grandma visits for a halloween spell

quick october thoughts:

 thomas made my whole year by going along with my couples halloween costume this year. he was still a little begrudging, but he did help me adjust my sunglasses placement so that they were a little more axl. 

dress like a book character day. scarlett resurrected the ol' hermione costume and reagan insisted on checking out a non-fiction snake book from the library to accompany his snake costume to school. snake costumes might be the hardest costume in the universe to make. 

 grandma sandy came for halloween! we ate cupcakes at special kneads bakery and wore our royals shirts all around town!

we never had a chance to hit up a real pumpkin patch so i took pictures at the local kroger. this picture is worth a 1,000 words.

i think i really outdid myself this year trying to accommodate personal carving requests. scarlett wanted a vampire, athena blythe wanted a puppy dog, and reagan wanted "mary from wall-e". i didn't know who mary was at the time, so i just winged it and gave the pumpkin long eyelashes.

though i pleased everyone on pumpkins, we had a couple of last minute costume changes. i'm trying to be the kind of mom that i would like to have so i'm trying to say yes to the occasional unreasonable requests. 

her school costume:

her actual halloween costume, some sort of marked down vampire witch, which she was quite pleased about:

she was the most darling trick or treater. she even held my hand which she normally refuses to do.

scarlett also had a last minute costume change. i had spent a million hours creating a homemade black widow costume and she wore it to the church trunk or treat and her drama class halloween party and by actual halloween night, it had given up the ghost. i don't even have a picture of it. so we pulled this together from the steven tyler section of my closet. my steven tyler section is rather large.

reagan added the additional snake to more of a fright factor. wooo. 

other autumnal news, i've been wanting to change up my hairstyle for a while. part of me wants to cut off a majority of the length for more of a lion's mane looks, but i hate being hasty so i'm easing into a new look with chopping off 4 inches and a lot of new color for funsies. this was my inspiration:

it had been so long(9 years) since my last hair lightening that i had to go to two different appointments. this picture was the midpoint between appointments, with a some of the color lifted but brassy and not quite toned down and none of the length cut yet. definitely a lion's mane.  

before, looking like a wannabe angelina jolie, and after, looking amazing. i wish i was good at doing sleek hair myself because it will never look this polished again. 

assorted herschel is darling and 9 months old pictures!

and finally, reagan's latest crush, mary from wall-e. the most obscure disney character to be crushing on. and she had now take over as the napkin picture choice du jour. 

my first attempt:

and the evolution of mary with a slice of pizza. 

the post in which i may be entirely too honest

or the post that is mostly a bunch of my instagram pictures so that i have a personal record of the past month. 

let's chat. this month has been incredibly tiring. 

things i want to complain about:

thomas' ridiculously long work hours. he's got one of the biggest projects of his life going on right now and he gets home each night between 12-4am and then gets up early each morning to do it again the next day. it's been hard on all of us but especially hard on him, naturally. we miss him! we like him! i try and wait up for him but i usually just fall asleep watching jeopardy reruns or blue bloods. but before the end of this month he should be done with this major project and getting back to his normal really long days, getting home between 9-11 each day. 

things that are great:

 thomas' dedication to supporting his family.

he makes incredible effort to play games with the kids on sundays and early saturday before he heads back to work. he doesn't ever complain. i complain in my head. 

we leave each other notes on the bathroom mirrors on the days that we don't see each other and it really does make all the difference. 

things to complain about:

dragging all 4 kids to every activity under the sun by myself. the cub scout visit to the fire station was truly disastrous and i wanted to never go in public ever again. plus, it was really humid and i couldn't keep my pants from sliding down every 5 seconds. that's just plain embarrassing.

things that are great:

scout leaders who truly try and include reagan in all the activities and also give him the space he needs when things become too much. ir, when he doesn't wear his scout shirt which is always. 

 things i want to complain about:

reagan sticking a small lego up his nose and us having to spend the morning between two doctors trying to extract it. $400 later, it was out!

things that are great:

after much struggling and fear and weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and me having to hold reagan down in a figure 4 leglock and the doctor using a tiny vacuum to try and suck it out, we had one last chance to get the lego out of this nose before they were going to schedule anesthesia for the next day. the doctor and nurse left us alone for a few minutes for us to talk it out. i was talking bribes and reagan suggested that we pray to get it out. i was completely humbled by him. reagan said and short little prayer asking for the lego to be removed to his nose. the doctor came back in and reagan said he didn't need me to hold him anymore and he sat in the chair by himself while the doctor popped that lego right out. prayer is real. the Lord hears and loves this boy.

 things to complain about: blythe started preschool. i mostly just miss her and that's the only thing to complain about.

things that are great: blythe started preschool. she absolutely loves it. she finally has something to keep up with her busyness. and i go grocery shopping without her. nothing better than that.

things to complain about:

paperwork and projects. scarlett wanted to do the reflections photography contest. so i got to do the reflections photography paperwork for her and i stayed up waaaay late to fill it out and i realized that i printed off LAST YEARS application, like a dummy. i had her turn it in anyway because the deadline had come and i've been really nice to dumb people lately so karma is going to help me out on this one.

things that are great:

i have an 8x10 of this cow picture representing "soaring dreams" or "reaching for the dreams of the stars" or "inspiring dreams of tomorrow" or whatever pseudo inspirational phrase we were supposed to be inspired by. can't wait to frame it.

things that are great:

scarlett's soccer team. they are the cheetas. which is really fun to shout during a game because it sounds like, "GOOOO CHEATERS!" look at that boy checking her out, he has excellent taste.

things that are great:

i've started a new weightlifting routine and i feel like i'm finally able to walk and run with minimal pain. plus, every time i run in alabama gear on friday or saturday, alabama wins. the one time i didn't, sneaky, scum of the earth ole miss beat alabama. so, i need to look into a couple of BYU shirts for running so i can help them out too.

 things that are great:

father son matchy matchy sunday outfits. also, please note the lady in the background of this picture is my friend sarah and blythe sits with her family each sunday and is perfectly behaved and then she comes back to us and wreaks havoc.

great:

lunch with my college friend amondah! she lives 20 minutes up the road and i keep running into her at target but we had yet to officially hang out after 1 year of living here! GO COUGARS!

THE GREATEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED:

my beastie, bratalie, came to atlanta for a nanosecond for her daughter's baptism and i was able to enjoy her briefly. and then it rained to 2 weeks nonstop in response to our worlds colliding. the universe cannot handle us.

things to complain about: 

this beautiful house belongs to someone else and our realtor was no good.

things that are great:

this house belongs to someone else and thomas is smart enough to handle a real estate closing when your agent isn't really on your side. the best gift thomas has given me is seeing him working through several very difficult situations and going above and beyond the call of duty. his capability is better than flowers or presents or exotic trips.

the updated kitchen:

(safety first)

one of the 4,415 new lighting fixtures we installed. 

four stinky kids sitting on brand new carpet next to the newly spackled and freshly painted wall that had a big hole in it from our renters. they will be on my list of people to punch in the face for a while.

FYI. this is my current uniform. stretchy h&m skirt and blousy h&m top. i have it in 3 versions. if i must be dressed, i will wearing this.

and that was september!

a hairy situation

it's no secret that athena blythe is a bit of a delightful monster, with the hair to match.

but her most recent antics take the cake. 

two saturdays ago, we were having a typical saturday night. i was tending to herschel and thomas was working in the living room. athena blythe had wandered off and was playing quietly in parts unknown. then she came downstairs and proudly made her whereabouts known! "i get haircut!" we chuckled because she is adorable and loves attention from service professionals such as doctors, nurses and hairstylists yet hates having her hair brushed and will not wear a bow or a clip. then she turned her head and we saw what she was talking about. i was equal parts laughing and crying. 

(if you have not experienced dickie bennett on "justified" you are missing out!)

she took me to the scene of the crime and reenacted the follicle assault, in the nude, naturally. 

(my hair clipper set was on the top shelf in my closet behind towels. she was on a mission.)

i tried to convince myself that it was okay and that we could hide it, but seeing that her hair has the same consistency as cotton candy and cat fur, it was time to face the shears. 

we are lucky enough to have found a stylist that comes to your house, which is perfect. i can't handle all my children in public places, especially public places that wield scissors, and i freely admit that. 

the finished product:

my biggest fear with athena blythe having short hair is having her be mistaken for a boy. then it happened only a few days after her cut. we were at target in the little kids section and another little kid stood up in his cart and pointed at athena blythe and shouted, "HEY, what is that? is that a girl or a boy."

his mom responded with, "that's a girl!" but then the little boy insisted that, "NO, that's a boy!"

i try not to be too sensitive to dumb things that kids say to other people. after all, i am captain oblivious reagan's mother. but that made me sad and so my initial reaction was to rush her over the the hairbows and headbands section and see if she wanted one. athena blythe hates all hair accessories and of course adamantly refused my efforts to girlify her. i'm so embarassed to admit that i did that now. athena blythe is balls to the walls confident and proud of herself all the time. she thinks she's pretty awesome and you would be very hard pressed to tell her otherwise. this is what we want from our children and here i am undoing that because some dumb kid has a narrow view of what a beautiful girl can look like. athena blythe didn't care two bits about what that boy said. she was too busy licking this brick of cream cheese and that boy was beneath her notice.

moral of the story: be like athena blythe. balls to the walls all the time. she goes up to people all the time now talking about her haircut and how much she likes it. and it does look amazing, thank you very much.

back to school jiggity, jig!

back to school lesson plans because i am now so old and wise:

 i like uniforms and i like plans. i own a million clothes but i wear the black, white and gray ones the most. cooking is a necessity that i don't dislike but i also don't enjoy enough. it's becomes akin to chinese torture if have to think about a new and creative meal every single night of the week. the same goes for trying to accomplish daily cleaning tasks. i just have a mental deficiency that doesn't allow me to stay on top of these things! it simply isn't my fault! scatterbrained awareness unite! i decided that in order to take the wailing and tears out of many tasks and because the school year is so hectic, i am implementing a week night themed meal plan, daily chore chart and weekly chore chart:

MEALS

 souper monday

taco tuesday(naturally)

wrap/sammich wednesday

crackpot crockpot thursday

pizza friday

enchilada saturday

roast beast sunday

i don't care if we get sick of the same stuff, it's infinitely better than eating fast food garbage or copious amounts of corndogs all the time because i couldn't get my act together. plus, nearly identical shopping lists each week with a few changes here and there depending on type of soup, sammich, enchilada whatnot i feel like. plusplus, i can easily make a pound of garlic roasted vegetables in 20 minutes to accompany any meal. 

CHORES

i'm not in love with the idea of paying children for chores because after childbearing and childbirth and countless diaper changes, i feel like they kinda owe me forever but i'm also not stupid and i realize incentives work. daily chores completed will earn them $2 a week and additional money jobs will earn them 25 cents a pop. i am predicting that the weekly average earned will be less than $3 earned. 

SCHOOL DAZE!

last night before thomas headed out of town, he gave the two big kids and myself a priesthood blessing. i think this is going to be a great year for us. even though i got suckered into being the room mom for scarlett's class because no one else signed up to help AT ALL. i also wanted to be the parent to avoid all class participation responsibility!

the kids were excited for today and nerves appeared to be at a minimum. i was the most excited because my school drop off will only take me 10 minutes instead of an hour!

scarlett styled her own outfit and requested a special high double twisty bun hairstyle for the first day. 

she specially requested a star wars messenger bag that i scoured amazon for and when it finally arrived, it was a messenger BACKPACK. who advertises a messenger bag and it's really a backpack! i was a mom on the edge! poor thing kept trying to wear it one shouldered. i may have to get creative with duct tape and an old seat belt and see what i can construct.

after i dropped off the kids i joined a new gym, worked out, ran a million errands with only two children and then collapsed in my bed for a 20 minute nap after i picked up the big kids. fun times when you are 35. 

big summer blowout!

i suffer from delusions of grandeur. sometimes when i fall asleep at night i think, this is the week that it ALL is going to happen! crafts! blogging! homemade volcanoes and slime! sewing projects because i can't stop attempting to sew even though i hate it! and now it is the night before school starts and instead of doing a summer check in, i'm doing a summer recap. 

herschel is now 6 months old and DARLING. he's sweet as sugar and has such a patient disposition. eats 4-5 times a day and still sleeps 12 hours a night. 

this is our neighbor's princess towel and whenever our neighbor is at the pool too, she is wearing it and eating our snacks. i figure, their kids occasionally annoy me so if she's annoying them, we're even.

more nudity. athena blythe hasn't slept in a crib in almost 9 months. she is going through a really animated, "i'm a puppy dog phase!" that requires a lot of tail wagging and public floor crawling. this puppy also likes to be  in a cage or read about animals in cages. i found "corduroy gets a pet" at the liberry and it's a lift the flap book chock full of animals in cages. i should go ahead and order it from amazon. it's a daily read. 

this 0-3 month outfit finally fits. 

athena blythe has always loved herschel and never suffered from any fits of jealousy but she could NOT stand it that this teddy bear outfit didn't fit her. 

more self-sufficiency:

out with the old and in with the new! we finally replaced our old couches that we've had for many moons that were not designed for children or for sitting on. they are covered in mystery stains, snags and rips so they're perfectly broken in but also a little embarrassing. it's hard to invite people over and ask them to sit down and their seat has a spot on it that looks quite questionable. it could easily be as simple as a water mark, but i'm sure no one ever thinks that when they see them. we pushed the couches together and they have become kid's imagination heaven. they are usually a pirate ship, but they have also been a reading lounging zone, a dog cage, a camp site and a snoring spouse middle of the night refuge(I HAVE ALLERGIES!). i told the kids we could keep them through the summer and that's it because they are located near the front door. it makes our house look like hoarders live here, so their time is coming to a close.

the student becomes the master! athena blythe finally stopped fighting me and throwing her training potty overhead across the room and decided to finally go with the flow. 

i feel i have done at least some parts of summer correctly if we had a few incidences of "summer feet".

and marker faces. i convinced them into thinking this was almost like face painting. i always wanted a star around my eye like the misfits on jem and the holograms(a show that my mom wouldn't let me watch so i naturally tried to watch it without her knowing). 

thomas had his 39th barfday and he surprised us by dropping by the pool in work clothes on his way to a client meeting. being a lawyer is so fun. 

notice the EXACT same rounded cube head shape: 

i have a thing for blocky heads and dominant eyebrows:

my favorite calling

since november of last year and for about a year while we still lived in simpsonville, my calling(or assigned responsibility) at church has been as the 4th sunday teaching for our times teacher. it's been one of my favorite callings ever. if i'm being honest, i'm a bit selfish because it allows me to attend relief society and sunday school and i can volunteer to fill in in primary but i also don't have to worry about most non-sabbath calling requirements besides preparing a lesson each month. the other reason it's my favorite is because i get to really ponder and learn. thinking deeply about spiritual things is a welcome respite from my regularly scheduled program.

The overarching lesson that i have learned is that EACH and EVERY lesson has had some sort of mention about our need to sustain our leaders and  follow the prophet and not have a a limited view of the Gospel. Once we start to think that Church leadership should be infallible, we start to become more critical of them and we start to have a spiritual downfall. the more i have studied the messages of the prophets, the more i have learned that there are many flaws in each of them but that they were always trying their best to please God. i know that there is a place for me in the gospel because i continually and without fail make mistakes but that the Lord still wants me here. His church is truly a place for imperfect people who are striving to do more. 

a short list of favorite talks i've prepared lessons from and a few fantastic quotes:

 "Lord, is it I?" by Dieter F. Utchdorf

(the lesson that has helped me the most) 

"I wonder what each of us would do if we were asked that question by the Savior. Would we look at those around us and say in our hearts, “He’s probably talking about Brother Johnson. I’ve always wondered about him,” or “I’m glad Brother Brown is here. He really needs to hear this message”? Or would we, like those disciples of old, look inward and ask that penetrating question: “Is it I?”

In these simple words, “Lord, is it I?” lies the beginning of wisdom and the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change.”

 "Come Join With Us" by president dieter f. utchdorf

“As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and as one who has seen firsthand the councils and workings of this Church, I bear solemn witness that no decision of significance affecting this Church or its members is ever made without earnestly seeking the inspiration, guidance, and approbation of our Eternal Father. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. God will not allow His Church to drift from its appointed course or fail to fulfill its divine destiny.”

Joseph Smith by elder neil andersen

i found this first quote from a friend on facebook and it really inspired me to immerse myself in study of the life of Joseph Smith. i started to read, Rough Stone Rolling, by richard lyman bushman, which i am still wading through, and i even got out my violin and practiced and learned a new arrangement of the song, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" which i performed in relief society before my lesson. it was actually fun. being a stay at home mom, while infinitely important, sometimes results in my brain feeling less than elastic. reading something that required thought and working on music was a nice mental exercise

"I am suggesting that we can be simultaneously more confident, candid, and studious in our approach to Church history and more faithful, hopeful, and charitable, too. A study of Church history will help us avoid the myth of prophetic infallibility on the one hand and, on the other, help us view past leaders more charitably. Similarly, a careful study of Church history will keep us from portraying this or that question as “settled” when there is not apostolic unity on the particular topic, but we’ll also be better able to see what (or more properly, Who) stands at the center of our faith, this restored Church. And, significantly, we’ll find it difficult to seriously study Church history without a deepened sense of humility"- spencer fluhman

“Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission and character of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This is true for every generation. Spiritual questions deserve spiritual answers from God.” -Elder Andersen

Loving others and living with differences by Dallin H. Oaks

“We are to live in the world but not be of the world. We must live in the world because, as Jesus taught in a parable, His kingdom is “like leaven,” whose function is to raise the whole mass by its influence (see Luke 13:21;Matthew 13:33; see also 1 Corinthians 5:6–8). His followers cannot do that if they associate only with those who share their beliefs and practices. But the Savior also taught that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.” (see John 14:15).

Marriage: Watch and Learn by L. Whitney Clayton

(probably my 2nd favorite lesson, worth multiple reads and rereads no matter if you're married or not)

 "Successful eternal marriages are built on the foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and adherence to His teachings. I have observed that couples who have made their marriages priceless practice the patterns of faith: they attend sacrament and other meetings every week, hold family home evening, pray and study the scriptures together and as individuals, and pay an honest tithing. Their mutual quest is to be obedient and good. They do not consider the commandments to be a buffet from which they can pick and choose only the most appealing offerings."

"Repentance. I have learned that happy marriages rely on the gift of repentance. It is an essential element in every good marital relationship. Spouses who regularly conduct honest self-examination and promptly take needed steps to repent and improve experience a healing balm in their marriages. Repentance helps restore and maintain harmony and peace."

           (heidi thoughts- Self-examination- does this involve any form of accusation? I’ve said some things that I’ve felt needed to be addressed, but I can say whole heartedly, that without spiritual reflection and honesty and kindness, I’m just nagging or picking fights.)

Stay in the boat and Hold On! by M. Russell Ballard

“President Brigham Young commonly employed “the Old Ship Zion” as a metaphor for The Church of Jesus Christof Latter-day Saints.

He said on one occasion: “We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. ‘I am not going to stay here,’ says one; ‘I don’t believe this is the “Ship Zion.”’ ‘But we are in the midst of the ocean.’ ‘I don’t care, I am not going to stay here.’ Off goes the coat, and he jumps overboard. Will he not be drowned? Yes. So with those who leave this Church. It is the ‘Old Ship Zion,’ let us stay in it. On another occasion, President Young said that he also worried about people losing their way when they were being blessed—when life was good: “It is in calm weather, when the old ship of Zion is sailing with a gentle breeze, [and] when all is quiet on deck, that some of the brethren want to go out in the whaling boats to have … a swim, and some get drowned, others drifted away, and others again get back to the ship. Let us stick to the old ship and she will carry us [safely] into the harbor; you need not be concerned.”

The Parable of the Sower by Dallin H. Oaks

“Another potential destroyer of spiritual roots—accelerated by current technology but not unique to it—is the keyhole view of the gospel or the Church. This limited view focuses on a particular doctrine or practice or perceived deficiency in a leader and ignores the grand panorama of the gospel plan and the personal and communal fruits of its harvest. President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a vivid description of one aspect of this keyhole view. He told a BYU audience about political commentators “aflame with indignation” at a then-recent news event. “With studied art they poured out the sour vinegar of invective and anger. … Surely,” he concluded, “this is the age and place of the gifted pickle sucker.”1 In contrast, to be securely rooted in the gospel, we must be moderate and measured in criticism and seek always for the broader view of the majestic work of God.”