Today I got this email from my sister "in-law", Katy- and loved it, so had to post it. I emmensly dislike the SAHM/working mom battle, so that's not why I loved it. I happen to know plenty of *wonderful* mothers who stay home *and* plenty who work. But this woman was just able to articulate why it is sometimes difficult to be a stay-at-home mom. So this is not an "In Yo' Face", but more of an "Amen." 
To sleep from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. with NO interruptions. I am grateful for my children. I love my children. I know how lucky I am. But I also want sleep. I figure after a solid year (literally) of not sleeping through the night, I'm due. Unfortunately, as mentioned in countless other posts, The Little One (and no, her bow is NOT big enough): 
is not on the same page. I've been *trying* to sleep train. I've tried: 
and this:
and this:
and this:
and this:
and this:
But I'm afraid what it's going to come down to is this:
wish me luck. And I am done whinning about lack of sleep, starting right......NOW.
And for your entertainment, the other day, Dallin came running frantically into the house, into the kitchen, grabbed scissors, and started to run back out. I yelled after him- "don't run with scissors!! And what are you doing with scissors?!" He looked back at me, saying, "Lou's head is stuck and Natalie needs scissors!", and slammed the door behind him. So, prepared blogger that I am, I grab my camera and go outside to see this:
I was able to keep Natty from cutting our goal threads, and after I stopped laughing, was able to get lou-lou's head out of one of the little holes. After "eventful" days with this fun-loving, curious little girl, this shouldn't surprise me, but I had to wonder, "WHAT was she doing??!" Good times :)
and all through our house, 4 creatures were stirring, and hopefully no mouse....
(is this pose getting old?? I seem to be a one-trick pony this Christmas...)
...with Ma in her kerchief and Brooklyn in her cap...
and I'm all out of cute little substitutions for one of my favorite Christmas stories ever, but we'll just say we've had a wonderful Christmas- Brooklyn loves her sock monkey (thanks Taunya!)
to all, and to all a good night! Brooklyn has decided that sleep at night is over-rated, and feels the need to wake up every single hour. She's been doing this for a few nights, so I'm feeling it- big time.
And yet...when I see this: 
or this:
I don't mind as much.
Lou-lou, on the other hand, has decided that clothing (and more specifically, panties), are over-rated. The other day we went to Walmart- she was dressed in a cute little dress. But as I was lifting her into the cart, I realized she had decided to go "commando" as I felt bare bum on my hand. So we went to the kids department first.
Fast forward to today:
I had to run some errands, so I asked her to get dressed and reminded her, "don't forget to put your undies on." "Otay, Mommy."
Maybe I should have been more specific:
I love my days with these 2 girls! And for the record: that's mascara on her eye/nose- not cuts- and sometimes she really does leave her hair done.
What is your favorite:
color: red
holiday: Thanksgiving
sport to play: racquetball/volleyball
pet: none- but if I had to choose...dog
friend: the loyal one
season: fall
number:3
food: homemade egg rolls
drink: tang
wild animal: parrot (is that wild?)
mythical creature: Pegasus
toy: plasma car
movie: white christmas
book: pride and prejudice
song: Time to say goodbye
scripture story: jaredites journey to the promised land
teacher: bro. christensen from Ricks College
board/card game: settlers of catan/risk
Copy and paste the survey and fill in your own answers. Then tag 5 people.
I tag...mel, tiffany, alexis, NAT-THURSTON...(yes, you!), and liz
*"There are many different kinds of skunks. They vary in size (most are housecat-sized) and appear in a variety of striped, spotted, and swirled patterns—"
*Skunks usually nest in burrows constructed by other animals, but they also live in hollow logs or even abandoned buildings.
*Each female gives birth to between two and ten young each year.
*They are nocturnal foragers who eat fruit and plants, insects, larvae, worms, eggs, reptiles, small mammals, and even fish.
*In colder climates, some skunks may sleep in these nests for several weeks of the chilliest season.
*And *apparently*, when nests are not available, they'll make do in MY GARAGE:
The day before Thanksgiving I headed out to the car in our garage to get something, just in time to see a s-k-u-n-k run in front of our porch and behind our freezer. Long story short: it stayed there for almost 2 whole days. The whole time I was just praying it would not spray. I called Animal Control- they only take "control" of cats and dogs... so I called Critter Control (yes, that's what they are called) and learned they'd come get the skunk out of our garage. For a bargain price of $285. Needless to say- my dad and Tim were the Critter Control:
this was right before the skunk came out and just slowly slunk away into the night. outside. where he *belongs*.
The next day we had a delicious feast with all the traditional trimmings- and gratefully didn't have eau de Skunk ruining our meal. Then after dinner, we did the traditional Thanksgiving sparklers. 
We have our decorations and tree up: (tammy- this pic of the wreath is for you- not impressive, but I honestly tried.... it looked better in my head. I need practice)
Friday night we had our Ward Christmas Party and the kids were in good moods before we left since they were going to see Santa. So I was able, for the first time in my child-infused life, to get a cute shot of all 4 kids in front of the tree...I sure do like these 4. 
poor lou-lou is cutting molars and has a nasty rash on the bottom of her lip- I thought it had been binky-related, but the bink is long-gone and the rash is still here. Teeth/frigid cold weather are the only things I can come up with. Any ideas for how to get rid of it?
so just in case you've been living under a rock and have never seen this, it just wouldn't be Christmastime without a trip to the elf-yourself site:
