Cracker Delight

Someone left their crackers unattended for a brief moment and came back to find this. As you can see he has three crackers in each hand and has taken bites from both. I'm sure he was just waiting for that someone to leave the room so he could have a wonderful solitary moment to himself and reflect upon what is best in life; the ability to eat.

Peer Pressure

I guess the term I'm really looking to use is peer influence. Because pressure makes it sounds as if you have to do something and influence makes you want to do something. I've been thinking about what makes me do the things I do and why I have these opinions of mine. I came to the conclusion that it is because of years of peer influence. Yesterday in church we were talking about using cloth diapers and another lady replied that she would never had thought to use them and she doesn't want to take the time to recycle. Then we mentioned the use of the reusable bags for the grocery store and how wonderful they are. It got her thinking that maybe, just maybe she would try it out. We didn't pressure her to use them, we only suggested trying it to see if she would like it. "Going Green" one step at a time. I think about all the things I have tried and all the things I do and it reminds me of the people who have been my friends and have taught me these things. I wouldn't know how to cook if it weren't for a friend who was willing to take some time and show me a few things, even though it was after the fact that she laughed at my inabilities. I wouldn't be a stay-at-home mom if it weren't for some friends who convinced me it isn't all that bad and I wouldn't get bored of it and that it is okay to still shower everyday and look nice even if no one but my family sees me. I wouldn't read good books at night if it weren't for some good friends who started a book club and invited me. I wouldn't be shopping now at Savers for clothes for me and the kids if it weren't for some good friends who show off all of their good finds at remarkably cheap prices. I wouldn't be trying to get a long-term food supply going if it weren't for some friends who are trying to do it also. I truly am grateful for all of the friends who give great peer influence. You never know who is watching and listening and who you could be influencing.

For the Love of...

CEREAL. What can we say, we love cereal. Like Jerry Seinfeld once said, "it's the only meal where you can eat and drink at the same time without even looking." All of this cereal cost us only $20.00. Each bag was $1.00. Malt-O-Meal was doing a donation drive for the United Way and they were selling bags of their cereal for only one dollar, all of the proceeds would go to United Way. Malt-O-Meal thought they wouldn't even sell 10,000 last Saturday in Tremonton, but by 9:00 in the morning the cereal was gone. People were lining up at 6:00 in the morning to get their hands on the goods. Our friend bought 50 bags and his brother also bought 50 bags, they must really like cereal because they live together. We got to see what 100 bags of cereal looked like. It's a lot. Happy eating!

Fall Weekend Fun

This weekend was full of relaxing fun. We had no time limits on anything we did, which I love, I hate being rushed. The kids were out of school on Thursday and Friday so we took Jon's friend Nathan to Gardner Village to visit the witches and all the great pumpkins. It took us a good 30 minutes just to make it out of the parking lot when we were done because of all the people that were there. Crazy. Friday, we, along with all the other "park moms" took the kids to a corn maze which also had a hay ride, hay slides, animals, pig races and lots of other great stuff. Then Saturday was work in the yard day and go to Carlos produce to pick some more pumpkins, of course. And I did find another crow. Then Sunday, go to church day. I love going to Primary. The kids are so funny and great. I love weekends like this, now if only every weekend can be this wonderful. Wishful thinking.

Two Sisters Alike

I just noticed while looking at my sister's blog that we happen to choose the same layout with some of the same colors. It's not that I want to be just like my sister, but I'm trying different colors and fonts for a little while to see what I like best for me so that she can have some individuality also. Sorry, Lisa, I really didn't mean to copy you, it must be in our DNA.

Tuesday nights' routine

Every Tuesday night for the past 4 years I have stayed at home with the kids while Spencer went to Young Men's activities. We would hurry and eat dinner together, he would leave and I would help the kids finish the day's work. Have them take a bath, read scriptures, pray and go to bed. Now that Spencer has been released from that calling, I don't do anymore yelling by myself on this night for the kids to hurry up and get ready for bed, now there are two of us yelling at the kids to hurry up and get ready for bed. It's been great. I don't know why it takes us so long to get the kids into bed. We start at 7:45 and they finally get into bed at 9:00. Am I not yelling loud enough? Maybe I'll try a gentle nudge next time. But I am finding some of these moments precious to behold. Like Sam admiring at his sister and Spencer and Jon in the kitchen, preparing a turkey that we are going to cook tonight. They even cleaned up the mess. How great is that!

Bizarre Breakfast

I asked Eme what she wanted for breakfast this morning because she either wants bread with syrup on it or cereal, "frosted snowflakes". She was looking in the fridge to decide and told me she would like bread, mustard and ham, "we don't have any more ham, Eme" I said, "okay, I'll just have bread with mustard" came the reply. She ate the whole thing without a complaint.

Halloween Weakness

I have this branch that I painted black and stuck it in a black pot for a Halloween decor for outside. I usually have a black crow that sits on one of the branches, but this year I put that crow on a birdcage inside my house. I went to the store today to buy another crow for outside. I bought some spiders, pumpkins and a mouse, but no black crow (the store didn't have one). I love Halloween stuff. I don't like the gory Halloween and not the hooky Halloween, but I love the classic Halloween stuff, like the spiders, witches, crows, bats, cauldrons, potions and all the beautiful colors of the pumpkins and leaves and dark nights with full moons and bright stars. There have been a couple of times where we will be sitting in our living room and see someone out the window, usually it is a little kid, walk up to the crow on the branch to see if it is real. So to keep up with the good times I'll keep looking for that special crow to be a permanent adornment for our black branch.

Doll Love

I have this doll that my older sister made for me a long time ago, which of course, I still have. It is displayed on a shelf in the kid's bedroom and everytime we leave the room, Sam loves to look up at it and talk to it. So here's to my sister's great talent at making great things. Cheers!

Getting started

I love looking at other's lives on the internet. Wonder if my own life will look just as great and exciting, if I look at it from a different perspective.