Holiday Fun

As most of you, we have been busy with all the fun things that Christmas brings. Here are just a few fun pictures to share!

William was SO excited to get to make and decorate his very own Gingerbread House at preschool yesterday. He couldn't wait to share it with all of us! (But I made him wait until after dinner! and he is such a good sharer!)



Gabriella recently had 2 dance performances. The first one (where the picture is from) was at The Poinsettia Festival a couple of weeks ago. And then on Tuesday nite her studio had their Christmas Recital, where her team performed the same dance. She did a great job and she is loving her new, fancy little footie things (she is, but I'm not - they were pricey little buggers!)



And today was an overall busy day. I LOVE making sugar cookies and used to do it every year, for Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine's Day and we'd take them to all our neighbors. Well, I have just been plain lazy about that the last couple years - not wanting to bother with the mess that cute little kids make with things like that, but today I had the sudden urge to do just that! So William and Tabitha helped me make the dough, roll it out, cut out the fun shapes, and bake the cookies this morning. Then after dinner we all had fun decorating them. Tabitha just wanted to eat anything and everything she could get her little hands on. William loved trying to copy mom & dad's ideas and he did pretty good, too! And Gabriella did a little copying and a little of her own. It was fun, and went a LOT better than I had planned.

In between our cookie making/decorating, the kids BEGGED me to go sledding. This morning and early afternoon was cold, but clear. Rick thot he'd be able to come home early so silly me put the idea in the kids' heads that when Gabriella and Daddy got home, we could go sledding. Right about the time Gabriella got home, it started snowing and blowing a LOT! And then we found out Rick wouldn't be coming home eary (too much work to finish) and then eventually the snowing stopped and the kids begged to go. Do we bundled up, took our 1 little sled and drove to the sledding hill. It Was COLD!! The wind had not stopped. We were there no more than 15 minutes, but the kids had a blast. Tabitha even went down all by herself! Brave little girl, there! But since it was just me and the 3 kiddos, no pictures this time.

Rick, the master cookie decorator, hard at work.



And William, proudly showing off the mouse he decorated just like mommy's mouse - he really did a pretty good job!



A couple of silly girls, with some of their yummies.



And a baking sheet full of all our finished masterpieces! The top 3 are "Super-Bears" - Rick did one and then Gabriella and William tried their hands at it. Below that is Rick's "Easter Egg" - somebody is going to be a bit confused! And then Rick's and William's "Aliens". Under that are mine and William's "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies" mouse.



And now I think I am going to join the other 4 sleepy heads and get myself to bed early!

Morning

It is now 8:38 AM.
While many children are probably just waking up or
eating their bowl of Froot Loops, mine have been busy!


As soon as Gabriella was out the door for school - at 7:45 - William was
begging to go play in the snow. It snowed all night and is still going.

They are just finishing their hot cocoa now.
And I'm sure they'll be back at it later!

Often Overheard

There is a new phrase that is one often overhears in our home.

"I'm gonna beat you up, guys!"

It is not said with malice or anger. No harm is intended.
And no, we don't suddenly have a big, bully of a teenager living with us.

Instead, it comes from the sweet little voice of our petite, sweet little angel.

Tabitha.

Overheard at the dinner table - "I'm gonna beat you up, guys!"
and then when she has "beat us up" (finished her dinner before anyone else has finished):

"I beat you up, guys! I beat up Gabriella and William and Mommy and Daddy!
I beat you up, Dad!!"

Overheard at jammie time - "I'm gonna beat you up, Gabriella and William!" and off she runs to be the first one to have her jammies on, so that she can happily and proudly exclaim:

"I beat you up, guys!"

3 Down, 6 To Go

Months, that is.

Me - taken today!

Surprise!

Attempted Murder & New Kids on The Block

Ok - I am finally getting around to blogging about my oh so exciting Saturday night!
New Kids on the Block Concert! Oh, yeah!

It was a great girls' night out. My neighbor Jennie went with me and we met my cousin at The Old Spaghetti Factory at Trolley Square for a yummylicious dinner before, then a little bit of browsing in stores that you wouldn't dare take kids into - stores where we would never buy anything because of the OUTRAGEOUS price tags! Seriously, who pays $1461 for a crib?! And one that doesn't even convert into any other size bed?!

Ok, but before I get into all the fun concert details, let me tell you that I about DIED as I was leaving for the concert. Someone whom I thot totally loves me, tried to kill me!! Luckily his attempt at murder failed (obviously, since I am here blogging the tale!)

Saturday afternoon, Rick, my dear, sweet, loving husband, was hoping to get a few hours of work at the office in. But the brakes on my van were sounding very odd, so I asked him to please play mechanic first. Well, "playing mechanic" led to being the mechanic and changing the front brakes - they were almost completely worn. (I am SO lucky that my hubby is able to do these kinds of things!) So anyways, he spent over 2 hours changing them, didn't make it to the office, and then it was time for me to leave. I thot I'd drive up to Jennie's (2 houses away) and get her - I was anxious and excited to be on our way! So I started the van, put it in reverse and gave it a little gas. And off I went, going way to fast to be backing down the driveway. So I hit the brake. Nothing. I step on it again. Nothing. And again and again and again - and again nothing, nada, zip, zilch! Panicking, I start yelling at my neighbor who was out mowing the lawn.

"MY BRAKES AREN'T WORKING!! HELLLPPP!!!"

He just gives me a funny look. By then I am hitting the pavement, hoping and praying that no cars are coming. And panicking even more. I am scared for my life! I then notice Jennie and her hubby on the sidewalk, heading my way, their kids trailing along. I yell some more, then realize that they probably can't hear me with the window rolled up! I seriously must have looked like a lunatic!

"MY BRAKES AREN'T WORKING! I CAN'T STOP!! HELP!" I yell at them. They stare at me blankly.

I am now rolling backwards UP a small hill. Frantically I have been trying to unlock the doors and jump out! But with the van in gear, that doesn't work.

Jennie hollers at me to put it in Drive. I do and then am able to kind of drive up on the curb across from house and it finally comes to a stop. I jumped out as fast as I could, my heart racing.

So apparently, when you change your brakes you have to pump them or something first. And my dear, sweet, loving husband had forgotten to do that. And Jennie and her hubby thot I was joking - that I was just so excited and in such a hurry to leave for our night out. Rick did say that his plan was that the brakes would go out once we were on the highway. Too bad it failed.

Ok, so back to the concert!! :) Another friend, Mandy, met us there. When we got there, there was some psycho chic in a totally fake blond wig singing. She was horrible and scary, and a bit of a stripper. Definitely was not a G Rated show! I believe her name was Lady Gaga - Lady Gaggy would have been more appropriate, but whatever.

And then the REAL opening act - wow! This was ALMOST as good as New Kids themselves - almost! And something that none of us were expecting!

Natasha Bedingfield!

Ok, so I will say these are by far from the greatest videos! The sound quality is not that good, and especially on the ones of New Kids, they are pretty shaky - I couldn't help it - I was laughing, screaming, and jumping up and down! It was just like a bunch of 13 year old girls at their first concert, totally in love with the boys from the Block!

This is how it started:

And this is the best video of them singing - sadly, it isn't very long -
my memory card filled up way too fast from the videos!

The Right Stuff
(Rick calls this their "cowboy dance")

We really did have pretty good seats - for not being on the floor anyways, but we all decided we much rather would have been where we were then in the back on the floor. We were right smack in the middle so had a perfect front view. (and for being free tickets, we REALLY can't complain!)

About halfway thru the concert they came out one of the portals near us and went and sang on a little stage that was about halfway between us and the real stage - that was a nice little treat to get to see them even better!

I just kept thinking - these guys really are TOO old for this! Too old to be singing these songs that they sang back when they were teenagers and in their early 20s! And it was kinda funny that whenever a recent song came on, the crowd got a LOT quieter and most people would actually sit down!

A Few Random Things

You have got to check out this blog!!

www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

It totally cracks me up! Just know that it is all totally made up, in a way I find it making fun of how a lot of people are. Start at the beginning, so you are not totally lost, like I was at first, and remember, it is all completely for fun! And have a good laugh!


Rick & I went to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory last nite - yummy! I am so in love with their chicken quesadilla appetizer! Try it - Love it - Crave it!


My kids are crazy. Good crazy. Make me laugh crazy. William and Tabitha lately love to play that they are getting married. He puts on a cape and she puts on a little white leotard with a tutu and calls it her "wedding dress" and then she wears it all day, wherever we go. It's cute - Gabriella and William used to play that they were getting married, and now that she is gone all the time, it is Tabitha's turn to be the little bride.


I am amazed at how much energy they have first thing in the morning. Watching them running around around the circle from the kitchen, thru the dining room and living room, first thing in the morning, laughing and screaming (good screams) makes me even more tired than I already am at 7 am - but I love that they are so happy and having so much fun together.


I think they have finally adjusted to the time change. Getting up at 6 was no fun at all.


I paid $69 yesterday to learn that we not only have hard water, but that we have VERY hard water, that is ruining my dishwasher. Wonderful. Thank you, Maytag Man.


Since we had a half hour wait at The Cheesecake Factory last nite (not bad at all, we've waited over an hour before!) we started wandering the mall. First we got free herbal drinks to help with weight loss. In 12 weeks it has shown to lower the weight in average sized men. Wonderful - what about the bigger than average sized man? Next I got one of my thumbnails partially buffed and shined by an amazing, magic buffer. And since I am SO CUTE (she was really a great salesgal!) I could have that magic buffer for only $10. Thanks. I'll think about it. And last of all, the best part - we played doubles tennis together! On a WII - and um, sadly, I think Rick might have beat me. We were on "Add-In" which means that it would be his game point (he was serving) and then he would have beat me by 2. But if I had won the serve, we would have gone back to "Deuce" and then had to battle it out all over again until someone beat the other by 2. But anyways, we had to go. Our 30 minutes to wait was about up and I did not want to miss our table! I was hungry. So we called it a tie. Fun stuff.


And one last thing - my husband likes to play "ironing beads" as we call them. Those little perler beads that you put on the little shapes and make some pretty thing, then you can iron them and have your nice, pretty shape. Anyways, Rick loves playing them. With the kids, or alone by himself - yes, it is true! And I had a picture to prove it, or him, playing ironing beads alone, but he stole my camera and deleted it. What a stinker!

This Makes Me Laugh

Guess where I am going Saturday night?!

Ok, ok, I'll give you a hint. A concert - a BIG concert! My 3rd ever concert (1 & 2 being Tim & Faith 2006 & 2007 - LOVE them, he is one sexy man - Love you too, Babe-alicious!)

So - any guesses? LOL - this seriously just makes me laugh thinking about it, talking about it - I just LAUGH!

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!!!

Ok, so yes, back in the day - like say um, 17 years ago, I was in LOVE with NKOTB. A huge poster hung at the top of bed. I had a t-shirt that had one hot pink sleeve and one neon orange sleeve. They were the coolest. The first band I had ever really gotten into. And now, tomorrow night, I am going to their concert! Ha HA Ha HA HA!

And so how did this all suddenly come about? Certainly not something I have been planning - I did not wait in line for hours to buy these awesome tickets! Just had a lucky little moment. I admit, I love entering contests, trying to win stuff (that's how I got to see Tim & Faith the 2nd time - lucky caller number 10). So when I got an email from a radio station listing their current contests and saw New Kids, I laughed and thot, Wouldn't that be hilarious?! So I entered, laughed about it when I told Rick and asked if he'd want to go with me if I won (not a chance!) and then forgot about it.

Until a couple nights ago when I got THE phone call. Laura, from the radio station, calling to so calmly tell me that I had just won tickets to see New Kids on The Block. I laughed. I couldn't help it!

SO - Anybody want to go with me? Seriously! I have 4 - count them - 1, 2, 3, 4 tickets! I think they are crappy seats, but hey, it will be way fun girls!

Because I have been given much . . .

I too must give.

As I sit here enjoying the quiet, no noise but the hum of the dishwasher (Rick & kids are at church, while I am on day 6 of being miserable), I want to share a blog with all my fellow blogging friends.

My new friend Taryn brought my attention to the plight of this family.

Since becoming a mother, any stories like this just tug at my heart. I always wonder, "What if this were us? What if everything was happy and fine in our life and then suddenly we were brought down with some horrific thing?" Rick, always the calm, nonworrier, just assures me, as he did last night as I was reading this blog and wondering the same thing aloud, "We'd get through it." Well, yes, somehow we would, for better or worse, as everyone who goes through these things does, but still.

So thank you to Taryn for posting this on your blog and letting me copy you (title and all!). And even though I feel as if my small donation really won't make any difference, in the end it will. All those little ones add up and that is how miracles can happen. So please everyone, check it out, post about it on your blog, donate what you can, and let's all hope and pray for the very best for sweet little baby Mia, that she gets her new heart soon - VERY soon.

And check out the awesome items you can purchase, with all proceeds going to this family! Taryn is the one doing the scrapbook pages - I have seen her scrapbooks and they are AMAZING!

Off to Neverland!

Our theme for Halloween this year was Peter Pan. A little over a year ago, the kids saw Peter Pan for the first time and totally fell in love with it. I think it was on Halloween day 2007 that Gabriella came up with the idea that for next Halloween we all needed to dress as Peter Pan characters. William loved the idea and they have stuck with it. I was excited, and even Rick was willing to play along. Rick & I have never in our married lives dressed up (I think the last time I dressed up was in Ecuador 1999 - I was a tree - brilliant, I know, but hey, people do crazy things in foreign countries, right?).

And I had great plans of getting a headstart on costumes and having them done weeks before Halloween. HA! I admit, I was still putting little finishing touches on Rick's costume, oh and yeah, I had to make his hat that morning, too! I have seriously done more sewing in the last 3 weeks than I have in the last 10 years! And you know what? It was actually fun! Stressful at times (like making up my own patterns for certain things, or doing lots of size adjusting), but fun.

So here is our sweet little Tinkerbell - ready to fly away. Originally, I'd had great thots of a fancy dress for her, but then I just wimped out and took the easy route. Made a simple skirt and put it over a tinkerbell green onesie she already had (thanks for the idea Joy!)

Tinkerbell

Peter Pan - he loved his costume!

Gabriella LOVES her new nightgown! Thanks to Nana for doing the buttons! (a skill I have, unfortunately, never learned!)

Wendy - ready to fly away

Being silly goofs

Pumpkins didn't officially get all done until AFTER Halloween - oh well.

And proof that Rick & I were indeed there, and dressed the part!
(Sorry it's so dark - but that's what happens at night! Rick even has a wig on)
Oh and I must say that Rick made his own hook - and was very proud of it!

Tiger Lily & Captain Hook
Wendy, Peter, & Tink

Halloween 2008

Needing to Catch Up

Ok, I have been told by more than one of you that I need to update.

I know I do. But things have just been kinda busy - like tomorrow is Halloween and I have been making (sewing!) costumes for all 5 of us! Even though I really tried to get a jump start on it and started on Gabriella's the first of September, it didn't happen. But now, with Halloween a day away, I am feeling pretty good. Just a few more finishing touches. So I now feel like I can breathe, relax, and yes, spend a little more time on the computer.

Other than that, not much else going on around here. So I will leave you with some ADORABLE (but of course, I am biased!) pictures of my little one. At church Sunday my neighbor told me "Tabitha NEEDS her pictures taken today - she is just too cute!" Did I mention this neighbor is a photographer? So I took her up on that and she spent about 10 minutes in the front yard, immediately went home and photoshopped a few, and sent us over a CD. She is AMAZING! I know the loaf of chocolate chip zucchini bread I made for her really wasn't enuf of a thank you! (oh yeah, I've been baking zucchini this week, too)

But before the pictures, just a little cute thing Tabitha said this morning. A little background first. Rick has taken to calling her "Jello" - yes, J - E - L - L - O, jello. She will often climb up on our bed and so sweetly ask "Is there room for Tabifa?" as she tries to squeeze in between the 2 of us. And Rick started responding "There's always room for jello." And it has kind of stuck. Pretty cute. Second thing, she has fallen in love with Gabriella's "ironing beads" - not sure the correct, technical name for these, but the little colored beads you put on the shapes and then iron and have a fun little plastic star or whatever (they rarely get ironed at our house - I hate having them laying around). So anyways, all week, one of the first things out of her mouth, and heard often thruout the day is "Mom, can I play my ironing beads now?" And I'll tell her yes and she'll smile, so happy, and say "Thanks, Mom!"

Ok, so this morning, before her cereal was done, she asked to play ironing beads. And she laid on her tummy in the middle of the kitchen floor and started to create her latest masterpiece.

I walked in the kitchen and said "You're cute!"

"No, I'm not cute! I'm Jello!" What a silly little girl I have!

Ok, so now (for reals) I leave you with some cute little pictures from her impromptu photo shoot! And for those wondering, Yes, the outfit is an Uncle Robi original, handed down from Gabriella!

One Word

Tagged. Again.

Here are the rules. I have to answer each question with only one word and then pass it on to seven other people.

• Where is your cell phone? Purse
• Where is your sig. other? Work
• Your hair color? Blonde
• Your mother? Idaho
• Your father? Heaven
• Your favorite thing? Happiness
• Your dream last night? Upcoming
• Your dream/goal? Organization
• The room you're in? Basement
• Your hobby? Reading
• Your fear? Tragedy
• Where do you want to be in 6 years? Idaho
• Where were you last night? Home
• What you're not? Stupid
• One of your wish list items? Money
• Where you grew up? Everywhere
• Last thing you ate? Cereal
• What are you wearing? Robe
• Your TV? Off
  
• Your pet? None
• Your computer? Purring
• Your mood? Calm
• Missing someone? Yes
• Your car? Blue
• Something you're not wearing? Bra
• Favorite store? Kohls
• Your summer? Gone
• Love someone? Forever
• Favorite color? Pink
• When was the last time you laughed? Morning
• When was the last time you cried? Unsure

And the 7 lucky ones I tag are: Joy, Cousin, Jenifer Beth, Taryn, Nichole, Christy, & Misty

Fourth Picture in the Fourth Folder

If you haven't already done this, then consider yourself tagged!
Just go to your fourth folder and select the fourth picture and explain!
Easy & fun!

This was taken Easter Sunday 2007 (I think!) just before leaving for church. My 2 little angels in their matching new dresses. I didn't get a single good shot that wasn't blurred, but you can still see how cute they were (are!). And they had their babies all ready to go in their carseat, too.

7 Years

Happy Anniversary to us!
Yesterday, October 12th, marked our 7th wedding anniversary.

7 years, 3 kids, 2 houses, 6 vehicles, 7 jobs, and lots of fun times!

Here are just a couple of my all-time favorite picss of the 2 of us.

This picture was taken at our friends' John & Jennifer's reception.
I was a bridesmaid and Rick came to see me (he didn't really know J&J yet!)
I love his goatee and I've always liked how I look in the pic (very rare!)
And afterwards we went to Pizza Hut and he told me that he
loves me - for the first time - aawwwww.

And this was a month or 2 later, at my grandparents house
celebrating my Grandpa's birthday (I think!)
I was feeding him Mud Pie - his favorite!
And I just love how we are laughing and having fun in it!
And that he is wearing his Superman shirt -
he has always been, and always will be, my Superman!

Thanks for 7 great years, Honey Bunches! Love ya!

How do YOU do it?

So lately I am feeling SO overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated by all the clutter. Clutter everywhere! In the kitchen, in the bedrooms, downstairs, the garage, bathrooms, EVERYWHERE! And as much as I'd really like to blame it on 3 kids and a husband (much as I love them!), I can't. I know that most of it is really, truly my problem! (Except for maybe the garage.) Sure there are toys and clothes and that kind of stuff and true I cannot, nor will I, keep my kids things cleaned up for them, they have to learn to do that. But how can I really expect them to when my room, my stuff, is just as bad, if not worse?!

I think one of my biggest problems is papers. Gabriella brings SO many papers home from school. William brings home a handful, too, but his mostly go in a binder. I have told Gabriella that she can choose her 1 or 2 favorite papers each day to keep and those are to go in her box under her bed. The rest I have been tossing in the recycling box. But there are still SO many - papers, magazines, mail (good & bad), coupons, etc, etc! And I just end up with piles piled up all over my long kitchen counter (which, sadly, is where most everything seems to get dumped!)

So please, I need help!! What do YOU do to keep the daily clutter down? How do you keep it from building up? How do you keep it at least somewhat organized?

Soccer

August & September William played soccer on one of the city teams. I don't know if it's just our city or our county or what, but here, soccer is HUGE! Everyone plays soccer - made me feel kinda bad that I hadn't signed Gabriella up for it, too. But on the other hand, I think she does enuf stuff for now and William really needed something of his own to do - or so I thot. But I know now that he just isn't ready for stuff like this.

First Game = ALL Smiles
Ready to play & Happy to be there

By the last game (8 in all) it was a completely different story. He did NOT want to go. "Soccer is boring!" We were lucky to get him to play about a whole 3 minutes of that game - but from the picture you can see below, he REALLY wasn't into it! He just wanted to be his goofy little self!

He made us laugh so much as we watched him play! And it was made very clear that my son is a pansy boy. Yep. (not like we didn't know that anyways, but now everyone we played soccer knows it too!) He cannot run. He had such a hard time trying to keep up with that ball. As soon as he'd catch up to it, the other kids would be halfway down the field, going the other way. But he really gave it a good shot - until that last game. Most of the time he'd just be out there in his own little world, making faces, or putting his fingers in his mouth or something silly like that. I think I would have to say that his very first game was his best - especially since his team hadn't had a single practice and he really had no idea what he was supposed to be doing out there! They put him in as goalie at one time and he made the best save ever! He really pounced on that ball! And sadly, there was a slight um, video camera malfunction (videographer malfunction is more like it!) and instead of getting the great play saved on film for all of posterity, all we got was a bunch of grass and then blackness. (Good try, honey. I think next time I'll put myself in charge of the videoing.)

Ok, so I just noticed something about this picture below - check out his feet!! Is he about to trip himself up here or what?! What a crazy guy - he always has been a bit clumsy!

Most of all, I think he just loved playing with the nets.

Way to go, William! Good try! We're proud of you!

Party at Chuck E. Cheese

Gabriella's party was a lot of fun - all the kids had a blast! (even the one little girl who ended up hiding under the table, scared to death of the big mouse!)

The girls made beaded bracelets, played all the fun games, enjoyed their cake & ice cream, and had an all around good time!

Gabriella loved her birthday crown -
and her new dress!

I couldn't have done it without this guy's help!
(and a neighbor's)

The birthday party gang!

Happy Birthday, Gabriella!

Today is the big day that she has been counting down for for over a month! Very exciting! We're having a "small" party after school today, taking a few friends to Chuck E. Cheese. I admit, I wimped out this year. I just didn't feel I had it in me to do some big party, with a fun theme, and fancy cake, like I have in years past. I've just been too busy lately. So cupcakes and fun at the mouse's place, it is! And she can't wait! So enjoy the slideshow of her 6 years of life and stay tuned for post-party pictures!

Happy Birthday, Princess!
and Happy 100th post, dear Blog!

I totally SUCK!

First of all, let me just say that I HATE that word! I really do! And I rarely, rarely say it! I hate it so much that in high school (when it seems it became such a popular, fun word to use), my great friend Jenifer Beth would say "inhales" - like, "That really inhales!" - just for me. Man, did she spoil me!

But this morning was a totally different story.

During July and part of August, I started taking tennis lessons. It was great, it was fun, it was a wonderful work-out and I was sad to see it end. So one of the other ladies in the class, Katerina, and I have been getting together early in the morning once or twice a week and playing. It is great, it's fun, and yes, a wonderful work-out, and a fantastic way to start my day, but let's face it - I totally SUCK!

Normally, I do ok - ok for a beginner, that is. Our first few times playing together, I would always win. Which was wierd, because I truly feel that Katerina is the better player. It must have been beginners luck.

My maind issue is serving. Normally if I screw up a serve, I can get it right on my second try. But I really don't know what the problem was with me today! Something was just off - more off than normal. Katerina got so many points and won so many matches because I could not properly serve the stinkin' ball! It would fall short and go into the net, or on the wrong side of the court, or out of bounds, almost anywhere but where it was supposed to go! I did much better when she was the one serving and I was on the defensive side - MUCH better!

I am now reminded of a line from The Emperor's Groove - "Dude, you threw off my groove!"

Let's hope that next week goes better - MUCH better!

On a little sidenote here - I have updated one of my previous posts (Randomness) to include a picture - so make sure you check it out!

Out of the Mouths of (My) Babes

A few cute things that were heard before 8 am this morning:

William - "The sky is soggy - that's why we can't see the sun."

Gabriella - "When I was growing up, I thought that it would be hot up in the mountains because the mountains are so close to the sky."

Tabitha - "I want to watch Lady & the Trampoline!" (Lady & the Tramp)

William - "We have some bad news upstairs - There is a spider up there! A tiny tiny tiny baby spider."

"I Forgive You"

Earlier this morning, William and I were cleaning & organizing his room.

Clothes were folded and put away or put in the dirty laundry. Dinosaurs were put back in their big, blue tub. Pirates were put in their box and in their spot in the closet. His train set was put back together, with extra pieces in a box next to it. Shoes were neatly arranged in their side of the closet. Puzzles were put back together and put neatly on their shelf. It was looking pretty good. (You'd think that with all this cool, fun stuff, he would spend HOURS playing in his room, with HIS toys - but NO, it is the princess dresses and polly pockets and barbies that are his toys of choice!)

We sat down together and surveyed our success.

"When you're done playing with your dinosaurs, you put them back in here and put the lid on. When you're done playing with your trains, you put the little pieces in that box and it goes right there."

Then on to the closet.

"Your shoes go right there so we don't lose them. Pirates go in their box when you're done playing with them, and your puzzles all go back on this shelf. That way your room stays nice and clean and we don't have big messes." I patiently explained to him, hoping that maybe this time, it would sink in and his room stops looking like a daily tornado has hit.

Looking into my eyes, and smiling, he very seriously said, "I forgive you, Mom."

I couldn't help it - I burst out laughing! "Forgive me for what?!" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said, laughing with me.

Well, so I guess it's MY fault for his messes. At least my silly son is forgiving!

Tagged Again

I usually: don't get enuf sleep
I search: for missing kid's shoes almost daily
I wonder: what color I should paint the basement
I regret: only a couple of things
I love: my sweet little family
I care: too much about what others think
I always: procrastinate doing the dishes
I worry: about everything WAY TO MUCH!!
I am not: as organized as I would like to be
I remember: not near as much as I used to
I believe: that anyone can change if they truly want to
I dance: by myself and with my kids
I sing: when I hear a song that I love
I don’t always: finish what I start, yet it drives me crazy when my hubby does this!
I argue: when I feel strongly that I am right
I write: lots of notes, hoping to remember everything I need to do
I win: when I accomplish something
I lose: when I play Phase 10 with Rick
I wish: I had magic powers
I listen: mostly to country music
I don't understand: how bridges work! What hold them up? (anyone know a good engineer?)
I can usually be found: at home
I am scared: of things that may happen to my family
I need: to play tennis more often - it gives a great start to my day
I forget: about things I have scheduled
I am happy: for the life that I have

Thanks Cousin for the tag! And again, I tag anyone who hasn't been in the last week - take your pick!

Tagged!

Jenifer just tagged me, so here goes!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:27 am - woken up by the sounds of a little girl, who ended up waking up her sister and brother - I was NOT happy!
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls, but I really don't have any place to wear them to!
3. What two things do you always have with you? Chapstick and my inhaler
4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost & House
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Yogurt, granola bar, and/or banana
6. What is your favorite book? Twilight series
7. What is your middle name? Dawn
8. What food do you dislike the most? "pus cheese" in Ecuador
9. What is your favorite CD? never really listen to CDs
10. What type of car do you drive? Navy blue Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan
11. Favorite sandwich? Not much of a sandwich person - maybe egg salad
12. What characteristic do you despise? lying
13. Favorite item of clothing? my soft pink fleece hoodie
14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hawaii or Jamaica
15. What color is your bathroom? Mine is boring white, the main one is blue & yellow
16. Favorite brand of clothing? none
17. Where would you retire to? someplace that is always warm
18. What was your most recent memorable birthday? none - can't even remember my birthday last year (hint hint, honey!)
19. Favorite day of the week? Friday, I like to have the whole weekend ahead of me.
20. How many years at your current job? just about 6
21. How many keys on your key ring? 1
22. Favorite saying? ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE! (Yes, I am a mother!)
23. When is your birthday? December 31
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? definitely NOT morning
25. What is your shoe size? 8 or 8 1/2
26. Pets? none - except when the kids pretend they are a dog or a kitty
27. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher
28. How are you today? Tired (see question #1!)
29. What is your favorite candy? lately I am addicted to Twizzlers - but anything chocolate mint
30. What is your favorite flower? Daisies and sunflowers
31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 12th - my 7th anniversary
32. What church do you attend? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
33. What are you listening to right now? Rick trying to answer questions for me
34. What was the last thing you ate? French toast Rick made for dinner
35. Do you wish on stars? Sometimes
36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Yellow
37. How is the weather right now? a little cool
38. Do you like the person who tagged you? I love her! She's one of my best friends since 7th grade
39. Favorite soft drink? None - just give me water with lots of lemon
40. Favorite restaurant? anything Italian
41. Hair color? Blonde
42. Sibling? 8 - 3 sisters, 5 little brothers
43. Favorite day of the year? Christmas
44. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies
45. Summer or winter? Summer
46. Hugs or kisses? Both
47. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, except for ice cream, then vanilla (or mint!)
48. Do you make friends easily? Not really
49. When was the last time you cried? Probably a few weeks ago on Gabriella's first day of school
50. What is under your bed? I don't even want to know
51. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Jenifer - since seventh grade.
52. Favorite smell? Rick's cologne and my kids when they are freshly bathed
53. What are you afraid of? Something happening to one of my kids or Rick
54. Plain, butter or salted popcorn? Butter
55. How many towns have you lived in? 10 (Idaho Falls, Parma, Benton City, Kennewick, Roberts, Rexburg, Cuenca, Logan, Wellsville, American Fork)
56. How many countries have you lived in? 2 - here & Ecuador

And now I tag anyone who hasn't been in the last week!

Randomness

Ok, so the kids are in bed - not all asleep yet, but in bed. And I am bored. So here is a bunch of randomness.

1 - I am listening to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. I have always loved it and was so excited when I finally figured out what it was called and who sang it. Don't ask me why - I just love it. I have listened to it probably 273 times in the last 2 days. A HUGE Thank You to Alaina for putting it on your blog playlist so I can easily listen to it over and over and over and over and over again!

2 - I feel like my speedo typing skills are suddenly coming back to me in the last few days! That probably means that I have been on the computer way too much. Not a good thing.

3 - 2 nights in a row without daddy at home is not fun for mommy. I can handle 1 overnighter fine, but when it gets to the 2nd night, and 2nd day in a row without him here at all, it just gets to wear a bit much on me.

4 - Why is it that when my hubby is gone - to work, a meeting, hunting (like now), whatever - that I want him here, but then when he is here and has been here for more than a handful of hours, I start to get annoyed with him? (Sorry honey, I really do love you lots!)

5 - I think as a mother, I have neglected William in ways. Nothing tragic - he's fed and clothed (today in a shiny satin, bright yellow princess dress and crown - very beautiful) - but it seems with Gabriella I spent so much time on things like numbers, letters, signing, etc, but with William there hasn't been much. I was so impressed with him today when he got a marker and pad of paper and started writing his letters - he only got to E without needing help and a few were backwards, but I was so proud of him. I guess he's picked up a lot of things from Gabriella.

6 - Speaking of William, he started preschool on Tuesday and is loving it! He loves his teacher - Mrs. G as he calls her - I guess GeAnna is a bit tough to remember.

7 - And I am pretty darn sure that I have spoiled Tabitha way too much! She has been my "baby" for 2 1/2 years and has definitely been babied - and I've loved it and I know she has, too. She is still such a cuddler and loves to give me hugs and kisses. Is it bad to say that of my 3, she has been my favorite baby? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she is my favorite child, but those of you with more than 1 kid, do you agree that at stages you can have a favorite for that stage - if that makes sense? I'm sure that part of it comes from being home always (I worked very part-time with Gabriella as a baby and was working full-time when I had William) and also being a more experienced mom and feeling a lot more comfortable with what to do.

8 - I need to dust the ceiling down here - I am noticing some cobwebs hanging above my head!

9 - My hair desperately needs a trim! And I am so not a spend a lot of money on my hair type of person. I just found someone on craigslist offering free haircuts to new customers - might have to check it out!

10 - My big accomplishment today: I cleaned off and organized the computer desk! I must say, I am quite impressed with myself - it has really needed it - I even went to Office Max - my new favorite store of the week - and bought a few little office type things. It is now clean and organized and most everything has a place - hopefully I can keep it this way! ("A place for everything and everything in its place" - that was my hotel boss's quote - definitely something I need to work on and put into practice!)

The satin yellow dress - his favorite!

I'm going to paint!

So I have decided that I am sick and tired of plain old, boring, blah white walls! They have got to go! In the 3 years that we've been here, I have painted the main bathroom (blue & yellow with ducks), my bedroom (a light peachy color that I LOVE), we had a castle mural painted on one wall in Gabriella's room, and William's room (shades of blue).

Now it is the basements turn!

I have about 2 weeks to get ready - Rick's sister is coming to visit (and his brothers a few days later) and she is willing to help with the job - unless I get too impatient and do it without her - which really might happen!

But what color? Gabriella says "Pink! Purple! or Yellow!" William says, "No - Orange!" I need some serious, adult help here! The carpet is a dirty white (I'm sure at some point it used to be white!) and very light brown berber (which I really don't like either, but that's not going to be changing anytime soon!) So, all my blogging buddies - suggestions PLEASE!!

I LOVE a good sale!

I love grocery shopping! Maybe that sounds silly - I know some people who hate it. But for me, it is fun and exciting to find awesome deals and spend as little as I can on as much as I can - and not just on groceries, but on anything and everything! It gives me this great rush when the cashier tells me "You saved $47.82" or whatever it was that day. And today was definitely one of those days! And I am going to brag about it!

This picture really does not show it all - in all there are a total of 73 items. There would have been more, but I only had 20 minutes to do it in (babysitting today and did not want to take 3 kids with me to do this!), so I just had to grab according to the quick list I made last night at William's soccer game. I will be going back to Albertson's for more before this sale ends next week! So, 73 items, ranging from milk, to muffins and granola bars and fruit snacks. And how much did I spend? First, let me tell you how much I did NOT spend - I did not spend $140 - which would have been the total before my savings. Any guesses? I'd love to hear them! Ok, so the grand total after my savings and coupons is:

$65.84 for all of this!
That is a savings of 53%!!!

And all of that will last us for a good while, too! I love saving money! Call me a cheap-o, I don't care, but really, I cannot understand how some people do not even care that they could save $75 on their grocery bill and so easily! I am already planning my next trip back!

Like I said before, I LOVE grocery shopping!

1st Day of School

Today was a bit of an emotional day. My baby - my sweet little Gabriella - started school today! Her very first day of school! She was SO excited to go to school. She's been counting down the days for the last 3 weeks! And this morning she was up and ready so fast, just excited as could be!

Here she is just before we left home this morning

With William & Tabitha

When we got to school, she was so excited to see that her 2 best friends, our neighbors, sisters Madyson & Hannah were already there. Hannah is in 1st like Gabriella, but they are in different classes.


I think the hardest part was when I had to leave her there at school. We found her desk and then she just clung to me, nervous and shy. I did my best to not show her that I was nervous for her as well. So we snapped this picture, had one more hug and kiss and a promise to be there as soon as school was out and I left, fighting tears as I walked back out to the van. And then at home, I found myself constantly looking at the clock, counting down the hours, the minutes until it was time to pick her up! And when that time did come,s he was all smiles and happy and excited about her first day of school. Her favorite part of the day was lunchtime!

My little first grader - we are so proud of you, Gabriella!

Spaghetti Squash

One Word - Yummy!

Why have I never tried this before? I don't think I had even seen a spaghetti squash before a few days ago when my neighbor gave me one from her garden!

So I fixed it up for dinner tonite, to go along with our spaghetti. I steamed it, put butter, salt, and pepper on it. I was in heaven! I couldn't believe how yummy it was! Kind of reminded me of buttery popcorn! So a huge thanks to Amie, my wonderful neighbor, for sharing the excess of her gardening!

And guess what will be growing in MY garden next year?

The Children Were Nestled . . .

all snug in their beds! Hooray for early bedtimes!! Yes, sometimes I feel mean that my kids are the only ones in the neighborhood who go to bed while it is still light outside, but you know what? I need it, and they need it, too!

So it is just after 8 pm. There are 3 sleeping children. Rick is gone camping/hunting (cross your fingers for him! maybe this will be his first deer!) and I am going to do something I have not done in a long, long time. I seriously cannot remember the last time I have done this. I am going to sit and watch a movie - start to finish - by myself! Well, me and a bowl of cherry cordial ice cream, that is.

And no, I have not yet finished Breaking Dawn - only about 100 pages left (of 750!). Truly, I am just a bit nervous for the end - there is a big battle coming up and I just am not all that excited to read it and have it be done. And I've had this new Cary Grant movie that I have never seen, sitting on my dresser, still unopened for about 2 months now - I really need to watch it!

On Hold

Yes, that's right. My life is temporarily On Hold.
Why? Simple.

I have FINALLY gotten my hands on a copy of Breaking Dawn!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. What an amazing writer and story teller she is! These books have been on my favorites list since the beginning! And now I finally get to read how it all ends up! I am so excited!! So, for the next couple of days, nothing unless it absolutely, positively has to be done, will get done. Sorry kitchen, sorry bathrooms, sorry laundry - you all have to wait just a couple more days!

Busy Saturday

What a day it has been!

I spent most of the morning at a meeting. Then an hour at Wal-Mart. Normally, I avoid Wal-Mart at all costs - especially on a Saturday, but it was on my way home and I had to pick up William's 4 year old pictures and a few other things while I was at it. Over 20 minutes I waited for assistance to pick up his dang pictures! Apparently, the one and only gal that works there does not know how to assist more than one customer at a time and will not leave one customer for a moment to help another! I finally got the pictures and got home.

Lunch time, followed by naptime for Tabitha and then Gabriella and I went to visit a sweet old lady down the road for a bit. As soon as we got home, I got a call from my brother Jason. He was in town and wanted to come and visit us (wow! Twice in one year!)

After he arrived, Rick suggested we go play Frisbee Golf. I had gone with my YW girls on Tuesday night and we wanted to go back. Now this isn't your typical Frisbee Golf in a nice green park. No - this is Frisbee Golf thru the woods, with lots of hills and other obstacles. It was quite the adventure! And the kids were SO great! Even though they were hot and getting tired - it was quite a ways we ended up walking - they stuck with it and managed to complete all 18 "holes" with us! Ok, only 16 - we couldn't find 1 and they left at the 2nd to last hole to go play at the very nearby park. But they really did great! And us big kids had a lot of fun , too - Jason and I ended up with quite a few scratches - we each got our frisbee caught in big prickly bushes a time or 2.

Got home and started marinating chicken for the grill. While it marinated I took a quick peek at Freecycle. Someone not far from me was offering free apricots - just go and pick them. So Jason and I took the kids and came home with a few bags of apricots. Since a lot of them had been picked off the ground and I was worried they wouldn't last much more than another day, I made a quick trip to the store for some pectin to make some jam - I love apricot jam!

We had a quick dinner, Jason left, got the kids in bed and then I started cutting up the apricots. I then realized I didn't have enuf jars! So another quick trip to the store (I'm so glad it's only a few minutes drive!) and then home and here is the outcome of my last minute jam making!

It was a fun and busy day!

Thoughts for the day

I want to quit this "potty-training" business! It has been going on for way too long! Ok, so maybe 2 1/2 or 3 months, whatever it's been, isn't that long. I read somewhere that on average it takes 8 or 9 months - what?! Gabriella was a few weeks. William was a month or so. But my Tabitha. I know that she gets it, but I think she is just lazy. She feels like she has to go and it doesn't come right away so she hops off the potty and a minute later, dumps her brown junk on the stairs. Nice.

School starts in 11 days. I can't believe it is almost here. Gabriella is SO excited and keeps asking questions about lunch at school (she will be in 1st grade - should she buy lunch or take her own lunch? and if that's the case then she needs a lunch box and is asking every day when we are going to get one (after school starts and they are on clearance for cheap!) She asks when we are going "school shopping" for clothes and shoes and things. I have never said that term to her. I knew it came from her older, more school experienced friends. But um, no, no school shopping for us. Personally, I think she has enuf clothes - not a ton, but enuf, we don't need our drawers overflowing, or 7 garbage bags full (that's how much a neighbor just cleaned out from her 3 kids rooms) of old clothes. So she gets a few new things that have been waiting for her to grow into them, bought on clearance when I've found great deals.
And then I wonder, did I do the right thing?! Was I right to put her in 1st grade with kids whose reading and math level she is on? Or should I have had her go to kindergarten, like she technically should be since she missed the deadline by 19 days? I really hope that this is the best thing for her socially and academically. August 18th is going to be a tough day for me.

Will my house EVER be organized and clean?

Will I ever get enuf sleep?

Last night we finally got our FHE in for the week - we haven't been so good on that this summer. But we went to a park, had a nice picnic dinner of fried chicken, pasta salad, strawberries, and lemonade. Then went for a walk in the woods. The kids loved it! We had never been there before and it was a fun new adventure. Before long we came to a clearing or sorts - a small dried field. And coming in our direction, hopping along gracefully were 3 deer - a doe and her 2 fawns. We stopped and I told the kids to be quiet and watch. The deer stopped and looked at us. They were maybe 50 feet away. Then Rick and Tabitha came up behind us and she shouted out excitedly and William moved and the deer quickly started hopping away. I loved watching their run - or their hop as I call it. The kids were so excited. We continued on, now following the deers' tracks, until we got to a rocky little ridge and then decided it was time to head back. It was such a nice, peaceful evening - we will definitely have to go on a picnic and explore the woods again!

Birthday - Part 2

Further reasoning of why we call William "Bug"

He'd been playing at a friend's house and they ended up catching snails by the creek, which ended up in this cup on my kitchen counter, where they tried to escape, at which point they were promptly banished from being inside my house!

Here's a picture of him and his Dinosaur cake - I admit, I took the very easy route this year - no fancy cut-up cake. Just stuck a new dinosaur on top and called it Dino-licious! And as you can see, he loved it - he especially loved licking off the triceratops frosting covered feet!

For his friends party the next day I went even easier and did cupcakes with little plastic dinosaurs on top. I am always surprised at how many kids at parties do not eat cake and ice cream! What is wrong with kids these days?! :)

Here is just a fun picture of him and his friends wearing their dinosaur hats and making silly faces at the camera.

Happy Birthday, Bug!

Today was William's birthday - the big 4!
When he got up this morning he was so excited to tell me that he was now 4 years old.
"What happened to your 3?" I asked him.
He thot a minute and then said "It just disappeared."
So there you have it - being 3 disappeared and he is now my big 4 year old!

We've done some fun things to celebrate. Thursday (Pioneer Day) Rick had off work so we took the kids to Chuck E.Cheese and they had a blast playing. Friday we got a big boy haircut and then had his pictures taken. We went to lunch yesterday with Nana & Papa - not really for his birthday, but I think he thot it was. Today Nany & Papa came over for dinner and then cake & ice cream and presents (the pirate ship I got him from my neighbor's yard sale was a HUGE hit!! Yep - I am a cheapo mom - and proud of it!) And tomorrow afternoon he is having his first ever friends party. He is so excited for this dinosaur party - it'll be fun!

So here's a fun slide show of him - there's kind of a gap between new little William and then it jumps to 1 1/2 year old William - guess all those pics in between weren't digital and really, I just haven't had the time to dig thru them and scan them in - so anyways, here's our Bug!!

I guess I should clarify a bit - Bug has been his nickname ever since I can remember - since he was younger than a year old I think. And it really is the perfect nickname for him! He LOVES catching bugs and has spend a LOT of time this summer doing just that. He is such a fun, sweet little boy and I am so glad that he is mine!

There's a Mouse About the House

This is one of the kids new favorite books! As many of you know, I have recently signed up as a consultant with Usborne Books at Home (you can see the website at www.ubah.com/v2822) and this is one of their best selling books. The little mouse there on the front comes out and he follows the arrows all through the book, going in and out of the pages as he is searching for his cheese - really a fun, cute, and educational book.

BUT, this post has a double meaning. (It really is NOT a sales pitch!!) There REALLY is a Mouse about the house - MY House!! And I HATE HATE HATE HATE mice!! And knowing that there is one in my house just makes me sick!

Rick & I were watching a show on the computer Sunday night when he suddenly sat up and started looking around. I asked him what the problem was. He said that he thot he had just seen a mouse run across the room. No way, I thought. So he got up and went to the other side of the family room, looking around. I jumped up and ran as fast as I could to the other side and jumped up on the coffee table. He started laughing at me. We couldn't see anything, of course mice are great at hiding. So I told him to pick up the couch. He did, and the little mouse went running strait into the laundry room! And Rick ran and closed the door behind it.

"You are to find that mouse and kill it NOW!" Rick laughed at me some more. I HATE mice!! Memories of all our little rodent friends in our Wellsville home came flooding back to me - yuck!

So Rick set a couple traps and he checks them a couple times each day, but so far nothing. Who knows how the disgusting thing got inside int he first place, but hopefully he has found his way out and will tell all of his little mousey friends to stay away from here or they will DIE!

And, um, it might be awhile before all my dirty laundry gets done - unless Rick wants to do it.