Super Mario

So, you know that your family plays too many video games when your 3 year old can recognize Mario. i had a coupon for Blockbuster so i let Ethan pick out a movie. He found this movie and shrieked at the top of his lungs SCARY MARRiO!!!! So, i rented it for him and he has now been watching it non-stop. i really should put a stop to it but he just loves it so much. Now he walks around the house talking about Mario and Koopa.

Ethan on benedryl

so, this afternoon at my sister in laws i gave Ethan some benedryl because he had an allergy attack. Well, benedryl as you might know puts kids right to sleep. Well about an hour and a half later i was pushing him on the swing in the backyard and he was so tipsy! it was the funniest thing i have ever seen. He was chilling in the swing staring at the sky and he said "Mama, that's sky" then he laughed and laughed then againa he said "Mama, that's sky". Then he looked over at Chloe and said, "i by you." He was walking crooked and when i took him home and was getting ready for bed he looked at me and said, "i love you" and then laughed and laughed. That was the first time he has said that. i choose to believe he really meant it and it wasn't the benedryl, but it certainly sounded like someone saying, dude i love you man.

First day of school!

i am once again posting on the laptop, so pictures to follow, probably tomorrow. Elijah had his first day of school last week and he really liked his class. i just can't believe he is in 2nd grade! Today i let him walk all the way home with a friend. That may sound weird, but we are far. if we lived just 2 streets up we would be bussed, but because i would either have to drive him to the bus stop or drive him to school i might as well drive him to school. He seemed to like walking home, and i guess if he isn't alone it should be ok. Yes i am a worry wart!

Chloe starts tomorrow and i am probably more nervous about it then she is. i know she will do great and be best friends with everyone on the first day, but its still so surreal that 2 of my kids will be gone!

i signed Chloe up for dance. A woman in our neighborhood is teaching out of her home and i am so excited about it. She has so much experience and education in dance so it should be a great class for her. Plus, hopefully it will work out some of her wiggles!

i can choose

i realize that i like to gossip. Not a ton, and definitely not to just anyone, but i do. After all hearing things can be fascinating. its not so fascinating and tempting when the subject is people you love (family or friends).

Gossip hurts, it hurts me, and it hurts others. Unfortunately with the way the internet is it has brought on a whole new level of gossip. it hurts me to read things posted online that are negative about those i care about. We have all heard the horrific stories about how online gossip can destroy lives so i won't harp on that.

School has started. Elijah started last week and Chloe starts on Thurs. Since this is the beginning of the year for me, after all when i drop off Chloe on Thurs i am going to party like its 1999!, i decided to write some personal resolutions for myself. Here goes.

i choose to no longer gossip, especially online.

i choose to be happy. As most of you know i struggle with depression, especially postpartum depression and this year has been so bad that at least 50% of days i have not been able to function. i can and will choose to be happy.

i choose to love my family and friends for the great people they are.

i am sure i will find more but here they are right now!

i judge you, you judge me

My least favorite word in the English language is judge. i hate it. i am burned out with hearing people accuse others of judging.

Here is my theory, because i know all of you want to know.

i will be the first to admit that i think people are judging me. "oh no, did they hear my kid throw that huge fit?" "That person is looking at me that way because i ordered a diet Pepsi" "My hair is a mess and i haven't combed Chloe's hair in a week, they must think i am a slob!" "When they came to my house it was right as my kids were chaotically screaming and the entire house was a mess, what must they think of me!!!!"

Here is what in reality they are probably thinking, "............." which is basically nothing with regards to me. Do i really think i am that important of a person that everyone is paying attention to what i do? i try not to be narcissistic, but maybe i am.

Now i do believe that every day we need to make judgment calls. Should i let my kids play at certain friend's houses, which school should they go to, do i let them play video games all day, do i let them watch certain things on TV, do i take certain classes in school, who do i trust?

it is hard when people you love make decisions that you disagree with. But, there is a huge difference between not liking their decisions and judging and not accepting them.

Also, i honestly believe that sometimes people protest too much. There are those who go on and on about how people are judging them and how great the world would be if no one judged others. in reality unless you are the most powerful/important person in the world, most people are not paying enough attention to your actions to judge you. Are you protesting so much because you are insecure in your decisions? if you truly feel you have done what is right for you than you have no reason what so ever to assume that others are judging you. Also, if you are truly secure you won't worry about those that might. i believe that most people are just doing the best that they can with the life and trials that they have been given, and that they don't have the time or energy to focus on you and your life.

Now, there are those that judge you. For example i accidentally pulled out in front of an older woman on my way home today because there were several semis in my line of sight. it was seriously the funniest part of my day when she turned to me and started shaking her finger at me yelling, which i could not hear because my window was rolled up. Obviously she judged me for being a bad driver, who knows maybe i am, but what she didn't realize was that it was simply an accident. i say that those that judge you are not worth your time or energy. They are definitely not worth crying over it and telling the whole world that you are being wronged because someone somewhere judged you.

For those in my life, i am sorry if you have ever felt judged by me. it was not my intention and i care for all of you and only want you to be happy and successful in your lives. Besides, i am far from perfect and live every day by the skin of my teeth in one way or another, so the last thing i have time for is wasting energy judging. i have also learned that things you say, such as "my kid will never do X" will always come back to haunt you.

its karma baby.

(Please excuse the lower case i's. About 2 years ago Elijah thought it would be helpful to wash my laptop with soap, luckily it recovered, all except the i key, so now when i type i use copy and paste for my i's. i have become surprisingly quick at it.)

News

Ok, so I really have no news but I wanted to catch up on everything that I have missed. So, because I have tons of fun pictures I have done a slide show. If you have the patients to watch it great!

We went to AZ for a family reunion in July and it was tons of fun. We went to Petrified forest and Sunset Canyon on the way down there. We took just Elijah because my Mom was kind enough to take the other 3 kids for us for the night. It was tons of fun.

After we got home Ethan had his 3rd birthday! We had a fun party with our cousins and he had a lot of fun.

Chloe had a dance recital and she was so good. The end of this slide show are lots of pictures of Chloe. I wanted her to try on her new school clothes and the only way I could get her to agree to it was for us to do a fashion show. So, we have tons of pictures of her posing with her new clothes. I think she looks so much like my sister Katie in these pictures!! Way too cute!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wow

Has it really been over a month since i last posted. i am a big old slacker. There is so much to catch up on, but i want to do that on the other computer when i have pictures. i just wanted to jump on and say we are alive and well. Today is the first of many long long days for the next two years. Blake started his MBA at BYU last week. i am very proud of him for being so willing to work so hard. Twice a week he will leave for work at 6:40 in the morning and not come home until after 9. Makes for long days for me. i am chanting the mantra "its all worth it, its all worth it". On the plus side school starts soon and this year i will have 2 in school. Wow. i am so ready. Yay school!