The Eyes Have It

There was this Elder in my mission from Bolivia named Elder Mendoza. Besides the fact that he was totally in love with me, he was just fun to be around. But my favorite part about him was his eyes. He had the most clear blue intense beautifully shaped eyes with the worlds longest lashes attached. They were really something to behold. My mission readers will have to back me up on this.

I told another one of my companions (who was also from Bolivia) that I would marry Elder Mendoza just so our kids could have his eyes. She told me that he was from Santa Cruz, Boliva and compared to all the smokin' hotties there, he was downright ugly. I told her she was full of crap, but she assured me that he would only score a 2 out of 10 in Santa Cruz. It made me want to go to Santa Cruz RIGHT THEN.

Anyway, I never did marry Elder Mendoza. Obviously. (Not like he didn't try, though) Nor did I ever get to see the supposedly gorgeous men of Santa Cruz. But the point of my rambling is that I don't know where my daughter gets her beautiful eyes!

Marcelo says they are all from him. But his eyes look nothing like his! He says they are the same as his sister and I'm inclined to believe him for now espeically becuase I haven't seen his sister in over 5 years and he grew up seeing her every day. But I'll let you know after I come back from Ecuador if that's really true.

Point of story: Even though I didn't marry Elder Mendoza, I did get a child with beautiful eyes and perfectly curly lush eyelashes. AWESOME!!

So Judd, I have a question for you: Based on beautiful-ness of eyes, would you rather be trapped in an elevator for 8 hours with Elder Mendoza or Elder Bermeo while the entire CD of Baladas Forever INCLUDING "Hotel California" played nonstop?

The Nursery

Marcelo and I are going to be booted from the Nursery. I already know this. We've been told that we will only be in the calling for around 6 months, but I don't think that we will make it that long. I think we will be asked to resign long long before that. We are the General Patton's of the Nursery.

Our complaint list is long and our demands are many. I'm sure many parents will ask to switch their kids into one of the other 2 nurseries in our ward. Here is just a partial list of our many complaints and things that we will be implementing during our reign of terror. . . er, I mean during our time in this calling:

Exhibit 1: Snotty nosed and sick kids. We will not put up with it. We will be returning kids to their parents if we hear more then 2 coughs per a 15 minute period. Also, if there is persistent muckage from the nose, I'll give your kid 10 minutes for it to dry up, and then I'm pullin' the plug. It's better that you don't drop your kid off if they are sick or are thinking about getting sick. It's just rude.

Exhibit 2: Child retrieval tardiness. The first counselor of the bishopric made an announcement last Sunday that it is very important that you come pick up your Junior Primary kids PROMPTLY. Not only do the teachers need their sanity after entertaining 6-10 wiggly kids after 2 hours, but there is another ward coming in that needs the room. Quit picking your nose, come pick up your kids. Despite what you may think, Primary isn't free daycare. We will not be here forever. We have lives too, so pick up your kid and let us out of our prison.

Exhibit 3: Lurking Parents. Drop your kid off and move on. Cut the cord. Maybe it's time that you set some boundaries and limits. I don't need you coddling your kid for 2 hours. I promise I won't smack your kid in the face, no matter how many times he throws pretzels at me. Nor will I spank him, no matter how much he deserves it. We had FOUR lurkers today. FOOOUUURRRR!! Not doing anything, just sitting in a chair as their kid played happily. I really think I know the reason your kid cries when you leave: Because you are teaching them! Boundaries, people.

Exhibit 4: Kids that don't belong there. The beginning of the year is hard for ALL primary kids. They ALL have to leave their teachers that they have become attached to for the past 12 months. They all have to move up a level and face the fact that maybe there won't be goldfish crackers and crates of toys at church. Maybe they will have to use the reverence skills that YOU as parents were supposed to teach them and sit and listen to a lesson. Change is good, and necessary. Primary it's not all bad, though. There are some songs to be song, maybe a crafts project. It's not Nazi Germany, after all.

What I DON'T want is for you get frustrated that your emotionally and socially stunted child isn't adapting well to Sunbeams and so you dump him in my Nursery class telling me that I can bring him back to his class in 45 minutes. And then when I go and drop him off at said Sunbeam class and try to leave him you only bring him back 5 minutes later because he isn't behaving well in his class. Guess what? If he can't behave well in Sunbeams, chances are he won't behave well in Nursery.

And that's just what happened. Your snot-nosed kid was grabbing things out of kids hands, running around screaming and demanding more cheese when it was all gone. And 1/2 of my kids followed his lead. Thanks but no thanks. If your kid isn't on my roll list, he isn't welcome. End of story.

So what do you think? Does this post make me officially going to hell? Most of the kids in my class I like. There are a few exceptions, of course. And one BIG exception with the kid that's not supposed to be there. I think I'm going to post this blog on the door of our classroom and see how parents react.

I think we will be released very very soon.

I'm Back Ya'll

Marcelo and I have been having computer problems. Serious computer problems. I only know enough computer stuff to get myself into trouble. Which is what I did Monday after our laptop when kaput. Even when the laptop is gone, we have a desktop!! So I got on the desktop and I tried to download a driver for the printer and ended up deleting the driver for the wireless card. How did I do that? I don't know. Like I said, I only know enough to get myself into trouble. I couldn't get it to work again. So we ended up buying a whole new computer.

Just kidding, sort of. We DID buy a new computer, but it was mostly because Marcelo needed a bigger fast computer to run his drafting programs. So for VERY cheep, we were able to get a brand new super computer. It's so fast, it gives me whiplash just booting up.

So I'm back. And now I can finish the post I started on Sunday, and write this other post that came to me in the shower just now. I bet you are all dying of anticipation, aren't you? Well, you'll just have to wait. You have to experience just a little bit of what I went through for the past 4 days.

I'm back!! Commence rejoicing!!

My Style of Reading

I love reading. I read all the time. However, sometimes when I get into a REALLY good book, I will put off reading it because I don't want ti to be over. Do you do that?

With the last Harry Potter book, I really didn't want it to end. Because I knew it would be the last book ever, and I just didn't want it to be final. So I would put it down and then pick it up and put it down and fight with myself and then pick it up. It's so weird.

I'm currently doing that with the book I'm reading.

What are some other weird quirks of mine? I love long showers. I could stay in the shower for hours. Just standing under the hot water and staying warm. That's what I love. I like showers more than baths, because baths sometimes make me light-headed when I stand up after being in them too long.

Also, I never buy myself new clothes. Marcelo has SO many clothes. Probably twice or 3 times the amount of clothes I have. He has much nicer shoes then me, and much nicer everything. I don't know why I don't just get myself some new clothes.

Weird quirk: I think that my baby looks like the alien baby from Men in Black. The first one. This is the only picture I can find to remind you what I'm talking about.


I'm sure you remember now what I'm talking about. But especially when I'm holding her and rocking her in the night, her dark eyes have EXACTLY the same shape as this little alien baby and it really reminds me of her. Is that weird that I compare my child to an animatronic baby from a movie? Hummm

Ok, and now for your viewing pleasure, a short movie of Evi standing up and then almost whacking Marcelo in the goods. Enjoy!



(Does any one know how to turn videos on their side?)

Oh, and it REALLY pisses me off that the name "Evelyn" is moving up in popularity. According to the Social Security Administration (who has records of every name of every child born in the US since around 1900) Evelyn is moving up in popularity. It was #65 in 2006 and then #55 in 2007. Results aren't in for 2008. I'm not happy about that. Grrrr

Sheer Terror

This is a list of things Evi has perfected over the last week:

Crawling
Pushing herself to a sit while she's on her belly or in the middle of a crawl
Pulling herself using ANYTHING she can get her hands on
Standing up unaided by us or anything else
Cruising

Yes, you read that correctly. My 7 month old is freaking cruising. I thought I would have months and months to cradle and love my baby. Apparently my baby has an expiration date of 7 months. She is now a "little woman" and prefers to be referred to as such.

And as a little lady, she's let us know that she only needs to sleep 1 hour and 30 minutes TOTAL during the day. So her first nap is 1 hour and her second nap is only 30 minutes. Yeah, mom's life is SO much fun right now. Because if she's awake, Evi wants to be pulling herself up on things and banging her head on things. Mom loves that.

You wanted some pictures? Of course you do!

Here she is looking surly. I think she thinks we are going to try to take this away from her.

And here she is so tired she fell asleep in her bouncy chair.

















Looking coy and then instantly becoming that little hellion we all know her to be:















This picture below just makes me laugh. I don't know who taught her that face. But it's hilarious. And then standing by herself. Doing what she loves to do.















Personally speaking, I'm kind of in a reading zone right now. I'm on my 3rd book this week. I get to read after Evi goes to sleep. For some reason, I don't want to post the books that I'm reading. I feel like I should be reading Silvia Path or something, and because I'm not I'm embarrassed to tell you what I'm reading. So I'll keep my books a secret.

In a totally unrelated note, we got Evi's birth certificate and passport pictures taken today. Did you know the price of tickets to Ecuador has dropped $90? We are waiting to see if they go under $675. If they do, we will buy instantly. Don't you wish you could go to Ecuador with us?

Home again, Home again. Jiggity Jig

Mar and I just got back last night from Texas. That's right, we had a REAL Texas Christmas. It was so great to be with my family and to just all get together. And of course to see Julie get married. I don't want to do a full time-line or day by day play back for you. It would just take too long. So here are some of the highlights:

* Santa found the house!! He came and brought presents to both Jeff & Tina's kids AND Sarah's kids. Christmas morning was so much fun and we had several beloved presents that classified as "room leavers" i.e. they made the kid so excited to open it he had to leave the room to show someone else in another room and/or put the beloved present in it's new home

*Even with all the pregnancy scares everyone was able to make it. We weren't sure Clarin would be there, her doctor might've grounded her. But she made it and it was a full belly bonanza. Seriously, so many pregnant woman. We were a sight walking down the streets of Six Flags. And so many ready to pop!! It made me realize how close these girls all are!!

* The gift exchange between siblings was so much fun. I don't think we'll ever do it again. Maybe we will. We'll have to see if we are all still into it. I got new luggage!! It was JUST what I needed and it was perfect. Marcelo got a video game. Great.

* Julie's wedding was beautiful and perfect and there was minimal mom/dad drama. The sealer said a great quote by President Hinckley that I cannot find. But he said that if we couldn't remember the quote (smart sealer, knowing we would forget almost all of the ceremony) we should remember these 1o short little words: If it is to be, it is up to me. Marcelo and I decided we want that phrase up somewhere in our house.

* Christmas day while we were eating and playing with our toys and did I mention eating? Well, while we were eating and playing and waiting for the rest of my family to arrive, my brother Jeff, My brother in law Chad and various random cousins decided to prepare and shoot off some rockets. They make them themselves and they usually have parachutes on them. They are just basically really cool. They took them over to the field next to their kids' elementary school. They set off the first rocket and they were looking at pictures on Jeff's camera and then Chad said, "do you smell burning?" Yup, they set a field on fire. They stamped it out and were THISCLOSE to calling the fire department. But they had enough people to stamp it out so they kept it under control. But many new shoes had to be bought.

* The day after Christmas (the day BEFORE the wedding) we all went to Six Flags together. The temperature was really good and we got really REALLY discounted tickets. It was NOT fun going with a baby. Don't try ever going with someone under 36 inches. There are absolutely NO "family" rides. But my sister (who is 6 weeks away from her due date) watched my baby so I could go on 2 rides with Marcelo. It wasn't SO devastating because more then half the rides were closed for the Christmas season. So of the few rides that were open, we went on the only 2 rides we wanted to go on anyway.

We did get to go on the Titan. This coaster climbs and climbs and climbs and then drops STRAIGHT down. As it just kept climbing and climbing, I thought to myself "I totally regret this decision". But it was really fun. Just so you know, Marcelo refused to go on it. He's such a scaredy cat.

* The wedding day went quite smoothly. We were there early, pictures were quick, and the torrential downpour that was taking place as we walked into the temple had cleared up by the time we left the temple. Almost like someone in the temple prayed for that to happen!!

* The night before the wedding my mom got sick. Up vomiting 6-8 times. Sarah was so apologetic because her kids had had it the week before. But my mom pushed through. The day of the wedding she was running on no sleep and no food. But she was such a trooper.

* It hit me the night of the wedding. I was 24 hours behind my mom but I had it all. The vomiting over and over again. Your body just wants EVERYTHING out. And it doesn't care if there is nothing in there, it will convulse until you get SOMETHING up, dang it! Well, remember how I sometimes pass out when I puke? At my 2:30 puke session, the last thing I remember is running to the toilet as fast as I could because the retching had already started. I think I collapsed when I was almost there, because I woke up with my back against the tub (which is next to the toilet) my head on the wall and vomit in my mouth. It was scary because my head was hanging back and the puke was still coming up even as I was passed out. I very quickly realized that I could've choked on it and died. There was puke all around me, on my clothes, on the wall, on the floor but not a drop in the toilet. No sir, that toilet was nice and clean.

And I think when I fell down was when I woke up my niece who was sleeping on just the other side of the door (it was a "Jack and Jill" style bathroom). Poor girl, I think I scared her. I know I scared myself!! I recuperated for the next 3 days and I was still puking the night before we flew home. It was a full 3 days of pukedom. Or as Kim refers to it "Puke Fest '08"

* Marcelo and I went to a nice Texas Steakhouse the night before we left. Sarah watched the Pesi and we had a good time. Well, he had a good time, but I was realizing that I most likely would be puking in a few hours time. My joy was a lot more muted. But the food was amazing. I'm definitely going back there the next time I'm in Texas. And this time I'm going to keep it down.

* And finally, did you know the tap water in Texas by my sister's house smells and tastes like dirt? I don't know how else to describe it. You smell it and it's very "earthy" and it smells just like damp earth. ("It has an oaky afterbirth." Ha!!) Kidding. But not all Texas water is this way. The farther south closer to Dallas you get the better it is. But her water is VERY strong. My mom was the biggest whiner about it. Most of us just drank the filtered Brita water, but mom went and bought big jugs of bottled water. I actually really appreciated it when I was sick. For some reason, while sick I had a really strong aversion to the water, even though I had been drinking it for the whole first part of the week with no problem. Strange.

I had a great time with my family and I wish that we could do this every year. I wish I had pictures to post here, but Marcelo left a bag at Sarah's house and it has our camera in it. I'll try to post some later, so please come back for pictures.

I've never been so happy to be back in Utah. I love being with my family, and I love traveling. But there is just something about being in your own space that makes you sane once again. Whenever I leave, I'm so thankful to be at home, wherever that home may be.

Tagged for Christmas

I'm going to Dallas tomorrow and I don't know how much blog updating I'll get a chance to do. So to keep all of my superfans happy, I'm doing this post just in time for the holidays.

Krista sent this to me forever and a day ago and I'm sorry it took me a millions years to respond to it. But here it is!! Presenting. . . .Tagged:Christmas Edition

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. I get a little OCD when wrapping presents. I have to have straight lines and double sided tape to hide the seams. I hate wrapping clothes outside of a box because there aren't straight lines. So I always try to get gift boxes for everything. I LOVE WRAPPING GIFTS!! I can spend hours doing it.

2. Real or fake tree? I love real, but have you seen how expensive they are these days? For that matter, have you seen how expensive FAKE trees are? Trees=Expensive. Anyway, we have a fake tree now, but once Marcelo and I become millionaires we will be getting a real one every year.

3. When do you put up a tree? Usually ASAP after Thanksgiving. But this year we didn't put one up in out tin shed of a house. Maybe next year.

4. When do you take it down? Usually not until late January, sometimes February. It takes so long to put up, I want to enjoy it as much as possible.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes and no. If presented with a small glass, I will enjoy it. But I've never bought it at the store so obviously I don't like it that much. And the smell sometimes gets to me. But at Macey's they had samples of Egg Nog with sprite in it. Awesome.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Either my pogo stick or our family's trampoline. Both lasted a freaking long time and kept me 100% occupied on bored days.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Marcelo. He takes everything back!! Now I just buy him something and I don't get offended when he takes it back. He totally appreciates the thought and I appreciate that he will get something that he really likes and will use.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself. Ha HA. Just kidding. It's of course Evi!! If you can chew on it, she loves it.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No. But I desperately want one. I told Marcelo that that would be a great gift to give me next year. Let's see if he remembers

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither. I never mailed them out. I didn't come from a "Christmas Card" family so it's just not a tradition for me. I think that they are nice though. I might do one someday.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? "The Shaft" aka, Candles. It's become a family joke now that we all get around together at Christmastime to watch Alicia unwrap the shaft she will inevitably receive. Because she gets shafted every year. And gets 3 candles of varying sizes, smells and colors. Yes, you read that correctly. One year I got nothing more then PJ's and candles. TRY TO LIVE THAT ONE DOWN, MOM!!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story. I've loved this movie since I can remember. I don't recall the first time I saw it, it's just always been there. (Much like the birthmark on my ass) My mom recorded it off TV one year when I was REALLY young, and we would watch it all the time during the year when I was growing up. I love that it plays for 24 hours straight on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. "Randy lay like a slug. . .It was his only defense" Love it.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as I can. I usually sit around and try to plan out what I'm going to buy before I buy it. I HAAATE wandering the stores looking for "something" because I usually end up not buying what I really want. And I just hate shopping in general, so the sooner I can get it done, the better.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Heck yes, I have!! But only when the gift I received is the EXACT gift I was going to buy for someone else. So I don't think that really counts.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chinese Food. We started the tradition of eating Chinese Food on Christmas Eve back in 1994. It is the only tradition my family has and I look forward to that meal all year long. Even though you can get Chinese Food at any time, it just tastes better on Christmas Eve.

16. Lights on the tree? Of course. Growing up we had the really clunky multi-colored glass bulbs that had CLOTH chord and would get hot hot hot to the touch. And on the base of every bulb there was a CLIP so you could clip it to a branch. I'm telling you, I freaking grew up in the 50's. Wanna know how trees started houses on fire? Those dang lights!!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary Did You Know. This line always gets me: "Did you know, That your baby boy, has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God?" Makes me cry EVERY time.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Who wants to travel at Christmas? Why can't you all just come to me?

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes. The question is: can you name all of Hanukkah Harry's Reindeer?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I grew up with an Angel. But I have this really nice crystal star that looks great on my tree. It's very pretty. I think I'll keep it.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Morning, of course. Who opens presents on Christmas Eve? I mean, other then people who have their birthdays on December 24th, that is. Oh, and atheist Christ haters might open them then, too.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People who whine about not getting what they wanted. At least you didn't get a lame-o candle, buddy!! Suck it up!!

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? Marcelo and I have a total "Bollywood" theme going on on our tree. It's awesome. We will only have it for a few years more, though. You know, until our kids start bringing home shoddily crafted ornaments that they make in preschool class.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey AND ham. It's just like Thanksgiving, but with ham added. But I love Christmas breakfast more. Eggs, sausage, OJ, etc etc. And I think this year we might be able to talk Sarah into making her famous Canadian pancake balls. This is how you make them: You get a special Canadian griddle and pour in the batter. Turn once, (very carefully). When they are done, pull them out and immediately dip them in MELTED BUTTER and then POWDERED SUGAR. Yes, you read that correctly. It's a butter/sugar explosion in your mouth with each bite. Ugh, it's so good. I wonder what all her RD friends would think of her to see her make those. . .

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A baby that sleeps through the night. And roller blades. Wait, THIS year? Not 1994? Oh, then just the baby thing.

26. Who is most likely to respond to this? My best friends will leave witty remarks in my comment section telling me how much they love me and how they wish me a truly terrific holiday. And then they will do this same thing on their blogs too.