burp rags for the bored

i made some of these at an enrichment activity. it's just cloth diapers with ribbon sown on the edges. kristina wants to make some, so she asked me to post some pics so she'd know how to make them. another girl at enrichment sewed a wide ribbon on the edge and then went in an inch and sewed a thin ribbon on...it looked really cute. for a boy you could use camo ribbon, or ribbon with cars/trucks on it etc... if anyone has the desire to learn to sew this is a great first project.

kristina- the marker is to give you an idea of how big the diapers are...i couldn't find my ruler!!

kristina's baby...boy or girl?

it's a BOY! jeff and kristina had their ultrasound today and she just called to tell me they're having a boy! i'm super excited for them. it figures they would get a boy on they're first try! ha ha jeff's not going to let derek live that down! for now the name is clayne jeffery...which i think is darling. all i know is that our next kid better be a boy...i can't handle having one more girl's hair to do!!! plus, derek needs a turn taking a kid to the bathroom when we're out in public!

stop that...rewind.

i was going through my pics and i realized i totally forgot to blog about katelyn and annie's first ice skating experience. so, back to december 28th...jeff, my dad, derek, the girls and i went ice skating. (my mom and kristina stayed home with samantha.) the girls were really excited! i got their skates on and then my dad took kate and derek took annie. i didn't skate...i just went to take pics and witness the girls' first time on the ice. it was hilarious...i was cracking up the whole time!! the girls' legs were flying everywhere! like the part in the movie bambie where he's on the ice and his legs are flailing every which way!! derek and my dad had a hold of the back of the girls' coats and they were pretty much just dragging them around! then we noticed some other little kids had big traffic cones they where hanging on to, so the girls tried that and it worked alot better. they actually got the hang of it really quick.

after they skated with the cones for a bit they got alot more comfortable and brave. they also saw other little kids skating on their own, so they girls decided to ditch their cones. i was so proud of them for giving it a try...and they really did well. it was alot of fun. unfortunately the night was cut short because katelyn biffed it and hurt her wrist. we had to take a trip to the ER and she ended up with a hairline fracture in her wrist. she had to wear a splint for 3 weeks. it's all better now, and she has started asking about ice skating again!!

hilary for prez???

please no.

i got tagged

my seester tagged me, so here it goes.

What's his name? Derek Kevin Oliverson
How long have you been together? we've been married 7 1/2 years.
How long did you date? ok, i don't know the exact timing, but it's something like we dated for 6 weeks and then were engaged for 2 months.
How old is he? 28...he'll be 29 on super bowl sunday!!
Who eats more? that's a toss up!
Who said I love you first? derek
Who is taller? derek
Who is smarter? we're both smart in different areas. (he's going to laugh when he reads this!)
Who does laundry? usually me, until i get behind...then he "helps".
Who does the dishes? me, but once in a blue moon he does.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? me
Who pays the bills? him, thank goodness. he's very efficient at it.
Who mows the lawn? derek, when we've had one.
Who cooks dinner? me, but he usually helps on sundays or when he wants steak.
Who drives when you are together? derek, and when he insists on me driving he is the worst sideseat driver ever!!!
Who is more stubborn? derek
Who kissed who first? derek kissed me first.
Who asked out who first? derek asked me out, i said yes, and then the day of i tried to cancel...he was having none of that!!
Who proposed? derek, but he claims i did.
Who has more siblings? derek
Who wears the pants in the family? i guess derek does...that's annoying to admit.

i'll tag hhhmmmm...i don't know who has been tagged already, so if you read this and you haven't done it yet then your tagged!!

heath ledger

ok, so i'm not one who idolizes celebrities. i appreciate a good performance in a movie, ect, but i feel like most celebrities are amoral. with that said...i'm sad about heath ledger's death. it just stinks. it wouldn't be bothering me as much if he would've died in an unpreventable way, but it's looking like a drug overdose or suicide...which is just SAD.

samantha and her big girl bed

on saturday morning samantha was awake in her crib jumping around like usual. it's her morning ritual, well, and her after nap ritual too. she holds on to the railing and jumps as high and hard as she can. another thing is that we have wood floors and the crib is on wheels, so while she's jumping the crip is sliding every which way. anyway, back to saturday...i heard a big bang and went in samantha's room and the crib was breaking apart...that night we went and bought her a twin bed. i didn't pick it up until today, so tonight is her first night in a big girl bed. i can't believe it's time for that. she 2 months older than katelyn and annie were, but she seems younger. so i was totally preparing for total chaos at bed time tonight, but i was worrying for nothing. we did our usual night time routine: dinner, bath, teeth, pjs, prayers, and then i laid her down. she snuggled right into bed, i turned the light off, shut the door, and she went right to sleep. HA! who's the bomb! yeahyah!!! i'm hoping it's not just a fluke. i'll report in a couple of nights with an update.

angieoliverson@hotmail.com

i've had a couple people ask for my email address, so i thought i would just post it for a few days.

more from the cruise

alright, i finally finished downloading the pics from the cruise. i've had some technical difficulty getting the videos to upload, but don't worry...they're worth waiting for!!! i've had some friends ask if i was ready to get back to my girls after the trip. the answer is YES! i actually missed them so much the whole time. it didn't help that there were tons of families on the cruise, so i kept seeing kids everywhere! AND derek and i kept talking about how much fun it would be to go on a trip like that with the kids too. oh, and it was so expensive to call home, so we didn't even call and check on them for 3 days. anyway, i missed them i have to admit!! thank you mom for taking such good care of them. too good of a job actually...katleyn told me she kinda wanted me to leave longer so grandma wouldn't have to go home!!the guys were acting like little kids when we got to the beach in cabo. it was hilarious watching them splash each other and try to throw each other in. oh, we almost died trying to get to the beach. we had to take a taxi to get there and our driver was insane. it was actually a big 12 passenger van and he was driving it like a little sports car. i was scared!this is a pic of all of us that sat at our table plus our two waiters. we loved joseph and ranilo...they were great. ranilo brought this napkin person to derek and asked if he thought it was a boy or girl. derek didn't know so ranilo put derek's hand on the napkin and pushed the spoon down. you'll have to try it to find out what happened. we all cracked up laughing so hard!! it was a good time.

cruise to cabo january 3-7th

derek and i finally got some much needed quality alone time. we flew to san diego thursday morning, and got on the ship that afternoon. it was a 4 day 5 night cruise. we went with jeff, and kristina, and our good friends from law school mitch and allie evers. it was a good refresher, and alot of fun. the only bad part was i realized how easily i get motion sickness!! there are alot of pics and one video i'm going to post. jeff was totally the entertainer of the trip. his karaoke performance was probably the highlight of the trip!!!

i really liked going to our room every night and finding the towel animal that was there! i think this one is a lobster.
i was having fun with kristina's "do"...this happened to be my favorite. plus...she asked me to post a good pic of her!! ha ha

happy 29th anniversay mom and dad

we took my parents out to dinner at texas roadhouse on the 27th for their anniversary. we had a good time, and the food was so yummy! i love their ribs!!! at the roadhouse whenever its someone's birthday etc the waiter drags over a saddle and the special person has to sit on it while the whole restaurant yells "YEEEEEEHHHHAAAAWWWW!" i told out waitress it was my parents anniversary, and they were great sports to get on the saddle!!

christmas

since we had a house full of people, samantha slept in our room in her playpen. for some reason she woke up at 5:30am on christmas morning. we were no where near ready to get up, and the big girls were still sleeping...so derek and i just put samantha in bed with us. we should have just gotten up, because she never went back to sleep. she would cuddle with derek for a few minutes and then come lay by me and then with derek and then with me...you get the drift! FINALLY at 8am the girls woke up, and by then samantha was very tired and ornery. katleyn and annie's room is in the basement (jeff and kristina slept down there with them) so they had to stay down there until all the adults had used the restroom and stuff. also, my dad turned on and cranked up the christmas music. i think waiting in the morning is pure torture for kids!!! they were bouncing off the walls! finally they got to come up. santa left them each a card...in katelyn's he thanked her for the apple pie and milk, and in annie's he thanked her for the reindeers' treats. the girls thought that was SO cool! we had a great time opening gifts. after we had waffles with strawberries and whooped cream. the rest of the day we hung out, relaxed, napped and played.

annie asked santa for makeup, and she had to run and put it on the second she opened it!! katelyn asked for a Wii for christmas, but santa didn't really think that was neccesary! lucky for her derek's parents gave us one for the whole family. (she was super excited, but to my relief she was actually more excited about her gifts from santa.) we live right by a wooded area, and christmas morning there were about 6 wild turkeys wondering the neighborhood. my dad thought it would be fun to play national geographic!

christmas eve

we always have christmas dinner on christmas eve. i was really in the mood for turkey, etc...again. luckily kristina had the fabulous idea for us to have ham and cheesy potatoes (aka funeral potatoes). after dinner we had apple pie and vanilla ice cream, and/or chocolate pie with whooped (as we call it) cream. we have the tradition of giving the kids new pjs on christmas eve. we've always done this but katelyn and annie are still too young to remember...so they had no clue what was in the gift we let them open! after the girls changed into their new pjs we watched the animated living scriptures movie about the Savior's birth. the girls were totally into it, and we got to talk about the true meaning of christmas.

i love being a mom...especially on christmas. it's so fun playing santa!! my mom and dad forgot their stockings, so i improvised. i pretty much cracked myself up!

we usually don't wrap the santa gifts, but i thought it would add to the element of surprise if they were wrapped. the girls did have fun unwrapping the gifts. and i have to say...santa brought the perfect gifts this year. he's struck out the past few years, so it was so awesome that this year the girls were so content. they really have been in their playroom every day for hours playing.

the whole fam damily

we've had a busy holiday. but it's been GREAT! first, derek left (i've already written about that fiasco!) the next day kristina got here. we had a good time hanging out. on saturday (the 22nd) we took the girls to see alvin and the chipmunks and then we finished some last minute christmas errands. oh, derek told me to buy myself a camera for christmas!! get ready for lots of pictures! anyway, sunday afternoon jeff flew in, sunday night derek flew in, and then christmas eve afternoon my mom and dad flew in. we had a full house, but i think everyone had a good time.

holy freeholies

derek has been planning on going to vegas this weekend for about 3 months, but the plan was he would be leaving friday. well, our friend, debbie, is a flight attendant and we are able to buy "buddy passes" from her...MUCH CHEAPER. the only catch is that you have to fly stand by. anyway, derek started freaking out today worrying that he wouldn't get on a flight tomorrow, so he decided to leave today. which is great, except we had signed up to have the missionaries over for dinner at 5pm. so, i asked my other friend, teri, to bring her family over for dinner too...can't just be me and the missionaries. anyway, it was 4:40pm and derek leaves. at 4:41 my sister calls, but i tell her i'm too busy to talk. at 4:43 my mother-in-law, marjean, calls but at 4:43 and 10 seconds debbie calls so i ask marjean to hold on a sec. debbie called to remind me that midwest airlines has a policy that standbys can't wear jeans (oh @$#&)...they have to be in khakis etc...i started freaking out, because derek was in jeans. so i hang up with debbie and then try to hang up on marjean so i can hurry and call derek. the first call to derek marjean says hello (apparently i didn't hang up on her) and i tell her i can't talk and hang up on her again. 5 calls later derek picks up and i scream "DO YOU HAVE KHAKIS IN YOUR SUITCASE?!?!" he's like, "ya........why?" so i tell him the story and it's no big deal he just changed at the airport. well, now it's 4:59 dinner's not ready and teri's got about 20 minutes before she can come over, and like usual the missionaries are right on time. i open the door and say "derek's not here, but the kellers are coming over so you can still eat here, but not for 15 minutes so can you go visit someone else for 15 minutes?!" they did, and when they came back we actually had a really good dinner...and it was a good time with the kellers. (teri and i had a good laugh watching wildboyz. i love steve-o...for thoses of you who don't know, or haven't noticed...he's derek's identical twin!!)

crossroads victims

a few weeks ago in omaha a guy went into a department store in the mall and shot the place up. he ended up killing 9 people, and himself. that mall is probably 5 blocks away from the apartment we lived in our first year of law school. there's two other malls in omaha, but that one is our mall. it's the one we ALWAYS go to. even so, i never wrote about it because it didn't seem real. i heard about it from a friend who saw it on the news. well, the other night we went there to finish up some shopping and to take the girls to see santa. 2 of the outside entrances of von maur (the department store) each had about 3 or 4 stanely steamer vans parked by them with a bunch of workers coming in and out of the building. it creeped me out knowing what they were cleaning out of the carpets. at the main entrance of von maur the stairs were COVERED with flowers, stuffed animals, wrapped gift, and tons of other things. i just started crying. that's the stuff you see on the news...it never feels real. it was so weird seeing it in person at a place that is familiar to me. inside the mall von maur has to indoor entrances, and at both of those the doors were covered with letters and pictures. i feel so bad for those families. i just hope their holidays are tainted for the rest of their lives.

times sure does fly

so i can't believe it has been about 2 weeks since my last post. time is getting away from me. my lil' bro is on a mission and i totally planned on being the coolest sister and sending him stuff all the time, like for halloween, thanksgiving, etc... i had the 12 days 'til Christmas in the works for him, and on the 13th (12 days 'til Christmas) i realized i hadn't sent him anything yet. man i'm awesome. at least i did get all the stuff i bought him in the mail so he'll have it for Christmas! maybe he'll feel like he hit the jackpot. next...i really wanted to have family pics to put in our Christmas cards...and here it is and we still haven't taken one. i'm scrapping the idea and putting a pic of the girls with santa in the cards instead...which i will be working on ALL FREAKIN' DAY so our friends get them before 2008!!! i have gotten all of my shopping done, stockings and all. that is a huge accomplishment for me, because i'm usually finishing up on Christmas Eve!!

another way time is flying by is that derek just finished his 3rd semester of law school. i remember the day he came home and told me he wanted to quit the police department and go back to school. it felt like we would never graduate with BAs let alone actually make it to law school....now we're half way through. i'm so proud of derek. he's worked so hard, and it's totally paying off. it feels like i'm going to wake up and he'll be graduating!

i was watching my girls play this morning (they didn't know i was watching) and i about started bawling. annie will be 5 in february, samantha will be 2 in may, and katleyn will be 7 in june. holy crap i can't believe they are getting so big. time is going WAY TOO FAST!!!

shopping with samantha, the saga continues

today i dropped annie off at school and then samantha and i headed to old navy and walmart to get some christmas shopping done. she did really well at old navy, but of course...we walk into walmart and sami instantly starts freaking out. she hates that place. i put my purse in the cart and then put her in...unfortunately the cart i picked had a broken seat belt, but i was to lazy to switch carts. so i got sami a treat and she did pretty good long enough for me to pick out every barbie thing a little girl could want. i was standing there trying to decided between a baby belle doll, or a strawberry shortcake doll for sam, and i look up to see her standing up in the front part of the cart and falling over backwards into the back of the cart smashing everything i have put in there. ya it would have totally been worth it to get a cart with a seat belt. anyway, she liked being in the back, but the ritual of throwing things out started so i put everything on the bottom rack of the cart and left her in the back. she was actually really good the rest of the time. so, i finish getting the things i needed and proceeded to check out...and realized MY PURSE WAS GONE. um ya...i totally started freaking out. today was my turn to pick all the kids in our car pool up from school, and it was already 3:15 and now my cell phone and keys were gone. the people in the check out line in front of me were nice enough to let me use their cell phone, so i could let my friend know she needed to go get the kids. then i left all the crap i wanted to buy sitting on the conveyor belt thing and took off like a bat out of hell going down every isle i had gone to. about half way through my search i see the missionaries. (we know them really well, because we feed them about every 2 weeks.) they were like, "hey sis. oliverson. what's up?" i start bawling and tell them i lost my purse. elder beck said, "i'd give you a hug, but i'm not allowed." ha ha anyway, they tell me if i don't find it they can give me a ride home and then they suggest i go check at the customer service desk to see if someone turned it in. why would someone steal it, and then turn it in....unless...what if samantha CHUCKED IT OUT OF THE CART. i had a glimmer of hope that it wasn't gone forever. i went to the customer service desk, and sure enough...there it was. i was SO relived...and then i wanted to seriously damage my child!! just kidding. (oh, my friend called derek to let him know what happened so he immediately called and had all my cards cancelled! luckily i finished checking out before he got to my credit card! that's what happens when your husband is so efficient!!!)

all she wants for christmas is her 2 front teeth

katelyn's top 2 teeth have been loose for-ev-er. finally last night at about 10pm she got out of bed and told me that one of her teeth was driving her crazy. i told her i could pull it out, but she would have to be tough. so she got annie up so they could hold hands. i got a paper towel and pulled on her tooth. it popped a little and she freaked out...she could taste blood and that grossed her out. i told her one more pull would get it out. so she grabbed annie's hands and said, "just do it...annie, i'm going to squeeze really tight." so i pulled and it popped out. kate started laughing and crying at the same time...it was so cute. then she tried talking and she kept saying her S's with a lisp! we all started cracking up every time she talked!!

WARNING: ICE STORM IN THE MID-WEST (aka Omaha, NE)

yesterday afternoon a severe weather advisory was sent out on the news, warning us about an ice/snow/rain/wind storm. we were told to plan on not going anywhere today. so, at 11pm last night my girlfriend and i went to walmart to stock up on groceries "just in case". on the way there we were cracking up about a stand up comedian, henry cho, who does a skit about whenever there's a crisis the bread is always the first food to be sold out at the grocery stores. well, we turned onto the bread isle at walmart and this is what we found!!! freaky, eh?!

these are some of the effects of the ice storm. my van is the blue one in the back ground. luckily there was about 1/2 inch of ice on the cars, so the tree branch didn't do any damage to my neighbor's car. welcome to nebraska!!! i'm so glad i went shopping last night because there's no way in heck i'm trying to drive in this.