I...

I saw this on my sister's blog and was persuaded by her to do my own. You are supposed to finish the sentence with the first thing that comes to your mind. This ought to be fun. =>

I am…cold today, it's freezing.

I think… about eating chocolate all the time.

I know… I am a child of God

I want… my new glasses.

I have…5 great kids and a wonderful husband.

I wish… that I had a million bucks.

I hate…snakes.

I miss…my sisters and my mom.

I fear… losing one of my family.

I hear… the dishwasher running. Thank goodness for technology!

I smell…tuna.

I search…for mutual ideas for my Young Women.

I wonder…if I'll find one they will like (see above.)

I regret…nothing (that I can think of right now.)

I love…my sweetie.

I care…about my family (brothers, sisters, parents, in-laws.)

I always…want to do what's best for my kids.

I am not…in my skinny pants, yet...

I believe…spring can't get here fast enough.

I dance…like a fool to the Numa Numa song with my kids. It's really fun!

I sing…all the time, until Tanner tells me to stop. And even then, I do it just to bug him.

I don’t…get to eat chocolate right now, even though I want it.

I write…blog posts in my head all the time.

I win…my fights with Luke, NOT.

I lose…my temper way too often.

I dislike…the cold wind here.

I never…have been on a cruise.

I listen…to the sound of silence as my kids sleep and enjoy it.

I can usually be found…at home or running kids to and from school.

I am scared…of tornadoes taking my house away.

I read…the Tale of Despereaux, Eragon, and Inkheart in one week.

I am happy... when my family is happy.

I dare…my kids to run around the house with no shoes on in the snow. They are smart and haven't taken me up on it yet.

I hope…to be debt free one day.

I notice…the birds eating seeds from under my trees.

I clean…the house, all the time, and it becomes undone behind me.

I express…my love for my hubby.

I talk…"to the trees, but they don't listen to me." (sound familiar mom?)

I go…

I drive…my kids to school every day.

I watch…The Biggest Loser.

I dream…about being a demon fighter with super human power (weird, huh?)

I need…a nap today.

I haven’t…brushed my teeth yet.

I tell…my kids to be nice at least once a day.

I pick… up after my kids all the time.

I find…joy in watching my kids play.

I run... on the treadmill at least 4 times a week.

I quit…weighing myself on the scale.

I jump…on the trampoline when it's warm with my kids.

I learn…something new all the time.

I play…Wii and love it.

I own…the first two Twilight Books, and will get the next two.

I make… yummy cinnamon rolls.

I live…in tornado alley.

I bring…snacks to church to keep my kids quiet.

I open…my fridge, just hoping something yummy will magically appear that I can eat.

I will…keep exercising so that I will be in shape to ride my bike again when it warms up.

I suppose…I am thinking a lot about chocolate today.

I vote… whenever I can.

I buy…the store-brands.

I fold…laundry.

I stand…by my sweetie.

I can…use some help with how to decorate my bedroom.

I wear… jeans and a sweatshirt.

I smile…at the cute things my family does.

I cry… as little as possible.

I care…about my kids' day at school.

I pray…for help everyday to do what needs to be done.

I make... breakfast for my kids every school morning.

I like…watching Tanner and Parker dance.

I move…when Shane gets a new job.

I swear… as little as possible.

I try…to keep my house clean.

I find…legos everywhere.

I draw…not very well.

I expect…good things from myself.

I work…in my home, and love it.

I admire…my mother and mother-in-law.

I adore…Shane.

I fantasize…about taking fun vacations.

I look…for ways to save money.

I cherish…time at home with my kids while they are young.

I appreciate…all that Shane does for us.

I treasure…my testimony of the gospel.

I could…eat a whole bag of Rolos right now.

How's that? I must have chocolate on the brain right now. We had a late super-bowl party last night and used our free day on our diet to munch a little. Now I'm craving again. Oh well, back on the plan.

Blind

Yesterday, as I was in the shower, my sweet little Parker followed me and was playing in the bathroom. Unbeknowst to me, he knocked my glasses off the counter and onto the floor, where he then preceded to step on them. When I got out and started looking for my "eyes", I noticed a big spider shape on the floor. Yes, it was my glasses. He had managed to step on one earpiece and turn it upside down and backwards one way, and the other one the other way. I'm not quite sure how it did it, but he did it well. The sides were hanging on by (in one case) mere metal threads.

I called Shane because without my glasses I can't even see to find pliers to try and fix them. I was near the crying point, wondering how I'm going to get around without my glasses to try and fix them, and I find out later that Shane has heard my message and is chuckling at the image of me squinting and trying to feel my way around with my hands. For those of you who may not know how blind I am without my glasses, I have to be 4-6 inches away from something to see it clearly. Pretty sad, I know. I blame my parents, who combined their bad eyesight and gave it double to me.

Anyway, Shane was able to get the afternoon off so that we could go to the eye doctor to order new glasses. I'm so blind that I need someone to tell me if new frames look good on me. I can't see myself in the mirror well enough to know how they look. Pathetic, if you ask me, but I can't do anything about it. So after picking new frames and getting our turn to have help at the counter, I found out that because my eyesight is so bad, they have to order my prescription in from somewhere else. So instead of being able to pick them up in 1-2 days, I now have to wait for about 11 days.

I am going nuts trying to think about how I am going to make these glasses last that long, knowing that it's only a matter of time until I get headbutted, kicked, or bumped in the face (and thus glasses) by one of my darling children. The kind lady, who very smartly kept her jaw from dropping when she saw how precarious the state of my glasses was, offered to try and put "shrink-wrap" on them to keep the sides stuck to the lenses. It looks like a small piece of very thick electrical tape wrapped around the joining point to keep them in place, but one day later they are still intact, even after a kick to the face as I tried to put Parker in his car seat when he didn't want to go. So for now, I can see, and if worse comes to worse and they do break beyond fixing, I have a pair of prescription sunglasses that I can wear. The only problem will be seeing in the house. They are kind of dark and when the house is dark, I would be blind again. Can you see the humor in my dilemma? I finally can. Oh well, 10 days and counting. Wish me luck!

Do NOT Trust This Face!!!

Do not let this face deceive you.

Or this one.

Or even this one.
It is not the face of an angel, or the face of someone who is going to behave the way you ask him to. I have seen variations of this face for the past two weeks, and each time I see it I know something is going on in that head. It usually leads to something like this: (yes, those are underwear!)

Or this:
No, they are not hugging. Tanner just ran and grabbed Parker and took him down to the floor to wrestle. Parker didn't even see it coming. If it's not wrestling, it's jumping on someone, or throwing something at someone, or some other devious 3 year old scheme designed to show you how funny he thinks he is. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely take this over the tantrums and angry voices and faces that were his norm several months ago. But I can't even count how many times I have seen this face this past week and then had to pull him off of someone who he has tackled. Beware the cutesy face. That's his new way of warning you that you are next.

Welcome Back

Well, as you can see I've dropped the ball again. I post in my head all the time, but finding the time when I'm in the right mood to blog has been a challenge lately. It doesn't help that my children broke my camera, and we had to wait a bit to get a new one. It's just not the same to blog without a few pictures, so I procrastinated again. We have a lot to catch up on.

First, I guess catching up on Christmas would be in order. We had a great Christmas, and I think the kids had a good time, too. Of course, with Christmas comes baking, and wrapping gifts, and Parker had to be in on all of it. I was cooking one day, and had my apron on. When Parker came to find me, he took one look and went rooting through my cookie cutter drawer until he found the apron that Suzy had made for Luke's birthday.

He had to wear it, and cook his own "treats."

We also found his "treats" lined up in various places all through the Christmas season. This was his favorite place.

We got some snow right before Christmas, which was good for me because I really wanted a white Christmas. The boys, even Tanner, loved to help shovel.

The kids all got what they wanted for Christmas, which I think is a first for this mother. She and Santa did really good this year.

These are the capes that my mom made for Tanner and Parker. They love to wear them, and Tanner loves to wear his to bed.
After Christmas, Suzy and kids came to visit us for a week. It was so nice to have them here. We went to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, which was really cool. They had a lot of fun consoles, cockpits, command centers, and exhibits of all kinds for the kids to play in. They also had so many planes that it would be hard to describe them all. Here are some highlights:
We also went bowling, and to the Mormon Trail Center by the Winter Quarters Temple. It was quite fun. They had a big gingerbread house display that was quite neat.

Thanks to all of Shane's brothers and sisters for allowing us to steal their mother this Christmas. We won't do it again for at least a year or so. => We missed her and the kids, and it was really good to see them. Parker still points to her and Tanae's pictures and says, "gamma, nae nae." Sorry Sierra and Ryan, I'm working on getting your names down with him, too. Thanks for coming, guys. We had a great time with you, and are really looking forward to seeing you this summer.

Squares!

Tanner came to me today, with a big smile on his face, and said, "Look Mom, I made squares!" And he was right. I wonder how much toilet paper he used to make his squares, as I have been finding them all over the house tonight.