Thanks Mom

I was taken on a trip down memory lane yesterday. King J mentioned to me that he would like some new button down shirts. That his polo's that he wears to work every day are great. But he was getting tired of them. So Princess M and I took a trip to Goodwill and found several. I washed them and found I had just purchased a new chore for myself as they all require ironing.

I decided to pull out the ironing board and get it all done before he got home to surprise him with my purchases. I found a few of my own things that needed to be done that always just sit in my closet because neither he nor I like to iron.

Well I ended up ironing 6 shirts and it took me almost an hour. During that hour I was taken back to the house on Grandview hill that I grew up in and into the downstairs laundry room. I was standing in front of the window doing my dads shirts. I hated that job. There were always so many shirts to do. I didn't understand why it was my job to do dads shirts. Who cared if his shirt was a little bit wrinkly, they weren't even wrinkly, just that out of the dryer look. Who cared. It wasn't until I was standing there yesterday doing shirts for my husband that I understood in more ways than one why it was important for that to be my job so many years ago.

First, I had this kind of June Cleaver feeling come over me. That it was one of the ways that I could "take care" of my husband. He is in a position of authority at work and he needs to not only look his best, but feel his best. And a simple thing like having a pressed shirt would help with that.

Over the years I have been amazed at all of the skills that I poses that I just take for granted. I just assume every other person knows how to do them, or do them correctly. Kinda like common knowledge. Take cleaning a bathroom for example. I remember a time when I was in college and we were having a white glove inspection. It was one of my room mates turn to clean the bathroom. She just wiped everything down with a rag and water. That was how she cleaned everything. Just with water. Yes it looked clean, but it didn't get rid of the germs. And for a white glove cleaning, or deep clean you need a little more than that. I never again resented having to deep clean the bathrooms on Saturdays, one or more times to get it right, as a youth.

Grocery shopping is another one. Again in college, it was my last semester there. So 2 years in, and I had a new room mate who had been there for just as long. But had been in the dorms prior to living with us. We went to the grocery store for our weekly stock up shop and she didn't know what to do. She was 20 years old and had never really gone to the grocery store to do a real, fill your cart, grocery shop. Again I saw the importance of my Sr year in High School when it was my responsibility to plan the menu for the family and then do the shopping for that menu.

So Mom, thank you. Thank you for helping teach me how to do the simple things. The things that I hated and gave you grief for as a teenager. Things that I have learned other people didn't learn from their moms and have made their lives as adults harder. Thank you for helping me to feel like I am doing a good job as a wife, mom and the CEO of our home.

True Confessions

So I have never, ever been good at reading my scriptures every day. Even when I was young and in seminary. Even when I was on my mission. Gasp, I know shameful. It's not that I didn't want to, well maybe sometimes. But honestly it will get to the end of my day and I will be at the almost sleep stage and I will remember I haven't read. Or days, or even weeks, go by and I realize I haven't cracked it them open.

BUT...... I have recently found a solution that has been working swimmingly. I spend a TON of time on the computer. To much time really. Have you heard of iGoogle? Well King J stumbled upon it a few weeks ago and it is amazing. We have switched our home page to it. You download applications for things or sites you visit most. On mine I have things like facebook, yahoo mail, YouTube, the lowest gas prices within a 10 mile radius, and the current and forecasted temps for where we live. Wait for it, and I also have a Book of Mormon chapter-a-day on there.
I decided that I am not allowed to visit any of my favorite "web" places until I read my chapter. I am happy to report that I haven't missed a day! It feels really good.

Bring on the Heat

So it has begun. Today is the first day that we have really felt the heat of the Georgia weather. And it is only 80 degrees. But the humidity is probably at 100%. I have had to empty the dehumidifier every single day that we keep in the basement. We are trying hard not to turn on our ac until it is absolutely unbearable with opening windows and the fans. Since we don't qualify for equal payments on the power until the fall. Thank goodness for the shade the trees provide. That should help us hold out for a while longer. :)

An Amazing Birthday Present

Last week was spring break here in Georgia so the girls and I decided to spend some time up in Tennessee with our family and visiting some of the fun places up there. We mentioned that we were wanting to go to the "Fish Moozeum" (as princess M calls it) and Aunt Megan and Kirsten hatched a plan. They had a close friend who works there and they arranged for us to have a behind the scenes tour of the penguins and one of the giant fish tanks for a birthday present for the girls. It was SO amazing and an experience we won't soon forget.
Princess M kept calling the penguins "Noodle" penguins and we didn't understand until we found out the ones with yellow on their heads are called macaroni penguins. (who says TV can't teach your kids stuff lol) And one of them actually was named noodle.
In the big tank there was a giant puffer fish and giant sea turtle that kept coming to the surface looking right at us. They thought we were going to feed them.
It was so much fun. Thank you SO much for the memory!

Below is a slide show of the stills I took. And if you go here or here you can see some video's that were taken on Uncle Keith's phone. Quality is poor, but you get the idea and can hear the excitement in their voices.

Tattoo Crazy

I didn't used to have a problem with the occasional temporary tattoo that my kids would get. But for some reason, here in GA, they get them all the stinkin' time. They give them out at every birthday party, school party, at the Dr and on and on and on. I have started to hate them. So the last time the girls got some, in the goodie bags from the vets office, I told them they needed to put it someplace where their clothes would cover it up. Princess E put it on her tummy and Princess M put it on her upper thigh. But once she realized no one would see it, she was very distraught. So she went around the rest of the day like this. With her skirt tucked into her panties, just the one leg, so she could show it off.

Silly girl!

Ward Easter Egg Hunt, in our yard

6 years old

Honestly, where has the time gone??? Princess E had her birthday party about a week ago. She decided that she wanted a pj party and boy did we have fun. However, I have no idea what I was thinking doing it for 3 hours. I was sure happy when it was over.

We started out the night by eating pizza and watching a princess movie.. I made 6 pizzas and there was only 1 slice left over when they were done. 8 six year olds sure can put it away.

Then we had 3 centers set up where they could get their nails done. Decorate a pillow case and make a beaded safety pin for their back packs. And that is what I had planned for the evening. Unfortunately we were only about an hour in.

So we played a few games like wake the princess and duck duck goose. We opened one of the presents, the new movie Bolt and watched it for a little bit. There was a lot of screaming, giggling and chaos. But in the end, princess E was in heaven having all of that attention on her.

Another big thanks to Grandma Cooley and Megan and Kirsten for your help. I don't know how I would have done it without you.

Another Year Older

I had the best birthday this year. I was able to head to North Carolina for the weekend and spend it with some of the East Coast MOFIA (my online friends). NC was the "central" meeting spot for all of us. Well it was until the Ohio and Kentucky girls couldn't come. We figured that out late on Saturday night. Anyway, it was tons of fun and a great way to spend my birthday. Although I did miss my man and girls.

We went to a museum in the morning. Hit Subway for lunch, then came back to the hotel so the babies could take naps (they took really long naps). Then we went to the mall, did some shopping, went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner and to celebrate my birthday. While at the hotel we worked on fleece blankets, and we watched a lot of TLC. It was very relaxed and fun! We discovered that our personalities are all very similar, and we really enjoyed each other.

After making it home I was surprised with my own copy of Twilight and a wii fit. I have been enjoying both every day since. Thanks everyone who made 31 easier to accept. :)