no frills no fuss...........

When I was a wee girl, growing up in Scotland with my family of nine, We did not have much money, and my mum would create all sorts of interesting combinations, ( she would throw whatever was going bad in the fridge right into that pot!), and that would be our "tea" (dinner). I was probably the pickiest of her children, and I would not eat anything with onions, meat, sweetcorn, cornflakes, mushrooms, curry, any vegetables, etc etc..... I would find different ways of trying to dispose of my meal without my mum knowing. My most creative idea was to shove as much food into my mouth as possable, and run into the bathroom and spit it out in the toilet!! (no I dont have an eating disorder). Another classic was.... I would mash up the offending "food" and put it under my plate (inbetween my placemat) and then I would carry the placemat and plate together into the kitchen sink! (yep that one was brilliant!)

As I grew into a teenager, I began to open my mind and mouth to most foods, I now love nearly everything that is available to the tastebuds! There is only one problem, I am a brand name snob! My mum used to shop in a place called "shoprite", It was known for its cheap prices, and their slogan was... "No frills, no fuss" (The idea was, that the packaging was very simple and cheap, so that they could keep the prices low!) My mum was hooked! She loaded up on the value items! The name was ..... "no frills" and our kitchen cupboards were riddled with this "brand". (oh the thought makes me shudder) no frills beans, bread, jam, no frills yoghurt, cheese etc. I walk into the bathroom to be greeted with ..."no frills" toothpaste, soap and shampoo, and dont even start me on the "no frills toilet paper!!!!" oh it was terrable!!!

I would spend my time trying to hide various "no frills" items. In the hope that my mum would go to "tescos" and buy some heinz and campbells etc. My mum doesnt work that way I'm afraid, and she continued to stock up on "no frills". Finally, when I was 18, we moved house. Conveniently our new house was located right next door to "Tescos", My mum began doing all her shopping there, and it was bye bye to "no frills" and hello to "tesco value". Tesco value was not as offensive as "no frills" but I still didnt understand why she couldnt just buy the "good stuff!"

I am now a mummy myself, and I now understand why she couldnt buy the "good stuff", when we are going round the shop, I usually choose the store brand, unless it just cant be compromised e.g toothpaste, shampoo etc.

The reason I have rambled on about my snobbery, is because yesterday I learned a valuable lesson. Mark and I had taken the boys to the cabin overnight, and we drove into showlow, to get some pizza. We ate all that we wanted, and asked for a box, to take the rest home. We stoped at circle K to get some milk, and we saw a man there, rummaging through the rubbish bin, We decided we should offer him our left over pizza. ( I was worried that he might be offended, but we thought we should ask him anyway) So Mark gave him our leftover pizza, and the man was so grateful, as we drove off, I looked at him through the window and saw him tucking into the pizza. It made me cry, and I felt so spoiled and lucky! I have always had warm food to eat, and have been surrounded by people who care about me. I was grateful for the opportunity to teach kyle and Brody about people who are less fortunate than us, and how we should love and help eachother. I want to try and be more frugal, so that I will have more to share with whoever needs it. I hope that I can be less snobby about the brand names, because there are people who literally dont have anything! I am so blessed!

ha ha

A woman and a baby were in the doctor's examining room, waiting for the doctor to come in for the baby's first exam. The eye-candy pediatrician arrived, and examined the baby, checked his weight, and being a little concerned, he asked if the baby was breast-fed or bottle-fed? "Breast-fed,"she replied. "Well, strip down to your waist," the doctor ordered. She did.
He pinched her nipples, pressed, kneaded, and rubbed both breasts for a while in a very professional and detailed examination. Motioning to her to get dressed, the doctor said, "No wonder this baby is underweight. You don't have any milk." "I know," she said, "I'm his Grandma, but I'm glad I came."

happy.............

I just had an ultrasound and saw my growing baby! We got to hear the heartbeat too which was beautiful. I absolutely love being pregnant it makes me very happy. (it helps that I don't seem to get sick at all). My only real symptom so far is...... extreme HUNGER!! seriously, I eat my breakfast at 8am, and by 10am, I am ready to rip my stomach out!! I went to "in and out" burger at 10am on Tuesday!! I am definitely going to get massive again this pregnancy! oh dear!
so anyway, we are all very happy, and enjoying this special time of waiting and preparing for our new little bundle! Its all sooo exciting!
I recall mothers day, (not so long ago) when I sat in church and buried my head into my dress and sobbed, never knowing if I would ever get the chance to be a mother. (it was my only desire). We adopted sweet baby "Kyle Mark" in November 04, and finalized in may the following year. He was sealed to us in the temple the day before mothers day. It held such significance to me, and the sorrow that I had experienced the year before, had been replaced with a joy that I could hardly contain. Being sealed to my special little boy, was one of the highlights of my life! It is sometimes difficult to see the whole picture, and trust in Heavenly Fathers hand.
I am soo grateful for the blessing of adoption. I am also very grateful for medical science, and its role in bringing our sweet baby "Brody Glen" into the world. I am so excited to be carrying another little miracle inside me, and for the opportunity to be a mother! It is my favourite job in the world!!! I feel so honored to be able to raise my little boys. kyle impresses me every day with all the amazing facts he has learned, he knows some Spanish, he recites the 1st article of faith, he even knows Marks mobile number! He is so clever and mature for his age and I am so proud of him. Brody makes me laugh my head off everyday with his feisty little attitude... The other day he said to me (completely out of the blue) " I no like Tacobell anyMORE!!!" (em... ok!!!????) Whenever I put him in his car seat, he starts screaming impatiently..... "air on!! air ON!!!!!" ( in Arizona weather who could really blame him?) I really do feel so blessed, I feel like I am living in my dreams, and I get to share it all with my best friend Mark!

Katie and Rosie

Here are some pics of my identical twin nieces! They are soo pretty and I miss them so much. seriously how cute are these girls?

REMEMBER - ONLY ONE WORD
1. Where is your cell phone? -- lost!
2. Your significant other? -- Mark
3. Your hair? -- brown
4. Your mother? --nice
5. Your father? -- overweight
6. Your favorite thing? -- family
7. Your dream last night? -- interesting
8.Your favorite drink? – d.coke
9. Your dream/goal? – salvation :)
10. Room you're in? – office
11. Your hobby? -- socialising
12. Your fear? – responsability
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? -- scotland
14. Where were you last night? -- barros
15. What you're not? -- cleaning
16. Muffins? -- blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? -- pedicure
18. Where you grew up? -- dundee
19. The last thing you did? -- phoned
20. What are you wearing? --clothes
21. Last person you talked to? -- Cheryl
22. Your pets? -- chloe
23. Your computer? -- slow
24. Your life? -- fun
25. Your mood? -- bored
26. Missing someone? -- pauline
27. Your car? – jeep
28. Something you're not wearing? -- shoes
29. Favorite store? – target
30. Your summer? – HOT!
31. Love someone? -- everyone
32. Your favorite color? -- pink
33. When is the last time you laughed? -- minute
34. Last time you cried? -- today