Shoe Statue

I don't even know what to say about this.  Is it funny?  Bad?  Or both?  Funny, even though the incident wasn't good.  But I can't help grinning.

Spare me

I guess my boys don't stand a chance.

Honesty is the best policy.

I've been tagged and I am supposed to tell ten completely honest things about me.  I don't think I have anything that interesting to say, but I shall try.

1.  I like pina coladas, long walks on the beach, and soft caresses.

2.  I could get lost looking in your eyes.  

3.  I once rode bareback on a horse through the Italian countryside.

4.  Everywhere I go, I keep a fan blowing on me so my hair can fly around my face all romantic like.  I also wear lipgloss so strands of my hair will stick seductively to my lips.

5.  I've had my butt surgically altered as to be reminiscent of J. Lo.

6.  I'm secretly in love with Carrot Top.  Meow...

7.  You.  Me.  Caviar.  On the cliffs of Ireland.  Need I say more?

8.  My longest relationship was with a midget.  He had the hair of a stallion.

9.  I wash my hair in the urine of the duck-billed platypus.  That's how it gets that "new penny" shine.

10.  I'm your mama.

Sorry, I just couldn't think of anything.

Happy anniversary to me?

I have been a primary teacher for somewhere between 18 months and two years.  I don't remember exactly when I was called.  For the majority of that time, I have had the same class - all girls, from the time they were six through their baptisms last year.  They moved me up with them last year, so it's just been me and "the girls."  I love those girls - they are all so awesome in their diverse ways and it was fun to get some girl talk for a change.  This year, they gave me a different class.  On a crowded Sunday, there are four children in my class.  On a day like today, there are two.  Three weeks ago, they released the second counselor in the presidency (hi, Suzanne!), and I was totally bummed.  I just like her so much and enjoy having the chance to talk to her in Primary.  Last week I was thinking about who they could call, hoping with all my heart it would be someone I like.  Suddenly, a thought came to me.  "Um, it could be YOU."  I realized that I am not immune to such a calling - and it was a shocker to me.  Even though I'll be 32 next week, I still feel so young and inexperienced; often I feel like a 17 year old just graduated out of high school playing babysitter to these boys.  It's just all so "grown-up."  Anyway, I realized I am a grown-up and that I am NOT immune to heavy-duty callings.  But I laughed it off - no way.  Today, Missy's husband John - the assistant executive secretary - came and asked which hour I was teaching.  "Hmmm..." I thought, "here we go."  Sure enough, a member of the bishopric pulled me aside since none of my class were there yet.  And since Keven, the primary president (who happens to be fiercely protective of her staff and will keep them at all costs) didn't seem upset that I was obviously being pulled out for a new calling - I knew.  Sure enough, you are looking at our ward's new second counselor in the Primary presidency.  I'm not freaking out - yet.  I don't know why me.  I'm a terrible procrastinator, horribly disorganized, and lots of little details tend to send my mind into overdrive and it shuts down, as friends who have tried to plan anything with me can attest.  

But I'm looking at it as a humbling experience to get myself in gear.  I'm going to need the Lord's help more than ever.  I have needed help for a long time, and haven't asked enough.  I'm too afraid, not enough faith?  I don't know... Now, how can I not ask?  I want to do a good job - and I have some huge shoes to fill.  I need to be able to give the presidency the support they need and the children the leader they need, all while being a good mother to my boys.  

I'm leaving my thoughts there for now - can't think of what else to say.

Six Years

Today is our sixth anniversary. I am so unspeakably grateful for Bryce and all the things we have been through together - good and bad. I love our beautiful family and how hard Bryce works to take care of us, and that he loves me even though I have a chin that rivals the captain of the Axiom (see Wall-E). For fun, I'd like to give a brief retelling of how we met and became this little family full of handsome little boys.

Bryce was about to go on his mission at the age of 21 when I first saw him give a talk in sacrament. I was coming off of a very bad "relationship" - bad guy, bad circumstances, and was at a very low point. I liked Bryce but I needed to be in a better place, and the last thing I was interested in was a guy who was about to take off for two years. I was 23, and felt like an old maid. (Being LDS can do that to a young girl.) But he started giving me rides to activities and dances, where we'd sit on the side and talk about how we didn't like to dance, make fun of the line-dancers (no offense) and how glad we were there was someone to talk to. Our first and more important bond came from the Walmart game. (Ask and I'll explain.) Before we knew it, we were spending every spare moment together. From June to September, we had so much fun and knew there was no other choice than for me to try to wait. And I did. When the letters from Bryce became a little scarce, I did date others and had lots of fun making out with other boys. He says I Dear Johned him, I say he's smoking crack. Anyway, we made it through the two years. He came home in September 2002, and we picked up right where we left off.

We were married at the Dallas temple on January 25, 2003...

...went on our honeymoon to Oregon - Seaside, Astoria, Portland, Cannon Beach...

... in March 2004, we had our beautiful Ewan (unfortunately no tiny baby pics of him on computer)...

...spent three years as a small family, and a few anniversaries just the two of us...

... after enduring three miscarriages to get Fynn here, he made his appearance in December 2006 with his delicious cheeks and full head of hair...

... and we celebrated the arrival of our wee Corgan in October...

... and now here is our little dynasty of Taylor men. Hopefully in three or so years, I'll have some female backup.

Three Months!

*I had already posted this and right after tried to get him laughing on video. What resulted is pretty stinkin' cute, mixed with my very annoying voice, and a hilariously loud raspberry that Ewan blew on my arm right as I was ending the video. Enjoy.


Ewan and I had ourselves a little photo session with Corgan to commemorate his three month mark. We took turns snapping while the other tried to get him to smile. While there wasn't one "perfect" picture like I was hoping, these were the cutest. I couldn't limit myself to posting one. He's so stinkin' cute I have to refrain from squeezing him until he pops. Then I take him to the store, and he cries the entire time, and he seems a little less cute. But only for a little while. ;) These pictures don't show his total old-man hairdo - none on top and growing on the sides.

Happy birthday, Hunter!!!

I love you, you little stud!

Life is so uneventful right now...

...that all I have to post about is a chair. Let me rephrase it, however, it's not exactly "uneventful." Last week, having three kids went from difficult and ratcheted up to really friggin' difficult, with a dash of harder than crap and a twist of pull-my-hair-out frustrating. But I love being a mom, don't get me wrong, I have the three best boys ever. It's just... you know... really hard. ANYWAY...

We bought this yellow chair about three years ago at Salvation Army. I love me some color and print, and I needed a rocking chair. But my love affair with it has faded. It doesn't bring me flowers anymore, and I can't remember the last time it took me on a date. Seriously, though, the stuffing is coming out, it's dirty, clashes with my new curtains, is full of cat scratches, and the wooden rockers on the bottom are major hazards. I have smacked my ankle, stubbed my toe while the boys have smacked their head more times than I can count on those rockers. And it hurts! And oh, yeah, my biggest gripe?  When you rock in it, which I rock Corgan all the time, you migrate across the floor.  It's so slow, you can't tell it's happening, but suddenly you are across the room from where you started.  We've been wanting a different chair for a while, and we found the PERFECT one on Craigslist for CHEAP. Seriously, CHEAP. And it's nice. I was so excited.

Still love that pattern, but goodbye.

No more clashing with my curtains! No more stubbed toes! No more bumps on heads! And so comfy! YAY!

Let me count the ways

The number of reasons why I love this video are too many to count.  Cheesy and silly, maybe, but at least I've stopped short of hanging posters of kittens and babies on my walls.

Color me Flummoxed (A fashion post)

A while back, I posted this about how much I hated the booties and ankle boots that were coming into style.  I really hated those things.  And I mean LOATHED with the purple passion of a thousand  violent deaths.  But something has happened... Perhaps it's because I regularly read fashion magazines and websites and have thus been slowly brainwashed, or maybe I'm finally getting my style back after having babies.  Who knows, but suddenly - I LIKE THEM.  No, I love them.  Bryce told me I could pick some boots on clearance since every Fall I swear I am going to get some nice brown, knee-high boots, but the ones I want are either too expensive or I end up hating them after all and taking them back.  Then it occurred to me that I only wear them with jeans anyway, so I was looking for a cheaper alternative.  I found these and then there are these. And I think they are Friggin' Fabulous with two capital Fs.  And - OH MY GOSH - I must own these.  Don't get me wrong, I still hate peep-toe booties.  And I still love some good old Western brown boots and high fashion knee-highs, but until money is no object they aren't going to happen.  You can disagree with me, I'm okay with that.  But next Fall, I'll be sporting a pair of these bad boys.  Now to decide which pair I want...

I thought it was cute.

Walked around the corner and handed Ewan a mini Kit-Kat that he didn't ask for.  

"Why did you give me this?" he asked.

I answered, "Because I love you." 

A few minutes later, I did it again, and he said, "Wow, you must love me A LOT."

Bryce Taking Over

I am using my wife.  She has a lot more readers than the Man Blog so I am using it as a front to promote the first post on the man blog, featuring a well known yet under-developed photographer.

MAN BLOG

Annoying little furball with a stupid lisp...

As I sit here catching up on e-mails while the boys watch Sesame Street, I feel the need to say - I HATE Baby Bear.  That's all.

Neverland

I am actually pretty sad that life will be returning to normal. It's not that I'll miss the holidays exactly, just being able to visit with family, having Bryce home from work, and just the sense of laze and fun that surrounds the season. Not that there isn't any joy in day-to-day life, but there's also the grind. We've had a lot of fun, and we had two important events this weekend. Corgan was blessed on Sunday, and that afternoon we had Fynn's birthday party. Because I am so incredibly disorganized, I did not get a picture of Corgan in his blessing outfit, which was also worn by Ewan and Fynn. But sometime this week I'll get him back into it just so we can have a record. For now, here are some pictures from last week on a crazy warm winter day, and some from the party.

A grin to make you swoon.

He loved it outside. Both pictures were so good, I couldn't pick just one.

Showing us a tiny rock.

Another swoon.

Ewan is so proud of himself, learning how to swing on his own. He does it all the time now.

Fynn has an obsession with these shoes. His feet looked freakishly big as he was sitting there.

I could not ask for a better big brother for Corgan than Ewan. He loves that baby so much, talks to him all the time, and kisses him so much it's actually a little nerve-wracking. Corgan loves him right back and often gives him the best grins.

Birthday boy!

I'm thankful for our home, but it is so tiny. This isn't even a big party, and there's barely room to move. More people were in the kitchen.

The cake. Again, I didn't plan very well, so the Grover and Elmo were totally improvised from some of Fynn's toys. At least it tasted better than it looks.

Fynn and Ben under the table.

A comfortable way to eat chips and hide from people, apparently.

Peek!

And the funny part... If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know I'm a little crazy when it comes to animals. When Sarah asked for birthday ideas, I half jokingly said a gerbil. Sarah asked if that would actually be okay, and I said yes, but also as an early present for Ewan so it would be both of theirs. I didn't tell Bryce about it, but said that Sarah was bringing a friend that had been staying with them. When James and Sarah walked in with this huge box, I couldn't stop grinning, and he knew something was up. But he wasn't mad. Thanks, Sarah! And thanks, James, for the Potato Head hideaway idea. Ewan wants her name to be Sophie. I tried to talk him into Piper, but he won't have it. So Sophie she shall remain.

Bad Mommy... or totally justified? :)

Yeah, um, so I went shopping today, and was looking for a birthday card for Fynn for his party tomorrow. I thought a Wall-E one would be cute. Really, two-year-olds never care about the cards, right? So when I saw this cute little owl one that someone had just stuck in the kids' section, I wanted to buy it just for myself to keep. Especially after I opened it and it was musical, and I saw that it played one of the BEST. SONGS. EVER. When I saw it was $5, I decided it would be Fynn's birthday card. Again, will he really care? Nah. I'll just sneak it away from him when he's occupied by other presents. (And, yes, I am a complete and total goofball. No fault in that.)

I'm thinkin' I'm justified. Behold! The Card: