The Mother of Geese

Ah Abbie...if only the whole world had as much faith and belief in Santa as you do. It would surely be a kinder, more logical, more magical, more loving place. Thank you! Amelia: I'm sure he appreciates that you don't want to share your secret of what you want him to bring you, but throw your mom a bone. Refusing to tell anyone but Santa has been a bit inconvenient this year. Max: I don't think you fully understand how this works, but thanks for being so nonverbal and not spilling any beans while out on errands. Merry Christmas!

Abbie and Amelia: working together and sharing their gingerbread house and not eating all the candy first= nice list.

Max: Waking up at 4:30 to go help yourself to marshmallows=naughty list

Max: Insisting on walking around the neighborhood with your hat like this and protesting whenever I would try to fix it properly but nevertheless making me grateful that I have a stroller so I can strap your silly butt to it=a little bit naughty a little bit nice.

Abbie, Amelia, & Max: Finally being at an age where you can play together nicely and not fight during "that music game": VERY VERY NICE

Hi, I'm Rebecca. I steal strollers. I have a miserable life. Dear Funbecca81: Christmas is a time of year to make ammends, forgive others, and to let go of grudges. It is in that spirit I am writing this to you although I will probably never send it to you. I wanted you to know the means I have taken to get what was rightfully mine returned and how it has taken over my life so I can purdge these feelings and really move on. Are you surprised I knew it was you? Truth be told, when it happened I was sure it was a mom and your face popped into my head. So the next morning when my friend mentioned she saw you and the time line fit I was sure. Why would you be trick or treating in my neighborhood when you moved to a different town last February? You might not remember me but I knew your nursery, sunbeam, CTR 5, CTR 7, and CTR 8 when you started to bring them in mid-November and I missed them when you stopped bringing them in January. Did you have a nice Christmas? As a side note, you s...

Max: stripping down nakey so you can dance and jump off the couches, shake your booty and feel free all woodstock style=naughty list because I had to wipe down everywhere your booty touched. Eventhough you didn't piddle anywhere I couldn't get the sound of your butt squeaking down the leather out of my head until we were all disinfected. Points for getting down to Weezer though.

Amelia: believing me when I said that Hannah Montana wants you to have your hair back when you wear this dress instead of in her face and straight=nice list.

Abbie:cheerfully wearing a hat that is too tight for her big head so to alleviate my guilt at sending her to the bus stop freezing=Nice list

Max: Taking Abbie's special Santa puppy off her made bed then bringing it downstairs and feeding it "Bee Cereal" till it drips off the fur=Naughty list.

Daddy, Santa Puppy, Abbie and Amelia: Not breaking mommy's tea set during our hot chocolate party and sharing the Pepperidge Farm "Entertainment Collection" (ooo-la la) special cookies and saving me the Milanos and cookie cigars=Nice list. (memory flash-Rob do you remember when we were living in Uintah and we rolled up newspapers and tried to smoke them on the drive way during the holidays? Good times. So glad your kids check my blog more often than you do for that little memory nugget.)

Abbie came home the other day with this theory about how Santa knows and sees all. She says Santa sees through the heating vents and in the lightbulbs in houses. I find this concept equal parts Orwellian and creepy and logistically sound. However, in the event that Santa needs help keeping track of the Danielson kids, I will gladly be providing photographic proof. Amelia: re-tagging a couch with Max's name written for a mirror in a sharpie=Naughty list.

The earth is surely a lot more bland and a little less vibrant now. Thanks for the legacy.

I'm grateful the kids will be going to bed in less than an hour. Done. And yes, I am a day short with the ridiculous countdown.

Are these blessings posts boring to anyone? Its a little sunshiney around these parts and I am not recognizing myself in these posts lately. I feel like I need to have a countdown of things that irritate me or things that I find stupid and useless. Anyways. Took the kids on an impromptu road trip last weekend. How delicious is this bunch? they are probably happy because I promised them that we will NOT be going on a roadtrip to Lake Tahoe. In which case they look a little more like this: At least the sunset was pretty for awhile? (imagine me doing a Napolean YESSSS! for figuring out a way to work the Tahoe roadtrip pictures into the blog)

I am not a huge lover of Christmas music pre-Thanksgiving. I just don't want all that cheer up in my business before it is necessary. (not judging or hating on anyone that does it. It just grates on me a bit.) Enter snow and cold. Not really Weezer, Jack Johnson or Vampire Weekend mood music is it? My older lover Sting has released a new album that is perfect for when the hounds of winter are howling in the wind. Its different and not your typical Sting sound. If I had to describe it I would say its monkish. It took me a couple of rounds of listening before it grew on me, but now its definately a keeper. Its perfect cozy weather but not chippy Christmas winter music. Enjoy. I'm off to go make pumpkin bread.

Today I am grateful for the hard work of my presidency. I could not do anything without their work and support. Today, I wanted to cry in a corner when I was all alone without my 1st, 2nd, or either of my secretaries with all 100+ kids. I recruited some able and wonderful ladies to come and fill in but I mostly floundered and watched the clock. I need those ladies badly!

Do you Glee? I also love Mad Men. It makes me want to chain smoke and make a martini.

Max and Hazen (sheShun) get to hang out a lot lately. I love that are are friends! Max is a really bad influence on Hazen and makes him 50 times more naughty than he usually is, but at least they keep me on my toes. Laughing at each other Max showed Hazen how to turn the faucet around so the water would spray at your head. Way more fun that plain old drinking fountains. Max dropping gravel on Hazen's head.

Last year I found a set of flatware that I loved at Costco. I really thought that one set would be sufficient but Brad scoffed and talked me into purchasing 2. I couldn't possibly realized at that moment that my silver would be used for a race track. Good thing we have a backup set to actually use for eating things.

Abbie working her origami and listening to Harry Potter book 3 "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty." Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 117–20 Thanks Abbie, for always reminding me of this great principle.

...and trusting Mother Karma will give the massive smackdown. I have decided to give up in my search for the stroller because it is turning me into a paranoid, anxious, bitter person. In the last 10 days, I have picked mucho fights with the Mr., lied to the PTA to get an address, followed a person home, made the Mr. leave work early 3 times to follow the person home, ignored the needs of the kids because I was too busy checking someone's myspace, arranged a fake meeting for the stroller, asked about stalking laws, rolled my eyes when someone suggested I "use the car" to get where I needed to go, googled citizens arrest techniques, plotted, lied to the postal service....you get the idea. I have decided to bid my stroller goodbye, think about all the good times, realize that I really did have the creme de la creme in strollers, save my money for a replacement, and use my super sleuthing skills for good rather than evil. Like when I snuck into the faculty room at Abbie's...

Remember when you used to call your friend to coordinate or match? When did that become such a bad thing? I think it's fabulous. By the way, I'm wearing black yoga pants, black cap, black tank top and a olive green hoodie if anyone wants to be matchy with me.

I am grateful when I took the kids to the museum this week we were pretty much the only ones in the place giving us extra time and no need to be polite or share with those pesky strangers and their children. Go ahead, fling the sand. Max was grateful he discovered the emergency exits. Did you know if you barely touch the handle a loud alarm sounds? He thought it was the coolest and would run to test all doors. Hazen would hit the deck and cover his head, Amelia wouldn't even flinch, and Max would yell BEEP! I was not grateful for his new trick. I might have gotten a dirty look from a lady in the museum but I told her my goal was to basically keep a visual on 2 out of the 3. I should have broke out into "Don't hate on me Hater". Nobody is going to steal your dinosaurs and trees or undam your work. Nobody, that is, except for Max.

I love that Amelia has recently mastered the art of snapping her fingers and now snaps as she tells me things. The snapping is especially manic if she has to go to the bathroom. In which case she sits on the floor cross legged and "shakes" her booty back and forth whilst snapping. When I suggest she go visit the latrine she replies "I just need to shake it out for a minute." Nice.

Bradfo called me and suggested I make sandwiches for the kids and come meet him for lunch at Sushi House in AF. (He is, afterall, 1/8 Japanese...)Never been to Sushi House? Neither had I, but man oh man DO NOT judge a book by its former Denny's site cover. It was so good. And the company? Even better. This was an especially nice treat because Brad and I NEVER get together for lunch out and about like the good old days when we were rollin. (sushi joke). Even my friends at Yelp gave it the coveted 4 stars. Should I note that I while Brad was paying I was thinking I had been granted the gift of tongues as the sushi masters were preparing their delicacies in their tall red hats? Were they speaking Japanese and now I understood it? Had I actually eaten so much that I was turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so? (ber der dah der der der der)? Nope. They were definately Mexicans speaking their native tongues. But dang, Gina, they make a mean Godzilla roll!

I love the hours of 2:00-4:00 pm because I can hear nothing but the sweet sweet sound of children sleeping and not whining. (and I may or may not occasionally turn on the tv to Days or General Hospital to watch at the same time. I can't quite swallow wasting my time with one soap, but 2 at the same hour seems more efficient and less stupid right? Baby Switching! When will Sammy figure it out? How much makeup does Raph wear?! Carly's back! Why did Maxi dye her hair? Claudia is dead? or is she...)

I like summer. Alot. I like sunshine, sno-cones, air conditioning and bare feet. I hate winter. Alot. I hate clouds, colds, dry skin, and being cooped up. So last week winter decided to rear its ugly rear and remind me how much I hate it. Although this week I still don't have snow-cones, air conditioning, and my bare feet are slippered-I do have sunshine. so I can enjoy and remove the creepy hanging napkin craft ghosts by Abbie. And have a little buddy rake (upside down)out the flower beds And wonder who in the world planted my surprise sunflowers (they must know I am a bit of a slow and lazy weeder because it survived) And marvel and nature's little drama queen. Today I am grateful for sunshine reminding me that winter does end eventually after 6 or 7 months.

I have 2 amazing, talented, intelligent, funny, bright, well spoken, level headed, opinionated, goofy, strong, beautiful sisters. One is far (boo) and one is closeby (yeah!). I am grateful for the sister who wanted to send an anonymous message to the perp via her myspace asking her if she is liking her new stroller. I am grateful she texted me 2:26 to see if I wanted her to come get me so we could go to the school where the potential perp sends her daughter and then follow her home, since I didn't have a current address. We left 2 sleeping boys (one properly tended and the other more tended by the Holy Ghost and the power of mighty prayer)and waited patiently plotting our next moves. Trying to be sly and cool during the stakeout. I love her so much I cropped her face out because she would not have approved of the shot. She literally jumped out of the shower, threw some clothes on, and was out the door in my hour of need. I loved her BRIGHT RED SUV!!! that was following the perp al...

(Wanna know another blessing I should have counted yesterday? When I went for the early morning perusal (the 6:00 am edition) around the neighborhood looking for awesome strollers the camera was in the CAR. Did I put the camera in the car? No. Did I drive the car at all Halloween night? Again no. Anne, can I have a witness to my taking pictures then heading straight out? But the camera was in the CAR.) So with that in mind, I will proceed with my Blessing of the day. Could not be happier that Halloween is over. Yes, I go full force with all the parties, decorations, and homemade rootbeer and donuts frying in the dutch oven and spiced cider, and sewed costumes, but really. Enough. Already. Prepare your senses for buco images. Because I have my camera back. Abbie, child of mine, is the only offspring who will scoop guts. Glad there is 2 of us. Amelia and Max waiting for Abbie's school parade of costumes to start. The smiles on our faces? That's pure donut, peanut butter cup, and ...

I thought I would take the opportunity to participate again this year with a different twist. Instead of just blahdity blahdity posts I am going to make an honest effort in being more Elder Eyringish (Oh Remember, Remember October 2007) this month and focus on my blessings. “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.” So I envisioned a month of Oprah circa 1995 type experiences and many reflections on how great my life is. Although there is some exhaustion and craziness mostly pretty good right? Then my stroller got stolen tonight. The one that I push everywhere. Its like our second car. The one that I drag behind on the hills when I bike. The one I use everyday. Multiple times a day. And I started feeling very very low. Stealing someone's stroller seems a bit below the belt don't you think? I mean who DOES that? We called the police and searched a good 2 hours for it. Then I went to bed. And thought about how I would twist this into a blessing. And tho...