Randomness

It's been a while since my last post and a lot has been happening--the biggest of all--well, there are three big things (and none of them involve a "bun in the oven" so just get that out of your head right now--are: Noah turned 2, Lola turned 5, and we are officially house hunting.

Noah's birthday was totally low key. He's two, and we took advantage of the fact that he wouldn't know any better and took him out for Mexican food where a bunch of loud Mexicans (present company included, and one with a COW BELL) sang happy birthday to him and scared the be-jee-bees out of him. We then took him to Target and let him pick out his gift. I was going to try to lean him towards the bigger toys, but then thought better of it and let him take home a $5 DVD and a $3 bouncy ball. He was ecstatic (and so were we)!

Lola's birthday was more of a weekend celebration. Much like her mom, she firmly believes birthdays were meant to be "birth weeks" or in this case a "birth weekend." Friday was her preschool Valentines/birthday celebration. She scored tons of sweets and plenty of valentines. Saturday I took Lola and Grace (her bestie) to Build-a-Bear where they each picked out an adorable (and overpriced) plush animal and stuffed, bathed, dressed and named it. Lola came home with "Queen Bear" and Grace came home with "Kiwi." We then went to lunch at Red Robin and stuffed ourselves with yummy food. Sunday after Church we had neighbors and family over for cake and ice cream (p.s. Thank you Pioneer Woman for the "best chocolate sheet cake" recipe). She scored yet more gifts and went to bed a happy girl. This morning she woke up to a room full of balloons and yet more gifts--oh to be five again!

The house hunt, though, is what has consumed the majority of our time since the beginning of the year. It went from being just a thought in the back of our minds to the forefront in a matter of weeks. We found a KILLER agent--and by "killer" I mean super great, not a crime committing felon. We've never house hunted before, and he has been way patient and we've learned a ton from him, and his name is PIE--and since we're being honest, I picked him cause he's named after one of my favorite foods--the fact that he's great at what he does is just a bonus. So we talk/email/see Pie on a pretty regular basis, and I've learned that being a Realtor is a lot tougher than I ever imagined. I just really hope all the time and work we're all putting into this "finding a house" thing pays off for all of us (and soon).

The only other thing I have to report on is the fact that we have found a group of friends to hang out with, and though this may sound cheesey and lame, I am SO stinkin' happy! Moving to a new state is tough, and though we have loved being in Colorado there is something to be said for having good friends close by that can make any new place suddenly feel like home. I feel like we finally have that, and I am blessed because of it. It's just nice and comforting to have that assurance that you can pick up the phone and find someone to do the most menial, mundane things with you just so you don't have to do them alone. It's nice to know that come Friday night, even if no plans were made, we'll always find people to eat/chat/ laugh with while our children destroy the house. It's nice to sit and chat with a friend for twenty minutes only to discover it was actually more like 2 hours. It's nice to know someone who wont laugh at you just cause you want to drive out to Sams Club just for an icee. Life seems a little fuller, a little brighter, and it's moments like the ones we have had a lot of in the last few weeks that I realize how well Heavenly Father knows me and places people in my path who will help me and teach me and make me feel like not such a bad person cause man, are they gonna burn in hell for some of the stuff they have done!!

Reasons I have LOLed this week:

1. Mark McGuire (finally) admits he used steroids--as if the whole world hadn't figured that one out.

2. The State of the Union address may be rescheduled so as not to interfere with the final season of Lost season premiere--smart move Mr. President. Smart move.

3. Lola telling me that IF we have another baby and said baby is a boy she plans on selling him cause girls are better.

4. Watching the crazies on The Bachelor (will this ever get old? Hmmm...I think NOT!)

5. Having the blender explode protein shake all over my kitchen thus ruining my ONE feeble attempt to live a healthier life in 2010. (The laughter only came after a few choice words that would make a sailor blush)

6. The mental pictures Lola's comments from the previous post have caused to appear in my childish mind.

7. Trying to fit into a cub scout shirt that was like 3 sizes too small after being told the shirts run "super extra grande."

Back off! I have the Holy Spirit!!

I was in the car with Lola and we started talking about the Holy Spirit. She explained to me that there were three reasons why she liked the Holy Spirit:

1. It is invisible.

2. It lives in her heart.

3. It punches mean people in the face!

So I suggest if you are mean you don't go messing with Lola cause she knows who has her back!

That's so Funny I Forgot to Laugh!

My (soon-to-be) 2 year old has decided he's quite the funny guy and will tell knock-knock jokes all day long. Problem is he tells the same joke over and over. Let me illustrate:

Noah: Cock-cock (This is probably the funniest part)

Me: Who's there?

Noah: Bana (meaning banana)

Me: Bana who?

Noah: HAHAHAHA!!! Funny!

It was hilarious the first couple of times. Now it just drives me insane.

Lola's jokes are a whole different story. She will make up her own knock-knock jokes and they ALL go something like this:

Lola: Knock-knock

Me: ...

Lola: Mom!! I said Knock-knock!

Me: ... (trying to ignore her--trust me, you get her started and it NEVER ends, and she gets offended if you don't laugh)

Lola: Argh! KNOCK-KNOCK!!

Me: Who is it? (Once again, trying to avoid the pain)

Lola: You're supposed to say "Who's there?"

Me: Quien es?

Lola: MOM!

Me: Who's there?!

Lola: Orange

Me: Orange who?

Lola: Orange-borange-lorange! HAHAHA!!!

And the others are pretty much the same. All she does is look around, find something that catches her eye and then make up words that rhyme. And honestly, she has stomped out of the room if her one-person audience (moi) does not pee her pants and fall to the floor in hysterics. Whoever said mothering was a piece of cake never had aspiring 2 and 4 year old comedians at home.

Year End Letter

The year-end letters have been coming in for a couple of weeks at the Mitchell abode. They are always fun to read, and I honestly feel touched that my friends have me on their Christmas card lists cause let's be honest, I am not the best at the whole "K.I.T" thing. I have infinitely good intentions on that front, but rarely do they amount to much--I guess that's why they're called "intentions" and not "deeds."

I caught this clip one night while the TV was on and it made me kinda chuckle. This by no means reflects my personal feelings, but in the sea of letters that come in every year (I said "sea" like I'm oh-so-popular, riiiiiight...maybe it's more of a river...or a stream.) I must admit that the general feelings portrayed here may have surfaced for a minute or two. I think mostly it must just be my envy of my friend's abilities to have their lives together enough to manage to not only write a year-end letter, but to print and mail out numerous copies of it to their loved ones. I think the idea is great, but then my laziness kicks in and I rationalize that it requires WAY more effort than I can justify. I guess I just figure that for those people who are genuinely interested in the affairs of the Mitchells I have a trusty blog (which fails to get updated regularly, but that's a story for another day). I also have a VERY active (maybe too active) Facebook profile that will pretty much even tell my friends and family what I had for breakfast today (2 cookies--hey it's Christmas time--totally acceptable to have cookies for breakfast), and how I felt about the last episode of Glee (awesome!!). I understand that there are people out there who may not have access to the internet and may not be able to keep up with us through all these technological tools. My parents would be "Blog? Que es eso?! Libro de Cara? De que diablos hablas?!" In such cases year-end letters are fantastic, but I find it much easier to call my mom every couple of days and fill her in on the wondrous adventure that is our life.

So, to summarize, I really do love the year-end letters. I think it's a great way to reflect back on the year as a whole. I think we sometimes fail to see our lives in terms of the "big picture" and thus ofttimes fail to see just how much we've accomplished and how much we've grown. The year-end letter remedies that--not to mention that it's a great way to sum up a whole year's worth of missed emails/phone calls without pointing out what a terrible friend I am for ignoring the people I love. So, please keep those letters coming. They will not be mocked in our household, but rather cherished for reminding me that despite my flaws my friends continue to remember me and love me. But if the number of cards/letters drops next year and I'm inexplicably "un-friended" on Facebook I guess I have only to come back to this post to realize why...

Admit it!

We've all pretended to know the words to a song on the radio and have sounded just like my little friend here!

P.S. He's got sweet ukulele skills!

That Mitchell Boy

Look at this face! Just look at it! What words come to mind? Cute? Adorable? Darling? Precious? All of the above? Yeah. I know! He's the cutest toddler you have ever laid eyes on. I believe it.

Well, this adorable, little package of sweetness has an evil, sinister, and ravenous side. He has picked up the awful habit of biting, and I am all out of ideas as to how to put an end to it! We have tried everything short of reaching for the tabasco sauce. His teeth may be few in numbers, but they are sharp and when he gets them on you he has an amazing sort of death grip.

Lately he's taken to sharing this talent with the kids in the Nursery at church, and as a Nursery worker and mother I'm a little embarrassed. I know, all kids go through this stage. Yaddah, yaddah. yaddah. In the last two weeks he has bitten 3 kids. Two of those within 30 minutes of each other. The last incident was with this adorable little girl, and boy did those little chompers leave a mark. I don't even know how to react anymore! I tried comforting the little girl, and then I tried to deal with Noah, but nothing works! I finally just took him to dad, and banned him from Nursery for the rest of church.

Well, I meant to talk to that little girl's mom, but somehow I just missed her (honestly, I wasn't avoiding her). I ran into her this morning at preschool, and she asked if I had found someone to babysit my kids during my doctor's appointment this week--which is a whole other story, but here is the short version:

I've had trouble finding anyone to watch my kids--for this appointment and a previous one. Like I was seriously freakin' out cause I just couldn't fathom the thought of lugging my (precious, well-behaved) children to the doctor's office. I got to the point that I posted it on a website--kinda like Craigslist, but for my city only and where the majority of the members are Mormon. I felt like I was auctioning my kids--and felt a little embarrassed that I had to resort to this just to find someone to watch my (sweet, and loving) children. I instantly got lots of offers (all from people who do not have kids in our nursery or do not know my Noah, by the way. Coincidence?) and I felt like my embarrassment was for naught.

Back to the biting incident and my conversation with this little girl's mom: So she asked if I had found someone to watch my kids. I told her "yes" rather quickly and proceeded to inquire about her daughter's arm. And she joked with me and said she couldn't watch my kids until the wound healed. Then she said something about how someone after church had told her that it was "that Mitchell boy" that bit her daughter. I laughed, and joked about how he had a bad rap in our nursery (totally deserved). And she wished me luck in the future with him.

I walked away with a smile on my face and then I was like "That Mitchell boy?" Really? Is he that bad? How many other people are calling him that? And then like getting hit in the face with a bucket of cold water it hit me! This boy--this adorable, innocent, little boy has a reputation in our ward! The word is out on that Mitchell boy! And NO ONE will sacrifice the well-being of their children by offering to babysit him! My emails for help have mostly been ignored. Some brave souls have responded and said they were busy and couldn't, but mostly ignored. I was beginning to think my Facebook emails were never delivered or there was some kind of error. BUT NO! Those emails WERE delivered! My friends have just been avoiding me--hoping that they could spare themselves (and their offspring) the punishment of babysitting my (precious) Noah.

Oh how I hope he grows out of this phase soon! But biter or not--that Mitchell boy is MY Mitchell boy!