It's a Christmas Miracle!

I finished my 2010 taxes!

Tax Day 4.15.10

Tax day loomed. I decided to file an extension.

So I got to enjoy tax day instead of agonizing over my taxes. The kids played in the street all evening long. Tally was used by a rollerblading Kate as momentum around the circle. We enjoyed the warmer weather

And then I realized I hadn't filed the extension yet, so I put the kids to bed and got it done.

Sigh. Procrastination. It's such a familiar friend.

My Deep, Dark Secret

I have very large library fines. The one I owe right now is a doozy.

Shhhh. Don't tell David. He likes to laugh at me. I say it's just investing in our public library system, so it's really a service to the community. He's not buying it. He even tried to pre-pay my fines at the library once for a birthday gift. The librarians thought that was hysterical.

So did I.

My Nightly Dilemma

To sleep or not to sleep. That is the question.

(Tonight I'm being borderline good. Off to bed I go. Before midnight! Aren't I virtuous?)

Car, Meet Pole

As one of my goals in life is to help others feel good about themselves, I present to you the pictures of my car accident.




Don't you feel better about your driving ability now?

(And if you look closely, in the second picture, the pole says, "Notice. Park at your own risk." Nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE, does it mention that driving is at your own risk, too. Do you think I have grounds to sue?)

Taxes

I just filed my extension.

How I justified filing an extension:

My recital took a lot of time away from working on them.

I would rather grumble about doing taxes than actually do them.

I was in a car accident yesterday.

Procrastination makes me feel alive.

I don't REALLY want that refund or to pay off the bills that have been waiting for it.

I like to make other people (those of you who finished your taxes long ago) feel virtuous and happy.

(Feeling virtuous and happy now? Good. I've done my duty.)

True Confessions

I really like Poptarts.

Blush.

We're Back...For Now...

Whew. We made it to California before Santa, but we cut it close. Due to my perpetual disorganization, we left on the 23rd at 3:00 pm. Yes. It's true. David drove like the wind, and we got home about 12:30 Pacific time, but we were all very very tired. Especially me. Because I stayed up all night. Again. Can someone teach me how to get everything done on time and still go to bed at a normal hour? Please? I'm begging you.

Was it worth it? YES. If just for the time connecting with family, I'd do it all over again (yeah, that means you, all you crazy Youngberg brothers and sisters, as well as my wonderful Paullin family.)

I'll post pictures when I get my head on straight.

And now I start packing for a few days in Aspen Grove. Winter Wonderland, I'm ready for you.

Well, actually, I'm not at all ready...But I will be when I get there. For now, there's the laundry, the finding a home for Christmas presents, the finishing up (ok, really, starting) delivering Christmas neighbor gifts. Oh, and Christmas cards...

I'm in So Much Trouble

Well, actually, I think I may have managed to smooth things over. But last night was not a pleasant night around the GreenHouse.

Since I'm not bringing in any income anymore, I've been trying to be careful about my expenditures. I keep trying to figure out ways to keep some of our hard-earned income in our bank account a little longer.

So would could be more natural than to try to avoid spending money on kids' haircuts, right?

Yeah. You see where this is going.

It's not like I was going to try to cut the boys' hair. No. I'm smarter than that.

BUT, honestly, all the girls needed was a trim. And how hard can it be to cut in a straight line? I have a masters degree, for goodness sake. I'm fairly intelligent, I have a good eye, and I can DRAW a straight line (most of the time.)

But this was Sophie's hair last week:

And Sophie's hair this morning:

Note: I put it in foam curlers last night after cutting it because I couldn't bear to let David see JUST how short it was. He has a thing for his girls and their beautiful hair. He does not think trying to save money on haircuts is a good idea. And now...

I don't either.

What I Should be Doing...

Christmas shopping.

Folding laundry.

Studying scriptures.

Doing dishes.

Practicing with Kate.

Organizing my desk (it's ALMOST done. I swear.).

What I AM doing...

Nothing much.

Except wishing I hadn't ripped one of my last pair of contacts taking it out of my eye Friday night. And enjoying watching the snow fall. And trying to get over the cold that has knocked all of us for a loop in the last week.

OK. Break's over. Time to practice with Kate. (The rest of all you "shoulds" can just wait your turn.)

Giving Thanks, Day 28

I'm grateful that I don't stay up all night shopping any other night of the year.

(Can I just ask, What was I thinking?)

Post Postscript

I hit a parked car while I was attempting to parallel park at Sophie's violin lesson. This has been a fun day!

Our Adventure. Or Elephants and Emergency Rooms

I had a bright idea yesterday. I thought it would be a fantastic idea to take Kate and Ben and anyone else I could rope into going with us to the Gateway to see the Circus Elephant Parade. It's always around noon on the day the circus starts, so this will be the last time Kate will not be in school at noon. (Sad, isn't it? Why do they have to grow up so quickly?)

I convinced Christina, Will & Ezra and Kate's playdates Eliza and Briana to join us. But first, we had to have some lunch.

So I fed all the darling little people (and Christina and me, too.) But uh-oh, because by the time we were done eating, we were in serious jeopardy of missing the parade. (I hate I-80 construction. It has fouled up my travel plans too many times.)

When we were driving past the Gateway in search of parking spaces, a friend called to let me know the elephants were passing her at that moment. We were stuck at a stoplight, and what do you know, the elephant parade turned in front of us. I opened the van door, shooed out the kids and told them to climb the ES Arena stairs so they could see better.

You must understand, this is a Typical Kerri Event. I have grand ideas, generally spur of the moment, and not always plausible. I think I can fit in more than I actually can. I rush to try to accomplish what I think is still, just maybe, if I'm lucky, possible. And way too often, I'm given moments of grace like this one. The kids got to see the elephants. I even took Ben out of the carseat and he sat in my lap, happily making elephant-like noises. We didn't have to fight any crowds to find a spot on the sidewalk. Kind of win win, in a lame way.




Briana's mom happened to be at the parade, too, and offered us all passes to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. Fun! We had a wonderful time. Except for the clowns terrifying one of our group. And of course, the unfortunate incident invoving Ben's chin and an exhibit that landed me at Primary Children's Medical Center for three hours.

And I'm not actually being sarcastic. We really had a wonderful time, even poor little wounded Ben. Can you tell he's going to get 8 stitches in a couple of hours in the following pictures? I bet you can't even tell which pictures were taken BEFORE he was shoved into the garden area and which were taken AFTER.

(Before...)


(And after...)




So it was a pretty good day. Except for having my baby sedated and stitched. But I must say, I am utterly grateful for the fantastic staff at PCMC. Every unfortunate time I've had to be there, I've been super-impressed with their kindness and professionalism. And every time I've had to be there, I've been grateful for my children's good health. We are very blessed.