Forget Me Not

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My Fashion Diary

So, apparantley, the new blog trend is to document what you wear every day.

Seriously.

Have any of you seen this out in the blogosphere? I really don't mean to offend anyone, but really? I mean, I am ALL for fashion. I have a little fettish for shopping, but it's hardly noticeable. Even my husband would agree that I should probably go shopping more. (Haha, trying to make a joke, hun.)

But, I can't not be blog-trendy, so here's my little documentation of my fashion diary for this week (sorry, forgot to take pics):

Monday ~ Big fat maternity top, is that peanut butter on my shoulder? (And I didn't notice the jelly, because it was under my belly so I couldn't see it.) "Jelly-Belly"
Tuesday ~ Pajama pants - all day - my maternity pants are getting too tight.
Wednesday ~ Dishwater splashed all over my black shirt. Good thing you can't see it :)
Thursday ~ I managed to keep my top clean, but is that ketchup in my hair?

Let me know if you want me to tell you where and how to look this good! It's a gift I'm willing to share.

The Case Of The Missing Underwear...

What the heck does this picture have to do with the post title??...

...Here's a little story.

So, last week, my oldest son was getting dressed, and he yelled to me that he was out of clean underwear! Now, he has about 10 pairs of underwear, and it was only 4 days after laundry day, so he should have had plenty in his drawer. I searched in all his drawers, but we found them all in the hamper. I couldn't tell if they were clean, and if they were- well, they weren't anymore.

[And for those of you that know my 2-year-old-NO- he is surprisingly not involved in this story!]

Well, we handled the situation and as of this morning, I think I figured out what exactly happened: So I was getting my 2-year-old dressed this morning, and at the same time, my oldest son was getting dressed. I noticed him get his clothes out, put his underwear in the hamper, and put some clean ones on. Then he proceeded to do some sort of silly dance in his underwear to make his little brother laugh. I told him to just get dressed. Then I watched him take his clean underwear off and throw it in the hamper. I just smiled and asked him to think about what he just did. It took him a minute, but he got it, finally realizing what had happened to the rest of his underwear the week before.

I've always thought my son was a genius. I know I'm a biased mother, but really- he is super smart. But maybe, in an "Einstein" sort of way, he also has his brainless moments. Mine happens 98% of the time, and I know I am where he gets it from. But who are we kidding, we ALL have our moments, right? Right???

And In This Corner...

All I hear ALL day long from my two oldest kids is,

"Don't touch me!"
"Don't look at me."
"Stop touching me."
"Mom, he's standing in my bedroom."
"Mom, she's not cleaning up."

And a million more just as annoying. They fight [almost] all day, every day. At least they don't fight in the physical way. My son is the least likely person to ever hurt a fly. Literally. It would break his heart. If he so much as steps on my toe accidentally, he freezes in fear that he's deeply wounded me. It's cute. Usually.

And my daughter...well...she might hurt her brother on purpose, but it's happened maybe 2 or 3 times ever. But they are sooooo completely different in personality that they just do not get along. Lately, I've almost given up on them trying to get along, and just tell them to spend their time in separate rooms. Like, all the time. Of course, that is impossible, but when they do- it works.

However, there have been a few times in their lives that they just stick together. They would deny ever loving each other, but I know better. As they have gotten older, they come up with ideas (on their own) to surprise me or their dad. They'll work great together for hours. Or, when we go someplace new or unfamiliar, they always hold hands and walk together, giving each other that little boost of confidence. Why can't those moments pop up more often?

But as for today, I am sticking them in separate corners of the house!

Support The Priesthood

When I was at Women's Conference, I saw this checklist about how to support the priesthood. I didn't get this in a class, so I didn't hear any specifics about it, but overall I thought it was really good. I think as women, we could ALL benefit from doing these things:

• Be happy when he goes out the door


• Smile when he comes home


• Ask for a blessing


• Concentrate on his good points


• Stand up and push


• Pray for him


• Have a listening ear


• Treat him as you want him to become


• Honor blessings


• Support bishop in callings


• Attend meetings


• Be honest in your praise


• Make chocolate chip cookies :)


• Be a counselor, when asked


• Encourage patriarchal blessings


• Refrain from criticizing priesthood leaders


• Honor our husbands as they follow the Savior

There are several on this list that jumped out at me. One of them was making chocolate chip cookies. As you know, I make plenty of cake, brownies, etc. But I never make cookies, because I really don't like them. My husband and kids loves them though, so maybe I should keep some on hand. What things can you do better?

If You Want Something To Last, You Treat It Differently

That was the title of one of the classes I went to. I loved that title, especially because it was referring to marriage.

The couple giving the class started out talking about men and women's brains. The husband talked about how men's brains have boxes or compartments in them. Each box is something like "work" or "children" or "golf" etc. And men can only open one box at a time. SO TRUE. So when talking to a man, you need to only open one box at a time, and if you want to open another box, make sure you close the first one and put it away.

Women's brains, however, have wires connecting each box and the wires are always sending signals to the other boxes at the same time. And they are fueled by emotion. Again, SO TRUE.

The couple gave a great analogy that I think every married couple should remember. They said that husbands and wives are each one pillar, and those two pillars need a foundation. The foundation is charity. Charity is SO important in marriage. Moroni 7:45-48

Some of you may have seen this picture before. It's called "The Hidden Tiger"

And surprisingly, you are supposed to find a hidden tiger in the picture. Can you see it? Take a minute and look before I tell you where it is.

Can you read the words spelled out on the tiger's stripes? "The Hidden Tiger"

The point of this was to show that it takes work to see what others see. Everyone has a different perspective, and in a marriage especially, you should try extra hard to see what your spouse sees. Just because you don't see it at first, does not mean it's not there.

There was SO much more in this class that I learned, but I don't want to make this longer than it needs to be. So I'll just leave you with this thought. I loved it and think that if everyone applies it to their marriage, it can only get better.

Show in every action that your spouse has highest priority in your life!

A Few Things I Learned At Women's Conference

I had the amazing opportunity to go to BYU Women's Conference last weekend. And I would love to share what I learned:


1. Women are CRAZY! Especially 20,000 of them all together.

2. BYU Cheesecake is surprisingly awesome. (I ate some every day.) Even better than The Cheesecake Factory's. And you all know I'm a cheesecake snob.

3. It is not an easy task to RUN across BYU campus, being almost 7 months pregnant. (I had to do this to avoid all the crazy women.) But at least I burned off those cheesecakes.

4. Don't leave finding a hotel to the last minute. Unless you want to stay in a dump with no carpet, cement walls, and where it smells like a moldy outhouse on a farm.

5. I was more excited to get home to my children than I was to leave them!! (I have really cute kids.)


Seriously though, I did learn some wonderful things that I hope to share over the next few weeks or so. If you care to read about it, stay tuned. I will try and keep it entertaining!

Busted

Someone at our house threw a big tantrum! They threw Mommy's cell phone against the floor (or maybe the wall, shhh.)

The two older kids blamed Mr. Menace. It wouldn't have been surprising for him to pull such a stunt, but Mommy knew the truth. Mommy knows all. Especially when Mommy throws the tantrum.

Should Mommy fess up, or blame Mr. Menace? How could you even think I would do such a thing? No, no, people. I told the truth. And I even learned something from all of it. I learned that if you are ever on the phone with me, don't make me mad! :)

Waste Not, Want Not

My husband calls me a food snob. I can't disagree with him. I have only been cooking for about 8 years (if you count mac and cheese for the first couple years.) But I have loved to bake since I was about 12. And I love making rich, delectable, fancy desserts. My husband doesn't like any of that kind of stuff. He would rather eat a package of Oreos. (I'm not dissin' Oreos, but get your priorities straight.) So anyway, my kids and I usually end up eating all of what I make. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

So, today we had dinner at my in-laws house. I was asked to make the dessert. I was craving my favorite chocolate cake. It's really rich and dense and...perfect. So, I made it right before we left so that it would still be warm after dinner. We all had a small piece and yeah- it was heavenly. And even better-there was plenty of leftovers. BUT, as we were leaving, I had about 10 other things I was trying to carry at the same time, and I'm sure you can guess...I dropped it. It was in a cake Tupperware thing (that's the official name of it) with the lid on and everything, but somehow it popped open and ~SPLAT~ all over the driveway. My husband tells me that I looked like I was about to cry. I probably would have, but I had a thought. My thought was about that episode of Friends, "The One With All The Cheesecakes." And that picture above popped into my mind.

So, I grabbed a fork and went at it. Kidding!! But I might have thought about it. My 6-year-old, who loves cake almost as much as I do, was grilling me about what had happened. I tried to re-assure him and just said, "Oh, it's fine, it's fine" but he just starred at me and said, "That is definitely NOT fine!" (I know, buddy, I know.) We brought the cake home.

Now you might be wondering what I'm going to do. Throw it away? Cut off the top, and eat the rest? Well, I'll let you figure that out-but here's a clue: It is still sitting on the counter.

Vices

If you are mom-or really,who am I kidding-if you are a woman, then I bet you have some kind of vice. I confess that I have plenty. They are what get me through the day. Y'all know what a "vice" is, right?

Vice. [vahys] -noun 1. an evil practice or bad habit

Okay, so that may be putting it on a little strong, but you get the idea. If you are one of those moms who wakes up early with perfectly behaved children, all their chores done by 7AM, and everything in order, then maybe this blog isn't for you. Don't get me wrong, we all wish we were you okay? I think most moms I know have a caffeine vice. In my neck of the woods, you will see the caravan of mini-vans pulling up to the Maverick every morning to get their 62 oz. Coke/Pepsi/Dr. Pepper. I also have to confess that soda has never been one of my vices. Can't stand it. Here's what gets me through the day:

Cheesecake

I had to show a pic of my homemade cheesecake, because-let me brag here-it's the best cheesecake ever. I often have it in my fridge, and when I do, I have it every morning for breakfast until it's gone!

Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake is so easy to whip up and my kids love helping me make it. So when Cheesecake isn't on hand, Chocolate Cake usually is.

Lindor Truffles

By the time afternoon rolls around, just a little chocolate can go a long way. When mama's happy, the kids are {usually} happy.

Caramel Cadburry Eggs

This time of year, these babies come around. I know a lot of you prefer the Creme Eggs. Not me. These are so amazing. I stock up on them around Easter, and when I run out, I go back to the Lindor Truffles.

Apparentley, all my vices are food-related. Mostly chocolate. Love it. What are some of your vices?

The Intro

A little over two years ago, I had a dream. Really, more of a nightmare.

In this dream, I was going about my usual business, which is being a stay-at-home-mom to three little ones {at the time}. In my house, I always keep all my blinds and curtains open because I love my home to feel light and open. As I was taking care of day-to-day things, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there was a man and a woman at the door. They didn't really introduce themselves, but they wanted to come inside. I told them "no" for whatever reason, and shut the door. {My husband is always telling me not to answer the door if I don't know who it is, but I did in the dream...and sometimes I do for real.} So, a while after I shut the door, I go down to my family room where we have a big open sliding door which is one big window. I see this couple outside in my backyard, trying to come into my house from the back. So I shut the curtains. {Smart, huh?} For some reason, in this dream, I just knew that they were trying to come in and get my daughter. Not my other two kids, just my daughter.

That was it. That was the dream.

What happened next is a scene right out of a movie. I literally sat up straight in my bed, huge eyes, and wide awake! I only had one thought:

"Make your blog private."

The dream had nothing to do with blogging, but that was the only thought in my mind. When I started blogging, I would post at least 4-5 times a week. I used it as my therapy, sometimes writing about my kids, other times writing about my random thoughts. I have enjoyed writing since I was in 6th grade and like to create stories or prose from my life, or maybe what I wish was my life. However, after I made my blog private, I have stopped writing. I post pictures of my extremely cute family; how the kids are growing, vacations we have, etc. But there is no writing. So maybe I am creating this blog so I can write again {without all the tiny details of my family}.

In the last year or so, I have felt like a different person, for reasons that I may get into later. I haven't really been myself, and I'm hoping this might help, so stay tuned!