For Mom

So, here are some Easter pictures. I was trying to tell my mom about what the Easter Bunny brought, pictures speak a thousand words. Notice how cute the girls dresses are and how PERFECTLY they match the Crocs! That Easter Bunny is a freaking genius (or a really good shopper!) See, EB was just going to get them Crocs and had them picked out and in hand a whole 6 weeks before Easter and then realized the night before that the kids didn't have any new church clothes for Easter Sunday and were really looking forward to having something new. EB has brought Easter dresses before, so they figured they were covered. Well, when EB realized this at 9 pm Saturday night there was no other choice but to run to Walmart. Amazingly, perfectly matched clothing was found. Way to go EB!

Potato??

I don't know who's child this is!

Willson got into the pantry and somehow got the bag of potatoes open and decided to dig in. He was working on this potato for a few days. Whenever he thought he would get caught he put it back in the pantry, to save for later. He didn't end up eating much of it, it's a raw potato...who would want to eat that? He actually stopped messing with the potatoes as soon as I got pictures of it. Maybe it was just the naughty factor that "tasted" good. He also had a tomato from the fridge that he worked on every time I opened the door. The funny thing is he won't eat tomatoes if I put them on his plate. And every time he bit the tomato he made an icky face. I guess he's like me...they look really yummy till you try them and then remember that you don't like tomatoes!

Yay Computers!

We finally got out new computer back! The power button once again works! I haven't been able to post any pictures, since it's been gone, because I lost the cord to plug my camera into my computer. With the new computer I can just pop the memory card into it. So nice! So, my blog for the next week or so is going to be overrun with pictures. I've saved a lot of things for blogging that needed the picture to go with. So, sorry if you don't enjoy the pictures, as I say to my kids...

Tough Noogies

; )-

Bikes please!

The other night Andy was in a mood...a good one, if you're in the mood to laugh, which thankfully I was. It all started after school. The kids got bikes for Christmas and since we lived on a busy street before they never learned to ride. Andy recently taught Savannah and Mason how to ride(the weather's finally been nice enough). So every afternoon they start in with the begging to ride in the court. We live at the end of a nice long court, so wonderful for riding. Now, this can happen even with Willson, he has a little push horse bike that he loves to ride with the big kids, but is very difficult to keep eyes on everyone, with only 1 adult. Mason is not the most conscientious biker, Savannah's not the most confident, Laney's fine, and Willson is just everywhere, not always on the bike. Usually we assign one adult to Will and one to the rest. I was not in the mood to deal with the chaos by myself, so I was outside letting Willson play in the backyard with the kids as opposed to riding. The second Andy walks up, returning from work, the kids start in on him. He usually gives in, but dinner was ready. As soon as dinner was over they all started again. Andy gave in and said in 10 minutes he would come out so they could ride. Mason thought this was a great idea, but needed some insurance, so he went to set the timer. I was busy doing something else so didn't notice what was going on till Andy just starts laughing. At this point Mason is frustrated, so I go to see what's wrong. When Mason when to set the timer Andy started feeding him numbers. When Mason complained that is wasn't working is when Andy started cracking up. Turns out Andy purposely fed him an extra zero knowing it wouldn't work. Guess he didn't want to go outside. So then I start laughing because hey, that's an awesome idea. I never thought to try that! So, conflict resolves by Andy giving him the correct amount of zeros for 10 minutes, instead of 100. Mason joins his sisters in the backyard to play until the 10 minutes are up. Andy decided he's not done yet. It was such a beautiful day, that all the windows were open so he starts trash talking the kids out the window. And guess what, they give it right back.

Wicked Witch

Delaney is so easy going about so many things, but the one thing she is crazy about is water. If there is even one drop on her, the whole outfit has to go! She literally freaks out! So, last night at dinner all of the sudden I heard

"ooh, ooh, ooh (with increasing drama and tragedy) I spilled my water."

Andy and I both pop off with "you're fine" without even glancing in her direction to investigate damage. Of course this only makes her more upset and more insistent that she have a new shirt (30 minutes before bed time). I was about to tell her that she could change into her pajamas if she wanted, which NEVER goes over well, when Andy pops off with

"Wait, wait, wait"

Laney stops the tirade immediately. Hum, a little dramatic?

Then Andy says "I need to ask you a question."

Delaney sniffles and says "what?"

Andy says "Are you the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Laney "huh?"

So, he says it again "Are you the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Delaney is still totally confused, but she's now forgotten that her shirt has a spot of water on it.

Andy says "Are you melting?"

She looks at him like he's crazy and says "No"

Then he says "Well if you're not the Wicked Witch and you're not melting, then you're fine."

She then remembers that spilled water started this whole thing and is upset again. Deciding she's not going to get any sympathy from Andy, with is actually quite odd-he's the softy, she turns to me and holding out her shirt says

"Mommy look my shirt is wet"

very pitifully.

I crack and send her to her room for a new shirt (not a pajama shirt, dang it).

She happily finishes her dinner, with the new shirt and then goes out to play.

Man Stuff

Savannah invited a friend over to play today, so the three girls were out in the yard while Mason worked on his homework. He was so good about it today! Not one complaint, which in our house is extremely rare. Just as he was finishing up the girls all came to play in the house. He quickly finished reading his last book then told me...

"I'm going outside to do Man Stuff!

None of that girlie stuff, dododo, I'm a princess."

Of course using his falsetto in order to imitate the girls.

Mason's man stuff includes riding his bike on the grass, climbing tress and digging in my flower beds. When we first moved here I tried to tell him that they were for me to plant flowers or vegetables, whatever I wanted, but I quickly realized those flower beds were way more important to him then they are to me. So, he's taken over. Every couple of months the kids come up with a toy we haven't seen in quite a while because it's been buried in the backyard and has just surfaced in one of Mason's new holes. We have determined that digging is one of Mason talents. You need a hole dug, you call Mason. He's a professional!

Yummy!!

We had the most yummy salad for dinner! The kids even ate it! It was a spinach tortellini salad. My friend, Eryn, has a blog with just recipes. And let me tell you, she has amazing recipes! On my "Blogs I Visit" check out Second Day Cafe. It's totally worth it. Look for the Spinach Tortellini Salad and Quinoa Salad. I have personally tried both of those and can attest to their yumminess!

Not the Sissy Stuff

This email was sent to me yesterday and I laughed...hard.

"Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good,

but never actually come close to reality?
Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this
Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.
1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I would change that to Dr. Pepper)
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again.

I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off after I'm finished laughing .
9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!
Friendship is like peeing your pants,
everyone can see it,
but only you can feel the true warmth.
Send this to 10 of your closest friends,
Then get depressed because you can only think of 4."

What I've learned...so far

I actually started reading the "7 Habits" book yesterday. I'm as shocked as you are. I really didn't think I would do it, but my post yesterday really inspired me. I guess I was finally ready to accept that maybe I didn't have all the answers.

I am actually loving the book.

I'm already on p.96!

I've learned so far that I am emotionally immature and that I am reactive instead of proactive. Nice.

I'm not bothered by it though. I'm just like, okay that's not good.

Maybe I should uh work on that.

I was talking with Andy yesterday, before I found out that I'm reactive instead of proactive, I was just emotionally immature at that point, anyway I was telling him about what I'd discovered and I could tell he was trying to gage my reaction, see he knows I'm reactive, before he said anything.

I started laughing.

He looked at me funny and I said you know, it is what it is. I'm going to start working on that.

It was so wonderful to share this with my husband and to talk and listen to each other! I told him I was going to blog about being emotionally immature and he looked at me horrified!

I don't see the big deal.

Here's the shocker, I'm not afraid to admit that I have weaknesses...gasp!

Now, there's no way I would have been able to admit this before,

remember emotionally immature.

But, as I was telling Andy, blogging is cathartic.

It's not nearly as confrontational (or embarrassing) as saying it out loud.

I hope you take this in the spirit meant.

Laugh, it's okay, I am.

Obsess Much?

So, if you can't tell, I'm a little obsessed with brown lately.

I don't know what it is about it, I just LOVE it!

I went Visiting Teaching yesterday and the message was, at first glance, one that I wasn't crazy about. A couple of months ago there was the most fabulous message, but can I even remember what it was about? Nope. Well this months is on Scripture Study. As I was sharing this message with my friend Amanda, I really started thinking. And thinking and thinking. I think about all the things I obsess about. My blog, others blogs, my books, brown. Why don't I obsess over more important things? We were talking about the books we read. Andy recently read "7 Habits" and absolutely loved it. He along with my Sister-in-Law have been encouraging me to read it. I just don't want to. I don't know why. There is absolutely no reason why I can't read that book. I just won't make time for it. Andy has so many books about how to be a better person, how to bring yourself closer to God and our Savior. I haven't read a single one, but have read almost every teen vampire novel there is to read and let me tell you there are a ton!

My new goal is to "obsess" over the right things...

Scriptures, my kids, my husband, my home

I need to "obsess" over making my home a place of refuge from the world. I place for ALL of us, not just the kids, to learn, grow and be strengthened. I need to "obsess" over what my Father in Heaven thinks of me and what I can do to show him how much I love him, to show him how much I appreciate the love, guidance, and support he gives me.

To truly be his daughter.

To show that I am deserving of his love.

That's my new obsession.

What do I do now???

Okay, so I now have 2 poo stories. Willson was wearing a long sleeve thermal onesie(his pants were in the dryer) and I thought I was safe.

Once again I was wrong.

Willson came up to me and I noticed a distinctive smell. So, I picked him up and was going to go change his diaper when I realized that his butt was not as large as it should be, so apparently there was a diaper loose somewhere in the house. I asked Willson where his diaper was and he led me directly to it. There was only one problem. The diaper was not poopy. Now knowing that the foul beast wasn't in his diaper or his onesie that means it was somewhere in the house. That's when the real panic set in. Luckily I was able to easily locate it by sniffing it out, still in the boys room. Apparently, the onesie was just loose enough that he was able to get one snap undone. Then he reached in undid one diaper strap and off came the diaper. Now this is where it gets gross. One of two things happened. He either proceeded to sit on Mason blanket and release said beast or walked on Mason's blanket and said beast escaped the onesie. This is all an assumption, of course, from the evidence provided. I got him cleaned up and a fresh diaper on and was taking him to the Living Room to get dressed. I made the mistake of letting him walk himself in. I grabbed his clothes, from the dryer, and as I rounded the corner he looked in the eye, yanked the strap on his diaper, the diaper immediately falls and he's off running, laughing and saying "naked, naked".

My question is this...

If a onesie doesn't work, what does???

Anyone...

Anyone...

Please help!

Priceless

I was telling Andy how Willson was driving me nuts. It's one of those days where he only took a one hour nap and he's just following me around the house screaming. I noticed that Willson was in his room. I told Andy that in just a minute he was going to start screaming at me to get him off of Mason's bed. Mason has a junior loft bed. Willson likes to climb onto to it and then yell and scream till someone comes to get him off. I've been trying to teach him to climb down, but it's not going too well. He seems content to yell until someone gets him down and then immediately climb back up. Then, of course, the screaming begins again 5 minutes later. Although, it is kind of nice when he is up there because at least I know that he's not getting into anything else. Andy replied with "peace of mind, that would be a good MasterCard commercial." I started laughing and he said...

"Rugs need to be cleaned...$75

Picture needs to be matted...$125

17 month old stuck on his big brother's bed...priceless"

How true is that!

Well, he's screaming again. Better go get him off Mason's bed!

Easter Dinner

We had a wonderful Easter this year! I was able to participate in a beautiful program put on by our ward choir. It feels good to sing again! I haven't been part of a choir since I had Willson. After church we went to Andy's sister Michelle's house for dinner. Michelle, who is not the banana cream pie lover that I am, made (for the 1st time) a banana cream pie, just because she knows how much I love it! It was so delicious and so sweet of her. She even made meringue for it, which was beautifully done. I wished I had remembered my camera! Like any visit with Michelle, it was not complete until she made sure I had pulled out all of my jewelry and scoured it until pieces were decided on to purchase. We also couldn't let the evening end without playing Guitar Hero. Now, this was only my 4th time playing it, since I only get to play at Michelle's. I played a couple of rounds with Michelle, while the husbands watched us. You can't really get into Guitar Hero when you have an audience, at least I can't anyway. My Nephew, Spencer, took over for Michelle and after a couple of songs Michelle and Spencer convinced me that I could try the medium difficulty, instead of the easy setting that I'd been doing. Spencer said that if I tried medium, he would try expert. Michelle sufficiently goaded me until I was trying it. She's one of those people that can talk you into doing things and then you wonder how you ever got yourself into the situation (I know someone else like that...Nikki). Anyway as the song started I quickly realized that I can only use 3 fingers for the guitar, not the 4 that medium requires. My pinkie finger is virtually useless. As I'm trying to play, quite unsuccessfully, I'm screaming "my pinkie won't work", "I can't use all 4 fingers". Then I burst into fits of laughter because how did I let myself get talked into this? Halfway through the song I'm now laughing uncontrollably and Spencer, pro that he is, is having one of the best runs he's ever had. So Michelle decides to help me. She comes over and leans over the guitar and starts doing the blue notes, that are supposed to be done by my unusable pinkie. This just makes me laugh harder, until Michelle finally says "Spencer, you have to start the song over. Aunt Melissa can't do it." So, we started the song over, back to easy for me. I finished off the night with "Today" by Smashing Pumpkins and got 81% of the notes right, my best by far. I never said I was good at Guitar Hero, just that I love it. I've determined that that's what I want for our 10 year anniversary, coming up in June.

I just have to talk Andy into it.

Def con 3

I thought that I might make it without a story of my own, being that my youngest of 4 is 17 months, but no. I have not escaped this right of passage. I now have a "Poo" story. It's not nearly as dramatic as some I've heard. My favorite was my friend April's story of flying poo.

Ours begins on Tuesday night...
I was helping teach a food storage class, for Enrichment night. I happily left Andy and the kids at home, excited that I didn't have to put anyone to bed that night. When I arrived home I was disappointed to see that the oldest 3 were still awake. They were however only finishing a movie they were watching with Andy. Shortly after arriving home they all kissed me and went to bed. The youngest member of the family was sleeping, of course.

Upon awaking the next morning Mason informed me that Willson was naked.

Apparently Andy did not put a onesie on him before bed, I mused, and now he has figured out how to get his diaper off, awesome.

Seeing as how Mason and I were just awake I figured there was no way anything nasty had resulted from said striping.

I was wrong.

I walked into the boys room to see my sweet naked baby amidst a crib sheet smeared with poo. I grabbed naked man, as he giggled and kicked, held at arms length of course and proceeded immediately to the bathroom. When I turned on the bath water he was immediately excited, that's when the arms started flailing. In an effort to avoid poo limbs, I stood him up in the bathtub and flipped the shower on. He was shocked! I scrubbed baby boy clean and by the end of his first solo shower he was enjoying himself. After dressing him I went to investigate the damage. I am happy to report it was not nearly as bad as initially thought.

THANKFULLY the damage was only to the sheet and blankets, no exposure to wall or crib. After tossing the affected items into the washer, thankfully it was already empty, I texted Andy. He didn't understand when I thanked him for now having a poo story. It wasn't until I typed "Def con 3, all onsie all the time" that he finally understood. Then he promptly replied with LMAO. I had no idea what this meant, but shortly figured it out, which prompted my own laughing. Andy can always make me laugh, especially when I'm most convinced I don't want to.

Computers Suck

So we bought a brand new computer in January and guess what? It already is not working. Of course, it wasn't a virus that took us down...no, the power button refuses to work. So, now I get to ship it to be repaired in NY and I get to use the computer at the Library to check my email and other such stuff. I think I'm going through withdrawals. I pay most of my bills online, bank online, blog, play on Face Book and of course keep in contact through email. This is so not fun! I can't wait till we no longer have computer issues!

Mandrew

My brother gave this name, Mandrew, to my Andy and I've loved it ever since! So fitting. He's looks like a man's man, but on the inside...what can I say about my sweet husband. I've never met anyone who works so hard for his family. We are all so in love with him! It's true, he really was born on April 1st. Most people don't believe him, but what a fitting way for him to make his appearance into this world!

The other day he asked me how old he was. I laughed so hard.

Happy 34th birthday baby!