Tell me how it is...Zing!

Clayre and Parly. Cute sisters!

The other night, Shayne sneezed and Clayre said, "Dad, you achoo like a girl." Zing.

Clayre has always been very matter-of-fact. She just tells you how it is. You can never be sure what your children will say when you are not around (or even when you are), and out of all of my girls, Clayre is one that I just never know what she is going to say. Her older sister seems to have the sensitivity gene and so, she is aware, almost beyond her years, that things she might say could hurt someone's feelings.

Then there's Clayre's younger sister..no worries. .. very few people can really understand what she is saying. It's Clayre that has had her share of classic moments. Once she asked one of our friends soon after having a baby why her tummy was still big if the baby was already out. I was right there and could see the horror on this first-time mom's face....so I quickly explained that the baby was just a few days old and tried to apologize to our friend. Not good. What can you really say?

Another time... Clayre didn't want to go to her new primary class: she has two male primary teachers and so she was a little nervous. I asked her how her first time in class went and she told me that a lady in the Primary Presidency was trying to get her to go and so she told her that both of her teachers were really funny and that she would have fun if she went. Clayre then said, "But mom, they were not funny..and I kept waiting for them to say something funny but they never did." Nice!

Of course sometimes her blatant honesty can come in handy. Here's a good story...a couple nights ago Shayne was dishing out ice cream for me and himself. Clayre came upstairs and said, "Mom, is your ice cream the one in the bowl?" I said, "Probably, why?" She then went on to report, "Because I saw Daddy fill up a glass full of ice cream for him and then put a little bit in a bowl." Zing and Busted! I later asked Shayne about it...laughing.. he told me that he had filled his up with milk, so it just probably looked like more.

Thanks for the heads up, Clayre.

Unique Style

I am one of those moms that lets her kids pick the clothes that they wear everyday. I think that they should be able to have their own sense of style. Of course I'm not real big on style myself, so maybe that's why I don't care as much. I also found it's easier than arguing about it everyday- I'm picking my battles. It's been real fun to see the outfits that my girls have chosen to wear. My oldest, Parly, has really gotten into it lately. She wears skirts with her jeans under them-it actually looks cute. And she took a belt out of one of her capris and uses it as a sash around her neck- again it looks cute... definitely not something I would do or wear. But it is fun to see her experimenting.
Well my 3 year old has been watching her sister and wants to do the same. She wants to wear 2 shirts like Parly (Parly wears a long sleeve under a short sleeve..very common), well Kate doesn't quite understand the concept and puts 2 short sleeved shirts on. Cute. I also love how matching to a 3 year old is flowers and flowers or stripes and stripes. So Kate will come down in a flowered shirt with flowered shorts, each having different colors and sizes, even kinds of flowers, "But they both have flowers, mom." See matching.

Here is my 3 year old, Kate, posing for the camera. In this picture she is actually wearing her older sister's clothes. And yes the hair band was also her idea. Adorable...right?

I'm kind of like Elaine

No it's not because of the dancing. Although, my girls maybe the only ones that think I am a good dancer or at least better than Elaine. It's really because...If ever I run into one of Shayne's friends (without Shayne) or I answer the phone first when one of them calls (which is always because Shayne hates talking on the phone) I'm usually at a loss for words. Me? Crazy I know. It's just, what do I say? I want to say something that is funny or interesting. So...I usually resort to, what I call the "Elaine and George" where I bring up something we have in common...Shayne. On Seinfeld, Elaine and George are always together with Jerry. Well, one episode Jerry can't go and tells them to go together. It's a little awkward. What should they talk about ? What do they have in common? Jerry. So they start talking about Jerry...funny things, embarrassing things, laughing about him. That is what I do.... I might talk about Shayne's golf game he had the other day, or something he told me that related to the person I was talking to (which later I find out he told me in confidence and I shouldn't bring up with anyone else...oops), or for a more specific example...a friend will ask me where Shayne is and I will say napping....which was the truth -once.... I'm usually the one napping. So I tease, joke, and sometimes even embarrass just so I can be cool. It's awful, I know. But in the beginning, I truly thought Shayne wouldn't care. He likes teasing and joking around and doesn't care what people think of him. Later I realized...it's different when it's me, using him as the joke. I wouldn't want him to do that to me...we should have each others backs. So now I don't do it....or at least try not to. I'm definitely flawed. You know-I'm kind of like Elaine.

The Luckiest

Maybe I should explain the title of my blog. I never really considered myself a very lucky person, in fact I'm mostly unlucky and the only other person more unlucky is my husband...so that is not a good combo. I never win anything, nothing is ever just handed over, and unlucky things just happen to me, especially growing up: I always went to the Valentine's Tea and the performance assembly at the end of the school year, with the most nerdy or smelly boy in the class. Except in 3rd grade, I got paired with another girl because there weren't enough boys (sad...but this, I actually thought was lucky). And then in 5th grade I surprisingly got paired up with the boy I had a crush on all year....but because we didn't have enough boys again, another girl got to dance with him too...so I only danced 1/2 the dance...see unlucky. Now days, it's things like being all ready to watch a favorite T.V show and finding out it didn't record (I hate that, T.V. is just way to important). Or always picking the slowest line at the grocery store checkout ...never fails. Or not cooking the hamburger first before putting it in with the casserole for a Shepard's Pie dish. (Don't worry we didn't eat it and now I know and have made it since, yummy...especially with my homemade mashed potatoes). Okay, that's enough examples for the moment, but unluckiness happens to me....of course I also think sometimes maybe the things that happen to other people make them more lucky. Thus making me feel unlucky. Interesting.

But I guess I realized that I'm lucky where it counts. I have an awesome husband, 4 beautiful daughters (don't feel sorry for me...I don't, not yet anyway, ask me again when they are all teenagers), we live in a great neighborhood (this maybe our biggest luck of all..building our house before the housing market skyrocketed), good friends, I could go on...but you know, lucky where it counts. So the titular line : "I know...that I am, I am the luckiest" comes from a Ben Folds song called The Luckiest. And that's me. Great song by the way!

Insider Info: I first heard this song on a CD that Shayne made me for Valentine's Day. Nice, I know...but if you know him you would know it really is GREAT because he is not a fan of V-day. Anyway, his instructions to me, when he gave me the CD were get a tissue ready when you listen to the last song.."The Luckiest". All the songs on there were super, but that one...wipe a tear...see I am the luckiest.

I finally started a blog, now I hope somebody reads it.

I started this blog because I see, hear or think of things that I think are funny or interesting or not anything really but I want to tell someone. My husband does his best to seem interested every time I talk about the "nothings" of my day. My little sister doesn't sound bored when I tell her something one of the girls did that was "cute". My older sister and any friends probably see that it is me on the caller ID and are afraid to pick up because they are busy and aren't sure how long I will keep them on the line. And my mom, I know, always loves to hear about everything, all the time...but she would probably like to reread it too. So that's why this blog was born.

Advisory: Shayne has said that my thought process tends to be a little all-over-the-place, and that my stories could get to the point a little faster....so that being said. Enjoy. And hopefully you can follow along.