Saturday's Gratitudes

My gratitude list for Saturday:

1. I am thankful my good husband is on an organizing kick, and we finally went through the girls shoes! This may not seem like a big deal, but trust me...with four little feet, it's hard to decide what to keep and what to pitch and what's weather appropriate.

2. The laundry is done and folded, just in time for baths tonight...which starts the process all over again. sigh....but at least it's done for now. And again, thank you to Super J!

3. Mascara and finally finding a brand that I like

“Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
~Margaret Cousins

Merci!!!!

Today, November 6th, I'm grateful for:

1. Dates with my husband
2. Microwaves
3. Water with ice, especially during the night

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.~Buddha

Gratitude for November 6

"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable."~Joseph B. Wirthlin, "'Live in Thanksgiving Daily'," Ensign, Sep 2001

Today, I am grateful for:

1. Toilet Paper and Flush Toilets. I know at some point, in the premortal world, I told the Lord that I'd come to Earth only if I could live in a time with both of these wonderful inventions. Seriously. I think that.

2. Telephones and cell phones. Contact at a moments notice. Love it. So glad for it.

3. Friends who let me babysit their children. Not only is it a great thing for my kids because they get to play and frolic and release all sorts of pent-up energy (AND I don't have to hear the, "Mom! I'm bored" thing), but it allows me to see my friends and chat and realize that they trust me with some of the most precious and beloved people in their lives, so it's good for my self-esteem. And I love it when all the kids play great together, which is what happened today.

Day 5

Day 5 of the Attitude of Gratitude Challenge, already. Thanks to Katie for the quote!

“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

~Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), as quoted by Thomas S. Monson

And here's my list.

I am grateful for:

1. Steam Carpet Cleaners...today I actually cleaned several stains from my carpet that were aging and annoying me. It was so simple to do and so satisfying when done, as are many things once I get to them.

2. Photos and the perspective they give...Jason is working on putting together the digital pictures from our courtship/wedding and first year of marriage and getting it bound (you can do this at Costco.com, btw). This is going to sound vain, but I am amazed at how good I looked back then...of course, if you had asked me, I would have said that I thought I looked totally fat and gross. Ha! hahahahahahha! Ohhhhh, how things change and I could kick myself for being so unkind to myself back then.

3. And speaking of perspective, I am so glad for people who share a different perspectives on life. For example, a very offensive commercial that I saw that made me boiling mad was not as offensive to others, who were able to see a different side to it. Their calm and thoughtful analysis of the situation made me remember that I need to stop and think and reflect on what is really important and deserves to be either overlooked or dealt with. Everyone has a right to stand up for what they believe, but so do I. It's important to know when to do that, and I'm grateful for that reminder and for those perspectives.

Congratulations, President-elect Obama

The race is over. History has been made. And now all those commercials will be gone from my tv and radio. WHEW!

I'm copying/pasting from one of my favorite blogs: The Anchoress. She's very insightful and I really enjoy reading her commentaries. And as for tonight's results, I don't think I could have summed this up better myself.

"Well, all I can say is if PA stands, then I’m exceedingly disappointed that the press did not get the well-deserved boot in the ass they deserved, but I’ll pray for Obama in the same way that I pray for President Bush, that he be guided and granted wisdom. Don’t knock it. It is in our best interests to pray that God guides and helps our president. Even believing, as I do, that the press’ dishonesty and some fraudulent machinations played a part in his win, I have no intention of spending the next 4 to 8 years wallowing in the pit of hate, spite, malice and venom that so many on the left have been swimming in, and so I will begin tonight - right now - to do what none of the haters on the left were ever able to do for Bush: give Obama a chance. Just as soon as I am convinced that PA actually went to him. The press, however, that’s another story."

Gratitude, Day 4

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhkay.

Today, I am grateful for:

1. Chocolate cake and Red Box $1.00 dvds (both wonderful to take my mind off the election)
2. To live in a land where I can vote, "win" or "lose"
3. Washable markers (have you seen Miss O's picture?????) and digital cameras

"Mercies and blessings come in different forms--sometimes as hard things. Yet the Lord said, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another evidence of His love."

~Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007

OHHHHHhhhhhhh Miss O

I tell you, I love this girl.


This is her last night, saying "Cheese!" You can see her saying the word, can't you? Because she was, like a note to a song, holding it out till I snapped the picture.

This is her, this morning, after applying Crayola Marker to herself. On her face...sigh... and on her hand.
At least she coordinated with her outfit: purple, pink and yellow.

Get out there and VOTE!!!!

Holy cow, last night when I went to bed, I was totally fretting about today. Seriously. But after my evening prayers, I felt really impressed to open the scriptures, and I turned to 1 Nephi 18. I realize that it was an answer to my prayer, but maybe it can offer you some insight as well. Or not. It helped calm me down, though, that's for sure.

And for those of you who aren't sure your vote will matter...it does! Find out where and when your precinct closes and go vote before it does...regardless of what you are hearing on tv, because they are so in the tank for one candidate it's not even funny (and it's one reason I'm so upset with the whole voting thing. I believe you should totally vote your conscience, but I think that you should be making an informed decision, and I think the media has played an active role in denying people all available information!). Your vote matters. Let your voice be heard.

Remember, miracles DO happen!



And, I just want to repost this because it truly is so beautiful and a great reminder that we need to stand for Life, Faith and Family.

Thanks List, November 3

We are thankful for blessings we cannot measure, for gifts we cannot appraise, "for books, music, art, and for the great inventions which make these blessings available[;] … for the laughter of little children[;] … for the … means for relieving human suffering … and increasing … the enjoyment of life[;] … for everything good and uplifting." ~"Three Centuries of Thanksgiving," Etude Music Magazine, Nov. 1945 (thanks to Jennifer, again, for the quotes)

My list:
1. I'm thankful for elbows that bend and make crooks in which little babies can sleep
2. I'm thankful for pacifiers (holy cow, I'm thankful for pacifiers!)
3. I'm thankful for rakes and piles of red and orange and gold leaves waiting for little girls to jump into

Halloween pictures

Yes, I know you can hardly stand it! Pictures. Taken very recently and actually posted! Gulp!!! I know! And without further ado...

The Three Older Girls

Miss A, Miss E, and Miss O aka: Aurora, Tinker Bell, Butterfly Ballerina with Pumpkin T-shirt underneath

Yes, that is Super J, gadding about as Clark Kent. He had the Superman "S" under his white shirt and when asked about the costume, had the Superman theme song that, when he touched his shirt pocket, actually played. Too funny.

And, as if things couldn't get any more surreal, here is a picture of me. I know...it's like a Sasquatch sighting!!! Keep breathing and remain calm!!!

Okay, that being said, I post this conditionally: No MOCKING! Because, like any good Sasquatch, I hate getting my picture taken. And yes, I know, it's a horrific picture. I took it myself, but I wanted to record something for posterity. Should I, perish the thought, be attacked by an actual Sasquatch, my kids would have very little evidence of my physical form. So, yes kids, this is what Mom looks like. Kinda.

What the heck am I??? I know you are asking yourself this very question. I am...are you ready for it?...not The Cotton Ball In The Hair Lady, but I am "Grey and Cloudy with a Chance of Sprinkles" What you do not see is my little mist bottle that I would, when I said "Sprinkles," spritz on you. What you may be able to see, if you stare at the left side of my head, specifically at my hair, is that it is maybe a shade or two lighter than the other side. I was trying to grey my hair by putting Baby Powder on it. It did not, Gentle Reader, work. Instead, I nearly asphyxiated myself on the cloud that comes when one dumps a lot of Baby Powder on heavily hair sprayed and teased hair. A mess? Yes, Gentle Reader. It would take 2 washings to get it out, and much conditioner to undo the damage with a large tooth comb. sigh. I wish I were more creative and/or could sew and/or took Halloween more seriously than I do (because I know some of you LURVES this holiday), but there you go.

For now, though, let us end on a sweeter note. Here's a close up of our Little Halloween Pumpkin. Can you believe it's almost been 3 months?

Bless her heart, she looks like she's saying, "Please. In the name of delicious Pumpkin Butter, please, get me out of this contraption."

Thank You, November 2

"Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief.

"Where there is appreciation, there is courtesy, there is concern for the rights and property of others. Without appreciation, there is arrogance and evil. Where there is gratitude, there is humility, as opposed to pride. How magnificently we are blessed! How thankful we ought to be!" ~ Gordon B. Hinckley, "'With All Thy Getting Get Understanding'," Ensign, Aug 1988

Here's my gratitude list:

1. I am thankful for White Conditioner
2. I am thankful for White Paper Towels
3. I am thankful for Nit combs and knowledge

Yes, Gentle Reader.

We had yet ANOTHER bout of Frenemies, thanks to Miss E this time. We discovered them about 45 minutes before church started them, whilst combing Miss E's hair. Sigh. And we were doing sooooo good to be on-time today. Oh well.

Soooooo, everyone got checked; Miss O had one. That's it. No one else had them.

Miss E had many many. She no longer has any [I did her hair this evening...I dare say she's nit free!].

Super J and I discussed that maybe, with all my practice and my recent assistance of two other families in dealing with their frenemy issues, that maybe I could start a pay-for-treatment service dealing with Lice Extraction, pesticide free (and nope, Miss E could not have gotten hers from them...I thought perhaps we just aren't doing a good job, but I checked my blog records and our last frenemy attack was on September 21 when Miss A had one, but no one else had them. Plus, I retreated later that week and nobody had them. Miss E hasn't had them since the big outbreak in August. So, Miss E had to catch them again, from somewhere).

Sadly, I now know from personal experience in dealing with these two other families that they didn't say ANYTHING to anyone else but me about their "problem." This means that there are other families out there dealing with these super lice (meaning, the normal "shampoos" aren't working on them as they've built up a resistance to them) who aren't saying anything but their kids are still in school with mine and yours...and winter is coming, which is hat weather and coat weather and being indoors with others in close proximity. Ugh. So yeah, I'm seriously thinking about a little side job to earn some extra money. I'm thinking about it...maybe in a few months when Miss Q is a little older and I could leave her in the evenings with Super J.

Until that time, I'm actually really grateful that I've already dealt with this. That we were able to take care of it quickly and STILL go to church, because they weren't a problem anymore. That right there, Gentle Reader, is a blessing in and of itself.