Quirks? Who me?

Here are the rules: "MY UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS"
1. Link to the person who tagged you

2. Mention the rules on your blog

3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4. Tag 6 bloggers by linking to them

5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged

Jenny tagged me... thanks a lot!

#1 I can't handle it when the toilet paper is not on the dispenser the CORRECT way! This means that the paper needs to roll over the top of the roll and out towards you, not roll down the wall or cabinet it is attached to. Sounds pretty OCD, doesn't it... but I don't care. If I come to your house and the toilet paper doesn't roll the CORRECT way, I'll probably change it for you. I don't care if you take offense to my correction or not! Go to a hotel, people, and look at the way the paper rolls!!! Take note and fix yours before the paper police get you!


#2 Water... water please... water! I can't survive without my cup of water! I just have to have one close by. I take one everywhere with me... in the car ALWAYS! And if I leave it at home, I feel like I am dehydrated and dying of thirst. It's probably more mental than physical, because I do keep track of how much water I have each day (for the most part!), but it's my thing. Have to have my water!


#3 I love my planner. I was introduced to my passion of planners by my friend Lorie, and it is never far from reach. It's my obsession... if I don't make my notes in it, then I will lose the note I wrote on and the thought is gone forever. But not with my trusty planner. Each year about Sept or Oct I go to Barnes and Noble and buy the latest color. This year is bright green, next year's is a pearl-like light blue. I write anything I need to write down in it... schedules, events, appointments, etc., and sometimes even big "firsts" like when the baby crawls for the first time, or talks or anything fun. I've used it as a journal throughout the year so when Christmas comes, I have a record of what we did during the year (heaven knows I don't remember ANYTHING anymore). So many reasons to have a planner!



#4 I cry WAY TO EASY! Not PMS stuff or if someone teases me, no no no, it's not that. It's the little sentimental things like... taking the kids to Disneyland the first time (and the second time... I get teary on Main Street!), first day of preschool, Kindergarten, etc... listening to a song's lyrics that touch my heart (I'm a bawling baby when I listen to Hilary Weeks "Day of Praise" alone in my car!). The silliest things set me off constantly! I feel like an idiot admitting to some of the things that make my eyes leak (yes, Maree, we have the same defective genes!). It's part of who I am and I'm working on learning to accept and embrace.


#5 I am a control FREAK! It manifests itself in many different ways... the way the dishes are loaded into the dishwasher, the way the bed is made (I'll just re-do everything... I can't let some things just "be"), the way my kids are dressed ... I'll send them back upstairs if they don't match well enough (I'm getting better at letting that go lately), the laundry in general - what is washed on what cycle, temp setting, how it's folded/put away (my boys get so tired of me nagging them about their messy drawers!). So I admit it... It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm hoping that in the not too distant future I can learn to embrace the "Love and Logic" parenting techniques and remember that if it doesn't personally affect me, then it's not worth waisting my energy on, right?!


#6 I used to eat ice cream every night. It was (and still is!) another one of my obsessions. I live for a good bowl of homemade ice cream. I make the best vanilla and chocolate homemade ice cream. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Baskin Robbins Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream. I will stop anything for Leatherby's Toasted Almond ice cream with their homemade caramel topping, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry. I really don't need any toppings though... just the creamy, sweet, silky feeling of ice cream running down my throat is all. But, unfortunately, I've stopped my every night habit over the past year or two. I'm down to maybe once or twice a week. I'm hoping to lose a few more inches and this is a very bad habit! Thanks again to Lorie Martin to introducing me to yet another one of my "quirks". She's responsible for my homemade ice cream recipes - hence the picture above shows part of the recipe (bad bad bad!!!). You know I love you still!

I choose to have another quirk... my love of Diet Pepsi! I'll drink Diet Coke, but prefer Diet Pepsi!

OK, now I know that many of you have already done this, but here goes...
I tag the following:
Dad
Kham
Janice
Jennifer
Aimee
Heidi
Maree

I can't wait to check out your blogs!

Yes on Prop 8!!!

I was reading my dad's blog tonight and he attached a link location that I am going to attach to my blog as well. It is a demonstration of Yes on Prop 8 supporters in Poway (east of San Diego) where my sister Maree lives. It gave me the chills and had me shedding more than a few tears. I am so grateful to know that there are so many people who were willing to spend the day standing on the street and bringing attention to the vote tomorrow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mZo-I_HTY

I also want to acknowledge the wonderful man in my life... my wonderful husband Earl (of course!).. who spent his Saturday in the pouring rain with about 20 other members of the Marysville Ward rallying for support for Prop 8! You rock Earl! It was raining and windy and cold and they were so awesome to stay their ground. Thanks to all of you for your service! Let's pray that the Yes on 8 vote will be a landslide!

I love that cheesy smile!

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

Joshua had a horrible time giving in to the visit of the tooth fairy recently. He just wouldn't let us pull his tooth out. Finally Earl noticed that he wasn't brushing his teeth very well at all, so he tackled him, brushed his teeth really well, and brushed that tooth right out of his mouth. Josh was so mad, but got over it as soon as he found his dollar from the tooth fairy. Well, Earl also brushed his other bottom tooth loose, so the whole drama started over again with Joshua not letting us pull his tooth out. By the time Sunday came, his tooth was literally hanging on by a thread! It was just flapping around like crazy in his mouth and making me sick! I couldn't even watch him talk. Well, I told him he couldn't eat lunch until I pulled it out, so he decided he wasn't hungry. Then I told him he could have chocolate ice cream and oreo cookies for lunch if he would let me pull it out. He didn't believe me. I took him downstairs, scooped the ice cream, put the cookies in and said, "do you believe me now?" Well, he STILL DIDN'T BELIEVE ME! So I did what any good mother would do... I tackled him, sat on him, held his arms and Earl pulled it out. This was the result... and absolutely no bleeding. What a wimp! And after all of that, he lost the tooth! I mean, he physically lost the precious tooth that he didn't want to part with. He had to write a letter to the tooth fairy. Good thing she pitied his evil, mean parents and still left him a treat. I didn't know that there could be so much drama surrounding a loose tooth.

It's pretty easy to use a straw now with so many holes in his mouth!

Don't laugh... it's not funny!

Halloween Fun!

We've been having too much fun the past week with all of the Halloween parties! The boys are all at the age where trick or treating is the one thing that they all look forward to almost as much as Christmas morning. Of course, I had just had enough of children by this afternoon that I stayed home and handed out candy while Earl took the boys trick or treating. That was fine because Jill and I played and talked to all of the kids (and too many adults and teenagers!) who came to the door. Everyone was a sucker for Jillian's tiara... she is so good about leaving it on her head. I call her pretty girl and she just smiles and laughs. She has been practicing her wave and "hi" (sounds like haaaaaaa) to everyone who waved at her. She also said dadadadadada tonight... Earl didn't believe me, but she did! Here are some of the hightlights of our night:

Buzz Lightyear.... to Infinity and Beyond... or just around the block for a little candy!

Somebody got caught with her hand in the candy bowl!


Jillian practicing her new word.... haaaaaa (interpreted "hi")


Ok kids, dump your candy so mom and dad can steal a few pieces... err, check it!
Right?!

Bishop's Pumpkin Patch

Every year I love to take the kids to Bishop's Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland. We have so much fun there! There are so many things for the kids to do... the list is too long. And the best part is if you go on a week day, it's free to park which makes it even better! We didn't have a lot of time this year to explore and play, so we hit our favorite spots and sites, took some pictures, and ate corn dogs for dinner! Here are some of the highlights...

This was the best picture I could get this year... the more kids, the harder it is to get everyone to look at the camera!

I thought this was a great picture of Jonathan with Jillian ... there is a huge patch of gigantic pumpkins that is so fun to explore and take pictures in.

We went with our friends this year... Hannah and Eliza Carr and thier mom Jenny. It was fun to have another adult there to keep me company and help with the kids. Thanks Jenny!

Jimmy is my little animal lover. He loved brushing the goats in the petting zoo area and feeding them. The other boys just ran from them... they like to see them, just don't like to touch them. I don't think they would do well on a farm!

More fun things to play on....

Another photo opp... how many crazy faces can you make?!

Such a cute baby! She loved her first trip to the pumpkin patch!

And we always take a ride on the train! It's the best!

How late is too late to send out birth announcements?

I'm pretty embarrassed that it took me 3 months to send out Jillian's birth announcements. I ordered them in July and had the addresses all filled out and everything... just let them sit there on the counter. Call me lazy... I am! My rationalization is that I bought address labels to make return labels on the computer and just didn't do it. I kept saying I was going to do it, and now it's October and so I just mailed them. It would be even more embarrassing if I sent them with our Christmas card. Yikes! That's coming soon! But here are a few more recent pics I took of Jillian today. I thought they were cute, and I made her bow, so I was really proud of them.

Fun at the Fountains

We had a fun family night at a new shopping center in Roseville last Friday. Went to Costco (because no trip to Roseville is complete without stopping there), had dinner at Panda Express at the mall (kids' choice), and went to explore all of the new sights at the Fountains. Earl and I had a fun time just watching the kids. It's always so much fun to see them enjoying the world around them. We could have stayed there all night. They had a blast!

The Fountains is a really nice shopping center with (you guessed it) several different fountains spread out around the shops. The highlight of the whole experience is the fountain that shoots water with different lights and misters to popular songs. It's so fun to watch the boys and even Jillian enjoy the show.

Jonathan and Mommy with the cool misters (Joshua called it the Lava) behind us!

Joshua and James in Awwwhhh!

Too cute... had to add this one! Jillian enjoying the show.

The really fun part came after the water show when we let the boys change into their swimsuits and play in the cool water feature outside the shops. They loved to let the water shoot up their bums.... boys! And Jimmy loved to just run around the whole thing and try really hard to not get hit. It was a really warm night and perfect for a fun night in the water. They had a blast!

We spent a ton of time just enjoying the warm evening and letting the boys play in the water and then at an adjacent playground. What a cool idea to put such fun things in the middle of a shopping center. I'm totally hooked. Now, if I could just go into the stores instead of just looking through the windows, I would be thrilled! Who has time to shop with 3 boys and a baby?! Better question is who wants to shop with 3 boys and a baby? It's just not easy!