The Big 3-0

So what does one say about starting a new decade?
I don't know.
Everyone always makes such a big deal out of it...I guess I figured maybe I should feel different, or older or something.
Nah. Not really. What's the big fuss about?

Maybe it's because people start acting old and no one else welcomes in the official start of their birthday by doing the limbo with a Nun and being sung to by a group of good friends. While dressed like Martha Washington. More people should. It's really quite fun.

But I have been reflecting on the past decade.
What is it that I've done for the past 10 years? I guess more accurately the question would be what haven't I done?
It's amazing how much of life I have lived in the past 10yrs. I would venture a guess that it will be the most life altering 10yr period of my life. So many major life changes packed into a short period of time. 10 years ago it was Aaron and me, and a little two week old Malia living in our little 2 bedroom condo. That year he bought me Grease for my birthday, we watched it, took Malia to her 2wk doctor appointment, and had a visit from the lactation consultant before he headed off to work. I had just embarked on my journey to becoming a stay at home mom (although technically I was still employed, working for The Ritz-Carlton, just on leave). Aaron was selling cars-yah, yah, we know. It was great money really, just too bad that the environment and hours sucked so royally.
Just a few things I've done.....
I've given birth to seven children (ok, technically Malia was born 2wks before I hit 20).
We've lived in 4 different homes.
I've spent some of those years homeschooling-something I really never thought I'd do.
I've spent nearly all of that time serving in Primary! Apparently I fit in better with children than adults. ;) Shocker, huh?
I've taught myself how to sew, learned how to frame (the basement), drywall, done plenty of painting, and even dabbled with some electric work in a house where it probably should have killed me to play with the wires. No, I don't do plumbing.
I've learned more than I thought possible, changed some of my opinions on things, made choices that I never thought I'd make, and decided that a piece of paper doesn't make you educated; your desire to learn, and efforts to do so, whether you are in a pompous university or a humble home is what provides education.
I've fallen more madly in love that I thought possible. I knew I loved Aaron long before we married, but never imagined that it was only the tip of the iceberg.
I've learned a lot about what is important to me and what I want from life. I've learned that although this life that I live today is very much not what I had planned, it is very much the one I really did want, and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Oh, and my personal favorite highlight of my 20's......(drumroll please).......in the past 10 years I have gained 217 pounds. Yes, you read that right! Thankfully I have lost 209lbs (still working on the last 8 from Charlotte-they'll stick around until she weans).

As of 11:36am yesterday morning, I am now officially 30 years old. How did I welcome in today, my first day officially waking up as a 30 year old? With German Chocolate Pie of course! What? You don't eat dessert for breakfast? I've been told that metabolism tanks when you hit 30. We'll just say I'm just conducting a little experiment or something.

Any big plans for the next ten years? Not so much. Just more of the same. I'm not a huge fan of change most of the time. Hopefully at least one more baby, but it will be odd to finish that stage of my life. By the time I hit another decade mark, I'll have a child that is out of her teens (ACK!!!), and 4 more in their teens with the next one not far behind that. Wow-Charli will be Malia's age..... Strange. Considering how fast the past 10 years have gone, and the fact that each day seems to go by faster than the one before, unfortunately I'm sure it will be here before I know it.

So to celebrate being old now, I'm embarking on a new little endeavor. After being told "you should sell that!" enough times to get me thinking, I'm finally doing something about it. I was hoping to have everything up and running for my big b-day gift to myself, but between finishing up Halloween costumes and a couple of custom orders, I just haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. Hopefully by the end of the week! I'll of course link that here once I get it ready, so keep an eye out for that. : )

Another year older, hopefully a little bit wiser, and looking forward to the next ten. Hopefully with a killer tan. (Thanks Babe!!)

Where oh where?

Could everything I'm looking for be?

We did the big WalMart trip last night. We have a costume party tonight, so we were grabbing those few last minute things we needed to finish up the costumes, and getting all the munchies that we wanted on hand. (no, we don't get the munchies from our parties-you know what I mean).

So, now that I have less than 2hrs until things get under way, I'm making sure we have everything ready to go. My spine starts tingling as my inner radar indicates that I cannot locate my giant party size bag of M&Ms in less than 30 seconds. Or less than 5 minutes. And now that I'm looking, where are the olives? And all the bobby pins I got so that I could get my hair done? And where are the chips? And hey, WAIT A MINUTE-I'm missing all sorts of things!! Panic ensues at the thought of being M&M-less, and though I do love them so, I'm not sure I can justify a 45min trip to the store at this hour just for my beloved little rainbow colored melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand goodness. Did we leave them at Walmart? (Oh please no!)

No, I distinctly remember seeing at least some of the missing items in the car last night.....

Checked the car. No.

Checked my stash. No.

Checked all of my little secret hiding places. Nope. No luck.

Dang.

Oh wait, where haven't I checked?

The freezer.

Good crimeny.

Lo and behold. The missing bag; M&Ms (PHEW!), Thread, buttons, bobby pins, drink mix.....In the freezer. Of course. Why wouldn't one of the kids have stuck those things in the freezer?

But now the baby is finished nursing so I am off to finish getting ready!

Me, myself and I

Ever googled yourself?

I did today. Stupid reason, I entered a giveaway contest and now can't come up with where it was, so I figured I'd google for a bit and see if it came up anywhere. You know, my name as the winner of the giveaway. Oh c'mon, I'm hopeful!

So, what comes up with "Catey" and hmmm...what did I add? Winner? Blog? Blogger? Can't remember! Oh well.

Turns out that I've become a bit more popular since last time I did this little exercise. In the past the only things that came up were some comments on natural induction methods (my experience with reflexology), and the Catey Awards. Turns out I'm more involved in the hospitality industry than just a few years with Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton all those years ago!

I do wonder if Aaron suggested the title for this little bit?

Now what is there for me? Well, I've been turned into a comic strip. Yep, that's right, Bev and Catey. Still trying to figure out if I'm the black woman with the beehive, or the blond with a 'fro. If you figure it out let me know.

Also, apparently I have a 46yr old lover named Michael who wished me a Happy Birthday back in February. A picture of a postcard.....hmmmm.....wonder if his last name is Scott by any chance?

I coming up as a little 2yr old as well. With much darker hair. Though I'd love her tan. ;) I'm not posting that link 'cause that's just a little too scary/stalker/creepy.

I am a chick in the UK with a crafty little blog. Apparently I've already celebrated my birthday-two weeks early-with a brownie and a walk on the beach. And I topped of the evening with a bag of Jelly Bellys! Sounds good to me! Maybe I'll leave a comment there......

This one cracked me up too....Catey's scrapbook profile. Mostly because she is obviously LDS and in her gallery had a bday card for Kelsey (my sister's name).

You must check out www.catey.org-this just kills me! Check the picture and the caption under it. "Inspiring confidence globally". Oh really? Slap happy dude with a pilsner in a pub? Not exactly what comes to mind for me when I think "global confidence". But whatever.

The Catey Fam has their own website, wonder if it's the same Scott that's out there "inspiring global confidence"? I didn't know my name was also a last name. But hey, it's made the baby name books here.

I am a really odd caterpillar that will not, I repeat NOT help sell your house.

And here I am rockin my new glasses. Good Times.

I had a great photoshoot here. Totally rockin the rain boots too. And look, I am {fun-tastic}!

I am also a company with my own logo. In addition to that, there is actually a company called Catey Control in Salt Lake City. I just wish I could figure out what it is exactly that they do........

And I love this. You think people who see this will start calling me "c-unit" now? Apparently "i heart ...hugging people. Just heaps and heaps. Touching people is so my style". Wow. Who knew? Honestly, I'm just not sure what to make of that statement. Especially in light of having watched dozens of episodes of The Office lately....it just seems like something Michael would say.

And there you have it. Now I feel like a creepy stalker.

Go google yourself and see what you come up with.

Words of Wisdom

Ahhh, from the mouths of babes.

Jacob's wisdom, imparted as we were out driving around on Saturday.

"Hey mom-I know a good rule. You should never touch a porcupine."

Yes, so true. Not sure what prompted it, but glad to know that should this ever be a temptation for him, he's already made this decision.

After a few minutes of quiet reflection he followed that with:

"Oh, and Mom, You should also never sniff a skunk's bum."

Malia

Slacker mom late on a birthday post again.

Malia is 10. Double Digits. How is it possible that I am old enough to have a child this old? Ok, so I am just barely old enough, but still! ;)

I loved Aaron's post for her birthday, and his little slideshow of pictures, so you can see those here. For last year's birthday post and the birth story tradition, you can go here.

It's crazy to watch the years fly by faster and faster. I think that is compounded lately by the fact that Charlotte looks a lot like Malia did when she was a baby. Nothing like having a little clone of your first baby to remind you that she certainly isn't a baby anymore!

Malia is so helpful, really a sweet kid. For example, after doing a Service Scavenger Hunt a couple of weeks ago with her Activity Days group, she decided when she was bored the other day that she wanted to do it again. Imagine what a mean mom I felt like when I brushed it off at first and ended up with my daughter actually pleading to go out and see if anyone needed help with anything. She went, she helped someone, and she came back thrilled to death. (now if we could only play that game at home every once in a while!)

Shortly after Charlotte was born she wrote me a little letter telling me that she knew I was busy with the house and the family and the new baby and getting homeschooling things together, so she was going to try harder to be more helpful and more kind to her brothers and sisters. Who does that? I hope she never loses this part of her. I hope that I can do a better job at encouraging these things in her.

I love her enthusiasm and her comfort with who she is. If you have sat near Malia in church, or been around her anywhere else where singing is involved, you know that she is tone deaf. This is really a bummer because she LOVES to sing, and she has an amazing ability to learn lyrics very quickly. But you know what? That doesn't stop her. When she sings, she sings her little heart out. She isn't embarrassed to sing in front of friends or family, and she sings with all her might in church as well. When I was serving in the Primary, I remember other kids laughing at her while she sang because she really was singing particularly loud that day. I was absolutely heartbroken for her, and hoped she wouldn't realize that they were laughing at her. Sadly, she did, but much to my surprise, she kept right on singing anyway. The saying "dance like no one's watching" could be altered for her to "sing like no one's listening".....or better yet, "just keep singing, who cares what they think!" :) I'm so impressed with her ability and desire to press on and to improve-not just in that aspect, but in most aspects in life. She tries so hard. What a great example she is. I wish I were more like her in that regard.


Of course we have our issues with each other, but it seems like most of the time when we do have issues with each other, it's because we are so very much the same! Two very stubborn females.....it ought to get really exciting around these parts in the next few years!

And even though the other kids hate it now, she'll be a great mom someday! :)

How you know

Last weekend I determined a way to realize if you have a blogging addiction. We had been out late, not getting home until nearly 12:30, and by the time we got the sitter home, the house shut down, the kids all checked on and all that other end of the night stuff, it was 1:15 am. Thus I was a tad bit surprised to find my most wonderful dear sweet husband wandering into the office to check.......his blog. I'm going to chalk it up to his 31 posts in 31 days thing and say that I'm sure he could stop blogging (or blog stalking) at any time. Really. If he wanted to. ;) (love you babe!!)

Then over the past couple of days I've come upon a few other "how you know" moments.

How you know you're a mom: You decide to get up early to work out. The kids foil you by getting up early on a weekday. You try anyway. A 42min cardio workout, coupled with a 10 min ab routine take you 2hrs and 13minutes to complete. This is because interspersed in those 52min of exercise you poured 4 bowls of cereal, changed two diapers, showered two boys, tied a pair of shoes, curled hair, sent two kids off to school, nursed a baby and answered the phone twice. Yet you persist. Even if after all of this you still weigh more than you did yesterday. Whatever.

How you know your kids have a sixth sense: They resist getting out of bed on a weekday that involves school. No matter how early they went to bed the night before. Mom must go to get them out of bed more than once, pleading with them to get up so that we don't have to rush to get them to school on time. Yet on a Saturday or Sunday, when mom and dad don't have to be up and somewhere first thing in the morning, or a weekday with no school, they are up at the crack of dawn. Or before dawn now that the sunrise is later. This also is the case on a weekday when you decide to work out. See above.

How you know you like chocolate too much: You sneak it in when you can, but in effort to not weigh more tomorrow, you make sure you get it in healthy doses, like via a protein shake and such. When you do splurge, you try to sneak it in in small increments here and there. Unfortunately this results in finding out-after you finish nursing the baby-that you have dropped something chocolate on her, it landed on her hand which she then rubbed her face with, leaving a trail of melted chocolate across her cheek, eyebrows, nose and eyelids. Oh, and part of her ear. Not to mention it melted under her little fingers into the crevices where her fingers meet her palm and into her fingernails. Wow. Who knew one stray chocolate chip could do so much damage? (I swear I had Aaron take a picture of the sleepy grin on her face as she was covered in chocolate, but I can't find it on either camera!) At least it came out of both her shirt and mine.

How you know it's not your first or only child: When it's "Red Day" at Kindergarten and your child gets up in the morning and puts this on:
and you don't argue. Hey, he's wearing red. Who cares if it's two different shades of red.
Also when it if your Kindergartener's turn for "snack day", and you send in a box of generic Vanilla Wafers. Even though there are some people who on their "snack day" take in little airplanes with the bodies made of little tubes of mini M&Ms, wings of laffy taffy, etc,etc. You get the picture. heehee....you can tell when it's a first or only child in Kindergarten! lol Bless those cute little moms....

How you know you have a wonderful husband: When he comes home each day he tells you how wonderful and beautiful you are, even with no makeup, spit up stains on your shirt, snot wiped down your jeans, and the infamous mommy ponytail (or bun) going on. Then he asks what he can do to help with dinner, and gladly relieves you of whichever child is currently clinging to your leg to give you a blessed 3 1/2 minutes completely alone to go to the bathroom. Even if you don't really have to go and just go in there to experience the sensation of walking in alone, locking the door, and not having someone either sticking fingers under the door, trying to jimmy open the lock, or banging on the door saying in their most polite little soft and gentle voice: "MOMMMMY!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE????? COME OUT!!" Hubby gets bonus points when he realizes without being prompted that you've managed to get into a jeans a size smaller without popping seams, zippers, or buttons, or holding your breath.

How you know you love your kids: Even though it is hours past your bedtime, you go down to check on them just one last time, and instead of being irritated, you laugh that two bedrooms still have lights on (though children have thankfully fallen asleep), more than one child fell asleep with a book on their lap, one child is trying to sleep on three stacked pillows with "necessities" stacked in between pillows (a pair of slippers, plastic tools, weapons, stuffed dogs, etc), you turn down obnoxious "children's" cds so that they don't wake you (again) in the middle of the night, or keep you from falling asleep after getting up with the baby at 2am, then admire all those sweet sleeping faces and remember what a blessing they are. Even if they make it so that your house never is clean, your laundry never is done, there are always dishes in the sink, you rarely have a free minute and you (almost never) go to the bathroom uninterrupted and haven't for the past 10yrs. And then your arms feel empty as you climb into bed because the baby (bless her!!!) has finally started sleeping in stretches just a little bit longer.

Tag

Apparently I'm it.
Allrighty.

Here we go. In nearly two years I have successfully avoided being “tagged”. Since Chris hit me with this, and Justin decided he’d hit me too, I’m going to humor them. But only because they both had birthdays last week. Gentlemen, Happy stinkin’ Birthday, this is just for you!

But in the spirit of being annoying, I will tag 7 others at the end! ha!

Unfortunately most of the “7 interesting things” I came up with, um, well, NOT sharing them! Either you wouldn’t want to know them or I’m not about to admit to them. ; ) I pulled a Chris and kept a little note card with me today so that when I came up with something, I could jot it down and not forget it and spend time actually trying to come up with something else. And I made this looooong and tedious so as to avoid anyone tagging me in the future!

So here’s what you get:

1-I have some OCD issues. I’m sure the light switches and toenails have been mentioned before, so I’m hitting the closet part of it here. My hangers. They are all the same. They came from I think The Limited or Lerner or some store like that, when a retail thing that my dad was managing took over their store space at Crossroads Mall. I don’t like any other hangers. I prefer mine evenly spaced, and my clothes are sorted by color, the sweaters are all at one end-not sorted with the other shirts by color-but are still sorted in color order. And my shoes are almost all in their boxes as well.

2-I am an anti-dentite. “A RAAAABID Anti-Dentite!” :) I really hate having my teeth worked on. I would rather give birth than have cavities filled. My dentist knows this. He at first figured it was b/c I, like most of the world, used an epidural. I think he was a bit shocked to find out that, no I don’t, and when I meant I’d rather give birth than have my teeth worked on, I meant giving birth w/out pain meds. I do hate dental work that much. I guess the bonus of my dentist knowing this is that he’s REALLY nice when he works on my teeth! : ) It would then stand to reason that I am very good about always brushing and flossing. Nope. I’m not. at all.

3-I like Crayons. New, pointy Crayola crayons. I like to buy them when they are on sale before school starts every year, so I have a lot of them stashed away. When I am coloring something I get out “Mommy’s crayons” and thoroughly enjoy not using little bitty broken pieces of crayons. Yes, I do share some of the new ones with my kids when the need rolls around!

4- When I eat M&Ms, I eat them by color. I will eat them so that I have an even number of each color in my hand, then eat them in color order (yellow, orange, red, brown, blue, green). Green is eaten last. Or occasionally I’ll eat them in a pattern. Like if I have two of each color except one and have one of that color, I’ll line them up and eat them. So if I have just one green, I’ll eat blue, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, yellow, orange, red, brown, blue. I know. I’m retarded.

5-I’m awful at Thank You notes. I really am. I swear I am not ungrateful, I just for some reason procrastinate them. Like from my baby shower in July? Yah. Unfortunately half of the people haven’t received thank you notes yet. (maybe this will motivate me to finish? I have names on each of them, just haven’t finished writing them). Thankfully I have very forgiving friends and they know I love them even if I suck at putting it in writing!

6-My pain tolerance is weird. Labor/childbirth, sure. (I even had a video camera filming this last labor to see if I tolerated in the way I thought. No, you don’t see anything-it was at the head of the bed, behind me!) With pitocin, why not? Bring it on. Huge challenging work outs, aching muscles? Yep, love it. But if Aaron tries to pop a zit for me? Oh heck no! And we’ve already mentioned the dental work issues. And the nurse who did my IV at the hospital last time? It took everything in me not to deck her. I guess then I do well with endurance/building type of pain, but not the more sharp instant pain? I don’t know.

7-If I had to label myself, I would say that at heart I am a black-tie red-neck. I believe in pearls with jeans. I love getting dressed up, love the theater, ballet, symphonies, a fancy evening out. I would also love to live on a ranch/farm. I love getting my hands dirty and working hard. One of the reasons I love where we live is that there are fields and farms around. I love driving the main road out when the herds are out grazing. I love visiting a friend’s dairy farm up a few hours North of here. I loved the smell of the cows out in the field in the crisp fall air when I took my long bike ride last time. (yes, I realize that no one loves that smell) I would love to have a big truck (Ford F-series, black, lifted, extended cab, tinted windows), and if I ever get it I will even be nice and let Aaron drive it occasionally. I like to blame this whole thing on my Dad’s parents; I guess I am the result of what happens when you combine a London born and raised Grandmother and an Evanston WY cowboy Grandfather! : )

There you have it. My one and only tag. Now, Kelsey, Rheanna, Rachel, Stacy S., Lisa, LL(who gave me a cute blog award that one day I'll get in gear and pass on!), and Tina. Go for it.

Two years ago today....

It was a Thursday night and I had just come home. Taylor had asked me why my tummy was still "so big" even though the baby was out now! lol Instead of a chunky little two month old in pink, I had a skinny little bird-legged baby boy. My little Lincoln.

As odd as it sounds, it seems like he's always been the way he is now. A wild little light-haired boy, climbing into everything. It seems odd to think of when he was a tiny baby.

Since I've written a birthday post for him before with his birth story, if you are interested you can read that here. Otherwise, this year I'll expand to a 'pre-birth'story, and say that Lincoln wasn't in my plans when it was time for him to join our family. I knew very specifically that it was time for him to come. It had been very directly impressed for two months in a row that it would be time for our next baby to join our family. But I felt like I wasn't ready. Ironic considering how close all of our kids have always been. I wanted just a couple more months to just be me. I didn't want another October baby, especially considering that the big family California trip (my family's Oct tradition) was already lined up. I'm sure I had a whole list of selfish reasons why it just "wasn't the right time yet". I remember actually having the audacity to attempt a mental bargaining with the powers that be...."I'm not saying 'no' to another baby, just 'not right now'......just give me a little more time....". I'm embarrassed to admit that right out loud. Thinking that I knew better what I needed.
I didn't even need to take a test those few weeks later, I knew. When I didn't have that surge of excitement at the realization that I was pregnant, I feared that maybe this pregnancy wouldn't go smoothly, maybe it was my subconscious way of not getting attached to the idea of a baby. I cried when I told Aaron I was expecting. He was more excited than I was, and for that I felt guilty.

Thankfully by a couple of months into the pregnancy, I was excited for and looking forward to this addition to our family. We just knew it was a boy, and we prepared for a blue bundle before it was even confirmed that there was indeed outdoor plumbing. As soon as we confirmed for sure it was a boy, we had decided on a name within minutes. We walked out of the ultrasound room and I told Aaron his name would be either Calvin Christopher or Samuel Gregory. He suggested Calvin Gregory. That was it! When we had our 20wk ultrasound and found cysts on the baby's brain, I tried not to worry. We had been through this before with Taylor and everything turned out fine. For some reason this time I was terribly disturbed. I knew the cysts would go away, and that they wouldn't pose any problems, but couldn't get over the fear that something would go terribly wrong with this baby. I'm sure people thought I was nuts when I randomly burst into sobs. At least it didn't happen often, and I guess they just chalked it up to pregnancy hormones. Although I know I shocked a couple of friends when we went to the temple one night and I was not just crying but actually choking out sobs. It was very humbling. I still don't know why I felt that way, as obviously everything turned out perfect with this crazy little boy. Perhaps I was greatly in need of some humbling.....

Shortly before he was born Aaron called and hesitantly told me that he just felt like Calvin didn't fit anymore. He really felt strongly that this baby needed to be named Lincoln. I scoffed, told him I'd mull it over (just to make him happy), and hung up. I tried to push it out of my head for a number of days, but as much as I didn't like the suggestion in the beginning, each day it felt more and more right. Lincoln it was. I suppose if you are going to give a tiny baby boy a very grown up name, it must be the name of a very great person. In this case, two. Our little Lincoln Gregory.

Two years ago today.... I gazed in awe at my perfect little baby boy who had finally come home to our family and very humbly admitted to him, and to my Heavenly Father that I had had no idea what I had been talking about when I figured it wasn't time for him to join us. What had I been thinking? How could I have even considered putting him off for even "just" another month? He was exactly what we needed, and arrived at exactly the right time. I can't imagine the past two years without Lincoln. He has provided laughter and moments for reflection....he has played the role of my security blanket more than once. How blessed we are to have him in our family!

Lincoln-year one to two....

Ironically, I was just thinking to myself a few days ago....

....."Gee, I'm glad we have insurance!" You see, I was going through the recent onslaught of medical bills (baby's delivery, OB's bill, Aaron's ER visit, Dallin's stitches in July), and noticed just how many thousands of dollars we'd owe people if we didn't. We still owe a lot more than I'd like, but I'll certainly take this over the alternative! I noticed in particular how expensive stitches are. Dallin's bill for 5 stitches in his chin would have been $487. Holy Moly! Ouch. Hallelujah that we only have to cover $26.29.

Double Hallelujah since tonight was just a quiet night at home.

On the agenda, a quick stop in at the Stake President's office, then I was off to do some inventory (have I mentioned I like shoes? rofl!), and Aaron was home with the kids. Well, since the barcoder ended up in The Big City to the north of us with one of the party managers, and entering hundreds of pairs of shoes barcodes by hand is tedious to say the least, inventory was called off and I got to be home. Good Timing since Aaron is on call and apparently people do not know how to function this evening so he was busy with computer illiterates.

Anyway-I headed home, hung out with the kids, helped Malia with homework, watched Aaron cruise around on facebook (he sucommed to the hysteria), and just enjoyed the evening. Clean house, happy kids, husband off the phone with the people who don't know how to run their own computer systems....good times.

Kids got all wrapped up and ready for bed, we had prayers and sent the little ones down to their beds. *sigh* Bliss.

Yep.

You know where this is going.

Enter the scream, one child running upstairs in a panic, continuous crying, and oh yah, lots of blood.

Any guesses on who?

Dallin. Again. Just over two months since the stitches in his chin. At least he's going for variety and did the forehead this time. Apparently he doesn't want anyone else's scars to take all the glory (Daniel! lol Just kidding! Although I know Dallin will love yours!).

We made it through 9yrs and 9+ months of parenting and only had stitches happen once. And that wasn't until child #4. Now in the past two months we've tripled the count. Dang.

Two sets of stitches in two months. I really hope this kid isn't trying to establish a pattern.

Gross Pancakes

When we have pancakes, our kids like to have "gross pancakes". Honestly, I don't remember how it started. I think it was with Aaron (blame dad, right?). Something about wanting to experience the infamous Bill Cosby "Dad is great!" (relating to breakfast) thing. You all know about my sweet tooth, so I'm sure it's not shocking that when we eat pancakes I often break out the powdered sugar and chocolate chips. Nothing starts the morning like a good sugar buzz!
Well, one morning it evolved from syrup, chocolate chips and powdered sugar, to the addition of a cinnamon/sugar mixture and brown sugar as well. If I remember correctly, I walked in on this and commented that it was gross. And, well, "gross pancakes" were born.
Last night I made pancakes for dinner. I love a good simple default. :) I was also in the process of doing about a hundred other things (they typical situation for a mom making dinner), so I poured the first round of pancakes on the griddle and stepped away for a minute to do whatever else needed my attention at the moment.
I came back to flip the pancakes and saw this:

No, I wasn't making chocolate chip pancakes (thank goodness-I might have missed it!). Look closer.

Yep. That's a pancake with extra protein. Apparently the fly thought he'd be sneaky and have some pancakes for dinner too. Tough way to learn that he should've just stayed in the path of the fly swatter. Hopefully he at least died happy. (and warm! ha!)Have you seen Emperor's New Groove? You know when Kuzco (as a LLama, dressed up as a woman) and Pacha go out to eat and Pacha breaks the bug open....you know that sound that Kuzco makes? (best description I can think of is *hork*-thank you Lisa) That's the sound that echoed through the kitchen. Yummy. Ironically that sound makes me think of castor oil, but that's completely a different story.

If the shoes fits- part two

Ironically it was almost exactly one year ago when I posted under the title "If the Shoe Fits".  

Well, still obsessed with shoes.  No, I won't tell you how many pair have been added to the closet in the past month.  (in my defense, the cost averaged out to less than $3/pair)  BUT I have cleared out a number of shoes I no longer wear, so technically I haven't really added any more than like one or two pair....

So the part two?  I decided to put the shoe obsession to work for me.  The cute girls who run 4 The Love of Shoes are now not only my enablers, I work for them!  Just occasionally; one night a week helping out with inventory and the like, and filling in at shoe parties when they need help, but hey, getting paid to play with shoes is not a bad deal!   Really weird to fill out a W4 again, and to actually be employed, even if it is only for a couple of hours a week.   

So-possibly coming soon to a shoe party near you......me!

(and apparently Aaron and I are sharing a mental wavelength today! lol)