the kids have a new pet....

We have a ditch out in our front yard that our driveway lays over- so there's a pipe going underneath. And in this pipe lives a frog (or possibly a family of frogs...). The kids like to look for the frog(s), and sometimes they're able to catch it. That counts as a pet.

This is my conversation with Natalie as she came in the other day:
Natty: Can I have some string to use outside?
Me: Yep- it's in the drawer.
Natty: Thanks. (2 minutes later she comes back in...) We'll be right back. We're taking the frog for a walk.
Me: Huh??????



It's softball season and even as recently as 2 weeks ago, Natalie wasn't enjoying it. She really, really, really disliked it. BUT...now the games have started and (gratefully) she's decided the games are quite fun. I'd forgotten about all the "chattering" (heckling, taunting, etc.) that goes on, and it's kind of fun watching these girls cheering each other on. N is the smallest, youngest, and least-experienced, but she's catching on. The other day she got hit when she was up to bat, but her response was, "Huh....that wasn't so bad." (phew...)

The other day at the ballpark it was pretty cold, so I had the kids bundled up. 2 people on separate occasions remarked that this one looked like a baby gorilla...
...be that as it may, isn't she a *cute* gorilla???

And finally....just when I'm convinced that my children are literally incapable of being nice to each other, they prove me wrong...

And that's why I love them so much...

sweet cheeks...

Six years ago...this little guy:

earned the nickname (or "knick-knack name" as he and Natty call it) Sweet Cheeks.

I wish there was such thing as Sense-o-rama for internet usage (note to self: invent that.) because this nickname didn't come about per chance. Dallin literally has the softest, sweetest smelling cheeks on the face of the planet. I could not stop kissing them when he was a baby....
And even now...

luckily, he still lets me smooch on them.

You know how, as parents, each child sort of manages to hold a special place in your heart for different reasons? Dallin is my only little boy. So I can say he's my favorite son with no reservations. In some ways, he is the stereotypical boy- he tends to play rough, even with his sisters.., he can display some impressive temper tantrums, he gravitates towards sports, cars, etc.. but he's also a softhearted little guy.

*When he was little and I'd sing I am a Child of God he used to cry. For a while I thought it was just because I'm such an atrocious singer, but when I'd sing other things he'd smile or sing along...plus, I noticed at church if they'd be singing it, he'd tear up and cry then as well.
*A lot of times when I lay down with him at bedtime, he'll be very quiet. But after about 5 minutes, he'll say something or ask me a question about something that had gone on earlier that day or even earlier in the week.
*When I go to see him at school he's unashamed and always runs up for a hug and kiss in front of all his friends, and is still anxious to hold my hand through the hallways. I'm sure that won't last forever, but since he just barely turned six, I'm just going to bask and revel in it....

Happy birthday Sweet Cheeks! We love you :)

blogging tip for Katy and anyone else interested....

actually it's more of html code tip. And the fact that *I'm* the one to pass on any code tips just about has me in doubled over laughing...but here goes...

To strike out a word so people can still read it, ie: I hate loathe grasshoppers...

you would type < s > before the word or sentence you want to strike out, and then type < /s > after the word or sentence.
But when you do those, type them altogether with no spaces between any of the symbols or letters. I just had to space them out so you could see the code.

Obviously I'm no professional, so I hope that makes sense?

Truth #11.......

11- I tend to be indecisive....I think. When I'm feeling positive, I look at it as "I like to see things from all sides"....when I'm feeling negative, I look at it as "Just when I think I've made up my mind, I change it." And unfortunately, I always announce when I've "made up my mind". Then I have to announce when I've changed it. And then again when I've changed it back.

Case in point: I'm not going private after all. Here's why:
In my last post, I said "...so until someone can explain to me how these people are finding my blog, I'm going private."
*Since then I've had 2 people explain to me why people from far off countries are finding my blog. And both explanations made sense.
*They (meaning: the strangers) haven't been back. (Which means a)they don't speak English or b)my blog is not of interest to them....shocking, I know. oops...sarcasm used.)
*Even if my blog was private, "they" could still access it because I used to use pics from Google Images. (I will no longer be doing that.....)
*I'm too tired to add all your addresses to make the blog private....

soooooooooo, I've erased all your comments so noone else can get your email addys and put them somewhere safe. so when if I change my mind AGAIN, I'll just add you and won't have to do another roll call.
sorry for the tease folks.....

Now I'm *really* going private...promise...

I've gone back and forth on the matter a couple of times and actually posted, then deleted the post announcing it, because I thought I was just being paranoid. But watching my live feed include visitors from Lisboa, Pakistan and other countries where I have *zero* connections and not even 6 degrees of separation could link me there, it wierds me out. So until someone can explain to me how these people are finding my blog, I'm going private...let me know if you still want to visit and I'd love to add you!

Ten Honest things??

I was tagged by a friend to give 10 honest things about myself. Frankly, "honest things" is just code for "freak flags", but if you're curious, here I go...

1)I don't like sarcasm. I used to think it was funny and a valuable skill to have. Now I just think it's mean and not a particularly creative form of humor.

2)I like predictability and as such, I like being on time, HATE being late; and once a plan has been made, it stresses me out when things change at the last minute-even if i'm the one to change the plans ;)

3)I prefer small gatherings to big groups.

4)I love learning new things- still.

5)I love shoes in theory, but prefer to go barefoot 9 times out of 10.

6)I don't like things that hop, fly or jump. (except dogs. they jump and it doesn't bother me. cats, grasshoppers, crickets, moths, frogs, birds, bats....forgetaboutit...YUCK.) and speaking of cats....when they rub up against me I have to concentrate so I don't shudder...in fact, the other day Tim and I were at a member of the bishopric's and one of his cats jumped up on my lap. He asked me if I liked cats and *I lied right to his face and said, "Oh yeah, they don't bother me"* Do I need to go back and tell him I lied? I can picture it now..."Um...Brother _____, I'm really sorry, but as far as cats go, your pets really are quite pretty, but I *can't STAND* them...especially when they jump on me and expect me to pet them....I just really didn't want to hurt your feelings."..... I'm thinking I'm going to just let that one slide.... moving on.

7)If I had a day all to myself, I would spend 70% of it in a bookstore- Preferably Joseph-Beth Bookstore in Lexington- a 2-story slice of heaven.

8)Now that I'm a little older and hopefully a little wiser, I realize that my parents were right about 97% of the time, and I'm glad they knew it.

9)Apparently, I like statistics.

10)I get a lot of good ideas- but sometimes have a hard time following through with them...I think I'm getting better, but I just get distracted so eas.....

I tag Darla, Garity, Denae, Angie, Liz, Michelle and Susan....and anyone else who wants to play...

Mercy me, guess who's 3?

Since becoming a mother, it's come to me that one of the things I want most for my children is for them to have tough skin and soft hearts. Our little lou-lou seems to have both, with a dash of feisty-ness tossed in. She's always saying/doing/showing us things that make us wonder how we got so lucky. A couple of my favorite madison-isms so far:
"I best friend wis you", "You my favorite." (or lately, as she's said to me, "I like Daddy better. I like Natty better. I like Dallin better, and I like baby better. I not like you better." But I've since fallen back into her good graces.)
We love her infectious laugh (which often means she's up to no good!), creativity, and her funny spit-fire disposition....she's been known to be the designated-diaper-checker for her friends as they were potty-training, and the lap-nazi in nursery.

Happy Birthday, Lou-lou! We love you :)

Yeaaaah, buddy....work that red leather jacket and upside down shades.... did I mention how much we love her?!