Totally Random!

But here is my question... Hayley is off track due to year round school (lucky us) and i need ideas!! So far, i bought a book for us to read together. Thats a start!

And here are some random pics. I looooove the one of Matt. What a fetching BABE!! And some of Halloween..better late than never, right?

Grandma Makes Everything Better

I really beleive that my mom is an angel OR that she has angels constantly swirling about her. Probably both. I am shocked that there is no visible halo atop her head, although her countenance does shine through her smile and her words. But especially around her grandchildren. You see, my mom is the most playful, loving and understanding Grandma and she would be the first to admit she is very much in her element around children. She has the innocence of a child and genuine desire to get on their level and make them feel loved. For example, Reese is obsessed with my mom. My mom came by yesterday and went to get Reese out of her crib and Reese cuddled with my mom and would not let go very easily. She is very attached to my mom even though she is only 20 months and sees my mom a few times a month AND has to compete for attention with her other 2 siblings who are just as attached! It is totally normal for my mom to have sleep overs, play hide and go seek, the tickle game, play play dough, beading, reading books, take them to the dollar store, to feed the ducks or the Dairy Queen. i learn to be a better mom just by watching her be a Grandma. Not only is she the worlds best Grandma, but she is also a GEM of a mother. She is understanding, never overbearing, never intrusive, but validates you in your time of need. I wish i could express what i think of her but all i can say is that she really is the best.

I AM SHORT.

The only other thing i could think about besides how much i love these girls was how flippin' SHORT I am! Wow! Really?

Quotes from the Kiddos

Hayley handed me a note during church the other day and it said this " I love my mommy so much. Love is so good in my body. I hope you love that I said that to you. I hope that you have a great day mommy". LOVE HER!

Leah: while in the car she says " Mom i am rolling down my window because i need some FRENCH air". Yes, yes you do Leah.

"Summer is when the snow melts and it is warm and COMFY outside!"

While combing her hair she asked "Did jesus put our hair on us?"

Reese: How do you quote a scream? I was talking to a good friend who has girls the same ages as mine and whose youngest is very similiar to Reese. Her little girl has the same fire and determination as Reese and my friend said " if she is this mad about being a baby then how is she going to handle it when we ask her to pee in the potty??!! Good question.

You're welcome Mom.

A Serious Question

This post will consist of 2 serious questions, some thoughts and a display of a gorgeous picture of my mom and I.

Q #1. Seriously people, who looks more like Hannah Montana? Judy or me?
Q #2. This is actually the real question. Today in church the sunday school teacher asked "what 5 things would you like to accomplish in your life?"

My mind was blank. Still is. i mean, i know that i want to raise bright and good children who contribute to society. Whether that means that they want to have families of their own, or be a Rockstar (do they contribute to society?).

I would like to run a marathon or just run outside for that matter.

I would like to go to college. Ugh. The thought of that scares me to death, but thats why i have to do it.

As of a few days ago, i would like to learn how to play the guitar.

I want to become the BEST wife i can and always make Matt a happy man.

My conclusion is that I need to make time for more self introspection. Because time goes by so fast and I wont ever get that time back. i suppose that I just go day by day trying to accomplish the smaller tasks at hand, which are MANY.

Elder Uchtdorf said this : " God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because he needs us to love Him. His power and Glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny or even defile His name. His dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval or admiration. No, God does not need us to love Him . But oh how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek dtetermines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are- and who we will become."

UUUUUUGLY SWEATER PARTY 2009

I may or may not have found these sweaters in my mother in law's closet. Lets just say her selection was better than the DI (thrift store). Which, by the way, is a very interesting place. i will just leave it at that before i get myself into trouble. Anyways, it was great company, great games , great white elephant gifts (aka candy bra), and great food.

Note to Matt: Febreezing a sweater from the DI is not the same as washing it...

I just got invited to an "Ugly Sweater Party" and i couldnt be more THRILLED!!

Any suggestions wehere i can find some? Preferably with shoulder pads?

"Being grateful is the beginning of Greatness".

I am grateful for my family.

OEHLER

Look at how talented my friend Clayton is. This is called an "ambigram". It says my last name both ways. Very, very cool. So who knows a friendly tattoo artist?

Hyper Hypos

As, you have read in the previous post, my girls are full of personality & energy. Every night after their bath they are like wild animals. Tonight was no exception. So trying to have Family Home Evening by myself tonight was ridiculous.

Here is how it went:
"Hayley, will you please choose a scripture story to read". Hayley finds the picture of Adam and Eve. i ask her who they are and with a puzzling look she answers "Even?"
I get it... Adam + Eve + garden of Eden = EVEN. Interesting.

Leah then asks if the painting of Eve is Taylor Swift.

I ask Leah where Adam and Eve lived and her answer was "San Francisco".

Not so much.

But people, I am TRYING. Sometimes it is so hard to be Christlike and patient when i have NO patience! Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. :)

Matt's Children

This is what happens when we stay home from church. Leah was feverish and lethargic the previous day and she is clearly feeling better in these photos.

They came upstairs as I was lying on the couch and wanted to perform "the Butt Show". Everything is about butts these days. You just have to incorporate the word "butt" in any sentence and they will fall to the floor in hysterics. But Matt and I would never, ever do such a thing!

Not.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE!!!!!

My WONDERFUL friend Hillary suprised me with tickets to my fave show ever! It was the perfect GNO! But it reminded me once again that i should be a back up dancer for Gwen Stefani!

Where did peaceful Reese go?

This child rules our house. It is HER domain. Sometimes she looks at us as if she is thinking "what are YOU doing here?"
The screaming continues. Sometimes it sounds non-human. I am just waiting for the sign language skills to kick in. She has watched that darn sign language video at least 30 times. There have been a few break throughs.
If she is even slightly tired or grumpy she doesnt want to make eye contact. She will even get mad at her own reflection!
But, BUT, she is BRIGHT and SILLY and needs cuddling and affection just as much as she needs to run around and explore. Her little body and pig tails are about the cutest thing in my world.
Her body is healthy and her wheels are turning.
She is one of a kind and I love her like mad.

A few things you should know about mice that will want to make you vomit.

I must admit that before a few weeks ago I did not know very much about mice. Only that we have fed many to our snake, but i did not know anything about how they can infiltrate your house.

So PLEASE take the time to read these few facts and LEARN so that you dont have to learn by experience like I did.

* If mice can get into your garage, they can get into your house.
* A female can have up to 1000 babies a year and has 10-13 a litter.
* They can survive on only a tsp of water a month.
* If you can fit a pecil through a space, a mouse can fit through also.
* They suck at swimming.

I have personally caught 6 in my house. Gross, i know. 2 by hand, 3 by glue traps and 1 by a clamp trap.

And EVERYTIME the girls see one fighting for its life on a glue trap they ask if we can keep it because its soooo cute.

And this is how Leah told Matt the other day: "Daddy! Daddy! Mommy caught a cute little baby mouse and she put it in the trash can (empty kitchen trash) and then she put water in it (she hasnt taken a breath yet) and it was swimming (she is making paddling motions) and swimming and it was soo cute when it was swimming (breath) and then...it..stopped...it stopped....swimming." VERY ANTICLIMACTIC.

The EXOTIC ONE

The Exotic sister is in town from exotic California and we were able to have a short but sweet visit together. Boy oh boy, do I feel ever so plain, unstylish, FAIR and freckly next to the exotic one. Isnt she beautiful? I am just wating for Judy and Lou to break the news to us that she was adopted from Brazil or Tiajuana or somewhere...

My HOT Date with Donnie Baker

* frost lipstick. check.
* pink legwarmers. check.
* t-shirt that says "im the bomb, like tick tick." check.
* ripped leggings with sequences. check.
* neon plastic jewelry. check.
* my 5 earing holes for my neon hoops still open. check.
* crimped hair with ratted ponytail. check.
* blue eyeshadow with pink glitter. check.
* belt with diamond studded tape cassette belt buckle. check.
* 1984 Michael Jackson magazine as my prop. check.
* MOST HILARIOUS HUSBAND WHO WAS IN CHARACTER ALL NIGHT. CHECK.
* BUT THE MULLET AND SWEAT PANTS NEED TO BE BURNED. ASAP. MEN IN SWEATS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.

(And i might add that I was one of two non scandalous costumes there.)

WONDERMENT

We have experienced our first snow of this fall and boy, is it exciting! The main goal seems to be to EAT the snow, any way you prefer. Hand-feeding it to younger siblings which is Hayleys method, or just simply eating it off the pumpkins, which is Leah's method. Both methods seem to portray their personalities quite well!

I really, really , really love this man.

Some may know that our actual "courtship" was a long-distance one and VERY short. The majority of people would be SHOCKED if they learned the details. But I knew that I could NOT, absolutely in any way, let him get away.

Thankfully, very thankfully, he felt the same. Really? Me? I look back at pictures of myself as a teenager with my perm and Birkenstocks (scary, right?) and never would have imagined my life as it is now.

Dont get me wrong. I dont like to paint a perfect picture because the reality is you can never get too comfortable in marriage. And i must stop myself from sounding like i am giving advice because surely, i need to be recieving it. I would say my motto would be "what if" because i let the stresses of life get to me and Matt's motto is "whatever". He is alaways reminding me that God has watched over us and we will be okay. I guess that is why we are good together.

I know, without any doubt, God had His eye on both of us, coordinating our lives so that our paths crossed at the perfect time. I highly doubt that God "crosses His fingers" when watching His children stumble through life but i know that He wants us to be happy. I am sure He breathed a sigh of relief when Matt and I finally met. And He continues to watch us, very carefully, hoping that we appreciate His efforts of bringing Matt and I together. The man who married us said that FAILURE WAS NOT AN OPTION. Thats a good thing to remember. Anyways, enough sappiness.

Cousins and Vampire Teeth

Destroyer of All Things Tidy..but the LOVE of my Life.

Pancakes and icecubes for breakfast..mmmmm.

And it continues....

- Last night when Hayley and Leah were coloring , Leah told me she was drawing a picture of Taylor Swift and her boyfriend in bed...ummm...okay.

- Fascinated with the fact that there are mice (ack!!) in our house, after catching mouse #4 and this morning and seeing it squirm on the glue trap asked if we could keep it because it was soo cute. Just a few minutes ago she reminded me of that mouse and described it as "gorgeous".

-And Reese, cute yet destructive Reese, please STOP licking the glass because i am low on windex. Also, licking cotton balls is not a good idea, unless you are Buddy on Elf, then i would say go right ahead.

Cute...yet, perplexing.

I could blog everyday about something Leah says or does and yesterday she was on a roll. Here are a few..

- While watching a Baby Einstein video with Reese which has puppets and real people she asks, "Mom, are those puppets dressed up as people?"

- Her name for Reese yesterday was "Reese Boob".

- Proudly she tells me "mom, i can spell DVD! ...D-V-D!"

-Disappointed that Matt ate all of the crab for dinner, I offered her fish and she asks "whats fish? is it crab?" No Leah, its fish.

Well, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree . The other day after going over to the church, my car wouldnt start. I was able to get it jump started and went home, and thought it was a good idea to let it run to have the battery charge. Well, after bathing the kids, doing the bedtime routine and watching a few shows, Matt turned it off two hours later.

I could probably think of several other examples about how i have a hollow head, but since its hollow i cant think of any more!

A Visit From Emily (Hermana Stewart)

A friend from my mission came to visit me this weekend with her husband and kids. Some of the memories we made included watching the show "the Big bang Theory" which is HILARIOUS, a yummy Sunday dinner, catching a baby mouse in my house (which i might add should be a sport because it is very difficult), escaping to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a caramel apple and Downeast to lust after their CUTE clothes! Thanks Emily for talking, laughing, listening and just being you!

Aggie A-Dawg Aggster

My neighbor asked if i could take a few pics of her little girl Aggie. After I was done , i was reminded how much i enjoy it. My friend Sarah, who is an awesome photographer told me to just buy a black sheet and throw it up on your wall and you have your very own "studio". So, voila!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

* Pine-sol . I am addicted. The smell is euphoric to me and it usually means some part of my house is clean and without germies.

*HALLOWEEN -For sure my favorite holiday. 4th of July is a close second. I love that i can hang a "dead foot", as my girls like to call it, and its okay.

* Seeing my girls play WELL together. Sometimes they cant stand eachother but litle do they realize how precious their relationship is and how important they are to eachother.

* The Biggest Loser. I have cried through every episode. Sometimes audibly.

* When Matt wakes from slumber. I love when he emerges from our room peering out into the hall as if he is wondering if its safe to come out into the world of crazy children. This is usually around 2 or 3, right when i can use a little R&R. We will play until he has to go back to work in the pm and now I cant imagine how other women live without their hubbies until 6 or 7!

* Feeding people GOOD food. I love having family or friends over for a meal. Even if its a slice of warm cornbread on a cold day, it makes me happy.

* Finally, my own "a-ha" moments or self-realization when i can clearly see, without feelings of discouragement what i need to improve. Even better, actually improving these things! I have had tid-bits of personal success in the last month or so and it is rejuvinating to me. Watching conference gave me more of these moments.