what a beautiful mess

Josh/Joe calls the chickens his buddies.  He's always picking them up and carrying them around.  I'm not so sure the chickens love it but they don't complain...

I don't really mean a "review" since it's more like an awkwardly written paragraph with awkwardly written sentences...not at all a review. And especially not like those really good ones that you read on goodreads. But here I go anyway. I recently finished the book Falling Together written by Marisa de los Santos. It was an awesome book. It was funny, sweet, surprising, engaging. It was just a really good story and I would definitely recommend it to adults . But...it used bad language at times. Well just one colorful character in the book often used very colorful language. It's all in the context (I think.). There were no bedroom/inappropriate parts. So that's good, right? I've read a previous book by this author and I loved that one as well. I do believe that I have found a new author to be loyal to. Today I went to the library and picked up Joy in the Morning written by Betty Smith (she also wrote A Tree Grows In Brooklyn~ excellent book) and L...

 Today was Dork and Diva day at the girls school.  They did their mother proud by both choosing to be Dorks.  And I'd say they both pulled it off pretty well. I watched my all time favorite show while on the treadmill.  Without fail, Frasier makes me laugh out loud every single time I watch it.  Of course since I'm on the treadmill, I have to scoot the TV out away from the wall and turn my head to the side in order to watch,  but it's well worth it.  I opened the fridge this afternoon and the salsa fell out and splashed everywhere.  All over me, the stove, the inside of the fridge, the floor.  It was quite messy.  Here's my little book worm.  He came home from school, ate his snack and declared: "I'm going to change into comfy clothes and read." And that's just what he did.  For a very long time.  It's been a really good day.   And the best of the best?  I ha...

Look at this girl~ just adorable. I absolutely love her three dimples~ a perfect trifecta of cuteness. I feel as if I'm getting better at this mom thing...or that I at least have my moments of better-ness with this girl. She's essentially been our "trial and error" being the first born. Thank heavens (literally) that she is such a good girl. She's happy all the time (unless she's hungry~ we've figured out that hungry=orneriness with her). She's quick to smile (those dimples!) and has a great sense of humor. And I especially love her laugh. I love you Emily Delight!

Now that Annabelle is 10 years old and in the 5th grade, she's growing up and maturing...fast. However, she does still skip and hop and bounce around a lot. She's never been content to just walk places. Her endless energy always amazes me. She is becoming such a good little lady. I have many moments throughout my days with her where I just feel proud and pleased with who she is. I love you Annabelly!

Obama campaign is hawking a new design for the American flag. Does this remind anyone else of Big Brother (via the book 1984 not the trashy reality show)

This is my first book review. Which isn't so much a review as it's just a bunch of sentences thrown together, trying to make sense, but not quite succeeding. Enjoy. Rated PG This book took me quite awhile to read. But that's probably because I read it mainly at night...unless I felt like I was at a good part in the story, and only then would I pick it up during the day. There was never a part of the book that I wouldn't allow my kids to read.. Although it's adult themed so kids just wouldn't be interested in it. There were times even I wasn't interested in it. I've read two other books written by this same author and this one has been my least favorite.  It's a story about Conrad, a seventy five year old widow who sees an angel in the garden that he and his late wife Rose cultivated and loved for years. The appearance of the angel sets off a series of events that turn life in their small town upside down. Since it was about a garden, there w...

Slowly but surely, I am teaching the girls what their bedtime routine *should be.  Washing face? check.  Brushing teeth? check.  Deciding what to wear tomorrow?  check.  (It should be noted that I myself do not always follow this same routine. But most of the time, I do.) Annabelle goes so far as to lay her clothes out on the floor.  And every morning that girl is up at 6 and ready by 6:30. Emily doesn't even get out of bed until 7.... They are both their own kind of wonderful uniqueness. 

It's a never ending battle with my girls. I've gone as far as making them sit down and watch an episode of Hoarders. It didn't work. And this isn't even very bad. It's been worse, much worse. I'm afraid my face is going to eventually look like this forever. (that's my incredulous face. not happy face.) I've also tried guilt tactics, bribing, doing it myself, ignoring it. Ah well. It's a good thing they are such good girls. Otherwise, there would be no excuse.

One of my most favorite weekly chores is washing my sheets. I always look forward to 5:45 when Trevor gets home and the first thing we do (after a snack) is go lay on our bed. It's even better when the sheets smell nice and the bed is big and fluffy. It's been a productive day. I've washed sheets, done laundry, mopped, been a mom (kids are now in bed), still a wife (we're not in bed yet), made dinner, sat back and enjoyed FHE given by the girls, read my book, ran 4 miles (kind of hard today...) and I am going to be going to bed for the first time in days without a stomachache. Productive, indeed. I also took some pictures. Notice the boxers sticking out of the shorts, the rib cage, and the look of concentration in order to catch the laffy taffy his dad is throwing at him. And they both built that airport out of legos together. (yep, it's an airport...you have to use your imagination) And here is the best of the best: That's Joe eating his ...

I'm still not back on a regular blogging schedule. And it's starting to bum me out. But this week I have an excuse; I was a little ornery. Just ask Trevor. He never tells me when I'm moody but he certainly hasn't denied it this week. I'm better now since we have just had a really fantastic weekend. It started on Friday night. We went to a comedy show for a date. We laughed and laughed, it was so funny. On Saturday morning, we woke up at 5:10 A.M.! to go to the earliest temple session. It's kind of hard for me to stay awake that early but I did it and really enjoyed it. Since the kids were good while we were gone (we called to make sure), we brought home a treat; Pop Tarts and hot chocolate. They never get Pop Tarts so they were in junk food heaven. We pretty much just hung around the house on Saturday, attempting to do yard work but successfully putting it off. Trevor made salsa while I watched which is always entertaining; he's a really good chopper...

1. A kind and thoughtful husband who isn't afraid to tell me how he feels. And who knows what to say and when. Also, I love that he's not afraid to be affectionate with me in front of the kids, who usually cover their eyes and pretend to be grossed out. (I remember doing the same thing to my parents. They seemed to kiss... a lot.) 2. A happy dinner table. Even though we were just having fried eggs, english muffins and yellow squash. They all still loved it and were very thankful. (Trevor even ate a forkful of the squash but he hated it and I can't blame him. Something about the way it squeaks against the teeth...icky.) 3. I can still play the piano. Slowly, but that's okay. And sometimes I just pluck out the right hand but there's a melody there to sing along to. 4. My friend Stephanie is a huge blessing. It's been about six years since we met and we both have moved a lot since then; she went as far as Alaska. But I love getting together with her and visit...

Today in the young women lesson I taught, we learned about avoiding degrading media. I learned a lot from this lesson and from the girls and their comments. I realized that I have a tendency to rationalize the books I read that have inappropriateness in them. I say to myself that "it'll get better" or "it's a really good author" or a million other ways to ease the guilt I feel. NO MORE , I say! It's not just movies and TV shows that are trashy. Literature has that same problem. I personally believe that books should have ratings just like movies. There's nothing worse than getting to page 100 only to stumble upon some dirty, nasty words/images. And I'm always wondering if I should keep reading or not (unfortunately, I usually keep reading). And so I have decided to clean up my mind by avoiding books, websites and music that are degrading to me in some way or another. Like people.com. Is it really worthwhile to me? Does it impose me to have unr...

Lately, Carl is the only one who gets naps. (unless it's Sunday...then Trevor and I both demand one) If I was a big, hairy dog, I would expect naps everyday also and would just lay down where ever I wanted to (even it it was in everyone's way). You can just catch a glimpse of my moccasins. And trust me they.are.cute. I love  madewell . My new favorite singer this week? Cat Stevens. It took me watching the movie Harold and Maude to really listen to his music. Wow. And hey, I'm not going to be shy.  I'm going to sing out to the wild world that I love his songs. (if you also like Cat Stevens, then you'll understand the previous sentence...) 

Another great Sunday. And since my last post was last Sunday, it's easy to remember how great that one was. The nice thing about today was that it just seemed to never end. That's so good because we were all having such a good time (but don't assume that it was perfect; it wasn't but the good parts made up for the not so great parts; like the fighting and hitting...) A week ago Friday, I went running. It was a long, seven mile run and it was really good. I made it in a little over an hour and I felt really good afterward. Although my shoes were really old. I knew I needed to replace them but figured they would be fine for a little while longer. Well they weren't. I strained my right foot and since then, it's hurt really bad. Really, really bad. And I can't seem make it better. I did yoga last night which helped temporarily but this morning it was back to hurting again after I wore heels to church. Trevor suggested wrapping it and through my frustration ...