Eden and her cousin

I haven't posted any pics for a while so here is a recent one of Eden with her cousin. They are almost exactly 2 months apart but couldn't be more different.

He is content to sit still, she is always going.

He is chubby, she is skinny.

He is dark, she is light.

They are both SUPER cute (of course I'm biased) and I love them! The other day they got together for the first time in a while (he has been sick a lot and his parents were in Hawaii) and it was fun to see how they loved eachother. He loved to grab her (when she was by him) and she would pull herself up to stand on him! Here are a few photos of them that I think show their personalities well.

Eden's funny face

Eden upstaging Landon

The two cute babies

well then you might as well arrest me too!

I read this article on msnbc and was amazed. There are all kinds of things that as a nonparent might sound bad until you are actually in that position. Sometimes, you do what you have to do for that situation and even if it is hard, it is what is best. I know there have been times I've locked my kids in the car to run and grab something. I feel guilty the whole time but they're safe and better off. I feel for the mom in the article which, BTW, the charges have been dropped. It is hard enough being a mom without being judged by everyone else. So, you do your thing, I'll do mine and if I ask for your advice feel free to help, otherwise, please don't tell me what I'm doing wrong!

To Do Tagged

So my friend Colleen had a thing on her blog and tagged anyone who had been a slacker on their blogs lately. Well, unfortunately, that would most definitely be me and I thought I could very easily do this one, so here goes:

5 Things on my To Do List:

1. Find a place to move to in 13 days and counting.

2. Pack up my whole life (including 1 year of food for 5 people) for imaginary place to move in 13 days and counting.

3. Tell my piano students that I will be moving somewhere in 13 days and counting and will they commute to wherever I move to?

4. Clean my old house from top to bottom for new owners moving in, in 13 days and counting.

5. Feed my family, teach piano lessons, teach weekly music lessons in kindergarten, type up PTA minutes, type up library board minutes, prepare primary lesson, get new brakes on my van, clean out my van, do laundry, change the baby, go to choir practice, go to the temple, write thank you notes from Christmas and Mara's birthday, put together Asher's birthday party for him and 5 friends, keep living a normal life all while wondering where I will be living and what I will be doing with all my crap . . . . . . .IN 13 DAYS, AND COUNTING!

Mormons are "smug"

I found this article on the Deseret Morning News website as I was trying to find a house. Yes, that is why I haven't posted. It's a little consuming. My house is a disaster, my kids had goulash for dinner (meaning, I threw all kinds of random things into a pan with some sauce and called it a meal.) I won't go into it too much but it may be that we won't have a house by the 27th of this month. Anyone know of any good places in Pleasant Grove?
I read this article and thought it was pretty fun. One thing that frustrates me in the LDS religion is that it seems so many people have a hard time disagreeing. Even people within the religion seem to feel that we need to be on the same page about everything. But, oh my word, if I had to scrapbook I'd poke out my eyeballs first. Seriously. I have no artistic inklings and it would drive me crazy. But if someone else likes it, great for them. You don't have to scrapbook to be a good, mormon, SAHM. So many people are afraid to express an opinion and can't stand to disagree on things. It's okay. We can be different and still get along. I loved this article because people can disagree on issues, joke about them and still get along. It's ok. Really.

And yet 20 more-- no I haven't forgotten

41. I love live concerts-- any type. Classical, rock, etc. It is just electric being there, experiencing it.

42. I've been hit on by a lesbian. At a concert. She was running her fingers through my hair and everything. She even put my phone number in her cell phone. (I knew she was so drunk she wouldn't remember the next day.) I think she thought I was gay but didn't know it yet. But, alas, I have never been to an Indigo girls concert so . . .

43. I love writing in my journal. That doesn't mean I do it that often but it is very therapeutic.

44. In all honesty, I once faked a book report in Junior High. It was the book "Maria". A biography of Maria Von Trapp. I never read it. Never have.

45. I am against plastic surgery. That's my own opinion and you are entitled to yours. I've had several friends who have had boob jobs, and that's fine for them. But then who knows, let's see what I think of that in 20 years!

46. Yes, I did sneak out of my house in HS. (Sorry mom and dad.) We even pulled the whole pushing the car out of the driveway. They probably knew.

47. I'm not a good liar and I hate it. My sister loves to tell the story of how when my dad asked us if we were out after curfew I said "I don't know, maybe, which night was it?" She tells the story much better than me.

48. I've dated Americans, a Dane, Australian, German and married a Canadian. I'm very culturally open!

49. I love the rain. Love it. It is so refreshing, invigorating--wonderful.

50. I hate the wind. Ugh. It makes the cold, colder, and the hot, stickier.

51. I am terrified of heights. I remember as a kid going to Bryce Canyon and being scared stiff on our hike. In HS we did a ropes course and I was shaking like a leaf. Good thing I didn't pee my pants. I was close.

52. Sometimes, I think people like me better before they get to know me really well.

53. I LOVE Buffalo Wings!! And gummy candy.

54. Again, it's a good thing I have a fast metabolism because I am a total bedtime snacker. I know, I know, don't eat after 8. Too bad. I do it all the time. Right now I am thinking about what I will be having for my bedtime snack. Peanut butter and apples? (A classic.)

55. I once won on a call in radio show for oldies 94.9. (Granted it was a ham, and I never picked it up, but still.)

56. I am banned from the Arby's in Hermiston, OR. Do you think they still remember?

57. I am a napper. Afternoon hits and my eyelids are heavy. Ah, sweet relief. I love me a good nap.

58. I am a giver. But sometimes the selfish side of me comes out and I wish I could get a little more.

59. I love nature. It makes me feel closer to God. I love to go out for walks, hikes, camp. This earth is gorgeous and I am constantly amazed by it.

60. I've died my hair almost everycolor. (Purple, black, maroon, red, blond--not blue, not yet at least!) Even did the kool-aid thing.

You willing to do another 40 more?

Sweethearts

For Valentines Day here is a story of true life sweethearts to touch your hearts. As I read the article in the Deseret Morning News I got choked up. (Thanks to Jamie M. for the link to the article.) I'm a romantic, what can I say. Here is the gist of the article. Recently James Faust, a leader in the LDS church passed away and then EXACTLY 6 months later his wife did.

"Surely his almost storybook romance is among the sweetest in the annals of the LDS church," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, said at President Faust's funeral. "Ruth Faust adored James E. Faust—everything he did and said, every act or deed or gesture melted her. He felt the same way about her, and they were 'melted.'"

Granddaughter Nicole recalled his reaction at Christmastime 1994, when the family gathered to watch President Faust open a portrait of his wife they had urged her to have taken as a gift for his office. As he unwrapped it "he pumped his fist in the air as he let out a Portuguese expression meaning 'wonderful!' Then family members became absolutely silent as he continued to look at the picture, and then he began to shake as tears rolled down his cheeks. He was so touched he couldn't speak.

And this is my favorite:

"With all my heart I want to thank Ruth Wright Faust for letting me share her life and giving me the hope that we can share eternity together," President Faust said in 1973 when he was called as an assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve. "She is more than a wife and a sweetheart because she has become part of my very being."

Happy Valentines Day to my sweetheart JASON!

I'm not funny either

From my blog title, I'm very aware of the fact that I'm not very funny. But apparently it's obvious even to my children. (This coming from kids that laugh at the word "fart".) The other evening we were driving to the BYU basketball game. Mara asked how much longer the trip was and I said 5 minutes. Jason said gibberish-- sixty fourteen. Mara proceeded to give her best *dad*. She's great at that, I'm sure she'll have an eyeroll with it in a year or so. She continued by saying "I believe mom because she's not funny."
I'm a mom. I'm not funny. I have a job to do.