Oh, happy day

Today is Presidents Day. I'm sure you knew that already, since many of you are home from work, and I'm sure you're celebrating the lives of our Presidents' with reflection into their contributions and the like.

Uh huh.

Well, I'm off to the Jelly Belly Factory (again) with some Ward chicks. Should be fun. I don't really want to go since I was just there and had an awful puking experience, but I'm doing my duty and making some new friends. This time I will not be buying any Cappuccino JBZ. So rest assured, you won't have to hear about me worshiping the porcelain
God in a future post. Oh, and did I mention it's snowing today? Joy.

So have a good one, and I'll be seein' ya'll tomorrow.

My pet peeves

Ah, yes. Time to vent.

Old blue-hair's who take up both lanes of traffic. Go home, granny!
Mom jeans
Misspelled marquee signs
Pot holes
Cold, bright, melty days
Laundry
Vacuuming
Poopy diapers, and anything else that goes along with bodily functions
Headaches
Sister's that are NASCAR fans. WTH?

I feel much better now. Thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day, Lover

And to this sweet nothing, I received a "Happy Valentine's Day, to you too, Woman".


And somehow, this was sweet. Especially coming from Sugar Daddy.


Reasons I love Sugar Daddy:

He's a great dad.
He's a great hubby.
He opens my car door for me, but only on special occasions.
He puts gas in the car.
He cleans the floor for no reason.
He snores like nobody's business.
He smells.
He makes me less serious about life.
He supports me in my crazy "ambitions".
His sole purpose in life is to make my life easier. And that's the truth.

We never celebrate V-Day around here, because we say every day is Valentine's Day. Even though that may be a stretch, we really do love each other, and we make a pretty darn cute couple. If cute includes.... I won't expound on that. You're welcome.

So thanks, Honey! I love you.

Here we go

1 month ago

One month ago today, we were leaving.

Leaving our family and friends for an unknown adventure 2000 miles away.

I was crying my eyes out, the kids were sad, and confused, and Sugar Daddy was being his usual stoic self, supporting me as best he could.

In this month, that has flown by too fast, we've had several things happen:

Bullets!

• Realized our fuel tank is just a little too small to get us from gas station to gas station while pulling our trailer across the plains. Thank goodness for 5 gallon jugs.
• Learned to sneak our dog into hotel rooms.
• Found out that Mover's don't give a crap about the stuff they're moving.
• Mom will fly out here at a moments notice, if we just ask. Thanks, Mom!
• Felt extremely lonely when, on the first day in a new town, a kid gets seriously sick, and I realized I had no doctor, and no one to call for advice.
  
• Seen first hand that neighbors and friends, no matter their religion, can be good people.
• Receiving my first bottle of wine as a "Welcome" gift.
  
• The wine was tasty.
• Understanding that Utah cold has NOTHING on -27, and giving in and buying a coat.
  
• Gaining a testimony.... Of my GPS! Talk about being blindly led! I just have to have faith that it knows where I'm going, even when I don't.
  
• Finding a sense of accomplishment in doing the little things. And feeling more grown up than ever!
  

Even though it's been a hard month, long work hours for Sugar Daddy, sick kids, getting comfortable being "outside the box", and all that goes along with that, we really are settling in nicely. It feels good here, and we've made some nice friends. It's starting to feel more like "home", and that's a good feeling.

Today is a two post day

I know, try to contain your excitement.

Happy Birthday, GRACIE!!!

We love you, and miss you soooo much!

It 'Twas,

Soap

Poisoning!

Poor Gretta got a handful of soap today. She was having a gay old time splashing and pulling everything into the tub. And then came the soap. A big handful. And what's the first thing babies do with handfuls? Yep, right in the mouth. Obviously it was sour, so she reached up and rubbed her eyes.

So now she's going to be blind. Just like Ralphy.

I have issues

This isn't a surprise to those of you that know me. But I do. I have issues with a lot of things. This morning, for instance, my neighbor came to pick me up for a playgroup. I followed her there. I noticed her license plate is personalized, and makes reference to BYU. That kinda irks me. Then the playgroup mommies were very shy around me. I would have thought it would be the other way around, but whatever. That kinda bugs me. The dog poops on top of the snow, despite a nice spot of lawn being shoveled bare just for that purpose. That just makes me laugh, because there are all these little land mines all over our beautiful white wonderland.

But the thing that I have the most issue with is light switches. They should all face down when the lights are off, right? Right. Well, apparently super electrician that wired this house thought otherwise. Every switch here is a 3-way. Huh huh, 3 way. And there was no way to get them all down and off at the same time. It's been bugging me so bad since we moved in, but I figured there were a million other things to do besides stress over light switches. Well, Sugar Daddy felt my pain. Last night he fixed them. All of them. Ah, freedom. It's wonderful to see all the switches in the right direction.

Now if I could quit washing my hands and counting steps to the mailbox.....

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!