Random Thoughts of the Day

Here are some things that went through my mind today:

1. Josh's picture from the previous DWTS post was used when we made this picture for Homecoming. We lived on campus last year and our apartment complex had a competition to see who could decorate their front window for the Superhero Homecoming theme. We won. Of course, only one other window (out of about 40 apartments) competed. But it was still fun. Josh drew this, by the way.

2. Yesterday our neighbor approached Josh and asked him if we got rid of our dogs. The sad truth is that, yes, we had to find them more suitable homes. This was a very hard decision to make and it took us a few months to decide to do it. When we got our dogs we expected to buy a few acres further out in the country and they would have plenty of room to run and work. They're border collie/Aussie shepherd mixes. Anyway, keeping them cooped up in our backyard with Josh working so much, the kids so young, and me high-risk pregnant, we couldn't give them the attention and work they needed, so Bear went to a family in a nearby small town with a few acres and Jessie went to a Heuterite colony (for simplicity's sake think "Amish") to be a cattle/sheep dog. They'll be much happier and in a few years we'll do more research on the breed of dog that fits our family's lifestyle better. Anyway, this neighbor went off on Josh about how "when you get a pet, you should be committed." I really don't need or want his judgement. MYOB, dude.

3. There seems to be a hypocrisy when it comes to teaching children how to handle other people. We always tell our children to be nice and kind, but it's come to my attention that we also have to teach them to stand up for themselves. Where exactly is the line between nicely telling someone to leave you alone and firmly making them leave you alone? I feel like a hypocrite telling my children to be aggressive when I'm always telling them to be nice.

4. Black Friday is a stupid idea.

5. My biggest fear right now is that my water is going to break. I've never had an early delivery, except for Matt, but he was induced a week early. I have no reason to believe that Millie will come any earlier than we've already planned, but in my mind I've formulated an emergency plan of what to do with my children if I suddenly go into irreversible labor. Plus, I know the ER phone number by heart so I can warn Josh that I'd be coming in. Overreacting? Probably. I'm so paranoid of my water breaking that I'm nervous sitting on our nice couch.

So, how was your day?

Care For a Smoke?

This morning at about 4am I woke up choking on smoke. I knew one of two things had happened...either our house was on fire, or Josh got off work and started a smoky fire in the fireplace. Luckily, it was the latter. Unluckily, our whole house was filled with smoke. It still smells like a hickory BBQ in here, but we all made it through. The girls never woke up (I don't know if that's good or not) but Matt did. He snuck into my bed after I went to investigate the smoke source. He said he couldn't sleep in his bed because it smelled like smoke and fire and he didn't want to die because "I love my mom, and I love my dad, and I love my sisters, and I love my room, and I love ours house, and I love my toys." Poor Josh felt so bad. We think that the heaviness of the cold air in the flue pressed the smoke into the room. To avoid this again, I've already started a fire before it gets too cold outside. Josh tried to be a good dad and husband and warm us up on a cold morning. He's a good man.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008

Being with family is always fun, especially during the holidays. The only problem was that we didn't have everyone with us. We needed some more of our aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. But, we had a nice dinner anyway.

Gramma Courtney (Dad's mom), Genica (Peter's wife), Teagan (Lori's youngest), and Peter

Dad and Grampa Bill (Dad's dad)

Emma had to get in the shot, of course!

Abby and Pete needed their own pictures

What would Thanksgiving be without a superhero? Trenton (Lori's second son) and Emma

Mom cheesed it up for the camera, with Trenton

Lori and Aunt Jo (Dad's sister)

I almost missed getting a picture of Josh, but I found him!

I almost didn't put this one in, I look like a beached whale. Just realize I'm wearing Josh's shirt.

Emma and Mommy

Somehow I missed pictures of Tyler (Lori's oldest) and Matt.

I think they were engrossed in Inspector Gadget.

I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving too. The food was good, the company was great, and the realization that Millie is coming in 25 days was freaky. Overall, a pretty good day.

DWTS--Spoiler Alert

Josh and I don't get a whole lot of nights together, but with our handy-dandy DVR we still get to enjoy our favorite shows together. The one we never miss is Dancing With the Stars. We love that show, and as much as I'm glad to know the winner, I'm also sad that it's over for the season.

We both believed that Brooke would win because she truly should have. She was consistant in her technique and had amazing hyper-extended legs. If I can look half as good as she does by the time Millie is two I'll be happy. I loved watching the backstage footage of her taking her children with her and it made me think of all the times my kids followed me to the theatre. I think Emma was one of the few two-year-olds in the world that knew what a Green Room was.

My favorite person to watch, however, was Warren Sapp. I love Warren. He makes me think of Josh. Here's why:


WARREN SAPP

Height: 6'2"
Weight: 300 lbs
Football position: Defense
Nickname: Twinkle Toes Teddy Bear
Very charismatic on the dance floor








JOSHUA JOHNSON

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 320 lbs
Football Position: Defense/Offense
Nickname: Love, Baby, Sweatheat, Handsome Man
Very charismatic with his wife


I think if Josh and I ever take the dancing lessons we've always wanted to, he'd discover that he is very light on his feet for a big guy. He can already sweep me off mine!

Tag! I'm "It"

So, my friend Jeri Dawn (http://lingeringqueen.blogspot.com/ I don't know how to do the nice looking link stuff. If you want to tell me I'd be happy to learn.) tagged me with a theme of six. So, yeah, you guessed it...if you're reading this, you're probably going to be tagged. That's just the way it is!

Here are the rules:

1. link to the person who tagged you.
2. post the rules on your blog.
3. write six random things about yourself.
4. tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So for some reason Jeri Dawn thought I'd have some random things to say. I'll try not to disappoint...

1. I remembered Friday night as I joined some friends for the opening night of Twilight that I am very uncomfortable in a room full of estrogen. Holy crap! As I was listening to these women and girls scream, clap, and holler at a decent looking guy, I slid down further and further into my chair and the sarcasm welled nearly beyond control. I just wanted to yell at them all that if they flung their panties at the screen and hit me, I'd kill them all. This may have also been due in part to my hormones raging out of control lately.

2. I love soft Red Vines. Not the black ones, they're gross. And not Twizlers. Just soft Red Vines. Ooohh, if it weren't Sunday I'd send Josh to the store right this second.

3. I hate it when people touch my head. I don't know if it's because of something that happened in my early childhood that I don't remember or one of the things I do remember: a boy in fourth grade punched me in the head when I got a better grade than he did. I didn't like him. Or maybe it was from eighth grade when Wade Schofield threw a blue racquetball across the choir room and it hit me in the head. I just can't remember.

4. When I eat an apple I have to twist the stem off. But that's not all. I also have to sing the ABC song, out of habit, until the stem pops off. It used to be to find out the first letter of the first name of the boy I'd marry, but now it's just because I can't NOT do it.

5. There are two movies I can't watch anymore since I've had kids. I used to love to watch these movies whenever I could. The day after Abby was born I couldn't watch The Green Mile because of the scene with my favorite character, John Coffey, and the two beautiful blond girls he pitifully held while he was crying because he couldn't save them. Oh man, it still gets to me. The other is John Q. I love Denzel Washington and I even got one of my professors to show the movie when we were discussing ethical decisions. But, it's about a father who holds an ER hostage until the hospital agrees to put his son on the heart transplant list. I made the stupid mistake to watch it while Matt was in the hospital during his last heart surgery. Call me a masochist.

6. I love to collect Precious Moments collectibles. I haven't been able to get a new one for a very long time, a few years at least. The other day Josh came home and presented me with a gift. It's a Precious Moments with a mommy holding her new blanket-enfolded baby up and they're looking at each other. It's so cute. I love it. It made me cry. What a good husband I have!

Okay, so the people to tag...you know I only know six people, and one of them was the person who tagged me, so I'm going to cheat and only tag the five of you that I usually tag. Sorry! I hope you have some fun with this, though.

Tara http://obyandtarabennett.blogspot.com/

Tara and Jabon (if you each do this, it'll be my six people...) http://jabon.hintegration.com/blogger/bolgger.html

Mindy http://cmreederfamily.blogspot.com/

Cindy http://family.utahsysadmin.com/

Michelle http://missusbennett.blogspot.com/

Kidz Blog

My dear friend Tara Bennett has begun a blog created specifically for parents with children who have endured several different health difficulties. I had asked Tara quite a while ago if I could tell a little about Matt and his heart issues, since I noticed she had no "Heart" labels for previous posts. She readily agreed and I was determined to finally sit and write out a bit of Matt's story.

I ended up sitting on this idea for a long time. It's tough to experience the catharsis of what we went through, so I kept thinking I needed to be in the right mood. Last night Tara encouraged readers of the blog to share their stories to add to the Kidz Blog, anything that is inspiring. I was encouraged to begin my delve into the world that I needed to explore, but was scared of. I knew doing so would envelop my entire soul for the duration of the writing time I needed. Luckily, I could hammer it out in one sitting.

I encourage everyone to check out Tara's Kidz Blog. There really are some inspiring stories there and if you have any to add, I know Tara would love to hear from you. I think you should check it out anyway because Tara is pretty inspirational herself. She explains her mission as such:

Hi! My name is Tara. I am the wife of one amazing guy and the mother to one beautiful girl who has special needs. I realized when going through my unexpected journey that most on-line resources for children with special needs or health concerns are cold and factual, and quite often discouraging. I hope KIDZ can be a place where everyone can be inspired, and a resource for Parentz to connect, share the lessons they learn from their special Kidz, a place to give and share encouragement.

Her blog is undergoing a face lift, so check back often to see the transformation and be sure to add whatever inspirational stories you have.

http://kidzorg.blogspot.com/

Another Abby Moment

Do you remember in "Goldmember" when Austin Powers pokes the Mole (Fred Savage) in the mole with this random stick that just sort of appears out of nowhere? I think it's the greatest Austin Powers moment out of all three movies, even though I won't always admit that I've seen all three movies.

Anyway, when I went to pick the girls up from school today, Abby had a stick and nearly poked my face with it about 20 times. It just totally made me think of that movie moment.

I was reminded today about another Abby moment. A few weeks ago I received a call from the secretary at the elementary school. She said that Abby came to the office during recess time to give her a note from me. The note read, "My mom said to call her if I'm sick." Did you catch that the note was supposed to be from me? At the time I laughed at first and then we had to address some of the mistakes Abby made in trying to come home from school. Now that we've overcome most of the mistakes, we can laugh about it again. "My mom said to call her if I'm sick." Where the heck does she get that from? She's a bit devious, isn't she?

Sweet Dreams are Made of These...

...Who am I to disagree?

So, I had this dream that Millie was born. I've deleted the details of the dream twice now in trying to explain it because it was just weird. Why is it that pregnant women have to have such weird dreams? When I was prego with Emma I kept dreaming that I forgot her whenever I went anywhere. It's bad enough that I can't easily toss and turn in my bed and that I must get up at least twice a night. I also have to be haunted by these psychotic dreams. If I knew how to interpret them I may be scared. And to add insult to injury, I wake up from these dreams feeling overwhelmed by them and then I have to roll back and forth like a turtle that's been flipped on its shell just to try to get out of bed. Just thinking about it stresses me out. Anyone have chocolate?