Thirty

Today I am the big 3-0! Every one tries to make this step into the next decade such a big deal, so of course when the day actually comes you expect to feel different somehow. I, however, do not. I still feel like a 16 year old girl that somehow got landed with "old-woman" responsibilities. I don't feel old. In fact, this birthday has allowed me to really take a good look at my life and see what I've accomplished up to now. I think the reason I don't feel old is because I am completely satisfied with where I am at in my life. I have an amazing husband who makes me laugh (we were even flirting last night. FLIRTING! Can you imagine that? An old married couple like us...). I have a four year old boy who's sensitivity and closeness to the Spirit knows no bounds. The other day as I was changing Ellie's diaper he came into the room and knelt down beside the rocking chair and I was thinking something was wrong. "Are you okay Jax? What's up?" and he turns to look at me like I should know better, "Mom, I'm praying...." Wow. Okay. And then there's my two and a half year old Noah who gets up an hour after he's supposed to be in bed just so he can hug and cuddle with Mommy one more time. I love that. I know I'm supposed to be firm and tell him it's past bedtime, but who can refuse those puppy dog eyes? And then there's Ellie. A spunky little angel. Do those words even go together? Well, it works for her!

I recently was asked to speak at a Young Readers Conference for Junior High children (a few days ago), and basically my role was to encourage them to live their dreams. As I thought about what to tell them, I took a good hard look at my past and felt really lucky that I had the support, love and encouragement available to me to go forward and do what I actually wanted to do with my life. Many of my musical opportunities seem surreal to me as I take a look back. I showed the kids a music video and as I was watching along with them I thought, "Who's that cool girl?' Haha! I can say, "I did that!" Who really gets to have a fun job? Well, although there were hard parts about my music career (and still are), I really had a blast doing all of those cool things. It almost seems like that was another life for me. And now that I've done some "cool" things that I can feel proud of, I get to settle down and be what I've always really wanted to be and feel satisfied in my role (most days, except for when I'm cleaning pooh off the carpet). I get to be a wife and Mother.

Stats at 30:

Married

Three kids

Living in Edmonton

5'6.5"

128lbs

Incandescently Happy

My Kids

My Mom was asking for some recent individual shots of the kids, and I realized I didn't have any! A shock indeed! It's been a while since I've made time to do a little photo shoot with them, so I took about five minutes with each child and this is what I captured.

Jackson Scott

Noah James

Eleanor Reese

The Dreaded Weigh-In

At the end of September last year, the Burnhams decided that in order to persuade the family as a whole to live a healthier life-style, we would do our own "Biggest Loser" challenge. This challenge was based on a popular show where the contestants do a number of tests to see where their physical skills lie and from there try to lose weight/get healthier, one challenge at a time. I still had some post-baby weight that I wanted to get rid of, so I was really excited about the challenge and looking forward to living a healthier lifestyle. There was a cardio test, a strengthening test (I chose the plank [chore] out of push ups [upper body] or the wall-sit [lower body]), a flexibility test, and a body-fat percentage test. Depending on how well you excelled would depend on how many points you could gain in the process. To kick start my new healthy life style, I cut out sugar for a few weeks (until Halloween. Woops!), lowered my portion intake as well as my frequent evening snacks and began to exercise at least three times a week, including 30 mins of cardio, the plank, my stretches and in January when my body was in better shape I added stairs. These past few months have been so hard because although I knew I wanted to be healthier and drop a few extra pounds, practicing self control with chocolate (oh and getting rid of my slurpee addiction completely) AND working out when I was tired was not the funnest. However, my clothes fit looser now and I feel more confident in my new body (minus the celulite that will forever remain on my bum). I forgot to mention that at the end of it all, whichever couple got the most points would win a free trip of their choice!! So, ...on days when I was really tired or didn't feel like working out, I pictured in my mind a beautiful beach with no kids, ...then I would put my running shoes on. I was able to drop ten pounds, which was 2% body fat (because sadly the pounds didn't count in this contest), my flexibility was a perfect zero (meaning I could straighten my leg at a perfect 90 degree angle laying down), my heart rate also went down from 124 bpm in Sept to 113 bpm after doing a stair climb for 3 mins stepping to the beat of a metronome at 96 bpm. I could hold my plank in Sept for a measly 44 seconds, and can now hold it for 2 mins and 40 seconds! I have been SO stressed about this day!! This day, "THE WEIGH-IN" happened yesterday. Meaning the results are in. The whole time, I tried to keep a good attitude because I knew a few of the Burnhams did actually try and deserved a trip away as much as Joe and I did, but I'm not gonna lie. I DO have a touch of competition in me and I really wanted to do my best since I have honestly been trying my hardest with diet and working out. And let's be honest. I wanted that trip! Anywho, in the end our competition ended up being Christie and Celeste (they were a team) and it was down to Joe and the flexibility test! Oh my goodness. I was trying so hard to not care, but I really did care, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't fooling anyone. Joe even joked that our marriage might be on the line if he didn't do well. I laughed, ...but deep down knew he was right. JK. Kind of. The first leg stretch? Perfect 0. The next leg stretch.... (drum roll)... PERFECT ZERO!!!! We won by ONE point (9)!! Such a close competition. Christie and Celeste were at 8 points, Matt and Tarilyn at 7 points and Mom and Dad at 6 points (Bethany and Taylor decided to withdraw, ...although I thought they were out biggest competition this whole time, so I don't know what happened there. Thanks for withdrawing guys! Did you do it because you love us so much?).

Anywho, I celebrated by eating wings, a cookie, mini eggs, and a piece of chocolate cake (it was my birthday celebration. I had to of course!). Oh yeah and we all went to a buffet for dinner. You can imagine the portions on my plate. And my second and third plate. So glad it's over, and so grateful for the new habits I've come by (not including yesterday's binging). The trip we've decided on is a family trip to Hawaii after Christmas to visit Tay and Bethany! I will still get my "beautiful beach" vision I always dreamed of (only with kids!).

Character

"You cannot be passive in life, or in time the natural man will undermine your efforts to live worthily. You become what you do and what you think about. Lack of character leads one under pressure to satisfy appetite or seek personal gain. You cannot successfully bolster a weak character with the cloak of pretense."

-Elder Richard G. Scott.

This is the profound quote I've been pondering over for the last hour or so. I want to remember it. This quote is for all those times I've felt like I have been floating along in life. I never want to be passive with life. Not when it comes to the gospel. It makes me wonder what kind of character I have. Am I living passively? What do I think about during the day? Am I that person that wants to please other people, or get something out of serving? This quote is a good reminder of the kind of person I want to be.

Ellie's New Gift

So, Joe found Ellie in the bathroom playing in toilet water. Yum! But that's not the "new" gift I am talking about. (Sadly and definitely NOT new). These skills go beyond splashing around blue water! While one hand was wet, the other hand was carrying a soggy diaper. HER soggy diaper! The one that she was wearing a minute earlier (then dipped it in the toilet). That's right folks. Ellie has learned how to take her diaper off all by herself!! Weeee! So I decided to post some post-diaper shots. Nothing like pictures of a good ol' fashioned naked baby. ...Maybe she'll think twice the next time she decides to whip her diaper off again....

Long bum-crack and endless rolls. That how I like my baby-bums.

Concert Time!

Concert time indeed! As per one of my many mighty goals I told myself I would get into, ...uh, I mean, willingly accomplish, I went ahead with my second concert of the year. That being a Singer-Songwriter Round with my siblings: Karen, Shannon (my nephew, Jake, took people's moola), myself and Doug. It was so stesssfuuu......n. I meant to say fun. Honestly, once everything came together and we were on stage, the rest of the night was all-fun. Putting it all together on the other hand was something else. I was not cut out for the business world, booking, sound equipment, dealing with booking agent and sound guy, making sure everyone was on time for sound check only to have the sound guy be 45 mins late, etc. Anywho, once all that was behind me I really did have a blast on stage with the sibs. The thing that I like about Singer-songwriter Rounds is that I get to be entertained between my songs by every one else on stage. And this was the first time in history that all four of us have shared the stage and performed original material.

Joe and I before the concert.

The lady in the above picture behind Dad and Doug and their deep conversation was one of the people I "got" to communicate with. Ask me how I felt about it. Ask me. My answer? I think she had a hard life and doesn't like things.

Like her life.

And people.

Above is Shannon during sound check and below is Mom and Karen with cute little Gabe the babe. I love that squishy child! He's 4 months old and is already bigger than Ellie who is a year, which I love because when I hold him he has no choice but to cuddle with me like a beautiful lump!

Sarah and Doug, so excited for the show to start of course! "eh...."

I don't know how Joe only managed to take two pictures during the whole set. But he did. (Doesn't he know me by now?). He claims it was because he was too busy with filming different numbers. So as disappointed as I am about the fact that there are no pictures to share, I am looking forward to going through the videos. Hopefully he left out all of my over-bearing and obnoxious banter between songs.

Here's a pic of Sarah, my dearest friend Amelia, and myself after the concert! I wish I could say there was some sort of wicked after-party (LDS style of course), but being a Mom, I was SO super tired by the end of the night and it was only 10:30! All I know is being a Mom all day then going out and doing a full set in the evening makes for a LONG day. Fun, but yes, I was tired.

I will say that this experience was more of a faith-building thing more than anything. Honestly, there were so many prayers said (by myself. Maybe others?). I was so worried about not making enough money back to pay for the venue and sound guy (we broke even!), I was worried about getting sick (all of my kids were sick leading up to the event and still are, ...and now I am finally able to allow myself to get sick now that it's all over, ...which I am getting), I wasn't sure if we would be entertaining enough for those who came (the majority of people there were friends and family, so it felt like one big laid-back FHE), I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to find a sitter (I thought Joe took care of it. He didn't. So I was scrambling the day before the show and thankfully it all worked out), and I was afraid that the weather and the fact that the show was on a Thursday night would keep people away (it didn't). Anywho, ...all of my silly little prayers were answered just in the way that I wanted them to. It makes me feel kind of dumb because they are so little and seem so non-essential to my progression, but in all honesty, it's little miracles like these that really help my faith to grow. It may sound silly, but I am so grateful that it did, indeed, come together the way it did. Consider my faith grown!

And....

SIIIIIIIGH!!!

The Report

Okay, so Joe and I didn't even go out on Valentine's Day (like I love to do), but I'm pretty sure this was the best Valentine's Day yet. I will give the full report in a sec.

First off I wanted to show how we celebrated as a fam. It was tradition growing up that every year on Valentines Day my Mom would make us heart-shaped pizzas. So, since I knew Joe had something planned for Monday, we made our pizzas on Sunday. It was a fun family activity. And I think because the boys helped make the pizzas, they ended up eating more than usual. I think I will have to try this trick again.

They turned out so good! I even ended up eating Ellie's dregs. The word "dregs" make it sounds really gross, but I promise you it was worth it.

Then on Monday, I was talking to Jenny on Skype in the morning and she was saying how she did all these sweet things for Brett (like leaving love notes all over the house for him to wake up to and hiding chocolates in his back pack, etc) and I'm thinking in my mind, "all I did was make him a card. Lame." So I made these Red Velvet cupcakes that have been on my list of things I wanted to try. What better day than Valentines Day to make them, right? So the kids and I delivered them at his work that afternoon. It was cute. He knew I was up to something because I had to call him to make sure he was still in his office, and I am the worst liar. He was like, "I'm hanging up before you give something away." I probably would have if we talked for another 30 seconds. Thankfully he didn't see this coming!

Joe and I just finished watching the Valentines Day episode of "Modern Family" where Gloria and Jay were arguing about "winning" on Valentines Day, like who has the better surprise, etc. Well, I was feeling pretty good about myself, like, "Yeah! This was the best idea! I'm so sweet! He totally didn't see this coming and I didn't even spill the beans!" AND I even video taped the kids and asked them questions about what they love most about Daddy, etc, and their answers were so cute. So, I was feeling pretty good. And then Joe does this....

He sent me out of the house and when I came home, this was set up. There's so much hype over the "Melting Pot" restaurant, so Joe brought it to me! And I love fondue (when it's not $90 bucks! Although, it ended up costing more to have it at home anyway in the end! Haha! But now we have the pot so that's a start). Anywho, the food was amazing, and I'm not even surprised because I've been blessed to have one of those husbands that thinks cooking is an art (AND he even made an effort to "clean as he went" which is something I complain about often enough for him to know that it bothers me when it looks like a tornado has gone through our kitchen. So, needless to say I was impressed by the effort). I am still thinking about the food and it was amazing! I'm sure it was better than the restaurant. Well, as you can see in the picture, he also had a card for me. And inside the card was a sweet love note. He knows by now that I appreciate a good love-letter on Valentines Day and our Anniversary, and since he knows that I "appreciate it" (or pretty much, set that standard), he has never failed me. Thanks hun! But that's not all. So, I open it up and there are pictures printed on the bottom of the page of Banff, ...so I'm like, "What?" And I can't read fast enough! So as a joint birthday and Valentines Gift, he has arranged a weekend getaway for us closer to my birthday and has already taken care of babysitting and everything, AND I get to go shopping. I am giddy just thinking about the trip! I feel like this is something other husbands do for their wives, not me. So, I am really impressed with the lengths that Joe went to to make this Valentines Day awesome. Oh and he got me chocolates. I think he wins.

Am I a Good Wife?

I read this article a couple of years ago and laughed (and then cried inside. If this was a test, I would fail miserably). I stumbled upon it again just recently and wanted to share. Enjoy, and try to remember what a "good wife" is! Happy Valentines Day!!

The Good Wife's Guide.

This is from a real article back in 1955 from the magazine Housekeeping Monthly.

• Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

• Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

• Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

• Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

• During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

• Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

• Be happy to see him.

• Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

• Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

• Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

• Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

• Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

• Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

• Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

• A good wife always knows her place.

Be Mine?

Joe. My hot Valentine. Did I force him to sit on the stairs where there was better light and have a mini-photo shoot? Quite possibly. He's my man! I want to capture everything there is to capture about my Tweedle-Heart! Just look at that angel face.

So, I'm in a good mood because I got these yesterday, and it's not even Valentine's Day yet. He said it was Jackson's idea, ...which I kind of believe. Haha! Only because Jax is my sensitive boy like that, but of course coming from either I would love! And I do!

I am THE biggest romantic. I love chick-flicks, I love chocolate, I love cheesy love notes, I love flowers, I love getting dolled up and going out, and I love kissing my husband, so naturally at this time of year I have big expectations because... I love Valentines Day. Poor Joe. He knew what he was getting into when he married me. I don't ask for gifts, just a love letter (yes, by request, every year) and a night OUT! But when babysitting plans fell through this weekend, I cried. Spoiled. Yes. That's me. You would think I was pregnant by the silly way my emotions sky rocket around, but I'm just an Ord. That's how I roll. Joe, however, did NOT know that when he married me. ;) Anywho, Joe claims to have plans for tomorrow, which is actual Valentines day (Monday), but no babysitter. Booooo. Good thing he's a good cook I guess. Instead of playing the guessing game, let's talk about my amazing Valentine's gift I gave to him (I already showed him. Hard to miss)....

Yes, that is a mountain-high garbage pile. During the winter months it tends to pile up on our deck and often times it is way too cold to haul all of it to the edge of the driveway (which doesn't exist because the snow is thigh deep). So, me being the loving and awesome wife that I am, hauled all of our frozen garbage to the edge so the garbage man can hate me, instead of Joe when he sees the pile. I can just imagine the house across the alley-way watching me struggle as I am sure it was a funny sight. The snow has hardened just enough to allow me to tip-toe on it, but then too much weight in certain spots and I would fall right through the snow! Like thin ice. THIGH HIGH! I am shocked I did not pull any muscles. It took me over a half hour and I was sore the following two days. Is that romance or what?

Note the lone box that didn't quite make it. I literally could not lift it across without falling through the snow with each step, ...so that's where I gave up. It's full of diapers.

I also made an old-school Valentine for him. There's a hidden message on the back that I'm sure he'll like and that I promise I've never written to any other boy. ;)

This time of year is also special because it's when Joe proposed to me (Feb 9th), ...so there's definitely a lot of pressure on my man this time of year. (He did it to himself). And my birthday is on the 28th. Good luck. I'm turning 30. Not 29, ...not 31. THIRTY! ;)

Thanks for being mine this year and every year. I love you Joe!

The Unveiling....

Ellie's room! I wish I could say I was finished, but alas, the daunting task is getting more and more... well, daunting. So, I will unveil what I have thus far.

Instead of the dolls "taking over" the theme of the room, I have decided to incorporate them. Didn't want the zebras and pinks to get jealous or anything. But in all honesty, things may or may not evolve depending on what silly/lovely nick-nacks I discover on Etsy. Those online trinkets are the Devil.

I thought Jenny would appreciate this hook because I got it at Anthropologie. ;)

And now for the canvas....

I'll be honest, I was picturing the canvas a little differently in my head, but that always happens with any art-project I start. I like the finished product, but it could be better. I think I'll just take what I've learned from this canvas to improve the next ones. I plan on doing a Paris-themed one, and a beach one. I am excited about getting both done, ...but not about starting them.

The house was tricky, ...so don't look too close! Although, I am happy there were no major blunders.

I am realizing as I take a closer look at this canvas is that I think what's lacking is super-cute material. I used some left over material I just happened to have in my closet and of course some scraps from Barb's collection she lent me for the dolls (which saved the cuteness of the canvas, I think). I think I need a trip to the store and a day where I have the energy to be more creative! Wish me luck on the next two. I promise to unveil soon! Let's not define "soon."