Super Evil Oliver

We have a cat named Oliver (whom we refer to as a zebra).  Whenever the kids aren't around, he turns evil.  And that is really saying something because he is mild-level-evil on a daily basis.  Yesterday he brought a dead squirrel to our bedroom door.  Poor Matt has never experienced that kind of "love" before.  I explained that Oliver was just saying "I love you."  Matt was a good sport.  Squirrel blood and all. 

Last night, after dark, I took the trash out.  As I was coming back in, and after I had threatened Oliver with, "So help me, if you bite my ankles I will kick you," I heard the little neighbor boy scream, "Oh my gosh it is a TIGER."  I looked over and he had just seen Oliver run across the road.  He set off in hot pursuit of Oliver.  I was thinking, good, torment Oliver a bit.  But before I made it all the way inside I heard the boy announce that he saw Oliver on a missing cat poster and thought they should take the cat and get the reward.  Don't worry, I did hesitate for a minute knowing they could never actually catch Oliver, I claimed that evil little devil as my own and asked them not to haul him off. 

I will be the only one hauling him off anywhere!!

Thanksgiving Week

Well, Saturday morning we put the kids on an airplane to head West for the week.  The kids forbade me from crying at the airport and I did very well.

I met a very nice woman while waiting for the plane to take off.  I feel terrible cause I didn't get any of her contact info.  I would love to have emailed her.  She is also LDS.  She told me things get easier with time.  I am holding her to it!  As we went our separate ways I told her I was glad she was there to chat with as my plan was to sit there and cry for an hour. 

The kids are having a great time with my parents and their Provo friends.  I love how much my parents love them.

My brother and his family got a new dog.  I am publicly demanding pictures!!

Our cat brought a dead squirrel into the house this morning.  I almost stepped on it as I left our bedroom.  And the kids missed it.  It was terrible.  Bad kitty.

Well, I am proclaiming this as the most boring post of my life.  Probably won't be much to blog this week as I usually blog about the kids.  Maybe I will have to go to Walgreens daily and get some good stories there.  Wait.  We have Black Friday and it will be Matt's first one.  I worry he will see a side of me that scares him!!!  I will miss my Provo girlfriends and sister Dana this year!!

Thanksgiving Lunch

Thursday was Luke's school Thanksgiving lunch.  Remember back when we were young and they had a huge traditional Thanksgiving feast?  Our schools have gotten very pathetic.  Our school just served fake turkey and nasty looking rolls.  And it took most of those poor people 35 minutes to get through that line.  But, we were smart we took in our our food and got to talk with Luke for a good 30 as pretty much the only people at the table.  It was awesome!!

Deal of the day...

...and I am not kidding.

I went to my favorite place this afternoon. Yes, Walgreen's. I saw in their ad that they have Almay mascara for $2.99. That is a bargain folks. So, I slipped in there this afternoon. Just as I was leaving with my single tube for $2.99, I saw a double pack for the same price. So, I picked up 3 double packs. Don't worry. I am not going to wear it all. I am going to sell it on the "black market of mascara" to Ali when she runs out. She will pay $5 a tube :) Too bad she is reading over my shoulder.

OK, so funniest comment of the day. I was checking out at Walgreen's and I asked the cashier a question about a product. She told me, "I don't know. I have lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years. I love working at Walgreen's. I love Walgreen's more that New Zealand." Do you think she would say all that again into my camera? How about for some Almay mascara???

Young Women in Exellence 2009

Last night (yes, after the field trip) was our Young Women in Excellence at church. It is an evening we spend with the twelve to eighteen year-old girls in the ward. We find out some of the goals they have accomplished and projects they have completed over the past year.

Last night it was set up like a game show. Very original. It was a lot of fun.

Ali was part of a "Name That Dance" game. They kept starting and stopping so I didn't get very good footage of her. Actually, I was so tried, I didn't get many good pictures at all. Ali is a fabulous little dancer. (She is on the far right in the video below) I would have killed for her ability to move her hips when I was doing Latin ballroom dancing. She helped plan a barn dance that she didn't even end up getting to go to due to band. Ali also sewed a pillow case and purse for projects.

Kat was part of a "Newly Added" game fashioned after the Newly Wed Game. The contestants were the four new Beehive girls. They asked the four new girls to come up and bring a parent. Kat went up with some of her friends and then I followed up after her. I got up there by her and she loudly whispered, "I want Matthew." So, I went back to my seat and sent Matthew up.
People are always surprised how much the children genuinely love Matthew. And they do. He loves them and they love him. They were quite darling together. I wish I had caught some of their interactions. They share the same quirky sense of humor. Kat's project was sewing. She sewed a skirt, pillowcase and PJ pants. She gave the pants to Luke cause we got them too small.

Moment of true confessions: Matt got more of the questions right than I would have!!! They were actually the winning team. But, who kept score??

Kat has really caught the Personal Progress bug and she might kill me off doing it all! She informed me she wants her medallion by the time she is finished with Beehives. I told her no way no how. "In my day" we couldn't earn it until we graduated from high school. Who changed that rule??? So, we are now planning to finish it by the time she is sixteen. We can live with that number!!

Both the girls have worked very hard and we are so proud of them. This church asks a lot of its members and these two girls are stepping up and doing what is expected.

We love you!!!

P.S. This note is for my germ-a-phobic mother and husband. Kat and I had the same clothes on for the field trip and the YW in Excellence. BUT, I washed everything in between :)

Sixth Grade Fieldtrip aka: I signed up for this???

Yesterday I ventured to the Adventure Science Center in Downtown Nashville. I got there via a big, yellow, school bus. Throw in 100 sixth graders and you will begin to get the picture of my day.

So far, thank the stars above, my kids still like having me around. Which is why I was able to attend this trip. It is very funny. The more my kid's friends like me, the more my kids seem to like me. Yesterday I got multiple sixth graders to like me, so my popularity in my family was boosted :)

In my group I had four, excellently behaved, 12-year-olds. Two girls and two boys. Kat was in my group.
Parts of the the Center were fabulous for our sixth grade friends. But a lot of it was just too young for them. Part of the day was a "severe weather" lecture. There were some experiments, but a lot of talking. I am pretty sure most of those kids learned that stuff two years ago. After it was over, I heard one girl say that they owed her one hour of her life back. I told here if we were making those kinds of requests I would like two hours back AND $50. Why not dream big???

The planetarium part was amazing, but made me very ill with all the movement. The planetarium show was The Stars of Pharaoh. It was truly amazing and I wish it hadn't made me sick. The small, male person to the right of me talked to me during the whole presentation. (Later Kat informed me he had a crush on me. How sweet.) About half way through, I put my feet on the seat in front of me and closed my eyes. Soon, from the right, I heard, "They told us not to put our feet on the seats." Fine. Point for small person. I put my feet down, but kept my eyes closed. Soon, I heard, "They told us not to sleep." "Dude," was my response, "They said no snoring. Let me know if I start snoring."
No field trip would be complete without a little pain. I hit my head going down a slide the kids said I just "had to do." They were right. It was fun. I didn't even feel "old" all day.

All in all, minus the motion sickness and bruise on my forehead, it was a great way to spend a dreary Wednesday in Nashville.

Getting Old

I am getting old.

I am going to a baby shower tonight. My baby is turning nine-years-old next week.

Sometimes I get out of bed like Mr. Fredrickson in Up. But, I do get up.

Yesterday the doctor asked if I had been tested for gout. Seriously, people. I am not THAT old.

I used to have one gray hair, now I have two.

More than once I have said, "Back when I was in high school..."

My teenager told me to choose "mature" nail colors. (I would like to appologize to my mom for any crazy things I might have said like that when I was in high school!!)

I am a good 15 years older than my son's 3rd grade teacher. Ok, maybe 10.

Our new bishop is a contemporary of mine.

I have looked at the lotions that help fight wrinkles. Ok, I bought Olay's cheapest one. That is only the beginning folks.

I have two girls that can babysit.

I would rather be comfortable than look good. Can I have both???

I am getting old. My husband tries to tell me otherwise, but it is true. I am getting old. Hopefully he loves old ladies :)

Seasonal Flu Shots

The whole Paine family is now vaccinated against the seasonal flu. We did a 'surprise' attack on the kids on Saturday. Our errands turned into, "Well, look at that. Here we are at the medical clinic for flu shots." The kids have all decided they would rather die than get another flu shot.

Last night Kat proclaimed, "So, my upper left arm won't get the flu, what about the rest of my body?"

Kangaroo Boy

We have the stinkin' cutest boy that lives behind us. Those are Ali's words :) He has a HUGE pogo stick and can do amazing tricks on it. Last Friday I caught this footage. The funniest part is when we figure he is dead and never coming back up!

Land-form

Luke has recently finished this "land-form" project. He worked very hard on it and did 99% of the work on his own. (Which is more than I can say for some of the projects) The project needed a theme and then each land-form needed a name. So, since we used Crayola products, we decided to name it "Crayola Land." We took a bag of Crayola crayons and used the color names to name each formed area. My favorite is the "Wild Blue Yonder Mountains." Isn't that awesome??

Sewing Machine

My sister is an amazing seamstress. I used to sew a lot more when the kids were younger. (Geez, I sound OLD!) Within the past couple of years I have gotten a new sewing machine and got excited about sewing again. While I was at my parents, it sat in storage. We recently got it out for the girls to start working on Young Women's projects. Matt and I both have a machine, so it works out they can both sew at the same time.

Anyhow...my has been misbehaving a little bit and so I took it in yesterday. A couple of hours later the shop called me and told me it was ready. As it turns out, much to my humiliation, I have been using the wrong bobbins. I told the repair man that my machine hates me. To which he responded with, "Ma'am, it is a machine and has no feelings." Totally seriously. So, I was kind of embarrassed twice :)

I am excited to try to sew with the correct bobbin. Maybe Sara will get bored enough with her husband in school and come and sew with me!!!

This one goes out to Nana and Papa....

Yesterday Kat started teaching Ali how to play the clarinet. Things were going along well until about 4:00 pm. At that point in time Kat suddenly said, "Well, that's all for today. I need to put my clarinet by the front door for school tomorrow."

Those who know and love Kat know her fear of not being to school on time. But, folks, 4:00 pm the night before has set a new record!!

We love you Kat :)

Too Early??

Playing Hookie

Last Friday the power went of in a large portion of Franklin. Including the high school and Matt's office. The high school was 10 minutes from being out so they didn't get out early, but Matt came home 2 hours early. Lucky Luke got to enjoy that extra time with Matthew.

They went to the park and played and played and played. When I was done making bread for dinner I sneaked over an snapped some pictures over of their fun.

Somewhere in the beginning of our life together, the kids started calling Matt "beast." He is definitely a gentle beast and the kids adore him. Here our beast is being a sloth.

They spun....

and spun....

and spun...

until our beast could spin no more. As Luke was looking over at Matt on the ground he very softly asked, "Beast??" It was so very sweet.

Luckily the sun went down so we could all go home and rest :)

That illuminating license plate is my Utah plate. One day soon, we are going to put the Volvo plates on Cali to keep Clark's memory alive. But, for now, I love seeing my Utah plates. Reminds me where I came from :)

Ali and Band

Ali has played the flute for about 20 years :) She has always had a natural music talent that actually makes others not like her. Most of the time she is seated 1st chair.

Over the weekend she traveled with the marching band to Indianapolis to help and check out the marching band program. When she got home she was very happy and said she had a great time. She said everyone was very nice to her and that she doesn't feel like the "weird 1st chair flute player" any more. Quite innocently (actually enough) Kat asked, "What happened are you 2nd chair now?"

We are happy Ali made some new friends in her new band and is feeling more comfortable and not so "weird." She is currently working towards an all-state audition.

Death by Candy

Last night I ran to Walgreen's to pick up a prescription. We walked down the old Halloween isle and saw 3 very full carts full of Halloween stuff. I spotted some Pez, which I love. I asked the manager how much the Halloween stuff was marked down. He told me I could have it all for $5. So, to get the Pez, I had to get it all!

The kids had fun playing in about 100 pounds of candy. Don't worry. A large portion is already in the trash. Some has been sent to Matt's work. The rest will be sent to school for the treat box.

The 25 bags of Peanut M & M's made the whole $5 worth it! They are now in the freezer and should keep for a long time!!!

Kat is hidden in there :)

Minor Meltdown in Costco Parking Lot

Ok. Take a moment and write down on a little piece of paper who you THINK had a freak-out in the Costco parking lot. Ok, on with our story.

Saturday Matt, Kat, Luke and I went to Costco. Ali wanted to stay home and get ready for a party. So, off the four of us went.

As I headed toward yogurt, Matt said he would pick up the toilet paper. He asked if I had a brand I preferred. I told him we weren't picky. Matt is surprised how much "stuff" five people go through. It is pretty funny. As a single guy, he didn't go through this much stuff. Silly boy :)

Matt got back to the cart just as I was putting the yogurt into the cart. He put the toilet paper down below. We got a few more things. (Funny how a "few" things at Costco always costs $100) As we were checking out, Kat said she needed to go to the bathroom, so we left the boys to do the checking out.

Soon, we were in the parking lot loading up the car. Everything was in the car but the toilet paper. I reach in the cart to pick up the toilet paper and sew the brand. Ok. I am NOT a snob with most things, but SCOTT toilet paper makes me draw the line!!! I am pretty sure that I screeched; more than once. First I just kind of asked, "Scott?" Matthew calmly reminded me I told him I didn't have a preference. I am vaguely remembering saying things like, "Scott toilet paper. Have you used it anywhere but in the wilderness where it is a LAW to use it?" And, "When you use Scott, you get pee on your hand." And my personal favorite of humiliation, "How the heck poor are we?" We aren't poor, just for the record :) By now my voice was pretty loud and people were looking at us. My mom, I am sure is dying. Sorry mom!! There was an older gentleman openly laughing at me and taking pity on Matt. Poor Matt. He took the toilet paper right back into Costco and returned it. He said the girl at the return desk way trying not to laugh. I am hoping she hadn't head about my little meltdown!

So, I guess if your guess was that it was ME that had the meltdown in the parking lot, you win!! Matt is the best husband ever and takes such good care of me. He truly loves me!

Lukifer repents...

Luke came home from church as "Lukifer." But, by evening he returned to our sweet "pumpkin head" and was reading scriptures.

Life is never boring with Ali, Kat and Luke!

Lukifer