Am I a bad mom...

...if I ignore my daughter when she asks for something to eat for the 10th time? Today I was blogging while she was making her request. About 5 minutes later I saw that she was on the couch eating a sandwich. She had toasted her bread, put butter on it and made it into a sandwich. ALL BY HERSELF. Does that make me a bad mom?

...if I only feed my kids veggies like once a week. I used to be so good, but since we are moving vegetables and fruit have taken a back seat on the priority chart.

...if I fight with Phil in front of them? A couple of times Kaylin has come in a says "Mommy, you have to be nice to Daddy!" or "Daddy, you have to be nice to Mommy?" Don't you think that she is getting a nice dose of the reality of a married couple?

...if the kids room is a mess? I try but Zachary has found out how to open his dresser drawer and take out all his clothes in a matter of seconds.

...if I plop them in front of the TV while I try to get stuff done?

If you feel like commenting, be my guest but please no negative comments (I don't think that I can handle the hard truths, especially with the stress of the move), these are all rhetorical questions.

Packing and playing in the closet

Is this not the funniest looking face?



Kaylin made this tower of blocks all by herself. Pretty good huh? Grandma Fofa you taught her well.

Top 10 reasons moving sucks

We are getting ready to move out of our apartment and into a house. We are renting a nice 3 bedroom home from a couple in our ward who are leaving to serve a mission in Ireland. We are so excited to move into a house and have a backyard. Phil is already making plans to camp in the backyard. So we are excited, but with every move there are challenges. Here's why moving sucks (in no particular order):

10. Packing. I hate having to pack up our stuff and decide, "do I pack this now, will I use this in the next week?" I want to have stuff done, but I know I'm going to end up just packing everything up in a day or two.

9. Cleaning. I hate move out cleans. They are so strict on everything and of course I NEVER want to be charged for anything, so I have to be obsessive about the cleaning. Of course, it is ALWAYS cleaner than when we got it. Oh well.

8. Service charges. Whenever you move you always have to pay to get everything re-hooked up or re-installed. All the hidden fees. Hate it.

7. The hassle of cancelling, switching, and/or moving services. Talking to people that should know what they are talking about, but don't.

6. Changing our address with the post office. I always wonder if we are going to get all our mail or if we are going to have things lost.

5. Paying for carpet cleaners.

4. Unpacking and organizing. OK, organizing I love, but not while taking care of two kids. Hey Mom and Dad Walker, do you want Kaylin and Zachary for the weekend?

3. Having things that you need and finding out that they are already packed.

2. The Mess. Enough said.

1. Saying goodbye to the good things you liked about your old place. The pool, the fitness center (which I never use), a next door neighbor that has babysat our kids while we go on dates, fresh baked cookies in the clubhouse (they are supposed to be for future residents, but I steal them) and our nice big rooms.

Phil's quirks

Since I read my sister's blog, I've felt inspired to list my husband's quirks as well. Here it goes. (Ok the real reason I'm listing these quirks is because Michelle got a long comment by our favorite sister-in-law, whose affection and favorite status we all seek. So I'm kind-of hoping that she'll comment on my blog too and that I can once more be in the running for Ann-Marie's favorite sister-in-law on Nathan's side of the family)

Here it goes:

1. Phil hates it when people point at him. It doesn't matter what the circumstance or the proximity (definitely the closer you are the worse off it is).

2. Phil cleans when he gets mad or frustrated. This was more true at the beginning of our marriage, but now is less frequent because he just goes to bed most of the time. I always joke around that I should tick him off more often and the house would be spotless.

3. Phil hates being hit. Even if I'm just giving him a love smack on the leg or on the side of the arm. He will completely shut down and give me the silent treatment until I beg his forgiveness. Weird, huh?

4. Phil watches sports center every morning before work. He usually wakes up around 4:15 to 4:30 AM and watches TV and eats breakfast to wake up. He then gets ready for the day. I'm the complete opposite. I always press the sleep button to get as much sleep as I can. Phil is definitely the morning person of the family.

5. Phil likes to make up dumb jokes using people's names. His favorite is about his sister Em. Sample joke: What do you call Emilee when she's a seamstress? Answer: Hem. Question: What do you call Em when she sleeps? REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Ahahahahahahaha.

6. Phil HATES stains on the carpet. I can't tell you how many times he's busted out the RESOLVE spray. Too bad the soap will probably just attract more dirt.

7. Phil pumps the gas while he's driving. Usually this doesn't bother me so much but on long road trip, I get whiplash! It's awful. I always have to remind him to quit pumping the gas!

I can't believe I'm doing a tag!

Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.

1. I hate dirty bathrooms-especially dirty toilets. I also love cleaning bathrooms if you can believe it. I usually clean my toilets twice a week/whole bathrooms once a week. There is nothing worse than going into a bathroom and it being all nastiness.

2. I love talking on the phone (don't know if this is a quirk, but bare with me here). I even have one of those telemarketer headsets so that I can talk and work at the same time (yes family, it can be done!) I love talking on the phone because it somehow makes my day less boring.

3. I LOVE giving lessons, saying prayers, giving talks in church. I eat that stuff up.

4. Silence during a conversation makes me uncomfortable. Well, if it's with someone that I'm close too, then it's ok, but when I'm on the phone or talking in a group, I have to keep the conversation flowing. Unfortunately this leads to a lot of babbling, especially if the person I'm talking to is NOT a talker.

5. I have to have my towels folded a certain way. Phil doesn't fold them that way so I usually have to refold them.

6. Usually it takes me longer to get ready for bed than it does to get ready in the morning.

Tag everyone...

Kaylinisms

More Kaylin-isms (per Janessa's request):

1. Sunday night Kaylin went to bed late and was coming up with all sorts of excuses to get us to come in and lay down with her. Here were some of the highlights:

I need some water
I need something na neat (something to eat)
You need to read me a story
I want daddy put me to bed
I need you
You lay down next to me?
Please, I need you
(my personal favorite- said screaming) I want to be a chimichanga! (Phil wraps her up like a chimichanga or a burrito. She takes turns asking for either burrito or chimichanga. I guess the chimi worked this time)

2. Kaylin and I have been reading "Guess how much I love you" and so we always tell each other how much we love each other. These are the things that she's come up with.

I love you THIS MUCH (arms outstreched)
I love you all the way up to the moutains
I love you all the way up to the sky
I love you all the way up to the moon
I love you all the way up to the sun
(my favorite) I love you all the way up to Heavenly Father

3. Kaylin is such a little mom to Zachary. Sometimes she gets frustrated at him when he won't "obey" her. She yells, "No bud" and then grunts really loud and goes and sits in a corner. She then yells "I'm MAD" and scowls. It's funny.

4. Today my fried Kaijsa came over with her daughter (they are our next door neighbors) and Kaylin was at the breakfast table and asked "What's that smell?" and I said I don't smell anything. She said "I think it's Kaijsa and Natalie?" I said "Oh what do Kaijsa and Natalie smell like?" She then responded "Poop." I could've died. It's a good thing Kaijsa is over everyday and we're good friends!

"We're going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo how about you you you" (do you remember Raffi?)

On Monday Phil and the boys all went to the driving range while Danielle, Kaylin, Zachary and I went to Ikea and the Zoo. Here are some pictures:








Kaylin loved the zoo, especially holding the map and directing Danielle and I where to go. She was quite the little tour guide. She would say "Ok, what we see next, let me check map." She also loved the talking parrots. They would say "Hello" and "What's up" and then meow like a cat. It was really funny.

Preserve the family

After our awesome San Francisco trip, we were able to relax on Sunday. It was really interesting because in church they had a combined third hour meeting all about Proposition-8 about a constitutional ammendment for a marriage between a man and a woman. I've never been in a church meeting that talked about political issues. It was very interesting because they talked about the preservation of the family and the need to vote and contribute money so that they can win this proposition. They quoted from the following articles which would be very good for everyone to read:

1. Elder Holland's talk entitled General Patterns and Specific Lives. In this article he talks about the pattern established by the Lord for his children. Many times in the church we tend to avoid talking about the family pattern (man, woman and children in the home) because we don't want to offend or we want to be sensitive to other's needs. Individual families may have different situations, but the ideal family is a man and wife rearing children in love and righteousness--that is the pattern. Please read the article because it is so good.

2. The Divine Institution of Marriage
This article is found on the "newsroom" page of lds.org and was written specifically in response to legalizing gay marriages and Proposition-8. In it, it talks about the reprocusions that will happen if the traditional family unit is redefined.

3. Same-gender attraction Q&A with Elder Oaks.

Even though I can't vote from Proposition 8 because I'm no longer a California resident, I can do my part by becoming informed about the issues in my own state. If this does not pass in California, then unfortunately the other states will most likely follow suit. One of the men in the Sunday school who is a sealer in the temple got up and was saying how when abortion became legalized in the States, many doctors lost their licenses and were involved in lawsuits because they refused to perform abortions. Likewise, many registered to perform marriage ceremonies (i.e. sealers in the temple) could lose that ability to perform marriages if they do not also perform them for gay couples. LDS social services may have to be shut down if they discriminate against gay couples who want to adopt. These are just some of the side effects that could happen.

Now more than ever the family is being attacked. Satan has become very good at blurring the good vs. evil boundaries. Evil doesn't seem to be all that black and white anymore, but light and dark shades of gray.

San Francisco Trip

This weekend we took a trip with our friends Kyle and Danielle to San Francisco. The original plan was to leave the kids all weekend and stay in the city, however it didn't quite go as plan. First of all the hotels in San Francisco are way expensive and on top of that, you have to pay for parking. Secondly, I couldn't leave the kids for that long. Zachary, I'm happy to report, is almost weaned, but he still nurses once in the morning and I'm not quite ready to give that up. So we decided to go stay at the inexpensive "Hotel de Walker" i.e. Phil's parents house and go on a day trip Saturday to San Francisco. Things worked out great. We left the kids with our friends the Jukes (thanks so much!) on Saturday and spent the whole day sightseeing. Here are some highlights:

1. Fisherman's Wharf and clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.

2. Pier 39 with the Sea Lions/Seals.


3. Looking at the beautiful scenery; Alcatraz, Angel Island etc. from afar. We tried to get tickets to Alcatraz island, but they were all sold out. Better luck next time.


4. Going to Ghirardelli square and eating yummy banana splits!

5. Going to Coit tower and seeing the amazing view of the city and the Golden Gate bridge.

6. Driving down Lombard Street. Of course we had to do this one because in my eyes it's famous for being on the movie "What's up Doc?" (Best movie ever, btw- check it out)

7. Going to Presidio park instead of Golden Gate bridge park because we listened to "Phil Phil" instead of "Tom Tom."

8. Seeing all the pretty architecture and houses in the city. It's amazing to see all these homes with such great detail. It makes you appreciate the effort that went in to home building back then.

9. Going across the Golden Gate bridge.

10. Home to Grandma's house to the STILL AWAKE kids at 9:30 PM. OK so this wasn't really a highlight, but it was nice to see them when we got home.