You call this art?

I'm sorry, but words cannot express just how much I loathe this "exhibit" at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Really? Wait, I get it. The "artist" isn't finished! He/she (I couldn't even stand to look at who made this crap) is coming back over the weekend to put something real onto those primary colored rectangular pieces of crap I mean canvasses. I could really go on and on but I think my point has been made.


Now the following pictures I consider to be fine art material to be in an art museum. My five or nine year old could not paint these as opposed to the one above. Well, Alexis might come close.

These are some of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings. I really like her flowers and landscape pictures. She is also Alexis' favorite artist right now.

This just looks cool.

Another Georgia O'Keefe.

I find this so very cool. I love blown glass. It is so pretty.

Amy and I took Alexis, Audrey, and Megan with us to the Milwaukee Art Museum on Wednesday. It was a free day and I am sooo glad that I didn't pay to get in. I really like paintings more than modern art. I felt like there was a lot of modern art and it's just not my thing. For instance, there was a statue of a very voluptuous woman as you walk towards the entrance. Audrey took an immediate dislike to it, bless that child! The first time we passed it the girls snickered and when Audrey saw the HUGE backside she looked disgusted and said, "I don't like that bum!" We actually passed this statue three times and every time we passed it Audrey closed her eyes and said, "Tell me when we're passed that statue so I can open my eyes again." I'm right there with you child!

We went into the "special" exhibit which wasn't my favorite either. I also don't like portrait paintings very much either (I know, aren't I picky?). But as you turn the corner one of the first paintings you see is of a woman with her breasts hanging out. So ugly. All three girls mouths were gaping open. Audrey said (she is never afraid to share her opinion) "She is so immodest!" I told them all to close their eyes as they walked past it. Seriously, I don't understand that kind of painting. It is not attractive to me at all and I was just as disgusted as Audrey was. It's times like those that I love having an unabashed five year old who will say out loud what I am thinking!

Look what I discovered!

While I was dutifully cleaning up the kitchen after dinner tonight I suddenly heard Audrey burst into laughter. Then I heard her run from the bathroom to the living room and then back to the bathroom again. Then another burst of laughter. Then the process repeated itself again. I finally had to ask what was so funny. Alexis told me that Audrey was rubbing pencil onto her face. My youngest blessing had discovered that if you rub pencil onto paper and then onto your face you can look like this:

And she is not at all sad in this picture. She purposefully posed this way and then immediately posed this way:

I love hearing her laugh gleefully when she discovers something new. I gave her some washcloths and after a few minutes she came to me with a worried look and said, "It's not coming off!" I then showed her the magic of soap and warm water on the washcloth and ta dah it was gone.

I thought I should also record the following since it amuses me. Audrey now says to me whenever I give her what she wants: "You're the best Mom I ever had!" Which always makes me ask her, "How many Moms have you had?" Then she looks at me like I'm crazy. One day I will show her these pictures and then give her the same look back!

Alexis' birthday cakes

This picture is a little small but shows the palette cake I made for Alexis' birthday.

Afternoon in Chicago

Last Saturday we had beautiful weather. It was 50 degrees out and sunny. We decided to drive to Chicago and take Ben's office stuff to his office. We brought his pictures, books, and office supplies. It was nice to see where he works. We then walked around downtown for two hours. Without a coat. It was so nice. I am looking forward to exploring more of Chicago when (I should say if) we move closer to it.

I love this picture

Alexis' Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for Alexis on Saturday the 31st. She had an artist theme party. I decorated the glass door with several of her pictures and some signs that invited them to Alexis' Art Gallery.

Once the girls arrived they painted jewelry boxes.

Then Alexis lead the girls on a tour of her artwork. I put artwork all over the living room. Some from preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. It was really fun to see how she her drawing has grown over the years.

We then had an unveiling of Alexis' masterpiece but found that it was stolen. The girls had to follow the clues to the picture. The first clue was in someone's balloon that was tied to their ankles and they had to pop everyone's balloon to find the clue.

After the scavenger hunt we opened presents. After the presents were opened the birthday girl
got tackled!

After presents and cake the girls glued jewels onto their dried jewelry boxes. The girls also painted glass rocks to put in their jewelry boxes.

Unveiling the missing masterpiece.

I think everyone had a good time and as always it was really fun to plan. Oh, I forgot to include the cake I made. It was an artist palette and then Alexis decorated one herself. I'll try to upload it another time.

Pictures of Alexis' artwork.

The guests and birthday girl.

The girls and TLCB

My girls and I went out on the town last night. We went to see TLCB play at a bar called Up and Under. We stayed out until 2am! In anticipation of this glorious night I made a necklace for each of the six of us. See picture below. I knew the girls would get a kick out of it and I had every intention of showing them to the band so they could see how extremely lame we all are. Well, mostly it's just me because I'm the one who actually made them. I am sure that my girlfriends wore them out of pity and loyalty to me.



We arrived around 9:30ish and got kind of a sucky table. But at least we were there! I started out the night ever so gracefully by spilling my Diet Coke all over DeAnn. I was so embarrassed! I am the biggest klutz there is. I told her to get a water from the bar and reciprocate but she declined. I really would have let her! She was so forgiving. She is probably still cursing my name.

We had a lot of fun just chatting (basically repeating the same story four times so everyone could hear) and listening to the awesome band. There was a short, old lady there that was a little bizarre. She did provide a little highlight by getting bounced from the joint. We all told Amy that was her in 50 years. Ha!

At one point, Lucas (he and I are on a first name basis now. He even remembered my name. That might be because of the e-mails and comments on his facebook page though.) came over to chat with us. Because he hadn't noticed our necklaces in the other two times he grazed by us I naturally pointed to Amy and asked him if he liked her necklace. She was so embarrassed! Sorry Amy. But not really. :) Patty then suggested that Lucas pose with Amy holding the necklace. This explains the picture below.



I loved that as we entered the bar the bouncer checked our ID's. He really looked hard at mine and I wanted to hug him. He knows how to make someone feel good! I will take it that I look barely 21. Yes!

Here we all are. Left to right: Katie, Emily, DeAnn, Cynthia, Amy, and Patty


This is a better picture of the girls. Except for the most likely drunk idiot behind them who thinks he is hilarious. He's not. I cropped as much of him out of the picture as I could.



Top two highlights of the evening:

1. Katie getting asked to play pool with some guys. To which she responded by showing him her wedding ring and saying, "I'm married you know."

2. Basically getting our own private concert the last 20 minutes of the night. Most everybody had left and when Lucas came over to our table I asked him why he wasn't playing more songs from his second album. We asked for a couple of songs and he obliged. Awesome. The night was then complete for me (aren't I the greatest fan? I complain about what he is playing and then demand certain songs before he stopped playing. I'm sure the restraining order is coming soon).

And of course, I can't forget to mention that we got high fives and hugs from the drummer and Lucas. We are their #1 fans. The Milwaukee Mormon Mommies.

Alexis Itzela Thomas

9 years ago at 12:55am Alexis Itzela Thomas made her glorious entrance into this world weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 ounces. It was quite a dramatic entrance. I had an emergency c-section because as labor progressed Alexis' heartbeat was slowing down too much. When she was pulled (anyone who has had a c-section knows it is not gentle pushing and pulling too) out her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and arm. She was blue and wasn't crying. Those had to have been some of the worst moments of my life. The doctors and nurses got her breathing and whisked her away. I didn't even get to see her. I was put under as I was stitched up. I woke up later in horrible pain and nothing to show for it! Alexis had a heart murmur that corrected itself after about 10 hours. Due to that and her not breathing upon arrival she was kept in an incubator for 12 hours. I must have sent Ben down to the nursery 10 times to ask if she could be brought to me. Finally, 12 hours later I got to see my beautiful daughter. It has been wonderful ever since.

Here are a few baby pictures.


One year old.


Almost 2 years old.


Almost 3 years old.

Almost 4 years old.

5 years old.

6 years old.

3 or 4 years old.

Almost 9 years old. This was taken last week actually.

Alexis, you are a very energetic, silly, caring, and creative girl. You are an artist. You spend most of your free time drawing or reading. You love to read. You also love anything pink. The more pink the better. You still love horses, a love that started around age 3. You are a great big sister. Especially when it comes to helping Audrey out at school. You absolutely love school. You are a great student. You excel in reading, writing, art, and science. You want to be an artist when you grow up. You have the greatest imagination possible. The games you create to play with Audrey are hilarious and very entertaining. You love your gymnastics class as well. You keep me on my toes. You amaze me with your zeal and enthusiasm to learn not just school work but the gospel as well. You are my wonderful, beautiful, and oftentimes sassy, perfect 9 year old. I love you!

Customers

The girls are very aware of the house being for sale. Ben and I had a long talk with them about picking up their toys and so forth after playing with them. This is because if we get house showings we have to be able to quickly leave the house if necessary. So the girls are very aware of all that is going on. It wasn't until last week that I got a look into what Audrey thinks about all of this. She came to me and said, "Mommy, when our customers come to buy the house could I please just keep my leapster?" It was so funny. I didn't laugh at her of course but instead told her that she would be keeping all of her stuff. It's only the house the "customers" will be buying. At least I know what matters most to her though. :)

Days like these shouldn't exist!

After reading the weather forecast for tomorrow I've decided that certain things should be allowed on days where the wind chill will be between -35 and -40 and the high for the day 0 degrees.

1. We shouldn't have to get out of bed. This means, obviously, no school.
2. We shouldn't be charged for heat that day so we can turn out thermostat's WAY up to feel just the hint of heat in the house.
3. Mail should be delivered to my door. But if that was the case then the mailman would have to get out of bed and that would violate number 1 so I guess this one can't happen.
4. We should only drink hot chocolate or warm drinks.
5. We shouldn't get dressed unless it's to change into warmer pajamas.
6. We should snuggle and watch movies or play games all day.

I'm sure I could think of some more but I'm already too cold so I'm going to put on a second sweater and thicker socks. :)

Dressing rules

Audrey can be extremely difficult to dress sometimes. She really has an idea of what she does and does not like. Alexis never cared what she wore as long as it was comfortable and I put it on her. Oh how I long for having those kinds of days with Audrey. Alas, it will never be. However, Audrey always notices when I wear ANYTHING new. Once I got a haircut and she was the only one who noticed. She is delighted when I do anything different like wear earrings or put my hair in a ponytail (she absolutely loves this and touches my ponytail ALL day long). So I do appreciate this part of her unique opinions on clothes. I imagine if Audrey could give me some rules on dressing her they would go something like this:

1. No pink. It doesn't matter if the sweater is white with a few stripes of pink. The pink still disgusts me.
2. Anything blue is better than pink. Except for my blue coat because it makes me look like a big, fat mushroom.
3. Flower patterns are generally not accepted in any way, shape, or form.
4. Dresses that require shirts underneath them are NOT preferred.
5. Anything that glitters is fantastic.
6. Step shoes (shoes with heels) for church are definitely preferred.
7. The blue hat is the best hat. How many times do I need to tell you this?
8. I want to button and zip my sweaters and coats all by myself. Unless I can't do it and it gets frustrating. Then you should help right away.
9. I don't stand still when you help me get dressed. Ever. It's a lot more fun when I wiggle my body and dance around. Don't you think so, Mom?
10. Don't laugh at me in my underwear.
11. I know I have 10 dresses in my closet but one has puffy sleeves, one has a bow I don't like, one has a floral print, three are ugly, one has stripes, one isn't fancy enough, and one doesn't fit right. That leaves me with only my black Christmas dress. I will wear that one every Sunday.
12. I don't want you to look at me when you're getting me dressed. I get embarrassed.

News

I can finally post some exciting news! Ben has taken a new job working for ARGO Insurance US. He will be one of their in house counsel. It is located in (drum roll please) Chicago. As in downtown Chicago. He starts February 2nd. So, that means we are selling our house! Yikes! It is being put on the market this week. Anyone interested is welcome to buy! :) Ben will be commuting to Chicago via an hour and a half train ride each way until the house sells. Which could, of course, be never. However, we are really excited for the switch in jobs. It will allow him to be home more often in the evenings (yes, even with that awful commute) and on the weekends.

I told the girls over Christmas break to get a feel for how they would respond to moving in the middle of the school year (even though it's very possible that we will be here trying to sell the house until the end of it). I was most worried about Alexis but she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know." Then Audrey yelled out: "I would be mad! I'd get all hot and angry!" More than a little shocked and unprepared for such a strong reaction I asked her why and she said, "Because I love my teacher, I love my class, and I love my friends." Oh boy am I in for some trouble. Audrey always keeps me on my toes.

I am sad to leave my wonderful friends and totally great and convenient gymnastics, ballet, and piano classes but I am super excited to have my husband back in the family! We're hoping to move near the Chicago temple so whenever any of you are headed there or just to Chicago you better look us up and visit! But that is all premature of course because first our house needs to be bought. I am already exhausted from dejunking it, cleaning it, and decorating it. I am really not looking forward to the showings either. :(

So there you have it. Everyone now knows and I am sure in a year we'll still be here trying to sell the house and everyone will keep saying, "Weren't they supposed to move?"

Christmas was.....

Listening to Grandpa read The Polar Express and hearing Santa Claus' sleigh bells.

Licking the spoon clean. Really clean.


Playing with cousins.

Getting a third, fourth, and sometimes fifth child!

Snuggling with my daughter.

Being cozy with your new blankets from Uncle James.

Getting a car town and cars from Santa.

Getting a remote control airplane and helicopter from Santa (my girls are not your usual type for gifts).

Getting the best horse light set from Grandpa and Grandma Dyer. I believe the phrase uttered upon opening this was, "OOOOHHHHH!"

Sledding with cousins, uncles, aunts, daddy, and mommy.

Sledding with as many people possible in one sled.

Group sledding.

Being silly with Daddy.

Being outside in the freezing cold!

Playing with my cousins.

Posing for pictures with my cousins. At least no one is picking their nose!

Decorating cookies.

Decorating more cookies.

Taking pictures at the same time of decorating cookies.

Christmas was also the following even though it was not as well documented:

playing cribbage, scrabble, phase 10 dice, shopping alone and with sister-in-laws, watching movies (Mama Mia, Prince Caspian, numerous kiddie flicks), going swimming at Life Time Fitness with everyone, eating as many goodies as you can, staying up late, eating delicious food, no one getting sick, fashion shows by the cousins, no one fighting even though there were six girls in one place, car temporarily breaking down and aforementioned Life Time Fitness.

Our Christmas was wonderful. We had so much fun with our family. Thank you Drew and Carolyn for hosting us, feeding us, and losing your sanity and home to not only the little pitter patter but the clomping as well.