I've been Elected

I'm happy to announce my new office - the Graham Family Historian. I don't think I've ever been elected to anything. I've tried and been the big loser a few times so I had to make up an office that was automatic and no one could vote me out of. (Chris made it clear he didn't want to run or be appointed).
With my new office comes new equipment. Presenting my new toy/headache...

Toy because of the many possibilities, headache because of my limited technical abilities.
Anyway, this device allows me to put all of my old unwatched media onto DVD's. I can put any VHS tape, our 8mm camcorder days and our recent miniDV's. My kids love home videos and in the past they've been such a pain to hook up, wires, wires, wires, change channels, change inputs, it doesn't work try it all again, I can hear the sound but can't see the pictures, you know the drill. Not any more, put in the DVD, select which scene you want and you're off. I'm so excited!!!
After I get the stuff transfered I'll be able to piece, add music, add still pictures and make movies.
Another responsibility of the family historian is to scrapbook. Unfortunately my goods are in a far away closet getting dusty. I can't get rid of them because I do enjoy it but don't have it in me to do right now. In the meantime shutterfly photo books are doing the tricks. They're not as personal, but they get the job done and that's the survival mode I'm in right now in my life.
I'll be up for re-election as soon as one of my own is capable to take over. Actually I'll probably just resign and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labors. I'll deserve it.

Vain at 3

Mason has been way into both his age and looks lately. He keeps on saying the funniest things. He's very into his clothes, picking them out, laying them out for the next day before he goes to bed and making sure they match just right. Then after he gets dressed he likes to look in the mirror. This is when he starts talking like this "How do I look??? Hey guys, do I look good?" "I'm a handsome guy". This is all while he's staring and beaming at himself in the mirror.
Along the same clothing lines, he always checks his tags and lately has refused to wear anything that doesn't have a 3 on it. If it's 2T or 4T I might as well just pack it away. This gets frustrating because he has some great outfits that aren't size three. Another obsession - his braided belt. He has to wear it everyday. This means only pants with loops will work. I'm sure you can imagine the problems he has with his shoes that are size 8. He just can't figure it out. "He this isn't right, these are Charlotte's shoes, Charlotte is 8". It just cracks me up how much these sorts of things mean to him when my girls never thought twice about any of it.
The last funny thing about being three is that he won't use the term "me too" when I ask the kids if they want to do something. He'll only say "me three" so he specifically waits for someone to say "me too" so he can use his age appropriate "me three". He then smiles all proud of himself like he just tricked everyone.
Someday I wish I could freeze this "3" stage. It's just such a funny one.

31 Posts

A brilliant idea to motivate me to post just came to me. "One a day in May". So starting today is the begining of 31 posts to come. I have so much to catch up on and never have it in me to do all at once so maybe if I spread it out I'll enjoy the process more. Since I'm slacking at my own personal journal I need to be at this. I still hold that reading everyone else's is way funner then writing one.
So brace yourself, daily updates are coming your way - I know you can hardly wait for the scope on our super exciting lives.
I'm so glad I got this in at 11:28p.m. and that it's still May 1st.

2 Reviews

A book and a movie...

Book - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows.
Movie - Bedtime Stories

The book is one of my new favorites. I haven't read a book I enjoyed so well in a long time. I loved the characters, loved the story, it was totally PG rated (love that) and I laughed right out loud so many times.

I always love finding a movie that both me and the kids enjoy and we had a fun family night with this one. There also was alot of laughing and I thought it was clean enough for the fam.

Go experience them for yourselves if you haven't already.

So Happy!!!

This is from a tag a long time ago, 8 things about me that make me happy (beyond the obvious).

1. Cinnamon rolls - always a weakness of mine, I just can't get enough.
2. Yummy smelly things - car jars, room sprays, Bath and Body Works, and my new favorite is anything Scentsy. I love their warmers!!! I love coming home to a delicious smelling house.
3. Goose down comforter and feather bed. We have both of these on our bed year round, even in the heat of the Dallas summers, to comfortable to take off. I love my squishy soft bed, it makes me so so happy. I could lay in it all day.
4. Game shows and reality T.V. Growing up I never watched T.V. That was until after I was married and reality T.V. started up. I love watching people in real life (or totally fake:)) Current favorites, American Idol - (Kris Allen) and Biggest Loser, I just can't make it through an episode with crying. The Price is Right, I cry everytime someone comes running down all excited.
5. I enjoy a good cry. Give me a good book or movie and let me just cry. Once Chris called home while I was reading a heart wrenching book and sobbing away, he told me I should probably stop reading it and put it down. Call me crazy but I love a good cry. My most recent was "Marley and Me" and anyone who knows me knows how much I hate dogs and even that book made me cry.
6. BYU - I'm one proud cougar alum.
7. Free food, i.e. company dinners paid for by NSAI, receptions, parties, samples. Is this embarassing to admit to??
8. Returning things - I have a messed up mentality that makes me feel like I make money when I return things. The truth is that I don't buy things with plans to return them but I have bad buyers guilt and often my purchases go back. I also never try clothes on at the stores so clothes are returned all the time. Instead of realizing that I've spent the money and and are just getting refunded for it, I see it as money already spent and that I get some free money.
People I tag - do it it's fun! StreetWalker, Angey, Megan

We've gone country

We've had quite the cowgirl and cowboy fun filled events the past few months. One night Chris came home and decided it was time for him to buy some cowboy boots. I asked him when and where he planned to wear them and he was undecided, just certain he wanted some. Also a few times recently when I've gotten in his car the radio has been left on a country station. My husband's a new man, for sure this never would have happened 11 years ago when I first met him. If only he already had his boots to ring in the fun of two open houses and one wild wild west birthday party.
First Mason's open house - for months he's been reciting the words to Deep in the Heart of Texas. Unfortunately his big night was the exact same night as Rozlyn's open house. It was such drama for me. How could I ever miss either one of these nights. I went with Rozlyn and Chris went with Mason, we only have one digital camera so I took it with me and he took the video. Bad choice because we ended up with no pictures. I was holding Mallory the whole time and just couldn't do it. So here is a cute one of Roz after the event.
Charlotte really really wanted a pool party for her big eighth birthday and I really really didn't want to be responsible for all of her friends in a pool so I had to think of something even better to convince her. My idea: horseback riding, petting zoo, barn, bounce house - a sure sale!

Mason wasn't missing out on any of the fun


Here's most of the group. Charlotte insisted on wearing cowboy boots, even though they really don't fit. After about an hour of running around they came off. I was very disgusted at the idea of no shoes, I would pick blisters anyday over stepping in horse crap. Somehow they stayed off, and it's just now looking at this picture that I'm wondering how I ever let her get away with that. CPS might as well take me away now. I mean really what mom let's one of her own run around barefoot through a barn. I'm so grossed out, I can't talk about it anymore.

Family Pictures

Here are some family pictures we had taken right before Charlotte's baptism. I really wanted to get pictures of her in her dress and some pictures of Mallory for her 6 month birthday too!! Since half the kids would be dressed and pretty I made a poor judgement call to do all the kids. I'm really getting to be more and more of an anti-studio kind of gal but a friend had recommended this place and it was super cheap so we gave it a try. The experience wasn't all that great. It was my first time so I tried not to say to much because I didn't know the system. After taking a million ugly background family group shots, she informs me we're running low on time. I explained my main goal was to get pictures of Charlotte in her dress (which she didn't start out in - their advice) and some of Mallory alone. So then we're rushing, rushing trying to get what we actually needed. I was left with about two pictures to choose of the ones I wanted. Grrrr. If only it worked like a payphone and I could deposit money as needed to extend our session time, but that wasn't the case. We were herded over to the computer station where I got to sift through all the pictures while my four kids ran around unattended. Photo sessions with four kids are best handled at a 2:1 kid to parent ratio.

Two more things to say, does this make any of my photographer friends feel sorry enough for me that they could move here and also I'm supposed to publicly say that Chris didn't endorse the pioneer look on Mallory.

Baptism

We had the unique opportunity to travel to Vegas, a place not usually known for conversion stories, to baptize Charlotte. On Chris's side of the family there were three little girls born all within a month, who now live in three different states which was going to make getting to all these baptisms a logistical nightmare. The solution: baptize them all together in one central location. The other huge advantage was that my parents who are currently serving a mission in California were able to drive up for the day. The whole week went by so fast but was so much fun. We decided to do the drive. Overall it was a success, there were a few disturbing rest stop stories but they're still a little to close to the surface for sharing. We stayed in a rental home so all the kids could get in cousin time and all of the adults could have adult time. The bapitsm was on Saturday followed by a huge luau with a whole roasted pig.
I'm grateful for the circumstances that made it such a memorable day for Charlotte. It was so fun to see her getting ready, running around with excitment, giggling with her cousins as they were getting their jumpers on and standing on the side of the font dripping wet as they watched and waited until all three were done. I'm so proud of Charlotte, I love her so much for so many different reasons.
Her are some pictures from the big week and even bigger day:

Vacation Days

I just realized that I'm out of them. I had a fabulous weekend in Idaho reuniting with friends and family. True it was only three days but still a vacation. (oh and I'm so mad I forgot my camera, I almost blew the cash on a new one just for the weekend) This morning I was ready for another vacation until I realized I'm out of days and that it's not in my mom contract to take a day off. When I was complaining to Chris he told me to negotiate with the kids and see what they say. I'll see how it goes. If only my personal life mirrored the corporate world in that sense, that X amount of days I could just say "hey, I'm taking it off today". That however is the only benefit I can think of so I guess I'll quit complaining and be glad I'm a mom, no vacation days and all. I'm off to clean or cook or something...

The message I send

Whenever the kids are going anywhere I fill their heads with a million ways to act and not act, warnings, you better not's, etc. "Don't go by the pool, don't eat any food or snacks, use your manners, don't be so hyper, don't be annoying (jk), use the bathroom lots of times to make sure you have no accidents", you get the idea. After listing off my list on the phone with Charlotte the other day I realized that all this time I've been sending the wrong messages. Those aren't really the most important words for her to here. Instead I'm making an effort to change my ways, forget the warnings...I'm going to try harder to tell them how great they are & how much I love them. Those are the messages I really want to be sending.

California

Rozlyn and I just got back from a quick and fun vacation to California. We were able to see my parents on their mission and introduce them to little Mallory Jane. I know the hardest part of my parents mission has been not being able to see their grandkids after the births so we made the special trip out to Cali. Mason and Charlotte stayed with Dad and Rozlyn and Mallory came with me. We were both arguing over who would have it easier that weekend, me or him. Funny how much perspective changes over 8 years of parenting, I'm pretty sure at one point of my life I lost sleep over the anxiety preceeding taking two kids on an airplane, by myself. Chris said the same thing, who would have guessed that having two kids in your care for three straight days with no mom could be such a vacation. Anyway....

The airport is such a happy place. I love how it looks like Mallory is trying to smile for the camera.

Mallory meet Grandpa - Grandpa meet Mallory. I was worried about the stranger danger factor but she loved both Grandma and Grandpa so we were happy.

Isn't she so cute

Rozlyn was greeted with a welcome box full of treats, games, activity books that she could use on her trip. Then she got to go to the store pick out any DVD she wanted and spent a few dollars on whatever she wanted. This is a picture of when she was hungry about 9:00 at night, (11:00 her time) and she wanted a Subway sandwhich. Since we have a million of them here I tried to persuade her to other more novel unique ideas (The Del Taco, ha ha) but Subway was her only dream and Grandma and Grandpa wanted to make it come true. We laughed that three adults went in to Subway for one six inch sub for a 5 year old at 9 at night.

Breakfast - "ROZ" pancake special

In front of the mission office

This is the treat I found when I took Mallory out of her carseat at security in the airport. The dilema, do I hold her towards me, getting it all over me, who doesn't have a change of cloths or hold her out for the world to see what I get to go clean up? What would you have done? I held her out, avoided eye contact with everyone and made a dash to the restroom. Rozlyn still informed me that people were laughing at us.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, sharing some sisterly love on the drive home after they were reunited.
Rozlyn wasn't even a monster for the days following the trip. I didn't know what to expect from her after she got whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it on the trip. She was happy and grateful and I'm so glad for the memory we created. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Curse the Dollar Store

About a week ago I had to pick up some little boxes for YW's that my friend saw at the Dollar Store. I really never venture in there because I’m a Super Target one stop kind of shopper these days. I know some day my time will come when I can freely wonder into any store that appeals to me from the window display.
While I’m in the store picking up the needed items I just happened to really like it. I couldn’t believe all the things you could find for a dollar. I walked out with an extra puzzle and some boxes of cute scratch-n-sniff valentines.
Monday, Rozlyn was a really good girl and surprised me by cleaning her whole room including all of Charlotte’s stuff. It was so sweet because she kept coming down and telling me she had a surprise, asking me if I knew what it was and telling me I couldn’t come in her room. As a mom I was ecstatic at what was happening. Not only was she happy and excited about it, but even better, I didn’t ask her to do.
I decide that I need to really reward her for doing something so great, and so I tell her that tomorrow after school I would take her to the Dollar Store where she could pick out any two things she wanted, hopefully sending the message to the other kids that good things happen to those who make mom happy.
Tuesday afternoon I start to get really nervous because of this big freeze that was coming in. When we should have been hunkering down drinking hot chocolate to keep warm I had to brave the elements and take my kids out into the cold so that I could keep my promise.
Before we went in I told myself to be patient because I was sure that Rozlyn would want to look at every single item and that this wasn’t going to be a quick trip. Mason was already being a stinker, throwing a tantrum, refusing to walk and got confined to our extra stroller. Charlotte agreed to push Mason, I was pushing Mallory, Rozlyn was wondering free and we all looked ridiculous. In the store, I found more boxes of cute valentines, we now have at least a few years worth, but it was hard to pick when they were all cute and well, only a 1$. Mason also managed to get a few things within his grasp that he was clinging to in the stroller. The trip took forever, way to long, in the end Rozlyn picked a baton with glitter filled balls on each end a container of bubbles that were grape scented in a grape shaped jug. It was no easy exit with Mason screaming at the top of his lungs as I stripped the toys from his hands, pushing our circus through the doors and running to the warmth of our car.
When we get home, I go to get Mason out of his car seat and find he’s holding a toy. Somehow he smuggled it in his big puffy coat. Grrrr! The girls start freaking out, certain that he’ll be arrested and taken away to jail for stealing. I told Mason that he made a bad choice and that we have to take it back to the store and say sorry. Rozlyn runs inside to play with her bubbles and I break the bad news to her that bubbles are for outside only and it just happens to be freezing cold. She grabs the baton instead. I’m getting Mallory out of her car seat and I hear screaming and crying from inside. I guess Rozlyn ran inside, twirled it around tossed it up in the air and it came crashing down, busting apart and leaving large splattered hot pink stains and glitter all over my carpet in the piano room. Roz is crying, Mason is crying, Mallory is crying and I felt like crying. I think the toy didn’t even last 30 seconds.
Curse the Dollar Store and every good intention I had that involved it. Not even my cute valentines made that trip worth it, and they were really cute.

I love my babes

I had one of those moments last night when it just hit me, like it has before, how lucky I am to be a mamma. It seems like life doesn't slow down often enough for me to appreciate just how great I have it.
I was reading an article in the Ensign on the gift of adoption. The whole article was great but the child's perspective was my favorite. She told of how growing up her mom would often tell her the story of how she came to be their baby, the phone call telling the mom she was born, the dad racing home, seeing the most beautiful baby and knowing that they would love her forever.
While I've never adopted a baby all the memories of each of my own births came back to me. The phone call to Chris, racing to the hospital, seeing the most beautiful baby and knowing then that I'd love them forever. My favorite was always after they were born when they'd taken them away for the bath and they's bring them back to you all clean and swaddled up.
My attitude and perspective has grown and changed with each child. I was so young with Charlotte. I couldn't comprehend the difficulty of situations the future would bring. I definately never imagined her disobeying, being mean or sassy, and if I did I'm sure I dreamt up some awesome parenting I would use to counter her bad behavior. Ha! With Rozlyn I had to figure out how to divide my time and attention. With Mason it was fun and new to have a boy. Lastly Mallory, I've been so emotional with her from the get go. Knowing she could possibly be my caboose I'm so afraid of missing out on any aspect of her being a baby. She by far is my most spoiled not because I love her more but because I've learned how fast this time passes by and how quick I am to forget this stage.
So after my sweet moment last night of realizing how happy I am to be a mom they woke up this morning and were up to their same shinanigans all over again. Grrr!
I have to endure the day with all craziness and business and then they're off to bed again. I'm so grateful for the nightime because aren't kids just impossible not to love when they're sleeping?? I just love to kiss those little warm cheeks and will admit that sometimes I even try to get them to wake up just a little so I can say one last goodnight and I love you. Often I'll go up a few times before I go to bed to do this and even in the middle of the night sometimes. I can't resist. We forget about the day, our hearts are softened and we make it to another day.
Sometimes I feel bad that I got such great kids. Did they really pick me, did they not know how many mistakes I'd make, how short tempered I'd be, how much I'd expect of them?? I really beat myself up about this because I know they deserve the best.
All I know is I'm a lucky mom, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

4 monther in da house

I'm in denial, it's true. I really really am sad that Mallory's time is cruising by so fast. She's interactive, she's playful, she giggles all the time, sit's in a bumbo and rolls over. Where has the time gone?? Where's my newborn?? So here are some pictures from the poor parent who doesn't show her off often enough from the past 4 months.



Here are a few fun things about Mallory:
She sleeps in her carseat
She sleeps all night - yea!!
She's very ticklish and quite the giggler
She's a daddy's girl until 8:00p.m. and then switches to a mamma's girl
She loves to bathe
She loves to be outside
She loves when Mason is at school and gets alone time with mom
She sucks her fingers ( I know naughty but secretly I love it, I mean they do look pretty irresistable and it just looks so natural and sweet)
She also takes a binkie
She won't take a bottle
She's afraid of the dark - this is totally true, she will cry and cry in the car at night unless I turn on the interior switch which, so yes I drive around very embarassed with everyone getting a clear shot into our car (the sacrifices mom's make for their babies)
She is so completely loved and adored by all

If my house were a blog

I love the cutest blog on the block website. My sister in law first told me about it and I love it!! Who doesn't want a cute blog?? I may not ever post, but in just a few seconds I can transform my look to something completely new. When I first was playing with it back in the fall I was so excited thinking about the future holidayish possibilities. I couldn't wait for Christmas, birthdays, election day, etc... Now I know that I just changed it from the Christmas background on Jan. 22 but it was only to keep consistent with the rest of my holiday decor that actually still isn't put away.
Since discovering this, it's also made me wish that I had the same powers in my home. I dream of a button I could push to change the paint colors, re-arrange the furniture and put up holiday decor. A place where I could pick out a style from a million template choices. Maybe someday, maybe somehow, if only, if only..