alone

Shhhhh...do you hear that? Me neither! My house is totally and completely quiet (save the little click click click of typing keys.) It has literally been YEARS since I've had a steady afternoon 'naptime' that I could count on for a little mommy time. Impetuous Kate promptly quit napping at the tender age of 2, despite my attempts to prolong it (or even amend it into 'quiet time.') But, today Chad and Kate are off having a Daddy/Daughter adventure of some kind, BabyDoo is asleep, Dal is at school, and I'm all alone wondering what to do with myself.

Don't get my wrong...on my 'should do' list are two loads of laundry that need folding, a toy room that needs sprucing, bathrooms that could use a good cleaning, and dishes in the sink. But, if you know me at all, you probably know that what I'd RATHER do is curl up on the couch with some Easter candy pilfered from 'the Bunny's' hiding spot and a good book.

Yes.
I think that is exactly what I'll do.

And, if YOU are in such a lucky situation as to have a free afternoon, and would like some new LDS-authored book recommendations, you might check out this post on Segullah today.

Goodbye!

tucked in bed

When I climbed into bed last night, this was hiding for me under the covers:

Oh, my! How I love this girl of mine!

Training

I'm in training. For the mommy-lympics. I'll admit, I'm not the world's best housekeeper. I'm not even top-ranking. But there is one event for which my 'coach' has me working hard: speed laundry folding. The idea in this competition is to see who is faster: the laundry folding mommy or the emptying-the-basket baby. My one-year-old is a champion, for his part.

He dives, head first, into a basket of freshly washed clothes, tossing them willy-nilly over his shoulder, through his legs, across the room. He can empty the basket at top speed, afterwhich, he'll cruise the newly minted clean-clothes-clutter, putting his favorite pieces into the basket filled with the dirty clothes. Oh, yes, my friends, he is good.

I'm training hard, though. With each load, I'm becoming more flexible, more agile, more adept. One of the days, in one of our matches, I'm bound to conquer this little giant of sport. Or, he'll get big enough that I can force HIM to do the folding!

Oh, gotta go. My little athlete is off to train for "Swift Toilet Paper Roll Emptying" and "Rapid Book Ripping." Aughhh!

There are a lot of fun things about going on a trip with 17 other people (who are related to you, nonetheless). And, when you spend a lot of time with people you rarely see otherwise, you learn some interesting things about them.

Like this little conversation that happened in the bathroom of our shared hotel room:
brother-in-law: Honey, did you pack my razor?
sister-in-law: No. Didn't you?
b-i-l: I didn't. I'll have to share yours.
s-i-l: I hate sharing razors!
b-i-l: You do it all the time, you just don't know it.

Or, the fact that you family of in-laws is INTENSELY into karaoke. And they are 'superstars.' And they like to wear boas and wigs!

Or, that nothing can make tempers flair up like a disagreement over the rules of Rook. And there are some seriously competitive "Five Crowns" players in this group.

Or, that your skinniest sister-in-law can down an ice cream cone any time, day or night. And, I could usually oblige when asked to 'get one too.'

Or, that a 'birthday cake' can be instantly crafted from stateroom towels, the "today on the cruise" schedule, and some safety pins. Amazing!

Or, that when you travel in such a large clan of folks who are fully-clothed and sober in the Caribbean, people will automatically peg you as Mormons.


Just wanted to give a 'shout out' to the gang to say "thanks" for all the fun, fun memories made at sea! We miss you all (and your antics) already!

picture my day

I have a darling friend who has challenged herself to take a picture every day this year. It is an honorable goal, a way to celebrate the joy in ordinary life. I haven't taken on such a daunting task myself, but I like the thought of it.

However, as much as I appreciate the idea of finding something interesting to treasure about even ordinary days, you have to admit, some days are more memorable than others.

Like the day you get to stand on deck and wave your white hankie "farewell" as you watch dry land getting further and further away, and the wide, blue sea spread ahead. Ahhh....



I'll catch ya after a week in the sun!

fortunate

Yes, I'm feeling fortunate today....
A closer look, you ask?
You read that right, young grasshopper. Bitty #4 is predicted to join our clan at the end of August, in this, the year of the tiger.

We are thrilled with our good fortune!


P.S. If you'd like to try your hand at home-made fortune cookies (the future looks better when you write it yourself!), this is where I got the recipe. Mine don't look nearly as pretty as Brooke's, but even the mess-up scraps are yummy to eat!

evolution

I bought Corn Pops for my kids this week. It is not usually a cereal in which we indulge. But, it was $1...so, lucky for them! I had to laugh when I saw the new box proclaiming that Corn Pops is, apparently, a good source of FIBER.

When I was growing up, we ate Corn Pops a lot (my mom wasn't a sugar-cereal-phobic mother). Only my dad called them "Sugar Pops." When we asked him why he was having a hard time reading the word "corn" which was clearly (albeit minutely) written above the word POPS, he informed us that when first invented in the 60s, this cereal, was, in fact, called "Sugar Pops." Sugar eventually got banished to the 'black' list and Corn Pops re-invented itself, emphasizing the vegetable component instead of the sweetener.

I doubt they've changed the recipe since the 80s (or the 60s, for that matter), but now that the box emphasizes the FIBER involved, I'm surely more likely to purchase it again. (insert tongue in cheek here) When it goes on sale for $1.