Let's Go To Smartie Pants!

Macey went to Pre-K this month! It's called Smartie Pants and is close to our home. Her teachers are Mrs. Anno and Mrs. Brittney. I was really excited when I signed her up because I thought that she was going to get a lot of attention. There were two teachers and only six kids.

But somewhere between Open House and the first day of school, they picked up six more kids! They have 8 boys and 4 girls.

Macey does not like the "stinky boys" and would not go to school the day after she had to sit at the table with just "stinky boys".

But, I talked to her teachers and asked that she get to sit with at least one girl!! And since then, things have been better, but I do not think that she likes it as much as North Point's First Flight program.

She's beautiful!

Thinking About Almonds. . .

July was a really expensive month (well, so was May & June) and so in August we have tried to be extra extra careful with money. Which is why when I saw the Suave Professional shampoo and conditioner at Target, on sale, I decided to give it a try. Because Suave is cheap to begin with. On sale, it's even more tempting.

I'd seen the commercials when the salon stylists are so shocked that they are using a Suave product and the customers are so happy with the smell and the effect.

Apparently I am as big of a sucker for a good commercial as my kids are (curse you, pillowpets!).

So here's the result. The smell is nice but not as strong or as lasting as I would have hoped. The shampoo and conditioner are fine but I do not think that I will buy more as Suave has a reputation for drying hair out.

And there's my experiment with almonds!

High Hopes, I've Got, High Hopes

I love the new NFL commercial entitled "Back To Football". They've teamed up with Harry Connick Jr., another one of my faves, to produce a commercial where everyone has high hopes because everyone is undefeated. . . .so far. That will change in two weeks, but for now, I've got HIGH Hopes. Go Redskins!

This song also reminds me of life in general. The more old classmates I find on Facebook, the more I realize that something happened on the way to the dream of 2.5 kids, a 2 car garage and a white picket fence for many of my friends. A few years ago (it was just a few, right?) we had HIGH HOPES. I wish that life had not gotten in the way of so many of their dreams. . .

And So It Begins. . .

I knew that there was a danger in moving to South Jordan and being close to my sister Rachelle. My kids would spend time with her and see how the other half lives. . . She is patient and kind, and really patient and really kind.

So far the kids have not said anything. But finally Macey said, "You know, Aunt Shell is always happy. And she does not get mad at her kids." Betrayed by my four year old!!

Luckily I had heard my sister get mad at her youngest and send her to her room just two days before. So I was happy to report that their cousins got in trouble sometimes, too.

Besides, all of my sister's kids are in school. I think I could be a fabulous Mom, too, if I only saw my kids from 4 - 8:30.

But, the point remains, and there's no question that I've got to up my game.

Catching Breaks

Since we've moved into the house there have been the usual growing pains. Flooding basement, broken freezer, leaking ceiling, broken sprinklers, broken water heater, old brakes, flat tire. . . It has been a little overwhelming.

Yesterday I drove down the road and encountered an area where there had been a bad accident that had not been cleaned up yet by the city. By the time I got home I had a flat tire. I was in a little bit of a panic when I heard the ssssspppppfffffff of escaping air -- I have to admit my first thought was to run for the duct tape! (Which is why I do not work on cars!)

I told Garry about the tire that was flattening as we spoke and he said, "We just can't catch a break." I admit, it would be nice to have things not break for a season, but we have caught lots of breaks.

Les Schwab patched my tire. FOR FREE. And the plumber just advised us to watch the leak and it has not happened since (it was a problem with too much water on the floor in the bathroom upstairs) and he did not charge us. His visit was FREE. And the Samsung guy told us what to do about the freezer. And that was FREE.

So, it would be nice if things would stop going ka-put but for now I think we're catching lots of great breaks.

Lazy & Annoying

When we were in the (long) process of buying this house, we found out that the previous owner had some legal problems. We were not too worried about it. She had not lived here in years. Really, it had nothing to do with us.

Except creditors would like to make it about us. Because we share the same address (former or no) I now get calls for her everyday (even though she never had our phone number and vice versa). And last night at 10 pm (okay, 9:52, let's not exaggerate here) we had a constable come to the door looking for her. We are guessing that he was trying to serve her with some papers.

Here's the interesting thing -- she's on Facebook! If they really want to find her, they just need to check out her Facebook page. It clearly says that she lives in North Salt Lake. If they were friends with her, they could probably find out what she had for dinner last night and what she wants to do this weekend and what she's excited to watch on TV. And they could leave us alone ;)

Developing a Fan Base

About a month ago my friend Desiree told me that she had been asked to do a Special Musical Number in Sacrament Meeting and was wondering if I might be interested in doing it instead. I would be accompanying two violinists. It was a month away and the music seemed pretty straight-forward, and so I said okay.

I was really nervous this morning. I would rather give a million talks in Sacrament Meeting rather than play one song on the piano, but yet, there I am, playing every so often.

But today when I was done I was walking down to our bench in the chapel and I saw Emma sitting up and clapping. And Macey asked me when I sat down why they only let me do 'one song?'. And Garry said Molly was clapping in the back (where she was having a time out ;)

I still do not like playing much; it's rather nervewracking. But it's so nice to have my own fan base.

My Ambassador To The World

This is a busy week for Macey as she starts her Pre-K classes at Smartie Pants Preschool. I am excited for her to go back to school; she has missed it.

She is so smart and so nice; I know she will do well. She is my ambassador to the world. 'See, look at Macey! Look at what a fabulous Mother I am!' And try to ignore the screaming 20 month old behind me that would like to prove otherwise!

This Is Different

I lived in Idaho for 18 years and in Utah for about 4 and so you would think that I would not have to "learn" anything about the area. But there are obviously things that I forgot.

(1) It gets COLD at night! After 12 years in Washington, D.C., I got used to the air conditioning coming on at 6 am and staying on. Around March I would switch the bedding and lose the comforter in exchange for a plain cotton coverette. But I do not think that I will do that next year. (Garry will be glad -- he hates that coverette). It gets cold at night, summer or no.

(2) August is not a month of humidity and heat, heat and humidity. Oh, I feel for my D.C. friends posting on Facebook how uncomfortable things are in right now with the hot temperatures and oppressive humidity. I remember feeling like if I just leaned back I could back float, the air was just that thick. I was talking to my brother-in-law this weekend and he said that the days of 100 degree weather were done. I disagreed because it was August. Weren't we just getting started with the hear? Actually, July is the hottest month of the year here. Who knew? August is full of 70 degree mornings and low 90 days.

How did I forget?

How UTAH Is This

I realized that I was living in Utah when I went visiting teaching with a cheesy little thing to drop off. And I was able to walk to all three houses ;) Welcome to Utah!!

Curly Hair Alert!

When a new product comes out for curly hair, I get excited! And usually I will try it if it's not that expensive.

I tried the Pantene products for curly hair -- the shampoo, conditioner, and gel. I am not that big of a fan and a little disappointed. Nothing really to get excited about. My hair feels dry (no big surprise) and there isn't even a fun, nice smell. They should at least have a fun smell. But I'm sure there will be another product to try out soon!

Kindergarten!

On August 3rd Emma started Kindergarten at Eastlake Elementary School! Her teacher is Mrs. Rowberry. It's a half-day program, and she goes year-round, so she gets a three week break in just a few days! Oh, she was so excited! She woke me up on Tuesday at 4:30 am to ask me if it was time to get ready for school. Um, no, go back to bed, PLEASE! On Wednesday she woke me up at 6:30 am to remind me that she got to go back to school again and, oh, was it time yet?

Here she is, getting on the bus with her friend Sophia! There are a lot of kids at this bus stop and they have a little tradition of putting their backpacks in line so that they can go and play with their friends but save their place in line. The kids take this very seriously! Poor Emma ended up in the back of the line a few times this week even though we were one of the first people there -- she needs to learn the backpack system!

So I Was Thinking. . .

Though you cannot tell from the size of my thighs, I have been spending some consistent time at the gym. It's hard because Molly does not really like Kids Club. And Macey seems a little lost there without Emma who started school this week. But still, off we go!!

While there, I spend a lot of time listening to the music that blares over the loudspeakers and watching the music videos that are playing in front of me. And here are my thoughts.

Miley: Oh, Miley. I think you're a fine girl, but I am worried that my daughters might start looking up to you as they get older and would like you to add a few feet to your shorts. Especially the ones you wear in Party In The USA. Love the song! Hate the shorts.

Taylor: If I did not like Taylor Swift before, I do now after watching her video The Best Day about her Mom. The video includes original footage with her and her Mom. I was on the Stairmaster this morning, crying like a baby. Hopefully people thought I was just crying through the pain of my work-out. It would be nice if some people out there thought that I was that hardcore.

Beyonce: Holy Cow! I love the song "To The Left". But wow, I wish that her lipsinking in the video matched up with the actual song.

Fastball: So I'm not really careful with lyrics sometimes. Take, for example.,Fastball's "The Way". I always thought that it was the story of broken dreams from people who try to immigrate into the U.S. But now I've seen the video and read all the words and now I know it's just a stupid song. They should have let me write it. I could have made it into something meaningful. Oh, well, their loss.

Home Improvements Part II

I bought a coffee table! It was not as great of a find as my bar stools which cost $3. This one was $50. But the good news is that the previous owners of the house left a motorcycle muffler in the garage and I sold it for $55. I took the girls to lunch at the gym and bought this coffee table. So, I guess, for me, it was free!The sides open for storage. And I like the look of the hinges. I have not decided if I should sand it and stain it or just clean it and allow it to be "rustic".

Keeping It Cool

After a HOT day at the zoo it was great to go the next day to the aquarium. We went there a few months ago when it was so cold we needed something to do indoors. But now we're there because we needed someplace cool and indoors ;) Emma loves the ray pool. They swim around the the kids are allowed to touch them as they go by.

Here are four of the five Cunningham gals on the frog. Or maybe it's a toad.

Count To Four Really Fast!

Last week we went with Garry's family to the zoo! I was also watching my niece Chloe that day. It was a challenge to have all four -- I kept counting 1,2,3,4 and then 1,2,3,4 every so often to make sure everyone was still there and accounted for! What a bunch of apes!

Here are six of the seven Cunningham cousins + Chloe.

Emma & Chloe pretending to be prairie dogs :)

Emma Loses A Tooth!

On Wednesday Emma said that her tooth that had been loose was REALLY loose. Garry checked it out, and, sure enough!, it was ready to come out! We encouraged her to go eat an apple (my Mom's favorite remedy for a loose tooth) but she just played with it for awhile and it came right out. Hooray for Emma!

She put it in the windowseat near her bed and was excited to wake up to $1!!

Playing In The Canyon

Garry's Dad came to Utah on Pioneer Day and the next day we met with family members for a picnic in the canyon. A big THANK YOU to Garry's brother, Jeremy and his wife Meg for putting together food assignments and reserving the location. Molly had a great time!

We had sandwiches and yummy drinks! However, when we got home and the kids were still bouncing off the walls, we realized that Sunkist Orange Soda has caffeine. Who knew? The kids were up FOREVER that night.

Cousin Cameron brought his wagon, which Molly quickly occupied. She had a lot of fun with her Pawpaw pulling her around!