Nutcracker.

I only have one girl. We alone stand together against the testosterone that threatens to overwhelm our household.

Today I took her shopping at Sams Club, and then back to our little town to see the Nutcracker. It was a local production…and…it was kinda hokey*.

Well, it was just plain magical for Judy…she loved every second of it…except the last few dances where she started to get a little bored. It was so fun to see her rapt with wonder at the dancing. I, of course, am a dancing snob. I embrace my snobbery, and set it aside to enjoy it all through Judy’s eyes.

We got there early, and snagged a seat in the front row…which was perfect for such a little girl…plus I snuck in some skittles to keep her occupied before the show started. Shhhh, don’t tell on me.

During the intermission she, and a couple of little friends, danced in front of the stage to the Christmas music playing in the backround. It was adorable…I tried to take a video, but it was too dim. I do have  a few photos that I will post later. She danced at the end as well.

She did get scared by the clapping, and would slam her hands over her ears every time the audience clapped.

Earlier in the day we shopped and bought a present for Judy’s cousin Evie. It was too much fun to see Judy excited to give a gift. Even though it was something she wanted herself…all she could talk about was giving it to Evie, and how much Evie would like it…for her birthday.

(Doesn’t matter how many times I explained it was for Christmas…it always came back to it being Evie’s birthday)

But, how sweet is that…she loves to give gifts to others, and I love her so much for it…that Matt and I are sneaking and buying the same thing for her. In Matt’s words, “She’s such a sweet little girl, and gets excited about so few things, we gotta get it for her.” Good Daddy. Spoiled Girl.

All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with my sweet little girl.

*For all those who live in the area, by “hokey” I mean…dazzling.

A clever title escapes me.

It’s so nice to feel validated about how great your parenting skills are.

Like when a casting director from Super Nanny comes up to you in the grocery store when you look like crap and your children are acting like wild heathens and wants to scout you to appear on Super Nanny.

Ahhh…just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, am I right?

What? That doesn’t happen to everyone? Ah…just me then.

Tell me the sarcasm came through…I was laying it on pretty thick there.

Yelling

My children want me to yell at them. It’s the only logical explanation.

I used to be a sane person. It would never occur to me to yell at someone to get them to listen to me…that would be silly. I never yell at Matt. I used to think that there was never a reason to yell. My children have taught me how wrong I was, how naive, how silly.

I even give my children a chance to listen before I start yelling. I tell them, “I will ask you three times, and then I will yell.”

I say, “Okay, I’ve asked you twice, this is the third time…and then I’m going to yell at you.” It’s not that I lose my temper (although, I’ll admit, I’ve been guilty of that in the past) it’s a completely rational, and logical, choice on my part to yell.

My warnings don’t motivate them at all! They don’t care one teensy tinensy bit! Of course it’s all “Mommy, you’re so mean, why are you doing this to us?!” as soon as I start yelling…but up until that point I start to question whether they have actually gone DEAF!

When I yell, they scurry as fast as they can to comply with my wishes. What is it about the yelling that is so motivating? Am I scary? Or is it that they only think I’m serious if I start yelling at them?

The only thing I can come up with…is that they WANT me to yell at them.

I am here blogging, because I’m tired of yelling tonight. I told Matt it’s HIS turn.

Gideon is sitting on the desk in front of me so that Matt can completely devote himself to getting after the kids to get ready for bed. He nice…he doesn’t make me yell at him…yet.

A mac.

Matt has been trying to talk me into getting a Mac for a long time. Probably since we got married. (he alleges that he only started trying to talk me into it after he got a Mac at work and became,”a Mac guy.”)

Many things deterred me…the expense, a different operating system, changing all my files over, etc. But, it was mostly the expense.

Well, the argument that finally swayed me was the fact that Moroni was learning on Macs at school! Does Mac have great marketing or WHAT?!

We’ve only had a laptop at home and it’s really past time for Moroni to be using the home computer. Sigh. So, we just got our new Mac mini. That’s right, I’m typing to you now, from a new computer…does it feel any different?

I’m still reeling from the bill…but, I’m not going to think about that now…I’ll think about that tomorrow. Or…January, when I’m trying to salvage the frayed ends of our previously solid, unwavering, budget.

Oh, man…you should’ve seen Matt though…it was like Christmas day. He kept checking every day, tracking the package, seeing when it would get here. He called me to update me constantly…I didn’t really care, sorry Matt…but is WAS adorable.

When it actually DID come…I called Matt at work…

Me – “Honey, the FedEx truck just went by…are you SURE it was supposed to arrive today?”

Him – “It said it was on the truck. I thought it was going to come today.”

Me – “Honey, I don’t think it’s on the truck…”

Him – *sputter* *disappointed silence*

Me – “…b’cause it’s on the counter!!”

I could almost feel the elation from my side of the phone…it was really cute, I gotta say. Getting Matt stuff he really likes is TOTALLY fun. Someday, I would love the money to give him all the woodworking tools known to man, and a place to actually use them…but then, I might not see him again…like ever…except for the occasional piece of furniture tossed in my general direction.

Well, my sick baby calls…gotta go. You know? I like it better when my baby is not sick. Just thought I’d mention that. Boo on sick babies.

Monday Night Fever

Gideon was kind of cranky in the evening, and had a runny nose…we knew we were in for a rough night. But, we didn’t know how rough. Poor Matt ended up on the couch with Gideon, at around midnight. He was waking up every half hour screaming, (Gideon, not Matt) and slept better on Matt.

Adam wandered in around midnight, saying he was scared…which isn’t absurd. It’s actually pretty typical, because his throat hurts all the time, and he knows that being “scared” is a viable reason to be snugged up. I pulled him into bed with me, he was burning up. Oi. I got up and gave him some ibuprofen.

Not long after…Moroni wandered in, complaining that he was cold…he had the chills. His fever was worse than Adam’s. Double oi. They both had the chills so badly that they fought over being tight against my side. I was sweating…they were so hot!

I have no idea how high the fevers were…since the kids broke our ear thermometer a couple of weeks ago. But, the fevers came back before we could give them another dose of medication. Joy. Made for a pretty miserable night.

Donuts for breakfast, and I went to the video store and checked out 8 videos to try and keep these miserable kids busy all day. *crosses fingers*

You know what…I want a day of being tired because I was up late having FUN!

Wishing for Jello meals…

Adam’s tonsils are enlarged, full of pus, and look disgusting…so, he’s pretty miserable. They’ve been like that for a while, and I was hoping that he would be able to have them taken out before our trip to Utah, so he would be feeling better. Sadly…they can’t do it where we live. Since we live in the middle of nowhere, and he’s so young…they don’t perform tonsilectomys on kids his age.

The ENT is also our bishop, and while he was willing to do it, the hospital won’t agree because we aren’t close to a major hospital (the joy of living in the middle of nowhere), and because of the altitude here. Apparently that can cause possible issues with bleeding.

So, now our options are…

1. Wait until Adam is 5, (that’s 2.5 years away)

2. Arrange to have it done in the closest large city (two hours away, with a looooong wait)

or…

3. Tap our family resources…:)

My cousin’s husband is an ENT up in SLC, so we’re seeing if it’s possible to have his tonsils taken out on vacation…*cringe* sorry kid. If it actually happens lets hope he’s too young to relate Christmas with the surgery.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that we can afford it, and that my cousin’s hubby is able to fit us into his schedule…here’s hoping everything falls into place perfectly. *fingers crossed*

Oh…and here’s a funny cartoon I found…tee hee…couldn’t resist.

 

 

Over too soon…

We had a lovely, lazy, holiday. There was much food, and friends, and crazy amounts of Nintendo Wii goin’ on around here.

And tomorrow is just a glaring introduction back into reality. Moroni has his testing at the school to see if he qualifies for services. I’m not sure he will, but hey…it’s worth a shot. Also, Adam has his appointment with the ENT to see if those nasty tonsils will have to be yanked. Poooor kid.

Speaking of Moroni…weirdest thing…we were at church and he was just laying down, saying he was tired. We came home and he said he was cold. He felt just barely warm…so if he had a fever it wasn’t much of one. But, he was just wimpering so pathetically…so we gave him some ibuprofen. Less than an hour later…our spazzy boy was back. He hasn’t seemed to have any more problems since.

Random fever? I dunno.

Uhh…scratch that…Matt says he feels a little warm, since I just made him go in and check up on him. Sigh.

Well, back to the grind. It really was a wonderful holiday…no one was sick, the food was great, the friends were wonderful, the Christmas tree is up, I got some great loot at a garage sale (including a train table for 15 bucks!), and I even got two naps over the course of the holiday…unheard of! Thank goodness for Mario Bros. to occupy the children (and Matt) while I was sleeping.

Bring on Christmas…we’re leaving in less than 3 weeks to visit family. Oi. Presents to wrap. Packing to do. At least I don’t have to do a Christmas dinner. That’s something. I hope the weather is cooperative. Man…I’m the queen of worrying about crap that I have absolutely no control over.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s my third year doing the entire Thanksgiving, and I’m finally feeling pretty confident with it all. I only had to make one call to my mom this year, about something pretty minor. *jaw drops*

We’ve invited a couple of families over, and it’s one of the few times I wish our house was a tad larger. I hate to be wishing for anything though, when I feel so blessed, and thankful for what we have.

I feel priviledged to be Matt’s wife, and humbled that the Lord trusts me with the responsibility of raising the children He sent us. They are quite a challenge, so I guess should feel EXTRA humbled by His confidence in me.

Matt, I am thankful for your work ethic, your love, your patience, and that we make such a good team together.

Moroni, I am thankful for your zest for life…you are NEVER boring. You also have been blessed with a tender, kind, and happy heart. Even when you do something naughty, you are NEVER malicious, and always contrite.

Judy, I am thankful for your sweet, and giving nature. You are forever making me presents, and presenting me with gifts. I love to watch you dance.

Adam, you say the darndest things, that never fail to make me smile…or burst out laughing. Your cuddly and loving nature is such a blessing.

Gideon…what a smile. You are a giant kid with a sweet nature. Truly a little, gentle, giant. You are lucky to have 3 older siblings who adore you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Quality couple time…

I’m not one for new video games…I stink at them, I get frustrated, and pretty much they are a huge time waster…unlike Facebook of course. *wink*

When I was kid we had the old school Nintendo, and 2 games…Super Mario Bros. and Tetris. I adored both. Especially Super Mario Bros. Nothing has really caught my interest since…until now.

The new Super Mario Bros. Wii came out and I ordered it for my husband for our anniversary. I decided to play with him two nights ago. I’m hooked. We had a blast, and played until 10 pm. Last night we played until 11 pm…just had to beat that castle! 

It’s been SO fun to play such an interactive game…you can play up to 4 players, on the same screen! At first it was a little annoying, until you got the hang of cooperating…then it’s harder to play alone!

Anyway…highly recommend it, if you’re considering getting it. Beware…you might be up late playing.

I’m planning my Thanksgiving cooking so we can play again tonight…pathetic much?

Regarding spleens…

The spleen is a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad, organ. So, for all you spleens out there determined to make peoples’ lives miserable, I only have one thing to say…

…even in Australia.