Thirty

Lately I've been in a bit of a blogging rut. I'm blaming it all on that I'm turning 30 this year. Today, as a matter of fact. So you want to know a little more about me?

1. I used to wear overalls like there was no tomorrow. I wore them in high school, college, post-college, and even while pregnant with Riley. I had 2 identical pairs. It's quite embarrassing to admit.

2. I always buy my own birthday gift. I'm OK with it and even prefer it. I do not, however, like to buy my own Christmas gift(s).

3. This year I bought myself a pair of designer jeans. When I brought them home and showed them to Ryan, he flipped. He went nuts. He told me to take them back. But I'm not going to, of course. I'm through with skinny, low-rise, ill-fitting jeans. Those are for the twenty-something crowd. UPDATE: OK, so maybe "flipped" and "went nuts" was a bit of an exaggeration. Ryan's a pretty calm guy. What he actually did was "question the economical value" of the jeans.

4. I must renege on a few items in my 100 list. It seems that back then, I didn't text, wear high heels, or get pedicures. I do all of those things now.

5. C-sections are a piece of cake for me. I've had 3 and getting my wisdom teeth out was 100 times worse.

6. I'm militant about washing my face and brushing my teeth before going to bed.

7. My sister and I are 16 months apart and did everything together growing up. I loved my childhood and loved being so close in age to my sister. I hope Marissa and Sophie are always best friends.

8. If I could relive any time in my life it would be college. I loved the 4 1/2 years I spent at BYU.

9. I paid big bucks for a spray-on tan this summer. So not worth the money.

10. My blood pressure starts to rise when I think about dinner. It's not so much the mess it leaves as it is the planning, shopping, and execution.

11. Which is why if I didn't have kids I would live on eggs, toast, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Ryan would make do with cereal and Taco Bell.

12. My mom made Easter dresses for my sister and me for several years. Learning to sew is on my to do list.

My favorite Easter dress.

13. I regret giving up tap and ballet and can't wait for my girls to dance.

14. I played softball for 6 years and made All-stars twice, but I stopped playing when I didn't make the high school team.

15. Food storage and emergency preparedness haunt me. My dream is a huge pantry with an inventory list taped to the wall.

16. I mowed the lawn for the first time this summer and actually enjoyed it. I like to capture that sweaty, gritty feeling occasionally.

17. Sleep is a necessary evil. I hate that I have to sleep when I could be reading a good book, watching Netflix, or cleaning my house.

18. I always go to bed way too late when Ryan's out of town and never sleep very well.

19. My short-term memory is great. I can remember appointments, game times, and grocery lists without writing them down. Now my long-term memory...not so great.

20. I came in 2nd place in the 3rd grade spelling bee because I forgot to add a "t" to the word "glisten." Or was it "listen"?

21. I've never liked my silhouette.

22. I giggle when I hear people curse. I can't help it.

23. The only store-bought cookies that are acceptable are Oreos.

24. I dislike Walmart but feel it's my duty to shop there because they have the lowest prices.

25. I don't coupon. At all.

26. I hate being tickled.

27. See these adorable kids?

I don't want to see a single adorable face past 8:00 pm. Make that 7:30 for the one in the middle. That said, I don't mind them waking up early in the morning.

28. All I own are T-shirts in a variety of colors. Short sleeves in the summer and long sleeves in the winter. I think I'm an excellent candidate for TLC's What Not to Wear.

29. It annoys me when people use too many exclamation points in their writing.

30. I may never forgive my mom for my first-grade appearance: a ridiculously short hair cut followed by a perm.

Now on to the next 3o years!

Three Years Old

Marissa turned 3 on August 11. She's paci-free, potty trained, and sleeping in a big girl bed. Here's a few more things I want to remember about her.

1. She loves Sophie. Anytime Sophie cries she starts singing, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to help her calm down.

2. She loves to tell and listen to ghost stories. Lately her ghost's name is Poodie (???) and he is always a very spooky ghost.

3. I love her skin color, hair color, and the way her curls bounce when she walks. I don't love how it's always a mess; she hates anything in her hair except a clip.

4. Sometimes I can get her to eat a carrot if it's dipped in Ranch dressing. This summer she ate some broccoli for the first time ever (thanks, Andrew!). Mostly she's still picky as ever.

5. She changes her clothes at least 4 or 5 times a day. I'm not exaggerating one bit. The things she chooses seldom match and are usually inside out.

6. Dora and Clifford are still her favorite books and movies. I think she has all the Clifford books memorized (I do, at least.)

7. I could tickle her back and arms all day and it still wouldn't be enough.

8. Ryan and I didn't decide on her name until after she was born. It was between Marissa and Abby.

9. She still says, "Hold you" when she wants me to hold her. One day she'll figure out it's the wrong pronoun.

10. When I asked her recently if she wanted to learn to write her name in preschool this year, she answered, "No. Don't ask me again." Sheesh. I never said the girl doesn't have spunk.

We love you Sissy!

The Secret's Out

I'm an excellent secret keeper and think you are too. Here are a few I have been dying to share, but please don't tell!

1. We finally got new furniture and although I love it, a part of me misses the old dumpy ones. I wouldn't bat an eye if a certain potty-trainee peed on this couch,

She went to a good home (sniff)

But I'd be a little more miffed about this one.

It needs some throw pillows.

2. I wish I were Veronica Mars.

Veronica is a high school student/private investigator who is trying to solve her best friend's murder. I love who-done-it detective stories and teenage dramas, so when the 2 are combined, I stay up watching all night. In a way I'm glad I didn't know about the show until recently because I doubt I could wait an entire season to solve the mystery. I love Netflix.

3. This past Easter I ate entire bag of mini cadbury eggs in one day and then hid the evidence. I may as well also admit that I did the same thing with a bag of candy corn last October.

Yum!

4. Our swing set is the $99 Walmart special and every day we play out there I secretly hope it breaks so we can get a nice one. Copy that for our bedroom furniture.


5. I've finally started to call a binki a paci. That's what everyone calls them here in the South, but the real reason I switched is that paci is much easier to say than binki. Say both out loud and you'll see what I mean. I'm lazy, OK?

6. I really want to go blond for the summer but I'm not sure if I have the guts (or the money).

7. When I was a sophomore I cheated on a geometry test and still feel guilty about it. I haven't cheated since and I still hate geometry.

What secrets are you dying to share?

Now, if I don't put a few pics and some info about the kids my sister will call and haggle me, so here is little recap.

Riley: Broke his collar bone a few weeks ago when he crashed on his bike. He also saw his first theater movie, Monsters and Aliens, and started biting his nails and toenails. Yuck.

Marissa: Is completely over her paci and is sleeping in a big girl bed. Next up: potty training.

She insisted on the helmet.

Isn't her bed cute? Now I just have to paint the walls.

Sophie: Has turned into a little blondie with curly hair. She started walking on her birthday (April 4) and can say dada and mama. She loves her paci and so do I!

Breakin' Up Is Hard To Do

There was once a little girl who loved her binki very, very, VERY much.

Her mommy loved it too because she could give the binki to the little girl any time and like magic the little girl would stop whining or crying.

Then one day the mommy took the little girl to the big bad dentist, who said, "Get rid of her binki now or pay mucho dinero to fix her teeth later." Well, the mommy had nightmares about this:

Nor did she like the idea of spending this:

So the Binki Fairy came for a visit. The mommy told the little girl the Binki Fairy would take her binkis, give them to other babies, and leave her a treat in their place.

At first the little girl was excited, but when she woke up the next morning and her binkis were gone, she didn't care about the M&Ms or fairy glitter the Binki Fairy had left her. She cried and cried and cried, and for about a week, looked like this all the time:

Her mommy hated it because the little girl didn't sleep as well for naps and bedtime, but she loved it because there were no more frantic searches for a lost binki or return trips home for a forgotten binki.

Update: The little girl no longer cries for her binki. Nevertheless, she does make her mommy sing a special binki song before nap and bedtime. It goes like this, to the tune of Where is Thumbkin?

Where is Binki?

Where is Binki?

It is gone

It is gone

The Binki Fairy took it

To another baby

Bye Bye Binki

Bye Bye Binki

Each time the song is sung the little girl sniffles in her crib (still!). Now, if you were the mommy, what would you do about this 11-month-old binki lover?

My Baby Boy is 4

I'm a horrible mother. Riley turned 4 on January 3 and I'm just now getting around to posting his slideshow. But a month isn't long in the grand scheme of things, right?

My Bruisin' Boy

Born: January 3, 2005, at 1:36 pm in Orem, Utah

Weighed: 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 in. long

Now weighs: 45 lbs. and is 44 in. tall

Favorite phrase of last year: Let me do it mom. It's too tricky for you.

Is a pleaser like me, but is naughty like Ryan. So when he gets in trouble he cries and says, "But mom, I just want you to be happy."

Makes up silly nicknames. Right now I'm Mamarooski.

My baby boy. He's growing up too fast.

Ryan's Redemption

Just for the record, I have not been slacking in reporting my Christmas present from Ryan. I just found out tonight that I get to keep the fabulous one he got me. Here's the Christmas blow by blow.

Christmas Eve Conversation, 3:00 pm

Me: I thought you were coming home early tonight.

Ryan: I am.

4:15 pm

Me: I thought you were coming home early tonight.

Ryan: I am.

5:30-6:00 pm

Me: Where the H are you??????

Ryan: I'm at Walmart. Lay off already.

Ah, so he is getting me a present! Sure, it's from Walmart and yes, it's the 11th hour, but it's still a present!

Riley got up at 4:45 am and wouldn't go back to sleep, so I had plenty of time to contemplate my would-be loot. Here it is:

He stuffed the shirt in my stocking and wrapped the books. All 3 were huge surprises, especially Lonesome Dove, since I was scarcely aware the movie was an adaptation from a book. I found the Barnes and Noble receipt later and saw he paid 17 bucks (!!!!) for it, which I think is outrageous for a paperback published in the 80s, but what I took it to mean was that

a) he spared no expense this Christmas, or

b) he wanted to read it himself and didn't notice the price until it was too late.

And finally what we've all been waiting for:

Redemption! Ghetto blaster be gone! The no present/lame present trend is now broken.

Like I said earlier, I wasn't sure until today that I got to keep my present. Ryan told me after I opened it that the one he wanted to get was out of stock (obviously, on Christmas Eve) and much more expensive, but he had to have something under the tree.

So for a few weeks now we have been waffling about whether to spend the extra money and get the nicer one, keep the one we have, or take it back and wait for the nicer one to drop in price. Well, we are keeping it and I indeed got my fabulous present. Expectations will certainly rise for next year, but for now, baby steps, baby steps.