While I've Been Sleeping...

Okay, so I haven't LITERALLY been sleeping, but I certainly have been slacking when it comes to my blogging time. I've actually been trying to figure out the whole video downloading process so I can share some clips with everyone. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but when you've got a kid like my Devil Child, videos are priceless. So once I learn how to get the videos from my camera to the computer, figure out how to edit out some of the "extra" stuff, and then manage to get it from there to my blog, we'll be in business.

Until then, I'll share some of our Easter photos with everyone. We had a "Garmon" Family Easter over at my sister's house on the other side of town. It was a lot of fun. Dinner took a while, so the big easter egg hunt didn't happen until it was already dark outside! No one seemed to mind. Candy makes everything better.


The girls looked beautiful in their new Easter dresses, and Mini Man was a doll in his new white shirt and tie. They sure are cute, if I do say so myself.

Home Sweet Home

Lots to say ... zero energy to say it. Mini Man and I caught the flu during our trip up to UT, and I have literally not been out of bed (or off the couch) since we got home Sunday night, other than to feed my kids. I'm finally starting to feel the beginnings of "feeling better," so hopefully by Monday I'll be up to blogging again. But first I need to find the strength to unpack.

Until then ...


P.S. Shawna, I am SO incredibly sorry that we passed this on to you. I know how miserable you feel! I won't blame you if you never want us to stay at your house again. ;)

Calling All Bloggin' Sistas!

This Friday and Saturday is the Successful Mothering tradeshow in SLC. The Man's company is participating as a vendor, and the kids and I thought we'd tag along. So we will be in town for a quick weekend trip, and I want to do a girls' night out with all you bloggers up there that I hardly ever get to see!

I want EVERYONE to come! So if you blog (or if you just stalk), I want to see you! Leave a comment with a suggestion of where you'd like to eat, and hopefully I'll be able to pick somewhere in the middle for everyone. I can't wait for you all to meet each other! So mark it on your calendars for Saturday night, and I'll see you soon!

What a Night!!!

Okay, brainiacs. Were you able to figure it out??? My Man took me to see
The Phantom of the Opera.


And it was unbelievable! I loved every minute of it. I have always been a fan of musicals, and seeing this one in person has made it my favorite. I saw it years ago in Salt Lake, but I was really excited to see it here. It's been getting rave reviews since it came a few years ago.

The stage was amazing ...


What a night it was! My sister and her husband came along with us. We ate at Valentino's, which was fantastic and VERY fancy! It took us almost a half an hour just to figure out the menu. But the food was delicious, and we enjoyed pretending to be rich.

Thanks, Love, for a night I'll not soon forget! You're the best. And ...


SHMILY

We Now Return ... With No Further Interruptions

So sorry for those of you who have found yourselves checking every day, WAITING for the exciting conclusion of the hunt. But seriously, I HAVE A LIFE!!! Blogging is something I only do in my spare time. In an effort to avoid more phone calls, emails, and messages asking me for no more cliffhangers, I'll finish today. Well, mostly ...

... The next morning I found two books tied together with string on the kitchen table. The first, the complete works of William Shakespeare; and the second, The Da Vinci Code. The envelope inside the front cover had two papers, both with many blank lines, and a small key with the number 26 on it. The paper directed me to The Da Vinci Code book first to fill in the blanks. It looked like this:

1 - P446; L2; W4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
2 - P43; L2; W5 _ _ _ _ _
3 - P417; L1; W7 _ _ _ _ _
4 - P36; L6; W5 _ _ _ _
5 - P109; L37; W3 _ _ _ _ _
6 - P227; L21; W10 _ _ _ _ _ _
8 - P111; L37; W6 _ _ _ _
10 - P21; L11; W7 _ _ _ _
11 - P7; L13; W7 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
12 - P89; L6; W13 _ _ _ _ _ _
13 - P314; L11; W8 _ _ _ _ _
14 - P361; L38; W3 _ _
16 - P156; L3; W6 _ _ _ _ _
18 - P438; L29; W7 _ _ _ _ _
19 - P127; L23; W7 _ _ _ _ _ _
20 - P209; L11; W7 _ _ _

Then I was to use William Shakespeare:

7 - P1011; C1; L1; Letters 5, 14, 2, 1, 9, 2 _ _ _ _ _ _
9 - P1014; C1; L19; Letters 8, 21, 18, 3, 36, 2 _ _ _ _ _ _
15 - P1022; C2; L53; W2 _ _ _ _
17 - P1013; C2; L53; W6 _ _ _ _
21 - P1039; C2; L2, W3 _ _ _ _
22 - P1017; C1; L16; Letters 19, 3, 16, 33, 10, 22, 36 _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I took the papers and the books upstairs and "deciphered" the code in the bathroom while the girls played in the tub. In the Da Vinci Code (for No. 1) I went to page 446, line 2, word 4, and found the word "building." I filled it in and continued to do the rest. For William Shakespeare (for No. 7) I went to page 1011, column 1, line 1, and then picked out the letters listed and came us with "losers." When I finished them all, this was my list of words.

The Da Vinci Code
1 - building
2 - floor
3 - cares
4 - folk
5 - still
6 - stairs
8 - ones
10 - goes
11 - nickname
12 - should
13 - cause
14 - go
16 - you're
18 - waits
19 - inside
20 - box

William Shakespeare
7 - losers
9 - admire
15 - mine
17 - miss
21 - Jack
22 - nemesis

Then I had to take those words and transfer them to the second sheet where there were missing words to find out where to go next...

This building has one single floor
But no one ever cares;
For many folk come to this place,
And still they use the stairs.

Here the losers are the ones
The rest seem to admire.
It also goes by Jame's nickname,
And should cause you to perspire.

But go to yours and not to mine,
Or else you're sure to miss,
The thing that waits inside the box
Of Jack Sparrow's nemesis.

I quickly finished getting the kids ready, changed into my workout clothes, and headed right for locker #26 at my gym. I couldn't get there fast enough. But when I finally made it and opened it up, this is what I found ...


Hmmm, a Dora the Explorer puzzle and another envelope. I opened up the envelope and read my next clue:

1. At the dinosaur park in Aliante, go to destination "A" as shown on the map. There must be daylight outside.

2. At destination "A," and while facing south (towards the water), find the cluster of giant rocks boardering the pond.

3. Now find the single river rock that sits between the giant rocks.

4. Under this river rock you'll find a string that is tied to a tent stake.

5. Untie the string and, while looking out over the surface of the water, release it.

6. Go to destination "B" and find the second river rock.

7. Under the second river rock is another string. Grab it and REEL IT IN!!!

I put the clue and the puzzle in my car and headed back in for my workout. Since Sarah was with me, I just HAD to tell her what was going on. I knew I was breaking the rules, but I was just so excited, I couldn't help myself. I made her promise she wouldn't tell her husband (who I knew would tell my husband) just in case he took the rules a little more seriously than I did. I didn't want him to call the whole thing off just because I couldn't keep my yapper shut. I knew he really wouldn't, but just to be safe, I decided to make her swear she wouldn't tell, and then after all was said and done, I could confess to The Man that I had kinda, sorta cheated ... a little. Anyway, when I told her what was going on, and that my next stop was the pond out at the park she said, "Oh, I am SO going with you!"

When we finished up, I told her I'd call her when we were ready to go to the park. As soon as we got home, the girls and I put the puzzle together to find our map. They put it together (Dora side up, of course), and then we flipped it over to find what I was really looking for...

I showered, fed everyone lunch, dropped Miss Priss off at school, called Sarah, and we all went out to the park. We followed our map down to the pond by the pavillion, and started looking for the rocks. We found them quickly, and then saw the one river rock that looked out of place. Underneath, there was the tent stake planted into the ground. I pulled it up and untied the attached string. Before letting it go, we double checked our instructions. I was afraid if I let it go and THEN discovered I wasn't supposed to, I could end up scuba diving in that nasty pond trying to find my treasure. Our next step was to let the string go "while looking out over the surface of the water." We laughed as I obediently followed the directions. We both thought it funny, and a little dramatic, that he instructed me to be looking out over the water. But then, as soon as the string disappeared into the water, up popped a bottle out in the middle of the pond, with a message inside!!! We were both amazed at how in the world he was able to make that happen. Evil genious.

We ran to the other side of the pond to search for another rock. Devil Child found this one, and underneath we found another stake with a string. We all helped pull the bottle in, and after I opened it up, I read my message:

Congratulations, Woman, you made it!!!
Your treasure awaits you in the case of:

a home of a tenth prophet

(solve this anagram)

I had to unscramble the letters to find the answer. I knew the number of words would have nothing to do with it, and that the actual saying "a home of a tenth prophet" didn't mean anything, either. And I knew this would take me some time. So we all went home to think. I went straight to the computer, googled "anagrams," and tried to find some site that would unscramble this for me. Hey, I may be smart, but the computer is smarter.

The only sites I could find were coming up with lists and lists of bizarre words that could be found using those letters, but nothing was making sense. But then we came across one particular word that really stood out. Sarah saw it first. And then we knew. We checked off each of the letters. And then we checked them off again to make sure. AH-HA! I was so dang excited, I emailed the SHMILY messenger immediately to tell him I finished.

He said he was shocked. I said, "Considering how smart I am, you shouldn't be so surprised." After a couple minutes of talking, though, we realized I wasn't completely finished. I did have the answer, but I didn't check inside the case. I went out to our family room, found the case, and looked inside. And then the "treasure" was in my hands. I was thrilled!

After two days of hunting, I got my Valentine's Day gift. It was SO worth the wait. And I had been waiting for this for a LONG time. Thanks, honey, for the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. I love you so much!!!

Let me know when you all figure it out! And for those of you who can't get it, you'll just have to wait (again) until I decide to post it. Just kidding. I'll post it tomorrow.

The Hunt Continues ...

I'm excited to finally find some time to keep this treasure hunt going. Congratulations to Sylvia and Vicki, my two faithful readers (who, by the way, NEVER comment and have NEVER started their own blogs, much to my dismay) who figured out the answer to the first riddle!!! For those of you who didn't, the "man of art" I was looking for was identified by the three words PAINTER OF LIGHT. And for anyone who knows his work, that was enough to know who he was. But if you can't get his name from that, all you'd have to do is google painter of light to find the answer ... THOMAS KINKADE.

I immediately went to our Kinkade hanging in our dining room. It took just a slight touch of the frame for an envelope to fall to the ground from behind. On the front was a red sticker with SHMILY CODE written on it. I opened it up and found this ...

Impressive, Woman, you solved this one,
'Twas not an easy clue.
You can't stop now, though, Smarty Pants,
You have more left to do.

A gadget, next, is what you seek
It makes the world seem small,
By making folks accessible,
From anywhere at all.

Normally you button-push
Or hold it to your ear.
But this time there's no text on screen,
Nor dial tone to hear.

True, your message is inside
Not by dialing, though.
You'll get a charge out of this one, too,
And see where next to go.

This one was easy. I knew exactly what I was looking for, I just wasn't sure if it was mine, or one of the gazillion toy phones we have up in the playroom. In the hopes of saving time, I decided to check mine first. If I found nothing, I'd then go hunting through the toybox and look through each of those, one by one.

Because of the word charge, I knew to look in the back where the battery was. And sure enough, as soon as I took the back off of my phone, a tiny slip of paper fell out. It's message said ...

Call this number right now
XXX-XXXX

So I did. A guy answered with my name, not a hello. I just started laughing. I had to try and stop myself, though, because he immediately spouted off my next instructions.

"You are to go to the library located at blah, blah, blah Deer Springs. Go up to the checkout counter and give them your name. They will give you books that are waiting for you." Click.

He was gone. I was still laughing. I immediately wanted to know who I was talking to, since I didn't recognize the number, and I wasn't sure if I recognized the voice or not. So I went to whitpages.com and plugged in the number. It came up saying that it was a registered cell phone, and that the records were available for purchase. Obviously I wasn't THAT desperate to find a name. But did you know that you can look up a cell number on whitepages.com, and they'll give you a map and point out where that cell phone is right at that moment??? Weird. Even that didn't help me out much, though, so I gave up on that.

It wasn't until much later in the afternoon that I was able to get up to the library. I let the girls wander the children's section while I went up to the desk. I told them that there were supposed to be some books waiting for me. He asked for my library card. Oops! I left my wallet out in the car. He asked my for my ID. Um, that would be with my library card in my wallet that I left out in the car. Then he asked when "we" (the libary) called to let me know my books were in. I explained that "they" didn't call me. Someone else set it up so that I was to come in here, give my name, and get my books. He wasn't understanding me. After going back and forth for a while, I tried to make the situation sound as normal as possible.

"Okay. My husband came and picked out some books for me. He told someone here to set them aside for me so that when I came in, I could just give you my name, and you would have the books for me."

He still didn't get it. He said he had nothing there for someone by my name. Idiot. I wanted to shout at him, "YOU ARE RUINING MY VALENTINES DAY, YOU DORK!!!" Instead I calmly told him I would just talk to my husband about it, and left. And then I remembered that I wasn't allowed to talk to him about it. But I did have the SHMILY Messenger that I was allowed to email. So I planned to go home and send him a message to let him know what happened, and see what he had to say. I loaded the kiddos up in the car, packed the stroller in the back, and hopped in the front seat to head home for the computer.

Keys. Where are my keys??? I know I had them a minute ago ... literally. I unlocked the car with them. So I retrace my steps of helping each child into their seats and buckles, folding up the stroller to put it away. I'm searching, searching, and searching. Nothing. I ask the girls if they can see them. Nope. In your seats? No. In the baby's seat? Not there either. I spent the next HALF AN HOUR looking for those freakin' keys. (I know I'm trying to stop saying that, but in this case, I certainly deserved it.) On top of that, I had forgotten my cell phone, so I couldn't call anyone. And without my phone or power to the car, I had no idea what time it was. At one point I gave up and just sat in my seat doing nothing.

And then Miss Priss started to cry. "Mom! How are we going to get home? Can we walk home?" No, Devil Child refused to bring a coat when we left, and it's too cold outside. "I think we should pray." I was so ticked off, all I could say was, "You go ahead and do that."

After about eight prayers and a carload of little girls' tears, I found them. On the floor between the center console and the front passenger seat. What, did I open up the car and throw them to the other side or something?!?!? Sheesh. I started the car and saw that it was 5:58 pm. My "messenger" would only be at work for two more minutes. Could I make it home in time to email him and let him know I couldn't get the books? I wasn't sure, but I'd give it my best shot.

I made it home and flew inside to the computer screen. His IM (instant message) light was green, which meant he was still logged in. So I typed away ...

Are you still there? I've got to talk to you before you leave.

I'm here.

I couldn't get the books from the libary. The people there are RETARDED!

What did they tell you?

I explained what happened at the library to him, and he said,

I'm very sorry. I'll take care of it. Good night.

And that was all I could do. I knew when The Man came home, not a single word about the whole thing would be said. So I had to wait until the next day. And so will you ....

Up for the Challenge?

I know it's taken me a few days to post about Valentine's Day, but I have a very good reason. My Valentine's gift "began" Thursday morning, and it's not over yet!!! I'm anxious to post all about it, since this was by far the best Valentine's Day I've ever had, but first I must begin with a little background info.

When The Man and I were dating, he came across a story about an old couple who played a "game" with each other throughout their entire marriage. The game was called S.H.M.I.L.Y. It stood for See How Much I Love You. The game was easy, it didn't take much time or preparation. All they had to do was leave the word SHMILY somewhere for the other person to find. A note in a car, drawn in the flour jar to be discovered the next time the wife baked, written on the bathroom mirror after a shower so that the next person to take a shower and steam up the room would see it, etc., etc. When one person was done, it was the other's turn to leave the word to be found.

We thought it was a very sweet story, and we decided it was something that we wanted to do for each other. So we began leaving each other little notes, sending cards and so on, each time including the word SHMILY. We even had it engraved on the inside of our wedding rings. Over the years The Man has given me more SHMILY's than I can count, but this Valentine's Day takes the cake. Now, for all you romantics, scavengers, and lovers of 'The Da Vinci Code' out there, I've decided to invite you all to accompany me on my quest for my Valentine's Gift. I'll begin by telling you about Thursday morning....

I awoke to the cries of my handsome little baby boy, and hopped out of bed to rescue him. I opened my bedroom door and saw a card taped to the door frame right in front of me. I thought, "Oh, very sweet. That was a nice way to make sure I got my card first thing in the morning." I took the card off the door and, without opening it, went to get the baby and the girls. We headed downstairs to make breakfast, but before I was in the kitchen, I heard the girls talking excitedly about something on the table. They had discovered their valentines from daddy. Each slip of paper that made up the hearts said something else that he loved about them. And in the middle ... what else ... chocolates! I let them each eat one before breakfast.


While everyone was happily filling their tummies, I decided to open my card. The handwritten message said to check my email immediately, and to have a good day. I smiled as I went to the office to turn on the computer. I opened up my email, and discovered an "urgent message" from someone called "The SHMILY Messenger." And this is what he said ...

Follow these instructions very carefully:

1- Highlight the following encrypted message and copy it to your clipboard (Control + C)
2- Open a session of Microsoft Word
3- Paste the encrypted message into the Word Document (Control + V)
4- In Microsoft Word, select (highlight) the entire encrypted message
5- While still selected (highlighted), change the font of the encrypted text to "Arial" font

Then there were lines and lines of symbols that I was to convert into letters. After following the instructions, it translated into this ...

The sensitive nature of this note
Requires I speak in code;
For a secret message waits for you,
In cloak and dagger mode.

First go to the World Wide Web,
Where clients find my art
Not the place of children's things,
But where it's graphic-smart.

Now push a button on the right,
The third one from the top
If you were studying up on me,
This is where you'd stop.

However somewhere on this page,
There waits a hidden clue
To find it simply click a word,
Where first it mentions YOU!

- The SHMILY Messanger

This is where it gets fun. I hope everyone wants to play along. It is one of the greatest treasure hunts ever! I'm still blown away at all the time he put into this for me. I will help with some information that I know no one else will have, but I want to see how many people can follow along and figure out the clues. Please don't post the answers in your comments, but feel free to email them to me, and I'll give you the next clue.

To start you off (in case you didn't get it from the clue), I was directed to go to his website and click on the "about the artist" link. Then find on that page where he mentions me, and click. Good luck to you all, and I hope you have as much fun as I did!!!

P.S. For those of you who aren't interested or can't find the time, you can still check out the clues, and I'll take everyone one step further each day until we've found the treasure!!! Happy hunting!

Me & The Man

Okay, Amanda, here's mine. You all might actually be a little surprised at a couple of my answers. Or maybe not.

MY VALENTINE----

What is his name? Tyler to me, his mom, and his friend Rob. Ty to EVERYONE else.

How long have you been together? Married for 7 years. Dated (on and off) two years.

How old is he? 31 (man, he's old!!! haha)

Who eats more? Seriously? He beats me at every meal. Well, unless we go out for mexican food. Not Taco Bell. REAL mexican food.

Who said I love you first? I'm sad to report I don't recall the specific occassion (don't hate me for that, honey), but I'm POSITIVE it was him.

Who is taller? He is. Thank goodness.

Who sings better? He does. Ironically, I'm the only one that ever sings out loud.

Who does the laundry? That's all me. Although he will fold if I ask him to. I HATE asking him to.

Who pays the bills? He does. I tried to take over that responsibility once, in hopes of relieving some stress, but he just could NOT let go of that. I swear, make a few late payments when you're 18, it ends up on your credit report, and he'll NEVER let you live it down!!! I'm not bitter.

Who sleeps on the right side? If you're in the bed, me. If you're looking at the bed, him.

Who mows the lawn? He does. And he can keep that one.

Who cooks? I do. But he makes a mean lasagna. And he's King of the Grill.

Who drives? He does. Even on really long trips, you'll rarely see me behind the wheel. Fall asleep at the wheel one time and wreck your parents' car, and he'll NEVER let you live it down. Still not bitter.

Who is more stubborn? That has got to be a tie.

Who kissed who first? I kissed him first. But he wanted it SO bad.

Who has more friends? I guess I'd say me, since I consider just about everyone I know my friend.

Who has more siblings? My six siblings beat him by one.

Who wears the pants? Like every married couple should, we share the pants around here.

Three random things about me ...

1. I want Botox for my "mean" lines between my eyes.
2. I regret cutting my hair super short. It's taking FOREVER to grow back.
3. If you really want to know more lame things about me, click here.

Now I tag Sarah G., Mel, and Erica

It's the Little Things

The girls came home with a new cd from Primary a couple weeks ago. As many Primary presidencies do, ours had put all of the songs for this year's Primary program onto a cd for the children to listen to, in hopes that they will be learning these songs at home and not just on Sundays in Primary. I think this is such a great idea, as music is a HUGE part of our lives in this home. We have all been enjoying listening to these songs while we are doing our daily chores, and each day during lunch. We've also been using these particular songs for our opening and closing songs for Family Home Evening on Monday nights.

In just a few short weeks, my girls have learned two complete songs and the sign language for I Love to See the Temple. What a blessing this simple cd has been for me lately. It brings such a sweet spirit into our (sometimes) hectic home. It has truly helped me to have a happy attitude and a more gentle way with my kids. That is not to say that I am now a perfected parent. I still have my moments (like yesterday when I braved church on my own with all three kids), but I find it pretty difficult to yell at them while we are all hearing If the Savior Stood Beside Me. I especially love that after the songs are over, the music plays again with no words. It's wonderful to hear my girls' beautiful voices singing these songs with no help ... even if the words aren't always correct.

So I'm sending my gazillion thanks to Tara, Tani, Tashina, and Amy for blessing my home with this sweet gift, and for all you do for my two girls, who I cherish and love with all that is in me. You'll never know what a great work you are doing. We love you tons and tons.

The Light Is On, But No One's Home

I am officially retarded. I just spent TWO HOURS trying to give this lame blog a fabulous makeover. Did you notice nothing has changed???? That's because as soon as I put a fancy shmancy new background on, NONE of my text was showing up. Just pictures. Oh, and all my links were .......... G-O-N-E!!! So half that time was spent wracking my brain trying to remember the URLs to ANYONE'S blog, so that I could get the links to everyone else. Thankfully I was smart enough to save a copy of my old template, so I was able to get my posts back. But I had to put my slideshow back on and all of my side page elements.

Lesson learned: I will never again attempt to make this thing any better looking without professional help. And by professional I mean help from any of you who already have super cute templates and your own pictures for a header.

Seriously. How the crap are you guys doing that????

P.S. Mel, I think yours is the only page I can't get back. I have no other link to you. PLEASE send me your address. If anyone else is missing from my links, sorry I forgot about you, and please give me your address even though you hate me right now for forgetting you. And to the newby's on my links, yes, I've been "stalking" your blogs for a while, and I figured since I was putting everyone else back on, I'd add you in and let you know that I'M WATCHING .... You're welcome.

One More Reason ...

I have really bad knees. REALLY bad. They don't hurt much, but they sound awful when I'm going up and down stairs. I have no doubt that someday I'll need some sort of surgery. Hopefully it will be many years down the road. I usually don't even notice them at all, unless it happens to be pretty quiet, and I happen to be walking up stairs with someone next to me. It's kind of embarrassing when I see their eyes widen and they say, "Oh, my gosh! That sounds painful!" I hate when people make a big deal out of it.

I absolutely dread going up the stairs at the temple after you're done in the waiting chapel and you're on your way to the session. There's people in front, people behind, and complete and utter ... SILENCE.

My Man holds my hand and walks next to me with a smile, while he pretends to cough quietly, sniff, and clear his throat the whole way up those stairs ... and no one ever hears my knees.

Can You Say SPOILED?!?!?

"Mom, remember on your birthday when we did breakfast in bed?"

"Yep, I sure do."

"How come I don't have breakfast in bed? I ALWAYS wanted breakfast in bed, and I NEVER had it. You have never done breakfast in bed for us."

"Well, you're always OUT of bed before I get up. How can I do breakfast in bed if you're not IN bed???"

This conversation happened about a week ago. I'm sure you can guess what happened the next morning. I woke up and heard Mini Man making a ruckus in his crib, but nothing heard else. Usually the girls are playing in the playroom or banging on my door for breakfast. Nothing. As I walked down the hall, though, I could certainly hear their voices. They were awake, all right, but didn't dare get out of bed. Apparently they weren't about to give me another reason to get away with no breakfast in bed. No sooner than I rounded the corner, they began shouting their request to be served. Lucky for them I woke up in a good mood.










On a side note, this morning while lying on the couch, I noticed Mini Man had a runny nose. He's teething. So I asked Miss Priss to run to the bathroom for a tissue. She returned momentarily and handed over the tissue, but not without asking, "Mom, why are you acting like a princess?" Huh? Yeah, cuz everything about me in the morning just screams royalty. She then proceeded to tell me that being a princess means you don't do anything and that you make everyone else do everything for you. "So you're acting like a princess."

Well, I DID tell my mother once that I could not wait to have kids so that I could have my own slaves just like she did.

SOOOOO Not Ready for This

The other day while driving home I pulled into a left-hand turn lane behind a big green truck. The girl in the driver's seat opened up the door and waived her arm to signal me around her. Oooh, stuck right in the turning lane. Poor thing. I pulled up next to her, and while waiting for my arrow, I rolled down my window and asked if she needed help. She couldn't have been more than 20 years old. I can only imagine how she was feeling ... stranded. She said no, that her boyfriend just bought this truck from some guy, and it broke down right on the way home. He had driven right back to the guy's house to work it out. (She used a bit of more, shall I say, colorful language than I would, but I was hoping my three copycats in the back didn't hear.) My light turned, and I drove off for home.

Miss Priss watched her as we drove away, confused as to why she wasn't going anywhere. I told her the truck was broken and that she couldn't go until someone could help her move the car.

"Can we help her, mom?"

"No. She has a friend coming back to help her in just a minute."

"Oh. I hope she's going to be okay."

Then Devil Child added her helpful suggestion ...

"Maybe THAT truck can help her, mom," pointing at another truck in front of us.

And Miss Priss replied, "No, that truck doesn't have a hooker."

"A hooker?" Devil Child asked.

"Yeah. Mom, tell her what a hooker is."

Seriously. Three and five. And asking about "hookers."



But in case you were wondering like I was, THIS is what she was talking about. Oh, how I LOVE childhood innocence.

Remember When?

Have you ever spent a half an hour writing a huge post, gotten to the end of your "story," and then decided it wasn't the best idea to post, JUST IN CASE a certain someone might possibly happen upon your blog? I just did. Now logically, chances are probably like one in a million this person would come across my blog and read that post. And it wasn't even anything bad, I promise. But it could easily have been misconstrued, and somehow, with my "good fortune" I wouldn't be shocked if she clicked on a link of a friend's blog that took her to another friend's blog that took her to another friend's blog that took her to her sister's blog and then to her friend's sister's blog, and that blog took her to mine. So just to be safe, that post is now in the garbage. And don't worry, if you're a regular reader, no, it wasn't about you.

So instead I'll leave you with a story that I've been debating about putting on my blog for quite some time. It's something that I don't want to forget, and seeing as this is my only journal for now - shameful, I know - I figure I'd better get it down in writing before it's long gone from my mind.

Miss Priss was around three years old at the time, and was just about the funniest little thing ever. I could have written a book with all the things she'd come up with. I've always been comfortable leaving my room open when I'm showering. I don't mind the girls coming in and out. In fact, it's quite a rare occassion when I have a shower with no one bugging me the entire 10 minutes. But like I said, I don't mind. I'd rather know what's going on than worry the whole time I'm in there that someone is getting hurt or in trouble.

So this one morning I was feeling sick (it was that wonderful time of the month), and after I got out of the shower I felt like I was seriously going to pass out. Miss Priss had wandered into my bedroom to find me lying down on the bathroom floor ... naked. She first asked if I was okay, and I said I wasn't feeling very good, but that I was fine, hoping she would just leave me there. But as she looked at me, she got a strange look on her face and aksed, "Mom? You got a rope in your bum?" I immediately started waving my hands to shoo her away and told her to leave the room. Nice.

A few weeks later I was on the couch in the middle of the afternoon, just resting. She woke up from her nap and came out to find me. She asked, "Mom? You not feeling good?" I said, "No, I'm fine. I'm just tired so I was resting." She squeezed in next to me and very sympathetically asked, "oh, you got a rope in your bum?"

You Look Mah-vah-lous

We have a morning schedule around here that rarely ever changes. Baby wakes mom up; mom gets him out of his crib and heads downstairs for bottle #1. Devil Child is either up and roaming the house, or, upon hearing mom rescue baby, she is following downstairs. She sits close to mom and baby during bottle feeding and pleads, "I NEED breakfast!!!" about ten times as mom replies, "As soon as the baby is done, I'll make breakfast." Miss Priss soon follows downstairs to await breakfast. Baby is done with bottle and goes into swing. Mom "makes" breakfast (not sure you can consider it "making" breakfast when 90% of the time it's cold cereal), and either lies down on the couch for a couple minutes of closed eyes (notice I did NOT say "sleep"), or if she is feeling motivated, runs upstairs to quickly shower before girls finish breakfast.

After dishes are cleared we all head upstairs for the bathtub. Once everyone is squeaky clean, girls enter bedroom for an attempt to dress themselves. After baby is dressed mom follows girls to re-dress in something appropriate. Then it's back to the bathroom for teeth and hair brushing. Devil Child is first on the stool for mom to brush teeth and put pretties in her hair, while Miss Priss combs through her own mop. Then we switch and Miss Priss hops up for her 'do and shiny teeth. Mom slathers little faces with lotion and lips with chapstick. Now baby is ready and girls are beautified, and mom can finish getting herself ready while girls make beds. Hooray! We're ready for the day! Unfortunately it's usually 11:00 by now, and half that day is gone. Baby is beyond ready for a nap, and girls have begun asking for lunch. Such is life with three little ones that don't get ready by themselves yet.

Why do I take the time to share this otherwise uninteresting routine with you, you ask? Well, lately Miss Priss has added a new "grooming technique" to her routine that I find a little -- um -- humorous. Once she's all done; bathed, dressed, teeth brushed, hair up, and face and lips moisturized, she now looks herself in the mirror, licks both of her pointer fingers, and "straightens" out her eyebrows. Sometimes it's just once, other times it takes two or three tries to get them to look "just right." No idea where this came from.

The first time she did it she looked at me afterwards and said, "Mom, do I still look great if I do this?" With a smile that hid a giggle I said, "Of course you do, honey. You look great no matter what."

I'm a Slacker ... So Sue Me

Okay, okay. I'll admit I no longer have the right to EVER ask anyone to put up a new post again. I'm seriously lacking the motivation for blogging lately. I'll not waste time on trying to update the last two months; sufficeth to say we are all still alive. The girls have come down with strep and have been "homebound" this week. From what I've heard, babies under 2 yrs. or 12 months (depending on who you talk to) can't get it, but my Little Man had a fever yesterday and has spent all of today throwing up everything I've tried to feed him. Can't get a good look in his throat, obviously, so who knows.

The Christmas countdown is on, and Miss Priss reminds me each day how many days are left. She's like my own personal talking to-do list that lets me know every day that I'm not ready. Gone are the days where I was completely done Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving weekend. I'm now one of those crazy ladies who spends Christmas Eve running to the last few stores still open at 9pm trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to put in these stockings.

But the best part of our week HAD to be the snowstorm. It was so exciting for us, since we had been cooped up for days. Not to mention that we live in the desert and that snow is just about unheard of for us. What's that, you say? You heard nothing of it on the news? Hmmm. I'm not sure why; it was quite an event here.

It started out as just a little flury ...

And then it really started coming down ...

The girls got to make snow angels ...









And Mini Man just had to get in on the action ...


It was so beautiful and amazing!!! And now we have no need to be jealous of all our family that has had snow for weeks now. I got my "snow fix" ... sans all the scarves, hats, coats, mittens and boots. Just the way I like it.

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma Darlin', for sending down our very own early White Christmas (and for the presents, too!!!). Our snow day was something desperately needed in this house full of sickies.

Santa's Helpers

The kids got elfed today. So cute. Even our "scrooge" in the middle is having a good time.

P.S. Sorry it's been so long. I'll try to get pictures up soon. Love to all!

The Great and Dreadful Day

As some of you may already know, The Man got a call from the Stake President a few weeks ago to serve as the new Elders Quorum President of our ward. He had been called a week and a half prior to serve as the 1st Counselor in Elders Quorum, so we weren't quite expecting a change like this so soon. It's not really official in our ward yet; he has not been sustained or set apart, but for some reason it seems to be common knowledge among the members of our ward, so I guess it's okay for me to say it. It was a bittersweet calling for him. He is excited for the challenge, but he was sad to leave his teaching calling in the Gospel Doctrine class. I know, he's crazy. Who in the world LIKES teaching Gospel Doctrine???

Our meeting with the Stake President was, to say the least, interesting.
I met with him first, and after he asked a few "preliminary" questions (do we have current temple recommends; do we love each other; is there any abuse in the home), he asked me to tell him a little about The Man. I had a million things to say; how I was so lucky to be married to him, and how he's the romantic one in our relationship. I told him about his great sense of humor and how he's usually the center of attention in a group. I told him what a great father he is, and how much more I've grown to love him just by watching him with our children. President M said I was putting him to shame by talking about my husband.

And then he asked me a question I've always known would one day be asked. "Sister, how do you feel about his facial hair?" I couldn't help but smile. Now, before you all jump to conclusions about how I'd been waiting and waiting for this day to come, let me assure you, I think my Man looks fabulous with facial hair. I've always really liked it, aside from the occassional scratching of the mustache. But I said I'd be happy to see it go, since I've only once in my life seen him without it. And that was BEFORE we were even dating. I also said that The Man would have a much harder time with this. I knew he wouldn't be happy about it, but we had talked about it before, and he always told me, "I'll never shave unless the brethren tell me to," so I knew he would do it.

Then they brought The Man in. We all talked for a few minutes, and then President M told him what calling they were asking him to take on. He, of course, was more than willing to accept it. And then came the dreaded question. A smile came to his face, but it was not a smile like mine. The Man also knew this day would come, and had prepared himself for it. President M said he wasn't requiring The Man to shave, but he was suggesting it. The Man looked at our Stake President and said, "Consider it gone."

We talked for a little while longer, and then we left to go home. We talked for a while on the way, and he said something to me that really impressed me. He said, "My dad always taught us that a suggestion from the brethren is not really just a suggestion." I gained some extra respect for my father-in-law that night, and I was especially proud of my husband. I knew this would be a hard thing for him. He said he felt dumb, that it was just some silly facial hair, but he really struggled with it. He had always told himself that the day he was aksed to shave it would be the day that it would be gone. But on the way home he said he was coming up with a million justifications to wait a few more days.

Now, I can just hear a lot of you saying, "Holy smokes, people, it's just SHAVING. What's the big deal? Who cares if you have a goatee or not?" But this was more than a goatee to him. This was a part of his character and personality. It made him feel unique and creative. It was just so ... him. But being obedient to a representative of the Lord was more him than that facial hair, and so when we got home and went upstairs to get ready for bed, he looked at me and said, "If you want to remember this, go and get the camera."

Funny thing is, for no reason at all, he had been growing a FULL beard for the last almost two months. Maybe somewhere inside of him, he knew this was his last chance. So here's my cute, albeit hairy, husband.

And this is him thinking about what he's about to do.

And then it really hit him that this was it.
And no (since I know you're all going to ask), he's not REALLY crying. I swear, you're idiots.

So he finally got started. Just the beard first.

And this is what he "normally" looks like.

But then the mustache had to go.


Yeah! No more scratching! Before this picture he said to me, "I don't think I'll be able to smile in any more of these."

And he kept on going...


And then it was gone. In less than ten minutes, something he had for almost ten years was gone. He was sad. I was proud.

So I know you're all dying to see what he looks like, and you know how I hate to disappoint, but you're just going to have to come down here and see for yourself. But if I do say so myself, The Man is smokin'!!! And he's never looked better to me.

I'm It

Do you love how there's like 5 million versions of these things? Well, I must admit, I enjoy reading them about my friends, and who am I to keep you all from knowing a little bit more about me than you might want to???

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1 - Living in the Allen's basement in Bluffdale, UT.
2 - Dating Trent and wondering if he was "the one."
3 - Working full time as a court reporter (and yes, STILL living in someone's basement.)
4 - Planning a "How To Host a Murder" party.
5 - I was merely one year away from meeting the love of my life.

5 Things on my To-Do List Today:

1 - Check on my family in San Diego
2 - Visiting teaching
3 - Laundry
4 - Clean out my junk drawer
5 - YW activity

5 Songs I know the Lyrics To:

(Just 5??? Pa-lease. If you know me at all, you know that I know the lyrics to EVERY song. They're just not always the CORRECT lyrics.)
1 - "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice
2 - "Hey, Everybody, It's Family Night" by Brite Music (I'm a Mormon album. I like to sing this while gathering the fam on Monday nights. They all think I'm retarded.)
3 - "The Promise" by Tracy Chapman
4 - "Better Together" by Jack Johnson
5 - "It's Good to Be in Love" by Frou Frou

5 Things I Would Do if I Had One Million Dollars:

1 - Hire a cleaning lady.
2 - Invest or save and use the interest to add to our monthly income (yawn, I know).
3 - Start a foundation (I have the whole thing planned, just need the $$$. Someday I will acheive this goal.)
4 - Plan a vacation that we could take friends/family on with us.
5 - Seriously consider getting a boob lift.

5 Things I Will Never Wear Again:

1 - Legwarmers
2 - Blue eyeliner
3 - A side ponytail
4 - Size 0
5 - Lee Press On nails

5 Favorite Toys:

1 - My guitar
2 - My phone
3 - My kids
4 - My Ipod
5 - My husband

5 People I'm Tagging:

1 - Kendi
2 - Mel
3 - Sarah
4 - Michelle
5 - Amy

This, That, and the Other

Oh, my, where to begin??? Life has been crazy busy around here, so I guess it's time for a quick catch-up. I've been busy all month with PTA planning the Fall Festival for Miss Priss' school. It turned out great, and I'm THRILLED it's overwith. The girls had a blast. Free games, prizes, popcorn and candy, pizza and cupcakes, balloon animals, face painting and pictures; it was kid heaven. Miss Priss and Devil Child both went as ... drum roll, please ... brace yourselves ... try not to die of shock here ... PRINCESSES!!! Lucky for them I no longer care if they wear the same costume for the next ten years. I'm done with the month-long search for the greatest costume ever saga. Frankly, I was pretty happy they were content to rummage through their dress-up closet for costumes. As for Mini Man, he was suited up in a striped Halloween sleeper and bat hat. He could not have looked cuter. Seriously. I just want to eat those cheeks!!!




Kindergarten is the best place ever in the eyes of Miss Priss. She looks forward to it every single day (and is sad that there's no school on weekends ... I wonder how long that lasts???), and loves to be the one to remind me it's time to get homework done. She spends her days finding books and papers around the house to sound out words. She brings them along with her everywhere she goes; in the car, to her friends' houses, outside to play. And her hard work is paying off. The girl is READING!!! I know, I sound like I'm bragging, but I'm just so darn proud of her! And no, it's not like she can pick a book and sit down and read the whole thing, but she sounds out each word all by herself, and then repeats the whole sentence after she's figured it out. What a smartie. She must get it from me; right?


The doors of heaven have opened up and smiled down on me in the last couple of weeks. Devil Child is "potty trained." Can I hear an AMEN!?!?!? What a battle that has been. But I'll tell ya, I can be in a totally foul mood one minute, and my entire day changes in a second when I hear her yell those five blessed words from upstairs, "Mommy!!! I went POO POO!!!" I'm not even sure how it happened, but everyone I had talked to was right. One day it just clicked for her. I know every kid is different, but I was certainly beginning to wonder what was taking so long with her. She must have gotten that from her dad; right? Now all we have to work on is the finger sucking. One thing at a time.

My sweet, fat little chunk, Mini Man, is such a joy. He makes me so happy just by looking at him. Of all three babies, he is definitely the fattest. At six months he's weighing in at 18 pounds!!! And I finally have a baby with actual rolls on his legs. This has been a big month for him. He's really liking his solid foods, and now gobbles up his Cheerios. He has finally decided (after months and months of lying around without moving) that rolling over is worthwhile. And he loves the cheers he gets from the ladies (his sisters) each time he does it. He's also begun sitting up for short periods of time. Didn't I just bring him home from the hospital? How on earth did six months fly by without me even noticing?

Sometimes I get so caught up in "getting things done" that I don't take the time to just enjoy the stage of life we're in. I fear that one of these days I'll turn around and my kids will be gone, having families of their own. I think that is one of the reasons morning prayer is so important for me, personally. As I thank my Heavenly Father for each person in my sweet family, it reminds me not to take for granted the time that we have together. It reminds me of what is REALLY important. It's not the list of things the PTA President gave me to do by Wednesday; it's not spending half the day cleaning my house; it's not even updating this blog. Although they're all good things, and they're ALWAYS on my "to do" list, they certainly shouldn't come before daily quality time with my family.

With a recent change in my church calling, I was eagerly awaiting the evening when I could be set apart by the bishopric. I always love the blessings they give me, and I know that it is through their prayers and my faith that I can do what has been asked of me. During this particular blessing it was mentioned that I would be better able to prioritize the important things in my life. And I felt happy inside. There are many days that go by when I feel like I just don't have enough time to do everything I was supposed to do. And now I know I've been granted help to place things in their proper priority so that I can make the most of my time each day. So the next time you come over to my house, and it looks like tornado just blew through, try to forgive the disaster and remember that I had more important things to do.