Black Morning

I slept about 4 hours last night and got up early this morning for a little Black Friday shopping. Really, I started yesterday online and at Walgreens. Today, I only went to 3 stores. I didn't want to stand in line at Target, so I didn't buy anything. I was hoping to get a $500 gift card at Sports Authority. Instead, I got $10 off and a pair of shoes for myself and workboots for Mr. His boots were $10 after all the discounts. Hopefully they will last at least 6 months.

There was a lady in line at another store that was telling everyone she was in line for the Cricut and that she needed to get it because her daughter really wanted one that was extra fancy. I saw the Cricuts, but there were only 2 of them. I thought about buying one and trying to sell it on Craigslist. That wouldn't have been very nice. The lady that let everyone know she wanted one, didn't get it. I think she was 9th in line. Her chances really weren't very good. She threw a little fit and stomped out.

The ads were a disappointing this year. The only thing I was really excited about were my running shoes. This, however, will not stop me from going back out tonight.

I Cry!!!

Lulu has started saying, "I cry," when she is sad or has an owie. She is not always crying at the time.
Last night, rather, this morning, she woke up and whined,
"I cry. Pee pee, potty, I cry." I went in her room and told her I would change her diaper.
And she said, "No, I cry, pee pee, potty, no diaper."
So, I brought her little potty into her room and put her on it.
"No, potty in there." (pointing to the bathroom)
We took the potty and her little bum to the bathroom and she sat for a moment and then she was all done.
Well, she didn't do anything. So I put her diaper back on and she started to cry. I took the diaper off and told her that if she needed to go, she should sit on the potty.
We talked for a few minutes and then she wet on the carpet.
I told her she did a good job, but next time use the potty.
She did not get a candy.
On went the diaper, Mr. got her a towel to dry up her mess and then she was awake. We watched 10 minutes of Mickey and she went back to bed.

Mimi didn't ask to use the potty until she was almost 3. I took her often, but she never asked. My MIL said one of hers was trained before 2 years, I can't imagine that. We will have to get her a big girl bed so she can get up and go. Does that mean she is not a baby anymore?


I CRY TOO

I am not sure if I ever make any real sense when I teach a lesson. As soon as I cry, my mind goes out the window. I look at my notes/script and I can't find my place. I get so stressed out, my pits get sweaty and my heart races. I am one of the youngest in RS too, so that is a little intimidating.

Beyond all that, I am so grateful that I had the chance to teach. I needed that lesson and a new perspective. The thought that hit me hard was the idea of Waking Up and using-- DAILY, the safety equipment Heavenly Father has given us to save our souls--prayer, scriptures, testimony, FHE, the Holy Ghost.

After an awful, sleepless night, I didn't want to wake up, but I needed to. I laid in bed for a while and it was like a voice shouted "Wake up!" A few minutes later while I was reading my scriptures, I had a thought peacefully come to my mind..."and go home." If we wake up our souls and pray, read scriptures, share our testimony and serve others we will be doing what we need to do to go home to our Heavenly Father. So, that is what I learned--WAKE UP AND GO HOME!!!

We Shut it Down

Em and I shut down the mall and target last night. We were literally the last people to get out of both stores. The mall custodian escorted us out a secret passage. Then we cut back through the movie theater area and navigated the winding New Moon line out the door to arrive safely at her car.

We got to Target at about 9:50. For some reason I thought they would be open later, but they closed at 10. I grabbed a coat for me and some shirts for Lulu. Sandra, the cashier, said they will stay open later after Thanksgiving.

Anyway, I was in line with my stuff and the lady in front of me was buying gift baskety things with cash. She took out her wad and started counting. She was a little short and started taking things out of her bags. I looked at her and smiled. She was a little embarrassed, I think. I asked her how much she needed.

She said, "It's okay." I smiled and took out my money and said, "Let me do this for you. I am supposed to do one nice thing a day and this is my chance." She handed her $ to the cashier and she was $5 short. I gave her the money I had and she smiled. She told me that her boyfriend was in the car and she could pay me back. I let her know that she was helping me by letting me help her and she said, "I'll be sure to pass it on."

What a nice way to end the evening. I got to spend time with my sis, buy some things for myself, and help a stranger. Now I have to get to my RS lesson.

Off to shop

My sisters and I have begun babysitting for each other during the day so we can all get our errands done without kids. This is the inaugural week. Today, I am going to scan for Christmas gifts and see where I want to go on Black Friday. The best part is doing it without my wild and crazy 2 year old. Thank heavens for sisters.

Lulu Replies

Lulu's favorite response to yes or no questions these days is "Yep!"

Do you want some food?
Do you need a new diaper?
Are you happy?
Are you tired?

The last one usually gets a "NO WAY!!!"

Tonight I was upstairs looking for the lint screen to the dryer. I yelled down to Lulu to ask if she knew where it was and she yelled back, "WHAT?"

I have never heard her use that except for when she says "What's that?"

For some reason, it really made me laugh. From 2 year old to teen in an instant.

Princess, glam, grandma tree

So my cool, funky tree morphed into an untouchable grandma tree according to mister and a princess according to me. Mimi loves it. We have more to add, but this is what it looks like so far.



The computer died. Merry Christmas to us---a new computer. Just what I never wanted. Is it a need these days, or just a want?

Lulu has learned to climb up on the counters. She is no longer safe on her own when I shower. I have to keep her in my room and out of the bathroom.

Mimi's teacher said she wished she had a class full of Mimi's. That's a nice compliment. She is a good helper and learner. She tries so hard to be the best and sometimes she is disappointed. She is a great reader and loves art and computers. She writes elaborate stories. We love our Mimi.

Lulu is going to be 2. And I am going to be 30 soon. I will finally get a new license picture this year. That will be nice. I hope to have a sleepover at my mom's for my birthday. My original plan of going to disneyland is not going to happen. We still haven't gotten Lulu's ear bill and we had to get a computer. Oh, well. Maybe next year.

We have our new stockings cut. Now we need to sew them up. They don't match the tree. I was going to do that, but I figured they could last longer if they were more traditional colors. I am sure I will want traditional next year.

For Twilight lovers/haters

My brother made a short video that is Oscar worthy. Check out

http://www.samscorup.blogspot.com

A Funky Christmas?

This is my husband is gone and I can buy whatever I want purchase. The dollar store has some fun Christmas decor and I decided to buy stuff for a fun tree. Mimi liked it and I am tempted to get out the tree and put it all together before he gets home. Excited. Half-way done with Christmas shopping. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Lulu slept all night. This is gonna be a good day.

Jury Duty

I am in the midst of a 2 week jury duty. I have called in 2x and had to attend once. I was juror #16 and got put in the box for a while, but I was released. The case would have lasted until Thanksgiving at least, so it is kind of nice that I got kicked off the jury. It was all interesting for me because it was my 1st time ever. An unnamed cousin got put on the jury. She said it would be a vacation of sorts for her.

They asked questions that I thought were not particularly good at weeding out people and it seemed like it was going to drag on forever, but then they started the back and forth of choosing the jury. I must admit I was a little disappointed when I got let go. However, a few hours later when a migraine set in and I started dry-heaving, I got over the disappointment pretty quickly.
And last night, Lulu had a fever and didn't sleep well. I guess she never sleeps well, but she had a reason this time. Now I have to decide if I need to take her to the doctor or not.

I have 2 more call-ins left on my duty. My sisters have volunteered to be on-call. The best part is I got the mail yesterday and guess what was in there??? Mr.'s summons for jury duty. Service to start Dec. 28, 2009. Won't he be excited when he gets home!!!

Halloween Plus

This is a shot of Lulu and her cousin. I just thought it was cute.

We all went to see Disney on Ice in the morning and had a good time. Lulu kept asking for Mickey, but he only came out a few minutes at a time. She liked Tinkerbell too. Mimi didn't know where we were going, so she enjoyed the surprise and thought it was "Awesome." The show was way better than Silverwood on Ice. I'm sure their budget is a lot larger too.

The angel and the princess loved trick or treating. They got to go with some cousins and Gpa and Gma S. When Lulu got tired, Gpa carried her between houses. She sure loves him. I wasn't sure if she would put on a costume when the time came. I had tried all week to get her to wear one. Mr. got her dressed and she didn't fight him. She got a kazoo at a house and played it for about 10 minutes as she walked around the neighborhood. She was so fun to watch. She walked up to the doors and said "Here!" putting her bucket out when they opened the door. A few times I heard "trick eat" and several times she said "thank you."

Mr. manned the door and we ran out of candy before 8pm. It was an easy night, little stress and lots of fun. I couldn't have done it without my parents. Lulu is more than a handful.

I made Eyeball Taco Soup for dinner. It just had pearl onions for eyeballs--nothing gross.
That is about the extent of my creative halloweening. My very crafty SIL made costumes for her family. They were a tooth, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. You can use that idea if you want Gina.