Handle With Care

Yesterday I was changing Arlo's messy diaper and was wiping things down pretty vigorously when he put up his hands in protest and exclaimed "Careful with my Pee Pee Momma, It's fragile!"
I just couldnt stop laughing

What does Love Mean

This morning while eating breakfast with Arlo we had a very nice little talk about love.

Mom: Arlo guess what

Arlo: What

Mom: I love you!

Arlo: What does love mean Momma?

Mom: Well, it means that you like someone so much that you want to to everything you can for them. You want to take care of them, and play with them, and always try to do your best.
And you like to be with them a lot, because when your with them they make you very happy and you cant imagine what your life would be like without them. And that's how mom feels about you

Arlo: oh, me too...

Mamma, What do Seals do?

This was the conversation Arlo and I had about Seals in the car today

Arlo: Momma, What do Seals do?

Mom: Well, they swim, and catch fish, and the ones at Sea World can learn tricks like how to bounce a ball off of their nose.

Arlo: They are really cute.

Mom: Yes, they are pretty cute arent they.

Arlo: And they get sharks?

Mom: No, I think sharks get them.

Arlo: They dont bite?

Mom: I dont think their big biters.

(silence for a minute or two)

Arlo: Momma, do they listen to music?

Mom: Well honey, I don't think...

Arlo: Do they listen to music in their rooms?

Mom: they don't have rooms love, they live in the water

Arlo: But they like music.

Mom: Maybe they do...

Wow, it is fun to know the inner workings of my two year olds mind-He he!

Smile for the camera!

So, to save some money this year I had the great Idea to take pictures of Arlo and Ginger with my own camera rather than doing it professionally like I usually do. Can we say HARD!!! who ever has the ability to take pictures of their children and dogs, I just have to marvel, and ask how? do you drug them? By the end of the two hour photo session I was a raving lunatic and I have to say I was not being a very nice mommy. For some reason I thought yelling at Arlo and the dog would produce a happy and loving picture, this is what I got instead



Look at them! this picture says it all. Obviously I couldn't use this for a Christmas card that says "Tis the season" or "Happy Holidays". They look like concentration camp survivors! So, I forgot about Ginger and just tried to get Arlo. After a series of disasters involving a chocolate bribe gone bad (those who get my cards, look closely and you will see it on his face), I got some that would work -sort of and headed to the Walmart to print them up.
Attempt #1 I got there with my sisters camera and realized there was no memory disk. went home
Attempt #2 came back with the camera but with the connector cord that plugs into a flash drive. This should have worked but didn't. went home
Attempt #3 got a disk to do it from my home computer. Sunday morning... spent in hysterics trying to get program to work. Whenever I got to the part where you picked card designs the Internet sent me to some freaky art website that sold cards of Picasso's work. What the
*----! I didn't want Picasso, I wanted the crappy pictures I had taken of my son!
Attempt #4 I wasnt giving up, Screw Picasso! Sunday night I tried again. Finally was able to download my pics, choose cards and block the Picasso sight. I was at the end, ready to purchase my pictures yes! NOPE power failure-Everything goes black.
Attempt #5 Got to the store with pictures saved to a different device only to realize I had forgotten my wallet! But alas, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I was able to get the suckers ordered and pay when I picked them up.

WOW! what a mess. Professional photos are worth the money. Next year, its all about kiddie kandids.

What's your name?

So we were sitting around tonight eating REALLY yummy shakes from Riley's (if you havent been there go-now! and get the Peanut Butter) when Clint said to Arlo-hey whats your name, trying to prompt him to say his full name; Arlo Eugene Dilley -what came out instead? "I'm Big Dilley"

Trax and Christmas Lights!

Friday Night Heather's family and My family decided to take the whole gang on trax to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. We had a great night full of excitement! Heather also had Teague because Nicole, Eric's sister was out of town. I think the favorite part for the babies was being on the train. Arlo was doing his best to keep Teague out of harms way and kept instructing him to stay behind the yellow line; but Teaglet was determined to get down on those tracks to play. Needless to say, Heather and Eric were kept pretty busy. Once we all got on the train everyone enjoyed the ride, Hay bay and ET loved standing and holding on to the rails to feel the jolt every time the train stopped, teague was trying to jump out of Heather's arms and go exploring and Arlo was busy watching out the windows, and was excited to sit next to the kids when they got sick of standing. Before we knew it we were there. We hiked a few blocks and got a bite to eat at the crown burger somewhat near the temple(the JB's right by it had a 1/2 hour wait). It was really crowded, but the burgers were yummy and it got us warmed up for the lights. As usual, it was beautiful at Temple Square. The babies seemed mesmerized by all of the lights and loved all of the space to run. When we got the the Nativity Scene and heard the story of Baby Jesus, Arlo turned to me and said, "Mom, can we buy those guys?" I giggled quite a bit and explained to him that the wise men, camels and baby Jesus were just to look at and not to play with he said "can I say Hallelujah?" Where in the heck did he come up with that one? we all got a pretty good laugh and then went on our way to see more lights. We got some great pictures of the kids and when we were all sufficiently frozen and tired, decided to get back on the train and go home. What a great night. We decided this is going to be a yearly tradition.

Mamma is that the seeds

Friday Arlo and I were sharing an apple and had bitten down to the seeds when he asked
"Mamma is that the seeds?" I replied yes Arlo those are apple seeds. Next he says "Do they grow into plants?"
how does he know these things????

Lucky #7 Tag

Lucky #7 Tag!
I think this is the first time I have done one of these but since I was tagged by Bonnie, and I enjoyed reading hers so much here goes:

7 Things I Can Do:

1. I Can make friends
2. I Can research persistantly and learn a great deal about subjects that interest me
3. I Can organize cupboards, drawers and closets well
4. I Can work tirelessly to reach a goal
5. I Can put on a play
6. I Can be in plays
7. I Can love those I care about with everything I have

7 Things I Cannot Do:

1. I can't go a day without coffee
2. I can't not have a plan (for my day, my life, the next hour)
3. I can't stand violence in movies (stole this one from Bonnie)
4. I can't be bored
5. I can't seem to lose those 15 lbs I need to (what is the deal with that)
6. I can't meditate very well
7. I can't stop over coordinating things in my life (my house, my baby Arlo, my husband when he lets me, my outfits)

7 Things That Attracted Me To Clint:

1. He has the best sense of Humor.... ever
2. He is and always has known who he is
3. He likes himself
4. He is very intelligent
5. He is handy-He can fix anything or will figure it out if he can't
6. He always finishes what he starts
7. He is a great songwriter and performer

7 Things I Say Most Often:

1. Currently, it would have to be.... "Ginger No!"
2. "Have you seen my wallet, keys, coat, brain?"
3. Why do I feel so full? (could it be all of the cake I ate earlier)
4. Man I am tired
5. Arlo, I love your cute little body
6. Boys who finish their lunch, dinner and brush their teeth get special treats
7. ok lets clean up!

7 Celebrity(or other people) Admirations: -

Barac Obama
Oprah Whinfrey
Toni Morrison
John Lennon
My Grandma Salisbury-was the most giving person in the world-and she was funny!
My sister-has the patience of a saint and is the best mom I know
My Mom-The hardest worker I have ever met


7 People To Tag

1.Mom
2 Heather
3 Amber
4 Keri
5 Nikki
6 Clint
7 Kelley

Date Night

We did it! we got out for an evening with adults! We dropped bubs off and his Grandma & Grandpa Dilley's and we went out with the Torro's (One of our favorite couples) to Dinner and bowling. We had a great time-it was so weird to not have anyone yelling at us or any dogs chewing and jumping. I also have to note that I beat Clint bowling-yes this is a first so It needs to go down on the books. None of us did to hot but we had a great time. The sad thing was we planned to have Arlo stay over night at the grandparents and at the end of our night we just missed him so bad we wanted to go and get him. We did make it until morning. How sad are we? But it was great to have my Hubby all to myself for a night. I miss talking to him without getting interrupted a thousand times. Arlo had a great time to. He went down to the shop with grandpa and they sawed some blocks. He was in heaven. The kid has an obsession with tools. I am pretty sure this is related to seeing his daddy constantly working on something on our fixer upper house since he was born. We even got up our Christmas lights this weekend which Arlo wanted to hang himself. Wow! who knew a 4 hour job would become a 2 day event when kids and dogs are involved?

Let the Chaos ensue

Well, today I thought it would be fun to invite two friends over from my moms group for a casual morning of coffee and chit chat while the kids played... This is what happened instead; All of the kids got the great Idea to go out in the back yard! which it is a perfect day for, except we now have a little dog that craps everywhere...So we had a group full of toddlers with poop on their shoes, or in Arlo's case on his bare feet because I didn't get to him before he ran out the back door with no shoes on. While we were busy tending to the shoes the little ones decided to go downstairs to play. In a matter of seconds I hear little screams followed by a herd of babies running up the stairs . What could be wrong you ask??? Well by the looks of it they had all been sprayed in the face with something, a lot of something. I get downstairs to find Arlo in the laundry room with the spray and wash going nuts!!! He has sprayed it everywhere and thought it would be a fun game to spray all of the kids in the face. So I am freaking out. This is good. I have invited my friends kids over to get Sh--t all over them and while were at it blind them all with a toxic substance. What a great day! I win mom of the year for sure-great Idea to leave the laundry detergent where all of the kids can reach it.

Miracles Do Happen

So this morning something amazing happened. Ginger was doing her usual sniffing routine, the one where I follow her around and watch her like a hawk because I am not sure weather it will lead to her relieving herself on my floor -when she slowly, but deliberately made her way to the back door, scratched and made a little sound indicating she wanted to go out. I about fell over from shock, but I let her out and yes people she went pee! on her very own. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore puppy potty training torture, we had a breakthrough! finally some light at the end of a very poopy dark tunnel. WHOO HOO!

I cooked A Turkey

Saturday I hosted my first Thanksgiving. I cooked a turkey-yep a 15 pounder! I got lots of advice from magazines, cook books, the Internet, Friends and Moms. I ended up with a tasty bird that turned out quite good for my first try. It took an hour longer than I thought it would (Just as my Mom said) but we did get to eat at some point. I pulled out my Great Grandma Poulsen's China for the occasion and even made some cute little name tag scenarios so people knew where to sit. A few weeks ago I got a weird impulse to paint a turkey on my window along with a cornstalk and a few squashes and pumpkins. I am really starting to freak myself out. Painting thanksgiving themes? Baking turkeys? Making Name tags??? What has happened to me?

Life in the Mom Lane

Well, it has really been crazy around here for the past 2 weeks. Ginger has pretty much turned my entire life upside down and peed on it. Clint was out of town for work last week for 3 days which felt more like 3 weeks. I still don't think I have recovered, and neither has he. It was a Project Managers retreat/boot camp. He had a great time, but was thoroughly worn out by the time he got back. They hiked in Zions, rode ATVs, played cards, exercised excessively at 5am, and lots of other things. I have felt a bit like a crazy dog/kid lady who is slowly slipping into delirium. The other night at 11pm I was wearily watching Ginger while attempting to check my email when she got a sudden case of diarrhea and went all over. I was trying to grab a hold of her and in the process got it all over me and the carpet. At this point I just lost it. Here I was, exhausted, smelly, and sitting amongst poop. I woke Clint up in sobs (what a great way to be woken up) he was very helpful and took Ginger outside right away-I think I had crazed look about me at that point. He has been insanely busy at work-They got like 5 new projects and now that he is the project manager it is his job to make sure everyone has work and that means he needs to delegate and keep it coming. He is trying hard to help me at home as much as he can. It has been long hours for both of us. He is a very attentive daddy and I am so appreciative. The minute he gets home, no matter how tired he is he gives Arlo his full attention and tries to relieve me of my puppy duties. It feels a lot like having a new baby-but I am not quite as crazy as I was then...not yet anyway. I know that Ginger is going to be a great addition to our little family and Arlo just is madly in love with her. He is constantly saying things like "Gingie, I love your cute little body" I think I know where he has heard that saying before (maybe moma has said it to him a few times..)

Welcome to the Family Ginger!

Well we did it! I am thinking we must be crazy but Clint and I decided to get a puppy! Her name is Ginger and she is an adorable 10 week old Boston terrier. I will post pictures soon. Right now I feel like I am in puppy potty training prison but I am sure once this is over I will be very happy we have her. She is a sweet girl and Arlo just loves her. He does seem to have some control issues. He just cant understand why she doesn't do exactly what he tells her to do. I keep reassuring him that she will eventually catch on to what he's trying to tell her to do.Right now she just cocks her cute little head to the side and has a look on her face that seems to say " huh?"

The truth hurts sometimes

Yesterday I was attempting to make dinner and as usual Arlo was following me around saying over and over "Hold me Mama, Hold me!" exasperatedly I replied " Why doesn't Arlo hold Mama, I'm tired" He looked up at me, started giggling and said " Silly Mama, I can't hold you, your to fat!"

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Today Arlo and I were in the Parking Lot at the library and I was getting ready to open the back door of our car when he exclaimed "Watch out Mama, car comin" I turned around and sure enough there was a car whizzing by a bit closer than I would have preferred. I said " Oh, thank you so much Arlo I didn't even see it coming." and he replied " It's Ok Mama, don't Kick your self."

Trick or Treat-I LOVE YOU!

Well Arlo definitely loves Halloween and is a huge fan of the trick or treating thing. He went with his cousins Hayley, Ethan, & Teague. William (Amber & Flints boy) and Matt (Ethans best friend) also came along. We had a very lively group! The costumes were awesome. It took some major coercion on my part to get Arlo to agree to wear his Adorable Scarecrow costume I made him. He had other ideas like spider man, batman or a skeleton. I thought since the kid was only 2 years old I would be safe to dress him in something over the top cutesy for one more year. (Hey- at least he wasn't a duck like last year), but the boy knows what he wants and he is a hard one to talk into things. Next year I will fully relinquish my cutesy mommy costume Ideas and yield to his little boy requests. Once I did get his body stuffed into his scarecrow gear he was good to go! In true Arlo fashion, he was a bit tentative at first. He kind of stayed back to observe how the other kids went about this trick or treating business and then decided he would give it a try. Before we knew what hit us, the kid was acting like he was a pro. He didn't want mommy or daddy to help him. He wanted to carry his own candy bag (which soon became bigger than him) and he was galloping (yes full on trotting!) up to peoples doors. He was yelling Trick or Treat just as loud as he could and when that got dull would throw a few little comments that no one was expecting. My personal favorite was when He yelled "Trick or Treat, I love you!" to an unsuspecting door answerer-you can bet he scored some extra candy there. A few of the times he threw in a "Smell my feet". I wasn't to thrilled about that one but Clint thought it was pretty funny. All and all the night was a huge success. We all had a great time.

Playing in The leaves

Last tuesday Arlo, Hay Hay,ET,Teague and I decided it was a perfect day to rake up all the leaves and have some fun! We got little mini shovels for the baby's, a rake for ET and Hay Hay and a snow shovel for me. In no time at all we had a great little leaf hill. We all took turns taking a running jump into the leaves! even Jazz the dog got into it. Who knew a dog would love jumping in leaves? It was the most beatiful day and we all had so much fun. The babies loved it-Et and Hay Hay showed them how to take a run for it ( They are the best cousins to the babies) and we all took turnes being buried. What a great way to spend and afternoon! Its times like these when I am reminded of what being at home with my boy is all about and how lucky I am to be doing it.

Momma, I have a cough

While doing his morning search through in the house, Arlo discovered an open package of Halls. He pulled one out, came up to me and said, "Mama, I eat candy?" I quickly pulled the cough drop out of his hand and explained to him that these were yucky and they they were medicine for when you have a cough. He seemed to be contemplating this idea as I walked out of the room to put the cough drops out of reach. After a few moments I hear a little cough following me around. I looked at him as sincerely as I could and said "Arlo, what's wrong?" He looked up at me, as if I was an Idiot and exclaimed "I not cryin mama, I coughin. I need some throat candy!"

No dad, Not there!

This Morning the three of us were hanging out, drinking our coffee (Arlo's is just warmed up milk shhh!) and reading stories, when Clint sets Arlo's milk on the armrest at the edge of the couch. Arlo looks up at him and exlaims "No dad, not there or momma will just die!" guess this just goes to show I need to tone the dramatics down a bit when expressing myself.

Arlo & Teiglet's night of Fun! ( and disaster)

(Arlo & Tieglet A dynamic duo)

So, yesterday Heather, I and the kids had the special treat of having cousin Tiege come to visit. Arlo and Tieglet have a special bond and as they are exactly the same age,both very silly, and energetic! The boys spent the first year of their lives seeing each other at least 3-4 times per week. Since Heather has gone back to work Tiege has been greatly missed by all of us. When Arlo and I got to Heathers, Both boys ran toward one another and exchanged 3 big hugs. After the warm greeting they were off! The two of them had a lot of plans and such a short time to get it all in. The fun began by the two of them running up on Heathers new leather sofa and doing all types of tricks. They were jumping, spinnning, doing somersaults, rolling around, you name it. Heather and I were in the kitchen trying not to divert our attention for to long when I heard Arlo yell MOMMA! we looked over and there were the babys, standing on opposite arms of the sofa ready to fall off at any moment. As we raced over to scoop them up, they shot a quick glance at eachother,giggled, and hopped down. Whew! Once the the sofa gymnastics were under control the babies conveniently dissapeared. "Where are the babies" I said to Heather "The Laundry soap!" she exlaimed, seeming to know exactly what was up. Once In the laundry room we discover both boys covered from head to toe in laundry detergent. They had found shoveling devices and were dumping the entire gallon bucket all over Heathers floor. What a site! Instead of handling this in any sort of appropriate manner, I couldnt help but giggle. The baby's, thinking they were pretty funny, jumped up on their laundry soap hills and started stomping up and down. After Heather came to the rescue, we got the babies removed and Heather , Hailey and I did a quick clean up. Just as we had gotten that disaster under control, I spot half of a baby body heading out the doggy door. Tieglet was making a break for it! Heather and I head out after tieglet in the dark and after playing a game of tag, we finally managed to get the little guy coralled back inside. Oh,what could that smell be? Yep....doggy doo doo on our feet!
The babys,Ethan and Hailey head back to Ethan's room to play as Heather and I attempt to take a well needed sit. A few minutes later we begin to hear music and lots of giggling, so we figure we had better head over to see what all of the commotion is about. What do we find? The cutest site ever.Ethan, Hailey, Tieglet and Arlo having the time of their lives dancing away in the front living room. A perfect end to a lively night!

No Momma Let it Air Out!

So, the other day I am changing Arlo's diaper-which has gotten to be more like a full on wrestling match lateley (sad to say, I am not usually the winner). As I am going to diaper his cute little bum he snatches the diaper out of my hands and in his overly self assurred raspy voice he announces "No Momma, Let it air out." I had to think about that one, was he saying what I was pretty sure he was saying? well no sooner had that question begin to form in my mind did he clear it up for me. With diaper in hand, he began to fan his private area. I guess he still had some question as to weather that was doing the job so he pulled his head up with his hands and began to blow. I just couldnt stop laughing! what a site; my son naked as the day he was born, contorted in a pretty halarious position blowing away-letting it air out! I had a pretty good hunch where he had gotten this clever little idea so I made a phone call to confirm, and sure enough I guess he and Clint do this "airing out procedure" from time to time.

Let The Blogging Begin

Alright,this is my first official blog post for the Dilley family. I tried to fight the blogging ordeal. I suck with computers but I have found that I love reading other peoples, it helps to make me feel connected and I really wanted to find a way to journal the happenings in my little family's life. So what the heck, here goes, I have given in, I am -A blogger!