Movie Moments

Reason for my absence from the blogging world? I've slowed down a bit and I'm not cramming so much into my days!! (In my own mind, I'm hearing your applause.) It feels very good and I'm liking the results I'm seeing. But, one thing that moved way down the list was blogging. So, periodically I keep up with your blogs, and even less periodically I post on mine.

Today's post:

What are some movie moments that you love for whatever reason (funny, romantic, suspenseful, thought provoking)? Recently Jon and I posed that question to some friends and the results were pretty varied and fun. (Return to Me, Nacho Libre, Good Will Hunting, Family Man, So I Married An Axe Murderer, Tomb Raider, When Harry Met Sally)

Here were mine: An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle and Jon's was a clip from Another Stakeout (random movie--only worth watching to see the clip about the ice cream sandwiches. It's such a random movie, though, that I can't find the clip online anywhere!)

So, what would your great movie moment be?

(BTW, none of the great, obvious Jane Austen movies made it because guys were there and well, it's just not the same is it.)

New Summer Hobby?

Check out this great idea!

Father's Day Ideas

Just saw this easy idea that would be fun for the kiddies. I think I might try it...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It's not even Christmas Day yet and I already feel like I got what I wanted for Christmas. This year I was seeking a simple Christmas packed with tons of memories (as opposed to things) and thanks to my SIL and my my wish is being fulfilled.

Favorite Gifts:
*From my SIL, Carrie, the 12 Days of Christmas ready to give to another family. How fun! Carrie did all the work (cute poems, pretty bows on each gift--it was seeping with creativity) and all I have to do each night is pass it off to Jon and the girls and off they go. LOVED IT!
*From my brother, Justin, a gift that has brought about great discussions and questions with our girls. In our name, honey bees, tree seedlings and training are being provided to families in another country through Heifer International. What a great gift! I loved it for its originality, thoughtfulness and practicality. We gave another family a source of income!!! That's cool.

Favorite Activities:
*ice skating...in the rain (Who would've guessed that 40% chance of rain meant a downpour?)
*finding any excuse for having hot chocolate, like skating in the rain (We discovered flavored coffee creamers that make hot chocolate even more fun!)
*seeing the Nutcracker with the girls--love this tradition
*watching Christmas movies
*making gingerbread houses (sorry, the houses were made with graham crackers, but I did make the royal icing that worked like magic keeping everything together) The girls invited friends over too, so in all about 12 houses were made. We will definitely make this a tradition. And I will definitely do this outside next year. :)
*looking at lights...on other people's houses (because as my girls have learned, we just don't do lights on the outside because that's the part that Jon's in charge of.)

What I'm Looking Forward to:
*making donuts (Yet another excuse for more hot chocolate--you gotta have something to dip the donuts in!)
*finding some snow somewhere (Emily wants to make a snowman and go sledding. So far, the closest snow we can find is 5 hours away, so maybe we'll do an overnighter and have some snow adventures.)
*game nights
*Christmas morning
*watching more Christmas movies (did you see this one?)

Fun Ideas

Check out these sites that I found--way fun ideas!
Thanksgiving Thankful Countdown
Ornament Wreath
No Knit Scarf
Patchwork Duvet (I'm thinking it will be a great way for Emily to be more involved in her room makeover)
Christ Centered Christmas--a whole blog full of ideas!
Fabric Bracelets
Monogram Wreath
Hanging Book Display--I'm dying to do one for each of the girls.
Maybe thinking about all these fun ideas will motivate me to work super hard to get everything done today! Then I'll have lots of free time, right? :)

Am I getting it done?

My philosophy has always leaned towards 'Get in there and get er done.' I might not be having a lot of fun sometimes, but I'm getting a lot done! A couple of weeks ago I talked to a friend who I have always admired. She made this comment to me: "If we're not having fun doing what we do, then what's the point?"
I'm looking at my calendar today and seeing what needs to get done. I have lesson plans for preschool to prepare and November's calendar to the parents to get out. I have a Relief Society lesson to prepare for tomorrow. I have trick or treating tonight (Trunk or Treating was last night) and 13 people coming over for dinner tomorrow so the house needs to be cleaned today. I have 3 dentist appointments and 1 doctor's apppointment next week. I'm volunteering in Emily's class on Monday. Swimming on Tuesday. Relief Society presidency meeting on Wednesday. (Am I doing everything I can with my calling?) Visiting teaching on Thursday evening. Gymnastics on Friday. Family pictures being taken on Friday. Shopping for the family picture will be fit in...???? Preschool on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I just saw the lawn and again had the thought, 'Maybe it's time to hire someone to do the yard.' It's also time for me to get a haircut. (When???) I feel like I call on friends too much to watch my kids so that I can "Get er done!"
Yesterday after gymnastics I went to the store to get food for Sunday's dinner and next week's preschool stuff. I had a cart full when I realized I was supposed to be in Rachel's class with plates and Cheerios for her Halloween party right now!! I left the cart in the middle of the store full of stuff and RAN out, threw Hannah and Lizzie in the car and vroomed off. I hit every red light on the way home to pick up my stuff and H&L just stared at me while I growled at the lights. I tried to make it look like I was having fun doing it, but I don't think I fooled them--I think I scared them. I showed up to the party a little late, frazzled, with H&L looking like they needed a little more love and cleaner outfits. Rachel just seemed to look at me like "Yeah, that seems about right. That's my mom."
Why am I so busy and feeling like I'm doing a lot, but when you look at my house or any other part of my life one has to wonder, What is she doing?

I now know...

After a very fun, very busy day at preschool today, I put Lizzie down for a nap and Hannah and I went upstairs for some quiet time with the telly. (We get 7 stations with the antenna Jon bought--4 are PBS, one is Korean, one is Spanish and one is lame.) After watching Elmo for awhile, I heard noises downstairs. I went to investigate. Lizzie wasn't in her crib. She had discovered something more fun. Coloring! With a marker...a black marker...a black dry erase marker. It's easier to list what she didn't color on than what she did--her rug and, thankfully, the new white dresser were spotless.
Here is what I now know: (It seems that because of my kids' curiosity I've learned a lot!)
~Rubbing alcohol and hairspray take dry erase marker off walls, doors, and baseboards pretty easily. It also takes off paint pretty easily, too. Emily and Lizzie now get to choose a new paint color for their room. Emily's thinking blue. Lizzie says pink. (I'm not sure Lizzie will get much say seeing that she created this dilemma.)
~Baby wipes take dry erase marker off cribs and beds, but not off of skin.
~Murphy's Oil Soap takes most of dry erase marker out of clothes. Ironically, Lizzie was wearing this shirt. Maybe this isn't quite the shirt for her? I tend to stay pretty calm during "moments" such as these. Lizzie kept asking, "Mommy sad?" while I was scrubbing away. I simply replied, "Yes, Mommy's very sad." Then with a smile she'd say, "Sorry, Mommy."
I tried 2 more times to put Lizzie to bed. After hearing noises I checked on her to make sure she hadn't found any more markers. The first time she was in her closet, with the doors closed trying on shoes and the next time she was doing somersaults on her floor. What am I going to do??? She usually takes 3 hour naps! It's such a wonderful thing and I'm not ready to give them up. So, after picking up Rachel from school I tried one more time and told her to stay. The look on my face was enough I guess because she napped until the next teasing match woke her up.
What did you learn today?