Sorry Dudes

Okay, it's 1:20 am, and I just can't stay up anymore to blog. I got my pricing done for the Mother's Day bead projects. By the way, speak now or forever hold your peace on the Mother's Day gifts.

I took so many cute pics today! I'll post tomorrow.

Love you guys!!
Becky

Warning - This is a Sassy One (read at your own risk)

Two posts tonight.

Some days are just full of funny, and you find some sass to keep you going. Here goes:

Found this on the Catalog Favorites website. Jenn, this made me think of you and all your kitties. I should get a t-shirt that says ,"Everything I know about sarcasm I learned from my kids."

I also found this one:



Catalog Favorites website again. I was thinking it would be funny to wear to the Dave Ramsey workshop we're all going to.

And I found these on eBay, at a person's eBay store called Whimsy Under Glass. They are 1" x 1-1/2" pendants: "With ribbon, ball chain, or leather cording attach a pendant to a candle, the rearview mirror of your car, your purse, your belt loop, make it into a book mark or hang any where you want a little framed art!"

Gotta have this one, because some days are like this.

Frankly, I'm not sure exactly what the meaning of this is. Does it mean you should just own the ten pounds of ice cream hiding all around your rear end, or does it kind of a "cut the crap" sort of sentiment? But anyway, it sounds funny, and I might have to acquire it also.

And here are the lyrics from a song I stumbled across on a Napster playlist:
"Sometimes It Takes Balls to Be a Woman" by Elizabeth Cook

Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman
Standing up to a test, while wearing a party dress
Sometimes looks can be deceiving when you're quietly over-achieving
Yeah sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

She's a socialite, a decent housewife and she makes a mean lasagna
So when the mechanic, said "Lady don't panic, but this one's gonna cost ya"
She said "I know I don't need my engine rebuilt, now just check the oil and
change the belt,
Honey, I know you thought you saw me coming"
Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman
Standing up to a test, while wearing a party dress
Sometimes looks can be deceiving when you're quietly over-achieving
Oh, sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

He says I should repent for the money I spent on shoes and bags and jewelry
Well "To hell with that, my hard working ass ain't gonna sit before a jury"
Now isn't that a mighty small price to pay
For all the love I send your way
Honey when it comes down to the plumbin'
Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

Chorus
Sometimes It takes balls to be a woman
Standing up to a test, while wearing a party dress
Sometimes looks can be deceiving when you're quietly over-achieving
Oh, sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

Look at Dolly and Loretta, they still live it to the letter
Oh, sometimes it takes balls to be a woman
Sometimes it takes balls to be, big big big big balls to be
Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman

And this webpage has sooo many Mother funnies on it, I'll just put the link here, and you can go read it there - . It has a Mother Job Description on it. I may have to write my own version, especially put in a part about how a woman can NEVER, EVER leave the job site (men have absolutely no comprehension of the emotional/psychological strain of this, Sue when can we ditch our kids and go hide out in a hotel room and be completely useless?), but that's for another day. After all, I gotta quit staying up until 2am writing blog posts. I gotta get my exercising done before the kids wake up! 'Night y'all!

End Post #89, 2009

Little Moments

Just some random stuff from today.

Connor likes to play with his baby sister sometimes, and today he was playing blankie snuggle.

Emma's favorite food right now is bananas. If you leave a whole banana where she can get it, she'll knaw through the peel to get to the good stuff.

Connor actually got me to play with him today. We played a good game of hide and seek. I hid in my shower downstairs, then yelled "boo" when he came into the room. Kind of a reverse Norman Bates. Should I be allowed to play with children? Anyway, Connor thought it was a good time.

Experimented today with the bread loaf pan, and made a half-white/half-wheat loaf. It makes the perfect-size bread slice, just right for cheese. It's a ginormously long loaf, but then I don't have to cook again for a few days. Muy yummy!

End Post #88, 2009

New Things Part 2

Okay hold onto your butts mouse because I've figured out how to upload videos to my computer, do a little editing, upload them to my new YouTube account, then post them on my blog!!! So, as if you didn't have enough to do looking at my blog every morning, here goes a new dimension: videos.



Yep, Foofie-Loo can scream like a Nazgul. We've started to try and teach her not to scream, but only time will tell.

I piddled around too long this morning, and didn't get my exercising done until the kids had woken up. Mistake!






Okay, there are more. Maybe tomorrow...

My dinosaur laptop, with it's small memory, has really, really slowed down. It's all those darn Supernatural episodes I've downloaded! I've got to clear out the memory, defrag it, then hopefully it will work faster. In the meantime, I've started painting my toenails & fingernails as I wait for things to process. How annoying! But my fingers and toes are pretty!



I also made bread today, using my new loafpan for the first time. I'm starting to get into this food storage thing, so I'm teaching myself how to make good bread. I'll take pics after I perfect the process. Maybe just a few more loaves...

End Post #87, 2009

A Day for New Things

After Connor's bath last night, he insisted that I not comb his hair so it could stay spiky. Well, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" one thing led to another, and Dani had to style his hair:



Yep, it's one of those pictures where someone is making an off-the-wall expression by accident. Connor just looks creepy!


Here's where he buzzed a chunk of hair out of his head. Zen has a little hair-trimming kit on our bathroom counter, and Connor decided to take it for a test-drive.

He did it again today, the little stinker!

Emma is changing a lot these days. I just noticed today her creative play. Usually it's just I-want-to-mess-with-stuff, but she was putting her "toy" inside of the wipes box to hide it, then pulling it back out.


"I am adorable like baby sheep and kittens."

Well, miss adorable took a hike, and spent a lot of the night screeching at us. We were all watching "Bedtime Stories" with Adam Sandler for a little FHE tonight, and Zen and I wanted to drop-kick her she was so annoying. I'm gonna have to video-tape it, so you know what I'm talking about.

Well, after holding out for several months, I signed myself on to Facebook today. I actually didn't do too bad. I only blew a few hours on it. Then I spent the rest of the day on medical bills. See, Sue, I was a good girl after all!

End Post #86, 2009

Sunday Wisdom

Okay, a few random things first:

I'm always afraid that putting anecdotes in the comments section will go unnoticed, so here's one I put in the comments section of the previous post - last week, we were all sitting in the tv room, reading scriptures together, and Zen was telling the kids all the good professional jobs they could have when they grow up, the kind of job where you actually only have to work 40 hours a week. One of them was a pharmacist, and Dani said, "What's a pharmacist?" and Zen said, "A drug dealer." Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!!!!!!

Another one - Zen tagged this onto his comment this morning: B^D and then Sue said, "What's B^D?" Okay, let's have a little mini web lingo education here. That thing is called an emoticon, either represented by typing text or with an actual web graphic (all those yellow smiley faces you see in emails) and if you look at a text version sideways, it's a smiling face:
Wikipedia has a great article on emoticons, with many versions. I won't bore you with quoting it here, but you can find it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticons. ;-)

Connor's favorite word these days is "totally." "That's totally stupid!" "I'm totally naked!" (this was tonight when he took a bath) "That's totally cool." What I want to know is where he's getting this stuff? It's not a word I use, and I don't think anyone else around here uses it either. It's like he downloaded 80's lingo into his brain. Makes for more amusing conversation with our Funny Man.

Okay, I'm still getting around to taping myself singing. I wanted to do that now, but it's already 12:40 am, so no dice tonight. But two, maybe three things I have to report about today before I hit the sack.

Church was great today, even though I arrived with a grey cloud in my head. First, we were over ten minutes late, which is late even for us. Usually it's about five. And wouldn't you know, we had a seat right up front, just as we usually do. People are so considerate, they always save a place for us there (sarcasm intentional). Remember last week when we showed up 20 minutes early, and Connor said, "It's closed!" Ha, ha, ha, still funny! Anyway, I was sitting there today at the beginning thinking, "Good luck feeling the Spirit today." But, sacrament meeting progressed, and the rush-rush feeling of getting out the door dissipated, and I think I started to feel better, more at peace. Plus, as we were leaving the house, Zen pulled up from being out in the field, and was rushing inside to try and shower so he could go to sacrament meeting. Okay, so he missed the sacrament, but it was such a relief to see him, I was glad he got to come home from the field just for the day.

I must stop this transmission and say something about being married to Zen. Seriously, this whole working in the field for days at a time makes me really appreciate him. At this stage of my motherhood, where I've been doing it for almost fifteen years (yikes!), I kind of think I'm a tough cookie, and can handle most days pretty well by myself. But whenever he comes home, it's just such a relief. I'm not alone anymore, the burden isn't entirely mine. It's not just that, but it's his personality, too. He's just not crazy like I am. Okay?! I don't see how women can get into relationships with other women. How can they stand the drama? I know there are some drama kings or control freaks out there in the male population, but I really think being with a man can largely be a calming experience for a woman. Emotionally, they're just so low maintenance. For some women, this is exactly the problem, they want more drama out of their men, more complex emotion, but not me. I just keep thinking, "Thank goodness ONE of us is sane!" Zen is just so mellow and even-tempered. I think our family functions better with him. I always think that if Heavenly Father has to take one of us before the other, especially when there are still kids at home, I wish he would take me so our poor children don't get stuck with the crazy one. Here's a random thought I had today: "Falling in love is FUN. Staying is love is SATISFYING."

Okay, so back to sacrament meeting. He sat down and put his arm around Dani, and then rubbed my arm with the tips of his fingers. Dani offered to switch places, whether out of the goodness of her heart or out of the teenage attitude parent-love-is-just-gross sort of thing, and then I got to sit next to Zen. Aaah, lovely! Then we spent the rest of sacrament meeting mostly watching the antics of Connor and Emma. Yep, we're the family who is usually giggling through sacrament meeting. What a bunch of heathens we are! Connor brought his blankie and his red tool box to church (Zen wasn't at the front door on the way out to veto either one. Reminds me of the time I let Connor wear his Lightening McQueen slippers to Stake Conference. Zen was absent for that, too.) Emma kept trying to crawl up the carpeted wheelchair ramp while clutching the container of baby puff snacks, and kept falling on her face or her rear end. And she kept randomly shrieking also, she's the third kid with that paint-peeling shriek, which she uses more and more these days to express discontent of any variety. One of Connor's nicknames was Baby Nazgul (go watch Lord of the Rings.) Anyway, Gil kept saying, "Curse the baby!" and quietly laughing. Later in the hall, he said it again, and I said, "No, she's a sweet baby!" Who's getting all sassy. Yep, we're cheap entertainment, a cure for high council Sunday, I guess. At the end of sacrament meeting, as all the kids scattered for their classes and Zen and I started picking up the usual mess, Sis. Gusy, who was seated behind us, said "I just love watching you in sacrament meeting. You are such a loving family!" After some kind of generic thank-you response from us, she got up and went to class, and then Zen and I looked at each other and laughed. Yeah, right! I said to Zen, "You haven't seen us at bedtime!" You don't wanna be there for that, just ask Sue.

Then, in Gospel Doctrine, I was really feeling the Spirit, tearing up. Funny thing is, I don't remember now why. I should have started my post earlier, when I could still remember. I do remember the lesson was about some of the persecution the Saints went through back in the 1800s. Relief Society was good, too. The lesson was on callings, and how we should be willing to do them, willing to see that they are from Heavenly Father, and that He will help us to accomplish the things He wants us to do, even if it seems overwhelming. Sis. Heyborne said something along the lines of, "Sometimes we ask ourselves, why me? But what we should be thinking about is the Savior's sacrifice for us, and how blessed we are to be one of the very few to have the gospel, and then ask ourselves, why me? Why did he pick ME to be one of the few people to have a knowledge of the gospel and how can I show my gratitude for this blessing? By going out and serving people and doing what He has asked us to do." Yes, we can all accept and do our callings better. When we see Him again, will we be able to have peace knowing we did what He sent us here to do, or will we have terrible guilt and sorrow for all the the service we never rendered, the people we never lifted or strengthened when it was within our power to do so.

Okay, so this group craft thing isn't working out, but I am just determined that I can use my skills/talents to bless other people in my ward. I just haven't figured it out yet. But one thing's for sure, I am going to dig into my stash of cards and start writing notes to people. I was going to do that today, but I'll see if I can get to that tomorrow.

Other funny moments: Connor buzzed a little chunk of hair out of his head. I'll post pics tomorrow. Also, when he was taking a bath, he put the potty plunger in the tub with him. That made me shriek, "Connor!" It's just so gross. I know he thought it was a fun tub toy, but no, no, no. Ugh!!! Martin Mull quote, "Never underestimate a child's ability to get into more trouble." That would be Connor to a T.

1:45 am Going to bed!

End Post #85, 2009

Because Reading Blog Comments Really Helps Me Get Ready For Church

"Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn." Sage words of advice. Think I'll be using them when I teach Gil how to drive?

Let's Freeze Time for 24 Hours for a Big Nap and Uninterrupted Crafting

Little odds and bits today. Woke up, exercised, nagged kids to pick up the upstairs and vacuum while I showered, so I could be ready in case anyone showed up for my beading at 9am. Kudos to the kids for helping their Mom! No one showed, of course. I wound up bawling, no kidding. Gil offered to tp everyone on my sign-up sheet, but I told him that while I appreciated his support, that's not what I was bawling about. It was somewhat comforting to know someone will avenge wrongs for you, even if they are misguided. Yep, I'm the Mafia Mom now. There's a Godfather joke in there somewhere, I'm sure. At least there's one child who will do things for me without pouting and temper tantrums, notices I'm sad, and wants to fix it. Anyway, you'd think I was bawling about the beading thing, but no, all that did was make me feel useless for making stupid choices. It was a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back sort of thing, I've got a lot more pressing things on my mind, like my credit card addiction, and how I'm so stupid, I keep getting distracted by stuff everyday when I need to be getting the sales pumping in my eBay store so I can pay off my not-so-wise purchases over the past four months. It was a I'm-such-an-idiot pity fest.

I decided I better get over myself and be useful, so I cleaned the kitchen, washing the big pots and pans, sweeping and mopping the floor, wiping the walls, and cleaning the nasty dish drainer with some Lime-Away. What is up with that? Only clean dishes get put in there, but over time, this weird mineral-deposit scum just builds up. It's just weird!

It felt good to have a clean house on a Saturday, as opposed to the usual trash-the-house action that happens around here on the weekend. Foofie sat on my back in the baby backpack and played with my hair while I cleaned, screeching at me every now and then. She's getting kind of sassy. The I'm-so-cute-'cause-I'm-a-baby thing is taking a hike, being replaced by its successor I-do-what-I-want-because-I'm-a-sassy- toddler thing. Connor ran around and did his own thing, like he usually does.

After putting Baby Deet down for a nap, I went downstairs to work on a beading project. Dani spent a lot of time mooching on my laptop in my craftroom. 'Member that epiphany I had yesterday morning that I was going to do something special for? I may still get to that, but the gist of it was that it hit me for the first time that my kids really are growing up, and that their childhood will be over all too soon, that they will outgrow me and be gone. I hear about Moms crying when their children go to kindergarden, but at that stage with my kids, I was so relieved they'd be out of my hair and not bored anymore, that it was partly a fun-nostalgia thing, taking pictures of their first day of school etc., and partly a relieved don't-let-the-door-hit-you-in-the-butt kind of feeling, too. But, I finally had my crying-Mom-the-kids-are-growing-up moment for the first time yesterday after I dropped Gil off for a field trip. I think Dani's overnight field trip, and how nonchalant and non-chatty she was about the whole thing was just kind of disturbing, too, and it all caught up with me. The two of them are not my babies anymore. And I was going to do this wonderfully syrupy photo slideshow of my four babies to the tune of "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins, and put it on youtube for my blog, but I lost that lovin' feelin' today. Yet, even though I'm Queen I've-Had-Enough-of-People today, I still think it's a good idea. I may finish it for Mother's Day or something.

Okay, back on topic. Dani and I were in the same room together. It was just not a good idea. Because Queen-I-Want-What-I-Want started up on buying new clothes, even though she has drawers full of clothes that fit, but that don't "look good" on her, I just about wanted to kill her. She's in that lovely stage where she can buy something, and a month later refuses to wear it anymore. And I came to a conclusion today. She can just start buying her own clothes with her own money. That's it. Maybe then, she'll quit treating them like tissue, ready to throw them out and get new ones on the slightest whim. After a little more of the "You drive me crazy!" "No, you drive ME crazy!!" conversation, she went and did something else, and I was alone in my craftroom again, ready for her to move out and get her own apartment, like at least three states away. It was kind of like that all day.

Later, I was in Home Depot, trying to track down a steel bench block for a jewelry-making concept I was having, and I just meandered, drooling over cool stuff in the tool section. Something about the spring rain today sparked the urge for all kinds of projects. It was amazing being outside, suddenly the grass everywhere is green, and it smelled wonderful.

I was getting a package ready to mail for Sue around 6:30pm, when Dani ran downstairs to tell me that Emma had dumped out a bottle of Mr. Clean all over the kitchen floor. Suddenly the cabinets under the sink are fascinating to Deet-Loo, and she was hell-or-high-water determined to get into everything under there. I don't know how she managed to get the lid open, but I'm just grateful she hadn't made it to the bleach yet:

"See how I did it? I got mad skills."

"Muh-ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!"

Needless to say, after I cleaned up Emma and the mess in the kitchen, I repaired the child-safety locks on those cabinets pronto, with Foofie crawling all over me, screaming at me to let her into the cabinets, or at least give her the screwdriver. I'd been meaning to repair the doors for a while, but it just kept getting shoved on down the to-do list. It got shoved right to the top, lightening-fast tonight.

Anyway, by 7:30 pm, I just quit with the whole "let's-do-Mother's-Day-projects-with-everyone" thing. I'm going to do some stuff for me. I've got enough to do without wasting time and energy trying to figure out what everyone else wants. I just decided I need to quit chasing people down to do craft projects with me. I'll just do my selling on eBay, send cards to family, and have fun playing beading. Just a little alone me-time. That will be my thing, and that's it. Not that I'm bitter or anything. Yes, I'm laughing as I write this. It just sounds so whiney. Sue, I know you'll get it.

Mom sent this email the other day, just some pics of funny cards, by a company called MILK. It's just simple, but funny, pics on a background of quotes, a graphic style of design. I liked the design so much, that I think I'll make a little book of quotes for myself, with my own pics to illustrate. Sounds like fun! I started looking up quotes about Mothers/Mother's Day, and I found a lot of good ones. But this one made me laugh: "Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own." ~Aristotle    Kind of naughty and a little bit sad.

Going to bed now. There was something else I was going to write about tonight, maybe about Emma, but now I forgot. I guess I'll put it in tomorrow.

P.S. About passing cards out in Relief Society - After Sue's comment, I think I need to post a qualifier. I guess it sounds like I was suggesting I was going to make money selling cards in R.S. That wasn't my intention AT ALL. Sure, I'd pass around the old ones for free, just to get rid of them and start fresh. But I just thought I could get a long-term thing going where I could make cards for everyone throughout the year, and just get enough dough for the supplies, so I could keep it going. If I can't get anyone to come to card class, maybe I can just do it FOR them. Kind of a service-project thing. In effect, if everyone donates the supplies, I donate my time and skills for the enjoyment of all concerned. Also, I think I'll put together a sample book of pictures of cards I've done, instead of hoarding this big stash of sample cards that never get used, and just get ratty over time. The temptation to keep them like little treasures is too great. This way, maybe I can let them go, and let them do what they were meant to do: perk up someone's day just a little.

P.P.S. Sue, thanks for more quotes "Lane, I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy." It's like Napoleon Dynamite. It gets funnier, and more quotable each time you see it.

End Post #83, 2009

Sorry We Blew Up Your Mom Ricky

I'd start putting quotes up here, but then I'd have to put up the ENTIRE script. It's a classic in every sense of the word. As Gil said at the end of the movie, it was "ÜBER"!

Yep, we watched Better Off Dead tonight as predicted. Gil invited his good buddy, Ty, over and we all watched it. It was surreal to hear my teenagers quote a movie I loved as a teenager. Dude, do I have to be that old? But it's a classic for a new generation. Rock on.

Lots to post on, gonna attempt some new computer/web skills, but I'm doing some finessing behind the scenes, and I just don't have a 1am/2am blogfest in me tonight, 'cause I need to get up early and pick up the upstairs in case anyone shows up for beading at 9am. So here's a list for tomorrow or Sunday:

1. My epiphone in the car this morning at 6am after dropping Gil off at the high school.
2. My singing. Yep, gonna do the deed here on my blog.
3. Yummy recipes & pics.

End Post #82, 2009

Oh. My. Monkeys.

Well, the ward talent show was tonight. Good grub. Some funny performances, some great performances. A lot I wish I'd taped, like Br. Weber with his guitar and banjo, Br. & Sis. Riddle's song and piano recital, Br. Allred's (yep, related back there five or six generations ago) funny skit about an American and an Englishmen in the emergency room, his teenage girls singing (fabulous voices), and a cute performance by one of the Croft's little girls who read a poem about some birthday payback from a sister to a brother. She sat on the floor of the stage with a mic and a little box of props to illustrate her poem. Very funny.

But.

Then I hauled myself up to the stage near the end. I sang "There Is No Arizona" by Jamie O'Neal, an awesome song. And I videotaped it. I was so excited about putting it on my blog tonight. But it was an illustration of many things. Sigh. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. One should not tape onself when onself looks like a dumpling and manages to mess up the song and has to start over. But I made it through eventually. However, the sound on the recording is horrible. And I look like a dumpling. I should make myself watch it each time I think I need that extra bowl of ice cream. But I got lots of compliments on my singing, so it wasn't all bad.

I was going to sit down tonight, figure out how to get it off my camera, edit it, youtube it, and stick it on my blog. But alas, it's horrible, so no dice. Huh-uh, nope, nope, nope.

I think my mirror lies to me. A lot. I must subconsciously hold myself at just the right angle all the time. "Nope, 200+ pounds doesn't look THAT bad. I exercise everyday. I'm still cute. I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggonit, people like me!" It's a conspiracy, and my mirror is the chief conspirator. I REALLY gotta lay off the ice cream. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie, Peanut Butter Cookie Dough, Artisean Vanilla Bean, Praline Candy Crunch, Peppermint Candy, Rocky Road, Mint Girl Scout Cookie...

I'm sorry, we were talking about laying off the ice cream?

Hmmm, maybe I should really get my bike fixed up fast, so I can haul two little kids around AFTER dinner this summer, so I wind up exercising TWICE a day. Think it will help? Oh, Sue, you were asking what the bike shop guy said. He told me I could work some lube into the gear line to loosen it up, as well as use it to get other bike parts working smoothly. I sort of understood it. He said I could also have the bike shop get it tuned up, but of course, he could tell I was cheap (true), so he sold me a can of lube, and sent me on my way. I'd love to have Dan fix up my bike, but I'm too lazy to drive to Cokeville, or something like that. Besides, it's sparking my sense of challenge. I think I want to learn how to maintain my own bike. Just something I should probably know.

I spent all day TRYING to get a bunch of stuff ready for the ward talent show, practically giving myself a stroke debating about what I could actually get done in time, and whether or not I was going to attempt singing, and what song I should pick. I did a BIG weeding of my card sample stash, putting inserts on the inside of cards that needed them, repairing some, and making a momentous decision to get rid of all cards that weren't written on the inside. I spent so much time weeding, that I never got around to making anything new as I'd planned. See, I spent time on the old stuff, because I've been thinking I might donate some cards to my Relief Society sisters, for visiting teaching purposes. Just put everything in a big basket, and pass it around on Sunday, telling them they can take some for visiting teaching. Would it be horrible to make cards, pass them around, then suggest people can make a small donation to the card fund for the cost of supplies? I can't get anybody to come to my crafting classes, which baffles me, because I do get compliments on my cards. Am I just choosing the wrong times, is everyone too busy? What's the deal? How come nobody wants to craft with me? Sorry, that was kind of whiney. I just want to hang out with a grownup in my craftroom. Is that too much to ask? I want to be a good sharer, but nobody wants to play with me. Again with the pathetic whininess.

I am kicking myself that I didn't take a pic of the display table I set up at the talent show. Sigh. I guess I was so flustered with the whole experience, I forgot. But you guys have seen my stuff, so no biggie. I had a bunch of cards set up, the few jewelry projects I've done, and my laptop with one of my blog posts showing. Because I AM an obsessive blogger now. What's up with that anyway? Like, even if it's 2AM, I will still blog something. Nuts, I am just nuts! I did have a good conversation with Rene Hale, who is part of a card exchange group (Hooray!!), and she said she'd give me a call next time they have a card exchange. Fun!

Must sleep now, got to get up at 5:30 am to take Gil up to the high school for a chorus field trip. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!

Congrats Jenn & Josh!!! (and Connor Don't Harsh My Mellow)

If you haven't read Jenn's blog today, then DROP EVERYTHING and visit her blog!!!! That's all I'll say. And if you don't have an invitation to her blog, then send her an email and beg for one!! Let the crafting begin ladies!!

I got up this morning at a little after seven, checked my email, exercised, showered, then went upstairs to this:


Aaah, sweet cleanness!!! And I'm ready for the day before the little ones are up! Perfection!!

I fired up the computer upstairs, cooked my Malt-O-Meal, then got tired of waiting for the slug-a-beds to wake up, so I went and kissed Connor all over his face. He stirred a little, then a little later while I sat at the computer, he said, "I see you!" from the vantage point of his top bunk. Thus started our day together. I peeked in at Emma, who was sitting in her crib contemplating the universe. I kissed her sweet face, Baby Foofie! Then it was breakfast, etc. In the process of looking for the phone book, I wound up in Gil's room, and was just so appalled at the mess that I cleaned Gil's room. It's like the book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." One thing led to another. Just as I finished Connor ran in and said, "I want to clean!" I just burst out laughing! Oh, sure, come help me just when I'm done!

Stinker! He played with the little vacuum off and on all day, sucking things that did not need to be sucked: his sister's hair, her medicine bottle, furniture, etc.

I did all my eBay online paperwork, cleaning out my email inbox, etc. Then, I wanted to take my bike to the bike shop to see what I needed to recondition it. The gear shifts are really stiff. I've got this idea of giving my bike a total makeover, lube everything and strip and paint the frame. Maybe some kind of glitter teal color. Anyway, feeling inspired by the season, I busted out one of Emma's summer outfits I bought last fall on clearance, then decided she needed a matching binky clip:


Totally cute!

But "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" strikes again.

Okay, so we went downtown to the bike shop. On the way, Sue and I talked on the phone. I was about to kill Connor, who was the consummate backseat driver, chattering away in the backseat "Mom, there's a stopsign" "Mom close your window" "Mom-" See, I've been off my meds for 2 or 3 days for some pharmacy card policy change that I've been too lazy to look into, and I think I'm beginning to have withdrawal. The little things are getting to me, and I had a headache pretty much all day long. So, I was driving with the window down, trying to listen to my music and just relax (driving and music are great therapy for me), but Bossy Backseat is driving me nuts and is Harshing My Mellow! Stinker!! But we went through the drive-thru at Wendy's and picked up some Frosties and a taco salad (it was so good, I should make some for dinner), then at home I fed Emma, then did some stuff in my craft room while Emma had a late nap.

I went visiting teaching tonight. My partner is expecting a baby soon, so we talked baby stuff. I was reminiscing about babies, and briefly felt the baby urge, but it passed.

I finally got home about 8:30, to find Dani safe and sound. I kept trying to get her to "dish" but she was not cooperating. She did 'fess up to only sleeping three hours last night, because she and a bunch of girls stayed up until 2am. I'll see if I can get more story out of her tomorrow.

'Night y'all! Tomorrow is the Ward Talent Show, and I'm going to get some stuff ready to display. I'll have pics!

Kudos to Sue and her MANY blog comments, as well as Mom and Jenn. Sorry for the whining/nagging, but... okay, I'm not that sorry. Because I LOVED your comments!! Hugs and kisses!

End Post #80, 2009

Sweet Summer is Comin'

Pulled myself out of bed at 8 this morning. I guess I got around 7 hours, pretty good, but I still felt exhausted after being up so late with Emma.

Dani headed off on her overnight school field trip. I ran over to the school at 8:30am, to get a few cell #'s, slip her $20, and say goodbye. Boy, it was so efficient. Dani's class filed out, loaded their stuff, jumped on the bus, and that was it. I wanted to linger over the goodbye, but the teachers and chaperones were all business. But I need hugs and kisses! Sigh. I hope she's okay.

The weather was so good today, with a high of 69°, that I got into the garage, shook the dust off the bike and trailer, pumped up the tires, and headed out to the library. We almost didn't make it. Foofie-Loo was VERY tired and cranky, after her lousy night of sleep, and I almost turned back, but she quieted down, so I kept going. It's just a short ride, only about five minutes, but it felt really good to be out and about. I'm glad we went. The kids had fun at the library.

They've got their water and they're ready to ride!

It's a great little kids' corner in the children's section of the White Mountain library. I kept asking Connor if he wanted to pick a book, but he was too distracted. No books for him, I guess, but still, it's a fun place.







For some reason, it just looked like she was standing on the bridge of a spaceship, doing her thing, being large and in charge.



After a while, it was time to go home, and get poor Deet-Deet a nap. Thank goodness! She slept for three hours, and was feeling a lot better after that.

At the library, it occured to me that outdoor-cooking season is coming, and I reserved some books on dutch oven cooking. Can't wait to kick the dust off these, and cook some yummy meals!!! Along with the planned renovations of our backyard, I'd like to add a brick fire pit, with a bricked patch where I can use dutch ovens. Oh, I am so looking forward to summer!

While baby napped, Connor and I made cookies. I actually let him work the mixer. It could have been a disaster, but he did pretty well.

Nothin' like licking the beaters!
He loves the sprinkles.

It was fun making cookies, but I might be cookied-out for a while. Time to get some outdoor cooking going!

I went visiting teaching early tonight. And it was kind of funny because Katharine and I decided to do a drive-by because Rosalba's cell# wasn't working anymore. We found her and her husband in the parking lot of their apartment complex cleaning out their truck while their kids played at the playground. So, we had a nice visit there in the parking lot. Kind of fun!

I threw together a bag of cards/stationery from my stash to give to her for a belated birthday present, and managed to make a new one really quick. I keep forgetting how much fun it is making cards! I hope I get to play some more tomorrow. We'll see.

Cleaned up the house upstairs tonight, it felt good. Hopefully, it will make tomorrow a little more productive.

'Night y'all!!!

End Post #79, 2009

P.S. You slackers and blog stalkers need to start commenting. I feel like I'm talking to myself here! Not that I don't do that way too often, but it's gonna get even weirder without some feedback!

Cowboy Joe Bus

I promised a friend in my ward, Becca Sorensen, that I would post a pic of their cool Wyoming Cowboys bus. They bought it cheap and fixed it up (it even has a loud horn that I think plays some type of UW Cowboy tune), and now drive it around for fun, going to UW football games, and other random but fun things such as delivering Christmas treats this past December. I think it's awesome! Wouldn't that be a fun traveling vehicle? Although, I think Gil would die of embarrassment. It's a teenager thing.

I took this pic at the UW Homecoming football game we went to in Laramie last fall, October 11th. It was a great surprise to be watching the parade that morning, and to see familiar faces and a big brown bus coming up the street! I think that's their little girl Anna waving her pom poms out of the window. Do you see the building in the background on the right? That's the LDS Institute and singles ward church building, where Zen and I went when were were in college there at UW, so many years ago. Our first dance, our first date, soooo many memories!!! I wish we'd been able to go inside. We'll probably be back at UW this fall for the next Cowboys game. Should be fun!

Today was a full day. I weeded through my email, filing lots of things, still have to reply to some. Then I ordered some movies on Amazon for a family movie night, maybe this Friday. We're going to watch Better Off Dead, for sure. Gil saw it at a friend's house, and we were laughing ourselves to tears quoting lines to each other. So, here comes the dvd to relive the funnies: "I want my $2!" "Can I date Beth? {postman}" "Do you know what the street value of this mountain is?!!!" "French bread {say fronch}, french dressing, and french fries" "Sorry we blew up your Mom, Rickie" and the list goes on, and on. Some other ones I did are Bedtime Stories, Madagascar, Madagascar 2, Polar Express (Connor still talks about it from watching it at Ryan and Michelle's last December), and a series of anime films by the famous Japanese filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, whose films have had the highest grossing sales in Japan. We'll have to make batches of homemade popcorn, guacamole dip, and have ourselves a great time.

Then, I did some other paperwork things in my craftroom, ran to Wal-Mart, literally ran around the store getting my shopping list ready, cooked shrimp linguine in record time for Zen, who had to leave at 4:15pm for a week, and got some eBay orders ready to ship. I went out to my car to run the packages to the post office, and discovered the car battery was dead. I was so panicked, that I started grabbing bikes to find one that didn't have a flat tire, so I could ride one down to the post office, maybe a five-minute ride. But they were all flat! Just when I was about to start walking, my neighbor Carma Lee drove by on her way to run errands. I flagged her down and she helped me jumpstart my car. Kids leave a door ajar all the time, which leaves the inside lights on, which runs down the car battery. I've become really good at jumpstarting that crusty old van. So, Connor and I got the packages mailed, and went back home to a panicked Dani and a hysterical Emma.

Yesterday, Emma started a runny nose. It continued today, and developed into watery eyes and a slight temperature, and by 5pm, she was screaming her guts out, completely inconsolable. I knew what that meant: ear infection. When I got back from the post office, it was about 5:10 pm. I didn't have a lot of hope that there was anyone at the doctor's office that could see her, but I called anyway. Boy, was I lucky! They were still around, and sure enough, she has a raging ear infection. I've dosed her up on her anitibiotics, antihistamine for babies, and Tylenol, but she's been fussy all night. It's 1am now, and I don't know if I'll get any sleep. At 10:50pm I was going to go to bed, and get up early, and have a wonderfully productive day tomorrow, but she woke up, and after trying to get her back to sleep, I let her play in the tv room. I put her back in bed around 12:30am. I can hear her crying again right this minute, so I better go and get her. We'll see what happens tomorrow...

Ten Months Old

Emma is getting closer and closer to her year mark. Had to take some pics of her today, as she is now ten months old. Foofie!!!!


She's making more and more forays outside, as the number of warm days increase.



Emma's nicknames, from most recent to oldest:

1. Deet-Deet (a take-off on her baby babbling), it's like Chris' baby name Uttie. Deet-Deet, or just Deet, might stick for a while
2. Foofie, Foofie-Loo-Who, Foo-Foo
3. Baby Lovie (very brief)
3. Emma-Loo-Hoo, Sassy-Loo-Hoo (although this has been reassigned to Dani for the most part), Baby-Loo-Hoo
4. Bunny, Bunny-Loo-Hoo, Baby Bunny

A ginormous amount of posting today, it's now 2am, good night.

End Post #77, 2009

A Cookie Phase

Aahhh... sweet lusciousness. These are Peanut Butter cookies w/ Reece's Pieces, and in the back are sugar cookies with a few orange sprinkles ala Halloween. Tangent - can I just say that I think it's awesome that my B-day is in October? I have always loved having pumpkin-shaped b-day cakes. Orange, purple, yellow, and black are great color combos.

Anyway, I've been on this weird cookie-baking binge lately, where I HAVE to make a batch of cookies almost every day. Yesterday it was the peanut butter cookies and today was the sugar cookies. It's like my commitment to exercising, a daily thing. But they work at cross-purposes. What's up with that?


End Post #76, 2009

The Funny Man

Connor says the funniest things sometimes. He's got a cool vibe. This past Christmas, when I was hangin' with my fam at New Year's, and Zen and the kids were at Ryan and Michelle's house, Zen and Ryan were out shopping for a game I think, and Ryan goes to Connor, "Hey, Dude!" and Connor goes, "My name's not Dude, it's Connor." Put it in a James Dean or John Wayne tone, and you get the idea. Ryan thought it was so funny, and that's why I have the story to tell.

Well, today, we accomplished the impossible, and made it to Church 20 Minutes EARLY. Yep, hell froze over today. It was only because we came early to practice a song for a choir performance. Believe me, being early didn't happen just randomly. Anyway, we got there, nobody's in the chapel yet, and Connor looks around and says, "Hey, it's closed!" I'm STILL laughing! Gets funnier the more I think about it. This is the kid who woke up one morning and said, "My butt's all cracky." I won't tell you his observation about the other side of his body in the morning. Even I have my limitations of what I can say, or write, in public.

And for an encore this evening, I found Emma five minutes after I'd finished bathing and dressing her for bed, wet from head to toe because Connor thought it would be fun to pour water on her. I tracked him down in the bathroom, standing in front of the toilet contemplating the universe while he decided to pee or not. "Why did you get Emma all wet, I just finished getting her ready for bed!" It's the redundant sort of irritated question a parent asks, not really wanting an answer. It's meant to induce guilt, and it's why kids developed the "I don't know" answer. They know saying anything else is kind of pointless. So he says something banal like, "Because," so I gave his naked little hiney a swat so he'll take me more seriously. He rolls his eyes at me and mumbles, "That did't hurt." For a few seconds I had a Mommie Dearest moment, and thought about swatting his butt a few more times, "I'll show you pain!" But I took a deep breath, tried not to giggle, which he noticed and said, "Yeah, it's funny!" So, I breathed again, put on a serious face, and said, "No, it's not funny. Don't do that to Emma, it hurts Mommy's feelings when you do things like that." The guilt card. Yeah, I played it. Sigh. Anyway, I left him there to contemplate things some more, and changed Emma's jammies.

That kid.

Here's a pictoral illustration from a little moment yesterday:

First he wanted to see pics on my camera which he took of Gil's friend, Ty, but I'd already deleted them because they were blurry. So he was all upset about that. And I tried to mollify him with pictures of himself, which he usually loves. But he was having none of that today. "No Mom, I want to see the pictures of Ty!"

No, not pictures of me.

Yep, for some reason we all thought it was funny to keep taking his picture.

Assaulted by the paparazzi. Yep, I've got a therapy savings account for my kids.

He came back later and wanted me to take pictures of his sad face. Weird kid.

I did the old, "Don't smile, you better not smile!" gag. Works every time.

You made me smile! We did this a few more times, and he was mostly over his tears. But he did this thing he does often where he continues on with this kind of fake whimpering for the next ten minutes, having normal conversation in between whimpers. It sounds so funny. I'll have to video tape it sometime.

End Post #75, 2009