It's My Birthday Too Yeah!

Today is my 34th Birthday. In keeping with the blogging tradition of Farrah, Kristy and Coren (click on their names for their B-Day posts), here are 34 fascinating and totally useless facts about yours truly:

1. I have never had a haircut I have liked

2. Aside from the people and the ice cream, the thing I miss most about Texas is the rain

3. Most scented things give me a headache so I use unscented everything

4. I know that there are more than 50 ways to eat a pancake

5. I like my hot food to be hot and my cold food to be cold and my soup to be scalding

6. One of my favorite pass times is throwing things away

7. I could eat Frosted Mini Wheat's for 3 meals a day, everyday

8. I have a thing for music, I sing all the time, and I always have a song stuck in my head

9. My favorite song is Me and Bobby McGee (which I sing to my kids as a bedtime song), my favorite band is The Beatles, my favorite singer/songwriter is Carole King

10. My most favorite place to be in the whole world is in my husbands arms

11. I think old men are cute but they make me sad

12. One of my favorite foods is fried okra

13. Sometimes I shine my kids laser pointer in my neighbors windows

14. I drink water 99.9% of the time and I prefer it at room temperature

15. Cadbury mini-eggs are my favorite candy (please don't confuse them with the big nasty creamy ones, which most people do when I disclose this info. to them)

16. I check on my kids anywhere from 5-10 times a night after I put them in bed

17. I knew my husband for less than a week before I said I would marry him

18. I took Hebrew in high school for 2 years

19. I can't stand it when people put the toilet paper roll on backwards and if I am at your house and find it that way, I will correct it

20. I throw my kids school work and art projects in the trash as soon as I look at them

21. I love cemeteries and sometimes when I am alone I stop and walk around in them

22. I have always wanted to be a funeral director

23. I know all the words to the full version of American Pie by Don McLean, and that my friends is a long song

24. It freaks me out when people leave the lid off the milk when it is at the dinner table

25. I have this belief that everything is dishwasher safe and if I find out that it actually isn't, that's OK, I didn't want it anyway

26. The last movie I watched without falling asleep - ?????

27. I can make up a song about anything at the spur of the moment

28. I love American Idol in a very serious and sometimes scary way

29. I love musicals and my favorite is Fiddler On The Roof

30. I can quote the entire movie Dirty Dancing and I can do the dance at the end (well, I like to believe I can, if you saw me try you might have a different opinion)(which will never happen so don't even ask)

31. My favorite movie is The Big Chill

32. I would love to run The Amazing Race with my husband and I think we could win

33. I can't watch anything remotely scary and if a scary commercial comes on TV I must change the channel

34. Steve and I never fight

Monday Morning Musings - Hello Clarice

Current Song Stuck In My Head:

If you put rubber bands on your face like this:

You will smell and taste rubber bands for the rest of the night. I don't recommend it.

Does anyone else find it odd that this was my lunch yesterday and today and I was excited about it on both occasions?

You don't? Well then, clickity,click, click here.

Like A Bowl Full Of Jelly

The NIght The Lights Went Out In Georgia

OK, so I don't live in Georgia. And the lights actually went out in the day time. But this song has been going through my head all day long. It has been snowing since yesterday evening and it pretty much hasn't stopped. We have had a few brief pauses today, but not many. And it is coming down again as we speak. Or as I type and you read. This morning the power went out around 9 AM and didn't come on until 1 PM. So, what did we do to stay entertained while the lights were out????

• I showered by candlelight.

• The kids put on their snow suits, gloves, hats, coats, and snow boots and went outside for 2 minutes. Came back inside and took off their snow boots, coats, hats, gloves and snow suits.

• We repeated the above sequence several times until I said they could NOT go outside again.

• We had to smell our stinky gas fireplace that is in the basement. It still stinks in here. But I am VERY grateful we have it. It came in handy.

• We drove remote control cars in the house and chased the baby with them.

• We took great delight in knowing that our outside Christmas lights were actually off for the first time in 3 days and we didn't have to put forth any effort to make them that way.

• The girls got 500 games out and made a big fun to clean up mess.

• I added "can opener" to my grocery list. The electric one just wasn't doing the job.

• Steve, Keven (our juvenile delinquent neighbor) and I had push up contests. Steve won by a long shot. I tied with Keven.

Nut-Rageous

Ahhhh....It just wouldn't be Christmas without seeing the Nutcracker every day for a week. Well, OK. I'm exaggerating. A little. Emily and Aubrey take dance from Miss Margene, who we LOVE. This year was her 20th year to put on the Nutcracker. This was Emily's 3rd year to be in the Nutcracker and Aubrey's 2nd. They had practice Monday and Tuesday night and performances Wednesday and Thursday. And they do the whole show, no condensing. All 3+ hours. But it truly is magical to see. It is very well done and the costumes are beautiful. And so are the 2 dancers shown above. A special thanks goes out to my dear mother who took the girls to one practice and one performance so I didn't have to be there all 4 nights. We love the Nutcracker, but I am so thankful it has come and now it has gone. The girls did a wonderful job. They are such good little dancers. And they loved every minute of it.

Flashback Friday - Oh, Oh, Oh, It's Magic

Sorry Kristy

Allyson, Steve, Dustin (I spit in your general direction), Kristy, Farrah

Our server, Fred, and Kristy

I had a hard time finding a picture for Flashback Friday today. I looked and looked and nothing excited me. Then I came across these. I was thinking about this just the other day, so I chose this as my Flashback. It was December 1996. Steve and I were in Dallas for Christmas, Farrah was home from BYU for Christmas. We all went to the Magic Time Machine to eat. We had a good time dining on our "Roman Orgy". That's really what it was called. Don't believe me? Click on it and see.

Man Boobs, Britney Spears, and Nuts...They've All Got Me Thinking

My children are growing up. They have all gone up a size in clothes and shoes recently. But it is more than that. They are GROWING UP. They are not little kids anymore. Zac is so close to being a teenager, it freaks me out. And Emily might as well be a teenager by the way she acts sometimes. It is taking some getting used to. Like the other day when Zac and his friends were playing in the front yard and I heard one of them say, "Ouch! He hit me in the _____." I don't even want to say it because it sounds so vulgar to me. I don't talk that way, Steve doesn't talk that way, I don't want my kids to talk that way. At first I started to go into freakout mode, not an uncommon thing for me. Then I took a deep breath and calmed down. I thought to myself, "You know, he isn't a little baby anymore. I am sure he hears that all the time at school." It is hard for me because I have tried to protect my children from the influences of the world going on 11 years now. There is so much yucky in the world. But they are getting to the age where they are going to be going out into the world and I just have to have faith that I have done a good job in raising them and teaching them. I hope I have prepared them enough so that they can go into the world and make good choices and decisions without having me looking over their shoulders all the time. It makes me very grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ which plays such a prevalent part in my life and the lives of my children. I can't imagine life without it. I can't imagine what kind of mother and person I would be without it. I can't imagine how I would teach my children without it.

Wow. That got deeper than I planned. On a lighter note.....

Yesterday Zac brought home a book order flier and he showed the girls a book he thought they might like. It was entitled, "Oops, I Did It Again". So naturally I break into song, right? The thing that shocked the heck out of me was that Zac and Emily broke into song too. Right after I sang the first line, "Oops, I did it again", they finished it by singing, "I played with your heart, got lost in the game, oh baby baby". My jaw dropped open and I said, "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT SONG???" Apparently it is on some computer game they play. Interesting. So you see what I mean? They are growing up and I am just going to have to get used to it.

Speaking of growing up, here is Emily's Christmas list she gave me (just in case any of you need to know what to get her):

i-pod

cat or bird

flat screen tv

candy

new clothes

new cell phone

Seven Things - I Know Y'all Have Been On The Edge Of Your Seats Waiting

Ok. I was tagged forever ago by 2 of my cousins to do this and I am finally getting around to it. Here is goes.

I was tagged for the Seven Things Meme by Kim and Candi.

The rules are:

-Share seven random facts about yourself, in your blog.

-Include these rules.

-Link back to the person who tagged you.

-Tag seven more people and list their names & blogs. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged.

I decided to share seven facts about my life right now at this very minute.

1. I have had a headache for 2 days now and it is really annoying.

2. I have little tiny holes in all my shirts where I carry Addison in her car seat and it rubs up against me. I have been trying to be careful lately but I just noticed that my new and most fa-vor-ite shirt I am wearing now sports my signature hole.

3. I haven't eaten lunch yet and I am starving. When they say Snickers really satisfies, they don't mean the mini size.

4. I have about 500 things I should be doing right now and none of them involve this here computer.

6. I just put the girls down for a nap and I don't think either one of them will actually be going to sleep any time soon. Too bad so sad. They are staying in bed.

7. I recorded ER last Thursday, started watching it Friday, and am not even 1/2 way through. I am about to go make myself a bowl of soup and finish it right now. So see ya, wouldn't want ta be ya!

I am tagging the following, so listen up!

Coren - You've already been tagged, I am just trying to get you to move along and do it.

Dianna

Marissa

Heather

Lauren

Diana - You don't have a blog but I think it is about time you did.

And everyone else I know has already been tagged so I don't have a #7

Monday Morning Musings

We went to the First Presidency Christmas devotional at the Conference Center last night. My father so graciously shared his tickets and my mother so graciously babysat Aubrey and Addy. It was wonderful except for the guy sitting behind me who talked through the whole thing. Except for the times when he felt it necessary to sing along with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and if he didn't know the song he hummed his own little melody. I wanted to turn around and say, "You know, we all know this song but do you hear any of the rest of us singing it???? NO! There is a reason for that!" Then the guy sitting behind Zac gave him and Emily a pack of smarties. Hello! First of all they were sitting very quietly, it's not like they needed something to keep them quiet and entertained. Second, you are a stranger giving out candy to kids. And third, do you know how loud a smartie wrapper is when 21,000 people are being silent (minus the guy behind me) so they can hear the Prophet? Anyway, it really was a neat experience and I am glad we were able to take Zac and Emily.

Why is it that I hate onions but love onion rings?



I have been freaking out since Thanksgiving because I wasn't ready for Christmas yet. Then last week I realized that it wasn't even December yet.



Steve made fun of me because I want to buy Zac a CD for Christmas and I had to ask my neighbor across the street what kind of music boys his age listen to.



I got a little sad the other day because I realized this is the last time we will spend Christmas in this house. Now that I realized that, everything I do makes me nostalgic. Sniff, sniff.



My sister Kristy made a big announcement today. If you missed it, click here.



I had to explain to my kids this morning what man boobs are. Zac apparently heard someone talking about it and he was so using it in the wrong context.



You know how I always complain about not having spell check on the comment page? I discovered a quick easy way to spell check. I just type the word in my Google tool box like I am doing a search and it gives me a handy little drop down of words. Nifty.



Emily and Zac were fighting this morning and Zac hit her leg with his backpack. Oh my. I was in my room and from the sound that was coming out of her mouth I was sure we were going to have to make an early morning visit to the hospital. She was hysterical and screaming and crying saying she couldn't go to school. I calmed her down and put her in bed to rest before school (there was no way I was letting her stay home, especially if she was going to keep screaming like that) then I went to check Zac's backpack to see what he had in there. He is always carrying his encyclopedias around so I was sure he had 3 or 4 in there or his big huge marble that is bigger than my fist and would probably kill an animal or small child if you hit them with it the right way. What was in his backpack that hurt Emily so bad? A very small book and 2 pieces of paper.

Baby It's Cold Outside

I guess it finally decided to be winter. I am thankful for the extended warm weather we have been having. As sad as I am to see the warm weather go, I love how beautiful everything is covered in snow.