Need a good laugh?

Winter weather gotcha down? I've got a little remedy that should warm up your heart and fill your belly full of laughs in no time! Perhaps it's not the most kind thing as a mother to offer a laugh at the expense of my child. It isn't Christmas-y,but this video clip of Cade after his night of Trick-or-Treating really cracks me up.

Worthless Infomercial Items My Lovely Wife Has Purchased

After reading the last post my wife posted on MY blog, (yep that's right, I was the one who started this thing...I shouldn't have given her administrator access) you are probably feeling sympathetic to my sweet wife. To get even I am going to bring to light that my wife is a sucker for informercials and share a few of her grand experiences with "As Seen On TV"

Let it be known that the only thing she has used more than 1 time is the hot chocolate maker. However, I am sure that she will have a very witty response and rebuttal and make me look stupid again. Bring it sweetie!

Goodwill Toward Men (kyle especially)

I am moving.

I have to be packed, cleaned, done and out with everything in 7 days. Or less.

Many have asked how the packing is coming. I say, "Well, I'm still throwing out and getting rid of Junk. You know, we've been here for so long. 2 1/2 years is a long time for us, so we've got a lot to get rid of. Perhaps I'll pack tomorrow! "

Today I actually did pack up our books. We have lots of books, so that's all great, but in reality, how hard is it to stack books in a plastic bin? Not very. Unless you're me, of course. I decided to take it upon myself to attempt (key word here) to get rid of Kyle's textbooks from college. I have been keeping mental note of what he actually does refer to (every time we pack and move them I harass him about those dang heavy, hardback, 3-inch thick books he is so determined to keep because he'll need them to refer to sometime at some random, but very critical moment. Uh, can anyone say Internet?). So today I selected the 5 books that I have seen him look at in the last few years. And kept them.

The rest (about 64 lbs worth) went to the Goodwill bin. I made the rotten mistake of briefly mentioning I had a bin to take to the car, and that I'd load his other bin he so proudly filled with clothes in just a sec.

"What?! Where's the other Goodwill bin? Let me see what's in it!" And he runs down the hall after me.

Now, imagine me trying to run out the front door with a 64 lb. bin. Yeah, I didn't make it very far. Garbled shreiks, gasps and other such noises were made in between the follwing:

"This book is in here?! What? I totally need that one! What
were you thinking?! I was gonna sell this one on e-bay. Oh, and this one, this is expensive, and it's not even mine!!!"

He went on and on. The damage?

I only walked out the door with about 20 lbs. At least I tried.

According to Kyle, I have a terrible reputation for being known to accidentally and purposely get rid of his so-called treasures. I am still on probation from an alleged kidnapping of some shirts from this past summer. I maintain my innocence. But I ain't sad those shirts are gone. Love you, sweetie. Just not your 231 T-shirts. :)

In the name of getting rid, allow me to share with you some notes I took at a great Enrichment Night we had almost a year ago from a professional organizer:

The Truth About Organization

• Getting rid of clutter does not promise organization, and one who is organized still may have a lot of a clutter. Be both organized and clutter free. And know the difference.


• Organization is a trait you can develop


• You don't need to purchase all your organization supplies before you start to organize


• You don't need a lot of time to accomplish something


• Organization does not equal perfection. It just allows you to recover when a crisis happens.


• When down-sizing, it will be liberating!


• In regards to Paper -- sometimes we can't worry about "pretty" -- just "function"


• When going through stuff, look at them by action: store it, donate it, fix it, keep in room, relocate it, discard it.

This is from Frances@remedease.com

We're Baaaaack!

After 3 weeks of bed hopping, I slept under my very own covers last night. Whew! You can't feel too sorry for me. After all, I was being pampered by my parents, Kyle's parents, and soaking up the sun in Hawaii. I'll bliggity blog about our festive Thanksgiving and fabulous vacation to Island Paradise later. For now, I just want to bask in the sweetness of freshly fallen snow, an erected and adorned Christmas Tree, and the unveiling of my beautiful Nativity Gramma and Grampa Berry spoiled us with last year. Packing can wait yet another day. For now, I just want to pretend it's going to be a Christmas without any stresses.

Mele Kelikimaka!

There's no place like home...

I have dropped little hints, not meaning for them to be hints. They were more like tidbits of my denial breaking down. Some mention of packing, house hunting, etc. have all been jumbled admissions of my future, but I guess I never came right out and said it.

We sold our house.

Rather, we got an offer on our home. I had a pretty good idea of it at about 8pm the Sunday before Thanksgiving, which was T-11 hours to the airport for Cade, Savvy, and my departure.

I got a call from a gal we had shown the house to over conference weekend. At the time she showed a great deal of interest, and I would have bet money that she was going to put in an offer but after several days of no word, I decided perhaps she found something else. Shortly after we signed with an agent. Well, sure enough, the night before I was heading out of town for nearly 3 weeks, the girl asks if the home was still available and if she could see it one more time. Ah!

It was exciting, stressful, and depressing all in one. I called my fabulous neighbor and asked if she'd be so kind to show the interested woman the house while I was away. She was her dear self and agreed so I dropped the keys off at her house and came home I was perplexed. Cleaning the house for showings and preparing a home for an inspection are two different situations. Having to do both and dealing with the idea that my home could soon not be mine anymore was almost more than I could bear. I'd been single-mommin' it for 8 days. I was sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation guarantees me a mental breakdown if it's gone on for long enough. After tucking the children in bed I sat on my bed and cried. It was a pretty cathartic experience. Following a dear friend's advice, I have to agree, it is easier to move on with change after you've had a good cry over it. So that's what I did. And then I packed my suitcase,the children's suitcases, folded 9 loads of laundry, scrubbed the floors, shined the sinks and before I knew it, it was time to wake the kids up for the airport. I didn't sleep that night, but I probably wouldn't have slept much even if I had tried to get under the covers. It's getting old though, this no sleep trend. I think I am pulling more all-nighters now than I did in college. Will address that problem later. Looking at the facts this was a huge blessing. There is no room for a pity party.

Consider the following:

a. Our home had been listed on the MLS for less than a month

b. The woman interested in our home was written in the contract with our agent which meant if she bought, we don't pay our agent any percentage of what our home sold for (she found our home using Forsalebyowner.com)

c. We were planning to have to move out in January anyway for Kyle to recruit, so selling the home would prevent us from having to double pay for housing.

Timing was pretty well on our side, right? Well, yes. But this place was home! And besides, who wants to pack up a house just in time for the holidays? Not me.

I have to say, working without an agent has been really nice. I was really afraid of doing it as far as paperwork, etc. We were able to negotiate over the phone and came to an agreement that both of us feel good about, which is great. She initially wanted to close on the 22nd. I needed more time to pack up, and for nostalgia's sake, wanted to spend Christmas in our home one last time. So far it's all gone smoothly and we are pleased with the outcome. We are scheduled to close on the 29th.

The Ultimate Question is burning within you all.

Indeed our home is not free from the bonds of the devastating market trends. We are selling our home for less than we bought it. If the time we bought it was a peak, I guess we call this, what? A pothole? A really, really deep ditch? A well?

It stinks but, as the old addage goes- you win some, you lose some. We sold our home in Utah a year and a half ago and made great money on that investment. We are losing money on this house, but with the loss of this house and gains of the UT home combined, we are still coming out on top. So that's how I am choosing to look at this situation. I could kick myself and scream and say, "We should have rented!" but in reality, the neighbors we have enjoyed and the experiences we've shared in our home, as much as I've grumbled and complained about no closets or too much yard, they were worth the loss, ten times over. I really would do it again. I've had a lot of time to think about it and I've finally come to terms with it all and feel at peace. The Lord has blessed us immensely. This is a best case scenerio that has played out and I am overwhelmed with the outpouring of blessings. He truly is mindful.

So, there it is. And where are we going? West to recruit, then back to Chicago for the Pest Control Summer, then at the end of the summer to a more permanent location, YTBD (yet to be determined!) because our little Cade is starting school. That, too, brings me to uncotrollable sobs. Kyle suggests Utah, but I'll not hold my breath. I have learned that the only thing that is consistent in my life, is inconsistency.

To pick up my homesick spirits, here are some photos of Halloween that some how snuck past the blog radar until now...

This year with Cade being altogether thrilled at any holiday, I really got into the Halloween spirit. I started off the morning making pumpkin-shaped pankcakes. I even colored them orange, not thinking that it would be completely un-noticeable once they were cooked. It was a good idea anyway. :)

Savannah, unfortunately, was less than thrilled about the prospect of orange pancakes!

Cade about to eat his. Fortunately, he was in better spirits than his little sis.

Cade in his preschool Halloween parade as a monkey for the second year. A little blessing of having children who don't grow much vertically in a year. He wasn't altogether thrilled about it marching in a circle. This is what he was thrilled about-- running down the hill after preschool was over. He LOVES running down chasing after friends. Savvy loves to do it, too.

Cade and his buddy in their costumes. The sun was pretty bright, so Mr. Robot is wearing my sunglasses which actually look pretty cool with his costume. Poor Cade couldn't look up at the camera from the sun. Funny story here. Every day for a week on our way to Daddy's office, the Library, the post office, etc, Cade would say, "Mom! I want to see that tree! Can we go see it?!" I would always say, "sure, hon, not now though. Maybe tomorrow." Well finally I promised him after preschool we'd go see the tree. All I knew is that he would talk about a tree whenever we passed a cemetary, so I assumed it was a tree in the cemetary. Wrong! He pointed to it as we were passing a house on the road. It was in the front yard. I felt silly pulling into the driveway and getting the kids out to look at this tree, but Cade was estactic and completely fascinated by the big hole in the tree.

Savvy in her halloween costume. She's a flower fairy. Love gifted halloween costumes. She was pretty cute.

hind view of our little fairy:

And our little girl chasing her green "maloon" around the backyard.....

Cheese!

Now, switching gears back to the house selling. I totally owe my neighbor big time. If anyone deserves a commission on selling the house, it's her. What do I give her???? She's a mother of two. She tends 3-5 children during the week. Are you thinking SPA????

My report

Inquiring minds want to know, so I thought I'd update ya'll on my progress (or rather lack thereof) of the goals I set for myself two Sundays ago:

I raised my voice to the kids getting them ready for church
I was painfully late to Sacrament meeting

I was indeed still the last person to pick up my child from nursery

I left the church an hour after church was out

I ended up packing 4 suitcases instead of 2

I get a big F for the week and I am hanging my head in shame. I was, however, successful in not strangling the kiddies on the plane ride. Very proud of that.

We've had a great week and have a couple more big weeks ahead of us, too. Allow me to share in some highlights a well as things we've discovered in the last 7 days....

• Kyle managed to pry himself away from his responsiblities for 10 days and went hunting. Unfortunately he has nothing to show for it. Bambi got away! No jerky for you guys this year. Sorry.
• Kyle and I could enter a couples pogo stick tournament and fair pretty well
• Cade managed to get a black eye and fall into a pond at Gardener Village within about 22 hours of each other. Talk about rough day. Poor kid.
• Savannah loves being in front of a croud. She ran in a race on Thanksgiving and ate up the attention of hundreds of strangers cheering her on.
• Cade hates losing. Just after the gun went off for his Thanksgiving race Cade noticed lots of people were in front of him and he began sobbing because he wasn't first. Fortunately by the second half of his race, he got over it and was smiling.
• I always revert to a child when I am at my parent's house. For instance, I love eating the food my folks make and getting to pick the movie to watch at night. Such pleasures remind me of the good ol' days when I was a self-absorbed teenager with just myself to worry about.

We are heading to Boise in a couple of hours and then off to Hawaii. YES!!

And then home to pack up our house. Sniff, Sniff.

Tomorrow I shall...

• Wake up before the kids do so I can shower and put make up on instead of having to pick one or the other.
• Get the kids ready for church without raising my voice
• Be on time to sacrament (perhaps even a bit early to make copies for my lesson?)
• Be fully prepared for sacrament meeting with books, quiet toys and snacks so that I can sit and enjoy the talks despite my hyperactive 22 month old who likes to pew hop and wrestle
• Teach a lesson to my MiaMaids they will remember the rest of their lives
• Distribute rewards to the boys in the ward who asked a girl to dance at the stake activity tonight
• NOT be the last one to pick up Savvy from nursery when church is over
• Make it in the car to drive home within 20 minutes of church letting out
• Pack for myself and 2 children in 2 suitcases for a 3 week trip
• Clean the house so it is in perfect showing condition
• Fit a nap in somewhere

Dream on, little dreamer. I guess I should set more realistic expectations for myself.

Tomorrow I shall:

• Survive and not strangle my kids.

Yeah, that is much more doable.

Marriage Tips, Tricks and Traps...

Hi guys! Did you see the title and picture and think I was going to offer marital advice? Sorry to disappoint you, but I just thought I'd throw in a picture for posterity's sake of Kyle and I on our wedding day. For those of you willing to share, I welcome your insight on:

What makes a fulfilling marriage?

No, Kyle and I aren't on the rocks (Yet. He did leave me for that dang hunting trip and being a single mom is wearing on me. My love for him seems to wane on the days when the kids' behavior resemble a cross between a monkey, hyena, and a lion while I am trying to get the house ready for another showing...). I am speaking briefly at a wedding tomorrow and would love some fresh thoughts from the universe.

Gospel related tips are welcome as the bride-to-be is a member of the Church. Don't disqualify yourself from sharing if you are not married. We can learn a great deal from everyone's perspective so ALL thoughts are welcome!! Short and sweet, Long and philsophic, deep, shallow--- whatever! And please feel free to share even if you don't get to it after tomorrow afternoon. After all, how many people read blogs on a Friday night besides me?!)

Wednesday Letters

Dear Unknown Garbage Removal Company,

Thank you for dumping my garbage yesterday. I am not a paying customer but I sure would be if I knew who you were because my garbage man is mean and cranky and even chucked about 10 dirty diapers from my garbage can into my yard once. I thought I was going to have to wait until next week for my cans to get dumped since I was too late putting them out there on Monday. I looked out the window Tuesday morning to see my cans empty and upside down! Bless you, kind garbage person, whoever you are. Bless you.

----
Dear Mall Santa:

Thank you for telling my son to make sure he picks up all his toys, books, and clothes. He listens to you, not me, so that went over really well. I also appreciate you telling him to make sure to be nice and share with his little sister. My favorite line was when you told him I had one of the cleanest rooms back when I was a little girl (my parents remember otherwise). That was a great one. As a parent, I need all the support I can get.

-----
Dear T-Mobile mall kiosk worker dude,

Thank you for your apology. Honestly I didn't even hear you swear when I was walking by with my kids, so when you approached me and apologized I thought that was pretty cool. Most teenagers (and adults) don't think twice when they let vulgar language roll off their tongues in the presence of little ones.

-----
Dear Kyle,

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!? You really took off with EVERY SINGLE ONE of the rechargable double-A's?? Don't we have like 10 of them? The kids were being really cute this afternoon and I wanted to take a video of them only to find my camera and the battery drawer completely robbed of all batteries. Do you seriously think you're going to need THAT much battery power to document your hunting trip? You could have at least left me 2 for my own camera. You're so grounded.

My discovery

In the quiet of Savannah taking a nap and Cade downstairs watching the Testaments (his choice, I swear), I have chosen to take this precious free time and discuss my latest discovery. I've discovered that I am a member of a dying breed.

The breed that knows how to enjoy a slice of cake.

I know, I know. All to oft I find myself contemplating and blogging over the goodliness of sweets. But I think I have been able to nail it for good. For so long I have tried to conjure up the words in my heart and soul to describe how I feel about being indulgent for a moment. For so long I have felt like "the bad guy" when expressing my love of all things sweet. This past week I have had 3 experiences which has offered me significant insight to my discovery.

The first one happened when I hosted my ward book club in my home last Tuesday night. Tuesday was the perfect day to host and the worst day to host -- the worst because I was forced out of my home for 4 hours for an open house causing Savannah to miss her nap completely (I love her but on those nap-less days my love is questionable) and leaving me without any time to bake some of my favorite treats. On the flip side, it was perfect because every inch of my home had to be clean, thus when the gals arrived,they could explore without the paranoia that I didn't put my unmentionables away. And due to the missed nap, both my kids were asleep by 6:15, well before anyone was to arrive. It was also a good day to host because I was out and about by force and was able to pick up a delicious chocolate cake.

After the book discussion ended I took a few women on a little tour of the house and called to the ladies in the kitchen to help themselves to the cake and vegetable tray. Yes I had a vegetable tray. You guys, I'm not against healthy food. I had plates, forks, cups, and milk out so all they needed to do was slice it. The knife was even out, too. After the very short tour (we have a very small house) I made it back downstairs to the kitchen, and a few ladies were what we say in the south, fixin' to leave, and I was stopped in my tracks.

The cake was still in tact.

Not a pinch or smidgen had been cut out. It hadn't been touched. And these women were readying themselves to leave for crying out loud! I commented to the ladies I really meant I trusted them to cut their own slice. Miss Manners would probably have a fit as that is not what a proper hostess does, but we're all friends and it's no big deal to me. A gal whispered to me if I sliced it they would probably eat it. So I began slicing cake and putting it on plates. Ever so slowly I handed out a couple plates, but more often than not, it was requested to cut a smaller slice (I swear, mine were very modest slices, being mindful that everyone is always on a diet of some sort). As I handed out the plates I just had this awful sick feeling like I was the devil or something. The looks those ladies gave the cake when it was handed to them was almost more than I could bear. Such guilt and displeasure! As if they were trading their firstborn for a pair of shoes or something. My heart was breaking for them. Now, for those who were completely off sweets or who didn't eat chocolate, I very much respected that, was very impressed with their willpower and ability to manage an inability for chocolate to enter their systems and thought nothing more of it. They didn't make me feel guilty for offering something they couldn't indulge in. They simply said, "No thank you" and offered their reason as a simple statement of fact.

There are some very typical comments I get I get when in a cake eating situation along the lines of:

"If I had your metabolism, I would eat more cake!"

"If I were as skinny as you, I'd not worry about what I ate either!"

May I dispell those two myths with two of the following statements:

1. It is because I let myself eat cake (er....or a row of Oreos) that I do not struggle with my weight.

2. Despite that I may seem obsessed with sweets, I really am somewhat mindful of what I consume.

1- My philosophy after a minor battle in my younger years over my curves has changed from fighting the cravings to indulging them. So often I'd want something sweet and try to avoid and fend off the desire with other choices and in the end I consumed more calories than I would have if I had just eaten what I wanted in the first place. Now, once I serve myself whatever it is my body is screaming for me to get, I can get on with my life rather than having to constantly think of something else to get it off my mind. For me, once is enough. I can stop once the craving is filled. I don't have a continuous need for it. And, for that reason, this philosohy works for me.

2. Eating sweets (or other food with zero nutritional value) is about tradeoffs. If I unintentionally don't get breakfast, I feel totally justified in having dessert after (or for) lunch. Many days I do not get enough to eat. I am busy with other things that meals find themselves at the bottom of the list for me. In order to ensure I get the proper caloric intake, I indulge on something that will give me lots of calories. At the same time, I do make sure to get my fruits and veggies in. I am a huge fan of V-8 and bananas. They are a staple in my life that keep me from living off Oreos alone.

Certainly I am not a certified dietician and I by no means claim to be a very healthy or even moderately healthy person. My question is, why does cake or {insert your favorite nutritionless food here} have to be treated with such disdain?? I hate feeling bad when serving cake. Cake is Joy! Cake is Love! When I bake a chocolate eclair pie or a death by chocolate cake, it is the utmost gesture of friendship I give. First of all because I had to part with the delicious delicassy in the first place, and secondly, I suppose we are just good at giving something we love to receive. And so I make them. And so this awful realization has creeped into me that all those treats I have made for people in my life has probably caused them a great deal of guilt and unhappiness, and that makes me so sad. It is one thing if you are a bizarre alien like my husband and chocolate cake just doesn't do it for you, and so naturally you wouldn't be thrilled to be gifted with a treat you aren't fond of. But to get a cake and hate it because you do like it and therefore it's your enemy--- That is the saddest thing I have ever heard of.

On to experience number two. After attending the baptisms of two of my friends' sons, I got a call from one of them just when I arrived home and opened the fridge to figure out what to make for dinner. She extended the invitation for us to eat dinner with them. (Enough said! You know how I feel about eating meals I don't need to cook) Even more, she dangled the fact that there would be chocolate cake for dessert. What a dear!

"Say no more. I am there!"

Of course I would have gone if cake wasn't a part of the gathering. The gathering was a lovely time with friends and family for a momentous occasion. Cake was just a part of the celebration. After eating a delicious meal in peace (Cade was off galavanting with the older kids and for some reason, I decided to let it go and let him play instead of stressing that other people were going to judge me for being a bad mom if I didn't have my hawk-eyes on him at all times. Perhaps when I let my child run wild, that is when I know I am in the company of true friends?) and enjoying wonderful conversation among the other guests, it was time for cake to be served. I clapped my hands in joy and expressed how thrilled I was to eat the cake. Again, the cake was met by many faces of longing, and eyes filled with guilt. SAD. Sad. SAD! I met the cake with pleasure and happiness. I even went back for a second slice and finished the 2 bites Cade failed to eat as well. So the second slice I wasn't real proud of, more along the lines that it's just not polite. But it was really good cake! I had room for another slice of cake. But that's going back to the trade-offs. I hadn't anything to eat until I sat down and had that meal (we had a showing earlier so I spent my day fussing over the house) I needed the calories. But certainly, I should let my manners come first. I failed to on Saturday.

The icing on the cake, or better said, the straw that broke the camel's back, was when I received a call this morning in regards to bringing refreshments to a bridal shower. A dear friend of mine is in charge of the food and I told her I'd love to contribute. She asked what I'd like to bring. I mentioned I could bring a tray with crackers and cheese or (please please please let me) I could bake something. She chose the crackers and cheese. "People are always trying to watch what they eat. Especially at night" Oh.

AM I AN ALIEN FROM ANOTHER PLANET? ARE WE SO UNABLE TO ENJOY A SWEET EVERY NOW AND AGAIN THAT WE HAVE TO BAN THEM FROM EXISTENCE?

I know, I know. Mormons are known all too well for being obsessed with sweets and treats, so any movement in the other direction is good. Her decision was a good one because after all, the majority of the women in attendance (meaning everyone else except me) to this shower will appreciate that there are no sweets to tempt them or make them feel guilty. Being healthy and having healthy food options are exactly what this obese America needs. But, could you for a moment entertain this excerpt from Jeanne Ray's book aptly titled, Eat Cake:

Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn’t, she says and the gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn’t a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don’t eat the whole cake. You don’t eat a cake every day of your life. You take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious. You have a slice of cake and what it reminds you of is someplace that’s safe, uncomplicated, without stress. A cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what’s served on the happiest days of your life.

Amen, Jeanne. Amen.

And so I invite you to join the dying breed of those who are willing to enjoy a slice of cake.

Advice in its truest form

Those of you who have indulged yourself into the NieNie dialogues understand why anyone would desire to be more like this woman. For me, yesterday was one of those days that I desired to be more like anyone other than me. I was feeling ever so grumpy. Ever so frumpy. Ever so blah. And I thought, oh, if I were more like NieNie, I would be less grumpy, less frumpy, and a much better wife and mother. Lucky me, I have a friend I can share such thoughts with. So I did. And to no surprise, she responded like the true friend she is. This morning I found these words beaming through my inbox:

". . . I know NieNie can seem a bit overwhelming as far as perfection goes, but look at what she's dealing with now. It just goes to show that you NEVER know quite what is in store. We know we can't plan because our husbands chosen careers are not so black and white.

But really who can plan?

Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. The point: Eat, Drink, and be Merry for tomorrow we DIE! HA! Just Kidding. The point is to embrace the most important in life, because you really NEVER know how long you get to have them by your side. Each day is a blessing and we get to decide how we use our time and our energy... it really is our choice... really!

So... go kiss your husband & tell him you love him. Hug your kids and let them do something messy and fun (in the kitchen where is will wipe clean, or better yet the backyard!) Wear something silky to bed once in a while just to spice things up. Oh, put on some dark nail polish for your next date night just because Kyle thinks it would be cool. (You can remove it when you get home.) Share your testimony, and be firm in your personal convictions. You are an amazing woman, if you were not I wouldn't waste my time being your best friend!

Now, it's easy to dish it out and tell you how to be more NieNie-ish, but give it back to me. Don't let me be the same woman year after year. We have greatness to achieve!!!"

Poetic, don't you think? I decided to take her advice. I noticed the sunshine and decided to make the most our afternoon ...

Life is good.

My dad is famous!

Alright, I am just kidding. But my old man did win the UFC photo contest after I entered a picture I took of him. They posted his picture on the website now after I submitted 4 pages of legal stuff allowing them rights to use the picture.

Since my camera I used costed less than $100, I am fairly certain the contest didn't contain any professionals. I don't expect to win any other photo contest in the near future. The total prize package total is "over $200" but I can't imagine the hat or fish gravy costing that much. Maybe the glasses are special fishing glasses. I am not positive, but suspect the reason for winning was either his exposed chest hair or the cock-eyed hat wearing style.

Just some highlights

Lots happening in the Woodbury household. I've been itching to post about all of it, but for now I'll give you the Top 5:

• We signed with an agent (shocker!) about 10 days ago. We've had 4 showings and another on deck tomorrow. Yes, I am ready to lose my mind. ;)

• Trick or treating was a huge success. Cade and Savannah lasted on the doors all of about 23 minutes and have been eating or asking to eat candy ever since.
  
• Word got out that I don't cook or sew, so I got released as Relief Society President on Sunday. Don't worry though, guys-- I'm the new TAMN! I get to be the Mia Maid advisor. Wahoo! Seriously, I am so blessed.
  
• Yesterday after a showing we sat down to have Family Home Evening and Cade, being the ever-so-perceptive child sits on the couch and takes it all in saying, "Mom, this house smells so nice. I love it when it is so clean. Thank you for making the house so nice, Mom." Yes, my heart melted. All my hard efforts pay off when my little 4 year-old notices that I lit a candle and put everything is in it's place.
  
• I voted today. My location was at a church--- a really, really big one. It even had a library to check out books and a cafe with fancy schmancy coffee machine and steamer with all sorts of floavors and syrups. Members of the church were giving out free coffee or lattes to all the voters. I overheard a gentleman next to me oogling over the coffee saying, "at my church they only have regular or decaf." Poor man.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

And Happy 200th to us! This marks the 200th post on our blog. I knew I wanted to do something big to highlight such a monumental event in the Kyle and Michelle Woodbury family history. As soon as I saw this picture posted on my parents' blog, I knew I had to share it with the rest of the world. Hope you don't mind, Mom and Pops!

This is not what they look like on your average day. In fact, I've never known my dad to ever have so much hair! My parents are dressed up as nerds for a Halloween costume party and even even won a prize for their hilarious attire and wigs. Mom, I think your glasses chains were a very nice touch.

My parents are closet comedians and I've managed to dig up some stuff from my archives to prove it.

Do your parents know how to pogo stick? Mine do!

Here is my Dad setting the bar for our pogo stick competition:

This past Easter my sister and I decided to do an egg hunt for my parents. We were pleasantly surprised how into they got. Mom, I never knew you were so competitive!

Hope this brought a smile to your day. We'll most more pictures of our Halloween festivities later!

Is race an issue in the election?

I haven't posted much about the election because I don't want to believe what is happening. Actually, I wasn't even a John McCain supporter so I don't know who to support whole-heartedly, and trying to hybrid Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rudy Giuliani's policies and stances is an utter waste of time anyways.

One thing that has recently caught my attention is the overwhelming majority of racial support for Obama. According to the different polls that I have seen today it seems as though race is playing a significant part of the election. Obama is currently enjoying 90% support from African Americans compared to 5% support for McCain. (not even Romney received that kind of support in Utah) In my opinion, that fact alone makes evident that policies, platforms, and voting history in office are NOT playing a role in their decision on which candidate to vote for. The topic of race in this election was discussed in an article written by Ricky Hampton in the Flint Journal. I posted some key points from his article below with my response in red.

Are you voting for Barack Obama because he is black? Many people are. If you don't think so watch/listen the video at the bottom.

It's a question some African-Americans find offensive because it is a question hardly ever asked to a white person about a white candidate. Because in this case white people aren't voting for a candidate based on race...look at the polls. And if they are, that is racism!

That said, Obama's ethnicity is certainly a big role in why he is doing so well among African-American voters, where he enjoys more than 90 percent voter support. So, in part, the answer to the question is yes. You are right about that.

However, to think Obama's race is the only reason African-Americans vote for him is naive. Obama's overwhelming support is about the same as Bill Clinton and Al Gore received from African-Americans. Incorrect, look at the graph below and you will see that even Hillary Clinton, a democrat, received a mere 15% from the black vote when running against Obama.

In summary, I think that Obama is receiving support from people solely based on race and not on the key issues at hand. I have friends and relatives who support Obama and I enjoy having intelligent discussions/banter with them regarding their reasoning. I respect anyone and everyone's choice in candidate, even when it is contrary to my personal choice, IF and when that support is given because that canditate supports the key issues of that person. Unfortunately, in this case I think Obama is supported by blind followers, and it may cost us an election and a decent future for Americans. It's a tragedy.

our little princess *Updated with Videos*

**update**Thinking about my kids got me thinking about all these little video clips I have of them that prove all the points I was making, so I decided to share some....enjoy!

Six of six Tag! To clarify, this picture is the 6th picture of our sixth folder, NOT our sixth of six children. That would be a huge feat for me to make it to six! It's a silly picture of Savannah, but telling as well. Even in the tub before she had turned the ripe age of 1 she liked her bows. Now she actually takes off her bow to eat, nap, and bathe --- oh, and she does it when she is mad at me-- like she's proving a point that she is in charge. She is getting pretty good at picking out a bow that matches her clothes for the day (or she probably just gets lucky). It's a lot of fun having one of each (meaning a boy and a girl) and seeing how inate the gender differences in them are.

When I was pregnant with Cade I swore he was going to be a little girl. We didn't find out what we were having, so I didn't know for sure. But I thought I did. And when my little boy was born, I was so confused. I had numerous dreams about a dark haired little girl who could talk (Spanish even! she said, "perro"). And thinking back, perhaps they switched places at the last minute (or maybe there is no such thing as maternal inspiration!) and decided it would be best to have my sweet, calm little boy when I was in the middle of my undergrad. That way I could ease into Savannah in my post-student years. Thank heavens I had Cade first. I love Savvy, yes I do, but she is what her nursery teacher calls a "hustle bubble" -- she doesn't sit still for a second, unless, of course, you scratch her back! This is a video we took of her enjoying my scratching her back. As soon as I stop, she decides she's ready to go...until I start scratching again. We think it's pretty funny, but then, even when she says "Hello" we think it's hilarious...

From the get go, Cade has had a fascination with balls and cars. He would play in our little basement apartment forever rolling balls back and forth in the kitchen. He has always entertained himself with anything that had wheels, too.

I now understand when people say kids will do things at their own pace. No matter how hard we try to teach, beg, plead, prod (BRIBE), it is their choice. Cade was a lump of jiggly baby fat who didn't really have much of a desire to move until 9 months. At 10months, he decided he would start crawling (because Kyle bribed him!) and then out of the blue decided to walk one day at a neighbors house a week after his first birthday. We were floored. Savannah crawled at 6 months (much to my dismay and pleading not to) and ran at a year. We didn't try to teach either one to walk, they just did it by choice, and they both did it at the same time even though they had completely different personalities and surroundings. Ironically, their first words were the same, too. it's a toss up for both of them with "ball" and "dog." They are two peas in a pod and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it when they play cute together.

I haven't purchased many new toys for Savvy, so she gets on the floor and plays cars with Cade. Cade's game of choice, as much as he loves his cars, is to take her baby doll and make her chase after him for it. They fight back and forth and kiss and make up seconds later. They have conversations that blow me away. At 21 months Savvy is pretty chatty--- compared to Cade anyway. She pulls out sentences and words I didn't know she knew. of course only I can interpret them, but it still blows me away.

Today she was in the high chair and said she was stinky and wanted to go potty. Okay? So I got her out, took off her diaper (which had some poop in it, ew!) and let her finish the job over the toilet. Of course she didn't think what she did was such a big deal, she just kept telling me to wipe her bum. Ha! I think Cade was 100 times more estatic than she was over going to the bathroom on the big girl toilet. So, I guess I'm going to the store to get a potty for her. We'll see where this takes us..... Perhaps this is another one of those examples when children will do what they want to when they want to. Hopefully she is lots sooner and easier than Cade was-- though I have to give credit to Kyle for sealing the deal with Cade and being the one to potty train him for good.

Devils Lake and the Two-Man Tent Experience

These are pictures taken a couple of weeks ago at Devils Lake. The Spencer family and friends take a yearly trip to the lake and they invited us to come along. I guess it is a close to camping as we can get here in Chicago.

It was Savvy's first time camping and she did great except for the sleeping part. It probably wasn't all her fault though since I didn't/forgot to bring a tent big enough for the entire family. I was thinking that Michelle and Sav would take the easy way out and room with Alicia Spencer at one of the local motels. (In fact, I could have sworn that was the plan.) As it turns out, Michelle and Savvy decided to stay with Cade and me which created a big problem...we had a two-man tent! I know, I know, Savvy and Cade are small so that shouldn't create a problem. Wrong!

It is a well-known fact that tentmakers are fairly optimistic when sizing tents. For example, when a tent box claims to be three-man tent, it is in fact a two-man tent (assuming the both people are on relatively good terms). And when it says a tent is a two-man tent, it really means it is a one-man tent, and that is where the problem occurred. It is my personal belief that you can take the stated tent size and divide by 1.5, and then round down to the nearest whole number. Well, we placed Cade at our feet, Savvy at our head and we slept at a diagonal. I slept pretty well but Michelle didn't and relayed to me that Savvy didn't either. In fact, she relayed the message to me over and over again the following couple of days. The whole fiasco in the tent kind of reminded me of a story that Patrick MacManus wrote called "Two-Man Tent Fever". You can read it here.

This One's For the Grandmas!

I am exercising my right as a free American to designate today as "Grandma's Day." My children are blessed to have such wonderful Grandmothers in their lives. They spoil them with thoughtful gifts, quality time, and most importantly, lots of love.

First, I want to give Grandma Henriksen a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out!! (I am 0-4 now with sending birthday greetings on time. Jake, Lesley, Rebecca, and now Grandma --so sorry!) We love you!!! Since Alabama is faring pretty well this football season, I wanted to make sure we sent you a shot of Cade sporting the jacket gifted to him when he was born. Gma had great foresight because it fits him perfectly in the season they are winning (Well, they always do well, but this is a particularly good season) so Cade can be extra proud of his Alabama roots! Thank you, Grams! We sure miss you and hope to be able to make a visit to the South soon. Our Grandma Henriksen is so great at remembering everyone's birthday, which just adds insult to injury when I don't celebrate her in a timely manner. Fortunately she still loves us anyway! WE LOVE YOU, GRAMS!

This past June my parents came out and we had a great time. My mom is such a wonderful Grandma and never ceases to amaze me with her energy around the kids. She sat in the back seat of our Subaru (by choice, I swear. Yes, I think she suffers from dementia a wee bit) between the kids in their car seats and kept them happy for the entire trip to Nauvoo-- or as Cade calls it, "Au-voo". While there, Cade developed a minor obsession with Joseph Smith and his martyrdom, trying to wrap his head around the idea of men killing a prophet, which as you can guess is nigh impossible considering he doesn't quite understand death. After the trip, Mom went home to Utah and found Cade two books about Joseph Smith, which has helped him tremendously in satisfying his huge appetite for knowledge about the great man.

Gramma Sheppard also loves to gift my kids with cute things. Cade got this jacket (for his birthday I think?) and he is proud to show off that he knows how to zip it up all by himself!

This darling hat ("darling" can be refuted by my sis Rebecca) was given to Savvy for Easter. While she was born a bow fanatic, she has been slow to pick up on wearing hats---until now! She LOVES this one and it's finally starting to fit her! I always crack up when the hat falls over her eyes and she runs around blindly without a care that she can't see.

In July we were treated with a trip from Great Grandma Sheppard. She was so great with Cade and let him take her all around the house and get the official Woodbury House Tour, complete with instructions on the whereabouts of silverware, socks and bathroom cleaner. She took the kids shopping to the toy store where Cade indulged himself on a remote control car and Savannah came home with a purse, which she prefers to go nowhere without. And, if it couldn't get any better-- I was treated with a nap while she played Candyland with the Cadester. We had a wonderful visit and I got to record her sharing some wonderful stories of her life. She is a strong woman and her making the big trip out here really meant a lot to us.

Later in July we went to Boise for Kyle's class reunion and the kids were treated to special "Gramma Berry" time while I spent the day with Kyle celebrating my big 26th ( side note-- I had to ask Kyle how old I turned-- I totally forgot. I had a brief moment of sadness when I realized I am on the other side of 25 now. Yikes). They had a ball playing with the sidewalk chalk, jumping on the tramp and running through the sprinkler. Cade took advantage of Gramma Berry's soft heart and conned at least a dozen ice cream bars out of her in a span of 36 hours. Gramma Berry truly inspired me on this trip; she was about to undergo surgery to remove her breast cancer and despite the fear and anxiety that she was facing, she still lived in the moment with her grandchildren, and that visit will be one Cade will never forget. Fortunately we have some fun pics so if Savvy was too young to remember, these can refresh her memory!

Look out! GOOSE IS 21!!

Drop Box

CAN'T BELIEVE IT, LITTLE SIS!!

I swear it was just yesterday that Grandma Henriksen woke me up from my slumber and told me that you were born. Even then I hated waking up in the morning and thought Grams was tricking me into getting me out of bed. Sure enough, you really were born on the day I went to the pumpkin patch with my kindergarten class. I couldn't wait to show you off to my new friends at school and I was anticipating the week that my class was learning about the letter "R" so I could bring in you, RRRRRebecca, to show and tell. As fate would have it, I was sick on show and tell day and couldn't bring you in. Fortunately the next week I got clever and decided "S" for " sister" would suffice. Showing you off to all my friends and my teachers at school was the most exciting thing for me ever.

And look at you, now! You are a woman. Such fond memories I have of growing up with you... you certainly were a patient little sis. I put you through a lot of grief--- making you repent for breaking the law of jinx has to be one of my favorite memories. And you teaching me "Sweet Hour of Prayer" is also in my Top 10. Boobytrap Christmases (like the one where we made you climb over the booby trap rather than go through the window ---oh what idiots we were!) are up there, and all the fun little notes you used to leave me when you were younger I will forever cherish (invites to sleepovers with your stuffed animals, a pedicure party) Oh, and remember when you massaged my back for an entire hour when I cleaned your room? That was great. Even though we are 5 years apart, I have always cherished our relationship and have never felt the years between us.

I'll never forget going to BYU and saying goodbye to you for the "last" time before I was on my own. I was at Melody's apt and we hugged and said goodbye. As you walked down the parking lot and got in the car with mom and dad, I cried like a baby. You had become my best friend.

Despite the miles between us, you remain my dear sister and friend and look forward to many more memories to come!!!

I LOVE YOU!

ps if you can't view the slide show, click here:

Last Weekend

Last weekend Cade decided to take Savvy on a little golf outing in between conference sessions. Here Cade is figuring out his next shot after hitting it in the hazard:

Savannah, impatient with Cade's indeciveness grabbed the putter out of his hand, with the intent on showing him how it was done. Unfortunately, she herself landed in the hazard...

...and she wasn't too happy about it

After Cade fell in, they both decided they were done with the game, and decided to hang out until Dad was ready to leave.

The walk back to the car....

Taking a rest:

Savannah in her state of hysteria over having to leave the beautiful outdoors to come inside for Session 2 of conference:

*Editor's note: In all actuality, these pictures are of Cade and Savvy accompanying Daddy on a fishing trip to a pond by our house. Savannah was dead set on bringing the golf putter with her so she could go fishing with it, too. Before long, Kyle had made his way around to the other side of the pond, and the kids wanted to stay put where they were, so their bored mom took a billion shots and decided to write a fake photo essay of what the kids were doing....