Skunk the Knocker

Matty's little narratives crack me up sometimes. This was just a few minutes ago:

All I asked was, "What is today?"

Matty's reply:
Halloween! And we will knock on 20 doors, and I will count them! And I will knock and they will say, "Who's there?" And I will say, "Skunk!" And they will say "Skunk who?" And I will say "Skunk the knocker!" And they will say, "Ha ha ha ha!"

Where does he get this stuff?? Silly kid!

Vote and Get Free Food!!

Tiburon posted this and I'm just passing along the info! :)

On the evening of election day, Ben and Jerry's will be giving out a FREE ice cream scoop to consumers around the nation!

The free ice cream scoop will be available on the evening of Tuesday, November 4th from 5-8pm. So go get your vote on - then go have some ice cream and watch the returns come in!

In order to "applaud Americans who exercise their right to vote in the 2008 Presidential campaign", Krispy Kreme will be giving all voters a FREE doughnut on election day!

So, on Tuesday, November 4th, head over to a participating Krispy Kreme stores and collect one free star-shaped doughnut with red, white, and blue sprinkles!

In order to claim your free doughnut, you just need to show up with your "I Voted" sticker they hand out at the polls after voting.

Thankful Thursday

It's so good for me to sit down every week and make a list of what I feel thankful for. Some weeks are harder than others to think of things, but I already have several in mind for today.

1. My new sofa slipcover. Seriously excited about this. I love that I don't have to see that hideous tear any more and look at that busy purple plaid pattern! (I guess I still have to see it on the love seat, but hopefully not for long!)

2. Halloween tomorrow. I'm excited to take Matty trick-or-treating so that I can steal his candy he can have fun!

3. Old friends. I've been able to come in contact with a ton of old friends lately. It's amazing to talk to people I thought I'd never hear from or see again!

4. A husband who takes the trash out. It's not like I can't do it, but I just hate the walk all the way to the dumpsters. It seems so far, especially weighed down by heavy, stinky diapers! I can't wait til we have a garage with a trash can right there!! In the meantime, I'm glad Dan takes that long walk for me.

5. Matty's drawings. He's started drawing things lately that you can actually recognize! He learned to draw stick figures out of nowhere! Last week at church he drew me as a stick figure wearing earrings and holding an egg. I don't know why I was holding the egg, but his drawing was so cute! They make me happy.
6. The right to vote. I'm so thankful to live in this country and have the right to vote for my leaders. So many people in the world don't have that freedom. We are so blessed!

7. Laughter. Without the ability to laugh, I don't know how I'd make it through my days!!

I guess that's it for now since there's a baby screaming for her momma in my bedroom.
Are you feeling thankful for something today? Care to share??

What's Old is New!

FINALLY!!! After years of living with a big ol' tear in my couch cushions and wanting to cover them, I finally found one that fits our big sofa that Dan and I could agree on! HURRAY!!! I've been looking online at slipcovers forever but didn't like the material for most and didn't want to pay too much. And I really wanted one that had a separate cushion cover so it didn't look so much like a slipcover. I finally found it in Bed, Bath & Beyond this week (they rarely have much of a t-cushion selection) and was able to use a 20% off coupon to get a great deal!

A picture where you can see part of the tear
(I forgot to actually take a before picture.)

After!

I love that it's a solid color so I don't have one more busy pattern in my already cluttered, mismatched house. I'm so happy with it!

Now I just have to wait for another 20% off coupon so I can make the love seat match....
(unless anyone in the neighborhood has a coupon they're not using :) )

Carving Pumpkins

Matty has been so excited to carve his pumpkin, so we finally did it last night for Family Home Evening. He picked the biggest one and wanted a mad face on it. I must have showed him 20 different options (including fun cartoon characters) but all he wanted was a mad face.

Since there's carpet in the dining area of the apartment, we always carve our pumpkins in the bathroom with trash bags taped to the floor. Apparently our bathroom is shrinking because it was very hard to fit all of us in there unlike years past. (Jossy with her walker and bumbo seat didn't help the lack of room.)
Matty was reluctant to make a mess (hurray!!) but eventually got really into it and had fun. Mom and Dad had less fun trying to keep him away from the knives. Jossy just screamed for attention the whole time (which is pretty much what she does all day long now.) Dan and I waited to carve ours until Matty was in bed, but even then we didn't get everything done and cleaned up until 11:30 PM!! It's funny the work we put into something that's just going to rot in a few days.
(Because I know someone will ask, the 2nd in from the left is the Ubuntu logo due to a computer nerd in the house. Mine is the next one and it's a mother and baby. We decided to make Jossy's a happy face to try and balance out Matty's angry one.)

Unusual Tradition

I don't know why.
For fun I guess.

Memory Lane: My Angel of Death

Today a couple stories from college!

Story #1
One night during my freshman year I was at the grocery store shopping when I got really sick. By the time I was in the check-out line, I was starting to black out. I quickly handed my friend whom I was with my debit card, told her my PIN and then went to sit against a wall. Blacking out isn't an unusual thing for me when I'm sick, but it's still not fun to draw attention to yourself in public that way (as I have many times.) Once the feeling passed enough, I got up and got to the car with some help. I honestly can't recall the ride home at all.

Once I was back to my apartment, I immediately laid down on the couch and didn't move for hours. I might have had a priesthood blessing, I can't remember. After a while with a cold rag over my eyes, I heard my roommate Sandi's voice. I looked up at her and saw she was dressed as an angel complete with a pillowcase as wings clipped to her back with a hair clip. She had a dictionary in her hand and was reciting the definition of the word death. (This scene may sound familiar if you've seen the movie Patch Adams.) At the time I think 1/2 of me thought she was funny and 1/2 of me wanted to deck her (no offense, Sandi) because I felt so sick. Now I just think she was hilarious!

Story #2
A few years later when I was engaged, Sandi threw me a surprise bridal shower, only this was no normal bridal shower. It was my funeral. That's right. My funeral because my single life was dead. When I walked in everyone was pretending to cry (and trying not to laugh.) I had no clue what was going on! This time, I was the angel as I was given a vale/halo to wear. I was forced to sit in the back while Sandi and a few others offered a eulogy. (Dan stayed a little while but not the whole time.)
My picture from the student directory was at the front next to a cookie jar (supposedly my urn.) Afterward there were cookies for all and some gifts for me including, of course, lingerie (as is given out at all funerals, right??) I was given my cookie jar urn, which to this day is still the only cookie jar I own. I've never taken a cookie out of there without thinking of my "funeral".

What memories you've given me, Sandi!!!

Boo at the Zoo

Our kind friends the Muellers bribed us to be their friends with free tickets to "Boo at the Zoo." Lucky for them, we're easily bought. :) (Really, a brownie would do it too.) Even though we had a horrible night's sleep the night before (since Jossy now insists on waking up every 45 minutes all night long,) we still managed to get out of bed and everyone out the door.

Everyone was in costumes, and there were trick-or-treating stations throughout the zoo. It was so CROWDED I could hardly believe it! But it was still fun to see all the costumes. Matty loved waving at Elmo. I had a heck of a time getting Matty to wear his costume but eventually a little reverse psychology worked.
Matty's favorite thing to see were the monkeys. They're always my favorite, too. It seems like they're often the only animal that does anything!
It was Jossy's first trip to the zoo. She was politely disinterested the whole time.
I love this one of Matty and the snake. He wasn't afraid of it, he was just asking me a question, but I love that it looks like he's terrified.Matty had a great time with his friends and told us afterward, "That was a fun day!" That always makes a parent feel good.

Thanks Alex and Shandra for inviting us! (And please tell your mom thank you for the tickets!)

Primary Party

Friday night the primary had a Halloween party for the kids and decided to invite the whole ward. Matty had a good time playing the fishing game.
He won 2nd place in the costume contest
but the stinker wouldn't go get his prize so I had to drag him by the wrist to get it! (I know it's fuzzy, but it shows me dragging him.)
He got some playdough and ended up playing with it all night. (Notice it on his head as a hat.)
Somehow I talked Dan into playing musical chairs when it was the adults turn. Good thing I didn't marry him for his musical chairs abilities because he was out on the 2nd round.
We learned that night that Matty has a fear of clowns. He wouldn't go within 20 feet of the one clown there and notified us at all times where the scary clown was. Interesting.

The Skunk and the Pea Pod

I love taking pictures of my kids (as I'm sure is obvious by now.) Dressing them in their costumes is a great excuse!! Here are a few of my favorites:

Thankful Thursday

I know, shocker, I'm actually doing this ON A THURSDAY!! It may be 10 at night, but I'm going to get this done TODAY for once!

1. Getting pumpkins with the kids. We bought our pumpkins this morning. (Yes, we're lame and just get them at the grocery store, but I got a good deal!) Matty had fun climbing the mounds of pumpkins.
2. Matty's milk allergy is improving!! At least it seems to be getting better. He's had things with little bits of milk and cheese lately and doesn't seem to be breaking out. So today he got to try his FIRST doughnut and piece of lasagna. No hives!! Yay!
3. Chocolate. Seriously, wouldn't want to live without it.
4. Sleep. Oh, how I miss thee!
5. Playgroup. Our ward has playgroup once a week. Us moms aren't thinking of our own need to socialize at all! I swear it's all for the kids! *wink wink*
6. Visiting Dan at work. Matty loves to go see his dad at work (probably just so he can draw on the white erase board there.) It's always fun to surprise Dan with a visit.
7. The holiday season. It's coming!!!

What are you thankful for this week? Care to share?

Keep Going

There are days as a mother that I just feel my feet dragging, like I just can't do this another day.

Then I see these sweet and silly faces....


...and I always find myself coming back for more.

It Could Be Worse. . . .

. . . .she could be a boy forced to wear her sister's pink jammies. Being a girl forced to wear your brother's isn't nearly as bad.


At least the purple blanket can help her feel feminine.

(Just FYI: I do have lots of girl jammies for her but haven't gotten around to doing her laundry.)

Such a Mystery!

I just can't figure out why I'm so tired all the time. Here's what happened last night and it's pretty typical for us:

11:00 PM Finally get Jocelyn to sleep
11:30 PM Go to be ourselves
12:00 AM Fall asleep
1:00 Matty wakes up with a nightmare, give him a hug, he goes back to sleep
2:00 Matty's awake with another nightmare, another hug given
2:05 Jocelyn wakes up, put back to sleep
3:00 Jocelyn wakes up again, crying harder, we bring her to bed so we can get some sleep
4:20 I wake up since my arm has fallen asleep holding Jocelyn, put her back in her bed
5:55 Jocelyn wakes up to be fed
6:15 Jocelyn fed and put back in bed
6:30 Matty awake, too early for us, we put him back to sleep easily
6:55 Matt awake again for good, Dan gets him breakfast and puts on cartoons, comes back to bed
7:55 Jocelyn awake again, very grumpy because she needs more sleep, bring her to bed
8:00 Get Jocelyn calm, she's lightly asleep again
8:03 Matty comes in and turns on the bright lamp waking us all up, thankfully Jocelyn goes back to sleep immediately
8:20 I get up to pee (can't hold it any more) and wake up the grumpy baby who now won't be put back to sleep


I just don't get why I could be so tired! I mean, I'm getting 30 minutes here and there, right?

Memory Lane: Home Sweet Home!

Some of you have known me a long time, others are more recently made friends. Some of you I had lost touch with over the years, others I talk to frequently. With everyone knowing me on different levels, I thought it would be fun to just share random memories once in a while. I'm such a sentimental sap and love to share my stories!

First Stop on Memory Lane: Our first apartment!

When we got married we couldn't afford much of anything. Neither of us had jobs (college had just let out for the summer) and we had a whole whopping $1000 in savings to start our life together with. We found we couldn't afford an apartment in Rexburg where we were going to school, but a friend of mine had an apartment in nearby St. Anthony and knew there were vacancies in the building. Dan went the month I was in Utah preparing for the wedding and signed the lease. Our rent was $300/month. I didn't get to see the place until we drove there after our honeymoon. To say I was disappointed in the apartment is putting it mildly. I cried. A lot.

The apartments were over rundown businesses on Main Street. We were across from 2 gas stations and a bank with a veiw of the freeway. The only bar in town was 2 doors from our building. (I believe I remember learning that there were 7 police officers for the town and two squad cars.) Anyway, it was a one bedroom apartment. You'd walk into the kitchen and the tiny bathroom with a shower was immediately to your left. The floor sloped in front of it because the bathroom had a leak before we moved in, and the damage was so bad that the movie store underneath had to move out. There was a very small fridge with a freezer that could only fit maybe a few chicken breasts, 1 carton of ice cream, and some ice. The living room was past the kitchen and had large windows allowing the beautiful neon glow of the gas station into our home late at night. The only stand we had for our little TV was a small bookcase. We stacked our empty packing boxes and covered them with a blanket to look like some sort of end table so that we had a place to put our picture frames.

The bedroom barely fit a full-sized bed with 12 inches on each side and was located directly above the stairwell that lead from the outside of the building up to the apartments (so our bedroom was only as wide as the stairwell.) We had the joy of knowing every time someone came in or out of the building because of the slamming door and creaking stairs. The "walk-in closet" was near the foot of the bed and sort of up on a platform because of the cutout for the stairs underneath.
We lived there 5 months. Since the building was over 100 years old and brick, it was quite hot during that summer of 100+ degree weather. We both slept with tiny spray bottles filled with water so that we could spray them at the fan blowing on us during the night which would then mist us enough that we could try to get back to sleep. We ate a LOT of otter pops to keep cool.

After 5 months we found a basement apartment to rent actually IN Rexburg for the same price. We knew our time in that St. Anthony apartment had it's purpose. My friend who had lived next door to us and had told us about the apartment ended up getting left by her husband of 6 months. We were her ride everywhere (since he took the car) and her comfort when she needed friends. (By the way, it's been over 6 years since we lived next to this friend and I randomly ran into her at IKEA this year! She recently remarried and was expecting a baby boy!)

Living in that tiny, tiny apartment was hard but it wasn't all bad. I'm happy to look back on that time now and laugh. . . .but only because I'm looking BACK on it. :)

The Best of Friends

Matty and Jossy love to be together. She always looks around for him and gives him THE biggest grins. He loves talking to her and having her watch him play. They can just be the sweetest thing to watch.

Here they are having one of their bedtime "chats." Matty was telling her about how she can clap when she gets bigger.

They kind of make me think of the story Fox and the Hound because they're such good friends now, but who knows what will happen as they grow up (particularly as she begins to steal his toys.) But we'll enjoy it as long as it lasts! Hopefully, they'll always be close.

Aren't they just so cute together? :)

Thankful Friday

I know, I dropped the ball again. But I have good reason with how busy yesterday was. Besides our fun morning, we had a doctor's appointment for Jossy, a movie to watch that was due back, and I had to prepare and teach a class on soap making for an Enrichment group.

So Thankful Friday here I come!

1. I'm not responsible for my unconscious. I always feel a little guilty when I dream about other guys and completely forget that I'm married even though I have my kids in my dreams! At least I know it's not my fault I dream this and there's no real reason to feel guilty.

2. A healthy baby. Jossy's 4 months appointment was yesterday. She's ahead of where she needs to be in skills and is all healthy. Yay!

3. My baby girl loves me. Sometimes it can be a pain being the only one she's willing to go to, the person she wants in the middle of the night, and having her cry when a stranger tries to hold her. But really, I'm just glad to know she loves me. :)

4. Sidewalk chalk. Matty has had so much fun with this lately, I'm glad we have some.

5. A busy temple. Dan got to work from home today so I left him with the kids this morning and ran to the temple. I thought it wouldn't be too busy on a Friday at 10:00 AM, but it was. The parking lot and the session were at least 85% full. I love that!

6. Colorful leaves. One of my FAVORITE things about Fall are the leaves changing colors. It's only just beginning, but soon we'll have cracking orange and yellow leaves covering the ground!

7. Matty tried. Matty FINALLY wanted to go poo in the potty last night for the first time ever. Unfortunately, Dan and I didn't hear him ask on the monitor after he was in bed. Even though he got out of bed on his own, ran to the bathroom, and took off his pants, he couldn't get the diaper off by himself. He came to us in tears and I just felt so bad I had missed the chance to have him poo in the potty! Today we're buying pull-ups!!!

8. Cinnamon rolls from IKEA. Love 'em!

My Morning of Pictures

I don't think anyone has any idea how many pictures I really take each day. I love to get random, everyday things on film. So here are some we took just this morning:

Started the day with bath time for Jossy.

Any time Matty is next to Jossy, he wants to hold her hand.

We went outside to color with chalk and enjoy the beautiful Fall day! A little morning rock climbing.

This was only up til 10:30 AM. Better get going on the rest of the day!