Ode to My Boy

Mr. Will doesn't like me. Like, at all. Really, he doesn't like me*. One day, Carson was holding Mr. Will and I went up to him to give him a kiss and he hit me in the face and yelled at me. He's done other things like that before and actually quite frequently. So in an effort to get him to like me (yes, I'm trying to cooerce him and I'm not above bribery) I'm doing this post in hopes of sending good vibes in his direction.

He's not naked, he has a diaper on. Sometimes he just prefers to go sans clothing.

Such a special moment for me. He rarely voluntarily holds my hand.

I love that face when it looks up at me with those eyes and that smile.

He's such a sweet boy!

*I should mention that the majority of his distaste for the mother figure when the father figure is in close proximity. When Carson isn't around to distract him, Mr. Will is a little more friendly to me and my motherly advances. And you may think that by these pictures, things aren't quite so bad, but those are about the only pictures of him and me when we're both smiling. He really is such a sweet boy, I just hope that one day he might know how much I love him!

Today Is Gonna Be The Day...

Today is one of those days where I can't actually remember what day it is. (I know now that it's Wednesday, but for most of the day, I thought it was Tuesday.)

Today Siobhan stayed home sick from school.

Today we had our first Utah snow. Not much different from Colorado snow and I hate it coming this early just as much as I did living over there.

Today, I think Mr. Will said his first Portuguese word. 'She She' which means he had a wet diaper.

Today, the dinner that I was so excited to make and eat was an abysmal failure. :(

Today I wore sweat pants and Carson's shirt. I looked like a Tranny Hot Mess and I'm not apologizing for it!

Today Mr. Will dumped shampoo on Siobhan's head. It was a little funny!

Today the house is a mess, but I'm doing what I can.

Today is almost over......

Today this picture of Mr. Will in a tutu puts a smile in my face!

Make Me Better Monday-A Pledge

Here's the pledge for today. I have to say, this whole thing is making my weeks go so much better! I guess it gives me more motivation to be the best I can be. Please feel free to join me, maybe it won't work for you, but you never until you try! And I love that it's not just a to do list. I have enough of those in my life.

*I pledge to come up with more creative ways to get my kids to do what is asked of them. I don't want to yell! Right now they have until the end of the song that's playing to get a certain group of toys cleaned up. We'll see. I want to think outside of the box with my parenting a little more.

*I pledge to take more pictures of me with the kids and then post them.

*I pledge another 'Unplugged Thursday'. Best thing I've done in a long time. When I get a chance, I'll blog about it.

*I pledge to use my crock pot more this week. It's perfect weather for it and I always feel better about myself because I don't get 5pm not knowing what to make for dinner.

*I pledge more prayer and time in the scriptures (I've been doing really well with the second-15days straight-but for some reason the humility part of the first is causing a road block. I'm working on it.)

*I pledge some more time enjoying the stillness in life and sending a good thoughts and vibes to Little Ethan.

*I pledge to tell my kids how much I love them and how special they are regardless of how hard it is for me to say it.

Family Home Evening

Since moving to Utah, we've been really good about having consistent Family Home Evening. Some weeks it doesn't happen (because life happens instead) but we've done really well and I'm proud of us! Also, some weeks are more organized than others but we always seem to have fun! For FHE this week, Siobhan wanted us to do an activity that she had done at Pre-school. They made masks and acted out 'Where The Wild Things Are.' We didn't make any new masks, but we used the one that she made at school. Daddy was the narrator, Siobhan played the roll of Max, Audrey and I we Wild Things and Mr. Will ran around like usual. It was a lot of fun!

This is how Audrey got geared up for the evening. She fell asleep watching TV while I made dinner.

Love these faces!

Audrey giving her best Wild Thing Face!

Pay no attention to the fact that I'm wearing socks with my capri pants. My feet were cold! We all had a lot of fun!

Another Hair Cut!

One thing that I was able to accomplish during 'Unplugged Thursday' was cutting Mr. Will's hair. Let me tell you, it needed to be done, but it is no small feet! Honestly, it's impossible to expect a young man that age to voluntarily sit still long enough with the clippers going all over his head. So I stuck him in his high chair with a sucker (hence the goo all over his face) and I did have to cheat a little bit and put 'World Word' on the kitchen TV so he had something to focus and sent the girls out to play.
As always (according to me, not so much my conservative, vanilla husband) I wanted him to have a foux hawk. Unfortunately, I have issues (but that's a story for another post). I wasn't thinking very clearly when I put the attachment on the clippers and I cut the sides WAY too short. 1/2 inch! Well, I didn't want to have all of his hair be a half inch long, so Mr. Will ended up with a full on mohawk from front to back. It's a little bit awesome!

I hated having to cut all this beautiful length off the top of his hair! The picture above is after I got it all wet to get the process started. I think he looks like 'greaser'. Unfortunately, whenever I attempt to style his hair like that, it lasts for about five minutes.

He didn't really appreciate having his hair put into ponies to keep portions of it out of the way.

You can see how short it ended up. Oops. Also, don't pay attention to the imperfections in the shaving job, I did my best to even it all up in the end. Also, with all the hair clippings on his back, he kind of looks like his daddy.

Handsome either way, but a little more refined...well, clean cut. Mohawks can't really be called refined. Can they be called clean cut either? Well, he looks.....skinnier? Handsome as always anyway!

Playtime Photo Shoot

Pretty Siobhan

Cutie Audrey

Handsome Will

Click on the collage to enlarge it.

On Thursday I had an unplugged day. It was amazing! I didn't get on the computer, we didn't watch TV at all and I only answered and made/accepted a few phone calls. It was awesome! I think it meant a lot to all of us. We all accomplished a lot in our little spheres. The kids played outside a lot because it was a beautiful fall day. Not too hot, not too cold and lovely leaves all over the backyard. So we decided it was a great time for a photo shoot. The pictures are less than stellar as there is a lot of trees in the backyard that cast weird shadows. But for this, that wasn't the most important thing. We just had a good time being goofy and enjoying the moment.

Make Me Better Monday-A Pledge

I really enjoy making these pledges to myself every week. Like I've said before, it almost feels like I'm giving myself some serious accountability. And believe it or not, my weeks have gone slightly better. Last week, I made it to Thursday before I felt crummy about myself, my mothering and my wife-ing. That's gotta be a record! So I want to keep up momentum, thus another pledge! I also changed the title of these posts....what can I say, I'm a sucker for alliteration.

*I pledge to accept things that I cannot change.

*But I also pledge to stand up for how I''m feeling and voice what I truly believe when it really matters.

*Just like last week, I pledge to drink more water, but I also pledge to eat more fruits and veggies.

*I pledge to finish my book 'The Help' and move onto another 'Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet'. I love reading now and I feel like I'm really broadening my mind and building my intellect a little bit.

*I pledge to 'unplug on Thursday. No TV, no computer, not texting and being very selective of phone calls that I answer.

*I pledge to keep up the cleaning regimen that I started a few weeks ago. It seems to be working!

*I pledge more compassion to everyone!

*I pledge to call my family this week.

I'm well on my way to becoming a better, more compassionate, more thoughtful me!

*All photo editing done over at picnik.com

Sometimes.....

Sometimes....
Sometimes....

Sometimes....Sometimes....Sometimes....

Sometimes....

*Sometimes Mommy gets carried away editing pictures!

Becoming a Better Me...A Pledge

I wasn't planning on posting a pledge to myself every week, but I found that after I did last week, I did a little better through the week. No, it wasn't a magic pill to make things better. It simply helped me have a little bit of accountability when it came to keeping things in check. By putting my pledge out into the world, I acknowledged the fact that there are things in my life that I'm trying to work on. Rather than obscure thoughts, there were actual tangible thoughts written down for the world to see. So, I'm still on the fence of whether or not I'm going to make this a weekly tradition, but if you choose to join me, I find that it's a great way to start my week. So I pledge to

*Listen to my children and their thoughts and not make assumption for their behavior.

* I pledge to give my children, especially my oldest, more responsibility. She's very capable and I have been too slow to notice that. Maybe by giving her more responsibility, it will help wrangle in the mischief a little bit.

*I pledge to spend time in the scriptures studying so that I can find answers to my questions that come from the Lord.

*I pledge to drink more water.

*I pledge to remember the following: '...The tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hast chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.' 1 Nephi 1:20 To learn more about 'Tender Mercies' take a look at this. It might just change your life.

*I pledge to count my blessing everyday. There are so many people who have so little, therefore, I need to cultivate a greater 'attitude of gratitude'.

*I pledge to spend less time on the internet and more time being creative with my time. However, I want to post something on one of my blogs everyday. I need to find the balance.

*I pledge to take my kids to library tomorrow and then read more with them throughout the week.

I feel that these things will all help me come closer to who/what I want to be.

A Reading Tour

*First thing...I got a little carried away on picnik with vampire tools. So we now have a whole family of vampires until Oct 31st. Couldn't help it...Twilight takes over sometimes!*

When I started my personal journey into becoming a reader earlier in the summer, I had grandiose plans for documenting all the different places that I would 'visit' on my book tour. I even did a post about it, remember this one? Well, I've read a lot in the last few months, and as you can see, those posts never came to fruition. Well, I'm starting yet another book, so I thought I'd do a quick recap of where I've been in my imagination (I know...cheesy).

*These Is My Words One word, AMAZING! I want to be just like the main character Sarah when I grow up. It took me about 100 pages to get into it, but it was so worth it! I could not put it down! Sarah is such a great example of what a strong, independent woman is. She's independent out of necessity and I like that.

*The Kite Runner I was warned that this book was going to contain some very shocking scenes. I figured that since it takes place in Afghanistan, during war, that was inevitable so I went into prepared. But I did not get the shock I expected. I really enjoyed the book, however, I felt the ending left a little to be desired.

*The Overton Window Say what you want about Glenn Beck, I thought he wrote a very compelling work of fiction which was a little frightening in that if you look around, a lot of what he described you can see happening. Again, I thought the ending was a little abrupt but I'm wondering if there could be a sequel. There are times when the writing is slightly amateurish. But they say that about Stephenie Meyer, so it obviously doesn't really matter when it comes to making millions.

*The Secret Life of Bees This one took me a while to get through. I actually started it before The Overton Window and got a little bored which is why I moved on. It's a very good book though. I felt that it contained a great deal of wisdom and every character was compassionate in their own way. Great lessons learned from each of them. Although, the movie made me cry where the book didn't. I also thought there was too much narrative which is fine, but it felt like reading more of a journal rather than a novel.

*The Glass Castle First of all, what is the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? (Can you help me out Alison?) Anyway, it was very interesting to be a fly on the wall of a very dysfunctional family that has no idea it is so dysfunctional. There were actually parts that I found more shocking than The Kite Runner when you look at it from the perspective of a parent. Very good read that makes your skin crawl sometimes.

*The Amber Room This is more along the lines of a Dan Brown mystery. Carson wanted me to read something a little less sad and emotional. So he turned me onto Steve Berry. I enjoyed it although I had a few complaints....there was a great deal of sex which didn't seem to drive the story at all (according to Carson his other books don't have any so he was surprised to hear that). Also, the majority of the story takes place in East Germany and is about art thieves. The issues that I had with that is that I don't read/speak German so it was hard to tell the geography and all the art mentioned is real, but nobody has seen it in years and it's really obscure so you don't know what they are actually stealing. But other than that, very interesting read. But there is a lot of WWII history and I always find that compelling.

So that's where my literary travels have taken me. I just started The Help which I'm loving so far! After that, I'm going to read The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and then A River Runs Through It. I love reading!!!!

I'd say that my favorite on the list so far was These Is My Words. Just in case you were wondering.

Thanks Jaime!

My super cute friend Jaime who I danced with, joked with and lived life with for (holy cow) like almost 4 years over in Colorado, chose me for a blog award! I've always wanted to get a blog award so I'm super grateful and very honored. Go visit Jaime at Cubarado and see all the fun inspiring things she has to say.

For this award, I have to share a few things about myself. So here we go....I'm going to try to make them new and interesting to hopefully surprise a few people who think they know me so well :)

1. I desperately want to be famous. I don't really care what for as long as it's something good. I would love for it be for dancing but it can be for something else. Blogging, writing children's books, I don't really care. But I want my name in lights!

2. Whenever I hear the song 'Endless Love' by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, I belt it from the top of my lungs...EVERY TIME! I can't help it!

3. I love mashed potatoes. If they made beauty products out of Mashed Potatoes, I would totally buy them and smear them all over my face. That's how much I love mashed potatoes.

4. I have an addiction to the internet which I'm trying to break.

5. Monolo Blahnik is my fav shoe designer. A close second would be Jimmy Choo. My dream in life to own a pair of Monolos!

6. I love my kids dearly and I so enjoy being a mother. Any issues that I have that would be to the contrary are largely due to my own issues, not issues that the kids have themselves. I really step in my own way when it comes to being the kid of mom I want to be.

7. I don't like the outdoors. Sure a picnic in the park is nice every now and then, but I don't like hiking, camping doing yard work, taking walks. The only outdoors that I could really say I enjoy would have some connection to water (and by some, I mean a lot!). I love the beach but I prefer a cold Pacific NW beach to a warm tropical beach. I also dig white water rafting but it's been years.

8. I may or may not love one of my children more than the others. I'm not going to say who though and I will never tell them. Its something that I struggle with.

9. I never wanted kids or to be a mother until I met Carson.

10. I don't know how to swim, but if i could take a 2 hour long shower, I would.

So there you have it, a few little known facts about me. Thanks again Jaime. Now I get to share the love! So the two friends that I pick for the Versatile Blogger Award are.....drumroll..... Kristin over Meyers Mayhem and Eatables I love that her 'blog' personality and her real life personality are exactly the same. Everything she says on her blog I can totally picture her saying in real life. He cracks me up and her recipes rock....and now that she's been nominated, maybe she'll update Eatables a little more often (hint hint)! My other friend that I want to nominate is Kendra at
My Side of the Room. She is super talented and has a lovely singing voice. She also made me the sweetest hand stamped silver necklace with all the kids initials and birthstones on it. Both of these ladies rock!

Becoming a Better Me...A Pledge

I came away from General Conference with a general feeling that there are improvements to be made. I think most people feel that way after watching Conference whether they would admit it or not. For me, that feeling of inadequacy comes from watching our amazing leaders admit that they have areas in their lives where they need to improve. Wow! If they need to work on things, then I have about a million things/ways that I can improve. I'm not trying to be self depreciating or fishing for compliments. For me, this feeling is a good thing, because it motivates me to actually make those changes, even if they are small ones.

So today, I'm making a pledge to myself for how I'm going to handle my life this week. I would like to make a pledge every week that is tailored to what is going on in life. Whether I post them or not, is another story. But for today....

*I pledge to not go to the grocery store. I've been pretty good about this in the last few months by making a commitment to cooking with what I have around, but I'm not perfect. The point of the pledge, is to work with what I've got and not stress myself out. Really, going to the grocery store with all of the kids is probably the most stressful thing that I do.

*I pledge to have one day where I don't do any housework including cooking, and I will not go anywhere. I'm thinking Thursday. I was reading this post over on the Nie Nie Dialogues about how she handles life when things get overwhelming. It got me to thinking about a lot of things, and sometimes, I just need to let life happen.

*I pledge to do a lot of cleaning tomorrow, Tuesday, so that I can have Thursday free.

*I pledge to take a little bit of time everyday this week for quiet stillness and reflection. I remember choreographing a dance one time and someone told me that while the choreography was great one part had just too much going on. She said, that a moment of stillness in the midst of the chaos, was that much more meaningful and thought provoking. I think that there is something to be said for taking time to reflect. Making sure to remove stimuli and focus on the stillness.

*I pledge to make sure that I'm taking just as much care of myself as I am with the kiddos. Whatever, that means to me, though.

*I pledge to spend more time on my knees, talking with my Father in Heaven and asking for his help.

*I pledge to do at least one act of service for someone outside of my family.

As you can see, this is not a to do list as much as it is a list to help me be a better me. I want to be a better mommy, a better wife, but most of all, a better Meghan. I want to get one step closer to the version that Heavenly Father has in mind.