friday fotos--the longest month

Doesn't January seem like THE longest month ever?! Maybe it's just because I live in Idaho in the middle of a nearly 30 day long inversion. Every day seems bone-creaking cold and endlessly gray. Cabin fever is running rampant, and we don't even live in a cabin. Liam asks constantly: "when is the snow going to go away so I can ride my bike again?". I don't have the heart to tell him "probably not for another 6-8 weeks...".


Anyhow---




Life has been blissfully normal this week--




Here's what we've been up to:





It's the year of the Ox! We like to celebrate Chinese New Year around here. I made fortune cookies for the boys with fun fortunes in them like "You Will Rule at Rock Band". They loved them! I made one for all my blogging friends too---

only the cookie must have been too sticky when I put the fortune in, because I couldn't get it out........................

Just in case you were curious, it said : "You will be blogging this year.....I'm just guessing." :)

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A huge flock of birds visited the hot tub cover-turned-birdbath. I know this picture is only of 3 birds, but--trust me--those birds were EVERYWHERE! There were SO many, in fact, that I took this from out of my bathroom window. I didn't want to go outside with all of them....I've seen The Birds!

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Ethan had to take a sick day this week. Zane kept him company while they watched the Muppet Show. Isn't that what brothers are for? :)

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I wish there was someway to bottle and patent the laughter these two create when they play together. It's a cure-all I tell ya!--At least it cures a lot of what ails me from time to time:

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Well, I have to go do **exciting things** now.....like making papyrus out of a leek. Seriously. That's an actual classroom assignment. And I'm sure a very useful thing to know how to do.....uh huh.

~Happy Weekending!~

dear assorted annoying drivers who bothered me this week--

I've been meaning to write y'all a letter for some time now. But as you seemed especially annoying this week, I decided it couldn't wait any longer (plus it was Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt, so I'm killing two birds here---even though I would never kill a bird, but anyway....).

You!--Random Braking Woman! You are so going to get me smashing into the back of you one day. Why on earth do you feel the need to begin braking a mile before the stoplight? Or how about when you brake in the middle of the road BEFORE you put on your blinker? Yeah...that's fun. As I am prone to looking on the bright side of things, however, I must admit I am thankful that you help me know that my seatbelts are indeed in working order.

Now you!--2 Guys Driving Side by Side Going 5 Miles Under the Speed Limit and Blocking Both Lanes! I don't like you . Either of you. You made me late to step class and I had to be in the back of the room with all the new girls who tripped over their steps and fell down a lot.

Now the 3 bozos who plague me every where I go: I'm Sort of Paying Attention Dude, I'm Putting on my Make-up Lady, and Look at Me! I'm Driving with my Knees Guy. You are the reason I have Uninsured Motorist Coverage. I could be buying a new pair of shoes every month with that money--but instead I make sure that if you hit my prestigious mini-van, I would be able to get... another one (yaaaay!).

Finally you!--Driving While Texting Boy. Awwww....who am I joking? I can't be mad at you. Sadly--I have become you. And I have discovered that if you time your glancing down to push the buttons JUST RIGHT ( that would be looking down for 1 second, looking up for 2 seconds) it's totally do-able, so text on....

But the rest of you--I hope you have felt my WRATH....ooooooh!

No love,

~Jennifer P.

life a.d.

*This post is a little longer than usual. It's really just for me. But knowing that often times my experiences and what I've learned from them help others, I'm publishing it anyway. If you want to laugh--move to the next blog. If you want to hear someone think out loud, read on....

a.d. stands for after divorce.

In my mind, there is a very clear difference between my life b.d. and my life a.d.. Differences in the way I parent my children. Differences in the way I spend my free time. Differences in the kinds of things I worry about. Even differences in the kinds of food we eat and the kinds of music we listen to.

When we got married, and later when we had children, Brad and I made some pretty clear promises to one another as to how we would care for each other and how we would bring up our boys. Foremost among those was that we would live by the Christian tenants of our faith, and follow closely the advice given to us by leaders in our church. I am not perfect--I have never claimed to be--but I was always worthy. I kept the promises I made.

Brad didn't.

Only I never knew he didn't. No clue. Ignorant Bliss.

One day I was in a dream marriage, and the next day--in the time it took to have one terrible, horrible conversation--it was over. No months of decay. No years of regret. Just wonderful.... and then terrible... and then over.

I still can't bring myself to speak badly of Brad. He is, by the world's view, a really good guy. Kids of all ages love him. He's helpful and kind and funny and charismatic. If you met him, I can almost guarantee you would like him.

But part of my life a.d. is living with the after-effects of a man, a man who will always be the father of my children, who has decided he doesn't want to live his religion anymore. He still believes it, he still wants it for his kids, but he doesn't want to--or can't--live with any kind of 'restrictions' placed upon him anymore. The boys aren't stupid. They notice, and they wonder, and they bring their questions to me. Here's just one instance--

While I was in California, Brad spent time with the boys in the hot tub. Ethan saw that Brad had a tattoo on his back, one he got after our divorce. ---Now, this isn't me coming down on people with tattoos---all kinds of people I love, including my siblings, have tattoos. I'd even considered getting one myself as a teenager. But although members of my church will not be denied blessings or privileges for having a tattoo, the general advice is that our bodies are sacred and that we shouldn't 'desecrate' them.

Brad knew this.

Our boys knew this.

We taught them this together.

And now they were trying to make sense of seeing Dad tattooed. He told them he was stupid to do it, and that it wasn't cool, and that they shouldn't do it. But--does that EVER work? Saying one thing and doing another? There was a lot of confused crying involved as I tried to explain to them the consequences of our decisions. The inherent danger we all face in being free to choose for ourselves. That as hard as we try to do what is right and not create trials for ourselves, we can still be affected by the wrongs of others. All the while trying to speak in general terms without having them feel I was attacking or putting down their father.

I've already decided not to "doom" my children's futures based on the divorce, but I can't deny that everything is more challenging now. My ally deserted to the other side, or at least to neutral ground. He gave up. He stopped fighting. He changed the rules of the game.

That's life a.d..

I could, and often do, cry and/or silently scream about the whole poopy situation. I feel like the opposition is too heavy. The challenges, too big for me. Then I am still, and brought to remember..... "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:16-17).

If angels guarded Elisha because of his faithfulness, why not me? Why not my innocent boys? Why not in this battle called "daily life" we're in? Some how, some way, if I continue trusting in a Wisdom and Power greater than my own--it will all work out. For all of us. Of that I am certain.

I can't do it alone. But we are never really alone, are we?

Just think about it. And may your eyes be opened to the angels about you this day and always.

the neighborhood of make believe

When Zane was about 3, he gave up on having naps in his bed. But--like every mommy--I still needed some *Mommy time* to do important things (like play Rollercoaster Tycoon and WarCraft :) ), so I let Zane transition into "quiet time". I would put him on the couch with his blanket and pillow and have him watch two shows. Two very carefully selected shows--JayJay the JetPlane to entertain him, followed by Mr. Rogers which was mellow enough that he would usually fall asleep before it was over.

Except that one afternoon.....

when I heard a blood-curtling, somebody-is-torturing my child kind of scream coming from the living room. I ran out, my heart racing, to find little Zane hiding beneath his pillow and, through his sobs, repeating "I don't like Corny! I don't like Corny!"

Corny? What? Huh? I looked over at the television and saw that Mr. Rogers was visiting the Neighborhood of Make Believe, where one of the residents just happened to be Cornflake Especially (AKA "Corny"--the 'thing' on Mr. Rogers right hand).


You have to admit he IS a bit creepy, no?
Zane, now 11, will laugh at that story today... but in that kind of laugh that says--"yeah, that was hilarious, but you STILL better not make me look at that puppet!"

Anyway,

with that being my history, I about rolled off my chair when I came across a poem about Corny this week. Enjoy.....

II. I'M A MAN WHO MANUFACTURES

I'm some sort of gopher or mole.
Cornflake Especially.
A Midwestern Conglomerate.
A puppet. A magnate.
I own a factory.
I make chairs.
I look a bit like Jimmy Carter, but it's the 70's, so it's easy to say that.
I'm a man who manufactures chairs. And everywheres.
There's a song about it.
I fight with community members (puppets) who are not productive:
the owl, the witch-lady, the king.
I may have fought with the king.
It's hard to be a post-industrial capitalist in a rather sloppy monarchy,
everyone named after the days of the week....

~Arielle Greenberg

Do you gals have a favorite Neighborhood of Make Believe memory (or as Henrietta Pussycat would say: meow, meow favorite meow, meow memory)?

pathetic friday fotos....but there is a game involved!

I was just in gorgeous Southern California this week. I met lots of great, photogenic people. I drove by the beach. There were palm trees. We went and did and saw. Photo opportunities abounded---and every time, I forgot my camera. I got some really bad quality phone pictures, but that was about it. Except one.



Here is the extent of Friday Fotos this week.......

a blurry picture of Haute Cakes Mystery Man in his kitchen taken about an hour before I left. Meaningful, eh? (Although I'm certain if HCMM looks at this picture very carefully, he can find something in it that should really bother him ;).......).

I did get a few other cute pictures of Haute Cakes putting together a train set with his little boy-- but HCMM's kids are still a topic I won't let myself get into yet. One day, maybe, because he is a pretty amazing dad.

----And so if you were tuning in to see anything of interest in my life this week, sorry . Hey! At least I didn't make you read poetry! (yeah....saving that torture for Monday....).-----

Let's play a game before you go though!!!---if you leave me a comment, check back and I will tell you--on the same comment feed-- what I would have named you if you had been my child, based on your avatar. FUN.....RIGHT?! :)

I amuse myself anyway!

~Happy Weekending!~

an open letter to president obama

Dear New President Obama,



I think I speak for millions of women raising the ~Future of America~ when I say that there are some disturbing issues and inconsistencies that we must deal with on a daily basis. We appeal to you in hopes that you can address these issues during your term as Public Servant in Chief.:











1. Why does freaking everything on Blue's Clues talk....including the drawer.....

but Blue doesn't? And furthermore-- why, when everything about this dog screams BOY, did they make him a her?

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2. Why does Dora tell me (and my children, of course) "Great Job! You're Right!" when we don't even attempt to answer her pointless questions or follow her pointless commands (*is this a dog? can you say dog? say it louder! louder!--DOG!*). I am certain this makes my younger children feel that in order to be validated with words of praise, they have to do.......nothing.
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3. On "Arthur", Francine owns a cat (I couldn't find a picture of it---but it's black and white and it's name is Nemo.)

And yet Francine is also friends with a cat named Sue Ellen that walks and talks. Huh?!

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4. Why is this man so smoking hot?!?!



(and this is really him out of his costume, so at least I knew I wasn't wrong looking past the spandex and handlebar moustache all these months..... :) ).

(and can you sign some kind of executive order that would make him come rescue me in his blimp when I need, uh, help winning my imaginary soccer match ;) ?....)

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5. Why is it that every boy in my house from age 2 to age 11 can't take their eyes off these things? Boobahs run around, fart, and fall down. And yet---they're mesmerizing. I am of the opinion Al-qaeda must have been somehow involved in their creation......

6. And President Obama, if you happen to get four more years---you might attempt to begin to maybe address the mystery of these.... (quick! close your eyes if you have nightmares!)

We are certain, Mr. President, that you will place equal importance on answering these questions as you do on repairing our nation's economy and installing a basketball court in the White House.

Thank You,

~ The Mom's Who Let Their Kids Watch Children's Programming

(*any questions about your kid's favorite shows YOU want to add?!)

my serious face and my smiling face look awfully similar....

Back from California! It was another fantabulously splendid time just hanging with Haute Cakes and his friends and family. Yeah--it was also 80 degrees there. That would be an 8 and a 0. It is 26 here. Like 6 more than 20. Needless to say I'm a *little chilly* upon my return.....


In addition to visiting HCMM, I got to do something REALLY fun......pose near piles of dog poop, and lie down in a dirty alley way in my clean white Ann Taylor shirt. And laugh and laugh and laugh about it!
All part of the afternoon I spent with one of my dear blogging friends, Kamee. She wrote the sweetest post all about it (scroll down to the second one on her blog if you want to read about the blog-lationship she and I have had!). I'm not a terribly photogenic person, but she got some really good shots---and I love the memories made with each one!!!

I think everyone should have a picture of themselves that they like---and if you're ever in Orange County, you should for sure have that picture taken by Kamee June Photography.

Thanks for the great time Kamee and the great 'tribute' to me too :)! Love ya!

friday fotos--plus the itunes winnah!

Enjoying the last week of calm before school starts up again......sigh. Good bye sleep!--It's been fun getting re-acquainted with you this month. See you again in April!

OK!--Enough of my bellyaching! (I love occasion to use that word :)). Here's what we've been up to this week:


RockBand continues. I am SO going to pimp these two out like they were the Jonas Brothers. I'd say another year of practice on this game and then I send them out on the road......heh heh!

Loved this picture of Mom Peterson reading a poem to all the young grandkids on New Years. (there's you too Karli! Looking good girl :)!)

James will NOT put this guitar down! He even goes around singing "put out da red liiiiight! put out da red liiiiiight!" and the occasional "eh! oh! let's go!". Guess he'll have to hit the road with his brothers too!

I have always gotten after my older boys to NOT spray silly string in the house. So what did I do? Waited till they were distracted by a game..... then totally unloaded on them with a can of silly string! HA! What good are my own rules if I can't break them, right :)? There was silly string EVERYWHERE though (including my ceiling!) 1 hour of clean up for 3 minutes of fun.......totally worth it!

This is my good friend Heidi and I at Chuck E. Cheese. Normally I'm at least *pretty good* at Dance Dance Revolution, but this was a different dancing game.....and we somehow ended up playing on the hard level. Both of us are trained dancers, but this thing TOTALLY kicked our bums!

It almost looks like I beat her here..... :) . I don't think anyone really won, even with all our kids helping!

Idaho.......'nuff said:

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***AND NOW FOR THE CONTEST WINNER*** I entered everyone who got 6 or more of the songs right, assigned them a number, then had Zane draw. And the winner is.....#4....JENNERS!!!! Yay! Good playing ladeez! I was ever so impressed that you knew even the old Erasure and Ace of Base stuff! Jenners, contact the email linked off my profile, and I'll send you your gift card!

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Now as for me, if I don't get around to read your blogs this weekend, it's because I've made a return visit to California. I mean, how could I NOT want to spend time with her? And also with a guy who looks amazing in a pink suit and his mom's wig? (yeah....that'd be Haute Cakes Mystery Man :) ).....

See ya Monday!

~Happy Weekending!~

happy birthday elena!

Once upon a time, I used my blog to wish everyone and their children Happy Birthday! And then I got divorced . and went back to school. and stopped sleeping. and I think my head exploded---because I suddenly kept forgetting about people's birthdays! (and I hardly ever forget stuff!).

Anyway, this is one birthday I won't miss----because it's one of my dearest friends----one I've known for way too long considering I'm only 23 ;)---and the one who got me blogging in the first place!

Happy 33rd Birthday to my friend who is so cool she wears a guitar while baking a pie! :)

Love ya Elena!!!!

can you keep up with my random taste in music?

**GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!**



Jori-O had the greatest blog post running yesterday. She had put up the first two lines to random songs off of her ipod, and challenged us to guess the name of the song and the artist. I am usually AWESOME with song lyrics (freaky elephant brain of mine...), but I was actually stumped by several of hers--and late on commenting-- so the easy ones were already guessed.



ANYWAY---I wanted to offer the same challenge to my readers. EXCEPT, beware---my taste in music can be rather random......so don't think you'll be guessing all out of one genre' here!



I'm going to put my ipod (ok--SanDisk mp3 player) on random here and pull up 15 songs. Then, I'll give you the first two lines. You give me the name of the song and the artist, and for any or all of you who get them right, one of you will win a $15 i Tunes gift card.





YAAAAAY! I love giveaways! I love music! Let's rock!.........



1. I'm bringing sexy back/ them other boys don't know how to act (easy start!)



2. Words like violence, break the silence/ they come crashing in, into my little world



3. The speed of light slows down as a feather hits the ground/And nothing else gets through, it's always faster than it sounds



4. In the club with my homies, tryin' to get a little VI (?)/ keep it down on the low key, 'cause you know how it feels/ I said shorty she was checkin' up on me.... (gave you an extra line there because I wasn't so sure about the first one)



5.Ladies leave your man at home/ the club is full of ballers and their pockets full of chrome/and all you fellas leave your girl with her friends 'cause it's 11:30 and the club is.....



6. I gotta new life, you would hardly recognize me I'm so glad. How could a person like me care for you?/ Why do I bother when you're not the one for me? (ooooooooh ooooooh ooooooh).



7. Broke into the old apartment, this is where we use to live./ Broken glass, broke and hungry, broken hearts and broken bones



8. We'll be together again. I've been waiting for a long time. / We're gonna be, we're gonna be together again. I've been connected to the right line.



9. I'm the kind of girl who hangs with the guys/ like a fly on the wall with my secret eyes.



10.Don't move, don't talk out of time, don't think, don't worry, everything's just fine.......just fine/Don't grab, don't clutch, don't hope for too much, don't breathe, don't achieve, or grieve without leave

11.Yo! Listen up here's the story/ about a little guy that lives in a blue world

12.I waited till I saw the sun, I don't know why I didn't come/ I left you by the house of fun, I don't know why I didn't come

13. La la la, la la la la la. La la la, la la la la la./ I just can't get you outta my head, boy your lovin' is all I think about.

14. When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you/ When I go out, yeah I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you.

15. Are these times contagious? I've never been this bored before. /Is this the prize I've waited for?
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*****And just keeping it honest here, ladies: I skipped over a lot of my songs......because they were jazz or classical, and I didn't know how many of you could guess "bump, bee bump, ba du bu bump". Also, I totally skipped over Zombie by The Cranberries, because I just had not a clue what she was saying!!!

---GOOD LUCK! WINNER ANNOUNCED AFTER DRAWING ON FRIDAY! ---

i am in a hot new relationship....with phabio

I'm a simple girl. Kind of baffled by and largely uninterested in a lot of modern technology.

Here's a funny story that illustrates that fact: Back in 1998, we moved into an apartment that had a garbage disposal---the first one I'd ever had. After about a week, it made a horrible sound (I think it went something like "kkkkkkkkkkwannnkag-thud") and stopped working. Brad reached his hand in to try and figure out what was wrong, and proceeded--with a confused look on his face-- to pull out all manner of stuff: Gogurt wrappers, paper towels, egg shells.

Uh....yeah.....I guess I have to admit to the world, that I thought the garbage disposal was for-----garbage. All kinds of small garbage. Darn that modern technology!

Fast forward to today and here is a picture of my old phone:


I did not choose it based on it's features, but because it was pink. It worked absolutely fine for me, except for--with the increasing amount of texting I seemed to be doing (is it just me or is EVERYONE texting now a days?!?!)-- the 3 key system was a little *time consuming.*

While I was in California, Haute Cakes Mystery Man happened to show me an extra phone he had laying around. It was beefy. and sleek. and silver. and available. and it totally sweet talked me......

I plunged right into this relationship with my new Treo, whom I named Phabio the Phone. Except, well, I'm coming to realize that my phone might just be too much man for me. Like giving a 16 year old the keys to a new Ferarri (or maybe in my case, a 6 year old!).

----He is highly complicated.---- Like a good woman, I want to understand him, but why oh why Phabio do you do stuff like this:

*suddenly start to blare a song by Yellowcard as I'm grocery shopping. Everyone in the baking aisle is staring at me, but I don't know where the Yellowcard music is located or why it has turned on---so I just kind of push a bunch of buttons and finally turn the phone off.

*On New Years Eve, Phabio decides to send out the text "Happy New Year you!" to a friend.....17 times......until friend has to call and make sure I'm OK.

*While at the movie, Phabio must be bored just hanging out in my pocket and decides to try and beam Muse's "Supermassive Blackhole" to everyone in the theatre.

Frustrated and confused, I was about to end my relationship with Phabio, when he redeemed himself by bonding with my children. They discovered he contained the game Bubble Breaker, and now everyone fights over who gets to be with Phabio first. I also discovered that Phabio gives me sweet, gentle reminders of stuff that needs to get taken care of during the day. I love a man who helps me stay organized.

So, I'm keeping him.

Forever and ever.

Because I don't want to ever have to learn to use another electronic device in my life.

Now you'll have to excuse me while I go throw this yogurt container in the garbage disposal......

yeah, so i'm just a tad bit ocd

(random Google picture of "messy room".....not mine :))
It's true---I AM just a tad bit ocd.

or *CDO* as I like to call it.... so all the letters are in alphabetical order....just the way they should be :).

Actually, I can -- and often do -- live in the midst of chaos created so effortlessly by 4 boys and assorted amounts of their friends coming in and out of the house. But there are certain things that I really like to be a "certain way". Even if my floor is strewn with toys and crumbs and abandoned binkies, I like to look across it all and see that *my chairs are all pushed in the same amount up to my table. *That my barstools are in a straight line. *That all the pens in my pen cup are pointing nub down.* That the centerpiece on my table is centered underneath the chandelier. Yeah.....maybe I do need a little help. But things like that are reminders to me that there really is a semblance of order to my house that's easy to put back together by the time every one's in bed or I know someone is going to stop by. That whatever is done can be undone in a matter of minutes, and not days or weeks.

Here's what I'm really trying to get at though-----

I have another thing that I reeeeeeeeeeally like---and that's numbers. Nice, even round numbers. And right now I have 95 followers. 95. ick. Not ick to the followers--I LOOOOOVE them(!) But ick to the number. Can 5 more people please throw me up on their follow list and bring it up to a nice, even 100...... so I can sleep at night again.

Oh thank you, thank you, thank you.....

And now tell me (please!) do you have any, um, 'rigid tendencies'? Certain ways you like things? Toilet paper going over or under? ( except that if you say under---you're totally wrong and I WILL change it if I use your bathroom) :).

~Thank ye kindly~

*sidenote: I realize that OCD is a debilitating illness for some, and in making light of it....I'm not making light of it.

friday fotos....part II, mystery man comes to idaho

So, I'm sure y'all can figure out that this is a bit more than just a friday fotos. It's also another little chapter in that story that I'm writing with this amazing guy who I managed to find through a really cool twist of fate. So much I'd like to tell you girlies about all of it----but for as much of an open book as I am on this blog, something in me is holding a lot of the details back for now. One day, when it feels right, I'll tell you everything! For now, just enjoy as much of the story as I feel I can let out :).

Haute Cakes Mystery Man (in case you haven't been following along) lives in California. Welcome to Idaho in December Haute Cakes......

Good thing he's spent some time in snowy locations and didn't go into complete shock! He even shoveled my driveway for a mere cup of hot chocolate. And I got to peek at him from out of my window. And drool just a little.

One of the main reasons for Mystery Man's visit was for him to be able to meet the boy squad. This was not a decision I made lightly. I do not intend, if I continue to pursue dating at all, to bring men willy-nilly in and out of my children's lives. I decided I'd need to know him for 3 months before I'd let him meet my kids. He was all for that (thank goodness!).

And how did it go?

****Smashingly****

The man is a kid magnet I tell you!!! He can play RockBand like nobody's business.....

Make some pretty sweet balloon creations.....

Was a competitive break dancer in his younger days, and was willing to try and teach us a few moves.....

We're still sporting the bruises from our attempts to learn (me included! Don't try spinning around on your back unless you're willing to deal with a little pain ladies :) ).

Haute Cakes Mystery Man also taught everyone card and magic tricks. He braved the Chuck E. Cheese with us. He was charmingly himself when he met a few of my family members and friends--including my sister-in-law whom he stayed with. He didn't mind that most of our plans got ruined by the insane amount of snow that kept falling and falling and falling. He played my piano and sang to me (good thing he was there to scrape up the puddle of melted goo that was left of me after that encounter!). He worked on his laptop while I cooked dinner as I sang along badly to Frank Sinatra. And it was just so.... comfortable. Overall, he proved himself to be the perfect mix of kid at heart and responsible adult I knew he was.

It seems like all too soon he was packing up his things to go.....

But not before we took one last picture----

And I don't even care if it's all blurry because Ethan was our photographer, and if I resemble a drunk woman that poor Haute Cakes Mystery Man is trying to hold up.....because I look HAPPY gall darn it :)!

And he and I look pretty nice together, huh?!

Scary, crazy, wonderful all at the same time.

And that's about all I have to say about that. :)

friday fotos....on monday (part I)

So having done very little blogging since Christmas (like the rest of the blog world I soon discovered as I made my rounds this weekend!), I have a lot of Friday Fotos to get up. I also have nothing to blog about currently---so we're just going to pull out a few days of Friday Fotos. I thought I'd cover all the **holiday festivities** today and move on to Haute Cakes Mystery Man's visit to Idaho tomorrow.

Sound like a deal? (like you have a choice oh captive audience! mwahahahaha!)

WARNING! There are a lot of pictures here. Scroll and scan people.....scroll and scan :).


Lots of snow this year! Second snowiest December on record in fact. One day I looked out the window and saw Zane shoveling the neighbor's driveway and sidewalk. He was out there for over an hour, and when he came back in said: "Whew! That felt good! I just felt like doing a little service!" LOVE this kid!!!

Then he shoveled our driveway:
and he and his brothers made a snowman:

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So these next pictures got a little out of order and I don't feel like fooling with the HTML right now, so we'll just work in reverse order:

Christmas morning found us Rockbanding....a LOT! I now hear "Dead or Alive" even in my deepest sleep---a 9 year old voice version of Dead or Alive even!

I think Zane's face says it all! We have wanted this game for a while now. I would have been practicing by myself on the nights leading up to Christmas so I could keep up with the kids, but...yeah....I needed them to set it all up for me :)

Love the Christmas chaos! Love my kids! Love that my kids think new toothbrushes are just as cool as toys.

Stockings first:

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New Years Day we went out to Mom and Dad Peterson's place to party with the extended fam.. Farmers really know how to live it up in the winter time!:

Liam lost in the sea of grandchild presents. Snowglobes for everyone!

I don't know if you ever read the blog Mikell, but I think your hubby looks like he belongs in Twilight in this picture. Is he sparkling, hmmmmm.....Very Cullen-esque! :) (also had to stick it up because I love how it looks like Mom P. is not going to give that stuffed Scooby Doo up for anything!).

A sea of people---including Kefford and Elizabeth (hi Elizabeth!)--- before the best stealing of a present EVER! Good arm Elizabeth! I never knew anyone could throw Almond Rocca like that!

James with his highly nutritious snack.....still so cute I could just kiss his cheeks off!

Guess where the food is in this picture :)?..............

And that's part I for ya! I'd wish you ~Happy Weekending~, but it is only Monday, so some among you might find that a tad bit depressing. How 'bout we try: ~HAPPY MONDAY!~ :)