My Celebrity Loves

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Christian Bale, I love you. My crush began when I saw him in Newsies about 11 years ago and has been going strong ever since. And here is a quote from my celebrity hunk.

"I think trying to hard to be sexy is the wrost thing in the world a woman can do. What I love about my wife is that she's a really strong-minded, stubborn, fiery woman. I find that sexier than anything else."

Wow, was he talking about me? I mean, I rarely try too hard to be sexy, and stubborn, strong-minded? Ok, we were made for each other.

Oh Gwyneth, what can I say? I can't remember a time when I was not in love with you. You are my favorite actress, and I adore you. I am no fair weathered fan, you are golden in every movie. Shallow Hal? Loved it. Jack Black and Gwyneth? My dream come true!

OK, this guy is just the funniest ever. I get the giggles just looking at him. His facial expressions are A-mazing. Jack Black, you have given me so much laughter and joy. Love ya!

Confession of a really old 30 year old

I really want to wear elastic waistband pants. Seriously, they look soooo good to me. I'm not talking about exercise pants, pajamas, or any other form of lounge wear. I am talking about the jeans and khakis that look kind of normal, and then you spot the elastic waistband. Sometimes I just walk by Sears and drool. Oh, the comfort, the flexibility. I tell people I get the Land's End catalog for the t-shirts and the sporty waterproof shoes, but really I am just waiting for the day when I can order the sweet elastic waistband pants.

My legacy

At least I know that after I am gone there will be more generations of ice cream eaters. We have already had a great weekend with Jeremy's Dad going to parks, walks, swimming pool, ice cream, restaurants. And that was all on Saturday. I can't wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings...

Ice Cream

I am an ice cream addict. I love the stuff, can never get enough. Ever. These are just two examples of some of my favorites. I choose what ice cream flavor I want based on the brand or the ice cream place. My motto with any food place is to go with what they do best. Here are some of my favorites.

Baskin Robbins - I have to list this one first because it is probably my all time favorite. I go crazy over the chocolate chip ice cream here. I never get any other flavor, because I just can't turn down an opportunity to get my favorite.

Cold Stone- Ok, I do change it up here because depending on my mood sometimes super chocolaty, and sometimes not. What can I say, everything is good here. Also, I have to give a serious honorable mention to the blue cotton candy ice cream. My kids always get it, and they have to pry it away. It really tastes like cotton candy, but creamier. Yum.

Ben & Jerry's - Jeremy and I planned an entire trip to Vermont to go visit their factory. We stopped in Sharon, Vermont, the birthplace of Joseph Smith on the way there. We didn't know it was on the way, but later we told people that was the reason we took the trip. We are ashamed. Anyway, New York Super Fudge Chunk the best flavor ever. We got this on our first date we had in Boston. It always brings back good memories, of when we were skinny, before we got addicted to Ben and Jerry's. Hmmm, those were the days.

Breyers - This is just great ice cream. Our favorite flavor is the Rocky Road. The nuts in there are amazing, and there are no big marshmallow chunks, just the hint of marshmallow. Amazing.

Tillamook - Loved the Brown Cow, then they changed it to something with udderly in the name. I don't know, it doesn't quite taste the same anymore. Still, very good.

Dreyer's - I love their mint chocolate chip. Mint can be a really tricky flavor, you don't want it too minty, and not too big of chocolate chunks. I think they get it just right.

I can't even remember all of the names of the little ice cream shops we have eaten at. Boston had some seriously good homemade ice cream. Christinas anyone? Also, some farm out in the middle of nowhere that served the biggest portions ever. It wasn't possible to eat it all before it melted in the humidity, but it was sure fun to try.

Words from Sam, laugh or cry?

Yesterday, standing in front of his two year old
brother with a sword says, "Prepare to Die."

Last night, kneeling down to say his bedtime prayer,
turns to me and says, "Well, here goes nothing!"

my pig had no ears

I just remembered this little moment, and thought I would share. Jeremy and I were in a marriage and family relations sunday school class a couple of years ago. Our teacher started the lesson by handing everyone a blank sheet of white paper. He asked everyone to draw a pig on their paper, and that was the only instruction he gave. After everybody did that, he then went on to explain what our drawings meant. Here are the two things I remember from that day. First of all he explained that if your pig was drawn at the top of the page that means you are an optimist. If your pig was drawn in the middle of the page that means you are a realist. If your pig was drawn at the bottom of the page that means that you are a pessimist. My little pig was drawn as far down on the paper as it could go. Hmmmm, I knew this class was going to be bad anyway. Then the teacher told us to look at the ears we drew on our pigs. The size of the ears would tell how good we are at listening. The bigger ears, the better listener. Well, my pig had no ears. Did you hear me? My pig had NO EARS!

Time to make a decision...

I think that there needs to be a parenting book about making decisions. I have realized that this is one of my biggest responsibilities as a Mom, making decisions. And to be honest, I am really bad at making decisions. I second guess almost everything I do, I have lots of regrets, I return almost half of everything I buy, I just can't make up my mind! You would think after so many years of practice, I would be getting better at making decisions. Just make a decision, and move forward, don't look back. No, I seem to be getting worse! Ok, here are some examples. Should my kids take swim lessons or not? I mean, they are really good at swimming, but they don't really know the official strokes. Should they know these at 7 and 5? And if they take them, where, and private or not? What summer camps should they be involved in, how many hours, how many days? How many camping trips should we take this summer? Where should we go camping, should we use the old tent or buy a new one? How many pairs of shorts should I buy for Spencer this summer? How much tv should my kids watch? Can they watch more if it is "educational?" What in the world do I do with these kids all day long? Am I supposed to be playing with them all the time? What do I make for dinner tonight? Should I drive further to the cheaper grocery store of just go to the more expensive close one? Do I have to go to enrichment when I really have no interest in the activity? Can I go to the mall instead? Should I tell Jeremy I am going to the mall instead of enrichment, or just go? Can I ask a friend who is also in the ward to come to the mall with me? Is that wrong? Do I have to use those awful fluorescent money saving light bulbs? What am I supposed to wear today? Is it bad to keep eating white rice when I know the brown is better for me? And, I have not even mentioned the big decisions about where to live, what schools, jobs, having kids, all that good stuff. Good luck out there, I am already second guessing this post.

Highlights of the Week

Being present at the birth of my sister's fourth baby. Congratulations Katie and Chris!! I can't describe how amazing and spiritual it was to be their for her first breath into this life. It was so different being able to watch than when you are the one pushing the baby out. It was just so beautiful and I loved it! Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

Our friends Brian and Wendy came to visit us for one night on their way through to Seattle. What a treat! It was so fun to see their 4 cute girls, and catch up again. The four of us were best buds hanging out back at good old Liberty Square at BYU. What an amazing summer, and then we fell in love, and then they fell in love, and then we got married, and then they got married, crazy! Love you guys, thanks for the visit.

I am loving the cute mother's day gifts coming home from school and primary from the boys.

Highlight to come, Jeremy and I are going to see Iron Man this weekend. Gwyneth Paltrow and Super Heroes, the perfect combination for us. Can't wait!

Coldplay is coming out with a new album in June. They realeased a single from the album,Viva la Vida, and it is delicious to my ears.

Getting to hang out with my Mom while the boys played with their cousins. So much fun, and then pizza to top of the day. Fabulous!

Goodbye Granite

I think I might be the only one in the world, but I DO NOT like granite counter tops. Yes, they are pretty, and they really do make any kitchen look modern and shiny. When we were looking for houses I immediately walked out of any house that did not have them because the house just looked "old." All of that being said, I can't stand my granite counter tops. The camouflage look hides everything, which I guess is supposed to be good. But, really that means my counters are always dirty. They might look fine until you touch them, and then you are like,"What is all this gunk all over this counter that looks perfectly clean?" I feel like Helen Keller as I clean my granite because I basically have to close my eyes and slowly feel with my left hand for gunk, and then wipe with my right hand. Then after all the blind scrubbing I have to use a special granite cleaning spray (there is a good one at Target) to get it back to a pretty shine. And, as soon as my kids eat on it I have to wipe it up, and then it is not shiny 5 minutes after I used the special shine spray. It just feels like a losing battle all day long. I really miss my formica. I went to a new house focus group a couple of months ago. They wanted to know what kind of counters people liked in their homes. I decided this would be my chance to share my views, and I was sure there would be some other granite sufferers out there too. Nope, they all looked at me like I was crazy. So, I know I am alone in this, but I just had to share my dirty little secret, seriously they are always dirty.

Updates

Spencer is getting new piano books next week. He started in January and he is moving on to Level 2! Also, the past two weeks he has started practicing on his own without me having to sit with him. Sooo exciting! He will be playing in his second recital in June, the Star Wars theme song. I love that! His teacher is so wonderful, positive, kind, and really great with Spencer. Every lesson I get a shining report, and it is has been such a great activity for him.

I already told some of you, but we are excited for Jeremy to be trying something new too. He is going to be teaching a Real Estate Law class for undergraduates at Boise State University in the Fall. This will be a night class once a week. I think I will have to come sit in on a class for sure. Although, I skipped A LOT of my night classes, so good luck Jeremy!

Sam is finally getting excited about preschool. He asks me every day, can I go today? He talks about his friends there constantly, and I think they have some serious games going on at recess. I am also pretty sure he has imaginary friend(s). He leads them around the house, opens doors for them, and always talks to them. I guess this is a good thing at this age? I don't know, but it is kind of cute.

Matthew is definitely two. Today it was a costco size bag of goldfish spilled and stomped on. Hmmm, maybe I should stop buying costco size bags of snacks. They are very tempting I guess. Yesterday he squirted a whole tube of toothpaste all over the bathtub. It could have been much worse I guess. Matthew got his own Wii controller for his birthday. He is always crying and getting upset when the boys play because he likes to "play" too. The look on his face was priceless when he opened it up. Even though all three controllers look the same, he knows which one is his, and is not giving it up.

And, what am I doing? I finally finished printing the last batch of digital pictures for our photo album. I have been working on getting all the digital picutres that we have taken for the last 6 or 7 years printed out so they can actually be seen. Also, I am getting ready for our cooking group this month at my house. After doing Thai one month and Greek the next, we are going to do really easy summer recipes. I think I am going to do three recipes that are super easy and really delicious. Hopefully this will take care of that genre, because I would like to get back to the gourmet stuff.