No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Matt and I have a little inside joke that no good deed goes unpunished.  Whenever we try to be nice, or help someone out something always happens and sometimes it's not the most pleasant of circumstances.

This morning I was doing a neighbor a favor by picking up their child for school.  So on the way out to get her I had the feeling to put my phone in my left pocket.  When I went to put it in my pocket my keys were there and didn't want to scratch the face of it so I put it in the other side.  Harmless enough.  On the way out to get the little girl I rolled into their cul de sac and had a feeling to park on the bottom of their steep driveway but wagered oh she'll come out.  No little girl so I put the emergency brake on and had the car in park and had the feeling to open the door to Macey's side.  THANK GOODNESS I at least listened to that one.  I don't like leaving the door open because it freezes my kids out but I did it today.  I knocked on the door and the little girl was running late and her Mom invited me in and I took one glance at my kids and decided to wait by the car.  Macey had a runny nose so I was tending her on the passenger side door when the van started sliding or rolling down the driveway(for the life of me I'm not sure how this happened...there was not enough snow to even slide and I'm pretty sure the tires were rotating and I was in park).  My first instinct was to grab the side and the car was dragging me down the driveway.  Have you ever tried to stop a sliding car on a incline in a dusting of snow.  Doesn't work that well.  So I tried to regain my balance and jump in the van because the car was headed towards a snow bank  I finally got my footing and grabbed the van handles and threw myself in the car.  The movement of the van going down the driveway nailed me in the side pretty good and I hopped through the van like I was a teenager again jumping over the seat and slamming on the brake with my foot.  Just as I looked up the little girl was not more than a foot away from the van of where it was and I was so thankful she was not near the car or she would've gotten ran over.

After uncontrollable shaking and hyperventilating I went to open the door and couldn't because we missed the snow bank by about 3 inches.  That could've been really bad.  I don't even think my kids knew what was going on.  So I fought back my freaked out beyond belief tears and drove them to school.  After dropping the kids off went to call Matt and realized my phone took the brunt of the force of the car hitting me and my knee and ankle for that matter.  This is why I can't ever get new things.  So much for the new cell phone.

There is only one other time I can remember I have felt fear like that and both involved my kids being in danger.  I hope I never have to feel that way again because it is a horrible, empty feeling in your stomach when you have no control that your kids are in danger.

Never a dull moment in the life of the Murdock's!  I need to drown my anxiety with some chocolate cake...

Impossible Night's Rest

The offenders:

 The victims:

Yes they look cute, cuddly and innocent but they have their devious side as well.  At least Maryn was down stairs and was soundly in snooze land last night.  Last night I felt like I was trapped in the Twilight Zone.  At about midnight buddy guy starts screaming uncontrollably.  After a lot of consoling and numb gum (poor thing just needs to cut his teeth already) I finally got him calmed down only to find that all the commotion woke up Macey.  I thought she would go back to sleep but I was dead wrong.  Finally started dozing off and Macey jumped on me.  Matt put her back to bed.  Then about 30 minutes later I heard this horrific scream from Mason.  Went and checked on him and I was trying to figure out how on earth two stuffed animals got in his crib only to find out Macey was hunched in the corner of the crib.  She had jumped in the crib nailing the poor guy.

Put her back to bed when 30 minutes later I started hearing all these doors closing and someone walking around the house and then someone getting tissue.  I jumped up and low and behold Macey was shutting the door to our bedroom so we wouldn't hear her.  Finally dragged her in to bed with us THAT DIDN'T WORK!  She decided to go get her blanket in the dark and while she was rounding the bed post smacked her eye into the side of the bed.  It's a pretty nice black eye I'll say.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Then, while in bed she kept purposely kicking my backside because she thought it was funny. Finally we put her back to bed and dragged buddy guy into bed with us while shutting her door.  Problem solved...NOPE!!  After starting to doze off again horrific screaming came from Macey this time.  She was scared and I came in 3 times to console her finally on the last time she just had to scream it out.  She was doing it to get us in the room.  I think this finally concluded close to 5:00 in the morning.  I think we are being punished for some unimaginable reason.  If you ever want to torture someone just keep them up for the whole night with screaming kids...they'll definitely break and begin to talk.

Here is hoping, praying, pleading for a better night's rest!!

Aspiring Photographer

Maryn received a really nice gift from Daddy for her birthday...a digital camera.  Why we continue to spoil our kids is beyond my comprehension but she has been one happy little girl.  The main focus of her photos has been Buddy Guy.  I'm probably not going to need to even take photos anymore because I think she has taken more of him in the last 2 weeks than I have the whole 8 months.  Who knows maybe this will help her develop a love for photography when she gets older.  

When I was a kid I had a polaroid camera.  I loved that thing.  It was exciting to see what the photos would turn out to be as it developed right in front of your eyes.  My main focus was my cats.  I had every picture imaginable of every little kitten born and our big kitties.  I also remember bringing my polaroid camera to the capital building on a field trip.  Our little 6th grade choir was asked to sing in the capital building where the acoustics were amazing!  So, I guess I was apart of a choir once upon a time.  So.  Long.  Ago.  Anyway, I took so many pictures of the capital and I can remember being so proud of myself.  

Here are some of the pics Maryn has taken in the past weeks.

I haven't forgot about my middle child

I DO NOT want Macey to experience middle child syndrome!!!  I am a middle child and ya can't help but feel slided when you have minimal pictures of your childhood and there is very little stories or memories of what you were like.  I think that's why I've tried so hard to capture everything about my kids childhood.  I've been keeping a journal for all the kids because I want to be able to go back and say yes this is what you were like.  Maybe it's for my own satisfaction.  I'm not always the best at writing but each of the kids have a lengthy write up of their birth stories and how excited/scared we were to have each of them.  The last 2 years have flown by and I want my Macers to know that I have not forgotten about you and Mama promises to get your first year scrapbook finished.

 

1 down 2 to go

I'm not one for really making new year resolutions because I believe that we should be constantly working on refining ourselves.  But, sometimes it helps to feel like you have a fresh start.  You get in a rut and everything seems like your climbing Mount Everest...yes nearly impossible.  Last year was a roller coaster year for our family and believe it or not when 2011 came in I felt a renewed feeling of hope that I could put the past year behind me.  Not that it was entirely bad but a lot of new experiences both good and not so good really got my motor thinking and reflecting.  So, I started writing just a few things down that I've been wanting to finish or improve on but lack the Oomph or confidence or I'm worried about getting it exactly perfect so I don't do anything at all syndrome or I make the project too big in my mind and don't know where to start yadda yadda yadda.  I am the woman of a million excuses!  I don't want to be that girl anymore.

Some things on the list have deadlines...gotta love those and others are a work in progress.  One thing on my list was making the lullaby books for my kids.  Mason's Lullaby Book pages are officially finished!! I proofed all the pages and perfect or not I'm going to get it ordered this week.  I'm excited.  I like some pages more than others but I think this will be a cute little keepsake for my kids.  Here are the last of the pages I finished.  Matt said one of the pages reminds him of the baby in the sun on Teletubbies.  Whatever happened to that show?  Anyway, here is the last few pages of his book.

Sidenote:  Church was really good today.  I really enjoyed the second talk from the Sister missionary from Japan.  Gave me a renewed sense of what I'm supposed be doing and what I firmly believe in...Service and how people need each other.  How true this is.  Have a good week!

Happy Birthday May Bear

Today is my baby's birthday.  When I tell her she's my baby she corrects me and says no Mom I'm a big girl...Mason is your baby.  Maryn will always be my little girl even though she is 6 going on 14!  This young lady has the gift of gab and can make friends with practically anyone.  She loves to help me.  I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner and she said Stew.  She even helped me peel all the carrots and potatoes.  To finish up she even fed buddy guy today and she will not take no for an answer when I tell her she doesn't have to do these things.  She just tells me that she wants to.

Maryn was such a doll when she was born.  I know I've said this before but she had the most incredible amount of hair.  We took the kids to see Tangled this weekend and when baby Rapunzel is laying down in her crib right before she's taken she has this gorgeous long hair and big eyes and Matt and I turned at the same time and said THAT WAS MARYN!!!

Maryn loves to dance and sing and get prettied up!  She loves friends and loves school.  Her biggest accomplishment in the last year is learning how to read.  She decided this past week that she wanted to read chapter books and started Charlotte's Web and is a good part of the way in it.  She also decided that she wanted to start taking piano lessons.  She is excited about life and asks so many thought provoking questions.  She challenges me to know the insides and outs of everything.  I love this little girl so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARYN!!

Here are some pictures over the years...Enjoy!