I'm a little nervous but here it goes!

So, i've had my ETSY store for about 2 months now and i was really scared to announce it to all my friends and family. That
might sound weird to some of you but, it's the people i love the most that REALLY value what they think. So, I want to give a disclaimer right now... I'm not perfect and i won't proclaim to be! But, here's what i love to do(aside from all the other stuff) and here's my little store. Check it out and tell your girlfriends!

Since Brielle came to our family, i have been learning, re-learning and refining some of my crafts.

My shop will soon feature fabric items such as Burp Cloths, a few pouch and ring slings(not many), Hair Bows, and Baby Bouquets! As for now it just has Jewelry, Pacifier clips, and Hair Flower clips! have fun looking and please tell everyone (especially those who don't craft but love to buy things that they can't make). 

Tell me if you think it's retarded or not or what i can improve. Remember, I value your opinions the most!

also, I'll post on Brielle soon(too lazy to edit photos tonight!)

~C

Aria 8.4 months!

She's still growing but, slowly! I have to laugh at everyone who measures their baby's health by the dang percentile system. I get it already, my baby is small for her age! Who cares? She's just perfect and the way God made her to be. SO, all you new moms and moms to be- Relax, your kid will grow at his or her own rate and own time! Don't over analyze your instinctual maternal feelings about your baby!  And don't compare your kid to all the other babies and charts out there. Back in the good ole' days moms didn't sit around asking "what percentile is your baby in?" 

Well, my Aria is in the 100 percentile! Yep, she's 100 percent HER!

Here's her in her bouncy swing . Thanks Mom and Carl for getting her this last Christmas! She goes Nuts in it and, i love that i can just hang it in the door wherever i go! I love it that she's finally crawling and getting around and she is just blossoming

into this little person. She SINGS all the time when she plays and such and I now know WhY we named her what we did! I'm not just saying that either, ask anyone- she squeals and hums and sings all the time. It's a hoot!

Other than that, she's your normal baby with about 4 top teeth coming in and when she's not teething she's loads of giggles and cuddles. Brielle wasn't such a cuddle bug until she was about 1 year old. I wonder if that has to do with nursing or not. Either way, they are both cuddly and getting a long great, with the occasional mood swing. 

I'll post next all about Brielle! ~C

Easter Pic and so much more!

Yeah, so obviously i've been a bit busy with my many things that i do and with kids and working out and what-nots. I've been re-connecting with ton of old friends from college and making new ones sporadically. I know i have the gift of gab but the people have just been coming out of the woodworks lately. I've met all kinds of great peeps and i'm so grateful that they been put in my life to teach me something( i must need a lot of teaching:) Anywho, Easter was great and Brielle and Aria got cute toys

and Brielle loved egg-dying and finding all the plastic eggs with treats that fling everywhere b/c she would shake the living daylights out of them. Or just stop during the Hunt and eat out of one. 

She is doing great at using the Big girl potty with no extra seats and things and she tells us when she's went and 50% of the time she asks for Shocklit, the other time she forgets. So, it's becoming very routine. So, i won't mention it much anymore unless it's funny or crazy or something. Enough Potty talk, right! 

Aria finally army man crawls forward, which is great progress since she used to crawl backwards. She is doing so good with foods and getting around and all that fun baby stuff. She still has her two teeth and her hair is getting way lighter, almost Brielle's color. She's still small(16 lbs.) and she still wears her newborn shoes and booties and 3-6 month onesies or smaller if they are Gap or Children's place( not many of them in her wardrobe) I stick with the general stores that run good for the girls- Old Navy, Dillard's( baby gap runs skinny and a few other brands there), Target, Nordstrom, and H&M on occassion. I went to one of my favorite shops when I was up in UT two weeks ago. I found it when Brielle was about 6 months old, when i was up to visit my sister, It's called Naartjie (nar-chee). It's a New Zealand/ Australian brand that has such fun styles. colors and lots of fun layers. Aria will have Brielle's hand me down's from last summer to wear this year from there, as well as all the new stuff i got last trip. They have two stores up in Sandy and salt lake and other than that, i haven't seen them other than online. 

I'm still busy as ever and i decided to start doing a bit of Photography (a couple families and baby pics)again and i took on a wedding cake client for May. I just don't want to be too busy with all my many artsy things. So, i'll do a little here and a little there now and again. I made a sling for my girlfriend and some boy burps for another girlfriend and a nursing cover for me. It was a good week for sewing! 

Brandon has upgraded in his career. He's now working for Luxury Mortgage Group!

He interviewed with them a few weeks ago and now it's official- he will be handling Jumbo and Super Jumbo Loans- primarily! He's so determined and driven and i respect and love Brandon for his ability to achieve anything he sets his mind to. I love it that he supports me in my hobbies and interests and the fact that he'd do anything, if he had to, to make sure i could stay home with our kids- even work multiple jobs, if he had to. Thankfully, he doesn't have to and he continues to amaze me daily. He's an amazing daddy and we have so much fun together.

This last weekend we went to the Monster Truck Finals with Joey and Cachay and we had a blast! I've never seen trucks like that before and such a diversity of people as well. i only saw a few mullets and bad hair cuts- the rest were tolerable. The air was filled with dust, gas fumes, burning rubber and beer. The Sam Boyd Stadium was full to the brim and we even sat a few seats down from one of Las Vegas's local celeb-reality stars from A&E's KING OF CARS!  Chop ( the man with us) took his two sons there and a most kids, they were eating it up. I never knew trucks could jump like that. Also, a CHICK won the freestyle round- Dawn Creten who drove the Scarlet Bandit! she made the boys cry, she was amazing and she looks like a kid! btw she's a mother of THREE! Beat that!

Anywho, it was a great time had by all. 

*Thanks Cachay and Joey for the tickets and Gma and Gpa Christian for watching our girls. We'd rather have you watch them than anyone else. We love you! 

What a weekend!

Hey everyone! So,we had an event filled weekend attending the Mountain West Conference Finals Men's Basketball games, watching Brielle and Aria in a mini fashion show at Nordstrom, and trying to get our stuff together at home.  Here's a few pics. (Thanks to Kylie,Stephanie, and Betty and Clair for watching my girls! we totally appreciated it!)

 And YES i am glad BYU lost! UNLV has been rebuilding and has worked hard and both teams will play well in their brackets(hopefully). Sorry, BYU fans that you won't have much to talk about this sunday at church! Also, the annoying guy sitting next to me on Saturday- I hope you learn to not argue with everyone around you and keep your unwanted thoughts to yourself!!!

Brielle did great in the little fashion show and I held Aria down the little runway. Both had cute outfits on that i did not purchase! ( i got other clothes though) Brielle did a few ballet style leg lifts and a threw her arms in the air as she kinda sorta walked down the runway with her friend Evan P. They were both adorable. 

The down side is, it was at 8:30 in the morning and the store wasn't even open so the show was just for those whose children were already in it. And they only took a crappy Polaroid when i was thinking they were going to do some portraiture. And the SILVER frame that we were supposed to get for being in the show, was no more than a piece of matting board with a silver trim on it!LAME! The kids all got balloons and cookies and I got 15% of my purchase that day but, I don't think we will do that again!

Anywho, i got to hang out with My friend Sharlin, on Friday and i got my craft room cleaned(thanks Shar) and i made some cute flower hair clips, hung out with my hubby, put stuff in the attic(brandon did it)and started a few new projects ,like making a highchair seat cover for Aria!

Here's a failed attempt at a family picture. I think i'm cross-eyed in it!

Now, i know how all my friends feel with 2 or more kids. It's nearly impossible to get a good one. My friend Sarah C. will be taking our new family pics in April. I'm stoked because she took our engagement photos! She has her own site now too so just go and click on lvcecils and her blog will pop up as well as a link to her photography site! 

Well, that's what we've been up too! BTW Brielle is still doing good on the potty! She trained in about 3 days and she just does it on her own and has about 4 accidents the whole week.

I'm going to UT on Tuesday, so, if i haven't called you yet, Call me and lets hang out! I'm there till Saturday morning!

Here' s the real deal!

Hey everyone, So here's the real deal... I totally thought i only gained 40lbs when i was pregnant but i gained about 48-50!!! Yep. that's the truth. i'll not do that again and i know what i can do better next time. I'm just grateful i don't have a controlling, jerky, critical husband like some peoples men. Brandon was along for the ride with me carrying Aria and all and i'm so lucky to have such a wonderful man. About 5 weeks after Aria was born we had a family reunion in San Diego and here's me then. Mind you, i had already lost 12 lbs from the day she was born. Look at Aria's little foot and see where my belly is sticking out(b&w Pic). Look at my face and arms and just all of me.

I hate looking at these pics but it's a good reminder of where i'm not going again! I wouldn't normally show ANYONE this at all. but i just want you all to know my starting point.

Now, this is me currently. I 've Lost 55 lbs or so( the numbers keep going down so fast i'm sure i'm off b/c i weighed myself last week). I achieved  my weight loss by eating better, getting a good night sleep and SWEAT! (also, stay busy- you'll eat less, even if it's just cleaning or crafting!)I work out all the time_ i mean 4-6 times a week. Sometimes i work out and feel so sick, like i'm going to loose my breakfast! but it's been so worth it. Nora is an added boost to helping me lose it and i'm grateful for her and her experience and encouragement. She's a killer and i love it. I do my homework and eat right- just ask Brandon!

So, needless to say it's a drastic improvement. AND i'm not even close to being done. This pic is now my new before pic! Yep, I'm currently already in my regular size pants/ clothes and such but i plan on being even smaller- like when i was first married! I'm not giving you all numbers of what i currently weigh but i will tell you, i'll be 20 lbs. lighter than i am now and have better body fat %. So, ladies and friends, If you're struggling with your weight... this is what it all comes down to... Are you so disgusted with your body that your willing to do something about it every day? Sacrifice is everything. Your body and your Spirit are worth the effort! If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got!

~C

Update on the Potty Training!

Brielle is doing GREAT! She goes all the time in her potty and on the one upstairs too! Yesterday, she was sitting on the potty chair and i told her she could go poopoo too and she said "i did, Mommy" I was shocked! She had no hesitation, sure enough, she totally did her thing! She doing great and i am so proud of her and she loves doing the potty dance.I will post more on MommaSassy about Potty training and i hope you moms will put your two cents in too!
~C

P-day (another meaning!)

Okay, so it's not Prep. day for us, it's Potty training day!(or Pee day, take your pick!)

So, Today i had the novel idea of giving it a test run. So, after Brielle woke up from her nap i decided to put big girl panties on and see what she would do. When i first put her in them, she said"we going swimming?" I said no and she ran into my bedroom and hid behind the curtains. It was cute and i imagine in her little mind she was a little confused as to why she was wearing such weird bottoms. 

Throughout the rest of the day, I gave her tons of liquids and she just would stand there and pee the first few times and as she was going, would tell me. She didn't like the feeling and she didn't seem to care too much at first. So, after three panty changes and letting her run around without some on but, with a dress on, She started to pee a bit and then said' mommy i gotta go potty, now" so , we ran to the potty chair and she WENT! We of course were so excited and she got a Chocolate(which she has developed into not Clock-lit but, Shock-lit!). She also got to wear her tinkerbell ones b/c she was doing pretty good. After that time she peed again on the rug and one of her chairs.
 It was crazy but, so far i think i'll stick with sundresses and bare bum it b/c she seems to be more aware of her urges that way (and maybe we will spare a few more home furnishings). She's getting there and I think we will go half days until i the 16th. let's see what happens.   p.s don't click on these words, i can't get it off the link to the picture on the right, of Brielle. weird, i know.

As for the rest of us, Aria learned to say Mama and she is still little and fits in her 3-6 months clothes(which are now too hot to wear). Brandon is closing MaNy Loans, Thank Heavens! And i'm getting thinner, doing my mommasassy blog, i started my ETSY store and i will tell you more about that the next time i post. Aria crawls backwards and she is such a giggly girl. I love my little family- pee days and all!

Who is better?

Okay ladies and gents!(mostly ladies!)

Check out these two images...

So, this is who trains me two days a week and beats me into submission!!!

And this is the trainer on the biggest loser show who isn't as Gorgeous!

 How old is Nora ??? 

I am so grateful i spotted her on the gym floor training another lady b/c i was looking around at some of the trainers and some were too slender of a build and some weren't even in very good shape. So, when i saw her i went up to her and said " I would like to train with you in a month or so , what's your availability?" Of course she gets approached all the time but, people often don't follow through but, i called her, set up our schedule and the day the first session came she said" you showed up!" What, like i was going to back out? I guess some people do back out but, not me. I'm bent and determined to BRING SeXy BaCk!

I'll post my pictures soon. Probably after the beginning of March. Yeah, i've lost 50 lbs. but i still have new goals. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing! I am lucky to have my friend Irene train with me often and a few other girls. It's fun and were accountable to each other so we go more. I challenge every chick who might be struggling to grab a motivated friend-not a snickers bar, and Get In Shape together!

Meanwhile. Nora, will be a contributor to my mommasassy blog and give sweet tips to all mothers on everything health/nutrition and fitness related! Look for it! 

US on HGTV's HOUSE HUNTERS!

Hey everyone! So, we're going to be on TV this week. Check it out or DVR/TIVO it.

HOUSE HUNTERS

Episode HNT-2309

Not Enough Room in Nevada

A couple who recently adopted needs room for a growing family!

Air times:

Wednesday, Feb 27th 10:00 PM

Thursday Feb 28th at 2:00am

I'm sure they will re- air this episode again in the future, if you for some reason can't see it then. If you do see it, have fun laughing at us, as we look at the really dated 80's house(hint hint)(or not). If you've never seen where we live have fun guessing!

~C

Brielle's new look!

So, my great Friend Cachay, cut her hair and b/c it's thin, the only hair-do that works is the kId- BoB! I love it and am so glad to see her scraggly baby locks go! I will miss big piggy-tails but they will come soon enough.


So a few cute things that Brielle says(hopefully i'm not repeating myself)When she spins in circles and gets all dizzy she says" I'm Bizzy, mommy!"She like to tuck her babies into their beds and come to me and say "shh, baby__ is see-ping!"

She says" Daddy, stop talking like that!"(in her low voice) when Brandon gets excited watching sports or something!

She's still very slender and has a tiny little waist and Aria has a bigger booty than her! She loves to dance and she says"i'm June, mommy!(little Einsteins)She calls calls Ballet- blal-ay! and Gymnastics- Nastics! It's so fun to have little conversations her her and she loves to read with us and to her dolls. I walked into her room and she had the water spray bottle and my brush and she said "i'm bu-sing her hair, mommy!" It even cuter b/c the baby is BaLd!!!We Love her and she's such a great sister to Aria! I love my girls and i can't wait till Aria gets some hair and i can do something fun with it too!

Fun Things!

So, last weekend, Brielle went off to Grandma and Grandpa's house to enjoy some IHOP and spoiling(which i love:) and Brandon and I got to get our house picked up a bit and enjoy a small hike! We went up to Valley of Fire and it was pretty nice and peaceful and I like the desert and all but, man, i find it hard to Call it BEAUTIFUL. B/c Earthen beauty to me is like Oregon or the Rocky Mountains, snow-capped mountains, tropical rain forests, waterfalls and lush, GREEN, landscapes. But, it was really neat!

Aria did well in the backpack that my friend, Katie R., let us use and she napped on the way up and back from our little trip. She did great at getting attention from all the other hikers too!

Here's a few pics...

These are sweet etching from some old school Engins! I wonder if petroglyphs are like the old form of TAGGING or Grafiti!

Were Ma and Pa Indian getting on their sons about how the local boys were making all the stones messed up??? Who knows?

Well, one things for sure, i hate Taggers! But they did a great job at giving us insite about how they all lived back then. Check out that wheel-like one. That's awesome! What else can you spot on these stones???
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This week, I have been working out with my new Trainer, NORA, whom i will blog about very soon! and i have lost another 6 or so pounds from when i commented on my weight last, i think.

Anyways, i've lost a total of 50 lbs to date!

My long lost friend popped up in my life again. Lisa, I missed you , lady! Here's our kids together. Aren't they all so cute!

The baby is Annie and the 3 yr. old is Lilly! I hope to have even more good times with Lisa and family! Lilly is good at being bossy and Brielle is learning to be the same way with other kids littler than her. It's funny! i know Brielle will be bossing around Aria soon.~

Happy Valentine's

Here's our little Cupid!

TEETH and Girls!

So, Aria has these little pearls that i'm dying to show you. They finally got big enough that when she smiles you can see them, so here they are. Aria is developing a lot. She sits up for over 10 mins. sometimes and just plays and squeals and such! She has her little pincher grasp and picks up cheerios and she gets up on all fours and pushes herself backwards. She loves to grab anything she can and stick it in her mouth, as all babies do at her age. It's pretty funny b/c people will hold her and they let her grab their finger and she grabs the whole hand of the person and begins to suck. If she can, she will suck on her toes too. I try and let her do that after she's been bathed, only! She went in the REAL baby swing at the park by our house for the first time and she obviously LoVeD It! She and Brielle play so great together and they crack each other up in the car.

As for Brielle, she is doing great considering she too is getting her molars in and is becoming a bit independent. More like she's in the Terrible part of the Twos!!! She's not a bad kid she just has tantrums once in a while. Like for instance, she didn't want to eat little apple slices, she wanted the Whole big apple. So, i said, you must wear a bib then. She contested and i said okay, then you can just have the little apples. she started sobbing b/c she didn't want to wear a bib and she didn't want the little apples. It went on for a half hour of crying and whining. I put her in time out and she kept getting out and i did the calm supernanny thing, where you just silently put them back until they stay. that took another half hour! She was crying and saying"no, i don't want to, anymore!" She does things like this probably once a day now and i just keep doing the whole time out routine and i am tired of it.


On a positive note, she says a lot of CUTE things too. She calls Little Einstiens "little Eintimes" She calls Bugs- beebugs or serpies(i'm guessing she derived that from serpent?)She says cute things like I'm going to catch the Moon mommy! You get it too, mommy!. She will says she loves us randomly too and she likes to say that she is PRINCESS BEAUTY! She likes helping Aria eat her food and likes cleaning her kitchen up( i need to post pics of that btw) She is also doing great at her gymnastics class. She has only been once but she was doing a lot before she even went to the class. Which btw, i will put her in a different one next time b/c this one is too disorganized! She does assisted backbends, sommersaults on her own, she can walk the balance beam and lift her legs high. She loves trying new stuff and is such a joy to be around almost always.

Anywho, that's what's up with MY GIRLS! 

ps. Brielle likes to carry two dolls and say "come on my girls, i got my girls mommy". She also just named a couple of her dolls- CHerry, the fairy puppet(thanks mom) and baby STACI, the rad vintage doll my GMA Beach gave her. I'll post on those too!

I have a NEW BLOG!

Hey Mommas! This ones for you. If you haven't gotten an email from me about this yet. Here's my latest thing... www.mommasassy.blogspot.com ! It's my blog on all things that this sassy mom is into, concerned about, dealing with, love, hate, want to know more about etc.. I just feel like separating this from my family blogspot. So, i did. i plan on featuring some really great people and articles, some free giveaways of baby boutique products and other fab finds. Hope you can take a look and leave your comments!

~MommaSassy herself,

 Corrine Christian

ARIA is 6 months Already!

Okay gang, so it's Friday and time to catch you all up. It has been another rough week. After Aria finished teething and all look like it was on the upswing, Brielle started getting her 2 yr. molars in! So, she was whiney and her mouth hurt and a few days later she got a cold and cough which i caught a few days after that as a head cold and sinus. So, here we were, all sick and yesterday i woke up feeling about 50% better but, i still had the sinus thing. Well, i walk downstairs holding Brielle and i set her on the counter only to feel something squirming underneath my toes. My first thought was" it must be leftover food that i dropped" . then it started moving and fast. I immediately backed up to see a 3 inch SCoRpIoN ! I screamed and told Brielle to stay where she was (on the counter) and i ran and got Brandon's shoes and stepped on the dang nasty thing. I thought all was over until about 2 mins. later when i felt my toes start to TiNgLe! Yep, that sucker stung me!!! So, i immediately called my friend who had been stung when she was pregnant and she told me what the doctor told her to do. Take a Benadryl and if it starts to swell or i get sort of Breathe or really anxious i am allergic and i need to go to the ER! So, Lisa brought me over some Benadryl and took Brielle for a few hours and i tried to clean and rest. It hurt in the weirdest way, i can't really even describe it, either. Needless to say the rest of my plans were shot that day and i took a 2 hour nap when the girls went down. I'm no longer feeling the venom and i still have sinus congestion and Brielle is starting to get better(keep praying) And Aria is just along for the ride. She's doing great!


So here's some pics of her and a few glimpses of her room. She sits up for about 2-3 mins total and then she falls over or rolls to her side. I can't wait to take some pics with her bitty teeth showing. They are still so small though. I can't believe how the time has just vanished. Just like the venom in my toe!




I have to throw this last tid-bit in here b/c i've been working really hard- I have lost 40 lbs! My regular jeans are a little loose on me and i hope to lose about 15-20 more pounds. i start training the end of February with this rad chick named Nora! I'm stoked! Love you all! And i'll read all your blogs soon.