Happy List

I've come to the realization that this has become my complaint forum. That is so not why I started blogging. Well, maybe a little. ...but I should give the good stuff equal floor time. I am short on time, so I will only post 5 things I am happy for, and then I'll go to bed.


1. I am so lucky and grateful to have a fabulous husband. He does dishes, he makes Joshua lunch in the morning, he watched the kids for a week while sending me on a cruise, he makes me feel beautiful and perfect and never notices my muffin-top, he makes sure I have time to get away by myself, and he knows me (every neurotic flaw I have) and he loves me still!


2. I have 4 happy healthy children who make me laugh. Today Callie said she needed 5 "dwesses" for her "birsday". She needed one for Amy and one for "Dzack". I said, "Jack needs a dress?" and she said "Dzack wiw wook so cute!" Later, Marian asked how soap killed germs. I said it probably squashed them. She said "And punches them and pokes them in the eye?" Yep, I chuckled.


3. I can eat chocolate eggs from Easter and go running. I may need to run more to keep up with the increase, but I have a healthy body that allows me to run, and bike and swim and to play with my children!


4. I have the most wonderful family. I have great in-laws and people who I love and who love me. It humbles me to have so many people in my life who mean something to me, and who actually like me.


5. I have an eternal family. I will get to be with the people I love most for eternity! I have the Gospel in my life and the joy and comfort it brings. Bryn is so good about putting her testimony into everything, but I am not. I guess I assume that I know it, so everyone does. Well, I do know it! And I am so grateful to have a testimony and all the blessings it brings. Yes, life is good!





And now, a token picture:

Delaney is obsessed with the phone and climbed up to get it. Her sisters had a very good time with stickers, as you can see. Never a dull moment around here!

And now.... I Rant!

I have been thinking lately that I need to upgrade my wardrobe. This is tough for me for many reasons. I hate to spend money, I hate to shop with kids, I hate feeling unattractive, I hate trying to coordinate..... the list goes on. I finally went out tonight. In my post-nursing phase of life, I have come to the point where I seriously needed new bras. (That's what I was trying to shop for a week and a half ago when I lost Callie at the Exchange)

So I tucked kids in bed tonight and headed to Walmart, since I had already discovereed that the MCX selection stinks. I love that Walmart is so close! Have I mentioned how glad I am they built one in town? But I digress..... I had a wonderful time shopping for non-clothing items and finally realized I needed to stop wasting time. I found several shirts that caught my fancy and it was off to try them on.

Here is one of my problems.... I have a belly. Yes, I try to disguise it, but all my fat settles there. My legs, I am happy with. My feet are fine. I don't see my bottom, so it is fine too. My arms are good- they haul kids around, so they do get worked out. Every other part of my body I am okay with, but I have a fat belly. Now, I've said it. I can sigh with relief because you are either still my friend, or you've run screaming at the thought of my muffin top.

The delimma with this unattractive cellulite distribution is how to find clothes that do not make me look as fat as I feel. If I wear a Large, its too tight in the wrong places. I saw several really cute XL shirts, but they were too big. Why is there no size for me? I am not small enough to wear a lovely stretchy shirt- even in a L. Now that I am no longer lactating, my chest is not large enough to compensate for my tummy. I do not want my bulges hanging out for all to see. I just want a shirt that fits me and hides my fat. Why is that so much to ask?

Oh, perhaps I should look somewhere other than Walmart, you say? Sure, and when am I going to have time for that?! Time when I am childless and able? Hmmmm, on the plus side, I was successful in finding 2, yes, 2 acceptable bras. Thus, I call the evening a success.

I've been Tagged!

This certainly is a new one. Here goes....
This is what you do:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog.5.
Tag 5 people.

Okay, the closest book was "God Wants a Powerful People" by Sheri Dew. I am so excited that it was sitting on the computer desk, because I think Captain Underpants would have been the next closest! And this way you all think I am super-spiritual and all that. I'll try to perpetuate the myth! A Thank you to my Mother in Law who gave me this fabulous book! Anyway, page 123, 5th sentence is:

"After reading that familar passage in James, Joseph realized he must "either remain in darkness and confusion, or else... do as James directs, that is, ask of God" (JS 1:13), which he did, with life changing, even dispensation-inaugurating results."

Whew! Talk about a lengthy sentence! And she uses commas like I like to! That makes me happy. And I refuse to force this on 5 perole and I'm only going to tag 3. So I tag Cammie, Wendy, Brynn. Have fun. I am going to fatten myself on leftover chocolate eggs and wonder why my pants are tighter.

Josh's Joke & Having Company

Here is Joshua's Joke:
Why did the Ostrich stand on one leg?
If he stood on the other, he'd fall down.

Yeah, I thought Marian's was funnier too. But he wanted me to share it with you.

And today Dan had invited the new guy from work for lunch. See, he's going to be Dan's replacement, and he's moving in almost accross the street. He's got a wife and a kid the same age as Delaney, so Dan invited them for lunch. He wanted to BBQ burgers (and then he said he wanted to grill steak and chicken as well. I said, buy it yourself). I felt like I needed to represent well. So we had corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad and cantelope as well. Waaay too much food for so few adults who would eat it and 5 children who would not. It was tasty food, but much of it now fills the fridge.

As I type this very moment, Delaney is helping herself to the last piece of Sweet Potato Pie. I didn't make it; our company did and it was yummy. Delaney has now eaten the entire last slice, by herself. Our new friends were very nice and it was a pleasant lunch. I somehow always feel so frumpy around women with fewer children and much nicer clothes. Sigh. Someday when no one is going to grab me with grubby sweet-potato-pie smeared hands I too will invest in attractive clothing. Or maybe I'll be beyond caring by then, as I am now!

My main thing was cleaning up the house. Usually our company is the missionaries, or people I know well, so I'm not so motivated to try to impress. Hey, I've got 4 rowdy kids, a terminally comfortable wardrobe, and a permantly tired look. I feel the compulsive need to try to impress! When missionaries come over, I hope they are only there for the food and don't spend as much time on the house. Today I wanted it to look like I put housekeeping as a priority. I don't. I will allow that containing the mess and keeping a clear pathway is a priority, but spotless shine- not. However, today I wanted it to appear that I keep a spotless house. I feel it was a reasonable job, as long as no one looked behind the couch or on the shelves.

I keep telling myself that once we move I will do a better job maintaining, but will I? When the choices are cleaning the bathroom or vaccuuming, I expect I'll vaccuum, since that's something you see right away. And if sitting down reading Confessions of a Pioneer Woman is an option, the vaccuuming and bathrooms are going to have to wait.

The Fossil Museum

Today we were going to have PlayGroup at the park. It rained though. Its been drizzling most of the week. I even got to run in it this morning. Die-hard, that's me. But my running prowness is not the point of this. What we did today is! We didn't go to the park; it was raining! We packed a lunch and drove forever and rode the ferry and went to the Aroura Fossil Museum. I know, you are on the edge of your seat, wondering, was it worth the trip?!

I will tell you that it is 10 miles shorter to take the ferry. Plus, you get to ride the Ferry! The kids loved it. It was raining, so they didn't realize they could, conceivably get out. Thus they were content to rock with the boat and enjoy watching the ugly, gray water with its frothy waves and whitecaps.

Oh yeah, back to the Museum. If you love shark teeth, its the place to be. If you love hunting for shark teeth, its the place to be. The museum itself is tiny, but it has some fun stuff in the gift shop. It has lots of shark teeth and some nifty fossils, and a short video, but I don't know what the video was about. We had to leave 3 minutes into it. 4 kids in 4 directions, all making noise....

The kids LOVED the fossil dig. I did buy them buckets, but we could have brought our own. They had a good time digging in the dirt, and we found a lot of shark teeth in varying sizes. We probably would have stayed longer, but Marian wore shorts and it was a very windy 45 degrees out! I'm not a bad mom, I'm a mom who lets her daughter make her own choices and learn her own consequences!


So, here are the photos of our grand adventure:


Callie refused to join the other kids for a group shot. She is skulking in the corner instead. Note Marian's knobby knees in her summery shorts on this very NOT summery day.

They loved this giant shark mouth. Everyone had to get their picture taken in it. Next time maybe I'll get up there too!

This is why we did not stay for the film. Marian is making shadow puppets and I have no clue what Joshua is doing!!

Here's me and Delaney, curtesy of Joshua. I am collecting shark teeth into Joshua's brand new bucket. And just looking at Delaney in this shot cracks me up every time.