100th

This year I:

Turned 30
Went crazy
Went to therapy
Learned to chill out
Stopped going to therapy
Went to Disneyland
Got a flat iron
Got 3 pairs of Rocket Dogs
Went to the beach
Dug a plethora of dandelions out of my lawn
Read a lot of books
Said goodbye to some friends
Studied the Book of Mormon
Taught Gospel Doctrine
Prepared approximately 1,014 meals
Attended a wedding
Washed 400,000,000 loads of laundry
Paid for pumpkins with $20 in quarters
Had about 200 headaches
Rode in an ambulance
Ate a banana and puked
Sprained my ankle by standing on one foot and bending down (What the??)
Counted my blessings
Wrote (with a little help from Nils) 100 blog posts

I look forward to 2009! Happy New Year!

2008 Rocks.

This is my version of "The Year in Pictures - 2008". Check it out. The captions are to the left and you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move from image to image.

Ticketmaster? No thanks.

I'm sorry to Katrina for posting so soon after she did (she's asleep right now) but I've got a dilemma. Call me what you will but I've always wanted to see a Monster truck show. What's not to love about unnaturally gigantic trucks with seven foot wheels and 8 gajillion horsepower engines crushing tiny helpless cars and flinging mud. All this and permanent hearing loss, too. How exciting! Enter: STEEL THUNDER!



Anders and I try to have a boys night out every month and I heard the radio commercial for the Steel Thunder tour coming this weekend. Adults: $11.50, kids: $5. $16.50. I can handle that. I tell Anders about the big event and he's totally excited. I log on to buy tickets this morning and here's what I get:

Tickets (Steel Thunder) ADULT-ADV US $11.50 x 1
Total Building Facility Charge(s) US $4.00 x 1
Total Convenience Charge(s) US $5.90 x 1

Childs Advance purchase ticket US $5.00 x 1
Total Building Facility Charge(s) US $3.00 x 1
Total Convenience Charge(s) US $4.10 x 1

Order Processing Charge(s) US $5.10
Will Call No Charge

TOTAL CHARGES US $38.60

Now, math is not my strong suit but I believe that's a 233% increase over the advertised ticket price. WHAT!!!? So here's my question - is there a cheaper way? I've looked on eBay, KSL, stubhub and several other sites. Nothing. I read that buying tickets at the venue will save you from ticketmaster's fees but which ones? Thanks for any input.

Anybody else want to head to the monster truck show Friday or Saturday?

I'm in Love...

...with my shoes. I got my first pair of Rocket Dogs almost four years ago, and my relationship with this brand of shoe has been nothing short of magnificent. I just got these babies for $12.50, which just adds to my extreme love of them. Man, I should get some free shoes for this.

Christmas Day

We woke up this morning to the sound of presents being torn open. Addie woke up first and just started getting to work. I think it's cute that she was so excited. She didn't get too far before we all joined her, and we had a grand time. Santa was good to our family!

I tried making monkey bread and it was a horrible disaster. I don't have a bundt pan, so I used a springform pan with a flute tube attachment. I guess I didn't get it matched up right, because the caramel sauce dripped out the bottom of the pan and all over the bottom of the oven, resulting in tons of smoke and every smoke detector in the house going off. It was a Christmas miracle! I'm getting a bundt pan for next year.

Anders mostly got Legos, and also some Martian Matter. He spent a good amount of time dissecting aliens today.

Aani was a little cranky from being woken up so early, but once she found Elmo on the tree she was cool with it.

Addie: Give this girl a pony and she's a happy camper. She also got princess barbies and she's in love with them.I just really like the look on my face in this picture. Maybe I was thinking about the monkey bread.

We had a late night last night with family, so Nils and I have felt semi-conscious all day. It's been a fun and relaxing day. We all bundled up and went sledding this afternoon and then had another late night with family. I think that's the best part of Christmas.

Results

We got the results from the EEG and MRI, and they were both normal. So this is good news, but doesn't tell us anything.

Excuse me while I gripe. We called the hospital (when no one called us) to get the results and they said, "oh, they were normal so that's why no one called you." Is that weird? Shouldn't they call you no matter what the result is? It's not like it's important or anything. Also, I asked what we do next, like do we talk to the doctor again, is there any sort of follow-up, etc. and the lady seemed confused that I would ask that. I requested that the neurologist call me so we can talk about it and I'm still waiting. Should I be a squeaky wheel?

Having said that, I am very thankful that they were normal. Anders has been acting totally normal from the moment he came out of the seizure, so we're going to assume it was a freaky one-time incident. An expensive freaky one-time incident. But we love him, so we'll pay.

'Cause if we didn't love him we wouldn't... never mind. Me sleepy.

Mmmm. Brownie Powder.

Well, to preface this post, I think you should read this post before you continue further. Just so you know what kind of a mom you're dealing with.

We had a crazy morning, trying to get Christmas stuff ready for Anders' last day of school before the break, and a doctor appointment for Aani, which included unexpected shots. When it was time to get Anders from school it was an absolute blizzard outside. So we've spent the remainder of the day inside, feeling a teensy bit couped up. Then daddy came home and promptly spent the remainder of the evening shoveling. My point?
I was at the point of no return.

Here's how it went down. We've been getting our neighbor Christmas gifts ready. If you're my neighbor, don't read this if you don't want to know that we're giving you brownie mix. But not just any brownie mix. Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate brownie mix. It's the best darn brownie mix we ever did taste, and our family is addicted to it. We pass the addiction torch on to you. And you're welcome.

Anyway, I was being neglectful and on the computer instead of tending to my little darlings. It took me a few minutes to realize that Aani was being quiet. Last night we saw one of the bags of brownie mix was open, so we set it aside but left it on the floor. Dersky!

I took her upstairs and thought I'd vacuum it up after dinner. After dinner we came downstairs and before I knew what was happening, this was going on. I told them to go for it. Life's too short to not lick brownie mix off the carpet, ya know?I like the action shot of Addie getting ready to lick the carpet. And she did dress herself today in case you're wondering.

Life's too short to not wear florals and animal prints together.

Today's lesson: When you've run out of steam, dump brownie mix on the floor and let the kiddies lick it up. They'll really like it.

Whassa happenin, hot stuff?

This happened yesterday. It was one of those days when you stay home all day and try to restore the house to a decent level of sanitation after the stomach flu has invaded. And try to think of really long run-on sentences. I was cleaning the bathrooms when Anders and Addie got really excited at the prospect of cleaning the toilets. They thought it was the coolest thing ever. I'm gonna work this new found passion of theirs while I can.
This is what happens when Mommy supervises the construction of the gingerbread house: It's structurally unsound and she has to hold the roof on. Then she gets sick of waiting for it to dry, so she gives up and tells everyone to just eat the thing. Here's what happens when you try to drive to the gym in this kind of weather: It takes you 30 minutes to get 1/3 of the way there. You call said gym daycare to tell them the roads are bad and you'd like to cancel. No, they say, because it's ten minutes before your appointment, so if you cancel we'll charge you $2 per kid. So to save yourself six lousy bucks you keep driving. When you're 2/3 of the way there and another 30 minutes have passed, you call again in a deliriously angry rage and tell them their cancellation policy sucks and to throw you a frickin bone. Then they cancel your appointment because you're 30 minutes late anyway.

Not a big fan of winter.

Thumbs Down

Oprah, Oprah, Oprah. Why do you have such bad taste in books?

In this book's defense, it reads like poetry. The story is compelling.

Then it ends and you're left wondering if you missed something, if you're thick in the head or what.

I just finished a few minutes ago and I'm very confused.

Making Cookies with Grandma

Yesterday while we were at Katrina's mom's house the kids helped Grandma make some Christmas cookies. I think they all had a good time and the kids are still reaping the benefits. We're really lucky to live close to Katrina's mom and lucky that she's so involved with them. She cooks us up a good meal every Sunday night and the kids love playing with Grandma.

EEG & MRI

Today was Anders' EEG and MRI. We had to keep him up until midnight last night and wake him up at 4 o'clock this morning so he'd be sleep deprived. So we were (are) sleep deprived. The EEG went well, in that he actually fell asleep after about 15 minutes. He looked really cute with all those electrodes plastered to his head. Really. I'm sad I forgot the camera in my sleep deprived haze.

The MRI was a couple hours later, and that whole process really sucks. He had to be sedated, which means an IV. To say Anders doesn't do well with needles would be a gross understatement. He completely freaks out. There are no words to describe it, but he freaks out so bad that I sit there and bawl my eyes out with him. They sedated him at noon-ish. He's still asleep and I expect he'll sleep right on through the night. We'll get the results from both tests sometime next week. I never want to go to that hospital again. It's depressing and chaotic and I have been really unimpressed with their bedside manner...at a Children's Hospital. I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Tomorrow is a new day....

"Cheeeeeese!"

Aani cracks us up. When a camera is pointed at her she squints and smiles and says "Cheeee!" She also discovered sour cream tonight and consumed enough to make anyone sick. Let's hope I'm wrong about that.

Chocolate Milk and Reindeer

Chocolate milk spilled all over the place at lunchtime. It spilled on the counter and dripped into drawers and splattered all over the floor, and I wanted to sit in a corner and rock back and forth for awhile. Because you can't just wipe up chocolate milk. It makes the whole floor sticky and I hate sticky floors. I watched it drip, drip, drip...and knew I'd have to mop. But I just mopped a couple of days ago. The injustice of it was a bit discouraging.

So I mopped. The floor was clean for about 15 minutes. It was nice.

I just tucked Anders in, and he asked me to stay with him for awhile. I laid down with him and we talked for a half-hour about school and reindeer. I realized I don't get to just talk with him during the day because of everything else there is to do. Like keeping the little whipper-snappers fed, watered and loved and then cleaning up after them. It takes those one-on-one moments to remind me that my kids are awesome, and they're growing up. And when it's all said and done, I'm not going to care if my kitchen floor was sticky, am I?

I just like it so much when it's clean.

Address, Please!

Hey everyone,

We're going to be grown-ups this year and send out Christmas cards. I think we've done it a couple of times, but only to like 5 people because we didn't know more people than that. Heh, heh...heh. And we bought cards and on the inside pasted a picture of us that we printed on the computer. That was back in the day before Costco had their easy-as-pie Christmas card maker.

The reason I'm over-sharing about this is because last year we got lots and lots and lots of Christmas cards from people just like you, and it was just plain delightful. Since we sincerely enjoyed getting cards from friends and family, we decided to spread the love and hop on the bandwagon.

So I need addresses, STAT!

Please send them to: nilsandkatrina@gmail.com

Thankya!

Before and After

I was looking through old photo folders and I'm amazed at what a difference a couple of years makes.

Dec. 2006- such a cute little round face

Dec. 2008- still a cute face, just not as round

Dec. 2006- her hair would not growDec. 2008- long, thick piggy tails

This was a year ago, since 2 years ago she was but a wee embryo

Dec. 2008- still cute as heck, but she is a total maniac

Sometimes the days seem endless- usually around 3:30 for some reason. Looking at pictures from just a couple of years ago makes me realize the days actually whiz past, and if I'm not looking I'll miss it all.

Thank goodness the world has gone digital- it's so much easier to capture life.

The Saratoga Springs Sunset

We were putting up our pathetic strings of Christmas lights outside tonight (definitely not worth posting a picture) as the sun was setting. For the bottom shot I got on top of our roof. It's amazing how much nicer the view is ten or fifteen feet higher.

For Love of the Haiku

I have a new past time- composing haikus. You should try it. Pick a subject, and come up with a haiku using this criteria:

3 unrhymed lines of verse using five, seven and five syllables. Traditional Japanese haikus are about nature.

I like to pick other topics cuz it's funner. That's right- I said funner.
And I'm not Japanese, far as I know. Although my brother was born in Okinawa.

For your reading pleasure:

My children stalk me
They follow me all around
Solitude is grand

How I love my bed
It's oh-so warm and snuggly
Sleeping is such fun

I pity da foo
Who messes wit Mister T
Gold chains and mohawks

Nils wrote the last one. He's a haiku master.

FHE

For tonight's FHE, we:
decorated gingerbread cookies

and ate them.

We decorated the Christmas tree

and stared in awe.

Laming my way to 100

I feel obligated to post since it's the last day of November, and my lame goal of reaching 100 posts is still in the forefront my brain. I've been sitting here trying to think of something to write about and Nils said to me, "You don't have to make it to 100, you know." Yes I do, I said, because I proclaimed it. And because last year I was sad that I didn't make it to 100. Because I have a weird thing with numbers, I guess. Like when I'm running on the treadmill and my miles can't exceed the numbers times 10. Two miles has to be done in 20 minutes or less, 3 in 30, etc. I mean, if I can't run 3 miles in less than 30 minutes, what's the point of even running at all?

Nils told me not to make the blog lame for the sake of making it to 100 posts. MAKE the blog lame? Oh, ho, ho. As if it's not already.

And now, a haiku:

Little blog of mine
One hundred posts you shall have
Silly little blog

Cool Pics, Cool Pics

Nils loves to take pictures. His camera is like our 4th child. He recently upgraded from his Nikon D70 to a Canon 450D, and here are some of my favorites of the last fall photos he took.


This old truck was in his work parking lot. It looks like a real-life Tow-Mater! Nils also has a blog, where you can look at some of his other photography. He has also written articles and tutorials about random things- from dandruff shampoo to camera upgrades. Check it out!

Must Read

I was required to read this book in the 9th grade. I didn't remember anything about it except someone named Boo Radley and a girl named Scout. I just read it again, and I LOVED it. I think this might be one of my all time favorites. I can see why so many high school teachers have this as required reading, but I remember equating "required" with boring at that age. I loved it so much more as an adult. So, I think everyone in the world should read this fabulous book. I laughed out loud several times, found it touching and I'm sad that it ended.

Conflict Resolution

I was tagged over a month ago by Teresa and a few days ago by my sis-in-law Andrea. Here's the thing about tags: I don't really mind doing them, but I feel a little narcissistic when I do. And I just can't imagine that anyone possibly cares to know 40,000 random things about me. So, if you tag me and I don't respond immediately, it's not because I don't love you. I do. I swear. It's just that I'm so darn conflicted about tagging that rather than agonize about it I sometimes choose to ignore it. I'm sorry. So, in order to appease my guilty conscience, I will combine these two tags and just list some of my weirdness in no particular order, and in no specific categories.

*I like to take baths. In my lifetime, my bath to shower ratio is probably 80 to 20.

*I'm compulsive about keeping my fingernails short. I can't stand them long. They get all grimy and just bug me.

*I have a naturally grumpy expression on my face. People think I'm mad when I'm concentrating or not showing some specific emotion. I'm actually quite delightful, so if I look mad when you see me, don't believe it. Unless I'm really mad, in which case you better watch it.

*I always wanted to do hair as a kid, and I said after I graduated college I'd go to hair school. I graduated college and hair school just never fit in the plan. I still secretly wish I'd done it.

*I think most movies are lame. I don't think all movies are, but it's not often that I love one or like one enough to watch it again. I've thought a lot about this and here's my conclusion (see, do you seriously care to know this about me?): I used to like movies quite a lot. Then I had children, and my patience with them diminished. I think it's because I have so little leisure time, that whatever time I do have I want to spend doing something I sincerely enjoy. So I'd rather read a good book or watch a good TV show than watch a crappy movie.

*I have double-jointed elbows. Come on over sometime and I'll show you.

*I've been a chap stick addict since the 7th grade. If my lips are dry and I don't have any lip moistener I get all panicky inside. I've embraced this and do my best to have a large supply at all times.

Fun Game!

It's so sad.
I sprained my stupid ankle. We were at a PAR-TAY last night where we played this injury inducing game: place a paper grocery sack on the floor, stand on one foot and grab the sack with your teeth. After each turn, the sack is cut lower and lower.

Then you sprain your ankle. I was the only one cool enough to do this part of the game. The retarded thing is that I didn't even fall, twist, or roll my ankle. I was just bending down, down, down, down.....and POP! I tore the ligament on the outside of my ankle bone. It hurts. And I'm supposed to wear this ridiculous air cast thing for two weeks. We're having good luck at our house.

It's okay, though. Know why? 'Cause I got ma baby to take care a me. Here he is enjoying one of the thin mints we won at the par-tay.

Fo' Rills

Here's a real post. No pictures, because I'm too lazy; just rambling. We went to Primary Children's today, thinking today was EEG day. No. Today was see-a-pediatric-neurologist-so-he-could-tell-us -he-wanted-to-order-an-EEG-and-MRI-day. That's swell. The two tests are going to be done on the same day. Anders has to be sleep deprived because they want him to be naturally asleep during the EEG. I hope they have some magical method for getting kids to sleep there, because I just don't see it happening- sleep deprived kid or not. Then they'll sedate him for the MRI. This happens in a couple of weeks. We're accepting donations for bills incurred.
P.S. That hospital is depressing.

Anders dropped the f-bomb while we were waiting to see the doctor. He was innocently spouting out rhyming words and out it came. It brought back memories of when he was two, and made the sound "f" for the letters "tr". Truck was was very bad word there for awhile. One time in Target he wanted a big truck and was yelling it really loud.

Inspiring thoughts late at night. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks- we've got 23 posts left before Dec. 31!

76

This is our 76th post for 2008. Only 24 more by December 31. My name is Arnie. Say Arnie. Say it!

75

This is our 75th post for 2008. Only 25 more by December 31.

Silly Little Girls

Kids are funny. Here are some shots I took of Addie singing on Grandma's back patio. What a cute little nut. Katrina and I can't seem to figure out where she learned these gestures. I guess she's bound for American Idol. Er Sumpin. I love the closed eye sincerity.


After baths tonight, we got the kids in their jammies then Aani ran off to another room. I was reading to Addie and I could hear Aani playing so I figured she was fine. This is where we found her. This girl is wild.

Counting Our Blessings

Last night Anders had a seizure. It was the scariest experience of our lives. I put him to bed and about 30 minutes later heard him throwing up. I went into his room and he was laying in his vomit unresponsive. His eyes were wide open but he wouldn't look at me or talk. He was like that for a few minutes, and I called Nils to come home from his EQ meeting. Anders threw up a few more times and was still unresponsive. As Nils left his meeting the EQ Pres. called our neighbor to come over and make sure everything was okay. I was on the phone with the nurse and after a few minutes Anders' lips and fingernails were blue. Our neighbor called 911, and as the paramedics were coming his face turned gray and was contorting. When the paramedics arrived, they took one look at him and strapped him onto the gurney and we were off to the hospital. I rode with him and Nils drove behind us. All I could do was sit there and watch as they worked on him, and I kept just praying that he wouldn't die. On the way to the hospital his whole body was seizing, and it didn't stop until we had been at the hospital for about 30 minutes.
In the ER he was given three doses of medicine to stop the seizing and his body finally relaxed. They did blood work and a CT scan, both of which came back normal. The doctor wanted him to stay the night because the seizure lasted so long- apparently they tend to last 10 minutes or so, and his lasted an hour.

Anders woke up at 3 a.m., finally conscious and talking and crying like he normally would. We were able to tell him he got sick and was in the hospital, and he was pretty excited that he got to eat a popsicle, drink Sprite and get all kinds of toys and goodies from the nurses in the middle of the night. We're home now, and he's acting as if nothing ever happened. He still can't believe there was a firetruck at our house. We'll go to Primary Children's next week for an EEG so they can tell if it will happen again.

We feel so blessed for many reasons. First of all, our boy is alive and well. I'm sure many of you know that helpless feeling of turning your child over to someone else. The first paramedic to our house was a friend from down the street. All the paramedics were great, but it was really nice to have a familiar face amid the chaos. Our neighbors were there in the blink of an eye to help with a blessing and stay with the girls so Nils and I could both go to the hospital. I keep thinking how lucky it was that I was upstairs. If I had been in the basement I wouldn't have heard him at all, and who knows how long it would have been until we found him. Both of us are especially grateful for our wonderful neighbors, who were all there not to just stand by and watch, but to truly offer help and support. I want to hug and kiss all of them. How great is it that in the middle of an emergency, worthy priesthood holders gave Anders a blessing and we felt the spirit comfort and calm us. We are truly blessed.

On a side note, a couple miles from the hospital they turned on the lights and sirens and floored it. It was awesome. In the words of Nils, "The one time I get to speed through stop signs and red lights, and I don't even get to enjoy it." Comic relief!

What I've Been Thinking About

Here's a little bit of what's been on my mind.

Thought 1: Since Anders started kindergarten it's been kinda hard to find a time to go to the gym. He goes at 11:30. Aani naps around noon. I tried going at night, but I'm so tired at night that I was very inconsistent. When school started, Anders was excited that he didn't have to go to the gym anymore. Therefore, I didn't want to go before school and ruin that little happy point in his life. (And just in case you're wondering, the kids go to the playroom while I work out. I don't make them bench press or run on the treadmill or anything.) A few weeks ago I started going at 9:00 and taking all three kids with me. I love it, and Anders even enjoys it again. Going to the gym is an essential part of my inner chi, so I'm really glad it's working out. Oy. No pun intended.

Thought 2: I've never been a banana lover. I ate a banana this morning against my better judgement. I was thinking of the good qualities of bananas. Then I got a horrible stomach ache and ralphed. My stomach feels much better. I don't like bananas.

Thought 3: I'm very disappointed in this season of Heroes. Why did they turn Mohinder into a scabby spiderweb slinging yucko? Why is Sylar suddenly good? Why does the storyline make no sense?

Thought 4: It's dark at 5:45 these days and I don't like it one bit. What do you do to keep your kids entertained during the fall/winter months? Also, what do you do when your kids tattle? That's the latest thing at our house.

Thought 5: This weekend I was reminded of the days when Anders was 2 and Addie was a baby and the days seemed endless. There weren't many places to go or things to do and I went stir crazy. I enjoy the baby phase, but I'm liking life with them being a little older. I like watching them as they learn and become who they're meant to be. I love that Aani has them to look up to and grow up with. I like that they can get their own waffles in the morning.

Thought 6: I have a mental goal to make it to 100 posts for this year. Considering that I'm at about 70, that's a stretch. Also considering the content of this post, I don't know what in the world I'd write about. Beware the coming weeks.

It Ain't Crappy No Mo!

My wonderful mother-in-law spent the last few nights at our house while here in town. Sunday night she announced to me that she wanted to take me shopping for new silverware because our current silverware was, and I quote, "crappy".

Sometimes when my tongue touched the end of the fork prongs I tasted metal. Sometimes when the fork grazed a filling, it felt like I was chewing on foil. You may shudder now. Lots of spoons and forks have been lost over the years. There was once or twice that I wondered at what point we would replace our eating utensils, but you know... not a priority.

The old

and the new

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to me! It's so lovely. In fact, it's so lovely that it looks a little out of place with our plastic Tupperware and IKEA plates, bowls, cups, etc. I look forward to the day that we can break out the nice dishes and eat like civilized people. That should be in the year 2015-ish. But we'll probably need new silverware by then.

I Voted!

My fellow Americans, let it be known from sea to shining sea that I voted today. Nils and I are registered to vote at our old address in a different city, and I didn't know how I could work around that little technicality. I had a couple of people today ask me if I was voting, and I explained my pathetic excuse to them. Then I remembered that it's a privilege to vote. Then I started feeling like a bad, ungrateful American. Then I called the County Clerk's office and they told me I could vote in my precinct, just on a provisional ballot instead of an electronic one. It's pretty rockin' that there's a way to vote even when you haven't gotten your voter registration act together and updated your information. I tend to get all teary-eyed at random, inappropriate moments, like during commercials for scented candles or whatnot. So it really shouldn't have surprised me that I got a tad choked up seeing the line of people doing their civic duty and voting for the future of our country and community. Then I pulled it together and managed to fill in the circles completely with dark colored ink. I hope I filled in the right circles.

Shmallosmween

Costume Drama:

UPS usually comes around 5:30, so at 6:00 on Thursday when the costumes still hadn't arrived, I took Anders to buy one. Yesterday, 30 minutes before school started, the mail came, and with it the costumes. Grrr. I thought they were coming UPS because another item in the same order as the costumes came UPS a few days ago. So whatever. Our kids hauled in the costumes this year. I am a little perplexed by this holiday. I mean, it's fun and all, but I was having major stress. If Anders hadn't had a costume for school....forget about it. He would have been a puddle on the floor. At any rate, we valiantly trudged through the rain to trick-or-treat, and it was fun. We live in a great neighborhood and it makes me happy.

I took the queue from my friend Emmy, who last year posted on her blog that she let her kids eat all their candy in one day. Thus, our kids fell asleep with Skittle juice dripping down their faces last night, and I'm pretty sure they had candy for breakfast this morning. Why drag it out?

Thursday was the most beautiful day of the year. We ate dinner on the porch while Nils and Anders carved their pumpkins. The ladies in the family observed. I'm not a fan of pumpkin guts.

Nils' work had a pumpkin carving contest, and this is his entry. He was very disappointed that he didn't even place. What the heck? This thing is awesome!

This is the costume that came Halloween morning. The one we bought Thursday night was a black Spiderman. The Power Ranger won out because it has muscles.

So, she was devastated because a few minutes before I had tried to do her hair. I thought maybe since she was dressed as a princess, she'd like princess-like hair instead of bed-head. The bed-head won. She chippered up once people started putting candy in her bag. Goodbye, Halloween. And kids, please don't grow this year. I don't want to buy anymore costumes- ever.

Humor Me

I have no pictures to post and nothing that interesting to say, so nanny-nanny-boo-boo.

Nils just told me he's eating sushi tomorrow. This coming from the man who only a few months ago let me know that he likes his macaroni and cheese "unadulterated". He hates fish and generally doesn't like to try new things. Isn't sushi raw? Good luck with that, honey.

I just got back from Kohl's. I had $10 in Kohl's Cash. I've decided that store is a crock. First of all, they're always having the lowest prices of the season, as if we're all really that stupid. Second of all, I think when they fork over the Kohl's Cash, they adjust their "sales" so that it's impossible to get anything good for 10 bucks. For instance, instead of 50% off they'll do a buy 1 get 1 free thing, so you still have to pay full price; except now you get 2 things you don't really need instead of 1. Lame.

Halloween is 2 days away, and our children have no costumes. They were ordered 2 weeks ago from -oh my, wouldn't you know it- Kohl's, and are not here. I'm having anxiety because Anders is having a panic attack about it. So if they're not here by tomorrow, what choice do I have but to go down to Walgreen's and get whatever crap costumes they have left? Please UPS Man, deliver them tomorrow. For the love of my stressed out 5-year old and my sanity, DELIVER THEM!

Okay then. See ya.

No Escape

I got a calling this week for our new ward: Gospel Doctrine. Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Last week after my "last" lesson, I was kind of sad that I'd have to part with the manual. I've become pretty attached to the little guy. Turns out the two of us can stay best buds! Hoorah!

It's So Sad

I'm hesitant to get too personal or emotional in the blogosphere because it creeps me out that anyone anywhere can read this. Well, I'm taking the plunge, baby.

Our ward was split tonight, and I'm so sad that I actually cried about it. We were split off from the ward and will be part of a newly formed one. Deep down I know it's going to be just fine, but I'm still so stinking sad.

About 2 years ago Nils was offered a job in Salt Lake, so we moved North from Springville. I was not happy about having to move from there. We looked for houses for awhile and nothing felt right. When we found our house, we felt it was the one we were supposed to buy. It didn't make sense to me because I actually really hated the house. I didn't like the layout, the kitchen, bathrooms, lights, doorknobs- I was pregnant and irrational. But I knew inside that we would be happy here. From the first day we moved in we've felt welcome. We had been here 2 days and my neighbor invited me to Enrichment. That night, I swear 10 people approached me to introduce themselves and welcome me. It was something I really needed. I felt overwhelmed with having to start over. A couple of months after Aani was born the post-partum hit me hard. I struggled for months with all the horribleness of depression, but I had so much support. I had friends who would call to lift me at the exact moment I needed it. That dark time was made bearable because of people who were in tune. We've lived here for a year and a half, and I feel like I've grown a lot spiritually in that time. I think that's facilitated by being surrounded with good people who see your potential, even though you might not. I know that's why we moved here.

So I know there isn't suddenly a massive crevasse that separates us, but you just don't see as much of people when you don't go to church with them. It's weird and a little lame, but it's true. To all my HH 2nd-ers, don't forget us on the other side of the park. And thanks for being so great that I'm weeping at the thought of not seeing you every week and more.

Healthy=Good

I'm returning from my 5-day journey to sinus infection/bronchitis hell. It's good to be back! I'd like to give credit where credit is due: this lovely little bottle filled with gigantic pills of Augmentin has brought me back from the dead. I took the second dose last night, and about 4 hours later I started feeling human again. God bless whoever invented this drug.

Here's where I've been since Thursday. See my indent?

Here's one of the trashy books I've read. Actually, it's not trashy, it's just stupid. Shackles of Honor? Seriously? It is good for something, though. If you need a book that makes you want to make out with your husband, read this one. After I took my medicine and one of my nostrils cleared up, me and Nils totally made out.

I got a call yesterday morning from a great friend who told me she was bringing dinner. She didn't ask me, she told me. Thank goodness, too. It would have been another DiGiorno night. She made the best chicken noodle soup and these awesome cinnamon rolls.

Nils made these cookies. He stayed home yesterday so he could be the mom. He truly was. He fed the children, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed, changed diapers, folded laundry, drove the carpool to school and baked cookies. What a man! NOW do you understand why we totally made out?

I don't want to be a whine-o, so bear with me while I make a point. I was really sick- too sick to take care of my kids, and that is a terrible predicament. I'm so thankful for health! I'm so glad that I have a healthy body that allows me to do all I need and want to do. That's what I've gained from this miserable experience, and I'm glad for it. I also learned that I'm really unattractive after laying in bed for five days. Sorry, no pictures of that.