January 30, 2011
Don't let that new dress or funny face fool you. The real story behind today's photo is in the bag. Pearl's church bag. For those of you non-church-goers or those without kids, the church bag is ESSENTIAL to one's salvation. Mainly because it can keep you from killing your restless, noisy, and disobedient children right there in front of your bishop. But what do you do when your husband helps pack said church bag and stuffs an entire box of Goldfish crackers in there? And he's serious about taking them.
January 29, 2011
It's obvious I didn't take this picture. What with my new knowledge of photography, you'd think I'd have done something myself but nope. Last night as I was at class, Jeff and the kids had a "kids and daddy date" eating pizza and buying a new movie I've been hoping for. Secretariat.
Amazing story. I'm a sucker for horse films, especially true stories. What I didn't know, was how much Pearl would enjoy a non-cartoon, non-princess movie. The kid ran in circles as fast as she could during each racing scene. She galloped, trotted, yee-hawed, and ran at least a mile during the movie. And has begged to watch the "Big Red" movie ever since.
January 28, 2011
I convinced Jeff that watching the dwarfs wouldn't kill him - or them - so I could take a photography basics class from Robert Dyer Photography. AKA Uncle Bob. He is the best, really.
Four hours and my brain is fried. Luckily, the single most important thing Uncle Bob told us has stuck... white balance, white balance, white balance. Of course I sort of cheated on this one because I got a 20 minute mini-lesson about this at Christmas and have been trying to set my white balance every since. But my pictures still look horribly amateur, yellow, and just blah most of the time. I blame it on two kids who won't hold still, smile, or look at the camera to save their lives.
Here's hoping some tips from a pro pay off.
January 27, 2011
Jeff and "Fern" are best buddies. I'm a tad jealous about how excited Cole gets the second Jeff walks in the door. I mean, sure, I'm the favorite at bedtime and when a diaper needs changing but Jeff takes the cake when it comes to entertainment. Cole babbles "da da da da" about a zillion times a day. He goes crazy with excitement when he hears his dad's voice. And tonight was no exception. The minute Cole realized Jeff was home, it was all squeals and arms reaching out for daddy. They played, wrestled, flipped off the couch, got tossed in the air, blew raspberries on their tummies, and other things boys do. It makes my heart melt to watch.
January 26, 2011
My kids hear a lot of things from me. Like, Cole for example, "No! That's not a toy!" And Pearl hears about 3,000 times a day, "I can't carry that. I don't have enough arms. I can't carry everything. You wanted it, you carry it." Or something like that.
She hates it.
This morning as I'm dragging Cole, my purse, lunch box, stack of reports, and baby food out of the truck, Pearl began the normal whining that she "can't carry everything" as she begged and pleaded with me to carry her doll. I started in on why I couldn't carry her doll thinking this is going to be a long walk across the parking lot. Then she threw me for a loop. She told me, "Mom, you need four arms."
Yes, yes I do.
And if you're wondering about the picture. No, we didn't go to the aquarium today. And no, I didn't take it. I just thought an octopus was fitting for Pearl's funny remark today. That, and it would be pretty cool to have eight arms (well, technically an octopus has six arms and two legs). Then I'd be happy to carry everything.
January 25, 2011
There are a few things that take you back to your childhood... like finger paints, graham crackers, and smelly markers. Grape, mint, licorice, lemon, orange, cinnamon, blueberry, and cherry smelly markers to be exact. I probably would have gone years before finding these in a dark corner of my office had Pearl not insisted on "going for a walk to your office" then needing some paper to color her friends a picture on. She thought they were awesome. So awesome in fact that those Mr. Sketch markers ended up all over her lips and hands as she sniffed every single one of them, multiple times, as she scribbled all over a few scraps of paper I gave her. I just wish I could have had as much fun with them as Pearl did instead of working my way through a mound of reports scattered all over my desk.
January 24, 2011
Jeff and I aren't very adventurous when it comes to food. Sure we like a good meal loaded with spice and flavor but venturing into foods of other cultures is a different story. Which is a bit ironic considering Jeff spent two years in the Philippines eating such delicacies as dog and fermented duck embryo... beak, feathers, and all. I'm serious.
So when a family in our neighborhood - the party family (hey, they have a pool) - invited us over for a Sushi Family Night, we sort of cringed. Both of us are sushi virgins. But this is the same family who invites us over all the time and for one reason or another we never go. Tonight we didn't have any excuses. We needed some company and a little cuisine adventure. I'm not really sure what we ate but we did try some sushi. Seaweed, cream cheese, rice, and raw fish aren't really my cup of tea but it wasn't as bad as I had tried to tell myself before we got there. And sushi has one thing going for it, it sure looks fancy on a platter.
January 23, 2011
I am NOT a morning person. Never have been, never will be. Which is exactly why I think God gave me two children who are up at the crack of dawn every single day. And never up at the same time either. Well, except for Christmas... they both slept in until 9 a.m. I don't get it. Cole was up at 12:45 a.m., 1:30 a.m, 6:30 a.m., and then again at 8:05 a.m. With Jeff at his parents' house sick as could be (food poisoning... and no, it wasn't my fault), I was all alone to stagger upstairs with two very happy, very awake kiddos all while hoping my mom and dad would get up soon to help watch the munchkins so I could sneak a cat nap in. It didn't work. But Cole was more than willing to entertain all of us with his peek-a-boo games, giggles, and happy and very slobbery grins.
It really has nothing to do with the picture of Cole playing with my brother's hat, other than someday it will remind us of the first Aggie basketball game Jeff has ever, and probably will ever, miss because he was too sick to go.
January 22, 2011
My friend Libbey held a "Swap Party" this morning. It was really fun. Sort of like a garage sale, only without all the fighting, bad weather, and junk. Each guest brought 10 items to swap and in return, got 10 stickers to tag items they wanted. In the event that some items were wanted by multiple people, a drawing was held to see who won the item.
Pearl was pretty upset at the idea of "selling" some of our stuff but when I told her it was going to be like shopping and she could pick out a couple of things she wanted, she was happy. We traded a bunch of throw pillows, clothes, and odds-n-end stuff and came home with a doll, these super cute and super tall red rain boots for me, a fake flower that is beautiful, some skirts for me, and this Princess ribbon thing-y. Two people wanted it but when Libbey drew out my name, Pearl screamed "YESSSSS!!!" and immediately claimed her prize. It's hanging up where her closet doors should be and she loves it. Jeff wasn't nearly as excited about it.
January 21, 2011
Tomorrow we are going to visit the most wonderful, selfless, humble, hard working, fun, awesome, smart, amazing Dad in the entire universe. My dad. His birthday was earlier in the week and to celebrate, Pearl and I whipped up a big batch of my famous, soft, can't-eat-just-one chocolate chip cookies. The drool is hard to contain, they are so good. And my dad loves them.
When I pulled out my camera, my intention was to get a picture of the dough spilling over the edges of my mixer. This recipe makes a HUGE batch of cookies... like 5-7 dozen. And my Kitchen Aid just isn't big enough to contain all the flour. Sort of as a hint to anyone out there looking to buy me a gift for no special reason. But when I looked at the pictures and noticed a mostly-naked three-year-old pulling a face at me, I had to laugh. Hard. And then we proceeded to lick the beaters of all gooey-ness.
January 20, 2011
It's been a long time. Too long.
We missed you, Spectrum.
And you didn't disappoint. Aggie victory. Date night without the kids. And boobie beads in school colors! No worries, all clothing remained on... the boobie beads were free. No mardi-gras wildness required.
January 19, 2011
A sinful confession... we, I, never read scriptures. I am going to burn for sure. Trust me though, there is a constant nagging guilt for putting not only my eternity at stake but my kids' eternal future in jeopardy too. Especially since Pearl went into Primary and has to learn the song, "Scripture Power" this year.
Three days ago I decided it was time to change. Without even consulting the head of the household, I told everyone to grab their Book of Mormons and plop themselves down for a little spiritual nourishment. Jeff looked at me with this sort of "what in the world are we doing and I think she's serious" look but he went along with it. I figured we could read one chapter every night before bath time. We even told Pearl when we finished, hopefully by the end of the year, we could do something fun like stay in a hotel. Sunday went fine, Monday we forgot, Tuesday we read two chapters, and today, well it was painful. Pearl whined and complained about not wanting to read scriptures all through dinner, even telling us it was boring. Cole dumped all his toys out of the basket right in front of his sister who had just been told a zillion times to sit down, stop playing, and listen then proceeded to roll around, try to climb up my leg, eat my knee, and squeal at his dad for attention.
I have a feeling this is going to be a very painful process.
January 18, 2011
A week off of work with a sick kid and a holiday and this is my welcome back. A huge stack of reports my boss left on my chair. Seriously, this stack was at least a good six inches tall. I'm not joking. Did I mention this huge stack of reports are apparently my reading material so I can write another report that I've never done but got stuck doing because we are short staffed? Oh, and I already had two reports to write this week to begin with? And it's a three-day work week because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Yeah, my week is going to be that fun. I should have stayed home with a sick kid again because at least that way my only assignment would be taking a shower before Jeff gets home from work.
January 17, 2011
For several years pre-kids, Jeff and I went to the Auto Show. Dreaming... although one year, we sat in a GMC Canyon and that July drove one home. But chasing after a busy, hungry, and bored toddler didn't really prove effective in letting Jeff scope out his next dream purchase so we stopped going.
Until this year. After spending nearly all week with a sick baby, I needed a fun family day out of the house. So we picked up Jeff from work, went to lunch at the infamous "The Ranch" - a favorite lunch spot of Jeff's coworkers, and headed to the Auto Show. I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Rather than fighting kids who were bored or hungry, we had to practically pry them out of the vehicles. Pearl preferred the convertibles and trucks while Cole was definitely a car man. The kid drooled, slobbered, squealed, and smiled every time Jeff sat down in the driver seat. It was hilarious!
Too bad the vehicle everyone liked the best cost a mere $48,000.
January 16, 2011
I've waited a long, very long time to find the perfect thing to put next to our Old Main painting in the living room. It just seemed blah - like something was missing. You see, for the past three years I've kicked my own butt for not buying some orange glass votives that cost a whooping $15 each. When I finally convinced myself I could splurge and spend $30 on them, they were gone. And I didn't find anything I liked until I saw these wall sconces in a Pottery Barn magazine. They definitely weren't $30. But my sweet kids via their dad, bought them for me for Christmas. Jeff hung them for me yesterday and after finding two orange candles on clearance for $2, my long awaited decor is complete!
January 15, 2011
Cole woke up feeling great today! No fever and smiling, laughing, playing, and getting into all sorts of trouble. After telling the kid "NO!" or "That's not a toy!" about 500 zillion times every time he grabbed at the lamp cord, the cable cords, the Wii, and the BluRay player (which he about yanked right off the entertainment center), I wonder if it wasn't easier to just keep him sick. At least that way he's easier to contain, since he spends most of the time in my arms.
January 14, 2011
I wonder what Cole is thinking about...
Taking a nap? Yeah, right.
Not having a fever? I hope.
Smiling? Apparently not.
Pestering his sister? Probably.
When his Dad is coming home? Oh, wait that was me.
How much his mamma loves and adores him? Most definitely.
January 13, 2011
I can dream that this fascination with vacuums will last, right? Or at least dream that he won't run out of the room screaming in terror like his sister every time I turn the vacuum on, right?
Yeah.... here's dreaming!
January 12, 2011
You'll never guess who is sick at our house, again.
Cole.
Yup. The little guy broke out in a fever last night, again. It's getting really old. Since Thanksgiving, I swear he has been sick with a fever (with a cough, snotty nose, and ear infections as bonuses) every 7-10 days. His fever is around 102-103 degrees for 3-4 days and then it's gone. The doctor says I have to start tracking every time he's got a fever, documenting how high it is and how long it lasts so we can figure out if it's just bad luck and he's catching a new virus every time or something else. I'm not sure how I feel about the "something else." It would be nice to know what we're dealing with but then again, it might not be a good diagnosis.
At any rate, I really wanted to go on a rant about having to take care of sick baby all night for days on end and only getting to stay home with my kids when they are sick but something today reminded me how lucky I am to have my sweet boy. And a very sweet husband who does his best to help me out when I'm totally frazzled from sleeping three hours and holding a crying kid all day. I just hope this doesn't last too much longer.
January 11, 2011
Pearl is a goofball. One minute she wants to fight, tackle, and judo-chop you into smithereens. Then the next, she wants to wear a princess dress, have a tea party, and twirl around the room. This was one of those moments when she wanted to be a princess... I think originally a pirate princess. She then discovered the air vent and the fun it could be when you stand over it with your princess dress. It goes "poofy" and makes you and your mom laugh hysterically! Pearl told me, "Mom, look my dress is poofy and my butt is big now!" Someday, she'll regret saying that part about her butt. Don't you just love this girl's spunk and imagination? Not to mention her red Kool-aid (aka "Daddy juice") dyed lips? And even with her crazy, wild, unkempt hair I think she is just gorgeous.
January 10, 2011
With the frigid temperatures I broke out a turtleneck today. And this is how pathetic I am. I actually looked for the tag in it for the sole purpose to NOT put it on backwards.
I left the house warm and cozy with my turtleneck on the right way, I was sure of it.
But once I got to work and unbundled myself from my coat, gloves, and two kids, my neck was super itchy. Weird. Turtlenecks usually don't bug me too much. In the midst of a conversation with one of my coworkers who just happens to be extremely fashionable, and in the midst of a good neck scratching, I felt something odd. The tag!
I was horrified!!! Did I not specifically think to myself this morning, DO NOT PUT THIS ON BACKWARDS! Then it dawned on me. I had noticed it was fitting a bit funny all day. It was a little tight, and not just because of my baby fat. But the stretched out part from your boobs is on your backside instead of the front. I ran to the bathroom completely embarrassed, trying not to laugh out loud at myself, and hoping my coworker hadn't noticed my embarrassing moment.
Needless to say, things fit much better the rest of the day.
January 9, 2011
Couch cushions can be many things. Like kitty forts, rocket ships, pirate boats, and split homes to share with your Dad. Pearl has REALLY been into playing with the couch cushions. It's annoying to constantly walk - or should I say try to walk - into the living room, side-stepping around her creativeness but man, does she have an imagination.
January 8, 2011
I could debate with you about when this post actually happened. It was very, very late last night or very, very early this morning. Take your pick. With a stuffy nose and sinus infection on its way, I was having a hard time falling asleep. Not to mention I was uncomfortable and thinking of about a million things I needed to be doing. I must have finally dozed off only to be awoken by some blaring noise. I sat straight up, hit Jeff in an attempt to get him to wake up, then rushed out of bed to figure out what was going on. My first instinct was a smoke detector but once I was up, I knew it was something else. I quickly figured out the noise was coming from Cole's room. Great. Just great.
The stupid alarm clock was blaring! How on earth?! Then I remembered I had sat Cole on top of his dresser that day to get his shoes on and he had reached over for it. Apparently he pushed a button or did something to turn the alarm on. And of course, it just happened to be set for 12:20 a.m. or some strange time like that. I push all the buttons on top of the alarm clock until the beeping stops, unplug the stupid thing just to make sure I didn't put it in "sleep" mode to go off again in 15 minutes, and figure I'm in the clear. Cole's snoozing away and all should be good now. I crawl back into bed and just as I'm starting to drool all over my pillow, a different high-pitched blarring starts!
What the crap?
It's like a demon-possessed alarm clock because it's unplugged! I know there are batteries in the thing but when I unplugged it, nothing came up on the screen. It was black, totally off or so I thought. At this point I have no clue what to do to get it turned off. Just as I'm about to throw it outside, I see this tiny "nap" in red on the screen. Great. How in the world do I turn it off of "nap" mode. And why do alarms need a "sleep" and "nap" mode anyway... what's the difference. At this point I'm convinced Cole is going to wake up because he's starting to squirm and I can't figure out what to do. I hit all the buttons, slide all the buttons over, turn the radio on, turn the radio off, set the alarm, set the clock, hit the "OFF" button 100 times but nothing will get rid of that "nap" word. I really don't know what I did but I finally got "nap" to disappear and with no other words in red showing, I pray this is the last time I have to get startled awake tonight. By now, it's after 1 o'clock in the morning, I'm exhausted, and fearing I will be up any minute to deal with Cole.
I was soooooo lucky that he slept until almost 5 a.m. then went back to sleep for a few hours. But my real saving grace today, was a three hour nap. I could have kept going too but willed myself awake because I figured Jeff had done enough with babysitting while I was drooling away.
Oh, and I still haven't set Cole's clock back. I fear touching any of the buttons will send the demon alarm clock back tonight. And I was hoping if I converted the picture into black and white that you couldn't see the dust on it or the dresser - my nap was the ONLY accomplishment I did today. It didn't work.
January 7, 2011
I finally got to meet my good friend Libbey's baby... Alexia. Isn't she cute? And she has the most gorgeous skin tone! I'd love for my pasty white kids to have some of her coloring. She's three months old. I'm lucky she's not 12 at the rate I was going. It seems like dragging two kids somewhere takes 15 times the effort than one. Plus with all the colds, flus, and viruses Cole and I have had over the past few months, I never dared go visit because I didn't want to get mom or new baby sick. Lucky for me, Libbey is a go-er. She just happened to be out and about running errands and I had told her to drop by and pick up Cole's Bumbo. Why buy one when you can just use a friend's? I was so glad for our short visit! I miss talking to Libbey everyday at work. She is a ray of sunshine!!! And by the looks of it, I think she's got a little ray of sunshine in Alexia.
January 6, 2011
When Jeff and I were dating, we had this funny incident that has sort of blossomed into an ongoing joke between us. You see, Jeff had just had shoulder surgery and was in a sling so I took full advantage of the situation to get back at him for all the teasing, taunting, and pestering he had done to me. Oh, and did I mention it was his birthday? So ya, I probably should have been nicer to him than I was. Anyway, I think I had literally pinned him to the ground - mostly because I thought it was hilarious that I could now physically overpower him... even if he was "handicapped" in a way. The next thing I know, Jeff cries out, "It's my birthday. Can't you just be sweet and kind to me?"
I laughed hysterically!
Well, tonight Jeff did something sweet and kind for me. He warmed up a rice bag for my icicle-like feet and put in at the bottom of the bed for me to curl my toes around. I figured he had brought it in for his back because he's really messed it up somehow and for the past few weeks has done nothing but heat his back at night. Of course I think his main motivation in doing this was to keep my cold feet away from his warm legs, but still, it was pretty sweet and kind of him if you ask me.
January 5, 2011
It usually takes weeks and weeks of serious nagging on Jeff's part before I get around to washing his truck. I know it drives him absolutely crazy to see the truck so filthy but I'm just lazy I guess. That, and the fact that every time I take one of the vehicles to the car wash, I somehow manage to embarrass myself. Like, last time I took the truck in and I kept my foot on the brake even though the sign clearly says "Foot Off Brake." I'm pretty sure I hadn't slept that night.. or something like that. Yeah I felt cool when the kid said, "Ma'm your brake lights are on."
"Ma'm?" Really? Uh, I'm old.
Well, tonight I shocked not only Jeff but myself. I took the truck to get a good washing. It looks almost new. But that's not even the best part. The best part is I put the truck in Neutral, took my foot off the brake, relaxed, and came home to a surprised and very happy husband.
January 4, 2011
We played one of Pearl's new games today... in the few moments of silence while Cole had a 20 minute power nap. Cooties. What a funny name.
Anyway, Pearl did fairly well playing by the rules until she got tired of waiting to roll a six to finish off her Cooties' legs. But her patience paid off and she won.
What I wasn't expecting after her victory, was a double-Cootie wedding. For some reason, she was set on having the boy Cooties marry the girl Cooties. They kissed - which is what I think is happening in this picture - sang a wedding song, and as Pearl said, "lived happily ever after." But then again, they are Cooties.
January 3, 2011
I had a lunch date with a very handsome, blond, blue-eyed boy today. A very affectionate, slobbery kissing, wants to be held boy. Too bad my lunch date wasn't feeling 100% this week. Well, pretty much on and off since Thanksgiving. It's a never ending cough, runny nose, fever, sore throat, not sleeping, and puking fest around here. And the cold and flu season is just starting.
January 2, 2011
The big day has come... Pearl is officially in Primary. Of course she's been sneaking in to Sunbeams for the last couple of weeks because she's "too big" for nursery. So today, when it's official, she decides she doesn't want to go. Jeff thought it was because all the kids she was happy to get away from were now in class with her. I don't blame her. In our geezer ward, her class has the most kids in it. She came home signing some Primary song I don't know - although I'm sure I should know - something about "Mary, Mary hush see the Child." Luckily, I do know all the words to "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam!"
I really can't believe my spunky Pearl is old enough to be a Sunbeam. What I CAN believe, is her willingness (ha ha) to get her picture taken on this important day.
January 1, 2011
The New Year's Elf brings us a surprise every year. It's a tradition I picked up when I met Jeff. And it's awesome.
Seriously, you all should be jealous.
The deal is you leave your stocking out on New Year's Eve and the New Year's Elf comes along and fills them with a surprise or two. Pre-kids, Jeff and I did a twist on the tradition by going to the store with a pre-determined amount of mula to spend on each other. We'd race around, cash in hand, trying not to run into each other and spoiling the surprise. It's so much fun.
We've had a hard time deciding how to do this with kids though. We have so much fun with our spin on the tradition that we thought they'd have fun picking out surprises for each other but we also want them to really believe in the Elf so it's exciting, magical if you will. Pearl was really confused about the whole thing because she'd gone with me to pick out Jeff's surprise. Then she was upset when she couldn't open her stocking before going to bed so I'm thinking we'll have to just surprise the kids instead of letting them help pick out the gifts from now on. She did tell me though, that the New Year's Elf comes to our house in a fast car. Go figure.
But none of that mattered come morning. Pearl was so ancy to see what was in her stocking that she crawled in bed with us and said in her whiniest, most disappointed, frustrated voice, "My family won't get up!" It was hilarious. And the New Year's Elf did not disappoint. Pearl got a new Leap Frog book, "Baby Aggie" zip-up hoodie, and some candy, Jeff got two DVDs, candy, a flashlight, and a rain poncho, Cole got a new sippy cup and cellphone, and I got a Wii Tetris game.
The New Year's Elf rocks.
January 30, 2011
