Dear Charlotte...

Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

5 Things I Have Listed in My Etsy Shop This Week (click on the picture if you want to see more pictures of something):

Summer Nights Necklace
Young Women's Value Bracelet

Go Green Necklace (Okay, so I sold it to my sister...)

Enchanted Earrings

South Pacific Necklace

Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

5 Names the Kids Have Suggested for Chicken Little's Real Name
1 - Maryanda
2 - Squirt
3 - Chicken Little
4 - Sparkles
5 - Hearties

Not So Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Okay, so it isn't Friday, but I missed it this week. I had planned on posting this, but I never got around to it, so here it is. Consider it a special Sunday surprise!

Blowing Smoke and Dandelions
5 Pics from Memorial Day Weekend

And yes, we are proud that Daddy's a smoker. ;)

The Peanut Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

My friend Raina has a sidebar on her blog with funny things her kids say and/or do. I like that idea because heaven knows I'm awful at recording such things! So, being the copycat that I am, I am stealing the idea. (Um, thanks Raina!) On the side of my blog, you will now find "The Peanut Gallery" which will be updated periodically with little glimpses of the funny things my kids (and perhaps occasionally other kids I know) say. Enjoy!

Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:21:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Holy Cheeseball Batman, it's Friday already?!

5 Books That Have (Possibly) Changed My Outlook on Life:

1 - The Book of Mormon
2 - tuesdays with Morrie
3 - The View From Saturday
4 - The Ordinary Princess
5 - Inherit the Wind

Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

5 Things I Want Just for My Selfish Self:
1 - Honda Pilot
2 - Week-long vacation in Hawaii sans children
3 - a Maid (who doesn't?)
4 - Day at a really nice spa
5 - 1 lb of chocolate from Mom's Kandy Kitchen that I don't have to share

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Heaven on Earth is...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Before-ish Bathroom

Today Bathroom, as in AFTER, as in DONE

It may not be large and luxurious, but to me this is DEFINITELY a little piece of heaven on earth!

Friday Five

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

I've decided to start adding some kind of list of five to my blog every Friday. Okay, it might not happen every Friday, but I'll try...

So, in honor of Mother's Day, this week's Friday Five is:

5 Reasons I Love Being a Mom

1 - How could you not love those sweet faces in the post below this?
2 - Watching my kids learn new things is so exciting!
3 - All the hugs and kisses I can steal.
4 - The sound of children's laughter often fills my home.
5 - The joy and excitement they have in the simple things of life help me to remember what is important and makes me so happy!

A Little Safety Matter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Since I don't really want to make my blog private, I've decided to start referring to the chilluns by nicknames. But I don't want to use nicknames that they actually respond to. For a little background, you ought to know that we give names to our children while they are still en utero. And I don't mean normal names. Ben picked #1, #1 picked #2, and #2 helped pick #3. These are the names I'll be using from now on, and I am in the process of going back and changing old posts.

So here we have
Ricochet

Turtle

and Chicken Little.

Back to School Already? You Betcha!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:14:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Yesterday I decided to do a little back to school shopping. It is indeed only April. BUT with some of the deals going on at the outlet mall, I couldn't help it. So here is what I got:2 pairs of jeans from Carters
The rest is from The Children's Place:
1 Skirt and 2 sets of leggings2 pairs of gloves and 1 hat (hat and 1 pair gloves for Turtle)
2 pairs of super cute, not to mention SPARKLY pants

3 cute sweaters, one of which is, of course, sparkly
3 long sleeve tees - one is a thermal fabric with mandatory sparkle
2 turtlenecks and a cute dressier shirt
I also got her 1 pair of flipflops for the summer, which were the only things she was allowed to wear before school starts, which is why there is no picture because I can't find them now.

So, for 6 shirts, 3 sweaters, 4 pairs of pants, 1 skirt, 2 sets of leggings, 2 pairs of gloves, 1 hat, and 1 pair of flip flops, how much did I spend? IF I had paid retail prices (which, of course, I wouldn't do), the grand total including tax would have been $271.72.

I don't have that kind of money. I only spent $51.92 - A "savings" of $219.80. She's already got short sleeve shirts if she doesn't want long sleeve, so there ya go. And unless she needs new shoes by then, school shopping is D-O-N-E.

Introducing...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:32:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Introducing Little Baby Ray (who has yet to be given a nickname):

Confessions:

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Ricochet has been sporting the same hairdo for three days. Not that I've done the same hairdo on her for three days, but that I never took it out.

The dishes have been waiting to be washed for the same amount of time.

Yesterday we all stayed in our pajamas until Ben called and said he was coming home from work soon.

Ssshhhhh! Don't tell my kids I'm a bad mom and they'll never figure it out, right?

Sprinter

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:00:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Last weekend the weather was so incredibly nice that we couldn't help but to go on a bike ride (much to the dismay of my poor out of shape buttoxide) and have a picnic and spend almost all of Friday and Saturday outside. Today we woke up to about 5 inches of snow and it's still coming down. My neighbor calls it "Sprinter." I call it unacceptable. Don't tease me with good weather! And here I am living in a town where it has been known to snow in the middle of June. Please pass the global warming.
That is all.

My husband thinks I'm crazy....and you probably will too

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:09:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

I don't really know what's gotten into me, but I got this idea and now Ben thinks I've gone off the deep end. Maybe I have, I don't know. So I was thinking, why don't we use cloth diapers on this new baby? Not the takes-20-minutes-to-fold-them-and-have-to-be-careful-not-to-stick-your-kid-with-a-pin cloth diapers of years ago, but modern cloth diapers. Did you know they make cloth diapers now that are practically like disposables? Diapers like bumGenius and Mommy's Touch and Kissaluvs. I think I'm even open to doing plain old prefolds with covers sometimes. There are several reasons I've been considering this, like:
1 - Even to buy the nice ones, it is cheaper than using the cheap disposables. (Although it's an up-front cost instead of spread over the months and years) Plus, if you have more children, the cost is even lower because you can use many of the same diapers and products.
2 - It's better for the environment.
3 - It's better for the baby. It's crazy how many harmful chemicals there are in disposable diapers. I was amazed at the things I learned when I started looking into it. Seriously - google it and see for yourself.
4 - For some reason, it doesn't sound that bad! =)

Ben thinks I couldn't handle cleaning the poop off, but guess what? I have to wipe the poop off the kid's butt anyway, right? And you can hook this sprayer thing - basically like a vegetable sprayer for the kitchen sink - up to the plumbing on your toilet. No dunking, just spray it off and wash them every couple of days! And if you're out and about, use a flushable liner and whala! the mess goes down the john!

See? I knew you'd think I'm crazy! So now's your chance to make your opinion known - take the poll on the side of my blog to let me know if I have really lost it or not!

For Those Who Haven't Heard...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Turtle has an announcement:

"I going be a big brudder!"

If Only...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:42:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

I've been thinking a bit about Ricochet starting Kindergarten next year. I know we're in a good district, but sometimes I still wonder about her being able to adjust to the classroom and all that comes with SCHOOL. I've never really been into private schools, but there is this one...
Let me tell you about the Colby School. But first, let me tell you about how it started. Way back in once upon a time time when I was in early middle school, we had a handful of outstanding teachers. They were the kind of teachers you hope your kids have (and I was lucky to have). They took a very hands-on approach to learning and were very student-oriented. They actually and truly cared about us as students (which is often rare after elementary school, I think). Even as a middle schooler, I could sense their uniqueness and difference from other teachers. But they became increasingly frustrated and hedged in by the public school system and all of the politics and requirements that came along with it. They got tired of dealing with serving the interests of the powers that be rather than the students. And then they left. Three or four of them. I can think of three specifically, but I think there were four. They set up a private school that focuses (amazingly) on the students and what is the best way for each individual to learn. It was very small at first and has grown over the years. At this point they serve preschool-8th graders. They integrate different subjects together. They let students experiment and discover the learning methods that work for them and share with the other students. The older students and younger students work and learn together on occasion. They have a sense of community with the entire school and more specifically within each grade. They foster respect and service and responsibility. It's an incredible school founded by some incredible teachers. I don't think any of those teachers are actually teaching now, but I'm sure they hold their current teachers to just as high of standards. It's the kind of learning environment where I think both of my children (with their vastly different attention spans and personalities) could thrive. I've told Ben, if we ever come to a point where we feel like we need to send our kids to a private school, I want it to be the Colby School. So I thought, hmmmmm, I wonder how much tuition is: $11,500 for a kindergartner - and that doesn't include uniforms and other incidentals. Obviously, I'll never be able to send my kids there, but it's one of those things that is on my "if only..." list.

Pay It Forward

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:09:00 +0000

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift/treat from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!

15% Budget Cuts?!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,
Utah's state legislature wants to make a 15% budget cut and one thing they are discussing is renegotiating teachers' salaries. Governor Huntsman is pushing for 7%, but unfortunately some of the legislators are not as generous as him. If you believe in Utah's children, please email/call your legislator and express your feelings and solutions. The legislative session begins Monday. Thanks!

Wouldn't it be nice?

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:55:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,
I just ran across the best job in the world. SOMEBODY is going to be paid $105,000 to live in beautiful Australia for six months and blog about how awesome it is. No, really. It's not even a joke. Here is the link. I could totally go for this. I wonder if Ben would consider skipping the first four months of work next year? Or if the school would even let him....Heck! We'll live off of the pay for a year and THEN he can go back to work, eh?

A Little Hair Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:53:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Here are a few hairdos we've done over the last couple of months. No, I do not ALWAYS do updos and put flowers in, but apparently that's the only time I take pictures. Enjoy!

These next two are from a Sunday when my niece and nephew were visiting, so I got to do her hair too. She has long, thick hair (much unlike my own little princess) and it was fun to do her hair, although it took longer too. They both wanted hair flowers, so they got 'em.
And lastly, this is a sneaky little way to do a curly hair-looking do without having to curl and trying to get the curls to stay in (a real challenge her at our abode). Here is where I learned how to do it. Ricochet's hair was a little short for it, but I'm thinking that if it's longer by my sister's wedding, this might be the way we go.

Halloween at Last!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:18:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Yes, that title says Halloween. Yes it's been almost two months. Yes I'm only now getting around to posting pictures. Se la vie.
First and foremost, if you know what this is a picture of, you must have a little girl in your life. Here at our palace (that's a fancy word for castle) we LOVE this book. What book is it? Why, Fancy Nancy of course! In the book, Nancy, who loves to be fancy, gives her family lessons on being fancy, dresses them up and they all go out for pizza. A very fun and delightful (that's a fancy word for good) book that even Ben enjoys. So for Halloween we decided to dress up as Nancy's family. Only, she has a little sister and we happen to have a little brother. Although we considered dressing the little man up just like Nancy's little sister, we decided to let him retain a bit of dignity instead. So we improvised on a fancy little man and he played the part - strutting all over the place, flashing hand signals, saying, "yo, yo, yo." Ricochet, of course, got to be Nancy. And if you're wondering, yes, I did sew each of those ruffles on her dress. No, not by hand. What do you think I am - a seamstress? She was simply darling. So without further ado, here we are - Christmas ball earrings and all! (See, now I've tied it into Christmas so it's a perfect December post, right?)

You're Invited...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 16:33:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

Ben found this wedding invitation online and I couldn't not share it. Click on it to read it. Enjoy!

My 8 Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:40:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

My cousin Rush, whom I have to promise not to hate, tagged me a while ago so I thought maybe I should get around to it. I'm supposed to list my top 8 choices in the following categories:

TV Shows
Um, I don't really watch TV. The only television that happens around here is PBS Kids in the morning. And that's just cuz I need a little mommy time and have become addicted to the electronic babysitter. I do tend to watch American Idol when it's on. Soooo.....here's my list:
1. American Idol
2. Dragon Tales (which has been removed to make space for "Sid the (politically correct and musical, not to mention way above age level) Science Kid. Sorry NCLB, but I don't really think my 5 year old needs to learn about "reversible change." So sue me.
3. Extreme Makeover Home Edition when I'm with my parents and it's on
4. Clifford
5. Reading Rainbow
6. and
7. er
8. yeah

That pretty much sums it up.

Restaurants
Let me tell you about my husband. He grew up in a restaurant. No, like literally. His father owned 4 in his lifetime that I know of. Whenever we go out to eat, we might as well be professional food/restaurant critics. It's not my fault. I try to enjoy a new place without analyzing the atmosphere/service/food/prices to death, but Ben has ruined me. Don't get me wrong - we love food. But we're cheap. So I don't think there's a single really expensive restaurant on my list (well, #7 is getting up there for us), but there is a lot of good food!
1. Grumpy's BBQ (my late father in law's REAL bbq in Montana - the best pulled pork EVER)
2. Wingers
3. Costa Vida
4. Carl's Junior (exclusively for the Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger - mmmmmmmmm)
5. Crown Burger (gyros - YUM!)
6. Some Mexican place we used to go to in Sandy - the name escapes me now
7. Braza Grill (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than Rodizio)
8. Citrus Grill (try the artichoke dip and you'll be hooked)

Things That Happened Yesterday
1. Got an old filling replaced at the dentist
2. Actually vacuumed
3. Babysat the easiest one year old ever (hence the vacuuming)
4. Disappointed my husband by (once again) not having any dinner made (or even planned)
5. Stayed up later than I ought
6. Grew a third arm
7. K not really
8. But I can't even remember anything else from yesterday

Things to Look Forward To
1. Christmas
2. Having a bathroom
3. 2 Weeks of having Ben home
4. Finding a renter
5. Making a killing selling Miche Bags
6. Sledding
7. The lights at Temple Square
8. Mason in kindergarten, or better yet - college.

Love About Fall
1. Wearing long sleeved shirts
2. The colors
3. Wassail
4. Hot Chocolate
5. Halloween
6. Ben's Birthday
7. Crisp Air
8. Um.......I'm not very good at coming up with 8 things and fall really isn't my favorite season

Wish List
1. A bathroom
2. Go on a cruise
3. Visit Europe
4. Have a book published by a reputable publisher
5. Sell our condo
6. To never have to plan or make dinner again
7. To foresee the future
8. Have the drive to actually exercise every day instead of just thinking about it
9. I'm stealing another one to make up for the fall list: Children who listen...and obey.

Tag 8 People
1. Missy
2. Liz
3. Rebecca
4. Tarah
5. Mel
6. Ashley
7. Stacy
8. Lesley

Have at it and good luck!

Blankets for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:44:00 +0000

Dear Charlotte,

My sister posted this on her blog and I thought I'd spread the love, so here ya go:

It is that time of year again when it is important that we reach out to those in need and lend a helping hand. My mother and I are continuing our tradition of providing fleece blankets to elementary children in need. As you may or may not know, my mom teaches character education to inner-city elementary kids in the Salt Lake area. Last year during one of her lessons on traditions she showed the students a picture of a little girl on Santa's lap and asked them what they thought she was asking him for. A little boy in kindergarten responded immediately by saying that she was asking for a blanket. My mom responded by asking why, and the little boy said, "Because her body shakes and wakes her up at night because she is cold." She took that not as the imagination of a child, but as a voice of experience. The children she teaches do not often have the necessities of life and we would like to help them be warm this Christmas season. Our goal this year is to provide fleece blankets for at least 125 children in need of warmth and love. Our endeavor last year was absolutely wonderful as we saw the joy on the faces of the children when they came back into their classrooms after recess to find a gift from Santa. If you are able to donate even a dollar to this cause, we would greatly appreciate your donation in helping these children stay warm and letting them know that they are loved.

Please pass the word to anyone you think may be interested. We will be delivering these blankets anonymously before the holiday break. If you would like to donate, please respond to blanketsforchristmas@gmail.com. We know that everyone is enduring hard times with the low economy but would greatly appreciate your support and efforts. More importantly, the children will appreciate your generosity and will learn a lesson of charity that will stay with them throughout their lives. Thank you for your time and support in our endeavor.

It really is a great cause for some truly needy kids, so if you could help out, that would be wicked awesome. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Bazaar

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah or someone like her) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:36:00 +0000

Yesterday I spent the whole day doing a Christmas Bazaar at Hill AF Base with Stacy. And it was so much fun! The day started with us being late. When we got there, we had to show our IDs, so they could make sure we were on the clearance list to get in. The officer told Stacy her name wasn't on the list, but he had this smirk on his face and we thought he was joking or trying to flirt with her. Nope. He was serious. So we had to jump through some hoops to get in and then we were even more late. We finally got set up and ready to go. This was my first boutique selling Miche Bags, so mostly I was just learning the ropes from THE AMAZING STACY. It was fun to talk to people and watch their reactions when we peeled the covers off of the purses and put a new one on. Most the time it was a look of amused surprise.

My favorite customer of all was this cute cute young couple. They came around early in the day and we could tell she really liked the purses and wanted one and he was just watching her. They didn't end up buying anything. But then an hour or so later, he comes back and says, "I just had to wait until she left so I could surprise her!" And he bought her a purse and was so cute - he knew just which shells she wanted because he'd been watching her check it all out the first time.

And then there was this lady selling WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN and yummy yummy caramel and fudge. Mmmmmm. Obviously I couldn't resist. All in all, it was a great day.

I wish I could say the same about the evening. The show ended at 6. It took us about an hour to clean up and split money/inventory and everything. We were both pooped from a long day, even though we had a great time. And oh yes, did I mention yesterday was also Ben's birthday? I'm an awful wife. But I'm thinking I'll get home around 8 and we'll be able to spend a little time together. Stacy and I had met in Bountiful, where we left my car and then drove in together. So when we got to Bountiful to pick up my car, we transferred all of my stuff to my trunk and shut it. "All of my stuff" accidentally happened to include my keys. And I had not yet unlocked the doors. Luckily we have roadside assistance. I call the number (conveniently located on the window, thank you very much) and they said I'd get a call letting me know how long it would be. I'm thinking 10-15 minutes. So Stacy (who thank heavens hadn't left yet!) and I drove across the street to Taco Bell to something to eat. Meanwhile I get the call - FORTY-FIVE MINUTES! So we went to Sizzler instead. I order steak and a salad bar. The cashier asks me if I "want a coke?" "I'll just have water," I answer. Um, actually he had asked me how I wanted it cooked, so he and Stacy proceeded to make fun of me, of course. Yes, I was tired.

Anyway, long story long, we ate, I spilled food all over myself, we met the locksmith, I got in my car and drove home. Kind of a crazy night. But I do have a box of yummy caramels and a bag of awesome homemade soap to make up for it!