Well, after my last
"celebrity look-alike" post, people started asking me why I hadn't done my kids' look-alikes. So, this time, it's Aiden's turn...mostly because no one has really commented to me yet about who Connor looks like, but I'm open to any ideas you may have. In the meantime, here are the celebrities that Aiden has been compared to.

John Heder (but only in "Blades of Glory"...if you say my kid looks like Napoleon Dynamite, I may bite your head off!)


Owen Wilson. I've been told that Aiden is a chubby-version of him.

So, what do you think? And, by the way, if there are any movie directors out there looking for a young version of either of these actors--feel free to call Aiden's agent (a.k.a. his mom). And be prepared to pay a pretty hefty fee...this kiddo doesn't come cheap! Also, be prepared to deal with his attitude on a daily basis...he's kind of a diva! :) --Lindsay

Well, I've realized in the past few days that I am the mother of two little ladies' men! Both Connor and Aiden are quite fond of little girls and they are not afraid to show it! Let me give you a few examples:

Apparently, Aiden is following in his older brother's footsteps. My friend Tami called me yesterday and told me a funny story. She and her daughter, Maddie (who was born the exact same day as Aiden--only 3 1/2 hours apart), were driving in the car. Here's how the conversation went:

Maddie: Mom, Na-nen (Aiden) kiss Maddie wips!

Tami: Aiden kissed you on the lips?

Maddie: Uh-huh

Tami: When did Aiden kiss you?

Maddie: Nursery. Na-nen kiss Hannah too!

Haha! I laughed so hard! What a crazy kiddo! I'm sure their moms appreciated it too...since Aiden came down with a cough on Monday morning. Nothing says "I love you" like spreading some germs in nursery class! Hopefully, Maddie and Hannah will stay cough-free!

So, there you go! I guess I'm raising a couple of womanizers! But, what can you expect? They ARE Mike's children! Like father, like son, I guess! --Lindsay

Holiday weekends are supposed to be relaxing, right? Well, this weekend has been anything but! I think we all need a long weekend to recover from our long weekend! Let me tell you a little about it...

Thursday (a.k.a. Stuff-Yourself-Until-You-Pop Day): We spent most the day up in Layton at Mike's parents house. It was a lot of fun! Mike's dad made a FABULOUS meal with all the trimmings. After dinner, Mike and Connor disappeared into the basement. After about an hour, I decided to go check on them to see what they were doing...and the above picture is what I found. Mike had come across his old legos from when he was a kid. And, when you combine an engineer with a pile of legos...you can end up with quite the masterpiece! Mike had created this huge castle--complete with a dungeon, trap door & drawbridge...all without instructions. Mike is so funny! He's just a big kid at heart! That's probably what makes him such a great dad. By early evening, we decided that we had digested enough and we dug into all the pies. After we had stuffed our faces for a second time, we decided to head down to Orem to visit my family for awhile. And, we got there just in time to...yep, you guessed it...stuff our faces for a third time. They had pulled out leftovers and were making turkey sandwiches...plus eating pie! It was great! We finally got home--fat & happy--at about 11:00 that night. It was a great day!

Friday (a.k.a. The-Perils-of-Tree-Lighting Day): The day after "stuff yourself until you pop" day, is always "set up the Christmas decorations" day at our house. Every year, I think this day is going to be great! It's going to be like in all the old holiday movies...we're going to turn on some good Christmas music & all set up decorations in a happy, joyous manner. But, is it ever that way? NO!!! It is such a stressful day! By the end of the day, I've yelled, "Boys! Put that down before it breaks!" at least 17 times. I've also yelled, "Aiden! We're trying to decorate the tree...not un-decorate it!" at least 24 times. And, I've yelled, "Everyone stop fighting! This is a happy holiday tradition & we WILL have fun doing it!" at least 32 times! As you can tell, this is not the best way to invite that fabulous holiday spirit into our home...yet, we do it year-in-and-year-out. Well, this year was worse than usual. Mike brought our fully assembled and lit tree (he refuses to take it apart or take the lights off every year) upstairs and plugged it in...only to find out that 6 of our 13 strands were not working! Mike, being the engineer that he is, started trying to fix them. That was at about 10:00 in the morning. At roughly 6:30 that night--after tirelessly working & even employing the help of our electrician friend, Cameron--a dispirited Mike finally admitted defeat to the half lit evergreen and gave up. That night, we went over to our friends'--The Skinners--house and tried to relax with a couple rousing games of Outburst & Apples to Apples. It was a fun end to a very frustrating day.

Saturday (a.k.a. "Driving-To-Every-Superstore-In-The-Valley-To-Look-For-Lights-is-All-the-Rage" Day): The next morning, after work, I decide to head to Target to buy more lights for our poor, pathetic tree. I get to the Target in Sandy, only to realize that I have left my wallet at home. I decide to not even go into the store...I just head home to get my wallet. I grab my wallet and then decide that I might as well go to the Target in American Fork since I'm this far south anyway. I get to the AF Target only to realize that Target no longer carries the red & white strands of lights that our tree is covered in. I call Mike, who tells me to buy a few strands of white and a few strands of red. He says that he can take every other red light out and replace it with a white light from the other strand...hence, creating a red & white strand. Sounds like a lot of work, but I agree...only to find out that Target is all out of red lights! Mike tells me to buy only white lights and he will use the red lights from the busted strands to fill in every other light. I buy 4 strands of white lights. A guy (who installs Christmas lights for a living) overhears our conversation and suggests that I drive down to Sprinkler World in Orem because they have red & white alternating strands. I drive down there only to discover that the lights he was talking about are LED lights and are $12 for 50 lights. I decide that I don't feel like spending $96 for the 400 lights I need to buy, so I leave. On the way home, I decide to head to WalMart to see if they have any red lights. They are all out as well, but I decide to ask a girl if she will check in the back for me. She returns with a box of red lights. Unfortunately, they have white cords...not very good for an evergreen tree. At this point, I don't care. I, along with about 10 of my now closest friends, swarm the box. All the red lights are gone within seconds. I call Mike to tell him of my good fortune. He recommends that we buy some white lights in the same brand so that we KNOW the lights will be interchangeable. We can return the Target lights some other time. I take my "great finds" home only to realize that even though lights might be the same brand, it doesn't mean the lights will be interchangeable. The white lights are bigger than the red and, therefore, can not be switched. At this point, Mike and I decide that interchanging lights is going to be impossible. Our only option is to take the all-white light strands & all-red light strands and double wrap the tree. Only one problem...the red lights have white strands and it looks HORRIBLE on the lovely green needles. I decide that I MUST find more red lights. Rather than waste more gas, I decide to start calling stores to find lights. Finally, I decide to call the Sandy Target (the one I had gone to about 6 hours earlier, but then realized I had forgotten my wallet). They had some...in fact, they had pallets upon pallets of lovely red lights with green cords. When I heard that, I was about to explode!!! Had I had my wallet earlier that morning, all of this chaos could have been avoided! Just my luck! We jump in the car and head up there to buy our beloved red lights, then come home and finish lighting our tree. Here's the final product (all 1700 bulbs):

Mike also decided to take all our extra white lights and decorate the kids playhouse. It's pretty cute...it looks like a little gingerbread house:

Sunday (a.k.a. "The-Day-of-Rest" Day): I have never been so excited for a Sunday. It was nice to take a break after the previous few days. We went to church...and we got to substitute a primary class during the last hour, which was really fun for me...and then we had my parents over for dinner.

So, that was our holiday weekend! Not very relaxing...but at least we got to spend some time together and that's all that really matters, right! --Lindsay

Well, today was Oprah's annual "Favorite Things" show. I look forward to this show every year. She always has the best finds! This year, I decided to put together a list of some of MY favorite finds from the past year. Of course, mine aren't as cool (or as expensive) as Oprah's...but I LOVE them! So, here they are...

Paige Jeans. I have finally found a jean that I LOVE! I always have the hardest time finding jeans that fit me. Everyone thinks that being skinny is awesome, but really it's not that great...especially when you are jean shopping. My waist is only a size 24 (I know...totally pathetic), but my legs are as long as an average 5' 8" woman. I'm totally bizarre shaped...I know. Anyway, these weird proportions make jean shopping difficult...to say the least. If I can even find a 24 waist, they are always too short. And, if I get a jean long enough for my legs, they are always too big in the waist. But, that all ended in July when I was introduced to Paige jeans. My sister, Kristin, actually recommended them to me. I will NEVER buy another brand of jean ever again. Not only do they actually fit me everywhere, but they are a heavy jean that won't get holes quite so easily. If you're interested you can find them in the t.b.d. department at Nordstrom.

My next favorite thing is Soft Scrub's Deep Clean Foaming Spray. This stuff has made bathroom cleaning SOOOO enjoyable. I used to use Lysol's bathroom cleaner exclusively because it cleaned everything so well, but I HATED the smell. So, when I saw that Soft Scrub had come out with a bathroom spray, I decided to try it. It works so well, plus it just smells clean...it doesn't smell chemically! And, you would not believe how it cuts through that soap scum that can build up on your shower walls. I absolutely LOVE it!

Another one of my favorite things was introduced to me last Christmas by my parents. It's the Apples to Apples game. It is a crack up! Each player has seven cards with random objects, people, places, etc. written on them. Then, another card with a random adjective (pretty, smelly, controversial, etc.) is placed in the middle. Each player has to put down the card that they believe best describes the adjective. It is a riot! If you're looking for a good party game, or a game to play with friends after dinner, THIS is it!

My next favorite thing was given to me just the other day. My mom gave me this peppermint rubber scraper from Crate & Barrel. It is so cute...and may even get me to do a little baking this holiday season! Who would have ever thought that we would need Christmas cooking utensils?!? Leave it to Crate & Barrel to come up with that one! I love it!

My next favorite was another one that I found just a few days ago. It's these Pledge Wipes for Stainless Steel. If you have stainless sinks or appliances, you know how hard they are to keep shiny and fingerprint-free. I've tried just about everything...and this is the only thing that actually works! I have never seen my sink shine like this since the day it was put in my house! And, the best part, it stays shiny days after you've used it! It's fabulous!

One of my most favorite things this year was given to me by Mike as a birthday present. And, the best part...it only cost him $9.99! It's these pajama bottoms by Xhiliration. I have several pairs of these and they are SOOO comfy! I sometimes wear them all day if I'm just staying home to clean my house or lounge around. You can find them at Target and they have cute tops that match as well. I got a cute red, waffle hoodie with mine. I love it! It's one of the cutest outfits I own...and they're PJs!!!

Another one of my favorites is the "Twilight" series. My friend, Alicia, recommended these books to me and, I'll be honest, at first I didn't want to read them. After all, they're vampire books...and I'm usually not into that fantasy kind of stuff. Well, after much persuasion, I gave in and bought the first book. I fell in love with it within the first 30 pages! Unfortunately, I haven't had a whole lot of time recently to read, but I only have about 100 pages left, so when I finish...I'll let you know what I think.

Another of my most favorite things I found this year is Clinique's All About Eyes Rich. I've used their normal All About Eyes before and liked it, but I absolutely LOVE this version. I put it on morning and night right below my eyes. It totally gets rid of puffiness and dark circles...plus, helps with those few fine lines I've started to get in the past year. This stuff is a staple in my makeup bag nowadays!

My last favorite thing (and one of the best) is the Candlebreeze! If you know me well, you know that I have an ULTRA sensitive nose. If there is a bad smell to be found, I will find it...so my house must smell good at all times. Because of this, I've been a candle freak for about the past 10 years. I've always been a Salt City Candle girl, but Mike heard about the Candlebreeze a few months ago and bought one for me. I was hesitant at first. How could I use something instead of my Salt City's? I felt like a traitor, but I decided to give it a try. After the first couple of hours, I was hooked! I couldn't believe how strong the scent was! In fact, two hours later, I turned the candlebreeze off because the smell was getting a little too strong. And, even after turning it off, my house continued to smell good for the rest of the day! Since I started using the Candlebreeze, I have had so many compliments on how good my house smells...even the UPS guy commented on it the other day! The Candlebreeze itself is about $40 and the refill waxes are $10. The refills last for a month or more because you only have to turn it on for a few hours each morning & your house smells good for the rest of the day! It is AWESOME!!!

So those are my great finds for 2007! Hopefully, you like them as much as I do! --Lindsay

A few months ago, I put up a post with the celebrities that I get compared to most often. Well, after several comments in the past few weeks about celebrities that Mike looks like, we decided to do it for him as well. Below are the celebrities that people have told Mike that he looks like:

Peter Gallagher: Sexy OC Dad & "While You Were Sleeping" Hottie

Hugh Jackman: Fine-looking X-Man (even through all the hair)

George Michael: Lead singer of Wham! & Gorgeous Gay Man

Quote #1: The other night, Connor was saying his prayers. He was thanking Heavenly Father for all his blessings...going through them one-by-one. He always thanks him for just about everything he can think of...in fact, many times, I've caught him opening his eyes so that he can LOOK for things to say he's thankful for. Anyway, so the other night, he's going through his normal routine of thanking Heavenly Father for his toys, his friends, his family, his room, etc. All the sudden, he paused for a second and said, "Thank you...that I can be so awesome!" And, then he went on with the rest of his prayer. It took everything in me not to bust up laughing! What a funny kid!

When Connor was about 18-months-old, we started doing "story time" every night before bed. We always read three books & one scripture story out of Connor's kid-version of the Book of Mormon (which, by the way, I found out a few weeks ago DOES count as family scripture study--ROCK ON!!!) Anyway, it's always been a fairly quiet, peaceful time of the day...until a few weeks ago, when Aiden figured out what was going on every night after he was put to bed. Well, he INSISTED...literally...on becoming a part of this nightly ritual. And, for those of you that know Aiden, you know that anything he is involved with can NOT be done in a quiet & peaceful manner (just ask the people who sit behind us in church every week)! Anyway, it starts out fairly good...for about 3 or 4 minutes...

But, then Aiden decides he can't sit still anymore and becomes interested in anything else around him. This then gets Connor going as well. Leading to me becoming a step stool instead of a storybook reader...

Eventually, Aiden gets bored of the inanimate objects around him and decides to attack something living...easiest target--Connor!

By the end of my "story time", Mike has usually joined in the wrestling match and we have 4 people in Connor's little twin-size bed...

I'm thinking of changing the name of this nightly ritual from "story time" to "wrestling time" forever more! I am so sick of testosterone! Help me!!! --Lindsay

Well, Connor got a hold of our camera this evening...and boy did he EVER get a hold of it! He took 58 pictures!!! After he was done, he proudly brought me the camera and said, "Here Mom! I took some pictures! You can put them on your blog if you want!" So, here they are (at least the ones that were semi-focused) for your viewing pleasure. My friend, Ashley, has a little girl who did the same thing a few months ago. Ashley actually classified the pictures into collections, and I thought it was so cute that I've done the same with Connor's...

Air Vent Series

Self Portrait Collection

Furniture Still Life Series

Family Portrait Collection

Maybe I have a photographer in the making! --Lindsay

Well, this weekend was a busy--but very fun one--and, yes, it had to do with a Birthday & Christmas. Let me explain. Mike turned 32 on Thursday (what an old man) but he had to go to work and school all day long (boo hoo), so I surprised him on Friday. He got home from work and I told him to load the kids up in the car. "Why?" He asked, "Where are we going?" I explained to him that we were taking the kids to my parents house and then going out on a "birthday date". Mike and I don't get to go out as often as we would like...mainly because he goes to school two nights during the week & I have to go to bed at a decent time on Fridays and Saturdays. So, our only available nights are Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Sunday is always out...for obvious reasons. Monday is family night. And, Wednesdays are always crazy at our house...it seems like there is always something on the calender...and if there isn't, we usually fill it up with projects or errands that need to be taken care of. Anyway, so you can see why we don't make it out very often.

Okay, back to the story. We dropped the kids off at my parents house & then I let Mike pick whatever he wanted to do. Mike decided to do dinner and a movie. Both of us had been wanting to see "Dan in Real Life". A lot of people have told us how funny it is...plus we just love Steve Carell more than anything, so we went and bought our tickets. We only had about 45 minutes to kill before the movie started, so we got dinner at Magleby's Fresh. Oh...Magleby's Fresh...my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I love their stuffed breadsticks! They are to die for!!!

After dinner, we rushed back to the movie theatre and got there just as the previews were starting. Apparently, a lot of other people are in love with Steve Carell or had heard that "Dan in Real Life" was funny because the theatre was PACKED! We ended up sitting on the front row, but hey, at least we didn't have to worry about some extremely tall person sitting down in front of us, right!?! Anyway, the movie was HILARIOUS! At one point, I was crying uncontrollably from laughing so hard! And, I think I got a full ab workout too! I don't think I'll have to do crunches for at least a week...or at least that's what I'll tell myself! For those of you that have seen the movie, the middle child...the one that was "so in love" was TOTALLY me when I was a teenager! I was so dramafied about everything. As I watched the movie, I realized what HELL I had put my parents through during those teenage years. So, when we went to pick up the boys, I apologized profusely for the 4+ years of drama I had caused! :) Haha...good times!

So, that was the birthday part of my weekend. The Christmas part came the next day when my mom and one of my sisters made our annual Christmas shopping trip! We always pick a Saturday during the month of November and we go shopping ALL DAY! We always do it in November because 1) you don't have worry about crowds so much, 2) a lot of the stores are already having good deals anyway, and 3) then you can sit back and actually enjoy your December. It is amazing how much we get done in one day! In fact, my kids are pretty much done...except for a few other little things and one big thing that I still have to get. Now, I just have to hope that they don't change their minds about what they want! If they do, I guess I'll have a lot of exchanging to do! --Lindsay