Wordless Wednesday--Some Favorites of 2008

Happy New Year everyone!! Hope your 2009 is full of many smiles and great memories!

Merry Christmas!

My parents arrived yesterday, and we are loving it. I think, for the most part, you won't see many posts from me in the next week or so. I'm going to save my energy and time for playing with the girls and Grandma and Grandpa. So, I thought I'd leave you with a little thought.

"Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful!"
--Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Season for Gratitude”

May your Christmas be filled with the love of Jesus Christ. Our Savior's love truly is the most powerful and beautiful thing in my life. It makes all other wonderful things in my life, such as family and friends like all of you, that much more meaningful. Merry Christmas!

Oooooh,oh,oh

We've been counting down the days, and now we're counting down the hours, until my parents arrive to spend Christmas with us. We've been planning menus and activities, doing crafts and cleaning. The twins thought it would be great to make Grandma and Grandpa their own stockings with initials, so they got to work. Cinderella let them do the creating while she e-mailed Grandma and Grandpa to tell them 'don't forget to forget your stockings.' I mean, why would they want their own stockings when they can use these beauties?
(I just love how hard Snow White is concentrating with her tongue hanging out.) Yesterday, King helped the girls clean up their rooms. I'm glad he helped; Cinderella needed serious help and possibly a backhoe. She has been saving things (like empty cereal boxes, shoe boxes, and candy wrappers) under her bed 'just in case she needs them for school or playing, or something' for months. I am afraid that this humongous bag of trash is only part of the evidence. SW and SB were much more efficient. Of course, their tendency toward "pack-rat" is much less severe. They blasted Daddy's 80's music, got to work, and were done in minutes. Now, their room is beautiful and the only thing I had to do was smile at their success. That and listen to them belt out these lyrics for the past two days:

"I was working as a waitress in a cocktailbar, that much is true....
Don't you want me, Baby? Don't you want me? Oooooh,oh,oh."

Totally worth it, don't you think? Grandma and Grandpa will love to hear them sing.

Swiped

...or wiped.
I am completely wiped out tonight, so I'm heading to bed early. There are three or four blog posts floating around in my head but I don't have the wherewithal to post them. So, I'm swiping a link from my friend, Lindsay, that she shared on her blog today. If you are a fan of Jane Austen (specifically Pride and Prejudice) and are even a little bit familiar with Facebook, you really have to check it out. Too clever. Click here.

Spy Tip

Just in case you want to be a spy someday, I'd like to let you know that using an iron to steam open envelopes really, really works. You could use this technique, too, if you wanted to get Christmas cards open that you forgot to put pictures in. Not that anyone would do that or anything. Because that would just be dumb. But, you know, just in case you did do that, it works to use an iron.

Dancing in the Dark

This past weekend, Snow White and her dance team danced at our local cultural center for the annual Luminary Walk. They danced outside, and the fact that it was about sixteen degrees with the wind chill didn't seem to phase them. They loved it, and were adorable to boot. If you'd like to see what it looks like to dance in the dark, in the snow, in below freezing temperatures, then you can click on over to our private blog and check it out. It's not great quality, but if you are a grandma, you might like it. I, for one, froze to death, and hope they are inside next year. Brrrr!

Sick

This morning, at 5:00 Snow White yells for me to come help her. She says she's going to throw up, and she needs a bowl because her legs are shaky. I blindly stumble into the kitchen to get the bowl, and when I get back to her room she says, "No,no! I don't want to be sick."

"I know Sweetie, I'm sorry. It's terrible."

"I can't! I can't!," she says, anguished. "I want to learn more about the Oregon Trail, and read my History Cards! I think maybe I can hold it in."

Too funny. I guess when I told her that she'd have to miss school anyway, it was okay to get it all out--for the next hour or so.

Then, Sleeping Beauty woke up with the chills. Somehow, she doesn't seem as sad to miss out on the History Cards, though. :)

So Many Choices

When Sleeping Beauty got her root canal after her dancing accident, the nice Endodontist gave her a $10 gift card to Target for being such a good patient. (King thought maybe if we had bought the gift card, then it may have cost us $90 less, but that's beside the point...) She was so excited to spend the money.

Now, if you know our Sleeping Beauty well, you know that making decisions is not her strong point. I was with her at the store for over an hour. I was very patient and let her roam the aisles to her heart's content. I didn't even beat my head against the wall when it took her ten minutes to decide between two stuffed animals. (Don't think it's because I'm nice, it's just that the image of her nearly jumping out of the dentist's chair when the dentist brushed her tooth nerve kept popping into my head, and I figured she deserved a little patience.)

In the end, she came away with a cute snow hat (yes, a practical purchase--that's my girl!) and Ziggity-Zag, the Zebra. (So named in memory of the condition of her broken off tooth.) I think she made some good choices.

Procrastination at it's Finest

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Yes, I have loads to do.
Yes, I just wasted time uploading pictures to this dumb site.
Yes, I think it's pretty much the most hilarious thing I've seen today. The girls will love it.

Hair Cares

Yesterday morning, as I was in bed having what I'll call a "migraine hangover" (not to be confused with a real hangover, mind you--just picture bed spinning, dry mouth, nausea, and pounding headache, without the alcohol, but headache medicine that didn't even work instead. Sorry to complain. Anyway, the story...), King was getting the girls ready for school. I heard him talking to Snow White.

King: Are you almost ready? You have your coat on, but you haven't brushed your hair or teeth yet, have you?

SW: Like I care about that!

King: Well, don't you want to look nice for school?

SW: No. I really don't care about that.

Well then. I was too sick to ever hear if he made her care or not. I'm pretending that he did. Because, sadly, I do care. I really, really do. Even when I'm sick. I mean, who would want to leave the house without brushing their hair and teeth? Blech. I just don't get it.

It Had to be Done

*Male reader discretion is advised. Unless you enjoy shopping for bras and can relate. And if you do, please don't tell me--okay?*
Yesterday, I was called in to sub for a teacher at the girls' elementary school. When I got there, they said the "sub-getter lady"(they didn't call her that, they called her by her nice name) had messed up. I wasn't supposed to be there, but since I had done my hair, dressed in something other than jeans and a t-shirt, and actually shown up on time on a wintry morning, they were going to pay me anyway. Not so bad. I helped Snow White and Sleeping Beauty's teacher, which I would have happily done without getting paid, but I won't tell them that. Then I had the afternoon free.

I knew what I needed to do; I'd been pushing it to the bottom of my list for too long. I knew it was fate. I knew I was dressed and out the door on a morning when Kohls had 50% off deals for a reason. I must go buy that bra that I have needed for longer than I am willing to admit. Oh, the agony!!

Shopping for bras ranks up there on the 'list of horrible things to do' with things such as trying on swim wear, jean shopping, and pulling your nose hairs out. Not fun, but must be done. I decided to jump right in. I grabbed about twelve bras that I thought were my size to start my torture. It turns out that only two of them sort of fit--imagine that. But, they all had fabulous features that looked great.

There were things that made them each unique and quite desirable. One was "the softest bra ever" while another was "the bra with the softest touch". Another promised to "conceal in all the right places" which was in direct competition with the one that offered "full coverage with a sexy look." There were also many that promised "the perfect fit--guaranteed" (they didn't fit, by the way--do I sue, or just write a formal complaint? Will they give me my money back if I never actually bought them? I mean, it says guaranteed. Hmmm...) and several that would look "great under a t-shirt". (Which is good, because I usually don't wear them over my t-shirts. I'm not supposed to, am I?) One was designed to "minimize by at least 1.5 inches" (which I didn't really understand in my size, but anyway...) and another promised to "smooth out back fat." (Could they not think of anything else to call it? Back fat? That just sounds...gross. The feature did work, by the way. Not that I have back fat or anything. Because that would just be...um, gross.) I think I went back and forth from the dressing room at least three times and was in the store about an hour and a half. (Yes, this is one of the reasons I didn't ever have a bra that fit me well while I had three little girls at home. Can you imagine this with three grouchy onlookers? No thanks!)

In the end, I settled on something boring and reliable. Much like the rest of my wardrobe. It does have a fancy name to try to get it to seem like more than it really is: "the feeling sexy push-up". But I suppose if having the girls up where they belong, instead of in their post-nursing, hovering near your waist position is sexy, then the name fits. Or maybe I should wear the bra over the top of my t-shirt after all. That might be really sexy. Perhaps I've just been doing things wrong all along.

Blessings

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and hope you did, too. We feasted with friends, I got out shopping, and on Saturday, King and I spent the day with Cinderella and ten other youth in our ward at the temple. It was great to be there and was a fabulous way to spend a Saturday. While we were there, I kept thinking of this quote I read recently :

“When you come to the temple you will love your family with a deeper love than you have ever felt before. The temple is about families. As my wife, Karen, and I have increased our temple service, our love for each other and for our children has increased. And it doesn’t stop there. It extends to parents, brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, forebears, and especially our grandchildren! This is the Spirit of Elijah, which is the spirit of family history work; and when inspired by the Holy Ghost, it prompts the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. Because of the priesthood, husbands and wives are sealed together, children are sealed to their parents for eternity so the family is eternal and will not be separated at death.”

Richard H. Winkel, “The Temple Is about Families,” Ensign, Nov. 2006, 9

There really is no other place on earth where I feel a deeper love for my family and feel God's love stronger. I love attending the temple and am grateful to friends who helped us out so we could go.

Speaking of those friends, they shared a story with us when we returned home to pick up Snow White and Sleeping Beauty who stayed with them for the day.

During dinner, Sleeping Beauty commented on how great the meatballs were. Snow White agreed, and added something like, "Sometimes the meatballs my mom makes are kind of gross."

K replied, "Well, these are the same thing, it's your mom's recipe."

"Oh."

I guess K's blessed with extra meatball ability, or something. Maybe if I start calling them K's Meatballs when I make them, they'll have that added measure of something special and the kids will eat them without complaining. Or maybe not. It's worth a try, though.

Happy Thanksgiving

This time of year, I always miss my family. They all live in other states and it is not economical or really very feasible to go visit for Thanksgiving. However, this year, we'll be celebrating with some great friends who are the best substitute family we could have. They're fabulous! We're thankful to have them in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Have a safe and fun holiday! See you next week!

Guess What I Did Today

And it really wasn't that bad. Really. I mean, if you've ever had a baby or had a cavity filled without the drugs working, then this is a breeze. And if you haven't ever done either of those things, well, it's not that bad. And it only lasts a couple of minutes. You should do it. Just go. Get it over with, already.

Memory Monday...Class of '91

Okay, so I was supposed to post this, at my sister's request, on Friday. But, I had no idea where my senior pictures were. Which was just fine with me, really, because the world certainly doesn't need more permed hair and humongous lace collars. However, yesterday, in cleaning up a mess of the stationary that is stored in my closet (um, thanks for that opportunity, girls) I came across the senior picture I put in my yearbook. I have no idea why it was in there. Maybe it was fate, because, really, how could we all not love looking at this disaster?I wish I could have found all of the other proofs I have. I loved the ones with my name written in lights behind me, or the ones where I rested my chin on my hands on top of a mirror so you could see my sexy, serious look reflecting. But, I chose this one for the yearbook, because it was "classic" and "timeless" and sweet, but wise looking. Ha! I think it's safe to say that Jessica McClintock has moved on to better things, thank goodness. Those lace collars were awesome back then, though. I remember almost choosing for the yearbook a fabulous pose where I was looking over my shoulder, but the lace on the back of the dress was not so dramatic and gorgeous. Thankfully, I didn't choose that pose, because Tiffany M. chose that pose for her picture, and we had the same dress. Except hers was blue and mine was green. That would have been embarrassing.

Speaking of embarrassing, I could have posted my wedding pictures here, and I looked about the same--two years later. And, speaking of my wedding, I had one cousin that wore this exact dress to my wedding. Because I couldn't help myself from sharing my fashion faux pas with other younger, impressionable girls. I'm nice that way.

Flat

Yesterday, I hurriedly shuffled the twins into the car and started backing out of the driveway, to pick up Cinderella from after-school choir practice, when I noticed the flat tire light in the dashboard was flashing at me. Nice. I decided to investigate, and found that one rear tire was completely flat. Completely. And I really just wanted to cry. It was the last straw. Have you ever had one of those days?

However, I decided to take the higher road. I decided to laugh. I had Snow White and Sleeping Beauty hop out and come look at the gigantic screw that had adopted us sometime in the last few days. I'm pretty sure they thought I was crazy when I laughed and told them we'd have to blow it up and then pray that we made it to the middle school, and then on to dance, and finally, to the tire store. We have a small air compressor that slowly, but surely, blew up the tire. We were only fifteen minutes late to get Cinderella, and twenty minutes late for dance. But, the air stayed in and we even got the tire fixed for free under a warranty. Phew.

Yes, it changed my plans for the day slightly, and I about froze my rear off blowing up the tire, but I was so glad that I took this advice from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

"Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

"There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.

[...]The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

Now, if only I can follow this advice when it's time to motivate the kids to do their Saturday chores. I may just laugh until I cry.

Healthy Habits

I have taken the challenge from Michal at Relishing Motherhood to start or continue some new habits through the new year. I have chosen a few that will probably help me more mentally than physically. (And, the truth is, I could use it. Well, I could use both, but the physical thing is sort of feeling a bit hopeless. The headaches, I mean. Which really is another post, or blog, altogether. Anyway....) My goals are:

• Study my scriptures seven times a week--before blogging or computer time.

• Add at least one more fruit or vegetable to my lunch at least five times a week.

• Involve the girls in service outside of our home at least one time a week.

So, if you'd like, join me, and the (I think) sixteen others in forming some healthy habits for this busy time of year. You can visit the blog here, and comment to join in.

Tackle it Tuesday

(Actually, it was a Thursday.) I am so sick of pears. I really barely like them anyway. I use the pear sauce to substitute for oil in baking, and, occasionally, the girls (except Cinderella, she has an aversion to most fruits and vegetables) eat it plain. Ick-but, whatever, it's good for them. My friend Kelsey and I spent the better part of the day cutting and squishing and boiling. It was nice to be done. We've also spent the last few days drying a bunch. The best part? All of them were FREE. King's boss is so nice. :)

Before:

And, after:

Just So You Know

IF you use powdered milk (to ingeniously save money and rotate your supply in your food storage without having to drink the nasty stuff) for your recipe of broccoli cheddar soup, when you put in the cheddar cheese, it will not melt into the soup. Even after ten minutes of stirring, and melting. It will do this:I am no food scientist, so I have no idea why it wouldn't blend. I do know, though, that your family will have less curiosity than you do as to why it happened. They'll just want to eat. Which they'll do only because you put enough garlic in. But they'll only eat after you get all the globby cheese out. Because if you leave it in, it will just be too unappetizing. You don't save money, by the way, if you throw good, expensive cheese in the garbage.

Just trust me. Don't try it.

Extreme Veterans Day

Did you know that tap dancing is an extreme sport? Neither did I. Sleeping Beauty worked so hard on her tap dance for the school's Veteran's Day program. She, and her partner, N, practiced after school and during recess, even during some class time when their tap teacher, Michelle, came out to the school to help them. Intense instruction and extreme concentration. It was some extreme cramming to get the dance from start to performance in just under two weeks. However, I have decided tap dancing should belong in the extreme sport category for another unfortunate reason all together.

All week in their practicing, the tap teacher, N's mom, their school teacher, and I kept telling N to stop sliding around on his tap shoes and messing around. We were worried he would get hurt. So, it is ironic that Tuesday morning, right after N and SB practiced their dance, and SB was walking across the gym floor to change back into her street shoes, she was the one that fell and knocked off most of her front permanent tooth. Thankfully, I was there at the school, so I was able to take her in to the dentist right away. She broke the tooth off up to the nerve, so it hurt and you could see the little pink of the nerve on her tooth. (Shudder. It hurts my teeth every time I think of it.) The dentist put a "fake fingernail-like tooth" on, referred us to a specialist an hour away for the next morning, and sent SB back to school to perform for the Veterans.

It was traumatic. Snow White was more upset than Sleeping Beauty at first. I think it was because SW could see the tooth and SB couldn't. But, they both handled it, and performed well for the Veterans later that afternoon. I think that it is good that SB doesn't really grasp all the things that could happen as a result of the injury. She had to have a root canal yesterday on the one front tooth, (she was a trooper!) and hopefully that will save the tooth from falling out. There is still a possibility that the tooth will die and come out. But, we're praying that doesn't happen. Also, the other front tooth has a crack in it that can only be seen with a bright light shining through it (much like a stress fracture of a bone) that could result in another root canal at a later date. The two teeth next to the two front teeth are exhibiting cold and heat sensitivity, and show a little nerve damage spots in an x-ray, so the possibility that those could be affected is there too.

So, all we want for Christmas is SB's two front teeth. Which is good, because now that's pretty much all we're getting this year.

On a brighter, and much less stressful note, here is the video (not great quality, just from my little camera) of the girls' performances in the Veteran's Day program. They were great! Besides the video we have here, the girls also sang more songs, passed out programs, served the Veteran's lunch, passed out tributes to the Veterans, and helped with skits. Their teacher's class puts on the program every year. Snow White sang a solo of the Marine Corps song as they brought in the Marine flag. Sleeping Beauty tapped as a tribute to the WWII Veterans. I don't think the Veteran's noticed that SB wasn't smiling. They wouldn't have believed she had a traumatic injury earlier in the day. They all loved it. We'll never forget it, that's for sure.

In this picture, you can see that the doctor did a great job putting on her fake tooth. I bet you can't even tell which one she broke, can you?

Initially Speaking

It has been crazy around here the past few days. I have stories to tell. But, I keep feeling too lousy to put everything down when I have a free minute. Just to show my loyal readers I haven't forgotten about them, I thought I'd share a cool website with you. It is initiallyspeaking.blogspot.com. My sister custom makes and sells these adorable letters for your wall (or shelf, or wherever you put them.) She has decided to go online so now you can visit Initially Speaking to order. I think it would make the cutest baby gift or a unique Christmas gift. I love the FAMILY example she has on her site. Super cute. You can pick your own colors and fonts. It's so fun. So, go check it out and order something fun!

Oh Boy

What a day! There were good parts, and really not so good parts. The Veteran's Day program was fabulous. More later.
Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served our country. We appreciate you and your sacrifices.

Busy, Busy Girls

Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have been working feverishly on their parts for the Veteran's Day program at their school tomorrow. The teacher asked SB and her friend if they would do a tap number for the program. In three hours, they learned a routine that is two and a half minutes long and at least twice as fast as anything SB's done before. It's tricky, and I'm praying she can pull it off and be proud of her accomplishment.

Snow White has a vocal solo in the program. She sings the Air Force song. If I don't hear that song, and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, for a few days after tomorrow, that will be just fine with me. I can't sleep with them running through my head! Aaargh! (And, apparently, the songs are turning me into a pirate, too--aaargh, who says that?)

Not My Best Week

This feels like a really long week. King's been gone for three days, and I've been sick. I'm finally over my cold, but, unfortunately, my migraines have been terrible. Anyway, I'm not really complaining, simply giving some background to the following events---

• Yesterday morning I ate 3/4 of a bowl of cold cereal with milk when I realized that there were little curdled spots of milk in my bowl. Yep, totally rotten milk. I suppose that I just couldn't smell or taste anything so I didn't notice. Or, I may have thought it smelled a bit off, but, truthfully, when I have a bad headache my nose becomes super-nose and all milk, meat, shoes, kids, husbands, and almost everything smells terrible. So I guess I just thought it was a headache thing. Well, luckily I didn't get sick or anything, but I think I won't eat cereal for breakfast for a few days. Ick.
  

• Ten people asked me where King was and I didn't know. I simply forgot where he had gone because I didn't arrange the business trip and I was too sick to care when he left. I had to look it up. I swear, I shouldn't be trusted. It was worse that one of these people was my bishop. Uh, duh. How embarrassing.

• The girls were playing nicely and quietly outside, so I was resting and letting them enjoy no supervision whatsoever. A few minutes later I see that they have taken one of our pumpkins and smashed it all over the street. Hoodlums.
  

It's Finally Over

My friend led me to this electoral map that I think reflects a lot of what I feel at the end of this very long election process: Pretty, good, huh? And that's really all I have energy to say on this matter today. I'm off to the store to buy the essentials we're missing--tin foil, sandwich bags, and Nyquil.

People Watching

Today I have two things on my to-do list.

1. Vote
2. Try to get over this miserable cold.
   

Things are going slowly, but now that I've had my nap after a shower, I am about to head out and enjoy my right to choose.

Yesterday, I had a running around day. I took a friend to acquire an ID so that she could vote, went grocery shopping, got my allergy shots, met King for a date, got the oil changed in the van, picked up Cinderella from choir and took her to piano, took Sleeping Beauty to tap, got the tires rotated on the van, (yes, I did the oil and the tires separately, so it would be free) picked up Sleeping Beauty from tap, helped with homework, and encouraged good grooming habits in my children. I have to say that of these tasks, the ones I enjoyed the most were changing the oil and rotating the tires. Mostly because I didn't have to do anything but read a book, and people watch.

I love people watching. Yesterday, people were fun. There was one man that sat on the couch in the auto lounge intently watching a Soap Opera, hushing his wife every time she wondered aloud if they should check on their car or change the channel. Another man, not interested in the Soaps, got the following lecture from his wife when she returned from the bathroom: "Did you just read the last page of my book again? You better keep your mouth shut. I like to be surprised! I hate when you do that, you're going to give it away. See? You're already grinning, you know I'm going to like it. You ruined my book! Next time, you are not coming with me."

There were also the garden variety college conversations about telling or not telling a guy you want to "hook up" and whether or not the rent you pay is worth it with such lousy roommates. I also heard a sweet old lady cuss like a sailor when she lost her car in the parking lot. (I did that too. Not the cussing part, the losing the car part. But only for a minute. I hate that. And remember--I said I have a lousy cold. That might be a good excuse. This time, anyway.)

Anyhow, I think it's fun to watch people in action. I hope no one was really watching me. I was either reading, and blowing my dripping nose and wiping my watering eyes, so I looked like I was quite emotional about the book. Or, I was pretending to read, and trying to not laugh at my people observations, still wiping my eyes and nose. So sort of laughing and crying at my book. They probably thought I was a freak. My only consolation is that I probably left them with enough little germs that next week they'll look a little freaky. Too bad it's not still Halloween.

Halloween I-Spy

We had so much fun at our Halloween Carnival on Wednesday, and last night with our Halloween festivities, that I decided to make a fun game of I-Spy for you. See if you can find:

• A dangling donut and a "Baby" eating it right up
• Cupcakes with frosting that has so much dye it could do things to your bodily excrements
• A beautiful "Cleopatra" and an adorable "Astronaut" that joined us in our festivities
• A spooky dinner of Dead Man's Meatloaf, Green Brain Casserole, Mummy Dogs, Ghostly Mashed Potatoes, and Blood Red Punch
• Four very brave Elders that joined us for dinner
• A "Pink Lady"
• Busy girls wrapping "mummies"
• A "Little Girl"
• The cutest Spider Cake in the world
• An "Indian"
• An adorable group of Trick-or-Treaters
• A "Flip-Flopping Politician"
• Will Ferrell playing Wii with Cinderella
• Loads of smiles on a beautiful fall evening!