A Matter of Shoes, Laundry, Toys & Toilet Paper

Okay, I'm posting this blog at my own risk. I know once it is out there, I am setting myself up for my family to retaliate. But I just have to post this, because I think it will make me feel better.

Here are a few pet peeves about my family:

How come we have closets with these:

Yet, I always find these in our front entry:

How come I find this:

When we have this:

Or I find this:

Instead of this:

But my last two big family pet peeves are these:

I don't have a picture of the first: My family (Mike included) will put empty containers back in the refrigerator. It could be a water bottle, a container of sour cream, yogurt, a box with no more ice-cream. EMPTY. I still can't figure this out. Why put it back in the refrigerator?

Hey guys, we do have one of these:

Look it still has the sticker on
it letting you know what it is.

And for my final pet peeve: DRUM ROLL PLEASE
How come I find this:

When I should see this:

This is a little tongue in cheek, but can anyone relate? To be fair, I know I do a lot of things that irritate my family: I yell too much, I leave my one pair of shoes out sometimes, I drip water from my hands on the kitchen floor, I'm anal about the house being "tidy", I ask for explicit details of things. I know my family could add to this list. I guess I should be afraid, very afraid.

It's just frustrating. I tried to explain my frustration to Mike. He doesn't get it. I tried to tell him this: Imagine you are at work and you fix a computer that took at least two hours of your day and someone comes along and does something to undo all that you did and you have to start over. Every time you fix it, it gets messed up again.

He just says, "Well, I guess I'd be happy."

Me: "HAPPY! ARE YOU KIDDING!" Happy that someone is messing up what you worked hard to fix.

Mike: "Well, yeah, at least I have a job, right? If nothing ever needed to be fixed, I wouldn't have a job." He adds, "You need to relax and enjoy life a little more.

Ever the optimistic. (This is me sighing....)

Maybe I should be happy I have a job too, or maybe, just maybe all of this came about because of this:

PMS

(I hope this last part of the post did not offend anyone. If so, I apologize and please forgive me. I guess I'm just hoping that someone can relate.)

Saturday, Yard Work Day

I guess I'm in a bloggin mood this morning. Or maybe I'm just procrastinating the laundry and cleaning I need to do. Take your pick.

Saturday, we got up early to do some yard work (we wanted to get it done before the rain hit again). Yes, we had the girls come out and help too. We are not the type of parents that say this is for girls, this is for boys. Plus, we don't have boys, but even if we did, you can bet that he would be learning to wash dishes, laundry etc. too.

We told the girls they needed to come outside and help. I was on one side of the house raking with Ariel and Cecily went to the other. I did not see Cecily when she came out. When I did see her though, I could not help but laugh. This is why:















I don't know what is funnier: That A) Cecily thought that it was fine to come out in her white gymnastics leotard with the ruffled skirt (I guess I should give her credit. She did put on a t-shirt) with those shoes to do yard work, OR B) that Mike thought it was okay for her to be doing yard work in her white gymnastics leotard with the ruffled skirt and those shoes. LOL

That's my family: Imperfectly Perfect. Now our neighbors really do think we are crazy! LOL

I'm Gonna Miss This...Part Two

After reading Susan's blog this morning, she reminded me to not rush life with my kids so fast. To slow down and enjoy the time we have together. To create memories. Remember that's what got this whole blog thing started for me (that entry has been my favorite blog entry, with the dawg one being a close second.)

While making a comment on Susan's blog, I started writing about a good memory that happened last night, and then I realized hey I need to blog about this, so that I will always have it to remember.

Let me digress again (this is becoming a habit I think). Anyway, this is what I love about the whole blogging thing. It helps me to remember too. It gives me ideas for writing. Thanks Susan!

Back to the story...

Last night, Cecily came up to me with her cute "skinny" little self and a blankie and said, "Mommy will you rock me and sing me a song." It was so sweet, I wish ya'll could hear how she asked. Oh, and I did say she was little, but she's not that little. She is probably about 48 inches tall and 7 years old. But I seized the moment and took it.

As she crawled up into my lap and got settled in, my heart was touched once again. Memories began flooding in of when she was a baby, and I rocked her in that same chair. I told her that when we brought her home from the hospital that her little legs did not even come near to touching the sides of the chair arms, and now look they are more than over taking them. I thought back about how little she was (6lb. 5 oz.) and how perfect she was. I thought about her tiny feet and her little fingers.

And last night, as I sang, I looked down at this beautiful little girl, who is such the big helper. She is a sweet girl. We could not have asked Heavenly Father to send us a better match for our family (well, don't say that to Ariel, her response might be different...we're trying.).

It's funny, when we brought Cecily home, we could not have imagined (even though, we tried) what she would come to be like at 2, 5, 7 let alone a teenager, a young adult, and eventually a mother of someone else one day. One never knows until you actually reach those milestones. All we can do is pray, put our faith in teaching them what's right, and hope for the best.

Two thoughts come to my head right now:

1) When I was a little girl, WAY before I was a member of the church, there was a church commercial that showed a mom & dad looking into a baby nursery after their baby girl was born, then it showed them having flashes of her getting older, teaching her to ride a bike, her playing with friends, in a ballet tutu, graduating from high school, her dad palying with her. It was as though they were watching her grow up, it ended with them taking her home. I don't remember the tag line, I just remember even as a child loving that commercial. It's weird how some things always stick with you. I was like 5 yrs. old when I first saw that commercial and I LOVED it, and I have never forgotten it.

I think of that commercial because one minute our children are sweet precious babies who need us for everything and the next minute, they are grown, and we hope they will want to need us for something anything.

The second thing I think of is: The book "Love You Forever". That story always makes me cry. Although, I won't sneak in their rooms or houses when they are grown to rock them. In my heart I will be. Sobb... The love that mama has for her baby in the story radiates off the pages. It's so tender and sweet. And don't we all hope that our children will have that same kind of love for us? I know I do.

...And so if either of my children come to me with a blankie and ask me to rock and sing to them in the rocking chair, no matter how big or old, you can betcha that I will. Because I will "Love Them Forever and My Baby They'll Be".

Dinner Conversation

As we were finishing up dinner tonight, part of the dinner conversation, and an action by Cecily gave reason for us all to laugh. Here it is:

Ariel: Dad didn't eat his tomatoes.

Me: Well, if Dad wants to die because he doesn't eat his vegetables...
Then I glance over at Cecily's plate which has her untouched salad on it
Me: and set a bad example for Cecily I guess that's his choice.

Ariel: Yup, Cecily's gonna probably die too because she won't even touch her vegetables.

We all look over at Cecily, who quietly, but quickly reaches over and touches her cucumber.

I guess by taking Ariel's comment literally, she feels she is safe, and all is well. Hey she did touch them, right?

LOL....gotta love kids.

BTW--before I get any bad comments that I should not be telling my family members they are going to die b/c they don't eat their vegetables: I'm already aware that it is not the smartest choice in words for a mother, but hey, after years of trying to get them to eat vegetables, any vegetable, I'm desperate. Oh, and don't tell me to shred them or blend them up (the vegetables, of course) and add them to food---that's way too much work, and I'm just not that good of a mom. Besides, if I did that, they would have to eat the whole entire dish of "whatever" to still get the serving size. But I do appreciate your concern. Smiles...

Easier Said Than Done

I know they were just earrings.

But they were special.

"Were" being the key word...

On our first Christmas that Mike and I were married, he bought me a pair of REAL pearl earrings. I love pearls (even more than diamonds), but all I had ever been able to afford was the cheap costume jewelry. Not that there is anything wrong with that, heck most of my jewelry is that way. That's why these were special. I loved them and wore them often, UNTIL...

A dreadful thing happened. My ears got infected after I purchased a cheap pair of earrings (I told you most of my jewelery is fake), and wore them for just one day (I can't sleep in earrings, weird I know). Before you wonder, yes, I did clean them before wearing (even the thought of not doing so is too gross). I don't know what went wrong; they were hypoallergenic. But my ears got badly infected. Those cheap earrings really had an adverse effect on me. I still can not wear earrings (even expensive ones) without them getting infected again. Strange?

Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. A few Sunday's ago, I decided to wear my pearl necklace (another Christmas gift from Mike---and they are real too). My ears had cleared up, and so I decided to give earrings another chance. I turned to my good 'ole faithful pearls. But, I could not find them anywhere. I have torn this house apart looking for them. I have asked Mike and the girls. No one has seen them. They have disappeared.

Do you know what it feels like to be searching for something you love and can't find it? It reminds me a bit now of Ann's blog about The Red King. Although her story is a bit different, it's still the same. The need to find something.

Mike, the ever optimistic, says his famous words: "They'll show up. They've got to be around here somewhere."

But I just don't believe it. I've searched and searched to no avail. And I'm really good at finding things. Whenever anyone in our family is missing something, they mention it to me and I go on a rampage until it is found (I wish they did the same for me). It's been a good two weeks and they have not shown up.

Ariel reminded me of the very thing that I always remind her of: "If you put them back where they were suppose to be, you would be able to find them."

Don't you hate it when your own teaching logic comes back and bites you in the butt??

So, I sit here typing about it. Hoping something will jog my memory, and I will remember where they are. And hoping, too, that they did not get vacuumed up (as Ariel also reminded me of).

And I'm really sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. Again, I know they are just earrings, but I loved those things. I was hoping to pass them down to Cecily along with the pearl necklace (Ariel is getting my engagement ring someday).

Yesterday, there was a baptism at church and I wore my pearl necklace, minus the earrings. Sobb....

I always tell my girls that there is a lesson to be learned in all life experiences. What's mine for this one? It's just a material possession. You can't take it with you. There are more important things in life than pearl earrings.

I know, I know. Trust me I know. I should not put so much stock in a material possession. I'm not a "scriptorian", but all those scriptures (although badly misquoted) keep popping in my head about not focusing on the things of the world. Again, I know this is true, but I guess the natural man in me realizes that it's easy to say, but hard to let go.

I Have Been Outted--I'm Guilty Too!

If you haven't been to my friend Susan's blog yet, you probably don't understand my title (BTW, you should check out her blog if you haven't, it's really cute.)

Her first post today: Confessions of a Blog Stalker.

In that post she mentions that I introduced her to blog stalking. So in light of her post: Hi, I'm Andrea, and I too am a blog stalker. LOL.

Whew...soo glad to get that off my chest.

I didn't mean to be one. It just happened. One click led to another click, and before I knew it, I was hooked. I couldn't stop. This is coming from a person who shuttered at the thought of someone I did not know would be reading my blog. I guess I was paranoid, at first, that someone "weird" would start "stalking me and my family". And then I became the "stalker", but not in a weird way. Does that make sense?

Like Susan, I also put up a widget so that I could easily get to the blogs that I have come across. It became hard for me to remember which blogs that I had been to that I loved, and wanted to revisit. There are even a few that I can't find anymore. SOB, SOB, SNIFF, SNIFF... These people who don't even know me. But they uplift me, provide some humor on a daily basis, helped me learn to be more frugal, have given me some good recipes, and seem like really nice people who I would secretly wish to be friends with.

Does that make me crazy? Please don't answer that.

However, I don't want to call it "stalking". That sounds so creepy to me. I don't want to be creepy.

Can we just call it visiting, droppin' by for a spell? I know Susan and I are not the only bloggers who do this "stalking" thing, have you come up with a better name for it? If so, please do share. For when my husband asks me what I'm doing, I hate to reply, "blog stalking". He knows that sometimes I can be strange, but this might push him over the edge.

I guess this whole "stalking" thing cures my need to know. I mean have you ever had that need? Have you ever been sitting in traffic (not literally, but in your car) and look over at the car beside you and wonder about that person or family? You know what I mean...have you ever thought, "I wonder what that person is like? Where do they live? What is she fixing for dinner?Are they happy or sad? What was there day like? I wonder where they are going?

Well, I do. Sometimes I even make things up about them. Okay, so maybe that part's a little weird.

The other day, we were at a stop light, and I saw this woman just dancing and singing away in her car. My girls were laughing, but I could tell that she didn't care if people were looking, and that made me start to wonder about her. I wondered: What allowed her to have so much confidence (I would love to have that)? Then I thought I bet she is fun to be around. One thought led to another.

Maybe you don't know what I mean.

I have mentioned it to my husband before, and he seriously looks at me and says, "No, I can't say that I have ever thought about other people lives ,who I don't know, nor do I even care to."

Then, I think maybe that is what is wrong with the world today? Maybe we should care. Maybe we should want to know what our neighbors are like. No one tries to get to know other people anymore. We are so busy and worried about our own life, that we don't have time to think about anyone elses.

Maybe I have too much time...

Or maybe I'm just making all of this up to make me feel better for being a "stalker".

Who knows....But for those of you who read this, I'm really not a crazy, weird person. I'm just an average, college educated (I know you would not know this by my writing), stay-at-home mom who loves her family; and has always wanted to travel the world and surround herself with interesting people who have stories to tell that might not necessarily get told unless you ask (boy that was a mouth full). So, I guess blogging, and the whole "stalking" (man, I really do hate that word, shutter) provides a way for me to do that.

Thanks for helping me get out of denial Susan. I feel good about "getting to know my fellow bloggers". And in some strange way, I think it has made a better person of me. It has helped me stop and recognize the people around me.

I admire that from the "get-go" Susan was able to put her "blog-stalking" ways at the top of her page. I was so embarrassed that I tried to hide my list of "Blogs I Stalk" at the bottom, hoping no one would notice. Maybe I'll put mine at the top too...tomorrow. Smiles.

That's How You Know...

The other day, I called Mike at work to ask him something, and when we were about to hang up, I said my usual, "love you!". Well, he didn't say anything back and so I said, "How come you didn't tell me you love me back?"
He said, "Well, there's other people here right now."
So, I decided to have some fun. I said, "Oh, I get it. You're too embarrassed to let the rest of the world hear you say that you love your wife." He replied, "you know I do, I don't have to say it." I said, "How do I know? I think you do need to say it."
So Mike nervously laughs and says softly, "I love you too."
That was the end of the conversation. I couldn't help but smile when I hung up the phone.
Later that evening, I jokingly brought it back up while he was getting ready to go home teaching. We were both laughing about it. Then I started singing (yes, I know that's not my greatest talent) the song from Enchanted, "That's How You Know" (in case you don't know. It's the 2nd song on my playlist). I was singing the part from the beginning of the song that says, "How does she know you love her? How does she know she's yours?" Hearing me sing this alone was enough to make anyone laugh....especially the girls. But I kept singing it over and over.
So as he walks to the door, he said, "What do you want me to go outside and scream it?" I laughingly shrugged my shoulders and said, "Sure, then I would know you aren't embarrassed to tell the world." Can I just say, I was so shocked with what he did next, and really must admit I was the one who was a little embarrassed. What did he do, you ask?
He went outside in our front yard held out his arms really wide and yelled in a loud husky voice , "I LOVE MY WIFE, I LOVE MY WIFE!" LOL....But it didn't end there. He walked to the street and said, "IN CASE YOU DIDN'T HEAR ME THE FIRST TIME, I LOVE MY WIFE. I LOVE MY WIFE. I LOVE HER!" It was so LOUD! I said, "OKAY, OKAY. I think we all know! You can stop." I was laughing, and so was he and the girls. I should have known the crazy guy would do something like that. I told you he can always make me laugh. However, I'm sure our neighbors think we are some kind of lunatics.
But I can't let this story end there, because it really doesn't. Mike telling me that he loves me in words are far from the way that I know that he loves me. Anybody can say words. But just like the saying goes, his actions speak much louder. He gives me respect, he does little things for me like help with the dishes, help with the girls, he is forgiving, he will get up from what he is doing, and bring me a drink, pillow and blanket while I'm watching TV---just because I ask him to (and usually I'm closer to those objects), I could keep going, but I think you get the point.
I do want to say that one of the things that will forever touch my heart is one time someone said to me in front of him, "Oh, you don't have a job." He jumped in the conversation and sincerely replied, "Yes, she does. She has the hardest, most important job there is, but gets the least amount of pay and recognition for it. She is raising my children." I love that about him, and it brings tears to my eyes typing it because I know he means it. So That's How I Know....I Really, Really Do Know. Thanks sweetie.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Ice-Cream!

A few months back, Annie had a post about the ice-cream truck coming to her neighborhood. When I read her blog, I joked that her neighborhood must keep him very busy because we NEVER see the truck. Well, I guess now that the Emmertson's are in Utah, the ice-cream man (or I guess I should say lady) isn't getting enough business in their neighborhood so they are venturing out---into my neighborhood. The other night around 5:45pm, my girls heard the music of the ice-cream truck. Come on, you know what I'm talking about---that music is like a call sign for my children as well as every other child in America--oh those little chiming bells.

That's when it happens. They begin to start acting crazier than normal, yelling for money etc. They lucked out this time because I rarely carry cash anymore (gotta love debit cards), but I managed to find 2 dollars and gave each girl a dollar. Well, I guess it has been a really long time since we've seen the ice-cream man because the prices have gone up (we could even see the stickers on top of the old prices). Boy have they gone up. I guess with gas prices, she needs to continues to make her money too. Luckily, there was one ice-cream (and only one) that was a dollar. The bubblegum pop. Even though that is not nearly what the girls would have bought had they had more money, they were both very thankful for what they had. We are trying to teach them to be more thankful (Mike's favorite saying to us now is, "These are hard times we are living in"). For the most part, I think they are learning that money doesn't grow on trees and we are trying to live within our budget and save for a rainy day.

Anyway, here is a picture of the girls thankful that the ice-cream lady had something for $1.00

Here is them enjoying their treat!

Let me just say, I am a REALLY BIG thrift shopper. Some may even call me cheap. But I read on someone's blog recently, that they are following Dave Ramsey's Advice: "live like no one else now so that you can live like no one else later". This has become my new motto--so cheap I am, and proud of it!

I told the girls that for now on, I will play some ice-cream truck music and then they can run up to our freezer really excited and I will give them an ice-cream because for the price that I paid for those two ice creams, I could buy a box full. I know it's probably more "fun" to buy a treat from an ice-cream truck, but I think it is one of the BIGGEST WASTE of money ever. My poor kids, they are probably going to need therapy one day, but hey at least they'll be frugal. LOL