We're in BIG trouble...

Dora for Dinner

So this actually happened a couple weeks ago, but my camera's been weird and I just haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now. Anyway, the story is this: I turn the oven on to preheat at 400 degrees, then walk away and go about my business. My oven takes like 10 minutes to preheat, so I was not sticking around to wait. Anyway, when I walked back into the kitchen I smelled almost a sweet burning smell. Wondering what was going on, I looked in the oven and behold, there was Dora, arm on fire and melted hair dripping down my oven. The picture above was recreated for the purposes of this blog (yah, Brooke watched me stick Dora in the oven and take her picture...that's going to come back and bite me later on).

Here are the results. Dora's hair is no longer two cute piggy tails of kind of waxy doll hair. It is now one big hunk of hard plastic melted together. Her arm, well, it's seen better days. The funny thing is though, she still works. If you squeeze her belly she says things like "Goodnight" and stuff and despite being baked in the oven, she still works just fine. Because of this, Matt refused to let me throw her away. So, baked to a crisp or not, Brooke is still sleeping with toasty little Dora every night.

When I asked Jenna "what the devil" she was thinking, she told me she was putting Dora in the oven to bake, like it was a totally sensible thing. I realized I couldn't get mad at her because, in her defense, we've never had a "Don't put toys in the oven" talk. However, she knows she's not allowed to touch the oven, so I did bust her on that. I will say, she is now fully aware that we do not saute, puree, bake, fry, simmer, barbecue, roast, toast or grill our toys.

Pancake Pajama Party

Today Jenna's preschool had a Pancake Pajama Party! It was really cute to see all the kids in their PJs. I thought Jenna would love wearing them all day long, but as soon as we got home she insisted on changing into "real" clothes. She's been really into changing clothes lately, and goes through about 3 outfits a day! Lucky me. Jenna is really lucky to have a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Kemble, whom she loves and talks about constantly! She can't leave preschool without giving Mrs. Kemble a huge hug goodbye.

This is the kids pretending to sleep while Mrs. Kemble read a story about about a napping house (or something along those lines).

When I told Jenna I was going to be coming up to her school for the pajama party, she said, "Great Mom! But are you just going to wear your garmies?" Yep, that's pretty much PJs in this house.

Take a Stand

There are many times in life when I feel that shutting up and sitting down is probably the wisest decision. I am, in many ways, a pacifist and inherently non confrontational. However, there are some things in life worth saying, "What the crap?! There is NO WAY I'm standing for that!" Abortion just happens to be such an issue for me. Who will be the voice for these nameless babies that cannot speak for themselves? If not me, if not you, then who?

Obama has made it perfectly clear that he plans to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as one of his first acts as President. The ramifications of this bill are horrific. If this is the "change" that Obama seeks to deliver, I will not support him. I will not be party to murder.

To find out more about the Freedom of Choice Act, and to sign a petition against it, visit the following link.
http://www.fightfoca.com/
It will only take a few seconds of your time. Do I honestly believe that me signing this petition will change anything, or stop Obama from the course he's on? No. But maybe I can sleep a little better knowing in my gut that I've said my peace, and may the sins be upon his head.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing."

Heaven for a 3 year old (or a grown adult who wears Mickey Mouse sweatshirts)

Last weekend there was a great deal on tickets to Disney On Ice, so we decided kind of last minute that we'd take the girls up there. Our friends from the ward decided it wasn't too girly, and that they'd come with us and take their boys.It doesn't get much better than seeing the real live Cinderella in all her posing glory. (Jenna kept asking, "Why does she have to stand on stage with the ropes around her?" Not quite like the movies, is it?)

Disney on Ice was really fun, except for when Jenna spilled our $10 bucket of popcorn, that kinda sucked. Brooke was really good for about 30 minutes, which is about 28 minutes longer than usual, so we were pretty happy.

Go BodyStep, Go Go!

The Team: Billie, Sara, Cheryl, Lisa, Tara, Kelie
Last Saturday was the BodyStep 74 launch at the gym where I teach. It was my first official launch as a certified instructor and it was really a blast. Our theme was Superheroes, if you can't tell by the tanks. I think some people think I'm nuts, but I just really love going to the gym and working out doing group fitness (I know my mom thinks I'm wacko).

Anyway, the launch was super fun and I just thought I'd post a couple pictures so everyone can see what it is I'm always talking about!

Pictorally Challenged

As evidence of the fact that I am truly an 'in-law" in Matt's family, we just got back from our trip to Utah and I have ZERO pictures to show from it. Why, you ask, does this make me a perpetual outsider in the Morgan family? Well, since the invention of the digital camera (and even before then, to be frank) no Morgan family gathering has gone by without about 12 rolls of film being snapped of the event. I guess it's kind of like genealogy, you just assume someone else in your family is doing it. That's the way it is with pictures in Matt's family, I just assume someone else is taking them...and they are, trust me. Luckily, thanks to Matt's brother, I do have one picture to show from the event.
Brooke is lucky to have 3 cousins right around her same age. Left to Right: Maralah (2 1/2), Mariah (2 in Feb), Kathy (2 in April), Brooke (2 in May). They're still a little young to "play" together, but I can see lots of fun in their future. One of Matt's older brothers, Dan, has a son who is 10 and is a lot older than any of his cousins. He was saying at the family reunion that he was bored because there was no one to play with. I felt so bad for him. Jenna and Brooke are definitely lucky that they have lots of cousins around their same age.