Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

The Monday before Valentine's Day, we had a family home evening lesson on love. I read a little story titled "The Love Drawer" from a past issue of the Friend and then we each made these cute door hangers out of paper plates. I challenged each family member to leave at least one note in each person's door hanger telling them something they liked about that person or a compliment, etc. They could also leave candy with it. The kids had fun decorating their valentine holder.

Valentine's morning I got up early and decorated the kids' bedroom door. I also hung up hearts and garland in the kitchen. We ate pink heart shaped cookies for breakfast and then made sugar cookies to take to a few neighbors.

That night Spence and I went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill with our good friends, Vicki and Dale. We were smart and made a reservation a couple weeks ago. Otherwise the weight was almost 2 hours! The place was packed. Then we went to the late movie and saw "He's Just Not That Into You." It was pretty good. Was a good show to see on Valentine's Day. Hope you all had a great day also!

Here's the conversation taking place in the background at the moment:

Claire- "Quinn, did you fart?"

Quinn- "No."

Claire- "Cuz boys fart a lot."

Quinn- "Well maybe it was Logan."

Short Conversations with Kids

Here are a few conversations I've had with some of my kids lately....

I was with Logan and walked by someone smoking and we both hated the smell of it. Logan commented on it so I took the opportunity to tell him all the bad stuff about smoking...

Me: "Smoking is really stinky and bad for your body. It makes your insides black and gross. It damages your lungs and makes it hard to breathe and can give you cancer which is a disease that makes you sick and can kill you. "(No harm in scaring them to death is there?)

Logan: "Well why do people smoke then? Do they WANT to get sick?" Good question bud.

All Claire has been watching on TV lately is TLC. (Learning Channel) She loves the baby shows- Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby. She also is addicted to Jon and Kate plus 8. This was her question of the day-

Claire: "Mom, what do you do at baby showers?"

Me: "You bring gifts for the new baby and sometimes eat and play games."

Claire: "Well, does the baby take a little bath or something?"

Me: (laughing) "No, the baby usually isn't born yet. You bring the gifts for the mom so she can be ready for when the baby comes."

Claire: "So the baby doesn't even get to watch?"

Geez- what a bummer party for the baby!


I was reading the other day and not really paying attention to Claire. She came up and started telling me this:

Claire: "Mom, Macy's little cousin had to go to the hospital the other day because he swallowed a polly pocket toy."

Me: (not really paying attention...) "Oh, really?"

Claire: "Yeah, they had to get it out of him."

Me: "Hmmmm."

Claire: "They had to cut off his foot to get it out."

Me: "Hmmm." Then it registered what she had said... "What? I don't think so Claire. They don't cut your foot off to get something out of you that is stuck."

The thing with Claire is she is really good at making stuff up and telling stories so I never know what is true and what isn't. Em- did your nephew really swallow a polly pocket and get his foot cut off to get it out? :-)


Oh- another funny moment was when I had picked up kids from school. We dropped off one of Nate's friends and Logan wanted to walk the rest of the way home. So he got out of the car and started running home. I was following in the car and started to roll down my window. At the same exact moment Nate did the same thing and we both shouted out the window "Run Forrest Run!" We busted out laughing that we would have the same thought at the same time. It was funny- guess you had to be there. :-)

100!

Wow. This is my 100th post. I've been thinking of something special to do for it. So I decided to do a "Jackie's Favorite Things." (You know- like Oprah....)
1- I LOVE my Toyota Sequoia. My favorite vehicle I've ever had. So go on- everyone go out to your driveway. I've given all of you a Sequoia!!!! Ha ha...I wish I could do an Oprah thing like that. My Toyota has 123,500 miles on it and we haven't had any major problems. Changed the battery once, tires, maintenance stuff like that. My favorite feature on it is the back window rolls down. I can roll it up and down sitting in the driver's seat. Love that feature- along with all the cup holders.... Sure, I'd like a brand spanking new one, but I'm happy with what I have and love it even more that it's paid for. :-)








2- I recently bought a new griddle from Costco. Best $25 ever. I love it. It's so convenient to just put it on top of the stove and turn on the burners instead of having one that sits on the countertop that you plug in. Seems my kids always got burnt with my old one. I can store this one underneath the oven with the rest of pans so it doesn't take up a lot of space like others. The flip side of is has grill edges to cook meat, etc. Get one!

3- My favorite hand cream is "Wish" by Lollia. (website) Love this line of products. Smells so yummy. I do have a box of this that I will give away to some lucky reader. Just leave a comment and I'll choose random from hat.







4- As most of you know I LOVE cookies. Could eat them non stop. (My thighs are witness of that.) I love the classic chocolate chip. Some that I love (also from Costco) are the Otis Spunkmeyer frozen cookie dough. So convenient to pop them in the oven and they are delicious. Also convenient when I'm craving cookie dough.



5- This favorite thing should really be number one. Diet Pepsi! My name is Jackie and I'm a Diet Pepsi addict. Face it Spence- I'll never give it up so quit bugging me about it. Only makes me drink more. An intervention wouldn't even help.





6- Another one of my favorite things is Trollbeads. My mom started selling them in her store. Lucky me! I love my Trollbeads bracelet. I can wear it with anything. Change up the beads, etc. They are kind of like charms- you can pick out your beads and make your own bracelet. All the beads have a meaning and are handmade. Price on the beads vary, but it is so worth it because you can wear it with anything.









7 - My favorite store is.... Costco! Big surprise. I love to buy books there along with clothes, food and seasonal items.



8 - My favorite thing to do to pamper myself is to get a FACIAL. Love them more than a full body massage. That way I can relax and not have to worry about what my body must feel like to someone rubbing my muscles (or lack of muscles). If you've never had a facial- treat yourself to one. Worth the money.




9- One of my favorite movies is "You've Got Mail." I love Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Maybe I love it because of my memory seeing it in the theater. It was in December 1998 and I was in Oklahoma City. I was staying with Mike and Gayle, waiting to deliver Ethan. We were walking around the mall and they were having a sneak preview of the movie. I wanted to see it so much but they said it was full. We bought a ticket to a different movie but Gayle's sister, Paula, took me by the hand and said "You are seeing that movie. You are a very pregnant woman who wants to see it and you will!" So we went into the theater and she found me an empty seat in the very front of the theater. I thought it was such a cute show. Still love it.




10- I guess for my last favorite thing I'll say I love scented candles. I especially love the Banana Bread scent from McCalls candles. It smells so yummy and is a very "homey" scent. (Is that even a word?)

So there you have it- my Top 10 Favorite Things.

At My Whit's End

Help! I am really struggling with Claire these past few weeks- okay, months. She has been the best form of birth control EVER! I just don't know what to do with the little "brat" lately. (Did I just publicly say that??) I am so sick of her telling me to shut up and that she hates me. She gets violent with me- slaps, hits, kicks, throws things, etc. I spank back and it doesn't even phase her. No tears, nothin. Just a mean look on her face and she tells me how much she hates me. I just don't get how sometimes she can be so sweet and then- the devil takes over. I need some advice on how to nip this in the butt now before she gets to be a teenager. I put her in her room in time out and she will destroy her room, kick the door, etc. I have tried putting her in time outs in other places- like the corner, but it doesn't work. She has a mind of her own and will NOT stay. I have thought about taking away all of her toys- I think that's a Dr. Phil thing- but where in the heck would I put them all? Ugh- I just need some advice or ideas before I end up in the loony bin in a padded room....

7th Anniversary

Spence and I had our 7 year anniversary on December 22nd. Every year we shake our heads and wonder what in the **** we were thinking to get married three days before Christmas. I guess we just planned it around our families of when they would all be in town. Everyone remembers our wedding because it was the coldest day ever in Evanston. We all froze our behinds off. I joke with Spence and tell him "I always told you it would be a cold day in hell before I married you." LOL

We stayed the night at Inn on the Creek in Midway Utah. That is where we stayed for our wedding night. Spence surprised me and had candles in the room with a bottle of chilled sparkling cider along with rose petals on the bed and in the tub- just like our wedding night. It was very romantic. Dinner was excellent and very cozy.

Dear Spence,

I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and am grateful to have you in my life. I love that you are able to provide for our family so that I am able to stay home with our children. I think that it is so important to be at home with them. I love our children so much and hope that I can be a good mom to them.

One thing I love about you is your ability to give. You are one of the most giving poeple I know. I love that you always want to do what you can to help others out. It is such a good quality to have. I think it is such a good example to our children.

Another thing I love about you is your hands. You have strong, sexy hands that are so gentle. They are also hands that can fix or do anything. You amaze me in your knowledge on how to do things- from around the house to cars. You are so talented that way which makes me so lucky to have you.

I hope you know how much I love you. Thank you for knowing the importance of me needing time away from the kids and home, and also for believing in date nights. Thank you for watching the kids for me. Thank you for being romantic and for thinking of me. Thank you for your patience and for loving me.

Love Always, Jackie

Longest Post in History

Wow- I have been so busy that I haven't had the time to download pictures and post anything. So this will probably be the longest post ever. I want to include everything since I use this as journaling- sorry!...

Hmmm....what should I start with- Thanksgiving? My mom and dad came down to our house. Usually my mom cooks for my entire family, but this year she got a break. I'm so glad she came to my house because I have never cooked a turkey or stuffing so she came to the rescue. We had a great dinner and lots of food. It was kind of nice to be at home this year.

Logan as a cowboy, army guy, AND an Indian.

Dad carving the turkey

Nathan and me

My mom and dad

Temple Lights

The Monday after Thanksgiving we went to see the lights at Temple Square for family night. We took Trax downtown. The kids were excited to ride. I'm glad we went early to see the lights before the freezing cold weather arrived. The kids had fun. It ended up being a longer night than planned because we got on the wrong Trax train so had to ride to then end and then back track to the right one. Kind of scary being on Trax at 10:30 at night! But, we survived...

Waiting for our train

Enjoying hot chocolate

Claire's 5th Birthday

On Claire's birthday (Dec. 15th) we went out to the airport with Spence's family to welcome Jeremy home from Iraq! (Jeremy is Spence's nephew.) He finished a 15 month deployment. (The second one...) He got to come home in January for the birth of his daughter, Lily, but then had to leave again. So this was the first time with Lily since she was born! It was so awesome and emotional to see them together. Makes you realize the sacrifice our soldiers are making to be away from their families for so long. Thank you for your service Jeremy and to all the other soldiers!

Proud to wave our American Flag

Jeremy and his daughter, Lily

After the airport we went to the Spaghetti Factory to celebrate Claire turning 5. Spence's mom and sister's family came with us. It was lots of fun and lots of good food!

Nathan and cousin Gavin

Logan and cousin Berkan being silly

Claire and her cousin Brynn

Claire got a new bike for her birthday. It's so hard to have a winter birthday! The snow hasn't stopped her from riding though!

Build-A-Bear Workshop Party

Claire had her birthday party at the Build-A-Bear in the mall. We all piled in the car ready for the slow, snowy drive to the mall. We put a movie on- Spongebob. Once it started playing, a few of the girls said they weren't allowed to watch Spongebob, so we had to switch out movies. (Am I a terrible parent for allowing Spongebob?) In went Polar Express and we were on our way!

Patiently awaiting directions...

Putting in the stuffing...

Claire's new best friend

Shakin their booties...


Heather and Malia giving their animals a "fluff bath"

Claire and Naomi shopping for animal clothing.

Macy's new best friend- Hello Kitty

When walking through the mall with all 8 girls, a man stopped Spence and asked them if they were all his. Uh Hello! Spence laughed and replied "Don't wish that on me!"

Outside walking to the car I was holding hands with Malia and Maddie. Malia looked up and said "I wish we were all your daughters!" I laughed and said "Not me! I would probably pull my hair out with this many kids!" I asked her why. She said "Cuz then there wouldn't be any screaming and hollering cuz I don't like that." I said "Well, there is screaming and hollering in my house too. And why do you scream if you don't like it?" Malia: "Well, I only do to my mom and dad cuz that's fun." I looked at her- then she smiled and said "Just kidding!" LOL

Back in the car I asked what everyone wanted for Christmas. Here are a few answers: Ipod, real cell phone, Barbie, I forgot after I wrote it to Santa... Man, and these girls are only 5-8! What will kids ask for when older??

Thanks Claire's friends for coming to her party and for the gifts and for being so good! And thanks to Build-A-Bear for the easiest birthday party EVER!

Congratulations if you are still reading this post. You have finally reached the end! :-)

*Disclaimer: Not held responsible for dirty dishes in sink, unfolded laundry, dusty tables, dirty floors, dirty toilets and kids running wild due to time it took to read this post. Author of post did in no way force you to read to the end. Author's house just as dirty due to the time it took to write this lengthy post.

Pay It Forward

Wow! I actually won something. I was the recipient of Allyson's Pay it Forward post as well as Andee's. Thanks so much for the bread Andee and thanks for the candy and comfy socks Allyson! Now it's my turn to give. Everyone who wants in, just leave me a comment by Friday, December 19th and I'll let my kids randomly choose 3 lucky winners from a hat. If you're chosen you can't break the cycle of "Paying it Forward." Good luck!