The Painting Project

My sweet darling engineering husband and I have been debating for months on how the last wall in our house was going to be painted. (The entire inside of the house has been repainted since we moved in as my Christmas present) The wall itself is huge, very high, and over the stairs. I have argued it wasn't worth his broken neck and we should pay someone else to do it, he argued that he could make it work safely.

When I returned home from Women's Conference there was a large wooden monstrosity built in my garage. Eric's scaffolding for the painting project. Sneaky sneaky. Build it while I am gone and can't object. So I had to let him try it out. I have to admit, it was pretty sturdy. He got all of the wall painted except for one high corner, but thinks he knows how he's going to get that. And at this point, who am I to argue?

Welcome Back?

This past week I got to spend a few days at Women's Conference at BYU. It was great to hear all the talks and spend time with friends. I even ran into a friend from my ward in Washington (Cheryl Bouck). I got home late Friday night, so the kids were already asleep. When they woke up Saturday morning they were so excited to see me. Grant was running around telling me about what they did when I was gone when he slid on the mat in my bathroom. He bit clear through his lip! Welcome Home Mom - now go clean up all the blood and help your little boy stop screaming........

The Husband List

Remember back when we were young single giggling girls. Many of us had these "lists", all the requirements a man would have to have to marry us. They ranged from the extreme: 77 pages including proficiency in Italian and the ability to cook gourmet meals, to the bare minimum - that one was probably mine. Here was my list:

Taller than me.
Older than me.
Going somewhere in life. (This was actually added later, after one of my boyfriends easily met the first two requirements, but fell quite short on the third)

Lucky for me, I met an amazing man that fit all of my requirements and had a lot more good qualities than I listed.

This week I have been thinking a lot about marriages, how some endure and some don't. How some friends would still marry their spouse in a heartbeat, and some would think twice (and may not even do it). How some of us dream of eternity, and some of us think that seems like a long time.

What was on your list? Was it the long drawn out one, or one more simple? I think there is value in setting expectations, but there is a risk in becoming too picky that you turn down the 'RM, Doctor, Would-be Great Dad' because he isn't tall dark and handsome. Thoughts?

Thoughts from General Conference

Jillian "watching" conference

I have had the messages from General Conference on my mind all week. I wanted to post some thoughts on conference, but wanted to quote the talks correctly. Now they are all online, here is what has stuck with me this week.

I LOVED Elder Ballard's talk to young mothers.

Elder Ballard said: We need to remember that the full commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. Through my own four-generation experience in our family, and through discussions with mothers of young children throughout the Church, I know something of a mother’s emotions that accompany her commitment to be at home with young children. There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives.

I have been thinking a lot about my 10 year class reunion this summer. Having grown up in California, there are not going to be a lot of girls at my reunion with 2 kids and also that stay home with their kids. I feel like often when I say I stay at home with my kids that people think that is strange, or they think what does she DO all day? I think sometimes the choice to stay home with your kids is harder than the one to return to work.

I liked as well that Elder Ballard counseled us to embrace the season of life that we are in. Sometimes I find myself wishing for the day when all my kids are in school, or all my kids are off moved out and Eric and I have the house to ourselves again. But in reality, those times of our life won't be perfect either. They will probably be just as busy and I'll probably worry about my kids just as much.

Other talks that have stayed with me this week are Elder Oaks talk on a testimony, Elder Bednar's talk on prayer, and the talk given by our new prophet Pres. Monson.

It finally felt real that Pres. Hinckley is gone. Even after attending his viewing, it just felt like he should be there.

I still am reveling in the blessing of being able to watch conference on tv here! I hope you all heard something you needed as well.

Laser-Beamed

Eric had his laser eye surgery on Thursday. It went remarkably well. His vision went from 20/150 to 20/20 overnight! I even had the guts to watch it. If anyone else would like to see it we have a gruesome video to share with you. The recovery has been relatively painless, and he is back to work today. It is so great that he won't have to wear glasses anymore! He'll be able to read the clock at night, lay down and watch a movie, wrestle with the kids, and play basketball all without his glasses! And I'll get to gaze into his eyes unimpeded. Thanks to everyone who called to check in on us this weekend.

Fazed

This week I have been contemplating phases - these stages our kids go through that often drive us batty. Jillian, as aforementioned, is going through a naked phase, and Grant a joke telling one. Sometimes I think if I have to hear another knock knock joke that doesn't make any sense, I may lose it. So far we have survived the following phases: The I Do It, The Clear Off the Bookshelf/Empty The Drawers, The Screeching Eel, The Mommy Said I Can't Do This, But What About THIS, The Why?, The Watch Me Drop This, Now Pick It Up, The Look At Me Climb On Top Of Everything, and many more.

As I contemplate all these phases I realized that they all had a common goal - to faze ME! Not that my kids are evil, conspiring to drive me crazy, but that my attention is what they desire. Even when they are learning skill phases, like the drawer phase, they want me to take notice of what they have done. Their little accomplishment for the day, spreading every kitchen towel and rag across the tile floor.

So here's to being fazed by my little ones that at some point will be desiring someone else's attention more than mine.

Nudist

The other day I had put Jillian down for her nap. Sometimes it takes her a few minutes to fall asleep and I hear her playing in her bed. That was the case this day, but before long she quieted down and fell asleep. Not long after that I hear her waking up. I go into her room to see why she woke up so shortly after falling asleep, and there she is sitting completely nude. She had taken off all her clothes (diaper included), thrown all the blankets from the bed, and even took her pillow out of the pillowcase before chucking it out. I am assuming she did all of this before she even went to sleep, because she woke up from her nap freezing. When I asked her why she was naked, she said, I jump in the shower in my bed. Well, since that day she has promptly woken up from her nap or in the morning and stripped down. I hear her singing out, "I'm naked, I'm naked".

Here they are (fully-clothed) making crazy faces in their new 'crazy shirts' from Papa & below making their 'scary' faces.