Are the Roos' Ready for a...

Pet?

MB's cousin gave him Sea Monkeys for his birthday. These interesting creatures have our curiosity peaked. It took them a while to hatch and then a few days later all of them disappeared. Now, they're back! We love watching them.



For family night, G.G. & Pops brought over dinner. We know- we are spoiled. Then we planted some flower seeds. It was messy but fun.



Mr. Boy waters the flowers every day and gets so excited to see them grow.



I really want a pet. That's right- a live creature to love and feed. I just don't want to clean up its' pooh. HeRoos prefers cats. I prefer dogs. We took the kids to the pet store and showed them all of the animals. HeRoos and I finally decided we would meet in the middle and possibly get a turtle for MB's birthday. I was pretty excited since I also love turtles. We talked to the pet guru at the store and learned how to care for them. We asked Mr. Boy, "Do you want a turtle?" His response broke his mommy's heart, "No, I want a kitty cat." Now we're back to square one- no pets (except for our sea monkeys).

Kiss Me...

I'm Irish!

We really do have some Irish blood in us. My mom is a McDermott and her ancestors came from Ireland. When I was visiting Ireland, it was neat seeing the McDermott name around. Ireland is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. As we were on a train to Dingle, there were green rolling hills with sheep grazing and even a rainbow. It was postcard worthy in every direction.




Mr. Boy cracks me up. He wouldn't open his eyes. I guess he was tired of getting kissed. Miss ZoZo has no interest in the camera and it's rare to get a picture of her smiling.

Dress Up

Our Halloween costumes are finally get some use. ZoZo was a fairy princess, Mr. Boy was Batman, B was Woody & A was Jessie. They played and played and played. This is such a fun age.







Here's to hoping that the kids will cooperate next Halloween and actually wear their costumes.

Paid Advertising Addict

Hi, my name is SheRoos and I'm an addict. An info-commercial junkie to be exact. When flipping through television channels I instantly get sucked in to the world of paid advertising. I tell myself that it's OK to watch for 5 minutes but DO NOT buy. Well, the truth is... I've been suckered more than a couple times. 6 to be exact:

1) Proactiv- this product was seriously an answered prayer to my adult stricken, acne, face. I still use it on occasion when I break out & HeRoos also uses it. Sometimes I wonder if I should buy stock in the company.

2) Bare Mineral Makeup- I ended up giving this away because I didn't like the mess when I mixed it.

3)some work out program that I can't remember the name of- obviously I was under some crazy idea that I would actually work out to videos at home. The day it arrived, reality set in and I returned it for a refund.

4)The Magic Bullet- I L-O-V-E my bullet. HeRoos & I use it at least once a day. It's awesome for Green Smoothies on the go. I've gone through 3 of them because we use them so much. My favorite part is that I can just toss the cups & blades in the dishwasher without dealing with a mess. We're saving for a "fancier" blender but I just may cry when it's time to say good-bye.

5) Youthful Essence by Susan Lucci- I ordered this years ago ran out of the products but I still use the resurfacing tool. I'm still waiting for the day when I look in the mirror and see Susan Lucci smiling back at me.

6)Wen- my latest purchase. It has only been a couple weeks but I must admit, I like how soft my hair feels. I'm undecided if I will continue with it but so far it's a keeper.

My latest temptation that I'm fighting hard to resist... the Genie bra. A bra with no under wire & it claims to cut down on back fat AND overflow on the top AND it lifts?! Bring it on! What girl doesn't want a genie to make her wishes come true?

Slacker!

Yes, I have been a BIG blog slacker. I haven't blogged or read blogs in ages. It's time I get caught up. We're doing well here. I am definitely ready for spring but we've survived the long winter and made the best of it. I finally joined a gym because it's a little distracting to run on the treadmill while kids are screaming at the gate for me. Instead of looking hotter & having more energy, it's just the opposite- I'm always hungry & tired. Hopefully, the benefits will kick in soon.

Here are a few glimpses into the Roos' life over the past couple months.

Mr. Boy has a best buddy & they get into some major trouble together.

They were alone in MB's room for 10 minutes while ZoZo & I unloaded & loaded the dishwasher. The little stinkers emptied every drawer AND a storage container with clothes.



Yep, time for Time Out.



After all that hard work, they were tired.



I've been doing a "Babysitting Swap" with two other ladies & I love it. We each have a day when we watch the kids for 2 hours. That gives us two days (4 hours) a week to get things done without the munchkins. I must admit that it is very nice. It's amazing all the things I've been able to do- a little pampering, clean the house from top to bottom, go to the gym, and shower without screaming children at the door. It has also been great for the kids to get some playtime in and have something to look forward to.

I started adding a little structure to it when they come over. I came up with a schedule and we have "school" for 40 minutes & the rest is free play. It reminded me of how much I enjoy teaching and preparing lessons. One day, we learned all about the letter "M." We had a Mystery Bag with all sorts of objects that started with M, we sang the Monkey song, went on a scavenger hunt to find hidden letter M's, and colored. It's fun thinking of activities for them to do.

ZoZo & my friend's 6 month old baby hang out on my hips while the three older kids do the things 2 year-old's do.

Mr. Boy still amazes me with his healthy food preferences (but we have discovered Cheetos & Doritos are his weakness) which results in this:



This totally cracked me up. I bought sprinkled donuts for them & thought they would think it was the coolest thing ever. Instead they nibbled a bit at the donuts and then went for the apples & cottage cheese.



ZoZo has done a lot of growing up lately. She's not my little baby anymore. She loves stacking & gathering things. She's like a little chipmunk- she gathers toys & objects (sometimes storing them in her mouth) and she does not like to let go of them. She will carry the same items in her hands from morning to night.



She also decided it was time to stop "crawlking" (crawling/walking on her knees) and start walking. It took her almost 18 months but she did it and there's no stopping her. Mr. Boy has decided she's actually kind of fun after all. She is quite feisty and can hold her own in a wrestling match & scowling contest.





These little kiddos of mine tickle me to the core. I love them so much.

HeRoos is amazing as ever. He is still commuting to Lindon,UT for work and doesn't complain although I know him well enough to know that it's wearing on him. As soon as we finish updating the master bathroom, we're going to put our house back on the market (boo hoo). The other day I was thinking about how blessed I am to have such a good husband. He is such an amazing father & supports me in whatever I do. My church calling requires me to be away one night a week and for meetings on Sunday. HeRoos watches the kids without needing any instruction and gives me time to prepare lessons. He even helps out with the housework. Although, he is off the hook with washing clothes after turning 2 loads strange colors. Maybe he did that on purpose. ;)

Life is good and we feel blessed.

DigiDisney

HeRoos works for a very generous company, DigiCert. They took all the employees and their families to Disneyland for the weekend. HeRoos and I haven't been in years so it seemed like the first time for us. It's a good thing we took pictures on our phones because I accidentally deleted ALL of the pictures that were on our camera. I could cry about it but what good would that do?!!

This was Zo's first time on an airplane.




Our competitiveness came out. On Friday, we spent all day on a scavenger hunt. We had to find places & take pictures. It was crazy and the kids didn't enjoy it BUT we won 1st place (and a Kindle). The kids caught up on their sleep and we were prepared with plenty of snacks and a bubble gun. No joke, the Bubble Gun we bought for $10 was worth every penny. The kids made bubbles every where they went and it entertained them while we waited in lines. We kept buying refills.













The World of Color Show was awesome!





The kids were so tired that they fell asleep eating ice cream!



We are truly grateful and humbled with the kindness the people at DigiCert have shown. They put in a lot of time and preparation to make this a magical experience and we are blessed to be part of it. Thanks DigiCert!

A Texas Thanksgiving

HeRoos, Mr. Boy, ZoZo, G.G., Pops, and I headed out before the big storm hit Utah. We drove 24 hours STRAIGHT to Texas. My dad and HeRoos took turns driving. The kids did amazingly well. They seemed content watching videos, eating junk food, and sleeping in the car.







This picture makes me laugh out loud every time I look at it. Can you smell the morning breath?



We arrived in Allen, Texas to spend time with my Aunt Bette Jo and cousin April. It was so fun to hang out with them.












Growing up in Texas, we spent every Thanksgiving together so it was nice to reunited again. My aunt cooked up a Thanksgiving meal that was divine and her apple pie was just as delicious as I remember. My aunt & I were craaazy and hit a couple Black Friday sales at 4 am. What were we thinking?!



Mr. Boy & ZoZo had a blast with their cousins and all the fun toys at my aunt's house.



My dad & his sister.



Since HeRoos is so difficult to buy gifts for, I got him an early Christmas present- a 4th row ticket to his favorite team. He enjoyed himself at the game. I'm not sure if he enjoyed this view more...



or this one.



Mr. Boy was exhausted from all of the fun. He fell asleep in HeRoos' lap as he was eating.



We also visited some of my friends who I've known since 5th grade. I'm so disappointed that I forgot my camera. It was fun seeing Christina & Leslie and their families. It's amazing we've remained such good friends for all these years.

I think the trip was definitely worth it. Easy for me to say, I didn't drive!