playing "king of the hill,"
putting rocks in my pockets so I can find them later in the dryer,April 30, 2009
Becoming
April 29, 2009
Did I just use the word Mojo?
Today I unpacked two boxes.
See? Not very thrilling.
But yesterday, I FINALLY finished cleaning our apartment and turned in our keys. Who knew juice splatters could be found in so many places? I mean, have you tried scrubbing your walls and baseboards lately? No judging until you try it. And, has anyone tried pulling out their refrigerator just to see what might be underneath it? Its amazing how many "lost" items I found under there! I dare you to try it.
Now, its time for the slow, ever so slow process of going through every box and finding a spot for every item. I can see how people get out of control with a move. I just want to go out and buy nice new furniture for my nice new castle! But I can't and I'm not. One item at a time. And yesterday, it was a mailbox. Yes, the necessities of life must come before the not so necessary but ever so desirable things. Sad, but true. I suppose blinds will come next. After all, it is kind of creepy that people can see in your windows at night when the lights are on. Yup, definitely need blinds.
I'm also looking to plant a garden this year. But its looking more complicated than I thought! I mean, in Florida you can more or less plant things whenever you want. But out here, there is a thing called "growing season" and "last frost". Well for heaven sakes, like anyone knows when the last frost will be! Should I start seeds or just stick them in the ground? What kind of bugs should I be worried about? I need an expert, for I am quite lost.
Well, Savannah is laying on the ground meowing to the tune of "I love to see the Temple", Joseph just woke up and is already trying to put a movie on, Jacob is mournfully walking around crying for his sippy cup and Alayna needs diaper attention. I suppose that's my cue. Peace out! (What? Peace out goes with my mojo.)
P.S. I found my camera! Sneaky little thing can't hide forever. I will have pictures soon. Beware!
April 27, 2009
Moving is such a pleasure... right
Joseph kiddy christening the new carpet.
Luke had bought the kids some fruit punch drink bottles on Saturday. While they were not allowed in the house with them we failed to remember one thing, Joseph still had a really bad cough.
While standing in the living room, Joseph went into a coughing fit and coughed so hard he threw up bright red dye all over the carpet.
Go figure. Luckily I was able to scrub most of it out, I think.
Or when the boys, put in Savannah's purple and pink hats and spent the afternoon pulling all the clothes off the hangers in the closets and throwing them in big piles, all while color coordinating the blue, pink, green, and white hangers.
The kids are really tired from the last several days of no schedule, no naps, and late bedtimes. Jacob pretty much screamed through church in our new ward before finally falling asleep, and then Joseph took his screaming turn the couple hours before bed.
When someone figures out how to put together an organizational move, please call me, we'll talk. You in a chair with a pad of paper, and me laying on a couch. I can't seem to find anything! And of course I have to make an even bigger mess before it can get clean and organized. I plan to go through every box, every bag, every bit of everything we have and throw out, give away or put away. Perhaps in about four months I'll be ready for visitors.
Maybe.
April 25, 2009
My New Castle
And of course, a garage! No more trudging kids through the snow to get to the car! Or spending two hours scrapping ice off the windshield.
April 24, 2009
SilverMoon - Part Two
So, it turns out we are moving tonight and tomorrow. So I need to really get packing.
No pressure.
So today, you will just have to be satisfied with Part Two of our latest bedtime story. But I promise I will try and post pictures of the house this weekend.
Click here if you missed Part One! Especially to read the warning about the word "beautiful"
"Well well!" growled the giant lion. "What do we have here? You look like a tasty little snack!"
"Mom." Savannah interrupted yet again. "Um, she needs to go back to the mouse and ask the mouse for help!"
I laughed and told her it was sounded like a good plan but if she ran back to the mouse the lion would probably chase her.
SilverMoon was terrified! "Oh please." she said quietly, "Please don't eat me!"
Just then, a gust of wind blew and sent SilverMoon's long mane flowing. And in the moonlight it looked like silver waves of silk.
The lion stopped in his tracks and stared. "Wow". He said in awe. "That is the most beautiful hair I've ever seen! I'll make a deal with you. I promise not to eat you if you give me enough of your beatiful mane to make a necklace for my wife."
Now it was SilverMoon who stared. Beautiful? Her mane was beautiful? No one had ever told her she had beautiful hair before.
Of course she agreed and the lion left her as happy as can be with a long braided rope of her silver hair between his big jaws.
(At this point Savannah and Joseph were giggling like crazy in their covers.)
After a short nap and a snack, SilverMoon started her long climb up the mountain. She climbed for what seemed like a very long time. She was hot and very tired. But just before she reached the top she heard a noise.
"Sssssssssth"
She stopped and looked around.
"Its a snake!" shouted Savannah and Joseph at the same time! Well, I wasn't about to let them get this one right so I had to think of something quick!
SilverMoon turned around and found herself staring at the most enormous... (pause, pause) lizard! It was huge! His head come up to the top of her legs but he was very long and had a huge red and black tongue!
"Ssssooo, whats to we havess here?" The lizard said in a slippery slimy voice. "Me thinkss you would makes a tassssty ssnack for me and my friendsssss." The big lizard chuckled, showing a mouth full of my sharp teeth!
Well, at this point SilverMoon was just so very tried and scared she started to cry and big silver tears started to roll down her cheeks and made little pools of silver liquid on the ground.
The lizard stopped and stared. "Wowss!" he said in awe. "Your tearsss iss sso beatifulss!"
Again SilverMoon was stunned! All the other unicorns cried tears that looked like glistening crystals and her have always been silver. So the other unicorns would make fun of her when she cried. But here this big lizard said they were beautiful!
"I'll makes you a deal." continued the lizard, "Your tearss would makes a perfect paints for me new houssse! Gives me a bucket of your tearsss and I'll lets you go."
Well of course SilverMoon agreed and since she needed a good cry anyway, she filled up the bucket in no time.
After she was done she finished her long climb up to the top of the mountain. She couldn't believe it, she was almost there! And as she looked down at the bottom of the mountain there was a valley full, just full of..... (I paused here for a second and Savannah shouted, "Unicorns!" But I had a little twist up my sleeve.
No, it was a valley full of horses! Plain ole' black, brown and white horses.
SilverMoon felt so sad. Not because they weren't unicorns but because she was and she thought that they wouldn't like her because she was different too. Sadly, she decided to go down anyway and try to sneak past them and try to find another place to live far away.
When she got to the bottom of the mountain it was night time again and a full moon was out so she could see pretty well so she didn't think she would have a problem sneaking past the horses.
But just as she came out from a bunch of trees, she found herself standing in front of big black horse! The blackest animal she had ever seen!
"What are you doing here?" the black horse said in a deep voice. "You shouldn't be here!"
Trying not to cry again, SilverMoon said, "I know. I'm sorry you saw me. I was trying to sneak past since I knew you horses wouldn't want to be my friends since I'm different. The other unicorns didn't like me either. I'm sorry you saw me." And SilverMoon turned to go.
But the big black horse stopped her.
"You have it all wrong!" he said. "It's you unicorns who decided you didn't want to be our friends since we aren't as beautiful as you are. That's why we live on this side of the mountain. But you are most welcome to stay here."
SilverMoon turned back around to face the big black horse, her hair rippling silver in the moonlight. She wondered why the horse kept staring at her.
"Really? I can stay?" she asked.
"Of course!" said the black horse. "My name is Midnight." he said, "King of the horses". (Oh! My names are so very clever)
Shocked, SilverMoon quickly bowed. But Midnight told her not too and she stood back up.
"You are so beautiful!" Midnight said at last.
SilverMoon was once again stunned. First the mouse, then the lion, then the lizard, and now the horse! Could she really be beautiful?
"But", she said, "I don't look like the other unicorns. I'm not as beautiful as they are."
Midnight walked closer to her. "Of course you are! You don't have to look like everyone else to be beautiful." (Oh these sneaky teaching moments of mine!)
And for the first time in her life, SilverMoon felt beautiful and special. Midnight took her to meet all the other horses and made lots and lots of friends and she lived there happily ever after.
The End.
"I like that story mommy." Savannah said grinning from ear to ear.
"Tell uth a nother thtory mommy!" shouted Joseph.
"But that was a really long one!" I told him. "I'll tell you another one tomorrow night.
"Ohhh!" They said pouting.
Well, at least I'm good for something around here! =)
April 23, 2009
Would You Like To Be Me?
And when I'm rich and famous for it, I will share the wealth with everyone who leaves a comment! Because then I'll know who really loves me.
And when I'm not so rich and famous, I hope you commentors won't hold any grudges. After all, there's no guarantee in this business. Some crazy person might not consider it a masterpiece and ruin all my plans for fame and fortune.
Party poopers.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my day as much as I did.
Would You Like To Be Me?
The day starts so early the night went too fast
I fall out of bed, nearly earning a cast
The kids are all up, but happy they‘re not
I’m ready to put them back in bed on the spot
The house is a wreck the dishes are high
There’s laundry to do and I heave a big sigh
There’s no time to think, its time to just do
Perhaps I could bury my head in a shoe
Alayna has an infection in her right ear
The medicine makes her stomach hurt and easy to hear
Her cough is harsh and makes her quite sad
For the last three days it has been really bad
Jacob, his cough has been fairly light
But unfortunately his bottom is in quite a plight
The diapers and clothes he keeps leaking right through
Tend to get on me so I smell like his poo
Joseph, poor kid, his fever is high
His cough is horrific and there’s pink in his eye
He’s been sleeping all day, really quite sound
So he wet the couch then slept on the ground
Savannah is healthy and sassy as ever
Teaching her to behave is quite the endeavor
No one told me that I was getting a teen
Trapped inside a four-year old dream
We just bought a house, this week it came about
At the end of the month we have to be out
Which leaves me eight days to pack everything
Or else the renters will start pulling strings
Its bedtime now and Luke is at work
So I’m left all alone there’s no time to shirk
I give the kids baths, there’s water everywhere
At the rate things are going, will I still have hair?
And yet those darn kids, once they are tucked in their beds
Scream “Good night! I love you!” As I kiss their small heads
Those monkeys are lucky I think they’re so cute
Or else long ago I’d have given them the boot
With so much to do, why in the world do I blog?
I can’t help myself this is my time to defog
And like it or not you are reading to see
If just for one day you’d like to be me.
April 22, 2009
Duck, Duck, Goose
April 21, 2009
Back to Reality - Part Two
At one point on the tour, Luke turned to the people standing behind us and jokingly asked, "So, do you think we should ask the tour guide where they are holding Megatron?"
Well, our trip was about over. We spent the night in St. George, UT Saturday night then drove all day Sunday, getting back to Wyoming at 6pm.
April 20, 2009
Back to Reality - Part One
My favorite place was the M&M store. Although, I couldn't justify $12 a pound chocolate so I didn't buy any M&Ms either. Might as well go to Walmart and get the same stuff!
April 17, 2009
SilverMoon - Part One
(Warning: The word "beautiful" is used to the point of exasperation in this story. Savannah LOVES the word "beautiful". So, everything is "beautiful" in this story.)
"Mommy?" Savannah quietly asked between sips of water from her sippy cup. "Can you please tell us a story tonight?"
"Okay, but only if I can get Jacob to stop screaming!" I said with exasperation.
I was worn out.
I was done.
I was fried to the point of overkill.
Finally, I sat down on the bed next to Savannah. "What should the story be about tonight?" I asked.
"A pony!" Savannah shouted.
"Yeth! A pony!" Joseph added.
"A pony with a horn." Savannah corrected.
"Oh you mean a Unicorn? Okay, Unicorn story it is" I said.
After thinking for a moment, I started.
Once, not long ago, in a land quite far from here, there lived a Unicorn named SilverMoon. She lived in a land where there were a lot of unicorns so she should have been happy. But she wasn't.
During the day, all the unicorns looked the same. Pure white with long snowy hair and a long sharp horn on their heads.
Not SilverMoon. While her hair was just as white, her horn was shorter and it had a soft round end, it wasn't pointed like the others. They often made fun of her because she couldn't play the games or do useful things that required a sharp horn. So she was often left out.
But nighttime was the worst time of all for SilverMoon. When the moonlight shone down onto the unicorns, their hair shimmered and glistened like diamonds! But not SilverMoon. When the moonlight shone upon her hair, instead of sparkling like the others, it shimmered like waves of soft silver satin. (hence my, ever so clever name of SilverMoon)
"Mom?" Savannah stopped me. "Why doesn't her hair sparkle?"
"Uh, well" I stuttered. "It just did! I don't know why." (Now that's wisdom and intelligence at its finest)
All the other unicorns would laugh at her because she looked different. They would tell her she wasn't as beautiful as they were because she didn't sparkle.
It made poor SilverMoon very sad. So one night, she decided to run away.
"Mom, the other unicorns need to be nice to her!" Savannah said quite sadly. After agreeing with her, I continued.
She tiptoed away from the others while they were sleeping (be sure to whisper) and when she was far enough away she started running as fast as she could. She ran and ran all night long. Finally, the sun was coming up and SilverMoon was so tired and thirsty! She decided it was time to rest and find something to drink. After walking a little bit farther she saw a pool of water and ran over and started drinking.
"Hey!" Squealed a tiny squeaky voice, (I thought my tiny squeaky voice was quite good! Sounded a lot like the chipmunk from the movie 'Enchanted') That's my water! Get away!"
Startled, SilverMoon jumped back and looked around. She saw... (give a nice long pause and enjoy the quite enormous kiddy eyes staring at you) nothing!
After a minute she thought she had just imagined it because she was so tired. So she decided to get one more drink then take a nap. Just as she was about to get another sip, the tiny voice came back.
"Hey! I told you to go away! That is my water!" Suddenly the bush next to her started rustling and moving! Then out walked... (I love pausing moments, I swear the kids hold their breath) a teeny tiny, yet rather chubby mouse! In his hand he carried a little bucket.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize this water belonged to you." apologized SilverMoon.
"Well of course it does!" Squeaked the little mouse , "do you see anyone else around? Now go away."
The little mouse put his bucket into the water and filled it. Then he turned around and started walking away.
"Oh please wait!" cried SilverMoon. "I was wondering if you could help me!"
The little mouse stopped, bucket his bucket down, then turned to face the unicorn with his hands on his hips. "Well?" he squeaked?
"I was wondering if you knew where there might be some other unicorns?" she asked.
The little mouse rubbed his furry little chin (rub your chin). "Well... I believe there are a bunch of them just over that big mountain." he said pointing towards a rather large mountain in the distance.
Oh thank you so much!" exclaimed the very excited unicorn.
With that, the little mouse gave a little, "humph!" picked up his bucket and started walking away.
Curious as to what the little mouse was doing, SilverMoon followed him. After a few minutes, the little mouse stopped in front of a tree. And there at the bottom of the tree, she saw a little door. It was the mouse's home! The mouse carried his bucket of water to a small hole and poured it in. Then turned around and headed back to the pool of water muttering something about how he needed water by his house for cooking and cleaning and for his garden but the pond was so far away... grumble grumble.
At this rate the mouse was never going to get that hole filled up! Then, SilverMoon had an idea.
Prancing back to the pond, she bent down until her horn touched the edge of the water. Then she slowly dragged it though the dirt and made a little pathway for the water to follow until it ran into the mouse's little water hole.
The mouse stood staring. His furry little mouth fell open and dropped the bucket. (be sure to demonstrate a dumbfounded look. The kids love that.)
"Wow" he said. "That is the most beautiful and useful horn I've ever seen! Thank you so much! You can have as much water as you want and please, come sleep under my tree."
SilverMoon was stunned! Beautiful? Useful? No one had ever said her horn was beautiful or useful before! And she fell asleep thinking about what the little mouse had said. When she woke up she felt much better, thanked the mouse and headed off towards the mountain. She walked ALL day and into the night.
She was almost to the mountain when she heard something.
"Grrrrr".
SilverMoon stopped and stood perfectly still. She heard it again, only louder.
"GRRRRR."
"Its a lion!" shouted Savannah!
Dang it! How to they keep figuring out what I was going to say? Why can't guess something like a bear or a tiger! They growl too.... don't they?
Suddenly a giant lion jumped out of the bushes and stood in front of SilverMoon.
"Well well!" growled the giant lion. "What do we have here? You look like a tasty little snack!"
TO BE CONTINUED VERY SOON.....