Lucky Charms and Violins

So, this weekend as I was checking out at Walmart I was lectured to by the checker. I'm not sure if she really knew she was lecturing to me, but it was definitely a beat down to my psyche. She noticed the three super sized bags of sugary cereal among my groceries and proceeded to inform me that Utah had the highest per captita cereal consumption with Utah county the highest. (Which is where we were at the moment). I informed her that I was from Nevada. Checker:1 Me: 0

She went on to droll on about how she never let her kids eat that stuff. No, she fed her kids good old fashioned oatmeal, cream of wheat, and pancakes.Translation:  I, on the other hand, was a terrible mother feeding my kids such junk. Checker: 2 Me: 0

She figured out how much she was saving by not buying that expensive stuff and instead saved the money not spent on cold cereal and took a trip to Disneyland. Translation: Not only am I poisoning my children, I am also frittering my money away. Checker:3 Me: 0

I thought I would redeem myself somewhat by weakly responding that my mother never let us eat the sugary poison either. To which she responded "Oh, my kids follow my example and don't feed their kids that stuff either" Translation: You still failed. Checker:4 Me:0

Feeling the agony of defeat, there was nothing more I wanted to do but to slink back into that hole of motherhood guilt.

However, several hours later while traveling back to the real world, I began to remember the real reasons I allowed my precious children to eat that sugary cereal and I wanted to replay that conversation with the checker again.
Checker: Did you know that Utah has the highest per capita consumption of cereal in the nation?
Me: Hmm. Isn't that interesting.
Checker: I never fed my kids that stuff. I fixed them old fashioned oatmeal, cream of wheat, and pancakes.
Me: Really? Well, that's great, but I was busy giving my kids violin lessons before school. It would have been nice to fix them a warm breakfast, but I chose to teach them a skill that would help them in their lives.
Checker: I figured out how much I saved by not buying cereal and took my kids to Disneyland.
Me: I saved hundreds of dollars by teaching my kids violin myself. And, we went to a lot more interesting places than Disneyland.

Translation: We need to stop feeling guilty about the choices we make as mothers. We do the best we can with the tools we are given.

The Wait is Over. . .

No, I'm not talking about the return of Downton Abbey. I'm talking my final revelation of the goals I have set for 2014. I know you have been sitting on the edge of your seats just waiting for this next installment in my exciting life.I had a really hard time narrowing it down. I could have had 14, but since 7 is a divisor of 14, I went with that. Drum roll please.......My 2014 goals are: (You may notice a theme as I am inspired by Peter's birthday and the current year)
1) 14 Dates with Bill. And no, Sportscenter does not count.

2) 14 Family names to take to the temple.

3) 14 Acts of service that I don't usually do. Just an excuse to add a picture of my fam.

4) Read 28 books goodreads.com has a book challenge.

5) 14 completed art projects. Watch out, you may receive one of my "projects".

(just another cute picture)

6) Plan 5 days of meals and record what I eat. myfitnesspal.com has a great food and fitness tracker. If I don't plan, everything but the kitchen sink goes in my mouth.

7) Last but not least, you are not finished hearing from me because I will post 14 times to my blog. Rest assured that I have counted my previous posts this year already!

So, there you have it Lisa version 2014.1. Don't worry, I will keep you posted as to my progress. I'm sure you will be just waiting for it like you have for the new Sherlock.  I have this nifty goal tracker on my phone so I will see them every day. If you have any goals you would like to share, I would love to hear from you.

And they just keep coming....

The rest of my treasures, in a weird order but whatevs. They have to be shared.

Dave's baddest of bad Christmas sweaters (want to have a bad Christmas sweater party, Mom?) and the weird visor/wig gift from his brother Joe, which is indicative of most of Dave's gifts from his siblings. 

Fredericksburg. I really enjoyed our visit here.

As I was looking through these pictures it struck me as ironic that all the Union soldiers are buried at the top of Marye's Heights- the hill they tried to so desperately to reach the top of, but only in death did they actually reach it. 

It has become a tradition in our family to sit our children on canons at battlefields. 

Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights with Aunt Lesly:

Oakley's favorite part was the camel ride. Even though the camel didn't go anywhere. She could have sat on that thing for hours.

 A failed attempt at a grandparent/grandkid picture. Oakley wasn't having it. 

And the very same day, a success. All she needed was a little fresh air. 

Hey I just realized that Gabe's not wearing something neon in these pictures. How did we ever keep track of him?

Sporting their Christmas ties all the way from our Elder in Philly.

 Christmas morning. Mom, modeling her hat from Elder Harris, looks thrilled. :) 

My buddies on Christmas Eve. Everyone else was romping around DC.

Annnnndd... our monstrosity of a breakfast Christmas morning. It actually turned out okay, but it did look scary.

Santa's little helper. Santa's most adorable little helper. 

Santa's elves. Where did he find these guys?

Gabe, aka Hermey, hard at work. I think he actually wants to quit being an elf and study dentistry. 

Dee Andros?

The way way back. Gabe rocked it.

Oakley LOVED having Grandma, Grandpa and Gabe around. She suddenly had three extra people to meow at.

And Gabe. Trying to photobomb. Pretending to fall and actually falling. ahhhhahahahahaha!

It's too bad Peter won't remember his first Christmas cause it was a pretty darn good one.

Thanks for the fun times Harris clan! 

best buds forever

Oakley made a new best friend over Christmas vacay. His name's Gabe and he's pretty great. We miss him and his neon garb.

 I just couldn't keep these photographic treasures to myself. 

I like to call this collection "the boy and his kitty" :)

Calling All Fellow Resolution Makers!

Hey guys!

So I just can never let a New Years go without making some impossibly unattainable goals. So, I thought I might throw out a call for inspiration. Anybody out there as manic as I am about making goals? I'm actually just looking for some more lighthearted ideas. Like the kid on the the ATandT? commercial who says he's going to have more jelly beans for his New Years "revolution".

 I don't need any ideas on how to be more serious in goal making. I'm an expert there. I just want to have a little more fun this year. Not that last year was not fun with 4 graduations, 2 missionaries, and a wonderfully cute new grandson. Whew! I'm looking for goals that I actually look forward to and are FUN and of course SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely). See, there's my serious side.

Wendy's friend, Heather, had some great goals for 2013. Just three: 1) Run 13 half marathons in 2013 2) Try all 48 flavors of BYU ice cream and 3) Find one thing in her house every day to donate to D.I. (I could probably find 10 and never make a dent) And she achieved all 3.

So, that's sort of what I'm looking for. Additionally, I'm just interested in what you do. Maybe we could inspire each other. So send your comments about goals/resolutions and whether you set them or not. How you track them and if you've been successful. Your ideas would be much appreciated. I'll let you know what I decide to do. That's going to be scary for me because then I will be accountable. Yikes!!!!!

Christmas 2013 Mashup! (Part deux)

Okay, here we go for part 2. I love these pictures Bill took of the Jefferson Memorial.

One of these people are not like the others. One of these people just isn't the same. 

What a cute selfie!

Had to get Peter in here while his sister cooks in her new kitchen.

Oh yeah. We ran up this hill! (It wasn't as steep as the sign though).

Great views of the Potomac on post.

Boo Yah!

Beautiful lights at the D.C. temple.

Great visit with Uncle Don.

Vietnam Memorial

Mom and the kiddos

Fascination with the fish pond at Chatham.

Okay, I'm done guys.