A Day in the Life.....

...of an exit poll worker.
6:30 a.m. Leave the house adorned in 'professional clothes'. Haven't really owned any of those for say 8 years now, but made do.
6:45 a.m. Realize the address for the precinct I was to poll was incorrect. Thankfully I am very good with Spanish Fork geography and find the correct school.
7:00 a.m. Try not to say bad words as I see where I am to stand to approach voters. OUTSIDE. IN THE STORM. Now my very handy training manual said to be prepared for the weather, but since my polling place was a school I figured there would be plenty of room inside for me to accost voters. However, this particular polling place had a setup which allowed no room between voting and the exit door. The only way to catch them once they were done voting was to stand outside in the elements. Which were not favorable.
8:11 a.m. Look at my watch and try not to cry as the wind picks up and my toes lose all feeling and my 'professional' hair gets less professional looking.
9:10 a.m Dear sister, CC, arrives with her winter coat and some hefty boots which ruins my professional appearance but I don't care. And I still want to cry because I have 11 more hours of this.
10:00 a.m. Rain, snow, sleet, blizzard, or whatever you want to call it hits and I hightail it inside to wait it out. Sorry networks. Nobody is telling me all their voting secrets while standing outside in a storm.
10:45 a.m. Election worker realizes that the voter turnout is sparse enough to not warrant such strict traffic control and allows people to exit from an interior door which means, yay! I can come inside!
11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Politely approach every 4th voter and ask them to fill out my survey. Meet lots of nice people. Meet some not-so-nice people. Ate a baggy of gummy worms and Mother's Cookies delivered by lifesaver CC. Felt like I earned every penny of that check Edison-Mitofsky is going to send me.

The end. Hub is super and took the day off of work to be Mr. Mom. I didn't even leave him a very long note because I knew how competent he was. (He even tried to put Noelle's hair in pigtails but gave up after the first one failed.) I did have many moments of 'Why the heck am I doing this?' as I do every election year when I end up working at the polls. But this was a slightly different scene and I wouldn't have to set up those stinkin' voting machines. Or maybe I have a chemical imbalance that makes me think it would be fun. Who knows? Can't wait for 2012 to do it all over again....

Proof that we do Halloween

We carved pumpkins like all good Americans. (OK, Royal We in use. I mainly supervised while Hub and kids did all the dirty work)




We came up with some 'creative' costumes that involved no shopping trips, makeup or hair dye. Sure, Mitch is a cowboy for the second year in a row. And Isaac's last minute idea of going as a BYU Fan worked perfectly with his existing wardrobe (I think he was mostly looking for an excuse to wear a BYU hat to school for once). As you can see from the photo, Ethan the skeleton and Noelle the tiger are actually in sinful Store Bought costumes. I feel guilty everytime I look at them. And it wasn't me who bought them. Hub knows I have issues with that and went behind my back a couple of years ago to Walmart and came home with them. Apparently he was slightly more ashamed of our poor costume choices than I was. I just really feel like I should be the type of mother who makes her kids their own costumes. The fact that I still can't thread a sewing machine or that my kids don't really like to dress all out does nothing to extinguish my dreams of grandiose homemade attire.


Here is Noelle with a tear running down her cheek. She was very offended that we made her wear this piece of fake fur. She really thought a baby tiger had to die just so she could earn her tootsie rolls. No, the stinker just doesn't want to wear what we want her to wear. Thankfully, she got over it after the first treat plopped in her bucket and she realized that sugar was way worth the price of a baby tiger.

To finish the holiday we watched 'Ernest Scared Stupid.' Does anybody else have fond memories of Ernest P. Worrell movies?? Apparently my memories should have stayed buried as this was way too scary for my two younger boys. Great slapstick was not worth Mitchell and Ethan being scared to go to bed.

Moving on to November... the kids are in bed with threats of time changes running in their heads. Remember the good ol' days when the end of Daylight Savings Time really meant an hour extra to sleep?

DECISION 2008

This will be my first and only official political post this election season. I have had great self control and vented all my political opinions on other people's blogs so my blog could remain a neutral zone. Just call me Switzerland.

But I am officially done voting as of 10:30 a.m. It's off my conscience and now I don't give a hoot if Obama comes up with any more terrorist friends or McCain discovers he owns another home somewhere. I've voted and I am free! I spent a great deal of my weeknights trying to stay awake while reading the very handy voter guide. Those amendments to our state constitution make fascinating reading material. And how fun is it to read all of the ratings on our judges? But more importantly---I hope you read up on our choices for governor. SuperDell informed me that I could be held eternally accountable if I didn't open my heart and mind to him as my candidate.

I will be spending the actual election day conducting exit poll interviews for the National Election Pool---the one the major networks use. How fun is that? But remember that the most accurate exit polls in Utah are the ones aired on KBYU (shout out to Daddio)

Lastly, the early voting line was still a good 15 minute wait and the ballot is pretty long so I don't even want to imagine what it will be like on election day during the rush hours. Plan accordingly and Happy Voting!

Never Riding in a Car With Kids Again

We just got back from a great weekend in St. George. Room and board provided by the hospitable Q and T family. Sadly, I forgot my camera and didn't want to wait for T to send me pix so you'll have to trust me that Mitch consumed 5 s'mores in one sitting and that Q and Hub went water skiing behind the jet skis at the lovely Sand Hollow Reservoir. It was a nice, relaxing time once we got there.

But the moral of the story is I cannot go on another long car ride with my kids until they are old enough to be doing the driving. I risked my life about 487 times unbuckling my seatbelt to help find a blankie, book, water bottle, etc. Then there were the several tantrums in the car because I had not packed adequate snacks (meaning 'I am starving but not starving enough to actually eat an apple') and let's not talk about the urgent need to use the potty ten minutes after leaving the last potty break stop. Did I also mention the part where Noelle threw up and Ike had to plug his nose the rest of the trip home?

We do have a portable DVD player and I brought some books on tape. That helped with the older kids but did nothing for Noelle but give her something to compete with noise-wise. Hub had the excuse of driving to keep him busy and I was tempted to trade spots with him. But I was still hoping that somewhere along the line everybody would fall asleep and give me peace to read or take a nap myself. Didn't happen.

So congrats to all of you family vacationers out there who drive with the kiddies for more than 4 hours on a frequent basis. I applaud you and invite you to visit us next time you're in town because we won't be leaving the house again for several years.

It's a .......

I know you had the day marked on your calendar. And the fact that it was yesterday and you didn't even call to inquire just means you have great self-restraint. But we have had our ultrasound and the physical stuff looks great and we know the gender and now we can spend our next 20 weeks fighting on a name.

Mitch really wanted a Fred. Ethan really wanted a Sara. Isaac wanted a boy, then a girl, then another boy, then (at this point I tuned out and made a mental note to inform him that he is not involved in our family planning). Noelle's only interest in this pregnancy is the fact that my expanding belly seems to be very humorous. But the bottom line is that I now have a reason to purchase these:
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building the suspense like all good story tellers....keep scrolling

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Ta-Da! Won't our baby girl look adorable in these minx fur booties?? (That is faux fur, btw. I only harm animals when I eat them and when they do their bodily functions on my lawn. )

Harvest Time/Fall Break/ UEA/ Deer Hunt or whatever you want to call that really long weekend

What do you do when you have two days off of school and the weather is be-Utah-ful?
You go on a nice fall hike with all the kids, no hubs and the trail happens to be straight up. Oh well, just mark off the weights on your exercise list since you ended up carrying 23 pounds of fun.


What's next? You go to the infamous Red Barn Pumpkin Patch for the second time that week (the first time was a dry run with Ethan's preschool class). You go with lots of family that is in town and you take up a whole wagon to yourself. You try to get an adorable picture of the kids and their special pumpkins, but instead you end up with this picture:

This screams resentment that mom would take them away from the various corners of the patch just so she doesn't get her blog deleted for not having the requisite Pumpkin Patch Post that everyone has to have. (seriously, who doesn't have one of these posts??)

Then you 'allow' (because he always nicely asks permission so I can't resent it if he just goes) your Hub to go golfing. But it's OK because you then go to lunch w/ all the related females in town and then participate in our own version of Super Saturday: Darling girly hair bows!This is Noelle modelling hers all at once. I made those suckers all by myself w/ only minimal stealing of ideas from the more craft-minded sis-in-laws (shout out to T). And it required just lots of glue gun use. Talk about a craft that was made for me.

Then you have the highly anticipated C Fam Halloween Party. The tradition did continue while my parents were on the mish, but let's face it---there are lots better treats and games when Grandma is behind the agenda.

Ethan and Zack did their costume shopping several years ago at WalMart, obviously.

The most popular costume is Avery the Vending Machine. The kids wouldn't leave her alone as she actually dispensed candy.

Ike and Mitch enjoying their word search. In the background you can see Hub's eclectic costume of whatever he could find 5 minutes before departure. Also, there is Q and his much envied arm tats. Ethan whined on the way home that he just wants his own tattoos now.


You then attend a baby blessing on Sunday and leave for school early to see a hot air balloon lift off to kick off Red Ribbon Week. Life is pretty darn G-rated exciting over here (minus that tats-envy, of course)

To Poke or Not to Poke?

I really wish everybody out there would do their civic duty and get a flu shot. Then I would feel OK about not getting them for me or my family because our risk of infection would be greatly reduced.
I confess we have never got them in the past. Ever. Because I hate shots and I hate taking my kids to get shots. Not because I am a bad mom or because I want us all to be super sick. I just debate what is worse: A sick kid on a couch for a few days peacefully watching movies, or taking four highly combative children into the doctor's office to get their shots and the ensuing crying and thrashing of arms and legs.

I know, I know, I have heard all the testimonials of those who swear by the shots and say if my family had every truly gotten the real flu, then there would be no debate in my head. And I am slowly being beaten down by guilt and am mentally picturing doing it this year. But it would really save me the trouble if you all just did it instead. Thanks!

Question Time

A reader recently asked the following question: Megz, you really need to keep those in cyberworld updated on your 'delicate condition'. What current symptoms are you feeling? Sincerely, A Concerned Reader

Thank you Concerned Reader, for inquiring. For the most part, I have no complaints that anyone really wants to hear about. But there was something that happened tonight that was rather traumatic. I actually had to take a potty break in the middle of my kickboxing class. Some of you may say 'What's the big deal? I take potty breaks every ten minutes and I'm not even prego or jumping around.'

But for me? This was big, bad news. This is me. The girl who has a bladder stronger than Hoover Dam. The girl who came home from 4 days at girls' camp and bragged about never using those gross bathrooms (this practice is not endorsed by those in the medical world, btw. Something about high risk of UTIs, blahblahblah). So as you can see, my 'delicate condition' has finally wreaked havoc on one of my strongest organs.

I am sure that this is a temporary condition and once the babe is born I can return to never needing to use public restrooms again. Though I highly recommend the ones at Dillard's and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. They are rather elegant. The end.

and if anyone calls me out on my fake Concerned Reader I will be really mad at you

Just Stuff I wanted to Say

We had a nice conference weekend. Only a minimal amount of sugar was consumed (don't gummy bears, M&Ms, popcorn and orange rolls have minimal amounts of sugar?) and the kids drew lots and lots of pictures.


Isn't this picture mommy heaven? Of course, this was before any fights erupted over stolen crayons and whose picture was best and before Noelle started drawing on the table.


I only had the chance to fall asleep during one talk in the afternoon session before Hub rudely shook me. It's nice to be able to actually hear most of the talks and glean something from them. I propose having General Conference changed from semi-annual to multi-annual. Are there any opposed?
On a different vein---Every Mother's Day Hub takes the kids to the local nursery and lets them each choose a flower to put in an arrangement for me. I love this because they love it and because it means I don't have to do the choosing myself. I just can't handle that kind of pressure. All those different flowers and all the different colors...it just makes my head hurt thinking about it. But this way if the arrangement looks a little funny I can just blame it on the kids. And truth be told, their haphazard picking never looks bad.
So this is what I got on Mother's Day:
And this is what it looks like today:
Is this symbolic of their love for me?? Or should I just have the caveat that if you give it you have to water it? What is wrong with me that I can't manage to water these plants? Or should I just be thankful that I can keep my kids hydrated and anything past that is a bonus?