Road Trip!

Remember when we were younger (college age, I guess) and the highlight of the semester was a road trip? Everyone would jump in the car and we'd go somewhere unexotic, but have the time of our lives. Mostly, it was just fun to get in the car. Whether we traveled 2 hours or 20 hours, road trips were a blast.

I am about to go on a road trip. Sort of. Ches is going to be a counselor at music camp for a week, and I refuse to stay home by myself, so I'm off to San Diego! Wo-hoo! I'm excited to see both my aunt and my sister and do all sorts of fun things there, but I'm not excited about the driving.

I get to drive with both of my kids. No husband. No DVD player. No bottles for the baby. This will be interesting. I am planning on buying some supplies to make it easier and stocking the car with snacks, drinks, toys, books, crayons, and kid CDs (hello, Wiggles). I'm pretty nervous, though. My friend Laural says that whenever they drive from Utah to Chicago they stop at every single McDonald's with a playground. I'm thinking that's a good plan. I'm going to make good use of any (every??) rest stop and any parks. Aiden will want to run, I know, and Dallin will want to eat. I wish I could just give them sleeping pills and drive the whole day! (Kidding!!!... Mostly)

Any suggestions? I think I need serious mental help.

The Morning Report

I suddenly feel like Zazu in "The Lion King" and I am about to give my morning report. A song is repeating itself over and over in my head now: "This is the morning report/ The long and the short." Anywho...

Last night Ches rented a movie for us to watch. We got the kids in bed a decent time, I put on my pajamas and made some big bowls of ice cream with brownies, chocolate syrup, and chocolate chips (only wish we also had whip cream to go on top), then we sprawled out on the couch and watched "National Treasure". That was a fun movie. I know some people expected more of an Indiana Jones feel to it, but I really liked it. I'm a sucker for American history, and it was fun to see all these historical things (even with all the fiction thrown in there). Big bonus: I don't remember any foul language, and there was no unnecessary sex scenes or innuendos! Yes, there was some violence, but no big bloody battles. Anyrate, we really enjoyed the movie.

It almost felt like we were newlyweds again. We used to go to movies or rent movies all the time. At home we would sit together on the couch, holding hands or cuddling or whatever, share a dessert, and just enjoy each other's company. Through the last seven years we have slowly gotten out of some of those habits. And when you have kids, you are often cuddling with them (rather than your spouse) on the couch. It was fun to have just the two of us, for a few hours anyways.

Aiden woke up at midnight (we had been in bed maybe 15 or 20 minutes) and wanted to sleep with us. We got him back in his bed and asleep, and we were both exhausted! He woke up again half an hour later, and we went through it all again. I think he ended up sleeping with us most of the night. I honestly don't remember how it all went, now. I just knew it was going to be "one of those nights".

Today is park day. If I can ever get Aiden to eat some breakfast, we will head out of here. Aiden is such a social kid. All I have to do is say "Annacy will be at the park" and he eats a good breakfast, sits on the potty, gets dressed, and is ready to go with no whining. He wants to play with his friends all day, every day. I don't really mind. When we have his friends over (or go to their house), not only does Aiden get social interaction, but I do, too. I get to talk to the mommies and I crave that. It's great.

We all need those times to feel like we used to. Between our "date" last night and park day today, I feel like a young, energetic college student again, even though I'm not. Does that even make any sense? I don't know. All I know is that today is starting out really good.

Paper Towel Cheese

We bought some new paper towels the other day. You know how they always seem to have some pretty design or something to make you feel like you can coordinate everything in your kitchen? Not that it works or anything. Anyrate...

Our new paper towels are covered in cheese. Not literally. They have cheesy sayings on them. I guess it is supposed to give me inspiration while I'm cleaning up spilled grape juice. Here are the paper towel quotes:

"Reach for the stars"
"Live Love Laugh"
"Follow your heart and your dreams will come true"
"Live life to its fullest"

So I am wondering what quotes you would put on your paper towels. Obviously, they must be a little cheesy, but must be inspiring in some way. I'll get yous started with a quote a friend gave a million years ago in high school.

"Choose your socks by their color and your friends by their character. Choosing you socks by their charactermakes no sense, and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable."

Smokers Are Litterers, Too!

There are a few things in this world that really, really bug me. People who don't use their turn signals. The people who can't walk the extra two feet to return the shopping cart so they leave it in the middle of a perfectly good parking space. The older, "experienced" women who have to ask me how I'm feeling at the end of a pregnancy, then reply to my "I'm not so great right now" answer with "Just you wait!" And smokers.

Smoking in general just plain bugs me. If you are a smoker, I'm sorry, but it is a gross and disgusting habit. I used to date a smoker, and it honestly was like licking the bottom of an ash tray every time I kissed him. I don't know why I put up with it. Smokers smell horrible, and I won't even go into the health risks. We all know them.

The thing about smokers that really bugs me, though, it that smokers are litterers. If you are in a park, quite often you will see "No littering" signs posted everywhere. They even have posted on the sign how much the fine is if you are littering. The sides of roads and highways are the same. I like that in Canada you can drive along the highway and every so often there are trash bins to keep people from littering from their cars. Canada is very clean. But I am getting off-track and out of the country.

When a smoker is done polluting the air around him/her and destroying their lungs, they then throw the butt on the ground and stamp it out. Fine. Then they walk away.

Not so fine.

Those horrible little butts are everywhere! On sidewalks, in the park, outside mall entrances, etc. When you are in the park, you do not want your child picking up someone's cigarette butt and bringing it to you! That is just plain gross!

Why is it that I could possibly get fined if a paper napkin fell out of my stroller and blew away, but smokers can leave traces of their disgusting habit all over the place?

I hate driving behind a smoker because the smoke will filter into my car. That's bad enough. How many times have I been driving along and the driver in the car just a little ahead of me will flick their cigarette butt out the window and it hits my car? Why are they allowed to throw them out of the car in the first place?

I don't care about smokers' rights. I don't believe that if you are going to engage in some activity that you should force everyone around you to engage in it also. When you smoke, you are forcing me to have to smell it, breathe it in, and deal with your litter.

Do everyone (and most importantly, yourself!) a favor and QUIT smoking. Do whatever you have to do, but just plain quit! And if you aren't going to, could you at least not smoke around me and defintely not throw your butts around??

I Don't Hate Mondays

It is still hot. I can't believe it. But that is not what I want to write about today. Actually, I don't really know what I want to write about because it is still so hot that my brain is literally fried. I can't think of even simple words while talking to Ches.

Today was Ches' day off. I love that he has Mondays off because most people don't, so when we want to go somewhere and do something extra fun, it's not crowded. The rest of the world is working. We get to play. I hate that he doesn't have Saturdays off, however, because most events happen on the weekends. And it is really difficult to find time to go camping. I would like to head out some Friday after noon and return Saturday night so we can still make it to church on Sunday, but that just can't happen. We are pretty good about not doing extra-curricular things on Sundays (one of the few things we are diligent about), so we just don't feel right about going on Sunday night. Maybe we're crazy, I don't know.

Anyrate, Mondays are pretty fun because we get to hang out as a family. Today we went shopping for things we need and looked at things we want. We have picked out a double stroller, now we have to decide if we can really spend that much money. I hope we decide to get it, and I hope we decide soon because it's hard lugging an 2-year-old and a 2-month-old everywhere by myself most days.

Dallin is laughing at everyone and everything now. He looks at strangers, bats his long eyelashes, then giggles and smiles the biggest, widest smile I've ever seen. People at the mall couldn't help but look at him and smile and point him out to others. I get to look at my family and wonder at how beautiful this whole thing is.

Yes, I like Mondays. A lot.

So Hot

It is sooooo hot outside. I'm not talking about Paris Hilton (who I can't stand... but that is another post all together) hot. I'm talking triple digits hot, everyday for the past week. Apparantly we are breaking records here like crazy. All this heat can make a person crazy. Actually, I've seen it recently.

Several of us mom friends here have been meeting in the mornings to go to the park. It is summer, and what a better time for the kids to run and scream outside, right? It is so hot, however, that the so-called safe playground equipment (meaning that it is plastic or whatever and not metal slides and the such) heats up quickly and burns any part of your flesh that touches it. Our kids have been getting hurt. Every park in town is like that (we've been to just about every park in town trying to find the coolest, temperature-wise). So the moms have been pushing the time up earlier and earlier. I was supposed to meet one mom this morning at 8:30. That so did not happen. Maybe next time I can get us up and ready.

My one friend does not have an air conditioner in her house at this time. They just feel like they are dying. She said her daughters eat at least two popsicles each every single day. She also squirts them with water before naptime. Thankfully, we have an air conditioner, so we've had them over to play a few times. They cool off, and Aiden has people to play with so he won't attack his baby brother. We all win.

I think the worst thing about all this heat is how irritable people become. After the park this morning, a small group of us went shopping. Three moms and five kids under the age of three. Wow. Aiden got tired of the store, so I said I would wait at the entrance while the others finished up. Aiden chose that time to sing Darth Vader's theme at the top of his lungs. I wasn't too worried about it because there was a lot of other noise going on around us and Dallin was starting to fuss a little, so I was comforting him. I looked up and this old lady was glaring at Aiden and me. I thought it was my imagination, and Aiden stopped singing. The woman started to walk away, when Aiden started to sing again. She then stopped, turned around, and glared again! It wasn't my imagination after all. After she walked away, she came back one more time to give another glare. Geez.

My friends joined me and we stood there talking for a few minutes while the kids started to look at books. They were laughing, but it wasn't that bad. One mom went over to the trash can to throw something out, and the old woman looked over from the slot machines (those little buggers are everywhere here in Nevada). She looked at my friend, then at the entire group of us, and glared some more. My friend said it was like she was thinking "There are more of them?!" So my friend smiled and waved at her.

So what was her problem? Were the kids too loud and she coudn't hear the dinging sounds from the slot machines? Did we make her nervous by the sounds of a two-and-a-half year old who can sing the entire Star Wars soundtrack (which is really kind of cute, I think). I just blame it on the heat.

The other irritable pople (besides old women gambling and toddlers at the playground, that is) are drivers. You can't drive anywhere in this town without seeing drivers cutting off other drivers, swearing out their windows, and shaking their fists, or worse, flipping of a van filled with little kids. Personally, I like to crank up the A/C in my car, turn the radio up a little, and drive carefully home where I know I have ice cream in the freezer and DVDs about ice hockey, Jamaican bobsled teams, or Christmas to watch. I'm so fine with this.

Becoming a Girlie-Girl

I've never really considered myself a girlie-girl before, and I've considered myself a tom boy. I'm just Sariah and kind of try to do my own thing while still being stylish (although I'm not sure the stylish thing ever occured). I now have two little boys and one big boy (also known as a husband), and so I am fairly out-numberedby the males in this household. I'm finding myself wanting more and more girlie things.

For example, I got some new pajama bottoms recently. They are super cute: capri, drawstring waist, and lots of stripes. Oh yeah, they are pink. PINK!!! I never used to like pink. I think it draws too much pink out in my skin and makes me look a little sunburned at all times. But I saw these pajama bottoms and thought they were perfect. I could have bought the same pants in blue, green, or purple. I chose pink. I love them!! Hmmmm.

I want purple walls. With flowers. I am not a flowery person. I prefer plaids or stripes if you are going to have patterns. But now I am finding the urge to paint my bedroom purple. Not that it is going to happen... We are still renters. However, I have informed my husband that when we buy a house I get to have one room all to myself and I will paint the walls purple and will have all sorts of girl stuff in there. Fluffy pillows and flowery curtains. I'll probably have pink in there, too!

I guess I am just reacting to all the sports and insects and cars and Star Wars that is in our house. I hope to have a little girl someday to dress up in pink and ruffles and braid her hair with cute bows on the end. She will grow up hating pink and I will sigh and remember how cute she was when she was all about ballerinas and butterflies. Then I will turn to my sons with their hockey sticks, Matchbox cars, and violent video games and realize that boys never change from the age of 2 to the age of 32.

I think I will go paint my toenails, then play swords with my son now.

Getting Started

Well, here it is. My blog. I am finally doing something that I've been thinking about for quite a while now, but wasn't sure I had it in me to do. A big thanks to Alyson for "inspiring me" (as we talked about earlier today on the phone) and for telling me where to go. Also, thanks to Ches for not laughing at me (too much).

I really and truely don't know what I'm doing here. I just like to write, so here goes. Since I tend to think that I am the center of the universe, I had to invent my own. So this is it. My universe. Get ready to hear a lot about my kids, my husband, and whatever quirky things come out of my head. We'll find out if anyone else finds any of this interesting.

Happy reading!