You take the good, you take the bad...

My photo shoot this morning went very well. I was taking pictures of a boy from our ward who is turning 8 tomorrow. He was wearing his new suit and looked so cute. He was very cooperative and sweet, so it was a fun experience. I took 3 rolls of film in about 45 minutes. You can see the pictures I took here.


The kids and I went to Kohl's to find Landon a suit since his baptism is next Saturday. I really should have learned by now not to get my hopes up where clothes shopping is concerned because it always ends badly. Landon is not a freakishly huge boy, so I don't know why we can't find something that fits. The size 10 jacket was tight enough that he wouldn't have been able to close the jacket or fold his arms, and the size 12 jacket drowned him completely. Do they make a size 11? Of course not! I was so discouraged and irritated. Don't they know how much I hate taking my kids to try on clothes? Must they play jazz muzak while I'm shopping? Can't they have more than one cashier working? (I only ended up buying a little photo book to put the pictures I'd taken in.) Lame. We ran into my mom at Kohl's, which was a little weird, it was just so out of context.

I'm trying to figure out what I did this afternoon. I emptied the dishwasher, talked to Amie, Jenn and Amy on the phone, sorted through all the pictures and put them in the little book then organized the negatives and cd for them. I guess that's where my afternoon went.

We got the lamest mail in the world today. It couldn't even be considered a proper junk mail day, it was just ONE mailer from a mattress company. I found it insulting.


Whitney had a soccer game at 6:00 tonight and Landon had his first Pack Meeting, so Randy and I had to divide and conquer again. I took this picture of Landon (which sadly is blurry) just before I left for the game and I said, "Aren't you excited? Because you don't look very excited?" and he said, "I'm excited on the inside." He definitely fooled me.

Whitney's game wasn't as fun as last week's game. Several kids who must have been on vacation or something showed up to play so we had 5 kids at a time on the sidelines. That's not so fun. I know some of them don't care and are happy to pick the grass and daydream, but it made it seem like the game was stopping and starting a lot. Also, Whitney played well but the other team had this kid on it who was unstoppable so our team didn't ever get very close to the goal. Apparently she was so exhausted at half-time she just had to lie down.


After the game I drove Whitney up to Salt Lake because she's staying over at Adam and Amy's house so she can have one last sleepover with her cousins. She's staying until Saturday so I'm sure they'll have a great time. Thanks Amy!

So that's my day, another busy one. I must say the drive home from Salt Lake was wonderful. I brought my iPod and iTrip and listened to Winter Solstice, and I stopped at Iceberg to get a caramel praline shake. Good times.

**Where should I go to find a suit that fits Landon?
Why must stores play jazz muzak?
Are caramel praline shakes the best thing ever?

Free day?

I was so happy that I didn't have anything scheduled today! It seems like a rare treat these days. I still ended up feeling kind of busy, but at least none of the things were obligations or major responsibilities.

What is this creature? I was outside watering the flowers today (while on the phone with Michelle) and saw this thing inching its way through the grass. I was fascinated, but sicked out at the same time. It looks a bit wormish in color, but more caterpillar-like in movement and face. Gross. Also, if this is a funky caterpillar then what sort of giant-albino butterfly is it going to turn into?

This is the mail I sent today. I'm always writing notes to people in my head, especially at church on Sundays because that's when I see a lot of people. But then I forget that I wanted to write to tell them I enjoyed their talk or I love their teaching or song leading or whatever. So today I finally wrote 5 notes to people from church, plus a few more to some of you guys. The package is for one of you. Need I tell you again how much I love the automated machine at the post office? When I ran into the AF post office the line for tellers was like 10 people long. I used the machine and was done in 30 seconds. That sort of thing makes me want to skip and hum (but I kept it all inside).


Look at this cute stuff I got from Angie today! She commented just a week ago that she'd never sent or received good mail, so apparently that has changed. The polka dot flip-flops are a cute ceramic magnet, and the blue striped flip-flop is a note pad. How cute is that? I love the striped cards and gel pens as well. Thanks Angie! Speaking of good mail, check out Tasha's blog for a great opportunity.

I ended up taking Landon to Great Clips because his hair was so shaggy I couldn't deal with it any longer. Randy has been cutting Landon's hair for the past year or two, but he can only maintain a really short, almost buzzed style so now that we've been growing it out Randy doesn't have the skills to make it look non-shelf like. (I really wish he did though because paying for boy hair cuts ever month is a pisser.)

I made Landon pose for some photos after we got home because I realized I have to get his baptism invitations out in the mail tomorrow. I thought I'd use a picture of him. I took about 40 pictures and got like 2 decent ones. It's so hard for me to take good pictures of my kids. He kept looking sideways or doing weird smiles or looking like he smelled something stinky. This isn't the one I'm using for the invitations, but I thought he looked kind of cute.

Tomorrow I'm taking pictures of a kid from church for his 8th birthday, Whitney's got a soccer game, and Landon has his first pack meeting. I bought some of that iron-on adhesive (thanks Jen for the info) but haven't tried it yet. I wanted Randy to do it because he's so much more precise than I am. I don't think the patches are supposed to be on an angle dang it. I didn't have any class at BYU on essential mom skills like this. Drat.

P.S. My mouth chunkies have healed! Hooray. I never realized how many jagged foods I eat, who knew a bowl of Wheaties could prove so dangerous?

**Do you know what that creature is?
How goes the good mail planning?
Why must life be so busy?**

Housekeeping Quotes

I finished the book Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson yesterday. I read it several years ago, but remembered NOTHING about it. I wanted to read it again because I loved Gilead so much and she wrote both books (though over 20 years apart). I get to read Gilead again because we’re reading it for our Ward book club September 5th and I’m leading the discussion (yikes).

After reading Housekeeping I decided that I just love the way Marilynne Robinson writes. This is the kind of book where not a lot happens, and yet major events are there. The writing is beautiful, descriptive and involved.

One of the quotes on the back of the book says,
“I found myself reading slowly, then more slowly—this is not a novel to be hurried through, for every sentence is a delight.”
–Doris Lessing

I would say that’s a very accurate statement. It’s definitely not a book to skim, of course I’m incapable of skimming because I feel like I didn’t really read the book and that I miss too much, but just in case you’re a skimmer you’ll know not to try it with this book.

Here are my favorite quotes.

“Of course they pressed her and touched her as if she had just returned after an absence. Not because they were afraid she would vanish as their father had done, but because his sudden vanishing had made them aware of her.” Page 12

“When she had been married a little while, she concluded that love was half a longing of a kind that possession did nothing to mitigate.” Page 12

"The years between her husband’s death and her eldest daughter’s leaving home were, in fact, years of almost perfect serenity. My grandfather had sometimes spoken of disappointment. With him gone they were cut free from the troublesome possibility of success, recognition, advancement. They had no reason to look forward, nothing to regret. Their lives spun off the tilting world like thread off a spindle, breakfast time, suppertime, lilac time, apple time.” Page 13

“But Sylvie had fallen silent again. Guessing that she must be listening to something, we were silent, too. The lake still thundered and groaned, the flood waters still brimmed and simmered. When we did not move or speak, there was no proof that we were there at all. The wind and the water brought sounds intact from any imaginable distance. Deprived of all perspective and horizon, I found myself reduced to an intuition, and my sister and my aunt to something less than that. I was afraid to put out my hand, for fear it would touch nothing, or to speak, for fear no one would answer.” Page 70

“For why do our thoughts turn to some gesture of a hand, the fall of a sleeve, some corner of a room on a particular anonymous afternoon, even when we are asleep, and even when we are so old that our thoughts have abandoned other business? What are all these fragments for, if not to be knit up finally? Page 92

“For need can blossom into all the compensations it requires. To crave and to have are as like as a thing and its shadow. For when does a berry break upon the tongue as sweetly as when one longs to taste it, and when is the taste refracted into so many hues and savors of ripeness and earth, and when do our senses know any thing so utterly as when we lack it? And here again is a foreshadowing—the world will be made whole. For to wish for a hand on one’s hair is all but to feel it. So whatever we may lose, very craving gives it back to us again. Though we dream and hardly know it, longing like an angel, fosters us, smoothes our hair, and brings us wild strawberries.” Page 152-153

“Having a sister or a friend is like sitting at night in a lighted house. Those outside can watch you if they want, but you need not see them. You simply say, “Here are the perimeters of our attention. If you prowl around under the windows till the crickets go silent, we will pull the shades. If you wish us to suffer your envious curiosity, you must permit us not to notice it.” Anyone with one solid human bond is that smug, and it is the smugness as much as the comfort and safety that lonely people covet and admire.” Page 154

“I have often noticed that it is almost intolerable to be looked at, to be watched, when one is idle. When one is idle and alone, the embarrassments of loneliness are almost endlessly compounded.” Page 158

“For in fact I wore her coat like beatitude, and her arms around me were as heartening as mercy, and I would say nothing that might make her loosen her grasp or take one step away.” Page 161

“If I had one particular complaint, it was that my life seemed composed entirely of expectation. I expected—an arrival, an explanation, an apology. There had never been one, a fact I could have accepted, were it not true that, just when I had got used to the limits and dimensions of one moment, I was expelled into the next and made to wonder again if any shapes hid in its shadows. That most moments were substantially the same did not detract at all from the possibility that the next moment might be utterly different. And so the ordinary demanded unblinking attention. Any tedious hours might be the last of its kind.” Page 166

“And any present moment was only thinking, and thoughts bear the same relation, in mass and weight, to the darkness they rise from, as reflections do to the water they ride upon, and in the same way they are arbitrary, or merely given. Anyone that leans to look into a pool is the woman in the pool, anyone who looks into our eyes is the image in our eyes, and these things are true without argument, and so our thoughts reflect what passes before them.” Page 166

“No one said anything for a long time. Finally someone said, “Families are a sorrow, and that’s the truth,” and another one said, “I lost my girl sixteen years ago in June and her face is before me now,” and someone else said, “If you can keep them, that’s bad enough, but if you lose them—“ The world is full of trouble. Yes it is.” Page 186

I know that's a whole lot of quotes and you probably didn't read them all, but I want to document the quotes I love in the books I read, so I didn't edit any out. I'm anxious to read Gilead again and to see how many more I find that I didn't catch the first time.

**How much to you love reading and why?**

Taking Care of Business

Today was all about taking care of business. Getting Whitney's hair cut was the first thing on our agenda today. It's so cute how she loves to go to the salon to do this. She no longer needs me to sit back there with her. She now talks to the beautician (is that the right name?), and feels comfortable being back there on her own while I sit in the waiting area reading my book. I love it when she gets a great hair cut like this one. She came out of there beaming.


The 2nd thing we had to do was to go to the Elementary School open house to find her classroom and meet her new teacher. It was so fun. Her teacher had a little scavenger hunt for us to do. It had things like finding Whitney's mailbox, the drinking fountain, the bathroom, the calendar, the number 5, something yellow, etc. What a great way to help the kids feel like they know where things are so they'll be comfortable on the first day of school (which is the 30th). Her teacher is very cute and very nice. (I didn't take her picture though.) Whitney left there so excited for school!

Our 3rd task was to go to the Boy Scout store to get the stuff Landon needs now that he's 8 and goes to Cub Scouts. Good grief, all of this ended up costing $55.41! My only comfort is that he'll be wearing the shirt for 3 years so we'll definitely be getting our money out of it. I have to sew those patches on the shirt and I'm not feeling qualified to do that. Oh dear. His first pack meeting is tomorrow night so I've got to figure that out quickly.

Our last item of business was Landon's soccer game. This is the view from the parking lot! Gorgeous isn't it? I love having somewhere to go and a reason to be outside. (Otherwise I'm always hibernating in my climate-controlled house.) Fortunately the game wasn't until 7:00pm so it wasn't nearly as hot as the rest of the day had been (98 degrees).

Landon's team has kids from ages 8 to 10, so he and Benjamin (our next door neighbor) are two of the youngest on the team. It was interesting to watch his team because they actually function as a team (especially compared to Whitney's young team that still clusters around the ball and steals it from their own teammates). Landon's team stretches together, runs drills, and knows their positions on the field. It was a little upsetting to see how zoned out Landon was during the game. He stayed exactly where he was supposed to based on the position he was playing. That meant that he wasn't running around much, he sort of waited for the ball to come his way. It was making me crazy. I guess it's our fault for not signing him up for soccer the past few years, he hasn't played since he was 4 years old. I think we cheated him out of some quality zone-out years of on the field chaos, so now that he's on a team with many kids who know what they're doing the contrast is rather stark. Fortunately he doesn't seem aware of that.

It was a good, busy, productive day that also included the neighbor kids over to play for awhile, then a couple other friends from church over to play, my visiting teachers came, we returned library books, got shave ice, and had the power go out for about 30 minutes! No wonder I was ready for bed by 11:00pm.

**Comments on haircuts, soccer, school, being busy, etc??**

Reverse recap

My new blogging friend Jordan sent me a fun package today. She sent a very cute and nice card, a tolerable toddler tunes mix cd, and a cute little box with a bracelet in it. Whitney immediately said, "can I have the fluff thing?" meaning the white fibers the bracelet was packed in. Thanks Jordan for these delightful items, that was really nice of you.

I took Whitney to what I thought would be her last eye appointment this morning. She's so comfortable at the eye doctors now that she sits cross-legged in the chair and actually spoke audibly to the eye doctor. She doesn't even know this guy, he's new, but she acted like a professional patient and enjoyed her check-up. Everything is still looking good, but he said she should come back to see the wanker (my word) eye doctor in 6 weeks. By the way, remember how the wanker doctor chewed me and Randy out for the size of Whitney's tonsils? Well I had the pediatrician check them last Friday and he said they were large, but not dangerously so. He said to check her breathing when she's sleeping to rule out sleep apnea, but that she looked good. Ha.


We also had to go upstairs in the building to our pediatrician's office because Whitney needed to leave a urine sample since she wasn't able to produce anything at her appointment last Friday. They had sent us home with a special cup for this purpose and I was ready first thing this morning but she couldn't go! Can you imagine not having to pee first thing in the morning? I can't. Anyway, she didn't have to go at all until we'd actually just walked out of the pediatrician's office and were heading towards the elevator. So we ran to the bathroom, made Landon turn around (Whitney has bouts of modesty) and I held the cup underneath her. Now I don't want to be too graphic here, but any woman can tell you we don't have a whole lot of directional control when peeing. I was trying to maneuver the cup to catch the pee but she was done in like 5 seconds! Are you kidding me?! I had more pee on my hand than in the cup, but managed to get like an ounce in there. Fortunately the nurse said that was plenty and was able to do the tests on it and said all was well. Good grief.

We ended up running some errands after our doctor visits and then went to Michelle's house for a creative Monday. I think I may be doing a little overkill on the cards, but that's all I feel like making lately. We had originally planned on taking the kids to Seven Peaks today, but they've already changed their hours to 4-8pm so we may not be going again. I don't even really like going there, but I still feel compelled to get one more visit out of our passes this year.

In other news, I've got multiple chunks missing from the inside of my mouth. How does this happen? It's like I'm eating something and the next thing I know there's a sore spot or a bulge on the inside of my cheek that I can't account for. It's driving me crazy.

**Any good mail come your way today?
How do you feel about urine samples?
Mouth chunkies? Do tell.**

On a lighter note

Randy and I watched "Failure To Launch" tonight for the first time. We'd only heard average reviews of it and since we don't go out much we never saw it. I had very low expectations but was still curious. This seems to be a good recipe for me because I ended up really liking it. (This happened last week when we watched The Family Stone as well.)

First of all, Matthew McConaughey is the most charming and charismatic man on film is he not? Good grief, he could make a good girl go bad. (Did I say that?) I enjoyed his two pals in the movie a great deal and just thought the whole thing was delightful. My favorite quote from the movie was said by his blonde friend (of Alias fame)

"Deception is poison, it's like margerine,
I can't have it in my body."

Come on, how can you say that's not funny? Granted, we had to see Terry Bradshaw's 60 year old butt in the movie, but it was funny. Good times.

**What movies have you seen that you had low
expectations for but ended up liking?**

Growing Pains?

We had a bbq at the church yesterday at noon. I didn’t want to go because I was feeling irritable that I had to be somewhere on a Saturday, but of course I had a good time and was glad we went. I actually felt rather social and ended up talking to a bunch of different people. The kids ran around the huge field with the other kids and had free reign of the treats. There's a large pavilion so it wasn't too hot in the shade. I don't know how the kids could stand to be running around like that in the sun, they were all red-faced and sweaty by the time we left.

All the people at the activity were really nice people, and I'’m feeling thankful for my 4 callings because they have spread me out and enabled me to meet a lot of the women in the other organizations. I feel like I'’m getting more comfortable in my own skin (even if it’s large and dimply skin) the older I get and am able to talk more easily with others. I've never enjoyed small talk, but I'm finding I'm familiar enough with most of these people to have some common ground or past experience to bond us. That’s a blessing.

Occasionally, I have nonhome-owner pangs at gatherings like this because I feel like an interloper of sorts. There's a new neighborhood right behind our church with about 20 gorgeous houses in it. All of the people who live there are very familiar with each other because they see each other working in their yards, their kids are always playing together, and it’s just a cozy little neighborhood. The people are all very nice, but I couldn't help feeling a little pang of not belonging. Since we're renting our home there's always a chance that we could be told we’ll have to move. I don't feel as permanently planted here as I'd like to be. I felt a wave of sadness wash over me as I was talking to a group of women from that neighborhood and felt like they'’re all newer to the area than I am, but they're more established and rooted because they own their houses. I got over this little melancholy twinge because I am so grateful that we found this house and that we could afford it. I‚’m thankful for that EVERY SINGLE DAY, so I don't want to let the sheen on that blessing dull by comparing it to what other people have. It's just interesting how growing pains change as you get older. I’m officially thirtysomething but don't feel like my life is anything like what I thought it would be. You’d think I'd be over that by now, does anything ever turn out like I thought it would? Not so much. Anyway, it was an interesting little episode within myself that I thought I would document while I still remember it.

**Do you have growing pains very often?
How do you make yourself feel better?
Don't you just love blogging?

Good Mail, Creativity, Shots & The Rockwoods

This is the very nice card I got from Amy Wise today. I'm just loving this blogger pen-pal thing we've all got going. I feel like I know you Amy, but really I don't. Thanks for the sweet card and for using one of your cute return address labels on me. Blog on!


My sister-in-law Amy (do I need to keep differentiating?) sent me this wonderful book and two thank-you notes! I just saw this book for the first time last week at the Memories Store but didn't let myself buy it, so I'm excited to have it and can't wait to hunker down on my bed and pour over it. Thanks Amy!

Whitney had to go to the doctor for her pre-kindergarten check up and vaccinations. This is a photo of her doing her eye exam. She did very well with the whole visit. She was motivated by the promise that she could pick whichever treat she wanted after the appointment. (She chose an Oreo shake from Sonic). It's so hard to see kids get shots. I feel like such a wuss. I remember taking Landon as a newborn for his 2 week shots and I stood in the hall and cried. It was brutal. I held Whitney's hands and looked into her eyes and tried to distract her by talking about the kittens. She didn't even flinch for the first 2 shots, but those last 2 sting and she cried then. She didn't freak out or anything and had stopped by the time she was given stickers , but I still felt like a traitor.

Michelle and I had our weekly day of creativity. She was working on an awesome project for someone (I can't reveal who) and I put together my new set of stamps that I bought from Lisa's Stampin' Up gathering a few weeks ago. I also made some more cards. I'm getting nicely stocked up, I just need to organize myself enough to have everything within reach. That seems to be one of my quests in life. Any suggestions for me?

Pam was in town again from Chicago, this time for her husband Matt's family reunion in Midway. They fit us in to their busy schedule and came over last night for dinner and to hang out. They are officially our oldest friends. Matt and Randy were friends before I even met Randy and they were both the best man at each others' weddings. Randy and I used to hang out at their apartment all the time when we were dating and they were newlyweds. They moved to Chicago 10 years ago and we've visited them there a few times as well,I hadn't seen Matt in 6 years though. It's funny how we're all exactly the same. (That's also a little disturbing.) We are able to fall into conversation and witty banter just like the old days, the only difference is we're all fatter. Ha.

Speaking of fatter...we ordered dinner from Pizza Factory last night. The decision-making process was really quite something, but Matt sorted things out and made the ultimate decision. Everyone was happy and we stuffed ourselves silly.

**Do you have old friends you don't see forever
and then fall in with easily?
Are you a wuss about your kids getting shots?
What's your best organizing tip?**

I made it

Less than 24 hours after Hannah received a little package from me, I received a thank you card from her. Now that's speedy. It almost defies the laws of postal delivery, but since she lives down the street from the post office she can take advantage of the last pick up of the day. Thanks Hannah!

I actually had 8 kids here today for several hours! It worked out well though so I'm not complaining. The girls played Hello Kitties at the kitchen counter, Megan took a 2 hour nap again, and the boys (this time another neighbor boy was here too) played Game Cube and played outside. I'm surprised by how well they all did and how it didn't feel completely crazy.

This is Megan taking herself to my bed for a nap. I love how great she is about sleeping. At 2:00pm I said, "Megan are you ready for a nap?" She said, "No" but then grabbed her blankie and kitty and walked to my bed. I cocooned her in comfort, kissed her and said "night, night" and that's all it took. Brilliant.

Whitney had her 2nd soccer game tonight and it was so exciting. She seems to have caught the vision since last week and had 5 drives to the goal and scored once! I felt a little teary watching her because of her progress and because I remember how I felt when I played soccer and I loved it so much. One funny thing she kept doing was turning to look at me for directions. She would wait for me to tell her which way to go or whether she was doing a good job. I was surprised by this, especially considering how she told me not to talk last week. I think she ended up having lots more fun this week and liked playing. Woohoo.

**How do you feel when your kids play sports?
Have you been taking lots of pictures lately?
What does a cavity feel like? I think I've got one.**

We're going to need a bigger house...

Having 5 kids plus 2 neighbor kids in this house is a little bit like fitting clowns in a Volkswagen, it can be done but it's not pretty. At one point yesterday when Megan was taking her nap (thank heaven for the 2.5 hours), Tess told me she was tired and wanted to lay down too. I had to boot the boys from the kids' room so she'd have a bed to sleep on. The other girls were playing at the table, I was in my scrap room, so basically that left the little family room or kitchen for them to play in. I actually felt like "where's the rest of my house?" Normally I feel like this house is perfect for us, but with 5-7 kids here then it's not so good. So I got Tess all settled, closed the blinds and the curtains in there and had just sat back down at the computer when Tess came in to see me she was laughing and saying she was "just teasing" about the nap. I should have known.


I spent a good portion of the day unloading k12 boxes and organizing them on the shelf in the scrap room. I love all the new books and supplies, but am definitely feeling intimidated by the amount of stuff we need to cover this year. There are 3 teacher manuals! (I didn't use any last year.) Amie did 3rd grade with Jessica last year, so that's making me feel like maybe I can do it too, but it's got me wondering about next year already. Yikes.

These are the finished shelves. They're all nice and organized now, which of course I enjoy. There's a lot of goodness in these books, so it should be a fun and interesting school year.

Here is a picture of Bella, Whitney, our neighbor Kira, and Tess playing Hello Kitties yesterday. It's very interesting listening to them when they make them talk. They all have the mother bossy voice-thing down. I heard Kira saying "you can't play until you finish your jobs," I heard Bella say, "you can call me mom, actually I don't care what you call me just do what I say!" Whitney tends to whisper when she makes her figures talk because she knows I listen sometimes so I didn't hear what she said.


I made mini pizzas for dinner and had some help from Tess and Megan. Neither of them ended up eating them though. I cut them up for them then Megan asked for a fork and proceeded to say "you eat it" and fed me. Oh well. They had bananas, toast, an apple, grapes and cereal instead. Bella, Whitney and Landon liked the pizzas though. I gotta say it's hard feeding this many kids. The demands are neverending. I keep saying "but you just ate" but they look at me like "so, what about it?" Either they're stashing food somewhere, dropping everything they try to put in their mouths, or they're the skinniest chow hounds I've ever seen.

**Are your kids insatiable?
Does anyone else know how to handle 5 kids?
Is it just because my house is little?
Five mouths make a lot of noise.**

Happy Birthday Laurie!!

Good Times

This is the good mail I got from Amie yesterday. She sent me a little mulberry candle (I love mulberry, it's nonheadache producing in controlled amounts), all these cute cards of ribbon, a Tide Spot Remover Pen (remember the ice cream stain from last week?), two kinds of Orbit gum, and some aged fudge. Amie makes this great fudge every Christmas so I can only imagine that she froze it and then shared it with me. Delightful. Thanks Amie! I sent 3 cards and 4 packages yesterday, woohoo.

I joined an online Audio Books rental club that I'm trying out. They're located in Henderson, Nevada so the turn around time shouldn't be too long, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. Their website isn't very good and the turnaround time has been taking about a week. I'm actually going to try another online club to see if they're any better. It's still good mail though because I love getting all these different audio books and loading them on my iPod. Yesterday's delivery was Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. Her book The Shell Seekers is one of my favorites. Earlier this year I listened to a whole set of Christmas short stories by her and loved them. The covers of her books make them look like cheesy romance novels, but that hasn't been my experience. One bonus to listening to her books is hearing them in a British accent.

This morning I ran to Walmart early (8:30am) and got a speeding ticket! $%$@ I'm usually pretty hyper about not speeding in residential areas, but this one street by us doesn't feel residential because it's a thoroughfare kind of street with houses by it. I was going 40mph in a 25. Dang it. The police man was really nice to me, and wrote it for 34 so I wouldn't have to pay as much. I have to sign up for traffic school and pay the fine. Not a good way to start my day, but I guess I deserved it. (This picture shows part of the ticket and the traffic school info along with my new pink iGlove for my ipod.)


Last night we had pancakes and bacon for dinner. Whitney loves to help and actually cracked all 3 eggs without incident. She claims my mom taught her how to do that, but I'm pretty sure I did. Don't I content with enough Dad propaganda not to have to deal with Nana propaganda too?! I was proud of myself for being patient and letting her help even though I just wanted to get it done myself. Is that hard for anyone else?

My sister-in-law Amy dropped her girls off around 10:45 to play all day today, sleep over tonight and play all day tomorrow. We haven't seen them since my birthday dinner at their house on July 9th! That's a long time not to see "the cousins." Poor Whitney has been going crazy and asking every day when they're coming over. Megan and Bella both look about 5 inches taller than the last time I saw them, and Tess' hair actually looks kind of long. She's still afraid of the wind because "it blows papers" (say that with a lisp, so funny, blowth paperthz). It should be fun. I'm almost as excited for Amy to have time alone as I would be for myself.

**How often to your kids spend time with their cousins?
When was the last time you got a speeding ticket?
Have you sent any good mail this week?
What are you doing today?**

Starting over

I'm officially starting over with my quest to be a responsible adult as far as sleeping and eating goes. Man, yesterday kicked my butt. I felt so awful by the time I came home that I wanted to crash right then (4:30pm). Whitney and I read books on my bed for awhile but my head hurt so bad that I told her I needed to close them. We ended up falling asleep together for an hour or so. This could have been very dangerous for me since I didn't want to repeat the nap/insomnia cycle, but I still felt crappy when I woke up so no worries. I hate it that Tylenol, Aspirin, and such won't touch my headaches most of the time. I didn't want to use one of my precious Relpax pills because it wasn't an official migraine. I ended up getting up for a bit to eat something and to help get the kids to bed, then I showered and got in bed at 9:30pm. I read for awhile and then crashed hard for the night. I feel so much better today and am actually eating lunch so that I don't get irritable and headachey again this afternoon. Why must it be so hard for me? I feel like I'm a headache waiting to happen.


Today I went visiting teaching again and completed our 3rd visit. I'm so pleased to be done by the 15th of the month. I don't mind visiting teaching, I just don't like it when it's close to the end of the month because then I feel frantic about it and don't ever want the sisters we teach to feel like we're checking them off our list. I also love (and I'm such a nerd about this) calling to report my visiting teaching to the supervisor. Isn't that silly. She's this sweet old lady and is always so grateful when I call that I just can't help myself. I always volunteer to make that call.


We're having another one of those rainy/sunny days that I love/hate. I love the gray skies, the cooler temperatures and the rain, but wish it would just stay that way all day instead of becoming sunny for awhile and then gray again. Mother Nature is a fickle woman for sure.


The kids and I are both so happy to stay home today. Benjamin from next door is over playing, but that's okay. I tend to be in my scraproom on the computer a lot of the time when he's here so it doesn't disturb me too much. It's when they decide to play hide and seek and come to count in the laundry room across from me that I get a little irritated. They count so loud then yell "ready or not here I come" only to have the hiders yell "not ready" over and over. I keep trying to explain to them that they're saying "ready OR NOT" but they're not getting that at all. Kids are dumb, ha.

**How's your sleep cycle going?
Is your visiting teaching in progress yet?
Do you wish it would rain all day too?
What do you eat for lunch?**

What was I thinking?

Remember how I was going to try to be an adult and sleep at regular times so that I could function well and be nice? Well I blew it. Yesterday's nap ended up being 3.5 hours long, so I didn't get up until 7:00pm. I stayed up until 1:00am thinking that would be plenty of awake-time, but I ended up tossing and turning for 45 minutes before surrendering. I couldn't get comfortable and realized I was hungry and we had left over shredded roast beef in the fridge calling me name. So I sat on the couch with my snack and watched Design Star. (Is anyone else watching this show on HGTV? It's quite enjoyable.) After that I watched Stunt Junkies (which I've been recording lately from the Discovery Channel), those people are crazy, but entertaining.

After that I flipped through a ridiculous number of infomercials. They're so cliche, but those of us who are up in the middle of the night watching them are in a very vulnerable state of mind, because all of that stuff looks good. I'm ready to buy real estate, have meals shipped to my home, and am strangely interested in a new all-natural arthritis medication (I don't even have arthritis). All of that on top of yearning for that rug doctor carpet cleaner, the Bare Minerals make-up set and every exercise contraption out there (even though I hate to exercise).

I finally felt ready for bed around 4:00am...NOT GOOD. I'm wasted and have a headache today. When will I learn? What a chump I am.

These are some of the cupcakes left over from Landon's birthday party last week. Whitney frosted these and they've been sitting on this plate since Friday. Yesterday when I woke up from my nap she told me "that cupcake sorta just fell apart by itself." Uh-huh, more of that spontaneous cupcake combustion that's been going around eh?


I had to get up and go visiting teaching this morning so I didn't sleep in late. After doing miscellaneous household duties and talking to Amie, I took Landon to Lucas' birthday party. Whitney and I ran some errands and drove all over Provo. We went to Great Harvest to buy a loaf of bread, so I was explaining to Whitney that they give you a free sample when you buy something there. She felt a rush of motivation for this errand and said, "yeah, let's go get a free zapple!" Too funny. (Whitney tends to walk behind me rather than next to me so no doubt something was lost in the translation.)


I got two great packages today. One is from Jenn's mom Georgia and one is from Jenn's sister Elizabeth, isn't that funny? Elizabeth sent me some cute stencils, some very cute sticky notes, and two kinds of ribbon. Thanks Elizabeth!

Georgia sent me a very nice note and a cd will all kind of audio books on it. I'm so excited to have a great stock pile and so many choices. Thanks Georgia!

Busy Sunday

Randy and I had to speak in church today for the first time since December 1997! All week I stayed calm by repeating "only 12 minutes every 8 and a half years." It totally worked. I have been so calm all week. In the past when I've had to speak I would get flushed with nervousness whenever I thought about it, and would feel somewhat tortured as I stressed about it. It just occurred to me that since I haven't spoken in so long I'm quite a bit older and apparently more secure in my knowledge of the gospel and confidence in myself. (Ohhhh, look at me I'm growing!)


I didn't get nervous until the youth speaker was talking and I knew I was next. My heart was beating so hard I felt like it should count as an aerobic activity. But pretty much as soon as I started talking I was fine. I talked about David and Goliath and how we all have "Goliaths" in our own lives but that if we trust in the Lord we will succeed. I think it went pretty well. It was a tremendous relief to sit down after that and to know I was done for possibly another 8 years, ha. (Robyn, I used the very cute folder thingy you gave me to hold my talk today.)

Randy did an excellent job talking about prayer. He's such a good teacher and is so real when he speaks. He's articulate, amusing, spiritual and not at all boring. After the meeting was over many people came to talk to us (which is so nice), they were very complimentary but the nicest thing anyone said was that Randy and I make a great pair! Isn't that an interesting thing for someone to say after hearing talks in church?

My co-teacher for primary and activity days got released today. Remember a couple weeks ago I said she was thinking about asking to be released? Well, she just got back into town this week (after being gone 4 weeks) and they called her in and asked how she was doing and said they'd been thinking about making a change! So they put her into nursery! Poor girl. It will mean a lot less work during the week, but Sundays won't be very fun for her. Fortunately her youngest child is 4 so she's not knee-deep in babies at home anymore and might enjoy nursery. They didn't call a new co-teacher for our class so I guess I'm flying solo for awhile. That's okay by me.

I also participated in Sharing Time today in primary. One of the counselors was going to be out of town and had asked a couple people to share stories about times they'd been protected because they'd been obedient. I talked about a time in high school while was at Youth Conference my friends who I spent all my time with had gone to the beach and met some older boys. The boys had been drinking a little, but my friends got in a car with them anyway and ended up getting in a car accident. The car rolled and they had to climb out of the back window. I remember being so thankful that I was at Youth Conference, and that I didn't have to deal with that situation at all. I would have been freaking out long before getting in the car.



So this afternoon we came home from church and had a fantastic roast dinner (made by Randy) and a long nap (I hope we can sleep tonight).

Whitney was playing with some of Landon's action figures tonight. I always think it's so funny how she incorporates the toys into her playtime. In this picture you can see Spiderman and Sinister riding the merry-go-round thing. She's funny.

**When was the last time you spoke in church?
Did you nap today?
Do you love pot roast as much as I do?**

Unprecedented Saturday

Before I talk about our unprecedented Saturday I must talk about yesterday's delightful day of creativity at Michelle's house. I made a whole load of thank you cards, while Michelle decorated this very cute cd holder for me! She bought it awhile ago and planned to give it to me, but wanted to decorate it first. She has such a way with those little flowers. It's so cute. Thanks Michelle! I consider this good mail even though she gave it to me in person, it's still tangible generosity.


Today was the weirdest Saturday we've had in a long, long, long time. I'm not really sure why that is, but it just is. Randy took Landon to soccer practice by 8:00 this morning, so Whitney and I ended up passing them on the road at 9:00 when I took her to soccer practice. Only 5 kids showed up to Whitney's practice so she got to kick the ball a lot of times. I've got high hopes for this Thursday's game because we keep talking about how it's okay to steal the ball from the other team and how she doesn't need to stand and pout in the middle of the field. She seems a bit embarrassed about her behavior at last week's game hopefully the next one will be better.


Landon kicked back with a sucker and starting putting together the Lego Star Wars set Soren gave him for his birthday. Whitney watched the Pink Panther DVD we got from Netflix (the classic pink panther with the cartoon cat). Randy and I both took naps! (On a Saturday.)



This afternoon we all played Landon's new Game of Life. It's always funny to me when the four of us sit around the table and play a board game (I'm not sure why that's funny, but it is). Whitney ended up winning even though she wasn't in her chair for most of the game! I'm not sure how I feel about that. I was in last place for almost the whole game and wasn't happy about that. It wasn't the losing so much as the not winning. No, I jest. It was because my career was an accountant whose salary was $30,000 even though I had gone to college and had $100,000 in student loans! Where's the justice in that? Whitney didn't go to college and she ended up being a computer technician making $90,000. I can see why this game is fun for kids, but I'm a little raw from real life so it wasn't a little too personal for me.

Here's the other random stuff we did today.

• Watered the flowers
• Vacuumed the car
• Returned the library books
• Got Chili's take out for dinner (so good)
• Worked on stuff for church tomorrow
• Planned the details of Landon's baptism
• Watched two episodes of "Good Eats"
• Vacuumed the whole house
• Emptied the dishwasher
• Did two loads of laundry
• Played Game Cube
• Played Plah-doh
• Blogged

These were our cumulative activities, but still it's a weird day. We are so rarely all home together on a Saturday that it almost felt like a Sunday (except for the soccer, money spending and house cleaning). Okay pretty much just the all day home together and my slight headache felt like Sunday.

**Do you ever have weird weekends like this?**