My childhood, revisited...

So the girls have a new favorite movie this week. From the dark backseat of the car tonight I heard this dialogue, over and over and over again.

HALEY: AAASSS YOUUUU WWIIISSSSHHH!
ABBY: Oh my sweet Wesley, what have I done?
oh! ah! eee! ooo! ah!

And then they would switch parts and do it again.
The classics never die.

My life is spiral bound...

These notebooks are my life. I love to make lists. They contain nearly 15 years of grocery lists, homework, schedules, menus, travel plans, pro and con lists of major life decisions, baby name lists, journal notes, meaningful quotes and endless "to do" lists. I love these books. They are so full of my life. Kristen gave me my very first one in high school to fill with favorite quotes and they've been an addiction ever since. I can't pass up a cute notebook and I've never failed to fill it. Give me a kicky little book a cute pen and I'll organize your life...

Silly celebrities...

Does anyone else find it funny that the President of the United States signs autographs leaving the State of the Union Address? I do. If I were any kind of celebrity I would get a rubber stamp, a really cool one that was really my signature...maybe with a unicorn.

Are you kidding me?

So today my sister and I did one of those typical trips to the mall--multiple small children, lots of stores, tons of cute clothes, not enough expendable cash and it all ends with me rushing us back out to the car to pick up #1 from school.
Anyway, we were making our final rush back to the car from halfway down the mall. I had the three year old on my shoulders and pushing the one year old in a stroller. I pass the cart of men with miscellaneous accents that ask you to stop and take a moment for yourself. "Excus-a me, madame, can you stop and take a moment to pamper yourself?" Are you serious? I always try to look extra "busy" when I pass these guys because they make me uncomfortable. I stopped once and was felt up (OK, just my hands...correction, one hand) by a tall, dark handsome fellow from Italy?...or was is Greece? I couldn't quite place the accent (oh yeah, because its all a made up ploy to lure innocent and stressed out mothers to their booth so they can sell you a $40 bottle of generic lotion and a rock that makes your fingernails look like silk...) Anyway, I was passing said "foreign" man and tried to curb my sarcasm as I pointed with both hands to the children in the stroller and on my shoulders and said, "uh, I'm kinda busy" and continued on my way. I mean for real, did it look like I wanted to stop and let him straighten my hair? It would take a free massage with complimentary caramel apples and babysitting to stop me. Come on guys, you gotta do better than a fake accent and good hair.

My little girl is all grown up...

It's time I give due credit to little Abner who started school two weeks ago. She had her first day ever of preschool and I was distracted by clogged drains and my obsession with changing my blog...so, here's Abby in all her FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL splendor. Isn't she cute?

I promised that on her first day she would have something special to wear to school that was just hers.
She flip flops between loving it and pretending that she is indifferent so we couldn't use it as a threat anymore..."Abby, if you want to go to school you have to whatever whatever" "I don't want to go to school..." "hhmmm."

Today she actually argued that she wanted to go to school and tried to convince me that her Dad told her she could go everyday...do I look like I was born yesterday? Nice try Abbs. She only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays but I have found new joy in bonding one on one with #3...what was her name again?

Do you really need to ask?

This is like the prequel to my previous blog...isn't it thick and luscious?...come on, say its thick and luscious...

PS This was a good hair day, not real common.

(can't talk...gagging...)

Clark is replacing the caulking in our shower. Just for kicks he removed the drain cover to clean it out. He just lifted out some mass that I'm pretty sure used to be some kind of animal. How was our water even going down?...what's living in your shower drain?...just food for thought...

Emotionally Dehydrated...

Sometimes bedtime feels like I am being asked to sprint at the end of running a marathon...I'm really not emotionally dehydrated, it just seemed like a clever title...but I am tired.

Glittery Goodness

Last night my sister called and asked if I could get away for a much needed girls' night out (her baby is teething somethin awful) and I am always up for that sort of thing. We got yummy food and then went to see a movie that we knew our husbands probably wouldn't choose to sit through. (We also got Marble Slab ice cream smuggled in our purses...curse my no-children-night-out-tiny-non-diaper-bag-purse...) Dreamgirls was our flick of choice and let me tell you, it was simply fabulous.

A captivating story of aspiring singers, there was glitz and glamour, the costumes and the shoes, my gosh the shoes (you had to be paying attention to notice those but they were so fun!). My sister and I decided that we wanted to be Beyonce, in this movie anyway (and I'm mostly talking her style not her character). From their hair to their fingertips they were done up the entire movie. The film spans time from about the late 50's to the late 70's or so which means the fashion and costume element was phenomenal. I give it two glittery thumbs up--not to mention that the main actresses are incredible. I couldn't believe that Jennifer Hudson (one of the main girls) is an American Idol reject...I literally could not believe it because she was beyond amazing. Stirring, entertaining and fascinating.

This was my favorite song.

SO, go see the movie and maybe even get the sound track but don't expect to be able to sing along unless you are an amazing black woman with vocal chords like I don't know what...you will enjoy it.

Dreamgirls

Don't you just want to wear that dress and stand like that?

eat, drink and be MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Installment #1: The vacation

So I have just returned from my very long blogging sabbatical. December was an intensely busy month, so with it behind me I am ready to move on to a most busy year. But the future is its own entry.

My husband and I took our little family to Utah for the holidays. Against my wishes and greatest desires and begging, we did it the old fashioned way with a good old road trip. (in case you were wondering, I am the sane one and my husband is just more than slightly crazy...) Utah is far away. I kept reminding myself of all the great memories from family road trips growing up...it helped, a little.

We left on a Thursday night after Clark's last class meeting of the semester. We got out of here at about 9pm and drove straight through arriving in Bountiful at 8pm Friday night. Exactly 24 hours (we gained one somewhere in New Mexico...you always find things in the darndest places...New Mexico is always the last place ya look too...) Warm soup and loving arms greeted us, as did the snow that began to fall just 15 minutes before we arrived.

Our trip was full of lots of food, games and people we love and don't see near enough. We had so much fun playing in the snow, sledding, playing with cousins and being with our Mo and Papa who we miss terribly (they left us in Texas this year and we still haven't forgiven them!) So here we go, our trip was great...I'll cover the ride home another time---it's still too fresh in my mind.

Nativity Angels (we had lots of angels on account of the fact that none of the little girls wanted to be a sheep or cow, go figure...)

Four generations of beautiful people!!

My favorite girls in the whole world...

Seeing the lights in temple square was a special night for me, I couldn't wait to share that with the girls...with the snow it was amazing and beautiful!


The girls played outside just about every day. These Texans took a few days to acclamate but by the end they could stay out for an entire 45 mintues before freezing their little Southern toushes off!