I'm Filing a Complaint.

An official complaint.  To whomever it may concern.

I give.  Uncle.

I am not a fix-it person.  Never have been.  I find it highly irritating to go through directions printed in small type and work with something I've had no experience with.  I am not a pansy - give me a really hard thing to do (physically or emotionally) and I will do it.  Tell me what to do and I will.  I don't really like figuring things out.  Using the old brain upstairs.  I know.  Not an awesome trait.

So "recently" (I use the term loosely)  I discovered the upstairs toilet running constantly, even after my father in law did the basic whatever you do to stop that sort of thing.  (I know it's been explained to me many times, but it hasn't stuck, and I couldn't do it right now if I tried.)  So anyway....it's still running and I decided that was it.  I AM GOING TO FIX SOMETHING MYSELF, darn it!  I bought the replacement kit over Thanksgiving weekend.  It's still in the Home Depot bag sitting in my garage.  The toilet is still running.

But after today I don't even want to think about it.  You wanna know what has gone down and out around here in the last seven days?

1.  My garage door broke.  Finally.  Broke as in  the gear from the motor flew out onto the garage floor and the door fell.

2.  My kitchen sink sprung a terrible leak underneath the counter.
  -In response to this (while foolishly promising myself I'd look at it this weekend) I have been scraping plates in the trash and getting water from the bathroom to soak them and then quickly tossing them all in the dishwasher.  Thank goodness I still have that.

3.  Oops.  Spoke to soon.  My dishwasher just broke.

4.  To make myself better I decided, like any normal American, to make myself a chocolate cake.  Ummm....my hand mixer broke.
(don't try to use one of these immersion blenders to save yourself.  The motor gets really hot and the result isn't awesome.)

5.  And just for the icing on the cake (pun intended) my electronic panel in my van is turning off consistently now while in the middle of driving.  Yes folks, my speedometer is included on that panel.  And the oil started leaking on Friday. 

Do I need a speeding ticket right now?  NO.  But it would seem fitting, don't ya think?


Yes, WOE IS ME.  Pull out your violins.  Waaaaaaaahh!

Luckily the chocolate cake just came out of the oven so I can go smear myself in it and get drunk on chocolate butter frosting.  How does cake sound for dinner, kids?

Soccer Girl!

Amelia is SOOOOO excited that she is old enough to start soccer just like her big brothers. Since it is winter we are doing indoor soccer. She got shin guards, a ball, and shoes for Christmas and immediately (and very seriously) informed me that "I'd better call Leah and Hailey (neighbors of ours) right now so they can help me learn drills."

This is the outfit she picked out for her second practice. Super cute. I was surprised by the tutu since she is pretty hard core on what constitutes appropriate soccer shorts. Her reasoning was "Look Mom, they have bloomers. You can wear bloomers for soccer."

At practice she is very intent. While the other kids all run around playing chase, wandering back to their parents, or repeatedly announcing that they are Scooby Doo, Amelia is trapping, kicking, and dribbling. Last night as we headed to practice she said excitedly, "I can't believe I am in indoor soccoh!" (I love the sound of her funny r's). Then very seriously she added, "I am going to be a champion."

Little Notes

I found this "attachment" to our posted schedule. It made me laugh. I'm sure it was written in a fit of vengeful anger, but I wasn't around for that part of it. Thank goodness! My poor children and all the things I make them do. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

So what's been going on around here?

Here's a bit of December catch up.

Kids making "funny videos" with their friends. And for some reason they are loading as still shots. I'll work on that. Millie was a happy spectator.

Many boxes of chocolate were sold for a school fundraiser in hopes that they would win an ipad.

Amelia decides to water the flowers and insists that even though it is 50 degrees outside, a swimsuit must be worn in the off chance that some water gets on her.

Many many hours are spent playing with the little darling that I watch everyday. She is seven months old and she and Amelia cannot get enough of each other!

SO MUCH DRESSING UP! Amelia makes sure that even little E gets in on all the action.

More dressing up.

And more pics to come!

Lights, Camera, Action!

We've been meaning to get the outside lights up for some time now, and today ended up dry and with a little morsel of time to do it!  Hooray!

The ladder we have is only three steps high.  Still - I needed to get ON that roof.  Just Amelia, Andrew, and I were at home, so I looked at Andrew and said, "Throw all your body weight on this ladder and DON'T. LET. IT. MOVE."  I climbed up and then tippy toed quick on the top you-should-never-use-this-as-a-step rung and shot myself up on the roof.  The exhilaration I felt when I realized I was not dead or broken was fantastic.

I got all the clips on and then needed to help the kids unravel all the lights.  Umm...this meant I needed to get down.  Andrew said jump.
Me: "Uh, that's a lot of weight flying at the ground, buddy."
  Andy: "Oh yeah, and you have bad knees."
Me: "And a bad ankle."
I sat.  For awhile.
I  pictured stunt men and thought about tucking and rolling.
Seriously.
Then I laughed at myself.
If you know me well - you know I am uncoordinated.  In high school I accidentally gave a guy a bloody nose as he attempted to flip me over his shoulder.

I eyed the unstable 1 inch wide top of that ladder about 5 feet below the rim of the roof.  Again I said, "Throw all your body weight on that ladder Andrew.....you too, Millie!"
It was crazy.  It was stupid.
I made it down.

Andrew became the roof man.  After I made it down he told me that he gets up on the roof by climbing the tree on the side of our house.  He was up in like 15 seconds waving to me from the crest of the roof.  He did a great job and it was a lot of fun to work together.

Millie spent her time dutifully tangling all the lights as fast as I could untangle them, and once we finished it Andrew ran to plug them in.  He did so ceremoniously and.......one whole strand didn't work.  Instead of crying, we laughed.  It really seemed ridiculously funny.

So maybe we'll redo it on Monday, or maybe not.  Maybe this year I will just look at half my house lit up and smile and remember how much silly fun we had doing it.

Right Place For This?

I've been learning so much lately (which I can tell you feels fabulous.  I haven't made time for really studying ANYTHING in a long while.) and I just really want to share.  So here you go.  I love this.  The last sentence especially struck me.

President Henry B. Eyring said in October of 2010, speaking of God, "You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks.  If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference (I would add church meeting/personal study time), you will find it.  And then if you go and do what he would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.

I, of course, have added the italics.

Love you all.  Goodnight. 

You didn't!

Oh Yes, YOU DID.
(her hair is so light you can't really tell how much there is.)

Luckily it just kind of gave her a layered look.

And the boys are home early from school today. It's Christmas Break! They enjoyed their Christmas parties and at Jake's they had a "Deck the halls" card exchange and he got POKEMON!!! All the rage at the school right now. (Isn't this a few years behind the fad?)
Anyway, Millie is so happy to have her big brothers home for the afternoon, happy to play the game with them (Jake keeps coming up to me and whispering that he is going easy on her), and even Emma - the little girl I watch now is enthralled with the action.

They both got straight A's. Jake studied for hours for all his final exams. It was tough. I am so proud of him for doing hard things. He says he plans on getting a $30,000 scholarship for college, so here we go! Off to a good start, buddy!

The Power of Scripture

"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high."


Isn't that a great blessing!  So exciting!  I am always seeking to better understand what is going on in my life.

Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles also stated,

"Our Father in Heaven understood that for us to make desired progress during our mortal probation, we would need to face difficult challenges.  Some of these would be almost overpowering.  He provided tools to help us be successful in our mortal probation.  One set of those tools is the scriptures.

Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired select men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life's most perplexing problems.  He has inspired those authorized servants to record those solutions as a type of handbook for those of His children who have faith in His plan of happiness and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  We have ready access to this guidance through the treasure we call the standard works-that is, the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price."

 I am so grateful for all the resources I have and for the sure knowledge I have of where I came from, why I am here, and where I am going.  I understand why I have trials, and I understand where to get the strength to bear them up.  Not only bear them, but like I was telling my brother yesterday, to sometimes receive the blessing of having some trials not even feel like a burden anymore.  When I yoke myself with the Lord he can bring me comfort and cheer - despite an outwardly difficult time.  To really feel cheerful and hopeful in the midst of a trial is a miracle and I am so grateful to my Creator for granting it unto me.  

He is my strength.

Little Lady

I love this girl. So very much. Tonight she went to bed only after separating her hair into three sections, putting pig tails with bows in the front and asking me to braid the third section down her back. Okayyyy.....

Her thing for the past month or so is surprises. Everything (pencils, forks, stuffed animals, shoes......)gets wrapped in a scarf or blanket or slippy and then brought to me. I have to make three guesses and then she tells me, "Just close your eyes." She motions with both hands in kind of a downward waving motion when she tells me this. Then she unwraps her surprise and says "OPEN!" She also does this every time she washes her hands. Before she comes out of the bathroom she calls to me to shut my eyes and then runs out and shows me her hands and tells me to smell them.

She loves brushing her hair "straight," and eating "buttoed bwead - NOT toasted, mom" (buttered bread) or yogurt with blackberries or strawberries for every meal.

She makes up songs all.the.time. She sings wherever she is, or just talks out loud in her make believe land. She dresses up like Sleeping Beauty, Belle, a ninja, a horse, a ballerina, or a cowgirl. Maybe all in the same day. She practices Ninja moves and ballerina dances often in the front room and constantly asks me, "Can you do this, Mom?" "It's vewy hawd." "Isn't it amazing!?"
Yes, Amelia, you are amazing. (:

Ummm......

Having children is like eating a slice of humble pie every.stinkin'.day.  

Why didn't these things come with a manual?!?!  I have no idea what I am doing!

Chocolate For Sale!

Andrew woke me up this morning (Saturday) at 6:50 am.  He just wanted to

"let [me] know that he was going to be outside selling chocolate bars."

Here he is.

The sun is not fully up yet.

These boxes of chocolate were handed out Friday afternoon for a school fundraiser.  I had to work until 5:30 and we had plans for the rest of the evening and he was going crazy.  He needed to be selling those bars right now!  I thought it was going to kill him to have to wait till the next day.

I seized the early wake up time and ran to the grocery store for some milk for breakfast and by the time I got back he had already sold 5.  Before 7:30 in the morning!  He sold all 50 by ten in the morning.  From our driveway!  I guess I should have let him get more boxes yesterday.

Just as I was about to hit "post" he told me I had to come in the front room right now!
This is what he made for me.

  I love you too, Andrew!

Espanol

I am here because Amelia has been completely irrational and screaming at me all day.

"Mom?  Will you put the tape right here?"

"Sure."  I put the tape right there.

Screams "I didn't want you to press it down!  Why did you press it down?!  I just said PUT IT RIGHT THERE!!!"  Falls into convulsive sobbing.

So I am attempting to laugh at it rather than be undone by it.

Right now she is locked in her room screaming, "I only know how to write Dad in Spanish!  It's all I know how to do!"  Interspersed with "Who cares?!"

Umm.......did someone else teach her Spanish?  I'm not sure what she is talking about but I am going to mop my floor and pray that the girl gets some sleep already!

Let's Get This Party Started!

Time to fire up the old blog again.  

Since I didn't record Halloween last year, I will do it this year. 

Yes, 2010 was the year of Star Wars.

You are beholding Darth Vader himself, Hans Solo in all his glory, and Princess Leia's overwhelming beauty and strength.

Grandma and Grandpa Thomason were here for a visit and saved us from any wardrobe malfunctions.  We carved scary pumpkins and even went scouting out better goods in other neighborhoods.  Yes, last year we were the family you didn't know, (with a gang of friends) looking for the biggest chocolate bars and maybe even whole cans of soda.  

We were not disappointed.

Here's to another ghostly month of fun!

Sidenote:  Amelia still often wears her beautiful princess Leia dress my mom made.  It works as Mary, a ghost, and a ninja (with added black belts), WHO KNEW!

Guess What's Coming?

HALLOWEEN!!
the children's most anticipated and talked about holiday of the year

Graveyard set up has begun

Decorations are being applied

Signs are being made
Watch out folks, spookiness is on it's way, if Jacob has anything to do with it.

Ka-Ching!

Andrew's been working hard at dog-sitting and controlling his urge to spend, spend, spend all that lovely cash, and now has a BRAND NEW BIKE!!

Oh, yeah, check me out.

Off to show his friend, Emerson.

He woke up early this morning and was pacing non-stop until Millie woke up and we could get to the store to GET THAT BIKE!