Career Day

                          Break Dancer   English Speaking Voice Over Lady

Michael really likes to jump. When he gets excited, he starts pumping his legs. When he doesn't want to be put down, he arches his back and kicks violently. He's got talent.

Keturah is constantly stating the obvious. "Mom, Michael's awake." (I'm holding him and she tells me this) "Mom, Michael's crying" (She knocked him to the floor). "Mom, I poop", "Mom look! Booger", "Mom, I 'bless you' to Bekah", "Mom, dark", "Mom, scary", you get the idea...

Celebrity Impressionist

Alex is scary good at mimicking characters from movies and he's always trying to get a laugh from people. He also inherited the sound effects gene from Uncle Nathan. Not to mention there was a good three years of his life where he was someone other than himself.

Circus Performer

Bekah is an escape artist. She always seems to wriggle away or narrowly escape our grasp. Also, she is a total monkey and is always jumping and climbing and has almost no fear. 

D.N.A. (Dove, Nestle, Almond Joy)

March: the month with no holidays (holidays get you out of work or school in my book, so St. Pat's doesn't count). I picked it for this reason. I had to find out if all my sweet treats were to blame for the parasitic post-pregnancy poundage. I also wanted to know if I had it in me. If I could survive drug-free childbirth a few times, then I could go completely drug-free for the month of March, right? By drug I mean chocolate of course. No colorful holiday candy to tempt me. Well, that was the thought anyway. I wasn't completely faithful to my well-intended goal. But I was probably about 90% successful in my attempt. I even made a chart, just for fun.
Here is a reminder, in case you forgot most of middle school like me:

And here is my pretty homework (don't make fun I haven't done homework in like...10 years.)

So I found out that if I don't have my meds, I just substitute it with other unhealthy stuff to make up for not eating funly (yes, I just used that--sue me). Also, I saw no difference in the ppp. So back to chocolate I go with thanksgiving and hallelujahs. 

Smart Alex

Michael's new thing is to bite, pinch, or slap.
Keturah speaks half English, half Cantonese.
Rebekah has a personal limit of 50 words per day.

This is why I look forward to Alex coming home so I can have a conversation with someone. Yes, he's only 6, but he talks like an adult. This is vexing most days, but usually I'm glad he's way too smart for his own good.

Translations

See if you can guess what Keturah is really trying to say when she says these words (sorry for the profanity):

Okay so here are the answers, plus I added a few extra. I know she curses when she wants a sandwich, but for heaven's sake, I don't teach the kid to say "shut up". Sheesh. :)
Rachel is the winner, which is no big surprise--but not because she was here most recently--because she's had lots of practice with her own kids.

PUSSES  princess

PIZZA ON   pants on

SCREAM  ice cream or sour cream

SEA B*TCH  sandwich

EVIL CRACKERS   animal crackers

PENCIL (4 possibilities here)   pencil, pretzel, puzzle, or temple

STUP   spit up

PILLOW   marshmallow

I WANT TO HURT MY MOUTH  I want you to floss my teeth

EYE KISS   Alex

PIE FLY   butterfly

CASH   trash

Ke-two-rah

Keturah turned 2 on a Sunday, so the first thing she did was go to church.

Not like that. We are kinda white trash, but it's way too cold here for this statement.

It does remind me of a couple other two year-olds in big shoes.

Anyway, back to the birthday. We made her take a nap because we learned from Bekah's second that it is possible to party out a toddler. After some sleep, she took turns with her siblings pelting dad with balls.

I kept trying to get a picture of her, but she wouldn't look at me.

A little better.

And now she looks up and I snap the picture just in time for her to display her booger. And I knew everyone reading this wanted to share in her triumph.

With presents, she continued to have camera problems. Those toys were just too interesting.

Again with the neck shot.

 She did really like her cake, but only the frosting.

And she did finally look at me with those pretty eyes and crazy hair.

That's Keturah: pretty, and pretty crazy.

Top 5

Wondering what to do when winter decides to slow to a crawl and release its fury as it nears the end of its trek and you live scandalously far from your kin? Well, here are my top five suggestions:

5.Tell the blizzard to "suck it" and have fun anyway!

4.Devour delectable dishes daily.

3.Find an underwear tree and rub it for good luck. 

2.While playing games with friends, laugh over the really dumb things you say when everyone is too tired to think straight.

And #1 is....

Get a beloved sister named Rachel over to your house so you can: play games, exercise, eat German chocolate cake, stay up til 5am talking, get advice, laugh your head off, listen to stories, go for walks that last 15 minutes because she is from San Diego and thinks "cold" means 60 degrees, show her that driving in the snow is in fact possible, listen and be amazed at her piano playing, freeze her out in your 64 degree house, go to church with her, and enjoy it people tell you that you look alike.

It was nice to have my big sister for a bit and it really broke up the monotony of January. Which, of course you know, I usually detest. Happy Winter Everyone.

This Guy

Matt's school required all the students to fill out a form so they would know how to pronounce their names for graduation.  
He didn't take it very seriously.

	Name	Phonetic Spelling	Rhymes With
First Name	Matthew	math-yoo	bath poo
Middle Name	R.	arrrrrr!	garrrrr!
Last Name	Guymon	Guy-mun	rhymin'