D.A.R.E.

Morgan had her DARE graduation today. (Drug abuse resistance education) She was picked the valedictorian of her class. She read an essay, and received a medal from the police officer, who runs the program. I am so proud of her. Not only because she did so well with the program, but because she will stand in front of ANYBODY and has all the self-confidence in the world. I *so* wish I was like that. There were officers from the police force, the entire 6th grade, teachers, parents, principal and the Mayor. My biggest fear is talking in front of a crowd- and she actually likes it. That is foreign to me- but a quality I greatly admire. Congrats Morgan!

My walls

At one time, my walls were nice and clean, there were no marks on them, no nicks or dings. Now, I have marks, nicks, dings and chunks of wall missing in places. It may seem weird, but I am happier now. It means I have a little person (or persons) to make those marks. To hold, to love, to teach. Sure- I wish they were still as clean as they used to be, but for now, I am fine with their imperfections, because I realize I have perfection right in my arms.

My drama queen

Today Morgan called me from school. I answered the phone, and she is sobbing. I asked her what was wrong. She is still sobbing and chokes out that she is in the office. "Why what happened? Are you hurt? Are you sick?" Then immediately she can turn it off and says, "Nope! I got a golden ticket for getting 100% on my math test, so I get to call home." Well- I have no doubt she can get the part she wants in the play, for her drama class. She is so believable! She did get a main role in the 6th grade play. She is Helena in A Mid-Summer Nights Dream. I am pretty sure, if she has to cry in the play, she will be able to roll out the big tears, and everyone will think she is really crying. No doubt about it- she is a drama queen to the "T".

Things heard around here today

Morgan says to Camden: "Camden name another religion besides Mormonism."

Camden: "JEW!"

(He says a lot of words. For a lot of them, he just pronounces the first syllable, or the first part of a word. So she is standing behind me holding up a sippy cup of juice.)

Yep- we can be a little irreverent here.

Later, we went to the grocery store. Camden is in the shopping cart, and he LOUDLY passes gas. Always the boy- he laughs and then equally as loud says, "Uh-oh! BUM!"

Idaho

The kids had a 4 1/2 day weekend. I decided it would be fun to drive up to Idaho to see Matt's sister, husband, and their kids. Matt wasn't able to get off work, so I drove up on Sunday after church, with the kids. We really didn't do a lot, other than hang out with them, but we had a great time. They are such GOOD people. Seriously- I wouldn't be surprised to see Dave become a general authority, and DeeDee become the general relief society president. Their kids are as good as they are. They have two girls who are 15 and 13, so I am sure when we come up with our loud bunch, they probably go a little crazy. They are just too nice to say anything. :) I stayed up talking with Dave and DeeDee until 12:30, and couldn't sleep, so I read until well past 2:00 am. The boys woke up at 6:00 am, so I didn't get a lot of sleep. The next day we played games, Dave took the boys sledding, and when they got home we went to the DI, to play a game. All of the kids had $2 to spend, and they had to buy something that fit their personality. Morgan bought a guitar, Dillon a contraption that you can put M&M's in, (candy not included!) and Logan a very loud game. They fixed us a yummy lunch, complete with Italian soda's. It was really low key- but fun to spend time with them, since we don't get to do that a lot. The kids are back to school now, except Logan. He is sick- so we have been playing the game he bought.
We had a fun weekend with the kids. We took them to Tepanyaki, the movies a couple of times, skating, etc. Now it's back to the grind. Four days of not cleaning, and only playing, means this is a busy catch up week for me. It was worth it though.

Whits End

Camden was not a good sleeper, until he was about 1. He never slept through the night, and naps were nearly nonexistent. Matt was so sick during a lot of this time. One night, Camden would not go to sleep, and I just needed to take him for a drive. I was sure that would put him to sleep, so about 2 a.m. I loaded him into his car seat, and went on a drive. I was feeling so frustrated, by the lack of sleep, and worried that Matt might die. In my head I was planning how I was going to do things if I were a single mom. Then I came across this street.



For some reason- it struck me as so funny- I burst out laughing. I thought what a great street to come across on that night, because it was exactly what I was feeling. It really did help lighten my mood, and after that, when I needed to take Camden for a drive, I'd find myself heading to that street. It never failed to get a laugh from me. Well, I passed it again today, and had been feeling kind of down all day. I just had to take a picture. For some reason, it lightens my mood to think about the humorous people naming streets. :)

Organizing

One of my goals this year is to get my house my organized. It's funny because for some reason my mom and siblings think I am an organization freak. I'm really not! I like things clean- but I have clutter in drawers, etc. you just can't see it. :) Well- I've been working on one drawer/closet at a time and am seeing some progress. I still have more closets and drawers, but these were the ones bothering me the most.

The pantry

As I was organizing, I remembered a post my friend Wendy wrote about having so much Jello. I had to count mine up. I had 33 boxes. I have never in my life and I mean NEVER made Jello. (I know what kind of Mormon am I?)

One of my bathroom drawers

Here it is

This is not the best picture, I took it by myself, since Camden was the only one home. My hair is actually darker than this, because I tried to fix it, and it ended up darker. In this, you can still see a lot of my red hair, but now you can't. I can't get in to get it fixed until the 27th, so for now I'm trying to avoid people. :)

Cooped up

So I have hardly been out of the house in days. It's been snowing. A LOT. I have a sick baby. Bronchitis and ear infections. Me and staying home for days is not a good thing. I get feeling cooped up- doing projects, and then I do something rash. Now my strawberry blond hair is gone and it is DARK brown. I mean dark! Morgan came home from school and burst into tears. She hates it. Dillon is too diplomatic to say he hates it, but admitted he likes my old hair better. Logan could care less. I am not brave enough yet to post a picture of me with my dark hair. Let's hope the weather gets better or else I may be bald soon.

My boss

I wanted to call in sick today.

I thought about it for a minute, but then the boss called. He wanted "Juice!" He did not ask nicely- he DEMANDED it.

I LOVE motherhood about 99% of the time. I eat drink and sleep motherhood. It's like a good fix, sometimes I can't get enough.

The other 1% of the time I want to call in sick and read a book.

But I didn't, I gave in to the boss, and wouldn't you know it, the fickle thing didn't want juice by then. He wanted milk. Then he dumped his juice and now my kitchen floor is a mess.

Better clean it up- my boss is calling.

Hiding places

The kids are back to school, and I've been cleaning. I was putting some stuff away, and literally had only been doing that for 3 minutes. I wondered where Camden was, and why he was so quiet. I start calling him, no answer. I started yelling his name, getting a little panicky now, because it is TOO quiet, but no answer. I still can't find him, and then I walked into my closet and this is what I found.

Camden 'hiding.'

A little surprised to see me.

Leftover M&M's from the gingerbread houses.(I didn't even know we had them.)

"Nope! I didn't get into anything!"

Morgan's Birthday and Party

Morgan wanted to decorate her own cake.

We always decorate the birthday person's chair, and then they use the "Special Plate all day."

Just a little recap of Morgan's birthday. We spent time together as a family on the day of her birthday. She opened her gifts, and then she and I had a girl's date. We went to lunch, and shopping together. It is always so fun to go and do something, with just the two of us. I am reminded of what a great young lady she is becoming. When we came home, we arrived to see that Morgan had been "heart attacked" by the Young Women. They all wrote messages to her on hearts and left them on the door and all over the porch.


They also left a happy birthday flower sign in the snow.

After reading the messages, we got ready for the annual cousin sleepover. Every year while we have the traditional bingo party, on the Graham's side, the cousins get to have a sleepover. They always have a great time, and it is something they look forward to throughout the whole year.

Morgan had her friend birthday party today. She invited 14 of her friends to a "Hollywood Pop Star" party, at our house. (Not all pictured.)

They played all kinds of games, that Morgan had planned, ate, sang and danced, had an American Idol competition. Etc. I think the girls all had a great time.
Some of the Hollywood decor.



This is the red carpet. Morgan had her wireless microphone, and announced what the kids were wearing, when they entered. The 'paparazzi' (Dillon and Logan) took photos.

This is the Hollywood director's clapboard cake, I made. I always make a cake for their parties, in whichever theme they choose.



I think our holiday season is officially over now. :)