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.

My Wish List (Ryan, this one's for you)

I deserve a fabulous present this year. Now, lest you think me too greedy, let's review a brief history of the Christmases Ryan and I have shared. I think you'll agree that I deserve a fabulous present this year.

Christmas 2001: This was our first married Christmas and we were dirt poor, so Ryan wanted to forgo presents for each other. I didn't think he was serious so I got him a VHS of the Hunt for Red October for 8 bucks at Walmart. Turns out he was serious and he got me nothing.

Christmas 2002: We spent Christmas in Montana with Ryan's family. We were still dirt poor, but I had just graduated and was banking on finding a job soon. I also didn't want to seem like a cheapskate in front of his family, so I bought him a nice (and expensive) sweater. He got me nada.


Christmas 2003: Yeah, I had a job but we were still poor, so we decided to do the no-present thing again. (For real this time.) On Christmas Eve I found a box with my name on it underneath the tree. Not to be outdone, I ran to the movie theater to purchase Lord of the Rings tickets to put under the tree for him. The next morning I opened my present to find an empty box with the word "Love" written inside. Sweet, yes. But once again, he got me zilch.


Christmas 2004-2006: Second verse, same as the first.


Christmas 2007: I got him a bunch of stocking stuffers and a nice shirt and tie. He got me a 3-hole puncher.



I share these stories not to villainize my darling husband whom I adore, but to merely point out that I deserve a fabulous present this year. Perhaps he just hasn't known what to get me in years past. This year he won't have that excuse.

1. New couches. Here is our current couch that will be used as firewood the second we get a new one.

It was originally my grandma's couch and she let us have it when we got married (which we were very grateful for). But now it's falling apart and very uncomfortable. The back leg is broken off so it tilts a little to the left. It's also quite embarrassing to have people over when the cushions look like this:

I don't mend, so that's not an option.

2. A music solution in our living room so we don't have to lug out this ghetto blaster every time we want to listen to music.

Then we have to place this huge book on the top so the CD player works.






3. A new kitchen floor. Our linoleum is peeling up big time. It looks horrible.



4. New cookware. I saw these at Costco.

I'm sure Bed Bath and Beyond has some nice ones too.

5. New clothes and shoes, although I will have to pick these out myself.


6. A new rug for my laundry room. I'm eyeing one at Kohl's that I will purchase in the after-Christmas sale if Santa doesn't pull through.


7. Professional carpet cleaning. White carpet and 3 kids don't mix, and with Sophie on the verge of crawling, it would be nice to have it cleaned. I've left coupons for this all over the house.



I hope you'll agree that I've made a solid argument for a nice present this year. And with gas practically free these days and our thermostat set at a chilly 68 degrees, we should have plenty of money for everything on my list.

PS. What not to get: jewelry, candy, stuffed teddy bears, or anything from Victoria's Secret.

What We've Been Doing

I blinked once and October was over. I blinked again and now it's mid-November. And since I can't blame my not-blogging on a spotless house or a new hobby, here's what I have been doing:

1. Halloween stuff. Costumes, pumpkins, and the like.

Blimey!

2. Baking. My first (and last) attempt at Thanksgiving rolls.

I was stressed the entire time and they turned out awful.



3. Turning our dining room into Sophie's room. It went from this:



To this:



It's not quite done...



4. Loving on my little Hoggle, who is almost 8 months.






5. Spending time with my darling kids.




6. And finally, fielding zillions of questions a day from my favorite 3 year old.

The questions range from, "Mom, where is ancient history? Can you point it out to me on the map?" (think of the Primary song, Book of Mormon Stories) to "Does Santa wear underpants?"





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Up Next: My wishlist 2008

Who will read this Tag?

I'm not sure why tags have such a bad rap. They're interesting to read and fun to complete. For the lazy blogger, there is no easier post. And after a long day, I feel like being lazy.

A- Age: 28
B - Best Friend: My sister
C - Cake or Pie: Both. I like every kind of cake, but I only like pumpkin or chocolate pie.
D - Drink of Choice: Ice water. Milk if I'm eating brownies.
E - Essential Items: Chapstick, lotion, and a microwave. Oh yes, and pajama pants too. They're pretty sexy, so of course Ryan loves this about me.
F - Favorite TV show at the moment: Lost and Friday Night Lights
G - Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms
H - Hometown: Sandy, Utah
I - Indulgence: Peanut Butter anything
J - January or July: July
K - Kids: 3
L - Life is incomplete without: Family
M - Marriage Date: August 21, 2001
N - Number of Siblings: 3-- 2 brothers and a sister
O - Oranges or Apples: Apples. I like oranges too, but you always gamble on an orange. Apples require no guess work.
P - Phobias or Fears: Extreme sports. I'm a HUGE wuss. Also, I hate snakes.
Q - Quote: There never was a child so lovely, but his mother was glad to see him asleep. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
R - Reason to Smile: There is a big bag of candy corn sitting in my cupboard that no one knows about
S - Season: Fall
T - Time you woke up today: 5:45 ish
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I consider sleep a necessary evil and only do it because I have to. Also, I dislike getting wet. This includes swimming and being out in the rain. Yeah, I know it's weird.
V - Veggies or Fruit: I like all fruit except melons and I like most veggies. Frozen green beans are out because they're squeaky on my teeth. Lima beans are out too.
W - Worst Habit: Wearing the same pair of contacts for months and months
X - X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds. I live for them when I'm pregnant.
Y - Your Favorite Food: Anything I don't have to cook myself
Z - Zodiac: Libra

TGIF (Thank Goodness It's Fall)

Fall is the best season ever. It's long-sleeves-only in the day, an extra blanket at night, crunchy leaves in the yard, and most importantly, it's candy corn season. I bought my first bag today. My teeth feel like wool sweaters, but let's just say it's not by chance that my dentist appointments are scheduled every November and May (after Halloween and Easter). Here are a few other reasons I love fall.

1. Jonathan apples. They're small and sweet and don't need caramel dipping sauce to enhance the flavor like most apples do.

2. Apple attire suits me just fine too.

As you can imagine, Marissa looks super cute in this outfit despite not allowing me do a thing with her hair. It was well worth the bundle I spent on it.
Private note to Ryan: By "bundle" I mean something very tiny, small, and minuscule.

3. Pumpkin bread, cookies, cake, seeds, and the newly discovered waffles out of Simple and Delicious magazine. I just made a double batch of these last night and YUM! They were better than I thought they'd be.

Pumpkin Waffles
1 cup plus 2 T. flour
2 T. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 T. butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients; stir into dry mixture just until combined. Bake in preheated waffle iron until golden brown.

4.It will soon to be too cold to play in the sandbox.
The Great Offender
I have no problem admitting when I'm wrong and boy was I wrong about this. I thought the sandbox would be a great opportunity for the kids to play by themselves while I took care of things in the house. But as it turned out, for every minute they played out there I spent a minimum of 10 minutes on damage control. So much for a break.

Initially the sandbox was filled with 15 bags of sand.

Four of those bags were washed down the bathtub drain.
Three were dumped into the kiddie pool or on the grass.
Two went through the washing machine.
Three were thrown at playmates/siblings, and usually at their faces.
Two were vacuumed or swept up and thrown away.

That leaves one bag of sand remaining in the sandbox, and it's filled with spiders, ants, dead leaves, and more than likely, cat poop.

What do you love about fall?