Friday Ramblings

I'm still alive and still here, just extremely BUSY!!!! Check back in next week for all the fun and excitement that has been going on around here.

But in the meantime my ramblings for this week.

Candy Corns -- I just discovered that they make Caramel Apple Candy corns and they are so GOOD!! I also discovered the caramel apple taffy too!!! Where have these been all these years. Well I'm glad I found them now and hope I can find them in the future too!!

Halloween Party --- I threw one for my kids yesterday (kind of why I've been really BUSY) but it was fun, and really just a lame excuse to invite friends over to PLAY!! We fed them dinner and had a "Halloween candy hunt".

Costumes --- I made two new ones this year and really had a great learning experience with them. Pictures to come later. But I'm really wanting to dress up but didn't really prepare so we'll see what happens. I thought going MIB but that just seems so BORING now.

A BOOK MY FRIEND HAS LENT ME: I love this book so far, and just reading it the first few pages has helped me in my relationship -- or so I'd like to think. The name of the book? The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. Great Book!! I know you all have the perfect relationship with your husband going on but this helped me to open my eyes and to adjust my attitude in just a few short pages. I am selfish and just never wanted to admit it, but now with the help of this book, I've been able to realize that, and from here I just go forward.

Foreheads -- MINE IS UGLY!!! What will I ever do about it ?? I'm going back to an old look that I haven't done for several years --- hmmmm????

Am I really a butt??

So I read the funniest blog today -- and wanted to follow her example. This lady is so darn FUNNY!!! I need to take lessons from her!!! I wonder how much "humor lessons" would cost?? hmm


I've been known to be the butt of all jokes in a 10 foot radius around me.

Most recently:

• Baby boy on his hands and knees fingerprinting with the brand new bottle of Dawn Dish Detergent.
• T-Man somehow maneuvering the toilet tank lid and dropping it behind the toilet where it was wedged between it and the wall.
• Finding a pull up that had gotten washed in the washing machine and then all the "guts" squished to the sides and bottom of the barrel, and then having to shake all the clothes out.
• Having a pile of clothes to fold and then coming back into the room to find that they had just been dumped onto the floor.
• Walking into the laundry room to discover detergent spread all over the floor. And it's carpet. And then walking in another time to find that my oatmeal threw up all over the pantry shelves and the floor.
• Going to pour salt onto my eggs, and then the lid fell off and I had the whole shaker on my plate.
• Or the time when I went to the store and all my kids refuse to walk but want to swim on the floor. And then they hide in the center of the clothes racks.
• Or how about when I just get into a building, when we just left home 5 minutes before and everyone yells " I HAVE TO GO POTTY"
• Or how about being in sacrament and the kid of mine who said, "here mom " I look up to find the stringiest, slimy booger dangling from the finger held up high in the air. Of course they weren't quiet about it either.
• And when the cat water container gets filled with cat food, and toys and then turns into it's own "crap" ( GROSS I KNOW!!)
• Then when my kid came up to me that should have been potty trained and says, "I pooped in my pants." Oh heaven, help me!! Who said I enjoy cleaning those!! YUCK!!
• Or how about this one, when I was taking my kids to the library last year and the baby "projectile vomited" all over the library wall and the floor and he was a mess of it in his chair also.
• Plus one time I took one of my daughters to see the Dr, and actually had all the kids with me and she tagged the elevator.
• Or how I woke up one day and found all these kids running around in my house calling me mom and wondering where on earth did they come from and why are they here??

Keep reading:

• Or when my kid decided to stand up in the cart and fall out head first onto the floor in DI, WALMART -- etc..
• Or when I send the kids to go to sleep at 8pm and they are still awake at 11!!
• Then there was the time when all four kids had Strep throat right before Christmas.
• And one time where I was dog sick for THANKSGIVING!! I couldn't function and no one else could either.
• And from a long time ago: (LIKE WHEN I WAS STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL)
• I was part of our homecoming car rally that was going on, and can you guess the kind of car that I drove?? A BIG HUGE NASTY CREAM COLORED 12 passenger van. I GOT EGGED, and someone through the egg right through the driver side window barely missing my head and slammed into the passenger side wall and slid down as it left it's trail of "snail" slime.
• I left on a basketball game and came home to get my car and realized that it had been T.P'd you want to know who was behind it. MY PARENTS!!! They saw a friend of mine doing her boyfriends car and gave her the supplies to do it to mine too! Oh the NERVE!!
• Then when I had graduated I was chased around my house by all my siblings that were trying to hunt me down and pin me and then I was creamed!! LIKE SERIOUSLY!! The redi-whip can was in hand and I was being held against my will and then TAG!! I had white cream crap all over my face in my hair, on my clothes -- it was a SAD SAD DAY!!!
• And then having to give the speech for graduation just to have no voice leading up to it, and then delivered the speech and then had no voice afterward either. Yeah, real fun there!!

And in COLLEGE:

• Chris had picked me up over his shoulder carried me over to a snow bank and threw me in it, just to have some room mates jump in on the fun and then they white washed my face. (rubbed wet, cold, freezing snow all over an innocent face) I tell you -- I just must be a magnet for this kind of stuff.

So as you can see I've had a lifetime full of practical jokes, with which I'm the butt of all of them.

May we look for the humor in our lives and find a reason to laugh about every situation. Something I think my husband does enough of for the both of us.

50 RANDOM QUESTIONS

1. Do you like blue cheese? agh NASTY!! I think it smells bad.
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? --- You can smoke it??
3. Do you own a gun? Do Squirt guns count.
4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? Still on my to do list -- to visit Sonic.

5. Do you get nervous before doctor Appointments? Depends on why I'm going there. The female exam visits -- heck yes I get NERVOUS, who DOESN'T.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like them on the BBQ and I only like TURKEY OR CHICKEN FRANKS.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? "Ralphie, you're gonna shoot your eye out!!" Anyone guess what that is??

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I put my face on the faucet and turn it on full blast.

9. Can you do push-ups? Of course, I can. But probably not many of them.

10. Age? The big 3 - 0 !! I can hardly believe it.

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? The heart necklace that my husband bought me a few years ago.

12. Favorite hobby? Reading, blogging, digital scrapbooking, talking with friends, thinking about going out to dinner, and dreaming on someone bringing me dinner, and waiting for someone to come and clean my house.

13. Favorite Actor: Don't watch much so I'm clueless -- Lame I know.
14. Do you have A.D.D.? Well lets just say I haven't been ... what are you doing next week? ,

15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I'm always running slow despite my best efforts to be ahead of time.
16. Middle name? Sure I have one.
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment... oh crap, it's time to make dinner. When am I making the costumes? Why isn't the house clean yet?

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday/today? green leaf lettuce, bread, lunchmeat

19. 3 drinks you regularly drink? 1. Mostly water 2. Mostly more water 3. Hot cocoa when it's cold!!

20. 3 Current worries? When am I going to get our family picture taken? Can I ever get all my scrapbooking caught up. Will I ever get enough ME time?

21. Current hate right now? THE ELECTION - I DON'T LIKE EITHER CANDIDATE!!
22. Favorite place to be? With my family and friends.

23. How did you bring in the New Year? What does everyone do for New YEARS!! According to my DH everybody does IT. (actually I can't remember!! ) oh yeah, we were in Rexburg for the Temple Open House. And sleeping in a room filled with our kids so yeah, like anything was really going to HAPPEN if you know what I mean.

24.Where would you like to go? Europe
25. Tag three people: Oh please, I don't know enough people who read this to tag, so I'm not going to.
26. Do you own slippers? Do I ever no where they are?? My kids keep slipnapping them.
27. What shirt are you wearing? A blue Turqoise shirt that is tagged with all kinds of stuff, like snot, applesauce, cheeto mess, slobber like I said a little of everything.

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I'd like to try. I use 100% EGYPTIAN COTTON.

29. Can you whistle? No. I know, LAME-O. But I can't. Every now and then I weak sound with lots of air behind it. -- my friend put this answer but I seriously have to say DITTO
30. Favorite color? ---- B-L-U-E is the way to be.

31. Would you be a pirate? Whatever the reason NO!!
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Didn't you get the memo -- I CAN'T SING!!! Like seriously I sound like that penguin from HAPPY FEET!!

33. Favorite girl's name? Did I mention I like Kaylee, Katherine and Heidi???.
34. Favorite boy's name? I have too many that I like but Thomas, Ethan and Chris aren't that bad.

35. What is in your pocket? cell phone and library card
36. Last thing that made you laugh? T-man saying that his private has been hurting and when asked for how long he said 6 years. (He's only 3 1/2)

37. Best bed sheets as a child? The blue set my parents got me -- my kids still use them today.

38. Worst injury you've ever had? My one and only broken bone -- I'll have to tell the story another time. -- Although the Ovarian Cyst back in Feb. was pretty awful too.
39. Do you love where you live? I like the area but my exact house -- it's a bit prehistoric and small for me these days, but it's what we can afford so until we win our millions from the lottery we'll be stuck here.

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? TWO

41. Who is your loudest friend? Do my kids count??

42. How many dogs do you have? I have 1 and don't want anymore.
43. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope so.
44. What is your favorite book(S)? I like ANITA STANSFIELD.

45. Where were you born? In the middle of nowhere

46. What is your favorite candy? TWIX ( all kinds)

47. Favorite Sports Team? BYU COUGARS, and THE COLTS
48. What songs do you want played at your funeral? Haven't thought about it.

49.What are you doing at 12 A.M.? Usually -- I'm Wishing that I wasn't awake.
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Oh boy, here we go again.

18 month check up.

This was for Baby Boy's 18 month check up. On Friday the 10th of October. Exactly 18 months!! The doctor checked him out and everything looked fine. We opted to pass on the boosters this visit and we'll just do them at his 2 year visit. But the very next morning Baby Boy woke up and had goop in his right eye. So I knew he had PINK EYE!! NOOO!!!! Plus his nose was runny and he had a bad cough. None of this he had the day before at all!!! So I waited it out Saturday and Sunday (kept him home from church) and on Monday I took him into the doctor again. Not only did the poor thing have a case of PINK EYE but he had signicant ear infections in both ears, plus a nasty sore throat. So we were given a prescription for the antibiotic and things have gone much better since then.

But to make matters a little worse, a few hours later while sitting at home, T-Man came up and said that his ear hurt. His left one. And once he said that, he was crying about it non-stop. So I yet went back to the same doctor and he said that sure enough T-Man had an ear full of Pus!! GROSS I KNOW!! ! So both boys have been on meds since last Monday. And they are both doing better.
And these were pictures I took later the same day. He loves to get into the baby bathtub and just relax in it. Playing a game of peek a boo with me.

PEACHES !!

Here's the lovely peach orchard that we get our peaches from, or at least for the last three years.
The sad thing is so many keep falling off the trees before they can be picked. This was our last trip to get peaches and we canned 48 quarts of sliced peaches and then 5 pints of peach jam with this batch!! We still have half a box out in the garage but they might just be making their home in the compost pile -- I need to go and check on them today!!

All in a days time.

Quick recap of fun things going on around here,

#1 -- Ethan had his first day in Nursery at church and never cried. I dropped him off he was playing with cars when I left and then I didn't see him until after church was over. YEAHH !! I can't tell you how EXCITED I am that he stayed on his first Sunday and didn't have a hard time. I hope it stays this easy !! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thomas also finally decided that Nursery wasn't so bad, especially if he wanted a piece of candy afterwards. So after a short excursion of a walk outside with his Dad, he said, " Let's go inside Dad!" and he went up to the nursery room, and gave Dad a big hug walked in and closed the door. What a great Sunday for both of us.

#2 We went up to Midvale to my sister in laws house for a family get together. Which we've never been to their new apartment let alone have a hosted family gathering at their place. Luckily it was nice weather so the kids could run around outside their 4 plex. The food was great and then we played a game of Apples to Apples. Kind of a pointless game but can be pretty entertaining.

#3 The kids have been out of school since Thursday !! We haven't done anything fun and exciting because we're POOR!! That's right we haven't got a life, but good thing they are okay with checking out movies from the library and watching those-- because they are FREE!! I'm kind of anxious for them to get back to school now.

#4. The girls finally have cleaned up their ROOM!! Minus the fact that while they were in the middle of vaccumming the floor the belt broke, and I wasn't prepared with a spare one to replace it. So they still have crumbs on the floor that I think we just might have to sweep with a broom. Heck it can be a great exercise and workout for the flabby arms I've developed since I haven't kept myself active. But that's all about to change.

#5. The power went out last night!!! DH and I were watching an old rerun episode of ... oh heck I can't even think of the name of the show now, but the point being we couldn't finish the episode because the power went out PITCH BLACK!!! The kids were still awake watching a movie in their room on our portable DVD player and they kind of freaked out. So then I had to stumble around the house in pitch black to find the flashlight so I could get various kids to the right beds and locations and then we were all laying down by 10pm --. I'm still wondering why I feel so TIRED!! Oh, didn't I mention that I was up at 11 with baby boy, and took about 15 minutes to get him back to sleep and then at 12 the power came back on and bam, the Kitchen, bathroom, and hallway lights all came on. So I had to get up and turn them all off, because I wasn't thinking about that when the power first went out. And then baby boy had me up and down most of the night and finally came to my bed and kept tossing and turning and making lots of noise and now I'm still tired and my back hurts. AGGHH. Someday he'll sleep all night in his own bed. I just wish I knew why he kept waking up during the night. ????

All this happened just yesturday!!

Tags are getting fun!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE >>>>>>

I'm starting to love these tags, because I'm learning stuff about myself that I didn't really KNOW before -- if you know what I mean??? (I'm still not sure I do.)

So I got tagged by MERRIANNE to name 7 things about me. So let's see where I go with this one, since I can be known to be very STRANGE and WEIRD at times, but I think these things will be pretty down to earth, normal and what many might just call AVERAGE..

1. I LOVE ALL THINGS PEANUT BUTTER!!!! And what's better ??? All things that are CHOCOLATE and PEANUT BUTTER!!! Can't go wrong there.

2. I played these sports in high school: VOLLEYBALL, BASKETBALL, and SOFTBALL and I was even a cheerleader in there too!! My favorite being Basketball. And for my last birthday I just got my very first BASKETBALL -- that's right my very own ever since I was born. I've always played at school but always just used their basketballs.

3. I love to make food!!! I love to eat food !!! I like things that TASTE GOOD!!! (duh, why would I want to eat something that taste bad???) Well, it has to LOOK GOOD, if it looks GROSS I'm not going to touch it. Make it look appealing. Like I'm not big on the sushi thing at all -- matter of fact I've never had it and probably never will. It's all in the sight and smell on how it tastes - -just remember that.

4. I've basically self taught myself everything I know on the piano, and am working on learning to play FUR ELISE!!! I love that SONG!!!

5. I really like all the OLD SCHOOL songs, much like the ones currently on my blog. Total huge fan of all the "JOCK JAMS" out there. If you went to my high school, you know what I'm talking about. (I don't even know if anyone from my high school reads my blog)

6. I like to pick things up with my TOES!!! (I can't quite tie a shoe, but I can pick up clothes, or pens or things like that when I'm too lazy to bend over to get it.)

7. If you ever want to give me something, you can bet I'll be okay with "smelly lotion, bubble bath, candles -- or CHOCOLATE/PEANUT BUTTER creations. "


So I'm now going to tag the following people ---

Amy --- she just asked how I have thing to write about -- well here you go.

Marrianne --- as in TWO REDHEADED BEAUTIES!!!

SHANTIL -- (One of my great SISTER IN Laws!!) I'm curious to know....

Liz -- She's always fun to hear stuff from too!! She always talks about her family, but I'd like to learn more about her.

Shannon -- She's got such a cute family, and she was way fun to know when she lived in my ward.

Lorie -- One of my long time friends that I grew up with. I love this lady!!

Heather -- another old roomie -- you can email me your answers.

( I can think of a whole host of others but the darn creatures don't have blogs yet, I need to recruit them somehow)

Friday Parenting Ramblings

Applesauce containers :

Pretty random I know but -- I've just discovered that my kids REALLY like to eat out of these, so instead of buying the containers so often -- I'm going to save the containers, wash them out and store them in the cupboard for the next time they want "Applesauce, Pudding, Yogurt" -- it's like I just had a DUH moment. I just recently started this -- so now I'm just going to reuse them until they aren't reuseable anymore.
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Reading:

I really LOVE to read, but it has to be a book that really holds my attention, if it doesn't I'm just not going to finish it. I've just decided that about two books I recently borrowed from the library, but they are going to go back today or tomorrow, whenever I get around to it. But my favorite part about reading is -- drawing a bath and sitting in the bath leaned against the back of the tub and reading in a bubble bath. AW WW, so RELAXING. Of course, I can only do this when all kids are in bed, otherwise it's a hurried event, and I really just like to take my time.
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How do I do it??:
I often get asked this question by lots of people, in regard to having 5 kids!! Well the plain and simple truth is -- I DON'T. My house is constantly chaotic, not to mention, but so are my kids. I'm trying better at getting ORGANIZED -- something I STINK at. But I'm trying to get better. The laundry is always behind, no matter what I try. Lately I've had Katherine staying on top of switching loads and now I have two huge Mountains of laundry in my living room that hopefully by the end of today will be folded and put away -- the dishes --since I have to always wash them by hand, because I lack the modern CONVENIENCE of a dishwasher -- are always on the counter top. So it seems that if I take the time to wash the dishes right after dinner, bedtime gets pushed back by an hour -- which I don't like either. Some day I'll get it together, someday I'll grow up. I just went grocery shopping with all 5 kids yesterday afternoon. LAUGH! LAUGH! go ahead I know all you that read this and are parents wonder how that turned out, well lets just say that I still have 5 kids. Not sure if they are all still my kids, but they are kids none the less. But I try and act like it doesn't bother me, when secretly I'm screaming out loud and sometimes that scream is heard by those around me. If you think I'm just being modest, well you should see me right now because I haven't gotten dressed yet and it's nearly 11am. Just drop by unannounced and see what excuse I'll tell you as to why it LOOKS SO BAD IN HERE. Which brings me to my next topic.
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Screaming misbehaving kids in public:
Mine are PERFECT!!!


** As long as they are asleep in their beds.

But I can't help but wonder what these people who are staring at the screaming kids are thinking?? Sometimes I'm the receiving parent and feel like CRAP!! Because someone is staring at me and I can't explain myself, because they will think I'm just that more incompetent as a mother. Then I get the several people that say, WOW!! Are they all yours?? -- No!! I just walk around the store and cart around all these " screaming, loud and constantly on the move, being mean to each other, telling me '"I'm crazy MOM,"' kids because they aren't mine. GET REAL!!! Of course, they are ALL mine. (But then I never thought that having 5 really meant ALL as if that were TOO many.) And then, I get some parents or rather PEOPLE that are looking at me when my kids are "throwing those famous in public" tantrums, or fits, or whatever you might want to call it, but what I want to say to you is "YOU DON'T KNOW SO JUST SHUT UP!!" UNLESS I ASK YOU FOR YOUR OPINION IN THIS SITUATION DON'T GIVE IT!!

Enough. Said.

.....except that it REALLY just bugs me that others who have no clue or better yet, don't have any kids yet or really don't know how or what to expect of kids, can think you aren't doing a good job because your kids are screaming and running in the store.

Now my kids aren't always that bad, just 90% of the time. And I usually don't try to take them all, but the kids are out of school and I don't really want to wait till they all go to bed, or wait till Saturday when DH is home so I can do it.

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Speaking of kids ---
as if I ever talk about anything else!!

Something that I've been doing with them this school year to help motivate them to do their homework and get up and out of bed, when they are supposed to, is to let them have the chance to earn $1 every week that they turn their homework in on time, and aren't tardy to school. It's mostly been working. Of course this last week well, we won't go there in this post but look for it in a future entry.

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So now I'm off to try and conquer all of this mess!!! If I can get the kids to co-operate and help, that will be a PLUS!!!

So What do you think??

Okay so here are some side by side comparisons of myself at age 5, and my three daughters. Here is Sleeping Beauty on the right. This was taken July 2006. She was 6 years old. Here is Smartie-Pants in First grade so she was 6.

And here is Sunshine when she had her 5Th birthday.

MY METAMORPHOSIS --
Kindergarten picture at age 5:
One of my Senior Pictures 1995 is when the picture was taken, but I graduated June 1996.
Christmas 2005 :

Family visit to Cornbelly's 2007 :

March 2008 - right after I had my cyst issue.

(SIDENOTE: Do something better to my hair -- yuck!! It's so straight and stiff. Ugh. I liked it better when it was long and "CURLY" -- too bad it costs so much to get it permed.) I think that is what is missing about my life right now. I used to have perms so much, but now that I'm married and have to "share" what little money we have -- there isn't any leftover to do that anymore.

Getting to Know Me A little Better .....

1. What is your occupation right now? Wife, Mother, Cook, Nanny, Maid -- although I don't like that one, Teacher, Owie fixer,
2. What color are your socks right now? White Hanes Socks -- but I just painted my toenails yesterday -- and your right Superwoman -- painted toenails are way more pretty to look at. I think I'll do this from now on.

3. What are you listening to right now? The boys are watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (the movie)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? A concoction of "leftovers" which consisted of taco flavored rice with red beans, shredded baked potatoes, and eggs scrambled into it. Piled it up on a tomato basil flavored tortilla shell and put salsa on top and rolled it up and YUM it was so good. And because my husband was kind enough to put it away when I totally forgot about it, I still have some to eat for lunch today. Yeah!!!
5. Can you drive a stick shift? OF COURSE!!! I don't like it, but I can drive one. My dad required us to learn on a stick before we could go get our license. I much prefer automatic to sticks but I can drive one if needed.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Brenda H. talking about visiting teaching stuff.

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Well I did get it through email, and of course, I love her -- who wouldn't?? She's one of my "sisters"
8. How old are you today? Same age I was on my last birthday. Nearly 6 months ago.
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? FOOTBALL of course, And I really like watching BYU GAMES when I can watch them.
10. What is your favorite drink? Is it lame to say that I really like smoothies!!!

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes I have. Back in college and then like 2 times since I've been married. Didn't like it so I don't think I'll do it again.
12. Favorite food? hmmm I like FOOD!! So this is a hard one. But I really like Papa Johns pizza, and chicken salad (my recipe though) -- the stuff that goes on sandwiches. I also LOVE shrimp too!!!
13. What is the last movie you watched? Bridge to Terabithia (we just checked it out from the library -- I liked it alot!)

14. Favorite day of the year? What??? are you kidding me!! I could say my birthday but that's lame, I could say my children's birthday but that could be lame too!! I could say the time between Halloween and Christmas but that isn't quite my favorite -- too much stress, and craziness. So I'm going to say JUNE 24th, -- any guesses why??? Well it's my anniversary!! My husband always manages to make it a special day -- even if we stay at home and don't do anything too fancy. Quit laughing already, this is what he got me for our anniversary because we needed a new bed set - our other one was OLD, and decrepit. And we bought the green curtains a few years ago, and they matched our other set, so until we can afford to get new ones those will just have to do -- even if they don't match.
15. How do you vent anger? Shouldn't this be asking me "in what ways do I not?"
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I really liked my bike.
17. What is your favorite season? I would have to say Fall -- not TOO cold, but cold enough that I don't need a coat yet, and I can wear my hoodies, and sweatshirts -- cause I like to WEAR those.
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Probably blueberries. Not by themselves though.
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Well I'm not sending it out through email so anyone can blog it if they want too.
20. Who is the most likely to respond? ???? Don't know.
21. Who is least likely to respond? Good question.
22. Living arrangements? Not too Fancy, not a complete Dump, and oh yeah, I share my room with my husband. And sometimes my kids think it is there room too.
23. When was the last time you cried? When don't I cry.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? JUNK!!! Way overdue to be cleaned.
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Hm mm.
26. What did you do last night? Watched Nanny McPhee - I love that movie. But I was also dealing with a sick little guy.
27. What are you most afraid of? Having one of my children die before I do.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers ? Cheese, lettuce, pickles, and home grown tomatoes YEAH -- I'll take one please.
29. Favorite dog breed? Well I like the German Shepard type seeing how I have one. But after she's gone we'll stick with cats.
30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday ( Everyone is usually home, and I don't have to take the kids to school that day.)
31. How many states have you lived in? 4 - California, Wyoming, California, Idaho, Utah
32. Diamonds or pearls? Well I wish I had a diamond in my RING, but it's lab created.
33. What is your favorite flower? I really am starting to like Impatiens but I also like my roses too!!

A time for renewal

So I found this other blog, that is totally sounding worth the time to look into. President Monson challenged all of us to read and study the talks from this past conference before we have the next conference. So this blog -- has set up a fun challenge so go here and find out all about it.

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I also came across a website that I think I'm going to LOVE too!!! I always know that I need to read my scriptures but sometimes I need some extra kick in my rear to get me to do it. So I decided to sign up for this reading program to finish the Book of Mormon in 60 days!!! You can get on a reading schedule to read the Ensign magazines as well. You get email notifications and I always check my email, so I know I'm guaranteed to do this ( Unless of course, the power goes out and I don't have access to my email -- so I'll keep a mental note too)

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So the first step really is admitting you have a problem, well I guess in a way I'm admitting that I have the problem. I'm not consistent about reading the scriptures and really WANT and KNOW that it needs to change.

My goals from the beginning of the year -- well not really any have survived still, but it isn't too late to make a few goals now and "start" over before the end of the year is here. So I want to fully read the Ensign magazines fully before the next one comes out, and read the BOM in 60 days!!! And as time permits -- clean the house here and there, and make sure I love the time I get to spend with my family.

Am I an Angel on an Errand??

I stumbled upon this poem that I just loved and wanted to share it.

Angels on Errand

She wept as she knelt beside her bed;

"Father, please hear my prayer," she said.

I need a friend, I feel so alone,"

Her prayer was soon ended by the sound of the phone.

"Hello, I hope I'm not bothering you at all,

But I suddenly felt the need to call.

"The loneliness soon faded away

As a bond of sisterhood was strengthened that day.

A heart cried out, A prayer was heard,

Because an Angel heeded a call to serve.

One Sister sat at her desk with a pen

Working on a lesson for church again.

Week after week she faithfully prepared,

But she wondered, "Does anyone really care?"

"I'm doing my best to answer my call,

But am I making any difference at all?"

What joy she found in the mail that day

when a note of gratitude came her way.

"Just want you to know we appreciate

your wonderful lessons-- they are so great!"

That simple note was such a gift,

She had really needed that little lift.

She was blessed by an angel who had taken time

to write a note so sweet and kind.

Another was feeling completely run down;

She felt overwhelmed as she looked around

at the dishes and laundry and dinner still to make

and knew this was the day she would finally break!

Then a knock at the door, a friend stopping by

"I was thinking of you, thought I'd come to say 'Hi.'

"The tears welled up, the friend jumped in,

She washed all the dishes, got some laundry put in.

She helped make the dinner, gave a hug,

then went on her way;

Another Angel was on errand that day.

So many lives, So many needs,

So many Angels who do thoughtful deeds.

When promptings come, let us never fail

To heed them quickly, for we can never tell

When our Errands as Angels will be a part

Of an answer to prayer in a Sister's heart.

by: Laurie Dukes

I wasn't able to attend church today because Baby Boy was SICK!!

But I like to find these kind of poems that are full of encouragement and hope.

Might everyone be sensitive to the spirit so that we can all help someone

else in need, and to do it quickly because you never know....

Friday Ramblings

Peaches :



Well, frankly my dear, I'm getting quite sick of them. Although I've been able to bottle 48 quarts of sliced peaches and lots of JAM!!! I made 5 pints of Peach-Raspberry Fruit Spread (aka Jam -- but I don't like chunks of slimey fruit that tastes Yucky, in my jam so I make it without the chunks.) I also made 7 pints of Peach-Strawberry Jam plus I just made 5 pints of plain Peach jam, and hopefully tonight I'll make some more and use up all those darn peaches. I wonder if I should read "James and the Giant Peach" -- to my kids especially. It's been a long time since I have read it.



Thriller:



In my song track right now --- I LOVE IT!! Who cares if it's Michael Jackson, this music has a great beat and helps make me feel energized. And I like trying to be festive. Have you ever seen the video for this? Maybe I'll have to find one and put a link here. I LOVE the dance scene. I've always loved dancing, just not good at it myself. Which I wish I were, I can be a total amatuer and totally entertain my kids, but that's about it.



Honey:

I love to watch this stuff being poured into a "container" of some kind, the way it is in "slow" motion almost and twirls and falls and then fills the container nice and smooth. hmmm wonder if I can make some kind of analogy related to our experience in life and honey being poured into a container. Maybe if I wasn't so tired I might be able to do it. But the stuff is so sweet!!



Home Party's



Well I'm making a mental note not to do anymore in my home parties for PC, or CTMH anymore because I don't do well making the party count as a party. Guess I don't know the right kind of people that are really able to buy it, but instead I'm going to do a holiday cookie/candy exchange party for some of my close friends. So that we can still get "together" but not have that kind of pressure on me. Between my sister in law and me we're going to each host one at our house's and then invite some of our friends to join with us. Because let's face it, holidays and treats kind of go together and we're all busy (or at least we try to make people think we're BUSY) but how nice would it be to make enough of one kind of cookie and then have each member bring a dozen for every other member than you get all kinds in half the time. BRILLIANT I SAY!!! Especially since I love it, the eating of it, of course.



KIERA H. ---

What a wonderful person she is. She inspires me, and encourages. And I just hope she knows how much she's loved, by everyone around here. She has the cutest family, and has such a great talent with photography. Today is her birthday and I don't ever want to forget her EVER!! She's too FUN!!! She gave a great talk in Sacrament a few weeks ago which was great. She has such a LOVE of LIFE AND FAMILY, and FRIENDS!!! She isn't afraid to let others no her opinion, and she works hard for her family. She is a strong person -- she has no idea the ripple effect that she will have on all that come in contact with her. And I feel deeply blessed to have crossed her path in this life. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADY!!! Have a good one. You are a great friend!!


MyHotComments

Baby Boy turns 18 Months Old!!

Technically not until Friday, but I want to get a head start on what I want to say right now. This was Easter Sunday 2007 just two days before I had this bundle of joy, frustration, silliness, pain, tears, and love.
April 10th, 2007 my fifth little child made his debut. The birth story goes something like this: On Wednesday April 4th I had an appointment with the OBGYN, and was said to be dialated to almost a 3 but because I wasn't technically due for another 3 1/2 weeks they weren't going to do anything about it -- despite the fact that I was having labor pains on and off for the last few weeks before that. Plus they also told me that the presentation of the baby was breech. OH GREAT - NOT AGAIN!! So I got a little freaked out hearing this since child #2 was breech also. Which required a c-section for hers. So Friday the 6th of April, our family drove to Manti to attend a wedding there for a friend of my husbands. My sister was visiting us this weekend and was staying with us, so she came along as well, to watch the four kids outside the temple while we were inside. While in the middle of the ceremony, I started having contractions!! Mind you I was in Manti and about a good almost 2 hours from the hospital we needed to go to. The contractions were coming regularly and were hurting, and everything was by the book. I was having the contractions for nearly 30 minutes and then they graciously subsided while we drove frantically the rest of the way home. But as soon as we hit Spanish Fork headed north on the freeway they started up again. And they were happening for the next few hours. I decided to finally go to the hospital to see if I was in fact in labor or what. (these were starting to get painful) -- we had my sister watch the kids for us while we ran to the hospital, and then were there for nearly 6 hours before they finally sent us home. The doctor wanted to give me a morphine shot but I refused due to the extreme effects it had on me with child #4 T-Man. (Which story I will retell later) -- But while at the hospital the nurses checked me and said that I was a four but they wouldn't do anything because I wasn't showing any progress since I showed up there.
I seriously was fuming because here I am a pregnant lady and was told just a few days earlier that my baby was breech and chances were good that I was going to have a c-section for the delivery of this child, and I've been having labor pains up the ying-yang and was not sleeping well, and pains galore all over the place and they were sending me home. AAGGHHH!!! So they simply put me on bedrest for the next few days and said that I needed to take it easy because they didn't want the baby being born too early. The due date was April 21st, and it was April 7th now. So all day Saturday I was in bed, and left getting Easter stuff ready up to my husband, who said he would take care of it. I think that was the first time ever since we had kids that he was taking care of it. He made the dinner too!! Which was nice by the way!!

Tuesday April 10th, I had my next appointment and while I was there I explained what was going on and that despite the fact that I was put on bed rest, I still had contractions on and off all weekend long. Bless the lady who I saw that day because she checked me and said that I was an easy 4 and was surprised that I was told to go home on Friday. She did check to see if the baby was still breech and then talked with the doctor to see what could be done. That was all that was needed all plans were now in motion and the baby was being born that day. I had left my two kids that weren't in school yet with my friend Brenda. The older two were at school already, so I called my sister to see if she could come down from Roy to watch the kids until Chris was able to go back home and be with them. She was on her way but would take a good 2 hours or so before she could get there. So I called the school and talked with my daughters teacher, Cheryl who lives in my neigborhood, and asked her if she could bring home the girls because I wouldn't be able to get them. She quickly agreed -- she was pregnant also but not due for a few more months. I called Brenda and let her know what was going on and she said that she could watch the other two until my sister came down. Let my sister know what was going on with the kids and where they would be. And left it at that. I called Chris before all of this of course, and he was granted the rest of the day off and then had the rest of the week off so that he could be with the kids while I was recovering in the hospital from the last minute scheduled c-section. I was nervous, of course, but with a reassuring blessing from my husband I was able to feel more calmed and was able to go through the ordeal a little less frightened. Our little guy was born breech and had his cord wrapped around his neck, when just a week earlier they had done an ultrasound that said the cord was nowhere near his head. Luckily we had the baby that day, because any later he probably would have died. Luckily he didn't and now 18 months later he is quite the boy.

Here he is at his first Halloween. 6 months.


This is from our vacation in August 2008 when he was almost 16 months old. What a journey it has been. I have his well child check up on Friday morning which is the 10th of October and we'll see how he measures up. This kid is a CUTE MONSTER!!

Weighty Issues

Okay so I keep hearing friends that are "working out, and exercising" to try and lose weight but only end up "unhappy, and diappointed" because they aren't losing "WEIGHT".


The muscle cells in the body are lean and long cells. Fat cells are opposite. When you engage muscles in a workout, especially one that works the muscles as with "strength training" you tend to develop those muscle cells more, and muscle cells are more dense - so they weigh more. So a few good rules of thumb if you are trying to "lose weight" :

Don't look at the scale!!! It's not the numbers on the scale that you want to be watching to drop. Its the amount or percentage of body fat you have that you want to shrink. There are a few ways to do this.

----- You can get some kind of device to measure your body fat like this one listed with Amazon. This uses the skinfold method -- which is the most common. Which means that you pinch your skin and with the device it can tell you your percentage of body fat based on your weight too. And through hospitals and such you can get more accurate tests done but they can become quite costly.

Here is another great website that you can check out just to get some answers to some of your "questions" about weightloss.
MyFitnessTrainer -- the site is owned and operated by one of my friends from college and she's good at what she does. I took fitness for life back in college and have been very athletic most of my life, until about 10 years ago, when I only get on and off workouts as time and children permit. One of these years when my kids aren't so "helpless" and I'm not so "financially challenged" I think that I will get a membership to a gym, and what I wouldn't do to play Basketball, Volleyball and maybe Softball again. I played all three in high school, and loved almost every minute of it, I was in such great shape and I was working with weights and I felt really good back then. But of course, I've been a SLACKER lately and know I need to do something about it, but my kids just cling to my legs if I try to do anything at home, and well, I could just come up with a million and one more excuse of why I don't, but I'll not waste my precious time on that and instead do something more productive like "workout".

General Conference - Sunday Sessions

I have to confess that I slacked on documenting my notes immediately after the sessions on Sunday -- Why?? Well, I was busy canning peaches that had been picked, and my DH was sweet enough to offer to help this weekend while he was home from work. So we washed, cut off the bad spots, steamed them for a few minutes per batch, and then peeled the skins, and removed the pit, and then sliced the peaches. I went through all the work of sterilizing the jars, and lids etc... and then filling the canner with water, and filling the jars with peaches followed by the syrup and then processed them. We managed to do two batches of peaches, 9 quart jars the first go around and then 10 the second go around, followed by 5 pints of Peach Jam.

And the story doesn't end there, we still have MORE peaches in the garage that we're going to bottle as well. And if you're wondering where I get my peaches from, I get them for FREE!! From my In laws peach orchard they have. It's been really nice the last three summers, since they moved to Utah.

But I did grasp a few thoughts from conference that I wanted to write down now. The first one being that I need to strive for Unity in my relationships with others especially those in my family and more importantly my spouse. Secondly that I need to make sure that I remain a virtous woman, that the things which are sacred to me, need to remain sacred and not misused or spoken lightly of. I also LOVED President Monson's talk on Change. That life changes and we need to live in the moment now, and not wish it away. Something I have been known to be GUILTY off. But hopefully from now on, will be better about living in the NOW!! He said that all too soon that as parents we'll miss the piles of laundry, and the noise from the children and long for those days to be back. So I've vowed to enjoy every moment and focus on creating memories with and for my children.

And of course, lots of talks on missionary work, and keeping our faith during our struggles. There is definately a lot of wisdom and reminders that were given that I never want to forget. I can hardly wait to be able to digest these talks more in depth when they are in the Ensign.

This is how my garden grew.

Well this is what our backyard used to look like!!! We decided this year that we would trun it into a garden or at least some of it. And even the tree on the far right of the picture isn't there anymore. Just another shot from the back side of the yard looking toward the house.
This is what it started looking like when we first planted our garden, back in May. Now this is what it looks like as of a few weeks ago. Those are mostly tomato plants with one zucchini at the far right of the picture in the front. We also have a few watermelons going, and some cucumbers. ((although they didn't do well at all, but the tomatoes DID!!))

Just to give an idea of how tall the plants were getting. I was on my knees to take the picture. We've enjoyed the tomatoes we've been getting off from our plants this year, and hopefully next year we'll be better at placing the plants -- and we'll have to figure out how to get rid of SNAILS AND GRASSHOPPERS!!!

General Conference -- 2nd Session

From the second session I really enjoyed the talk about Angels, that they still administer to people this day. This is something that I remember having a specific question about several years ago. And then when I opened up my scriptures like every verse I really looked at -- was a manifestation of the truth that I heard at this session of conference. The story about the little 7 year old boy and crossing the river. To find his father coming after him after he had prayed was a reminder to me of the angels that are around me as well. And that I know all my friends and family have the same privilege if they "ask" for it. I often feel that when my prayers are answered by way of another person "helping" with something I need, that they are indeed an angel sent forth to do the work of our Heavenly Father.

I really enjoyed seeing and hearing all the little children singing during the conference too!!

I really like the reminder that we need to keep our covenants that we have made as we face difficult and trying times, so that we don't forget the Lords hands are in all things.

And that we all will face challenges and struggles and that we need to take it and love it. And not to murmur about it.

And I can't forget the great reminder on Prayer from Elder Bednar!! My prayers need to be more fervant and meaningful. And I want to take on the challenge to say a prayer and ask for nothing.

Now to listen to the 1st session for Sunday.

General Conference --- 1st Session

I want to take the time right now in between the conference sessions to record some of my thoughts about what I heard and what stood out to me. I've enjoyed all the talks so far. I especially loved the talk, but the story about the little girl named "Hadley" Sp? who was born with ears that didn't work properly, and underwent surgeries to try and help her. And after endless hours of love and support and training and encouragement from her family to teach her how to talk, she began to do so. And then one day in the store she saw the little boy without any legs. --- Now I wish I had the exact words to fill in here -- because they touched my heart to know that she had such great faith that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father would help her hear again, and that the little boy would be given his legs too. How sweet is that??? I started to tear up then.

Some other points that I liked, were the one that was said that a person who has been shown and taught about the Book Of Mormon and still refuses to read it is incomparable. I just realized that although I don't refuse to read it, when I'm not reading the Book of Mormon, it seems to be just as bad. So I make a new resolve to be more dilligent in reading the Book of Mormon. ( I mean seriously if I can read some of the books in the Twilight Series in just about 4 days especially when there are over 700 pages, you would think that reading the Book of Mormon wouldn't be too bad -- I'll have to find out.)



I also enjoyed the talk on Sacrament Meeting -- I think Dallin H. Oaks gave that talk. It was a great reminder and reprimand that I need to make sure, at whatever cost that I am seated several minutes before Sacrament Meeting starts and to make sure that I treat going to that meeting as well if not better than I would for going to the Temple. So I guess that means I need to get back to wearing Nylons, in the knee-high form of course.





And the announcement of the ROME ITALY TEMPLE!!!! WOW!!! Need I say more?? And the one in the Kansas City location -- I know how sparse the temples are in the midwest so this should prove to be a great blessing to those Saints. How exciting !!



President Uchtdorf's talk was AMAZING!!! What inspiration can you gain from his words of wisdom, that we will have trials to go through, it's what we do with those trials that determines our character.



I liked the talk on being prepared. And the STARK reminder that Saints need to live within their means. The means of their income and not that of the size of the neighbors house. To stay out of debt, to be PREPARED!! I appreciated this talk considering the craziness going on in the world today.



I can hardly wait for the next session.

I Love Conference

I'm so looking forward to conference!! Two days of soaking in the SPIRIT, as much as my children will allow. I remember when I was a kid, and Conference just seemed to last FOREVER !!! It could never get over fast enough, ( I think the main reason being that my Dad made us sit for all 4 sessions and we couldn't do different quiet activities during and if we started to fall ASLEEP -- well let's not go there!!) Needless to say it was not a fond memory of mine. But as I have grown older and my perspective has changed from that of being a kid, and even as a teenager, I can hardly wait for it to come, and then it's over before I've been "spiritually fed" enough to last me the next 6 months. I LOVE CONFERENCE!!!

I can hardly wait for the talks that seem like they were written just for me, and that maybe come Monday -- I'll feel refreshed and feel like I can conquer it all. Of course, I can only do that one step at a time.

The only thing these days that proves to be difficult are the CHILDREN!! So if we can keep the noise level at bay, and keep that "entertained" than I'm sure I'll get a lot more out of it.

Friday Ramblings

Some Random Thoughts, that had me thinking this week.

Deodorant:

Why can I not find one that really works good. Everything I try either leaves those icky, nasty, yellow stains on my underclothing, and eventually my shirts too. Or even though I wear the "deodorant" -- I am still perspiring, and SWEATING, and then I never smell good. I hate it. I seriously need to just live in the shower so I can just have that "fresh out of the shower" smell with me all day. So basically I feel like deodorant never does the job it's supposed to, (maybe an issue I should discuss with the doctor) - maybe next time.

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Socks :

Need I say more?? I can't believe how I can never find my kids ANY SOCKS!! I don't know where they hide them, of course, I do but are SERIOUS -- do I have to go in there and fetch them from under the beds??? YUCK!!! And I always come up short on socks when doing the laundry -- I should just magnetize all the socks so that they stick to the drum in the washing machine and then do the same thing in the dryer too.

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STAMPS::

Not the card making kind, but the "SNAIL" mail kind. I hardly ever use them anymore!! I used to go through a book of stamps in about 3 weeks and now I'm lucky if I can use one stamp period in three months. I think life is now way too convenient and everyone has gone to the Internet to do business, and send "notes, and letters" to everyone. EXCEPT when it comes to right around THANKSGIVING and then I get a surplus of FUN mail and not just the Bills that have to be paid despite my refusal to want to do so. Christmastime seems to be the only time that I ever use stamps. LIKE SERIOUSLY I use more stamps at that time of the year than I use throughout the previous year all together. Kind of SAD!! But oh well, I love my INTERNET and won't really change it, unless something happens that necessitates it.

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It's Been 1 week !!

Okay so T-man had his surgery one week ago today. And if you didn't know he was having a surgery you'd never even know!! He was up and running around later that night. Here a few pics from the day we spent up at Primary's in Salt Lake.

So now it's been even longer but I just wanted to remember this time in his life. It's now been over a month and he's still doing great. He had a surgery June 13, 2008 -- which involved some work on his male anatomy. The incision itself was laprascopic, so it's really tiny. And he bounced back so quick afterwards, you'd never guess he had a surgery. I wish I could be this resilient.

What on Earth???

Yes, I was the object lesson for FHE a few weeks ago. And this was my object.

The object lesson goes something like, I was to play along that I didn't know what they were talking about, wait & stall and then finally excuse myself and go look at the mirror, and shriek because I look so RIDICULOUS!! Ask the kids to help get me various things so I can "Clean" up and "FIX" what was wrong. And then point out to them that I didn't know that anything was wrong until I looked in the mirror -- so that I could know what I looked like. We also have "mirrors" inside of us to help us know when we need to correct something, or make it better. Hopefully they remembered it and I hope that they always will.
*** Just a side note -- but this might have some bearing on why I don't wear makeup very often. (WINK*WINK*)

More than Words Can Say