MightyJohnsons

Shlumpadinka – Oprah uses this word to describe a woman who dresses like she has completely given up.

So my neighbor told me the other day that I was a “shlumpadinka”. Initially I had no idea what the word meant and after she told me I thanked her for the compliment and went about my day…not really. It actually bothered me a little until I realized she was sort of right. I certainly have a lot of “shlumpadinka” days. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have ‘given up’ on how I look but often times I just don’t get time to get cleaned up and when I do, I put on a comfy sweat suit or PJ’s. Of course much of this is due to the fact that I had a baby two months ago and don’t have any clothes I can fit in.

Truthfully though, some days I just don’t care what I look like. It seems pointless to get all pretty and then spend the entire day cleaning the house, doing laundry, changing diapers, and such. On a good day I get showered after Megan gets off to kindergarten (around12:30 pm). Other days I try to exercise and then don’t get showered until after I work out. I try to be presentable by the time Seth gets home from work. Most days I still want him to think I am attractive. 🙂

I could feel bad for being a “shlumpadinka” but I don’t. I feel like I am at a stage in my life that requires some sacrifice and more often than not that sacrifice is me. So all of you out there who watched Oprah rip on those housewives who have neglected themselves, I say “don’t feel bad.” If you want to get dressed up each day then do it because you want to, but if you want to stay in your lounge wear then do it. We deserve that much after all — no need to feel bad for how we look. I love my PJ bottoms and my hooded zipper sweatshirt (Must be the Alaskan girl in me). Is it pretty? Probably not, but it keeps me clothed and doesn’t require much effort.

So if you come by for a visit and you see me in my PJ’s or a sweat suit don’t be surprised. Just know I am a “shlumpadinka” and that I am okay with that. 🙂

We blessed Drew on February 24th. He was such a little angel. He will be two months old this week. He is still the size of a peanut and hardly looks like he has changed. He is smiling and cooing now and is as precious as can be. Here are a few photos from his blessing.

Little Drew

Jacob, Drew, Megan, and Katelyn

Grandma Jan and Grandpa Mike w/Drew

A couple days ago, I lost my winter coat at school. When I came home I said to my mom, “Mom at recess I was hot so I took off my coat”. And we’re not supposed to play football on the sidewalk, so we went to the field, and I forgot to get my coat, and after recess I noticed my coat was not there, after that I asked my teacher if I could look in other classrooms.

It wasn’t in 1 classroom I looked in. Then I checked in the Lost and Found, it still wasn’t there.

The next day I did the same thing. And the next day, I still couldn’t find it. After school it was the weekend so I searched with my teacher Mrs. Stone. We couldn’t find it so next week if we find it, I’m going to be more careful!

Apparently I have been tagged again, but this time about me. I don’t have anything terribly exciting to share about myself but here goes…

Things I was doing 10 Years Ago:

1. Attending BYU
2. Waiting for my missionary (now husband) to return home from Scotland.
3. Volunteering as a physical therapy aide at UVRMC

Things on my to-do list today:
You don’t even want to know. I am a list person and my ‘to-do’ lists are always very lengthy. Here are a few things on my list for today: Order Drew’s baby pics; balance check book; iron Seth’s shirts (way backed up on this); call Meg’s dance instructor to see if Meg left her jazz shoe; pack for St. George; order blazer for Jacob; call my sister; mop; clean master bath; finish writing “thank-you” notes; mail package to my Mom; and the list goes on but I’ll stop there. 🙂

3 Snacks I enjoy:

1. Edamame
2. Red Vines
3. Chips and Salsa

What I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Pay off all debt (home, car, etc).
2. Tell Seth to quit his job and start pursuing his own business (a huge dream of his).
3. Invest and live off the interest.

Nobody needs a billion dollars. That is a ridiculous amount of money. I would share it with family, friends and those who need it.

3 bad habits:

1. After I buy an item at a store I always check other stores to see if I got a good deal. Sometimes it can be really frustrating if I didn’t get a good price, but I almost always do. 🙂
2. I can’t sit still. Even when I watch a movie I am always doing something…working on the computer, making a to-do list, etc.
3. Sometimes I finish people’s sentences. I try not to, but I catch myself doing it every now and again.

Jobs I’ve Had:

1. Customer Support Supervisor for Sparks.net (currently)
2. Managed Apartments while at BYU
3. Landscaping crew at Ricks College
4. Admin Assistant at Nature’s Way

Things People Might Not Know About Me:

1. I ran a marathon while 14 weeks pregnant
2. My middle name is “Silke” (My mom is German and that is a German name.)
3. I am a really good fisherman. Growing up in Alaska taught me how to fish with the best of ’em!
4. I fear getting old and not being able to do the things I normally do.
5. I have five kids and I would have more if my husband didn’t insist we were done.

So there you have it! That is me in a nutshell. 🙂 Now I tag: Chantel, Alysa, and Alison

I was tagged by Shantay and to avoid being a party pooper I will do it. I hope you enjoy learning more about my husband!

What is his full name? Michael Seth Johnson
How long have you been married? 9 years
How long did you date? FOREVER! We started dating when we were in high school and have been together ever since (well besides the two years he served his mission).
Who eats more sweets? We both love our goodies, but I have better self control when it comes to eating them so I would say he eats more than I do.
Who said I love you first? Honestly I can’t remember — sad eh? We have dated so long that I don’t recall…probably me. 🙂
How old is he? 31
What is he afraid of? He is afraid of scary/suspenseful movies. He covers his eyes through most of them. It is pretty funny. He also isn’t too fond of spiders. It is hilarious to watch him try and squash one. It is probably better to just do it myself. More than likely the spider will get away if he does it.
Who is taller? Me (yeah right! He is 6’2 and I am 5’2)
Who is smarter? I suppose it depends on the topic, but overall he probably is…I just hate to admit it. He loves to read, problem solve and learn new things. I am busy changing diapers.
Who can sing better? No question…he does. He has a good voice and I can’t carry a tune. He is learning to play the guitar too. I love that!
Who does the laundry? Um, me.
Who pays the bills? Me again, but I would happily pass that task to him if he wanted it.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Both of us. 🙂 No, he does.
Who mows the lawn? Sometimes him, sometimes me. I actually enjoy mowing the lawn so I usually do it while he does the weed wacking.
Who cooks dinner? Mostly me, but he helps when he can and Saturdays are his day to do dinner.
Who drives? If we go out together he always drives.
Who is more stubborn? Certainly me.
Who kissed who first? He kissed me first (on my 16th birthday funny enough).
Who asked who out? Heck, if I remember…it was like 15 years ago.
Who proposed? He proposed on Halloween. Now that is scary!!
Who has more siblings? Seth does for sure! He has eight brothers and sisters.
Who wears the pants? Hmmm, I would say we both take turns wearing the pants. We like to make decisions together.

I probably don’t say it enough but Seth is an amazing husband and father. I can’t begin to imagine my life without him. It is hard to believe we are coming up on our 10 year anniversary. Every year gets better and better!

I tag: Aimee, Chantel, Sue, Kristen, Alysa, and anyone else who wants to do it

Okay, so I am beginning to wonder how I fit in with the rest of my family. Each kid, and my husband as well, has a strange trick they can do. Even Claire has learned at a young age how to go cross-eyed.

Jacob can wiggle his ears.

Megan can go cross-eyed and shake her pupils back and forth (kind of freaky actually).

Katelyn can wiggle her ears and shake her pupils as well.

Claire can go cross-eyed on demand.

Seth can make little tiny bubbles and blow them into the air. He is like a miniature bubble machine. He can also shake his pupils.

That leaves me (I guess it is also too early to say what Drew may be able to do but I am sure it will be something fantastic.) and I am still searching for that crazy talent. I can’t wiggle my ears, shake my eyes, go cross-eyed and I certainly cannot blow mini-bubbles. I guess I can thank my husband’s side of the family for all these fun tricks my family can do!! How ’bout you? Do you have any fun or goofy traits you would like to share?

A friend of mine was nice enough to come over and take some photos of Drew when he was just a week old (visit Sue Richardson Photography to see more of her work). She did a great job especially considering how uncooperative Drew was being. He wanted to eat his fists most of the time. I thought these photos were sweet. It is too bad they don’t stay this way for very long. Here are a few of my favorites.

Continue reading “Little Drew”

Anyone who knows Claire is well aware that she acts much older than her real age. She is 21 months old going on high school. Seth and I decided that changing diapers for two isn’t something we want to do very much longer so we figured it was a good time to start potty training Claire. Continue reading “I’m a big girl now!”