girl meets blog

So I have this other blog called "girl meets blog". Originally the purpose of this was to write about whatever I didn't feel like sharing on this blog. I very occasionally have this slightly dark side and I feel like ranting about things that only interest me. So I made this private blog. But I didn't like it because a part of me likes writing something and putting it out there into the universe so to speak. I wasn't necessarily looking for strangers to read my thoughts but I didn't really care if they did, as long as they were strangers. So I made the blog public. But then, since it was supposed to be more personal stuff, I didn't want anyone I knew to stumble upon it. So I started making up fake names for me and the family. Then I realized I might have to make up other fake details of our lives, such as where we lived. It started getting complicated because I'd forget what the names were or I'd change them because the names didn't fit us just right. Then I started going to friends blogs where I'd start to make a comment and realize I was logged in under this other blog name. So I almost "outed" myself a few times. Well it got to be way too complicated and not worth the effort. I guess I'm not cut out to be a spy. So I changed it back to private and lost the pseudonym. I know it's all kind of strange, but that's me sometimes. So this was pretty much all for naught since my other blog has become a place where I do nothing but log my workouts. Nothing scandalous there, or especially interesting either. I guess I don't have much of a dark side after all. I have only one blog entry that relates to anything other than exercise. So I guess I'll share it with you. This is the one I was making up names and such for (I later changed the names back to the real ones). It concerns our need for an exterminator earlier this summer. I know, why would I need a whole new identity to discuss my need for the bug guy to come to my house? That's a question that may never be answered. It may not be interesting to anyone, but what the heck. And it doesn't really fit in with my exercise log.


Eeew, Ick, Gross

About three weeks ago I was in the kitchen where I saw this thing in the sink that looked like either a little stick or a worm. Turns out it was a wormy little creature. Of course I screamed, then washed it down the sink. Soon after that, these wormy little creatures started showing up in the girl's bedroom downstairs and then in Noah's room. Brent says they are baby caterpillars. We haven't come to a consensus on exactly what they are. All I know is they are disgusting and I freak out every time I see one. We decided to wait 'til after our vacation to do anything and see if they'd just go away on their own but it doesn't seem to be happening. If they are caterpillars then it makes me think they will probably turn into something else eventually, like moths (it's highly doubtful that I could soon have pretty butterflies flying all around my house, that could be cool though). If and when that happens, and maybe now (I don't know the eating habits of caterpillars except for what I've read in the children's book "The Hungry Caterpillar") they will probably start eating things like clothes or carpet or who knows what. I finally got too disgusted with it all today and called an exterminator. A part of me feared we'd come back from our trip and find dozens of them throughout the house, not what I want to come home to after a long road trip. So they're coming tomorrow and they said the stuff they spray is safe for children. They even said the stuff they use is approved by the EPA. Well if it's good enough for the Environmental Protection Agency who am I too question? Ha ha. It's also a good opportunity to try to get the ants that are starting to show up in the yard again. Last year my method of extermination was to pour boiling water on them. It was somewhat successful and quite entertaining to the kids. The only problem is boiling water kills grass along with ants. (Originally written June 10, 2008.)

Update: The worms are now gone. I guess it was worth it to have my throat burn for three hours after the bug guy filled our house up with noxious chemicals!

Isabella's Art

I may be the biased mom, but I think Isabella is a pretty awesome artist!

Moose on Life Support

I thought this was way funny so I had to take a picture. Noah's stuffed moose has quite a few holes so Noah and Zoe set him up in the hospital. Please keep Moose in your thoughts.;o)

Moose in the ICU

This brain of mine

My brain is a scary place. I'm sure if you cut it open and looked at a cross-section of it, it would look something like an explosion in a penny candy and yarn factory. To put it mildly, it's a mess. There are days when I just feel like it's firing little explosions all over the place with that beep-beep sound of the garbage truck backing up all the while in the background. This is what I've done today: I got up around 8 a.m. after pushing snooze a few times. Turned on the computer twice, because the computer seems to like it better that way. My plan was to go for a short run and do a workout downstairs. Instead I mess around on the computer for too long until I start to see children surface from the basement. So we go look into eating breakfast and I get in an argument with Zoe. I send her to her room, tell her to do four pages of her summer school workbook. Change my mind a minute later and before you know it she's cleaning the bathroom. This leads me to decide we need to clean the whole house, top to bottom, because it is a mess. So I send Isabella off to clean the master bathroom thinking Noah and I will tackle the other one. Instead I change my mind and I'm off doing the bills. I realize that it is now lunchtime and the kids should go get dressed so they can eat (a new development for the girls, being told every other day to get dressed.) An hour more of me doing who knows what and I realize I should go take a shower and get dressed myself. A friend calls for Zoe and I tell her Zoe needs to do chores before she can play. As I hang up I think, no we need to go to the grocery store instead. So I take a shower and pretty much scrap all plans, for now.
In our "art room" sits a sewing machine that took a month for Isabella to convince me to get out so we could sew a purse she wanted to make. I took the machine out last week and told Isabella we'd try to get around to using it by the end of the week (I'm being realistic here). So we worked on that four days later and then I decided we should finally work on the sewing project they got for Christmas six months ago. We do half of it and I tell them we'll finish the rest tomorrow, we'll probably finish it by Friday, at least most of it. I've led my children into who knows how many incomplete projects. I'm constantly telling Brent about one crazy scheme or another. He listens patiently to me, knowing I'll have lost interest in a day or two. I have the hardest time getting organized, but then I can turn on a dime and clean and organize non-stop for eight hours. I haven't taken the kids to the dentist in four years. Partly because I'm an anti-dentite who thinks dental work is a sham. It's my parents fault for never taking me to the dentist as a kid, my first time was when I was 18. Luckily I've never had a cavity. Another reason they haven't been is because I can't get organized enough to call the office, especially when I know they won't be able to get us in for a month and a half. I'm sure I have ADD, at least a minor case, but I'll never get around to getting it diagnosed, and the thought of a 37 year old woman on Ritalin is just silly. It isn't debilitating, this self diagnosed ADD, and I don't think it makes me a terrible mom, just a flawed one. But it sure is annoying and gets in the way of functioning as I should from time to time. It also explains why we have canned soup for dinner more than any family ought to. Speaking of which, I better wrap this up. I only have two more hours of getting distracted before I have to figure out dinner for tonight!

Now we're talkin'!

My wonderful Mother-in-law likes to give me a hard time for being a Barack Obama supporter. So this one is for you Cathy!

Memories....

Here are the directions:
1. Add a comment on my blog of a memory or two that you and I had together. It can be anything fun that you remember. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot or not at all, just put any memories you have.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. Try to keep it going on your blogs with your friends.

This is fun! I am eagerly looking forward to your memories!

Crazy Summer

Well summer is cruising along. School starts in one month from tomorrow! I can't believe it. I thought I'd update on what we've been up to for the past month.


The Monday after we got back from our Southern Utah vacation Brent and I decided to take the kids to Lagoon since Brent had one more day off before he had to get back to work. We didn't tell the kids we were going until they got up that morning. They were very excited about the surprise and Isabella was extra happy because she has trouble sleeping when something exciting is happening the next day. My favorite ride was this ride pictured above. It went in circles and you had to go up and down and try to avoid getting wet. It was like being in a video game. There was this recording of this guy with this weird voice talking about the ride while you're waiting in line and then he would sing the stupidest song while you were in the ride. For some reason I just found the whole ride hilarious!


We went hiking up South Willow canyon in the Stansbury mountains which was quite beautiful. Followed by a fun cookout.


Next came the Fourth of July where we continued our tradition of going to the Tooele parade. Sadly, this year they didn't have the float with the giant missile on it (only in Tooele). But they did have the the "Abstinence=Freedom" float with the giant wedding cake with the teenage bride and groom on top. Okay I admit it, the kids go to the parade to collect their giant bagful of candy and Brent and I go to make fun of everything! It's all in good fun!

I was lucky to have family in town this month but it wasn't a very lucky reason. My sisters Lynn and Kimberly and my nephews Josh and Matthew came to town for a funeral. Josh and Matthew's dad passed away (Kimberly hasn't been married to him for years). While it was great to see them it was very sad and the boys are still in my prayers.



Lynn stayed with us, as mentioned in a past blog, while the rest stayed with my Dad. As usual, I forgot to take pictures. So instead, I offer a picture of our deluxe guest accommodations in our basement guest/storage room enjoyed by Lynn during her stay.





The kids took swim lessons again. Isabella and Zoe were in level 3 while Noah was finally allowed into the big pool and out of the kiddie pool for level 1.


Zoe working on her summer "do"!


Brent spent a day kayaking on the Great Salt Lake with some friends from work. One guy decided to see what would happen if he stood up in his kayak. Of course it tipped over, dumped him in the lake, and filled his kayak with water (he was okay). Brent was too smart to try that trick.

So there you go, lots of pics, lots of happenings and still a month of summer to go!

Just messing around

Yeah, I know I keep changing my background, looking kind of fickle and indecisive. I think I got it figured out and won't have to mess with it for a while. I admit, it's kind of fun putting up a new template every other day, seeing something new. And I am a little obsessed with lots of color. I did figure out in the process how to change text colors and fonts and sizes. That was helpful so I could actually read the thing, don't have the best eyesight you know. This one will stay for a while though since it's getting to be a pain to redo everything. Certain templates save your side elements, some don't. Enough babbling. Should go check on Isabella, she's been sick but I think she's getting better now. Happy day!

Do you want to talk? Not really

My sister Lynn was staying with us for a couple of days last week. After she left, Brent commented that she probably thought we were a really weird family. I asked him if it was because we went out to eat with her and our family barely spoke a word. He said he was thinking about the ride in the car where we barely spoke a word. You're probably thinking, these people are freaks or they don't like each other. No, it's not that. Okay, I may be a bit of a freak but I wouldn't describe the rest of my family that way. We are just quiet people (except Noah, sometimes that boy can go on and on and on!) Anyone who knew me as a child knows how completely shy I was. I'm not that shy now but I can still be a very quiet person. My Mom used to say I was just sitting back taking things in, observing. That's true. I think I catch things about people that others wouldn't catch as quickly. Sometimes anyway. And Brent, he's so comfortable being alone it's almost ridiculous sometimes! But I still love him. We do of course talk to each other frequently enough, sometimes for hours. And there's nothing wrong with the art of conversation. I have my moments when my kids are pulling on me because I'm talking with a neighbor and the kids are saying "IT'S TAKING FOREVER!" But we do have those times when we'll be together and not saying a thing. That's just who we are, it's in our DNA to be quiet more often than the average person. And it's definitely in our kids DNA, getting this characteristic from both sides. I think the best payback my parents ever got from raising me is me having a daughter with a quiet voice. My whole childhood was spent with my parents saying "Speak up! We can't hear you! Stop mumbling!" And now I've been blessed with Isabella, great girl, awesome person, you couldn't ask for a better daughter. But I have to put my head right next to hers to hear what she's saying a lot of the time. Definitely payback! I used to think there was something wrong with me, not talking as much as everyone around me. But now I'm okay with who I am. It's just a part of me, and a part of the rest of my family too. And the kids will get over this more and more as they grow up. But you gotta embrace who you are, right? What's that expression? Silence is golden. :)

Cleaner Salesperson, part I & II

A couple of months ago a woman came to my door selling cleaning products. Usually I try to pretend I'm not home, being the mature woman I am but this time I answered the door. Well she showed me some yellow cleaner and cleaned my window quite nicely before I had a chance to say "no thank you". Then she took the lid off the bottle and asked me what I smell. I smelled it and replied "Gasoline". 'Cause gosh darn if it didn't have a slight smell of gasoline. She looked shocked and said, "Gasoline?!" She said it was supposed to smell like lemons so I tried again and said "Oh yeah, lemons" adding "and gasoline" in my head. Then she asked me about my kids and showed me a picture of her twins. Following this I told her I couldn't buy her product, no money, husband wouldn't approve, yadda, yadda, yadda....no thank you. She said okay, then asked if I had any cheese. Yes cheese. You see she had some crackers but needed some cheese to go with them. Well sure, I had cheese. So I cut some up, put it in a sandwich bag and she was off. As she walked down the road with her cheese and crackers I wondered if she had gotten the crackers from a neighbor and I felt like crap for not buying her gas smelling cleaner.
Fast forward to today. A salesman comes to my door. I have to answer it because Zoe and her friend are looking out the window and yelling "Someone's at the door!" So I open the door and there is the salesman holding a bottle of blue cleaner. He asks me to follow him over to the garage so he can show me how well the cleaner gets fingerprints off the car window. As we walk to the garage I notice he has a limp, and then he mentions my kids and how he has twins (I don't know if all cleaner salespeople have twins or if the other saleswoman was the mother of said twins). He then cleans my car window quite nicely and lets me smell the cleaner that doesn't smell like anything in particular other than cleaner. I say, "yes I will buy your cleaner" after he tells me some fascinating tales about his life selling cleaner and how some of the proceeds go to helping inner city youth, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then I write him a check. So Brent comes home a while later and I tell him I bought the cleaner and how much I payed for it (eventually I tell him how much I payed for it and no I will never again divulge exactly how much that was). Brent says "You payed HOW MUCH for the cleaner!?" To which I reply "Remember that cleaner saleswoman asked for cheese! And he had a limp!" Needless to say I will never be buying anything from a door to door salesman again.

Vacation!

We just returned yesterday from our summer vacation where we spent a week in Southern Utah. In St. George we hiked scenic Snow Canyon, saw "The Sound of Music" at the Tuacahn Theater, toured the Brigham Young Winter Home (very informative, thanks Sister Hansen!) and swam in the hotel pool many times (I think this was the kids favorite part.) We also visited beautiful Zion National Park. The kids enjoyed riding the bus up and down the canyon but all of the hiking really wore them out. The last leg of our trip was heading over to Bryce Canyon National Park where we saw the cool hoodoos and hiked into the canyon on the Navajo Trail. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be in a Dr. Seuss book, check this trail out sometime. Along the trip we waded through three rivers and streams and saw snakes, toads, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, and crows. Yes, there was crying, whining, many band-aids, a little sleep deprivation for the kids, and a lost flipflop (we know you know something hotel maid!;) but overall it was a great trip, good memories made and good times with our little family.