dodged the bullet this time

it appears that max is the kind of kid that will deny the facts.

even when there's no denying it.

...

me: max, did you cut your hair with the scissors?

max: nope.

me: max, who cut your hair with the scissors?

max: i don't know. {shoulder shrug with hand gestures and lip fold.}

me: max, brennan's at school and chase is still asleep.

max: it was me, sorry mommy! {head to the side, big huge smile}

...

yeah, so the scissors were banished to the bin of bottomless pit for awhile.

and really, we cheated fate on this one 

b/c she just added some good old fashioned layering that worked.

lucky dog.

dodged the bullet this time.

this time.

as those are my favorite kinds of santa photos

 2 kids still afraid of santa.

thank goodness!

cause no one like a boring santa photo.

1 of 2 warmed up by the end.

and i had to bribe brennan with 3 stickers for his sticker chart to wear a church shirt for the picture.

i'm still holding out hope that miss kim's photographer 

got one of them all looking at the camera at the same time.

{finger's crossed!}

preferably one with chase bawling his eyes out.

as those are my favorite kinds of santa photos.

i should have up'ed the ante and fought for the vest too.

rats!

...

P.S.

my favorite story of the entire day 

was a week later when brennan finally wrote santa a letter and told him about how he was sad

that mrs. claus broke her arm when she fell on some ice.

then he looked up and told me "so you have to be careful with her,

like you can't grab her arm or sit on her,

b/c i saw her, and this santa and mrs. claus 'are the real deal.' "

{note mrs. claus's poor arm covered in white fur. she really did fall the night before. 

man, i hope rudolph took the speed bumps extra slow on the way home.}

and now we wait.

10 days without a cell phone or computer.

let's take it from the top...

december 12th, 7pm-ish: 

my purse was stolen from inside the church 

WHILE we were performing:)

yes, said INSIDE the church.

awesome.

2 purses to be exact.

mine and susie's.

my wallet was spared.

inside my car.

but that's another story altogether.

phone gone.

car keys gone.

car there.

phew.

december 13th, 3:40am: 

crooks charge and turn on my stolen phone.

find my iphone app tells me where.

officer goes over.

sean goes over.

no telephono found.

{i'm still convinced it was inside that storage locker they wouldn't open.}

later that morning...

{7:30am or something}

try to turn on my computer.

negative.

try again.

no again.

give it an hour.

surely it just needs an hour.

this is what i was saying to myself.

because even i need an hour to wake up sometimes.

ok, almost all of the time.

turn on again.

double no again.

a big fat NO again.

and what does that spell in the right bold year of twenty-thirteen you say?

DISCONNECTED.

completely and utterly disconnected.

so as sean went off to work,

i jotted down phone numbers of my mothers,

linsey,

susie,

and julie

in case of emergency.

and then i spent my day driving around the salt lake valley to and from kindergarten and pre-school pickup without a cell phone by my side.

and do you know what it was like?

it was like

freedom:)

quiet

calm

freedom.

no phone calls.

no text messages.

no social media to pass the time waiting for kids to come out of school.

and so i spent the next week and a half reevaluating 

how one little tiny cell phone could have such a profound effect on everything i do.

and how when it's gone, it literally changed everything i did.

in a really comforting way.

like a good ol' days kind of way.

like a chasing fire flies out in the humid summer nights of ottumwa, iowa kind of way.

how does one little piece of technology being gone make you feel like you are alone?

but in a good way.

a quiet way.

a calm way.

a way that made me less irritable.

more patient.

less in a rush.

more excited to play with my kids.

talk to people on the phone.

do you know?

like the kind of way that the world used to be.

when we called people on their home phones from our homes,

when we were all home.

and only checked our email once at the end of the day.

or once every three days.

and it was just the best feeling.

to remember.

and have a technology vacation.

welp,

i'm here to say that despite public opinion,

and what i once thought myself,

i went without a cell phone for 7 days,

and without a computer for 10 days,

and i

did

NOT

DIE.

i know,

amazing.

i didn't know it was possible either.

as i myself have uttered these words my,

"i couldn't survive without my cell phone."

but i did.

and it was actually kind of great.

great

great

great

and it forced me to disconnect in this amazing way that made me reconnect.

do you know what i mean?

not to the internet or a phone.

but to other things,

like playing ponies,

and reading books to my kids,

singing bedtime songs,

cleaning up the house,

all without having something else that i wanted to check on my phone after i was done,

and reading books during the day to myself.

and watching a movie,

like my full attention on the movie

for

the

entire

movie.

great

great

great

and what has this 10 day phone and computer free spree taught me you ask?

boundaries.

it's taught me about boundaries.

who knew i'd learn to love boundaries?

layers. it's about layers.

so if you wear a t-shirt,

a long sleeved shirt,

pants,

socks,

your winter coat,

AND set your thermastat to 71* farenheit,

your house will actually feel warm!

sometimes a shower is just the only way to warm up.

when it snows on a saturday night

my favorite thing is when it snows on a saturday night.

because sundays are just quiet in utah.

especially if you don't have 9am church.

and your entire neighborhood slowly starts buzzing with snow blowers.

and then an atv will plow down your sidewalks.

and another neighbor might do your driveway.

and when you finally decide to surface out into the snow,

the cool air wakes you up with the freshest,

cleanest air

you've ever felt on your face.

and the snow crunches under your boots.

and if the sun comes out,

everything just glows perfectly white.

and sometimes the sparkles on top of the snow just glisten,

like someone spilled glitter all over the world while we slept.

and it's just quiet,

except for the snow blowers:)

15 shopping days left 'til christmas

{Above: My favorite new temple accessory. The "Emma" Temple Bracelet.}

...

If you're like me,

you're trying to figure out a few last minute gift items for this holiday season,

and please

let

it

be

from

an

online

store

so

I

don't

have

to

go

out

into

the

FROZEN

arctic

tundra

TO BUY IT:)

Have mercy, it's sooooo cold out there.

Well, search no more.

I have found the perfect gift for your mother in law,

your sister in law,

your best friend,

your neighbor,

your neighbor's daughter,

your soon to be cousin in law,

the young women in your ward,

or a little stocking stuffer for yourself.

No more pins sticking you in the wrist for your name card at the temple necessary.

Just slip this cute little pearled bracelet around your wrist,

clip on your name card,

and off you'll go.

I bought THREE of them last mother's day:)

It also comes in a smaller pearl style as shown below:

{Above: The "Grace" Temple Bracelet}

...

Below are the Young Women's Personal Project Packets,

that come in 4 different pattern styles.

Oh how I wish Hanna would have been making these when I was in Young Women's!

Little pockets for everything you need, including a pen.

Hanna, my neighbor, is the genius behind all of these treasures,

which you can purchase from her website:

www.attachedtome.net

Type in "EMILY" 

as your coupon code at checkout,

and receive 15% off 

your entire order.

Click HERE or on any of the pictures above to view pricing 

and buying options on the Attached to Me website.

There's still time to order for a delivery before Christmas.

You're welcome in advance;)

HAPPY SHOPPING!

caught RED handed.

caught her red handed with the advent calendar.

december 19th was all that was left.

i mean really though,

who on earth can just eat one a day anyway?

brennan.

{surprising, but soooo very true.} 

tinsel town

i can be talked into 

just about any extra amount 

of tv time right now,

as long as it's a christmas movie playing on my tube.

brennan=smurfy christmas

max=polar express

chase=smurfy christmas and polar express

emily=ELF, santa clause, and polar express

sean=santa clause

would you rather clean up puke?

sometimes when it snows,

our house looks like a gingerbread house.

magic!

...

things for you to know 

about snow and winter.

1. it's warmer when it snows. it's a scientific fact. google it. i dare you.

clouds hold in the warm air. 

i learned this living in rexburg, idaho.

but not from googling it.

just from walking to class on snowy days.

and after 6 months of doing that,

for four years in a row,

you start to realize stuff like it's warmer on snowy days.

you're welcome.

2. when you wake up on a winter morning,

it is important to start by putting on a long sleeved shirt.

then go about your dressing business as usual.

it's just part of the wardrobe,

and i promise you, it's super cool too.

also, scarves.

and gloves.

and your usual coat.

don't leave home without them,

or you'll be the whining person whining about how you're miserable in the cold.

3. snow on top of christmas lights is the warmest thing you've ever seen.

4. sometimes it's colder when the sun comes out.

confusing, i know.

see #1. no clouds.

frigid cold.

which normally only happens in january.

except this year, it's happening in december.

see #2.
5. CARPET under your kitchen table and at your back door is not always a bad thing.
who knew?

...

you're regularly scheduled program will now be continued

at its regular time.

a big thanks to our sponsor,

mother nature.

we couldn't do it without you.

would you rather clean up puke

OR

dress your kids in snow gear?

tough call.

i know.

these are the things vaccums/vacuums were made for.

note to self:

get baby popcorn BEFORE shopping at target.

i used to know this trick.

it's weird how you forget stuff that you used to do.

with your other kids.

and then remember it later,

like when you're standing in the check out line at target,

after you've spent an hour and a half walking through target with a whining,

cart escaping baby,

and you're all,

"is that popcorn i smell!!!"

"popcorn! how could i not remember the popcorn!?"

"i used to get brennan popcorn!"

because you used to stop at the food center first.

to buy popcorn.

so that your baby wouldn't whine all through target.

amateur.

that's what i was thinking about myself on thursday.

except for when i put him in his car seat to go pick up brennan and max from school,

and i handed him the bag of popcorn,

knowing that popcorn was going to end up on my floor.

KNOWING

that 

it 

was 

totally 

going 

to 

be 

worth 

it.

and it was.

it absolutely was:)

amateur?

i think not.

these are the things vaccums vacuums were made for.