A Great Deal

Guess what? I never pay to rent movies anymore! My little sister told me about this blog called Being Frugal Is Fabulous that posts a Redbox code every Monday. This code enables you to get free movie rentals on Monday. So, I just wait and rent movies on Monday, and I get the movies I want without paying anything. It is great! And, when I am really on top of it, I get the movies on Monday morning and they aren't due until Tuesday at 9pm, so it is really like two days of rentals free!

Brigham's Prayers

The absolutely most hilarious thing that happened today was Brigham's prayers tonight. I put him to bed, and we were having the normal, "Help me be a nice brother, and obey my mom," when he refused. He wouldn't say "obey my mom". "No!" Oh no, I thought, this is just way too early for this. "Obey Bob!" It took me a moment and then I realized what was going on. Brigham likes to pretend that he is various characters and always has a character that you are supposed to be. Among these play roles are are Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato. He is Larry, and I am Bob. Apparently, I should be asking him to obey Bob instead of Mom. Maybe I would get better results!

Frozen Fridge

Someone (and I have a pretty good guess who) got into my fridge and turned all the temperature controls down to the coldest setting. I noticed this morning that the milk was particularly cold and delicious, but I didn't think anything of it. Then, when I took out some boiled eggs, I saw the strangest, coolest thing I have ever seen in my fridge. The eggs looked like this:
I hope you can see the delicate ice patterns. I wasted WAY too much time time trying to photograph them and get the detail. After I put them back, I noticed that all the soup in my fridge was also frozen. I looked at the temperature controls and that's when I saw the change. I guess I will have to have a discussion with the kids about turning knobs in the fridge! I should also add, these eggs were dyed for the Spring Bunny, don't be alarmed by the colors!

Things kids say

Joy came home from school upset on Friday. We have a rule in place that if she gets a certain report from her teacher, she has to write lines, and each time it happens she adds five more to the total. Well, she got off the bus, came in the front door and said, "I have to write 20 lines! I don't like this rule, I think it is wretched and cruel!'' Wretched and cruel? Really? That seems pretty dramatic for having to write lines.

Saturday was a gorgeous day, so we decided to go the beach. Paul loves to throw rocks in the water, so he spent all his time right on the edge heartily enjoying himself. Surprisingly, Brigham isn't big on getting wet or sandy, so most of his time was spent up on the driftwood. Brigham is also an incredibly friendly little bugger, and always finds someone new to chat with. Well, while I was watching Paul, Brigham slipped off and walked about 10 feet away where a mother and daughter were sitting reading. When I turned around and saw him, I ran over to get him. He was talking earnestly to the mom, when I heard him say, with a contented sigh, "Now I have a family." What are we, chopped liver?

Hyrum Says Hi!

I have always wondered how everyone put all the cool videos on their blogs. I figured they had cool cameras that I just didn't have. Then, I noticed Brad in the mirror of one of his blogs, and realized that he was just using a regular camera! I wonder if I can do that with my camera? The answer?

Oh yeah. The photography isn't very good, but you get the idea.

Calling all Cans

I am teaching a class at Women's Conference this Saturday, and as usual, inspration has not struck until the end. I want to make handouts using tin cans, but I have a feeling that I may not able to use that much soup/mandarin oranges/mushrooms/evaporated milk/etc by then. If you have a can opener that cuts the top off in one solid piece (like Pamered Chef) and wouldn't mind donating your used cans to a good cause, I would be forever in your debt. If you just rinse them, save the lid, and give me a call, I would be happy to come pick up whatever you have used by Friday night!

My daughter, the future runway model

I was trying to get pictures of Joy in her St. Patrick's day clothes, and I was reminded of a trend. I cannot get a picture of Joy with her knowledge without out her posing. So, I went back a little way in my archives to get evidence for my suspicion. Sure enough, she is posing in every picture I could find. They are hilarious, so I thought I would share them with you.

In this one, I was just trying to get a picture of the tinfoil dinner she made to put on the blog.

Okay, this one wasn't her fault, I wanted to see the skirt. But she enjoyed it.This was two days ago. She made scrambled eggs for breakfast, and I wanted to document it.

This was this morning, with the St. Patrick's get-up. I guess you just can't fight nature.

Leprechaun Mischief

I was not aware until that leprechauns sometimes made house calls. Fortunately, Joy went to kindergarten last year and now we know better. Or, maybe it isn't a good thing. Regardless, we did get a visit from one of those little mischief makers. Over the last few days, Joy has been working on a leprechaun trap. We got the idea from Family Fun, and we really enjoyed it.

So, last night, we set our trap. The idea was that when the leprechaun climbed the ladder and stepped on the hat to claim his gold, he would fall in (the top was just a piece of felt set over an opening) and we would have him. However, he managed to knock it over and take the gold. He did leave us some gold chocolate bars inside,

but I am not sure the havoc he wrecked on our house was worth it!

Okay, it was totally worth it. Imagine this in every room of the house. Every open container of fluid was dyed green, every picture tilted crooked, rugs flipped upside down, lamps turned upside down, you can just imagine. Then, he even had the nerve to taunt us!

I, for one, was indignant! Joy was ecstatic. When she woke up and saw the crooked pictures in her room, she came racing in to my room with, "Mom! The leprechaun was here last night! He turned the pictures in my room crooked! Mom! He was here!" Every new thing she found was a surprise. Anytime she left a room and came back to something different, it was the leprechaun. Never mind the three brothers who are constantly moving things. Even Paul got into it. He noticed his train was turned upside down, and he was so excited.

Breakfast was also fun, we had shamrock rolls. Joy has decided that we need to do this every year.

The frosting is the best part

We weren't having chocolate cake for breakfast this morning, and even if we were, what business of it is yours? That isn't the point. The point is, Paul managed to strip the frosting of the top and sides of the cake without spilling much cake at all. I wish I were so efficient!

The lure of "Twilight"

I was listening to Eclipse today, and was reminded of one of the insane reasons I like the Twilight series. How many times does Bella get picked up and carried by some person or other? I mean, doesn't every girl wish that she could be carried like that? As though you weighed nothing? Maybe it is just those extra pounds I am trying to loose, but I don't think that is it. I just think Meyers knew what girls secretly wished and tapped into it.

Brigham

I have two great Brigham stories to share.

Yesterday, I sent Brigham out to play with Paul. I walked away, and when I turned around, there was Brigham, standing in front of the sliding glass door with his pants around his ankles. "That's odd." I thought. "It is not even 40 degrees out there. I wonder what he is doing." It was then that I noticed the spray on the glass. Yes, Brigham decided to go on the backdoor. Where do they pick these things up? We had a discussion about appropriate places to go outside. Fence - fine. Bushes - fine. Sliding glass door - not fine. I swear, you would think they were raised in a barn. And, while I don't really like the idea of them going on the fence, I would far rather that than in their pants. At least he is recognizing the need and addressing it semi-appropriately.

Today I was waiting while Brigham was sitting on the potty seat and decided to call my dad. Brigham likes to take his time, so I figured I had a few minutes. When he saw me dial, he wanted to talk. Fortunately, Dad is a good grandpa and was more than happy to talk to Brigham. The conversation went like this:

• Grandpa - "How are you, Brigham?"
• Brigham - "I'm Brigham."
• G - "I know you're Brigham, how do you feel? Are you being a good boy?"
• B - "No, I not a good boy, I Brigham."

Out of the mouth of babes.

I am a chameleon

Yes, I admit it, I am a chameleon. I have a base personality, but I am easily altered. When I read other people's funny blogs, I get funny. When I am around my brother who changes his words all around, I start changing my words all around. My poor husband thought I was outdoorsy because when we met, I was around outdoorsy people. Or, maybe I just thought boys liked outdoorsy girls. When my seven-year-old sasses me, I sass her back. So, if I sometimes seem to be imitating you, its nothing personal. I am just a chameleon. And, I come by it naturally, my dad is a chameleon too!

Soliciting Babysitting Swappers

Due to a high volume of comments (and conversations) about swapping babysitting, a few of us have decided that it would be advantageous to put all of our time together and form a babysitting swap pool. I won't give too many details here, but the gist is an hour for hour babysitting time swap among interested parties. Participants can use as many or as few hours as they would like and are willing to sit. A blog has been structured to track all of this. If you are interested in participating, please drop me a line and an invitation to view the blog will be issued. If you know anyone in the ward who you think would like to participate, please feel free to pass on the information. We will have a sitting swap party sometime next week to kick off, so get your requests in soon!

Babysitting Swap?

Let's face it, there is never enough time in the day for anyone, and when you add kids to the mix, it seems to become non-existent. And, babysitting is EXPENSIVE! So, I am posting to see if anyone would be interested in swapping daytime babysitting. I mean, I love going out with my hubby, but I also need time during the day to just get stuff done (or not, if the mood strikes me). So, I am proposing an even exchange. My kids for your kids, equal times. The rest of the details (time, place, etc) are negotiable. I have thought about asking individuals who I thought would be interested, but I hate for anyone to feel pressured. So, I figured this was the easiest, least pressure medium to use. Don't feel obligated, but if you are interested, let me know!

"Let's destroy this!"

I thought things were too quiet. I was on the computer, the boys in the living room, when I heard an angelic voice say, "Let's destroy this!" Brigham is like one of those poisonous things that are brightly colored to lure in their victims. They look (or sound, in his case) so inviting, you can't imagine the venom underneath. Anyway, I looked over and saw that Brigham and Paul were engrossed in looking at a sticker book. One of their favorite past times is to rip out the stickers Joy has so carefully put in the correct spots. Not really a big deal, but I was impressed with Brigham's choice of vocabulary, I mean, he used it correctly and everything. Most three-year-olds don't vocalize their plans for destruction so accurately. Then, I started wondering where he learned the correct meaning of the word. And, I am here to say, that scripture study works! Usually I just read the text to the kids at night without any explanation (I figure it is their time to be quieting down, not asking questions) but a few nights ago I decided to read more and explain as we went along. So now, every verse or so, I go back and tell them what we just read meant. We are in the war chapters of Alma, so last night Joy asked what "destruction" meant. I explained that it meant that things were destroyed - ruined or broken up. Apparently, Brigham was listening and absorbing! Yeah for scripture study!

New fun crafts

I have been unfocused lately, I admit it. I have had all sorts of ideas bombarding me, and no real desire to do anything I should. So, I gave in the darker side of my nature and did some crafting. I am trying to be good and put things in their place, so if you want to know the details, you will have to go to my craft blog. However, just to tempt you, here are two pictures:

Hair cuts

I've been noticing that the boys were starting to get shaggy. I am one of those cheap-skates who won't pay to get their hair cut professionally, so the shears came out a few days ago. Normally, I find a partner in crime to hold their heads still, but no one was available, so Dora came to my rescue and the boys went under the blade.

Brigham before:

Brigham after:

Hyrum before:

Hyrum after:

No, Hyrum doesn't have equilibrium problems, he just likes to flirt. He thinks cocking his head off to one side is cute, and I have to agree. Unfortunately, if you look close, it means you can see the one spot he moved!

I did do Paul as well, but his hair is so thick that, even though I cut more off of him than the other two combined, you can't tell.

I love Sundays

Yes, I know that there are a lot of good reasons to love Sundays, but I am afraid that I am fairly irreverent and have a different reason. I love Sundays because everyone has a few minutes to update their blogs, and I love to read them. I know, I know, there is nothing going on in my life if that is what I hanker for. But, it is, so there.