Most embarassing, hilarous story ever!

You have got to love kids!  We love them, would do anything for them and yet they can embarrass others like none else!  Listen to what happened to someone I know...

 

"I had just arrived home from a family vacation with my in-laws.  My couch was heaping with 5 loads of laundry that needed folding.  As my two small girls and I sat staring at the mounds of clothing, my mind quickly looked for an excuse to leave the house.  So, we ventured next door to pick up our weeks worth of mail from the neighbors.  My girls and I stood in the entry way chatting with my lovely neighbors about the trip we had just returned from.  After 10 minutes or so, my neighbor whom I love dearly, looked down at my toddler’s hands with a very puzzled look on her face. She then questioned pointing to the object, “what is that?”.  I quickly looked down to discover that my daughter had grabbed a souvenir from the pile of laundry which was a sexy silky yellow piece of thong underwear.  Not only was she holding it, but had wrapped it around her wrist and through her fingers like a piece of jewelry.  I was caught red handed with no way out!  I dropped to my knees in hysterics as I realized that I hadn’t even noticed she had totted the piece of lingerie from my couch to my neighbors house.  Everyone was laughing to the point of tears.  I assured her they had just come from the clean laundry pile.  As I scooped myself off the floor and walked back home with my kids and no dignity, I laughed to myself that such an experience had even happened.  I received hilarious text messages everyday for the next week reminding me of my misfortune.  So...the moral of the story is to never hang your laundry for others to see!"

 

I giggle every time I think about that story...and no, it didn't happen to me...

 

Then there are other times when you can't blame the kids for everything...

 

 

 

I had made Cafe Rio for dinner and had a whole bowl of chicken in the fridge.  I opened the fridge up and look what fell out!  It was the biggest mess I have seen in a long time and extra sticky because of the coke and sugar you cook it in!    It was not the kids fault, it was my very own.  It took me 15 mins to clean up because I have a lot of grooves in my cabinets.  Not my idea of a good time.  As I cleaned it up, I tried to be grateful for the fact that number one, I have a floor and a fridge and number two, that I have food to fill it up.  Trying to look on the bright side! 

One of my daughters and her friends wanted to do a face-painting stand the other night...they only had one customer and the poor thing got stung by a bee in the process!  I felt bad for them so I went out to give them some more business.  How do you think they did?  I personally loved the uni brow they gave me.  Don't worry, I gave them a good tip!  I don't think we are ready for summer to be over...

 

Advanced Cabinets

So I am so proud of my cute husband.  He is one of the hardest workers I know and I admire him so much for that.  He started his own architectural wood working business about a year ago.  It has always been his life long dream and finally bit the bullet.  Here he is with his new work shirt design, his new office trailer, his fork lift and some other equipment that he uses to build cabinets.  Don't take your cabinets for granted, there is a lot of hard work that goes into the production of them!  I sure love my Scottie Boy! 

 

 

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Guess how many days until Younique launches?  Only six!  I am so excited!  I can't wait.  I get the opportunity of becoming the first Presenter but I don't like to cross the finish line alone, I want friends to come with me!  What I mean by that is I want others to succeed too!  I have several friends that already know that they want to also become a Presenter for this great company.  It is only $99 to become a Presenter.  That means only $99 to start your own company!  That is amazing!  Then you get your friends to sign up to and you can get a percentage of what they sell too!  And the products are going to be fabulous. 

 

The picture above is Younique's Moodstruck Minerals pigment eye shadows that are excellent quality, with no fillers or preservatives. They are the real deal!  They even have the brushes to help apply the shadows.  Younique's brushes are made with luxuriously soft real pony and goat hair that are perfect for applying, shading, and blending your mineral shadows.  The brushes make it nearly impossible to get a bad application! You will never go back to your old makeup again! I suggest you tell your husband,  mom, mother-in-law, or whom ever you need to that this is the first thing on your Christmas wish list!  It will be here before we know it! 

 

NEW FAMILY PICTURES!!!

Someone pinch me... I think I am dreaming!  YOUNIQUE is launching in 2 weeks! I am so excited, are you? Well you should be! I can't wait to become a YOUNIQUE GIRL!!! Here is what I am most excited about.  

• I still get to stay home with my kids.

• I can work when ever it is convenient for me.

• My husband is going to be so proud of me!

• I will be my own boss.

• I won't have to go and get a job for minimum wage and leave my family. 

• I will be doing something I love.

• I am passionate about the products YOUNIQUE is selling!

• I will be in charge of my own schedule.

• I will be able to work as little or as much as I want.

• I will be helping people!

• I will be helping women feel empowered!

• I will be helping women to feel valued!

• I will be helping women to feel smart and beautiful!

• I already spend plenty of time on social media so now I can actually make money while doing it!  Awesome, huh! 

 

I don't know many people where the wife doesn't have to work too to provide for their family. In today's day and age and in today's economy, I think it is often times necessary. I don't want a lot of things (toys, fancy cars, etc.) I just want to be comfortable and be able to make ends me, get out of debt and feel like we are getting ahead a little. YOUNIQUE is the AMAZING company that is going to help me do this and I am so grateful!  I would love to see you be a part of YOUNIQUE too!  We could do great things together!  If I can do it, you can too!  For more info about becoming a Presenter for YOUNIQUE or as I like to say, A YOUNIQUE GIRL, visit their website at www.youniqueproducts.com for more info!  Thanks so much! 

 

THE HERMANSENS 2012

 

 



 

Rather than spending a fortune on school pictures this year (not that recess hair isn't cute) but I decided to take my kids to Fotofly in Draper, UT.  I was so impressed with Fotofly!  I spent more money than I was planning on but I am in love with the pictures they took!  For me family pictures are EXTREMELY stressful and once we were at the studio, I really felt the stress leave!  They made it fun and my kids had a blast.  They talked about the session all night long!  I also love that you get a CD of your pictures and the copyrights so you can get them printed anywhere. They made a life long customer out of me!  I do love Camera Shy in Lehi just as much, it is just that Draper is closer to me than Lehi.                                                  

As this picture was taken, I had a moment of joy that all my kids were cooperating and getting along and  I looked at my husband and said, "Oh honey, we have cute kids...we must be doing something right!"  It was one of those moments that you wanted to last forever! 

Look at these other AMAZING shots that they snapped...

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As you can see, the title of this post is "The Bitter Sweetness of Parenthood".  That is how I feel about it.  It is the greatest blessing and yet can be the biggest challenge at the exact same time.  For example, some nights I am so exhausted (oh wait, that is every night!)  and my 2 year old will wake up and in the cutest little voice say, " Momma, my tummy hurts.  I want food."  As we are in the kitchen lit up with one tiny light, she sits there cute as a bug on the counter eating her snack and she goes through the whole family.  "Daddy night night?"  I say, "Yes, Daddy is night night".  Then she will say, "Nessa night night?"  She'll go through all her brothers and sisters because our house is only quiet in the middle of the night!  She is trying to figure out why it is so quiet and where everyone is!  And as exhausted as I am, those quiet little moments alone with her with her cute little voice are just absolutely precious to me and I can't get mad that she is awake because she is the cutest thing that I have ever seen! 

 So yesterday my 8 year old daughter Melanie cracked me up and I wanted to share. She said, "Mom, the reason that old people can't hear very well is that their ears are shriveling up".  Did you know that?  Maybe so! That made me giggle. 

I remember the joy I felt of having my first baby, Kaitlyn, who is now 11 and not such a baby!  I can't believe how fast kids grow up.  It happens before your eyes!  I also remember the fear I felt though when we loaded her in the carseat to take her home from the hospital and the nurse who helped us to the car said, "Bye kids, have fun!" with a big grin on her face.  I really wanted an instruction manual to take care of my baby! 

One of my favorite sayings is:

With kids, the days are long

but the years are short. 

Isn't that the truth???

 

There are instruction manuals out there.  They are called parenting books.  If you look and see how many kids the authors have, it is usually one or two.  They haven't learned yet that every child is different and that you have to parent each child differently! It can definitely be a challenge.  Sometimes I have to remind my kids that I have never been a parent before and that they are my guinea pigs that I am experimenting with!  I also remind them that I am just a little kid in a big body.  I am just like them, just a little further along the path we call "life".  I also remind them that my name starts with an M and it isn't "Maid!" 

 

The older I get and the more children I have, the more I am amazed at my parents and my in-laws and all they did for my husband and I growing up. 

 

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No, that previous line is not a typo.  My 2 year old just woke up and she is not crazy about me being on the computer when she is hungry and ready for breakfast so she is pushing buttons.  Now she is straddling my lap so I am typing behind her back but she feels like I am holding her.  Guess it is breakfast time! 

   

O.K.  Breakfast was served.  It was a gourmet bowl of frosted mini wheats.  I know, I know, I am an over achiever.     

Farmer Walker

My 10 year old son has AMAZED me this year.  My dad helped him plant a garden and Walker has been quite the little farmer.  He checks on it 3 times a day and although he is not a fan of many vegetables, I think I have eaten more than my fair share of tomatoes, etc. this year so it is a good thing that I love them!  It is amazing how if he is interested in something, he can focus on it for hours and hours.  He is the hardest working little kid I have ever seen.  I do miss when he couldn't say his L's though.  He would say, "Mommy, I wove you!"  I would also make him say this just to hear him say his L's like W's.  "I like to lick my lucious lips!"  It would sound more like, "I wike to wick my wucious wips!"  Talk about a cutie!  Here are some pictures of "Farmer Walker". 

YOUNIQUE is launching in 19 days! 

 

 I am so excited I can hardly stand it!  This whole Younique Journey is a dream come true for me.  I feel like I have worked so hard for so long and it is finally going to pay off!  I am so honored to be a part of such a great company.  I am so grateful that they believe in me and value my opinion and want my feedback.  It is a very nice feeling.  I want others to have that feeling too!  I love helping others!  I sincerely mean that!  It may be that I don't have a competitive bone in my body.  I would rather see someone else win the race than me.  I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing someone, especially one who has worked so hard, experience success. 

This week I got a sneak peek at the first product that will be available and can I just say WOW?  The all natural mineral eyeshadow is amazing!   It is called Mood Struck because you think about what color you are in the mood for putting on!  I have had the priviledge of trying out some samples and I will never go back to pressed eyeshadow again!  I don't even have to buy eyeliner anymore either.  The colors are amazing, the application is simple and I love the results!  It doesn't crease by the end of the day like other eyeshadows.  I love that you can put it on dry or wet for a more dramatic look.  I am excited again to put on make-up!  Thank you Younique!  You are either going to love selling it or love purchasing and using it! 

 

Potty Princess Party!

My daughter Janessa is the most AMAZING 18 year old ever. She is the most mature, unselfish person I know. More so than many adults I know! I have been dragging my feet with potty training my 7th child, Lilly. Janessa got the ball rolling with planning a potty princess party! She set out presents the night before and decorated the bathroom. Janessa anxiously waited for Lilly to wake up and ran in her room the second she heard her. She gave her her first gift... a crown and some noise makers for the three of us to blow when she went potty! Then she got to put stickers on her chart that were little paper toilets. We did all this for about $15, money well spent because after today, no more diapers!!!

Do you know any other 18 year olds that would do all this to help their mom? It puts to shame what I have done with the other kids to potty train them! We live and learn, right? I am so grateful for Janessa and her example. I don't know what I would do with out her. She is an angel sent from above and I can't believe I get the opportunity of being her mom. Anyhow, I thought I would share these ideas in case there are other moms out there in need of some ideas to make it fun and successful. Best of Luck!


Putting little paper toilets on
each time she went potty!

Lilly's presents included treats, big girl pants,
and a baby that she gets to open when she has
kept her big girls pants dry all day!




Lilly, the sleepy Potty Princess, with her
 crown and noise makers, 
all ready for the Potty Party! 

I pointed to this on the mirror and told Lilly
it was her name.  She kept pointing at it and
saying, "my Lilly" with a big smile! 



Janessa is a CNA so she is very good about
teaching the proper handwashing techniques!

    

Stickers to put on her chart
after she goes potty!  She loved
doing this!

Lilly having breakfast watching Elmo
potty videos.  She loves Elmo! 

    

The big girl washing
her hands after she goes potty!  





Lilly making noise because she
is becoming a big girl!

     A big shout out to those who are already followers on my blog.  Hugs and kisses!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.  I hope you enjoy as I talk about real life and finding joy in motherhood.   

     Now that September is here, guess what that means?  Younique is launching next month!  It will be here so soon!  The first few months the products sold are the ones that were chosen by the  focus group that was held  back in August.  After that, it will be open to the public about what products Younique sells!  Get those wheels turning!  First of all, you become a Presenter which is like a consultant.  Next, you submit your product ideas.  Then, people will vote on what they want Younique to sell!  This will be done by Facebook, Twitter and other social media.  Those whose products are chosen will then get royalities on those products!  It is going to be awesome, just like the voting on So You Think You Can Dance or American Idol.  Get the ideas flowing!  You have less than a month to submit your product ideas!  



Days until Younique launches:  27 !!!!