I Should Be Grateful, But...

1. I should be grateful that my boys let me do my hour of exercise, BUT it's still irritating to find green crayon scribbled on two different couches.
2. I should be grateful that Eli stopped coloring when I noticed he had a crayon, BUT did he have to be coloring in a library book?
3. I should be grateful that De-Solv-It takes crayon and pencil off of walls, BUT why do I have pencil marks taller than my 1 year old can reach?
4. I should be grateful that the crayon marks washed right off of my couch pillows, BUT did the pillow covering have to rip and leave filling throughout my entire load of laundry?
5. I should be grateful that my washing machine didn't flood my laundry room, BUT where did that water on the floor come from anyway?
6. I should be grateful that all of this happened within two hours this morning, BUT did it have to happen at all?
However, my day is not a complete loss--thank you Children's Place $2.99 sale. And, to keep it all in perspective, I was watching this video yesterday and it got me all teary. Sure, I had a rough morning, but my life is soooo easy in comparison to hers.
I've been thinking about where I am in my life right now--a lot lately. Am I being the kind of mother, daughter, wife and friend I want to be? Am I appreciating all of the sweet moments that being a young parent brings or merely dwelling on the challenges (like my 1-6 above)?
I look at my daughter who started 2nd grade a few weeks ago and think that in only a matter of months from now, she'll be old enough to decide if she wants to make a life long commitment to join the church. How quickly that time has gone.

I look at my baby who is nearing is second birthday and realize that Owen was almost the same age that Eli is now, when Eli was born--yet, I feel like Eli is still my baby.

Life is flying by and am I really appreciating it for all it's worth? Some days yes, some days not as much as I should.
However, I am grateful for all that God has blessed me with. So, the rough mornings will come, but really, I live a pretty charmed life.

It's My Day!

I have decided to celebrate by sharing 32 tidbits about myself:
1. I love to read!!!! I am a member of two book clubs.
2. I love breakfast foods--pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage & biscuits.
3. I was raised as an only child.
4. I have seven siblings.
5. I am learning how to play the violin--I started about 4 years ago with my daughter.
6. I lived in Spain for a month and a half.
7. I earned a minor in Spanish from BYU.
8. The farthest I've ever run is a 10K--but I didn't take any breaks!
9. I have made my husband promise never to bury me at sea (even if we die on a ship).
10. I love lots of different music--80s, country, etc.
11. My husband proposed to me right next to a cemetery.
12. I was accepted and going to attend University of Kansas Law School when I met Derek. (One lawyer in our family is plenty!)
13. I don't wear glasses or contacts. 20/20 vision!
14. I chose to be Dopey, one of the seven dwarfs, for Halloween, when I was a little girl.
15. I love to eat out!!!!
16. I was born on my due date.
17. I have swum with dolphins.
18. Derek and I lived in a different city every summer during his undergraduate degree--Euless, Texas; Vienna, Virginia; Lewisville, Texas and Duluth, Georgia.
19. I do NOT eat watermelon or honeydew.
20. I am taller than my husband.
21. I am named after my dad's adopted mother.
22. I have the same middle name as my dad's biological mother--we discovered this when we found her family this last year.
23. I am addicted to family history work.
24. I was on the diving team in high school.
25. I have big lips--but my mom's are bigger!
26. I love to have my back rubbed--softly.
27. I never go grocery shopping without a list.
28. I hate Viva milk--any other brand is okay.
29. There is a 20 year gap between my age and my mom's and a forty year gap between my grandma and me. (I ruined the pattern!)
30. I like to play the piano, but I have no idea what I'm doing.
31. When I was a little girl, I never wore a seatbelt. I stood pressed behind my grandpa's shoulder and the seat while he drove.
32. I love to play racquetball.
There you go. Some random and useless information about me. 32 years young.

What's Good For Me?

Because my husband spent a lot of money on these: photo of shoes

I now spend my nights doing this: picture of a group of runners

(I'm the one in the front of course!)

Which helps me to avoid doing this: picture of a girl stuffing her face with cinnamon rolls

Except when I go to Costco and they are selling these: picture of fancy caramel apples

Oh Costco! What a love/hate relationship we have with each other. How is it that I usually have a list of about four items and I never seem to leave without spending at least $80?
What I should do is buy Costco stock. Why didn't I think of that about a million years ago?

Vacation Decisions

Next month marks nine years of wedded bliss for the hubby and me. Amazing to think that after only knowing each other less than six months we decided that we wanted to spend all of eternity together. However, that's the BYU way isn't it?
Things surfaced about our differing personalities right away. One of those differences is in how we make decisions. I come from a family whom are very quick decision makers.
Where do you want to eat? (No more than a five minute decision--I prefer to think that we are decisive and not merely just hungry.)
What should I wear today? (Take something out of your closet and put it on.)
We make decisions quickly. We don't like to waste time and I guess we all feel pretty well informed on our options. I'm sure it isn't because we're impatient by nature. (read sarcasm here)
My husband's family are more deliberate in their approach.
Where do you want to eat?
This would be followed by a discussion about which ethnicity of food we were in the mood for. Then, after that was determined, we would discuss every restaurant we had ever known that served that type of food. We would then further break down our options by price, customer service, drive time to desired locations, etc.
Not that I think my family's way of doing things is superior, it's just been quite interesting to note how we seem to approach questions or situations with different methods.
Going back to our upcoming anniversary. I want to do something big. And by big I mean without our kids and for more than one day. The two of us haven't gotten away for a vacation other than single nights out for two prior anniversaries, so I thought now would be a great time. My mom volunteered to come and stay with the kids and that left it wide open for us to plan something wonderful.
Once again, our differences are highlighted:
I had a friend refer me to the most luxurious resort I've ever seen. It looks absolutely amazing. I took one look and was ready to book the trip.
My husband talked to many, many different people and then narrowed his options down to four completely different locations. He continues to update me on what is available to do in these various locations and the different hotel options.
I'm beginning to think that perhaps my decisive approach has given me comfort because I never had to worry that I would be missing out on anything because I never bothered to consider what I could be missing.
My husband likes to consider all the options--good and bad. In the end, I can't deny that the decision is well-founded, but I also can't help but feeling remorse about all the options I have to forego.
SO....
Where will we go?
Where will we stay when we get there?
What will we eat?
What will we wear?
We think we have it figured out--almost.

Because I'm a Queen...

I get to wear a crown.

It's gold even!

Unfortunately, you, or me for that matter, won't be able to see it because it's going to reside over one of my six year molars.

Sigh.

I honestly felt a little embarassed by my failure with my molar.

Sure, I've had some cavities, but not in several years and never had a crown before.

Now, in less than six months, this one tooth cracked in three places and a piece of it is missing! (That missing portion is its own disturbing problem that my digestive system doesn't want to think about.)

When my dentist was looking in my tooth everything seemed good until I heard him say the words crack and molar.

Then, they have such incredible, (disgusting, but incredible) technology that allowed me to see my tooth blown up to about 40 times its normal size in all its broken down glory. I almost threw up in my mouth when I looked at the picture, but as you know, all that acid from throw up is not so good for your teeth either, so I kept it down.

Oh well, I guess a little mouth bling will make me oh so fashionable.

If Everyone Else Jumped Off a Bridge, Would You do it Too?

Two weekends ago we were watching 20/20. It was discussing the idea that there are several parents out there who are pushing their children to do more than the average child. To set a huge goal and go after it. Sounds really admirable right? Till you realize that the goals these particular sets of parents are encouraging these kids to accomplish are all goals that will put them in the record books. We're not asking a child to read 40 books over summer break or run a marathon. These parents had a 13 year old child climb Mt. Everest and a 16 year old girl sail solo around the globe. I definitely believe in pushing your child to do more, to be more, but not at the risk of your own life.

When questioned about the safety of encouraging and allowing their children to engage in this behavior, both sets of parents cited to the parenting of others saying things such as, "Other parents are waiting in line to 'supersize' their childrens' meals at McDonalds. What I'm doing is safer for his health than that." Or, "How could I stop her when she's so capable and determined?"

Great reasoning right? So, your next door neighbors might be teaching their children to play with handguns and smoke pot, so that definitely justifies another parent to use poor judgment in their own parenting techniques. In other words, if I parent just as poorly as they do, no harm done.

I'm certainly no ideal parent, but where do you draw the line? The 16 year old, Abby Sunderland, was lost in the middle of the Indian Ocean earlier this week. Do you think her parents flew out to find her? Do you think they spent one dime to help in the situation? No, other countries had to dispatch three different ships and an aircraft to locate this missing girl who was 2,000 miles away from either Africa or Australia. That irks me.

Why are we invested in trying to save this showboat (no pun intended) and her parents? They said they recognized the risks and were willing to accept them, but when it came down to it, they weren't. They were begging for help from any agency that would offer it.

It seems to be a common theme that you hear in parenting anymore. "Well, kids are going to be kids, so I just want to be aware of what they are doing." I've heard of parents encouraging their teenage children and their friends to drink in their homes, so at least, the parents know the children are safe. Seriously? When did we decide to just accept poor behavior and cater to it instead of setting up a standard and trying to achieve it. Isn't this the whole teaching abstinence in school debate all over again?

Do I think we should save every human life that we can? Certainly. But, I do believe that if you engage in purposefully dangerous behavior there should be repercussions. If I choose to speed and I'm caught I have to pay the fine. If I choose to send my 16 year old daughter into the middle of the ocean and she gets stuck--well, she's a minor and I should pay for it. I would just like to see some accountability here.

Do I blame the 16 year old? To some degree. I mean, she and her parents both kept citing back to her incredible skills--which skills they apparently didn't trust enough to leave her to her own devices for even a couple hours of losing her signal. Mostly though, her parents are to blame for this whole thing. I guess the take away message they want to send to her is--accomplish your goals, no matter what the cost to you or anyone else around you.

Isn't It Grand?

We are one of those ridiculous families that have lived in Arizona for over six years and never made the trip to see our closest national treasure--the Grand Canyon. So, this Memorial weekend, we remedied that by visiting with our family, Derek's two brothers and his uncle Ron and cousin Cody.

One of the placards stated that the most you can see of the canyon at any time is only 20%. Wow! I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story, but I must say that even photos don't do it justice. You really have to see it for yourself.