Yes, I know I skipped Summer's birthday (i'll get to it, I promise) but lets talk about headaches and hurt feelings

So these are my 3 rascals. And just so you know I do not believe a single picture in which all three are happy smiling and looking at the camera is in existence. It is a goal of mine to own such a picture, but at this point in my life that feat still alludes me.

Just a little 5 minute window into a Graham family breakfast:

Tatum and Summer (who should not be allowed to sit next to each other, but were) started in with the poking and touching. Yes you know what I am referring to. "she touched me" or "she poked my arm and made me drop my spoon." This goes on for a few minutes until it escalates into a shouting match. At which point I am forced to intervene. Brilliantly I move them apart and tell them to "stop, because it's only 7am and they're already giving me a headache!" Now my sweet little perfect Emry (HaHa) feels the need to throw in her two cents by saying "I wish they would just eat their breakfast quietly like me." Now the inner struggle begins, "let it go" I think to myself, but that is almost impossible for me. It's one of my faults (letting things go, not opening my mouth with a comeback) I'm fully aware and someday may even try to work on it. So of course I open my mouth to Emry saying "well, I wish you wouldn't talk so disrespectfully to me." Emry now sits there with a blank look on her face. I now feel the need to elaborate and give her a few of examples. (heaven knows I couldn't let her sit there and gloat in her self proclaimed innocence) So I start in "how about when you tell me you hate me, or the time you told me you wanted a new mom, or the time you said I just want to spit in your face" (yes she is just 5 and yes my jaw drops when I hear my "sweet little perfect Emry" say such atrocities. She is a drama queen in every sense of the term) I finish with "when you talk like that, it hurts my feelings." Emry gets quiet for a moment (you see, she is her mothers daughter so I stand there waiting for her comeback) then with a smile on her face says "well at least I don't give you headaches like Summer and Tatum. I'm pretty sure that's worse than hurting your feelings, so I guess I'm not so bad after all." I decide to stop there. I had to walk away as to not let Emry see me snickering.

What else..........but a Birthday......and better late than never. Right???

Apparently I only blog for Birthdays it seems. My little Miss Sassy Pants Emry turned 5 on July 8th. For her birthday she chose to go to Chuck E Cheese. You can imagine my excitement when I heard this. Up until this point my children have been deprived of the Chuck E Cheese experience. Forgive me if I enjoy a good Barro's pizza as apposed to the cardboard Chuck E Cheese passes off as pizza. Thanks to my frienemies at Nick jr. & the Disney channel who portray Chuck E Cheese as the next best thing to Disneyland, Emry demanded the deprivation end. She must go! So of course we (and by we I mean Tatum) went and wasted lots of tokens (apparantley Tatum would snatch handfuls of tokens and just keep dropping them in the rides, even after it was already going. This was not figured out until the end of the night) But the best part of the night is when we got home and Emry said "hmmm, Chuck E Cheese sure seems like a lot more fun on TV." Classic!

A little about Emry at age 5

* is my BEST helper

* sooo honest (even when it's to her detriment)

* as SASSY as they come

* LOVES to sing and dance (still tells me she wants to be in a talent show)

* favorite tv shows right now: Scooby Doo, Sponge Bob, and ICarly

* favorite movie: basically anything scary or a Barbie movie

* meal of choice: peanut butter and Jelly (or if she's feelin' crazy...PB & honey)

* always keeps us laughing, she says some of the funniest things

* frequently colors or draws a picture and then randomly tapes it on my walls somewhere in the house

* enjoys giving talks in Primary (always volunteers) Yay for me ;)

* very dramatic, everything is a big deal and can become hysterical in an instant

* thinks hide-and -go-seek is the BEST game ever

* LOVES to dress-up

* wants to "live with mommy and daddy FOREVER" even after she's married with her own children. (once cried when I tried to convince her she'd WANT to move out one day)

* likes to swim and has become pretty good at it.

* HATES to get her hair done (cries almost every morning)

* LOVES to help cook/bake

* tells stories like no other 5yr old I know (she's very creative)

* still the pickiest eater in the house (we argue every night over how many bites she must eat)

* now has an opinion on what she wears everyday :(

* tells me, sometimes Heavenly Father and Jesus talk to her heart

L♥ve you Emry!

It's been over a month since I've posted and my last one hardly counts. So what inspired me to climb out of my anti-blogging hole you ask.....Tatum ☺

This is my baby. She's 2 today. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It seems Emry also feels the same way. This morning she said to me "I can't believe Tatum's 2 today, it's like I'm having a dream and I just can't wake up!" This is the first time I've had a 2yr old and not had a younger baby. Tatum is a crazy girl and fits in perfectly with her sisters, Emry and Summer. So here's a little about Tatum as she is today.....

*The biggest tattle tale I know.
*Words most commonly uttered by Tatum: "(insert name) did it" (most common names...cousin Preston or Aunt Kelsey. And no they do not even have to be around to get blamed)
*Loves shoes and will wear any left in her reach (including those found in cubbies at Chic-fil-a)
*Hates swimming/large bodies of water, including the bath (polar opposite from sisters)
*Loves gum! Has got a hold of entire packs and devoured every last piece
*Might actually love her binky and blanket more than Emry and Summer. (previously believed to be impossible)
*Always wants to be doing whatever her sisters are doing
*NEVER watches TV or movies. (Harkins Summer Movies should be a blast this year!)
*Throws a fit when forced to ride in shopping cart. Thinks she must push cart. (this is especially awesome when she pushes the cart into a display of shampoo and you get to see bottles fall and bust open)
*Great at saying "Thank you" and "your welcome"
*Fabulous at giving kisses and hugs. (can't got to bed without 'em)

Love you Tatey Bug! Happy Birthday.

I can't stop laughing

Seriously O.b.?! I know vampires are all the rage right now, but this? I mean who is their target audience? And do you think Stephenie Meyer should get a cut of the profits? Cuz really I don't think it was Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in "Interview With the Vampire" that inspired this ad. Gives new meaning to the term "blood suckers" doesn't it. ☺(I'll never look at tampons the same way again)

decisions, decisions...

I'm in L♥VE with the swimwear from this company "Lime Ricki" They've got some seriously CUTE suits. So since it's March and in about two weeks it will probably be 100 degrees here in good ol' AZ it's time to find a new swim suit.

The best part(and there are very few if any good parts about swim suit shopping).... their prices are reasonable!

Anyway, check 'em out they've got lots more super cute suits to choose from. Now I've got some decision making to do!

I should have known Summer would be the first (and better be last)

She said "I need short hair like Emry" Appearantly all of my threats I made to my girls about "ever cutting their own hair" slipped her mind.

Lets just say that little front/side ponytail she has in the above pic, no longer matches up with the length of the rest of her hair.

Ya I know Christmas was almost 2 months ago, but the guilt was consuming me!

Ok I know this is soooo lame but if this is my only form of journaling then I couldn't just completely skip over Christmas. So here's a quick rundown of the season. It gets to be more fun every year now that my girls are getting older. They have opinions and can remember more. Their list was a mile long. They wanted everything! We kept busy with fun things like, Emry and Summer's pre-school program, building gingerbread houses, Guitar Hero, seeing "A Christmas Carol", going to see Bev sing with the Phoenix Symphony, Graham family night in the desert recounting the birth of our savior, of course a visit with Santa at the ward party and many more, but the thought of having to sit here and think more about Christmas overwhelms me. So that's the highlights. 2008 was busy and fun, my girls are growing up faster than ever and I'm sure 2009 will be much of the same.

Ok there, it's done! Now I can move on with my life.

Ya I know, I haven't posted in a month and this hardly counts but it sure is funny!

I saw this and had to share. I'm totally cracking up right now!

Do you know what tonight is?.........Hint.... 2 words...

American Idol!

I know I know, I'm such a nerd! Oh and there is a 4th judge this year. Some chic I've never heard of, Kara DioGuardia. Whatever! Simon, let the insults begin!

My aggravation & excitement today

Ok so for the aggravation first. I got gas about 10 days ago at Costco for $1.41. Today I'm seeing gas has gone up about 25cents! I'm having panic attacks envisioning it going back up to $4.15. I know it's only a quarter but I'm seeing a trend each day of it creeping up again. At the peak it cost me $140 to fill up my suburban. When I got my gas the last time, I filled up for the bargain price of $42. So sorry if I seem a bit whiney but I am really enjoying my $200 a month raise (and that doesn't even include what Eric saves with his car). My food storage has really benefited from the extra $. Which brings me to my excitement for the day. Fry's is having what they call their "case lot sale" Basically just lots of essentials for cheap. I get almost giddy with joy when I stock up and save. I spent $60 and saved $60. WooHoo! I know for all you couponers out there you probably could cut that in half again, but for me it's a good deal. And it subsided my displeasure with the gas prices. Oh by the way, how long do you think 20 jars of peanut butter will last us?