Conversations

My kids were in the back yard on the swing set enjoying the storm that was blowing in. I walked out there and began pushing my 5 year old on the swing. My other girls didn't notice I was there because they were in a heated discussion on the end of the swing set, this is what i heard:

9 year old: "I can't do it, I'm just not good at it--YOU ARE."

7 Year old: "I am good at it, it's easy for me. I can talk to them."

9 year old: "I just can't talk to guys."

SCCCREEEECH. (that was the sound in my head) Guys what guys? Oh no! it's starting. NO it's too early!

My 9 year old turns around and notices that I'm there and has a slightly sheepish grin.

So I speak up:

Me: "Did you just say you can't talk to GUYS???"

She gave me the most absurd--you are crazy look.

9 year old: "No!!! FLIES, I can't talk to Flies. Josie can talk to flies."

Josie: Yeah! I can talk to flies. And I can talk to worms." **squeak squeak chatter chatter squeak.** "See mom."

Me: "What did they say?"

Josie: "They said I have a cool mom."


Yes. My kids are still kids.

Kizzy (age 5), "I talk to flies, but they don't talk to me"

Mid baking confession

I have pumpkin shaped sugar cookies in the oven right now and they are due to come out in about 6 minutes.

Somewhere inside I hate to say this. I don't know if I think it makes me a bad mother, or that I wish I were that mother that wouldn't say the following . . .

I HATE MAKING COOKIES WITH MY CHILDREN.

Maybe it's because they are 7 5 and 3. I think if I just had the 7 year old helping, I'd be ok.

And sugar cookies. THEY ARE THE WORST!

I am baking sugar cookies for the ward fall festival tomorrow. I waited until the 1 year old was napping, so I'd have less to deal with.

I had 5 year old help out with the mixing. I did OK with that. She is in charge of turning on the Kitchen Aid when I tell her to, and she does pretty well. It's when she asked to help pour in the ingredients that the tension in my shoulders started. The flour she got MOSTlY in, it was that titch that fell out onto the counter, onto her pants and bit on the floor that made me audibly growl.

But that was OK.

But now, now is the worst part. The rolling out. "mom can I help" and I want to say "Yes dear, just come over here and I'll stand behind you with the rolling pin and you between my arms standing on a chair and we'll roll together". But all I think is . .. "NNNOOOOOOOO PLEASE NOOOOOO". So far I just keep telling them . . in a minute.

While I was trying to get my pumpkins that were slightly sticking to my surface up and to the cookie tray I glanced over and saw 3 year old rolling her slices of lunch meat ham around in the flour residue with my rolling pin. GGGRRRRR.

So I cleaned that up---as much as possible. And told her she was banished. BANISHED. But she hung around and took hand fulls of flour out of my flour jar and spread it on the other half of my clean kitchen island and some on the floor for me to clean up later.

Then, I caught 5 year old licking, and I mean a slobbery kind of lick, the spatula I was using to pry up those cookies that were stuck just a little to my rolling surface. Then out of my mouth came " For Real?? would you want some other kid licking a spatula and then making cookies for us to eat?" And I got a big blank face. She probably would like it. What does she care? Just earlier she had said that she'd clean up the pretzel mess the younger siblings had made while she was at school, by eating them off the floor. and she did.

Well there is the beep. I'm off to roll more dough, and take deep breaths to lower my blood pressure.

And for those of you coming to the ward Fall Festival, I washed the spatula.

This girl

I was laying down on the couch, resting from my early morning butt kicking at the gym.  And Josie brought the book Pinkalicious and said she would read it to me (she can't read).  So she was doing pretty good getting through the pages, and then we got to the page where the little girl is sticking her tongue out at her mom.

Josie:  Do you think she's going to get a treat?

Me:  No, because she's being rotten.

Josie:  (laughing)  Like sometimes we're rotten, like when we do this {punch motions in the air}  or when we do buttlocation.

Me:  What's buttlocation?  

Josie:  You know, when there's two kids and one is on the ground and then the other sits on their face---buttlocation.

Me:  butt-li-ka-shun?  or butt-lo-ka-shun?

Josie:  Butt-lo-ka-shun

A slightly different Generation

A:"Mom, today me and Lily were messaging . . . on paper"

Hy: "That's called writing notes"


Her note to Lily:

When are we going to get this crap done and get out of here?

Third time's a charm--Adventures in the beehive state

Dear Utah,

Fry sauce is not good. NOT GOOD

xoxo me


*Kizzy barfed, and she's not as smooth as Josie. Luckily Hyrum took on that job all night. good man.

*The BYU Bookstore is fun. The girls got two new books and candy from the little candy kiosk

*We went to the museum there, and that was super fun.

*Burger supreme has good hamburgers and gyros

*Hyrum took the girls to the pool and I stayed for Beck to take a nap

*Becker is sick too, but with a face cold. Gummy eyes and boogery nose. LAME

*While we were at the BYU bookstore Hyrum had to leave to pick up his parents from the airport so I had him take Kizzy with him while the rest of us stayed. After we bought the books and candy and wandered around the bookstore, we were waiting for Hyrum to come back and get us, so we decided to go outside and read a book on the lawn. So picture this:

Me, pushing stroller with super cute Beck, and Annabelle on one side of me and Josie on the other, dressed cute with hair done (rare) and we walked out of the book store onto the open mall with students sitting around working on laptops and walking by. And the girls spontaneously break out into "Zippity-doo-da, Zippity--ay, my oh my what a wonderful day" And they keep singing, and LOUD. I was SUPER MOM, they made me look good.

so later when Hyrum picked us up and we were walking to the car, I started the song and they picked it up singing away. It was fun watching passers by get huge grins.

How delightful.

Josie says

Josie and I were sitting at the table having a little snack:


Josie: Mom, you're going to have another baby.

I'm not pregnant, but in my mind I'm thinking, wow is this one of those times that I'm going to tell people about. You know, how some kids just KNOW that there is another sibling coming, or when they can tell when a person is pregnant, or what a pregnant lady is having. I'm thinking she is really in tune spiritually.

Me: Oh really?

Josie: Yes. Because you're ffffffffat. You have a big fat tummy like a pregnant lady.

Me-laughing: Ok then, thanks Jos.

So much for her spirituality.

Josie's big day

Looky loo who turned 5.

Dear Josie,

You are are a party at all times. You have tons of friends because you flatter people. You say things like: "I love the sparkles on your shoes" or "you look beautiful in your pajamas". I even saw a little girl in your preschool show you her favorite new toy Little Pet Shop Dog, and you said "Oh, I love it! and kissed it." Who doesn't want that in a friend? You are very spicy. You like to threaten me with with things like "If you don't give me cheetos, I won't watch Kung Fu Panda with you" and also random things like "How come dark haired mommy doesn't love yellow haired Josie" And you like to fib. For example, the other day you walked up to me and tilted your head up so I could see up your nose, and I saw a popcorn kernel. And all you said was "I didn't put it up there". And then when I started smiling and said, "Really, you didn't put it up there?" You started smiling and guilty-ish smile and then you said to me "I'm just smiling because you're so beautiful." Again, the flattery. All I'm saying, is that life in our house is a carnival ride. The kind that is so fast and fun that you can't stop laughing. And you are the first to say "Can we ride that again?". We all loves you Jos.


P.s. I didn't think you could get any cuter when we cut your bangs. But the new glasses did it. Even cuter.

Everyone needs Josie

Everyone needs a Josie in their family.

She puts things on backwards all the time





and she says funny things. On the way to preschool she was singing from Annie:

"The sun will come out tomorrow, put your bottom up until tomorrow"


So if you're having a down day . . . .put your bottom up until tomorrow . .. things will get better.

Play time

I realize this may only be funny to me. This from Jose this morning at breakfast:

"Mom . . .why-when I go to Lisa's house why is she always in charge? She always be's the human and I always be's the dog."

Dear diarrhea,

Josie came into the office while I was on the computer and said:

Josie:"I need a pen for my diarrhea"

Me: "You need a what?"

Josie, more forcefully: "I need a pen for my diarrhea"

I then looked down to see her holding up a little notebook from the dollar store, then I bust out laughing.

She got angrier: "Mom, not funny, I need a pen for my diarrhea"

So I offered her a pencil, but that wasn't good enough for her diarrhea.

Am I crazy?

Do you moms let your kid go in the front yard unsupervised? I don't. It freaks me out. If I lived in a small town I would, but not in the city. We have a high latch on our front door to prevent escapes so I think I'm freaking my kids out or something. Mostly because tonight Annabelle said this:

Mom--did you know that when Jesus comes again--I can go in the front yard.

Apparently--she will not be allowed freedom until Jesus comes again.

Oh crap--I am crazy