week 2

so it has been 15 days since lee left for utah and things have been going better than expected. yeah, i still call him at least 3 times a day, the housework doesn't really ever get finished, i haven't even startEd packing for the move, and london told a friend that her dad was dead. but honestly, we're really doing fine!

last week we kept busy- i graced target with my presence 3 different times, visited a few parks, went swimming at our place, & set up lots of playdates.

just yesterday, monday, i went to babies 'r us, sam's club, the grocery store called "rainbow"-weird, i know, and the park. it was busy and that's just how i like it. i can't sit around my house because then i feel like i should be doing all these chores instead of sitting and i mean, who wants to do that when you can go out and run errands, i.e. spend money?? ignorance truly is bliss.

on the agenda for the remainder of the week-
*playgroup at the park
*friend's birthday party
*meeting at church
*children's museum
*playdate for london
*visiting teaching
*another playgroup at another park
*girls goIng to our friend's housE for the entire day!!!!!!!!!!

with all of this going on, you must be wondering where atticus fits in, right? well, he is such a dream baby that i have no choice but to bring him along with me on all of our adventures. i mean, he has been the easiest baby EVER. as long as he is fed and changed, you could stick daggers in his eyes and he'd still be cheery. i talk to lee about having more children since atticus has been so wonderful and all he can say is, "why ruin a good thing?". he has a point but really, who's been doing most of the parenting lately?

HAPPY SUMMER!

weekend to do's

* breakfast at Perkins with my family for one final time
* clean, clean, clean
* laundry
* help lee pack :( ...and maybe sneak one of the kids in

(this is not atticus, btw)
* take a nap at some point
* one last date with lee before we part ways for 2.5 months :(

* scrape boogers off my kids' walls (new discovery, just today. i almost died)
* make my kids scrape their own booger of their walls-now we're talkin'!
* church, one last time as an entity :(
* start scoping out places to live in the SLC
* let girls stay up late to spend time with their daddy



what are your plans?

it looks as though....

we are moving to utah! lee said he would only move back to utah if he got a job with STRUCK. low and behold, he just received word that he's been accepted for a summer internship with them, paid nonetheless. and due to recent events (job lay-off from wells fargo) there is absolutely no reason for any of us to stay here in minneapolis!

so expect to see our beautiful, sunshiney faces this summer. you can expect lee's as early as wednesday, june 3rd. please feel free to invite him over for dinner, as he will have no wife around, to bring him hot meals anymore (until september).

we are super excited, however, we will miss minneapolis a lot. we have loved living here, experiencing life outside of the only place we've mostly ever known. we have made great friends & have loved, loved, loved our ward. we will miss everything about this city except for the frigid winters that are enough to scare almost anyone in to moving to utah.

thanks to all for your loving support and accepting us as family while here is minnesota. and thanks to everyone "back home" for supporting us in moving here almost 2 years ago. we love and appreciate you all.

my 102

this is a tradition among bloggers, i think. actually i just made that up BUT, i have seen "my 100" on many so i guess i better jump on the bandwagon. only i've thought of a few more than 100. here are 100+ things about me. enjoy!

1. i wake up around 7 or 7:30 am and my "nap time" is usually around 9am-when atticus goes down.



2. my biggest flaw is impatience, which is usually the reason i "raise my voice" ok, yell, at my children. i hate waiting-don't make me wait.

3. i have never regretted being a stay-at-home mom. i relish in the fact that i get to see the big & little accomplishments everyday. however, i do wonder what it would be like if i had a different career.



4. my husband is the funniest person i know and could very well be the funniest person you know too.

5. i never, ever, ever iron. i hate it.



6. i taste my son's baby food and have a few faves. in the past, it was rice cereal with the formula (when my daughters were babies). is that weird?

7. when i'm nervous i talk really fast and my face turns red. i've even been known to get "splotchy" on my chest. or worse, cry.

8. sometimes i speak before i think. and have had to follow it up with apologies.

9. i dream of having about 6 or 7 children but really wonder if i could handle it. i also imagine myself being a mother and wife in the '50's; cooking, cleaning, & humming all day. and i wish it could be so.




10. i never floss.

11. seeing boogers leaking out of other kids noses is extremely unsettling to me and makes me want to puke. yet, i have to get the ones from atticus's nose. they drive me nuts.

12. the diet always starts tomorrow.

13. i procrastinate like it's going outta style.

14. i get really tired when i'm not doing anything. needless to say, i've been reeeeeeally tired lately.

15. i knew at age 15 that i would be married at 19 & at age 16 i knew it would be to lee kimball, once i got rid of all the "others". mwahhhhhh hahahahahaha

16. and i've never been happier.

17. i secretly want a 1/4 sleeve (tattoo) but i know too much and would be held way too accountable.

18. i've only had 3 "real" boyfriends (dated about 10 months each). and i always hated dating.

19. when lee had asked permission to marry me, my dad sat us down to talk about our "plan". lee started joking around about divorce. he and i thought it was hilarious. my dad? not so much. i think it may have been the one time lee was intimidated. remember that dad? :)

20. i've only broken one bone-in my leg. when i was 4. it was all my sister's fault. we were riding together and my leg got caught in the spoke.

21. i love christmas but i hate winter. with a passion.

22. i love summer but i hate the heat. guess i'm never truly satisfied.

23. i dream of being able to go on a shopping spree and having it actually be ok. (no guilt involved)

24. if i had nicole richie's body, i'd never complain. if i had jessica simpson's dukes of hazards body i'd still never complain.



25. i can't say who my favorite band is, what my favorite movie is, or my favorite book because i really don't know. which brings me to #26.

26. i am completely indecisive. this could very well be the one & only thing that annoys lee about me.

27. i am a very light sleeper. which could explain why i'm tired a lot.

28. i've been known to be a bit "lazy". getting out of bed everyday is the worst part of my day-i have to do it in baby steps. you know, first being woken up by the baby, then the girls come in and we all lay there playing around for a bit until someone says, "can i eat now?" oh yeah, breakfast. then i take about another 5-10 minutes before i get out of bed. poor kids have usually been awake for about an hour to an hour and a half before i've even seen the light of day.

29. i feel myself becoming one of those parents who vicariously live through their children and want them to grow up doing what they wished they'd done. but i think i'm a bit too wise to let it go too far. its ok to have big dreams for them, right?

30. i'm drawn to funny people. they are fascinating.



31. when we're driving, one of my kids will usually say, "mom. why do you have to go so fast?" oops. i really don't drive that fast. they're just small so things are magnified. you know.

32. i have seven magazine subscriptions.

33. i love the church and have found it more and more interesting since becoming a mother. i better understand why we do certain things. i cannot imagine life without the gospel. i could not survive.

34. but i am still much too intimidated to "share the gospel". maybe i should have served a mish before getting hitched.



35. i love my in-laws just as much as my family. we all get along great and i love that. not too many people can say that.

36. i will be having a conversation with someone and my mind will wander to something else but i can still input the "uh-huhs" in the correct place.

37. i cannot spin around with my kids or go on the tire swing; it makes me incredibly nauseous.

38. i needs me a diet pepsi just about everyday. but i am not addicted.

39. i have to go to target at least once a week. at the very least.

40. i can find an excuse for almost anything, just to get out of something. this is probably another annoyance of lee's.

41. lee and i do this thing lately where all of a sudden, out the blue he'll start beat boxing a little and i chime in with my sweet dance moves & fingers a snappin' to the beat. it goes on for about 15 seconds and then it just ends. and we continue with whatever we were doing.



42. i've been confronted twice in my life by black people who mistakenly thought i was being racist. the first incident scared the crap out of me. the second just pissed me off.

43. i get nervous that my 6 month old is going to begin crawling any moment.

44. i have a need to be right but can't argue worth a damn. i don't even know what my point is half the time. i would not make a fantastic lawyer.

45. i need to turn this fat arse:


into this:



45. i use the term "gay" in describing something i find to be "lame". example: "that shirt is so gay". i refuse to feel bad about it. i do not mean it in a derogatory way toward homosexuals whatsoever. if someone is offended, it's their problem. but i will do my best to not use it around them. but as mentioned in #8, i sometimes speak before thinking.

46. flaws i find annoying in others usually end up being similar to things i do. but you know, i find good excuses as to why i do them.

47. i never understood how rewarding motherhood really is until i had kids.

48. i never understood how much manipulation is involved in motherhood until i had kids. actually, i think the term i am looking for is negotiation.

49. sometimes i feel like my children are smarter than me. but then i quickly remember how i manipulated them earlier in the day and i feel so much better.

50. i often feel like i don't deserve lee. he melts my heart.

51. i sort of relish in the fact that we don't have cable. but somehow i still manage to waste great amounts of time.

52. i'm ok with "borrowing" internet from our neighbors. God understands our situation, right?

53. i never thought i'd use the dvd player as a babysitter but...

54. the thought of owning and driving a minivan doesn't frighten me as much as it used to. as long as it is totally pimped out. not "low-rider" pimped but "hot, cool mom" pimped.

55. i always write & intend on sending my thank you notes but they just don't make it to the mailbox. sorry everyone.

56. i wish i would have stuck with dancing; i prolly could have been the winner 5x's over on "so you think you can dance".

57. i am determined to get the "1/16 ethnicity" college scholarship for my children. thanks lee!

58. i have visited mexico, france, italy, & the philippines. my favorite was france. i took 4 1/2 yrs of french and i actually got to use a little of it!

59. i have a certain way of getting almost anything i want.

60. yes, i am almost certain this post makes me sound extremely snobbish. but i'm really a sweetheart. just ask anyone i've never pissed off.

61. webster's dictionary: passive aggressive, adjective-raina dawnn lewis kimball.

62. i try not to judge others but some people just make it too difficult. :)

63. even though i get flustered & kind of crazy, i looove chaos, busyness, etc.

64. i have refused so many websites (myspace, facebook, blogger, etc.) only to realize how much they are the lifeline of everyone i know so i feel i have to join in too.

65. similar to #64, i can easily be talked into almost anything. except speaking in church. i will flat out refuse. gasp! even God knows this, as lee and i have moved 5 times and have only been asked to speak once. i will have no part in it. see #7.

66. my biggest fears for my children: drowning, kidnapped, molested, eating disorders. it is not a case of paranoia.

67. london sometimes refuses to give me hugs when i drop her off at the front of school and it makes my heart sink. :(

68. deaf or blind? i choose deaf. i'm a visual person.

69. like many, i thought the lyrics really were, "there's a bathroom on the right" (bad moon rising by CCR). until around age 24 my father in-law told me otherwise. who would've thought, right?

70. i will find any reason to not let you in my home if it is not clean.

71. i get a wee bit nervous when my kids talk about boyfriends, makeup, kissing. (not in the same sentence-just in general) mind you, they are 5 & 7.

72. i am very non-confrontational. unless i am driving and you make a stupid move.

73. i rarely finish anything.

74. i love to cook & bake but only when i am not rushed. when it comes to the end of the day, i'd rather just get fast food for ease and convenience.

75. i get bored really, really quickly.

76. i love to read but nothing too intellectual or my mind wanders.

77. i laugh when i hold up newborn's clothes. they are just so stinkin' cute.

78. i'm grateful i didn't have another girl-i'd be in so much debt. btw, where are all the cute baby boy clothes??

79. my goal weight is 120-125lbs.



80. i'm terrible at returning phone calls.

81. when it comes to someone being accused of murder, sexual assualt, or any other heinous crime, i kind of, sort of, believe they are guilty until proven innocent. mostly because if they really are innocent then they at least must have been up to no good to be put in that situation in the first place, right? ****lee read this one and said it sucked & makes me sound completely judgmental. i agree, however, you have to admit i may be right. in most cases.

82. i love and appreciate how intelligent and educated my husband is but resent the fact that he has been in school for 6 of our 9 years of marriage. and i just lose brain cells with every child i have. what gives?

83. lee and i don't fight or yell-we engage in "lover's quarrels".

84. i love taking pictures but i detest being in them.

85. i miss living in southern california. and no, lee, this isn't my way of letting everyone know i used to live in california. i really really miss it and if we could afford it, i would force it upon lee to move us there.

86. i never understood why they used the term "86ed" for an item that is out in a restaurant.

87. i don't explain myself very well. most of the time.

88. my most recent addiction is blogging. mostly cause i have nothing better to do since lee is in school. big surprise, i know.

89. my favorite subject in high school was english.

90. i abhor emptying the dishwasher. it's been pawned to the lucky 5 & 7 year olds who occupy space in my home, rent-free.



91. miscarrying almost two years ago was definitely the most horrific thing that has happened in my life thus far.

92. i don't believe the world is any more evil today than ever before. it's always been evil. tell me of a time without war, famine, crime, murder in cold-blood, sexual assault, lack of freedom, moral upheaval, etc.

93. i don't show my mum & pop enough just how much i love them.

94. even though i think i may be their favorite. sorry sistas and bro.

95. i just dyed my hair a golden blondish color. now i want it bleached again.

96. i've eaten 3 brownies today. ok four, if you want to be all technical. sheesh.

97. MOM & DAD: CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR THIS ONE: i cheated a little in high school. out of laziness not stupidity.

98. i don't mind packing for a trip because i have something to look forward to but unpacking is the worst. i once returned from a vacation and lived out of the suitcase for nearly two months.

99. i have heartburn from those 3 brownies i ate today. ok, 4.



100. atticus has been my easiest and healthiest baby.



101. i love hosting, entertaining, and dinner parties.

102. i could probably tell you the name of almost any celebrity. i'm not bragging, it's just a talent i posses.

you gotta love the man!

ok, i seriously have THE coolest husband in the entire world. after today, i realized that i love him more than ever before, which was already as much as i thought one could love another. here's why: this morning i woke up and came straight to the computer to check my email. open & waiting for me was the following craiglist post. er, posted by none other than the leerod, himself:


Save my marriage and I’ll throw in a bike rack - $60

In an attempt to save my marriage, I am selling this bike rack. How can a bike rack be the cause of so much heartache and contention, you ask? I will answer your question with a question – have you ever had a bike rack taking up a sizeable chunk of your 900sf apartment’s “dining room?”

The dimensions are as follows: 00x00x00. The last number is the important one, because that’s the one that determines how deep into the “dining room” this contraption will intrude. You may ask, “why put it in the ‘dining room’ and not the living room, the bedroom, or better yet, the garage?” I will answer your question with a question – how many 900sf apartments do you know of that come with a useable garage for your own? (If there is such a thing, please post it here on Craigslist, as I may need to find a place to stay if I’m not able to rid myself of this infernal thing.)

This is one versatile hunk of metal. Don’t feel compelled to only keep bicycles on it, (although it can house four full-size bikes comfortably). From laundry to garden hoses, two-by-fours to hoagies, this rack will be your second best friend…just don’t let it oust your significant other from your “friendship top spot” or you may be reposting it sooner than you can get it through the front door of your (assumedly) larger apartment and/or house with garage.

Email me, or call me at 801-691-4778 with questions and or benevolent offers to purchase soon. Wish me luck!



seriously, this thing is huge. notice how it is literally touching the side of the stove. yes, it was a touchy subject in our household at one point.


this was posted early this morning and by the afternoon he had received an email saying "i'll come pick it up today". we were super stoked, obviously. yes! $60 in our pocket! (or if you're lee, "$60 to go toward credit card debt!! yippee!") so the guy came tonight around nine. as lee carried it out to him, the guy said, "i liked your post. i wasn't even in the market for a bike rack. the title of your ad just caught my eye." ahhhh, i laughed so hard when he told me that. he's definitely perfect for the advertising industry.

i am married to an absolute genius.

most majorest letdown

so this past saturday we went to sam's club (see to-do list below). we needed a few things for our memorial day bbq but we really enjoy going on saturdays because of all the free samples. this may sound chintzy but come on, everyone does it. costco and sam's club are completely packed with tightwads such as ourselves every weekend.

however, on this particular saturday, there wasn't the usual swarm of freeloaders & senior citizens wearing white "protective gear" down toward the meat/produce sections. it striked me as odd and once i got closer, i caught on. there were but a few tables set up. like maybe four. and most of them were sampling out, wait, what is that, fruit?. you've got to be kidding me. we came here at 1pm. and on empty stomachs? for fruit? it was a total downer. i mean, i looove sampling varying types of fare, getting just a small taste of one item & moving on to the next. but no, not this time. this time i was greeted with pineapple, watermelon & the likes. thanks, but hello, i already know what these taste like-i've been partaking of the fruit my entire life.

however, it wasn't a total letdown, i guess; we did get to sample a brownie & some ziti pasta with focaccia breadsticks. afterwards we got some lunch & took advantage of the low prices at the snack bar. you know, .87 for soda gigante, $1.89 for a freaking huge piece of pizza that they cut down the middle and then actually becomes two. i mean, who can really complain with prices like that? i guess i can. i'm a pretty savvy complainer, i suppose.

but sam's club better be back in the game upon my next visit or i'm canceling and joining costco. sam's club is the wal mart of wholesale clubs anyway.

mean girls

she did her own hair. if you couldn't tell. when scarlett returned from school, her hair was down. i asked why she took it out and she replied, "zoe made fun of it." :( breaks my wee heart.



on a sidenote, i always find it interesting to see what people are doing. i enjoy reading/hearing about their daily lives, even the mundane on-goings, their to-do lists, etc. so this is my weekend's to do list, if you care:

*donut shop for breakfast. yum.
*laundry
*make house *sparkle*
*sam's club (for the free samples AND food for monday's bbq)
*host memorial day bbq
*get out & enjoy the weather

pretty boring, yes.

have a nice weekend!