Stupid Night

Tonight was Stupid Night at Walmart. That means that only stupid people buying stupid things can go to stupid Walmart. Yes, I know that since I was there at stupid Walmart that implies that I'm stupid. Well, I must be since I was there at stupid Walmart with the stupid people. My cashier was very nice and efficient, so that was surprising. But the rest of my 15 minutes in stupid Walmart was choked with the stupid people on Stupid Night. So stupid.

'Fess Up Friday

How's it going this week? Time to evaluate all of this "get healthy" crap we think we need to do in our lives. Okay, I'm a little ornery because my weight is the exact same as it was last week (down the the tenth), but the good news is that I've lost another 2". That's what it's all about. According to Dr Oz (yes, I've indulged in Oprah a time or two) it's our belly fat that is the most dangerous. Mine is slowly slimming, but quickly reforming. It's like I'm play-do and things are shifting more than I'm losing mass. Enough complaining...

I've been very diligent in watching my calories, since I'm nursing. It's still hard, but not as difficult as it used to be. Hamburgers don't do it for me anymore. Hooray!

I think the thing I like most about exercising is that I've got so much more energy. I feel really good (most of the time) and I'm reminded of why I always seem to get pregnant after I begin diligent workouts. ;o)

So, I'm thinking Mister Linky and I are not so compatible, so unless you really want him, he and I are breaking up. Instead, when you leave a comment mention you've got a post about weightloss and we'll all check it out. But I'd love for everyone to leave a comment of some sort. What's your favorite part of working out? What are your challenges? How are you doing with this whole life-changing thing? Why the crap did Dane get voted off of Biggest Loser? Dang!

The Lemonade Award

I received this great award from my friend Celine. Thanks for thinking of me, Celine!! I'm supposed to tag ten people, but I'm going to be a bit unorthodox and say this: If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged!! Pretty much, anyone with a blog that reads this, I read your blog as well. Cheating and a bit of a cop-out, but that's how it's going for me today.

But, I really very highly recommend that you check out Celine's blog.

She's a former exchange student from France, currently living in Paris and is willing to answer questions any non-Parisians may have about France and Europe. I'm finding this

very fascinating since I've ALWAYS wanted to go to Europe, France and Italy especially.

I thought it was appropriate to talk about Celine after showing Emma's video about living "Months and months in France." I showed her the video and she said, "Oh, that's so embarrassing!" Little does she know that she's got YEARS to make more embarrassing memories.

In The Spotlight: Emma

I've begun putting my digital pictures on my new laptop. Along the way I finally found the computer program that will play snippets of video captured on the photo camera. Before now I couldn't figure out how to open these videos, but now I can and I'm SO HAPPY! Also, we got our new printer/scanner so I began scanning our printed pictures. I'm so addicted to this that it is not even funny. My sleep suffers worse from the scanner than from our infant daughter.

Emma, 2001

Anywhoo...Matt and Millie have both had spotlights, I thought it was time to introduce the world to the older girls. Tonight we'll begin with Emma.

Josh and me with Emma at The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs

Emma has been vocal since the day she was born. Not much of a crier, but the day after her first word I believe she said something like, "Mother, dear, I hope I am not troubling you too much if I shall ask you for a bit of a drink." (An English accent is required to read that sentence.)

Not only is she bright and an ideal student (when she's not talking to her friends), but she's also a bit of a drama queen. She wears the title proudly. I think this might have something to do with the fact that she spent so much of her early childhood hanging out at a theatre. She ran in and out of the Green Room. She sat and watched rehearsals and performances. She even watched and commented on our auditions. The cutest thing was when she'd stand up and say, "I'm Emma Johnson and I'll be singing, 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.'" She'd also stand up and announce, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Please turn off your cellphones." She behaved better in the theatre than she did at church.

The Bailey Family in Wonderful Life. Emma is peeking through the stair rail.

Emma (and Abby both) appeared in A Christmas Carol and Emma played Zuzu Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, nearly stealing the show at the end with her line, "Teacher says, 'Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.'"


This clip was recorded a few weeks ago. I have no idea where she got this from. She's quite a performer.

Big Ol' Fat Tuesday

Today is Mardi Gras--the real one. Fat Tuesday is upon us and I am in the middle of reminiscing my childhood living in New Orleans. Again, I'm without a picture. I searched, though. I found pictures from when I was eight, but then I don't have any more in my possession until I'm about eleven. Of course, I was nine and ten when I was at Mardi Gras. So, no pic, but I have over 200 necklaces and other things from parades to prove I was there. Because it's wild reputation is true, I only went to parades held during the day. And for some reason my parents didn't want to take all five of us (I was the oldest so the youngest was about two) so I only went with my friend Michelle.

I'm fascinated with Mardi Gras. I didn't know what it was about while we lived there, but a few years after we moved I talked to one of my dad's old coworkers who gave me the scoop on why it even exists. Mardi Gras is basically a big Catholic party to get all of your sins and indulgences out of your system to prepare for Lent, which is a 40-day period of sacrifice and self-denial that represents Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. I'm just astounded at the mentality of "getting it all out". I guess it's no different than having a bachelor party or something like that. (Josh's bachelor party consisted of a few guys from church playing basketball and eating an ice cream cake. Whoo Hoo!)

So, the reason why Mardi Gras centers so much in New Orleans is because of the French Catholics that were booted out of Canada and relocated to Louisiana. Sad, but if you ever go to New Orleans and check out all of the great culture there, you'll appreciate it.

So go party! Just don't do anything I wouldn't do (I'm a married homemaker with four kids that doesn't smoke, drink, gamble, go clubbing, or...party. Good luck finding something to do!)

PS Just found a picture. It's not at Mardi Gras, but it is my brother JC and me at our house in New Orleans.

Mom No Aqui

The other day in response to "Mom! Mom! Mom!" I called back, "Mom no aqui!" I know I should be grateful that I get to be one of the few stay-at-home moms that I know, but sometimes I don't want to deal with all the squabbles, the laundry, making dinner, scrubbing the bathrooms, mopping the kitchen floor, vacuuming the house, doing the dishes, picking up and dropping off the kids, changing the diapers, changing the linens, and all the other things that I need to do everyday. Sometimes I just want a break, or a vacation, or to go on strike.

Well by using the word "aqui" I've pretty much showed off all of the Spanish that I know. And the only reason I know it is because I said it in a play. I also said, "Dos cervezas por favor." (That means "Two beers, please.") Don't worry, I've never said that other than the play. I played a suicidal alcoholic that tries to kill herself by going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. It sounds depressing, but it was probably one of the funniest plays I did. I carried the barrel around a bit at the beginning of the play. It was big enough for me to squat down in. I wish I had a picture. The funniest scene was when my character got drunk and sat in the barrel playing with the little alcohol bottles from the mini-bar with a shower cap on my head. Well, one of the funniest. And, like I said, I learned some Spanish. Who says you don't learn anything in college?

My Millie Vanilli

"Girl, you know it's true...g-g-g-girl. Oooh, oooh, oooh, I love you!!"

I thought I'd share a little more about our sweet baby Millie. She's growing and changing so fast. I can't believe it. Here she is already 12 lbs. I took these pictures using the webcam on my new laptop. Isn't it cool? Anyway, her eyelashes have begun to grow out and they are getting long and curl up just like Josh's. Luckily, all the kids have his lashes. She's beginning to coo and smile on purpose. She loves her mommy--hardly anyone else can hold her for too long while she's awake. That's frustrating, but makes me feel good at the same time. She loves to give kisses and especially to slip the tongue (Celine, do you use the term "French kiss" in France? ;o) ). And our current challenge is teaching her to fall asleep in her bed rather than in my arms. This is tough for both her and me. Last night it took an hour and a half for her to fall asleep and stay asleep. I wanted to just pick her up and hold her, but I knew that would just make it more difficult later. Ah, me. (By the way, that's a line from Romeo and Juliet.) By the time all of our family gets to see her in April, she'll be even more different than she is now. I'm so excited for her personality to shine more, but I wish my baby would always be my baby.

By the way, pay no attention to the hideous woman holding the pretty girl. She has no makeup on and didn't do her hair today.

'Fess Up Friday

Okay, Friends. How'd it go this week? Did you exercise? Did you eat healthily? Did you sneak a bunch of M&Ms?

Here are some things I'm dealing with. If you have any suggestions, or just know how I feel, let me know.

#1: I'm having a hard time not eating after 8pm. It's become such a habit. The kids go to bed, the house is quiet, and I want to sit down with food. It doesn't really matter what it is, but usually something with sugar. I'm trying to cut this by chewing gum instead. I go through a lot of gum. I'm also trying to stop cold turkey, which is difficult. Any ideas?

#2: I have two strikes against me, body-type-wise. My cousin coined the phrase "Bailey Butt" since the Bailey women seem to be very obviously pear shaped. My grandmother on the other side of the family is very well endowed up top. Somehow I ended up with both sets of genes. I'm not pear or apple shaped. I'm considered "proportionate." Unfortunately, I'm proportionately overweight but my head is small. Remember Tommy Boy when Tommy is accused of robbing the bank at the end of the movie and the kid at the elevator says he's a real fat guy with a tiny head? This is how I feel.

#3: I learned why I shouldn't cut too many calories from my day. Our bodies try to stabilize themselves, so if you only intake 800 calories, your body will eventually only work off of 800 calories and your weight loss will plateau. The trick is to increase the caloric output with muscle confusion in your workout. I'm really thinking about getting P90X sooner than I planned since it does a better job of that than the original Power 90. Kayleen has been doing it for a while. Be sure to check her out.

So, my outcome this week. It is Day 20. I've lost 3 lbs this week and 3-4 inches. I'm down a pants size. And, Sunday three ladies at church told me I look so great already. I just had to add that in because it made me happy. Overall, things are going well and I just need to keep it up. I'm getting nervous for the week that I stall out a bit. Hopefully it won't happen for a while.

Be sure to go to Mister Linky and add your blog or a website that's helped you this week. Or, just leave a comment. Come on, 'fess up!

(By the way, Millie had a check up this morning. For those details, go here.)

Girls Day Out

This is what Millie looked like after a walk the other day. (Don't worry, she's asleep.)

Yesterday the girls brought to my attention that they need more love. Poor things. I've been nervous about the whole "New baby, Old siblings" trauma. I remember this feeling very well. So, when I needed to go to the store yesterday I brought the girls with me. Today we completed our Girls Day Out by getting the girls haircuts. Emma just wanted a trim (but later got upset that she didn't get much of a change) and Abby had to go short (maybe that will delay her boobs for a while--go here for that story). They both eventually seemed happy with their outcomes. Millie came with us today, so it was a true Girls Day. I'm glad we got to do it.

In an unrelated note, Josh got me a new laptop because of the mishap with my old one. It's so cool. I'm loving it. I haven't had much of a chance to play with it too much, but I plan on having some major fun tonight and/or tomorrow, depending on Millie's mood tonight.

I couldn't take the girls' pictures without taking one of Matt!

Bad Timing

Tonight Josh and I discovered that we're becoming some of those people: "What are the carbs in that?" "How many grams of fat are there?" "We are never eating fast food again!" This was bad timing.

A couple of months ago the news announced that the very first Sonic to open up in Montana is coming to Great Falls. It's going to be just down the street from the hospital, not far from Mom and Dad's house. Why did we have to give up fast food and ice cream? Come April (supposedly) our greatest temptation will be wafting the sweet smell of burgers and ice cream in our general direction. Good thing they have Diet Cherry Limeades.



The Sonic commercials are the best. Even though there is no Sonic here yet, the commercials still play here, thank goodness. Every time a new commercial comes on the entire room goes silent as everyone stops and stares at the television. My favorite is the couple. (By the way, Cindy, I always think of Kevin when the commercials for the couple come on.) But I also love the two guys. They are the same guys that have a cameo in Stranger Than Fiction. If you haven't seen it, you should rent it. Anyway, now there's the mom and son. No matter which group is on the commercial I still laugh.

V-Day Delay

I'm a little behind in my Valentine's posting. I was with my Valentine on Valentine's (somehow he didn't have to work--SHOCKER!) and so he knows I love him, but I wanted to tell the world...I love Edward Norton! Sorry, that's a joke. I love Joshua Johnson!

On Valentine's Day 1999, Josh took me out on our first date. We went to the "nice" restaurant in town. In fact, it was so nice that he had to special order a root beer float for me. Now, why would he go through so much trouble you might ask. Well, I might answer.

Josh gave me this

Precious Moments. It's called Our Friendship is Soda-licious. Isn't it so cute? Josh knew I tried to collect Precious Moments. I still have it. It's sitting safely in it's box down in our newly cleaned office. I don't have a safe place for it to go. I'd put it in the living room, but my children try to trash that room. You can read the post on the Williams family blog about that. Just click Here. Anyway... Someday it will be out and displayed proudly reminding me of my first date with my husband. And I will always remind him that he took me out on our first date on a SUNDAY, breaking the Sabbath. Of course, I accepted the date. Ha.

Kid Overload

I feel very scattered and burnt out today. Just about as messed up as the tie-dye pattern on my shirt. (It is sooo laundry day!)

Yesterday I had a bit of a rough time with my class in Primary. Primary is the kids' program at church. I assist with the Sunbeam class, which is the 3-year-olds that are turning 4 this year. Oh my. I have some talents that I'm very proud of and can call upon on a second's notice. Working with little kids is very much not one of them. My day finally ended at 3:30am when Millie finally quit crying and fell asleep.

Today wasn't much easier. I made us clean the whole house today. It's amazing how nice our house is when it's clean. But that's beside the point. Emma had a couple of friends over this afternoon. Talk about biting off more than I can chew. We had six kids in the house, five of which were running around everywhere. Luckily I "had" to go the store for a while this afternoon and Josh got kid-duty.

My point is this: kids are hard to deal with.

Abby has been saying for quite a while that she doesn't want to have kids. The other day she went on about how she wants to help people with their kids, but she doesn't want any of her own. I asked her why not? She told me that she doesn't want kids because she doesn't want them to talk rude and mean to her. I was thinking, "You know, it's not a prerequisite for kids to speak rude and mean to their mothers."

Matt, on the other hand, wants more attention, I guess. I was watching Nanny 911 (there was nothing else on tv, I swear!) and afterward I found Matt sitting against the wall with his knees up to his chest and his pants down around his ankles. Luckily, his underpants were still pulled up. I told him to pull his pants up. He looked at me and tried not to smile. He said to me, "No, call Nanny 9-1-1-1." I just laughed and hugged him (after making him stand up and pull his pants back up) and told him that he was a good boy and he doesn't need Nanny 9-1-1-1.

So, my big question is, What do you do when your kids evidently annoy themselves?

Oh, and despite my kid overload, don't forget to stop by Kidz for the Kick-Off Party. Every comment made this week is put into a daily drawing for some awesome prizes. Plus, there are tons of great ideas and stories. Just find the Kidz link on my sidebar of blogs.

'Fess Up Friday (Show And Tell)

Alrighty, people. Are we ready for this?

We're going to call this thing "'Fess Up Fridays". Yeah, I know it's not really Friday, but I'm going to try to keep this Exercise Talk to one day a week and my usual sarcastic, out of control rants the other six days a week.

Anyway, I've just completed Day 14 of my 90 day workout program. I feel pretty good. I missed yesterday (it was pay day and we got our tax return in--I love money!) so I made up for it by doing yesterday's workout this morning and today's workout tonight. I don't know if that's the smartest thing to do, but it needed to be done!

Here's my show: I took my measurements at the beginning of the two weeks and again tonight to check myself. So far I've lost about two inches total. You know, 1/4" here, 3/4" there. I also weighed myself last Sunday, but on my mom's scale. So, when I weighed myself tonight on my brand new scale, I realized that I really don't know what my actual weight loss is. But, if life is kind (which it never is) then both scales are accurate and that means that I've lost 3lbs this week. Hey, I'll take it no matter how improbable it is.

Now, the tell: Things I did well this week.
I'm so proud of us. We took the kids to a movie last night and didn't get popcorn! It was pretty tough, but I didn't stuff my face with buttery, salty carbs. Whew! Of course, somehow a bunch of Red Vine licorice found their way into the diaper bag, so I had to snack on those so they wouldn't feel guilty for sneaking into a movie.

Good thing #2. I've developed a habit of bouncing Millie when I hold her by doing butt-clenches. I know it sounds so stupid, but my fanny is getting into shape and my baby isn't so fussy. Plus, evidently I'm the only person allowed to hold Millie (according to her), so I get to carry an extra 9 or 10 lbs around with me. My left arm is getting stronger everyday.

Things I didn't do well this week.
We had ice cream for dinner tonight. Come on, it's Valentine's Day! We had a big lunch, so we weren't hungry enough for an actual dinner. Oh, it was good.

Okay, your turn. Anything to show or tell? What did you do well/not so well this week? We're going to try Mister Linky (Thanks to Tara for having these on her sites so I could steal the idea ;o) ) so add your blog if you have progress to share, or any website that you've found helpful or informative. Or just leave a comment. Whatever works for you!

You Up For This?

I'm just a-wonderin'. There has been quite a few of you, my friends, who have expressed a desire to get into shape, or you already are on the road to do it. Are any of you up for a weekly support group-thingy? I don't know how it works in the professional world, but I thought maybe we could just report our progress once a week, vent our frustrations, or ask for advice from each other. It would probably be every Saturday and we can even set it up that instead of just leaving comments, we can use a Mister Linky widget to share stories from our blogs. Is this too much? I don't want to learn how to add Mister Linky if no one is interested. I'm thinking that if I can look forward to reporting progress once a week I'll keep on track easier.

Seriously, what do you think?

Kidz Rule

My very good friend Tara has developed a blog set up specifically about kids with special needs and their families, as well as the many lessons we can all learn about life's challenges and our abilities to succeed.

Basically, here's the deal. Kidz is an incredible blog that has introduced me to some great new friends and I've read many stories of kids and their families with different challenges and struggles that all figure out a way to overcome them. And here's the thing--no matter how hard I think their lives are, all of the families have found happiness and strength and LOVE. It's really amazing. I love to learn about the different kids and their families and hope I can become as strong as they are.

One thing to know about Tara: I've lived with her. I know that when she puts her heart and soul into something, it becomes something of beauty. Kidz is truly her heart's work. This next week is a kick off party for her blog. Everyday there will be a drawing for some great prizes for anyone that makes a comment on the blog. If nothing else, check it out for the possibility to win some great prizes. But I think once you meet some of the kids she introduces to us and the different crafts and activities she finds, you'll be hooked.

Just to give you an example of the cool kids you'll come across, look at our own story about Matt. He was featured a few months ago.

So, to be introduced to some incredible kids, find ideas for food, crafts or activities, or to meet some awesome people from all over the world, go to Kidz. You won't be disappointed!

(I feel like Lamar Burton on Reading Rainbow, "But don't take my word for it...")

Setting It In Stone

We've been watching The Biggest Loser, both the current season and reruns. This season one of the guys on the black team had a baby (their fourth) and when he went home for the baby's birth, he made the comment of this baby not knowing him to be the fat and lazy dad he had been up to that point. That really got to me. My eyes welled with tears as i thought about my fourth baby and how I never want her to know me as a fat and lazy mother.

So, if I want to be more successful in my efforts of weight loss with my handy-dandy

I need to make some concrete goals and then share them with people because my pride will not allow me to fail a goal I've told other people about.

So, this September 16th, I am turning (gulp) 32.




I've decided to make it a theme. Since I'll be turning 32, my goal is to lose an average of 1.5 lbs a week so that by then I can weigh about 132 lbs. Now, please don't insult me by doing the math to figure out how much weight that is. I'll give you more details as I lose the weight and it's not quite so embarrassing. I may even post my "before" picture. Yikes. But I will tell you that I'm about at my pre-pregnancy weight, which is exciting.

But, I inadvertently deleted all the pictures off of my laptop the other day. It's not a big deal since I had them all backed up, and when I pulled them out I found some photos to help inspire me. In these pictures I'm a little less than my target weight, but that's okay. I chose 132 as my target weight, not just because of the number theme but also because with my height and number of kids I've had I think it's a realistic goal and the time frame should be realistic too. I hope. Maybe I can have Jabon take new headshots for me around October...

Battle Hymn

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Choose your battles." I did this today. I thought I was pretty much Supergirl this morning. But...

Church now starts at 9am. Josh got home a little after 7am from his shift at work and went to bed because he needed to sleep off the headcold that's beginning. This left me to get four children and myself ready for church in less than two hours. Luckily, the kids all bathed the night before and the three older kids are big enough to do a lot for themselves. I helped Matt pick out his clothes while Emma and Abby took care of themselves. I helped the girls do their hair, got myself ready, got Millie ready and even nursed her right before heading out the door so she'd sit through the block of meetings easier. I asked the girls to get their tights and shoes on and here is where the battle could've happened.

Imagine with me, if you will. Abby was wearing this very cute, pink cotton sundress. Because it's a sundress and spaghetti straps, she also had to wear a pink half-jacket to cover her arms. She looked very cute. I expected her to wear one of her two pairs of white tights, but this is Abby we're talking about. As we were about to leave the house I noticed which pair Abby was wearing. With her pink cotton sundress, Abby was sporting BLACK tights and her WHITE, open-toed sandals. Oh, heavens!!

As I said, I decided to choose my battle, and this was one battle I decided to bypass for a few reasons. First, I didn't want to be late for church. Second, it's Abby. I have plenty of battles to choose from. So we went to church and I hoped that if anyone was going to judge me, it would be because I got my four children and myself to church on time all by myself and not because of our lack of fashion sense.

Oh Bother

Today my laptop was compromised. Not by a hacker or a thief of any kind. But by my children. It's broken. Oh, so broken. I am sad. So very sad. I bought M&Ms and ate several of them. Several. I justified my gluttony with the facts that they were Dark Chocolate M&Ms and I exercised today. Sometimes life is just really kind of tough, no matter how pathetic it is.

Movie Night

Tonight the kids and I are watching Beauty and the Beast. We turned off all the lights and made popcorn--the only way you can have a Movie Night.

Matt wasn't really into it. He wanted to watch The Dark Knight. Oh well...

Abby is wearing her Belle dress. But, I'm too lazy to go get my camera and then download the one picture, so instead of getting a current photo, I figured I'd share some memories.

These are from April 2005:

We still have these same dresses and they still pretty much fit.

I forgot how much I enjoy this movie until we started it up. It reminded me that it's probably my favorite Disney movie. It's near perfect: incredible songs, great animation, fun storyline, enjoyable supportive characters. Its only downfall is that the Beast looks like Michael Bolton when he goes human. That's too bad.

I also loved the stage version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. We got to see it in LA in 1996. There's really nothing like seeing an animated musical come to life on stage.

And one short note from my soapbox: I think it's kind of sad that this is one of the last animated musicals Disney has made. You get Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules and then from Tarzan on there are very few sing-along-able songs per movie. Luckily, the old classics are still available to our children's ripped-off generation. I think that should be our kids' generation's name: The Ripped-Off Generation.

Fitness is a Snap

I've been a bit preoccupied with my new efforts of getting healthy. When I went on this binge a year ago, I think my family thought I was obsessed, but I was just trying to change my life. Well, aspects of it. I think it's impossible to change things as huge as your eating habits and an hour's worth of daily activity without thinking about it a lot at first. Especially when you can feel the difference--fatigue and hunger hurt! Okay, it's not that bad, but it becomes something that can all-consume my thoughts.

But I thought I'd share some things that are happening with us because of our exercising.

First, Josh got a membership to the Snap Fitness in our neighborhood. They just opened, so they had a promo of no registration fees, we pay monthly with no contract, he can workout when ever he wants to, and he doesn't have the monotony of our Power 90. He's loving it. Today he pressed 500 lbs on the leg press. That's not nearly as much as he used to do in high school, but it's good considering all the problems and the surgery he's had on his knee. I'm proud of him.

On the other hand, remember the goofy-looking friend on Adventures in Babysitting, played by Penelope Ann Miller, who gets stuck in the bus station?

Notice the short hair messily tacked back, the glasses, and the awkward run? This is what I look like when I exercise. Oh, but someday when I get to show you the results of working my tail off (literally) it will all be worth it. I hope.

Look at Me!

In celebration of Millie being 6 weeks old...

look how big she is!!

I Want My MTV!

Today as I was running some errands, I stopped in the UPS Store and on the radio came the song "Cherry Pie"by the 80s-90s rock band Warrant. It reminded me of life once upon a time.

While I lived in Idaho I watched MTV every time I went to my friend Amy's house. This was for a couple reasons. Number 1: My parents would never let me watch MTV at our house. Number 2: The radio stations around there were all either country or light rock, neither of those genres I'd willingly listen to. The one station that claimed to be a rock station mostly played light rock (Richard Marks, Bryan Adams) or Def Leppard. Why they played Def Leppard, I don't know. It's not that they have bad music, I often find myself singing along when I hear them, but DL was a bit harder than what the station usually played. They didn't play anything else, though, so to listen to the rock music that was popular, we had to watch MTV to listen to what we liked.

Of course, this was YEARS ago, when MTV played music videos. So long ago.

We watched all of our favorite bands: Warrant, Poison, Mr Big, Winger, Nelson, just about any band with shirtless men whose hair is longer than most women's.

We never watched VH-1, though. VH-1 only showed videos that old people liked. Now if I want to see any of the videos we used to watch, the only place to find them is VH-1! I'm old! I can still find Bret Michaels on MTV, but as an old guy looking for a questionable woman to date. What happened, MTV? Where did it all go wrong? I miss Kurt Loder.

More Than Just Groundhog's Day

A couple of great things have happened today. First, I got a call this morning telling me that my BFF Cindy had her baby this morning. HOORAY!! He's a little early, but not too bad. His name is Russell Brent (Rusty) and he weighed in at 7lbs 1oz. I am so excited to see him. We need to go on a huge road trip just for the benefit of the new additions made recently. If we could make a loop from MT to UT to AZ to CO back to MT, we'd be able to see all our family and therefore see Rusty in UT, Ashton in AZ and show off Millie to everyone along the way. Hmmm...sounds like a great idea to me.

Today was also my first day to try to get myself healthier and into shape. I did my Power 90 workout, which is an amazing program. The first time we attempted Power 90 (the summer before I got pregnant with Matt) I lost 16 inches in the first 6 weeks alone. The last time I did it was right before I got pregnant with Millie and I lost 15lbs and was kicking butt. I didn't get to finish the 90 day guarantee of major weightloss because of my pregnancy, but I don't think I'll have any excuses this time. I wore my exercise clothes which aren't as baggy as my usual clothes and Matt asked when the baby in my tummy was going to come out. No, there's not another baby in my tummy. Just lots of leftover. Lots. Oh, so many lots. But in 90 days I'll be fitter. Probably not where I want to be yet, but closer.

So overall it's been a good day. How are you?

Millie's Blessing Day

Today Millie was blessed by her daddy at church. There are so many things running through my heart.

Millie on her Blessing Day

Emma, Millie, Abby, Matt

First, I'm so grateful for the Priesthood, the Power of God, that Josh holds and that my dad was able to be there to assist. Millie was given a name and a blessing and within that blessing she was given the opportunity for so many great things. One thing that she was promised was the desire to learn and work on her genealogy. I thought it was appropriate to show a picture of her Great-Grandmother Mildred Johnson, since I'm sure she'll be learning a bit about her.

Grandma Mildred Johnson and Uncle Matt

I met Mildred when Josh and I got married. We have a favorite quote from her. She wore this fantastic white, feathery jacket to the temple and my friend Cindy was video taping the goings-on after the ceremony. We all were walking around to the back of the temple for pictures. When Cindy called out to Grandma to say hi to the camera, she called back, "Hellllooo...it's me!" Josh and I say that all the time. It's one of my few memories of her.

Our grandparents at our wedding: Gramma and Grampa Williams, Josh and me, Grandpa Bob Small, Grandma Pearl Haskin, and Grandma Johnson

Also, Millie's middle name is Marie, after my Great-Grandmother Opal Marie Shaffer Bailey. I'm really looking forward to learning more about these two women and especially for Millie to learn more about them.

I'm also so grateful that Millie has been so healthy so far in her life. Having one child with health issues has really opened my eyes to how fragile life really is and how truly blessed we are when the hospital is not our second home. All three of our girls are beautiful and their health is something that I no longer take for granted. Of course, Matt is our handsome man and as far as I'm concerned, he's the only one of the kids with the right kind of temperament for the challenges that he's experienced and will continue to face. Funny how that works. Well, I guess it's not funny since our Heavenly Father knows us so well.

Anyway, this has been a good day and I love that Millie wore the same dress Emma did on her blessing day. It's one of the few things I kept from the girls' clothes.

Emma on her blessing day, June 2001. (Ignore the bear, I had to scan this off a scrapbook page.)