You ask, you get...

So today I got emails, (more than one), from my mother. No "how ya hanging in there" or "how's my most favorite lovely daughter doing." Just, "Iliana, I hope you have time to write another blog soon. Love, Mom." My moms a pro at getting her way without the face to face or voice to voice nagging. She's more passive aggresive. I've obviously learned it from a master.

And like in all facets of my life, I aim to please. Its hard being so selfless.

So here ya go mother. No frills, no cleverness. Just whats on my mind...

I like my boys. I liked them even better last week when we weren't stuck indoors all day, but hey, they're all right.

Gavin's pretty crazy. Sometimes I think, "hey, I bet everyone thinks my kid is stinkin adorable." And then a picture like this pops up and I realize maybe its a face only a mother can love.

And T. Good ole T. He's been in trouble a lot. But he's also been pretty funny. Like yesterday we were at my friends house and her little boy was all excited telling me about all the cool toys he has. Then Tyler chimes in just as enthusiastically, "Ya, guess what, I have orange pomade!" Though his love of hairproducts slightly concerns me, his comment a couple weeks ago has me more worried. He had been begging for an apple and finally I told him okay. So he takes a few bites and says he's full. Ya, full of crap. So I tell him to finish it or else. He refuses. I tell him to obey his mother. He won't oblige. So I pulled the whole, "Tyler, what would Jesus do? Would he waste food? Would he listen to his mother?" T, not too interested in my game says, "huh, I don't know. What would He do?" I said, "He would eat that apple." Tyler then holds his lovely Fuji high in the air and declares, "Fine. Jesus, come down here and eat this apple." AGH!
And then there is this whole business about it snowing when it's supposed to be warm and lovely. I wan't to burn Mr. Eubank's freakish white jacket (gotta be a Utahn to understand that, sorry). Last week we were outside for hours and hours and hours of each day. I didn't clean my house all week because we weren't inside to destroy it. And then Monday came and I felt like shouting the S and H and D words out the window. And the boys have been whining, and sad and laying around like their desire to live is slowly being sucked out of them with each bored breath.

And then there is the matter of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. I've been scouring red box after red box for weeks waiting for it and now that I have it I wish red box would die. Little children should be spared of hardship don't you think? This is why I'm all for fastforwarding the first scenes of Nemo, why I'm all about half-day kindergarten, and why we sing children's hymns while we lick ice cream cones around a cozy fire everynight before a bedtime full of dreams of lollipops and rainbows. But I actually thought it was a great movie.

Also, I'm annoyed with politics. I'm flabergasted with Jake. He writes a "Mormon Democrat" blog that makes me sizzle on a regular basis. I'm not anti-liberal, anti-democrat. I'm just pro self-motivation. Pro capitalist. Pro invisible hand. I know, how nieve of me, right? I watch too much CNN and MSNBC and live heavily in a financial institutionalized world (like we all do). I think hard working, honest, intelligent, driven business men shouldn't be stifled in their salaries. I think someone who makes two million dollars/year should be taxed the same as me. Is it weird that I don't balk at my tax dues, that I'm proud to say I havn't used WIC even though I could have, and that I'm glad there is a welfare system in place even though it gets abused more than I care to think about? I fully acknowlege God has blessed me immesurably. It is unfair that I live so well when others do not. I feel a deep responsibility to give and I should do more. I know. I too believe in change. Change that promotes hard work. Change that promotes self-relience. Change that doesn't punish those who have risked so much and have become successful.

And lastly, I've been thinking about Cold Stone's Oatmeal Cookie Batter ice cream. Thinking about it is almost as good as eating it. In heaven I'm most certain their will be vats of it awaiting me. Thanks Lacy for starting my addiction and therefore contributing to the massive wave of obesity in America. Go ahead, eat some for me. You won't regret it.

There you go mom. You got more than you asked for. That should teach you.