Why?

Why did you bring your sick kids to church?  Did you want me to get RSV?

Oh great.

I accidental deleted my background. I absolutely loathe looking for a new one, and so was going to keep my last one forever. I really liked it. It was pretty but not too flashy and not too scrapbooky. I can't find it. I don't particularly care for this one, but am tired of trying to find a better one, so it will stay until the next time I really want to waste time on the Internet.

Since we're on the subject

The dock/marina section of town

of my parents, I think this would be a good time to list my grievances discuss the villages.  When we were living in Logan, Utah, my mom got a job at ZCMI running their Christmas shop.  She discovered how insanely fun it can be to set up and play with those little Christmas villages.  The Department 56 villages are sold in fine specialty stores and online, in other words they are stupidly expensive.  There are multiple villages to choose from.  My mom choose the old timey Dickens Village for her house.  Over time she has bought pieces, received them as gifts and coached my dad into answering, "People and Trees,"  whenever he is asked what he wants for his birthday, father's day, and Christmas.  (Because she says the key to a good looking village is you can never have enough people or trees.)  She became a bit obsessed with designating us each our own village.  I was given the Original Snow Village which is a glossy 1950's theme city, and Krista- the "Christmas in the City" line, a New York style village.  Suzanne smartly claimed Dickens and then said she'd just inherit some day.  (Or at least she thought at the time that it was smart.)  Little did she know how huge my mother's collection would get.  We have had lots of fun over the years teasing my mom about the village.  One Christmas Suzanne and her then husband Eric had fun moving the fox from the fox hunt around just to mess with my mom. 

My dad has built several tables over the years to display this village and in the last few years they have added the extra dimension of a model train.  It takes a entire day to set up her village so it goes up sometime in October and stay well through the new year.  (I do not think it has been taken down yet this year.)  My own village hasn't been up this year or last because I was afraid of Mae breaking it.  It probably won't get put out til 2015 at the least.  I am excited to bust it out since last year we bought a cute little building called "Miss Mae's Rooming House."

King Me!

Well it is that time of year again...Yup, the Ashley Home Furniture Store owner gathering in Las Vegas.  (That was your first guess, admit it.)  Once again the last person on earth who wants to be in Vegas in January, my dad, is there.  (Sometimes the world is so unfair to everyone.)  But at least he gets to take my mom along this year, so they will not be apart on their anniversary.  I asked him today what the traditional gift for 35 years is,( since as you will remember from last year's post, that the traditional 34th gift is a flat screen t.v.)  He informed me that 35th is the corral/cow year.  I asked if this was just for farmers or if it applied to everyone?  He said everyone.  As I know my father to be a wise, learned, and all around godly man, I will just assume that when Jeff and I finally make it to 35 that we will truly appreciate/ see the need for a cow and some place to put it. 
I do love my parents.  Sure the moving around as a kid thing really sucked, but all things considered I think I turned out just fine.  Now the cause of those moves was following the job.  My dad has had a few career changes, and when I was little this meant moving and was a bad thing.  But something happened towards the end of my time with them and beyond; the changes started to really pay off!  For me anyway.  When I was a teenager and in college my dad worked for Hastings, which is a book/music/ video store.  How great is that for a teenager/ college student?  Cheap or free books, music, and videos. 
When Jeff and I bought our first house my dad worked for Lowes and got us a fridge and washer/dryer!  Not to mention the occasional fix it stuff.  Then when we were ready to get some grown up furniture, my dad began his current job with Ashley.  Oh snap!  Yup, my dad rocks. I suppose it also helps that my parents are beyond generous to their children.  (In fact, I would have to admit that I am totally spoiled.)  When they came out to visit this last summer they brought us the greatest present yet-
A KING SIZE BED!
I am a firm believer that the divorce rate in America would drop significantly if everyone were required to have a king size bed.  I even have a friend who advocates separate bedrooms.  (Now I don't think that would work for us, but I can see the appeal.)  Sooooo roomy.  It is so fantastic.  I am a true believer that you should get a good bed, cause you do spend most of your life in it.  I love my bed.  It is the best gift a girl could have, at least until she gets her cow.

Fiber None

So my mom had some health problems this last year, and having met her deductible and then some she got a lot of health stuff done at the end of the year for free.  Due to the deteriorating health of her brother, and mother, she decided to get a colonoscopy.  Fun for her!  Anyway it would seem that the same colon problems that her dad died of, and her mom and brother have, are headed her (and via bad genes) my way.  So I got a very long phone conversation on the benefits of a high fiber diet.  I have therefore stepped up the fiber.  Ooof all I have to say about the last week and a half is that if it is between a high fiber diet and a early death...I'll take the early death.

Angry Bird

Yesterday was a fairly typical Saturday for our family.  We ran errands in the morning.  I went for a run and did some service for the ward.  In the early evening I went out with Max to get the car cleaned and stop by Old Navy to attempt to find a hat and maybe possibly a coat.  We went through the car wash, vacuumed it thoroughly and I admit I was a bit tired by the end of it.  I still headed to Old Navy cause it was 50% of clearance and I wanted to get a cheap hat.  Not surprisingly the store had been completely picked over.  No hats, at all.  I was a bit annoyed.  I swung by the kids section and Max found a cute outfit for Spike.  Due to the super clearance it was worth standing in line.  It wasn't that the line was long, it was that the cashiers were moving as slow as humanly possible.  Like there was a competition to see who could fold pants the slowest.  Anyway by the time I got called up to action, I was slightly annoyed.  Then the guy said my items weren't on extra clearances cause they were children's items.  Well I was super miffed now.  I have no idea why I was so mad, but I was.  It doesn't really matter.  What matters is what happened next.  As we were walking back to the car it was dark and Max spotted a star.  A new star to him.  He wanted to follow it just as the wise men had.  We had just read that story the day before.  Now I would like to say how I bent down and hugged my child and used this as an opportunity to feel the Spirit and teach my son a great Gospel principal.  That would have been nice huh.  Well not me I was too mad at the Stupid Old Navy to even hear what my kid was saying.  It wasn't til a good 8-9 minuets later that I had calmed down enough to string together what he had been babbling about.  Wow, I can't even tell you the immense shame I felt- still feel.  I joke a lot about my anger and almost brag about it at times.  I have always felt a bit of pride because I got angry instead of depressed.  Well now I realise how wrong I have been.  My unnecessary anger is not something to be proud of.  Looking back on yesterday I can see multiple times during the evening where the Spirit was guiding me to this great moment and I brushed it aside.  I failed myself and more importantly I failed Max.  Lately I have spent quite a bit of time analyzing my life as I am about to turn 30.  Things I like about myself, things I want to learn and things I want to change.  I can't help but think that while I missed out on this great learning experience yesterday, I did get a beautiful lesson from Heavenly Father about one thing I really do need to change.  My anger needs to go if I am going to progress.

Kiddie-Free Post

I have thoughts that do not revolve around my kids, so I decided I should post them.  Or well some of them. (The picture is to balance the picture of myself on the bottom.  Some of my friends blogs that link my blog show the most current photo and I was not going to have a mini me all over the internet.)  For the first time in a long time I have a full slew of Things That Must Go, but everyone else is in a really happy New Year optimism phase right now so I feel like everyone would take them the wrong way.

 I don't usually brag about my cooking.  I feel I do pretty good, but I really just follow the recipes.  Today I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter centers and they were fantastic.  Again this was really do to the recipe, which I got off of Pinterest, but man they were good.  Mmmmmm....

Okay so I had a lady call me up this morning and ask me if I was going to church.  Now she had a legitimate reason to make this call, but the phone call was still really assaulting and done in a really inappropriate way.  Now that being said, I will follow it up with this quote I came across this week.
"The simple fact is, offense is taken, not given, it’s up to you if you’re offended or not. And remember, just because you’re offended, it doesn’t mean you’re right.” -Ricky Gervais
A bit of a random source, but I love it just the same.  I love the idea that he makes taking offense an active thing.  It is something we choose to do not something someone does to us.  So my issue with today's phone call is my problem not hers.

 I am editing a book about scripture study for a friend of mine.  The book has some great writing and great ideas.  I am really looking forward to finishing it.  I think I may have missed my calling in life.  I have always loved grading papers and this is just like that but with less checking for understanding.  It is like solving a puzzle of sentences. 

After three years of listening to the endless prattle of all my running friends and family, I have taken the plunge.  For the past few weeks I have run 4 miles every Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon.  I don't like running and despite the constant assurances from my running buddies I don't think I ever will.  What I do like is running with the gals.  These women are so happy and encouraging it is a reward for me to go out with them each week.  I do feel like I am holding them back, but those are my own insecurities and not anything they have done or said.  My running goal is not based on distance or time, but instead on just being able to do the 4 miles at a descent pace. 

Things I liked in 2011 and recommend to others, (In no particular order.)
Pinterest! 

movies
Mission Impossible 4
Midnight in Paris
Crazy Stupid Love
The Adjustment Bureau
The Rape of Europea- awful title great documentary.
t.v.
Sherlock
The Good Wife- I never liked her on E.R., but I promise you this series is awesome!
Downton Abbey
The Big Bang Theory, (We just started watching it this year.)
Doctor Who!!!!!

I want to do some resolutions for this year, but I am still tweaking them and will post when ready.  Until then I will post a small but easy one I have decided on.  You may have noticed that there aren't a lot of pictures of me on the blog.  This is because I am fat and have low self esteem.  Despite these things, I want to be seen in my kids and families life because I am a part of their lives.  So hence the scary head shot.  Not my best photo, but taken last week as a first step towards visibility.  (It was taken to show Krista and gather feedback on whether or not I should cut my hair and how.  I am growing my bangs out.) 

Rollin in the Deep

One odd thing about Mae is that she wasn't much of a roller as a baby.  She rolled over a few times, but never really took to it.  It was quite a surprise to us since Max would roll all the way across the living room floor until he hit a wall.  We would then have to turn him around so he could roll the other way.  That boy loved to roll.  Spike seems to be following in the footsteps of his big brother.  He does best when placed on his back in the middle of the living room floor giving him lots of room to roll.  He isn't quite up to Max's top speed and distance, but I suspect that he will never reach that due to interference from Mae.  He likes to play with the toys under his playmat, but the poles tend to interfere with his rolling, so I foresee putting the mat up very soon. 

Upside Down

The world has turned upside down this past week.  While Spike has been fussy with new teeth and well we don't know what has happened to make Max so crazy, Mae has truly been a cutie-pie bubbles.  She has been adorable, sweet, and down right pleasant.  Jeff and I wonder if this is some long con on her part to lull us into a false sense of security.  While we question her sudden change of heart, we are certainly enjoying it.  This is what I always imagined having a little girl was like.  Sugar, Spice, and everything nice and all that.  We play, cuddle, and we even painted her nails.  Maybe she had a new years resolution to be nice.  Heaven knows I could learn from her example. 

x-mas recap

Not too shabby of a day.  I like it better then Thanksgiving cause at least we had something to do other then eat.  We decorated cookies the night before, and I give myself a special gold star cause I didn't want too and hate sugar cookies, but I did it anyway cause I love my kid.  We waited until Mae went to bed cause she would have only made a bigger mess.  Here is Max with the cookies.

  After he went to bed I taped crepe paper over his door so he would have an extra surprise on Christmas morning.  (Yet another spiffy idea from pinterest.)  Thing is I didn't anticipate how mild mannered Max is and so when presented with the paper he didn't know what to do so he slipped underneath a gap at the bottom.

I made him go back and break through.  I think it will work better next year, and if nothing else I know I can count on Mae to charge through.  The kids enjoyed their presents although it took awhile for Mae to realize that the more boxes she unwrapped the more toys she would get.  Her favorite toy of the day was the $4 ceramic tea set.  She had broken five pieces that day and all but one or two are still around now.  But she loved the hell out of them.  We had a delightful extra surprise from our neighbors.  They stopped by with Santa himself and brought a small gift for each of the kids. 

It was fun for Max to be able to thank Santa.  We got dressed and went to church.  This is the first time we have attempted to take Mae to sacrament meeting since last August when our time changed to 1 p.m.  (We have been taking turns staying home with her and Spike while she napped.) 

We lasted about twenty minuets and then left.  Other then that we made a turkey, ate Toblerones and lit a fire in the fireplace.