A year in status updates

January2013- and turning back the clock from there...
Tonight I saw a black cat tiptoe into my backyard, and i'm not kidding when I report that my first thought was, "Oh, a little panther!" And this is why I know I've been exposed to more GO DIEGO GO than any human should.


This one time when I was little, I poured a bucket of sand into a wasps nest, and learned a valuable lesson, which is why I wont be discussing gun control or politics on facebook any time soon. ;)


Whew, I had a close call this weekend. I almost missed the girl scouts going door to door because I was driving away when they reached my block. Don't worry, I came back and flagged her down. Crisis averted.


Okay, who in BG has creativity, and a working printer (blah, mine is on the fritz!) and wants to do my bidding today to help me get together some props for an awesome super saturday skit??


Currently, the most inconvenient part about rheumatoid arthritis is the weekly injections and daily pills. Can I just tell you, that's a pretty AMAZING place to be.


"When comforting a grammar nazi, I always say softy: There, their, they're"

Deep thoughts from the side of the road (for the 3rd time in 2 weeks): If you can't afford a new car, a AAA gold membership is the next best thing.

December 

I always thought it seemed boring when people (in California) would watch the ball drop and then go to bed at 9pm, but now that I live in the eastern time zone, i'm wishing there was someone dropping the ball right now so I could get ready for bed, and convince the kids they haven't missed anything. I am officially boring.


Lake effect snow is serious business. People on the great lakes should carefully consider sled dogs.


Lincoln was calling out, "Mama! Mama! Where are you?" But on further investigation it turned out to be a narration of the christmas lights calling to each other, the baby blue light was looking for the mama blue light and making plans to jump branches.
           

Santa Claus AND the tooth fairy all in one 24hr period!

Great Christmas Eve: movie with grandma, a big stockpot of zuppa tuscana for dinner with the whole family, making graham cracker houses, and Just Dance of course!
In other new, Christmas came early to our van with Christmas Eve bringing a new battery and distributor, lucky duck!

I'm feeling pretty lucky that our car waited to break down until AFTER we got safely through the big snow storm, and even held out long enough for Mary E Scott and I to finish our christmas prep shopping! And what a nice tow truck driver who gave us, our groceries, our presents, and our live christmas tree a ride home before taking it to the shop. Tender mercy!

November

Jason wanted a variation of our awesome barbie cake, like maybe a cowboy with gigantic chaps, but since we couldn't find a cowboy doll, we went the shark attack route.

Athen, speaking of flamin' hot cheetos, "I tasted them before, they were really hot! They burned my mouth 'till I was 10." Since he's 4, I guess he has 6 more years until the burning subsides.

Ten points for the first person who can guess where in Rexburg I ate dinner tonight.
                Thanksgiving!  

I RUINED our chili for the annual chili cook off. Jason and I spend three lovely hours together picking a recipe, buying ingredients, chopping and prepping everything (which was a blast), then when it was all together I turned it up too high and instead of simmering it, I scorched it. Blast.
Also, any tips for getting the stench of charred chili out of my house would be handy.

October

 Halloween!



The kids helped Jason rake leaves (mostly just giving them rides in the leaf packed sled) while I watched through the kitchen window, making my favorite apple pie. Then later, we all saw an amazing rainbow balanced by a brilliant pink/orange sunset that made everyone stop and stare. All the sarcasm and political snark in the world couldn't produce the depth of feeling encompassed in a few brief but tender moments of regular life.

It seems like not long ago I was coming out of surgery and about to meet my precious little girl and eight years later, here I am I'm spending the morning making my first and probably last barbie cake, and trying very hard not too get too sentimental about just how quickly she's growing.

Brooklyn's baptism! It was a great day with lots of family and friends here to enjoy the baptism, then her soccer game, lunch, and the scout spagetti dinner/cake auction. 

September

Guess what? I did the Cotton Eyed Joe dance this weekend. A slightly less springy cotton eye joe, but it was purely awesome nonetheless. And to think, I didn't even have to wait for the resurrection ;o)

I am now in a really good position to make sure I get into Girls' Camp again next summer, since I am now the Young Womens president. yay! Let the good times roll!
Now, if only I could figure out a way to have the super duper awesome Rayna Viola keep running the thing, while I just stay and play.

August

Movie night! Harry potter and caramel popcorn.

Jason Ratliff, I could marry you a hundred times over. Although, that wont really be necessary since that one time we got married 9 years ago is still good for another gazillion years at least

First day of school!

I really love my kids, so I can only imagine how much more I will enjoy them when they outgrow being complete slobs. But I suppose they will outgrow a lot of the cuteness too, so I guess the obsessive compulsion to create catastrophic messes is the going price for the many fun things about their age.

The weather was just perfect for spending the better part of the afternoon at the park. I love that even though they all played with other kids, they ended up perfectly content playing in the sand with their siblings. Love!

July 

So, I've been so diligent about counting my calories that my Dr asked me if I was indeed taking my steroids (which are notorious for causing weight gain), because of my unlikely steady weight loss. Little victories are SO fun! Totally worth the effort.

This is my plate of birthday goodies! A cherry vanilla poke cake, lemon merangue pie, and pistachio nut ice cream, because who can decide on just one delicious thing. I also had chinese food for lunch and chipotle for dinner, I'm so spoiled!

             

Girls camp was the best ever!

I practically bounced around Kroger tonight, and felt like such a normal human being! Love/Hate steroids. But right then I loved them.

From Ms. Cindi: Oh my, oh my...can Athen R. get any cuter? Lucia Ratliff, I told the children that teacher Melanie was the author of the book she was about to read. Without skipping a beat, Athen said, "I wonder who the illustrator is?" THEN at lunch, I was sitting with Athen enjoying some of the extra bananas from snack. I commented on good the bananas were and Athen said, while nodding his head in a very knowing way, "yea, they're probably home made"!!!! I cannot take the cuteness of that boy!

Tonight is the annual christmas tree bonfire. That little orange speck is Diego, and by the looks of that pile, it will be quite the inferno.

June

5 lbs away from wedding weight... down 38 lbs total. YAY!

It feels more like summer now that peaches and nectarines are .99/lb. Ah, how I love the fruits of summer!

May

Who says motherhood is a thankless job? Lincoln just came back in the kitchen at least 10 times to tell me "dank ooo" (thank you) for peeling him an orange.

     

April

Athen's cake is ready!   Green eggs and ham was the birthday breakfast of choice!

          

March

I love when Jason gets home from the priesthood session and our pillow talk consists of highlights from conference. Yep, it's pretty much my favorite.

  Celebrity sighting at conference

Extra points of you start singing the following:

!  

Lincoln broke his foot right before the rehearsal dinner, but was walking again 3 days later! yay! Kids are amazing!

February

 I took a little trip down memory lane with the boys this morning and ended up with cholera, a broken leg, and lots of smiles.

January

I take back what I said about prednisone. I woke up today feeling like I might be in my twenties again, so I will just enjoy it while it lasts :o)

You don't even know how many times my psyche has been on the brink of berzerk due to catastrophic messes or what have you. when shortly after offering a desperate prayer telling Heavenly Father that I can't possibly handle whatever it was *viola!* the mormon sister missionaries call, text, or stop by looking for service hours. They came today to help me wash some walls, and stayed for THREE HOURS! Such a blessing!!