"Saturday is a special day...It's the day we get ready for Sunday"

I am finding out lately that there is some profound wisdom in that primary song we all learned growing up. Why does Sunday end up being one of the most hectic days of the week for me? I guess it's because I am not prepared. Yesterday was a bad Sunday for me. I literally did not sit down the entire day except for the few minutes in Sacrament that I wasn't taking Abby out to put her on a chair in a classroom. (By the way that is working out well-now if I could just teach her to whisper! I kept telling her.."whisper Abby!" and after about 10 min of me doing it..she said "what's whisper mom?") Anyway, It seems no matter how picked up my house is Saturday night, by the time we leave for church it looks like a bomb went off. Then we walk back into it..this time with crying children who are hungry and tired. The older kids are raiding the pantry before I can even get my pantyhose off. So I start in on them telling them to hold their horses until I can get something out that's semi nutritional. And from that point on..the chaos begins. I end up being in the kitchen most of the day making a meal that by the time I sit down to doesn't even taste good to me. Then afterwards, of course, I have to start thinking about dessert. So, once the dishes are done..I start in on something yummy to make.(Usually brownies and icecream..the old standby) Then everyone is off doing their own thing..napping, watching movies, pulling out every toy we own and I get in a bad mood because I am NOT able to relax until the house is picked up and nobody else seems to care. We sometimes manage to do something productive like get in a game of Settlers but soon everyone is hungry and out comes the food again which means more kitchen mess for me to clean up.

So, is this keeping the Sabbath day holy? NO! Some people have told me not to fix a big meal on Sunday..keeping things simple. I have a hard time doing that. Growing up we always had a nice Sunday meal..china out-goblets and all. Tara and Amy, do you guys remember how we would rub our fingers along the rim of the goblets until they made that whistling sound that drove mom really crazy.

So am I alone in this frustration? or do the rest of you sit around in your church clothes all day reading scriptures, singing at the piano, reading stories, and planning your next family service project? (Tara, you are not allowed to comment because I have a feeling your family does!)

Point Proven

In case any of you thought I was being dramatic about Abby's demanding personality let me give you a quick example of what happened last night. We were walking out of the store last night and she saw the moon. She started saying "Get the moon down mommy!" I tried to explain to her I couldn't. She then started SCREAMING "GET THE MOON DOWN MOOMY...I WANNA HOLD IT!!!" She screamed this over and over all the way home. I rest my case.

Happy Birthday Amy!

Amy I don't have many memories to recall since I have severe memory loss. Oh how sad that makes me. So I will do a tribute to you for what I love about you today:

1. You are probably the least judgemental person I know.
2. You are definitely the kindest.
3. You make everyone feel at ease immediately upon meeting you.
4. Maybe it's because you have no fear of ripping a fart when the urge comes upon you. (okay you knew a fart comment would come out!)
5. You are so incredibly loving and affectionate.
6. You are the only one I know who can love other people's kids like they were your own.
7. You love to laugh.
8. Even if it means you pee your pants or fart.
9. Our family is very important to you.
10. You are very forgiving.
11. You are a great mom.
12. You are a patient wife.
13. You have a way of making anything look cute (even if it's a trailer in West Valley)
14. You are a great friend.
15. And make friends easily.
16. You are so down-to-earth.
17. You are open to suggestions or advice.
18. You blow up at your kids just like I do.
19. You love to eat just like I do.
20. You cry easily.
21. Especially when you feel the spirit.
22. You love to sing.
23. And sing like a bird. (okay that was cheezy)
24. You inspired me to do Abby's hair cute every day.
25. You bring out the best in people.
26. You are not critical.
27. Sometimes you stay in your p.j.'s all day and don't feel guilty about it.
28. You don't mind talking to me while you are on the toilet. (does that embarrass you?)
29. You don't really get embarrased easily.
30. You love having people at your house.
31. And make it a place where everyone wants to be.
32. You are good at compliments.
33. And make me feel good about myself.
34. You are one of my truest friends.
35. I hope you are only 35 because I can't think of anything else to write. ha ha!

Friends Again!

Just thought I'd do a quick post to let you all know that Abby and I are friends again! I needed a quick reality check on parenting and it has really helped. Afterall, I am the mom, right? For as much as she drives me nuts, she brings me more happiness. Thanks for all your kind words of support. It really helped. She is actually screaming right now as I am writing this. I have to remember one of my favorite sayings in parenthood "this too shall pass!"

Wow I've been tagged! I feel so Special!

I have never been tagged before and am not quite sure what to do but here goes. Oh and thank you katie for being the one to make me feel special.


The rules:
1) Link to the person that tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4) Tag at least three people at the end of your post and link to their blogs.
5) Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6) Let the fun begin!

1. I am a relatively shy person. I know hard to believe. Once I get comfortable around someone it's a different story but initially I hold back and don't always initiate conversation.

2. I have a fetish with clean floors. I can let most things go in my house but I cannot handle crumbs and stuff on the floors. I am constantly sweeping and vacuuming my floors.

3. I simply cannot go to sleep without washing my face and brushing my teeth at night. Like I literally can't fall asleep knowing my teeth are furry and my make-up is not off!

4. I weigh myself every morning without fail before I get in the shower. It helps me to know how I should eat that day. If I am a few pounds up..I try to lay off the ding dongs. If I am a few pounds down..I down a bag of doritos. (JK!)

5. I cry whenever someone else cries. I cry sometimes when I go into my kids school. I cry in pack meeting when we are saying the pledge of allegience. I cry when my primary kids sing awesome after working hard on a new song. Sometimes I cry for no reason at all.

6. Sometimes I feel like a loser because I don't have much going on in my life. Like maybe I should be running a thousand directions. Involved in tons of stuff. But right now my life is pretty simple and I like it. But I feel like maybe I should be doing more.

There I did it. You probably know everything else there is to know about me because I happen to be a little "too honest" about myself. Maybe you already knew all of things too. Who knows?

I tag....Amy (my sister), Amy (my sister-in-law), April, Mom and Tara

Terrible Two's? That's an UNDERSTATEMENT!

I am warning you upfront..this is going to be a very negative post. However, it is written out of desperation and frustration. For those of you who know me, I am very honest. (too honest most of the time! ie. do people really need to know when I am constipated?) I do not place my children on a pedastal. I do not pretend they are perfect. Well I am going to "let the cat out of the bag" and announce to you all that my beautiful 2 yr old "princess" has suddenly turned into the "wicked witch of the north, south, east AND west"! First of all, before I elaborate, I will admit that she definitely "has my number"! I realize this and could probably tell any of YOU how to handle the situation according to Super Nanny or Dr. Laura, etc. But for some reason, it is harder to be objective when it is your own kids and lately, all I want to do is sit in a corner and cry. Let me begin. She freaks out if I sing! (unless she is asking me to) She won't even let me sing in church. She says "Don't sing mom!" She will not eat off any plate other than a pink one. She will only use a spoon, not a fork. She goes nuts if there is a hair on her. She thinks any sort of lint or string that is black is a SPIDER and goes balistic! She throws herself down in the hall of church and screams the second we walk through the doors. She insists on walking through a parking lot HERSELF! Even if it's covered in ice. She won't take a nap. She screams for a good half hour at night at bedtime. She won't eat ANY vegetables and not much else of nutritional value. She insists on eating string cheese and then just shreds it up and places it all over the house. (found it in my shower this morning) She screams when I drop Connor off at school because she wants to go to "her school". She smears her food all over herself, including her hair, at each meal. She screams all through sacrament meeting. She screams when she sees Zach passing the sacrament because she wants him. She won't wear certain outfits. She floods the bathroom with every bath. She won't let me blow-dry her hair (okay I will cut her slack on that one) She won't ride in the front of the cart-only the back and then insists on standing up. I could go on and but do you get the picture? When I am at home I rarely cave in to all her demands. Time out has started to really work. However, when I am in public it is a different matter. I know I need to leave the store, don't try to go to lunch, pull over the car if needed when she is having a hissy fit, etc. I know all these things and really do try hard to do them but sometimes it's just not realistic. For example, do I quit going to church? Obviously whatever I am doing is not working. Now let me tell you all that I love this girl to death just in case you are getting the wrong idea here but I am really starting to want her to "grow up" so she will grow out of this stage and that makes me SO sad! Any advice?