Happy Halloween!

Arrrgg, Matey! Happy Halloween from our little pirates. The girls are seriously into Pirates of the Carribean this year. I know, they're way too young. The Man has Miss Priss loving movies such as Pirates, Harry Potter and Star Wars. She actually requests them now, and her dad couldn't be happier. Maybe she won't always be such a little Miss Priss. And Devil Child goes right along with whatever her big sister wants, although I have a feeling she'd like those scary movies even without the influence of an older sibling.



Wednesday was the Halloween party at preschool, and I was in charge of carpool that week, so I had the chance to pick up all her friends in their costumes. We had Superman, Spiderman, and Snow White. Of course Devil Child just HAD to wear her costume, too.




These kids are so funny. When I dropped of Liam at his house after school, his mom came out and said, "Hey, Superman!" He just looked at her blankly and said, "No, mom. I'm just your son in a Superman costume."



And Miss Priss was so excited to tell Liam that her Uncle Shott loves Superman, too, and that he's even friends with the REAL one. I love it!



Friday was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat. We watched Pirates while getting ready to get us "in the mood." The ward had a chili dinner beforehand, and then we took the girls around the parking lot. Our ward is HUGE, so it was a big success. It took almost an hour to get to all the cars, and the girls got WAY TOO MUCH candy. I'm sure with a prego mommy and a chocoholic daddy, we'll put all that candy to good use.

Tonight we'll get in costumes again to go to a carnival in our old stake, and then Tuesday we'll dress up one last time to visit our neighbors and pass out candy to other trick-or-treaters while we watch "Monster House." I love getting so much use out of these costumes! And it's nice that they can go right into the dress-up drawer afterwards for dress-up fun all year long!

Hope you all have a Happy (and safe) Halloween. Post pictures of your little ghouls, goblins, princesses, and whatever else you have this year. We'd love to see them!

What Are You Doing Here?

Have you ever done something in your life that made you realize, "This is it! THIS is my 'purpose' in life. I know what my 'mission' is?" Me neither.

I once met a woman while serving in a calling that seriously made something inside of me light up at our first meeting. And I felt it every single time I was with her. The first time she came to my house was to "get to know me" and tell me what my new responsibilities would be. She told me she had thought and prayed a lot about me. She asked me if I knew what my purspose was in this calling. I felt really stupid saying no, but it was the only honest thing I could say. And somehow I knew that she knew that I didn't know anyway. Did you get that? She said she knew what my purpose was, and that I would soon learn also. I no longer serve with her, or even in that calling, but I STILL haven't figured it out.

There are so many people in my life that have qualities that I'd like to be able to "borrow" a little of. There's my mother-in-law, who is so genuinely complimentary to everyone that she is able to make you feel like you truly are a great person. And Colleen, who has the ability to be everyone's mom, and is just spunky enough to pull off being your friend, too. She's the person that would take in the one-legged dog with diabetes, and be perfectly happy and willing to pay for and give it shots every day just to keep it alive. She took me in a long time ago, and I know that if I ever showed up on her doorstep, she'd look at me like one of her own daughters and say, "Where've you been? We've all missed you!"

My husband, who has a genious creativity that I think he's not even fully aware of. It's not just his artistic creativity, but every time I need an idea for anything; an activity, a party, a lesson, things just flow from his mind. My own mother, who can be a best friend to anyone, who is so incredibly kind and loving, she would literally give up everything she had if that's what it took to help someone out. My dad, who is constantly coming to someone's rescue (usually mine), and is always willing to take the time to teach me a little something on the guitar, or tell me stories of his life growing up. For him, the world isn't moving by so fast that he just can't take the time. I'd like some of that.

We're told we need to find our talents. To share them with others and let them shine. It's always hard when someone asks you what your talents are or what are some good qualities about yourself. It's not that you can't think of any, it's that no one wants to be the look-at-me-I'm-so-great-because-I'm-whatever-person. When it comes to talking about good qualities, I'm a big "but" person (not to be confused with a big "butt" person, which, unfortunately, I am, also). I'm compassionate, BUT ... (insert list of downfalls). Yes, I'm friendly, BUT ... (insert experience of when I was really mean to Bob and told him he could not be my friend). And seriously, is that really what I'm here for, to be compassionate and friendly? Somehow I doubt it.

So how did this woman I met come to know what MY purpose was, when I didn't even know it? Is she just that much more intuitive, that much closer to the Spirit? Probably. There are things in my life that I know I should be doing that I'm not, and things in my life that I know I shouldn't be doing that I am. And I guess that's where we start. Improving ourselves little by little, trying to be the best we can. And maybe it will be in this journey that my life's "mission" will be revealed. I just hope it's revealed sooner than later so I have some time to work on and fulfill it. Heaven knows I don't want to waste my life being ONLY compassionate and friendly.

And The Winner Is ...

SHAWNA!!! That's right, Shawna had the correct answer. My lifelong dream was fulfilled this last week as my sister and I headed off for Chicago to go see The Oprah Winfrey Show. Seriously, I NEVER thought I would EVER get to go to her show. After she signed her last contract and told CBS she wouldn't be signing another one, I kinda gave up hope that it would ever happen. I had heard all sorts of stories of how women tried for five years or so before they ever got their tickets; and that was with them spending hours on the phone each week. Who has that kind of time? Anyway, I let it go and was totally over it. After all, it's not like someone I knew was going to get to go instead of me; right?

So a couple of weeks ago my sister and her family come over for dinner and during the evening she says to me, "Oh, I have something to tell you, but you're going to be mad at me." I'm like, "What?" And she says, "My friend got two tickets to go to Oprah in about two weeks, and she invited me to go with her." So then I'm like, "NOOOOOO!!! This cannot be! I was okay that I was never going to see her in person, but that was only because I knew NO ONE I knew was going to see her in person, either!" And she's all, "I swear, the first thing I asked her was, 'Are you sure there's not three tickets? My sister is going to be seriously mad at me!'" She was assured there were not three tickets, and that was it. They started making plans to go.

Apparently my sister's friend got the tickets through a patient at their office who got four tickets for a group of friends, and then at the last minute two of them weren't able to go. So her friend was like, "Won't your sister be happy for you that you get to go?" And my sister was like, "I seriously don't know. She REALLY likes Oprah." Truthfully, I was happy for her. It only pierced my heart a little.

Well, a week went by, and my sister was trying to get her plans in order for someone to watch the kids while her man would be at school. And then, on Sunday, she called me. Long story short, her friend's car was broken into, her purse and all their credit cards were stolen, and she was told it would take at least ten days to get everything replaced. Since she couldn't pay for her trip anymore, she told my sister she could bring me!!!! Sad for her, YEAH for me!!! My heart was pounding as I thought of ways to actually make this work. The Man works from 6am to 6pm, and the show was taping on a Tuesday. We were flying out on Saturday, so that meant I needed someone to watch the girls for two entire days. Luckily for me, I have the most fabulous friend ever, and she agreed to take them for me. She even offerred to have The Man bring them over Sunday night and Monday night to sleep over so he wouldn't have to wake them up at 5am and get them ready and still be to work on time. Sarah, I owe you FOREVER! Seriously, anything you want. I'm your new lifetime babysitter.

My sister was able to fly for free since her husband used to work for an airline, so she got in ealier than I did on Saturday. I was supposed to get there at about 3:00 in the afternoon, but my flight was delayed due to bad weather (we had an amazing lightning storm the night before with tons of thunder and rain), so I ended up getting in at about 7:00 instead. We picked up our car, checked into the hotel, and were off to get some dinner. The hotel was great, and the staff always had suggestions of wonderful local places to eat. We loved it! We slept in until 9:30 on Sunday, got up and went to the gym for a workout, got ready for the day, and then it was off to the famous Magnificent Mile for our first "girls' day out" for shopping. Our first stop, The Gap, of course, to purchase our RED t-shirts designed by Bono's Red Line that was promoted on Oprah the week before in their fight against AIDS. If you haven't heard about it, it's a wonderful cause, and all you have to do is buy something that you were probably going to buy anyway. Check it out here. Then you can go to The Gap link to check out their Red Line. Of all the things being sold by Bono's Red Line, the stuff at the Gap is probably all that I can afford (unless I was planning on buying The Man something from Armani - yeah, right - or a new cell phone or Ipod).

I can't tell you how nice it was not to have to worry about what time it was, having to go back to the hotel for naps for little ones, or about the baby's being too cold or crying for something, or any of the other million little things we worry about every single day when we're taking care of our children. It was just us, and we could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I thought for sure I would be in tears by the second day at hearing their voices at night before bedtime, but they were just fine, and so was I. I knew they were in very capable hands. I knew they were happy and having a good time. What a relief that was. Sometimes as moms we think no one else could ever take care of them if we were gone. I have to give major props to The Man for handling the weekend with the girls so great. He even got them ready for 9am church on Sunday! What a guy!

On Monday we mapped out our route to Harpo Studios. We made our plan for me to drop my sister off early so we could be one of the first in line, and then I would drive down for hot chocolate and then find parking. Parking is crazy downtown! We did a little more shopping and went to a salon to get our nails done. We walked around looking at beautiful buildings and people's houses downtown. They were gorgeous! It's just so completely different from where we live.

Tuesday we were up at 3:45am. Plenty of time to get ourselves beautiful for Ms. Winfrey. There was no traffic at 5am, so we arrived even earlier than we planned. Perfect. We were the third group in line. The first was a brother and sister who had come from New York. They got in line at 2:30! They said in NY if you get to your line after that, there would already be over 100 people waiting there. Crazy! Two cousins were next, then us, and a group of four friends, who arrived just minutes after we did. We were all instantly best friends. Everyone was just as excited as we were to be there. Oh, it was so fun! I'll spare the details of the waiting outside, then waiting inside, fixing our hair and makeup, going to the bathroom three times, fixing our hair and makeup again, and then finally getting called to go take our seats inside the studio. We ended up in the second row over on the side of the stage, where Oprah would be facing. When she walked in, we all jumped up, screaming and clapping. It was so fun to just be carried away in all the excitment.



It was unreal. We were so close it was like we were across my own living room. And she looked fabulous! I was expecting her to be heavier (apparently it's true, the camera really does add ten pounds), and her outfit and shoes were so cute! Her hair looked great, although you won't be able to see the hairstyle she had. It was a really cute 'do' in the back, but on TV it will just look like it's pulled back in a ponytail.

The topic was "Moms Around the World." They talked to moms from other countries on how they are raising their children and what their traditions are. Not the most exciting show, but who cares, I was THERE!!! I did tear up when they showed a clip about a mother in Africa caring for her children with AIDS. It just reminded me of our incredibly blessed we to live where we live and to have all that we have. When the taping ended, the audience got to talk to Oprah for her show on XM Radio, and then we were dismissed. And that was it. The show taping was the tiniest fraction of our trip, but the whole thing was an experience I'll never forget. Thanks, K, for letting it be me. I'll love you forever!



And the best part of the whole trip? Coming home, of course. I couldn't help but jump into the arms of My Man when he came to get me at the airport. And seeing those gorgeous faces of my beautiful little girls after not seeing them for FOUR DAYS (although Miss Priss was asleep in her carseat) was priceless. I just never wanted to stop kissing my little Devil Child. How is it possible that they can grow up so much when you're gone for such a short time? I'll never figure that one out. All in all, my first time leaving my babies went very well. It's an experience I highly recommend to every mother out there who hasn't tried it yet. Having a little time for ourselves is important, when we usually spend ALL our time taking care of everyone else. But it's the best feeling in the world to come home and realize that after seeing my "dream" come true, my life as a wife and a mother kicks Oprah's butt, hands down.



And for anyone who may be interested, the show we were at will be on this Monday, October 23rd. It's at 9am here, but check your tv guide if you don't know what time it's on where you live. And shame on you if you don't know what time Oprah is on where you live. We'll be taping it just in case they show us on tv!!!

Sorry, But You'll Have to Wait!

I spent a good portion of the morning writing all about my adventures this weekend. Unfortunately, blogger won't let me post some of my photos, so you won't hear about where I went until The Man can help me figure out how to get it finished. The post just won't be the same with no pictures, so I figure it's worth the wait.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture of my new haircut. I have to admit, I loved it the first day. When the stylist does it for you, it always looks great. Then I tried it myself the next day. Not loving it so much anymore. Now, a week later, it's a nightmare. It takes a lot of time to dry, straighten and style it. Maybe I'll like it better when it grows out a little and I have a bit more length. I do like my hair short better than long, but I just have to get used to this style, I guess.

Tell me what you think. I can take it. And I'm expecting honesty here. I know The Man hates it, and he's probably thrilled to hear that I'm not loving it. A lot of men I know like long, straight hair, so I won't be surprised to hear a "grow it back" or two.

And can I get a "whoo hoo" for my fabulous four-year-old photographer, Miss Priss. Great job, pumpkin!

You Were Always On My Mind

Sorry to all of you who keep checking my blog and finding out (to your dismay) I have not updated! There's lots to tell, but I have had no time! We had The Man's ENTIRE family here over the weekend. That's right, the whole fam damily. That's 11 extra adults and 4 extra kids. It was crazy fun. This week I've gone to work two days (yes, I still work sometimes), got my hair cut (pictures to come and you can all tell me how fabulous I look), and I'm leaving tomorrow on a jet plane. Check back next week for an exciting post about my trip this weekend. Can anyone guess where I'm off to? I'll give you a hint ... it's been a lifelong dream of mine. Okay, so maybe not a LIFELONG dream, but certainly for the last, oh, I don't know, 15 years of my life. It's the FIRST time I'm leaving my babies for FOUR-WHOLE-LUXURIOUS-DELICIOUS-FUN FILLED-DAYS. I'm not excited or anything, can you tell? Can't wait to get back and tell you all about it. And I'll be interested to hear if anyone has any guesses on the trip. You're all going to die. Just die, I tell ya! I just about peed my pants when I found out I was going. Bon Voyage for now, and you all just keep on bloggin'!

Did You Know?

A friend of mine did this the other day with her 3 1/2-year-old son. I thought it was a great idea for a post, so I sat down with Miss Priss to see what she had to say. We all love the totally random things kids say. So ask yours and you can post their answers as well. Thanks, Kendi!

1. Something I do well - "Give toys to my sister."

2. Something I'd like to improve on - "Playing Pretty Pretty Princess with my sister."

3. My favorite food - "Waffles."

4. Three words that best describe me - "Pretty, quiet, and I turn lights on." (Uh, okay. Obviously she got zero help from me.)

5. My happiest moment - "When gunny bag doesn’t get my toys when I clean faster."

6. The most important thing in my life now - "Going to Disneyland and Chuck E. Cheese’s." (Of course.)

7. My favorite movie - "Aquamarine." (This one still blows me away, but it's true.)

8. My favorite book - "Hiccups for Elephant."

9. My favorite person in the whole world - "Riley and Talbot and Julia." (Cousins. To all the other wonderful cousins she has that she didn't mention, shook.)

10. Instead of going to school, I wish I could - "Play games on the computer."

11. My favorite place to go - "The park."

12. My favorite thing to draw - "A picture of my mommy and daddy and my sister and me and my house."

13. Something I want for Christmas - "Some light balls (translation: bulbs) and to make cookies for Santa to eat, and make cookies for me after dinner for Christmas."

14. My favorite color is - "Purple and pink."

15. At recess, I like to play - "On the slides."

16. When it's raining, I like to - "Sing songs to my flowers."

17. My favorite animal is - "A cute baby cow."

None of them really surprised me (except maybe the cow), but it's so fun to hear what they come up with.



This picture is about a year old, but it cracked me up as I was looking through old photos. She used to get into EVERYTHING!!! But how could you be mad at a face like that?