CHA-CHING.

truth be told,

i'm scared of potty training.

it intimidates me.

i have no clue what i'm doing.

but really,

who does?

start your engines.

i just couldn't resist that pun.

i wish my potty flushed with race car engines.

or maybe slot machine sounds.

yes, slot machine sounds.

that would be exciting.

better yet,

i wish it shot hundred dollar bills out every time i flushed.

i'd definitely go pee more if it did that.

CHA-CHING.

ka-chow.

whichever.

call john.

our car got oiled today.
and a new boot.
if you live in utah and need an honest mechanic,
john at ray's is your man.
it's john's garage, but it used to be ray's,
so he kept the name ray's,
but it's really john's.
just still called ray's. {801.561.5671}
get it?
fast, honest, AND friendly.
bieber fever was in heaven.
i caught up on family and life with john,
while bieber ran from tire, to under the car, to the engine hanging, to the tire, to under the car, to the tire, telling john and his other mechanic everything he saw.
max woo-ed all of the men with her smile and glittery eyes.
then john drove us all home and took the jeep back to his shop for the boot to get fixed.
so max could take a nap.
you won't get that at jiffy lube.
i think it's the left one.
the boot.
not jiffy lube.
and since i love NOT having a car payment,
john said we'd better get the boot fixed.
as much as i hate spending money on my car,
i love giving it to john.
plus, he reads my blog.
at least he used to.
and he was the best home teacher i've ever had.

seriously, call john for your car's needs.

...

btw, this bieber gets his haircuts for FREE.

he definitely does NOT pay $750 every 2 weeks for his haircuts like the famous bieber does.

i heard that on the radio yesterday.

started thinking about how we could pay off our student loans faster if the famous bieber paid me that $750 to cut his hair like my bieber.

you know,

because i'm already cutting my bieber's hair,

and it looks really good.

so i could cut the famous bieber's hair.

every 2 weeks.

for $750 each time.

now that is what i call a part time job.

i wonder how long it takes.

a few snips a month and you've paid your mortgage!

SNAP!

or snip,

i guess.

we deserve.

tonight i made enchiladas.
the kids ate halloween candy on the floor while i cooked.
sean came home.
we doted on him.
missed him all day.
ate dinner.
cleaned up dinner,
bathed kids,
and then i went swimming.
while swimming, i thought about deserving.
my generation is known for entitlement.
i am told we think we deserve this and that.
without any work.
i've been surrounded by giving people.
so much so that it has made me want to give to others in return.
a beautiful gift i've been given.
so when i think about deserving,
i think about all of the things that i would love to have.
the things that i dream about having.
doing.
and then i think about our student loans.
i deserve to not have student loans!
this is what my mind says to itself.
and then, i say...
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a monthly pedicure.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a new pair of UGGS.
even though the geese at wheeler farm stepped all over them,
and there is still a puke stain on the right one from brennan throwing up on me in costco a few weeks ago.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a tropical vacation.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want new clothes.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want sushi every week.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want new furniture.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want to finish our basement.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a hot tub.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a new car.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want a 60" flat screen.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want to go to italy.
i want to pay off our student loans more than i want to look and act like we are 20 year old millionaires.
i think some would say, you DESERVE new shoes.
you DESERVE sushi every week.
but i say,
we DESERVE to be debt free.
that's what we deserve.
but are not entitled to.
we deserve to work hard,
and be debt free.
and it's going to feel so good.

... 

oh, and max found her nose hole.

there's nothing i really need when i have everything in my family.
true.
true.
so very true.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snowGLOBE.

 .snow.day.

after yesterday,

i'm glad we have no where to be today:)

we get to sit inside and watch the snowglobe.

and that we are all fully antibioticked.

goodbye sore throat!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

big friendly giant {BFG}

tonight i am wearing my apron from dinner.
i made blt-a's.
with yellow tomatoes.
from my produce box.
and soft, juicy bacon.
brennan called them bfg's.
his new favorite book.
i'm not sure if he understands what we are reading,
but he definitely loves the sound of a reading voice.
and the idea of a big friendly giant.
i love that he loves to read.
to be read to.
when he's sad.
when he's tired.
when he has an owie.
a story will cure all of his ills.
with chocolate milk.
and a monkey.
and a woodie. {movie}
those are the things he asks for when something is wrong.
"weed a stor-ee, wit monkey, and a binky, and kok-et-wilk {chocolate milk: regular milk w/ovaltine}, and wat a woodie {watch a movie}."
after dinner i watched him run from the front room to the kitchen in only a diaper.
"racing."
his stout little body.
thinning out.
smiling ear to ear.
big brown eyes and hair to match.
no longer a baby, but a little boy.
talking with this little accent that sounds almost french.
max was standing at the lightening mcqueen parking garage.
sean on the fainting couch.
i walked to the kitchen to get my water bottle.
picked up a few cars and a train on the way from the floor.
now they are all asleep.
and i looked down to find some trinkets in my pocket.
i love these nights.

the story of a famous steak {sundance}

today i saw something beautiful.
i stood in my kitchen and saw a gorgeous sunny, blue sky day coming through my front windows.
as i turned my head to the right,
out our back window,
i saw it snowing two streets to the east.
pellet snow.
snowballs falling from the sky snow.
have you ever seen spring to your left,
and winter to your right?
it was a first for me.
incredible.
the cherry on top of a remarkable day.
the kind where i am feeling so accomplished.
i organized my shoes.
my closet doubled in size.
really,
you should try it.
i did 3 loads of laundry.
bathed the kids AND myself.
the bathing myself is the part i am feeling most proud about.
sean went to his boxing class while the kids took naps.
we ate leftovers from our hunt for hollywood starz dinner last night for lunch today.
i am happy.
sundance last night:
saw no one famous.
but did hear that T.I. ordered a shirley temple last year when he came to ruth's chris.
made me feel liberated for always ordering one at fancy restaurants.
AND that one republic had been in.
AND that pierce brosnan loves the hotel park city, and is a regular at ruth's chris during sundance.
too bad he wasn't at the table next to us.
that would have been awesome.
but really, the food was famous enough to fulfill my desire to see someone famous.
i kid you not,
the best meal of my entire life.
a ribeye steak,
brought out on a 500* plate.
the juices boiling on the plate.
it cut like butter.
and tasted like every flavour you could possibly want in your mouth at one time.
even the green beans made you lust for more.
the potato shoe strings are the french fries i've dreamed of all my life.
then creme brule
the cheesecake.
we sat in that little booth for 2 hours.
side by side.
yes, we're cheezy like that.
sharing a plate.
and laughing.

then we drove down main street in park city.
a bus covered in blue christmas lights lit up our car.
and the most exciting people we saw were three girls in long white coats,
who had just met up with three boys in matching red outfits.
they were taking a picture together,
and everyone was cheering.
the excitement of the town was something to experience.

 i love this weekend.

superSTARZ {sundance}

it's the sundance film festival this weekend.
i've never been.
but it's date night.
so we're headed to park city to say we have been.
does it count if you don't go to a movie?
or can you say you've been if you've just been to park city during sundance?
what time do you think famous people eat dinner?
i want to see someone famous.
we have reservations for dessert.
i wonder if they are allowed to eat dessert?
maybe they can only order fish and vegetables.
or maybe they can only have fruit.
but no whipped cream.
i hope i'm never famous.
i love whipped cream.

time to get creative.

snowy day.
time to get creative.
b/c you know we've spent the las 3 1/2 hours watching tv.

last night's dinner:
potato bar with broccoli and cheddar soup
avocado
chopped bacon
cheese
sour cream
butter

2010+1

last night for family night we did our annual gibson goals.
and talked about the creation,
but i'm pretty sure brennan thought that we were just showing him pictures from the zoo.
after neatly titling our goals,
writing them all down,
and feeling very accomplished and motivated,
i looked at our wonderful list.
for last year.
at least,
that's the year i wrote.
dang.
which is why i've added +1.
b/c it always takes me a few months to remember which year to write.
you?

*thanks again amy for the clipboard!

i want max to know.

max found the tupperware.

i love it when i'm busy in the dishes or preparing meals,

and the kids are peacefully entertained right by my side.

bliss.

i want max to know.

how perfect she is.
how beautiful she is.
how her breath on my face lifts me into euphoria.
how her smile lights up a room.
her soft skin.
her eyes that sparkle.
that she is a daughter of god.
that she and brennan are choice spirits that have graced our home.
that she and brennan have changed me into a person i never knew i'd have the pleasure of becoming.
that being herself is the most beautiful thing she will ever cultivate within herself.
i marvel at her independence.
her assertiveness.
her intellect.
her curiosity.
the way she smiles.
the way she falls backwards without a care in the world.
the way she turns her head to the side and rolls across the floor.
her mellow laugh.
her ability to be happy.
all
of
the
time.
her cheeks.
her little body.
her delicate toes.
her tiny little face.
her itty bitty bum.
her hands.
her lips.
her wispy blonde hair.
her dainty hands.
the way she hangs onto my legs when i'm doing dishes in the kitchen.
her eye lashes that float up and down like the most beautiful feather gracing the skies.
how when she's tired, she puts her head on my shoulder, and i float to heaven.
the way twinkle twinkle little star is her favorite song.
and how she dances to music anytime it comes on.
rocking back and forth.
or bouncing on her toes.
how she is deathly afraid of santa.
even looking at him.
how she loves to peek outside.
with her her chin lifted up and her eyes looking out into the world.
how she adores her big brother.
in.
every.
way.
how she laughs.
especially, when brennan makes her laugh.
there is no greater joy.
than listening to my two kids laugh.
together.
and getting to watch.
is my gift.
how she pumps her legs and shouts for dad when she hears the garage door open at the end of the day.
how she can eat more than me.
i want her to know,
that whatever challenges she may face,
that when the insecurities come,
that there is something greater than us all.
more powerful than anything we can imagine.
that created her.
created brennan.
who gave us this remarkable life.
a heavenly father.
for her to draw upon.
who loves me enough to bless my life with their father, and given me the chance to be in the presence of these amazing children.
for this magical ride.
of motherhood.

...
when you don't feel like cooking,
do this:
this morning i cleaned out my vegetable drawer.
found a rotting tomato.
it was gross.
threw in some yams i had forgotten about.
a quarter of a purple onion.
leftover from pizza night.
love their pretty color.
hate their eye watering tinge.
too lazy to put my goggles on.
so i stuck my face into the freezer.
it helped.
and then i found the rest of the baby carrots.
now they are all sitting in the fatty juices of my boston butt roast.
on low.
for 7-8 hours.