4-4

A few people have tagged me so I thought I'd play along. It's pretty easy. Open up your pictures. Open the fourth folder and post the fourth picture in that folder. This is Jamesy when he was just a month old!
I tag: Katie, Janine, and Michelle H.

a picture says a thousand words

Since I know you are oh so interested in more potty updates I thought I'd give you a break and play along with this fun tag. You just google your answers and see what pictures you come up with! (Don't worry there will be another potty update).

Age at my next birthday:

Place I want to visit:

Favorite thing:

Favorite place:

Favorite food:

Favorite color:

Town I live in:

Name of a past pet:

Nickname I've had:
College major:

and then...

First job:

Goal for next year:

motherhood

1. Typically what time do you wake up? Lately? 2:00 am, 4:30 am, 6:45 am, and then finally between 7:30 and 8:30. That may be a bit of an exaggeration... but not much! I wish someone could remind James that, until 6 months ago, he used to be a good sleeper!

2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? Most nights it's between 6:30 and 7:00. Rarely later than that... except nights that we are at my in-laws or decide to go on a "family date."

3. How long have you been a mom? About 3 1/2 years... 4 years in November.

4. How old were you when you became a mom? 23 years old.

5. What is your favorite kid TV show/movie? Charlie and Lola is a super cute show. And on Sundays I like to watch VeggieTales with William...

6. What is your least favorite kid TV show? Thomas... so boring. Caillou... I'm convinced that kids become more whiny after watching it. It's a Big, Big World... I really dislike that one. Oh. And Barney... I think that comes from having to watch it with Rachelle when I was in 6th grade.

7. What is your favorite chore? Growing up I liked to clean the bathroom... I have a feeling that will change when William finally gets potty trained. I don't really know if I have a favorite chore now.

8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Anything easy. I like making pizza because Rich likes it so much.

9. What is the meal you cook most often? I don't know if I cook anything too often. I like trying new recipes and I try to mix it up a bit.

10. What is your kid’s favorite meal? Mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese since that's about all we can get William to eat. Oh he really likes pancakes and waffles. Everything else is a battle just to get a nibble. Just today he told me that he didn't like food. James on the other hand loves anything but especially chicken nuggets.

11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? I love that Rich gets up with William on Saturday mornings... and most every morning... so that I can sleep in a little bit. He also plays with the boys all the time--they LOVE their dad. He even comes home at lunch time to be with us.

12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? When James puts his little head on my shoulder. When William tells me "Good job mom!" "Mom is beautiful" or something equally as nice and sincere. When both boys are asleep. When the boys are playing nicely together for an extended period of time. When my boys are laughing.

13. If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be? I want to take them to the beach. Our first beach excursion, last April, was no good. It was a giant sand storm... and freezing! We're hoping it will be more successful in July. And, like Katie, I've been thinking it would be fun to take them to Disneyland one of these days.

14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? We are actually pretty lucky that we get to do this nearly every week--thanks to Rich's parents. Thursday Rich and I went to a dinner party for the 25th anniversary of the company Rich works for. It was a great dinner and we got to hear Col. Oliver North speak. It was incredible! Then on Friday night and Saturday I went to Time Out For Women and listened to some good music and amazing presenters. One of my favorite religion professors, Camille Fronk Olson, spoke which made it even more fabulous!

15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? Lately we've enjoyed taking bike rides (William rides his trike while James and I walk).

16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom. I can't think of anything except what Katie said. I'll never put my kids in daycare.

17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? My mom has a million great qualities. She is really great at finding fun in everyday things... especially for little kids. I wish I could do that better with William.

18. What is your advice for new moms? Oh goodness. I remember some advice that was given to me before William was born. She said "You can have a clean house next year." Don't worry about having a perfectly straight house. Don't focus on 'what did I accomplish today?" Spend time with your little baby because they grow up way too fast!

19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? I remember laying in the operating room and realizing "He's not crying. William was screaming his head off." Then Rich pointed him out to me across the room and explained that he was unresponsive. I couldn't believe it. The first time I really saw him he was hooked up to a million tubes.

20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? There are so many. It could be when William was born and I officially became a mother. It could be when they released James from the hospital on the same day as me--much earlier than expected.

21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids? I'm sure that William has told me at least once today.

22. I tag: Amy and whoever else would like to play along.

what's in a name?

I was tagged by Traci to explain why we named our kids what we did. Rich and I have the hardest time coming up with boy names--girl names, no problem--but boy names are hard! Basically both our boys got the names they did because they were the only ones we could agree on.

William Richard

When we were looking for names I liked the idea of picking a family name. I started looking at my pedigree chart. William Sydney Smith Willis was an ancestor of mine on my mom's side. He was in the Mormon Battalion and ended up in California. According to family legend he actually discovered gold first at Sutter's Mill but didn't say anything until he was certain that's what it was--unlike James Marshall. He gave most of the gold he found to Brigham Young and kept only a few nuggets with which he made earrings for his daughters. I always thought that was a cool story so I suggested the name William and Rich liked it.

I wanted the middle name to be Richard but Rich thought that it was egotistical to name our son after himself. Since I was the one giving birth I eventually won out.

James Anson

Again, we had a difficult time picking a name. We finally agreed on James which is my paternal Grandpa's name.

Anson Call was an ancestor on Rich's dad's side of the family. I believe he was a body guard to Joseph Smith at one point and settled Bountiful, UT. Rich really liked the name and I thought that "James Anson" had a nice ring to it... and I liked the family history it involved. I don't know much about Rich's ancestors so it was fun to research that a bit.

I tag: Lori, Carrie, Crystal, and Melissa.

a love story

How did you meet your spouse? We were in the same Family Home Evening Group at BYU my junior year. This is probably a good thing because we were forced to see each other every week. Rich claims that he tried going after me the entire first semester but I was a little clueless... and I had another boy after me as well (who happened to lived directly across the hall from Rich and later married my roommate). The next semester I was more interested but he had decided to "move on." The reality was that he still liked me.

Where did you go on your first date? And who asked who out? Rich asked me to go with him to the Homecoming dance at the Utah State Capital. My roommates and I were planning a How To Host a Murder and had invited Rich's apartment. I needed to update Rich on some plans but he had left FHE a little early. I ran into the hall after him and he asked me to go with him to the Homecoming dance. I was in shock because I thought he was going to ask my roommate. It was a pretty awkward date to say the least. We doubled with his brother. To me it seemed that Rich and Bob talked to each other the whole ride up there and back (Bob's girlfriend lived in SLC so it was just the three of us in the car most of the night). Rich says he was using his "best material" on me and I still wouldn't say a word. I still don't believe that part. Another reason could have been that the night before I had gone to Homecoming with all my roommates and another apartment of boys--it was much more comfortable. (This is a picture of our first date.)

How long have you been together? Oh let's see. We started dating the first of March 2002. So it's been about 6 years.

Who eats more? I'd like to say Rich, although we're getting more even as the years go by. I snack a lot more so in the grand scheme of things it is probably me.

Who said I love you first? Rich did. As I recall we were sitting in his apartment in Provo and he asked "You know I love you right?" I wasn't quite sure how I felt and didn't want to use the "L" word until I knew for sure, so I just said, "Yup." I don't really remember the first time I said it back...

Who is taller? Rich by about 4 inches. We're both shrimps but we have surprisingly tall children.

Who sings better? I guess me. Rich writes songs though--several for me and makes up songs with the boys all the time.

Who is smarter? Is this a trick question? It depends on the subject. We both have our areas of "expertise." But let me tell ya, never play a trivia game with Rich. He has so many crazy bits of trivia stuffed in his head that you wouldn't believe it!

Who does the laundry? When we were first married Rich did because I worked and he was in school. Now I do. It's a good thing too because Rich thinks that if a shirt is old and won't bleed then it's considered a white. This includes red shirts. That just doesn't fly in my book. I do NOT like folding laundry though! I often let a load sit in the dryer for days.

Who does the dishes? We both do... and we both hate it. Rich is really good about hand washing the pans for me though.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are laying down on the bed then I sleep on the right. Funny story about that. On our honeymoon Rich put our stuff in the room. My stuff on the right and his on the left. My mom slept on the left and I guess I always assumed that I would I guess. So that whole week that's how we slept. Turns out that Rich had randomly put our stuff in the room. He had wanted to sleep on the right. By the time we figured this all out, months later, it was too late and we had gotten used to "our" side of the bed.

Who pays the bills? I do. And I like it. I could go on a shopping spree and Rich would never know (of course, that doesn't really happen that often... remember? I'm cheap.)

Who mows the lawn? Rich. I haven't mowed the lawn since high school and that's okay with me.... especially with these humid Oklahoma summers.

Who cooks dinner? I do but I love it when Rich does. He sometimes claims that he can't cook but really he doesn't even need a recipe--he can throw stuff together and make a mighty good tasting meal. Oh and his omelets are to die for.

Who drives when you are together? Rich does. I'm in charge of keeping the kids happy and I have an easier time hopping in the back seat if needed.

Who is more stubborn? Oh me for sure. No question.

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? Again, no question... it's RICH. I hate admitting when I have been wrong (goes back to that stubborn thing). I rarely do... but perhaps that is because I'm rarely wrong :)

Who's parents do you see the most? Rich's. They only live 20 minutes away from us so we see them at least once a week. It's nice to have family nearby. I'm trying to convince at least one of my sisters to move close. We love visiting my parents though and can't wait till we see them this summer.

Who kissed who first? Rich kissed me. I knew that Rich had sort of started dating this other girl (who I happened to know from my ward the year before) yet he was still flirting with me. I had a late night class that he picked me up from every week as well. I just couldn't understand him--why was he dating someone else and flirting like mad with me? So, I finally got the courage to go over to his place (down the hall) and find out what was up. (Seriously, it took me weeks and tons of prodding by my wonderful roommates.) Once over there I was still having a really hard time bringing the subject up, but eventually asked, "what's up with us?" He basically told me that he had liked me the whole first semester and had tried dating girls... but they just weren't me. Several times he mentioned he'd like to kiss me and finally he said, "so you better stop me if you don't want this," and then went in for the kill.

Who proposed? Rich, of course. We had dated for 2 months before the semester ended. I still had 2 years of school left and Rich graduated. We both went home for the summer. He came to visit me in California sometime in July and we had decided that we would date other people when school started (he would be at OU getting his masters and I was still at BYU). After he got on the plane to head back to Oklahoma we both realized we didn't want to be without each other. I flew out to Oklahoma a month later. During this trip we talked about marriage... but didn't have an "official" proposal--no ring. I went back to BYU and changed my major so that I'd only have 1 year left to graduate. At the end of September he came out to Utah for his grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. I picked him up from the airport and we hung out all that day. We watched a movie in one of the classrooms on campus and then walked back to my apartment. He asked what I wanted to do. I didn't really care... which I think was driving him crazy. We finally decided to go up to this outdoor theatre that looks like a castle. The previous March we had danced there under the stars. Rich began to tell me that he was sorry that he didn't have this surprise he had promised me but that he had another one. He then asked when I wanted it. Well, we hadn't been back to the apartment and I didn't think he had anything with him so I just said, "I don't care. Whenever." Again. I think this was driving him crazy. All of a sudden, he was down on one knee asking me to marry him! It was wonderful! I was completely surprised.

Who is more sensitive? I am. Don't have much more to say on that subject.

Who has more friends? I do--although Rich is more friendly. Rich thinks that it's crazy that I have friends that I've known since I was 3 years old. I mean, William is 3... weird to think that he might know some of his friends for the rest of his life. Anyway, I think I'm just better at keeping in touch... probably a by-product of moving as a kid. Neither of us is very social though so we still have yet to make "couple" friends here.

Who has more siblings? I have 3 sisters and a brother... and so does Rich.

Who wears the pants in the family? I'd like to say that we are equal opportunity pants wearers. Rich is really good about letting me have my way though :)

I tag: Elise, Amy (this can be your first entry on the blog that you ARE going to start...) and whoever else wants to play.

wedding tag

My friend Traci tagged me for this new game. Here's what you do: post pictures from your wedding day and then tag 3 friends whose wedding you weren't able to attend. Here are some pictures of my wedding day:






Now, I tag Amy Jean, Rachel, and Tanya.

Tag! You're it!

I got "tagged" for two different things so here I go...

8 Random Things about Me:

1. When I was a senior in high school my sister and I went to a church dance. We took the wrong freeway on the way home and ended up driving in the shoulder toward on-coming traffic.
2. My dad and I were born in the same hospital in Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.
3. My whole life I wanted to be a teacher. My last year of college I changed my major to Marriage, Family and Human Development in order to graduate sooner. I ended up really enjoying it but it took me a long time not to cringe when asked what I studied in college.
4. Rich was my first kiss.
5. I went to EFY with and have a picture with Billy in 4C (from Dumb and Dumber).
6. I usually eat my pie: filling first, crust second.
7. I LOVE to play games... and I love to win. Rich and I can rarely play a game without having to have a rematch.
8. I am the oldest of 5 kids... 4 girls and 1 boy as the caboose.
   

Favorite four jobs I've held:

• MTC HR department
• Stay at home mom
• Mad Scrapper (scrapbook store)
• eKnowledge internet start up

Four movies I can watch over and over again:

• Return to me
• While you were sleeping
• Little Women
• Pride and Prejudice (BBC)

Four places I have lived:

• Austin, TX
• Corona, CA
• Provo, UT
• Norman, OK

Four t.v. shows I watch:

• The Office
• Lost
• Heroes
• Gilmore Girls (too bad its over!)

Four places I've been on vacation:

• California
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Utah

Four favorite foods:

• popcorn
• ice cream sandwiches
• fettuccine alfredo
• pie

Four websites I visit:

• lds.org
• feedyourfamily
• shadeclothing
• christysclipart

And I am now tagging...

all of YOU.

Have fun!