Tuesdays with Evie

...and Dee, Jeigh, Elle, and Cee of course.

Oh, and Joe! He's home and balance has once again been restored to the universe.

Pink eye has claimed its third victim, but somehow it doesn't seem as tragic now that Joe is back. Everything's better when Daddy is home. Dee will be staying home from school tomorrow so as not to spread The Pink Plague; something he is not incredibly broken up about.

It is Tuesday, which means it's "Clean the Toy Room Tuesday", which means I was cleaning up toys and other random things --as it so happens in the toy room-- as Cee watched. Eventually she got tired of watching and fell asleep like this...

 

And like the good parent I am...I left her there to go find the camera and capture the moment before I scooped her up and put her in bed. Because moments like these are what makes parenthood so worth it.

Moments like those and moments like when I skipped out on the workout I had planned to sit down with my four year old in her little kitchen and chat with her about recipes, chocolate, her unstable relationship with peanut butter, tigers, her friends at school, the difference between "friends" and "cousins", and how my hair is going "blond". I can't even remember the last time we had such a good talk. She positively glowed with the individual attention she was getting from Mommy. Note to self: Those chats really must happen more often.

Don't worry! I didn't skip that workout completely. After our chat, Elle took it upon herself to pick the workout of the day and we did Zumba together. Well, we did Zumba together for about 5 minutes. Then she just sat on the fireplace step, watching and intermittently yelling, "FASTER, MAMA!", "WHY ARE YOU SO SWEATY?", and "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE LUNCH SOON, RIGHT?"

Four year olds are hilarious. Like when they come running to tell you that the baby is drawing on herself again.

Is that a stick figure the two year old has drawn upon her own back?

In other news, Cee suddenly doesn't like Muddy Buddies. I think she may have been switched at birth.

I can't watch "Lost" while I fold laundry. Too many subtitles. And too many kids walking in on too many scary parts.

The two older kids figured out how to do flips on the trampoline tonight.

Today, I voluntarily offered to run a half marathon race on Saturday. That's in--ahem--four days.

My poor little four year old niece just found out she has Type I Diabetes AND Celiac disease. My heart is breaking for her, but I'm feeling grateful that maybe Elle and I can help her a little bit.

One of my videos on YouTube is going "viral"-ish and it's kind of freaking me out that people are making comments on it, "thumbs-upping" it, and subscribing to my YouTube account.

And I found this lurking in the kitchen sink disposal...

Just another Tuesday at our house.

It is Monday. And this is my life.

Watching "The Walking Dead" makes me want to beef up on my food storage. And guns. Lots and lots of guns.

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On Friday my four year old daughter let out a huge belch in the Costco food court. Before I could melt with shame an old man walked by and congratulated her. I might have congratulated her myself. Had we been at home. 

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 I left my crown and pearls at home, but other than that...TWINNERS!

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In a fit of familial fixing I decided we should declare Sundays "screen free". My husband whimpered a bit and settled into negotiations. "Screen-Free Sunday Evening" it is! On Sunday evening, we turned off the TV, the iPad, and the phones. And then we stared at each other wondering, "Well, what do we do now?" The kids decided we should play the game of Life. Little do they know, Joe and I "play life" every day and sometimes it doesn't feel so "gamey". But it was fun...until we pulled the lid off the box. And then it got very, very frustrating. Two and four year olds are not so big on Life. Six and eight year olds are, but they aren't so big on getting married or paying taxes or playing by the rules. Our first Screen-Free Sunday Evening didn't last long. But at least it happened.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!!! I don't know if you read my blog anymore, but I love you and am so grateful for the influence you have been in my life. You are one of the biggest reasons I am what I am today. Thank you for teaching me about hard work and testimonies. Thank you for passing on your love of mountains and pioneers. Thank you for showing by example that anything is possible if you work hard enough and never give up.

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A couple of weeks ago, I posted this status on Facebook:

Waaaay back in high school, I was supposed to read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. But I didn't. I faked my way through the unit, probably because I was too busy being social or sleeping or something. I've felt guilty ever since, so today...today I will read "Heart of Darkness".

You are welcome, Mrs. Fleishchman.

And I STILL haven't been able to get through the first chapter.

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I also posted this on Facebook...

...And somehow I have once again managed to simultaneously feel incredible pride and humiliation. Kind of like when the four-year old belched in Costco.

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And this...while not posted on Facebook...makes me really not in the mood to make dinner.

I ran out of dishwasher detergent so I had to wash all of these...BY HAND! Oh the horror! Those are clean dishes. Why dirty them up now?

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On Sunday I seized the opportunity to bear my testimony in Fast and Testimony meeting as I had not been able to the month before, thanks to a woman who took the better part of 25 minutes relating to the church congregation just exactly what kind of medications she can and cannot take when traveling out of town. I had really wanted the chance to publicly express my heart-felt sentiments about my beloved religion to my son, who was recently baptized a member of our faith. As I did this on Sunday, I looked down to the bench where he was sitting to look into his eyes, which were bound to be tear-filled as I declared my cherished convictions...only to see him using his little sister's wooden dress-up doll to repeatedly bonk himself in the head.

Maybe I ought to find out what meds that other lady is on.

K.I.S.S.

I've been aching to get back in to blogging, but every time I sit down to do so (if I even get that far) I either draw a blank or draw a novel that is far too long to be posted. Either way...nothing is happening.

Today I have decided to make out with my computer, or more correctly...K.I.S.S. blogging style.

That would be Keep It Simple Stupid in case you lived under a rock in junior high.

My timer is set for 15 minutes. Whatever I type gets published at the end of it.

Ready??? GO!

Today I cleaned, labeled, and packed away the last batch of canning for the year. 13 more quarts of peaches. So pretty. I canned for years in my mother's kitchen, but I was usually placed in the middle of an estrogen-filled assembly line so I failed to truly learn how to CAN. This year I vowed that I would learn how to can all by myself. How did I let myself take this long to do it?!

It's so doable! It's so rewarding! It's so--dare I say--fun!

This year I canned tomatoes, peaches, and raspberry jam ALL BY MYSELF. (My inner Red Hen is practically bursting at the seams.)  Then my sister and I worked together to make applesauce, but this time I made sure to see how every part of the process was done so that next year I can do it alone.

Next year...Pressure canning. (Eeep.)

Other than canning, I've been busy playing chauffeur and tutor. I have three kids in school this year (wahoo!). Dee is in second grade, Jeigh is in first, and Elle is in preschool. Baby Cee just makes sure to wave and blow kisses anytime anyone is headed out.

Every year I am shocked at the amount of homework assigned to school children. It can be such a struggle to get homework done every night in any kind of a timely manner. And it doubly frustrates me because as soon as homework is done, it's time to make dinner. Then it's time to eat dinner. Then it's time for bed. And our day is totally gone. I can't help mourning the loss of my children a bit. Even if I do enjoy the quiet, clean house for a few hours while they're all gone. Ahh the beautiful conflict.

What else can I say in 6 minutes?

Can you believe it's October?! I'm simultaneously delighted and distraught. (This seems to be a common theme with me.) What a fantastic time of year! The sights, the smells, the sensations. I love it all! But, really, who doesn't?

Well, that's all the randomness I can produce for today. Tomorrow? I'll pucker up again.

Stupid

I just wrote a long stupid post telling you how much I missed reading blogs and what a bad bloggy friend I was these days and that you should just stop reading my blog.

I just erased it.

It was dumb. Same old same old stupid excuses and pathetic writing.

Here's the gist:

I am a bad bloggy friend.
I have been really pathetic at reading and commenting.
But I don't want you to stop reading.

I do want you to know I think about you all often. (In my stupid post I had started to name names...Never a good idea.)

I hope this new (and improved?...Doubtful.) post finds you TRULY happy, healthy, and busy, in a good way.

Just like me.

I'm coming to grips with it. I'm busy. I may be JUST a stay at home mom but wouldn't you know it, I went and got busy (maybe why I have four kids...*drum drum cymbal*).

Having four kids will do that to a person.

We got soccer games, dentist appointments, eye appointments, doctor appointments, sick and well, dance classes, piano lessons, kindergarten, play dates, zoo trips, museum visits, piano practice, preschool lessons, scripture study, dinners, baths, bedtimes, potty training, exercising, play time, reading time, wasting time, no time, all the time, crazy time, on and on and on.

WHEW!

LIFE will do that to a person. Life is busy. Life is good. And it just is.

I keep trying to write a really thoughtful end to this post, telling you how I love you all and love your blogs and love your comments and just love your faces, but want to make sure my children are my number one priority, but it just sounds kind of uppity and cold. So forget that.

Not the kids, just the fancy ending.

Love you. Love my kids. Peace out.


P.S. Thank you to all who joined in on the Three for Thursday!! I finally got a chance to visit your links last night. I loved reading everyone's answers! It was a lot of fun! Sounds like few of us have had good experiences with epidurals...(Wish I had known that BEFORE I opted to have one.)

FYI: I'm planning to keep this meme going. I'll post the prompt on Wednesday night and post my answers with a link option on Thursday morning (I'll try to do better than I did this week. Yikes!). AND I'll pick a random winner from those who link up each week.

Speaking of...

This week's winner was randomly decided when I took the third letter of my third child's blog name, "Elle", and looked on my phone to see what number L was associated with on the dial pad.

That would be #5! Congratulations to M (I don't know if you share your name on your blog??) at The Roller Coaster of Life! Send me your address so I can send you your prize (a package of THREE goodies! See how we got a theme going here?)

P.P.S. To She Who Shall Not Be Named and anyone else who had trouble linking up this week: I don't think you could link up because your profile is not public. That's all I can figure out. :(

P.P.P.S. To those who asked where I get my Three for Thursday material...I just make this stuff up. I am the money maker. Got any ideas for me?

Note to Self: Odds and Ends

Note to Self: Avoid spending the two weeks leading up to Mother's Day as a single mom while husband is out of town for work. Having only the one desire to NOT be a mother for awhile is hardly an appropriate wish for Mother's Day.

Note to Self: Don't get nervous about meeting this lady for the first time today. She's human too. She's human too. She's human too. Wait. Her name is Wonder Woman...

Note to Self: A trip to Mrs. See's never turns into "just the free sample".

Note to Self: Hide the mountain of laundry before Joe gets home tonight. And possibly find the lost remote control at the bottom.

Note to Self: Don't let the babysitter intimidate you into feeding your kids carrot sticks with their corn dogs again. She's only 14. Who is she to judge?

Note to Self: Just leave Elle alone about potty training. She does better without any help from you.

Note to Self: Utah moms live at the zoo, but they are not part of the displays. Don't stare.

Note to Self: Do not use your most expensive perfume that has been discontinued as Nighttime Fairy Dust in an effort to keep away the monsters again. This will only lead to headaches from the perFUMES every time you walk into the girls' room and increased numbers of children in your bed at night.

Note to Self: Do a good deed. Help someone in need. Make sure to go VOTE on Brooklyn's Playground every 24 hours until May 10th.

Note to Self: Don't allow yourself to be wooed by the baby's cuteness at 3 am anymore. I don't care how much she coos, smiles, or giggles. 3 am is for sleeping, NOT playing with cute babies.

Note to Self: Have a happy Friday. Joe comes home today!!!

Three for Thursday

Why?
1. Because I couldn't think of anything else to write about today.
2. The first conscious memory I have from this morning is hearing my son say the word "thrice". (Kindergartners say "thrice"?)
3. I like lists. Sue me.

Three things I plan to do today:
1. Politely argue with the hospital billing department in Elko, Nevada.
2. Find an excuse to be at Costco during lunch time so I don't have to make peanut butter and honey sandwiches for lunch AGAIN.
3. Watch the latest episode of The Shaytards on YouTube.

Three things I am worried about:
1. The toilet overflowing again while Joe is out of town (Why does it always seem to overflow only when he is gone?! Plunging toilets = man's work)
2. Not meeting my free lance writing quota for the month.
3. That I am not giving each of my children the individual time and attention they need.

Three things I love...besides chocolate, my kids, and Joe:
1. Watching episodes of "The Office" on Netflix
2. The view from my patio (♪I love the mountains! I love the daffodils...♫♪♫♪)
3. The "me too!"s on yesterday's blog post

Three blogs (among the many) that I love to visit:
1. The Rowdy Stroudy's
2. The Organic Enchilada
3. The Great and Random Ramblings of Cannwin

Three pictures:
All Almost all the grandchildren on my side the week before Easter. We are missing two nieces who currently reside in Puerto Rico. Oh and a nephew who must have been napping.

My dad pointing to the parking lot that now covers where the first house I lived in as a baby used to stand. Only yards from the actual railroad tracks. I'm rather proud of my humble beginnings.

Elle with my dad. She always looks so somber in pictures.

Three things I picked up off the floor today:
1. Magnetic doll clothes
2. Soggy mini shredded wheat chunks
3. You really don't want to know

Three things I like about myself:
1. I am a loyal friend
2. My eyes
3. My testimony

Three things I learned this last year:
1. How to spell "restaurant" without the help of spell check.
2. Money can and cannot make one happy. (Now doesn't that make perfect sense?)
3. Vasectomies are not 100% effective until a few months after the surgery. (In case anyone was wondering.)

Three things I love about New Town, Utah:
1. Cafe Rio
2. It's only two and a half hours away from Hometown, Idaho.
3. The proximity of several blog buddies soon to be IRL buddies.

Three things I want my husband to know:
1. I'm going to use your gun to take care of a couple of cats outside that are freaking me out right now.
2. I didn't think I could do it, but I got this. (Single parenting. Not shooting cats.)
3. Obvious but true: I love you, ya' big lug.

Three things that make me to want to sit in a corner rocking back and forth:
1. Cancer
2. Jeigh waking up hysterically crying every night at exactly 11 pm. (We never should have let that girl watch Harry Potter.)
3. Neverending winter Arizona heat

Three things I miss:
1. Lana
2. Dr. Pepper
3. My waist circa 2003

Three confessions:
1. I still dream romantic dreams about an ex-boyfriend all the time and I HATE it. I believe he may possibly dabble in voodoo doll magic.
2. I make a concerted effort to not talk about food too much when it comes to my Facebook status updates.
3. It makes me a little angry when people talk about how much our children look like people other than Joe or me.

Three movies I could watch again and again:
1. Dan in Real Life
2. The Matrix
3. The Sound of Music

Three final thoughts:
1. I want deserve a REAL date night this weekend.
2. "WINNING!"
3. If you want to do a Three for Thursday too, leave a comment below with your link and I will gladly come read it. Hey! You could even get wild and do Four for Friday! Or Six for Saturday! Or a Million for...well, let's not get too carried away now.

Because I Want it All or Nothing at All

I'm an all or nothing kind of girl.

When it comes to...everything.

I listen to a cd over and over and over and over until it is burned in my head, put it away, and forget about it for months, even years.

Even if I'm full and my stomach says "don't do it", I HAVE to finish that whole dang candy bar. (Obviously, this one gets me in a lot of trouble).

We're going to have kids? Okay. Let's hurry and get them all here and then be done.

Cleaning? Can't just clean one room. Let's spring clean the whole house.

If I start a book, life stops until the book is consumed.

You can bet if I don't blog on a Monday or Tuesday, it ain't gonna happen the rest of the week either, even if I have the time on a Wednesday. If I have enough time I'll first write a post for Monday. Then Tuesday. THEN I'll write for Wednesday.

Get the picture?

And here I am. I made it here on a Monday. And I have everything in the world to say and nothing to say all at the same time.

Much randomness to follow.

Cee turned two months yesterday. She celebrated by sleeping an entire 7 hours straight. Her kind of partying scares me. When I woke up at 7:42 am and realized I had been wholly unconscious since 1 am, I lit from my bed and rushed to her crib to make sure she was still breathing (When is that fear ever going to subside? I still do that with my six year old if he sleeps longer than usual.)




I decided it was high time I get my life back in order. This morning I woke up at 5 am, fed the baby, and began my day with a bang. Writing, dishes, prayers, scripture study, eating healthy, drinking tons of water, peeing tons of pee, kid stuff, more kid stuff, more not-kid stuff. By 3 pm I regretted that early morning ambitious decision. I can hardly see straight right now.

In my go-get-'em condition today, I called up DiSH Network and canceled our satellite service. Permanently. They did their best to try to convince me otherwise(How many times can one girl say "No thanks!"?), but when they get down to it, they get down to it. The service was shut-off before the guy even said goodbye. Woah. I confess...It hurts a bit. Now who's going to entertain my kids when I need to get anything done?

Dee started piano lessons on Saturday. Today was his first day of practice. By the end of it, I was ready to quit. Him too. I kept it together though. Still, after our practice session, I found him laying on his bed, sobbing. I tried to regather my patience about me and be the loving patient mother he needed me to be. When I asked what was wrong he said, "It's so much harder than I thought". I almost started crying too. Because I'm feeling all sorts of philosophical about life today. True that, Dee. True that.

Trying to rouse the self-esteem of my little man I asked him what made him happy. "Going to the theater" was his immediate response. Not really what I was going for, but okay. Let's try another one. I asked him what made him excited. "Going to a bigger theater!"

In my all or nothing posting (meaning NOTHING) I didn't post about this little goodie that I won from Mamarazzi's Etsy Giveaway about 437 years ago. What an ungrateful girl am I! I won it before Cee made her appearance and asked if I could wait to cash in on it until after she was born and I had a name to put on the "lovey" and burp cloth.



Super precious, right? (Tell me again why I try to keep my kids' names secret on here?) Thank you so much Mamarazzi! You rock my blogosphere! And thank you to Carrie at My Lil Luv Bug Boutique! You do gorgeous work!

I stumbled upon this blog today. A young mom of four boys living on an air force base in Japan blogs about what it's like to live in the after effects of an earthquake and tsunami. Very touching and yet educational all at the same time. Make sure you read this post because everybody needs a good cry sometimes.

Since we moved to this house (and yes I keep meaning to post pics. I just never seem to be able to keep all the rooms clean enough at one point in time to run around and take pictures. All or nothing...I'm tellin' ya'...) I have this gorgeous, spacious, ridiculously long storage room to fill and no excuses left to not do food storage and emergency preparedness. Dangit.


My little brother gets home from Argentina in 23 sleeps. I haven't seen him since Christmas 2008. I can't wait!

I have been planning on exercising all day. "Planning on" is quickly turning into "thinking about it" which is most certain to dissolve into "maybe tomorrow". Ugh.

And if I don't exercise today, you know what that means for the rest of the week...

I'm Dreaming of a White {Trailer Trash} Christmas: An Exercise in Randomness

I hear a little randomness goes great with a mug of hot chocolate.

We were going to try to pull a fast one on our kiddos this year. We want to spend the holiday with our families in Idaho, but don't want to transport all the Christmas goodies there and back. We were going to try to convince them that TODAY is Christmas Eve and that Santa would be visiting our humble little trailer tonight, but Dee (bless his heart) is getting much too smart. He has been counting down the days until Christmas...

...Which I love that he is doing! He's putting the magic back into Christmas for me this year...

...That and all the snow we have seen over the last month or two. I am so happy to be back in snow country! Have I already mentioned that once...or twice...or more?

Joe just accepted a job offer in another state which happens to tote "The Greatest Snow on Earth". They wanted him to start January 10th, but seeing as we have a baby due January 17th, he was able to push the start date back to January 31st. If she isn't nine days late like her sister was, that gives me almost two whole weeks to have a baby, recover, and pack up and move my household.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared out of my ever-lovin' mind.

I could sure use some of that pioneer spirit I hopefully inherited from my ancestors.

We Mormons (I'm Mormon. Did I mention that?) put our pioneers up on pedestals. They were hardcore. They gave birth to their babies WHILE they were moving. Minus the epidurals.

And where did they move? To Utah. Which is where we are moving. Mormon country. Sure, I am a Mormon, but I never pictured myself being a "Utah girl". I sure hope my self-esteem can handle it. That and my very flat and fine hair. I might have to buy my first Bump-It...

...And figure out a very non-Mormon name for my baby. Seeing as I already have a "Deacon", "Eliza Jane", and "Lydia", all very Mormon-y and pioneer-y names, I hope they won't laugh me out of the state before I can unpack the first box at our new place...

...Which I vow will NOT be another yard-less trailer like the one we live in now...

...where we will be celebrating Christmas...

...a day early...

...because thankfully Dee is one trusting little guy.

How's your hot chocolate?

Of Slippery Potty Training and Swappy People

(Picture taken in July 2009)

I have to make this a quick and dirty post for I am locked into a heated battle with my two year old and her bodily functions today and they definitely play quick and dirty.

I had planned to start hardcore potty training yesterday. I have to admit I felt some dread the night before knowing what I was in for for the extent of the following three days (we are trying the official 3 Day Potty Training Method). Thankfully Unfortunately, Dee experienced an asthma attack during the night and needed breathing treatments and Mommy's full attention.

Oh darn.

Looks like potty training is going to have to wait. What? I am NOT smiling.

Although we didn't get too intense with it like the program requires (think 24-7 constant supervision of your child and their backside for three entire days and nights), we did try some of the techniques. The first half of the day went great. Zero accidents! Maybe this is going to be easier than I thought!

Then as the evening progressed so did the potty training regression and resistance. Accident after accident after yucky accident.

Any potty training program requires the parent to be in complete control of their disgust and exasperation the whole time, speaking with nothing but love and patience. I think this could be the hardest part of potty training. It takes something super-human to clean sodden underwear with a smile.

Sadly, I am still waiting for my super-human application to be reviewed.

Dee is feeling better today and back at school and I am trying to recommit to potty training. My two year old has already tuned me and my incessant "Tell Mommy when you have to go potty, ok?"s out.

No accidents yet. But it is only 9 am.

Pray for me.

In other news, the Ornament Swap is well under way with the shopping or creating in full swing. Did everyone get my email with their swap partner's information? Have you "met" your swap partner yet ladies? Are you going to be ready to ship by THIS SATURDAY?

Check out my swap partner, Aubrey, over at Mom Has the Mondays. She is a mom doing the mom thing but with hilarious swagger! The girl is funny. Machine-gun wielding turkeys? Now that's funny. But watch out, she has a tender side too.

Speaking of swaps, part two of this swap has begun! Sami is in charge of part two and it is big and bold and beautiful. 12 days of gifts just for Mommy? Yes, please!



I love what she said about how sometimes the magic of Christmas gets a little lost when YOU are the one in charge of making the magic happen. I'll admit it. I could use a little extra magic this year. I can't wait to participate!

Make sure to head on over to Sami's swap post at Symmetry in Motion and sign up!

I better wrap this up... I need to focus back on teaching Elle how to pick up when the call of nature rings.

What are YOU up to on a hopefully-not-too-wet Wednesday?

How to How-To

I had every good intention of putting together a smashing How-To for my dear readers today, but every piece of bad luck and whiny kids and empty printer cartridges forbade me from doing so.

Ahhh well. Better luck tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have been brain storming what else I could How-To today.

How about How to Be the Mother of the Year? Nah. I believe my ever-loving and eternally-patient vocal chords hit too many decibels today to qualify for that one. Plus, I totally missed that Jeigh had a big preschool family picture collage due today. Every other kid in her class had a poster of their family to proudly display to the class...except Jeigh. How early is too early to start therapy?

How to Train Your Dragon? Think someone beat me to it. Besides, I believe the dragons are hibernating by now or something.

How to Make a Pregnant Woman Cry? Well, that's just plain easy. I'm sure the list would include things like: Look at her funny, turn on Christmas music, tell her the already expensive minivan repairs are going to cost an additional $600, point out AGAIN how she didn't know about the preschool family picture poster project, talk about anything that involves birth, daddies, third-world countries, or tomatoes.

How to Be a Winner? Isn't it obvious? Just go visit Sami at Symmetry in Motion on Quince Quote Day. Woo hoo! (Thanks again, Sami!)


How to Sustain a Halloween Candy Sugar High? No one needs to know about that. I can't even talk about it. My headache is already too intense. Dr. Pepper anyone?

How to Potty Train Your Precious Princess with Perspiration-Free Perfection? Don't ask me. I'm too busy washing dozens of pairs of little teeny tiny underwears and patches of carpet.

How to be Embarrassed in Public? Have your five-year old son find an anatomy and physiology book while you are waiting in the lobby of your daughter's dance studio and turn bright flaming red as he proceeds to find, point, and giggle loudly at every single "peniculi" in that dang book.

How to Be Further Embarrassed in Public? Lose your two oldest children in Walmart, only to find them by the sounds of loud singing, laughing, and arguing echoing from the public restrooms.

How to Sneak Some Christmas Shopping in While Accompanied by Your Four-Year Old? Don't even try. They are far too observant and nosy by this age. My, what a difference a year makes.

How to Lose Ten Years and Fifty Pounds in a Second? It's going to sound a little shady for a woman of my age and in my condition (you know...happily married, plumply pregnant, and constantly followed by three offspring) but go to our local Taco Bell and allow the drive-through dudes to sweet-talk you silly. I blush every single time. And no it's not from the hot sauce. Maybe that could explain my cravings for nachos...

I don't think anyone needs tutorials on any of that stuff. Like I said earlier...Better luck tomorrow.

Ten Things Tuesday

Because a list-making girl like me just couldn't resist.

1. Thank you so much to iamwoman at the Rowdy Stroudy's for the lavender parcel! My car never smelled better!

2. I don't miss Arizona. Not one little bit. I especially didn't miss it as I saw the big fluffy flakes of snow descending yesterday. But I forget Arizona was "home" to my children for two plus years. And when you're only four, that's half your life! They are rather confused about this cold weather business when to me it feels so familiar and soothing to the soul. Dee keeps asking me what the "dust" (frost) on our car is each morning as we go to school. Jeigh dashed out the front door yesterday to catch a snowflake. She made sure to grab her coat, but stopped short when her bare feet made contact with the icy cold. Poor little Arizona-born-and-raised Elle sees this new weather as uninvited and hostile. She shuffles around wrapped up tight in her thick winter coat like a little old lady. Her facial expression is a hilarious mixture of disgust and disbelief. I imagine her blood will thicken up soon enough.

3. Joe has four whole days in a row off this week! I can't wait to have a husband again! This one day off here, one day off there business is for the birds. And what perfect timing for a four day off stretch: Halloween! Now to wrangle him into helping me organize our storage unit...

4. Parent Teacher Conferences are this week. Jeigh's was on Monday and Dee's was today. I wonder...Do the teachers just tell all the parents the same thing?

5. Potty training is going great. If by "great" you mean Elle won't ever tell you when she has to go potty and still has a daily number two accident in her underwear and had one serious number two accident in the middle of Walmart yesterday resulting in her underwear, pants, and socks all being discarded in the public restroom followed by a hasty and red-faced bare-bottom-wrapped-in-sister's-jacket exit out of the store....then yep, it's going great.

6. I have wracked my brain all month trying to figure out what the heck I can do to blow the competition out of the apple-bobbin'-filled water for Sami's Symfully Sweet Saturday candy corn competition. The best I have done is kept my candy jar consistently stocked with a never ending supply of candy corn. I had my gestational diabetes blood test yesterday. Think I'll pass? I have my doubts. But, you should head over to Sami's blog and enter your coolest candy corn creations in her contest! Tell her Evelyn the Candy Corn Comatose Victim sent you.

7. We discovered this last week that Jeigh is terrified of vomit. Dee had a nasty allergy and asthma cough that caused him to almost throw up several times. Anytime he coughed she would absolutely fall apart with hysteria, shaking and crying.

8. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is only about 200 pages, but it is taking me FOR-EV-ER to get through it. I have already re-checked it out from the library once and it is currently late, but I WILL FINISH IT!

So far my favorite line is: (in regards to the death of a close loved one) "These are the reflections of the first days; but when the lapse of time prove the reality of the evil, then the actual bitterness of grief commences. Yet from whom has not that rude hand rent away some dear connection? And why should I describe a sorrow which all have felt, and must feel? The time at length arrives when grief is rather an indulgence than a necessity and the smile that plays upon the lips, although it may be deemed a sacrilege, is not banished."

And: (speaking of becoming obsessed with a pursuit or activity) "A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an exception to this rule. If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken you affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind."

9. I am craving caramel apples, but am too lazy to make a big mess of my kitchen to make one or two...dozen.

10. Is it too early to listen to Christmas music? What am I saying?! It's never too early for Christmas music!

Maybe I Did, Maybe I Didn't Monday

I'm betting there is a meme out there for my little title and dear blogger, I promise I am not stealing. Leave a comment and consider yourself linked and credited. This is a one time thing.

I notice how often the phrase "I may or may not have..." is tossed around the blogosphere. I've been guilty of using it myself.

Frankly, it kind of irritates me. Grates on me like nails on a chalkboard. That and the word "Okay." at the beginning of every bloody sentence. (I'm going to blame my irritability on my current raging hormonal state and leave it that.)

Here's the thing... I DO use the phrase "maybe I did, maybe I didn't" sometimes on here, much to my own chagrin. And people, I just need to get it out of my system. SO! Without further ado, in an attempt to purge my bloggy system of this over-used term, here it is:

My Maybe I Did, Maybe I Didn't Monday blog post.

I may or may not have slammed the door in the neighbor girl's face after she knocked on my door for the fifth (not exaggerating) time this morning, asking if my kids could come play, and asking "Why?" when I told her they could not. That's why!

She may or may not have come back a sixth and seventh time. (She did.)

I may or may not be wearing the exact same shirt I wore three times last week. And I may or may not be willing to buy any more new maternity clothes. It's only three more months. I can deal. Maybe.

I may or may not have lied to my children today. "No, there aren't anymore Muddy Buddies left" when I knew perfectly well there was a hidden stash in the back of the fridge. Maybe I did...Maybe I didn't.

I may or may not be taunting my nine months and two days pregnant sister by text and Face book today. After being taunted by her little "Ha ha! I have less weeks than you have months!" maybe I waited to have the last laugh. After going nine days over my due date during a record hot July summer with baby Jeigh, maybe I feel very little pity for other overdue preggies. "Maybe you should have thought about the consequences of your actions nine months ago, hmm?"

Maybe I did, maybe I didn't actually build a log cabin replica out of tootsie rolls only days after accusing other "perfect" bloggers of making Eiffel Tower replicas out of Popsicle sticks. Thanks for the inspiration ladies and So what?

I may or may not have taken the Anonymous comment option off of my blog for reasons other than all the foreign spam I have been getting lately. My emotional state may or may not be in too delicate a state these days to take a little well-meant constructive criticism.

I may or may not be hosting a That's-Not-My-Kid Thursday post this week. Maybe you ought to prepare a Thursday post and be ready to find out.

I may or may not be contemplating shutting down my online social life for awhile so that I can focus on my family, children, house, and self for awhile. Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. (I don't think even I know the answer to that one.)

Maybe I did and maybe I didn't throw on some clothes and practically ran out the door to go to CVS after seeing an Intelligender commercial, prepared to spend $35 on a unreliable gender prediction test. Maybe I did and maybe I didn't. (I'll admit it. I totally did. And now I have plans to conduct a few experiments using several different kinds of gender prediction tests, from old wives' tales to the patented products. Thanks for the idea, Brittany! Know of one I should try? Leave me a comment!)

Maybe I did, maybe I didn't already earn and save all the money myself to pay for Christmas this year. And maybe I do and maybe I don't have plans in place for Joes' Christmas present this year. Who knows? Only me and Santa!

I may or may not be weaning myself off of TV, especially Grey's Anatomy. I may or may not have totally forgotten about Premiere Week and I may or may not feel rather proud of that.

Maybe I am and maybe I'm not totally dying to go thrifting again.

Maybe after watching this I'd also like to tell you all how you are all precious daughters of God and that I love all of you and am sorry for ever being critical of any of you and for writing this post which seemed to have the opposite of the desired effect. Definitely-maybe I'd like to tell you that. But maybe I'm also a little embarrassed of appearing like some kind of cheesy, crazed religious zealot or of just saying all the wrong things and only making it worse. Maybe I am and maybe I'm not.

Maybe I am tired of writing this post and thinking it was a dumb idea or maybe I'm not. And maybe I'm too busy with other things today to go back and change it.

So what mights or might nots have you been up to lately?

Hopefully I got that all out of my system. Now, maybe I can stop irritating myself. Ha!

If I were an Artist, I would be starving

Hello???

Anyone still out there? Is there really some angelic, patient soul out there who still swings by here daily to see if Evelyn has gotten her blogging act together yet?

Mom, is that you??

On Sunday, I made a commitment to myself that no matter what I would post EVERY DAY of this week. Just something, big or little, important or not. Just something.

And then Monday came...and went...

Ahem.

Isn't Tuesday a beautiful day? A beautiful day for posting! Even it's just a little something.


something


{hee hee hee}


Speaking of Nazis... THIS has Dee (my 5 yo son) and me in stitches every time we watch it, which is often the last couple of days. (Click on the "I'll think about it" option to bypass the donation page.) Enjoy!

And Happy Tuesday!

See you tomorrow???

A little bit of this and that, Q&A, maybe some R&R, a few ZZZZZs even?

I woke up this morning excited to blog.

That hasn't happened in such a long time. It was a beautiful feeling. My friend Lisa, who knew I was in the "family way", noticed my blog funk awhile ago and pointed out it was because I had a secret. She was partly right. I'm a blabber-mouth. It's just too dang hard for me to keep secrets. But after experiencing a miscarriage last Black Friday (ironic much?), I wanted to make sure this pregnancy was going to "stick" before I shouted it out to the world.

So, to answer a few of your questions on my post yesterday...

Oh! and thank you so much for the congratulations and excitement! It makes me that much more excited. Sometimes it's kind of hard to be excited when all you want to do is lay in bed and not barf up your dinner (Nope! Not breakfast this time. "Morning" sickness, my eye!)

Q: Did you just announce you were pregnant through a MASH post?
A: Ummm...yes, I did. It was less expensive than hiring a pilot to fly a banner around.

Q: When can we expect to see Baby #4?
A: The due date is January 17, 2011. Coincidentally enough that was Dee's due date! I love little coincidences. Side note: We sure don't switch things up much. Both our girls were born in July and both our boys (fingers crossed!) will be born in January. I could say so many things here, but I don't think my husband would appreciate that kind of humor on this point.

Q: Is that really your shack house or are you just exaggerating?
A: Yup. I really do live there. Kind of sad, isn't it? Can you believe we were "lucky" to get it? The housing situation in this town is crazy! Living in a trailer, particularly this tiny, old trailer has been a rather humbling experience for me. At first I considered trying to hide my trailer-trash status, but why not embrace it, eh? I figure it's gotta make for some good blog posts someday. That or I can tell my kids when they start whining, "You think THIS is bad..."

Q: How are you feeling?
A: Crappy. But thanks for asking. :)

Switching gears...because really, who wants to hear another pregnant lady whine about feeling sick and tired, tired and sick?

Is anyone else watching SYTYCD this season? What do you think of the new set-up with the All-Stars? I can't quite decide. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not. I am a little heartbroken that my season favorite, Alex Wong, got sent home, especially due to an injury. Wasn't he something?! I am looking forward to seeing him next season! The tour dates have been announced! I went last year and LOVED it!! Anyone busy on November 4th?? They will be in West Valley City, UT that night.

Switching gears again...because really, who wants to hear a monologue about a show they don't even know what the acronym stands for?

I still can't figure out how I feel about blog awards. I am always totally flattered to receive them, but hate that pressure to pass them on. People who get them seem to get a lot. People who don't seem to get their feelings hurt. It kind of reminds me of that whole Wemmicks story by Max Lucado. You know...grey dots, golden stars, wooden puppets, self-esteem analogies...

My point is there are a couple of blogs I love reading that I want to direct you to, but I'm not going so far as to make an award out of it. Just hop on over and see what you think.

Bethany at Organic Enchilada has me in stitches every time I read her blog. Hilarious girl! She's a homeschooling mommy, but not THAT kind of homeschooling mommy. She's got a truckload of stories and a spicy way of delivering them. She's not afraid of covering ANY topic. Just so darn funny and real! Go see for yourself.

Sami at Symmetry in Motion was my blog swap partner a couple of weeks ago so I was "obligated" to tell you how great she was then, but NOW I get to tell you how great she is simply because I want to. Funny, creative, and genuine. I'd like to think she and I just clicked as friends, but I imagine she is pretty good at being friends with most of her readers. Check her out; you won't be disappointed!

iamwoman at The Rowdy Stroudys is another of my favorite blog reads. I love her artistic sensibilities. Sometimes she's funny, sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical, sometimes practical; I always love the variety. She throws fabulous, fresh parties just for the sake of celebrating simple good things (like lemons). Beautiful pictures, beautiful words, beautiful girl shining through the screen.

And by the way, what did you think of Cannwin and our little blog swap? We sure took a different direction on our posts, didn't we? She came across so thoughtful, sincere, and humble (as she is) and I...took a different direction. Not bad...just different. Different is good. Variety is great! So, are you looking forward to seeing that again next week? I know I am!

Yesterday, I let myself get a little too caught up in my computer. The time just sort of slipped away and my kids weren't about to let me forget it. My little brand-new two-year old finally walked up to me, grabbed my face in between her little hands, pulled it towards her, and clearly said, "Listen! Food!" Point taken.

And on that note, I better not let the same thing happen today. Our men-folk are gone on an overnight camping trip with the Scouts and I promised two very disappointed, left-at-home, little ladies I would host a fabulous tea party/spa day today. Hope I have the patience for it...

Post-Post: Oops! That was a little longer than I intended it to be. Did you make it this far???

Big Gulps, Huh?

Umm...

So did you like how I came out all guns a-blazin' yesterday? Since this blog is indeed public, I half expected some Lady Gagme worshipper to send me virtual anthrax. I was cringing all day just waiting for it. But...Whew! No anthrax...yet. Looks like the world still has a lot of card carryin' Morals-Are-Cool members. Truly, I am so glad to hear that.

I promise I won't get all up in your face with opinions and politics and such on this blog. Trust me, I do have really intriguing opinions (like: Tillamook cheese is manna from heaven; the other brands can hang it in their ear), but sometimes it's no fun to read some one's angry here-say all the time. Maybe just every once in awhile.

So, Wednesday huh?

We are halfway through our first husband-less and daddy-less week here. (Only two and half more to go!) It's going really well too. In fact, so well, that we may be just fine without him forever.

Not! (Is it still cool to say "Not!" these days? I just don't know.)

The house has been extra-clean, the kids have been staying in their beds all night, I've been getting some writing done, and I haven't felt the need to flush anyone down the toilet yet. Just a few swirlies here and there. I'd call that pretty good.

"Joe" (yes, that is the super-cool name I am giving him for this blog. It's probably about as cool as saying "Not!")...Anyway! JOE is doing great too. He started his new job, found a place for us to live for awhile, and met a bunch of friendly, Joe-feeding people. This small-town living is looking pretty good so far. Everybody does know everybody and word is spreading fast that there's a new guy in town. So far, "new guy" means "feed that poor wife-less man!" and if you know Joe personally, he's quite pleased with that.

The best news I've heard yet about this move and new job is that Joe is getting his very own work truck!!!!!! Let me add a few more exclamation points to express to you how overjoyed I am about this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TWO YEARS, PEOPLE! Over TWO YEARS of being stuck at home without a vehicle! Our gas bill for the month of June is going to be astronomical because I am just going to be out driving all day picking up people who don't have cars and taking them where ever their hearts desire! Oh boy! Life is getting good!

In other news, I have found childhood slavery to be a rather appealing concept. I whipped into shape pleasantly asked the kids to help me clean house yesterday. It took all the grit I possessed, but I tried to make it "fun" to clean house and the idea caught on. I had Dee (5 yo son) and Jeigh (3 yo daughter) taking turns vacuuming, everybody picking up toy carnage, and even little Elle (22-month daughter) putting shoes away.



Ahem.

How was your Wednesday? Was your week half-full or half-empty? Or just thank-goodness-it's-half-over?

I am moving That's-Not-My-Kid Thursday over here. Watch for it tomorrow and make sure to join in. Or else, I'll feel like the only crazy lady with embarrassingly honest kids who hangs out with someone else's embarrassingly honest kids.

Happy Wednesday!

P.S. I am really sorry I haven't been reading up on every one's blogs lately. I am trying to figure out how to manage my time as a temporary single parent in the throes of moving and I haven't quite got the hang of it yet. Plus, now I'm not sure whether to comment as The Perks of Life or Hanging by a Silver Lining. Any insights on this???