I Have Something to Live For

This baby is going up less than a mile from my home:

Heaven help me. When I expressed some concerns about this den of iniquity being so tempting to me on a daily basis, my sister Ashley wisely said, "You will not eat more burgers, but when you eat a burger, you will eat a better burger." I hope she's right. I still think I'll eat more burgers...and fries...and shakes...and burgers.

My Little Sister is 30 Today

Happy Birthday Ashley! Here are 30 things about Ashley. If you are really desperate and you want to read 29 more, you can go here and read what I wrote last year.

1. She purrs...like a cat. I guess it is more a contented sigh but she does it a lot.

2. She is messy. I know that is like the pot calling the kettle black but I'm just saying...

3. She is a fun mom and takes her boys to do fun things regularly.

4. She is also the fun aunt who plays games with my kids, builds forts and teaches them potty humor.

5. She loves pizza more than just about any other food on the planet.

6. she doesn't like to spend money on herself but is very generous with others.

7. Growing up, her bedroom was peach and blue with a duck theme.

8. Ashley and I played a ton of board games growing up--everything from Monopoly to Sorry and Clue to Mall Madness and Guess Who.

9. We also watched a lot of tv--Golden Girls, Three's Company, Growing Pains, Facts of Life, Brady Bunch, Mr. Belvedere, and all the game shows.

10. Ashley even dressed up as Mr. Belvedere for Halloween in college complete with a nasty cardigan and a diary.


11. After that, she swore she would only wear costumes she felt cute in.

12. She has two boys and has decided to only have girls from here on out. I really hope she has a girl next.

13. Speaking of her boys, they are adorable red heads who are 16 months apart and she likes to dress them alike.

14. Yet she gets offended when people think they are twins.

15. She loves Oreos as much as I do.

16. She loves the show "The Biggest Loser."

17. She also loves "Glee" because of the cheerleading coach.

18.She is very creative and enjoys making things. She just made this garland:

19. She and her husband like making Halloween costumes too.

20. She is very smart, especially at math. When she was in Jr. High, she tutored college guys in algebra, trig and calculus.

21. She is a retired lawyer and loves being on inactive status because it prohibits her from giving legal advice. I think you have to be a lawyer to appreciate this one.

22. She is a die-hard diet coke drinker and has one for breakfast each morning.

23. She once calculated that for what she spends on coke each year, she could sponsor 120 cleft palette operations. She feels like a monster for choosing a cold one over funding those operations. So she sponsors two kids a year to get the operation. She is a good person.

24. She hates broccoli--vile weed!

25. She has very specific opinions about everything from baby showers to phone etiquette.

26. She has only gotten stitches once in her life. When she was about four, she came into our room naked from the bath and shook her behind at me. I kicked her in the bum and she flew into our dresser and cut open her eyebrow. She got stitches and a new Barbie McDonald's that I wasn't allowed to play with. That lasted about a day and then she had no one to play it with and so she let me play with her.

27. She is always cold. Always.

28. She is good about taking a lot of teasing. She has never, never called my house without my husband picking up the phone and saying in a deep voice "Hey, Hey Hey." It's short for "hey, hey, hey, big Ash comin' my way."

29. She loves to sleep more than anyone I know and can sleep until an obscene hour if she is allowed.

30. She is the best sister in the world and I'm so lucky to have her. Check out her blog. I only link to it about every other post because it is so great.

Happy Birthday Ashley. 30 is the new...well it's still 30 but it ain't so bad.

Dear Santa, I Want It All

The minute Halloween is over, Christmas shopping begins. I'm already stressing because my kids have not nailed down what they want from Santa. As for me, I'm making it easy on Santa (and anyone else who feels so inclined) this year. I'm not really this greedy--I just want to make sure there are a lot of options. Is there anything worse than going to Bed Bath and Beyond for some one's gift registry and seeing only 10 things and they are all $75-$150?

That's not me. I want you to have options...and I have a birthday in March and Mothers Day, etc, etc. The list is a work in progress. Let's begin.

1. A new stainless steel kitchen garbage can. My old plastic white one is disgusting. I like this one from Costco--it is touch less:


2. Clinique lip gloss in "air kiss"


3. Tall boots to wear with skinny jeans. I bought these and the heel wasn't quite high enough. I'm verrrrry picky. Maybe it is best if I pick these out myself.


4. Car wash coupons to Platinum. I've got to see my boyfriend and who wants to wash your car when it's cold outside?


5. A small camera for my purse. Sam was kind enough to buy me a big daddy nice camera last year which I love. But I need a small one I can throw in my bag and whip out especially for inconspicuous photos for the blog. Part of the gift is not having to pick it out myself. I hate learning about technology:

6. High thread count king sized sheets for my bed. Preferably in tan or off white.

7. Gift cards to any of the following; Impact Fitness, Ann Taylor Loft (not Ann Taylor), Nordstrom, Taipan imports, Rod Works, Sweet Briar Hollow, Basket Loft


8. Gift cards for these food places. I would not use these for date night, but for when I want to pick up a good lunch without guilt: Hagerman's, Kneaders, Rumbi's, Zupas.


9. The true gift--gift certificate to Sanctuary Day spa for a massage. Pure heaven.


10. Cash. Just like my cute 90 year old grandpa says, "Always the right size, always the right color!"

I Couldn't Be More Proud

Remember when I posted about this little sweetheart? Well, she has really made me proud this time.

Yesterday, I got a call from our local grocery store telling my that Sammie won their Halloween coloring contest. I immediately felt bad for Luke, since Sammie won a couple months ago too. Luke has been asking me every day if Harmon's has called to tell me that he won.

They told me to bring Sammie to the store today to get her $5.00 gift certificate and photo taken. When I arrived at the courtesy desk, the lady said, "I just have to tell you, she won because of the booger coming out of Bob's nose. We all just loved that!" Bob and Randy are the owners of the store and they are the ones pictured in the cartoon.

Look closely at her picture. Yes, she had drawn a booger and colored it green. When she did it, I scolded her and told her she wouldn't win. She was insistent that we turn it in anyway. I thought maybe they hadn't noticed when they picked the winner. Nope, they noticed alright and they loved it. What do I know?

So my little delicate girl all dressed in pink, straight from her ballet class got her photo taken holding her picture of Bob with a bugger in his nose. Nice.

Halloween Overload

Growing up, my mom always hated Halloween. She has even been known to put up her Christmas tree on Halloween night as she was giving out candy. Last post I told you Halloween makes me tired. That's not to say I don't love Halloween. I start out the month of October all jazzed to do Halloween right--the kids help me decorate the Halloween tree:


and the hutch:


The boys wear new Halloween pjs from grandma (Sammie already has too many pjs!):


We buy new t-shirts (once again, they each have two--don't ask!):


Please ignore how trashy Luke looks with no socks and how bad my paint is chipping around my front door. Any day now the husband is painting the door and trim black--right babe!

Anyway, we always make a trip to Engh's pumpkin patch so the kids can get a picture in the pumpkins and run through their corn maze and play on the pirate ship. We NEVER buy our pumpkins there--way overpriced:



I always take the kids to Gardner village to see their witches. They are really darling. Of course, my potty-humor obsessed children love "Witchy Poo." Their favorite:


I love these pictures of my kids:

We always go to Rasmussen Farms to buy our pumpkins. The pumpkins are only three bucks a pop and Ryan loved pulling the wagon around the yard:

This year, we started a new tradition (because obviously we weren't doing enough Halloween stuff) and went to Cornbellys by Thanksgiving Point. Ashley and her boys are in town so we've been having a lot of fun with them.

Ashley is the fun aunt:

My kids loved the slides:

Except for Ryan:

and just like Lagoon, Luke loved the baby rides:

Ashley's cute Max on a go-cart:

My favorite part of Cornbelly's was eating dinner at Thanksgiving Point afterwards. I decided they have the best fries on the planet...or maybe I was just really really hungry.

Finally, Sammie dressed as Little Red Riding Hood for her Halloween party at ballet:

I'm starting to see why my mom hated Halloween.

Halloween Makes Me Tired

I started the day volunteering at Luke's school. Then I rushed home to get Sammie ready for her preschool Halloween party. She wore this:

I was helping with the party so I wore this:


Then I busted home to get back and pick up Luke from school. He informed me that he HAD to have a beard to go with his Obi-Wan Kenobi costume. I drove to three different stores looking for a beard. No dice. I feel like the world's biggest idiot for even admitting that I did that.

We came home and I made dinner. Then we started getting ready for the ward Halloween party. I was flying solo with the three kids because Sam had a work commitment.

Then came Luke's costume fiasco that made us 45 minutes late for the party: A couple months ago, we decided that Luke would be a knight, Sammie would be a princess and Ryan would be a dragon--you know how I like to coordinate!

Well, Luke came to me about a month ago and begged to be Obi Wan Kenobi. He said, "Mom, I will even go to school in the knight costume but please can I go trick-or-treating as Obi-Wan? I relented and told him he could just be Obi-Wan for everything. I think that alone should earn me "mother of the year" right?

Tonight, as we were putting on costumes, I convinced him to just put on the knight costume for a few pictures:


Then he went to look for the Obi-Wan Kenobi costume, which was nowhere to be found. He, of course, thought I was hiding it in an attempt to force him into being the knight for the party and I was yelling and tearing the house apart trying to find it. (He's been wearing it around the house for weeks.) I finally found it under a bunch of stuffed animals in Ryan's closet and off we went.

Ryan kept staring at me and saying "hat." Luke and Sammie both told me how beautiful I looked:


I guess I should put on fake eyelashes and black lipstick every day:

We did the party and as we were getting in the car to come home, I saw the cookies I was supposed to bring to the party.


So I eat one on the way home, and two more once I get inside. They are those huge Lofthouse sugar cookies. I didn't eat them because I was hungry; I ate them because I was tired. Does that make sense? Heaven help me, I've got three more days until Halloween, one more class party in the witch get-up and then it can be over. Tomorrow I will post pictures of all the shiz we have done this month. It is out of control. Are you all as ready as I am for Halloween to be over?

By the way, when I was in Walmart today, I saw the coolest Michael Jackson costume. It came with a wig, glove, hat, and sunglasses. You can also buy the red military jacket to go with it. I almost pulled the trigger. So if anyone still needs a costume--it definately will be the "it" costume this season!

What I Should Be Doing Right Now

Here is what I should be doing:

1. I am on the stake primary board over Activity Days. I am supposed to be planning our annual day camp that will happen in March. March people! How am I supposed to get motivated to plan that until February? The bad news is we have to use budget money from 2009 to buy items that I need for the camp. So I have to start planning now. Someone make me.

2. As I pulled into my driveway this morning. Sam had the third car garage open. Is this embarrassing enough? We are totally that family. Notice all the bikes, strollers (yes, there are four and I use them all), a scooter from the early '90s, pool noodles, tools, etc. I should really be out there cleaning it up.


3. Ryan is 19 months. I am half-way through is baby book. I feel absolutely great about myself that I have even gotten that far. I really struggled with whether to do a traditional scrapbook for him since it takes so much time and I have so little will. But I made nice books for Luke and Sammie and I feel guilty not doing the same for Ryan. Plus, I like to include letters from me and Sam and hair from the first haircut etc, so the Snapfish book won't work. I finally just bit the bullet and got started. Now I need to find the will to finish it.

This is what happens when you work on it at 1:30 a.m. like I do. You forget what year he was born:


4. I'm helping with Luke's Halloween party at school this week. I need to find a game to do with the first graders.

5. Load and organize my photos on the computer. Who am I kidding? This will probably never happen.

What I've been doing instead:

1. Watching this:

Sam sat down with me last night and we watched for a solid two hours. I couldn't pull myself away. Have you ever seen the really bad dancers do their "freestyle" routine. I think I laughed until I cried. Poor girls. I love how the producers show at least 30 seconds of footage of various girls sticking their number onto their bra. It almost gets obscene. I looked over at Sam and he was mesmerized.

The good news is I found what I am getting my sister Ashley for Christmas. Did you see her post about making the squad?

2. Reading other people's blogs.

3. Talking about doing #1-#5 above.

4. Making excuses for not doing #1-#5 above.

5. Collapsing into bed.