Check it out

The rules are to grab your camera and take pictures of the following with NO CLEANING UP!

1. KITCHEN SINK
Well now that I've got my very large sink, I can put my piles of dishes inside! I made myself do this before getting on the computer and am very glad I did:)


2. TOILET
Who forgot to put the lid down?! Honestly I don't even use this very much as it's near Justin who's sleeping (except for right now). You like the carpet half ripped out... don't worry it also smells like pee, or is that a little TMI? Oh well.


3. LAUNDRY
I tried putting this chandelier up in the kitchen area and something's goin on. I think the whole electrical box thing needs replacing which is probably not a bad idea since it's pretty loose. I was afraid the fixture might fall from the heavens the way it was hanging. So now it's on the dryer which is one step short of the garage.


4. FRIDGE
There it is. 5 dozen eggs and 3 gallons of milk!



5. WHAT THE KIDS ARE DOING, right now
SLeeping! Halleluiah!



Sleep little children... until 10AM tomorrow would be great!



6. FAVORITE SHOES
Was there even a question? I wear these everywhere, but church.




7. Favorite Room
Well this is not fair... I would like to sleep my days away or read, but I usually end up here watching Care Bears, Sponge Bob or the latest movie recorded from Toon Disney (for the 100th time) with Kennedy. She wants to watch TV with me and I get side tracked by holding Grayson or getting 5,000 cups of beverage. All the while trying to be a little quite, not that Justin hears a thing, but he's 6pm-6am working and sleeping all day.



8. FAVORITE VACATION
Well here's "a" vacation. But notice the picture of us:) We need more pics together.


9. THE CLOSET... yikes!

This is a little bit cleaned up from last week.


But come on, who needs a shoe rack when you can just dump the shoes on the ground in a nice pile like formation?


And can you tell who's been preggo for the last 3.5 years? The evidence is here! No clothes on my side:) Ok that and I can't stand shopping when the clothes aren't on the outside of the racks screaming my name. This is actually an improvement thanks to Kathy shopping with me this past weekend. We found some CUTE stuff at Stein Mart.


10. SELF PORTRAIT
Check out my new clock in the shadows in the background... LOVE it! Ebay:)


Here's a few free bee's for the home. Thanks again Liz! I didn't even have to paint them! The shutters are on the wall, clippies are still at staples, but I'm on that... later.



Thank you, thank you Dad and Pennie! I got this for free and am SO excited! Justin and I cannot agree on sectionals, so instead of buying one I hate I'm taking the free offer. Love it!



Shoot I forgot to tag someone... Lesa, Kami, Laura, Jennifer

Out With the Yuck!

In case you didn't know, we bought a bank owned home and moved in almost 2 months ago. It's a little tricky trying to get everything done AND be parents at the same time, which is why we're so thankful for family and friends helping! We've had TONS of help! Today Bruce and Kathy (in-laws) were here specifically to help tile the countertops. Well it took longer than Bruce had anticipated, and we're not done grouting and installing faucets. The cabinets will eventually be painted cream (possible with a glazish thing on top of that) and I'm not done with the dark brown walls, but check it out! I LOVE it!

As you can see, we're cheap skates. We got a bid for granite @ about $1800 installed... not bad, but you're still looking at buying a sink and faucet in addition. Just so ya know we got EVERYTHING (cast iron sink and faucet included) for well BELOW 1/2 that! YAY!

Celebrity Collage

Well my sister and I must be related after all... apparently we both somewhat resemble Sophia Bush. But I also look like Michael Douglas so... yeah.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free genealogy - Geneology

One Down!

Can you believe these are done?! Lucky you, you can't see them to close:) I am a HORRIBLE painter when it comes to furniture. Not even joking and Justin would second that if he had the chance.



The curtains are sheer lavender. I found some amazing silky pink ones, but wanted purple AND I can't have dry clean only in the girls room:) Or anywhere else in the house for that matter.



Painted the dresser too, but kept the pulls. This dresser is not worth the $30 for the pulls I want. We'll just buy a new dresser soon and some ribon for the mirror. But what's a room without "Sponge Bob" on the switch? I mean come on! He came free with the house.

Poor Cheer Bear

Farewell Cheer Bear... we're so sad we left you at WalMart! Kennedy is hoping someone will turn you in, but I find it highly unlikely considering the neighborhood in which we last saw you. So, until we meet again.

Who's Bright Idea?

I wanted metal frames with upholstered head boards... yet here we are with the paint brush. I was out voted 3-1 for bunk beds. So yesterday I found an amazing deal on craigslist and here I am with the primer (I agree Rebecca... not so fun to primer). But one day, I'll finish and actually put these in the girls room and they will be so cute!



Of course once I realized how not fun it is to primer, I had to start another project looking for some of these! I ended up getting them from my friend for free!! Thanks Liz! I think I might just put them up as is... when I finish painting the wall :)




And what's a normal morning in the Pollock home without a reptile? I mean it's been at least a few weeks since I "accidentally" let the horny toad free. Last night as I was visiting with Justin (we talk while he's on the road) he abruptly says, "OH, there's a gecko. Gotta go!" When he called back later I had to know, where do you stash a gecko in a patrol car? In your lunch box of course. My husband never ceases to amaze me:)



The girls LOVE the reptiles! He's really soft too. Didn't think geckos felt silky smooth.

It's what happens

Our recent move has brought me some FUN friends and some new babysitters! The Garcia girls are amazing and my kids just love them. The other night I went to Saturday night stake conference and dropped the kids off at the Garcia's house. MacKenzie (who hasn't had an accident in forever) peed her pants... so from then on she had to wear the "geek" shirt. I thought it was hysterical when I came to get her:)



Kennedy watches "movies" everyday. Now movies are also regular shows, no difference to her. I handed her some licorice only to come back a few minutes later to this:

Too many decisions!

Now that I'm done reading Twilight books, I still cannot decide what to do with the paint color. We are redoing the counter tops (tile) and the cabinets are going white or cream. The hard part is the brown! Only in the kitchen? Only on one wall? Where I've started already? There's too many little square hole things! This was really meant for Rebecca, but I couldn't figure out how to email it. Now all can see our not organized clutter. Forget about the start... I think it's going white and sparkely for the girls room. Right now it's just taking up space for where I'd like a hutch to go in the future.

4 Things

4 Random Things I Like About My Husband:

1. He's calm in the face of everything that would make me anxious.
2. Amazingly handy around the house (ie: my beautiful new hallway of laminate flooring)
3. LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his job! What a difference when he enjoys going to work!
4. He sleeps like a rock even when he's worked ALL night long. Amazing.



4 Movies I Can Watch More Than Once:

Let me first say, I don't watch many movies more than once these days, but for the list I've got-
The Guardian
Eragon (now that I've read the book...who has my copy of though? Laura do you guys have it?)
PS I Love You. Only seen it once, but want to see it again.
Secondhand Lions


4 TV Shows That I Watch:

1. The Office
2. Divine design
3. Chuck (when it's on)
4. American Idol (when it's on... hello!)


4 Places I've Been:

1. Palmyra, NY
2. Zhuatenejo, Mexico
3. London, England
4. Belieze
(Guatemala, Ireland... we need to start traveling again!)

4 People Who Email Me Regularly:

1. Blog comments
2. Jacob
3. Kendra
4. Dawn

4 Favorite Foods:

1. Calzones!
2. Olive Garden sausage white soup (breadsticks & salad too of course)
3. Red Robin's hamburgers and fries
4. Colima's bean & cheese burritos in Visalia!!!

4 Places I Would Like To Visit:

1. Carribean again (snorkeling of course)
2. Temple Square during Christmas light season
3. My house (all my siblings would conveniently travel to visit at the same time. Rebecca- you might get your plate back)
4. Thailand- or anywhere in that area of the world, though I could do without the bugs.

4 Things I'm Looking Forward To In The Next Year:

1. Disneyland in the winter (on a school day) The kids are gonna LOVE it!
2. Getting my knee fixed by a compitent surgen
3. Kids starting dance or gymnastic lessons
4. My kitchen being finished (need to paint cabinets AND rip out the counter tops and sink)

4 People I Tag:
Lesa
Laura
Sister not Holdham
Kendra

I'm BUSY!

I'm reading and almost done with Twilight series! LOVE all of them! And I've been painting the girls room, pictures to come. But here's a few pics of the kids around the house:)

I've been reading...

And I agree, it's SO GOOD!

Well, Grayson's Excited!

I just needed a picture to put on with the post for others like myself that are visual bloggers:) In case you were wondering, which I always do about fellow members of the Church, Justin and I have received callings in our new ward. Justin has been called to be Ward Missionary and I have been called to 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society. How do you like that? I was relieved not to be called into Nursery! I am afraid of the Nursery calling because I feel my children are CRAZY when I am there with them... however now I'm realizing all the meetings that go into RS, I might should've rethunk the Nursery idea... at least they have snacks!

More than meets the eye!

Is it a trailer...


... or a craft room! How creative my friend Elizabeth is! She found this sweet little find for $300 and TOTALLY gutted the inside to make it her peaceful getaway/craft room (4 teenagers and the bishop's wife certainly needs a little piece of sanity).



I couldn't believe how clever this was, I HAD to blog it!


So there you have it. Just buy an old trailer and renovate it.

Yes on Prop 8!

Why is it that if you are against Prop 8 you are voting "YES"? In my isolated world of motherhood, when I don't agree with what my children are doing I tell them "NO". I don't say "YES, I think you should not do that." What's with that? I know that was intentional!!!

Following is quoted from "The Divine Institution of Marriage" from the Church newsroom:

The Church has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a husband and a wife united in the bonds of matrimony.

Marriage is sacred, ordained of God from before the foundation of the world. After creating Adam and Eve, the Lord God pronounced them husband and wife, of which Adam said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Jesus Christ cited Adam’s declaration when he affirmed the divine origins of the marriage covenant: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.”

The Proclamation teaches, “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” The account in Genesis of Adam and Eve being created and placed on earth emphasizes the creation of two distinct genders: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Marriage between a man and a woman is central to the plan of salvation. The sacred nature of marriage is closely linked to the power of procreation. Only a man and a woman together have the natural biological capacity to conceive children. This power of procreation – to create life and bring God’s spirit children into the world – is sacred and precious. Misuse of this power undermines the institution of the family and thereby weakens the social fabric. Strong families serve as the fundamental institution for transmitting to future generations the moral strengths, traditions, and values that sustain civilization. As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society.”



It is true that some couples who marry will not have children, either by choice or because of infertility, but the special status of marriage is nonetheless closely linked to the inherent powers and responsibilities of procreation, and to the inherent differences between the genders. Co-habitation under any guise or title is not a sufficient reason for defining new forms of marriage.

High rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births have resulted in an exceptionally large number of single parents in American society. Many of these single parents have raised exemplary children; nevertheless, extensive studies have shown that in general a husband and wife united in a loving, committed marriage provide the optimal environment for children to be protected, nurtured, and raised. [6] This is not only because of the substantial personal resources that two parents can bring to bear on raising a child, but because of the differing strengths that a father and a mother, by virtue of their gender, bring to the task. As the prominent sociologist David Popenoe has said:

The burden of social science evidence supports the idea that gender differentiated parenting is important for human development and that the contribution of fathers to childrearing is unique and irreplaceable.
. . . The complementarity of male and female parenting styles is striking and of enormous importance to a child’s overall development. It is sometimes said that fathers express more concern for the child’s longer-term development, while mothers focus on the child’s immediate well-being (which, of course, in its own way has everything to do with a child’s long-term well-being). What is clear is that children have dual needs that must be met: one for independence and the other for relatedness, one for challenge and the other for support.

Vote YES if you don't agree with same-sex marriage!

Opposing Gay Marriage Take 2

This sweet face says it all:) I had no idea I would have such heated comments on my blog! To be honest it's kind of exciting, now. To my new best friend Tom... thanks for the comments (no sarcasm). I almost feel like un-deleting the first one.

I am thankful because the Lord knew, as he heard me say a few times, "oh gosh the gay marriage is going to pass anyway. I don't feel like fighting a losing battle. I like to be on the winning team, but I'm not FOR gay marriage. I'll just sit this one out!"

Then I read my cousin's blog, thanks Krista, and thought I could easily copy and paste the article and that would be my contribution... and along came Tom:) Sweet Tom thanks for pushing me up on my feet. I love my friends that are homosexual, but don't think they should marry. That's all I have to say about that. Here's what Church leaders have to say and I agree.

Dallin Oaks:
"Tolerance obviously requires a non-contentious manner of relating toward one another’s differences. But tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination."

Church article (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in case there was any question):
"When a man and a woman marry with the intention of forming a new family, their success in that endeavor depends on their willingness to renounce the single-minded pursuit of self-fulfillment and to sacrifice their time and means to the nurturing and rearing of their children. Marriage is fundamentally an unselfish act: legally protected because only a male and female together can create new life, and because the rearing of children requires a life-long commitment, which marriage is intended to provide. Societal recognition of same-sex marriage cannot be justified simply on the grounds that it provides self-fulfillment to its partners, for it is not the purpose of government to provide legal protection to every possible way in which individuals may pursue fulfillment. By definition, all same-sex unions are infertile, and two individuals of the same gender, whatever their affections, can never form a marriage devoted to raising their own mutual offspring."

For the full article see click right here!

Yes on Prop 8

Six Consequences If Proposition 8 Fails

1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay.

The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)

Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.

2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public. Ask whether your pastor, priest, minister, bishop, or rabbi is ready to perform such marriages in your chapels and sanctuaries.

3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

4. Religions that sponsor private schools and which provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or lose tax exemptions and benefits.

5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.

6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees.

And think of all the unintended consequences that we cannot even foresee at this time. Where will it end?

It’s your children, your grandchildren, your money, and your liberties.

Lets work together to protect them.


I believe this was written by Elder Larry Lawrence. Please help get the word out. Copy and paste this info and post it on your blog and/or email it to your contacts.

That's one big pile of...

dirt! I know what you were thinking Khristie:) We have a 6 ft pile of dirt in our back yard, don't know why, but the kids LOVE it!



2 hours of fun. Good times, good times.

Cutest Boy on the Block

I mean really... look at how sweet this little face is!



And he can grow a 5 'o clock shadow. Not to bad for 9 months old eh?



I can already see the mischievousness blossoming!

Kennedy's Parents

Sometimes we sing songs before going to sleep and by we I mean Kennedy, MacKenzie and I. As we were singing "I Am a Child of God" I asked Kennedy who her parents were. She thought about it for a minute and replied, "Kristin and Joel". Hmmm... I see where Justin and I stand. I should frame this picture and put in on her wall:)



They have a bunny too! The girls LOVE Herietta.



Grayson doesn't have a clue. He just wants his bottle.