Basement

Yay basement! The plan was to put the girls in one big bedroom and keep the boys upstairs in the biggest bedroom..........but now everyone wants their own room. I am trying to figure out how to do what they want and still have a library. Library..........that's what really counts. Looking from Riley's bedroom through her closet into the front bedroom/library, or as Jack considers it, his room.

Bathroom.......

Riley and Mad's room with sheetrock. The saw might stay if the girls show an interest in wood work.

From the hall into the family room. Yippee! I can't wait for the fireplace and flat screen.

The guys we hired are working so fast! Today they are already taping and texturing. I have to go pick out carpet and paint and get the girl's bedding............and convince Jack that I need a library more than he needs a bedroom in the basement.

Hazel

Some sweet Maddy mouth.........

We left church the other morning and the snow was really coming down. Mads looks up and says "It's hazeling!!" I think she meant a mix of snow and hail.......because the snow was little icy bits.
Then at dinner she was praying and she asked for her 'scarf ' to be blessed. That would be the owie on her foot that she thinks will scar and mar her beauty.
She also asked in her blessing on the food that we would be 'pretcted from drinking alcohol' because she has been obsessing over the song 'Whiskey Lullaby'. She doesn't want us to die from alcohol poisoning. I tried to tell her not to worry........but she does.
Yesterday as we were doing errands she was trying to speak Spanish....she gave up on French for now. I said 'goodbye family' in Spanish. It made her cry......neither of us are sure why. Then she tried to get rid of the tears running down her face so her dad wouldn't see, because sometimes tears make you embarrassed.
She is also in love with reading. She thinks I should time her like I do Ri and Jack. She has been reading 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. So far she has made it into the volcano and taken one of the forks........they have found water and are still traveling. I'm not sure why she likes it, but she does...........don't worry, she is a genius but she hasn't read all of it alone. I read the hard words like 'journey and volcano' she reads things like 'the, and, to, am, can, is, it, me, be, I, a, you'. It is beginning to feel like we really are journeying to the center of the earth.......slow going.

Verbal Assault

I'm probably really putting myself out here........revealing my kryptonite....but are there ever any words that really rub you the wrong way? We have banned words in our house. I'll only give you a few because I can totally see people using these against me. I beg you not to. They send me into a state of frenzy.

#1 Poo

I can handle POOP but not sans the P. That is just SO stinkin' ugly. I mean seriously I hear adult say this even. How can you consider yourself an adult and say this word? There are so many other possibilities.....crap, defecate, spoor, dookey, shat. Come on world......lets let this one go......no more poo. (Sheesh, I almost can't even type it.)

#2 Moist

This word makes me want to vomit. All I can think of is spit when I hear this word. Spit in the corner of your mouth......spittle flying out of an open mouth, snot, mucus drainage, pus. Please, no matter how good my meat or cake is NEVER tell me it is moist. I don't even care if you say 'Man lady, you make a damp pork chop!' or 'That is one wet pudding cake you got there!' Lets all make a pact now to steer clear of the word moist. Oooh I still see spit stringing from dry chapped lips.....make it stop.

#3 Belch

No joke, that is one step away from puking in your mouth. I'm not even that offended if you let one rip.......just call it something else. Or better yet don't even name it.

I know that I have auditory issues. Really, I am aware. The ugly words are only the tip of the ice berg......I get insane over hearing food. I may actually commit a violent act over the sound of someone chewing ice. I have had to ban the chewing of cereal and popcorn while I am near. I have been known to put a pillow over my head to stave off the sound of taffy in ones mouth. I'm making myself sick right now. Bananas.......you can't help that they are soft and sticky...but they are, and that is exactly how they sound in your mouth. I almost can't eat them myself just because I am tempted to swallow the whole bite just to avoid the chewing sounds coming from my own mouth.

I don't even think behavior therapy can help me.

8 Things to L<3VE Tag

8 Things Tag
I love getting tagged!
8 Shows To Love:
1. John and Kate Plus 8
2. The Office
3. Good Things Utah
4. Medium
5. House Hunters
6. Reno 911
7. American Idol.......but only the tryouts, I never watch after that
8. I'm really struggling here!!! I don't have TV anymore so these are only speculative!

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Chinese Buffet
2. Cafe Rio
3. Cheese Cake Factory
4. Bajio Grill
5. The Olive Garden
6. Canton Wok
7. Red Lobster
8. I feel like I am forgetting something..........I love food, you would think I could come up with 20 places to eat!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Church
2. Superbowl party
3. Changed diapers
4. Read River Secrets by Shannon Hale
5. Ate Nachos
6. Pondered Homeschooling for the 400th time
7. Timed the kids reading
8. Talked to my friend right through the only episode of The Office that I have seen in months.

8 Things I Love About this Season:
1. Snow
2. Hot Chocolate
3. sledding
4. Hot packs that you heat in the microwave and cuddle with
5. Deer tracks in the snow
6. Cloudy days!!!!!!!! my ultimate favorite
7. Sitting on the heat vent with a blanket
8. Snowy nights!! They are so quiet and bright.

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. A finished basement
2. Kids who get along 24-7
3. A job that paid enough so Jason didn't feel compelled to have 7
4. To be absolutely CUT!! I want triceps again.........
5. Self discipline
6. A vaca with my dream man
7. A temple trip
8. A trillion bucks...........a million doesn't go very far anymore

8 People's Lists I Want to See:
1. I
2. refuse
3. to
4. name
5. any
6. names
7. So I guess
8. this 8 was pointless............ooh I'll do 8 books instead.......
1. The Giver by L. Lowry
2. Twilight by S. Meyer
3. Saints by O.S. Card
4. The Total Money Makeover by D. Ramsey
5. The Good Earth by P. S. Buck
6. Enchantment by O.S. Card
7. Pillars of the Earth by K. Follet
8. East of Eden by Steinbeck

Draper Temple

Friday we made a pilgrimage to the Draper Temple open house. The temple is beautiful and I can't wait to be able to use it. The colors inside are fabulous!!

Jack loved the 12 oxen and all of the tents we had to walk through to get inside, Mads liked the font and the bus ride, Ri liked the font too and can't wait to be old enough to do baptisms, Jason liked the Ordinance rooms that had murals of nature painted on the walls.......so did I, and of course I loved the bride's room. The temple is compact and has a good use of space. It made it apparent that the need for temple work is urgent in these days. Unfortunately it was really hard to get any pictures because we were herded like sheep.........kindly but quickly and we were in tents 99.9% of the time we were outside of the temple.....no pics inside. Get your reservations if there are any left!!! Otherwise prepare yourself for Oquirrh Mountain.