bday

I love my birthday. And lucky for me it's today! Since I have exhausted my 100 things about me lists, this year I am going to cut my age in half, and examine how my life is the same and how it is different from 16 and a half years ago. In case you are not great at math, that means I am 33 today! Whenever I think about being 16  I am reminded of the John "Cougar" Mellencamp (whom I have always been a big fan of, even when he dropped the Cougar), Jack & Diane song lyrics, "Hold onto 16 as long as you can, changes come around real soon make us women and men." Ain't that the truth. For me 16 was all about having fun and hanging out with my friends. Things started changing during my 17th year, so 16 is a pretty good one for me to look back on.

This is how I looked then:

And this is me today:

Then: I enjoyed wearing bright pink lipstick:

Now: Still do:

Then: I drove this car:

Now: Still do

Then: I had a flat stomach:

Now: I don't:

Then: I had awesome friends whom I pretty much spent every waking moment with:

Now: I have an awesome family that I spend every waking moment with (and I still have awesome friends too):

Then: My boyfriends name was Eric:

Now: My husbands name is Eric:

Then: I loved a cut-off short. Especially in the winter with tights underneath and Mary Janes:

Now: I still really love a cut-off:

Then: I traveled to Spain:

Now: I am trying hard (but not so hard that I am actually accomplishing anything) to become fluent in Spanish:

 

Also,

Then: I was boy crazy.
Now: Still Am
Then: I had a lot of freedom.
Now: Still Do
Then: Had pink hair.
Now: Wish I had pink hair.
Then: The only thing that got me out of bed at 7am on a Saturday was waiting in line at Smith's for concert tickets to go on sale at 9 am.
Now: The only thing to get me out of bed at 7 am on a Saturday is my kids begging me for breakfast.

Then: I was carefree:

Now: Not so much:

For me my teens, were tumultuous. Some good years, some bad. My 20's were pretty much great.  But my 30's have been introspective. I have lost aspects of me that I really loved. I think I knew myself better in my 20's. I think I was more fearless. I think I was more outspoken. I miss those things. But my 30's have made me a better mom. I am kinder. I am less judgemental. I am smarter. I am more patient. I am looking forward to my 33rd year.

Preserve and Perseverance

I haven't been doing a stellar job at documenting our life on my blog. I feel like I should do more day to day documenting, but life has gotten in the way. Anyway, Eric finally made it back into town after an extended 12 day absence which involved 2 (yes that is correct, 2 broken transmissions), problems with the job he was doing in Texas, along with a number of other comedy of errors that involved tow trucks breaking down, and parts missing. But the good news for me and the kids is that he is finally back!

So this past Saturday Eric didn't work, so we finally had a whole day together. The kids started off the morning at the practice for the Primary Program, and Eric started off the day doing tasks around the house that were neglected in his absence. Incidentally by the end of the day (including grocery shopping and running numerous errands), Eric remarked that he was more tired than if he had worked. But we did manage to have some fun. That afternoon we ventured out (with thousands of other people) to take advantage of FREE day at The Springs Preserve.

Now Saturday was HOT, and when we arrived at the Preserve to see the parking lot full, and coming to the realization we would have to park quite far away and trek in, the activity seemed doomed. But we persevered and it was actually not too bad. Quite crowded when we first arrived, but once we made our way into the attractions it was rather pleasant.

Sade's throwing water at us.

Eric, Sadie and Jackson talking with the old timers.

Making paper lanterns.

By the time we left it wasn't crowded at all, but it was still HOT! I'm ready for a cool down.

Chicken Nugget

Um......Small problem. I admit that I have spent a good portion of Sade's life calling her my little chicken nugget. And now she believes it is part of her name. Truly. If you ask her her name she will tell you it is:

Sadie Lane Chicken Nugget McClellan

A Different Experience

Riding in the Volkswagen is quite the experience. Especially for my children who are used to riding in luxury. And by that I mean a car that has shocks, power steering, a radio, heat, a back window. What, a back window? Yes indeed. Just yesterday while driving, my back window fell out and landed right on the street. Incidentally a few days before it fell out Jackson had noticed it didn't look too secure and gave me a bit of advice, which I didn't take. So after it fell out Jackson told me quite emphatically, "I told you to use duct tape!" Anyway, riding in the Volkswagen will take a little bit of getting used to. Here are a few things I have heard coming from the backseat.

Jackson to Megan: "I don't want to roll down my window, it will mess up my hair." (Mind you the top was down at the time)

Jackson: "This feels just like we are riding in a go-cart."

Sadie: "The wind is tickling my whole body."

Sadie to me when it was hot out:  "Mom it's too hot, turn on the air." (She doesn't quite understand air-conditioning is a thing of the past. You know, another luxury item.)

Getting Sadie into her car seat is a bit more difficult now. As I was getting her in the other day, she said, "Ow Mom! You hurt my boobs!"

12 X 12 - September 2010

My cold/cough seemed to reach its pinnacle on Sunday, so getting out of bed was a chore. I finally dragged myself out at 8, after my kids had come in about 15 times asking me to make them breakfast.

After breakfast Miss Sade asked me to pick her up. In this picture she is telling me my hair has lots of snarles in it.

I soon decided to go back to bed to read. Sade's joined me, but soon lost interest and went to watch iCarly (their absolute favorite show) with Megan and Jackson.

A while later I had my own breakfast of champions (peanut butter and jelly with Dr. Pepper).

While doing some cleaning I spotted my reflection in this mirror. For the record I am wearing these uber-attractive white long socks for a reason. My hands and feet are going through a severe drying out period, so multiple times a day I am rubbing aloe-vera lotion into them and then covering them with socks to aid in the healing process.

Quesadillas for lunch!

Instead of going to Stake Conference (due to my sickness, and also Eric being out of town, and also it being during Sadie's nap time), the kids and I had a pool party.

While lounging in the pool the sprinklers came on, which just added to the fun.

The thought of cooking a meal, and then subsequently cleaning it up proved too much for me, so Sade and I went and picked up Panda Express for dinner. Try not to judge.

After dinner it was time for the kids to take their showers and get ready for school on Monday.

After showering they did quite a bit of playing which involved quite a bit of wrestling and quite a bit of SCREAMING! At this point I was ready for them to go to bed.

Before bed I ran outside to pull the car into the garage and found that Sadie had followed me out in her underwear, and footwear that consisted of oven mitts.

Megan reading before bed.

It was a pretty good day, but would have been much better with Eric here.

Old Mormon Fort

We have never been to the Old Mormon Fort, so on Saturday the kids and I decided to check it out. It's an adobe fort, built by Mormon missionaries in 1855, along a Las Vegas Creek. There is a pretty nice visitors center on the property, along with a remnant of the actual fort, and a few re-creations. If you want to go, kids under 12 are free, and adults are only $1!

Megan shooting a pretend gun out of a lookout. We learned all about these lookouts when we visited Cove Fort last month.

The have a cabin on the property filled with old machines and furniture.

We also checked out the creek. This is a re-creation of the actual creek, but apparently at one time this whole area was a grassy, tree covered resort, fed by a significant water source.

Cheery News!

FYI: Since tone is often hard to decipher in written form (i.e. - text msg, e-mail, etc.) this post has a decidedly sarcastic one.

1st Piece Of Cheery News: Although the Volkswagen is now running, it has failed the Nevada Smog Check twice! Apparently it is idling too high, but no one knows why, and can only tell me it will have to be diagnosed, but can give me no indication of how much it will cost. LOVELY! However the DMV was nice enough to give me a 30-day registration pass, so if you see me driving it, rest assured I am not breaking the law.

2nd Piece Of Cheery News: Eric is out of town for at least a week.

3rd Piece Of Cheery News: Eric is supposed to be in El Paso, TX right now, but he is stranded in AZ, because...Wait For It......His transmission went out! Oh yes, quite possibly the worst and most expensive thing (other than your engine blowing) that can happen to you car. And how do I know that it is so expensive to fix? Because this is the second transmission that we have had to replace. The last one was in Eric's old truck, which also happened to be a Ford. Ford Acronyms:  FORD: Found On Road Dead, and FORD: Fix Or Repair Daily.

4th Piece Of Cheery News: I"M SICK! Although I am not in the mood to look at the bright side of things today, I will admit that I am not deathbed sick, but rather medium range cold and cough sick. So if you call me and it sounds like I have been crying, it is a good possibility that it is the cold, but just as good of a possibility that something else terrible has happened and it is actual tears.

Remember: Things Are Never So Bad, That They Can't Get Worse