43 ODD things about me

1. Do you like bleu cheese? SICKNESS, no. (amen, kathy)

3. Have you ever smoked? no.

5. Do you own a gun? no.

7. What flavor Kool-Aid is your favorite? do they even taste different?

9. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? not really, except for 1st trimester pregnancy ones, just nervous to see if everything's okay.

11. What do you think of hot dogs? see answer to #1.

13. Favorite Christmas movie? christmas story, white christmas.

15. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? milk, absolutely. a big ol' glass of it.

17. Can you do push-ups? not really, but after some "biggest loser workout dvd" sessions, maybe i will.

19. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? my wedding ring.

21. Favorite hobby? irish dance, reading, hiking (in the olden days when i actually hiked).

23. Do you have A.D.D.? can you repeat the question? kidding. no, i don't.

25. What's one trait you hate about yourself? impatience.

27. What is your Middle name? noel.

29. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: (1) i love "word world." (2) can i finish this and shower before addie wakes up? (3) what's for dinner?

31. 3 drinks you regularly drink? water and skim milk. occasional juice, but not often.

33. Current worry? that i won't be able to shower, and i really need to.

35. Hate right now? haven't been jogging in far too long.

37. Favorite place to be? anywhere with paul. (cheesiness, i know, but true)

39. How did you bring in the New Year? family party -- playing rock band on the xbox & hand-and-foot card game.

41. Where would you like to go? virgin islands

43. Name three people who will complete this? whoever wants to, put it on their blog (and let me know, so i can check out your answers!).

45. Do you own slippers? yep, new christmas ones.

47. What shirt are you wearing? t-shirt and hoodie.

49. Can you whistle? yes.

51. Favorite color? i don't know if i have one.

53. Would you be a pirate? nice question. sure. i'd prefer to be, as i overheard layla narrating her pirate play yesterday, "a nice pirate, who says, 'hi, welcome aboard, matey!'"

55. What songs do you sing in the shower? if i ever GET into the shower, i probably won't sing.

57. Favorite Girls name? i like my girls' names.

59. Favorite Boy's name? carson.

61. What's in your pocket right now? tissues.

63. Last thing that made you laugh? addelyn, wolfing down her breakfast as though she had reason to believe she would never eat again.

65. WHERE'S 34? lame question.

67. Worst injury you ever had? i don't know. chin stitches?

69. Do you love where you live? yes.

71. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3.

73. Who is your loudest friend? um...i'm going to have to think about this one. several candidates.

75. Do you have any pets? no, and hopefully we never will.

77. Who has a crush on you? paul.

79. Your favorite book(s)? ooh, i can't even choose. happy ones that make me think and are well-written.

81. Favorite Sports Team? utah jazz, usu aggies (my alum, what can i say).

83. What song do you want played at your funeral? i want to show a video of a younger carson and layla singing and doing the actions of "if you're happy and you know it."

anyone want to play, too? put this on your blog and answer the questions yourselves.

notes about nothing

so, i feel bad that all i ever do is post about my kids being sick...they really aren't germ-infested all the time, but it probably seems that way.

here are some notes about nothing. this post is more for me than for anyone else, so it'll probably be boring. you don't have to read it. :)

work: with a downward, worrisome economy, i feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work from home, as much or as little as i have time for. i love my profession and can't help but recognize some tender mercies from about 6 years ago, when i "randomly" (but i know better) got my grant-writing job right out of college, which has opened up so many doors for me and my family. even a couple of early heart-wrenching miscarriages during that time have found some sort of understanding in the grand scheme of things, when i look back. anyway, i'm glad to work so we can boost our savings...and it is keeping me very very very very very busy lately. as in, whenever i'm on the computer, i'm pretty much working.

dance: it's fine. i chose to cut back my time and am in about half the dances for our march production. our grace, idaho show a few weeks ago was fun. and i just found out last night that our valentine's day show was cancelled. WAH HOO! now i don't have to leave my babies and paul all day for a show 4 hours away. irish dance is fun -- anyone who's interested should come see us on march 14 or 16 at the ellen eccles theater. (shameless plug, i know, but it really is more fun as a dancer to perform for a large and lively audience.)

carson: sometimes he seems so very big. as in old. he's really into figuring out the world, which, unfortunately, includes discrepancies (like parents' getting to eat treats after he goes to bed) and he's not afraid to call you on it. he loves boy things lately, like legos, transformers, star wars, cars, etc. and he's decided that he likes playing "sports," if that's what you call volley-balloon and indoor soccer with a tiny ball. but i'm just happy that he's showing some interest in physical activity; i'm learning that kids pretty much have to make their own decisions about what they enjoy -- i can't decide for them. (it's embarrassing that i have to learn that, but i guess i do.) he's a good kid, a loud and repetitive talker, and a creative thinker who keeps us on our toes.

carson: "layla, if we ever meet dart bader (darth vadar), DON'T let him know we're good guys, or he'll want to fight us."
layla: "otay tarsey."
carson: "yeah, and he's a better fighter than us. he's even better than luke skywalker. and he would squash us. so don't tell him we're the good guys. just say, 'oh, hi, dart bader,' and then run away."
layla: "yeah. i promise."

layla: this girl loves to dance. she makes paul or me play the piano so she can prance around the living room showing us her moves (because addelyn is her best audience, i usually have to keep one eye out to make sure she doesn't dance her way onto addie's head). in the mornings, layla will come into bed with me (after paul's gone to work) and quietly amuse herself with the contents of my chapstick/lip gloss jar on my nightstand -- many mornings, i'll turn over and see her grinning right at me, her cheeks painted BRIGHT pink from my lip gloss that has a wand-like applicator. it's hilarious. and rather scary, unless i'm fully awake. :) layla is a big helper with stuff around the house; she feels very important to be the one chosen to go get addie's wipes or a burp cloth or something.

household: i continue to fall woefully behind in my housekeeping. but i've started "chore charts" for carson & layla, which they think is pretty cool. they get a sticker for each chore that they do every day, and they get $sweet moolah$ for each sticker (2 cents for layla, 4 cents for carson -- wowsahs, i know) on saturday. last week they amassed some serious loot -- layla $0.84, carson $1.32. carson's saving up for a lego star wars walker. at the current lego prices, he'll be able to purchase one when he's 17...

addelyn: she's a little under the weather and thus loves to be held and talked to. i think my absolute new favorite thing is when her little hands clutch at me -- my shirt neck, my fingers, my hair. there's a tender blend of desperation, trust, and love in her tiny grasp, and it just melts my heart. she loves rolling onto her belly and, once there, can pivot circles around and around. but she can rarely get onto her back again, which causes her no end of frustration. she is so sweet. she loves us all, of course, but i think her favorite person is carson, who is very thoughtful and cute with her (layla can be a little rough in her "play").

paul: i continue to be amazed at how perfectly paul fills in my gaps and weaknesses. we're both hoping that he still has a job in the next few months, as federal budget decisions are made.

other: i love my kitchen radio from paul and use it often during the day -- i never really realized how much time i spend in the kitchen! lots. it's nice to have music or, when i'm in the mood, talk radio in the background. and some other stuff, but i have to get going.

whew. that was a novel. sorry.

if i were the type of person...

...who loved runny-nosed kids and snot-smeared cheeks
...who adored hacking, productive coughs
...who thrived on spontaneous vocal eruptions of tantrum-atic emotion
...who lived to see her infant cry crocodile tears of hurt and frustration
...who enjoyed singlehandedly keeping the tylenol infant drops industry afloat
...who wanted more of clingy, needy children

...then i'd be having the perfect day.

will i ever blog again?

seriously. i mean to get on here and add stuff, but life is just whizzing by. but i have exactly 8 minutes until i have to go pick up carson from pre-school, so here's an 8-minute synopsis:

1) layla's officially in underwear, 100% day and night. sure, there are the occasional mishaps, but she's an all-star. mostly, she feels bad if she, uh, "soils" one of the princesses on her panties if she has an accident. wah hoo.

2) i took the kids to the draper temple open house on monday (paul had to work, and i wanted to go with the yw in our ward). it was beautiful, and the kids soaked it all in. they loved the bus ride from the church house to the temple, the looooong covered tunnel, the attention from all the yw and leaders (layla especially drinks that stuff up), the baptismal font held up by oxen statues, and the beautiful building overall. carson walked around like a full-on tourist, with his nose stuck in the brochure, looking for each and every room pictured in the brochure. he got very excited when he found a match. oh, and we ate lunch at sweet tomatoes (a soup/salad bar-type restaurant), which was delicious and very filling. the kids were good; addelyn was a champ until the ride home, during which she screamed probably half the time. overtired, poor little lamb.

3) carson and layla have been so cute of playmates lately. they love to give lulu a bath in addelyn's little bathtub -- seriously, "bathtime" makes for an hour of playtime nearly every day. hello. sweet.

4) paul and i woke up early this morning to a freezing cold house. our heater wasn't working, but paul had to head off to work (it was before 6 a.m.), but our house was in the 50-degree range and dropping. after bundling up the kids in their beds, i called our across-the-street neighbor, who came and helped me learn all about the pilot light and a thermo-something, which was not working. call in the professionals. about 45 minutes and $90 later, we were back in action. how in the world did the pioneers do it? utah in january with no heat? ouch.

5) i think if i see one more news clip of barack & michelle dancing at the inaugural balls, i'm going to throw up. that's not meant to be a political statement by any means -- i'm just sick of seeing them dance.

6) i've painted our laundry room yellow and hung some new curtains. it's very cheery. now i just have to get the shelves all put back on the walls and all the junk put back on the shelves. blah. cleanup is definitely the lame part of home improvement.

7) american idol is entertaining.

8) i got a haircut yesterday. it's not what i was hoping for...in fact, i think i look downright ridiculous. but my hair grows fast, so i'm not going to waste my life being all sad about it. just another chapter to add to my "awkward years."

9) carson always talks about himself in the third person these days. is this normal? i don't know, but it's funny. reminds me of jimmy on seinfeld. wait. uh-oh.

10) i'm 4 minutes over my time limit and really must run, or carson will be standing outside with his teacher freezing and his teacher will be standing outside with him hating me. But life is good, even with the little (or big, heh) bumps in the road.

a child's sincere prayer

"...please bless everyone. and everyting. and every house. but not duh bad guys. and not der houses..."

hope all of your houses are functioning well. if not, well, *gulp*

rest assured...

carson, today: "when I'M a dad, i'm not going to let my kids drink ANY poison. when i see some poison, i'll dust tell dem, 'hey, don't drink dat poison!'"

whew. i'll just go ahead and wipe that #1 Pressing Concern off my list.

p.s. the way carson said it, you'd think paul regularly pours our kids sippies-full of poison from a vat out in the garage. i'm so sure.

christmas is over, the mom is getting fat...

so, it's been awhile since i've posted anything. typically, i'd apologize for being lazy, but i can't find it in me to apologize when i feel no remorse--we've been so in vacation-mode that i haven't really thought about blogging. just enjoying life.

paul's last day of work was december 18th. the past 2-1/2 weeks with him home has been glorious. so so great. honestly, i've caught a little glimpse into what heaven will be like (heh, minus the tantrums thrown by two children who will remain nameless. but sometimes even those are entertaining, so maybe they won't be lost completely in the eternities....hmmm, ponder fodder, right there).

anyway, i can say without reservation that we had a deliciously fabulous holiday vacation. one i'll look back on with nostalgia and tenderness. there was lots of time spent doing the important kind of "nothing" together--snow time, hot cocoa, imaginative play, reading, movies, treats, and snuggling. i'm sure there was fighting and yelling and frustration at certain points, but i can't really remember that stuff. which is nice. :)

i hope you all had a holiday that lived up to your expectations as well. for us, it's back to "real life," with stuff like actual bedtimes and fewer treats (my waistline is making that criterion mandatory) and getting dressed before dinnertime, or at all. sighhhh.