Wild Humans

On the way to celebrate Katie's 7th birthday with Mom and Dad last night, we saw a horse traveling in a horse trailer. The kids were excited and started asking me questions about horses. Being the all-knowing mom with extensive equestrian wisdom, I answered their questions.



Kate: "What kind of horse is that, Mom?"

Me: "A brown one."

Ethan: "Are horses dangerous?"

Me: "It depends on whether you spit at them or not." (Yes, I get enjoyment out of giving them retarded answers so that they question everyone's wisdom.) :-)

Nate: "Nuh uh, Mom. But are some horses dangerous, really?"

Me: "Well, Nate....there are domesticated horses, and some of those can be dangerous but I would think a wild horse would be pretty dangerous if you tried to ride him."

Nate: "What would happen to you?"

Me: "You'd probably get bucked off and stomped on. They're not used to humans."

Nate: "That's just like wild humans. They can be crazy too."

Me: "Wild humans?"

Nate: "Yeah, they're called Hobos."

Me: "Uhhhh..."

And here's one for the Dads!

The Man Behind the Belly

Does this make me look fat?

Man, I wish I had one of these T-shirts when I was pregnant...



"Does this baby make me look fat?"

December/January Birthdays

All these birthdays so close together!

Our favorite 6 year old cousin Dallin had his birthday on the 26th. Then Nate's birthday quietly passed on the 27th. (We all had the flu. We just chilled for the most part.) Cutie Claire and Will on the 1st. Dad on the 9th. Grandma Murray on the 19th, and Katie and Grandpa Murray on the 28th.

I can't keep up! If I focus real hard, I might remember Katie's. lol.

Happy Birthday to all. If you haven't had your birthday yet, then this counts as me having remembered. :-P

So here's some birthday cards/funnies for everyone.
To My Favorite Dallin...



To My "Pinkalicious" Ballerina, Claire...

To My Crazy Brother, Will...

To My Awesome Dad... (just funny!)

To My Loving Grandma... (I Love Maxine!)

And To My Country Grandpa from his City Girl...

Whew! Let's Play 'Catch Up'

Sorry about not keeping up on the blog a bit more. I'm working over 50 hours a week, so on weekdays I come home, have some dinner, cuddle with my babies until they fall asleep and then I'm off to bed.

Saturdays are fun though. We go to the park, rock out on World Tour, or work on the house. It's nearly painted. We're still working on the trim, but we decided on yellow and white. Just like "Yellow House Grandma"! :-)

Darrick built the door out of oak (I believe).

He even built the handle/latch system for the doors.

We were impressed!

The long window is where Mom is "filling in".

As far as I know, Mom is receiving an antique table in trade for

a stained glass creation. If I'm wrong, then this is news

to Mom. :-P

Then, before you thought he couldn't get more intricate on the house,

he put in pergo flooring that he scored free from a job.

We still need to build the little kitchen area inside. That way when little Claire Bear comes to visit, she and Katie can play house! :-)

New Year's Resolutions

This morning I woke up and thought about making the obligatory "lose weight this year" resolution, the "pay off credit card debt" resolution, the "eat healthier" resolution, the "learn a new language" resolution, and the new for 2009 - "live more sustainably and 'green'" resolution. I thought I should vow to exercise myself skinny, save every last dime I make to pay down debt, eat only rabbit food, and grow my own rabbit food while speaking fluent German. Because, if I could just reach those goals, I just knew I would be happier. Right?

I hauled my elliptical trainer, which has become a very expensive towel hanger, out into the living room to make sure I felt guilt everytime I passed it by. I made a financial plan to reduce wasteful spending and cut my debt down. I ate a healthy veggie frittata and enjoyed a morning of cleaning the house.

Then it was lunch time.

After a bit of whining from the kiddies, I loaded them up in the car. We drove down to Carl's Jr. where I used my credit card to purchase calorie-laden Famous Stars with cheese and crisscut fries (with Ranch, of course). On top of which, we unnecessarily burned an extra gallon of gas while trying to decide if we wanted Carl's Jr. or something else.

Perhaps I should just get some towels and throw them on the elliptical now...lol

I'm glad I didn't actually make the same old resolutions this year. In fact, the BBC reported New Year's resolutions are hazardous to your health. So if you've made those impossible-to-keep resolutions and are feeling like today is your lucky Thursday, toss all of that out and vow to never make another self-esteem-killing goal again. Chances are, this universe has you right where you're supposed to be.

Fat or thin. Burgers (Occasional!) or veggies. English or German. Near reaching your goals or the furthest from them you've ever been. Just keep on truckin' and take this life one beautiful, engaging step at a time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!