Add to the List

Two more things to add to the "I never thought I'd say" list.

1.  Kids, share with your father!

Seriously.   Brett was playing with one of those 'put your face in the nails and it molds your features' toys...I don't know any other way to describe it...and because he was making it look so fun, the kids wanted to play with it (naturally), but Brett wasn't finished playing with it.  Did I mention this was the kids toy?

By the way, does the second 't' in Brett's name seem a little superfluous?  Maybe it's just because the 't' on my computer is sticking and I'm sick of having to backspace and add a second one...

2.  No, Cohen, you can't do all your homework in one night.

My. Son. Is. AWESOME.  But he's also a little butthead and, on occasion, a bit annoying in his know-it-allism.

Cohen:  Why can't I do it all tonight?

Mom: Because that's not the point.  The point is to work on the stuff you learned in school today.

Cohen:  But I already know it!


Mom: You need to do homework every night.  Not just one night of the week.

Cohen: But whhhyyyyyyyyy?


Mom: (Now I knew I'd be saying this) Because I said so.

Kelly Out

"We do not need to be perfect-just honest and sincere."

Rosemary Wixom, the Primary General President, gave an amazing talk at October's General Conference about helping our children "stay on the path".  It really struck me.   I listened to it on the radio while running errands that Saturday morning.

I hushed the kids several times.  How ironic.

Anyway, at one point she said, "Our example is magnified in their eyes.  They will follow our cadence when they feel secure in our actions."

Kembry playing mommy with her baby doll showed me just what kind of example I was being.  I know I wrote it lightly, but it really struck me.  I felt horrible.  I felt like a failure as a mother.  I felt like no amount of erasing and whiteout would be able to take away the memories Kembry had of me being that kind of mother.


But then Sister Wixom's words came back to me. "We do not need to be perfect-just honest and sincere."

I feel the Saviors love and understand a bit more the sacrifice He made for me when I remembered those comforting words.  It gives me such great comfort.  I repeat it over and over again.  "We do not need to be perfect-just honest and sincere."

I sincerely want to be a better mother to my kids.  It's not all bad, but I'm sure I can improve.  And so I took some more of Sister Wixom's words and applied them to the Kembry-baby doll situation.

Sister Wixom said, "Teach them in every circumstance; let every dilemma, every consequence, every trial that they may face provide and opportunity to teach them how to hold on to gospel truths."

I did what she suggests, to "kneel down, and look into their eyes and feel their innate desire to follow the Savior."

I asked Kembry if she felt that I said those things to her.  She shook her head and smiled.  I didn't believe her.  So I told her how much I loved her, and that she was the most important person in my world, along with her brother and sister and daddy.  She hugged me around my neck.  But I felt like there was more.  I told her I only want her to be happy and safe, and that I was sorry if I ever told her I didn't have time for her.

I also told her that Chloe does cry a lot, and that it's hard for me and daddy to hear our baby being so sad.  Sometimes we tell people that Chloe cries all the time, but that doesn't mean we don't love her.

She gave me a kiss.

I looked into her eyes.  She seemed completely unabashed.  But after that, she was a whole lot nicer to her baby doll.

Thank you Sister Wixom.  What amazing words.  They truly stuck with me, and I think they always will.  I'm grateful for this small but poignant opportunity to teach Kembry, and myself.  Mostly myself.

Kelly Out

Update: Kembry turned off her baby doll.  Oh man, I laughed and laughed, then asked her if I could turn HER off.  She laughed and called me silly and reminded me that she's not a toy!  Haha!

Mirror, Mirror

I'm watching Kembry playing with her talking baby.

It talks, did I mention that?

It doesn't stop talking.

Anyway, when it says, "I want to play, Mommy," Kembry says, "NO!  You can't play with your friends!"

When it says, "Read me a story, Mommy," she says, "NO!  I don't have time right now!"

When it says, "I'm hungry, Mommy," she says, "I just fed you!"

When it cries (I mean, wouldn't you be crying right now if you were that baby?) she says, "She always cries, that's all she does.  Just go to sleep!"

Um....is this a reflection of me?

I'm feelin' pretty bad right about now.

I think I'll give her extra kisses, and cookies, and candies, and a pony.  And a puppy.  And she can play with her friends.  And drive my car.  And sit too close to the t.v.  And eat cereal without milk.

Kelly Out

(Come to think of it....I think she planned this.  Yeah, yeah.  See, she's a four year old evil genius...I mean, she's never even played with this baby, and she's had it for years.  She's just doing it to make me feel bad, to get candy...and ponies...Yeah, that's it....)

(Oh man, now I feel bad for thinking that.  I need a tag team session with Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil...throw in Dr. Oz too.  Shoot, I need all the help I can get.)

If I Wrote My Thoughts...

I bought a Chenelle throw on/in/during Black Friday.

I was sure someone would want it.

That someone is me.


Note to self: purchase industrial strength burp clothe.

That had nothing to do with the blanket.

And neither does this.

My kids are currently hiding "treasure" and drawing maps to find it.  It's amazing what they can do when I take away t.v. and the computer and the Wii and food.  I'm just in one of those moods.

Speaking of moods, you know how when sometimes you just want to cry so you start searching for movies/commercials/songs/coupon ad's to make you cry, and you can't find anything, and that makes you cry?  I'm so there today.

My poor husband and children.

And since I was already crying, I did five loads of laundry, cleaned out the kids closet, cleaned the kitchen and living room, and watched the garbage man get stuck in our snow covered circle.

I hate/love/feel ambivalent towards Monday's.  I'm feelin' wacky.  Time to lay off the back pain meds.

Well, maybe just one more...

Kelly Out

Brookies...Cownies...

Have you ever had brownies with COOKIES in them?

Go.  I command you try them.  Now.

Kelly Out

It's Still November, And I'm STILL Thankful!

What a wonderfully delicious Thanksgiving we had.

And following that, the dipping of the chocolates.

Right now I am under a sea of light, dark, and mixed chocolates.  Know that I am happy.  Know that I am experiencing true bliss.

And if I don't come back in a few days...wait longer...there might still be some chocolate I haven't eaten...erm...dipped.

Kelly Out

Thanksgiving

There are so many things to be grateful for.  Numerous, innumerable, too many, so many.


-My husband has kept his job and good income through a recession where so many have lost not just their jobs, but their homes, their way of life.  I still have my home.  My happy husband.  Clothes for my kids.  Chocolate for me.

-I am a member of Heavenly Father's true Gospel.  I have the truth because of a fearless and brave man, who, when he was only a boy, knelt down and prayed to know the truth.  Just like I did once.  I am grateful for him.  For this Gospel.

-I haven't lost anyone this year.  No one has fallen ill or had a serious sickness.  I'm still as klutzy as ever, but that hardly counts.

-I have my children, and they have me.  Chloe is here, safe, sound, fat and sleeping.  Who could ask for more?

-I'm stuffed to my gills with delicious food cooked by family that loves me.  That moans, "Oh, you have to go?" when we leave.  They love us.  I love them.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the World Wide Web!

Kelly Out

Gratitude and Colic

My sweet Chloe has colic.

Or is it colicy.

Or is it, has the colic?

Whatev's.

Basically, she cries all the time.

It takes another person, or a few dozen, to tell me this before I actually accept it.  I tell myself, like with Cohen, that she's just sleepy.  Or she's just hungry.  Or she's just bored.  But when it comes down to it, something is wrong.

Colic is so hard.  Ironically, I stay calm when I have a colicy baby.  It's ironic because I'm not a calm person.  I tend to get all uppity and grumpy and easily frustrated and over stimulated.  So far, I've been able to keep my crazy to a minimum

But that doesn't make it any easier.  I suffer because I know she's hurting.  I struggle because I feel helpless in helping my own baby.  Her screams shout to me in the middle of the night, just make it better.  And I can't.

I see Brett suffering from the same lack of anything to do.  It's probably harder for him because he's a man, and is therefore a fixer of all things broken.  And not broken.  Until he breaks them trying to fix them.

He even tried to make a home made remedy.  "What?  It's just a little clove and anise seed in a tea bag."

I draw the line here.

And today, I'm grateful that he listened.  And that she's sleeping.

Oh, I'm also grateful for Auntie's who keep her calm during Sunday dinner.

And aunts and uncles who visit with us while she screams.

And cousins who make us laugh.

And little baby cousins who play with our little babies.

And food.

Mostly food.

Good night  (hopefully!)

Kelly Out

A Quicky About The Boy

This will be a combined post of things I'm super grateful for, like the boy, and about how totally awesome that boy is.

Time.  Now that I have so little of it, I'm remembering how much I really like it.  I wish I could breed time like I breed babies.  Totally fertile.

Brett has made me hot chocolate two nights in a row now.  Yes!

I have felt completely and totally at peace with life.  I used to have dreams that a handsome, rich, ripped movie star would kidnap me and move me to a cottage in France with him.  Now when he offers, I say, "Nah, I'd rather hang out with my family."  True story.  And I'm not even on any drugs...besides chocolate.

I love making fondants for chocolates.  I love spending one-on-one time with my mother-in-law.  I love sugar.

And now for the boy.  My boy.  I grew him in my womb.  I squeezed him out like nobody's business, and even though he wasn't breathing, he had no brain damage.  Or maybe he did have brain damage, and he was initially the most intelligent being ever to be born.

A little much?  I think not!

I went to my very first parent-teacher conference today.  It comprised of continued praise over my sons unlimited genius sprinkled with golden nuggets of his kindness towards his fellow peers.

Erm...well...the kids a know-it-all and likes to play teacher.

And she complimented his grammar, articulation, and excellent sentence structure. 

Yeah, I have the most awesomest Kindergartener in the entire world.  Ever.

Love him.

Kelly Out

Gratitude Day...Catch Up

I've been thinking a lot about things I'm grateful for these past few days so that I'd having something to blog about.  It's a lot of fun recognizing the small and simple things that make you think, "The Lord truly loves me."

I know He loves me, as if I were His only daughter.  I am grateful for this.

I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the comfort I feel when I'm so distressed, it seems nothing in the world can help me calm down.  And truly, nothing in the world can help me calm down.  The Spirit is, ehem, outta this world.


I am grateful for our Primary leaders who worked so hard on that fabulous primary program.  With two investigators in the audience, I know they felt that sweet, innocent spirit.  I know I did.  I may have gotten teary eyed.  Okay, I may have dripped a few.  Okay, I bawled like a two year old.

Tomorrow I will be grateful for candy.  Tune in for a tummy ache.

Kelly Out