Fe-BLAH-uary

Does everyone lose their drive to blog in February? I think so.

It's not as if I've been extra busy with cleaning or painting or sewing or anything else particularly, (because painting and sewing and recovering - etc. - can't happen unless the house in as least in order) but I just can't find my drive. I feel as if I've been stuck in neutral for a month.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Part of me never cares if my house is clean again. I feel just like my kids when I ask them to unload their clothes baskets and they fall to pieces about how HARD their lives are and how HARD it is to put away their own clothes and how they do everything.

Sometimes I fall to pieces just thinking about cleaning up the pervading mess that magically materializes everywhere. It's just going to come back before I can blink anyway, so why clean it up? Really. Then there's the other part of me that says, stop griping and get to work. Then you can actually do something fun instead of just hide from the pancake smashed into you bedroom floor. :)

Yep. It's awesome. Thank goodness for Nels. He loves me so much and has been my go-to guy for dishes (and often dinner) for weeks. He. Is. A. Fabulous. Husband.

I think the seven weeks from the middle of January to the end of February are my least favorite of the entire year.

Also, thank goodness for mother-in-laws that come to visit, so regardless of my blah-ness I still will get it cleaned up on occasion. Hooray for Grandma!

There are a few exciting things coming up in the next few months -- some that I am at liberty to share and some that I am not.

Nels's sweet Mama is coming over this weekend to hang out with us. - Super excited about that. - Nels is playing bass for a friend of ours for a Valentine's "concert" (of sorts) and Grandma is coming to enjoy it with us. I love watching Nels play. I love that his mouth hangs open when he's concentrating. :)

Did you all know that Nels was in a rock band when we first met?? I bet most of you didn't. This is always funny to me. To realize that most people that know me -- even if they "know" Nels -- don't really know Nels. It's hilarious and kind of surreal to me to watch friends' reactions when they see Nels play Rock Band, for example. They are shocked at how into it he gets and how loud he is and how funny and fun (and hot! :) he is. That's when I remember that they don't really know my husband. Because if they really did, they would NOT be surprised. He played bass and their band played a mixture of different rock-n-roll songs. Nels's roommate (nicknamed Senor Inferno) sang for them (and dressed up with a mask and tights and a cape!) and blew fireballs on stage. They were called the Young Republicans. It was funny and it was awesome. Later, after we were married, he was in a Misfit's cover band.

My first outing with Nels included almost getting kicked out of Denny's by the manager because the guitar player for his band was yelling and making a ruckus which included the words "Commie Pigs" several times. We listened to the Ramones all the way home from the restaurant in his great big blue Ford van. When he told me that he loved me more than rock-n-roll, I knew that it was serious. And should you think I'm making that statement in jest, you have got another thing coming. There was a time in our early relationship that all conversations began and ended with music. Needless to say, I got educated pretty fast and have been able to hold my own in a music conversation for nearly a decade.

........

Woah, that was a tangent.

I'm excited for Nels's mama to come visit for the weekend and I'm really excited to get to watch Nels play.  :)

My baby sister is getting married in April! That's exciting, no?! She's getting married to her Southern Sweetie that she met a few months ago. They are perfect together and are so loving and cute. The first time I saw a picture of the two of them together, I knew that she'd found her man. She looked complete and peaceful. I'm so very happy for you, Genny and Ben! They're throwing a huge party for me on my birthday --- with cake and white party dresses, a trip to the temple, pictures and family and sparklers and everything. It's going to be awesome. :)

Violet turns 1 in a month. My baby is 11 months old now and she's walking around like a champ! She still only takes about 7-8 steps before she falls over, but she's doing so great and I'll have to take some video soon. -- Too bad that my camera is still broken.

The older girls are excited for Valentine's Day. - Hopefully they don't pick up the Nasty Yucky that Violet and Elsie have, or else there will be no school for them on Monday.

Nels's birthday is on Tuesday and he really wants something exciting - like a hard drive. --- He's about as fun to shop for as my dad. :P And for the first time in two years, I'm actually going to be home for Valentine's Day and his birthday. :)

Elder Holland came to speak at Stake Conference two Sundays ago. It was wonderful and I'm SO thankful that we were able to go to the adult session on Saturday night. It was very uplifting. - And frankly, I left the Sunday session SO angry with my whiny children that Hazel and Lilie both got to sit quietly on chairs "practicing how to be reverent" for half an hour after the meeting was over. Regardless of my frustration, it was wonderful to be in the presence of an Apostle of the Lord.

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And with that, I'm going to leave you. - To pick up Lilie from school. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and I hope to be able to report later that there are no longer crackers or pancakes smashed into my carpet.