Teen Leadership

Sometimes (read most of the time) the four kids are sitting at the table eating dinner together while I am either feeding the baby or fluttering around the kitchen or something. Always close by, but usually not sitting down with them -- especially when I am dieting and can't eat what they are.

So, the other day, they were eating and I was doing who-knows-what, and Eric was telling me something about what his Teen Leadership teacher had taught them today. I was hearing bits and pieces of what he was saying all while dishing up seconds, getting milk, holding a couple other conversations, etc. Then he says something about "not good parenting". (I will say here that the tone of our conversation was very light and comical among all parties.) So, I shushed everyone else and asked him to repeat what he had just said. He told me that the teacher said that whenever your child talks to you, you should stop what you are doing and look at the child and listen until the child is done talking. First I burst into laughter, then asked him which child I was supposed to listen to because they were all always talking at once and none of them ever stopped talking. He laughed. He's getting more and more 'quick' in the humor department.

I told him that if I stopped what I was doing and stood there whenever I one of my children was talking to me, they would very soon be hungry and naked children, because I would never get meals made, groceries bought, or LAUNDRY done. I told him his assignment from me was to ask said Teen Leadership teacher what her recommendation was for a parent of a few very talkative children whose dad works out of town during the week. He said he'd get back to me on that one...

I love this kid. Junior High is awesome. Teen-age years: Bring it on!

Nostalgia

You know when you see a picture or think back to a time in life or a specific event, sometimes you can recall emotions or feelings? Sometimes a certain smell or sound will spark a memory like that as well...

So my best friend from High School, Connie, whom I am grateful to still be very close to, sent me a picture of her and I on her wedding day and it immediately brought back a rush of emotions and memories of that time in my life and that day in particular. Oh, what a fun time it was! I was 20 years old, and preparing to go in just a few months to serve a mission for my Church. I wasn't tied down to a relationship or dating anyone seriously enough to be burdened by all those good and/or weird emotions. It was just all about being fun and fancy free!

Connie and Rick chose to get married in Las Vegas with just a small group of family and close friends in attendance. I jumped into my Navy blue 1991 Mazda 626 and headed out to the desert. It was warm and sunny, not too hot, and perfect. I cranked up my Huey Lewis and the News (Sports) cassette tape and I was off! It was a quick trip from L.A. to Vegas - especially when you are singing duets with Huey! - so I got there in good time for the wedding. As I remember it, I arrived at Connie's hotel and greeted everyone. I changed into a suitable dress, touched up my blue eyeliner and shadow, sprayed some Aqua-net in my hair, put on some more hot pink lipstick - because it matched great with my turquoise dress - and we were off to get married!

Now, sorry Connie, but here is where my memory completely fails. Forgive me, but my theory is that every time you are pregnant and bear a child, you lose brain cells much like smoking marijuana (so I'm told). So my theory is that I have lost brain cells equivalent to about a decade of smoking pot. Anyway, I remember little about the ceremony and festivities, but I do remember posing for this picture and feeling very honored that I was there with my best friend for her special day. I also remember feeling like a million bucks. I really thought I looked great. Now, scroll down and you decide.....



Check out my hair!!! Is that the greatest 80's hair in the world or what??? I'm cracking myself up because I really did feel like I was so cute. I can't stop laughing...

Thanks for this trip down memory lane, Connie, and congratulations on 15+ years of marriage - that is a huge feat nowadays.

All I can say for myself is: Thank heaven for Bed Head products and the Chi straightening iron! Oh, oh, and learning about waxing eyebrows.

Sunday Funnies

Today for Sharing Time in Primary (my calling/job at church is Children's Secretary --greatest calling in the world!!!), two guys came in and each presented a plan for taking us all to a local water park (hypothetically). The kids were really excited and listened to the plans. The first guys plan was to take us to the park, have lots of fun, go everywhere he wanted to go, eat when he told us to eat, go to the bathroom when he told us to, etc... you get the picture, no personal choice. The second guys plan was to take us to the park and let us choose what rides to go on when we wanted to, eat what we choose, and when we wanted to -- see what I'm getting at? So, the Sunbeams (3-year-olds) were being a little restless and I went to sit/police behind them and was right behind Samantha (mostly because the dumb kid next to her kept touching her and playing with her hair). So, it was time for all of us to choose whether we wanted to go to the park with the first guy or the second guy. The Sharing Time teacher asked everyone to stand up if they wanted to go to the park with the first guy. At this time, I turned around to look at Maren sitting in the back with her legs crossed and her arms folded, resolved look on her face that there was no way she was going with him. Then I turn back and Samantha is not only standing up, but raising her hand, jumping up and down, and saying "I want to go, I want to go!" Awe crap.... my little baby girl choose Satan's plan. I just had to put my head in my hands.....


Side note:

At dinner, Geoff said something to Maren -- I can't remember what, I hardly pay attention -- and I made a sarcastic remark back to him. So Geoff says to the kids: "Isn't mom funny..." And Logan says, "Yeah, and she burps really loud too!"

Gotta love it!

Funny email

My brother, Darren, just sent me this email which I thought was quite funny.

Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers

In a news conference Deanna Favre announced she will be the starting QB
for the Packers this coming Sunday. Deanna asserts that she is qualified
to be starting QB because she has spent the past 16 years married to
Brett while he played QB for the Packers. During this period of time she
became familiar with the definition of a corner blitz, and is now
completely comfortable with other terminology of the Packers offense. A
survey of Packers fans shows that 50% of those polled supported the
move.

Does this sounds idiotic and unbelievable to you? Well, Hillary Clinton
makes the same claims as to why she is qualified to be President and 50%
of democrats polled agreed. She has never run a City, County, or State.

When told Hillary Clinton has experience because she has 8 years in the
white house, Dick Morris stated "so has the pastry chef".


hee,hee,hee.

Omelet in a Bag

A friend of mine sent me the recipe for these and we have come to L-O-V-E them, we eat them at least once a week. The instructions are very specific, so you have to do it exactly. I don't know what would happen if you didn't do it exactly, but I just do what I am told. Here it is:

Crack two eggs (not one or three -- two) into a QUART sized FREEZER bag. (Probably want to put every one's name on their bag first). Then add all your fixings for the kind of omelet you like.



Close the bag taking all the air out and mush it around so as to mix it all up.
Put the bags into a pot of boiling water (the water must be rolling) for exactly 13 minutes. (I don't ask why)



After 13 minutes, take the bags out of the pot, cut the top off of the bag, and onto your plate rolls a perfectly cooked, and perfectly formed omelet!





We love these because everyone gets to participate in making it (which is not something I do often -- bad mom) and everyone gets their eggs cooked exactly like they like them and all at the same time. Happinesssss! Ahhh, it's good.

Busted

I got called out (Kel-ley!) for the picture that I had put on my profile. It is from 2002. I wasn't trying to be deceptive, or really even cover up the few, er, 45 pounds that I've put on since 2002, it's just that I hadn't taken any pictures of myself since the said 45 lbs 'incident'. So, I took an updated, more appropriate photo for the blog. There you go.

Looks like you've got your hands full!

If I had even a half a penny for every time someone says that to me just because I am walking around with one or two (sometimes three) children, I could buy me a brand new decked out minivan!

So I've started saying things like: "Heck, this is just half of them" or "Nah, they're great kids", and then register peoples shock when they actually are well behaved.

I'm going to sound bitter here, but this has been going on far too long and I'm annoyed. When I was pregnant with my third child, it was okay in people's minds (and they told me about it -- like old men in the grocery store told me...) because I had two boys and was "trying for a girl". Whatever! Like you can "try" for anything. As they say in preschool: "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!". So, then pregnant with the fourth, I was insane because I already "had my girl" so what was I having another one for. (Really was asked this question)

It really is quite amazing to me that, at least it has been my experience, people tend to make it seem like they think I just one day woke up to being in this 'predicament' with all these children and of coarse couldn't possibly have done this on purpose. The best is when at the open house for Samantha's mother's day out program this past September, one of the dads came in on some of the other parents and I talking about having my baby over the summer break (Christian was one or two weeks old at that point) and his wife says to him: "that's five", the man literally gasped and then in a big southern accent (which makes it all the better) says to me; "why didn't your husband stop you, woman!" I was shocked and almost couldn't come up with a reply and just said; "He was pretty well in on all of it."

Okay, here's my point/beef: Until I start asking you to feed my children or clothe them, or take care of them in any way, don't tell me that I have too many or can't do it. I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, neither am I wealthy beyond need, but I am a pretty good mom, and I provide for my children everything they need and probably too much of what they want. The fact of the matter is that I do agree that five is a big lot of children for one family now days, but that's what we felt like we were supposed to do. Now, that being said, I will say that we are done. I don't feel like there are anymore little spirits up in the spirit world that we promised to bring into our family, but I really do feel like there were five, and here they are and I adore them all! (I will say here, that I reserve the right to bash (in writing) on any one of them, though, at any given time in future posts if they drive me to it -- which is highly possible seeing that we are quickly heading for the teen-aged years.) Back to the point: I fully believe there are some people who should/can/want to only have one child or two, or none -- whatever your magical number. Our magical number is five and that's just the way it is for us. Could you imagine if I went up to someone who only had one or two children and said: "That's all, huh? Slacker." I don't even think that. But it is amazing how people feel very free to make comment on my mental state because I have five children. Love it! Okay. I'm done.

So, I ran to the new "spa" right down the street from my house today because I was in desperate need of an eyebrow wax and not a lot of time. Eleven o'clock on a Tuesday morning and all three employees/owners are sitting there with baited breath watching me walk in. So, I tell them what I am wanting and they ask if I want my lip waxed also. I say no, just eyebrows. They say okay, come back here.... As I'm walking back, one of the three ladies says to me: "Where do you get your hair done?" I tell her that I go to a girl that I love and have been going to for about 7 years. She says: "You know, I can make it so that it matches. Your roots are too dark. I can match it better." (Now let me say here that it was a tiny bit difficult understanding everything she said without concentrating real hard...) I'm thinking: did I not just tell you that I am loyal to my hair girl? And, your peer pressure is not going to make me come over. So I go back and sit for the other lady to do my eyebrows. This place doesn't have a table to lay on, you just sit in a high back chair and lean back, but I'm not picky.... I sit down and the lady leans on top of me so much that her hand is on my cheek and constricting my sinus cavity. It brought to mind Cuzco in "The Emperor's New Groove": 'No touchy, noooo touchy...' In the end, it was three dollars more than the place I usually go to that is only three minutes more down the road. Needless to say, I probably won't be going back on a regular basis. It wasn't painful, it's been worse elsewhere, but I could have done without the lap dance. I'm just saying....
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