8 sushi rolls and then some!

Friday night Ben and I went out on a date. When he asked me what I wanted to do, I told him

A. YOU should plan the date, not me. Since you are the one taking ME out!

and

B. I really want to go to Restaurant Depot. Please, pretty please? With a cherry on top? Just to check it out. It is literally right down the street from us. It’s members only, VIP access, okay, maybe not VIP access. But, you DO need to have a membership and you can only have a membership if you own a business. We don’t own a business, but he was lucky enough to get a card from his friend, a fellow fireman.  Sooooo….with that being said, I’ve been dreaming of going inside. Really. I had a dream about going there. And I also dreamed that I got a job offer for the San Deigo Zoo. $400,000 a month! Sidetracked. Sorry! Restaurant Depot. I just want to see what’s in there! I know, I’m a dork. But, I don’t get out much, mmkay? Needless to say, we didn’t go because it took us too long to get out of the house. So, instead, we went out for sushi! {Surprise, surprise!}

I looooove this guy. I can’t believe we’ve known each other for 9 years! Wowza, we’re getting old! Okay, not really. But, it has been a while! I mean, that’s almost half my age. Emphasis on almost! Parker was our photographer for the night, and by golly he was having a blast! Tickled, would be the word!

He was going to drop me here, what a pill! And what’s up with the tongue? I have NO clue!

This cracks me up. Parker’s climbing up my back, and you you can see Preston climbing up Ben. Silly kids!

I don’t know about you, but it is very seldom that we go out on dates. So, when we do get out……we definitely make it worth it! And, I try to go with an empty stomach that way I can get my “fill.” Know what I’m saying? We love love love sushi! Love it! Despite what my sister, ahem, not to name any names, Peggy…. despite what Peggy says, tempura sushi is STILL sushi! You get the best of both worlds. Sushi. And deep fried. :) Anyway, we placed our order: 8 sushi rolls. Is that a lot? I could eat 8 by myself, just saying. Apparently, for the 4th time dining here this past year, our waitress looks at our order and says, “8. That a lot a rolls!” And then she ‘tisk-tisk’s’ us. Really? Come on! We know. And we are starving! At least I’m not ordering an order of cheese fries, a salad, a big steak and loaded baked potato, and THEN dessert. Because that’s what we used to do. 8 rolls is NOT a lot!
Boy, were they yummy!

You see that, Peggy. The one with the orange looking sauce on them {yes, we got two of those rolls}. Two words for you. Tempura. Fried. Yumm……that’s a Volcano roll. And, it’s my favorite. Although, the spicy tuna roll is coming in a close second now. And I’m pretty sure that that is “real” sushi! :) Such a fun night!

Could this little girl be any cuter? I think not?

I’m debating about throwing her a big birthday par-tay. I’m undecided. It was nice not doing anything over-the-top for Parker. And yet….I’ll never get to throw another 1st birthday party. Ever. I have a feeling that will be mantra for the next I don’t know, gazillion years! “But, she’s my baby! I have to do it! It’s the last time!” She really is growing up too darn fast.

So, I have two girls potty trained. Yes, you heard that right. Two girls. One of the girls poops and pees in the pot-tay. All day long. She “rocks my socks!” The other girl poops, like clockwork, in her diaper every.single.morning at 6:30 am. Every.single.morning. It wakes her up. Every.single.morning. I don’t know how more “trained” you can get?!

But, not to take the lime light away from Miss Paisley. Stubborn, in-her-own-time Paisley, finally is wearing panties! {Not underwear. They are panties! Heaven forbid you call them underwear!} Can we get a Hip-Hip-HOOORAY for having only one child in diapers! I never thought I would see the day! But we have! :)

Parleigh sure loves her Papaw! Anytime he comes over, once she hears his voice she goes crawling as fast as she can to him. Super cute, I tell you. And check out her stomach in these pictures. She is full as a tick! Her Mamaw fed her fish, beans, strawberries, and churros. She was in hog heaven! Her pants wouldn’t even zip! We love having grandparents so close for our children to be around!

This morning, while we were getting ready for church, I over heard Paisley and Parker talking. I turn around, and they are looking at the picture of the Savior. Parker is telling her that He died for us so we can live again.

My heart has been so full today. I love my kids so much. And, they tell me that they love me, so I guess I’m doing something right! I am so blessed to have children who are patient with me and overlook my weaknesses. They are so forgiving, and I pray that I can learn from them.I am learning that they really are the ones that are teaching me.

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard

Mr. Wiggly Tooth

This morning I looked out the window and noticed that our Cleveland pear tree is finally changing colors---to yellow. A few weeks ago Ben questioned why the tree handed changed a pretty color this year. You spoke too soon!
And I love our grass this fall. It is GREEN!

About a week ago Preston brought it to our attention that his tooth was wiggly! You would have thought we told the boy he was going to Disneyland, he was SO excited. Parker gave him a great big hug, and they were both laughing and hugging and smiling together! It was a “warm fuzzy” moment for me—a reminder that this is what it is all about! The little moments that bring love and happiness into our lives.
This evening at dinner time, Wiggly Tooth aka Preston, wiggled his tooth far enough forward that it started bleeding. I honestly didn’t think we would make it through dinner time without him swallowing it. But we did. And we made it through bath time and teethbrushing time—he was very cautious. When we were reading books, I guess he was in the process of wiggling his tooth with his fingers, when Parleigh’s head bumped his head and he pulled his tooth out!
High fives all around! Preston was one happy boy!

I overheard Parker talking to Preston:
Parker: Preston, you might get $1,000 for that tooth!
Preston: Really? I might!
You wish, son. You wish!

Unexpected

Can I just say, today did NOT go as planned.
But, I’m okay with that. Cause otherwise, Parker and Paisley wouldn’t have played together:


And I wouldn’t have made some yummy Popeye pancakes for dinner:

And Paisley wouldn’t have bonded with her sister:



And I wouldn’t have realized how easy taking care of only 3 kids really is! Piece of cake, I tell you!
Let’s just say, Ben’s truck broke down this morning. That through a glitch in my plans for the day as I had to help him get where he needed and such. Buttttt….everything turned out okay. Annnnnd he fixed his truck. Annnnnnd it’s all good!

Another One?

Some things just really gross me out.

Bugs. I hate them. I’m bigger than them, but I’m terrified of them. I’m not sure if I’m terrified, or disgusted. Either way, gross!

Mold. Eww! If, by chance, there is something moldy in the fridge, it will remain moldy in the fridge until Ben disposes of it. I may or may not be responsible for a pineapple upside down cake that was left on top of our fridge for about 3 months because I was sure it was moldy. {Only to find out it had just dried up!} Is the mold going to hurt me? Maybe? Should I be afraid of it? Probably not. But, alas, another one of my quirks.

Third thing that grosses me out. Wiggly teeth! Double ewww! And why oh why do kids have to wiggle wiggle wiggle them? Seriously? Just leave.it.alone! All evening Parker sat in front of the mirror in the bathroom wiggling his tooth, trying to loosen it up enough to have it fall out before he went to bed. {Remember the last tooth? He swallowed it!} I wish I had had the guts to reach in there and yank it out, but it gives me the heeby jeebies! Major heeby jeebies. I try to be brave in front of my kids, so they don’t know I’m weak sauce. Oh well, I’m just trying to keep it real!

I was tucking Paisley in bed. {Snug as a bug in a rug no less} when Parker lets out a squeal of delight and triumphantly has a tiny tooth in his hand. He did it! He pulled out his own tooth. {YEAH!} No worries of swallowing it tonight! {YEAH!} And I don’t have to reach in there and feel it again! {YEAH!}

And in case you are counting, that’s the 5th tooth he’s lost! And there two more that are starting to get loose!

It is better to look up!

Background to the long winded post: This past General Conference I was really looking forward to listening to the messages given to us by the General Authorities. Unfortunately, I forgot to take into account the 4 children I have that have at the max an attention span of 5 minutes. It would be awesome if I could say that we all sat down and listened {and took notes} of the messages given. But, of course, I we didn’t. I attempted. And failed. And I look forward to the Ensign next month where I can reread the talks at my own pace.

With that being said, I was able to listen to bits and pieces of the talks throughout the 2 days. the one talk that really stood out to me was given by Elder Cook titled It is Better to Look Up. This is a topic that has helped me a lot. All too often I want to throw myself a pity party of how hard things are, or how nothing is going right, or how overwhelmed I feel, or how nobody likes me. And you know what? I do. I throw that darn pity party. And it doesn’t really make me feel any better. Well, maybe a little! I just have to remind myself, that it is better to look up!

“We are Heavenly Father’s children. He wants to be a part of our lives, to bless us, and to help us. He will heal our wounds, dry our tears, and help us along our path to return to His presence. As we look to Him, He will lead us.” It is so easy to think “Wo is me!” But when we do, the adversary wins, and we don’t feel any better. If anything, we feel worse.

So, my new mantra. It is better to look up. {I have it written on my white board in the kitchen. I read it every day. Over and over and over again.}

One of my favorite stories is You are Special by Max Lucado. If you don’t know what it’s about here is a brief synopsis: Every day the small wooden people called Wemmicks do the same thing: stick either gold stars or gray dots on one another. The pretty ones--those with smooth wood and fine paint--always get stars. The talented ones do, too. Others, though, who can do little or who have chipped paint, get ugly gray dots. Like Punchinello. He has a lot of dots. But one day, he goes to the woodcarver, Eli, where he learns that it doesn’t matter what other people think of him. The dots only stick if he lets them. And when he realizes what other people think of him doesn’t matter, the dots fall off. But, he needs to go to Eli every day to remind him of this.

So, like Punchinello, I need to remember to talk to my Heavenly Father. That He loves me. That He listens to me. And that I shouldn’t get caught up in what others think of me but to be who I know I can be.

{Me and my sweetheart! I ♥ him for-ev-er!!}

Waiting for the bus

We head out the door about 10 minutes before the bus comes to pick up Parker so he will have time to burn some energy. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have recess {What the hay? No recess in kindergarten? Seriously?}. Okay, I take that back. He has recess. Without a playground to play on. Just a small area to run around, and according to Parker, they get balls and hula-hoops to play with. Hum.
They have so much fun riding their bikes on the road, something that I have just started allowing them to do so freely. They love it. And it is fun to watch the kids enjoy themselves so much!

{Like all the piled up yard debris? Yeah, that’s from Hurricane Irene. The city still hasn’t come to pick it up yet!}

Does it really have to be so difficult to get a picture of Paisley looking at the camera?

{Love this girl to pieces!!}

The End!!