It's Christmas Adam!

Our family likes to celebrate Christmas Adam......(Adam came before Eve). Kinda kooky I know, but it is our family Christmas party. Dinner is whatever anyone wants. We watch Christmas movies, and everyone sleeps around the tree. The kids love it! Some years we all go to a restaurant, and other years we pick up take out from several spots. Jared wasn't too thrilled, but tonight is sounding like a several place night. Lizzie is thinking pizza, Emily and Tyler want Panda Express, and Ainsley is undecided. Unfortunately they all argue about which movies to watch. Any good ideas? Bajio here I come!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

I Love Goo Gone!

So today I was doing my normal laundry. I pulled out of the DRYER a load of pajamas and ten pairs of khaki school pants.....all covered in ink! I mean COVERED, not just a few ink spots on each of them. It was like someone had exploded a pen in their hands and then wiped the ink EVERYWHERE. I saw this and actually didn't cry...yea for me! I did call Jared and say I wanted to cry though. Anyway, I pulled down the Goo Gone from the shelf and started squirting. I honestly went through 6 ounces of the stuff. I threw everything back in the washer and hoped for the best.

Forty-five minutes later I had prepared myself for the worst. At least I would have two weeks to find all new uniform pants for my kids to wear to school. But guess what.....almost all of the ink came out!!!!! There are still a few big thick spots left, but I will try Goo Gone again. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do if Goo Gone doesn't get the rest of the ink out??????? Also, I can't find an ink pen anywhere in the washer or dryer or in pants pockets. Where could it be?????

Five pairs of pants are saved....no ink at all left on them. HOORAY!!! Merry Christmas to me! THANK YOU GOO GONE!!!!!!

FYI: My family of six went through 56 pairs of socks in seven days. Emily and Lizzie win the prize with 13 and 12 pairs of socks each! If only they could clean their rooms as often as they change their socks..........

My Favorite

When I decorated for Christmas, I wanted to do a post about my favorite Christmas decoration, but I haven't taken the time to do it until now.

Two years ago we went to Glenn and Lance's for dinner and Temple Square. I mentioned to them that if they ever went to Guatemala again to please buy me a corn husk nativity. I told them if theirs ever disappeared to come look at my house. I loved it because it is so unique. I collect nativities. Glenn has given me several and I love the ethnic variety of them. The day after Christmas Glenn and Lance appeared on our doorstep with a package for us. I was so surprised when I opened it and it was the corn husk nativity. Lance said that to them it was just a nativity, but to me it was something special. I cried of course. Since them I am always so excited to get it out. This year I had to move it off the piano into the curio cabinet because the cat was also interested in it. This nativity reminds me not only of Christ's birth, but the thoughtfulness and generosity of some people. Thank you Glenn and Lance for this special decoration! Did you buy another one in Guatemala?

A few years ago I only used nativities to decorate our house for Christmas (besides the tree) in an effort to not have so much extra "stuff" out. I loved the feel of it and have continued every year since. I have two of the Fisher Price Little People nativities; one for me and one for my kids. Last year I bought an embroidered sign that says "Children Need a Stable Background." It has a Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus on it too. I love to have these reminders of the real reason for Christmas surrounding me. Too often I get stressed and not take time to reflect on our Savior's birth. Sometimes I will just sit and look at my nativities to ponder and relax.

I love this time of year. Not only for all the joy and visiting, but for the special meaning of the birth of our Savior!

Its Festival Time!

I LOVE FESTIVAL OF TREES!!!

Nothing gets me more in the Christmas spirit than Festival of Trees. This year I got the opportunity to help Tyler's class decorate four trees...for the four seasons. I think I mainly volunteered for helping in the class so that I could help on decorating day. I love decorating day. The whole South Towne Expo Center is filled with people decorating Christmas trees. Can you think of a happier setting? The generosity of so many people always amazes me. I love that every single penny raised from festival goes to Primary Childrens.

Yesterday Tyler's class was going on a field trip to see their trees. I checked the girls out of school and we all went. Of course they all complained of aching feet after awhile, but they kept plodding along. Somehow we planned it right and the gingerbread houses were at the opposite end of where we started.....this kept them walking. They are always amazed at the things people can do with candy.

Ainsley's preschool decorated a tree also. We had to go find it first thing and check back on it several times. One time when we were walking away she asked if we could just stand and look at her tree for a long time. I am excited that my kids get to participate through their schools in this wonderful event!

If you have a chance this week, go to Festival of Trees. It is open from 10-10 thru Saturday. I promise that you will love it too!!

I'm a Believer!

I know my cousin Jeni blogged about this already, but I have to share my experiences also. This really works...either that or Ainsley got over her horrible night cough suddenly! This is an email my mom sent me.
VICKS VAPOR RUB - INTERESTING
During a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it. Some of us have used Vicks Vapor rub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time, although the scientists who discovered it aren't sure why. To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vapor rub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of re lief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good, due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly. My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it. If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works.
Good luck to all of you suffering from colds like we are!

Blog Slacking!

I am not really a slacker....at least most of the time. Life has been crazy lately, and I can barely find time to read other's blogs, let alone update mine. Unfortunately, I don't predict things will calm down until February.
Here is what has been going on at the Startups......
WE FINALLY GOT A PIANO!!!! The all caps are because we are all ecstatic about this. Emily has been taking lessons for four years on a keyboard. HOORAY!!! The only downfall is that a piano doesn't have a volume control button like a keyboard does. However, I love that our house is always filled with some sort of "music." I use the word music loosely because Tyler and Ainsley love this new toy also!
TYLER FINALLY LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH! This is also all in caps because is was big time exciting!!!!! The poor kid is seven. When he told me about the loose tooth a couple months ago I said "About dang time!" Tyler then told Jared I said "About damn time!" Needless to say, Tyler got teased plenty about the d*!m tooth. Maybe another tooth will get loose sometime in the next year.
While Jared and Tyler went camping with the young men last weekend, my neighbor Jenny and I decided to take our daughters out for a girls night. If you read her post you will learn that small children don't like to be dragged out of bed at midnight to go out to breakfast. However, I did learn that small children do enjoy toilet papering! The girls learned a valuable lesson...always make sure you go to bed with matching cute jammies because you never know when you will be dragged out of the house.
In response to the thankful tag....I am so thankful for all that I have. I am so blessed in all aspects of my life. If I were to list everything I would turn into a blubbering mess. Maybe later I will be able to type my list without losing all emotional control.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Tagged!

OK, I have been tagged several times in the last two months, but as KK said, "Who wants to think while they are blogging?" It has been bothering me that I haven't responded to them. Well, it's learn all about Misty day. I will respond to every tag (at least I think I am....sorry if I forgot one somewhere). Here goes:

Husband Tag (from Nichole)

1. Where did you meet? At Oceans Restaurant. His brother was dating my aunt. They took me there for dinner on a night he was working so we could meet.
2. How long did you date before you got married? 11 months
3. How long have you been married? Almost 14 years
4. What does he do that surprises you? Randomly helps me with different things around the house.
5.What is your favorite feature of his? His eyes, I love their color. I still wish one of our kids had hazel eyes.
6. What is your favorite quality of his? His work ethic, he won’t stop until a job is done, at home or at work.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Wubby
8. What is his favorite color? He doesn't have one. I had to ask him.
9. What is his favorite food? Seafood
10. What is his favorite sport? Paintball!
11. When and where was your first kiss? I know it was inside my house by the front door, and I think it was on our second date.
12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Snuggle or have "date night"- take out and a rented movie after the kids are asleep.
13. Do you have any children? Three daughters and one son
14. Does he have a hidden talent? No, he hides nothing!
15. How old is he? 34
16. Who said "I love you" first? He did, and I must admit it frightened me a little, I was still in high school.
17. What do you admire most about him? His playfulness with me and our kids. He loves to tease, but this shows me how much he enjoys us and life.
18.Do you think he will read this? Eventually

Eights (from Jeni)

6 TV Shows (I couldn't think of eight)
*Grey’s Anatomy
*ER
*Amazing Race
*American Idol
*Sesame Street
*Friends

8 Restaurants

*Bajio
*Cafe Rio
*Olive Garden
*Spaghetti Factory
*California Pizza Kitchen
*McDonalds breakfast
*Anything Mexican
*Anything Italian


8 Things I did yesterday
*Took Ainsley to story time at the library across town in a blizzard
*Babysat
*Shopped at Jo-Anns for Festival of Trees
*Bought lunch for Ains and me
*Watched Barbie as the Island Princess with Ains
*Helped Lizzie with fractions
*Tried to go to the Conference Center with the YM/YW. (we left because of no empty seats)
*Snuggled with Jared


8 Things I'm looking forward to:
*Going to Olive Garden and shopping with Nichole and Jared's Mom tonight
*Candlelight dinner and watching Amazing Race with my family on Sunday
*Disneyland (someday)
*Spring
*Paying off braces
*Being done with braces
*Pioneer Trek (if I get to go)
*Friendship Night tomorrow

8 Things on my wish list:
*Disneyland
*A clothes shopping spree for me
*Emily's transition to Jr. High to go smoothly
*Patience
*A piano
*An empty night on the calendar
*Painting the upstairs
*A cleaning person to come twice a month

Six quirks about me (from Jeni)
*I love to watch the weather every night. I watch the seven day forecast, but forget the next night what the next days forecast was, so I have to watch it again.
*I love to mow, rake and shovel snow, but hate to weed eat, blow leaves, and use the snow blower.
*I love soup; a quirk only because nobody else in my family likes it.
*I can't sing. When I am sitting by people at church I only mouth the words so they can't hear me.
*Unlike Jason, I like piles on the counter. If I hide the piles in drawers they get forgotten and lost forever. Piles are my never ending to-do list.
*I hate cough syrup. I will stay up all night coughing rather than take cough medicine. However, I will gladly make my kids take cough medicine when they are sick so I can sleep better.

Seven Random or Weird Facts About Me (from Jenny) I am also combining this one with Five Things You Don't Know About Me (from Nichole)
*I love to listen to classic rock....Beatles, the Doors, Journey.......
*I hate scrapbooking. However, I do organize ALL of my pictures in chronological order in photo albums.
*Our family has been doing Family Home Evening once a month with Danny and Nichole for 4 1/2 years. We take turns doing the whole night: dinner, dessert, and a lesson. I love knowing that once every other month I don't have to do anything. I also love the memories and closeness this brings.
*I am a bargain shopper, but hate thrift stores and the DI. They stink.
*I got my first cavity when I was pregnant with Lizzie. I should have known then she would be trouble.
*I come from a long line of gardeners on both sides of my family, but I hate gardening.
*For some reason, my body doesn't tolerate sugar. It gives me a migraine. I have learned to eat my treats before bed so I don't feel the headache.

There, maybe I won't feel tagged guilt anymore. I am tagging nobody, however, if you would like to respond by tagging yourself with one of these...feel free!

Freckles

I heard this song a few weeks ago, and it made me cry. I have always hated my freckles, but loved them on other people. A friend burned the song "Freckles" for me to listen to after complaining about my freckles. I LOVED IT!!!!! It is a song that I hope my daughters will take to heart. To often we hate the things that we can do nothing about. I'm trying to grow up, and not care about ANY of my imperfections. As I taught the Young Women last Sunday, Heavenly Father doesn't make junk!
I posted the words to this song because I can't ever understand the words on a song until I hear it several times. Scroll down to my music player (at the bottom). Make the song start over, and enjoy your freckles!!!!!

I used to care so much about what others think about

Almost didn't have a thought of my own

The slightest remark would make me embark

On the journey of self doubt

But that was a while ago

This girl has got stronger

If I knew then what I know now

I would have told myself don't worry any longer it's OK

[Chorus:]

'cause a face without freckles is like a sky without stars

Why waste a second not loving who you are

Those little imperfections make you beautiful, lovable, valuable,

They show your personality inside your heart

Reflecting who you are

Who you are

Who you are

Who you are

I wondered if I could trade my body with somebody else in magazines

Would the whole world fall at my feet?

I felt unworthy and would blame my failures on the ugliness I could see

When the mirror looked at me

Sometimes I feel like the little girl who doesn't belong in her own world

But I'm getting better

And I'm reminding myself

[Chorus]

Reflecting who you are

Reflecting who you are

Please Explain

Can anyone explain to me why blow dryers or curling irons always die on a Sunday? Never on Monday, always on Sunday. The one day of the week when you can't do much about it. Are we supposed to have extras of these in our "food storage"?
I'm off to figure out how to do my hair (and three daughters hair) with an old curling iron with a broken spring that I only ever need on a Sunday about once a year! AAAHHHH!!!!!!

Hanging Up

We have a deer hanging in our garage. It is rather gross and I will spare you the pictures!

Flashback Friday

I have a few minutes, so here is a Halloween costume flashback.

This is Halloween 2007. Emily was a rock star, Lizzie was a medival princess, Tyler was Optimus Prime (He forgot half his costume when we went to my mom's), Ainsley was Cinderella, and Grandma Roper was a clown.

This isn't a good picture, but it does have all the pumpkins in it. This year Jared even carved one, his is the wolf on the end. Lizzie designed hers with a CD we bought. Tyler did a skull. Ainsley's is Ariel (With a little persuading from mom) and Emily did Harry Potter. I can't wait to see how they design this year!

Weekend in the Bathroom

So there I was, being left at home without Jared for the third weekend in four weeks. I was imagining a relaxing Saturday with lots of movies and treats. I figured that on Friday I would hurry and get the house clean, starting with the bathroom. I went in to start scrubbing and ended up pulling down wallpaper and planning my redecorating job. Needless to say, I did not end up with the quiet Saturday I envisioned. But, I am so proud of myself. I hate to brag, but this is all brag worthy. Jared has no idea I am doing this. He should be home from deer hunting on Wednesday. I pulled out stripped screws, I patched holes, I washed walls, taped walls, and painted walls, and painted trim; all by myself (with kids running around me). What makes this so amazing is that I have never painted a wall before in my life. Jared does all the painting(preferably without kids running around). He hates to paint, but does a thorough job and everything has to be just perfect. Hopefully my paint job is up to Jared's standards! I think that I am most proud of the fact that he has no idea what he is coming home to. Lets just hope I am not sleeping on the couch for a week! Maybe he'll stay home for a few weeks in a row, he'll be worried about any other big projects I come up with!

Happy Birthday Glenn!

OK, Jeni beat me to it, but I did intend to have this post up yesterday so Glenn could enjoy it all day, especially since his card is still in the mail. I asked my kids to say something about Glenn, and this is what they came up with!

Emily:

When I think of Glenn I think of a clown. He is always making jokes, playing tricks on people, and he is scary sometimes!

Lizzie:

When we were at the family reunion this year, Glenn dunked me under the water. I wasn't happy with him, but soon I liked him again.

Tyler:

At the family reunion I pulled you in your tube with Lizzie. I was happy. I like how you play with us!

Ainsley:

He has cats. He once had a baby cat we got to see. He sent me a card with me and Kilo.

Glenn, Thank You for all the memories (nightmares) from growing up. I will never forget being locked up in the big shed while you talked about spiders and rats. I will also never forget being tied in the hamock, and being lit on fire, and then doused in sprinklers. You are so helpful to anyone who asks. Thank you for working at Grandma's so much. I love how you play with the kids ( they love that too!) My kids love to get your birthday cards, they always open yours first and show them to anyone who comes over. Thanks for being you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We Did It!

Jenny and Rachel and I got a wild hair yesterday. We decided to make Yummy Jane Salsa today! Hopefully, once it cools it will taste as good as Auntie Jane's. We ended up with 60 pints, which is lots more than we were planning on.
Thank you to Jane and Erin for supplying the recipe. Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Woodbury and Jeanie for sharing tomatoes with us. Thank you to Jeanie, Teena, and my moms for having the grown-up things like roasters and canners that we used. Thank you to our daughters who chopped peppers hard and fast.

But most of all, THANK YOU to Jenny and Rachel for the inspiration, the tears and the laughter!

Announcing our addition

No, we are not expecting....but we did add. In honor of Ainsley's fourth birthday today, we added to her name. She is now officially and legally Ainsley Jane Startup. We have been wanting to add to her name since she was about a week old. I'm not quite sure why we didn't do this earlier. I can remember calling her Ainsley Jane when she was only a few days old. None of my girls have middle names because I don't. The poor kid has a plethora of names: Ains, Jane-Jane, Janesly, Boofalo Buffalo, Toothless, Crazy Jane. She used to tell you her name was Ainsley Crazy Jane Boofalo Buffalo Startup. When we were leaving the county health building she asked if we could never change her name again because that place was boring. Even if she didn't enjoy it today, I hope it will be a cute story to tell her children.

I can't believe my baby is four! Time really does fly when you are having fun. She can be so sweet and loving, but boy can she be a terror also. She acts at times like a headstrong twelve year old. She loves Hannah "Ontana" and the Jonas Brothers. Her favorite movie currently is Cinderella (She wanted her name to be changed to Cinderella). She loves anything pink-of course. She is quite a daredevil. There isn't a ride at Lagoon that she won't ride (if she is tall enough). She is the only girl in her primary class with six other boys. She'll tell you that she is going to marry Jaxon in the temple, but Trent wants to marry her too. She loves to love on our cat, and the cat loves to eat her. Just like any other child, she idolizes her preschool teacher and I can get her to do anything if I tell her Ms. Charri does it. She is very snuggly and ticklish. We all love our Ainsley Jane!

She got a Barbie fishing pole for her birthday so we went fishing tonight. She caught a little fish and was so proud of herself!

Peaches

Wow...I may be becoming an adult afterall. I canned peaches yesterday by myself!!! I haven't canned any fruit for at least 20 years! I only had to call Debbie 5 or 6 times. While driving through WIllard the other day I talked myself out of stopping at 20 different fruit stands. Finally I gave in (if I could have held out one minute longer I would have been past all the fruit stands.) One day this summer when we were at Grandma Call's she gave each of the kids a jar of peaches. They excitedly ate the first three jars in three days. Tyler wanted to save his for the first day of school. We kept it on the kitchen counter for at least a month.

Tyler wanted to know why I couldn't buy him some peaches like these. I kind of thought it might be fun to try to can. I gave in and bought a bushel of beautiful peaches. I also had to buy quart jars- these aren't anything I own for myself. I was so excited to get started. The first batch took forever, but then I had the hang of it. Three water baths later I had 20 quarts of peaches. They weren't nearly as pretty as Grandma's, but hopefully they will taste just the same.

When I brought the first batch inside ( I had to water bath them on the grill) I admit I cried! They looked so pretty! When the first jar sealed (popped) I jumped for joy. The kids all sat at the table and listened for more popping. We were all so excited to count that they had all sealed. Maybe next I will attempt some yummy Jane salsa!

New at This

OK...I am giving into peer pressure...are you proud of me Jeni? Besides, I feel left out of this whole new blogging world you all take part in. I read all your blogs often, I just don't usually comment. I think that I will give it a try for myself. I can't guarantee that I will post often, but you never know. I am trying to get everything set up, and then I will think of new things to say. Our lives aren't very exciting, so this may be the boringest (is that a word?) blog you ever look at. Oh well, bear with me while I figure it out.