Inspired

Every morning at 7 I wake up with the kids.
Get them breakfast, make Sydney's lunch, do her hair and read the scriptures.

After we had finished all of the necessities I noticed that Larry still wasn't down stairs.
And it was creeping up to 7:40am.
So I said, "Where's your dad? He's running late."

A minute later he came downstairs for family prayers, to which Sydney stated...
"Dad, you're as slow as a turtle!"

I couldn't agree more!

Putting The B in Boring

It has been 2 days since I've posted. And yet here I sit racking my brain for something interesting to write about. I'm sure with all of us home for a whole weekend there MUST of been some unusual event, crazy comment, tender moment that I could share with my friends.

Instead I'm coming up short.

Blank.

I could mention the 4 boxes of Kleenex that we've gone through in the past week.

Emma being "spotlighted" in primary, grinning ear to ear, hugging the special red plate with all her might. So happy! Loving being the one singled out so much that by the time primary was over she took off without it. Thankfully her teacher found her before we were driving home with a meltdown.

Or I could reveal Larry spraying Ben and I with 1/2 a cup of ice water. He tried to balance Keira, the cup and watch the NCAA tournament while getting up off the couch. Thus Keira leaned forward at the same time, and Larry reacted to catch her buy release the cup...hence, a quick ice shower for Ben and I.

There was also the incident on Saturday morning while we were watching some friends kids. The 3 year-old was in the beginning stages of potty training and wearing a pull-up. We were told this was nothing to fret over. Only to find him at the top of our stairs, naked, with a dirty bum and the pull up thrown down the stairs. But we took it in stride, I clean up while Larry hosed down the kid in the shower. Problem solved.

But really, none of these things are truly blog worthy.

A boring weekend in all.

Lazy Lunch

When I was young my mother was a stay-at-home mom. She would pack us our lunches every morning. I remember getting "Kerns Necter", bologna sandwiches (that I hated) and sliced apples that were brown by the time I got to them at noon. When JR. High came I was more then SICK of meat sandwiches and begged my mom for something different. Together we came up with putting cheese and salsa on bread, and then heating it up in the microwave. I don't know WHAT I was thinking, but apparently I liked it then.

(side note: why was it ok to leave mayo in a sandwich getting warm and rotten? And why weren't we all sick from it?)

It was a rare treat when we would be able to eat the schools lunch. So seldom in fact it only happened once a year. Our birthday!

On the other hand, Lars would tell you that he had to pack his own lunch. He would get up at 6am when he was in Kindergarten just to do it himself before school. And if he wanted a "meat" sandwich he would have to slap 2 pieces of bread around his own hand and take a bite!! Then walk to school up hill (both ways), in the snow (he grew up in CA), barefooted...yada, yada, yada!

When Sydney started this first year at school, Lars and I discussed how we should deal with the whole school lunch thing. And now that the year is almost over, I can't even tell you what our consensus was. But I do have to admit that I've opted to let "Lunch Lady" provide meals for my kid...more then once.

There were a few times when Keira was first born. Syd's birthday. Twice she asked and I told her sure...IF she wanted to pay for it. Which she promptly scurried up stairs and empty her $$ stash. And there were the 3 days I was gone in CA and Daddy was Mr. Mom.

Well, with the week I've had (synopsis: sick, cough, hack, trip to DR, antibiotics, nasal spray, stomach pain, metallic taste in my mouth...) I was happy to dig up change from the back of Larry's "junk drawer" to provide Syd with a warm lunch. After showing Sydney her lunch consisted of coins in a Ziploc bag she spread a HUGE smile on her face and said:

S- "Did you put in extra for ice cream? Because last time there wasn't. And everyone eats ice cream after lunch."
Me- "Well, I guess Dad can spare another quarter."

Me- "Do you want me to check what the food is for today?"
S- "No, they announce it over the morning announcements. And even if the kids are loud it's ok...I LIKE TO BE SURPRISED!"

(well as long as it's not called "surprise meat")

LOST

"Free time", "Down time", "Personal play time", "Time out", "Hiatus"...

What ever you want to call it.

Today marks the day that I have some.
I know...pick up your jaw off the ground. It's shocking news! A mother of 4 has spare minutes to herself.

(kind of...I'm currently ignoring Keira pleading from her crib, announcing she's threw with her nap)

A good friend offered to steel Ben and Emma for the morning and promised to drop them off at 1 with full belly's and tired bodies.
What a dream come true! Pinch me!

So here I am? Now what do I do? Sleep, straighten my hair, iron Lar's shirts, pick weeds? The list is endless. The possibilities are unfathomable.

Recently a friend confided that when she's alone she often finds herself playing the games on her child's Webkinz! Although a bit childish, I have to admit, that sounds much more appealing then scrubbing the tub! Seriously I can't decide. But I don't want these few hours to go to waste! Suggestions?

From Here To There

I'll spare you all the gruesome details of my lovely cold is going berserk and taken over my body.

But I will tell you why I love my quaint little town.

Today I had my appointment with a Dr.
(seriously needed some med's)

I picked this Dr. because of some friends recommendation and mainly because he was close.

Which is a relative thing out in the farm-burbs.
("Rachel jargon")

Close means a 10 minute drive. And what is great about that drive?
I can go 60 mph, pass through 2 stop signs and arrive at 1 signal in front of the office.
It's the most peaceful, serene commute.
No freeways, no traffic.
Just the occasional skunk smell.

Aren't you jealous?

Thankful 4 Walk-in Closets

Out with the old and in with the new.
Isn't that the motto of spring?
This is the time we weed through all the winter coats and jeans.
Maybe even clean out a closet or 2 for a garage sale.

This is usually something I look forward too.
A nice big "purging"!

But when it comes to Syd and Emma's clothes...
well that's a whole different story.
They have SO MANY summer and winter clothes it's NUTS.
I could probably start up my own Kids 2nd Hand Clothing Store!!

Don't get me wrong...I love that our friends and family give us clothes. It really saves us enormous amounts of $.
But here's a glimpse of JUST their dresses.
Maybe they could start their own Nick Jr episode with a spin off of "27 Dresses".
They could feature the girls digging in their heels trying to fit the dresses in a closet...
(a moment of silence to ponder)

1/2 of these are play and the other church dresses.
Even a few winter dresses were kept in case of a cold snap.

But seriously.
Who needs 45+ dresses?
For 6 months of the year?

Apparently, the girls do.

Because crazy enough they will get miles and miles out of these things.
They LOVE dresses.

I'm beginning to think they were born in the wrong century!
Especially when they let out squeals of joy when they saw how many they had.
Almost like they were greeting an old friend not seen in years.

Welcome home summer regimentals!

C...Is For Competition

Every year Larry and I enjoy printing each a copy of the March Madness Brackets and filling them out.

It's interesting to see how we pull for teams that come from states we have lived in and schools we have attended.

In other words, anything to do with CA, AZ or TX. We were even a little torn this year since BYU entered into the picture. Larry apparently had a soft spot and picked our religion over the Texas school. I, on the other hand, still distaste them and pulled for the team that WON!

The crazy thing is I usually have absolutely NO CLUE as to why I pick who I do. I don't watch hours of replays on ESPN2 or Sports-Center. Nor do I enjoy hearing the commentators go back and forth about the Tournament. (boring) But for a few years in a row I actually beat Larry in our little Bracket Competition.

I rarely talk about it, especially NOT in front of his friends and never bring it up while we watch the scores of the games...
(sort of)

Although I have high hopes of coming out on top (t.w.s.s.) and rubbing it in his face...I mean angelically, graciously, humbly winning!

(GO CATS!)

Pump-It-Up

"Mooooom, I want a snack!"

I hear this common statement about 15 times a day.

Which means I cringe every time I hear it.

Now I see why my mom ignored us when we called her name or sometimes responded by saying...

"She's not here!"

So to slow down the snack-attack that seems to appear 10 minutes after breakfast is done, I've adopted my sister's attempt at beefing up breakfast.

2 ideas to VAMP-UP those boring pancake mixes:

#1: add 2 mashed bananas, 1 regular oatmeal packet, a dash of cinnamon

(or use the flavored oatmeal packets and omit the cinnamon)

#2: add 1 cup of apple sauce, 1 regular oatmeal packet and a dash of cinnamon

We absolutely love these hearty breakfast starters!! You'd be surprise that the oatmeal seriously disappears!!

I See London, I See France

If you've notice a trend in my daughters clothing...
you'd know that they absolutely LOVE...

these.

But they always seem to look be looking like..

this.

Then a friend found...

these.

The Francie Pants

would these not be THE BEST solution ev-R?

tempting...VERY TEMPTING!

Burden Of Proof

Being the savvy gal that I am and having the 24-7 access to the internet I've inherited the fab-U-lous job of paying the bills.

It's a dirty job. But somebody has got to do it!

Thus with swift fingers, and internet banking I sit at the computer every other Friday to "crunch the numbers" and hopefully come up with a little left over.

Usually I just cross my fingers and hope for the best!

And this morning it seemed that "Lady Luck" was on my side.

Or maybe I finally found that pot of golden coins at the end of the rainbow that was a little misplaced on St. Patty's Day? Who knows. Either way, I was excited with the amount of $$ that was still in my account after paying the bills.

Then I decided to check.

And re-check.

And double-check.

Then I realized. Hmmm...no bill came for our home insurance. I checked last months bill. That was paid. So I called to check the balance on the account. It said there was none.

Hmmm...was the account not renewed for another year? Doesn't that happen automatically?
Well, let's just press "0" on this voice automated system and find out.

After listening to the classics like TIME AFTER TIME and A KISS FROM A ROSE a human voice was finally available to answer my questions.

Me: My account # is #)$(*#)*($)#@^!&*
Human Voice: Your account shows paid in full.
Me: Really? And how much was that?
HV: $913 paid on the 12th of Feb.
Me: Seriously? Sweet because...wait...I didn't pay that. (whispering...dang it...false alarm)
HV: Didn't you send us the $913?
Me: (deep breath....speaking really softly....) no
HV: Excuse me, what was that?
Me: no
HV: I still can't hear you. Can you speak up?
Me: No, I didn't pay it. Although if I had that kind of money, you bet your bottom dollar I would have paid the account in full in 1 lump sum instead of dragging it out for 12 months!!
HV: Let me talk to accounting...

So here I am. Some how they applied someone else's "yearly" payment to my account and not theirs. And I bet that person is getting a bill in the mail marked "LATE" and freaking out!!

I hope there's a finders fee.

Sit, Ben, Sit

This is Ben.
Ben is 2.
Ben looks cute.
All dressed up for church.
Let's take a picture.

Ben does not want to sit.

Ben wants to run away.

Ben is not happy.
Mom made him sit.

Cute Ben.

(written for level 1 reading, by Sydney)

Sick? Sch-mick!

Last night as we climbed into bed, Lars noticed that he had a voicemail. It was from a coworker. She wasn't going to make it to work the next day. She and her child had strep throat.

We discussed the awful symptoms that accompanied such an illness and felt sorry for her.

But as I dosed into sleep I wondered...

I'm sick.
Who do I call-in "sick" to when I am unable to make it to work?

Do I leave a brief note for the kids taped to the outside of my bedroom door?
Maybe even lock it for 24 hours of privacy and recovery time?

Do I notify my husband in hopes that he'll be willing to pull my load for the day?
Dishes, laundry, diapers, cooking, etc...

I think my best bet would be to send a prayer to heaven.

Dear Father in Heaven,
I'd like to call in sick today. I don't think I'll be able to make it to my job. Please call in a substitute.
And ending with pleas that encompass a quick recovery, a large dosage of medication, understanding children who are willing to spend the next 8 hours in front of the TV or in the backyard and a really hot shower with no interruptions.
Amen

Too bad there's no FMLA with this job.

Where's My Pot?

You can't call it a HOLIDAY around our house without taking a photo of it!
The girls made absolutely SURE we all wore green today.
Here's my sorry attempt at it.

Although with a "head cold" of my own and each of the 4 kids showing mild symptoms of my own monstrosity...it's become a week of living on cereal and pbj's.
Thankfully Larry swooped in yesterday with the parts to fix our 1950's dryer and we can resume our regularly scheduled activities with a pair of clean "bragas".
I even ventured outside today
(with all 4...spring break in full swing)
and made the necessary stops.
#1: Library...4 day overdue book.

THEN,
(15min drive to next stop, I missed my freeway turn off...ugh)

#2: Grocery Store...no milk, no ranch, no cold medicine.
(yes, those things are essentials)
And it only took me 30 mins to weave me way through the store to retrieve 5 items.

Oh yeah...we're doing Grrrrrrrrrreat!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY
(I hope the pot at the end of your rainbow has more to offer then mine did)

Answered Prayer

With the kids getting into a routine and Keira starting solids
and feeling like I have a slight grasp on things around the house...
why not add some more by teaching piano lessons again?

Many moons ago and minus 3 kids, I had started teaching back in AZ.
But then moving, living in small apts, and more KIDS kept me away from my little hobby.

So after bouncing the topic around for a week I took the plunge and spread the rumors that I was going to teach.
But what to do with the kids?
That was the question.

I knew the loft of TOYS upstairs would help, a timer to countdown until the lessons were over, rewards for good behavior...but maybe the backyard could be a good "oasis"?
Although that would mean supplying the yard with more then a 3-foot plastic slide.
Am I right?
I started researching the internet for options.
Although most ended up being WAY over budget.
(and when I say budget, I mean negative budget...because lets be honest..."Mr.SL" sucks up all our dough)
Because...really...why go little when BIG is SO MUCH BETTER?

But then Lar brought some news that blew me away!
A family in the ward that just moved in weren't going to use their tramp-O-leen and want to know if we could use it.
SAY WHAT?

And what would be the appropriate Rachel response to such opportunities that come up...
"H_ _ _ yeah!!"

So here it is...tah dah!!

(a net will soon follow...we've been fixing the dryer instead of attaching it)

The kids love it!

It offers some great exercise and "wiggle-removing".

A place to catch some rays.

Brings smiles to their faces.

Shakin' all the silly's out.

And catching some air.

There's so much fun being filled on this monstrous flexible fabric they are in constant need of fluids!

And maybe even a nap or 2.

THANK YOU FRIENDS!

Kimmi

Yesterday my MUCH MUCH older sister turned 35.

And like most Mom's her birthday involved delivery pizza, 1 out of 3 of her kids remembering to say "happy birthday" and her husband canceling a Boy Scout camp-out by inviting ALL of the boys to sleep over at her house.

And I don't know about you guys but spending my birthday with spastic, hyper, pimply faced teenage boys...doesn't rank high on my list of "best birthdays ever".

I thought maybe I would take a shot at turning that..
"frowny face upside-down".

By offering up a lovely picture of my sister and I.

Obviously my sister was able to by-pass "mom made" clothes by sporting a classic white skirt and sweater.
While I am donning some putrid pastel jumper.
Kim also has some gorgeous golden locks with soft bouncy curls.
While I have the slicked back hair that mom pulled so tight my head is thumping and my eyes take on an "Asian" slant.
And we can't forget the unforeseen matching hair scrunchy that decorates my hair and the pounds of Aqua Net that keep it all in place.

Hopefully this flashback will brighten my amazing sister's day.

(excuse me while I commit suicide)
(kidding)

Putting The R in Romance

Down went the temperatures,
so we turned up the heat...

Last night probably tops my list of most enjoyable nights in a long time.
We wanted to use up our wood supply
before the summer hit and thought setting up a fire one more time would be fun.

Once it was roaring away, we turned the lights down low
and settled in with Sydney and Emma.
It was so peaceful and cuddly with warm blankets and
conversations of the colors that were in the flames.

But it wasn't long before the girls were asking for dessert and
I remembered we had all the ingredients for
...drum roll please...
SMORES!

Warm, delicious, yummy, gushy, sticky SMORES!
Larry was in HEAVEN.
This was his #1 favorite dessert!

After the girls were in bed, Larry and I laid peacefully in front
of the fire for about 10 mins.
Very relaxing.
Then something caught me eye.
The TV...ah yes
...there were a few of my favorite shows on tonight...
plus the Lakers were playing and Larry was "itching" to find out the score.
Hence, cuddling was thrown out the window and
we settled into the couch for some good ol' fashion
TV watching with help from our little friend...
DVR.

See...we're romantic!
kinda

R U Feelin' Me Sista?

Minutes after I walked in the door from church my sister calls me up.
K:"I can't come down at the end of the week. Ray (aka: the love of her life) needs the truck. Soooooo can I come down now?"
R: "H_ _ _ yeah!!"

As you can tell it was spring break for my nieces and nephew down in S.A. Kim and I were hoping that they could come up to 4-knee and spend some quality time with us. Especially Ben and Grant...these lonesome-2some need the extra testosterone to counter-act the abundance of PINK that flows from each of our families!

So Kim and I agreed that the fastest way to get here would be just to throw the kids dirty clothes containers into the back of the truck and put the "pedal to the metal".
We thought we were soooo tricky by coming up on a whim.

That was until we realized that my dryer wasn't working and the only clothes they had were the ones that needed to be washed!
Oops!

Thankfully, I've got AMAZING neighbors that took a few loads of wet laundry for us.
Although I'm still a little shocked that they didn't offer to fold, too? Weird?

We had such a blast with them. Playing hours on the Wii, jumping on the tramp-o (more to come on that), running through the sprinklers at the park, getting misted on while trudging through the zoo, laughing at Kim's obsession with coupons (seriously...I'm signing her up to appear in on an episode of "intervention" on A&E) & SHOPPING!

(these 2.3 days also included 3 hours of technical deciphering of a non-functioning dryer, researching part #'s / model #'s, sifting through websites and finding the best deal on a starter switch ... our father would be proud)

Ben is all animation with his "one" chance at bowling.
(check out the background...Grant is actually doing the bowling for him!)
(shhhh...don't tell)

With less then 3 years in age between the 3 they are more then any mom can handle!

After FHE it's dessert time...chippers (aka: chocolate chip cookies) and pudding!

Emma and Syd love "big sister" ELIZA!

Smushy hugs for Sarah!

Grant is such a sweetie to Ben.
Always willing to lend a hand!

"Girls, all I really want is Girls.
Girls to do the dishes.
Girls to do the laundry.
Girls to clean up my room"
(name that tune)

All in all...we had a blast.
And severely wish S.A. was 5 minutes away and not 5 hours.

Taco Bell Day

Why "Taco Bell Day" might you ask?

To remember my favorite Grandpa Turtle!!
His favorite place to grab a quick bite to eat was the always "intoxicating" Taco Bell.
(aka: Toxic Hell)

So all my extended family go to Taco Bell on his birthday. And post our pictures to commemorate the occasion.

Here I am forcing down a pile of nacho surprise.
Willing myself to hold it down for at least the next 1o minutes!
"I love you Grandpa!"

Larry doesn't mind the "surprise meat" and even takes a gander at the guacamole!
He's brave!

Sydney filled up on a taco (that she scrapped all the lettuce out of).
I'm sure glad we avoided any possible chance at a vitamin entering her system!

Emma was the scrounger and ate a little from everyone.
A little mexican pizza, a little nacho & a little cheesy tortilla.

I had hoped that Ben would enjoy the cheesy tortilla, but instead he ate 1/3 of my nacho surprise.
I bet I'll be paying for that on his next dirty diaper!
EW!!

Mission Completed!

Time-Out

Once 1/2 of the kids were settled down for naps I took advantage of Pookie-Bear's Valentine's Day present, and zoomed off to the beauty shop for some much needed ALONE TIME!!

My hands and feet were lathered up, soaked, rubbed, scrubbed, clipped and girl-i-fied with a french manicure. I was extremely relaxed and grateful for the opportunity.

But for some reason I can't help mistaking my fancy set of nails for something I'm more familiar with...

(picture this)
I'm changing another random stinky diaper. And as I'm finishing the process I catch a glimpse of my nails and think...

"Shoot I've got Desitin on my finger again!"

A Nudest Colony

Not 2 minutes later we've got a 3 year nudest colony goin' on!!
LOL!

Do you think this would be a good selling point?
Instead of something romantic like "ocean views"...
we could say "more then the bare essentials".
LOL!

A Room With A View

I looked out my bedroom window this afternoon and this is what I saw...

If you look closely the little "naked boy" is talking on the phone.

I seriously was NOT expecting that to be my view.
But either way, I hope he put on sunscreen.
Take it from me, there's nothing worse then a burnt pair of buns!

Major/Minor

Lately, many of my conversations with friends have been on the topic of school.

Like how much do we have left, what was our major, are we going to go back and finish, or even finishing off master/phd degrees.

Which brought me to this point...

What about a school for how to be a parent?
OR better yet...
What about a major in college for being a Mom?

Mom101

If I was the teacher this would be the curriculum:

Bandages/Pressure Points/Boo-boo kissing
Is it bleeding? Then you're fine.
Diapers: size, pricing, application of
How to ignore a tantrum?
Counting to 10 (or) Mom needs a time out
Arts & Crafts
Sewing
Chemistry: how NOT to mix hazardous cleaning products
Proper scrubbing of bathrooms, kitchens and baby fat rolls
Detective: who did it, who started it and how to punish
Making a budget
Sticking to a budget
Coupon clipping
Searching for the cheapest utilities
Government Assistance Programs
Throwing a Proper Party
Finger foods 101
Cooking: how to hide veggies in a casserole
Time to fire up the Bar-b
Taxi Travel and how to drown out the noise
How to cut hair in a straight line & use the clippers
Ironing (or spraying water on clothes and throwing them in the dryer for 5 mins)
Stain Removal
Expanding your Juice by adding water
Bread Machines/Crock pots

And this would only be the first semester...

Aren't you surprised at how much a mom/parent is supposed to "automatically" KNOW how to do?

As Exciting As A Wet Rug

With warm temps and that persistent wind, it's hard to ignore the rolling in of Spring.

And with that comes the itch for "spring cleaning"!!
Isn't it weird that just those words make me excited?

So to start the season off right...
I succumbed to the urge to clean my kitchen rugs.

Normally I would just throw these dirt collectors into the washing machine and call it a day.

But by avoiding cheap rugs that don't last and buying ones with a little extra cushioning for the high traffic areas...
(aka: in front of the stove and kitchen sink...isn't that where every good women stands 85% of her day?)

...my nice rugs don't fit in my 1 of a kind, hand-me-down washing machine.
(no laughing...we can only afford 1 upgrade a year!)

And after spraying with carpet cleaner, Emma and I hosed them down on the drive way and let the weather do it's magic.
Hopefully in an hour we'll have clean, dry rugs.

Maybe the wind IS good for something?

Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny, Weeny

In all seriousness, as a mother of 4 kids under the age of 6, I have reached my limit. In a 24 hour period I think I put on or take off about 30 outfits a day. And THAT'S being generous, since I'm also taking into account that I have to remove pants for every dirty diaper.

So my point is, that any "activity" that my kids want to participate in that requires a change of clothes...

aka: play dress up or barbies or polly pockets

...I will suggest anything but those!

Because I hate them. I loath them.

Especially the clothes and shoes that can only be seen by a microscope. They are always getting lost, eaten by a siblings or sucked up by the vacuum.

Soon I think many of these toys will start randomly become lost. And I'll put on a "oscar award" winning display of "Oh where, oh where art thou dear, precious toys..."

And with the summer fast approaching I do have to admit that I'm glad to be past the extra pair of jackets, socks and large boots that take an extra pair of "Mom-hands" to heft them on. So don't be surprised if you find my kids wearing their swimsuits all day long, because Mama's taking a Summer- Vay-Kay too!

Taking Stock In Chapstick

Whoooosh, Whoosh, Whooooooooooosh!

Did you feel that?
That was another 30-40 mph gust of wind.

Not only are my allergies "wigging-out", random pieces of trash keep ending up in my yard but my lips...

OH MY LIPS!!

They are KILLING ME.

It's been over 2 weeks of some sort of Hellish wind. And I'm seriously fed up with it. I've gone through 1 Chapstick, 1 Blistex, 1 Aquaphor and 1 Burt's Bees-wax and my lips are still dry. I thought I lived where it was humid? The good ol' south?

Oh where, oh where have you gone sweet humidity?

And WHY is the wind still blowing? Seriously!

One, Two Punch

Have you ever noticed how much one of your children are CONSTANTLY pushing the limits, testing your patience, always right in your face, never backing down?
But then you realize that maybe...
...just maybe...
they are A LOT like YOU?
And not only are our personalities alike, but I gave her my middle name and my looks!

Sorry Emma Jean.

I was about to vent about...
1. the never ending question of the day..."is it snack time?"
2. always wanting to do what ever I'm doing
3. never takes "no" for an answer
4. talks so loud I think I'm going deaf
5. walks around the house like a herd of elephants
6. always walks on people's grass and never on the sidewalk

And then had an epiphany about our similarities.
Because really, everything she learned, she learned from me!

Personally I've noticed that...
...my snacking through out my pregnancy's is ALL that she knows,
I'm always checking to see what she's up to,
I always want to have things MY way,
at times my decibel levels can "top out",
etc, etc, etc.

Thus what can I say.
I can't complain.
I guess I'll just hope I can change.
Thus, maybe she will too!


So which parent, child or sibling do you reenact the "clash of the Titans" with?

Unanswered Prayers

Once again Emma is spotlighted for her closing prayer at FHE last night.
Our topic for the evening was AF #3 to keep with our themes from the previous weeks. We spoke of things like laws, and Christ's Atonement. Besides repeating the AF#1 &2.
So this is how Emma ended the evening for us...

and some where at the end of the prayer...

E: "...and thank you for good sins. And bless our good sins. Thank you for repentance...."

So I'm just wondering. What the heck are good sins? And where can I find some? Because seriously...I don't want to be missing out on any of those!

Very Jealous

I just can't help myself. I try extremely hard and this is what I get in return. Nothing.
As we all know, baby #4 is now 4 months old.

TRANSLATIONS: I've been nursing this Chubby kid for a LONG 4 months.

(And we can't forget my Christmas present from Larry to help inspire me...the evil "SCALE".)

I was hoping this weekend to enjoy my dates (yes PLURAL) with my husband but all was LOST when our conversation went like this.
me: "Is our scale broken?"
lars: "I don't think so."
me: "I'm sure it is. Did you save the receipt?"
lars: "No. Why?"
me: "Because the darn thing doesn't read anything but the SAME numbers every time I get on it."
lars: "Oh, well I've lost 10 lbs. And I'm almost to my pre-law school weight."

This is where I start cursing in my head. The next baby HE's going to grow in his abdomen for 10 months!!

(p.s. there's a scale for sale on craigslist...if you're interested.)