My kind of Saturday February 28, 2009

     I had hoped to end my fifth month of NaBloPoMo with a bang, but unfortunately, the day was a slow one (nice, but slow) and I have nothing interesting to post.

 

*woke up

*made pancakes

*built furniture out of popsicle sticks for Kendra’s Tinkerbell doll

*got some good glue-gun burns

*did some laundry

*fell asleep on the couch while the kids played video games (and Anthony put himself down for his OWN nap!)

*finished a book (Pushing Up Daisies, by Rosemary Harris…  LOVED it!)

*looked at Hannah’s dress pattern, read the instructions, stressed, and then put it all away for another day

*spent a brief time online

*did a little cleaning

*ate pizza for dinner

*helped kids set up their sleeping bags for a sibling sleepover

 

     Tomorrow I’ll continue my nice, relaxing, un-interesting weekend in a similar way.  (No church due to Stake Conference.  Well, *technically* church, but we plan to take the week off…  Sssshhhh!)  Pajamas, movies, good food, tasty treats, and lots of family togetherness.  It will be nice to have Kenny home– we haven’t seen him too much this week.

 

     I know that February is a short month, but come on…  can you believe it’s already March? 

 

Book Baby February 25, 2009

     I took Hannah and Anthony to story time at the Tyler library today.  They had a great time listening to “bee” stories, singing “bee” songs, and making paper flowers and buzzing bees to decorate the children’s room at the library.

 

     As we searched the shelves for the perfect stories to bring home (insert dramatic hand-to-forehead gesture here), I realized that I had forgotten to get Hannah her own library card when she turned five.  I was beating myself up for not remembering, you know, because Alex and Kendra both got theirs within days of their fifth birthdays, and she smiled at me and said, “It’s okay, Mommy.  We’ll just get it today and I’ll be soooooo happy!”

 

     (I LOVE that girl.)

 

     We did, and she was, and she proudly wrote her name on the back of her card.  I even let her check out five books of her own, and she insisted on carrying them to the van.

 

     It was such a nice morning, topped off by lunch and some story-reading before naps. 

 

     I am really loving my simple-life makeover.  (Or is it make-under?)  I feel happier and so much more content, and the house is starting to shape up as well.  There is still so much to do, but I’m taking it slowly.  It’s amazing what fun things you discover when you take the time to look for them.

 

     Like libraries. 

 

     And daughters. 

 

     And the Dumb Bunnies.  (I had forgotten about them!)

 

Totally Unmotivated… October 3, 2008

     Today is Friday.  I was up at 4:30 AM with my niece.  I got my kids off to school.  I got into a nice fight with my sister’s ex when he came to get Abbie.  (He told me to “get bent” as he walked away.  Classy, no?  He’s a MODEL of manners and decorum.)

 

     Ahem.

 

     I did three loads of laundry, watched part of Leatherheads with Kenny, and finally, about a half hour ago, made it into the shower and some real clothes that aren’t in the pajama family.

 

     Normally I would call it a day and pretend the goldfish Anthony dumped out and rolled over with his cars could be ignored for a bit.  I would go take a nap and try to sleep off this three-day headache that JUSTthrobWON’TthrobLEAVE.  I would ignore the stacks of clean laundry on the couch and hope that Anthony would, too, instead of sweeping them into a heap on the floor, not unlike a pile of autumn leaves.  (Oh yes, there’s jumping.  And joy.  And wrinkled, smudged clothing that was clean before all the jumping.  And joy.)

 

     The problem is, I am hosting a book club at my house tonight, and my living room looks like four kids live here.  And their rooms threw up all the way down the hall and into the communal living space. 

 

     Last time I hosted a book club, it was an epic fail.  Is it bad of me to hope the same for tonight?  I’d love it if NO ONE showed up.  This month, I’d welcome it.

 

     Because here I sit, completely unmotivated to pick things up, while my head throbthrobthrobs and my eyelids feel heavy.  I am not even motivated by embarrassment, which usually has me cleaning and dusting in a frenzy. 

 

     Perhaps if I leave it the way it is, crumbs and clothes and all the rest, when I open my door to the book club, they will run away in terror.

 

     Oooh, I could get motivated enough to do that…

Breaking Dawn August 9, 2008

     I finished the book today…

 

     …the fourth and final book in the Twilight  vampire saga, all 754 pages of it.

 

     I had several reactions while reading the book,

Ten Good Things July 7, 2008

     Today was a good day, as far as days go.  I thought I’d write about ten good things that happened.  I know it’s not very interesting, or even exciting, but they were meaningful to me.

 

1.  I did laundry because I WANTED to, not because I HAD to.  There was no smelly pile of stuff to sneak in, no car seat covers to launder, no blankets to soak…  it was heavenly.  It was also a very welcomed break.

 

2.  Kenny took the kids to PetSmart this morning, and then to the park.  I had 90 minutes of uninterrupted time that I could spend doing as I wished.  I did a little blog reading, stripped our bed, put the sheets in the washer (see #1…  totally my choice!), flipped the mattress, ate some breakfast and played with the dogs for a bit.  I haven’t had time to myself in weeks.  Maybe even months. 

 

I’m sensing a pattern here… June 19, 2008

     Last week was our monthly Enrichment meeting.  In May we had a really good (for our ward, anyway) turnout when we made decorative Mother’s Day soap bottles, but last week?  Not so much.  Six women showed up to our Summer Kickoff Party.  Six.  Actually, since both myself and the Relief Society President were in attendance, that means four women showed up who weren’t obligated by their calling to be there.

 

     We had a lot of fun anyway.  We chatted about what to do with kids during the summer, and we shared some great ideas about inexpensive or free (free is friendly!) field trips.  We brought our favorite summer recipes to share.  We also talked about family traditions and family reunion ideas, and I think we all left with new ideas we were excited to try out.

 

     Oh, and I made Candy Bar Salad, and that is DIVINE.  We eat it in the summer.  Sometimes it’s all we eat!  (kidding)

 

Buggy about the library! June 11, 2008

     Today I promised my four a trip to the library.  Alex and Kendra heard about the Summer reading program in school, and they have been pestering me to take them for the past week.  Between tending my niece, finishing the school year, Enrichment night, our anniversary and some terrible headaches, I could not work it into the schedule before now.  Plus, the last time I took Hannah and Anthony by themselves, Anthony pitcheda major fit in the kid section (because I wouldn’t let him jump off the window seat onto the LoveSacs like a WWF wrestler), and then again when I so inconsiderately checked out the books before letting him get a drink play in the drinking fountain.  (I have never exited a building quite so quickly, even during a fire alarm.)  So, to be totally honest, I was worried about a repeat.

 

     But the little ones had a good nap, so I thought it might be better.  We got to the information desk and filled out our little bugs (yes, even I got one!), got our coloring sheets, our door hangers and our reading charts, watched the Harvester ants tunnel in their little display, and then we were off to fill our bag with good books.  Since I plan to make this a weekly trip, and also because I hate looking under the beds or through our bookshelves for missing library books, I limited my kids to five items each. 

 

The trouble with “Twilight”… May 2, 2008

    

***Public Service Announcement***

(The comments contain spoilers.  Read at your own risk.  Carry on.)

 

—–     —–     —–

     Okay, I must admit, there are a few of them.  Troubles.  Annoyances.  Frustrations.

 

     Now before all you Stephenie Meyer fans organize a protest outisde my front yard, let me clarify that they are MY problems, not hers.  Although she indirectly contributes to them, I will assume full responsibility.  I admit, I am only 314 pages into Twilight, but I am concerned about my reaction to this book.  I’m talking, fear-for-my-sanity concern about this novel, this fictionalized  story about two imagined characters who ARE. NOT. REAL.

 

What a waste! April 28, 2008

     After doing three loads of laundry, tending Abbie for half the day, making a pretty-darn-good dinner (baked potatoes with a choose-your-own topping bar and sparkly lime jello parfaits), holding Family Home Evening (planning for May’s activities), helping Alex with his book report* and making a last-minute dash to Michael’s for the perfect-sized stickers to adorn it, I sat down with Kenny to relax for the night.

 

     I pulled out my newest splurge, a bottle of OPI “Argenteeny Pinkini”, and set out to paint my nails.  Kenny turned on “Cloverfield” (I didn’t really enjoy it…  slept through most of it), and the motion of the camera was too much for me to take.  I was cold, so he covered me up with a blanket, and somehow I pulled my arms under it.  When I woke up for the last two minutes of the movie, I had to literally peel my fingernails away from the blanket.    So much for cute, summery nails.  Now they’re all bumpy and textured.

 

     Wait, is that the new look?  No?  Darn.  I didn’t think it was.

 

     And this would be the reason my fingernails are always the same boring shade of natural…

 

 

*He chose “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” for his report.  (He had to create a bookmark.  A fancy one.)  We’ve been reading that book a lot this month, since it’s Anthony’s new favorite.  (All my kids loved it.  It’s a great book.)  He made the coconut tree with the letters marching up the trunk and into the leaves, and when you hold it at the bottom, the weight of the leaves make it bend, which is exactly what happens in the book.  It’s really cute, and he did all the work himself. 

I hope his teacher doesn’t care that he didn’t choose a chapter book.  Because this is the same nine-year-old kid who read “The Hobbit”. 

A List of my favorite authors March 16, 2008

     I don’t profess to be a lover of deep, insightful literature.  I read for enjoyment, and I read often, so I prefer to read something light.

1. J.K. Rowling     (Harry Potter Series)
2. Janet Evanovich     (Stephanie Plum Series)
3. Mary Higgins Clark
4. Philippa Gregory     (loved The Other Boleyn Girl, but my favorite is the Wideacre trilogy)
5. Stephenie Meyer     (Twilight series)
6. Emily Watts
7. Anita Stansfield
8. Mary Jane (Behrends) Clark
9. Gerald Lund
10. Dean Hughes
11. S.M. Stirling     (Dies the Fire– incredible book!)
12. V.C. Andrews     (My Sweet Audrina…  carryover from my teenage days, I guess)
13. Danielle Steele     (same as above)
14. Kate White
15. James Patterson     (only I preferred him more when he didn’t use co-writers)