M.E.M.O.S.

You look familiar, do I know you from somewhere?

2009-08-05T00:56:00.002-06:00

I'm back, but don't get your hopes up..... it won't last. In case you hadn't noticed, I haven't been on the blogoshpere since January, not even on my own blog, so what brings me back now? I couldn't tell ya. I ended up here in a round about way. The last couple of weeks I'd been thinking about a girl I used to teach in Y.W.'s who's pregnant with twins so I thought I'd check out her blog to see what's up and then I checked on another friend & another one & after checking out a few more blogs I remembered I had one so I took a peek & wanted to puke ~ it STUNK! I just really needed to get something on it that said...... August or summer or anything other than B.O., if you get my drift (haha, sorry, I couldn't let that one pass).

Okay, you probably noticed I'm a little loopy it's 1:00am which is very Atypical for me. I am NOT a night owl. Once 10:00pm hits then my brain turns to mush, my blood almost stops pulsing through my veins & my feet turn to ice ~even in August~, & my eyes battle their lids to look at one last picture in whatever decorating magazine I'm holding. The lids win about 99% of the time. But not tonight. Atypical. Hmmm. Maybe I have too much on my mushy mind. Maybe we were supposed to be closing on the sale of our house & the purchase of our new house in 10 days. Maybe the peeps who wanted to buy our cute house so badly that they put earnest money down and made an offer an hour after they walked through it 3 weeks ago, didn't get approved for their loan today. Maybe that means we won't be moving in 10 days even though we're pre-approved & locked in with a good interest rate & are pretty much ready to move. Maybe that means I have to go crazy once again trying to keep my house spotless with 4 kids home on summer break & be ready to leave at a moments notice for showings. Maybe I'm a little bitter. Maybe I'm having a bad dream & I'll wake up in the morning & everything will still be back on track & ready to close in a week & a half. Maybe I'm just a really grumpy, glass half empty sort of a person at 1:30 in the a.m. Or maybe this isn't what was supposed to happen & something better is going to happen. I better get to bed. No matter which reality I wake up to in the morning I'm sure it'll be better than the one I'm in right now. It's amazing how things don't usually seem so bad in the morning....... after you sleep.

BTW..... my friend who was preggers with the twins had her baby girls 2 months ago. I knew you would want to know. It looks like they are all doing beautifully, those babies are precious & I couldn't be happier for them. I'm totally baby hungry now.... I really better get some sleep. Good night

A Salute to our Beloved Irish President!

2009-01-30T07:50:00.004-07:00

Have a quern grand weekend, mo charas!

Wednesday Reprieve

2009-01-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

People ask me for my parenting secrets all the time. I'm frequently asked - 'How do you do it?' Sometimes I catch people just staring at my family - wide eyed & slack-jawed - & I know they're simply in awe. So here's my 2 best pieces of parenting advice in pictures:

2. More than just lawns, it works well for teaching all sorts of good manners!

So, remember, don't blame me if you don't take my advice & your kids turn out like this -

I hope your Wednesday just got a little better! Have a good one.

Memory Monday: My Seinfeld Moment

2009-01-26T00:00:00.001-07:00

If you've never had a 'Seinfeld Moment' then I'll fill you in. It's basically a semi-shallow, somewhat selfish moment in your life...... oh, and funny. Today, I'm sharing my favorite one.

Back in the day, at the beginning of my 2nd year of college, at good 'ol Ricks, I was seeing a guy named Dan ('seeing' is not quite steady dating but more than hanging out. Okay, we had gone on a few dates & our relationship was getting to that turning point which all relationships eventually get to - do we get more serious or is it time to fizzle.). I liked him, he was cute, but I definitely wasn't in love. So, this one weekend in October, Dan was headed down to Provo, Utah & offered to drive me down so I could visit my newly married brother & sis in law.

What a sweetheart. I thought it was so thoughtful of him to make that offer (as I was car-less in those days - who needs a car when you can walk?!), & it showed that he actually listened to me when I talked to him since I must have mentioned my brother & sil a time or two. Friday came & he drove me down to my bro's apartment. My bro, sil, & I had a fun weekend hanging out, and then on Sunday, Dan picked me up.

I couldn't believe my eyes.

You have got to be kidding me.

I just remember not wanting my brother & sil to see him & trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. Of course, being the great guy my bro is, he came out to visit with Dan the man & see us off.

I wanted to slide down in my seat & not let anyone see me with him.

The turning point had arrived & I had totally fizzled.

What? What could be so bad, you ask? Well, this is where Seinfeld comes in & I realize it's really kind of shallow, but it was funny.

He was wearing a dorky old mesh football jersey under his leather jacket & tight jeans. Are you kidding me! Who wears those when they're not on the football field? This guy was no football player either - he was skinny. And he didn't have anything on under the mesh jersey. Gross. Seriously, I was grossed out. I think it was that combined with his pilot's sunglasses that he liked to don every once in a while that put me over the edge.

That was a really long 4 hour drive back home that Sunday evening as I couldn't even look him in the eyes. That was the last of him. Unfortunately, I was never able to go out with him again because my calendar suddenly got really filled up.

I know, it was bad of me. I try to justify it by saying, I did question his integrity (okay, maybe that's not a fair judgement to question a person's integrity by what they're wearing) but sometimes he was a bit of a jerk to his roommates (that was real) & I don't do well with jerks. They're not my type. Either are the ones who wear see-through mesh jerseys when it's not even Halloween.

Now, I look back & laugh & realize it was the spirit telling me he was not the one for me. Thank goodness I was listening!

Have you ever had a Seinfeld moment?

Memo's 3

2009-01-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Memo
To: Epee
Subject: Prayer works

So, when you were saying your prayer the other night, you started it off so sweetly but then you asked Heavenly Father to bless your mom to be able to go to the store in the morning to buy you all of the things you want so that I will be a really good mom. Hmm. You see son, the Lord does work in mysterious ways but not through manipulation, & He usually answers our prayers through other people, but when other people don't do what you want after you pray for it it doesn't mean He's not listening, it just means I'm not falling for it. No matter how bad you want this to happen, He is not going to turn me into a robot that you can control. Also, he is not going to command me to go to the store to fulfill your every whim, put me under mind control or magically fill your pockets with all of the money in the world.

Get over it...... but keep praying (I'm sure He's enjoying it).

Love ya, Robo-Mom (ha ha - sike, you wish!)

Memo
To: Manly
Subject: No more karate!

Honey, please stop asking me to practice karate with you - there is a reason you're the one taking the class, not me. If you really need someone to practice with can't you just ask one of the kids? They're tough. No matter how much you promise me it won't hurt & how soft you think you're being - it HURTS! Now listen, I love how strong you are & I love that you're learning to protect yourself against crazy people like your clients who enjoy taking an occasional swing at you, but come on, it hurts! I don't think you know your own strength, which is kind of hot, but seriously. Please. Stop. Asking. I won't do it anymore. And don't look at me like that. Stop it. No.

I still love you,
Your sore wife

Memo
To: SidySue
Subject: Hypnosis

Yeah, good luck with that one. I think it's every kids dream to hypnotize their parents & then make them do what they want. Heaven knows your big brother has tried. Last Sunday as we were sitting in sacrament meeting & you were begging me to put you in time out in the car, I just didn't get it at first. And then I saw the chocolate candy in your hand which was melting. You're a smart girl - some might say an evil genius, whatever you are, nice try. You wanted to go out to the car where it was cooler so your chocolate would firm up. How do you know these things? Anyway, I heard you trying to hypnotize me while they were passing the sacrament. I also saw your little hands making those weird movements in an attempt to make it work. It was a little creepy. So please don't try to hypnotize me or anyone else in church anymore, it just seems so....... not churchy. I'm sleeping with one eye open tonight.

Love, your slightly freaked out servant.

Memo
To: Rocket
Subject: Thanks

Hey, Mr. Good 'ol boy, thanks for getting better. You had us so worried, if you didn't realize by now, we (and by we I mean me. Okay - And the rest of us, but me) are kind of attached to you. I'm just so glad you did get better because if you didn't I was gonna kill you. Seriously those vet bills were expensive. After paying that, we deserve at least another good 10 years out of ya.

You're a lucky boy.

Love, your momm......I mean master.

Memo
To: Lundles
Subject: "I shot the city sheriff" 5 x's fast

Honey next time we're doing tongue twisters for fun, do NOT do any that dad suggests. I still can't believe he had you say that one on the way home from church, of all places! I kept watching your face each time you would slur the words together especially on the word 'city' when the 'sh' sound started creeping in front of it & I could see that you weren't hearing what he & I were. Phew. And even though I was laughing along with dad, I was laughing out of pure shock & outrage - ahem. So stay away from his tongue twisters, 'funny' poems, silly songs & anything else he finds amusing because I know you will too, & you'll want to share them with all of your friends, but those jingles are naughty. I don't think your friends mothers will appreciate them.

P.S. I'm so proud of how hard you worked on your state report. We'll talk more about that later!

Love, the naughty lady who secretly says those same tongue twisters when no one else is around.

Memo
To: Hoodee
Subject: girl stuff vs boy stuff

Okay bud, let's set the record straight. No matter how bad you want Epee to be your twin brother, it's not going to happen. He will always be your brother, and Sidysue will always be your twin. Don't worry. Just because she's a girl & your twin doesn't mean you're going to turn into a girl. Also, just because you danced with her the other day doesn't mean you like "girl stuff" & no, you will not turn into a girl. And, when Lundles calls you a girl & acts like she's turning you into a girl while she laughs that wicked little laugh - you. will. NOT. turn into a girl.

Now that that's clear, I have another point to make. Usually the boys who paint their toenails are the ones who are trying to look like girls. Even though the nail polish is blue, it has sparkles - blue sparkly polish is the equivalent to plain pink polish. I know you would never choose pink anything, so let's not paint your toenails anymore. K? Good. Now, let's go shoot something, or find a snake, or beat up your sister or something. Okay dude!

Love, the lady who painted your toes pretty.

Happy Birthday times 2

2009-01-21T00:00:00.001-07:00

You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too!

2 weeks ago was the twins birthday. They're 5 now. I still can't believe it.

How lucky we are to have gotten these two little rascals sent to us. They are so fun & a total blessing to Manly and I. I can't imagine life without them - not that I've ever tried to do that, *ahem* - as they have kept me on my toes and have added a lot of joy and laughter to the halls of this home.

This is where it all began, about 12 hours before they were born:

Welcome Hoodee & Sidysue!!
Hoodee appeared first. He was healthy & strong & started gaining weight right away. So after the initial couple of days in the hospital for observation he got to go home with Dad & Grandma.
5 minutes later came Sidysue. After her first 24 hours her lungs collapsed & she was life flighted to a bigger hospital where she spent the next couple of weeks. I had some complications too, so, luckily I was transferred to that same hospital & spent about that long there with her. It was our first girls retreat together - we were totally pampered!4 months old on their blessing day. Hoodee wore the same handmade, knitted outfit that Manly wore on his blessing day 32 years before.

At 2 years old, their personalities were shining bright. They are still a couple of turkeys.This year they got to have their first friend birthday party. 1 friend each - it was the smartest thing I've done since teaching the kids to vacuum & do dishes.

Happy birthday Hoodee! Happy birthday SidySue! We love you!

Memory Monday: Grandma got run over by a ...... Cadillac

2009-01-19T00:00:00.005-07:00

Today, I'm trying something new. No. It's not mustard or mayo. Or sushi. Or brain tacos. Or smoking. Or - I'll quit now.

It's Monday's. Monday's are getting a face lift around here.

I'll to be taking a walk down memory lane and I invite you to join me. Memory Monday. These are the memories that I want to share with you & get a hard copy of to hold onto for when I inevitably end up walking down the other lane: Dementia Alley- memory lane's nemesis. Plus, I'm kindof a big fan of alliterations. Ever since I learned about them in the 8th grade, I've wanted to use them. So here's my chance.

Today, I would like to introduce you to my Grandma Elsie & share one of my favorite memories of her & I together. She was a riot when she was alive (especially in her later years when she was plagued with dementia {of course}), although at the time I didn't think some of the things she did were funny, as I look back I realize what a gem she was. And as I've gotten older, I've also realized that I'm a lot like her. I inherited her droopy Scandinavian eyes, we're both opinionated, feisty, & friendly. Oh, & we're both crazy - slightly.

She lived next door to us. I loved growing up close to my grandma {except for when I became a teenager & this boy ...... never mind} especially because she had cable t.v. & a spare angel food cake on the counter just waiting for me to eat.

Grandma also had this big 'ol dark Cadillac. She loved Cadillac's and always had one. I loved riding in that car - it was so big, for a long time I thought it was a limo, but my favorite thing about it was in the front seat there was an armrest that would fold down and she would let us sit on it. We all fought over who got to sit there, because when you did you were up so high that you could see everything out of the windshield - like you were the driver. Cheap thrills, but hey, it was 1980.

This one day when I was 5, Grandma was watching my little sister, Sara, and I. We had gone somewhere, like I can remember where - that is the dementia kicking in - and we were just returning back to Grandma's house, me in the front, Sara in the back. So, there I was sitting up high on my armrest slash throne while Grandma got out of the car to open the garage door {I know, weird huh? I can totally remember the old days before garage door openers - can you?} and she left the car running.

It was at that moment that I saw the potential in the long shiny gear shifter with the cool black, knobby thing on the end of it. I was sitting right next to it, it was practically in my face screaming at me to touch it. What 5 year old can resist a shiny stick that makes a car move? I reached forward and touched that big, shiny, metal, powerful stick and then I started to pull. I pushed and pulled with all of my might until finally it moved.

The stick moved.

And so did the car.

We slowly began to roll forward. Me on my throne and my little sister in the back who was smart enough to realize that this shouldn't be happening as she started to cry. It was then that I realized I had made a BIG NO NO. The car wouldn't stop. It kept moving forward & picking up speed & then it started into a sharp turn, maybe because I was pulling on the steering wheel, which put it on course for the neighbor's house. Gasp! I was too scared and frozen to make any kind of sound or movement, which was okay because by then my sister was screaming her head off. I won't ever forget the look on Grandma's face when I saw her out the windshield. I was expecting to see a really mad grandma with smoke shooting out of her ears and instead all I saw was terror and a moment of paralyzing fear sweep across her face before she snapped out of it and jumped into action.

This feisty, almost 70 year old lady literally jumped into action as she tried to jump into the car. It wasn't to be. She got knocked down, her hands shredded & bloodied and her legs run over. It was at this point that, as a 5 year old, I remember feeling like I was in a dream world and none of this was real. We were still headed for the neighbor's house getting closer by the second, my grandma was on the ground desperately trying to get up but not able to make her legs do what she wanted, when it happened.

He appeared.

This strange, long-haired, random man showed up, jumped into the car and stopped it. As simple as that. He smiled at me and then got out and quickly helped my grandma up & stuck around long enough to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt. Then he simply left, he disappeared as quickly as he came.

My guardian angel.

Grandma Elsie and my family didn't share the same religion or beliefs on certain subjects, but she is the one who taught me to believe in guardian angels. She was the first one to call him that and she never doubted that that is what he was and that he was sent there that day to save my sister and me.

I loved that about her. I have always been comforted by her simple faith. I also loved that she wasn't mad at me & never developed smoking ears, and she forgave me as she seemed to instinctively know that I needed to hear those words even though I wasn't apologizing.

I was a big liar too & not even her forgiveness got me to confess, even though I really needed to hear it from her. Later on that day as my family was gathered together and Grandma Elsie & my parents were re-hashing the event over and over again trying to figure out what went wrong & who it was that stopped to help us and trying to get every last detail squeezed out of the story, I was hiding in the bathroom. I wouldn't come out for a long time and I definitely would NOT admit what I had done. As far as I was concerned the car just started going all by itself. They knew what I did & I knew that they knew, but I just couldn't say it out loud. I lied. And at 5 I knew I was lying, but somehow I knew it would be worse to tell the truth, like if I did it would suddenly become real. It was years before I admitted what I did.

So now, at Christmas-time whenever I hear the song, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer, I fondly think back on my experience of running over my grandma with a Cadillac. I also reflect on what it taught me - that my parents weren't stupid, injuries can cause arthritis (she developed it in her knees after that) & guardian angels are all around us.

By the way, thanks to me the fighting over the throne in the Cadillac came to an abrupt end since none of us ever got to sit on it again.

He's STILL our good 'ol boy...

2009-01-17T14:36:00.003-07:00

I want to first thank all of you for your well-wishes & prayers on behalf of Rocket and our family. They have been felt & it means a lot to me.

So, here's our update: Rocket is doing so much better! I honestly thought he was going to die, although I couldn't bring myself to admit that out loud a few days ago. I didn't have much hope for him on Tuesday because of how serious the vet said it was & how much pain he was in. They did the blood tests and x-rays & thankfully ruled out surgery. It's still a mystery as to why his stomach is so bloated, which it still is, but he's been on antibiotics (for a problem they found through all of this {you don't want to know}, which they are guessing is what was causing the pain) and antacids - he burps a lot - and has mostly returned back to normal.

He's getting his groove back. On the mornings when I take the twins to preschool, I usually call out, "Okay guys, it's time to go," and then they get their coats and bags on and Rocket usually gets in line with them to head out the door and get in the van. Once he's out the door he then pushes his way to the front to get in the van first - we're going to have to work on that. But he did that on Thursday, when he heard me call out those magical words, he got up off his bed, pushed his way to the front and got in the van. Despite the bad manners we were all so happy. Each day he takes another step towards recovery & has a little more energy than the day before, & even though he's not 100% yet, he's definitely out of the woods and on the mend.

I think we are going to make it to our year mark....... knock on wood, keeping my fingers crossed & holding my breath.

So, thank you, again, for caring. That is something I have come to really appreciate about this whole bloggy thing - the goodness that is out there. Of course nothing is perfect, but what a blessing to have perfect strangers send us notes to let us know you care. You rock!

"He's our good 'ol boy..."

2009-01-13T12:15:00.004-07:00

I had a different post planned today, but since the events of this morning, I've changed my mind.

Rocket, our dog, is sick. He's at the doggy hospital & we're not sure what's wrong. It broke my heart this morning to hear him cry out in pain when he tried to get up & then plopped back down again. He didn't even eat his breakfast. That's the first time we've ever heard him cry & watched him skip a meal. Poor boy.

I never thought I'd feel tender like this toward him, like he's my 5th child (Before we got him, I swore that I would not baby the dog or act like he was one of my children. And now that's how I feel.). I've worried over him & prayed for him - even got a little choked up when the vet who makes house calls told us he needs to go to the clinic to get blood work & x-rays done, possibly surgery too. His abdomen is really bloated & painful, what's causing it is the mystery.

The first day we brought him home & I saw house nervous he was, I melted a little, and then as we got to know him I fell in love with him & felt grateful that we got to be his family. I've been so thankful for his sweet nature & the calm spirit which he's brought to our home. But I just never expected to feel like this.

Ugh. I have no more desire to see Marley & Me.

2 days ago we had our 11 month anniversary of having him with our family. I hope we have the opportunity to make it to a year. He's a special dog & I really think he was meant for us. He has fit right in & has been just what my kids, & all of us, have needed. Manly has a way of talking to him that we've all picked up on, which Rocket loves. He says, "He's our good 'ol boy, what a good 'ol boy he is..." in this crazy old man voice as he scratches behind his ears, and it just makes Rocket so happy. He really is a good 'ol boy.

Whatever happens, I know things will work out how they are supposed to.

Oh-8 was really great!

2008-12-29T20:45:00.010-07:00

It's hard to stay away from something you love for too long, things like chocolate, soap &, of course, blogging (also, mouse traps. Those would almost make my list if it weren't for the purpose they were intended.) Besides, there are just so many things that I've been thinking about lately, good things which 2008 has brought us, that I just had to share.

By now, you know me & my lists, ooh - that's another thing I love - lists! (If I wasn't already making one then I would go make one about cute men & the cute things they say.)

So, this is my list of favorite things in Oh-8 (trust me - this list is much shorter than it's nemesis. Who wants to read about things like darling {devil} children vandalizing your neighbor's garage with kitty litter, mouse infestations & hurting someones feelings & going into a depression over it? Hmmm. If you even know what I'm talking about then I guess you do.) Well, I'm not going there, this is happy list time & that's what I'm giving you. Happy. Now, shut up & read.... {Sorry, I can't believe I just said that, that's a bad word in this house - I totally belong on the naughty list - but for the sake of time & the gross misuse of parenthesis' which has already taken place, I won't go there either.} Here we go...

MEMO'S TOP 8 of Oh-8:

8. The birth of MEMOS (aka- blogging). Besides it being fun & meeting new people (in a not-weird way) it has been a great way for me to work on my writing skills, or lack thereof. It's an outlet for my own personal, public therapy sessions (also, in a not-weird way), & more importantly it is seriously helping me learn to balance my time & my undiagnosed OCD better. It's been very difficult these last few months, but I'm getting there..... my chillens are not nearly as neglected as they were 3 months ago.

7. My Publisher. com. This is one of my favorite finds of the year, thanks to my sister Jen. It's the perfect alternative for non-scrap booking, picture taking people like me who still want a nice way to display our pictures. It turns your photos into a book of art (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some sort of endorsement prize). I'll be back.

6. The White Hornet:

{Please refer to You Know You're a Cheapskate When... for more details into the naming of the van & why I'm still in awe over driving a quiet, non-rattling van.)

5. Preschool. Need I say more?

4. Cost Rica. (side note - the pictures from this trip are now displayed in a beautiful hardcover coffee table book, thanks to My Publisher.com....{sorry, I couldn't resist.}) Manly & I visited C.R. in June. This is where he lived for 2 years, while serving a mission for our church. I got to meet some of the people he worked & lived with there, 16 years ago. Also, some of the beaches we visited were simply too gorgeous for words. I didn't expect to fall in love with the country like I did, but I simply love it there. The Spanish they speak is so clear & easy to understand, the people are genuine & the food was absolutely delicious. We'll be back!

3. This Christmas. This has been one of the best Christmases our family has had. Not that the others were bad, but this one has been different. It's been relaxing. I did my Christmas shopping the week before the big day with Manly & without stressing about how late it was. Instead of spending too much time shopping & worrying about shopping, I spent the time reading Christmas stories & watching movies with the kidlets. We didn't go anywhere Christmas day - we stayed home in our pj's, watched movies & played all day. It was also a more modest & more Christ centered Christmas for us. Nothing exciting - that's what was so great about it.

I think the best part of it this year was watching my 11 year old try her hand at being Santa, as she gave all of her siblings & parents unexpected gifts. She gave me her MP3 player, I checked & double checked to see if she really wanted to give it away & she was positive. She gave her dad some of her favorite sea shells from her collection & she gave her siblings things of hers which she knew they wanted. I was so proud of her as I watched her being thoughtful about the gifts & trying to make her family happy.

The other best part was later on in the day when my 7 year old, Epee, was sitting on my lap holding his new, big 'ol Nerf gun as we were watching a movie, & I asked him if he loved that gun. He turned around to look at me & said, "Yes, but not as much as I love you." Then he kissed me on the cheek. You can probably imagine how my heart melted & how that moment is burned in my mind forever! What more could I want (maybe a hubby who will learn to schmooze like his son...... hmmmm.)?

2. The adoption of Rocket. He has been a blessing to our family this year. It's amazing what a big, lazy, sweetheart of a dog will do for an angry 11 year old, & the rest of her family.

1.

You're smiling aren't you. How could this NOT make anyone smile?!

Crazy Horses = Lots of laughter & good, clean family fun. This has been, by far, my favorite thing this year! Thanks to an unexpected email from my good friend, Jaeme, earlier this year. My family & I have spent a lot of time watching this over & over & over again, laughing our heads off {including the angry 11 year old.}. Can you guess what is now downloaded on my new MP3 player? Yep. My new goal is too learn the smokin choreography & make my family learn it too so we can perform it at the next ward talent show. Yes!

That's my list & I'm sticking to it. I hope you've had a wonderful year too. See ya next year!

2008-12-24T12:51:00.002-07:00

Tis the season

2008-12-20T22:09:00.002-07:00

Hello all of my fellow blogging & non-blogging more like stalking friends! It's been a while. I've had to make some changes in the last little while to get my life back to normal, to get ready for Christmas & to combat this seriously gross mouse problem we have.

I know.

That last post I wrote about the mouse..... well, the mouse apparently wasn't a loner looking for some love ...... or food. It, & when I say it, I mean it in the most inflammatory, derogatory mouse slandering way possible, came with not only a family, but a whole neighborhood of mice camped out in various places around our home. I guess this is all part of living in the country (with fields all around you, which people decide to dig up to build homes on) & not having a cat. We've had mice before, but nothing this extreme & it's really getting on my nerves. You know it's bad when you walk out of the kitchen & one of your kids screams from seeing another mouse run across the floor (this has happened more than once) Why are they avoiding me?

Anyway, now that my life is feeling back to normal, Christmas is ready, we've caught about 10 mice & my house is so clean I hardly recognize it, I've decided to officially take a holiday break.

I'm giving myself permission to not blog for the next couple of weeks & not feel guilty about it. I know that sounds ridiculous, but seriously, you know you do it too. There's something about making a commitment to do something & then when you don't do it you feel guilty about it. That is so NOT what any mother, wife, woman, person needs in their life, & yet here I am doing it to myself.

So,

I'm not going to post for the next couple of weeks unless I really want to, & I won't feel bad about it. Hooray! That's my Christmas present to myself this year. I only wish I had thought of that years ago when I was feeling guilty for all of the other things I said I would do & didn't. Oh well.

I also want to wish each of you a very beautiful & Merry Christmas. This truly is a beautiful time of year. A time to reflect on the birth of our Savior - the best gift we could ever receive, a time to serve others with more gratitude in our hearts & a time to spend with our families. Isn't it wonderful?! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. A line from my MIL's birthday song comes to mind...... "May you have God's blessings through the coming year!"

Enjoy!

Thankful Thursday

2008-12-11T10:12:00.010-07:00

I am Thankful it's Thursday. Thursday is my favorite day of the week. I love the anticipation of the upcoming weekend, which means no homework or activities to run children to. Friday would probably be my favorite day of the week because that's the day when there is actually no homework, the bedtime routine is a lot more relaxed & it's date night, but Friday ends so quickly. It's usually over right after it starts. That bugs me. So Thursday is my day, it lasts longer than Friday & The Office is on.

Oh, The Office. I'm thankful for it too, as I've mentioned before, that show makes me laugh- that's the only show I watch these days. Around here t.v. has mostly become a thing of the past. I admire people like my husband & sister & bil who actually stop watching shows like T.O. because they get kind of crude at times.

It's true.

I'm just not ready to take that step yet, "...and the only way that I would ever let go of my *show* would be if you came over here right now and tried to pry it from my dead, lifeless fingers, okay? If you can get it from my kung-fu grip then you can come and have it!" (movie?) Until then I'm not giving it up. I so look forward to Micheal & Dwight, Jim & Pam & all the others with their crazy antics each week. That show almost makes me want to go out & get a job in a totally dysfunctional work environment.

Speaking of crude, I'm thankful that when I was in Barnes & Noble yesterday with my two little munchkins waiting for our lunch, we didn't have to sit there & look at a rack of dirty magazines (like you do in the grocery store when you're waiting in line). We only had to look at the dirty man sitting near us looking at his dirty magazine. BTW, why was he so jittery? Hmmm.

Also, Christmas is only 14 days from today, 2 weeks people, & I don't have any shopping done yet. I'm so thankful for that because I'm not worrying about where to hide the presents in our small house & wondering if the kids have found them yet (in our house, it's only a matter of time). It's so refreshing to be winging it. In years past I always made the goal to have my shopping mostly done by Thanksgiving. Why did I do that to myself? That was dumb. I'm grateful that there are only 12 shopping days left & I have the whole 9 yards to go. Woo Hoo!

Another thing I'm grateful for is a cute, gentle, sweet tempered, big dog. Big enough that other animals & small humans should be scared of him. He is the most laid back, patient creature I've ever known. Even when there's a mouse that runs across my bedroom floor & under my bed, he doesn't mind because that's just how he is. He doesn't let anything bother him. He only barks when he wants to come in & he never complains. I wish I could be more like that. Do you think I've been able to kneel down to say my prayers since that happened the other night? All kneeling & praying is done on TOP of the bed now. I'm trying to be more like Rocket, the dog. I think if I could let some of these things go then I wouldn't have so many weird dreams like the one last night about kung-fu cats. Weird.

Really though, I am thankful for getting pulled over twice last week because I have seriously slowed down (figuratively as well). My driving has been so good that my 11 year old daughter has started telling me that I can get pulled over for going TOO SLOW! Good. Then, I'm doing something right.

Finally, I am thankful for a hubby who doesn't read my blog.

It's not just mine, it's everyone's. The whole blogging world is foreign to him. But, this way I have the freedom to say whatever I want, like how much I love him, how handsome he is to me, how proud I am of him, what a good example he is to me & other gushy, somewhat disgusting things like that. Also I don't have the pressure to do a big blowout birthday post when it's the week of his birthday, like this week. So, I'm not going to worry about writing, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANLY, I LOVE YOU! or posting about the things I would have gotten him, like a cool gun & awesome hunting gear, if he wasn't such a cheapskate. Just shirts, ties & books for you my dear (okay that's an exaggeration, it was more like a shirt, a tie & a book). Nope. I don't have to worry about any of that. Thanks hon, you've given me a lot to be thankful for!

A Year Ago....

2008-12-09T08:04:00.002-07:00

My 3 year old (almost 4) daughter decided she wanted a new look. Who needs to make an appointment at a salon or with any of our many family members who cut hair, when Mom's scissors are, unfortunately, so easy to get to? There was no wasting time..... while Mom was in the shower.

When I got out, this is what I found, & when I say found I mean I had to follow a trail of white hairs around the house to her hiding place:

I don't think she was very pleased with her look.... What? Not the look you were going for, my little angel? I don't know, I kind of like it. The early'80's mullet is coming back...... if you're living in the woods in the deep south & married to your cousin. It's a good look.

Or maybe she was just worried about whether Santa was actually going to come to her house this year. This incident may have been the one that tipped the scales in favor of the naughty list.

Alas, my heaven sent hair-cutting family.....

Okay, my little pixie. You win. How can Santa resist that sweet face? You made it back on the nice list by letting Aunty fix it..... but don't do it again!

A year later.

Honey, I've got some advice for you, this look is working way better than the mullet. Keep it. Also, if you ever do it again, you will realize the reality of the naughty list.

BEWARE!

Thank Goodness for Home Teachers

2008-12-04T09:13:00.001-07:00

So, this week I have been running around crazy, like a chicken with it's head cut off. Since Monday, morning at 8:00 am I have been busy with Christmas Tree Fantasy. UGH! - (ugh - in a good way.) It's a great community event that raises $ for needy organizations around the county, like the senior citizens center, the crisis center, the developmental center & so on. It's a good cause.

But. I'm on the board. The board being a group of lady's who plan this big fundraising event throughout the year & pull it off by the skin of their nose the week after Thanksgiving. We ask everyone & their dog for donations & volunteer hours & it's a huge deal. After it's finished (this Saturday, thank heaven above) & CTF has raised like $50,000.00, then we get together a couple months later & have a big cat-fight type meeting to decide which organizations are the most needy.

That big disbursement meeting & all the planning meetings up to this point are the kind of meetings where if you want to make a change to something you have to call it an 'amendment' & then you have to make a motion to do it & someone else 2nd's it & the board votes on it. I know. It's way above my head - like I've ever made a motion to do anything except go to the bathroom (& I only make those motions in my head).

Why do I do this to myself?

I have to admit, it's fun. I love serving & volunteering & working with people & getting to know the public. I'm a people person. I don't have a problem saying 'No' to things - good heavens, no one asked me to do it, I volunteered to fill this post! My problem is that I want to do everything & forget that I still have young children & a husband & home to take care of. This simply isn't the right time in my life to be doing these things. There is a time & season for everything, I believe it.

So, I've decided that this year is not only my 2nd year of doing this, it's also my last year.

Anyway, back to my original reason why I felt the need to take this time out of my crazy schedule (besides this being CTF week, 3 of my 4 children have rehearsals all week for their play on Saturday, seriously, I hope to still be alive by Saturday night - at this point I have to schedule breathing just so I don't forget to do it.) to post. For one thing this is like therapy for me. The other thing is, I feel the need to bear my testimony about good cops right now.

As I have been running around like crazy my speedometer keeps increasing. Hm, funny how that happens. I'm not normally a speed demon, but this week I have thrown all caution to the wind. It's not like I'm speeding on purpose, I just simply haven't been paying attention. I have to be everywhere, right now, so I'm just on automatic pilot mode, which unfortunately is set too high.

Last night as I was coming home from CTF at 9:30, I just wanted to get home & go to bed, but I still had some papers to print out & calls to make. I was going through the to-do list in my mind when I saw the lights flashing in my rear view mirror. Whoops! Also, those red & yellow flashing lights - Freak. Me. Out. Officer Friendly approached my vehicle in his extremely cautious way, we went through the drill, & he took my info back to his car. From the tone of his voice & the way he walked I thought for sure I was going to get a ticket. Sometimes, I can sense these things. And then, miracle of miracles, the kind officer gave me several warnings for things he could have ticketed me for, apparently speeding wasn't my only problem, whoops, again! But he didn't ticket me. Oh, sigh, THANK YOU, dear, sweet law enforcement man!

Then, this morning as I was headed back into CTF after dropping the twins off at preschool, I saw the lights again.

Are you kidding me?

I've just realized, I have a problem & no amount of denial is going to take it away. Speeding isn't my problem (clearing throat, & cough, cough), paying attention to what I'm doing, specifically my speedometer, is my problem.

This time, you can imagine my joy when I saw the officer get out of his car & it was a former home teacher of mine. It's been a few years since he visited us & since we go to the Spanish branch in our stake, I wasn't sure if he'd remember me.

Please. Please. Please.

At first he didn't. And then I saw it click. He was so nice! He didn't even take my stuff back to his car & even though I live here in this neighborhood & should know the speed limit by now, he just gave me a warning. Oh, sigh, where do I even begin?

Do you think someone is trying to tell me something?

If so, I got the message. I don't care how far behind I'm running today & from now on, I am going under the speed limit, just to prove I can.

Thank you police officers, I know the speed limit is true. I am grateful for it & both of you - I don't know where I would be without it, or you ..... probably in jail. I say these things in the name of law enforcement, Amen.

Getting home

2008-12-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! We're back, I've missed you....... (although after more than a week of not reading blogs, I'm kind of scared to check my google reader).

After my last post, I've got another question for you.

What's the worst thing that could happen to your home while you're away on vacation?

It burns down.

Yeah, that would be bad.

What's the 2nd worst thing that could happen?

A flood.

Yeah, that would be bad too.

What's the 3rd worst thing?

A family of skunks move in while you're away and make their love nest right in the center of your living room.

Ew.

How about the 4th worst thing?

The fridge & freezer get turned off just before you leave on your trip, right after you stock it with 3 gallons of milk, several bags of various frozen meats & veggies & a variety of other fresh veggies, dairy & other delicious food.

Yeah, that's bad.

I'm sure glad #1, 2, & 3 didn't happen to us.

As for thing #4, all I can say is, my van story was almost nothing compared to it, although, the stink hasn't lasted as long this time. Unlike the stinky van, I didn't have an automatic fridge wash to drive my fridge through to magically clean it - Manly & I had to do it ourselves.

Double Ew.

But. We have an extremely clean fridge now.

Just one more thing to be grateful for.

Something To Think About

2008-11-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

So, here I am sitting in my sister's backyard, on her laptop (don't get the impression that I have one of those because I don't), in sunshiny Phoenix (also, if you're wondering about hitting our place while we're gone, don't bother. If you read my last post you would know there is absolutely NOTHING worth taking that risk for in there), just enjoying the view. The view being, Manly & the young one's happily playing in the pool with their cousins & various other backyard activities going on. Sometimes I just get jealous of myself thinking about it. Okay, sorry, I just love it here!

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving! .......yesterday. I hope you had a wonderful day.

As I sit here next to my sister & Dad, listening to their conversation, I was just about to close the lid on this baby & kick my feet up, because I really don't have anything else on my mind besides how full my stomach still is & the Oreo's in her cupboard (am I really ever too full for a double stuff Oreo? That's a conundrum we can explore another time.).

Until now.

Something I just heard my 14 year old nephew ask Lundles made me think. So I have a different question at hand. The question is, & I quote, "Would you rather die by one of those bird-thingys or by a raptor?"

As in dinosaurs.

Hm.

I have no idea which would be a better, or worse, depending on how you look at it, way to die by dinosaur. Personally, I don't think we really have to worry about it, but that's just me. Apparently, there was no obvious answer to that question because her response was, "Huh, I don't know. That's a really good question. I'm going to have to think about that for a while."

Really?

Hm.

What I've decided is that, a) kids crack me up, & b) It's a treat to get a glimpse into their somewhat malnourished minds. Also, during this thankful season, I am grateful to be surrounded by kids whose biggest worries in life are about dinosaur survival.

What do you think?

You Know You're a Cheapskate When...

2008-11-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

When you want to be unlisted in the phone book, but don't want to pay the delisting fee so you get re-listed under your wife's maiden name. It's a genius idea in a town where she didn't grow up & no one knows her maiden name. Not so genius when she calls people who do know it & when they see her maiden name on caller I.D. there's an awkward silence. You know they're thinking things like ......I knew it wouldn't last, it was only a matter of time!

When, between your choices of Walmart, the mall or the D.I., you choose the latter for your retail shopping enjoyment. Especially when you're on the hunt for suits & church/work attire. Let's face it, the D.I. does have the biggest selection of white button up shirts on the entire planet.

When you complain about the prices at the D.I.
When you look back on your dumpster diving days as a youth not with shame, but with longing.
When the only time you eat lunch is when the secretaries in the building across the street from you, have their weekly office party.
When you go on vacation to a third world country & refuse to let the eager bell boys take your bags up to your room, 3 floors above, because that requires giving them a tip & that goes against every fiber of your being.
When your nice car is considered the nice car because it's the only one that doesn't break down on a regular basis.
When finding a roll of cute ribbon on clearance for .25, at Walmart, gives you an unnatural high & you start singing Madonna's, Like a Virgin.
When you choose to live in a house with 1 bathroom & no garage just because the mortgage payments are so low you can pay more than the minimum payment each month. Because it's twice as fun to pay twice as much to the mortgage lenders. Whatever happened to living outside your means & good old fashioned debt?
When your kids beg you to take them to the bank every day just so they can get some (free) candy from the nice ladies there.
When your kids think your neighbors are rich because the grass actually is greener on their side of the property line.
When a big purchase is considered anything over $5.00.
When you still have clothes from the late '80's - not for sentimental reasons - because you actually still wear them. 'Waste not, want not' is your personal mantra.
When buying ice cream, not on someones birthday, is considered a big luxury.
When you don't have a cell phone, an I-pod, or cable t.v. because you don't "need" them. Who even thinks that way anymore?
When you go to the battery store to buy a special battery for your camera & the sales lady is trying to sell you extra batteries for things like your cell phone & you tell her you don't have one & she's so shocked that her mouth falls open. When she regains her composure she tells you, 'It's okay, I met another lady last week who doesn't have a cell phone either, of course she was 85 years old.', you take that as a compliment.
When you find an old pair of crutches out in the desert & you keep them to give to your nephew for Christmas, because what is more fun & says, I love you, like dirty, old, abandoned crutches?
When going into any kind of consumer debt makes your eye twitch, your stomach hurt & you start sweating in places you didn't know could sweat.
When you need a new van, because the old one (as in 15 years old) has a mind of it's own & only starts when it feels like it, so you frequent the government auction website (as opposed to reading the local paper or going to the used car lot in town) because you're not about to take out a loan for a vehicle, so you look for something you can buy in cash & find a *new* van (as in only 8 years old) which you bid on & win, only 5 days before your 15 hour drive to your sister's house for Thanksgiving. So you fly up to the northern part of your state to retrieve it & spend 10 hours the next day driving it home.
When you & your kids are so excited about your *new* van because it has bucket seats & a sliding door on the drivers side. You think it is the coolest thing to happen to you since you bought the $10.00 popcorn popper at Walmart 3 years ago.

Okay, I admit it, that's us - we're BIG cheapskates! Mostly Manly is, but he's kind of turned me on to his way of thinking too, some call it brainwashing, other's call it rude, I call him cheap while my friends & family call me a saint.

I do like the no debt part.

FYI, some of the list above may or may not be an exaggeration, it just depends on how much I distort reality - you'll never know.

Being the thankful season, I really am grateful to have a *new*, well - maintained (we'll see how long that lasts) working vehicle.

Not this one:

{Out with the old... sorry Big Red, we're replacing you with a younger model, one who actually puts out..... as in carbon emissions & all the other stuff that *working* cars actually do to add to the green house effect. }

{In with the new. Hello precious.}

{Do you see it? A real, live, actually working sliding door [not automatic, let's not get crazy here] on the drivers side. My poor, aching back thanks you for the strain you will save me each time I buckle my 2 kids in to their car seats. I love you.}

{Look! We even got a bonus - free hornets nests. This day keeps getting better & better!}

P.S. You know your husband's a cheapskate when he keeps the old run down vehicle to turn into his hunting truck - remember the mantra? Is that cheap or redneck (*cough* white trash *cough*)? You be the judge.

Thursday came early

2008-11-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's 9:30 pm, the kids are in bed, the dishes are done (for once), the bills are paid & I'm waiting for Manly to get home, he's been on a looooong drive since yesterday afternoon.

So I thought I'd put something good on t.v. while I sit & fold laundry as I wait (I kind of like the big lug, plus if I'm still awake when he gets home then I can have him check to see if the front door is locked. It's dark & spooky & walking by the front door at night {even on the inside of the house} kind of freaks me out). The only problem is, I don't really like t.v. these days. I haven't watched t.v. on a Wednesday night in like forever & we don't have cable. And, I really don't feel like flipping through all 4, sometimes 5 depending on the weather, channels, to find out that there's nothing I want to watch.

So, I flipped through Youtube instead.

I just want to watch one show right now. The only show I like.

The Office

So, here at Memo's, Thursday 9/8 central came early. This is what I'm filling my head with instead of thinking about all the lurkers in the shadows around my house just waiting for me to walk by a window.

Oh, how this show makes me laugh. Enjoy!

A Poem

2008-11-18T09:47:00.001-07:00

Sometimes, usually when I'm way too emotional or feeling muy reflective or just so happy I'm high....... {bipolar? I don't think so, not yet anyway.} words, lines, even whole poems will just appear out of nowhere & land in my head. On the days I'm thinking clearly I either grab a pencil & paper & start writing or I try to memorize them, but then I always forget it an hour later. Hm, go figure.

Since Kiersten suggested I post this on my own blog, I thought I'd take her advice, after all she has an agent now so she totally knows what she's talking about.

This is a poem I wrote about 2 1/2 years ago when I was holding my sleeping 2 year old daughter on my lap. Her head was by my nose, luckily she had been bathed that week, & all I could smell was her. I loved it & never wanted to forget that moment or her smell.

Nostalgia

I hold you in my arms

your head tenderly close to mine

as I breathe in your youthful slumber smell

it takes me back to your days as a babe;

So innocent and pure

your sweet scent lightly dances on my senses

lingers in my mind

and is planted in my heart forever.

How innocent and pure,

cherished youthful slumber smell,

as you grow and it slowly fades away

it will stay with me forever......

This story STINKS!

2008-11-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

I enjoy going on drives around the neighborhood/countryside. Sometimes I even invite Manly along & it can be romantic. In fact, it just so happens that we went on one of these late night (late, as in 8:00 p.m. because the grown ups in the M.E.M.O.S. household are party animals) romantic drives a week & a half ago.

It was after parent teacher conferences. You know, the thing you go to at your children's school where the teachers try their hardest to say something nice about your children & all they can come up with is: 'Oh, crap.' & their shoulders slump. Then, afterwards, you go on your "romantic drive" around the neighborhood/countryside because, a) you're not ready to see your offspring face to face & b) you're not finished with your conversation about how you are going to work harder to "fix them".

On this particular late night, romantic drive something happened which I've dreamed about happening ever since we moved to the country. I can now check it off my, Things I don't want to admit in public that I kind of want to happen before I die list. It happened. I still can't hardly believe it, but each time I walk out my back door I'm reminded of our little incident when I walk by our van...... & get a whiff.

We were sprayed.

By a........................

yep, a skunk.

Okay, sure we were in the van, but still, we were definitely sprayed! Also, we ran over him. That was a big OOPS & it was sad... wait, NO! The sad part was us getting sprayed.

Remember the countryside part of this story? They haven't invented streetlights where we live yet (I'm just thankful to have indoor plumbing - even though our country cottage only has 1 bathroom, but that's a different post for a different time). We didn't see the poor, stinky creature until his white strip reflected in our headlights a second before we felt the bump, bump. Although, we did have time to see his eyes pop out of his head as he realized what was going to happen & then his tail point straight up & poof. It was so obvious, he meant to do it.

And then the smell hit.

OH MAN! It was not pretty.

After we stopped laughi..... I mean crying & the initial shock had ended, we turned around & drove back to the scene of the crime, the crime being the spraying part because seriously we didn't mean to do it. BTW, doesn't the stinking skunk know about jaywalking - even though crosswalks haven't been invented out here yet either, & he's an animal so therefore is probably not totally literate? That's just an obvious.

Anyway,

When we got back to see if he was still among the living we were greeted by a scene similar to the one in the movie, A Christmas Story, where Ralphie's little brother, Randy, falls down in the snow & pathetically rolls from side to side in a futile attempt to stand up because he's so bundled up that he can't hardly move. That persistent skunk looked just like that, only his problem wasn't too many clothes & snow it was more like 2 broken legs.

But. He did it.

We sat there in the middle of the road for like 2 minutes just watching & waiting - it was intense. Also, Manly did try, a couple of times, to put him out of his misery by running over him for real. Who does that? It's one thing to 'accidentally' hit a skunk, but to intentionally run him over to kill him just because you feel bad for him - that's inhumane. Luckily for Pepe Lepue, I was there to save his life. Plus, I didn't want the smell to be worse.

By this point we were hacking & wheezing & choking as if we had been smoking for the last 50 years.

It was bad.

I have NEVER in my life smelled anything quite like it.

BAD!

Once he got up though, he just glared. I felt so insulted - the ingratitude. It was just like a stand off. We were sitting in our big, old, red mini-van looking at him as he stood off to the side just glaring back at us. It lasted for a whole minute. I started doubting who I was because his glare was intense, he was scary. And then, he hobbled away. He walked as fast as he could, dragging 2 legs behind him, into the yard of the people's house where all of this took place in front of. He was ticked off!

I'm just glad I don't live in that house.

The smell was there for the next week, I know because, unfortunately, I have to drive by it on my way to preschool.

The van still smells.

After we got home that night & had a funny story to tell the kids, instead of our original downer, I took it immediately to the gas station & got the expensive $8.00 wash, this deserved the works. That $8.00's meant getting the 'under' part of the van washed & a wax. I was kidding myself. After the wash, I had to run to Walmart for my daily fix, & I was hoping beyond hope that the fruity smell, which filled the car, was enough to do the trick. It wasn't. As I walked out the magical sliding doors of The Big Evil (aka, Walmart. That's what my clever friend Jaeme calls it.) The smell hit me like a ton of bricks - only this time there was a hint of strawberries to it.

We've been living with that smell for the last 10 days now. Luckily each day it gets fainter & fainter. But, still. I'm ready for it to be finished. Even today, I got the faintest whiff of evil-eye Lepue. I was just so grateful that my clothes & hair didn't absorb the smell, that would have been the real tragedy of this story.

So much for our romantic, late night drive.

It was worth it.

Thankful Thursday, the end

2008-11-13T21:04:00.000-07:00

Friends Graphic Comments

Thank you to everyone for the kind words of support you gave me after my last post. You really don't suck! There are a lot of nice people out there, who I actually don't know, but who gave me a fake bloggy shoulder to cry on & now I'm a little freaked out. That's okay, because I really am feeling so much better about life. Time does heal all wounds - including the ones I make. It's true.

And really, good things can come out of it too. So, I wanted to copy Kristina P. & do a Thankful Thursday post today - especially since the day will be over in about 2 hours. What? Are you calling me a procrastinator? I'm totally not & someday I'll get back to telling you more about how I'm not.

Today, I am thankful for the opportunity I had this week to cry so hard (& ugly) for about 3 days that I ran out of pee. It was the best! I'll tell you why.

On Sunday, I woke up with a red, painful, ugly sty in my eyelid. An eye sty. I haven't had one of those since middle school when I experienced some of the joys of sharing cheap make up with many girls. The sty hurt. It was really red. Did I mention it was ugly? Anyway, in the midst of my blubbering & self-loathing I did still have the presence of mind to worry about the effect all of those salty tears would have on my eye sty. I mean nobody gets that depressed. I was certain that it was going to get plugged up even worse & would get an even uglier infection which would involve green puss & an eye patch.

I'm so thankful I was wrong. I think the salty tears washed the infection away & by Tuesday night my eye sty was gone. Thank you dear salty tears for the gift of healing powers you bestowed upon my eye.

I am also thankful that the hard crying made me so sick to my stomach that I couldn't eat for 2 days. I'm pretty sure my abs have some definition now. It's great to cry so hard that not only do you lose your appetite, but you feel like puking & don't even want to think about food. So crying got me back in my jeans - that is until I ate for like 4 people today. I was hungry! But I am truly grateful for the way my jeans weren't so freaking tight on me yesterday.

I'm also thankful that I got a sinus infection so that I had a "real" excuse to stay in bed, all day, for 2 days. Since my son broke my nose 5 years ago when he was 2, the sinus passages on the right side of my face don't drain or work or whatever it is that they do, properly, & I get a sinus infection at the first hint of a runny nose. It's happened at least once a year since then. So, since my nose was actually a faucet running at full speed this week means I got a lot of alone time in bed & at the computer & a big pile of used tissues on the floor. I hope someone is going to clean it up soon because it's starting to gross me out.

Which leads me to my sweet Manly & how grateful I am for him. He had pity on me, which translated into extra help around here (not to imply that he's not helpful, he is - but I got even more!). He felt so bad for me, which seriously never happens even though I try to get him to feel that way all the time, that he actually volunteered to get the kids ready for & put to bed. Without me. For 2 nights in a row. I'm starting to feel like an evil genius.

But the thing which I am most grateful for, as a result of my blubbering like a baby (not even a cute one) for the last 3 days, is that I got my goal of at least 10 comments on my last post. Someone Else pointed that out & put a whole new perspective on this for me. That made it totally worth it!

Sad face

2008-11-11T20:57:00.001-07:00

(Our dog, Rocket. This is what he had to say when I told him what my friend Mary said about dogs in China.)

Have you ever made a big, HUGE mistake, which no matter how hard you try to remember the magic spells you learned from Harry Potter, you can't make disappear? It will never go away. A mistake, which your small, malnourished, stupid brain made your big, fat, stupid mouth say & hurt the feelings of those you love?

I have.

It sucks. (I'm too tired & down to even make a reference to Edward here.)

I haven't cried this hard or this long since my niece died 3 years ago. I feel like I've been slapped, kicked, knocked down, then kicked while I was down & then run over by the garbage truck.

In time, I hope I will be forgiven (including by myself).

*Don't worry, everyone around me is still alive & well. This probably sounds worse than it really is (who said I was a little dramatic?), but I just HATE messing up & making mistakes - especially when it hurts other's feelings.

So, I'm going to take Motherboard's advice & say what I'm grateful for. I'm sure it will help.

I am so grateful for:

A kind, patient, loving husband (btw, it wasn't him I messed up with)
My children
A best friend who understands me better than I understand myself (not her either)
A sister who is the epitome of Christlike behavior
A loving family which I was born into.
Jesus Christ who has given me the chance to repent & do better next time.

Memo's 2

2008-11-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Memo
To: Sidysue
Subject: What would Barbie say?

Do you remember the last memo I sent you? I told you that I didn't think it was very appropriate for a 4 year old to say, 'Holy Cwap'. I didn't mean you should replace it with, 'what the H-E-Double hockey sticks...' I don't think your Barbie's appreciate that kind of language. When 2 Barbie's are having a civilized conversation, it offends the one to have the other one ask her, "what the h-e-_ _ are you talking about!?" So, don't make her say it again. Okay?

Also, where did you hear that? Have you been reading my mind again, because I would never say that out loud.
Love, Mom

Memo
To: Epee
Subject: Free Advice

I thought I had a financial genius on my hands when you told me what you would do if you won $10,000.00. "Security" you said. Security? As in savings, bonds, gold - the sure fire investment? That's a pretty smart thing to do with your $ especially in today's economy..... What? Not that kind of security?

Oh.

An alarm system for your bed. Complete with a net hanging from the ceiling ready to drop on the next intruder, i.e. Hoodee. Booby traps? You would spend $10,000.00 in booby traps, sirens & alarms? Oh & a b.b. gun. Okay, well, never mind. That's not a good investment.

How about if you just put your toys up (out of Hoodee's reach) instead of leaving them in a cool, inviting, set up - ready for action - on your bed? I can't be there all the time to stop him from reeking havoc - in his own room. Have you seen the neighbors garage lately? Remember, you two share a room. I know you try to forget that little fact on a daily basis, but here's the real advice - accept it son & live in reality. It's more likely that you'll win the $10,000.00 before he'll quit destroying everything he comes in contact with. Hope that helps.

Love, Mom

Memo
To: The chicken who crossed the road
Subject: Forgive me

From the time I was a child I always heard about you, but I thought you were nothing more than a joke. A few weeks ago, when I had to come to a screeching halt to let you pass, I realized you ARE real. I'll be darned. Forgive this doubting Tom. Seeing is believing.

BTW - Why did you cross the road? You looked like you were in a big hurry as you were waddling so fast to get to the other side.

Sincerely,
A believer

Memo
To: Lundles
Subject: You're beautiful

I understand you could care less what your hair looks like - all of the time. Even though I don't get it, I was totally vain by the time I was your age. At the rate you're going you won't even be vain until you're like 16. I know I should be grateful, that just means more mirror time for me. Anyways, Dad thinks it's wrong for me to bribe you with money to let me do your hair. I see his point, but it was totally worth the $2.00 I spent last night. Your hair looked really cute...... & I could tell you secretly enjoyed it.

Just remember - taking bribes for anything else is illegal & morally wrong, so don't do it! It's only okay when I want your hair to look nice. Also, you're beautiful no matter what your hair looks like.

But let's go brush it now, just for fun, k?
Love, Mom

Memo
To: Hoodee
Subject: What I didn't tell you

When we were talking about voting last week, do you remember who you said you were voting for? Here's a recap:

Me: Hoodee, who are you voting for?
You: Becky.

Giggles erupt from around the dinner table.
You looked down, slightly embarrassed.

Me: I would vote for her too.
You: I Love Her.

What I didn't tell you is she's a married woman, son, & your mom's best friend. That's just weird. And, if I didn't love her too, I would totally be jealous right now, because you're only supposed to be in love with your Mom at age 4 - it's a good thing I'm not the jealous type.
Love, Mom

Memo
To: Rocket (our dog)
Subject: Clean reading material

The next time you decide to look at the ads, from the garbage can, please don't take the ones which are covered in spaghetti sauce & then drag them across the carpet to your bed. I'm really happy you have an interest in current events, but tomato sauce is really hard to get out of those tiny, little polyester fibers attached to the ground. Thanks for your cooperation. Also, I know a cute Chinese girl who occasionally enjoys dog for lunch. Just keep that in mind the next time you are tempted to look at a dirty magazine (as in covered in sauce).

Love, your Master

Memo:
To: All who wash dishes in the M.E.M.O. household (aka, Manly)
Subject: Veggie scrubber

You know the little scrubby brush that I keep under the sink? The one which I have marked as, "For Veggies Only!!!" (the 3 exclamation points are not an exaggeration) Let me make sure we are all clear on what that means. Veggies (short for vegetables) do not include plates, glasses, utensils, pots, pans, lids, crock pot, Tupperware, pitchers, skillets, sinks, counters or floors.

Thanks for the effort though. I love when you do the dishes. I will bask in the good work that you do. There is no A for effort here. You do a darn good job. You're not a clueless husband who tries to do a job & does it crappy....... (can you tell he's been reading over my shoulder.....)

Love, your loving & adoring wife

Memo
To: Self
Subject: Reminder

Remember to send Motherboard a big, fat, thank you. She deserves it. She has changed your life for the better by introducing you to Google Reader (my newest Internet romance). G.R., where have you been all my life? How did I ever blog without you? I love you. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Motherboard for setting us up.

Thanks,
Aunty Em

I took her to court

2008-11-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

I will always love Facebook. It has a special place in my heart. It was my first true Internet romance. But. I've been cheating on it with my blog. It just gives me more vain attention than Facebook ever could.

Comments.

Although...

Facebook gives me esteem (no matter how false it may be) when that little # of friends reaches 100 & keeps going.(be quiet you. You who have 200, 300 or more, friends. I can hear you mocking my pathetic # compared to yours, but you don't know how lucky I am that real people are actually willing to publicly acknowledge that they know me.) I had no idea I even knew 100 people. But still, I can't pour out my soul on Facebook or rant & rave & scare people off like I have the power to do on M.E.M.O.S.

It's a double edged sword. The blog takes away little pieces of my self-worth whenever I look at those little itty bitty # of comments & think they could be so much bigger. I wish I could get comment implants. Then I would feel really good about myself.

Falsies are a good idea.

Cheating never is. It's morally wrong.

What Facebook has done for me is brought me back to my roots.
From my parents struggle as slaves to their epoch, heroic journey of heartache, struggle & eventually freedom. It's a story of love, hope.........sorry. Wrong story. Portland. My roots were in Portland. But I've lost them. They've been dug up & are withering away in the arid, desert climate of S.E. Idaho. Not that I'm complaining.

What I'm trying to say is, I've found friends from high school, college, church (even former Y.W. leaders) & it's shameful to say, cousins who I haven't spoken to or seen in years. I even started a group on Facebook. I'm cool like that. It has been so great to find these long lost souls.

My weird dreams are way less frequent too. In recent history I was having these recurring dreams where I would be wandering in the halls of my high school looking for my locker (that could have also been related to the amount of skipping I did & at times really couldn't remember where my locker was). Or walking around the halls of the church building that I grew up in.......well, I didn't grow up there because that would be weird. But it's the same building I went to for 18 years. In my last dream, which took place there, I was putting on my makeup in the bathroom across from the chapel & was wondering who all these crazy people were in MY bathroom. It was getting crowded & they were really getting on my nerves. Get out of my bathroom you weirdos!

I think I needed closure & a bigger bathroom. I just kind of left the old neighborhood one day & never came back. I know, that's a little dramatic (that's totally not like me). What happened was, I went off to college & came home for breaks. After a while I got married & simply lost touch with so many people -most everyone from the good ole' days.

Until now.

The modern miracle we know as Facebook has brought my roots back to life. They're getting watered again. It doesn't rain much in Idaho. But it's pouring buckets of old friends on Facebook.

So, I made a short story long to tell you that I recently got to see an old friend of mine. You know her as the littlest hillbilly over at, something or other about Poison. I know her by her real name, but I'll never tell you. HA!

We were in the same ward as youth, her Dad was my bishop, & then she went off to Ricks College. A year later I followed her & we were roomies. I saw her a time or two after she moved on & then I followed suit. Eventually we lost touch. But Facebook, darling Facebook, brought us back together again. Little did we know that she has relatives, whom she visits yearly, in my neck of the woods. I've lived here for 8 years & never even ran into her once at Walmart.

I thought my town was smaller than that.

She was here, visiting, last week & we were able to get together. It's been like 11 years since we've seen each other, I think I was preggers (tamn, I know) with Lundles. I got to meet her hubby & girlies & hear about her family.......but mostly talk about me. It was so exciting.

Then I took her to court...........to go trick or treating, because that's the 'it' place to go. What? Don't you? (losers) Oh yeah, it was Halloween day, at least I got a picture of myself & my friend. You didn't want to see any pics of my kids anyway because they were so freakin cute that they would've burned your eyeballs with their cuteness & then you would be blind. It's better this way.

I've been in touch with several more old friends through Facebook & this blog. They haven't been crazy enough to actually agree to see me in person, something about a legal protection order? But eventually we will all get together. I promise.

No, wait! Don't be scared.

I'm ready

2008-11-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Okay. I'm ready to talk about it. And then I'll be done.

I wasn't surprised. I was expecting this result. I'm not scared either, I have hope.

But I still don't like it.

1st a side note, which I guess is more of a top note, politics is a big part of my life. It always has been. Someday I want to be the campaign manager for my best friend, Becky, when she runs for president. When she wins then I'll be the evil BFF advisor & slip a recording of my voice under her pillow at night, repeating over & over what she should do & say as the 1st female Pres. of the USA. Mind control. I'm not above it.

I digress.

I say this because sometimes I will talk politics. I think about it. It concerns me. It's in my head. Since this blog is about what's in my head, I think it's appropriate. But laughter is another big part of my life. I like jokes. I love humor. I adore laughing. Religion, family & Oreo's are also a big part of my life.

My point is, I'm not going to ignore a subject because it may offend someone. If it's important (or trivial) enough to me then it may end up on my blog. And that's okay. But also know that I don't do it to offend. I'm not a mean person. Can't we all have different opinions & still be friends?

But I would like to let you know a little more about me. Who I am. Politically.

I'm not sure what political party I belong to anymore. It's not just because of 1 single person. It takes way more than 1 person to mess up a country. Of course, I'm sure you've all guessed by now, I'm a registered Republican. But I don't know if I am one anymore, this transition has been happening over the last few years.

I'm definitely not a Democrat. (Like that wasn't obvious)

I don't know if I could be considered an Independent or even a Constitutionalist, or any of the other crazy 3rd parties. I'm definitely NOT a Green Party girl - I'll just tell you that right now.

I wish there was a Conservative party because that's what I am. I'm 1st a Conservative. Fiscally, socially, environmentally. Everthinglly. Straight across the board. Also, I make decisions with my head, but it doesn't mean I'm heartless. I think much if not most of the Republican party has left me on conservative issues.

It's also probably not hard to guess who I voted for. Did you read my Scary Story last week? But, it doesn't mean I was excited about McCain either. I was very disappointed in who the Republicans picked as their candidate, I was no supporter. I did vote for him though, because I'm one of those who really believed he was the lesser of two evils. And this country isn't forward enough for a 3rd party crazy president. Give it time. McCain definitely was no fiscal conservative. I don't think he was a real Republican.

I did like "Crazy" Palin....... a lot. I was excited about her. She was the closest one to my conservative values......... she got my vote.

My reaction down below wasn't because the guy I voted for lost. It's because of where I believe we are headed in this country - and where we've been heading for the last 30 years. There is no question that we are going to "Change" as a nation. Starting with the constitution. But I don't believe it's for the better.

What I do believe is (& I say this so you know where I stand, not to try to change your mind because I know that won't happen. Just like mine won't be changed as these are my core beliefs.)

The "Liberal" party is well on it's way to communism. There are certain rights they don't want us to have, including life & speech.

Obama is a Socialist. Of course he's not going to come out & admit that & neither is anyone who wants him to win. But from everything he's said as to how he's going to 'change' the economy, those are socialist values.

The Federal government has gotten WAY TOO BIG. It's out of control & in our lives & pockets way too much. That's not the purpose of the gov. I don't think that helping the poor or giving to those in need should be federally mandated. I think we have a personal, moral responsibility to do it, but the government has no business telling us to.

I believe the Democrat party wants people to be dependent on them.

We are in BIG economic trouble. Dark days are ahead. We did not vote in the right person to take care of it. Granted, I don't think the other one was the right one to take care of this specific issue either. But this one does not have the experience or the beliefs (from what he's said) to do it "correctly". And by correctly I mean, without infringing on our constitutional rights.

I believe we all have the right to keep & bear arms.

I don't think this is the right time to back down on national defense. Are you kidding me?! We need it now more than ever......especially if the terrorists are supporting Obama - I'm just saying....

I believe we should drill for oil in our own country & take care of ourselves. Stop the restrictions. We have the resources. Use them! We will have more restrictions under the new administration. Do we really want to be dependent on foreign oil?

I believe the "bail out" is wrong. I think it will breed more bad economic behavior & decisions. Let businesses fail. Let people lose their homes if they can't afford them. I know, I'm the devil. I just believe in living with the consequences of the choices you make. After the market crashes people will have to figure out where they went wrong & work hard to fix it. Then we'll be a better, stronger country & people & industries will be more responsible. BTW, I'll be the 1st one to help any neighbor in need. Because it's the right thing to do, not because the government tells me to.

I do believe if Obama's daughter makes a "mistake" she should have to pay for it. Killing is wrong - whether born or unborn. Have the baby & then give it up for adoption. I know plenty of people who would be happy to take it.

I don't believe the government should be telling companies how much to pay their employees or make them provide health insurance.

I don't think the government should be socializing medicine. Do you want to die? JK....not really. But, seriously keep it all private. We will all do better that way.

I believe this country is moving away from the core values of our forefathers. I'm passionate about the revolution & the founding fathers & the constitution. I don't believe the New Guy is.

Last night's speech? I wasn't moved. He is a great speaker, no doubt about it. But did you listen to what he was saying? He's already backtracking from what he's "promised".

I think the President of the USA should be an honest, forthcoming, trustworthy individual.

I have more to say, but for your sake I won't.

I have soup to make for the PTA - it's parent/teacher conferences. I need all the emotional strength I have left for that.

I hope we can still be friends.

P.S. I welcome all comments, whether left, right, right or wrong. Just be nice.

My reaction

2008-11-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

I still can't talk about it........

The BIG day

2008-11-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Oh my heck! I feel like today is my birthday, wedding, Christmas & like I'm going into labor all shoved together in one crazy package. Like a big, hot, stuffed, delicious burrito, which will eventually leave you with heartburn. I'm really happy & excited yet totally nervous & nauseous at the same time.

It's THE day. Election day. Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.

Also, I have mutual tonight. I always feel a little sick on Tuesdays.

The 1st thing that's making me really happy & excited though, is your commenting skills. I'm so proud of all of you. I would like to thank all of my fabulous readers who worked so hard to get me into the double digits on my last post. Some bloggers have a gift for getting comments. The comments simply come to them like magic (I don't think it has anything to do with their wit or writing skills). Not me. I have to work, as in begging, pleading, coercing, guilt-tripping, really hard for each comment I get.

You exceeded my goal of 10 & got me to 23. It doesn't matter if 8 of those comments were from the same person & 2 of them were from me. The # is there & that's all I needed to feel good about myself. I feel like 23 bucks right now. And all of my wildest dreams have come true. Except for the one where my backside is smaller & not so squishy.

I just hope you guys didn't set yourselves up for failure. I'm going to be expecting at least double digits from now on. No pressure. But, good luck.

The other exciting thing is ...... drum roll please.......I got to vote today. Alone!

Where MY vote counts!

This is the 1st time in 10 years that that has happened. I have always had kids hanging off me, &/or messing/stealing with/from my purse (they learned at a young age that I can't multi-task, like hold a purse & vote at the same time) or bothering other voters by running around in circles screaming 'Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!' They totally get that from their dad. Show off.

In the last presidential election, I showed up with a car seat hanging from each arm, overflowing with 10 month old babies & all of the accessories that go along with them, plus a double stuffed diaper bag. Today I was alone. I could set my purse down - worry free. It was quiet, except for when I started yelling, 'look at me. look at me, look at me.' (I wasn't as loud as my kids though. I only had lower case 'l's & periods.) Unlike those around me, I voted in peace.

I love preschool.

I also love these cute ladies. The pollsters. How cool.

They are all neighbors of mine & they run the voting booths. I totally want to join their group. I asked a couple of years ago if I could, but I'm still waiting to hear back. Hmmmm.

When I mentioned it to them, again & told them that I was free for the next 2 hours & wanted to hang out, they looked at me like this.....

Okay. Maybe Not. I'll just go home & blog.

Well, I've done my part. It's out of my hands now. As far as I'm concerned the polls are closed.

I'm going to take a picture to prove that I voted, but 1st I need to make sure no one is looking & that weird guy is gone.....

Here it is, my proof of voting today. Hands off! It's mine. I worked hard for this sticker & I am going to wear it with pride all day long.

Can you guess what I'm going to do tonight?

After Mutual.

I'll give you a hint:

Chillax. Relax. Chill out. Hang out.

Except not at the pharmacy in Walmart. At home. On the sofa. In front of the T.V.

Watching. Waiting. Anticipating. Crying. Eating. Crying..........

HAPPY VOTING!!!

I'm hungry

2008-11-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning blogging in my head. It was going to be a killer post, I think it's one that would have won at least 10 comments, which is my goal for the month. If I could get at least 10 comments to a single post, that would make all my wildest dreams come true, either that or if I vote for Pedro. I know. I'm shooting high. Dream on you say. Is that a challenge? I think it is. I'm so going to do it.....

Anyway.

I don't remember how it ended. I don't think it did. I got distracted by trying to get myself & my children ready for church, while fasting on an empty stomach. I don't think straight under those circumstances. My brain is all over the place right now, but I've got a lot of good things to say (I just know it), things that you want to know. Maybe some things you could answer. So, I'm going to share, at random, my thoughts, which are more like questions that I can't answer.

***

Why didn't I take any pictures of my kids on Halloween? I remembered the camera this time, I just didn't think to use it. I'm totally kicking myself right now.

Ouch!

Now the rest of the cyber world will never get to see Lundles as a scary secretary (wearing my clothes!), or Epee as the smiliest grim reaper ever, or Hoodee as a terrified ninja, or Sidysue as.......as......I don't know what because I forgot to take pictures, so how am I supposed to remember?

Actually, I don't know what she was because she changed her clothes so many times during the day that I lost track. I remember she started out as Sleeping Beauty, then she was a pink poodle for a while, that turned into Snow White, but the one that stuck, which means the outfit she had on when it was time to leave, was some funky combination of whatever dress-ups she found in her box.

***

Why does my chest hurt & I feel like I can't breath when I think about election day, Tuesday, November 4th? I think I'm going to puke.

***

Why didn't I have a good hair day today? Why does my hair turn out okay on some days & others it just looks like poo? What makes the difference if I'm spending the same amount of time & product on it? FYI, 2 mins is a sufficient amount of time to spend on my hair. Have you noticed how it keeps growing shorter?

***
I'm so glad we didn't buy costumes this year. I would've totally been like the evil stage mother making the kids, & by kids I mean Sidysue, look how I wanted them/her to look.

Telling the kids to come up with their own costumes was the smartest thing Manly has said since he told me I was perfect.

***
Why is it such a big deal to me that someone I'm closely related to is voting for someone who I think is the devil.... for President of the USA? I know it shouldn't matter, after all that's one of the many things I love about this country - the freedom to vote, but it's killing me. Maybe I should be in charge of voting this year. I would feel a lot better about that.

***
I wonder if Manly knows about my secret crush on Rush Limbaugh (don't worry, he won't find out this way. He would have to actually read my blog. Like that would happen.) I can't get enough of that guy (Rush)- he's awesome. *Swoon. I totally cried when I found out about his addiction to pain killers, 5 years ago. I felt like my world had been turned upside down. It took me days before I could even talk about it without breaking into the ugly cry. That could have also been due to the fact that I was pregnant with twins.

***
Welcome November. I love the beginning of each month. It's always full of hope & anticipation & we have $...... at the beginning, unlike the middle & end. I really am happy to welcome in November, especially if it keeps on being 68-70 degrees like yesterday (remember, I'm in Idaho - brrrrr). I'll take it. Yesterday was awesome, even Friday night was pretty good for trick or treating. Today is rainy, windy & cold so I'm just going to keep pretending it's yesterday.

***
Why does the government stick its nose in places where it doesn't belong? Like time management. Daylight savings is stupid. I'm glad we're off it now because it's stupid. But then why am I so tired today even though I got an extra hour of sleep? Or did I get an extra hour? It's a conspiracy.

***
Why don't people I'm related to leave me comments? Don't they understand how my self esteem is wrapped up in that little # at the bottom of each post? It gives me my self worth. PLEASE!.......I mean, why?

***
I'm curious if people are even still reading this. Maybe they'll leave me a comment to 1)let me know, 2)build-up my self-esteem &/or 3)both.

***
It's kind of freaking me out that my 4 year old, Hoodee, just asked me if he can have some candy for his evil baby. Duh. No. Candy is only for good, righteous babies.

***
This Halloween was the best one ever. Taking the kids to a neighborhood they don't know & setting them loose while Manly & I sat in my sis-in-laws warm house eating homemade chili & drinking hot cocoa while the kids worked for our dessert. What could be better than that?

***
I don't believe in child labor laws.

I'm finished. If you have any answers, ideas or just want me to feel good about myself......you know what to do.

Mormon Vernacular

2008-11-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm a Mormon or LDS (and I LOVE it!). AKA,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In case you're not familiar with my church, I wanted to make a list, or reference post to refer back to, of what certain phrases or words mean & what some acronyms stand for. Since it's such a big part of my life & I talk about church quite often it might help you understand me better on my blog. Or not. My husband is still working on that one.

I will continually update this post as I think of it.

Am I a christian? Yes, notice the name Jesus Christ in the name of this church. Christ is the head of our church & I believe he lives. He is the Savior & Redeemer for the world.

LDS - Latter Day Saint (the shortened name for the long one above)

B.O.M. - Book of Mormon. Another testament of Jesus Christ. This is a book of scripture which tells the story of an ancient group of people who lived on the American continents about 600 bc - 400 ad & of Jesus Christ's time with them. I highly recommend this book. You don't have to be interested in this church to read it either. It's really interesting.

Ward - The geographical area in which we live to know which church building to go to. For example: If there are 5,000 Mormons living in my town, we can't all go to the same building because we wouldn't fit. So the church would divide those 5,000 people up into about 6 or 7 groups, according to where they live, & then assign them which church building & therefore which ward they would go to. Did I make that worse?

Bishop - Every ward has a Bishop & each Bishop has 2 counselors. A Bishop is responsible for the welfare & spiritual needs of the ward members. He's also there to make sure the ward is running properly. And to give candy to the children who run into his office begging for candy (mine would never do that.) He's kind of like the father of the ward. His counselors help him do all this.

Stake - A bigger geographical area. Each stake in the church, is made up of usually 7-9 wards.

Stake President - All of the Bishops in each stake receive guidance from the S.P. He is responsible for the welfare & spiritual needs of the members of his stake.

Branch - A group that meets together which is smaller than a ward size.

Spanish Branch - No. We don't believe in segregation. It's for members of the church who only speak Spanish & want to go to church where they understand the language. We have a lot of non-English speaking people in my town. My family has been asked to go to the Spanish Branch in our stake, to help out where needed (I don't speak Spanish, but Manly does).

Branch President - The same thing as a Bishop, but for a branch.

District - Smaller than a stake. It's made up of several branches.

District President - The same as Stake President, but for a district.

Fast Sunday / to fast - It's typically the 1st Sunday of each month. Where we go for 2 meals or 24 hours without food or water. It's a common practice among many religions.

Y.W. - Young Women. 12-18 year old girls in each ward. I serve in the Y.W. in my ward. I'm the Beehive leader.

Beehives - the 12-13 year old girls
Mia Maids - the 14-15 year old girls
Laurels - the 16-17 year old girls

Mutual - The weekly Tuesday night activity for each class in the Y.W.

R.S. - Relief Society

- Female members of the church ages 18+. There's a R.S. class on Sundays & usually a monthly activity during the week.

V.T. - Visiting Teachers - Each sister (what we refer to each other as, ie: Sister M.E.M.O.S. it's so nice to see you today. How is Brother M. holding up?) in the ward has 2 other sisters assigned to visit her on a monthly basis - her visiting teachers. Most every woman in the church has been asked to be a visiting teacher. The purpose is to visit one another & to make sure she's doing all right (temporally, spiritually & so on). It builds friendships too. It's been a real blessing in my life.

F.H.E. - Family Home Evening. It's typically every Monday night, we stay home & have a gospel oriented lesson & usually a fun activity. Also, a yummy treat, which is probably the most important part of FHE for my kids.

Hope this helps.

2008-10-31T15:37:00.001-06:00

Happy Halloween!

Spooky Picture Day

2008-10-30T12:54:00.000-06:00

Monday nights FHE activity. They enjoyed those pumpkin guts a little too much.....it was spooky.

Last year (I went as my true self).

If I were dressing up this year, I would look like this:

Ed Grimley rocks!

*Our spooky Halloween tree in front of our house. When the leaves fall off it looks like frightening possessed fingers reaching down to grab you. At least that's what I tell the kids.

Speaking of houses, don't bother knocking this year. We won't answer. Get off my property!

EEEEEK! The spookiest of all. Weird. My hair keeps growing shorter.

Update! I totally left this one out (but just remembered it). This black cat, which I've never seen before, has been lurking around our yard since yesterday. Do you believe in omens? That is spooky!

BOO!

Scary Story

2008-10-29T06:57:00.000-06:00

It was a dark, stormy night. The heavens were not in alignment. Babies were crying, dogs were barking, actually all living creatures, plant, animal & mineral alike, were restless & out of sorts. Some were even crying. Weeping. Curled up in the fetal position, sucking their thumb, rocking back & forth, bawling uncontrollably. Because this happened:

WINNER!!! The 44th President of the United States of America.

Our country has lost. The constitution is no longer relevant. History is rewritten. We are no longer free, but a socialist/Marxist nation. Well on our way to communism. With our guns taken away while they kill all the unwanted partially born babies. As we pay for other's homes, which they can't afford, through astronomical taxes. Gone are the incentives, ingenuity & industry of a capitalist nation. Gone are the ideals, liberties & freedoms given to us by our founding fathers, which they fought with their blood & lives, to pass down to us.......

AAAHHH!!! SCREAM!!! YIKES!

I'm sweating. That was a really scary story.

Happy Halloween!

My Edward

2008-10-27T15:41:00.000-06:00

It's Halloween week! This year I've decided that I really love Halloween & all of the excitement & decorating that goes along with it (also, the candy). So, in honor of Friday's festivities my posts this week will be totally Halloweeny.

I think it's very appropriate to start off the week with everyone's favorite gorgeous vampire, Edward. What says Halloween more than a sexy, vegetarian vampire? I think everyone has their own version of him, your own perfect Eddy, so it would've been kind of impossible for the movie makers to cast the perfect Edward. Whatever, I'm content with their pick. But. The other day while I was watching The Princess Diaries II with my girls, I saw this scene & immediately thought about Edward. To me this guy would fill the shoes (the expensive Italian leather ones) perfectly. So, if I could choose the actor to play my Edward Cullen, this is who I would choose (take the next 2 mins {the first 30 seconds of the clip are dumb so bear with me, you won't regret it} to enjoy his yumminess. Also, I love his speaking voice & his posture.): Chris Pine.

Who is your perfect, or as close to as humanly possible, Edward?

P.S. I just want to be clear that Manly (the guy I'm married to) is the perfect Edward to me. Sometimes I call him Edward just for fun & he loves it. But, I didn't want to put him out there for all to see & oogle over. He's a married man. That would be totally inappropriate & I didn't want to make anyone jealous. And, I didn't want to treat him like a big piece of meat. So that's why I put Chris Pine up there instead of Manly.

Spontaneously Fun

2008-10-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

In my past life, when I was a teenager, I was up for pretty much anything. I did have my limits & standards, but it may have been an understatement to have described me as spontaneous & fun-loving. Uh, yeah, slightly. The long lunches with friends on Wednesdays, or Fridays or any day of the week for that matter? Typical. The middle of the night road trips to Eugene (1.5 hours away)? Sure, why not. Going to the movies instead of math class? Do you even have to ask? Today those things might be called truant or delinquent or stealing (some consider it stealing when one drives their parents car to Eugene {full of friends} without permission). Believe it or not, I wasn't a bad kid, just a little crazy, lazy & irresponsible. In college (yes, I said college - I even graduated. Ha!), I was still up for pretty much anything. The all-nighters....... not studying, but staying up all night talking & playing. The middle of the night snowball fights. And I even came this close (picture thumb & finger squeezing together) to surprising my parents at home in Portland, a 12 hour drive, one weekend. If only my roommate & I had had enough gas $ we would have totally been there. Some people around me (actually everyone I'm related to) would say, and have said, Thank goodness she snapped out of it, I didn't have much hope for her. Rude, huh? But true.

Sigh.

Those were the days, and they are over. I got married, became a mother & grew up. In that order. I traded spontaneity for a routine, scheduled life & that's okay. It's better than okay, it's what I want. I enjoy who & what I am now. The responsible (stop snickering) wife & mother, the active member of my church, the classroom & community volunteer (also, please stop rolling your eyes. I'm just saying, that's how awesome I really am.). I am grateful for all of it & what I get to do every day (wiping bums excluded. I am truly not going to miss that.) But recently I've had a few simple experiences which have reminded me how being spontaneous can be like a breath of fresh air on a smoggy day. *Not that I'm comparing my children or husband to smog. It's me, sometimes I get smoggy.

Late one evening last week I got on the computer to "turn it off", *ahem. But, at just the right moment I received an instant message from a good friend of mine here in town (she's also a blogging buddy, I would like her better if she would leave more comments on my blog {hint hint} but I'm still a good friend to her. Anyway...) When that first message popped up on the screen I got all nervous & excited at the same time, just like how I felt when I was faced with the prospect of either going to the mall to try on formals or going to English class. At first I really wasn't sure if my friend actually meant to be I.M.ing me. Could this be a mistake, because I just don't do things like this. Did she really want to talk to me? Why? I'm not cool. I was just so confused. So after I made sure that it wasn't a mistake, I totally relaxed & started chatting & laughing. She called me an I.M. virgin & I called her an I.M. sl_t. Both are true & it was so great - total bonding experience! It was one of those things that just spontaneously happened. No planning. No scheduling. It just happened, I went with the flow & it was simply fun.

The week before that, I had gone over to another friends house, after FHE on Monday night, (to plan the pretty table) with the intention to get our plan on paper, make a list and go home. Soon after I arrived we started talking linens & then she asked, 'Do you want to run to Dillard's in Idaho Falls, before the mall closes?' Me? Can I do that? I.F. is a half hour away. My initial thought was, I can't do that. It's not planned, I should say no. But I couldn't think of 1 good reason why I shouldn't. It just wasn't scheduled - so what?! Manly was home with the kiddies getting them in bed. FHE was over. Dishes were done. I was good. So I agreed. Why not?! I felt like such a rebel (in a non-truant way), like those long lunches downtown giggling with friends. Going to I.F. last minute - unplanned - was spontaneous & fun. We had a great time & I felt young again.

There's more. The week before that a different, different friend (I know, 3 friends. I have 3 friends. These 3 friends will remain nameless because I don't want to spook them. If I publicly claim them as my friends I'm pretty sure they will mock me & denounce any claims of friendship I have made.) called me on a Saturday morning to see if I wanted to go down to Utah with her for the weekend. She lives in I.F. & was therefore a half hour away as she had just started driving. Um, can I even do that? Can I just pick up and leave for the weekend? Is that legal for a conservative wife & mother to do? Who am I, who does she think I am? After that brief identity crisis, came the answer.

It just so happened that Manly was sitting right there when she called because his big hunting plans for the weekend had been canceled. Then came the miracle. He agreed to it, & to do the whole taking kids to church by himself on Sunday thing. What!? Are you serious? I think he's even more spontaneous than I am (JK, that's like an insult to Manly, you are the most routine, responsible person there is!). 20 minutes later I was dressed, packed & on the road to Utah. I can't even describe in words how nervous, excited & happy I felt all at the same time. Those road trips to Eugene, had nothing on this unplanned, spontaneous weekend getaway to Utah. But the feelings were quite similar. My friend dropped me off on the side of the road, my mom picked me up & we had a great time. Totally unplanned & spontaneous. One of the best 2 days ever!

As I said before, I'm glad I've changed. I love being a responsible adult. I'm grateful my kids have at least one good parent to look up to (JK again, Manly. You're responsible too.) I wouldn't change the type of life I have, or who I am. But it has been so refreshing & fun to have these brief encounters with my past. To feel young & carefree again, even if just for an hour, or a day. They have made me laugh, smile & have fun.

Answer

2008-10-24T09:49:00.001-06:00

Thanks for your responses. I know there were more of you who wanted to answer but you were too busy eating Oreos.

My answer is that I felt way worse about walking into the gym, to pick up a forgotten blanky (not mine) from the daycare, after I devoured 6 double stuff Oreos. Man, I guess I'm a liar too because I said that I didn't do either one of those things. Okay, okay, I did! I did both of those.

But you're right I don't feel bad about not letting my kids have more because really, if I did, then how would I have had 6? There would've only been like 2 left for me & that's not acceptable. I also admit that I have a problem with Oreo's. I have no self control, that's why they are only allowed in the house on special occasions. Probably next time I should have Manly hide them, instead of me hiding them & then being the only one who can find them. Or not. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I've done that so I won't get hasty.

Have a great day!

Question

2008-10-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

Which is worse?

Only letting your children eat 2 double stuff Oreo cookies, while you sneakily eat 6, because for 1 thing it's not good for them & for another they are not yet old enough to appreciate the difference between the double stuff & regular stuff, therefore the double is wasted on them.

-OR-

Walking into the gym, not to exercise but to pick something up, right after gorging yourself on 6 double stuff Oreo's in one sitting. Is that like walking into an AA meeting while you're drunk?

Not that I did either/both of those last week.

Please share your thoughts on this issue. The person with the correct answer wins. Thanks.

What did I do?!

2008-10-16T11:40:00.000-06:00

Really, the question is what did I NOT do?

As I was perusing through Mormon Mommy Blogs today I came across a title which interested me. I thought it would make me feel better about myself. It was over at the Bingham Diaries, titled, Hi. I'm MomBabe and I'm an Idiot. I thought to myself, Cool. I'm a Mom & a Babe too, but maybe I'm not as big of an idiot as she is. Well, it didn't work. What her post did was made me realize that 1st: I like this girl & 2nd: I'm an even bigger idiot than she is! At least she caught her mistake, I didn't realize I had made one until she told me. What is this all about? I will tell you.

It has to do with a Cause, a Contest & a certain blogger named Sue. I bet most of you know about all of the different, fabulous fundraising efforts going on to support & help the NieNie recovery. You know, that beautiful couple (the Nielson's) who miraculously survived that tragic plane crash 2 months ago. They are the ones that we can all relate to & have a hard time believing that something so random like this would happen to them (even though we don't know them). Because being the semi-egocentric beings that we are we imagine ourselves in their position since we too have 4 young children who we stay home with & since we also share the same faith. So we just can't imagine going through something like that & we want to help. Our hearts, prayers & accounts go out to them.

Well, the aforementioned Sue, who I also bet most of you know (in a bloggy way), wanted to do something to help. So she started a contest for bloggers to submit their clever blog entry's either previously published, but preferably not, to a book that she wants to publish, sell & donate the proceeds of which to the Nie Recovery Fund. What a great cause!

I kept that idea in the back of my head & rolled it around a few times before I actually did anything about it. The deadline for the contest was Sept. 30, & according to true Em fashion I submitted my entry either on Sept. 29th or 30th (are you kidding me? I can't remember that far back). I just know I got my entry in before the very end of the deadline.

Before I ever entered the contest I had read through Sue's blog entry about the contest a few times and once again in true Em fashion I thought to myself, she doesn't mean me. Mine would never get picked. I'm not good enough to enter something like this. I'm not funny or clever. Only confident people enter contests & I'm totally not like that. You know, I was lifting myself up & being a true to form female. But in the end I decided not to listen to myself & do it anyways. A sentence at the end of the post caught my attention. The part where she said something like, "If you're not sure if you're funny enough, don't worry." Okay, so maybe she was talking to me. And I entered.

This is where the problem comes in. I did read her whole blog post, I just didn't necessarily understand all of the rules for submission. I guess I was supposed to backlink to her post about this contest & to the Nie Recovery site before the deadline. Like many of you, I have my Nie button on the side bar of my blog, so I thought I was good. From what I'm being told now, I wasn't. This is the part where you remember that I'm a BIG idiot too (not that MomBabe is because if it wasn't for her, I would have always assumed I was rejected because my submission wasn't funny enough.) Not that I've been rejected yet, I don't know what's going on at this point. But. If I don't get in the book, now I can always assume that it was because of being an idiot & not understanding the rules clearly & not because I'm not funny. Because I totally am. And that would make the rejection easier to take.

So, if any of you who have anything to do with this wonderful cause are reading this, remember, I'm sorry. I made an honest mistake. I don't speak computer so words like backlink just go over my head & I pretend I don't see them, because obviously they weren't meant for me. But now that I've been shown the error of my ways I've tried really hard to rectify the situation. I hope I've gotten enough backlinks in the right places to the right sites. Like MomBabe said, I really hope it's not too late. Please. Not that I'm begging because I don't do that. PlEASE!

Also, Thanks again to my new friend & fellow idiot MomBabe. BTW, you're not an idiot. You've helped me out a great deal here.

Tag, you're IT!....the 2nd

2008-10-15T15:38:00.000-06:00

So I've been tagged again. I'm really trying hard not to let it go to my head. I know you're all thrilled to learn more about me, & you know I'm totally not a bragger {I really don't like to talk about myself} but since you asked for it how can I refuse? Here's a little insight into the wonderful world of Manly & Me:

1. Where did you 1st meet your husband? We were both living in a little town in the Pacific Northwest called, Utensils. I was 16 when I moved there to live with my Dad. On my 1st day at my strange new high school, I sat next to him in Biology class. He had the most beautiful, powdery white skin & scary yet inviting black eyes. At first I totally thought he hated me with a PASSION! He wouldn't even look at me. He was so tense & rigid, like he was about to body slam the next person to cross his path. I almost asked him what his problem was when he slammed his books closed & stormed out of class...... Oh, wait. That wasn't me.

I guess we met at Ricks. I had this really beautiful roommate & Manly wanted to meet her. He met me instead and the rest is history. It was his lucky day.

2. What was the 1st thing you said to him? Hey hotty, you're hot! JK, it was something profound like, Nice to meet you.

3. Where was your 1st date? In Rexburg, Idaho. Duh.

4. Where was your 1st kiss? On the lips. So this is starting to get a little personal, I'm not sure I like where this line of questioning is going.

5. Did you have a long or short engagement/courtship? I don't want to talk about it. This is the only thing on which we disagree. So, I won't go there. Sorry, you lose.

6. Where did you get engaged? We were living in a quaint little village nestled in the countryside of England. He had arrived unannounced with his friend for a visit & we subsequently went for a stroll down the country lane. I was thanking him for the help he gave my family in the retrieval of my wayward sister, from the odious fiend, Mr. Wickam. He wouldn't let me go on in my profuse gratitude, he claimed he only did it because of his love for me......... dang, not me again.

At his sister's house in Rexburg, ID. He was living with her & her family while attending college. He made me a candlelight dinner & had my ring in an Easter basket (because it was Valentine's when we got engaged of course.). Fun, huh? I actually like this story too.

7. Where did you get married? The Portland LDS Temple. It was the coolest because we had flaming liberal protesters there who were picketing us as we drove away from the temple. They were so concerned for our welfare as they told us how it's all a scam and we're not married for eternity. I really appreciated their sincerity & interest in our lives. And they did add a lot of joy to our day.

8. How did the reception go? If you had been there you would know that you missed the most totally awesome party to ever happen in an LDS church. That's all I have to say. You should have been there.

9. How was the honeymoon? That's IT! I'm done. No more questions. You have crossed the line. BTW, for the record it was hot.........we were at the beach in August.

Now, I don't know if I'm comfortable with passing this Tag on. It's a little scandalous! But if you want to then I won't stop you. I am a little curious about my blogging buddies whom I don't actually know. If you're interested go ahead, make my day.

Miss me?

2008-10-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

PHEW! Last week is over. I survived, which I seriously had doubts would happen. So now I'm back. Did you miss me? I missed you. Each time I was doing something I didn't want to do, like hosting a big, out of control birthday party with 10, 10 & 11 year old squealing girls, my mind would go to it's happy place & I would think about blogging & you blogging. 'I wonder what my blogging friends are blogging about right now', crossed my mind more than once. So here's a recap of what kept me from my computer last week:
*

1. Monday @ midnight (technically it's really Tuesday morn but who cares, I was tired) making these napkin rings:

We'll come back to this on Saturday.

2.Tuesday morning. Getting children ready.

Hey Hoodee & Sidysue, where are you going today?

It's your 1st day of Preschool! Hallelujah!!!

3. Tuesday night (after mutual). Staying up late again...

making these for Lundles school class on Wed.:

Sweet Sushi anyone?

4. Wednesday. Making this:

And this: (the b-day dinner, chicken pillows & chips)

So the b-day girl will do this:

Happy Birthday Lundles.......again.

5. Thursday. Neighbor calls & invites us over.....making children happy. Run children, Run!

because they get to do this:

Thank you Janice!

6. Friday: Clean, clean, clean. Hanging these up:

Setting this:

So the dining room will look like this:

For the friend party, which ended up like this:

Trust me, they were not as sweet & quiet as they look in this picture. WHERE'S A VALIUM?!

7: Saturday. Remember the napkin rings? They were for this:

The Pink Tea in Pocatello. It's a fundraiser to raise money for women to get mammograms. It's a breast cancer awareness thing. My friend Jaeme asked me to help her set a table for it. Here's her beautiful centerpiece & our table:

So that was my week & I reserve all the bragging rights to which I am entitled (even though I really hate that word, because that mindset is what's wrong with society today......sorry, tangent). I normally don't do really neat, creative & lovely things like these so I'm showing the world.

Through the Years

2008-10-08T10:35:00.000-06:00

A photo essay (with as few words as humanly possible for me) of Lundles 1st 11 years. A lot happens in 11 years!

Day 1:

Nanny

Grandma

3 months:

1 year

2 years

5, Preschool:

8, 2nd grade. Baptism!

Finally! They're pierced.

1 month before 11 (so it still counts!)

Happy Birthday Lundles!!! We love you,

the gang

3 Things

2008-10-07T17:04:00.000-06:00

Thing 1: Shout out!

I heart my new layout, it should last at least a week. I think blogs should be changed & updated like bags & shoes, actually I don't think that about your blogs, just mine. I like to makeover anything that will stand still for longer than a minute. So blogs are perfect for me. I love all of the fun, new & different looks out there & someday I might even put some $ into it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I would like to give a big blogger shout out to Julie at Leelou. Love her site & all of her fun templates. She is definitely a creative & talented WAHM. She is also very helpful to minimally brain functioning beings such as myself. Thank you Julie, for everything, I love it!

Thing 2: More to come.

I have a lot to post & will get to it soon. This is the BIG birthday week. Tomorrow is the BIG day for Lundles. And Friday is her BIG friend party. We don't do BIG every year for birthdays, but last year was especially unacceptable. Manly had started his office at this time last year & we told the kids they would be lucky to see their next birthday with us (we heard there were some really good private schools in Pakistan, who really wanted American kids to join them. They would pay for their travel expenses & room & board. Although the rate of return is very low. It sounded like a great deal.). Well, they're still here so we told them they could each have a friend party this year. As I've been trying to get things ready, I keep asking myself why we ever told them that. BIG is overrated. Pakistan is sounding pretty good right now.

Thing 3: Find pictures of Lundles.

Thing 4: Make cake & fake sushi.

Thing 5: Make dinner.

Thing 6: Shave legs.

Thing 7: Oops, did I post that out loud? I have a lot on my mind.

Thing 8: Post about why mom's should get all the credit for their kids birthday's. Why are we celebrating them? What did they do? They just came out, because we made them, against their will. Everyone, including said birthday person, should be celebrating the mother who went through the 9 months of whatever you'd like to call it (depending on if you're a glass 1/2 empty or full type of person), only to top it off with the delivery. And then all those months of sleepless days & nights to feed & care for, said birthday person. Those are the real heroes, the mothers. Being ripped to shreds isn't my idea of fun. My memory isn't short. I haven't forgotten, oh no! But I did it, to give you life. You owe me & so does everyone else who enjoys said creation of Manly & me. Oops, did I post that out loud too? That's totally not like me. I better go now.

He's so lucky.....again!

2008-10-06T11:04:00.000-06:00

So, if you haven't guessed by now, I'm slightly obsessed with being a member of MoTab. I may have hinted at it a time or two before, like here & here. This past weekend as we were so reverently & peacefully (do I even need to clear my throat here?) watching general conference, which was THE BEST - consider me totally uplifted & edified, I started having another of my non-delusional conversations with Manly, in my head.

You guys, he is so sweet!

He was making his arguments about why I should be in the choir, how they need me & why they are the ones who are totally missing out. He's right, but still it's not very ladylike to say those things myself, it's so braggy (& as you all know, I'm not like that). But he made me swear I would blog about this 1st thing Monday morning because he's just so darned proud of me. I can't break a promise. Once again, I'm only going to give you his top 5 reasons (out of the countless ones he came up with) why I should be a member of MoTab:

1. My great fashion sense. If I were a member you'd see a lot more hot pink, bright green, bangles, bobbles & skin. Oh, & mandatory make-up. He admires my horse-sense when it comes to appearances.

2. I can sing. If you've ever received one of my singing emails then you already know that. He told me there's not a sound on earth that brings as much joy to his soul as the last note of the song I'm singing. You guys! How sweet. Anyway, I can hold those loooooong notes at the end without doing all of that staggered breathing & without fainting. I know the rest of them have to take breaths.

3. The camera loves me. Like he said, I simply belong on t.v. I would look really good singing up there especially when the camera zooms in on me & I would have a sweet, peaceful, angelic look on my face (without braces - not that there's anything wrong with that). Plus he said I'm hot.

4. I'm the best wife ever. He thinks that's one of the requirements to get in. He's probably right on both accounts.

5. I'm so much fun! He could totally picture what those choir practices would be like with me there to liven up the party. It would be non-stop, side splitting fun & games! Just think, whoopee cushions on the organists bench & spiders on the guys seats. He loves my practical jokes on him, they would too.

There you have it. The Manly, in my head, did it again. He totally made my weekend! As I sang along with the choir the past couple of days, & no one told me to shut it (why would they? besides that's a totally bad word in our house), I could really tell that they wished I was there singing with the choir too.

Playing grown up

2008-10-04T13:42:00.001-06:00

So I just heard the cutest conversation, it made my heart smile. At least it didn't make me want to throw-up, hyperventilate or bind any of my children to a bolted-down table. The phone rang and my 10, soon to be 11, year old girlie answered it. It was her friend. She was calling to get a recipe. What?! Are you kidding me? Are 10 year olds supposed to care about stuff like that? I didn't start asking for recipes until after I was married, & I still don't like to do it too often because then there's all this pressure to actually make it.

Anyway, friend was asking Lundles for her favorite cookie recipe: Homemade Oreo's. Lundles found the family recipe book (wish I could take credit for that one) that it's printed in, looked it up, and then proceeded to give friend the directions, (all without help from either of her parents. Rude.): "A cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup oil, cream frosting (leaving out cheese). Mix 1st 3 ingredients together. Roll into balls. Bake at three five zero degrees, approx, whatever that means, 7 mins. Okay, bye." That was it. The call ended as quickly as it started. No chit-chat here. These girlie's mean business.

It made me think, playing grown up isn't all bad. We worry so much about our little girls wanting to dress skimpy, because so many of the other little girls their age, most of the teenagers & their moms do. It's the norm. It is the norm & it makes me want to bandage my eyes. We have side-aches over them wanting to wear make-up, & fake tattoo's because they look so real, and we have headaches because they want to start listening to way-too-old-&-inappropriate music. But this?! This is a growing-up-too-fast that I can live with. This is wholesome. This is good old fashioned fun. This is any age appropriate. She was playing grown-up in a totally sweet, innocent, and tasty way.

Now I'm off to find her. I want some cookies too.

My kinda kid

2008-10-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

On Friday's SidySue has ballet (btw, it's seriously cute). So, Hoodee & I get to have a date. What's better than going to the public library with your 4 year old son? Going to the D.I. with your 4 year old son. These 3 places are in the same neighborhood & since Sidy's class is only 45 mins long I don't dare stray too far, because I'll be late. Her teacher doesn't like that. Trust me, I know. Whoops. Anyway, the library would be the perfect place to go, but guess what? They don't open till 10:30 - are you kidding me? Class starts at 10:00 so that leaves the D.I., which is an adventure in & of itself. Last Friday I met the coolest kid. A kid who says what's on his mind. Random stuff. A kid like me. Here's a recap of our conversation:

Kid: 'I have to buy something BIG with this!' as he holds up a $1 bill right in front of my eyes.

Me: 'Oh, you're lucky.'

Kid: 'Because I'm BIG, I'm 6! And the tooth-fairy brought me this last night. My Dad yanked it out really hard like this,' *he reaches in his mouth and twists and pulls on an imaginary tooth. It looked painful.

Me: 'You ARE lucky. The tooth fairy always forgets our house & it makes my kids cry.'

Pause. He stands and looks at me with wide eyes & a blank expression.

Kid: 'But I have to buy something BIG!'

He walks off.

A few minutes later:

Kid: 'Have you seen anything BIG? I need to buy something BIG with this,' as he once again holds up the $ bill for me to see.

Me: 'Haven't you found anything yet? It's hard to choose with so much stuff around, huh?'

Kid: 'Sometimes my head hurts in the morning from the pills I have to take that make me stay on task.'

I stand and look at him with wide eyes and a blank expression, until his dad comes over and distracts him, easily, I might add.

I like this kid.

October wishes brings new comments

2008-10-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the 1st day of the rest of the month. To me the 1st day of the month is hopeful. I always enjoy the start of a new month, mainly because I get to change the calendar. I look forward to that. It's so refreshing to see a whole month with nothing to do.....that is until I pick up the pen & start making those funny little marks all over the empty squares. Also, it's pay day, and who doesn't like that? With pay day comes food. My family thinks it's nice to be able to eat again. Food that I willingly cook into a nice meal for them. I'm a giver. The beginning of October, specifically, is a meaningful one to me. Especially today. Manly's office turned 1 year old today! Phew. We survived the 1st year of being self-employed. The worst year of my life.......is over. Hallelujah! Or has it begun yet? I'm an optimist so it's over.

Also, I had my 1st child 11 years ago, in one week from today. Once September was over and I hadn't had the baby yet, there was no question that we were going to have an early October baby. That was all I could think about for the next week. Mostly I was thinking, how bad is it really going to hurt?, are they all lying to me because there's not a darn thing I can do about it now?, whose bright idea was this?, why does our Lamaze instructor wear such pushy, push-up bras & high heels all the time? I was also worried about being a good mother & providing a good home & stuff like that. After yesterday, I don't think I've achieved that last one yet. September did NOT end on a very good note around here.

My poor neighbor.

A couple of years ago I was chatting with a casual acquaintance of mine. We were updating each other on the mutual people we knew in each other's neighborhoods. Gossiping? Rude. No. I don't do that, ahem . She was filling me in about a gal I knew, (don't worry, it's not you) who lived by her. About how this gal's children ran wild and unsupervised around the neighborhood. And specifically, about an incident when those children went into their neighbor's garage and dumped out a bag of kitty litter & scattered it all over. GASP! SHOCK! GASP again! All I could think to myself is, Phew, at least my kids haven't done that! You see, I have kind of wild, very curious, busy, busy, busy, mostly supervised children, but when they are between the ages of 2.5 - about 5.5, watch out! The Tasmanian Devil has nothing on my kids. Believe me, our house is barely standing right now. I could relate to the gal. Not that I let this casual acquaintance of mine know that, because she was one of those good moms. "How could she live with herself?", was my bright response.

From that point on, I kept that in the back of my mind as the line. When my children would wander over to our next door neighbor's house and turn on their hose near the window well, I would think, phew, at least they didn't pour out the kitty litter like that gal's children did. When mine would wander into the neighbor's house uninvited, I would think, phew, at least they didn't pour out the kitty litter like that gal's children did. When mine would steal the neighbor's bikes & other toys laying around their yard, I would think, phew, at least they didn't pour out the kitty litter like that gal's children did. All I can say is my children - the twins - became those children yesterday. That gal's children.

The twins. My poor neighbor.

My worst nightmare, as far as inconsequential, fairly shallow nightmares go, happened. They poured out the box of kitty litter and scattered it..........everywhere. Kaboom! Yesterday was a low point for me as a mother. It was not a very good day. I cried. How can I ever look my neighbor in the eyes again? She's the one with the well behaved children. The one I admire as a really calm, kind, good mother. As soon as I learned what had happened, I went over with my broom and dustpan to find my neighbor already set to the task of cleaning it up. For the 1st time in my life, I didn't have anything to say. What could I say? There is not a sorry big enough to cover what had happened to their garage. There are no words to make this mess go away. There is no justification. Only remorse. And a sweet neighbor who showed me nothing but kindness and forgiveness. Of course my children are not allowed to leave the house without a leash and a bell from now on. They are not ever going back there again. They didn't see the light of day for the rest of the day. And frankly, I'm still considering abortion with them. I don't think they're human yet. But still, it happened.

My kind neighbor.

Through all of this, all I have is hope. Hope because today is the 1st day of a new month. And hope from words my neighbor spoke to me a couple of weeks ago. Epee, my 7 year old, at that age was the equivalent of the two of them put together + 1 more. Chasing him around, literally chasing him because he only had two speeds: run fast & run faster, is what put me into preterm labor (& on bedrest) 2 months before my due date with the twins. That's just the way my kids come. He's changed a lot over the last year and 1/2. He's growing, he's maturing, he's understanding. My kind neighbor said, "Epee is really growing up. He's so polite and respectful, and just so mature lately. And he's actually walking." GASP! Really!? Epee? My Epee? I guess the same thing happened with Lundles too. I thought to myself, After all he's done to your place and property, & since I'm the mother I share in the blame, you can look past that and see the good that's in him, & not hold these things against us? Bless you my dear neighbor. You are a Saint. There is a special place in heaven for those who live next door to the M.E.M.O. family & don't end up bitter & full of malice.

So that's the hope I'm clinging to. The hope that comes with a new month. They will grow up and out of it - eventually. They will lose the desire to spin around as fast as inhumanly possible, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. They will become human. But more than for them, I have hope for myself. I can still become her, the good mother. I love my children like nothing else. Today we still laughed & hugged & played & read & I simply enjoyed them. At least, I can keep that hope & cling to it the next time I'm brought to tears..... the unpleasant ones.

'Goodbye, Mr. Bond'

2008-09-30T18:30:00.000-06:00

Netflix rocks. I love having it delivered right to my mailbox, it's made getting the mail fun again - even if I do have to pay for it. I like saving the time and gas $ spent going to the video store (actually, that doesn't really matter to me, but I feel like I'm in a commercial when I say it). The store where I have to look at all the disgusting, sinister, creepy movie covers and tell my kids to close their eyes and then lead them around like a guide dog. I don't enjoy the video store like I used to. Sorry, tangent, not what this post is about.

'The name is Bond, James Bond.'

My husband is a fan. Ever since he was a kid he wanted to be Bond. Complete with his gadgets, guns and fast cars. The women, not so much. He could have cared less, and thankfully he's still that way. Manly has always had a 1 track mind - guns & gadgets (or is that 2 tracks? since they both start with g's, I'll say 1). When he was a kid, he was the one staying dressed up in his suit after church. His Mom, would oogle over him being so handsome and good to want to stay in his church clothes all day. The truth was, he would get home from church and switch tracks in his mind, from church boy to CIA agent, licence to kill. He was Bond for the rest of the day. If his mother only knew......she would've laughed.

Since I spent this summer watching all 6 seasons of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (remember Sully? I know, huh.), it's been Manly's turn to pick our Netflix. I'll admit our Friday night fun nights have been pretty....well, fun. I'm not so much a Bond fan, but I love watching them with him. It cracks me up to hear him laugh at parts where no one else is laughing, and to ooh & aah over the guns, & the corny one-liners which always win over the ladies are fun for all. He becomes 12 years old again and I get a glimpse into his childhood. I wish I could have known him as a kid, from what I hear he was a character, actually many different characters. So I came up with a list of reasons why he's way better than Bond.

Ten Reasons why Manly is better than Bond:

1. He doesn't kill people. I admire that.

2. Forget exotic supermodels with fabulous accents and voluptuous figures, he's got me. What more could he want? (It always comes back to me, I know.)

3. He's not wasteful. Have you noticed how many tuxedos, dress shirts & women J.B. goes through? Between the blood, wine & lipstick, he can't keep a shirt clean. What does he do with all those clothes & women? Probably throws them away. Manly's totally not like that. He still has shirts from the late '80's, and a wife from the mid-90's. He's way frugal.

4. The only thing he likes shaken not stirred is his root beer float, and if he's feeling really crazy, he takes his root beer on the rocks.

5. The only things he hunts are deer, elk & misplaced car keys. Not crazy villains who weep blood, have metal teeth, eye patches & names like Specter.

6. His fancy car is an '02 Chevy Malibu. You can close your mouth now. Trust me, it is fancy compared to the other vehicle we have, & he doesn't wreck it every 5 minutes. I really appreciate that.

7. The biggest risk he takes is riding his bike to work, without a helmet, on a windy day.

8. He's a family man (at least he knows how many children he's fathered....... 4, just in case you weren't clear on that).

9. His coolest gadget is, & I quote, "Probably my brain.", Need I say more?

10. He's not a jet-setting, secretive CIA agent. He's home with us. Sure, the CIA wanted him - after he brushed up on his current events (seriously, that's true). HA! Fools. Their loss is my gain.

It happened

2008-09-29T08:17:00.000-06:00

Guess what I actually got to do on Saturday? It's been a life long dream of mine, recently listed in my life list . Now, can you guess where I went & what I got to do? Let me give you a hint:

+ + +

Got it yet? Okay, try this:

+ la, la, la, la....

Did you get it? Can you see me? I'm the one in white. Oops, too vague? I'm just so excited. I'm the one standing in the middle, 7th from the left - 3rd from the top. See me now? Cute, huh?! Liar, you can't even see me. What an experience though. Best day of my life!

Since you were sitting next to me in my stake center in Idaho, you didn't fall for it, did you? But you, who weren't sitting next to me, fell for it, huh? I've always loved a good, clean blog joke (Sarah & Mary), who doesn't? Laughing is the best.

*
Actually, as I was watching the broadcast Sat. evening, I kept getting distracted each time the choir sang (I know, totally not like me). 1st, I thought about what it would be like to sing in a choir in the conference center, and then I started wondering, as the camera's would pan the singers, if any of them had blogs. I wondered how many bloggers there were singing tonight and if I would come across any posts on Monday about how wonderful it was to sing in that choir. So far, I've come across a husband of a singer blog, but no, 'it was so wonderful!' posts. And I'm done searching anyway because that's lame.

When you're watching conference or these broadcasts with big groups of assembled people, whom you don't know, do you ever start wondering about their personal lives? Like: Is that her natural color? I wonder if she's embarassed having the camera do such a close close up of her. I wonder what her dental issues are to cause her to get braces at this time in her life. How does the choir director have so much energy? Why is that lady smiling so big when everyone else is smiling normal? I wonder how closely I'm connected to her with the whole 6 degrees of separation thing. What white shirt would I wear? All these and more crossed my mind Saturday night at the broadcast.

I did actually listen to most of the broadcast.....(at times my mind would wander and wonder about the ladies I didn't know who were sitting by me.) It was fabulous, of course. But, this is the roller coaster ride I went on during the broadcast:

Me thinking at start of broadcast (fyi - I have a bit of a 3rd person relationship with myself in my head, but I know you do too, so I'm not wierd): 'I've already been gone over an hour, I should go home now. Why? I should clean or help get the kids ready for bed & church tomorrow. No, you don't want to do those things, you want ice cream. True, but I don't know if I can sit still for the next hour & 1/2. Do it! Okay I'll try, I'm glad I'm sitting close to the exit, just in case. Loser. Shut it. Listen to Sister Beck now.'

Listening for a few minutes:

'I am a loser. She is so good. If only I could be so charitable & righteous and worthy. I don't serve enough. I'm going to h. e. double hockey sticks. No, don't think that. You're good enough, you're smart enough, & doggone it people like you. Don't think about SNL during the broadcast. Totally inappropriate. Starting to feel a little lower, even more lower, and then something happened. As I listened a little bit longer, miraculously my spirits started to rise. Getting higher. 'Hey. I can do that. I want to do it. I want to be better. Who can I help?'

With each speaker my spirits rose a bit more and I was feeling so happy and grateful that I went and stayed (I can get ice cream after) and then it was Elder Uchtdorf's turn. 'Ha, ha! He's so funny. I totally burn the toast too. I'm definitely not as good of a cook as his wife is.' Feeling lower, a little lower and then up, up & away. He did it. Totally uplifted. How do these apostles and General Authorities have such great super powers? All of a sudden I'm the best person I know. 'I'm worth it. I can do anything I set my mind to. I am a woman, a daughter of a king. I can serve better, I can work harder. I can strengthen my home and family. I get it, it doesn't matter if I burn the food, I can sing with the choir someday.'
*

Totally worth going to.

2 Things

2008-09-26T16:49:00.000-06:00

THING 1:

'Her hair became entangled with the toy car's wheels...'

That is an intriguing first line to a story my 10 year old daughter started writing a few days ago. Lundles, is of the creative sort. She loves to draw, craft, write and just create in general. She also definitely has the personality that goes along with those creative types, you know, moody, angry, distracted. I have no idea where she gets it from, *ahem. The problem is sometimes... okay, most of the time, the rest of the story doesn't get written. I find papers, like the one with that sentence on it, all over the floors, randomly.... constantly. I can't tell you how many stories are in my file on the computer, which she's started, but hasn't finished. Who is she? How did the car get in her hair? Who will pay for that? We'll never know because she decides that she's done with it. She's written enough to satisfy her curiosity. And if I even dare suggest she finish it because inquiring minds want to know, then I receive the smirk & it becomes a big, fat joke on me. She enjoys that.

At least she's writing right? Right now she's working on a story titled, 'Junie P. Jack'. She's the cousin to Junie B. Jones (for those of you with 2nd graders or who like really funny books, you know it). She has a baby brother too, which she calls 'stinky cheese head', because her parents had to sell her bed to buy him a crib. What is my daughter trying to say? What kind of justice is she looking for in this world? Maybe she's heard, 'life's not fair, so eat an apple', a few too many times. As long as both of her ears stay in tact then I won't worry.....too much. And, if I find out what happens with the girl, the car, J.P. Jack or stinky cheese head, I will definitely let you know. But don't hold your breath.

THING 2:

click on this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvc7FHqfzBY

Okay, I love my in-laws. I admire them, I look up to them, I highly esteem them (Jane Austen, anyone?). My sister in law, who's a mom and grandma is going to beauty school & she is trying to win a contest. Last night she posted a clip on YouTube and is trying to get as many hits as possible to qualify for the top 3. So please take a minute, even if you don't know me or her, to check out her clip. Next to her mom (my m.i.l.), she's the sweetest, most sincerely goodest (no, you didn't read that wrong, I really did say goodest) person I've known. Manly comes from a family of 10 children. He's on the younger end of the line, so the oldest 5 siblings all have grown children and are grandparents. Two of the older sisters are going to beauty school in Rexburg. Love that! They are so cool.

THING 3: HA! Tricked ya! You thought there were just 2. Just wanted to say, Have a great and safe weekend, unfortunately I'll be thinking about you because I'm a little o.c.d. with this blog thing right now, but I am going to try to take the weekend off. Anyway...

THING 4: HA, HA, again!

THIS is a Good Place To Live

2008-09-24T11:25:00.000-06:00

Life is fragile. That's all there is to it. There are simply things that happen in our lives which we have no control over & don't understand. Sometimes that's the hardest thing, about life, to accept. That's one reason why I am so grateful to have something to believe in. My beliefs have been fostered by the gospel taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. During the difficult times in my life this knowledge has helped me take that necessary step of acceptance and has given me hope for the future. This realization of life is also one of the reasons why I love where I live.

Most, if not all, of Eastern ID, has been touched by the sudden & tragic passing of the popular radio DJ, Wayne Richards - "the voice of SE Idaho". He died Sunday night while on vacation with his family in Hawaii. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and all who loved him. Like many of you, I never knew him personally, but I'll miss him.

I'm a radio junkie - the A.M. kind, you know, talk, politics, issues.....the fun stuff. Since I started listening to that, about 10 years ago, I gave up F.M. radio. Didn't want it, didn't need it, until a couple of years ago. I decided to have music in the mornings, while the kids and I were getting ready, with local news and updates....school closures, things we need to know before sending our youngons off in the sub-zero temperatures. The dial always seemed to land on Wayne Richards' morning show on Soft Rock Classy 97 - Wayne & Liza in the mornings. Like many of you, I listened, I laughed, I called (I tried many times to be a contestant on battle of the sexes, but could never dial fast enough). I always appreciated his kindness to the callers & fellow DJ's, his clean, & smart humor, his quick wit, and his sincerity about the good things in life.

What I have come to appreciate just as much over the past few days is the way our community has rallied together to honor this man & support his family. Where else can you live & listen to public, on-air sobbing (without the DJ getting blasted for it), and being so touched you can't bear to change the station? In radio it's considered unprofessional, it's a big taboo. His station has spent the past 3 days making and playing tributes to Wayne (for his family), telling funny stories, sharing their memories of him & inviting listeners to call and do the same. It's been wonderful to learn more about him from normal, everyday people like me. Stories about him giving up his seat in the movie theater for someone else & how he was a sincere friend to everyone as he would always take the time to talk to people along the way.

Businesses all over the area are putting up signs to honor & remember him, a shop has made thousands of free bumper stickers with one of his sayings on it, and so many are telling their stories of how he was such a positive influence in their lives. I don't think these people are doing these things because he was a local celebrity & they want to jump on the bandwagon. I think it's because he was simply a good, decent, hardworking man who loved his family & friends & they want to reach out in their own way to help his family and each other. Initially, I wondered if business would resume as usual after a day or two, and if the emotion would cease. That hasn't happened, and my love for this community has grown.

I haven't always loved it here - the cold, the snow & the 8 month winters aren't really my thing, but I have always liked it here because of the people, especially in my neighborhood. This is real America. These are real people. They are sincere, hardworking, caring, down-to-earth, humble people. My family has been rallied around & strengthened by this community several times in the past few years as we have been through many ups and downs. Where else can you live and have neighbors (visiting teachers) who'll offer to take your newborn twins during the night so you can sleep and rest a weakened heart (literally)? - Women who have to get up at 6:00 am for their jobs and whose husbands would actually get up with them to help feed those babies. Where else can you live and have neighbors who'll organize babysitting for your children & bring in meals, while you're on bed-rest for 5 weeks, and aren't even permitted to sit up? Where else can you live and let those people help your family & take your precious babies and children because you absolutely trust them? Where else can you live and know people are praying for you & crying with you when you've suddenly lost your niece or brother or mother to tragedy? They bring meals, clean the carpets, share a hug and a laugh and give their love & support in their way.

That is where I live. Sure, it's not perfect. We have our share of crime, crazies & crooks (aka - politicians), but it's the people who make or break a community. And for the most part, these are good people. This is my community. Can you see why I've come to love it so much? I am saddened by the passing of Wayne Richards & I know it'll be a long road for his family to travel. Thank goodness, this community has been as a shining city on the hill during this tragic time. It truly is a good place to live.

P.S. While we're on this subject, please take a few minutes to check out the Nie Recovery link on the side of my blog. These young parents of 4 small children were in a plane crash last month & miraculously survived. Their flight instructor didn't. The two of them are trying to recover from terrible burns covering their bodies. They need all the help - financial, spiritual and physical - that they can get. Please do what you can. Sometimes all we can do is pray & I know it helps. Like most of you, I don't know them, but my heart goes out to them. I want to do something. I have been impressed with this blogging community, which I have recently moved into. I have seen so many links to Nie and everyone wants to help. It's wonderful.....and a good place to be.

Delusions of Grandeur

2008-09-23T14:06:00.000-06:00

Last week I was thinking about my Things To Do Before I Die list. It was on my mind because my sister had emailed pictures of her fabulous trip to Jerusalem......the one in Israel. I know, totally on my list. I'm pretty sure I know how you're feeling right now and before I go any further I would just like to say, Chill out! I know you'll feel terrible if I die tomorrow and didn't get to go to Jerusalem, but seriously, I'll be dead. So I don't think I'll even care at that point. It's just one of those lists I have for myself. You know that kind of list with all of the amazing life goals that never actually get accomplished (unless you're Bill Gates or Oprah), but just knowing you thought of them and wrote them down makes you feel really cool. The list goes on:
*
Learn Spanish. My family and I go to the Spanish Branch in our stake. *For those non-Mormon readers out there - we go to church with Spanish speakers. Also, I would like to say, Welcome or Bienvenidos. People of all different religions, beliefs, political views, hair lengths, colors, shapes, languages & sizes are welcome - unless your eyes are violet and then I'm totally jealous of you. Okay, you're still welcome, I just had to get that out in the open so there's no awkwardness between us. It doesn't matter what church we go to, we're all still members of this great big dysfunctional human family. I'm thinking that someday I'll post a list of common Mormon vernacular & acronyms - I use 'em all the time. Maybe I should add that to my life to-do list. Anyway.....

Manly is fluent, I'm so not. I know I should be by now (we have been going to the branch for 2 years), but have you ever tried to learn another language? That was rhetorical. I don't want to hear your success story...this is about me right now. It's really hard! People say that Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn. I keep telling that to myself & reminding me that, 'If I can learn English (yes, it is my native tongue.....but still), which is way more difficult than Spanish, then I can learn Spanish.' But it's just not coming to me. Studying might help, but seriously, who has time for that? Yes, rhetorical again.

Invent something.

I'm still trying to think of something to invent, but when I do it'll be AMAZING! It's going to be something that will help people, & at the same time look really stylish sitting on their shelf. It can't be too expensive because everyone will want it. And if everyone wants it, it'll have to be mass-produced. Okay, then I'll have to find a really good manufacturer with state of the art production lines that have all the latest robots & equipment. I'll also need to get in touch with the best patent attorney out there who will be able to see the vision of this product and how it'll transform our world as we know it. Top notch marketing will be a must - only the best for the best....... I'm getting ahead of myself here. I would like to invent something.

Sing with the MoTab choir.

Love them! All I would need to do is be an incredible singer & sight reader/reader of music in general, live in Utah & actually be invited to participate. But have you heard them sing? They rock - not literally, they're AWESOME! I love to sing. I'm not bad, but I'm a dreadful sight reader. I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, of the MoTabians can look at a sheet of music and just start singing it without accompaniment, or a fellow singer standing next to them, who knows what they're doing, that they can copy. And I don't live in Utah, probably never will. But, If I ever get terminally ill that's what I would wish for. And don't go getting all sappy again, be happy for me that I would get to do something on my list.

Travel back in time.

Probably not going to happen, but if it does I would like to meet: Micheal Landon, to tell him he was the BEST t.v. dad ever (I pattern my parenting after Ma & Pa Ingalls) & that Little House was the best show ever made and to quit smoking (& then I'll totally be a hero for saving his life.) Benjamin Franklin, I'm a huge fan, plus I went to Franklin High School in Portland, and we were the Quakers. I've always wondered if he thought that was a dorky mascot or not. Pope Joan, to find out if she was a real person or not. My Grandma Elsie, to tell her sorry for running over her, when I was 5, with her Cadillac. I would also like to be a fly on the wall in the Salem witch trials, wouldn't want to be there because I know they would totally think I was a witch, but I could be a fly. (As long as fly swatters weren't invented yet. Okay, they were drowning people to see if they survived to prove they really were witches so they could kill them. Of course they hadn't invented fly swatters yet).

Make a million dollars. This will come with the invention.

Become a funny philanthropist. I mean come on! We all love the rich guy, or gal in my case, who gives away her money to worthy charities, but it's the funny one who gets the laughs. I'm just saying....

Travel - I started writing a long list of where I want to go, and then it wasn't funny anymore, it was just a list. So basically I want to go everywhere in the world including this beach (on this plane - cool, huh?).

I think this & the philanthropic endeavors will also come after the invention. I better get working on that.

Win a major award.

I don't even care what it is, I'm not picky. It could be anything like: the Nobel Peace Price, the Pulitzer Prize, Mother of the Year, or an Oscar, or Mrs. America, how about Best Invention of the Century, or Philanthropist of the year, the Purple Heart would be great, or some cool blogging award. Anything will do.

This is my list. I never realized how much potential I don't have and how delusional I appear in writing until I actually see it in print before me. Depressing. But at least I'm realistic. Now you can help me & yourself: leave a comment. Seriously. Then you won't feel so guilty when I die and you're thinking, 'oh, how sad she didn't even get to do any of those things on her life list and now she's dead and will never have the chance again.' Maybe I can win some kind of blogging award by getting a lot of comments. Even if I don't know you, leave a comment. You won't regret it, you see I'll come & check you out & it'll be a win-win situation.

*Haunting voice from the dead*: "leeeaavvveee a commmmennnt"

NOT worth the wait.

2008-09-19T11:49:00.000-06:00

As I was waiting today, I started thinking about what I was waiting for & how it totally wasn't worth it. What was I waiting for? My yearly exam. The yearly exam. If you're a female, you know.

BUT WAIT! Keep reading (if you are a male, or an innocent type, or my husband, you're probably thinking - I've read enough of this trash). Don't worry, I'm not going into any detail. There will be no gore, no potty talk or any description of any kind. Just some observations.

For example, I waited 45 minutes to get into my room, while 3 other people who came in after me, went out before me. That's not cool (starting my belly-breathing). I admit, when I go to an appointment, of any kind, I quite enjoy the token 5-10 minute wait. It's my chance to peruse and read the magazines and newspapers which I'm too cheap to buy. But 45 minutes is a little much. Did I mention there were 3 other people who came in after me and were called out before me? Whatever. Since I'm a giver I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they were having a really busy morning. Seriously, have you noticed how many pregnant women there are out there? Anyway, my turn finally came and I thought I saw a trace of remorse on the nurse's face (or maybe it was indigestion 'cause she's prego too.) as she moved quickly around to get me into my room, take my blood pressure & give me the drill down.

Surely, they wouldn't keep me waiting any longer, especially now that I'm in the room, donning the coveted hospital gown with a thin sheet on my lap and my feet freezing to death. They should hand out footies. Actually they (my insurance company, the government & whoever else is in on this) should pay me to come to this kind of an appointment, because we all know that if you go then you don't get whatever it is they're checking for. In typical Em fashion, my too-active mind kept telling me how this was totally NOT worth the wait. And then started rhetorically asking in it's mocking tone, you're actually paying for this? Why? I hate waiting. FYI, I do have a little bit of a problem with patience when it comes to the improper use of time due to fruitless waiting. I started thinking about ways I could get some money out of this, then those thoughts wandered to shopping, and ended up waiting in line at Walmart. And my mind was on a roll for the next half hour of waiting. Yeah, I know.

Because I was in an irritated mood, I started thinking about other things that aren't worth waiting for and then on to my pet peeves. Like, it bugs me when there are 20+ (are there that many? either way, you get the point) check out lines at Walmart with only 2 or 3 open at a time. Since it is about the only place to shop in my town, that makes for long lines on certain days. Never go on a Saturday (unless it's between the hours of 6:00 - 8:00 a.m., or you're toast) that's all I'm saying. Also, it bothers me when people adopt a baby and then get divorced. There just seems to be something ironically twisted about that. I don't get it. (Remember, this is irritated Em thinking out loud - anything goes.) Then, naturally, various eating sounds started roaming through my head. Ew. Just for the record, your eating sounds don't bother me, it seems to be just my family members who make the really annoying noises. Another thing that wasn't worth the wait was, Breaking Dawn. Man, I was so disappointed with that book, especially after the last 9 months of waiting. Like a pregnancy. At least you get a baby (or 2, or 3) out of a pregnancy. That's worth the wait, this book wasn't. And then.........

KNOCK. KNOCK.

She-Dr., "Hello, Em. Are you ready?" "Sure am." Really saying in my head, " No. I think I need another 2 years to WAIT. Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting? I've been ready since the 8th grade! Oh, man. What does my babysitter think of me by now?" And then that's it. It's over. Remember how I like to time everything? Yes, I did. It didn't even take 5 minutes. I waited all that time for less than 5 minutes of complete humiliation. I had my dignity stripped away in a matter of minutes, and I'm paying money for that? What-ev-er. And then of course, because I was having bad thoughts in my head, my Dr. is totally cool. She treats me like I'm her new best friend and then I'm wondering when we can do lunch. I get dressed, she promply comes back in, totally sits down and shoots the breeze with me, while wearing the cutest dress, and telling me about how............. she's pregnant. Of course.

Out of order

2008-09-17T22:05:00.000-06:00

FYI - My latest post is the one titled, Memos. I started it a few days ago, saved it as a draft and then finished & posted it tonight. But, it's down a few posts from here - out of order. I couldn't figure out how to change the posting order or put today's date on it so that it would come up as the newest one. I'm so not computer savvy (It's really pathetic. We grew up with a computer in our home, for heaven's sake, before it was even cool to have one - way, way before the web & modern gadgets of nowadays.)

Also, let me take a moment to publicly thank my great friend H. who has so patiently been answering all of my, "How do I do this?" questions via email. H., You have been a great friend and mentor all my life, well for a few years anyways. From our time together, as adolescents, in Portland, to rooming together in college. You're awesome! Thanks for all of your help, I couldn't have done it without you. Cue - orchestra. Dab at fake tears.

Come on down & check out my latest. Oh. BTW, I'm still trying to figure out how to link to the LDS.org website. So if any of you know how to do that, feel free to offer your help. I'm happy to take it - free of charge. Thanks

*Quick update (9-19-08). Thanks to my friend Marianna, for teaching me how to use the 'post options' button at the bottom of the page. Now I can keep my posts in order. Thanks M., you're great!

Memos

2008-09-17T21:00:00.000-06:00

MEMO
To: Hoodee,
Subject: I still love you.

Remember that day you barged in my room while I was getting dressed? I had no idea you were even up yet. You pointed to my leg & asked, "Are those growing so big?" I looked down. "Not down there," you complained, indicating my calf (Dang! I was really hoping that's what you were referring to.), "that one!" pointing to my thigh. Excuse me? "No, they're getting smaller." (Oh man. I had myself convinced that going to the gym has really been paying off.) You stood there for a moment with your thumb in your mouth & your eyebrows crinkled down to your nose, & then you randomly blurted out, "You smell funny!" Rude. I did not. You weren't even standing close enough to smell me.

Well son, I forgive you. And I still love you (It's been said before, I'm a giver.). No matter what size my legs are, I'll never get enough of your funny comments & quick observations. But maybe don't say things like that when you're 14......but keep sucking your thumb, that's cute.
Love,
Mom

MEMO
To: Lundles,
Subject: You'll understand

You have to stop growing up so fast. I totally don't get how you're almost 11. You wear my same size shoe. What's that about? So just stop. Okay?

*NOTE TO SELF - invent anti-aging serum. A real one, not like the fake ones in the movies & administer it to oldest child before her next birthday. Or just find a good, ethical vampire to take care of it.

BTW, Lundles, where did you learn phrases like 'equal rights'? It doesn't apply in our home. I know it's not the 1950's as you so astutely reminded me. But, No. You do not have equal rights with your parents. Dad & I are equal, but you're 10 so you're about 1/3 of our equalness. It'll make sense when you're my age. Don't worry, I'll be sure to remind you & your 10 year old daughter of this when the time comes. It'll probably be right after I drop her off from a fun-filled day of buying her whatever she wants & doping her up on as much pop, cotton-candy & ice cream as she can handle. It'll really make sense then.
Love,
Mom

MEMO:
To: Epee,
Subject: Thanks

Hey bud. Thank you for all of the hugs and kisses you so freely give me. They are the best part of my day. Will I still get those when you're 17? I hope so.
Love,
Mom

MEMO
To: SidySue
Subject: Your vernacular

Honey, you're 4 years old. I don't think it's appropriate for a 4 year old to say, Holy Cwap. Also, sure I laughed the first time you called me a Hideous Beast, it was totally unexpected. I mean, what mother doesn't dream of her cute, snugly, pink ballerina, sweet baby girl to stomp her foot and exclaim, "I will NOT pick up my toys, you Hideous Beast!" But now I see the error of my ways. After the 10th time, it's just getting old.

*NOTE TO SELF - Figure out which Disney movie the child is mimicking & destroy it in a fiery pit. Or just throw it away.
Love,
Mom

Best FHE Ever!

2008-09-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

It wasn't really. I think Manly & I were the ones who really enjoyed it. We watched a movie and it is my new FAVE! It is called the Ultimate Gift. It's a great family movie with an awesome message, but it was a little over the younger ones heads. My 7 year old liked it. My 10 year old really liked. My husband & I Loved itIt's basically about what's truly important in life & what lessons we need to learn to live a worthwhile life, which includes reaching out to others. I highly recommend it. I've got the book on my to-read list now.

Cyber stalking

2008-09-16T14:47:00.000-06:00

No, don't worry, I'm not being cyber-stalked. If only I could be so lucky. At this point in my blogging life I'm begging everyone I know to read it & leave comments - even if they think I'm a big dork. And hoping that people I don't know will stumble across it and visit for a minute then leave a charming little message. I'm trying to get discovered by the big blogging agents who are hanging out at the blogging malls waiting to discover the next big blogger. Me. Hasn't happened. Anyways.

Since I'm not a guilt trip type of person, I'm totally not going to say how I thought you were really my friends & family & if you loved me you'd do it. (Ew, I sound like the bad boyfriend. Don't ever give into him. In fact, break up with him right now & never talk to him again. You're way better than that. He doesn't deserve you. But totally do what I say.) Okay, FYI, I have a problem with tangents. I do them. A lot. So back to my point.

Today, as I've been stalki.....reading other people's blogs, whom I don't know, I've noticed that most of them have 2 things in common. They don't have many pics of their kids, if any, (definitely not the kind that are cluttering up the sides of their blogs) & they, well not many anyways, aren't using their families real names. I thought this was just because they didn't like their kids, or they weren't cute or something.

Then the light bulb in my brain turned on as I was reading through a post. This gal mentioned avoiding cyber-stalkers. Initially I didn't think much about . I mean isn't that what we all want? Someone to read our blog & be like, 'I like this blog I'm going to follow it'? But then my imagination started to take control. I started thinking about the word STALKER, & all of the unpleasant images it conjures up. Then, I started thinking about what a cyber-STALKER might try to do with our info. & pics & names of my family. It freaked me out and I was positive that my family & I were going to be next. Then I snapped out of it.

But, it left me a little freaked out & sweaty. So, I went back and changed the names of my family members - to goofy ones, but if you know us then it doesn't matter what I call them. You know who I'm talking about. And if you don't know us then you can think - 'wow they gave their kids really goofy names'. So, now I understand why some of you have gone private and why some of you call your kids #1, #2 ......you get the point. And to those of you I don't know, I'm sorry that I thought your kids probably aren't cute. I bet they're adorable, but you'll probably need to post a picture to prove it.

He's So Lucky

2008-09-13T19:45:00.000-06:00

I'm a dreamer. I dream, I daydream, I fantasize, I converse in my head. The wheels in my head are usually spinning out of control. Some people say it's an over-active imagination, others simply call it procrastination, & yet there are those who sum it up to adult ADD - probably. I'm the kid in the movies who sits and stares out the window dreaming about how I'm the nerdy girl & no one likes me. They all make fun of me & trip me in the halls & shove me into my locker until the cutest boy in school asks me out because he sees that spark of beauty deep down inside of me. And I tell him, 'No way!', because I've got a great personality, I totally know who I am. I'm one of those spicy, sarcastic type of girls who's great at bantering & so that makes the cute boy want me all the more & everyone else is like, 'What does he see in her?'....... And then the cranky he-teacher snaps me out of my daydream and totally embarrasses me. So then, I start daydreaming about how I'll get my revenge on him & everyone else in the class who was laughing.......

Anyways, my mind doesn't seem to slow down much when I'm unconscious either. It's very rare for me to have a dreamless night. And, about once a year or so, I'll have these blockbuster dreams that are like epoch trilogies. Sometimes, they'll go on for 2 or 3 nights in a row (not recurring, the to-be-continued kind). I'll get so wrapped up in them that I can't wait to go to sleep the next night to find out what happens next and then when I do, I'll have a completely different dream. It's like someone turned the channel. I'm sorry but, The Love Boat just won't do when you've been anticipating Lost all day. Ugh. I never find out what happens. I mean, come on! Did I ever get away from the bad vampires after I escaped their English dungeon (can you guess what I've been reading lately?) & save the little children in the daycare who were right in their path leading to me? Did I ever get to the attic in my grandma's house in Portland, the last safe place on earth for me to be, in time? Who knows, because I wake up and can't ever get my unconscious brain back to the right channel.

I also have lots, & I mean a lot (for the most part this is about the only adult interaction I get during the day) of conversations, with people, in my head. I mostly talk to Manly in my head, but sometimes if I have a conflict with someone, like a jerky painter, then I'll go over that conversation in my head before he arrives. I imagine what he'll say, then what I'll say to that, and then what he'll say back (trying to be all cool) & then I'll totally burn him with a great one-liner. Of course, when he actually does show up I don't say any of it out loud and he's the one getting in all of the punches with the rude things he says. And I just take it - whatever.

But, I can totally predict how these conversations are going to go in my head. In the past when I have tried to have these conversations with Manly.....out loud......in real life, I usually ended up getting mad because he didn't follow the script and he would start saying the wrong things. I felt like stomping my foot & yelling, 'That's not how it's supposed to go! Try again!' And maybe that happened once or twice.....I can't remember. So for the sake of the family, our marriage, his sanity and the peace in our home (ahem) I've learned to keep those kind of conversations in my head. Until now.

I recently had a very, um, descriptive talk with Manly, in my head, in which he was telling me why he's the luckiest man in the world to be married to me. Sweet, huh? So of course I'm going to share, but really there's not enough time to tell you everything he said. Honestly, I don't want to brag. Some people are really full of themselves & I'm totally not like that. So here's Manly's (the Manly that was talking in my head) top 5 reasons why he's so lucky.

1. I sacrifice. I make a lot of sacrifices for him and his children (yes, I did incubate & bear them, but I like to give him all the credit for them. I'm generous that way.). For example, making dinner for them when I could be doing something else like reading a book or watching one of my chick-flicks. Or not spending a lot of $ on home decor & shoes when there is really so much that I want. I love how in my head he gets that. He so understands how many things there are out there that I want to buy & don't & what a toll it takes on me.

2. I'm a giver. I'm constantly giving him free advice - he doesn't even have to ask for it. I give him advice on everything like how to style his hair, what clothes to wear & even how to rub my feet more effectively. There is never a shortage on the advice I give him. He can't get enough.

3. I never complain. About 6 months ago our dishwasher wasn't working. I didn't complain once when I had to ask him & his children to wash the dishes after dinner. He really appreciated that. No man wants a complaining, nagging wife. He is lucky.

4. I'm thoughtful. I'm frequently thinking of ways he can be a better husband (everyone can use some help sometimes. Well, most everyone, some of us don't need it.) & ways he can make my life easier. And, I'm always thinking up those cute little compliments he should be giving me. He loves that.

5. I'm pretty much perfect. In my head he told me how perfect I really am, but that seemed a little sacrilegious to me. I'm not that perfect - no one is - but I'm probably pretty close. He really does make a good argument for it. Like he said: I'm an excellent cook, I'm an awesome housekeeper, manager, organizer & decorator - watch out Martha, I'm on your heals. I still look good for my age - aka, hot momma. I sing, I dance, I'm way funny. Not to mention, I'm smart, witty & especially humble (the list could go on & on, but you get the point.)

Are you totally going, 'Oooooh! How sweet. She's so lucky!'? I am. I am so lucky that I'm a dreamer because that conversation, in my head, totally made my day. Does anyone ever say nice things to you in your head? Or do you have the best one-liners when no one else is listening? Let me know, I'd love to hear about your dreams & sweet escapes.

Tag, you're IT!

2008-09-11T14:53:00.000-06:00

Okay, so yesterday I was telling my husband about how my days are going so much better since I've set the goal not to get on the computer during the daytime. They really have been better, I've been more productive, more patient with my kidlets, I have even provided dinner ev-er-y-day this week - not necessarily good ones, but something edible has been on the table.....before bedtime. (Except Sunday, which doesn't count because that's MY day of rest and so if people are bold enough to get hungry they can make it themselves - I don't care if you're 4 years old, it's time to learn some self-reliance.) He was so happy to hear my goal and I was totally pumped.

So anyways, about a 1/2 hour ago, I got off the phone with my girlfriend Becky, & I was telling her about this whole new, wonderful world of blogging and I got way nostalgic, totally missed my blog and then I wondered what was going on with each of you. So I decided that 4 days was a really good accomplishment and I'll try again next week. It's 3:00 right now and my two oldest chillens got home from school about 10 mins ago and I'm right here, right where I'm supposed to be, it feels like home - posting. (I have no idea where anyone else is, since the four of them saw me on the computer the house got eerily quiet.)

(*It's 7:00 now. I was only on for about 20 mins earlier when being the "responsible mother" got the better of me as my 2nd grader came in begging me to help him with his homework.......whatever. Some kids have no boundaries. And then I decided I probably should keep my daughter's Dr. appt. & since I was up I thought I might as well make dinner. But, I'm back)

What I'm getting at is that I was tagged, so really that makes breaking my goal the right thing to do. I've seen this happen a couple of times on a few of my friends blogs, before I ever had one, and I wondered what it was all about. I thought about what the rules of this game are: Who can you tag - anyone? What happens if you never respond to the tag, are you put on some kind of a blogging blacklist? And worse, what if you never get tagged? Are you like the kid who never gets picked for the team at recess? It really started to worry me. I wondered what I would do or say if I ever got tagged, but what would I do or say if I never got tagged? And then it happened, I was tagged last week and I'm finally responding, I believe I am still within my statute of limitations to reply.

My cute neice-in-law, tagged me about 6 quirks I have. I had to think long and hard about that one because I've never really thought of myself as a quirky person. 5 minutes later I came up with my list and then realized I had to narrow it down. Here's what I came up with:

1. Making goals that last 4 days & calling that an accomplishment.

2. I hate almost all condiments. Ketchup, mustard, mayo, salad dressing (except Italian), relish, anything along those lines - Blech! And no, it's not because I'm trying to be healthy or lose weight or anything admirable like that (I make up the calories I would have had in Symphony bars. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about). I'm just dang picky, I get it from my dad. Basically all I like, as far as that goes, is butter - not real butter, but the stuff that tastes really good - Country Crock, Salsa - yum, & Italian dressing.

3. I am terrible at recording on the camcorder. Manuel recently bought a new camera with a "special" button on it for "special" people like me who are 'recording challenged'. It's called an anti-shake button or something like that, and he "lovingly" continues to remind me to turn it on next time I record.

4. I am grossed out and weirdly drawn to freaky swarms of bugs. About this time each year we get these hornets nests on our shed and I know I should spray them as soon as I see them (I eventually get it done) because we have small children &it's not safe & blah..blah...blah...but I can't stop looking at them or taking pictures like these:

A couple of years ago we had this ginormous ant hill under our big pine trees, that I eventually had exterminated, which I'm still trying to get over, but the ants were so big and there were so many that you could hear them walking around on their hill when you were standing a couple of feet away. It was my kids science lesson all summer. Ewwww, huh?! I liked it.

5. I time everything on my stop watch. I love my watch. And I mean everything. Like, sacrament talks, testimonies, how long it takes me to write a post, how long it takes to gas up the car, exactly how long it takes me to drive from my house to my parents house in Utah, even how long it takes to go #1 on the potty. Have you ever timed that? 45 seconds really is a long time.

6. But I think my quirkiest thing is that I am obsessed with picking my husband's dry head. I am so lucky to have married a man with a super dry flaky scalp. I love it. It is my favorite pastime in the evenings after the kids are in bed. I could sit and pick his scalp all night if he would let me. This is pretty much what he thinks of it:

Okay, now I tag you: Sarah, Erin, Vanae, Mandy, Katie E., Katie U., Keri & Heather & really anyone who wants to respond to this tag because this is the all-inclusive team!

BIG Week

2008-09-05T10:28:00.000-06:00

This week is not the BIG week, last week was BIG, this week is a normal size, but I'm writing this week about last week because I didn't write last week about how BIG it was - Capeesh?!

RIIINNGGG - Time for school.

Last Wed. was the 1st day of school. Of course we were late...why wouldn't we be? I was only up at 6:00am and the kids were all up and showered and dressed by 7:15 and we live a full 2 blocks away from the school. We did have a great breakfast though (made by me, which is why it only happens once a year), one that you have to use frying pans, spatulas & cooking spray for, and had plenty of time to spare. But I guess we were just waiting for someone to tell us it was time to go. So when I finally figured out I should be the one to say that, we headed over and wondered why none of the happy little children were frolicking on the playground. When we walked in, the halls were empty, where was everyone? They were already sitting in their seats, weird. My poor kids were stressed enough (they actually hate being late) but I still made them stand outside their doors so I could take their pics, like all of the other (punctual) moms do, 15 minutes BEFORE school starts.

Epee's - 2nd grade

Lundle's - 5th grade (fake smile - not happy about having to walk in while her teacher is in the middle of her one woman act about class rules, punctuality (oops), and the rest, & NOT EVEN happy about her mom making her pose for a pic. while she's mad & she's like way too old for this anyway!).

Fair Time.
The other thing that made last week big was the parade on Sat. The one that kicks off the Eastern Idaho State Fair. L & E both got to be in it for the CBTA (their acting class). They were way excited to be in the parade and to get to wear face paint and have colored hair, which I'm still trying to wash out! Their float was Willy Wonka and they won 1st place. (Not to take away from their teachers creativity because they did a great job on the float, but they were like the only ones who had a real float.)

Epee's Oompa Loompa pose.

Yep, you guessed it. Lundle was the Blueberry girl - Violet B....(I would spell it out if I knew how.)

It was a long, hot day but they did have a lot of fun riding & waving.

Us having fun at the parade...waiting.......& waiting.........

Okay, I had to post this pic though. This was my very favorite! The Broncodettes dressed up as........anyone get it? Yes! Napoleon Dynamite! They were doing his dance, it was the funniest thing ever!

It was a good week, but I'm glad it's over and am back to normal sized weeks - I can't take too many of those or I frazzle.

And that?

2008-09-02T15:52:00.000-06:00

Okay so I just got finished writing that last post about whether Scooby doo has a prophet or not, which I'm sure we could debate on for the next hour, when the same little troublemaker walked in my room and asked: "Mom, what are these for?"Oh No! Not THIS conversation again! I just got finished posting about our last cute, little, frustrating, I-don't-know-how-to-answer-this-kind-of-question ordeal (which I nearly failed). So I said, (naively hoping my answer would be sufficient & we could just put the pads away and forget about it), "Well, those are for mommies to use........not kids." Yeah, right. Like that was an acceptable answer or something. If I really thought the conversation was going to end there then it's time for me to get a reality check. When does the conversation ever end there? That would be way too easy. Of course Hoodee wasn't alone, and this time SidySue got interested in what was going on, I think the bright pink, shiny package got her attention. She asked, "Do mommies use it like this?"

"No, it's not really an eye patch. I wish it was though." She persisted, "Then what do mommies use it for?" At this point I'm smart enough not to bring up any words like blood, gross, psychotic or curse because anything that sounds gruesome or scary (which we all know it is) is really cool, and this line of questioning would never end. So with my fingers crossed behind my back I tell them, "Mommies just use them in their panties sometimes." Sidy thought about that for a minute, had to try the idea out and asked, "Oh, like this?"
"Yes! Like that because mommies like to play dress up sometimes too." To which I heard a giggle and, "silly mommy", as they both walked happily out of the room. Woo Hoo, it worked. (of course then I was immediately regretting that I didn't have the camera out to capture it, so I made them come back in to re-create the moment & share it with you.)

And to those of you who are questioning my parenting skills and thinking what a bad mom I am because I didn't take the time to explain "feminine mysteries" to them in a way they can understand, you're right - I probably am. The less they know the better. If you heard our conversation this morning about beer and alcohol, you would totally understand what I'm talking about, they are only 4 for crying out loud. They'll figure it out soon enough and then I'll be the one giggling.

How do I answer that?

2008-09-02T14:56:00.001-06:00

*Setting the stage: Hoodee(4) sitting on my lap while watching Scooby Doo.
Hoodee: "Mom, do Shaggy and the gang have a prophet?"
Mom: Thinking, 'What a cute question, he must be a deep thinker, I never knew what a spiritual kid he is', so I reverently anwer,"No, they're just cartoons - only real people have a prophet."
Hoodee: Frustrated from apparently receiving the wrong answer, "UGH! No Mom! Do Shaggy and the gang like the Prophet?"
Mom: Not sure what to say & having 2nd thoughts about my 1st thought, "Well, they're cartoon characters and.......
Hoodee: Totally mad, near tears, "Mom! Do Shaggy and the gang like the Prophet?!
Mom: Debating whether to get mad back (there's no low I won't sink to), or just tell him what I think he wants to hear, & understanding there is nothing spiritual about this. Decision made, "Yes, Shaggy and the gang have a prophet, it's President Monson." Holding breath for response....
Hoodee: Hesitantly, "Do they like him?"
Mom: Starting to breath, "Yes, they like him and listen to him."
Hoodee: Big smile and making eye contact for the 1st time since the conversation began, "Thanks, Mom!"
I guess I chose the right answer.

Was That A Compliment?

2008-08-29T12:31:00.000-06:00

Well it finally happened. I thought I had another 10 years, at least, before I heard what I heard, but I guess my time's up. What was said? Well, it went something like this...."Oh my gosh, how many kids do you have?" (this coming from a skinny, totally hot, young 20-something mother of 1) I happily reply, "4 kids, the two youngest are twins." (I always add that last part because I feel like I have bragging rights to the fact that I had 2 at once inside of me, sqeezed them both out and lived to tell about it.) Here comes the whole reason for this post, her response: "Wow, I hope I look like you when I'm your age and have had a few more kids."

I didn't know how to react. Was that a compliment? How old does she think I am? At that moment it hit me, I have said that a few times myself, always meant well, but it is not a compliment. Oh no! I would just like to take a moment to apologize to all of the hotty, old ladies I have ever said that too - I'm sorry, I understand now. I didn't realize my age was so obvious to other people! I was hoping that no one else had noticed the steady increase of cushioning to my back seat. I kept trying to tell myself that those crows feet are not really on my face they're only in my head. And I was sure that my gray hair really only shows up in my bathroom lighting at 11:00 P.M. I guess I'm wrong.

I'm not sure I'm ready for this - to be put in that "you look good for your age" category. It just means you're not as young & skinny as you used to be. I was sure that when I walked down the halls at the high school, (after dropping my kids off at the preschool that the child development class runs), that I fit right in and looked like one of the students. I suppose those boys weren't checking me out, they were probably wondering whose mom I was. And now I bet the girls were saying to themselves, "Oh my gosh, I hope I look like that when I'm as OLD as her." I was sure that the young 20-somethings thought I was one of them and that I must have had London when I was like 11. Oh well. Ready or not, here I am. I'm 33 and proud of it. I may not look as young as I used to, and I may not be as in shape as I once was, but I'm not totally giving up.....yet. Until then I'll just keep trying to "look good for my age"!

Beauty School

2008-08-25T22:09:00.000-06:00

The 1st step to getting ready for a new school year, after buying school supplies...and school clothes.....and paying all the fees and filling out all of the endless registration papers......Okay, the 4th or 5th step to getting ready for school is getting a good haircut. And what better place to go than to the Beauty School. Last Friday, I made the trek up to Rexburg, to The Hair Academy, the Paul Mitchell school, with all four kids in tow, to get freshened up and looking good for school (Two of my sisters in law and their husbands are co-owners in the school).

Epee wasn't too happy, at first, about getting his hair cut. My sisters in law, M. and B., are going to school there right now. (BTW, I love the family I married into - they are simply Awesome!) Aunt M. did the trick, he's smiling, a sure sign she passed.

Aunt B. is very precise in her work. London was so excited to get highlights in her hair, I still can't believe I let her do it (but coming from this family it was only a matter of time).

Her hair turned out really cute! B. always knows how to have fun.
Another student, N., got to do Sydney's hair - nothing too drastic, just a trim, but we love it.

Hoodee was last, he had some fun waiting for his turn......in my purse & spinning in empty chairs.
He probably made the funniest faces in "the chair". It really was not as painful as he's making it look. M. is always so patient with everyone - I was so grateful for her.....
Now they are finally all ready for school! Thanks M. and B. (and N. too), you all did a wonderful job on these haircuts. We love you! *For the record, M. and few of the other students were dressed up as hobo's that day because they were having a theme day at school to help raise food for the local food bank.

The End

2008-08-25T15:41:00.000-06:00

**SPOILER ALERT!**

Yes, I am talking about 'Breaking Dawn' by, Stephenie Meyer. So if you haven't finished it or even started it yet then don't read any further. I am going into detail and I want to let it all out! So consider yourself warned. But, when you do finish please come back and leave your opinion about it - I need to talk. Manuel's a good listener, but judging from the eye-rolling and snickers, I don't think he really takes this very seriously.

So, okay, I finished the book last night and wondered what happened. I mean are any of you as let down as I am? And I want honesty here, if you really loved it then say so - you don't have to agree with me to leave a message- in fact I would especially love to hear from you. But, I have one word to sum this book up for me....BUMMER! I feel jipped, I feel disgruntled, I feel cheated.

Why? Well, don't get me wrong I am a happy ending kind of a girl - I'm all about chick-flicks (or books in this case) and gooey romances where the stories are all tied up at the end with a nice, pretty pink bow. This book ended exactly how I hoped it would. My problem was the rest of the story. The beginning was fun, the end was satisfying, the 650 pages in between were disappointing to say the least. It was mostly filler - no real substance. If I offend any Jacob fans out there, I'm sorry, but I don't really care about his perspective. I would have much rather heard it from Edward - what torment and pain was he going through that only he could describe - I mean, isn't this more about him & Bella than Jacob & Bella? Edward totally got put on the back burner in this book not only when the story was told from Jacob's perspective, but also and especially when Bella turned into a Vampire. It seemed to me that once Bella became all super strong then there was no more need for our lovely Edward. He wasn't the hero anymore. Also, there wasn't much of a relationship between Edward and Renesmee, I guess I just assumed that he would make the best ever dad, especially to a daughter, because of what a perfect and protective and thoughtful boyfriend & husband he was. But we hardly saw any interaction between the two of them.

Where was the conflict? Everything kept getting resolved too easily, all of a sudden there were answers to problems that they couldn't get figured out in the first 3 books. Like with Charlie being all cool with everything. And what happened to Renee, wouldn't she have at least tried to be there with her daughter if she was on her "death bed"? It wasn't until the last 100 or so pages (out of an almost 800 page book) that there was really any major problem and that didn't last long. Remember the baseball scene, or the ballet studio scene from Twilight? The fast action, the intensity, the goose-bumps - it was awesome. Remember how your heart was pounding and you knew that if you had to put that book down at that moment you wouldn't be able to survive the anticipation? (I came so close to skipping a Tues. night mutual that I was in charge of the day I was reading that part.) You just had to find out what was going to happen! Where was that in this book? Bella's whole transformation went way too easy. At first I liked how it was easier for her than most - I get it, it was a special gift, but after 3 months she was back to her same old self except not even as sassy and as spicy as before. I would have also loved to have heard more from & about Esme and Alice - where were they? I felt like Stephanie was just writing it to get it finished. I didn't feel the same love and excitement in this book that I did in the other 3.

I guess I just had such high hopes for this book and they didn't come true. Please help me with this, I'm in mourning. I hope it went better for you - let me know, maybe you can give me a new perspective to look at, and yes, I do know this isn't real life, but still........

Never Say Never

2008-08-20T11:34:00.000-06:00

Have you ever said you would never do something only to realize that you were doing it? Manly & I both have long lists of 'nevers' that we have had to swallow over the past few years. Like the time Manly said he would NEVER be a lawyer - it's true, he was a geology major when we got married. Or the time I said I would NEVER be one of "those ladies" who just doesn't get ready in the morning and goes out in sweats, a ponytail and no make-up. The only difference now is that since I got my hair cut 2 weeks ago it's not long enough to put in a ponytail anymore. There was also the conversation we had where Manly swore he would absolutely NEVER EVER get a v....you know what I mean (he only did it to save my life, but I'm glad that was worth it to him). And there was a point in my life when I had parenting all figured out and could just 'see' all the mistakes parents were making, of course this was my pre-children era, and I proclaimed I would NEVER be inconsistent in my discipline, and I would NEVER yell at my children, and I would NEVER use T.V. as a babysitter. My biggest weaknesses, okay! It's so much easier to let them get away with murder while I blindly & happily sit in front of the computer typing away, until I lose my temper and yell at the top of my lungs, 'STOP IT!!!' and then wonder why they aren't listening to me. And hello PBS, what would I do without you?!
My list could go on and on, my point is I am the queen of going back on my 'nevers' and if those examples weren't proof enough then this blog is. Last spring when I started following some of my good friends and families blogs I would give Manly an update of your lives when he got home each evening. One day he finally asked "You're not going to do a blog are you?" (Knowing how much time I'm already on the computer, he was groaning under his breath- not more time on the computer in our already hectic lives!) My quick response was "Of course not! I would NEVER do a blog!" Well, I got a few more suggestions from some friends and family members about different blog ideas that I didn't ask for. Like, "You should start a Book Blog, to talk about your books with friends." And, "You should start a Picture Blog to show the different events you've decorated for (this girl saw some of those pics on my facebook account)." And, "You should start a blog so I know what's going on with you guys." To each of these I replied "No way! I don't blog." So here I am, my first post on my new blog. Thanks to all of you, you've inspired me by your creativity, honesty and willingness to share your lives with the rest of the cyber world. I really have enjoyed watching your lives progress over the last 6 or 7 months and I decided, to heck with this 'never' crap! I'm doing it. So I hope I can keep up with this, I hope you will help me and I hope I will Never say Never again!