What Idiot Keeps Makeup Where a 3 Year Old Can Get To It (Repeatedly)?

Annie has a history of sneaking into my makeup and applying it all willy nilly.
So it shouldn't be a great shock that while I wasn't paying too much attention, she went in and got out some great looking red lipstick. (Especially considering that I haven't moved it since the last time she snuck into it, or done anything to prevent access to said makeup . . . I guess I was just hoping since it hadn't been a problem in a few weeks, it wouldn't be again. But then again, if I did do something constructive, like put my makeup up and away, I'd miss these great photo ops . . . )

At least her application techniques have improved remarkably.
And I love how this picture makes her bedhead look more pageant-hair than messy!

I took the girls to Wheeler Farm this morning. It was, unfortunately, a bit of a let down. Both girls were less than enthused. Ellie's coming down with something, I think, and Annie was just being bored/disinterested/lazy . . . I pushed her in the stroller from one animal pen to the next (sometimes less than 30 feet) because she was so whiny about having to walk. I guess they both just seemed tired and a little out of it, so we only ended up staying for about an hour. We didn't see too much, as most of the animals were hiding from the 11AM sun in their little houses. But we did get to see a baby cow, which drew Annie to actually leave the stroller and even enthusiastically take her little sister down to the fence to get a closer look . . . I love how Ellie's posture here just screams 'little old man'.
One of the few times Annie would get out of the stroller (to go up into the 'clubhouse'), Ellie happily pushed the empty stroller around by herself. It was the most enthused I saw her the whole outing. I was impressed we'd gotten her shoes to stay on (as shoe's are a must at such a place where you're walking through mostly mud mixed with animal feces). Ellie rarely wears shoes. It's not that I don't try (although, I've started to give up), but her tiny little size two shoes just fall right off unless she's actually standing in them, and the size ones are finally too small. She kicks off shoes, or sits down and pulls them off, at the first opportunity, and I'm constantly worried about one being left somewhere. So, I tend to bring shoes in my purse or diaper bag, and only put them on when she's going to be walking on dirty, hot or rocky terrain.
I love seeing her in size in comparison to the stroller here . . . man, that kid's a shrimp! :-)
I actually got a dozen pictures or so of happy Ellie pushing the stroller around proudly . . . but even then, if she wasn't outright laughing, her poor, pathetic 'sick' face came back . . . and those are definitely the eyes of a kid coming down with a cold.
Here's Annie at our picnic lunch in one of her pairs of sunglasses. These ones crack me up . . . she kinda looks like a bug-eyed-alien.
This last picture is of my little girl just crossing one of the little bridges. Looking at this it struck me, "When did my baby leave toddlerhood and become a kid!?" Scary.

Liz -- The Trailblazer (and Birthday Girl!)

I've mentioned before that I won the marriage lottery. Well, not only did I marry my perfect partner, but I married into a wonderful family who has been supportive and loving since day one.
It's a weird experience 'becoming' part of a family. I had it easy though. Greg's family was accepting, excited (I think) and wonderful about me suddenly being a daughter and sister. I feel it was made especially easy, because Liz came first. Liz and Greg's brother Chris, were married almost two years before Greg and I. Liz is so loved by, and so natural and comfortable in, this family, that you would never be able to guess that she hadn't spent her whole life with them. It meant the world to me, to watch Liz interact with my new family, and seem so at ease. It made me confident that this new family of mine would be just as much my family as the one I was born into.
There were times, early on, during dinners where people were laughing and talking and telling stories, and all I could think of is, "I have NO idea who they are talking about or what they are talking about." And, I have to admit, I felt like a bit of an outsider. I remember telling Greg once, "I'm excited for when Andrea gets married, so I won't be the 'newbie' anymore. I'll actually know more than someone else!"
But Liz was always there for me . . . I could ask her later, or email her about it, and just be like, "OK, what's up with that story?!" or "Who were they talking about?!" Sure, I could've asked Greg, but have you ever tried to get background information a guy. It's like when your husband finds out about friend's new baby before you do. "Oh, that's great! How'd delivery go?" "I don't know." "But, Mom and baby are OK?" "I don't know, probably." "Well, was it a boy or a girl?" "I don't remember." "How big?" "I don't know." "Are they home from the hospital?" "Ummmm . . . ?" So on, and so forth. And for a girl like me, who grew up in a family of sisters, it was wonderful to have Liz, and Greg's sister Andrea, who knew 'girl' information, and could fill in the vast amounts of missing information one encounters when they enter a new family with nothing but a husband to guide them. (I can't imagine how lost I would've been if Greg hadn't had at least one little sister and one married brother to bring another girl into the family. Growing up in my family, I'm not that used to all that testerone and less-than-delving conversation.)
Liz and I could also figure things out together. Put together whatever little information we could get from our husbands, and be able to collaborate and be like, "OH! That's what they were referring to!" or "Oh, THAT relative! I get who we're talking about now." And I swear she did a better job than Greg in letting me know who everyone was at family parties. Greg was more like, "Oh, they have TWO kids? Huh, I didn't know that." Liz knew actual names, and approximate birthdates! (Trust me, Greg knows a lot more about the going ons of his extended family now that I'm in the picture than he ever did before I was around.) Liz was just as adored, and a part of, Greg's extended family as she was his immediate. She was my guide a lot of the time. She taught me how to be a part of the family. To just go with it. Get into it. Go ahead and don't bite your tongue when you have the perfect comeback. They'll respect you more. :-)
I think one thing that has meant the most to me though, has been the opportunity to share pregnancies and new motherhood with Liz. Liz and I are both oldest children (another thing that bonds us), and none of our other siblings were married for awhile after us. I always pictured my kids having lots of cousins, but as it turns out, there won't be many their ages. But, Chris and Liz have two little boys, born the same years as our two girls. (Sure, they dragged them off to Indiana so Chris could a world class education and provide well for his family and all that, but my girls love their cousins, love to watch videos and look at pictures. Annie often tells me her imaginary friends have gone to Notre Dame for a visit. She even told me once that Doh doo was from Indiana!) But, when Liz and I were pregnant with our first children (and before that, getting ready to get pregnant) we would email back and forth, almost every single day, about the whole experience. Just everything we were going through, thinking, dreading, anticipating. And we were doing it together. And I can't imagine this journey into motherhood without Liz. Since none of my own sisters have had children, it has been an incredible blessing to have Liz to go through it with. Not everyone understands what it's like to be living life with a baby and a two year old, and yet here I have Liz, who is doing it too. I have her to assure me I'm not as crazy as I feel, if I totally lost all my cool with a two year old who threw her plate of veggies across the kitchen. Or, at least that I'm not alone in the craziness. We talk often, sometimes for hours, about motherhoods ups and downs, challenges and amazing rewards. We marvel together at all our children are doing and learning (Connor, for example, is months younger than Annie, but can name all 50 states, and spell ambulance and bridge to name a few of the words off his amazing spelling list. I have genius nephews!)
Liz is a smart, well spoken, supportive, opinionated, passionate, giving, amazing woman, and I love talking with her. We don't always agree on everything 100%, but we share so many core values and there is a definite respect there, and there are few people who's opinions I value more. She is well read, well traveled, well versed . . . just well rounded, I guess. She is loving and accepting of people of all backgrounds, firm in her faith and beliefs, passionate about her causes and a wonderful wife and mother to her family. The women of Greg's family (Liz, his sister Andrea, his Mom, several of his cousins) have been wonderful examples to me. They are passionate about a huge diversity of interests and ideas, and I have learned so much from them. Being a part of another family has opened up eyes and doors for me.
And today is Liz's birthday (which means she's also a Gemini! Another great quality to add to her list of virtues!) Happy Birthday Liz. Thanks for coming in and blazing the trail for me . . . you are a wonderful example. You are loved and adored by your husband, your children, your family, and your sister in laws! (I'm gonna go out on a limb, and assume that Andrea will agree with me on this one!) :-) I can't imagine my life without the sisters I gained through marrying Greg. You really would've thought four sisters was already enough, but apparently you can never have too many!

Happy Birthday Liz!
Happy Birthday to a great exmaple. A supportive, loving wife. An amazing Mom. Far better than she even realizes. A true friend, amazing sister, aunt and daughter to those who are fortunate enough to count her as such.

Liz with my very squishable nephew Nathan. Don't you just want to 'pillsbury doughboy' that belly!?

Liz and my other nephew Connor.

Here's Liz and I with our first babies . . . this was right before Chris & Liz left for Notre Dame (at a going away party at Murray Park).

Liz and Connor at Murray Park.The trailblazing begins . . .

(James, Andrea, Chris, Liz, Ruth, K.C. and Greg)

Bargain Shopping

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my shopping prowess (and addiction, obsession, whatever you want to call it.) Lately, I've tried very hard to stay out of stores and avoid shopping, but when Kohl's has a 30% off coupon, I always seem to get roped back in.
But this time I did well. I didn't even buy the adorable sweater that was 90% off for myself, 'cause I don't really need a new sweater. Are you proud? I am. I did get Greg some Father's Day presents, but mainly stuck to my major vice: girls clothing.
But I'm sure you can see and understand my excitement about getting these dresses at $3.00 a piece for my girls:

They're sizes 4-6, so they won't start fitting Annie 'til next year or so, but at $3.00 each, I couldn't resist! (I also got a cute little white skirt, that she's wearing now for $1.60, but I don't have a picture of it, 'cause she's out to a movie with her Uncle David).

Oh, clearance racks, how do I love thee? (I was mildly bummed Annie's shown no interest in Hannah Montana or High School Musical, since there were racks of cute accessories and purses and toys and Easter baskets all bearing those logos & pictures at 80-95% off). Now I just need to spend the rest of the month out of the stores, since all my birthday cash is now gone.

You Make Bathtime So Much Fun

My girls love to take baths. Love to play in the water, splash and make believe a whole new world with their bath toys (well, Annie does . . . Ellie just likes to chew on hers). Annie played in the bathtub the other day for a good hour and a half. I love when she decides to take a big, long bath while Ellie's napping. I know exactly where she is, and I can thoroughly clean my bathroom and bedroom without any kids underfoot. She is so funny to listen to, as she explains to all the bath toys what the plan/scene/game/task is, and has all of the toys play their part as she orders from above like some kind of large, aquatic movie director. Ellie is a big fan of the bathtub too, although I don't let her take daily baths like Annie (Ellie's sensitive skin breaks into eczema so easily, that we have to be careful about not only soaps, but water -- for instance, if she spills water on her shirt during lunch, I have to change it immediately, or she will have a rash wherever her shirt was wet). Other days, when Annie's bathing without her, Ellie will stand outside the bathtub and throw toys, towels, makeup, just about anything she can get her hands on, into the tub with Annie. But when she is allowed to bathe, she has the time of her life. And is on a high clear up until we insist on putting on a new diaper.

Outside the bathtub, Ellie's extreme love and fascination with her big sister seems to grow, exponentially, each day. Annie merely needs look at her (even glaring) and Ellie erupts into excited laughter and squeals of delight. She will try to mimic everything Annie does or says, trying to laugh like her, sing like her, and she spends most of her morning in a near sprint as she runs as fast as her little legs can carry her holding on to the back of Annie's trike, as Annie makes loops around the kitchen after breakfast. I am shocked at how fast Ellie can run (while holding on to the back of the seat) to keep her with her sister.

This video seemed the perfect combination of how much Ellie loves both bathing and her sister . . .

Happy Birthday Jessi!

One of my best friends, Jessi, is turning 30 today!
It's amazing to me that I'm lucky enough to have friends like this that I can say I've know for half my life. Jessi and I met, and bonded, in High School. Being so likeminded and all. Here we were, two freakishly talented women and writers who understood on a very fundamental level how important it was to celebrate your birthday for an entire month (week, minimum) before the actual day. (Note to Jessi: If you go and have not one, but TWO, kids in the week or two before your birthday, it really quashes your birthday celebrating opportunities. Worth it, of course, but be forewarned.) It's no wonder we became such fast friends (that and we were the only two sophomores on the High School newspaper). By our Senior year we had something like 6 of our 8 classes together, plus we were often staying after school (around deadline time) working on the newspaper for hours (sometimes until the janitor kicked us out.) I think there are few people on this earth I have laughed so much with, or have so many quirky shared stories (near death Zuka juice trips, the closet of fame, the Evil Morgano, getting in a car accident (miles from school) during 7th period and having to call our teacher to come pick up the newspaper (and us)). Jessi was called along as reconissance as soon as I realized there might be something with this Greg boy (she came to my Single's Ward Skate Night activity just to scout him out . . . how's that for friendship?!) Even years from then, we can talk for hours. When I worked, I used to send her long, rambly emails about all the various drama going on in my life. She'd assure me that everyone else was crazy, I was perfectly reasonable, and that I should start a blog. Jessi just got married at the end of last year, to a wonderful husband. And between them and their adorable dog Piper, she's given my family a whole 'nother family to love and be a part of.
Happy Birthday, to another great Gemini!
(P.S., there were so many cute pictures from Jessi's wedding (unfortunately I didn't have anything more recent), but I think Jessi looked the most gorgeous in this one. It's definitely not my best photograph. But really, what better defines friendship then picking the better picture of the other and posting a crappy picture of myself on my own blog. I just love her that much.) :-)


Unrelated . . . Sorry Jessi, I made your birthday post share with my kids . . .

Why Do I Even Buy Toys?

It seems my girls' favorite things didn't come from the toy section of the store.

Ellie, for example, will happily watch the washing machine for awhile. She also loves hangers. And headbands. Pill bottles. And her Dad's watch. The other day she grabbed a hairbrush and found the dryer door open. This lent itself well for her banging the brush into the sides of the dryer, or throwing the brush loudly into the dryer's drum. Only to have to half crawl in to get it back out. The kid was having the time of her life. She was laughing so hard, and loving it so much, I had to go grab the camera.

Both of my girls love spending time in the bathroom. Often together. Just laughing. I'm not actually sure what it is that's so hilarious in there, except that Annie will get into the bathtub and with Ellie trapped outside of it, the two will play peekaboo for quite awhile. (Like long enough for me to do my makeup!)

Annie's favorite 'toy' by far though is any of our cameras. She would take pictures all day if I let her. This is probably the most expensive thing she plays with, and it stresses me out (I give her our older Canon PowerShot to use, rationalizing that we're not really out anything if she ruins it), but she will happily shoot picture after picture. I have to watch these closely when I'm loading them onto my computer, as she is pretty stealthy, and has gotten some awfully embarrassing photos of various members of our family. Here is one she took of herself the other day.
Ellie's favorite thing of all right now has to be her big sister. She will laugh and giggle and squeal and mimic and do everything she can to get Annie's attention. Sure, Annie just yells, "Stop doing that!" to her in response like 70% of the time, but Ellie is a die hard fan. Annie started laughing in the car about something, and Ellie mimicked the laugh perfectly. So Annie laughed again, and Ellie tried out that laugh too. I couldn't stop laughing, it was so cute to watch Ellie try and be just like her big sister. Of course, all things with two little kids end with at least one in tears, so pretty soon Annie was sick of this game, and yelling at her sister to be quiet and "Stop making those noises Ellie!" But Ellie was still smitten with her and cooed and 'talked' to her big sister the rest of the drive home (while her sister pouted because mean Mom had taken away her toy for the rest of the drive due to her excessive scolding of her nothing-but-happy little sister.

Athletic Prowess

So, watching Annie climb onto the potty is terrifying. I can't watch, since I spend the whole time picturing her plummeting off the toilet onto her little head. She climbs up on to it, stands up, carefully walks herself around the toilet seat so she's facing the right way, then climbs down into a sitting position. It all looks fairly precarious to me.

Today as Annie was climbing onto the toilet before bath time, she made it clear the extent of this athletic feat when she exclaimed, "Mom, toilets are just like little rock walls!"

Them's the Shakes

Annie and I made breakfast together this morning. We added carrot juice, orange juice, plain yogurt, a banana, some flax seed and a whole bunch of frozen strawberries and make a "breakfast shake," as Annie like to call it. I don't know what Annie enjoys more, making the smoothie, or drinking it . . . but it's always a hit.
But I was surprised when breakfast wasn't even over yet, and Annie was standing up to the counter with the blender on it, asking, "Mommy, can we do shakes?"
"Shakes?" I asked, confused, "Baby, you still have some of your shake on the table . . ."
"No Mom," she said, "I want us to do shakes."
"Um, Annie. We already made shakes this morning . . . "
"No Mom, I really want shakes."
"Annie . . . you still half of your shake left . . . "
"OK Mom," Annie said, in her best let's-start-from-the-beginning voice, "I want us to do shakes. OK. See, you have a circle," she said slowly as she traced a circle in the air, "It is round."
"OH! You want us to do SHAPES!" I said as I got the lace up shape cards out of the cabinet that's up above the blender. "Shapes. Gotcha."

Strawberry Shorty Pants*

"Oh Mommy!" Annie ecstatically cried, "This is so so so so much fun!" Then there was a squeal of joy. Seems Annie and her Daddy just came in from picking strawberries. We actually picked and ate something from our own yard! Yay us! Maybe this will motivate us to actually plant the rest of our garden.


(It should be noted that I deserved absolutely no credit for this berry bounty . . . pretty much forgetting we even had strawberry plants out back until my Mom asked me yesterday if we've picked any yet. Um, no . . . but now that you mention it, that's a good idea! So after we got home from Church, I sent Greg and Annie (in the rain) out to pick berries. Annie apparently thought it was the coolest thing ever.)

And unrelated, when we went on one of our walks the other day, I couldn't find Ellie's normal hat, so I threw this bandana on her very bald head. How freaking cute is that?!

*Shorty Pants has long been a nickname for Annie.

Bump, Bump

At the end of our day, Aunt Talina, Aunt Star, Annie and I all gathered around my bed to say bedtime prayers with Annie before putting her to bed (although, it didn't stick, it was a good hour before she actually fell asleep). I asked, "Who's going to say prayer?" To which Annie promptly responded by bowing her head, tightly squeezing her eyes shut and rattling off, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day [slight pause, looks up] Oh, me!" answering my initial question, then launching right back into her prayer. It loses a lot in the translation, what with the comic timing of the actual event and all, but trust me, this was hilarious.

We had a big day, taking full advantage of the fact Talina was bumped from stand by yet again, and had the day off work because of it. Talina and Uncle Cody walked with us to the library, the store, went to lunch, played at the park and in general had a fun morning. Then later that afternoon we headed up for the "Relay for Life" event up at This is The Place Heritage Park, to support Aunt Lacy and her team's fundraising efforts. Annie fell asleep on the drive up there, and woke up as the world's grumpiest, least reasonable toddler in history. Which is saying something. Only the plethora of dogs walking around, and the giant Beezz mascot, got a smile out of her while we wandered the event. She managed to cheer up right before we left. After getting home, her Aunts and I relived a childhood favorite on YouTube. Annie thought this was the single funniest thing she's ever seen, laughing the entire time, and was singing "Put it in the bag bump bump!" under her breath while in bed for awhile (before she majorly melted down and whined and cried for the next hour.)



Did anyone else sing this while cleaning up their toys as a child? Or was that just us?

Rainy Adventures

So Greg was home sick today.
Which meant I either needed to leave the house, or spend the day glaring at him as he relaxed in bed and I cleaned up accidents and made meals. (I love him, and was sweetly doing the cold wash clothes, fresh water and hand holding last night . . . but once he's actually done vomiting and the body shakes have subsided, I kinda can't help but stare at him thinking, "Wimp. You've been asleep for 18 hours and haven't thrown up in 12. There are dishes to be done . . . " But, since I understand that he needs his rest, and I need to not start resenting his fourth straight hour of playing the Nintendo DS, the best bet is for the girls and I to find some out-of-the-house-activity to occupy us.) :-)
But then there's been the rain.
The nonstop, never ending, downpour that has made it nearly impossible to go to the park or even play in the backyard for nearly a week now. So, when my Mom called and told me she was supposed to go pick up my sister Talina from work and take her to the airport, I quickly volunteered for the job. Talina could leave work anytime after noon, and didn't have to be to the airport 'til after 3PM; and with the University Hospital, where she works, being practically right next door to the zoo, it seemed a pity not to stop in. So, Annie, Ellie, Talina and I went to the zoo. Despite the storm clouds and cold temperatures. And really had a great time. Around the time we were riding the carousel, the rains came. It was wet (and cold.) We decided to take refuge in the dry, warm, (smelly), reptile house. Where Ellie fell head over heels in love with meerkats. We killed some time, hoping that the rains would die down, but boy were we mistaken. The rain had picked up, and there were little lakes and raging rivers of water along all the pathways. I even think I started noticing the animals pairing off. We had brought in one umbrella. I proved to be a wonderful mother and sister, as I had Talina take Ellie and the umbrella and start the long trek back to the gate. Annie and I made a run for it. And got soaked. I tried using Annie as an umbrella, but she was an especially wiggly, giggly umbrella, and utterly useless in keeping my hair dry. We both utterly enjoyed splashing in puddles and getting wet. It's the kinda moments I sometimes miss out on, trying to be the 'Mom' and keeping everyone clean and dry and pristine. It made me want to go make a mudball or something. I loved just being silly, and wet, with my little girl. We eventually made it back to the van, and started the next leg of our journey.
Talina and I had googled 'cupcakes Salt Lake City' before leaving today. I've been wanting a good cupcake, and wanted to check out some of the places I've heard raved about online. So, we hit not one, but two, cupcake shops. The first was actually a regular bakery, and Talina, Annie and I split a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. Talina and I were less impressed. Call me crazy, but cupcakes should be sweet. Or at least flavorful, lemony, tart or something. We thought it was bland. Well, almost bitter, but mainly bland. Annie on the otherhand may still be off somewhere licking her hands, the bakery box, the cupcake liner, anything that has some chocolate stuck to it. Glad at least someone enjoyed the $3 cupcake. (Actually, when I ran into the bakery from out of the rain, and saw some of the prices, I almost turned around and went back to the van, but felt stupid just leaving, so ended up buying our most expensive, and least impressive, cupcake from that bakery.)
Our next stop was at Mini's Cupcakes. The rain had kicked it up a notch. Something I wouldn't have thought possible. So, I rushed through a downpour that would've caused Noah to have flashbacks. But, it was worth it, 'cause this one cupcake was a Madagascar Vanilla Bean cake with cream cheese frosting that I would've braved snow, sleet or hail for . . . and I used my own body to shield the precious cargo (i.e. the box with the cupcakes in it) and I arrived safely back to the van to my waiting sister and children. It's like 6 hours later and my shoes are still wet, and my hair is freakish in it's frizz, but those cupcakes were so good.
We still had a little time to kill, so we did a little shopping. Where Annie made up a new song, she loudly and proudly sang in the middle of the bookstore. It went something like, "We're going to the potty! Going to the potty! Mommy and Annie need to go to potty training!". Then, after several customers and employees got a kick out of my daughters antics, we headed out and took Talina to the airport, ditched her and started to head home. When Annie suddenly announced she had to pee. Now. We were just a few minutes from my grandparents house, so I told Annie we'd stop there. And then she proceeded to have a complete meltdown. She screamed that she wouldn't pee anywhere but at her own house, but I was trying to point out that we were still aways from home. And since I didn't want her to have an accident in the carseat, I stopped at their house anyways. She wouldn't leave the van willingly, screaming bloody murder the entire time I was carrying her into their house. Yeah, that's not embarassing or anything. Hello my grandparents neighbors! Anyway, so we get inside, I sit her down and try to 'talk' to her. I give her the following 'option'. She could go use the bathroom here, or we could take off her panties and she would have to wear Pull Ups for the rest of the ride home. I thought I had her over a barrell on this one, 'cause the kid has not worn diapers or Pull Ups since her birthday over three weeks ago. "OK," she said, taking off her pants and panties right there in my grandparents frontroom as her tears magically ceased, "give me the Pull Ups." Crap. That didn't work. But then again, nothing would get peed on, so it wasn't a total loss. (Note: Peeing at Grandma's or Great Grandma's bathrooms, no freaking way. Peeing in gross gas stations restrooms, grocery store or Walgreen's bathrooms, totally cool. Weird.) We stayed and played at my grandparents house for awhile, before getting a call from my sister Talina at the airport that she had not gotten on her flight (stand by), and could we come pick her up. She promised a Cinnabon for my efforts, and I got there as soon as I could, exclaiming it was the best souvenir I've ever received from someone who didn't actually go anywhere. (It is still in on my counter though, waiting 'til later. I have basically had like 2 and a half cupcakes already today.) At this point though, Bangerter heading South was a complete nightmare, so my genius idea was to head way west, and head South on 8400 West. Of course, I don't really know where I'm going up by the airport, so I hopped onto I-80 Westbound (hoping I'd somehow, magically, hit 201 that way. You do not hit 201 on I-80. Which makes sense if you think about it. Which I obviously didn't.) So, we headed West, until I was pretty confident the only option was to turn around, head down Bangerter and find the actual 201 onramp, and not the fabled one we'd left civilization in search of. But then at the exit we took, it really looked like if we just headed South, we'd end up where we wanted to be. So, we headed South. Even once we were no longer on actual pavement, we just kept going South. Annie thought this was the coolest thing, loving the bumps and the mud, exclaiming, "Our van is getting so dirty!" At one point we were like, "Hey, look, it's the backside of the dump!" Then we followed a truck that was covered in mud, and swerving to hit all of the puddles, until we made it back to 5600 West. Just a minute or two from where we'd started this adventure 20 minutes ago. It was a more scenic route though. And Annie liked the seagulls. And we did eventually get home (after one, possibly two, more wrong turns on my part, but I'm not admitting to that.) It was a fun day, and by the time we got home after 6PM, Greg had even gotten up and showered (and nearly finished his Zelda game, from the looks of it.) The girls were wiped out, and ready for bed. All in all, a good day.

The Problem with Potty Training

So, we were just leaving Walgreens. Greg isn't feeling well (self-diagnosed swine flu), and the girls and I had left him to sleep while we went to buy him various drugs. The torrential rains were coming down. I ran the girls out to the van . . . threw Annie in her door, ran around and got Ellie strapped into her seat, then rushed back to get Annie all fastened in, then dove in my door. I was pretty wet, my hair a complete loss, but we were in and could head home. Until I heard my new least favorite phrase while out in public, "Mommy! I have to pee! NOW!" Crap.

Sooooooo, I jumped out of my seat, opened Annie's door, unfastened her carseat, ran around and got Ellie unstrapped and out, then ran back to Annie's side where, by now, she had climbed down out of her seat (heaven help the fool who tries to help her in or out of her carseat), grabbed her by the hand and made a mad dash through the parking lot back into the Walgreens. The lady who'd minutes before checked us out gave us an odd look, until I asked her where the restrooms were. Then she laughed and pointed them out.

Which leads to my least favorite outing activity . . . holding Ellie in one arm, resting her on my hip, while I one handedly try to get Annie situated on a public toilet. The mere thought makes me a little queasy. But, we're getting better at this, and I can now fling her onto a toilet seat using only my one hand and gripping under her arm. (Washing hands is even trickier, but there is no way I'm setting Ellie down on a public restroom's floor).

Anyway, so I now have Annie sitting proudly up on the toilet seat, and we wait. And wait. And WAIT.

'Til Annie suddenly pipes up, "Hmmm. I guess I don't need to pee anymore."

More Conversations with Imaginary People

"Hi, Doh doo? Yeah, hi, this is Annie. Yeah, is Iah there? Oh great, yeah . . . Oh hi Iah! How are you doing? Oh good. Good. Yeah . . . oh sorry, I can't talk, I'm on the other line. OK, talk to you later! Love you! Bye!" Why call just to tell her you have to go because you're on the other line . . . it's like a ploy to prove her popularity among the imaginary crowd or something. :-)
Then a minute later, "Hi Iah, it's Annie again. Yeah, it is so great to see you. Um, yeah. I was calling, I want to know if you and Doh doo want to go in the van with us to the store. You two can sit together, in the middle, and I will sit in my seat, and Ellie will sit in the other seat. Oh, yeah? Great! See you soon!"

On the sleeping front: Annie refuses to sleep in her princess bed now, for the last several days. The new bed. We bought for her birthday two weeks ago. That she loved more than life itself. She's told us that her bedroom just "isn't princess-y enough". So, obviously she needs to sleep on her bedroom floor, rather than in her princess bed, with princess bedding, princess pillows, princess dolls and a princess canopy. Obviously. Sigh. Stubborn little thing.

On the potty training front: Things had been going really well. But, as will happen, Annie had an accident. The really gross kind. But, being the resourceful little thing she is, she got disrobed and into the bathtub without any help from me. Which isn't actually a good thing, since I now have to bleach the heck out of my entire bathroom, especially the tub. Ewww. But, while in there, I could hear her talking to herself . . .
"That is not good Annie. Not good. It's rude even. Mommy is going to tell you that we don't poop in our panties. We should be bigger. This is miserable. Miserable. Princesses don't poop in their panties." I almost felt like I needed to go in there and cheer her up and keep her from getting too down on herself. When I talked to her about it later though, she seemed to have gotten herself out of the shame cycle, flippantly informing me that she's pretty sure she will stop pooping in her pants when she's a little bigger, like 8. That's reassuring.
This accident was a little disheartening, since it's the second in as many days. We only had one accident all of last week, and then she peed (at dinner) at Grandma & Grandpa's house yesterday, then this today. I was really shocked when she had her accident at someone else's house, it was very unexpected since she's shown such promise away from home . . . she's asked us to find her a bathroom at stores, even while driving, and LOVES using the potty at my Mom's house. She informed Greg and I, as we were cleaning her up in their bathroom, that she refused to use the potty at Grandma Ruth's house, and "will only go potty at our own house!" The problem here was we were both pretty convinced she wasn't 'done', and worried about her having another accident. I explained firmly that if she wouldn't use the potty where we were, and had another accident, she would have to wear a diaper whenever we left the house. She cried and cried and whined and whined and insisted she would only use "my own potty at my own house!" I think my in-laws probably thought we were beating her in there. Eventually, she calmed down, but despite spending a good 10 minutes on the potty, did stick with it and refuse to pee. Of course, this all just meant that on the drive home we had to pull off the freeway and find a gas station for a potty break. Sigh. Really, really stubborn little thing.

On the adorable front: After getting out of the tub (so that I could bleach the grossness out of it), Annie went into her room to get panties and an outfit. But what she came back with made me laugh. "Mommy!" I heard her excitedly shriek as she came crashing into my bedroom. "Mommy, look, my baby and I are matching!!!" And there she was with her My Little Pony baby, in cute little winter hats (and nothing else). She was so excited, gushing, "It's like we're twins!" Sigh. She may be stubborn, but she endlessly delights and amuses me.

Behold the Cuteness

Tongue Talkin'

Ellie's become a big 'tongue talker'. All day long, she has long flowing conversations where she just smacks her tongue around in all directions inside and outside of her mouth. OK, I don't know how to describe it exactly. Which is why there's video.

New Birthday Dress

Annie was beyond adorable this morning for Church. When she woke up I asked her what she wanted to wear, and she said, "My baby and me want to wear our matching ones." Annie's Grandma Ruth, being infinitely more talented then me, had made Annie a beautiful floral dress with an adorable pinafore . . . and there's nothing Annie loves more than twirling and dancing as this dress beautifully moves along with her. Grandma had even made the new Madame Alexander doll she gave Annie a matching outfit. I took a few pictures of Annie in the dress, with the doll . . . then also let Annie sing and dance around a little on video. And sorry, but parts of it are incomprehensible, since she loves to sing (and sometimes talk) in random syllables that don't resemble anything you or I know as the English language. Don't worry, I don't understand what she's saying either.

Chicken Walker

Ellie, much like her big sister, is kind of a chicken. Annie was like this with everything too . . . they both can know how to do something, be quite capable of it, weeks (sometimes months) before they'll let loose and just do it already. :-) So, Ellie's a little chicken walker . . . she took her first steps back in April. Daily now she's taking a few steps here and a few steps there, but all in all, she won't really try it very often. Because of her 'I may try this once a day, but you won't know when it will happen and there sure as heck won't be a repeat performance' attitude towards walking means I've gotten very little video of her attempts. Until yesterday. It's not much, but it's recorded.

And last, but not least, a few Annie stories from today . . .

On the car drive to Grandma's house for dinner:
"Did you know that cars park in garages and that airplanes and helicopters live in a big garage too, 'cept it's called a hangar. I don't know why it's a hangar. [Sigh] I just don't understand." This is the deep thoughts of a three year old who spent the previous day at the air show with her Aunt Talina and Uncle David.

On the drive home:
Annie asked to borrow Greg's phone to take pictures. She had been playing for a minute, when she handed the phone back up front and asked for help. She'd taken a picture and was trying to send it to Doh doo and Iah; she had filled in the phone number, typed a hundred characters or so into the message box, and wanted it sent. We told her we took care of it.
A minute later she commented about how she was worried they hadn't gotten the picture, and wanted us to send it again. Instead I suggested she go ahead and give them a call and ask them if they'd gotten it.
The one-sided conversation that followed was pretty funny. Unfortunately, I only remember parts of it, but it was basically a very apologetic Annie making one excuse after another . . . they didn't even make sense or 'flow' or anything together, it's like she'd just taken every single excuse she's ever seen anyone make and use it in one conversation (and literally, there were a dozen and a half or more of them, "I so sorry I didn't talk to you before, I was busy . . . I forgot to call you back . . . I sorry, I couldn't hear you . . . I know, I was thinking about it, but then it didn't happen . . . I'll have to call you back . . . Did you get the picture? I thought it got sent . . ."
Then, the statement that made both mine and Greg's ears perk up, "Doh doo," she said firmly, "you really need to start treating Iah better!" What-huh? Where did she even get that from? And should I be worried that her best imaginary friends, who are a short married couple, also seem to have a dysfunctional marriage? :-) Was he in the background making snide comments or something that required Annie to chastise him. I'm so confused. Imaginary friends sure are high maintenance.

Future's So Bright . . .

Ellie loves her sisters many pairs of sunglasses, and will (try to) put them on and take them off for great stretches of time (I sit there, holding my breath, hoping she doesn't jab 'em into her eye . . . but so far, she's retained both eyes while playing with all the sunglasses, so maybe I just worry too much.)

Bozo the Freakin' Clown

So, I had like the BEST idea ever last night.

A while back I was at Walgreens, where they had two packages of sponge rollers on clearance for $0.59. This brought back waves of nostalgia, as my sisters and I spent most of our Saturday nights (before Church on Sunday) in sponge rollers. I don't know exactly why I thought we'd need them, I mean, you all have seen Annie's hair, it's not exactly lacking in the curl arena. But, I got 'em, feeling like a mother of young girls, (especially a Mom who grew up in the '80s) should have such things in her arsenal. And then they've sat in a drawer for weeks.

Until last night. Where I suddenly got the genuis idea to try them out. On myself. I'd been bemoaning my lack of natural curl . . . I've gone 'curly' the last few days, and my hair just doesn't have as much curl as it used to. I don't really know what I was going for, or hoping for, or thinking . . . but at first I just put one curler in, just to see what it would be like when I took it out in the morning. Then I went back to the bathroom counter, and went ahead and just put in another, then another, then used a whole package.

They are surprisingly easy to sleep in.

But pretty horrifying when you take them out. It's like the worst perm I've ever had. And I've had some bad ones. I tried running my fingers through my hair, but to no avail. And some of the sections of hair were curled up so tight you couldn't really tell I'd taken out the curlers at all. I tried getting a brush through it, but that wouldn't work at all.

(Is it just me, or is it totally 'Grandma-permish'?)

(The pictures don't really do it justice . . . I mean, yeah, it looks big and spazzy and all, but only in person does it look completely fried and damaged beyond all reason. And I think y'all should be way impressed by my high level of self esteem, since I'm posting pictures where my hair looks hideous and I'm not wearing any makeup. And making a weird face. Oh, but one thing I had never noticed before, is that my brown eyes like perfectly match my hair. I like it.)

(Oh, and when Annie saw my hair this morning, she laughed. Kinda giggled. Then when asked what she thought, snorted out, "I don't think it's very pretty!!")

(Greg just asked me, "What's the title of your blog entry?" I called back, "Bozo the Freakin' Clown!" He laughed and said, "That's works . . . I'd been thinking about something along the lines of, "Oh, The Horror!")

Count Your Blessings . . . One by One by One by One . . .

Annie said her bedtime prayers again tonight. Seriously, there is no better part of my day (or none more amusing) then listening to this kid pray.
Tonight, she was very thankful. Trust me, she probably said she was thankful for like 900 things. It started out with the travelogue section of her prayers:
"Thankful we went to Costco. Thankful we went to WalMart. Thankful we went to the playground. Thankful we went with Jessi, oh and to Chick Fil A! And played on the playground there too!!"
Then she started talking about sleep:
"Thankful Ellie gets so much sleep. (She doesn't.) Thankful I got to stay up so so so so late. (It was 9:30.) Thankful we get to sleep so we can feel better."
Then later some of mine and Greg's favorite statements:
"Thankful that my little sister Ellie is getting bigger. Thankful that she is growing up to be just like me." (She sounded so proud.)
"Thankful for Daddy. And that he gets to be a whole family with Mommy, me and Ellie."

Eventually, all good things must come to an end . . . especially after a long day that is ending a full hour and a half later than normal (she had taken a nap today though, so we were scheduled to be up later), Greg did end up prompting her with a subtle, "We say these things . . ." and she promptly closed her prayer, opened her eyes and looked up at us and just beamed. I love this kid.

In other news, the girls and I had so much fun hanging out with my friend Jessi tonight. I was thinking about it, and realized we became friends around the age of 15, as sophomores . . . meaning we've been friends for half of our entire lives now that we're both turning 30 within a month of each other. How cool is it that I have people in my life I can say that about. And especially Jessi. One thing that both Jessi and I were just thrilled about tonight is that Ellie was in her most lovable, charming mood. She played and danced and clapped and laughed and grinned, all in the hopes of impressing Jessi. The remarkable part was that Ellie also 'hung out' with Jessi a good chunk of the time. She let Jessi hold her, carry her, get her out of the carseat, and she never even seemed even the littlest bit miffed about it. (Usually Ellie flashes her biggest attitude to anyone who dare keeps her from Mom for more than 15 seconds.) Ellie would want to come back to me after a bit, but it was really amazing how much she was enjoying her time just playing with Jessi, and just how much time it was. I love progess.

Conversations with Imaginary People

Annie's been talking on the phone with her imaginary friends a lot lately. Oddly, she's transitioned from Doh doo to Iah. Everything used to be about Doh doo, but she rarely talks about him or with him on the phone anymore, most of her conversations are with Iah (although, when they 'come over' they tend to arrive together . . . the other day during dinner, Annie made Greg get up and go and answer the door 'cause they had arrived. I tried to tell her to call them back and tell them to just come to the back door, but after a quick pretend phone call with them, she insisted they were waiting out front. So, Greg got up, during dinner, went and answered the door and let them in. Then we never heard anything more about them the rest of the night. For all I know, they're still wandering my house aimlessly.) :-)
Anyway, Annie was on her toy cell phone the other day, talking with Iah, when I suddenly heard her gush, "You know Iah, it is so great to be able to talk to you and to get to know you better!"

June 3rd

So, the four days are up. And none too soon. :-)
You see, from my birthday (on May 30th), Greg gets started . . . "I'm married to an older woman." This year was even worse 'cause it was days of, "I'm only in my 20s, and I'm married to a woman in her THIRTIES!" And it lasts four days, until June 3rd.

Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Chuckles, 'cause you're 30 now too! :-)

Happy Birthday!

Greg -- the Early Years
(And hon, you can tell how much I love you, 'cause that glamour-shots-Eagle-Scout-picture is nowhere to be found in this photo tribute. You're welcome!)

Greg & Hilary -- Dating

Greg & Hilary -- The Wedding Day

Greg & Hilary -- Disneyland, on our Honeymoon

Greg -- The Amazing Dad




(With goatee AND glasses, be still my heart!! We don't see that very often anymore!)

So, yep, we're four days apart. He didn't have long to tease me about being thirty, 'cause he's joined me now! I told Greg last night, I'm not a very good cradle robber/cougar, what with him being only four days younger and all. I mean, when Demi turned 30, Ashton was probably in grade school or something still. Considering I had to wait over the weekend when I turned 16, I probably only got my license like 2 days before Greg did.

Greg and I hadn't been dating long at all when we discovered that not only were we only four days apart, but had been born in the same hospital, lived in the same Stake (church boundaries), and were blessed in the same Church building. But, when I was four, and Greg was six, we both moved from the old 'hood with our families and ended up in completely different states for most of our childhood. When Greg was 16, his family moved back to Utah. We were in different high schools though, with no connection then. But, Greg went and served an LDS Mission in Mexico, and before he came home, I bought a condo that turned out to be 2 streets over from his parents house. I moved in June, and he came home in August . . . but during the same month later that year, October, we both decided to start attending the local Single's Ward and there spent the next couple years going to Church together each and every week, but basically not really noticing each other at all. (Funny story, I threw a party at my Aunt's house, about three months or so before Greg and I started dating. I have no memory of him being there, but looking back at pictures, there's multiple photos of the two of us standing right next to each other. Call me oblivious.) But, eventually, things fell into place, we hung out and played cards one weekend, then the next, then from then on we have spent as much time together as humanely possible, every single day unless one of us was out of state or country. And I can't imagine it any other way. Greg was too good to be true . . . smart, funny, considerate, sweet, cute, hard working, chivalrous, sexy, good to his Mom, respectful, faithful and endlessly kind. I seriously got way more than I deserved. I had a whole list of what I was looking for in a man, and not only was he a perfect fit, but he had a dozen other qualities that turned out to be even more important than anything I'd ever thought to look for before. As we've been married, I've found countless other reasons to love him. He makes me laugh all the time, and he's my best audience, constantly really amused by my latest antecdote (or he's the world's best actor, which is a good quality too.) He's a better father than I ever would have thought to ask for for our girls. They will be so lucky to have such a supportive, smart, encouraging Dad . . . it'll shape who they are, what they learn and how they feel about themselves. Trust me, I know about these things. He's a partner in the truest sense of the word. He is constantly looking for ways to support me, to help me out, to take off any load that adds stress to my life. We are a better match then I would've ever expected, and he is my best friend.

Happy Birthday. Old man. :-)

Love, Hil

Annie Tales

Annie constantly cracks me up . . . but I realize that I record fewer and fewer of these stories. I think it's 'cause as she gets older, they are more accurate and dead on, therefore adorably precocious, but not quite the laughable verbal gaffes of toddlerhood where she was mixing up words, mispronouncing them, or skewing their meaning . . . or just realizing their meaning for the first time, making some big dramatic 'connection'. She still does and says a lot that makes me laugh, makes me proud, and makes me smile at her own unique view of the world she lives in.

After a month or so of refusing to say prayer at bedtime, Annie finally decided it was her turn again. And Annie prayers always end up making me smile. Annie started off normally, thankful for the day, her family, for the fun times we'd had . . . then she started talking about going to Grandma & Grandpa's that evening (while Greg and I set out on an actual date, dinner two days after my birthday and two days before his, we just split the difference and did one big birthday dinner). "Thank you we got to go to Grandma's house. And thank you that I was such a big helper, and helped with my little sister, and was such a good girl. Thank you we got to see thunder. (I was proud that both Greg and I held our tongues and didn't correct that to 'hear', something we'd both been doing all evening as she'd been telling us about her adventures.) Thank you we got to see lightening. Thank you we got to see storm. Thank you that we had dinner with Grandma and with Grandpa. Thank you Mommy and Daddy came home to Annie and we saw outside. Thank you we saw dogs! The little puppy was so cute! Thank you we had so much fun. Um, thank you we went on a walk. Um, thank you we went to Grandmas. Um, well I guess that's the whole story. Amen."

Another Annie story, from this morning.
I had informed our potty training dynamo (who has not had an accident in three days! Even at night!) that she couldn't eat breakfast until she used the potty (making me nervous that we were going on better than 12 hours now since she last used the facilities). She grudgingly agreed, while following me down to our main floor, when she suddenly perked up, "I'll use the bathroom down here!" (Our small half bath on the main floor, by the front door.) "OK, Annie, that's fine."
"We should get a bathtub for this bathroom! Why don't we go to the store to get a tub today?"
Wanting her to kinda think this one through on her own, I mentioned, "We could do that, I guess, but I'm thinking a bathtub might not work in there . . . what do you think?"
After a few seconds, "Oh, I guess that it is a small bathroom."
"Yeah," I said, "I don't think a bathtub would fit in that bathroom."
She nodded, then left me in the kitchen making toast while she headed off to use the potty. A minute later, while in using the bathroom herself, she loudly calls out, "I guess it would have to be a really little one," then added excitedly, "like for my dolls!"

Designer Genes

I came across a picture of Star and I when we were little (just a little younger then Annie and Ellie are now), and then a few more pictures of me as a young kid, and I pulled up a couple pictures from the girls' birthdays last week . . . I think there's some similarities . . .


Ellie's never looked as much like my family as Annie does, but this one picture of Star and this one of Ellie struck me as a little more alike than normal. Star's baldness as a baby is probably what makes them look a little more alike. I was looking at pictures of Greg's only sister Andrea around Ellie's age, and she has a full head of beautiful hair, so it wiped out any other similar features because the hair just makes ALL the difference in the world. My family was nearly bald 'til closing in on two, where as Greg's family were all getting haircuts from just about birth. I'm kinda hoping my next one has hair I can pull up into little ponytails on the top of her head at a few months old . . . if I have a baby in the next year or so, and she gets some of those genes, I could be pulling up her hair before Ellie has enough to do it with! (Notice I just assume I'll have all girls. At this point I can't even imagine a little boy in the mix, so all my planning seems to revolve around all girls.)