My Happy Place

Any other junkies out there? I don't watch very much TV but every summer I SO look forward to watching So You Think You Can Dance. I LOVE it! The new season started last week and I am totally stoked. Everytime I watch it I seriously want to dust off my dancin shoes. If you have never seen it, you have to! It's not cheesy like Dancing With The Stars or other dance shows. It is raw competition between "regular people"/dancers and they continue competing until one is voted the best dancer. Each dancer initially comes with their specialty of dance and then they are challenged to learn all other genres (Contemporary, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Pop, etc). Whoever can grow and learn the most typically stays. Thus... the title of the show. I love watching the dancers grow throughout the season and the choreographers create the most amazing routines.

Try it and you will get hooked! Its on Thursday nights, Fox 13 @ 7:00. I will be adding my favorite performances throughout the season to my blog...so stay tuned.

Below is one of my favorite contemporary pieces performed by Heidi and Travis. I think Mia Michaels the choreographer won an Emmy for this routine.

Heidi and Travis

This is a routine from a previous season by Heidi and & Travis. Check it out baby!

Hall-ywood

Ok, so I thought this was funny (thanks Nat) and so I thought I'd share. Weston will just LOVE this! ;) Can you tell that I am finally done with finals!!



I have never even heard of Shiri Appleby.....

BIG Boy Success......

Finally! Warren is totally potty trained! I am sure many other moms understand what an accomplishment this is! It has been a long journey for us. Originally, I had read and heard from so many people not to even worry about seriously potty training until your kid is like 3 because mentally that is the best time for them. However, just after Warren's 2nd birthday he showed lots of interest in going potty and so I wasn't going to deny us that opportunity!

Initially, he did really great. He was waking up dry in the morning & having very few accidents during the day so I thought....great! this will be a piece of cake! Well, shortly thereafter the novelty wore off and suddenly my perfect potty training experience turned into much frustration. It seemed the biggest issue was that he didn't like the inconvenience of having to stop playing to go to the potty. I persisted for a while but it wasn't long and any time I would remind him he would run away from me and yell "I don't want to go to the potty!" I was at my wits end with the boy. Everything I read talked about how it needs to be a really positive and rewarding experience and I could see that it was quickly becoming anything close to that. So, I just decided to layoff and drop the subject for a while. He was back in diapers and while I wasn't thrilled, it was better than fighting it 8 times a day.

In December we found out that we were expecting a new baby and so for obvious reason's I decided to introduce the topic again. Potty treats, charts, rewards, cool underpants, lots of praise etc. but nothing seemed to really motivate him to do it on his own. It wasn't the fight it had become before but it still took a fair amount of coaxing on my part.

So, one day we are at Target and I see this toy that I had been looking diligently for, for months. He always loved playing with it at his friends house. I was just as excited as he was to find it. I put it in the cart and Warren is giggling and cooing his little heart out, admiring it for the rest of the shopping trip. So, we get in the car and we are driving home and I get this mean mommy thought. I decided that when we got home I would let Warren open his toy ONLY after he started to use his potty for at least a couple of days. I was looking for his motivation to be sparked and I though this may do the trick. So we get home and he gets ready to rip into it and I put it up high and explained the deal. Well, needless to say he was seriously ticked off about that. I did feel bad because it was a bit of the switcheroo for him but he got over it and best of all, it worked!! He started to use his potty and three days later I let him open his toy.

Eventually, I bought him his own little potty (we were originally using the potty ring that sits on the big toilet). He loved it and wanted to use it all the time. It was the kind that played a song everytime he used it. Eventually, he grew tired of the song and turned that off. Childs play. He is very independant and so I think the best part was that it was "his" and he could use it without any help at all. He has been doing really well and it has been a couple of weeks with zero accidents and so I finally feel like I am safe to announce that he is totally potty trained! Woo Hooooo! That is the best mothers day gift, EVER!

A Free-king Joke....

Okay, so yesterday was free scoop day at Ben & Jerry's and we decided to check it out. We love their ice cream. Weston had been before but I have never ventured out to the celebrations myself. I expected chaos but it was sure mahem. The place was completely packed and I seriously don't think they had their AC on it all. It was like a freaking sauna in there. If we had braved the hour long wait in line, I think I would have passed out from heat exhaustion in the first 20 minutes. It was ridiculous. I tried to snap a picture of the chaos but I think the picture I got was a really bad representaion of how packed it actually was. This was only half of the room and the line wound back and forth 5 times and went out the door. I love Ben & Jerry's and perhaps I am just getting old but it totally wasn't worth waiting in those conditions for 1/2 scoop of ice cream.

My Hero....

Weston settled down to do a little reading and shortly thereafter the entire house got quiet. When I tracked down Warren, this what I found. He was just around the corner from Weston consuming his pocket children's songbook. He is such a little ham (Warren that is).

Ka-Chow!!

Okay, if this can put a smile on my face these days it has to be funny! You have to watch the whole thing...."Its like a magician trick...." HILARIOUS!

bath junkie

Two weeks ago today I celebrated my 30th birthday. When it comes to my birthday I never really realize it is coming until a day or two before and for the most part they have always been free from what I now call "birthday anxiety". First of all, I don't think 30 is old. Lots of my friends are in their 30's (and older) and I have never given it a second thought. For me however, I have to admit that for some reason now I just feel different. I guess I just never really pictured myself 30 something. I keep thinking... I am 30 now and before you know it I will be 40...then 50...etc and for some reason there isn't a huge distinction in my mind. Well, I am determined to be optimistic. I mean look at all that I have experienced and accomplished in 30 years! Ok, maybe I shouldn't think about that. ;)

Well...we had a wonderful day. It started out with a suprise breakfast in bed... eggs and cinnamon rolls! I have always said that Weston is interesting and Warren is creative so there you have it! Then we headed up to the Woodlands, a city just north of here that has great shopping. I was sporting my 5 month pregnant belly, newly purchased white linen maternity capri's & tissue tees, 2 handsome devils by my side and just a teeny weeny bit of "birthday anxiety". The boys took me out for Mexican (my personal fav) and we did some shopping.

There is a great outdoor mall that I love in the Woodlands but often times I miss all my favorite shops because I have Warren with me. I would call myself an ambitious shopper but attempting to take a toddler into Sur La Table or Z Gallery just isn't the kind of challenge I wish to waste my energy on. Weston entertained Warren outside while I wandered around as long as I wanted. It was fabulous! I even discovered my new favorite store. I saw it from a distance and from the first glance it beaconed me. bath junkie. I think they must have named the store after me! (Hey now, it WAS my 30th and so I am allowed to be egocentric for one day!)

Well, I just fell in love with it. I describe it as a celestial bath laboratory. They have the greatest product line made from all natural ingredients and a fragrance bar to choose from. You pick out what you want, mineral scrub, bath salts, lotions ,whatever and you design your fragrance and pick a color and wah lah! Bath Heaven. I promise this is a real franchise, you cannot sell it out of your house and you won't start getting sales calls from me in a day or two.

After shopping I went and had a pedicure done at the Aveda Institute. I don't normally do sparkles but I was feeling like I needed a little shimmer somewhere below that belly so I picked out a hot pink base with orange sparkles slathered on top. I did leave with a little bounce in my step. Afterwards we headed for home because as great as the guys had been they were both worn out. After a gourmet homemade dinner ( a take and bake pizza) ....I disappeared. I shut the door and sunk into some bath salts and bubbles. It is the best and cheapest therapy that you can invest in...it did the trick for me. Thirty shmirty.

The "Man Club" Award Goes To...

This morning we had our ultrasound and we found out that we are having another little boy! It is so exciting to finally know! We are both thrilled. Weston has been rooting for a boy and so he is extra happy. He left the Dr office with an extra big grin...strutting his man stuff...like the next stop was the official "man club" where he would be officially awarded. He makes me laugh. We brought Warren to the ultrasound so he could see the baby. He has been convinced all along that we were going to be having a baby sister. I kept picturing another boy but I think Warren convinced me it was a girl too. Weston was really hoping for a boy and so he would often tell Warren that he thought it would be a baby brother. Warren would get upset and correct him..."No! It is going to be a baby sister!" During the ultrasound, Warrren kept repeating emphatically..."It is going to be a baby sister", "It is going to be a baby sister"! Finally at the end of the ultrasound the tech remained silent, she smiled, pointed to the genitals and then typed the word "brother" on the screen. When we told him it was going to be a baby brother first he seemed a little confused, then a little disappointed. After we explained that he could do all the same things with his brother (and more I'm sure) that he had been talking about with his baby sister, he seemed content.

Weston, you gotta love him baby....

I was tagged by Misty and so I get to tell you a little about Weston.

1. What is his name? Weston Lynn Hall or Hao Wei Lin (in Mandarin)

2. How long have you been together? I have known Weston for almost 13 years. We have been together for 11 years and married for 10.5 of them.

3. How old is he? He will be 32 in a month and a half.

4. Who eats more? Hands down...he does.

5. Who said I love you first? That would be Weston. Except it sort of slipped. I think he said something to the effect of "...then I realized that I was falling in love with you. " Blushing, I responded.."You are in love with me?"

6. Who is Taller? Duh

7. Who sings better? Currently, I do. Although, Weston does have a little song bird in him and I keep trying to recruit him to join choir with me. He was in Laytones in high school, so he CAN sing.

8. Who does the laundry? It is a team effort. He usually sorts, washes and forwards. I fold and put away. This is one chore that I have trained him really well in and I appreciate his willingness to help. He knows what can be put in the dryer and what I want air dried. He can differentiate between "special darks" and "regular darks" (you cannot wash these together you know) and has only shrunk 2 sweaters our entire marriage. Now, when it comes to his dress shirts, I am not even allowed to touch those at any stage in the laundry process. Only HE can wash and dry them...it is an unspoken rule. Pretty lucky, I know.

9. Who pays the bills? Well, actually auto deposit, pay & transfer pays the bills. It is wonderful and would recommend it to everyone. I am the "official" bill payer. During school, I was the checkbook Nazi and was the branch manager of a bank. If he ever splurged one day for lunch he could always count on a phone call from me about an hour later. Poor guy. I have become much more lax these days.

10. Who sleeps on the right side? If you are looking at the bed from its foot...he does.

11. Who mows the lawn? Primarily, he does. I will mow, if he can't get to it.

12. Who cooks dinner? That would be me 99.9% of the time. I do like to cook but it can be monotonus. Occaisionally I revolt and then he usually grills something or makes cheese spagetti. He actually can cook when he wants to. He has been known to make some fiercly delicious meals for me on our Anniversary and Valentines Day. Maybe the romantic deep inside brings out his culinary skills.

13. Who drives? If we are going anywhere together or as a family Weston believes it is the "man's duty" to drive. He makes me laugh.

14. What does he like to do? He loves politics, golf and eating out. He loves spending time with us and playing with Warren. He is a wondeful father. He also likes spending time with his brother Dustin.

15. Who is more stubborn? He takes the cake on that one.

16. Who kissed who first? It was one of those little mermaid & prince in the boat moments. We kissed eachother.

17. Who proposed to who? Weston proposed to me. Although it took him long enough...meaning, the day he did it I had no idea initially what he had planned. He was trying so hard to be romantic but I think he was really nervous. I finally caught on and after a 14 hour day together, he finally mustered the courage!

18. Who has more friends? That would be me. I am the social butterfly and he tends to be a little more reserved.

19. Who is more sensitive? I am, although there is a teddy bear way deep down inside that big man aka "fierce liberal fighter".

20. Who has more siblings? I do. I have 9 (3 full, 2 half and 4 adopted) and he has 6 (3 full & 3 step).

21. Who wears the pants? It depends on the issue. He usually wears the pants but if the pants get too dirty... I make him wash them and hang them out to dry. Once they are clean and dry I let him put them back on again. ;)



I tag Emily F, Kierstin, Ronna, Katie, Janelle, Cheri, Caryn, Kamie & Sarah and anyone else who wants to do this.

Easter Fun

Easter Sunday-The bunny visited our house while we were at church. It was a fun filled day. After we hunted Warren's loot we made Easter Cookies, ate dinner and visited some of our good friends.
Saturday we took Warren to the Easter Egg Hunt at Towne Center Park in Kingwood. It was such a gorgeous day. It was about 68 degrees and sunny.

After the hunt they had a carnival all set up for the kids and Warren had a blast. He got to ride the train, hold some real bunnies, baby chicks & ducklings, and feed some reptiles. A man from the Houston Chronicle took our picture to pulish in Sunday's paper.

Happy Birthday Warren!

Last Sunday (March 9th) Warren turned 3 years old! It is so hard to believe how time flies and how fast he is growing. It seems just like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital in his Michigan winter attire.

What can I say about this little miracle that we have in our lives...except we are the luckiest parents in the world to have him in our family. I don't think a day has ever gone by that I haven't thanked my Heavenly Father for him.

Warren has always been a little man. Even as a newborn people always commented on how mature he looked. Friends and Family almost immediately started calling him Master Warren Maxwell Hall just after he was born. He has always had a very strong spirit about him. It is interesting as a parent to hear the things that people pick up on and tell you about your children. Most parents think their kids are perfect (rightly so) and so I realize that I may be biased, just a little. One thing about Warren that people have always said is that there is just something really special about him, that you can feel his sweet spirit. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this. As a mother I have always felt this about him (even when I was pregnant) and so it is endearing to hear that others pick up on that too.

As a toddler he didn't walk until he was 15 months old (and we were getting pretty worried) but by the time he was 19 months old he could recite his ABC's and was very articulate for his age. He continues to amaze us with his memory and imagination. He LOVES to read. It was about 9 months ago that we discovered that he could recite to us nearly all of his "reader" books, word for word, paragraph by paragraph. I have read those books at least as many times as he has and I could never do that! He has always been a sharp little cookie but we were stunned. Just after Christmas, over a matter of about 3 days (and very little practice) he shocked us again demonstrating to us that he knew all of his letters and letter sounds. He has an incredible imagination and comes up with the most entertaining stories.

He is a tender heart by nature and is very sensitive to people he around (and their moods) as well as his surroundings. He loves music and is obsessed with the violin and cello. At Christmas he saw a boy in our ward play his violin and ever since its all he talks about....and his trains (Thomas and Friends) and Lightning McQueen. He loves to cuddle on the couch and go to the gas station with dad to get cheetos and a "bug juice".

He is the light of our world and we are ever grateful for the joy he brings to us in our lives.

Happy Birthday Tiger!

A lightning McQueen Fishing Pole!

A remote control dump truck!

Birthday celebrations at Aunt Julie's house. They were so thoughtful to remember him on his birthday. They gave him a set of contruction trucks and made some yummy cupcakes!

Soul Food

Last Thursday my girls flew to Houston and we celebrated our annual girls weekend! We became friends in Ann Arbor while our husbands attended University of Michigan Law School. If getting through law school together doesn't bond you...I don't know what will. At graduation we all vowed that we would take the time at least once a year to get together and so far we have!

L to R: Me (Houston), Katie (Vegas), Cheri (Austin) and Ronna (San Fran)


They arrived Thursday night. Friday we enjoyed a facial, dining out and shopping. Saturday we went to the Kemah Boardwalk down by the coast. Sunday I dragged them all to 8:30 church after staying up until 2am, plus the time change...yea, they love me. Late Sunday afternoon it was time to go home. I already miss them.
Windy day on the boardwalk. We ate mexican, rode the crickety wood roller coaster (thanks Katie), enjoyed some hot chocolate....oh...and did some more shopping.

Last year everyone (except me) was pregnant and this year we got to enjoy the new babes. Amelia Love Anderson & Eden Rojas. They are both perfect angels all weekend and were content to listen to us all talk talk talk, go a few places and oh yea... and talk some more. This year...I got to be the tired pregnant lady.

Utah Adventures

We visited Utah from Feb 21- March 4. Here are a few of the highlights from our trip. Fasten your seatbelt!!! (In chronological order...)

Warren having a ball playing with Uncle Brian's chickens. I would have never guessed it growing up but my brother has become quite the organic famer/gardner. He has a huge garden with just about everything you can imagine planted in it, he currently has about 29 hens, 1 rooster, raises a pig and sheep every year, fulfills his yearly maximum of deer and elk tags and fishes year round. He is proud of his self-sufficency but I like give him a hard time that he feeds and slaughters his "pets". He just chuckles and dishes it right back. It was fun to see them. Aunt Maridee giving Warren his first real haircut. Usually he has pretty intense haircut anxiety when I cut it but he did fabulous with Maridee.
A little bonding time with my little sister Rachael. (Yes, you will always be my LITTLE sister...even if you are 18 now!) Love you sis.

We FINALLY got to meet my Nephew Jonah (blue eyes)! He was born on St Patty's day 2007...approximately 1 week after our last trip to Utah. I was not happy about that. I have been so excited to finally to meet him. As you can see...he is a cute little stinker. He was excited to meet his favorite Auntie Em too!In January '08, Dustin (Weston's brother) & Natalie had their first baby boy! They named him Henry Dustin. He is the sweetest little guy...and absolutely adorable! We couldn't get enough of him....especially Uncle Weston.

On March 1st, Dustin, Natalie & Henry were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple! It was such a beautiful ceremony. The spirit was so strong and I don't think I have ever seen anything more precious as when they brought in baby Henry to be sealed to them. Weston got to hold Henry while they performed the sealing. We were so honored to be in the temple with them. We love you!Our little family (all 3.5 of us) back on the steps were it all started 10.5 years ago. Henry was blessed the very next day. Warren was so excited to meet Henry and loved holding him.

The Mutha Load...

So...we live in Kingwood Texas and and there are a few trees throughout the city. Ok, maybe that description doesn't really do it justice. I should say...the city was built in/around a lush forest. It is a very private and peaceful place to live. The trees are filled with squirls and birds and all kinds of other creeping things that are constantly singing and talking to each other. I always think that this must be what the Garden of Eden sounded like. So, Kingwood is serene and we love it here....I think you get the point. Well, there is one teenie weenie downfall for living in Kingwood. The leaves. They start to fall in late October and they don't stop until late January and when you live in a freaking forest you have just a few to clean up.

Day 1 of the cleanup yielded a mear 25 bags packed full of leaves (see picture above).
Day 2 of the clean up yielded 13 additional bags of leaves...and that didn't include the strip of grass on the other side of our garage or behind the bushes that sit in front of our house. I probably could have filled another 4 or 5 bags. So, for all you leaf and yard work enthusiasts out there.... that is a grand total of 38 (40 gallon) yard bags of leaves (beating last year's record of 36 bags)!!!