"Why Sylar would want to eat my brain"....or..."My super powers"

These are some of the reasons why Sylar might want my brain...aka my special powers:
(including, but not limited to...because I'll think of lots more after I post this...)

1.I have a talent for grabbing the exact number of needed napkins or paper plates, without counting them out.
2. Sometimes I make it through an entire day without yelling at my kids.
3. I can go "X" amount of days without showering before someone notices.
4. My Christmas shopping is done...and its not December yet.
5. I can pick lots of things up with my toes, including manipulating the faucet on the bathtub without sitting up.
6. I can grow a human being right inside my body cavity.
7. I could eat an entire pumpkin chiffon pie by myself (if I had only made it right...)
8. I can cook pretty good (if my target audience is not between 2 and 6 years old).
9. I can be funny.
10. I can use ... as punctuation in lots of places...
11. I know when people are lying.
12. I have x-ray vision.
13. I can read fast.
14. I can color really well.
15. I can nurse a baby and cook dinner at the same time...without exposing myself.

"Hm...surprised you didn't know that."

What are some of your super human abilities?...

The best kinds of therapy...

A massage by a Dominican in a hut by the ocean in Costa Rica...(sometimes I just dream about it, again and again).
My favorite little Nano can suddenly enclose me in a bubble of private space that can't be touched...sometimes I keep one foot in reality by wearing only one head phone...not as fun but very necessary.
A little temple goes a long way.
Blogging buddies that make me feel connected and normal...or special.
Fresh snow, hot chocolate and little girls with excitement that can't be contained.
Coloring in the lines with just a smidgen of shading here and there.
A down comforter and a room with a ceiling fan.
Projects with a beginning and an end.

Blah blah blah

I got the blahs. We started out great but the kids have gone through a doozy this week. Adjustment hasn't been easy on them, it turns out. I have always been so impressed with their ability to adapt and be happy wherever we are but I think this may have just been too much all at once. We are without Dad, living at someone else's house, leaving their familiar surroundings, tired Momma and new place. I saw fits this week that I never though possible, lots of whining, lots of crying, lots of sass. I am trying hard to be patient because I know what they are going through...I'm sure a bunch of it came off of my vibe. The first couple of weeks are hard and lonely and stressful but I feel like we are on the up now. I sat through church on Sunday (on the verge of tears...kind of how I have felt the entire last week) and decided that it was time to be over the hard part and move on because this week just wasn't working for me. So when we got home, things got back into gear.
I sat with them and worried only about them. We snuggled more, we did activities together, calmly and quietly. We made a paper chain to connect them with Dad (it was disturbingly long). Then on Monday we had a family home evening where we reset their behavior buttons. We made a family rule chart that they helped with - along with the consequences and a reward system. We need more positive reinforcement. So we are all reset and ready to go. So far so good. We'll still have our rough patches, no doubt. But at least for now I feel a little more back to normal.

OUR WEEK IN PICTURES:

The biggest fit this side of the Mississippi...I left her to "cool off" and when I came back she had stripped the bed and pulled the mattress off along with half of her clothes...kind of like the incredible hulk but her skin was angry-pink instead of hulkishly green.









My Cheerios told me that they loved me...it made my morning in a very pathetic sort of way.







Aunt Abby found a prehistoric cell phone on our Sunday walk...it was funny...and in case you were wondering, she was phoning Mrs. Flinstone about a playdate.








To help everyone find a new focus on behavior we refreshed and made new family rules along with the cutest set of jars wherein they will put the cutest little laminated "tickets" for certain good behavior...25 of which will get them a pick from the equally adorable prize bucket (full of all sorts of little girl fancies...its amazing how a candy necklace or bouncy ball can shape behavior.)...its also amazing what materials I have at my fingertips here at Mo's..."Is this Heaven?....no, it's Mo's office."

My how things have changed...

So I thought I would take a moment and speak for everyone when I say our lives have changed for the time being. How you might ask? Let me illuminate the situation. (I am taking it upon myself to say how both my family's life has changed, and Mo's, since she is currently "under the gun" with schooling...educate on, Mo.)
With the exception that we are now minus one parental unit, our transition has really been quite minimal. We unloaded our carload of stuff and made ourselves comfortable. Physically we are acclimated (except of course for the disturbing increase in nasal secretions from the dry Utah weather...not so much secretions, as "witholdings" ie. We all wake up every morning with excess boogers. Mia doesn't like this new sensation and uses many opportunities a day to tell me, "boogers" while pointed to a wrinkled nose.)
Haley started school and is enthusiastic upon drop off and pick up...I am taking that as a good sign (and have found my comfort zone with yet another public school system after utterly defeated, I lower my standards, again....why don't I home school you ask? If you knew me, you would just know...let's just say we have acquainted ourselves with the local library for now.) And Haley has decided to start spelling her name with and "i"...I figure, whatever helps this 6 year old cope. I'm afraid she has carried the majority of the weight with this new transition...emotions are high. Bless her little heart--we're working with that as lovingly as possible.
Abby also started a pre-school with a really nice lady in Mo's ward who generously allowed us to skip ahead on her waiting list. Abby is also enthusiastic, mostly about the little rainbow chairs she gets to sit in during art time. She asks on a regular basis if Dad is coming home yet...she will single handedly drag this deployment out, I'm afraid. And in her prayers she always blesses Dad the "he will swim safely in his submarine".
Mia doesn't really know what is going on except that she has extra boogers that are too far up to reach and has now regressed (in the last six months) from her toddler bed, back to a crib, and now to a pack n play...I hope she doesn't think that she is just growing out of her spaces uncontrollably. There are deer in the backyard at any given time of day, thus providing Mia with hours of dinner conversation..."cuse me Papa, cuse me Papa...deer, go home...eat dinner...yada yada yada"
Ours is a win win situtation...we have loving grandparents an arm's length away, fun cousins, an endless supply of Orange Cream Soda and the biggest box of mozerella sticks you've ever seen in the freezer.
The moth population is booming in Utah. They cling to the front porch and the garage door. We have to make a mad dash out the door and often times just pretend that we are running through a poetic release of doves or butterflies like a bride and groom leaving the church. (Sometimes a few renegade moths make it all the way to the car with us where they cling to the windshield for dear life until I hit a high enough speed and they spiral off into another neighborhood.) I finally convinced Haley that they are "too fragile" to handle and "would you please stop catching them in your hands!"
I have discovered all of the delightful places to eat just within my reach here and take advantage almost daily. I love to eat out and it just so happens that all of the best places in the world are within five miles. So here I am, the kids in bed, 8pm, monkey pj's, Pei Wei in hand and watching all of Heroes season 1 with Mo in the most delicious chair ever made (I then proceed to bed whilst looking vigilantly out of the corners of my eyes for special powers among my house mates...then dreaming about Peter Petrelli and crazy super human abilities.) I also have a loving, reliable babysitter at a moments notice for school drop offs and doctor's appointments. It is such a relief.
Mo's life, on the other hand, has declined in order and organization. There is more trash, more dishes (which we try to help out with), more crumbs, more shoes and more people (and stuffed animals) in her bed upon waking up many mornings.

I try not to feel bad about our intrusion...you see, I long for the day when I have my space back and I can actually find things where I left them...we have forced Mo back into those early years of whiners, random whiffs of urine and handprints on the wall...all good for a Mom in that stage, probably a tad frustrating for a Mom who has been there, done that (and done it well.) I know that they are happy to have us and they are a tremendous support so we don't have to feel so lonely. For this we are grateful...I will just keep apologizing for our messes until next Spring and hope that little girl hugs can make up for our less convenient presence at times.

This is Haley's creative contribution to our stay. Isn't she crafty and optimistic? I'd say rather adaptable in my opinion.

The results are in...

Do you see any obviously "extra" appendages?

Neither did we. It's 86 the boys, ALL GIRLS for us!

*When I told Clark, he couldn't stop laughing...and then I promised him a membership at some manly golf club or his own bowling ball and shoes.

(her profile shot)

Brief recap

We left fall in Connecticut.
We drove from Connecticut to Utah...three long long long days (though Clark gets major points for logging ALL 40 hours behind the wheel while I read, tried to sleep and complained about little girls in public restrooms).We arrived in Utah, welcomed by loving arms and a comfy home.
Clark left.
There were some tears and I continue to hear "I miss Daddy" even though he has only been gone for 1 1/2 days...it might be a very long 4 months.
We had Halloween and even though Abby was sick she trodded down the street for a few houses of trick or treating.