Thinking Blogger

I've been nominated. Twice. I can hardly believe it. Amanda from Our Lot in Life and MSL both nominated me. I was shocked. I don't really consider myself a thought provoking person, but am very honored to have been nominated. Twice.

I love bloggging. It's very fun for me. It's also something I didn't really think I'd enjoy doing as much as I do. Because of reading other blogs I've thought about different subjects that I don't know if I would have before.

The rules:
1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

So, I nominate:
1. Lei from My Many Colored Days. I love her new Woman to Woman installments that she does. They are very thought provoking subjects.
2.Gabriela from Living la Vida Loca. She makes me think and wonder what it would be like to live in a different country, and to have a muchacha.
3.Flip Flop Mama, who makes me think, "Man I wish I were as cute as her." She has a very fun blog to read.
4.Tori from My Life. . Just Pretend Your Interested. She is so fun. She always has the funnest stories and is willing to try new things. She makes me laugh and makes me think how I can be a fun mom like her.
5.My sister Anna makes me think I wish I lived closer to her so we could hang out more.

Hot Chocolate Table

Yesterday we were cleaning up and I asked J to go put a magazine on the coffee table. S quickly turned around and asked me if I remembered that we didn't call it a coffee table because we don't drink coffee. He then said, "We call it a hot chocolate table!" It was so cute.

Eggs!

Yesterday, my sweet S got into BIG trouble. T brought him in the house to tell us what he found him doing. Apparently S and two of his neighbor friends had been going over to another neighbors' house and making big mischeif. They went into some shed and stole eggs and then went into the garage and threw the eggs all over the place. They even egged his truck. I thought kids didn't egg things until at least high school. I was mortified. I felt so bad for this man. He is the sweetest old man and was so sad that the boys had done that. We all made the boys go over there and clean egg shells up, apologize, promise to never do it again. Then, we had to go to the store to buy new eggs. Between the 2 days, I think they threw a total of 5 or 6 dozen eggs. What goes through their little brains to tell them to go do something like that? I don't know. I think it's in their nature. I could never see little girls doing this. Boys are just different, they get into trouble. Girls whine. I don't know which is worse, but right now I'm thinking the trouble is.

When we asked S if he did that he said he did it the first day but not the second. I think he thought that since he didn't do it twice he wouldn't be in trouble. But, he was wrong. He is now grounded from friends for a week, from the t.v. for 3 days, and he has lots of chores to do to pay for the eggs we had to replace. I really hope he feels sorry for what he has done, and that he will have learned a good lesson.

While S was telling us what they had done, DH had to do his best to keep from laughing. Later that evening he told me that it sounded just like something him and his brother had done when they were little. Apparently they snuck into someones' trailer and found sugar. They then thought it would be fun to dump the sugar all over the trailer. So, they did and they also got busted. I blame all of this on DH. It's all his fault. I was a good little girl growing up, I don't deserve this, right?

Happy Sumo

MSL came for a visit. I love it when we get to spend time together, although I wish she could have been able to be here a little bit longer. D cut her hair and it is so cute. We wanted to go out to dinner without the kids so that we could have some uninterupted conversation. Our original plan was to go to Tucano's, which is a brazillian barbeque and which is so yummy. But, the wait was 2 hours, and I had called babysitters on a last minute type of thing and I didn't want to be too long. So, we decided on Happy Sumo instead. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. D and I both ordered sushi and it was delicious. We had fish eggs, which were surprisingly tasty. DH, MSL, and Greg all got a chicken dish. The serving sizes were huge and we all left completely stuffed.

They came over for dinner on Sunday and so did my brother Michael, and sister Andrea. It's always a lot of fun to spend time together. We got to watch our favorite show, The Amazing Race together! I want the blondes to win, DH does not. Only 2 more episodes! I was sad to see L leave, but glad for the time we had together. Hopefully we'll be able to spend some time in Texas together this summer.

Living Planet Aquarium

We took the kids to the Living Planet Aquarium during Spring Break. They had a lot of fun, but we were a little bit disappointed. I thought the aquarium was going to be much larger than what it actually was. Apparently this is only a preview exhibit of what is to come. However, the billboards and the website are a little deceiving. It comes across as a huge, wonderful, must-see place. It is very interesting and the kids had a great time, but for the price we paid it needs to be much larger. I'm very excited to see the actual aquarium when it is completed.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much, because the kids really did enjoy themselves. They loved touching the sting rays. They also got to touch a sea cucumber, starfish, and some other marine life. I thought the octopus was very interesting and disgusting for that matter. J and S liked Nemo and Dory. I'm glad they enjoyed the time we spent there.

Sleeping Beauties

M borrowed some pajamas from a friend and they came with a little eye mask. They played around with it, but I never thought they would actually sleep with it on. When I went to tuck the girls in, I found them together and J had the mask on. It was so cute. I started cracking up and of course had to go get my camera! What little sleeping beauties!

Fire

Last week, I almost caught my house on fire. It was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. One of the babies I watch drinks breastmilk so I have to heat the bottle up on the stove. I've done this about a hundred times and have never had any problems. I had put the bottle on because a friend called to see if I wanted to go to lunch and I wanted to make sure I had warm milk to take with me. After I put the bottle on, my sister called and we started talking. Then, I heard my friend honk her horn, so I grabbed the baby, a bottle, the diaperbag, my purse, got J and we headed out the door. After lunch we were going to go let the kids play at another friends' house but then I got a text from my little sis who needed to come over and use the computer. So, I told them I'd have to pass on the playing and needed to go home.

When I went to unlock the door, I heard the smoke detectors going off. My heart started to race and I felt sick to my stomach. When I opened the door, all I saw was smoke. My entire house was filled with smoke. I could barely see in. Then, being the smart and logical person that I am, I decided I better go in and see what is on fire. When I got to the kitchen I found the pot on the stove, with the stove on, and what was supposed to be a bottle. I had left it on the stove, and grabbed a different bottle instead. There were flames all the way up to the cupboards. I grabbed it off the stove, threw it in the sink with the water, turned the stove off, and opened a couple of windows, and then got the heck out of there.

I came out of the house coughing and gasping for air, just like you see people do in the movies. It was awful. My lungs hurt so bad. After a couple more minutes I went back in to open more windows and turn fans on. It was still smokey and the smell was horrible. I knew we wouldn't be able to go back in there for a while. Once the alarms went off I left to go get some air freshener. I used almost a whole bottle and it didn't do anything. I felt so dumb. I couldn't believe I left that on the stove. Now I'm paranoid to leave the house.

We hung out at a friends' house until about 10:30 that night and then went back to the house to assess the damages. Went we got there I couldn't believe what I saw. There was no damage. No damage. I don't know how that was possible. There were no black marks on the walls, the stove didn't need to be replaced, the microwave was fine, the cupboards were fine. The only thing that got ruined was the pot and the bottle, and there was that yucky smell.

I know we were being watched over and protected. If my sister hadn't texted me, there would have been a major fire in my house. While the whole experience was completely terrifying and awful, I feel so blessed that nothing serious happened. And that we were able to stay in our house that night and continue on with our life as normal.

Happy Birthday Greg!

Last night I called my neice's husband to wish him Happy Birthday. He said thank-you and then told me what he got and then ended with, "but I didn't make it on the Just the Six of Us blog." Then I felt really bad. So, here is a Happy Birthday post to Greg.

When I first met Greg I liked him right away. He is a very nice person and I'm so glad he was worthy to take my neice to the temple to be married for time and all eternity. They seem to be very happy. I feel bad because whenever they come over my kids seem to attack him. He is so nice and just lets them and doesn't even get mad. I'm very glad that he is in our family and I look forward to getting to know him better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG!!

Happy Birthday, Dear Sister!

Today is my oldest sisters' (Too Many to Count) birthday. She is 10 years older than me, and I never thought we would be as close as we are. She is one of my best friends. I can't even begin to explain how dear to my heart she is. We have such an amazing relationship, and I would never trade it for the world. We always have such a wonderful time together. I only wish we could live closer. Everyone always tells us that they can tell when we are on the phone together because our voices change. I think they're crazy. When DH and I were first married he was surprised at how much we talked. We probably call eachother at least 3-4 times a day. What do we talk about? Anything and everthing. I know when her kids go to the dentist, have a soccer, Youth Conference, have an activity at school, did something funny, ran around naked, or anything else. I love knowing about her life and everything that goes along with it.

I remember growing up thinking how cool she was and how much I wanted to be like her. I used to ask her if I could sleep with her all the time. She would tell me that I could, but that I would have to sleep at the very top of the bed, in the corner, and that I would have to be SOOOO careful because at night she turns into an ostrich and kicks and screams, and spits. You can tell she really wanted me in there with her. Regardless of all that, I do remember sleeping with her on rare occasions.

For some reason her and my oldest brother thought it was funny to lock the younger siblings in the bathroom with the lights off and scare us. I was scared of the queen. Then, they'd open the door laughing. How rude.

One time she fell at school during a track meet and came home with her knee all disgusting and cut up. She wanted me to kiss it to make it feel better. I of course did not want to. She then MADE me do it, all the while laughing. I guess I was a good source of entertainment for her. And, to think after all the torture she put me through I still love her.

Now, I do also remember good things about her too. Everyone Halloween we would decorate our hallway to look like a cemetary. She would have us all make graves and decorate. She always made the moon with a witch flying through it. We made ghosts and hung them from the ceiling. We had a cat with yellow eyes. It was so much fun. I'm sure she didn't know this, but I looked forward to that activity with her every year.

She woke me up early one morning to take me horseback riding. I remember feeling so lucky and special. She gathered all the kids together so that we could make breakfast in bed for mom and dad. We camped together, laughed together, and shared together. She helped me learn how to drive. She helped me with English papers. We worked together on my Young Woman in Excellence award. She took me out before I got married and had a "sex" talk with me, just to make sure I would be prepared. She taught me by example how to be a good wife and mother. She's been the most amazing friend a person could ask for. When I grow up, I want to be just like her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER!!!

What Kind of Food Are You?

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Blog Off

I'm sitting here blogging, and my sweet little J came up to me and asked if she could play a game on the computer. I told her yes but in just a minute. She then looked at me and said, "Blog off, Mom!" I started cracking up. She is such a cutie and always makes me smile.

Yesterday I was still not feeling very well and had just put the 2 little boys I watch down for a nap, so I decided to lay down. J asked if she could watch T.V. while I rested. I said yes, so, she did. I started coughing and asked her to get me a drink of water. She hopped right up and brought me one, and then said, "Mom, if you need anything else, just ask." It was so precious!

Happy Blogiversary!

Today I've been blogging for 1 year! I can't believe it's already been that long. I first started blogging as a way for my family to see pictures of my kids and as a way to keep a journal. As time went on, I started to read other blogs and met some OLF. It's been quite a fun experience. I look forward to more blogging fun!

Secret Embrace

For some reason my friend and I got on the subject of bras. She asked if I had ever been fitted. I had but it's been a LONG time and I know I was wearing the wrong size. She told me she wanted to buy me a new bra for my birthday. I willingly accepted. We went to Victoria Secret and I tried on their secret embrace bra. It was comfy, but I couldn't tell a major difference so I told her that maybe I didn't need it. I felt a little guilty because it was quite spendy for a bra. She insisted that I get it. Now, I LOVE it! After wearing it all day, I can really feel the difference and it is way more comfortable than any I've ever worn. And, it makes me a little less saggy. Who knew I would get this excited over a new bra?

Easter Egg Hunt Disaster

We went to the city hunt on Saturday morning and it turned out to be a complete mess. There were hundreds of kids all over the place. The fields were seperated into age groups and each person was only supposed to get 4 eggs. The parents were to stay on the sidelines and let the kids get their eggs by themself. When the bell sounded the kids and parents rushed out onto the fields. J got scared because of all the chaos. After a minute I finally went out to help her. She got one and almost a few more, but when she would bend down to pick one up, a PARENT would snatch it away from her. A PARENT, NOT A KID. I couldn't believe it. There were some kids who had 10-15 eggs in their basket and some like mine who had 1. T got 0, M got 1, J got 1, and somehow S actually got his limit of 4. It was upsetting to see these parents getting so aggressive with other kids. An event that is supposed to be fun for the kids ended up the complete opposite. We decided not ever to go again.

Grandma's Spa

For Valentine's Day we gave Grandma D. a homemade coupon book. Each of us put in a coupon for something we would do for her. M put that she wanted to paint her toenails, and J wanted to paint her fingernails. She came over for her spa day, and the girls had so much fun!

Easter Sunday

Grandma D., Aunt Ange, and her friend Becca came over for dinner. We had a very yummy dinner and had a ton of left overs. Now I have meals for this next week! I made this fun Easter basket cake for dessert.



After dinner, Ange and Becca went downstairs to hide eggs for the kids. They had fun hunting all over the living room. We couldn't do it outside because it was all wet from the rain.

Church was very nice. We watched a very nice video in our Gospel Principles class. It told about the life of Jesus and the many miracles he performed. It amazes me how people who saw him and lived amongst him, helped crucify him. How does that happen? I can't even imagine what it would've been like to live in those days. We want to find out the name of that video so we can watch it for Family Home Evening one night. I think the kids would really enjoy it and I know they will learn many wonderful things about our Savior.

All in all it turned out to be a very enjoyable Easter!

Egg Coloring

Saturday afternoon Grandma D. came over and colored eggs with us. The kids loved it. J's hands were all brown by the time we got done. They got finished with all the eggs pretty fast, so we ended boiling a bunch more. Now, we are going to have colorful easter eggs for a long time.

Black Eye

The other day we went to the park to play catch. T was playing with his dad and another dad that came with us. He was keeping up with them pretty well, but one ball came a little too fast and hit him right in the eye. He had a big bump there and it started to bruise right away, but he was so brave. He didn't even cry and wanted to go and play some more after a little while.

Root Beer Floats

DH had the day off which is always so much fun. We got a lot of little things done and then enjoyed the evening with a yummy bbq. After dinner we all went ouside and had root beer floats and played games.

Blood Clot?

On Friday my left leg started to really hurt in the calf area. I thought nothing of it. Then, on Monday when it was still hurting I started to get a little bit worried, because I couldn't remember doing anything to it. I called a sister in the ward who is a nurse and she told me I probably should go to the doctor to have it checked out. When I got to the appt. the doctor told me to go straight to the hospital to have an ultrasound done because it could possibly be a blood clot. I had called my MIL and she made us dinner and watched the kids while I went to the doctor, when I called her to tell her I had to go to the hospital she wanted to come with me. At first I said that she didn't have to, but in the end I was glad she was there. We took the kids over to their aunt's house and headed for the hospital. We were there for about 2 hours, it always seems to take forever to get anything done there. The ultrasound took about 30 minutes because they had to do the entire leg. Luckily nothing was wrong. I always hate going when it ends up being nothing, but I guess it was better to know. Now I get ANOTHER bill I have to pay, aaaahhhh!

Early Morning Scare

Last night DH and I went to bed very exhausted. Our four darlings were snuggled sound asleep in their beds, we were snuggled sound asleep in our bed. We awoke to the sound that no one wants to wake up to. Our fire alarms started going off. I've never seen DH get out of bed as fast as he did. We both hopped up and headed for the kids rooms to go get them, but then the alarms stopped. We checked every room in the house, the basement, the garage, and the outside. Nothing. We checked to make sure all the kids were okay, they were. My heart was racing so fast, I was scared to death. Then they went off again. They don't have batteries, so we knew it wasn't that. Then we thought maybe it was the carbon monoxide detector, it wasn't. I still don't know what it was, all I know that is that I was scared. It took me at least an hour to get back to sleep. I am SO grateful that nothing happened.

4:00 a.m.

The other day T asked me if I would make cini mini's.
They are so so yummy. At 4:00 this morning I heard some banging around in the kitchen and then J came in and said, "Mom, I wanted a cinnamon roll and they are all gone." She wasn't very happy they were gone. I guess she was hungry.