Hail To The Guy

(Guy's newest picture-taking phase -- "smile, Buddy!")

My sweet little boy turned three on Friday. Steady girl . . . deep breaths. He is such a funny little guy, he really makes our house a happy place. It's almost impossible to discipline this kid. The crocodile tears just come falling out of those gorgeous blue eyes, and it's enough to melt the toughest of parents, which I'm not!

Guy loves anything with a motor, and anything with a screen. We're looking forward to our guest house on his estate he'll build after his dot com goes public. He also loves running around outside. We can't pass the park fast enough before I hear "Go to the park, Mommy!" from the back seat, repeated about 100 times.

He is definitely his Daddy's boy. Those two are a dangerous pair, I tell you. Remember the incident with the alien's head being chopped off and Guy telling us, "It's OK, I'll kiss it better"? Yeah. They are just about inseperable and all day long I hear "When's Daddy coming home?" The minute BJ comes home, he becomes a little "Parent Stalker", and Guy will hardly let his daddy take his shoes off! However, I selfishly think there's a pretty special bond between the two of us as well. We love reading books together and playing on the floor with all of his cars. Did I mention he's additced to anything with a motor or a screen?

We were up North on a road trip visiting Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa, so his wasn't a traditional bday this year. We did go to their ward dinner that night and the cute ward sung Happy Birthday to our Guy. It actually made me cry! (That's my DH in the background you hear saying "Really, that's so unlike you!")

We just love our guy! Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Can I Still Blog About Halloween?

I know, it's been over a week, but I have a laundry list of excuses. More on that later.

We had a short Halloween due to rainy weather and one reluctant superhero. Our evening started out at Auntie Kara's, where we took all her candy because we decided no one was going to knock on her door. Well, the kids decided that, anyway. Bug and Belle canvassed a couple of streets in our neighborhood and then had enough sense to come in out of the rain. (I've always wanted to say that!)


I'm so sorry that this picture does not do justice to the Halloween costumes, particularly Belle's. She truly was the most glamorous kid on the block. Bug and I just kind of put hers together, but she had a lot of fun with it. "But where's the Guy?" I hear you all shouting at me. Well . . . in the car, having absolutely nothing to do with Halloween. No mask, no door knocking, nada. He clung to my sister's pants until I thought she'd be arrested for indecent exposure, so we let it go.

Until . . .

It's amazing how big his smile got as we started sharing some of the candy his sisters got. Well, not really that amazing if you know Guy at all, I guess. Luckily we bought their candy back before he could eat the whole bag at one sitting!

We finished up our evening with pizza (a firm tradition in our family) and a double-feature of "Ghost Whisperer." So, not the most exciting of holidays but we all enjoyed and I made copious notes for some fun ideas for next year!

Confessions of a Halloween Non-Lover

Hello, my name is Julianne, and I really don't like Halloween all that much. There. Thank you. I feel much better.

I hate the creepy side of Halloween. Since when did eating gummy severed fingers become cute? No skeletons and ghosts, blood and gore for me. And I hate the teenage trick-or-treaters pounding on my door, demanding free sugar.

So, to couneract my own bad attitutude (is that BA is blog-speak? I don't know), I'm going to force myself to "fake it 'til you make it" with this day. The kids have darling costumes (well, Bug's is kind of a cop-out, but she'll still look darling anyway) and I'll make it a great day for my kids sake. Halloween in DH's family was a totally cute family event, and those are memories I want my kids to have. But I'm not dressing up, do you hear me?

So, since I've laid it all on the table for you, it's your turn now. Do you really like Halloween, or are you just going along with the crowd on this one? Come on, we're all friends here.

Everything With a Plug Hates Me Today

Electronics are not my friend today. Let me 'splain.

Exhibit A:

Camera's still sand-fritzed. Mom took her's back (fair enough, but where's the princess special treatment here?) It's not under warranty anymore but a fab little camera. So until we bite the bullet and take it somewhere to get fixed, I'm outta luck.

Exhibit B:

Turned on brand new laptop yesterday afternoon to see a black screen telling me my hard drive can't be found (IT'S RIGHT THERE, YOU MEAN LITTLE MACHINE!!) So, until DH calls India (can't do it, just can't), I'm again outta luck. Thank heavens for our workhorse desktop, which was supposed to be the kids computer. Problem here is, I took everything off the desktop and put it on the laptop. Now the desktop runs like a champ, but is completely empty! (AAAAHHH!) DH even told me he's got a Costco card for my bday to print out some scrapbook pages. Great idea, thank's hon, love ya tons, but until I can access some of those scrapbook pages I've been slaving over, well, you see the problem. (DOUBLE AAAAAHHHH!)

So, if my next blog post is scratched on a rock and hurled through your front window, you'll know why. Wish me luck.

Creation . . . Compassion . . . God's Happiness

Thank you, President Uchtdorf. I was completely blown away by President Uchtdorf's talk at the Relief Society Meeting last week. So simple. So "easy." So true. I think women have an innate knowledge of this truth, which is why we, by our very natures, love the creative process and are so compassionate, or at least that's how we should be.

Read his words again and look around you at all you've created today, even if it's just a mess! Take advantage of all the opportunities around you to show compassion. Be happy!

Would It Really Be That Bad?

With all of this talk of our crumbling economy and what our government should do to fix it, this thought keeps coming to my mind: Would it be that bad for us to learn some of the lessons our grandparents learned from the Depression?

-- Would it kill us to only have one car in our garage?

-- Would we all expire if Christmas was just a time to be together with family?

-- Certainly our children be scarred for life if the family all had to work together to raise a garden and preserve fruits and vegetables for the winter, right?

-- Isn't it illegal in some states not to have your children enrolled in 4 after-school activities each? (says the music teacher sheepishly)

You get the idea. Now, I'm certainly not promoting we return to a time when umemployment was at about 60% and many people went hungry, but I think it's interesting that the children of the Great Depression grew up to be labeled by many as the Greatest Generation in our nation's history. Could it be that having few material possessions causes you to be creative, hard working, unselfish and empathetic? And could it be that having more material possessions than you can possibly handle makes you expect everything (including answers to financial disasters) to be handed to you on a silver platter?

Certainly one of the biggest contributing factors to this mess we're tangled in right now is the fact that we as a generation have grown up believing that the only symbol of a successful life is the accumulation of material wealth.

Maybe its time to redefine what "successful" really means.

A Gold Star Moment

There are certain moments in my life that I consider "Gold Star." I will never forget them and I will always treasure them in my heart. Saturday was definitely one of those days.

It was funny, but I went to write in my journal that night, and all I could write was "Bug was baptized today." There were no other words that could describe how proud I was of her and how much I love my babygirl. She's growing up to be a greater person than I could ever hope for.

I love you, Sweetheart!