May I recommend

I just finished "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress." It was fabulous. I laughed out loud several times. The author is a little irreverent, sometimes has a little bit of a potty mouth, but overall she paints a wonderful picture with quick wit. I went through the book and crossed out all the bad language, so anyone that wants to borrow my copy, is welcome.

I got it at Borders for my birthday. I wasn't sure what I wanted to read and it was on the Must read shelf- so of course, I just had to read it! In the end I found 5 books, I just had to have! I am starting on the second one, now. I will let you know how it goes!

Zombie eyes

I asked Max the other day what happened to his eye- I forgot at the time that his brother and he had collided while playing a very rowdy game. He told me that was his Zombie eye (as opposed to the other one that was not a zombie eye.) Uh, What?

Happy Bacon Day

Yesterday was Bacon day- Happy Bacon Day! This was Joseph's decree. Today was egg day- mainly because Rob told him that we couldn't possibly have sausage day right after bacon day! Here is a schedule that Joseph made up, in case you need it. I know everyone would love to follow us in our breakfast day week!

I decided to take a minute and blog, since I have no time to exercise. I have to go visiting teaching at 10 am. Then I have to go get my kids at 12 (today being a half day) and then talk with Joseph's teacher about some concerns she has. Of course these have nothing to do with his academics; which are fine. {insert a very long loud sigh here} I am assuming this has to do with his Dr. Dorian impressions. Joseph is 3/4 of the time in his own little dream world. I have no doubt that if he actually paid attention once in a while instead of dreaming about zombies attacking that he would be in the gifted program. I am dreading that there is more than just this, though, since she said, "some concerns." I just hope he hasn't been looking up any little girls' dresses!
After the conference I have someone coming to my house to scrapbook for 2 hours before we head off into our "it's Wednesday, we are never home on Wednesday's" adventures- piano lessons, cub scouts, YW's, and some weeks I have activity day girls (luckily we get to skip that one this week!!)
Although, I doubt I would be able to exercise even if I wanted to. I am determined to see myself in a cast before the week is out. This is what I have done in less than 24 hours. I have twisted my ankle in step class so bad that it still hurts today (granted, after giving myself a minute I continued to workout on it), I slipped on a silky blanket as I was rounding the corner on our wooden floor and hit my arm so hard on counter that I almost fainted twice while trying to deal with it. Luckily, fainting is something I am used to after 30 some years of doing it. I have low blood pressure and if I hurt myself, get up too quickly, etc. I will faint. I have learned to recognize when it is coming on and like one of those antebelum ladies, I lie down on a couch and sip water. I was sure I had broken my forearm for a little while, but it seems to have come out Ok. I then rammed my little toe against the leg of a stool and cracked my knee on the van door. I am now limping around my house like some kind of a gimp! Pathetic! Especially since most of it was done on my birthday! Happy- old enough to find a white hair in my head-day!

Emma also celebrated her 13th birthday! So far,(excuse me while I knock on wood) Emma has been a relaxed, easy going teenager. Robert was very sweet and got us some beautiful flowers, chocolate domes (They taste almost as good as they look!), and some cheesecake. I had also made Emma chocolate cake- which she asked for. Now you understand why I really, really need to exercise!!

Emma's favorite gift- a snuggie! Maybe she'll stop leaving her blankets everywhere she's been if she is wearing it!!

Smokin Hot Abs and other fun with Adjectives!

At the gym the other day we were suppose to write our goal on the mirror before we left. Everyone's was so generic and boring- like exercise 3 times a week or loose 20 pounds, so I just had to shake things up. I wrote "smokin' hot abs!" Later that day I decided to try and write some goals down. I started with the title "What I want to Do" and ended up changing it to "What I want to Be." After I started with Smoking hot abs, it all went adjectivally crazy from there. I decided it was important to know what you wanted to be for you could know what you wanted to do, anyway. So here is my list of what I want to be, heavy on the adjectives!

A Photoshopping queen
A Catch-up scrapbooking Phenom
A Big Brain churchy woman
Super RN
A Terrific teaching Mom
A Photo-taking Master
A Super hot Mama
Fabulous ab chick
Elegant Loquacious Lady (more on the conversationalist and fluency than on talkativeness!)

So what is it that you want to be?

Break Your Heart

Warning: If you are a mother or soon to be mother this may break your heart. Have a box of tissues on hand!
Awhile ago I had a disagreement with Samuel so bad that I sent him off to bed crying and his brother Joseph got sent to bed soon after. Robert reminded me that I needed to show an increase of love afterward, so I went in to talk to Sam and give him a kiss. By this time everyone was in bed. All three boys share a bedroom. Sam and Joe on the bunk bed and Max on a crib mattress that we pull out from under the bottom bunk when he goes to sleep. I talked to Sam, gave him a kiss and told him that I loved him. I did the same with Joseph. Just then Rob came in and asked about the clothes on the floor. I started talking to him and picking up clothes and then it was time to have prayer. I turned around and saw Max covering his head and trying not to cry out loud. I knew immediately what was wrong- as every mother would, but I asked anyway and he said, "you didn't give me a kiss" through choking sobs. It was enough to break your heart. Poor little guy! I was going to give him a kiss and tell him that I loved him, too, I promise!! I was just distracted for a minute! One of the many times that I needed to remember that my children need to come first before the messes!

Am I that old?

...Said the husband when he got the call! He was definitely feeling it when he spent his first day in the High Priest quorum! They wanted someone to liven it up they told him. Funny when he was given the blessing by the Stake presidency for his new calling as First councilor in the High Priest Group they told him to 'not be afraid to speak up.' Guess they don't know Robert too well! Sure do love that guy of mine!

Our Fancy Forgetful Sunday Dinner

This is what you get when you forget to start the dishwasher before church and then decide to start it while you are finishing up dinner. You get to eat like this:
And yes, we ate the whole meal this way. You should have seen Sam digging out his potato with the salad tongs and then sucking it off of them. Classic!

Only Dad and Max had normal forks! Rob said it made him feel special!

The rest of the interview

For Christmas this year we sent out what looked like a magazine article complete with different pictures of the family. If you didn't get it, so sorry, but here is the rest of the interview that wouldn't fit:
K Magazine: What is your favorite part of Christmas?
Emma: I love ripping the paper, family time and caramels!
Sam: The surprises, the big feast, seeing the lights around the town and giving them ratings from 1-10, stories, Christmas movies.
Joe: St. Nick, the big feast.
Dad: Snacks, eating the roast beast.
Max: I like the spinny thing that goes around and around right behind Joe (he is pointing to the German Creche' scene that is in a pyramid and turns with candle power.) and the trees and snow.
Deb: Everything. I love the whole Christmas season!

K Magazine: What is your favorite thing to do as a family?
Sam: Sunday adventures, and wrestling time.
Joe: Family Home Evening and going to hotels like Wolf Lodge.
Emma: Sitting down every day as a family to dinner.
Max: Wrestling, praying and reading stories together.
Dad: I like our trips and our family adventures.
Deb: I have enjoyed our Sunday adventures this year and our many trips. The kids are good travelers.

It's been a fun year. Hope you all had a great holiday season and wish you the best this next year.

The Indiana Speedway

Who said that this year could go this fast? Who gave permission for the school year to be half over? When did someone whisk me off to the races? Someone has got to call a halt to this soon, because my babies are growing up too fast!!
This year we celebrated the speeding up of time in style. It is, after all the end of a decade. (Rob and I are now entering our 3rd decade together!) Some friends of ours invited us over along with a bunch of other families- some who came and some who thought the invitation was a joke (Loosers! ha!) We did a fun gift exchange where very few people got something they wanted, but since it was almost all stuff we wanted to get rid of ourselves, there was a lot of trading going on!! Most, I think went away happy (and we got rid of some extras lying around! Whoot!) Then we did a pictionary game made up by me of the significant events of the year. I really floored them, because I mostly stuck with a theme of world events, but then I added a few local events like baptisms. They weren't going to get that one, despite Emma's excellent drawings, because they were stuck on Tsunami's. "See the guys holding hands in the water and then they are under the water and dead!" Right! I had to help them with that one!!

Everyone made it until midnight except Maxwell who came to me begging to go to bed and Christian, the newest addition! Joseph had to be tickled for 15 straight minutes to make it until the count down, but he was very proud of himself for hanging in there. It also helped that we had more than enough sugar and plenty of children running around skating in the unfinished basement room and playing with the new ping pong table and watching Tom and Jerry cartoons! What could be more fun!!Ok, Max thought it could be more fun with a little more sleep!Happy 2010, may it go just a little slower and much softer for us all!