According to this, I should be dropping dead any minute now...

The Girl in a Whirl by 'Dr. Sue' (a.k. A.. Vickie Gunther)


Look at me, look at me, look at me now!

You could do what I do if you only knew how.
I study the scriptures one hour each day;
I bake, I upholster, I scrub, and I pray.
I always keep all the commandments completely;
I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.

I help in their classrooms! I sew all they wear!
I drive them to practice! I cut all their hair!
I memorize names of the General Authorities;
I focus on things to be done by priorities.
I play the piano! I bless with my talents!

My toilets all sparkle! My checkbooks all balance!
Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
I attend all my meetings (on time! Never late!)
I'm taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all,

I track my bad habits 'til each is abolished;
Our t-shirts are ironed! My toenails are polished!
Our family home evenings are always delightful;
The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
I do genealogy faithfully, too.It's easy to do all the things that I do!

I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
I read to my children! I help all my neighbors!
I bless the community, too, with my labors.
I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;

My visiting teaching is done the first day!
(I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
It's the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
I seek each "lost lamb" on my Primary roll.

I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all,
I write in my journal! I sing in the choir!
Each day, I write "thank you's" to those I admire.
My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!

My kids get straight A's! And their bedrooms are clean!
I have a home business to help make some money;
I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
I go to the temple at least once a week;
I change the car's tires! I fix the sink's leak!

I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
I make sure I rotate our two-years' supply;
My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
These things are not hard; 'tis good if you do them;

You can if you try! Just set goals and pursue them!
It's easy to do all the things that I do!
If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!


It's easy!" she said and then she dropped dead.

Payless Buddies

(I searched and searched for the perfect picture for this post, but apparently we were friends before I had my digital camera. So these are Maddie's chicken legs in some adorable shoes that I'm sure these girls talked me into buying 5 years ago!)
Today me and the girls went and had lunch with some of my old friends from my Payless days. We've kept in touch since I/they quit 3 years ago, but this is the first time in a LONG time that we all got together. We each have 3 kids now and Maddie is the oldest, so we had a BLAST with 9 kids under the age of 5. (3 under the age of one). They all got along pretty well and Maddie is ready to go play again!
It was so much fun hanging out with them and talking about the good old days at Payless and before kids. Alicia even gave me the biggest cup at lunch, since I'm the boss lady. I told them that they were way better at obeying my orders than my kids are now!
When I was pregnant with Maddie I worked with Alicia and Celeste and we would spend hours talking and laughing at work. When they would laugh, Maddie would totally respond in my stomach and wiggle around. When she was born they came to see me and we were laughing and Maddie got this look on her little face like, "I know this sound!" So many good memories! I love you guys! Thanks for the invite! I'm glad to know that you weren't just pretending to like me because I was your boss! :)

Breakfast

For those of you who don't know - we are NOT early risers. But for some reason on Saturday, we were all up at 7:30 and ready to get the day going. Jeramy went for a run while I got the kids ready. Then we took them to McDonald's for breakfast. Apparently breakfast at McDonalds is something we have never done because Maddie was hysterical about having to eat a hamburger for breakfast, and Lindsay was excited about fries.
Then Lindsay got her food and started to cry, "Where's my fries???" So Jeramy - being the fast thinker that he is - tells her that the hash browns are 'breakfast fries.' She looks at it, dips it in the ketchup and decides breakfast fries are great. Even 'shulishus.' (Delicious). But this kid will eat anything with ketchup.
We had a similar problem on Thursday. I HATE breakfast for dinner, but decided to do it because Jeramy loves it. Once again, I must not do it very often because Maddie wouldn't eat breakfast for dinner and was so upset that I would even suggest it. "That's not right" she kept saying. She finally broke down and ate a pancake though.
And while I'm on the subject of food, do your kids ever make strange snacks? Maddie has been into making her own snacks lately which always consist of water and something else. The other day she brought me a cup of water with chocolate chips and OLIVES in it. I'm usually a good sport about trying her snacks, but this one made me want to throw up just looking at it.

Macie is 9 months

So, I'm about a week and a half late on this post, but we've just had so many other fun things to blog about. Macie is 9 months old. Sigh. It has gone by too fast. I miss those days of her just silently watching us. And sleeping. She DID sleep through the night for about a month at one point. Miss those days. Speak of the devil, she just woke up. :( We do love her though, and I think we'll keep her. These are a few of my favorite pictures of her from last week. The first one I love that you can see her enormous front teeth.
She is always such a great helper in the kitchen. She has to be right under foot - unless something good was left on the floor to eat. (My last few posts make it sound like we don't feed the poor kid).
And this one was before church on Sunday. Can you seriously trust that smile?? We've come a long way in the past 9 months. I find myself thinking often, "what if she really had been a boy?" WOW. Life would be different. Jeramy said the other night, "I have no tolerance for girl things like crying. That's probably why I have 3 girls, huh?" I think so. The Lord is teaching him a lesson. That must be why Jeramy thinks we are done having kids!

I'm not a runner...

But I ran! Jeramy and I ran the Salt Lake City 5k on saturday. This was my first running race ever. (My friend Kristen and I pushed our double strollers on a 5k in Oakley many moons ago). I've been running at home and I really don't enjoy it. BUT, Jeramy is a runner and I wanted to try it out - for him.
He was such a good sport and stayed by my side the entire time. When I wanted to stop, he would push me on. When I got angry and would finally stop, he would only let me walk until 'the next sign.' I was pretty annoyed with him, but glad he pushed me. (I only walked twice for about 2 minutes each time).
I finished about 2000 out of 3000. It took us about 39 minutes. Not that great of a time, but for me I'm pretty proud. Jeramy is already planning out my racing career. I think it might have ended when it began. We'll see.
(I know my picture isn't that great. Maddie took it for me and from her height looking up at me, I looked a lot more beefy than I wanted to, so I had to crop a little. :))

Stress Relief

I think my family felt sorry for me after my horrific day and invited me to go 4-wheeling for the day. It was totally spur of the moment and I sent Jeramy and email that said, "we're going 4-wheeling, don't wait up." Not even a minute later my phone rings, "What are you doing?" My Mom rode out with me and the girls. My dad and sister were already out there for Spring Break. It was really close by, but I can't tell you where it was or I'd have to kill you. We want to keep it for ourselves as much as possible. :)There is something so therapeutic for me being outdoors. I could feel myself recharging and thinking, "Life isn't so bad after all." Is that normal for all people or is it something I got from my Dad?
The girls made a "campfire" and sat around it in their little chairs for a while and talked. It was pretty cute.
Macie thought she was in heaven crawling around in the dirt. If she thought Thanksgiving Point had a lot to offer, she had no idea what the desert had instore for her. Sticks, sage brush, and her personal favorite - rabbit droppings.
Lindsay did really well this time on the 4-wheeler. She went out with me once and with Grandpa while us ladies played POUNCE in the trailer. Today she still keeps randomly saying, "I like Grandpa. He take me for ride on 4-wheeler."
So to my parents and sister, THANK YOU. Life didn't seem so bad when I got back. My kids had a great time. They eventually came clean and it was totally worth it! Jeramy is a little jealous though. :)

When they're good...

I'm reminded of that saying, "When they're good they are very very good, but when they are bad, they are very very bad."
Today started out rough. Everyone got up around 7:30 - which is WAY early for us. The crankiness set in immediately. I KNEW that taking Maddie to the dentist was going to be a nightmare just by how she was acting. So I tried to call and cancel, but they have a 60$ fee to cancel. So we start to get ready. The trauma begins.
Maddie won't let me do her hair. So not like her. Then she informs me that she is not going to the dentist. I tell her she is. Tears, and screaming. I finally pack everyone in the car and start to drive away and she comes out running, "STOP, stop, you can't leave me!" So we get there and she won't get out of the car. So I take everyone in and she finally comes pouting in - without shoes. I should probably add that SHE LOVES THE DENTIST. She is always as excited as I am to get her teeth cleaned.
They call her name and she starts screaming. I carry the other 2 back to the room and go try to get Maddie. I pick her up and she starts kicking and biting and screaming. I am shocked! This is so not her. They give me a few minutes to try and calm her down, but she won't calm down. Our dentist is awesome and we've known him for about 10 years - which makes it worse because I am so embarassed! He comes in laughing and says, "Look, I'm ready!" He had put earplugs in. He had me hold her legs and arms while he tried to pry into her mouth. No luck. So he asks if he can plug her nose. He tries that. She tried to bite him. So at that point he was done trying. He said they looked all right from what he could see, but to watch for discoloring. She's still screaming and crying. He has to help me get my 3 kids out of the office and doesn't charge me - thank goodness!
I get in the car and cry. Maddie cries harder. Lindsay and Macie are totally silent. She recieved her punishment of no preschool from me. Jeramy added that she was not to leave her room all day. Here we are 5 hours later and she's still in her room.
So now I need to hear some other horror stories from all of you guys so that I don't feel so bad.

60 words

Speed test

Bows

So, if you were at church with me yesterday and noticed I had a white kids hair bow in my hair, here's why. No, I'm not starting a fashion trend.
My darling silly husband stuck it in my hair before church trying to be sneaky. I knew he did it, but I figured I'd humor him for a while and I left it. Then I forgot about it. Went to church. SAT BY MY HUSBAND THE WHOLE TIME. 20 minutes to go in Sharing time and he starts laughing. I ask why and he say, "I put a bow in your hair before church and it's still there." I couldn't believe that I forgot. Then I said, "Jeramy, you have sat by me for the past 2 hours and 40 minutes, and you are just barely noticing?" He says, "Well, it matches your skirt so I thought you had done it, then it just hit me that I did it." Ew.

Day of Firsts

Maddie got her first fat lip by putting her arms in her shirt and jumping in the kitchen. She totally face planted it. Pretty traumatic for all of us. Lots of blood and tears. We get to go to the dentist Wednesday for x-rays on her teeth. :(
Macie fell asleep with a pacifier for the FIRST time ever. She will play with it, but never suck on it. It was a fluke though, she wouldn't do it again. :(
First BBQ burger of the season. SOOOO good. (This one is Jeramy's). :)
First day it was warm enough for Thanksgiving Point. Too bad the flowers are not in bloom for the tulip festival. :(
Macie's first time eating grass and dirt. She thought it was an all you can eat buffet outside! :)

Pork Chops

If you ever ask Maddie what her favorite food is, you will hear that it is "mashed potatoes, gravy, pork chops, corn, jell-o and juice"  all must be present to make it her favorite.  Last night I surprised her with it.  She was pretty excited.  As we are eating she asks, "Mom, what do pork chops look like?"  I say, "Look at your plate."  "No Mom, I've never seen a pork chop."  At that point I figure it out.  Then she explains further, "We eat chicken and turkey, what does a pork chop look like?"  So I proceed to tell her that there is no such animal as a pork chop and that they come from pigs.  Lindsay breaks out in song... "E I E I O with a pig pig here..."  

If you know me well, you know I don't really like meat and don't like to cook it and don't like to think about where it comes from.  So by now, the pork chops are not looking so good.  

Then she says, "Mom, how to we get turkey?"  Sigh, "From the store."  "No Mom, before that."  I say, "I don't know."  Silence.   "Well, I know Mom.  They chase the turkeys around until they catch them, then they cut off the parts we don't eat and then they cook them." And at that point, dinner was over for me.  Gotta love her.  

Happy Birthday to me!

Another year older...good thing I still feel the same!  I had a great day!  Jeramy fed the kids breakfast and let me sleep in.  Maddie made me about 100 birthday signs.  Lindsay was just concerned why Santa only brought Mommy presents.  Macie gave me an awesome present - she slept through her 4 a.m. feeding.  YEAH!  

I have wanted this font for my Cricut for months, and was so excited to get it.  I got it on Saturday during the Priesthood session and came home and used it.  Jeramy was so mad that I used it before my birthday.  He took it and wrapped it up while I was sleeping in.  I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these darling paper dolls on my blog from time to time.  I haven't figured out what I want to do for their little faces yet, any ideas?

Thanks for all the people that called and sang to me - sorry I didn't answer.  Um... we were watching LOST and I didn't want to stop it.  At that point in the day I had kind of forgot it was my birthday.  I put each one on speaker phone and we all loved it.  

Computers...who needs them?

Jeramy decided it was time to update the Mac to Leopard, so we have been in complete disarray around here for about a week.  "It will be an easy transition."  Yeah right.  Every day has been an adventure.  It took Andy's iPod, Jeramy's laptop, and our "honey, we should just hang onto this computer incase we need it someday" computer to get all my videos off the Mac.  (140 g's or something like that).  

I still don't have my pictures back, or Word, or a lot of other things that I'm sure I'll run across when I need them.  The internet isn't loading properly either and it's dropping random letters from words.  How odd.  And I know that Jeramy PROBABLY didn't have anything to do with it besides just timing, but the Y button is sticking and driving me NUTS.  So I'm a little bitter about the computer right now and not wanting to post.  :(  I didn't think there was anything wrong with the computer in the first place.

Happy Conference!  Maddie has been the best so far about actually watching.  She really enjoyed sustaining everyone - every time.