HO HO HO!

Here are the promised pictures with Santa. Maybe I'm a little biased, but they are the cutest kids I've ever seen.

Fa La La La La.........

I'm a true choir geek at heart, but unfortunately I haven't made much of an effort to keep singing after having children. Recently a friend of mine who was feeling the same way decided to start a ladies choir. I am so grateful she did, I'm having a blast singing with these amazing women. We sound great together and had our first performance last weekend.
I hope every mom who reads this remembers to make time for the things they love.

Kid Comedy

My kids are so funny, here's proof.
Dude -
It never ceases to amaze me that the same phrases pass from one generation of kids to another. Here are some things that Dude has said in the past week:
*You're not the boss of me!
*Finders keepers, losers weepers!
*It's a free country!
I remember saying all of these when I was his age.


Princess -
We went to see Santa today (I'll post pictures later), and poor Princess lost her letter outside in the rain. I told her that I bet Santa will see it and take it back with him to the North Pole. She said, "Oh, is he a good eye man?" Yes, Princess he is.

She's also very creative. At preschool the other day she discovered a way to make paper flower bouquets. All the other kids liked them so much that she spent time with each child teaching them how. She's a good helper with Megaman, too. This is how I found them after I answered a phone call.

Honey Bunch -

When it was time to go after seeing Santa, Honey Bunch shouted, "Mom! You forgot!!!" When I asked her what we forgot she said, "My presents!" Poor girl will have a hard time waiting until Christmas.

HB loves to sing. Here's "Skip To A Lou, My Dolly" (aka: skip to the lou my darling)

Megaman -

MM has started to crawl! Yikes! He loves "keeping up" with the big kids and chasing them around the house. He also loves the Christmas tree.

When I was growing up I hated our Christmas tree. I thought it was so ugly. My mom insisted on placing every ornament/decoration my brother and I ever made from birth on up. She loved her memory tree and I always swore that I would have a beautiful designer tree in my adulthood. My mom would just smile. Now, I get it. Our tree is covered with memories, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Now You Know

My Dad is famous for finding "treasures" at auctions. During his last trip out here he gave Dude a recent auction find. It's a handheld video game that probably made its debut a decade (or longer) ago. Dude loves it. Shortly after giving it to him, it began having minor technical difficulties. My Dad's response was, "Well, it's old technology." Since then, Dude has thought that that is the name of the system. He'll say, "Can I bring the 'old technology' with me?" Or, "Hey, would you like to play my 'old technology'?" He was telling his friends at school about his old technology and to his surprise none of them had heard of it before. So, he drew a picture for them. I found this in his backpack. (If you click on the picture you can see it in better detail.)

Country folk in the city!

Doctor had Wednesday afternoon off so we decided to head out of town with the kids. We don't have much by way of shopping in our sweet little town so our "mall" experiences are very few. When we got to the mall I felt like we were a hillbilly family coming to the city. Our precious children were fascinated with everything. There were audible gasps and they kept saying, "Wow! Look over there!" It was hilarious. Princess had to go to the bathroom and they had a motion sensored paper towel dispenser. She was so amazed and kept waving her hand by it and giggling when the paper towel would come down. After the mall we took our kids to an indoor playground. Honey Bunch was so adventurous and had no problems keeping up with the big kids. It was a such a great day, I'm so glad that we got to spend some extra time with our Dad! We didn't get many pictures, unfortunately, but here's one of Doctor and Princess playing "whack-a- mole", and a cute one of Megaman.

Its' a little late but..........

I'm finally posting Princess' birthday pictures. We have a tradition of the boys wearing one of Dad's white shirts and the girls wearing my wedding dress on their birthdays (idea stolen from a friend). Here's my beautiful Princess through the years.

Oh Happy Day!

Here are some things that made me smile yesterday -

*My brother called me yesterday and gave me the BEST idea for what to give Doctor for Christmas. I got off the phone and ordered it right away. I'm super excited about it, now I have to wait a month and a half to give it to him. He's going to love it. Doctor always gives me the most sweet and thoughtful gifts, now I have something to compete with. Yeah!!! Thanks, Bud, you rock!

*When I emptied the dishwasher I noticed a sippy cup full of milk that had been placed there by my sweet Honey Bunch. I obviously didn't realize it was in there before I started it, but I'm kind of glad I didn't. It gave me a chance to smile knowing that my sweet little girl was "helping" me do the dishes.

*A couple of weeks ago I accidentally almost burned my house down in a little "crock-pot incident." (We are ok, the crock-pot was not) I was forced to get a new crock-pot and, boy oh boy, I had no idea what I've been missing out on! We got our old one when we got married and thought it was great and would last a while longer. I'm so glad we got a new one! Everything we have eaten has tasted so good! Who knew our old one was crappy? Hooray for delicious crock-pot food!

*Megaman got his first tooth!! None of my kids' teeth have erupted in the "normal" pattern, and Megaman is no exception. His first tooth is an upper front tooth. My grandpa always says that every crow thinks theirs is the blackest so take this next comment with that in mind. Every time we say something to MM about his new tooth he smiles and giggles and gives this look like, "I'm SO cool!" He is so proud of himself, its adorable.

Smile awhile, and while you smile another smiles, and soon there's miles and miles of smiles, and life's worth while because of your smile.

Kid Comedy

Here are the latest gems.........

*Princess was telling us the story of Christopher Columbus. When she got to the part about the three ships she said, "He used the money from the queen to build the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria." Dude then said emphatically, "No. He sailed on the Cauliflower!"

*We were driving Dude to school when we passed by a cement truck. I said, "Look guys, they are pouring cement over there." Princess then asked, "Why would they pour some mint?"

*We've been listening to a version of the song "We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet" that has a harmonica and guitar playing in the introduction. When Honey Bunch first heard it she said, "This song is AMAZING!" Now when we put that CD on she says "Skip to the amazing song!"

*We've recently discovered that Megaman loves animal sounds. His two favorite toys are See 'n Say toys. When we make animal sounds at him he laughs the cutest laugh. Of course he won't do it when we try and get it on camera, but the video is cute anyway.

I'm losing my mind!

For the last 7 years I have slowly been losing my ability to remember things. I've blamed it on "placenta brain", lack of sleep, well really any number of things, but now I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind. Almost every time I talk to my mother we have at least one conversation that goes like this:
Me: I had no idea! Why didn't you tell me that?
Mom: I did. Twice actually.
Me: No, I would have remembered that.
Mom: Really I did.
Me: Oh.
In the last month I've forgotten to have Princess wear her Halloween costume to her preschool concert (I also forgot the camera), Dude's book-it calendar, a dance class that we go to every Friday, Dude's allergy shots that we go to every Wednesday, and probably a half dozen things I don't remember that I didn't remember. I routinely schedule multiple events for the same day and time because I never remember what I already have going. If this memory loss is related to birthing/raising children I hope my memory returns as the years go on. If not, bear with with me, and please don't hesitate to tell me the same things over and over.

Vote! Vote! Vote!

I probably should have done this post a few days ago, but here it is anyway. Please, please, vote! We are so blessed to have so many freedoms in this country, please don't miss the opportunity to have your voice heard! Get out there if you haven't already! God Bless America!!

What's a girl to do?

So here's my conundrum. My husband is the WORST person to shop for and Christmas is right around the corner. Let me share some past experiences.
* When we were wedding ring shopping we went to every ring store in the Boise vicinity at least 3 times. Seriously. The ring he finally chose is not the ring he wears now.
* Our second Christmas together I thought it would be nice to buy him a new pair of jeans. Big mistake. I took him to the store with me, knowing how picky he his. We spent what felt like an eternity at the store before he decided on the right pair. When we got to the check out, the line was forever and a day long. After standing in line for about 5 minutes he said, "You know, I'm not 100% sure I like these." He then put them back on the rack and we left empty handed.
* Three Christmas's ago I asked him to tell me specifically what he wanted. He told me a laser level. I went to the store and compared all the levels and chose what I thought to be the best one. When I came home he accidentally saw it in the trunk and promptly returned it. We then went back to the store together where we spent the next hour with the nicest sales guy trying to find the best one. The sales guy gave up.
* The gift I bought him two Christmas's ago was picked out entirely by him. It stayed in the box until 4 months ago.
* Now, the kicker of all kickers. A few years ago Doctor was at the store and found a tie that he really liked. He bought it then brought it home and asked me to wrap it up as a Christmas present from the kids. When he opened it up on Christmas morning he said, "Hum.....I don't like this tie." He then got up early the next morning and returned it.
So, what's a girl to do? I'm at a loss. I will say, though, how grateful and flattered I am that he chose to marry me considering how picky he is. Lucky for me he hasn't changed his mind. :)

Pumpkin Time!

We carved pumpkins for Family Home Evening on Monday. We let the kids design their own pumpkins and then Dad carved them. I think they fit their personalities pretty well. Megaman loved just watching the kids.

Family Pics

We took some family pictures yesterday. Not bad for taking them ourselves I think. Doctor's sister graciously offered to photo shop them for us, so I'll probably post again after they've been "doctored." Here's my favorites.

Happy Halloween!

Our town has several activities to celebrate Halloween and the first of them was yesterday. We have an Anakin Skywalker, southern Belle, cat, and M&M.

Megaman finally has a thumb he can suck. :)

For the Swingin' Sweethearts

My grandparents sent some darling clothes for the kids and I couldn't get these videos sent via email so I'm trying the blog. Thanks again Grandma & Grandpa!

Cheaters Never Win

When I was in the first grade I made a choice that has haunted me for over two decades. My teacher, Mrs. Browning, would give a spelling pre-test on Wednesdays. If you got 100% on the pre-test, you didn't need to take the actual test on Friday. I always got 100% on the pre-test. Always. During one pre-test towards the end of the year I couldn't remember if the word yellow was spelled with one "l" or two. I knew that all the colors were written on posters that were hung on the ceiling. I had a perfect record of 100% pre-tests on the line. What would I do? I looked at the color posters. The minute I did it I felt horrible. My guilt was compounded when Mrs. Browning announced that I was the only student who received 100% that week. As a reward she bought me a bag of popcorn. I never got up the nerve to tell her that I cheated, and I have felt horrible about it ever since. Now, with this background, you might be able to understand my over-reaction to poor Dude's recent spelling test.

Dude brought home a spelling test with a 96%. Good, right? Only I know that he knows how to spell all the words. As I examine the test, I notice the word "bat" circled in red. It was spelled correctly so I couldn't figure out why he had missed it. Then it occurred to me that bat wasn't one of the spelling words. When I asked him why he spelled the wrong word he explained that he had accidentally written one of the words on the wrong line. During the time he was erasing and re-writing the word on the correct line the teacher had moved on to the next word and he wasn't sure what it was. So, he decided to look at one of his classmates tests to see what the word was. At this point in the story I began a crazy lecture about how cheaters never win. I won't give the lecture, but I will say that I will be very surprised if poor Dude ever looks at another child's paper again.

Kid Comedy

I was driving the kids home from school when Dude told me that one of his friends had invited him to join a club online. He told me he needed to go to www. bff.com. I asked him what the site was and he said, "You know, mom, how we say U.S.A. but it really means United States of America? Well, my friend says B.F.F. but it really means 'best friends forever'. Does that makes sense to you?" What a great explanation.

When we were getting ready to get the big kids from school I put on some shoes that I occasionally wear to church. Honey Bunch gave me a funny look and said, "Are you wearing sacrament shoes today?"

Princess had her 5 year check-up today. The pediatrician was asking her some questions and then remarked that she was a smart girl. She looked up at her and said, "I know. I really am!"

Fun Stuff

Megaman loves to look at the computer with Daddy. Ahhhh, legos. :)





The other day I was getting Princess ready for school and hollered at Honey Bunch to get her jacket. When she came in I noticed that she had buttoned it all by herself. I've never shown her how, but bless her heart, she figured it out without me. :)


Yesterday we were driving in the car and Honey Bunch started yelling at the moon to move out of our way. She's hilarious. I think she's probably the only kid on the planet that would think of the moon as being in her way.


Dude is an advanced reading group that meets once a week at his school. He came home the day after the latest class and announced that he had learned about the word "askew" during his reading group. I know its advanced but holy cow, I think that was a vocab word for me in junior high. I have to keep in mind, though, that he came home one day last year and told me that he needed to find a career path. School is definitely different nowadays. Must be the new math. Okay only a few of you will get that last part, but trust me, its funny.

Five, really?

Our sweet Princess turned five on Friday. Where has the time gone? She's actually been celebrating for awhile now. When my mom was here she spoiled her rotten and she's been convinced every day since has been her birthday. On Friday morning she woke up and ran into Dude's room. She said, "In the night I felt something. You know what it was? I was growing cause today is my birthday!"

The preschool she goes to was part of the Homecoming parade for the high school and Princess was so excited, I think she thought it was a birthday parade for her. She decorated her bike and talked about the parade all day. When we got there though, she got scared. She is so like me. Long story short we never actually walked in the parade, but here we are all ready to walk.

Doctor is now in his late 20's.................

............so late that he's really 31. :-) Doctor's birthday was a couple of Fridays ago but since I was sick I didn't get a chance to blog about it. The gals at the office gave him a cake and a shirt and Bubba at the cafeteria made sure everyone knew it was his birthday. The hospital rented a corn maze for the night for the residents/doctors and their families, so we ate cake and ice cream for dinner and then had hot dogs at the maze for dessert. They had a small maze for the kids, a corn cannon, bounce house and haystack to play on as well.



Then silly us decided to venture into the corn maze at sunset. Yes, our entire family (and 3 other families as well) went in. At sunset.
Poor Princess was against it from the start and screamed the entire way that we were lost and would never make it out. Dude was certain he and his friends would be the only ones to find the way out, and they kept venturing from the group. Honey Bunch loved every minute of the chaos. Doctor kept jumping ahead to find the best route. Me? I just kept yelling at everyone to stay together. Not my proudest moment. The good news, we made it out just in time for a hayride in the dark. Not everyone was excited for it after the maze but we had fun.

Happy birthday, babe!