P-O-P is not what you think....

Life as a mom is not glamorous.  I'm pretty sure no tv film crew is showing up anytime soon to tape the reality of me carpooling, doing homework & don't forget my personal favorite: cleaning unmentionables.  Let's just give you yesterday's scenario: The weather couldn't be any nicer so I decided to take Kimball and Taylor to the park after school.  We tried out a new park and even had some friends meet us.  I actually played basketball with the kids, passed the volleyball with Taylor, pushed Kimball on the swing and patted myself on the back for actually playing with them.  Now I was ready to sit on the park bench and chill with my friend....  that lasted about 4 minutes.  And then I heard it. "P-O-P mom!"  I see Kimball across the play ground walking with an unusual swagger and a crooked smile.  Hmmm, he wants a drink?  I'm noticing his walk is more like a careful wooden leg limp now.  "P-O-P mom, that spells poop!"  What the heck?  Is he saying he pooped his pants?  Is he actually yelling this from across the crowded park?  Is he actually smiling?  Note to self:  Teach Kimball how to spell.  This is so not cool.  I'm beyond grossed out.

My friend is the sweet mom.  You know-the kind of mom who is more worried about the child than the one who actually has to clean up the crap.  Literally, I have to clean up crap people.  I remind her of this as she says, "Oh, poor Kimball."  "Poor Kimball???  Poor me!  I'm the one dealing with this!"

I quickly grab the balls and water bottles and start hiking to the car.  I barely glance back to see if the stinker is following me.  My friend again is worried about the 6 yr old who I shall now refer to as Mr. Skidmark.  "Should we help carry him?" she asks.  "Walk faster!" I yell.  "Don't get down wind of him!"  I'm leaving everyone in the dust at this point.  Mr Skidmark is now walking carefully, trying to avoid it running down his leg.

We make it to the car where he is instructed to lay on his stomach.  The warm January is not doing us any favors as we are now trapped in a steamy car with POP man.  I roll down the windows and Taylor and I hang our heads out of the car like trapped dogs panting for fresh air as we drive home.  Oh no, a stop light.  Let the dry heaving begin.  Stagnant air is not our friend.  The a/c is on recirculate, which is also not our friend.  I'm pretty sure there was a cloud of smoke resembling a nuclear bomb escaping out the open windows as two bobble heads gagged & choked for fresh air.

I won't go into the fun process of what entails when cleaning that up, but I will tell you it involved a new game of "find the missing turd".  Let's just say the winner really regrets winning that one!

They say you have to wear a lot of "hats" when you're a mom, but really you should be more concerned with wearing gloves.  Who knew I would need to buy rubber gloves in bulk when I became a mom?

Failure

2 entries last year?  That's all I did?  How did I miss so much?  How did I not write about our crazy move just 20min away?  How we all got this crazy awful stomach flu and were lying flat on our backs wanting to die with the movers showing up in just a few hours.  And my really good friends and sister coming in to save us.  They get extra heaven rewards for coming into our "infected" house.  I bawled when my friend showed up at my door and said "if I get sick, I get sick!  You still gotta move!"  Big sigh.  I don't feel worthy of such incredible friends sometimes.  My New Years Resolution last year was to not have any regrets for 2012.  And I blogged twice.  Lame.

How could I not blog about Taylor's baptism?  Just days before our move?  Sweet girl, my sweet Taylor.  I feel incredibly blessed to have such a wonderful daughter (daughters!).  You are my right hand.  My biggest help and I can always count on you to come to my aid with Kimball.  Kimball has wanted to sleep in your room the last few nights and I've found you snuggling him, reading books to him.  But mostly laughing.  You two are always laughing!  Such music to my ears.  You want to run faster than the fastest boy in your class.  You want to be tougher than the boys.  You want to be athletic and only wear pony tails.  You hate the color pink.  You love wearing tennis shoes and hate anything glittery.  You are obsessed with stuffed animals and American Girl dolls and horses and gymnastics.  You are a bundle of energy and happiness and are a class favorite!  You have so many friends.

What happened to blogging our summer of awesomeness.? I thought we'd be still trying to sell our house so I planned an extra long vacay.  A week with Aunt Allison, a few days with my friend in Utah,  and then off to Aunt Mandy's and our final destination- Tony & Franci's wedding in Washington.  We managed to climb Mt Timpanogas.  Most miserable climb of my life.  Carrying Kimball uphill the entire way.  And then again downhill.  He was such a stinker that day.  We went to Bear Lake and Bear World and played in the sprinklers a million times.  We went to Lake Roosevelt and played at the beach.  We had an incredible summer and came back to our new home to try to make new friends before going to our new school.

We threw Kimball was stinking awesome birthday.  My idea was a Halloween Bday.  Your idea was a Captain America bday.  So I did both.  I had a really cool Captain America cake made and then some spooky cupcakes too.  Compromise.  That's what I do as your mom.  You pretty much runs things around here.  Totes true!  Favorites: new toys. you always want a new toy! captain america, anything disgusting, motorcycle juice, fixing things with your dad, snuggling your mom, your blue dog and blanket, playing mine craft.  You always sing and talk to your toys.  So cute!  I love that you make up songs.  But you don't like Taylor Swift and cry when we turn it on.  You get really upset.  You sing the song "Popular" from Wicked and I laugh every time.  Your favorite song is Gangum Style or Get your head in the game,  you have to dance when those songs come on.  You are my happy boy.  The teacher at Preschool has pretty much told me you're a class favorite.  The kids fight over who sits by you.  The teacher says that you are kind and always a good example.  You never get in trouble at school and I am so proud to be your mom.  As you got your hair cut this week, the stylist asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up.  You said "a teenager and a missionary."  I am so lucky to be your mom!

Morgan had an fun bday with all her favorites.  She invited some new friends from school and we made pizzas and crafted and watched movies.  Her friends were all into boys and PG13 movies and talking about who likes who.  It was an eye opener for me!  And I watched you Morgan, completely oblivious to it all the drama.  Just happy to be decorating your pizza or creating your scrapbook.  You're completely unique.  Happy to craft and create.  Bubbly and quirky (totally in a good way) and a joy to everyone around you.  And I looked around at that party with lovely girls, cute girls, funny girls.  But I was grateful that you were mine.  You're 11.  You talk about wanting to do makeup and paint fingernails about 99% of the time.  You beg me for a cell phone and new clothes always.  And you write me notes constantly.  Draw pictures and doodle and there's not a stitch of tape to be found that you haven't used up for your crafting projects.  And I'm just happy that you haven't discovered boys!

I've messed up alot this year as your mom.  I've stressed too much.  Not played enough.  Not read enough stories or hugged you enough.  I'm failing in so many ways.  But you 3 (and your dad!) never make me feel like a failure.  You love me even when I'm moody or frustrated.  You make me laugh and are always willing to look past my failures.  I am truly blessed to be your mom.  I just got to follow my own advice and enjoy today.  Love every minute.  Not take a single day for granted.  Oh why can't everything just stay this simple?  I'm learning.  And hopefully I'll have a lot more time to figure this all out.  Thanks for sticking it out with me, my little ones.....

Ps- Kimball- go to bed already!  It's 11pm and you're roaming the house, fixing a snack and talking to your toys.  How do you do it?

I am a child of God

Dear Kimball-

It's 5am. Insomnia is super lame. But my mind was racing with how quickly you're changing. How, if I blink, you'll be all grown up, serving a mission or away at college or possibly in love with someone other than me. Gulp. That's a hard one to swallow. You told me the other day that I "looked like a Pincess" (Princess) as I was getting dressed for a party. Cutest thing EVER! I could freeze time and have you stay this little and sweet and happy and funny and adorable forever. Minus the diapers..... just sayin'. While I was beyond devasted that you're a big Sunbeam now at church and not a nursery toddler anymore, it is fun to be in junior Primary and watch you. When the chorister said she wanted to sing "I am a Child of God" you jumped up, raised your hand, (who taught you to do that?) and patted your chest and said over and over "I'm a child of God, I'm a child of God! How'd you know'd I'm a child of God?" I died. So happy. So stinkin' perfect and cute and wanted to stop time forever right then. So can you do me this one small favor? Never ever stop knowing that you're a child of God. And never ever stop being so fun! You are pretty darn fun, in between 3 year old melt downs that is......

xoxo,

mom

New Years Resolutions

I just read on this blog I admire "Stop living a PAUSED life". I have always been guilty of waiting for something. Waiting for a new, improved, better job for my husband. (so grateful that wait is over!) Waiting for "someday" when we have money to buy new furniture or go on a fancy vacation. It was much worse when I was waiting to buy a new house and have babies. I felt like I was waiting to start my life. Now I realize how much time I waste just waiting for the someday that may or may not happen. Choosing to be happy- it truly is a choice. I tell my kids this all the time but really need a reminder myself. I will be happy no matter where I live, how inexpensive or expensive my home is. No matter the cars I drive or purses I carry. I will be happy that my husband has a job instead of upset that he's never home for dinner. (that's the hardest one for me to let go)

So my new years resolution? (I stole this idea from someone as well- but it's very fitting for me) One year from now: I will not regret a single day from 2012

That's it. That sums up what I want my life to be. A life of happiness, not what if's. A life of memorizing the sound of my childrens laughs, my husband's sparkly eyes, the way I feel just after my son tells me he loves me more than icecream. Oh that's good! 2012 is gonna be great, cause that's it's only choice!

I've also thought about the person I want to be and how I want to change. I was preparing my lesson to teach my 4yr old class at church and I ran across this song from David Archuleta. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I've heard this song many times, but for some reason, this time was different. I realized that if I lived this way, my life would truly be better. If everyone lived this way, well lets just say we wouldn't have 90% of our problems.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Dear Kimball, You're 3 now. You survived 3 years of falling down, running into walls, jumping off couches, climbing onto counters, locking me out of the house (multiple times) and escaping from the house. I don't know how you've survived it all, but I'm grateful. You bring our family so much happiness. And it's not just our family, my friends tell me almost daily how much they enjoy you too. Your smile makes all the sleep deprivation worth it! Some milestones this year would be speech. You talk non-stop and say the funniest things, like "mom, what animal you like?" Or "mom, I stink, check it!" (You need to be potty trained but it's alot more complicated than I remember it being with the girls) You love to dance and you turn on Morgan's Barbie CD player with HighSchool Musical and dance to the basketball song all the time. You seem to think your friends would enjoy it too, but they usually just stare at you in amazement. Your dancing skills are quite interesting :) You love to laugh, you love fruit snacks and "motorcycle juice" (that's water with a bit of crystal light sprinkled into it) You love your blue blanket and blue dog. You love, love, love Buzz and Woody from Toy Story and watch it daily. You're obsessed with little figurines- animals or action figues- just as long as they're little! You ask to "snugger me mom?" And I scoop you up and wish you'd never grow up! Please stay this sweet. Please let your life continue to bring others joy. Please continue to be happy and obedient and thoughtful. You are the sweetest boy and I'm so glad you're mine!!! Happy Birthday Kimball!

Back to school photoshoot

Dear chickens- it's just easier if I refer to you that way, since half the time you run around like crazy beheaded chickens. I'm so sad to see you go off to school. I miss you while you're away. Kimball misses you while you're away. But I'm glad for the next two years that you will be at the same school. Taking care of each other.

Because you girls are really good at taking care of each other. This photo is not posed. You did this on your own. Just as you do every night when you insist on sleeping in the same twin size bed together. Even though you have your own rooms and your own beds. It's so sweet how close you are. Please don't stop being best friends. Pretty pretty please with accessories on top?

Taylor- continue to be a friend. You are a really good friend. Especially to this little guy below. You never tire of playing with him and are always willing to grab a diaper or put on his shoes or help him get dressed. You are the sweetest sister and I remember when I just had Kimball, you'd referred to him as "my baby". I believe you really thought that!

Little K- As everyone went off to school and work today you told them all to "come back and play, ok?" Then you told dad to "bring home the hot dogs!" I guess that's your take on daddy bringing home the bacon. You make us laugh.

Dear Morgan, This year will be trickier than all the years before. Filled with homework, friend drama, homework, piano, playdates and homework. Don't give up. You have more talent than anyone I know. And I know talented people! You have so many strengths and are a party planner just like me. I love how BIG your heart is, you are the sweetest thing since candy apples.

Good bye my little chickadees. Go learn and play and tell me all about it!

First Day of School

Dear Kimball- I have a feeling when you learn that the girls left for their first day of school, you won't be smiling any more. It's just you and me kid. It's been a fun summer with sleeping late and swimming, lots of swimming! But now we got to get back into a routine. Naps, snack time, puzzle time, play dates, but most important: NAPS! You wear me out. You are constantly ON! You say the funniest things, like when you lost a piece of the vacuum that dad was fixing. We searched for 20 minutes until I found it on the couch where you'd been playing. You sang "teamwork!" when I told dad I found it. Where you learned that, I still don't know, but it was cute. Not overly cute though, so stop taking things and losing them! I asked you the other day if you wanted to be a big boy like dad and not wear diapers, you told me, "Nah, I'm good..." It made me wonder if you'd ever be potty trained since you sounded like a teenager when you said it! Don't grow up too fast Kimball. I've got 3 more years til I have to send you to school, until then, we've got some serious playing/ breaking things to do! Oh the things you break!

Dear Morgan- My little 4th grader! Will you stop getting so old? Every time I talk to you on the phone I swear I'm talking to an adult. You sound so mature! An old soul. I hope this year you have confidence and know that you're loved. That you can do anything you set your mind to. I hope you realize how much talent that you've been given and don't focus on the things that seem hard. You are creative, kind, thoughtful and a wonderful big sister. You are just the kind of girl I hoped I raise! Stay sweet little M.....

Tater tot- My 2nd grader. You don't walk anywhere you run! You have so much energy and your smile is ear to ear! I love how you play with Kimball. You are such a cute sister. You are also a perfectionist, something you get from your dad. You want to be perfect at everything you do, and you are! You are incredibly smart and talented and a joy to watch. I hope this year you continue to be a wonderful friend to others. I hope that you're a leader and you continue to choose the right. You are so bubbly and fun and I love to see you smile! I'm so lucky to have such a fun daughter!

My little fashionista's headed to their first day of school. Gonna miss you girls like crazy!

Sicky in the house

Dear Riches,
I got sick this weekend. Like really really sick. Puking every hour, all night long sick. But you were sweet. I didn't want you to see me that way, but you were by my side anyway. I didn't want you to get near me because I didn't want you to get sick too, but you held back my hair for me. It wasn't pretty, but you pretended not to notice. I would've gagged had it been you, but you know me...... and you still love me. Why? I wonder. I didn't leave the bed on Saturday and you played with the kids for hours. You made science experiments, put together dinosaurs & took the kids swimming. Sunday was still a bummer day for me, but you restled through church without me. You made dinner, which I finally felt like eating. Yum! You let Morgan make lemon bars (which is so much more work with "help"). You finished my Mom's Mother Day gift and smiled the whole time while doing it. Thank you, by the way. The laundry was out of control, but we folded it together. The dishes were piling up, but you pitched in. The kids were crazy, but you didn't lose your patience. It was a very unproductive weekend. It should've been miserable, since I felt miserable. But it wasn't. I knew it would be ok. I know it will always be ok. You'll still be here, when I'm at my best (which is pretty much ALL the time) or even at my worst. You'll be by my side.

xoxo

single mom-ing it

Dear Riches,

I missed you this weekend while you worked & visited your parents in Arizona. These are some of the things you missed around here: I had to plunge a toilet & you know how I'm ridiculously bad at doing that. I had to vacuum up a fly the size of a BIRD and it was not an easy task since I was gagging the whole time. And just so you know, I am not exaggerating the size of this fly. CREEPY! Kimball helped me though. He kept calling it a bird too, even though fly is almost his favorite word. That should confirm it's size! My friend was sweet enough to drive the kids to school in the morning (just like you usually do for me) and then brought me over a bag of chocolate. She didn't even know that you left me alone with no chocolate for 4 days. You did however leave me with diet coke, so I shouldn't complain. The bag of M&M's slept on your side of the bed, just so I wouldn't feel so alone. Wasn't that nice? We had a crazy windstorm here that blew shingles off the roof and made the fence "wave" according to the kids. I didn't get as scared as I normally do, so I guess I'm growing up while you're away. I dropped the kids off at babysitting group and went to my favorite burrito joint, FreeBirds, and ate all by myself. I normally feel sorry for people who eat at restaurants by themselves but maybe they have been single mom-ing it too and just needed a break. I wished you were with me but didn't feel sorry for myself either. I'm really a big girl now! I went to Ikea and thought of how much you'd hate being there. My shopping course made no sense and I went the wrong direction and had to ditch my cart for awhile to go upstairs and shop some more. You would've shaken your head and swore to never set foot in Ikea again, if you were here. On Saturday I let the girls invite friends over for a Sprinkler Party. I baked pizzas and we froze lemonade to make slushies. They thought I was the coolest mom ever. I am you know. I decided that I can do alot of things without you, I'm not as afraid anymore. But I also decided I don't want to. So please come home already. Taxes are due on Monday and we haven't finished them & the wall paper in the office is a bit overwhelming to take down myself. Life is just nicer with you...... and just so you know, I missed you more than the ipad. And that says alot!

Tater Tot is 7!

I can hardly believe it. SEVEN! SEVEN whole blissful years with this cutie. We had a packed day of fun and by 8pm I was beyond wiped out. We started the day with Taylor seeing her first gift. A swinging (from the ceiling) chair in her bedroom. Am I the coolest mom or what? I always wanted one as a child and knew T would think it was amazing. And she did! She even tried to get dressed for school while swinging in it. Let's just say, it was tricky! I surprised Taylor by bringing her friend who's homeschooled for lunch & stayed for M's lunch too. After school 5 little girls headed to Sonic for shakes, followed by nail painting at the salon, and then on to Sam Moon for accessory shopping. The girls loved it & it was shopping, so you know I loved it! After we took the girls home, we had pizza, corn & fruit. That was the exact dinner Taylor wanted. Odd? Yes. This girl eats corn like it's cotton candy! Aunt Mandy sent a darling package with all the things to make a cake, she called it "birthday in a box." The girls made their own cake with the help of their babysitter on Saturday night. They even made their own purple frosting and decorated it all by themselves. Taylor was so proud of herself! Making a wish...... I hope it was for a house keeper & a chef! Oh, right...... her name's MOM. I'd like to explain this picture, but honestly have no idea what's going on here. This is typical Morgan..... Nail salon getting all dolled up to go shopping! The cake the girls made together. Isn't she purty? Morgan was so cute and for Taylor's birthday she did a bunch of jobs around the house to earn money. She earned enough money to take Taylor to the movies to see HOP. It was a good movie & even Kimball enjoyed it. Success! Kimball was pretty excited about Taylor's birthday. By the end of the night he could sing Happy to you. Did you think I forgot to type Birthday? I didn't. It's just Happy to YOU when K sings it! And yes. That's a GIANT hula hoop. Can you believe she ended up getting two? It's pretty fun, so I may steal one!

don't take the last coke, ok?

Last night I layed my head on your chest while you watched tv, just like I always do. You played with my hair and scratched my back, just like you always do. And I pretended I was asleep, just to see if you'd keep playing with my hair if I didn't coax you. You surprised me. Instead, you gently said in almost a whisper.... "after I drop the girls off to school, right after I've kissed you goodbye, I sometimes just feel alone & I miss you."

Oh, you're good.......Just when I feel like there's nothing new to know about you, you surprise me. And after you left for work this morning, when I went to the fridge to get a diet coke, I found an empty box. And instead of being sad you took my only link to sanity for the day, I'm remembering how cute you are when you thought I was asleep. And I missed you too.

Fun is exhausting

Fun is exhausting. Hence, Kimball falling asleep at the counter. I had to capture this photo quickly before he fell off his bar stool. This Spring time change is no good for little ones.

We had two small miracles occur this week, which I feel so grateful for.

- One is that during a home fix-it project that went wrong every step of the way, Rich found a MAJOR problem. The hot water vent wasn't ever attached to the flute. Hence, we could've had carbon-monoxide poisoning over the last 5 years without knowing. I'm making a trip to Home Depot this weekend to make sure we get some Carbon Monoxide alarms.

-Second miracle is my Mason Jar Chandelier wire got pretty close to catching on fire. It's a nice shade of black, when it should have been clear. We will be finding a new light fixture this weekend as well and putting in new smoke detectors too. I am grateful for not dying of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning!

A funny thing happened though that I found quite hilarious. Rich helped a friend late one night who was stuck downtown with a broken car. Without many stores open that late for car parts, Rich was able to chomp on Tums and spit on a carroded battery. Amongst other things like pulling out many manly tools, the crisis was averted! I guess Tums comes in handy to keep in my purse! Thank you MacGyver!

Morgan's Art Award

Morgan has mad skills when it comes to her artwork. Once again, she managed to be showcased in the annual Art Gallery for our community. She had two pieces awarded this year! Yay Morgan! We were thrilled for her and celebrated with Sonic floats afterwards. Here are her masterpieces.........

"A Starry Dallas Night". Morgan and her art teacher Mr. G. Someday I'll learn what the G stands for.


And her second piece is some kind of scary mask. Should I be worried that she opted to put a nose ring on her creature? Hmm, we may have to have a talk about piercings girl!

Taylor's version of giving M's artwork "2 Thumbs UP!" Kimball is too fast to be pictured. That kid is a runaway train wreck. Seriously.

first oreo's

I was hoping to get a really cute photo shoot of Kimball eating his first oreo's. No such luck. Once I handed over the cookies & milk, there was no way I was directing the show! This kid knew what to do & I simply had to stand back and laugh!
He seems a little concerned that his hands are getting messy. But only for a BRIEF second!
Kimball's thought process: "that was awesome, let's do that again!"
Yep, it's official. He's an addict now.

Will you be mine?

Valentines. Sigh. It should be fabulous right? A romantic dinner, flowers, chocolates. That's what's expected anyway. To me those are just things. I wish I had spent more time getting into Valentines Day this year. I could've made it a 2 week experience but I was just so busy with the flu, Rich's 40th birthday and Joe coming for a visit that I didn't get to spend a whole lot of prep time on this holiday. Even so, we had a blast.

The night before Valentines Day, I had to try out some chocolate dipped fruit. Usually I do a chocolate fondu pot, but this microwave version was so easy. All the kids wanted to make this a Sunday evening tradition. After I dipped strawberries, black berries & blue berries in chocolate I set it in the middle of the table and everyone went at it. If you notice Morgan's expression, it was obviously a BIG HIT!

On Valentines Day we dipped strawberries for our neighbors and the did the same for us. Their's looked prettier and next year we'll have to up our game!

Morgan and Taylor set the table with printed napkins. Mine said "you rock" cause I do!



We had mashed pototoes, roasted turkey breast, & sauteed sugar snap peas. And dessert, well, you know we liked our dessert!

What does a green shirt and a horse vest have to do with V-day? We'll never know, but that's Morgan for ya. She picked it out special just for dinner!

Here are the valentines that we attached to our sweetheart boxes for a classmates and friends. We had great intentions of mailing them out to our friends and family, but they're still sitting here on my desk. Another long sigh. Happy Valentines my little family. I hope you know that I adore you!

Rich's 40th

I know Rich's birthday has come and gone. And I didn't take many pictures of it. Kicking myself now, but really I was just so busy planning all the fun that I didn't think of picking up the camera. So now you'll just have to imagine that as the nicest wife in the world, I planned an amazing shin-dig! We had a wonderful evening with friends and food. We played a "Who knows Rich best" game and found some interesting facts about him. For instance, did you know that he was arrested for suspicion of smuggling drugs? Or that he's seen Titanic 7 times in the movie theater but never once since its come out? Or that he was offered a music scholarship to BYU but declined since he had no desire to major in music. He also did a book report on the dictionary once. Oh yeah, he was a favorite among the ladies with that one! I was really impressed with how creative people were on the gifts. One couple made an AARP poster with some great slogans on embarrassing products you might need when you get older. And there were men's diapers a plenty! I put them in the car to exchange, but was too embarrassed to actually return them to a store. Then Rich took my car into the shop for an oil change only to get into the car and realize that the guys working on it, had to move the diapers to get into an electic panel. Rich doesn't get embarrassed too often, but he was RED after that!



The evening was fun and Rich felt loved so mission accomplished! His brother came in to town to visit and one night while I was tucking kids in bed, I came downstairs to find this site. Too cute! They sat like this and talked for over an hour.


Happy 40th babe! I hope you feel loved and adored and too young to use most the gifts you were given! Although you're never too young to be excited about your new 55 inch LED 3-D Sony TV from your stinkin' awesome wife. "Toot Toot!" (That was just my own horn!)

reasons I heart him

Since this is our family's personal blog, I guess it's ok to get personal. More like cheesy. And if you know me, I like cheese. It's Valentines and the reason I love V-day isn't just for the chocolate covered strawberries. Although, they're stinkin' awesome! I love thinking about the fun people in my life & I like that one day of the year it's ok to be sappy, cause the Hallmark cards are pouring it on as well! We've been married 14 years. That's just crazy. It doesn't feel that long! Over those years, I've had strangers comment to me about your love for me. Once on an airplane a little old lady leaned over, (she was sitting directly infront of us in those backward seats that face the other seats & you had gone to the restroom) she said to me. "What I would give to have my husband look at me even ONCE! the way your husband looks at you! That is LOVE!" Then, she looked sadly at her husband snoring next to her. It was funny, yet so beautiful that she had noticed how you look at me. Another time a person, who I didn't know very well at church, commented that "he lights up when you walk in the room. It's like you're the only one there!" I've had one other friend tell me something similar, and since then, I try not to take it for granted. The way you look at me with sparkly eyes. I do love it! I began thinking about all the reasons I heart you. So without further interruption, I bring you the reasons I heart him: (that means you babe)

-Your laugh. It stops me in my tracks. It's almost sweeter than a baby's giggle.

-Your sparkly eyes. They get me everytime.

-I love that I can't stay mad at you because you're so stinkin adorable, how could I be mad at you when you look at me with your sparkly eyes?

-I heart seeing you hold our babies.

-I love how excited you get over a new gadget. I think you have sparkly eyes for everything at the apple store. I'll try not to be jealous.

-You make the best shortbread on the planet & my hips can prove it!

-You drop everthing & are willing to upset the people you work with just because I need you. I try not to have you do that very often, but I appreciate that you're willing!

-You would, and have, driven an hour out of your way to pick up something for a friend. No complaints, you just do it because!

-You jump at any opportunity to help anyone, not just friends. Especially if it requires using your tools!

-You never complain about me or criticize me in any way. Is it because I'm perfect? Or are you just that nice? :)

-You are an adorable father and our children feel close to you.

-You take the time to go on walks or bike rides with the kids.

-You can fix anything and EVERYTHING! Seriously, you got mad mad skills!

-You never get annoyed at all the home improvement or furniture projects I give you.

-You never complain about my crazy decorating ideas or the garbage art I bring home for you to hang on our walls. I think you secretly know that I'm a brilliant decorator. :)

-You support me in all my "girl's trips" or girl's night outs.

-You never ask me how much I spend.

-You'd give up everything for your family.

-You make me more confident in myself.

-I love that I can give you any problem and you find a way to fix or solve it.

-You put up with me.

-You support me ALWAYS.

-You rarely get mad.

-You are the most patient man I'll ever know.

-You let me dress you and will even wear purple and pink!

-I know I can always count on you.

-I've learned to relax more because of you. I'll never be as relaxed as you though, I'm not even sure it's possible!

-You are a hard worker and no job is ever beneath you!

-I heart when you kiss me on the side of my eyes.

-You are loving.

-You're the best NON-complainer EVER! I need to takes notes, I know.

-I love when you cook and bake for us.

-I love that when anything breaks, the kids say (including our 2 yr old) "daddy fix it".

-I love that our children adore you because you make them feel confident and loved.

-I love that I get to spend forever with you Mr. Sparkly Eyes.

Happy Valentines my love!

Legacy

Legacy. It's a big word. What kind of legacy am I leaving my children? What kind of mother am I? I've slowed down a little lately, just so I can really decide what kind of mother I want to be. What kind of memories will my children have of me? Will they remember how impatient I am when making dinner and have 3 little ones crying at my feet that they're STARVING? Will they think I spent too much time on the phone or computer to listen to them? Do they think I'm mean? Or do they think I'm fun, nice & approachable? I'm hoping the latter. I'm writing this blog entry so my kids can one day look back and understand, that I wasn't just a rule enforcer. I wasn't just a taxi driver, chef (a bad one at best) or the maid. In case they get the truth a little scrabbled, I would like to brain wash, I mean, REMIND them that I was the mom who:

-Sang songs to them at bedtime while scratching their arms.

-made peanut-butter popcorn for after school snacks & had friends over.

-loves to dance and watch their dance performances.

-who tries to make tedious jobs a game.

-who likes suprises and always has one up my sleeve.

-am a sucker for pleases and thank-you's.

-always planning the next party or the next vacation and always has fun planned on the weekend.

-really good at Boggle, I myself don't even understand why.

-encouraged you to "not be self conscience", embrace who you are.

-stayed positive, always focusing on the blessings.

-tried to be a dog family. I'm mean, really, really tried. Just ain't gonna happen!

-can see you get super embarrassed when your dad kisses me, but loves it anyway.

-never wants you to feel alone.

-made the cutest valentines for your class at school.

-would drop everything just to hug you and make sure you're ok. (still working on that one)

-taught you how to be a friend. The good kind that you remember for life.

-let you eat cake & ice cream for breakfast every now and then.

-made up songs on the way to school & sang them at the top of my lungs.

-encouraged creativity and allowed you to dress yourself, even though you ended up wearing dress up shoes and pajamas to Costco.

-loved you more than anyone knew was possible.

I just thought you should know that.

Snow day

This is my first blog entry and I feel like I need to buy some balloons or a cake or something to celebrate it. A blog just for me, or my family anyway. No requirements. No deadlines. No one to impress. Just a simple journal of our every day chaos and laughs. I want to be able to look back without regrets (too many anyway) and see what we accomplished. How much fun we had. I want PROOF to show the kids that "See! I'm a stinkin nice/fun mom!" I've had this desperate need for awhile to journal for my kids. The not so glamorous and perfectly done hair, moments that slip by too quickly. I was extremely frustrated looking around at all the clutter that 3 little ones accumilate when the thought came to my mind, "some day this house will be empty and you'll ache for a nose to wipe and little clothes to wash." While I don't know if that statement will ever be really true, it saddens me to realize how much I wish away my life. I wish they were older so we could do more things, have more help, throw less tantrums, be potty-trained. You name it, I wish it. But I'm missing out on enjoying the chaos. So I quit my photography business that I worked so hard on for the last 1.5 years and I feel no sadness about it. Instead, I'm taking the few skills I learned and giving them to my family. Happy b-day kids, you've got your mom back! So here is the beginning of our journal, starting off with a perfectly mundane day where the weather is exceptionally bad and school has been cancelled for the 5th time in 8 days. We already have a two hour delay scheduled tomorrow morning so we'll see if we have another snow day coming our way. In the meantime, here is how completely unproductive we were today. Don't ya love unproductivity!

Movie with our neighbor Anna on my bed. Special treat!

The snow shoe mess I've come to dread........

This is what I turned around to find while I was making dinner. Apparantly I'm not fast enough!

Note to self: Need more peanut butter. Put on higher shelf!

We did manage to do a 30 minute pick-up of the whole house without much complaint. And we made a decent dinner of teriyaki salmon and rice. Go us!