The deed is done! I've gone shorty short again and I'm LOVIN' it! Here are some pics from the day. The hair was cut in two stages. Kathleen took off a huge chunk of it before doing my color. For the event she chose to do FOUR different colors instead of just my usual two highlight colors. Fun, fun. After the color was in it was time to hack off the rest! The results are PERFECTION in my humble opinion. Love, love, love it. Just enough hair to allow me some femininity but not too much. Just right. So, basically, Goldilocks and the three bears hair. (which now makes me think of "bear hair" ...anyone want to tell me who used to have "bear hair" in our family?!?!?!?).
Without further ado, the pics.

The "Before"
(This pic is several months old but gives you an idea of how long it had gotten...)

Kathleen. a.k.a. the world's greatest hairdresser

After the first cutting

Lots of color

Sophie thought my foils were awesome. The kids always get a kick out of seeing me in foils every couple months...

The finished product. (Ignore the jammies and lack of light)

As he was taking the pictures Chase said, "Stop looking so insane." Didn't realize I was...but it makes sense.

Looking emo. Didn't mean to. Just trying not to look insane.

p.s. RUN, don't walk, to your nearest library and check out "Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale. You'll thank me later.

I just want to take a moment and publicly say that I'm spending the entire day on the couch. I have a couple books to read (Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand...interesting combo, I know). Mostly I'm just SHOT. I had a long weekend and my kids still think waking me up multiple times a night is cool. Last night Miles woke up screaming. Apparently he had a very vivid nightmare about cupcakes. Of course!
So yeah, there it is. I'm tired. So I'm going to hit the couch and let the kids entertain themselves for a change.

It's time to come clean. I'm a blog-stalker. Not a serious one, but I do it. Personally, I love to blog-stalk. I know everyone else does, too. It's fun to watch the lives of people you don't really know, or are only slightly acquainted with. I have a few people that I blog-stalk religiously. But every now and then when I find myself bored I'll just start clicking on people's links and see where it takes me. RECENTLY I clicked on a link from my SIL's blog to find that HER sister has cut her hair off and is now sporting a sassy new do. CRAP! Why did she have to go and do that?
Here's the deal. It's been a long time since I've kept my hair long. After high school graduation I took a trip to New York to see my sis, Chrysta. At that point I was listening to a lot of Sarah McLaughlin as well as punk music (blame it on my boyfriend), so getting a short haircut was going to be edgy and cool. Guess what? I fell in love with short hair and had a seriously short pixie-cut for most of college. After getting married I let it grow for a long time before axing it again when Cam was about 9 months-old. Since then it's been a roller-coaster of short, long, short, long! I just can't decide what I like the best. Not that I want to find a style and wear it for the next 20 years. No thanks. But I would like to stop feeling like I'm ALWAYS growing it out! I want to stick with something for at least a little while! So before Sophie was born I started growing out my hair and told my hair dresser that under NO circumstances was she allowed to give in to my new mom urges to cut my hair. And it's been working! My hair has gotten quite long. But I REAALLLLLYYY hate it at the moment.
So, this is where you come in. I think I'm possibly going to cut off my hair on Tuesday. Chase is all about me having short hair, so he's a vote for the yes column. But I want to see what everyone else thinks. Check out the pictures listed and tell me your thoughts!

Sorry, Michelle. I had to steal this from your blog so my viewing audience could Be Stilled by this performance. At first I thought this might be in sacrament meeting, (because of the obvious pulpit) but I'm thinking maybe it was in the institute or seminary building? He's not wearing a tie and I've never seen that particular picture on display in a chapel. Anyway, who the heck cares! David Archuletta is singing Be Still My Soul and I love him.

I love this. It always makes me laugh. I have no idea how Dana Carvey and Steve Carrell keep their composure...

Anyway, so far it's been a good weekend. We had a rough day on Friday because Miles has an ear infection. I've been a mom since September 2003 and this is the first time one of our kids has had an ear infection! New territory for me...and it sucks. Kind of. It sucks that Miles is sick but I have to confess I like it a little. Not the sick part, but the part where Miles lays around watching movies, sleeping and cuddling. He had a fever of 103 yesterday so that's what he did the entire day. But everytime he would look at me with his sad eyes and say, "ear hurt" or "I'm okay" it would make me want to cry. The doc got him on some antibiotics and he's already feeling better today and back to his normal noisy self...just a bit more whiny.
Speaking of those antibiotics, opening that bottle of amoxicillan brought back memories! I totally remember having to take that crap when I was a kid. YUCK! It's the kind where they try to make it taste good but it just ends up tasting strange. And the SMELL! Ick. Usually I would trade places with my kids anytime they're sick. I'd much rather it be me. But not so much this time. That stuff makes me gag. Glad it's him and not me.
Today is Sophia's HALF birthday. She's six months old! I can't believe it!! Time goes SO quickly these days. It makes me realize that I need to S-L-O-W down and enjoy the little moments more. I love that quote from Anna Quindlen, "The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.” Yeah. What she said.
Anyway, to celebrate Sophie's six months I took a cue from Kelly and decided to run 6 miles today! Kelly adds miles for each WEEK after her kids are born, but I think 6 miles for 6 months is more my speed. It was a HARD run. I mapped it out on mapmyrun.com instead of driving it. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. It wasn't until I was in the middle of mile three that I realized I had a bunch of big hills right at the end of my run. Cool, Anna. But you know what? I showed up today and ran every step of the way. I thought I would have to walk at some point but I ran right to my mailbox! My knees were screaming at me for the last 1/2 mile but I've been through 2 unmedicated labors so I think my tolerance is pretty high at this point. Anyway, I did treat myself to a nap and a new pair of running shoes to reward myself. It was nice:)
Tomorrow is church. Not sure if I have anything to say about that yet. Could be good...could be...well, we'll see.
After church we're having dinner at Brian and Jeni's house before Garrett's graduation! Little Garebear is graduating!!! He was still a baby when I joined the family and now he's getting ready to leave for a mission. It will be fun to watch him get his diploma. He's such a stud.
Pictures are forthcoming.

Check out Sophie's new skillz. (Okay, if you're not seeing the movie yet just hang in there...it's got to load on youtube first. Try back later!)

So I just have to share my pride with everyone. Last week my friend issued a challenge to all of her blog readers (she's a personal trainer and keeps a health and fitness blog). She challenged us to run either a full or half marathon distance during this week. At 2 months post-partum she chose to run the full marathon distance. Did I mention she's a personal trainer? I, on the other hand, chose to run the half marathon distance. It wasn't a HUGE stretch since I've been running about 9 miles a week for the past month or so, but it was a good challenge. I started out Monday morning by whipping out a 2.5 mile run before hitting the Memorial Day breakfast at my in-laws ward. Wednesday I put in a solid 3 mile run (incorporating speedwork to boot). Friday was 3.77 miles and this morning at 6 AM I hit the ground running for a 4 mile run. I loved every minute of it, and I'm super proud of myself! It has been HARD trying to fit in exercise with three very young children, one of whom still doesn't think sleeping is cool. But I've been trying really hard over the last month to make it a priority and it's fun to see the pay-off. I never would have been able to run 13 miles in one week if Kelly challenged me 6 weeks ago! So yeah, I'm being bold and patting myself on the back and sharing it with the world wide web. I rock!

Just want to put up some pictures. Enjoy!

HE DID IT! HE DID IT! CHASE HAS PASSED THE FINAL SECTION OF THE CPA!!!!!!!! HOORAY AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CHASE!! THIS IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT AND WE'RE SO PROUD OF HIM! YAY!

So, to explain the previous post...
On Sunday we were all sitting around and Cam decided he wanted a banana. I'm cool with that, give the kid a banana and he starts eating it. Suddenly, he decides he doesn't want the banana. In fact, he HATES the banana. What?! So I was confused but told him to just put it down and not throw it away. At which point he starts screaming. Again, I'm confused. But now I'm also a little frustrated and I tell him to calm down, which of course he can't/won't. So I tell him he needs to head to his room for a little alone time until he can act nicely. That's when he errupts and loses it completely. Screaming his head off, hitting the walls. And that's fine because he was doing it on his way to time out. Until he spit the banana on the floor. NOT COOL. I tell Chase, in so many words, that the kid needs some serious punishment and Chase volunteered to take care of it (I was feeling a little too irrational to deal with him - not really a Love and Logic moment for me, Michelle). So Chase goes in and I start to clean up the spitty banana mess. As I approach Cam's doorway I expect to hear Chase laying down the law in a nice, stern manner. Instead, I hear Chase ask, in a loving tone, "Cameron, do you know what insubordination is?" After which Cameron received a lovely lecture on what insubordination is. Looks like Chase has officially become MY father!

p.s. Pictures and updates later today.

Question of the day:

Cameron do you know what insubordination means?

Here are a few numbers for you.

3: number of children I have
75: Diapers I change every week.
$.21: The price of a diaper.
21: Meals prepared per week.
14: Snacks per week.
168: Hours in a week
42: Number of hours of sleep I get each week (this is being generous).
2: bathrooms I have to clean
3: bedrooms I have to clean
1,789: number of times I clean the same thing each week (ie. the same kitchen, the same dishes, the same clothes)
60: number of tiny fingernails and toes that need to be cut, cleaned or filed each week
65: number of months I've been a mother (since finding out I was pregnant with Cameron)
56: number of times I nurse every week
35: number of consecutive months I have been either pregnant or nursing since June 2005
5: number of times I vaccuum each week
1: number of times I am permitted to shower WITHOUT an audience each week
4,650: number of things I forget to do in any given week
3: bare minimum number of times I work out each week - wish it were more
132: number of times I eat something naughty each week (you see the imbalance)
10: number of loads of laundry to wash, dry, fold, put away each week
30: number of minutes of Sophie's morning nap
390: number of minutes from the time the kids wake up in the morning until afternoon nap
4000: number of times my kids smile at me each week
6500: number of times my kids kiss me each week
8,000,000: number of times my kids melt my heart each week
67: number of new things I learn each day (taught my the best teachers around - my kids)
0: number of regrets I have about having my kids how I did, when I did
1: number of loving, devoted husbands I have

This is my first blog, so be gentle.

I just had to contribute after our visit to the Oklahoma (aka jet-setting) Kilgores this past weekend. It was great. Very relaxing. One of those vacations that feels like a vacation.

The item I wanted to mention has to do with our infamous middle child: Miles. In case you have not been able to gather...he is a twerp. Not only a twerp, but also an ingrate. (Actually, all children are ingrates, but I digress.)

Milo's twerpiness was especially apparent upon our visit to the Oklahoma City Zoo.

The zoo was doing a fun Ostrich Egg Breakfast thing, and we signed up and stood in line (for an hour) for delicious, flightless-bird omlets. Miles accompanied me in the line the whole time but was completely unappreciative during the entire hour. Of course, he wouldn't even try the omlet, but the best part came later.
The event was attended by some pretty colorful folk, including the following: sweet old-person band, authentic clowns, and Elsie the Borden cow.

It is on this last character that my story focuses. Miles acknowledged his desire to meet the quadraped (on two hooves), by the cute utterance, "Cawoo", and an assertive point.

Miles' initial encounter with the milk mascot was typical: aprehension and distrust, mingled with mild curiosity.

Once again, the firm request came, "Cawoo." The proceedings of this meeting were also anticipated: excitement with a handshake. The fun did not stop there.

Again, this time more politely, "Cawoo, pease", with a multi-nod of the head. This time, Elsie got a kiss. I thanked the costume wearer for his (or her) willingness to play along.

You guessed it, Miles insisted on one more furtive rendez vous with the lactose-laden lover. This last meeting was awkward and ostensibly left Miles wanting more. And that - I thought - would be that. All done. Breakfast was over, and it was time to see the REAL animals. You know, REAL lions; ACTUAL giraffes; and living, breathing geese. As mentioned before, with simple reality, Miles was not pleased. I know he was unsatisfied because as we were leaving to see the animate objects of our arrival, all Miles could think about, mention, and want in the whole world was that "Cawoo."

I assured him that s/he was sleeping, and needed the nap. No. "Cawoo, pease." What about the animals, Miles? No. "Cawoo." We had come to see the animals. No. "Cawoo."

...ingrate.

~Chase

Before I forget I have share these funny Cameron moments.

I was getting breakfast on the table the other day when he said, "Mommy, I'm dreaming of the Spider-man song. Can you hear it? It's coming out of my head."

The entire way to Oklahoma City Cameron sat in the back of the van singing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man." Hmmm...another example of my stellar parenting.

Today Cameron, in full Spider-man garb, walked up to me, ripped off his mask and said, "Look at my hair. It's so Goblin-ey" And it was.

So after a long and arduous busy season we needed some family time! Cousin Zach was having a birthday party before daddy heads over to "the desert" so we packed up the car and headed out! The pictures are in reverse order because my IQ is dropping by the day. Sorry about that. Just read the captions and you'll figure it out...


Sunday morning we went to church with Scott and Christy and the boys. Here are the kiddos in their finery. Quite the cuties, if I do say so myself. We Kilgore's really are doing good things for the gene pool in North America.

Last Wednesday was our 6th anniversary, but we were busy packing for the trip so we celebrated on the fly.
My big bro and his cute wife, Christy. She kept complaining that she looked "awful." Obviously, she doesn't.

Saturday morning we hit the zoo for a fundraiser pancake breakfast. The day started out COLD and windy. I didn't anticipate the temperature drop and failed to bring jackets for the kids. Cam figured out that he could get his arms inside his t-shirt while leaving his hands free to gorge. Nice.

During the breakfast there was a family band playing my old roller-rink favorites, like YMCA, the Hokey Pokey, and the Chicken Dance. Christy and Zach couldn't keep themselves away from the dance floor.

Friday was party day. It was a super hero theme and the kids wore super hero t-shirts. Here they are getting their powers ready.
Awesome cake.
We were very proud of Cameron for not bursting into tears when they sang, "Happy Birthday dear ZACH." For those who've been around Cam during this particular song, you know he really prefers to have it sung to himself (you can imagine the trauma that happens every month in primary when we sing the birthday song).
No one could bring themselves to eat Zach's head. Saturday night Scott finally made the cut and Scott, Chase and me ate dear Z's head. Christy couldn't partake.
Sophie was such a doll for the whole trip. Everyone loves a cute baby.

Speaking of Sophie, this picture is out of order...see below.
Thursday is the day we arrived. We drove straight to Scott's base for a little tour. I took this picture of his plane as we drove up because I was informed, in no uncertain terms, that pulling out a camera on the tarmac would result in me being thrown to the ground and guns being drawn.
Once we got INSIDE the plane we were allowed to take some selected shots of the cockpit. The boys were in their glory.
The boys were taking turns sitting in the pilot seats when Christy said, "Ty, why don't you let Cameron have a turn in that seat." Ty obliged and went to the back of the plane and before Cameron could take a breath Chase was sitting in the empty seat. He's such a great dad.
Scott in his flight suit. I wasn't allowed to take a picture of him even in the parking lot! This is the best I got. I meant to take a pic of him once he got home, but kept forgetting.

Okay, these are just some random shots. Here's Sophie getting out of the tubbie. So cute.

The rest of the shots are ones we found on the camera. Can you guess who found the camera and was having a little fun?
What do you think? Is Cam the next Ansel Adams?