Happy New Years Eve!

Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL New Years Eve celebration tonight!

Even on Christmas!

Yes, Even on Christmas, when mom says "Smile Missy" it REALLY means ... "Make the most atrocious face humanly possible on that sweet little noggin of yours"

G and Gpa J having fun on Christmas

Yes, I am planning on putting up Christmas pictures...

It might be news years by the time I do, but I do PLAN on putting some up...just as soon as I find the darned cords to hook up the cameras to the computer again!

And NOW for the cleanup!

Some years it feels like I just BARELY get the Christmas decorations up and then it time to take them down again! Out come the boxes and the jigsaw like issue o getting them all to fit in the place that they somehow came out of!
And because it has been a couple of day since the toy fairy PUKED all over my house I guess it is time to start finding places for all of the now homeless toys and presents that call our house home so that said toys can be found when wanted by certain little fingers that can't find anything unless it is in it's rightful place.
Hmmm... maybe this could be a New Years Resolution? LOL

Cute Girl and Silly Boy

Just a couple of pictures :)

Silly faces

My Family

As the kids are getting ready for Scriptures and Family Prayer Little Li is in a good mood (usually he is grumpy by that time of night) and they had some fun making him laugh.

Political or Business?

Do you think that the statement "This is America, Speak English when ordering." in an eating establishment is racist or is it only about language?

Do you think it's worth sueing over?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316939,00.html

Pictures with the Man in Red

Missy My was really acred of Santa this year. Hence only one picture. I finally had to break it to her that "Santa" was Gpa S pretending to be santa. At that point she recognized his voice and wasn't scared anymore. The last picture is of "Gpa Santa" and cousin Little J.

So what do/did YOU say about the big man in red?

Is playing along with the worlds fascination with Santa Claus a lie? or is it a magical story that should be perpetuated because it brings magic to the season?

I think I like this way of explaining the whole "Santa Claus" phenomenon. I stole it from another blogger that I happened to stumble upon.

“When the kids were little I told them about the real St Nicholas: how he was a generous man who loved God, how he often gave gifts anonymously but somehow was found out, how over time “St. Nicholas” evolved into “Santa Clause,” and how to this day when someone leaves a gift anonymously at Christmas time they say they’re “being Santa Clause”.” She also goes on to explain to her children that most people like to pretend that Santa is still living today. Hence the Santa's at the mall etc.

If nothing more, it's an intriguing idea on how not to ruin the fun of christmas for little kids while still being completely honest about the whole "Santa" thing. It also helps bring in the possibility of having your children "be Santa" to each other on Christmas.

We need to decide soon how we are going to explain all of this and this is an option that may end up being part of the Christmas Eve celebration. Holiday Story... Story of St. Nicholas... Story of the Saviors Birth.

Her blog is http://laughter4daystocome.blogspot.com/ she addresses this topic in her Dec 7th blog.

Mom's Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor has, and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container. If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,Mom

4 mth Well Child

Today Little Li had his 4 mnth well baby check. He's pretty preportionate at the 20% mark all the way around and the Doctor is no longer concerned about his neck muscles. yay! He's a healthy happy kiddo.

13lbs 12oz, 24 1/2 inches, and his head is 16 1/4 inches. :)

SNOW!

Yesterday we got dumped on, so hopefully we have a WHITE Christmas! Either way the kids had a blast in it... I don't know how they stayed warm enough to stay outside for over 45 minutes, but they did somehow! :)

Family Pictures

So yesterday we had family pictures taken! Here is the one of our individual family, the one below is the S side of the family.

Speach on the role of religion in politics.

Can I say that I'm truely thankful that Mitt Romney did not go into what "Mormons" believe in his speach? If people truely want to know, it is easy to find out. All they have to do is ask a leader of their local ward/branch... or better yet, Got to the wesite! That way they will know they got it right from the source and got it right rather than getting a warped view of our beliefs.

Here is a link to his speach, I thought he did well... then again. I am a big supporter of people who don't shy away from there positions just because the wind of opinion blows the other way.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315486,00.html you can also watch the video of the speach there if you want.

Oh, and for those of you that don't know the official website for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's http://www.lds.org/

Ultimate Bravery From a 7 yr Old

This little girl jumped between her mom and her nutso boyfriend who was shooting at her. And SHE survived. Though it shows how evil people can be, it also shows the bravery needed to combat it.

Here is the link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315245,00.html

Up Late or to Bed Early?

Ok, so I'm in a conundrum.

I'm currently going to bed WAY too late. As in midnight to 1am. I know that I need to get to bed earlier for my mental health, but know also that my sanity is reliant on finding time to do things that I enjoy without having to juggle a 4mth old (or at times a 4mth old AND a 2 yr old) while doing it. For some reason trying to balance kids on my lap while reading seems to take away from the overall relaxation factor!

So I ask you... where is the happy medium? Am I nuts? But for some reason I find sleeping to be overrated when I go to sleep early and still wake up tired in the morning :) Any good fixes for getting enough sleep and a good amount of "me time" without spending a fortune on babysitters or wearing out the family "benefits"?