Angel

Peyton loves this commercial. He actually loves and quotes a lot of different commercials. He's always telling me, "Don't get mad! Get Glad!" after he's done something naughty. It usually works, too. I need to learn to resist that imp and his devilish charms. ☺ Anyway, this is one of his favorites.

He came up to me last Monday and said, "Mom, say, 'you look amazing'". I asked why and he said, "JUST DO IT!". Okay, okay. "You look amazing", I said. "You look like a beach angel!", he replied. (I immediately caught on. ☺) I screamed and he said, "It's go time!". We've done that about 50 times a day since then.

Fashion Sense

I've never claimed to have any fashion sense. Basically, I have none, but I do like to browse the internet, looking at clothes, shoes, handbags, jewelry, etc. Especially when I get bored. Today, I'm really liking this swimsuit. I think it's super cute. I'm not sure if it's effective enough to hide my thunder, unfortunately. A large tarp would probably be more efficient to do that.

These shoes=fantastic. These remind me of an old librarian, but I still think they're cute. Finally, these might be a good choice to fulfill my desire for red shoes.

I'm kind of digging this dress. I think it would be fun with the librarian shoes. This skirt looks like it would be fun and just a little bit twirly.

I like way too many handbags. Like this one. This one. Oh, and this one, too. This could go on and on.

I think that's enough window shopping for today. If I start looking at jewelry like, I might start buying. ☺

Seeing Red

Does anyone have a color they tend to gravitate toward? I do. Red. Most definitely, red. It's a color that makes me happy. It's peppy. It's lively. It makes me feel good.

I had a red wall in our first house. I loved it! The front door of that house was red, too. We painted our television wall in our family room in this house red, but had to move the location of the TV a couple of years ago. The first wall was a little too small to be left red without a focal point like the television. So, I repainted the whole room one color. I need to find another wall to paint.

I chose a design kit for my blog that featured red heavily. My new couch is red. My toaster is red. My tea kettle is red. I bought new dishes last weekend and their color? You guessed it. Red. I have several red shirts. Strangely, I don't have any shoes. I think I need to fix that. Maybe something like these.

Red, you make me very happy!

Minty

I have a serious thing for the white, whipped, minty goodness that is the center of a York Peppermint Patty, or a Junior Mint. It all started with my first pregnancy and continued with the others. (I think it had something to do with being anemic.) Anyway. I craved it non-stop. If someone would have given me a huge bowl of that delicious, white goodness, I would have eaten all of it. Probably, in one sitting.

Well, I've been craving it again quite a bit the past couple of months. (I think it probably has something to do with anemia again. Time to start loading up on iron.) So, I pick up one of those two kinds of candies about once a week to get my fix. Today, I saw these and because of the colors on the package, assumed they were mint. I snatched those puppies right up and opened them as soon as I was in my car. I was a little confused with the first bite. Put in another. Still didn't get it. Around about the third one, I finally looked at the package and figured out what they were. (I've never claimed to be smart.) I was slightly disappointed about the lack of mint, but HOLY FLIPPIN' COW! They were totally good and made up for being non-minty. Try them.

**********************************************

On another note, just to be clear, I've kind of been thinking that I was trying to make myself sound like a martyr, or something, in my last post. (Stupid Blogger won't let me link to it right now!!!!) So, to clarify, I really didn't mind doing all of the cooking. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. It wasn't hard. I didn't stress myself out overly much. I made it through just fine. And so far, I haven't heard of any deaths related to my cooking. I just wish I didn't have to get sick the week I was doing it. That is all. ☺

Never Again

Never again do I have want to have a week with a dance concert rehearsal on Monday followed by getting sick on Tuesday followed by going to the doctor on Wednesday to find out I have a sinus infection (I would have said bronchitis) followed by a dance concert on Thursday followed by another dance concert on Friday followed by me cooking dinner for 50+ people in our for a Young Women fundraiser on Saturday.

Actually, it wouldn't have been so bad if I just could have left out the getting sick part. I'd do all the other stuff again if I didn't have to do it while sick. That's kind of made this week not so fun. I've woke up almost every night since Tuesday so I could hack up one of my lungs. After coughing, gagging and gasping for several minutes, I've been wide awake and left to think about cooking the dinner. I haven't felt any stress about doing it until this week and I only have because I've been sick. If I could have slept, I wouldn't have spent endless hours thinking about it. I know I can handle it, but when my sinuses are pounding I think to myself that I can't. But I can and I will. Now, I'm off to cook.

The Upside

Tyler came out of the basement bathroom a few days ago and said, "Mom, you need to come in here and look at this". I went in and what I saw was bulging paint and damp to the touch sheet rock on the ceiling directly above the toilet. Great! You don't have to be a plumber to figure out what bulging paint and damp sheet rock means. Especially when there's a bathroom directly above that one with a toilet in the exact same place. The toilet above was leaking.

Ryan cut a small hole into the ceiling in the basement. He couldn't see much and had to go a little bigger. Still couldn't see much and had to cut a little more. Then a little more. On about the fourth widening of the hole, pieces of wood started to fall out. My first thought was, "Holy crap! (censored) Is it rotting out the floor joists and sub-floor? How in the world is the whole bathroom up there not collapsing?". Ryan kept cutting and eventually took out the entire ceiling with pieces of wood falling the whole time. Pretty messy.

So, what did he find? Simply a leaking toilet. It had shifted, or not been put back on properly, or something, a few months ago. (Ryan took it off for reasons I can't remember anymore.) It was easy enough to go upstairs, remove the toilet, replace wax rings and other seals and stop the leak. Problem solved.

So, why was wood falling out of the ceiling down below? Well, it seems that a few years ago the old toilet had leaked and caused a lot of damage to the sub-floor, requiring it to be replaced. Some genius decided that it was easier to just let the rotted stuff fall and sit on the ceiling of the bathroom below rather than clean it up and throw it out. Lazy. We've discovered several "home improvement projects" around here that were done in the same manner. I kind of think that this house was previously occupied and remodeled by monkeys.

There is an upside to this situation, fortunately! We got the disgusting wood out of the ceiling. Definite plus. Ryan stayed home from work the next day (which means I got to spend time with him which is another plus) and replaced the ceiling properly. The other one was kind of saggy because it was held up with about 4 screws. Stupid monkeys! The sagging wasn't really visible to the naked eye and we never would have known how shoddy it was if the toilet hadn't leaked. The new one is held up nice and tight and the height raised quite a bit. Another plus. And since he was home, he was also able to finally fix the walls (to about 90% complete, need to paint a little more) I made him beat down to get my new couch into the family room. Another plus. I no longer feel guilt about destroying walls just for a couch, too. A plus for me! And finally, he brought me lunch after coming home from one of his 4 trips to Home Depot. Not having to make my lunch myself is a definite plus in my book.

*P.S. Another upside I've found! I had this scheduled to post the day that Blogger was down (last Friday),but it disappeared for a few days. I was pretty sure it had been munched and lost forever. (Sad, because there's like 2 people who read this blog and are so sad when I don't post. Haha, yeah right.) Fortunately, it appeared again as a draft on Wednesday! I know I'm the only one who cares, but that's okay. I'm happy!*

Some Things I Refuse to Do

• I refuse to wear a bikini in public.
• I refuse to covet these shoes, or at least a pair similar to them. This one is really, really hard because I really, really want them. NO! Must resist. I need them like I need a hole in the head. But I really, really want them. AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
• I refuse to give up sugar entirely. Eating less of it. Fine. Totally stopping eating it. ABSOLUTELY.NO.WAY!
• I refuse to complain about the current weather we are experiencing. This is something I've been thinking about for weeks. Then, a couple of weeks ago, she (really love her by the way) said the same thing on facebook and I was so glad that I wasn't the only one who felt this way. I just can't complain about a little soggy weather when there's such sadness and tragedy caused by natural disasters all around the world. Think of the terrible floods in the Midwest. I can't imagine watching my livelihood being washed away. Think of the people in Japan who are still being affected daily by the earthquake and tsunami and the damage they caused. And will be for years to come. Think of the people in Haiti, for heaven's sakes. They're still trying to recover from they earthquake they experienced. I can live with the rain. I can deal with cooler temperatures because, for the moment, it's keeping my grass green. All too soon, it's going to be hot and dry and then the constant, uphill battle of keeping it green will begin. I know I mentioned last year around this time that winter does seem to throw me into a bit of a funk. I tend to stay inside when it's cold out. Doing that isn't good for me. If I stay in for too long, I tend to get weird. And when I get weird, I want to stay inside for longer. It's not good because I get even more weird. I think it's why I tend to take long breaks from blogging. The weirdness prevents me from forming coherent thoughts. But I'm fighting it now. It's why I'm blogging more frequently. I'm fighting the weird. I'm not going to complain. I'm not going to let the silly weather get me down. Each day is a gift whether warm & sunny, or wet,dark and cold.
• I refuse to complain about my husband's job because he has one. He has one. Sure, he can work long hours. Sure, the traveling he did in the past was rough. Sure, he was on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 11 years and that affected our lives constantly. I was very rarely able to count on plans I made. I had to keep all plans "soft", or realize that I may have to interrupt them and leave, or cancel them altogether because he had to go on a service call. But at least he had one then and still has one. And has been with the same company for 17 years. That's practically unheard of today. I can't remember what the average number of jobs an American will have in their lifetime is, but I know it's a lot. As long as this company is still afloat, Ryan will have a job and that's a blessing. There are still millions of people in this country who are without one and would trade him places in a heartbeat.
• I refuse to let a day go by without telling someone I love them.
• I refuse to let the fact that my children complain about chores, stop me from having them do them. They need to learn the value of work and they also need to learn that sometimes, work can be hard. They may not think it right now, but they're going to thank me. Someday.
• I refuse to let my bedroom continue to be ugly. I found a new (to me) desk and nightstand at Deseret Industries. I've painted them white because I really want to lighten up the look of my room. Plus, it kind of reminds me of the French Country style that I am finding myself drawn to more and more. I used to think that I was more of a Mid-Century modern, or contemporary type of girl. I've found that I'm really more of a comfortable, lived in type of one. I'm still using my old desk because I'm going to need help getting it out. Plus, I still need to figure out what to do with the stuff that's in the drawers. Probably toss it because I very rarely look at any of it. I think that means it must go.
• I refuse to let my faults, shortcomings, weaknesses, and things I can't do, or may not do very well get me down. Because there are plenty of things that I can do. I refuse to compare myself to others. I refuse to think that what I have and am isn't enough. I am a person of worth. (Am I the only one who has to give themselves pep talks like this?☺) This quote says it all for me on this subject:

"Every day we see allurements of one kind or another that tell us what we have is not enough. Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told that we haven't collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that on the world's scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Some days it is as if we have been locked in a cubicle of a great and spacious building where the only thing on the TV is a never-ending soap opera entitled Vain Imaginations. But God does not work this way." Jeffrey R. Holland.

Yep! Another quote from him. I told you I love him so, expect to see many more from him.

Happy Birthday to You! And You, And You, And You....

Peyton, Ryan & Cameron in a frog costume, on Peyton's 2nd birthday.

If there's one thing that facebook has taught me, it's that I'm terrible at remembering to wish friends/family a Happy Birthday, online. I know there's plenty I've missed this year and I may miss more. I'm sorry for that! So, to everyone out there I've already missed and those in the future who possibly might be forgotten too: Happy Birthday to You! I'm sorry I'm a jerk. And now I've relieved myself of my guilt.

Free Money

Cameron has been trying to earn and save money so that he can buy himself a laptop. (He's a very hard worker and when he sets his mind to earning money for something, he's quite good at sticking to his idea. I fully expect him to be able to earn a big chunk of money.) This morning, however, he told me that he's come up with a new plan. (Read: Tyler talked him into changing his mind.) He now wants to buy himself a desktop that he can keep in his bedroom. Okay, whatever.

This morning we has telling Avery and I that he and Tyler researched (on Tyler's net book) and found a monitor, the tower, mouse, etc. They've priced out everything he (Tyler) thinks he'll need. Avery said something like "that sounds like it will cost a lot of money. What are you going to do to earn it?" (I have to say that I was ironing a shirt for Ryan at this time and so I was really kind of eavesdropping at this point. So, I didn't hear Cameron's exact response, but I did hear Avery's.) She told him, "you should just go to the bank. Grandma Mackay goes there (to cash checks)and they give her $100 dollar bills." Cameron said, "Grandma isn't going to just give me a $100 dollars. I'm going to have to do something to earn it." She said, "well, yeah. She might not just give it to you, but the bank would. They give it to her all the time."

Little Notes to Myself

Dear Self,

This is not the same as this. I know that their tubes are similar in size and color, but don't ever try to rub the first one into your legs again. Doing so will necessitate another shower.

Me

Dear Self,

It was a good move deciding to start washing towels before you went to bed last night. Peyton's little diarrhea episode this morning has changed the course of your entire day today. Towels would have been put by the wayside.

Me

Dear Self,

Be sure to make sure Ryan sees this so he knows why you may not make it to Home Depot to buy more paint. He needs to know that you now have to clean the carpet in Peyton's room, wash all of his bedding, watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't have an accident and anything else that will be thrown at you by him. Home Depot may have to wait until tomorrow.

Me

Dear Self,

A little reminder: don't forget that Avery has her mandatory concert rehearsal tonight. You can't miss it.

Me

Dear Self,

Stop typing now so you can go check on Peyton. You don't want to have to wash your bedding, or clean your carpet because he's had an accident. Good luck today. It looks like it could be a long one.

Me

Comparisons

*I had this scheduled to post on Friday the 13th. Then Blogger ate it and so I did something else, but now it's back. Maybe the one I had scheduled for today will show up again and I can post it tomorrow. Fingers crossed.*

I bought the book "Created for Greater Things" by Jeffrey R. Holland when I was buying books for my mom and mother in law as gifts for Mother's Day. I had already given a copy of it to my mom for her birthday. I bought something that I thought my mother in law would like, for her. I picked up the Holland book as a spare. (You know that really means that I bought it as a gift to myself. ☺) I've always loved Elder Holland and his straightforward, direct, tell it like it is way. I've never been disappointed after listening to him.

This particular book is a collection of quotes from him. I've been so uplifted by many of them. The following is one that jumped out at me the other day:

"Try not to compare your children, even if you think you are skillful at it. You may say most positively that "Susan is pretty and Sandra is bright," but all Susan will remember is that she isn't bright and Sandra that she isn't pretty. Praise each child individually for what that child is and help him or her escape our culture's obsession with comparing, competing, and never feeling we are 'enough'."

This is something that I am ashamed to admit I am guilty of. I don't mean too, but I sometimes compare and measure my children up against each other. They are each individuals with unique personalities. I love this fact, but sometimes get resentful over it at the same time. Why? I guess because I think it would be easier to raise them if they were all predictably the same. Well, no more. It would be totally and completely boring to be raising children who were all exactly alike. I would never grow and neither would they. Even if I'm trying to do it positively and with the best of intentions. It's time to stop that way of thinking and love and appreciate them entirely and only just for who they are. Without judgement of faults, shortcomings and differences. There are 4 of them and I will praise and love each one of them together, but individually as well. It's what they deserve and more importantly, it's what they want and need.

Today...

Today is a beautiful day.

Today, I think the weather is perfect. I don't think you can ask for anything better than mid-70's and sunny. Not too hot. Not too cold. Today's weather is my idea of heaven.

Today, I had a great workout. I made it through, despite my right knee aggravating me. I feel strong and most importantly, I feel healthy. I even feel okay about my body, despite the badonkadonk I carry around. ☺

Today, my kids are happy and are getting along. Think my positive attitude has anything to do with it? I do. They're listening when I ask them to do things and most importantly, they're doing them without complaining.

Today, I'm remembering that sometimes all it takes to diffuse, or stop a tense situation with my kids, is simply giving them a hug, kiss, smile and telling them I love them.

Today, I love my husband. I love him each and every day all the time, but seem to be especially giddy about it today. I've had to call him 3 times already to tell him so.

Today, I feel creative. I'm going to make something. Whether it be bread, scrapbook pages, or picking up my forgotten granny squares afghan. (I really need to finish that. It's been just over a year since I last worked on it.) I'm going to make something because it makes me feel good.

Today, I'm keeping this quote in mind:

"We should honor the Savior's declaration to 'be of good cheer' (Matthew 14:27). Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!" - Jeffrey R. Holland

Can you tell I recently bought his book, "Created for Greater Things"? This is like the 3rd(?) quote I've use from him in a week. I've always loved him for his direct/straightforward/tell it like it is style. You'll probably be seeing lots of them from me. Today, I'm going to "be of good cheer". I know that if I keep this quote in mind, I can "be of good cheer" everyday.

Today is a beautiful day!

Some Things I Would Love Pt. 4

• More patience and understanding. I think this is one I've included on all of my lists. Will I ever learn and get it?
• A slower temper. This goes along with patience and understanding. I'm too quick to react rashly/harshly/badly. It's a real bite in the butt when it happens. Sorry to anyone it's affected.
• For my kids to be able to control their tempers. I know that their reactions are a direct reflection of what I'm projecting at them. It's a behavior they've learned. So, I know that if I want them to learn self-control, I have to learn it first.
• To remember to really live in each day. (I figure if I continually remind myself, I'll do it.)
• For this list to not get too heavy. Time to lighten up.
• More time for reading. I think I've said this one before. If I have, I still haven't sorted myself out enough to make it happen.
• Nice looking legs. My legs are gross.
• To know whether or not the privacy glass in my bathrooms is working. What are my neighbors really seeing?
• For cheese to not be so fattening. I would eat it on everything if I thought I could do it and remain healthy. I'd also, if left to my own devices and if I didn't have anyone else to cook for, eat Mexican food or some type of pasta dish for every.single.meal. Again, if I thought I could do it and remain relatively healthy.
• A home liposuction machine. Carrying around a little extra chub? Pull out the old lipo machine and suck it away. Just like a vacuum and dirt on the floor. (It seems like this was a line in a movie. Mannequin? Terrible movie, but a great idea.) My machine would get a lot of use.
• To get together more often with old friends. I mean really do it. Not just talk about doing it.
• A new car. No, not really. Okay, yes, really. I'm still playing the "how long can we keep this old thing going?" game. It's really not a bad car and it's really in good shape for its age (12 years). It's not a necessity right now. It's an extravagant want. I can wait for the old one to die.
• A personal grocery shopper.
• A green thumb. I'm planning on planting some sort of a vegetable garden this year. It's been about 3 years since my last attempt. It was semi-successful. I think I got about 10 tomatoes and 5 cucumbers out of it. Okay, maybe it wasn't even semi-successful. Those numbers look pretty dismal.
• To get back to posting regularly on my cooking blog. I have recipes, I just need to get them typed out and posted. And Blogger won't let me do a hyper-link to it at the moment. Grrrr! Still having some strange issues with it. A link to the blog is over on my sidebar. You know, just in case you're interested. ☺
• Finally, I love this quote and wanted to share it:

"The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead; we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future." Jeffrey R. Holland

A Favorite Song

Peyton has a certain routine that he has to go through each night when we put him in bed. He tells his dad goodnight, does a little funny thing (the same way each night) with him, hugs and kisses him and tells him goodnight. I'm up next. We say a prayer together and then he has to sing a song. He always says, "I think I'll sing one song" and holds up one finger for me just to make sure I understand. This is what he sings:

Smiles

If you chance to meet a frown,

Do not let it stay.

Quickly turn it upside down

And smile that frown away.

No one likes a frowning face.

Change it for a smile.

Make the world a better place

By smiling all the while.

It certainly puts a smile on my face each night! I love that little boy!

Future

I caught Peyton playing in the dryer yesterday. I told him to get out and he said, "No! This is a time machine. I need to go to the future!". I tried to talk him out, but he wouldn't listen. So, I had to reach in and pull him out and when I did, he said, "NOOOOOOO! This is a scary world! I can't stay here! I NEED to go to the future!". Again, I don't know where he came from, but with a brother like this, I really shouldn't be surprised. Oh, he cracks me up too!

Did you notice that my signature is back?! Erin at Designer Blogs fixed it for me. (She designed my blog layout over 2 years ago. I've loved it that whole time.) Thanks again, Erin for doing it. I'm at a loss when it comes to stuff like that and probably would have never been able to fix it.

Scary Fast

You know how women who live in the same household tend to sync up their menstrual cycles? (By the way, the thought of that terrifies me. I'm pretty sure that Avery already suffers from PMS. She's a crazy, emotional beast sometimes. What will she be like once she hits puberty? AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! I can't even imagine what it will be like when there are 2 crazy, emotional beasts living under the same roof. Actually, I can and I know that it can be bad. ☺ That's right, Ryan, you should be afraid. Very afraid.) Well, I think my kids sync up their growth spurts.

Tyler has long sleeve shirts that fit him just fine in December, but are now short in the sleeves and length. Pants that were baggy at that same time, are baggy no more. He's needed 2 new, bigger pair of shoes since then and is ready to size up again. Standing next to him yesterday, I saw that the top of his head is now past my brows. He's going to pass me completely within a year.

Cameron's sleeves are short and he's gone up a pant size since December, too. He's always looked like he's all legs to me, but it seems really exaggerated to me right now. His feet have been maintaining for a while, but I expect that to change soon.

Avery's shirts are getting short in length. Pants that were baggy and a little long one her 2 months ago, are baggy and long no more. She's losing the last of her baby chub. Her 2 front teeth are almost all the way in.

Peyton has the same pants issues as all the others. I bought him a few new pair about three months ago. I bought them big so he could grow into them. They aren't big anymore. He's going to need new shirts in the next couple of months if I don't want those he has to look like belly shirts. His vocabulary is growing everyday. He'll be starting preschool in September. His pediatrician thinks it will help improve his speech. It's not bad, but there's a few words he has trouble with. Like, thirsty. He says, "bursty". I think it's funny. I'm not sure I want him to stop saying that one.

It's scary how fast they're growing up. I feel like they're changing right before my eyes, every second of every day. So, I'm reminding myself to enjoy the moments and love and live in everyday. If I close my eyes and don't enjoy it, it will be over before I know it.

I Don't Know Where He Came From

Peyton is obsessed with being outside. He, in fact, would live outside. He wants to head on out to play as soon as he wakes up in the morning. I, however, think that 6:30 in the morning is a little too early for it. I usually make him wait until his siblings get home from school so that they can keep an eye on him. They don't always keep the most careful watch, oh, and he also has a mind of his own. So, it's sometimes hard for them to watch him. I usually sit by an open window and read while he's out so I can hear what's going on.

He was outside yesterday afternoon and I was at the window listening. I didn't hear him anymore and so I went out to look. (Cameron was supposed to be watching him, but remember how I said he has a mind of his own? ☺) I found him in the front yard. He's supposed to stay in the back. It's fenced. The front yard isn't and he has a propensity to wander out into the street.

I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm spying on those people (the neighbor kids). I want to know what they're doing". "You're spying?", I said. "Yes. I have to keep an eye on them", he said. I said, "well, you need to be playing in the backyard. It's much safer back there. Go back there now". He then put his hand on his hip, gave me a goofy look that I think was supposed to be defiant and said, "I protest!". Crazy kid.

Bad Karma

Yesterday I thought to myself, "wow! It's been at least a month since I've had a really bad headache!" Dum, dum, dum....you can guess what happened next. Within two hours I had a nasty, mean, vengeful headache that raged on for more then six hours. Remind me to never invite one like that again.

_________________________________________

I blame this next incident that took place between my children and I on PMS. PMS on my part. I don't know what was wrong with my kids.

Tuesday night, I walked downstairs, only to find the family room a complete and total disaster. Now, senseless messes enrage me on even my best days, but this one particularly enraged me because I had cleaned the room just that morning. Everything had been put away. The carpet had been vacuumed. It was neat and tidy the last time I had been in it. Like, one hour before.

I immediately went into screaming banshee, mean mom mode. (Not one of my finer modes. It's not nice and really shows my lack of patience in very sharp, vivid detail. Don't worry. I work on it daily.) I started barking orders. I wanted that room cleaned up and I wanted it cleaned up NOW!

My kids starting whining and balking over having to do it. Each is always so insistent that they didn't make the mess so, why should they have to clean it up. My response is always, "well, the next time I decide to take my clothes off and leave them on the floor, or eat fruit snacks, cookies, cereal, or string cheese and leave the trash and then bring everything I own out of my bedroom and leave it in the middle of the room too, that's when I alone will clean up the mess!". They don't like it when I say stuff like that to them. Tyler, especially.

He started to get really mouthy. He was talking back and grumbling and being a turd in general. So, I had to leave the room. I went to do one of my quiet, relaxing activities (ironing) to try and regain my composure. Tyler found me and started mouthing off more. I shushed him a few times and told him to just be quiet because I didn't want to hear what he had to say. I tried to tell him that it was only going to get him in trouble. He kept trying, I kept shushing. I finally reached the end of my rope and screamed, "I don't care if what you are about to say is the most profound thing the world has ever heard and will change humankind for the better, forever and ever. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!". Again screaming banshee mode isn't one of my better ones. He did, however, stop talking. And yes, I did apologize later.

__________________________________________________

My kids find their own home to be extremely boring on Saturdays. They're forced to do chores! Gasp! Or, and this is even worse, go grocery shopping with their parents. They like to try and weasel out of those things by calling their grandpa (my dad) and asking if they can come play at his house.

He'll come and pick them up when they go over. They're usually crazy hyper and excited when they get in the car. So, he makes them play the "Quiet Statue" (see who can be quiet and stay still the longest) game with them. ☺

They went over about two weeks ago. They started the game as soon as he started the car. He said that Peyton lasted for about 10 seconds and said something like, "I CAN'T DO THIS! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!". Yep, that's my boy Peyton.

It's Llike I'm a Kid Again!

Last summer, I bought Avery a couple of the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary. I loved those books when I was growing up. I think I read "Ramona Quimby, Age 8" about a million and 10 times. It was just so sweet and fun. I thought Ramona was the coolest girl ever. I loved her attitude and spunk. I wanted her to be real so that we could be friends. No, I think what I really wanted was to be her. ☺

Avery loves the books too! I bought her the whole set a little while back. We read them before she goes to sleep at night. She giggles and smiles and offers her thoughts. We talk about how fun Ramona is. She thought Ramona pulling Susan's curly hair and saying "Boing!" was the most hilarious thing she had ever heard. After reading that the first time, we realized that she too has blond, curly hair. So, we spent a few minutes pulling her curls and saying "Boing!". Avery loves Ramona's attitude and spunk. She wants her to be real so that they can be friends. And the part that I think is just so super sweet? Avery is exactly like her. She's naughty, mischievous, a pest (☺), fun, creative, loving, imaginative, brave and just about the cutest girl ever!

Peyton Has a Bad Habit

We have four doors in our house that have locks on them. My bedroom and bathroom door and then the other two bathrooms, as well. Peyton has a very bad habit of locking those doors when he leaves the room. He can't seem to help himself. If the door locks, he MUST lock it. Yesterday, he did it to our guest bathroom door. Our guest bathroom isn't really just for guests either. Since remodeling it, I've made it my bathroom because it's nicer then the poopy one in my bedroom. I've left that one to Ryan to use exclusively. ☺ So, Peyton locking the quest bathroom is a very bad thing. For me.

Yesterday, I had a busy morning of laundry and cleaning (aka I was avoiding my workout for a while, I don't know why) and then did more cleaning after my workout was finished. I figured why bother taking a shower after my workout when I was probably going to work up a sweat again with some of the "chores" I had to do. Consequently, it was about 12:30 by the time I worked my way to the bathroom to take a shower.

I tried to open the door, only to discover it was locked. I found a screwdriver to unlock it. This particular door has a lock with a knob that "turns", not a button you "push" in. Know what I mean? Anyway, it's also a lock that I have the darn diddly darndest time unlocking. I don't know why, but I can't ever seem to make it work. If Tyler is home when something like this happens, I make him unlock it. He can usually get it in one try, of course. So, knowing that I always have a hard time, I took a deep breath and went to work.

After about 10 minutes of trying, without success, I had to walk away from it. I ate some lunch, tried to clear my mind, meditate and reach some sort of peaceful Zen state perfect for unlocking bathroom doors and went back for another try. Again, 10 minutes of trying and no luck.

I walked away again. i came back a few minutes later. Couldn't unlock it again and by this time it was about 1:15. I called Ryan, demanded to know where he was (American Fork & busy) and told him he needed to come home and unlock it for me. IMMEDIATELY! He was nice (meaning he didn't laugh, but he did mock me), but said he couldn't get home to do it. I hung up in a huff and went back for another try. I was really frustrated by this time because it was late in the day and I was stinky and really needed a shower.

I tried again to unlock it. Swore a few times when it didn't happen. I tried again, no luck. And so, I decided the only way I was going to get in there was to kick down the door. (I'm not above destroying my house to get what I want, either. I made Ryan do it 2 weeks ago when I bought a sectional sofa for our basement family room. We tried for hours to make it go in, but there was no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that it was going to do it. I was not about to give up the couch and return it. Drastic measures had to be taken. So, I made Ryan cut a two foot square hole in the hallway wall at one end of the hall. Next, take off the moulding and door to a bathroom. Then, finally cut into the wall and take out 2 studs at the other end of the hallway. We then pushed and shoved for another 30 minutes and finally got it in. Booyah! You see, not above destroying my house to get what I want.) I raised my foot and was about to slam it into the door when the voice of reason entered into my head. "Just take the doorknob off, you idiot", it said. This was at about 1:30. So, ummm....yeah. It took me an hour to figure that one out and finally get in to take a shower. I never said I was the sharpest knife in the....place where they keep the knives. Peyton better not lock that door ever again.