Today At The Store...

I needed to purchase some feminine products. You know which ones I'm talking about. Will took three steps into the aisle, realized where we were and said "You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe I'm in this aisle." "Well, you can always look at the body wash, Will." I said. "That's not really much better, Mom." Oh. Yes. I forgot. Not only are natural body cycles absolutely repulsive, but the fact that people actually wash their bodies is not to be discussed, either.

Mr. Noodle

Ella is almost two. She talks, a lot. To her, I'm Mommy, Ben is Gaggy, Elizabeth is Thethie. She says the names of her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins, or something very closely resembling their names.

But Will? She won't even try. To her, he's Noodle.

There and Back Again

Yes, I am a Lord of the Rings geek.

But that is not what this post is about.

I have been an on again off again blogger for a while now. I've actually blogged on blogger before. Then I left. And now I'm back. Will I be here tomorrow? Maybe not. My sister-in-law may choose to disown me if I'm not here tomorrow, though. Kidding.

I guess that the real reason that I haven't blogged a lot this summer, or this year, how ever you want to look at it, is because I just feel so busy and overwhelmed with all that I have on my plate. And thinking of how to make my crazy life sound funny and always optimistic is a tall order for me lately.

Luckily for me, my kids take care of that problem for me. Those little ones are bursting with humor and hope and joy. Seeing the world through their eyes is the best thing ever. And you know what, I think that I just need to stop spending hours and days thinking of the perfect way to post things, because the purpose for this blog is to record my family's stories so that one day, my children can read it and remember their lives and see themselves the way that I see them. Or at least have concrete proof that their mother was crazy and it was all their fault. I'd be happy with a little of both.

The other day, Elizabeth was watching Barbie Rapunzel. In the movie, there is a large purple dragon who works for the evil chick who keeps Rapunzel locked in the tower. The dragon has a daughter. At one point in the movie, the dragon speaks rather sharply to his daughter. Elizabeth, who is watching intently, gets a very upset look on her face. She then turns to me and says: "That daddy dragon should NOT be talking to his daughter that way! My daddy would never talk to me that way because he loves me and I am a princess." And in that, she is right. She and her sister Ella both have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers. Daddy is their go-to guy. Ella's all time favorite thing to do is to sit next to him and listen to a little Bob Dylan on the Real Player on his cellphone. She's happy to just snuggle up to him and bop her little head along in time with the music that her daddy loves too. Elizabeth once tugged on her daddy's pant leg one evening after he'd just presented me with flowers and chocolate because I'd had a long, hard day. (Do you see why I am married to this man???) She looked sad and asked "Daddy, don't you love me?" He looked so shocked! Then he said "Why of course I love you!" "Then where are my flowers, Daddy? *sniff*". Yeah, he should start saving for their weddings now.

And one more cute, random story that I know I'll be glad that I typed up later, even if it doesn't really go along with this post. Or maybe it does.

Ben took Will with him to work the other day. It was the end of a big conference and Ben was going in to help take down some displays. As they were driving there, Ben was careful to talk with Will about how he needed to be on his best behavior, that Will would be meeting Daddy's boss and that it was important that he did what Ben asked and that he didn't run around like a crazy boy. Will was adamant that he understood. They walk in. Ben's boss greets them and asks Will what his name is. Will sighs and aims a thumb in Ben's direction and says: "Well, he calls me Slime."

Potty Learning Could Spell Death For My Eyebrows

Elizabeth is finally wanting to use the potty and is not having a lot of accidents. She's dangled this carrot in front of me before but I think this is it. (Shh,don't tell her I'm hopeful or she'll pee on my pillow or something, just to put me in my place.)
You're probably wondering what this has to do with my eyebrows. Since my presence is required and I must stay in the bathroom for the entire 10 minutes of Beth being "almost done mommy!", I have an enormous amount of time to study my eyebrows in the mirror. Why is this a bad thing, you say. Well, I have some problems with over plucking my poor, poor eyebrows. I've even been known to cut off 1/2 of an eyebrow before. Accidentally, of course, but still. That's what I get for using finger nail clippers to trim them. And let me tell you, it is SO MUCH FUN to walk around w/ only 1/2 of an eyebrow.
Thus far I've been able to restrain myself, but it's only been 3 days. I foresee months of my presence being required during potty time. I'm sure that I'll end up looking like one of those old ladies that draws her eyebrows on with an oily eyebrow pencil over gobs of shiny pancake makeup.
Quick, someone take away my tweezers!!!

Ode to Ben

I've decided that the first post on my shiny new blog will be about Ben and how nifty he is. So here are, in no particular order, a very few of the reasons why I love him.

He is an excellent father. Whenever he is home, at least one and usually all of the kids are mauling him. And when he's gone the kids spend their time asking me when he'll be home. When Elizabeth woke up from her nap today, she sat straight up and said "I want my Daddy!" and Will calls him "My berry best friend".

He can cook. Well.

He shares his laptop with me, even though it is hard.

He can juggle. Which is nifty all by itself. But the reason why is even niftier. While on his mission, he and his companion came across a man that said he'd hear the discussions if they would learn how to juggle. So they did. That wonderful man and his wonderful wife are now sealed and have six beautiful and happy children.

He likes old, twangy country music.

When he makes me watch a scary movie with him when I'm 7.5 months pregnant, he gets up and turns on the bathroom light for me every time I need to go potty in the middle of the night just because I'm a chicken.

He wanted to name Will "Thor, God of Thunder", or Dylan, because he loves Bob.

He never forgets. Not my birthday, Valentines, our anniversary, Christmas... nothing. And he always gives me something meaningful and thoughtful. It's usually something I've said that I want but would never buy for myself. And he still won't admit that he and my "secret admirer" are one and the same.

The man has no butt.

He is going to go to my family reunion this summer because I want him to. He's not really looking forward to it, but he's going because it is very important to me.

If he feels something is right, he'll do it no matter what.

If he understands something, he can teach it to someone else. No matter how difficult the concept is.

He is hilarious. Seriously. Funniest person I know.

He is very wise and spiritual. He makes sure that we have daily family prayer and scripture study. I look forward to those times of the day as much as the kids do. We all really miss him when he has to work late and we have to do it without him.

He can play the saxophone.

He researched and studied and compared bikes, just because I said that I wanted one. And then he bought me one, just because he loves me.

In high school, he was the president of the physics club. I have my own resident geek!

Even if he's had a crappy day, he always asks how my day went first. And if it was hard, he asks how he can help. And then he actually does whatever I tell him will help.

He lets me put my cold feet on him to get them warm. The man is a human furnace.

When he makes a mistake, he's quick to apologize and to be better.

And last but not least:
He listens to me. He really tries hard to give me what I need and to be mindful of my feelings.

And just to make this a well-rounded entry, I asked the kids what they thought the best thing about their Daddy is. Here is what they said:

Will: "He takes me to the gas station and even when he tells me no about something I still like him"

Elizabeth: "He reads me stories and has a fuzzy chin" (well she said puzzy chin, but she meant fuzzy :P)

Ella: She smiled and laughed. I think that her response quite perfectly sums up how we all feel.

5-Months-Old, Give Or Take A Day Or Two*

Five months! Where has all the time gone. I know I say that a lot, but really, you are growing up too fast. You are a joy and a blessing. You can make anyone smile, just by looking at them. You brighten our days and fill our home with your special spirit.


*Or a week or two. Whatever. You may notice that the date on the picture is days after you actually turned 5-months-old. If you weren't so kissable, I'd spend more time on my blog and keeping it up-to-date. But since you're so wonderful, I'd rather spend my time with you. You're growning up too fast!

I Can't Make Stuff Like This Up

Yesterday, my son asked me if he would still have to get his immunizations if he were homeschooled. He's FOUR.

And then last night we went out to eat. While we were sitting at our table, Ben told me about something that our son had said earlier that day. Apparently they were watching a show that was all about extreme crashes. After one of the crashes, he turned to Ben and said: "What in the Sam Hill was that guy thinking?" So Ben was telling me this. I laughed, of course. Right at that moment, in a restaurant full of people, our son loudly replied: "Well, at least I didn't say HELL!"