Excuse me, I've Lost My Little One.

I am beginning to wonder if I am not subconsciously trying to lose my children. In the past couple of weeks I lost Emily at the mall, Benjamin at Costco, and Rachel at church. Emily and Ben got lost on the same day because Nate and I were out looking for new cell phones. There we were, chatting with the T-Mobile guy. Not a care in the world. Well, Nate got tired of him so he thought he would do a head count on the children. Uh-oh. Emily was gone. I ditched the salesman and we began wandering store to store. With each consecutive store I began to panic a little more. I mean, this is my one year old. What kind of parent am I. Finally, I spotted a mall maintenance woman holding her a little way down the hall. Thanks goodness.

Well, since we weren't successful at the mall, we moved on to Costco. This time I strapped Emily safely into the grocery cart. We headed over to the cell phone kiosk. Ben and Rachel were running around in circles. They were happy and no one was around so I figured we were safe. Eventually we worked out a contract on a couple of phones and we were ready to be on our way. A quick call to the little speed demons and we'd be out of there. Low and behold, I found Rachel alone. Ben was gone. Something told me he was hiding. I began to search amongst the aisles while Nate headed over to check the bathroom. After ten minutes I finally decided to accept some help from a Costco employee. She got on her radio and began describing Benjamin, the missing child. Well, about that time, Ben stuck his head out from behind a large stack of boxes. He had been there watching the entire time.

Today, after church Rachel disappeared. I had all the kids with me, but I headed down the hall one way and Ben and Rachel went the opposite direction. Now, Ben loves to do this. "I'll meet you there mom." He likes his independence. So, I headed out to the van, figuring that I would find them there. However, as I peered inside I saw only Ben. "Not again" I thought. I got Ben and Emily settled and headed back to find Rachel. I did a full circle and a half around the church before I found her, crying next to a nice woman from the Spanish Branch. Poor, poor Rachel. So, I think I will invest in those harnesses. Or maybe some squeaky shoes. I have a friend who tells me those are fabulous. Or, perhaps, I should just invest in some parenting classes.

Easter is Eggcellent

Easter 2008

We had a really wild Easter this year. From Easter egg hunts to birthday parties we were constantly on the go. We also got way too much candy! After 3 nights of my children complaining about not being able to sleep I confiscated it all. It is safely hidden away where hopefully no one will discover it until next year. Thanks for the fun everyone.

Diaper Diversion

As is with most children Emily loves living the natural way so she'll do anything to keep me from getting the diaper on her. Usually she screams and kicks like a crazy woman, but on this particular occasion she decided she would show me that diapers can be put to use in other ways. Perhaps she will be one of the first high fashion designers for Huggies.

Book Tag!

I am only doing this tag because it is so very simple. Generally I am terrible with these tagging games. Anyway, I was tagged. Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 5 people

My nearest book, because I am reading it, is Timeline by Micheal Crichton. Here's the sentence
"But on the other hand, they all seemed to be in decent physical condition, particularly the foreign guy, Marek."

Gee, it sounds like I am reading some steamy novel that takes place in some exotic foriegn country. Oh yea, I tag anyone else who wants to play.

Babe Trapped Inside a Pleasantly Plump Body

I have decided to abandon my unhealthy life in exchange for a better more active lifestyle. For a while I have been in mourning realizing that I will never again be in my twenties. In fact, in a couple of months I will be 32. Ouch. But, I really think that healthy lifestyle makes all the difference. I may not be 20, but I can feel like it. I am working with a website called sparkpeople. It is free and covers everything. They will customize an exercise and diet plan for you. There are groups that you can join. They have exercise videos. When I say they have everything, they really do. I have used weight watchers online. Spark People is every bit as good. Probably better. Anyway, in order to get started I had to set a goal to tell at least one person about my plans to get healthy. Hopefully at least one person will read this blog. If your interested in Spark People then just follow this link.
Spark People

Who is Anita Renfroe?

This woman is almost too much. She is awesome. If you haven't heard the mom song then listen to that before continuing with this particular blog. I posted the "Mom Song" in the previous post.
Anita Renfroe is the creater of the beloved "Mom Song" but in being fair to all men, she has also created the "Dad Song". Click here and you'll be taken to her website for and exciting rendition of the "Dad Song".

Just Because I Felt Like It

Many of us have seen this before, but some days I just like to watch it again for fun.

Experimenting with Jimmy Dean

This afternoon I pulled out a pound of Italian sausage and threw it in the microwave to thaw. An hour went by and I still hadn't figured out what to do with my sausage. After hum-hawing around and finding myself in a desperate situation I decided to make a mock Alfredo lasagna. It turned out pretty good so here's the recipe if anyone cares for pasta.

Sausage Alfredo Lasagna

1 lb. Italian sausage
12-16 oz. pasta (just pick your favorite)
1 small bottle dried tomatoes
8 oz. mozzarella cheese

Alfredo Sauce
2 tbs. butter
2 tbs. flour
2 cups milk
salt
pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions
Cook Pasta until mostly done. Cook Italian sausage and drain. To make the Alfredo sauce melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add 2 tbs. flour and whisk. Then add the 2 cups milk, salt and pepper. Heat until boiling. Let cook while stirring for one minute. Remove from heat and add Parmesan cheese. In 9x12 casserole dish add mixture of sauce, sausage, and pasta. It is optional to add the dried tomatoes. Spread evenly and cover entire top with mozzarella cheese. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 -20 minutes.

Ben's First Testimony

We had a nice family home evening tonight. We talked about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the end I bore my testimony. I was about to have Rachel say the closing prayer when Ben said "Wait, I have something to say."
"OK. " I was thinking he was about to ask whether we had a snack for afterward. I wasn't prepared for his sweet testimony. He said "I love everything about Jesus and I love Jesus because he lived again and made it so our family can always be together." It was so pure and simple. It was so beautiful. It came spontaneously from his heart.
Sunday, as Ben was declaring his eternal hatred for going to church, and going on and on about how Sundays are the worst day of his life, I wondered to myself how to convince a child that church is important. I don't know if there is anyway to do that, but I am glad to know that Ben loves Jesus Christ.

Hyper-Complex Emotional Response Syndrome

I believe I have passed down a gene to Benjamin that may cause Hyper-Complex Emotional Response Syndrome. While not currently a diagnosis with in the realm of psychological disorders, I think it soon may be.
We made a new friend this week. Her name is Emily. The friend not the baby. She is Ben's age, but being a girl, Rachel and her really hit it off. On Wednesday Benjamin and Rachel went to her house to play for the first time. Around the exact moment I had settled down on the couch with a book, baby Emily was asleep you see, Benjamin came crashing through the door closing it with as much strength as he could muster.
I looked up in surprise. "What's wrong."
"They don't care about me!" Benjamin was fuming. I mean real steam escaping his ears. I tried to explain to him about how they were girls and so they had a lot in common. Most of it fell on deaf ears but I soon had him pacified by a Fairly Odd Parents cartoon.
Later that night I went out. Nate was at home manning the fort.
"Dad, can I go back over to Emily's house?"
"No. Dinner is just about ready."
Nate left it at that, thinking it was over with. He continued with finishing up the dinner prep and then called the kids to the table. No response came from Ben. Nate proceeded to look all over the house. Ben likes to play hide and seek just to irritate us. Ben was nowhere to be found. Nate finally asked Rachel if she knew where Ben was. "He went outside."
Sure enough, Ben had headed back over to Emily's house. He had a mission to accomplish and no one would get in his way. When I talked to Emily's mom the next day she said when he arrived he walked in there front door, without knocking, and proceeded to inquire about Emily. He needed to talk to her. When he found her he sat down next to her and asked "Did you just not want to play with me today, or do you not care about me?" Obviously, poor little Emily didn't know how to respond. Her mom saved the day by talking to them about how they all might try harder to play all together tomorrow. Emily's mom said Ben reminded her of Dr. Phil in his approach to finding out Emily's feeling for him and was very sweet. Apparently he had rid himself of his steaming ears earlier.
So this is our Ben. Full of emotion, which is sometimes beautiful and other times worrisome to behold. We love him. I am sure he will suffer serious heartbreak in his lifetime because of the complexity of his emotions, but hopefully they will also benefit him by means of allowing him a greater measure of love and compassion for others.

Playing Hookie

Nathan and I are experts at throwing caution to the wind and being spontaneous. Monday morning, because of the time change, we woke up a little tardy. Ben was already late for school and Nate had Spring break so we decided to just take a daycation. We headed down to Salt Lake City. We visited the newly remodeled State Capitol and the Aquarium in Sandy. We had a great time.

Sibling Rivals

The other day Rachel laid down to take a nap in my bed. Ben and I played together for a while, but then he disappeared. After a bit I started wondering where he had gone. After looking all over the house I quietly peeked into my room. There on the bed were two little angels. I knew that the chances of this ever happening again were slim to none so I grabbed my camera to document the time brother and sister loved each other.

Lick Gloss

Does ingesting lip gloss cause brain damage? I hope not, or my girls are doomed. Everyday when I go to my vanity to put on my array of cosmetics my girls arrive just seconds behind. "Mommy, can I have some lip gloss?" Rachel flashes me her best smile. Then Emily comes whining, waiting to be lifted up on the vanity where she immediately finds another lip gloss and hands it to me. As I pull out the glossy stick to apply it to her lips Emily waits with her tongue out, just dying to get that first lick. I avoid her tongue as much as possible and get the gloss on. Then I turn to Rachel. She has applied a heavy coat of pretty in pink lip gloss to her sweet smile, licked her lips thoroughly and is heading in to put another on. Really, the lip gloss does smell good, but could it truly taste so delicious? My girls sure think so.

Fish Tale

Strange story. We have two fish. Gill and Milly. Today, Rachel noticed Milly was missing. I thought she was just hiding, but after carefully checking the fish bowl there was truly no Milly. I called Nathan thinking she must have gone on to the the other side and he had fished her out. Nathan had no idea what had happened to her either. Finally, while the kids weren't looking I moved the table the fish bowl is on and there was Milly. Unfortunately her time here had come to an end. We have now adopted Milly 2 from the walmart, but it is still a mystery how Milly 1 expired. Did she jump from her fish bowl or did the "giant baby" (Emily) get to her. Sadly, we don't know. Hopefully Milly 2 does better.

The Perfect Mother

I often dream that one day I will be the perfect mother. I will wake up early everyday. Ben will be on time for school at least most of the time. My children will eat something other than eggo waffles and cereal. I will exercise every morning. I will be dressed before noon. My girls will be educated at least one hour a day by their mother. I will love playing with my little pony, polly pocket, and Barbie. I won't lose my temper when the kids color on the walls, brake the new crayons, dump everyone of their carefully organized toy bins out on the floor, make a bathtub out of my dryer, or any of the other million things they do that makes me crazy. I will get the house clean every night so I can start fresh the next day.

Today was supposed to be the day. But, instead Emily threw up after every meal and just wanted to sit on my lap all day. Maybe tomorrow.