Rebel Yell

Hi. I mean HI!! It's been a VERY long time since I've been on the blog... looks like it might need some minors repairs and things. Lots of info and pictures are really outdated.

I've had a few people ask me lately if I'm still blogging and well, you guys made me feel pretty SPECIAL. Thanks for saying you miss me. Even if I can just make you laugh, I will feel like I have contributed something good to the world.

Wow. I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person whose mood can change in an instant. I guess that sounds really immature and unstable... I don't know, maybe it's just the circumstances I'm given that actually create such extreme emotions.

I have so much emotion swirling around inside of me lately I feel as though my head might actually explode! It's like baking soda and vinegar sitting in there, but it's constantly being shaken together, sometimes a little too VIGOROUSLY.

So.... I was thinking back when I first started a blog. It was 2010. I had 4 small children ages 12, 9, 6, and 2 (WOW!) I remember I was serving as the Young Women's President in our ward and I got released that May. I WAS DEVASTATED. I mean. I knew it was time and callings change and all that, but I've never enjoyed a calling as much, before or since I served with the Young Women. It was the BEST!

I decided to start a blog and I don't know... try to occupy my mind and maintain my sanity while raising my 4 kids while Zeke was in school and working full-time. I was lonely and emotional and I needed a place to share my feelings... more than a journal,  a way to connect with others going through similar struggles and have a laugh or TWELVE along the way. I've gotta laugh... or I just might cry.

Well, fast forward 5 years and I'm feeling very much the same as I was, but for very different reasons. I hope I've learned a few things during the last 5 years. I think so. What's changed?? Well, my kids are now 17, 14, 11, and 7 -- how can I truly explain how crazy that is? It's NUTS. Mostly way fun, but NUTS.

And well, I turned 40 this year.... didn't really bug me at all, I guess. I don't mind getting older, but I still feel so young and by that, I definitely DON'T mean I feel like I'm still 20.

I mean I feel like I'm 12. Maybe even 10 some days... yeah.

The music I listen to, the movies I watch, and the books I read would definitely correlate with that feeling....

Last week I was shoe shopping with my kids and my girls talked me in to getting a pair of "combat boots" for myself:

You know... Just LOOKING at this picture makes me smile. I used to have a pair of black 12 hole doc martens in high school... they were my babies. Now these are definitely NOT real doc martens... I'm just too practical cheap to get real ones. Anyway, I'm thrilled with these and they are very tangible evidence of the way I feel inside.  I almost wore them to church today. 

Oh, and I named them Fred and George. (Yes, that would be Weasley. See? I'm 12.)

I feel like a REBEL! I mean. I'm not going to do anything crazy... but I just want to run away sometimes, don't you? Ok, maybe you don't. Now please, before you go call my Bishop and tell him I'm feeling this way... he already knows!!!

You see, my husband IS the new Bishop!!!!! Yeah, I'm not gonna lie... I'm pretty much freaking out. It's just so weird. We are truly blessed, but man, it's just SO WEIRD. Again, I feel 12... so maybe other 40 year old women may not feel quite as traumatized as I do. Help. 

It's been about 6 weeks now and I've decided I need to blog again. I need to vent. I need some advice and moral support. I need to feel normal... whatever that is. 

M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)

The kids and I got this book from the library the other day...

I think I enjoyed it more than they did, but seriously, it is so funny!

I think younger kids might not "get" it -- in fact, a lot of the reviews on Goodreads said so, but my older 3 especially LOVED it. It's nothing to be taken seriously -- that's not the point. We had a lot of fun reading it together and laughing at so many things we found similar to what goes on at our house. It's definitely one of our new favorites!

I think it would make a fun gift for a Mom who is right in the middle of the chaos we call Parenthood. We all need a good laugh, right? When writing this post, though, I realized the reason I find this book so funny may be because I am PAST a lot of the little people chaos. I survived, and now it's funny... mostly.

I especially enjoyed the "Troubleshooting" section highlighting certain auditory signals that may indicate minor malfunctions with your Mom: 

Heavy Sighing -- possible cause: Are you abusing your access to the duct tape? Quick fix: STOP it!

Groaning -- possible cause: Did you forget to flush the toilet again? Quick fix: Flush the toilet?

Snapping -- likely cause: You won't put your shoes on. Quick fix: Put your shoes on!

Eerie Silence -- likely cause: OVERLOAD. Quick fix: Call grandma!

A Cuckoo Clock and AC/DC in Sacrament Meeting: Tied for second!!

Okay, even though it happened over 20 years ago, I'm pretty sure this is the MOST embarrassing moment of my life so far. However, I have two more embarrassing moments that pretty much tie for second place. One of them happened this weekend...

Okay, so my parents have this really cool old cuckoo clock. If I was thinking about it, I would have taken a picture of it this weekend. My dad got it in Germany when he was serving in the military in 1957-ish? It's all hand-carved and hand-painted and it plays music and has little people? come out at various times and a bird of course. (Think of all the cute cuckoo clocks on Pinnochio.) Needless to say, I LOVE this clock! I have always loved it. My Dad originally gave it to his parents and after they died, he got it back and hung it on the dining room wall in my parent's house.

Here's a cuckoo clock I found on Wikipedia -- my parent's clock is similar, but has more colors painted on it and such.

So this is how it all went down:

Anyhoo, back in July when we were visiting, my Mom says, "Well, Lace, your Dad wants to give you that cuckoo clock! I just need to see if I can find the weights for it so it will work..."

Me: "OKAY!!!! Yeah, sure, you bet, I love it! THANK YOU!"
(I was just a *bit* excited)

The day goes on, and my Mom supposedly didn't find the weights, and we got busy with the kids (as usual), forgot about it and went home. I just thought I would get it next time. Well, next time was this weekend. I called my Mom on Thursday to tell her what time we were coming and also that I was bringing an old camera of mine that I had planned to give her.

She says, "Oh, Lacy, you don't need to give me that camera, I just feel guilty it's too much! You are just so good to me!" (FYI: My Mom and I are both serious guilt-mongers -- we just HAVE to have something to feel guilty about, we pretty much feel guilty about anyone doing anything for us, etc.)

I say, "Mom!! I'm not even using that camera, I want to give it to you!" Then, I thought of a silly way to make my Mom feel like we were trading something and an opportunity to bring up the cuckoo clock again, "Mom, here's the deal, you said Dad wants to give me the cuckoo clock -- let's just trade straight across -- the camera for the cuckoo clock and then you don't have to feel guilty."

On the the other end of the phone, my Mom says: NOTHING! (ABSOLUTE DEAD SILENCE) After a few awkward seconds, she clears her throat and says, "Uh, Lace, I'm really sorry, but your Dad and I were actually planning to let you have the clock AFTER WE DIE..."

Me: "OH......."
For one brief moment, my Mom and I actually didn't have anything to say to each other.

Um, yeah, okay, sure, uh, crap... somehow I missed that part. OH MAN!! I felt SO dumb!! And just for the record, it's REALLY weird when my parents start saying things like that. It's happening more and more and I just keep saying, "MOTHER!! Don't say stuff like that!" Well, this time, I was like, "uhhhhhh, oh my gosh, MOM!! I feel so stupid! I thought you meant right now..." (Beck yells in the background: "Mom, don't say STUPID!")

Yeah, my Mom is truly one of my very best friends, so that helped a *little*, but then she says, "Well, let me go talk to your Dad..." NO, Mom, I can wait, really, I hope it's at least another 25 years before I get that dang clock!! Well, I guess I'll have a good story with it someday when Zoe and Kaia want it. The end.

Now, here's my other second most embarrassing moment:

I think it was a few years ago. For some reason I was at my parent's house with the kids and Zeke was home. I think it was when my Mom had her hip replaced? Anyway, it was Sunday, and the kids and I went to sacrament meeting at my parent's ward. I was running late (of course) and when you come in late to a Mormon church (maybe it's true of all churches) the only place left to sit is RIGHT IN FRONT! This was embarrassing enough for me.

So I brought my "church bag" with me and it usually has all sorts of items to help me survive sacrament meeting: baby wipes, coloring books, candy, etc. This time it was also full of other things I brought for the trip: extra clothes for Beck, toiletries, DVD's, and Zeke's cell phone. (I was planning to empty some of this stuff out, but again, I was late!)

Zeke had wanted me to take his cell phone if there was an emergency while I was driving with the kids and he knows me so well, he KNEW I had it in my church bag that morning. Well, not only did I forget the cell phone was in my church bag, but I didn't even think about turning the ringer off... (and of course Zeke knew that I would do that too!)

Now, picture Zeke 4 hours north of me sitting in sacrament all alone, missing his cute wife and kids and wondering how he can tease me from so far away (Zeke LIVES to tease me, by the way)... he checks the clock and thinks, "Hmm, Lacy and the kids are sitting in sacrament right about now, the sacrament has been passed, and I bet the first speaker has just gotten up to give their talk..."

Back in my parent's ward, I am wrestling Beck and Kaia on my lap and trying to keep Gabe and Zoe from fighting. Oh, and I need to mention that my parent's ward doesn't have very many young families in it, so it is already more than DEATHLY QUIET. Suddenly I hear this! It was LOUD and went on for at least 20 seconds. I'm sitting there thinking, "Sheesh! Somebody should really turn off their cell phone... DUH!!!" and then, immediately I realize, "OH MY HECK!!!! IT'S ME AND THAT'S MY PHONE!!!!!"

By now, more time has passed and I practically throw Beck off my lap and frantically rummage through the bag to find that phone and shut it off! My face is red, my fingers are sweating, EVERYONE is staring at us, and the speaker stops talking and is actually WAITING for me! (Oh, even just a little lightning bolt striking me dead right now would be just fine!)

It was just horrible. I don't think I got the phone turned off until the first verse was over. "NINE LIVES!! CAT'S EYES!!" Not that "Back in Black" from AC/DC is a "bad" song, really. I love that song! But of all places and of all people; this was my home ward. The ward I really NEVER went to growing up.

When my Mom made me go, I was the wild, rough-looking teenager just waiting to leave. I remember sitting in sacrament with my friend, Kami, when I was about 14 or so, and the opening hymn was "Rock of Ages". We were laughing and making fun of it the whole time. HA!! We thought, "They named a hymn after the Def Leppard song!" We were trying to sing the Def Leppard lyrics with the hymn. HA!!! Oh, we thought we were so funny.

So anyway, to add insult to injury, here I am 20 years later, trying to appear like a normal-"grown-up"-reverent-church going-Mommy(whatever that is) and my cell phone starts blasting AC/DC!! There are probably over 20 widows in my Mom's ward and at least a dozen couples over the age of 75. Oh man, I got some looks!

And then to top it off, as soon as I got out of sacrament, I planned to call Zeke and say, "Oh, honey, guess what happened! You called me right when I was in sacrament and I couldn't find my phone to turn it off!" But as soon as he answered the phone, all I could hear was him laughing hysterically and finally saying, "I got you, didn't I?!" And then I knew, this was NO accident!

Writing this down, the cell phone in sacrament was WAY more embarrassing than the cuckoo clock...

But now I think it's all pretty funny.

Feelin' the LOVE

Still blogging on fumes here... I get seasick from the waves in my computer screen.

Quick update: Beck's dentist appointment went really well this morning... he's doing great. Thanks for your prayers. :) The Spirit really helped me to be calm. Beck wasn't afraid at all and he did really well with the anesthesia.

Okay, so I just had to tell you about the best parenting moment I've had with Gabe in a LONG time. Nothing pre-planned or fancy or forced. It was just an opportunity to spend a little one-on-one time together. There's a million things to do everyday, but I will be forever grateful that I chose to sit down and just BE with my son.

After school on Tuesday, Gabe and I cuddled up in the recliner and watched "River Monsters" together. The host is so funny! He is a true biologist -- VERY passionate about what he does. Gabe and I had fun trying to imitate his accent and add to the show (think Mystery Science Theater 3000). We were laughing so hard we were crying. Gabe leaned over and said, "Mom, I love you, you're so cool to hang out with." How many 13 year old boys say that to their Mom? I don't think I will EVER forget that. Ever.

And the quilt goes to...

Today I took the I-Spy Quilt over to my dear friend, Julie. I was so excited to give it to her. This is Julie (on the right) with another good friend of mine, Jenny, who let me use her picture of them. Thanks, Jenny.
She's ALWAYS doing amazing things for me and I wanted to do something extra special for her. For example, one night she agreed to watch my children at my house while Zeke and I went on a date. Pretty cool, right? But it gets better: while we were gone, she helped the kids clean our entire house AND brought prizes for them when they finished. Can you say A-M-A-Z-I-N-G?!

Just recently, she let our family borrow the train table from her preschool to keep in our house "as long as we wanted to" and play with just because Beck really likes trains. Yeah, she is a really special friend. She just takes the time to help others in really personal ways and is very genuine.

She is so much fun to be with too! I remember the last Relief Society Christmas party I got to sit by Julie. We laughed so much... I think the other sisters thought something was wrong with us. I went home and tried to tell Zeke how funny it was... and I couldn't really explain what exactly we'd even been talking about. You just had to be there! It was the best :)

Zeke and I had so much fun visiting with Julie and her husband, Jody, today. You know some of our friends; some are my friends and some are Zeke's. Some couples I really enjoy the wife and then other couples Zeke really gets along well with the husband, but with Julie and Jody we just CLICK!! We could talk for HOURS with them and never want to leave... which is basically what happened today. Well, maybe it was only an hour, but we had to get home to the kids.

Julie is one of the most talented, organized, generous, spiritual, and intelligent people I know. She is one of my "heroes" that I really look up to and want to pattern my life after. I hope she knows how special she is. I am so thankful for good friends in my life. Thanks, Julie, for everything! I need a picture of us together :)

Well, that's a first!

Okay, so today was crazy busy. Payday = Grocery shopping day. Zeke's Dad is coming tomorrow to stay for a few days and we were out of almost everything anyway, so I went shopping with Beck this morning. I started down my list, got halfway through the store and looked down to see that my cart was completely FULL already!

I really needed to get my shopping done today so I can clean my house tomorrow (fun fun!) So I pushed the cart up to the service desk and said, "Um, I'm not done yet... can I leave this here?" I don't know why I felt so weird. Please tell me you have filled two grocery carts in one trip before (and NOT for girls camp!) This was a first for me. The girl was really nice, "Sure, I'll have someone get you another cart."

Okay, quick plug for Smith's -- they are SO nice there. And it's so quiet and clean and the aisles are wider than any other store in Cache Valley. Really, I measured them. No, just kidding, I didn't, but my sanity meter tells me they are, so there!

So one of the cart guys brings me another cart. I transferred Beck, his blanket, and sippy cup to the new cart and raced off to fill it up. I felt like I was on that old game show "Supermarket Sweep." Did you ever watch that? I'm ashamed to admit I loved that show and secretly wanted to be on it. You don't have to watch the whole clip, but seriously you have to see what I'm talking about!


Okay, so I relaxed a bit once I got shopping again and that's when things went from bad to worse. I was in the school supplies looking for some tape and a man walks up to me and says, "Excuse me, isn't there another Smith's here in Logan?" And I said, "Yes, it's on 4th North..."

Okay, now just so you can put yourself in my shoes,
this is roughly what the man looked like:

And NOT Shia LaBeouf... Jon Voight (aka Mr. Sir from "Holes")!!! yeah.
(FYI: I got this picture from allmoviephoto.com)

As I attempt to walk away, he goes on to say, "Now isn't 4th North the best way to get up to the Utah State campus?" And I'm still walking away, "Yep, it is..." I finally look up to notice him smiling, "So are you a college co-ed up there?" *Sound of screeching brakes and cars crashing* WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, I couldn't quite tell if he was trying to hit on me or what... but I said, "Um, well, like 15 years ago... " (walking away faster) He smiles, "Oh boy, you gotta be kiddin' me, what did you study, you sure look smart..." And that is where I interrupted, "Well, you have a nice day, Sir!" (I almost ran!) It was terrible, just terrible. Eww. Eww. Triple eww!

Other than my husband, no one has flirted with me for forever, but an old guy? That's a first and I am rather freaked out and slightly depressed by it. Seriously, this guy was at least 60!

Do I look like a college co-ed to you?
No, I don't think so. Okay, so I didn't look exactly like this,
but I absolutely love this picture of me.

I booked it for the toy section and wandered around for awhile. Beck totally scored a transformer toy while I was hiding out. (I was distraught!!)

When the coast was clear, I finished shopping and headed to the check out. The cart guy brought my other cart to me and boy did I get some funny looks! Anyway, I kept apologizing profusely to the cashier... as I was leaving, he patted me on the shoulder and assured me he's seen much worse.

Here's the loot:

I just know I could win Supermarket Sweep -- especially if an old guy was trying to flirt with me. I could run REALLY fast!

Off to Neverland!

I guess it's time to grow up! I made No-Bake cookies with the girls the other day and well, I ate about 6 (or maybe 10) of them and surprise: I got REALLY sick!

It makes me think of Jim Gaffigan... he says he must be lactose intolerant because he had 4 milkshakes one night and got sick. Hmm, I wonder why?



Or when Wendy's father, Mr. Darling, has decided it's time for her to move out of the nursery because it's time for her to grow up. It's time for me to grow up and just have one or two cookies! DUH.

From Peter Pan --

Mr. Darling: "Dash it all, Nana, don't look at me like that. It's nothing personal, it's just that... well, you're not really a nurse at all, you're... well, a dog. And the children aren't puppies, they're people. And sooner or later, Nana, people have to grow up."

Wendy: I'm so glad you came back tonight. I might never have seen you.
Peter: Why?
Wendy: Because I have to grow up tomorrow.
Peter: Grow up?!
Wendy: Tonight's my last night in the nursery.
Peter: But that means no more stories!
Wendy(crying): Mm-hmm.
Peter: No! I won't have it! Come on! Off to Neverland!!

(photos from Google images)

This is me--

Lacy: I'm so glad I made more cookies tonight. I might never have anymore...
Cookies: Why?
Lacy: Because I have to grow up tomorrow.
Cookies: Grow up?!
Lacy: Tonight's my last night I'm going to make myself sick, I just can't stop eating them!
Cookies: But that means no more cookies!
Lacy(crying): Mm-hmm.
Cookies: No! I won't have it! Come on! Off to the kitchen!!

"absolute poppycock!"

My mom says she feels like an addict, because she still eats too much chocolate, but it's so good it's worth getting sick for... I know how she feels, but my view of getting sick and eating too much chocolate might be changing... well, for today.

I'm feeling very random tonight. My sweet hubby had to go out of town for work this week. :( The kids and I took him to the airport. I had a bit of chocolate (Yay! and didn't get sick!)

Listened to some old songs on X96 on the way home... thought my kids would like them... started singing and well, stopped. Did it really say that?! Some of the music I used to listen to was just plain rotten and I didn't even know it or care, I guess. But some of it's still good :) Ahh, the memories!

Hopefully, I can be productive... I want to finish my quilt at least.

P.S. What mother assumes her son has no (middle) school today, because her daughters don't (elementary)? Apparently me! Yep, Gabe had school and I thought he didn't.... sheesh! Really, am I qualified to do this? I'm not so sure.

Revenge of the Marshmallows

Gabe in 2001
(Wordless Wednesday)

Wonderful "Wii"-kend

We went to visit my parents over the weekend. It was really fun, but as usual, just as CRAZY! We adopted Noira on Thursday and I was worried she would run away since she doesn't really know us yet, so we took her with us! Yeah, have you ever traveled with a cat? Nope, we haven't either. But there was no way I was waiting any longer to see my Mom! Noira was actually really good and it ended up being a lot of fun to have her there.

My Dad really enjoyed Noira:

We finally exchanged Christmas presents:

The much awaited Pillow Pets!!

Ecclesiastes 3:4 "A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to DANCE..." (Thank you, Kevin Bacon!)

My parents got us "Just Dance" for our Wii. We "just happened" to bring our Wii with us. It is REALLY fun. My Mom was even doing it, but she refused to hold a controller. How funny! Zoe was doing better than anyone. Zeke took some pictures of us while we were dancing to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper. Yeah, I'm a nerd, but it was awesome:

The kids always love doing crafts at Grandma's House.

Thanks to my niece, Angee, for the great presents!

I love Zoe's tongue in this picture:
The boys had to engage in their traditional wrestling match
(or two or three):
What is it about wrestling at Grandma's house?

We watched the movie "Despicable Me" with Steve Carell. I have to tell you, I didn't think I would like it. Zeke and the kids really wanted to see it. My Mom got the DVD from my brother, Brady, for Christmas. Guess what? "Light bulb!" I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! Really, it was that good to warrant 9 exclamation points. It made me cry and laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy inside (the best kind of movies). I am definitely going to watch it again:

(photo from Internet Movie Database)

On the way home, we stopped at Jody's house (my brother). He and his wife, Kiersten, fed us some yummy dinner and we laughed so hard I thought I would choke. They are so fun! I'm just a sappy little sister I'm sure, but my brothers are SO cool. I just think they are AWESOME! Jody reminds me a lot of Zeke (and vice versa). They are so kind-hearted and generous. They're always making jokes and impersonating voices and not being too serious. It's so good for me. Kiersten is so spunky, I think she's the only person who could put up with Jody. I mean, Jody is great, but he and Zeke can be so exhausting with their silliness sometimes. Gabe thinks Jody is the coolest guy ever. Jody gave Gabe his old amp "just in case" Gabe gets an electric guitar for his birthday. Their kids are SO cute. And well, I left my camera in the car :(

But this is Oskar, Beck, Max, and Kaia when we visited them in August
(I could NOT get them to hold still!):

Here's my wonderful brother, Jody, with baby Samantha
(she's just 4 days old in this picture):

Cat Baths

I have a great blog friend named Dedra. She is so funny, talented, amazing, and groovy. Just for the record, I have never actually met her. But I want to! I wish she could have her blog public so all of you could get to know her, but it's very important that she keeps it private right now. I feel so fortunate to have found her before she went private. Anyway, we seem to have a LOT in common except for one teensy little thing: she doesn't like cats.

It's okay, Dedra, I forgive you. But thanks for being happy for us and all our cats. I think people either like them or hate them. One of my dating criteria when looking for my future husband was they had to like cats. I'm serious!

Anyway, Dedra and I were blogging about cat baths and I remembered an email I got from another good friend, Loralee, way back when. Whenever I need a good laugh, I open this email and look at it.

Dedra, this is for you:





Seriously, if these pictures don't make any of you laugh, you must be a cat!

Copy and Paste: My world with a smile...

I am being a slacker... I'm copying and pasting my FB statuses... "Life may take you where you least expect it -- always have faith that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Interesting thought... they say Faith is an action... at what point do you take action and make your life as close as possible to what you want? or do you just sit back and let things happen?" I was feeling sorry for myself this week... yeah, I'll go into it later - or NOT.

Today I'm thinking I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, because this is the world I am used to: "Well, this is my world: Kaia is sick with 104 degree fever and coughing, Zeke's been in New Jersey for work since Dec. 10th! and he's finally/hopefully coming home today, Beck is throwing crayons and making Zoe cry, but you know, I'm still happy, life is good. I'm so thankful for medicine to help Kaia and I'm so thankful for my Mom and for my neighbors who gave Kaia a Priesthood blessing last night. :)" Thank you Brother Sullivan and Brother Hale :)

Anyway, we had some Christmas travel plans... who knows with Kaia being sick. She has reactive airway disease and a small cold can give her pneumonia overnight. Really.
But what can I do at this point? We've actually been very blessed this fall... she hasn't been sick since Halloween and that IS amazing for her. It sounds crazy, but I actually feel at peace... we don't have to juggle schedules or trips yet... it all depends on when Kaia is feeling better. I believe Heavenly Father has a plan for us, for everything. Of course I don't want Kaia to be sick ever, but I just feel like there is a reason why she is right now.

Even though, Zeke has been gone, the kids and I have done pretty well. They have been very good helpers and we've had a lot of fun in spite of missing Dad. I had a special movie night with each of the 3 older kids, just one on one, they got to pick the movie... I think this will become a tradition. Not that I want Zeke to go out of town for work all the time, but hey, it is what it is and I'm trying to make the best of it. Netflix is awesome, by the way :)

Gabe's movie: "Fear of the Dark" what was I thinking?!?! Now, don't judge me, or if you do, don't tell me about it, because I don't care. I checked the movie on the internet movie data base and it's as "good" as a horror movie gets. We were both scared... but it was fun.

Zoe's movie: "The Princess Who Never Laughed" an old 80's "Faerie Tale Theater" It was actually pretty good. It had a good message -- YOU decide how you feel. Even though Howie Mandel was in this movie (and he had hair!) I still liked it. See, I got the message.

Kaia's movie: "Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief" Okay, she's really sick and I love her and I said she could choose... but seriously, I despise this movie! But I kept my thoughts to myself and she fell asleep before it was half way through (phew!!)

I had an awesome visit with my Mom yesterday on the phone. I don't know what I would do without her. REALLY. She is my therapy and my idol! At one point, my Mom said, "Now, I know this is the wrong advice and you probably shouldn't listen, but... and she went on to tell me anyway." I LOVE THIS WOMAN! Seriously, she is THE best! You are Grover and I am Percy. You are my protector, Mom.

I had an interesting road rage experience the other day... I was pulling out of the parking lot of the post office and planning to turn left (no light). It was VERY busy and well, it was going to take a minute. The guy behind me starts whaling on his horn like no tomorrow and I'm thinking, "What the heck?!" There is NO opening for me to pull out... I do NOT know what this guy is thinking. Whenever someone is being totally irrational like that, I like to think up a story to explain their rude behavior. Like, maybe this guy REALLY had to go to the bathroom or something!

Well, crazy I know, duh, but all of his honking just made me more stressed! NOT HELPING!! So when I was finally able to pull out onto the street, I was MAD. Yeah, I have a temper, and it's not good, but I'm trying to control it. I'm not one to EVER swear at drivers or make obscene gestures or anything, but I just HAD to yell something. So he was in the lane to my left, I unrolled my window, smiled my biggest smile, waved both my arms and yelled, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, it made me feel a lot better. Zoe was with me and she said, "Mom, you are WEIRD!" It was so worth it to see the confused look on his face. :)

Okay and now, I am so excited... my wonderful roommate/missionary who brought me to church with her way back when... she found my blog! Yay, Jen! I hope I'm not embarrassing you (ha ha ha) but this really made my day. We haven't been in touch for awhile and well, I love this girl!

Anyway, I need to go check on the kids... Beck is terrorizing everyone this morning (oh wait, that's normal too). It means I need to get off the computer. Merry Christmas to all... and I mean that in the most "non-angry will you please stop honking at me?" way. REALLY :)

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I just wanted to tell you a bit about my 6 year old daughter, Kaia. She is the Queen of "one-liners." She always says really random and funny things and it makes up for her not-so-funny temper and stubbornness. But alas, I have decided she is just too much like me in that department, so I will forgive her. She can't help it, it's genetic, right? I can't help but admire her feisty-ness. It might come in handy when she gets older.

A few months ago, my Primary class was struggling through the lesson. They were just really silly that day; having a hard time sitting still and keeping quiet and such. So I gave them "3 strikes" each and then I would have to get one of their parents. Guess who was the first one to get 3 strikes? MY DAUGHTER, Kaia, of course! oh man! I was pretty flustered and I was like, "Okay, I'll have to go get your Dad!" ha ha ha

Last week I overheard Kaia telling Zoe, "Look! It's my first chest hair! You gotta come see this!"

Kaia (with a large crepe in her mouth): "I have a cigarette and I know how to use it!" Then she proceeded to take a HUGE bite with powdered sugar puffing out everywhere.

Kaia (with hot pink plastic vampire teeth in her mouth): "You know, Mom, I bet vampires must bite their tongue a lot with these fangs." And Zoe added, "Yeah, maybe that's why they have snake tongues because they bit off the sides..."

Kaia came upstairs crying one day telling me that Gabe was pushing and shoving her out of his room. I went downstairs and asked Gabe what the matter was. He promised me he didn't even touch her, he just wanted to close his door. I didn't realize Kaia was standing behind me and suddenly she said, "Well, it felt like he was pushing me!"

Just the other day, Kaia smiled mischievously and said, "Now I'm going to do some art, but I wish I had some boys to chase..." WHY? "Because that is art, the art of chasing boys!!" Oh man, I'm in trouble.

Kaia was in the bathtub the other night and she was really thinking about something. She sat up and said, "Mom, I want to do something different for my next birthday. You know, something unusual! I want you to fill the bathtub with whipped cream and I want to jump in naked and eat all of it!" I was laughing and said, "Well, I don't know about that." She gets really excited and yells, "Oh yeah, not whipped cream, let's do cake batter!"

Kaia bore her testimony in sacrament about our lost cat, "I pray every night for him to come home and when we find him (with hand on her hip and shaking her finger) "I'm gonna say where have you been and then I'm gonna kiss him until I just can't stop!" As a side note, we had SO many people from our ward tell us they prayed for our cat after hearing Kaia's testimony and we found him after he had been missing for 7 weeks!

The other morning at breakfast, Kaia asked me why our country's bird is the bald eagle. I told her maybe because they are so powerful and majestic. She said, "Well, I think it should have been the turkey, like that Benjamin guy said." She continued eating breakfast and after some deep thought looked up and said, "You know, Mom, maybe he was drunk when he said that!"

And my personal favorite:

Kaia (after seeing her older brother throw up): "Mom, "throw-up" is kind of like salsa, except it has germs in it, right?"

I was taking "beautiful bride" pictures of Zoe and Kaia.
Just as I was about to take the picture, Kaia roared at me!

That's my girl! She is an imp and she is a spit-fire...
oh, how I love her, but she is a handful!

Have you seen her?

I always have a song going through the back of my mind. Today it's "...Have you seen her? Tell me have you seen her?..." It's an old song by some band called "The Chi-lites". But I remember hearing a remake when I was in high school. My "googling" revealed it was Mr. MC Hammer of course! I was thinking him or Bobby Brown, New Edition, Boys II Men, or maybe Rick Astley? (OH KILL ME, Please NO! Not him!) It's kind of a cute song. It popped into my head when I was trying to think of a title for this post. Anyhoo...

Every night before I go to bed, I check on each of my children. I want to make sure Beck and Kaia have covers on them and they're actually in their beds. I also check on Gabe and Zoe to make sure their lights are off and they're not reading anymore or playing chess (I've found them around midnight once or twice in the middle of a game!) I like to see my children sleeping, it reminds me how precious and beautiful each one of them are to me.

Last night, I went to check on Kaia and I couldn't find her anywhere!! It really scared me for a minute. She wasn't in her bed. I couldn't see her in her room (granted it's a total mess right now, anything could be in there!) I checked everyone's rooms and the couch... no Kaia! I went back to her room and noticed a strange lump on the floor:

I pulled back the blanket to reveal Miss Kaia fast asleep! Not sure what she was doing with the ice cream bucket on her head. She colored a bunch of flowers and taped them on top of the bucket. I wonder what she was dreaming about...

This is so Kaia! :)