Another'n...

Anyone else notice a disturbing pattern?!

Sara's eye met Alexis' head at the ward Christmas party . . .

once again, the head won!

so sue me . . .

Happy Halloween.

Yes, I know I'm late.

Please refer to the title of this post...

Also, I'm in a bad mood.

If I have to listen to my 2nd grader WHINE about homework

(that I DID NOT ASSIGN. the teacher did... whine to her)

ONE MORE TIME...

I'll shoot both our eyes out.

With the bb gun Joey got for his birthday.

WHAT?

You want birthday pics, too?

pwoo, pwoo, pwoo.

(that was the sound of the bb gun - shooting someone's eye out.)

grrrrrrrrr......

My First Shiner...

First word: check

First steps: check

First popsicle: check

First day of pre-school: check

FIRST SHINER:

CHECK!

Joey's head met Sara's face, and Joey's head won.

Though, to be quite honest, you're never fully dressed without your black eye.

And as you can see, we dress to impress!

PRE...

SCHOOL!

Sara started preschool on September 6th. I stewed and fretted over whether or not to have her go, as I am not necessarily ready to be by myself yet. But, when you have a great little preschool two houses away, with friends from nursery and a great teacher, how could you NOT send her? She LOVES it . . . and it turns out I actually AM ready to be without children for a couple hours a week ;)

Obligatory . . .

And . . . commence obligatory first day of school post/pics.

I might be annoyed by the fact that I'm being so "trendy" and predictable - -

MIGHT BE. If they weren't so dang cute!

7th grade. That's right . . . SEVENTH.

Bring on the hormones, endless appetite, and Algebra.
I'm totally ready. (?)

Tommy and his BFF Riley. They're studs. They told me so.

Joey, 5th grade.

Rockin' the Chucks and a faux hawk. And yes, he CAN pull it off!

Anna, 2nd Grade.

If this picture doesn't scream "Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice" to you,

then likely no picture will!

Sara, Sass Grade.

If this picture doesn't scream "SASSY" to you,

it's likely no picture will!

Sara really wanted to be twins with Anna. And she was, until she started accessorizing!

And the picture she's holding, she carried around almost the entire day.
It's a picture of Tommy, Joey, and her cousin.
Not exactly sure why she was so attached to it on this particular day!

And this last one is just for good measure.
Sometimes, when you're full of sass, it's hard to keep your sunglasses on straight.

HAPPY NEW SCHOOL YEAR!

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Pardon Me . . .

as I wax philosophical ...

I've decided I really have some work to do in the "Christlike" area. (SURPRISE.)

Yesterday I spent some time with some women that I had never spent time with before, and only one of whom I will likely spend time with again, as we are the only two of the group that will be "working" together. These women are presumably in the same stake and/or ward, which is apparently to go through some BIG boundary changes. Now, we all know how this sends us MORMONS into a big fluttering tizzy- - WHAT WARD WILL I BE IN? WHO WILL THE NEW BISHOP BE? OH MY HECK, MY LITTLE WORLD MAY FALL APART WITH ALL THIS ANTICIPATION AND THE UNKNOWN. THERE'S SUFFERING, STARVING, OR DYING PEOPLE OUT THERE? THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY COMPARE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY WARD/STAKE. (!) Perhaps I exaggerate . . . a little. Anyway, these women I barely know (and am obviously about to judge. Strike one.) then went into a lengthy discussion about those whom they WOULD NOT want to be their bishop. One because he didn't say hello when he jogged by the house in the morning, another because he wasn't married to an angel. And on and on, which then led to talking about others in the ward. All the while, one of these ladies, who was not "active" because of work and maybe other reasons, would occasionally jump in with a comment (to her teenage daughter who was hearing all of this) like "Don't worry. It'll be okay - there's good girls in the other wards if the YW gets broken up." "Don't worry, I'll try to get Sundays off and I'll come with you."

Then, at the end of the conversation (most of which occurred, LOUDLY, at a bank) one of the women turned to this less active mom and said "You guys need to come to church more often so we can see you." :-O

Now, this lengthy epistle is not to make you want to scratch anyone's eyes out. I'm sure in most situations these are LOVELY, KIND women. I simply want to give the background (and there's more! but I will not include it here.) as to why I suddenly realized that I need to be more Christlike. Am I ever like that?! Do I ever make others feel uncomfortable because of my harsh vocalized judgments? WHEN I MAY NOT EVEN KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THE REASON I'M BEING JUDGMENTAL?! Never again, my friends, never again. And think of the poor less active friend - - WHY IN THE WORLD would she want to come more often after all of that? So, I began to think . . . have I ever made someone think "I'll never go to church again" because of any of my actions/words? EEK. How TERRIBLE would that be.

Then, today, as I was bagging my own groceries at Winco (which, by the way, is BRILLIANT. Though, I do feel a lot of pressure when the next person's groceries start down my side and I still have all my produce to bag. :-) a lady behind me began talking to the lady on the other side of the bagging belt. They were obviously of a different faith than mine, as the conversation began with "I just talked to the pastor on the phone this morning!" These ladies then engaged in a conversation that filled my heart with joy. They talked about how the church was handing out "treat" bags today, so the one lady had run down to get a few things for the bags. And how she promised to get the other lady her pictures, but "So-and-so collapsed the day of your mother's memorial, and had to go in for a quintuple bypass, so we've been taking care of his 70 lb. dog, which is why I'm covered in dog hair!"

I interrupted the conversation right there and informed her that she was a SAINT for that one act alone!
This conversation was between three other ladies, with me listening in, as was the conversation yesterday. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES. Lovely ladies, all of them, but the three I saw/heard today made me want to be a little better. However, I did realize that I might not be willing to help anyone with their 70 lb. dog (strike two) - - which is why I believe I have A LOT of work to do in the "Christlike" department. A LOT.

One conversation made me want to poke my eyes out with a fork - - the other made me want to buy the world a Sprite, and go frolicking through a field of flowers with all mankind and a 70 pound dog.

But, which conversation am I most frequently engaged in?

A lot of work to do, people. A LOT.

Every now and again I have to remind myself that the images I see from other parts of the world are, in fact, real. That some people wake up to nothing. Or, they wake up to what once was something ... but, because of forces outside of their control, is now nothing. That some people wake up far from anything beautiful, lovely, or of good report. That some people don't wake up at all. I forget sometimes that I am only a VERY small dot in a VERY large picture. I sometimes forget that what I do or say really doesn't matter to more than maybe a handful of people.

But MAN!

I'm glad I get to be here.

He is . . .

the very model of a Modern Major General

I heart . . .

THIS GUY!

Let me tell you a little about me . . .

I have difficulties falling asleep. It has much to do with the fact that my brain does not have an "off" switch. Also, the fact that I tend to worry about things . . . things past, things present, and even things future that may or may not actually happen. sigh.

I once had a full blown panic attack, complete with accelerated heart rate and hyperventilation, while trying to fall asleep one night, over thoughts of what in the world I would do if my mini-van plunged into a large body of water and sank. With me and my children in it. ? Where, anywhere near me, is there a large enough body of water that I could possibly plunge into? This should not be a worry of mine, yet there I was, PANICKING about it. Again, sigh.

To combat this and other such IRRATIONAL thoughts, I've taken to "pretending" myself to sleep! *cuck-oo*

This means that, to occupy my mind and not allow it to wander to such dark places, I imagine myself in a different life scenario. Now, this does not mean that I'm in any way not content with my current life situation . . . it is simply a tool I use to prevent ending up in the loony bin compliments of a wandering mind.

These "different life scenarios" often include living in New York. As a stylish, classy New York citizen (and that, my friends, just proves how far fetched these "pretending" sessions have to be! The word classy, stylish and myself are not mentioned in the same sentence under normal circumstances!) meeting other stylish, classy New Yorkers. Including, but not limited to, Isaac Mizrahi. This guy is a HOOT! I'd love to spend an evening over dinner with him. Fascinating.

I feel another good night's sleep coming on ;)

FREE . . .

or 3 !

Tomato, Tu mah toe.

a nutshell . . .

Moving Tommy and Joey to their new room means Anna and Sara

also get to make a move!

First night in the new bunkbeds.

(It was not as hard as I thought it would be to move my last baby out of a crib! Not even one single tear was shed. That's progress . . . .)

Anna turned 7 . . .teen. ;)

And, because I still have influence, it was a donut cake again!

It was SO FUN to watch her open her presents. SHE WAS THRILLED.

Completely and genuinely thrilled! With EVERYTHING!

We got her a pretty new dress, and because we can, got Sara a twinner dress!

Anna got to open both, then give the little one to Sara. And they both wanted, immediately, to wear them!

Valentine's Day:

My funny Valentine! And, quite frankly, the only really good thing about that wretched day!

Tommy's soccer team had a tournament in St. George President's Day weekend. And, OF COURSE, it was the one weekend that the weather was bad ;)

I've never been to St. George - still- and am kinda glad that the girls got to stay home!

I do intend to make it there someday, though. :)

Tommy Turned Twelve.

unbelievable.

Because T.R. was taking everyone down to my brother and sister in law's house later that day (I had the second of two weddings to do flowers for, and Tommy had a merit badge pow wow in Provo early the next morning. So dear of dears, T.R., took all the kids. And dears of dears Robert and Rachel {mostly Rachel!} hosted them all. THANK YOU, THANK YOU!)

we celebrated in the morning. This meant ICE CREAM CAKE FOR BREAKFAST!!

How cool am I? Letting my children eat ice cream cake for breakfast!!

They all informed me that they never wanted ice cream cake for breakfast again ;)

Tommy and his loot. Not pictured is the camping backpack/sleeping bag/tent combo. For scout camps. I have a child old enough to go to scout camp. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

His favorite gift (besides the camping stuff...) was the cash!!

I do not recall giving him permission to turn 12. And it's a little upsetting.

And finally:

would you please check out the head of hair on this young lady.

I grew up with, and continue to have, the worst hair. EVER. Day after day of bad hair days.

AND LOOK WHAT SHE GOT!! I hadn't even brushed it yet in this picture!

Further proof that Heavenly Father does love us - - AND has a sense of humor!

Lately . . .

We've been up to some things - -

some things that took WAY LONGER than originally planned.

Darn you, HGTV. Darn you for making me believe that a room transformation can

happen in a reasonable amount of time.

I could've had a BABY in the time it took us to move Tommy and Joey into their new room.

((*SHUDDER*))

But now it's done - and they've officially moved in - and now on to the next room.

See ya in nine months :P

Tommy won 2nd place in the DISTRICT Science Fair!

I will refrain from inserting numerous "nerd" jokes

'cause dang, I'm kinda proud!!

and, well, let's face it. This kid's gonna be rich one day.

And momma needs a new pair of shoes! ;)

B is for bathroom . . .

I DESPISE cleaning the bathroom. (who doesn't? I know, I know.) But I think I've done it. I've come up with a solution to my current method, which is "putting it off and putting it off until it's an even more undesirable task". I've devised a plan that helps me clean the bathroom to a "T" without having to spend hours at a time... it shall henceforth be called "Cleaning by the Letters", and it goes something like this:

Monday: Mirrors

Tuesday: Toilets

Wednesday: Walls/Window

Thursday: Tub/Shower

Friday: Floors

Saturday: Sinks

Genius, right?! I haven't decided if this makes it better or worse, since my least favorite chore will now have to happen DAILY! But, I'll take ten minutes a day over hours and hours of talking myself into just doing it, and then hours of doing it!! And this way, at least PART of the bathrooms will be clean whenever my parents come over!!

The sweet life . . .

Haunted . . .

Sara likes to "revisit" Halloween.

It it not unusual to have a Spooky Green Spider costume

running around our house, filled by a cute little girl!

However - it becomes really frightening when it is, instead, your

oldest boy sausage stuffed into said costume!

(tired of simply stepping over the discarded spider skin, he decided to don it!)

1.1.11...

Four ones? I can work with that :D

I've spent the day with this princess . . .

who dresses to dance . . .

to Bruno Mars!

(one of his songs plays in the movie Tangled - thrilling when you're almost 3!)

These next few pictures are of some signs that have brought me great joy as I walk past them multiple times a day!

Tommy, Joey, and Anna made up a game to play with Joey's rubber duckie collection (20+ and counting!) It has something to do with the duckies earning points/money - and then they can choose where to spend it. They each opened some "stores" in hopes of the other duckies coming and spending their points/money there. :) I have put them in order of amusement:

This is one of Anna's...

Another of Anna's .. . (cold = called, hou = who)

Joey's . . . (please note the fine print at the bottom! It says:

price $15. holiday store is not responsible for the injury of you, or your kids. No refunds.)

hmm - - is his dad a lawyer or something?

Anna's . . .

(the only thing she asked for help with, on all of these signs, was

"how many zeros come after the 2 in 2 billion?")

And, MY FAVORITE!

Anna's swimming class:

:D Joy, I tell ya! Just Joy!