Yes, that's Italian!

Finally it is SPRING!!!

2011-05-08T12:48:00.000-06:00

I LOVE Spring. I LOVE the green grass, the budding trees, picking out flowers to plant in my flower beds, buying seeds to plant vegetables in our garden. Unfortunately with all of that beauty comes the RAIN. There have been times this past month that I have felt like Noah (ok Noah's wife) wondering if we should be building an ark. It has rained and rained and rained. Although today the sun is out and it smells like Spring with yellow dandelions EVERYWHERE--for Tori's picking pleasure. I get many many many dandelions every day. I think that all little girls love picking them. So what's new??? NOTHING!!! EVERYTHING!!! I don't know where to start.

We move been back in New York for two years now. The time has gone by so fast. There have been so many changes--good changes--hard changes--challenges and triumphs. All in all life is really good. Not the way I expected it to be--but better.

Tori--She is SEVEN! SEVEN!! How did that happen? She has grown up so much.She is confident, self-assured, smart, helpful and kind. She loves her brother and sister, although she did say to me last week as I was giving her brother a bath "remember the good old days before Michael and Eden squeezed in?" However, this morning she was playing with Eden and said "isn't having a baby so much fun" (as Eden squealed with delight as Tori played peek-a-boo with her). It is a struggle for me--I was an only child until I was 20 when my parents adopted my sister. I know she would really love being an only child, although last Sunday I watched in Primary as she and Michael were practcing their Mother's Day song and she had her arm around him rubbing his back while they sang--it was precious. I am excited that summer vacation is almost here and I won't have to share Tori with school for a while.

Michael--Master Michael is THREE!! Independent. Can be naughty. Tries to be independent and has found that words have power. Now before you think that he has heard these phrases--he has not. He is also smart and has learned to put words together in meaningful ways. For example, he was angry with me because I would not allow him to do something that he wanted to do "Mom you are stupid like a lady". (no clue where he could have heard that). He makes up lots of sentences. Michael thinks he is a workman. He has decided which clothes he wears to work. He uses Jared's tools to work on his tractors, jeep and bike. He likes the tools to be organized--he puts them back where he found them. He likes to vacuum and does a good job, he even moves furniture and objects wehn he vacuums.
Michael asks within 15 minutes of dropping Tori off at school if we can pick her up. He misses her when she is at school. He loves to play with her even though he bite her this morning because she was playing with one of his cars.......

Eden--sweet little Eden. Always happy, loves to eat, sleeps like a champ. Smiles, coos she has not figured out how to crawl, but she rolls all over the place. She is EIGHT MONTHS OLD. Time has gone by so fast. The name Eden means delight and she really is a delight. We all love her so much.

So the three children were squeezed into the backseat of a Honda CR-V and our Toyota Prius. I really did not want to buy another car, but we went to Syracuse and the CR-V was not running right Jared had to come out rescue us and tow the CR-V home. He fixed it, but we went and bought a minivan. Oh how I wanted to avoid the minivan. After having it for the past month--I LOVE IT. It is awsome they all fit, there is no fighting, no one complains about the other touching them. The seats are leather and are easy to clean their muddy foot prints off. It has satellite radio. So glad that we entered the 21st century--LOVE SATELLITE radio. It is awesome. It has everything except the dvd players--I really like talking to my kids and I did not want tv to be a distraction in the car. So far I have not regretted that decision.

Jared--He will be done rehab a house that he bought last year. It should go on the market at the end of this week. He has done an AMAZING job. It is beautiful--I should post pictures.

ME--I am always busy, Working fulltime from home--is such a blessing. If I went into the office it would be a 45 minutes commute each way. I love my job, and I love being able to be a mom at the same time. I have gotten use to 5-6 hours of sleep.

All in all life is good. There are so many people in worse situations in life than we are. We want for nothing and have been extremely blessed. We are healthy. Our children brings us so much joy and frustration at times.

My favorite article---have you read? Has this ever happened to you?

2011-05-07T13:36:00.002-06:00

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=15416982

We are ALIVE

2010-11-11T11:33:00.002-07:00

Okay. We can all admit that I have not been the best blogger in the world. Although I do enjoy reading everyone else's blogs. This past year has been INSANE. When we move back to NY I started working for an insurance company. At first I worked evenings and then nights and now I work some nights and mornings. I love my job and I work from home which I love. Anyway the beginning of 2010 we found out we were expecting Baby Parrotti #3. Eden Anne was born September 15, 2010 at 8:14pm. I should post those pictures...Anyway she is perfect, and Michael and Tori LOVE her. Eden was not a fan of the bib. Usually she only cries when she is hungry.

My big first grader. Tori loves school. She has quite the imagination. She puts on plays reads, draws, writes. Tori is great

Michael is Jared's son and loves everything Jared does. He thinks he is a workman.

Eden is the best baby who just woke up from her nap, and needs to be fed. More to come...

I pledge MY allegiance to

2009-08-05T11:56:00.003-06:00

TARGET

Why after my extended absence would my first post be about Target? Well, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Target, but I forgot, at least until Target reminded me why I have a love affair with her. Picture it Saturday night, and we are out of diapers. How does that happen? Michael is a Pampers baby. Every other diaper he wears make him leak. I HATE leaking diapers. It is disgusting. So I have a coupon for Pampers diapers at Target. I have not been to Target since we moved here. Wal-mart is a lot closer (and the customers can be scary, dirty, frightening, etc), but I have decided Target is worth the drive. So I enter Target and I feel myself center. I am calm. My senses take in my surroundings, I feel excitement and I feel as though I am home. I find the diaper aisle. Next to my beloved Pampers (you know the company that should pay me because I have spent an insane amount of money purchasing their diapers over the years, remember Tori refused to potty train until she was 3 1/2 years old) I see it. A gold box. Target brand diapers. They are significantly cheaper and have more diapers in the box. I seize the opportunity. I decide to buy them, if they leak I will return them for a refund.

Guess what my long-lost friends (due to my blogging absence)? They DON'T leak. My life is complete. Michael, all furniture, clothes and beds are dry. I am a happy woman who has an extra $6.00 to spend on something else.

Target, I pledge my allegiance to you. You have never failed me yet, and when I visit you I come out poorer, but it is worth every retail therapy penny.

Coming Soon to my blog:
Farm pictures
Anniversary Pictures
Michael's birthday celebration
New toys
and a whole lot more.

It has been a long time and so much has happened.

2009-04-27T10:57:00.002-06:00

BEWARE THIS IS A LONG POST.

So when I last blogged we had decided do to graduate school in Utah. As I looked for a job in Utah it became clear that I would not make enough money to support a family of four above the poverty line. I was very frustrated. Jared was trying to schedule his GMAT exam and was having difficulty. Prior to the graduate school idea we both were submitting resumes to perspective employers in New York. The current economic conditions make it hard next to impossible for recent college graduates to find job in the business field, but the field was "white and ready to harvest" for those of us with a masters' degree and six years experience under their belt. Jared and I were ready to be done living in 650 square feet with two small children. We were ready to go and live a "normal" non-college life again, but every door kept shutting. Jared really wanted to be able to support our family, and have me raise our children, in short this was a very frustrating period of time. Out of the four resumes' I submitted I had three call me back and wanted to interview me. They wanted to know when I would return to New York. On March 25th a woman from a local New York hospital called she wanted me to fill one of her three open positions, she also wanted to know when I would return to New York. After my phone call it became clear that in order to get a job in New York we needed to live in New York. We decided it was time to move and we left on March 28th. We are so grateful to our amazing friends who helped us complete this feat. We managed to FILL a 22 foot moving truck and then we filled it two more times in New York moving our belongings out of storage (we have a lot of stuff).

Our trip across the country was uneventful. We saw no precipitation, it was windy, but not bad. The kids were perfect (thank you portable dvd player and big moving truck). Jared drove the truck I drove the car and we changed kids as needed. We arrived in Albany on April 1st.

The house was a bit more challenging than expected, but Jared can fix anything and he did. We stayed with family until we had heat, hot water, running water and the house had its first of multiple cleanings (it has been empty of almost three years). We are really starting to get the house together as we have found many treasures that have been in storage since 2006.

So as for my job offers the woman from the hospital did not return my phone calls, nor did the man from the local agency who wanted to hire me. I have been really nervous. We felt so prompted to move when we did, it was miraculous how quickly we moved, but the jobs that I had lined up fell through. Jared kept telling me things would work out and be fine. So I decided to trust him and he was right. I was offered and accepted a fabulous job making twice as much money as I expected, with excellent benefits, four weeks vacation, and it allows me to be at home until 4pm every day and a $3000 sign-on bonus. I am working as a clinical social worker for an insurance company making sure that people receive the appropriate treatment for their psychiatric and substance abuse problems. This job is perfect for our family. It allows me to do all of the things that I wanted to do, and gives me flexibility. It allows Jared to pursue the things that he would like to do and we can parent our children together.

So the last month has been crazy, yet peaceful. I have had the chance to organize my home before I go back to work. I have had time to reflect on my BYU experience. I have been surprised how much I missed check-outs, my RAs and my students. I felt as I drove from Utah that I was entering the lone and dreary world (the real world is not so bad). I am helping my children adjust to our new life, and have established some good habits. All in all it has been a month of growth.

Life is good on the farm ( I like to think that I happen to live in the house that has three huge barns next to it). I will post pictures when I finish my projects...the transformation will be amazing. Michael and Tori are happy. Michael's first word every morning is tradu (tractor) and today Tori sobbed because her dad mowed her beautiful garden of yellow flowers (dandelions).

Decisions....Shoes....Bad parenting....

2009-03-19T21:23:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite lines from the movie The Little Mermaid is said by Ursula, the sea witch, when Ariel is given the choice between getting human legs in exchange for her voice. Ursula says to Ariel "life is full of tough choices isn't it?" Yes life is full of tough choices. For this reason I have not updated our blog recently. Jared and I have been making some very tough choices, and although we feel as though we have made the right choice the truth is that with any choice made there are trade-offs. So we are headed to graduate school, mostly likely in Utah. Graduate school applications are due in June so we have a few more weeks of the unknown. Although we are disappointed that we are not going back to New York right now, we feel so much peace about our decision.

I have been telling Jared for weeks that I thought Mikey needed new shoes. He said he thought they were fine since his foot still went into the shoe. So I measured his foot and he wears a 7 1/2 and his shoes were 5 1/2. Obviously we bought him new shoes we put them on his feet and the kid ran through Dillard's. He admires his shoes daily.

Have you ever felt like a bad parent? You know the days when you feel as though you are not as patient as you should have been with your children? Ok maybe that is just me, but I was in Wal-Mart the other day and realized maybe I am not so bad. There was a mother and daughter shopping together. The daughter was about 7-8 years old and is trying to put her hat into the cart and the mother says "if you put your hat in the cart I am going to hurt your dog." Seriously I was stunned. I have not heard anything like that sinceI was a social worker. So maybe I am not so bad.

Next post pictures...I promise. I have some cute ones..

My Daughter and her ring

2009-02-22T23:14:00.003-07:00

In the beginning of January my daughter came home with a ring. She was so proud of her ring. She admires her ring like most women admire their engagement ring. She wears her ring every day. She refuses to take the ring off when she sleeps or bathes. This ring has become part of her. When she came home from church with her ring I quickly went to the Distribution Center and bought five more just in case one was misplaced. Well seven weeks later she still has the same ring. She loves it! I love that she knows what it means.
When Jared picked her up from her Primary class she explained to him that CTR means Choose The Right. Meaning to do the things that Heavenly Father would like her to do. Then she asked how to spell wrong. You see Tori has a sense of humor. She thought it would be silly to wear a CTW ring.

As I watch her admire her ring on a daily basis I realize how much she loves Heavenly Father. How much she wants to be a good girl. I love watching her read the scriptures. I love that she loves the Bible stories. This week's favorite is Abraham and Isaac (I sick).

Last week we took the children to the Draper Temple Open House. I was amazed at the reverence that both of them showed. They were so happy to be in the temple. Tonight as Tori and Jared walked the grounds of the Mount Timpanogos she kept asking questions about faith, repentence, baptism and gift of the Holy Ghost.

Once again I am reminded that when we follow the prophet's counsel and teach our children the gospel, even when we think they are not paying attention we are blessed as a family. My fear of Kindergarten lessens each time I see her grasp the gospel in her heart.

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TORI

2009-01-30T23:30:00.004-07:00

The cake (I ordered it, I know where my talents are and are not). Tori picked it out. She LOVES Ariel. Her day was perfect. We decorated the house last night and so when she woke up this morning she woke up to a banner, balloons and a dozen pink roses. We sang to her. We had her pictures taken. She asked if her BFF, Kaylie, could go with her to McDonald's Playland for lunch. They played. Red Lobster for dinner (thanks Grandma Judi and Grandpa Bill), and then a small party. Tori had so much fun. She received a TON of presents, and now she is sleeping soundly.

I cannot believe that she is 5!! Where did the time go? Kindergarden in September? I have loved watching her personality emerge. I love her intelligence. I love her zest for life. I love her kindness. I love her creativity. I love her persistence (sometimes). I love everything about Tori. She is an amazing little girl.

*I cannot find where I copied the pictures that documented her day. They are somewhere on my computer. The only one I could find was a picture of her cake--LAME.

Michael

2009-01-29T23:21:00.003-07:00

He is the sweetest little boy. He is so good. He is easy to correct. He is happy. I love when he runs up and gives me hugs. His speech is amazing, he speaks in some sentences. He loves to be read to. We cannot teach him enough about cars, trucks, and machines. He is all boy. Jared is excited to have someone that enjoys the things that he enjoys. I love how much he loves his sister. Their relationship is priceless. Every day I am grateful that he became a member of our family.

TIPPING

2009-01-28T15:46:00.002-07:00

This has been a topic of great debate throughout our marriage. Jared is in my opinion overly generous with waiters, hairdressers, taxi drivers, sky cap at the airport. etc. He always gives them a tip. I view tipping as a way of thanking a person for doing a good job. I do not feel as though because they served me that automatically means I give them money. I do not feel as though I need to give them a paycheck in addition to what their employer pays them. Sometimes I would prefer to give them advice instead of a monetary tip (ie. you would have received a tip from me if it did not take you 20 minutes to take my order...). I think the practice of tipping is interesting. A professor from Cornell Michael Lynn has studied tipping for the last 20 years. Can you believe he studied this for 20 years??? Now you all know why I never pursued or want to pursue a doctoral program, I simply could not study the same topic for the rest of my mortal existence. I digress.. In his research Dr. Lynn found that the major reason people tip is to avoid social disapproval, it is not a reward for good service. As you can see he never asked me.

Over the years I have found that people use different methods to decide about tipping. I have divided them into groups.

Group A (Jared): No matter how bad the service is I will tip AT LEAST 15%.
Group B: 15% if he service is adequate 20% if the service is good
Group C: Outrageous tips ("we gave the waitress $1000 tip because we felt sorry for her--we have all read/heard those stories)
Group D: 15% if the service was good. If the service was bad nothing and I might leave a note depending on how bad my experience was.

My friend's dad is one of my hero. When he sits down at a table he writes down 15% on a piece of paper or napkin. Depending on the service he crosses out the number and either goes up or down. I wish I could be that bold. For me the biggest factor is I should never be thristy. In other words my Diet Coke should be free flowing.

So I did a little research. Found out that I am wrong in my opinion, but let's face it I am not going to change. I am not going to pay someone for poor service....EVER! I have other places that I want to spend my money. Oh and when my mom and Jared try to pay people in cash on the table after we have had a bad experience I have been known to take the money as we leave. In case you are interested here is the article.

So what is your opinion? Oh and before I forget the tip jars at the ice cream stand, Chinese restaurant, pizza place, I am sure by now you know my response to those things....

BUNGEE CORD

2009-01-23T22:37:00.003-07:00

Jared has been home with us this week. He has been quite helpful. He has helped me and played with the kids. Michael is not a big fan of Dad being at home because Dad has changed his world. Jared got tired of taking Michael off of the kitchen table, opening and pulling out everything from the kitchen cupboards. So Jared (because he is wonderful) has installed BUNGEE cords everywhere. The bungee cords keep the kitchen chairs around the table and the kitchen cupboards safe from the grasp of the 17 month-old man cub. Life is grand. Oh and he got tired of the kids waking one another up, so he separated their beds (no more bunk beds) and he put up a wall to divide them (they each have their own space). Again life is grand!!!I love having him home. I love that he can build and fix anything. I love that he loves us. And most importantly I love BUNGEE CORDS.

Annoyed.

2009-01-16T22:53:00.006-07:00

ANNOYED. I know no surprise. What made me so annoyed today? Read below:

Actor Tom Hanks went after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for their support of California's Proposition 8 while talking to Fox News. Today, the Church responded.

Hanks played a gay attorney who was fired from his job in the movie "Philadelphia," and he paid special tribute to a couple of gay teachers in his Oscar acceptance speech. Now, he is slamming people who voted for an anti-gay marriage proposition in California.

The executive producer of HBO's "Big Love" told Fox News at the show's premier party Wednesday that a lot of Mormons gave money to make Prop. 8 happen and he felt it was un-American.

Hanks is hoping this will shed light on who is responsible and that America and California can move forward instead of backward.

Church spokesman Scott Trotter issued a one-sentence statement today in response to Hanks' comments. It reads: "Expressing an opinion in a free and democratic society is as American as it gets."

Believe it or not I don't tell people how they should live their lives. I will give my opinion, if asked. For the most part I keep my opinions to myself (trust me I do). My mother who is reading this is laughing. However, when I heard what Tom Hanks said about me (because I took his statement personally) I became angry. I am so tired of people trying to make "normal" things that are contrary to God's commandments. My mom often will talk about the abnormal sociology class that she took in college (many years ago). She is astounded that things that were once considered abnormal in society are now acceptable. Honestly I do not care about someone's sexual preference, I don't care what they do in the privacy of their own homes, and I don't care who they chose to spend their life with. I DO care when they start redefining marriage. However, why am I un-American? Because I do not want to change the definition of marriage. I do not want anyone discriminated against, and that includes me. As a society we are entering murky waters and we need to take a stand. I love the way that the LDS church responded to Mr. Hanks "Expressing an opinion in a free and democratic society is as American as it gets." So Mr. Hanks, I am American even though I don't agree with you. The fact that we disagree does not make me a bad person, or you a bad person. It makes us Americans. Americans who have the right to express their opinions. Slandering people, bullying people and nasty comments are not really way to win friends and influence people for good.

Mr. Hanks you and I are parting ways. I have had the upmost respect for you as an actor until now. It is not because you were against Prop 8, but because of your comment that I am un-American. As an American I will no longer support any of your projects. You have now been added to the list of celebrities that I have little respect for and refuse to watch their films Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt (cheating on a spouse), and Tom Cruise (unrealistic expectations).

Those of us who supported Prop 8 are not un-American. We simply excerised the rights the our fore-fathers gave us. I will not apologize for my convictions or beliefs, and I expect the same from you.

Years ago I heard Glenn Beck discuss how tired he is of celebrities trying to tell people how to think about social issues. I agree. We are intelligent beings. Present us with the facts and we can draw our own conclusions. Please do not resort to name calling, it is ineffective.

Regarding the issue of equal rights for gay and lesbian couples I am not sure what the solution is, but I am sure that God defined marriage between a man and a woman to procreate. Maybe there should be civil unions? What is your opinion? I have not formulated my opinion, yet.

The week that Jared left me....

2009-01-15T14:19:00.002-07:00

with two sick children. Tori had the stomach flu and Michael had an ear infection and the stomach flu. The house has been cleaned, Lysoled, carpets shampooed, all of the laundry cleaned and the bedding changed countless times, and I feel as though I am finally getting a handle on it all. So one late night I stayed up pondering my life. I came to the realization that this would soon be my life. Jared will be gone working, I will be home taking care of our children. I have felt completely overwhelmed this week. Thankfully I have sick time and I have not worked in addition to taking care of sick children. I really do not know how single parents do it. They are my new heros. I did not realized how wonderful it was to have a husband who was a student. I did not realize all that he does to help with the children. I did not realize how long days and nights really are, they are a lot longer when you are tending to a sick child. Again I am grateful for friends willing to help me. Again I am reminded how I wish we lived closer to family. Again I am reminded of Heavenly Father's constant concern for his children. And as I looked in the mirror this morning I realized that lack of sleep makes me look old, and I saw way too many gray hairs to count. Motherhood has taken its toll on me., but it has also changed me for the better. I am so happy that I have been given the opportunity to have children. They have taught me a lot, and I love them dearly.

So Jared has not left me permanently. He will return Saturday morning from his business trip. I am ready to count the hours. We do much better as a team. I really missed him yesterday when Tori had her 5 year-old check-up at the doctor. It took four of us to hold her down for her immunizations. It was fun. The entire heard her scream and yell that she does not care for shots. She did like the princess bandaids, sticker, sucker, and rings she got for her bravery. Michael also got a sucker because he cried because she cried. Oh the joy. I don't even get embarassed anymore. Tori is just a lot of drama.

I made Michael's day today. We walked through the Automotive section at Walmart. I cannot beleive how excited and happy he was to look at that stuff. He really is Jared's son. His first word was tractor. He always carries a matchbox car in his hand. He is entertained for a good 30 minutes just looking at his truck and tractor book. It is nothing we have encouraged, it is just who he is. I love seeing the differences between my children.

Christmas Pictures

2009-01-13T15:28:00.010-07:00

These are in no particular order. I thought that we took more picture. The pictures from San Francisco I will post anther time.

Grandma and Grandpa bought Tori and Mikey a red car. Tori is afraid to drive it, but Mikey isn't!

Christmas morning.

They were in awe.

The only time the cats would come near Tori was when she was sleeping. Here she is sleeping in Grandma and Grandpa's bed. We had to document the proof that the cats were near her when she slept.

The Gingerbread house disaster! It looked like an earthquake came when we were decorating it. Tori liked the candy, not the decorating.

It's a New Year

2009-01-04T21:26:00.004-07:00

First the IMPORTANT news....it is OFFICIAL JARED HAS GRADUATED!!!!! We are so happy. We are so excited for our next adventure. We love adventures and change. Life is good right now. We just returned from a FABULOUS vacation at Grandma Judi and Grandpa Bill's house (pictures are forthcoming when I find where I packed the camera). It is a great place to visit. There is so much to do. I really love California!! It is my idea of winter, no snow and fairly warm. Tori and Michael loved it! Tori chased "the cat named Millie" and "the cat named Molly" around all day long. She kept feeding them. We found bowls of cat food all over the house. I asked her why. She told me that "the cat named Millie was really hungry". I ask "how do you know that she is hungry?" Tori patiently explains "when she growls that means she is hungry." Needless to say Millie was hungry a lot.

I had the great idea of driving to California with the kids. Tori and Jared were annoyed. As Tori put it "we don't drive to California we fly, that is just silly." Jared verbalized similar feelings, but I thought that driving would be fun. We bought a dual portable DVD player for the kids (thanks Dad) and I thought that this would be fun. Words cannot describe the the trip. I will leave you with the image of Michael screaming in his car seat (he HATES his car seat and does NOT sleep anywhere but in his own bed), Tori insisting that we watch a Sesame Street Sing Along with Me no less than 50 times, and Jared non-verbal vibe of "I told you that we should have flown." I am just so excited to drive back to NY in a few months. Oh the anticipation.

It is a New Year. Has anyone read this month's Ensign? There is a wonderful article about Peaches, Pruning and Spiritual Progress. Read the article it is fantastic. She poses one question that has lingered with me Do I let go of what is unnecessary or sinful in my life and keep only what is good? So my friends that is my New Year's Resolution to keep only the good in my life. Jared is really lucky that he is good, or he would have to be pruned :)

Happy New Year!!!!

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-17T20:31:00.008-07:00

The weather has finally gotten cold and snowy. In fact I think that it has gotten really cold. It is hard for me to believe that I was born and raised in Upstate New York because Utah's version of cold cannot even compare to the tundra where I grew up, but I am really for summer immediately after January 1st.

The Christmas season for at least 10 years of my life has been complicated by college finals. Yes I said 10 years if you add my college years with Jared's college years. 10 years of finals right before Christmas, as if getting ready for Christmas was not stressful enough. On that note tomorrow will take his last final. He is at the Library for the last time tonight. I am ready to loose my mind. Mikey won't stay off of the kitchen table. I have resorted to putting the chairs on top of the table and chest freezer. Then tori knocked the chairs off of the chest freezer and almost knocked over the Christmas tree. Needless to say I am ready to have my husband back. I am ready to live in a house. I am ready for space in my life. Jared only needs to get a 25% on his final to pass the class and thus finish his degree. I assume that out of 100 hundred questions he will anwser 25 correctly. Please say a little pray for him that he will pass his exam. If he does not you will need to say a really BIG prayer for him.

Christmas cards are also stressful. Trying to make the children look cute, clean, in the same direction and smiling is next to impossible. These pictures are in the order in which they were taken.

Our first attempt. She looks cute. he is cute too, but looking in the wrong direction.

Not so cute. Mikey is still avoiding eye contact with the camera.

Neither one are so cute.

Super cute and happy!!

Even better picture of Tori, Mikey not so cute.

And then

they fell off from the couch into the tree. They laughed so hard and begged to be able to do that AGAIN!

Moving on soon...Going forth to serve...

2008-11-24T22:01:00.006-07:00

I can feel it. The end is coming soon assuming Jared passes his finals. Yes the much anticipated graduation. A goal we have worked on, put on the shelf, worked on and finally finished. A goal that we have had since before we married. Although he graduated with a two-year degree years ago we both knew that he needed to finish. Will he continue his education? My guess is YES! When I do not know. Where? Again I do not have the answer. Granted I NEVER thought we would end up at BYU. I thought that I had successfully avoided the BYU route when we met in Albany. As many of you know his decision to come to BYU was almost the end of our marriage. I was so upset that he wanted to go to BYU when there were literally FIVE universities within 20 miles of our home. WHY BYU?

As I sit here eating my humble pie (a large piece) BYU has been one of the biggest blessings in our marriage. I can see with clarity so many blessings that have come as a direct result of BYU. Michael being the biggest blessing (our infertility struggles are another post, let's not mix topics). I thought we were close before our move, but living without any family around has made us grow closer together. We have met so many wonderful who have left their footprint on our hearts. My children are learning the importance of obtaining an education. The other day when I told Tori we would soon be leaving BYU she turned to me with her big brown eyes and said "but what will BYU do without me?" I smiled and thought many people have had that same question over the years. How many people have come to BYU? How many lives have been positively impacted by their BYU experience?

As many of you know Provo has been at times challenging for me. I have come to appreciate Provo. There are many things that I will miss (ie. the ability to go the Distribution Center on Saturday night to buy a much needed object lesson for my Sunday School lesson). I think that I will miss most the goodness (for the most part) that surrounds our lives. My children are not exposed to vulgarity, profanity, etc.

As the anticipation grows each day the fear of reality becomes more prevalent. I remember what it is like to be a grown up (paying bills). How are we going to go back to being grown up again? How am I going to like living on a DAIRY FARM (yes I said the word farm)? What on earth am I going to do without a job. I have always had a job? Oh so many unknowns lie ahead, and so much excitement for what is yet to come.

Tori still thinks that Y mountain is HER mountain.

What will she do without her mountain? Hopefully she will have the opportunity to see the mountain as an 18 year-old freshman. I hope that at that time the mountain give her as much comfort as it has over the last two and half years.

Tagged

2008-11-19T21:25:00.003-07:00

I have been tagged. I am not going to you, but if you choose to do this let me know I would love to learn more about you.

8 Favorite Shows
1. Friends
2. Law and Order
3. Wheel of Fortune
4. Sex and The City (on TBS it is edited)
5. Without a Trace
6. The Rachael Ray Show
7. Judge Judy (she is my hero)
8. Extreme Makeover Home Edition

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Helped clean the house
2. Did a TON of laundry
3. Cooked Dinner
4. Went to work
5. Played with Michael and Tori
6. Talked to my mother
7. Went shopping
8. Made my Thanksgiving Plans

8 Things I look forward to
1. Spending time with my mom and her husband in Vegas
2. Thanksgiving
3. Going to the temple
4. Jared's graduation in DECEMBER
5. Moving back to New York
6. Tori and Michael having their own bedrooms
7. Spending more time with my husband
8. Christmas at Disneyland

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Delmonico's
2. Olive Garden
3. Red Lobster (it is Tori's favorite)
4. Paesan's Pizza
5. Los Hermanos
6. Cheese Cake Factory
7. Ruth's Cris
8. My Favorite Chinese Restaurant in Albany (I cannot remember its name...lame)

8 Things on my Wish List
1. Sleep
2. Living closer to my family
3. To look like I did when I got married
4. To sleep all night for a week straight
5. My student loan to disappear
6. For Jared to be happy and successful in his new business
7. A vacation
8. To have great relationships with my children

Why I Love Him

2008-11-17T22:52:00.004-07:00

In an effort to focus more on why I love my family I am going to post reasons why I think that my husband and children are amazing. I think it is easy to focus on negative qualities rather than the wonderful qualities that people posses.

Did you know that Jared is probably the most talented person that I have ever met? Not only is he brilliant, but he can also build, repair, replicate and do anything. He is also the most patient person that I have ever met. He loves to help other people and looks for the best in everyone he mets. I am truly blessed to be married to such an amazing man.

Exhibit A: Look at this barn. Most people who have taken this down because it obviously is in desperate need of repair. Why fix something that you can just rebuild?

Not Jared. He completely fixed the sagging barn to a stable structure.

Amazing. (in my humble opinion)

Tori

2008-11-17T22:35:00.003-07:00

Tori has become such a big girl. Yesterday was the Primary Sacrament Meeting. She was so excited. We have been practicing the songs FOREVER. She gave her one line like a champ. The only thing that annoyed her was that the Senior Primary sang more songs than the Junior Primary. She really wanted to be able to sing all of the song. She did not think that it was quite fair... Oh smart children.

Speaking of smart. We have a behavior modification chart that we do with Tori. When she earns five stickers she can go to the Dollar Store, ride the bus, go to the movies, etc. I was talking with her about going to the movies with her dad if she did well for her Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation. She told me that sounded great, but she had a better ides. "How about I ride the bus with dad to the movie theatre." Smart kid combine two treats for the price of one. Needless to say she did go the movies, but not on the bus.

Tori likes to cook. Today she made her first sandwich. She is proud if you come over she will make you one too. Bologna and cheese...yum! (yuck). She LOVES to make food for people.

Tori has also become a good friend. I like how she introduces people. Yesterday she introduced me to her friend, Charles. "Charles, this is Laurie, Laurie this is Charles." I was impressed that she realized that Charles would not call me mommy.

Each day I wonder when did my baby grow up? I am so proud of her. I love watching her grow and develop into a warm, caring and loving person.

Friendship

2008-11-15T21:12:00.003-07:00

I had the opportunity to see some friends from high school today. I cannot believe how many years have gone by since I last saw them. It has been so many years that I refuse to actually say the number out loud. It makes me feel too old. It is amazing how easily we reconnected. I am so glad that we had the chance to see one another again. I loved meeting their families. I think what surprised me the most was Tori. Tori really enjoyed playing with their children. The whole way home Tori told us that she wanted to see her new friends again. Thank you Nicole and Ranae for coordinating the day.

Thursday night Tori and I went to Disney On Ice. She dressed up as Ariel (red wig and all). She loved going to Energy Solutions Arena. Everyone told her she was adorable dressed as Ariel. Tori of course agreed with their opinion. She was a little disappointed that the ONLY princess who did not attend was Sleeping Beauty. We had terrific seats (7th row center). At the end of the show she and I went down to the ice and she got to shake the hands of the princesses. She looked up at me with her huge brown eyes and said "Ariel, my sister, really loves me." Oh to be four-years-old again. When life is magical.

Where did my baby go?

2008-11-06T15:09:00.011-07:00

I don't know when it happened, but my baby is now a toddler. He is so big and proud of his new accomplishments, and while I am proud of him sometimes I miss my baby boy.

I put him down for a nap he took off his shirt. He was playing in their room and climbed up on the dresser and pulled his sister's32 CD player down on his nose. If you look closely you can see the cut in his nose.

Climbing Dad got him down.

Climbing again.

Isn't she BEAUTIFUL. I think so not because she is my daughter.

Halloween

2008-10-31T20:05:00.004-06:00

Not one of my favorite holidays. It is usually cold, wet, snowing, did I say cold. Well, this year it was BEAUTIFUL! Utah was beautiful and warm...Ariel was very happy. The kids had a great time! Although in our house every day is a dress up day. Here are a few pictures. Tori could not decide between Ariel or Tinkerbell so for Pre-School she was Tinkerbell and for Trick-or-Treating she was Ariel.

Mundane

2008-10-30T20:45:00.009-06:00

I honestly can say that life in the Parrotti household has been a little slow and mundane, which is good. Trust me I enjoy life when it is predictable. Now I have probably jinxed myself, but oh well. There is not very much new and exciting. Unless you count the fact that my house looks as if a tornado has struck. My mom said that a TORInado has struck..she is right. I love my little girl, but she LOVES to be messy. She is polite she does thank me for helping when I help her clean up. Mikey and Tori continue to grow and learn new things daily. Tori is becoming a very good reader and Mikey is learning new words and phrases every day. So I leave you with a few cute pictures of two of my favorite people.

Tori's Halloween Costume

Isn't he adorable?

She is getting is SO big

She is beautiful

Mikey's latest trick...pushing his sister out of the way

Just Words Continued... Mikey Milestones

2008-10-18T21:05:00.002-06:00

Jared is still gone with the camara which is sad because Mikey has reached a few milestones today. This all happened BEFORE 11:30am

Was FINALLY successful (he has his dad's short Italian legs) able to climb up onto the kitchen chair.
Promptly went from the chair to the kitchen table to dance in the middle of the table...pure delight.
I changed the sheets on his bed. I put him down for his morning nap. Instead of sleeping he removed his diaper and PEED all over his bed...GROSS

We went out. I had had enough of his milestones. Upon our return.

he learned that he can reach whatever he wants with the assistance of the kitchen chair (ie he can now reach the power button to the golden calf) again...pure delight
he threw spaghetti around the kitchen for dinner, and put spaghetti in his hair
likes to pull his sister's hair so that he can take the toy that she is playing with...she screams in pain, he screams in delight

He is one happy boy. I have not even been upset. It was a good day. Active, busy, slightly challenging, but a good day to be a mom.

Just Words and Random Thoughts

2008-10-15T22:01:00.003-06:00

Jared is in New York with the camara and the computer, hence, all of the pictures since the last post. This past month has been busy. Grandma Judi came for a much anticipated visit. It was one of the BEST week's of Tori's life. Mikey is not a Grandma Judi fan...yet. That worked well for Tori. As I have said before Tori and my mom are the same person, and it is almost frightening. Tori and Grandma Judi had a sleepover a a hotel, or as Tori calls it the show and tell. They swam, watched television, played video games and raided the snack area and vending machine multiple times. Did I mentioned they shopped and called people on the cell phone (Tori is proficient at using the cell phone and calls people on a whim)? In fact one day I caught her with my cell phone explaining to her brother that if "you just press 3 you can talk to Grandma Judi" (speed dial). She is cute. She is a little annoyed with me right now because I won't teach her how to text "I can read and write" (she can). However, let's be honest I cannot text. It is so frustrating and quite frankly I think texting makes me feel old because I get so frustrated. Futhermore why does a 4 year-old need to text??? In short the week with Grandma Judi was WONDERFUL, and we miss her. I wish you would just live closer.

It appears as though fall is upon us. We are in the middle of October already! Jared will be done with school in eight short weeks. We are so excited. Where are we going from here? Hopefully to New York, time will tell in the very near future.

As I mentioned earlier Jared is gone. One day down only five more to go. As I dread doing the parenting thing alone (Jared is a great Dad, but you already know that), I think of my friend and sister-in-law (she will always be my sister-in-law even if she is no longer married to Jared's brother and has remarried another man) whose husband just left for his deployment to Iraq, and I remember six days really is not that long. It is all about keeping perspective.

I am now a converted fan of Facebook. I joined Facebook two years ago when I became a Hall Advisor at BYU as a way to connect with my residents. Over the course of the last two years I have found Facebook as a very useful tool. Frequently my residents send me a message. Recently Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with some of my high school friends. It has been great to see what is going on in their lives. I have really enjoyed reconnecting with some very dear friends. I lost track of a lot of people when my parents divorced six years ago and moved from my hometown. Divorce brings with it so many residual losses that you do not anticipate (that is a blog for another day, or better yet probably a topic for a LONG overdue therapy session).

I have been awake since 4am and I am tired. I apologize for the randomness of my thoughts. I will probably edit this in the morning.

The Tea Party

2008-09-16T12:10:00.004-06:00

Isn't this the cutest thing EVER? They took their tea party very seriously

Tori is really friendly and likes to make friends, however, one of her very FAVORITE friends is Kaylie. Kaylie and Tori have really similar personalities and enjoy spending time together. Sometimes they will argue, but they LOVE to play together. Tori has been asking to have Kaylie over for a tea party. This morning we did it! The girls had some much fun eating muffins and drinking apple juice. As a mom I enjoyed teaching Tori some etiquette (serve your guest first, ask your guest if they would like more, Kaylie loves Ariel let's make sure she has an Ariel plate and cup, and of course sharing). The girls had so much fun. Of course after the tea party it was time to play dress-up...they love to be princesses.

We are Alive!!!

2008-09-11T23:14:00.007-06:00

We are alive and well. The time has just flown by so quickly. Where did summer go? My summer students checked out, and the fall students checked in. The students have been in school for the last 10 days and my life seems to FINALLY be slowing down. The summer was insane. I felt as though I worked constantly. I knew that it was true because every time Tori had the opportunity she would turn the sign on the door so that it indicated that it was my DAY OFF. As I have said before motherhood + work = GUILT. And I usually feel guilty most of the time.

We have done quite a bit over the last few weeks, but I can only find the pictures from the State Fair on the camera...I think that Jared may have downloaded the rest of the pictures onto his computer. He is asleep and I am afraid of his computer so you get to look at a few pictures from the State Fair.

Tori is pretending to pick apples here. There is an exhibit Little hands on Farm where the kids have the opportunity to learn about the connection between the and the grocery store. The exhibit is fun. Tori had a good time. Actually any time she can play in dirt is a good time as far as she is concerned.
Isn't he cute? He is just hanging out watching his sister. Check out his adorable new walking shoes. OK so he is not THRILLED with the shoes, but it is getting colder. I think that the shoes are cute, and that he looks dapper in them.

This was Tori's favorite part of the day...riding a pony. She told me that she is a COWGIRL and she needs pink cowgirl boots. Tori finds life to be a shoe shopping opportunity.

Jared has just started his LAST semester! We are so excited. Our plans? Most likely we will be moving back to New York by April. We really want Tori to start Kindergarten where we plan to stay. As odd as this may sound Utah has grown on me. As I comtemplate our impeding move I think about some of the things that I will miss here. There is nothing better than a Utah peach or apricot.

Our children are growing. I can't believe how quickly the time goes by. Michael is currently getting FOUR molars at once. He is not even that cranky. He continues to love to explore. We have discovered that he does have a love for cars. He turns anything into a car. His father's wireless mouse, dolls, cups, etc. Yesterday Tori wore her Lightning McQueen pants he got sooooooo excited that he kept kissing her pants! It was really funny.

Tori loves to cook. Today we made an apple pie together. Anytime that I am cooking she is in the kitchen with me standing on a chair insisting that she help. She does freak out about the "fire " from the gas stove and oven, but other than that minor set back she is an excellent help.

Life is going really well and I promise that I will try to improve my blogging timelyness (is that a word)

Weekly Pedicures

2008-08-07T20:20:00.008-06:00

A friend told me that I should post pictures of our weekly pedicures. Tori calls this her special time. She loves the whole process from the bubble bath (not pictured), to soaking her feet and of course painting her nails pink weekly.

She likes to admire her feet. She will tell me that her feet are beautiful!

Her favorite part the pink shoes to dry.

Happy Birthday 1st Birthday Michael

2008-08-06T21:54:00.008-06:00

Can you believe that he is 1? I cannot. This past year has been wonderful. we have really enjoyed having Michael as part of our family. Michael has been such a blessing and has made our family complete.Michael has such a calm and patient spirit. He has Jared's personality and obviously looks just like him. I love that my children love each other. I love that they like to play together. I love that Tori teaches Michael.

This is the first time that Tori held him in the hospital. She loved to hold him.

Isn't he cute? He was a HUGE baby (9 lbs 3ozs and 22inches long)

Michael learning to crawl.

He used to watch me make dinner every night.

He loved his birthday cake.

WOW! Isn't he the best? He is the happiest baby in the world.

Happy Birthday!!

The past few weeks...

2008-07-30T23:49:00.015-06:00

Ok so I should be tired, but I am not. Instead of enjoying my guilty pleasure (watching mindless television) I decided to update our blog about what we have been doing over the past few weeks. You may ask why would I be so tired? Well Sleeping Beauty has decided that she sleeps better in our bed than her own. She comes into our room EVERY night between 3-4am and moves in. She usually is able to get her dad out of the bed as he retreats to the couch. If we move her back to her bed she wails and wakes up her baby brother. Last night I had the wonderful solution to simply move her next to our bed on her princess air mattress she wailed and we all were awake at 4:30am. However, how could anyone be upset by this angelic little innocent face? Better not ask that question at 4am!!!

Our Sleeping Beauty

The Ball...

Tori is motivated to read she always has been and we have always encouraged her. A few weeks ago there was a dance, a ball if you will, for the students. I had absolutely no intention of going since it was my weekend off. One night we came home from swimming and there was a flier advertising the event. Tori can read, she knows her numbers and days of the week. She was so excited she planned her outfit all week. Needless to say we went. She had a WONDERFUL time.

Prince Eric and King Triton came too. So who do you think Michael resembles? me? Definitely NO!

She dressed in her finest princess attire..Ariel of course. She loved the cake.

She loved the dancing and her shoes. Who does not want a pair of pink glitter shoes?

My children playing "under the sea". Tori is dressed as Ariel (she is singing to Prince Eric in this picture). Prince Eric is a good sport. In case you were wondering she dressed herself.

Michael's first candy. Thanks DADDY. Daddy is also the name he yells when he wants out of his crib. I wonder why? Check out his cute little curls on the back of his head.

He had his first haircut on the 7th. Doesn't he look adorable and so grown up?

I guess that is the quick update. This next week brings many celebrations our wedding anniversary, my neice's 2nd birthday, my brother-in-law's 30th birthday and MIKEY's 1st BIRTHDAY!!!! It will be a lot of fun!!!!

Guilt

2008-07-29T13:04:00.002-06:00

One of the emotions that I feel on a daily basis since I became a mother. Am I doing enough? Am I teaching my children enough? Am I teaching my children correct principles? Am I patient enough (probably not)? Will they be good and righteous people? Will they be helpful and kind to others? I gave up a long time ago comparing my children to other children the same age. It just made me crazy and I realized when Tori was a baby that comparing her to others was unfair to her. I honestly hope that my children will be the best that they can be.

My guilt level has reached new heights since Michael's birth. Working with one child is ok, but two children is tough. I try to be a good employee and mother, and I always feel as though I am falling short in both areas. I feel as though I am constantly juggling all of my roles, but not very well. So while reading today in the Book of Mormon Nephi's words brought comfort to my soul

I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all... (Nephi 15:5)

Ok so Nephi was talking about the destruction of his people. We have similar concerns, and Nephi inquired of the Lord. Now I have inquired about my guilt numerous times. What comforted me was that even Nephi at times felt afflicted. It is just part of life. Does this mean that my guilt has been lessened? A little bit. More importantly it has reminded me that I need Heavenly Father's help as I raise His children. I often forget that my children are His children too. He wants them to succeed as much (maybe more) than I do.

Am I making a difference?

2008-07-29T12:49:00.004-06:00

We began a habit reading The Book of Mormon at lunch time about a month ago. Family scripture study has been a struggle usually because of poor timing (ie. everyone is too tired). Lunch time works well for our family....well at least for some of us. Tori has been less than cooperative (ie. naughty, leaving the room and my personal favorite she pretends to snore). We have been consistent and not punished her for avoiding the scripture study. Each time it has gotten progressively better (less snoring more listening). Today we had a wonderful experience. We ate lunch while listening to her favorite music The Little Mermaid soundtrack. I went and got the Book of Mormon. She ran over to the computer and turned off her music (without being asked) . I asked her what she was doing, her reply "it is time to read the Book of Mormon". AS I read she began asking a lot of questions. Who is the Lord? Why do Laman and Lemuel fight? Why do Nephi and Lehi have visions? What is the world? I cannot even begin to descibe what a choice experience we had today. I am so grateful that she is learning and paying attention. I am grateful for a wise husband who helped us keep going when i wanted to give up in frustration. More importantly I know (once again) that there are blessings in being obedient. I also understand that reading will be a constant battle, but we will do it! Today I would have to say...YES I am making a difference!!

HE WALKS!

2008-07-05T21:40:00.001-06:00

Here is the proof!

Independence Day

2008-07-04T22:49:00.007-06:00

It is OFFICIAL Michael WALKS! He has taken a few steps here and there, but today he finally realized what he was doing. He is pretty proud of himself. Tori also had to demonstrate to us that she knows how to walk. In the picture he is walking to me (he wants the camara).

I do not have a video or picture to document this, but he said MOM (while looking at me)tonight. Yes that is right all in one day a real word and walking. It is Michael's Independence Day!!!

We went to Hogel Zoo today. It was fun. I think that Tori liked the rides better than the animals.

The new Conservation Carousel with hand-carved animals. It is very cool. Tori rode the poisen dart frog. I think she just liked the color.

Michael thought that the egg was weird and he was not fond of his hat. He and I had a battle to keep the hat on. He was much happier when I took off his red, white and blue stars and stripes socks and his hat.

And finally our little turtle. She really liked the playground and rides. The animals were ok.

I love the 4th of July! The zoo was fun. However, it definately was HOT and dare I say humid today.

UH-OH!!!!!

2008-06-28T23:19:00.002-06:00

Yes my friends Michael's very first word. Everything is uh-oh. I have tried mama, dada, Tori, etc. Everything we see we tell him the name. He loves books, and loves being read it, but alas his word is uh-oh. I cannot believe that he is almost 11 months old. Tori asked if we could start planning his birthday party...of course. I love to plan parties it is one of my FAVORITE things to do.

Speaking of uh-ohs. I have a co-worker/friend who was very pregnant. Her husband and son left on Thursday for Washington State she needed to finish up working here and was to join them the following Wednesday (37 weeks pregnant). Anyway I saw her yesterday and told her if she needed anything to call me because I was working this weekend and had no life. My uh-oh was I forgot to bring my phone into our bedroom last night and she called. I realized she called 20 minutes later. She drove herself in labor to the hospital. She is my HERO. She and her baby are perfectly fine and healthy. I still cannot believe that I forgot my phone...Uh-oh

Tori and Ariel

2008-06-18T14:19:00.003-06:00

Tori Loves Ariel. She even tells people that she has a sister Ariel. My mother bought her this costume and now she wears it constantly (Michael likes to rip off the green plastic skirt). When she wears this she thinks that she is BEAUTIFUL ! Of course she is

Summer has arrived

2008-06-18T13:10:00.003-06:00

So as much as I love reading other people's blogs I am not very good about updating mine basically because I am not good about bringing our camara to capture our life. Also I am usually way too busy. I feel as though I live in a state of constant chaos. Wonderful chaos, but chaos nevertheless.

Where to begin...Tori is happily watching Sesame Street and Michael is taking his first nap of the day (it is 1:15pm). We went to play group today. Tori loves her friends. She has really grown up over the course of the last year. There were no melt downs about sharing, etc. She happily played. It was so nice. We try to spend everyday at the pool. Even though she had her scary experience in California she will sit in the children's pool for hours (if we let her), she is afraid of the big pool, but I am grateful that she still will go near the water. Michael on the other had not such a huge fan of the children's pool, he likes the big pool. Needless to say Jared and I both need to go to the pool with them. It is fun.

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a crazy day since I had new RA training, and getting ready for check-outs for current residents. Jared and I managed to go out for dinner. It was so nice to have dinner by ourselves. We were married for 3 1/2 years before Tori was born. We went out a lot. Having children has been a huge adjustment to our relationship. We love them, but I often do not focus as much on our relationship.

Michael started taking real steps yesterday. He also likes to spend his time emptying out all of our kitchen cupboards. I found him the other day playing in the baking soda. His sister left the bathroom door open she his lifted the lid up on the toilet and splashed around in the water (GROSS). I am not ready for this next stage. It is amazing how much I have forgotten. I am CONVINCED that the Lord allows you to forget so that we will have more children. If I remembered everything....

While we were in CA we went to the best place in Oakland...Children's Fairyland. It is so much fun. Children's literature comes alive. We would pass by the different stories and Tori would start to repeat them. They have rides, a puppet show. We had a great day.

Time to Catch up: Part I

2008-06-10T13:33:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful vacation in California. I love being with my mom and her new husband. The children love their home. They have the perfect grandparent house...pool, animals to feed, a playground and lots of places to explore. I even ended up with strep throat while on vacation, but Jared was an excellent care taker. I can't believe how quickly I was sick. I do LOVE the Z-pack. One dose and I was feeling better.

We have spent the last week getting back into our routine. I love California and would love to live there, but for now we are in Utah. Utah is SLOWLY growing on me. I even referred to Utah as home a few weeks ago, and that surprised me and the other I was talking to.

Updates on my children.

Michael can stand and stand steps without support, once he realizes what he is doing he falls down. he does love to climb. He is very good at it. He cut three more teeth the other night. I don't even know how many teeth that he has now...a mouth full.

Tori is growing up so fast. While we were in California she was swimming in the pool, and slipped under the water/ Luckily Jared and my mom's husband, Bill, were both right there. Bill went into the water and saved her. She still went back to swimming. Later that night when I put her to bed she asked me to pray instead of her. So I prayed and was closing the prayer and she said wait "Thank you Heavely Father for Grandpa Bill. He saved me in the pool today and I was relieved." She brought tears to my eyes. We did not make a big deal out of the incident because we did not want to scare her, but she recognized what happened and who helped her. Bill was touched by her prayer. Both Bill and Jared said that the incident was scary because they were both standing next to her and she slipped under water silently. Accidents happen so frequently and quickly. I am grateful that Jared and Bill were there and that Tori is developing her own relationship with Heavenly Father.

American Idol: The Dueling Davids

2008-05-23T06:17:00.000-06:00

I am not a patient woman. For those of you who know me well are not surprised by this tidbit of information. At times I become frustrated with Tori because she is not patient either. I most likely become frustrated because I recognize this same characteristic in myself. Anyway American Idol's finale I found to be really LONG this year. At 8pm MDT I called my sister in NY to found out who won (time change), but she was sleeping at 10pm...must be nice. Thankfully I found the results online and knew who won. I really was not surprised. David Cook is a musician and deep down I still appreciate the 80's rock. I am still in love with Chris Daughtry, and he proved that winning American Idol does not guarantee you a music career. Taylor Who? In short both Davids will go on and have music careers. I enjoyed this season so much. Last season was DREADFUL. There was talent this year even though Brooke White and Jason Castro annoyed me. I am excited for season 8. I am also excited that they will hold try-outs in SLC this summer (they are my favorite).

In short great season! Maybe some day I will vote.....

VACATION

2008-05-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

We are so excited. We are leaving on Saturday for 10 days in California. I really need a vacation and Tori is THRILLED to spend time with Grandma Judi! Tori is becoming so enjoyable as she grows up. We went to Walmart today to buy a doll for today. It was just her and I. She held my hand. Since Michael was born she and I do not spend enough one on one time together. She has become so polite and kind. She is even beginning to share. She is my treasure. I am sad to think that soon she will be in Kindergarten. I am not sure how she grew up to be a 4 year old. Time flies.

Michael is wonderful. He has started taking steps, but has decided that crawling is so much faster. Fine with me. The other day he pulled Tori's placemat off from the table and dumped her macaroni and cheese onto the floor. he did not even protest when he was put into his crib so that I could clean up the HUGE mess. He knew. Tori cried. Her macaroni and cheese. Oh the drama....

The O word

2008-05-05T23:32:00.000-06:00

Tori is trying to learn how to spell. In fact she loves to spell and consequently is learning to read. Today she wanted to try to figure out and spell all of the words that she knew began with the letter "o". I taught her the word OBEDIENT. She was not a huge fan of the word at first she got my point. We are working on listening and doing the things that are asked of us. OBEDIENT. She noted that the five monkeys jumping on the bed were not obedient and that is why they got hurt. Maybe we are making progress...

Have you ever____________?

2008-05-05T23:13:00.000-06:00

had a day when you felt like you were doing a good job as a mother? You know the "picture perfect day" described in all of the parenting books that you read while you were pregnant and promptly donated or put on a shelf once you had children because you quickly realized that your child had a mind and schedule of their own. That is how my day started. PERFECT and PRODUCTIVE two words not easily joined in a sentence from a working mom with two small children. The children and I all played together on the floor and one of us was able to share without crying. We played princesses, but Mickey had the opportunity to use his colored rings to make hula hoops for the princesses. We went to the library, Tori has her OWN library card, and she is THRILLED she shows everyone...just ask her. We read tons of books. Ate at the (hold your breath) CANNON CENTER. It was moderately enjoyable mainly because our good friends Seth and Roxana joined us. I helped Tori make a wonderful lemon cake for FHE. Ok so you get the point it was a good day and I managed to even work while doing all of these activities. Well my day came to a crashing halt. Michael woke up from his nap so I quickly took him out of his crib and carried him outside we needed to pick Daddy up from work. I figured when I came home I would change his diaper in 10 minutes. So I place Michael in the car seat and thanks to Tori's excellent preception she says "I see his little penis" (I have no idea why she chose to use the word little, but he will be mortified when he gets older). I quickly realize that he is not wearing a diaper. Luckily I have diapers in every storage spot possible in the car, pull out a diaper put it on him and dash off to pick up Jared. While driving to his job I realize that my shirt is all wet. Yup you guessed it Michael peed all over me, and when I came home I realized that he did the same to himself. To make a LONG story shorter when I returned home I found his diaper in his crib he had taken it OFF. Since it was warm today he was wearing his tee shirt and diaper. I assume he did not like the diaper. So I am scratching my head wondering how did my infant son who is 9 months old figure out how to take off his diaper. You see my perfect day ended once he peed on me. At least he is cute and keeps me humble.

Life in the Parrotti house is busy, but we like it like that. We have had several friends from NY visit us recently and that has made me VERY homesick. There are times when I like Utah and want to stay, but everytime I talk to a good friend (many of whom have been friends for 15-20 years or longer) I realize that I do miss them a ton. Utah has been a good experience for us, and we have grown together as a couple. We just try to focus on our blessings and less on the things that we miss.

American Idol

2008-04-30T21:04:00.000-06:00

Thank you America. Although we do not vote, we do watch American Idol every week. Needless to say I am THRILLED that she FINALLY left!!!!

Tori the Mermaid

2008-04-30T20:39:00.001-06:00

Everytime Tori takes a bath she uses about 20 washclothes. I finally asked her why. "I am making my mermaid tail." Oh. This is Tori (notice the tail) singing. Ariel just got her voice back. Thanks Tori for the explanation!

A Mother's Intuition

2008-04-30T20:12:00.001-06:00

Michael will celebrate his 9 month mark on May 6th. Michael still is not a huge fan of solid food. He favors barley and rice cereal. He will eat some fruits and vegetables, but not consistently. I have wondered if it is because he seems to ALWAYS be teething. He has 9 teeth. I figure who wants to eat when their gums hurt? I have talked to his doctor who said that by 9 months old he should eat 3 meals of solid food a day. He is not. I mean should I actually force a spoon in his mouth when he has his gums tightly closed? So I met with a nutritionist today and she referred me to a developmental specialist for an evaluation. She felt that Michael may be handicapped because he does not like to eat solid foods. She feels as though he may have problems swallowing. I met Jared for lunch, he laughed. He told me to be patient Michael will eat when he is ready. We both feel that he may just have a sensitive stomache. He cannot have lactose. Both of his grandfathers had food allergies, he may too. I came home and put him down for his nap.

He woke up and I fed him. as you can see from the picture he ate. He ate a ton! Two huge bowls of cereal and peaches. Again I am reminded that children develop at their own pace, and I need to relax. It is important to be aware of what the milestones are, but a mother needs to trust her instincts!

Motherhood

2008-04-17T21:06:00.000-06:00

This morning I woke to hear my children talking to each other in their room. I looked at the clock and it was 7:30am my mind immediately went back five years ago when I could sleep as long as I wanted to. It was a fleeting pleasant memory. I then got up and began my day with my children. Even though I now survive on 5 hours of sleep a night, I would not change being a mother for anything. I cannot believe how much joy they bring into my life. I marvel at all they learn and can do. Although there are still some days when I wish I could sleep until 10am....Honestly I think that most mothers miss those days too every once in a while.

Siblings

2008-04-15T09:47:00.000-06:00

Last night while taking a bath Tori asked if her brother could take a bath with her. I said sure. I put Michael in the tub and he likes the water. In fact he likes it so much that he loves to crawl from one end of the tub to other splashing the whole way. The splashing annoyed Tori. You see she was upset that she was not in charge of of how they were going to play. He would have the choice opportunity to watch her play and then she could wash him. He had other plans. I realized she was frustrated when she said to him while slightly pushing him with her legs "you can go back in Mommy's tummy right now." Needless to say their joint bath ended.

Blessings

2008-04-12T23:14:00.000-06:00

Tori is amazing, smart and funny. Our biggest struggle with her is that she is messy. We have tried everything to help her clean her room...different bins for her toys, a timer to help her clean up, we help her, etc. sadly NOTHING has changed her attitude toward cleaning up her stuff. Tonight I tried to explain to her that Heavenly Father has asked us to keep our homes neat and clean. When we obey his commandments He gives us blessings. Blessings are presents from Heavenly Father. The whole time Tori shook her head in agreement until I talked about presents from Heavenly Father; her response was "you have Heavenly Father for presents and I have Grandma Judi". Just when I thought that I was making some progress.....

Michael

2008-04-10T15:53:00.001-06:00

Does not he have the most BEAUTIFUL blue eyes. He is such a sweet little boy. He spends his days following around his sister and trying to walk.

Tori

2008-04-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

I LOVE Tori. She is full of life, energy and disorganization. I spent most of my life organizing my mom, and now I spend my days organizing her clone and I am LOSING. Tori can destroy faster than anyone else that I know. In the video you will notice her zest for life, Michael ADORES her and her idea of how their room should be decorated.

I wish I had her energy!

My mom always buys them the cutest things, this is one of their favorites. CARS is a favorite movie in our house.

It is almost spring

2008-04-10T13:16:00.000-06:00

This was the best of the billion pictures that we took on Easter. Note to self for next year take the pictures BEFORE church.

That is the question that Tori asks me EVERYDAY. She was quite disappointed when it was snowing on Monday. As far as she is concerned we had Easter and now it is spring. We are so excited that Jared's semester is almost over...only one more semester and then he will graduate! We are looking forward to spending some quality family time this spring and summer. Last year I was so pregnant and dreaded the heat and just about everything else associated with summer last year.

I love Spring! It is a great opportunity to re-evalaute life and make changes. We just had our General Conference last weekend. It is always so wonderful to hear from the Lord's prophet. We are so thankful that we have a prophet today who communicates with God. Wouldn't the world be so much more frightening without the knowledge that we have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us individually? As I reflect on the talks given at General Conference they each were so wonderful and what I needed. Check out Elder Ballards talk on Motherhood. I was ready to give up, and then I heard that talk and I have had a much better attitude and conviction to be a better mother. They will be little only once, and this too shall pass. All mother's will appreciate this talk member and non-member alike.