December 22, 2005

Jeri tagged me to upload the 4th picture in my 4th folder & chat about it. Well, it was just a photo of the leather chair Jay surprised me with for Christmas--beautiful chair but a bit boring for Blogville. Instead, I'm showing the 4th photo in the 5th folder--Dad and Merritt. Wasn't she adorable? Looks a lot like Spencer sitting there.

I miss you, Dad.

Oh, and here's a great read. I need to focus more on Creating My Own Happiness and less on simply enduring the days.

Happy Halloween!

Where's Mom?

I know I'm not the only mom to always be behind the camera, begging for someone to stand still and smile. "One more time, and try to be happy. No, a normal smile. Hey, look at the camera, please!"

Out of 200 shots, I'll be in 3-4 and that's at Jay's insistence. I hate pictures of myself and never feel ready for them: makeup, clothes, hair. So I read this inspiring post and I'm determined to get some good shots of me and the kids. Just as soon as I get a good bra, fix my hair and put my makeup on and feel ready. Next year?

Circus Ole'

If you ever had a chance to meet my dad, you know he was an "interesting" soul. Full of corny jokes, he could talk to a rock and never met a stranger. Anyway, for some odd reason, Dad was fascinated with Cirque du Soleil. There used to be Cirque specials on PBS and Dad would tape them to watch with the grandkids. A 70+ old-timer and a pile of grubby littles ones staring at the TV, oohs and aahs from all of them.

So Quidam came to Cincinnati in the fall of 2006. Of course we had to get tickets and take Mom and Dad. We had dinner at Chipotle beforehand (a favorite of mine until I saw how many points one burrito is! Uhh, NO!) and then headed to the big blue and yellow tent on the riverfront. We got a decent parking spot since Dad was handicapped (yeah, in the head!) and he and Jay got to sit in the front row. Mom and I wrestled with Park and Merr up near the roof, but still enjoyed it. Obviously it had some weird plot that I, in my supreme analytical and educated mind, thought I'd figured out. As we left, I asked an usher what the story was and I was totally off. (I blame the loss of brain cells on the pregnancies.) Good memories, especially digging cups out of the trash for our souvenirs. Those things were $8 a piece and I've got soap at home!

So when Jay said that Cirque was coming to NKU's new Bank of Kentucky Center, I knew we'd have to go again. I wanted to see the new Arena that Jay'd worked on and honor/remember Dad with another Cirque show. Saltimbanco had a plot, which we totally missed, and it wasn't as good as Quidam for us. Parker enjoyed it, especially the bicycle stunts and Spencer was fascinated with the lights and music and noises. Merritt, of course, was the terror. She "shared" my chocolate ice cream with hot fudge sauce (in the dark) and then Spencer spit up all over my cute new Halloween tee due to his first ear infection and bronchitis. When we hit daylight, man! I went in thinking I was sooo cute and looking good for my honey and left with brown spots all over my kakhi capris and dried/congealed yak all over my owl: Mom=NOT hot. Plus, no cute Cirque cups to pilfer from the trash! I actually had to pay for the souvenirs this time.

I love you, Dad, and miss you. Hope you enjoyed our show, as well as the show down on the arena floor.

Too Tired for Tag

My obscene OLDER sister, Jessica, tagged me, even though I'm way too tired to chase anyone else around to tag back. So I'll just be "IT" forever. Anyhow, here's my taggy answers to the hard-hitting questions:

Five Favorite Places I've Ever Lived:
1. Our little house here, right now, full of monkeys and dirty socks and poopy panties.
2. Our little newlywed duplex in Lexington, KY were Parker was made and born.
3. Provo, UT, where I had a blast, felt too cool for words and met all my peeps.
4. The tobacco farm on Georgetown Rd, Lexington, KY. Every kid should grow up on a farm.
5. My nanny & papaw's house, Winchester, KY. I was there often enough growing up to call it home.

Five Favorite Snacks:
1. Ice cream--Chocolate made with Special Dark at Bruster's
2. A big basket of fresh, RIPE strawberries, straight from the farm and not the grocery
3. Bread-crusty, yeasty, homemade bread, preferably not from my kitchen
4. Chocolate Cake-moist, big piece with homemade icing
5. Dove Dark Chocolate

Five Favorite Jobs:
1. Computer Tech for Fayette County Schools (easy, nice hours)
2. Public Librarian (loved my co-workers and the wacky public)
3. Temp at UK (summers home from BYU)
4. Substitute Teacher (no planning, crack the whip and keep 'em quiet)
5. Mom?

If I had a million dollars:
First, I'd buy my dream house with a big kitchen, butler's pantry and plenty of storage and a garage we could actually park cars in. Second, I'd get Jay his dream car (which changes frequently) and me a shiny red five-speed Jaguar (two-door!) and a new Toyota Sienna, loaded, for hauling the monkeys around when I had to. Third, I'd pay off Jay's student loans and then Mom's debts and take care of Jay's parents and then save the rest for missions and college and orthodontic work when the monkeys are older.

Five Things I Love:
1. Tickling and snuggling my monkeys
2. NAPPING!!
3. Holding hands and smooching my honey
4. Shopping, most especially thrift stores & yard sales
5. EATING

Five Places I Loved Visiting:
1. Savannah, GA--I'd move there in a heartbeat. Beautiful!
2. Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, DC, etc.
3. Nauvoo and Carthage
4. Las Vegas, Baby!
5. Pensacola Beach, FL

Five People I Tag:
Umm, see intro above. Over and out.

I Ain't No Sleeping Beauty

Baby awake: 3:30 AM. Baby awake: 6:03 AM. Baby awake (and pee soaked): 7:35 AM.

And I'm almost positive this eye twitch thing is permanent.

My Greatest Blessings

After being chastened by the counsel in General Conference on gratitude and nagged by Jay to post more pictures, here's my greatest blessings.

Jay--

My best friend, my supporter, my expert back-scratcher. Jay is a hard worker and a great dad. He always helps me out with the kids and loves playing with them. With all three newborns, Jay got up at every cry to bring me the baby and then would put he/she/it back in bed after feeding. He laughs at my jokes and even thinks I'm beautiful. What a catch!

Parker--

My first-born and initial experiment in this motherhood thing. Parker is too much like me, tender-hearted and sensitive. He's a good helper and adores Spencer, his "little buddy." He loves to learn and is excited by trying new things.

Merritt--

Miss Sassafras is my princess. She's strong, determined and I have no doubt will get what she wants in life. Merritt always wants to help, especially in the kitchen and with Spencer. Her giggle always gets me smiling and she's got Daddy wrapped around her finger. She's a great sharer, always willing to split a treat or toy with Parker.

And Spencer--

He's so loving and cuddly. Spencer loves to be held and snuggled and we all love him to bits! He's always smiling and happy and brings such a sweet spirit into our home.

Hopefully I'll get pictures up later this week of our "vacation" this summer. And here's two more pictures of Park and Merr from this summer, one at the start of our trip to Jay's hometown for the 4th of July and the second is an average day of dress-up and silliness.

And don't forget my Flickr pictures (on the right, over there ----->) for other pictures of my little monkeys.

Pure Torment and Torture

So we've been attempting to coax Merritt into blessing the toilet with the presence of her sweet little cheeks, to little avail. She knows all about it but it's just not worth her time. She knows we want her to use it so obviously she won't. Besides, she's got this pile of adorable panties, with flowers and butterflies, and shouldn't she get to wear them all in one day? So I wash them daily, change them hourly and wear a constant frown and headache. (Parker keeps asking, "Mom, why do you look like that?") I'm thinking I'd rather have anther root canal or even have been pregnant for an additional month rather than suffer this. Do you think this eye twitch will be permanent after this? Will she ever keep her undies dry? She hasn't worn pants in days and we haven't left the house even longer! Oh, the agony! And now I'm already dreading the eventual move to her "Big Girl" bed.

In addition, Spencer, at 5 months, still IS NOT SLEEPING all night. I haven't had more than 3 1/2 hours of sleep in a row since sometime in February; those midnight potty breaks always woke me up. (Deep, from the jiggly gut, sigh here.)

No, I'm not winking at you. I'm a mother.