Church for Bare Nakeds!!

This was my good news minute in Relief Society today!

Quincey did not pee on me or the pew or floor of the church!

Let me preface by saying, Luke usually helps me get the kids ready for church. We get up at the same time and he takes the kids downstairs for breakfast and I try and get myself ready as quickly as possible. He brings them up. We bathe them and I get them the rest of the way ready while, he gets himself ready. Then, he takes them across the street to church and I finish getting ready and come by myself.

Well, today I got hung out to dry. Luke had to be at the church 45 mins early. So, he didn't get to help me at all! I thought I did REALLY well by getting them ready by the time he got home at 10 mins til and I even followed very closely behind and got there with 1 min to spare! Phew! Made it, but it was close!

So about 25 mins into the meeting, Quincey was being disruptive. I looked over to quiet her and she was pulling the hem of her dress up high (not undressing, but just not being ladylike). Then, I do a double take because she is BARE NAKED UNDERNEATH!!! Luckily she was sitting down. So, I don't think anybody saw. Keep in mind, she is not potty-trained! When, I got her dressed I could swear I put a diaper on her. I know I didn't put bloomers on over the diaper, but I am positive I put a diaper on her! I think! :) She can taker her own diaper off and throw it away. So, I am not sure what happened, but either way--BARE NAKED AT CHURCH!!

By the way, this was in the middle of the passing of the Sacrament! So, I couldn't just jump up and take her out. Oh, and I didn't have a diaper in my bag or I would have just put it on her right there. She kept pulling her dress all over and not keeping her bare nakedness covered. I kept trying to help her keep her dress down and she just kept yelling at me, not so much in words, but as a 2 yr old would do. Finally, she was squawking at me enough that I decided I had to take her out in the middle of the passing of the water. We ran home (literally across the street) and put a diaper on her. The bright side of this incident is that I found out she was bare naked by sight and not because of a warm, wet lap!! I don't even know what I would have done if that had happened!!

So Dana in honor of your blog I am calling this O' Fun For Bare Nakeds! Glad it's over!

Good Bye Old Friends!!!! {sniff}

Oh, the tragedy of it all! The last 2 day, I made the kids (let me) clean out the toyroom to make room for the new toys they will get for Christmas. I have had a bit of a de-junking bug lately. Not that I get around to doing anything about it, but I have it nonetheless.

Tonight, I decided to clean up my closet and drawers (to make room for my presents! hehe! I have no idea what I am getting! But the thought of having something to replace the stuff I got rid of more exciting!) So, I am saying goodbye to many of my very best t-shirt friends. I love my old ratty t-shirts and worn out shorts. I HATE shopping for clothes and just get so comfortable with what I have. Unfortunately these items seem to get more and more comfortable until one day I finally realize they have a gazillion holes, etc. But do I get rid of them? No.

So, I went through and picked out some clothes I know I need to stop wearing and told Luke I was getting rid of them. He was grateful, if not happy. He would like to see me dress up more. But I will tell you a quick story that denotes at least one reason why I don't like to wear my nicer clothes on a regular basis.

I finally went out ( a week and a half ago) and used the giftcard Luke gave me for Christmas, last year! The next day I was wearing one of the shirts and I got BLEACH on the "chest" of the shirt! Yeah, no way I can wear that one again!

That is a typical thing I do. I ruin clothes and I have passed the trait on to my kids! It seems as though we are walking disasters! Give us a new article of clothing and I swear, it won't last the week! So, then my kids end up wearing their nice clothes only once in a while, too.

I guess I shouldn't worry about it and just let them/me wear/ruin them! Maybe I will be able to be less hard on clothes when I grow up!

Emma's B-day Oct 2008

I just realized I never published this post of Emma's 4th birthday! Grandma and Grandpa Mathews came over and cousin Chelsea. We sure love our Emma and I am so proud of her. She is growing up so fast. Her case of the terrible 2's seems to be abating and I can't wait until she is completely cured (as we had an episode only last night).

Emma and her new piggy, Repunzal.

Emma blowing out the candles on her Princess Castle cake. I know it's sad, but is it wrong for me to be impressed with my own remedial cake decorating skills? Also, here is my sad/remedial attempt at a poem about my favorite trial. lol Happy Birthday Emma! As much grief (as in good grief, Charlie Brown) you give me, I am so glad you chose to come to our family to teach me.

Emma

All about girly things, I know nothing about.

You know all the best ways to cry and to pout.

Pink and lacy, silky or ruffled.

Your projecting voice you rarely muffle.

You've got such spirit, I'm sure we're in trouble.

My parental wish: a protective bubble.

Spirit and fire and a slight stubborn streak.

These attributes? from mom, I wish I could tweak.

Humility and patience I hope you acquire.

Without too much work from the refiner's fire.

Knowing what you want is mostly good.

Make sure you treat others the way that you should.

A leader you'll become as you learn and grow.

If how to put others first, I can help you to know.

I pray you find friends, who love you for you.

Who try hard to be friendly, loving and true.

Continue to show great passion and love.

Heavenly Father will guide YOU with love from above.

I love you.

Family Vacation to Cali Fall 2008

I could narrate all these pics for ya, but
instead I will just let you browse 'em, if
you so choose! We sure had a blast!

We hit most of my favorite spots!
Disneyland, SeaWorld, beaches,
Universal Studios, CA Adventure,
San Diego Wildlife Park, beaches,
oh, did I mention beaches?

In the next life I call dibs on being
the beach bum.

Christmas Lights!

No, we did not hang our lights this late in the season. I have just procrastinated getting pictures up for everyone. However, in this procrastinators defense, I did previously take pictures, they were just hecka blurry! That was before the 75 mile and hour winds did some updates to our decorations!


The first modification the wind made was blowing the reindeer clear off the roof! I kept hearing a banging noise. Finally, I went to check it out and the reindeer were literally trying to fly Santa's sleigh right off the roof. The only thing keeping them attached to the roof was the electrical cord!

I must have looked quite foolish jumping around in the snow trying to catch these deer as they whipped around like an injured kite. Seriously, it took like 5 minutes to caught those darn things!

We actually got them back up where they belong a few days later, but some damage has been irreversible. Santa and one deer are only half lit. (insert tasteless joke here). I decided it is not on my high priority list this year to replace those 2 strands of light until I take them down for good. You like how I avoided using procrastination verbage there? I'm not procrastinating!! It's just not a high priority!


We also had some ornaments (same style as Santa and the deer) hanging below the big, middle window, but the wind mangled them beyond recognition. That's okay. I think they may not have quite fit in. Thanks for the remodel, Wind!

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Well, being a native New Mexican (wayyyy down south), I am not to down with this snow stuff. Especially since it is -5 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, totally yuck. Okay, enough whining.

Snow is not soo bad. You only have to take your shoes off immediately when you walk in the house or you end up with black water everywhere you've walked. But, first you have to take the 3 smaller pair off of their owners, or it doesn't matter if you've taken yours off in the designated area! That black water sludge is not any cuter when it is made by smaller, cuter feet! So by the time I get my shoes off, I usually end up with black wet socks. Ugh!

So, I have reverted back to shoes appropriate for the warmer climate I prefer - flip flops! That way I don't have black, soggy socks--just bright red feet! :) I'll spare you the pic (I have such lovely, girly feet).

Oh, right! I was going to stop whining about the cold!

So, I did get to take some pics of the snowy mountains and stuff. It is pretty. And it was even fun when we went caroling in the snow last night.

If you look carefully in the second picture you can see tracks in the snow. Whole different story! I was paying bills on the computer. Emma and Quincey were "watching a movie." or so I thought. It got awfully quiet downstairs. So, I finished up what I was doing (dummy! Listen to your inner alarm, bell, chimes, buzzer, WHATEVER! Just listen!)

Hmm. Like I've said before, I listen to myself about as well as my kids do.

Anyhow, I get downstairs and the sliding glass door is open wide. The diningroom chairs pulled over to the mudroom and the basket of gloves, hats, etc is balancing precariously almost off the shelf and it's contents are strewn across the floor in a trail to the aforementioned wide open door.

I look outside and Emma and Quincey are out on the swingset - happy as can be. Emma wearing her pj's, snowboots and a beanie and Quincey in her pj's and a pair of Maryjane shoes that are too big, even for Emma. Not to worry though, the snow had packed in around her bare little feet quite nicely. Not quite sure why the basket of gloves and hats, etc had to be strewn everywhere!! Let's not forget that Quincey had a nice cough BEFORE this incident!

Don't you love these moments? The ones where you didn't listen to that still small voice? I am grateful when the outcome is not catastrophic though and just serves as a reminder to be on your toes.

Our big BAAA-d Emma!

We had our ward Christmas party Saturday night. It was really a fun party! We had a luau with pigs cooked in the pits and everything and it seems like almost everyone in the ward was there. Anyhow, we had a nativity. Tyler was one of the shepherds and Emma was the sheep. When they asked her to be the sheep, she was very excited. Later she changed her mind and said she would rather be a cow. Um, don't know what to say to that. In 8th grade a guy called me a cow and he came to school the next day with a black eye. But if the girl wants to be a cow, who am I to squash her dreams. :) However, I did talk her into being just a lowly sheep for the nativity.

So, there she was crawling on the ground with a sheep hide on her back (that kept sliding off).
As the nativity participants were coming in a little girl in the audience ran up to the front freaking out (with glee) "LOOK MOM! A SHEEP!" As she commenced stroking Emma's wooly coat!

I think that little girl had a more vivid imagination than I do. I mean come on! Look at that poor little sheep with a huge flower on it's forehead! I'm so proud! :) Tyler is the shepherd in brown. Luke was actually the narator, too.

Luckily, Rudolph made a wrong turn. So, Santa came to our Luau. He even wore his Hawaiin shirt! Santa got extremely lucky - he got a kiss from...

No, not Mommy!

QUINCEY!!

On Donder and Biscuit?

My children are beyond excited for Christmas. The house is overflowing with decorations waiting to be put in their places for the season. Tyler has located every book with a Christmas theme and has them in stacks to help feed his insatiable reading.

This morning he was reading the night before Christmas to us, as I made breakfast.

Tyler: Now Dasher, now...

Emma: Biscuit.

Tyler: Dancer, now Prancer...

Emma: Biscuit!! (a little more urgent).

Tyler: On Comet, on Cupid...

Emma: Tyler, you're missing Biscuit!

Tyler: No, I'm not. On Donder and...

Emma: BISCUIT!

Tyler: Emma, there is not a reindeer named Biscuit.

Emma: Yes, there is! My teacher telled me!

Tyler: It's Blitzen. You can call your reindeer Biscuit, but there is not one that pulls Santa's sleigh named Biscuit.

Emma: (no comment, for once).

As stubborn as she is we probably have a new deer pulling Santa's sleigh this year.

Recipe Gals

Luke asked Emma "Why are you cleaning the toyroom again? Did you have friends over today?" Her reply, "We had lots of friends over! We had Recipe Gals today."

For those of you who attend our group. I just want to let you know how much I enjoy having you all as friends and getting to get together to share meal ideas, etc.

For those of you wondering what "Recipe Gals" is, we have a Recipe Group. We get together once a month and plan the next months dinners on individual calendars. We bring recipes printed out to share and we have 3 people assigned to bring their recipe prepared. So, we have a main dish, a side and a treat/dessert. However, MOSTLY we gab! Yay! I love catching up with all of you. Now that the ward boudaries have changed I just don't get to see you all enough.

Thanks for being my friends. I learn alot from you all and am inspired by you all even more!

Procrastinator's Explanation

I know this blog is about my struggles with procastination. I also realize my last few posts have been stories about my kids. Correlation is that I am constantly telling myself, "Oh, that is a funny moment. I should write that down." But I NEVER do! I tell myself, "How could I ever forget that?!!" But sadly, I do. There are so many "moments" I have lost because I didn't give myself the reminders by writing them down. Darn procrastination!

So, here is one I do remember from when Tyler was 3 and Emma was 8 or 9 months old. We lived in Lindon (a two story home). I was laying tile in the upstairs laundryroom. Emma had been napping and Tyler had been "helping." I had the baby monitor on and Emma started crying. I only had about 5 minutes of cleanup to do. So, I asked Tyler to go downstairs to talk to Emma and keep her happy for a few minutes until I was done. He left and a few moments later I heard him walk into Emma. He asked her, "Emma, have you seen my Book of Mormon? It is the one where Nephi and his brothers go get the Brass Plates from mean Laban."

Oh, it still makes my heart melt. Cute kid.

Revelation in Lyrics?

I know my last post was about Quincey singing, but this time it was Emma.

This morning while she was supposed to be eating, Emma was singing. The only phrase I caught was "There is a lady in the dungeon and she' screaminggggggggggg!" As I contemplated her lyrics for a few moments, I thought, "hmm. I wonder if she is talking about me?" I was a little short of patience yesterday.

Quincey, Quincey - You make me smile (and giggle)

Today I had Christmas music blaring - I know Halloween is barely past, but most of you whether you approve or not, are not surprised by this. Anyhow, the funny thing about this little story is Quincey. She LOVES music!! Her husky little voice and not knowing (or at least not annunciating) the words serves for a beautiful seranade - but surprisingly on key! lol She was running tirelessly around in a circle in the family room today for about an hour singing (to the aforementioned Christmas music) and making herself dizzy. Seriously, it was non-stop. I kept looking over at her and just giggling to myself. At one point, Emma asked me what I was laughing at.

And speaking of dizzy...

We were in Las Vegas last week visiting Marlies and Tim. We were at Marlies' house and her roommate has a Bassett Hound (Pansy), that Quincey is not too sure about because Pansy is so big compared to a 2 yr old. So, I was spinning around making Quincey (and myself) dizzy and then having Quincey try to walk to me. I know bad mom, but she thought it was funny too. It got funnier when, Melissa let the dogs in and they tore upstairs right when I set Quincey down after a good spin around the room. Which panicked poor Quincey, who tried to run to me and was falling over in her attempt to get away from the dogs because she was so dizzy.

Thank you Elder Wirthlin!!

Thank you Elder Wirthlin for you words of wisdom and insight! Without them, this morning would have been dreadful! :)

Today was my day to do the carpool for preschool. After I drop the girls off at preschool, I usually get to play volleyball for 2.5 hours. Yay!! Today, I decided to "listen" to the blinking light on my dashboard "Check Tire Pressure." Which means, due to the cold weather, my tires are low on air. Usually, Luke takes care of those things (thanks Sweetie), but today, I decided to be proactive and do it myself.

I get to the gas station and air up my backleft tire. Then, switch to the front left. As I started to air it up, the air did not sound like it was going in the tire. So, I took the hose "thingy" off my tire and tried again (not roughly, I might add). This time the tip of the valve broke COMPLETELY OFF! Augh! I stood there dumbfounded in my flipflops, t-shirt and shorts with my mouth hanging open, in the 30 degree weather, as my tire went Phhsssssssssstttttttttttttt - completely flat. Uhhh, I didn't need air in my tire that badly! Next time I will wait for Luke to do it!

So, okay, I have changed a tire before, here goes. Of course I had the back of the Tahoe completely full of stuff to be taken to DI. So, on the side of the road I take that out and get out the jack, etc. Then, I look at the back of the truck. I know there is usually a hole in the back bumper that you can stick the crank into and lower the tire out from under the vehicle. So, I find it, but there is a keyhole in it instead! SSSWWWWEEEEEEEEETTTT! This one is electronic! Yes!! So, I stick the key in the lock - perfect fit. Great same key even! I turn the key and .....nothing happens. Oh crap! The electrical is broken! Oh, I pray "Please Heavenly Father, make this work! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!" Nope still won't work.

I have a friend that works at the gas station there. So, I went inside. Hi Michelle! Can I use the phone? I try to call Luke at work (not sure what he's going to do from work 25 minutes away, but what the heck!) He didn't answer though.

I know I can change a tire! I just can't get the dumb thing out from under my car! So, i go back out and try the key again. Nope, no luck. Michelle comes out and I said, well it was just the tip of the valve, maybe I can buy a new one and screw it in there and no big deal. So, Michelle loans me her car. I transfer Quincey's babyseat into her car and drive down the road to NAPA. I ask the man there if my little plan is possible. "No, there are welds that have to be broken, etc to do that. You have to take it to a tireshop." Nevermind that it is on my car I can't drive and I can't get my spare down! Darn.

So, as I am walking out, I turn back around and ask, "So, do you have any idea why the electrical for letting my spare tire down from under my car wouldn't be working?" He looked at me a little strangely and says, "what kind of car do you have?" A Tahoe, I reply. He then proceeds to tell me that most vehicles do not have electrical cranks for their spare tire that it is done manually, except for some Cadillacs, etc. I said, okay well mine has a keyhole in it. He kind of chuckled and then said, it is probably a lock to keep people from stealing your spare! You have to turn the key and pull and this will take the lock out of the the shaft and then you crank the tire down manually! Oh now that makes sense! Why didn't I think that people would want to steal my spare and so I have a lock on it? Oh yeah, because I would never steal anyones spare!

So, I go back to my car and start to get tire down (using the wrong extension of the crank, but whatever). Finally, I realize my mistake and get the tire down, just as the calvary arrives (Michelle called her husband)! So, he finishes changing the tire while I talked inside with Michelle (Rick kept telling me to go sit and relax). So, Quincey ate an entire packet of Starbursts and didn't even share 1 with me! Boo. When he finished, I tried to put the jack back where I got it from and then gave up. Rick told me to turn the car around so he could fill the spare with more air.

Then, as I drove away, I noticed my blinking light "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE!" AUGH!! I am where I started, but with a gimpy tire on my truck! However, if I had stopped Rick would have been the one to air up the other two tires I never got the chance to break and he had already done sooo much!

I got home with about 10 minutes left to take a shower and then back to pick up the kids from preschool! Needless to say, I never did get my hair done today. However, due to Elder Wirthlin's talk at Conference on finding humor in trials, I was able to pass my day with a smile! Besides, I got to know Michelle and Rick better! And this could have happened in two weeks on our trip to Disneyland! No, today was a good day for it to happen! :)

However, I do think next time I will leave the car maintenance to Luke! Oh, and when Quincey gets over her sugar rush, I'll put her down for a nap.

The Traveling Mooner!!

Story behind the "Traveling Mooner"

I had an email sent to me by my SIL.
It was a picture of a (much better)
version of this guy. I sent it to a few
friends. One emailed back and
thought it was VERY hilarious.
She thought we all should duplicate it.
So, was born the idea for the "traveling"
mooner. When he appears on your lawn.
You can move him immediately to
someone else's lawn or you can leave
him for a day or so. The idea is to "moon"
as many houses (people) as possible!
Just make sure when you pass him on,
it is to someone's lawn who can appreciate
the type of humor that comes with this sort
of "Halloween Prank." :)



You've been mooned - pass it on.

Sorry my pics are not very good. I stuck it on
my friends lawn took a snapshot and jetted!

Procrastinated Pictures

The three munchkins


Our Stud-muff Tyler


Our Princess Emma-Lemma


Our little Quincey-bear

I Can't remember the last time I really
sent pictures out to anyone. I tell you,
I DO know how to procrastinate--
just in case you were having doubts!!

These pics were taken between
Conference sessions on the way
up to Mount Nebo. Very pretty
colors.