Nothing to Say....

I sit here without much to say, but I'm avoiding loads of work that has piled up on my desk the last few days and I don't want to do any of it. Blogging about nothing sounds much more fun. Been kind of quiet around here. Parker and Bill participated in the Klondike, a sort of scout sport winter Olympics. I didn't get many details. It just involved a sled that they built a few weeks ago. Scouts are crazy. Who camps in the winter? Girls aren't that dumb.

I've had loopy, crazy dreams the last few weeks (thanks to a variety of medications I've been on for one reason or another). I can almost guarantee any of you reading this has had a crazy roll in at least one of them. I actually kind of enjoy the ride. It's weird to wake up and be in reality again. It's fun to find yourself on an estate in Arizona with an ocean view...that was the most recent. My dear friend, Tami, was in my dream a few nights ago. She died 10 years ago this week and I'm really missing her. She was in the backseat of my car (in the dream) and I couldn't believe I could just talk to her. It was really wonderful. I can't believe it's been 10 years. It doesn't seem like it could be that long.

All in all, life is good. Challenges are constant and daily these days, but I feel like I'm handling things o.k. Parker has not been in a great Asperger's phase, but we are finding some solutions. 5th grade seems to be a bit of a transition period for him and he isn't always dealing with it in the most appropriate way. Our home teachers came over tonight, and we were just shooting the breeze about stuff when Parker pipes up to say "Could we just get to the lesson now so this can be over?" Total honesty. Never a good thing. He is the Ying to my Yang when it comes to social situations.

Well...that's it. Not much else to say. I will try to find some more exciting activities to share on my blog soon. Have a happy week!

Quinn-tastic Quinn!

Well, my little Quinn has hit his quint year (doesn't that mean 5?). I love my little guy. He's such a funny boy. When we found out he was a boy, I had no idea how "boy" he would be. I really have loved watching his little "boy-ness" because we didn't necessarily get that the first go around with Parker. Here is what I love (and don't love) about Quinn right now:

1- The boy hates to wash his hands. He inevitably asks me every time he uses the restroom if he has to wash his hands. He seems surprised when I say yes....like this is new to him. You'd think I had asked him to slice off his hands. He even sneaks into the bathroom and doesn't flush so I won't hear him.

2- He's a great friend to his buddies, but also a devoted friend to Li-Li, Spotty, Hoppy, Lucky, and Black Lucky. Oh yes....Bullet the fish is mesmerizing to him. I'm glad he hasn't caught on to the fact the Bullet is actually Bullet the Second. You do what you have to do sometimes.

3- He's big into Super Mario anything right now. It's funny, because you catch him reliving scenes from the game throughout the day. He just sits there with a goofy smile on his face. He relives it in his mind, and then stops to tell me all about it. I, of course, don't understand it.

4- The boy has no sense of time. During dinner, he will sometime ask me if this is lunch. I told him his birthday was after Christmas, and he woke up on the 26th in tears because it wasn't his day yet. This has happened 2 years in a row. We had even shown him on several calendars.

5- Quinn's eyes. Anyone who has spent significant time with him knows how funny they can be. He rolls them in such a way that is pure comedy.

6- The primary secretary called me to see if I could tell them a story of when Quinn choose the right for his birthday spotlight. As much as I love him, it was really hard to think of a time when given the choice, he chose the right. I had to really stretch a story to make it work, and even then I had to ask Monika to help me think of it. I guess we will be working on that this year. He's the king of looking to see if I'm watching before he pelts Macy for no reason at all.

7- He prides himself on being the fastest runner in the world....or at least on his soccer team.

8-We've got three separate race tracks going on in our house right now. If I'd let him, there would be 3 train tracks always up as well.

9- You can see through his opaque skin.

10- He's all about cool socks right now....Lightning McQueen, Dump Truck, Mater, Santa, Spiderman....he loves them all.

11- He is, BY FAR, my most emotional child to date. I hope he can toughen up soon.

12- He lives for Thursday afternoons when he gets alone time with Grandma and Grandpa without Macy bugging him.

13- I've learned to start Quinn on dinner about a 1/2 an hour early so that he can finish around the same time as the rest of us. Speaking of dinner....he doesn't like most foods, though I make him eat it. I've become meaner than I used to be.

14- He is always singing something. Usually, it's Christmas songs.

15- He will be the kid who faints at the sight of blood.

16- He's a pretty good swimmer and a surprisingly good diver for his young age.

17-He's a wonderful, snuggly, silly, adorable 5 year old. I love him to pieces.

2012...the year of Liz

Yea right, but it's a nice thought.

Before I dive into how this is my year, we've been busy the last few days. We celebrated my dad's 75th birthday by taking him to our favorite Japanese restaurant. Macy didn't make the trip. I had fears of her crawling out onto the hot grill. I was amazed at how well the other kids did with their chopsticks. Grandpa had a great time and we enjoyed being out with him. He told me the other day that he probably can't have a mid-life crisis anymore.

This is what we gave him.

My grandpa Newman was a geologist for the state and created these signs up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and my dad helped get these signs up. Last summer, me and my sis-in-law grabbed a bunch of our grumpy kids and snapped some shots. Glad we finally did it.

Bill's work party was last night. He works with people all over the country, so he gets to meet a lot of people face to face at these parties. All in all, nice people, nice food, and some funny drunk people.

.....and, Bill found my old Little Orphan Annie Halloween costume and made Macy wear it.....

and then Quinn. Wedding video material.

2012. The possible last year of existence, right? So might as well make it mine. 2011 was great for some in my family. And I liked it. I'm generally a happy gal. Bill set a goal in 2011 to do LoToJa, which I fully supported. I'm so happy he did so great, but he would be the first to say that it didn't leave ANY time for Liz goals. Behind every successful man is a woman not accomplishing her goals. I guess that is marriage....just as long as it isn't always one-sided. Bill keeps asking me what my "LoToJa" is. Don't know yet. Biking 206 miles isn't what I want to do. I'm not pregnant, nursing, or ever will be again. I do feel a freedom with this, but I'm just not used to it after 10 years of that.

Basically, my biggest resolution is to put myself first. That sounds SO selfish, but most mothers don't need practice being selfless. I've got that down. But it has left me haggard and tired...and goal-less. So here are a couple:

1-Exercise is top priority. The other stuff will get done somehow.

2-Finally figure out my bad back. I went into another specialist this week and will soon be getting an MRI to find underlying issues. It literally runs my life. I can't take anymore. Whatever it takes!

The rest would bore you, but I will make no apologies for doing stuff for myself this year. When I buy clothes or whatever, I find myself justifying it to Bill. Bill basically says, "Why do you need to validate this?" He's a good husband. Plus he loves to drop money on himself as well.

So....what is my "Everest" this year. I need suggestions!

and P.S....Yeah! It snowed!