Happy New Year!

I spent last New Year alone, and this year will be no exception. After Calet spent Monday night puking and the boys started puking last night, I got hit pretty hard this morning. I would rather be sick at night so I could sleep it off, but no such luck. So, I will ring in the New Year watching TV on the couch with a barf bag and hopefully not in front of the toilet. 2009 isn't off to a great start for me. Hope ya'll have a better night! ;)

Sorry for the late notice

I have 2 guest passes to the Y for an individual or a family. But they have to be used by the 31st. Anyone want to go?

Videos

The videos that led to the demise of my laptop are finally on the Cookie blog if you want to check them out!

A Christmas Miracle!

It really must be. Brad's plane didn't get in until a little after 1 on Christmas day. I told the boys we weren't going to be opening any presents until daddy got home. We did open stockings though. I'm not even kidding, they didn't complain AT ALL. It must have been a miracle! They just totally accepted the fact that we weren't doing Christmas without daddy.

It was wonderful having Brad home. Poor guy got put to work though. My laptop died the afternoon he got home and took up most of his weekend. We did manage some fun though. We watched, "One Night with the King" (LOVED it, thanks Becky!) and "Hancock" which we both enjoyed, even if we didn't love it.

And though I wouldn't put it in the fun category, we finally got family pictures done! Wahoo! Yes, I'm sending out Valentine's card this year instead of Christmas cards. But yes, the Valentine's cards will be on Christmas paper since I bought it at a discount last year and don't intend to move it to Philly. Just get it out of your system now. I'll help. "Valentine's cards? On Christmas paper? In February? What is WRONG with that woman?!"

The family pictures were a bit of a disaster. Stinkidy-stink has rarely been in such stinky form. We got a total of 1 picture of her smiling. The rest she was screaming, whining, and generally being a menace. Argh. Not a bruise, scrape or cut on her beautiful face, but would she smile? Oh no. I guess it is a good thing though as I no longer had discounts or coupons to buy pictures and wouldn't have been able to afford any cute pictures of her anyway.

We took Brad to the airport this afternoon. Dang. That is always so hard. He has a whole week of vacation in February coming up. We couldn't really plan his vacation on our moving date, as we have no moving date yet, and pretty much every other week was taken by senior residents. But February is good. It means we won't have to wait too terribly long. And he'll get to be here for Valentine's day. Can't even remember the last time he wasn't working on Valentine's day...

So, the laptop is still getting a lobotomy. My heart quickens at the thought of being without a laptop. We've already completely restored the hard drive and I'm doing the second hard drive scan as the first one didn't fix the problem. I'm very hopeful this one will, or I am in big trouble. Big trouble. Big Trouble. BIG Trouble. BIG TROUBLE! I need it to work. Already it has thrown the missionary calendars and potentially any YW stuff into complete disarray. Don't get me started on the ramifications for My Money, syncing my PDA, my calendar, etc. Breathe deep, Melisa. Breathe.

There is our latest and great from a fabulous Christmas weekend that went WAY too fast. :)

2 slides

My laptop is misbehaving, yet again. And the boys PC is annoyingly slow, so I won't be doing a wordy update just yet. But there are 2 slides over on Cookie to check out, including Calet's 2 yr pictures. Such a cutie!

Why I hate flying

The party was absolutely wonderful. I loved every minute of it. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. I felt accepted and wanted instantly. I actually wanted to cry when we were leaving. The program director went on and on about how glad he was to have Brad there and what an asset Brad is. You would have thought they were begging to have Brad instead of the other way around. I got to sign with Tre for awhile and that was wonderful. He was an interpreter who has really been missing having someone to sign with, so he might have even been more excited than I was. The wives were all super sweet, and told me to hurry and get out there so we can do dinner and get together. I can't even tell you how wonderful it felt being there. Such an amazing group of people. I feel blessed to be a part of it. I can see why Brad has loved his time with them.

But, the trip home was not as successful. Ugh. The security line was insane. What were so many people doing there at 6:15 am?! I made it on the plane a minute before the shut the doors. Seriously. So scary. And when I arrived in Chicago, I caught an earlier flight out to Detroit. It would have been wise, since my original flight ended up being delayed for 4 hours, but really it just made a huge mess with getting my luggage. If it weren't for the fact that I had to have my camera to take Christmas pictures, I might have just left my luggage. But I HAVE to have Christmas pictures. I'm already suffering guilt at the realization that Calet is far less photographed than the boys ever were. Poor younger children. And then the drive home in the snow was awful and took 3 hours. My garage door was broken when I got home too. It was such a long day. At least I am home now. My kids had a blast with Shannon and the house looks amazing. I even fixed the garage door this morning. It wasn't really broken, just the manual switched had tripped...

Not really here

I'm still in Philly. Brad is working today and I'm trying to not get sick at the thought of dinner with all of his co-workers I've never met. They seem like wonderful people, but as I tend to be on the shy side and know no one at this party except for my date, I'm a little (or a lot) nervous. He is going to be working with these people for the next few years. Okay, I'm making to worse...

So, today I caught up on lots of emails, blogs, and facebook status updates. It has been fun catching up without kids running around, but I surely miss them.

I am as happy as could be here in Philly. I've had an amazing weekend and it was just what the doctor ordered, and pleaded for actually, as did I. :) I am sad to be leaving Brad tomorrow, but anxious to see my kids and grateful Brad will be joining us soon for Christmas.

But, while catching up on blogs, I went through a number of emotions. Resa's made me smile and laugh at the adorable pictures of Quinton and the beautiful family picture. And then she made me cry and miss Alexander some more. And then I was grateful knowing they are a forever family. And I was glad that David is such an awesome big brother and will be a great example to him. Quinton is so lucky to have him.

And then I read Joy's blog and I was mad and frustrated. My blog is more of a private one, and as such, isn't really as open to public scrutiny. But even if your blog is more public, that doesn't mean that the public should be mean and nasty when reading someone's blog. Joy is a wonderful and amazing woman and doesn't deserve the censure of someone who knows nothing about her other than what she reads in her blog. Joy was an amazing president of our medical school spouse group. She is selfless and giving and works hard for other people. Just because she can do all that and look gorgeous at the same time doesn't mean she is self-centered. Sheesh! When I started blogging, I called it "Life of a doctor's wife." Because our lives tend to revolve around Brad and his schedule, it seems to be one of the dominate factors in our lives. I have other places to vent about it now, so I try, though I don't know how successfully, to not vent about it on here as much. But if I did, and when I do, I would hope that people would be kind and considerate of my feelings and my need to have a sounding board. It isn't easy being married to someone whose career requires hundreds of thousands in loans, 80 hour work weeks, crazy call schedules, and 10 years (when we are all done) of post-graduate education. Brad is worth every single sacrifice I've made. It honestly doesn't feel like a sacrifice. He is a blessing to me. I'm grateful to have friends and family who listen to me whine and vent without judging me or considering me wimpy. So, thank you to my friends and family who give me a safe place to be me. That is all. The venting will now cease. For today.

9 wonderful years later!

Today I have been married for 9 years. Funny, it snowed on our wedding too. Here is last year's post with some pictures:http://momtomonsters.blogspot.com/2007/12/8-yrs-ago-today.html It snowed again as we finished taking pictures. It is kinda sad that we are in separate states on our anniversary, but at least it is temporary. The thing that has me nervous is that I'm supposed to fly out to Philly for a quiet, kid free weekend. The same day they are projecting a storm with 6-12 inches of snow. Argh. I really hope the airlines don't go all crazy. My flight doesn't leave until 7 pm as it is...

I know that a mere 2 posts ago, I gushed on and on about Brad. I can't help myself. I think I married the most perfect guy for me. My own personal Edward/Jacob/Carlisle. hee hee I know I probably should have waited a couple days and done the hubby post today, but he is the patient one, not me. I honestly don't know how I got so lucky. But since I just did a whole post on him, I will spare you a prolonged repeat. You can thank me later.

After our lovely snow storm last night, I woke again dreading the whole "Stinker and snowblower" thing. Imagine my delight when the Elders showed up this morning and asked where the snowblowers and shovels were. I actually started crying after I shut the door. I know, doesn't take much to get me crying, but it was just so nice all the same.

Okay, I'd love some insight with this little problem. Roo rides on the bus to school. He had problems with a boy, but then they became friends. But lately, the boy has been a total twit. He told Roo on Friday he was going to beat him up on Monday. Roo spent the weekend crying. I told Roo if the kid did anything to hurt him, I'd be talking to his mom. Well, Roo said as much to the kid on Monday. The kid didn't touch him. But on Tuesday, Roo said the kid hit him 17 times. Probably more of a mocking thing, though Roo said it hurt. I called the transportation department and told them I didn't want my son sitting with this kid. Then I told Roo he couldn't sit with the kid anymore, even if he wanted to. This kid is in 1st grade. Roo isn't even in kindergarten yet. Today he hit Roo with a backpack, but didn't sit by him. So, do I hope things get better? Try to contact the mom? The school? He hasn't been hurt yet, but I don't want it to get to that point either. He is barely 5 and shouldn't have to be in fear on the bus. Granted, he isn't incapacitated with fear, thank heavens, but I don't want it to get near that point either. Thoughts?

Tonight, the kids and I will be celebrating Mons Family Founders Day with pizza. Hee hee! Sure miss you, Brad!

Way to go Philly!

So, apparently, Philadelphia is a great place to live. Good to know! If I could ever get out there!

http://cityguides.msn.com/citylife/cityarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=15286428&page=3

Anyone have thoughts on Jacob being recast for New Moon? I'm putting up a poll to ease my curiousity. :) In case you haven't heard yet:

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1601332/story.jhtml

Stolen tag

Like I need an excuse to think about Brad more. ;) I saw this hubby tag on Shana's blog. And since all I seem to do these days is think of Brad, I wanted to do it, even though I didn't get tagged or anything. :)


1. Where did you meet your husband? Seriously. Such a long story. :) Very condensed version is that my aunt had us start writing, totally platonic, while he was on his mission. We wrote for about 10 months before we even met. I had just moved to Colorado Springs and he was on his way to Denver for a conference. I opened the door to greet him, looked him in the eyes and knew with everything in me that he was the guy I was going to marry. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true.

2. How long did you date? Counting from our first date in July, 5 months. I was still in CO for most of those though. I moved to OK in October, we got engaged in November and married in December. It was fast, but like I said, he had my heart the second I met him.

3. How long have you been married? We will celebrate 9 yrs on Wednesday. We won't be together, but I'm going out to Philly this weekend so we can celebrate.

4. What does he do that surprises you? He brings me flowers when I have a bad day. He loves doing dishes for me and helping with dinner. Though, I can't say that really surprises me after being married to him for 9 years. It did really surprise me when he bought Twilight on CD so he could listen. He is so incredibly busy, he hasn't had time to read it. But he knew it was important to me, so he surprised me by buying it and listening to it in the car on the way to work every day before taking me to the movie. Such a sweetie.

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His blue eyes melt me every time. And now our baby girl has his baby blues. I also really love his hands. It sounds bizarre because that isn't something I notice on people, but he does have really nice hands.

6. What is his best quality? He has the patience of a saint. He is calm and optimistic. And he is one of the most kind and helpful people I've ever met.

7. Does he have a nick name for you? Sweet pea

8. What is his favorite food? He loves peaches. I don't know what his favorite food is because his favorite thing is to never get the same thing twice. He loves to try new stuff. His does love oatmeal cookies though!

9. What is his favorite sport? He likes watching football with me, but as far as playing, I'd say golf. Though he likes playing racquetball with me too...

10.When and where was your first kiss? We went on a few dates the week he was in Denver. Our first kiss was the night before he left back for OK. We were at my apartment and we had just finished watching my favorite movie, The Princess Bride.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? He loves it when we cook together. I love watching movies together. We both really enjoy playing games with friends.

12. Do you have children? Our boys are 6 and 5 and our girl just turned 2.

13. Does he have hidden talents? I don't know how hidden they are because he uses them to help people all the time, but he is great at fixing things. He helps with computers, cars, and random odd jobs around the house. Totally doesn't surprise me that he chose surgery.

14. How old is he? He is almost exactly 6 months younger than me. He is still 31.

15. Who said I love you first? I did. We were holding hands and getting ready to walk across a street in Santa Fe. I pulled him back to the sidewalk and said I loved him.

16. His favorite music? The Cure, but he loves lots of kinds. He played in the band in college.

17. What do you admire most about him? He is an incredibly hard worker. Completely selfless. Compassionate and caring. He can tell when someone needs help and will be there in a second.

18. What is his favorite color? green

19. Will he read this? Yes. I have my posts emailed to him. :) We use the computer a lot more these days to keep in touch. It has kept me sane. I'm hoping he will leave a comment with all of the corrections. hee hee I'm sure I got a few of these wrong. I LOVE YOU, MY BRADLEY!

20. Who do you tag? anyone else missing their hubby as much as I am, but you've probably all done this already, huh

Avoiding crisis living

***Before I get started on my post, a few pictures are on the cookie blog...***

Who me? Live in crisis? Nah. Couldn't be me!

In my church ward, I work with the 'Young Women', the gals ages 12-18. Today we had an awesome lesson on Avoiding Crisis Living. Probably written just for me. No one could need that lesson as much as I do. :) But just in case some of you are as overwhelmed as I am during the holidays, I thought I'd share. Here is an except:


1. Establish priorities. Each week or each day, consider what you have to do; then decide which things are most important. Do the most important things first.

2. Eliminate unimportant things. You may find that some of your activities only waste time and do not add much to your life. Eliminate the unimportant things.

3. Improve work and study habits. Discipline yourself to work and study hard. Start on long-term projects well before they are due.

4. Recognize your limitations. Remember that no one can do everything. Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. Avoid comparing your abilities with those of others.

In Doctrine and Covenants 10:4 it says. "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided..."

We also talked a little bit about money management. Again, maybe I'm the only one with money issues, but if not:


1. Church Contributions

“I often wonder if we realize that paying our tithing does not represent giving gifts to the Lord and the Church. Paying tithing is discharging a debt to the Lord. The Lord is the source of all our blessings, including life itself.

“The payment of tithing is a commandment, a commandment with a promise. If we obey this commandment, we are promised that we will ‘prosper in the land.’ This prosperity consists of more than material goods—it may include enjoying good health and vigor of mind. It includes family solidarity and spiritual increase. I hope those of you not presently paying your full tithe will seek the faith and strength to do so. As you discharge this obligation to your Maker, you will find great, great happiness, the like of which is known only by those who are faithful to this commandment” (N. Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, p. 119; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 81).

2. Debt

“The First Presidency would like to urge every member of the Church to follow the example set by the Church and to live within his income. Anyone who lives beyond his income is inviting disaster. Borrowed money is not income. … Borrowing to live on is unsound, whether it be an outright loan or installment buying. We urge the members to be frugal, thrifty, industrious, temperate, saving, and to live righteously” (J. Reuben Clark, Jr., quoted in “Making Money More Valuable,” Relief Society Magazine, Oct. 1957, p. 695).

“You should do everything you can to get out of debt and to stay solvent. I realize you need credit to buy your homes, or possibly advance your education, and sometimes transportation, but outside of this, you should pay as you go” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Gospel Teacher and His Message,” address given to religious educators, 17 Sept. 1976).

3. Savings

“If you wish to get rich, save what you get. A fool can earn money; but it takes a wise man to save and dispose of it to his own advantage” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 292).

“I would respectfully urge you to live by the fundamental principles of work, thrift, and self-reliance. … Live within your own earnings. Put a portion of those earnings regularly into savings” (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], pp. 262–63).

“Whether early in life or late, we must all eventually learn to discipline ourselves, our appetites, and our economic desires. How blessed is he who learns to spend less than he earns and puts something away for a rainy day” (N. Eldon Tanner, “Constancy Amid Change,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 81).

4. Self-Discipline

“If you cannot obtain all you wish for today, learn to do without that which you cannot purchase and pay for; and bring your minds into subjection that you must and will live within your means” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 293).

“I have discovered that there is no way that you can ever earn more than you can spend. I am convinced that it is not the amount of money an individual earns that brings peace of mind as much as it is having control of his money. Money can be an obedient servant but a harsh taskmaster. Those who structure their standard of living to allow a little surplus, control their circumstances. Those who spend a little more than they earn are controlled by their circumstances. They are in bondage. … The key to spending less than we earn is simple—it is called discipline” (N. Eldon Tanner, “Constancy Amid Change,” p. 81).

5. Budgeting

“No matter how much or how little we have to live on each week or month, it needs to be used wisely. We need to decide on a budget and live within it. Some claim living within a budget takes the fun out of life and is too restrictive. But those who avoid the inconvenience of a budget must suffer the pains of living outside of it. The Church operates within a budget. Successful business functions within a budget. Families free of crushing debt have a budget. Budget guidelines encourage better performance and management” (Marvin J. Ashton, “It’s No Fun Being Poor,” Ensign, Sept. 1982, p. 75).

6. Honesty

“Be honest in all your financial affairs. The ideal of integrity will never go out of style. It applies to all we do. As leaders and members of the Church, we should be the epitome of integrity” (N. Eldon Tanner, in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, p. 121; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 82).

“It is a sin to lie. Being trapped in the snares of dishonesty and misrepresentation does not happen instantaneously. One little lie or dishonest act leads to another until the perpetrator is caught in the web of deceit. …

“In all of our words and deeds we should ask ourselves, ‘Is it right? Is it true?’ not ‘Is it expedient, satisfactory, convenient, or profitable?’ ” (Marvin J. Ashton, in Conference Report, Apr. 1982, pp. 11, 13; or Ensign, May 1982, pp. 9, 11).

Hope this can help you as much as it helped me!

Need extra room for company?

Do you have company coming to town for Christmas? If you need a place for them to stay, our walk-out basement is open! We usually rent it to rotating medical students, but Christmas season is slow. The apartment has its own living room, dining area, kitchenette with sink, fridge, separate freezer, and microwave. The bedroom has 2 beds and 2 dressers and a closet. Bedding, towels, dishes, etc. are all provided. There is a full bathroom down there as well, plus access to the laundry. The price is $200 for an entire week. There is plenty of parking as we live on a dead-end street. There is a separate entrance as well, so you will have complete privacy and probably will never even see us, though I can’t promise you won’t hear us! :) We have opening clear through January, so let me know! I am going to put it on Craigslist, but I'd much rather help out someone I know. You can't get a hotel for a week at this price! Also, if you are willing to use inflatable beds, sleeping bags, couches, etc. you could get a LOT of people down there!

Coolest clock on the block

Apparently my laptop hates Blogger. Or Blogger hates my laptop. I can't get any sites to pull up on it now. And I've been trying to load this video since yesterday. Argh! Glad I have a desktop too!

You want my clock, admit it. Actually, it is Brad's clock. My mom gave it to him as a graduation present from medical school. It is the easiest way to get in the Christmas spirit. There are 12 regular songs, but there are also 3 Christmas songs.

Here is a picture of another decoration I forgot to mention, my snowmen. I made them years ago... I think before Jamo was born. And they aren't heavily damaged yet. Remarkable...

And if you love Twilight and Facebook, this is pretty funny:


http://www.omnivoracious.com/2008/12/meyerbook-bella.html

Prayers appreciated!

Travis and Resa are still having problems with the birth father. While I am sympathetic to his plight, he is in no shape to raise a child right now. I will spare you the details, but you can go to Resa's blog if you would like to read them.

http://travisjonesfamily.blogspot.com/

We would surely appreciate prayers to keep this happy little family together. And for peace and acceptance of the Lord's plan for them. Thank you!

Snow!

I decorated finally!

Today I woke up late. Not that it mattered because as I opened the garage door, it wouldn't budge. Ugh. Seriously?! Seriously. Can't get the van out if the door doesn't open! I called the school and told them Jamo was going to be late. Called Carrie to see if she could take him. Tried to chip off the ice with a shovel. Jenny drove by and tried to help me lift if manually. Nothing. Later I noticed the cable was snapped, so I called a repair guy. He got here at 5. Said the spring was broken too. (It is obviously broken, I just didn't know what I was looking for. He isn't trying to screw us). But since I told him it was the cable, he didn't bring a spring. Can't come back out until tomorrow afternoon. Yeesh. But he did work on it for awhile and got it fixed to the point that it opened manually and I got the van out. So, I'll be digging the van out of a pile of snow tomorrow morning. Ugh. That is why I love my garage! At least he got the van out. Not that we can afford another ridiculous repair after the main line clog. Sheesh. Why, oh why, do these things happen to me?!

And in Christmas news, I finally got the sparse decorations up. We aren't doing much as far as decorations go this year. I tried to do it yesterday, but made a huge mistake. Asked the boys to come to the basement and help me bring up the boxes. And they found all of the toys I planned to get rid of. Yipes. Much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth commenced. How dare I give away all of their favorite toys?! Needless to say, no decorating got done yesterday. But tonight, we got the tree decorated. I hung up the advent calendar, garland and wreath, and even managed to hang some lights out doors while it snowed and then rained(?!?!) on me. We are talking the barest of bare decorations, people. And if anyone has suggestions on where to hang the stockings, I'm open to ideas. I thought about maybe down in the rental since there is a fireplace there. But then we wouldn't them much. But maybe that is a good thing. Thoughts?

Oh, and here is a story I forgot to blog about. Someone stole our 'for sale' sign. I thought maybe it fell and got buried under snow, but no, it was taken. Yesterday someone left the box that holds fliers under one of the trees. And then this evening, they left the main sign, without the writing part, just the metal, in the dead end street. What in the world? It makes no sense to take it and even less sense to bring it back piece by piece. Hopefully they will bring the topper back tomorrow as that is the part Marilyn missed the most.

Last thing, pictures on cookie blog! No more of my Q baby, but some cute ones of Stinkerbell as Tinkerbell, the boys sporting jerseys with matching numbers, and the Christmas decorations. The funny thing about the jerseys are that the one Roo is wearing is Brad's from eons ago and Jamo is wearing his from this basketball season.

Here is a warning

You have to show this to your hubbies after you dry your tears from laughing so hard.

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/videoPage.aspx

Quentin!

Okay, I got some picutes of sweet baby Q! Check out the cookie blog if you want to see him and all his cuteness!

Overload!

Lots of pictures and videos over on cookie. Stinker birthday stuff. Cute picture of Quentin, so delish! Roo's professional birthday pictures. Jamo's school and basketball pictures. Oh, and the videos are of snow, and Jamo playing basketball. I finally got to scan all the pictures, because Brad, being the ever so studly guy he is, was able to fix it when he came home last week. Was it just last week that he was here? Why does it seem like it was forever ago? And, as always, if you need an invite into the cookie (picture) blog, just get me your email.

Birthday surprise!

First, I have to say that Brad helped me fix my laptop from a distance last night. It is working great again and I have access to private blogs once more. YEAH! He is one amazing man.

It snowed this morning. I should have known it wouldn't bode well for me.

I took Stinker to Wal-Mart to do her birthday shopping and get her birthday pictures. At least Stinker hasn't taken scissors to her hair yet. She was asleep when Roo did that. Besides, she doesn't have enough on top to cut anyway. She does, however, have a huge bruise on her cheek. She whacked Roo, and he tackled her and she landed head first in our Little People Nativity Set. It is quite a bruise. Of course it would happen right before pictures. Anyhoo, the grandmas sent money so we could pick what she needs. I gotta say, I really love that. My original plan when I arrived, was to get her pictures done in her pretty blue dress first. But the photographer was helping someone else and said it would be 15-20 minutes. I asked if there were openings in an hour, and she said I'd have to wait so she could check because she was busy. Uh, no thanks. Stinker and I had a blast shopping, and then my phone rang. As soon as my mom said, "Guess what!" I practically screamed, QUENTIN!!! Yeah! Travis, Resa, and David drove as fast as they could from CA to AZ, but Q beat them there by an hour. If you make it through the slide shows, there is the only picture I have of him in all his cuteness. I can hardly wait to get more, but I know that they are just cherishing every second with him and haven't gotten a chance to send many pictures out yet. I am just so excited that Quentin and Stinker get to share a birthday! It sure will make it easier to remember, and as scatterbrained as I've been lately, it will help!

Stinker and I finished our shopping, and headed back to the picture studio. She was with another family this time. Said I could wait in the waiting room. Great. Decided to unload groceries instead. Kept Stinker busy with a sucker. She was sticky head to toe. And somehow, in that hour, her white hose had tons of brown scuff marks. And the bathrooms were closed for cleaning. Of course. Pleaded with the janitor for paper towels. Wait some more.

She finally got us in. Asked when the last time we'd been there. October 13th. "Oh, well, that is the same promotional period, so I can't give you the discount rate." Like heck you can't. I told her it was $4.99 last time and it is $7.99 now and that isn't the same. When did it start in October. She didn't know. Can she look it up? "No. I'll just give you the discount and get in trouble." I'm not asking you to get in trouble. Just look up when the stupid promotion began or something. "No, no, I'll just do it." Fine. Stinker smiled about once. Then she refused to sit. Refused to smile. Didn't want to play. It was past nap time by this point. She kept using a feather duster trying to get Stinker to smile. I asked if she had anything else. Props? Distractions? Something glittery? Something sparkly? Something noisy? "No. There is nothing else. Just this reindeer." Seriously? You take pictures of kids all day and the only smile motivator you have is a feather duster and a reindeer? No props? Nothing? You've got to be kidding. She said to wait awhile and maybe she would be in a better mood. I said, "No, we've already been here for an hour. This isn't going to get better." I mean seriously? Is she going to go buy something cool to use as a prop or smile inducer? Because if not, what is the point of staying. So I just left. I'm going to have to try a different store again tomorrow. But Stinker's pretty blue dress is pretty sticky, so I don't know what I'll put her in.

It snowed the whole drive home while Brad let me complain about said photographer. He is so good to me. Stinker was asleep before I got home. I unloaded her and the purchases. Wrapped presents. Helped the boys get more icicles. Ordered a birthday pizza. Ate said pizza and then it was off to the Y for swimming lessons. I couldn't resist the opportunity to have some hot tub time. Ahhhhh. I love sitting in a hot tub and watching snow outside. Waited outside the men's locker room for 30 minutes for the boys to come out. Argh! Family locker rooms people! Look into it! Got home late, but Shan, Zac and Lindsey were still there. Helped me take pictures and video because I only have 2 hands. Love them. Then it was try to get the hyped up kids to bed. And blog about the insanity. :)

Aliens

Surely my children would never do such things!

Why would my dear sweet 5 year old decide to cut his hair with scissors for trimming babies' fingernails? Doesn't he know we have family pictures coming up?

And why would my precious and innocent 2 year old be irresistibly drawn to coloring rainbows on all of our freshly painted walls? This isn't the Sistine Chapel, you know. I don't need murals all over the halls and rooms. Couldn't her brothers manage to keep all of their crayons, pens, and pencils out of her reach?

Apparently aliens have abducted my children because mine would never do such things when their mom is already teetering on insanity.

Don't worry. 2 dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies seem to have fixed the problem. Though not the problem with my internet which is not allowing me to look at private blogs for some annoying reason.

Baa!

I'm such a sheep. Here's my list. :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped - does that big ol' swing at Lagoon count. ;)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train - Vienna to Venice, it was awful
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - we didn't even think of it while we were there, such slackers
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - from the top of Timpanogos even
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - with Brad's help
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - does the outside count? it was closed the day I went. :(
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - anyone need a VHS turned into DVD? I had 3 customers
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - shudder
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - from babysitting of all things
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - I still have two scars on my forehead :)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your own