Day in the Snow

The day after Christmas, we spent part of the day in Pine Valley, playing in the snow. It was great fun!! Let it Snow!! Sledding....Oversized clothes...

a flight of stairs...

newly fallen snow.....

add one annoyed teenager and voila...the day is complete...:)

Best Christmas Lights!

Isn't this the cutest picture!

Why I Avoid Shipping During Christmas

Today, again, I remembered why I hate to go mail packages during the holiday season.

I arrived at UPS at 3:00pm. (Bad time of the day I realize, but with Gdog sick I needed to wait for backup to arrive.) I plucked my number from the "take a number" dispenser and went to the side to wait with my packages--which were too cumbersome to hold for the 10 minutes. After a few minutes, and a customer finished and left, I realized that they were NOT using the number system, and since I was not in "line" I had no idea where I was in the "helping order".

Another customer left and the lady next to me asked "Were you ahead of me?" Only I didn't know if I was or wasn't! Aghhh.

The cashier working behind the counter, instead of waiting on the person who was next, selected a person and "invited" them to come up.

Now the UPS phone rang (I kid you not) and one of the 2 people in the backroom didn't answer it--you guessed it--one of the cashiers stopped "cashiering" and answered the phone.
At this same time, the other cashier was ready to "invite" someone forward (because the lady she was helping needed her stuff packed and taped and someone in the back has taken it to do it.).

My form was filled out, addresses on packages and I had cash in my hand. I am as ready as I can be....(PICK ME, PICK ME! I scream silently in my head.!!) When she asked me I knew I had won the lottery--the shipping lottery! (You didn't even know there was one did you?)

Now the other cashier was trying to talk on the phone and continue to help the lady in front of her--which was NOT working because she was gesturing with her hands.

How could this worsen you ask?

Que lady waiting behind me.

This woman starts talking loudly about how rude it is to answer the phone and not help the customers who have taken the time to come down to the store. Now I agree, but this lady needed no additional encouragement, and there was already rumblings of agreement behind me. I was afraid it might come to blows, and I needed to get out of there!

Next my cashier informed me that both my packages will cost the same to mail (one of them is 1/2 the size and 1/4th the weight.) "Strange" I said, "I guess I really don't understand the formula for shipping costs." And I smile. Truly wanting to just get out. The cashier said "I can re-weigh them if you want but they are the same cost to ship." (Momentarily forgetting my need to leave I said "that would be great." Only the lady who was before me...her package was now finished and she was waiting for me to finish--so she can finish.

Five more minutes and 2 weighings later the cashier informs me that one of them will be $4 less, because the scale must have miss-weighed them. --Wow! I think to myself, they really don't weigh the same? Shocking!

I throw down the cash and bolt for the door.
As the door closes behind me I hear "Who's next?"

Snugglely Gdog

That's right, you read that title correctly. Gdog is snuggley. This only happens when he gets sick and has to slow down because his body requires it. He has Strep and is running a temp of 103 with out ibuprofen. He has thrown up 3 times, and doesn't want to eat anything. Dad went to the store last night (IN THE 2" of snow yikes!!--read last nights post!) to get more lids for the cups he likes to use hoping to stimulate the desire for liquids.
Bummer for little sweetums slowing down and all. But with any trial we try and see the good. And warm snuggles is a definite upside to this little mover!

On another note, Jasmine, after taking Gdog on a short sled ride today, seems to have a sore throat of her own. So antibiotics for everyone! :)

My German Friend

Gdog and I were wrapping some of the first presents today.
"Hey Mommy, which one is for Aurora?"
"That one G-dog. Write from Gdog on the tag."
(Gdog makes some circles and lines in the from line.)
"Which one is for Jasmine?"
"This one Gdog. Write your name."
"Mommy, which one is for my geemon friend?"
"For who?"
"For my geemon friend?"
"Your German friend?" I ask.....
"Yes, Mommy" says Gdog
"Yeah," says Jasmine sarcastically. "Didn't you meet Frans? NOT German friend, Mom, his friend Jordon."
Lol....Ahh life is funny...

SNOW DAY!

WE recieved the call tonight at 9:48pm saying that tomorrow is a snow day due to the 2" of snow!! It is the most snow we have gotten in Saint George in the 13 years we have lived here!

I will try not to launch into the 2 feet, 20 degrees below zero, in the mountains of Colorado speech here.

That's so SICK!

Well I guess I am officially old because I just can't come up with the appropriate teenage descriptive word.

Yes, this comment comes from the teenager--from long ago--who rolled her eyes as Mom told her what "awesome" really meant."I am going to loose if I hear the word awesome incorrectly used one more time this car ride!" (She had counted "awesome" word usage of 26 times on a 10 minute car ride.)

I have recently been informed that what was "bad" or "cool" is now "sick" or "legit".

And the word "groovy" can possibly be on the edge of cool--oh I mean sick, if used sparingly and with the right inflection.....
Come on peeps, try and keep up! (Peeps is that current? Homies? Gang? Posse?)

Somehow I already know I can't win this one. Walk away...just turn and walk away.

12 Days of Christmas

So I asked my girls to come up with a family for us to secretly give the 12 days of Christmas.

Then I brilliantly purchased a small nativity set with only 10 pieces and, well the 12 days of Christmas just doesn't seem so great with 10 days of stuff.

The older girls and I began to brainstorm.

Ariel suggested "We could give straw to lay in the stable for one night." Great idea! One more to go.

Aurora threw out the idea of baking cookies, yet that doesn't really tie into the whole nativity theme." Still one to go.

Next I sarcastically contribute "We could give them the mangled. stained, taped cardboard box it all came in!"

One cannot truly appreciate the velocity of the water that came through Aurora's nose without being present to see it. But hey, it's still fun to talk about.

Discipline By the Numbers

So recently we have established a countdown for Gdogs punishment. For instance when we were at Shawn's sister's house over Thanksgiving Gdog kept ringing the doorbell. (There is a little bench placed in the perfect position to allow this, and for the most part people smiled through the window at him when he did it, encouraging the behavior.)
In order to curb this behavior, when i saw him get onto the bench, I would say "Gdog get down." Then after a short pause "Five, four, three, two...." and I would stop the counting when he complied. If he did not get down I would put him in time out.
After seeing this done a couple times my nephew commented. "Are you trying to scare him?"
"No", I respond. "I am just giving him time to think about obeying, and then obey."
"Well the way I see it he is going to be afraid of numbers. He'll go into kindergarten and when they start counting he will freak out! (then he starts rattling off numbers) Five Twelve Six Three One!"

Say It!

So last night we are sitting in our bed, watching a show. Gdog keeps getting out of his bed and running into Jasmine's room. Both his Dad and I have put him back in bed numerous times. We hear him coming down the hall.
"Gdog are you out of your bed again?"
"Uh, I have something for you." says Gdog hesitantly.
"You need to be in your bed" I say in my authoritative voice.
The door pushes open slightly and Gdog squeezes in. In each hand he has a red santa hat with the white fur.
"I just wanted you to have a SANTA hat." (The word Santa is spoken with extra emphasis and reverence.)
"Thank you Gdog. Now if you get out of your bed you are going to be in trouble. Quick run to your bed."
"Okay" he says as he begins bolting back to bed. "Put them on and say Ho Ho Ho."
I smile at my husband, obediently put on the hat and say "Ho Ho Ho" even though I know he can't see me.
There is a moment of quiet from the other room. Then we hear "Daddy I didn't hear you say Ho Ho Ho."
Dad smiles an unseen smile and says "Ho Ho Ho. I love you Gdog."

Christmas with Meaning

So we challenged our kids this year to give gifts of meaning and memories. This as a whole seems like a great idea. And I am sure in the end will be better all the way around. For the mean time it is causing a problem because I have to come up with those kind of gifts too. So I pose the question. What were some of the most memorable/meaningful gifts you received as a child?

For me I remember getting my cedar chest from my parents. My Dad spent countless hours making it. It has much more meaning than a store bought cedar chest. I also remember the year my older brother gave me a large coin--yes I believe it was a 5" silver colored nickle.

"Mommmmm!!!"

The kid hears and understands everything. No conversation is lost on this little guy.

On the way home from AZ, Ariel, my oldest--frustrated by the 5th time we have to stop for Gdog to pee "outside"--says "Why can't he just pee into a bottle? " I disgustedly look at her and say "Really? You really want to teach him to do that?" Fast forward to yesterday...

"Mom come quick! Gdog is on the deck!" Says Jasmine.
"What? Why?" I ask busy on my computer and not really connecting my brain.
"Because he is naked and peeing into a jar!"
I arrive at the deck door just in time to see him pouring the liquid over the deck rail.....
(Oh good. Now he can water the #10 can of popcorn he dumped over the railing last month!)

How do I look?

Gdog just came into the room (naked) spread his arms wide and said, "How do I look Mommy?"
"uh naked?!" I said.
"No! I look like SOAP BOY!"
Ahh that was the smell. Watermelon shampoo that was plastered all over his little body....

Snowball fight

While in AZ we happened upon a pile of snow that was dropped into a shopping plaza. It reminded me of so many snowball fights from my youth.

My Princess's

I was thinking today about the fact that I assigned my kids to come up with a pen name for me to use on the blog. And they have not truly understood the urgency of it. (As demonstrated by their lack of attention to this matter.) So I am taking matters into my own hands and naming them myself. :)

J always wanted to be Ariel. Done!
M's favorite princess is Aurora. (I had to learn how to spell it!) Done!
T, well I think Jasmine, since that is what her sisters wanted to name her when she was born.
And Gdog well that just fits.

Sports

We went to visit my sister-in-law and her family in AZ this past weekend. We had a great time. One of the things we did while we were there was attend an NBA basketball game between the Suns and Heat. We took Gdog because we were sitting in a box/suite and he did really well...I was very impressed. The next day we went into town and he would not stop talking about going to a game.
"Can we go see the basketball Mommy?"
"They have basketball in there." (Pointing to a large building).
"How about there mommy?" (pointing to a different building)
"Hey Mommy, maybe they will have a different game and we can watch that?"
I stopped answering him after 5 minutes of non-stop talking about games, buildings and balls. Do you think he had fun?

I think he could possibly be our families most avid sports fan...and he is only 3! Goes to show you that they just come with some of that stuff!!

Thankful

I am so thankful for all my rich blessings. I am grateful for my incredible family, my many friends and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love this song by Josh Groban. Go listen to it and think of your blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting by via Pepsi-one

There are some days that there is only one way to get by......and it is worth any embarrassment. (There is only one more "black Pepsi" and I can see it. J reach a little further!)

Either "black Pepsi-one" or Sonic diet coke with cranberry and vanilla (thanks to my brother Matt who showed me the way!)

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

"Sing Twinkle Daddy!" says Gdog. So Daddy and Gdog begin the duet.
Twinkle twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you(muffle muffle).... Gdog puts his hand on Daddy's mouth.
"Sing it right Daddy." he commands.
"Okay Gdog you sing it and Daddy will listen"
So Gdog begins again.
"Twinkle twinkle little star
How I wonder what's wrong with you."

Ahh the magic of teenagers and toddlers coming together!
(And yes, I believe this could be payback for the Giraffe milk thing.)

Naked and loving it.

During the potty training process Gdog has learned how to take off his clothes. Obviously he has been able to do this for a while, but now he has reason to take off his clothes multiple times a day. The problem is that he really likes to be naked. The kid is fully clothed one minute, then you turn around and he is completely naked sitting on the couch, or playing in his car. It is actually kind of shocking sometimes. (During the summer he'd take off his clothes and put on multiple swim suits. As if the more swim suits he has on his body increased the chances that we were going to go to the swimming pool. lol.)

So now the question is how do I get him to keep them on? .........Maybe I should turn down the heat.

Humility...teachable

What makes a person willing to he humble? That is a question that has struck me today as I have done visits to sisters in my ward. How is it that 20 women can listen to the same lesson on unity and all go home with different ideas. One is mad because no one in this ward ever works on unity...certainly she doesn't feel unified. Another thinks that the ward leaders should do more to unify. Yet another thinks that she should try to smile more at church and invite her VT to sit by her. How do we get the women to be more willing to see how they could do a little better themselves? (And while we're at it to beat themselves up less?)

Mommy Come Look

"Mommy come here and let me show you something." (Queue the eerie music.)

With Gdog, this phrase is not to show you a beautiful butterfly or a flower like it was with the girls. This is used in the most dire circumstances. Run, don't walk in the direction he points. Last week it was a flooding toilet. Today I came into my bathroom to find the straightener cord cut in half. The dog nail clippers, burned and laying next to the cut cord. The straightener had been off, but plugged in to the wall. Thank heaven for an auto shut off breaker and a rubber handled clippers!

Mission Accomplished via Outside Rocks

So we went to visit my Mom a couple weeks ago. On the drive back Gdog needed to "go potty" We were not within 60 miles of any gas station--not to mention one I would allow him to go into. So I opted for the "checking the tire" option. (What my family called pottying outside during a road trip.) I took him out of his seat and told him to point at a rock. He looked at me incredulously then, with a little corrective aiming, did it. He LOVED IT!

About 10 minutes later I hear "Mommy, I have to go potty (pause) ....on the rocks." Ever since then I will hear requests for the same. We will be in places like the park, or in the Walmart parking lot, or on the way into gymnastics. I keep trying to explain the intricacies of outside pottying. (To potty....is that a verb?) Modesty, number of possible people around vs need to go. No amount of reasoning seems to convince him that it would out weigh the need to pee on a rock. (Is that a physical or a mental/emotional need.)

I am however grateful for the increased desire to go on demand. Thus we have eliminated the need for diapers during the day! YEA!! (And increased the desire to pee outside....a small downside I am willing to live with! :))

Babysitter, Caught @ Inopportune Moment

So when I discovered that none of my 3 girls were available to watch Gdog for my presidency meeting--at 4:00 in the afternoon, I hired a friend of T to come for an hour.

Her instructions were simple. "You know Gdog. The more you play with him the less trouble he will be. So here is some sidewalk chalk, a game he likes, a puzzle and his shoes for playing in the backyard."

"Okay," this 12 year-old says with a smile. "Come on Gdog, we are going to have fun."

When I arrive home 11/2 hours later. I open the door from the garage to see the babysitter standing at the edge of the table trying to coax Gdog out from under. I look through the chairs at Gdog and he is completely naked and giggling.

Babysitter says "He went to go to the bathroom and came out naked. He has been hiding under the table for the last 15 minutes and I can't get him out. Each time I go under he crawls out the other side." (I am sure she is not mentioning that Eewww he is naked.)

And I am thinking....isn't this the horrifying scenario you dreaded as a babysitter..... The parents arrive home to find the kid out of control, naked and hiding! lol
Ahhh life with Gdog.

Bedtime for Bonzo

I was trying to get Gdog to stay in his bed last night and the phrase "Bedtime for Bonzo" came to my mind. (Where does that come from?) Then T invited him to sleep with her. (She is his "best friend"--well her and his current favorite tag-a-log, right now a stuffed bunny.) He loves his sister. She really works on making things fun and safe for him. Last night resulted in a jumping on the bed and then quickly laying down on the pillow and pretending to sleep. I think we were all hoping the pretending would result in accidental sleep, but we weren't that lucky. At about 9:30 I had to remove him from T's room and put him back in his room.
So, was Bonzo a monkey? Because I feel like every time it is time for Gdog to go to bed, it is like wrestling a monkey!

Powder-puff Football

M is in Student Council. Yesterday she organized an event at her school for over 800 students during a one hour assembly time. It was a powder-puff football game. Gdog and I went to watch. I was incredibly impressed by the numerous things that went off with out a hitch. She rounded up refs from the coaches, teachers for both the 8th & 9th grade side, teachers to oversee the bleachers, announcers in the booth, music during the timeouts, the school cheer squad trained boys to cheer and do a half time dance and the students all came(instead of ditching and going home since it was at the end of the day.) She says she learned how important it is to have people who you can count on to do their assignment, and how great it is to have people who do it full out(instead of half-way).

She did it all because she loves to play football. So I guess, as the Mom, the most amazing thing I think she did was wait patiently for her turn to PLAY football. (Even when the boys who were coaching forgot to put her in until the end of the game.) And of course when she was finally on the field during the last 7 minutes she blocked "like none other".

I love that girl. Go M!

Quoting Mom

So I said to J during lunch today. "Hey are you planning on going to swim today?"

I received a indecipherable grunt.

To which I replied "Well J, I think maybe you should show up to practice and pretend you are part of the team!" (smirking directly at her!)

I look over and she is texting. "What are you doing?" I say.

"Well... sometimes I text my friend the funny things you say."

(thinking) I never knew I was being quoted.......Quick! Say something intelligent!

Now isn't that just great. Now I am going to have to think before I speak!

Exploring colleges

So we went to SUU this weekend to tour the campus. Considering I am a BYU alumni, I was not prepared to be as impressed as I was. The school grounds are beautiful, the campus close together, and the dorms are new. The library is beautiful and the "great hall" reminds me of Hogwarts with large stained glass windows, floor to ceiling. Most of all I was impressed by the small class size, (35 students to a class), the attention of the professors, the extracurricular activities, (including a study abroad program) and lastly a president who attended Oxford and knows what a great college should be. SO if J decides to go there, what I am saying is I think I could live with that. :) (Just don't ask me to wear the school colors--red!)

I Love Running

I really do love running. This past summer I really struggled to be able to say this. I am sure it was a combination of the running schedule, the early hours, the stress of RS, and the people I ran with, and the sheer number of marathons--4.

But this morning, the run was hard, fast(for me) and really rewarding. The air was crisp--37 degrees--and the partner really enjoyable, and the run uneventful. I loved it! 5 miles, 50 minutes and a great morning!

I realize that this statement is strange to people who don't run. There is just something really great about starting the day outside. I love getting my heart rate up, having a chance to chat with a friend, and feeling healthy! So thanks to all who help me keep running. It adds to my sanity! (BTW, my family thanks you too! There is nothing better than a sane mom! :))

After the Top of Utah Marathon

Like Daddy...

Gdog spent the morning trying on different clothes. It began with his own drawers. (Wanting to wear PJ's to preschool etc...) And then morphed into wearing everything at once. Next he dove into the bottom drawer where his sweaters coats and off season clothing are located. Putting them on his head, his arms in the leg holes, his legs into the shirt arms and basically trying things on all over his little body.

Then, tonight, his daddy arrived home and he was off to a different closet!

I am not unfamiliar with little boys wanting to be like their Daddy's. But I was not prepared for how much his Dad adores him too.

"I'm like Daddy!"

New callings...moving forward

A new Stake Presidency was called this past Sunday. We have had a wonderful Stake president these past 10 years, so the entire stake has been apprehensively awaiting the announcement of the new stake presidency. A good friend of ours was called to be the new stake president. He is a great guy. I have served with him in the YW/YM programs, he was our most favorite HT and most recently he has been the HP group Leader (and I am currently serving as the RS president.) I admire and respect him and I am sure he will make a great Stake President. His wife is currently my RS secretary. Serving as his counselors are my RS 1st counselor's husband and our ward's YW president's husband. Now you ask yourself "how could all the wives of these great men be serving in my ward?" Well, yeah you guessed it. All these men are called from the same ward. Strange huh? Considering our ward staffs 1/3 of all the high council, has the largest YW/YM program in the stake (96 youth in our ward), and the largest primary (112 kids), I guess it is not completely surprising. Yet I do know that these men were called of God. Even if it doesn't make sense to me. It is my sincere hope that the rest of the wards won't be offended.

Yet if there is one thing I have learned in my almost 40 years on this earth, it is that you choose to be offended. So I choose to be positive, to pray about more counselor names for my RS presidency, and to move forward! (Because the only other choice is to move backward. :))

Trip with T & G-dog

We just spent 3 days in AZ with Gma & Gdad. I only took T, and Gdog with me because J & M couldn't afford the time off of school. It was fun to go, as always, and I could not believe how much help T was. I think that many times I don't recognize how helpful she is because J & M are around to do the helping with Gdog. T not only watched him while I went to the new Kneaders to help set up Christmas trees, but she planned things for them to do together. Gdog adores her so he loved every minute of putting together puzzles, banging on drums, and chasing Grig--the new puppy. She is really growing up fast. (Not to mention the fact that she is measuring her height against everyone and is now taller than Gma!) Now we are home and she is getting busy wrapping up all her homework that she incurred this weekend. Go T!

That's it!

I took G-dog to Gymnastics last week. It was our last shot at making gymnastics work for us. He did really well. There was only 3 other kids and the gym on my side of town is 1/3 the size of the other gym--hence fewer distractions. For the most part, he followed the teacher and did as he was asked to do. Near the end, the teacher's son joined the group. He--like Gavin--had some difficulty staying on task (there are some really enticing things in a Gym for 3 year olds)! About 10 minutes before it was over the teacher yelled at her son and said "Okay Kevin, go into time out." Kevin went to time out in the corner. G-dog looked back and forth between teacher and son. Then he put his hands on his hips and yelled "That's it! I'm outta here!" And proceeded to run full speed towards the exit door! I was laughing so hard it was difficult to look him in the eyes and tell him if he didn't want to participate he could sit on the side, but couldn't leave until the class was over. Ahh never a dull moment.

Costumes...who are you really?

I think it is so fun to get to choose who you are at least one time during the year! I don't dress up myself during halloween, but it is fun to see what my kids decide. It is like having a little window into their brains.....

She flies....

How cute and fun...Adorable...

And then as fast as it begun it is over....until next year!

Halloween

It is fun to think about what makes a holiday seem like the holiday? For me, Halloween is: costumes on the kids, Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin cookies, dipping apples in carmel, passing out candy at the door, the smell of lit pumpkins and spooky fun music. Since the kids are new on the scary movie front, that doesn't seem to happen at our house yet.

Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins at our house the other night. And by we I mean the kids came up with ideas and then Dad helped them. I am in charge of the pumpkins seeds, and taking the pictures.:)

Dad is an artist at heart. He loves to create and is quite good at sketching pictures for the kids and sculpting when he has time. At pumpkin carving time the kids think this ability allows him to put any kind of design on a pumpkin. So the ideas become larger and larger each year. And somehow each year he seems to pull it off. (Last year's pumpkin challenge was a sketch of a character from "the office" TV show.)

This year M printed off a picture of her and her friend and had Dad help her imprint it on the pumpkin. (and I hear music from the impossible dream...)

What do you think? Does the one on the left look like her?

Gdog had Dad carved a skeleton on his,

J did a vampire getting ready to bite a lady,

and T carved a window scene with a cat, pumpkin and spider.

And the pumpkin seeds turned out great as usual! Thanks for asking:)

Normal? What is Normal?

It is intersting the things you pass on to your kids.

Like needing to have A-1 sauce to eat a steak. Here is J with her date for "you-pay" dance this past weekend.

It started me thinking about all the things you do normally, that others don't.

When you go out into the world with out your family you realize that the habits your family had weren't as "normal" as you thought.

Playing a Cheese Piano

Well this is one of the reasons I started this blog. Just to share snippets of my life with Gdog. Today I came into the living room to discover "a piano of cheese". It could have been so much worse considering there is shredded cheddar in the same drawer. So I found my camera and voila! Piano of cheese for all to see! :)

9 More Stiches

Last night Gdog took a flying leap off his bed onto the floor. I opened the door to his bed room just in time to see him land on Oreo--the dog. I heard a snarl from the dog, saw blood and heard Gdog cry.
When I picked up Gdog and looked at his head. I could see teeth marks from the dog near his eye, but that was not the source of the blood. As it turns out his head had also hit a metal dump truck. The gash was about 1 inch long.

So off we went to the Dr. to have him stitch him up @ 10:00pm. Luckily the doctor was terrific and Gdog, (who was interested in the whole process), laid down and watched as he sewed him up. (The doctor also had a black widow in a jar that kept him pretty interested.) He only cried once, when the Dr. was numbing him up. I looked at his little face and he was silently sobbing tears running down his cheeks....talk about break your heart!

In the end he got to pick out a candy bar and get a Diego bandaid! Thank heaven for kind, patient doctors!! :)

Now if only we can go another year until the next set of stitches....that would be a one set a year. Not bad considering how active that kid is. Thank heaven he was kid #4 instead of kid #1. I would have lost my mind!!

Potty Training Day 375..or something like that

So big news on the potty training front. Gdog saw a Transformer last Friday morning and really wanted one. We bought it and I told him he couldn't open it until he went all day---until it gets dark outside--with out having an accident. (We also bought Transformer underwear!) He really likes the underwear and really really really wants to open the Transformer. We are on day 4 of not even close....but we are trying again today! Here's hoping it continues to inspire him. :)

M Makes a Stand

Well, M went to a football game night before last with her friend. Her friend's Dad drove them there and we picked up. On the way to the game M starts talking about how she was going to marry an African American and adopt children from Africa. (Now I do not know exactly where she came up with this idea, and I am not necessarily apposed to this, but the way she says it tends to take you off guard especially if you haven't heard it before.) This time she said that both she and her friend were going to do this.

Well the father all but stopped the car. He told M and her friend that HIS daughter is not allowed to date black people. That if she ever brought a black guy home to meet him for a date he would ground her from dating at all. When M responded that it sounded a little prejudicial. He said yes it was and so was the religion that she belonged to. Then he proceeded to tell her that if she married a black man she would never reach the celestial kingdom. That God forbid interracial marriages. Now to the average person this would sound a little harsh. But to M, granddaughter of a Mexican and Caucasian marriage, she was fuming. She told him that marriage is between God, and the husband and the wife. Then she told him that she would reconcile her worthiness with her Heavenly Father.

He told her that just like with murder, she could not choose or change the consequences of the decisions she made. He also threw in that she was not following the prophet, and that the church had many statements published against this. Then he told her he would send her the articles and talks to read. Marissa told him that she knew he was wrong and that she didn't want to talk to him anymore. That if she had questions about the church she would ask her own parents.

When Shawn brought her home after, she came into the house, and the story unraveled. We cleared up where he was mistaken (Oh yea, the whole thing!), and discussed that while his intentions were good, he was misinformed, and well, he has no authority to direct her actions. I suggested that she asked the Bishop directly, who in addition to her parents has the authority to teach spiritual principles to her. She decided to ask her seminary teacher yesterday who confirmed that the official church policy is that interracial marriages are treated exactly the same way as any other marriage in the church. But cautioned her that the direction from the First Presidency was that you find someone to marry that has as many things in common as you do to avoid any excess difficulty you can. (Which is a principle i tried to share with her as well.) To which she said, "I can do things that are hard. Bring it on." Which let's face it, is very M.

Laundry Exposed

So, when the interns from China left, J was able to move back into her room. She (and M too) was very happy to have her own space again, When I asked her when she wanted to put her King size bed back in her room (we had put 2 twins in for the interns.) she told me she'd let me know. About a week ago I asked her to bring up her sheets so I could wash them. This was our conversation.
"Go get your sheets so I can wash them."
"Which ones?"
"The ones on your bed."
"Which bed?"
"The one you sleep in."
"Well do you want the one from the dirty bed or the clean bed?"
"Ummm, the dirty bed? I am guessing the clean one doesn't need to be washed. Right J?" (I said thinking I was teaching her deductive reasoning.)
"The dirty one isn't necessarily dirty."
"What? You realize you just contradicted yourself right?"
"Well... one of the beds is for me to sleep in only if I shower before bed. No one can it on it when they are in my room, and no unclean thing gets set on it. This therefore it is the clean bed. The other bed I put my school books on, set laundry on, guests can sit on it and when I want a nap in the middle of the day or I come in late from a dance and I don't want to shower I sleep in this bed. Thus calling it the dirty bed."
"(laughing) Okay then with out classifying according to names, will you please bring me up any sheets that are actually dirty!"

As she is telling me I am remembering the 6 year old who took the cereal box off the grocery shelf with her elbows so she didn't dirty her hands, and the 11 year old who carried antibacterial gel with her in her backpack. Yes this was defiantly J. A Good Clean Plan!

Inappropriate!

So Gdog came in to Dad who was sitting on our bed eating pretzels. (Which I have to clarify that I never let Gdog eat in my room. Probably stopped the day he dumped yogurt on his head and rubbed it in. Or maybe it was the day he took butter and cilantro and mixed to together and ate in/wore it on my bed.)

"What are you doing Dad?"
"Just eating pretzels."
Then Gdog puts his hands on his hips and says ...
"Hey! That is inappropriate!" You can't eat on Mommy's bed!"

Thank you Gdog! :)

Drinks for Everyone!

So today Gdog came into my room with 3 sippy cups. He explained that one was for me, one for T and one for him. It was easy to see the cup had milk in it. When I smiled and said "you are such a sweet boy. thank you for thinking of mommy and T" He smiled a huge smile and said "it is a special drink with ketchup" turned and ran to find T.

Denist with a 3 Year old.

Yesterday I took Gdog to the dentist. He went last week for his first trip ever and had his "teeth counted". The Dentist noticed 2 small cavities. Now let me just say it was a minor miracle that he would sit in the dentist chair and let the Dentist look at his teeth. So the idea of Gdog letting him drill and fill cavities, not to mention the numbing shot seems utterly ridiculous. I laughed a little saying I didn't think he would sit in the chair again, let alone have a cavity filled. But the pediatric dentist charges DOUBLE what this "normal" dentist does and this dentist was game to try, so I figured what the heck!

Wonder of wonders...... When we arrived Gdog sat right up on the chair and let the assistant put on the napkin bib thing. When the dentist came in he gave him a high five. Gdog got to push the button to make the chair go up and back and thought he was at Disney Dentist. But when the dentist gave him the first shot he wiggled uncomfortably, and then when the needle was removed from his mouth, he jumped into my arms looking at the dentist and saying before he broke into sobs, "that hurt me." The dentist actually looked sorry. (I have never seen that before--a dentist looking sorry. Sorry Bec.:))

Now I am thinking let's just call the "game over" and walk away right? But the biggest wonder is ahead when the dentist says "hey if you sit back in the chair I will show you my tools." Gdog stops sobbing on my shoulder, looks at him and says "okay."
The dentist proceeds to show him his "whistler" drill. Shoots water across the room, uses the suction on Gdog's arm and blows air at me. Thus winning over Gdog and convincing him to open his mouth again. (And to add to the difficulty level the dentist still has to give him another shot on the other side of his mouth.)

But Gdog sits through the whole thing. Including holding the "mouth opener" spacer thing between his teeth while the dentist worked!!! I am still in shock. And VERY grateful. I know, right?

Talking with Gdog

G mentioned today that he was looking for his friend. Will you help me find him mommy? Because I can never remember what names he has for every animal and toy in his room, I asked him to describe it to me. He said "It is brown and has sparkly eyes." Now that narrows it down. When we finally found it I couldn't believe what it was. I laughed and laughed. What it was it you ask? A plastic piece of toast about one inch in size. Wow, and to think I had never noticed toast had eyes. :)

Doesn't he look cute. And so......good? Let's begin by saying he LOVES school. But I wasn't so sure how he'd like it. You see he was basically kicked out of Gymnastics the day before for not minding the teacher. (okay not "kicked out" more like invited to attend the parent tot class with me.) But to my surprise he wants to go to preschool every day he can. His really great teacher says he is kind and helpful and he likes to play with the other kids. Whether she is purposefully leaving out the "won't sit and color or follow any directions" part of that or not, I am grateful it seems to be working for everyone.

Well suffice it to say that once again I am trying to make this my journaling area. Things are staying pretty busy with kids, RS and family stuff. I am very blessed to be able to stay home with my kids.

The man is off in Mexico. He had a client offer the other seat of this plane to him, and a weekend in Mexico. Of course he grabbed his passport and jumped on the plane! he has been so great supporting my 4 marathons this year. It was very easy to say "Go, have fun!".