just because.

because i'm bored. because garran is at work. because i have not done one of these in a while. because I was tagged.

4 shows I like to watch:

1. The Generations Project
2. Who do you Think you Are
3. the Office
4. Grey's

4 things I`m passionate about:

1. staying out of debt
2. politics
3. my family
4. photography...i love taking pictures

4 phrases I say a lot:

1. does it really need to be this loud in here?
2. time for bed!!!
3. I love you
4. 1-2-3

4 things I have learned from the past:

1. always trust your first instinct about people...90% of the time you are dead right
2. never be afraid to change things about yourself..
3. Don't let grumpy, mean, rude people effect how YOU treat others
4. Find humor in every situation

4 places I would like to go:

1. Hawaii
2. Ireland
3. Brazil
4. Scotland

4 things I did yesterday:

1. checked my email
2. bought diapers
3. read blogs
4. played with my kids

4 things I'm looking forward to:

1. hearing about our housing situation
2. summer fun
3. garran getting off work
4. quiet

4 things I love about winter:

1. seeing family
2. Christmas
3. getting cozy with a cup of hot cocoa
4. snow..in serious moderation

4 things on my wish list:

1. for everything to go smoothly with our move
2. a healthy baby girl, figuring out this whole allergy issue
3. a date
4. a little extra money never hurts..

Thanks Lacey...This was kind of fun!

education update~

well as most of my blog readers know garran has decided to pursue more education. for a while we have been going back and forth about where we should go to continue his education. so finally the other night we sat down and picked eight schools we will be applying too. i know a few of you have been curious. so here is the list, in no special order. although i can tell you that i think number one is his top pick!

1. University of Tennessee Knoxville
2. University of Iowa
3. University of Northern Illinois
4. Indiana University
5. Arizona State University
6. University of Georgia
7. Western Carolina University
8. BYU

ok so there it is. one of these places will be our new home before to long.. well it will still be a while but whatever. these are the schools we will be applying to. wish us luck!

random~

because i could not sleep last night i decided to do this but then must have saved it instead of posting it. oh well it has been a while since i have done one of these and this one seemed interesting. enjoy!

(thanks E for having something fun on your blog for me to copy in the middle of the night=)

1. what is the bravest thing you have ever physically done?

i would have to say my back surgery. i was terrified at first. i heard all kinds of horror stories and almost everyone i talked to was concerned or had stories of someone they knew where something went wrong. however i was very lucky! counting my blessings =) it went great and i have not had any problems since.

2. what is one talent you wish you had but don't?

i wish i could sew or quilt well. i can do very basic things but i definitely know my limits. i guess we will see how it goes. i am trying something a little out of my comfort zone with the baby blanket i am working on.

3. if you had that talent, what would you do with it?

A LOT!!

i would love to make quilts, gifts for others, decorative things during the holidays. oh well maybe someday!

4. what is the bravest thing you have ever done emotionally?

stand up to my ex step mother and tell her how i really felt about our relationship.

(it was also right in the middle of planning my wedding. maybe that is why i ended up in the hospital a month before my wedding with stress related stomach issues =)

5. we all have our reasons for blogging, what would be your ultimate goal for your blog?

i would say honestly just to record our day to day life. i try and keep a journal about more personal things, but i have to admit that i love the idea of being able to look back at this over the years and see how much my kids have grown and changed. even just funny things they do on a daily basis. plus i hope this never happens but it is another record in case something ever happened to me, they would get to have an online journal of sorts from me!

6. what advice would you give a new blogger?

blog about whatever you want & however often. i blog frequently but others just blog a few times a month. i find it almost therapeutic to blog sometimes. also be honest about your life. its yours. you don't have to make things up because your worried about who is reading it.

7. what are your 3 favorite blogs to hit?

to many to count. usually it goes friends, photography, layout blogs. in that order

8. if you could trade lives with anyone for a month, who would it be and why?

i honestly don't think i would change. i know it sounds cheesy, but i am pretty happy with my life. i would miss garran and the kids too much if i left for a whole month =)

9. there is a fire. your family is safe and you have time to grab anything, what is it?

pictures!! with out a doubt and my kids baby blankets i made them. things that would be harder to replace i guess.

10. you have a chance to go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

i would have a different wedding photographer.

silly i know, but it is a serious regret i have!

things i have accomplished~

• mailed the majority of my christmas cards.
• learned how to make my baby announcements from a friend.
• wrapped cullans mom school secret santa gift.
• watched horton hears a who with my family. (well most of it. i fell asleep for a little bit-im preggo, thats my excuse=)
• got a nice phone call from my sister in law

and now for something delicious!

hope everyone is having a good night!!!

baby update~

WEEK 25 IS HERE!!!!

does anyone know what that means...only 13 more weeks, that is 105 days (according to my ticker anyways, so probably less than that because my ticker is based off a 40 week pregnancy =)

i can not believe that we only have 13 weeks left. it is going by so fast. i know that i say that every post about this pregnancy, but i mean it. i feel like once we get through christmas it is just a hop-skip and a jump till the end of february. that is when i think this little gal will make an appearance. i would love it if at 38 weeks she would decide to make an appearance on her own, however both of my boys were very stubborn and i had to be induced. so we will see how it goes. she has definitely been the most active of my three. she is always on the move and so i guess i secretly hope that, that means she will be itching to make an appearance on her own. my next appointment is on the 17th of december...and it is my glucose one. it would not be so bad if it were in the morning because of the fasting and all, but the earliest i could get in was 2:30pm. so it might be a long day. =)

other than that we are slowly getting ready. we are slowly getting clothes to put in her drawers. i will probably start stocking up on diapers, pacifiers, and a few bottles sometime in january. other than that i think we are just waiting on her. oh yeah and we have to get a car seat for her. so if anyone has any suggestions or had one that they really liked, i would love to hear about it.

well hope everyone is having a good tuesday...only two more days till thanksgiving =)

it's getting to be about that time~

ok everybody, its getting to be about that time for getting christmas cards ready!! isn't it exciting. i love getting christmas cards in the mail and seeing how old friends and current friends are doing. so i need your help. i know a lot of you have moved and i need to know every ones new addresses or if you have not got a card from us before but want one that is fine to=).. but i need your address! so here is the email i would like you to send it to. that way every ones info stays private. i also put a reminder over in the left hand column in case you forget!

thanks everybody!!

my email: garran.meghan@gmail.com

ps. our address has changed from last year, so if any of you need it just let me know!

just cause~

do any of you blog just because..

i am blogging because i have had a long but wonderful weekend. i got to have a semi girls night before the saturday night adult session of stake conference. my friend mandy and i went to dinner and then did a little shopping! today i attended stake conference with garran and the boys. it was wonderful although i have to admit i was a little sad that it is no longer here and now we have to travel an hour to get to the new stake center. oh well. it was fun to ride and talk with garran and listen to the boys sing in the back. plus the boys got to see my husbands family this weekend and they always enjoy that!

i am also blogging because i secretly feel overwhelmed by the upcoming month.

it seems that we have something big going on every single week including just our regular schedule which is hectic in and of itself. so here we go-

WEEK ONE:

this is my week to teach mom school. so i am working on my lesson and getting things ready for that. i also scheduled the mandatory mom field trip for this week that each mom is supposed to plan. we are going to a fire station. i think the kids will love it, i just hope i make it through it.

VOTE!

then on saturday we are going to be celebrating garrans dads birthday!

WEEK TWO:

mom school. plus i have to take cullan to get a full physical. later in this same week we have to take him to a hospital and have a dental procedure done. the stinky thing is, is that he has to be put completely under. ARGG! it makes me nervous. but i want him to have good teeth. oh yeah and that weekend my parents are coming up=) that part should be fun!

WEEK THREE:

mom school. i have an ob appointment for this baby. i am excited to have another ultrasound just to make sure that our lil miss is definitely a lil miss and not a lil mister!! the i turn 28 on the 18th!! it is so weird for me to type that. i can't imagine that i am two years away from 30. i still think of myself as 21. it's like my brain froze my aging process at 21, or maybe im just crazy!

the one exciting thing about this week is that we head to nauvoo! i can't wait. we are taking the boys, and i think they will have a lot of fun.

WEEK FOUR:

hmmm.... basically thanksgiving and family!!

hectic is all i can say

then oh my goodness we start our third trimester and the countdown in on for christmas.

i try not to rush through anything, but i feel like this month is just going to fly. well maybe even the rest of 2008. i know all you other folks are just as busy as i am, but sometimes i think blogging is a stress reliever for me. so maybe this blog was more for me than you, but that's ok right! =)

HAPPY NOVEMBER, HOPEFULLY I WILL GET A CHANCE TO BLOG THIS MONTH! LOL =)

google images of me~

a friend of mine sent this to me and because its saturday morning and i my kids are watching cartoons i thought why not!

In Google Images do a search for each of the following things and choose your favorite picture from the first page of images that come up -

1. search your name: MMG (you know im weird about privacy stuff) any of you that know me know that this is not me. however a little be of MMG trivia. I did take like one year of dace classes as a kid. tap - jazz -and you guessed it ballet.

2. my favorite food: enchiladas (however right now this changes with the wind. its just that when i read the question that was the first thing that popped in my head. plus we have this awesome little mexican place by our house that makes awesome enchiladas)

3. first job: cashier (i worked at a local grocery store in my town. it was my first job and i worked there for three years. while i was there i held the record for fastest checker.. pretty amazing huh =)

4. nickname: meggers (sargento calls me this on a fairly regular basis. i am not sure how it started but it just stuck! sorry the picture is so small. it was just the funniest one on the page.

5. where i was born: urbana, ill. - i picked this picture because while we lived in urbana my parents used to rent mini fridges to the college kids at the close by university. this is a picture of its campus.

6. favorite color: some might be surprised but it is true. it has to be the right shade of orange but it is orange. i think it all ties in with my love of fall and fall colors.

7. favorite college: since i don't have one, i thought i would put in my favorite thing about college. -GRADUATION-

8. bad habit-i have a really bad habit of saying "know what i mean". when we first got married i think i almost drove sargento crazy until he asked me if i realized how much i said it. which i had never noticed. now i don't say it as much. i realized i was saying it all the time. this picture came up when i typed in that phrase...i have no clue

9. favorite place: beach- this should not come as a surprise to any of you. i have professed my love of the beach over and over and over again.

10. favorite animal: koala- long story.. this has some history with sargento and i, but isn't this picture cute. it could be the two of us!

11. past love: sleeping in- this rarely happens anymore in my life.

12. where i live: i will say midwest, but i found a picture of the actual city i live in.

13. favorite object: my camera. big surprise. i love to take it everywhere with me.

14. my grandmothers name: heneritta - i had to laugh when this was what popped up.

15. my age: 27 - i picked this because everyone knows what a slave to fashion i am =)

so that is me in google images. it was kind of fun. if you do it let me know. i would love to see what you are in google images. (be careful what you google though, i typed in some harmless words and got some not so harmless images)

on my mind~

so this list might be boring it is just stuff that has been running through my head all day.

• i wish i did not have to mop my kitchen floor. i wish it was magically clean and that it was already marked off my list.
• speaking of clean i wish that my house was clean and that when i turned around from the computer i would not see toys everywhere waiting to be cleaned up. (is anyone weird like me and want to have a clean house before you leave to go somewhere)
• i need to talk to this lady to get out of this program that i am really not interested in but i am honestly dreading the conversation.
• wishing that my tired sweet kids would still take naps or that bed time would get here soon.
• wondering what to make for dinner. i have what i planned but am thinking i don't want to cook after i clean my kitchen... is that lazy or what?
• for some reason i have not been able to shake what i watched the other day on tv. this was the story. i have not been able to stop thinking about it and though it seems rare it is still a terrifying thought. it seems like something that could happen to anyone, especially with Small children. i mean most families do this every summer. i did some more research on it and here is a little more info if you are interested.
• wondering what my SIL is having. she is having her ultrasound today and they are going to try and find out. her babies can be pretty stubborn. she is due a few weeks before me so i will be excited to see what they say. (UPDATE IT IS A BOY!) i am sure the are excited. they have 1 boy and 3 girls so i am sure this is exciting.
• i am wishing rewind did not have such sensitive skin. my poor little guy always has troubles.
• hoping i can get everything ready tomorrow b/c sargento is pretty much gone all day in class. ARGH!

so this is what is in my brain. sorry its not a very interesting post.

eights~

i was tagged by my friend erin so here it goes!

(these are in no certain order... just so you know)

8 things that i am passionate about-
1. my family
2. friendships
3. photography
4. traveling
5. being a good mom
6. trying new things for my self and my family
7. learning.. all kinds of new things.. i have about a million things i would love to go to school for.
8. getting good deals.. i love find great things at bargain prices =)

8 words or phrases i say often-
1. stop
2. what do you say (usually prompting please and thank you)
3. know what i mean
4. i am not a trampoline
5. thanks baby
6. that's it .. your headed to time out
7. mommy needs a time out =)
8. love you

8 things i want to do before i die-

1. become a great picture taker =)

2. pay off student loans-is that possible ??

3. see my kids be happy and have their families

4. travel around with my husband

5. finish any of my projects.. scrap booking, editing photos, etc. etc..

6. date my husband more

7. go scuba diving again!

8 things i have learned from the past-
1. no matter how badly you mess up there is always forgiveness.
2. true happiness is a lot easier to find then you might think
3. it is good to be picky about who you will spend the rest of your life with.. its a long time =) (you don't want a dud!)
4. its always best to be honest, even if it hurts a little
5. children bring a whole different level of love and happiness to your life.
6. i don't really know if there ever is the best part of life.. so far all of it has been pretty good. highs and lows for sure, but all of it has made great memories, or made me a better person for it
7. in order to make some one else happy, it is a lot easier if you are happy with yourself first.
8. bad things are going to happen and you can either laugh or cry, so you might as well laugh!

8 places i would love to go or see-
1. ireland
2. paris
3. anywhere that has a beach..
4. to my grandparents old lake house
5. camping
6. brazil
7. on a walk
8. a reunion of a bunch of old friends!

8 things i currently need or want-
1. new lenses for my camera (want)
2. work done on sargentos car (need)
3. quiet ( want & need)
4. sleep
5. practice...taking pictures
6. more hours in the day with my hubby
7. patients
8. a day at a spa =)

8 people tagged...hmmm the first eight people that feel like doing it.. leave me a message to let me know that you did it and i will check your page=)

why not..

i got an email from my friend and had not done one in a while so i decided to post it on here! if you fill it out leave me a comment so i can go and read yours~ PLEASE!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
yep, my mom-her first name, my middle name, you get the idea
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
how embarrassing but when the women one gold and silver at he olympics.. i know im weird that stuff always gets me
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Depends on the pen...seriously! It does make a difference! (this answer i left the same as the person who sent it, but i honestly feel the same way!)
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
oh yes..two super cute boys
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
maybe depends on the day.. i think i am fun though so i will go ahead and say yes!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
again depends on the situation
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
yes pre back surgery.. i did something close one time, but post back surgery i would have to regretfully decline
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
right now...hmm strawberry yogurt cheerios
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OF ?
first of i hate wearing shoes.. if i could wear flip flops year round i would, but when i am forced to wear tennis shoes nope i do not untie them, just kick them off.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
physically.. well i can lift a almost two and almost three year old at the same time.. in other ways it varies!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
this changes all the time. right now.. cookie dough but only certain brands
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
if they make eye contact and if they are easy to talk to
15. RED OR PINK?
umm idk.. pink i guess
16. WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT YOURSELF?
do you have a few minutes.. my list might bore you!
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
a certain friend in cali~
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
well they can just blog about it and leave a comment.. i will check =)
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
still in jammies~ black and no shoes.. see above answer
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
enchilada last night for dinner
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
cartoons in the back ground.. it is saturday morning of course!
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
first of can i just say there is nothing better than a brand new box of crayons.. i love it.. .um i don't know i don't really have a fav color so um maybe a blue
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
lavender in the spring or early summer.. but it never lasts long.. i love driving around with my windows down just to smell that!
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Mandy
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yep
26. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
normally not during the Olympics i would have to say soccer.. the world cup is a big deal at our house!
27. HAIR COLOUR?

brown.. im hoping to change that soon though
28. EYE COLOR?
i know most people will not believe this but it is true.. they are green with red circles giving them a brown appearance but if you look closely you will see its true!
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yep.. love them
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
this changes a lot too.. im not get with sticking with one thing as a favorite for very long.. except MY HUBBY=) hmm lets see i will vote mexican right now.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
i am a hugh chicken.. i hate scary movies.. so i am going with happy endings for sure!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
21 i think that is what it is called, about a bunch of kids from Harvard or MIT i guess that go to vegas and count cards.. sargento picked it .. but it wasn't to bad!
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
white
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer i guess, i am not big on the never ending snow we get here.. but fall is the season for me. if i could move somewhere that had a decent summer and then fall with a mild winter.. i would be in heaven
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
either.. i will take either especially from my boys.. strangers or even really close friends i would have to stay we would probably just stick with hugs
36. FAVOURITE DESSERT?
apple crisp
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
i have no clue
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
same thing
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
children's song book... scary im repeating what happened last week.. poor kids
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSEPAD?
don't have one!
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
olympics..woo hoo michael phelps for just sneaking that touch in..
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
ok get ready here we go... i love rewinds really good belly laughs.. love it.. then i love when curls says peese mommy then he'll say .. ohhh tanks mom.. or the way he says yes.. you have to hear it to know what i mean. i love the sound of sargento walking in the door and saying he meggers!
other favorite non family related sounds.. the ocean.. i used to love going to the beach every summer growing up and we would leave our balcony window open and you could fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.. love it
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
BEATLES!!!
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
hawaii.. best and worst trip ever.. if your curious sometime i can explain
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
are you kidding. how many people do you know can change a diaper while talking on the phone, starting a thomas movie, breaking up a fight, and taking a message all at once.. did i mention i am usually cooking dinner too! now that is talent.. but probably one i share with every other mom!
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
urbana ill
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?????
everyone that i normally check their blogs.. i love it.. i am addicted to what other interesting people are doing!

Just Two...

Two names you go by:
1. Mom
2. meggers

Two things you're wearing now:
1. pink shirt
2. comfy gray pants

Two things you would want [or have] in a relationship:
1. honesty
2. laughter

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. take pictures
2. do fun things with my my family

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. anything outside
2. take a vacation...perferably to a beach area

Two things you did yesterday:
1. went to church
2. edited pictures

Two things you ate yesterday:
1. grapes
2. chicken

Two people you last talked to:
1. Sargento
2. stacy

Two things you're doing tomorrow
1.make copies
2. go shopping

Two favorite holidays:(this was hard, i have a few more than two=)
1. christmas
2. fourth of july

Two favorite beverages:
1. ice cold water
2. c-f mt dew

Two people no longer alive that you'd like to talk to:
1. mac
2.Papa

If you read all of the above, please consider yourself tagged and leave me a note. (No cheating -- if you read, please play along by posting your own.)

Tagged by the 5

Mandy got me so here it goes!

10 YEARS AGO: Hmmm 1998- I was just finishing my junior year of high school. I was so excited about being a senior. I really didn't think things could get much better. I had great friends and seemed to always be having fun. I think I was preparing for a trip to the beach with some of my friends. I love love love going to the beach!

5YEARS AGO: Hmmm 2003- Garran and I had been dating for three months. We had just got back from visiting his sister, who at the time lived in VA. (Very nerve racking meeting his older sister. She was great. I was just nervous thinking that if things did not go well, I was stuck in VA for a week with a girl who would tell her little brother how much she did not like me) Lucky me she liked me. The summer of 2003 was great. I went all over the state it seemed like with Garran and his family kayaking and going to caves, things like that.

5 MONTHS AGO: Hmmm December 2007- Well we had found out that we were expecting the month before. We were super excited. We had plans to visit a lot of family in a very short amount of time. We spent Christmas with Garrans family and suffered some sadness when the pregnancy did not work out.

5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST:
1. Continue packing
2. feed the fish
3. brush my teeth
4. take my contacts out (can you tell i'm getting tired)
5. make some phone calls

5 SNACKS I ENJOY:
1. ice cream
2. jello with whip cream
3. cherries- yum especially during the summer!
4. grapes-but I am very picky.
5. warm toasted bagels and cream cheese

5 THINGS I WOULD DO IF INSTANTLY A BILLIONAIRE:
1. pay off school and not have to worry about loans in the future
2. pay off the van
3. let garran quit his job to focus on school (i know he would love that)
4. buy a house
5. take a much needed vacation

5 BAD HABITS:
1. obsessive..seriously, once i start something I have to finish it. I have a very hard time leaving things half way completed. Once i get something in my head, watch out there is no stopping me.
2. I don't exercise like i should
3. overly critical of things sometimes
4. blogging....I love it. I love blogging about us and I love reading other peoples.
5. not enough patients some days =(

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Urbana Ill
2. Fayetteville, NC
3. Des Moines IA
4. Pembroke NC
5. where I am now.. but that is a secret! =)

5 THINGS PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME:
1. I was proposed to before Garran proposed to me. (obviously I said no)
2. I am moving soon... The count down is on.
3. Financially.... I am super organized. I know where every penny of our money is. I have to or I don't think I could sleep at night. (Seriously I should talk to someone about OCD!)
4. I have a hard time saying no to people ( i think I may have said this already in another one of these lists)
5. i like typing in all lower case. no capitals. but i don't always do it. i don't know why. it's my blog!