Bye Bye

Dear Universe-

I quit.
Long, complicated story, but...
I quit.

-Dani

An Open Apology...

Hey, Dad and Mom- remember when I was younger? Back when I thought I knew it all?

Okay, remember how I thought it was so horrible and cruel that you wanted me to put away my clean laundry, and not just leave it in piles on my bed, or floor, or dresser? Or how you hated it when I put everything into the dirty laundry basket, regardless of whether it was even dirty? Remember how I thought it was sooooo stupid that you made a fuss over rewashing 'clean' laundry? Remember how I thought you guys were sooooo lame for that?

As in, "What's the big deal? You're doing laundry anyway, what difference does a few 'not-necessarily-dirty' items make?

Remember all of that?

Okay then....... From the bottom of my heart, I apologize.

You were right.

Rewashing clean laundry bites.

Seeing clean, neatly folded laundry end up in piles all over the place bites.

Having all of this come back to bite me........bites!

But, maybe you'll think it is funny.

I deserve that!!

Happy Turkey Day...

Gobble Gobble.

It's the end of November already?

So it is nearly Thanksgiving. As in, the turkey feast is only 72 hours away. And you know what that means.....That's right! Pictures from Halloween! Because after all, I am nothing if not consistent. And I think I have posted pictures of the kids very late, no matter the holiday or occasion. So, here they are, in keeping with my unofficial motto in life: "Better late than never."

Barrett + Ninja= Happiness!

He LOVES the movie "G.I. Joe." And his favorite character is the awesome, silent-but-deadly ninja, Snake Eyes. So, of course, when we found the Snake Eyes costume, it was a no-brainer. He loved it. Can anything be more adorable and cool than seeing your little son dressed to kill and wielding the sword with deadly skill and fury?!!

Charlotte as Princess Ariel. Surprised me. I have never known Charlotte to love Ariel all that much. I mean, we are talking about Charlotte, so any princess is definitely not going to be a bad thing, but still. She was super excited to find a "real Ariel hair" for her to wear. I think she has secret plans to be every single princess for Halloween. Awesome. I have the easiest costume finding job now!

Savannah. Oh Savannah. She has begged and pleaded for this costume for the last three years. So, I give you, Savannah- Batgirl. She was so excited that we finally let her have it. And, she just looks so flippin' cute!

I had to post two pictures of Savannah, because it was just so funny and cute to see her all wrapped up in her batwings, ready to fly away, and then....wingspan! So cute. She loved her costume. And I think it just may be my favorite costume she has ever chosen!

All three of the cutie-patooties!

Not sure why or how, but we failed to get a good picture of Colby's awesome pumpkin carving skills this year. You can see Charlotte's owl pumpkin, next to Barrett, which was very precariously held together by three toothpicks. You can see a little of Barrett's bat pumpkin by Charlotte. He was pretty excited for that. And Savannah's pumpkin? Well, don't ask me, because it did not appear in any of the pictures, and I honestly don't recall!!

They had a fun Halloween, despite the wet, wet weather. We still have Halloween candy at our house. Maybe I should let my kids have more than one or two pieces every other day or so. Hmmm....

Book Review 2...

Okay, so I decided to postpone reading "A Tale of Two Cities" for a couple reasons: 1- I own the book, so I can read it whenever I want, and 2- I had two books being held at the library, so I decided to start with those. Here is what I just finished: This is one of Jules Verne's lesser known works. I happened to stumble across it on the library's website, and decided to try it. You know what? I really wanted to love it. I read "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" years ago and loved it. I started "Around the World in Eighty Days," but I never finished it (both books are on my wish list at the library, though).

I did not love this book. It was just 'okay.'

It just didn't grab my attention and hold my interest the way "20,000 Leagues..." did. I never felt myself emotionally responding to any parts of the story.

Despite not loving this book, I still stand by my long-held belief that reading a book is never a waste of time!

So, on to the next, which happens to be....

"Paradise Lost" by John Milton.

I have never read this book, but it was on a list of suggested reading titles at some point in high school.

I am excited. I love books about religiosity and spirituality. And who doesn't love an epic poem?

Pampered at the hair salon...

Charlotte did my hair today!! She is very talented.

And just to clarify, I still DETEST having my picture taken, but.....my dear, sweet Charlotte was oh-so-proud that she did my hair all by herself. She asked if I could "take a picture and put it on your computer."

So, here you go.This picture was taken so you can see the lovely red flower clips she picked out, and put in all by herself. She picked these because they matched my Utah shirt.

This picture is so you can see the ponytail, which she honestly did all by herself (after I showed her how). She was also VERY proud of the bobby-pins.And this is because she wants to make sure you can see "Mom's face with her hair pretty."

So, there you go. And, in case you wondered, you might be able to have Charlotte do your hair. I can't guarantee, though, because she is quite in demand.
I hear that Julia Roberts has booked Charlotte to do her hair for the Oscars.
Charlotte turned down a chance to do Angelina Jolie's hair, because she is just too scary for words.

Book Review

I just finished reading a book. For the past year or so, I have really been on a kick for reading books that I read as a child. I have also been reading books that Savannah expressed interest in. It has been a lot of fun, and I have really enjoyed going back in time, through a book anyway, to the things that excited me years and years ago.

So, this is the most recent book I have finished-
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "Frankenstein."
I had to read this book in my 9th grade Honor's English class. Anyone else from Mrs. Roach's class reading this?!!?!! At the time, I remember thinking it was a little too long in parts, and it really wasn't one of my favorite reads from that class.
Oddly enough, when I began to re-read it a couple weeks ago, none of it seemed familiar to me. Isn't that strange? There were a few parts of the book that seemed kind of familiar, but, by and large, I felt as if I was reading it for the very first time.
To be fair, it has been twenty years since I was in 9th grade, but still, I found it so strange that most of the book was very new to me.

Result of reading it a second time?

I LOVED this book! It moved me in so many ways, and brought so much to my attention.
Colby will not be at all surprised by this, but I cried. Three or four times throughout reading this.
I cried for The Creature. A lot. My heart breaks for him, and I found myself wanting to yell and scream at the book, and show my contempt for how badly and horribly The Creature was treated. I found myself wanting to yell and scream at Frankenstein, for the odious and rotten way that he treated The Creature. I felt that his mistreatment of The Creature was infinitely more sad and unforgivable than the suffering caused by others.
Even so, I also found myself feeling slightly sympathetic and sorry for Frankenstein. It is hard for me to describe, but, I felt bad for him sometimes. He made a terrible mistake, yes, but, he really saw no way to correct it, or to make things right, without inflicting terrible sadness on himself, on the people in his life that he loved, and on the general human population at large.
I still find him to be mostly a "bad guy," but, at times, I did pity him.

Really, I loved this book. It just might be one of my favorites. It was a book that made me think of scientific ethical dilemmas. It made me think of religious and societal dilemmas.
It made me think.

I have nothing against books that are read merely for fun. I LOVE books (and movies, for that matter) like that. Sometimes I just want to read something and laugh, or enjoy simply for enjoyment's sake.

But, I also love books that make me think, long after I have finished reading them. Books that inspire thought and debate, sorrow and pity, anger and fear, and many other emotions.
Books that seem to arouse your mind and intellect, and seem to stir your very soul.

I loved "Frankenstein."
5 stars.


Next up: Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."
I had to read this in high school at some point.

(although I just got an e-mail from the library, and one of the books I had on hold has come in. Grrrrr!! Should I continue with Dickens, or should I pick up Jules Verne's "A Castle in Transylvania?")

Hey, sports fans...

Charlotte is not a fan of sports, generally speaking. Not a great shock to anyone, I imagine. Still, she has seen her big sister play soccer for two seasons a year, for the last 5 years; or, in other words, for Charlotte's whole entire life.
She has seen her father obsessively watch every Red Sox game he can find on TV, and she has gone to several Salt Lake Bees games in her life.
She has seen her little brother play teeball for the past year.
She has seen her father watch every Utah Utes football game he can find on TV (and has been "asked" to watch them, as well. :o) )
So, even if she isn't so much a "fan" of playing sports, she has at least been greatly exposed to them.

Which makes the following experience all the more entertaining, and so very "Charlotte."

The other day, we were flipping through the channels looking for something to watch for a few minutes. We happened upon a college women's softball game. Charlotte said, amid great wailing and indignation-
"No, I don't want to watch a stupid soccer game!"

Huh. Softball=Soccer.
Yep, she really isn't a fan of sports!

Who's the boss?

Today, I had to work from 7am - 3pm.
As soon as I got home, I asked Colby how the kids were, and if they had been good all day.

Colby then told me something that Barrett had said...

After breakfast, when all the kids were finished asking Colby "where's Mommy?" a thousand times, he and Barrett had this conversation:

"Dad, when Mom's not here, you're in charge."
"Oh, okay. So, who's in charge when Mom AND Dad are home?"
"Mom's in charge, because she's the boss."

Poor Colby!

:o)

Don't worry, I won't let all this power go to my head!!!

Note to Self...

Remind me that I
HATE
putting together gingerbread houses.



It does not matter how adorable the gingerbread house may look on the box.
It does not matter how cleverly advertised as "easy to build!" it is.



I HATE THEM.

And, just in case you wondered,

NO-
our stupid Halloween gingerbread house came out looking
NOTHING
like the picture above.

We demolished it, and ate the pieces.

Stupid gingerbread house anyway....

Counting down...

4 more days...
or 100 more hours...
or 6000 more minutes.

Miss him already.

Can't wait until Friday when he comes back home.

It's a really good thing Colby only has to travel twice a year at most.

Big questions...

Today at lunch...

Charlotte: "When I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made me love oatmeal SOOOO much, because it's my favorite, and I love it!"

(gales of laughter from the kids)

Barrett: "When I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made my Mom not give me cookies at breakfast."

(more insane laughter)

Charlotte: "Well, when I die, I'm going to ask Jesus why He made Mom SOOOO scared of spiders, because they are soooo yucky and gross, and they freak her out."


Hey, Charlotte- get in line for that question!

Kids are endlessly amusing.

Music Theory

We have already established that I love music. Hopefully, you have caught on to that from previous posts, or from visits to
my house, or whatever.
Love music.
Always have.
Probably always will.

My kids love music, too.
Hopefully always will.

Which brings me to my point of this post:
"Why I Do Not Fear My Kids Listening To Music."

Let me explain.
A little bit ago, I was having a discussion with someone about music. About what we like now, what we used to like, what we wish we could still find, etc. And then it turned into what our kids like to hear and listen to.
Interesting conversation.

My kids like to listen to a wide variety of musical styles, genres, etc. Some of the things they like happen to be the same things that
Colby and I like. Go figure!
Not all, but much of their musical taste is shaped by what they have been exposed to at home. My kids have a constant diet of music fed to them at our house. Depending on our mood, it could be anything from Billy Idol to Beethoven; Ella Fitzgerald to My Bloody Valentine; A.F.I. to Elvis; Metallica to Enya; ABBA to The Clash; Depeche Mode to Disney Princesses. And anything and everything in between.

I was asked how I thought my kids react to some of the
music that I like.
I asked what she meant by "react."
Basically, she meant what kinds of things does "my music" teach my kids, or say to my kids.

You know what? Honestly, I really don't think of things that way. Whether music, or movies, or clothes, or hairstyles, or anything else, I don't categorize them into "what could this
possibly 'make' my kids think or do."

Because I remember what my childhood was like.
My dad is one of the biggest old-school style cowboys you'll ever meet. Deep, twangy, hillbilly country music for him. The closest to "rock" music he likes is Fleetwood Mac and Kim Carnes.
A good ol' country boy, through and through.
My mom likes almost every kind of music you can think of.
Growing up, I had exposure to the old classic greats of country music, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Sr., and many others. From my mom, I also heard a lot of the Moody Blues, The Pointer Sisters, The Beatles, Tina Turner, Blondie, and a whole lot more.

I still love a lot of the same music I heard as a little kid. I still hear the Pointer Sisters, and I am immediately transported back in time, and I love that nostalgic feeling! Whenever I hear a good old classic country song, it reminds me of my Dad, and I love that feeling too.

But, I also found music that was uniquely mine, in a way. It was music that I came upon on my own. Music that my parents didn't have at home, and didn't always "love."
It was music that spoke to me, for whatever reason. Music or lyrics, or a combination of both, that touched me. It touched my heart, my soul, whatever you want to call it.
It was music that was Mine.
Music that meant something to me, deeply.

I was then, and I remain now, very grateful to my parents for allowing me to become whoever I was going to become, and for letting music play an important role in that 'becoming.'
Even when the music wasn't exactly their taste. I mean, my Dad tried really hard to like Depeche Mode and The Cure and Skinny Puppy, but it just wasn't for him! But, he let it be 'for me' and I will always be appreciative of that.

I am certain there were times when my parents were concerned, and worried about me. And maybe they even questioned if 'my music' was playing the wrong part in my life, but they still chose to
let me be 'me.'
They allowed me to be myself, even when that meant they had to listen to Depeche Mode or The Cure VERY LOUDLY because that was what I needed.
I love that about them.

And I intend to give my kids the same chance.

Because I know that even if I had the personality type that would allow me to be a dictatorial parent, and force my kids to listen to the "right" music, or to force my kids to stop listening to the "wrong" music, they would still find music they could call "their own."

I know that eventually my kids will gravitate toward whatever music speaks to them.
I know that it may or may not be music that I love.

And I know that I will be so proud of them, and so excited to see glimpses of whoever they are going to be.

I am not afraid of music, and I am not afraid of
what it "might do" to my kids.

Stupid News....

Had a great two weeks....NOT!
My hip is killing me, enough that I actually made an appointment with an orthopedic specialist.

Diagnosis: Greater Trochanter Bursitis.
Okay.

Treatment: Lortab every six hours. Why Lortab? Well, in a nutshell, because I don't react well to Percocet.

End result: I don't react well to Lortab, either.
I think I'll take the 'holy crap, this HURTS' pain from the bursitis over the constant nausea, dizziness, alternately shaky and numb hands and feet, and total fatigue from the Lortab.

Apparently, my body does not like narcotic pain relievers.
And just when I was thinking of becoming a pain-killer addict, too.

Hurry, Tooth Fairy!

Charlotte has officially joined Savannah in the "big girl" club-
she has lost her first tooth!
She is very excited about it, and cannot wait until the Tooth Fairy takes it away and leaves her money instead.

Welcome to the "Big Girl Club," Charlotte!