A Gift From My Boy...

Mister Mischief: Here mommy, I have something for you.

Places something hard and slightly ball shaped in the palm of my hand

Me: Hey thanks bud. What is it?

Mister Mischief: It's a snot.

Sure enough, upon careful, but not TOO careful, examination I discovered that my lovey little 3 year old had placed a dried up booger in my hand.

Just for safe keeping.

Or to throw away.

Or to proudly display (or publicly announce on blog) to the world...

This, ladies and gentlemen is true love. To hold anothers dried up booger in your hand, give them a love, and not vomit.

Estrogen Stinks...

"I haven't had time to get to the gym in a while... so I've lost 10 lbs... SUCKS!"

Awe shucks.. I wish this was a problem I have to deal with. Nope, this is not a quote from me. It is not a quote from any women I know. This is a non-specific quote form any non-specific man in the free world that you or I may or may not know.

MEN SUCK.

Truly. I am seriously trying to figure out how and why our misguided society came to have the body image standards that we have today. Men (okay, ALOT if not MOST men) struggle to keep the poundage ON. They eat what they want. They live on french fries, Mountain Dew and the occasional protein shake (when they are trying to be "supportive of YOUR "I wanna fit into my pre-baby... or at least your pregnancy #1 "fat pants" diet.") They go to the gym to "bulk up". When they don't make it to the gym they get "scrawny" and have to start over. But society has decided that a scrawny male is not considered "ideal".

WOmen eat triscuit crackers and string cheese. We do 7 day "cleanses" where we drink only concoctions of cranberry juice, protein powder and toilet bown cleaner (or whatever your cleanse of choice calls for). We run. We go to the gym. We work as hard as we can... AND THAT DARN GHETTO BOOTY STAYS PUT. You work out for 3 months just to start seeing results. We miss a day at the, and we get "larger" and have to start over. Once again... society has decided that woman are more "ideal" when they are anorexic... at least by Hollywood standards.

Okay, is it just me or is something awry here? Is it just the whole, "grass is greener complex?" If women had to work hard not to be scrawny would the "ideal image" be different?

I know I am a pretty petite girl, I do not subscribe to any of the crazy cleanses, and I am not complaining about the way I look. But I do have to work at it in order to fit into my "ideal size" pants. Just this morning I had a hard time zipping up my pants and may or may not have considered drinking some cranberry juice and toilt bown cleaner. BUT I really am tired of hearing of so many people truly hurting themselves trying to trim themselves down more and more.

Why can't we be happy where we are at?

And why can't icecream make you lose weight.

And how come OUR bodies can't decimate calories before they hit our esophogus like the mens do?

Stop and Smell the Dirty Sneakers

Ummmm... we just bought these sneakers a couple of weeks ago and they already REEEEEK... is that normal? Should I be worried that my son has come down with some killer alien fungus that is going to turn his blood green and make him eternally smell like moldy cheese?

My baby started preschool today. It doesn't seem possible that he is old enough for me to drop him off at someones house and pick him up 3 hours later with his head jam packed with mind blowing knowledge... such as how to trace the letter A and the name of his table neighbor... who is now his "BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD" I really wasn't sad for this day. Truthfully, I have looked forward to it for a while. For him AND me. I can't tell you how many crazy days I've had where my kids are chasing each other around screaming, crashing any item within their reach into the walls, and smearing themselves with the cream/condiment/makeup item of choice that I've thought..."I CAN'T WAIT FOR THEM TO START SCHOOL SO I CAN HAVE SOME TIME TO MYSELF!" Now that time is here for one of my little ones.

It's a little bittersweet.

I think my whole life has been this way. In high school I just couldn't WAIT to graduate. If I could just make it to graduation day THEN life will be perfect and I can sit back and enjoy it. Then I graduate and enter the "oh so fun" world of serious dating... seriously NOT FUN dating... and I thought, "If I could just get married, THEN life will be perfect and I can sit back and enjoy it." I got married what do you think happened as I was sitting at my desk PRETENDING to work? Yep, "If I could just have a baby and be a mommy...THEN..." you know the drill.

Motherhood has been the ultimate goal of my entire life. It is the best thing I have ever done and I FINALLY feel like I am doing what I was meant to do... instead of feeling like I am going through the motions to get to the point when I find my calling.

So NOW life is perfect and I can sit back and enjoy it... right? Ideally. But we as humans have a bad habit of looking ahead too often so that we miss some of the precious moments in the NOW. "I wish I could hit fast forward and get to the point where the baby sleeps through the night" "When is he/she going to crawl?!" "I will be so glad when he/she can walk so I dont' have to carry them anymore." "I CAN'T WAIT for them to start preschool! I need a couple of hours to myself!"

Have you ever noticed, however, that in retrospect you miss those moments? That first time the baby sleeps through the night is a little sad... they don't need you at night anymore. You miss them when they go to school even for a couple of hours.

I've noticed that each stage comes with it's own set of challenges. Our current challenge at our house right now is Mister Mischief reverting back to baby talk every once in a while.... why is that so IRRITATING?! I want to pull my hair out sometimes... and at the same time i can't help but slip back into the old... "Oh, if we could just get past this stage, life will be soooo much easier!" Unfortunately when you graduate from one hard stage, the next is always immensly better... but the challenges seem to increase in intensity as well. And in the mean time I am missing how lovey he can be at this stage... it's not going to be cool to snuggle with mommy forever you know!

So, I guess I'll just try to slow down and enjoy the stinky little boy sneakers... I'd rather them be stinky and filled with a sometimes frustrating mischievious little rascal.. than to not be there at all.

In the mean time.... any suggestions to rid those addorable mini Adidas' of the stench of death?!

Embrace

I had a very emotional weekend. Emotional in a good way that is... I think... time will tell I guess.

I have been thinking a lot about the video I posted about on my last post. If you haven't watched it yet, please do. There is a picture included in that video of Christ and John the Baptist in the River Jordan. John the Baptist has just baptized the Savior and they are embracing. The thing that moves me to tears every time is the look on both of their faces. Huge grins. Although it is only a painting, you can feel how tightly they are holding onto each other. You can feel the electricity of their joy. And you know without words why they are happy. They are beginning the Fathers work. There just aren't words that can describe such a moment. That is why I love that painting so much. All of the emotions I feel about our Fathers plan and the Saviors atonement all wrapped up in an embrace of two "brothers".

I am not sure if there is doctrine to support that such an embrace took place, but I imagine it did. And the truly inspirational part of such an embrace of love and joy is that The Savior knew that this was the first step toward what would be a difficult journey. He knew how this path would end here on this earth. But He also knew how this path would end in the Eternal scheme of things. He knew that though it would lead to His eventual torure and death... it would ultimately lead to life eternal, not just for Him but for His brothers and sisters. He knew that He was beginning the process of erasing hopelessness and doom from the life of mankind. He knew that He was starting down a path that would show each of us the way Home. He loved His eternal family enough that He rejoiced when He come out of the waters of baptism and started us all on our way back to Him. I feel like we were all there, rejoicing right along with Him. Embracing each other and grinning.

How I love our Savior. I know because I am only a mortal, my ability to love is extremely limited and pales in comparison to what He must feel for us. I get a little taste of it when I look at my children. They give me a tiny taste of what it is like to love another more than myself. Even when they are naughty. Even when they "don't like me" for a moment. Even when they go back to Heaven before I get a chance to say hello. Every day I feel like the veil is pulled back a tiny bit more and I am able to grasp a little more of the eternal expanse that is our Saviors love for us. Then life gets crazy, my kids get LOUD, I get loud and I fall back a step again and have to reclaim that last few inches of my peak into His love.

I do want anyone that happens to come across this to know that I know that our Redeemer lives. I know it. I know it without a shadow of a doubt. And I know it because I have asked God, and He has told me. He has told me that all of it is true. That the Bible is His instructions to us, as is The Book of Mormon. We have prophets that lead us today. I have many friends of many different faiths and I love you all. I believe that there is truth in every religion. But I know that I have found the fullness of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. It's all there. You don't have to sift through anything and find what you like and determine if the truth outweighs the theory. I cannot say that I understand it all. There would be no point to me being here if I knew everything. But, I feel it in my heart that this is where I will find everything the Lord wants me to know and this church is my pathway to returning to Him. You don't have to believe it. You don't have to "subscribe" to it. It's definitely a personal answer for each of us to receive. But I can tell you that if you ask Him... He will tell you too.

So knowing all this, can we too smile and embrace in joy while facing some of our worst fears? It's not always easy, but I believe it is possible when we look to our Saviors example and focus on the Eternal scheme of things, instead of the short term pain, fear and sorrow.

What do you think?

Reflections of Christ

I'm feeling a bit sentimental today, and the following video didn't help.

If you have a moment, start your weekend off by watching this video. If you don't have a moment make one.

Life is about having fun and enjoying every moment of it. But there is also a much bigger picture that we are working towards, we have so much more to look forward to than just the momentarily gratifying moments we have on this earth. I hope we can all take some time to thank our Savior for making that possible.

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

Have a good weekend everyone!

Beautiful Baby Bumps

Isn't the pregnant belly a beautiful thing? It represents the ultimate miricle of nature. Beneath this womans pale white skin is a new life. Another human (...hopefully..) grown out of almost nothing. A pure little spirit about to leave the arms of our Father in Heaven and join us in the wonderful chaos of life. This tiny little person moves free of any outside forces. It stretches, yawns, throws in the occasional jab... even flips you off... sometimes... [Maybe I'm the only one that ate too much spicy mexican food during my last pregnancy earning that little "one fingered salute of love". ] Let's admit it, pregnancy isn't always the most comfortable experience. Your body turns into an alien host body. Your little invader causes cankles, sleepless nights, nonexistant bladder space and 40... okay 50+ lbs to myseriously appear in places you didn't know you had "fat pockets". But it's all worth it isn't it? Definitely. And while you are drowing in a body full of retained water and excess blubber... and who knows what else... it is hard to swallow the term, "cute little preggo lady" (btw.. does the term preggo make anyone else want to vomit? I usually use it when I'm typing because who has the time to type pregn... oh nevermind... but seriously... it's a title for spaghetti sauce, not a unborn child shrine.) Anyway, I know when I am pregnant I don't feel beautiful, but I want to tell all of you out there....You ARE beautiful. ENJOY your baby bumps. APPRECIATE them for the miricle that they are. I sure miss mine sometimes... although I'm not ready to go there again. I don't miss being "fat", or crying uncontrollably when I can't seem to force that stupid button into it's dumb button hole, or "the waddle". But I do miss the feeling of feeling a life I created moving around inside of me. I think there is nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman.

That said... I have a confession to make...

I beat up a pregnant woman a couple weeks ago.

Yes you read that right.

Never mess with a woman at a bunco game. I don't care if you are pregnant, wear glasses, or are in a wheel chair with a missing foot. If you get in the way of my bunco dice and subsequent extra 15 bonus points... I WILL take you down. To the floor. Claws out.

We're still friends I think. She survived. Her unborn child survived. I almost didn't.... she put up a good fight...

Mei... if he comes out with a missing foot or something... I'll refund you your 15 bonus points next time we play.

And you can have Mister Mischief....

Have I mentioned I think you're beautiful...?

I don't think you can go to Heaven if you beat up a pregnant lady can you? Guess I may as well start enjoying life eh?! Pass me something I'm not supposed to consume please.

umm... p.s. thanks for outing me Q. Thanks a lot.

Follow Your Dreams..?

My son wants to wear a unitard.

Whew, it was a relief... if not... um... weird... to get that off my chest.

But really.

We took a little trip to a kids gym this weekend. The kids had a blast. They jumped on the trampoline, slid down a slide into a pit of plastic balls and swung from rings suspended from the ceiling. And... my son found he has a natural affinity for doing this...

Future Olympian?

Not if his daddy has anything to say about it.

What is it about sports involving tights/spandex/unitards that kind of make men squirm?

We say we want our children to chase after their dreams... as long as they are in sync with ours.

My husbands chest would puff out in pride every time my son begged daddy to take him to the driving range. His eyes would fill up with tears as our son picked up such phrases as, "whoa dad, I bombed that drive! or "Hole in one!" or MY personal favorite... "that was a crap shot" And dear dad would curl in a fetal position (thumb in mouth with his pointer finger curled around his nose) sobbing with pride when Little Mister, in response to the question, "Who's your favorite golfer" exclaimed, "My daddy!"

Can life get any better than this? Your 3 year old son out driving teenagers and following after YOUR dream without any prodding from you? I submit that it cannot. It's easy at these moments to arrogantly announce to others that you should let your childrens wings unfurl and chase after whatever dream they have. Who are we as parents to determine the path our children take? If we but set a good example for them, our children will follow in our footsteps. They will be productive members of our community. They will be successful. They will make lots of money and provide mommy and daddy with a very comfortable retirement on the beaches of barbedos... what?

Okay, but what happens when previously gifted child prodigy extraordinaire changes those dreams and his new dreams involve a unitard, uneven bars and a unitard. That word alone gives me chills. If my child is going to wear one someday, we must come up with a more politically correct term for it... how about uni-developmentally disabled.

Much better.

But seriously, we would be jumping up and down if our daughter wanted to be a gymnist or a ballet dancer. Either of those sports (and yes, I would consider them sports because of the huge amount of talent, coordination, and athleticism that go into them) are respectable. I would LOVE to see Kobe hold himself parallel to the ground while suspended from rings hanging from the ceiling. Paul Hamm could take Kobe anyday!

So why would my husband (and lets face it, probably me too) probably get the bum chills if our son did take on one of these as his sport of choice?

Two words: the unitard

Can you imagine Tiger Woods winning the Masters cup in one? Although, lets be honest... poses like this:

were made for a man sporting tights.

Come to think of it, a lot of other sports would be pretty darn entertaining if their participants were dressed in a unitard...

I know I'd watch 'em...

What do you think?