My Once a Month Friend

I don't like to complain. I really don't. But today was hard. Nay. Between 4pm-7:30pm was hard. In fact, everyday between those times is hard. Dinner. Clean up. Kids to bed. Why is this daily routine the worst part of my day? Kids are crrrr-aaaaaa-nky! And my husband is out of town and I am in the process of packing up to meet him in Southern Alberta for Canada day and my leg and knee are sore from soccer so the process is much slower than I would like it to be and I'm tired from no sleep and no catch-up-naps and I am not looking forward to driving by myself with three children in the car for 6 hours ...and I'm on my period. There. I said it. All of the above are worse because of it. I promise I really don't like to complain, but my period is making me do it. I just have to get all of this OUT! And I just realized I haven't had dinner because I was dealing with CRAZY children (and packing and cleaning) and it's almost 9pm. No wonder I am grumpy. I will now take this time to pork out and veg on my bed whilest watching some lame-o reality TV show. That is how me and my period are going to spend the rest of our evening. So, if you choose to call us tonight? We are not answering the phone.

No.

No. No. No. No. No. No. NO!

It has begun.

Ellie has figured out that climbing up on chairs is a fun thing to do.

What's even more fun is the kitchen TABLE. Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

What a party! I wish I could say this was the only time I've caught her up here, but it seems to be an exciting place to be as of late. So here's to a Summer full of bumps and bruises!

Puffy Tummies

Jax: Mom, you have a baby in your tummy (said as a statement. Not a question).

Me: Oh, I do? How do you know? (I thought maybe he was closer to the Spirit than me and was receiving some sort of revelation that I didn't know about)

Jax: Because your tummy is puffy.

Me: Ohhhhh....

The joys of honesty.

Art

Jackson loves to draw. I think I just assumed that my other kids would follow suit because that's what I thought was normal, but no. Jax has a passion. Here are a few of the many pictures that grace my fridge:

Jax is obsessed with Robin (and Batman. But Jax claims himself to be Robin). Here's a picture of Robin with a mask and his Robin-cake-making machine. The "B" stands for Batman, and the "R" stands for Robin, of course.

This next picture is of Daddy, Jackson and I playing our musical instruments. I am sitting on a bench on the top left at the piano (beside me). Jax is at the top right playing the tamberine and Joe is at the bottom playing the drums. So cute.

Sometimes Jax just likes to fill the page with random letters and numbers, but at the bottom he has drawn a picture of all his friends (except Noah's not there. Must have been in a fight that day???)

A few months ago I was drawing with the sidewalk chalk with Jax. He was writing in the numbers for hopscotch while I was drawing flowers. He was really intrigued by that and suddenly started copying my flowers. Next thing I know, that's all he wants to draw.

I love the tiny rainbow up top. Here's all of Jackson's buddies holding balloons. I want to say this was drawn shortly after Noah's birthday party because we had a ton of balloons hanging around that day.

This last one has been on the fridge for a LONG time. I love it. And sadly the color of the paper has mostly faded and you can see the outline of the magnet that was holding it! Haha! He drew this picture when there was still snow on the ground (so a few weeks ago. Haha. JK). We were all so sick of snow at this point, so he drew a picture to cheer me up with a rainbow and the sun. So cute. What a sweet heart.

I've decided I need to start framing these. It would be cute to hang them downstairs in the rumpus room perhaps???

Anywho, I love that Jackson has this creative passion inside of him. It's neat to watch him learn and grow and become his own person.

True Love

I had two interesting experiences today.

I received some bad news this evening that made me take a good hard look at my life, my marriage, my family. I THEN got to go out and take some photos of a couple that are having a baby in a matter of weeks. Watching them reminded me of how exciting it is to start a family together and with the right person. Marriage is already hard as it is without kids. Adding children into the mix can either complicate things, or make things awesome. These two experiences all in one day made me truly grateful for Joe and the life we have together. The first experience (as hard as it was) made me grateful that he is devoted and loyal to me and our family. The second experience reminded me of why I decided to marry him and start a family together. He is hard-working, close to the Spirit and always striving to be better, setting quite the example for me. He is someone I can talk to about anything and someone I can rely on. He is a strong leader in our home and is kind as well as wise. Above all, he makes me smile. I know he loves me and our children. There has never been a doubt there.

I feel really lucky.

Why do I get these blessings?

Thank you Joe for loving me.

Beeda!

Oh she knows.

She's figured out that if she rummages around in Mommy's purse long enough, she's bound to find it.

"It" would be chocolate. Which in Ellie-language is "Beeda" (don't ask me how or why. Beeda can also be defined as whatever I'm eating in front or her, or other yummy snacks). And if she doesn't find the beeda right away, she drags my purse to me while saying, "Beeda! Beeda! Beeda!" over and over again. Of course (sadly), there is always chocolate to be found in my purse or some sort of sugary substance. So, she knows. She knows she's going to find something if she digs hard and long enough.

BEEDA! Ellie, you are most definitely MY child.

To The Theatre!

This morning was the start of my Musical Theatre-career. I am thankfully at a time in my life where I am kinda-sorta free. I'm not pregnant. I don't have a new born baby hanging off me. And Joe is even encouraging me to do something for myself, meaning I've got spousal support. So. I'm gonna take it. Last week I auditioned for the part of Dorcas Gale in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I had a sore throat due to stress (of course), but I sang my way through it (half a key lower, which was tricky. Blah! I'm not gonna go there). Anywho, NAILED my monologue... which I was most worried about when I found out I needed to prepare one. I had been working on it all month. And believe you me, I don't remember things. That is not a talent of mine. So, that is something I had to work really, really, REALLY hard at. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, it's a little on the embarrassing side. I figured I should probably actually perform it once for someone before my actual audition, and poor Alysha was my victim. (I was Juniper from Tomorrow's Wish by Wade Bradford; "I kissed a boy once.") I realized after that day that it is much easier doing embarrassing things (like a monologue) in front of strangers than your friends!

I walked away from that audition not sure what to think. The director (Grant Tolley) asked me a few questions which made me feel a bit uneasy for the next few days. He told me I didn't look a day over 18 (thanks!), and he said that I had a lot of character and energy and we needed that on the set (Yes!), And then he started to say that he was going to ask me something without having talked to the other directors (is he going to ask me to be Milly on the spot?), and continued by asking, "How would you feel about being in the chorus?" (Ouch. What? I thought my audition went better than that....). I responded by saying that if I was going to take a "break" from my kids, and be away from my husband like this three times a week, I would only do it if I got a lead part. So, ...that kind of threw me off, and I had a pit in my stomach the rest of the day (thanks!). But I got the call from him two days later (Sarah and Jenny knew how anxious I was awaiting that conversation). I am happy to say that I got the part!! Let the sass begin! This morning was the read-through, and I already feel like a Drama-geek. I love it. Maybe next rehearsal I will have to rummage through my closet and find my artsiest scarf and sweater to wear. If I'm going to do this, I am going to do it all the way! Tee hee!

On another Musical theatre note, ...I also accepted the role of Lily (Rooster's girlfriend) in the Butler's production of "Annie." I was hoping to play Miss Hannigan (and maybe someday with a little more experience and guts I will scrounge up the courage to audition for it), but for now Lily will do.

I was originally asked to play Grace, one of the leads, and trust me I would have LOVED to! But the plays are overlapping each other and I think it will be tricky enough as it is juggling these two smaller roles. I would NOT be able to play such a big lead part AND do Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on top of that. Lily, however, has very few lines and only one major song (and dance! Weeeeee!), so it will be fun and a bit stressful during the times when they overlap, But I'm hoping mostly fun. As I thought about whether or not I should do Annie ON TOP of Seven Brides, I just decided that I think I would really regret not doing it. And that's that. So here's to a crazy end-of-Summer and Fall!

Just don't get pregnant and I'll survive.

Talents

Last night for Family Home Evening, Joe was teaching a lesson on talents. He asked the kids what their talents were. Jax of course said, "Lego Batman." Noah said, "Soccer." Then Joe asked the kids what they thought some of my talents were. Jax said "running." I then asked the kids what they thought some of Dad's talents were. Jax thought about it, then said, "eating a lot."

Hahahahahaha!

Priceless.

Spoiled Rotten

It almost didn't happen. Almost. Thank goodness it did though. I think I would have died otherwise. Almost every year, us gals try to have a girls road trip. Last year it was to Utah to see Muse live in concert in Utah. Last year we had two babies in the car. This year? NO KIDS! We started the trip off (as every trip should) with a slurpee run, and we were OFF!

Our trips usually include a good dose of Erasure, Depeche Mode, Muse... and this time? Harry Potter. "Hyeeaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" (in Voldemort's voice while waving his wand). We listened to the last few chapters of book seven to get us pumped up for the final movie which is to be released next month. That, I believe, will be our new obsession until the fourth Twilight movie comes out.

So what if we stopped again in Clarseholm for another slurpee run?

We finally arrived at our parents house and we were pretty dang excited! Freedom!!! Can a face get any more excited/ugly than that?

Of course we shopped. We tried not to, but we did. TARGET! My parents were very generous hosts and I am so grateful to them for everything! We had the best time ever!

Here we are at some hill-billy farmers market in Whitefish. It was basically like a garage sale that you might find in the dumpsters of Browning. Thank goodness they had good ice cream and good live music. It was very relaxing and hot. So of course we hit the swimming pool later on that day. (We don't need pictures of that!).

Did we sing in church? Of course. Jenny even had a cold, but that did not stop the Ords from singing. Does anything stop us from singing? One of my highlights of the trip was getting a voice lesson from my Dad. I am auditioning for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers here in Edmonton this weekend and am a touch nervous. So, my Dad gave me a lesson and I feel like I am finally starting to understand my voice. He gave me some great warm up techniques and I am honestly so excited about practicing. It makes me so sad that my parents live so far away. I would nab a lesson from him every week if I could! He is one talented man. A fantastic teacher, and a fantastic Dad!

Another highlight (after we got into more appropriate 80-degree-weather clothing after church) we went for a nice Sunday walk. I miss those. When I lived at home, I would go on Sunday walks all the time with my Mom and sisters.

"Mmmmhmmmm-hmmmmm. Mmmmm-hmmmm-hmmmm....." I don't know why people think my Mom and I are so much a like! Not a clue. Jenny and Sarah on the other hand.... (LAZIES! jk. I know Sarah did more dishes than I did while we were there. Tee hee.... while Jenny continued to stare at her shirt).

Photoshoot! Yes, while we were there, we thought it would be a fun idea to do a photoshoot of Mom and Dad. It was fun for about five minutes. It got so hot so fast and there was NO shade to be had. I will reveal more pictures once I actually take a moment to photoshop them, but here are some candids from the shoot.

Sarah didn't bring her camera so she immediately became the props-girl. She was thrilled.

One of my favourite parts about the shoot was this moment here. Jenny was trying to situate my Mom's legs and let's just say there was a little miscommunication. I think this went on for about five minutes. Haha!

Oh Sarah....

Sarah was trying to get my parents to laugh. Yes. The way you try to get the attention of a one year old during a family shoot. Haha! It worked though.

Time for Sarah and Jenny's shoot.... So romantic?

Sass to the MAX!

However, according to this picture, I would have to say that Sarah is truly the Master of Sass.

Spoiled! "Oh, I just whipped together this amazing pie. No big deal...." That is my Mom.

She also treated us to a girls day complete with pedicures and a movie! It was so relaxing. No responsibilities. Hanging out. So nice.

And of course as any vacation goes, it ended all too quickly. Three full days. Two travel days. Not enough time! I enjoyed being spoiled to death. Someone else taking care of meals and dishes, sleeping in, watching Cranford, Harry Potter and X-men uninterrupted, not paying for babysitters just to get out of the house, eating at Bajio's instead of trying to make the next best thing at home that would never compare (but comes kinda close), getting a tan and lazing around the pool, hearing other children playing in the pool but knowing that none of them were yours so you could actually relax. Sigh. All gone now. All gone. But I will say that by the time we got all packed up and into the car, I was ready to see my kids. Even excited for it. Part of the excitement I think comes from having another eight hours in the car with my sistas! We started our trip back by reading excerpts from Stephanie Meyers' "Midnight Sun" that she never finished (It's Twilight in Edward's perspective). It reminded us of the intensity of these books. Makes me want to re-read the final book before the movie comes out this Fall. Or perhaps The Host again.

We played MASH--- are we sixteen? We always try to do a "themed" Mash, where we pick characters from certain genres, ...not real people (like Jane Austen characters. That sort of thing). We did Disney Princes (like Flynn Ryder), Heros from Marcia Lynn McClure books (like Brenan, the Irish Farmer. Tee hee), and vampire characters (I'm sure you can guess).

We also re-obsessed over Hunger Games. Jenny found a magazine that showed all of the cast for the upcoming movies! So. We listened to the Hungergames on Sarah's ipod the rest of the way home. I forgot how much I love that series and love Peeta! Awwwwwww......

I live for these trips. Although I love my husband and kids, there is nothing like a get-away road trip with my sisters!

Birthday Suit

Sarah promised to make a skirt for Ellie for my birthday and it's HERE! I love it Sarah... totally worth the wait! February. Four months ago. You know you can never bug me about being late for anything again.

She absolutely loves the tower of ruffles. She kept swishing around and menuvering slowly to feel the weight of her new skirt. So cute! Thanks again Sarah!!

The Vintage Queen

blog.mandylynne.com

This woman inspires me.

I want to have a room full of dress up clothes, accessories and props like her. I think her entire house is a prop though. She just lives like that. No bigs. Just the cutest little vintage house in the cutest little vintage town. I realized after checking out all of her magical pictures that you need to have a cute house. I like to take random pics of my kids around the house or in our yard, but I think if my bed frame were nice 'n' rusted, if I used old wooden boxes for chairs, and if the kids were wearing news boys hats and pearls all the time they would turn out MUCH cuter.

Time to go garage salin' to find me some props!

Sick

Ellie's sick. I love it. Is that bad? She turns into such a cuddle bug! This morning she snuggled me and rested her head on my chest while straddling me for a half hour as I sang her songs. Every once in a while she would pause to look up at me, grab hold of her blankie again and lay her head back down. So cute!

Down side? Blue Koolaid barf in her crib.