Mid-Night Ravings

So I had an asthma attack just as I was laying down for bed (my first in a while- guess I need to start taking my medicine again)- I had to do a little breathing treatment so now I am hyped up- at 1:00 am.

So here are my random thoughts-

Ever hit that Next blog button? I've been a little obsessed with it today, as every time I hit it the blog is in a different language- All but twice today. And I hit it a lot (I got a little obsessed to see how long to get one in English). I am not counting the 2 because they were in Asia and their English was VERY bad. But one of them was a teenage boy with a deep hatred for some other kid who must post all the time with swear words. Warnings all over the blog that if you were foul mouthed like so and so he would remove you. Dire warnings and please enjoy my blog (did I mention it was all dark and brooding and the little had thingy was a skull!?!). The best part was this kid didn't really cuss, but used some very clear abbreviations in every sentence. He talked a lot about school- very very funny to me. Okay it was the only one I have actually read (probably because it was one of the 2 in English).

I love love love that Coen climbs into Beckett's crib and cuddles with him when they go to bed. But tonight when I went to take him out of the crib and he was poopy- and during the whole changing process didn't even stir- I wish I could sleep like that.

Well I had better go lie down and try to sleep-ha as if I could when so jittery from the drugs.

Maybe I will make some rice crispy treats.

Halloween Party Angst

We are having a Halloween party- it will be a lot of fun. But I am starting to have my usual entertaining dilemma. Do I try to do all the amazing cute ideas that I have- or do I keep it simple. I recognize that no one else really cares about all the little details- that I am quite capable of going over the top. I know the more I plan the more stress and obligation I feel (all completely self-induced). BUT I like all the little details, I like the creative part, I like the creating the perfect night. So my question is how to do this with out making myself totally nuts. (Becky is always getting on me about the crazy expectations I make for myself for the holidays- the menus- the guests- the memories I want to just be perfect)

As a side note I am working the day of the party-dumb!

So this is what I would love to create (this is from skiptomylou)

But I recognize that I still have to make our costumes- sleep- feed my kids and not be institutionalized next week. Anyone else have this same conundrum?

Navel Gazing

I went to bed last night and just couldn't stop thinking about this silly blog. First- I wrote that stupid blog about the football game and didn't even write about some of the most important things. (Even though I wrote it only to show Becky that I took some pictures at the game after she gave me a hard time.) I didn't mention how my dad took me to NU games in high school to watch Marshall Mc Cauley play (he was a great quarterback and those were some good years for NU). I have some great memories of this time alone with Dad- I know our relationship is different than his with my other sisters- but I couldn't but feel a little sad that they haven't had time like this with him. And then Friday night there was a dad and his pre teen daughter sitting next to us. It just helped to remind me of those times. I didn't write about how surprised I am at my reaction to Coen loving football. He has a great passion for it- but the surprise is how happy and proud I am when he runs around the living room making touch downs or spends 30 min. trying to perfect his kick off. I just love this boy's boy. I love how boyish he is. I revel in the new world he is introducing me to. I didn't write about how nice it is to sit next to my husband and hold his hand. To see him holding our boys and smiling at me. How in this noisy crowd I can catch his eye- he smiles that smile just at me and we are alone in our own wonderland. (usually he follows this moment up with some funny/lewd comment that ruins the moment a little but is just so Alma).

Then I started to think about ideas I have for future postings- and it dawned on me they are really ideas for scrapbook pages. (of course I can only remember one idea now- why why don't I write there things down?) And I started to feel a little guilty for neglecting my scraping and spending so much time on this silly little blog. In my defence the craft room is so messy I have been afraid to even walk in the door. But tonight I got it cleaned out- so after this Halloween Party this week I will be ready to get back to work.

And here (yes folks we are finally at the point of the rambling) is the main concern I have. I know that I post cute pics of the kiddos- I do a quick recap of the week etc. But I want this blog to reflect my true voice. I want my dear readers (all 3 of you) to connect with me- to feel like they are with the "real Polly". And too often I fail at this. So dear readers (ahem Becky and Andrea) who are such amazing writers- how do I find this true voice? How do I write in such a way that I can transcend the ho-hum cute pics and stories about the kiddies? How do you write in an honest way? How can I better express "me"?

On a completely different side note- Do you cruise around and look at other women's blogs and feel amazingly inadequate- the parties they plan- the sewing- the crafts- HOW HOW do they do this with children. So many days I am just happy three meals got done, a load of laundry and Coen and I read a book. Where do they come up with all this time? (Uh Becky- you are one of these women, for pity's sake you are sick and you get more done than me)

The illustrations are just some I have found lately that I like- they remind me of what I love about my life right now.

An Ode to High School Football

The lights-

The cheerleaders-

The Cowboy hamburgers-

The excitement-

The game-

There is just something magical about a high school football game. We show up during the beginning of the junior varsity game- get our hamburgers- sit in the visitors section (it is an anti-social Clove thing). Grandpa comes- Coen befriends a strange family- Wendell shows up with his boys at the beginning of the Varsity game. Coen stomps his feet- yells go team (a lot)- then he yells "cougars" and whatever the guy next to him is yelling. We chat with the strangers sitting next to us.

There is just something magical sitting with my boys- a warm fall night (or a chilly night with coco)- friends and family around us- cheering for the team. I look forward to many perfect football nights.

Poor Little Goat

Do you remember the cute little goat that stayed at our house a few weeks ago? Well I have some sad news. While I was up at Dad and Holly's house today I did a little check up since he has been a little droopy lately. (Didn't know I was a baby goat doctor too? Neither did I) I was sad to here a very large murmur in his heart. Poor little guy- he probably won't live very long. And he is so cute.

Falltacular

I grew up in central California so the joy of fall was lost on my during my young life. That is until we moved to Nevada City. NC is one of the few places in California has a colorful fall. Now this is one of my favorite times of year.

The crisp air, the colors, the pumpkins, - I just love it all. I keep meaning to walk around some of my favorite streets and get some pictures of the leaves around the Victorian homes. With how much I love fall here in Nevada City I still miss the aspens in Utah. I miss the fall in San Francisco. SF is usually cool and foggy- except in the fall. This is San Francisco's summer. The sun shines it is a perfect 80 degrees with crystal clear skies. The city is at its best. And I keep dreaming of seeing Smugglers Notch in Vermont during the fall. It was wonderful in the summer when we were there for our honeymoon- and someday we will make it back for the fall color.

This week Alma and I took the boys on a little train ride. Coen loved it- he loves trains but picking out the pumpkin half way through was not very interesting- they were too heavy and really couldn't compete with the Darth Vader and the huggable ghost.

Today we went to the play ground, check out Austin's cool trick!

And my cute little guys.

Then after a visit with Great-Grandma Conley- (more on this on the next blog when not so exhausted). We came home and played with Susie's kids and Joseph and Anna.

The rest of the Conleys joined us for dinner. After our busy day I am ready to pass out- very early for me.

A Wonderful Day

I have been obsessed with being frugal all week. WE WILL SAVE MONEY!!!! I keep saying over and over. So Alma was home for the first time today in months (Yeah elections are over and Christmas cards haven't started). What did we do? Talked about our budget goals and then no joke went out to eat for all three meals, went to Roseville and spent money like drunken sailors. Budget what budget? In our defense neither Alma or I owned a pair of pants that fit or didn't have holes in them. Both of Alma's dress shirts are frayed and worn- and our boys needed some winter clothes. Old Navy was having a great toddler clothes sale $2-4 for most things. So we went shopping.

We then drove home- all is still well- I laid down and woke up in extreme pain. Ibuprofen, water and a Vicoden later and I am still not feeling human. I hate pain.

But it is so exciting to have Alma home! I missed him so much. 5 more weeks before I lose him again. Oh- next week Dad and Alma are going to Chicago for a man trip- hope they have fun and make some good connections. Well I know this is short, and boring but I am in too much pain to keep going.

Halloween Crafting

In my female DNA is something that turns on in the Fall and makes me a CRAZY woman. I have an intense need to craft. I over extend myself on a thousand little things no one cares about (really no one expects me to mail out twenty Halloween packages to cousins far away but here I am about to stay up super late to get them finished). Ahhh how the cool weather triggers the crazies (I admit I may be a little crazy the rest of the year as well.)

SOOOOO- here are some of the fall crafts I have been working on- Becky mostly gave me ideas- but the trick or treat banner is all mine. All of these were pretty cheap.

Coen helped me make the pumpkins for this one.



This is not a great picture but you get the idea.

Every year I give all my MI cousins Christmas ornaments- but this year I think I want to make them, but only if easy and cute (like they will still be cute in a decade not just a pile of trash). Any ideas? I will keep watching Tip Junkie- which is where I have gotten most of the ideas for my awesome Halloween party (let's hope somebody shows up!).

I also took some pictures of the boys today- they are so cute! But the lighting was all messed up. Oh well we will try again tomorrow. Coen actually thought it was kind of fun.

Oh I almost forgot this weekend was our fall girls day. My sisters and nieces that all live in Nevada City get together to craft, cook and watch a scary movie. It is getting harder as they get older but we still had fun. We watched Shadow of a Doubt which Becky recommended and it was a big hit. Scary in a not too scary way. I of course didn't take many pictures (too busy- so don't even call me to complain Becky). I did get some cute ones of the baby goat that the Conleys brought. Isn't he so cute!




Seems like I have had a busy weekend. This week is full to. Mostly trying to finish making my phone calls for prop 8- I put the sign up in my yard today. I will write more on this in the future. I am to tired now and there is a great big pile of stuff to address to our cousins.

A Little of This and a Little of That

Today was one of those days. You know what I am talking about. The day that just doesn't seem to go. Coen was up all night wandering around the house- climbing into our bed- climbing into Beckett's crib "Baby brother needs me mama". And Beckett was up all night to eat. My kids have a special 6th sense for when it is a Wednesday night. Then work was okay, actually it went just about perfect until the last patient showed up 50 min. late. Then I walked outside and I had a flat tire- and the tire place didn't have a replacement so after a trip to Costco I drove home very slowly. It is so wonderful to come home and have all three of my boys so excited to see me walk in the door. Lots of hugs and kisses and cuddling. (oh I forgot to mention I have a UTI- so on top of it all I was really uncomfortable all day). I am on call tonight and so far only three calls. So I guess overall the day wasn't that bad. It did end with my favorite guys- and they were just so fulfilling to come home to.

Then while I was straightening up the house I came across this:

What? You say you don't get the significance of this little pile of socks? Let me explain. Every single day as soon as Alma gets home he comes into the living room, sits down and takes off his socks. And the socks cease to exist for him. And it makes me CRAZY. I have tried just letting them sit there for weeks and he just keeps dropping them onto the floor and the tower of disgustingness never makes a dent in his consciousness. So I have accepted this hateful task of every day gathering up Alma's filthy nasty socks (okay maybe I haven't really accepted it). So today I bent over to do the deed and there was not just Alma's socks, but a little Coen sized pair and an even smaller Beckett sized pair. When I started laughing Alma said "What's so funny- We got home and we took off our socks?" So Without even realizing it he is passing on his one divorce worthy quality onto our two innocent children. I am sorry future daughters-in-law. I will continue to try and fight the good fight but I fear you too are doomed.

And I took some pics of Coen last week and want to blow one up to hang in the family room- but what one? Please vote and let me know your pick.

1.
2.
3.
4. 5.

6.

And here are a couple of cute pictures of Coen and his Mama.

Next post I will have to focus on little baby brother- who is smiling like crazy now and rolled across Grandma Conley's floor on Wensday when we had lunch with her.

Also I have been crafting like crazy- so in an upcoming blog soon there will be on update of the great Halloween crafts.

Our Fun Day- (Don't you all wish you were here)

Fall weather is here! It is raining and cool and the leaves are changing and I am loving it! Coen went outside this evening and climbed into the awful fountain on our patio and got soaking wet. He loved it- except for the wet shoes- he came in just to have me put on a new pair so he could go back out. He was soaking all over but just his shoes were bothering him. This plan obviously didn't fly with the mom type in our house. The only problem with the cooler weather is I still don't quite fit into my pre-Beckett pants and I don't really want to buy any for this transitional body (please, please let this be transitional!).

Today was General Conference. Holly, the kids and Grandma Conley came over. Grandma actually stayed for both sessions and dinner afterwards. To people with normal Grandmas this sounds not odd at all. But people who know my Grandma will see how I thought the world was tilting on its axis. Grandma Conley does not enjoy being in social situations and spends most of her time planning her exit. When we were kids she would sometimes sneak out when every one was distracted (like when we were opening Christmas presents). I have many memories of her sitting on the couch with her purse on her lap just waiting for the moment when she could make her break for it. I admit she is hindered in her escape now by her lack of drivers licence- but we did offer frequently to take her home. Grandma did wear one of her best outfits ever! First off she was wearing my favorite pair of shoes ever! She got these recently and wears them all the time. My favorite of her outfits is these shoes, black tights, gray jumpsuit sewn by Kay, black turtle neck and sparkly broach. I know it will be a good day at church when Grandma comes in wearing this ensemble. Today the shoes were paired with a casual look.
You can only kind of see her outfit. Do notice the purse clutched in her lap- it was the closing song of the morning session. She did let go of it for a little while but picked it up again and stand by the exit while I was finishing dinner. In case you can't tell she is wearing purple culottes and the old gray/green sweater with the daisy sweater clip. I got a close up of the leg wear.
After everyone left I decided it was nippy enough to light the fire (okay flip the switch) and sit in my living room with my book as I have been imagining since we moved. Here is my little corner. I know I know Becky I need to decorate- the mantel stuff is just sitting there until we decide what to do with this wall. Isn't that just a little piece of heaven. And it was just perfect for the first twenty minutes (thanks to bath time and a nap for my kids). Then Coen got out of the bath. Things were still nice- he acted like a little puppy (he has a puppy towel and we always act like a puppy after bath). Then he wanted to sit naked by me and suck on ice cubes and tell me how hot it was (mind you he is still naked). He must be Alma's kid because it wasn't that hot. Then after getting dressed I went to turn on his favorite song (Bare Naked Ladies- Popcorn) and he quickly came running after me saying HOT HOT HOT- so I asked if he touched the fire- yes- but his fingers looked fine, and then he turned and walked away and there were no pajamas on his bottom! He had put his little butt on the fire place and burnt through the pajamas, and some of the diaper but pulled away before he got hurt (Thank goodness for the diaper! I can't imagine his little bottom with melted fabric on it!) Here are the pajamas.

And here is the fireplace with stinky melted pajama on it- Any ideas on how to clean this?
In my defense- we had been sitting by the fire for a while discussing how it is hot. He had put his hands up to it a couple of times and walked away saying "too hot". Coen hates hot things and normally just saying something is hot is enough for him and he gives it a wide berth.

The only bad part of the day (other that Coen's near injury) was that Alma had to work. He came home for 1/2 hour at lunch but is still not home so it looks like it will be a 14 hour day- poor guy. He and the boys (Coen and Joseph) did watch football for the brief moment he was here. The boys sat right in front of the TV and cheered and clapped very loudly for both teams. Coen is really into football right now and most of the day was spent practicing field goal kicks with Joseph and passing the ball to grandma Conley and running around until he is tackled by the pretend defense and yelling touchdown. We don't quite have a grasp on the particulars of the game yet.

Well tomorrow is the Sabbath so Alma should be home all day. Oh I love General Conference, the lazy days just sitting in your pajamas in front of the TV- no meetings, no wrestling toddlers during Sacrament. Hot coco, cinnamon rolls and cuddling with my honey are the only things on my agenda for tomorrow!