Busy, Busy

Because we couldn't think of anything else to do on a week when we are preparing for Christmas, two weddings, and vacation;  having Christmas concerts and holiday parties;  doing laundry, dishes, and middle school finals--we decided to also refinance our house.

We closed yesterday, and while it was a bit painful, it was so much easier to buy the same house the second time.  It's a lot easier to sign your life away when you know a lot about where you are going to do live said life.  And, with the savings our new interest rate bought us, maybe we'll buy a condo in Hawaii or something.  (Right.)

Also, just for fun, I caught pneumonia.  But, I got some good drugs, so I should be good to hop on a plane in a couple of days.  Seriously, when I pulled out the little patient leaflet for my antibiotic it said, "This medication is used when patients are exposed to Anthrax, or for other serious infections" or something like that.  Yikes.  So, along with that, cough medicine, an inhaler, and some other concoction she gave me, I think by tonight I should feel well enough to enjoy Wicked. 

Yes, we are seeing Wicked!  We are so very excited, and the girls have been singing "Popular" for days in preparation.  A couple of days ago, I also caught King singing along.  It's especially cute when he sings it. :)

And that, my friends, is what we've been up to the last week or so.  Until next time...

Hibernation

I have decided I should have been born a bear.  The thought of curling up in a dark, quiet cave for the winter sounds sooooooo appealing to me.  I could really do with sleeping through this cold, miserable weather.  And the dark and quiet is ever so appealling.

Although, do bears have migraines?  Because if they don't then I probably wouldn't feel as much like hibernating if I felt good.  Except for the cold.  So maybe I'd only hibernate on the frigid days, but then be really productive on the coldish days.  And, I'd always be caught up on laundry since bears don't wear clothes.  So, yes, I should have been a bear.    
(Obviously, I should spend more time thinking through things before posting, don't you think?  Of course, then posting may never happen, instead of just almost never happen.) 

And, speaking of posting...with the Christmas Season in full swing, two family weddings to attend, and one three week long vacation to prepare for, posting around these parts may be scarce indeed. 

Unless, of course, I do decide to hibernate, and then it will be non-existent all together.  Until Spring. 

Chores

This morning, I told the girls they needed to get busy doing their Saturday Chores.  Chaos ensued.  It seems that it is "Thanksgiving Break now" and no one should be "allowed to work" because it is "time for vacation". 

Whoops.  I take back all of that cooking and cleaning in the kitchen I did.  As well as the four loads of laundry yesterday.  I didn't realize I was not allowed. 

Abundant Blessings

I have so many things to be grateful for.  Countless things--some being a wonderful hard-working husband, fabulous children, a supportive and fun extended family, great friends, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful, also, for a living Prophet who loves God and heads His Church.  He gave us some powerful words of wisdom about gratitude that I am reflecting on today:

"Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings.

"This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways.

"We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."

"...A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” President Thomas S. Monson

Happy Thanksgiving!  And thank you, dear readers, for all that you are in my life!  I am richly blessed.

Another Week

Another week has somehow flown by.  And, when I try to think of what exactly I did, nothing spectacular comes to mind.  Just the regular busy-ness of every day life, I suppose. 

I've been helping the twins with research for their English papers a bit.  I dare you to ask me anything about the Red Panda or the White Tiger.  I'm pretty sure I know it all, as we had to scour every book in the library (three libraries, actually) and every internet site for something new about these obscure animals to get the required 50 facts.  Next time, we're sticking with Yellow Labs or Black Bears.

I took Cinderella to her follow-up appointment for her headaches.  She has been doing really well with the seizure medication he prescribed.  Her headaches have decreased considerably, and she's only missed one day of school  in the last three weeks.  Phew. 

We had new windows and a sliding glass door installed.  They look great, and we are so glad it is done.  And by 'done', I mean we are still waiting for them to come back and finish the inside around the sliding glass door.  It seems even when you hire someone, these home improvement projects take forever.  But, if King had done it, it wouldn't have even been started, he's been so busy, so we're glad we went the way we did. 

The past week or so has been a little rough for me headache-wise, and finally yesterday, after I don't remember how long, I made a real dinner again.  It seems everyone (my three girls) complains just as much when you make a real meal as they do when you make cold cereal or canned soup.   So, my advice would be to stick with the soup and cereal plan.  In the end, everyone (my three girls) is just as happy, and there are a lot less dishes to do.

I just thought you should know that I am an ironing wizard.  And I never even turn on the iron.  This past Sunday, three of my daughters (yep, only three) "forgot" they didn't have their clothes ironed when it was time for church.  They each asked me if I could iron them quickly, and I obliged.  I laid them all on my bed, spritzed them with water, and smoothed out the wrinkles with my hands.  It took about as much time as just turning on the iron and they looked just great.  Unless you looked at them from the back, which rarely happens, right?  Except I think we sat on the third row from the front on Sunday.  Whoops. 

And, that is just about enough rambling, I think.  If you are still here, then I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you are able to enjoy time with family and friends, wherever you may be.   

Christmas Wishes

We are traveling for Christmas this year.  I explained to the girls that their Christmas Wish List has already been made for them.  It goes something like this:

• Plane ride to Las Vegas
• Van ride to St. George
• Car ride to Northern Utah
• Attend Aunt Emily's wedding
• Visit family and friends in Utah
• Car ride to St. George
• Hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and cousins
• Have Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa
• Car ride to California
• Hang out with Grandma and Papa and cousins
• Go to amusement park
• Attend Uncle Sean's wedding
• New skirt and shirt to wear to said wedding
• Have New Year's with Grandma and Papa
• Car ride to Las Vegas
• Hotel stay in Las Vegas
• Plane ride home

That seems like a lot, right?  But, I told them, they could pick one thing to add to this already long and fabulous list that has been prepared for them.

Cinderella says, as we drive past some country homes, "I've always wanted a fake deer like that to put in our yard.  Or maybe a tiger.  Perhaps a goose.  Could you make this my official request?"

She kills me. :)

image via http://www.gooseduds.com/

Good

Today I took a quick trip to the grocery store.  It seems our family doesn't function too well when it doesn't have milk, eggs, bread and cheese.  Not to mention anything that forms a complete meal.  But, today I went for necessities only.  And, I did pretty well, considering.  I mean, I did forget the bread, but I got salsa.  What can't be improved with a little salsa?  Bread, shmead.

And, I wanted to just run in real quick, because I only needed a few things, and despite actually showering, I still looked like I had just rolled out of bed.  I did put actual clothes on, but they were the kind of clothes most people (not me) wear while exercising.  And just how many people did I see that I know in the seven minutes I was in that store?  Four.  Four.

Two of them just said, 'Hello, how are you?' and I said, 'Good', which was sort of a lie, but they let me get away with it.  Another, after my 'good' answer, asked, 'And how have your headaches been?'  Probably because I didn't really look good.  And then I couldn't really lie, so I just said, 'Well, I am out of bed, which is 100% better than yesterday!'  Which sounds cheerful enough, right? 

And then the last friend asked how I was, and I asked how she was, and then she said, 'You just look pretty awful.'  Which is how I felt, but I didn't really want to hear that.  I mean, I pretended I was feeling fine, couldn't she pretend I was looking fine?  So I said, 'Well, I feel a whole lot better than yesterday!' and she said, 'Uh, good..?...' and then I said, 'Well, have a great day.'  And now I am wondering if it is now kosher to tell someone they look pretty awful.  Did I miss something in the whole manners department lately?

Oh well.  At least she didn't ask me if I was pregnant, or when I was due.  That's always awkward.  Especially when they pat your belly and say that you look more and more pregnant each time they see you.  Which happened to me once.  Seriously.  When I weighed about 50 lbs less than I do now, and hadn't had any kids yet.  So, today was actually pretty awesome, comparatively. Really awesome.  In fact, I think I will stop at the mall and see who I run into.  I might even brush my hair before I go. 

This is the Thing About Parenthood

It's exhausting.  It's tedious.  It's frustrating.  It's overwhelming.  It amplifies every insecurity I've ever had.  It's a glutton for punishment.  And yet....YET...

I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.  It's the best thing that ever happened to me.  I think I'm a better person because of it.  My perspective is heightened and broadened, and there is nothing that has ever made me humbler and more reliant on my Father in Heaven.  I have learned more about myself, more about others, and more about God.  Parenthood is definitely a divine role, and one I am so grateful that I have.     

“Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves.

“That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is.”

Henry B. Eyring, “Our Perfect Example,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 70-71

I cherish my girls and know that families are part of God's eternal plan.  But I must also remember that hormones and middle school years are also part of Heavenly Father's plan.  (Yikes. This one's a bit harder to remember.) :)

Cinderella and the Amazing Technicolor Cupcakes

Way, way back many centuries ago, not long after the Bible began, Jacob lived in the land ...of...Canaan....

Actually, that's not it.  Too much Joseph around this place.  It was actually not that long ago...

Way back about a month ago, not long after October began, Cinderella turned 14.  She wanted a party, which was okay since it actually was a "friend party" year.  I told her she could only invite four people.  She wanted to invite six more.  I won.  I told her it would be simple, with no theme and no work.  She wanted a "Food Network Challenge" theme and a cupcake competition.  She won.

So, she planned the details, I made some aprons, and the party-goers arrived.  The girls had a great time decorating their technicolor cupcakes.  One cupcake had to be a "Birthday" cupcake, and one had to be "Inspired by a Book".  They made some extras just for fun.

Tie Dye, Birthday Balloons, Esperanza Rising, Skittles

Curse Dark as Gold, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Sprinkles

Twilight, Polka-Dots, Candy, Eclipse

the line up

ready for judging

We had some friends come over and be the unbiased judges.  Much to Cinderella's (and her friends') chagrin, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White won the "best over-all" award for their birthday balloon cupcake. 

The older girls were all gracious losers, though, and I know had more fun creating than eating their cupcakes.  The girls also had some pizza, watched some Cupcake Wars and Food Network Challenge, and hung out to the tune of talking and giggling. 

We love our Cinderella and are so proud of the gentle, smart, beautiful young lady she is becoming.  We should have a party every day to celebrate her wonderfulness.  But, every other year will have to do.

  

Obligatory Halloween Pictures

The girls had a great time carving their pumpkins, and so did King.  Everyone loved his "gonzo-inspired" pumpkin, but it lost it's magic a little when lit in the dark. 

 

We had our regular Halloween meal of dead-man's meatloaf, green brain casserole, and ghostly mashed potatoes.  We missed our friends we've shared this meal with the past couple of years, and the friends we were going to invite had I not felt too lousy for company. (Yes, I realize the meatloaf does look gross.  It's a dead man, it's supposed to be gross.  He tasted good, though.)

 The One Amiga (she wanted all of them to be The Three Amigos, but they wouldn't play along), the Witch, and the Red Riding Hood.

We let the kids go out trick-or-treating for a while with their friends from the neighborhood, who also happen to be in our ward.  I think they are a bit old, but I guess if you are willing to get in a real costume, and beg for candy, more power to you.  (Or, more candy to you, as this case would be.)  They had a great time.  It was beautiful weather. 

 It was a happy Halloween. 

The Fridge Shopping List

Look what I found today.  Poor Daddy.

Such mean children.  You could say he brings it on himself;  he lives with girls that can dish it out as well as he can.  :)
(Of course, I didn't erase it, so I guess I'm just about as bad as the whole lot of them.)
For the record, we love our handsome daddy just the way he is.

Stranger Things Haven't Happened, Apparently

The best part about rarely making a good dinner is that when you do happen to pull your sorry self together and actually cook a real meal, people are impressed.  Yesterday I made lasagna.

"Mom, thank you, thank you, thank you.  I love lasagna.  I love you so much.  I mean, I loved you before, but I'm just so excited!" exclaimed Snow White, jumping up and down.

A few minutes later:  "Wow!  Lasagna?  Who are you making that for?" queried Sleeping Beauty.

"Um, us.  For dinner,"  I replied.

"Really?!  Why?"

"Well, because we have the stuff and it was written down on the menu for a couple of weeks ago."  Yep.  I'm behind.  Just a little bit.

"So, who's coming over for dinner?"

"No one.  Just us."

"Weird."

Yep.  That's me.  Whipping up strange and weird stuff like lasagna.  Because I'm fancy like that.

Once every couple of years or so.

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

I did not forget you.  Nor did I forget my few faithful readers and family members whom I love so dearly.  I have been busy.  And feeling a little sorry for myself on a few points.  Not major things, but I'm tired.  Can we take a break and still be friends when I can get back to you?  Good. 

Thanks much,
Me

p.s.  Remind me to tell you about the time that we watched that Babies show and the girls were scared to grow breasts, and that other time where we threw a great party and Cinderella turned 14.  See you soon!

A Cautionary Tale

In the last few days, I have discovered that there are some things better left undone.

• Don't listen to a pitch from a salesman.  Especially if you have a propensity for headaches coming on.

We had a nice person come to the door just as I was laying down with my ice pack and really good migraine drugs.  Somehow, in my drug induced nicety, I roped myself into a vacuum salesman coming by later that week.  My, oh my, there are some expensive vacuums out there.  And lots of disgusting dust in my carpets.  (We won't dwell on that part, but I will say I do need a new vacuum, that's for sure.)   

But, this poor kid.  My head hurt pretty bad when he got there, and just got worse.  I kept thinking I just wanted him to stop talking.  He'd say something like, 'Just think about how much healthier your family would be with our Hepa-filter.  All those doctor appointments would be avoided.  Just saving on that alone will pay for the sweeper.  How much did you pay on medical bills last year? How much could not taking your kids in be put toward this sweeper?' and I would quip back with, 'We have a free employee clinic that I took the kids to once last year.  So, zero dollars, really.'

Or, 'How much do you spend on coffee per week?' Me: 'Nothing.'  Him, 'Oh, how about Coke, Pepsi?  I spend a ton on Mountain Dew.'  And I smartly say, 'I drink water.  It's free.'  Smile. 'You should try it.'  Wink.  I was so charming.

And my personal (mortifying) favorite: he explains, 'If I sell just one more vacuum this month, the company is sending me and my wife on a trip.  We got married four months ago and didn't get a honeymoon.  Isn't that sad?  My wife would love the trip.'  And I said, 'Sorry, I don't really feel bad for you on that one.  My husband was in school when we got married.  We never went on a real honeymoon and we've been married seventeen years.  Happily, I might add.  You don't need a honeymoon for a good marriage.  You're not going to convince me to spend 2,000 dollars on a vacuum just so you can have a honeymoon.  Sorry.'  Big smile.

Oh boy, I was his worst nightmare!  I am sure he put a mark on the front of my house somewhere as he left.  Just to warn other salesman that the Tasmanian Housewife She-Devil lives here.  Just in case he forgot, I think I'll make my own:

Migraine in Progress

To avoid rude behavior, abuse, and possible bodily harm or death, salesmen should not enter.  

I'm not kidding.

That poor guy.  I hope he didn't have bad dreams about me.  I'm pretty sure he decided dropping out of college was a bad idea, though.  I'm pretty sure just about now he's thinking, 'Hard English class?  Pshaw!  I've faced the Spawn of Evil on a vacuum sale.  Chaucer can't scare me. Bring. it. on.'

General Conference Meme

My cousin over at Diapers and Divinity is hosting a General Conference Extravaganza.  And, me being one who never wants to miss a party, even if I am late, I thought I would finally get around to posting some of my thoughts on General Conference.  I loved it.  Didn't you?  Steph listed questions to answer as you reflected back on Conference.  Here are my answers.

General Conference Highlights, October 2010:

1.  Who were your three favorite speakers?  

 President Monson, President Uchtdorf, Elder Scott.  So many, really.

2.  Favorite talk?  

This is a hard one.  I really loved President Monson's talk about gratitude, but also loved President Uchtdorf's about steadying your course and Elder Eyring's about trust. 

3.  Favorite hymn sung during Conference?   

 Lead Kindly Light

4.  Who wore the best tie?   

I forgot to pay attention to that. 

5.  Do you think conference had a “theme”?   

I think agency and Prophets were both mentioned quite a bit, but to me there was not an overwhelming theme this time. 

6.  Share a few of your favorite quotes (paraphrasing is fine).

“Parents do not need to be perfect, just honest and sincere.”-Sister Wixom 

"Faith is a principle of action and power."-Richard G. Scott

"We bless generations when we reach out to others." -Garrett W. Gong

"Proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances."-Deiter F. Uchtdorf 

"Be still, and know that I am God."-Psalm 46:10, obviously-but it was quoted by three people and stood out to me.

7.  Something that made you smile during conference.

President Monson taking credit for "his" Tabernacle Choir and President Uchtdorf  saying, something like, "Well, that's all very well and good, but what does that have to do with airplanes?"

8.  Any evidence that your children paid attention?

Lots!  They did great.  We had them take notes and make up questions to ask each other after each session.  They got one piece of candy for each correct answer, and two if they stumped their sisters.  They each were able to tell us which talk was their favorite and which stories they liked.  We didn't even tell them they had to do it for all four sessions, but they made it through most of it.  It was fabulous.

9.  If you had to give a talk in General Conference (don’t faint, this is hypothetical), what do you think you’d speak about?

I think trusting God and letting your hope be in Him and his will for you.

10.  What are some of your post-conference goals?

*Proceed at the optimum circumstance for my circumstances, remembering that I need to focus what little energy I have on my family and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I don't have to be perfect, just sincere. I can do that! Be grateful for what I can do, don't focus on what I can't. 

*Make the things I spend my time on reflect the commitments and covenants I have made to God.  Consecrate my life to Him daily, focusing on prayer.  Be more sensitive to the needs of others and see them (and myself) how God sees them.

*Be more diligent in "blacking out" from my home the evil things that will darken our lives.  Trust in Heavenly Father to help my husband and myself in making courageous decisions for my family.

*That's a pretty decent start, I think.  :)

Now, go to Steph's blog and submit your own answers, or leave the link in the comments on this post.  I'd love to hear your experience; it helps me learn when I see what stood out to others.  It was a great exercise to help sum up my thoughts and impressions I received as I listened.

My Favorite Fall Weekend

I love Fall.  And my very favorite weekend of every Autumn is the first weekend in October.  It's when I gt to hear the words and counsel from the Prophets of God.  Join me for some inspiration and rejuvenation!

Watch Here

Listen Here

Here's a great message from one of my favorite talks last General Conference to get you in the mood:

Better Like That

As I was working on the computer the other day, I overheard Snow White tell Sleeping Beauty how much she liked her gym teacher.  And then she said, "I'm going to go ahead and let my gym teacher think the reason I do track in the spring is because he told me I was a natural runner, and I should join the track team. I won't tell him that I was going to join anyway. It'll be better like that."  She's a smart one, that girl.  Keep those teachers thinking they know everything.

And then I find that this running thing is more important than I thought.  It is also Snow White's goal to outrun everyone in her gym class.  I found this out as she was running up and down the isle at the shoe store.  She said she was checking to make sure the shoes didn't "interfere with her performance."  (She cracks me up.)  Then she told me how she passed up all of the girls days ago, and had now finished laps before everyone but one boy.  One boy.  And she needed the shoes to help her beat him.  And all along, I thought she needed them because her old ones were too small and worn.

"Well, that too," she said, "But if I can beat [boy] then it will be worth the effort of going shopping for new shoes.  I hate shopping."

Obviously, she was extremely disappointed today when they did not run in gym class.  But, she assured me, [boy] totally noticed she had new shoes on.

I assured her that he probably had noticed and that he was probably shaking in his boots (or ratty old gym shoes) right about now.  And then I told her she would beat him tomorrow for sure.  I didn't remind her that he usually beats her by almost a full lap.  (It's better like that.)

Coupon Shopping

A few weeks ago, when my sister, Auntie Em, was here to visit, we went to Hobby Lobby.  Emily had seen Sleeping Beauty's mad skills with the stretchy cord bracelets, and decided she would pick up some beads, capitalize on her niece's talent, and get her own fancy bracelet. 

We spent an hour (okay, that's an exaggeration, it was more like 57 minutes) picking just the right beads out.  During our brief time in the bead isle, we happened upon four discarded (by some other shopper) coupons for 40% off one item.  We checked dates (still good, sweet!) and limitations (none, wahoo!) and then Emily made her selections, SB positive that she could make something great with them.  Being the clever people that we are, Em and I each took one coupon, and passed off the others to the girls.  We each clutched our tiny strand of beads, our cash for the purchase, and made our way to the cashier. 

Emily went first.  She handed the cashier her strand of cute red and black beads.  Now, thanks to the coupon, her CHEAP, cute red and black beads.  And the cashier rang up the beads, told her the total, handed Em the coupon back, and said,

"Um, we don't take competitor's coupons."

But, I'm sure if we had been at Michaels, our well-laid plans would have worked out nicely.  :)

I still laugh every time I go to Hobby Lobby. (Like today.)  Especially since the next day, we returned all of the beads, since there was no way Emily was paying that much, even for a cute bracelet hand made by Sleeping Beauty. 

The Mouse's Friends

    

We caught the mouse.  In Cinderella's closet.  She called it her tiny pet.  (Her tiny dead pet.)

For good measure, we left the remaining mouse traps out.  Just in case Cinderella's pet had any friends.  (That just struck me as a little funny.  Because the real Cinderella did have little mouse friends. Right? But they were cute, and didn't freak out the house owners at night.  Anyway...) 

And guess what we caught with the peanut butter meant for the little mouse friends...?  A big pile of ants.  

Fun, huh?  We're in the process of naming all of the little critters, and singing songs with them as we lead them to their new home.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, we can help our Cinderelly. There's nothing to it, really..."
"Oh, the ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah!"

Gross.

Sheesh

Remember my midnight snack?  Well, I went all healthy and had watermelon and grapes.  Delicious.  BUT, then after I finally went to bed around 1:00, I had to get up twice in the next hour or so to use the bathroom.  Sheesh! 

And, guess what else was super fun?!  For the first time ever in our marriage, my darling husband left the toilet seat up.  Sheesh!

All I have to say about that is it's a darn good thing that my bottom is bigger than it used to be, else I would have had an unwanted bath last night as well.

And, that's my story.

OH....WAIT!  How did I almost forget this?! One more thing...

there was a MOUSE in my bedroom last night at 3:30.

So, pretty much, I had the best night's sleep ever last night. 

SHEESH!

(You better believe I bought every mouse trap at the local farm store today.  I am NOT sharing my house, even if it is one of God's creatures, ThankYouVeryMuch.)

Midnight Snack

Went grocery shopping today. I realized it was time when the girls started asking if we were having cereal or eggs for dinner.  And when my husband ever so gently said, "We have got to start making dinners again.  This is not good for our kids to have to fend for themselves.  Not to mention it is unhealthy."

Now, before you get all bugged and say, 'Well, then why didn't HE go grocery shopping?!' I will tell you that he would have.  And he would have been happy to.  I'm just better at it.  He will likely do most of the cooking, so I figured I could do the organizing and shopping.

And 222 dollars later, we have a month-long menu and most of the food to cook it up.  And it only took me all day to do it.  I took a nap after the planning, I took a nap after the list making, and I took a nap after the shopping.  Not because I wanted to nap that many times, but because my body simply would not function if I didn't.

And now, guess what?  It's midnight.  My head still hurts (although not as bad as a few hours ago) and I can't sleep anymore.  And I'm starving.  And there is now good food in the house.  Dangerous.  So much for my resolution (I make it about every week) to not eat after 9 p.m.  I thought blogging would help eliminate my need to eat (I did skip dinner because I felt too lousy to eat, so I probably do need some food) but instead it has only convinced me that I should eat right now. Because, now, I'm not sneaking around, eating alone in my dark kitchen.  I'm eating with all of you.  Thanks, guys. :)

What's on My Mind This Week

I picked up Cinderella from school today because she had a migraine.  For the fifth time since August 11th when school started.  In sixth grade, she went to the nurse an average of 2 times a month for migraines.  I'm no math wiz, but it looks like now she's having them twice as much.  Or more. Apparently, she has at least seven headache days that she doesn't take medicine for, but they're annoying.

So, last week, I took her with me to my neurologist.  (I'm upping the dose of my medicine again, but that's not the story here.) He definitely thought it was a problem to miss school for headaches--especially a daughter of mine.  He also thinks that she will get worse as she progresses through puberty.  Great.  So, she started on one of the hundreds (that's a slight exageration) of the medications I have tried in the last couple of years.  We're praying she has a better outcome with it than I did.  She also got some "rescue" migraine medication to use when her headache comes on.  It didn't work today, but she may have waited too long to try to catch it.  We'll try again later.

So, how do I feel about this whole thing?  Sad, overwhelmed, guilty, mad, empathetic, and just plain frustrated.  It just hurts so much to watch her be miserable, when I know how much it hurts.  I just want the medication to help her so she doesn't have to miss out on things.  I want it to go away.  I don't want this to control her life like it has to control mine sometimes.

Now, I hope you realize that I know this is not the end of the world.  It is just headaches, and not something that is severely detremental to her health or anything.  She's a happy (if surly), healthy, beautiful teenager, and I'm grateful she's mine.  She is a trooper, and is weathering this fine.  She's pulling straight A's despite missing five half to full days of school.  Her one request is a better curtain in her room so less light comes through.  A request I completely understand and am happy to fulfill.  Perhaps the worst thing about seeing her suffer through a bad day is that I know from painful experience that while it is "just headaches", that headaches are hard and it is no fun.  No fun at all.

So, that's what's on my mind lately.  That, and my dear friend is moving away soon and it stinks. A lot.  But, she had the cutest baby ever last week, so I'll forgive her. ;)  It's a good thing that baby girl is so darn cute.

Things You Overhear

"Hey, have you seen my deodorant?  It's been, like, weeks since I knew where it was."

Yep, our personal hygiene is of utmost importance around this place.  You better believe it.

Evil Plans

This week, we introduced a new chore/allowance/responsibility plan.  Nobody like it. 

"But, that's not fair!" said one.

"There is no way I'm doing that," said another.

"Whatever!" said the third.

And I explained, "We're not doing this to make you do more work.  We're not doing this because you should get paid what a certain task is worth.  We're not doing this to torture you.  We're doing this so that you have more leeway, so that you can have a little money to spend on things you need.  With it will come more responsibility, more ownership of the things that you will buy.  We're doing this so that you become more invested in the decisions you make.  To teach you.  Our business is not to have spoiled, surly teenagers who get what they want and never do anything, our business is to nurture and create responsible, hard-working, loving adults."

"Whatever," said one.

"Yea, right," said another.

"Well, it's obvious your parents didn't do this plan with you.  We have to do all the work, and this is not loving" murmured another.

Mwahahahahahahaha!

It's too bad I'm not a step-mother, I would make a good evil one.

She Tried, Anyway

Well, it has been a day around this place.  Poor Sleeping Beauty woke up feeling dizzy and yucky.  She was lounging on the couch half the day, wouldn't eat anything, and now has a raging fever. 

Then Cinderella started feeling yucky.  Now she has a fever, but still has an appetite.  So maybe she's not so bad.

Sweet Snow White was singing songs to Sleeping Beauty to help her feel better.  So nice, I thought.  I went into the room to check on them and Sleeping Beauty performed this desperate sign-language-of-sorts, letting me know that Snow White better stop singing or maybe Sleeping Beauty would summon up the energy to throw a barrette (not too scary, but the only thing SB had the strength to lift) and impale SW, although she didn't have the heart to tell SW.  I scuttled SW out of the room, and saved her life, probably.  Actually, I may have saved them both.   

Real Life Rambling

It's nice to be back to real life.  Except for the part where I stop taking pain killers every day because it's not good for me and I realize that my real life is sometimes not so fun.  Three of the last five days were spent in bed.  And the other two probably should have been.  Sigh.

So, anyway, there is something funny in the water here.  There are about twelve people in our ward (congregation at church) that are expecting babies, maybe more.  A couple of them had their babies, and the babies are so sweet.  I met another new little guy yesterday, just fresh from heaven.  It's interesting to me, for the first time, to not wish that any of these babies were mine.  I think this is the first time I have felt like this.  There were many years that I ached for a baby, or more babies, but that is over now.  I guess chronic headaches will cure you of baby sickness; although, I don't recommend trying it.  I do, however, recommend holding those sweet bundles of joy whenever possible.  There is nothing so precious as the smell of a newborn.  Yum.

I can't believe it's September, can you?  I went to the grocery store yesterday, though, and could have sworn it was October 1st.  There were Halloween displays everywhere.  Come on, people, no wonder there is an obesity problem in America.  Can anyone buy Halloween candy two months in advance and not eat it before you need it?  I certainly can't.  Keep it hidden from us for a while!

The twins went to Activity Days last night, and came home telling me all about this really cool new game they played: hopscotch.  I know I played it with them and Cinderella when they were in preschool, but they have forgotten.  I had no idea you could get through elementary school and not play that game at recess.  But, apparently you can.  They were amazed when I told them I had played it.  I think in 3rd grade I played it every day, and I was super good.  It's a wonder I didn't go Olympic, in fact.

Well, I better head off to do something semi-productive.  (Not that this isn't, but it is a little easier to see the productivity when your dirty clothes pile becomes clean clothes to wear.)  And I must hurry because we have another orthodontist appointment this afternoon.  Speaking of orthodontia, Sleeping Beauty got braces, and she's a cutie pie, looking so grown-up.  I'll leave you with a picture...    

Tales of the Travels, 5

My sister, Emily was kind enough to drive the 30 hours home with me and the girls, since King was already home.  She drove most of the way, as I was pretty miserable and over vacation by then.  What a trooper she was!  We made stops in Colorado Springs to stay with our friends, Connie and Dave, and then in Kansas City, Missouri to see my aunt and uncle and to see some church sites.

Colorado Springs was beautiful, as was the drive through Southern Utah and Colorado, however, we were caught in weekend traffic and it took us about two hours to go 30 or so miles.  Ugh!  Not what you want at the end of a long day of traveling.  The girls were great, though.  They had two DVD players, (thanks for the loner, Dad!) and kept busy watching movies most of the time.  We did listen to Sarah, Plain and Tall, but the other CD books we got from the library had scratches in them.  Bummer.

Kansas was a little less beautiful than Colorado.  All through Kansas, we saw these fields and fields full of wind farms.  Emily was amazed.  I'd seen them before, but they were cool.  The girls took a look and went back to their movies, which was fine, because they weren't fighting, so we weren't complaining.

It was fun to see my Aunt Donna and Uncle Terrell the next night.  They have been serving a mission in the Kansas City area, taking care of the church buildings.  We stayed in nearby Independence in a horrible hotel King found for us on the internet.  As we were leaving, we ran into a boy about the girls' age in the lobby.  He lived there and his dad worked all day and left him there.  We decided to be very grateful we only had one night there, and then we could go home to our cozy beds.  Phew.


After our lousy hotel night, we stopped at the Historical Site, Liberty Jail.  There is an amazing Spirit there.  It really does give you a perspective on bearing your afflictions in patience. (D&C 24:8)  It sort of made our stay in a gross hotel seem like a picnic in the park.  (We forgot our camera, of course.) 

After Liberty Jail, we went to the temple of the Community of Christ.  We had a very nice older woman (84!) give us a tour.  The kids loved the seashell shape of the spire and standing "inside the shell" in the sanctuary.

 outside with Auntie Em

 

inside the shell

And then we were on our way home.  We got home late, but it was so nice to sleep in our own beds.  Emily stayed for a few days to play.  They were some of the hottest, most humid days of the summer.  Emily hated the humidity.  I can't say I like it, but at least I'm used to it, and it was nice to not feel like my skin was scaling off like It does in the desert.

And that, my friends, is a comprehensive look at what made up most of our summer. 

The end. 

Tales of the Travels, 4

We left hot Las Vegas, and went to just as hot St. George.  (I'm trying to figure out why we do this in July instead of December.)  I think we did a little shopping once we got there, but I mostly slept the first few days.  I was done.  Except for the hours when my brother and his girlfriend came down to announce they were getting married.  And then he beat me with a rubber mallet.  Which is a long story, but has something to do with cysts, Bibles, and good aim.  You had to be there. 

The girls went to a movie with Grandma and Grandpa.  And we went to Cafe Rio and Olive Garden.  Mostly Cafe Rio.  I still dream about those pork burritos.  YUM.  We bought a new car.  The girls test drove new cars for Grandma with Grandpa.  They liked the Mustang Convertible best.  (It was a no-go.)  We hung out and played games, Wii and otherwise.  We ate lots of  ice cream and frozen custard.  The girls went swimming and shopping with Grandma lots.  I slept.  Lots.  It was good for me after a couple of too-busy weeks, and the girls loved it.  King just kind of goes with the flow. :)  (Yes, I realize I'm married to the best guy ever.  Be jealous.)

King had to leave a few days before we did, to get back to work and church duties.  My dad took him down to fly out, so that night, we celebrated and partied!!!

Because it was my nephew, E's, 5th birthday, of course.  We would never be happy Daddy left!  E wanted an alarm clock and a watch.  Cute boy.

 trying to figure out how to set the time

with mommy (isn't my sister a cutie?)

Later, some friends of ours from college days came to stay for a couple of nights.  Ang was my roommate and engaged to King's roommate, and they set King and I up on our first date.  The rest is history.  Ang brought her two girls and one boy with her and we had a great time.  We also got together with our other roommate, Jen, who also happens to be my best friend from Junior High.  So much fun.  Hard to believe we're old enough to have this many good lookin' kids.  :)

10 of our combined 11 kids

Ang, Me, Jen

While Ang was visiting, we went swimming more, went to the St. George Temple Visitor's Center, and went to see Tarzan at the Tuacahn outdoor theater.  Love that place. 

swimming (bet you never woulda guessed that one)

 

at the temple

 

Tuacahn, waiting for the show to start

the stage

 

 this is a bad picture, but the girls really wanted a picture with the monkey

Tarzan

As a side note, the van we traded in to the dealership, so we could buy our new car, was "donated" for a short time to the Tuacahn Theatre so that they could have transportation.  The girls were thrilled when Grandpa called just after we arrived home to say he saw Tarzan and his gorilla friends get out of our van.  Tarzan was driving, of course.  :)

And that's gonna do it for our St. George time.  Only one more short travel post to go, and we'll be back to our regular, not consistent posting schedule. 

Tales of the Travels, 3

From northern Utah, we headed a tiny bit south to Draper, where my friend M and her family live.  We spent a fun day with them and King, M, her two girls, Cinderella and I were able to spend a beautiful, relaxing morning in the Draper Temple.  It was so nice.  The other kids spent the morning at a Primary activity, so it worked out perfectly.  Our girls always have a great time with their three girls and boy, and M was so nice to let me sleep the afternoon away--I was completely worn out.  After some night games, and some delicious sourdough waffles, we were on our way further south...

...to Las Vegas.  I almost had King drop me off at my parent's house because I was pretty miserable after a day at the amusement park. Go figure.  But, I hate to be a party-pooper, and wanted to see King's family, so I went.  Now, I won't say I regret going, because it was a nice time, but I was miserable 80% of the time.  Never again will I eat in a buffet at a casino with a major headache.  Blech.  Enough about that, let's dwell on the positive...at least what I can recall.  Remember, I was miserable 80% of the time, the other 20% of the time I was completely drugged to get myself into a semi-normal, out-of-bed state, so...you've been warned. :) 

We had a nice room that my mother-in-law got on a great deal.  Not on the strip, but so close.  When we were checking out the Venetian for dinner and the cool little shops on the canal, we saw that The Wheel of Fortune was going to be taped there the next day.  We thought that sounded fun and different, so got some tickets.  We got to the taping and realized our tickets were not real tickets, but "stand-by" tickets...and we were at the end of the line of 200 or so people.  Darn!  However, as luck would have it, we got in at the last second, and they escorted us to the second row!!

This is what I think:  Vanna White is tiny. So is Pat Sajak. They look much younger than they are, even from 25 feet away (yes, I was that close).  They are professionals and move things along rather quickly.  I got tired of clapping, smiling, and cheering.  It was so fun!  Look for us on February 7th and 8th of 2011, when the shows air.  We are on the second row.  We took some illegal pictures for evidence, in case they leave our sweaty, hot, exhausted faces off of the actual show. ;)  Proof:

We also ate lots of food, saw a movie, and the kids went bowling and swimming a couple of times (I think, see previous warning.)  We managed not to melt in the hot Las Vegas sun.  (That was hard.)

And we visited the four-story M&M store and let the girls pick out a souvenir (harder still--do you know how much stuff can be found in four stories?  Have you met Sleeping Beauty?  Yikes.  Talk about a nightmare for an indecisive person, (or her mom at least).)

We had a great time, and were so glad King's family was able to meet us there.  It was fun, also, to spend some time with our soon-to-be Aunt R and get to know her better.  Would you believe I took NO pictures of all us together.  (See previous warning.)  Darn.  Maybe mom will email me some. :(  

(More pictures from Mom--yay!)

And then...we were off again.  We sure loved being in our car... :/

I'm Baaaack

And feel like my life is on fast-forward.  Can it really be almost September?  September!  I haven't even finished documenting our vacation, and then I went on another vacation.  Yikes. 

I had a great time at my brother's wedding.  I am so happy for him.  They are a cute couple--perfect for each other.  I loved spending late nights with my sisters, laughing about a bazillion things. :)  My body payed for it, but it was worth every minute.  I also learned so much at Education Week.  Some I hope to share with you, mostly so that I don't forget the things I learned.  Repetition is the key, they say.

So, I have so many things swirling in my head.  Most of them unimportant, but we'll carry on anyway.  Get yourself ready for more posts than you'll ever want to see from me again.  (Or, get ready to click the little "mark all as read" button on your google reader. :)
  And when I say get ready, I don't mean sit up waiting for ten posts tonight, I mean I'll actually be posting a few posts in the next few days, which hasn't happened in a great, long while.)  Yee-haw. 

School Starts

So, all the kids are in middle school.  Middle school!!!  I don't know how that happened, I am certainly not old enough for this.  They all had a good first day.  I signed fifteen papers after school, letting the teachers know I understood that the girls are expected to do their work and act like human beings.  Of all things.  (Seriously, didn't I realize that when I sent them to school in the first place?!)

Anyway, since they are all settled(?!) in school, I figure I can just skip town for a week or so.  So, I'm off to my brother's wedding tomorrow morning.  I'm thrilled for him and can't wait to see all of my family again.  Also, I plan on coming home super-duper educated after Education Week, so that ought to help the girls out with their schooling a bit, right? 

And now, I leave you with a picture or two.  Have a good week!

First Day of School 2010-2011

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, 6th grade; Cinderella, 8th grade

Aren't they so grown up?  Yikes.  Here they are just one year ago:

Tales of the Travels, 2

On Sunday, the 11th of July, we headed north to go to church with the B's and then on to Denise and Dave's.  They were so kind to us!  Monday we spent the day at nearby Lagoon, and it was great to stay in their comfortable new home.  They even let us pack a picnic lunch for Lagoon, and then also made us dinner.  They are a short five or so minutes from Lagoon, so heading to their house for dinner was a great break from the hot sun, and so much more delicious than amusement park food.  We only wish we had had more time to visit with them.
Lagoon was a fun day.  Hot, tiring, but fun.  I am pretty sure I had way too much caffeine and pain killers to actually be accountable for what I recall ;), but I do know that the girls had an excellent time.  Cinderella went on every ride I did, including this Wicked one:

We all got wet on the Rattlesnake Rapids, but Sleeping Beauty was soaked!

 

It was a great day, and the only one just the five of us spent together NOT driving more than five hours in a car.  Lots of fun memories!