What Is A Dream?

Tonight I was reading Maddie her bedtime story. I let her pick the book and tonight she picked "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats. This book is a personal favorite of mine, especially when it's snowy outside and I can relate the story to what's happening outside. I think Maddie understands it better too when I do this. So, as I am reading we get almost to the end and there is a part that talks about Peter (the main character) having a dream. Immediately Maddie asks, "What is a dream?" Oh great, here we go. Immediately I was stumped. At first I think "How do I explain what a dream is to a 2 years old?" In my lame way of trying to finish the book and get Maddie to bed I quickly state that a dream is a place you go and see when you go to sleep. She kinda took this grain of salt and was satisfied, but I sure felt like I dropped the ball on this one. I knew when Maddie was little that the "Questions of Life" would come fast and quick when she could start speaking. I talked with other Moms and I find that the seasoned parents always seem to have the best answers. One mom explained that when her son asked her why the sky was blue, she responded "Because that's what color God painted it." I like that, short and simple and satisfies the curiosity. Sometimes I think "Should I just give the scientific explanation all the time, so I'm not leading my child astray? But what fun is that, and really what harm will it do to put a fun spin on learning about life. So if any parents out there who have been hit with the dream question I'd love to hear their response. Boy, this parenting thing can be tough.

You Put What Up Your Nose?

Maddie has been sick the past few days. She's been coughing and had a runny nose. Before I go any further I must let you know that Maddie LOVES to put things up her nose, especially little wads of toilet paper. It has gotten so bad that I routinely have to ask her how her nose is and she quickly replies, "good". Anyways...as I was saying, Maddie has been under the weather lately and I hate when she's not feeling good. Nothing is worse than watching your child in pain and confusion and all you can do hold and comfort her the best you can. Well, we were at Walgreens yesterday looking for some stuff and suddenly Maddie sneezed two times. I quickly grabbed some Kleenex out of my purse and had her blow her nose. Not to get to graphic, but I notice something in the Kleenex which wasn't the usual "clear or green" if you know what I mean. Low and behold a little plastic piece from a G2 pen had dislodged itself from my daughter's nose. I was shocked and thankful that it had come out. She had been so congested that there was no way that I would have seen this in her nose. I took a picture of an identical G2 piece, it's next to a dime so you can tell the size. I'm hoping that the shoving things up your nose is just another phase for Maddie and a perk to Motherhood.

Happy Happy Birthday Laney Dear!

Today my sweet niece Laney had her 4th Birthday Party. I cannot believe that Laney Bug is already 4 years old! Where does the time go. Here are some pics that I took during the festivities. It did get a lil' crazy, and my ears are still ringing, but what do you expect when you throw 10 children under the age of 10 together and fill 'em up with sugar? I have to say that I truly love the crazy chaos of the kids running back and forth and playing. However I wish Maddie would have been a little nicer at times. It was great getting the family together and catching up. I love you all.

The birthday girl and her family.


Maddie enjoying a super yummy cupcake from So Cupcake, she gave me a taste and it was hands down the best cupcake I've ever had. Mmm Mmm Good.
The birthday girl and her family.
The kids were checking out Laney's new babydoll that does 80 different sayings, or things, something like that, but 80 was the number! Yowzahs!
Aunt Emily reading to Maddie while the other children watched Laney open gifts.
Fun time with Aunt Mishelle.
Tiff and Robyn
Opening Presents
Me and Maddie
Aunt Chae and Maddie
Tiff, Robyn, Mishelle and Chae

Let It Snow,Let It Snow Let It Snow....

We got hit pretty hard with the storm today. It started snowing before I went to bed last night, and is still going strong outside. I showed Maddie how to eat snow, as you can see she enjoyed it!



Maddie is sitting on the snowbank on the sidewalk. You can tell how much snow fell since last night



The yard stick measured 9 inches of snow in our backyard, I'm sure there's a couple more inches since this morning.

Hope for the New Year

All day I've been thinking and thinking about what this year may bring. I didn't make any New Year's Resolutions, usually can't even keep them up for a week so why bother? But today for some reason I started to put a list together of what I hope for this year. First and foremost I want to be a better person all around. I want to be a better Mommy, be more patient and understanding to my lil' munchkin's personality. Try to raise her into a lovely young girl. I want to be a better wife. I want to be more understanding and more communicative with my husband. It's funny we are both Comm Majors and we have the worst time talking to each other sometimes. I want to be a better sister and daughter, and keep in touch with ALL my family (both sides). I want be better spiritually. Keep up on the scriptures, not just lag like I have over the years. I want to better myself physically (and this does not mean get skinnier!) I guess I should rephrase and say "healthier" try to lower my cholesterol and that whole bit. I am 31 now, time to start thinking about what's healthy not just yummy. I can't believe that I just included the word cholesterol in my blog entry, I am getting old. I'd also like to be better my brain. Read more, maybe try to start and finish a crossword or two. I want to be a better friend, one that I would like to have. I'm thankful for the friends and family that I have. They are wonderful in so many ways. Sometimes I don't feel that I deserve them but I am most grateful, especially when I need to vent or are in search of advice and comfort. I hope this year brings change and happier times. I'm glad that 2007 is over, because a new year brings new hope, and promise. Alrighty then, I will jump off my soap box now and try to put together a more upbeat blog entry next time! :)

Just Another Day....

Since it has been freezing cold lately, and going to the park is no longer an option, it's a struggle to find things to entertain the munchkin on a daily basis. Maddie enjoys "coloring" as she likes to put it, but as you can see it's body art. I buy her these huge coloring books, thinking that it will keep her occupied,but she always ends up drawing on herself, me, the furniture, etc. Oh well, I figure it's a stage and she'll grow out of it eventually. Oh... and the pic doesn't do her artwork justice. I should have taken pics of our arms and hands because they were COVERED in marker as well. Either way, she has a blast coloring and gets really serious when she does it. Maybe I have a budding artist? :)

Shout Out to Sammy and Shelby

Sammy aka "Red, Squeakers, Squeak"
Shelby aka "Shellbop, Lil' Grey, Tubbs"

I feel like a bad mommy for leaving out two of the members of our family. Shelby was my first "baby", and he will be 11 years old this year! Yowzahs. That cat has been with me through some good times and really bad times, and I hope he'll be around for another 10. I've had Sammy for 8 years and he's definitely Shelby's sidekick, and whipping kitty. I love them both, even though my attention to them has dwindle extremely since the munchkin came along. But now that Maddie realizes that they aren't just stuff animals that move, she gives them more attention than they can handle. Love ya boys!

To Run or Not to Run

I've been having an inner battle these past few days about running. I haven't really ran since the Top of Utah Marathon, 4 of my toenails have yet to return to normal, and the motivation factor is gone. The problem is that when I trained for TOU I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I just blindly trained and hoped that I would finish. Ignorance was bliss and a definite contributor to completing the race. Now that I know the real work and effort it takes to complete a Marathon it's a bit of a disadvantage. A. I know that I can finish, and it's a realistic goal. B. I know how much time and effort is required to finish and do I have the stamina to train again? Ohh decisions decisions....

I've read that the hardest part about running is actually taking the first step. Aint that the truth! Anywhooo....I thought it would be great to run the Ogden Marathon this May, but in order to do that I have to start training by January 14th. Ugh.... and this is where the question comes in, to run or not to run. I kinda think I should, then my laziness kicks in and says, take it easy. I don't know. I guess I will know by January 14th though right? Stay tuned.