We rarely see the sun rise at our apartment, because our apartment is on the far east side of the apartment complex were we live.  I was outside this morning to take some laundry to the laundry room and saw the sun blazing over the mountains.  This picture doesn’t really do it justice, pictures never do, but I thought I’d share it with you.  I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas!

There’s a Party in My Tummy

Yo Gabba Gabba Aquabats

Ok, ok, ok, so this show is kind of like the TV show “The Office” in the sense that you have to have an open mind, you have to give it some time and watch it past the first couple episodes, it’ll grow on you. Unless of course it doesn’t then it will probably be one of the most annoying things on the planet to you, and if that’s the case then that’s the case…

And finally, here is a little back stage pass…

Ok, one more story for you. A couple of weeks ago, Cailyn and I were at “Toys R Us” and we found the isle with all the Yo Gabba Gabba toys in it and Cailyn ran over to the display and was telling me all of the characters names:

Cailyn: “Oh daddy look, this is Toodee”
Daddy: “Cool Cailyn!”
Daddy: “Who is this?”
Cailyn: “That’s Brobee… and Foofa… and Muno… and Plex!”
Daddy (amazed): “Holy Cow Cailyn, you are SO smart!”
Cailyn: “Daddy?
Daddy: “What Sweet Heart?”
Cailyn: “Where’s D.J. Lance Rock?”

Apparently they don’t have a D.J. Lance plush toy… But I just thought that was the funniest thing that day.

So give D.J. Lance Rock, and his friends a chance and you may or may not like it, but chances are if you have kids, they’ll LOVE IT!

For more Info, check out:
YoGabbaGabba.com

 Memory #1:

I remember always going up in the mountains and cutting down our own Christmas tree.  There is nothing like the smell of a real Christmas tree in your living room.  We’d make a whole day of it going snowmobiling and eating hot soup from our thermos’s.  I looked forward to it every year.  Our trees always had character.  They were pretty much awesome.

Memory #2:

We always got to open one present on Christmas Eve.  And of course, it was always pajamas.  After we opened our pajamas we’d all get change into them and then we’d kneel in a circle and hold hands and pray.  As I got older, this time became more special to me because my family never really ever prayed together except for the blessing on the food. 

Memory #3:

This pearly white throne we call John was one of my best friends in the super early hours of the morning on Christmas day.  Up until I was about 12, I would get so excited to open my presents it would make me sick and I would puke.  

Memory #4:

My sister would always wake me up super early and we would take everything out of our stockings and lay it out in the order that we took it out so when it was time to put it all back in, we could do it in a way that it would look like we hadn’t touched them at all.  We would also unwrap some of the presents Santa brought us just enough that we could see what it was then wrap it back up so it didn’t look like it was unwrapped.  We were naughty.  Actually when I think about it, my sister was the naughty one.  She is the one that taught me all the naughty tricks.

Memory #5:

We would always put together a Christmas program to share with my moms side of the family on Christmas Eve.  As we got older, we got more creative.  We did a lot of crazy things.  There was one year that I remember the most.  We moved all of the furniture to one side of the living room in our basement and put red and green butcher paper up like a wall, ceiling to floor, to cover the couch and all the crap that was downstairs.  We recorded us doing a bunch of different weird things that had to do with Christmas.  It was fun!

Memory #6:

My dad has always been grumpy.  But around Christmas time was the absolute worst.  He would get so annoyed when we were putting up Christmas decorations.  He’s be yelling and swearing and us kids would be all happy and bouncing off the walls.  We even got in on video tape a couple of times.  Priceless!!!

Memory #7:

As far back as I can remember I was the lucky one that always got to put the star on the tree.  My favorite part about it was when I was little and my dad would lift me up so I could reach. 

Memory #8:

My mom would always have cinnamon potpourri simmering on the stove.  I love that smell. 

 Memory #9:

My mom and I would always make a ton of treats to take to all our neighbors.  The greatest year was when we invented what we call the “Snow Covered Mud Balls.”  I’m sure it’s been done before, but it’s basically rice crispy treats made with a ton of chocolate shaped in round balls dipped in white chocolate.  I think they are delish!  

Memory #10:

I have always loved Christmas music.  When we would be putting up Christmas decorations, we’d be blasting the old Christmas records my mom had.  When me and my mom would get bored, we’d go sit on the couch in the living room and sing Christmas songs till we were hoarse.

I know if I thought about it more I could think of a billion other things that I remember.  However, my brain has died, my eyes keep wanting to roll in the back of my head and my butt is asleep from sitting here for so long already.  So, that’s what you get.  I hope you all have a splendid Christmas!!

We’ve been working on potty training Cailyn for I don’t know how long now.  The last time I bought a box of pull-ups I vowed it was the last box. (I have actually made that vow the past three times I have bought pull-ups.)  I can now proudly say that we have half a box left and she hasn’t used a pull-up for almost 2 weeks now!  It is the greatest thing in the world.

When I got home today from picking the kids up from Grandma Bonnie’s house, Cailyn was asleep, but I wasn’t sure how long it had been since she went to the bathroom, so I took her and sat her on the toilet.  She woke up and went potty.  When she got off the toilet to pull her panties up one of her legs was through the waist hole.  Brad said that had happened once before, but it was so funny to actually see it in action.  Cailyn and I both sat there and laughed about it.  Hey, I’m just happy she’s going by herself now.  I’m sure learning how to put on her panties the right way will come later.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to post music on my fine blog for awhile.  I’ve found it to be harder than it should be because I’m not on blogspot and wordpress doesn’t seem to like to cooperate with me very much.  I finally figured it out tonight with the help of my dear Bradley.  I’m still not very pleased with the way that it is posted.  I someday hope to be able to have somo type of playlist, but for now, this will have to do.  

I actually wasn’t planning on posting these songs in particular, but seeing that it’s that time of year, I figured they were appropriate.  I was reading a post from a fellow blogger whom I’ve never actually met but have loved reading her posts and look forward to what inspiring thing she will write next.  She wrote some of the lyrics to the song “In the Bleak Midwinter” in her post and it reminded me of a fun experience I had with my mother about 2 years ago.

Growing up, my mother and I have always liked singing together.  We always talked about how fun it would be to make a CD together.  So, about this time 2 years ago we went and did it.  These are some of our favorite Christmas songs.  The thing that I think is kind of cool about our CD is that my Grandmother played the piano for us.  She has severe arthritis in her hands, so it’s kind of special that she was able to play for us since in years to come she will probably lose her ability to play the piano.

To record in a decent studio is not cheap, so we were only able to record for 2 hours.  I sang soprano and my mom sang alto.  There are a lot of things that I wish I could go back and fix(both me and my mom were kind of sick that day too), but we just ran out of time, so that’s what you get.  Anyway, it was really fun to go do this.  I had always wanted to go in a real studio and record because I love singing, so I guess you could say one of my dreams was fulfilled that day. (to listen just click on the hyperlinks below) 

Starbright

Neath the Spell

Marys Lullaby

Christmas Carols Take Me To Bethlehem

(my Grandmother actually wrote the music and words to this song)

In the Bleak Midwinter

He Brought Love

I bought this book online a month or so ago because it looked cute.  I’ve been reading a chapter of it each night to Cailyn before she goes to be.  Tonight we read three chapters and finished it.  The little girl in this book reminds me a lot of Cailyn.  I can’t really tell you about the book because this post would be a mile long and I am not that great a summarizing things, so I suggest you either go online and buy it, check it our from your local library, or borrow it from me.  There is actually a whole series of Clementine books that  I can’t wait to read the rest of.  

While I was reading the end part of the last chapter I started crying.  Clementine is crying and apologizing for a all the bad things that have happened and for not being the “easy” child and it just made me think about Cailyn.  I’ve found myself getting really frustrated with her lately with a billion different things.  And I just pictured Cailyn being the one saying she was sorry for being  so difficult and crying about it and I just started to feel really bad because she is only 2 1/2 and 99% of the time she isn’t doing things just to frustrate me even though that is how it seems at the time, so I should just chill out and not get so frustrated.   

I finished reading the last chapter and I was still crying.  It made Cailyn sad so she rested her head on my shoulder and was pouting.  A little bit after that she gave me a hug and a kiss and then said “Mommy, can you read the witch book now?”  So I went and got the witch book and read it to her.

Unfortunately, patience is not one of my strong qualities.  It is one of the things that I continue to work on and continue to have a major struggle with.  

George MacDonald said, “The principle part of faith is patience.”

I guess I need to have more faith.  More faith in myself.  More faith in my ability to be a good mother.  And most of all, more faith in my Savior.  

     A couple weeks ago our stake relief society presidency was in relief society giving the lesson.  Lori Ehat, the relief society president, who happens to be Kendall’s mom (Kendall and Brad go way back…and we all went to High School together), was talking about visiting teaching and she asked everyone in the room who liked visiting teaching.  Almost all the hands in the room were raised, mine of course was not.  Then she asked if there was anyone in the room that didn’t like it.  I raised my hand…and of coarse I was the only one.  I don’t know if it was because it was the relief society president that was asking so people didn’t want her to think badly of them…I don’t know.  Lori just laughed.  

     I have a great ward full of great people, but it’s really hard for me to connect with people there.  I think it is mostly to do with the fact that all my life I haven’t had many girlfriends, so it’s kind of hard for me to connect with other women.  And I know I’m not the only one that feels this way, there are plenty more out there that are just not as vocal about it.  

     The reason I brought up the whole visiting teaching thing is because I went visiting teaching this last Sunday.  My companion Valerie and I went to visit one of our girls who is super busy and has a crazy work schedule because she is a zoo keeper at the Hogle Zoo.  I know…what an awesome job!!  We haven’t been able to visit her yet because it’s almost next to impossible to get our schedules to match up.  The visit was short and sweet.  After we left her house, Valerie said something to the affect of how she was glad that was over because she hates visiting teaching and that she never knows what to say especially to sisters that she doesn’t have really close contact with very often.  

     Anyway, it just made me smile.  I think visiting teaching is an awesome calling, even though I hate it.  There is a really important purpose for it and I have a testimony of it’s importance.  I guess I just need to remember to think positive thoughts.

     It was really funny because when we first walked past the gate to get into where Santa was, Cailyn said with a voice that sounded like she could start to cry, “Santa’s not scary.”  That is was she says to anything that is really scaring her.  It’s kind of her way of trying to get over her fears even though most of the time it doesn’t really work.  I told her that Santa is nice and that she should go sit on his lap and that I was going to get Gavin out of the stroller so he could be in the picture too.  She came and “helped” me get Gavin out of the stroller. (She was clinging to my leg the whole time.)  I put Gavin on his lap and then picked Cailyn up and all she kept saying is “I want you, I want you, I want you.”  I reassured her that everything would be okay.  So she sat there and told Santa that she wanted “Barbie and the Diamond Castle” with a look on her face like she had seen the ghost of Christmas past.  

     Anyway…it all turned out fine.  I was actually surprised that Gavin did as well as he did.  Usually he starts bawling when people he doesn’t know or thinks looks scary look at him.  We didn’t get any smiles from them, but I guess it’s all about the experience.