Kung Fu

You know how either before you were a parent, or when your first one was small, you deluded yourself into thinking that your children would always obey simply out of love and devotion and healthy respect for you?

Then life evolved into "you can do B if you do A first" or "item C will be on time out since you decided to hit with it" or "yeah, why don't you kick me more, then I'll give you what you want"

And of course there are the huge variety of methods of distraction parents use on their younger children.

Imagine if you will. Toddler is throwing tantrum because he doesn't want to get out of the car after taking his siblings to the bus stop. (this is purely hypothetical, you know) So Mom says "Do you want to watch Kung Fu Panda?" Toddler immediately stops throwing tantrum, jumps into mom's arms and says "Yah!". Thank you, oh thank you to the makers of Kung Fu Panda.

Not much else could get a two year old to sit quietly on the couch.

"Legend tells of a lengendary warrior whose kung fu skills were the stuff of legend!" Now, I must go and eat. To quote my favorite line from Po (aka Kung Fu Panda).

"I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet. It's gonna take a lot more than dew and, uh, universe... juice. "

Happy Wednesday!

Day Off

My kids are home from school today. We had homemade waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. It was soooo good! We're going to play the rest of the day. See ya tomorrow!

S.S.S.S.

I told my kids when they got home from school one day last week that I had a Super Secret Special Surprise. (S.S.S.S. for short). Now, you may think that a Super Secret Special Surprise requires a lot of pre-planning and something grand and spectacular. What it requires, in fact, is:

A. Trip to the dollar section at Target where I picked up these awesome little ceramic bowls.
B. One box of Cookie Crisp Cereal.
C. Let children eat entire box of said cereal after school.

And Voila! You have a Super Secret Special Surprise!

The Surprise part is that I never let them eat an entire box of sugar cereal. Come to think of it, I think that's the Super and the Special part as well. And the Secret part? I kept it a Secret that I would ever let them eat an entire box of sugar cereal at one sitting. It was a pretty good Super Secret Special Surprise, if I do say so myself.

What Heaven Smells Like

I'm pretty sure that Heaven smells really good. Depending on where you go or who you are visiting, it might have a variety of smells. Like, the smell after it rains, or homemade chocolate cake. But my Heaven will smell like this. Yes, that is the top of Nora's head. She just needs a little scratch and sniff sticker so everyone can smell sweet, Heavenly baby smell. I seriously must smell her head 500 hundred times a day. I smell the heads of other people's babies as well. It's intoxicating. What could be better than the smell of a child fresh from their Heavenly Father? So I'm putting this in with my order. Which is as follows.

Amy Allen's wish list for Heaven:

1.)One Eternal Companion-check
2.)All my children-check
3.)All extended family and friends-check
4.)The smell of new baby-check
5.)Eating without gaining weight-check

See, it really doesn't take much at all to make me happy :)

A letter to Anne Shirley

Anne of Green Gables is my literary heroine. She is everything I would be if I could. And if I were to write a letter to Anne Shirley, I think it would go something like this.

Dear Miss Anne Shirley,

I have gained many things from the reading of your adventures. I have found my own bosom friends and kindred spirits. I have made plum puffs and chicken salad and served them outside! Scandalous, I know.

I wrap my children up in my arms and cuddle them goodnight and overindulge them with love and affection on a regular basis. Would you be proud of me for that? I think so.

I have allowed myself to be whimsical and day-dreamy and I have certainly been lost in my made up story lines of damsels in distress. I have been part of misunderstandings that were certainly innocent on my part. I have often wanted to "drink in" the loveliness that is around me and create something that is better than myself.

I have wished for a Miss Cornelia to sagely state "Just like a man" while we mend clothes and sew baby dresses. I have been inspired to befriend the prickly pears and find that they truly are sweet once you get past their prickles.

My temper has subsided with age and I no longer push boys down who say something mean. (I'm sorry Billy Dahlman and that kid from the gifted workshop).

I try to not be vain about the features I like about myself and to in turn not judge the features of others. I wish I could get a lesson from you on setting a table for "tea".

I'm happy to say that I married my own "Gilbert", though I never broke a slate over his head. I can read a good book from front to back without noticing a thing around me.

I named my 4th child after you and my mother (that's why it is Ann with an E ). And I often wonder what you, Anne, would do when faced with some of the events in my life.

I love you Anne Shirley. You are as real to me as many a friend, and truly you are a kindred spirit. I look forward to many re-readings of your adventures and sharing this joy with my own daughters.

With much devotion and warmest regards,

Mrs. Amy Allen

Dance Party

When Jeff and I were dating, there was a young adult dance with a seventies theme. He wore a Greg Brady wig and white bell bottoms, I feathered my hair and wore groovy velvet pants.

There were several things that night that let me know Jeff was a keeper. How many guys will not only dress up, but that can totally cut a rug? (He's a really good dancer, by the way)

As he let loose on the dance floor with absolutely zero inhibitions, I felt a glowing pride that he was with me. Our love of dancing has stayed with us these 12 years and we have passed that on to the kiddies.


This was our F.H.E. (family home evening) the other night. I bought some black lights at Halloween, we told everyone to wear white, and we boogied and limbo'd the night away.







I tell ya, what is life without a good dance party once in a while?

Election day

Election day. What does that mean to you, the average American citizen?
Does it imply a sense of duty, a sense of pride at our democratic republic?
Does it invoke images of great men leading the charge for a betterment of our society and great country?
Do you stand a little taller as you leave your voting place, knowing you have contributed to the workings of this great Nation?
Do you weep when you consider the many who have lived and died, fought and challenged in order to make this nation great?
Do you exercise your right to choose who represents you?
Do you wear your "I Voted Today" sticker with pride?
Do you make sure that you are informed about the candidates and what they stand for?
Do you participate in elections because you are grateful to be part of this, the greatest country on God's green earth?

But most importantly, do you have a babysitter so that you can Get Out and Vote without a gaggle of children hanging on you?

If you are one of the babysitter-less, this blog is for you.

It is for the mother or father who doesn't let 3 cranky children who have been forced to wait in line and be quiet and not kick the man behind you while you try and decipher the last of the initiatives, get in the way of them doing their civic duty.

This is for the people who drag their twins down to their voting place last minute because their neighbor called and cancelled because she is sick with the flu.

This is for the mother of a newborn who tried to time the feedings so that she could vote and be done before 2 hours were up only to have to wait in line longer than she expected and now the baby is screaming and won't stop and people are giving her dirty looks but she doesn't want to get out of line and she has no idea how to breastfeed standing there with all those people giving her the stink eye.

This is for the grandma who watches her grandbabies so her daughter can go to school and the 2 year old has an "accident" because the potty training is just recent and she forgot to take her before they got in line and mom didn't pack them a change of clothes.

This is for the parents who wait until the kids are in bed so that they can take turns and end up barely making it because Timmy couldn't sleep without his blanket which he left in the car that dad is driving to the voting place and had to turn around and bring it back so that the kid would stop screaming!

And this is for every other voter who glares at a parent or grandparent or aunt or uncle or nanny who had to bring the kids. Please be kind, please be patient and for crying out loud, make sure you get out and vote!

Halloween Hangover

Ok, so everyone who let their kids go trick or treating raise your hands. Alright, everyone who is rationing out the candy like a good mother should, put your hands down. Everyone else, you will understand, "THE HALLOWEEN HANGOVER". dun dun dun dun

This is what's left of my children's Halloween candy. They were full. (I love how Julia's is organized by type of candy into little bags, wherever does she get that from?)

We had craziness abounding from the constant rush of sugar thru their veins. (that's Henry in my witch wig)

So the leftover candy came down to me, having to make a choice.


Breakfast A: candy

or.......

Breakfast B: Homemade french toast, eggwhite omelette with sugar free syrup.

I ate Breakfast B. However, I'm not convinced it was anywhere as good as Breakfast A would have been.

And since my children ate almost nothing but candy all weekend, some were way too wired to got to bed on time, therefore very tired and high strung this morning. Their teachers are gonna love me.

This picture taken 5 minutes before we had to leave for school. Me yelling "We have to go now! Did you brush your teeth? Where are your shoes? You can play the game later! Get your back pack! COME on!!!"
Well, I've worked up quite an appetite. I think I need a snack. Now what would be better, Snickers or Almond Joy? hmmmm

Duck....
Duck....

Goose!!

Nora

It's a Girl
an Angel
a little Beauty
and I am madly
in Love with her

Maile made this for me. I love it. I love her. I love Nora. I love, love, love. Because it is true.

When Henry was two months old, I thought, I think there is another one. A little girl. Of course I told myself that this was the thought of a crazy woman who couldn't let go of her childbearing years. Maybe that's true. But the nagging little girl voice in my head would not go away. She kept reminding me that she was there. Even as I said "I can't be pregnant again. I refuse. Maybe if we adopt I could do it".






















Even as I loved and smooched and doted on my little Henry, I felt this pink little presence at the back of my mind. So when the test gave me two lines, I knew it was a girl. How could it not be what with all her effort to warn me ahead of time?

And what a presence she is. Nora is 3 months old. And in 3 months I have learned once again our great capacity to love, and to love many at once. I have been reminded that a little baby crying, when she is your own, is the sweetest sound there is. Because it means she is here, and she is yours. Well, kind of on loan from Heavenly Father, (so I'd better do a dang good job), but mine nevertheless. I usually avoid being overly sentimental, but I am so in love with my little baby. And she is 3 months old.

And that is a reason to celebrate.

Cats

I don't like cats. Why? Several reasons.

First of all, when I was a child I liked cats a lot. Then I went thru puberty and became allergic. Instead of being angry at the betrayal of my body, I chose to despise cats.

Secondly, they always rub against your legs, and I'm not so good with the "animals rubbing themselves on me" thing. (Let that be a warning to all dogs out there as well)

Thirdly, even smart cats are dumb. Like the neighbor cat who I continually rescue from my garage that insists on trying to scratch me when all I'm doing is helping her find her way home.

Although I must say the occasional cat provides unbelievable comic relief. My sister's last cat, Hobbes, would randomly strike out at whoever was passing by. I giggle remembering him swiping at Maile as she walked into the house. I laugh out loud at her evasive maneuver to avoid said swiping which ended up looking more like she had some weird hitch in her git along. You might have had to be there, but hoowee, it was funny!

Because of this prejudice againsts cats, I tend to hate anything that even has cats on it. Subconciously I think it will make me sneeze. But on my monthly homage to Good Will, I found these babies!

Are they not the freakin-ist, coolest bookends you have ever seen? They remind of those clocks that keep time by having the cats eyes move left right, left right, left right. They will soon have a place of honor somewhere in this house. I love them, I love them, I love them! They are wicked cool.

1.wick·ed ; a term used primarily in New England. To add emphasis. ie: those pants are wicked cool, your hair is wicked awesome, I was wicked full.

Now, finding a smashingly good place for them. Somewhere my children can see them and love them, talk to them and place their favorite books in between. I want them to love the cats so much that they all will fight over who gets the cat bookends when I die.

Aaahh, such a lovely thought.

I was tagged.

8 Things I am passionate about
1.The Gospel of Jesus Christ
2.Teaching my children to make righteous decisions, to be strong in a world that values things of NO value.
3. Making Jeff happy
4.Getting skinny
5.Decorating my house.
6.Planning for the future
7. Conservative values
8. Finding the perfect shade of red lipstick.

8 Things I want to do before I die
1. Spend a week on a private island with Jeff.
2. Run a half marathon
3. Watch my sons and daughters go on missions and marry good people in the temple.
4. Be independently wealthy
5. Sky dive
6. Be completely organized.
7. Sing the national anthem at a professional sporting event.
8. Live on a farm.

8 Things I have learned from the past
1. Always listen to the spirit, no matter how difficult it seems.
2. Things change very quickly, enjoy life as it happens.
3. No matter how good it tastes, I will be mad I ate that second helping.
4. Most of the things that irritate me are not worth getting irritated over.
5. Buy shoes the right size.
6. Avoid people who gossip about other people, because they will inevitably gossip about me as well.
7. Be very careful of judgements based on first impressions, I have been wrong, both for good and bad.
8. Never compromise personal integrity, you will always regret it.

8 Places I want to see
1. New Zealand
2. Hawaii
3. Brazil-places Jeff served on his Mission
4. England-think jane austen
5. Prince Edward Island and Anne Shirley.
6. New york again.
7. Narragansett Beach
8. Scotland and Ireland, hopefully the Loch Ness

8 Things I currently want/need
1. A girls weekend/spa day
2. Enough money to pay off all our debt
3. A weekly date with Jeff
4. Smaller clothes
5. A $10,000 shopping spree at Home Depot
6. A new car for Jeff
7. Braces
8. A king size bed

Busy

"Hey Mom."
"Hey, Henry."
"What were you doing while I was doing...."

"THIS!"



"Oh, I don't know Henry, a little of this, a little of that."
"Like what?"
"I was eating yummy homemade bread, do you want some?"
"Yeah."

"I was cuddling Nora too. Do you want to cuddle Nora?"
"Yeah."

"I love you Henry."
"I love you too, Mom."

I don't know Stephanie and Christian Nielsen personally, but I love them, and I pray for them everyday.

To read all about them and have a good cry,( I did), go here.

Rant

I need to vent, if I may, Wait, of course I may, it's my blog! Being an election year and living in the Northwest, I found that there are new things that irritate me.

So begins my rant.(shortened due to time constraints)


1. I eat red meat, and like it.

2. I forget to turn lights off.

3. I forget to turn my outside water off, sometimes it's on all night!

4. I think some of the new playground rules are dumb, like you can't run on the pavement, seriously?

5. I don't always Recycle. Sometimes my recyclables go right into the trash. Shocking, I know.

6. I feed my children sugar before bed, not always, but enough.

7. I hate Mean People Suck bumper stickers.

8. I occasionally throw things away that could probably be donated. (aren't I awful?)

9. I take my family to McDonalds, gross, I know.

10. I don't care that Anne Marie got in trouble for screaming in the bathroom at school. Echo's are the coolest and instead she should have gotten a reward for being so curious about resonant wave. Stupid no screaming in the bathroom rules.

11.I hate that I have no choice in the way my taxes are used to help others.

12. I am pretty sure that it's normal for kids to crowd around the birthday kid while they open presents. I can hardly restrain myself, how do you expect a 6 year old to do it?

13. I think getting your tongue pierced is DUMB. There, I said it!

14. I think homework before 5th grade stinks.

15. I wish more moms stayed home with their kids.

16. I'm a conservative talk radio junky, and proud of it.

17. I get angry that freedom of choice doesn't include unborn babies.


18. I really, really hate that one side of my hair curls better than the other.


19. I leave the water running while I do dishes and brush my teeth, and so far no cartoon fish has asked me to please conserve, so it must be ok.


20. I hate lying liars who lie.


21. I am smart enough to talk on my cell phone and drive without killing anyone. Believe me, I do waaay dumber things than that while I drive.

22. I hate that rhododendrons are only pretty for one month out of the year.

There, I think that about covers it. I should be good for another 6 months.

And besides, who can stay irritated on such a good hair day?

Whatever you do, Don't fall asleep!!!!

Haircut Day

It started with My little Ponies and Barbie Dolls. (yes, that is doll hair all over the floor)

Then it evolved to "what would happen if I cut my hair?" Aren't the bangs lovely?
Then came the realization that there would be no more ponytails for a while.
Luckily, my neighbor cuts hair, or in this case, fixes hair.
Pretty cute.
Then the happiness cuz she thinks her hair looks like her friend Ruby's.
Is it totally awful that I'm glad she did this? I think her hair is so cute!!

Self portrait.

"I think this looks cool."" Or maybe this."

"Wait, this looks super cool."
"No, this is it, I got it, this is cool."

What's in your backyard?

When I was about 4 or 5 years old, my family moved into the house on the hill, as we still call it. I'm not sure how many acres were actually ours, but there was what seemed like a lot of woods to play in behind the house.

We would go tramping off down the trail pretending to be King Arthur. We had these big green metal fence posts that served as Exalibur for Keno, and I had some lesser sword, made of a stick I'm sure.

I vividly remember pretending to be Annie and singing Tomorrow at the top of my lungs with only the trees as my audience.

There was also what was probably an old garbage pit that served as a re-creation for basic training camp from Private Benjamin.

We also had a huge garden, about a quarter acre. I was responsible for weeding one row a day in the summertime, as were Keno and Maile. On days when we hadn't gotten anything done, Maile and I would cover ourselves in dirt just as my dad was getting home to "prove" that we had been working all day. Did we fool you dad?

There was a tall lamp post in the back yard (why was it in the back yard?) with a water spicket next to it (I know it's spelled spigot, but I don't care)and we built a FORT around it with leftover plywood. I remember playing in it one night and hearing the coyotes howl, so I went in. Wouldn't you?

The next house we lived in had fruit trees in the yard and a garden, of course. My mom made crab apple jelly from the crab apple tree and I think there was a plum tree as well, but I didn't like plums back then. Maile and our friends Tina and Jeannie would make up dances to popular songs at the time such as "We built this city on Rock and Roll" by Starship, who used to be Jefferson Starship, who used to be Jefferson Airplane. (They were popular in the drug laden 60's and 70's, ever heard the song White Rabbit?, then you know what I mean) I still remember some of the moves. I'm sure we were a sight to behold.

We just took whatever we had and made it into something entertaining. My kids have grown up differently. Their yards have been smaller and not wooded, but they have created their own adventures and stories.

This is our back yard here in Maple Valley. The trampoline gets a lot of use and I'm sure they will have their own stories to tell someday. But I imagine the TRAIN will stay permanently attached to our memories of this house. Personally, I will remember plugging my ears and singing to myself (something along the lines of la la la laaaaa really loud) in order to drown out the horrible noise. But I think we're all used to it now. And I can honestly say that we live on the right side of the tracks.

The view from my bedroom window. Jealous?

Ellensburg

Jeff and I love Ellensburg. It is where we first met and fell in love. It is where our first child was born. It is where Jeff's parents and sister still live. Because of that we have a legitimate reason to go over whenever we can. This weekend we headed over for Trevor Easley's birthday party and for Jeff to show off his manly skills at fence fixing. The drive over was breathtaking. The leaves are starting to change to more exciting colors and we really have the prettiest mountains, dontcha think?



My fantastic sister in law wanted a pool party for her beautiful one year old. What an awesome idea. I have fond memories of the Ellensburg pool . In college, Maile and Teresa and I would spend a lot of time there. Unfortunately, so did one of my history professors. He was a man of exceptional girth and yet insisted on wearing a purple speedo. To this day I do not remember his actual name, he is forever Purple Speedo Man. Luckily for all, I do not have a picture of this man, but I'm sure you all can imagine. Anyway, so We all headed off to the Ellensburg pool to enjoy some play time. I of course stayed pool side with Nora and took loads of pictures. (It had nothing whatsoever to do with my post-baby body issues, I assure you)


Anne Marie and cousin Layla.

All of Jeff and his siblings are very comfortable in the water and were taught at a young age by Coach Don how to dive. So of course a diving "contest" ensued. I have determined a winner. This amazing chic, my sister in law Dawn, is 5 months pregnant!!! Can you believe that? She wins hands down.

Dawn, Matt, and Mr. Trevor, the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday little man!
My HOTTIE husband putting his skills to work with Delayna's AWESOME husband Ron. (I just put this in here so you could see how cute Jeff is!)