Conjunctively speaking

So I know the rule is that a sentence cannot start with a conjunction. And I have noticed that my writing is full of them. But I just can't help it. And I don't really want to change it. Because this is how I talk in real life. And it sounds more like me. So I'm sorry if it sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard for anyone. But it's not going to change anytime soon.

Ribs

Mine, not the food. They hurt. My chiropractor brother said it might be due to sleeping on my side on a pillow that is too flat. I thought about my pillow. It is pretty flat. It's even ugly flat. So I decided to get myself a new one. I looked at the $7 ones and then thought better of it. I decided to splurge and get the $11 one. $4 makes a difference doesn't it? My brother laughed quite heartily about this since according to him a "good" pillow costs around $50. He might be right since, at first, this new $11 pillow was a little too high and fluffy and it's already starting to flatten. Right now it's about how I like it but it makes me wonder how flat it is going to end up.

But I'm not sure if I can spend $50 on a pillow. Do they go bad as fast as the cheap ones? Maybe not. Maybe that's why they cost so much. Would you be able to spend that much on a pillow?

Lucky Sunday

You know when people speak in church and there are no announcements and the songs are super short and the speakers end up having 45 minutes to fill? And you just think, oh man, I am glad I'm not them. Well yesterday it was the complete opposite when it was our turn to speak.

A counselor gave some ward business, then the bishop gave some ward business, then the stake presidency counselor released a bishopric counselor and called a new one. Then the old and new counselor gave their testimonies. Then there was a youth speaker. Then it was my turn. I didn't have to worry about shortening or longening it. (I know that's not a word but I don't care.) My talk was a little shorter than it should have been to begin with but it didn't matter by then. Then there was a family musical number. Then it was finally Brian's turn. There was only 5 minutes left! It was seriously the luckiest day to speak ever. All the people in the congregation with short attention spans were just riveted to all the movement and change going on.

The only unlucky part was that, being 5 months pregnant, I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad and there was no holding it, so I had to leave the stand during the youth speaker and speed-walk down the hall and back and I barely made it back in time for my turn and so I was out of breath right when I got up to speak. A little embarrassing. But, again, more entertainment for the people watching. (Note to self: do not drink water before church when you are going to speak.)

It was hard for Brian to have to cut his talk down to 5 minutes but his worst fear, in giving a talk, is having 15 minutes left over after finishing his talk so he was in heaven. (Church building heaven. That's not the real heaven. Just the heaven that you are in when you're at church.)

An unreal memory

Me and my dad - 1978

My dad died in 1979 when I was just 19 months old. My sister Sinika was 2 days old. I have no memories of him. But a year or two ago I had a dream that I got to talk to him. I was an adult but I saw my older sisters running around as little girls. I think my dad knew then that he had cancer and that he was going to die. I could see the worry in his eyes as he watched his kids. I don't remember anything that was said in the dream but it felt so real that it seems almost like a memory. I've always wondered what it would be like to look at his face and talk to him. How tall he would be, what his voice would sound like, the exact color of his eyes, all of that. So although it was just a silly dream I hope that I remember it forever.

Is it similar to a bolt of lightning?

Yesterday I got what is called a "church sliver" or maybe it's called a "pew sliver". I have heard of the common occurrence of the "pew sliver" but I had never experienced one up until now. Let me tell you - they are not fun to get. Especially one minute before church services start. You have to sit there and not get it out. I had to let the tip of my pointer finger throb all through the hour and fifteen minutes and tried to find an end to pull out but found nothing. If only I had brought my tweezers to church. If only. And maybe a sterilized needle. What I would have given for that! (A few dollars.) I finally got to go home after the final prayer and remove the lumber. It was almost a half kilometer long! Okay, so I am exaggerating. It was almost a half millimeter long.

The proof. Don't worry, no blood was involved with the entrance or the exit of this sliver.

It may sound like the church that I attend is around 100 years old with wooden slivers hanging off the pews. But it's actually only about 3 years old with wooden slivers hanging off the pews.

Just take it from me: Don't slide your hand along the bench in front of you no matter how smooth or new it looks and feels. It's just too risky.

Near catastrophe

Laundry day.
Fold clothes in my room.
Little Addie plays in Elli's room.
Go downstairs to get another load of laundry to fold.
Come upstairs.
Smell fingernail polish.
Feel the feeling of dread that only comes when you smell fingernail polish coming from the room that your 2 year old is in.
Open the door.
"Mommy, I paint my nails!"
Look around for the giant spill that is inevitable (or miniature spill -but whatever size: horrible).
Find no spill. YET. It's hard to find much in this room.
Confiscate polish.
Rinse off fingers of any polish that is still wet.
Take pictures.

I guess she did a pretty good job for a 2 year old. Somehow she got the nail polish opened and she painted each nail (and each finger). She was proud of herself. I was just glad that she didn't spill which still makes no sense to me. 2 year olds spill everything.

I don't think that she closed the door to hide from me. She just closes any door of any room that she's in. She would have still painted her nails if the door was open. The only thing that came from the door being closed is that I didn't catch her sooner because I couldn't see in when passing by. Time to hide all nail polish.

Ben has a new hairdo

We are just having too much fun with our web cam. This is a picture of Ben in the glow of the screen. He opened it in paint and accentuated a few of his features.

Multitasking

Snuggling with Addie, catching up on some Modern Family online and letting Addie watch herself on the web cam. 3 things checked off at once.

Come back soon smells!

Currently, because of a sinus problem (a cold), my olfactory system isn't working. I can't smell a thing. And so, I can't taste anything either. Why do you need to be able to smell in order to taste? I do not know, go ask your mother. (That Dr. Seuss line always cracks me up.)

So since I haven't been able to taste anything for the last few days, why have I eaten chocolate on each of those days? Maybe it's out of habit. (Very likely.) Maybe I'm hoping with each piece I will detect a tiny leak of flavor. Maybe I am still getting endorphins from it even without tasting the flavor. (I don't think this is true. I think I need the flavor in order to get the endorphins.) Maybe I'm testing myself to see if I'm getting better. Yeah, I'll stick with that reason.

Oh look. Here I am eating a piece of chocolate right now as I type this. (Make me stop!)

Do you know how fun it is to make dinner when you know you aren't going to be able to taste it? A negative 2 fun. That's why we had cereal for dinner last night. I had plain old Cheerios. I do like the flavor of cheerios normally but when you have to choose a cereal for the least amount of flavor - Cheerios wins every time.

The good thing about not being able to smell is changing a 2 year old's diaper. It's much more pleasant. Imagine cleaning off someones other end but not having to smell it. However pleasant you can imagine doing that - is how pleasant it is. I guess that's one smell I'm not looking forward to.

He calls it his "bandit hat"

Ben asked with lots of pleas if he could wear this hat to school a few mornings ago. I was like, uhh, I don't think the kids or teachers would enjoy seeing you in your hat as much as you think.
And, as a side issue, I'm sure his hair would look lovely by the time he took it off for class.

That's it, I'm washing it tomorrow!

My car is so dirty. And it's not just regular dirt. It's super salty, greasy, gritty, grimy, gross, black dirt. I hate when I have to touch it. I really need to wash it. But it's supposed to snow again several days this week so it will just end up like this again in a few days. A few days ago picking up my kids from school my son said, "I didn't recognize our car, it looks like it's a different color." The white color doesn't help with all this. Yes, the color in this picture should be white. This is not the color of car that I would have chosen first but this is what was available when we purchased this car last summer. Alright, it's a van. But I just can't stop saying car. I've driven only cars for 16 years and it's hard to change the wording in my brain.

Mini boy

Ben shrunk for a short time. I'm so glad that we got pictures of it or else probably no one would believe us.

Cause she likes to hug...

Kitty hugger:
Bowl hugger:

I hope I've learned a thing or two since then

I like corn Chex cereal. I even like all the generic brands of it. Once when I was 10 or 11, I was eating a generic brand - let's call them corn squares - and I came across a good sized beetle in my partially eaten bowl. Dead, covered in corn dust. Did I show my parents or send a letter to the company who made them? No. You don't even want to know what I did. But I'll tell you. I dumped the rest of my bowl down the sink and filled myself a new bowl - from the same box -and ate away happily.

Ew.

What we learn from this story: 10 - 11 year olds are not very wise.

Another time, I was probably 10 or 11 again, I was supposed to mow the lawn. I got the mower ready, started it up, and headed onto the grass going over a big pile of hose. As I was on top of the hose, I realized, hmm, I probably shouldn't be on top of the hose. So I backed off and as I did hose went flying everywhere. My step-dad could not understand how I didn't realize that you don't push the mower over hoses.

What we learn from this story: 10 - 11 year olds don't have much common sense. If you need something done that requires common sense - don't ask someone of this age to do it.

Maybe I was just a rare slow-brained child. Maybe others of you would never do the things I did. If there are such thing as smart 10 year olds, then I sure hope my kids have a little more intelligence than I did.

By the way, I still eat corn Chex. But I have to throw out any pieces that I find in my bowl that have any black on them even if it is just a piece that got a little to close to the heat. You just never know.

Randomness

Ben, seen here with his Christmas underwear, (his favorite gift) has started basketball again. At his first practice, he got a bloody nose from getting hit with the ball. We're hoping it's not a sign of what's to come throughout the season.

I heard Addie saying over and over:

I'm a mama. I'm a mama.

Then I saw that she was wearing my shoes. Pretty cute thing for a mama to hear.

I went ice skating with Elli a few nights ago and I almost lost control of my bladder. We were laughing so hard. It was Ellis first time skating and I hadn't been since forever (10 years?). I was laughing so hard with (and a little at) her trying to stay up and me trying to hold her up. It was fun. Everyone should go ice skating.

Addie was looking through the pictures on my camera (how does she know how to do that? I don't know but she can turn it on and search through pictures) and came across these ones of her and Elli eating olives. Then she turned to me and said:

Mom, I want ovlers.