Mormon Helping hands, I miss it. Sort of. Ok, I don't. I hate Ulestac. I was so tired of my allegies. But it did show my kids are hard workers.
And that Ulestac has more pollen then I ever imagined was possible.
It's true.
In other news, this video was filmed where we used to live and the singing group with them has a bunch of kids from our old ward. Made me "california sick" (it goes both way, I am sick of it and I miss it, in this case I miss it). Nice job everyone. Did you do Ulestac again? :)
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
April 28th.
3 years ago I spent much of the day crying. I was SO sad that I was going to have to be induced. It just wasn't FAIR that I was twelve days overdue. How on EARTH could I get this baby OUT of me, without involving pitocin? I actually probably cried for a good 2 weeks. Not straight, but pretty close.
1 year ago today Drew interviewed at a high school. He called me BEAMING after the interview, but had bad news that it was only 80%. I told him it was ludicrous to even think about and to come on home.
4 years ago Drew got his new trombone and I spent the night trying to get Mr Middle into preschool. Realizing that my years as a stay at home mom were coming to a close. In between waiting for the preschool web portal to open, I looked at jobs. This baby thing just wasn't going to happen.
The thing is, life is insane. It throws you twists and turns that you never saw coming, and yet it's totally perfect. Things that really aren't fair happen. And you have to roll with it.
And sometimes you end up with the most perfect little human that entirely completes your life.
1 year ago today Drew interviewed at a high school. He called me BEAMING after the interview, but had bad news that it was only 80%. I told him it was ludicrous to even think about and to come on home.
4 years ago Drew got his new trombone and I spent the night trying to get Mr Middle into preschool. Realizing that my years as a stay at home mom were coming to a close. In between waiting for the preschool web portal to open, I looked at jobs. This baby thing just wasn't going to happen.
The thing is, life is insane. It throws you twists and turns that you never saw coming, and yet it's totally perfect. Things that really aren't fair happen. And you have to roll with it.
And sometimes you end up with the most perfect little human that entirely completes your life.
I need to do a post all about her. But, I'm kind of having a woe is me day. We've had a lot of "issues" with El Presidante this weekend. One that gave me the mean mom title and him thinking of how he can run away. It's been fun. Oh, and did I mention that Drew is gone again? Because he is.
The funny thing, 2 years ago El Presidante had an amazing run as Willy Wonka, and I sat in the audience amazed at what he could do. It was a lovely twist.
I'm feeling really burnt out. I don't see it ending any time soon. I know we all get that way but mine hasn't been this bad for a while. Just a series of bad days....
But just like getting induced, life went on. I hated getting induced, I fought it every minute, wouldn't let them break my water, and once they did she came flying out. Sometimes I just don't know what is best. Lesson learned. For today. :)
I put a two year old to bed for the last time today. My very own sweet two year old will wake up as a 3 year old. And I think along with that 2 year old a little piece of me died today too. Sure do love her.
CAN YOU BELIEVE SHE IS THREE?
Friday, April 27, 2012
Photo Friday: Princess lizard.
Princess P came up to me the other day and told me she was a princess lizard. I'm thinking she meant princess WIZARD, but you know... we do live in the desert and the little geckos still scare me every time one comes by. I am just a scardy cat. This out fit, on the other hand is also quite scary.
You know, I was looking at my "lists" of "wants" in a house the other day and I always dreamt of living on a coul de sac and we were lucky enough to find one. This week I really realized what was so great about it. All the kids out riding their bikes and me feeling perfectly fine with it. Pretty fabulous! In other news, Mr Middle upgraded to Conner's bike and is loving it. We still had trainers on his last bike (read between the lines: super lazy mom) so it's been exciting to see him take off. He's felt a lot of pride in the moments. :)
Yesterday was national pretzel day and I had extra kids so we made pretzels. It was pretty darn fun and they were fairly tasty. I put some cinnamon sugar on a few and some Parmesan on a few. Not quite Wetzles, but it'll do. :)
Here's to a great weekend!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Bully for them
Isn't Bully a good word in England? Like, "Bully for you, you got straight A's?"
Well, after numbing my mind with a lovely episode of America's Next Top Model I got to thinking about bullying.
And I think there's teasing, and tomfoolery, and then there's bully.
And I think we've mixed up the two.
I don't believe I was ever bullied. I never felt unsafe or scared. I felt unhappy and rage, but not unsafe. I didn' think they would cause bodily harm. Hair, or clothing harm (I was the recipient of a lot of gum back in the day), definitely feeling harm, but not bodily.
And I think it was good for me. I NEEDED to learn to be happy with myself and not care what "mean girls" were doing. I didn't need my mom marching to the school saying that these girls were mean and needed to stop riding the bus. I needed to learn how to deal with that type of behavior on my own.
Because it is always going to happen.
People aren't going to like you, people will talk behind your back. Thankfully, I think the gum has stopped. At least from peers. :)
So, I just think that we need to draw a line. I think it's the parents who need to grab their little faces and say "you are better then this, you are wonderful, I love you and you can make it through." I guess that's what bugged me most. These poor girls were crying about how people were mean to them and some strange model was comforting them....
Oh, maybe my other problem is that bullying helps mainstream some people. Maybe we should make fun of your orange hair, and then maybe it won't happen. We are so busy holding the hands of everyone that's different, that we don't notice that maybe being a little more similar (and I am just saying a LITTLE more similar) is what we need.
I guess this boils down to the fact that I am tired of bullying talk. I think maybe a bit more talk needs to be about how YOU (because this would be an individual conversation, most likely had with a parent) are AOK, and some people just don't see that. Keep your head high.
Or, maybe more people need Abileen as their "mom." :)
What do you think about bullying?
Well, after numbing my mind with a lovely episode of America's Next Top Model I got to thinking about bullying.
And I think there's teasing, and tomfoolery, and then there's bully.
And I think we've mixed up the two.
I don't believe I was ever bullied. I never felt unsafe or scared. I felt unhappy and rage, but not unsafe. I didn' think they would cause bodily harm. Hair, or clothing harm (I was the recipient of a lot of gum back in the day), definitely feeling harm, but not bodily.
And I think it was good for me. I NEEDED to learn to be happy with myself and not care what "mean girls" were doing. I didn't need my mom marching to the school saying that these girls were mean and needed to stop riding the bus. I needed to learn how to deal with that type of behavior on my own.
Because it is always going to happen.
People aren't going to like you, people will talk behind your back. Thankfully, I think the gum has stopped. At least from peers. :)
So, I just think that we need to draw a line. I think it's the parents who need to grab their little faces and say "you are better then this, you are wonderful, I love you and you can make it through." I guess that's what bugged me most. These poor girls were crying about how people were mean to them and some strange model was comforting them....
Oh, maybe my other problem is that bullying helps mainstream some people. Maybe we should make fun of your orange hair, and then maybe it won't happen. We are so busy holding the hands of everyone that's different, that we don't notice that maybe being a little more similar (and I am just saying a LITTLE more similar) is what we need.
I guess this boils down to the fact that I am tired of bullying talk. I think maybe a bit more talk needs to be about how YOU (because this would be an individual conversation, most likely had with a parent) are AOK, and some people just don't see that. Keep your head high.
Or, maybe more people need Abileen as their "mom." :)
What do you think about bullying?
General Conference: Children
This week I read Elder Packer's talk on children.
This brought up a lot of thoughts.
Drew and I are done having babies of our own. I've thought a lot about it, and every now and then I consider other options, but I feel really good about 3, for SO many reasons. I loved how this talk showed us how amazing it is to be a parent.
Because I forget that.
A. lot.
I do think about how I have had ENDLESS children at my house. I think about how I have literally had a little person in my house for almost 12 years now, involving playdates and babysitting swaps. I think about how that will never end and I will constantly have a little person talking to me all. day. long.
I think about the math homework which is slowly progressing into being too hard for me.
I think about the PTO meetings and the tiresome things of that.
But I must admit it's much more rare to think about how LUCKY I am.
I do think about it. At least daily, I would guess. But I do think about the other things a lot more frequently.
I also took from Elder Packer's talk, the fact that parenthood is the main trial we came to this earth to experience. It's why we are here. Period. And the fact that it IS a trial somehow makes me feel a little better about not loving every minute of it.
He also mentions that abortions are covered by the atonement, that it IS something we can be forgiven of. I'm not sure why that was a revelation for me, but it was. It's obviously wrong but it's not the same as murder. At least that's what he said.
I love how he said all church programs should support the family. That isn't to say that we don't pull ourselves from the family to serve, but it does make you re-think some things I've done. Did it support mine or other families? It's a good question to ask.
Anyway, I have some kids over for a playdate, so I should go. I was sitting there watching them, and thought that I only have 2 more years of babysitting swaps. 2 more years out of a long and loving life, maybe I shoud cherish it a little bit more.
I sure do love my little trials. I feel very lucky to have them. :)
This brought up a lot of thoughts.
Drew and I are done having babies of our own. I've thought a lot about it, and every now and then I consider other options, but I feel really good about 3, for SO many reasons. I loved how this talk showed us how amazing it is to be a parent.
Because I forget that.
A. lot.
I do think about how I have had ENDLESS children at my house. I think about how I have literally had a little person in my house for almost 12 years now, involving playdates and babysitting swaps. I think about how that will never end and I will constantly have a little person talking to me all. day. long.I think about the math homework which is slowly progressing into being too hard for me.
I think about the PTO meetings and the tiresome things of that.
But I must admit it's much more rare to think about how LUCKY I am.
I do think about it. At least daily, I would guess. But I do think about the other things a lot more frequently.
I also took from Elder Packer's talk, the fact that parenthood is the main trial we came to this earth to experience. It's why we are here. Period. And the fact that it IS a trial somehow makes me feel a little better about not loving every minute of it.
He also mentions that abortions are covered by the atonement, that it IS something we can be forgiven of. I'm not sure why that was a revelation for me, but it was. It's obviously wrong but it's not the same as murder. At least that's what he said.
I love how he said all church programs should support the family. That isn't to say that we don't pull ourselves from the family to serve, but it does make you re-think some things I've done. Did it support mine or other families? It's a good question to ask.
Anyway, I have some kids over for a playdate, so I should go. I was sitting there watching them, and thought that I only have 2 more years of babysitting swaps. 2 more years out of a long and loving life, maybe I shoud cherish it a little bit more.
I sure do love my little trials. I feel very lucky to have them. :)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Bikes
The kids are LOVING the new bikes. Spencer actually wrote a two-wheeler (we were obviously REALLY lazy with his training wheels) for the first time last night. I only had to hold the back a few time and he quickly had hte hang of it. Except for starting, he has a hard time with that, but he's working on it. It's great to see your kids faces when they accomplish something. Good stuff.
My question, I'd love to get a rack to haul them around in the van. Both their's and me and Drew's. BUT, I don't want it to STAY on the van and I don't want it to be a huge pain to get on and off.
Anyone have ideas on a good bike rack for several bikes?
My question, I'd love to get a rack to haul them around in the van. Both their's and me and Drew's. BUT, I don't want it to STAY on the van and I don't want it to be a huge pain to get on and off.
Anyone have ideas on a good bike rack for several bikes?
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Hot
The heat has come to Arizona, we've had multiple over 100 days, and today's a lovely only 95. There is some cooling later in the week, but man oh MAN you can sense my body's dread.
The winter was pretty fantastical.
In other news I had to wipe my phone last night. For some reason my calendar kept having errors and wouldn't upload anything I added to it to the google calendar, and if you know me, you know I love my google calendar.
There's something really freeing with having a "brand new" phone. Just adding what I want. Makes me happy. It also makes me happy that I'm backing up all my stuff onto my SD card or into a cloud in the sky (or on the internets)... I didn't lose a thing. I actually mull over doing it more often.
Hot and rambly, that's how this day is. :)
The winter was pretty fantastical.
In other news I had to wipe my phone last night. For some reason my calendar kept having errors and wouldn't upload anything I added to it to the google calendar, and if you know me, you know I love my google calendar.
There's something really freeing with having a "brand new" phone. Just adding what I want. Makes me happy. It also makes me happy that I'm backing up all my stuff onto my SD card or into a cloud in the sky (or on the internets)... I didn't lose a thing. I actually mull over doing it more often.
Hot and rambly, that's how this day is. :)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Abundance
Kind of forgot that this is my "word" of the year this year. I mean, it comes to mind every now and then. I am feeling like my life is VERY abundant right now. Lots of good friends, good times with the kids. Feeling basically quite lucky.
Yesterday at church the talks were about abudance (sort of) but it got me to thinking about how abundance goes hand in hand with my current weight loss plan. I eat what I want, when I'm hungry. I have plenty of the things I need.
Today is a new leaf in weight loss-ville. I've obviously done this MANY times, but I do feel pretty fortified towards the goal today. I'd like help.
You can read about it all on my weight loss blog. That thing hasn't gotten a lot of love lately, but it's time to get in the zone. The zone where I am healthy. Wanna join me?
Yesterday at church the talks were about abudance (sort of) but it got me to thinking about how abundance goes hand in hand with my current weight loss plan. I eat what I want, when I'm hungry. I have plenty of the things I need.
Today is a new leaf in weight loss-ville. I've obviously done this MANY times, but I do feel pretty fortified towards the goal today. I'd like help.
You can read about it all on my weight loss blog. That thing hasn't gotten a lot of love lately, but it's time to get in the zone. The zone where I am healthy. Wanna join me?
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A Day in the Life of April
How is April almost over? I feel like I was just in Utah in March. I hate how time marches faster each year.
I read a great piece over at the Power of Moms this morning and was reminded that I haven't done it "What's Up" piece for the blog, and I am sure once I am super old and blogs are holographic I will miss those pieces.... I doubt you will, but sometimes I enjoy reading other people's lives, just finding out that my kids are normal or remembering things my kids did when they were a certain age....
Princess P is going to be 3 any day now. HOW ON EARTH DID THAT HAPPEN? It seems like just yesterday I was writing about how we couldn't get pregnant, mostly to stop the questions. Here my little bundle of joy is no longer a baby. She holds on to her crib with a fierceness to rival Tyra Banks. I'm telling her that once she's three she's going to need to sleep in her big girl bed. We'll see if that works out. I probably love her crib as much as she does. And then, what to do with the crib when she's out of it? She is truly amazing. She loves her fashion, she LOVES to dress up lately. Yesterday she went from a fairy to an elephant in a blink of an eye. She loves her "square crackers" (wheat thins) and does NOT want any circle crackers (ritz). She still loves to cuddle and watch TV and drink milk when she wakes up. She loves her fairy pullups from Walmart. She loves to tell you what store she bought things at, as if it was Nordstroms. Just yesterday I got her a puzzle while we were at Goodwill and she came in the house screaming she "GOT A PUZZLE FROM GOODWILL". I love that she loves Goodwill. Think that will last? I have been sick all week and she's been missing her lessons. I love that little bundle of curls. I wish I could freeze her.
Mr Middle is the biggest whiny-bo-baggins I've ever seen lately. I wish I could rip out his tonsils every time I hear "CONNER" come out of his mouth. There is constant fighting, mostly on his end. He's choosing to be bugged by EVERYTHING. P touched his toy, C is whistling, or humming, or breathing to loud. I sent in his "environmental" form for school last week. This forced me to sit and think about him. I realized that maybe I don't think ENOUGH about him. I worry about the Marsha, Marsha, Marsha syndrome. Maybe he needs to spend more time with me. But, back to school -- I basically asked for a super fun class. I need him to break out of his shell a bit, grow up a bit. I can't believe he's going into 3rd grade, he's still so little. Still a money grubber, he wouldn't spend more then 5 bucks on Princess P's present, even though he has over 20 available. Maybe he's saving it all for my birthday. :) Still, he found her something great. He sure does love her. They have been playing together a lot lately, feeding off of each other's baby talk. Blech, so tired of baby talk. I wish I could stop it.
El Presidante is the lucky owner of a new bike. One of our ward members/blog readers read that we were looking for a new one for him, so we could upgrade everyone's bike status's. They were sweet enough to offer a REALLY GREAT bike at an amazing price. It's his early birthday present, and he is ecstatic. It's just a bit too big but I see him growing into it in a blink of an eye. We have a ton of great bike trails around here. Excited for him. Any idea how he could strap his trumpet to his bike for a ride to school? School is actually {phewsh} going much, much better. He toys with all A's, often being .4% away in one or more classes. He is intrinsically thrilled with the changes. As am I. I'm glad that he's found inner motivation for this. I thought about paying for grades, but he didn't need that. He was almost as disappointed in himself as I was at the beginning of the year.
Life goes on around here. I still think, many times daily, of the turmoil I was going through last year. I'm amazed that things happened so fast. It seemed to be in slow motion at the time, but life is so terribly perfect, even with all of the craziness and imperfections of it all. April, I sure have enjoyed your brief stay!
I read a great piece over at the Power of Moms this morning and was reminded that I haven't done it "What's Up" piece for the blog, and I am sure once I am super old and blogs are holographic I will miss those pieces.... I doubt you will, but sometimes I enjoy reading other people's lives, just finding out that my kids are normal or remembering things my kids did when they were a certain age....
Princess P is going to be 3 any day now. HOW ON EARTH DID THAT HAPPEN? It seems like just yesterday I was writing about how we couldn't get pregnant, mostly to stop the questions. Here my little bundle of joy is no longer a baby. She holds on to her crib with a fierceness to rival Tyra Banks. I'm telling her that once she's three she's going to need to sleep in her big girl bed. We'll see if that works out. I probably love her crib as much as she does. And then, what to do with the crib when she's out of it? She is truly amazing. She loves her fashion, she LOVES to dress up lately. Yesterday she went from a fairy to an elephant in a blink of an eye. She loves her "square crackers" (wheat thins) and does NOT want any circle crackers (ritz). She still loves to cuddle and watch TV and drink milk when she wakes up. She loves her fairy pullups from Walmart. She loves to tell you what store she bought things at, as if it was Nordstroms. Just yesterday I got her a puzzle while we were at Goodwill and she came in the house screaming she "GOT A PUZZLE FROM GOODWILL". I love that she loves Goodwill. Think that will last? I have been sick all week and she's been missing her lessons. I love that little bundle of curls. I wish I could freeze her.
Mr Middle is the biggest whiny-bo-baggins I've ever seen lately. I wish I could rip out his tonsils every time I hear "CONNER" come out of his mouth. There is constant fighting, mostly on his end. He's choosing to be bugged by EVERYTHING. P touched his toy, C is whistling, or humming, or breathing to loud. I sent in his "environmental" form for school last week. This forced me to sit and think about him. I realized that maybe I don't think ENOUGH about him. I worry about the Marsha, Marsha, Marsha syndrome. Maybe he needs to spend more time with me. But, back to school -- I basically asked for a super fun class. I need him to break out of his shell a bit, grow up a bit. I can't believe he's going into 3rd grade, he's still so little. Still a money grubber, he wouldn't spend more then 5 bucks on Princess P's present, even though he has over 20 available. Maybe he's saving it all for my birthday. :) Still, he found her something great. He sure does love her. They have been playing together a lot lately, feeding off of each other's baby talk. Blech, so tired of baby talk. I wish I could stop it.
El Presidante is the lucky owner of a new bike. One of our ward members/blog readers read that we were looking for a new one for him, so we could upgrade everyone's bike status's. They were sweet enough to offer a REALLY GREAT bike at an amazing price. It's his early birthday present, and he is ecstatic. It's just a bit too big but I see him growing into it in a blink of an eye. We have a ton of great bike trails around here. Excited for him. Any idea how he could strap his trumpet to his bike for a ride to school? School is actually {phewsh} going much, much better. He toys with all A's, often being .4% away in one or more classes. He is intrinsically thrilled with the changes. As am I. I'm glad that he's found inner motivation for this. I thought about paying for grades, but he didn't need that. He was almost as disappointed in himself as I was at the beginning of the year.
Life goes on around here. I still think, many times daily, of the turmoil I was going through last year. I'm amazed that things happened so fast. It seemed to be in slow motion at the time, but life is so terribly perfect, even with all of the craziness and imperfections of it all. April, I sure have enjoyed your brief stay!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Are you Christian: Neil L Anderson
This week's talk was entitled "What Thinks Christ of Me?" -- but I'm entitling it, "am I christian?"
Because, as I've suspected all along, the fact of if you ARE or are NOT a Christian comes from one person, and one person alone. You're self. Your true self, the one that knows your heart and what you're REALLY thinking. Well, that and Christ... but I think we all know when we're being Christian.
It was a good week for that. I had all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings about people. None of you, just people in general. Like, Kate Gosselien, and Dooce... just me judging people, or being so glad I wasn't them because I made SUCH better life decisions.
But, frankly -- that's not Christian. Christ wouldn't do that, would he? I bet it was perpetual loving thoughts about people. That's what made him Christ.
The truth is, some days, in fact -- most days, I am very Christian. And the sad truth is that some days I am not, and I need to work on that.
What about you, are you Christian?
Friday, April 20, 2012
Photo Friday: Growing and Growing!
Besides lots of blowing of the noses around here, we got a few more things done. Well, mother nature did a bit of it, but let's start with Mr Middle.
I was REALLY hopeful that someone might miss out on the pinewood derby this year, but no such luck. We had ours UBER late this past week. Thankfully, Drew is friendly with someone with some wood working tools and they had a good time doing it. He actually came in third place. He raced one of the top two his first time, and was pretty sad not to win (but didn't cry, thank goodness the pack leader had a talk about good sportsmanship), but then beat everyone else. Nice job S!
The garden has officially gone crazy this week. I guess that's what 90 degrees makes it do! I've finally decided to switch my drip system to 45 minutes every 3 days. I was doing 5 minutes, 3 times a day but it sounds like the longer watering time is better. Anyone have thoughts on that?
Here's the requisite photo:
I was REALLY hopeful that someone might miss out on the pinewood derby this year, but no such luck. We had ours UBER late this past week. Thankfully, Drew is friendly with someone with some wood working tools and they had a good time doing it. He actually came in third place. He raced one of the top two his first time, and was pretty sad not to win (but didn't cry, thank goodness the pack leader had a talk about good sportsmanship), but then beat everyone else. Nice job S!
The garden has officially gone crazy this week. I guess that's what 90 degrees makes it do! I've finally decided to switch my drip system to 45 minutes every 3 days. I was doing 5 minutes, 3 times a day but it sounds like the longer watering time is better. Anyone have thoughts on that?
Here's the requisite photo:
I'm not sure the photo does it justice, the thing is THRIVING. Kind of reminds me of when people in the scripture times would migrate to a new land, and take seeds and really BANG out a garden. Well, it still happens today, people.
We even have tomatoes!
I will say I feel like the heat kicks stuff into high gear around here. We'd wait forever for our tomatoes to do anything in CA. Here's fingers crossed for some good crops!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A Year Ago
A year ago we got sad news.
I had felt SO strongly, in my heart, that our layoff was so that I could go move to one of my besties who had just moved to TX a year ago. I just knew it.
But it wasn't, and that was REALLY hard for me. I cried a lot that day.
It's just a good lesson that God will put you where you're supposed to be.
And hopefully you can meet up with your bestie in Utah this summer.
But, also a year ago we had an amazing trip to Yosemite. It was a reminder that God really wants to give you moments to "fill your gas can" amongst the moments that consistnatly sucking it out of you.
Amazing what you can see a year later, isn't it?
I had felt SO strongly, in my heart, that our layoff was so that I could go move to one of my besties who had just moved to TX a year ago. I just knew it.
But it wasn't, and that was REALLY hard for me. I cried a lot that day.
It's just a good lesson that God will put you where you're supposed to be.
And hopefully you can meet up with your bestie in Utah this summer.
But, also a year ago we had an amazing trip to Yosemite. It was a reminder that God really wants to give you moments to "fill your gas can" amongst the moments that consistnatly sucking it out of you.
Amazing what you can see a year later, isn't it?
Just for me...
Some close friends might know that last year's birthday was only topped by the year that P was born (because the best time to be thoughtless is when your wife is in the middle of postpartum depression). And I'm not talking in a good way.
In my husband's defese he was here, and I was in CA... but it was a royal loser.
So, this year I've got me eye on a few gifties. Give me your thoughts.
I somehow lost my bluetooth earbud (the humanity, I know). So, I was just going to get a new one of those, but I'd also like to listen to my tunes while I run ANd have an earbud... and I found this:
It's bluetooth headphones and you can talk with it too...
Fancy, no? Do I really want it? Talk amogst yourselves. Drew has mother's day AND my birthday within days of each other next month. And he has some serious making up to do. Sorry Drew. I love you. Just need some SERIOUS celebratin'. :)
Oh, I did forget that Drew got him a job last year. I also had a great interview on my birthday. In fact, this post makes me seem like a spoiled brat... but, if the shoe fits. Or, if the EARBUD fits... :)
In my husband's defese he was here, and I was in CA... but it was a royal loser.
So, this year I've got me eye on a few gifties. Give me your thoughts.
I somehow lost my bluetooth earbud (the humanity, I know). So, I was just going to get a new one of those, but I'd also like to listen to my tunes while I run ANd have an earbud... and I found this:
It's bluetooth headphones and you can talk with it too...Fancy, no? Do I really want it? Talk amogst yourselves. Drew has mother's day AND my birthday within days of each other next month. And he has some serious making up to do. Sorry Drew. I love you. Just need some SERIOUS celebratin'. :)
Oh, I did forget that Drew got him a job last year. I also had a great interview on my birthday. In fact, this post makes me seem like a spoiled brat... but, if the shoe fits. Or, if the EARBUD fits... :)
The Biggest Losers are Losers
Sure, they probably meant the title to be funny, but in reality this year THEY ARE LOSERS. With a big ol' capital L on their foreheads. Insane.
SPOILER, if you didn't watch this week's yet (and I haven't watched it all I have only watched the first 1/2 an hour), and don't want to know what happens -- stop reading!
So, they all get mad and say "it isn't fair" that they're pulling the "curve" that former contestants can come back and win a spot to be in the finals. Maybe they didn't see ALL THE OTHER SEASONS WHEN THEY DID THE EXACT SAME FREAKING THING? I mean, there was that one guy who got engaged with that one girl. Uh huh, you all know who I'm talking about.
But, then I started to think about all the things I learned about gratitude a few weeks ago. And these are truly the most un-gracious contestants I've ever seen. I mean, they've been to Hawaii and the white house, they fed and clothed them for weeks on end, not to mention all the equipment and trainers. Yup, your life is pretty darn awful.
I loved it when they brought in the lawyer, and helped us all to see how ludicrous these people are being.
It's the perfect example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I think I'm gonna have my kids watch it.
See their tantrums live, right there on national TV. :)
I've hated the whole season. It seems, after I posted something on facebook, that most people do too.
What do you guys think? I mean, I hate getting yanked around my "curves" but it comes with show, but also with life. Does make me wonder if these 2 will gain it all back (I am also surprised Conda didn't go with them, because I really dislike her... but felt a little more love towards her when she stayed). Who do you want to win?
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Jumping the Shark
I have a cold, which left me to a lot of TV today. I also had Conner home, because he has the same as me. Just with a side of "inability to cover when I cough-itis" (SO FREAKING ANNOYING). So, I was looking for programs that we'd all enjoy from the couch. I ended-up watching Kate Plus 8 which just came to netflix.
I just found myself HATING Kate Gosslien, some because of the fact that she was getting ALL these amazing trips just because I was willing to watch her show, and some because her kids (and herself) seem so entitled to it all. She's bugged when people crowd around them, and yet she has sold their lives.
We also saw the Today Show with Dooce (sp) on it -- Heather Armstrong. I guess she's getting divorced. I, actually, have never liked her blog. Something about it, a lack of being genuine. I guess I can spot that since I know she consistently said how her husband was her SOUL MATE. Huh.
Anyway, I Just thought about how much I'd rather have my bland boring life and be happily married and love my children and my friends and have a genuine life that I adore.
Honestly, in my head, being Dooce is what I want to be. I LOVE to write I would love for it to be my full time job. BUT, what's in your head and what you'd ACTUALLY like are often two very different things. I really love my job, and we definitely manage financially, but lavish trips are kind of out of the question.
I just think that in 10 years I'll still have that job and all the people around me that I love, and I'm not sure who will be there for these two examples.
Anyone else feel that way?
ETA: As I re-read this I realize it comes off kinda snooty. You can thank my little upper respiratory infection for that. I'm not happy that these women have had some serious bumps in their life journey. I am saying that money and fame often leads to these kinds of bumps. I think we all think we want it, but then maybe we don't.
I just found myself HATING Kate Gosslien, some because of the fact that she was getting ALL these amazing trips just because I was willing to watch her show, and some because her kids (and herself) seem so entitled to it all. She's bugged when people crowd around them, and yet she has sold their lives.
We also saw the Today Show with Dooce (sp) on it -- Heather Armstrong. I guess she's getting divorced. I, actually, have never liked her blog. Something about it, a lack of being genuine. I guess I can spot that since I know she consistently said how her husband was her SOUL MATE. Huh.
Anyway, I Just thought about how much I'd rather have my bland boring life and be happily married and love my children and my friends and have a genuine life that I adore.
Honestly, in my head, being Dooce is what I want to be. I LOVE to write I would love for it to be my full time job. BUT, what's in your head and what you'd ACTUALLY like are often two very different things. I really love my job, and we definitely manage financially, but lavish trips are kind of out of the question.
I just think that in 10 years I'll still have that job and all the people around me that I love, and I'm not sure who will be there for these two examples.
Anyone else feel that way?
ETA: As I re-read this I realize it comes off kinda snooty. You can thank my little upper respiratory infection for that. I'm not happy that these women have had some serious bumps in their life journey. I am saying that money and fame often leads to these kinds of bumps. I think we all think we want it, but then maybe we don't.
Monday, April 16, 2012
My Current Grocery Store Plan
It's taken me a bit to figure out a food storage plan. Of course, it took me a good 3 or more years at my last house, so I figure 9 months isn't too bad!
We have a large pantry in our kitchen, and while it's behind our table, which I don't adore I do LOVE all the space. The shelve aren't super deep, but I'm learning to roll with the punches. I mean, I would've DIED for this kind of space in CA, right? It's all about gratitude. :)
ANYWHO....
I have all of our LDS cannery items on the top left shelf, but I have tried to limit that to stuff we actually use (refried beans, apples, carrots, onions, cocoa, fruit drink mix some oats -- I do have oats and wheat in big bins on the floor, I don't think you can see them, but I also have some #10 cans of wheat also, in case of emergency). Some of it is in the super awkward corners of our kitchen, some is on top of the cupboards (although I am hoping to eliminate that, most of that is just excess, and the things I only plan to use in an emergency (canned flour, or sugar or canned dry beans) is under the guest bed. It's taken a while to figure that part out, but I decided there was no reason to have our real "emergency" food taking up room in our super accessible pantry. I always want to store more then I have room for, and THAT is a fact. :) I'm also hoping to can some chicken soon, and with the 9 tomato plants we're growing I am guessing we'll have some of those to can too. {fingers crossed}
BUT, back to the stuff that I'm rotating through on a regular basis.
Once a month I go through and count everything. Drew made me a fancy excel spreadsheet that makes that super easy. It looks like this. I'm not sure how he got it so that it adds it up for me (it takes what's in the "want" column, minuses the "have" and the answer is in the "need" column), but I love it. It saves a ton of time to just type in the numbers and then just see it all there. I'm always adjusting my "want" number. I just try to assess how much we use each item. I think we used to use more refried beans, beans until I started using the dry ones from the cannery more, so I have decreased that number. Some of it is just how much I have room for.
Then, I go through and highlight the ones that we are in need of. Red are things I need to buy right now, sale or no sale. I won't buy a lot of these items, but enough to have on hand. I HATE to run out of stuff! I also highlight in green things that I am NOT allowed to buy. I have obviously over-bought on those items. It's kind of my e-slap-on-the-wrist. Overbuying has been a big issue for me in the past. for instance, I right now have 22 boxes of cereal. It's excessive, since I try to limit cold cereal days to once a week during the school year.
Then, I write down the items on my grocery list.
Now, I have a grocery list that lives on my fridge.
 |
| Someone went a little crazy when canned salmon went on sale. |
ANYWHO....
I have all of our LDS cannery items on the top left shelf, but I have tried to limit that to stuff we actually use (refried beans, apples, carrots, onions, cocoa, fruit drink mix some oats -- I do have oats and wheat in big bins on the floor, I don't think you can see them, but I also have some #10 cans of wheat also, in case of emergency). Some of it is in the super awkward corners of our kitchen, some is on top of the cupboards (although I am hoping to eliminate that, most of that is just excess, and the things I only plan to use in an emergency (canned flour, or sugar or canned dry beans) is under the guest bed. It's taken a while to figure that part out, but I decided there was no reason to have our real "emergency" food taking up room in our super accessible pantry. I always want to store more then I have room for, and THAT is a fact. :) I'm also hoping to can some chicken soon, and with the 9 tomato plants we're growing I am guessing we'll have some of those to can too. {fingers crossed}
BUT, back to the stuff that I'm rotating through on a regular basis.
Once a month I go through and count everything. Drew made me a fancy excel spreadsheet that makes that super easy. It looks like this. I'm not sure how he got it so that it adds it up for me (it takes what's in the "want" column, minuses the "have" and the answer is in the "need" column), but I love it. It saves a ton of time to just type in the numbers and then just see it all there. I'm always adjusting my "want" number. I just try to assess how much we use each item. I think we used to use more refried beans, beans until I started using the dry ones from the cannery more, so I have decreased that number. Some of it is just how much I have room for.
Then, I go through and highlight the ones that we are in need of. Red are things I need to buy right now, sale or no sale. I won't buy a lot of these items, but enough to have on hand. I HATE to run out of stuff! I also highlight in green things that I am NOT allowed to buy. I have obviously over-bought on those items. It's kind of my e-slap-on-the-wrist. Overbuying has been a big issue for me in the past. for instance, I right now have 22 boxes of cereal. It's excessive, since I try to limit cold cereal days to once a week during the school year.
Then, I write down the items on my grocery list.
Now, I have a grocery list that lives on my fridge.
This is a fresh one I just started this AM. It lives there all month, and I just write the items that I need on it all month long. I tend to shop at Walmart (hate me, it's fine but it's super close and cheap) and there's some stuff I just can't find there (aka, panko bread crumbs). I cross off what I've gotten on the grocery list and hten when I'm close to a better grocery store (Trader Joe's) I grab those items.
Here is my old list from last month, I don't tend to have a lot of things I just need that I write down each month. This is a full month of needs on the grocery list, you'll notice a fair amount of it is refrigerated items or frozen.
Then, I have a grocery list that I print out that had categories.
When I'm planning a grocery trip I get one of these and fill in the items that I need. It's Walmart, so I also often have items like "weed killer" or "jammies for P" on my grocery list. I also take the items on the right side of the grocery list. My next trip will have all the "top" items on my fridge grocery list (pesto, baking powder and boillion) -- these items are usually not numerous enough to throw my budget off. Then, I go through my ads and find what's priced well to add to the pantry. Then, I also add a few of the "orange" or "yellow" items (also on the right side of my grocery list) onto the list. I also take extra care during the month to find good prices on these items. BUT, honestly -- I find that many grocery store's good sales aren't any better then Walmart's regular prices, especially on their Great Value items. So, sometimes I just need to bite the bullet and refill these items.
FYI, my weekly grocery budget is 80 dollars, I also have a few other "pots" to dip into. I have a 150 dollar Costco budget (which I REALLY have a hard time sticking to). I also have 50 dollars for clothes and another 50 for household items. Anyway, that's how I'm doing grocery shopping right now. I sometimes wonder if I'm spending more shopping at Walmart. I know I get a few more of the household items, like jammiesWalmart, as well as price matching can't be beat. I also think I tend to get less impulse-y items. I used to have a lifetime supply of fruit snacks (because I literally got paid to take them) and now I just would rather my kids eat fruit I've found on sale.
I'd love it if you did a post on your own grocery shopping plans. Comment here if you have one!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
What I learned About Gratitude This Week
As I mulled over Elder Nelson's talk I had a lot of thoughts come to my mind, but the main was that there are so many times where you can take a bad situation and just be SO grateful for what you have come out of it.
1. I am ready to kill princess P. She is CONSTANTLY talking. I am talking constant. I think you may have read that into my other posts this week. The only thing that gets her mouth to turn off is to turn the TV on, and I try not to have her watch too much TV. It's driving me insane. But you go in at night and peek at that sleeping wonder and realize how grateful you are for her little jibber jabber. It renews your spirit for the next day. It's gratitude that does that. No just the beauty of a sleeping child. Although, that is pretty darn beautiful. :)
2. Someone may or may not have called me lazy at the PTO board meeting yesterday. I'm letting it go (can you tell?) but one of the best things that helped me to let it go was gratitude. I thought about the people in my life who had been great examples of leadership (I did ward activities with my friend Amy a few years ago and she really taught me that YOU can only give so much and you can only expect those who are working with you to give so much, it has been a good lesson for me for a long time). Also, I am surrounded by people who I know aren't lazy, they are amazing, beautiful women who are trying to build a community, while not ruining their own lives. I love that. And it's gratitude that changed my heart. It certainly wasn't thinking about how lazy I am not. That didn't help.
Gratitude is a life changer, it truly is. No matter HOW awful your situation is, you can think about how many blessing you have and change your attitude. I think that's the most I got about gratitude this week.
We are all SO blessed. Even during our lay off madness we were SO blessed, and we continue to be. Grateful for that knowledge. Someone remind me about gratitude next time I'm freaking out, ok?
How does gratitude change you?
1. I am ready to kill princess P. She is CONSTANTLY talking. I am talking constant. I think you may have read that into my other posts this week. The only thing that gets her mouth to turn off is to turn the TV on, and I try not to have her watch too much TV. It's driving me insane. But you go in at night and peek at that sleeping wonder and realize how grateful you are for her little jibber jabber. It renews your spirit for the next day. It's gratitude that does that. No just the beauty of a sleeping child. Although, that is pretty darn beautiful. :)
2. Someone may or may not have called me lazy at the PTO board meeting yesterday. I'm letting it go (can you tell?) but one of the best things that helped me to let it go was gratitude. I thought about the people in my life who had been great examples of leadership (I did ward activities with my friend Amy a few years ago and she really taught me that YOU can only give so much and you can only expect those who are working with you to give so much, it has been a good lesson for me for a long time). Also, I am surrounded by people who I know aren't lazy, they are amazing, beautiful women who are trying to build a community, while not ruining their own lives. I love that. And it's gratitude that changed my heart. It certainly wasn't thinking about how lazy I am not. That didn't help.
Gratitude is a life changer, it truly is. No matter HOW awful your situation is, you can think about how many blessing you have and change your attitude. I think that's the most I got about gratitude this week.
We are all SO blessed. Even during our lay off madness we were SO blessed, and we continue to be. Grateful for that knowledge. Someone remind me about gratitude next time I'm freaking out, ok?
How does gratitude change you?
My secret to Kale Chips
I have had a few people ask me my secret to my kale chips.
Here's what I think:
1. My kale had grown for a while. A bit of it is starting to grow to seed. The leaves were of a decent thickness. That's right, homegrown organic kale. I'm just gonna throw away the kids vitamins. :)
2. I cooked it for 15 minutes and then I checked it. Cooked it for another 5 minutes, and then kept cooking for it for 2 minutes (I think 3 more times) until it was perfect. There's such a fine line between soggy and crispy. But these were perfect.
I say try it again. It's SO great for your kids, and yourself!
1. My kale had grown for a while. A bit of it is starting to grow to seed. The leaves were of a decent thickness. That's right, homegrown organic kale. I'm just gonna throw away the kids vitamins. :)
2. I cooked it for 15 minutes and then I checked it. Cooked it for another 5 minutes, and then kept cooking for it for 2 minutes (I think 3 more times) until it was perfect. There's such a fine line between soggy and crispy. But these were perfect.
I say try it again. It's SO great for your kids, and yourself!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Photo Friday: Easter
Do I have a single picture of the kids on Sunday? Well, yes... but it was mostly about the doughnuts...
But I digress, back to the beginning! We did our regular egg hunt on Saturday. We had reserved the grass "easy" eggs for our tiny little princess. Let's just say she got plenty of candy... but, who wouldn't give candy to this face?
The final doughnut that I made was a bit of a monster.
But I digress, back to the beginning! We did our regular egg hunt on Saturday. We had reserved the grass "easy" eggs for our tiny little princess. Let's just say she got plenty of candy... but, who wouldn't give candy to this face?
We were overjoyed to have a bigger backyard to put all the eggs in. Makes for a much funner hunt. We should move ever year! Ha,ha... Wait, is that almost a smile on Conner's chapped lips? Blame the chocolate, he didn't mean it.
Not only did Christ rise on Sunday, but we had some serious doughnut rising too (nice segway, no?). I decided to make homemade doughnuts. I think I made a mistake adding a couple of cups of whole wheat flour to it. They were a bit more dense then I would have preferred. Anyway Here's the recipes I used: Crispy Creamy Doughnuts, Alton Brown's chocolate doughnut glaze. Newsflash, I love doughnuts. When we visited the illustrious Becky S. last Christmastime she took me to an AMAZING doughnut place that was near her home. Yum, yum, ever since I have been craving their glazed chocolate doughnuts. They glaze them like regular and then dip them in chocolate and boy oh BOY are they good. Better then mine, but I figure I'll work on it, right?
Here's the set-up -- I used a bowl and a pill bottle to cut them out (I need to get a doughnut cutter... I guess), then I fried them in my mom's old dutch oven she graciously gave to me when she got fancy pots. I used peanut oil. I highly recommend getting the good oil, it does help a lot! These weren't greasy at all. I fried them mostly at around 350. Then I'd set them on a cookie sheet lined with newspaper to catch any excess grease. Then it was over for the glaze.
Making things for my family is so fun. They thought so too.
I even got out the sprinkles. They call me generous. :)
On Sunday we did a drive by of the Gilbert Temple, it's getting bigger all the time. And no, I wasn't going for a dreamy look -- it was more like my camera probably got touched by annoying little hands during church look. Fancy, no? Oh wait, I do have a picture of the kids in their Easter clothes. It's just a really bad one. I love that they're getting to see this temple from the ground up. Very cool.
In other news, Iput myself on the PTO board today. I have lost my mind, but it's a whole lot eaiser to figure out who all the moms are that way. I do like a LOT of the moms on our PTO. It will be good. Right, say it with me, it will be good. Did you say it with me? Try it again. It will be good. There, doesn't that feel better? :)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Yummy Dinner
Sometimes my dinner "combinations" leave a little something to be desired, they don't really "go" together.
But, tonight was perfect.
We had Kale chips. Yum, yum, I think I'm going to plant more kale next year. This was so good, the kids gobble it up!
We also had fruited curry chicken salad, which is sweet. In combination with the salty kale chips we had a winner.!
But, tonight was perfect.
We had Kale chips. Yum, yum, I think I'm going to plant more kale next year. This was so good, the kids gobble it up!
We also had fruited curry chicken salad, which is sweet. In combination with the salty kale chips we had a winner.!
Simmer Down Moms....
Wow, my facebook feed was afire from stay at home moms FREAKING out about the whole "Ann Romney's never worked" comments.
I feel like I straddle the whole working mom, SAHM thing pretty well -- tending towards the stay at home mom part. A LOT of moms do that anymore, I love that about our society.
But, I usually just say I'm going to work, the work I don't get paid for.
Or, I'm going to my paid work. :)
The main difference is the paycheck. One is far delayed with little pence thrown out along the way. You're also often worried about money and how you can contribute to the family increase.
And I know it's hurtful when people say you don't work. I'm sure Anne Romney had a little smirk when she heard that comment. She knew the fire storm that Mrs Rosen had unleashed.
I think we all realize the Romneys are CRAZY rich. We all have a lot of concerns that they will never have, but they too have a lot of concerns that WE will never have. I'm guessing her husband wasn't home a great deal of the time, and she was at home with 5 small boys.
FIVE.
SMALL.
BOYS.
Ouch. That hurt just to type.
I am guessing they had lean times in college, although I'm not sure about their financial history I know Romney has said he is self made.
But, she worried about their future, she lead a life with very little sleep, she worried if her money was going to ruin them.
She had plenty of worries.
And knowing who Ann Romney is, she was probably in a relief society presidency, and has seen a LOT of heartache in her time. She knows financial grief. She knows grief takes many forms. I think she could probably get away with putting out some of the stories of helping her "parishioners" without making it like she was a grand religious poo-bah.
Anyway, what I am saying is that I don't think that anyone thinks stay at home moms have it easy. I think most moms who work kind of wish they could stay home, but when they think about it they're not sure. I think we live in a day and age where the stay at home mom is getting her due. I'm glad to see the fire storm, but I don't think it's necessary. I'm glad we live in an era where all people are a little more understood then before.
Go moms!
I feel like I straddle the whole working mom, SAHM thing pretty well -- tending towards the stay at home mom part. A LOT of moms do that anymore, I love that about our society.
But, I usually just say I'm going to work, the work I don't get paid for.
Or, I'm going to my paid work. :)
The main difference is the paycheck. One is far delayed with little pence thrown out along the way. You're also often worried about money and how you can contribute to the family increase.
And I know it's hurtful when people say you don't work. I'm sure Anne Romney had a little smirk when she heard that comment. She knew the fire storm that Mrs Rosen had unleashed.
I think we all realize the Romneys are CRAZY rich. We all have a lot of concerns that they will never have, but they too have a lot of concerns that WE will never have. I'm guessing her husband wasn't home a great deal of the time, and she was at home with 5 small boys.
FIVE.
SMALL.
BOYS.
Ouch. That hurt just to type.
I am guessing they had lean times in college, although I'm not sure about their financial history I know Romney has said he is self made.
But, she worried about their future, she lead a life with very little sleep, she worried if her money was going to ruin them.
She had plenty of worries.
And knowing who Ann Romney is, she was probably in a relief society presidency, and has seen a LOT of heartache in her time. She knows financial grief. She knows grief takes many forms. I think she could probably get away with putting out some of the stories of helping her "parishioners" without making it like she was a grand religious poo-bah.
Anyway, what I am saying is that I don't think that anyone thinks stay at home moms have it easy. I think most moms who work kind of wish they could stay home, but when they think about it they're not sure. I think we live in a day and age where the stay at home mom is getting her due. I'm glad to see the fire storm, but I don't think it's necessary. I'm glad we live in an era where all people are a little more understood then before.
Go moms!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
They Want You.
I read this article on the Power of Moms. I'm totally behind on my google reader, but thankfully a few people had linked to it on their facebook page.
I couldn't agree more.
Although, I doubt that most moms are doing things off printrist to make their KIDS happy. There are exceptions, I have found some pretty good science experiments to do this summer that I know the boys will flip for. I think they're doing it for THEM.
Which is great.
Doing crafts to make yourself happy serves a lot of purposes.
But isn't the main problem finding that balance. Feeling like you got some me time (so you don't feel like my post below) and then giving your all to your kids once your own tank has been filled.
I am not sure when I fill my tank lately. I'm feeling pretty run down and stretched. But I know a slower week will come.
Until then I have a lot to do, I should get off this computer. :)
I couldn't agree more.
Although, I doubt that most moms are doing things off printrist to make their KIDS happy. There are exceptions, I have found some pretty good science experiments to do this summer that I know the boys will flip for. I think they're doing it for THEM.
Which is great.
Doing crafts to make yourself happy serves a lot of purposes.
But isn't the main problem finding that balance. Feeling like you got some me time (so you don't feel like my post below) and then giving your all to your kids once your own tank has been filled.
I am not sure when I fill my tank lately. I'm feeling pretty run down and stretched. But I know a slower week will come.
Until then I have a lot to do, I should get off this computer. :)
I Am In Timeout
I just had 5 two year olds at my house.
Then I went to dig up some vegetables for dinner, and I just couldn't take princess P ONE MORE MINUTE.
I'm losing my mind.
The constant talking, the constant whining...
Anyway, I just put on Mr Rogers and went into time out... to write this blog.
I'm just saying that while we often have a rosey picture of motherhood, especially how other people do it, there are plenty of times when I just want to say LEAVE ME ALONE!
Just sayin'... :)
Then I went to dig up some vegetables for dinner, and I just couldn't take princess P ONE MORE MINUTE.
I'm losing my mind.
The constant talking, the constant whining...
Anyway, I just put on Mr Rogers and went into time out... to write this blog.
I'm just saying that while we often have a rosey picture of motherhood, especially how other people do it, there are plenty of times when I just want to say LEAVE ME ALONE!
Just sayin'... :)
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
April 2012 Conference: Russel M Nelson, Gratitude
This week I randomly chose Russel M Nelson's talk about Gratitude. It is a great. talk. I think I vaguely remember the talk. He talks a lot about how AMAZING our bodies are and how they were obviously created by God. The main thing I remembered was this great quote:
Could an explosion in a printing shop create a dictionary?
It's true.
I do feel, the more I learn about the human body and pregnancy, specifically, how AMAZING the changes are that happen and how it just didn't happen by chance. It's a beautiful thing that God has given us.
I was also really struck by how he says that aging is merciful, otherwise we'd be stuck on this earth forever. I think many people find aging to be a bother (me, included) but if our bodies kept healing like they do when we are babies it would make us live forever, mostly. He also says that returning to God (or death) can be a joy. I think that is true, but only in the right circumstances, and that doesn't make it any easier for those of us left behind.
I think I mostly took out the part that he says our degree of gratitude is a measure of our love for Him.
I think there are hard times where we really can't find anything to be thankful for. But our bodies are always there. Even if one part isn't working well, the fact that other parts are is such a blessing. I think that when we have gratitude we are closer to God and happier. Don't you?
I usually say a thankful prayer at night. I'm so tired I have a hard time really giving a whole heartfelt prayer, so I just try to find things I am thankful for. There are always so many, and I often think to bless some people along that way.
Anyway, gratitude is everything, it really is. Great talk! Did you like it?
Harry Potter Movies
Hey, I just saw that Harry Potter Movies are only 3.99 on Amazon Instant Video, meaning you can watch them any time. We've rented the first two already for 2.99 (because Spencer is obssessed with HP)... I thought it was a good deal, thought I'd share. Harry Potter movies for $3.99
Life Well Lived: Paper Clutter
Here's my question of the month:
How do you organize paperwork both online and off? Share your tip(s) to managing physical and digital clutter!
Sadly, I am a huge organizer, and moms of kids get TONS of paper. So, here's my quick tips:
1. I have an inbox, where the kids put all their papers. I have it on my to-do list to go through it three times a week (Monday, Wed and Fri) and just clear it out. I also put in there any weird mail I have, or rebates I need to do. That way I don't feel like there is paper flying all over and I'm going to miss something. I know it's all there. Right now I have ABC school shapes staring at me. It also helps remind me to stay on task, instead of mess around on my new friend pintrist. :)
2. I try to go through the mail as soon as I get it. Honestly, one of my HUGE pet peeves as a mom is that my family feels like I am the only one who can go through junk mail. Maybe they think I'll flip out if they throw something away, but we get SO many credit card applications, and complete crap -- I think it's pretty obvious how junky a lot of it is.
3. I have a white board where I hang a lot of our family charts, the grocery list, stuff like that. Just to get it off horizontal surfaces.
4. I have my little card hanger so I can hang any cards the kids get. Sure, it's Christmasy at Christmas, but it works year round, and my kids love to see the birthday cards they got hanging up there. Also, it clears the clutter off the horizontal surfaces.
5. As far as digital clutter. I use Mozilla Thunderbird on my desktop that downloads all my email and I have files and folders for everything that I just throw stuff into, and some things I have filters set automatically so they just end-up in that folder. Ads that I want to get, but don't really care to look at (unless I'm headed to that store) are put into an "ad" folder -- so when I'm going out I can just search in there and see if I have any coupons.
Anyway, I think my inbox is the mainstay of my paper stream. I got it from Mind Organization for mom and if organization is something you struggle with I HIGHLY recommend that you look into that program.
You can talk more about organizing the endless stream of papers in your life here. You can even enter a sweepstakes here.
Sunday, April 08, 2012
What I Learned About Jealousy
I have listened to this talk every day this week. Sure, it seems repetitive, but I want to do that for all of the apostle's talks (and more, if I have time) from conference. I don't tend to have a great attention span, so it's good if I get it a few times. A LOT of times, in fact.
And so I have.
And I am caught by something new each time.
The irony of the situation is that Drew was given an ipad at work this week. And the snare of jealousy snapped in me. I have wanted one of those for so long... so so darn jealous...
But why was I mad, because someone else was kind?
Because they truly were. Drew's district is very generous with their technology.
But I did have a day where I didn't want to see him with it.
I won't lie.
I was jealous.
I don't get technology at my job, either the one I'm paid for, and the one I am not. I do get a lot of hugs though, and if princess P could crawl back into my body she wouldn't. I mean, what a PERK!
Anyway, I was talking to my dad about it, and he told me it's not really any different then a phone. It just puts the things you have in different places, which can be annoying. And I slowly realized how blessed I am. How an ipad woudn't change any of the blessings I am truly grateful for.
How Drew getting an ipad didn't change my life at all. In fact, it may have improved it, I don't know how, but perhaps. :)
Anyway, it's a small example, but one that I think we all find ourselves caught in every now and then. I am so truly thankful for SUCH a generous God. I am so grateful for all that he gives me, and grateful that He is kind to you too.
And so I have.
And I am caught by something new each time.
The irony of the situation is that Drew was given an ipad at work this week. And the snare of jealousy snapped in me. I have wanted one of those for so long... so so darn jealous...
But why was I mad, because someone else was kind?
Because they truly were. Drew's district is very generous with their technology.
But I did have a day where I didn't want to see him with it.
I won't lie.
I was jealous.
I don't get technology at my job, either the one I'm paid for, and the one I am not. I do get a lot of hugs though, and if princess P could crawl back into my body she wouldn't. I mean, what a PERK!
Anyway, I was talking to my dad about it, and he told me it's not really any different then a phone. It just puts the things you have in different places, which can be annoying. And I slowly realized how blessed I am. How an ipad woudn't change any of the blessings I am truly grateful for.
How Drew getting an ipad didn't change my life at all. In fact, it may have improved it, I don't know how, but perhaps. :)
Anyway, it's a small example, but one that I think we all find ourselves caught in every now and then. I am so truly thankful for SUCH a generous God. I am so grateful for all that he gives me, and grateful that He is kind to you too.
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Word
My apologies. I had to turn word verification back on.
I get very few real comments, and I was getting at least 10 nasty spam messages/day without it on.
I hate spammers. I am fairly sure it's a sin.
Anyway, sorry, I do love my comments! :)
I get very few real comments, and I was getting at least 10 nasty spam messages/day without it on.
I hate spammers. I am fairly sure it's a sin.
Anyway, sorry, I do love my comments! :)
Friday, April 06, 2012
The Good News
The LDS church has made a great video for Easter. Really reminds you that while the bunnies and the chocolate and the eggs are delightful family traditions, the true meaning lies in a man who was willing to sacrifice everything for each one of us. An individual suffering for each individual.
He truly is risen, and what better gift is the knowledge that this earth isn't all for us, that there truly is something beyond the veil.
The other day I was thinking about this picture from the burned Provo Tabernacle. At the time, I thought for sure that media outlets would pick up the story. I mean, it truly is miraculous. But, the church owned the story and those who weren't looking for a miracle surely wouldn't find it there.
But those who seek Him will find him. He is always there, he is ALWAYS there. He would (and did) do everything/anything for us. I bear testimony that He did what He did for US. This Easter is for you, and for me and for my kids, and for my husband and for EACH one of us. He didn't do it for mankind as a whole (although, he did) but he did it for YOU.
And that is the happiest message of the gospel for me. That Christ knows YOU and he loves YOU.
What a beautiful time of year to remember a beautiful blessing that he gave to us. You can see more Easter videos here.
Happy Easter everyone!
He truly is risen, and what better gift is the knowledge that this earth isn't all for us, that there truly is something beyond the veil.
The other day I was thinking about this picture from the burned Provo Tabernacle. At the time, I thought for sure that media outlets would pick up the story. I mean, it truly is miraculous. But, the church owned the story and those who weren't looking for a miracle surely wouldn't find it there.
But those who seek Him will find him. He is always there, he is ALWAYS there. He would (and did) do everything/anything for us. I bear testimony that He did what He did for US. This Easter is for you, and for me and for my kids, and for my husband and for EACH one of us. He didn't do it for mankind as a whole (although, he did) but he did it for YOU.
And that is the happiest message of the gospel for me. That Christ knows YOU and he loves YOU.
What a beautiful time of year to remember a beautiful blessing that he gave to us. You can see more Easter videos here.
Happy Easter everyone!
Photo Friday: Waading...
So much for pulling the camera out MORE!
Remember how I wasn't working. I just knew there'd come a day when I'd roll my eyes at my own worry at how few shifts I was getting.
Today's that day.
The ship comes in, just not when you expect it, right?
I did want to share a wedding photo... I borrowed my dad's camera while I was there. It's so hard to get good pictures in a gym (even if they decorated lovely, it's still a gym) and in confined spaces...
Anyway, I just held my camera up above my head and snap some pictures. I think they kind of captured the night, at least better then I was doing with my head in the viewfinder. There's still some serious blur, but I wasn't using a fancy flash or anything....
It was a lovely affair. Wish I was there now. but I'm not. I'm going to work. :)
Remember how I wasn't working. I just knew there'd come a day when I'd roll my eyes at my own worry at how few shifts I was getting.
Today's that day.
The ship comes in, just not when you expect it, right?
I did want to share a wedding photo... I borrowed my dad's camera while I was there. It's so hard to get good pictures in a gym (even if they decorated lovely, it's still a gym) and in confined spaces...
Anyway, I just held my camera up above my head and snap some pictures. I think they kind of captured the night, at least better then I was doing with my head in the viewfinder. There's still some serious blur, but I wasn't using a fancy flash or anything....
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Current Favorite Things About Little Girls
Some people might not know this, but I used to be an ENTIRELY boy mom. I did trucks, dinosaurs, the whole nine yards. I got nervous around pink...I know, that was so 3 years ago. :)
Anyway, my current favorite thing about having a little girl is reading with her. My boys wouldn't read a Laura Ingalls Wilder book if I bribed them with chocolate, but last night I read Madeline with princess P. She loved it. I loved it.
There's so many great little girl books.
Do you have a favorite?
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Garden. In.
I'm not normally a patient person but I have waited, and waited, and waited for seeds to come up. I would say that about 50% of my seeds worked out.
I ended-up buying a fair number of plants.
NONE of my canteloupe seeds worked out. Weird.
But I found canteloupe today and I planted it.
Our garden area is fairly shaded. I bet in many places that's a bad thing, but here I think it will be good.
Let's see, we have black raspberries, red raspberries, grapes, squash (of 2 different kinds) cucumbers, strawberries, corn, eggplant, cantaloupe, onions, carrots, tomatoes (of like 12 different varieties), watermelon, jalapenos, green peppers, garlic, kale, potatoes, brussel sprouts, peas (dead now -- too hot already, although I'm not sure their drip line was working...), beans, cilantro, basil, beets, we had califlower and broccoli but both of those are done and pulled out. I think that is all. Oh, spinach. Also on its last legs.
Anyway, it really is exciting to plant a seed and see something grow. I get absolutely giddy when I see it. It is a very exciting process. The weeding, not so much... but the rest is pretty great.
We'll just see what works this summer.
How about you, how's your garden going?
I ended-up buying a fair number of plants.
NONE of my canteloupe seeds worked out. Weird.
But I found canteloupe today and I planted it.
Our garden area is fairly shaded. I bet in many places that's a bad thing, but here I think it will be good.
 |
| Garden right |
 |
| Garden right. The one in pink isn't a plant. :) That I know of. |
 |
| P next to our cilantro tree. :) |
Anyway, it really is exciting to plant a seed and see something grow. I get absolutely giddy when I see it. It is a very exciting process. The weeding, not so much... but the rest is pretty great.
We'll just see what works this summer.
How about you, how's your garden going?
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Parenting Queues
I saw the Alicia Silverstone video. I immediately thought of ALL the places her mouth has probably been, and then my mind rested on herpes for a bit.
Of course, no one wants their mind resting on Herpes, do they?
But, who do YOU take your parenting queues from?
I certainly don't look to the stars. I mostly look to the people who have raised amazing children. It's even better if they still have kids at home that they're training...
Church has been a leading indicator of good kids. I have been blessed to see many amazing moms in action.
Also, how do you feel when you watch them parent. I had SO many great mom friends in California, and I learned SO much from them. I'm getting similar vibes here in Arizona, I already have a few favorites whose brains I pick every now and then.
Sometimes I get advice via blogs, but I find them to be deceiving. I have no idea how their kids are turning out. I mean, all I see is good stuff, not how their kids are holy terrors in the halls of the chapel.
So, who do you take your queues from? I must say there are a few celebrities I do tend to look longingly at. Let's see if I can name 3, and this may be hard...
1. Laura Bush
2. Ok, I can't think of anyone else.... BUT I forgot to mention I often take queues from teachers we've had. And what was Laura Bush...? Yup, you got it.
Ok, your turn. Who do you watch?
ETA: I should say I try to remember what my parents did, but I was such a perfect child... that makes it difficult. ;)
Of course, no one wants their mind resting on Herpes, do they?
But, who do YOU take your parenting queues from?
I certainly don't look to the stars. I mostly look to the people who have raised amazing children. It's even better if they still have kids at home that they're training...
Church has been a leading indicator of good kids. I have been blessed to see many amazing moms in action.
Also, how do you feel when you watch them parent. I had SO many great mom friends in California, and I learned SO much from them. I'm getting similar vibes here in Arizona, I already have a few favorites whose brains I pick every now and then.
Sometimes I get advice via blogs, but I find them to be deceiving. I have no idea how their kids are turning out. I mean, all I see is good stuff, not how their kids are holy terrors in the halls of the chapel.
So, who do you take your queues from? I must say there are a few celebrities I do tend to look longingly at. Let's see if I can name 3, and this may be hard...
1. Laura Bush
2. Ok, I can't think of anyone else.... BUT I forgot to mention I often take queues from teachers we've had. And what was Laura Bush...? Yup, you got it.
Ok, your turn. Who do you watch?
ETA: I should say I try to remember what my parents did, but I was such a perfect child... that makes it difficult. ;)
Monday, April 02, 2012
Elder Holland: The Day Laborers - Jealousy
I want to really delve into a whole general conference talk. Listen to it a few times and really think about how it applies to my life.
I LOVE General Conference, but I have a hard time actually listening those whole 8 hours, tell me I'm not the only one. :)
Anyway, this week I chose Elder Holland's talk. I loved it when he gave it, so when I saw it on my phone (via the Mormon Channel app) I chose to do it first!
Elder Holland spoke about the parable of the day laborers. One group comes in the morning for a specified wage, then another group comes in the afternoon and they end-up getting the same wage as the people who worked all day.
Now, I will be honest and say that I'm in the group that says, "THAT IS SO NOT FAIR." Of course, I am on an hourly wage, so my mind just thinks that specific way. Either way, this talk was great for me. Because, I love how Elder Holland thinks.
Some favorite points:
It is a really great talk, and I think this talk can speak to anyone of ANY religion. Especially since the parable comes from the Bible.
So, what do you think of this parable? How will this talk change you? I'm going to look for ways this week. Do you suffer from jealousy? I don't really think I do, but now that I'm looking at it more closely - maybe I do! :)
I LOVE General Conference, but I have a hard time actually listening those whole 8 hours, tell me I'm not the only one. :)
Anyway, this week I chose Elder Holland's talk. I loved it when he gave it, so when I saw it on my phone (via the Mormon Channel app) I chose to do it first!
Elder Holland spoke about the parable of the day laborers. One group comes in the morning for a specified wage, then another group comes in the afternoon and they end-up getting the same wage as the people who worked all day.
Now, I will be honest and say that I'm in the group that says, "THAT IS SO NOT FAIR." Of course, I am on an hourly wage, so my mind just thinks that specific way. Either way, this talk was great for me. Because, I love how Elder Holland thinks.
Some favorite points:
- The ones who really suffered were the 2nd group because they were passed over the first time, left to wonder how they would obtain money. The first group knew they'd get money all along. Perhaps they were the more blessed.
- When we suffer from envy we end-up having to down a "quart of pickle juice" every time something good happens to someone we know, how does that make us happy? A "mistake" that keeps on giving!
- One of the best parts of being God is being able to bless people who aren't expecting it (and I truly believe that, I know I get that same joy from doing things for my family).
- They got mad at the person who was blessing them, because he wasn't blessing them enough.
It is a really great talk, and I think this talk can speak to anyone of ANY religion. Especially since the parable comes from the Bible.
So, what do you think of this parable? How will this talk change you? I'm going to look for ways this week. Do you suffer from jealousy? I don't really think I do, but now that I'm looking at it more closely - maybe I do! :)
Being In Charge
So, I finished my school carnival.
I have no photos. On Saturday I could barely move.
It was sad...
I have no idea why I volunteered for it, but something told me I should. I actually was going to volunteer to do it, but then I couldn't get the attention of the powers that be, so I gave up, but then they put out the call again and I said I would.
And I learned a lot.
Just like I always do when I volunteer for stuff.
I learned that people just do what they can do, and you need to accept it and move on. You also need to accept that YOU can just do what you need to do. I'm not as good at that part, I think I could work on it.
I am always amazed at what moms who work hard can do. There are a bunch of really amazing moms in our PTO. They are wonderful moms and wonderful women, and those two don't always go hand in hand.
One thing is that I know a lot about the school now. I jumped in with both feet (more like headfirst, not knowing how deep it was), and I'm mostly grateful that I did that. I like knowing what teachers volunteer for things, and which ones are fun to be around. Knowing teachers can only be a good thing, right? I also adore our principal, and that's a happy thing too.
And while I would NEVER recommend taking on such a huge assignment your first year in a school I can only give you a shove to volunteering time and time again. It's a good example to your kids, it shows you care and you learn so many things.
More things then you can put into a blog post. Even when you can move your arms....
So, what about you? Do you think volunteering at school is worth it. How do you keep your mind from wandering to ALL the parents who never lift a finger? In the immortal words I heard yesterday, "STOP. IT." :) But, more on that later. :)
I have no photos. On Saturday I could barely move.
It was sad...
I have no idea why I volunteered for it, but something told me I should. I actually was going to volunteer to do it, but then I couldn't get the attention of the powers that be, so I gave up, but then they put out the call again and I said I would.
And I learned a lot.
Just like I always do when I volunteer for stuff.
I learned that people just do what they can do, and you need to accept it and move on. You also need to accept that YOU can just do what you need to do. I'm not as good at that part, I think I could work on it.
I am always amazed at what moms who work hard can do. There are a bunch of really amazing moms in our PTO. They are wonderful moms and wonderful women, and those two don't always go hand in hand.
One thing is that I know a lot about the school now. I jumped in with both feet (more like headfirst, not knowing how deep it was), and I'm mostly grateful that I did that. I like knowing what teachers volunteer for things, and which ones are fun to be around. Knowing teachers can only be a good thing, right? I also adore our principal, and that's a happy thing too.
And while I would NEVER recommend taking on such a huge assignment your first year in a school I can only give you a shove to volunteering time and time again. It's a good example to your kids, it shows you care and you learn so many things.
More things then you can put into a blog post. Even when you can move your arms....
So, what about you? Do you think volunteering at school is worth it. How do you keep your mind from wandering to ALL the parents who never lift a finger? In the immortal words I heard yesterday, "STOP. IT." :) But, more on that later. :)
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