in honor of his 35th birthday...

things i love about shawn...

1. his smile. i fell in love with it the first night out in that bowling alley in enoch, utah. i tried to get him to dance after every strike but he only smiled. it was good enough for me.

2. his quiet nature. it is such a calming influence on me. and we all know that calmness is what i need regularly.

3. his humor. he is quite funny. but you have to really be listening to hear it...beacause of #2.

4. his thoughtfulness. a text here, a note there. he loves me, i know.

5. his energy. he is ALWAYS doing something. used to drive me nuts, now i appreciate it.

6. he works hard. always.

7. his loyalty. to me. i would have left me a long time ago.

8. he is a great dad! a better dad than i am mom. he lets the kidlets help him in the kitchen, yard, garage, where ever he is. i prefer to do it myself. the kids love being with him.

9. his creativity. he serves the kids mac & cheese in wine glasses and lights candles for a special dinner night for them.

10. his willingness to do anything for our family. he even applied for a job at byu...his dad gave him the okay as long as he doesn't start cheering for them.

11. his laugh...his outloud, belly laugh. it doesn't happen very often (again, see #2) but when he is with his brothers...

12. his driving skills. i know i often make fun of his "grandpa" style of driving, but i know we will always be safe.

13. his love.

happy birthday, shawn! i love you...

what? huh? really?

so i took this quiz here.

i thought i might be a sugar cookie, or even something a little chocolately with some nuts. especially some nuts and i am okay with that. but NO!

i am oatmeal raisin.

ugh.

don't get me wrong. i like a good oatmeal raisin cookie. but it is not my first, or even second choice. it's a little boring. and raisin-y.

and shawn doesn't even like raisins. in fact, he despises them. especially in cookies.

and i am an oatmeal raisin cookie. what am i suppose to do about this new revelation? do i tell shawn?

i could retake the quiz.

but that would be cheating.
and i don't think oatmeal raisin cookies cheat.

Hey! Here's what I want for Christmas!

i received an email with that title from anna this morning. here is the email:

Disney - Pixar - UP! It is available on Blu-ray and DVD November 10.
nintendo dsi
a guitar
a guitar
beetles
new music
new music
cool posters
new clothes
new shoes
some books
some cool movies
a new dog
smecils and japanese erasers


i am happy to see there isn't two new dogs on the list.

daddy daughter derby date

for activity days, anna got to have a pinewood derby with her dad. she designed the car, he cut it out and they painted together. shawn made sure it was up to code and had plenty of graphite in the wheels. and guess what, they came in second place. but more importantly they beat the cougar car!



don't they make a cute couple...

reduction of force

that's what they called it when they laid shawn off yesterday.

oh well.

it sucks.

but what can you do?

i have been brainstorming now that i'm all cried out.

here are a few of my ideas...

*switch to margarine instead of yummy, yummy butter. it's quite a bit cheaper. but i don't know if it would be worth it...

*get double use of clothing by wearing everything twice or three times before washing...including underwear (you can wear it twice by turning in inside-out the next day).

*shower in the dark.

*air dry all hair...so please don't ask if i did my hair or anna's hair when you see us.

*eat leftovers...i know some of you already do and you still have your jobs but this will be new to us.

*darn our socks.

*dress extra warm this winter...although i already keep my heat pretty low, don't know how much this will help.

*don't go anywhere...save on gas. home is best anyway.

*save all of tucker and alice's hair and weave it into sweaters.


just a few ideas. more are welcome, please.

and if he still doesn't have a job in a few months, does anyone know how to do a home delivery. i just don't think i could deliver my own baby. yours, maybe. but not my own.

one more thing, if anyone has any extra prozac, please, pass it my way, please? i might need it in a month or two when my supply runs out.


really, we will be fine. i know we will. let's hope.

a word or two on emesis

**read this post at your own risk. perhaps having a bowl or barf bag nearby wouldn't hurt. or just make sure you have a clear path to the nearest toilet**

otherwise known as vomiting, puking, spewing, hurling, ralphing (i would hate the name ralph, but it might be considered if we have a boy), upchucking (chuck, another possibility), retching, barfing, and just plain old throwing-up.

i have become an expert on this.

it is what i know these days.

not that i want to know it.

but i do. and they say you should write on what you know, so here goes.

this is a list of my least favorite things the throw-up and why. maybe you could learn something, especially if you are pregnant, sick, or thinking about becoming bulimic.

in no particular order...

*milk. and i love milk. i used to drink a couple of glasses every day. but not now. milk goes down as a liquid and comes up as a solid. it curdles in your stomach, which doesn't take long, and comes up chunky. and sour. very sour. but not like sour cream. sour chunks. it makes me sad. no more milk for me.

*rice. you wouldn't normally think that rice would be bad. it's pretty bland and uneventful. however, don't be deceived. rice is little. and when you chew it, it becomes smaller. then when it is spewed, it feels like little maggots coming out. and they get stuck in your mouth. they stick everywhere. and you have to swirl your tongue around and spit to get them all out. and still you will find more. they are just so little and there are many little crevices in your mouth. you get the point.

*popcorn. similar to rice, in the fact that it comes up as small little pieces. and there tends to be little pieces of popcorn kernels stuck everywhere. if you are going to eat popcorn, don't bother picking out the yucks from your teeth, you will be doing it again after the big upchuck.

*orange juice. this is something i crave. but it burns coming up. not worth it.

*hot dogs. now i know many of you wouldn't even bother eating one. but i love a good dog. but not anymore. no matter how much chewing you do, they still come up super chunky. i do not like hurling chunks--it hurts. another thing, they really stink the second time around.

*onions. okay just kidding. just checking to see you if you are still reading. i wouldn't know what it is like to throw these things up. i don't think they are worth eating in the first place.

now this list is not complete. but i am done for the time being. these are the worst for now.

and some of you might think that perhaps i shouldn't eat anything at all. but the worst thing to do is retch on an empty stomach. when your insides are trying to eject its contents, it does it with such force and violence that it will find something to bring up. and it is called bile. and it burns. and burns. and you can feel it eating away the enamel on your teeth. and brushing your teeth doesn't help that feeling go away. bile is the worst. you may as well make a meal of the previous list of items and inhale them before you consider not eating.

i used to say that i wouldn't ever eat anything a second time if i threw it up. however, that plan quickly faded when i realized i soon wouldn't be eating anything at all. i would venture to say that there is not a food i haven't thrown-up that i have eaten. lucky me.

i thought about making a list of things are okay the ralph, but i don't think that list exists.

now, go eat something good. you'll feel better.

baby preparation?

so i wonder if my children are trying to get me ready for the baby.

almost since we have moved here, my lovely and darling children have not slept through the night. particularly the last few nights. they aren't just getting up and shifting and getting water and going back to bed. they are getting up and staying up. for a couple hours.

i don't get it.

i don't know what to do about it.

i am frustrated.

especially because i know that in a few short months, i will have to get out of bed for a baby that really needs me.

i need to get all the sleep i can NOW!

i have thought about locking them in their rooms, handcuffing them to the bed, or drugging them, but then i don't think that is considered being a good and loving mother. which is something i think i should at least pretend to be.

we have a bedtime routine. we leave nightlights on. we say prayers...lots of them. they have bedtime snacks. and drinks. and potty time. i just can't figure out why they are still waking up in the middle of the night.

and i don't know what to do about it...any suggestions?