77 Sunny in February

Sophie had skills camp soccer practice last night. The house was a mess. I had a ton of work to do. So, what did I do? Took the twins to the park for soccer practice, sat in the sun and read my book for a little bit. Then we went out and looked at the duck, beavers, and other wildlife out and about. My house is still a mess, I am so behind, but it was fun!

Allieism

With the impending wedding of Megan, we have had non-stop talk about love and marriage and what it means for the girls, because as you know it is all about them. This is no lie what happened at the dinner table a few days ago.

Allie: I don't want Megan to get married and have babies.

Me: Why not? Don't you think Megan will make a great mother?

Allie: Yes, but if she gets married and has children she will love them more than she loves me.

That about sums it up, doesn't it? Never was there a more perfect example of how this wedding is not about Megan and Blake and their life together. It is about how it impacts Allie (and all the rest of the girls for that matter).

So, Michelle and Melissa hear this. You are never to get married or have children because it is too traumatic to my kids and, ultimately, it is ALWAYS all about ME!

Rockin Robin

When you have four girls, or any number more than one for that matter, you will end up sitting through many a "show" or "presentation". This week it was Rockin Robin, and as you can see the twins are the birds. This vegas type extravaganza starred Sophie, and the twins, with Kelsey on vocals in the background.

The great thing about a show is the prep time is a good one to two hours, for a 3 minute show. What this means is people are working together in a productive environment and they are entertaining each other! Win win for me.

We had stake conference this weekend, so much of Saturday was taken up with meetings, but the good news was Sunday was only 10:00-12:00 instead of the horrible 1:00-4:00 which we have. It was stake conference for all Texas, OK and NM live from Salt Lake which is cool. Sophie did not feel well, so Kelsey stayed home with her. I think we have picked up a little bug - just enough to make you feel a little yucky, but not enough to really be sick. After reading what my other friends have been suffering with, I will take a little yucky because everyone is at school!

I watched Gone with the Wind for a while yesterday, and it once again made me want to be Scarlett O'Hara. I could have been a southern belle, should have been a southern belle, and I am sure many would argue try even now to be a southern belle. I have always had the Scarlett fantasy ever since my youth. Strange but true. So, for all those who have STILL not seen the movie, rent it and watch it. It is a classic. Now you can think about me as Scarlett and it will make you laugh the whole time!!

Off to sell some stuff, clean some stuff, and get everyone going where they should be. Enjoy Monday!

Thursday Allergy

I have diagnosed myself with a new allergy - Thursdays. I don't know what the deal is. I can NOT get going on Thursdays. Even Friday is better. This morning I felt like I had been run over by a truck! Of course, I did not get home until after 11:00 last night, maybe that had something to do with it.

I would blame it on the travelling this week, but I felt the same thing last week. So, what is the deal? I am going to go with the allergy. Do you think that should mean I don't have to participate in life on Thursdays? That would work for me. Maybe we could all just strike on Thursdays? We could create a society with no Thursdays. Then, I am sure the allergy would move to another day.

Obviously the picture has nothing to do with the post. I just got this recommendation to put more pictures of Megan on the blog - I wonder who that came from?

President's Day, 2007

I am going to go on a rant, so if you are easily offended, or don't care, you should logoff now.

It is President's Day. My kids have school. They do not get President's Day as a holiday. Why do you ask does the school system in Houston not celebrate the births of our early presidents? Well, you see, they celebrate Martin Luther King JR day in January, and don't have any other days to take.

Here is my problem. I do not have a problem with my kids being in school today - as a matter of fact I am glad they have school. I do have a problem with Martin Luther King day taking precedence over Presidents Day. What message does that send? Who is the wing nut who made that decision? Why? Why? Why?

OK, rant over. It just, as my husband would say, chaps my hide. As the kids go to school today, I have two days worth of things to get done in one day. I am going to Dallas tomorrow, and back on Wednesday night. Should be fun.

On a brighter note - it is warming up. It will be in the 70's this week, and even in Dallas it will be beautiful. This is the time of year it pays to live in Houston. Remind me I love it here in August, because I will be cursing the heat and humidity.

Enjoy your holiday - I hope someone out there gets to celebrate!

It's Official

Megan called me last night to tell me she and Blake are officially engaged!! Although she did not give me all the details, they went for a hike in St. George and somewhere along the way he proposed. She is supposed to send a picture of her ring, "perfect" was her description. There was much rejoicing by all the girls in the house. Although I have heard some concerns that now Megan won't talk to them, just Blake. (I have assured them this will not happen) Oh it is hard to have your Aunts grow up and move on! So, August 10th we will all be in Dallas celebrating the marriage of Megan and Blake.

I guess Blake called my dad to ask for permission, and they had quite a "long" conversation. He said dad was tough. This made me remember when we got engaged. I was in Provo, and Eric was in Dallas, where my family was. He went over to my parents house to talk to them about marrying me. I don't know everything that went on, but you have to have Eric act it out to get the full effect. First my dad had to go and get his Diet Pepsi, they were a little confused back then and drank Pepsi. He then sat down, popped open the can, and gave him the "I dare you to convince me" look.

I guess they went through a long list of what my father expected and did not expect for his daughter. The thing that is funny is as time marches forward, and Eric is closer to being the father giving away his daughter, and not the prospective groom, the story changes a little. I think he can relate much more to my father's feelings now. I will admit at the time Eric was enrolled in his first semester at Tarrant County Junior College. He had not gone to college before his mission, and he was taking his first classes. He planned to transfer up to BYU, which is what happened, but at the time he was just a punk kid with 1/2 a semester at a junior college, working at the airport fueling airplanes (this was a step up from his previous job where he made swimming pool rocks).

I think everyone will admit, he worked out well. Now we get to be in the fun position of watching others squirm and watching my dad torture these young bucks. Eric will have to take notes - before you know it he will be the torturer.

Welcome to the family Blake. It will get worse - you have not met all the boys yet...

Enjoy the Silence

Allie made it back to school today!! Lets hope no one else gets sick, as those things tend to move from one member of the family to the next. I am sitting here, working, and enjoying the silence of my house.

Since Allie had to miss her party yesterday, I decided to be a good mom and make sugar cookies with her. Now, up to this point in my life I only ever used the Pillsbury dough. It worked. It was easy. But I made the mistake of going to Walmart on Tuesday evening - yes the night before Valentine's day. You would have thought it was Christmas Eve. The place was packed and they were out of everything, including sugar cookie dough.

I mentioned this to my sister, Martha Steward Wanna Be that she is, and she gave me two different recipes and told me to make it myself. So I did, and not only was it not hard, but the cookies were tasty. I must admit, by the end I had the same feeling I get everytime I do sugar cookies - will this ever end? Allie did the sprinkles and we chatted, or I listened to her go on and on, while we decorated the cookies. It was nice to spend time with just Allie. With twins that does not always happen. Even when I make a point to try and do someone with just one of them, they always invite the twin.

Now, if I had been a good blogger I would have taken a picture. But, not so much. So you will just have to imagine for yourselves tons of heart shaped sugar cookies laying on the counter.

Valentine's Day, Sick Child

Allie still had a slight fever. Since I am sure if I sent her to school with her 100.9 degree fever, she would end up a the nurse, and I would face her disapproving look as she told me Allie was sick again. So, even though it made her sad to miss her Valentine's Party, she is home with me today. It should make for yet another fun and exciting day for me.

My husband surprised me with a wonderful valentine. I had looked at an ad from Ann Taylor and pointed out a dress I liked. He remembered, went to the mall got the right dress in the right size. It was very thoughtful, and it fits. Just when I think I have him figured out he surprises me. I am lucky to have such a great valentine!

Give hugs to the ones you love and enjoy your valentine's day.

Love At Home

Yesterday morning I walked up to Allie's room and found this note on the door. In case you can't read kindergartenese it reads, "I hate you. You are a ____(she can't remember). You are fat. No No No. Yes Yes. Go Away."

This was a note written to Kelsey. As Robert would say, Nice. I am not sure the cause, but even yesterday she got very animated and said she was so mad at Kelsey. It is so nice to see the love at home.

She had a total freak out on Sunday evening. We were sitting down to watch Nacho Libre as a family, I made it through 10 minutes. She was told all day her room had to be clean. Of course it wasn't, and I told her she could not watch the movie. She was MAD - storming around, slamming doors. Telling me it wasn't fair. All I could think is "I can't take another one." Then this note. She may well replace Kelsey as the drama queen.

Allie, of course, is home sick today. She has a slight fever, and they made me come and get her at 3:10 yesterday (30 minutes before school let out). Why? She had a fever of 100.3. This morning in one ear it is 101.4 and the other is 100.5. What is up with that? I will have to watch it, but I have tons to do today. Major shopping at Wal Mart and Costco. I wanted to get my oil changed, but that will have to wait. And I have tons for work to do. I hope the Tylenol kicks in so she can be the go along girl. How is that for a compassionate mother?

Brain Tumor

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OK - the picture has nothing to do with the post. I have just not posted pictures in a while, and my rants are not as fun without a cute kid to look at. Kelsey took this of her favorite subject. I don't know if Allie just naturally has a hoochie look, or if Kelsey brings it out.

I have my brain tumor pain again. I am not sure what the deal is, and clearly it is not a brain tumor, but I get this shooting pain through my skull. It seems to go hand in hand with a sinus infection. I am taking drugs trying to pretend I am not that sick. We will see how long this can go on. Last night I went to bed at 8:00 (not all that unusual). The reason was I thought I would die when I moved my head. This morning it is not as bad, so life will go on as usual.

Sophie has started back up with soccer, so our lives start to get complicated. I know - stop complaining it could be worse. All five of them could be involved with lots of stuff. Since I was out last week I am driving the after track carpool all week, and the soccer carpool all week. I really don't mind because I am so grateful that I have people who can fill in for me when I am gone, but it will make for many hours behind the wheel.

I will just bring my bookclub book, Devil In The White City, and finish it. How about that? Bookclub is not for another couple of weeks, and I will be done. This is non-fiction, so I was skeptical. I read trash. Not real bodice ripper trash, but easy fiction of the James Patterson, John Grisham type. Being in bookclub has made me read some different things. This is one of those types of things. It is about the World's Fair in Chicago in the 1890's. Who would have guessed I would read, finish, and like non-fiction?

Well, we are expecting wild and wacky weather this afternoon which may preempt the long driving mentioned above. Since it is going to be 70, it looks like a real spring thunderstorm with large hail, damaging winds and tornados possible. (can you tell I am a weather news junkie?) NY is under ten feet of snow, and we are have tornados. Global Warming or end of the world? You pick.

Still No Coke

So, I have been in Syracuse all week - it is a blue city. By that I mean, Pepsi is king and let me tell you this southern Coke loving girl has had it. (Yes Laurie I will complain about lack of Diet Coke FOREVER in case you are wondering) I am on my way home now, stuck in the Pepsi enthralled airport in Dallas having missed my flight to Houston.

Why did I miss my flight? The plane, which clearly goes back and forth from Dallas to Syracuse, could not land in the blizzard which was Syracuse. They had to go somewhere else, refuel, and then land. We then boarded the plane, got de-iced, and took off for Dallas. We were already late and then faced strong headwinds, causing further delays. So, now I have a flight which leaves in a little over an hour. This will put me home around 11:00 pm, just in case you were wondering.

I think I deserve kudos for posting this week even while away from home. I know I had nothing of importance to share, although when do I ever share anything of importance? Next week I am home all week!! Yeah for everyone. It will be nice to have a "normal" week again. Although that does beg the question, what is normal? Clearly, not one I can answer.

It's Cold Baby

OK - it is really cold here. It is such a winter mess that Sam Champion of ABC's Good Morning America is here reporting. One of my colleagues was not able to come to the training since she got 3-4 feet of snow in the last few days at home.

Lucky for me I am inside all day, and have not ventured outside yet. Being trapped inside all day also causes me to get a little stir crazy, but it is better than the alternative. My boots have been helpful - I tried to wear real shoes yesterday and my feet got really cold. That was inside!!!! I had to move to my boots.

So, I saw the high was 71 degrees at home. Enjoy it. The high here today is 15...

Two Hour Layover, Pepsi Only Terminal

I don't think Dante could have more aptly described hell. I mean what is going on? Pepsi only? As I was getting something for breakfast I casually ask the nice lady making my breakfast, is there any Coke in this terminal at all?? She says, yes there is a McDonalds but it is way at the other end of the terminal. What would a rational person do? Just stay put and drink Pepsi. Lucky for me I have never described myself as rational, at least where Diet Coke is concerned. So I high tailed it to the other end of the terminal, and I am not happily sipping my truck driver size Diet Coke. Nirvana.

I am on my way to Syracuse, and since the high this week is 15 degree, yes that is the high, I went out got a coat and some Ugg wanna be boots. Now I am waiting in DFW and all this running around has made me hot. This is why I hate coats and the such. I have to either sweat or lug this thing around with me until I make it to the frozen tundra they call Syracuse. I know I will be glad to have it there.

I was supposed to have read a book for my sales training (yes two solid days of sales training You can insert your own editorial comment here). I am on chapter 12, and not thinking I am going to make it. I would much rather read my book club book. I have a long flight coming up, so I might have to alternate between the two.

I almost missed my flight this morning. I overslept. That never happens. Overslept may not be the way to describe it since I needed to getup at 3:30 am. The alarm did not go off. It always works. I could now go into a Seinfeld discussion of am/pm, volume, etc. I don't know what happened. I just know that I rolled over at 4:06 am to see that I was late. It is a good thing I am a low maintenance kind of gal, or it would have been bad.

Maybe that was why I had such a bad reaction to this Pepsi only hell I have found myself in. Or maybe, I am just not so low maintenance after all. Either way, I am here. I have Diet Coke (the good McDonalds kind). I am chillin. Life is good.

Saturday Is A Special Day

It's the day you get ready for Sunday - or so says the song. For me, today, it is the day I get ready for the rest of the week. I leave for Syracuse on Monday and will not return until Thursday, so I need to get on top of the lack of groceries, laundry etc. I am going to crack my mother whip and get these kids on it. It is a new month, and a new chore chart.

We are now into month two of the chore chart, and all in all things were better last month. The wheels did fall off this last time I was gone, but we are going to work on keeping the wheels on this week.

I hope everyone has a happy and productive Saturday.

It's Groundhog Day

In the Pearson house, this day is also known as Eric's Birthday. So, in tribute to Eric here are 41 things, to celebrate his 41st birthday, I love about Eric (with some help from the kids)

1. He is funny.

2. He is a great dad.

3. He was the first to introduce me to Survivor and The Office.

4. He likes reality TV as much as I do.

5. He is a great runner.

6. He will take the kids to see scary movies.

7. He likes Haunted Houses.

8. He likes Diet Coke even more than I do.

9. He is a great uncle/brother in law.

10. He is always up for a road trip.

11. He likes to play tricks on people.

12. When you open the door of his car, a coke can will probably fall out (much like the car of my father).

13. He sings the little mermaid song (that was from Allie)

14. He is a very hard worker. (even getting a part time job over christmas break during our time at BYU).

15. He lets us go to Sam's house (that was Caroline).

16. He is very good at his job.

17. He is very honest.

18. He is always the first one to volunteer to help someone move/clean the church.

19. He does not mind eating cereal for dinner.

20. He is always thinking of ways he can get closer to his kids.

21. He does projects around the house.

22. He tells it like it is.

23. He ran 40 marathons before his 40th birthday.

24. He drives Ryan to seminary every morning when it is our turn.

25. He likes to read books to the kids.

26. Caroline says he lets us drink coke.

27. He is friendly.

28. He is a sun worshipper like me.

29. He is always there to talk to me about work issues.

30. He gets us donunts (from Allie).

31. He likes dessert with every meal (I can support that).

32. He eats cereal with penut butter (that was allie).

33. He lets me do whatever I want (also allie).

34. The girls have him wrapped around their fingers. He loves his little girls.

35. He also loves his son, and loves and go and do things with him like football, skiing, movies, etc.

36. He will watch "chick flicks" with me.

37. He can help the kids with math homework, because heaven knows I can't.

38. He has no problem taking care of his children. He does not freak out when I am gone, but makes it a fun game for all.

39. He is supportive of my career.

40. He is not afraid to show his feelings.

41. And last, even at 41, I think he is pretty cute!!

Happy Birthday Eric.

(picture of Ryan and Eric in front of St James Hotel - said to be haunted)

What are the Chances

I am in DFW at the airport trying to get home after a frustrating day. I am on the edge, and the snow if falling from the sky like a winter wonderland. Sophie would love it. I am thinking, what is the chance I will make it home without killing someone?

Days like this make me ask myself, what in the heck am I doing? I guess I am lucky. I am close to my mom and dad's house. If we don't get out of here, I can probably go there. If my dad will come and get me. Which I think he would, but you never know.

So, here is to hoping that something goes right today.