check it out.....in case you havent already SEEN OR HEARD!

1. go to my facebook
2. find jasmine & david's newest video
3. check it out
4. try to not have that song stuck in your head



OH---and yes---start the congratulations! altho i guess i am just a collateral congratulatee---but i'll take all the congratulations i can get.

da boys

we took the boys to walmart for a quick photo shoot while they were all here and healthy (an issue that weekend)....had them wear just a white polo. My favorite pictures are unposed---letting the baby be a baby and grabbing that moment.... hence the one above with the boys looking off in random directions---and Milo telling us he'd had enough!
i love Cannon's pose!----we had just picked ace up from BandCamp---so he was pretty sweaty--- he also refused to only wear a white shirt! imagine that!

sorry for the big space----i scanned these pics and i'm just learning!...and actually, thanks to Lyric for hacking in to my blog and fixing them...I wonder when I will notice that she wrote this. i love this pic (above) because the 3 blondes are all leaning one way---and there's Ben Hall popping up!

LOVE THIS! nope---they arent all smiley (except Ben of course!)---but i love the rolls on their legs and how this really captured what each boy looks like when they are quiet.

peer pressure

because of the hundreds of derogatory comments i received from yesterday's post....albeit most were unspoken...okay ALL were unspoken....i did it.

i cleaned my kitchen

i did laundry

i am cleaning my front room (OKAY---SO I STOPPED TO BLOG BEFORE IT GOT DONE---GET OVER IT)....and, in the interest of full disclosure----the front room wont be cleaned til the boys go to bed tonight....that would just be an effort in futility.

peer pressure wins again...thanks guys.

p.s.....kitchen--check.....front room--check.....rest of house----after my trip!

my house is a trash

....i'd like to blame it on Jonas and Cannon....with a bit of Milo and Ben thrown in last week....
i'd like to say that the reason my closet is piled high (i'm being VERY open here, folks----careful---i'm totally exposing myself....be gentle, i'm fragile--- and there are no pictures folks---use your imagination--promise it wont be as bad as it is) is from doing laundry for 7 people---something i havent done in many years....and babies are always messing up clothes.... yeah---must be them....

i'd like to say that my kitchen counter is filled with a plethora of open boxes of crackers, pasta, water bottles, sippy cups (how old is that juice?), bottles (how curdled is that milk?) because i've given leah a couple of cupboards---and a cabinet...and i havent found places for everything...in 3 months... yeah---

the dishes in the sink----um---always someone eating....really....always.... but its not always the boys.... in fact rarely its the boys---altho jonas does go thru bottles at a rapid rate....

i'd like to say my kitchen table is cluttered with bowls, school supplies, mismatched socks.... because---well---see above.....

my bathroom counter----um---yeah---could be because the boys take baths in my bathroom...could be..... could be they leave my makeup and earrings and lotions all out....it could be...
and the abyss which is my bedroom....man, that bed hasnt been made in weeks and weeks and weeks----jonas crawls---he could easily have put all that yarn next to my bed....nicely balled up....ready to be yarned .... AND! ITS A WELL-KNOWN FACT that anytime ya dont know where to toss something--- "put it in my room" is the obvious answer...yeah---so we'll take the obvious...

the front room? easy---- the boys play there ....so yes....i can legitimately say they are the culprits... of course....they dont play with the 175 (slight exaggeration) tote bags of STUFF or the 34 (again) pairs of shoes that belong to their grandmother.... because i NEVER have shoes sitting out unless the grandboys are here....

and my computer desk..... cannon is tall enough to reach...so i can blame him for messing stuff around...messing around the PILES of papers, pens, rubber bands, magazines, old junk mail.... earrings, makeup, lotions (its where the magic happens)....

as i sit here... everyday..... on the couch...making my home more beautiful by watching HGTV....and cooking better by watching FOOD network...journaling thru blogging, feeding the world thru farming, staying in touch with my 377 closest friends thru facebooking, helping my daughters emergency and life-altering split-second questions thru im-ing, toss in skyping so the grandboys can see their dad....looking at the mess, pondering the pile, studying it carefully....watching for any movement or life ... (altho i'm not as bad as hoarders on TLC)....as i look at the mess and think about it....

oh...wait...hmmmmm...could it be thats the reaso....? nah---well, maybe......um.........nvrmnd.... dont judge.

its a.......

GOTCHA!

5 girls and 10 boys......21 months to 3 years.

i guess having all 4 grandboys around was a good preparation for my new calling---nursery leader!
I am so STINKIN excited.
the perks of being in the nursery

• I get to take off my shoes
• I get to sit on the floor
• I get to play trucks
• I get to eat goldfish
• I get hugs from babies whenever i want
• I get to cuddle sad babies
• I get to hear babies say their first words-and to hear 3 yr olds TALK SO STINKIN WELL!
• I get to see parents find creative ways to sneak out
• I get to see parents sneak IN
• singing time----my favorite---our primary chorister does a terrific job
• I get to hear baby prayers
• I get to wear long flouncy skirts---my favorite!
• I dont have to do this at home

the downers of nursery

• knowing SOMEONE has a dirty diaper---and having to go from child to child to find out who
• a year from now i wont know anyone in the ward except the parents of my babies
• i'm not that big of fan of goldfish...we'll have to vary our menu
• no dry-clean only clothes
• realizing that while i am old enough to be these babies grandmama----it means i'm also STINKIN old enough to be their parents' mama!
• i dont get to do this at home

musings.....

what have i learned from having leah & joe and the 2 boys here for the summer...........

• i would TOTALLY do it again


• adult daughters think they know as much, if not more, than their mother.... laundry, cooking, childcare, decorating ..... yeah.... they know it all after 2 years ...... love you!


• you get nothing done with 2 babies in the house .... nothing


• 2 babies' diapers stink up the house 73% more than one baby's diaper


• babies are cuter than dogs


• dogs cuddle longer than babies


• best floor cleaner under a highchair? you got it...a dog


• if your husband was clueless as a dad---- he's not going to be any better as a grandfather ....love you!


• you cant scratch or nuthin with others in the house.


• i like noise


• i am REALLY good about letting my kids parent their own.... REALLY REALLY GOOD.


• jonas love me..... A LOT


• cannon loves me ..... A LOT....as long as mom or dad arent there....then i fall to 3rd string

if i had 'em

if i had 'em

i'd have a live-in maid
i'd have live-in laundry service
i'd have a live-in cook
i'd have a live-in diaper-changer
i'd have a live-in nurse
i'd have a driver and a stretch suburban with built-in carseats
i'd have a house with vacuum hoses leading right to the trash outside
i'd have a house with sound-proofed cribs jack-n-jill style (watch hgtv folks)
i'd have a yard with a baby pool with no bugs...ever.
i'd have a swingset, sandbox--no---scratch that (i hate sandboxes), treehouse and trampoline
wait.....wait....wait...wait!
i was a live-in maid...still am?
i was a live-in laundry service....yeah----still doin it.
i was a live-in cook....not as much...but can still throw down with bobby flay (really, people...food network!)
i was a live-in diaper service...only when my babies come with their babies...and its one of my favorite jobs!
i was a live-in nurse (dr mom!)....mostly over the phone now
i was the driver of a suburban---and it seemed to stretch....not so much...mostly a toyota corolla
i took the diapers out...thats what we have ace for.
i lived in a 3 bedroom house....no soundproofing---just really solid sleepers....now we have 2 guest rooms....and its very quiet...which is very nice...and just quiet.
baby pools....i took the bugs out....no mosquito farm here.
swingset, fort, trampoline? check, check and check.....gone, gone, gone.

i am a mom.....the only one i would take off the list....hmmmm....taking the diapers out...definitely.

best part of an empty nest is when the chicks come home.

um........

okay....i was wrong.

i wasnt upset today. i didnt have to chew anyone out.
i bought trouble---then didnt get what i paid for---except a week of anticipation and conversations with myself....all for naught!
i worked myself up all ready for a fight.....and i didnt need to.
the monster at the end of this book....twas I, grov....i mean MERF!
just goes to show you....the Lord does know about every hair....even mine.
and i'm pretty sure the Lord....is smirking ....in a nice Lord-ish way.

ps sometime i will tell you...but not today.