Things you might not know about me

To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Happy discoveries!
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii (I WISH)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (always results in blessings)
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty ( I've been there several times but the top's been closed)
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a marathon (On this years to-do list)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (only if you count street paintors in NY)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Only if Youtube counts, well and a work movie)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (Just the Holocaust museum in DC)
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter (And my husband's 2-seater SLCC airplane)
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (except for Numbers:)
86. Visited the White House (We stood across the street)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club (very short lived)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Shopping/ Shoplifting with a three-year old

I needed one of these new shopping carts that have t.v.s in them


After an exciting morning of peeing on the carpet and locking himself in the car, Jack got a quarter for using the potty (hey now, don't judge, I'm getting frustrated and money motivates him, well, gumball machines motivate him). We were heading to the gumball store when Jack pooped his pants. The store had no changing table and no wipes but we did our best... gross. Since Charlie was in the front of the cart, I put Jack in the main cart but couldn't see him very well because of charlie. Here's what the poor grocery people had to deal with and what it must have sounded like to Jack.

Jack: Mommers (his name for when he likes me, as opposed to Mom when he doesn't) I wanna eat a cucumber.
Becky: No, I'm not in the mood for cucumbers, lets get celery instead.
J: but Why??
B: because they're yummy for our tummy.
B: Don't bite the apples. Hey you bit every one... now they're no good. No one wants to eat your germs.
J: what's a germ?
B: a bug
J: No one wants my bugs because I'm sick, I need medicine....bla bla blaa...
a little while later-
B: Jack are you eating the onions? Where's the rest of it?....(points to mouth).. gross, take it out, no don't put it back in the bag, just set it in the cart.
B: Don't step on the celery!

J; I want eggs Mommy! I wanna hold em.
B: O.k. but you have to be very careful and not open them.
(After a second he took some eggs out and began caressing them.)
B: Hey now, put it back, close up the box, you need to be very careful with eggs..... are you being careful? Close the lids...
(internal dialogue: Now why do they say something has Acai berries if it doesn't, it only has black currant berries... that's weird and misleading... which beans do I need to make green bean casserole.. of course the most expensive... go figure.)
Charlie: Waaaaaaa, waaaaaaa, waaaaaaaa
B: Good thing I packed a bottle... Here you hold it, you're 4 months now, step it up....
B: Jack what have you done? Is that egg on your hands? And running down the cart? And all the way down the aisle? You are in big trouble mister. I told you not to touch the eggs. Sit down! I don't care if it's sticky. You've been throwing eggs out of the cart, and light bulbs! You broke them!
J: You-- I'm mad at you! Grrr! You dumb dumb.... you dum dum
B: Stop that- we don't say mean things like that. Be nice.
J: You dum dum
B: stop- that's it, you've lost your privileges, no more gumballs for you..
J: dum dum dum dum dum
B: Fine you're in time out- stand right there, don't move.
B: (to store clerk) I'm sorry, but you need a clean up on aisle 9- my son broke a whole carton of eggs, and there's still some leaking out of our cart.
B: Jack what's in your mouth?
B: (to store clerk) I guess I'll take this gum he opened.
Store clerk: Are you going to buy these broken eggs?
B: Yes, serves me right for bringing a three-year old shopping.
B: Jack where did you get that apple? Put it back on the clerks table- that's not ours. You have to ask for things and buy them before you eat them.
( I then turned back to deal with the WIC stuff that of course was the wrong brand or size and it wasn't even worth going back through the store to find the right (although unmarked) items.)
B: Jack!! I guess, we'll buy this apple to... I'm sorry...
Store clerk: Have a great day! Would you like help out with that?
B: Would I ever.

Later in the car, Jack says, "Mommers (the positive again) I sorry I loose privages and I sorry I break the eggs. can I get gumball now? and bones?"



I should have watched this first.

The Swimmers and the super-relay

My sister, my brother, and I swam all through our growing up years and into high-school and even a little college. My brother and I used to life guard and teach swim lessons. My sister still teaches swimming lessons almost daily. My Mom swam in college and actually met Dad while teaching swimming lessons at the old Bubble. Some families strive for a family basketball team or the high-achievers: baseball team. Our family always thought it would be fun to have a family relay team, which could consist of my mom, sister, brother and I. Dad doesn't swim, only with jack, and i tried teaching Adam, but he doesn't really like being bossed around by his wife anymore than he already is. My mom hasn't swam for years, but has started out attending practices with the masters team. She and Laura decided that we would do a women's relay team this year at the local swim meet. Laura and I went to a few practices and my Mom re-learned how to dive off the blocks, and WE DID IT!

Here we are finishing our 200 medley relay. Mom recruited the only other person on the team who is older than herself to be our 4th person. Unfortunately for us, rather than average our ages, we had to compete in the youngest persons division (with the 20-25 year-olds...) Mom's friend Pam swam backstroke, my mom swam breastroke, I swam butterfly, and by the time Laura dove in for the freestyle,(see above) all the other teams were already done and she got to do a solo swim. It was a little embarrassing ( I told her afterwards she should have just started waving to the crowd as she swam.) My Mom and Pam are still in the pool because they didn't think they could climb out by themselves even though I think they probably could have.

I swam the 200 breastroke and the 50 breastroke

and attempted to multi-task

It was a fun meet and a good check on our "Someday I'd like to do that" list. Hopefully it will also motivate us to swim even more so we can do more meets.

As for the next generation, Jacks swimming lesson session ended and we will take a break for the holidays at least. Jack did well, but was quite distracted during the lessons (he was constantly going under water and not listening to the teacher. He actually did much better swimming with me and my Dad. he even swam about 10-12 feet the other day. Alex, his teacher won't let him swim to him and is always helping him so he's never seen him swim that far. It possibly may have something to do with the fact that I told his superior not to let my son drown and I sit 4 feet away from the lesson while the little girls parents sit in the bleachers... nah that couldn't be it :)

Here he is using the kick board and arguing with the 6-year old girl over who won...

still arguing....

Don't you just want to eat him up in those cute little goggles??

Did pioneer babies sleep?

We just got home from a fun-filled weekend at the Wade's in Star Valley, WY. We saw cute Madison in her play, Grease, and had some good visits with the in-laws. The four of us shared a room (Jack slept in the closet Harry Potter style) and both Charlie and Jack were up multiple times all three nights that we were there. It was exhausting... On Tuesday morning, Grandma Julie said, "Well, at least they'll probably sleep all the way home and you can get some rest before going into work tomorrow." We hit the road and long story short, Charlie cried for three hours. For the first two hours, we stopped every mile or so and tried to figure out what was wrong with him; we changed his diaper, fed him, changed his clothes, gave him some Tylenol- nothing helped. The only one spared the raw nerves was Jack who was watching Monsters Inc with noise-cancelling headphones. Maybe we should have packed a few pairs. We drove home through Logan (the long way) because we had planned on a special lunch at the Bluebird, so our three hour drive ended up taking seven... needless to say, I was late to work.

Whenever my life is hard I like to think back to the pioneers (or sometimes random villagers in Africa- the ones I saw in a sociology class who birthed babies in the field, slung them on their backs and finished their days work). Sometimes I think about my ancestor pioneers who birthed children on the plains. How did pioneer mommys keep their children happy and quiet for all of those miles. I can't even keep mine quiet for three hours. And when they got hungry, how that must have broke their hearts. When Charlie is hungry he goes from happy to screaming in seconds and I do whatever I can (even pulling over on the side of the highway) to feed him and quiet him again. I used to hear stories about pioneer women giving their own food rations to their children and I always thought that was kind of dumb because if they died, who would care for their children, but now that I've been a Mom for a few years, I understand. I would do whatever I could to feed my children and make them happy- and not just out of the selfless goodness of my heart. If Charlie were hungry his screaming would be unbearable, if Jack were hungry, his whining would be unbearable.

How did those pioneers do it? Were pioneer babies just better behaved? Did they get used to being hungry? Did those three year-olds understand that when Mommy says there's no milk, that means there's no milk? How did the kids sleep or take naps in a wagon or handcart? Are my kids just spoiled? Does anyone have any good ways to make a four-month old nap when he is too tired to fall asleep? My new library book is Ferber's Solve your child's sleep problems. I know my Mom is chuckling thinking I'm finally receiving my due. I've grown up hearing stories about how my parents had to drive me around the neighborhood at all hours of the night to get me to go to sleep. By the way, thanks for doing that Mom and Dad.

3-year-old insults

So Jack Jack is experimenting with a new emotion: anger. Since Adam and I are the center of his world, we tend to be the center of his anger. (Well, technically He is the only center of his world-because after all, he is three). The other day Jack got mad at me and he said (after a brief pause where he was trying to identify his emotions and think of something to describe his feelings) he said, "Mommy, you do poopies in your diaper, not in the potty, that makes me mad." I guess that tells you what I've been getting mad over these last few months...

If we're playing with my sister or sitting with Madison, Jack will start giggling and then say, "You guys are girls... You're all girls!" ooooh, that one hurts :)

The best was the other night when Adam turned Jack's transformer Bumblebee off and he was so mad at him, the drama king said, "My bumblebee, he never talk to me again!!! Daddy.... you....you.... peanut butter... peanut butter and jelly.. and I eat you!!! num num num"

It was so funny, and we both tried not to laugh as Adam attempted to calm Jack down and convince him that Bumblebee would talk when the sun comes back up.

I am just really glad that we don't swear or use bad language at our house or we might be hearing worse insults than just peanut butter and jelly.

In Honor of Pumpkin- She's coming home today!

This post is to honor one of my best friends who I call Pumpkin. She took these pictures of Charlie and has been such a great supportive friend even when my happiness of being pregnant and having Charlie only reminded her of her trials with infertility. I was so excited for her when she found out (last month) that there was a possible birth mother waiting for her. She and her husband have been married for 7 years and are one of the most devoted, loving, funny couples that I know. Pumpkin loves her nieces and nephews and her friends' children unconditionally. I know it must have been hard on her because she has mentioned feeling like everyone around her was pregnant, even some teenagers who didn't really want to be. Pumpkin is flying home today with her brand new baby boy and I couldn't be happier for her. It makes me giddy inside and I just think about it and smile. She is going to be the best Mommy ever! Pumpkin has been so respectful and positive about her birth mothers circumstances, thinking of small thoughtful gifts and ways to show her love and support that would never have occurred to me. Pumpkin, you are so on-top of things. You are such a great example to me. Thank you!

It's so fun that your baby will have an October birthday, since, after all, it is your month- the month of the pumpkin. I'll look forward to lots of fun pumpkin-themed birthday parties...

Pumpkin and blurry-faced Charlie

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Halloween Costumes

Charlie and Daddy: The Pirate Kings

Jack didn't want to be in this picture so we climbed under the table with him.

These were our costumes for Laura's Officers Hollow party at the UofU and then we went to my parents ward's trunk or treat. I threw them together that morning; sometimes those are the best costumes, the ones you throw together last minute. It was so fun to see old faces and have other "kids" my age come back with their families.

Jack Jack and Charlie are the Incredible brothers

Flexing our muscles as the Incredible Family on Halloween. We had lots of fun visiting and Jack LOVED the dressing up part and the handing out candy and glow-sticks part. We trick or treated at the Care Center I work at and they ran out of candy, so Jack would give back his candy to the residents who would then give it back to him. He loved it, but then when he started giving back candy in our neighborhood, our neighbors thought he was weird. We all wanted to trick or treat together, so we went around our "horseshoe" and gave glowsticks to everyone we met-it was fun, won't give kids cavities and made our neighborhood a safer place- just like the Incredibles should :). I think it's so fun to dress up on Halloween and I don't mind suffering from a 2-week sugar overdose either...

As a side note, does anyone else feel like sometimes it is so much work to create happy memories and get ready to have fun that you run our of time and energy to enjoy that fun? That kind of happened on Halloween; I had my plan, things happened to alter that plan and then we ended up rushing around with no dinner in a less than happy state trying to "have fun" and "make memories." Halloween is weird because it's alot of work and anticipation for something that's very short. It starts at 6:00 and for us, ends at an extended bedtime of 8:30 or 9:00. Three hours to visit everyone, show off the cute munchkins, and do the whole trick or treating thing. I guess it's good that more of the Halloween activities are happening before the actual day of Halloween.