Feeling grinchy

Some of my favorite movie quotes of all time, courtesy of The Grinch:

The Grinch: Blast this Christmas music! It's joyful AND triumphant!
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The Grinch: The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there - on such short notice! Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it. 4:00, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one; 5:30, jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me - I can't cancel that again; 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing... I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9, I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear? 
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The Grinch: All right, you're a reindeer. Here's your motivation: Your name is Rudolph, you're a freak with a red nose, and no one likes you. Then, one day, Santa picks you and you save Christmas. No, forget that part. We'll improvise... just keep it kind of loosey-goosey. You HATE Christmas! You're gonna steal it. Saving Christmas is a lousy ending, way too commercial. ACTION!
[Max knocks the red nose off]
The Grinch: BRILLIANT! You reject your own nose because it represents the glitter of commercialism. Why didn't I think of that? Cut, print, check the gate, moving on.
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Cindy Lou Who: Santa?
The Grinch: WHAT?
Cindy Lou Who: Don't forget the Grinch. I know he's mean and hairy and smelly. His hands might be cold and clammy, but I think he's actually kinda... sweet.
The Grinch: SWEET? You think he's sweet?
Cindy Lou Who: [nods] Merry Christmas, Santa.
[goes upstairs]
The Grinch: Nice kid... baaad judge of character.

In a nutshell

I sooooo don't have time to be doing this.  But oh well.  Here we go anyway.  I just have so much to say that every time I think about posting something new on this blog I get overwhelmed and push it to the back of my already bursting at the seams brain.  So here is my life in a very condensed set of small sentences in no particular order.  The so-called nutshell.  (Note to self:  research this phrase sometime in the future and find out what the heck it really means.  Cuz I'm kinda nerdy like that.)

1.  Guess what?  I passed THE test!  Woo hoo!  It was harder than I thought it would be.  Kinda thinking I'm also not as smart as I once thought I was.
2.  Shawn quits his job in one month and starts school 3 weeks later.  This brings two thoughts to my mind.  First, what in the HECK are we thinking?  Second, it's possible that those 3 weeks might end in divorce. :)  What am I going to do with him for that long? (No Craig, not that.)
3.  I miss my friends in Maine.  I cried for 45 minutes last night because they called and left us a funny message on our machine.  Didn't realize how much I really, really wish they were here right now.  (Love you guys!)
4.  I am approaching this holiday season with the same amount of usual dread, but have found that I have this one little irritating ray of hope and anticipation sparkling somewhere in the darkness.  Ok...this is new.  What do I do with that?
5.  I made Barbie clothes for Abby the other day.  It was like an eruption of spontaneous creativity that I just had to get out.  So I neglected everything else in my life and worked for 2 hours until I created this one little dress for her Barbie.  2 hours people!  What is wrong with this picture!?!  It is pretty dang cute though.  And modest, which is so unlike the Barbie we know.
6.  Abby turned 3 last week.  She is so flippin' cute.  She acted like a princess all day, saying things like "Why thank you." and "Whatever shall we do?".  She is an actress in the making, I tell you.  I also made her a beautiful cake.
7.  I feel like I have totally neglected my boys the last few months.  I am experiencing huge amounts of guilt about that.  But I don't know what to do to fix it.
8.  I have been actually exercising in a sort-of consistent way with my friend Heidi.  She is way awesome!  And the fact that she still likes me even though I completely sleep in and ditch her sometimes makes her an angel in my book.  I love her!!
9.  I got a new calling.  I was the Primary pianist but now have been promoted to Primary chorister.  I do not have feelings about this yet, only that I am bummed that Heidi (see number 8) won't be there anymore to chit chat with me.  I'm also unsure if I will be able to muster that much happiness for such a long period of time.  Primary choristers are just so dang enthusiastic and fun!
10.  I hate cars.
11.  I hate driving cars.
12.  I hate spending hundreds of dollars to repair cars that I don't even like to begin with.
13.  I think I'm stretching now for things to say, so I must be done.

That will be all.

Scary!

Dang! I love Halloween!

Oh dear...

So I'm getting ready to walk out the door yesterday. I grab my keys and turn to Abby and say, "It's time to go, sweetie. Can you get your shoes on?" Her face lights up as she responds...

"Can I drive?"

I guess I don't have to exercise anymore...

Did you know that banging your head against the wall burns 150 calories an hour? I know. I can't believe it either. And to think I wasted all that money on a treadmill.

My latest project

I know....it's destined to end up on my pile of unfinished crafty and sewy things, but I just can't help it!! I HAVE to make this for Abby! Or start to make it anyway.


I found it here, just in case you were wondering. ;)

Garden as art

I just picked these today! Aren't they beautiful?

bleh...

Yet another month flies by. Two camping trips passed without disastrous incident. I'm behind on everything else in my life, like usual, and feeling a little inadequate at the moment. Ok, A LOT inadequate. Don't you hate those moments when you feel like you are ok at most things, but just not good enough at anything? I feel like blowing a great big raspberry at life and if I was good at typing sound effects, I would do just that.

So anyway, I will postpone the pity party I was just having with myself and I will catch you all up on my life as of late.

Like I mentioned above, we had two camping trips with two very different groups of family members in the space of two weeks. We came home from the first, had two days to prepare for the next, then left to spend four more luxurious days in the high Uintahs. (did you catch the sarcasm there?) I will spare you the details, but will just say that both trips were very fun in different ways. I didn't catch a single fish, though. I am a little irritated to say the least. Abby, however, caught at least ten, but they were all plastic and colored hot pink. Dang...she is so cute!


The two middle children start school next Monday and not a moment too soon! I love their guts, but I am craving routine, a cupboard that still has food in it and most of all, a quiet moment here and there. I know, I know...in a couple of months I will be wishing I didn't have to worry about homework, getting up early and wanting more time to spend with them. But we always want what we don't have, right?

Abby is finally potty training. Well, let's say that Shawn and I have finally decided to make her because we are sick of diapers. The funny part is that Abby is totally capable of doing it, but she simply doesn't want to take the time out of her full-time playing and movie watching schedule for such things. So we have a few little accidents (the latest was in my bed this morning...UGH), but she is doing pretty well. We have figured out that bribing her with pink, sparkly Hello Kitty stickers is a nice incentive.

Well, life is calling me and I am experiencing a rare moment of motivation right now, so I better get off this computer and go do something and only get half way through it. :)

Oh this is so pathetic

I cannot believe how fast the time goes! Seriously. It's disgusting. It's been almost two months since I have posted anything and it is not, dear reader, because I have nothing to post. It is because I am a lazy, good-for-nothing blogger.

So, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up...

Seth got baptized a week ago. We decided to do a double baptism with his cousin, Kade, since they were scheduled to be dunked the same day and we really didn't think it was very nice to make our families decide which baptism to go to. It was extremely cool and Seth was so excited. He is just the funniest kid and sometimes I'm not really sure where he gets some of his ideas. When our neighbor asked him on Sunday how it felt to be baptized he responded, "I feel fresh and clean, kinda like I was brainwashed." It's a good thing our neighbor has a sense of humor. Otherwise she would be wondering what kinds of things those Shipley's are teaching their kids.

p.s. If you talk to Seth in the near future, could you please not mention that I told you this? He got a little irritated with me last time because I broad casted his future career plans to the blogging world. Thanks! ;)

Funny for the day

Today's funny comes from Seth:

"Mom, someday when I have a job I am going to have a big building. It's gonna be half scientist potion lab, half hospital and half Chinese restaurant!"

Gosh, I love that kid.

My life: part 1

Hello to everyone who reads my blog! All four of you.

Life is oh so busy. Here's an update on one little part of my life:

I started a new position at work a couple of weeks ago as a compounding pharmacy technician (in training). For those of you who are thinking "Huh?" right now, I will explain. In a compounding pharmacy, of which there are very few, we make specialized prescriptions for creams, capsules, suspensions etc. It is a lot like cooking, except I use chemicals, drugs and scales that measure milligrams. Here is a picture of what I look like at work:

Except this isn't me. I haven't actually taken any pictures of myself at work. This is just a picture of some girl in a pharmacy in a land far, far away. :) And I actually don't wear a lab coat, I wear scrubs with a long sleeve shirt underneath.

The good thing about this new position is that in about 3 or 4 months I will have my pharmacy tech license and hopefully a nice raise! Plus I will have compounding experience, which is apparently a very valuable thing in pharmacy world.

The bad thing about this job is that most of my coworkers are ticked at me because they wanted it too. I had no idea it was so coveted. I think it's because you get to basically wear pajamas to work. I'm pretty sure the two main reasons I was given the job are because 1) I know how to cook and 2) I am done having children. Some of the chemicals we use can be hard on the baby making process, so they don't want to give this job to a 22 year old youngin' only so she can quite 6 months later when she decides to start having babies.

Anyway....putting all of THAT aside, I really love it!! It is extremely interesting and I think I am pretty good at it. There is a lot to learn. I still only work a few nights a week, so it will probably take me forever to learn everything. It's very technical and a little bit nerdy, which suits me just fine. :)

Just cross your fingers that I don't drop and break something important.

Kids say the darndest things

These are all from this morning and it's only 8:30 a.m.:

Me: "Abby? What would you like for breakfast?"
Abby: "Umm...how 'bout...a cookie?"
Me: "You need to eat breakfast first. How 'bout eggs and toast?"
Abby: "Ok, ya...that's cool."

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Abby walks up to me this morning after she has removed all of her clothing, including her diaper. Picture her with a very triumphant look on her face.
Me: "So...Abby...where is your diaper?"
Abby: (silence, still looking rather proud of herself)
Me: "Do you want to wear some big girl panties today?"
Abby: (thinking for a moment) "No. How 'bout some slippers?"

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Seth: "Mom, do you know what I decided I'm going to be when I grow up?"
Me: "What?"
Seth: "A scientist."
Me: "Really? That is awesome, Seth! Why do you want to do that?"
Seth: "Because I wanna make those potions that will turn people into different characters, you know, like they do on Zelda."
Me: "Seth, you need to lay off the video games."



So now I'm wondering...do you think I'll still get the "Mother of the Year" award?

Thoughts for the day

Does anybody else have a tendency to stay up too late and think too much? Everyone else in my house is asleep and here I sit, over-analyzing my life. I guess it comes with the job of being a Mom.

Speaking of jobs, I started a new job (sort of) at the pharmacy. I get to ring up prescriptions instead of OTC stuff. Exciting, eh? I know.......you wish you were me. Eventually I hope to train as a pharmacy tech, but that won't be for a few months. I have really been liking this new thing. I am back in the pharmacy with co-workers instead of in no man's land at the other side of the store, all by my lonesome. It can get pretty crazy back there in the pharmacy with 7 phone lines ringing and 10 customers in the lobby waiting to pick up. But I kind of like it! I like the fast paced work. It's sort of fun, for a job anyway. Probably the novelty will wear off soon, but I am determined to enjoy it while it lasts.

As a result of me being gone for three nights a week, Shawn has decided to learn how to cook. That idea was a little scary to me at first since Shawn's normal idea of cooking is macaroni and cheese. The boxed kind. He says that after a year of me working nights, he is sick and tired of eating macaroni and cheese and other such dinners. So he decided to do something about it. I have to say that I am very pleasantly surprised at how well he is doing. His specialty is chicken fajitas and they are GOOD! Like so good that I look forward to having the leftovers for lunch the next day. He chops, marinates, bakes, broils and whisks like a pro. He even finds his own recipes to try! On the nights that I am home we cook together and I have discovered that I really enjoy that. Yay for us! Who says that after 15 years of marriage, you can't find new things in common? Plus the kids say that they like his pancakes better than mine. I have to admit, that hurts a little. I make mine from scratch and his are just the Krusteaz add water kind. But Shawn is very proud of that compliment from the kids, so he can have it without me whining.

Ok, I'm starting to fall asleep sitting up at the computer, so that means it's time I go read my book in bed for 20 minutes until I literally can't keep my eyes open any more.

nigh nigh everyone...

Pretend there is a witty title here

Because all I really wanna say is that I finally got my ears fixed, meaning the lucky medical assistant got to clean out the disgusting wall of wax that was in my ears. So gross. And we will just leave it at that. But I feel like a new woman now that I can hear again! I think I take for granted a lot things, until I don't have them anymore.

But such is life. Be grateful.

p.s. Doctor's advice: Never use a q-tip in your ear.

My silent world

I have been having a hard time hearing the past few months and have noticed that I have to turn up my iPod a lot louder than most people do. That gave me this great idea to buy some of those ear drops that are supposed to clean out your ears. Wow...biggest mistake ever! It didn't help and now I feel like I have water in my ears constantly and I can barely hear what anybody is saying. I can't hear the phone ring or the doorbell. If I'm not in the same room with someone, I can't hear what they are doing or saying. My kids and husband find this amusing and like to say obnoxious things and then laugh hysterically when I say, "What?". It's not funny, people! Sudafed isn't working and I think I might actually have to go to the doctor. Yesterday I had to lead choir practice, but I have no idea if they sounded good or bad. And by the way, do you know how hard it is to play the piano when you can't HEAR??? Ahhhhh! I am seriously irritated!

Ahhh the joys of motherhood!

So we are entering a new phase this week. Abby has decided she no longer would like to wear diapers. I like to call this phase "Potty training takes over our lives." I have done this 3 other times....do you think it would get easier? I say to you that it does not! If anything, it's more difficult because you actually know what you are in for and you are NOT excited about it. Diapers are so nice and convenient. Going to the potty 50 times a day with your toddler, only to have her pee her pants 2 minutes after she tried the last time is not nice and convenient. Ok, my complaining is over. Now I will tell you how happy I am to get rid of the huge diaper bag and the endless money spent on diapers and wipes. Plus, I have to say that Abby's little behind looks so dang cute in her tiny Little Mermaid panties! Oh my heck!!! Every time I see her run around in them, I giggle uncontrollably. I would post a picture if I wasn't paranoid about weirdos looking at my blog.

Uh oh....gotta go.

My recent addiction

Two days of posting in a row! How ambitious of me. I was just laying in my warm bed thinking of all the things I should be doing and believe me, the list is looooooong. This is what I do when I have too much too do. I just shut down completely and eat chocolate for breakfast. Speaking of chocolate, here is something I have recently discovered:
Yes, these are delicious Hershey kisses filled with caramel. I have eaten 2/3 of a bag since yesterday all by myself and have even hidden the bag in my sock drawer so my kids won't get any. How sad is that? They should call them Hershey's with Crack.

Wow, I really suck at this

I am a terrible blogger. I admit it. I go months without updating anything and then by the time I get around to it, I feel like I have a novel to write. So I usually just bag it and post some tiny random thought that really doesn't even begin to describe my life.

So this time I am going to attempt an edited version of the novel I usually feel compelled to relate to you. (all two of you who read this blog)

First of all, I have to talk about the most pressing matter on my mind. Time! It is just going by way too fast. I know that is such an overused expression, but that's because it's true. I can't believe that it's 2010, I have a teenager (who, by the way, will be DRIVING in 3 years), my baby is two, I'm on the downhill slope to age 40, I have been married 15 years in June, etc. etc. etc. Does anybody else feel like they are getting washed away by a very swiftly moving river and you are barely keeping your head above water? That's the closest thing I can think of to describe it. But even though life is moving very fast, I love every minute of it. Well, maybe not every minute, but definitely 90% of them. :) I only hope that I can enjoy my kids at this stage in their lives as much as possible so that I have no regrets later on.

Speaking of my kids, I have to brag about them for a moment. Yes, I get to do that because it's my blog. Alex, the teenager/man-child, is so much fun. I enjoy having him around and he's 13! Who knew I would love the teenage years? Well, so far anyway. I know there are those of you who are shaking your head and saying "Oh, just you wait" and all that. But it is so fun to have another person to laugh with, talk to and have little inside jokes with and realize that this is your child. You used to change his diapers, play Pokemon, sing kid songs together and now he looks so grown up. He has opinions and inspirations. He's changed from this little, timid boy to a very handsome, smart, talented and a little bit too sarcastic young man that I just adore. He loves Jazz music and has learned how to play the trombone very well. I love listening to him practice and I love seeing him perform. Plus he has a lot of fun playing.

Nate is quickly following in Alex's footsteps. He is learning to play the saxophone. He will be 11 in March and is beginning this metamorphosis from child to young adult. It is so strange how much they change in such a short amount of time. They seem like different people after they reach a certain age. He is such a handsome kid. He looks just like his Daddy and I am amazed at what that boy can do. He works with Shawn all the time to fix things and build things. He is so good with his hands and is artistic at the same time. If I need something put back together or fixed, I just ask Nate. He is not only willing, but he is capable too. He is destined to do great things!

Seth is turning 8 in a few months and is excited to be baptized. It is this time in my kid's lives that I start to really examine my parenting skills (or the lack thereof). I wonder if I've taught them what they need to know about life and about the gospel. I wonder if they really know what they are doing. I start to feel a little panicked and try to shove every gospel concept into their brains as fast as possible. This doesn't work, of course. But it makes me feel a little better. Seth has also started taking piano lessons from yours truly. He really does have a talent for it. I have a feeling that I will be farming him out to some other teacher in a couple of years, because he will have surpassed my musical ability. He has a great ear and can pick out melodies and play them. If I can just get him to learn to read music then he will be amazing!

Abigail is already 2 and it was only like a few hours ago that I gave birth to her. Seriously, could we just slow the time machine down a bit? She truly amazes me. I cannot even describe it. I just feel so lucky and blessed and a little bit undeserving of such a precious little girl. I want to fold her up in a soft blanket and never, ever let go. What on earth am I going to do when she starts school? Or starts driving? Or, heaven forbid, DATING?!? No way. Either she won't get to do any of those things or I will need to be heavily medicated when she does. I just pray every day that I will have the faith that it will require to let her go out into the world and live her life. What is it about a little girl that provokes this feeling of over-protectiveness? Is that even a word? It's a good thing I have Shawn to balance out this paranoia of mine. Sometimes he is the most laid back person about stuff like that. But when it comes to Abby, I wonder if he will still be the same? Hmmm...we'll see.

Ok, enough thinking for a while. If you made it this far in this extremely long post, thank you! Either it really was interesting or you have nothing better to do. :)