everything plaid

Brought to you by the number 12

2010-11-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

So I last posted about our 12th anniversary... very memorable to be sure. And realized it has been 12 weeks since then, so I thought I'd share 12 things that have happened in that time.

#1 - School started! We love our kids teachers this year and couldn't be happier with how they are doing. I decided to have the kids walk to school (1.5 miles one way) and thought I would join them to get my exercise in. It was a perfect plan... until cold weather hit. Hopefully we'll start up again in the spring. Maybe they are not too excited about that.

#2 - I got my stitches out. By the way I think that hurts more than getting them in.... at least they numb you when you get them in! My finger, which was beginning to feel a little bit normal, was quite sore for a few days.

#3 - I got the canner... I didn't think I would get any fruit off our trees this year, so I got some apricots from a neighbor... made 20 jars of apricot jam. I then got some early peaches from another neighbor... made 50 jars of cinnamon peach jam (heaven in a bottle)! Then our pears were ripe... made cinnamon pearsauce... yum! Then I found the tree at our rental was laden with peaches... decided to do just canned peaches since I thought we had enough jam. Then my neighbor gave us apples... applesauce, and froze some for apple pies. Then my sister's friend gave us tomatoes... froze 8 gallons of tomatoes! Then our neighbor gave us more peaches... more delicious canned peaches (we could live off canned peaches). Then my sister gave us plums... I didn't really know what to do except 10 more jars of jam. So if you are ever in need of jam I think I might have some for you.

#4 - Bug turned 4! She was so excited for her birthday! She got a beautiful new dress and a princess doll which was named Sarephina... I couldn't resist getting it for her. She has loved her doll and tells everyone about it.

#5 - Soccer Season... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it just took a lot of time!

#6 - Fairs - We love to go to the county and state fairs. They are always so fun and the food is too fun! I am thinking of getting Pie and Roo into 4-H for next years fair so they can see their own things there! So fun.. or should that be sew fun!

#7 - From slides to staples - Our sweet Roo is a ball of energy... he also gets hurt as a result of his energy. We were at the library one afternoon and next to it is a park. We thought we'd play for a little bit. I see him going down the slide a little skiwampus and tell him to not do that or he might get hurt. He says "I know", and continues to do it thinking, like me, if he did get hurt it would be a little bump or scrape or fall that might hurt, but would be okay pretty quick. Before too long it happens... he is going down the slide a bit skiwampus again and as he gets to the bottom of the slide he swings his head around and smacks the back of it on a pole. I see it happen and about to tell him "I told you" when he comes over crying and holding his head. Suddenly there is blood gushing from where he hit it.... JIMMINY CRICKET! We grab an extra diaper and wrap it around his head and rush him to Instacare... not my favorite place, but I seem to be visiting alot lately! He ends up with staples in his head and a fear of that one spiral slide at the park next to the library.

#8 - A Miracle! My sweet husband's sister was in a terrible car accident just after Conference weekend. Her car rolled 6 times and then caught on fire. They had to use the jaws of life to get her out! She came out with nothing more than cuts and bruises. A total miracle!

#9 - UEA - My mom took all 4 of our kiddos for the UEA weekend. It was a bit quiet... too quiet. We have not had more than a day or two to ourselves since we had kids. It was nice to have 4 whole days... it felt like when we were first dating. Restaurants, a play, and a day at Lagoon, just the 2 of us. We rode on every ride that our kids will never let us go on! It was awesome!

#10 - Trick or Treat - It was a fun year. The kids were creative with their costumes. Pie wanted to be a Vampire, Roo was a Stormtrooper, Bug was Rajah, Princess Jasmine's pet tiger, and Z was Pocahantas. All cute and candy-worthy! But it was wet and FREEZING! We all came home from trick-or-treating and had hot chocolate and soup and rolls.

#11 - The arrival of the iPad. My husband has been wanting one of these since they were first announced. It finally came time to get one. It has been the newest BFF to everyone in the house. It is always ready and willing to play... and lets you choose what to play. It never gets upset. It never is too loud. It is never making a HUGE mess in the other room. You can't seem to hurt it feelings. Everyone treats it like a baby, and is eager to get their chores done just to have 15 minutes to play with it. I don't know if this is good or bad!

#12 - Giving thanks. It has been a wonderful past few weeks. I am so grateful for Thanksgiving. I love the time to reflect on all that we have and show our gratitude. We truly are so blessed in countless ways. Also I love the delightful food and glow of the fire and time with family. It is one of my favorite holidays!

Unforgettable Anniversary

2010-08-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

Friday was our 12th anniversary. It has been a wonderful 12 years! I love my sweet husband more now than I did 12 years ago, more than I ever thought I could, but in a few more years I know I'll love him even more than that. I love that love is like that! Always more than it was before... if only bank accounts were as secure as love!

Anyway, on to the days events...

It was Friday, a busy Friday...

We did dishes and laundry in the morning.
Pie had piano lessons in the late morning.
Right after that Roo had "meet your teacher" at the elementary school.
We ran to do some errands straight after the school meet and greet.
We came home a bit late and were trying to get lunch, naps and some chores in before our evening at my husband's work party, followed by a sleepover for Pie at her Babu's.

That is when IT happened.

I had fed my cute kiddos lunch and I was wanting a little bit more to eat... I remembered we had made some of the most amazing bruschetta and I wanted some of that. I pulled out the loaf of baguette bread i had bought a few days earlier.... it seemed a little hard, but then I thought, hey, no need to toast it!... I was slicing it and it seemed really hard to cut, so I put a little more effort into the next pass and went right over my finger!!!! OH NO!

Needless to say, I was in a bit of a scramble to get a sitter immediately! After a number of phone calls, they headed to one of the neighbors for a while.

I drove myself to the Instacare thinking I bet this is not going to need stitches. I am sure they will look at it and say you could just put a good bandage on it and it would be fine.

No, they said I pretty much cut the tip of my finger off! GREAT!

I then came home, picked up the kids from the neighbors and got everyone ready for the party. It was really nice because my finger was still quite numb. And it was a great party, too. We lasted at the party until about 7:30 that night and then had to call it quits on account of the numbness wearing off and extreme pain kicking in.

My sweet husband got the kids ready for bed and Pie ready for the sleepover. I sat back and took a few pain killers... not the most romantic anniversary. However, my first time getting stitches will be very memorable... and I will always be able to remember when I got my last tetanus shot, too! Double bonus!

The Shortcut

2010-08-16T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet Bug has wanted a haircut for well over a year. But it is her first hair cut ever! I just can't bring myself to cut my girls long beautiful hair until it is far too long and tangles are their worst enemy. Pie had her first haircut the summer that she was 3 years old. So, it became the rule in our home to give the girls their first haircut the summer they are 3 years old.

Well, the time had come for Bug to get her haircut! She was soooooo excited! She wanted it just like Pie's haircut, short and cute. I got out the comb and spray bottle and scissors and sat her on the counter. Her anticipation was growing and growing with each comb and spray. I thought she was going to pop before I could even get it cut.

Then I cut the first swath off and placed it on the counter next to her. (We kept Pie's hair from her first haircut and I was going to make a pile of Bug's first haircut to save as well.) She looked down at it and a she calmed down a little bit. With the next cut, she calmed down a little more. Soon her excitement was totally gone... soon she was crying... saying things like, "I don't want a shortcut anymore" and "I want long hair again".... Well, my sweetie, it's a little late.

I kept cutting and kept telling her how cute it was going to be and how much she would love it! Soon Pie and Roo were over wondering what was going on. They were so excited for her, knowing how long she had begged for her hair to be cut. They kept telling her it was looking so cute. She just kept crying and watching the pile of her lovely golden locks grow bigger and bigger.

Finally it was finished and the best haircut I have given a 3 year old! I was so proud of myself!

We had completely traded places. I had all the excitement and giggles she started with and she had all the fears I started with, and then some tears on top of that.

I took her to the bathroom to look in the mirror. She was crying and I was trying to comfort her, telling her it was so cute and it would grow long again soon. She looked in the mirror and cried a little more. Then she looked again and said, "Hey, I look like a big mommy, now! I like my shortcut!"

For the next week she was telling everyone she saw the story of her shortcut, her sadness, her happiness and how she looks like a big mommy. It really is cute. I'm glad she finally came around to that realization.

Well, This is Awkward

2010-08-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

So I am not sure how to dive back into this after such an absence. I feel as though I am trying to re-kindle a friendship that has long been gone. How do I start? What do I say? Is there anyone still there? Did they even notice I have not been blogging? Apparently, if you are gone long enough, even your background gives up hope of your return and disappears.

Anyway, I am going to assume that many people missed me blogging and are glad to see me back. I am also going to assume you are all terribly interested in what has happened in the past 6 months.

My little baby girl, or Z, began to be extremely mobile around the time I cut out of here, hence I had NO time to do anything except spend every waking minute trying to find her. And for the most part she has just gotten worse. She is a thumb sucker, so she is always on silent mode. She is also very capable. With 3 other lovelies running around demanding time and attention, sweet, silent, thumb-sucking Z is off exploring every inch of our house. We have found her playing in the toilet, standing on top of the piano, in our garden weeding things that were not weeds, under the little kids table, on top of the dinning table, playing in the garbage, stuck behind the couch, running down the driveway, inside the laundry hamper, and always having the time of her life! She is currently napping, so I am here.

We did celebrate her 1st birthday. It was so cute and fun to see her change and grow so much in that time. I love her!

School ended for our Roo and Pie. It was a wonderful school year for them both. Sadly enough, school starts in 2 weeks. Where has the summer gone?!? Roo is so excited to be going to 1st grade and have lunch at the cafeteria! He is going to love it. He is also mister smarty pants, trying to teach himself times tables. It would help if he could write his numbers the correct way first.

Pie is excited to just get to see her friends again. This summer has been a bit crazy and not full of as many play-dates as we had thought. She has kept herself busy with reading, reading, and some more reading! She also is so excited to show that she taught herself cursive this summer.

Bug thinks she is going to school, as well. She still has a whole year before she goes into pre-school, but that doesn't change her opinion that she is going to school when Pie and Roo start. Any other kids anxious for school to get going, or is it just mine?

My sister from Maryland came for a month to visit. She stayed at my parents, but we spent nearly every day with her. She is the only sibling of mine that lives out of state. We were all glad to see her and her cute kids. We did everything we could with them. We visited places I have not been to in years, or ever in my life. We of course went to Lagoon! We went camping with the whole family over the 24th. We had a family carnival. I taught her girls how to make some cute skirts. We went to the Brighton Reunion together. It was a treat to have her here!

There are so many more things that have happened that I know I can't mention them all... and there are a few that I need to mention, but they will be their own full blog entry, believe you me! Look for these upcoming blog titles: When Squirrel Came to Visit, The Shortcut, and School Days at Lagoon... you will not be disappointed!

SIX

2010-02-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

How was it 6 years ago? 6 years! That is so long!

It has been a wonderful 6 years full of cute boyish things like Star Wars, Legos, trucks, blocks, tools, LOTS of haircuts, tons of blue blankets, strange animal noises, wonderful cuddly hugs, a few stitches, a favorite phrase "That was AWFULLY scary!", light saber fights, orange dishes, bike rides, Thomas movies, paper airplanes, egg sandwiches, soccer games, Lightning McQueen, dinosaurs and so much fun!

Happy birthday, Buddy!

It Is About Time

2010-01-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

This week we have accomplished some things we have been wanting to do for hummm... a long time!

We finally got 72 hour kits packed for everyone. Well, almost. Just need a few first aid items, extra diapers, and some clothing items. Thanks to the Christmas bags from Grandma, everyone has their own bag to grab in a hurry!

We moved the desks out of the upstairs bedroom to actually make it a bedroom and not an office, or a messy room with some desks in it. Everyone is super excited about the new bedroom assignments, too!

We bought a dresser to replace the hand-me-down dresser that is really not a dresser anymore.

We have a menu planned for the next 6 weeks. All good food, that we have on hand, only need to buy milk, cheese, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies! I am super excited about that!

We took 3 huge bags of "stuff" that has been cluttering our house to the DI. We also put 3 huge bags of "stuff" in the garbage!

We have started potty training Bug! Hopefully she'll keep up the good work.

We cleaned out the cars! That needs to be done more often!

We vacuumed the stairs! It is always on the weekly list of chores, but it doesn't seem to get done weekly.

We have loved getting things done! It is so nice to finally check them off the list! It also makes the house function sooo much better! It is about time!

Dear 2010

2010-01-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Dear 2010,

I was hoping you and I would be great friends. In fact I was hoping we would be bestest friends. Yet, somehow we have not gotten off on the right foot.

We did have a wonderful opening weekend with the traditional bowling on New Years Day and then my sweet Pie's baptism the next day. I thank you for a nice welcome to the year.

However, I am troubled with the events that have happened since. For instance, the following Monday, the first day back to work, my husband slips and falls on the ice and is in horrible pain for a week.

Then, as he is getting back to normal mobility, my children come home from school with some nasty bug that then passes through the family and I find myself very busy cleaning up throw up and diarrhea everyday for a week.

Now, we are all feeling quite recovered and excited to move onto happier things, when I am awakened by 2 sore-throated children this morning. Yes, strep-throat has made it's way into our home and I feel it may be here for a while.

Oh, 2010! What are you doing? I realize it is only 19 days in to our relationship, and I have not given it much time, but I somehow expected things to be better than we currently find ourselves. I hope things will improve over the next 11 months.

Sincerely yours,

One Sick & Tired Mother

Jealous

2010-01-07T12:06:00.000-08:00

I have decided I am jealous. I am jealous of other moms. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but somehow I see many other moms with life figured out and I am still wandering around aimlessly.

Maybe it is the 4 kids in the grocery store all having a melt down at the same time?

Maybe it is the 2 houses needing different things fixed with the tools that are at the other house?

Maybe it is the basement laundry facilities when all the dirty clothes are 2 flights up?

Maybe it is the 3 round trips to school everyday, if we're lucky?

Maybe it is the 8 month old Houdini that can get out of any highchair or exersaucer, and climb stairs?

Maybe it is the garage that fits 2 cars, but not 2 cars, 5 bikes, 4 scooters, 3 strollers, 2 trikes, a lawn mower, tools, sporting goods, seasonal decorations, and a lot of other random, yet useful, things?

Maybe it is the 3 year old Picasso who likes to use chocolate chips to do smear paintings on the couch and tags every door with permanent markers?

Maybe it is the cupboards full of food, but nothing to really make a meal from?

Maybe it is the 5 year old tornado that can't seem to find what he is looking for unless the whole shelf, drawer, toy bin, etc. is dumped out and all over the floor?

Maybe it is the game cupboard that is always locked, and yet a new game is somehow out with it's tiny pieces everywhere?

Maybe it is the Christmas presents that are still sitting next to the sewing machine waiting to be made?

Maybe it is the 8 year old who thinks she is 18?

Maybe it is the 2 vacuums we have that are each great, but you really need both when you need to vacuum?

Somehow I see other moms in similar situations to these and they are completely on top of it. I am jealous! I want to be an "on-top-of-it-mom". Oh well, maybe by the time I have it figured out I can be an "on-top-of-it-grandma".

Thanksgiving

2009-11-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

I have discovered there are many things I have that I could not live with out... well, life would be dramatically different with out them! I am so blessed to have:

A sweet friend to spend forever with
A computer
Google
A testimony
Book of Mormon
A healthy baby girl
Sweet baby laughs
A job
A beautiful house
Health Insurance
A car
A 7 year old
A somewhat toothless smile
Lots of books to read
A school carpool
A van
A 3 year old
Magic erasers
Diapers
A washing machine
A dish washer
Coloring books
Magic erasers - again
A 5 year old
Legos
A Wii
A light saber
A crock pot
A leaf blower
A swing set
A snuggly plaid blanket
Donuts
Grandma sleepovers
Friendly neighbors
Hand-me downs
Terrific friends
Playdates
Hand sanitizer
Chicken nuggets
A sewing machine
Puzzles
The smell of rain
Mountains
Calla lilies

Fall Follies

2009-11-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

So we have had quite the past few days!

Roo came down with what we think was Swine Flu.... we went to the doctor, and the test came back negative, but they said it is only about 50% accurate. Super! We did get the vaccine for it, so I guess it was a milder case than it would have been, but still, it was not nice at all! We are hoping everyone else is now immune!

He was feeling better, finally, so I went the next day to help at school... as I was leaving, I completely twisted my ankle. Holy cow it hurt! I nearly passed out from the pain! It was horrible! I could not walk for 2 days! It was over a week ago and it is still very sore, but on the mend.

By Friday I could finally walk and actually get shoes on, so we went to the store to buy our pumpkins to carve for Halloween. We went to Wal-mart, which is in the next town, thinking they would be a great deal! They didn't have any! Hello! No pumpkins for Halloween! We came back to our one little grocery store here and found they had plenty. Figures!

Halloween was a day! It started with our computer crashing on us. Not fun to put a computer back together! We also had decided earlier to re-arrange the kids room, since it was not working and the dressers had officially fallen apart (LOVE KIDS!)! Wow the things we found under their beds! If you are missing anything, it is probably under one of my kids beds! Which I don't understand... I clean them out every time I do laundry... some how they must see when I have pick up and they panic and run to find anything near by to put under there! Of course, it was a wonderfully exciting day with a family party in the afternoon, carving the pumpkins, and trick-or-treating!

Sunday our sweet Bug ends up eating about HALF the candy everyone got for Halloween! We put all the candy in one bowl so everyone can share it. So maybe she is not in to sharing. She is very quiet and sneaky... maybe that is a good thing, but so far I am not convinced. That evening she is throwing up off and on. NASTY! Also she somehow thinks it is best to walk around while throwing up, so we have very very very clean carpets in our family room and upstairs bedrooms! We have been meaning to clean them, I guess she was just giving us that nudge we needed. Thanks sweeetie!

2 days later Roo and Pie decide to have a contest to see who can throw up more in one night. They decide to start the contest at 2 am! And apparently the rules said they had to space it about 1-2 hours apart. We were thrilled as parents! Well, Roo won the contest on that one! Congratulations! You, and your sister, have earned a free "Stay Home From School Card"... maybe Bug did not make herself sick with all the candy after all, and apparently she is good at sharing, just not the sharing we wanted.

I start feeling not so good myself, and it turns out I have mastitis. The joys of motherhood are many, but so are the pains! I am hoping we are done with our fall adventures and can have a few unexciting days ahead of us!

Too Much Fluff

2009-10-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

I have come to a realization that life is busy! DUH!

I am always running around and trying to do what needs to be done, what should be done, what I want to do and what I really don't want to do. Life is a little crazy and a lot busy. I have decided to simplify things a bit.

My sister was reading our Great-Grandmother's life history. It was a page and a half. That is it! That is what she left for us to remember her by. Obviously she left out a great deal of "fluff" and told the high-lights.

It made me think...

Everyone has a story to tell... What are my high-lights?... How much fluff do I have?... If I had a page and a half, what would I write on it?

Brothers and Nephews

2009-10-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

So it was my brother's birthday on Sunday. I was a terrible sister and did not call him. I am soooo sorry!

I did not forget you! I thought about you a lot actually. I thought about how you gave me my nick name of "Ookie", which became my camp name. I thought about how you went with me to the school dance when I was not old enough to date. I thought about how we worked together at the U. I thought about how we would always sing "Cheech, the School Bus Driver". I thought about how awesome you are! Thanks for being a wonderful brother!

Then I thought about my other brother, whose birthday is in 2 weeks. I though about the crazy sleep overs we would have at the Harman's. I thought about always doing puzzles together. I thought about our "Name That Movie" game and how we would almost act out the entire show. I thought about what a wonderful brother you are!

To have a "big brother" is so awesome! I had 2! How cool is that?!?

Then we got a phone call from my sister-in-law yesterday. She had her baby! It is a boy! How wonderful! I love sweet babies fresh from Heaven!

Challenge

2009-10-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I have challenged myself. Well, my husband, too. We are trying to get out of debt. We only have a student loan and a mortgage. We have AMAZING interest rates on both, and these are very helpful debts to have around tax time! However, they are still debts.

So what is the challenge? We are trying to have the student loan paid off in the next year! Seriously! Over $30,000! Wow! That is a big number to type. It all works out on paper... with some major self-control and amazing budgeting skills it can happen... I think. I keep telling myself, it is only 1 year, I can do this for 1 year! And then... it is gone! How wonderful that would be! I'll let you know how it goes!

Oh, I keep forgetting to post about another blog I started. Check it out. http://fountofeveryblessing.blogspot.com/

Living the Life

2009-10-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

I am living the life! At least, I am living the life I have.

Since I was a little girl I always had these visions of the future... someday I'll be married, someday I'll have kids, someday I'll have a house, someday my husband will be done with school, someday I'll have a mini-van, someday I'll be running around to soccer games and dance classes, someday I'll be a happy homemaker.

Well, those somedays are here! And some of my somedays are not how I envisioned them! But I need to realize these are my somedays... I need to relish them while they are here and before they are my "once upon a time" days.

Everything has a season... celebrate the season you are in.

What to Do?

2009-09-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

What to do when EVERY toy is out?... Clean up!
What to do when there are 4 baskets of laundry to do?... Wash them!
What to do when the lawn has turned into a jungle?... Mow it!
What to do when you have dirtied every dish?... Wash them!
What to do when there are cracker crumbs everywhere? Vacuum and Sweep!
What to do when the bathrooms are horrible?... Clean them!
What to do when kids can't get in the car because of the mess?... Clean it!
What to do when Soccer season is over and you have your some time back in your life?... All of the above!

I thought it would be great to get them involved... just maybe not at the same time again. We have serious soccer schedules and it is BUSY!

Pink Wabbit

2009-09-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

My sweet little girl had a birthday! 3 years old! How did it ever go by so fast?

When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she got the biggest smile on her face and said, "PINK!".

Then I asked, "Pink what?". "Pink wabbit... small one... and pink balloon.... and cake."

How simple to do that! Well, not so simple. I seriously went to at least 10 stores looking for a pink rabbit!

Finally my sweet sister-in-law found one! She is the favorite aunt for our pink 3 year old! Well, since they have the same birthday, she always has been and always will be.... they seriously have a special connection between them!

Well, we had a fun pink cake and pink balloons and made a pink birthday crown and she got a cute pink princess tea set with a pink cart to carry it on and some pink princess dress-ups and her special pink wabbit. As far as I can tell, she was in pink heaven!

Another Year of Blessings

2009-09-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well, as birthdays come and go, I celebrated another year. It has been an eventful year, too! I have been able to witness so many amazing things in the past 12 months!

One year ago we had just moved up to our beautiful home and rented out our other home. We had just found out we were going to have another baby. I thought life could not get any better!

Well, in the past year I have endured a hard, hard, hard pregnancy with a follow-up stay at the hospital trying to cheat death a week later. But I have been so blessed to have such a sweet baby girl! She is amazing and a true gift from heaven!

We have also been blessed with the ability to pay off credit card debt and replace both our cars by paying for them with cash in the past year! This is amazing to me! We have never been able to put much money away. Okay, we are savers, but not ever saving enough money to buy 2 cars and pay off our kitchen remodel! There has been some serious divine intervention! Well, we were determined to follow our church leaders counsel to get out of debt and increase our offerings. By doing this, I know the Lord has opened the windows of heaven for us!

We have also been blessed to have 2 temples added to our area. We now have more than I can count within a few hours drive. We even were able to do some of my ancestors names last month thanks to my Mom's hard work at the Family History Library! It has been wonderful to see those new beautiful temples and I am excited to visit them soon!

Another blessing I have received this year was a movie from my sister. It is called "Facing the Giants". If you have not seen it, see it! If you do not own it, buy it! It is so inspiring and helpful to everyone!

I have also been blessed to be acquainted with some of the most amazing women! I have some friends that I worked with at Camp that have taught me so much by their example and strength! I know they are remarkable, stalwart mothers and their sweet angel children are anxiously awaiting the time to be with them again and learn from their wisdom! These friends inspire me and, in turn, inspire my children to be closer to the Lord and trust in Him always.

I have been blessed with a sweet hubby who has done everything in his power to provide a wonderful home and environment for our family! He works so hard at everything he does and he does a great job! Okay, so that is a blessing we have always had, but this year he has taken extra responsibilities to make sure we are happy and safe!

We have also been blessed with wonderful days at Lagoon, lovely sunsets, bushels of peaches and pears and canning at all hours, fun soccer games, very smart children who are excited to go back to school, new renters who love our house, an exercise program that I actually want to wake up for, new couches, and my favorite thing in the world, a porch swing! If I could just have a Banbury Cross doughnut, life would be complete!

Lazy Summer Days

2009-08-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are nearing their end. I am sad, and yet not sad. It has been a great summer! But with adjusting to life with 4 sweetums, I have been a little bit checked out this summer! I am hoping school will help our family get back into the groove of things. Anyone else looking forward to a routine again?

For Rent

2009-08-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

We have a nice home for rent!

5 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
2 kitchens
swing set
garden
close to the U, Sugarhouse, 9th &9th

Let me know if you, or anyone you know, is interested!

Changing Brands

2009-07-25T07:28:00.000-07:00

We have been long time Honda users. They are great cars.

A few months ago my van needed to be returned since it was a lease. I morn the loss of that beautiful van. It was a treat to have a spankin' brand new car! It will be missed!

However, we found an older, yet very wonderfully taken care of Toyota Sienna for such a screamin' deal. So I moved to a Toyota owner.

My patient husband has had an Accord for years that I swear has been trying to die for most of them. It has been leaking oil for maybe a year, the passenger door has always been broken, the back seat belt doesn't work, it has NO radio, the windows are temperamental and the windshield wipers don't work! Yet he insists, it is only a car... it gets him to and from work and he doesn't need all those things to work.

Last weekend my husband went camping with his brother and they took the kids. He drove his Old Grey Mare to their house and they all rode up together in his brother's van. I found out afterwards that my sweet sister-in-law borrowed it to run some errands. I was terrified! I felt like the ugly monster that you keep locked up in the basement was on the loose. (However, it is a completely paid for ugly monster, so it couldn't be that ugly, right?) Anyway, my next thought was that I was so glad it didn't die on her! I would have felt awful if it had happened while she was running errands!

Well, I have been insisting on saving up to replace the Old Grey Mare, knowing it's day would come. It came. Wednesday the transmission went out. We are not wanting to fix that with the other issues it has. It is now a kidney car.

We found a Camry. It is beautiful! What a change for my patient, long-suffering husband! He doesn't know what hit him. He feels like Cinderella going to the ball. Mostly, he loves having a radio! A Radio!

We are now Toyota users. They are also great cars!

Loss of Identity

2009-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

It is not what you may think...

I have discovered I don't know who I am anymore! It is very odd.

My sweet husband took our 2 oldest for a camping trip last weekend. I was left with our 2 littlest ones. Awesome!

That is what I thought. I thought I could finally get some stuff done with them napping or watching Dora. Didn't quite happen. Oh, they napped and watched Dora, but I didn't know what to do. I was at a total loss of what stuff I could finally do with out the demands of my 4 kiddos.

It hit me that I am so busy always taking care of things for my family, that when I am without them, I am bored! Really? BORED?

I had already done the grocery shopping, I had already done the laundry, I had already cleaned the house. What did I do? Looked over our budget... played a computer game... watched Dora... ate chocolate... looked over our budget again.. browsed the internet for nothing in particular... watched Maisy... played another computer game... ate some more chocolate...watched Baby Einstein and did some Sudoku puzzles.

I finally did muster up enough things on a shopping list to go to Wal-mart. We spent 2 hours there, trying to kill time. We were almost ready to leave when the shopping cart went over my 2 year old's toe. We had to leave everything and run to the clinic to get it taken care of. It did not need stitches, thankfully, but it was close. Finally I felt like I had something REAL to do.

Who would have thought I'd be grateful for an emergency trip to the doctor? Who would have thought I'd have nothing to do without kids? I always dream of having just a 5 minute break... I get a 2 day break and I am completely bewildered?!?!

Oh, well, we are back to our non-boring, busy life, so... I guess I am glad?!?

Blessed Day of Rest

2009-07-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Well, this last day of rest was not very restful! It was blessed though. We blessed our little Z on Sunday. It was so beautiful! Mike always gets so nervous, but he did a great job! And she was an angel through the whole thing! Wide awake, but just quiet and happy! No binki needed! I think that was the first time that happened for us!

I was nervous the dress would not fit. I made it the size I had made for all the other baby's blessings, but we didn't plan on blessing her so late. She has sure filled out well! It actually fit her perfectly! If we waited any longer, it probably would not have fit her.

Anyway, it did fit, and she looked so beautiful!

It was so nice to have so many friends and family members there! It was wonderful! We had a gathering after and I loved that so many stayed and just wanted to hang out! I love our wonderful house! It is so shady! It is so big! It is so inviting! It totally rocks!

So here we are, The Nilson's, a family very, very blessed!

What Child Is This?

2009-06-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

We went to Lagoon again last night..... no big surprise. I think this makes trip #7 since it opened. We went with some of our friends who also got season passes. (It is going to be so nice to have so many friends and family to go with and make the summer that much better!)

While there, our very shy, very clingy, very scared of rides son mentions he wants to ride "The Bat"! Holy cow! We don't hesitate to let him change his mind, we just head straight for one of the roller coasters that he said he would never go on and get in line. HE LOVED IT!

He then rode the new ride "Jumping Dragon"... another one he said he'd never go on. Loved it!

He then rode the "Lady Bug Bop"... another one he said he'd never go on. Loved it!

He then went on the "White Roller Coaster"... another one he said he'd never go on. Scared him, but he went on it!

He then went on the "Wild Mouse"... another one he said he would never go on. Loved it!... at least at first. When we got home he said it was kinda scary and he wanted to wait before he rode it again. I told him that was okay because the "Wild Mouse" still scares me!

His big sister loves all rides, but was still hesitant about riding some of those rides last year. She is facing her fears and has decided to go on all the rides she can ride this year. She started on opening day with "The Bat" and she has been slowly adding a new ride or two ever time we go... she is now riding rides that I am even too scared to go on... like "Wicked"!

She, and the rest of us, have told him how fun all these rides are, but he has always been firm about them being too scary and he'll try them when he is older. OLDER?!?! Over night he grew up and was ready to face fears that were far too daunting for him a week ago.... and not just one, he did them all at once!

Mike and I are still trying to figure out what happened to our shy, clingy, scared boy!?!? He is very cautious (which I love), but he also knows when he is ready for something bigger, harder, scarier, whateverer. He decides what and when. I love that about him. Hopefully his school teachers will, too!

Garden Thought

2009-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I once had a garden thought

to remove bushes for a garden plot.....

But life got too busy

after we welcomed baby Lizzie.....

So now we have a garden pot.

Insanity

2009-05-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

So I am realizing that I have not posted anything on here for a while. Forgive me.... I am living in a world of insanity! Having 4 kids is more hectic than I imagined!

So in every minute of everyday, this is my life lately...
Someone is hungry and needs to eat NOW, and if it is not one of the kids, it is me!
Someone has just made a mess that will take waaaay too long to clean it up!
Someone can't find their shoes ANYWHERE... how do shoes disappear?
Someone desperately needs to take a bath!
Someone needs a band-aid and a hug.
Someone is screaming for some unknown reason!
Someone needs help with homework, coloring, getting a dress up on or building a lego tower.
Someone needs a friend to play with because they are too bored with the rest of us!
Someone needs to use the bathroom, but someone else is in there.
Someone should be doing the dishes, laundry, or cleaning something, but no one is.
Someone did not have the attention they needed and is now lost.

No matter, life is full of drama and goes too fast I have decided. Just get dressed in clothes you don't really care about and make sure you have your running shoes on!

April Showers

2009-04-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

April has showered us with a beautiful new baby!

"Z" arrived on April 13th and weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces.

She is an absolute sweetheart and loves to sleep! We love her and appreciate the sleep!

Pie, Roo and Bug are so happy to finally meet her and welcome her to the family.

Nesting and Not Nesting

2009-03-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

I am so eager to have this baby here! I swear there is not a spare inch inside me for it grow anymore! I am tired of the back pain, the legs going numb and the jabs at my ribs!

I have been so anxious about it that I have been getting the nursery all set up and ready.... I still have 4 weeks left... maybe less! HOORAY! I have not done it this early with any of the others. I just feel like I am soooooo ready to have this baby!

Yet, every time I think about it, I get soooooo terrified! I am not the biggest fan of, well, LABOR! It always has gone very well for me and I have recovered quickly, but just the thought of LABOR is freaking me out this time.

I am also a bit scared of having 4 kids... probably should have thought about that before now. Well, I actually did, but I thought I would be ready by the time it was really here. I guess I have 4 weeks to get ready.... maybe less! AARGH!

Oh well, life is an adventure, right?

Please Rewind

2009-03-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

How old am I? Seriously! How old do you have to be to know about tapes?

We often get movies from the library. We usually get DVDs. We picked up some VHS movies this time as well. My oldest daughter was taking one out after we had watched it. She noticed the sticker on top that said "Please Rewind". She had to ask what that meant.....

Hello! Has she never known that tapes need to be rewound?

Has she grown up in such a digital era that she only knows the half a second it takes to skip to the next track on a CD...

Or change albums instantly on the ever awesome iPod...

Or never know the pain of having to watch all the previews on a movie, even though you are fast-forwarding it. DVDs have completely taken away a piece of my childhood by letting us skip right to the feature film!

How bizarre it is to see my own children not understand things that were so common in my childhood.

I guess that is how it was for my parents. I completely cannot understand "party phone lines", beehive hairdos, slide-rulers, getting a telegram, having food delivered by some one on roller skates, or getting your first TV - ever.... and having it be only black and white! ... and such a huge piece of furniture, but only have a 15" screen !

Oh well, such is life. I guess I am just getting to the "Retro" stage of life.

Better Late Than Never

2009-03-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

So I found our camera after a while of it being lost. Did I mention how much I LOVE my children?!?!? Anyway, here are a few pics of the past few months.

Pie's Birthday! I Can't believe she is now 7 years old! How time flies! She loved getting princess books, some sewing crafts and a new princess backpack, but she especially loved the Tinkerbell watch!

Bug tried really hard to help with the tree decorating, every single day! Here she was moving some of the ornaments around and she figured the best place to keep them was on her arm. She just couldn't get them off when she needed to.

The kids wanted to go out and enjoy the snow after one of the snow storms. They all ran outside before I could inspect what they were wearing. The door closed behind them and I ran to make sure they were okay out there. This is what I saw when I opened the front door. I don't think any of them were really prepared to be outside. They promptly came inside for some hot chocolate.

Roo's Birthday! I can't believe he is 5 and soon of to kindergarten! He had to have a Star Wars birthday, in case you couldn't tell. Dad was nice enough to decorate the cake, since I was at a total loss. He also had to wear his Star Wars shirt all day, in preparation for the party. He loved getting a new, not broken "Life Saver" and a Storm Trooper helmet from his favorite Aunts, Mom and Dad missed the boat by giving him K'Nex, but the plays with them now.

Belly Buttons

2009-02-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

My little girl loves to find everyones "button". It is a favorite past time of hers, along with pulling all the books off the bookshelf, emptying the dresser drawers, and eating chocolate milk mix right out of the can. She is so used to it, she'll try to find one of our "buttons" any time, any place. It gets a little awkward when we are at church, or in the store, or some other place where you maybe should not be showing your button off.

There has been a big fascination with my button in particular as it has been changing over the past few months. Last night we were looking for everyones buttons... again... and my big girl said, "Why is your out? All of ours are in. Aren't they are supposed to be in, Mom." Yup. My little girl just came up and rubbed it and laughed and rubbed it and laughed. My son came up and looked at it for a while and finally asked, completely serious, "Mom, is that the baby's nose?" I told him it was not and that it was just my silly belly button. He was so cute as he continued, "Are you sure, Mom? I really thought it was."

Super Heroes

2009-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

My sister passed on these pajamas and my kids have loved them! They even think they have super powers now.... Well, I am not sure about super powers, but our little tribe of super heroes have very special ways of stopping you in your tracks.

Our oldest super hero has finally lost her 4th tooth! It was an eternity waiting for it to come out. She refuses to let anyone help it along in anyway and we as parents are so queasy we are happy to just let her do it her way. This time it dangled there for 2 whole days. It made me queasy just seeing it, but none of us had the will power to just yank it. It finally came out while she was sleeping.... and she swallowed it. She was devastated that the tooth fairy would not believe she had lost a tooth. Thankfully the tooth fairy came anyway!

Our super hero son is learning a lot in his year before kindergarten. Not what you'd think though. He informed me the other day that "the cream in yours ears doesn't taste as good as the cream in yours nose". I was absolutely disgusted, but at the same time reminded that everyone does learn that at some point in life.

Our little toddler hero is amazing at messes. BIG messes. She can be in a room less than one minute and leave it like a tornado just passed through. She keeps busy and she keeps the rest of us busy as well.

I wonder what our baby's super powers will be when she comes.... besides the obvious explosive diaper and mighty spit up powers that most newborns possess.

Holiday Coma

2009-01-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have finally come back from my Holiday Coma. It seems like there is so much to do, I can't do what I normally do. Life I feel like has come back to normal. We'll see how long it lasts.

We had a wonderful and busy holiday season. Thanksgiving was at my parents because they were going out of town for Christmas. It was very nice and we enjoyed playing Catan and Carcassone and Ticket to Ride. We hardly ever get to play them. It was so nice!

We then celebrated the birthday of our oldest child. She turned 7! I can't believe how time flies! She is growing up so fast and amazes me at how much she loves to learn. She also really, really loves to dance. She has started taking piano lessons, too and is doing a good job! What a girl! I still seem to see her as a little baby or toddler, but I can't seem to wrap my head around her being 7 years old.

We had a few holiday parties and spent a lot of time baking and making gifts for friends and family. It was a busy time, but it maybe only seemed like that since I get so exhausted being so pregnant. I am happy to have another sweet baby coming, but it sure messes up my productivity.

Christmas Eve was spent with my husbands family. It was so nice to be with them as well. There is something magical about Christmas Eve. I love the anticipation and he smells of the traditional food and the kids so excited they could pop.

Christmas Day was nice and relaxing. We had no where to go and nothing to do except open presents, eat good food, sleep by the fire and play with new toys all day long! Heavenly! If it didn't have so much to do before hand, I would enjoy having Christmas more times through the year.

New Years was fun as well.... mostly because we had freedom! My mother-in-law took the kids for a sleepover for 2 whole days and nights! We finished projects in out kitchen and office and basement and garage. It was the most productive 2 days we have had in years!

Yesterday was a jolt back to realty. Work, school, packing lunches, doing 4 loads of laundry, shoveling our driveway because we actually had to go somewhere. Painful.

Thankful

2008-11-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite time of the year! I am grateful for so many things and, all though I am thankful for them all year long, it seems I am more so during the months of November and December. Right now I am thankful for:

a clean playroom (that happens once a month)
fresh baked bread
leaves in leaf bags and not all over the yard
hugs from a cute 2 year old
hearing my 6 year old read books to me
seeing my 4 year old play using his wild imagination
locks on doors (especially the bathroom)
the sunset last night
preschool
PBS
music
a fire in the fire place and some hot chocolate
the Ensign
the temple
disposable diapers
getting over morning sickness
the library
showers
anything plaid
the excitement for the tooth fairy to come
good food - like at Thanksgiving dinner
a sweet husband
a beautiful home
piano lessons - well, someday I'll be thankful for them
our prophet
Jesus Christ
the scriptures
Gospel Doctrine teachers that help me better understand the scriptures
construction paper, glue and markers, and creative kids
a healthy family - at least for now

Words of Abraham Lincoln

2008-11-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. ~~~Abraham Lincoln

My cousin's wife had this on her facebook page. I had to post it here. Such wise words!

I pray our nation survives the consequences of election day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

We had a pumpkin carving family home evening. It was so much fun, but my sweet husband and I got some tired arms from all the scooping and carving! We need to remember to start a workout program for next year to be ready for it!

Halloween is too much fun when you have 3 kids! We had a great time playing at Discovery Gateway this mornign. It was nearly empty and we loved it! They had some fun things, too... face painting, mask decorating, trick or treat bag decorating, fortune telling and some others we didn't get to.

We then ventured to trick or treat at Foothill Village. It has been a tradition for us for the past few years and is sooooo nice! It is during the afternoon and is warm and is friendly and you get a ton of candy!

We are just about to head out for some neighborhood goodie hunting. Can you say sugar high?!?!?! What a great holiday!

Mostly I am excited to have some candy myself and not throw it up! I may have just jinxed myself there!

Cute Kids

2008-10-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have decided, again, that kids are really cute!

We have some of the cutest, but I am not biased or anything. My sweetums are always loving, kind and inventive! What more could you ask for?

My daughter is always reading! Read, read, read! My son is always using the "force" to defend or protect something. My baby is always talking her few words... ice, shoes, juice, more, dad, dad, dad, dad.... Just cute kids! I am grateful we have another wonderfully cute kid joining the ranks!

Bizarre Dreams

2008-10-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

I have discovered this is a much different pregnancy than my 3 previous ones. I have been more sick than ever before, lost weight (why now!), been completely useless as a mom or any type of disciplinarian, and I have the most bizarre dreams!

A few nights ago I dreamt I was married to Nicholas Cage and we were the National Treasure people. Only we had 3 kids and I was expecting. He was telling me about some plan he had to go on a terrible adventure for glory and how he needed my help. I looked at him and said, "Are you out of your mind? I am pregnant and we have 3 kids! What are you thinking?!?!" I have not seen National Treasure for over a year... I have no idea how that popped into my subconscious!

I also dreamt that I was at a huge mall with my whole family and we were shopping for Christmas. My husband was helping my cousins unload a big truck of furniture. I leave him there to go watch my niece be baptized... at the mall. Weird!

Another one was we were at my parents house. The wind started blowing really hard. It blew their house right off the foundation and put it 5 feet from where it was. I start telling everyone we need to get out. My husband, being the architect, decides to look around and find out why a house would blow off it foundation. I say, "Because it was super windy! Now get out!" Good one, don't you think?

Every night I have the most random dreams. Some scare me so bad I still can't forget them. Some are so weird, I think I'll never forget them, but then they are gone. I think I'll have forgotten what it is like to have normal dreams.... 9 months is a long time!

More Smores

2008-10-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

One thing we love about our new house is the fire pit in the back yard. We didn't get it cleaned out and ready to use until a few weeks ago. Ever since then, we have had more smores than we should have. It is so fun! I love that we can feel like we're camping or spending a day in the canyon, when we are really in our backyard. (It is also great to have a bathtub right there for all the smokey, sticky smore eaters.)

However, we are right next to Farmington Canyon, so we can go spend a day there or go camping anytime we like! It is just kinda hard for us to leave our comforts behind.

Sleeptalkers

2008-09-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I have a sleeptalkers in my family. Apparently I fell in love and married one. He is so wonderful and even entertaining when he does not always mean to be. I have come to accept it and even embrace it.

I was quite surprised when I found out it is a genetic thing. Yes, all of our children are sleeptalkers as well. I would not even be the least bit amazed if our little baby inside me is mumbling away, just dying to get in on the night time conversations.

Last night was classic! I, of course can't seem to get comfortable, so I lie awake in bed, waiting for the sand man to give me his triple potion. As I lie there, I hear my daughter yelling, not whispering or mumbling, but yelling something about her brother and his truck. I wonder if she is really awake and having some issue, but then she is quiet for the rest of the night. Also, I realize there is not a truck up here, they are all down stairs in the playroom.

A little while later, I trade sides to find a more comfortable spot. This triggers the husband alarm. He blots right up and starts asking me if we are with in the sight boundaries for our building. He is an architect and studying for his next exam. A little stressed out, don't you think? I start laughing and tell him to go back to bed.

A few minutes later, my son chimes in and starts talking about the book for show and tell. Our little baby girl is also in the the kids room and starts to mumble in her little unclear words something about shoes and juice.

I just sit back and finally find a spot where the sandman can do his magic. I love my family and think they are all so wonderful and I am always up for a good midnight laugh.

Kate the Great

2008-09-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

We have had an angel come live with us in the form of my sister-in-law. She has graduated from USU and is looking for a job and place to live in SLC. She is living with us to help out while I am feeling so sickly and do some job hunting. Basically she is a miracle worker! She has done more in 1 week than I do in a month. A really good, productive, on the ball month! The kids are always thrilled to do things around the house with her... things like pick up toys, put their clothes away, make their beds. Again, miracle worker! I am sad to think that it will only be for a short time. We will miss her when she has to leave!!!

Sick and Tired

2008-09-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired? I am having a hard time figuring that one out.

We found out a while ago we are on to Nilson baby #4 and we are thrilled! Especially the kids. They talk about it every day and tell me all the names they can think of that would be good ones... some are not very good ones. It is just fun to see them so excited.

It is not so fun to be sick. I think I am the sickest I have ever been. I don't really do pregnancy all that well anyway, but it is tough this time. Maybe it is just how busy I am with 3 kids running around and not getting the rest I am needing? Who knows! You would think your body would understand things like needing to be a Mom and not a bump on a log. Apparently not. Oh, well, only 30 more weeks! I am counting the days!

School Daze

2008-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

We are enjoying the school year... so far. 1st grade, here we come! My daughter is loving her new school and teacher. We were nervous with the move and a new school that she would be pretty shy. Apparently she got over that. She loves her new friends and being such a big girl. She loves taking her lunchbox everyday. She loves her homework she brings home! I think I did too at that age. How quickly that love evaporates.

My son is off to pre-school 3 days a week. What am I to do? As nervous as we were about sending our daughter off to a new school, that pales in comparison to how nervous we were about sending our son to pre-school. He is the ultimate in shy! It took him months to get used to nursery, and our daughter was in there with him. Alas, all is well. It is week 2 for him and he is loving it!

It is just me and my baby girl for a few hours... hence the blogging time. She is not too happy about it being just me and her. She keeps wandering around looking for the other kids. She is bored with Mom. I guess her idea of fun is NOT doing errands, laundry, cleaning and washing dishes. Too bad, that is what is happening during the relatively calm hours we have together.

The Pledge Of Allegiance

2008-09-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to be an assistant Webelo's leader. That is a blog entry completely it's own! Let me just say, it has been fun and it has helped me to appreciate my children while they are young and relatively calm.

This month we are working on the Citizen requirements. The other leader found this on You Tube to show the boys.

I was amazed! It made me realize so much I take for granted. How these words express so much of what we as citizens of a beautiful, free country should value. Yet, I never gave it much thought. I would just repeat the words.

It made me cry. It is not very cool to cry in front of 10 year old boys! Who cares! It made me proud to be an American. I should be able to cry for my freedoms and rights, right? No matter who is around!

More To Blog

2008-08-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, I have added 2 more blogs to my painfully slow life. Yeah, right!

Well, they are not super amazing, but they are other things I find joy in. One is pictures of my family, whom I dearly love. The other is about saving money, another love of mine. If you want to visit them, come on by. There can never be enough of me out there, right?!?!

This blog is my most versatile and therefore my most used. So, if you have limited blogging time, spend it here. I love visiting all your blogs and keeping up with what is going on in your lives! I appreciate your friendship and the laughs and tears you give me through your blogs! I hope I have been able to give back a few laughs and tears through my own.

Over a Decade

2008-08-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

There are many things that last over a decade... well built furniture, well established companies, trees with strong roots, well cared for china. They last because they are special, and as such they are cared for.

My sweet husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this past weekend. Apparently, we have made it over the decade mark. It has not always been easy sailing, but we have cared for each other and the sanctity of marriage.

It is hard to remember what life was like without him. Just like it is hard to remember what life was like with out the internet, cell phones, or a dishwasher. Yet those "necessities" came into our life after we were married. It just seems like we have always been together.

It may be because we have known each other for 15 years. We were good friends in high school and did so much together. I guess that is why it seems we have been together for as long as I can remember. I sometimes think about how much fun we had cheering at all the games, or singing at our Barbershop and Ensemble performances, or running in to each other at Kinko's at midnight working on our sterling scholar books. We were quite busy during high school. Yet we were also care free. No bills, no house to clean, no teething children, no busy work schedule. Some times I wish I could go back to those days.... and yet, not.

I have had dreams that I am back in high school and trying to figure out who to ask to the dance. And then I start to think, in my dream, who will watch the kids and will my husband be okay if I take another guy to the dance and him... weird! Again, he is such a part of my life, I can't even go back in time with out having him there. Well, he was there anyway, but not as my husband.

All in all, it has been a wonderful 10 years. We have been blessed! We love each other dearly! We have 3 wonderful children! We have moved 9 times. We are now in a beautiful home (with a 2 car garage!!)! We have been in primary presidencies, elder's quorum presidencies, bishoprics, cub scouting, teachers and nursery. We have a good job, thanks to the dedication and persistence of my husband to get his B.S., M.S., and M.B.A.! What a busy 10 years we have had!

I sometimes wonder what lies in store for the next 10? I have no idea, but I can only guess, it will be crazy busy! I can't wait!

My Co-Workers

2008-08-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

I am completely frustrated with my co-workers today! They can't understand the simplest tasks. They are constantly whining and complaining about the work they have to do! I am fed up!

Of course, my co-workers are only 6, 4 and not yet 2. I guess I shouldn't expect miracles from them.

Also, this is the job I chose. I could be a career woman, but I wanted to be a mother for as long as I could remember. I just didn't realize some days would be so insane. There have been times I wished I could to turn in my 2 week notice.

Of course, then there are times I love every minute, feel like I am making a difference, and would never leave... despite the long hours and lack of health benefits. Don't even mention 401k.

I guess some co-workers could be worse, too. I know. I have heard stories. At least we all try to make it a pleasant place to be, even if someone is teething.

Well, I should probably talk to the little girl in the break room about her dirty diaper. The other co-workers are starting to complain. Again.

Driving A Bullseye

2008-08-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

We have not had a lot of issues with cars. It has been pretty nice. I know there are others who have had major issues and spent way too much of their 401K fixing cars.

In the past year we have had a few issues with our van. We have had issues with people and or objects hitting it. It seems to have a bullseye on it for anyone or anything near it.

We had the garbage man drop our full garbage can on it. We had someone shot out our back window with a bee-bee gun. We had someone slide into it during a snow storm. We had someone key the side of it in a parking lot. We had someone pull around it and try to take the bumper with them. We have had some issues.

Today I was noticing a rock chip in our windshield that I had not noticed before, when another rock came flying up and what do you think... bullseye! Only it didn't just make a cute little rock chip, it made an 8 inch crack.

I would not care so much if it were an old, soon to be dead, deserves to be beat up van. But it is not. It is quite a nice new van, and it is a lease! Man I cringe thinking about it!

Luckily, not one of these has been our fault and insurance has been amazing at taking care of all our issues. I am just getting tired of calling our agent so much. He should just be moved to a speed dial number. Sad, isn't it.

For now, we drive the bullseye as little as possible... to avoid what awaits it.

PBS Works!

2008-08-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

We were watching a program on PBS the other night. Something about Africa and life in a village there. They showed some guys from the village going off to find food. They were wearing a piece of cloth wrapped around their bottom... think sumo wrestler. We were all caught up in the interesting facts and life that I could never live, when my son asked why they were wearing only that piece of cloth.

I had been so frustrated with my children not picking up their clothes all day, I quickly replied "Their mom got tired of them not picking up their clothes! She took all their clothes away and gave them that piece of cloth to wear!" He looked so mortified! I asked him if he wanted me to take his clothes away and he could wear one of those as well. His eyes were as big as they could be as he shook his head no.

I suggested he could go clean up his room then. He quickly encouraged his sister to join him. (I think he didn't want to see her in one of those either.) Their room was cleaned up in record time! I love PBS!

May Tomorrow Be The Perfect Day

2008-07-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

I went to a concert last night with 2 of my sisters and my dad. It was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with guests The Osmond's. They are both wonderful, so it was a treat to have them together. It was a bit odd to have the Conference Center all lit up with flashing lights and the sound of an electric guitar, but still it was great!

Of course, being a "Utah Mormon", I have grown up listening to them and loving them. Last night was wonderful! It was fun to be with my family and relive some of the memories of my childhood. I think my dad was quite shocked to see me and my sisters so excited... I have never been to a concert like this with him.

I know this is cheesy, but it just wouldn't be right with out it... come on, you know you want to sing along.

May tomorrow be the perfect day,
may you find love and laughter along the way.
May God keep you in His tender care,
'til He brings us together again.

Good night, everybody!

The Power of Imagination

2008-07-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to watch less TV and play less video games lately. Hello, it is a beautiful summer day out there and we have let too many of them pass by while we are "zoned out". It was hard for a few days as we were getting over some illness, and TV is one of the best cures, or at least entertains them while they get over it.

Anyway, I have been amazed at what the mind can come up with when it has too. Little pirates on a voyage for treasure, princesses and nights on an adventure, Lego garages for all the micro machine cars, "Dark Vader" and the Island Princess living happily ever after, underwater divers in the tub, jungle explorers, school teacher and students, dentist and check up (don't forget the prize), doctor and check up (don't forget the sticker), tooth fairy and batman saving the world together, ballerina mom and construction dad (not just plain old "house" like I used to play), Olympic athletes, and chef are just a few of the many things we have seen come out of these creative minds.

It takes me back to my childhood and how much I loved to play and imagine. It makes me glad that imagination will never go out of style, or become unpopular, like a few other things from my childhood. I miss it sometimes when I see them so caught up in it. I try to jump in and play with them, but more often than not I am too busy, or when I do join in, it freaks them out, like moms aren't supposed to do that. So I usually go about life and, every once in a while, stop to listen in on their adventures of the day.

Brighton

2008-07-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Today I got together with some of the Brighton girls and a flood of memories came over me. It was great to get together again. I have missed seeing these friends and feeling that young again. I love that we all have this connection, that we can all go to the same point in time and laugh or cry about it together. And there are a ton of great moments to relive!

I can remember singing, hiking A&B, King Bolivus and the Brownies, the shraff shrack, sleeping on the gobbler, Indian Ceremony, serenade, creeping, thunderstorms, shoveling snow, runs to Granny's, zipline, cook outs, overnighters, spitting watermelon seeds, the player piano, all the skits, sweet costumes, riding in the truck after the buses left, driving the canyon every week, and loving every minute of it. It has been over 10 years since I worked at Brighton. It has such memories for me, and yet it seems like it was a lifetime ago.

Life has moved on. For all of us. For some it has been more challenging than for others. I am in awe at many of my friends who have gone through difficult things in the past 10 years. I think about them often. To have gone through such tragedy and come back to the world again astonishes me. I feel amazed when I am around them, like I am walking in the presence of greatness. I feel inadequate. I can tell they are close to the Lord. Closer than most of us. I can tell the Lord is close to them, too. Closer than to most us. I can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice. They have had to get to know Him. Again, inadequate. I have strived to get to know the Lord better, but it seems there is a level of pain, that no one deserves to experience, but must, to know Him that well. Again, amazed!

I am thankful for their friendships and admire them! I love the memories of Brighton they hold for me and hope to have many more years of memorable times with them.

Red Hot Summer

2008-07-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

We have spent the past few weeks of summer doing something different way this year.... staying inside. Not that we wanted to.

My sweet daughter came down with a bad case of heat exhaustion after a day at the zoo. How do you treat that? Keep her out of the heat. We spent a week indoors while her body recovered.

As soon as she felt up to it, we had a pool day at Grandmas.

What would happen? My son did not get sunscreen on and is red as a tomato. How do you treat that? Keep him out of the heat. We are on day 3 of indoor activities for him.... most likely will need a week for him to recover as well.

Somehow in the middle of it all my husband and I both came down with a cold. In July?!?!? Give me a break!

We have made more trips to our neighborhood grocer for medicines and pain relievers than I thought was possible.

Between moving and sicknesses, we are watching the summer go by with out really enjoying it. Hopefully we can get out soon with lots of sunscreen on and plenty of water and soak up the rest of summer before it is gone!

However, I have to say that the 4th of July was amazing! My family came up to our house for a wonderful BBQ, homemade chocolate ice cream, sparklers, pool party, a game of bocce, and fireworks right in our front yard! That day was heaven! Even for my feverish daughter.

Connections

2008-06-24T08:40:00.000-07:00

So we are again connected to the world through internet. It took a while, but here we are.

I spend more time than I should on the internet surfing, paying bills, looking for things to buy, etc. My kids know if I am in front of the computer, I am in another world. So, not having it for almost 2 weeks... I thought I would crumble up with out it, or at least be a very grumpy gal.

I am surprised at how well we managed with out it. Of course, there was plenty of other stuff to keep me busy.... packing, moving, unpacking, organizing, cleaning, and sleeping! We are feeling more and more at home in this new place. It is wonderful!

My sister and her family are here to visit from Maryland. We keep in touch, but it is great to get connected again in person. It has been 2 years since seeing them. I am amazed at how much the kids have grown and matured. It is wonderful to have everyone together! A bit chaotic, but wonderful.

I am starting to miss my friendly connections from my old neighborhood and ward. Normal, I know. We do get together still, too. But hard to not see them as often as I am used to.

This new ward and neighborhood is so inviting and friendly that new connections are being made already. Not only for me, but the kids as well. There are kids everywhere here and playmates eager to play all the time. I remember that from my childhood and I loved it. It is just what I want for my kids.

Out With The Old

2008-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

We have been busy remodeling our kitchen at our new house. It has been very therapeutic! It is so nice to rip out old cabinets and counters. It was not so therapeutic to spend hours peeling up the old floor, however. Never the less, it will all be worth it!

Before and after

We also had a yard sale to help us on our quest of out with the old. It was a wonderful feeling to get rid of things we have not used for years. We took the proceeds and bought new bikes for the kids... something that will be used for years!

Old things are not always bad, though. I will miss our 90 year old house. It has what my architect husband and I love... character and charm. Our new house has that too, but not quite the same. But maybe we just need to live in it for the character and charm to be found.

Discoveries

2008-05-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

This week has been filled with discoveries. We have discovered a number of "lost treasures" as we are packing up everything and moving. It is amazing the things you can lose in a house. It is even more amazing when you find them years later.

Things we have found so far include 2 of our 8 missing tape measures, the obviously absent letters to our alphabet magnets, a number of socks and hair elastics, dad's harmonica, a few flip flops, and a dried up worm that my darling daughter wanted to bring inside and keep as a pet, but quickly forgot all about.

There are other discoveries we are hoping to find. These include a lot of puzzle pieces, a train piece, the other jungle animals, some file folder pieces, the alan wrenches we need to take the beds apart, and a number of hours of sleep we have lost over the past few years. I think that last one is a long shot.

My Legs! My Legs!

2008-05-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have been moving things up to our new house. We are re-doing the kitchen and I figure since we have to go up there nearly every day to work on it, why not take a load up every time. It made complete sense to me. I have cleared out most of our basement and storage. All that's left were big heavy things.

I can do it.

I mean, I am a mother who every day I put my body to the test with lifting 50 pound sacks of flour for all the breads I love to make or carrying 10 grocery bags full of canned goods just to avoid another trip to the car or hefting all 3 kids at the same time in the rain so no one gets too wet or lifting up the couch to help find the lost barbie doll that somehow got wedged under it or moving the fully loaded dresser to retrieve the favorite pair of socks that had fallen behind it or any other number of ridiculous labor intensive duties a mother does. Moving a few heavy objects is nothing!

Wrong!

I took a good dose of advil last night and I think I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. Did not move the whole night. Completely passed out.

It was painful to just wake up this morning. My legs are so sore I want to cry. Of course, it doesn't help that I fell and scraped one up the other day (graceful move while taking the garbage out) and then bruised the other one last night trying to squeeze the lawn mower through a small passage not made for lawn mowers. And yes, I was stupid enough to mow the lawn last night after moving all day because it was supposed to rain.

Thankfully I have more advil and a rainy day to do nothing but sit on the couch.

Movin' On Up

2008-05-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

So we are moving. Yes, movin' on up... to the top. The top of our "distance willing to commute" list. We have enjoyed being 1 mile from my husband's office and close to our family. But, the time has come to move on to better things and apparently better things are in Farmington.

We found a nearly perfect dream home there and about the only draw back is the commute, so we are leaving our city to enjoy the sights and sounds of Farmington. We have grown up in our city and will miss it a lot.

It is a bit different there we have noticed as we have taken a few loads up. It is a good different, though. It is a quiet street with a pond across the way, breath taking views out of every window and space for us to live. You also can hear the distant sounds of delighted (or terrified) screams as the Lagoon rides thrill everyone on them. So yes, we are getting season passports.

Women's Conference

2008-05-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Women's Conference. It was incredible! It was my first time to go. It was a great time because all of my sisters, my sister-in-law and my mom were there together. We even stayed in one of the dorms together. It was a fun bonding time for all of us.

I loved all the uplifting classes and even felt like I was a good mother and could come back and make our home even better. I always listen to General Conference, but I am also busy being a mom the whole time and don't get to absorb very much of what is being said. Here is was different. It was me, the speaker and the Holy Ghost. I had no children, no distractions, no choice but to listen and absorb everything. It was really amazing!

If you ever have the opportunity to go, do it! If my husband can take care of our 3 children for 48 hours, yours can, too.

A Measure of Frustration

2008-04-24T13:42:00.000-07:00

So my husband loves tools and working with wood and is very good at it. He has probably 4 tape measures of differing lengths and styles. I love to sew and craft. I have probably 4 sewing tape measures of differing lengths and styles. It stands to reason that our children love to measure things..... or pretend to measure things.....

However, we are finishing our bathroom and can not find 1 of our 8 or more tape measures anywhere in this house! Not a single 1! Our children have confiscated and played with and lost every tape measure we have!

My husband and I are so frustrated that we need to go buy another tape measure (or 2 or 3 at the rate they disappear around here) to finish up our bathroom! I mean we are spending how much to re-do the bathroom in the first place?!?! and you would think we could save a little money and use a tape measure we already own! Good grief!

How Does Your Garden Grow

2008-04-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

I love to garden. It is something my parents did. The whole family would be out helping in the garden. I did not like it then.

For some reason I love it now. It relaxes me and is so fun to eat something you grew in your own garden. We don't have a huge garden, but it still works well.

We have been looking at different homes... which is more of a yearly "Spring Tradition" than a real thought of moving... but this year I have added a large yard to the criteria for our "Dream Home" so we can really have a garden!

I get excited thinking about it, but my husband reminds me that a larger garden is a lot more work. Yeah, we are not moving any time soon.

Random Thoughts

2008-04-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately. They are all quite random. Here are a few of them:

We always have fights over who gets to say the prayer in our house and we say it for 3 meals, and then morning and evening family prayer. That turns out to 5 fights a day. I have figured out after a few days of thinking (my brain is slow moving) that we have an odd number of girls in the family, so girls pray on odd numbered days, and we have an even number of boys, so boys pray on even numbered days. Then it is just the girls fighting or the boys fighting between themselves. It has cut the fights down.... we are just in trouble if we ever have more kids.

I am on my semi-annual "food storage" kick. I usually take a trip to the cannery near us and a trip to the case lot sale and spend $100 at each and call it good. This year I am figuring that a trip to each is not enough food to last us very long since we use it up between visits. I am going out on a limb this year and buying more. The only thing is I don't know how much more. How much is too much or not enough? Who knows, but my husband says if we get a ton now at a good price, it is worth it. I guess..... but my goodness, it costs a lot!

What do you do when one of your pet peeves is your child? My sweet daughter has a habit of always rolling her "r's" in everything she says. She even adds some "r's" to words that don't have them because she just wants to roll another "r". I am trying to be nice about it, but more often than not I say to her "Please, just stop". She also has a habit of spilling EVERYTHING. I know the Lord is teaching me patience with her, but man, could it hurry up a little! It is killing me!

Magical Adventure

2008-03-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a trip to Disneyland. It was a wonderful time, despite it being Spring Break and having 3/4's of the world's population there with us. Surprisingly, Disneyland can accommodate that many people (probably because it's magic... I know my house can not accommodate that many people, but it is not magic).

Our daughter had a wonderful time and was even daring enough to go on Space Mountain, but now wishes she had not. She loved seeing the princesses and riding on Dumbo. She has been wearing her Minnie ears and drawing pictures of Disneyland non-stop.

Our son loved the Monorail the best out of everything. He also liked swimming in the pool at our hotel. He also liked watching the Jedi training and has been practicing with his light saber so he can be ready for the next time we go.

And our baby loved anything if it was not being buckled in the stroller. She also was a little sick, so that made the trip a bit testy for her. She did love all the music and danced and waved during the whole parade.

Mike and I had a night to ourselves there and it felt like we were dating again. It was fun!

There was magic for everyone! It was not quite the magic I had thought it would be, but it still was loaded with more wonderful, amazing, unexpected magic than I could have even imagined.

We are, of course, already planning our next trip.

Out of Practice

2008-03-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have noticed with the change of weather, I am not as ready as I thought I was for Spring.

I decided to plant a few things in our garden and my legs were killing me....

I started riding our exercise bike to get ready for the real thing and my legs turned to jello....

I raked a few old leaves and sticks out of our yard and my arms were dead....

I walked to school to pick my daughter up and I nearly passed out....

I shaved my legs (I hate it, so I don't do it often in the winter) and I almost needed stitches....

I don't seem to remember other springs being as hard to welcome. But I do remember always walking, biking, gardening, raking and shaving with out it being a big deal....

I must be just a little out of practice.

Two Parents in Orbit

2008-03-09T14:49:00.001-07:00

This has become a common phrase around our house lately. We use this when we need to express to our children how completely frustrated we are, and that we are on the verge of blasting off and circling the earth. It is usually after things like our son clogs the toilet with 4 rolls of toilet paper, our daughter decides to play some computer games and crashes our computer, and our baby has discovered the permanent marker supply and run through the whole house "decorating" every wall.

Okay, those are maybe a little exaggerated examples, but not by much. (It was 2 rolls of toilet paper, it is really the kids computer, so why am I stressing so much over it, and they were washable markers that are not washing off.) I think our children are trying to come up with bigger and better disasters because they have not yet actually seen us blast off and go into orbit. I know they think it would be quite a sight to see and so they are really working hard to make it happen.

Chamzi

2008-03-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

My sister has been making jewelry for a few years and it is AMAZING! You can check it out here. She made this one for me when she was starting and I wear it all the time! They are so colorful and cool! She is so talented!

A Few of My Favorite Things

2008-02-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

My daughter was coming inside and mentioned the raindrops falling and then walked past our rose bush and mentioned it. Of course, I then broke out into the classic song and have not been able to get it out of my head. I thought if I got down some of my favorite things, it would help ease the song out of my head.

I love plaid. I love socks. I really love plaid socks, but I feel self-conscience wearing them out in public. I love blankets. I love flowers. I love the smell of fresh cut grass. I love yard work, but hate cleaning the house. I love raspberries, strawberries, and peaches. I love chocolate. I love bread. I love to create things - recipes, crafts, sewing projects. I love teddy bears, especially when my baby girl hugs hers so tight. I love 80's music. I love 80's movies. I love doing puzzles. I love that my children love doing puzzles. I love math. I love the color blue and I am liking red more and more. I love pictures and scrapbooks. I love my family. I love bedtime when they are peaceful. I love a clear star filled night. I love campfires. I love hiking. I love springtime. I love Christmas. I love a good book.

These are a few of my favorite things.... now hopefully I can stop singing that song over and over.

Birthday Boy

2008-02-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

Last week we celebrated our little boy's birthday. Well, I guess he is not little anymore. He is now 4 years old and a little crazy! He keeps me busy with all his curious adventures around the house and probably spends more time in time-out than he thinks he should, but he is great and I am willing to put up with some diasters to have him in my life! Happy Birthday Buddy!

Snow

2008-02-04T12:38:00.001-08:00

Sorry, I haven't posted lately. I have been busy shoveling snow in my spare time.

I love freshly fallen snow. It makes things seem magical and somehow lazy. How I want to have a warm fire , a cup of hot cocoa and good book! Oh, if only!

Yet the snow has been here for a while. I am ready for the snow to be done. I am ready for the lazy feeling to be replaced with energy. I am ready for a change in the weather.

Lots of things are changing in my life lately. Some are good, some I wanted, some are a little hard to accept, but they still must change. Change is good. If only the weather would catch on.

Selective Hearing

2008-01-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

Our sweet family suffers from a terrible disease.... Selective Hearing. It has hit the children the hardest. They just can't seem to hear things if they don't want to. It is driving me nuts! I must say, the parents also have signs of this disease, but not to the degree that the children have it.... maybe it is something you outgrow!?!? Hopefully!

We also seem to suffer from Selective Memory at times. Man, what a stellar family we are! Are there others with these diseases in their families? Any good remedies? I mean besides bribes of candy, chocolate or toys?

Alphabet Timer

2008-01-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

We sing the alphabet constantly at our house. I am getting a little sick of it, but it is my own fault. It is our timer for doing things.

I have the kids sing it to time how long they need to wash their hands. I have them sing it to time how long they need to wait for me to get them a drink of milk. I sing it to time how long they need to be brushing their teeth. They sing it when everyone is buckled up in the car and I need to run inside the house to grab the diaper bag I forgot. I have them sing it 2 or 3 times when I am checking my last email. Okay sometimes they need to sing it more than that. But, I have to sing it 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 times when it is "clean up the toys" time. We sing it together at "get on jammies" time.

As much as I am sick of hearing it, it is better than me getting frustrated and saying, "I need you to wash your hands" 10 times. I say something once and then whomever the timer is starts singing. Also, it is a lot easier for them, and for me, to have them busy doing something while waiting, than to be bored out of their minds. Shocking, I know, but it has even turned out to be a great way to teach them the alphabet, since we sing it no less than 100 times a day!

It has gotten to the point that when I ask my daughter to be patient for something, she asks me how many ABC's she needs to sing before I can get to helping her. Good thing she loves singing it so much! She usually even throws in an extra one to give me more time and her more singing practice.

Souper Saturday

2008-01-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

Last year I made a resolution to make family dinner more fun and more planned. I made a menu with a theme for each day. I heard about it a few years ago and decided to try it out. It was GREAT! Everyone in the family got excited about it and helped plan the meals.

Last year's themes were Special Sunday (a special meal), Mexican Monday (anything Mexican), Twice-Baked Tuesday (leftovers), One Pot Wednesday (casserole or soup, just one pot or dish), Tuscan Thursday (anything Italian), Frozen Friday (anything from the freezer: pizza, burritos, fish sticks, etc.) and Souper Saturday (any soup).

Some other ideas we came up with are Southwest Sunday, Spanish Sunday, Sunday Brunch (breakfast), Meaty Monday, My Monday (a member of the family picks), Meatless Monday, Tuna Tuesday, Tuscan Tuesday, Wild Wednesday (anything), Once Again Wednesday (leftovers), Try It Thursday (new recipe), Thin Thursday (healthy or diet food), Fishy Friday, Friend's Over Friday, Family Friday (a member of the family picks), Favorite Friday (favorite meals), Fried Friday (nuggets, fries, whatever other heart stopping food you like), Fresh Friday (salads, fresh fruits and veggies), Frestaurant Friday (eat out), Salsa Saturday, Seafood Saturday, Spaghetti Saturday, and Sandwich Saturday.

It worked so well last year, we're doing it again this year. We'll try some of the other themes. Try it out! It is wonderful! Let me know if you have any other ideas.

Highlights or Lowlights

2007-12-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

2007 brought some amazing times for our family. Here are the unforgettable moments (you can decide which were highlights and which were lowlights):

My son being potty-trained
Accidentally ripping off my toenail
Sadly seeing our renters leave, but having more space
Getting a swing set
My daughter starting Kindergarten
Camping in our trailer
Getting the trailer ready for camping
Building our garden boxes
Eating potatoes from our garden
Having our car hit while parked in front of our house
Getting away to Midway
Accomplishing a dream I've had
Having the craziest 2 months ever because of the dream I've had
My baby turning 1 year old
Finding our leaky toilet
Gutting the bathroom because of the leaky toilet
Getting IKEA near by
Asking to be in Nursery
That one CRAZY day I already blogged about - seriously, unforgettable
Celebrating 9 years of marriage
Enjoying 3 wonderful children

I hope 2008 brings just as many adventures and memories! (Just not the toenail thing or the toilet paper roll in the bath tub... I can't handle those!)

Simple Christmas

2007-12-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

I heard of a Christmas tradition where there are only 4 presents:

something they want, something they need,
something to wear and something to read

We adopted it 3 or 4 years ago and it has been so easy to shop for everyone! Usually Christmas shopping is done the first week of December! I am not as on the ball this year, but my list is very short.

It was hard to narrow it down to just one thing they wanted, so we decided that Santa brings them one big present and fills their stocking, then Mom and Dad give them these 4 presents. Since we have been doing it for the past few years, and our oldest is 6, our children don't know any different.

It seems like a meager Christmas some how, but in reality, it is only meager to me and my husband. We both had grand visits from Santa growing up. We have been debating wether to continue it or not. So often I want to spoil the heck out of my kids! They are so cute and sweet and deserve it all! The thing is they wake up Christmas morning and are in heaven with whatever they have gotten. So, it is staying, for another year at least.

Creating Christmas

2007-12-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas was an amazing thing as a child. We had wonderful traditions and things to look forward to every year. I can still remember all the fun of decorating our house for the season. We had a plastic tree that was no less than 200 pounds and it was always stored in the basement. It was a serious task to just get it up the stairs and into the living room, but despite all the effort and energy spent, we could not wait to get it unpacked and set up. It required the whole living room and the whole family to do this. We first had to empty the box the tree was stored in and make sure all the parts were still there. There would be bundles of plastic boughs and trunk pieces all over the place. The trunk was put together and the pieces would always pinch your finger as you slid them together. Then the bundles of boughs came out and each slid into a hole for it. After a good hour or more, the tree was up and ready to decorate. We had a the greatest collection of ornaments. All different, some from crafts, some from special occasions, some from who knows where. My favorite ones were a bunch of sour dough figurines a friend made for many years. Each year we would add a few more to the collection. A lot of them were of Santa or reindeer or snowmen. One year we were given figurines of our family with the things we had done that year. I had graduated from High School, so I was in a cap and gown. They were all made by hand and absolutely amazing! It took another hour or more to decorate the tree making sure it didn't have any bare spots. We never had a specific spot for the tree to go. It moved around every year. My favorite spot was in front of our big living room window. It just seemed like the perfect Christmas tree location. We then would pull out nativities, garlands, bows, wreaths, candy tins and Christmas music. We would be ironing and pinning and nailing and moving things back and forth to find the right place. Finally, it was done! A whole Saturday gone, but the house was ready for Christmas. Even more than that, the kids were filled with so much excitement and anticipation, anyone of us could have popped!

Now it is my turn to create that atmosphere in my home.... I am exhausted just thinking about it! I haven't gotten the tree out yet and I don't know how to deal with a 15 month old terrorizing it for the next month. But I can't wait to have that feeling again. I love the magic of Christmas!

On The Same Wave Length

2007-11-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

What is it about blogs? I love them! I feel like I can spill my guts over things that I would not normally bring up in a conversation with someone else. I love reading other blogs, too. It looks like many other bloggers have the same idea I do. They are so funny and heart warming and real! They help me release frustration, or see how blessed I am. They are quite often just what I need to get through a rough day. I think doctors should start to prescribe blogs as a new wonder medicine... read 2 blogs and call me in the morning. Okay, I got to go... my entire house and children just got covered with a fine layer of baby powder. I love curious boys!

6 Things

2007-11-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Andrea tagged me to do this: List 6 facts/habits about yourself. At the end of the post tag 6 people to do it next.

I am frugal. I love a good bargain! My favorite places to get a good bargain are Thrift Town, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree. I am there more often than I should be. I am also recently addicted to e-bay.
I love color! Every room in our house is painted a different, kind of bold color. I love every room in our house because of the colors in them. We just started to remodel our bathroom, so I am currently trying to figure out a good color scheme for it.
I am a sucker for anything with plaid or stripes on it. Hence the blog name. My family is getting tired of having so many plaid or stripped shirts, skirts, dresses, and pajamas. I just can't help it, they are too cute. But it can backfire. My daughter's favorite outfit is a pink stripped shirt with a green plaid skirt. Yikes!
I like to experiment with cooking. I like cooking and there are loads of great recipes I use, but sometimes I like to see what I can come up with on my own. We have had a lot of disasters, but there have been some keepers in there, too.
I love to sew. I don't get to do it very often, but when I do I am in heaven. I even started a business a few years ago called "Stitch To My Lu". It was fun, but life got too busy. Someday I will get back to it.
I love math and geology! If I had the time, and the brains, I would be a geologist or seismologist. But for now, I just marvel at all the mountains and rocks around and play math games in my head.

That is about it for me... You're turn Rachel, Crystalyn, Wendy, Brenda, Nicole, Katie

My Daily Heart Attack

2007-11-02T08:39:00.001-07:00

Everyday it is the same. My sweet little baby girl will not sit still at mealtime. She refuses to sit in her highchair. We will buckle her in and in no time at all, she is out and laughing at us. She then stands up on her highchair and walks around. She now thinks it is a game... the "let's defy death" game.

All the while I am playing another game... the "feed a moving target while being scared out of your pants" game. It is a great game if you really want to get a good cardio work out with out doing a smidge of exercise. My heart is beating so fast and I just sit there trying to feed her with out having food all over the house, or her, or me, and at the same time I am taking deep breaths as she does her balancing act.

I can only handle this heart-racing adventure a few times a day, so I have resorted to leaving little bowls of food around the house for her to snack on through the day. She loves it. It is like an Easter Egg hunt, just with crackers and pieces of cheese and apple chunks. It is always a bit messy, but better than having 5 heart attacks a day. Right?!? It does not work so well with yogurt, applesauce and pureed squash, so those are part of the highchair adventure. I am thinking this is something she'll outgrow sooner than later, but I'm not getting my hopes up, just my heart rate.

3 Year Old Wisdom

2007-10-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

My sweet 3 year old son has been teaching me a lot of things lately, some wonderful and others not so much. Here is some of my 3 year old's wise learning from this week:

An empty food storage can fits very well on your baby sister's head, but does not come off as easy
When going to the bathroom, it is best to pretend you are a fireman and "hose" off the whole toilet and anything near it
It is not fun cleaning up big messes
Hitting your big sister is okay if she really made you mad, or if no one is looking
The Dinosaur Park is really scary, especially right before Halloween
It is fun to dress up in a Thomas costume (this is the first year he has wanted to wear a costume)
You should read scriptures every night, because it is hard to fall asleep if you haven't
Blue play-dough does not come out of carpet very well
Red marker does not come off the walls very well
It is no fun if you don't make it to the toilet on time
Playing with your sisters can be a lot more fun than you thought
Bath time is a blast, especially getting all the water in the tub out on the floor
Time-out is not a blast
Helping rake leaves is fun, especially the part where you jump in them

Holy Time Warp, Batman

2007-10-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

So I swear I did my last entry was last week, not last month! How has time gone by so fast?! Sometimes life is going by so fast that I feel like I must have slept through an entire week or been in a coma. I looked at my calendar for the past few weeks and I was there at all the events written down, so apparently I was not in a coma, just in a time warp.

Okay, so life is busy and seems to get busier, but does it really need to get that busy? and busy doing nothing? It feels like I get my kids up and dressed in the morning, make breakfast, empty the dishwasher, do a load of laundry, go grocery shopping, break up a half a dozen fights over which computer game to play, change a few diapers, make lunch, take a trip to the park, break up a half a dozen fights over which video to watch, change a few diapers, make dinner, sweep and mop the dinning room floor again, rewash the load of laundry that I forgot about, give the kids a bath, tuck them in bed and the day is gone. Oh and somewhere in there help with homework, read 20 minutes, exercise for an hour, mow the lawn, harvest our garden, paint our bedroom, make bread, and return our over due library books. Man, I just don't get it, somehow the day just seems to evaporate before I even get to sit down! It has all happened since I turned 29 again... maybe repeating birthdays puts you in an alternate universe? a really busy one.

Just for the record, there were 1,050 box tops, 495 soup labels and 92 milk caps on my bed that night waiting for me to count them.... I counted them the next day in between mowing the lawn and mopping the floor.

One of Those Days

2007-09-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

I am coming to you this evening from our bathroom, that's right, our bathroom. It is not what you may think. My baby girl is in the tub and I thought I could get the events from the day down in the peaceful setting I am in right now. It has been one of those days! The kind of day when nothing goes horribly wrong, but nothing really goes right either.

To start off, last year I signed up to help my daughter's school with collecting the box tops, milk caps and soup labels to help get money and supplies for their school. It is a great and noble cause and I have been excited to do it for the whole summer. I just didn't realize how much effort it took to do it. I have spent the past 3 weeks getting posters and bags and letters ready and organized for it. The plan is to go around every week to collect them from the classes for a big contest to see who can bring in the most. Today I did the first collection. It didn't go too bad, but I got to school late and some teachers had already left. Others had so many they didn't fit in the bag I brought. I finally got home and see that I now need to count up every classes total and it looks like there is no less than 500. Okay, way to go classes! I just don't have 4 extra hours today to count it all out.... maybe I can do it tomorrow. I throw everything on my bed to have it away from little hands that can do big disasters.

I move on to the next item of business... Lunch. My children will not eat anything without ranch on it and what are the odds that I get home and find we are out! It took an hour longer than I thought to collect all the classes items, so my children are starving. I was in such a hurry to feed them that I put the fish sticks in the oven as soon as I walked in the door, trying to be on top of things. I then realized the ranch situation. There is no way I could pack the children up and go to the store for ranch for fear of complete meltdown from my children, nor would I end up getting just ranch as I can never buy just one thing. I forgo the ranch and put on my best salesman smile to convince them ketchup is just as wonderful. It flys! Surprisingly! But now I have a pit in my stomach knowing that we are out of ranch and we need to get some before the end of the day or something will be freezing over, and yet I just went shopping yesterday and don't want to go through that whole 3 kids in the store scenario unless I really, really need to.

It is then nap time for my baby and computer time for my daughter and my son. They are usually pretty good, but always have some tiffs between them. While the children are occupied, I decide to again be on top of things and get my lesson ready for church. I get it all together and realize I need to make some copies. No biggie, I can do that anytime.

After nap and computer time I remember we are having friends over for dinner. I was going to make homemade pizzas! I am looking all around and realize I need to go to the store after all. While I am at it, I might as well get the copies done for my lesson since there is a copy store right next to the grocery store and if I am going to the copy store, I might as well exchange the broken ink cartridge I got there for our printer. Sounds great! I pack my 3 lovelies in the car and we are off. It only took 20 minutes to explain it all to the clerk and get the copies done. I thought it would be 10, but not too bad. A quick change of a dirty diaper in the car and we are off to the grocery store. It took me 45 minutes longer than I had planned and I forgot to get the ranch.

We are home with 1 1/2 hours to make the sauce (which simmers for 2 hours), dough (which rises for 1 hour) and pizzas ( which bake for 10 minutes each and need the dough and sauce) before our friends arrive. It can be done. Shockingly, it went quite well... I don't have a clue what my 3 children were up to the whole time, but I did get it done, well mostly. Our friends arrive as I am making our first pizza. It looks great and quickly we are on to the next one. Two down and the third is about ready. I get out the pineapple and cut my hand on the can. Not anything bad, but super wonderful that it is covered with all that pineapple juice. That really feels great! This time the pizza does not come off the pizza peel and needs to be forcibly removed with spatulas. It ends up all over the pizza stone and oven. Oh well, it will still taste great! We are getting the last pizza ready and we realize that the one all over the oven does not want to come off the pizza stone. We scrape it off and put down a fresh coat of flour to cook the last pizza on. The one we just pulled out looks like a nightmare, but smells fantastic. We check on the last pizza and as I open the oven door, smoke comes billowing out like it is a 5 alarm fire in there. Apparently we had a little too much spillage in the oven with the pizza toppings and flour everywhere. We decide to eat out on the deck and let the smokey kitchen air out a little.

We have a wonderful dinner and only have to clean up 4 spills of red punch that stains anything it looks at. That is less then our usual 5-6 spills, but with twice as many people around, I am amazed we only had 4. The children are all playing when my son comes in with a dirty diaper that is no longer in his diaper. Bath time! We throw him in the tub as our friends are leaving so they can put their children to bed. We decide to get the others ready for bed as well and I walk in to see my daughter spraying my baby down with lysol. What! She ends up in time out. I turn around and find my baby sucking on the loose lid to the baby oil. I end up calling poison control to see how much lysol is too much lysol and how much trouble sucking on baby oil can do. I should just have poison control on speed dial since I make weekly calls there, but alas, I don't and it takes me 5 minutes to find it. Luckily, everything is fine.

After a near heart attack, my husband and I decide to throw the baby in the tub and remember our son is still in there. We walk in to find him with a gazillion little brown things floating in the tub. Obviously, the poor boy has diarrhea! Great! I am trying to pack up stuff to go bathe my baby at my mother's house, since we only have 1 bathtub, while my husband it taking care of our son and the tub. I am about ready to leave when my husband starts laughing and says, "What is this?". It turns out my son found an empty toilet paper roll and put it in the tub with him and played with it until it fell apart into a gazillion little brown things. It looks amazingly like something else!

I have forgotten all about my daughter, who is still in time out, so I finally have a little talk to her about not spraying down her sister with lysol anymore. I never in my life thought I would have a conversation on that topic. She and my son are officially wasted and finally ready for bed. They drift off without a peep and I am now in the bathroom with my lysol-smelling baby. This is a day I am happy to have nearing it's end. I am so ready to go to bed, but I just remembered my bed is hiding beneath the 500 box tops, soup labels and milk caps from school. Oh, super! I feel like that found a peanut song.

1 Year Older

2007-09-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the birthday of my baby girl. She is 1 year old! That is crazy! I remember her arriving just yesterday. She is such a cutie and so fun! It was great to have all the family over to celebrate her first birthday. She loved it!

My daughter has enjoyed her Kindergarten experience, despite her early morning moans of "I am too tired" and "I don't want to go today". Once she gets there, she is in heaven! She can't get enough of learning. She even comes home and plays "school" with her brother and sister.

My son is growing up so fast! I love seeing how he takes after his older sister and desires to learn so much. He is enjoying the 2 1/2 hours of being the "big man on campus" while she is off at school. He has mastered the computer games that he never really gets a chance to play with his big sister around. He is also a wonderful big brother to his little sister. He is a sweetie, well, as much of a sweetie as a 3 year old boy wants to be!

It appears that life just moves forward... and quickly, too! Some days I find it is bedtime before I even got out of my pajamas, but everyone has days like that, right? Please!? Luckily, I have some wonderful children to keep me company and keep me laughing!

29, Again

2007-09-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it has happened. I turned 29 ,again, this year. It is crazy how fast time goes by! It seems like not that long ago I was the little girl in pig-tails going to kindergarten for the first time... now it's my daughter! When did I ever get so old?!? And when did life go into warp speed?!? My daughter is dying that Christmas is still eons away and I can't believe it is going to be here before I can blink! I guess that is it... the older I've gotten, the longer it takes me to blink. That must be it because I've noticed that in the blink of an eye years have gone by. Apparently, I need to improve my motor skills where blinking is concerned!

Losing Sleep

2007-08-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

This week has been a trial run for "real life". Next week my sweet daughter goes off to kindergarten. I am having many issues with this, but the biggest one is adjusting my schedule. I am a night hawk. Anyone who knows me, knows I can stay up late and I love sleep. To get me up and going before 8:00 am is amazing! In the past 5 years I have gotten up twice before 8:00 am - both times I was in labor with contractions sending me through the roof. Kindergarten starts at 8:00 am. Needless to say, I am in trouble!

I am also having major emotional issues with my daughter going to kindergarten. She is my "sunshine". I can't believe she is 5 years old! I remember being pregnant with her and having so many complications that we were praying to just get her here. How can she go from such a small, fragile newborn to an "I can take on the world" kindergartner so quickly. She has been such a delight to have had around, I will miss her while she is gone. Well... it's just for 2 1/2 hours.... what am I talking about?

Sunday

2007-08-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

We have a busy schedule on Sundays. My husband has early church meetings, so we are always a little frantic. It takes a lot of planning and creative thinking to get myself and my 3 children fed, dressed and out the door on any given day, but on a Sunday when we all need to actually look respectable.... it takes divine intervention! It is amazing how quickly one child can undress another while I am dressing the third. They are very talented! We are lucky enough to get to church 10 minutes late and I am trying to get my children in a little more mellow mood. I ask my son what he was looking forward to at church today and he replies, in his most excited voice, "Diego!". I don't recall that being a story from the scriptures....