Honesty in all things...

Once a month my friend steffani and I get together at my house and do one anothers hair. For my children, it's an "if you can reach it, you can eat it" day. And my house is in demolition mode for a few hours. Steffani was rushing out the door this afternoon and Lainy, always a helper, opened the front door for her and as it was closing the words "She has a big butt!" fly from her lips. I quickly yank the door back open, and Steffani replies "oh! That girl needs a good smack on the butt" Of course, with a smile on her face! Man, I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

J- Mom? We need to give Lainy away.

M- Why?

J- She was rolling her ABC toy worm around and it hit my foot and really hurt!

M- Soooo, we are just going to give her away? Where?

J- Outside, just outside.

M- for how long?

J- 2 days.

M- What will she eat or drink? Where will she sleep?

J- We'll just put stuff out out there for her like what we eat.

M- Like a dog?

He walked away after that- that is what I like to call talking it out. Once reason set in (and his foot stopped hurting) it wasn't worth arguing with mom.

ABC's

A * Age: 28

B * Birthday: 11-24

C * Cake or candy: If it's on the table (or chair, or even sometimes the floor), I will eat either one!

D * Desserts I love: White cake with white icing. Choc chip cookie dough ice cream. Or Butterfinger mixed with sweet cream ice cream from Cold Stone.

E * Easiest Person to Talk to: Dare I list them? I'm quite a talker.

F * Favorite Song: I am a Cranberries fan

G * Gold or Silver: Silver

H * Habit: Everytime I walk by the computer I sit and check my mail. This is exceptionally bad since my office and laundry room occupy the same space!

I* Instruments you play: Does snapping your fingers to get kids attention count?

J * Job Title: Mom

K * Kiddos: 3

L * Lust or Love: OR???
M * Married, Single, or Taken: married- And no one takes me- thank you.

N * Next to you: I just cleaned off my desk. It's been a good day.

O * One Wish: "A Happy happy birthday to you from me" Sorry, it came to me.

P * Person you called last: In a yell or on the phone?

Q * Quote: Oh, for crying in the night

R * Reason to smile: A smile for a smile. Try not to smile when your kid smiles at you! It's tough.

S * Steak or Pork: I'm with Laurie, Chicken takes all.

T * Turns you on: N/A (nice question!)

U * Unique Talent: Unique unique... I am pretty sure there is someone else who can do everything I can!

V * Veggie: pass (with my nose plugged)

W * woke up at: 7:30! Woo hoo!!

X * X-rays: Yes, sign me up- I would love xray vision!

Y * Your favorite color: Yellow has always been my fav color and I will always remember Pres Monson's comment on his own fav color... "Yellow is the printer’s color. It’s the color that gives life to all of the other colors. I think it’s interesting that we’d all have nothing but blue grass if it were not for yellow. But also it’s the quickest color to fade. I haven’t figured that one out yet. I’ll see a picture on the wall, and I instantly know whether the yellow is starting to fade from that picture because, all of a sudden, all of the tones of the others aren’t as bright as they should be."

Z * Zodiac sign: Sag

I was tagged by Laurie and now pass the tag to YOU!

The bomb

Conversation overheard in the toyroom:

Jayce: C'mon! They're going to get us!

Lainy: Ok! Hurry Jayce!

Jayce: Oh no! They have bombs!

Lainy: (a pause) I'm th' bomb

Living for the good days

Nothing spectacular to post, just wanted to post some good things of the day...

My kids LOVE these! I wondered how they would taste when I saw them advertised, 5 stars from this mom!

Clean floors. I hadn't found time to mop my floors in weeks. Yes, that's what I said, weeks. I love having clean floors and being able to walk barefoot through the house. I have no carpet in my house and a lot of dirt outside which makes for some non-barefoot friendly walking. Today I am barefoot!

And of course, the kicker for having a fantastic morning, Lainy letting me do her hair!! I had to keep it simple and quick! She tried for the whining, but I nipped that quickly in the bud. She had no choice but defeat. Once her tight scalp grew numb, she was good!

Do's and Don'ts

Family home evening last night was one of those planned out of necessity. My house is regularly filled with disrespect, children without boundaries,and a mother who can't seem to follow through. Here is what I came up with:

DO'S

1. Eat at the table
2. Share your things
3. Speak respectfully
4. Give hugs and kisses
5. Be quiet during a phone call

DON'Ts

1. Kick or hit
2. Scream or whine
3. Bite or spit
4. Neener neener or name call

Each of these is illustrated with a cartoon explaining each rule. As I have the children sitting in the chairs surrounding the pantry door where my new rules were recently posted I realized I had never come up with consequences. Darn. I had to think fast. I said a little prayer and thought I would ask the kids for their opinion...

" Jayce, what will happen if you Scream, whine, bite, spit, neener neener, or name call?"

"umm, soap in your mouth?" Fantastic, sounded good to me.

"yes, good."

"Lainy, what will happen if you hit your brother?"

"Umm, You will give us a swat on the butt?"

Not so effective in the past, and what came out of mouth next was sheer brilliance.

"No, if you can't use your hands and arms in the correct way, you will not be able to use them at all. If you hit someone, I will tie your hands behind your back for a period of time."

I was impressed.

"And if you kick someone, you will have your feet tied together."

Today I had my chance. Jayce kicked Lainy late this afternoon and I found an old piece of fabric and tied those skinny little legs together. Of course, he laughed and hopped around a bit. It had been about an hour, and Lainy came to me and said

"Mom? I kicked Jayce" Jayce is nodding his obvious agreement.

"Lainy go play."

"But mom, I kicked Jayce, you need to tie my legs together"

"Lainy, I know you didn't really kick Jayce"

"hit?"

"No Lainy"

"punched?"

"No, Lainy!"

"But I really want to be tied up!"

Grrrr.

The best things in life are free

After spending 15 minutes in the 'hair chair' my masterpiece for the day was finished. Lainy was not convinced. Her hair was 'too tight' and the phrase 'I hate it' was used loosely. She cried and complained just long enough for me to lose my patience as I hoisted her back up in the hair chair and proceeded to yank and cut out the carefully placed bands, until it was a mess and pointedly said 'See? Now it's ugly.' She practically leap from the chair and ran to show Jayce.

I heard a cheery voice sing " Jayce! Look at my hair! It's sooo ugly!" And then, "THANKS MOM!"

Sigh.

Honorary Native

You know you have lived in AZ long enough to be given an honerary native stamp when your husband brings this baby to you in a bucket and your response is "whoa, cool." This is by far the largest scorpian we have found yet. We had a nice rain storm last night and I imagine he was seeking shelter on my front porch. Thankfully he had already gotten into the poison and is nearly dead. Although I picked a card I don't need anytime soon, I wasn't going to chance him using his last breath to sting me while I retrieved it.

Picking Blueberries

Yet another powdery mess to add to my list. I realize I have done this enough times that I don't even feel a flare of my temper. I'm growing! Apparently so are my children, since Jared could reach this box of Blueberry pankcake mix to dump onto the floor.

This was not a picture in motion. He was balancing quite well to show me the bottom of his feet. He looks a little like a wobbly ballerina.

I did it!

This will be added to the small list of things I have done right as a mother. Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches for lunch today. I try my hardest to find at least healthy bread for my kids, and they don't seem to mind the whole wheat flour. But today I had a few pieces of white bread leftover (Jason prefers the white) and as I set them in front of the kids to eat, I heard... "I HATE white bread!"

Happy Birthday Jayce!

I can't believe you have been in our lives for 6 whole years!! Let me share a few things about you that have happened in that time.

• You were stubborn from the start- breach position from the time I was 7 months pregnant and you never turned over once.


• You are a do-er not a follower. You walked at 8 months old and never did crawl. Just wasn't fast enough for you I guess.


• You have always been the best sleeper. From 2 months old you slept through the night and even now, you always sleep a solid 12 hours!


• We have always said that you have amazing dextarity with your tiny hands. You mastered some video games that your dad played by the time you were 3!!


• Your first words were 'hot' and 'cold'


• When you were 18 months, you used to love popcorn (still do!) and I used to find you sucking on the unpopped kernals. Must have loved the salt.


• You have always been very good at sharing the last of whatever food you might be eating. Your aunt Shannon was the one who, as far as I can tell is to thank for that. We were all at Grammy's house and Shannon asked if she could have your very last skittle (just to see if you would give it up) and you popped it right into your little mouth. She responded with a very sad face, and as quickly as that skittle went in, it came right back out. You felt bad and nothing Shannon could do would make you eat it!


• You must get your love of weapons from your dad. I found you once in my bathroom using my curling irons as guns.


• You have never been one to turn down a request for affection. Even in your moments to frustration or anger with mom or dad. You are such a lovebug, and I hope that never changes.

I love you Jayce Happy Birthday little man!

A Whale of tale

Lainy was divvying out the non existant baby whales she caught from the back of the church pew in front of us. We each carefully held them cupped in ours hands. 'One for you, one for me, two for you, and Oh! three for me!' She she proceeded to bring them toward her tiny mouth and I asked if she was kissing them. No, of course she was hugging them. She then kissed them, and I was told to do the same. It was now time to return them to their home, so I carefully placed them over the side of the bench into what I thought was the ocean... I looked at Lainy ever so carefully pouring hers back into their home, the little round plug in the back of the bench. Once she realized I had just tossed mine over the edge, she panicked and said a little too loudly, "you dumped yours on the floor?? (Although it was prounced 'flou') She scooped them all up and placed them in their proper home.

My personal infomercial

We love pancakes in my house, I make them at least 4 times a week. Jayce must have been dreaming he was eating something other than his grilled ham and cheese sandwich when he said this:

"Mom, you NEED the pancake puff pan. If you like pancakes, you'll love the pancake puff pan."

"They are so much easier than regular pancakes, you just pour them in the pan, and you take a stick, like a toothpick, but bigger, and flip them right over!"

I had never seen the advertisement before, but could tell he had seen it enough for the both of us. He went on, sensing I wasn't a believer quite yet.

"It's not just for pancakes, you can make cinnamon roll puffs, cake puffs, and even muffin puffs! And mom, all you have to do is push this little trigger and you can shoot butter or icing right inside! And you don't even have to take little bites, you can just pop them right in your mouth!"

The animation in his voice rivaled any informercial announcer I have heard.

You suck.

Jayce came to me in a bit of a panic a few weeks ago showing me his arm and asking what he could do to fix it. It only took a second for me to recognize the wound.

"Jayce did you suck on your arm?"

A grin slowly spread across that face. I held my composure and told him not to do it anymore. He seemed concerned that I never laughed at it, and asked later if he was going to die if he kept doing it.

Valor, Purity, and Justice

I LOVE the 4th of July. I love the excitment, the patriotism, and I love our country. We headed up to Payson this year to celebrate with a few friends.

The men got a game of football going, and the boys played catch, but also take a look at the sky...

They had three legged, crab, and sack races. Jayce found a buddy for the day and they had a great time. Again, the sky is still friendly...

Ahhh, the tug of war! This one was fun to watch. The kids were all pulling with all their little might, and yet when you look the officer in the picture, the kids look more like they are just kindof hanging on. The sky has begun to darken by this point. It was about this time in the afternoon that some of the kids from my ward recuited me into thier water fight... I was soaked before the rain even hit. And very very cold.

Can you see the little river of water behind Shelley and Jared? Glade so nicely pointed out as we rested in our little canopy, that we had a river headed stright for us... We of course picked up our already drenched belongings and everyone helped move us over out of water's way.

A few minutes later, as we all stood, since our chairs were all soaked, we noticed yet another small stream headed perpendicular to the first and yes, it was planning on intercepting our temporary place of residence yet again. We moved again.

At this point, I had succumed to the contstant "can we PLEASE play in the water mom?" and all three of my children were running gleefully through the water. So now, nearing 6 pm the rain was beginning to subside and we had 3 more hours, with no dry clothes, or even chairs to sit on, to wait for the fireworks. I threw in the soaking wet towel, we packed and went home.

We caught some fireworks from our porch and went to bed! Definitely a memorable 4th!

Back in the saddle again.

Even 5 days after returning home from girls camp I am still nearly dreading posting. I just haven't organized my thoughts enough to write them down. So, it will be a mess of information I assume.

Firm as the mountains around us

Oh to be a teenager again and feel like you are close to being firm as the mountains. Don't get me wrong, I DO NOT want to be a teenager again. I had my fair share. But as an adult I have found that I am mature enough to realize just how far I am from being as firm as the mountains around me. It is daunting some days.

You know when you play things out in head before you doing something and expect it to turn out just so? And so I pictured my first experience as a leader at girls camp. Not quite what I have envisioned. What I had failed to put into my picture was that I am now 28 and not 15. I had rules to enforce (or break) an example to set, and girls to watch over.

I simply want to list the things that took place and maybe a little blurb about my personal experience with it:

Classes

• Writing - Plethora of info that I will continue to use on the years to come. Inspiring.
• Great people thru history
• Confidence
• Public Speaking - I could have used that as a teenager, better late than never.
• Hostess - They showed us how to throw a dinner party. SERIOUSLY?? Waste of my time.
• First aid - I ditched because I fell asleep in the class before it
• Archery - Very cool to watch the girls take something that seemed daunting to me and nearly master it.
• Scriptures - I missed half of it trying to round up my girls
• Night sky - star gazing, and again, I fell asleep. In my defense it was 10:30 pm by the time they started.
• Drama - LOVED this one. Denise taught it and my favorite was 'la la laing" Am I right Heather?

Several traditions I was unaware of:

• Singing Trees - Each ward finds a tree once it gets dark, and one by one each ward turns on their flashlights up towards the tops of the tree illuminating it and sweetly singing a hymn, and finishes by shutting off their flashlights and the next ward begins. Very serene moment.
• Weird camp songs - Boogaloo - Hey Burrito - Princess Pat - and whatever the food song was they they seemed to sing each and every morning before breakfast. Mash potato mash mash potato...
• The amazing food that caused me to gain 3 pounds even when hiking to and from a cabin on a hill each day.
• A CABIN to sleep in! That's a tradition I am in for!
• Buses to shuttle you to and from home. And watching a movie all the while!

Best thing(s) about camp-

• Heather
• Shantell
• Laura

I love my 4th year girls that I was a cabin mom to, and no one can top the girls from our ward, but I think the Lord wanted me to know I had friends. And these three women made this girls camp the most memorable for me. So, thank you.