The Art of Beauty

The fine art of beautification takes many years and time to learn......for some.

For others it is an inherit gene that sparks to life with your first make-up bag, of course this must be given to you by your grandmother!

You learn in a very short period of time how to neatly apply the lipstick properly, this talent comes after watching and copying Grandma numerous times.

The eyeshadow is a bit tricky for most people. However, when supplied with the proper eye shadow brush it is a breeze!

Need less to say that here at Chez Steffensen, beauty is taken very seriously!

Oh to be 3!

The joys of being 3! Mia was really quiet and really busy today for a few minutes. I, of course, was feeding the little guy and walked into the kitchen to see this lovely creation. I think she gets her power to create from her super goggles! A must have for all projects!

On a side note, I thought this was funny. While trying to round-up all the children into their PJ'S and get ready for scripture study, I was locating all the children in various parts of the house. Sabrina was still in the bath, Espen was playing computer with Mia and I couldn't find Spencer. I thought the following exchange was note worthy:

Me: "Spencer.....Where are you?" (calling from the stairs)
Spencer: "I'm up here....in my room."
Me: "What are you doing?"
Spencer: "Pretending to dunk!"

So I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, although I don't think I ever pretending to dunk, I do believe Allen, Mark and Dad all did. I have hand prints on every door frame in this house and I have to be on constant alert with Spencer after school or Sports Center gets more attention than his piano! Spencer is finding a true love for the game of basketball, it is so fun to talk with him about the NBA, and now he is getting into the NCAA as well. He scored the winning basket in practise during a scrimmage, he was so excited to tell me all about it when he got in the car. He is like a sponge, once he likes something, he sinks into it head to toe and heart and soul.

Big Sister--the Babysitter!

The baby was getting a little fussy, so Mia's smarts took over and she found a way to distract him from the fact that he isn't being held by his mother at that precise moment!

All you have to do is shake a box of Tic-Tacs and all is well!

He loved it and quieted right down the minute she started to shake away!

Going a little cross eyed there!

The influence of an older silly brother. Espen has taught Mia the fine art of inserting the bunny ears in photos!

Love That Thumb!

Well I don't know if it is quite official yet, but it looks like William will be a thumb loving baby!

We took these photos today, I think it is darling to see that little tiny thumb in his cute little mouth. Although Uncle Troy may not think it is so cute when it comes to the possible dental work!! Let's hope this habit just stays long enough to make it through the time Kenneth is gone!

Darling baby boy!

Luck of the Irish

Today's quick note: Didn't lose any weight this week, but didn't gain any either. Quite an accomplishment considering we did a farewell tour of Kenneth's favorite restaurants this last week! 5-Guys, In-n-Out, Macaroni Grill.......So on to this week. And here is hoping I not only survive but that I drop a few along the way!

Day One!

This is how dark it was when we pulled away from the house on the way to the airport this morning at 4:00am!

It snowed all evening and we woke up to TONS of the white stuff!

These are just some of the photos of the trees at 4:00am with all the snow on them.

It was a jam packed day today, starting with a 4am trip to the airport. It was a tearful good-bye as we sent Kenneth off to Norway for an unknown amount of time. Hopefully it won't be for too long, and it will have a positive ending.....A JOB! When we returned from the airport we had some quick naps (some of us did, right when I was ready to finally put head to pillow, William decided it was a great time to hand me a treasure, in his diaper!) then on to the basketball games.

Game One: Spencer and his fellow 5th graders. It was a GREAT game as Spencer got numerous rebounds and made 3 shots! One was a swish from downtown (well kind of!) There are no photos of Spencer playing yet as William was a little too much work this morning.

We returned home to quickly shovel the drive-way, have a small bite to eat and then it was Game Two: Sabrina scored the first basket of the game! I was able to capture a few photos during her game.

After the game came the promised In-n-Out burger trip for a late lunch! Spencer ordered the usual Double-Double, while the rest of us got regular cheese burgers.

So by 2 o'clock I was spent! So we plan to relax tonight and go to bed early! 9:00am church comes early!

Will

Monday Update

So after hitting a bit of a wall later in the week I still managed to drop about 2 lbs last week, so the total is -5lbs so far. I watched an episode of the Biggest Loser and apparently week 2 is notorious for being a hard week. So I am feeling better about that. Today is quite busy, I need to go up Megan's, and back down here all by 4pm! Wish me luck!

What Happens when Mom is Busy!

I was busy with the baby, and homework the other day and stumbled into the kitchen to find Mia busy with her post-it notes! Life of a four year, it must be bliss! No need to spend tons of $$ on toys, I guess all I need to have is some post-it notes around the house!

A Little Less There!

So this is just a little update on my weight loss goals. I think I'll do this once a week, hopefully on Mondays, that way it will keep me being good on the weekend. So far it looks like I have lost 3lbs! So I am excited about that, it is a place to start if anything. I am not sure how good the weight scale is on the Wii, it doesn't seem to correspond with my bathroom scale. However, I am pleased with the start even though today proved to be a test. Baby William has been a little more fussy than usual which made my chance for some good exercise slim to none! The air quality right now in Utah is terrible, the worst in the country, so I can't go for a walk yet either. To top all that Kenneth made brownies for a treat tonight for FHE.
I think will power is overrated! I have been trying to cut off my nightly grazing through the cupboards and I think it is the main reason why I have lost 3 lbs in a week. So we'll see if I can keep it up, knowing there might be a few cheerleaders looking for these posts and cheering from the blog sidelines help me keep going and resist eating the entire pan of brownies!
Thanks, and we'll see what this week brings!

Old Yeller!

We rented Old Yeller from the Library last week and Mia loves the song, so here is her rendition of it:

Reality Check

Reality hit me square in the face yesterday as I admired our family photos we had taken. I was as proud as a peacock as I look at my children's darling little faces, but completely horrified when I looked at myself and I started to question if that could possibly be me.

We all have our trails, shortcomings etc, I always thought mine was that I flourished a little too much in the roll of "Older Sister!" It is a running joke amongst my siblings that they are never "really" sure what my opinion is on something! (that is being sarcastic, they ALWAYS know what I think about a situation). Allen loves to tease by saying: "Come on Bon, tell me what you REALLY think!"

Be that as it may, and I really don't think that it is going to change anytime soon :), another one of my biggest harships is that I seem to take on the size of a whale after each child is born. Not only that, but it seems to take an eternity to get the weight off, and by that time, there is another child on the way.

So now I sit, knowing that it is the new year, also knowing that I am 99% sure that there really shouldn't be any more babies coming, so now there is no more excuses. This year I have finally come to the realization that life is passing me by and I am watching from my FAT pants! NO MORE. I want to look in the mirror and not have to wonder who is behind me casting that enormous reflection!

I have set the goal to lose 100lbs this year. Yes it is daunting to look at that big number, but I really need to lose that much! I would state what my weight is now, but I am not sure I want that figure rolling around in cyberspace at the minute.

So from time to time, there may be a little update on my progress, my ups and my downs, how much to date I have lost etc. I really didn't plan on writing about this, but I realized that if I did, someone might be checking up on me!
So the big goal is 100lbs by December 31, 2010. Short term goal is 10 lbs, hopefully by Jan 31, 2010!
Wish me luck, I'll need it!

William's Blessing Day

What a wonderful way to begin the year. William was blessed today at church. It was a beautiful sunny day that started early as we now have 9:00am church. I have been looking forward to 9:00am church for an entire year now. Even though it was slightly difficult to roll out of bed at 7:00am, it is so nice to be home at 12:00 noon.





The Boys

William did wonderfully during his blessing, he started off asleep and woke up during it, but didn't make a peep. He is getting so big, now fitting into all of his 6 month clothing, stretching out those sleepers that I never though he would. Why do they have to grow so fast, I am going to savory each little stage William goes through, as I know it is the last time, as a mother, I'll have a little one.

Here are some of the photos of our day, Megan and Blake along with Tristan and Isabella came down for the day. They stayed for dinner, and we tried to take some photos, Bella wasn't too excited about that until she was able to have a toy with her in the picture. Tristan just played and said "CHEESE!" while playing!

My children are all growing up so fast, and I hope I have the presence of mind to enjoy them now and while they are with me, before I know it Spencer will be off on a mission, Sabrina off to University, and Espen will be trying to drive!