Emma's Got Some Bling!

Yesterday Emma under went anesthesia to get some teeth worked on. We trekked down to the Children's Hospital due to Emma having a WHOLE bunch of cavities that needed to be capped. I felt so bad for her. I knew it was going to be painful but tried to keep my emotions even. The hospital staff was great. Very cheerful and entertaining. The hardest part for her was waking up out of the surgery to find an IV shoved on to her hand and no mom around. After some good distractions from baby brother Ben, a Popsicle and PBS the Motrin kicked in and we were able to go home. Poor girl. Sometimes genetics aren't fair.

Hint on how to manage your friends blogs

Thankfully I have some really smart friends that have let me in on some of their secrets. I was getting pretty frustrated keeping track of my different friends blogs. My internet favorites was getting HUGE. It needed some spring cleaning.
So, if you want a great way to keep track of all those blogs go to google and type in "google reader". Sign in and start adding the addresses on the "add subscription" icon. It keeps it all organized and even notifies you if someone added something new to their blog that you haven't read yet! Check it out!

Interview with Sydney (4 3/4 years old)

I interviewed Sydney with one of those questionnaire emails that we all get. It was cute to see what was going on in that little head of hers. This is word for word, how she answered, grammar mistakes and all.

Were you named after anyone? My middle name Lauren came from Aunt Candace who shares the same middle name. Do you got it?
When was the last time you cried? Playing freeze game Emma ran into me and I cried.
Do you like your handwriting? No because every time I try to write an N it looks like an M.
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chicken Nuggets.
Do you have any kids? Yes twin girl and boy. I like the girl doll the best because I like girls.
Who are you friends with? Ava.
Do you use sarcasm a lot? No.
Do you still have your tonsils? Yes but I don’t know where they are on my body.
Would you bungee jump? I don’t know what that is.
What is your favorite cereal? The one that we have right now. The rainbow one with little pieces in it. (it's fruity pebbles if you're wondering)
Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Sometimes I just push them off.
Do you think you are strong? Yes because I can pick up Emma and she’s really really heavy. (Syd and Emma weight the same 38 pounds)
What is your favorite ice cream? Vanilla with chocolate syrup and whip cream.
What is the first thing you notice about people? When we know where they are.
Red or Pink? Pink
What is your least favorite thing about your self? Dress up.
Who do you miss the most? My dada.
What color pants and shoes are you wearing? I’m wearing a dress.
What was the last thing you ate? Blue applesauce
What are you listening to right now? Computer typing. (ha!)
If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Pink
Favorite smell? Strawberry Shake
Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Grandma
Favorite sports to watch? Zero
Hair color? Brown
Eye color? Blue
Do you wear contacts? No, I don’t know what contacts is.
Favorite food? Strawberries
Scary movies or Happy endings? Happy Endings, like the one on Barbie Pegasus.
Last movie you watched? Barbie Pegasus of course.
What is your favorite pajama? My shinny pink dress (shocking, it’s a dress)
Summer or Winter? Summer, because when we go to the beach it’s so hot we have to put sun screen on.
Hugs or Kisses? Hugs and Kisses (why choose when you can have both!)
Favorite Dessert? Ice Cream
What book are you reading right now? A Chicken Makes a Pizza, Junie B. Jones
What is on your mouse pad? Nothing…what’s a mouse pad?
What did you watch on tv last night? Ruff Ruffman (a pbs kids show)
Favorite Sound? Screaming outside
Rolling Stones or Beatles? Rolling Stones because I don’t like bugs, but throwing rocks is fun.
What is the farthest place you have been from home? Aunt Mimmie’s house
Do you have a special talent? Swing from the slide
Where were you born? At Grandma’s house ( I don’t think so missy!)
Favorite Princess? Tinkerbelle because she’s a fairy too.
Do you like to get up early or stay up late? Stay up late.
Favorite thing to do outside? Waiting for our school friends to come over.
What song do you like to sing? Gone Fishin’ (thanks Ella)
Best dance move? I can show you! ( currently she is rolling on the ground and shake her head and limbs violently, I can’t help laughing)
Who’s your favorite teacher? Chanelle’s Mom helped us make planets (I can’t believe I got beat out by someone else. Bummer.)
Favorite summer vacation? Going to the beach and getting wet.
If you could change one thing about your life what would it be? I wish I could play dress up all the time.

Knick Knack Patty Whack

I finally took the plunge and whacked off my hair. It was long over due. Definitely time for a change. Ben was starting to use it as a handle to pull up on.

I can't believe he's already standing up next to things. He can even reach the piano and play it. So I guess I'll add some pictures of the Little Ben-ners too. He loves to play with the TV remote control. I guess he's already using that y chromosone of his!

I "knee"d some help here!

So Friday night, Larry and I got to go on a much anticipated date night. It was long over due. Now that he is off at work all day and our few seconds of conversation are slim while I jet off to some activity (yw, bookclub, meetings, grocery store) and sometimes it's Larry taking off for some odd Elders quorum requirement. ANYWAY, least to say I was excited because I got to choose what were to do since technically it is my birthday night out!! SWEET, a salad bar here we come. (All guys are cringing right now because they hate salad bars. LOL!)

Kidding, I choose PF Changs and then we headed out to our ward women's volleyball game. I was excited to show Larry all of my SKILLS. Or lack there of. He even had slipped the digital camera into his pocket. I'm stoked because just maybe I'll have some pictures of me and I can dedicate a whole page of the scrapbook to ME. Now that would be a first!

When we get to the game I ran to the bathroom to change and as I headed into the gym I noted that Larry had already joined a random men's team that was short a guy. GREAT! There goes my day of glory. I shrugged it off and started my game. The next thing I know there's a crowd around someone at the men's game. It's Larry. I've never seen a grown man cry out in pain. My heart totally sank as I ran over, with flashes of "We have no insurance" going through my head. As disgusting as it was, I had to help pop Larry's left leg back into his knee. EW! Luckily with some swelling, bruising, and limping he is doing OK. Although driving his stick shift is out of the question, but thankfully it's not worse. I'm sure glad my little 10 minutes of glory turned into an unfocused game of volleyball while watching Larry ice his knee. I love date nights! They are never boring.

Can Anyone Hear Me?

The honest truth is...being a parent is hard. Especially when kids are little. They can be draining with the sleepless nights, constant need of a watchful eye, a role model to look up to, entertainment to keep busy and a spiritual compass. Now I know why having kids in your early years was so desirable. There's no way I'd be able to keep up in my 40's.

For the past years of my marriage it has fallen on my shoulders to be the designated midnight monitor of the kids. Larry needs his sleep and is quite non-functioning in the middle of the night. Although in Larry's defense, he does get up if I REALLY need him in extreme situations, but the results are more of punishment to the walls than relief to me. (yes he's so out of it he has run into a few of them, it usually makes me laugh) Plus I have no problem waking up on a dime and being as a wake as day. Even falling back to sleep comes easily!

The real point of this blog is the fact that Larry has been able to ignore many of these fabulous encounters at night with his trusty, mini, rubber, purple tampons that he shoves in his ears every night. OK, the ear plugs aren't really tampons but they look like it. He even is careless with them in the morning and I am constantly trying to keep them away from the kids. Yesterday I found one in the lint box of the dryer. NICE! Least to say I hate this things. I would love to dump them all in the trash and claim stupidity when he searches for them that night.

Rationally I understand why I don't need a sharp, functional brain to care for the kids...but emotionally I think I'm getting the raw end of the deal. Especially on weekends. Can't he take break from them? Larry says he can't stand any noise now that he's become addicted to the ear plugs. Bah-humbug! Late at night when I would be feeding a newborn or administering some meds to a sick child I could picture Larry in our nice warm bed, hearing only a muffled sound of the screaming child, in which translates into the crashing of waves on the beach in his tropical dream land. This makes me livid!

Or as the great Mrs. Bennet said..."I'm quite vexed."

In the morning, my temper has diminished and I recount the evenings activities to Larry as I try to score some sympathy points. It works about 1 out of 5 times. Recently I have taken up to holding a one sided conversation with him as I sit next to him in bed and nurse. Knowing full well he can't hear me. Sometimes I childishly say rude things. It makes me feel a little better.

Damn those purple things drive me nuts!

Even if the food is FAST is it worth eating?

Have you noticed that as you move through life that your likes and dislikes of certain foods has changed?

When I was a kid simple foods like Kraft Mac'n cheese, beans and weenies, canned chicken in a casserole or bologna were great. I think it was Sydney who said that she could eat chicken nuggets for every meal. (blah, now I wouldn't eat those frozen things if you paid me) As a kid I loved them all, but I hated vegetables. I gagged every time I ate them. I used to think it was the way my mom cooked them (sorry mom). But in college I learned that the human tasted buds change every 7 years (or something like that, don't quote me). Now I love tons of different vegetables and hate all that stuff I used to inhale as a kid.

For example I can't eat taco bell anymore. I hate it. All through high school, college and even the early years of our marriage Larry and I were totally fine with fast food. There are still a few places that we like. BUT mainly we think they are all crap. Are we getting snooty in our "old" age? Or are we just not willing to put up with crunchy refried beans or chewy tortillas? I'd like to think that we are just more informed of what is out there to eat. There's a wonderful chain Mexican food place called "Chipolte" that is our new substitute for taco bell. I highly suggest the salad!! DELICIOUS! We have even replaced the craving of Panda Express with Pei Wei.

So my plan was to skip over the whole McDonald's thing. But I think I have to address it. Kids love it. I have a hankering for their fries...sometimes. And when Larry and I were watching that documentary on McD's where that guy ate it for every meal for a month...we seriously paused it and got some Big Mac's to eat while we watched it. (I can't believe I admitted that!) Although I do believe that I am 100% cured of that craving for the rest of my life.

"WHY?" you ask (just roll with me)

Because I have now officially been sick (praying to the porcelain god) twice from food I ate at McD's. What's that saying?

"Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me."

When is too much really too much?

As many of you know we are hanging out in limbo land as we wait for our much anticipated BAR results. Waiting for 4 months is very exhausting. I'm a SURE that Larry will pass, but potential higher paying Law Offices don't take my word for it. (go figure) However for the time being Larry is working for a "country lawyer" (the bosses words, not mine) in Terrell TX. He's working for about $20,000 less than he should be getting once we receive notification about the BAR. Until the huge beef up in our salary we still struggle to make ends meet with student loans kicking in, raising 3 kids (not cheap), no insurance (for Larry and I...yes we haven't cleaned our teeth in over 3 years...totally gross I know!) and living in an itty bitty apartment.

To keep my mind preoccupied I have been surfing the web and looking at homes to rent or buy online in all the different cities that we apply to county jobs in. (yes Larry would love to be a county DA or something in that field...a trial lawyer.) I've become addicted to http://www.realtor.com/, my sister even found a house she purchased in San Antonio on there! A lot of people have tons of pictures of their houses posted on there and it shows you tons of details, like square footage, local schools, etc. I dream of having 3 bedrooms, a garage, a backyard. If you haven't checked it out I totally recommend it. Just to prove that I search through this website way too much, Sydney has begun to ask to look at it too. What can I say? Like mother, like daughter.

Oh and since I'm airing out all of my dirty laundry I might as well fess up to looking at tons of used cars on local dealerships websites. After squishing in the larger car seat for Ben (yes he is now officially over 20 pounds at 8 months) with Sydney and Emma's booster on either side of it...it has become apparent that a "mom" van is now necessary! I can't believe I have finally converted over to the mini-van. I vowed I never would. Oh well, another promise broken! The thought of being able to open the side doors without worrying if I can squeeze the door open far enough to launch Ben into the middle seat is exhilarating! Funny the things that get moms all HOT and GIDDY! (hint, hint Lar) I also would now like to apologize to all the cars that park next to me. I'm the lady that puts a little bit of my door paint on the side of your car...Buick's car doors are HUGE and HEAVY. What can I say...don't shove your huge SUV in compact car parking spots and then we both would be happy! =)

BUT until the BAR results or a spontaneous hit of lady luck I'll have to make due with what I got. I suppose using the stove top as a cutting board and hearing the crunch of car seat plastic every time I shut the car door will have to continue while we sit in limbo land. It can't be much longer, RIGHT?!?!?

Mexican Heritage

Very few people who are acquainted with our family here in Texas know that Larry is 1/4 Hispanic. I mean doesn't his blue eyes and bleach white skin just scream "south of the boarder"?! Let's just say that isn't a blood-line that many jump to suspicion on. However, he is...even though he doesn't know a lick of spanish. I'm sure he understands tons but a regular dialogue isn't his forte.
But he does know good mexican food when he finds a little hole in the wall restaurant! In this case he found a Hispanic grocery store that serves some wonderful ready-made food, bakery goods, etc... We have tried to preserve some of Larry's favorite memories that he shared with his Grandmother Consuelo Gonzales and one is drinking Mexican Hot Chocolate and dipping in some Pandulce Bread. It's a fun treat! (you can ask the girls in my bookclub who were treated to it last night) Anyway the point is...well ok so maybe I don't have one. But I did take a cute picture of Ben trying to scarf down a whole Pandulce Bread on his own!

I'm the epitome of healthy!

Over the past few years and after having kids I have come to realize that exercise is really, really important. I love to go in the morning and get it done. It helps me to have more energy all day long. I have been really LUCKY to have a CHEAP membership to the YMCA, which includes the much needed child care. This inspires me to go even on the days that I'm more apt to hang out in my pajama bottoms all day. The chance to have release from ALL of the kids is sooo worth it.

So today I took the time to go after I dropped Sydney off at Preschool. I chatted with a friend while I exercised and even squeezed in a few minutes of reading a book while I rode a stationary bike. I am always so proud of myself for having the determination to keep up with it. And then guess what I do when I get home? I was in need of some replenishment. I searched the cupboards, bypassed all of low calorie, low sodium, healthy snacks and ate a Rolo and drank a diet Pepsi. I'm a walking contradiction. =)