Girls will be Girls: Part 2

Yesterday was Lil's last day of preschool before Halloween... Which of course means one thing. PARTY TIME! They were to wear their costumes to class and bring candy for the parade. So as class time approacheth I start instructing her to get dressed. Sure enough she comes back into the room totally decked out in her costume. She is Ariel (Little Mermaid) this year. She walks up to me with a concerned look on her face and said, "Momma, do my mermaid boobies look okay?"

Gotta love little girls and little girl concerns!

Girls will be Girls: Part 1

So here I sit on the couch with my kids. Them in their jammies, me in my santa pants (don't worry- I am not anticipating Christmas yet- they are just warm and red- which matches the shirt I slept in...)

Anyway- back to the story!

I am sitting on my couch. Lilia is watching Peter Pan: Return to Neverland. She is munching on Coco Puffs and squealing anytime she sees her favorite character (Tinkerbell). Lacey is sitting right next to me, mouth full, half eaten slice of bread in one hand, half eaten fun size Snickers bar in the other... I jokingly look at her and say "AH!" and open my mouth for a bite. She looks at me, smiles her chocolate drool smile, looks at her hands and in a moment of decision holds the bread out for me to eat.

Smart Girl.

So I was blog surfing tonight...

And I came across this blog. I am really enjoying what this mother has to say, and her kids ARE SO NOT UGLY! Well anyway- I must admit I didn't really look at the header for her blog until I read back to the 15th of this month where she explained where that header came from! And I was not only laughing at all the insight she gave, but I was also remembering a few months back when Lilia drew an almost identical picture of OUR family! So here is MY family's version, as drawn by my (then) 3 year old...

You'll thank me later!

I am forwarding this on to all of you frennies of mine! I thought anyone in this neck of the woods (that has Smiths as an available shopping place) might appreciate getting a years supply (or more) of soap for free! So- HERE is a specific blog post for you all to go read...

I already have a seven year supply of soap (long story), so I won't be taking advantage of this one, but I figure YOU may want to!

Mood Swings...

Anyone else suffer from mood swings? And it's not related to any monthly visitor, or late in life change, or a growing THANG inside your belly? I mean- just a mood swing. One second you are fine, doing great- happy, smiley, lovin' life... And the next thing you know it feels like the rug was just pulled out from under you?

Yeah- just had me one of those. Hate that!

So how should I go about getting myself back into a happy mood... hmm...

Oh! I got it!

You know something is truly funny when Joe goes running for the camera in a fit of giggles (hmmm... giggles sounds awfully girly- how about a multitude of chuckles... Yeah- better)

What, you may ask, was so funny? Well...

THIS!



Yes- that would be Spaghetti... She sat there and finished it all. Yup- that's my girl! Talk about cutting out the middle man!

Unfortunately, the mood is still a bit low. But I am sure I'll be fine.

Found me a new recipe for an unbelievably easy yet sticky dessert that is killer sweet and rich... Anyone in my ward, that is going to the activity on Tuesday will get to try them :D

For those of you not in the area, I will post the recipe after the activity is over and the suspense is gone...

(I tell ya- I will do anything to get a lot of the women in the ward to this activity! Come on ladies! It'll be fun! And if nothing else, a few hours away from all our youngsters!)

Sorry about the mood. I am not sure how to fix it, but the swings are getting further and further apart. So eventually I hope they disappear altogether...

Here's to a happy week, and some major cute blogs next week showcasing the kiddo's in their mega cute (or awesome, or scary, or __insert adjective here___) costumes!

Whats up with us?

I am not sick anymore. (yay!)

Lacey is over her Croup- FINALLY. (double yay!)

Lilia is back at preschool and feels just fine. Her case of croup was much more mild than Laceys.

Joe got himself a new pair of glasses... they will be ready next week, and AFTER insurance, they cost 200. (OUCH!)

The dog wasn't sick from eating something after all. It was much worse than that and may end up with a surgery if it doesn't heal on its own (trust me you REALLY don't want to know all the details here).

Our awesome and wonderful neighbor stayed with the girls on Sunday while Joe and I gave our talks. After that, I came home while Joe stayed for the rest of church.

The talks were a HUGE success! I was really nervous about it, but I keep hearing from people in the ward that loved them, and/or needed to hear them. :D

Brother Hooper has hinted that we need to talk in Stake Conference. I maybe calling in sick that day...

I tried another new recipe today- Oatmeal Pancakes... not bad. Interesting texture, but they were FABULOUS with my homemade peach jam! (The batter had cinnamon in it, so it was a spicy kinda taste...)

Lacey is officially giving kisses. Not just open mouth on cheek kisses. REAL kisses! And I LOVE it!

Lilia has started adding diversification to her prayers. Last night she said, "Please bless Heavenly Father and Jesus to be safe and good..." so cute! She also prayed to not run in church and to have something to do when she wakes up. (At bedtime she always asks what we are going to do when we wake up. Last night I responded with, "I don't know.")

Joe is loving his new job. It is amazing what a little appreciation will do for ya! They have made it very clear how much he is appreciated!

Oh, and it looks like all the decorating is gonna need to be redone! The wind has been hefty up here, and all the spiderwebs are being blown to pieces!

And Joe- in case you are reading this... My mom is coming over right now to pick me and the girls up for a day with grandma. :D Meaning Joe will be meeting us up at Mom's after work for dinner then we will head home. (Love you Joe!)

Hope all is well with you!


LOOK! I wanna be like Uncle James! (Lacey's pants were sagging a bit, and it looked intentional, so of course I took a picture!)

Well, I'll be...

Oh my goodness! I can't even begin to describe the smile this award brought to my face! It was given to me by a fellow blogger I truly admire. I love reading her posts, and I am so excited to see the changes she is making for her blog. Now this award is called "The Proximidade Award"


Now the only itty bitty tiny glitch I am seeing here is that it is a Spanish award, and I don't speak Spanish! BUT- Laural sent along with it an English translation...

*I originally thought it was in Portuguese, but I did some research and found the original award in spanish...

A todas nos encantan los blogs, donde en la mayoría de ellos sus objetivos son mostrar las maravillas y hacer amistades; hay personas que no se interesan cuando les damos un premio y de esta manera contribuyen a cortar esos lazos; ¿queremos que se corten o que se propaguen? ¡Entonces tratemos de prestar mas atención a ellos! Así que este premio debemos entregarlo a 8 bloggeras que a su vez deben hacer lo mismo y poner este texto

To translate it means:"This blog invests and believes, the proximity." Meaning, that blogging makes us 'close'- being close through proxy. How awesome is that??

This comes along with the instructions that also seem to be roughly translated to English...

"They all are charmed with the blogs, where in the majority of its aims are to show the marvels and to do friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?"

Then let's try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to 8 bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text.

I am gonna attempt to add some more definition to this translation...

I translated this through a few different FREE translation sites, and when combined, this is basically what I came up with in English:

We all love blogs where the majority of posts target the marvels of friendship. These are people who are not as interested in the awards they are given as the friendships they are creating. Because of that this award may stop. But do we want this award to stop or to keep spreading? Then let’s try to give more attention to those bloggers! We must pass this award to 8 bloggers that in turn must do the same and post this text with it!

(Anyone is free to correct my translation if they actually speak Spanish and understand better what I didn't...)

So- the winners of this award, as decided by the most impartial and awesome judge (me) in no particular order:

Ju at Hamlie's Happenings - Okay, maybe this one is in it's proper place. She is my very best friend, and she is awesome like that.
Morgan W at Whipple Troupe - She is such a sweet person, so are her children! Her blogs are filled with joy, love, and all sorts of cuteness!
Aimee at What the Hall?! - She is so sweet, and exceptionally nice. She spends all her free time playing with her adorable baby girl, and being the best mom and friend she can be. Such a great person, and so deserving of this award...
Triscuit at Crazy Good. She is funny, and nice, and a great listener, and she is so good at so many things. She has a beautiful family, she cherishes her friends, and she lets them know it!
Erin from right HERE - She was one of my truest friends from my working days, and she found me again! I am glad she did too, because she is a great friend who has had her fair share of hardships, yet she pulls through them with flying colors and a remarkable sense of humor!
Heidi at her PRIVATE blog - Sorry folks, if you don't know her, you won't get much chance, but lemme tell ya- she is one of the nicest people I know, and she has the most adorable twins on the face of this planet!
AnnaMarie at HER blog - she will do anything for her friends. INCLUDING packing her whole family up and driving to a neighboring state just for a Christmas party.
Sariah from Sariah Says - She is the glue that holds a group of online women together! She is amazing, and thoughtful, and caring, and giving. She may not be perfect, but she is pretty close!
Kristin at The Walters Family blog - she may be gullible, but she is such a sweet and wonderful person, and she is one of the truest friends I know. She has a very infectious laugh and a smile that matches her bright personality and soul!

What!? That was 9? Well what's one more... I never was good at counting! ;) I can't help it! All 9 deserve it!

Much love!