Mirror Mirror On The Wall, more tantrums, zombies and the IRS!

1. For what seems like years now, I have been on a quest for the perfect mirror to go above my piano. My front room isn't huge, so I didn't want a ginormous mirror to overwhelm the room. I finally found what I was looking for several months ago at Pottery Barn, but they had to order it in and it finally came just a few days ago. I am in LOVE with it!
That got me on a decorating kick and I found some things that I love over at Gardner Village...


I think I have settled finally on a color theme for my kitchen of greens and browns.

2. Simon has been doing great in his bed at night. We are getting into a routine of reading books before lights out, and last night Connor and Emmy wanted to be the ones to read with him. It was too cute not to take a picture, or two or three...




3. Simon is continuing to have meltdowns. To give him credit, I think he has been a bit sick and this is not his normal self. But it has provided for some genuine photo ops. This one was yesterday when he was in the pantry, unable to communicate to me what he wanted to eat. Everything I would point out, he would cry "No! D'wonnit! (don't want it)" So I left him in there to cry while I grabbed my camera. That really got him mad when he saw me waiting to take his picture. He wouldn't come all the way out until I put it away.

4. Having lunch with girlfriends is the best therapy, especially if it is your mom and sisters. I spontaneously drove up to Bountiful today to do some shopping with my mom and meet my 2 sisters for lunch at Paradise Bakery. Although I was fighting Simon's crankiness most of the time, I still got some good out of it and loved seeing them. My sister Erin has just gotten through the worst part of her pregnancy and it is so great to have her spunky personality back. I love you guys!

5. I am sooo irritated at the IRS today. A few months ago, we (Think Tank) got a mysterious check for $900+ dollars saying it was a refund of overpaid payroll taxes. I called the company who handles our payroll and they couldn't account for it, but said it would be safe to go ahead and deposit. Come to find out, the IRS had accidentally deposited some other company's payroll taxes into our account which caused an overage which automatically generates a refund. When they finally figured it out 4 months later and wanted their money back, it took me a few weeks to get around to cutting the check. Those few weeks ended up costing me $22 dollars in interest! I know I can fight it, but I am trying to decide if calling the IRS and being on hold for an hour is worth the $20. Argh! Just goes to show you, if you think something is too good to be true, like getting a $900 dollar check from the government for no apparent reason, then it probably is!

6. I laughed pretty hard at a news story the other night about a couple of clever hackers in Austin, TX who hacked into the digital road sign system and changed the words to say "The end is near! Caution! Zombies ahead!" Having seen movies like "28 Days" and "Shawn of the Dead", this made me giggle. What's even funnier is this reader response to the article online...
"This is not a joke. There were no hackers involved. Zombies were spotted in Austin and now the media are involved in a coverup. Austin residents, please be on the lookout for zombies--don't trust the media, your neighbors, or the authorities." I'm just amused that the hacker could have written something really offensive but chose to make people laugh instead.

The Best of Times...The Worst of Times...

This is the theme for my life as a stay-at-home mom these days with Simon. He is such a happy, funny kid most of the time, but when he is denied something (today it was denying him the right to stay in the car and play while I went inside the house), a tantrum the likes of which most of you haven't seen ensues. Zach decided I was going to need some moral support today and stayed home to help me calm him down. Good call, honey!

On a good note, a few nights ago we attempted transitioning Simon into a big boy bed. He sleeps just fine in his crib, but I really need to make more space in his bedroom so that his toys from Christmas can actually go in there instead of in my kitchen. First night was tedious. I think he came out of his room about 8 times, and each time I would just pick him back up and lay him back down. He eventually got too tired to fight it. Last night was a little different. I resorted to laying down with him which is something I DO NOT want to get into the habit of doing, but it worked like a charm and he was asleep in no time and didn't come out once. Naptime is a different story. I'm scared to death of losing naptime and with the freedom of getting out of the bed, it just might happen. So for the time being, he will nap in his crib and sleep at night in his bed. I only hope potty training is this easy!


I just want to write down some of the cute ways he pronounces some things so I don't forget them:

Blankie - maynkie
Mamma Mia - Ah mia
Otter Pop - Op Op
Milk - milkie
Yellow (ColdPlay song he requests in the car every time we get in): Lellow? Lellow?
Elephant - eh-fant
Fruit Snacks - suh sacks
Maggie (girl in the neighborhood) - "monkey"
SpongeBob - puh bob
TV - pee bee
Playland - eye-land
Airplane - eh-klane
Helicoptor - h'opter

Murray's got talent!

I am simply giddy about tonight's episode of American Idol. This is when we see auditions that took place in Salt Lake. I don't know if I will see anyone I know, but I'd like to think that Salt Lake is relatively small enough that I will get a glimpse of a familiar face.

Speaking of local talent, I stumbled across this song on the web written and performed by Murray High class of '92's Debra (Lowe) Stillman. The song playing on my playlist called "Middle of It All" was featured on an episode of a show called "Dead Zone" on the Sci-Fi channel and had a ton of people scrambling to find it.

Debra and I were in several plays together in high school, and she has had these amazing pipes since way back then. I'm not at all surprised that she has had some success in the world of music. So turn up your speakers and give her a listen...

How to Spoil Your Daughter When You Aren't Even Invited

If you know Zach very well, you know that he loves to spoil people, especially his own kids. So when Emmy announced nearly 6 months ago that for her 10th birthday she didn't want to have a party, not even a family party, just to spend a night with Mom at a hotel, he was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to throw her a killer party like he has done in the past. The fact that he wouldn't be attending her birthday celebration didn't slow him down in the least when it came to making her feel like a princess for her birthday.

First of all, he convinced Emmy that she wouldn't have NEARLY as much fun with just mom than if she invited her friend, Jaxynn, and her mom, Julie, to come along. Jaxynn and Emmy are 2 peas in a pod, and they get along so perfectly well. They were mistaken for sisters at one point last night, and Emmy said proudly, "Nope! Just best friends!". And lucky for me, Julie is one of my very favorite people so I had a blast as well. They were excellent company for us.

Secondly, Zach went ahead of us to all of our stops to stow away surprise presents for both girls. At the day spa where we got our nails done...

At Bonsai...




At the hotel...

Of course, the girls had to jump on the beds...

Check out the view from the window... (our room overlooked the Gallivan Center skating rink so we had fun watching people turf it on the ice)

And swim in the pool...

I was actually a trooper and got in the pool (got my hair wet and everything!) but Julie had the "I'm-pregnant-and-don't-want-to-look-like-a-beached-whale" excuse (which she wouldn't have) so she hung out on the lounge chairs. We witnessed a couple of grown brothers putting on the best men's water ballet I have ever seen, so that was a bonus.

Emmy scored with a genuine Smith Family duct tape purse complete with functional wallet. AND they also gave Emmy our family's very first *gasp* basketball. You should have seen her face, and mine.
I have to admit, I get a little embarrassed when Zach goes overboard with things like this, but I am also glad that he cares enough to go out of his way to be a fun dad. Not to mention the fact that he took care of Simon so I could relax and have fun. Apparently Simon wouldn't sleep and they ended up driving around the entire valley (trying to get him to fall asleep) at 3:00 a.m. So thank you Honey for providing some great memories for this mom and daughter!

My Brother Tom's latest commercial

He is the very first guy you see in his Dolphin boxers...

The latest and greatest from Apple

I will be standing in line at 4:00 a.m. the day this becomes available. Hope to see you there!


Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Vroomin' in Vegas

Zach has been in Las Vegas since last Wednesday for a Carroll Shelby birthday event thrown for Shelby owners. For those of you who don't know, Carroll Shelby is a racecar driving legend turned car designer. Mr. Shelby is 86 years old and probably won't be around much longer, based on Zach's assessment after meeting him face to face, so Zach was very glad he got a chance to meet the man that is to credit for his passion for these cars.


To kick off the 4 day party, the participants did a rally drive into Vegas from California. Zach and his business partner/co-Shelby owner/friend Allen had to drive on past Vegas down into California around Barstow to meet up with the huge crowd of Shelby's heading up 1-15. He said it was crazy how much of the highway they took up and the looks they got from the other drivers.

Over the next few days, he got a lot of track time driving the pony amongst other cars that he has drooled over like Shelby Terlingua Mustangs and his favorite, the Ford GT. He had our video camera mounted to the inside of the windshield so last night we watched it as a family and got a very good feel for what it was like.

While Zach was gone, I had the kids to myself for a few days. Simon didn't realize that Daddy wasn't just at work, so I tried to explain that he was driving his vroom-vroom in Vegas. By Sunday, Simon had it down pat and would say "vroom vroom Vegas". When Zach walked in the door (holding a box of Krispy Kremes that he picked up in Provo), Simon pretty much broke the sound barrier with his high pitched squeal. It was a good homecoming reunion.

At Last! Just What Every Girl Needs!

Twilight obsessed readers, take a minute to visit my sister's blog for a chuckle or two, compliments of my brother-in-law Mike.

From our friend at SeriouslySoBlessed.blogspot.com

Tiffany/Amber/Megan/Nicole has these words of wisdom for our Young Women...

Tell-Tell Signs the Relationship's Croaked

His texts dwindle. Guys, seriously: if he loves you, he will text. Harsh but true: if he doesn't have what it takes to think about you all day NOW, what the crap is he going to do in the eternities?

He switches to a yawner car...if he ditches a hot Moabin' Jeep or big honkin hot truck for a Socialist Prius, RUUUUN. Unless of coarse you want a lifetime of wiping noses in nursery while the truck guys your friends married sit on the stand. Up to you I guess.

He rushes your primping. If he EVER seriously even HINTS at you speeding up your hottie routine, get out while you can bc he is obviously a way selfish jerk. How the heck is he gonna shell out for augmentation later if he can't even wait patiently now? If he's so shallow he can't even wait, I bet he never even got above district leader.

Remember, if he picks ANY jewlery without consulting you first, THAT IS NOT CUTE. IT IS DANGEROUS. Next thing you know he'll "suprise you" with some nasty ug cubic zirc and you'll spend the rest of your life fayning joy at every anniversary slash holiday pretending you don't wanna puke.

Life's Simple Pleasures

The other night, I had to run into my mom's house for a minute to fix something on her computer. Simon was pretty upset he didn't get to come in and cried for quite a while, even after I was back in the car. Zach jokingly said to me as we were driving away, "Maybe we should let him ride the elevator at the hospital to help him get over it". Simon's ears perked at the words "hospital" and "elevator" and said through his sobs, "Kay!".

Let me back up. Ever since Emmy and I both had hospital stays last summer, Simon thinks hospitals are the bomb. They have elevators! And elevators have buttons to push! And sometimes those elevators lead to doctor's offices with little orange and black Nemos swimming around! Best of all, they have helicopters! Since the IMC Hospital is visible from just about everywhere in the valley, whenever he sees it in the car, he goes through a series of exclamations. Hospital! Doctor! Helicoptor! Around...sky (talking about the helicopter)! Elevator...buttons...up...down! I promise, he says each and every one of the words at the sight of the hospital which we see many times a day.

Back to the other night...

So we drove over to the hospital. He was absolutely giddy in his car seat as we pulled up to the main tower, legs a-bouncin', arms flailing. Emmy wanted to come with, so the three of us walked in the main doors. He knew right where to go. He was all business as he stood patiently waiting for the elevator doors to open. A doctor-ish looking man got in with us, and Simon looked at him with big, open eyes, not saying anything. At the top floor, we got off to look out the windows. We could see the top of our mini-van circling the parking lot far below in the snow. Not less than 3 minutes later, we were back in the van. Simon's wish was fulfilled with such a simple thing as taking him on an elevator ride in the hospital.

In a few months, he will probably have moved onto something else. Riding in elevators won't be the most exciting thing for him, like getting stopped at the railroad crossing isn't anymore. It's a simple pleasure that we take for granted and I'm so glad that Zach thought to actually act on that impulse instead of joke about it and drive home.

My Baby Turns 2!!!

Yesterday marked the 2nd year of my baby's life. I don't think I will ever stop calling him my baby. Since he is most likely my last, he will always have that title.

Having a birthday right after the holidays means your parents will most likely not have the energy for an elaborate, well thought out party. In Simon's case, his party was to play in the Arctic Circle playland for as long as he liked with some of his Sharples cousins. We actually did put a limit at 1 1/2 hours at which time we STILL had to carry him out kicking and screaming. I honestly don't know if that kid could ever get sick of playlands. He has just discovered them and they are all so NEW. Thanks to those who "endured" Arctic Circle food for Simon's sake.

Later that night, we had a small cake and ice cream gathering with my mom where we presented him with this...
He has seen it before over at my in-laws where Zach put it together and striped it, but I don't think he realized it was his until he saw it here in our front room. It will not be mobile until the spring when we take it outdoors and actually put the battery in it. For now, it will stay in the basement where he can sit in it and beep the horn to his heart's content. I don't even think he knows it actually drives :)

Grandma gave him a stack of books which he later "read" to Emmy...

Playing with some new trucks...

For not planning an actual themed party, a car theme still emerged...



Simon, I am so happy you are part of our family. For all the scratches and bruises you've given us, you've also warmed our hearts and made us laugh 'til our sides hurt. In the past 2 years, you have learned to:

*give hugs and actual kisses.
*speak amazingly well for your age.
*go to nursery without crying.
*recognize colors.
*count to 10 (hit and miss on this one).
*give high fives, up high, down low, too slow!
*do your hair with toothpaste which you think is gel. You actually think everything is gel and try to put it in your hair.
*Operate the DVD player, the open and close button anyway, and put multiple DVD's in at once!
*Navigate in YouTube to your favorite videos (with my help, of course) which we do at least once a day.
*Talk on the phone for great lengths.
*Cook noodles and peas in your kitchen.
*Sing Mamma Mia because you watch it many times a day.
*Take your shoes and socks off whenever we get in the car.
*Start the dishwasher when I least expect it.
*Squirt mom with water out of your bath toys with amazing accuracy.
*Feed yourself - kind of, and with great messes.
*Flush the toilet, with objects in it that you have thrown in.

We love you, Si-Guy!

Deja Vu

On December 27th, my sister-in-law Adri and her husband Brett welcomed a new addition to their family, Jacob Christopher Ballingham. Baby Jake makes cousin #19 for my kids. Wow. I never had so many cousins! I'm so glad the babies keep coming. Cousin #20 will be here sometime in July thanks to my sister Erin making the big leap of faith to have just one more. I love this picture of Connor. I have one identical to it 2 years ago holding Simon, but Connor has changed by leaps and bounds since then. Who knows...maybe someday I will have a picture of him holding his own little one this way.