Feeling Blessed

Today was our church Christmas program, which is hands down my favorite Sunday of the year (yes, even more than the Primary Program. Sorry.) It was so awesome. There is nothing like the spirit you feel when listening to songs of worship, and today did not disappoint. We have a ton of talent in our ward all year long, but we are extra blessed to have a family who has their own theatre in Branson, MO come to Gilbert to winter every year. They always arrive right before Christmas, and they are always willing to share their talents with us during the Christmas program. As I listened to the combination of the choir, the solos/duets and other instrumental accompaniment, the narration, the Duttons' awesome performance and our Bishop's testimony at the end, I was so grateful to be there today. I don't often get to pay much attention during church with all the commotion going on with our kids, but today everyone cooperated and I just felt blessed.

Thanks to those who participated in the program today for helping an often-crazed mother feel the sweet whisperings of the spirit.

Quote me on this...

So a couple of weeks ago I got an email from a friend asking if I would talk to a reporter about a story he was working on about telling your kids this Christmas may not be as gluttonous as Christmases past. I had just been talking with Emma that morning about how there are moms and dads out there who aren't able to buy as many (or any) gifts for their kids, so Santa may need to give us less so he can give those kids more gifts this year. We also wanted our kids to learn the joy of giving, so we did a few small secret santa gifts to a family.

So I tell this to the reporter, and he took a few liberties. IE I never said this family was "needy" or "disadvantaged." LOL If you were our secret santa family and you happened to have seen this story, please don't take offense!

Anyway, here is a link to the story. It ran yesterday (Saturday) with a couple of pictures, which don't show up online. If I'm feeling adventuresome later on, maybe I'll scan it and post it, but for now, you can read my eloquence and wisdom here (misquoted though I may be... the good stuff is all me!).

I love your tongue

So every night as I tuck the twins into bed I give them kisses and say "I love you tons!"

Case tells me back "I love your tongue too, Mommy."

A quest for recipes

Jarad and I are jonesing for some desserts we had at recent ward activities, so I have two questions:

1. Does anyone know who made the sinful and delectable chocolate-mint cake that was at Enrichment night on Thursday? I must make it. If you made it, or know who did, please tell me!

2. There were these tiny frosted pumpkin muffin/cakes at the Christmas party on Saturday night. I will go down in history as the BEST WIFE EVER if I can find this recipe and make them for Jarad. He especially loved the frosting.

Thanks in advance if you have any clues for me! I'd be willing to share my fudge recipe :).

It takes a village...

Forget about raising children. It has taken a village to get the stink out of my twins' bedroom, and I am indebted to those who have helped me along the way!

Morning #1: Wednesday
I opened the door to the twins' bedroom in the middle of the night to get Tess back to bed. ooo-whee was there a stANK in that room! I figured Case had pooped and I was NOT waking him up to change that thing. But it didn't smell like poop. That's because it wasn't. They were both dry when they got up (hallelujah potty training is coming along nicely!) I opened up the window in the hopes it would air the room out. I also went on a half-hearted search for the smell-causing culprit under furniture, in toy buckets, etc. Nothing seemed to be causing it so I thought maybe it was just stinky-kid-in-the-morning smell and the room would air out. When it was time for bed the smell seemed to be gone, so I shut the window, tucked in my littles and went happily on my way.

Morning #2: Thursday
In my blissful night of sleep (hint of sarcasm here) I had forgotten the smell. The next morning I opened the door to the twins' room with reckless abandon, only to be socked in the nose with it. Maaa-aaaaaan that was a bad one. And it had morphed a little. It was almost sweet and yeasty. I was convinced Tess had carried a piece of bread or a tortilla in there and tucked it away for a night time snack. It became my mission that day to FIND THAT STANK! I took everything out of the room. I put the mattresses outside to air them out. I washed all linens and stuffed animals, bleaching whatever I could. I was on hands and knees sniffing the floor for any hint of the malodorous spot. Again, I opened the window and aired the room out. After dinner I put the room back together and headed off to Enrichment night, where I got the best advice EVER. Of course, I had been obsessed with stink-abolishing for two days, so I brought it up to the ladies I was having dinner with. One of them (I'm pretty sure it was Betsy) suggested using a blacklight to look at the carpet (hello, CSI watcher anyone?). Genius! If it was in the carpet, it would surely show up! I returned home with a strengthened resolve to git 'r done.

Morning #3: Friday
First thing I phoned my friend Tara who has a steam cleaner. Then I called my friend Cheryl to see if she had a blacklight. Both came through for me. Last night when it got dark I stuck Cheryl's black light bulb into the kids' lamp and scanned the carpet. I started in one corner and diligently went over every INCH of the blasted room. Nothing. I had almost given up hope when I found a glowing green spot about, about 4 inches in diameter. I lowered myself to the floor and stuck my nose in it. EUREKA! Something (if I were a betting woman I'd say milk) had spilled in the corner by their closet. I now had a target. But I had no carpet cleaner. All my cleaner bottles were empty, probably from last summer when I was trying to get the stink out of my van after I left a gallon of milk in there for a week.

Morning #4: Saturday
My first errand today was to buy carpet cleaner. I was not letting anything get in my way. Now I can say the smell is ALMOST gone, but apparently I'm the only one who still smells it. Perhaps it is burned into my olfactory senses, and I will never smell anything quite the same again.

But to the village of ladies who helped with this traumatic time in my home, I say THANK YOU. There is nothing we can't conquer if we do it together!

Black light. GENIUS!!

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS!

I suppose I should give a report about how much fun and joy we had on Thanksgiving (we really did!), but the weekend was such a blur and I've been reeling so much in the madness that I'm just now getting things back to normal. Unfortunately I didn't tote my camera around much, or I'd just give you the week in pictures, but my words will have to do.

Tuesday my dryer broke. In the middle of a batch of jeans and towels, with another batch waiting in the washer.

Wednesday morning by 8 a.m. I had paid a guy $50 to tell me I needed to buy a new dryer.

Wednesday afternoon I dropped a cool $100 on doctor visits and medications for my two boys: one had an ear infection, the other strep throat. Nice (he didn't even complain!!).

Thursday was amazingly relaxing. We ate a late dinner with Jarad's family, so we spent most of the day parade watching, pie making and sweet potato cooking. Oh, and removing stiff jeans and towels from every surface imaginable in the house. Thanks Cheryl for allowing me to use your dryer so I didn't have our underwear hanging all over the house as well. Jarad's only brother who lives out of state was here with his family, and we spent all weekend just hanging out at Joe and Wyndi's house, chatting, eating, letting kids play. It was great!

Friday I was forced to go out in the Black Friday mess. To buy a dryer. Woo hoo. I hate crowds. And I really didn't want to spend that money on a DRYER. For the love!!

Saturday the dryer was delivered and Jarad told the kids "Merry Christmas kids. This year you get DRY CLOTHES for Christmas!" Fisher, in his most sarcastic tone: Oh THAT'S great! We spent the day decorating for Christmas (mostly me griping at the kids to leave that stuff in the box until I'm ready to get it out! Don't break that! Nice Christmas spirit, right?).

And on Sunday, we rested. Ahhhh. Monday, though, I did about a million loads of laundry to catch up on what didn't get done last week. I wish I had taken a picture of the MOUNTAIN of clothes that covered my king-sized bed. If I'd been thinking, I would have done a Family Home Evening lesson on work and given the kids the "opportunity" to do a group laundry-folding sesson. Oh well.

So today, I'm back on top. And what do I choose to do with my first free moment? You're looking at it!

My Babies are Three!

Yesterday we celebrated the twins' third birthday (and my dad's 70th! Happy Birthday Poops)! I can't believe they are already three. Sometimes it seems like it's gone so fast. Other times at a snail's pace.

I took them to the zoo in the morning for some serious indulgence (I said no to the train, but that's about it!). Here's a picture of them with their new monkeys. Case named his Monkey Daddy and Tessie's is OO-OO-AH-AH.



We played it pretty low key for their actual celebration. Each got a couple of small gifts (thanks to some genius trickery and deceit at Target, they actually picked out their own gifts without knowing it!), we had pizza, watched WallE and had cake and ice cream.





Another milestone we celebrated yesterday was our first day with NO POTTY ACCIDENTS! So Jarad got his wish to have his kids potty trained by three. Barely.

A Couple of Firsts for Emma

Emma has been taking piano lessons from our neighbor for about a year now, and they had their first recital on Nov. 11. She did such a great job. Of course, these were fun songs to listen to, since it was all Christmas music! Emma played O Come All Ye Faithful and Jingle Bells. All the other performers were also neighbors, so it was fun to sit around with our friends watching all the kids play.




We had to boogie just before it ended since it was also Emma's first Achievement Days Recognition Night. It was a mother-daughter evening and each mother got to share some thoughts about her daughter. It was a touching and fun evening (yummy treats!), and Emma is thrilled to be in Achievement Days. The leaders are all so awesome, so I'm really looking forward to her being in there as well.

Unfortunately we also had to leave THAT event early so we could boogie back home so Jarad could make it to a meeting he had at 7:30. So we missed out on many of the mother/daughter spotlights.

It's not all about Fisher!

So I realize the last few posts have been about Fishface. While he is one funny and smart cookie, he is NOT the the only funny and smart kid I have.

My beautiful second grader was sick when school pictures got sent home, and we finally got hers from the teacher, so here you go. I have to say, I just love school pictures. They might not be glamour shots and every hair might not be in its proper place (and they might not wear what you want them to wear), but they tell such a great story. I know I can look at my school pictures and so many memories come flowing back from my teacher that year, the friends I had, the things we used to play on the playground in that grade. Even the clothes I used to wear (and hairstyles later on eek). To me it's worth the $10 packet just to preserve those memories for my kids that a studio session or a snapshot taken by me may not conjure up later in their lives.

A Three-Letter word (PG POST HERE...)

I'm so proud of Fisher and his spelling and reading abilities. Just this weekend, in fact, he demonstrated precisely how good he is. Allow me to elaborate...

Somebody in the family used the word "bum" or perhaps "fanny" in conversation. This led Emma to mention that this word is better to say than "the A word."

ME: Why, yes that's true Emma, do you know what the A word is?
EM: Yes it's (whispers and cups her hands around her mouth) A-S-S (sorry, I didn't warn those virgin eyes out there).

So this turned into a brief discussion that I THOUGHT was just between Emma and I about that word and how it's ugly and we don't use it. She told me her friend had said something about kicking a certain someone's said body part. (Nice second-grade rhetoric, right?)

Of course, Fisher has the biggest ears in the family (no, I really mean that, I think his ears are physically bigger than mine), so he picks up the conversation where Emma and I left off.

Fish: So you spell it A-S-S, right? But how do you SAY it?
ME: Well, we don't, so you don't need to worry about it.

That didn't fly, so I caved and ended up saying the word to let him know that if he hears others saying it he would know not to repeat it.

Not five minutes later Fisher and Emma have gone off to play and I hear Fisher, as he comes running after Emma around the corner say "Let's Kick Some A-S-E!" He turns to see the horrified look on my face and immediately says "I didn't say the bad word, I said A-S-E!

He had spelled it wrong on purpose so he wouldn't get in trouble, but wanted to toe the line by saying this new bad word he had used. What a little stinker!

I do believe we're going to have our hands full with this one... Perhaps you'll remember his fascination about this time last year with the bird.

Fashion Plate Fisher

Seriously? How can you not love this kid? On picture day Fisher decided he wanted to go down in Curtis Family History wearing a tie for his portrait. He got dressed first thing, picked out his own outfit and everything (no kidding??). We convinced him that he should stick his tie in his backpack and just put it on for pictures, since it could get in the way of all the recess playing he would surely engage in that day.

My heart broke when I came home from the gym and saw his tie sitting on the counter. It hadn't made it into his backpack after all.

So what is a mom to do? I envisioned the meltdown he would undoubtedly have had, and then envisioned the resulting school photo. So I boogied over to the school and dropped his tie off, hoping it made it in time.

It did.

Election Night Reflections - as if you care.

I woke up at about 4:00 this morning with my mind racing about last night's election results, and three things kept rotating through my thoughts:

1. The country clearly wants change, so my prayers will (as they always are) be with Mr. Obama and our Congressional leaders as they try to turn America back into a positive direction. I don't have to agree with all his policies, but he will have my prayers.

2. Now that we have voted, we still have a responsibility (in some cases an even greater responsibility) to let our congressional representatives know where their constituents stand on issues of importance to us. Whether they be moral or political, partisan or not... Our voices can be heard on more than just election day!

3. I am so proud of Americans who aren't afraid to stand up for our moral beliefs and religious freedoms. We all spoke loud and clear (as they did in Florida, and it looks like CA will pull it off too) and made a difference.

OK that's off my chest. :)

I'm just glad all the attack ads are done!

Bless You

Case had a fit of several sneezes in a row this morning, to each of which I responded "Bless You!!"

When he was finished sneezing he said "Momma I don't like Bless Yous (sneezes)." Me neither Casers.

Missed Opportunity for Senator McCain

Fisher came home today with his KidsVoting sticker proudly displayed on his shirt, intoning the following chant:

"Vote for McCain! Obama is lame!"

Now why didn't the good senator's crack campaign staff come up with that one?

I was trying not to laugh as I explained that even if we don't agree with someone we shouldn't put them down by calling them lame.

Gotta love the mail-in ballot

I'm watching coverage of today's nightmare election lines, and I'm remembering the two-plus hours I stood in line to vote in the last presidential election. And I'm blissfully sitting in my living room not worrying about how I'm going to drag my twins to the polls and stand in those lines to cast my ballot. The only line I'll be standing in today is at the grocery store! All thanks to the genius of mail-in balloting.


If you requested an early ballot and didn't get it mailed in, which I know I've done before a time or two, don't forget that you can drop it off at any polling place WITHOUT STANDING IN LINE. Just get it in!!

And if you still need to get out but don't want to drag your kids with you, give me a call. I'd be happy to watch little ones while mommies go vote!

Bustin' out the Christmas Music!

Sorry to those of you who reserve Christmas Music listening for after Thanksgiving. Just turn down the volume, or use me as an excuse to blur that line. Because I've changed my playlist to feature Christmas music as of today. I've been waiting for this day for a month (and secretly listening to my own Christmas music in my car for about that long too - or longer).

Enjoy!

Trunk or Treat

I love Trunk or Treat! It's always fun to see all the kids and families dress up for Halloween and get to socialize a little. Jarad and I were poopers and didn't dress up as Superman and Supergirl with the kids. But here are some pics of our SuperCrew...

Look out SuperCrew! Demon Dad is going to get you!


Supergirls abound at Trunk or Treat - here are Em and Tess with our neighbor McKenna.


Don't they just look thrilled to be dressed up? They were all hams until I got out the camera.

Play Group Halloween Fun!

It was my turn to host a little play group this week, so naturally we had a Halloween party!

We made pumpkin necklaces, spider snacks and went trick-or-treating to all the bedrooms in my house. These little 2 and 3 year old pumpkins ate it all up! They were so much fun!

Spooky Gingerbread House!

For our FHE activity last week we made this spooky haunted gingerbread house. It was one of those pre-assembled kits that you just added water to make the frosting, and I didn't do ANY of it! Except for the spiderwebbed lawn.

Didn't these cuties do a great job?

Markers and Make-up

This is what happens when you put the make-up kit right next to the marker tin.

Emma got these cute little tins for her birthday and all the make-up from the makeovers at the party ended up in one, all the art supplies she got ended up in the other. They both ended up on the counter in our kids' bathroom.

One day last week I thought Tess was napping. Until I heard her say "I so byooootifool Mommy!" I knew exactly where she was and what she'd been in to.

She had made herself up with both make-up and markers from head...





to toe. And everywhere in between. She even used mascara on her eyebrows. Waterproof to boot. That was fun to scrub off.




Isn't she byooootifool indeed.

Emma's Baptism

It's been a week since Emma was baptised and I haven't written because I'm just getting around to downloading and looking at all the pictures we took!

What an amazing day it was to watch my oldest daughter get baptised and confirmed by her dad, and to have my own dad on hand to participate and support. I kind of expected it to be a hectic day, and that I'd be so worried about something going wrong that I wouldn't remember a thing. But can I just say how much I love stake baptisms? We didn't have to worry about a single detail other than showing up, bringing a towel (and dry underwear, thanks Alli!) and having someone to do the ordinance. So I was actually able to enjoy the day with Emma as she took this big step.

Jarad was so great about preparing her. We, of course, had several FHE lessons and other discussions about this day, but that morning after they had changed into their white clothes, he found an empty quiet room where he could go through what was going to happen (ie where to put her hands, how he would dunk her), and then they had a prayer together. I'm so grateful they had that time together, and that Jarad was so thoughtful about his responsibility as her dad.





Her confirmation blessing was so touching. In our ten-plus years together I can count on one hand (OK two fingers) the times I've seen Jarad cry, or even heard his voice catch. But as he confirmed Emma, I could hear the emotion in his voice and feel the love he has for our daughter. He counseled her to pray, to study and love the scriptures, to serve others and to keep the commandments. How simple are those things, but how important too. I'm so grateful for Jarad.




We were so happy to have the many friends and family who took time out of their busy Saturday to come to Emma's baptism. I know how busy Saturdays are, and we loved seeing everyone who was able to come. Thank you for supporting Emma!

I was especially happy that my mom, dad and sister Kristin were able to come down from Utah for a long weekend. It was so great to have them all here. I think Jarad and Dad were about ready to pull their hair out (I won't say ANYTHING else about hair Dad) with all the giggling and whispering we girls did. It was some much needed girl time, to be sure.



Who we did miss on this day, though, were Grandpa and Grandma Curtis who are on their mission in Georgia. I know Grandpa Curtis would have had some wisdom to share with Emma on this special day. We sure did miss you guys, but we're glad you're where you are! Keep up the good work Elder and Sister Curtis!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this day special for Emma. I know it's a day she'll remember always.

The BEST!

So I know you all think you can claim this (or perhaps you DON'T LOL), but I have the best husband ever. In case you hadn't noticed from my previous posts this week, it hasn't been the most fun to be me for the last few days. On top of all the illnesses, etc. I've also been under deadline on two pretty big work projects, both due today. On Wednesday I started to get a little frantic that there was NO WAY I was going to get these projects done if I still had two kids at home yesterday. With Case being as sick as he was, getting someone to watch him was out of the question. Working at night is an option, but when you aren't sleeping much, brains get mushy and writing requires a non-mushy brain (**unless** it's blog writing, then no holds barred).

So, yesterday Jarad shows up at home earlier than I expected. He took the kids to the park. I finished one project in a quiet home! But I still had the second one to finish... this morning, he scooted out of the house earlier than normal so I didn't get to say goodbye, but then he came BACK at 7:30! He had gotten a sub to take his classes today and came home to take care of the twins so I could work. He spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry too.

What a load off! I just finished the second project, and a couple of smaller ones I've had on my plate for too long. And it feels great!

So thanks Jarad. You're my knight in shining armor.

Tagged again!

This time it's a four-way tag. So watch out. If I didn't tag you last time, you're about to get it :).

Four places that I go to over and over
Church
The gym
The crosswalk by the school
The grocery store


Four people who e-mail me (regularly)
Julie
Conny
Sara
Christy

Four of my favorite places to eat
Home (I'm that girl who eats her own food at the potluck)
The Keg (it's not what you think!)
Taco Bell (even though I've gotten sick there twice)
Carraba's (but I like Macaroni Grill's bread better)

Four other places I would rather be right now
Getting a pedicure
The gym (haven't gone in a week due to sick kids!)
On a vacation with Jarad (don't care where!)
In a house with no barf, poop, boogers or bloody noses (all at the same time)

Four TV shows I watch
Curious George
Word World
SuperWhy
The Bachelor/ette (when it's in season!)

Four people I intend to tag
Heytar
Jess B.
Jessica R.
Beth

Okay ladies, now its your turn. Its easy, just 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 things about you. Have fun.

Glaring Truth - It sometimes hurts

So it's no secret that I'm not a huge wearer of make-up. This is especially true since I quit working full-time out of the home. Even then, fully made-up, I never wore eyeliner and only wore mascara on the top lashes. Heavy eye make-up has always bugged me.

But lately I've been feeling like I look a bit too drawn. Sleepy. Plain. I decided today to bust out the seldom-used eyeliner pencil I have, and I lined BOTH LIDS! And I put mascara on TOP AND BOTTOM!!

Jarad wondered if I was either seeing someone on the side or trying to "get some" from him (I also had made a favorite dish for dinner, so the combo really threw him).

Fisher wondered what I did to my eyes (as he made circles around his own eyes with his fingers). I asked him if it looked pretty and, shaking his head, all he said was "witch."

Emma took it a step further and asked if I also put eyeshadow under my eyes. Nope, those are just dark circles due to not sleeping well in days, weeks, months.

I didn't know my wearing make-up would cause such an uproar in our home! If nothing else, I felt noticed LOL.

A Few Things I've Learned Today

1. The house is a lot quieter when one of your kids loses his voice (especially when it's your screamer!)

2. My steam cleaner works really well in getting barf off my couch.

3. I never want to eat cottage cheese again after seeing said barf.

4. Trying to potty train one kid is NOT a good idea when your other kid is barfing. Double the laundry!

5. WalMart employees are very helpful in finding lost children.

6. Employees at the Dillard's Clinique counter don't think it's funny when your kid touches all the cotton balls and Q-tips that customers are supposed to use for sampling the make-up. (this is before he barfed, so I didn't know he was so sick - sorry if you went there after us and got sick!)

Who needs advanced degrees when a stay at home mom can learn so much in one day???

Twilight Heroines -- which one are you??

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

October Break Fun!

We've been on break from school for 11 days (who's counting?). Everyone goes back tomorrow (19.5 hours to be exact, but again, who's counting?), so I thought I'd write a little wrap-up report and post some ever-present pictures of my kids :).

We kicked it off by having a few of Emma's friends over for a little party for her birthday. We made pillows, put on make-up, had a "fashion show" to show off their amazing makeovers, then they played freeze dance. Great fun!



On Monday morning reality hit. I was to have all my kids home full-time for more than a week. That's when I bought the trampoline, hoping it would buy me a little less of the "I'm Bored" comments during the break. It worked! Minus a few bouts of bickering (every day) it's doing exactly the job I hired it for!

Tuesday the kids just jumped on the trampoline and rode bikes with friends. It was gluttonous worry-free kid time with friends. Love it. I pretty much spent Tuesday trying to dig myself out from the Friday and Saturday parties we had here (Saturday night we hosted the family No Boys Allowed party while the guys went to the priesthood session of General Conference).

Wednesday we went to the zoo! Have you seen the new water park they have there? Very cool. We were totally unprepared for how wet the kids would get, but they had fun!

Here is Rochelle's stroller packed with all the "big kids." Who do you think was walking? Yep, the three two-year-olds we had with us. While I pushed an empty stroller. Sorry Rochelle.




Jarad's school was also off on Thursday and Friday, so we spent some fun family time in Payson having pizza at our favorite spot, then hiking down to the Tonto Natural Bridge and on Friday at Superstition Farms. On our hike we saw frogs and lizards in addition to the beautiful natural bridge rock formation. It was like an outdoor cave. It was beautiful! I directed us on a bit of a treacherous hike that we abandoned about 1/4 mile in (tip to parents of 2-year-old twins -- rock hopping in the river bottoms is not recommended). We hiked back up to the parking lot and found a much easier way in to the bridge. Not as adventurous, but easier! And the end result was the same.



This picture makes me laugh - in almost every picture Jarad took, there's me in the background grabbing a kid to make sure they didn't fall. Helicopter Mom? Maybe so. And check out Teslin's face. She doesn't look too sure about this hike!



I love this one because ALL OVER THE PLACE were signs that said "DO NOT THROW ROCKS." Which just is NOT possible for Case. Really? Can you get a 2 year old boy to stop throwing rocks when all there are around him are ... rocks? And water??? I'd say you're either a liar or a miracle worker if you say you could have stopped him.



Superstition Farms is about 10 minutes from our house, and was having a free festival on Friday, so we figured why not? We figured OUT why not when we got there and there was no parking. But we toughed it out, found a spot and made our way through the madness. Actually it was really fun. The kids got to pet rabbits, goats, baby cows, horses, ponies, etc. We took a hayride around the dairy to get a peek at:
a) cows
b) cows
c) more cows
d) cow bath
e) cow milking stations
f) more cows (with empty udders)

And surprisingly enough, the smell didn't make me barf. Oh, but Emma had a priceless comment: Mom, the cows' poop smells like Spaghetti-Os. LOL she's right!! I think my kids have had Spaghetti-Os twice, and maybe this is why.

Here are some farm pics.

Not sure who the random kid is on the end, but here are the kids petting a calf.


Tess with the soft bunnies.


This cow smiled for her close-up!

Today the kids were invited to a cooking class being taught by some of the YW in our ward. So cute! They taught them how to make sugar cookies. I asked Emma what she learned, and she said "You just mix all the stuff together until it starts to smell like Play-Doh." Uh HUH.

Um, what is it about Emma's olfactory nerve?

So tomorrow it's back to some semblance of normal. Here's hoping I can remember what normal is come morning!

Celebrating 50 Years...

Today is the 50th wedding anniversary of two of my favorite people -- Shelby and Ellen Stastny. My mommy and daddy.

What a great example they have been, raising five kids together in the wasteland of Alaska (ha ha), holding fast to the things they believe in and living lives that exemplify their faith in Heavenly Father.

My mom is the kindest person I know. Sure, she has her caustic side, but when it comes right down to it, she is just plain nice. All my life she was in the service of others, whether for her callings in church, supporting my dad in his callings and in work, driving us kids around, helping with homework, lending an ear on the other end of a long-distance phone call. Just plain kind. I hope I have a fraction of her kindness in my heart.

My dad is stalwart. Wise. Never a gray area with him. While this bugged the death out of me in my younger years, I have come to really appreciate this trait about him because now that's how I want to see things. He was known in Alaska as an honest guy. People trusted him to make the right decisions -- business and otherwise. I never doubted my Dad's love for me, and the worst punishment ever was knowing he was disappointed in me.

One thing I've never questioned about my parents is their faith in and dedication to Heavenly Father and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I had never been so proud to have them as my parents as when they were on their mission in San Diego.

They love each other. They support each other. They are friends. And after 50 years they still feel that way.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I love you more than you know.

I'm It.

OK so I was tagged twice this week by my friend and neighbor Cheryl and my niece Jessica. I'm not ignoring you guys, but honestly I'm having a hard time coming up with stuff folks don't already know! I'm such a blabbermouth I feel like my life is such an open book. But I'll come up with some, however embarrassing they may be. Jess's tag asked for six facts, Cheryl's asked for seven. Here goes...

Seven Little-Known Facts About Katie

1. I wet the bed until I was way too old. I don't even know how old, but like nine. Ha ha saying this made me remember the time my family was on a ski vacation and my sister and I were sharing a bed. I woke in the morning to a wet bed and assumed I'd had an accident. Kristin let everyone else assume it was me. It was years later she admitted it was her and she blamed me! And she's three years older than I am!! What a meanie.

2. I drove a red 1965 Mustang in high school (so did my older brother and sister before me, but I'm the one who wrecked it. Sorry Dad). I also drove a 1978 poop brown and pee yellow Suburban that had more body damage than should be legal. But it was safer to drive up the mountain during the winter.

3. When I lived in New York for a couple of years after college, I met the Duchess of York (she was a client of the PR agency I worked for), I used to see Madonna and Alec Baldwin jogging in Central Park (not together), and I kind of stalked Larry Mullen, Jr. (drummer for U2) up and down Broadway before finally approaching him for an autograph (this was after church on a Sunday and I was carrying my scriptures. He probably thought I was a missionary or something).

4. Speaking of stalking, I was the victim of a real stalker in my early 20s.

5. I once caught a fish that weighed more than me. A 130-pound halibut. This was before I had kids, of course. If I caught that same fish today I wouldn't have quite the same bragging rights.

6. I hate shopping with other people.

7. I'm a shameless fan of The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Never miss an episode (and if I do I catch it on ABC.com).

OK and now I have to tag some of you... You're It!
Wyndi, Emma, Alli, Nicole, Dawn, Carla and Ali. Have fun ladies :)

Craaaaazy Case!

Case had pushed play on Jarad's alarm clock, which currently holds the Queen Greatest Hits CD (yeah, just love waking up to "Fat Bottomed Girls"). So he was getting his groove on to Another One Bites the Dust. At some point the boy learned that in order to dance well, one must make monster faces.






Case is also a huge helper around the house. Really. He's the best at cleaning up after his bath. Puts the toys away every time! He also loves to help set the table for dinner. This is actually Emma's job, but she often gets help from Tess ("I get the 'poons Emma!") and Case. Case has a particular idea about what it means to set the table. In his little world, one must empty all contents of the refrigerator door. This constitutes dinner. While the girls are setting the plates and flatware at each place, Case is loading the table with any condiment you could ever possibly imagine needing. Ketchup, mustard, mayo, lime juice, sesame oil. MMMMMMM! All the while he is happily saying "Dinnertime! Dinnertime!" At least it keeps him occupied during those last harried moments before my gourmet meal hits the table.

Or perhaps he thinks we need all those condiments to mask the taste of my cooking...

Happy Campers

I was uploading pics from Emma's birthday party (stay tuned for those) and found these pictures from our Ward Campout a couple of weekends ago. My lens kept fogging up, so I didn't get many great photos, but these two just look so cute and happy eating their doughnuts in the morning!

Just Peachy

So while I was making peach jam a couple of weeks back, Case and Tess thought it was real fun to make a castle out of the peaches that were still in the box (time to buy them some blocks maybe?). They were just enamored with these darn peaches.

At one point I hear Case say "sorry Mommy, I clean it up!" and ran into the kitchen to get a towel. I noticed this on his bum...



Apparently he wondered what would happen if he were to sit on a peach. This is what happened...



Fast forward to yesterday. More peaches. Tess this time, though. In her bedroom. On the carpet. And I discovered that the kids really like to eat "squishy oranges." Even after they've been sat upon.

A Horrifying Realization

So today is the first day of October break. No school for ten days. Woo hoo? Mmm, not so much. I have been contemplating for a few weeks buying the kids a trampoline. I wanted to do this earlier in the season, not waiting for Christmas, so they could enjoy it for these beautiful months. Not to mention that it would be something so fun and great to do outside while they're home for the break. And hey, a break for me too, right? So I bought one this morning and, with the help of all the kids, got it put together in about 45 minutes. I was totally looking forward to a somewhat easy afternoon getting things done around the house while the kids are entertaining themselves outside.

Ummmm, again, not so much. I feel so bad for my poor neighbors listening to my kids constantly bicker and scream at each other outside! I think each one has come inside screaming AT LEAST once. I finally told them if they aren't bleeding I better not hear screaming. So far so good. It's been at least five minutes.

Uh oh, the door is opening... here they come.

Cute bags, cheaply.

Love it. Looks like this new site will launch 10/15, and we all have a chance (or more, now that I'm posting this link on my blog!) to win a free one.

Check it out!

www.handbagplanet.com

My Baby's Growin' Up!

I haven't had a ton of time lately to sit and ruminate on life (ie blog). But today I would feel awfully ungrateful if I didn't take a minute to ... no I'm not going to bear my testimony (tee hee) ... say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my awesome Emma. She turns Great 8 today! So in honor of the Great 8, here are (DRUMROLL PLEASE)

EIGHT THINGS I LOVE ABOUT EMMA

1. Her silliness. Granted, when it's ill timed, it can be awfully annoying. But most of the time I love that she doesn't take things too seriously, least of all herself!

2. Her chameleon personality. Emma makes new best friends everywhere she goes. She'd be BFF with Bigfoot (or El Chupacabra if you're a fan of Scooby Doo and the Monster of Mexico) if she met him at the park. I think everyone thinks they are Emma's best friend. And in all honesty, they probably are! And she thinks she's everyone else's best friend too.

3. She's a great big sis and has a "mother heart."

4. I love her Angel Kisses (freckles) and dimples. There's something about Emma's looks that compels complete strangers to approach her and tell her she looks just like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Yikes. I hope she doesn't follow their tracks too closely, but if there was just SOME way to capitalize on it...

5. She wants to be good. She really does WANT to. And most of the time it happens, but I love the desire in her to be a good person.

6. She likes to shake her boo-tay, and is always up for a dance off (she even likes ABBA and (much of) my 80s music!).

7. She appreciates her family -- I'm not talking about Jarad and I and the kids. I'm talking about her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Ever since she was little, she has felt a close connection to them. Even those who live far away!

8. She has a strong will and is totally sure of herself (ie a know it all like her mama). I know that, while these might be trying personality traits when she's young, if I can help nudge them in a good direction she will be a strong force for good.

So Happy Birthday Little. I love you tons.