Irritable Blog Syndrome

Unclean! Unclean!

Naomi: Mom, I have an uncleanness.

Me: What???

Naomi: I have an uncleanness. You know, my dimples.

Me: You mean an imperfection?

Naomi: Ya that.

(Yes, I do in fact deeply regret ever explaining to her that technically speaking dimples are an imperfection.)

Walk Like an Egyptian...to Tea

Egyptian princess for a princess tea party. Obviously.

Gone Huntin'

Me: What are you using that tin for?

Naomi: It's a trap.

Me: A trap for what?

Naomi: Catching a jaguar. I put some carrion in it but it didn't seem to work.

OW! OW! OW!

First there was a fire ant sting...then the apocalypse...then this.

All A's

Me: What are you playing?

Naomi: Aardvarks and armadillos.

Well obviously.

Gymnastics Cheese

Deeeaaad Bee

Me (to the dead bee floating in the pool): "Rest in peace bee."

Naomi (to the dead bee floating in the pool): "Live long and prosper bee."

Cirque du Naomi

This is exactly what it looks like.

EL OH EL!!!

I highly recommend the "Elephant & Piggie" books by Mo Willems (actually any of his books). They'll make you and your kid laugh so hard you have to leave the library. True story.

We Jammin'

Surely I can't be the first person to use this song in reference to making jam, right?

Our First Family Eclipse Photo

7:32 p.m. Mountain Time ~ St. George, UT

Coming to a Freeway Off-Ramp Near You

"Because of Winn-Dixie"

It's about a dog...in a town named Naomi. It ranks very high on the coolness scale for her.

Checkers Giganticus

"Mom, these are the best books...EVER!"

Dogs Can Be Such Jerks

Homemade dog food and they have the audacity to pick out the veggies. What an ungrateful bunch!

Mini-Martha?

I thought having them in nice little baskets was enough in the way of organizing. Clearly, I was wrong.

Up a Tree

Went to the park on Wednesday and Naomi spent almost the entire time sitting in this tree with her wooly mammoth. No joke.

Peaches

Reading her new book on wooly mammoths to her new wooly mammoth, Peaches.

Talking "Shop" aka Dinosaurs

All dinos, all the time, it never ends.

Just how bad is the weather in Washington?

Bippity Boppity Boo

I asked her to brush her teeth and she emerges 20 minutes later with clean teeth, garish eyeshadow and a crown.

Do These Earrings Make Me Look Old?

A certain person got her ears pierced today. She had asked me about nine months ago if she could and we finally got around to it. She was excited but a little scared too (her words). There were no tears (though just barely I think) but she was shaking so much afterwards that I was worried she was gonna pass out or something. She recovered quickly and has now moved into the paranoia phase of caring for newly pierced ears.

Wishing it Was Her "Special" Blanket

What's the Big Deal? I Can Totally Do This Too!

She's Very Busy Gal These Days

In the Zone

HEY...at least it's an educational game.

The Fruits From Our Loom

Remember these? They're a bigger pain to do then I remembered but we had fun doing them and it was an excellent lesson in patience...for the both of us.

"I am 7..going on 18..."

The Roof...The Roof...The Roof is on Fire!

Family Tree

Four years ago today my Grandma (on my Mom's side) passed away.  One year ago on October 17th my Grandad (again on my Mom's side) passed away.  I lost my Grandma on my Dad's side when I was about 9-years-old and my Grandad when I was 19-years-old.

With each of their passing’s I felt a little piece of me disappear.  Why?  I had AWESOME grandparents!  Not in the "buy us whatever we wanted" kind of way, but they genuinely loved their grandkids and enjoyed having us around.  They were never too busy for us and we always looked forward to seeing them with a great deal of excitement.

My Dad’s parents were a neat duo.  My Granddad was in the banking business and my Grandma was a schoolteacher.  When they were in their late 30s (maybe early 40s, I’m estimating) they opened their hearts and their home and adopted my dad and his younger sister.  They lived in a very 1950’s style home that was pink.  PINK!!!  Not hot pink or Pepto pink, a light soft pink with white trim.  It was groovy…enough said.  They were both raised in the country and came from large families.  My Grandma could sew, quilt, crochet and can/pickle just about anything you could think of.  She was a skillful card player (and apparently very competitive with her friends) and taught us kids more card games then I could ever remember.  My Granddad was more in the background but I remember he always like to sit on the floor, which as a kid made you feel more relaxed and at ease talking to him.  He was funny and goofy…and so is his son (my Dad).  They both enjoyed traveling around in their RV and they had the picture slides to prove it!

My Mom’s parents married young and did the craziest thing…they had FIVE daughters…and lived in a one-bathroom house.  It was the beautiful, two-story craftsmen-style house with a huge yard, including a hill for rolling down.  My Granddad kept a very extensive garden for many, many years.  He grew a variety of things but my favorites were his tomatoes and to this day, all tomatoes just pale in comparison. Yes, they were that good!   He also had a never-ending battle with the squirrels that lived in the walnut trees in their yard, but that’s a whole other post entirely.  My Grandma was a nifty lady.  After raising five daughters (a task that in my opinion should have completely robbed her of all her sanity) she went on travel extensively, including many countries in Europe.  She also was the queen of mailing cards.  She never forgot a graduation, an anniversary, a birth, etc.  She hit them all.  She was an expert at picking out the cheesy/funny cards.  When I got into my tween/teen years the highlight of my summer was getting to go stay for two weeks with them.  It was nice just “hanging out” with her and visiting.  She was always interested in what us kids were up to and made us feel so at home.

I could go on and on and on…and on and on and on about my grandparents.  I have so many wonderful memories of them, as do all my siblings.  They were all so kind, giving, loving and compassionate.  I miss them all dearly.  A little piece of me disappeared with each of them but I know that piece is not gone forever.  (Isa. 65: 17-23, Isa. 25:8, Rev. 21:3, 4)  My heart just bubbles over with excitement when I think about a time in the future when I will get to see them all again, and they will get to see their great grandkids again or in my Dad’s parent's case, for the first time!

Say What?

Sound-proof ear protectors...a very versatile accessory.

"But I forgot my swimsuit..."

A point that's pretty much moot now isn't it?

A Dog's Life

Hello Luva'!

Her Grandpa Would Be Proud

ATTENTION CRAWFISH OF THE WORLD...WHEN YOU SEE THIS GAL COMING YA BETTER RUN!

DIY Jurassic Park

Just add water...

All You Need Is...

Field Trip...Vegas Style

Look Out Picasso

Someone really got into their painting today.

Where I Was

Ten years ago today I was asleep in bed.  Oblivious.  At around 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time, (my parents live in Oklahoma so time-wise they were two hours ahead) my Dad called me and told me to turn on the news, a plane had hit one of the World Trade Towers.

I crawled out of bed, stepped into the living room and turned on the T.V.  On the screen was one of the Towers and it had obviously been hit by something and there was a fire.  I, like many people I’m sure, wrongfully assumed it was some sort of small aircraft that had hit the building.  It was sad to see and I thought, “Oh that’s terrible, I hope there weren’t too many casualties.  What an unfortunate accident.”

I turned off the T.V. and went back to bed.

I woke up for the second time at around 8:00 to get ready for work.  I turned the T.V. back on and saw the unbelievable.  By then, the Pentagon had been hit, a plane had crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, the second tower had been hit and had fallen.

I was speechless.

Had you ever been to the Towers?  I had.  I was 11-years-old.  My Dad had taken my brothers and I to New York over our Thanksgiving Break.  It was an amazing trip.  We went all the way to the top and looked out over the city.  I remember being fascinated by the fact we were so high up you could see the curve of the Earth.  A definite first for me.  I even got a shirt.  It was black and had the New York City skyline screen-printed on it in silver.  The Twin Towers were the biggest and boldest buildings on it.  I loved that shirt.

I got ready for work and left.  In the 10 minutes it took me to get to work, the second tower fell.  I heard about it from a co-worker.  Again, I was baffled and speechless.  What can you possibly say?  It was the first time I cried over something I had seen on the news.

I can’t even begin to count the number of times the tears came over the new few weeks whenever I began to think of all the families who lost one (or even more) of their loved ones.  In the immediate aftermath, the hardest parts for me to see or hear were the accounts of families whose loved ones called them either from one of the buildings, or one of the planes when they knew things were not going to end well.  Then I saw a clip of video showing a person plunging to their death out of a window.  My heart just sunk.  I could not and still cannot even imagine being in a situation where that would be the preferable choice.  Can you?  Burn to death…jump to your death.  What a devastating choice.

Since 9/11 we have become parents.  I look at the tragedy differently now because of having a child.  I’m not sure how I missed this statistic but approximately 3,000 children lost a parent that day.  I’m sure there were children who even lost both parents.  I think now that is the saddest part for me to think about.  Children whose parents became a part of history in an instant.  Children who have countless amounts of video of the moments their parent died.  My heart aches for them.

I have not lost hope though.  I have not let it cause me to lose my faith.  There will come a time when the world will be at peace and these sort of horrors will be a thing of the past.  Rev. 21:3,4; Micah 4:3.

Welcome to Las Vegas

Away We Go...

It Just Got Weird

I've gotten to the point in the packing process where the contents of boxes are becoming incredibly random. Oh, and I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my shoulder from my over zealous use of the tape gun.

Birds of a Feather

The "Montessori Mafia" is Gaining Ground

Nice, brief article by MIT Research Scientist, Andrew McAfee on the Montessori Method and it's awesomeness.  He quotes Wikipedia in giving a brief synopsis of the method that is really well written too.  Just thought I'd share.

Toddlers & Tiaras...Except Not Psycho

Look what I found during my "cleaning out the closets" treasure hunt...Naomi's first tap shoes! Cute, huh? She wore these her first year of dance. She was three-years-old and fab-u-lous!

In Stitches

Naomi took a sewing class this past week and these are are projects, a pillowcase and a cute little bag. She really enjoyed it and has many MANY ideas about other things she'd like to make.

"The best of friends..."

There are just some of Naomi's baby things I don't think I'll ever be able to part with, and her crib set is one (well, more like five) of those things.

You Might Be a Redneck If...

...you go rock-climbing barefoot. (Yes that's my kid not someone else's.)