Freezing?

Since my sister, she who shall remain nameless, Jill, is bragging it up that it's 60 degrees there in Hell, I mean Vegas, I thought I'd show you what you're missing out on here in the frozen North. Yes, people, that is my light switch covered in ice. Not too bad for an outside light switch, eh? Well, too bad it's INSIDE! Maybe I do keep my house a little on the cold side. Honestly, we don't know why it does this. It's just this one, right by the back door. I think a little spray foam insulation will fix it right up. Plus, I love using that stuff. It's so fun. So do I have your sympathy yet?

Bundle of Joy

Congrats to Kirsten and Bryan.

A new little boy, 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 19 inches long has joined the ranks.

We need more boys, hint hint, Kristen and Michelle.

And good job Mom on the coaching thing. I think maybe you've found your true calling.

So I was thinking

I know, hard to believe. But I just discovered today that it is indeed February.

That means January is now officially over.

Finally.

I may be a little slow on the uptake here, but I almost breathed a sigh of relief. I walked outside today only to hear Geese flying over head. Is over head one word or two? Whatever. Geese, yes of the Canadian kind, were flying overhead, honking their little honkers out! It was adorable. I guess that's what I get for living so darn close to the Canadian border. I hear you have to watch out for those Canadians, though.

So I was thinking. I need a Spring pick me up. Here's what will help give me a little burst of energy to get through this remaining Winter. So pick the one you think will be the best.

1. A new outfit.
2. A spray on tan.
3. A mani-pedi.
4. A new hand bag.

What do you say? I'm leaving it up to you, folks. You've all done so well with the Writers block challenge, I just know you can do this too.

And I'm sorry this post sucks. Please refer to the previous post for my excuse. I promise to be back on track soon. Really. I do.

I think this is what writers block feels like

It seems like I've hit a creative wall. For some reason, my wit, humor, and even criticisms have run dry. I know! If I can't find it in me to criticize someone, it must be bad. I had been thinking of changing my blog template for a while, and as much as I love the Pyzam flowery cute ones, I just couldn't bring myself to be like everyone else. So I found this cute notebook one, and I liked it enough. I thought that would inspire me back into my norm, but alas, to no avail. So I changed the title of my blog. I'm always saying "Note to self..." followed shortly by "I forgot...". I think I get that from Momma. Still, no inspiration comes. I'm sure some of this has to do with the fact that I am currently living in a plain white generic looking house. I thought I'd be okay with neutral colors. Turns out, not so much. I should at least start hanging stuff on the walls, but I feel no inspiration for that either. What's a girl to do?

Ask fellow bloggers, of course!

I have a big empty room in my house. It's the first room you see when you enter the house. There is no furniture, only beige carpet and beige walls. I found these cute prints at, where else, Ikea, bought 3 of them, and plan to use them on the wall. But I want you to use them to create the space for me. I'll take pictures or links to stuff you think should go in my living room. Maybe that will inspire me out of this midwinter funk. Funk is a funny word. I knew a girl who's last name was Funk. I was always glad it was her and not me....

So there you go. We're talking furniture, artwork, rugs, sculpture, knick knacks, pets, people, whatever. So have at it, and help a chick out!

It's good to be related to smart people

Or at least people the blog smart. Since it seems that my wit well has run dry for today, I leave you with 2 links to check out.

The Terrills are hilare. Good people, good people. And Barb always has good tidbits of love and info to share. If you'd like a challenge for your frozen brains, check out her latest post here.

And for a funny voting joke, (Non-Partisan in case you were wondering), check out Bonny's lastest post here. She's a great gal. Beautiful, smart, and she has the cutest kids, next to mine of course.

Enjoy!

Oy, Vey!

Well, several things have happened here this weekend.

First, Friday was a snow day. We got a, ready yourself, good 6 inches! And yes, school was canceled. What's a mom to do? I knew I couldn't deal with 3 kids fighting all day and all weekend too, so we headed to Hannah Montana's new movie. Quite cute. Let's just hope she doesn't turn all White Trashy-fab like her Britney Spears counterpart. But for $15 a ticket, I would have liked a little more. Maybe a margarita at least? But I digress. After successfully finding our way there (and back, Mom), I decided it was time to invest in a new snow blower. Ah, the power that is a gas engine! Now we have the cleanest driveway on the block.

Saturday brought Sean cleaning out the garage. All day. Literally. He was out there from 9AM until 6:30 PM when I made him take us to dinner. I was craving Tacos El Norte, what can I say. But thanks to his efforts, I can now park in the garage that has an opener. No more prehistoric lifting of the garage door for me! Oh, we also pushed, yes pushed, the '49 chevy into the third car garage. That is one heavy effin truck. But now it has a home, so we're happy.

Sunday began as any normal day. Late for church, screaming kids, blah blah blah. But then I noticed Gretta had a fever. Uh oh. And Emma's eyes wouldn't stop watering, and she was coughing like a chain smoker. I knew I was in for it.

So Monday brought a visit to our new Pediatrician, who is darling, thank goodness. G has an ear infection, and Emma just has a cold. But after 3 kids, I thought I'd missed out on the joy that is ear infections. This is the first one for us. Ever. And the poor girl is miserable. Although I must say, I enjoy the cuddling that I normally don't get. Baby cuddling, that is. Don't get any ideas, Sugar Daddy.

And that brings us to today. Tuesday. Foggy, eerie Tuesday. It seems as though this is the calm before the storm, as they're saying 8-10 inches of snow tonight. They're even talking about schools getting canceled again tomorrow. Oh joy. But wait, that means I get to use the Snow Blower. Yay! I think I need to give that puppy a name. Any ideas? Maybe something slightly perverted, because you know how I am....

Me in a nutshell

10 years ago:

I was a newlywed. A miserable newlywed. I could not sleep with him in my bed, therefore my entire day was spent as a zombie. We lived in a teeny tiny apartment in Holladay. There were vertical blinds separating the bedroom from the kitchen. It was ghetto-fab for sure. We had no money, but we were in love, so it didn't matter. I was working at a job I hated, he was in school, and we had just gotten our first cell phone. Our car payments were more than our rent, and we would save up our change to go to "Gringos" for dinner and share a burrito. Oh, the good ol' days.

5 things on my "to do" list today:

1. Take 2 kids to the doctor.
2. Make the bunk beds.
3. Vacuum my room.
4. Get some hair gunk at the grocery store.
5. Get some groceries at the grocery store.

5 snacks I enjoy:

Only 5?
1. Chocolate anything.
2. Anything covered in chocolate.
3. Ice cream.
4. Cereal.
5. Chips Ahoy! cookies.

If I were given a billion dollars, I would:
1. Buy a private jet so I could fly around and see my family whenever I wanted.
2. Pay off my house.
3. Save it.
4. Not tell anyone.
5. Invest it in.... who knows.

3 bad habits:

1. I pick my lips.
2. I have a bad temper.
3. Yelling at my kids.

5 places I have lived:

1. Riverton, Ut
2. St. George, Ut
3. Sandy, Ut
4. Lake Villa, Il
5. ?

5 jobs I've had:

1. Receptionist.
2. Hair stylist.
3. Nursing assistant.
4. Mom.
5. Lover.

5 things people don't know about me:

1. I may have a serious side after all.
2. I'm afraid of drowning, but I love the water.
3. I hate breaking a nail.
4. I wanted to be a race car driver.
5. Bad grammar is a major turn off.

Happy Birthday G!

Okay, so I'm a week late posting Birthday pics. Sue me. At least they're getting posted at all. I was trying to find my magical cord that uploads the pictures from the camera to the puter.

Anyhoo, Gretta turned 1 on the 22nd. I honestly cannot believe she is 1. It seems just like yesterday we were boiling water and getting some clean sheets.

Now that she's here, and the cutest damn thing I've ever seen, I can't imagine life without her. For now a few of her favorite things are:

• Crawling superfast with her head down in an aerodynamic position. This helps with the wind drag.
• Yelling at the top of her lungs at anything.
• Squealing in delight when she sees a stuffed animal.
• Jumping in her crib.
• Calling the puppy.
• Sticking out her tongue.
• Throwing her binky, or anything, for that matter.
• Pulling everything off the sides of the tub.
• Throwing the bath towel in the water.

She really is a fun kid. She knows she can rely on her sisters for help, but she still likes Mom the best. Until Dad gets home, that is. As soon as she sees Sean walk in the door, she reaches out for him. He's even been known to use the facilities while holding her because he doesn't want to put her down for a second.

We had a fun party. We ate birthday cake that was mixed in a frying pan with a plastic fork using no measuring apparatus. It still turned out pretty well. But I think we're all glad the movers finally showed up and we can find what we need now.

So, Happy Birthday, G!

Come on in and pull up a floor

Welcome. I'm glad you all came to visit me in my new home town of Lake Villa, Illinois. It's a beautiful, if cold, part of the midwest. So far I've only unpacked, and not done much else in the way of decorating. You can understand, I'm sure. I still have an entire living room that is empty and in need of new furniture, so that said, come on in and pull up a floor and I'll begin the tour.

Hey, that rhymed.




Well, that's pretty much it. Our new abode. I quite like it. It's nice to have so much extra space. This home is more than double the size of our last, so imagine how many cabinets I have that are empty! It's wonderful. I've met a few neighbors, some from the Ward, most not, and Emma and Maggie have both made cute new friends. It's a wonderful feeling to see your kids adapt so well. Although this transition has been hard, especially leaving my family and friends, this is the most fulfilled and grown-up I've ever felt. Funny how that works. So I'm happy, which translates into we're happy. It's a good thing.

Like a bowl full of Jelly Belly's

On MLK day, or Civil Rights Day as it's now called, we headed up to the Jelly Belly factory in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. It's about a 15 minute drive from home. Good to know. It's not really the "factory", since the beans are made in a Chicago suburb then shipped to this warehouse, so it's really just the distribution center. Still, it's fun to ride around on the little train and see the video of how they make the famous beans. We also got to wear these cute paper hats. We learned that the best selling jelly bean of this year is Very Cherry, surpassing Buttered Popcorn after it's 3 year reign. We also saw what they do with all the Jelly Belly's that don't make it past QC, they're called Belly Flops, and they sell them in the store at a deeply discounted price. I found the new JBZ, which are kind of like M&M's with a flavored candy shell and filled with chocolate. There was Caramel, Vanilla, Chocolate Fudge, and Cappuccino JBZ in my bag of joy. Or so I thought it was a bag of joy. Cute paper hats worn by all.

Giant Jelly Belly's are creepy.

Turns out you should never vomit cappuccino flavored JBZ. Not so joyful. Maybe it serves me right for loving anything coffee flavored. Maybe it serves me right for eating the whole bag myself. Either way, bad, bad, Jelly Belly JBZ. Not that it will stop me from eating them again. I'm just a glutton like that.

Kiss my ice

Hey.

It's cold here. Have you heard? -27. Yes, that's a -.

And even though I had internet service on Tuesday, my puter has been less than cooperative. Thanks to Sugar Daddy for making it all better.

So you want the details, I suppose.

• I Love Love Love my new house. For those of you not in the "know", I hadn't seen it until the night before we closed on it. Sean did well on the picking out part.
• My movers ruined my couch. Yes, ruined. As in grease stain all over the front, cushions, and back. Good thing they're insured.
  
• Apparently I have no sense of direction without my Utah mountains. My mom is so trusting to get in the car with me, never knowing if we'll make it back.
  
• Did I mention my mom came to visit? 1 day's notice and she was here to help unpack and rastle the kiddies. I don't know what I would have done, or will do, without her.
  
• Gretta has decided that she can stand alone for stretches of time. As long as she has something in her hand, that is. She's pretty cute, except when she's crawling around crying and holding her arms up for me to pick her up every second. Exhausting.
  
• As of right now, more than half of my home is furnished a la Ikea. 2 bedroom sets, a breakfast table and 6 chairs, 3 bar stools, a high chair, and 3 huge prints for the living room wall. I'm such a sheep.
  

I promise I will post pictures of the house, the kids, and most importantly, my Fargo hat. Yes people, I gave in and bought a Fargo hat from K-Mart to shield my poor noggin from the blasted cold. Although I still haven't bought a new coat yet. That will come soon, I'm sure. Now that I have internet and such, I promise to be a better friend.

Moooving Day

Okay, okay, I know it's been too long.

Yes, the movers have come and gone. And yes, I'm posting from Illinois, which is now home. Although I'm not quite home as of yet. I'm at Michelle's house in Peoria, and I'm a mere 4 hours from my new town. I had a vision of what our cross-country trip would be like. It included several new downloads from iTunes, and sleepy children lovingly gazing out across the plains as we whizzed by. Insert laugh here. Our iPods are inexplicably missing, and they better be packed and not stolen.

We left Utah on Sunday morning in a blizzard of previously unmentioned snow. 30 MPH until Evanston, WHYoming made for a long morning, especially when coupled with tear-stung eyes. Finally the snow stopped, and thy WHYoming sky shone a brilliant blue. Our initial plans of staying in Cheyenne flew by like our truck in the night as we realized we needed to cut a day off our trip, so we pressed on into NebrASSka.

Monday morn we woke up and played in the local hotel water park. We had the entire 2 slides to ourselves most of the morning. After showers and vomit, we headed to Peoria. Through Winter Quarters and on into Council Bluffs, I-OH-wa. I'm sure these places hold deep history of the pioneers, I'm just not sure exactly what. Maybe Barb can expound. We arrived in Peoria late last night, and after yummy dinner with Michelle, Ken, and Tressa (aka Grandma Hashbarger reincarnated), we headed off to find a local Hotel to rest our travel weary head. Not as easy as I thought. Finally, after midnight, we rolled into Comfort Suites. Thank goodness for suites. Sweet.

Today we enjoyed butter and egg yolk waffles and home made syrup. Michelle has the cutest little house, and it's not haunted like our turn of the century house was. So now we head up to our new home town. Hopefully we can get there in one piece and not have any poops or vomits or fuel issues on the way. I hope to post some pics of the new diggs in a couple of days, so keep in touch!

Kisses!

Warning: Funny adult content below

Maggie: "Mom, why don't girls have wieners?"

Me: "Well, girls got boobs instead."

Maggie: "Oh." Long pause. "But Pablo has boobs."

For those of you not in the know, Pablo is the penguin from Backyardigans.

Me: "No, he doesn't. I just looks like he does."

Maggie: "Oh." Another long pause. "Well mom, where are their pee parts then?"

Me: Holding in a laugh. "The pee comes out of their wieners."

Maggie: Sounding much relieved, "Oooh! So that's why they can pee standing up!"


How glad am I she asked me this? No, really, I am. I'm glad she can ask those kinds of questions without getting embarrassed or worse, going to some friend who has a crazy idea of things. Although, I'm not really sure why she has this fascination with wieners.

So long, farewell.

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with Rob and Laura at Citris Grill in Draper. It was a sweet farewell. They leave for Hawaii on Wednesday, and we won't see them again before we move on Sunday. And since Laura has been my bestest friend, I thought I'd share some fun facts about her.

Bullets!

• She is the most positive person I've ever met.
  
• She's a little passive-agressive, but in a good way.
• If there's a recipe out there, she's probably cooked it.
• I've never met anyone that enjoys food so much.
• She worships the sun, and owns a plethora of tanning oils and lotions.
• She loves Trash Mags as much as I do!
• She has the cutest baby in the world. He even has a faux-hawk!
• She has a killer wardrobe. Always finds the latest trends, even in lil'ol' Utah.
  
• She does it all. A full time job, a spotless house, up to date VTing, and home cooked dinner.
• She gets to vacation in awesome places like Sun Valley and Hawaii.
• She has the coolest family, next to mine, of course!
  
• She always keeps in touch with friends, even from long ago.

And it's that last reason that I know Laura and I will stay friends forever. I couldn't ask for a better BFF. She's my VIP. She's my Homie, and I'm glad I have her.

A "Hole" New World

Notice anything different? She hardly cried, and got a new Gymboree outfit for being such a brave girl. Looks like she'll be getting diamond earrings for her 1st birthday, just like her big sisters did.

Goodbye, Apathy.

I understand it's the new year. And I also understand that many, many people are doing lists of resolutions they fully do NOT intend to keep. I, however, am not giving in to the crowd. I will not make a list of things I won't do this year. So instead, I'm making a list of things that will absolutely happen this year.

BULLETS!

• Moving across the country next week.
• Gretta's birthday on the 22nd.
• Aaron J's birthday (can't remember when, exactly).
• Gracie's, Abby's, and Andee's (?) birthdays in February.
• Isaacs's birthday in March.
• Mindy's birthday in April, and Alex's(?,) and Eli's. I think Clara is here, somewhere too.
  
• Gabe, Carter, Claire, Spencer, Ken, and Mike in May.
• Jill, Olivia, Dad, Aaron, and Mom Clayton in June.
• July brings Dad Clayton, Tressa, Jared, and Bryan
• August is Emma, Michelle, Aimee, Me, and Kirsten.
• September is Madison and Kelli.
• October is Meg, Mom, McKinley, Maggie, and Troy.
• November is un-birthdayed as of yet.
  
• And December brings Sean and Kristen!
  

I'm sure these are wrong to some extent, and I've probably missed some one. No offense. Just comment and I'll fix it! But there you go. Things that will absolutely happen this year. No more broken resolutions for me!

*Edit: Mike informed me of my mistaken dates. I can't keep all of these straight!

Andee - March 6

Alex - May 17

My Pinata

Maggie says this hat makes Gretta look like a pinata. It kinda does. And sometimes this kid is so sweet, I'd swear she was full of candy. This is her latest trick. She will stick her tongue out at you if you stick yours out first. It's quite cute.



And if you look closely, you can see the tippy top of the first tooth. It's about time! And by looking at her face, you'd never know she is still sick. She will vomit and poop at least once a day, but she seems fine otherwise. I know you were dying to know her digestive habits. Hopefully she'll kick this bug soon. If not, I'm afraid she's going to wither away to nothing. She's already too skinny. Poor kid.

Live, Laugh, Love

10 years ago today we were getting sealed in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. It's still so fresh in my mind, that I can't believe it's been that long. But looking back at all that's happened, it seems like forever.

In 10 years we've:

Had 3 kids
Lived in 3 (almost 4) homes, and 1 icky apartment.
Owned 8 vehicles.
Finished 2 basements.
Been to Yellowstone 8 times.
Gained 10 Nieces.
Gained 5 Nephews (Carter was already born when we married.)
Gained 50 pounds.
Been through marriage counseling twice.
Grown closer together.
Enjoyed having our soul mate to grow old with.

Sniff sniff.

The Christmas spoils

I hope everyone out there in blogosphere had a good Christmas. I know we did. Here are the pictures and blurbs of what the Holiday season brought. The girls with their huge Disney Princess dolls. Of course Maggie got Belle. Emma got Cinderella.


Emma with her Pixel Chix, and Maggie with her MagnaDoodle book.



Of course HSM 2 found it's way to our house. The girls think it's pretty cool that I went to college where they filmed the movie. What can I say? I'm just cool like that.


And somehow Santa found a WII on eBay, and sent it our way. We played it all night Christmas night, and I have the sore shoulder to show for it.


Maggie's little piano. Gretta got one just like it. Maybe now they'll leave mine alone.



Now for the run down.


Christmas eve:
Dinner at Sizzler. My parents go there so often, their server invited them to her wedding, and also gave them a $25 Gift Certificate. Should I brag about that?
Huge snowstorm. The drive home from Sizzler was fun. The vangina rocks in the snow.
Played play dough pictionary at Grandma's house. Green dough makes for interesting sculptures.

Christmas Morning:
Woke up at 5 AM.
Gretta starts puking.
Open presents til 7.
Gretta continues puking.
Breakfast at Nunn and Poppa's at 9.
Open more presents.
Gretta pukes.
Play a wicked game of Cranium. It was Sylvester, Kelli. ;)
Went to Grandma's for lunch.
Opened more presents.
Played another game of Cranium, Clayton style.
Leave in a hurry due to mystery smell.
Play WII all night.

Day after Christmas:
Kids woke up early to play WII
Gretta still puking.
Mom takes shower, finally!
Gretta has a seizure.
Head to Primary's for 2 days.

Yesterday:
Home. Finally.
Gretta back to normal.
Kids playing with WII all day.
Mom not feeling too hot.
Sean's last day of work in Utah.
Looking forward to having him home for 2 weeks.

I think that's all. Sorry about the absence of blogging. I promise I'll be better.

Home for the Holidays

We had some nice visitors on Thursday night. Jacob and Amy called, and were on their way to Texas to see Betsy, and needed a place to crash for the night. Of course we welcomed them with open arms. And an open front door. Since we were away at a work party, we just left our house unlocked, and they came right in and made themselves right at home. I'm glad they did. We didn't arrive home until much later than we expected, so they had a dinner of pancakes, and then took baths before we even got here! Of course we were all up late talking and playing. The kids had so much fun. They love playing with cousins.

Cruz, Kirsten and Maggie playing "Little People" on the landing. Cruz is a sport to put up with all that girl stuff around.

Katanya enjoying a breakfast of Cookie Crisp and orange juice. She bonked her face on the coffee table pretty hard, cut her tongue, and hardly even cried! She's a trooper.

Emma and McKay watching cartoons. Emma looks sleepy, and probably was, but I think I just caught her with her eyes closed. Oops.