Ode to the Hot Car

This is an ode to our trusty Nissan maxima,
It was given to us upon marriage by Clint's pa and ma.
We'll miss your maroon fading paint on the hood,
And the rear spoiler that made us feel sporty and good.
Without AC, we affectionately called you "the hot car"
We'd sweat as we drove a short way or far
We'll never forget you, the crazed windows, the drama-
It's because of you that I'm sometimes called "lead foot mama"
So good luck driving your new owner around,
A better car than you is not likely to be found.














Okay so I think we actually did find it- I don't have a picture right now, but we are loving the hot car's replacement. Clint's new Toyota Tundra is so much fun. We are having a great time enjoying "Dad's truck." We're enjoying all the perks of having a truck. We went camping last weekend and threw all our gear and our bikes in the back. Last night we went to a drive in movie and watched it from the back all cozy. And of course there are all the wood projects that Clint has been postponing until he had a truck to get the supplies. And of course, we now feel like true Texans with a truck parked in the driveway (only because we can't fit it in the garage).

Lots of fun on Halloween

The characters:

Lindsay the ballerina- "treats" "tank you" "Weeen!"

Kayla the pink angel- "Can we go trick or treating again tomorrow?"

Josh the archer- "I'm not Robin Hood, I'm just a regular archer. Look at my new bow."

Jana the cavewoman- Most often heard "What exactly are you?" I even had a name- "Hugga Hugga the cave woman" and the name stuck. Lindsay says it atleast once a day.

Millions of spiders, a toad, 4 slugs, 3 mice and a hissing lizard

"I am a brave, strong woman." This is what I kept repeating to myself the other day as I was weeding what we call "the garden." The garden is actually a spot in our backyard that Clint put wood around so that I could attempt to grow some veggies. He built it for me over a year and a half ago and so far it has been a dump pile and garden of weeds. The weeds were so healthy they were over the fence so I knew it was time to take action.

For motivation and inspiration I took at class at Tomball College on Fall Gardening. It did it for me and the next Saturday I attacked that spot with a vengeance. I was shoveling and ripping those weeds out and sweating like crazy, but I was going to do it. The problem with it was there were a ton of spiders nested down in the weeds. I kept coming across holes full of spiders. Did I already mention I'm scared to death of spiders. As a child I wouldn't kill one, I would just stand on my bed and scream for someone else to come kill it. I was so proud of myself for staying out there and picking weeds and spiders.

And then the other things appeared. A toad jumped right out at me and I screamed. "Oh, just a toad, calm down Jana." Then came the slugs. Big oohey, slimey slugs. I calmly chopped them in half with the shovel. I was super crawly already when a mouse sent me screaming through the yard. The neighbor came out and yelled at her dog, and I determined I wasn't going to stop now, after all, I was a brave, strong woman. 2 mice later, I was almost done. I only had one little patch left. I was feeling very strong, but I was also shaking from my encounters with all these awful things we have in Houston.

And then, I went to pick up a brick ( I told you it was also our dump pile) and a lizard was on it and it hissed at me. That was it- I was done. I threw down my things and went inside and had a very long shower to try to wash the memory away. The lizard defeated me, but how much can a brave, strong woman take?

What are your talents?

I gave my kids journals recently so they could start being good examples to me. I love to write, but it is one of those things I just don't take time for. We've designated the time after church on Sunday for journal writing. Since it is still new and exciting, Josh and Kayla came home from church and wanted to write before they ate. I thought they were crazy and told them I wouldn't help them until I had food in my belly.

Josh had a lesson on talents in church today so he decided to write his talents in his journal and thus, Kayla did too. I loved it! I wish I had as much confidence as my kids. I think we all need to do better at recognizing what we are good at. Josh put that he was good at bicycling (because he just learned to ride his bike), reading, school, making friends and swimming. Kayla had me write for her. She said she was good at playing with friends, inviting friends over, doing the dishes and cleaning bathrooms (future Homemaker of America).

I've been thinking a lot about how to help my kids recognize what they are good at lately because Josh is getting to the age that he really is recognizing he's not as good at some things as others. The other day we were outside with the neighbor kids and two little girls, both a year younger than him, were making fun of him because he still rode a bike with training wheels (mostly my fault- we just hadn't taken the time to help him). They had been bugging him about it for a few weeks and I guess he had had enough. He said, "Well I can read chapter books. I can read 13 chapters in one day." I almost gave him a lecture on being humble, but then I realized that what he had done was great! He recognized what he was good at and stood up for himself.

So a few good things came out of that for me- I learned to let my kids be proud of their accomplishments, and we finally took the time to help Josh learn to ride his bike.

My funny kids

I love the little things my kids say to make me laugh. The other day while we were eating dinner I asked Kayla to hand me her plate. She put one hand behind her back, bowed her head, handed me her plate and said, "Why certainly my highness." Josh then shook his head, laughed, rolled his eyes and said, "Oh Kayla, you are somethin' else."

Lindsay doesn't have to even come up with anything clever to make us laugh. She just says, "right mom?" and we all start to giggle. I love it when they are learning to talk and imitate everything we say. I was helping Josh spell a word today and she kept repeating the letters. We also love the way she says yes. She sounds like she's German. It's more of a "Yaw."

T.P.ing- is that really a verb?

Vacation Story #2
Much to my dismay my youngest sister Carlie had never been toilet papering. She just started her senior year of high school today (hope it went great Car!) I was a little concerned about my siblings and I failing to help her experience everything Idaho has to offer in high school. So I told her she was in charge of picking someone to t.p. and I would gather the troops. Here we are as we set out on our adventure. So all of us in the back are married with children, but who says with that comes responsibility? There are few things in life as exhilarating as watching a flying roll. I definitely got a rush when the motion light came on, and we all took off and hid in the weeds. So maybe it was a little juvenile, but it was worth the sacrifice for my sister. If you've never had the experience, give me a call.

Lots of 3's about Linds

Emily tagged me so here it goes.

3 things that scare me:

--Kayla's toy "Woody" doll from toy story. It isn't right for a doll to talk. And it isn't nice to chase me around with it either, but that doesn't stop her.

• --dogs
• --Mommy wishes I was scared of heights, but I'm not and I love to climb and go down big slides.

3 people that make me laugh:

• Josh when he chases me
• Kayla when she plays with me
• Dad when he gives me horsie rides

3 things I love:

• my "pasher" and "blanky" (pacifier and blanket)
• my new tye-dye shirt from Aunt Carlie- I wish Mom would never wash it.
• shoes- especially flip flops that belong to someone else

3 things I hate:

• When Mom doesn't let me play the computer.
• When someone takes away pasher and blanky.
• When I can't have treats and "nacks" all day long.

3 things I don't understand:

• Why I can't have 3 baths a day- I get dirty just so I can have another one.
• Why Mom keeps trying to put my hair back in pony tails after I pull them out.
• Why my family can't stop kissing me. I know I'm cute, but come on, give me a break.

3 things on my floor:

• my favorite clothes that I like to carry around- why does Mom keep putting them away?
• my baby and her blanky
• Barbies and ponies- I share a room with my sister.

3 things I'm doing right now:

• Waking up from my nap.
• Wondering why Mom doesn't come get me.
• Hoping she doesn't take away pasher and blanky.

3 ways to describe my personality:

• Crazy and nuts
• Tons of fun
• Adventurous

3 things you should listen to:

• Josh snorting when he laughs
• Me singing like Ariel- I'm getting pretty good.
• Grandpa being a monkey.

3things you should never listen to:

• Mom saying to stop.
• Mom saying it's time to come inside.
• Mom saying no.

3 things I want to do before I die (in other words three things my mom wishes for me):

• Grow old gracefully
• Live life happily
• Play with others nicely

3 things I love to eat:

• icecream
• raisins
• cereal with milk

3 things I'd like to learn:

• To make the pedals on the tricycle go around by myself
• How to work the mouse on the laptop.
• How to get both of my feet off the ground at the same time when I jump.

3 shows I watch (or listen to as I run around playing or getting into things):

• I don't really get a turn to choose between Kayla and Josh, but it doesn't bother me. I don't really like to watch tv.

3 babies I tag: I think everyone I know has been tagged. We're a little slow.

Wormin' Woman of the Year

I'm back from completely and totally checking out from reality. Okay, so I was still a somewhat responsible mother for the month I was away visiting family, but I got to say goodbye to a few of my cares for awhile, and with that went my blogging. So much to catch up on, so I'll take it a day at a time. It was wonderful to see so many family members and friends in Idaho and Utah. We were able to see everyone in Clint's family as well as mine, which is very rare these days.

Story #1 from vacation: WORMING

Snake River Valley, Idaho has it's quirks. A few worth mentioning: school lets out for a two week potato harvest vacation the first of Oct., swimming in the summer is done in irrigation canals instead of swimming pools, and worming.

Worming is one of those things you don't know how weird it is until you leave, because it is completely normal to see your neighbors up early picking multitudes of worms out of the dewy grass or pasture. So this is what it is: You fill a big barrel with water and add a chemical called "wormer" into it. Then you dump out the barrel on your lawn or pasture and prepare yourself with a bucket and your fingers to start picking. The chemical somehow makes the worms surface because it takes the oxygen out of the ground. You pick worms as quickly as you can and put them in your bucket before the chemical wears off and they go back in the ground. You have about 5-10 minutes for prime picking, and then you fill the barrel and do it again.

Why would anyone do this? Well, what else--money. You take the worms to the bait shop and sell them. If the bait shops have an excess, they will still buy them and the rumor is they send them to Japan where they feed the earthworms rice meal until they turn translucent and you guessed it- they are a delicacy.

My darling children got to worm with some of the best in the business-- my parents. My mother may be the only woman alive with a worming trophy. It is a cup with gummy worms in it and it says, "Wormin Woman of the Year." That was a few years back she earned that, but she hasn't lost the touch. My children learned from the best, but they weren't the best wormers around. Josh did okay the first day because the worms were so Grandpa could take him fishing. The next day we did it for $$ and Josh was too cold and too tired, but the slime didn't bother him. Kayla, on the other hand, thought they were too slimy, but she held the bucket and pointed out where the rest of us should pick up the worms. So here are some photos of our experience- the worming and the fishing. And just for the record we made around $40 in a couple hours. I can't remember the total, but not too shabby. And yes, those are worms.

My handy husband

My manly, tool-bearing man just made bunk beds! Okay, not just, he's been in the process of making bunk beds for 6 months, but he's done! And they are great. The kids are so excited. We were going to put one bed in Josh's room and one bed in Kayla's and Lindsay's room for now, but they were too excited to have them stacked, so now we have 3 kids in one room. Bedtime just got even more exhausting. I didn't think that was possible, but at least they are excited to go to bed. We're hoping that lasts a couple more days.

Kayla really wants to sleep in the top bunk, but for now we are only letting Josh. Kayla is a wild sleeper. The deal is she has to stay in her bed for a whole night before she can sleep in the top bunk. She might be 10 before that happens. We always find her in the funniest sleeping positions. Here are a couple places we've found her asleep.



















She always starts out in her bed, but she never ends up there. It's usually the floor, so last night being her first night in a new bed, we weren't surprised that she wasn't in her bed this morning, but I did start to panic when I couldn't find her. First I looked in to the side of the bed and all over her room, including the closet then I searched the whole upstairs. No Kayla. I was getting nervous. I thought maybe she had climbed to the top bunk with Josh so I went back to her room, but she wasn't on the top bunk. That was when I thought to look under the bed. Sure enough, she was right in the middle of the bed underneath it, in a perfectly straight line. She's a nut! I didn't get a picture this morning, but these give you a pretty good idea, that this is not a rare occurance.

Clint is now outside cleaning the garage because he's determined to park both cars in it after six months of only having space for one because of all the wood and tools. This is not the Texas way of doing things we realize, but I'll save that subject for another blog.

I like meat

The other night at the dinner table my kids discovered that animals are the meat we eat. We were having hamburger in what we were eating and somehow it came up that it was cow that we were putting in our mouths. Kayla and her friend Nikelle didn't believe us. "No, we don't eat cows." And they laughed. Lindsay said, "Moo." And Josh decided to be the expert on the subject. He told us that bacon comes from pigs to which Kayla laughed again, "Noooo it's not." He continued, "And the hamburger between the bun is cow and the hotdog between the bun is. . ." He paused and got a horrified look on his face. "Dog?" Then Kayla and Nikelle were really wondering what we were feeding them, and even our animal/meat expert was stumped. So we laughed and tried to convince them that we don't eat dogs. Luckily we never got into what is really in hotdogs, because that probably wouldn't have helped the situation.

The Flailing Arms

I have the ability to laugh at myself frequently so I thought I'd share some photos so you can get a good laugh too. This is me completing my first triathlon on Saturday. What an experience! It was hard, but it felt great to accomplish it. For the entire week before I did it, I was so nervous that I just kept thinking, "What in the world am I doing? This is crazy!" But I did it, and I'm already talking about when I do it again. I think I'm hooked. It was what they call a sprint tri, so the distances were all managable. It was a 300 yd swim, 15 mile bike and 3 mile run.

I decided I would train for one in January when a friend talked me into joining a triathon club at the YMCA. The only hold back for me was that I had to learn to swim. I used to be able to swim a little, but the first time I got into the pool and swallowed a gallon of water and got another gallon up my nose, I wasn't so sure I wanted to do this. It was definitely intimidating, but I learned to swim and now I actually enjoy it. So I already knew I looked funny when I ran, but it isn't until I actually saw the photos I realized the extent of my flailing.

Take a look at my face in this one. I look like I'm going to either cry or throw up. I don't think I could decide which would be more helpful. So I have to add one more cute picture, and it's cute because of the people with me. It was so motivating to see my family waiting for me! Clint and the girls (Josh had a swim meet) came with me and they were so fun! I got to see them after the swim, a few times on the bike and at the very end. When I saw them up ahead, it was like another burst of energy hit, and I knew I could make it to them. I'm not going to share the pictures on the bike because I'm getting passed in most of them. Kayla made me feel a lot better about that after the race with something she said. Clint was driving the girls to find me on the bike ride and they kept going and going past where they thought I'd be when they spotted me. That was before the wind hit me head on, and I quit moving. So Kayla said, "Mom, when you were riding your bike at first you totally smoked us, but then we smoked you!" I asked her later if she had fun, and she said with a scowl on her face, "No, you were the one that got to do all the fun stuff- go swimming and ride your bike and race. We just had to wait." I love it!

Pics for Grandpa & Grandma

Hamburger Helper and Green Bean Extravaganza

Mother's Day was a great day for me and I never took the time to write about it. I woke up early to finish getting sharing time ready, and the morning went surprisingly well. My children told me happy Mother's Day and told me they were going to be so good to me all day. They are at such a fun age. We made it out the door to church with shoes on everyone and no one screaming- a definitely successful Sunday morning. Church was nice and they gave us chocolate this year instead of a plant that I always kill. So I ate my chocolate on the way home while wearing the crown Josh made for me. We had a great lunch of PB&J and then the kids pulled out the gifts that they had been hiding from me all week.

Kayla made a flower pot with fake flowers in it at school. She had told me not to look in her closet behind the toy basket because that is where the surprise was that had flowers in it, but she wasn't telling me anything else! Josh had also painted a flower pot and school and they had planted a real flower in it, so when he brought it home on Thursday he told me not to open the bag, but I needed to water the flower. :) Josh and Kayla also made me some wonderful cards. Lindsay gave me a dustbuster to clean up after her and her big messes! I loved that. And then Clint informed the kids that I was going to have a nap. It was all I wanted for Mother's Day. I was so beat that I was giddy to have a nap. I grinned the whole way to my pillow and slept for over 2 hours.

After the nap, I played games with Josh and Kayla and talked to my wonderful Mom on the phone while Clint made us a delicious meal. We feasted on hamburger helper, garlic toast and green beans. Very impressive- 3 things! While we were eating I thanked Clint for making dinner and Kayla said, "This is so good Dad, thanks for making it for me." So Clint made dinner and everyone not only ate it, but liked it. If only I could make them happy so easily!

After dinner we went for a walk together and played "mother may I" in the driveway. I love my family! We are all a little crazy, but I love it that way.

One more hillarious tidbit about Mother's Day. Josh had a homework assignment earlier in the week to make me a card or poem for Mother's Day. I told him the assignment and he got a cute little grin on his face. He said, "I've got it!" and ran into the other room to do it in secret. I forgot about what he was doing and a while later he handed me a paper while trying to suppress his giggles. It said, "I Love you so I kese your Tose Your my Rose. Mom." I laughed along with him. He thought he was so clever and so do I. Although I'm glad he doesn't really kiss my toes!

p.s. Notice my purple polish in the picture, courtesy of my kiddos.

Saturday is a special day

Saturday is a special day, it's the day I survive until Sunday. I have never been more grateful in my life for the commandment of keeping the Sabbath Day holy as I am now. Sundays renew me. Lately our Saturdays have been CRAZY! Last Saturday our schedule was this:

6 a.m. wake up and get Josh and I ready for a swim meet
7 a.m. leave for the swim meet
8 a.m. Clint leaves to go coach Josh's tball game that Josh isn't even attending. He is nice and takes Kayla and drops Lindsay off with me at the swim meet.
9 a.m. Josh swims the length of the pool with some help from the rope and makes the swim team.
10:30 a.m. Josh is supposed to swim the back stroke but they pull him out at the last minute. (thank goodness because he had never even tried it before).
11 a.m. We all arrive home from swim and tball.
11:15 a.m. I go grab the last minute things for the primary activity and tball BBQ party later that day.
12:15 p.m. Arrive home and pack the car for the primary activity and help Clint wash the sand off our very dirty children.
1 p.m. Leave late for my neighbor's baby shower.
2:15 p.m. Leave early from my neighbor's baby shower.
2:30 p.m. Arrive at the church to set up for primary activity. My kiddos arrive a little later with the primary president who was nice enough to pick them up.
3 p.m. Activity starts and it actually turns out great! It was a Mother's Day activity and the kids got to pamper their moms. They painted our fingernails, put their handprint on a hotpad, decorated cookies for us and got pics taken together. It was the easiest activity ever because the moms were there, and we didn't spend the whole time taking care of the kids because their moms did that part!
4 p.m. Clean up from the activity and hurry home.
4:30 p.m. Get home and pack the remaining items for the end of the season tball party we were in charge of. Clint had already gone to the park with Lindsay to reserve our spot.
5 p.m. Arrive at the park. Clint helped cook burgers and we all ate, handed out trophies and thankyous, and played a parents vs. the boys tball game.
7:30 p.m. Arrive home, bathe the kids for the second time that day while Clint mows the lawn, put stuff away, get kids in bed, and fall asleep while trying to finish sharing time for Sunday.

Okay, so not all of our Saturdays are this crazy, but they always seem to be so busy. Sunday is such a great day to just spend time together as a family, have a nap hopefully, go to church together and remember what is really important. Even though some Sundays are full of a lot of meetings, I'm so thankful that we have a commandment that helps us slow down and have a day to worship and renew.

the critter in my pantry

Tonight I got to go on a date with my husband! It was overdue, but always a pleasure when we can actually make it happen. We went to dinner and then grabbed a few groceries on the way home. Nothing glamorous, but completely enjoyable to spend time together. And to top of the evening, when we got home the babysitter had cleaned up and the kids were in bed asleep. So I was in a great mood as we sat in the kitchen opening mail and chatting. All of a sudden I heard a strange sound in the pantry. I looked at Clint and said, "What in the world was that?" I thought it sounded a little like a sneeze, but then I thought it must be something falling on a plastic bag or something. Clint thought it was a strange sound too, but we kept talking. Then we heard another suspicious sound and I said, "There's something alive in there." I had really convinced myself that there was a critter in my house, and I was about to step up on a chair and prepare myself for any hysterics that might overtake me when Clint went into the pantry. And then I hear, "Look what I found." It was Josh! He had been hiding behind the door, and it was a sneeze that we had heard. I was glad the little critter was my little boy and not a furry rodent. We had a good laugh because that was really tricky to pull off, especially for a kid that usually can't help giggling. So then he said he just needed me to tuck him in and listen to his prayers. I'm glad I'm needed, but sometimes it takes a little time out for me to appreciate being needed and for me to be ready to face my cute little critters.

I'm losing my mind, but at least I have these 3 to show for it.

So these are my cute kiddos. I have just spent way longer than I should have looking at pictures, but it is just so much fun. I love pictures! Now if I could just get them all in a scrapbook. . . I'll get there someday right?

Today it was confirmed that yes indeed my mind is going, and at such a young age. All day long I kept thinking there was something I should be doing that I was forgetting. It wasn't until 6:30 this evening when I was outside watching my kids splash in the rain puddles and my friend Angela drove by and waved that I finally remembered. I walk with Angela every Tues. and Thurs. morning at 5 a.m. I know, it's really early, but it is a great time to chat and exercise. Anyway, it finally dawned on me at 6:30 p.m. that I forgot to wake up 13 and 1/2 hours earlier (my math may be wrong, like I said, I'm losing it.) I ran inside and called Angela and apologized and luckily she forgave me because I plead insanity.

I used to think I was on top of things, but lately it feels like I'm becoming a flake. So sorry if you happen to be the recipient of my flakiness, but I'm grateful I atleast have these 3 adorable children to show for it.

Wam, Bam, Alacazam

Do you know that song? I think it's called "Orange Colored Sky" and I was reminded of it on Sat. night when we were on our way home from some fine dining at the Wendy's. Kayla said, "Mom, the sky looks like rainbow icecream." I thought it was an expert description. She recently discovered the yumminess of rainbow sherbet, and the sunset did look a lot like pink, orange and yellow all mixed together against a big blue bowl. I love the catching glimpses of the world through the eyes of my children. They remind me of the wonder and joy found in God's creations. And if we ever forget, Kayla is quick to remind us that she is "bwilliant."

Life according to a chicken farmer

So the other day I was working in the yard, you know, weeding, watering, planting and getting dirty. It was very hot and humid out, and I was wearing old grubby clothes. Let's just say I wasn't ready for a night out on the town in my denim overall shorts, a tshirt and sweat. Kayla got home from preschool while I was out working and her first comment to me was, "Mom, you look like a chicken farmer." I can understand the farmer comment because of the overalls, but why a chicken farmer? Was it the smell? I still don't know why she came up with chicken, but I think she knew it would really make an impact on me. No girl in the world wants her mom to look like a chicken farmer. So I've been trying to clean up my appearance. I even decided it was time to get rid of the chicken farmer overalls. On the other hand, maybe it was a compliment. Kayla loves chicken so much she calls every kind of meat, including hamburger, chicken. And she loves scrambled eggs. So I'll hope she thinks that is the best kind of farmer you can be.