Yikes

1 1/2 hours of sleep last night makes for one crabby mommy. My poor little monkeys had to put up with much from me today. I'm trying not to get too excited about J coming home, because he leaves again next Thursday, but I am hoping that on Saturday I'll be able to sleep in until 7:30 or 8. I haven't been able to run this week and am a wuss about running in the cold anyway, but I need to do something before I go nuts. (Don't mention the "T-word" to me (treadmill); I seriously hate that thing!) My sweet little O, after I sung him his bedtime songs tonight, looked me seriously in the eyes and asked, "Mom, are you ok?" Intuitive little monkey -- he takes after his dad. I told him I was sorry for yelling so much today and that tomorrow I'd do better. I made a promise to him, so I'd better keep it!

Thank Heaven!

We don't have a working tv. We had to borrow a converter box to watch Conference. I'm not big into tv. It wastes so much time, gives my kids headaches and consequently makes them fight more. Our movie days are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday but during the week, the tv does not get turned on.

Before you start thinking that I am ones of those awesome moms who fill their childrens' days with enriching experiences and doesn't need technology to babysit their kids, I am here to tell you that I'm not. I only wish I were that cool! My secret? Netflix. Who needs tv when there's Netflix? Everyday after our morning chores are done, O and H settle down to watch 2 episodes of Dora or Blue's Clues. I get a little quiet time to read my scriptures, scrub the kitchen floor, fold laundry -- whatever -- in peace. Glorious peace. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which we celebrate in this beautiful month of November, I say this: I am deeply grateful for Netflix!

Stressed?

This morning H crawled into bed with me at 5:30. S's alarm went off at 6 and 5 minutes later, fully dressed, he crawled in with us. O awoke, got dressed and headed downstairs. S promptly leaped out of bed, ran down the stairs after him and scratched him on the back. Apparently O was supposed to wait so he and S could go down together. Wailing ensued. Over the next 2 hours we went through administering hot pepper powder, top-of-the-lung singing at breakfast, drumming on the table, whiny piano practice, and fighting in the car on the way to school and back. In the hour and a half since we've been home from school I have made 2 batches of cookies and 2 quarts of ice cream. I think I'm stressed. Counting down the days when J'll be home from his week-long business trip...

There Must Be Something Wrong...

I spent almost 1 1/2 hours in the bookstore on Saturday and came home with only 3 books. This is not like me. Something must be wrong.

I looked at plenty, even sat down on the floor to read a few pages of several, but only came home with three. Normally, I have no problem spending money on books. I also don't think about where to stash them when I get home with them. (The wall of bookshelves in my front room should be sufficient, thanks.) And I have no problem getting completely lost in a book, emerging from my reading stupor around 3 AM, having neglected the home and family, sleep and common sense. On Saturday, I choked looking at the price of the books. Maybe I was spoiled by having bought "Eragon" at DI for $3 and having found Harry Potter 7 there for $5. For some reason $7.99 a book was too much for me. And where was I going to put it? It's true that I'm running out of room on the shelves. I've scoured them over and over, trying to weed out the ones I could send to DI, having less and less success each time. Then, I read the first few pages of "Eldest" and didn't really get caught up in the story like I thought I would. Ditto for "Fablehaven," a few Shannon Hale books, and some other ones I don't even remember. I'm losing interest in reading -- something is wrong here! Not sure what it is. I'll let you know when I figure it out.

If you have any suggestions for books that may kick me out of my inexplicable reading slump, let me know!

Anniversary Weekend

J and I are coming up on our 10-year wedding anniversary, so this past weekend we headed up to the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City for some good quality alone time together. The FJ took up most of Friday afternoon, but once all that was settled, we headed to The Pie Pizzeria for dinner. Then to REI to pick up a jacket J ordered for me (and won't stop throwing water on while I'm wearing it because of its awesome water-proofing properties). Finally to the Stein. We'd been there once before for an anniversary and loved it, so we knew what to expect. We weren't disappointed. Here are the chocolates we found as an anniversary gift:

They look almost too good to eat. The best chocolates we've ever tasted.

The balcony with the hot tub overlooked the mountains. Comfy bed, sofa, beautiful kitchen, and most of all -- so wonderfully quiet.

We spent Saturday in Park City and then hit Ruth's Chris Steak House for dinner. Steak -- yum. My husband, creme brulee snob that he is, pronounced himself well satisfied with their version of that delectable dessert. I had the banana cream pie with the caramelized bananas on top -- oh, heaven! Ok, enough food talk...

Sunday was so nice and relaxing. I don't even remember what we did, but the best part of the weekend was not having to rush back on Sunday. When we made our way home just after lunch, I realized that the weekend had been perfect -- rejuvenating, relaxing, and reconnecting with my sweetie. A great way to celebrate 10 years!

He's Done It Again!

Ever since J turned 19, he's made one crazy purchase or done one crazy thing on or around his birthday almost every year. When he turned 19 he entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) to serve an LDS mission. When he returned 2 years later, he bought a Mitsubishi Mirage -- a little red skittle-car. Two years later he scrapped that one for a 1998 Ford Mustang -- a deep metallic red one. He says that I, his girlfriend at the time, suddenly got jealous of the car or the attention he was getting, but I still vehemently deny that. (Ok, so it may have been true, but I don't remember!) A year later, he decided that maybe that car wasn't fast enough, so he traded it in for a 1997 candy apple red Mustang Cobra. The year after that, determined not to pay anyone else's mortgage, he bought himself a house. A nice little red brick house in the great neighborhood that we haven't been able to leave. And the year after that? Well, he married me. Can't get any crazier than that. He gave it a rest for a few years, but then came the Audi and then the mini-van. Somewhere in there was the Bowflex. This year? Well, see for yourself:

So we drove to the dealership thinking we were just going to check out the Army Green color and four hours later we drove away with that. Yeah.

The Monkeys love it. They keep wanting to go for rides in Daddy's "Army Truck." My favorite part about the Japanese-made cars in general is that tall lanky white-boy husband and short stubby Asian wife can both comfortably drive it. My dad's favorite part will be the rear view monitor system. While I was in Bismarck, J kept the kids entertained by showing them the videos on Toyota's website of just what the FJ is capable of, so they are excited to take this thing off the road and crawl around on some rocks. My stomach may not be able to handle all that motion, but at least the whole interior is designed to be hosed down. Dirt? There will be a-plenty. Twigs, leaves? Those too. Vomit? Yeah, probably mine and S's. But we'll be building family memories and that's all that counts. Right?

The Gun Show

So, my hot hunk of lovin', even J himself, has been working out and banishing "The Guest" (as his belly has been affectionately nicknamed), who has overstayed his welcome for about 7 years. Turns out The Guest has kept The 6-pack locked up in a magic trunk, but now that he is finding himself powerless to P90X, Mr. Tony Horton, and J, is taking leave of this place hopefully to never return.

It's pretty fun to watch J work out. (Even the kids like to watch him and giggle, so it's not just because it's eye candy for me.) By the end of the workout, the shirt has come off of J, so of course, the boys must be just like daddy.

Whenever O and H exercise now they have to take their shirts off. It's the Gun Show at my house every day!

(I have a picture of J, O, and H flexing with their shirts off, but I think the blog would be permanently shut down by J if I posted it.)