I like my Banana Republic card

because it just allowed me to buy 6 shirts for 50 cents each. Yea!

Sass

At home in Idaho Falls over Christmas Sam walked out of my Mom's pantry with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in hand. He brought it right to me, held it up and said, "See this? Don't say me no."

Today all was quiet so I went hunting for Sammy. I found him on my bathroom countertop. His feet were in the sink, the water running, and lotion was EVERYWHERE.
He says, "Be a nice Mom. Don't be upset to me."

I made cookies last night, but told Sam he had to eat a bowl of soup for dinner first. He replied, "No. I need to have a cookie first and no soup. Okay?"

Lip Gloss Envy

Sam: I want some Chapstick too.
Me: This isn't Chapstick. This is lip gloss. It's just for girls.
Sam: Just for girls?
Me: Yep.
Sam: Not for boys?
Me: Nope
Sam: I'm a boy.
Me: Yep.
Sam: (Walking away, disappointed.) But I have lips.

My Favorite Things 2008

As a Christmas gift my Mom framed my Great-grandmother's tatting for me and each of my siblings. I love it and am so excited to hang it up in my house.

Speaking of my house...It's almost done. I love the gaping hole in my ceiling which means the furnace is about to be finished. I know I've said this 2 billion times, but we are hoping to have the house up for sale this spring. I am so loving the progress.

Amazingly, I got tickets to Wicked in Salt Lake. I am so excited to finally see this show. I love the music.

I love my 2 year-old. He is so fun even considering his odd sleep habits. He is so sweet when he does sleep and so fun and funny when he's awake. He is my buddy.

I love my Magnalite roasting pan. It has made all the difference in the world for my roasts. My Mom's roast is the best and I've never had any luck making mine turn out right. The pan is the secret. I LOVE IT!
Glitter Toes. The actual picture of the feet was not so inspiring, but this year I sported toes as sparkly as Dorothy's red slipper and I loved them.
Peruvian Hot Chocolate. So yummy.
And of course I can't mention Peruvian Hot Chocolate without a shout out to Manolo's in Lima and the best churros ever.
The Fourth of July in Idaho Falls. There is no better place in the world to be on our nation's Independence Day. The fact that it is Samuel's birthday makes it even better.

Cozy cute slippers that Suzanna introduced me to. I wear them all day every day.

Our trip to St. George and the Bear Paw Cafe. I can't wait to go back this year.

Night Owl

I worked a short shift tonight and came home at 11:45 to a dark quiet house. I tip-toed into my room as silently as possible, trying not to wake anyone up, and promptly had a heart attack when from the darkness a voice said, "Hi mommy! Shh, Daddy's sleeping"
I stifled a scream and as calmly as possible asked "Sam, what are you doing?"
"I in Daddy's bed. I tan't tose my eyes."

I want a refund or something. This kid has never slept like normal kids are supposed to. If he naps in the afternoon, he does not sleep at night. I'm not talking about 3-4 hour naps past 4 PM. Today he napped from 1:00 to 2:30. Not unreasonable.
I don't want to take his naps away because he gets really cranky by 6 PM without one and I can't get anything done if I don't get at least an hour without him undoing everything I've accomplished, but seriously people.

More than once I have gone to bed thinking he was well on his way to dreamland and then have woken up to the sounds of his nocturnal activities. He occasionally greets me at the door at 3:00 AM after a night shift. He comes up with all kinds of excuses to not go to sleep. He tells me there is a big bad wolf in his bed, or a mean giant in his room, so maybe he's having some fears, but most of the time I find him up playing with toys or reading books.
I am starting to worry that there may actually be something seriously wrong. It scares me that he is up and into things when I am unconscious.
What do I do?

Snow Fun

Sam and I are very proud of this snowman. I think it is the first complete snowman I've ever made.

Hee Hee

this is funny

According to Sam...

• My name is Momuel. Makes sense I guess, when you consider that Daddy is Daniel and he is Samuel.
• He has a make-believe-friend named Robin who likes to play trains and sit in the rocking chair. Robin is a boy. Sometimes he doesn't share and has to sit in time-out.
  
• We do NOT throw balls in the house when the Christmas tree is up. Also, there is a big difference between inside basketballs and outside basketballs. It was a little pathetic that he had to remind me of these rules yesterday. I break a lot of rules apparently. Luckily he always lets me know when I screw up.
  
• Santa is bringing him a garbage truck, a race car, and a violin.

Anyone know where to find a toy violin for a two-year-old?

Just a Few Little Things

I'm not much into posting at the moment; lack of creative inspiration I guess. I do have a few funny things Sam has done lately that I want to document.

We got up early on Election Day, woke Sam up, and he asked where we were going. I told him we were going to go vote. He stood in line with us very patiently. He was so well behaved and I was proud and relieved. After I voted I was waiting for Daniel to finish up. Sam looked up at me and said, "Mom, I'm so EXCITED!"
"What are you excited for?" I asked.
"For the BOATS! I'm going to drink my apple juice on the boat." He answered.
Oh, poor baby! I had to explain that there were no boats. He lost it on the sidewalk in front of the school. He demonstrated a kicking, screaming, crying tantrum for all the elementary students and their parents as they filed into the school. Awesome.

One day in the car Sam says to me, "You know Barack Obama?"
"Yeah." I answered, thinking how does he know Barack Obama?
"I like him." Sam said.
Okay. That was one good campaign.

I asked Sam about three times to start putting his toys away so we could go somewhere. He completely ignored me. Finally he looked up like he was annoyed and said, "Mom, I'm not listening to you."
Oh, good. I thought maybe he had just lost his hearing.

Artist Update

I had the sofa cleaned and most of the marker came out. I was happily surprised and the cleaning guy said he was shocked. The picture didn't truly demonstrate the gravity of the situation. The entire backrest of the couch was covered in drawings. There are still a few small spots, but I'm pretty pleased. However, even with Magic Eraser (thanks anyway Maria), the windowsill is still heavily decorated.

When it happened Sam knew I was upset and he locked himself in the bathroom. A few minutes later he went into his room and came out with some baby wipes. He said, "Don't worry Mom. I 'tean' it up. Makes you sad?"
I said "Yes."
"Oh!" with a concerned look, "Makes me happy."

The Culprit:

The Crime:

So, is this one of the things I'm going to "laugh" about someday? Pretty much right now I'd just like to cry.

Just For Uncle Paul
'cause we all know what happens when someone double-dog-dares me

8 Things

8 TV shows I love to watch

1. The Office
2. The Biggest Loser (while eating snacks)
3. What Not to Wear
4. Jon and Kate plus 8 (makes me grateful for my life)
5. Lost
   

Okay, sorry, I'm out. It's not that I don't watch a lot of TV, I'll watch whatever is on. I just don't have that many must see shows.

8 Favorite Restaurants

No worries; I've got this one covered.

1. Ottavio's
2. El Azteca
3. Cafe Rio
4. Kneaders
5. La Carretta
6. Olive Garden
7. Texas Roadhouse
8. Puerto Vallarta
9. Ruby River
10. ...What? You only wanted 8? But I've got more. No Thanks? Okay.

8 Things that happened yesterday

1. Pumpkin Patch field trip (Where Sam got teased by some Kindergartners about his Halloween costume. These rotten little boys called him a "stupid pirate" and asked "Where's your stupid bird, stupid pirate?" Sam had no clue and was all like, "whatevs", but I went all Momma Bear on them with, "No you di'n't. Aw snap. Use your nice words." I showed those 5 year-olds.
   
2. Sam took a too short nap and I tried to join him, but couldn't sleep
3. Had my yearly evaluation at work
4. Planned what to make for dinner
5. Decided it involved a trip to the grocery store
6. Planned where to eat out instead
   
7. Went to the church Halloween carnival where there were several pirates, but none as cute as Sam and none had a parrot. So there, Kinderbabies! (Why am I still kind of bothered by them?)
8. Daniel and I listened to our Camry make a coughing death-like rattle and decided I would take it to the mechanic in the morning. Which I did today.
   

***Sidenote Alert*** I don't really trust mechanics. First off they treat me like an idiot. Granted, I don't know how to "pop my hood", I can't say with complete certainty what year my car is, and I don't know the mileage off the top of my head, but I can tell when I'm being talked down to, I do know where the serpentine belt is, I know the difference between a timing belt and a timing chain, and I'm pretty sure I could tell if someone was completely making up the name of an engine part (which a mechanic tried to do to me a few years ago), and I know for sure that this noise isn't my tires.

Me: My car is making a funny noise. It's coming from under the hood and I'm thinking it might be related to this belt because it gets faster when I accelerate.
Skinny Dude: (Rolling his eyes at the other guys at the counter). I'll come check it out. (Walking outside.) It's probably your tires.
Me: I don't think so. It's coming from under the hood.
Skinny Dude: You probably don't do a lot of work under the hood, do you.

So then he takes it back for a "diagnostic" and comes out to tell me that my 2 and a half year old Honda (it's a Toyota, skinny dude) has a broken water pump and that if I try to drive it out of the parking lot it's "gonna seize up" on me. And that it will cost $271.oo-331.00. I think this guy is a moron and using all kinds of technical jargon (BS) to prove that he knows more than me. I'm just about to call him on it when "Butch" walks into the room.

Butch: You the one with the Toyota?
Me: Yeah.
Butch: The bearings are out on the water pump. It's a pretty new car, so you should call Toyota and check on your warranty. It's probably covered.
Me: Thanks. Am I okay to drive it home?
Butch: Oh yeah, just don't take it too fast and get it fixed soon.

Butch is dressed in a jumpsuit and is head-to-toe grease and I am immediately relieved. Turns out skinny dude is basically just a receptionist. I hope he doesn't do a lot of work under the hood.

8 Things I'm looking forward to

1. My Birthday
2. Christmas
3. Going home for Christmas
   
4. The Office tonight
5. A walk to the park this afternoon
6. Someday moving out of this house
7. Daniel coming home from work
8. Sam's bedtime
   

8 Things on my wish list

1. new shoes
2. more money
3. warm weather
4. finished house
5. sold house
6. new house
7. a free fixed car
8. housekeeper
   

8 Tidbits about me
Oh come on! Isn't this entire blog about me.

8 Pet Peeves

1. People who break rules
2. Mechanics who lie and treat me like I'm stupid
3. The sound of Styrofoam. Just thinking about it squiks me out.
4. People who tell me before I've even poked them: "I'm a really hard stick", "I have bad veins", "you'll have to use the baby needle on me", "I want the doctor (manager, charge nurse) to do my IV" etc. Just so you know, telling the nurse how to do his/her job pretty much guarantees you an uncomfortable venipuncture experience. And by the way, the doctor hasn't done an IV since med school and I've probably done 10 just today, so chew on that.
   
5. People who come to the ER for really minor things (example:chapped lips. No, really.) or for a cold they've had for 2-3 days. Seriously? You decided it was an EMERGENCY right now? At 11:30 PM.? Why not earlier today, WHEN YOUR DOCTOR'S OFFICE WAS OPEN!
6. Reruns
7. My neighbor's chimney which blows smoke directly at my house. WHY?
8. Children unrestrained in a vehicle

Wow! That was a lot of work. I may not be able to blog again for at least a few days. How will you all go on without me.

Witches Night Out

Last Friday I went to the Witches Festival at Gardner Village with my friends Emily and Ashley and Ashley's mom. We ate yummy food, window shopped, danced and generally had a festive time. We did miss out on the palm reading (which was a huge disappointment for me) but there's always next year.
I stole this picture from Emily's blog because I am too lazy to download my own pictures.

Ridin' the Potty Train

Sam listened to a few conversations last week at my parent's house in Idaho about potty training. Friday morning he woke up and told me, "I want to ride the potty train."
Alright, all aboard...again.
Every so often Sam decides to pee on the potty. He does it for a day or two and then refuses to even think about it after that. So, Friday all day he peed on the potty, he wore big boy underwear and kept them dry, and then I left for "witches night out" (another story). While I was gone Sam peed on the floor twice and has been in diapers ever since. We're going to try again Monday morning. This potty train is sure a long uncomfortable ride.

Things that Make Me Smile

Some of the things Sammy does just crack us up. Many of the things he does make us crazy, but later we can usually smile about them, and then there are the things that are kind of cute now, but won't be in a few years.

Sam came into the kitchen tonight while I was cleaning up dinner and asked for another cookie. He had already had several so I told him no. Then he said, "Daddy say, 'bring me a cookie." I knew that was likely, so I gave him a cookie to give to Daniel. Sam came back a few minutes later and asked, "Can I have a cookie? No? Okay." Then he just walked away. Wow. He sure took that well...for about three minutes. He is currently saying, "Can I have a cookie? Sure? Yes? Please?" and is frustrated by my lack of cooperation. Oh wait, he just took the cookies to Dad and returned with one in his mouth. I see how this works.

His imagination is in full force. It is so fun to watch him play. He turns ordinary objects into the most interesting props and has captivating conversations with his imaginary pals. Throughout the day I hear, "I'm the Jazz, Mom. I'm Boozer." "Woooooo! I'm the police. Put your hands up. Get in the police car. We're going to the zoo."

He almost always shares, but I've noticed that lately with food he is very careful to give me the smaller half.

He repeats EVERYTHING. He tells me, "Just a minute please. Can you see my hands are busy?"

I'm just so amazed as I watch Sam turn into a big boy. Time is going so quickly and it seems like he changes overnight. I want to remember all the little things he does that make us realize how much he learns and grows every day.

Quirky

My cousin Challis tagged me to list 6 quirks.

No. 1--Would have to be that I compulsively look up words in the dictionary (like quirk) even if I am 100% sure of the definition. I have spent hours reading dictionaries. I don't know why. I think it's boring.
No. 2--I love balsamic vinegar and have been known to drink it straight from the bottle.
No. 3--I love blood and guts and pus. I really like to incise and drain infections.
No. 4--I cannot share milk with anyone, not even with Sam. I will freely share any other food or beverage. It has to do with the viscosity of milk.
No. 5--If I start to read a novel I cannot stop until I have finished it, even if it is stupid. I will read through meals and stay up all night if necessary. This is why I have to limit myself to just a few books a year. Good thing I'm a fairly fast reader.
No. 6--I'm a very competitive walker. If I am walking alone and there are people ahead of me I will speed walk to pass them. Sometimes it is really obvious and it freaks people out, so that's embarrassing, but I still do it.
No. 7--(Wow, I didn't think I'd be able to come up with 6.) I have a phobia of birds. I hate them and have been attacked by them on more than one occasion.

High School Tag

I've always said that High School was okay, but that I really loved college. I think that after answering these questions I've realized why. I was super lame in High School.

1 Did you date someone from your school? Certainly not.

2 What kind of car did you drive? The big yellow bus. Oh, you mean the 3 times a month I was allowed to drive myself? A silver minivan. Awesome.
3 Did you pass your driver's license test on the first try? Yes, but I got a 3 month restriction for signaling too soon on a right turn. Our Driver's Ed teacher was a misogynist.
4 Were you a party animal? Not really. I've always been more of a small group person. I hate loud parties (especially dances.)
5 Were you considered a flirt? Pretty sure I wasn't.
6 Were you in a band, orchestra or choir? No, but I've always dreamed of having a good singing voice.
7 Were you a nerd? Obviously, and it's becoming more and more apparent the more questions I answer. (But my 17 year-old ego still imagines that I was cool.)
8 Were you on any varsity teams? Nope. I was a loser!
9 Did you get suspended or expelled? No. Again, can you say Mary Sue?
10 Can you still sing the fight song? Kind of, but the tune gets mixed up with the Cougar fight song. I still remember, "Hillcrest Knights! Show your might!"
11 Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Kittle, Mrs. Bybee, Mr. Anderson.
12 Where did you sit during lunch? Hallways, or out to Albertson's for the "usual" (samples).
13 What's your school's full name? Hillcrest High School
14 What was your mascot and colors? Knight. Red Black and White.
15 Did you go to homecoming? I think so? I was anti-dance and anti-official-dates, so it's hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I did at least once.
16 If you could go back and do it all again, would you? Yeah. There were lots of moron, lame stuff I did, that I would glam up the second time around.
17 What do you remember most about graduation? Meeting people I had never spoken to before and figuring out that they were kind of awesome and that I maybe should have branched out a little. And a weird 30 minutes at the end of the Senior all-nighter that I spent arm in arm with some dude whose name I can't remember and who I'm pretty sure I had never really spent any time with before and never saw again. I think we were just exhaustedly holding each other up during the prize drawing.
18 Where did you go on your Senior Skip Day? Which one?
19 Were you in any clubs? Health Occupations Students of America, but that was required with the Health Occ. Class. And I went to one Key Club meeting, got elected to some little office and never went back.
20 Have you gained some weight since then? Unfortunately. I just keep getting bigger and better.
21 Who was your prom date? I think our big dances were Homecoming and Commencement. Did we have Prom? I really do think I went to Senior Commencement, but I cannot think of who I went with. Ash, do you know?
22 Are you planning to go to your 10 year reunion? Been there, did that and it was actually pretty enjoyable. I can't believe how many people I recognized, but couldn't think of names. My parents told me that someday that would happen, and now I know how it is.
23 Did you have a job while in high school? Night Manager, Papa Kelsey's. Didn't love the job, but made some really good friends (and some friends who turned out to be felons. Go figure.)

I tag my high school friends (Ashley, Emily, Maria, Debby and anyone else who reads this.) And I think everyone else should do it too so you can show me how much cooler you were. It's okay. I can handle it. I'm the coolest now.

I'm so Proud of this Child

Because I'm a nurse, I got a free ticket in the mail to "Bodyworlds III". It is an exhibition of real human bodies displayed and posed to show how incredible they are. Having been a TA in a cadaver lab and with my current occupation, you might guess that I am super excited about this and cannot wait to go.

There have been a lot of commercials on TV for this lately and the first time Sam saw it he got a look of horror on his face and said, "That scares me! It's yucky!". I had to give him credit for an instinctual response. Lately, though, when the commercial comes on he says, "Mom. I wanna go see that. I wanna go there." (Which is the same thing he says when the Disneyland commercial comes on.)
That's momma's boy.

Tia Gloria

Daniel's Aunt Gloria came for a visit from Peru last week. We had a great time. I really love this lady, she is awesome. We were so sorry to see her go. We did lots of fun things.

We went to Peach Days in Brigham City.

We hiked up to Timapanogos Cave.


We did lots of shopping and eating yummy food. We wish that we could spend more time with Daniel's family in Peru. We love and miss them all.

I'm Wondering What this Says about Me

This post is a really long personal commentary all about me. Things you probably didn't know and will probably wish you still didn't if you choose to read the whole thing.


I'm not extremely superstitious, but recent events have got me thinking.
I have a firm belief in fortune cookies. When Daniel asked me to marry him he did it through a message on a plate at a Chinese restaurant. The fortune cookies that came on the plate told me to "Say yes to an important decision" and "Any doubts you may have will be resolved by the end of the month". So yeah, pretty fortuitous right?
However, the last several fortunes I've received have been a little less than positive. Less fortune than dire warning. Along the lines of: Tonight is a good night to remain indoors; Beware of those you think you trust; etc. I'm not sure what to make of this.
For your enjoyment I've linked to a Collection of weird fortunes.

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm psychic. You see, I always know if I'm going to win something. I just get a gut feeling right before winners are announced in a contest or drawing and I know if I won.

Examples: 2nd Grade Essay Contest--I knew I'd won from the moment the school secretary walked into the classroom to tell my teacher.
Local Library Contest--You had to guess how many candies were in the jar. At the summer reading culmination party they announced the winners. I knew it was me, but then as the read the name: And the winner is Jenna Hobbs, tragedy struck. Another girl, named Jenny Hobbs, stood up and took my prize.
History Fair--Every year I just had that gut feeling just before they announced the winners for the place I'd won. 4th place the first year, 1st place another year. I just knew.

Well, after many years of similar experiences I decided to test my theory. I'm thinking that maybe I just always think I'm going to win and if I do I think "I knew it" and if I don't then I just ignore it. So, at a recent staff meeting they had a drawing for a stupid candy bar. I had that I'm going to win it feeling again. Well, they drew the name and it wasn't me. Okay, so I'm realizing that maybe I'm not psychic after all, but then...The guy who won it said he didn't want it, so they drew another name, MINE! I WON, I WON, I WON! AND I KNEW IT!
So, I'm pretty sure I'm psychic.