PICTURELESS

Have you noticed the lack of pictures?

We went to Disneyland (which was very very fun and well worth the trip), and I lost my camera.

But it's okay, because I have a new camera. Only it's a very expensive camera and I have a horrible track record at keeping track of things. So I'm scared to take it anywhere. Plus, it's big and I have a hard enough time carrying the baby in her car seat, my purse, a diaper bag, and holding Nikell's hand. This is why I lost the other camera. Plus, I don't know how to download the pictures on to my computer. Sad, but true. Plus, I don't really know how to work it yet and I didn't want to be a lame-o and just use the "automatic" functions, but I haven't had time to take the photography class that I want to (and I will) yet.

Yeah, so another post, without any pictures.

On a new note,

It was the Ogden Marathon this weekend.

Jason was going to qualify for Boston. Yeah, then the girls got sick this week with flu-symptoms, croup, the Rocky Mountain Trots, and overall yucky colds. So...he got a cold. But it was just a cold. Not too big of a deal. Frustrating. But tolerable.

So we went down to Ogden Friday night and what happens? Sierra ends up throwing up...all night. And then Jason started in too. The poor kid hasn't thrown up in years and I think he realized how lucky he WAS. Yeah, he started trottin' too (sorry if that's TMI for ya---but ya have to realize how dehydrated and empty his body was). So what does he do? Runs the marathon anyway! I have been vascillating between being in total awe and being angry at how big of an idiot he is. Seriously. He did it though. It took him about 4 and 1/2 hours and his goal time was 3 hours and 10 minutes (I think). And he couldn't really walk when he was done. At least not over 20 feet at a time. And he's been slow recovering because he still can't really eat or drink without his stomach jumping down (or up) his throat. Hmmmm. What do you think? Super-human or Big dork?

Just another thought....this is why I can't complain when I am pregnant. He does things like running marathons when he has the flu. How can I compete with that?

Oh, yeah, and my cousin's baby (who is 3 weeks old) has spinal meningitis. He's not doing so well. So, if you can, please include them in your prayers! They need it!

Sleep Habbits

I am considering attempting to change the sleep habits of my younger children. Call it an experiment. Call it lack of sanity. Call it sleep deprivation. Call it curiousity. Call it whatever you want. Anyway, before I do, though, I would like to conduct a little study about the average sleep times of children. Do you have kids? Do you know someone who has kids? Then tell me, what are their sleep habits? Nap times? Bed times? And Ages! You can even tell me about bedtime rituals or routines if you want. You can explain your fears and needs and "special circumstances" if you want too. Tell me whatever you want. I'll read it all. I have a theory... Not only about bed times, but about raising children in general. But, I'm not gonna tell you my theory until you give me the data I need!

In Honor of Mothers Day...A week of Reasons that I have the best Mom ever...

Reason #6: And this really should have been reason #1 because it's soooo obvious...Her love of books! My Mom is my library. She never shows up at my house without a bag of books for me to read. When we were little she always read to us and she would tell us the coolest stories. She has this unusual talent for paraphrasing books. Not everyone can do that, you know. In fact, not many people can. Ask someone to tell you the story of the last book they read. Good luck. But my Mom, she can tell you and it's soo fun to listen. She would tell us stories from Shakespear to Road Dahl, which came in quite handy during English classes. It was interesting, sometimes, to be reading a book and realize that my Mom had told me this story already! She inspired me to love reading and now she is inspiring my children to love reading. And one day I will probably inherit all of those books...but I will definitely need a bigger house before then.

In Honor of Mothers Day...A week of Reasons that I have the best Mom ever...

Reason #5: GAMES! My Mom would play games with us. Do any of you have kids? Do you know what it's like to play a game with an 8 year old, a 6 year old, and a 3 year old? Let's just say that often enough, it should not be classified as a game by the time you are done. Yet, my mom was almost always willing to play games with us. She taught us how to be good sports. She taught us how to help each other and to cheer each other on. She even made up some really cool games. In an effort to help us keep the Sabbath Day Holy and yet keep life fun, she often made up church games. Prophet games, life games...pretty much all those games that you can buy at Deseret Book or Seagull Book...yeah, my Mom made those games up years ago.

One of my favorite traditions, that I now do with my family, is obtaining a new family game on Christmas Eve. It is our Christmas Eve present that we unwrap and then play together. Pretty cool, huh?

And, I will never forget Junior Bridge at Grandma Zollingers. My Mom and her Mom would play with us for hours. They patiently taught us the rules and then explained them to us over and over and laughed and laughed as we made mistakes. It is one of my fondest memories. I need to find that game. Maybe that will be our Christmas Eve game this year!

Thanks Mom for playing with us, even when it wasn't fun, and pretending like it was.

In Honor of Mothers Day...A Week of Reasons I Love My Mom

Reason #4: My Mom is my cheerleader. Every time I told my Mom I wanted to do something, she would literally drop everything and cheer me on. She was the best with school assignments. She had these file cabinets that contained everything you could ever want or need for any school assignment. She would give me ideas and pull out the right files. In Elementary School I wanted to write a poem for a reflections contest. She was cool with that. She sat in the kitchen with me helping me rhyme words for hours. She told me I was a poet. When I told her I wanted to go to Ricks College, she was cool with that. She helped me make it happen and then when I called her bawling because the change was too much she encouraged me to just give it one more week. She knew I wouldn't stay if she told me to stick it out. But one more week, I could handle. And I did. And then another week and another. She even had her own little cheer..."It's okay, it's alright. Just stay in there and fight, fight, fight." My friends and I used to chant this at late night homework parties (okay, only occasionally when it was REALLY late and we were really wondering if we were going to survive--but it did show up on white boards and school papers often). She made me believe in myself. I grew up knowing I was a genius. But really, if you look at my elementary school grades and assessments, I wasn't. I was just average. My Mom made me a genius. She told me I could do anything and she believed I could. So I put one foot forward and started trying. Thanks for cheering me on Mom.

In Honor of Mothers Day...A week of Reasons that I have the best Mom ever...

Mialee got sick Monday night and Aiddie has croup now....so I missed a day. So here are the next TWO reasons...

Reason Two: Pure Mother Love. My Mom loves me and she shows it. I never doubted her love and support, but often she would surprise me with how supportive she was/is. Two instances...in high school...you know, when you are a bratty teenager. Well, I wasn't that bratty, but there were times when I could have been nicer. And I was the 5th of 6 kids so Mom was pretty mellow by the time I came around (Thanks largely to Shanee :)). And I was pretty darn trustworthy. Anyway, one night I got home quite late. It had been a long horrible day and I knew I was going to be in trouble to top it off. So I came in and went down to my room expecting the worse and there on my bed was a little note from my mom. It simply said, "I love you." It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. She had to be inspired. It was just what I needed...to know I was loved. And another time I was asking permission to go somewhere and she looked at me and said, "Yeah, go. I'm glad you're having fun. You deserve it." Really? Once again, her love washed over me. She gave me confidence and hope and a sureness that no matter what, I was loved.

Reason Three: My Mom always put things in perspective. I was a bit of a worrier as a child and would often get worked up about tests and grades and school and my mom would always say, "What's it gonna matter in 10 years? Are you really gonna look back on this one test or this one grade and be sure that it changed the course of your life?" Relief would wash over me. Yeah, it's not really gonna matter all that much in the whole scheme of things. Doing my best was gonna have to be good enough. And it was. And she was right. And I still give myself this advice on a regular basis to put things in perspective and decide what's gonna matter and what isn't. Thanks Mom.

In Honor of Mothers Day...A week of Reasons that I have the best Mom ever...

Reason Number 1:

My Mom is Silly. Often, when you ask my Mom a question or yell something from another room, she will yell some strange phrase back like she didn't understand you and is wondering why you are asking her if there is an elephant in the fridge. She has done this forever. In high school I would roll my eyes, but my friends thought it was hilarious. They were always telling me how funny my mom was and I was always thinking, "If only you knew." Ha ha. She is pretty funny, though. And she is the best person in the world to watch a slap-stick movie with. It took me a while to realize that I couldn't watch these movies by myself. Mom had to be there to laugh her head off to really make it worth watching. In Junior High, I lacerated my liver on a trampoline. I was confined to a hospital bed with strict orders to not move. Boredom hit, so my mom got a movie for us to watch, "The Gods Must Be Crazy." I was pretty sure I was going to die that day. My Mom couldn't stop laughing, which made me unable to stop laughing and that was definitely considered movement. Yeah, My Mom is silly and I love it.