Valentines -- A Day of Love

(we really do love each other)

On Valentines it's always been kind of a drag of a holiday for me. DOn't get me wrong, i love my husband and i think it's fun to go on a date and he ALWAYS gets me something wonderful (usually jewelry) but i just think it's a very blah holiday...

But for some reason this year i have an extra special reason to love my husband and Valentines day. I have watched alot of close ppl have to deal with some serious relationship struggles in the last few years. Couples who haven't been as lucky as Brian and I and have not been able to work it out. I've seen some friends go through serious heart break, and even my own mom is only barely starting to get back to a level ground after her divorce. My sister and her fiance moved their wedding date... friends broke up... it's just been hard to watch them all struggle with "LOVE" when i've been blessed to have it so readily given to me by Brian.

Brian is the most amazing husband i could have asked for -- i thank his mom and dad for it every chance i get. Now, he isn't perfect, he still drives me crazy about little things he can't seem to "remember" (like putting his shoes away, or leaving glasses on the counter, or by falling asleep while watching Trey) but outside of the normal craziness we have he is amazing. He always listens. When he hurts my feelings it really hurts him to know he did -- and let me tell you, him hurting my feelings is a RARITY. He tries everyday to make me happy. He makes an effort to come home every day with a hug and kiss for me and spends every minute of the night with me and Trey. We have a friend that has told us, "you're lucky". And although we're lucky to have found each other, luck isn't at all what plays part into our wonderful marriage. Selflessness. It's not one person or the other -- it's both. BOth of us respect one another and our relationship enough to know when to stop pushing, to open up, to BE WHAT THE OTHER NEEDS and WANTS. We love each other enough that we know what the other can and cannot live with and we don't push those boundaries.

(Cruise 2007, Ride to Canada 2008, Wedding, Dunes 2006)

For all these reasons i love my husband. I love that he knows what i need and lets me do it. I love that he comes home and kisses me the MINUTE he walks in the door. I love that he lets me pick what we watch when we go to sleep, or that he doesn't complain when all i want to do is read.  I love that he picks me up after a bad day, and tells me that i'm a good mom and wife even when i feel like i'm not. I love that he puts up with my dogs that he didn't want, and that he lets his son play with them whenever he wants to. I just love HIM. I love his smile, and his heart and his bod! :-)  I love to look at him and i love to just be with him. I love our life and everything he's worked for and sacrificed to make sure i have what i wanted (i.e. my house, my baby, my car, me everything). 

For me life is all about meticulous planning and replanning and i'm always so stressed -- Brian balances all of that out for me.

Brian is Brian. And he's perfect for me. He may not be perfect for everyone -- but to me love is about feeling equal to him and feeling like our life together and our happiness is more important than ANYTHING else. And i do, i feel that everyday. I never have to question him - i know where i stand - and that's at the top. That's how you should be loved. Fully. Wholy. Undeniably. Like i love him, like he loves me.

SO with all that (musy musy mushy i know, sorry) i want to say Happy Valentines Day to my love. And i hope that this Valentines brings love to all of those who are near and dear to us.

The Big Empty

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!  Brian and I were busy busy... and our Christmas started early.  Over the weekend of the 17th we got to go to one of my dad's in Kansas for his birthday. He lives on a huge ranch and i haven't been there since i was 15 -- Brian has NEVER been. So it was a really nice trip. Not to mention, Trey LOVES his Grandpa Joe and Gigi (my dads wife).

The ranch is on like 42 acres and they just remodeled the entire house. They have a heard of dogs.. a creek... and land land and more land! The town is Lenora -- and there's literally 300 ppl population (if that)... i guess 303 when us Taylor's get there. There's not a single stop light, and only 1 stop sign in the whole town. No schools. No walmart. No grocery stores. It's PERFECT for a getaway!

Because we don't get to make it out there very often the family made a big to-do about it. My grandparents drove in from Grove, OK. Melanie, Gavin & the kids came in from Hutch, KS. And we came from Utah (duh!). My dad was GLOWING the whole weekend. A minute to brag, Trey has only been on a plane 3 other times, and this time we had to change planes, layovers, and the second plane from Denver to Hays is this tiny tiny little plane and he still did AMAZING!  I have such a little trooper. And he was sooo sweet and friendly in KS. As usual, the world is wrapped around his fingers.

KS is usually the coldest most awful place ever in the winter. But we were lucky and it was pretty nice!  Sun shining, no snow.. just beautiful! So we went out trapshooting one afternoon -- Madigan and Mason were having a ball pushing the "pull" button for the pigeons. They thought that was great.  It was fun watching all the guys shoot -- Brian, my dad and Grandpa are all amazing shots. I don't think either one missed a pigeon all afternoon!  Then i was up -- please bear in mind i do not shoot those kinds of guns and have NEVER shot a pigeon like that. Anyways, not to toot my own horn, but i'm apparently amazing! Haha. I missed the first because i forgot to turn off my safety (oops) but the next two i hit and i was stoked!  i stopped while i was ahead. haha. Trey loved it. He just sat in my lap (or Gigi's) and had a great time. They have an OLD swingset, so while we shot we let him play. It was cute.

The kids each got 1 present the first night, they were super excited!

I could go on for days about how great the whole trip was, but it's like that out there. There is no cell service, there's just you and the family and a whole weekend of catching up and forgetting about life. I loved that were were able to spend that time with everyone and that Trey is so loved by so many. His cousins were so happy to finally meet him -- my grandparens (his great grands) were happy to spend time with him without chaos of the summertime vacation to KS -- and my dad and Jess were in heaven to have him there.

We did an early Christmas for all of us and we all opened gifts... everyone got great things but the kids were the best to watch. Sooo... that's it. Our trip to the big empty. We've decided to make this trip an annual run for my dads birthday.

Trey's 15 months!

(Forgive my tardiness, i drafted this 2 weeks ago but forgot to publish)

Quick lil update on my little dude Trey -- he just hit 15 months on November 16th and i can hardly believe how fast the time if flying by!  We took him in to the doc (or rather Brian did) and he got some shots which he took like a champ. He was more upset about being held down than getting the shots!  Of course a sucker followed the prick and all was cured with a rush of sugar....

Trey continues to be just perfect, at least to his mom and dad!!  He's 25.8lbs, 90% in height, 60% in weight and 50% for his head. PERFECT! Now he's been walking for a while now and talking up a storm.. but now we've got DIRECTIONS from him. Like "ny ny"... he will walk you to his crib and tell you "ny ny" when he wants his nap. Or if you say "One...." he smiles and says ".... TWO", and then a weird sound that must be -three- and claps. He likes to play tag, and he's just so much fun! Peek a boo is still a blast, especially now that he's the BOO-er instead of the PEEK-er. He loves his puppy's and is just such a ball to be around. He is so friendly and just overall a super happy baby.

Custest moment of the weekend:  I was working on Sunday afternoon -- but i can hear Trey down the hallway just laughing! Not hehe...hehe... but belly laughing, the kind that usually makes him fall over. So i go down to investigate my little giggling monster and i look in his room and what i saw made my heart melt!  My little Harley dog (who doesn't much care forTrey) had apparently gone in his room and was napping on the rocking chair. Trey was laughing because it is a RIOT apparently to push the chair while the dog is on it....  Harley was not a happy girl, she was just staring at the ceiling and trying to sneak away but Trey was right in front of her and wouldn't let her down. He probably did that for a good 5 minutes straight before i finally had to save Harley.  Afterall, she was my first baby and i love her dearly --- just after letting her suffer for Trey's cuteness for a few minutes.

Anyhoo --- he's getting all grown up and i just can't even stand how fast it's flying by! My little monster... so big.

Love Coasters.

For Christmas this year i wanted to give some special things to my sister. She's getting married in March and her and her fiance just barely got their apartment together and I thought it would be nice to help them make a home. Among the gifts i'm getting and/or making for her, one that i really loved was the coasters. Now, a little history on my sister.

She is GORGEOUS! She's about the size of a pigmy but she's absolutely stunning (you'll see for yourself in a sec).  Her fiance Mitch, is quite the looker too and they are head over heels in love. So with that -- and planning their wedding -- they've had some engagements that really turned out spectacular! Their apartment they just moved into is small -- no room for a big table only small ones. So these coasters will be PERFECT amongst her gifts. And they were sooo easy, second perk?  Cheap! Cheap!

Step 1:  you need to acquire your supplies. 4x4 Tiles ($0.16), photo's -- i had mine on hand from snapfish's penny prints, modpodge (which i also had, about $5 a can and lasts forever), and then clearcoat (about $2 a can and also lasts forever), and some felt for the bottom corners.

Step 2: Cut the pictures to 4x4's for on your tiles... apply a little podge, lay the photo, dry about 5 mins.. more podge... dry, podge, dry, podge... the podge is white, don't fret! It will dry clear. Just do your best for straight even strokes... a few coats in you can go diagnal, or the opposite way... it gives it a gorgeous texture! 



 Step 3: Once the podge is dry, then you can clear coat, dry, more clear.... once it's perfectly shiny and perfect then you throw the felt on the bottom and your done!! I think i'll tie it all up with a ribbon...

Isn't she beautiful!! Click on the picture of 4 coasters to get a closer look at my super gorgeous sister. Annnddd at the finished project.

Sooo... total project was less than $5.00 -- you could make a set of 8 for bigger families, or use paper instead of pictures. I'll be making a set for my dad's as well with pictures of Trey from recently. That googer kid.  Well, there you have it!  3 easy steps, cheap price, GREAT PROJECT.



CAKE POPS!!

Sooo... i have been really wanting to make some cake pops -- but between fulltime work, fulltime mom and fulltime wife, it's kinda difficult to make time for baking. But with our Annual Taylor/Ostrup Christmas Bash right around the corner i wanted to do a test run before i make any commitments to the dessert for the night.

Simple enough... i googled about a million websites... discussed it with my friend Gina from Lil' G's and then decided to go for it!  My FAVORITE cake of all time is Yellow Butter Cake. Mmm. it's just perfect.  So i decided to go with that, a cream cheese frosting, and a white chocholate for the shell.

STEP 1: Gather the ingredients. For my trial run, simplicity sake i used a store bought frosting.. but it would be DELISH wish a homemake buttercream, or even a cookie dough frosting! mm.

STEP 2: Bake the cake... took about 30 mins and then i had to let it cool. While it was cooking/cooling my sister and i made dinner. TEMPURA, sooo yummy... but sooo bad for you. However, every once in a while our Japanese comes through.

STEP 3: Destroy the cake.. in the pan, in a bowl. It really doesn't matter. you just make it crumble and then add about 1/3 of the frosting. You want to mash everything together until you get a dough like consistency.

STEP 4: Start rolling balls. The rounder the better... because once you roll them in the chocolate (or candy melt) you are going to see any tumors that your balls may have (no pun intended). After the balls are formed place them in the freezer for about 20 mins to harden up a little. Since i don't have a freezer big enough for my pan our Utah night air had to suffice...

Step 5: Dip them in whatever. Chocolate, white chocolate, candy melts... anything your pretty heart desires. While it's fresh this is the time to put the sprinkles, sparkes, or whatever else you want to put on them... if you're looking to pipe them probably best to do about 1/2 dry.  Because this is just a test run, i didn't do ANY decorating... but next time i have BIG IDEAS!! 

TA-DA!!

I am thankful.. i am blessed.

(Family Picture // September 2011)

November has come and with that brings the moment of embracing what you're thankful for. Now, i will say i am thankful for these things EVERYDAY of the year, but in November it becomes a little sentimental.

First and foremost -- i am thankful for my family. All of it. My husband is amazing. He is so patient, and loving. He is always there when i need him and puts 150% in to our relationship. He is my rock, my cusion, and my support. He makes everything in our lives possible and does this all with a smile. He never puts me down -- only bring me up. And for that only i would love him. He is the hardest worker that i know, puting in long hours of HARD work (no desk job for my man), going to school, and STILL making time for his wife and son. He makes my heart just hurt with how much he loves Trey and I. Love. All consuming, totally engulfing, entirely funny and wild crazy love = Me and B. I will never understand how I got so lucky but i'm not going to question fate -- i'll keep him as long as i can!

Now Brian is not just an amazing husband because he works hard -- i'm thankful for Brian because aside from being a hard worker with ambitions to the sky, he's a family man and may well be one of the best Dad's ever. He loves his son. And this has no end!  EVERY Friday Brian spends the whole day with Trey. Although it may grind my gears the way he does things, Trey loves him and he loves his time with Trey. It's too cute to watch them pull up together, stunna shades on, rollin up in Bri's Corvette. It almost brings tears to my eyes to watch how amazing he is as a dad. But it doesn't stop there -- i can honestly say (with abosolutely NO doubt) that my husband makes me feel loved everyday. A deep all consuming kind of love. I cannot remember a day that he has not told me how much he loved me, or that i was beautiful, or that i didn't rock his world :-) He is amazing and i'm very thankful to have Brian as my "to have and to hold"... for ever and ever. And, if not for Brian i wouldn't have my perfect son, Trey...

Trey... oh how can i even begin to explain what that kid does to my insides??   He makes me all warm and fuzzy while weepy and happy at the same time... he can really push my buttons now that he's deciding that he wants to try to be the boss, but all in all he's a GREAT kid. We got lucky... truly... he's so perfect im nervous for Round 2 because i fear our luck will not fair to baby #2.  Trey.  He is just so smart! And when he hugs and kisses it makes everything all better. He is just a little tornado.. running all crazy.. yellin and screaming. We have found that it is really cool to sit in laps and tell stories... it's NOT cool for mom and dad to play rough with each other. He loves his "pupa's" and thinks that the puppies are his personal jungle gyms. My poor Maui dog has been dubbed his moving ladder, but she takes it in stride. He's up and down the stairs... knows his pompom (tummy), eyes, nose... he says a handful of words now; mama, dad, bye, up, bite, again, puppa, down, nana.... he's just such a jabber jaw!! 

Beyond my husband and son, our families (parents, siblings, etc.) are all amazing. It has been so much fun having them be so involved with Trey and being able to see them all so regularly. We have truly been blessed (no other word i could use really) with all these amazing ppl in our lives.  It's funny -- you could totally think of my family life as almost Jerry Springer, 2 dads -- 5 families... blah blah blah... but i wouldn't have it any other way. Every member of my family has played a very special role in mine and Brian's upbringing and because of them we are the people (and parents) that we are today.

SO for this i say, CHEERS TO MORE YEARS, of love and compassion, fun and games, joy tears and sad tears, and to everything that goes along with this ride called ::LIFE::

My ReStore(d) mantle.

When we moved into our new house, it was pretty spectacular to me. It had so many things that i just adored and that stood out to me and my taste. What didn't? The fireplace..  They did the barebones on that baby. Simply tiled around the fireplace and left it at that. With our 10' ceilings it just looked absurd and plain and was such a sore spot for me.

Unfortunately, the yard has been the "top priority" this summer and my mantle was put on the back burner (among other things, i.e. my library). After pricing what it would cost to make the MANTLE OF MY DREAMS we were looking at a # that we couldn't justify after the $$ spend on the yard. But i toughed it up, put on my big girl panties, and didn't even cry! 

Then!  just like a miracle.. Brian and I were early for dinner with my dad in SLC (this NEVER happens) and had a few minutes to kill. And that's when it happened, we drove past this place called ReStore. We decided to browse because at the time i was searching for a entry table as well. That's when we found this baby.  She isn't the grandest, nor the prettiest, but she rocked my world! And at $30, who can beat that?!

First things first -- she's too big, so we had to trim her down a bit.. then we had to get rid of that god-awful brass that is sooooo 90's.  When we put her back together with much love and care, we decided to paint her white (hi-gloss white) to match the thick baseboards in our house.

When everythind was painted... and painted.. and more painted... we slapped it up on the wall.  Trey thought it was pretty awesome to help dad slap some 2x4's onto the wall for the mantle mount

After she was lovingly slapped to our walls we stepped back to enjoy the sight.  Pretty nice right??  It still left a huge space on our wall though that was ever more noticable.

Luckily, a few weeks back during th huge Hobby Lobby sale i picked up this beautiful black ornate traditional frame. It was PERFECT for my wedding picture that i had never had the opprutinity to frame. Scaled it all down and then my STUD of a husband found the STUD in wall, and here we are, DONE DONE and DONE.  Doesn't it look gorgeous!? 

Now i just need to get a few things to go on the mantle to finsh her off but so far.... beauty!

Total renovation?  $60.00 (for the entire wall)