Well I think I skipped or day or two blogging... so maybe that means I'm getting my new obsession under control. But, seriously, if I don't write everyday I'm going to miss things and since this has taken over my NORMAL writing journal (that I stunk at keeping up to date, ALSO) I'll have to play catch up.

SEVERAL important events have taken place. Brooklyn formed a new phobia of frogs, Starling discovered that cooking IS hard, Brooklyn got Mommied and so did Starling, AGAIN, and then all the mundane, normal life things.

SATURDAY
Saturday we went to the baptism of an amazing woman where Starling, his brother Eric, and I sang a trio accompanied by Starling and Eric on their guitars. Brooklyn, of course, had to help pray and help sing. BUT, all in all, she was very well behaved. We then went to our friend, Stacey's, house. The men gabbed about motorcycles and a bunch of other things that annoy wives while the wives talked about the men. AND our lovely children. Stacey went into the kitchen and said, "oh! come look!" And so Shelly and I went to observe two bright green rain-frogs suction-cupped to the kitchen window.

Thinking Brooklyn would enjoy the frogs close up, but still behind glass, I summoned her. She excitedly exclaimed, "Mommy! FU-ROGS!!" and she was giggly until I tried to make her touch the glass where the frogs where stationed. "NO!!!!!!! Don't WANT it, frogs!" Okay, okay... I put her down, not wanting to traumatize her. Then Shelley said, "Man if she's that scared of them in here, I'd love to see her reaction to them touching her!" AND THEN MEAN MOMMY CAME OUT. I said, "SOOOO would I!!"

So I took Brooklyn outside to see the frogs. AGAIN, she was VERY enthusiastic and excited. So I pulled one of the frogs from the window and it jumped from my fingers onto the deck. Brooklyn thought this was hysterical and began howling at this new game of "mommy catch the frog". So I kept picking it up and it kept jumping. Finally, I caught it and secured it. "Brooklyn, do you want to pet it." She backed away and shook her head firmly, no. Then the dang frog lept out of my fingers RIGHT into the center of Brooklyn's face covering her entire nose and cheeks. She began shaking her head frantically and the stinkin frog wouldn't let go. It was holding on for dear life to her petrified skin. She was screaming and hollering and I was trying to get the thing off her, really I was, but I couldn't work my hands because I was laughing so hard I was practically having contractions. And Brooklyn was STILL scared to touch it with her fingers EVEN with it glued to her face! I finally got it off and she fled into the house like a cat with its tail on fire. Poor thing... the thing I regret most is not forseeing the hilarity of that moment and bringing a dang video camera.

SUNDAY
Sunday church was lovely. I got there ON TIME at 9 a.m. and so I wasn't running up the aisle to lead the music like an elephant that just escaped the circus. It was a NICE feeling. I took lots of notes on rearing my children in the scriptures and teaching them of the Savior. My dad took Brooklyn home with him after church so Starling and I went to our house to spend some quality time together making LUNCH.

We NEVER prepare for Sunday meals, which I say I'm going to do EVERY Sunday because EVERY Sunday I look in my cabinets and fridge and think, "hmm... we've nothing to eat." But Sunday we looked in the fridge and "YAY! Left over CHILI!" (It didn't even matter that I have been eating on that chili for... TWO weeks (give or take)lunch and dinner. (It tastes good. I didn't make it. A lovely man from my church made it for the missionaries and they took a bunch to their apartment and brought us the rest because they didn't want it to spoil. There are some perks to renting to the missionaries!)).

ANYWAY- Starling said he would do the honors of "preparing lunch" (which consisted of spooning chili into a bowl and pressing buttons on the microwave). WELL THIS is what HAPPENED.

Just the chip in the bowl happened innitially before the chili was even HOT in the middle... so then Starling leaves the chili in the same bowl and HEATS it AGAIN. Notice the metal object IN the bowl... YES. THAT IS A SPOON that Starling left in the bowl on the second go round. He tried to hide this little fact when he removed it from the microwave as he caught sight of it flickering in there... but my raven eyes detected his secrecy and I SNAPPED a photo for evidence that HE, TOO, can not opperate the microwave and THEREFORE needs to stop hounding me for all my cooking blunders. (THOSE are for another blog entireley. I'm not trying to stay up all not busting on myself).

We went and spent a bit of time with my parents and ate a yummy dinner at their house... (I guess that they must sustain us because I never cook...) and then we returned home. Of course, when it was time to climb into bed, something was left in Starling's car. "Starling, you HAVE to go get my scriptures." So he drug himself out of the bed and wasn't at all thrilled about it, either. To brighten up his mood, I hopped up too. I then hid in the laundry room and waited for him to pass so I could scare the poop out of him. He finally came back in and turned the lights off in the family room. NOW in comPLETE dark, I waited for him to get right in front of the laundry room and barked like a rabid dog. He jumped (I'm guessing three feet... again... it was dark)and got to skippin as he threw my scriptures at my face. Remember. I'm a professional and you should practice on children before trying this at home. I caught the scriptures with both my hands before they plastered my nose into my brain and laughed it up. Poor dear. Starling NEVER thinks its funny. (But he didn't fall asleep during scripture study FOR ONCE).

MONDAY
Well, Mondays are ALWAYS exciting because we do FHE (Family Home Evening). (It is another MORMON thing). Basically we have a prayer, song, lesson, fun activity, treat of sorts, and whatever else as a FAMILY. Starling and I have just started implementing this in our home as just a THREE of us family. We were doing it with all of our married couple friends until we all started shooting out kids like rabbits and the little bunnies grew up big enough to talk and be disruptive. So now we are all doing it in our homes. I was in charge of the lesson. (You know... so that we have one.. we actually have a FHE board that has all of our names on it and we are supposed to take turns.. but since Brooklyn ALWAYS gets to do the prayer... I somehow get to do the other six things listed on the board). I prepared a lesson for Starling and me from a church magazine where the Apostles spoke on different topics. I selected "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus" by Elder Neil L Anderson and "Mothers Teaching Children in the Home" By Elder L. Tom Perry. The two talks beautifully describe the sacred nature of parenthood and the importance of teaching our children about the Savior in our home and not depending on church or school leaders to do it for us. My favorite part of Neil L Anderson's talk is when he asks parents, "Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in the minds and souls of our children? Do they think about the Savior's life when they wonder what to do with their own lives?...Do they see their own willingness to serve as folling His example?... Do our children say, "Tell me the stories of Jesus I love to hear?"" (Its like a whole page of amazing questions that absolutely touched my heart because "I" myself need to "KNOW" those things and I want nothing more than my children to know of the love of their Savior). I had Starling read parts of it and I am nearly in tears over my thoughts on the subject and I ask Starling to share HIS thoughts. "I think... that is really good." (I could have smacked him upside the head with the Ensign!!).

And for Brooklyn I prepared a lesson from her book of Bible stories and we started at the very beginning when God created the world and Adam and Eve. We are reading from that book at night so I didn't want to "JUST" read. I got her solo dude barbie and one of her girl barbies and a bunch of her stuffed animals. I created a little "Garden of Eden" and had Brooklyn put each animal in the "garden" and name them. I told her how God created all the animals and then the first man, "ADAM." (So naturally her dude barbie is now called adam and the blond barbie wearing a princess dress that is TALLER than the ADAM doll is now EVE, or as Brooklyn says Evesie). I went through the whole story and she stayed pretty attentive.

For our activity we sang some of Brooklyn's FAVORITE songs that deal with the Savior, including "Jesus Wants Me for a Sun Beam" which we sang NO LIE 14 times. Brooklyn crouches down low and JUMPS as high as she can every time sun BEAM is said. And EVERYTIME we finished she'd squeal, "AGAIN!!!" And Starling made blueberry pancakes for our yummy dinner/treat. AND he did the dishes!! (which gave him about a thousand brownie points after his fabulous INPUT in my lesson!!) YAY! I only had to do FIVE THINGS!!

It was then bedtime, so we brushed our teeth and Brooklyn decided to get REALLy hyper. She was saying, "TATCH me, Mommy!! NO NO STOP IT!!" and giggling as I chased her down the hall on my hands and knees. She would run to the kitchen, squeal, run down the hall back to my bedroom, SQUEAL, and run down the hall again. OVER and OVER. Naturally, I can't do this for long because I'm a cow, not a frolicky dog, SOOO I just started taking two steps after her and then one... and then I hid in the hallway by her room where she can't see me as she bolts down the hallway to my bedroom. She was squealing and running to where she THOUGHT I was and as she past me I jumped out and said, "GOT YOU!!" She screamed and took off sideways and the poor kid ran SMACK into the door frame. Her little forehead had a red knot right in the center of it. She hobbled backwards, and of course I'm feeling bad through my snickering, and she busts out laughing and says, "MOMM-AAAY... You SKEEERED ME!!!" and then takes off running to play that game again. (She is such a tough little cut of meat! Probably bc I am so uncoordinated and tend to veer left when I walk. That is also the hip I carry her on. She is ALWAYS getting run into something. My left shoulder has a permanent dent and bruise).Oh... and where is Starling during all of this? Well the dear boy has passed out in the family room after (or during) our closing prayer.

I finally get the little wound up bundle into bed and tried to get her to lie down. She says, "MOMMAY!" And I say, "Yes, ma'am?" She exclaims, "Gotta read pistures and prayers!" I was thinking in my head... we just did that for TWO HOURS!! but... my little doll is OCD and quite the consistency police, SOOOOOOO we prayed for about the hundreth time that day and read our scriptures. Then she went right to sleep, content with her nightly ritual.

Tuesday
AND TODAY was quite normal. I went to Zumba at 9a.m. and took Brooklyn with me. (Our sweet Tammy McGee teaches it for free at our church Tues and Thurs). NOW... ZUMBA is a sight to see. I love all our ladies up there from the young to the well seasoned and all shapes and sizes; we get out there and DANCE! (although an onlooker may not be able to recognize it as such...) I don't know my left from my right so probably only one side of me ever gets worked out, but believe you me... I left feeling THE BURN! I was shakin things I didn't know I had. Poor Brighton probably thought he was in an earthquake... or an offbeat blender. (I'm just pre-training him to sleep through anything). And of course Brooklyn decided she wanted to be HELD instead of playing with the 50 other kids up there towards the end and kept trying to hold my legs in place while I attempted to bounce around her. So I ended up holding her, which she thought was QUITE the ride as I continued skipping and hopping. Hopefully, she'll get used to me doing Zumba and find some alternate entertainment for the two hours a week I need ME time!

OMGEEZ... its past 11 and I have to get up at the crack of dawn to pack for Chic Filet. We are going on one of our GRAND OPENINGS where we'll get a year supply of Chic Filet. This one is only 3 hours away in West Monroe Lousianna. (After going to FOUR... we are almost completely out of our coupons and have to renew our stash). WISH US LUCK!! Only the first 100 get it. WE've been lucky so far! (except when we drove ten hours to north carolina and they had a 150 people there already. ERRRRR...) But this one should be okay... we're going early to be on the safe side! I'll let you know how it goes!