More rambling thoughts from a cold-addled mind

Where has this week gone? I've been trying to organize my relief society binder, so I have it spread out all over the floor of my office. It hit me today that it has been lying there for over a week now. Ugh!!! What do I do with my days??? In my defense, I have kept the kitchen semi-clean for a few days in a row. And I did get my hair washed yesterday. (That's always a bonus) And all of my boys are still alive and we actually got Caeden's kindergarten homework done BEFORE Friday this week. In our household, that's huge! I did get Jacob's and Levi's rooms organized - finally. They both had clothes that were too small that needed to be cleaned out, and new clothes from the boxes in storage to be rotated in. (One of the great advantages of having 5 boys - Hand-me-downs!) We've made it to scouts this week and we have even got some piano practicing done. It's just a constant thing to try to keep boys where they're supposed to be, fed, and mostly happy.
At this moment, Jacob is upstairs mad at me because he wants to come downstairs. I installed a gate to keep Levi from falling down the stairs, and it keeps Jacob in one place, too. Jake hates it. In fact, he's yelling right now, "I'm just stucking!!!!" It doesn't matter that I have lifted him over the gate 4 times in the last 5 minutes. He just doesn't like to be confined. But sometimes mom needs him to be confined. My brother calls him "Houdini" for a reason. The last time Jacob came downstairs, he was muttering under his breath "I'm so sorry..." I still haven't found what he's so sorry about. I'm a little nervous about that one.

Just a thought from a rambling mind. This week Levi and I have had colds. Every morning starts with a few nasal drop for Levi followed by some suctioning with a nasal aspirator so he can breathe while he nurses. As I nurse, I listen to the news on the radio. The politicians are so concerned with torture techniques like water-boarding, but have any of them ever tried to use a nasal aspirator on a baby? If Levi could talk, I'm sure he would be crying torture! Or let's talk about the new car seat laws. They want to keep kids in car seats until they're 8. Have you ever been on a long trip with kids strapped in car seats? Poor kids sleep sitting up, have red marks on their bodies from the straps, and when they do wake up, parts of their poor bodies have fallen asleep because they can't move around. Again the word "torture" enters my mind. Next story is about flu shots. All kids should have them. Because 6 shots in the leg of a 6 month old isn't enough. So please forgive me for not being too sympathetic to people who want to blow up every American because they don't like being wet. (Yes, I know it's more complicated than just getting them wet - but we're not killing them, are we?) It all goes back to the greater good, I think. Nasal aspirators, car seats, flu shots, water boarding, it's all to save lives, right? My goodness, I think I need some more cold medicine and a nap...

I guess I'd better go. Jacob has calmed down and is now asking, very politely, "I just need to come down now..." I guess I can accomodate a polite child.

Lessons learned...

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We had a few learning experiences ourselves~

First, Jacob learned that we don't put gum in hair! Additionally, we learned that peanut butter really does get gum out of hair.

Secondly, we learned that we don't lick the blades of a food processor, no matter how yummy the mixture seems. Again, we learned an additional lesson that even though tounges can bleed a lot, they heal rather quickly.

Thirdly, Levi is learning that he gets a better view from a standing position. His crawling is now limited to getting himself to a place where he can pull himself up.

And if the view from standing is good, how great must the view from the stairs be! This boy is getting fast!!!

Zachary Rocks Out!

For any of you who missed Zachary's stellar "YouTube" debut, here he is at a friend's birthday party:



ps - he's "Buddy #1 !

Husband Tag!

My sister loves to play tag! I've been tagged to tell everyone about my husband. It's an appropriate time of the year to brag on my man! So here we go...
Husband Tag
What is his name? Aaron Joseph Hall
How long have you been together? Let's start from the first kiss... He first kissed me in August 1994, so it's been 13 1/2 years!
How long did you date? 11 months from first kiss to the temple.
How old is he? 37
Who eats more? Aaron, no doubt
Who said I love you first? Aaron (he's always been better at saying things like that)
Who's taller? Have you seen us?!? Aaron's got a foot on me.
Who can sing better? I sound great in the shower, but I'll better Aaron carries a better tune.
Who is smarter? Aaron - Mr. High School Valedictorian, BYU Magna Cum Laude graduate, "I only got a B in that one religion class at BYU because it was too early in the morning and he counted tardies against my grade, otherwise I've never gotten anything below an A- in my whole scholastic career" - Hall
Who does the laundry? I do, and I hate doing it.
Who pays the bills? I do, except in times of complete stress where Aaron takes over. Although Aaron tracks everything with Quicken and makes sure we follow the (mutually agreed upon, although I don't stress about it as much as maybe I should) budget.
Who sleeps on the right side? I sleep closest to the door so that I am the first one the kids come to. Aaron sleeps closest to the bathroom. :-)
Who mows the lawn? Last summer, Aaron did. I'm hoping for a repeat.
Who cooks dinner? I do. I don't mind cooking (I love it if it's dessert!), but I hate cleaning up.
Who drives? I drive the mini van, he drives his Explorer, and when we're all together, I usually drive unless we're on a date.
Who's more stubborn? This is a hard one. Aaron can be a real hard nose on some issues, but when he is wrong or has hurt my feelings, he always figures it out and makes me feel better. I on the other hand, tend to avoid confrontation at all costs, but I'll stew on bad feelings longer.
Who kissed whom first? It was a mutual agreement
Who asked whom out first? Aaron was a great date planner. We did a ton together with a group of people the summer before we started dating, but the first official date was asked by Aaron.
Who proposed? Aaron
Who has more friends? I have a few really great confidants, Aaron has more aquaintences.
Who is more sensitive? I think I am
Who has more siblings? Aaron - he is the 2nd child of 9 (plus 5 step brothers and sister). I am the second of 5 children
Who wears the pants? One thing I love about our relationship is that I don't feel like either of us is "The Boss." I think we do a pretty good job at talking things out and compromising for each other. So I guess we share them. (And as Aaron reads this, he needs to wipe that picture out of his head!!!)

So there you go, Julie. I've fulfilled my "tag" assignment. Thanks for giving me something to blog about. I'm off to get Jacob out of the tub and the rest of my boys out of the cookie dough. (We're making sugar cookies today. Wish you were here to share them!)

Winter poem

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me and it's very well written and I hope that you enjoy it too .

" WINTER "
by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

CRAP It's Cold
The End

Blog worthy clip

My sister said that this is blog worthy. I love it just because it's a reminder to not mess with Texas - even in the form of old Texas ladies... Thanks to Linda for forwarding it to me!

This happened in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area. It is a phone call from a man who witnesses a car accident involving four elderly women. It was so popular when they played it on CHUM FM that they had to put it on their website.
The guy's laugh is so contagious. If you close your eyes and picture what he is watching, it is even better than a video clip!
http://www.chumfm.com/MorningShow/bits/march24.swf

Time for 2008 resolutions!

Alright, y'all. I've been contemplating the numbers on the scale and how weak and tired I'm feeling, and thinking of all of the caramel popcorn, brownies, apple crisp, hot fudge, and ice cream I've consumed the last few days and it's got to STOP!!! Time for those new years resolutions to be put into place. I've always done well when I'm accountable to people other than myself, so here we go... Can you help bug me about eating healthy, and how to stop the incessant snacking on sugary sweets, and that I should get the exercise I need? I've got a plan, and it goes into place in the morning. (Today is the "throw out the garbage and plan menus and shop for good stuff" day.) I figure that I will weigh in tomorrow morning and let you know where I stand, then I can report each week how I'm doing (number of times I've moved my body to the point of sweating and if I've lost any fluff). If you have any good hints, recipes, or other general thoughts, let me know! I'm ready to feel better. According to the scale, I've got close to 20 lbs. to lose, but if I can gain some muscle, the number could be negotiable. I get a fitness assesment from the gym I joined (but haven't been to since my due date with Levi) that I've never done, so when I do that I'll make a few number goals. But right now it's just a goal of eating more healthy, and moving more. Wish me luck, and help me out!!!

Aunt Julie's visit

Last week was so much fun! We had my sister, Julie come and visit for a few days. Well, it was supposed to be a just 4 days, but thanks to the airlines, we got her an extra day. (Happy face for me, sad face for her husband, Justin.) Levi had a lot of fun checking out his cousin, Cohen, who is just his size. Cohen is a few weeks younger than Levi, but they weigh the same. (I try to feed Levi lots, but he just burns it off. He must have his dad's metabolism.) We were busy with Julie here, and on Sunday when they cancelled church because of snow, I was feeling guiltily relieved. Church is good, but all of a sudden, it was a little less busy and stressful. Of course, Aaron had a bunch of snow to clear, but thanks to our handy dandy snowblower, it really isn't that hard of a job. We had a superbowl party with Julie and my brother Chad and his wife Kristin and their family -- although not a lot of people watched the game, we spent more time just eating hoagies, wings, and visiting. (As a side note, however, I wanted the Patriots to win at first, just for the sake of breaking a record, but I have always loved the Mannings, and I was happy with the end result!) All in all, it was a great weekend!

Levi's first cookie

I'm thinking he takes after his mom, don't you? WE LOVE SWEETS!