Why?

18 hours spent picking through hair
37 minutes spent vacuuming couch
90 minutes spent vacuuming beds
2 hours spent cleaning out car and car seat
$106.42 on RIDD shampoo
$28.00 on new brushes and combs
$12.00 on new pony tail holders
40 loads of laundary
16 sets of sheets changed on beds
6 days of not being able to wash hair so that medicine can work
2 times in a 7 day period my house has been scrubbed from top to bottom
1 humiliating phone call to mother in law advising her to check her own hair

Finding more lice 10 days later...priceless!

Ben wears big shoes

Yesterday Ben came with me to take the girls to cheer practice. He is usually at work during this time so it was a nice treat for him to be there and help me entertain Fletcher. After about 45 minutes Fletcher became bored with all the toys and books I brought for him to play with, and it didn't help that another little boy took his favorite airplane and would not give it back. Needless to say it got ugly and Ben was kind enough to step in. If I had been there by myself I would have just put the boy in the car and drove around until it was time to pick up the girls. But I have no patience and am not a very good mom so it was a good thing Ben was there. He took Fletcher outside to go for a walk. They were gone a short while and when they returned Ben was carrying a bag from the grocery store. I thought to myself "Good thinking Ben. Candy will quiet him down." Isn't that what a normal person would have bought their child to shut them up? Not my husband. He seriously pulled out a bag of long skinny balloons and a pump. I did not know you could even purchase these items at a grocery store, but apparently you can. What happened next amazed me. Ben actually started making balloon animals for Fletcher and his friend. And not crappy balloon animals- good balloon animals! He swears he has never done it before but I'm not so sure about that. He knew all too well exactly how much air to fill in the balloon so that he could get the perfect twist. You should have seen him. It was truly a spectacular spectacle. The best part was that Fletcher figured out that he could use the shards of glass growing out of the tip of his fingers (note to self: clip Fletcher's fingernails) to pop the balloons. He would say "I pop the doggy", and then jam his nail into the balloon. He laughed and laughed. Then Ben would whip up another balloon creature and POP! It was truly a proud moment for me. I don't think I was the only one impressed either. As the girls were let out of cheer one of their friends asked Cali in all seriousness, "Was your dad in a circus?" My husband the clown! Gotta love him.

The list continues...

#11. Macey got lice.
When oh when will it end?

Parenting 101

Some days parenting comes easier to me than others. Today I thought my impromptu soccer practice with Macey would be fun. Apparently throwing a ball at her and yelling "kick it harder!" and "be more aggressive!" until she cries may not have been the best use of our 45 minutes of "quality time" together. Let's just say it ended with her telling me "you know mom, you're not a real coach." I thought about this for a bit and eventually had a conversation with Ben about how I need to learn how to have more compassion and to be more sensitive to our kid's feelings. I vowed to work on this and was optimistic about my willingness to change. I have decided that I am just not a very nice person because not more than 2 minutes later I walked upstairs to find Cali on the computer typing something. Now maybe it was just coincidence, or maybe my new found compassion was being put to the test, but when asked what she was doing, this was her response, "I'm writing a song for my band." Are you kidding me?! I think I lack the thing in your brain that stops you from laughing at inappropriate moments because I don't think I could have laughed at a worse moment. I may have single handedly destroyed a little girl's dream of becoming a rock star. Needless to say I have a lot to work on and I am thankful that tomorrow always brings a new day. I have a lot of ice cream to buy tonight.
In case you were curious, here is a copy of Cali's song that will never get recorded. Enjoy!

A Girl's Life
In a girl's life there is nothing better than you
and there's a a lot of new things to do.
You can be yourself
and nobody will think it's you

Chorus
Sometimes it's hard but you'll be ok
just keep on going and you'll lead the way
ha ha haaaaaa
just keep on going and you'll lead the way
aaaaaaaaa

So sometimes you'll be sad or down in the dumps
don't turn yourself into a clown
and don't make a frown
and don't make it sound
like you're turning some one's life upside down

Chorus
Sometimes it's hard but you'll be ok
just keep on going and you'll lead the waaaaaaaaaaaaay
ha
(guitar solo)
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ya!

I'm really thirsty

So the Chicago marathon may not have ended up how I imagined it would, but it absolutely ended up how it was supposed to. I know that I was supposed to cross that line with Shannon and Jared. We experienced something that I don't think I can put in writing. I will never forget Kurt, or the lady at mile 24 yelling "Con grat u lay shons", or the man that gave me his popsicles, or the man that collapsed to the ground right in front of us, or drinking hydrant water out of a cup I found on the ground, or the man that hugged me as he put my medal around my neck. So maybe I didn't get my 4:20 time. There will be other marathons but there will never be another Chicago.

Feeling good about myself.

I think God hates me. Here's why: 1.) I had to scrub toilets today for the first time in 4 years. 2.) The weather in Chicago is about 20 degrees hotter than it should be. Are you kidding me?! 3.) Right now I am sporting a unibrow AND a mustache. 4.) I cannot find one single mango in the whole state of Texas. I think he is hiding them from me. 5.) I thought I was recording The Hills last night but when I went to watch it today (in between cleaning toilets) I was surprised to find that my kids had deleted my recording in order to record another episode of iCarly. 6.) I sweat like a man all the time. Not normal girly sweat, but crazy amounts of fluid pouring out of me at any given moment. 7.) I am the Stake Sports person for our stake. Yes, me. I have no idea what I am doing and I think people are starting to figure that out. 8.) Fletcher spilled a whole cup of apple juice on my side of the bed today. 9.) I live in Texas when everybody I care about lives somewhere else. And finally 10.) I cannot find one of my silver Haviannas. Again, I think he is hiding it from me. Maybe when I find a mango I will find my shoe.