Ellie-isms

Ellie is our resident class clown. Everything that comes out of her mouth is hilarious, either because of the way she rolls her Ts and Ds (as in "Daddy" or "Potty" - no one else can come close to how she does it) or because she just says so many funny things. Here are a few of her latest:

We've, unfortunately, had an ant problem for a while. They're very random and sneaky and not all that easy to get rid of. One night after I'd put the girls to bed, Ellie started shrieking from her room:
E: MOMMY!!! There's an ant on my bed! Get it! Get it off!
I remove the ant.
E: AUGGGGHHHH!!! Now he's on my pillow!!! Get him off!!!
I pick up the pillow and shake it over the floor. Then she lays down and I tuck her in. I say good night and leave the room. It's silent for about five seconds, then:
E: Oh, no, Mommy!!! Now he's on the floor!!!

The other day I let the girls choose a treat at the grocery store and Vicki picked Tic Tacs, which she is trying to make last as long as possible. Yesterday we had this conversation:

V: Mom, I'm going to eat one of my Tic Tacs.
E: Mom, can Vicki share?
M: You'll have to ask Vicki.
E: Vicki, you're gonna share and I hafta ask you.

We got this book from the library:

We love these Todd Parr books because they're all about being yourself, even if you're not like everyone else, and feeling good about it. Anyway, Chris and Ellie were reading The Okay Book last night for bedtime stories. The pages look like this:

So they got to this page:

...and after Chris read, "It's okay to have freckles," Ellie said, "It's okay to not have feet. Or hands."

Chef-in-training

So some of you know that my most recent hobby is cooking. This may come as a shock to anyone who has actually lived with me and experienced my cooking in the past. I promise, I've improved immensely! Buying a house with a big kitchen and lots of counter space, and not having to go to work anymore have both helped considerably. Anyway, my family gives me lots of encouragement in this department, mostly thanks to Chris, who makes it a point several times a week to say to the girls, "We're so lucky to have such a great cook for a mom." They've taken to saying it themselves, to other people, without any prompting. There's nothing like a little blatant praise, let me tell you!

Anyway, Vicki has been especially interested in cooking lately, wanting to make things by herself. Now, the kitchen is my domain, and it pains me greatly to allow other people (including Chris) to work in it. But for the sake of good mother-daughter relationships, and bonding and memory-building and all that, I've let the girls "bake" a few times. Lexi just likes to mix things together, usually marshmallows, pretzels, chocolate chips, and frosting, but Vicki tries to actually bake. She came up with an...interesting...cookie recipe a few months ago. We learned that 1 Tbsp. of salt is a bit much. Yesterday she begged me to let her bake something. She begged and bargained and finagled and blackmailed, and I kept saying, "Not today." I was being a terrible mom, but I just didn't want to deal with it. Then she played the trump card: "I want to make a surprise for Daddy!" Ugh. How can I say no to that without a good reason? (It will mess up my kitchen is not a good reason.) So I let her do it. She immediately ran downstairs and got out the essentials: peanut butter, baking chocolate, and chocolate chips. So we baked a cake, her own recipe. And it turned out surprisingly good. We've decided to cut back on the peanut butter a bit, because the oil in it seemed to make the cake really dense, and we probably don't need quite as much sugar or milk, but overall it was actually quite good. Once we tweak it to perfections, I will post the recipe, since it has the potential to become a family favorite.

Here she is, savoring the sweet cakey goodness:

Gee, it's great to be back home again

We made it back from our vacation in one piece. Well, in five respective pieces, I suppose. We had a blast in Utah visiting family, going to the zoo, and playing at Bear Lake. I'll do a proper post once I sort through the 300+ pictures we took (sad, but true - digital cameras are dangerous in the hands of someone who once shot 11 rolls of film in 3 1/2 months). But until then (and until Erica emails me the pictures she promised - hint, hint), see if you can guess which member of our family is responsible for this spectacular faceplant:


And which family member is this mystery kneeboarder:

Memory Tag

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together.  It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.  It's actually pretty funny to read the responses.  If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Life is good

I'm all by myself.

Chris's sister Erica came up Friday night, hung out with us Saturday, and then bravely got on an airplane yesterday with all three of my children and took them to Grandma's house in Utah. There, they have already played with their cousin, read about fairies, been chased by two small dogs, and had a tea party with Uncle Scotty. Life is good for them. Today or tomorrow they will meet their newest cousin (who is on her way at this very moment, I believe), and on Wednesday they will go to their other grandma's house, where they will be barked at by another small dog, read more books, play in a Princess tent, and splash in the wading pool. Yes, life is good.

And I'm all by myself!

This morning I got to get up when I wanted to (which, surprisingly - and both my husband and my father will probably pass out when they read this - was 6:30am), shower without company, and eat breakfast without getting up multiple times to do things for people that they really should do for themselves. I also got to read the comics without waiting for Vicki to finish with them. Today I will clean the living room without getting in anyone's way and eat what I want for lunch and not what the majority of small people demand request. Then I will clean the bathrooms without someone screaming at me that they have to go potty RIGHT NOW and can't possibly use either of the upstairs bathrooms, and I will clean the kitchen without fear of it getting messy again the second I turn my back. Then Chris will come home, we'll eat dinner, and go to a movie for Family Home Evening.

Tomorrow I plan to get up when I want again, get a haircut without worrying that my kids will destry the salon in one fell swoop, do some shopping BY MYSELF!!! and enjoy a stressless lunch out with my friend Rachel. Then I will come home and do some laundry, pack my bags, and listen to the podcast of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me that Chris always brings home on Tuesdays.

On Wednesday I will fly first class to Anaheim (while Chris sits in coach - HA!), where I will tour the Walnut Village job site, shop at Downtown Disney, go out to dinner with the hubby and a bunch of construction guys, and sleep in a fancier-than-we-can-afford hotel. I will do all this and more (but unfortunately I won't actually go to Disneyland - it wouldn't be any fun by myself) until Friday afternoon, when we will fly back home (me in first class again, woo hoo! Gotta love those airmiles!), sleep, and then get up and drive to Utah to see my girls, who I miss already (but not too much!) While there, I will hang out with the fam, possibly go to the zoo, waterski on Bear Lake, and just relax. I will do this for a week before driving home, this time with my little family all together.

Life is good for me, too!