I want to win!

I just entered this Scentsy giveaway from the darling Cute Like Me gals, and I WANT TO WIN so here I am posting a link for you all to see. But don't go enter cause then I have a better chance!! :) J/K!

Phantom cries

Is it just me or do other mommas totally hear their babies crying when they actually aren't?! I swear I hear Rigby crying so I'll mute the TV, just to realize silence, or I'll walk in his room to find him fast asleep. Have we become so accustomed to the sound of a baby crying that we just hear it in our heads? I hate to hear a baby cry, especially when they actually aren't!

This city should rise to Heaven

- A lyric from the last song the soundtrack band played at Improvaganza this weekend (and if you are looking for some amazing bluegrass/country check out a band from Winnipeg, The Magnificent Sevens - they were fantastic.

Aaaand I have to agree. I kinda love Edmonton.

This city is not only beautiful, clean and fresh, it is not only riddled with tons of fun and exciting things to do (like go to an improv comedy festival - SO FUN!) ... everyone is SO. DARN. FRIENDLY. I can not count how many times I have been helped by complete strangers now. On numerous occasions someone stops to hold the door so I can push my train - I mean stroller, through. Every time I approach a set of stairs in the mall (yes stairs, you'd think they'd have a ramp.....) someone always offers to help carry my boys down. The other day a man in my building helped me carry all my groceries from the one set of elevators to the next and then INTO my apartment! Aaaand a transient lady on the street said something cute to my boys and then called me "pretty lady" (and she wasn't asking for anything...)

Like, I love this place!

I just find that every time I go out I'm greeted by kind people who don't mind lending a hand. That would never happen somewhere I may or may not have spent 5 months last summer (cough, cough, Winnipeg, cough.) I'm just really impressed by this city and am truly enjoying my time here but I am however grateful to be leaving before winter cause I hear that's anooooother story...

Ps. Winnipeg's not that bad. (Kind of.)

My newest love

I love nothing more (ok, not many things more) than vacuum lines. But even the most perfect of vacuum lines can't make a spotted carpet look good.

That's where this stuff comes in My friend Sarah let me borrow hers and I've been obsessed with it ever since. You shake it up, spray it on, let it do it's foam cleaning magic, wipe it up and when it's dry vacuum it away. The spots are GONE! I am so impressed and love it so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. (30 Rock anyone?) Anyway, it's amazing stuff and if you have spots on your carpet you should really go purchase some - or borrow it from a friend and not return it. What?

It was 20 years ago today.

Well hmmm, that's not entirely true, but that's how the song goes....

Anyway.

It was one year ago today I left my cart of groceries sitting in the aisle at Safeway after I got the call that Michael Jackson had died. I mean MICHAEL JACKSON just DIED, how do you just carry on picking up your strawberries and dryer sheets? Grocery shopping is not something you do after you get news like that. Anyway, here's to MJ. Gone too soon.

Today

• I will clean my bathrooms
• I will have more patience with Porter
• I will take the boys outside to play
• I will not check the account summary on the Insider
• I will make a proper dinner

I laughed out loud.

Not. Good.

A tip

When my friend Rachael showed me this she didn't think it was a big deal but I have loved it and shared it with lots of gals so I thought I'd post it here as well.

Don't you hate storing your straightener, hair dryer and curling irons with their cords all a tanglin'? Well if you loop them up and tuck them inside a toilet paper roll they stay neat and tidy and don't tie themselves in knots.

Genius, I know.

I've taken up smoking.

Well I might as well have.

The cravings, the inability to turn my mind to anything else, wondering when I'll get another one...

It's all for this

Tim Hortons Hot Chocolate

I can not get enough of it. My neck cranes as we drive past each and every Tim Hortons, wondering if the people inside are enjoying theirs as much as I would be enjoying mine. I'm pretty sure it's laced with crack.

Fang Doon

My little Porter cracks me up. Lately he has been saying this phrase (thankfully not the toilet talk ones anymore!) and I have no idea where he got it or what it means. He is constantly saying "fang doon" and sometimes it's "sang doon." The confusing part is that he uses it in all different contexts. Sometimes fang doon is a verb, sometimes it's a noun or an adjective. His cars can fang doon and breakfast is fang doon, Daddy fang doons and bed time is fang doon. I have asked him over and over again what it means and why he says it but he always just giggles and says it again, without an explanation.

I think he's fang doon.

I learned a lesson

I have been wanting to post about this all week. I learned a lesson last weekend and I'm grateful I did. We are in Edmonton for the summer and we have a craaaazy schedule while we are here. I don't see much of Neil at all and I am at home with the boys all day, every day, all by myself. We have been attending Neil's brother's ward as it's been nice to see his family every week and get to spend some extra time with them. A couple weeks ago the bishop asked if he could meet with me and I quickly responded that we weren't transferring our memberships and that I had a calling being held for me at home - anything to deter him from giving me a calling here. My thoughts were "well I'm not even in your ward," and "as if I have time to do anything this summer, our schedule is crazy enough," and "I've got enough on my plate right now I don't need a calling on top of it," and "Sunday is the only day I get to spend with Neil and I don't want to do anything but sit with him at church," and many other thoughts of the like. I felt very justified that I was going to say no, regardless of what the calling was, because, well for all the above reasons.

One night while I was waiting for Neil to get home I was reading from the conference Ensign and I read a section in a talk given by Julie B. Beck that said:

"A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence."

Ugh. That was exactly what I was feeling - total entitlement to just sit and take a break for the summer. I didn't need to serve, my home life is crazy and I deserve a rest. NOT. As soon as I read this it was like well Michelle, whatever is asked you will do because you are a capable woman and you have a lot to give. Why should any of us, regardless of our personal situation, take a break from building the kingdom? I met with a councilor in the bishopric and he asked me to be the Primary chorister. If this is where the Lord wants me right now then I will do it. I went on Sunday, having no idea what I was doing, and had so much fun! The ladies in Primary were so kind, the kids were great and I had a wonderful time.

I do not think I am a great example of service by any means, in fact I often find myself being selfish with my time and my family but I am so grateful I learned this lesson as I really do need to work on being an instrument in the Lord's hands and giving more of myself, like I said, regardless of my personal situation at the time.

Happy Birthday Momma!

Today is my momma's birthday and I wish I could have been there to spend it with her. She is an awesome mother and wonderful friend and so for her 61st (shhh!) birthday here are 61 things I love about her!

1. She is ALWAYS there for me, seriously - and usually before even I know I need her! She just knows when to call and when to ask how I'm doing.
2. She is a wonderful grandma, she LOVES her grandkids and plays for hours with my boys.
3. She loves to go shopping with me, and buys me things!
4. She is like one of the girls, I can talk to her about anything.
5. She has taught me to be selfless and thoughtful, she's the perfect example.
6. She is always just as excited about things for me as I am, she really wants the best for me.
7. She makes a really fun date!
8. She makes the food I want when I go home to visit, I LOVE her stir fry!
9. She has a cute sense of humor and makes me laugh.
10. She is generous and will do anything for anyone if she can.
11. My girlfriends all love her as much as they love me!
12. I have memories of walking past her room at night seeing her kneeling by her bedside praying.
13. She taught me to just be myself.
14. I love the way she practices her shorthand when she's driving or talking on the phone.
15. She made holidays special for us with a lot of fun traditions - Christmas crackers, Easter hunts, birthday parties, etc.
16. We watched White Christmas together every year.
17. She'd take me out of school to go to Lethbridge on dates, and then we'd start taking Sharlee out of school too, it was awesome!
18. She'd let us eat supper in front of the TV when dad was away.
19. She'd call ahead and tell us not to make lunch because she was bringing "uptown sandwiches" home.
20. She's ok to laugh at herself and taught me not to take things too seriously.
21. We would cuddle on the couch together and watch Matlock or Perry Mason or Murder She Wrote.
22. When I visit she lets me get ready in her bathroom with her even though I know my mess drives her nuts.
23. She always does that extra little something to make things more special - a new outfit, a little extra money, some fun treats, anything she can think of!
24. She tells me I'm beautiful all the time - who doesn't want to hear that?!
25. She cares about other people in my life and asks how they are doing too.
26. She always wants to hear Porter stories and loves them as much as I do.
27. She used to give us Valentines Day panties with hearts or "love" on them every year.
28. She would let me sleep in her bed when dad was away.
29. She taught me to keep a clean and tidy house.
30. She taught me that people are more important than things.
31. I love her teeth, they are just so "hmph."
32. She let us grow up with pets even though she didn't really like them.
33. She went camping with us every summer even though it wasn't her favorite thing.
34. She helped us develop our talents by putting us in different lessons and classes.
35. She always let me have friends over, friends were always welcome in our home.
36. She taught me how to make jam and can preserves.
37. She likes treats just as much as I do.
38. She is an amazing teacher and really puts her heart into her lessons.
39. I feel like she created opportunities for me to feel the spirit and to help my testimony grow.
40. She helps me put things into perspective when I'm having a bad day.
41. She is the first person I want to call when I find out something exciting or have some good news.
42. We both like mindless shows like the Bachelor/Bachelorette and call and chat about it afterwards.
43. She saves her People magazines for me for when I visit.
44. I loved watching her talk to the seniors at her work and think that is partly where I learned to love them so much.
45. She has respect for everyone, regardless of background, status or culture.
46. She is humble and always puts others before herself.
47. She misses me and my family and I know she wishes she was closer.
48. She let me drive my dad's Porsche and he didn't even know! :)
49. When I was in college she called me at midnight so she could be the first to wish me happy birthday.
50. We can laugh at all of our inside jokes together and they never get old.
51. She loves genealogy and knows so much about her heritage.
52. She is always willing to sign up or volunteer for something.
53. When I go to church with her we have to stop in the hall because everyone wants to talk to her or hug her, people just love her.
54. She likes to learn.
55. She likes rocks just like me.
56. She made us dresses when we were little.
57. I like to lay on her bed and look at all her rings with her, she has a story for every one.
58. She comes to my house and folds all my laundry.
59. She has amazing decorating ideas and has helped make my house so cute!
60. She is crafty even though she doesn't think she is, she is very creative.
61. She is my momma and she loves me unconditionally.

Happy Birthday to my mom!

Too funny!

This morning we went grocery shopping and I had to buy some shampoo and conditioner so while Neil took the kids in the cart to get some produce I ran off to pick some up. I met up with them and Porter looked at my hands and said "you got some sham-..." and then stopped. Not quite sure what he had said I asked him to repeat it and he said "you're getting some sham-..." I DIED laughing and said "it's ok honey, you can call it shampoo."

I guess that soap REALLY did the trick! HAHA!

A royal flush!

I was talking to Sharon today and realized I should post an update on the potty mouth situation in our house. First of all thanks for all the advice and ideas, it's nice to know we're not alone in these things huh!

Ok so the other morning we were reading scriptures and we told Porter to say "For behold..." and he pipes up with "For poop..." (Yes, I'm serious, it's been brilliant.) Neil stands up and says, "that's it, you're getting soap in your mouth!" So he got a tiny bit of liquid hand soap on his finger, opened Porter's mouth and wiped it all over his tongue. We explained to Porter that he is saying dirty words and that when he says dirty words he gets soap in his mouth to clean them out. We gave him a drink and told him to not say those words anymore.

He didn't use any toilet talk for the rest of the day and then yesterday he was saying something, I don't remember what but he stopped himself very abruptly at "P-....." and then gave me a cheeky grin. I smiled and said, "what were you going to say?" and he laughed, "I was going to say poop!" I told him we don't say those words and he agreed cause he didn't want soap in his mouth. He didn't say anything else for the rest of the day and again today not a dirty word has left his tongue.

I guess we should have gone straight to the soap method first but I'm glad we found something that worked!

A feature!

My adorable and talented big sister Sharon was featured on Better After , one of our favorite make-over blogs. I'm just so proud of her, she's really got an eye for making a ho-hum piece into something beautiful. (We kind of think this is a big deal, hahaa, I know - we're kinda dorks.)

Frustrated

My baby is 12 weeks and my belly looks like it is too. Come ON mummy tummy... ugh.

A question for moms.

Porter has a potty mouth these days. He's really big into poop and butt jokes and it seems like the more I get after him about it the worse it gets. I'm wondering if I've done myself a disservice by making a big deal about it when perhaps if I had ignored it he would have gotten it out of his system (no pun intended) and we'd be over it by now. He is definitely aware that it is something that gets him attention and will make sure I hear it when he talks like this.

The other day I was folding laundry and he was sitting beside me. He was saying "stinky poop" or some other intelligent phrase and when I completely ignored him he called my attention to it "mom, stinky poop, mom, mom, mom, stinky poop!" When I continued to ignore him he climbed up to get right in my face and said "momma, stinky poop, stinky poop momma!" I actually had to leave the room to keep from laughing and making matters worse but... honestly child! He clearly knows that it is something that gets him attention and now uses it for such. It makes me wonder if I should ignore the next bad thing that comes out of his mouth so he doesn't try to use it against me!

When your child says a bad word do you immediately reprimand them or do you ignore it as to not make a big deal so they keep saying it?

In three's

Ok they say bad things happen in 3's and well we've had our 3 this week and it's actually been REALLY awful. I'm tired of dwelling on those things so I thought I'd post 3 good things that far outweigh the 3 bad things we've had to deal with. I'm a little tired of saying "it could have been worse" this week but am so grateful that I AM able to say that. I have SO much to be thankful for and need to concentrate more on those.

So my list of three GOOD things are:

1. AMAZING family and friends who have helped us out this week. Seriously Vicky especially, you are a LIFE SAVER! I am so thankful for these people who have come to my rescue.

2. Good health and safety. I think it's something I totally take for granted but I am so thankful that my family, especially my growing boys, are healthy and strong. Sickness and injury would be WAY worse than anything that has happened this week and I'm so grateful I'm not dealing with either.

3. Love. I am truly the happiliest (is that a word?) married woman I know of and I'm so grateful for the love that is in my home. We can handle anything together and can even laugh most of it off because we know together we are fine.

It has been important for me to put these trials in perspective and look at the big picture this week. All of these challenges have to do with "things" and "things" are not that important. I've really got it made where it counts.