Any Remedies?

I have a zit the size of China on my chin right now. (And just in case you were born yesterday, China is a BIG country!) I haven't had a zit like this for SOOOO long. I think I'll blame it on Rylee and her "rebellion" (see prior post), but whatever the cause I seriously need to get rid of it!

You know when you have a zit that you want to just squeeze and have some big ol' head pop out like a Jack-In-The-Box and hit the mirror? That is what I want to have happen, but it just isn't. It just hurts! I feel like I am fourteen again! What is the deal?

So here is my question: Anyone got any tried and true zit remover solutions? (No, do not think I am trying Windex!) I have tried lemon juice, which usually works for me, but not this time. This is a stubborn bugger. HELP! I need a solution - quick! I don't have enough make-up to cover up China much longer!

I'm So In For It!

My oldest, Rylee, has all of a sudden decided that Mom and Dad are SOOOOOO uncool and we definitely don't know what is best all of the time. I am now terrified for the years ahead. Here are a few illustrations that my daughter is suddenly thinking for herself (how dare she?) and growing up:

Last week at school they had "Dads and Donuts" one morning. The dads go with the kids to school forty-five minutes early and eat donuts and read books with their kids until school starts. It is such a fun tradition (they also do Moms and Muffins earlier in the year) because the dads all come out of the wood works. Maybe it is the donuts, but I like to give them the benefit of the doubt that they really like this special time with their kids. Anyway, on that morning I sent Rylee to school with an apple cut up in a baggie so that she has something a little more nutritious to eat with her donut for breakfast. She was fine with it until she saw one of her other friends eating donuts and looked around and realized no one else had apples. She said, "Dad, why did we have to bring apples? That is pretty dumb that we had to bring apples..." Wow, I am such an embarrassing mother! Poor girl. Get used to it!

Second Illustration: Rylee has a crush on this boy in her class that (and I know this is mean to say about another child) Bill and I CANNOT STAND! He drives us crazy. Kind of a mommy's boy, thinks he's funny, but he really isn't - he's just annoying kind of a kid. But Rylee thinks he is the end all be all. Heaven help us. And to make matters worse, the more we tell her to not be silly about boys, the more she does the opposite. Every day after school the first thing out of her mouth is, "Guess what _________ did today?" DO I CARE? NO, I CAN'T STAND THE KID!!! But I politely listen and remind her again to stop being silly about boys. So my concern: What happens when she is sixteen and brings home a boy to go out with that I can't stand? Or even worse: What if she brings home a dang boy that Bill and I can't stand and she says she is in love with him and they are getting married? I guess I will just start praying now that someone I adore will marry her. Maybe a little reverse psychology would work here. I should tell her I can't stand the boys I really like, and then just to defy me she will marry one of them. Then I win, but she doesn't need to know I do! I have a few years to keep scheming...

Third illustration: Last week when the Utah Jazz were playing the Lakers, Rylee said, "Mom, do you like the Jazz?" I said, "Yeah, I guess." I am kind of a fair weather fan. When they are having a crappy season, I couldn't care less about them. But if they are doing well and are moving through the playoffs with some success, then I start to get excited and watch the games. So when I replied that I liked the Jazz, Rylee said, "I don't; I like the Lakers," in a little defiant - take that kind of tone. My jaw dropped and I said, "Why do you like the Lakers?" For starters, I didn't even know that she knew the Jazz were playing the Lakers. Sheesh! She said, "Some boys in my class are wearing Laker shirts and I like them. And besides, the Jazz stink." (Something she had obviously heard me say in the past - oops, I guess she was listening.) She really does care more about going with what her peers like more than what her parents like. Crap, I am in for it!

How dare my first grader grow a brain of her own or decide to go with the opinions of her peers over those of Bill and I? I do want her to think for herself, of course. I don't want my daughter to grow up brainless and just blindly follow everything I ever tell her, but this obvious "rebellion" if you can call it that on such a small scale freaks me out a bit! Oh, what is a mom to do? Pray, I guess. And hard.

Fireballs, Entrapment, and Teddy Bears

The other day Hayden wanted to eat a fireball. I told him they were hot and tried to take it from him, but he was persistent and REALLY wanted that thing. (Don't mind the "Captain Underpants" pictures again - what a phase!) So like a good mommy, I let him have the fireball and waited with a camera! In goes the fireball...

Life is good. "See, Mom, I love this stuff. You don't know anything." And so I wait with the camera...

Two seconds later he is saying,"It's HOT," and pulling it out of his mouth to give it back to me. See, moms are worth listening to sometimes!

Then, yesterday morning, I was trying to take a shower and so I asked Rylee to keep an eye on Kate and Hayden for me. Hayden was laying on the floor with his pillow and blanket, like he does every morning. For some reason, this means Kate needs to crawl over and attack his head. My daughter, the very creative and resourceful one, came up with a solution to keep Kate away from Hayden in order to keep the peace. When I got out of the shower this is what I found:

Rylee got a laundry basket and put two pillows in it from the couch for Kate to be nice and comfy and then put a blanket over her with toys and a binkie. Looks like Kate is having fun, so I won't complain about the solution. Laundry baskets are great to trap your baby sister in!!! Just make it fun and she won't realize you did it to trap her!:)

And this post wouldn't be fair (I have a little Rylee who likes to read our blog) if I didn't include cute pictures of Rylee and Lana...

Rylee ready for school and looking lovely. You should see her in this dress. She dances around in it like crazy. She picks up the skirt and dances like a "can-can" girl. Know what I mean? It is funny. It was tempting to video her dancing in it and dub the song "I Feel Pretty" onto it. Seriously, such a girlie girl!

And today was Teddy Bear day at pre-school for Lana. So she had to get some pictures taken with her teddy bear before school!

Makes me want to snuggle the cutie with her bear and just take a nap...

This Is Me Eating Crow...

I have to eat some serious crow. You see, I always talk about how much I HATE Mother's Day because I feel like a failure all day and feel worthless...

Well, this year was WONDERFUL! Bill let me sleep in a bit - always a good way to start a day! (I have to say, though, that he is pretty good about letting me sleep in longer than normal most weekends while he gets up with the kids.) So when I woke up, the kids were dying to give me their presents! (So was Bill!)

First of all, I got Lana's gift that she made for me at pre-school: A cute picture of her at preschool in a frame she decorated herself. Love it! I still have Rylee's on my dresser that she made when she was in pre-school! They are precious!

Then I got Rylee's gift that she made for me at school: A cute little flower pot that they decorated themselves, and the pot was filled with beans and the cute little pens wrapped like flowers. She even made sure I took one of the pens with me to church! So sweet!

Then I opened more from the kids. Each girl picked out a shirt for me at Old Navy, and then Bill got me a pair of flip-flops to match each shirt from the two little ones.

Then, I opened a card from Bill telling me to open the last present, but to stop when I got the paper off. So I did. It was a jewelry box (I have been needing one forever!)

I then continued to read the card, which told me to start opening the drawers in the middle starting at the top, but to not open the bottom one. So I started opening, and there was nothing in the top two drawers - silly husband! But then when I got to the third drawer, this bracelet was in there:

I love the bracelet! Then I continued reading the card. It said to open the left side. So I found Kohls cash in there to go shopping!!! YEAH! That is always fun! Then the card said to open the bottom drawer. This is what I found:

Sorry about the blurry picture...My camera didn't like the white glare with the flash! But you get the idea!

Bill got me a white gold chain when we were dating and has been talking about getting a pendant to go on it ever since then. You have to know that I NEVER take the chain off unless I am told to when I deliver a baby. That is seriously the only time it has been taken off since I got it. I even wore it when I delivered Kate because the nurse said it was okay. I am such a sentimental dork! Anyway, back to the story... Bill got me a pendant for the chain for Mother's Day!!! In the card, he said that it has six diamonds on it to represent us and our four kids. He did so good! And I don't like mother's rings - just a bit too cheesy for me. So he got a perfect gift! I said, "You just want to make sure we don't have any more kids - this deal is sealed in diamonds!" He said, "Unless you want a different pendant... sigh." It was funny! Thank you, thank you, thank you Bill!

So, the day went on, and we all got ready for church and headed over to my parents' house to visit my mom and talk to my little brother, who is in Tennessee on his mission. We took pictures while other people were taking turns talking to Andrew on the phone and just enjoyed being together!

Did we all have "silly" for breakfast? Sure looks like it! I have no idea what Rylee is doing in the next picture?!

See...Silly for breakfast!!! This is why we couldn't get Hayden in a picture with my mom for mother's day with the rest of our kids...He was too busy sitting on her counter, eating salt and vinegar potato chips with cousin Brielle. Those two are so cute together - the best of buddies!!!

We gave my mom her gift, and then she gave me a gift. What is that all about? She's the mom! She is so thoughtful sweet. And my kids adore her! She is such a fantastic mom and grandma. We are so lucky to live so close to her so that our kids can learn from her and develop that special relationship with her. She has always been such a good example to me of charity and that is one quality that I hope carries on for generations. My kids learn so much from her, and we love her! So here is my mom with my girls. I need to frame this for her, don't you think?

After we left my parents' house we went to church and then came home where I didn't have to cook dinner or clean it up. Bill really let me have the "day off!" It was so nice. I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband who loves me even with all of my moodiness and craziness!

Then the day ended with Kate laughing hysterically for about a half an hour before she fell asleep. Bill was cracking her up, and it was so sweet to watch! What a fun Mother's Day gift from that sweet one!

I now just feel grateful for Mother's Day, unworthy as I am. But thank you, Bill and kids, for making it wonderful! Thank you for making me eat crow, and for making the day wonderful and for not letting me feel like a failure all day. You are all wonderful, and I love you! I'm one lucky wife and mom!

Fun Things I Don't Want To Forget...

My kids have been making me laugh the last couple of days. You know when they just go through a funny couple of days and they are so sweet and funny? (Usually that is just so you don't want to beat them when they are stinkers the next couple of days:)

Well, this week my kids are on a good streak. We were watching American Idol the other night, and of course we are rooting for David Archuleta since he is from the area (and Rylee is definitely a fan because she has a little crush on him.) Just a little note for those of you who don't watch American Idol: There are two Davids on the show - David Archuleta and David Cook. We like them both. Back to the story...Rylee had just taken a bath and she came out asking me, "Is David Enchilada or David Cookie up next?" Silly girl. Do we like food in our house? Um, YES!!! I love her quick wit!

Kate is also being pretty fun. She is going through the phase where all we have to do is say, "YAY KATE," and she claps her hands. We have a trained puppy! And she gets so excited when she is ready to eat (she gets that from her dad -Hehe) and she is starting to do the silly giggle when something really strikes her funny bone. She has also discovered a new favorite spot to "perch" in our house. The first few times I caught her there, I about had a heart attack. Now I know she is just "perching" there and that she won't fall.

She reaches farther and farther down and leans over more, and then looks up at me like, "Ha! Scared ya, didn't I!" She is so fun!

Then we have Lana who is always giggling and the other night when she started to say family prayer, she started with "One, two, three" instead of the proper beginning to a prayer. Silly girl. And when she was trying to say something she loved about me she just kept giggling and said, "I loved it today when Mom...Uh...giggle some more...Uh, Spit it out Lana...giggle some more....I love it when she....Uh...She has weally pwetty eyes." What a ham! She definitely listens to me because she told herself to "spit it out." I say that to the kids all the time when they are distracted and stuttering while they talk to me. Am I mean?

Then we have the Hayden Buddy. Wow, he is turning into SUCH A BOY! He is always climbing on the counter to get out the Elmo band-aids, he colors on everything, he tries to escape to run outside any time he can, and he is getting so hard to keep up with! But it is so sweet when I am doing laundry and he comes in like a little Linus, dragging his blankie behind him saying, "Warm!" He loves it when he can put his blanket in the dryer and get it warm and then snuggle with me. I love that! He snuggles with me more than any of my other kids have. It makes up for the mischief.

And one more thing...As we speak, Lana has a little friend from the ward over here and they are trying to play hide and seek with ice. I guess I know when I have found the ice when I step in water, eh!?

See, the fun stuff you get to enjoy when you are a mom! Really, this Mother's Day, I am glad I get to be a mom of these fun little stinkers! I am so grateful to be a part of all of these silly little things they do. I LOVE IT!

Mother's Day - Edited!!!

Okay, I did have a post on here that was about how horrible of a mom I always feel like on Mother's Day because I feel like I will never be as good of a mom as every other mom around me. Delete, delete, delete... I aired some dirty laundry and tried to make it light and kind of poke fun at myself. Delete, delete, delete. But when I re-read it this morning, it seemed really negative - not the way I intended for it to come across. Delete, delete, delete.

So, to set the record straight...Mother's Day isn't my favorite holiday because I have the normal woman syndrome of beating myself up for being imperfect and then convincing myself that I have failed my kids. But, hey, what mom hasn't screwed their kids up in one way or another?

Secondly, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about Bill or the kids. They try so hard to make Mother's Day special for me. And I know that Bill is trying extra hard this year, so I don't want to undermine his efforts. He is awesome and the kids are so sweet - they have been coloring pictures for me all week and are so excited for Mother's Day. It really is cute.

I guess I just need to stop thinking that my poor kids got the short end of the stick when it comes to their mom and just keep doing the best I can.

So that is what I wish for all moms this Mother's Day: Just be content and happy with the mom you are and be grateful you have been sent your sweet kids because you can't be completely worthless if you are called "Mom" by a sweet kid.

Bows, Bows, and More Bows!

Blackeyedsue had a little "bow party" at her house the other day to teach a few of us in our ward how to make hair bows. I have been looking forward to learning this little craft for a while now. We had so much fun talking and, yes, we did get some bows made! We did talk and get something accomplished at the same time!

I show you the following picture not to show of any sort of "skill" that I have because I am still practicing. My first few bows are not the prettiest. But I do show this picture to show that I am now officially going to have to join the "hair bows anonymous" support group as I have become addicted. That is okay, though. I will just drop into their meetings when I take Rylee to her "Spongebob Anonymous" group. They are just down the hall from each other. Seriously, though, this is what I got done yesterday. Nope, didn't cook, didn't clean much, I let the laundry just sit there undone, and I just warmed up leftover pizza for lunch for the kids. That's all - no vegetables or anything else with it (well, except for Ranch to dip their pizza in - so healthy, I know!) I just wanted to make bows. And guess what I will probably be doing today?! You got it!

Thanks, Blackeyedsue, for a fun morning of bow-making and for opening up your home to all of these women and our four thousand kids we brought! But most of all, thank you for helping making this world a prettier place by teaching us the art of "bow-making!" You rock!