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?

Keep a Smile on Your Face

I know the answer already, but I'll ask anyway. Do you ever feel like you just can't catch a break? I'll spare you all the long and probably boring story of how I spent two weeks trying to get an appointment with my perinatologist, whom I love and who has taken care of my previous two pregnancies and delivered both my girls, so it's only natural that I would do everything I can to have him take care of this one and deliver this baby, only to find out that my insurance company will NOT budge on the whole "referral" from a regular OB first, who I couldn't get into in the first place for the referral because everyone was either not taking new patients or not giving referrals or couldn't see me until January, or whatever their excuse was, so I finally told a small, tiny, little fib to get into a doctor who happened to be almost an hour away, and when I got to the office for my appointment I had already thrown up three times that morning (before 9 am), had a killer migraine headache, and discovered NO ONE was in the office because they schedule MY appointment at one office and the doctor was seeing patients at a different office (another 30 min. away) that day; and after he tells me he WILL refer me to my beloved doctor and I finally get in to see him, I discover the first doctor does not want to turn over the total care and delivery to my doctor, the one I want, but only wants me to see him periodically for higher level ultrasounds, so now I'll have to fight with him to give me up as a patient or drive an hour down to his office every couple weeks, which I'm not willing to do. Okay, so I spared you nothing. Deal with it. (My English teacher would have KILLED me for that paragraph!)

Actually, I really was talking more about The Man. He works so unbelievably hard (and long), and sometimes it seems like it's all for nothing. He spends twelve-hour days at the office, only to come home to cranky kids and an emotionally exhausted wife, lately with no dinner on the table. Then when the girls are in bed, it's off to the "honey-do" list or the office to spend some time desperately trying to accomplish the goals and dreams he's set for himself. Finally, somewhere between midnight and 2:30 a.m., it's the long-awaited and short-lived bedtime, where he battles with sleep apnea and terrible sinuses as he tries to get some quality sleep so he can wake up at 5:00 a.m. and - dare I say - be ready to do it all again. Saturdays and Sundays are usually no better as they most often begin with a raging migraine. (Aren't we a pair?!?!) He'll fight it off so that he can get up and "get something done," like the backyard (which is now done - yeah!!!!), preparing his lesson for his gospel doctrine class, take care of logo clients, and try to spend time with me and the girls.

Sound fun yet? Sound like a lot of complaining? But it's with good intentions. I write this post to let The Man know that I really do see the gazillion things he's juggling while he still manages to be a fabulous husband and daddy. I am unbelievably grateful for a man who is willing to kill himself working so that I can stay home with our children. I am even more grateful that he's a man who, after six years of marriage, still loves me, even though he probably knows way too much about who I really am. I am lucky. I am blessed. I am so proud of him.














A friend of mine and I were talking about what we would do if our husband's died. I know, morbid, but I'd like to know what my plan is just in case. Anyway, she was talking about how they've planned for her and the kids to be taken care of financially, and that her husband thinks that's the most important thing. She said he's worth more dead than he is alive. And she said how she told him, "I'd pay twice that much just to get you back." I'm sure we all would.

But it got me thinking about money and the routine of our lives and what we're actually working for. We work so that we can earn money to live in our nice houses and buy the things we need and want. If I lost The Man tomorrow, I would not care one bit about where I was living, what car I was driving, what I was going to wear that day or if I was going to go out to eat a nice dinner. My friend was right; I would have everything taken away from me - everything - if that's what it took to keep him. And I would do it with a smile on my face.

I'm Not Your Mom Anymore

Miss Priss has had quite the attitute lately. Lately? What the heck am I talking about? That girl was BORN with an attitude. Not sure exactly where she learned it, but she's recently pulled out the "I'm not your sister, then!" to Devil Child whenever she gets upset with her. I hear "I'm not your sister anymore" and "I'm not your friend anymore" ALL THE TIME. Each time we have a little discussion on how that's not being very kind, and how it hurts people's feeling to say such things. Obviously it hasn't worked so far.

The other night she was upset with me for, oh, I don't know, maybe it was because I'm the meanest mom in the entire world because I asked her to pick up her dirty clothes and get them in the laundry. Or no, maybe it's because I'm the meanest mom in the whole world because I make her brush her teeth before she goes to bed. Wait a minute. I know. It's because I'm the meanest mom in the whole world because she doesn't get dessert if she doesn't eat her dinner. That's it. Anyway, she starts up with the crying first, then the dirty looks, then the snide comments of, "That's rude, mom!" So, being the meanest mom in the world, I tell her she may not speak to me like that, and she can go up to her room until she's ready to stop crying, change her attitude, and say nice things to me. As she's running up the stairs, now hysterically crying, she yells, "FINE!!! I'm not your mom anymore!"

Do I laugh? Do I cry? No, I say, "Good. I don't need another mom." But of course I know what she means, and it does hurt me a little. My little baby girl, a child I would give all my life and more for, is so upset with me in that moment that she says she doesn't want me to be her mom. Ouch. But I'm over it because a little while later she's back downstairs, wiping away tears and ready to apologize. We have another little discussion about kindness, and how important our friends and family members are to us. All is well in Zion. I'm hoping this time she really does understand.

A few nights later The Man comes home from work, and utter chaos breaks loose in the house. I don't know why he keeps coming home. The excitement of "DADDY'S HOME!!!" lasts a whole five mintues around here. Then it turns straight into the whining about wanting to play outside, or not wanting what I made for dinner, the spilling of drinks that happens at EVERY meal, crying that they can't watch a movie, and more whining about getting ready for bed and actually having to go to bed. So after a nice bout of crying for who knows what, The Man is fed up and decides to take action. He turns to Miss Priss and tells her, "If you don't obey and get up there to get ready for bed, you'll get a spanking, and then you'll STILL have to get ready for bed, even if you don't want to!"

She turns to run upstairs, and shouts on her way up, "I'm not your dad anymore!" It's sad, but at the same time a little humorous, that she still hasn't got it through her head that that's mean, and that she's got it totally backwards.

We're Baa-aack

Whew! That was a close one. But problem solved, and pretty easily. Thanks to everyone for looking into this to help me. When I logged on yesterday to post, all I could see when I went to view my blog was a pink screen. I thought it was a fluke, or that maybe there was too much traffic at that time, causing some delays or difficulties. So I waited an hour or so and tried again. Same pink screen. Then I started to get worried. I tried again another hour later and, you guessed it, same thing. AAAAHHH!!! My blog disappeared! I typed in a couple links I knew by heart, and got to your blogs with no problem. So then I knew mine was in trouble.

I emailed Blogger this morning and told them my blog was gone, and asked if they could help. Not too long after I received an email with a couple of links to some information on fixing "broken" blogs. It also suggested that if I could get to my dashboard (which I could) but not to my blog, to try republishing the blog. I tried that and ... voila! It worked!!! I'm back up and running.

Now, for the second part of my inquiry to Blogger. I asked them if there was a way to backup our blogs to prevent completely losing them, and if there's a way to get a hard copy of them. Haven't heard back from Blogger on that yet, but a couple people have suggested some alternatives to that problem. We could write our posts first in something like Word, where we can save them, and then copy and paste them onto Blogger. In that case we would have our text, but not the pictures (which most times is what really makes the blog). But text without pictures is far better than nothing at all; right? Or, I was told that after you write your post you have the option of emailing it. So you could email it to yourself to have a hard copy. And last, there is probably a way to burn it onto a cd, in which case you would have the entire thing, pictures and all. But honestly, how often would we really do that? After every post? I don't know about you all, but I don't want to waste all those cd's by burning a new one everyday.

If Blogger comes up with a better suggestion, I'll let you all know. In the meantime, do whatever works best for you to keep a copy. What a shame it would be for any of us to lose it all.

What's Up With Us...

Miss Priss had her first day of preschool today. We were all very excited. She did great, as I knew she would; just ran into the classroom when the teacher opened the door, and forgot all about me and Devil Child, who were left standing there on the playground just waiting for a wave goodbye. I'll take that in a heartbeat over her screaming, crying, and clinging to my leg for dear life. Wow, I feel bad for those moms. We decided on afternoon school, as the girls take after their dad in their morning routines. We literally have days when I'll go into Miss Priss' room in the morning, and she groggily (is that a word?) looks at me, then scowls at me and shouts, "You woke me up, mom! I was sleepy!"

But I was happy to have the morning to get ready, seeing as it takes me ALL morning for breakfast, baths, dressing and hairstyling. We were up and outta here early (for us) to spend some time at the park before school started at noon. We've got a great park right up the street from us. The playground is awesome, but I love the scenery the most. And now that school is in, it's not crowded at all.

Here are some of the pictures we got. I've discovered that our pictures turn out better when the girls aren't looking at the camera. That's partly due to the fact that they're not completely cooperative, and partly due to the fact that our camera has like a 10-second delay. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but still, it's terrible.






I've been feeling better the last couple of days. It's been nice. I made it to church, but really only because it was Miss Priss' very first Primary Program. Maybe it's because I'm pregnant, maybe it's because I'm a sap, but there's something about seeing your first baby up there on that stand the minute she spots you, and her eyes light up and she jumps up out of her seat and shouts hello to you while waving her arms frantically, as if you're going to miss her. I cried. Unfortunately, The Man was home with a migraine, so I was on my own with Devil Child. Needless to say, I missed the entire program. I was in and out of there at least 20 times, trying desperately to watch my baby sing and hold her pictures up right on cue. She came down from the stage twice during the program crying, "Mom, I couldn't see you. Where are you?" It was awful.

I want to send out a huge congratulations to Bama and her family. We just found out they're having twins, and we are so happy for them (and even more happy it's not us!) We wish you all the luck in the world. You're probably going to need it.

Signs and Symptoms

It's really real. For the few weeks we've known about the new baby on the way, it hasn't really seemed real yet, other than the fact that clothes aren't fitting very well ALREADY!!!

But it hit me the other day when I was in the car on the way home, and listening to the radio. I flipped to the country station and heard the last verse of a song I liked. I waited to hear what was coming next to decide if it was worth my time. Reba came on next singing 'Fancy.' Haven't heard that in forever. By the time she reached the last part of the song where she sings, "I mighta been born just plain white trash, but Fancy was my name," the tears were rolling down my face. That's right, I was crying because of a song where a mother basically turns her daughter into a hooker. When the song was over, I wiped my face and took a look in the rear-view mirror. There sat Miss Priss and Devil Child, looking a little perplexed. Sorry, children, mommy has no good reason or explanation for this one.


So here's me now (minus the cute little tanktop jammies). Luckily the throwing up hasn't started yet. I just feel like I'm on the verge all day long. Sometimes I don't know which is worse; actually throwing up (but at least getting rid of the feeling for a while), or constantly feeling like it's coming any second. And usually the thought of eating alone makes me want to hurl. But I'm in good spirits. I'm so happy to be having another one, and I know this won't last long. And it's totally worth it.

It just bites knowing that I'm barely choking down one meal a day, sometimes only a piece of toast or a couple crackers, and yet my clothes get tighter and tighter every minute I'm in them. This stage is the worst, where you feel like you're bursting out of your regular clothes, but you're not really showing, so maternity clothes look ridiculous.

So forgive me if the posts come few and far between for a while. I'm busy laying on my couch while my kids watch Strawberry Shortcake 20 times a day. Yep, mother of the year, I know.

My Mortal Enemy

Is it just me, or does the medical insurance industry drive everyone else to the brink of insanity??? Years ago I worked for a health insurance company, who shall remain nameless, and previous to that, I really had no dealings with health insurance at all. I was young and single, no longer a dependent of my parents, and perfectly healthy to my knowlege, and so I figured I had no need for medical coverage. (Did I mention I was YOUNG?) Anywho, I received medical coverage as a benefit for working for the company, which we later discovered was one of the greatest miracles and blessings ever granted to us. But my experieces with that company and learning the industry have helped me on more ocassions that I can count. And although there were some claims that weren't processed smoothly, and there were a number of people calling with complaints about their claims, I must admit, the majority of claims were handled with no problems at all.

I've come to realize that a perfectly processed claim (one that is processed and paid at 100%) is far from the norm. I won't get into details, simply because it would take me a year to go through them all, but the births of my girls have caused me literal nightmares when it comes to dealing with the insurance company and getting those claims paid. If I were to conservatively guess, I would have to say I've spent more than a month of my life (that's a WHOLE month, 24 hours a day for 31 days) on the phone being the "go between" for the insurance company and the doctor's office or the hospital, trying to resolve the issues of getting my medical claims paid.

And each time we have another baby, we have new insurance, which claims to be so great, and I figure "This time there won't be any problems." At least with the last two, the problems didn't start until AFTER the births.

So yesterday I decided to call up my perinatologist's office to get in for an appointment. I didn't bother calling a regular OB since I don't see one through my entire pregnancy, and last time I did what the insurance asked (get a referral from your regular OB before going to a specialist), and it ended up being a huge mess, so the perinatologist told me, "Next time don't go there first. Just come straight to me." Sounded good to me!

After talking with the lady in scheduling about how this would be my third baby to be delievered by the doctor, and that we have new insurance, and how he had told me to come straight to him instead of getting a referral first, she told me she'd have to call the insurance just to make sure. Well, I could have told her what they would say. "Oh, no. You MUST get a referral to see a specialist. Sorry, those are the rules." Fine. Whatever.

I proceeded to start calling the OB doctors who are covered under our new insurance. "Hello? I need to schedule an appointment. I'll see whichever doctor can get me in the soonest."

"Are you a new patient?"

"Yes. But I just need a referral to my perinatologist. The insurance company requires one for me to see him."

"Oh, we're not taking new patients until November."

November!!! What the crap?!? "Thanks. I'll try someone else."

After numerous phone calls with responses such as, "We're not taking new patients" and "We don't accept that insurance anymore" or "The doctor only sees new patients at his office in Southern Hills" (which happens to be like a 50-minute drive for me), I gave up and called my doctor again, hoping against all hope that Rosa the Receptionist would take pity on me and find a way to get around the whole referral thing.

No such luck. She offered a few other clinics that weren't in my provider directory, but assured me that they did accept my insurance. I then spent the next 37 minutes on hold, waiting to see if I could get an appointment. THIRTY-SEVEN FREAKING MINUTES!!!! And the best part? They never answered the phone. Oh, no, I got to leave them a message. And to top that off, the recording let me know they would get back to me ... within FOUR business days. Can I swear now? No, no. I can do this without profanity.

So here we are, a new day, and I have to start again with the phone calls. I wonder how much of my time will be wasted before this child is actually given life. Forget it. We're freaking moving to Canada.

The Devil Wears Denim

My sweet little Devil Child had her birthday on Friday, and we celebrated with a family party on Saturday night. Nothing big, she's just two. We decided to have the "real" birthday parties at three and five. But she was spoiled just the same, and we all had a blast.





Here she is in her new outfit from Grandma and Grandpa. They sure know how to make her look cute!













Everyone enjoyed the pink cake (especially the girls)!















Here are a couple of her fav's. She's sporting her new dress up ballerina skirt holding a Hello Kitty ball (she LOVES balls!) while seated on her Dora tricycle in front of her new playhouse. The girls spent the whole day playing in that playhouse. And at only $7, that was probably the best gift I bought! Love that Target clearance!!!















It was a great party, but we all know how it goes ... they'll cry if they want to. And boy, did she. The Dora trike was a bit of a hit! Everyone wanted a turn, and she just wasn't havin' it.




One last gift that deserves a special mention: The armband.



She has developed a little fettish, I guess I'll call it, for armbands. For Mother's Day this year The Man gave me an Ipod mini so I could listen to my music when I'm at the gym. So I got myself a little pink armband, and I use it all the time. After about a week of using it, I noticed that my Devil Child had found a little pink wristband that Miss Priss got when she got her new helmet and pads for her bike. The wristbands were never worn, so Devil Child decided they were now hers. But she only wore one, and she wore it up high on her arm. It took me a couple of days to realize she was wearing it like I wore my armband. And she has continued to put that thing on, day in and day out, for months now. I've tried to hide them, but she seeks them out. I got rid of them, and she would find a large ponytail holder and use that instead. We laughed about it because she likes to wear them out in public, which, of course, I DON'T like.

So my sister decided it would be a great idea to get her a couple new armbands of her very own. Great. Now I'll never get the things off of her. Thanks a million.

Gimme Some of Your Tots

Tonight Miss Priss decided to play a little game with me. She started asking, out of the clear blue, "Mom, guess what I'm thinking."

"I don't know, honey. How could I know what you're thinking? It could be anything."

"But you have to guess, Mom. Just guess."

"No." (Yes, for those of you wondering, I'm that nice.)

"You're supposed to say people. Just say people."

"People."

"Yep! Guess what I'm thinking now, Mom."

"Um, flowers."

"Yep! Guess what I'm thinking now."

And on and on it went, for about 10 to 15 rounds, until my guesses turned into blankets and bedtime and sleeping. Then her answers were, "No way!"

A silly game, maybe even an annoying game, but for some reason it took me back to a time when my brothers and sisters played a similar game every time we had a particular item at the dinner table. Tater tots. We would place a tot in the palm of our hand and then ask someone at the table, "Is it flat or not?"

If the person answered no, we would immediately smash it flat with our other hand and scream, "Wrong!" On the other hand, if the person answered yes, we would again scream, "Wrong!" and proceed to pop it into our mouths and eat it just the way it was. I don't ever remember any of us letting someone be right. Why we continuously played the mind-reading tater tot game, on numerous occasions, is beyond me.

As the memory flashed through my mind in a matter of mere seconds, I laughed a little thinking of how lame that was. And I thought of how annoying this game Miss Priss was playing with me was. And how my mom must have thought we were not only annoying, but completely retarded.

And then, with a smile on my face, I hear Miss Priss asking again. So I turn to her and say, "Ice cream!"

"Yep!"

Filled "OF" Great Joy

We've always had a suspicion that our little Miss Priss may grow up to be an actress or some sort of performer. She's definitely no child star, that's for sure. You need to be able to take instruction from adults well. We're not there yet. But the way her mind works, and how I constantly find her in some imaginary world when she thinks I'm not watching, just cracks me up. My all-time favorite Miss Priss moment happened a few months ago during our snack time here at home. For those of you who have heard the story before, forgive the repeat, but I wanted to share with friends and family who don't live so close. It still cracks me up thinking about it.

Just for some background, last year we got suckered into buying a set of those Living Scriptures. I won't go into detail, but sufficeth to say The Man and I ended up despising the company, their marketing tactics and business ethics, and have vowed to do all in our power to make sure no one else we know suffers the same rotten experience we did. Although the videos are great, and the kids happen to LOVE them, it's not worth your life savings. You can teach your children about the gospel without emptying your bank account. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Anywho, Miss Priss really took to the video called The Tree of Life. It was great to have an appropriate show to watch on Sunday, and she really was learning. As we would read from the scriptures about the story of Lehi and his family, she would pipe in with comments like, "This is just like when Nephi was helping everyone with the rod; right, Mom?" I was proud.

One afternoon the girls sat at the table for their afternoon snack as I cut up an apple for them. After they started eating Miss Priss said to me, "Mom, I'm going to eat this apple like on 'The Tree of Life.' "

"Okay."

She proceeded to gingerly hold a slice of apple cupped in both hands, close her eyes, and take a gentle bite right out of the middle. I laughed a little. She then finished her bite and opened her eyes wide. With a huge smile on her face, she proclaimed, "Mom! This fruit filled my soul of great joy!"

Yes, "of great joy." That's how you know it came from a 4-year-old. She has continued to enjoy other videos in the BOM collection, but she always goes back to her fav, The Tree of Life.



She loves to act out the scenes, pretending to be either Lehi or Nephi. She will find an old cardboard tube from wrapping paper and hold it out and tell me, "This is the iron rod, Mom." She will walk around the room and up and down the stairs, pretending to struggle with holding on to the rod. And she will quote the movie and then help me with my lines. "Mom, you have to be Lehi. You tell me, 'Hold on to the rod, Nephi! There are many dangers!' "

What an imagination! She's no Dakota Fanning, but she's quite a character. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Where Much is Given

In our new ward (I guess it's not new anymore. We've been here for six months.) I was called to be one of the compassionate service leaders. There are two of us; one for all baby-related needs (me), and one for everything else (like sickness, surgeries, deaths, etc.). We help each other out when it's needed, but I'm basically in charge of helping out the women when they have new babies by getting meals into their homes, or getting babysitters and people to clean when they are on bedrest or too sick to do it themselves.

I was excited for the calling when I received it. I have had callings related to the Primary for the last five years, so this was a nice change (although I still LOVE the Primary and get the chance to sub in Miss Priss' class quite often). This calling has given me a new appreciation for the Relief Society and the women who run it. There is no doubt in my mind this organization came from divine inspiration. It is a perfect program, with complete capabilities to change lives and save souls.

I have been kept busy, busy, busy, as our ward currently has 18 pregnant women (that I know of), two girls on bedrest, and 16 babies born so far this year. In April a friend of mine lost her 22-month-old son in an accident, and another sister just lost her husband suddenly three days ago. This week will be a busy one with the funeral and luncheon to help plan, along with my two girls on bedrest that need babysitting and cleaning and meals, and another sister is having her baby today, which means more meals.

Most of these women aren't aware of the others, although I'm sure they know they are not the only ones receiving help at this time. And just as much as I am busy helping these women in their homes, cooking for them, or just taking their kids for a few hours, I just want to say how grateful I am for all the sisters in my ward who are also willing to serve. I have been called an angel, a blessing, and an answer to someone's prayers. I feel I am none of those, because the service being given is ten times (or more) than what I am able to do. I have been blessed in my own home and blessed with a righteous perspective as a result of this calling. But the sisters who offer their own time have not been called to do what I do. They do it because they can and because it's needed. There are times when I know of a sister who has cleaned four homes in one week, not including her own. There is a sister who has had a tragedy in her own life that has been completely unbearable, and yet she's the first one to volunteer to help someone else. These women are the angels.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the women out there who have helped serve, who willingly volunteer, and who have inspired me in a way I can never explain. This is the Lord's work. This is the Lord's church. I am so grateful to be a part of it. It blesses my life daily. I may never be able to do enough, but I will do all I can. And for Him, that is enough.

A "Rose" By Any Other Name ...

Our sweet little Emma Rose. This morning I've been thinking about names and if they really end up affecting one's personality or life in general. As I huffed and puffed my morning away on the ellipitcal machine, I looked up at one of the tv screens, which happened to be on CNN, and saw that the reporter's name was Richard "Dickie" somebody. Can't recall the last name now, but I think it was the nickname that threw me off.

This man, who had to be in his late 60's, early 70's, actually had them put "Dickie" up on that screen, for all the world to see. Dickie? Come on, now. I know "back in the day" there was absolutely nothing wrong with it. It was a name and nothing more. But people, the times they are a changin', and you have to go with the flow. It's no longer appropriate to name your son Dick or your daughter Gay. Sad, but true. My friend and I, upon seeing the nickname (did I mention it was on CNN - teehehe), couldn't help but giggle.

And it made me think of the process we went through to come up with Emma's name. Now, don't get me wrong, everyone. I don't want any messages from people upset that I'm making fun of a perfectly respectable name. My grandpa's name was Richard, and he went by Dick his whole life. Hence, the saga of choosing the name for our second born ...



I knew I wanted Emma for a first name. The Man had to be conviced of that one. But after meeting my great aunt, Emma Lou, she fell in love with him, and he with her. After that, it didn't take much convincing. He was totally into the idea of our daughter being Emma's namesake. The decision for a middle name was a little more difficult. We were so used to Aunt Emma's name, all we could think of to go with it was Lou. Neither of us were big on that, so we started thinking of ANYTHING else that possibly sounded good. It couldn't start with a vowel, so my middle name was out. We liked the idea of middle names being family names, but since the first name was a family name, we were okay with choosing something random that we both liked.

One evening we were with my parents over at my sister's house, and we were all trying to come up with different options that would fit.

Mom: Well, grandma's name is Margaret. You could use that.

Me: Please. I'm concerned enough as it is that she's going to think we've given her an old lady's name.

Dad: My grandmother's name is Zelema.

(That's right, it was actually suggested that we name her Emma Zelema)

Me: No response. (But probably a good roll of the eyes was directed toward him for that.)

After a few minutes of hysterical laughter, my sister decided to put in her two cents.

Sister: Since her first name is going to be after our great aunt, her middle name could be Ray, after our Great Uncle Ray. Emma Ray is cute. You could even spell it R-A-E if you wanted.

Me: Nice. So now we're choosing boys' names? Why don't I just name her after grandpa and she can be Emma Dick.

(Another bout of hysterical laughter)

Thanks to my better half's family, namely his Granddad Doug, we eventually settled on Rose for her middle name. I think it's beautiful. And so does everyone else. We still get compliments on her name, and sometimes her Grandma Darlin' can't help but call her Emma Rose instead of just using her first name. I think it's very sweet.



But back to my first question: Do our names really determine who we are or who we become; what our personality is like or how we act? I have to say no, sadly, they don't. My daughter with such a beautiful, elegent and sweet name as Emma Rose has proven that to me.

And if, by chance, I'm wrong, and our names do have some effect on our personalities, I think my daughter was misinformed. She must think she was named Emma Dick.


*** Note *** I hope you all know these stories are true, but written for your entertainment. My little Devil Child can also be very sweet and loving. I love her with all my heart and soul. She's just, shall I say, strong willed, and I love her more for it. She makes our life together fun, very intereting, and extremely hilarious. Mommy loves you very much, sweetheart.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

MAY WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE.

(drum roll)

We didn't really have the intention on telling anyone just yet, but I've now discovered the reason people usually don't tell other people they're "trying." When I took the pregnancy test last week and the second line showed up in under ten seconds, I was thrilled. I wanted to shout for joy and laugh out loud. Just when I thought I couldn't hold my excitment in any longer, I rememberd I was in my sister's bathroom, and that I had come over without The Man. I just couldn't tell my sister without telling my husband first, could I? I had to spend the rest of the evening with her and her family without saying a word so that The Man could be the first to know. TORTURE!!!

When I came home that night, The Man was already in bed. I thought to myself, "He's getting up at 4:30 am. I really should just let him get his sleep. I'll tell him tomorrow. That would be the kind thing to do."

Five seconds later I was shaking his shoulder and repeating, "Are you awake? Can you hear me?" He sleepily said that he was and that he could, so I let him know. He also was very excited. Then we talked about who we could tell now, and who could wait until after the first doctor's appt. I asked if I could tell my friend who I would see the next morning at the gym.

"No, don't tell her yet. We're going out to dinner with them tomorrow. Just wait until then so we can tell them both," was The Man's only request.

First thing she says to me when we're working out in the morning ...

"So when are you supposed to start? Have you taken a test yet?"

AAAAHHHH! Could I lie? Just a little, tiny white lie? It wouldn't be a big deal. We were going to tell them that night, so it would only be a small fib that lasted a few hours. But apparently I need some work on my poker face. I couldn't help but smile, and so the truth was out. And although she's one of a few I know that have an extremely difficult time getting pregnant, she was very happy for me and the news of a third baby for us. My heart sincerely goes out to the women in my life that have her same challenge. We know our news is bittersweet to you, and you are always so supportive and happy for us. We truly appreciate it. And I hope you know that we constantly pray and fast for you and your husbands; that you will be blessed for the trials that face you. We love you all so much.

After I got home I got a phone call from my little sister (who just happened to find out she was pregnant about two weeks ago). She says, "So when do you find out?"

"Uh, yesterday."

"Oh. And?"

"We're having a baby!!!"

"Yeah! That's so awesome that our due dates will be so close!"

"I know! I just wish we lived closer."

"All I know is that Todd is going to be totally mad if we have another girl and you get a boy."

Ha, ha! They have three little girls and are REALLY hoping for a boy this time. They've been hoping for boys from the very beginning, but, you know, you get what you get. I don't really care either way. The Man wants a boy, and I think it would be great, but I absolutely LOVE little girls. So either way, I'm just thrilled that we're able to have another one.

Needless to say, this will be the last time we let people know we are "trying." Maybe. I have a really hard time keeping my mouth shut sometimes. I kind of feel it's a little too early to be telling everyone, but since you're all family to me, it's okay.

For those of you wondering about my health, things are going really well. Everything checked out last December, and the nephrologist said he thought it was just fine if we wanted to have another baby. After we have her -- Oops! Freudian slip -- we'll get checked out again and see how well my body dealt with the strain. He gave us the same advice we've heard before, "Pregnancy is VERY hard on your kidneys. This COULD be the one where everything goes downhill. BUT ... you've proved us wrong twice before, and I don't see why you can't do it again." That was great to hear. This doctor's a keeper.

So we're thinking the due date will be in May. And if I go early (like they usually have me do), we'll have the baby end of April or beginning of May. We'll keep you all posted when we get news of an actual due date. And we'll start polling now for your guesses on the sex. Hey, with a 50/50 chance, you'll probably be right!

Here is a pictures of our family now...



And here we are in about eight months...



Am I really ready for this? Well, I guess I better get there because ready or not, HERE COMES #3!!!

San Diego Trip - No Pictures Yet

So apparently my sisters are as good as I am at sending pictures they promise. I still haven't gotten any from the SD trip from a couple weeks ago. But before I forget about the wonderful time we had (or even forget that we went down at all), I'll fill you in on our trip.

We had been planning the trip down with my mom and dad ever since we found out that the Celtic Woman concert would be right next to the yacht club they belong to. My dad said there was a great spot where we could boat over to and see the stage right from the water. And the best part: We didn't have to pay $95 a piece to enjoy it all!!! Unfortunately The Man doesn't get to take any time off yet (started a new job a couple months ago), so it was just me and the girls. And, true to form, Miss Priss had a fever the night before we were to leave. Then Devil Child got hers in the morning. I guess they didn't want to break their perfect record of being sick EVERY SINGLE STINKIN' TIME we go stay with my sister. She's got three kids of her own. Like she doesn't deal with sickness enough. But she's a good sport, and told us to come anyway; that she wouldn't care if her kids caught it.

So off we drove down to San Diego. The drive was pretty good, thanks to the inventors of the portable dvd player and Nite Time cold medicine for kids. (Whoever you are, I will praise you till the end of my days!) After a couple viewings each of Strawberry Shortcake Dress Up Days and Barbie in Mermaidia, and most of the way through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original, of course. I can't believe you even had to ask. For some reason Miss Priss has chosen this as one of her favs), we were there. The girls were ecstatic to get out of the car, and I was very grateful for a non-gas station bathroom. And lucky for me, we were in time for dinner at the Barbeque Pit. Yum!!! My brother-in-law's family owns and operates it, and I eat there just about once every day I'm down. (Todd, I'll never stop asking you to open one here.)



The concert was fabulous! These girls have THE most amazing voices I have ever heard. Literally. I loved it. And if they are ever in my city again, I will pay for tickets and actually go. I just love their music. My dad's favorite is the violin player. I won't even attempt to spell her name without having it in front of me. They're all Irish, and hers is a VERY Irish name. She's so pretty (just one of the reasons dad likes her), and she's so completely entertaining (the reason I like her). It takes an amazing amount of talent to play the way she does, and still be able to dance and jump around the stage and flip her hair around like she does. It's really something to watch. They had a lot of new songs that I've never heard, so I eagerly went into Humphrey's By the Bay after the show was over to see if they had a new album. To my dismay, nothing will be out until Christmas. So if any of you are looking for a great Christmas gift for me this year, that would be it.

The rest of the trip was just icing on the cake for me. That was the big thing I went down for. But it also just happened to be a weekend when other family members were coming down, so my oldest sister decided to have a family birthday party for her oldest daughter while we were all down there. We had a pool party at the Browning's house, and then a neighbor of theirs brought his horse over for everyone to ride. He also had a little pony that pulled a buggy that the kids rode on. These are the pictures I'm waiting on. I'll post them if I ever get them. It was so much fun for everyone! The kids absolutely LOVED the horse. And it was so cute to watch them as the horse would take off and they looked like they were about to fall. The looks on their faces were priceless. But it only took a second or two for them to start enjoying the ride. What a happy birthday it was for Haley.

We had picked out some jewelry for her gift, and when she opened it she said, "Mom, I got some bling!" It cracked me up. I wish I got to see them more. They are all such cute girls.

The rest of the trip was a lot of relaxin' and shoppin'. We did take the girls to the zoo with my dad one day, but didn't end up staying long. A few hours there feels like all day - there's so much walking to do! But it was a fun day, and the kids love the animals. My dad is such a good sport to just pick up and go do whatever we want to do with the kids. He's such a good grandpa. We all love him so much.

We are still sweatin' away here in this heat. The monsoons should be bringing in some great lightning storms. We always enjoy those during the summer. Hope you are all healthy and happy. We miss you all and are thankful for the chance we have to stay a little bit closer to you through these blogs.

Those Darn Letters!

I've discovered that I've developed in my child a well-known bad habit that all kindergarten teachers despise. Miss Priss writes in ALL CAPS!!! I thought it was so wonderful when she could recognize all the letters in the alphabet. Then came knowing all the letters in her name. Then she could actually write her name. She was on her way to a pulitzer, I was sure.

I had a discussion with a teacher friend of mine a few months ago where we talked about what info they like the kids to know already when they enter the wonderful world of kindergarten. After making my mental list of the things I would immediately run home and teach my toddler, she mentioned a few of the things they hate (with a passion, in her opinion). Number one on her list, writing their names in all capital letters. Yikes!

I was determined to rid my beautiful, intelligent, darling daughter of such a nasty habit. And I just knew I could do it on my own. We had a little discussion about "big" A and "little" a, and how when you write your name, the first letter is big and the rest are little. We practiced a few times on paper until I realized our little talk didn't really make a whole lot of sense to her.

I made flashcards, and we went over them until every time I pulled them out I heard, "Oh, I'm soooo tired of this!" My plan wasn't working. I found a reading/writing/math kit at one of my all time favorite stores (CostCo), and picked it up for her. As I opened it and read through the introduction and list of contents, I found I may have jumped the gun a little. It was for first-graders. But hey, who am I to assume my daughter isn't at that level. After all, she does have my genes.

It only took a minute or two into reading the book and I had to admit ... she's smart, but not that smart. So we've taken out the dry erase alphabet page and pen, and packed the rest away. Maybe for next year.


But I'll tell you, if for nothing else, it was a great purchase just to help her with her upper/lowercase letters. What can I say? This girl's bound to be a genious.