Kids Say the Darndest Things - December '10 Edition

Taken from the sidebar....


During Family scripture reading, we came across a passage where the 10 commandments are written....

Kyle: "What's 'commit adultery'?"
Me: "It's when someone who is married goes off with another man or woman."
Matt: "God commands us to be faithful to our marriage. We're suppose to save all our love, feelings, and affection for just who we're married to....(blah, blah, blah)
Me: "Yah, what would happen to our family if I went off and got another boyfriend?" (Thinking the kids would recognize how that would DESTROY our family.)
Haylee: "YOU would get A LOT of Christmas presents!" 12/10


Brookelle & I went to one of Ryan's band performances. In one of the musical numbers, Ryan has a part where he plays the Timpani drums REALLY loud...BOOM-BOOM, BOOM-BOOM, BOOM-BOOM....

Me: "Can you hear Ryan? That's him playing the drums loud!" Brookelle: (listening, smiling) "Yes!" (she was amused by it)
Later on in the song, the music, in stark contrast, is played softly....
Brookelle: "GO, Ryan, MORE! More, Ryan, GO!" 12/10


Brookelle was struggling to put on her jacket and couldn't get her arms in the right holes....

Brookelle: "Bad coat! Bad coat!" 12/10

You Can't Always Get What You Want

CHRISTMAS 2010

"The Line Up" on Christmas morning (8:00a.m.)

~ they all have Great Expectations of what is to come...

(The joke's on them!)

This boy...

wanted one of these...

Cost: anywhere from $299 to many, many thousands of dollars.
Problem #2: We don't have a space for it in our home.

He didn't get one.



This boy...

wanted one of these...

Cost: $200 - $300

He didn't get one.



This girl...

wanted one of these...

(In an advertisement, it boasts, "This is definitely the gift for a spoiled kid.")

Oh, goodie - JUST what I WANT!

Cost: $234.88 - $349.99



She did not get it.



This girl....

...is so excited to get what she wanted....

Main Problem: We already have a doll house.

(But it's officially her sister's and she wants sole ownership)
We don't have room for another - especially when we're trying to sell our home!

Cost: $75 - $190+

She did not get it.

Well, guess what? I wanted to have the w-h-o-l-e Christmas break off work ~ and then a severe winter storm hit the Northeast (you may have heard about it - a lot - on the news?) ~ and I've been working mandatory Overtime ever since during my "break."

[Insert title of Post here]

This Sweetie Pie...

doesn't even know about the "I want its" yet. (Thank goodness)
and she couldn't be happier about her stocking stuffers...

and

What more could a 2-year ever want?!?

(Why can't we all be like her?)

As for the older kids, in spite of not getting the above mentioned items, they still have an AWESOME [and totally non-embarrassing] life!


After all, they've got a very photogenic dad...

A brother with excellent dental health...

A sister who sits on you and pulls your hair...

A Rock Star brother...
Sisters with RAT'S NESTS atop their heads
(i.e. very severe bedhead)...
And last, but not least, a Mom who does a special rendition
of "Feliz Navidad" on Christmas Eve...

They've been blessed immensely, wouldn't you say? :)

Come to think of it....when ya look at it THAT way...they HAVE gotten all they could ever want!
What am I doing titling my post the way I did?!!?

(It'll just take a little more time for that "enlightenment" to hit them!)

Who Ya Gonna Call?

In the course of selling our home over the last 6 weeks, we've had a good number of prospective buyers come through to take a look. After they have come to see our home, my brother, our listing agent, will call me with the feedback.

WARNING TO THOSE THINKING ABOUT SELLING IN THE FUTURE: This feedback stuff - hearing the reasons people aren't going to buy your home - can be hard on your psyche! It's not for the "faint of heart."

Some of the feedback are things we can't even change. (They didn't like how, when standing at our front door, they could see all the way through the different rooms to the back of our home.) Other feedback we can fix, and we do. (Installing more rain gutters.) And some feedback we could change, if we spent a million dollars, but we're not going to. (Put in a new deck & stairs in the back.)

Well, my brother didn't call me with feedback from the most recent prospective buyers that came to our home. He didn't call me, because he wanted to see the look on my face when he told me in person.

And when he told me at our family Christmas party the other day, my reaction (and those others around me) DID NOT DISAPPOINT. :)

He said that when he called the other Realtor who'd brought the buyers to my home, the other Realtor stumbled over his words at first, and had a hard time explaining his clients...

He said that these particular clients bring a meter thingie when they go around looking at houses.

WHAT?

I don't know about you, but THIS came to mind:

AS IN THIS:

From a certain movie you "Children of the 80's" might be familiar with...

So, the other Realtor says his clients walk around houses with this meter and measure.....this is where he was hesitant...and couldn't find the right words...because he didn't really understand, himself....but the "measurement" tells the clients SOMETHING. The rest of my family was gone, but I actually had to be in my home office working my JetBlue shift at the time and I did hear people out in the hall whispering, but I couldn't understand any words.

Initially, I thought that was just how people speak if the homeowners are there, (I do the same thing. P.S. If you're selling your house, and if possible, LEAVE when people come to look. It's so much better; they'll stay longer, they'll imagine themselves living there - not YOU, and they could even actually sit down on your furniture and start talking about possible offer scenarios. It's TRUE - I can vouch for it!) but, now in light of this new information, I realize their whispers may have had more to do with the mysterious nature of their "findings."

Their "findings," as it turns out, is what will prevent them from buying our home. Our home's "measurement" didn't make the cut. The "measurement" wasn't super high, but it was a little higher than their limit they have set for themselves. That was the feedback.

You. Have. GOT. To. Be. Kidding. Me!

Right?!?

My brother was not kidding. He said that is a first in his 8 year Real Estate career. He has never dealt with "Meter People."

So, I'm kind of unclear on this....What category would you say that feedback falls into?
a) Something that CAN be changed, and we WILL fix it. (And if so - HOW?!?)
b) Something that CAN be changed, but Oh well - DEAL WITH IT!
OR
c) Something that CAN'T even be changed.

(?) (?) (?)

One thing's for sure, my neighbors will THANK me for....that SOMETHING that we have in our home. Because now they don't have to have psychos moving in for neighbors!

(Maybe they think they already have psychos for neighbors?!!?) :)

*****
You're all singing now, aren't you?

If there's something strange
in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call?
GHOSTBUSTERS

If there's something weird
and it don't look good
Who ya gonna call?
GHOSTBUSTERS

We've come a LONG WAY, Baby!

See this cute, little boy?

Don't let it FOOL you! ;)

When he was this age, haircuts were a NIGHTMARE!!! With a Capital "N!" Seriously. He reacted as if he were getting murdered! And that is not an exaggeration. He screamed THE. WHOLE. TIME. And not just screamed, he S.C.R.E.A.M.E.D. And, FYI: suckers, water guns, Popsicles, books, fruit snacks, and/or dinosaurs, etc. DID NOT work.

I learned quickly that it was a TWO-MAN job! I enlisted Matt to physically restrain him, while I did the haircut. In fact, it was probably more than a two-man job, but I didn't have anyone else to help me. I even tried taking him elsewhere for the haircut in case he only "acted up" for me. Nope. It was torture there, too. Never again. I vowed to keep the ballistics contained at our house, and out of the public eye after that. We also learned that we couldn't give him a haircut in front of the other children, because it would traumatize them! (Remember, he was a "murder victim.") And, finally, we learned, by sad experience, that when we waited until naptime (so the baby wouldn't be a witness) to give the haircut, his "fight for his life" woke up the baby! GASP! Now, THAT, as any parent knows, is simply unacceptable!

So, we moved the haircut scene outside to our back deck in an effort to protect the baby's precious naptime - she still heard him (the nursery is in the back of our home) and was awakened. So, the next time we relocated outside to the front porch. Did being outdoors reign in my boy's dramatics? No. Not one bit. And as a result, during the "haircut show", we had neighbors peeking their heads out their doors (literally) to see just WHO was being murdered on our street. And then the cops proceeded to show up at our place due to complaints of "disturbing the peace" and we were arrested for child abuse and put in jail! Nah, just kidding on that last part --- when we saw the suspicious neighbors, we high-tailed it down to Wal-mart and went into hiding there before we could get caught by the police. Oh, wait....Wal-mart hadn't come to our town way back then yet...Oh, I remember, we went and hid in the trashy tent trailer that was parked at the side of our house and escaped the altercation with the Officials that way instead. ;) But, seriously, I wasn't lying when I said it was a nightmare!

In fact, I'm sitting here surprised that he even has a nice, short hair-do in this photo. I'm surprised that instead of putting myself through that, I just didn't let him go for the "hippy" hair look during that "phase." He must've been my 2nd child - and I was a "young" (READ: inexperienced) Mom!)

So, anyway....Where am I going with this?!?

Fast Forward ONE YEAR....

OK - I don't want to embarrass him too badly - it's been four years, maybe five.

My son CAME TO ME a couple of days ago, and practically PLEADED with me to give him a haircut!!!

(Here's proof)

And so I did. By myself.

And there was no screaming, no thrashing about, no outbursts, no blood, sweat & tears. The baby remained asleep and other members of my family walked in and out without fear and trembling. In fact, when Ryan AND Matt came by, they both said, "Can I be next?" That's how FUN it looked! :)

But, I do think HELL may have frozen over!

Creating "Art"

#1

#2

#3

#4
#5

{click on image to enlarge}

Which do you like the best?
I was thinking of making a large print of one of these and framing it. (Another proof that we're done having kids - otherwise my "artwork" will be out of date.)

P.S.
I did it on www.wordle.net

Your Opinion, Please...

To Decorate or Not to Decorate?

That is the question.

With our home being up For Sale, I'm troubled about this Christmas decorating thing.

My original aversion to decorating was that I'd put it all up, have to take it all down if we sold before Christmas, and then put it all back up in our new home, then take it all down again after the New Year. BUT, that is no longer an issue at this point since we won't have to move out before Christmas - the turn around just takes longer than 16 days now.

BUT, we still have to show our home - to any interested buyer - at any time. Which means it has to be "staged." Which kind of means it's not fully OUR HOME - we're catering to what's attractive to others.

So, there's a couple of schools of thought with decorating for Christmas when the house is on the market.

I keep going back and forth with this dilemma. THUS, I open it up to my readers (all 3 of you! :))

1) Prospective Buyers might think it's "CUTE." Like it feels like Home. Warm. Welcoming. Festive. They might even imagine their OWN decorations in those very spots.

OR

2) All the decorations just make our home look CLUTTERED.

CLUTTER = SMALL

CLUTTER = CLAUSTROPHOBIC

CLUTTER = MESSY

CLUTTER = UNKEMPT

CLUTTER = UNSETTLING

CLUTTER = DISTURBING

CLUTTER = PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNSOUND HOMEOWNERS (Think: that "Hoarders" T.V. show that everyone talks about/is disgusted by.)

I had a goal of "40 bags in 40 days" - which was literally filling up trash bags - throwing out or giving away "stuff" in our home that we didn't need, we didn't use, and we didn't LOVE. I quit counting after 24 bags, but after this big effort, I hate to bring back more stuff again, ya know?

And I KNOW that many of YOU are turned off by clutter. Remember when I blogged about this? Most of your comments were not about being horrified by the sheer NUMBER of bottles of cologne my husband had, but by the the fact that he had them all out on the bathroom counter!!!

On the flip side, there's the possibility that "THEY" might think we're Scrooges, or something, if our Christmas decorating is lacking, and will wonder what other crazy things have gone on in this house! (It's TRUE! I have these thoughts when I look at houses myself!)

But, we have to live our life, too, right?

But, anyone who has sold a house while living in it, knows that your life is NOT really your own during this time anyway.

So, which line of thinking do you follow?

Or is your opinion something else entirely?

*******

Of course, if it's more "traffic" (literally) I'm trying to get to come see our home, I could use Christmas decorating to my advantage and do it like this, I guess....

Kids Say the Darndest Things - November '10 Edition

Taken from the sidebar...

After reading the Allegory of the Olive Tree in [l-o-n-g] Jacob chapter 5, Matt tried to offer some explanation....

Matt: "Who is being referenced as 'the good' and who are 'the evil'?"
Haylee: "Ryan and me are 'the evil'." 11/10


During family scripture study, we read 2 Nephi 28:21 ("...and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.") Then afterwards....

Haylee: "What's 'hell'?"
Someone else: "It's the bad place."
Haylee: "Oh-h-h, it's the devil's hideout?"
Me: "Exactly!" 11/10

It's Time for a New Lawn Ornament

Look what showed up in front of our home today....





With this will come a barrage of questions, no doubt. So, I thought I'd just put a stop to all the speculation/judgement/gossip and provide some of the answers/reasons to your inquiring minds right now.

1. ***This is the most important one*** A Bountiful Brave, like myself, just can't let my babies grow up to be Viewmont Vikings! (High School is just 9 months away for Ryan.) It's just not right. ;)


2. So far, we've gone through three different next-door neighbors - THREE! in each of the houses on both sides of us (for a total of 6) over the course of the 9 2/3 yrs. we've lived here...and my ego just cain't take it again if another were to move out on us (isn't it obvious by now that we are the cause?)...so, our plan is to BEAT them to it!


3. We're tired of getting the shaft on Halloween! We've consistently gotten a poor showing of Trick or Treaters (especially this year with the torrential down pour we experienced, but, Hey! that's still no excuse!) - because everyone is just too gosh darn lazy unmotivated to trek all the way up the hill to our home.


4. I've heard it's a sure way to get released from your church calling! (Besides these other two tactics we tried.)


5. We live on everyone's favorite running and biking Lane - and that's just not conducive to my all-blinds-open-walk-around-in-my-underwear lifestyle.


6. My children have lost every last of our 286 balls (again!) in our surrounding neighbors' yards/bushes, and we just can't bear to go knock on their doors for the 2,394th time to ask them to retrieve it for us.


7. My brother is my listing Realtor. Which means that's what he does for a job - ya know, that's how he earns his living.....and have ya heard lately how the housing market is doing in this lovely economy? So, the house-selling money hasn't been the best for him lately...So, I'm just tryin' to help out by giving him some more "business" - and calling it "charity!"


8. Going to this extreme is THE ONLY THING that forces me to clean my home - every day - all the time - no matter what - and keep it that way.


9. I figure with my current 4 children/10 year history with our elementary school, my turn for being PTA President is imminent - especially when my baby starts school in 3 years (when, at that time, I'll have a 5 children/13 yr. history.) And since I need that like I need a hole in my head, I gotta RUN while I can!


10. This home has "Baby Girl-making POWERS." Seriously. Before we moved here -- we couldn't make a girl to save our life! After moving here -- ALL girls! OK - True Story: This woman, who only had boys, but would LOVE to have a girl, suggested I let her and her husband "spend the night" at my home (while we went to stay somewhere else, of course!) because she wanted to partake of these "POWERS!" So, the reason we have to move? We've met our quota on the amount of drama/estrogen/tears/high-maintenance/hair struggles we can handle. We can't take any more chances!

So, there you have it. All very good, solid, reasonable answers. I hope I've satisfied your curiosity. Feel Free to contact "my People" if you have any more questions.

A Secret Crush

I just received this text:

You Have: 1 unread message from your secret crush. Reply "YES" to get ur crush's name now!

Ooooooooh! How exciting!! What great timing, too - just when I was feeling all frumpy and OLD. I wonder who it is?!!? Is he more like the Matt Damon/Brad Pitt/George Clooney/Ben Affleck/Derek Jeter/Chris Pine/Ian Somerhalder ...er...uh...I mean...Matt Brenchley type OR ....like the Pee Wee Herman type? OR is "he" not a "he?" Yikes! I better not reply "YES" and just hope the curiosity doesn't KILL me! :)

*****
Oh wait! There's more. In the fine print, the text further reads:
4 help 800-235-XXXX $9.99/mo. Msg & Data rates may apply.

Oh man! Is it just a money-making scheme?

See Suzanne. See Suzanne getting all "puffed up." See Suzanne have a deflated ego.

I Am Glad for Many Things

I am glad for many things, Many things, many things.
I am glad for many things That are mine today.

Thank you, thank you, my heart sings, My heart sings, my heart sings.
Thank you for the many things That are mine today.
(LDS Children's Songbook, pg. 151)

I have been stuck on this song since Sunday - where we sang it in Primary. Some of my children may or may not have begged me to "stop singing that song!" Not because they don't like the song, but because they can't stand my voice and/or it's not cool to have your Mom just spontaneously break out into song are trying to concentrate on their homework, that they are doing all on their own free choice, without complaint, of course. ;)

Regardless of my children's opinion of me, I AM glad for many things - and I will let it be known! When I started this blog, I included a "This Week's Gratitude List" thingie on my sidebar. The idea was to change the list weekly, thus the name, "This Week's..." but it's really more like every 10 days (give or take - mostly give) and once it was 36 days! This month of Thanksgiving, I pledge to actually have "week" mean "week." (roughly) Now that I just "confessed" my sins, let me go on. This practice has actually forced me to ponder and recognize the many blessings, big & simple to me, that I have. When I change the list on my blog, I write the previous "week's" list in my journal, so I have a "hard copy" forever. Without this, I think I would tend to get an "everything-is-bad-nothing-is-going-right, everybody-hates-me-nobody-likes-me" mentality.

OK - Example time...
Thanks to caller ID, we chose NOT to answer the phone the other night when Such & Such Home Security Alarm Systems called our home - during the "witching hour" of course.
My son, who was the one who screened the call, made the comment, "WHY would we even need a home alarm system? No one would want to steal anything we have!"
He thought he was being REAL clever when he voiced his next idea.
He said that we could just forgo the threatening alarm system sign out front of our property and put up our own sign.

The sign would read:
TURN AROUND RIGHT NOW!
Warning: You won't find anything of worth inside this house.
We don't have any Plasma T.V.'s.
We don't even have BIG T.V.'s.
We don't have any game systems.
We don't have Blu-Ray players.
We don't have laptops.
We don't have iPods.
We don't have iPads.
We don't have touch screen anything.
We don't have DVR/Ti-Vo - but we do have some old VCR's.
We don't have a cell phone for everyone in the family.
We don't have cell phones with the Internet.
We don't have leather couches.
We don't have surround sound or speakers on anything.
We don't have a pool table.
We don't have fancy schmancy computers.
We don't have body bugs.
We don't have a riding lawn mower.
We don't have nice cars.
and we surely don't have any CASH laying around...unless you count the measly $0.67 in my Mom's "Girl's Night Out" jar....
(He was crackin' himself up!)

I gave him the choice to voluntarily STOP his mouth right then OR to get the "duct tape treatment."

Because I couldn't stand to listen to it - at all - anymore! I. WAS. IRRITATED. I've heard their whinin' & complainin' before, but that day....that day if affected me more. Where does he get off thinking his life sucks since it is void of the above list? Since when did the above list equate happiness? I went off on how kids in X, Y, & Z 3rd World Countries would LOVE to live the Life of LUXURY that is found in our home. "Ungrateful, Little Brat" might have come to my mind, also! :)

He tried to tell me he was just trying to make a joke.
"My sign idea is FUNNY," he rebutted.

Apparently having lost my Sense of Humor, "NO! It's NOT funny," I informed him, as the "grouch Mom" was starting to come out of hiding.

"Uuuhhh....it's not? (looks at my stern face) OK, it's not funny," he agreed with an "eat crow" type of attitude.

And THAT is WHY I will continue, without warning, to blurt out, "I Am Glad for Many Things" (or any other song I feel the need to share) whenever and wherever (but definitely in front of my children) I please. Until they won't be able to get it out of their heads. It might just sink in.

A Case of Not-Able-to-Keep-your-Mouth-SHUT-itis

My family suffers from this....severely.

• The other night at the Pinewood Derby, Haylee's Activity Day Leader came up to me and she half-whispered, "Haylee told us some very interesting "information" at Activity Days......Is it TRUE?!?" Well, I had to find out WHAT had been divulged before I could either confirm or deny her inquiry. It turns out that the "information" Haylee had blabbed to BOTH her leaders and however many Activity Day girls were standing around is kind of a "family secret." It's something Matt & I talk about a lot and our kids have been privy to some of those conversations, but it was just between us family - not to be broadcast to everyone or anyone on the "outside" - ya know? With her leader standing right in front of me, asking me point blank, "Is it true?" I was forced to let her in on our "secret." Later, I confronted Haylee about it and she explained her behavior this way: "Well, we were just standing around and everyone else was talking and I was sittin' there wondering, 'What can I say? What can I talk about?' and then THAT came to my mind, so I just said it, it just came out so suddenly - and then THAT got everyone talking to me! Sorry!"

• We were on our way to visit family where we didn't know if we'd be eating or not - it hadn't been officially discussed - but oftentimes they do have something for us to eat or offer us something, but we got hungry before we arrived. We would be passing an In-n-Out Burger on the way, so we decided to just go through the drive-thru for a "snack." Before we even got our food, we stressed to our kids the importance of NOT saying anything about going to In-n-Out Burger to the family we were going to visit. Our "game plan" was, IF they offered us to eat with them, to accept their invitation with no mention of our "snack." IF there was no such invitation, then we would be extra grateful we'd eaten. Everyone agreed. We got our "snacks" and ate them in the car while we drove. When we arrived, we disposed of all "snack" evidence into the trash and again reiterated to everyone to refrain from telling the people we had stopped for food. Well, exactly 2.7 minutes after arriving, the host asks, "Have you eaten?"

To which Katelyn immediately responds, "YES!"

You've gotta be kiddin' me! I thought.

I tried to give the "SSHHH" signal to her with just my eyes.

Haylee, at least this time in an attempt to cover it up, says, "Just a 'snack'."

Whew! I thought. But, no....

The host asks, "What did you have for a 'snack'?"

Katelyn didn't catch on to any of my shut-your-mouth "looks."

- and I mentally tried to cup my hand over Katelyn's mouth.

Katelyn: "French Fries and Burgers, but no shakes this time."

I shook my head at Katelyn behind the host's back.

Host: "Did you stop somewhere?"

Katelyn: "YES! In-n-Out Burger." And then I quietly backed out of the room and escaped.

• At church on Sunday, there was a baby blessing, so a lot of visitors were there to see it. Afterwards, one of these visitors got up to bear their testimony. In my kid's defense, he didn't know who was who out of all the visitors in the congregation. Well, during this one person's testimony, she got off on telling a story/personal experience and for effect, at one time, she was shaking her head and waving her hands up by her head, while crying/saying, "What am I doing? What am I doing?" to which Ryan comments, semi-out loud, "What IS she doing?" That person's mother just happened to be sitting right in front of Ryan.

N-I-C-E!

Some people might say that they get this from their Mom (me), but, this is not correct. Although, I may rarely be at a loss for words, that is different than telling things I'm not suppose to tell. I do know and keep many, many secrets (other people's and my own). Sometimes to the point that I think I might explode - like I just can't hold it in anymore, but I do! I am not a blabber of really good, juicy, personal information - your secret's safe with me. ;)

Things I've Heard on the Job: #5

* Warning: Reader Discretion Advised. Graphic. If you consider yourself a "lady," - you won't want to read this post. End it now. Have young children and/or "proper" persons-from-my-parents'-generation-or-older leave the room.

I've sat on this one for a while not knowing whether I should write it or not, worrying about if others would find me inappropriate. But, it is so shocking - or unbelievable - and has such a "N-O W-A-Y" factor to it, that I just have to record it for my own "history" sake. Thus, the above warning is given and if "sensitive" readers ignored it, it's not my fault! :)

One early morning while "On the Phones @ JetBlue" I got a phone call from a customer in New York (6:00a.m. their time).

Me: "Good Morning! Thank you for calling JetBlue, my name is Suzanne, how may I help you?"
Customer: "Hey Suzanne - It's my birthday!"
Me: "Well, Happy Birthday!"
Customer: "My girlfriend already made sure it was V-E-R-Y HAPPY this morning!" :)
Me: "That's great. What can I help you with?"
Customer: "We want to book a spontaneous trip for my birthday today."

Then we proceeded to check various flight options and routes from New York to Florida that day. Blah, blah, blah. While trying to find him a good "birthday flight," he kept emphasizing to me that it was his birthday. And that he had a girlfriend (who was right there with him.) And that he wanted to get an outstanding trip.

Customer: "After this morning, she definitely deserves it!" :)

In the end, he didn't book right then with me. He said they'd take all that info and decide, then call back - so we said, "Good Bye."

Now, one of our policies at JetBlue is that WE never disconnect the call. We have to wait for THE CUSTOMER to disconnect the call. (Because we don't want to cut them off or end the call if they had something else to say/ask. We let them determine when we're done talking.) Now, in extreme circumstances, say if I'm getting an ear-full of vulgar language by an irate customer who will not stop even after my request that they do, I am allowed to give a warning that I will hang up - and then I am suppose to say, "JetBlue is releasing this call." and then hang up.

So......after I said "Good Bye" to Birthday Boy, I noticed that I didn't get a new call beep in, so I looked at my caller I.D. and I could see that he had not disconnected the call, yet. And so I just waited on the line. Maybe I had misunderstood and he and his girlfriend were "deciding" NOW on that trip to Florida and I needed to wait for him to come back and tell me.

It wasn't complete silence on the other end. I could hear hushed sounds, like he was still in the room where the phone was, but no one was speaking.

So, I followed JetBlue policy, and did not hang up the phone. I just started reading company emails and such.

And then I heard more than hushed sounds.

I heard a louder, repeated, rhythmic sound.

I heard something to the effect of: boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...

And then I heard someone: "Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh."

I was brought back to consciousness as I had a flashback of my customer's earlier comments to me. Oh. My. Word. Did I just hear what I think I heard?!!?
Uhhhhh, I think that qualifies as an "extreme circumstance."

Me: "JetBlue is releasing this call."
Click

*****
Now, ending on that note, by way of announcement, let me just tell you that JetBlue is hiring new Reservations Agents right now. In fact, the job opened for application at 10:00 this morning on http://www.jetblue.com/ and it will be closing after they receive 500 applicants. Hurry! you won't want to miss out on this "opportunity!" :)

Seeing PINK

THIS BOOK:

was the inspiration behind Katelyn's 6 year old birthday party yesterday.

(And my friend, Michelle, had blogged about a Pinkalicious party she did for her daughter earlier this year, and it planted the idea in my head!)

It's an easy concept to understand...EVERYTHING just had to be PINK! It was a celebration of PINK proportions!

We sent out PINK invitations....and then Katelyn [almost couldn't handle the anticipation] awaited Party Day.

PINK Balloons

PINK cupcakes
(for those of you who are familiar with the story, know how crucial these are to a Pinkalicious Party!)


A PINK "Candy Bar"


PINK tutus

13 of them! I was making the last one at 3:30 for a 4:00 party start time. :P


A PINK table
(Not Shown: Strawberry Revel Ice Cream (vanilla with PINK swirls through it) and Cherry 7-up)

Guests wearing their most PINKALICIOUS outfits.

Reading PINKALICIOUS, of course!

PINKALICIOUS girls dancing in PINK tutus to "Disney's Princess Collection" CD.

*****

Disclaimer: To the best of my knowledge, no one ate more than 2 cupcakes, so our guests did not wake up this morning with a very rare and acute case of PINKITITIS (body turns all PINK). However, who knows what effect eating all their PINK bubble gum & candy will have AFTER leaving the PINKALICIOUS party. I assume NO responsibility for post-party episodes! :) But, the book teaches one what they must do in these cases, all I can do is offer the same advise; You must eat a steady diet of green food!

Kids Say the Darndest Things - October '10 Edition

Taken from the sidebar....

When Katelyn wore a velvet dress...

Katelyn: "I'm never wearing this to school again - I'm all sweaty. This dress is just too FUZZY!" 10/10


After seeing his Mom & Dad kiss...

Kyle: "WHY is there even kissing? Why can't people just put their ears together? That would be better." 10/10

House Hunting/Your Opinion Please...

In this last General Conference (Oct. 3, 2010), President Henry B. Eyring gave a talk that really caught the attention of both myself and Matt. The part that was most impressionable to us was this excerpt from his talk:

"Years ago I heard President Ezra Taft Benson speak in a conference like this. He counseled us to do all we could to get out of debt and stay out. He mentioned mortgages on houses. He said that it might not be possible, but it would be best if we could pay off all our mortgage debt.

I turned to my wife after the meeting and asked, "Do you think there is any way we could do that?" At first we couldn't. And then by evening I thought of a property we had acquired in another state. For years we had tried to sell it without success.

But because we trusted God and a few words from the midst of His servant's message, we placed a phone call Monday morning to the man in San Francisco who had our property listed to sell. I had called him a few weeks before, and he had said then, "We haven't had anyone show interest in your property for years."

But on the Monday after conference, I heard an answer that to this day strengthens my trust in God and His servants.

The man on the phone said, "I am surprised by your call. A man came in today inquiring whether he could buy your property." In amazement I asked, "How much did he offer to pay?" It was a few dollars more than the amount of our mortgage.

A person might say that was only a coincidence. But our mortgage was paid off. And our family still listens for any word in a prophet's message that might be sent to tell what we should do to find the security and peace God wants for us."

THEN, two weeks later at church, a speaker in Sacrament Meeting quoted a past talk by President Hinckley on the same subject:

"When I was a young man, my father counseled me to build a modest home, sufficient for the needs of my family, and make it beautiful and attractive and pleasant and secure. He counseled me to pay off the mortgage as quickly as I could so that, come what may, there would be a roof over the heads of my wife and children. I was reared on that kind of doctrine. I urge you as members of this church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day."

Needless to say, this mortgage topic has been ON MY BRAIN this month.

So, I started to search for houses that I could pay for in cash and be free & clear of a mortgage altogether.

Here is what's out there (for my family of 7 and my work-at-home/"office required" situation).

Option #1

1985 Woods Cross Manufactured/Modular home

2 Bedroom/1 Bathroom, 900 square feet, no garage, .12 acres

$65,000

(With a special remark from the agent, "You own the land!" Oh goody! There's so much of it.)

Option #2

1980 Woods Cross Mobile home

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 924 square feet, no garage, .12 acres

$67,900

(Another "You own the land" remark in this listing.)

Option #3

1943 Clearfield Ranch house

3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1468 square feet, no garage, .17 acres

$78,500

(Special remark from agent, "Needs some work in basement, but loads of potential")

Option #4

1958 Clearfield cottage

3 BD, 2 BA, 1486 SF, 1 car detached garage, .31 acr.

(Ooooh, I like the acreage!)

$94,900

(Special remarks from Agent, "Home being sold "as is" condition. Presently a rental property.")

Option #5

1955 Layton Ranch

3 BD, 1 BA, 1046 SF, 1 car attached garage, .25 acr.

$94,900

(Remarks, "Bank of America prequal MUST be submitted with all offers.")

Need I say more? "Bank of America" is synonymous with "Run the other way" these days - we'll probably have our current home paid off by the time we hear back from B of A!

So, What do y'all think?!? Here's where your help comes in. Please cast your vote. What's your favorite option for us?

*******

Or maybe we should potty train the baby and free up $50+ a month to go towards Mortgage payments.

I can't quite decide which would be more painful!

The Cost of NO Trip to Hawaii

We planned a week long trip to Hawaii for our family vacation this week.

(We had exactly 16 days of Summer vacation between the time All-Star baseball ended and football started, and an extended family reunion was squeezed in there, so we didn't have time for OUR family vacation.)
We get to fly standby on other airlines for about 10% (or less) of a full-fare ticket. Our brother and sister-in-law also live there, so, thanks to their graciousness, we have a place to stay. The kids had 2 days off of school anyway, so we decided to pull them out for the remaining 3 days this week and make it a great, relaxing vacation.


**Enter Reality**

Saturday
First Attempt at getting on a Delta flight to Hawaii. Don't check in any bags since they GO whether we make the flight or not.

Overheard at the airport ticket counter: "THIS is a family of SEVEN!!"

Going through Security #1 - with SEVEN people (everyone takes off their shoes, everyone takes out all liquids/foams/gels out of carry-on bag and place into a quart-size Ziploc bag in bin, remove laptop from bag, take baby out of stroller, fold up stroller and put on conveyor belt, take off belts/earrings/watches/barrettes and remove all loose change from your pockets, take off jackets, put blankets in bin (X 7). And then on the exiting side of Security, everyone "recomposes" - puts their shoes, clothes and accessories back on, returns all liquid containing Zip loc bags to carry-ons, put laptop back, gather all belongings, set stroller back up and strap baby back in it, stack up all bins and return them to the stack, zip up all bags, do a luggage count; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, do a back pack/purse/diaper bag/laptop case count; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and go on our merry way.)

Bin containing laptop gets pushed off unattended conveyor belt on far side of metal detector in Security check point and falls to the floor -- and breaks. Cost: One laptop computer
I set the metal detector off when I walk through. They have me take off my earrings and put them in a "bowl." They hastily dump my earrings into my hands on my second successful attempt through and throw the "bowl" back into the pile for future travelers to use. When putting my earrings back in, I notice that the hook of one of my earrings is totally missing - and the "bowl" is long gone. Cost: One pair of earrings.

One for one Security "incidents."

Don't make the flight.

Ride Shuttle back to Long Term Parking and pay for the time we were there. Cost: $4.00
A "consolation lunch" for the family to lift their spirits. Cost: $50.00
Sunday
Second Attempt at getting on a Delta flight to Hawaii.

Overheard at the airport ticket counter: "Oh my gosh, HOW MANY [kids] are there?"

Going through Security #2 - with SEVEN people. (See Above).

Oldest son apparently thought he was exempt from the "no liquids" rule and his bag gets pulled and searched because he has packed some aerosol deodorant in his bag -- which is promptly confiscated by TSA. Cost: One can of deodorant.

Two for two Security "incidents."

Don't make the flight. Who are all these Utahns flying to Hawaii every day?!?

Ride Shuttle back to Long Term Parking and pay to get out. Cost: $4.00
Return home and catch church at a different ward in our Stake. Cost: Listening to protests/complaining/debating from the children since they didn't think that was in "The Plan" for today. My reply is simple, "Our family goes to church." (And they will soon learn that they have to be very flexible with "The Plan" anyway.)

Decide to take a different approach. Instead of flying non-stop to Hawaii from SLC, let's try to fly there from SFO, which flights are more open.

Third Attempt to get on a flight. Return to the airport in the evening to fly JetBlue (with our higher priority) to SFO.

Overheard at the airport ticket counter: "Are ALL those [kids] YOURS?"

Going through Security #3 - with SEVEN people. (See Above).

2nd Son's skate shoes look "suspicious" to TSA and they are pulled for additional screening.

Three for three Security "incidents."

We make the flight!!!

We have to connect in Long Beach, and we only have 30 minutes to do it - and the gate is in another area of the airport - which requires running AND Going through Security #4 - with SEVEN people. (See Above).

Thankfully, without "incident." Three for Four brings us out of our 100% fail rate with Security!

Our arrival in San Francisco is late at night and we won't be able to catch a flight out until the next day, so we booked a hotel for the night. Cost: $55 (Thanks to my airline discount.)
The hotel offered a "complimentary shuttle" from the airport, and the driver helped us [READ: only did it for a tip] with all our bags....Cost: $10.00
Monday
Another "consolation lunch" the next day in San Francisco. Cost: $60.00
The "complimentary shuttle" takes us back to the airport with our 7 bags + a stroller. Cost: $10.00
Fourth Attempt at getting on a flight to Hawaii.

Overheard at the airport ticket counter: "Look at ALL your 'blessings'" (Translated: Too many children.)

Going through Security #5 - with SEVEN people. (See Above).

My second daughter thought that the miniature water bottle she'd gotten on the JetBlue flight the night before was "SO CUUUTE" that she saved it in her back pack - which was detected on the security monitor, then was immediately removed and thrown away. Cost: One cuuute miniature water bottle and a 5 yr. old's happiness.
Four for Five Security "incidents."

While waiting at the gate, the Delta agent makes an announcement. There is a problem. The plane we were hoping to fly to Hawaii on has a mechanical issue that will prevent it from flying over the water....so they have to substitute out a different aircraft...which will delay the departure for almost two hours....AND which happens to have about 50 fewer seats on it than the original plane! They were asking - which eventually turned to begging - passengers to take later flights & compensation instead since there was no way all the ticketed people would make it.

There goes our chances of making it out on Monday. And Tuesday. Or Wednesday. Or Thursday since they were having to fill up all those flight with all those misplaced passengers.

Can we handle the truth? There will be NO trip to Hawaii.

Plan B. What is Plan B?

It sure would be nice if we had a functional computer so we could explore accommodations in San Francisco or other flight options OUT of there!!!

I find a pay-by-the-minute computer in the airport and research alternate possibilities as fast as I can - all the while the timer and the dollar amount total are ticking right before my eyes in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Cost: $7.00
We decide to just go back to "Square One" - HOME.

We can catch a JetBlue flight back to Long Beach tonight, and then Salt Lake tomorrow.

Overheard as we approached the line at the airport ticket counter: "Oh, why don't you go ahead of us, You've got your hands full!" (Translated: The 3-ring circus has arrived to the San Francisco aiport!)

And then we proceeded to prove them RIGHT!

In ideal circumstances, I'm suppose to list for my own flights on JetBlue by logging into a crew members only program that has been provided me by my company. Well....since our situation wasn't exactly ideal, I was unable to do that and I approached the ticket counter in San Francisco without a listing for my family (of SEVEN). The airport crew member said he'd do it for me, but at the same time made sure to tell me what a "no, no" this was. It takes a long time to type in everyone's full-name, gender, date of birth, age, title, blood type, favorite candy bar, and life insurance beneficiary, etc. and so we were in line way past my family's tolerance level!

Another "suppose to" item that goes along with my flight benefits is that we are suppose to be on our best behavior, not make a scene, blend in with all the paying customers, and be extra respectful, courteous, kind, etc when traveling. Here's what actually happened while I was being assisted at the ticket counter: 1) Oldest daughter misbehaved with her dad which earned her a trip to "time out" right there against the wall of the ticket counter, which incidentally, she openly refused to go to, which resulted in the "countdown" being used by her dad - and in front of all other waiting customers behind us. 2) Oldest son manages to fall off his carry-on luggage that he was sitting on, creating a huge thud sound as he hits the floor, while the luggage goes rolling away the other direction. 3) Katelyn decides it's a great time to "terrorize" the baby by taking away her...whatever it was she was holding. 4) Miss B SCREAMS in objection to her older sister's actions. This results in her dad prying Katelyn away from the stroller and placing her in "time out" next to her older sister. 5) Another loud ruckus is heard behind me and I turn around to see son #2 laying on the floor, spread eagle, with his suitcase (which he'd apparently been sitting on, also) knocked over on the floor beside him - the second fall accident.

FIVE for FIVE kids succeed in making a scene! We have broken all the "cardinal laws" of non-rev travel!!

Between my reprimanding I got from the agent and my family's INability to be WELL behaved at that crucial moment, not to mention our NON-existent trip to Hawaii and a broken laptop - I had HAD IT!! Cost: Breaking down crying in the San Francisco airport. :(
But, that DID get my kid's attention - more like freaked them out - and they turned into "little angels."

We made it through Security #6 - with SEVEN people. (See Above) with flying colors.

And we made our flight - and I gladly took the single seat that was separate from the rest of the family! ;)

When we landed in Long Beach, we saw a Ad sign for some hotels. We had two requirements: a shuttle and a business center, so I could use a computer to list for our future flights and avoid any further chastisement. We called and booked us a room for the night. Cost: $115.00
Another "helpful" shuttle driver. Cost: $10.00
Tuesday
Shuttle back to the airport. With 7 bags + stroller. Cost: $10.00 AND a scolding that we hadn't made a "reservation" to ride at that time.
Overheard behind us in the Security Line: "Look at that little girl [referring to Miss B] taking off her shoes - she knows just what to do - Isn't that the cutest thing?"

Ummm, yeah, she knows because this is Going through Security #7 - with SEVEN people. (See Above).

We were unaware that Miss B had failed to drink the last 3 1/2 ounces (over the legal limit in Security) of the juice in her sippy cup, so it was taken from us and "tested" over at the Sippy Cup contents testing machine. It passed, because, of course it was juice, not bomb-making ingredients. Cost: A Few ounces of juice that could make the difference between a content child and an hysterical one...AND chalk up another Security violation to our record.
Five for Seven Security "incidents."

We got on the flight! (Gotta love my priority with JetBlue!)

We touch down back in UTAH!!

And ride the shuttle back to Long Term Parking where our car has been parked for 1 1/2 days now. Cost: $14
Another "consolation brunch" (or a we-haven't-eaten-a-REAL-meal-for-21-hours-brunch) on our way out of the airport. Cost: $45.00
We decide to do something rather than nothing for our "Hawaii Vacation" and fill up the car with gas and drive straight to St. George. Cost: $39.00
I can turn the unused Delta tickets back in and get most of my money back except for the non-refundable processing fee. Cost: $42.00
So, there you have it - if you ever wondered WHAT it'd cost NOT to go on a trip to Hawaii.
Total: $485.00, various personal items, 12 more gray hairs each, and my sanity.
(A small price to pay for such an adventure of this caliber!) :)

Let It Be Known

My boy has now passed me up in height!

It's definitely one of his prouder moments!

And it's not just his spiked hair, we made him flatten it down and take another "official measurement" - and he's still taller than I am! See???
And there's no "lift' in his socks, so it's safe to say he's got me fair and square. Which really doesn't say too much since I'm a very non-impressive 5 foot 3 is all! :)
The funny thing is, ever since he was a little boy, he'd look at other boys who were taller than their moms and he'd always ask me when he'd be taller than me.

I always told him it would be when he was 14 years old. (Which he always groaned at - he'd hoped for at least a year or 2 earlier....Remember this?)

And, what d'ya know? That's how old he is! He reached the milestone at 14 yrs. 7 months to be exact.

How's that for a prediction? See....MOTHER [really does] KNOWS BEST!

Now, as far as ever getting taller than his dad? Sadly, he may never see that day. I'm afraid I ruined the height genes for our family by negating all of Matt's tallness! :(

Ryan, it may be sad, but true that when you were born, at 23 inches, that is the last time you will be in the top percentage for height!