Once A Year

there is a designated girls weekend. Also known as Fathers and Sons. Usually I have big plans. Bigger plans than I could ever accomplish. This year it came incognito. I was taken unaware. It was never announced over the pulpit. This year I've gone to bed at 12:00+ the last three nights. Two of the nights are completely my fault, but for last night I am blaming Primerica. As you can probably imagine, I am exhausted. But I won't admit it. I'm in complete denial. I keep thinking, "I should be accomplishing something great tonight. It's my night. Probably the last that will be mine. So, this is how it is going so far:

Zip over to pick up dinner at Cafe Rio [shredded chicken burrito enchilada style with a side of guacamole anyone?]. Usually I save half for lunch the next day, but wow... the girl is a great eater. She was exhausted and I knew if I played my cards right we would have an early bedtime. So after dinner we hopped in the shower. Had a few bedtime stories and she fell asleep during I am a child of God [7:00 p.m]. Since then I have been trying to figure out how to customize the new page tabs that are right under my blog header. It's not going so well and I'm not sure I'll leave them there. I gave up and decided to upload the photos on my camera so I could share a few things before I forget. I've also been eating pretzel M&Ms. They're pretty good, but they don't seem to register. I would sit down with a small bowl of a designated amount if I were you. Here's my list of possibles:

1. watch New Moon and eat a bowl of ice cream
2. finish the scripture bag that was supposed to be for *A*s birthday since he keeps asking about it.
3. cut squares for the levi quilt that is coming due very quickly. very quickly.
4. start the doll the I plan to make for *E* for her birthday [thought I have decided that as much as I want to cut into the extremely cute fabrics I've got at the ready for this project [It will have various fabrics on random parts of her body much like this rabbit, I will not begin until I've finished with the scripture bags. I won't.
5. cave in and order the baby journal/book It's done. I when I went to the site to grab the link and decided to just go for it [of course, I would start with the last thing on the list. It's so typical of me]. I keep telling myself that I could put together a similar kit myself, but that would be making things harder than they need to be since it just isn't flowing right now and it needs to be. putting together a baby book is on the list. nothing seems to be flowing right now. I seem to have entered the last stages of the cerebral/placental shift.

Or... I could just turn in early. my pregnant body is calling out for just that. It would be a first for Fathers and Sons weekend.

*A* lost his first tooth on Tuesday and again with the flakey toothfairy. Seriously, is my brain so addled that I can't remember the significant first lost tooth ever of this adorable little man? Yes, apparently it is. When he showed me the tooth in the morning, "Mom, look. But no money." he said [our toothfairy doesn't take the teeth... she knows that the kids have much more fun inspecting them regularly than she would stressing about how to keepsake them]. I began internally kicking myself repeatedly and told him what a bummer it is to have a flakey toothfairy. The second night I followed them down to bed and stuck a dollar with my toothbrush so I would be sure to get it taken care of. All was forgiven. The morning after the third night I watched him get up out of bed and cracked up when I saw him take his tooth out from under his pillow. He looked at me with a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders. I said, "it was worth a try wasn't it?" He was really hoping he could re-use that tooth for a second visit.

So, that settles it. Don't ever hire our toothfairy.

I Was Reminded of This

little incident today when Tollipop wrote about her similar experience. I realized that I didn't have this story down anywhere and will surely forget it if I don't. Here you go: Just last week *I* lost what is probably his last [or very close to it] baby tooth. He put it under his pillow and I told the man not to let me forget. Because I do. I forget. Well, I forget and the man forgot. *I* woke up in the morning to his tooth and nothing more. He was pretty cool about it, but he did mention that the toothfairy forgot to come again. I told him, "wow... we sure have a flakey toothfairy don't we." It's the second time it's happened. Last time, after the toothfairy forgot, he lost the tooth and that was that. This time I vowed not to let it happen again, so I put money under his pillow while he was at school even though his tooth wasn't there. That night when he found the money he confronted me with, "Mom, you're the toothfairy, aren't you." Hmm...

It's our "happy aniversary" today and I'm trying to throw something together. This used to be so much easier pre-children... we couldn't get a sitter so I'm planning a surprise picnic under twinkling lights in the big tree and as I've been pulling out lights and telling the boys I want to surprise dad they've thrown together their own surprise. *I* is dressed up like a vampire and *A* is going to be a zombie and the plan is to scare daddy when he gets home. That would be a great surprise. Ah, to be a kid! Anyway, I'm going to bow out of 2.for.Tuesday today and direct you over to Ali Edwards blog. She has guest tutorials every tuesday and today is how to photograph birthdays. We all know we have those in our lives. Enjoy the journey!

2.for.Tuesday

The little men are obsessed with pets and bugs and catching bugs and making them pets. I can't count the number of times I've had to tell them there are absolutely no bugs allowed in the house. I don't care if it's their pet. They've also been catching sea creatures + urchins and trying to make them pets. The sea creatures are just soggy weeds, rocks, or clumps of reeds that they have envisioned as creatures, but they need to be kept in a murky cup or jar of water. We all know what happens next.

one: bug catchers. made from paper cups. I really enjoy scrolling through the pages of the lmnop e-magazine. They usually have some fun ideas and this is no exception. It looks pretty straight forward and simple. I imagine you'd just have to:

1. decorate a paper cup
2. cut a door + glue a piece of a zip lock bag or some of that clear window stuff from a junk mail envelope to cover it.
3. Cut out a floor [but don't glue it on yet... I think it would be easier to catch a bug with the wider opening... though I do like their plastic bugs. much much better].
4. The roof is just a circle with a wedge cut out of it and the cut edges glued together to make a coned shape. Glue it on and then
5. go catch a bug.

two: the best kind of bugs. The super cute paper ones. I love this butterfly mobile from Royal Buffet's etsy shop. I think I will make one to hang in the girls bedroom window since [as you may or may not already know or suspect] I have an aversion to curtains. Obviously, since this is from a shop there is no instructions, but again I think it's simple and straightforward:

1. grab an old book or dictionary or use yesterdays newspaper and cut out butterflys [I would double over the paper so that you have two that match up].
2. Sandwich a piece of string between two butterflys and glue/tape them together on the thorax [center] only + repeat for as many as you want on each string. It looks to me like there is 5-6 on the center string and 3-4 [or more depending on the size you cut... and you should cut different sizes I think] on the outside ones.
3. Cut a sunburst/star or doily/flower shape from a piece of cardboard or cereal box covered with the same paper.
4. Poke holes in the paper and thread your butterfly strings through holes and glue/tape down.
5. String a loop from the top for hanging and voila!

There you go. Two fun and cute crafts to make with your kids.

Enjoy the journey!

I Am Giving Up

It's been along time since I wanted to enter something in a contest. I look at the topics and think up great ideas and then never do anything about it. This time over at The Art Is Found they wanted green grass. I recently heard this song Giving Up by Ingrid Michaelson and I had a hyperfocused creativity spark. Yay! It's been so long. I've missed it.

When I was in counseling a couple of years ago Jean taught me to confront my "what if?" i.e. what if I trip and fall on my face? You make it a question (instead of an excuse not to do something) and you answer the question. If I trip and fall on my face I could break something. Then you what if the answer to the question.... what if I break something? and you keep going until you realize that there isn't anything that would be the end of the world. Not really. We're all able to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and keep on keeping on. This song makes me remember that. I love it! Nothing ever goes exactly like we plan. Sometimes we have to get over our fears or give up things we like for something we love. It's no secret that I didn't want to have a girl and it was all about "what if?" Well... I now have a girl and "I am giving up on half empty glasses and I am giving up on greener grasses" and I'm trying to just embrace having a girl. Here you go. The first page I've actually finished in a LONG time. Go me!

It's a background lifted from a book cover that I love The True and the Questions by Sabrina Ward Harrison and a bunch of other altered stuff. Plus a photo of my girl. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully I won't hate it later. That's been known to happen. But, I guess if I do then I do. Enjoy the Journey!

Keeping My Promise...

Just a couple of photos I took as part of a class by Kara... counting my blessings (not including people... yet). I just took a walk around my house and took pictures of what ever caught my eye. Things I've been taking note of lately.

This one cracks me up... *I* has some troubles actually lifting the seat and peeing into the toilet. It makes me angry. When I see this star I am happy because the lid was lifted and I like to think that he stuck it there to give himself a little pat on the back for remembering. I am not a woman who gets upset for the toilet seat being left up. Better that than a wet bottom!

I love new projects. I love things to make + do. I'm working on my life story. I'm getting my hands dirty and thinking about things I love/people I love. It's been fun. I'll share more when I have more.

One night while *B* read the BofM to the boys I doodled "I love you" in a notebook with the crayons dotting their floor. The next morning *I* brought a note to me and stuck it on my wall...

There are more. I've got them on my flickr.

Enjoy the journey!

New Quote and Randomness

Yes, and it's about time. I was reading Ali's newest newsletter and I loved this quote she used. "I will not die an unlived life." Similar to my no regrets attitude I had in college when I went on a three day hike with people I didn't know at all. Or when I climbed the climbing wall set up in the middle of campus just to prove I could because it scared me to death by humiliation. Or when I told this guy I liked him just so he would know because I'm not good at sharing myself... plenty of other examples. None of them earth shattering. Mostly just small, everyday stuff that isn't a big deal at all but seemed huge at the time. What happened to that? Until last week I had this sticky-note stuck to the window of my cupboards that said "nurture happiness". It was no regrets evolved. Regrets now involve my guys. I want them to grow up happy. To try new things. To explore life and everything it has to offer. I try to do this, really I do, but I'm not great at it. Right now I'm stuck in the "if only's". If only he would clean up all of the paper scraps he leaves lying around when he cuts out the entire ocean of sea creatures. If only he would ask instead of sneaking into my stuff like a little thief. It makes me want to scream. Sometimes I do. Then I feel bad and think I'm the worst mom in the world. I threw that sticky-note away because it kept falling on the floor. It had been there for a year at least. I think I need to make another one and keep trying. Get rid of the "if only's" and nurture happiness. Mine and theirs. Enjoy the Journey!

Twins?

So, my dear, sweet, say-whatever-comes-into-your-mind neighbor Lill asked me... "are you sure you're not having twins?" Yep, we're positive. There is only one baby in there. "Are you sure?" Yes! "I just don't know how you're going to last until July." Wow. What can I say to that? *B* had a great response approx. 6 hours later... "Oh, come on now Lill... I'm not any bigger than you are." I know, it's not very nice, but it sure cracked me up! Have I ever told you how much I love grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches? It's been a while. I LOVE THEM! I didn't think of it until it was gone, but I should have taken a picture. I seriously love them. *I* is stuck in his room for 3 hours today. He climbed into the cupboard to help himself to things that aren't his again. Nothing major, but *B* figured we should nip it in the bud now. He's right. Poor little buddy. Yesterday he was riding his "scooter" that the neighbor boy showed him how to convert into a skateboard. I had asked him not to ride it standing up until we got him a helmet/wrist guards etc. but riding on his knees got a little boring and he has been experimenting. Last night our neighbor girl asked him to race. He hit a rock and biffed it. He hit his eye and his nose and his mouth. I think he might have damaged two of his teeth. I'm really hoping he didn't (even though they're still his baby teeth). *A* has been packing around a little plastic doll I got to potty-teach a little a girl I was babysitting a few years ago (idea from Dr.Phil). So, it's his baby. Her name is Lisa and he takes her places. Tuesday he took her to *I's* soccer game and tossed her all around. Tuesday night she was nowhere to be found when it came time for bed. Today she was found. Hallelujah. Enjoy the Journey.

I'm Going Crazy!

I have that obnoxious "I'm going crazy... why don't you come along" song stuck in my head. It's driving me crazy! Lately I've felt stir crazy. I keep searching the internet for something to do. I really want to paint something. I love this painting from the Black Apple lady, but I hate that she put eyes on the egg.

She calls it "a good egg is hard to find" and this is what she wrote in the description, "I am on the life-long quest for good eggs. Good eggs only need apply! This painting is a tribute to that quest and my distaste for rotten and dud-ish folks alike." I think it's the perfect tribute to a pregnant mother and motherhood in general. I'm thinking I'll plagiarize (I don't know what you would call it in art) her idea and paint one of myself'ish holding an egg... but I won't give it eyes. I feel guilty about that and if they weren't all sold out I would just buy hers (and try to over-look the eye thing) then I would have two black apples. Then I think, "what makes me think I can paint? I'd just be disappointed because it wouldn't look like hers." Still pondering on that. I am supposed to be painting "Eliza" for Melissa's new baby. Maybe I'll start that someday. Someday.

Enjoy the Journey

And The Winner Is...

Maria with 8 1/2 points (and you said you never win anything... this is the 2nd contest you've won)! I gave you a week and you were all very good with your answers. Here are the correct answers:

1. This is my (3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) pregnancy.
2. *I* hopes the baby is a girl and wants to name her (Jane, Abbi, Bea, Lisa).
3. In the beginning the smell of (fish, garlic, hamburger, onion) made me sick.
4. I pee in my pants every time I (run, laugh, sneeze, play basketball - yes, I've been playing basketball with our wards women's team. Thankfully, it's finally over!).
5. I am craving (Reese's pieces, pickles, Moose Tracks ice cream, lemon pie).
6. As of tomorrow I am (20, 23, 26, 29) weeks along.
7. *A* hopes the baby is a girl and wants to name her (Megan, Emma, Lia, Anna)
8. My current favorite food is a B.K. Whopper with (cheese, no onion, extra pickle, all of the above)
9. *B* hopes we have a (girl, boy)
10. What do you think we should name our baby? I gave 1/2 a point for each criteria you met from the options we are considering... Names that start with a vowel, names with double letters, Scripture names. Those of you who came up with multiple names scored big here.

So, congratulations Maria! You win a cute headband that looks something like this... but not exactly. I've been experimenting with baby headbands and they work just as well on big people. Maybe Morgan and Camille will get one too!

Thanks for playing everyone! I thought it was a lot of fun and I hope you did too!

Enjoy the Journey!

It Just Doesn't Work

It just doesn't work to be a mom and to be sick. I've been fighting this... yuck... for approx. two weeks now and it finally hit me hard on friday. I spent Saturday and Sunday in bed (sort of). On Saturday I "thought" the boys were playing outside (they had asked to take Bully, a stuffed dog they have become obsessed with lately, for a walk). The phone rang. It was our neighbor... "Sister Miles, I just saw your boys walking down 100 South headed toward 400 East." Wow, that's like three blocks away! I hurried and threw on something more appropriate than a robe and hopped into the blazer to get them. Just as I was about to pull out a memeber of our bishopric pulled up with my two little wanderers. Thank you! As I quizzed the little men about what they were doing it made perfect sense... They were looking for their dad. Well, there you go. How about you wander the entire city looking for your dad when all you had to do was come into my room and say, "Mom, where did Dad go?" I could have easily told them he was at Lowe's to get some trim to finish trimming out the inside of our doors and also to pick up some beet and spinach seeds for our little garden and avoided the whole situation. But that would be too easy! On Sunday we had our FHE about the parable of the talents and tried to liken it to our situation at hand (little wandering men... did I tell you they went to the park alone a couple of weeks ago?). The first guy had five rings (representing how far he could wander from home) around him because he was older and had been given "according to his several abilities". The second guy only had two and the third guy only had one. In our story the 2nd and the third guys both lost their rings because they showed they weren't responsible enough to go anywhere and that's why they are now doomed to remain inside the fence until next week when we can have another reckoning. If they blow it again they will have to remain inside the house. Yes, I will love that. It will be so easy! Enjoy the Journey

Hello Again!

Hi! It's been a while. I've not been feeling the greatest. I hope you all had Happy Valentine's. I went to the school and helped in little man #1's class... they passed out Valentine's and had a little sugar rush party. This one game really had them all going. They had 30 seconds to stack as many conversation hearts as high as they could. The little man was doing great but he'd always push for just one more and the tower would topple. After a few rounds he was so frustrated. I felt so bad for him. He's way too much like me. Too perfectionistic or whatever. We just need to learn to leave well enough alone. *B* had school on the 14th so we celebrated on the 15th. He took me out to Texas Roadhouse and then we went and saw 27 Dresses it was a cute movie. We both really liked it. I had to laugh though, because I kept having to fight the tears... it's these stinking pregnancy hormones... the poor girl just got stepped on way too much. Today a lady knocked on my door and said that my boys were naked and that she completely understands since she has boys of her own... she was just worried about perverts. Yeah, me too. I swear... who told my boys they don't have to wear clothes if there is water around? They had stripped down (and the neighbors 4 year old grandson too) and were playing in the irrigation water running down the gutter. I honestly didn't think it was warm enough for that yet, but there they were. I wasn't up to fighting with them so I got their swimsuits for them. No more naked! The next time I looked out they were covered in mud. I just can't win! A special prize for all you readers from Redbox... free DVD rental. If you haven't tried the redbox you should. Can't beat $1 movies. All you have to do to get the free rental is type in the code: DVDONME when you check out. You'll still have to swipe a credit card just for identification purposes (and so they can charge you a dollar if you keep it longer than 1 day) but hey... free movie. We just watched No Reservations last night. We both really enjoyed that one too. I love that you can now rent the movies on-line then just go swipe your card and pick them up. No more having to scroll through the movies to see what's there and what isn't (sadly, the free codes don't work with on-line rentals). We really like movies at our house. Lastly, I just uploaded more [365] photos. My photos are totally lacking in creativity and... something. Oh well, at least they're there.

We're Having A...

Well, you know me. All I can say is that it's a baby. If you'd like to see a profile shot from the ultrasound you can click the [365] link at the right. I've also added a few other pictures from the last few days. I thought it was funny that some random guy wants to add my "I voted" picture to their group. Yeah, I don't think so... I will let you know that we told the ultrasound tech up front that we didn't want to know, so he warned us when we we're in any areas that could give things away. I did see something at the begining, and if I were more confident in my abilities I would say that we're having another boy, but... well, let's just say I'm not holding my breath. I am not really confident in my abilities and *B* didn't see the same thing I did. That said, we're having a baby! Enjoy the Journey!

Funny Story... Not Advent Related

On Wednesday the boys were outside chasing each other around the house. I could hear them circling. Then they stopped and spent an unusual amount of time in one place... I looked out the window to see them both absolutely naked and in a mud puddle they had created with the hose. My first reaction was to laugh. Second, beat them with a stick... it was freezing outside. How was I supposed to get them cleaned up enough to come in and take a bath? I went out and told them to turn the water off and get as much mud off as possible. I went back into the house (so as to avoid beating them with a stick). A few minutes later the 14 year old neighbor boy came over and told Little Man #1 to get in the house and get some clothes on or he was going to tell his mom. Little Man's response... "She already knows!" Smug little stinker. I had to laugh at the too. So, after I chilled out for a few minutes I decided that they were probably already popcicles and spraying them off with the hose might get the point across... by this time they were completely covered with mud. Poor little guys. I really felt bad for them. It was one of those, "this hurts me more than it hurts you" moments. But then again, I still wanted to beat them with a stick! I didn't take a picture... I wanted to, but I couldn't let them think I thought it was worthy. Enjoying the journey!

Good Mom

Today I spent a few hours running around town looking for "wellingtons" (aka rubber boots). When the guys put on their costumes for the Halloween party we had a little problem because Superman didn't have his boots. Mom hadn't really thought about that. She was just happy they had insignias on their chests. Truth told, Superman was lucky to have a cape. Batman wasn't so lucky! Today I thought, "heck... they would love superhero boots. They will definately get used. I think I'll find some." So, I went to the D.I., Kid-to-Kid, Target, IFA (where I ran into a rancher I know from home who told me they have them at Wal-Mart... go figure), then on to Wal-Mart where, yes, they did have them! Success! I also got a can of red spray paint. Superman's boots are red you know. Tomorrow is the big day (I'll take pictures). The school has a costume parade (think "Ramona the Pest") and then the classes each have a party, the Rec Center has a carnival which I am considering taking the boys to, and then of course... TRICK-OR-TREATING! Honestly, I seriously considered shutting all the lights off and not doing the trick-or-treating thing at all. B said that would be "Tricking" so I would technically be participating. Generally I love Halloween, but this year has not been so much fun. Maybe it's because I can already feel the results in my Levi's and it's not even here yet. Hmm.... Enjoy the Journey!

Still Pushing Along

Little man #2 is currently running around outside with stripey pajamas and bare feet. Good mom! He has a really watery cough and an occasional low grade fever but I can't stand them in the house whining at me! Oh, just kidding, he came in. Apparently he was outside in underwear and bare feet. Even better! I've got to finish up two more tags for my food storage gifts and then I'll be off. I guess I'd better get on that seeing as how it's in an hour. Hmmm. I really wanted to share some of the fun ideas I had/found for our annual Halloween Party this year. I'm a little bummed out that it will probably be something we just do at home by ourselves this year since we're carriers of the yuck and I'm sure no one wants us to share the love. I'll have to come back later...

Stuck at Home...

Can't go anywhere. I'm going insane! Little man #1 is feeling a lot better. He's been home from school all week now because he keeps having a random 103 temperature in the afternoon... right after I decide that he is for sure going to school tomorrow! Lucky me... Little man #2 has a fever today. I will continue to be stuck in the house for approx. 5 days for no apparent reason except for random fevers. Like I said... Lucky me! So, since I sold all of my scrapbooking/"crafty" stuff I had to go to Pebbles yesterday and buy paper and use their punches to make "fun and cute" gift tags for the food storage items I will be demonstrating to be given as gifts tomorrow night. I thought I might enjoy it, but I haven't. That is really too sad. Maybe it's the theme. Volleyball game tonight. We're going to region playoffs. We have a lady on our team who has discovered her love for volleyball and she is so excited to be on a good team. I am afraid she will be sorely disappointed when we go to the playoffs and get slaughtered because surely there are teams in the stake that have more than one person with some volleyball training... You know I love volleyball and love to play usually, but... well, I'm just not having a lot of fun trying to keep it all in (if you know what I mean!). Still trying to talk myself into working out again. The scale is maintaining my 20 lb. weight loss, which is exciting, but I need some exercise in my life for sanity and frustration purposes. Enjoy the Journey!

First Day Craziness

I can't believe it... he's actually going to school. It was a hectic day for us all. We loved it. After school we picked him up and went to get McDonald's then when and ate with Dad. It was, after all, his special day {and don't you forget it!}. You can go into shock if you'd like, but I really wanted to get a jump start. I was just going to do another daily something, but decided that I needed to start putting together pages for our family yearbook. So...what do you think?

I know, I must be crazy! Seriously though. I feel like creating lately. Something has inspired me. Maybe it's all the change in the air. (Maybe it was the elf that cleaned my house the other day!)

Enjoying the journey