How many times can you say wiener?

I wish I would have dressed Clara up a little bit. I can also see from this picture it's time for a haircut. Someone is going to turn me in for child endangerment - the poor girl can't see!

We were lucky and got Wiener Whistles. Not just 1, but 2. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun I had on the ride home. I am happy to report I didn't lose my patience once - I let them blow all they wanted. That alone should qualify me for mother of the year.

Thomas was in heaven. On the way home he asked if we could get a Wienermobile when our van breaks down.

The whole gaggle of kids. 2 out of 5 looking at the camera - not too shabby!

Sometimes

Sometimes I am able to catch tender moments with my lens. Ones that I don't want to forget. Images that tell a stories of love, happiness and peaceful times.

And then upon further inspection, those same images become even more priceless because of one small detail that could have easily been missed.

Belly Up

A picture story.

I am too distraught to put our feelings into words.

Advice

If you have one of these...

and one of these...

Make sure you have a good one of these...

New Dictionary Entry

This morning Steve was getting ready for work. I was in the other room listening to the conversation Thomas was having with dad.

D: Today is your last day of school for the week. Do you know all about Q? (letter of the week)

T: Yes

Thomas and Dad start listing off words that start with Q.

D: There's really not that many words.

T: I know, it's kind of Quard.

For clarification:

Quard: \'kwärd\ adjective difficult or troublesome in respect to any word that starts with the letter Q.

How to sell on ebay

I am in the de-junking mood. I want my closets clean, my drawers organized and my house in semi-functional order. Today I was walking through the house pulling stuff to give away. I have had this workout DVD set sitting on my office desk for months now. I figured, "what the heck, let's try selling it on ebay." I was feeling a tad punchy when I sat down. I wrote the following product description thinking I would never really hit "sell now" - but I did. I guess people like honesty. Who would have thought it would sell in less than and hour.

Here was my listing...

This is the Tony Horton 10 minute trainer DVD set. I only used it 3 times - if that. What can I say, I'm a wimp!

The set includes:

-2 DVDS -one DVD has 3 workouts, the other has 2 workouts.

-1 Workout band - Used more by my kids to play "tie you up" than actually used to workout. Don't worry, still in great condition (both the band and the kids)

-The straps to use on your door to make the workout more intense - who am I kidding...I never took them out of the plastic.

-Measuring Tape - to measure all the inches that will just melt away once you start using this (hint: you have to do more than just own the DVD to see results - I learned from experience)

-Some papers that talk about what to eat, how you can look good in your jeans, and how to be a lean, mean, workout machine! There is also a nice little set of note cards you can take on vacation so you can workout in your hotel room. I am guessing there are some people out there who like to workout on vacation, go figure. That would not be me.

-Seriously, it is everything that comes in the box from the infomercial. The only thing you will not get is the 5 x 7 note card that you write your measurements on. I already used it. If you want, I can send it with my measurements written on it. This should make you feel pretty darn good about yourself!

Please buy it. I want it sold so I put the money towards my gym membership. I am hoping a membership card in my wallet will work better than a DVD in a box. Wish me luck.

Cha-Ching!! It sold for $52.99 in less than an hour. Not too shabby!!

Whe life gives you lemons...

i.e....When your 2 year old wakes you up at 6 am on a Saturday morning.

make lemon muffins

If you're lucky, you may even hear the birds singing their morning song.

And after you rub the sleep from your eyes, you will realize just how lucky you are to be awake and spending time with one of your favorite little people.

Today

Today was a big day,

We got to go play.

With horses and cows,

And a cowboy who plows.

There was plenty of dirt,

and it got on our shirt.

On or socks, shoes and pants,

We're lucky - no ants!!

It was windy outside,

But we took it in stride.

For the sun still did shine.

Which made it quite fine.

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A class trip to a ranch,

With pink blossoms on branch.

Was the place we would be ,

My two kids, and me.

We learned some new stuff,

And that cowboys are tough.

That horses like fruit,

and their teeth are not cute.

Piled up on the ground,

that we walked around,

Clara picked up some poop,

Causing Mommy to WOOP!

Junkyard, a brown horse.

(but he smelled of course)

Let Thomas have a ride,

With the cowboy at side.

Clara wanted to sleep,

And her binkies she keep.

But she saw some white cows

and decided to browse.

We'll remember the fun

And how fast we did run

On this nice winter day,

When all went our way.

Watch out Obama!

Thomas is class leader in preschool this week. For those of us who are not 5, this is a huge deal. You get to be line leader, bring in treats and pretty much run the preschool -at least that's what I gathered from his explanation of duties and choice of attire.

For snack he took in these cinnamon roll sugar cookies. Check out the blog, it's pretty inspiring if you like to eat.

Happy Birthday to me!

Steve's way of letting the entire neighborhood know that it was my birthday

Saturday was my birthday, and it was a big one. 35. Thirty-five? Really? Not possible. However, it is. I am old enough to drive a car, be a wife, be a mom, and own my own puke pail. Seriously, that is a thought that I had the other day when I was caring for my sick kids. I thought to myself, "when did I get old enough to own my own puke pail?" I actually find myself asking a lot of questions like that. Questions like, "How is it possible for me to be graduated from college?" Or "When did I become old enough to worry about laugh lines?"

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anywho...

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Back to my birthday. For the most part it was fabulous. Probably one of the best ones I ever had. I think it was because it was a simple day and I was surrounded by my family. On Birthday Eve, as Steve and I were drifting off to sleep I informed him that anytime after midnight, if either of the kids should wake up, he was in charge. I also told him that I would be sleeping in and he would be responsible for entertaining any early riser.

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It was a good plan. Clara was up at a respectable time and I am not a person who can sleep in, so I got up with her and we had a great morning. Steve and Thomas both slept in until 10 am while us girls cuddled together and watched reruns of Curious George.

I made my way back upstairs after I heard some noises and told Steve I wanted some donuts for breakfast. Within 5 minutes he was out the door and on his way to my favorite donut shop to get me a buttermilk bar and rainbow sprinkle. Yes, I ate 2. I was the birthday girl and calories do not count on birthdays.

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The 4 of us spent the rest of the morning together. We didn't do anything spectacular, we just were together.

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In the early afternoon, Clara went down for a nap and Steve took Thomas out to run some errands leaving me all alone. ALL ALONE ON MY BIRTHDAY!!! HOT DIGITY!!! I had 3 hours all to myself. I finally was able to watch the Masterpiece Theatre version of Emma I had been saving on the TIVO for almost a month. I got to sit and watch it in my PJ's without anyone interrupting me.

About 30 minutes into the movie, It dawned on me that I was all alone and I could break out my illegal peanut butter I have hidden in a very secret place. It's pretty sad that a PB and honey can make you giddy, but when your kid has nut allergies and you can't have any nuts around, a simple PB sandwich is heaven.

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The boys got home around the same time Clara woke up and we went out for a nice dinner with my other favorite person, my Mom. We had a great time. However, in the middle of dinner things started to change - for the worse. Remember the puke pail comment? (Both of the kids came down with a horrible, violent stomach bug late Thursday night. Steve and I thought that it must have been food poisoning for them both to get it within hours of each other.) During dinner I started to feel strange. My stomach didn't hurt, but I felt weird. I had a feeling that I was getting sick - that I was going to be the next person to have possession of the puke pail. I also started to change my theory on what had made the kids so sick two nights ago. I knew at that point it had been the dreaded stomach flu.

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In the car on the way home I was telling Steve and my Mom how I felt strange. I even made the stupidest comment ever and said, "I hope I do get flu." I only said it because I was feeling a little guilty for all the junk I had eaten all day. I thought it would be a nice little gift to be able to puke everything up and have it not count.

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What a stupid, STUPID comment! Sure enough, 2 hours after we had made it home I was in the bathroom having my wish granted. It was the worst stomach flu I have EVER had. It was violent. I was up all night long. Steve took such good care of me. I told him to go down and sleep on the couch, but he ended up sleeping on the floor so he could help me if I needed him. It was an awful night. Around 4:30 am Steve sat up and had a very familiar look on his face. The same one I had at dinner. Sure enough, he was sick, too.

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We finally fell asleep at 6:00 am and woke up at 7:30. Steve and I were in such bad shape. I called my mom. As soon as she answered the phone she knew that I was sick. I told her both of us were down and that we needed her help.

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She was at the house within 45 minutes. She packed up the kids and took them for the the day and had them spend the night. Steve and I spent the day in bed trying to sleep and recuperate. It was very strange to be in such a quite house. We missed our kids, but we knew that there was no way we would have been able to take care of them.

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Lucky for us it was only a 24 hour bug. Both of us woke up this morning feeling fantastic in comparison to yesterday.

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What a way to start 35! I think I will be a little bit more cautious about my birthday wish next year.

Ramblings

I think February is my favorite time of year here in the desert. At least for now. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! The windows have been open and the kids have been playing outside.

We have enjoyed swings, slides, new bikes, frozen yogurt, and the day starting to stretch out.

I have enjoyed this little, or I should say big boy. 5 is fun.

Thomas is enjoying Clara. She is getting bigger. She talks a lot and you can understand if you are fluent in toddlereese. She loves to say, "I have an idea." or "I have to tell you something."

They love each other so much and it is so much fun to watch them play together. Thomas is so nice to Clara. She is nice, too. Most of the time.

Life is good.

Band for hire.

Seriously...I'll pay you to let them play at your house for a while.

Happy Valentines Day!

We give you the gift of fake smiles,

cheesy grins

and plenty of pouting.

Note to self: don't try and take pictures when you are almost late for church - and your speaking in sacrament meeting.