Pride and Prejudice - Why I love it

About year and a half ago I went to a Pride and Prejudice movie party. I was going merely for the social part of this gathering. At this point my only encounter with Jane Austin was Emma. We had to watch this in 12 grade English and I hated it. There could be other factors as to why I hated it so much, we can explore that later. So I went to this party and we watched the version with Keira Knightley. I fell in love with this movie. I loved the story, the characters, basically everything about it. A few months ago I read the book and two nights ago I watched the BBC version of the movie. (I started at 10:00pm and watched the whole thing!!) I must say it was very satisfying that it was so long. I was actually disappointed when it was over and would have stayed awake and watched another hour! So I have analyzed this and have determined a few of the reasons as to why I love this story so much:

1. Who hasn't been embarrassed by their family whether justified or not.

2. The characters are as real today as they were a century ago. The sweet innocence and loving nature of Jane, the haughtiness of Caroline Bingley, the ridiculous Mr. Collins, the witty Lizzie, and the sincere generous and compassionate nature of Mr Darcy, to name a few. I can think of people that relate to each of these characters.

3. I have always wanted to so eloquently put people in their place. I love the confidence of Lizzie and her ability to respond leaving no room for the other person to say anything.

and finally

4. It is just a great love story!

I have become a bit of a fanatic I have seen five versions of this movie and if any others exist I will find them and watch them too. I now understand why this is one of the most read and loved books. This is definitely a book I can read and reread. It is impossible to get tired of a truly timeless story!

We had Ryan's 6 month photo shoot yesterday. Here are some of the results. Whitney had to have her pictures done too.

Happy favorite 4th Birthday

For those who don't know Whitney's favorite number is four. Not sure why when we ask she says " I just like four". Yesterday was her 4th birthday. Last year I made a happy birthday sign out of a pink plastic table cloth and cut it into strips and hung it in her door way (like a beaded door without the beads). She mentioned the other day that she knew it was not her birthday yet because her sign was not up. So when she woke up she had her pink 4th birthday sign and her floor was covered with pink balloons. In the afternoon she had a butterfly party. I must say it was the calmest party we have ever had. When the kids arrived we had them get their faces painted, they were all so enthralled with this and were so quiet just watching the others get it done. I will definitely do this for the next party. We made a butterfly puppet that doubled as the treat bag, played pin the antenna on the butterfly, and a butterfly bean bag toss game. The cake turned out great too and was super easy to make. One round cake cut in half and a twinkie for the body. She had a great time and when everyone left wanted them all to come back again. The day was topped off by getting to spend the night at Grandma's. (this was a big deal because Grandma has been sick so it had been a good two weeks since the last time). Birthdays sure are great! She said it feels good to finally be four!!

She made an interesting comment yesterday. She was playing with a toy she got for christmas and said, "Mom, you gave this to me because you are Santa." I looked at her with shear surprise. The remaining of the conversation went like this:

Me: Do I look like a big man in a red suit with a beard.
Whitney: no
Me: So who is the guy with the red suit
Whitney: Santa
Me: Did someone tell you I was Santa or are you just guessing.
Whitney: I'm just guessing. Maybe he is at the north pole.
Me: I think he is.

I must say she caught me completely off guard. I would be very disappointed if she stopped believing so soon. We will see if she forgets about this conversation by December.

I couldn't post pictures for some reason so I will try again later.

"I wish Teagan was our Kid"

Whitney and Teagan have been buddies since they were tiny. They have always played very well together despite the fact that she wants to play princess most of the time.

Whitney is usually a chicken. She is very apprehensive about new people and experiences, but for some reason when you throw Teagan into the mix she suddenly becomes brave. I have utilized this great feature on many occasions to get her to try something new. This summer we'll have to have him come to swimming lessons. Hopefully he can help her get over her fear of getting her face wet, even a tiny sprinkle close to her eyes makes her freak out ( I am sure this is caused from a suppressed memory from swimming lessons with her dad when she was only one. He dunked her on a regular basis).

The other day when Teagan was here playing she said, "Mom, I wish Teagan was our kid." At times I must admit I would like the same thing, I get so much done when he is here because they play so well together. I'm glad they have a good relationship and hope it continues through the years.


Just a note on her outfit: Yes she did get dressed herself this day. She was wearing 5 shirts , 1 skirt, a pair of pants, and snow boots to complete the look. She is so chic!

Happy Valentines Day

The heart shaped pizza was a hit. This was her personal cheese pizza. She put so much cheese on it that you could not tell it was a heart after it was finished baking! Regardless of the loss of shape it was still extremely exciting and delicious to eat. The second pizza she made special for her Daddy.



When we were signing her valentines to give to her friends she determined that she needed to get some different ones for the boys. She didn't think they would like princess "balentimes" and heart tattoos. She decided on camo shrek valentines for her boyfriends.

Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day

Tagged by Tiff

1. What are FOUR jobs that you have had in your life? daycare, customer service rep (that was the technical title but it was actually telemarketing and yes I did feel like I had sold my soul, I only lasted 6 weeks), medical billing, and last but definitely not least MOM!!

2. What are FOUR places where you have been? Paris, New York, Las Vegas, and mine and Whitney's favorite, the park by our house.

3. What are FOUR of your favorite foods? Johnny Carino's Chicken Scallopini, fried ice cream, almost anything chocolate, and a good home made hamburger!

4. Who are FOUR people you would like to get to know better? This question requires more pondering than I currently have time for, I'll come back and fill it in later.

5. FOUR reasons I love being me? The reasons are endless, I love my life. Good things always happen to me. Four specific reasons would be 1. my husband, 2. my kids, 3. I'm getting a new kitchen complete with a dishwasher (this one I really love), and 4. I wouldn't want to be anyone else.

6. What are FOUR classes you wish were offered to you that you could participate in right now? Mind reading (I would like to know what my husband and children are thinking, they think I can do it but I can't), French (not offered by my husband, we tried that once and it didn't go over well), nose wiggling like Samantha on bewitched (once I get this figured out I am sure my house will be able to clean itself), and cooking ( I am always game for new recipes and ideas to make life in the kitchen faster and more tasty).

7. Who are FOUR friends or relatives that you would like to tag? My blogging world is pretty small, Tiff tagged my other bloggers, so I can only currently think of two Audrey and Natalee tag your it!

Little Man

I put the highchair up a few weeks ago and when I put Ryan in it he looked so tiny. He will be six months tomorrow and has finally doubled his birth weight. He is a whopping 14 pounds!! I did not remember Whitney being this little. Here is a picture of Whitney at 5 months and Ryan at 5 1/2 months. I can't decide if he really is smaller. His hair makes him look like he is the same size or at least close to it. He is tiny but he sure is cute! His personality is developing more and more. His newest thing is to stick his tongue out and blow spit all over. It is a real pleasure when he does it with a mouth full of food. He laughs each time. It is either my reaction that is funny or Whitney's laughter that makes him laugh either way he thinks it is hilarious. I have seriously considered buying bigger bibs for me to wear.

Snow update

Adee we are totally on the same wave length. We got dumped on again last night with snow. I had Mom take a picture of Whitney and me next to the pile of snow in her yard. For those that don't know when we were little there were bushes that lined the driveway so it did not take long for the snow to build up. The bushes are no longer there. I am 5'7" plus 1 1/2" heels and the pile is still taller than me. I would say at that spot there is about 5' 10" of snow. Though I must say the snow is fun, I really like the fact in recent years it has not been this bad. I don't know about the rest of Idaho but as for me and my house, we are pro global warming!!

Snow Snow Snow

I remember as a kid how the snow drifts would get so huge and how we would try to build snow forts and tunnels (neither of which were structurally sound). This year it seems that we have finally returned to the Idaho I grew up in! It may be that we have always had this much snow and as I got taller the snow drifts got smaller or that I am now aware of them again because I now have someone who is fascinated by all the things you can build and make with snow (we have a whole backyard of the stuff). I was sure that the snow angels she makes with me would pale in comparison once Tom built her this snow cave complete with slide!! Luckily she still likes doing snow angels with me.