Random Jana trivia!

My friend Jennie tagged me, so here goes!

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was coming home from a really fun trip to southern California for my cousin Ryan's wedding. He was the first cousin to get married, so we all piled in three or four cars and drove to San Diego. We went to Sea World and Disneyland and had an overall wonderful time! Other than that, I was mostly just being a ridiculously awkward 13 year old!

2. Five Snacks I Enjoy
1. Grapes
2. Oreos
3. Cheetos
4. Apple slices
5. Bread and butter

3. Five Things On My To Do List Today
Mmm, today's almost over, let's think about tomorrow . . .
1. Do laundry so we can take clean clothes on our trip :)
2. Pack!
3. Run errands in the morning before it gets to be 105 flipping degrees!
4. Call Verizon about Quinn's silly phone
5. Deposit stimulus check (yay!) and pay Clyde's hospital bill (yay?)

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Mmm, besides the usual stuff like pay off mortgages (mine and those belonging to people I like a bit), pay off debt (ditto), donate large chunks and such, I would also hire a cook, hire a fabulous person to do my hair and make-up every morning, re-sod my backyard, get a pedicure, buy Chuck season tickets to Boise State football, transplant my house to southeast Boise or my mom's house to Nampa . . .

5. Five jobs that I have had.
1. Math/reading/general school tutor
2. Newspaper carrier
3. K-mart associate
4. Rite Aid supervisor
5. Camp Invention counselor, then teacher, then assistant director!

6. Five of my bad habits.
1. Staying up late playing on the computer :)
2. "Dribbling" stuff around the house
3. Chewing/picking my fingernails
4. Speeding
5. Eating junk food

7. Four places I have lived:
1. Southeast Boise
2. Provo
3. Boise Bench
4. Nampa

8. Five People I Want to Get to Know Better: A nice way of saying “Tag. You’re it!”
Sheesh, I don't even know if five people read this blog! You're tagged if you want an easy post!

9. 6 Random Things:
1. I love to vacuum; I think it's one of the easiest chores to make a room look way better.
2. Although I would love a daughter, I would really be okay having all boys.
3. I love LOVE love hot chocolate. But not super hot so it burns my tongue. That's no good.
4. I would be happy eating the same three or four things for dinner for the rest of my life.
5. I didn't realize that Clyde's baby-stage blue eyes had turned green until a store clerk complimented him on them - whoops!
6. I hate writing with pencil, especially when it squeaks, yuck yuck!

The Good, the Bad, and the Vomit-y

So, it seems I am unable to post without pictures and/or bullet points, but I am OKAY with that - hopefully you are too! Someday I will be witty and entertaining and long-winded, but that day is not today, as it's been a crazy week preceeded by a crazy weekend. Here's the list:

The good:

* Haircut Friday evening that left me feeling (gasp!) okay about said haircut

* Lovely BBQ with Chuck's extended family Saturday night to celebrate baby Will's blessing the next morning - best part being I did NONE of the food preparation. Chuck grilled, Melissa and Amanda did (fab-u-lous) fruit and veggie platters, and everything else was store-bought. You call it laziness, I call it lucky - see 'the Bad' number ONE below

* Chuck giving baby Will a very meaningful blessing on Sunday morning

* Quinner's talk on Sunday at church - there's NOTHING like watching your goofy baby brother cry at the pulpit talking about his love for the Savior

* Rockin' family pictures at the Boise Train Depot taken by my rockin' sister-in-law Melissa (they will obviously be posted once I get the CD from her, prepare to ooh and ahh at my photographic-ness as well as her mad photography skills)
* Clyde's first real time at a swimming pool on Monday afternoon

* Cute little campers having fun (I'm assistant directing a summer day camp this week, see 'the Bad' for more . . . )

*Quinn BECOMING A MISSIONARY AND LEAVING!

the BAD:

* throwing up seven times between Saturday night and Sunday morning - see, thank goodness I didn't handle food for fifteen people!

* Quinn throwing up seven times between Sunday morning and Sunday night (I feel a hint of guilt about this since Clyde was the carrier pigeon who brought this bout of stomach flu into the family)

* being away from my wee boys Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday to work at the silly camp - I do not do the 'working mother' thing well AT ALL, thank goodness :)

* Quinn BECOMING A MISSIONARY AND LEAVING!

the vomit-y

* Jana

* Quinn

Seriously, we left church and climbed into my mama's bed and moaned pathetically all afternoon. We drank a ridiculous amount of Sprite and rang a bell pretty obnoxiously when we needed service - I won't embarrass my mom by posting her response times. Cancel that, I totally will: twelve seconds the first time, and twenty-four seconds the next time. After that, they took away the bell. Still not sure why . . .

See? As action-packed as I indicated, eh? And it's not even over yet, we still have one more day of camp, a weekend of Chuck working, and then a most exciting road trip - baby Will's first one! We're Utah-bound first for the very bloggable wedding of Courtney and Ben (yes, there will be pictures!) and then to Nevada for an Elko Fourth of July Extravaganza. Let freedom (and our 'Mama-we-need-more-Sprite-and-maybe-someone-to-read-to-us' bell) RING!

A Birthday Ode to My Favorite Little Brother

(soon to be) Elder Quinn Hunter Braden

California San Fernando Valley Mission, Spanish-speaking

The other morning I had something in my eye and I figured the easiest thing to do would be to cry it out. So, what did I think about to produce the needed tears? My darling brother Quinn, who is leaving (next Wednesday! Ahhh!) to serve a two-year mission for our church. It's now after midnight, so his birthday (June 20th) is technically over, but I'm still counting this as his present!

Quinn and I are ridiculously similar, and despite our four and a half year age difference, we're pretty much best friends. I like to think that I had a hand in how awesome he's turned out, but most of the credit should go my mum, I guess. I'll take credit for his swearing habit (we're both mostly reformed), his crazy driving (although I'm better at not getting pulled over!) and his sensitivity (I may have treated him like the little sister I always wanted). Quinn is obviously not perfect, but I'm very, very impressed with his integrity, his willingness to serve, and his sweetness. . . and now, without further ado, here are some of my favorite pictures of Quinnerton (that I have on my computer . . .)

Chuck and Quinn right before Chuck's and my wedding reception. Can you tell it's Quinn's first time wearing a tux? (He's looking for the heat that Chuck is apparently packing).
Quinn came to the hospital right after his paper route and slept in the waiting room while I was in labor with Clyde; this was their first meeting less than an hour after Clyde was born. I love their uncle-nephew relationship; Clyde signs Quinn by pointing to his chest where the missionary tag will be, but Quinn says Clyde's pointing to his heart :)
Quinn loves soccer and has vowed that Clyde and Will (and future Izatt boys) will be varsity athletes in the sport. I got to be the treasurer of the Moms' Group during Quinn's senior year season and I loved watching him play!
Hanging out with baby Will - it's crazy to think that he'll be two when he sees Unky Quinn again! And yes, that's Quinn's nickname of choice, even though I've pointed out how it sounds like "yucky"
I love you, little buddy!

P.S. The crying plan didn't work to get the thing out of my eye, but it came out later in the day. Thanks for the concern I'm sure everyone felt.

Things I Love . . .

* Being the only one in the house awake, even if I should be asleep

* Chocolate milk

* Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip pens - seriously, they just glide on the paper

* Sabrina Soto from HGTV's 'Get it Sold' - Chuck says I have a girl crush on her, and I totally do. I don't even care that her staging techniques rarely succeed in actually getting the house sold.

* My double stroller and how ridiculously proud of myself I am when I take the boys on long walks around our new neighborhood - so proud that I eat more brownies as a reward

* My mom

* Chuck's new green shirt ($3.44 at Old Navy) that make his green eyes SPARKLE.

* A clean kitchen sink

* Reciting dialogue from episodes of West Wing with Cody

* Getting wise advice from Sam

* Volunteering Quinn for things (i.e. painting, moving, baby-sitting)

* When Chuck grills chicken for dinner, yum!

* Clyde's funny signs that he makes up: binky (sticks his finger in his mouth), phone (sticks his finger in his ear), baby Will (fingers outstretched, moves hand up and down at his side).

* Will's recent decision to smile at me once in a while and not just my mom.

* Fun mail/ wall comments on Facebook/ blog comments

* the hope that someday my chubby finger will shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size so that I can wear my wedding ring again

* my bright red Crocs - I wear 'em every day but Sunday, baby!

I Get My Muscles From My Dad

I tried to get a good picture of the two boys on Father's Day, but Clyde was way too preoccupied with his baby brother to smile . . .

So it's solo shots! Here's baby Will wearing a "Daddy and Me" onesie . . . of course, halfway through sacrament meeting he had what we mothers term a "blowout" and I had not a spare onesie, so he went through the rest of church with just his button up shirt and a (clean) diaper. Classy.

Chuck's mom and sister found these cute t-shirts for Clyde and his cousin George that say "I Get My Muscles From My Dad" so I stuck it over an orange polo shirt and let Clyde wear it to church . . . I figure in nursery they don't have a hardcore dress code, and he did have a collar.

My three boys playing before Chuck had to go to work.

Chuck's presents and a sign Clyde and I made on his new art easel - five dollars Saturday at a garage sale, yay!

Happy Father's Day Chuck!

"Admit it - that was the best nap you ever had . . ."

Putting two little boys to bed by myself can be tricky when Chuck's at work, so occasionally I resort to snuggling together on the couch and watching old episodes of Sesame Street (can you see the gap where I once was?).

Apparently there was some migrating to close said gap . . .

and Will came out on the losing side :)

Four years down, forever to go!

Since today is Chuck's and my anniversary, I figured I'd do this 'husband survey' so I can ponder on his wonderfulness :)

WHAT IS HIS NAME? Charles William Izatt
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN MARRIED? Four years today!
HOW LONG DID YOU DATE? We dated for four months before we got engaged, and then we were engaged for about eight months.
HOW OLD IS HE? 27
HOW OLD ARE YOU? 23 WHO EATS MORE? Chuck
WHO SAID "I LOVE YOU" FIRST? At the end of a phone conversation a week after our first date, Chuck said "Love ya" and I stuttered "Right back at ya." I'm adorable, I know.
WHO IS TALLER? Chuck!
WHO CAN SING BETTER? Sadly, probably about the same.
WHO IS SMARTER? I'm academically smarter, but Chuck has way more street smarts and common sense!
WHO DOES THE DISHES? I usually do.
WHO PAYS THE BILLS? Chuck makes the money, I handle the online bill pay!
HIS GUILTY PLEASURE? XBOX 360, NFL Network, naps!
WHO SLEEPS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED? If you're facing the bed, I sleep on the right side.
WHO MOWS THE LAWN? Chuck does; I've actually never mowed (mown?) a lawn in my life, yay for brothers and husbands!
WHO DRIVES? I do, otherwise I'm a wretched backseat driver.
WHO IS MORE STUBBORN? Me.
WHO KISSED WHO FIRST? I kissed him first, but he kissed me most :)
WHO ASKED WHO OUT FIRST? I called him, but he asked me out . . . I called him SO he would ask me out!
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DATE? Chinese food and "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" at the theater
WHO PROPOSED? Chuck did, of courseWHO WEARS THE PANTS? He does, but I lay them out for him
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT HIM? He's really sweet and kind and puts up with me, he cooks dinner lots, he's amazing with the little boys, he has the cutest laugh in the world, he works really hard so that I don't have to, he never questions my sometimes questionable spending and shopping, he loves the gospel, he's very handy around the house . . . I love you, babe!

New baby, new house, new . . . blog?

I used to have the hardest time adjusting to change, even good change. Growing up, the day we replaced our hideous orange shag carpet I actually cried. I'd like to say that I'm now a completely well-adjusted adult who can handle life's twists and turns without any hint of anxiety, but I still get a knot in my stomach when big changes are afoot. Our little family has undergone several such changes lately, and I've embraced their wonderfulness almost completely without reserve (although I did cry the first night I drove to sleep in the new house). So, along with our chubby new baby, Chuck's new promotion and work schedule and our new house, I decided a new online journal/opportunity to post pictures of my ridiculously adorable children was in order as well and here we are!