Out of the mouths of babes--February

Here are this month's gems. Enjoy!

Feb 5th--For our treat after Family Home Evening tonight, we had brownies a la mode. Brandon LOVED it and said, "If we were at a contest to see what was the best food in the world, this would win." Let me know when that contest happens. How much prize money is involved???

Feb 6th--Whitney is really good at playing on her own. It's so cute to sneak up on her and hear what she's doing. Today she was "cooking" in her bedroom. I walked in on the middle of a meal and asked her what she had made. "Cotton candy soup." Do you think my kids like sweets?

Feb 11th--During lunch today Brandon was telling me how important it is to be able to "imaginate." He said, "You know, Mom. I'm probably going to be a NASCAR player when I grow up. Since I can't practice yet, I need to imaginate what it will be like to drive a NASCAR and it's kind of like practicing." Watch out Jeff Gordon!

Feb 14th--Brandon watched a movie at school today where they did flashbacks into the past. It was a LONG time ago. "Like in 1981, Mom. Were you 2 years old then?"
Me: "No. I was 4 years old."
B: "When were you 2 years old?"
Me: "In 1979."
B: "Was that during World War Two?"
Oh my gosh! He thinks I'm that old???

Feb 15th--After school today, Brandon was playing with a little flashlight and this is what he had to say, "Troy, Sami, and I are all spies. [those are 2 friends from the bus] And Troy told us that if we have any spy items at home, we should use them to defeat our enemies. So I'm going to use this as one of my spy items." Good imagiNATing, buddy!


I just finished reading a book to Whitney and this is how it ended:
Whatever the weather,
come snow, rain or sun,
Bear always knows
how to have lots of fun!
Brandon was in the next room and called out, "Even in a tornado???"

Feb 18th--We were visiting some friends who had relatives staying with them from out of town. One of the relatives was talking to Brandon and trying to get to know him a little bit. He asked,
"Do you have any pets?" Brandon replied, "No....but I planted some onions in the back yard." Does he think onions and pets are equivalents?

Feb 19th When Brandon woke up this morning he said, "I hardly slept last night. I just kept lying in my bed thinking."
Me: "What were you thinking about?"
B: "What I'm gonna be when I grow up."
Me: "What did you decide?"
B: "Probably a NASCAR driver. Or else I'll work at Avery." [where Andrew works]
Me: "Oh, really? What would you do at Avery?"
B: "What dad does. I'd be a corporate manager."
Two very different job options there, honey.

Whitney had had Singstar songs going through her head all day. I caught her singing Winds of Change. "I follow the Moskva. Down to Porky Park." And Aretha Franklin's RESPECT. "Take care. TCB." So funny to hear those words coming out of a 2-year-old mouth.

Whitney is WAY into dressing up this week. Tonight she got into the beautiful dress Uncle Mark and Taylor gave her for Christmas. She came walking into the kitchen and asked Andrew, "May I have this dance, lovely Prince?" It was SOOOO cute.

They waltzed in the living room
while Andrew performed a rousing rendition of
"I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream."

When the dance was over, Brandon was being kind of rough around Whitney and she told him, "You almost messed up my silky black hair!" When I started laughing about that she explained, "I'm Snow White."

Feb 20th--While eating lunch, I mentioned to Whitney that her daddy takes a ham sandwich to work for lunch every day.
She said, "When I grow up, I'm going to take an apple to work every day."
Me: "What are you going to be when you grow up?"
W: "I'll be bigger."
Me: "Yes, but are you going to be a business woman, or a teacher, or a scientist, or a doctor, or a mailman?" (those were the first examples that came to mind.)
W: "I'm going to be a doctor AND a mailman."
after a few moments to think about it
W: "I'm going to be a stepmother when I grow up."
Do you think she's taking the Cinderella obsession a little bit far?

Feb 23rd--I was driving around with both kids and this was the conversation in the back seat.
W: "I stayed dry all year!" [She's proud of her potty training accomplishments, but gets her days, weeks, and years mixed up. ]
She went on to ask, "Brandon, do you have a bum?" [the usual word for rear end in our family]
B: "Yes. And don't ask me that again. That's nasty."


Feb 25th--Here was today's random comment from the backseat of the car.
B: "Aunt Angie is really strong, huh?"
Me: "Why do you say that?" Not that I'm doubting Angie's strength, just curious where that thought came from.
B: "She pulled out Elise's tooth with her bare hands! She MUST be so strong." We tried to explain that when teeth are loose, it doesn't take that much strength to pull them out. Maybe Angie will have to perform some other feat of strength to affirm his belief.

Feb 27th--In one of Whitney's books today it talked about a "walking stick." You know, like a cane, right? Whitney said, "Sticks don't walk!"

Quick AI thoughts

Yea! The guys on AI finally remembered how to sing. What did my fellow AI fans think? I HOPE, HOPE, HOPE Sanjaya and AJ go home. They were both out of their league tonight. Sanjaya's a nice guy, but come on. He's not AI material. AJ does nothing for me. I think Blake, the beat box guy, is my favorite. And I like Chris, the funny, heavy guy with curly hair. Was everyone as shocked as me about how cute his wife is?

I smell spring

The last two days we have had GLORIOUS weather. It has been sunny and beautiful. We spent the whole afternoon at the park today. I loved it. I can tell spring is right around the corner and I am thirsty for it. I actually saw the first "popcorn" trees of the season on my way to church on Sunday. Wish I would've had my camera then. That's always a fun milestone. Here are some pics from our afternoon.

Who says you can't wear cowgirl boots AND
play soccer at the same time?

Brandon pointed out that the airplanes had been
playing tic tac toe in the sky. The moon could even
be a tiny "O" in the upper left corner.

We always save our bread crusts so the
kids can feed the ducks and geese.
Brandon rode his scooter and likes to just leave
his helmet on, even when he's done riding.
It has come in handy a couple of times!

Yea, Brandon's arm is missing and
Whitney has her fake smile on, but
they're still cute!

Oh, and by the way....in an effort to appease my readers, I have removed the word verification from the comments section. As long as the spam comments stay away, I'll try to leave it that way. Thanks for your input!

Work, work, work

We had a very productive weekend, getting some things done around the house in preparation to sell it. Andrew tackled two big projects. First he had to patch a bunch of drywall holes. We still have to sand and paint those. Then we borrowed a pressure washer from one of our friends and he washed the house. I think it looks really good. While we had the washer, he decided to clean the back patio, too. Oh my gosh. I couldn't believe how dirty that thing was. I hadn't even noticed!

Here he is. Hard at work.
Isn't that an amazing before and after?

The worst part was underneath the kids' sandbox.
It had grown a disgusting ring of mold. Ewwww.

That washer was like magic--all clean again!

Andrew and I have been saving our Christmas money and decided we want to buy a new patio set now. That was our date Saturday night: we went out to dinner and then shopping. We found the set we want, but it won't fit in our car, so we'll have to wait until we can borrow a friend's truck before we purchase it.

While Andrew was working on these two big projects (which took most of the day), I was cleaning and de-junking. The kids were happy that they got to watch tv and play video games while mom and dad worked. :)

We're hoping to have the house up on the market in the next couple of weeks. Originally when we decided to start looking for a new one, we thought we'd try FOR SALE BY OWNER for a couple months, just to see what happened. It's not like we have a deadline or are getting transferred, right? But as the time draws closer to actually putting it up, I'm having hestitations. I don't think we're knowledgeable enough to do it ourselves. How would I show the house? What if we make a mistake? It's nerve-racking. Maybe we'll just end up going through a realtor. I'm still not sure. I'd love to save those commission fees.

Church went pretty well yesterday. I can't remember if I told you about my new responsibility there--I now teach the 14 and 15 year old young women. I am SO excited about it. Last week was my first lesson with them and it went really well. They are very fun and we had some good discussions. This week I only had two girls and one of them didn't feel well, so wasn't into participating much. Hopefully next week will go better.

Brandon wore a little sportcoat to church yesterday. Grandma Cuca gave it to him a long time ago, but he's just now growing into it. He looked so handsome. I should've taken a picture! He got lots of compliments, too. "You look so sharp!" "Nice jacket." "You look like you're ready to go on a mission." This morning he got dressed for school in jeans and a polo shirt and asked, "Mom, can I wear this jacket to school today?" I tried to convince him that it didn't match and wouldn't be appropriate PE attire. "Aw, man. But I wanted to look nice."

Last Thursday, I got to go into Brandon's kindergarten class to do a dental health presentation there. They'd already had two hygiene students talk to the class, so I thought we'd do a dental experiment involving an egg, toothpaste, and vinegar that shows the effects of fluoride. It was really fun to be in Brandon's class. He's such a cute kid. I had the class sit in the circle area and reviewed a little bit about why it's important to brush, etc. I'm very much into class participation, so if a child would raise his/her hand, we would talk about whatever happened to come up. I'd be a terrible school teacher. We'd just be off on tangents all day. Anyway, one little boy raised his hands and asked about gold teeth. All of the other kids got really into that question. "Do you still have to brush your teeth if you get gold teeth?" Well, they can't get cavities, but you can still get gum disease, so yes, you have to brush. "If I get a gold tooth and it falls out, with a gold tooth grow back?" No, sorry. "What happens to your gold teeth when you die?" Well, they usually just stay in your mouth.

It was so funny. I'm sure all the kids went home and told their parents that they learned about gold teeth in school that day. Hope the experiment sunk in a little bit.

Whitney update

Whitney was THRILLED to go see her "boyfriend" [her words] Dr. Buckley yesterday. She seriously gets giddy when we go there. It cracks me up.

They got a new toy in the waiting room
Both kids were excited about that.

We got good news. Her eyes are very well aligned, which is wonderful. We see three different people when we go up there--a nurse[?], and two doctors. The first doctor (before Buckley) was very excited about Whit's alignment. He raved, "She looks SO good. The surgery did exactly what it should've done. Her eyes are really straight!" It was very comforting to hear such positive reports. Dr. Buckley is much more laid back. "Yep. She's looking pretty good so far. Let's see her again in 3 or 4 months."

Personally, I'm still a little worried. They always test her vision when we go up and she tested 20/30 in one eye (which is where she should be) and 20/40 in the other. It's not THAT big of a difference, right? But, I'm afraid that if her right eye is just a little weaker than she's going to start favoring that left eye and develop lazy eye again by the time we go back in June. I hope I'm wrong. I hope she'll continue to learn how to use her eyes together now that they are aligned correctly and that things will look great when we go back.

Toward the end of the visit, Whitney excitedly said, "This is such a great appointment!" It even made mellow Dr. Buckley laugh. :)

My latest project

I loved to hear what bugged everyone. Thanks for sharing. You guys have some good ones!

Since moving Whitney into her new room, her walls have been completely bare. We had to do something about that. I made an attempt at being creative and painted these:

What do you think?

I'm happy with the way they turned out. I bought letter stencils for the words and printed a paisley off the internet and fashioned into a home-made stencil for the embellishment. They add a little flair to her walls. Very fun.

Andrew and I went out for our Valentine's date this weekend. We went the traditional route--a nice dinner. We got reservations at one restaurant. But then when we got there found out that we'd still have a 30 minute wait, even with the reservation. What's up with that? Why take a reservation if you don't really mean it? It was annoying. We walked out and found a yummy Japanese restaurant right down the street. Our waitress was a really cute middle-aged Asian woman. I think she had a crush on Andrew. She told him, "I'll give you a special price on that dish." and kind of winked at him. Usually Andrew teases me that he can't let me out on the town alone, but now I'm thinking I better keep my eye on HIM. :)

Lovebirds

Whitney has her appt with Dr. Buckley this afternoon. Hope it goes well. I think her eyes have been looking well-aligned lately. I really hope he agrees. I'll keep you posted.

Things that bug me

In an effort to keep balance in the universe (and on my blog), I am publishing this list of things that bug me to accompany my list of things that I love. Feel free to add some of your pet peeves and annoyances.

1. When you get to the bottom of the cereal box and end up with a bunch of sugar crystals in your bowl. I realize I could avoid this by purchasing non-sugary cereals, but I'm not willing to make that sacrifice.

2. Wet socks.

3. Having to wait in line for extended periods of time.

4. Customer service workers who are rude. How did they get their jobs? And, more importantly, how do they keep them?

5. Zits. Aren't we supposed to grow out of this stage? When I was a teenager, I didn't think adults got zits. As an adult, I've found that's not true.

6. Bad drivers. Sometimes I have to include myself in this category.

7. When my checkbook doesn't balance.

8. Cleaning up toothpaste that my kids manage to get all over the bathroom.

9. Dirty dishes.

10. Movies that could be really good, but then they throw in a skanky part or excessive cussing and ruin the whole thing for me.

11. Being cold. Winter is rough on me.

12. Bad hair days.

13. Litter bugs. It's extra annoying when people throw cigarette butts out of their windows as they're driving. That happens a lot around here.

14. Being late. I'm more bugged by myself when I'M running late than by others when they are.

15. Gilbert Godfried.

16. The TV shows Big Brother, Desperate Housewives, the OC, and The Bachelor.

17. When my internet connection is having problems.

18. When I forget to take the trash or recycling out to the curb and we miss our pick up.

19. When I leave a load of laundry in the dryer for a long time and the clothes get wrinkles that are impossible to get out.

20. Attending a sporting event when you end up next to fans who are mean, throw things, are excessively loud, or curse. Once someone poured beer in the hood of my jacket--while I was wearing it. Gross! Another time we ended up next to a woman who was completely hounding all of the Lakers. She would scream at the top of her lungs, "KOOO-BEEEE! DEEEEER-EEEK! SHAAAA---AAAAQ!" It was the only Lakers game I've ever been to and she almost ruined the experience.

21. When my car breaks down and the mechanic tells me it's going to cost a fortune to fix it. I feel so clueless and naive. Sometimes I get a second opinion. Other times I just have to take their word for it.

22. When I buy produce and it doesn't taste good.

23. Thin corneas that make it so I can't get LASIK.

24. When I have the perfect shot set up for a photo and then my camera's batteries die. This happens ALL THE TIME. Very annoying.

25. Waking up with a kink in my neck.

26. Hangnails.

27. Burning my tongue on food/drink that is too hot and then not being able to taste anything for the next several days.

Our Valentine adventures

We had a good Valentine's day. How about you? The best part--bishopric was cancelled, so we got to have Andrew home. Yippee! Andrew and I never go out ON Valentine's night. Places are always so crowded. So, we decided to have a family celebration last night and will go out for a romantic dinner this weekend.

We went to a cute little Mom and Pop place for dinner. We'd never been there. It was pretty good. Brandon got chocolate chip pancackes
which he enjoyed immensely.
You can see the remnants in his teeth!

After dinner, we visited our favorite family fun spot--Chuck E. Cheese. It was so fun to hang out on a Wed night with all of us together.

We hurried home, exchanged gifts, got the kids in bed and then the doorbell rang. It was almost 9 pm and that seemed weird. Andrew answered it and we'd been HEART ATTACKED!

Isn't that the cutest thing?
It was so thoughtful and sweet.
And it was anonymous, which is always fun.

This writing reminded me of my best friend's, Marianne's.
I don't think she drove all the way up from Missisippi to do it, though.

The card was addressed to "Bishop" and family, so
I'm guessing it was someone from the ward.
If the Heart Attacker(s) happen to be blog readers,
THANK YOU!!! We loved it!

After that we settled in for some good TV. I don't get American Idol. They DRAGGED out those terrible audition shows for SOOOO LONG then they give us two hours from Hollywood week? What's up with that???? I was disappointed.

And LOST was soooooo good last night. My blood pressure skyrockets when I watch that show. It was completely crazy last night. That lady in the jewelry store freaked me out. And at the end when Desmond was telling Charlie that you can't change things....oh my gosh. Chills down my spine! Love it. Love it. Love it. Can't wait for next Wed.

PS I'm still on a break from my class while I wait for my papers to be received in Utah and graded. That's why I've had so much time to blog! :)

Happy Valentines Day

In honor of this holiday of LOVE, I thought I'd do a post with some of the things that I love. And, no, they're not all mushy and romantic. I'll save those ones for Andrew's eyes only. :)

1. Beautiful sunsets.

2. Meteor showers.

3. Scented candles--especially ones that smell like cinnamon or baked goods.

4. Cheesecake.

5. The beach.

6. When Andrew walks up behind me and starts massaging my shoulders.
He's good at that!

7. Snuggling with my kids when they first wake up in the morning.

8. Unexpected cards or letters(or checks!) in the mail.

9. Road trips.

10. Putting the kids to bed and then watching a show with Andrew
that we both enjoy--Lost, Survivor, Amazing Race.

11. Saturday night dates.

12. Wearing cute sandals when my toenails are painted.

13. New jewelry. Or old jewelry that's really fun.

14. Putting away clean laundry.

15. Scrapbooking.

16. When I've had a rough day with the kids and Andrew
comes home and says, "Do you need a little 'Andi time'? Why
don't you go shopping and I'll put the kids to bed."
How can I say no to that? What a great husband.

17. Long conversations on the phone that make me belly laugh.

18. My big, fluffy pillow. (No, I don't have an oversized noggin.)

19. Watching Andrew play basketball. Especially when he hits
a big shot or has a sweet block.

20. Whitney's hair.


21. Brandon's giggle. It's contagious.


22. Playing the piano.


23. When the pear and dogwood trees are in bloom. Gorgeous.


24. Picnics.

25. Cleaning someone's teeth when they're really dirty.
It's so satisfying to make a difference.

26. Selling things on eBay.

27. Buying things on eBay.

28. Hot showers.

29. Bargain shopping

30. Running into a friend when I didn't expect to.

31. Looking at photos of when the kids were smaller.
Especially when the kids are looking with me.
Very cute to see their expressions.

32. Growing a little veggie garden in the backyard every year.

33. Singing along with a great song on the radio.

34. How excited my kids get when Andrew comes home from work.

35. Playing board games with friends or extended family.

(I was going to try to come up with 43 things and make that MY lucky number, but I have run out of good ideas and am tired of trying to think of more.)

Fantasy hoops, anyone?

I love fantasy sports. Football is my favorite, but basketball is fun, too. My dad and I are in a basketball league that is just for the 2nd half of the NBA season. It starts Feb 20th. Does anyone want to join us? We play through The Sporting News. If you want to play with us, go to sportingnews.com and click on "Fantasy Hoops: Season 2 FREE". You'll have to create a log in and password if you're new. Our league is called "East coast vs. the west". So far it's just me, my dad, and some stranger who has all these records and is probably going to kick our tails. We'd love to have more competition!

Also, I am very happy to announce that I made my first Craig's list sale this weekend. I decided to try to sell a Little Tikes slide that my kids are outgrowing and our old camcorder. I posted them both late on Friday night. Three different people e-mailed on Sat morning about the slide and it sold Sat afternoon. No one has been interested in the camcorder. Darn. I might have to try eBay instead. Very fun!

Our day home from church

We skipped church today. I felt good about that decision this morning and I still think it was the right choice to make, but I kinda feel like a slacker at the same time. The kids are both sick. They both have those yucky barking coughs and then Whitney has had a fever on top of that for the past couple of days. I was hoping they'd be better this morning, but when Whit woke up, she still had a slight fever, so we decided to stay home. They both seem fine now, other than the occasional deep cough.

So, it has been my job to entertain two semi-sick munchkins in the house all day. It is exhausting, but has been pretty fun, too. We started out with an informal little church lesson. It was about where we came from, why we're here and where we're going when we die. We had three little stations around the house and the kids brought bags to pack with items representing their spirit bodies, physical bodies, the gospel, the Savior, etc. I got the idea from the Friend magazine. It went pretty well. Then we played a couple of games. Ate snacks. Did a puzzle. Then I told the kids to play on their own while I scrapbooked. Yea, I'm a great mom. :) I did one layout and when I came out of my room to check on them, they were both on Brandon's bed with a suitcase and two backpacks.

Brandon told me they were playing a game called "ADVENTURE."

"It's kind of like Survivor. We're in an airplane and we travel around the world learning different languages and stuff." (I think he has Survivor, the Amazing Race, and serving a mission all mixed up together.) It was almost lunch time and he told me they could fly to Subway (the kitchen) for lunch. While we were eating he asked Whitney, "Where in the whole world should we go next, Whitney? New York? Utah?" She responded, "Taco Bell."

I'm glad they were playing so well together. It's amazing what a little non-TV time can do.

Circus, singstar, more potty progress

**edit**Sorry about the confusion with the videos. Thanks for the tip, Shelley. I've made them public now, so hopefully you can view them. Let me know if they still don't work. **end edit**

Yesterday, Brandon and I had a really fun day. His class took a field trip to the circus. I had a friend watch Whitney and tagged along. It was really fun. I love that he's still young enough to get excited when I'm around his friends, not embarassed. He even likes to give me hugs in front of them. How long does this last?

Here we are before the show.

There must have been thousands of elementary school students there. I don't know how they worked this out, but they brought along snacks for the kids and each kid has packed a lunch from home that they got to eat during intermission. I wish they allowed that every time we went to an event at the coliseum. It would be so much more affordable!

The show was good. This was Brandon's third circus. The first one was really good, the second was so-so, and this one was in between. One thing that really bugged me: the circus was brought to us by a sponsor. So, they spent the first 5 minutes talking about the sponsor and how to make their product part of a family tradition. (No, I won't do them the favor of mentioning who the sponsor was.) Then they had the whole coliseum chanting the sponsor's name like we were cheering for a basketball game. I thought it was ridiculous.

Our favorite part:

The CUTE little trained dogs, like this one jumping rope in a bright green tutu.

They also had one that could ride a scooter, several that could do flips, one that could walk on her front paws. They were adorable! I also liked the Chinese acrobats and Brandon liked the BMX rider.

While Andrew was gone to Bishopric this week, the kids and I played a little singstar. Here are three little movie clips of the kids singing. I think they are hilarious! The first two are just short little blurbs, about 30 seconds each of the kids singing "Winds of Change". The last one is more like 2 minutes, just long enough for them to sing the whole "Song 2" by Blur. They start hamming it up for the camera in that one.

Yes, singstar has brought hours of entertainment to our house. :)

Whitney has been doing AWESOME with potty training. She has been wearing big girl panties ALL WEEK long (except when she takes naps and goes to bed at night) and has only had ONE accident that whole time. She has an amazing bladder and can hold it for 3 or 4 hours at a time. Never had that experience with Brandon.

Did everyone watch LOST???? Oh my gosh. That is the best show on TV right now. LOVE IT! It's so fun to finally be getting some answers and trying to put things together. I was pretty creeped out by the thought that all of these experiments on the islands have to do with pregnancy. Is that what you got out of that scientist's presentation to Juliet? Was anyone else sure that her ex-husband was going to come back to life in the morgue? I was so tense during that whole scene.

Hygienist for a day, book review, preschool

February is National Dental Health Month. I got to be a hygienist for the day today and volunteered at Brandon's old preschool to talk to the kids about oral health. I loved it! I did it last year, too, and am friends with the director, so she asked me to come back. I taught three classes that lasted about 15 minutes each. The kids ranged in age from 3-5. Some of them were talkers--wanted to tell me all about their older sister who had a cavity or their spiderman toothbrush at home. Very cute. There were a couple that were so shy they wouldn't even tell me their names.
I get all decked out in my scrubs. This is the only time I wear them anymore. They're so comfy. Practicing hygienists are lucky that they get to wear them every day. I think I will also get to volunteer in Brandon's kindergarten class later this month.

So, while I was at Brandon's old preschool, Andrew was at a different preschool trying to get Whitney in there. I loved Brandon's preschool, but wanted to get Whitney into a two day program for next year and they only have a 3 day. This school I wanted to get into usually fills up every year, so they hold a lottery. I called yesterday and they told me that there were only 2 spots left in the 2 day program. I thought our chances were slim, but sent Andrew down there anyway. Out of all of the lottery participants, our name was the FIRST one drawn. Woo hoo. That's exciting to think of Whitney going to preschool in the fall. I think she'll do great. Fun for her. And maybe with my extra time I could finish my degree in 4 1/2 years instead of 5!

Just finished reading a book--The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. I've never seen the play. I did watch the movie once, but I think I was sleepy because I only vaguely remember it. Now that I've finished I want to rent it again. For me, it was a little confusing at the beginning. I couldn't keep the characters straight in my mind, so I wasn't quite sure what was going on. By the end, I really enjoyed it. It was pretty tense for a while!

Here I thought today was the last audition day for American Idol and I was SO ready to move on to Hollywood. No--they tricked us! They saved some of the best and worst for tonight. Andrew's thrilled. I'm bummed. I loved the guy who sang Amazing Grace last night. He sang terribly, of course the judges said no. He took it very well and then as he was leaving told them, "I'm going to talk some trash when I walk out, but that's just for the cameras." Cracked me up!
Also, it's the MUCH anticipated return of Lost tonight. I can't wait!!!

I finished all my coursework for my class. Yippee. I had to mail in a portfolio of my written assignments yesterday. I have to wait until they receive that at BYU and then I can request my final. I found a proctor here who won't charge me a fee, so that's awesome. Previously, I thought I was going to have to pay $10/hr to take them at a college testing center. I would end up being just like Brandon--taking my tests as fast as I could, so I wouldn't have to pay more. :)

Three little notes

1. Potty training milestone: Whitney wore big girl panties all day Saturday and did not have ANY accidents. This was somewhat by accident. I am too wimpy to take her out in public without a pull-up. I just hate cleaning up potty messes and it's even worse when you're not in your own home. Andrew got her dressed on Sat and he just left her in her panties when we left for Brandon's basketball game. She did awesome! I'm so proud of her.

Way to go, big girl!

2. I just finished putting together an academic calendar for my BYU class. As of right now, I have 33 credits left and should graduate in December of 2011. Yea, that sounds kind of far away, but not too bad. I actually petitioned to have some of my UVSC credits count toward one of my General Ed requirements, so maybe I'll only have 30 left if they approve it. We'll see. Kind of exciting to have an end goal in mind, even if it is five years away.

3. Brandon gave a talk in Primary yesterday on faith in Jesus Christ. He rocked. He is the best little public speaker and loves being in the spotlight. I got several compliments. "He's ready to speak in Sacrament Meeting." "He puts the 10 and 11-year-olds to shame." Good job, B-train!

Taxes and remodeling

I LOVE doing my taxes. Is anyone else like me? I use TurboTax online and, honestly, every year I do them as soon as I get the paperwork. Usually I can have them done by the end of Jan. This year SallieMae was very slow with the student loan info and I had to wait until Feb 1st. I was slightly bitter, but am over it now. We're going to be good this year and just save our refund, hopefully to be used as part of a down payment on a house...

The preparations on this house are coming along. Here are some pics of the kids room. Here is a "before" picture of their bedroom.

This isn't the best photo.
It was very crowded with about 3 feet
of space between their beds and that was it.
Basically used for sleeping and dressing--
nothing else.

I forgot to take a before picture of the playroom. It was usually a big mess with toys scattered all over. The kids would clean it every night and then by 10 am the next morning it would be a disaster again.

Here are the after photos:
Here is Whitney's room. I love it. The red lamp and gingham
lampshade are my favorites. I think the computer has to go.
I want to trash it. Andrew wants to keep it. We'll see what happens.
She has plenty of room to play in here with her dress-ups and kitchen.
She's very happy with it. I feel bad that it's the coldest room in the house.

Here are a couple shots of Brandon's room.
He has a little bit of room to play, too.
The coolest part is the little desk that fits under his bed.
In this first photo, it is out.
But, when he's not using it, he can slide it under.
It's on a little track underneath the bed. Very cool.
He uses it to do his homework every afternoon and
then puts it away when he's done.

We bought Brandon's bed a couple of months before Whitney
was born. This desk was part of the package, but we didn't have
room for it before. Andrew and Brandon built it last weekend.
B was a good helper. It was cute to see the two of them working together.

Out of the mouths of babes--January

*Jan 6th--While riding bikes outside: Brandon, "I'm faster than a snake. I'm like twenty percent faster!" A few minutes later: Whitney, "I'm faster than a worm!" I think both statements were accurate.


*Jan 7th--Sunday morning, while getting ready for church: Me, "Whit, are you excited to go to nursery this morning? To see Sister Moorefield and your friends?" Whit, "Yea! They're gonna be so happy to see me!"

Love those heels, girl!

*Jan 8th--While reading the scriptures together tonight, we read the word "bondage." Andrew asked Brandon, "Do you know what bondage is?" Brandon thought for a minute and replied, "Is it like being married?" ha ha

*Jan 9th--The kids got a Sing-along-songs video for Christmas. Whitney was watching it today and it talked about someone being a "party animal." We're in the midst of trying to potty train (again) and when I asked her if she needed to go potty she said, "I'm a potty animal!"

*Another great quote Whitney has been using lately (from one of her books, Fancy Nancy), "My family is NOT posh!" Well, the book actually says that Nancy's family IS posh, but I guess we don't qualify.

*Jan 12th--Whitney has started to reach the point where she doesn't like to go down for her naps. She almost always still sleeps for two hours, so I know she needs them, but she just resists a little bit when it's time to actually lay in her bed. Today she said, "I hate sleep. Sleep is simply boh-ing.[boring] I don't want to sleep in a tree."

*Jan 13th--at the Bobcats game. Both of our kids love the cheer...often too loudly for the other fans around us. You know that cheer that goes duh-duh-duh-DUH-duh-duh...CHARGE!? Instead of "charge," Whitney was yelling "GEORGE!" at the end. Too cute.

*Jan 14th--in sacrament meeting at church. One of the speakers just used the phrase, "I felt like a million bucks." Brandon leaned over to me and said, "I guess he felt like the Imperial Star Destroyer. It costs a million bucks." Oh, boy. A little too much Star Wars Legos on the PS2, I think.

*Jan 15th--Monday night Family Home Evening. We had a lesson on temples, given by Brandon, and then had ice cream for our treat afterward. Brandon had a mixture of 3 different kinds. (Yes, we often have 3 or more different kinds in our freezer.) He said, "This is so good, we should start making packs of it and putting it in hygiene kits because those people don't have any food." (We made some hygiene kits several months ago as part of a service project for church. He has been talking about them a lot lately.) Andrew asked, "How would we keep the ice cream cold?" B: "With ice packs or something."

A few minutes later, while still eating our treats B said, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool if there was a temple transformer? Like 2 guys that could transform into a temple?" Hmmmm....might be a little irreverent. What do you think?

*Jan 18th--Whitney has named our car "Sally," after the Porsche in the movie CARS. Brandon tried to tell her that we don't drive a Porsche, but she doesn't understand. Whenever we go out in a parking lot, she calls for the car, "Where are you Sally?" And this week she is really affectionate toward Sally, giving her "hugs" and kisses when we go outside. This can't be normal.

Also a future NASCAR lover???

After storytime at the library today, we were checking out some books. We have one young male librarian, who looks like you might picture a young male librarian looking. (read: he's a little nerdy) Whitney said, "He looks like Napoleon." I was so surprised and couldn't help laughing. I didn't know she knew who Napoleon was. But it was a pretty accurate statement. And, no, I don't think he heard her.

Our local librarian?

*Jan 19th--In the house attempting to potty train. OK, this was not my proudest parenting moment, but I'll share anyway. I put Whit on the toilet this morning. She went pee. Yippee. Then she was in the bathroom washing her hands before I had put panties or a diaper back on her. I was in the kitchen and she came out and said, "Oh, I have to go potty." We went back into the bathroom and she proceeded to pee all over the bathroom floor. She had just gone in the toilet less than 5 minutes before! I was not happy. I said in a stern voice (which I rarely have to use with her), "Whitney, you know you are supposed to go in the toilet! We don't pee on the floor!" She got SO upset. She totally started crying and said, "I thought we were a family forever!" Oh my gosh. Talk about heart-wrenching. I even asked her to repeat herself because I've never heard her say that before. Yep, that's what she said. Raising my voice at her made her think we weren't going to be a forever family anymore. That's not true, is it??? (If so, we're in big trouble.)

*Jan 25th--Brandon's basketball practice. We were sitting on the sidelines watching Brandon practice. I had brought some books and snacks to help entertain Whitney. I guess it wasn't enough. She started pretending her water bottle was "Baby Clara." She was rocking the water bottle and singing a lullaby to "her." It was so cute. What an imagination! Then the next morning she got a water bottle out of the fridge and started doing the same thing. She even put Baby Clara to bed for a nap. I promise, she does have dolls to play with. :)

*Jan 27th--The house in a state of disarray as we rearrange the kids' bedrooms. Even though this old computer has been in the playroom forever, I guess the new spot made it a novel item for Whitney. I overheard her say, "I need to check my e-mail." Then she sat at the computer and began "typing." Funny the phrases she picks up from us.