Stolen purse, anyone???

Yes, for the second time in my life a criminal busted out the window of our Nissan (different Nissan this time) and stole my purse! (Remember, Alisa??? There were 3 purses in my car the last time which was around 10 years ago.) It's interesting to see how much my purse contents have changed in ten years. As I made the police report, I recalled not only the normal items like credit cards, lotion, makeup, sunglasses, etc. but specific items like pictures of my kids, their shot records, some left over b-day $, and a cell phone with ALL of my contact information (no cell phone in the olden days. ;)!! AAAAHHHH! I've told Brad countless times that he should backup his contact list because of broken or lost cell phones, and now I'm wishing I'd listened to myself. Whoops. This was my most favorite purse ever! My mom bought it for me for Christmas a year or two ago. It was quilted with the WVU logo and had the most amazing pockets all along the inside of the purse....6 pockets with specific items assigned to each pocket so that I didn't have to dig for anything. I knew exactly where to feel around to grab something quickly. I miss that purse! Yes, I'm looking for an exact replica to replace it. If you've ever lost or had a purse stolen, you may have wished, "if I could only get it back, even if the cards and cash are gone!!!" I couldn't sleep until 3am that night as I remembered the precious photos of my kids that I keep in there, my only copies. And then I remembered all of my keys were in there, my only original to my van, the new key my parents gave me to their house, the key to the church, to Brad's parents' house (which isn't good because their address was on my license), and I couldn't stop thinking about how they could somehow find us and break into our house with my own key! Irrational, probably, but I couldn't relax. But, the next morning I got over it and started taking care of business. Credit cards were cancelled, new drivers' license, all that stuff. I even went last night to get a replacement cell phone and good-enough-for-now new purse. All is well.

Funny thing, though, the police chief a few towns over called and said that he had my purse. Someone found it along the nearby highway, but I can't get it back now because the state police claimed it as evidence. Oh, well, what can ya do?


If you feel so inclined, could you email me your contact information, friends and family? That would be helpful. :)

Things I want to remember.....

I've said many times that I wish I could carry around some little digital device that would record all of my conversations, especially with my children. Not only would I be more aware of how I react to their behavior, but I could remember all of the cute and surprising things they say.

• The other day after my parents had visited at our house overnight I picked Mallory up from preschool and I told her that she is my baby, my big girl but still my baby. She said, "No, I'm Papa Deer's baby!" She has such a cute, sweet relationship with my dad.
• Yesterday, Mal sat on my lap and told me about a dream she had where she called the fireman to help her out of the fire and by the end of her story she had herself, her sister and her dad in jail. I asked her why daddy went to jail, and she said "I told the peece (police) that he mean. He took one of my toys away, so they took him to jail." (one of our recent discipline techniques with her - now I know how she really feels about it. :) When she had spun her story for awhile, she said, "and that is the rest of the story. the end." (I, however, stayed at home while they were all in jail.....hmmm.)
• For the last year or so, Bethany will randomly notice if I'm about to eat something sweet and remind me, "Mommy, remember you are supposed to get healthy so you can have my baby brother." Oy! I told her ONE time after the numerous times she has asked me if I'm going to have another baby, that I need to get healthier to have a baby. She'll never let me forget.....which is good of her, but bold - don't you think? :)
• After a trip through the drive-through at the bank yesterday, Mallory said, "Mommy, mommy, the bank gived me a hiney lollipop!" "What?" I said. Bethany explained, " you know , Mom, the lollipop has kind of a line down the middle of it and the sides are puffed out...like a b-u-t-t." "Oh!" Mallory - " Yeah, Mom! The bank gave me a hiney lollipop!" Oh, I got a good chuckle out of that one. I love my kids!

My Thoughts.....

My New Year changes are coming into my life slowly, and most of them are unrealistic because there's just too much I want to change about myself and my routine right now. For example, tonight I decided to get those dishes done so that I don't have to see them in the morning. While I was washing and listening to music I told myself I could start doing all of these things, in an "ideal Mandy" world.....

• Start making a hot breakfast for Bethany which should motivate her to eat before school to avoid our daily "breakfast battle" and to spend some time together before her day starts


• Wash dishes every night, so that there are few and things feel clean and ready for the new day ( I've mentioned before the lack of a dishwasher, right?)


• Get the study guide for Sunday school and make that a part of my study weekly since I miss out during primary, and still study the Book of Mormon because I don't feel right leaving it out of my study ( I found this 365 day schedule for finishing the Book of Mormon which I'd like to do with Brad in addition to our personal and family study.)


• Work out a couple of times a week at the YMCA, do Wii Fit/Biggest Loser/Cardio Wii workouts a few times a week, and find a walking buddy


• Maybe join Weight Watchers officially?


• Get back into a regular cleaning routine


• Make more time for keeping in touch with friends


• Even when I don't feel like it, play games with and do projects with my kids everyday
• Get to know my primary kids better


• Be a better Visiting Teacher, even though my list is pretty much "no visit"


• Learn how to do lots of things I'd like to do, like quilt and scrapbook better, etc.

OKAY, I'm gonna stop there because I realized as I was daydreaming that it is impossible to change too many things in your life at the same time. So, my goal for 2010 is to focus on just a few things at a time - to try to get to bed earlier, get up earlier, be more productive and in tune to what is most important for me to work on daily - to be determined through prayer, study, and common sense. :) I love y'all and wish I could spend some time with some girlfriends that I never get to see......maybe that's a good goal for this year! Plan a weekend get-together with some of you! Happy 2010!

Mallory's first day as a Sunbeam in Primary.

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." Bethany lost one right before Christmas and one the day after. She actually pulled these two out on her own instead of waiting for them to fall out.

After Christmas...

We had a wonderful Christmas with snow and family and all the good stuff this year! I realized after I downloaded pics from my camera that I didn't take very many pictures, but I captured a few moments from our holiday. The girls always start with their stockings, and this was our year to be at my parents' home for Christmas Eve and morning. My entire family was there, so it was awesome to be together with all of my siblings and my parents. We drove back to Elkins to have Christmas dinner with the Bennett clan. That was especially nice, too, because we had dinner with just Brad's parents and siblings and their families, so it was smaller and more relaxed. Although, we missed his brother, John, and his family who are in California. I'm still cleaning up from Christmas, though, because I got sick with this cough/cold stuff after Christmas, but that's getting better. We cleaned up decorations and the tree for FHE last night, so I'm starting to feel like it's the New Year. Time to set goals and prepare for 2010. My To-Do list is growing, but the continued snow days even after Christmas break are giving me a chance to get more done than usual. I am frustrated with the snow days, too, though. I mean, it's winter time in the mountains of WV.....so, it's gonna get cold and be snowy and icy, school administration people! ugh. I told Bethany we're doing school today and tomorrow, since I'm sure we'll have another one after 6 more inches or so tonight. I don't mind snow, really I like it, but I want the kids to be in school. That's the teacher, and the cabin-fever mom, in me. :) I'll try to be a better blogger. Let me get myself a bit more organized and I'll be back....Happy New Year to y'all!

I decided to take a picture of Mom and Dad's diningroom table Christmas Eve because it looked so nice.....set for 13 people and what a great meal it was! Mallory was watching the Wii game with Papa, and I just had to capture it on camera. Her relationship with my dad is so cute.....he is the one who got her to stop her screaming fit a few days after Christmas. (which was about getting her hair washed and having to get out of the tub....go figure?) These are new to me as a mom, but she can throw a screaming fit like none I've ever seen...for like an hour. What's up with that?!