Thoughts of a Grasshopper

Shameless Advertising

2010-12-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

My brother took our family pictures this year, and I think he did a pretty darn good job. And he is cheap! for the time being anyway. So if you want some cheap family photos for the holiday, let me know and I will send him your way.

I really, really love this girl, but she is my trial. She tests my patience in every way. Looking at this picture you would never guess that this little angel actually colored all over my bed with permanent magic marker.

These are my favorite boys in the whole wide world! And soooo handsome too! Aren't I lucky.

I wish I could freeze time right here. I want to keep my kids little and sweet just they way they are today. I am so happy and know that I am extremely blessed.

A Fish Tale

2010-11-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures on my computer and thought I would share a little story with all of you...

One somewhat sunny Memorial Day, a loving family took a trip to the Great Salt Lake. Yes it was kind of cold, and kind of smelly, but we were having fun playing in the salty sand. The sand cathedral was well under way when some of the older boys found something floating in the shallow water. It was a fish. While this might seem rather normal, a fish in a lake, I will tell you it is not. This lake does not have any fish because this lake is a salty lake, much, much saltier than the ocean. And this was no normal fish either. This was a large, smelly, dead, albeit well preserved, carp! Yuck!

Now these older boys were not really keen on touching their rather foul discovery, so they scooped it up in a bucket to show the rest of the family. When an adult mentioned that two other little boys way out in the water might also have an interest in the disgustingly dead fish, the older boys headed out to show them. Now one of these little boys has no fear of creepy crawlies, slimy slitheries, or dead and smellies and reached right into that bucket and picked up that crappy carp and held it over his head. All of the adults back on the beach were mortified and quickly began to converse on the best way to sanitize said little boy, Suddenly, someone yelled out, "I'll give you 20 buck to lick it!" and before anyone could shout NOOOOOOO! that little boy hefted the dead fish up to his lips and gave it a big old lick!

I am not sure if any of the adults back on the beach managed to keep control their bladder as all thoughts of sanitation flew right out the window.

Thanks Cole for some of the funniest moments of my life!

Its not easy being clean

2010-08-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

So today I went out shopping with only one earing on and my zipper undone.

I just wanted to say to all you people who were giving me wierd looks:

At least I showered and had on a shirt that didnt have milk stains on the chest.

So there!

Hello Me

2010-08-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hello, its been a long time since I could recognize you. And, considering what you have been through, you don't look half bad.

Hello toes!

I haven't seen you in a long while.

And you too belly button!

Its good to see you have returned.

Hello waist!

Although you are not quite the waist from before, I can see you struggling to get back. Hang in there! I am sure we can get you back in shape.

Now who are you two?

Have we met? We Have?! Really? Oh, OK I am starting to see the resemblance. So you have grown a size or three, and you also seem a bit LOWER then I remember. Well its nice to meet you but, do you think the old pair will be coming back any time soon? No?

Too bad.

Sheltered

2010-05-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

People often say to us LDS members that we live sheltered lives as if to criticize us. But really, is living a sheltered life such a bad thing? I was reading the news today and not one story was uplifting or happy. I read reports of police breaking up a child pornograpy ring, of an 11 year old Hindu girl marring a 13 year old boy, deadly riots in Thailand, police on trial for supposedly torturing suspects, a 23 year old girl missing after going hiking by herself, innocent people dying in gang fights in Jamaica. And I am left wondering which of these stories of the "real world" are supposed to make me regret my happy and sheltered lifestyle. I grew up in a loving home with both of my parents, we said morning prayers and ate dinner as a family. My parents helped me with my homework and my bothers and sister taught me how to ride a bike. We took family vacations and attended church every Sunday. Although my life certainly was not perfect, as really no ones life is, but it certainly was an idyllic childhood full of happy memories. And in today's world such a life certainly is a rarity. And don't we value those things that are rare and exclusive? Why then am I treated as ignorant and simple minded not not having lived a life of strife and turmoil that is so prevalent across the world. I am truly grateful for my parents and the way I was raised. I am grateful for my religion and the happiness it has brought to all aspects of my life. I am grateful for my sheltered life and am very glad to be able to pass that innocence along to my children.

Simple Prayers

2010-05-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Last night we had family dinner at my Mom's house for my Grandmothers 93rd birthday. My grandmother has Alzheimer's and usually doesn't talk much but to mumble a few words that never make sense. But last night she was in a good mood. In the last 3 years I have not seen her that happy, and it was contagious. We were all laughing with the silly things she said. And she would laugh because we were laughing. As is the tradition in our family, whose ever birthday it is says the dinner prayer. Not knowing if she actually could say the prayer or not my dad let her give it a try. She started out, "Our Father in Heaven, Thank you for the birthday of Oliver (my little nephew who was born just 2 months ago. Really it was amazing that she remembered his name!) and then she proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday to you." It was a great prayer. I love simple prayers. The prayers that have just a few words but mean so much. I remember my brother-in-laws prayer for his little baby girl when she was very ill, shortly after his conversion to the church. All he said was, "Heavenly Father, bless Isabelle to get better. Amen" But is was said with so much conviction and knowing that prayers can be answered that there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Lately I have been saying my own simple prayer almost every night: "Heavenly Father please keep our house from flooding." It my seem silly but with everything else going on right now I can not handle another thing. I know Heavenly Father listens to even these simple prayers as he does to any of the most eloquent prayers. I know he listens to my prayers and has on more occasions then I can count answered those prayers. Indeed, yesterday we did have a happy birthday as prayed for by my grandmother, and Isabelle did bet better, and so far my house still has not flooded. I am thankful for simple prayers

I just bought this...

2010-05-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not even going to tell you how much it cost. But darn it! I am worth it. You just have to splurge every once in a while. Besides it is just my reward for all the hard work I'm doing creating a whole other human being.

So happy mothers day to me.
Cant wait until it gets here...

Major Awards & Mute

2010-05-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

My Father once gave my Mother a Major Award. It was a warped twisted melted pot attached to a gold plaque. My Mother had melted said pot on the kitchen stove. What had once been a very nice pressure cooker had been turned to a puddle of molten aluminum due to the lack of one essential ingredient...Water. Yesterday I should have earned my own Major Award. I am the proud owner of what once was my most favorite cooking device, an electric multi cooker, but is now a pot full of black foul smelling sludge and a whole lot of carbon. My beloved multi cooker has been tortured beyond the point of repair and was unceremoniously laid to rest in the garbage can last night. It will be missed.
In other news, I had a revelation yesterday. One of those "AH HA!" Moments when suddenly everything seems to make sense.

I am MUTE.

I must be. I must only THINK that I am talking when actually NOTHING is coming out of my mouth. That is the only explanation as to why my lovely children and dear sweet husband would IGNORE me so completely. I have taken to caring a pad an paper around with me so that I can write down those very important things that I need to tell them. Now I just need to teach my 3 year old how to read.

Is It Too Much to Ask...

2010-03-15T11:58:00.001-07:00

that once you finish eating, you put your dirty dishes in the sink? Not next to the sink (ahem!) but actually in it? I am not asking for anyone to even consider rinsing their dishes and put them in the dishwasher, Oh no, because that is just going way to far I know. I am not even asking that you rinse out the bits of cereal or chili leftovers that will eventually harden like cement to the sides of the bowl and take me 10 minutes to scrape off. No all I want is that the dirty dishes just find their way somehow to the sink.

But by the looks of my kitchen table (and coffe table downstairs I am sure) full of this mornings ceareal bowls, spoons caked with yesterdays yougurt, todays luch plates, and various cup filled with various liquids, I guess it is too much to ask.

I give up.

Not easy being 30

2010-02-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

I hate being an adult. All the stress and the responsibility gets to be too much sometimes. Not sure I would really ever want to go back to being a teenager again, but I was thinking today that 3 might be a good age. I look at my daughter and she get to run around all day in various states of undress and still look cute, she gets to play and make messes and someone else cleans them up, when ever anything does not go her way she gets to scream and holler, whine and whimper to her hearts content. Today I want to scream and whine about everything that is not going my way. I don't want to clean up any of the messes I made and... I WANT A NAP! Three year old get a nap whenever they want one. Yes, today I want to be 3 years old. Maybe I will grow up tomorrow. Then again, maybe not.

No Modesty

2010-02-19T08:55:00.000-08:00

My children have no modesty. At least not in utero anyway. With every ultrasound I've had to determine the sex, my babies have proudly displayed their gender. Never have we had any question as to what we were having. Even the doctor commented last night on our new little baby BOY's lack of modesty. Thats right! we are having another BOY. To tell you honestly, I was a bit disappointed. But the truth is I know I would be disappointed if we were having girl instead. With already having one of each, there are so many qualities about each one that I just love so much that it is a little bit sad not to get to reapeat that. But I am happy, eveything seems to be going just fine, and thats what matters right.
So in unrelated news, I was at my mothers the other day when the doorbell rang. As my mom was on the phone, I answered it. A salesman, probably in his mid 30's, introduced himself and then asked me if my mom or dad was home. WHAT?! My mom or dad? Here I am 30 years old and pregnant and he is aking for my mom or dad! Now I am not sure if I am supposed to be flattered here or offended (I am leaning towards offended). Either I look so young that I am not old enough to be the owner of the home or I look old enough but incapable of being the owner of the home. Either way I was non too happy about the conversation. Maybe I should have asked to meet his grandson and see how he felt.

Oh Yes I Did!

2010-02-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

Help!

I just ate a whole can of Pringles all by myself! Quick, someone come up with a good rationalization as to why its ok before the calories actually count!

Illegal Drugs

2010-01-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

All I can say is thank heaven for drugs!

As most of you intelligent people have deduced, I went and got myself knocked up.

The kids spending the night at Grandmas and an empty box of condoms does not a good combination make.

Well today things were quite bad and I ended up with an IV in my arm. Evidently I was dehydrated and my blood pressure was so low that I frightened the poor nurse half to death. But, all is well now. They slipped some Zofran into my IV and for the first time in 3 1/2 weeks I have been vertical for almost 2 full hours! My Dr. had given me a prescription for the stuff, but with our crappy insurance we would have to pay the whole cost, somewhere around $200 a bottle! Thats outrageous! My wonderful sister had two refills left on her prescription (she is 7 months pregnant) which only cost her $10. So... a little bit of criminal activity, some drugs, and my life is looking up.

Last Requests

2010-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

As I lie here in my bed, deathly ill and unable to get up without throwing up, all I can think about is food. Here is my wish list:

Pot stickers and lettuce wraps from Asian Star
"Playboy" roll from Akasaka Sushi
Turkey sandwich from House of Bread or Club Sandwich from Groves Market-its a tie, they are both soooo good
Burrito bowl from Barbacoa-extra sour cream!
Thick cut french fries with lots of fry sauce not sure from where but, seriously I could drink that stuff!
Churros from Costco
tirramisu (no clue how to spell that one)-from Olive Garden

I think by the time I finished all that I could just die. But doesnt it all sound so YUMMY. So wipe the drool off your chin and let me know your favorite foods from your favorite places.

It's Not Easy

2009-10-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite picture.

I read an article today written by Susan Klebold, the mother of Dylan Kleabold, one of the gunmen from the Columbine shooting. She talked about that day and how she felt, the fear, the guilt, the humiliation. She said that she didnt see it coming, that there were few warnings and that despite public opinion, she was a good mother. Following this article there were many comments, most offering sympathy, but several criticizing her for not accepting blame and for not recognizing, passing over, or allowing someone else to handle the few warning signs that were present. But what I feel is that she is a mother just like the rest of us, which means she was most often too busy, a little crazy, and blinded by the love she had for her child. Mothers are expected to be perfect these days. We are supposed to know when to push, and when to step aside. We are supposed to be calm and collected despite a raging temper tantrum. We are supposed to know when something is wrong, exactally what it is and just how to fix it. But the truth is a "Mother's Intuition" only goes so far. These are little humans we are raising, not robots. They are unique and have their own unique problems and personalilies. And mothers are human too. Which means we make mistakes. Sometimes we push too hard that our children push away. Sometimes we yell and scream and pitch our own little temper tantrum. And sometimes we never knew anything was wrong, or have no idea how to fix the pain. Susan Kleblod has lived a mothers nighmare. Despite her best efforts the child she loved so desperately, committed an unspeakable act. Not only did she lose her child, but her precious little boy was responsible for taking the lives of so many other mother's children. Did Susan make mistkes? Of course. But haven't we all?
My worst fear as a mother right now is my children growing up. Cole is only 5 years old and I already feel that I dont know him as well as I used to. He is maturing and carving out his own personality, his own likes and dislikes. He is changing from the baby that I knew in and out into a boy that doesnt want his mommy to hold him anymore when he fall and skins his knee. And it terrifies me. I am not always going to be there to help him in life to make the right choices. He is going to learn thing that I have not taught him nor do I approve of. And all I can do is hope and pray that the things I have taught him will stick, that he will remember them at the crutial moment and that he will feel my love and God's love wheather or not he makes the right choice.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-07-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

I just booked a flight to Switzerland! Chad and I will be heading off to Geneva in September. Chad has to go there for work purposes, but I get to go just to relax and play. I am pretty nervous seeing as it is a foreign country and all but I am sure I can manage it! What I am not looking forward to is the 17 hour flight it takes to get there.

So I am all ready, flight is booked, passport is in the mail, now September just needs to hurry and get here!

Summer Fun

2009-06-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was so hot we just had to find a fun way to cool off. Mix one hose and a trampoline, add water, and you've got a recipie for summer fun!

Blessings

2009-06-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wondered why God blesses you so much?

Sure we are always quick to complain when he sends a few rainy days our way, but do we ever say

'Hey God, can you ease up on the blessings?'

Of course not.

Life in our house has been kinda bumpy lately. You may or may not know that Chad lost his job in April.

Talk about a downpour!

But I never would have expected the amount of kindness and support that ended up flooding our lives. My family was amazing. The moment I told my dad of our unexpected unemployment, he responded with 'what do you need and how can we help.' And the blessings didnt just come from my parents, my brother and sister and even my grandma offered our family financial aid and talked to several neighbors and friends they though might help in the job search.

As it turns our we experienced just a short bump in our track as Chad has found himself a great job much closer to home and with better benefits!

And although I cried a lot and questioned a lot and did a bit of complaining too, I see now that

God is always in control.

He may give us trials from time to time but if we hold close to his Gospel we will find that he is there to bless us in abundance even the midst of those trials.

So tonight I was cuddled up on the couch with my two beautiful children and my strong, faithful, amazing husband thinking

'Thanks God for all the blessing. I am not sure what I ever did to deserve so many.'

Happy Days

2009-04-09T15:46:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy week last week. Cole turned 5 on April 1st (April Fools!) and he had his first "friends" party. It was a blast. We made pirate eye patches and necklaces and had a treasure hunt.

Then on Sunday we had the family party.

It wasnt even three weeks ago that we got our first pet and now we have two! Cole got a little frog from his cousin Max. He named it Spotty Buzz Lightyear.

I cannot believe my baby boy is 5 already!

Chad just got his CPA license in the mail yesterday. It's official! So tomorrow night we are going out to celebrate. We are going to Log Haven up millcreek canyon and having the kids spend the night at Grandma and Grandpas.

So here is the list of naughty things Lillian did today:

got sandpaper out of the closet and sanded my walls

ruined two brand new deoderants

dumped the entire bag of chips all over the kitchen floor

got into the kitty litter and made a mess all over the basement

lost my keys (i found them in the tuperware cupboard)

Just another normal day!

Cats!

2009-03-25T15:50:00.001-07:00

This is the new addition to our family

EVA

I finally broke down and bought a pet. Cole found a worm the other day and wanted to keep it as a pet. I figure when your child is falling in love with worms it's time to get a real pet. So last Saturday I adopted Eva from the Humane Society. We are all still adjusting. Eva can tolerate Cole, but bolts from the room if she even catches a glimpse of Lily. Chad wasn't too pleased about getting a cat, but so far I think things are going OK--the leather couches are still intact.

(I'll let you know when that changes)

New Camera

2009-03-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

This is me trying out my new camera!

Don't ya just love the piggies!

I wouldn't mess with this Spiderman

St. Patricks Day fun!

Now, this one I gotta explain. Cole came to me the other day and asked for some ribbons. Despite, thinking this was an odd request from my little boy, I got out the box and let him pick the perfect two; not too short not too long. I watched as he proceded to tie cars to the bottoms of his shoes with said ribbons (I admit I did help him get them on there tight once i figured out his intentions). Cole then had a blast "skating" around our kitchen. Once again another dull day saved by Cole's limitless imagination.

Lazy Days

2009-02-07T11:10:00.000-08:00

Lily dressed herself today

Aint she cute!

The outfit I had picked out got thrown back in my face. Literally. Evidently it wasnt strippy enough.

Cole is still in his Jammies today. When he woke up he asked "Where are we going" When I told him nowhere he said:

"Yeah! I can stay in my jammies all day"

He's my boy!

(mommy is still in her jammies too)

Healthy and Perfect

2008-12-30T09:12:00.000-08:00

It's scheduled. Surgery number 6. Cole has had more surgeries than birthdays in his short little life. Even though this surgery is just to put tubes in his ears, it still breaks my heart. With each surgery as I hand him over to the doctor I just want to say, "Please, Please, realize that you hold the most important child that you will ever work on, becasue this is my son."

Our journey with Cole has been quite challanging, but I wouldnt change any of it for anything.

When the nurse first told me I was pregnant, I felt like I was drowning. I could not hold back the wave of emotions that was flooding over me. But the feeling that was stealing the breath from my body was fear. What had I just gotten myself into? My husband and I had been trying to conceive for almost a year, and now I wished I could take it back. I knew our lives were going to change 180 degrees. Was our relationship going to suffer? How could we afford the added expenses of a baby? Would I return to work after? These were questions that we supposedly had answers to already, but now that I was actually pregnant, I wasn’t so sure. Had we thought things through well enough? However, once I began to settle into the idea that the two of us was soon to become the three of us, I got excited. In fact, I could not wait for our new life to begin. I wanted our baby now. I dreamt each night of holding the precious little child that my husband and I created. Were we going to have a boy or a girl? Who would our baby look like? Would he or she be more like his mom and love to read and write, or would he be more like his father and love sports and movies? Was our baby going to be healthy and perfect? It was the question that plagued me most. In between doctor visits I worried something was wrong. I cried myself to sleep many nights thinking about it. In the morning I chalked it up to crazy pregnancy hormones, but the nagging feeling just never subsided. Each time I heard my growing baby’s heart beat, relief settled in that everything was fine. But it was only temporary. Days later the worrying would begin again.
At 19 weeks I went to the hospital for my first ultrasound. The drowning feeling returned. I was excited to see my baby, apprehensive about whether we would be blessed with a girl or a boy and trying to fight the persistent feeling that something was wrong. The moment the technician placed the wand on my belly, I knew we were having a little boy. My husband was thrilled. We watched in amazement our son kicking and wiggling as she took measurements and pointed out his lungs, heart, kidneys, hands and feet, eyes nose and mouth. As she left the room to get the doctor she smiled and said, “What a good looking little boy.” I couldn’t agree more, although I thought our son looked a bit like a lion.
In the few minutes my husband and I had alone waiting for the doctor we both expressed our joy that everything was fine. Our baby was healthy and perfect. We both had tears in our eyes when the doctor entered the room. He introduced himself and turned on the ultrasound. I was excited to see our son again. My excitement quickly turned to panic as he looked at our little boy’s heart and said, “Well, his heart is not the problem.” Problem? Problem?! What problem? There is no problem! In the following eternities of silence I managed to convince myself that the doctor didn’t mean it the way it sounded. What he had meant to say was that there was no problem with his heart. I began to relax and even enjoy myself again. Eventually the doctor turned off the monitor and began to talk. With a deep breath he explained that he was seeing a black line across our son’s lip and try as he might, he could not seem to make it go away. He talked about genetics and how sometimes things don’t always develop right. He asked if either of us had a family history of cleft lip or palate. No. Of course not. Why was he asking? He believed our son had a cleft lip. I believed he was wasting my time with all his nonsense. As he continued to talk, I continued to tune him out. Finally as he was explaining that with one birth defect the chances that there may be more are elevated, thus the need to schedule several follow up ultrasounds, it hit me; our son looked like a lion because he had a cleft lip. It was true. I was drowning again. I couldn’t control the emotions. I couldn’t stop the tears. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t…I couldn’t…I just couldn’t.
The nagging feeling that something was wrong disappeared. I now knew what was wrong, but it took time to accept it. My husband and I spent hours researching everything we could about cleft lips and palates. We learned about different types of clefts, the techniques and special bottles needed to feed infants with clefts and the surgeries required to correct it. The more we learned the more I worried. I was nervous to tell people not everything was perfect with our little boy. I worried about what strangers at the grocery store would say and what people at church would think. I worried about taking pictures of our precious boy before his lip was fixed and what he would think of it when he grew older. I worried about out infant son going under general anesthesia and feeding him post surgery. Most of all, I worried that God had made a mistake sending this special boy to me because I certainly was not strong enough to handle all of this.
We returned to the hospital ten days later for our second ultrasound. Despite his complete lack of cooperation—putting his hands up to his mouth and turning his head away—we confirmed that our baby had a cleft lip. The doctor told us we would not know for sure about the palate until he was born.
At 12:30 AM the morning of April 1, 2004, my water broke. Our son was on his way. For the first time in months I wasn’t worried. Ten hours and only three pushes later, Cole Gregory Sadler made his screaming entrance into the world. He had a cleft lip and palate, but he was healthy and perfect.

Oh my stinkin' heck

2008-12-16T00:37:00.000-08:00

Cole came upstairs yesterday to see it snowing outside. He stops in his tracks and shouts:

"oh my stinkin' heck! Its snowing"

** I love that kid **

The things that come out of his mouth keep me rolling. Like a few nights ago when we were driving home from my moms house. He says:

"Mom, I love this Earth, but I don't want to stay on it for all days."

I asked him where he was going to go if he wasn't going to be on Earth anymore. He says:

"Mom (like duh) I'm going to be a Space Ranger and fight bad guys in outer space!"

So the strangest thing happened to me yesterday.

I blew up water in the microwave.

(OK you can stop laughing now.)

Now, I have had my share of failures in the kitchen, but really, this is a new low.

I was just trying to boil 2 cups of water to make Jello for Lily and after about a minutes and a half there was a loud boom. I opened the microwave and all the water in my measuring cup was spattered all over the microwave. Whats funny is that the glass cup was still fine and the water wasn't even that hot!

So what happened?!

P.S. If anyone else has ever had this happen let me know so I don't feel so dumb.

Today I Dont Care...

2008-12-01T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today I don't care that the kids are fighting. I am pretending I am deaf. Today I don't care that the house is a mess. I took out my contacts. Today I don't care that the laundry is multiplying. I shut the closet door. Today I don't care that the dishes are all dirty. I used paper instead. Today I don't care that the leaves need raking. I closed the blinds.

Today I care that I have two healthy children with healthy lungs. Today I care that I have a home to keep me safe and warm. Today I care that I have clothing that fits and is comfortable. Today I care that I have food to eat. Today I care that the Lord created such a beautiful earth.

I didn't mean to be so positive today. It just kind of happened. I was getting a little overwhelmed with the challenges of day to day life, so I decided to get my frustrations out on paper. After listing all the things that were bothering me, I noticed that those are all the things that are most important to me. So it was time to stop wallowing and start enjoying. I am grateful for life's annoyances because they remind me of how blessed I am.

Tag, you're it

2008-11-25T21:20:00.000-08:00

So Sharida Tagged me a whole week ago. Its kind of exciting as its my first. Looks like just about everyone has gotten it so I will just add my 8. Drum roll please...

8 favorite TV shows:
1-Super Why
2-Dragon Tales
3-Word Girl
4-Word World
5-Curious George
6-The Mentalist
7-Mythbusters
8-Bizarre Foods
(our TV spend 90% of its on time on channel 11. I only get to see what is on TV after 9:00.)

8 favorite movies:
1-Cars
2-Cinderella
3-Toy Story (1 &2)
4-Aladdin
5-Emperor's New Groove
6-Life is Beautiful
7-Dan in Real Life
8-(I'll come up with another later, its too late right now to think)

8 favorite restaurants:
1-My Moms house
2-Lettuce and Ladles
3-Cafe Sabor
4-Akasaka Sushi
5-Barbacoa
6-Market Street Broiler
7-Tiburon
8-Groves Market

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1-Lily unrolled a whole roll of toilet paper
2-Lily unrolled a whole roll of tape
3-Lily colored on the walls
4-Lily took a nap (yeah!)
5-Lily smashed all her crackers on the floor
6-Lily threw a shoe at me
7-Lily wandered off and visited the neighbors
8-Lily went to bed (yeah!)

8 things I look forward to:
1-Chad having his CPA
2-Buying a new camera
3-Having 2 working bathrooms again
4-A day off without the kids (that's never going to happen!)
5-Date night
6-Kids bed time
7-A good book
8-A Vacation (that's never going to happen!)

8 Things I love about fall:
1-My birthday (Yeah cake!)
2-Halloween
3-Fireplaces
4-Squash Soup
5-Thanksgiving
6-Down Comforters
7-Big Sweaters
8-Autumn trees

8 things on my wish list:
1-Finish the basement
2-More patience
3-To weigh the same as I did when I was 18
4-More money
5-A Maid
6-A magic wand
7-To be able to eat all the french fries I want and not gain a pound
8-World peace

So I am going to Tag anyone who wants to do it. There, now everyone has been tagged.

Daddy Time

2008-11-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

OK! Life should start getting back to normal here in the Sadler house. Chad took his last CPA test and now we just wait to see if he has passed the last 2. So that means he gets to be a husband and a father for the whole month of December. Yeah! Then January starts busy season and Daddy starts working 12 hour days 6 days a week until April. We better make the most of this month off.

We went miniature golfing at Sparetime in Roy. They Have a cool black light course with sharks and alligators, dinosaurs and tigers guarding the holes. Cole loved it!

Lily has to kiss every animal see sees!

After several attempts, Cole figured out it is much easier to just throw your ball though the tigers legs.

So we don't have any trees in our back yard but somehow every fall I end up raking leaves. The kids helped me so really we were just scattering the leaves around even more.

In case you are wondering, YES! Lillian always has this scowl on her face. That girl was born scowling (I am not kidding, the nurses even mentioned it!)

Obviously I have been on the computer too long again.

And now she has the roll of tape. Here we go!

I want, I want, I want

2008-11-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

So there is a new rule in our house. No one under the age of 18 is allowed to say "I want..." followed by some toy or game or candy or anything they saw advertised on TV. I am so sick of hearing Cole tell me he wants this and that and everything else. And when I say "Cole, I am not buying that for you," he just tells me Santa Claus will get it for him. I try and explain to him that Santa is not going to bring him everything he says he wants but that hasn't stopped him from adding them to his Christmas list

What is it about the holidays that brings out the worst in kids? In our house we have already started singing 'Santa Clause is Coming to Town' emphasizing the part about him knowing if you've been bad or good-so be good for goodness sake! I don't know about you, but my kids are onery whininging monsters lately. I think bears have got the right idea. Lets just hibrinate through the winter, or at least have the kids sleep through the holidays.

I know, I know, I am a real party-pooper when it comes to Christmas.

Lock-picks, Lizards and Rice

2008-11-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhhhhh! I think I am going to rip out all my hair! Its not even 10 o'clock and I am ready to crawl back under the covers and hide.

This is Cole with his "pet." That pink thing in his hand is a rubber lizard he got from his school Halloween party. This morning his pet was lost and some how it was all my fault. We spent quite a bit of time searching for that silly lizard. When we found it he wanted a picture of him and his pet. So there you go. Now take a look in the background of the picture. That's Lily getting into the pantry. Two seconds after I took this picture, she dumped a bag of rice all over the floor. That's my Lily. The day is never complete until Lily has gotten into something and made a whopping mess. She is starting early today.

Its going to be a busy day.

So this is our budding criminal in action. I try to keep our bathroom door locked, seeing as Lily's favorite past-time is putting all the toilet paper in the potty then fishing it out and squeezing all the water onto the floor. But our little smarty pants here has figured out how to break in

Now what?

After I downloaded the pictures from my camera, I noticed there were quite a few pictures I don't remember taking.

Then I saw it.

There is only one person in our house with brown eyes. Cole must have gotten a hold of the camera and tested out his skills. Not too bad really. He has his own camera (you can see it in Lily's hands), but of course if your allowed to use it, its not half as fun.

My kids are really good at letting me know when I have been on the computer too long. Lily just broke a fancy glass jar I had in the living room. I guess that one is my fault. I should know that glass and tornadoes don't mix.

Thanksgiving Vs. Christmas

2008-11-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

So I am just 3 presents away from having all my Christmas shopping done! I feel so relieved to know I don't have to go out and fight all those nut-job drivers that flock to the streets at Christmas time. I just get to sit back and relax now. Christmas in our house this year is going to be quite low key. Cole and Lily are getting their Santa Claus gifts and a book and bath toys, and that's it. The kids have so much already, they really don't need anything more. But why am I talking about Christmas, we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. And Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. All of the good parts of Christmas-the food, the family, the day off-with none of the hassle-the shopping, the crazy drivers, the money. I don't know why Thanksgiving isn't higher up on every ones list. You'll find Christmas somewhere near the bottom of my favorites list. I met a man once who had just the best idea. He suggested we hold Christmas every other year. I mean it seem like we just celebrated Christmas not too long ago and here it is just around the corner. But if we hold it every other year, that gives us some time to recuperate and pad the pocket book a bit for the next go around. Hey I'm all for it, now if only I can convince my kids. And while I'm in the mood to change up the holidays, lets have Thanksgiving every month. I have so much to be grateful for I can't fit in to just one day once a year. Maybe my family will start our own tradition. Once every month we will hold our own Thanksgiving day. I will make a special dinner and we can spend the evening recounting all the blessings we received that month and thanking the Lord for his generosity.

Unfortunately airplanes aren't in the budget

2008-11-10T13:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever looked up in the sky to see an airplane and wished with all your heart that you were on it? Who cares where it is going just as long as it is going far away from here. I need a vacation. A LONG vacation. I love my life and I have things really good so I feel guilty complaining, but I am just tired. Chad is super busy all the time what with his job, studying for the CPA and being in the Elders Quorum presidency so he doesn't get a chance to help out much around here. Our families both live 40 minutes away so its not like I could drop the kids off at Grandma's for an afternoon off. So it is all me. I do everything: cook, clean, take care of the kids, and keep life running. Lily has turned into and ornery monster lately; she wakes up screaming and she goes to bed screaming (she screams a few times during the night too). Cole is always testing his limits. He is a good boy, really he is. But he goes through those phases where he like to see just how far he can take things before mommy looses it. And lately mommy is loosing it more often. So it would be beneficial for all parties involved if I did find an airplane to hop on.

Yeah for ME!

2008-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

So for the last 2 1/2 years that we have lived in this house the walls have been bare. Chad had been begging me to put stuff up so that it looks like people actually live here. But I am the kind of person that doesn't want to do something if its not going to be perfect. It will just drive me nuts. So the walls stayed bare. But I finally did it. I bought the picture frames, I made up the pictures and last Saturday we hung them up. We hung them in the stairwell so we had to borrow my Father-in-law's ladder. He has one of those fancy Little Giant ladders (I know you've seen the infomercial). Its not as easy to use as they show on TV but we managed. Getting the pictures up took alot of measuring because there are no gaps between the fames. But it looks perfect (Thanks Honey!). So now I am on a roll. I even got some plates to hang on the kitchen wall and some mirrors to hang in our bedroom (sexy! not really but...). I am super excited to show it off. So just come by and see, just pretend you dont see the mess.

Spooky

2008-10-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

I love Halloween. Maybe its because I love the fall, or maybe because I love chocolate, but most of all I love Halloween because of the excitement that fills our home all month long as we decorate the house, sing Halloween songs, and try on our costumes. And nothing is cuter then Halloween pictures! These are the cutest bat and ghost I have ever seen (Thanks Annie!).