I told you so...

I warned you in my last post that it would probably be two months until my next post. Well, I almost made it. But SOMEBODY (Hi Kyla!) likes to harass me about not updating my blog. So here you go.

Alrightie now. Let's see what we can talk about. Well, we had Christmas. Yessirree we sure did. It was a wonderful day of relaxing, picking up scraps of wrapping paper, eating, picking up scraps of wrapping paper, napping, picking up scraps of wrapping paper, staying in our pajamas all day and picking up scraps of wrapping paper. Overall, it was a wonderful day. Before Christmas, Chris went AWOL for a day and snuck in to Best Buy and bought me something he shouldn't have. (A camera) and now I feel like a stupidhead because I don't know how to use it. But I'm having fun learning and I'll probably torture you with my attempts at photography. That is, IF I ever update my blog again.

Take this, for instance. Last night was a skate night for the kids' elementary school. (A fundraiser. Yippee! I just LOVE fundraisers!) I don't know how this picture happened and I know that there's no skill displayed in this picture, but I think it's cool. There were kids skating all around, but for some reason the only kids that really showed up were Carson and his friend Ryan. Everyone else looks like one of those ghosts in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, only blurry.

Here's Jantzen and her friend Morgan taking a breather. It was their first time skating and they did a great job. They reminded me of Bambi trying to walk for the first time, with their legs going in all different directions but there were no tears. Even after numerous collisions between the floor and their rear ends, they still had smiles from ear to ear. The skating rink is right around the corner from our house, so I think there may be more trips there in our future. It was fun for all of us.

And here's my double experiment. I was trying out the KitchenAid I got for Christmas AND messing with the aperture on my camera. How's that for some serious excitement? I know, I know. You may just have to walk away from my blog for a few minutes and calm yourself down. It's okay. Go ahead. I'll be here waiting when you're ready to come back.

More double experiments going on! I probably should have warned you. Homemade pasta with bad aperture experiments. A bit much? Probably.

Okay. I gotta get to bed now. Sorry for the lame post. I promise to update again soon with some real substance. Oh, who am I kidding. I'll see you in a couple of months.

Trips to Santa's lap

That's right, folks. Twice in one day.

Uh huh.

Noddin' my head like, "YEAH."

Movin' my hips like, "YEAH."

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Oh wait, where was I?

I think I got carried away with my celebration.

I'm such an awesome blogger.

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Now don't be surprised if it's another TWO months before I post again.

But.....

I almost forgot to mention our ward Christmas party that was last Friday night.

First on the agenda was the FOOD!

We have two bona fide CHEFS in our ward (mother and daughter) so any ward function is

a)guaranteed to have good food

b) guaranteed to draw a crowd because of the food

c)guaranteed to TOTALLY ROCK because I love food!

Second on the agenda was the visit from Santa. It's traditional for Santa to come at the end of the evening, sit on the stage and listen to all the kids' wishes for Christmas. He then gives them a bag of goodies and sends them on their way.

Apparently, Keaton doesn't feel like he's too old for this tradition because he gladly stood in line to sit on Santa's lap.

But when he sat on Santa's lap, he did the most believable imitation of a toddler who's scared of Santa and is trying not to cry. I was laughing my head off, but Santa totally bought in to it and was really worried!

So funny.

It kinda reminds me of the time about three years ago when he laid down on the floor and did "the worm" over to Santa.

Thanks, Keaton. You were the highlight of my evening. You were even better than the food.

Shine like the top of the Chrysler Building!

I'm feeling like orphan Annie today. Why? Let me explain. The last two months have been crazy, frantic, knock your socks off busy. Now all of that is over. Woot! Woot! I'm finding myself with a little bit of time on my hands, and I'm faced with a decision of what to do with it. So as I was pondering this dilemma this morning I had a nice conversation with myself. It went something like this:

Me: "What should I do this week? I don't have any Scentsy parties until Saturday. I don't have to clean anyone else's houses this week. Chris is out of town. I don't have to do sharing time next Sunday. I should definitely do something productive with my time."

Me: "Well, it's time to get back in to running. You've given yourself two weeks off, you know."

Me: "I know. I will definitely run this week. But that's not going to take all of my time."

Me: "Soooo, what else ya gonna do?"

Me: "First the windows, then the floors. That way if I drip..."

So there you have it, folks. The exciting life of a mom/wife. I find myself in an exciting situation and I choose to clean. I will do some deep cleaning, some leaf raking, some running and some reading. Because, um yeah, I totally treated myself to a trip to the library. Easily pleased? I think so.

Summer Fling

Dear summer,
Where have you gone? You left in such a hurry. I thought we had something really special, butI guess I was wrong. You snuck out this morning before I woke up. I thought maybe you had gone out to get some donuts, but you still haven't returned. I should have known, what with your warm, beautiful sunsets and the way you made my garden grow. You were too good to be true. You were just a fling.
But we were so good together! The warmth, the brightness, the flip flops! Well, fine. I don't need you anyways. I've got jackets, you know. And blankets and hot cocoa. I even have a snuggy. That's right. A SNUGGY! Those are my true friends. They're always there for me.
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But if you ever decide to come back, I'll be here.

The "Too Much" Chronicles

I don't know why, but I have this urge to talk about the things we have too much of. I guess I find it kind of amusing how we seem to accumulate way too much of certain things, but can never have enough of other things.

Chapstick. Hello? Ten. Ten different chapsticks in the house for a family of five. I'm sure Daniel has some too but I wasn't going to go picking through his room just so I could count them. And the boys each keep one at school. So really it's twelve, that I could find. I'm sure there are a couple behind the dryer.

Oh, wouldn't my dentist be proud of me now. Actually, no. Because most of these are from him. (Hi Greg. I do floss. Really, I do!)

And now for a couple of things we can never have enough of...Can you say C E R E A L ?

What's the deal with cereal, anyways. It's so expensive and it leaves me feeling hungry an hour later. So why do I buy it? Because I'm a lazy, terrible mom, that's why. I've already made a rule that it can only be eaten for breakfast. If I didn't do that, we would go through two boxes a day. I'm thinking about only allowing it on school days, too. On the weekends I usually cook breakfast, but the kids choose cereal over my home cooking! Maybe they're trying to tell me something.

On to our next item...graham crackers. Seriously, folks. Dipped in milk, yum! I have loved this treat since I was a kid. And don't get me started on graham crackers with cream cheese frosting. I can feel my rear end getting bigger just thinking about it.

So there you have it. That's what's on my mind tonight. Don't know why. More to come when I get a chance. I know you can't wait.

Ode to my New Dishwasher

Dishwasher, oh dishwasher
How I missed you so.
You were gone for two long months.
I thought you would never return
But now you are back in my loving arms
And I shall never live without you again
Absence made the heart grow fonder
Fonder, fonder, fonder

You work so hard while I sleep
or play or wander through the aisles of Walmart
And you never complain about the work
Scrubbing, washing, working so hard while I'm away
So I can have a clean surprise when I open the door

I wish my kids were more like you.

Cross your fingers!

Someone is coming over tomorrow to look at the pup! Oh, please please please let them take him home.

Over the last week, I've started to become a little bit...how do I say this... attached to the little bugger and I am now finding it very difficult to drop him off at the animal shelter. But if I know he's going to a good home, I will gladly say goodbye to him.

I have been thinking long and hard about what I can do to make sure this dog finds a home tomorrow and I've come up with a plan. But I'll need help from all of you.

Are you with me?

I can't HEAR you!

I said ARE YOU WITH ME???

I thought so.

We need to do something to make the Dog Adoption Gods smile down on us. We need to show that we're serious. It may feel a little funny, but just know that you're not the only person doing this tonight. There is strength in numbers. We can do this!

Everyone please join me in a good luck bark, scratch, and rock eating ritual tonight. We will all need to act like dogs and howl at the moon. Our yards will become our bathrooms. We will chase laser lights and tennis balls. A little bit of yelping in our sleep can't hurt. And let's throw in a little bit of drinking from the toilet just for good measure.

Thanks everyone. I knew I could count on you.

Ode to my mom's bed

Bed, bed, sweet sweet bed
How I love you so
Your memory foam and super soft sheets
Caressed me all night long
How I was sad when the alarm went off
I didn't want to leave you...ever
No, no, it wasn't more sleep I needed
I just wanted some quality time with you
Lying awake, feeling your warmth
You are my knight in shining armor
I still think of you daily
In fact, I can't take my mind off you
Let's get married.

The Frying Pan Rap

So that you can join in the fun, when you see the words "bang, bang", bang your head on the kitchen counter, OK?

My name is Jodi and I'm here to say
I bought a new frying pan the other day.
The box, it said Cuisinart
So I thought it would be better than Wal-Mart

I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I HATE MY PAN! (BANG, BANG)

But every time I try to cook
The pan it has a very bad look.
The food , it sticks and it makes a mess
One might think that I paid less

I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I HATE MY PAN! (BANG, BANG)

So everyday I soak it in water
And soap and vinegar and baking soda
But now my arm is starting to ache
Because I scrape and scrape and scrape

I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I HATE MY PAN! (BANG, BANG)

And now it's time for me to get a life
One might think I'm a desperate housewife
If about my pan I write a rap
Well, it really is CRAP!

I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I hate my pan (clap, clap)
I HATE MY PAN! (BANG, BANG)

Beautiful Dreamer

Twas the night before cub scout day camp
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even the mom who had to volunteer the next day

The lunches were packed and the sunscreen set out
In hopes that the sun would actually show its face
The dog was asleep at the top of the stairs
How do I know this?
Well, she snores.

Then what to my sleepy ears did I hear?
It was "Beautiful Dreamer", some old fashioned song that my mom chose for my doorbell chimes
Now, I'm not usually scared when my hubby's away
But this was different, I sure can say
It was one in the morning and I don't know how to shoot a gun
So I grabbed the next best weapon...my phone.
I tiptoed to Jantzen's room to check
If I could see anything, but no. AW Heck!
I stood and watched and waited and waited
Disturbances in the night I decided I hated
So what did I do, you must want to know
Back to bed I quickly did go.