Christmas Day 2007

Oh, how I love Christmas.  I love the opportunity to spoil my kids, we don't have any set numbers of gifts for each one, so that usually results in over spending and the like.  It is kind of crazy, but we try to keep things even.  My grandmas and aunts and uncles send money, and I like to put a gift under the tree from them so that the children have something to hold in their hands and say, this is from Great Grandma Cook.    I want my kids to know that their family that is far away is thinking about them too.  This results in gift crazyness,  but it is so fun!   We also have very little order in the mornings.  They do the stockings together, and they are excited to give their gifts to each other, but otherwise it is mostly paper flying and kids squealing.   This year the reactions over the barbie doll house were fun.  Liza just kept saying "oh my goodness."  over and over.  We put Chinook under the tree since he was a gift for the family from my Dad.  Katie, who of course had no clue what all the colorful boxes were ran straight to Chinooks crate and kept saying "hi puppy, hi puppy, hi puppy."  Like she does most mornings.  She sure loves her doggie.  The kids main gifts were, Liza:  Doll house, I pod (brents old one, repaired and with her tunes on it)  clothes, and boy bratz.   Alex:  Magnet set, and scooby doo stuff.   Tori:  Doll house  and baby in a bath tub.  Katie:  Doll house and Baby that cries when you take out her pacifier.  They got tons of other stuff, but those were the ones that they asked for the most.  (Short of Alex and Liza requesting a robot that does everything that you tell it to do????)  By listening to their conversations after Christmas, they are sure that the only reason they didn't get their robots is because they didn't give Santa enough time to build them.  They are pretty sure that next year they will have given him enough notice that they should be able to get their robots that will clean their rooms for them.  Maybe Santa will bring me one too.... I could use that. :-)  This year for Brent, he got an I Phone among other things.  I got a year membership at Massage Envy.  That is a Massage every month for a year!!!  Yipee!   I love it.  I also got a new Lens for my Camera, I am so excited to try it out.  I got spoiled.  We had a wonderful Christmas together.  A fabulous traditional dinner of turkey and all the fixin's  It was such fun!!!  Merry  Christmas to all!!

Sad Sad Day

Today Grandpa left.  :-(  sniff,  He has been so fun to have around and so helpful.  He loved to hold and rock Katie, and was almost sad when Brent was home to do that job.  He would take her and distract her while I made dinners/lunches, and would put her in her chair when she wanted to eat, open doors for her, and hold her and squeeze her and call her "lil punkin".  There were several times when she would reach out to him and call him "grampup".   Tori love having him here to play with too.  Grandpa will sit down and actually watch a movie with you, and even though you have to turn the volume up to drown out the snoring, it is worth it to have him there.  Alex finally got to play with someone who sees things his way!  He and my dad seem to think alike and so all of the toys that Alex got for Christmas were a hit with Grandpa too.  Grandpa helped Alex navigate his new Scooby Doo X Box game, they also played with Alex's magnets for quite some time.  They did a lot of figuring stuff out together.  I think Liza enjoyed just having another person around to talk to, and grandpa was better at acting interested then Brent and I are.  She loves to talk, I don't know where on earth she got that from.  Alex asked me the other day "Why does Grandpa give such shaky hugs?" ( A few years back my dad started shaking, I don't know why, just when he hugs you though, not while he is trying to do anything else.  ? )  We really enjoyed having him here, and he enjoyed being here.  Last night as we were getting ready for bed I said"Well dad, thanks for coming, we sure have enjoyed having you here."  He responded with  "Thank you for having me, I sure have liked being here, "  Then his eyes filled with tears as he said "I don't want to go home, it is so quiet there."  I said "yes, but you'll only be there for 2 days and then you'll go to Traceys (my sisters) House. "  "yeah, but then I still have to go home."  How sad.....  He enjoyed having chinook around too (my dad is a total dog person), I wish that he could have a dog, but he travels and works too much so it wouldn't be kind to the dog to have it.  The kids have missed him already   as have I.  I am so glad that he has come at Christmas for the past 2 years, he is nice to have around, and i know that he is much happier here then at home.  His mom is getting so bad with Alzheimers that when I talked to her on Christmas morning when I asked her how she was she said "I don't know how I am doing, I can't remember, Oh, the kids are here, so I must be good."  Then she asked me what we were going to do for Christmas, and asked if we were staying home or if we were coming to see her. This is sad for me, but really sad for my dad.  My dad only has one brother, and his father passed away about 14 years ago, that makes it even more difficult to go through what he has been going through with his mom and everything else.   On a happy note, my kids know him, and have good memories of this weekend, he took some awesome video for us, and we took a couple pictures of him with the kids.  Here is one that he took of Chinook,  from this point on we called Chinook snoopy.  :-)  

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas eve, we spent the day delivering gifts around to friends and visiting.  I think Tori liked the visit to Sister McCarthy the very best!  She was so excited to go to her teachers house.  :-)  We enjoyed seeing most of our friends in their Christmas preparations.  We went over to the Hansen's for Crabs, it was  quite fun, even though I don't like Crab, and when the crabs were dumped on the table my poor Tori lost her appetite.  She whispered to me "mommy, those stink. "  I said, "I know, try to eat anyway."  LOL, I hate sea food.  Liza will eat it, Alex occasionally, and Brent was feeding it to Katie, but I don't think you could convince Tori.  Anyway, we then came home and began our Christmas eve traditions of opening one gift, which is Always PJ's.  This year the kids were saying "mom, these ones are our Jammies, can we open them now??"  I said "how do you know those are Jammies?"  "We always get Jammies,"  said Liza.  "But now, there is no surprise."  I told them.  Then Liza said, "but we don't know what color they are."  Silly girl.  They got on their Jammies,  and so did Brent and Grandpa and I.  Then we all were getting ready to get together when the kids saw SANTA outside, he yelled "HO HO HO, Merry Christmas!!"   The kids ran outside and he gave them a candy cane each and then came over to see Katie.  They were so excited.  They saw Santa last year at this time and were checking out the window to see if he would be back this year.  Sure enough.  I think that our neighbors have a Christmas party on Christmas eve that involves Santa just before the end.  We sure like that we get to see him on the street.  Then we read the Christmas story and then sang some songs and went to bed.  This has been a great year so far, even though today the kids kept talking about what they wanted  from Santa and so far we got them none of the things they were talking about today.  I sure hope they aren't disappointed.  Well,  Merry Christmas.  

Christmas Baking

Today I did my Christmas Baking.  I have been so busy that this was the first chance to get it all done.  I made Butter Tarts, Shortbread Cookies, Fudge, Chex Mix, and a Cheese Cake.  I meant to take a picture of the kitchen when I was all done, it was pretty Crazy, but all is well now.  While I made cookies my Dad and Brent wrapped presents and Brent put together the doll house for the girls.  It is so cute!  All we have left to do is Stocking Stuffers, and we're ready.  Thanks again to hours and hours
of Grandpa wrapping gifts.  I think the man went through 4 rolls of tape, he is a very precise wrapper too, so they're tight.  :-)  It was a busy Sunday, but I feel relaxed and ready for the big day coming up.  Brent has to work tomorrow :-(, hopefully they will let him come home before too late.  

Gingerbread House

Today I took off early in the am to teach water aerobics and then tried to go to borders on my way home and found that the line snaked back and forth in front of the register and then all the way to the back of the store and around the corner.  It looked like the photos of the night of the Harry Potter release.  It was nutso in there!  I left my stuff and went to target to get cold medicine and come home.  Traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  When I got home, I kicked the kiddos in the buns and we got chores done... Well they got chores done, the only rooms that are still a mess are the Kitchen and my room.  Looks like no sleep for me tonight.  After jobs were done Grandpa took us out to Mc Donalds, where Katie surprised me with the amount of food she ate and when she said she was done, she quickly pulled her little happy meal box down to peek inside for her toy.  (I didn't know that she had been watching the other kids and seeing that this was the procedure)  She has really been talking SO much lately, I am swiftly loosing my little baby.  :-(  Good thing I bought that dog!  Anyway.....  We got home and the kids wrapped their gifts for each other, and then they got together and sniffed and shook gifts for a while.  We then broke out the gingerbread house kit (these things are so awesome, they make it SO incredibly easy and very low mess.  JUST MY STYLE)   The kids had a ball, they complained that Katie was eating all the candy, and I told them that I could stop her, but then she would scream and I would have to stop making the house and go and hold her somewhere else.  The opted to let her eat some candy, but I think that they were trying to get those candies on there fast before Katie ate them all!   It was a very fun afternoon.  We finished the night off with Baths, and a trip to CiCi's Grandpa has never been there and he quite enjoyed the cinnamon rolls (Surprise surprise!!  Those things ROCK!!!)  We had a good night, got home late, so kids didn't get to bed till 10am.... Maybe they'll sleep in.  Brent is on call tonight, so it would be nice to have an hour or so when he gets home in the morning before the kids get up and start needing stuff.  :-)  It was a fun day, I am so glad that my dad is here, he has been such a help, he ironed my mountain (and i mean mountain) of ironing, he has switched over and run more loads of laundry then I can count, and hauls heavy stuff up and down the stairs for me.  He has kept my kids home when I have gone to the gym, and has watched kids while I have gotten so many little things done that needed to get done (especially getting my blood drawn, which was something my doctor ordered in JULY!! )  Thanks Dad.  :-)  Well I am off to wrap presents, get a jump on that Christmas Eve Chaos!  

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Mommy Style

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the abode

Only one creature was stirring & she was cleaning the commode.

The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,

while visions of X-Box & Barbie flipped through their heads.

Yes, and dad was snoring in front of the TV,

with a half constructed bicycle propped on his knee.

So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,

which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?" 

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,

She descended the stairs, and saw the old man.

He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a shrug,

"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, I'm glad you're awake."

"your gift was especially difficult to make."

"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."

"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"

"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."

Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,

Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.

You'll relax, take it easy, watch TV and rest.

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"

"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"

From the room above, the youngest did fret.

"Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared and I'm wet.

The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."

"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."

The clone changed the child and hummed her a tune,

as she bundled the small one in a blanket cocoon.

"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."

The clone smiled and sighed, "And I love you too."

The mom frowned and said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal.

That's my child's LOVE she is going to steal."

Smiling wisely, Santa said: "To me it is clear,

Only one loving mother is needed here."

The mom kissed her child and tucked her in bed.

"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.

Sometimes I forget, it won't be very long,

before they'll be too old for my cradle and song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.

Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."

With the clone by his side, Santa said: "Goodnight.

Merry Christmas, dear Mom, you'll be all right." 

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about.

Especially at times when the Holiday season shouts,

and all we do is clean, bake, and procure.

You get the picture -- I'm sure.

So stop for a moment and hug that little one so dear,

whether he/she is 2 or 22, or even older this year.

For they are the gift that God gave us from Heaven above,

and what a special gift to be treasured, with endless LOVE!

May The Real Meaning Of Christmas Be With You All Year.

Blasts from the past

I wanted to put some stories from years ago in print, so I decided to do it from my blog, so that when I print it, these stories will not be lost.

March 8th 2001

The other day for no known reason, Liza stood up on a stool and proclaimed "I am different!........ I am black."  Where in the world did this come from?  the only thing I can figure is she has a book called  "No Red Monsters Aloud."  That is about some blue monsters being mean to Elmo, and they talk about differences.  But why she thinks she's black, I have no clue! 

For some background, I have a bucket in the bathroom which I keep water and borax in (a tip from the queen of clean)  In this bucket we soak training pants.  Generally the bucket is kept in the tub when it is not in use.  So this morning, I got out of the shower, put the bucket of soaking pants,  some peed, some not, into the tub and went to my room to get dressed.  As a general rule, ZU ZU is not aloud to go in the bedrooms, and she was out and running, so I closed my door.  As I was dressing I could hear Liza gleefully laughing, and didn't think much of it.  A few minuets later, I came out and looked in to see what was so much fun.  In the bathroom.  "Zu Zu have a bath"  Liza squeals as she dunks the ferret over and over into the bucket of dirty pants and pee water!  Poor Zu Zu is trying to catch her breath between dunks and then gets out of Liza's grasp and starts to run for it spreading water everywhere.  I grabbed a camera and took a picture.

The other day I was getting Liza's bath ready, so she stripped down and started chasing Zu Zu around the house.  She finally got her cornered and was straddled over her when she crouched down to pick her up.  As she crouched she tooted, and then looked up at me in amazement and said "Zu Zu honked my bum!"  Then she picked her up and took her in her room and then came out and shut Zu Zu in her room.  I said "Liza, where is Zu Zu?"  She said "I put her in my room."  I asked why and she said, "Cuz she keeps honkin' my bum!"

Whenever we clean up the house Liza gets jobs to do, and usually she is a pretty good helper.  Yesterday however, she showed us a little of what she is "Made of".  Her job was to pick up the Crayons that she had dumped onto he floor earlier when she was coloring.  She didn't think that she  should have to do this and tried every trick in the book to get out of it.  "Mommy, you do it."  "Mommy help please."  She even at one point chose to sit in time out rather then clean it up.  For the first 20 min or so I kept trying to get her to pick them up, with threats and the like, but nothing was working so I just made it very clear that she was to do nothing else until she did her job.  Two Hours and fifteen minuets later, she picked up her crayons.  in that two hours, the crayons were 1/2 in the bucket over 4 times, they were used as drumsticks, and as the insides of her bucket maraca.  She kept herself busy in that time and even took two potty breaks.  Just a little Stubborn!

For a little background so the story makes sense, Liza insists on sleeping with a billion toys, and then gets out of her bed to play with other toys.  Some nights she is up for and hour and a half to two hours.  So in efforts to get her to stay in her bed, one night I told her that if she got out of bed I get to come in and pick a toy from her bed and take it with me.  She understood what I said and stayed in her bed.  This worked for two nights.  Then on the third night Brent went in and took a toy and she tried to bargain with him to  get him to take  a toy that she didn't want as much.  He took the bargain.  Then she stayed in her bed.  On the fourth night, mean old mom went in twice and wouldn't strike a deal with her so she cried about it.  But we were happy with our success thus far because she was going to sleep faster and wasn't up and down so much.  Then on the fifth night she threw us a curve ball, she came to the door with a payment.  I heard her calling me and I could tell that she was at the door, when I came around the corner she was waving a toy out a small crack in the door.  "Mommy, take a car"  then later she called Brent, "Daddy take a lamb."  A "Hall Pass" if you will.  She was just letting us know that she was up and she chose what we could take as her punishment.  It was too funny.  Quite a Character this girl.

3rd Annual Christmas Tea

Every year since we moved into this house I have hosted a "Christmas Tea" in December.   I really enjoy doing this,even though it is much preparation, I very much enjoy having friends gather for some Christmas snacks.  We don't actually drink any tea, but we do eat all the treats etc that go with Tea.  :-)  Today's spread included:

Lemon water and Wassail to drink.  Meat Balls, yummy salad, Tamales, cream cheese and chillies dip w/chips, Hummus and pitta bread, yummy peppermint Oreos, black bottom cupcakes, brownies, chocolate dipped graham cookies, chocolate dip

ped pretzels, pumpkin bread, Poppy seed bread, Golden Graham goodies, Various candies and chocolates,  chocolate dipped Ritz with crushed candy cane, and the list goes on....   It was so nice to get together with friends that I have made here in Maryland and celebrate the birth of the Savior.  I am so grateful for my Friends here and enjoy throwing this little p

arty every year to gather them together.  Things went so well, and the mood was just right.  The kids had a ball spreading toys and popcorn around the basement as the mommies talked and ate yummy food.  Merry Christmas to all!!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS........

We HAD to download the song from i Tunes.  What fun that this happened at this time of year.

  

Alexs story

"When I was little, before we had a dog, I was sitting at the table eating dinner and I felt something furry on my foot and I thought, what was that?  Then the furry thing went by my foot again, and I thought, okay this is weird.  What is that, so I looked under the table and it was dads foot."

We laughed so hard, he told this at dinnertime and we were all into his story wondering what he was going to find under the table.  It was SO funny

Challenge

It seems that my challenge as a mother is to learn how to parent like Our Father in Heaven.   I really have a hard time parenting the way that I want to parent.  I know how I should handle situations, but I constantly find myself reverting back to the ways that I remember being parented.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think that my parents did a pretty good job.  Both my sister and I turned out pretty good, I think, but their ways were not always in conjunction with the way that Heavenly Father parents.   Sometimes I think that I turned out well because I feared my mothers disapproval more then anything in the world, her reaction and withdrawing in anger from me was more then I was willing to face.  I chose the right, most of the time because I couldn't bare to feel like she thought I was lesser of a person.  Until of course I was old enough to understand that she loves me unconditionally and that I need to make choices that please my heavenly father.   So my parenting style tends to fall into this realm of do as I say, or I will withdraw from you, be it withdrawing of your favorite things, or your favorite time, and sometimes even withdrawing me (in the same angry reaction as my mom).  Our Heavenly Father doesn't withdraw himself from us, he never would, He stands at the door, and waits.  I know that this is how I should be, and I try so hard to resist my first reaction to situations.  When I read books and articles from leaders, and members in the the Church (Read this months Presidency Message in the Ensign, it's very good)  on parenting, I am always faced with this inner battle, Like the  battle in heaven.  The Saviors plan of free agency and Satan's plan of controlling our destiny.  I love my kids so much and want for them to excel so much that I want to make their decisions for them, and control them right into adulthood in what ever way that I can, and if that means making them fear me, it was done out of love.  However, I love them too much to take away their agency!  I know that the Lords way is the right way, I guess what it comes down to is control issues.  I don't know when to let them make their own decisions.  A  4 year old for example, she needs some controlling, because she is not old enough just yet to know the consequences of her behavior, however a 9 year old needs much less.... or should need less..... it seems that I really struggle with Liza and her understanding of right and wrong, maybe she understands, and just doesn't care.  What ever the case may be, it seems that she isn't doing so well in the choices department, which brings me to my next issue.  Controlling my tongue.  No I don't curse like a sailor, well not all the time ;-)  I just react in a loud voice..... hummmm sometimes a far too loud voice. I am not a patient woman either, always in a rush.... rush rush rush.....  how annoying to live with!  I have really been working on this lately as I know that it is not right, our lessons/ meetings for the past 2 Sundays  have been on Controlling your tongue.   I have a girlfriend who I admire, and she has a little check list for thinking before you speak....  she always asks herself before she says something....

1. Is it true?

2. Is it kind?

3. Is it necessary?

I love this, I just have to get into my mind to go through them before I open my mouth and start rambling.  I am better at it with adults then i used to be, but still need work, and I really need work with my kids.  They pretty much get what ever pops into my head most of the time.  Usually not too terrible, but not the best either.  I am trying really hard to be a bit more rational and not engage in childish arguing (especially with Alex, he is my debater, and Liza has learned from him how to negotiate.)  I struggle with trying to prove to my kids that I am right, rather then letting it go.  Silly, I know, I usually realize this after the fact.

 

I have to say that i also look at large families in general, you find that as the parents relax with the last children,  those are the kids that fall away, or are lazy, or just stinkers, and that puts the fear in me that if I relax even a drop, one of them will fall away. :-(  I guess I just need to find a good balance, I know that it is out there, I feel like I am on the brink of some major discoveries as I dive into this world of Christ like parenting.  I am going to order some books that were suggested by a friend and wonderful example (thanks Kellie) and we'll see how it goes.  I studied this in school, because I went to Ricks we had a class on "Teach the Child" which is about the Savior way with children, but I never considered that I would have such a hard time applying it with my own children.

My Goals......

1. Use a kind voice and kind words.

2. Love them after discipline

3. Slow down.

4. Hug them more.

5. Be patient as they learn

The Elf on the Shelf

I had to share....

I read about this cute little book on my sisters friends blog and it sounded so cute, I rushed out to buy it.  I will warn you that the price is a little steep, but so cute and worth it if you use it for years to come.  So the book comes with this darling little "traditional style" elf.  The story is about this little elf and his job in your home.  In the book it tells the children that this little fella will go to the North Pole every night and report your behavior to Santa.  He is under strict rules that he is not to speak to you, but you are welcome to tell him what you want for Christmas, and he will deliver your message to Santa.   He tells Santa, about all that you did that day, especially the good stuff.  When he returns, he hides in a new spot, so that you have to find him when you wake up.  On Christmas day, he is gone and will see you again next year.  He also can not be touched, if you touch him, his magic rubs off and he won't be able to report to Santa.  (I like that one cuz then he can't become a toy)  It is really quite a darling little idea.  The kids have loved it so far, and it is nice to make a little reminder comment here or there about what "Dingle" is going to tell Santa today.  The kids seem to like the idea, and they buy it too.  I just thought it was so cute

Fall Pictures

Of Course these were taken before the snow flew.  I have been holding on to them so that I could practice my new photo shop skills on them, but I am tired of waiting for myself, so here are the raw images of my kiddos in the fall leaves in our yard.  BTW, we picked up another 15 bags of leaves for a total of 40 bags!  There are still some in the back that are hanging on to the tree back there.  We'll get em though.

Liza enjoying the fall leaves
Alex was seen once burrowing though the pile of leaves on the driveway, he actually disappeared into the pile head first and tunneled through.  :-)  It was really funny.
That's a pretty cool tongue trick Katie is doing here....  She is so much fun!  She even helped with the leaves, on the first day, but on the second day it was too cold and she and Chinook sat inside with each other watching out the window.  They looked really cute together.
And my ever photogenic Tori, I have so many good shots of this girl.  She loves the Camera and the camera loves her.  I wanted to photo shop her scar, but I guess it tells part of her tale.  She is loosing her curls and that makes me sad.  :-(  But she is still so beautiful.

First Snow

This morning as the girls and I were getting breakfast Alex came running down the stairs in just his pj top, trying to stretch it down so we couldn't see his underwear,  as he announced that it was snowing outside!  We were all so excited to see the seasons first snow fall.  Alex is convinced that if he wears his pajamas inside out and back wards and sings jingle bells out the window, that it will snow.  Up until this morning, it kept "not working", but today, he told us all... "see, it works!"   (From what I understand, one of the teachers at school, I believe it was the music teacher, told the kids this.... odd...)  Anyway,  we had a normal day, with the exception of trying to drive around all these people who think that the sky is falling every time it snows.  When the kids got home from school they played outside for quite some time.  The snow was perfectly sticky, so Alex  got to make his snow balls that he has been waiting to make.  Chinook didn't know what to think.   Although we only got a few inches of snow, it comes right up to his little under belly and mats in his hair on his legs and his tummy.  I can only imagine how cold that is on your bare belly.  He has been good to go potty outside anyway today.  He enjoyed running around the yard with the kids, but got really cold really quick.  He and Tori lasted about the same amount of time.  

The kids are really hoping for a late start tomorrow morning, and to be quite honest so am I.  I don't want them to have the whole day off, but a nice slow morning would be a nice change.  

I am excited for our enrichment christmas deal tomorrow night.  I had to get a sitter so that I could go since Brent is on call.  Friday night I have a date with my sweety, and then Saturday i get to go shopping and to lunch with Tracy.  I am so looking forward to a girls day.  :-)  Boy my night just really perked up as I realized what a great few days I have coming up.  Oh, how I love this season.  :-)  

I couldn't resist posting my puppy.

Come on, wouldn't you let him poop on your floor??  He has been such a joy to me.  Sometimes he annoys the crap out of me, like when I can't even let Katie sit on the floor because he will attack her and pull her clothes off and eat the banana in her hands, but then you just see his little sweet face and forgiven.  AWWW...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

So I have to post about all my wonderful birthday fun!  I considered doing a post where I tell all the wonderful things about me, like we've all done for our children and other loved ones, but I decided to save everyone, and just tell about what a great time I had.  

Before my birthday, our new Mac arrived and Brent (who is normally the best secret keeper ever!)  couldn't wait till my birthday to tell me, that for my birthday he got me a whole year of weekly one on on Mac support.  I get to go in and meet with someone in the store and they will help me with anything that I need help with.  Or just teach me new stuff.  They supposedly also have someone who knows Photo shop really well too.  But we'll see. (As a side note, I've been taking a Photo Shop course on line to learn how to enhance the photos that I have been taking)   Anyway, So on my actual birthday, Brent had the day off work, I went to the gym by my self to teach my class.  I didn't have to lug kids in and out of the building, that was nice.  Then I went straight from there to Massage Envy where I got a 90 min massage for $50!!!  After that WONDERFUL experience,  I've never had one that long before, it was really nice.  I ran over to the Mall for my first one on on at the Mac store.  I learned a few new things and I am really enjoying the iCal feature on my new computer.  I then went and had a nice lunch at Panera Bread. (My Favorite)  It was so nice to just sit there in the peace and quiet, and know that any whining kid around me was not my problem.  :-)  I had a yummy turkey panini and the Autumn Salad which had pears and dried cherries in it.  YUM!    I then went down to the Makeup store in the mall and had some guy help me pick out some new make up.  He dolled me all up with Bare Minerals, and I liked how it looked and felt, so I used some of my birthday money and got it.  They told me that they give 100% money back if you're not happy, and I am not too sure that I am happy.  It either brings out the wrinkles around my eyes, or I got sudden wrinkles around my eyes at the exact age of 32!!. This wouldn't surprise me as it seems that my metabolism  quit that day too!  Ahhh, I will be a sight to behold at church on Sunday.  :-)  

Anyway, Total tangent there, so after the makeup I decided that I wanted to get my hair done too, so I went to the mac store and used the handy dandy iPhone to get the phone number to the salon at the gym.  They had an appointment open in an hour or so, so I booked it and then ran over to the bank and Trader Jo's (I've never been in there cuz I wasn't curious enough to drag my kids in there, so I had to go and peek while I was alone)  Hum, being a non organic kinda gal, I wasn't wowed.  Then it was off  to my hair cut.  I want to grow it into a new style, and unfortunately it seems that I have to go back a bit before I can go forward, so I feel like my goal got moved farther away, but that's okay, it looks okay for today anyway.  :-)  I ran home after that to get Brent and the kids and we all went out to dinner. We had a nice dinner out and the kids were really good.  I love going out to dinner on my birthday, even with kids, because I don't lift a finger, I don't do potty trips, I don't cut meat, I don't put on bibs, nuthin'!  We came home and put the kids to bed, then Brent and I ate cake and watched a few shows on TV, then i did some of my photo shop lessons.  It was a fun night.  Ah, and then...... I love birthday weeks, the next day, Brent didn't work again....  he he, so I got to sleep in since I didn't on Wednesday.  Then my sweet friend Christina took my little ones for the day so that Brent and I could have a day together.  It was so nice (thanks Christina).  We went to Cheese Cake Factory and I had the Avocado Egg Rolls.  Everyone raves and raves over these, my review..... I wished that I was eating floutas the whole time. ;-(  Too squishy for my, bleck. Anyway, it was a nice lunch anyway.  Then Brent and I used the rest of our time to do Christmas shopping.  I had him help me with Alex.  The girls I can do, but Alex is hard for me.  I just really don't get boy toys at all. ;-(  Then we went back and picked up the kids from Christina and I did homework with the big kids while Brent disappeared.  ???  Anyway, then Annie and BJ came over and picked up the giant eye sore from our living room and took it away for BJ to fix.  (Sorry Annie, but I heard you set a departure date for it... good for you.)  Anyway, now I have room for my Christmas Tree.  :-) (Annie may not, but I do.... *snicker*)  Then at 6:30 I went to Le Madelines to meet up with some friends for a little "birthday party"  Tracy made me feel so special when she pulled me aside and planned this little tado....  What a sweet girl.  She and Mendy treated me to my birthday dinner and chocolate croissant.  Christina came and brought her Canadian neighbor Jenni, who I enjoyed visiting with a lot.  Lori Mathison, Jan Gartside and Cassandra Hancock also came.  It was such fun to visit with everyone and they all made me feel so loved.  Thank you to all of you.  Also Scarlet and Jenni, thank you so much for the gifts you are too sweet, I am so spoiled.  I have already enjoyed Jenni's efforts to make me fat, and I have yet to enjoy Scarlets recipes to make me healthy. :-)  (She got me the cook book that Jenni has been cooking from.  Now my kids will join her children in the experiment as my little lab rats.)  Then after some time, when we were just about to get up and leave Kathy Jarboe came in....  it was fun to see her, I guess something happened with a key mix up.  I was glad that she caught us.  Then at about 10 Christina, Jenni and I headed over to Target for one last hour of shopping where I bought 2 new tops.  SO CUTE.  It was such a fun birthday.  I came out of it feeling so loved and accepted and relaxed.  I didn't lift a finger for 2 days.... it was wonderful.  Then today I got to clean up the mess.  Brent kept a pretty good handle on things, but well..... you know how it is.   Then tonight when I took Liza to piano lessons, Nicole topped the whole evening off with some yummy chocolates for a birthday gift too.  So now,  I am going to leave my computer and my sink full o dishes and  I am going to watch survivor and eat treats..... We'll see how my non existent metabolism handles that one. :-)  

PS..  Chinook is doing really well at potty training.  He is down to 0-1 accidents a day and even asks to go outside sometimes.  He is just what I wanted, he sits on my lap when I am on the computer and does his job as my little buddy.  I absolutely love him.  What a doll.  

Okay that's enough blogging!

Working Together

I had to post today because I am so proud of my kids. It was such a beautiful day today, it must have gotten into the 70's. (which as a side note, is so wrong!!! I am suppose to be blowing the heat full blast in my car while I listen to Christmas tunes on the radio, not roll the window down!!) Anyway, we took advantage of the beautiful day and put the kids to work. They filled yard bags with leaves and pine needles for a really long time today. And they did it with a smile on their faces. I raked and Brent blew leaves (we have 7 trees on our property so there is a lot of work to do). By the time we were done, the back yard looked fabulous, the front yard, pretty good and the side yard had a whole new layer of bright yellow leaves. Our final count was 25 bags (big black ones) and a box of sticks. Crazy! Alex even went over and picked up needles piles in the neighbors yard. We worked so well together, it just made me so happy. It was a very positive experience that I hope the kids will remember as a happy family team work kind of time.
Alex has been saving every penny since he busted the Tidwells tail light on their suv and has managed to scrape together $16! Tonight we had a little lesson on the atonement and then talked about how we need to do all that we can, but sometimes we just can't do enough, and that is where the savior steps in and helps us. We related this to Alex and how he would be saving money for 2 years to come up with $200. We told him that he has worked hard, and done all he could and that we would relieve him of his burden. He seemed a bit reluctant, but eventually agreed to it. He is sure happy to have his debits payed off. He has worked hard and has sacrificed and I think he learned a valuable lesson. I am proud of him for working so hard, and for being so grown up about it when the girls were off spending money at the mall and he had none because all his money went to the "Jeri" envelope. Even tonight as the girls were spending, he saw a toy that is hard to find, and wanted it so badly, but after a little whine and a big gulp, he left it there, putting his trust in Santa this time. o<:{o> (it's a little Santa can you see him? )
Anyway, it was a good day, except that poor little Chinook had to go to the vet and is very sad/sleepy/in pain. From his vaccines and Rabies shots :-( Poor puppy , his little shoulder is so tender. :-(

Joining the MAC world

We got our mac yesterday.  Here I am up, likely till the wee hours of the morning trying to make up for a lot of lost time.  My puppy?  He is sleeping in his crate ( I am so thankful for crates).  The  new computer is conveniently located in the kitchen so that I can use it though out the day.  It does make the kitchen a little more crowded, but it is so nice!   Today Chinook (that is the dogs name ) had me outside a billion times begging him to go potty, and he wouldn't go.  We went all day w/o a poop in the house, but a few pee's.  He is locked in the kitchen so that he isn't ruining my carpet.  He had a moment today though.  The little guy actually asked me to take him outside and proceeded to produce for me!  Yeah, baby steps eh? Brent is a happy man today as he got his Rock Band X Box game.  He just had Jake Turpin over for a play date.  They seemed to have had fun.  I have so much to blog about.    Oh, I also re organized my play room, for those who have seen it, it was much in need of an over haul.  I spent a nice chunk of $$ at Ikea (which I am so thankful for Ikea and affordable furniture.)  I will have to see if i can post a picture of that progress too.  My kids absolutely love all the new play space, and yesterday when they went to Christina's she introduced them to the Gunny Sack monster.  This is a pillow case looking monster who lives in the closet and he loves to eat toys.  When he eats them, they are gone.  Alex was so interested in this monster..... (as a side note, the kid is so interested in monsters lately that he is Scooby Doo Crazy, and has asked for a Green Shirt and brown pants for Christmas..... yes folks that is what Shaggy wears.....LOL!!)  Anyway, so I told the kids that Miss Christina's Gunny Sack was having babies and I am going to get one for our basement.  Boy did they clean up tonight.  I threatened a similar thing last time I cleaned out the van, and the van has been relatively clean since.  Humm, funny, how we can pick things up when its put it away or loose it to the trash!   Why did I not do this before????  (I know why.. I can't bare to throw anything away!  All 6 of us are not fitting in this little 3 bdrm duplex much longer.  Some thing's gotta go, either the kids or some of the toys.)  

Another funny story....  we have a few things that the kids have said about Brent working that crack us up and this week Alex came up with a new one.  Brent has been working 12hr shift work this month, so sometimes he is 7a-7p and sometimes 7p-7a.  After a couple night shifts, Alex asked me "Mom is dad part Nocturnal?"  I had to chuckle, "Why do you ask that Alex?"  "Cuz he sometimes works in the night and sleeps in the day."  :-)  Once Tori asked Brent "Daddy, do you live in this house?" and before he could answer, she cut him off  "NO!  You live at the hospital."  And onetime after hearing me leave a message for Brent on his cell phone where I said "just calling to make sure you didn't fall asleep driving home and that your not dead somewhere."  she asked me "Mom is daddy dead?"  Poor kids, they miss their daddy.  

Fortunately this month has been so much better then last.  He is working about 4 12's per week which is SO much better then the October average of 85 hours a week.  (October was horrible and I never want to relive it.  we are just starting to come down off that horror!   I almost increased my meds after that month!  Yikes.  I guess that just goes to show that he must be doing something right when he is home.  Poor guy doesn't get enough credit.

Speaking of giving a guy credit, He gave me my birthday present early.... He got me weekly one on one mac lessons.  I am so excited to take them and learn how to run this sucker to it's fullest potential.   I also got Photo shop, I am excited to learn about that too.  I think I am going to need a cushier chair at this desk :-)  Any way, long enough post, I'm going to go and play with my new toy.  :-)  

In 15 minutes

Well well well.... what do you know, I am still alive. I haven't blogged in FOREVER!!! Today I got off the phone with Jeri saying that I needed to go and read with Alex. In the next 15 minutes, I received a phone call from a friend asking me to watch her little one on a day that I already had plans (so I felt bad because she never asks me for anything), Alex knocked a huge frame off the wall and broke it, Liza jumped around the kitchen instead of doing her home work, the dog pooped on the floor and I had to chase him down with Liza laughing hysterically at me, Katie woke up screaming, got up, was served food which she ate a bit of and then rejected the rest with a lot of screaming, and was back down whining at my legs, trying to climb back up inside the womb, and then received another phone call that included some scheduling conflicts that needed to be resolved. I didn't actually sit down to read with Alex until about 30-40 minutes after getting off the phone!! This is why I haven't blogged, my life seems to have been turned upside down. A lot like a new baby turns your life upside down. I feel like we threw in about a 1/2 of a baby. Not quite as crazy as a whole one, this little guy will sleep through the night and I can leave him here when I go shopping. ( I recommend this type of baby for those who are done having babies, it is rather nice to leave them home alone) The potty training, well, he is doing okay, I still don't trust him to tell me when he needs to go out, but I think he is getting there. He defiantly knows when he did something wrong. I have read up some of puppy training and I have a hard time with the concepts. The theory that I have a hard time with, is that they say that a puppy doesn't remember what they did 1 minute after they've done it. So you can't get mad at them for pooping in the house unless you catch them cuz they don't know what you're so mad about. However in the same book they try to tell me that if you take your dog outside and they don't produce with in 5 minuets to take them in and put them back in the crate and try again in 15 minutes. They claim that the dog will learn that when you take them out they need to go potty right away so that they don't go back in the crate. So lets get this straight, Poop exits the animals body on my floor, but he can't remember doing that, but somehow in this tiny little memory of his he is going to remember that last time (2 hours ago ) when I took him out and he didn't produce, I put him back in his crate! Okay either he is stupid or he's not which is it? I think like toddlers they are smarter then we give them credit for. I am not saying that he understands everything that he is being taught, but one thing is for sure, he knows that when I say the word "YUCKY!" he runs for his crate cuz he did it!! And he knows darn well he did! The key I think is getting this little guy to understand that he needs to tell me to take him outside. Then we'll be cruzin'. The kids are still loving him and think that he is great he is fitting in just wonderfully. He as already grown so much

On a totally different note... We have finally come over to the Mac world and will be receiving out new mac sometime this next week! We are so excited. I am a little intimidated too. The kids got their report cards and they both did quite well, I was pleased. The only bad comment was one about Liza doing better at he academics if she would stop visiting with her neighbors. Humm, Liza???? Visiting with her neighbors....... I can't imagine... nor do I have any idea where she would have gotten this trait from??? :-) I don't' think that we can change that much, but I still have to get on her case a bit for it. :-) Well, I have 4 loads of laundry to fold and it is midnight! I better get folding. :-)

Puppy

He doesn't have a name yet, but isn't he the cutest thing ever. Gotta go potty train. :-)

Puppy search

I have spent several hours in the past few days checking into puppy breeds, and breeders. Trying to find a breed that is not only a cute puppy, but also a cute adult. I want something that doesn't shed much, and is rather small. What in heavens name did they do before the Internet? How in the world? Did they just go out and randomly buy a dog???? LOL, it really is funny how much different we are now. I remember that my dog that I got for my 8th birthday was $199, and that was at a pet shop. (heaven for bid, buying a dog from a shop) now a days the pet store puppies are typically over $1000!!! Not going to do that, that is for sure. A part of me thinks, quit thinking about this so much, it's a dog, your train it, and then it behaves the way you want it to. But my mom has this dog that, uhg, I would DIE if we got a dog like that! Anyway, just venting my puppy stress. :-) back to researching. p.s. going to Lancaster, PA on Thursday, any one is welcome to come along!

Take The Whole Day Off!!!

So I got up this morning at 7:30. None of my children were awake, I snuck out to go and teach water aerobics at 8:30. I love to work out, it is one of my absolute favorite things to do, and I love having a job that makes me do it. Sometimes it is hard to be motivated to go, but knowing that a class will be there waiting for you and you will be in big trouble if you don't show, motivates a bit. I Love my job! After my work out where I burned darn near 600 calories, I got to have a nice shower, followed by peacefully doing my hair and make up. I then spoke with Jeri where we plotted our morning out. I picked her up and we headed for the mall. It was about 10:30 when we hit the road. (I got out of making the kids breakfast and by this time they were likely trying to do their jobs)....he he. We got to Arundle Mills and shopped really quick, I got a ton of stuff from Children's place, not one item cost more then $1!! I spent $10. (who hoo, big spender!) We poked through a few stores, looking for a cute outfit to go with my SO cute rubber boots. (BTW, I have no idea how to wear these cute things, and I googled "rubber boots, models, fashion, and so on, trying to get a picture of someone wearing these so cute boots, yeah care full if you ever Google this one..... there was a site that looked totally innocent in the description that is a nice little surprise of "GIRLS" who like to "go wild" with rubber boots. CAREFUL!! YIKES!)
I didn't find anything that I thought was quite what I was looking for. We found a few other good deals, only one that I snatched up, cute socks! I love cute socks, long socks, with boots. :-) Then after shopping for a few hours, we went together to subway to snatch up some food as we raced off to pick up some babysitters. We went and got Gwen and Julie and they were absolutely tickled to be being picked up together, and to find out that they were babysitting just up the street from one and other. We gave them the suggestion that they could go walking together and/or have dinner together. (which they did, and they and the kids seemed to have a blast!) These cute girls got together and made Mac and Cheese, and Cookies for the kids, it was so cute to see how much fun they had.) When I came home with Gwen, the kids were so excited and Katie was in bed for a nap. Brent and I jumped in the car with Jeri and Linclon and we headed out to the Renaissance Festival. We were running a bit late, but we figured we would have plenty of time. Well, we then got caught in crazy Renn Fest Traffic and sat in the car for almost 2 hours! GRRR, not that sitting in the car was bad, cuz really, Jeri was on one and the whole time was SO funny! (laughing while I am writing this...) We had the funniest conversation in the car, very strange, but funny. The Grr is cuz I paid a sitter $10 so that I could sit in the car and talk to the Tidwells, I can do that for free in my living room. :-) Anyway, when we finally got to the festival it was AWESOME!!!! Oh did we have fun. I just love that place, it is such a different feeling in there, and I love to look at the stuff in the shops and people watch. Brent and I both really like the Renaissance era and most anything that comes with it. We like the furniture style and dress.. (we can't however afford costumes, but some day.... mark my words, I will have one of those dresses! It will be the most beautiful one there. :-)) We ate yummy food... Chicken Empanada's, cherry lime aid, funnel cake, fried oreos, and a chocolate dipped banana. Yummy!! I bought a CD of a hammered Dulcimer (my favorite instrument... the music really sings to me, brings tears to my eyes.. I love it! The only instruments that comes close is bagpipes, but they have sound far away, and Brent playing his French Horn.) We had such a ball together. We got home and sweet Gwen had my kids all in PJs and Katie was put down for the night. I hugged the kids goodnight, and headed upstairs to see Katie for the FIRST TIME today!!! I drove Gwen and Julie home and they enjoyed that drive too. ;-) I got home and Tori was asleep, Alex and Katie were close, I read 2 pages of Lizas book with her and sent her up to bed too. It is 10 minuets to 10, I cooked no meals, I cleaned no dishes, I wiped no bums, I cleaned no floors or tables, I didn't feed anyone but myself all day!!!!! WOW! What a day! I had such fun, it is so rare that I get a full day out like that. I feel so energized and ready to go. Oh BTW, totally fell off the wagon, oh well not totally, I have kept up my night routine, but I slacked off on everything else. Maybe I burned myself out with the kitchen. I'll try again next week, but surely not tonight, why would I ruin a perfect day? :-)

I love fall....

The weather is so beautiful lately... I just love the cool mornings and nights. MMMMM, it reminds me of home in the summer time. Here are some of the pictures that I took today. Not terribly happy with my results, but it was fun anyway. The kids were really active and i am not too great at shooting moving objects.

Hanging on by my fingernails

I have almost fallen off the wagon all ready! I can't believe how quickly my home goes out of control! I relaxed for one day and the laundry and toys took over. I never did get to the fridge, the pantry, or hands and kneeing the floor. I guess that will have to be on the top of the list for November. Back to moping for a few weeks. I want to quit and go back to my life of leisure, but I was so happy there for a few days while it was all going so well. I also found myself staying home a bit more instead of shopping (I am such a believer in retail therapy that it's really bad!) The kids did their jobs today and I helped keep them rolling and picked up my own room. I just need to remember how important it is to do my night routine.

Today I told my kids about my parents. I did it in the van while we were driving to Toys R Us for a free "littlest pet shop/ hot wheels". I started out by asking my kids if they knew what divorce meant. Liza answered that it was when a husband and wife hate each other and so they stop being married. I quickly assured her that they don't have to hate each other to get divorced, that sometimes they just are no longer happy together and they may like each other just fine. We talked about people that we know who are divorced and how they still love their children etc. Then when we arrived at Toys R Us, I turned around to my captive audience and told them that Grandma and Grandpa Tiffany got a divorce. Liza and Alex (of course) reacted the most, neither was terribly sad, more so worried about where they belonged in the whole mix. I had anticipated that, and had waited this long so that I could tell them about Grandmas new house. (My mom just bought a house about 15 minuets away from my dads place) I was able to tell them how many bedrooms she has, and where her dog would live and of course where the trampoline was. They took it rather well, and I am sure that questions will come up over time, but I was sure to reassure them that both Grandma and Grandpa love them very much, that they can go visit both of them, and that grandma and grandpa both had trips planned to come and visit us here. Then we went in to cash in our coupons for our free toys, nothing like a little retail therapy :-) See, I told you I was a firm believer. UH, what am I teaching my children...? Yikes. I also made sure to tell them that Grandma and Grandpa do not hate each other, in fact they had Chinese food together just last week. I think that made Liza feel a lot better. I am glad to have that over and done with.

Liza had another birthday party/sleepover tonight. She chose to not attend the sleepover since it went from a Saturday to a Sunday, so I snuck out and picked her up at 11:45 so she could be home for the sabbath. I was so proud of her as she resisted her friends requests to stay as she was leaving. She didn't even look at me like I was making her leave. She just smiled sweetly at her friends and said good bye. The little girls mom asked what church we go to. I told her that we were Mormon ( I know I know, we're supposed to say the whole big name, but sometimes it just doesn't fit in. ) Anyway that led to her telling me that she took the first 3 discussions with the missionaries back in 1988! Wild, who knew! I will have to restart that conversation some other time when there is not a birthday party going on.

On another note, I am milling around in my mind the idea of starting up some sort of a photography business. Just a little deal, following in my mentors footsteps. I have had a few leads from Brent's work, he shows them pictures of the kids and then they ask who is taking these pictures. There are 2 doctors who are interested in having me come out and photograph their children. I am a little nervous for the responsibility of it all, and I am also waiting till we get a new computer and a better version of photo shop.

Anyway, that's whats on the brain tonight. I better go to bed 2 am is quickly approaching. :-)

SYTYCD!!!!!!!

Tonight I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a ticket to the live "So You Think You Can Dance" performance in Baltimore. It was SO good. I really enjoyed watching all the dancers, I really wish that I knew more about what was going on. I only watched 1 episode this season, so I didn't know any of the dancers. I did find this young man, Danny Tidwell

This is the best picture of his pec's that I could find on the Internet. Lick 'O Licious I say!!! MMM, just the bod though, not really my type otherwise. However this man can move in ways that I never thought any man could. I am not saying that I think he was the best dancer, but he did keep my attention. There was one girl that I really liked how she moved, but now I can't remember her name. Anyway I found that I really enjoyed the Ball room dances, cha cha, samba, etc... and i was surprised to find that I quite liked the hip hop too. There were even a few alternative ones that I enjoyed. It was quite the evening and was topped of by being chauffeured home by whom I will forever remember as "Nakie Jakie" LOL!! That was so funny. It was pouring rain and poor Jake, who was driving all of us silly girls around got absolutely soaked! He was warmer w/o his shirt on, so "naturally" that is how he drove home. :-) We all had to tease for a bit. It really was quite a fun night and I am very glad that I got to go. Thanks Linclon for the ticket, I hope you make it next year.

Today's fly victory was the tossing of multiple jar candles, since I have switched to oils, I haven't really burned many candles, so those got tossed. I also tossed a ton of spice containers and re organized my spice containers. As per our challenge for the Kitchen today, I cleared my counters of all appliances that I don't use at least 4 times a week. I put the more used ones in a convenient location, but out of sight. I did some re arranging, and I really like the results. I am so pleased. Tomorrow is about the fridge, pantry and grocery list. Friday afternoon is grocery day. I played old maid again with Tori and laid with Katie on the floor and played with a musical toy for a few minutes. I loved it. All in all a pretty good day. Oh yeah, and my nutty kids keep asking me if they can go in the sprinkler, so today, October 10th, I told them to go ahead. Tori and Alex bounced out there first while Liza finished practicing piano. They were back in the house in less then 3 minutes. Then they went back out with phsyco crazy Liza, and they were able to put up with the cold a little longer (about 10 minutes) and then they all came in the house shivering. They went up stairs and put on their winter jammies and then came down for a hot dinner. I think that I made my point though, it is really just too dang cold. Even though it is still hot on the bus after school, the air and wind is too cool. They also got absolutely eaten alive by mosquito's (poor tori scratches them till they bleed). Tisk Tisk, they should listen to their mother. :-( I hope I don't hear about the sprinkler again until spring.

Still going....

I am so happy tonight that my house is lookin up. It is far from perfect, but like fly lady says, it didn't get like this in a day, and it will not clean up in a day either. Today I tackled the inside of the cupboards. I did 4 cupboards, 4 drawers and the "super Susan". (I always thought it was a lazy Susan till we looked at this house and the seller called it a super Susan. When he did that I laughed to my self and thought, "ooooh, what a selling point, it is super, rather then lazy!" LOL. Then when we bought the house and all the manuals traded hands, I learned that it is indeed a "Super Susan". What makes her super you ask? The fact that her little spinning shelves are not just suspended on a pole, each shelf rotates on an actual shelf and can therefor hold much more weight, making her SUPER! LOL!!) I de cluttered along the way tossing an apple slicer, a broken can opener a ton of small over stained bibs and wash cloths, plastic containers/water bottles and more! Found... the lid to my blender, YEAH, I was looking for that all over the place, and a 2 cup measuring cup that I just couldn't imagine where it had gone! I was happy to have that back I tell ya. I learned that a magic eraser will take off the black marks that your pots and cookie sheets leave on your cupboards, and pretty much anything that is stuck on your appliances, ie melted bags on the side of toasters, and baked on oil on the side of a crock pot. Give it a whirl you may be surprised, those things are amazing! I also discovered today another little idea for motivating children and it sounds like fun, but I don't know if I am personally game for paying for another program, but I may be able to incorporate her idea. The website is www.housefairy.org Fly lady recommends her, and I read a few things about her from other fly babies and it seems pretty cool. Well, my sinks are clean, my floors are picked up and swept and I am off to finish my nightly routine.

Last thought, I had to share Alex's Spelling homework for tonight. His teacher asked him to write a sentence for each spelling word. She told me that the only word that HAS to be spelled right is the spelling word, so he can do his creative spelling thing, so I thought I would put this one in a book....

1. My sistr slleps in a crib.
2. My dad es crab.
3. I sum tims grab my sistr.
4. I got a trap.
5. I got to go to a trip.
6. I see that.
7. My sistr pict grass.
8. This is good.
9. I acksydetlle hit my sistr.
10. I can win a chrofee.

Hukd on foniks wurkd fore me! I love 9 and 10 accidentally, and trophy. HE HE. Gotta love it.
....... the funniest part, spell check helped me spell accidentally properly! DUH! My poor kids don't stand a chance!

Fluttering about...

Well, I did it!! Today I started to flutter around a little, trying to fly. Thank you to Rebecca who motivated me today. Somehow knowing that I would report my "TADA" list made it easier to stay on task. I taught water aerobics today and when I came home, I fed the girls and myself and then put Katie to bed. Tori went down stairs to play with her dolls and I started my timer for 45 mins. I emptied the dishwasher, loaded in dirty dishes, started a load of laundry, bleached my sink, cleaned out the utensil drawer and took the garbage can outside for a good hosing off. I then took my 15 min break in which I came down stairs and played two rounds of old maid with Tori. (something that I don't do often enough). After my break, I went back up to the kitchen (which just happens to be what zone we are in. I cleaned the front of my cabinets, and dusted way up on top of stuff, I cleaned on top of the fridge, and then the whole fridge. I took the 5 min challenge from fly lady today and zipped around the kitchen throwing away papers as fast as I could, I cleaned the front of my appliances, the big mirror in the kitchen, the window over the sink, and then the giant sliding glass door (both sides). I took 15 more min to curl up and read a book with Tori, and then headed back in for some more little jobs, like switching over laundry and filling cleaning supplies, till the big kids came home from school. We did homework and then the best treat of all, Brent came home early today!!!! He only worked 10 hours today!! We were so excited to have him home before 5:00 that we snatched up the opportunity to go to CiCi's for dinner and then come home for a fun little FHE on Tithing. I wrapped up my day with reading time with Liza, folding laundry (2 loads) and doing my evening routine which included tidying the house up, sweeping the kitchen floor, and wiping down the bathroom sinks. I also have journal writing and scriptures on my routine, and so this counts for the journal, and I did my scriptures. I am so happy today, I just feel like I maybe, just maybe will get back on top of things. The best part about fly lady when I did it before was that I found time for all the things that I wanted to have time for, like playing with my kids and reading scriptures. I can't wait to keep this up and see my home emerge from this mess that we've been buried under. :-) Happy day!

Time To Crack Down.

Thanks Giving Dinner

So I have been flitting around here for about 2 years. Using various excuses such as, grieving, pregnant, postpartum, new baby, over whelmed, depressed, disoriented, and the list goes on. I decided yesterday that today was the day! Today is the day that I crack down, get back on Fly Lady (http://www.flylady.net/) and get my rhythm back. I've been staggering around this messy house, noticing the filthy nooks and crannies for far too long. Then today, I stayed in my Jammies all day, listened to conference, and made Canadian Thanks Giving dinner for my family. (which was quite yummy). When i put the kids to bed I sat and read with Liza for an hour and a half to try to get her caught up to the point where she is suppose to be for book club tomorrow. I really want her to do well in this book club and develop a love of reading. By 10:30, Brent had gone to bed and everyone was down, and I still wasn't any closer to getting organized then I was a week ago! I am going to do this though.


Katie is getting the hang of this walking thing, and is now standing up and walking a few steps on her own while she is just playing around. Today the name of her game was get into everything, so she was all over the kitchen while I was cooking. She at one point had a dish rag and was putting it on her head like a hat and then scooting around the kitchen like she thought she was beautiful! It was so so funny. What a ham, grinning from ear to ear. Then later she was scooting around and climbing under the table dragging behind her the pitcher off of my blender? Weird choice of toys, but okay. Tori today was in the room while Brent and I were listening to conference and since she was the only one in the room to look at, we were both watching her. She looked up at us and said "why are you two scareing at me?", we both used the word stare several times in our answer, but she continued to call it scareing. It was so funny. A few weeks ago Alex threw a stick into Jeri and Linclons tail light on their car and broke it. He was told to stop swinging the sticks around the car, and him hitting the car was an accident, but still, he was told to stop, So I told him that he is going to have to pay for it. He has put every cent that belongs to him in an envelope marked "$ for Miss Jeri" and this weekend, he bummed a buck off Liza promising to give her some of his toys/candy when they got home. SO basically he sold his stuff to Liza so that he had a buck to spend at "5 below". We have talked about having him walk the neighbors dog to earn money, and also walking Tidwells dog, but I just got back in town, we'll have to get moving on that. He is quite concerned about how much the tail light is costing him. (it will likely be close to $300 +) so he is a little stressed about where he is going to come up with that kind of money. He told Jeri when he was staying with her that he wished that he could find a treasure box full of coins and then he would take that treasure and buy a tail light for her car. Today the kids were talking about Christmas, and what things they have on their wish list. Tori of course spoke of babies and cribs, Liza of clothes and Bratz, and Alex said "I know what I want for Christmas.... A tail light." I bet he is the only kid to sit on Santa's knee and ask for a tail light, he said... "I wish I could have a tail light for Christmas, then I could stop trying to save all my money for it." SO funny. What a guy.


After listening to conference today and thinking about priorities, I really need to get mine straight. I feel like blogging is a good thing to do, because it is keeping a journal, and my children would love it. I may need to give up a few tv shows though. :-) Some how, I 've got to sort this all out, so I am off to put the pen to paper and see how things come out in the end.