Time for Spring Cleaning!

The last thing I do when I am getting ready in the morning (or the afternoon) is put on my mascara. So many times right after I put it on, I sneeze. It is so annoying! The mascara is still wet and it gets all over my cheeks. Sometimes I even feel one coming and I try to open my eyes so wide so it doesn't get all over but we all know that doesn't work. You can't sneeze with your eyes open. Or even closed lightly. They squeeze shut so tight. I don't know why that happens so much but then I have to get out the makeup remover and clean it all off. Another weird time that I sneeze is at night when I'm falling asleep. Everything is so quiet and here comes a sneeze. Poor Brian! Even when I do a stifled sneeze it's loud in the quiet of night. Sometimes it's two sneezes and I rarely do more than one sneeze normaly. I must have a dusty house.

Joys/Fears

So Sinika tagged me and I need to do 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 obsessions/collections, and 3 random suprising facts about myself. Here they are:

JOYS:
1. Baby giggles
2. Going out to eat - I get yummy food and I didn't have to cook it! (or clean it up!)
3. Reading at night when the kids are in bed. I have hours of perfect quietness with no interruptions.

FEARS:
1. Having my house broken into
2. Losing a child through death or in a crowd
3. Big, fat, hairy, fast spiders - they scare me when they run fast or jump because I don't know where they are going, they scare me when they walk slowly because that means they are big and fat, and they scare me when they are standing still because I just know they are staring at me with their crazy 8 eyes!

GOALS:
1. Start running again
2. Be fluent in Finnish
3. Be a better housekeeper, I'm horrible at putting things away.

OBSESSIONS:
1. Kitchen supplies and office supplies - I could spend hours just drooling over these areas in stores.
2. My part. Yes in my hair. I am always trying to make it just right and it probably doesn't even look very good. I always look at other peoples too to see what makes theirs so cute.
3. Candy! I cannot pass the 88 cent candy bin at Wal-Mart without grabbing a few boxes.

RANDOM SUPRISING FACTS:
1. I love maps. City, state, country, world... I could just stare at them for ages. I would love to go to school to become a cartographer if only it didn't require so much math.
2. I like to eat lots of small things instead of one big one, like: lots of mini snickers but not one big one, lots of mini pickles but not one big one, lots of mini carrots but not one big one. I swear the mini things taste better!
3. I love watching The Hills and The Real World on MTV. I know, I'm 16 years old.

Addie's cute self

Why do babies look so cute in hats? Covers their balding heads? Frames their perfect little faces? I don't know but they just do. This is Elli's hat and it is so big on her but it still looks cute.

Yes, I was wrong

So as you can tell, I've been posting a lot of memories lately. I don't know why, maybe having kids makes me think about when I was a kid or maybe I would be the same way without kids, who knows. It looks like I'm going younger and younger too. 9th grade, 5th grade and now, Sesame Street. Sorry this may be boring to some of you but it's a big deal to me. I remember watching this on Sesame Street with my sister Sinika and my brother Eric. Years later we would try and recite it the correct way and we all said it different and we all thought we were right. Well, here's the proof. Oooh, I love youtube! I'm just finding out that you can find just about ANYTHING you want on youtube. I always thought it was "A loaf of bread, a stick of butta, and a quart of milk". I was wrong. Here you go:

Ice cream truck

On Friday, it was so nice and warm outside, me, Elli and Ben were out coloring with sidewalk chalk on our driveway and we heard the ice cream truck coming near. With the crazy streets in my neighborhood, I can never tell where exactly it is. Sometimes I think it is coming close and we wait and never see it. And sometimes I don't hear it at all until it is right in front of our house and gone. So we have never bought anything from it. Anyway, on Friday, I ran inside to grab my money and right when I came out it was coming up to us and it stopped for us! I let the kids pick something off the pictures and then I picked a big layered popsicle that looked really fruity and yummy. I was excited for this fun summery treat. We sat on the porch and ate our ice creams. Well... they weren't very good. My popsicle tasted really chemically and I tasted Ben's colorful ice cream on a stick and it wasn't very good either. What a ripoff! $2.00 a piece! Well, I knew they were expensive but I thought they would at least be good quality. So now I know why no one ever buys those things. I just need to go get a big bag of ice creams and popsicles to keep in our freezer, (which is what we usually do) and when we hear the ice cream truck jingle it will remind us to go inside and get a REAL treat.

Ben's little obsession

So Ben's latest thing to do is play Lego Star Wars on Brian's Nintendo DS. He loves it. At first all he did was create characters but now he finally ventures out to play the game. He gets so excited when he sees something happen exactly like the movie, he has to show everyone, "Look, this happens just like it does in the movie!" My favorite is when he comes to me and says, "Mommy, can you help me get past this part?" And I have no clue how to play it. He knows way more than me. Anyway, you can see his tongue out in this picture, but what you can't see is that it moves back and forth really fast while he plays.
I just saw a thing on Oprah where kids were addicted to video games and so I realized that we need to put a time limit on this little pasttime.

Ah, nostalgia...

One show I wish they still played re-runs of is... Punky Brewster. I know, I know, I remember in 5th grade it was sooo uncool to like that show. I remember it was 5th grade because we had a program one night and we were getting ready for it and 'Mary' said kind of whiningly, "I want to be home so I can watch Punky Brewster!" and 'Loralie' gave a kind of look like, "Wow, she is so childish." and I gave her a look back like, "I know, can you believe she watches that silly show?" but really what I was thinking was, "Note to self: do not let anyone know that you love that show and watch it everyday." Anyway, I always crave watching it. I think about all the fun times they had in their super cool treehouse in the backyard, Cherie and Margo and that boy (?). Some of the things that stick out in my mind are: the very first episode where she climbs into an abandoned apartment and is dancing to "She's a maniac" and Henry finds her and takes her in, the one where Cherie hides in an old refrigerator when playing hide and seek and gets stuck and almost dies. They had a warning at the end of that episode that said, "Never close yourself into a refrigerator or you may not be able to get out and you could die if your temperature gets low enough." or something like that. I was always afraid of the door closing on me after that even though now I realize that nowaday fridges don't lock and you could just push it open easily if you were inside. I also remember the one where Punky needed her first bra. And then I remember when she was possibly going to be adopted by a rich family but she just didn't fit in eating oysters and such. It seemed like the series ended abruptly. Maybe that's why I have issues with it. I didn't ever get my fill on it. I was always wanting more. It seems like they play re-runs of so many shows, why not that one? Do they have it on DVD? I guess I need to check it out. I wonder if they thought they would start a new fashion trend with the bandanas on the legs. It just never took off. Well at least I never saw it. (Except for Halloween.) Maybe in certain schools where crazy fads went in and out really fast. But it just wasn't practical. You had to tie those things in knots and then untie them (not fun) each time you wore them and maybe when you went to the bathroom they would slide down the legs and you would have to readjust them for hours after. Well, I bet the bandana retailers weren't as happy as they would have been had it gone crazy in style. Anyway, if anyone knows about any certain 'box set that would make me happy', let me know.

Spring Break!

This week was so fun! Elli was off of school for spring break so we wanted to do lots of fun things while the weather was good. Monday we went to the zoo with Sini and her kids. It was so warm! So warm, me and Elli both got sunburned. I never remember to use sunscreen on the first few warm days of the year. Luckily Addie was in the shade of the stroller the whole time and Ben just doesn't burn like me and Elli. But it was fun.Elli, Elliott, Ollie, and Ben


Tuesday, we just had a do nothing day while we healed our sunburns.
Wednesday, we went swimming at Lehi's Legacy Center. This was the only picture I got. Woopsie! You can't really take the camera in the water so I guess this is as good as you can get. Look at those rolls!! I asked Elli if there was any place she really wanted to eat lunch at and she said, "Wendy's!" So we went there after swimming.


Thursday Elli had a tea party at her friend Sloan's house and played all day with her, Lauren and Abby. In the evening we went to Pei Wei for dinner with Sini and Adam and then we went bowling. I can't believe I have never taken my kids bowling! This was their first time. They loved it!

STRIKE!!

Today is another hang out at home day. It's supposed to be really nice weather, 70 degrees. Maybe we'll go to the park. We'd better remember the sunscreen this time!

Thanks Sini, Elliott and Ollie for hanging out with us all week! I think these activities will last us until summer break.

Embarrassing moment

I remember when I was in 9th grade in English class, my teacher, Mrs. Springer, was curious to know if any of us knew how the Trojan war ended. I raised my hand so fast which now when I think about it, was very rare. I was such a quiet kid growing up. Maybe my teacher realized that I didn't comment much and so she called on me. I very excitedly told her that they built a giant wooden rabbit and hid inside it and the Trojans thought it was a gift and brought it inside the city walls and then at night they came out and attacked from the inside. My teacher was like, "No dear, that was Monty Python." We all laughed (including me) and someone else told about a wooden "horse" that was used. The thing is I really did know it was a horse, I just had watched "The Holy Grail" so much that the rabbit was so familiar to me so that was what came out. As soon as she said 'Monty Python' I realized my mistake but I never said, "Oh yeah, I mean a horse," so I sometimes wonder if my teacher really thought that I really thought that was a true historical fact. Anyway, Mrs. Springer was such a good teacher and has since gotten several "Teacher of the Year" awards. She not only helped me love reading literature more but she gave such interesting tidbits of history that she also started my love for learning history. (But not necessarily from that incident.)

Quote of the day

Elli : "My knee pit itches."

Favorites

These are a few of our favorite things:

BRIAN: college sports * slightly melted ice cream * prime rib * a clean house * Oreos and milk * Arrested Development * bike riding

LINDSEY: fresh strawberry shakes * reading a good book * going out to lunch with my sister * peach yogurt * Reese's Pieces (yes, most of these are food related) * extra $ in my pocket * kids playing nicely together * family walks * mountain scenery

ELLI: animals, esp. horses, dogs, giraffes * lasagna * story time *art projects * back scratches * cookie dough shakes * being the boss * all her animal toys * setting up elaborate playing scenes

BEN: superheros * hugs * playing with friend Jeremy * riding 4-wheeler * grasshopper shakes from Emmett's * Legos * Star Wars * wrestling with Daddy * brand new toys * garlic bread * apricots/peaches * deep thinking

ADDIE: binky * gargling * naps * standing (with help) * Curious George monkey * noisy toys * being held * playing with Benny and Elli * splashing in the bath tub

Paint

Elli and Ben love to draw on the computer. As soon as they could sort of control a mouse they've loved doing the paint program. It's nice for me too because it holds their attention for a while so that I can get things done. (Or just relax.) Here are their latest works:This is Ben's 'Running Man'

Elli specifically wanted to call this one 'Summertime Sunset'

Conference Weekend

Today we heard from our prophet, President Monson. He invited us all to come unto Christ no matter what our circumstances are. He let us know that we should not fear even though the world is a scary place. I have grown to love him throughout my life. He is such a humble man and a good example of how to live. The kids got so excited each time he would speak. I am so thankful that we have a prophet to help guide us during this time of uncertainty in the world. When he was first announced at the press conference in February, he said he went to his knees and asked the Lord to "Go before my face, to be on my right hand, to be on my left hand, and His Spirit in my heart, and His angels round about me to bear me up." and I knew without a doubt that he was a true prophet of the Lord just as Moses, Noah, and other prophets were. I definitely miss President Hinckley but I'm excited for what is to come with our new prophet, President Monson.

Ben Quote

Today I was looking at the baby monitor (it was on) and I said to Ben, "Shh, I can't tell if Addie is awake or not." and he said, "Well, turn on the thermotiter." :D

Mummy boy

Don't worry - he's not hurt.
Ben has been asking for weeks for some bandages so that he could look like a mummy. So last time Brian went to the store he bought some. Ben was so excited and he just carried them around all day. Finally the next day when I finally had time, I said, "Okay, do you want me to wrap you up like a mummy?" and Ben said, "But Mommy, I don't need to use them until I get hurt." :D Anyway, he decided we could just try them out. He liked them for a minute but then realized it's kind of annoying to wear them for too long. So now we can save them for a real emergency.