Jannica's Scary Story

Once there was this cheerleader and she wanted to be like her mother.........................But, um, then she cut her head off. (she cut her mom's head off?) She cut her own head off. Then she was the dead cheer leader. Then every time she woke up she picked her nose (said with a giggle). The end.
Jannica and her friend are very bored. They are thinking of scary stories and think that they are very funny.

Boo at the Zoo

Over priced, crowded and lame. And yet, every year we seem to go. I don't know what is wrong with us. The girls LOVE it though. That must be what is wrong with us.

We had to dress up and I had been collecting costumes all year (a fetish). We were all settled for what the girls were going to be until Ryan started wanting to be everything Jac was, and Jaccould not make up her mind. This is all 10 minutes before we left. So I threw 4-5 costumes in the back of the van, went to look for one more and found a little cheerleader outfit I had gotten for Ryan last Christmas. Jac also has a cheerleader outfit and loves to wear it (the whole being verygirly thing). So the problem was solved as I ran to the van after everyone was loaded up and Kelly was pulling out of the garage trying to leave without me. He wouldn't though, that might make his life inconvenient. The girls had a blast posing like cheerleaders and getting candy. Ryan has totally got the knack of begging, I'm proud. 

 We ended the night on an awesome sugar high, I was off to work and Kelly put the girls to bed. Ahh, life is great!

Carving Pumpkins

After much price comparing Wal Mart turned out to be the cheapest place to get pumpkins. So off we went to the "pumpkin patch" (AKA cardboard bins in the garden center at WM). My kids were so cute! They wandered through the field looking for the best pumpkin. Afterwards we went on a little hayride through the hardware/paint department. The crisp autumn air was so refreshing. As we wandered up and down the shoe aisles admiring all the beauty of nature we could not help but feel blessed. 

       

Okay, so maybe I am feeling a little jealous of everyone and their trips to farms and pumpkin patches. But still, picking out pumpkins at Wal Mart was fun and then we got to carve them after church the next day. Ryan kept saying "disgusting" and refused to touch the guts. When she finally did, I think she touched it with one finger and then was done. She was more interested in the carving part. That kid nearly cut my thumb off when she suddenly grabbed at the knife I was holding. She made sure that I was cutting the pumpkin correctly and then I lost her to Shrek.

Seeing Ryan brought back a fun Jannica memory. The first time we carved pumpkins with her and Natalie. They were Ryan's age and totally disgusted. Jannica would not touch the guts at all. I love having Ryan meeting milestones that I was there to watch Jannica meet. I am able to share with Jannica how cute she was, how much easier she was or how much worse she was. Jannica spent so much time trying to draw the perfect Frankenstein face on her pumpkin and was getting so frustrated that she did not have a smooth surface to work with. She almost ended up in tears. Hormones. Kelly and I kept saying "this is a fun thing" "we are having fun, remember?" She was happy in the end, cleaned out her pumpkin like a trooper and then let Kelly carve. We now have four pumpkins on our weed covered front sidewalk. It has looked abandoned, neglected and spooky all year, so now it fits the season. I meant for that to happen.

Waste not want not, so in true Martha style I saved some pumpkin seeds to plant next year and roasted the rest. Kelly and I haven't decided if they are good or not. They are not bad, but kinda hard to chew up. 

We love Halloween!

What a Day

Our water line had ANOTHER leak in it. Last April or so we had a fountain in the front yard under a tree. The water line had broken, so we paid a guy to come fix it, no big deal. Then, two Saturdays ago Kelly, Brother Curlee, Steven Turlington and Nick Ponzio spent the day fixing yet another leak in the water pipe. It was broken in three places, all wrapped up in roots and such. So we thought we were done, and then last Wednesday I awoke to a knock on the door. It was the county water guy telling me that they were investigating our water usage and that our meter was turning. No water was on, so that meant another leak. I spent the day trying to find the leak, but had no luck. So a plumber was called the next day and 1400 dollars and a ripped up yard later, the pipe is fixed and the water is back on.

That Thursday was very stressful because I had not had the water on for over 24 hours and I had to find a plumber that wouldn't cheat me. Ryan spent her day wandering aimlessly, watching TV and getting into things. We cleaned out her closet while waiting for the people who look for all of the buried wires. While cleaning the closet, we found her "bowrina" outfit and so, of course, she had to wear it. She later went pee in the potty so I let her have some Skittles, she thought a dried apricot sounded just as good, and wanted both (so she got both, I'm a pushover, I know!).


This is the picture of the man digging up the yard with his ditch witch. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth the whole time, sorry I couldn't get it in the picture. In the process they had to pull out some bushes I hate. They did not pull all of them out, just the ones in the middle. Now I not only have a hillbilly smile, but I also have a hillbilly hedge! This rocks!




Laura came up to give me shoulder to whine on. I did and then we went and got some ice cream. I made Ryan wait until we got home to eat it. We all went into the living room to eat and Ryan was missing so I went to look for her. I found her in the kitchen by the door with her ice cream. She did not make it very far, but she was happy.


The pipe was laid, and I was sitting on the couch, thinking of the money we just spent, lamenting. Ryan came in from the mud room looking like this plus a ski cap, that she would not keep on for pictures. We still hadn't turned on the water yet, so her face was filthy. If you look close you can also see the cooking apron she had on under her coat. I would also like to mention that it was like 85 degrees outside and I was very hot in a t shirt and jeans but she would not take the coat off.


Ryan then climbed up on the couch, and pulled her change purse out. She opened it up, gasped, looked at me and said "I don't got no money!" I just laughed and she yelled "I'm serious! I don't got no money! You get some for me?" I just stared at her and she just kept telling me that she was serious. I took a picture, and she could tell it was a lost cause.


In the end I was so happy to have the water back on, I washed my kids, cooked, did a load of laundry and dishes. The high wore off though. Laura came today and did a load of my dishes, then I kicked her out before she saw the piles of laundry.

Some of the pictures are a little blurry because out camera is a piece. Sorry.

When you comment on this blog do not tell me that you, or anyone you know is a plumber, could have fixed it cheap or anything of that nature. It is too late, you should have told me when I first met you. If you have any other secret talents or abilities that may be of use to me in the future you are obligated to share them now.

My Cotton Pickin' Husband

We went over to visit the Curlee's after their trip to Alabama. They brought home several things that we thought were pretty cool. Kelly was most impressed with the branches of a cotton plant. Kelly sat on the porch and picked all of the seeds out of a little puff of cotton. His goal is to make a sock with the cotton. Sister Curlee tried to show us how to roll it in your hand to make a string, but Kelly lost patience and decided to make a beard out of it. Ryan kept saying that he looked like Christmas. I kept saying he looked like a geek, but that is nothing new. I love my strange, silly, odd, cotton pickin' husband!

The Curlee's also brought home some sorghum and let us try it. Sister Curlee put it on one of her biscuits. I have to say that the sorghum was not pleasant, I could eat it if I had to, but I could also eat grasshoppers if I had to. I just hope I never have to. The biscuits were wonderful though, of course. I am so glad for these awesome people whom Heavenly Father has put into our lives. We are so lucky to have people that truly love our kids and are so friendly and willing to take us under their wing. They have helped to ease the homesickness so much. They have got a whole family of extraordinarily nice people that we always feel like we belong with and fit right in with them. I'll stop gushing now, but I am feeling "seriously so blessed" right now.

Debate

I hate to debate. I hate to listen to debates. I feel like this is an "acceptable" way to fight. It makes me so tense. I am sitting here listening to the the presidential debate and I am so freaking tense. My hands are dripping! I don;t think I can respect either one of these people. I am going to have to choose the lesser of two evils. McCain will probably get my vote (if I vote) because I am always reminds me of a Gadianton. Every time I hear him speak, or hear anything about him, a flashbulb goes off in my head "BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD!" I know I am supposed to vote based on facts, but probably won't. I guess I am just an emotional female.

Oh Joy!

Joy and Ross, friends/family from Utah came to visit. They had a layover on Saturday night and then left on Sunday morning. Kelly made everyone take a nap at 5:30 pm on Saturday so that they would be awake when Joy and Ross got here at 11:00 that night. My friend Laura and I went to pick them up at the airport. Laura hid in the back of the van and we had a huge plan to scare Ross and Joy when they loaded up their luggage. We had a code word and everything for when Laura was supposed to jump out and scare them. It turned out that only Ross loaded the bags and when Laura jumped out to scare them, Ross just looked at her like she was a fool. Oh, well, Laura and I thought we were funny.

After that we took Ross and Joy on a midnight golf cart ride. The weather was perfect. (Jannica froze, but she hates weather that is colder than 82 degrees). The great thing is that I think we have them talked into moving here at some point. 

We were all bummed when they could only stay for a few short hours. They are coming home on Wednesday, so hopefully they will get stuck in ATL for a few days. We're all crossing our fingers.   

Questionnaire

Kelly's friend posted this on her blog and Kelly thought it might be funny to ask Ryan these questions. I don't think she really got it, but it was kinda funny.
1. What is something mom always says to you? 2
2. What makes mom happy? dollies
3. What makes mom sad? cry
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Ryan is picking her nose and can't annswer
5. What was your mom like as a child? bottle
6. How old is your mom? 2
7. How tall is your mom? big
8.What is her favorite thing to do?play toys
9.What does your mom do when you're not around? jumping jellybeans
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? baby
11.What is your mom really good at? nothing
12.What is your mom not very good at? cry
13.What does your mom do for her job? dentist
14.What is your mom's favorite food? food
15.What makes you proud of your mom? jump me in the air
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Momma
17. What do you and your mom do together? play blocks
18. How are you and your mom the same? 2
19. How are you and your mom different? Ryan fakes sleeping
20. How do you know your mom loves you? no

Halloween Cookies

Kelly, the girls and I decided to make a few Halloween cookies. I always forget just how time consuming sugar cookies are. Only about 20 made it to completion. Oh well, I froze the rest and we can pull them out if (and that is a big if) we ever decide to do them again. 

What cute little bakers!

Ryan likes to use all of her resources when decorating. 

Jannica has decided to laugh every time we tell her to smile. I kinda like that idea!

Vanna one and Vanna two

Enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Playgroup

Two weeks late with this one. Sorry.

At playgroup the other day Ryan and Alex really hit it off. They usually steer clear of each other, but a little something changed that day. Alex was in the mood to be a baby and Ryan (as always) was in the mood to be a mommy. Perfect combo, and oh so cute!

Later on, I had the kids come outside with me and help me pick tomatoes. I was going to let the kids take one home with them, apparently Daniel just could not wait. 

Fishy

Kelly is always bringing home freaky weird things from work. I don't know why boys have an incessant need to try gross "treats" from other countries. I did not get home from work until almost eight o'clock tonight. I came home to find a plate of cookies. I thought that it was so great that for once Kelly had made a treat for the family. Usually that is my job. Upon closer inspection I found that he had ruined these delicious cookies with dried up little fish. 

Exhibit A

I thought that he had put anchovies in the cookies. Kelly informed me that they were not anchovies, and Jannica chimed in that they were candy fish. I could not figure out how candy fish looked so realistic. Kelly clarified by handing me this package.

Exhibit B

I guess these are a tasty treat in some Asian country. Dried up little fish. Yum! Kelly told me later that a girl at work had given him these treats and he had eaten 5. He also got Ryan to eat 2. She didn't like them and spit them out, but he still let her put dried up fish in her mouth! My husband has no morals. Luckily Ryan knew just what to do with the third one that Kelly had given her. 

 

Exhibits C and D

Apparently on the way home Jannica saw the "treats" for the first time and said "Ewww, these are dead fish." Ryan responded by crying and saying "Ohhh, dead fishy!" I guess the 8 fish that we have killed in the last four weeks has been a touch traumatizing. 

Anyhoo, all of this was just to help you see that, and it may sound cliche, but I really do have 3 children. At least they're cute. 

What is tag etiquette?

I have been informed that I am supposed to name other people whom I deem tag worthy, and then they can fill out the tag info on their blog. To fill out the tag info without proper tagging results in serious eternal consequences that I was, until now, unaware of. So let's play... 

The tagee's are: Shay J, Jenise C, Tiffany W (the next room mom for for Mrs. Cole, I am serious, watch out for the call, it could be any day now), Laura J, and anyone else that I can't think of right now. 

Oh, Ryan!

The tone of the title is exasperation.

Ryan and Araya played at our house today, since the Martinez's are here whilst on their way to Texas (another blog, another time, complete details at other blogs I am sure)

Anyhoo, I was on the phone with Laura trying to talk to her about whatever it is we talk about and the girls kept snipping at each other. One wanted the door open, so the other slammed it, one felt wronged, the other felt annoyed, both were looking for any diversion, even if it meant making the other insane. I was busy on the phone, of course, so I gave them both a Popsicle and bought myself a few more minutes of Laura time. 

I walked from the kitchen to the dining room/living room and found Ryan looking very guilty and holding a paint covered paintbrush. I hung up on Laura so she would not hear me cuss and examined the situation more closely. I, foolishly, had left out a paint project from yesterday to dry on the floor in the dining room. Ryan loves to paint, she is always begging to paint with me. She has wanted to get her clammy little hands on this project since day one and I have been very protective. Ryan had taken the "fudge brownie" paint and painted on the sky blue area of the shelf. I was very upset and sputtered, "get to to to timeout now!" 

I proceeded to clean up the mess, thank heaven it was still wet, and all the while Ryan sat in timeout playing with her shoe, and Araya kept saying "we don't touch paint, do we Jaimee." in a very condescending way (I am sure I have spoken to her in this tone many a time, what goes around comes around). 

The paint was all cleaned up, not too much damage done and so Ryan was to be freed from timeout. I made a point to get on her level (just like the Super Nanny says) and told her why she was on timeout. I explained very clearly that we do not touch paint unless Momma is there to help. I then told her that there was something she needed to tell me. She looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and answered with a voice oh, so soft and repentant "you're welcome". Then she gave me a hug and a kiss, picked up her Popsicle off the floor and meandered away. I just sat dazed and kinda giggling. 

I wanna play Tag too!

I am....... Jaimee, Momma, Honey

I want........ to design my new house, I've got big plans

I have....... a very messy house!

I wish........ I could stop working in the ER

I hate........ not having enough time

I fear.......... screwing my kids up

I hear........... Kelly breathing, twitching and turning pages, and the ceiling fan

I search.......... for the solution to disorganization

I always......... forget something

I usually......... am late

I am not.......... flexible anymore :(

I miss............ Having family close by

I love......... Kelly, Jac, Ryan, Chocolate, "bonnet movies", reading, hanging out with the girls, date night, the silly things my kids do and say.

I never........... can make good biscuits

I rarely........ remember birthdays, not out of spite, this just goes with the always forgetful

I cry............ spontaneously, anything can set me off

I am not always........ nice

I lose........... anything and everything

I am confused......... by the hormonal shifts of 2 and 8 year old girls

I need.............. a vacation alone with Kelly

I should........... feel bad that this is not as funny as Kelly's, but I am tired and my brain is worn out

I dream.......... of living on a farm and being self sufficient, but still be able to travel everywhere, I guess kinda like Martha Stewart (I can't help myself, I wanna be her sometimes)

Thanks for tagging us Jen, we stalk you as much as you stalk us.

Tag, You're IT!

It's who I am (I only did this because I was specifically called out in a friends blog).

 

I Am....Kelly.

I Want...to retire (I'm a little young but I think that I would enjoy it now).

I Have...a goldfish (actually 3, the other 5 already died).

I Wish...toddler's came pre potty-trained.

I Hate...waking up in the morning (or any time).

I Fear...boys dating my daughters (I know I have some time, but it is my biggest fear because I know how boys think).

I Hear...High School Musical (The first one).

I Search...for the perfect cookie (That is the real reason I like to eat cookies.  I'm just in an eternal search for the best.  It could last a while).

I Always...go to bed at night.

I Usually...carpool to work

I Am Not...in shape (unless you count a pear as a shape).

I Miss...Utah (Well not Utah, but the friends and family, oh, and the mountains).

I Love...my little family (They are the best) (No offense to you).

I Never...make enough money.

I Rarely...sing out loud (Anyone that really knows me, knows that this is a lie).

I Cry...during sad movies (Don't tell anyone).

I am Not Always...beautiful (Have you seen me in the morning).

I Lose...my keys, cellphone, wallet, if I don't keep them in my pants pockets.

I'm Confused...in the middle of the night when I have to go to the bathroom.

I Need...a million dollars (I could settle for half a million).

I Should...do something constructive instead of checking out blogs.

I Dream...of having a beautiful wife and two wonderful kids (Wait a sec, I already have those).