will ya?

Sam the Man

My sweet nephew Samuel just turned 5 years old, and to celebrate him I want to tell you all 5 FANTASTIC things about him!


1: Samuel is HANDSOME!
2: Samuel is a very kind boy.
3: My little Connor absolutely LOVES his cousin Samuel and wants to be just like him.
4: Samuel is a happy and funny kid...we love to be around him!
5: Samuel is one smart cookie and loves going to school.

When I Was A Little Kid...

I was very bad at playing tag during recess. I was not the quickest little runner and that made me an easy "tag" to get. I was "it" all the time...looks like some things never change. My sister-in-law Dawn tagged me on her blog, so ya'll get to hear a bunch more random and highly fun to read things about me.

Here goes:

Five things I was doing 10 years ago
1- I was a lead role in my high school play, Cheaper By The Dozen (directed by Heidi Bailey...woop woop)!
2- I was the Editor-in-Cheif of our Highschool newspaper and spent much of my free time working on it (we won first in like 10 catagories at a multi-state journalism conference hosted by BYU...before I was editor MHS had never even been recognized...that's right buddy!)
3- I was serving on the Ephraim Youth City Council...it was my first of three years.
4- I was on the Highschool Speech team...probably dorky, I know, but I won first place at every competition that year, including Regional and State in Impromptu Speaking.
5- I was in my first car-wreck...yikes!

Five things on my to-do list today
1- Finish writing letters to go with some of James' birth announcements...I know, he's nearly three months old, these should all be out already!
2- Get Connor's size 2T clothes out and hung up in the closet.
3- Put Connor's size 18m clothes away in storage.
4- Locate a store, any store, that sells Quaker Oatmeal Crunch...why can't I find it anywhere aroung here? Ridiculous!
5- Update our budget and pay more bills...blah blah blah (I love budgeting, just not paying expensive bills that catch me off guard).

Five snacks that I enjoy
1- Quaker Oatmeal Crunch (fruit flavors only).
2- KitKat's.
3- Banana Bread.
4- Cinamon Stride gum.
5- Believe it or not, I'm not much of a snacker...so this one ends here.

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire
1- Pay off my lingering bills...
2- Pay for Medical School with CASH!
3- Purchase health insurance.
4- Buy all the little things that Marcus and I always wish we could buy...nothing special, just random odds and ends we find ourselves looking at or talking about.
5- Invest, save, and live on a comfortable budget.

Five places I have lived
1- Good Old Ephraim, Utah!
2- Rexburg, Idaho.
3- Laie, Hawaii.
4- Provo, Utah.
5- Irving, Texas.

Five jobs I have had
1- Counselor at Heritage Residential Treatment Center
2- Gap
3- EFY BC and Counselor
4- Service person at the Polynesian Cultural Center
5- Cleaned (or played in) President Bednar's office at BYU-Idaho