Mommy definitions

Compromise: (noun) - allowing your 3-year-old to wear a swimming suit on a snowy day, just as long as she's wearing snow bibs and moon boots as well.

(My apologies for the quality of the photo - it was taken with my phone. Its hilarious though. My brother said she looked like she belonged on an episode of My Name is Earl)

Potty talk

What is it about being 3 and 4 that makes potty humor hilarious? My kids are at the height of this stage and it is driving me insane. Every time they pass gas, laughter erupts. And every chance they get, they throw a "potty" word into conversation.

Maybe it is because their recent potty training accomplishments are on their mind. At their age, being potty trained is probably their biggest accomplishment to date. Maybe they just like talking about it because it reminds them of how grown up they are.

Or, maybe its just funny, and I'm an old fuddy-duddy and just don't get it.

Either way, I'm hoping this phase passes quickly (no pun intended).

Last night in the bath, Bryn was making up her own funny versions to the opening song for the Playhouse Disney show "My Friends Tigger and Pooh". Since the word "pooh" was already in the lyrics, all she had to do was replace the word "Tigger" and she had a funny song. She sang about her friends "pooh and pee", "pooh and fart", and then "pooh and penis" (that last one I don't get). She and G were laughing so hard that one of them got the hiccoughs. Tears were streaming down their chubby little cheeks.

Do kids grow out of this stage, or am I only in for years of potty songs? I do remember the whole:

I'm going to first, and my pants are going to burst diarrhea (ugh, ugh) diarrhea . . . song that my friends and I used to think was first-rate comedy.

Ummmm, yeh. It probably isn't going to get much better anytime soon.

Wedding meme

 

I copied this from Kristine (My Men on the sidebar – posting from email again).  It was fun to read hers, so I’m totally copying it.  I actually copied many of her answers, because our weddings were so similar – including the fact that they were only 2 weeks apart.

1) When was your wedding day? - August 17, 2001

2) What day of the week was it? – Friday

3) Did you get married in a church? - No, we were married in the Salt Lake Temple

4) How many in your wedding party? – I had 3 bridesmaids and he had 3 groomsmen.

5) How many guests were invited to your wedding? – I don’t even remember.  Most of my family was unable to attend the actual wedding inside the temple and so they waited outside (for those of you unfamiliar with LDS customs, only worthy members of the church are allowed in the temple).  The room inside the temple was packed, mostly with my husband’s family.  I think we invited 500 to the reception, but planned for 300.  We started running out of food at the end, but I don’t know what the actual count was.

6) How long did you wait to tie the knot after your proposal? - About 4 months

7) Did you register for gifts? - Yes, we registered at Target and ZCMI.

8) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer? - Barrus Photography (just like Kristine) did my bridal portraits, wedding pictures, and video.  I wasn’t super impressed with them.  They showed up late and didn’t even get a picture of the entire wedding party.  I did love that they got words of advice from my friends and family in the video, and my kids love watching the “mommy and daddy movie.”

9) Did you have a DJ or a band? – We were supposed to have Ben’s cousin do our music.  He’s a very talented singer/songwriter.  He planned to do it for free as our present, but about a week before the wedding he was offered a paying gig and he totally stood us up.  We ended up with nothing.  I was so bummed too – I really wanted to dance.  I’d even paid for a larger dance floor.

10) Did the father walk the bride down the aisle? – There are no aisles in temple weddings.  But my dad was there, crying like a baby.  I don’t think he ever thought I was going to get married.

11) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests? – The girls wore purple, mothers wore butter yellow, and the guys wore black tuxedos.

12) Who was the Maid Of Honor? The Best Man? – My sister Jen was my maid of honor (I guess, technically she was a matron of honor) and my husband’s best friend Jon was the best man.  The rest of the line included my (now ex) sister-in-law, and my best friend Joni.  The other 3 guys were his brothers.

13)What were your colors? – purple and butter cream yellow.

14) Did the bride have a bridal shower? – Yes – 4 actually.  I had a family shower, a friend shower, a shower at work, and one from my mom’s friends (they have a tradition of throwing showers for all their friends daughters).

15) What type of limo did you get? – No limo.  We did take a horse-drawn carriage from the reception to the bed and breakfast that we spent our first night in.

16) What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear? - My dress was a simple, short-sleeved gown with some subtle stitching and beadwork.  I actually didn’t like my dress at all.  I had a totally different one picked out, but my mom liked the one I got much better.  She talked me into getting the one I got instead, but I never really liked it.  I thought it made me look fat.

17) How was the weather? - It was a very hot August day but slightly overcast.

18) Where did you go on your Honeymoon? – We took a Caribbean cruise that left from New Orleans.  We were able to spend an entire day in The Big Easy before the cruise left.  We visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel on the cruise.  It was an amazing trip.

19) What was your favorite part of your wedding day? – Our wedding wasn’t until 4pm, so I got up late and was able to have my hair and make up done at the salon.  Our lunch was at noon and was just down the street from the temple so we just walked.  The reception was next door to the temple as well, so we were able to walk there.  It was all very relaxing and easy.

20) How long have you been married? – 7.5 years

21) What was the most memorable "bridezilla" moment? – I was the opposite of bridezilla.  In fact, I was way too passive about the whole thing.  I had never been the type of girl who dreamt about her wedding day, and I had too few opinions about how I wanted stuff. 

22) What was your most memorable wedding-related mental breakdown? – I don’t remember ever having one breakdown.  (again, way too passive about the whole thing)

23) What would you change about your day? – I didn’t eat at my reception (other than a bite of wedding cake) and I was starving by the time we got back to the room.  I also would be much more opinionated.  I really wanted my bridesmaids in black, but my mom said it looked like a funeral.  And I really wanted just red roses, but my mother-in-law convinced me that I should do lots of different flowers.  I also (as stated above) hated my dress, and was really uncomfortable all day.  I don’t even like looking at the pictures.  I wasn’t really upset at the time, but since I’ve had 7 years to think about it I would do things differently and stand up for what I really wanted.  I’m not really upset about it now either, but I do wish I could have changed some things.

 

I also think that I would have tried to have some type of civil ceremony in addition to the temple ceremony so that my family could have been a part of my wedding.  Only my parents and a handful of extended family were able to attend the wedding – the rest waited outside, including all my siblings, their spouses, and my elderly grandparents who had travelled from Maryland.

24) What was your most memorable Wedding moment? – This may sounds funny, but I remember very little from my actual wedding day.  The whole day was like a blur to me.  There are a couple of things that stick out in my mind though:  Our reception was on the top floor of the JSB, overlooking the temple, looking west.  During the reception, there was the most amazing sunset. It was breathtaking.  I also had a lot of friends who live out of state come and surprise me, that I had no idea were going to be there.  It was a great surprise.

 

Oh, and one more thing.  My (soon to be) husband was late to the wedding lunch.  Everyone kept asking where he was, and I was worried he wasn’t going to show up.

Change

It is snowing right now, but over the weekend it was in the 60s and sunny. The air had a definite warmth that held the promise of spring, and my daffodils responded by popping open overnight, all at once. There are now fat little buds on the trees in my yard, that will be open any day. I even ran outside - in just shorts and a short-sleeved shirt - and actually felt warm. I spent most of the weekend outside, and I found myself, more than once, proclaiming that I love spring. And its true - I do love spring. I love the promise that it brings, that my flowers and trees will come to life again. The grass will green up, and it will be warm enough for the girls to ride bikes without coats on.

It may sound funny to hear me admit that I love spring, especially to those of you who remember me declaring my undying love for winter on a few months ago. But it is true. I think that autumn is actually my favorite, but I love all the seasons (for the most part - summer does tend to drag on and on). I think I really just love the change. Maybe I get bored or something, but there is no way I could live somewhere like Phoenix or California where the seasons really don't change that much. I think I'd get bored.

I recently heard (or read) somewhere that the instances of depression are higher in placess where there are not 4 distinct seasons, and I can see how that is true. I'm not saying that I've been depressed, but I've definitely been in a rut over the past few weeks. Just this past weekend, I've felt a renewed energy to get back on a running program, to actually clean my house, to start a financial plan that makes sense in the economy, and to just live better. I like the change, and it feels good.

Blump?

I was recently accused of being in a blump - a blogging slump for those of you not familair with the LINGO. ;)  While I have defintiely not lived up to my blogging and blog stalking responsibilities, I don't know that it really has been a slump.  I actually miss it - especially checking in with all my friends.  In fact, I'm suffering some withdrawls.  Seriously!  But, my internet at work has been down for 2 weeks now, and that is when I do the majority of my stalking.  And posting.  So, I'm far behind and sad.  How are y'all doing anway?  Good I hope.

 

I have been checking in a bit via BlackBerry.  But have you ever tried to do anything other than check the weather and Facebook via handheld?  It pretty much sucks, and makes my thumbs ache.  I'm hoping to get things fixed soon.  But, I know my internet at work really isn't priority #1, and me asking them to fix it so I can get back to blogger really doesn't sound good (I actually use my internet for lots of work related things too, so it does suck).

 

But, other than having another nasty cold, things are good.  I did try running outside on Saturday.  It wasn't very pretty.  My legs felt great, but my lungs burned.  I spent the majority of the 4 miles feeling like I was going to puke or suffocate (or both), and I haven't run since. 

 

I also got G registered for kindergarten.  I can't believe my little girl is going to school!  She seems too little, but I do know that she's totally ready.  We have year-round school where we live, and I wanted to make sure to get our Track request in early, although they claim they don't make assignments on a first come/first serve basis.  It still makes me feel better.

 

And speaking of suckage, this is my post.

Disney World

A few of the 170 pictures I took in Disney:


The princess pictures are terrible - never again will I let my husband be in charge of the camera. I'm just disappointed because we spent so much to eat at the princess lunch.
In line at Toy Story. It was the only ride that had a wait - after about 45 minutes, 3 of the 4 kids had to go potty, so we got out of line to run to the restrooms. We did get back in line too - after jumping in front of about 5 million people. Let me just say how much fun that was (but the Disney employee said it was ok).
Bryn at Minnie's house.

It was really cold there for 1/2 the week - even for us who left snow. We had to go and buy hats, gloves, and warmer jackets. But it did mean fewer crowds.




This was after one of the Sea World shows. Bryn was in heaven because the cute boy star of the show held her on his lap (he was cute).

One of the highlights were the flamingo paddle boats in Sea World.
We also had lunch at the shark restaurant in Sea World. We did try to eat in the condo most meals, and packed lunches almost every day. It was fun to splurge a couple of times though.



Bryn's curls are amazing in the humidity. It almost makes me want to move. Almost.


On the very last day, it finally warmed up. We let the girls put their swim suits on, and we rode the rapids ride in Animal Kingdom over and over and over again. It was fun.

Confession time

I've got to come clean:  it has been over 3 weeks since I've gone for a run.  I've wanted too, and I've thought about it often, but it just hasn't happened. Between having pneumonia and the mother-of-all-sinus infections (that made pneumonia feel like nothing) and then being on vacation, it just hasn't happened.  I tried to run Monday, but I just wasn't feeling it - so I setteled for 2 hours of walking on the dreadmill at an incline of 3.5.  I don't know what is wrong, but I'm just not "feelin' it".  My motivation is gone, and its starting to scare me.  I'm committed to a team relay in June, and I don't want to look like a fool.  I want to race.

 

I've been really struggling with my diet too.  Being on vacation was difficult, and I obviously cheated quite a bit, but now that I'm home, I still cannot find the will power to eat well.  I actually did fairly well yesterday until I got home.  I was starving, and as I was fixing dinner, I started snacking on some left over chocolates the girls had.  Before I knew it, the kids' candy was gone, and I'd moved on to left over Halloween candy.  It was stale and disgusting, but I ate 3 or 4 pieces before I stopped myself.  I've been afraid to even step on the scale - I'm sure I've gained, but I don't want to know.

 

Someone help me please!  How do I get my motivation back?

I'm baaaaaa-ack

. . . and I survived. I'm a little tired and really broke, but I made it. And (believe it or not), I actually managed to enjoy myself. Not necessarily because I was in Disney World per se, but because my kids had a blast. I took over 170 pictures that are still on my computer at home. But I did scan in a couple of pictures taken at attractions.

G loved every minute of it. She is a thrill-seeker and isn't afraid of anything. She rode Tower of Terror seven times in a row, and did every big ride that she could get on - usually multiple times. Her favorite ride was the Expedition Everest, but she only got to ride that one five times (it was getting late). She never stopped smiling.


Brynlee wasn't quite tall enough to ride most of the "big" rides, but she still had fun. She loved the princesses. She also really enjoyed the animals at Animal Kingdom and Sea World.

I'll get more pictures later, and do a much better blog post when I get my head above water.

The (not so) happiest place on earth

So, tomorrow I’m leaving for Florida. My husband and I are taking our kids to Disney World with some other friends of ours. The kids and my husband are so excited that they cannot stand it. So are our friends. I’m not so excited. I know it makes me sound like a spoiled brat to not be excited for a vacation, but I cannot help myself. Here are just a few of the reasons why:

• I have a deep-rooted hatred of all things Disney – even as a kid I hated Disney. Just the thought of having to spend a week surrounded by Mickey Mouse and all his friends makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

• My idea of a vacation is somewhere with incredible scenery that I can hike, play in the water, snorkel, etc. I’m not a big fan of paying for someone to entertain me – I prefer to entertain myself.

• Along with that, I don’t love crowds.

• The economy right now really scares me, and I think I’d prefer to take a cheaper vacation and save money instead.

• In the 7+ years I’ve been married, this will be my 5th trip to a Disney location. (Prior to that, I’d only been to Disney once). I want to go somewhere else.

But, I’m going. And I’m planning on being a good sport. I will do whatever the group wants, and I’ll try to do it with a smile. I’m sure seeing my kids enjoy it will be fun too. I am also going to try really hard to make it to the beach for one day. I’m not sure how much blogging I’ll be doing the next week, but I will be updating Facebook, so you can check in there if you’re interested. And if you want to be my Facebook friend, email me and I’ll send you a friend request.

A funny thing happened on the way to my blog post

**Sometimes when I start a post, I have a specific topic in mind, but as I write things go completely in a different direction. I usually hit "delete" and they get lost to cyberspace. But today I'm posting one, because I think it is exactly what I want to say.

I just haven't been myself lately. I don't know what is wrong - maybe I've got a touch of the SAD or something. I'm just totally unmotivated to do anything - eat well, workout, clean my house, blog. And I've been super-duper grumpy. I haven't had a visit from my Aunt Flo in over 3 months, so perhaps hormones are to blame. And I am still recovering from pneumonia, so I'm sure lingering illness is to blame. But I just feel blah - and like a fat, lazy, bee-otch.

My poor sweet girls have been bearing the brunt of it. I've lost my temper with them far too much, and they don't deserve it.

Last week, my husband was working late, and I was doing my best to be supermom. I had just started the bath for the girls and sent Bryn in to potty. I got G in the water and turned off the faucet, but I could still hear water running and dripping. Bryn was still inside the closet that houses our toilet, with the door shut, but I could tell that the water was coming from in there. To my horror, I saw that water was coming from under the door. She had flooded the bathroom (apparently because she tried to flush an entire roll of toilet paper, and kept flushing, and flushing, and flushing to make it go down).

I suppose it is pretty humorous now, but at the moment I wasn't laughing. I'd had a long day, and was looking forward to getting the girls to bed so I could pound out my frustration on the treadmill. Instead, I was going to be mopping the bathroom. I began to clean up the water, and the more I cleaned, the more rage filled me, and I'll admit that I got right in Bryn's face and yelled at her. What she had done was naughty (because she'd done the same thing the night before, only with not as drastic results), but she certainly didn't deserve the verbal lashing I gave her.

She simply hung her head and got into the bath. I proceeded to wash her while she remained sullen - I knew she felt badly, but I was still fuming. I washed her hair and body without either one of us speaking. After about 5 minutes, she finally broke the silence:

"Mommy," she said, her big green eyes filled with tears, "I so berry sorry I flooded the bathroom."

Ouch. Her sweet apology melted my heart and I was instantly sorry for being so mad. I hugged her naked, wet body, and we both cried. I told her how sorry I was for yelling, and explained that I loved her more than anything.

A normal person would have learned from this, and tried to be nicer. But not me. Apparently I need lots of lessons. This one came from G, a couple of days after the flooded bathroom incident.

It was a Friday - my day off. Bryn was playing in her room and G was helping me hang up daddy's shirts inside our big, walk-in closet. While she was in there, she noticed a headlamp that actually worked. So, she decided to go spelunking in the closet. She got behind the clothes, and moved along the wall looking for treasures - but all she found were boring boxes filled with things like mommy's old maternity clothes. She was undeterred, and was sure there must be something of value in there. She moved all the boxes into the center of the closet and dumped them out - all in the space of just a couple of minutes.

This was very uncharacteristic of her - Bryn is my mess-maker and G is usually the one who likes things clean. So, needless to say, I was shocked when I looked inside the closet to see if she was finished hanging up the clothes and saw the huge mess she had made. We were supposed to me making things cleaner, not making them more messy. And I was mad. This time at least, I refrained from yelling, but I told her very firmly that she was going to clean up the mess.

Defiance took over, and she told me there was no way she was cleaning up. She was done cleaning. It was time to play. She and I have such similar personalities that we actually butt-heads quite often and this time was no different. Neither one of us was backing down: I insisted she was going to clean, and she refused. We argued over it so long, that we probably could have had it cleaned up if we'd worked together.

But, I'm the mommy. I was going to win this one. So, I told her that she was not coming out of the closet until it was done and I shut the door (there is a light in there, so it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds). She screamed. She cried. She banged on the door. But she knew she was defeated, and eventually cleaned up. When she was done, she sulked out of the closet and proclaimed me the worst mommy ever.

"That is just fine," I calmly told her, "Maybe you want a new mommy."

"Yes," she said. "I do want a new one."

Good. I can play the reverse psychology game. I told her to pack her things, and that I would take her to the orphanage. She could live there and then maybe one day, a new mommy would come and take her home. But the orphanage is awful - there would be no one there to play with her, no one to hug her, and she may never have another mommy again. And she will have to do lots of chores there, every day, and won't have nearly as much time to play. Am I really so bad that she would choose the orphanage over me?

Apparently I really am that bad. The orphanage sounded better than having to live with the mommy she has.

So, we started to pack her things. I really didn't expect it to get that far. I was devastated, and I was fighting back tears. But not G. She remained emotionless. It broke my heart. I won't bore you with the details, be we did eventually make up - after many tears and hugs (from both of us).

A few days later, G crawled up in my lap and put her head on my shoulder.

"Mommy?" she asked, "Do you remember that orphanage place that I was going to live at one?"

"Yes, sweetie, I remember."

"Can I work there when I grow up? Those kids really need someone to love them."

AH. Some days I feel like the worst mother. My kids teach me way more than I teach them.

Princess Brynlee turns 3

I'm not even going to say anything about them. They're just pics of the party.

Take 6 tag

I got tagged by Arianne (Little Pink Houses on my sidebar) on this one. Here goes...

RULES~
1- Post the rules on your blog
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

1 - I love scary movies but I hate sci-fi

2 - I hate Disney anything (yes, I am headed to Disney World at the end of the week.  Someone shoot me now)
3 - I love all those crazy medical shows on Discovery Health.  I was sad when I heard that channel is going to become the Oprah network.  Apparently I'm the only one who loved that channel.
4 - I bite my fingernails.  My hands are always ugly.

5 - I think cats are way better than dogs - they are much more independent.  Dogs are so high-maintenance.
6 - I am terrified of the current economic state, and what the future holds.  I think its going to get worse before it gets better.

I tag:
Ruhiyyih

Carrie

Lynita

Kristine

Julia

JoJo

Technology

Much to my husband's chagrin, I am not much of a technology person. He has been wanting a BlackBerry for a long time, and I've been trying to change his mind. I finally relented and went to look with him. I ended up with a pink curve that I am posting from right now. I even got it free! If it works for blogging, I can keep up with blogger in Florida next week. I feel so tech savvy now.

Flashback friday

Today is Bryn's 3rd birthday.  I can hardly believe it has been 3 years.  Knowing that she's my last baby, I've been trying to keep her little, but she just won't listen.  She's growing up way too fast.  She was the most fun baby - so soft and squishy, and she loved cuddles.  She's still cuddly and loving, but she's such a big girl.  A bright, funny, energetic girl who is full of life and not afraid of anything.

Bryn was the sweetest newborn, so chubby that she didn't even look newborn.  And she grew quickly.  By her first birthday, she was already walking and talking.

Now, as a 3 year old, she's unstopable.  She loves music and gymnastics, barbies and princesses.  She loves to sing, and knows the words to dozens of songs.  She's also caring and considerate, and always willing to share.  She got a pack of gum for Valentine's day, and her first comment was that now she had enough to share with everyone.  

Here's an interview that I had with her, just so I could remember her at three years old:

Favorite color: green like her eyes

Favorite toy:  new Barbie from Grace

Favorite food:  Hot Pockets and macaroni (makes me feel like a great mom)

Favorite song:  Zippity Doo Dah

Favorite thing to do:  paint

Favorite movie:  Cinderella

Favorite place to be:  at her house

Favorite word:  the doo dah (????)

Love week♥

This Saturday is Valentine's day. I've always secretly hated it, and thought it was just the stupidest holiday. As a single person, it only served to bring me angst. Now that I'm married, its just one more thing to spend money on. But, I'm trying to change my attitude. It is nice to express my love, right? In honor of Valentine's day this weekend, I stole this post idea from my lovely and talented sister-in-law, although I "shook it up a bit". I don't want to conform too much now. Since V-day is coming up, this post is all about loves - both present and lost. Play along if you want to, either by stealing the post idea, or just commenting. Have fun!♥♥♥

♥First crush: My first crush was in kindergarten. I don't even remember his name, but I remember that he was Jewish, because I was so sad when he didn't come to our class Christmas party. Dang! What was that kid's name?

♥Celebrity crush: I have always had a thing for Brad Pitt. He is such a hottie. The first movie I remember seeing him in was Thelma and Louise - remember his abs? I do! I've never forgotten.

♥Biggest crush (aka: the one that got away): I think that every person has had a relationship in which they wanted the person to be "the one", but sadly never will be. My "one" was a boy in college named Hugh. His abs rivaled Brad's, only he was real. He was amazing. He was smart and funny, and so much fun. And he was HOT! I think he's a farmer in a small Canadian town of about 500 people now, so its probably for the best, but I would have married him in a second if he'd asked me.

♥First kiss: My first kiss was when I was 14, on the stage at church after a youth activity. The boy was named Joe, and he was in my homeroom at school too. We used to talk on the phone for hours on end. I think he's been in prison since. Its a good thing we just decided to be friends shortly thereafter.

♥First date: My parents were pretty strict to the whole "no dating before age 16" rule. So, the day after my 16th birthday, Peter Carlson took me out. He was a good friend from church and the date was lots of fun. I don't remember everything about the date, but I remember that he was trying to teach me how to drive a stick-shift (his CAR! A manual transmission - this is a PG blog) and I got pulled over by the cops, who just gave me a warning.

♥First love: I think I've posted about this before too, because I had a naughty dream about him one night. He was another college boyfriend, and he was also amazing: smart, funny, HOT. His name was Darin, and I loved him so much more than I ever had the courage to tell him.

♥First date with my husband: I met my husband on a blind date. We had talked on the phone for awhile before the date, and I thought he had the best voice. He picked me up at my apartment - I was wearing these tight, silvery pants and a black shirt, high heals, and I had my leather jacket on. (I know it sounds awful, but it was pretty cute back then) He was wearing a sweatshirt. I was a little taken back by that, but we ended up having a great date. We had dinner at Tucci's in Trolly Square and then went to a comedy club. He had an old 70s Bronco, and the doors were frozen shut because it was freezing outside, so we had to crawl in through the back. Believe it or not, it actually ended up being a great date.

Conversations with my 2 year old

Mommy:  Are you my princess?

Bryn:  Yes, I am a princess.  A pretty pretty princess.

 

Mommy:  Where is your prince?

Bryn:  Don't have one.

 

Mommy:  What about an evil stepmother?

Bryn:  Don't want one of them.  Too evil.

 

Mommy:  Then what sort of princess-y things do you have.

 

Bryn:  I gots a fairy godmutter.  She's beautiful with curly hair, green eyes like me, and little fairy wings so she can fly.  And she flies over me with her magic wand and POOOF!! turns me into a beautiful dress [as she twirls around].  I love dat fairy godmutter.

If the walls had ears part 2

Remember my post "If the walls had ears part 1"? Since then, the hilarity has continued - especially Bryn. 2 year old are hilarious. Thankfully my kids have learned what orifice their toothbrushes go into, but we still have problems:

Bryn: Look in my mouth! I have a booger stuck to my tooth.

Mommy: We don't do snow angels on the kitchen counter.

G: They call me Stacy! That's not my name . . . its not my name.

Bryn (while watching American Idol): Oh, I don't like that boy. He is hideous!

Mommy: Just blow your nose into my hand sweetie.

G: When I grow up, I want to be a teenager.

Mommy: I wait for the day when my butt will be the only one that I am in charge of wiping.

Bryn: Look at me! I look fab-lee-us!

Mommy: Is it bad to admit that when the girls don't wipe and flush, it doesn't bother me because I feel like we're conserving resources?

Bryn (after I asked her to clean her room): UGH! You're ruining my life.

Bryn: I'm poopin' mom. I need my privacy.

G: Let's make some love muffins.

S'up

Both Tiburon and Ruhiyyih (emailing my post, so I can't link - but they're in my sidebar) did a fun tag that I'm copying in an attempt to get myself blogging again.  Ruhiyyih assigned me a letter - the letter "S", and I have to come up with 10 things I like that begin with that letter.  Here goes:

 

Salad - I absolutely love salad.  It really is my favorite food.  There are so many things you can throw together and toss up - endless combinations - that is never gets boring.  And its usually (relatively) healthy, which is an added bonus.

 

Sleep - It seems I can never quite get enough of it, but I love my sleep.

 

Shoes - I'll admit it - I'm a total shoe person.  No matter how fat and out of shape I am, I know that my feet size is still the same.  I love fun, cute shoes.

 

Swimming - Hands down, swimming is my favorite workout activity.  I love the peace and quiet of being under the water with just the sound of my breathing and my thoughts.  Its very therapeutic for me.

 

Soup - I must be super hunger today, because I just keep thinking about foods.  Or maybe its because its cold today, and nothing is better on a cold day than a cup of soup.  Yummy!

 

Skiing - I totally love to ski.  I didn't learn until I was an adult - some friends and I took skiing as a class in college.  I'm not the world's best skier, but it doesn't stop me from loving it.

 

Snow - Again, most people think I'm crazy, but I love cold snowy days.  I think they're beautiful.  I should move to Alaska - I'd love it!

 

Shopping - Totally my favorite hobby.  I'm such a happy person when I'm shopping, even if its just for boring stuff, like groceries.

 

Snakes - I know, another weird one.  But I love snakes - I think they're the most interesting animal.

 

Sillies - I love when my girls get the sillies.  There is nothing better than my kids' giggles.

 

 

And, just for fun (and to totally copy Ruhiyyih), here are 10 things I hate that start with the letter "S".

 

Sunshine - I'm a total vampire because I hate bright, sunny days.  I have really sensitive eyes, and I literally cannot see outside when it is really sunny.  I know I'm a psycho, but that's just how it is.

 

Snoring - I cannot sleep when someone is snoring, because it keep me awake.  Don't mess with my sleep - I love me my sleep (see above).

 

Spiders - I'm absolutely terrified of spiders.  Its a good thing I have a brave 4 year old daughter who graciously kills them for me.

 

Secrets - I hate secrets.  I think I'm pretty good at keeping them, but it kills me.  And I hate when people won't tell me something too.

 

Stories from my head - At bedtime, G always wants me to tell her a story from my head (i.e. one I make up on the spot).  I love reading her books, but I simply cannot come up with a story on the spot.  I must lack that creative gene.

 

Scales - They're not my friend.  I hate even stepping on them.

 

Small-talk - There is nothing more inane to me than having to chat about the weather with someone.  UGH.  Get me some interesting conversation or just shut up.

 

Sundays - I probably shouldn't admit this, but I think Sunday is the most boring day ever.  I feel like all we do is hang around the house and watch TV. So BORING!

 

Smog - Every winter, there are a few days where the smog gets really bad.  The air is literally brown, and it hurts to breathe.

 

Stock Market - I don't even check my 401k and Roth anymore.  I think I've lost 1/2 of my life savings, which wasn't that much to begin with.  Maybe I'll start putting it away in my mattress - it is probably more secure that way.  Of course, when the economy turns around, and I triple my money in a year, this will move to the like category (trying to remain optimistic).

 

 

This is really taxed my brain, but it was fun.  If anyone wants to play along, just let me know and I"ll assign you a letter too.

Bok bok

When I called my husband today and told him that I thought we should get some chickens, he laughed. But I wasn't kidding. I tried to tell him that I was serious, but he didn't buy it. Finally, he told me that we could get chickens if he could get a goat. Now he was just mocking me.

Thing is - I am serious. I would love to have a few laying hens so that we could have healthy eggs to eat, where the chickens haven't been pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and haven't been fed their brothers and sisters for dinner. Did you know that fresh eggs from organic birds have yolks that are much more yellow in color than the store-bought, non-organic kinds. They're also much healthier for those of us who are eating them, and the birds have much happier lives. Besides, if there ever is a natural disaster, and we're unable to get food from the store, it will just be one more way we can be self-sufficient.

Do I just sound like a fundamentalist now?

Havin' Some Fun Now!

Its me - I'm still around. I'm just still struggling to get myself out of the funk that I've been in. I'm not depressed, or anything like that - I just don't have the desire to blog that I once had. I've also been trying not to log into blogger from work, and that is pretty much the only time that I blog. I'm actually sending this one from my email. I'm sure I'll snap out of it soon.

In the mean time, life has been good and lots has been going on. We took the girls rollerskating last night and it was way less ghetto than I was expecting - the place was packed. Neither girl had ever been, and it was actually quite comical to watch them slipping and sliding all around. We went with some friends who's kids have their own skates, so they were much better than my kids and G got a little frustrated. It was hard work too - I actually broke a sweat. But this morning, she told me that she was anxious to go back - I think I may buy them some skates for their birthdays. I staked around a bit too - Ben told me to skate so they could watch me, and it was fun to see that mommy could still do the YMCA with the best of the teenagers.

I also got the chance to go to a showing at the Sundance Film Festival this past weekend. I had a friend working, and she got us into a screening. We didn't really know what we were going to see, and when we got there, it was a bunch of short movies. But, it was fine - I was out on a Saturday night. Then the movies started . . . I think there were 7 movies total. Out of that 7, 6 were completely awful, 3 had graphic nudity, 2 had harsh language (and 3 others were in foreign languages so they may have too), and 4 were so abstract that I had no idea what the film was even about. Overall though, it was a totally fun evening. We all went to dinner afterwards. We dined on pizza and salad, served by the world's worst waiter, in the midst of a snowstorm. But really, it was a memorable night.

I'm glad I was able to have some fun and relaxing, because next week is going to be difficult - I'm going to be a single mom. My husband will be gone for an entire week, helping a friend move states, (before you think he is the best friend ever, he is getting paid to help) and will be gone from Sunday - Saturday. I really wanted to tell him not to do it, but a) we could really use the money for our trip next month and b) I don't know how to say "no" - it isn't in my vocabulary.

{{SIGH}}

In other, completely unrelated news, I think Bryn is finally potty trained. Last night was her first night sleeping in panties. She hasn't had an accident - either daytime or nighttime - in quite a while. She told me that she just isn't going to potty in her pants anymore, and I think she means it. Being stubborn can be good I suppose.

(And continuing with unrelated news) I did sign up to run the Wasatch Back in June, and I'm back on full training. Its been difficult, but only because I feel better than I know I should. I really don't want to get injured again, and since I know that most running-related injury comes from running faster/further/longer than a body is conditioned to do, I'm trying really hard to not come out too fast/far/long. But I feel great, and my body wants to run more. I'm also trying to do more hills - since I'm sure that will be something I'll be running a lot of in the race. And I'm only adding 10% of mileage per week - injuries stay away!

At any rate, life is good and I'm having fun.