Signed, sealed, delivered

Just a little passive-aggressive note writing today.

Dear crossing guard,

Yes, I know I am pushing the school zone speed limit. But I am already 10 minutes late to pick up my son. You don't need to yell at me. I promise that I am watching all the little kids and will not hit them.

Signed,
rushed mama


Dear construction worker,

I am aware that I am not going "slow" like your sign says, but I AM LATE to pick up my son. You also do not need to yell at me and shake your sign and step onto the road. If you're not careful. somebody's gonna slow YOU down, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Signed,
rushed mama nearly in tears


Dear preschool teacher,

Thank you for being understanding and not making me feel bad for picking up my son nearly 15 minutes late.

Signed,
grateful but embarrassed mama


Dear school district,

PUT THE PRESCHOOLERS ON A BUS!!!! Other schools do it; why not ours? My preschooler could at least ride home with his older, kindergartener brother. Then I wouldn't have to rush from picking him up to making sure I'm home in time to get his brother off the bus. Heaven forbid there's been an accident on the freeway, spilling on to surface streets, or a random train on one of the three tracks I have to cross to get home. 'Cuz one time I wasn't home in time and he walked into an empty house and was {thisclose} to bursting into tears when I ran through the door.

Just let them ride the bus!

Signed,
stressed, frazzled, always-running-but-never-burning-calories-mama


Dear Mother Nature,

I HATE YOU.

I also hate the pimples you insist on bringing with your other "gifts."

Signed,
hormone-crazed (and not in the good way) mama


Dear {local} Utah friends,

Are you going to BYU tonight to hear NieNie speak?

Signed,
Wonder Woman

A post to appease the grandparents....and a little something else for the rest of you

They're too nice to complain much, but I know they want to see more pix of their grandkids on here. So I snapped some this afternoon.

Miss Marvel enjoying a lunch of mixed country vegetables.

The Hulk, also enjoying a lunch of mixed vegetables, slathered in Ranch.

He really does love the salad. He loves anything green, and luckily, healthy foods fall into that category.

This is what greets me every time I get Lil' Miss from her room.
Yes, she's STANDING.
But she's so dern cute that I can't stay too mad for long.

Coming home from Hulkster's preschool.

And finally, Spiderman enjoying his after school snack of yogurt.

He's in school all day and I just eat him up when I finally get to see him!



And for everyone else: My talented photographer friend is having a giveaway! She actually took our wedding photos before she was a legitimate photographer. She's a good friend and does great work! Go check it out!

Actual Conversation

The Hulk: Mom, when can we boom Santa?

Wonder Woman: Uh, bomb Santa? You want to bomb Santa Claus?

Hulk: Yeah. When can we boom him on fi-yah (fire)?

WW: Why do you want to bomb Santa?

Hulk: Because it's fun and I want him on fi-yah. (Said with the most mischievous grin possible.)

WW: Well, we can't bomb Santa. It's not nice.

Hulk: No, I want to BURN him.

WW: Burn him? Why?

Hulk: Because we have enough toys!

Oh.
Well, if that's the case........
consider the message delivered!

A few items of business

1. I am having a hard time posting regularly. My computer is no longer in my main living space, which was essential to my previous routine. I'd think of something to post, walk 6 feet and type it out. Now that the computer's not near the kitchen or living room, I spend much less time on it. After checking my mail and Facebook the other day, I actually thought, "Wasn't there something else I used to do on the computer? Oh, yeah. BLOG."

2. I have mixed feelings about this. Sometimes I'm proud of the fact that I spend less time here, like when Sister Beck said at our regional conference that she was worried about the amount of time young mothers spend on the computer. But other times, I miss the outlet writing provides. I also miss the connections to my friends. I still read all the same blogs, but very rarely feel like I have the time to comment. So I'm not building those relationships, and I'm also not posting enough to give others the opportunity to build the relationship. And right now, I need friends. I'm leaving behind old friendships (though I'm trying hard to maintain them) and still forging new. My blog friends are the only ones that have remained constant, and I'm letting them slip, too!

3. But truth be told, I'm so busy now that I only barely notice that I haven't spent time with friends. Between getting Spiderman on and off the bus, shuttling The Hulk to and from preschool every day, Miss Marvel eating solids, her naps, running errands, household chores, dinner, books (finally read Mockingjay, now I'm on to The Book Thief), DVRs, tenants, piano lessons, playing the piano myself, and people stopping by because we live in a more central location, my life just doesn't stop! I have to actually make time for friends now.

4. I need to make time for everything. Going from staying home all day, every day, to my frantic pace now has been crazy. I'm realizing that I need to make time for chores and friends, instead of assuming I'll have time for them in my day. Because I don't. I need to have more of a schedule, and it's a foreign concept to me!

4. I taught my first piano lesson last Saturday. It went really well. I still need more students, so I need to start networking. I've also picked up some new music. To this point, most of the music I've owned has been church related. Now I own Don't Stop Believin', Piano Man, Everything I do (my and Superman's song), and Bring Me to Life. It's been a lot of fun to learn to play and sing those songs.

5. Mockingjay. I was just glad to be done with it. The first two were intriguing, but Mockingjay just got to be too much. And I'm not sure there was even a good way for it to end. It felt like either guy Katniss chose would be wrong.

6. Fun stuff coming up: The Sassies are doing a Girls' Night Out at The Chocolate in Orem!



I am SSOOOOO going. a) it's a GNO. b) it's with bloggers. c) It's CHOCOLATE. d) It's a 5 minute drive for me! Also, October's just around the corner. That means General Conference, my birthday, and Halloween! Yay!

7. Cool stuff coming up: NieNie is speaking at BYU on Thursday, Sept. 30th at 7 pm. It's free.



And I'm definitely going. The woman is incredible.

I think that's all for today.

Tell me again, WHY is it that kids have to grow up?

'Cuz I'm kind of against it.

But if it has to happen, I just hope I'm there to capture it.

Spiderman started kindergarten.
He goes ALL DAY.

He was very, VERY excited on the first day.

He even rides the bus! I can't believe how big he is.
(His the red and blue backpack on the steps of the bus.)

The Hulk started preschool on the same day.

Mr. Personality was also excited, but a little nervous, too.
Now everyday we walk out the door, he asks if I'm going to take a picture.

I came down the stairs a few days ago and found Spiderman taking pictures of The Hulk and Miss Marvel.

I really don't know if she's laughing or crying.

This actually isn't a bad picture. I just felt bad that these are the most updated pictures I have of Lil' Miss.

So I snapped a few more.

She's starting solids.

She is so big it's making me CRAZY!!!!

But she's so stinkin' cute that I forgive her for eating applesauce straight from the container and crawling and pulling herself up to standing in her crib.

The days are long but the years are short.

The new house!!

I finally found a moment to post some pictures!! So without further ado, I give you:

MY NEW HOUSE!!!!!!!

Walking in, this is the view of the living room. We went with the creamy yellow that doesn't photograph well. =D I am going to get a large print of my kids in black and white to go behind the piano and balance things out.

My piano! I am LOVING it and am taking students! (Found it on KSL for $2500.)

The corner of living room. We spray painted the bookshelf to match the black and white theme. We have a wall of bookshelves in the boys' room, so I was able to put our more boring (and uglier) books there. This bookshelf actually gets to display things!


This is the wall facing the chairs and piano. Love this couch. The pillows are from Ikea, but I had to return them on account of Superman hating their guts. I only post this picture so you can see the wall and end tables. More black and white. (Couch: $225 on KSL.)

These are the pillows we have now. More in keeping with the black and white that Superman had in mind. I like them, but not as much as the ones before. Though, honestly, the earlier pillows wouldn't have worked well for fall and winter. It's for the best.

The entrance to the kitchen is just through the living room, next to the book case.

I love this kitchen. It is HUGE and has more storage than I know what to do with. Plus a DISHWASHER. I have a DISHWASHER, people! I am in heaven.


We painted the back wall a green that I love. Punched it up with black curtains to match the black table we already had. I'm hoping to paint the light fixtures soon and get new sconces for them, but they'll do for now.

This is what's currently on top of my fireplace. Sorry for the poor quality. I'm hoping to paint the bricks a nice tan color in the near future, but it works for now.

Pic from the back of the kitchen, looking into the living room. This is actually from before we moved, so it has the previous owners' stuff.

If I took 4 steps to the right from where I was standing for this picture, I'd be looking at the stairs to the basement.

If I walked down, this is what I would find:

I had no idea what I wanted to do down here, but I think it turned out well. Ended up going with blue/turquoise accents with the beige.

Check out that FIFTY INCH television! It was a housewarming gift from our real estate agent.
(I can give you his name if you're trying to buy a house!)

Another shot of the family room.

And looky what we have here. A pool table. Superman got his wish! It's small enough that there's still some room for the kids to play. Not as much as I would like, but sufficient. Also, the pool table makes Superman really happy. I like to keep my man happy! He comes home for lunch and plays pool. It's honestly been a fun thing for our whole family. (Pool table: $100 on KSL.)


Another thing that's been fun for the whole family:

The backyard!! It is GARGANTUAN. This is the view from my back porch. The back door is next to the window in the kitchen.

This is the view to the left of the porch. This picture is another from before we moved in -- the sellers were hosting a party. The table and chairs are gone, but the left the trampoline. They even bought a new mat for it! The boys love it.

And this is the view to the right of the porch. Our home is on a cul-de-sac (yay!) which means we have odd shaped yards. This is to the side of the house. We own nearly a third of an acre. I don't even have a good shot of how big this part is. We had a Labor Day BBQ and set up a volleyball net over here. We didn't even use all the yard.

That's about it! The home also has a 2 bedroom apt that we are renting to friends. There are 3 bedrooms upstairs, but I haven't been able to do much with them. I'd like to paint before I post pics of them.

This home as already been wonderful. It is in a prime location. Superman is less than 3 minutes from work. The boys are in fantastic schools. There is a huge, beautiful park just around the corner. I love the neighborhood and am making friends already. It's been nice to have a play space separate from the living room. I adore the kitchen. This is a wonderful place to raise our family.

Up next: first day of school and kid updates!

Hard stuff

You know what's hard?

Moving. That's what.

Sending your oldest off to a full day of kindergarten isn't a piece of cake either.

Entertaining the middle child who is suddenly without a playmate? Also kinda hard.

Yet another thing that's hard: getting back into a blogging routine. I'm at the point that I feel like I have SO much to say that I don't even know where to start.

Yes, I still have those blasted pictures of the new house I need to post. I even found the cord to upload them to the computer. But the cord is ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS. (I have an UPSTAIRS and a DOWNSTAIRS now! Yay me!) But still, ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS. even if I were to go get the cord, it would take me another 10 minutes to load the pictures onto the computer. Then another 20 to rotate and edit the pics. Not to mention the actually WRITING of the post and uploading the pics to blogger.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

So, yeah. Blogging is harder now, too.

Though in an effort to show you (and myself) that life really isn't too hard, a list of easy things:

-- watching TV. We have a DVR. It is positively amazing. Can't believe I lived without it for so long.
-- seeing Superman. His work is now 2.2 minutes away and he often comes home for lunch. Not to mention the extra hour he's gained from not having a long commute.
-- running errands. I only have Miss Marvel to haul around each afternoon and it's fantastic.
-- getting stuff done around the house. I have a DISHWASHER. And it is a FANCY NANCY one that cleans dishes that are DIRTY. I don't even have to scrub them before putting them in. (I really really heart my dishwasher.) It's also easier to get things done because the computer is ALL THE WAY IN THE BASEMENT and therefore much less of a distraction. Also, now that afternoons are for running errands, I work extra hard in the mornings.
-- developing my talents. Because I have a baby grand piano.


For reals.

Still in shock over that one. It was kinda my anniversary present, but mostly a way for me to bring in some extra cash. I, in return, let Superman get a pool table. Happy 7th Anniversary to me and Superman!

So to recap: we moved. Spiderman started kindergarten. The Hulk started preschool. Miss Marvel started solids and sitting and moving. (Did I not mention that? Must be because I'm in complete denial of her growing up.) I've been married 7 years, got a piano, and no longer have time for the computer.

Hard stuff, good stuff, adjustment stuff.

Ruff ruff.