Raw footage

Per AMY's Request-  This one's for you! 

Have you ever had one of those moments that really scared you?  A moment that you realized you were completely UNPREPARED for the situation? A moment that you had to choose between your children or your Husband?  Well, for me- ALL these happened AT THE SAME TIME!

We went down to Quinn's Pond to watch Ben try out his new kayak  that he got for Christmas.  The day was beautiful - I was sitting on an embankment holding Blake, who had just learned how to crawl.  Mason was throwing rocks in the pond, as any 4 yr old should be! :D  Ben was paddling around, when he decided to try a roll....that is after all what we came here to do!  Well .... it didn't go quite as planned!  Start the LONGEST 6 seconds of my life.........

He didn't POP right back up, like I had envisioned him doing.  I was sitting there on the bank watching the underside of kayak twist and turn as if JAWS had a hold of it!  My mind went into overdrive!..... "What if he's in real trouble?"..."We didn't really come up with a Game Plan here!" ..."How long should I wait before I dive in there?"... "WAIT!.. I can't dive in there!  I'm on a 4 foot high enbankment that plunges into deep water with a very curious 1 year old who would follow me right in there!"..... "Remember that story of that woman who was swimming out to save her drowning husband when she felt a strong feeling to stop?...She turned around and saw that her teenage son had started to out to help his dad then he too began to drown...The woman knew she needed to save her child and let go of her Husband!"... "Sorry Ben!  I Love you , But....You're on your own!"...

It's AMAZING how much your brain processes in 6 seconds....But, SERIOUSLY this ALL went through my head.  Luckily, Ben was able to pull to cord and get out ok. We laughed about it right away of course, but I did inform him of my decision of the kids over him...which he actually agreed with!... And here's the lovely video of the whole thing for you all to enjoy! :D 

If you listen closely, you might be able to hear the expletive I let fly in the middle of it all! 

YES!.. I SWEAR when I'm under stress or REALLY MAD!

Peace OUT!



Eat your {heart} Out Pottery Barn!

I'm so proud of my Bedroom Redecorating project!  We recently bought a KING size bed!  ...WOOOHOOO does NOT cover it!  Let's just say that this thing has single handedly SAVED our marriage! HA! HA!  So we didn't need our queen size bed frame... enter Craigslist! :D And THIS is what we were left with!!!!

The BEFORE!... So sad!

Now I'm not trying to complain... but I was surprised at how depressed this made me!  I felt like we were tranpsorted back to the "college" years! Seriously, that is the only Lamp we have used for years- I'm ashamed to admit it! And not to mention, having a new baby- we...meaning I...just needed a sanctuary!  So I threw my whole heart into this knowing that $$$ was tight. Thanks to ROSS, and TJMAX I bought some "Grown Up" lamps ('cause DANG IT we've been married almost EIGHT years!), a new bed spread set and a GIGANTIC Happy painting!  I had a couple of window panes that I've been wanting to use in my home for  FOREVER!...  and the headboard.....IT'S AN OLD DOOR!!!!  That's right!... We bought an old door at our local RE-STORE/recycled home goods for 30 BUCKS!  We sanded it,  filled in the "peep hole", painted it and distressed it!  I'm VERY ELATED with the results-  It BOOSTED my soul AND was easy on my wallet!

TAAAA- DAAAAA!





Yup! .....It's a DOOR!!!



My New {BEST} Friend

Due to the extra laundry load that comes with an extra child, Ben and I decided to add a Laundry Chute! Yeah! It's something that we've been wanting to do for a while, but we couldn't quite figure out where to put it upstairs that would be functional, as well a... cosmetically appealling. Our upstairs isn't exactly screaming, "I HAVE FREE SPACE! Use me!" Our house doesn't even have a linen closet.... I would KILL for an ACTUAL linen closet!!! We knew that Mason's Bathroom was approximately above the laundry room so that made it and easy pick. However, again....not exactly ample in size by ANY means! We thought about putting it in the wall behind the door, but would need and extra 3-4 inches jetting out to minimize blockages and have a healthy flowing chute! Alas, that would mean we couldn't open the door... So that was out!

Then, during a middle of the night feeding, I HAD AN EPIPHANY! "Why not use the cabinet under the sink as our point of entry!!!" It's not like we utilized it any way! I'm sure I'm not the only one here, but I would keep the MOST random stuff under there!.... Half used bottles of lotions and potions from who knows how long ago...Shampoo and Conditioners that maybe had 1/4 of it still in it! WHY I was holding on to this CRAP... I DUNNO! I believe its a deeper psycological issue that MANY women have! HOLLA!! Anyway, I digress!...It was PERFECT! I was soo excited I ran and tackled Ben, waking him up, to share my ingenious new plan of attack! ....Was he as thrilled as I was at that moment?....NO!- but the next morning when he ACTUALLY woke up, I reminded him of how intelectually brilliant his wife is and he jumped on board! We figured we could even wrap up this life altering project in ONE weekend! ....... K- So it ACTUALLY took 3 weekends and our excitement might have fained just a little bit! :D We ran into set back after set back! This turned into a VERY customized job for the space we had available. Ideally, We would have LOVED to have the laundry exit into sometype of cabinet over the washer and dryer; however, floor joyces and the toilet prevented that... maybe the next house! Ben figured out how to work the entry door portion of it, the plumbing portion of it, the exit trap door portion of it and moved and rewired to electrical wires in our way. He cut and nailed all the boards, figured out the best "SLIDE" material, even painted and caulked to seams....I stood by for comic relief and made a MEAN glass of lemonade---BUT! Let's not forget WHO had the idea! Ha! Ha!

Exit box in Laudry room

Looking up at Mason who LOVES to help on laundry Day!

Normal looking Cabinet... Right?!

Open mode!  {heart}

Truly, this would NOT have happened without my Handy Dandy Hubby! I love him soo much and am in awe of his mechanical know how! This is one thing that has made my life a little easier and almost makes me look forward to Laundry day......ALMOST! THANK YOU BEN!!!!

Mascara Maheim!

Why is it SOO hard to find a good Mascara?!?!?!  It frustrates me to no end!!! I've got so many tubes of this stuff that I can't bring myself to use because I HATE them so!... This one's too clumpy... This one doesn't wash off.... This one wears off to quick.... This one drowns my lashes and makes them look like SPIDER LEGS!!!!  UGH! Enough!

I think I've finally  found my FAV!  It's Lash Stiletto by Maybeline***.  I like that it really lengthens without CAKING it on!  It washes off pretty easily too, no residual residue from the day before to mess with.  I'm excited to try their new VOLUMPTOUS Stiletto mascara when this tube runs out!  Try it ... Hope you like it!

Is there any fav you guys have????  DO SHARE!!!

***This is not a paid advertisement for Lash Stiletto Mascara....it just sounds like one! HA! HA! :D

Art in the sky!

Ever since we moved to Boise, we've heard about the incredible hot air balloon Festival.  It's sounded amazing!  Alas, the city canceled it (for whatever reason) that same year we got here!  And they haven't done it since!  ....UNTIL this year!  We FINALLY got to see it and it was MORE THAN COOL!  Really! ...A site to behold!  I couldn't put my camera down!  Everywhere I looked there was bright colors against the sky line.  We grabbed some McD's for Breakfast and a blanket and watched the balloons dance around the sky!  Truly, ONE of the coolest things we've done as a family!  And I can't wait to do it again NEXT year!!

"Look Mom! NO HANDS!"

Mason has learned to ride a two wheeler!!!  YEAH!  I'd like to say that we are awesome parents and felt it was time.... BUT, it's really because we are CHEAP!  His training wheels busted off and we didn't want to go buy new ones.  So we took him over to the park where there's ample grassy hills.... and well, we just pushed him down them!  And it WORKED.  So he now graduated to learning on pavement!  He did great!....Except for that ONE pole! :D 

Am I just an AWFUL Mom for posting this?! ...Actually- I'm thinking I'm awful because I can't stop laughing! EVERY time I see it!

Honestly, I expected to pack up the bike for good and Mason to cry the whole way home, NeVeR wanting to try it again.  But, to my surprise-  He got right back on!!!  THAT'S MY BOY!!!!

Manic Monday on a Wednesday~

.....More like PANIC Monday- Money woes, the economy, mommy guilt and such. It's all weighing down on my brain and making it hard to breath a little.  Nothing nobody else is feeling, I'm sure!

Maybe one 0' these'll make me feel better! =D







Yup!  That's Bacon!



Summer of Fun 2010

Put your Clicker on the picture to see what fun we've had this summer!

The Curse Strikes!

The Day after Accident

Type of Coupling that hit him... This is NOT the actual pipe!

So as many of you know, Ben had an accident 3 weeks before Blake was born.  Added for some unnecessary excitement, for sure!   Ben is a Commercial Plumber, he was working on a Hospital in Twin Falls, ID.  (Yep, 3 hours away from home) since June 09.  He went to put some elbow joints on the main line when.... KABLAM!  A piece of pipe went shooting across the room... actually two rooms.  It shot through 2 drywalls and landed in some ducting.  The coupling that holds the pipe (Ben is pointing to in the pic) broke in the explosion and smacked Ben in the left side of his face.  He suffered  a concussion, busted a molar and shattered his cheekbone and eye socket in 8- 10 different spots.  Commonly known as a "Blowout Fracture" for those of you who are interested! :D  Subsequently, he had to have 4 titanium plates put in around his eye!  All of his Doctors  were AMAZED that he didn't have any brain damage AND didn't lose his eye.... Oh yeah!- and to be ALIVE!!!!  He has healed quite nicely and is looking as handsome as ever!  We are soo thankful for the protective hands that guarded him that day.  I know that MANY angels, both Heavenly and earthbound, were watching over BOTH of us that day.  I'm so thankful to our Ward, Coworkers, Friends and Family that helped and Prayed for us!  We COULD NOT have gotten thru this without you! THANK YOU!!!!

BTW-  Ben has deemed this incident, "The CURSE of Marrying A McLEAN Woman!"... since my sister's husband, Mario, also suffered a"close call/Lucky-to-be-Alive" jet skiing accident a couple of summers back.  I think it's a LOAD OF CRAP! .... (no plumbing joke intended!!! HA! HA!)

Blake Alexander Taylor

Here he is!.... Blake Alexander Taylor was born on April 12th at 3:14 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was 21.5 inches long! I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have TWO kids now with TWO very distinct and different needs AND those needs occur at the same time everytime. Yowzers... thought it was gonna be easier! :D I feel my head rising above the water a little more each day.

Blake has been a amazing example to me already. He has had to endure more than a newborn should. He has been a fighter LITERALLY from conception. It turns out that I have an extra blood antigen that pretty much ATTACKS anything that isn't me....EVEN if we have the same blood type- which Blake and I do.  These antigens that are still in Blake were attacking and killing his Red Blood Cells (RBC) thus causing his already high billiruben levels to soar. His first week of life was spent under HIGH intensity lights. It even got to the point where we weren't able to even hold him for 4 days straight!

We did an IVIG (Intravenous Immunoglobin) Infusion that sent in the "Cavalry" to attack to "renegade"RBC's.  That worked and allowed us to go home... FINALLY!  Let's just say that I never imagined I'd spend my 30th Birthday in the hospital! :p  Blake still wasn't out of the woods yet.  His hemoglobin Levels and hematocrit #s were still dropping dangerously low.  He endured TWO RBC transfusions and still came out LOVING us!  Poor guys has EVERY right to hate needles!  This made vaccine shots look like small beans!  But, this did the trick- His body has begun taking over and we don't need to intervene anymore!  Blake is a Fighter and SUCH an angel of a baby! I LOVE having two kids!  It's soo adorable watching them interact and make each other laugh- Mason is  a tremendous big brother and has been ever so patient while Mommy takes care of Blakers!  I'm so blessed... My cup runneth over!

My Lovely Baby Bump!

Here it is ya'll! I have 5 more weeks to go! Little Blakers is quite the mover in there! There's been a few times that I've had to stop what I'm doing till he's settled down... usually while I'm talking to my patients! I predict that this one's gonna be a little more of a handful than Mason! But I'm so excited and can't wait to meet this little ball o' energy! I have another appointment tomorrow- Hopefully, I can talk the Doc into letting us take a peak...!

Latest Happenings

Here are some pics from our latest outings!! We had a Fabulous Thanksgiving and Christmas! Got to see family and make some GREAT memories! We also took advantage of our "Cabin Fever" and took a small weekend getaway to Cascade, ID. We stayed at the adorable Ashley Inn and then went on an "Elk Feed Slayride!" Definitley something we won't soon forget! Enjoy our pictures!

(I'm trying a new website for my slide shows... I'm not sure I like 'em...!)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Here's a First look at Our New Arrival!

It is my pleasure to introduce all of you to our newest little boy, Blake. He's scheduled to arrive in April! We've waited a LONG time for this little guy, so needless to say.. we are very excited! He is already sucking his thumb like his big Brother!... Uh oh! :D Mason has been very clear too that he is willing to share his toys with Blake....BUT NOT HIS BLANKY! HA! HA! That's very reasonable, I think!!!!

We are having a hard time thinking of middle names though.... sooo any suggestions would be awesome! :D

Halloween was soo fun this year! Mason was a Scary Spider and Ben and I went as a couple of Nerds!... I know not a big stretch for us! But we were proud of our home made costumes! Yeah for Fall!

Thinking of Summer keeps me WARM!

I know it's a little late in the game for a Summer Recap! But....HEY- It's how I roll! :D I hope you enjoy the slideshow of our goings-ons! COME BACK SOON SUMMER!!!!

This Summer, we went on the funnest trip down to San Diego! We met my Sister, Trysh and her family down there, too! It was sooo awesome to see them again! Mason and his cousin Anissa were INSEPERABLE buddies the entire trip! We had a BLAST and made sooo many GREAT memories! Mason got to ride in his 1st airplane and see the cockpit, as well as- meet the pilot! He dug that with a BIG 'ol shovel! We played at the beaches, hit the San Diego Zoo...and, of course- saw SHAMU! I think I was as amazed as Mason at all the sites to see! Ben and I took a stab at parasailing! It was actually more calming than an adrenaline rush- like I thought it would be! The boat Captain slowed down so we could sink and dip our toes in the ocean.... That was more of a trip 'cause all I could think about was, "...what if JAWS jumped right out just now and swallowed us whole!" :D I'm such a nerd- I KNOW! We had so much fun on our first REAL family vacation! Thanks again, Trysh, for the invite! We will NEVER forget it! (.... or the SUN BURNS! next time we all get MORE sunscreen! HA! HA! :D)

It's True!!!

I've been attacked by the "The computer is too far away from the toilet, so I can't blog" Monster! I told myself I wouldn't fall so far behind whenever we are pregnant....BUT, seriously, who am I kidding?!
Most of you know, that this 1st trimester has kicked my trash! OF COURSE!- we are super excited for our new little addition! BUT, I AM SOO READY for this stage to be DONE! So please, bear with me a little longer as I am starting to feel my head is above the water....Well, my head has BEEN just above the water LITERALLY- for the past 3 months now....but THAT might be a little too graphic for some! :D HA! HA! Summer pics to come- I PROMISE! We did have a GREAT SUMMER!

The Great Closet Overhaul of 2009!!!

I was reading on a friends blog about getting organized and it REALLY inspired me! It's been one of my resolutions this year. Although I'm embarrassed to post these before pics of my pantry and closet, I love the end result -so it's worth it! Hopefully it will serve the greater good and inspire others out there to do the same! :D

My closet ended up being the beginning "project" that truly exploded into a bigger construction zone! The top shelf was ALWAYS a disaster zone before!(As you can see!) The piles constantly ended up merging together and reaching the ceiling making it IMPOSSIBLE to find ANYTHING! Which added to me being late ALL the time! ( another resolution I'm working on FYI! :D) I finally had an epiphany to just add a second shelf, making the 2 foot shelf into TWO 1 foot shelves! BRILLIANT!!!!- Why it took me TWO YEARS to figure that out... I don't know! I enlisted my crew and we got to work! Of course, with ANY project- SOMETHING has to go wrong! For us- We spent two days painting the shelves the WRONG color!... I know it's just a closet- But it really bugged me! We fixed that then everything else went pretty smoothly. Enjoy a slideshow of the process:

HEEEEEEEERE'S THE AFTER SHOTS!!!

I'm trying an new organizational "trick" to help out for next years spring cleaning.... We'll see if it works. I saw it on a home make over show- once you're organized, you hang all your hangers backwards. As you wear and re-hang your clothes up, (hopefully after washing them! :D), you place the hangers on the rod the correct way. After a year, you know what you haven't worn because the hanger is still facing backwards. NEAT, HUH!

I loved how the closet turned out that it SNOWBALLED into ALL of the other closets! It took us about 2 months, but WE FINALLY DID IT! Out with the old!!! Which meant BRINGING IN THE NEW... SHOPPING TRIP! HOLLA! HA! HA! :D