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.