Batman for Sterling. . .
and Jackson couldn't have been any happier with a vintage Jack-in-the-box (no pun intended!)
Merry Christmas!
My three little rascals waiting in line for the chance to spot Nemo and Dori froma submarine window.
1. The best picture of me is always the worst for everyone else (above). It's about time I got to use a rejected picture that I secretly like!
2. Convincing three boys to get ready- please brush your teeth before you put your sweater on, yes you have to wear a sweater, please wipe your nose but not on your shirt, you're thirsty? no red punch, you're hungry? no crumbs and no chocolate anything, now please just sit still until it's time to go. . .
3. Convincing three boys to simultaneuously behave: Jackson look over here, Kaden smile-not that big-keep your eyes open, Jackson, Jack-son over here, Sterling you too, Jaaaack-sonnnnn, Kaden Sterling you're not smiling anymore-you just have to KEEP SMILING, JACKSON DALE. . .
4. An extremely photogenic husband that looks great no matter if he is trying or frustrated or tired. He is tan even though it is the month of December!
5. All of the above and a sitting fee doesn't guarantee that you are going to get something that is usable, or displayable, or that you even kind of like, even a little bit.
And sometimes, because your sister-in-law was willing to take 200 shots, you get just one that you LOVE. If you have ever stood behind me in line at the post office, ate beside me in a sit-down restaurant, or sat in back of me in church-then you must know that the civility that this picture captures, is a miracle! Thank you Sara for the best Christmas present ever.
I probably should have included in my 10 honest things that I am a die-hard Oprah fan. However, yesterday's show on pornography really struck a chord with me. She featured Jenna Jamison as the most famous porn star in the world, and portrayed pornography as a tool for women's sexual liberation. It was reported that 1 in 3 pornography viewers are now women.
Kaden and Sterling wearing suits that had been tucked away for a special occasion. This year's primary program proved worthy to finally take the tags off and wear them. Kaden noted, "People aren't going to believe it, we look like missionaries"!9. I am a TV junkie. I watch way more television then I should or would ever admit to. I blame this on two things 1. The efficiency of program viewing with a DVR and 2. My mother because I was never allowed to watch TV growing up. My preschool teacher was shocked when I didn't know the Sesame Street characters. My best friend, Sherrie, blames my insomnia on my bad habit watching TV before I go to bed. To my defense, she is also the one that cries along side with me during Grey's and recently got me hooked on Intervention. Now, my husband now says that I need an intervention from Intervention-is that even possible?
8. I have a knack for numbers. Not an extremely useful knack-like the ability to do complex multiplication or problem solving. Just the simple talent of remembering phone numbers, key codes and credit card numbers. My childhood phone number: 392-5951. My credit card number: 5491. . .you are not that lucky. But I do know it as well as the card that preceded it, along with their security codes and expiration dates. However, ask me the birth date of my third son in four years and I am stumped. See told you-useless!!
7. I have an irrational fear of the ocean and bridges.
6. The five foods that I would choose to bring to a deserted island: 1. Bread and butter 2. Cottage cheese with peaches 3. The Incredible roll from Mikuni's 4. Hot cracked wheat cereal 5. Chocolate, banana spinach protein shake. Okay, I know that is like 20 foods but really this accounts for 90% of my diet.
5. I love Nordstrom. I love that I can return anything for any reason. I love that someone waits on you in the dressing room. I love that there is a seamstress readily available. I love that the salesperson walks around the front of the register to hand you your purchase. Everything smells good and looks beautiful. And I love that I sometimes get a hand written thank you card from the sales associate thanking me for shopping there.
4. and for many of the aforementioned reasons: I hate Wal-Mart. (Don't even get me started about shopping there during the holidays)
3. I have seen Justin Timberlake in concert 3 times. Luckily, I have a best friend that also shares my taste in immature music. I can always count on her to get tickets with me even if it means she has to come to Las Vegas and I will be 6 months pregnant by the time of the concert. Again to my defense, I have seen the more age appropriate DMB and ColdPlay multiple times as well.
2. I think that Kate Gosselin gets a bad rap. I can't even begin to imagine what a reality show entitled "Matt and Amy plus 8" would contain. I refuse to judge her as a mother but have a hard time extending that same courtesy to her hairdresser. . .seriously though!
1. I married out of my league. I made a good decision when I chose to marry Matthew Kartchner - a lot of which was based on logic and inspiration. But there is no way that at the time, I knew how great that decision really was. He is considerate and loving, patient and truly devoted. I really believe that we were sent three boys because Heavenly Father knew what a fabulous role model they would have in a father. Plus, I get flowers pretty frequently! I really believe that I married "up" and am still thankful that he will have me :)
People I tag:
Jamie G.
Sherrie C.
Stefani D.
Ashlie N.
Sara C.
Christie T.
Edie P.
Really anyone who is up for the challenge!! Just let me know if you post!
The rights of passage of a six year old boy :
You know you may have a guitar hero addiction when you hear a song on the radio and immediately begin to think "red, green, red, blue, yellow. . ."! You may also be an addict if your 5 year old son promises that he is going to teach you how to play "hard" on guitar hero when he grows up, but you can't possibly wait that long. And if you challenged the babysitter to battle before you went out on your last date-you too, are addicted.
Hello, my name is Amy, and I am a guitar hero addict-and I just beat Slash!! I also shorted out the orange button on my guitar and am unwillingly being forced into recovery.
Now that Kaden and Sterling are in school, I get to spend some alone time with the craziest kid of them all-Jack Jack! He manages to get into more trouble alone then he ever does with his older siblings. Here is just one example of just one incident that happened today.
(and win a raffle for a gigantic box of Clif shots if they are really lucky). All joking aside, although Steve surely coerced me into this race, he also unselfishly supported me through it. After finishing his race, he doubled back and ran 3 miles in with me! 
Today's Young Women's lesson was entitled "Testimony". We focused on Alma the younger and how he gained his testimony (Mosiah 27), shared his testimony (Alma 5), and challenged us to "grow" our own knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel (Alma 32). My children were angels in Lowe's yesterday as I took my time deciding exactly how I was going to incorporate something out of the garden department into my handout. So when I started throwing up late Saturday night -all I could think about was getting better in time to teach my lesson Sunday morning (and how badly my toilet needed to be cleaned). I am thankful that I made it, was able to visit with my amazing young women, plus; I didn't drag the boys the Lowe's by myself for nothing!
a upgrade from the trenches of this suburbian soccer mom's life. Oh yes, you read that right-half way through the show they closed off our section of mediocre seating just to let Chris and his band members through. Thay played a short set just 25 feet away(piano-in-tow). I mean if Chris would have sneezed-we may have felt the overspray. Thank goodness they eventually returned to the stage or I may have had to start a new blog like amyssuperexcitingstar-filledjetsettinglife. Heaven knows that would have been way to overwhelming for this girl. So it is with happiness that I return to my semi-exciting life. . .
Smores were only one of many activities that we were able to participate in on the 5 acres that they live on-most of which were foreign to my city slicked children and their mother. Swimming, riding the quad and playing baseball (they actually have a backstop in their backyard), were among the kids' favorites. I personally enjoyed the grand finale of the week which included old school sparklers and a few semi-legal fireworks courtesy of Battle Mountain, Nevada. I guess this post wasn't as painstaking as I anticipated. All of a sudden waffles sound quite delicious! Here's to trying new things. Bon appetit!
Amy,
When are you going to accept the invitation to blog, my sista-in-law?
Are you terrified of blogging?
