Friday, September 19, 2008

Snopes

Have any of you used this website? I am addicted.

Anytime I have received one of those emails with a moving "true" letter or something to help you vote one way or another, or what to drink or not to drink I check it out.

www.snopes.com

Just today, while listening to Abi play with her magical princess wand she got for her birthday (today is her 2nd birthday, that post to come later) I checked out snopes to snub out another email I got and guess what I learned?

Mr. Ed was a ZEBRA!!!! How totally cool and random is that?

No, the email I got said nothing about Mr. Ed. But keep in mind, if you are going to pass on an email to me that you want me to pass on to someone else, Snope it out first, because I always do, and if it is false, I won't pass it on. Heck, I don't normally pass anything on.

On another totally random note, today while I was outside with the kids, someone drove by in a big truck and took a picture of my garage! I yelled, "What are you doing?" and he kept driving on. I am totally scared now, especially because my mom got a note on her garage door saying that 90% of the thefts that have taken place in a home were accessed through the garage. NERVOUS! That's what I am now. Thankfully anytime I come in the house, Connor deadbolts the garage door after I enter. He'll protect me and what few belongings we have (truly, what thief is going to want dirty diapers, dirty laundry and dirty dishes? I have no money).

Okay, so back to Snopes. Check it our for yourself, and I hope you have as much fun discovering untrue things about our interesting world as I do. (e.i. what Coke really does to a Penny, what is true about your favorite celebrity, the list goes on and on).

Oh, wait, one of my all-time favorites has got to be this TRUE car accident that happened in Hurricane Utah! Absolutely crazy!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Grant's Office

I finally got to the finishing touches on my brother's office Friday. Here is what his small 9x9 office turned out like:


Here's the list of where all the good stuff came from:

Framed Certificates were done at Twiggs & Moore in Gardner Village - I think they have the very best selection of framing materials and the guy who we work with has fantastic suggestions and a great eye for what he does. I can't wait to take Todd's diploma in to get it framed...we just got it in the mail the other day (the same guy also did Todd's marathon medal and stuff for Beacon Metals and the Riches home).

Desk & Chair were from RC Willey. Grant is the perfect client! He showed me for or five different desk styles he liked, I told him which one I like best. Then he does all the leg work in getting the best price and wah-lah, i's done! It's nice because I don't have the time to do all of that leg work right now.

Side Chair is from Furniture Warehouse

Side Table is from Black Goose - Kelly Winn is wonderful! I used to work with her at Norwalk.

Floral Arrangement Vase/base & Lamp are from Tai-Pan (I did the floral arrangement, but we got all the picks from Tai-Pan).

Mirrors, Canisters, Clock, Misc. Greenery are from Ti Decor, this fantastic little store on State Street near Burlington. Their selection is very similar to Tai-Pan, but they have more case goods. I absolutely love it. Many of you may have heard of Taiwan Imports...that is where they get their stuff from.

Friday, September 12, 2008

My Mornings


They are most often times spent tending to the needs of these five little kids. Aren't they a good looking group?

That would be five children under the age of four. Let's just say I have learned a lot about myself these last few weeks.

I have a lot to improve upon. I've learned many good lessons.

Connor told his new little buddy the other day, "Stop helping me". This is a phrase that he hears from me often. Connor's idea of helping always causes more work for me. I should find a new way of distracting Connor instead of asking him to stop helping me.

Connor has also taught little buddy how to use his hands as transformers. It's hilarious. I will have to post a video someday.

The little missy is so busy and walking along everything, my fat little chub-a-lub has picked up on it and is starting to cruise everywhere too. It's so cute.

Thanks to all of you who made awesome comments about what to do on Sunday's with the kids. Todd and I speak in church this Sunday and it will be fun to try these new techniques, although I am sure the kids will be very different for my mom and my sister than they are for Todd and I.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sundays

They're baa-ack!

I thought that we had moved on from the chaotic irreverent Sunday's but they are back and each one is getting worse.

Why is it impossible for us to make it through a whole sacrament meeting without having to take one, two or all three children out? Am I expecting way to much from my 3, 2 and nearly 1 year old? Duh, I just wrote that out and am now realizing that I am. They are just kids, they are acting like kids. Who wants to sit still for that long at that age?

Connor is obsessed with the rubber snake and the lizard that have been thrown up onto the ceiling of the foyer and I think he purposefully acts out just so he can go and sit on the couch out there and talk about them to anyone that passes by. His amazing discovery, I guess.

Carly is mobile now and is magnetically attracted to the floor and has to be on it at all times crawling. Anytime we put her down on the floor she hits her head on the hymn book holder and then she has to go out, which means Connor follows right behind (without his shoes...he can't stand to wear his shoes anymore...they fit, but he's like his mom, I don't like them either).

Todd is left alone with Abigail. The angel child (did you ever think that those words would be typed in the same sentence as Abi?). She is in this very cuddly kissy stage and likes to just be held. Unless her brother is around...they don't exactly like each other all the time.

As soon as the closing prayer is said I scoop up Abi and quickly rush the kids off to nursery. So excited to be rid of them for a few hours. Sacrament meeting is exhausting to me and I have a hard time listening to the speakers, let alone the spirit. Am I impenetrable now? It must be those horrible thoughts of wanting to leave one adult home with the kids during sacrament meeting and exchanging each week.

Anyway, Todd gets Carly during Sunday School and he gets her to squishily and beautifully fall asleep in his lap (he has the magic touch and can always get her to fall asleep in his arms...what in the world is wrong with my arms?). He heads off to Elders Quorum and I am left with the sleeping angel who has to be passed off to a wonderful sister in the ward to cuddle with while I go and attend to my secretarial duties. I failed at being a secretary today.

I didn't assign anyone for the prayers, I failed to put the "good news" on the agenda and then I called a "hymn" a "song" and got chastised by this sweet woman in the ward...in front of the whole Relief Society because I was playing the piano, which I don't do well. And this same woman asked me to play the second verse of a hymn more slowly and then I had to plunk through "Because I have Been Given Much." I think I have had 10 piano lessons in my whole life and that song has 4 flats!!! AUGH!

So Relief Society ends and I gather all the children. Abigail's diaper is literally dripping because it is so full of fluids and Connor is so naughty. I can't wait to get home. I find Todd and he tells me that we all need to go to the Stake President's office so he can be set apart as the new Elder's Quorum President. While trying to regather my missing children, I tumble over a sweet little nursery girl, skinning my knee and certainly giving little Hailey nightmares of a large woman falling on her for the rest of her life.

When we arrive at the Stake President's Office, Connor kicks off his shoe and starts bouncing along the tops of the chairs. I almost came unglued. Abi sat on one of the chairs leaving a massive wet spot. I couldn't keep the kids contained. I finally used physical force and held Connor on my lap. He started hitting me, so I whispered "please don't hit" because one of the blessings what taking place. At which point he yells "mom...stop hitting me." I had never raised a hand or my voice to this rotten child.

I was so anxious to get home and put all of my children to bed. Even the good ones. They are all now quietly sleeping in their beds.

What do you do to help keep your kids quiet/reverent and sitting in the pew for the whole sacrament meeting? HELP!!!!!

Oh boy...do I need to get help? Am I fit to be a mother/wife of an EQP or in the RS presidency?

Friday, September 5, 2008

Dad's in Charge

Since I have started this new job, Todd has been the one to tend to each of the kids needs at night. He has done a very good job.

Carly is always asleep in bed (I HATE that, to be honest. I want to be the one to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight...so instead I stay awake, like tonight, and wait for her to wake up for that middle of the night bottle and cuddle her and kiss her. OOOH! She is just so squishy and cute). Abi is usually awake, but dressed for bed and waiting for me to get to do what I love most...squishing, kissing, cuddling and tucking in. Connor is never asleep...okay not NEVER. He was asleep once.

On Tuesday night I came home to Connor and Todd watching Batman Returns. Connor couldn't go to sleep on his own. Once he did fall asleep, he continued to wake up calling for me and explaining in his best three year old way that he was afraid of the batman monsters. DUH!

The following morning I gave Todd the recap to what had happened all night, as he had slept through it.

Tonight I came home from work to the same scene. After being greeted by Abi and Connor I witnessed the scene of Danny Devito killing some scary clown man. I looked at Todd and he said,:

"But Connor picked it out. He said he wanted to watch it."

To which I replied:
"Did Connor open the DVD player and put it in there?"

There was no answer, just puppy dog eyes. Connor is running around the family room pretending to be batman at this point. Boys...they are such a strange breed.

It takes me back to a time when I loved to watch scary movies, only to be afraid of aliens and ghosts and all of that stuff so much that I had to sleep with the covers tucked all around me so that nothing could grab me at night. I would never have to have had so much fear if I hadn't planted such freakish images into my mind.

I suppose Connor is attracted to these scary movies in the same strange way. Is it because fear is a new sensation to him and he can't decide if he really likes it or not? Why is it that once I became an adult, I stopped watching scary/intense movies all together. I have no desire to watch them anymore. When will Connor grow out of it?

I sit here in Connor's room waiting for him to fall asleep, once again, he is afraid.

Do you ever feel like you are having to raise your husband too? I suppose next week I will leave a list of movies that Connor CAN watch. Todd will love that list (he would end up with the nightmares...I know I do after seeing each one 20 times):
Baby Noah
Elmo Potty Time
Thomas the Train
Little People

Sounds like the little guy is finally out. I'm out too.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

I'm Busy

The computer has taken a backseat in my life. What once was a great way to kill time has now become a thing that I use only to check my bank account and email (which I have learned only contains spam).

We don't always have internet connection here at the house, so I only get online once-in-a-great-while. So that means I am not catching up on the friends and families blogs like I used to. So to those friends who I used to comment on, I am sorry. I just have enough time to read and run nowadays. I love you all and love catching up with you this way. And I am not updating mine regularly either.

The other major reason I am not online as much anymore is time. Where has it all gone?

I find myself watching two beautiful little kids four times a week in the morning, my niece once a week in the afternoon, working at the Gardner Village Quilt Shop 3 evenings a week and occasional Saturdays (who needs therapy when I can re-arrange and decorate a store at night...this has become such a blessed release in my life) and the new calling in Relief Society...oh yeah and I am still the mommy of three busy kids under three and the wife of a busy daddy.

So this post is really to apologize for not being able to post pictures or stories more regularly. My life is no longer boring, its busy. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I love being busy.