Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Phenomenal Women Out There?

Having two beautiful daughters, my hope is convince them of their beauty and have it not be defined by society. I've struggled with self-esteem and I'm on a new path to keep my thoughts healthy as well as my body.
...If I run, I run not to make the numbers on the scale go down
...If I run, I run for energy to play with my kids and grand kids and even my great-grand kids
...If I run, I run to keep my body healthy so I don't fall into that breast cancer that has so sneakily burned through so many of the strong females in my family's history
...I eat healthy, yes, but don't get it twisted -- I'll top my salad with a heap o sweet pork and take some fries with that shake just so I don't lose my sanity.

Just as we've been learning this past general conference:

Just because we live IN the world,
doesn't mean we should live OF the world.

One of my fave poems from one of my fave poets reminds me that it don't matter if your thin, it don't matter if your tan, or if you got big boobs....that don't make you a woman any more than the others...It's how you carry yourself...with confidence...confidence knowing your a woman, and a phenomenal one at that.

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

keep It real yall...

signed,

a Phenomenal Woman



Thoughts Lately...

I've always heard how your life flashes before your eyes just before your life ends and...that's the only way that I can explain how I've been feeling the past month. Not meaning, of course, that my life is LITERALLY ending, but my life here in America will be ending. America to me was "My Family" and it took me a while to realize that just because this chapter of my life means letting go of "America"...it doesn't mean that I'm letting go of my family.

I couldn't place my finger on what exactly it was that I was feeling for a few weeks now. At first I thought that I was just going to miss my brothers and sisters too much, but I knew that wasn't it....it was something else, something more.

GUILT

I will be the first to admit that I was incredibly horrible to my mother, especially as a teen. We fought constantly...verbally, yes, but mostly physically. There are those who only casually know my mom and think she's so cute and sweet...then there are those who have spent a little time in our home and think she's and angry witch....then there are those who really know my mom.

My mom has been through so much in her past. I've only heard bits and pieces from my dad and from others who knew my mom before she was married, but even from the very little information that I possess,I know that she's been through more hurt and pain than I could ever imagine. It took me being a wife and a mother to truly understand what my mom was so desperately trying to teach me my whole life. It took me being a wife and a mother to truly be grateful for all that she did for me and my siblings. At times I feel drained of ALL my energy with my two young girls...and my heart aches for my mother who did it all with 3 young girls keeping us and the house spotless and reading us books (no matter how fobbed out she was), finding a job at our school so she could earn her own money while keeping an eye on us...and all without any help from my dad or anyone else. Her mom wasn't around to help her the way she helped me with my new born when I desperately needed it.

I looked at the way that I treated my mom and I saw how my sisters started following in my example. After I got married and returned back home, I saw my sisters talking back to my mom, making fun of her with their friends, treating her just as bad as I had. I would try to talk to my sisters to help them understand that although our mom is difficult at times, we need to understand where she is coming from and what she's trying to teach us. My younger sister, Brittny, has trouble at times coping with my mom and it hurts me. I feel like Tookie Williams (or whatever his name was...the guy who started the crips), and I felt like I was the one who started all this negativity by leading a bad example and now I'm constantly trying to right my wrongs.

My mom always took great care of me and my sisters and brothers, but she was a is still bitter about all that happened in her past, which makes her extremely difficult to deal with at times. I never had the mom that I could sit down with and share my problems as she fed me with her priceless words of wisdom, I never had the mom that told me how beautiful I was, or who comforted me when I didn't win a game, or a mom who was excited when I got married, or excited when I was pregnant. There were times in my life where I needed that comfort so much, and there wasn't anyone else in the world who could give it.

This is where I feel guilty because although I am no replacement for my mom, I want to be here for my brothers and sisters to willingly offer them some...i guess...maternal comfort and advice when they need it. They should know that I'm here to listen and help them along with life's obstacles and I won't ever judge their decisions but rather support them.

I know now that, just moving to Australia and away from America doesn't mean that all of this comes to an end.
America doesn't equal Family. Family equals Family.
and I will always be there for my family, not physically though. :)



Friday, September 30, 2011

I Guess I'm Really Buff...

Got my very first massage today!!!..."mum" (meaning David's mom, my mom is "mom"), booked an appointment for me and sissy Catherine to get a massage with this little Thai lady that she's been raving about. needless to say, I was excited...cuz damn, I hecka needed this! [Amen]

I started belly up.
she began with my legs.

Her: Oh my! you have some big quad muscles! hehe
Me: Oh [nervous laughing] yeah. In pretty sure they're bigger than my husband's.
Her: ooooh........yeah. nodding in agreement
Me: [should I have said "thank you"?....heck no...that aint no compliment sheeeewwt. Just gonna close mah eyes and try to enjoy this]

fast forward a half hour

Her: I'll lift the sheet so you can turn over and lie on your stomach
Me: okay! [aaahhh now my back! yay]
Her: I'll start with your legs and work up to your back then your neck and shoulders
Me: sounds great!
Her: eeeerrrgh.....eeeeehhh......uuuuggghhh

at this point I look back as she wipes the sweat from her brow and tries to use every muscle in her body to massage my buff legs.

Me: [c'mon girl...put some back into it]
Her: uh i'm just gonna...
Me: [oh heck no...is she standing on me? dang, my legs must be too big for her.... she gotta get up on the table and walk on my legs]
then she get's down....slightly outta breath

onto my back

Her: ooooh, I can tell you lift weights
Me: [uh no trick, the last time was fricken 4 years ago] hehe....yeah....sometimes.
Her: I can tell, you have a lot of muscle mass back here!
Me: must be from my kids, they're heavier than the average kid.

I came outta there feeling like some huge body building she-man, albeit a relaxed she-man.

You know that sound when you're outta lotion and when your trying to pump out the last bit of it?
I'm pretty sure I heard that noise like 3 times during the massage. I must have depleted her stock of massage lotion.lol....

but hey, that lotion did smell bomb though.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

M*A*S*H

Me and David love naps! (I just retyped "naps" no less than 4 times, I kept typing "napes"...what the hell?) but we hate the sleepless night that follows. We played MASH one night, cuz we'd already seen every movie too many times to admit aaaaaand, we don't have cable (it really isn't THAT bad...i think). You guys remember that game?
we played...

he ended up in a shack :P
I ended up in a mansion :)
but we both ended up with each other. (fate haha)

I was mad cuz I put names of real guys on mine, and he used all these ghetto names like "laqueesha" and "shaquila"...I was secretly thinking that he likes hood rats. hmmmmm...
good thing we movin to aussie...cuz they don't have hood rats or project chicks, they got aborigines. lol

nbfr

Friday, September 23, 2011

SIGNS

So the other day, David and I watched "He's Just Not That Into You"...any'o'you seen it? The one where the girl is lookin for "the one" and the bartender is the only one who tells her the real truth about what guys really think about her by deciphering their man code or whatever. It was kinda hard to watch this movie with my husband cuz he kept pointing to the screen and eagerly agreeing with the bartender.

After the movie we had a pretty deep/intense convo about how David loves to observe everyone.

1) Girls start talking and laughing really loud when boys are around

2) If a girl is desperate for attention and they aren't getting it, they'll get quiet like something is bothering them, then they'll walk in front of everyone (when there's plenty of room to walk around) and go to a corner alone and sit quietly and sulk and wait for a guy to ask them if something is wrong.

3) Some girls try to pull the "tom-boy" card to seem different than other girls

4) When in a large group of people, he'll watch everyone's eyes. when a guy or girl zones in on someone, they position themselves in the group to make sure they're in that persons view.

5) when sitting in a circle a guy will unintentionally sit facing the girl he likes, and he'll lean back so as to not make it obvious, but then stick they're leg back out in the direction.

6) He knows that if you really want to get a girl's attention...totally ignore them and walk outta the room as soon as they walk in.

Our talk went alot more into detail...but it's times like these that I sit back and think of how this quiet boy from highschool had sooooo much going through his head. But hey, still waters run deep...and David is by FAR the deepest and wisest person I have ever met. No lie, he can smell BS from a mile away and even simple conversations from people, he'll analyze each word and action and can sum up your life (that was an exageration, but you know...something like that). He doesn't do it on purpose, it's a habit formed after years and years of meeting fake people. It's like a defense mechanism to weed out the...uh...weeds. I totally DON'T have that...I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and have the mentality that people are "innocent until proven guilty" so I'm grateful that my husband can protect me from potentially hurtful people and warn me to put my guard up.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Oh my...

saw this on msn...reminded me of dad :)





GO UTES
i guess i can forgive you for that USC game...
maybe not...




GOOOOO TONGA!
thank you for FINALLY winning a game!




Tuesday, August 30, 2011

One step closer....

to Australia! I'm slowly working my way up to being excited. Everyone loves Australia...so why was I not excited from the get go? well, aside from the fact that I'll be away from my family...I'm a Utah girl at heart. My dream home is in the mountains, not on the beach. I prefer the lake over the ocean...I would rather live in the cold and crisp air of the Wasatch front than the hot and humid sun down under...I prefer the slow "stop and smell the roses" kinda life rather than the fast "gotta keep movin" ways of Sydney....i prefer stayin at home, watchin dvds and playing board games rather than goin out and clubin hard core...but I'm working on opening my mind because change is good.

I always hoped to put my daughters in volleyball or basketball or soccer, but what do they have in Australia....netball. uh?...I've never seen a game of netball and they don't play netball in the Olympics...and those two qualities alone have pretty much damned that sport from my mind. But hey... they can be surfers! I just hope they didn't inherit my crippling fear of sharks.

We got our passports today...me and baby sia have big smiles on our pics (I found out later that you aren't supposed to smile...so that guy at Walgreens, the one who took our photos...and the one who told us to smile, needs to get fired) but its okay because David and Maile are serious enough to balance it out...I think that's why the passport people decided to accept our pictures. The arrival of the passports marks yet another step towards our big move down under. It's all surreal...I don't think it'll hit me till a kangaroo kicks me in my gut, a shark bites off my arm, my kids are wearing cutie uniforms and my husband is straightening his hair and wearing some hella tight shorts and a tank...not so cutie.

Now....off to buy those overpriced airline tickets...(damn delta...how come you keep rejecting my app?...huh?!)

adios


Saturday, July 23, 2011

sooooo....i'm still alive.

So I haven't blogged about anything for nearly half of this year (i suck), and I really have no excuses because these past few months have been so incredibly eventful. Consider this a really long "Catchin' Up Blog"...so be forewarned....it'll be a like all of those shoulda been blogs rolled into one :)...

MRS. BRITTNY ROLF
As most of you already know, my younger sister Maile (Brittny) got married in June and her wedding was beautiful. Although the weeks leading up to it were filled with stress...and anger...and frustration...and cuss words...and crying...and fighting (all were mostly my mom...especially the cussing)...the actual wedding was great and fun...at least while I was there. I'm so happy for her and her wonderful new husband and I wish them the best!...I was also happy that there was a new addition to our family, because for a while it was just David.

MY LONG LOST SISSY POU!
The weekend before Maile's wedding, me and baby sis, Nikki, met up with our sister Tupou for the first time. We scooped her up from her cousin's wedding, the wait was sooooo nerve racking. Spotting her was a no brainer....she looks just like our mom. She was so petite and dressed all cute, which made me take a quick look at my outfit to make sure I looked decent........i didn't.

Oh my hell Pumpkin, why the heck......are you wearing your little brother's "Famous" shirt?!

(emphasis on LITTLE) After we'd picked her up, I couldn't believe she was right....here! In the passenger seat of our super junkie car. I don't know what it was, but I had a feeling that Nikki was also in a feeling of shock....maybe it was the fact that she almost got in like....5 car accidents and almost ran a red light or 3, and got us super lost on the way to ice cream (which by the way...was just a few blocks down the street from where we had picked our sister up). Our convo was cool, calm, collected, comfortable (and any other "c" words you can think up). I felt like I've known her forever...like...she was my older sister who lived outta town and she came to visit for the weekend. Not many others know that we also have another older sister. Another half-sis from our dad's first marriage. My dad told us about her when I was about 13 yrs old. My mind, at the time, was not near as mature as it is now. I was then filled with mixed emotions, not knowing whether to be excited, or mad, or sad or disappointed (no worries, I absolutely love her now). This time around, with Pou, it was pure excitement. After our ice cream, my understanding was to take Pou to where she was staying, because she had told us that she wasn't yet comfortable with meeting with our mom just yet. I could understand that and didn't want to force anything on her. Nikki on the other hand had ulterior motives. She pretty much forced Pou to go to our house after...like "forced" as in...despite knowing that she wasn't ready to meet our mom...she got behind the wheel and directed the car to our house anyway....so....uh... more so held her captive...i dunno. In the end...i was glad nikki did that because the meeting with my mom and her was very special...we laughed, we cried, we bid adieu and that's the end....for now.

BABY SISSY GETTING MARRIED
I know that you can't possibly think that having both of my little sisters getting married in the SAME YEAR about ONE MONTH apart is weird....weird and comical...at least for me. hehe. Well, I can totally understand her reasoning for not wanting to wait. And I would've done the same thing. I've already been considering Robert my brother for a long time a comin already, it's about time they put it on paper. Rob's dated Nikki longer than I dated David (for longer than I've even known David for that matter)...for longer than Maile dated Peter....put together. I'm so happy that they are finally going to get married, and rushed or not, there wedding is going to be a blessed event. Anotha Brotha added to the family and I'm super happy!...now all that's left is for AJ to get married and ad yet another brother.....Jordan?...he'll never leave my mom.....nuff sed.

GOING DOWN UNDUH...FOR GOOD
This is the one thing that has been contributing to my stress level the most lately. My husband and I have made the decision that we are going to move our little family to Australia. He's got a great job awaiting him, medical is free, the government gives you money for everything, it's beautiful....what's to stress? When I would think about how far Australia is from my family, it would reduce me to tears. I love my family so much and it was already hard for me to live all the way up here in Syracuse, an hour away from them...now I was going to move to the other side of the globe. It took a while, but now that I see that my sisters are married....Maile in Ogden going to school with her husband and Nikki, soon to get married and move to Arkansas with her husband....I realize that we are all adults, we're all older with our own lives and if moving to Australia will be better for my family....why not? We still intend to return to the states at least twice a year which will also ensure that my babies remember who my parents are...their Nana and Papa. It took me a while, but I'm more excited than worried to move. I just needed to convince myself. I was tired of people trying to "sell" Australia to me, telling me how awesome the Government is there and how sucky the one is here, and how jobs pay so much there and jobs are crap here, and blah blah blah blah blah. I love the USA....im extremely patriotic...so if you want to get in my good graces and prove to me how great something is.....don't tell me how bad my country is....cuz no matter how bad the condition of our economy....it's the best country in the world. I hear that there are so many jobs and not enough people and the health care is free...so I'm expecting to get there and not see and bums or sick people. phew...sorry...had to get that out. I will continue blogging in Aussie and tell you how I'm surviving without Walmart....without Netflix and without mountains (oooohhh, my precious mountains). I will also hopefully get to post pictures of our first Christmas in SUMMER! mind blowing!...don't know about surfing though...I'm scared to death of sharks....

later mates...until next time


Tuesday, April 5, 2011

GENERAL CONFRENCE 2011 SPRING SESSION

My spirit is so light and open, refreshed and renewed after listening to the recent session of General Conference. Every talk seemed to deal with all the things in my life that I had been struggling with. I just wanted to post my fave talk by Elder Richard G. Scott. I hope to be as good a wife to my husband as his dear wife was to him.





No problems in my marriage...but we can always aspire to be a better spouse to our loved one. I know that having a happy marriage will trickle down to my parenting...and eventually to all aspects of my life. I know that in the past, when things seemed cold and disconnected between my David and me...it was all i could think about and I couldn't fully concentrate on my duties as a mother and fulfil them to the best of my abilities. I want to set a good example for my children by treating my husband the way he deserves and vice versa. I always promised myself that i never wanted the kind of "marriage" my parents have. But there have been times, where I would see myself thinking the way my mom did...I'd pray to help me out of my stubbornness, so that I wouldn't set this example for my children, so that I could break the cycle.
There have been a series of events over the course of the past few years that have distanced my sisters and me from my parents. If I could have it any other way, i would...but it would take the miracle of my dad understanding that what he wants for us, is not always the best for us. I know that I am so much happier, and so much more successful than I ever could have been if i had followed my father's path.

"Success is not the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing,
you will be successful"


Friday, March 11, 2011

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HOOKER.....HOOKER!

LADIES...
EVER FEEL LONELY?


DO YOU HATE BEING THE THIRD WHEEL?
NEED A STRONG MAN TO WALK YOU TO YOUR CAR WHEN IT'S DARK OUT, OR TO ACCOMPANY YOU DOWN A LONG, DARK ALLY?

DO YOU FEEL LIKE ALL THE GOOD MEN ARE TAKEN?


WELL LOOK NO FURTHER PURRDY LADIES...
MEET BEN NICHOLLS

YOU LOOKIN TO SNAG THE HOTTEST GUY ON THE UTAH WARRIORS RUGBY TEAM?...

(WELL...YOU CAN'T. DAVID'S ALREADY MARRIED....SO LOOK THE OTHER WAY B*TCHES)

BUUUUUT.......

BEN'S A PRETTY GUY WITH A PRETTY SOUTH AFRICAN ACCENT. HE'S GOT A NICE TAN (IT'S NATURAL, SO NO WORRIES...HE'S NOT CREEPY) HE'S A WHITE GUY...FROM AFRICA (best of both worlds if that's what yur into), ZIMBABWE TO BE EXACT...SO HE'S LIKE...FO'REAL FO'REAL FROM AFRICA. HE LOVES BEING ACTIVE AND OUTDOORS. AND FEELS "QUITE AT HOME IN THE WATER" (he said "quite"...so that means he's not ghetto...cuz yall know we don't need that kinda drama). HE'S A WELL TRAVELED YOUNG MAN (uh...i don't know why i said "young man" cuz he's older than me...k...continue). HEAD ON OVER TO:

www.utahwarriors.com/win-a-date.php

TO ENTER YOUR INFORMATION SO THAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY WIN A DATE WITH MR. BEN NICHOLLS! THE WINNER OF THIS HOT DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE UTAH WARRIORS FIRST HOME GAME ON MARCH 19TH AT THE RIO TINTO STADIUM DURING HALF-TIME.

AND WHILE YOU'RE ON THE UTAH WARRIORS WEBSITE, FEEL FREE TO BROWSE AND MAYBE BUY A FEW TICKETS OR EVEN SOME SWEET GEAR!

HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE GAME...BETTER YET...COME SIT WITH ME...CUZ I DON'T WANNA BE A LONER...

AND IF YOU HAVE ANY SINGLE FRENS WHO ALWAYS WHINE ABOUT FINDING A GOOD MAN...GO AHEAD AND DO EM A FAVOR AND ENTER THEM INTO THE DRAWING...IT'S A WIN/WIN SITUATION! WELL GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

PEACE AND LOVE:

PUMPKIN




Friday, February 11, 2011

Rugby, Dorritos, and a wedding....

Soooooooo....update on my life? uh...well....David is playing with new Utah rugby super league team, the Utah Warriors. I think it's funny that EVERY year after EVERY rugby season, he tells me how he's done with rugby because it takes up too much of his time and energy...then suits up a few months later for another tourney. *sigh* men! whoever said that women are the complicated ones has their pants on fire, that's all I gotta say. I'm sure the reason he keeps saying he's done with rugby is because he thinks that I think it's a waste of time. On the contrary, I know how much he loves the sport. It's what he grew up playing Down Unduh and
Rugby: Aussies
Football: Americans
He's so passionate about this, and I think it's so cute! For instance, he's playing in Las Vegas right now (not the sevens...the fifteens....yes, there is a fifteens tournament!) and before he left his team went out to dinner and they handed out their brand spankin new super fly gear and when David came home, he seemed so excited to show us all! and before he left to Vegas, he wrote a little check list to make sure he didn't forget anything. That was surprising to say the least. He's always annoyed that I always write a check list when we travel or sleep over...like I said....men. are. complicated. It was a long night last night without David...we haven't been apart for this long in at least a year. Me and the gals are on our own till sunday, but we're makin the best of it. We're sittin around eating Dorritos and cookies cause Deputy David of the Junk Food Police Squad isn't here to tell us that eating like this is bad. The girls keep asking where daddy is, so to get their minds off of his absence, we got out to the library to grab them some new bedtime stories (Sia won't sleep until I read at least 5 books) and for us to get some fresh air (2 thumbs up for the nice weather today!). I think we're gonna go thrifting later on today, we'll see how that ends up.
I have also been planning my little sissy's bridal shower. Brittny will be a Rolf this June and I am sooooo happy for her. Me and Nikki are throwing her shower so I'll be sure to post all that info in a later blog for everyone to come. I was the first of the family to get married, but me and David eloped and had the cheapest ceremony of life and none of my family was there...so Brittny's ceremony is kind of like...the first for my family. I would think that my parents would be really excited, especially my mom. I just envisioned her being excited to plan and decorate and help choose a gown and all that good stuff, but she's pretty much being a sourpuss about the whole thing...why? not really sure, but if I were to guess...she probably thinks that it's too fast and they had there hopes on her finishing school on her volleyball scholarship and getting a high-paying job, THEN getting married and settled down. In the eyes of my parents...daughter #1 didn't do it....daughter #2 isn't gonna do it....ALL HOPES ON NIKKI. ha! Well, no matter what, I support Brittny's decisions...as well as my remaining siblings and I will always be here for them. Well, I'm off to Costco to get some samples and a churro!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi my goodness!

Anyone keeping tabs on that massive flood in Australia? well, for those of you who don't know...my hot hubby is from "down unduh" and all of his family is down there with the exception of his dad and sisters. His mum (aussie for "mom") just flew out there to visit, and he's got one of those families where he's got like 13 aunts and uncles (only on his mum's side, mind you) and like a bafalabillion cousins (never heard of that number?...that's cause is one of those super high numbers that you couldn't even imagine...in your wildest dreams!). For those of you who don't know...like a third of Australia is now underwater. The news says the area that is flooded is now bigger than Germany and France combined! The majority of his family lives in Sydney, and the flood is in the Queensland area which is north of there, but since the flood is steadily getting worse, i fear that it won't be long until the ocean swallows Sydney in it's entirety. Well, David's family along with the rest of Australia are in my prayers.

hahaha...flood? what flood? pull up a cheh and grab a beeyah mate!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Sweet & Salty

I'm eating some cheddar Sun Chips with my chocolate covered macadamia nuts right now....like i have to put a chip in my mouth followed by a bite of chocolate and chew them together. that's like my favorite combo...is that weird? My husband thinks it is, but I figure it's like eating fries with a frosty or prezels dipped in chocolate...and everyone does that. But I also like eating spam and eggs combined with Berry Colossal Crunch (it's the bootleg Capt. Crunch...but better!)...is that weird? I think this is one of the many reasons my husband doesn't really ask me to cook...hmmmmm

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Lucky Me!

Sooooo...Christmas wasn't too long ago and my two daughters were gifted so many dolls and toys that my room is now cluttered...which i HATE because i spent like a million hours organizing and cleaning it all in like...november....which...now that i think of it...isn't very smart, because cleaning and organizing right before Christmas is like.......like sweeping your front yard. But out of all of these cool, new, sparkly toys that are spilling out of every box, container, drawer and closet.....my daughter's fave?

uh...yeah...that's a frickin DUSTER!...
(props to that awesome green carpet on the stairs!)no worries...the duster is brand new...i thought that if she was gonna be carrying it around all the time, i might as well try to show her how to use it *genius*... I'm still trying (let's all cross our fingers!)...she's convinced it's a bunny rabbit...a bright, neon bunny with no ears (I'm glad she doesn't think it's cotton candy). But anyone who has ever spoken to my daughter, knows that she has a HUGE imagination. I know that I'll never have to waste my money on teddy bears because we have pillows, or on barbies because i can grab pine cones for free. Am I a mean mom for deceiving my daughter?...nope, I'm a very lucky mom whose daughter's incredible imagination can turn dull and ordinary things into beautiful and interesting toys.

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere"
-Albert Einstein