R and R

DH is a school teacher and because of the snow we had in December we had 3 weeks of Christmas Break instead of 2. The best part has been sleeping in. Next week we will be back to our regular schedule and I don't think we are going to adjust well. I don't think I've been out of bed before 8:30 the whole vacation. Not counting Sunday. This morning I woke Cor and Mya up at 9:30. I was tempted to let them sleep and see how long it would take them to wake up. But our church schedule will change for the new year and we will be going to church at 11:00 a.m. So now I can get up at 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. Ballerina and Em have been getting up at their usual time around 7:30 a.m. but then they play in their room for a while. They get the cat to come in then they close the door on her. She is usually dying for attention in the morning so that works out for her. The little girls come in and beg one of us to get up. If we have bananas on hand we tell them to have a banana for breakfast which they love.

Along with a lot of sleep there has also been a lot of yelling. My children have given up on their communication skills and no matter how much we talk about it their first attempt at conflict resolution is yelling and/or screaming. It is always unaffective but they keep doing it.

Much to my family's dismay I have gotten really sick of buying cold cereal. I try to buy the semi-healthy kind and one that they actually want but then they only eat the one they want and the others just sit there. DH wants yummy cereals for him to eat when he is hungry late at night because that is when he eats breakfast. But if I get the kind he wants then the kids will just want it and won't eat anything else. DH even tried to buy some cereal when we were wondering around the store. But they were $4 each. I said, "No way am I paying that much for cereal." He was really sad.

So I have been making real breakfast. I made my own whole wheat pancake mix (even ground my own wheat) and this morning I put blueberries in it. The kids won't eat it because they will only eat fresh, unbaked blueberries. It's sad. I also make oatmeal. They like oatmeal and pancakes but they would rather have disgusting, mostly sugar cereal. Boo Hoo. I don't feel sorry for them at all.

#29 Hang the stockings with Care

On Christmas Eve day DH and I made a list of things that needed to been done before the dinner with his family that evening. We added a few silly things to make it more fun. We also added some obvious things just to make ourselves feel like we got a lot done. I am pretty sure that there were at least 30 things.

One thing was for DH to kiss me passionately which he never did but I never finished smacking him in the head 10 times. I think I got 4 done. We also color coded the list. Green was for things to be done anytime during the day and Red was for things that had to be done within the last 2 hours before the dinner like baking the ham. When we finished something we wrote "Merry Christmas" over the top of it .

Mya was watching us so she made a list of her own and even color coded it. I thought it was too cute not to share.

It's Snow Fun

Ballerina looks so cute all bundled up. Do you like DH's yellow pants? Because I do.

The snow and watching the kids play has made Checkers really hyper.

Ballerina is bundled up so tight she can barely move her head around.

It might be hard to see here but our little tree is completely coated in about a 1/2 inch of ice. This was last night and today it's added another layer of snow on top of the ice. The weather man is calling it SNOWZILLA. DH is really excited about that. He is out now trying to shovel a foot of snow off the driveway so he can go to Walmart to pick up the kid's main gift for Christmas. I order it from the website and I used the Site to Store option. I wouldn't let him go get it last week because I thought it was too dangerous and now it's twice and dangerous. I feel dumb about that.

It's a BLIZZARD

Em

Cor and Ballerina

Mya

DH and Ballerina

Well it's not really but that's what we are calling it because it's the most snow we've gotten in a really really long time. The snow started last Sunday and it made our 2 week winter break into a 3 week winter wonderland. DH had so much fun this week playing in the snow and I had fun watching them from the window. I know I'm not the fun Mom I should be but I did make sure we had hot chocolate and hot cider supplies on hand. DH is a school teacher so that meant an extra week off of work for him too. Will we survive 3 weeks together? Well we barely survived the first week. DH and I make a good team but we have two completely different leadership styles. Both good just very different. So who is in charge when we are both home? The kids think it's me but I'm not really sure. That remains to be discovered and we may never know the answer.

I did try to have a togetherness/bonding family activity. It was called we'll all clean the house "together." The kids were suspisicious and DH hated the idea entirely. But I made them do it. I think sometimes it's good to learn to work together even if the job doesn't get done fast or right. DH is the get it done fast person and I am the get it done right person. I don't know if our togetherness time was emotionally productive for anyone but sometimes you just have to try things out.

DH tried building a giant snowman that didn't turn out looking anything like a snowman. He did build a snowman family at my request. They built several forts or barriers for snow ball fights but today he built a two room fort with a roof. The snowman family became part of the 2nd room. They have made the most out of the snow. I haven't gotten pictures yet because I had to charge the battery to the camera and sad to say I am still not confident on how to transfer the pictures from the camera to the laptop. It's pathetic. I will be forced to figure it out one of these days.

Last weekend I sent DH to Costco to pick up a few essentials such as pop-tarts. He called me from the store and asked if he could buy a robe. His old one is the one I made him the Christmas we got married so that would make it about 12 years old. It's really getting gross looking, enough that he has noticed. That means it's pretty bad. He got a nice polar fleece robe and has been wearing it almost everyday. We call it his smoking jacket. He looks very relaxed when he wears it. It's kind of funny to me. He has started to put a little more thought into his appearance and overall comfort of his clothes. I think I am starting to rub off on him. Yes!

Here we are at Cor's baptism. Everything turned out so perfect that day. I even had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. But I was so grateful that I had a perfect hair and skin day. That really only happens once every couple years. Cor had a good experience and everything went as planned. My parent's even came over from Utah for the weekend.

Here is DH and I at the Pacific City, Cape Kiwanda for his birthday weekend. We had such a good time and you can see what a beautiful day it was.

You can also see our new kitty, Checkers, getting comfy with her favorite person. I don't really care much for pets but DH has taken to the cat. The kids love her and she gets a lot of attention which she seems to enjoy. A better picture would have been of all the scratches Em and Val had all over their bodies the first couple weeks we had the kitty. Checkers is very very patient with them but they pick her up and carry her the wrong way all the time and eventually she gets scared and scratches them. She is getting used to them now and doesn't scratch them so much and we've only had her six weeks.

Successfully Potty Training the Wrong Way, a book by EdgyK

I promise to never give anyone advice on potty training. I have successfully potty trained 3 of my 4 children the wrong way. I won't even tell you what I did because no one should follow my example. My first child potty trained so easily and probably would have trained herself even if I hadn't initiated it, so she doesn't count. I actually handed over potty training authority to my husband this weekend because I had lost all confidence in myself as a potty training mother. He pretty much used the same method I ended up using on Cor and Em. Ballerina could pee and poop in the toilet, she had the ability, but no desire. I had the same scenario when potty training Cor and Em. I read all the information available to me on potty training and worked hard to all the right things. But my children, like most, only do things when they choose to do it. I couldn't do what I had done with Cor and Em because I felt like it was the wrong way. DH didn't understand why I couldn't just do it again with Ballerina since it worked before. I guess I thought I'd get better at this mothering thing and wouldn't have to resort to bad mothering methods. Even though I still feel guilty I am glad cleaning poopy out of panties may be a thing of the past.

My Favorite Facial Scrub

This is my favorite scrub because it works as well as the Mary Kay Microdermabrasion scrub but is 1/3 the price.

I use it everyday especially around my nose where I get a build up of dead skin. ooh gross, I know. I have pretty sensitive skin so I was really pleased to find something that worked but didn't cost so much.

It was the 2nd thing I tried after deciding that Mary Kay was too expensive and I figured there had to be another company who was able to make something that would work just as well. It does have a slight fragrance but it is not strong. I am sensitive to smells.

DH is 34

My husband turned 34 yesterday but I am still younger than him and won't be 34 until next April. And that's like forever. We had a fantabulous weekend. We had our first over night get-a-way from the kids in over ten years. Mya just turned 10 on November 9th. I have been away for several days and nights before and so has DH but never together away. DH's parent's came to stay with the kids. The kids had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and we had a lot of fun being together and relaxing. We went to Pacific City and things couldn't have worked out better. I really wanted everything to work out perfect and it did.

Here are some of the things that worked out to make a perfect weekend:

• No one was sick until after we got home. DH jixed it because when we were at dinner Friday night he mentioned how healthy we've been. I told him he shouldn't have said that out loud and that I wouldn't mind if anyone got sick now because I was just concerned about everyone being healthy for this weekend. When we got home Em was not feeling well. Ballerina also started a runny nose and barking cough. And I'm okay with it.
• The weather at the Oregon coast was in the 60's, no wind and very few clouds. That's as good as it gets at the coast. A bunch of people came out to surf so it was fun to watch them. DH decided he should try it someday.
  
• Our hotel was cozy and fun and right on the beach. They had a decent restaurant right across the street so we didn't have to go far to eat or decide where to go. The staff at the hotel were really friendly.
  
• There was a full moon on Friday night, so romantic!
  
• I was able to keep the whole thing a secret from DH up until we drove away from the house. Awesome!
• DH had a good time and was able to relax and that was the whole goal.
  
• We had time to sit in the sand and talk, kiss and do nothing.
  
• We got icecream in Tillamook and we went to an outdoor mini golf course. The shop wasn't open but DH just happened to have 2 putters in the trunk and a few golf balls. So we put money in a drop box they had by the door and played 18 mini holes of golf. We were the only ones out there and we had a lot of fun. It wasn't the kind with little buildings and fake mountains it was like little putting greens so it was like real golf just mini. It was challenging and I almost beat DH's score on one hole.
• The best part is we still are "in love."
  

I arranged the weekend and then DH got decide how he wanted to spend the weekend. I am extremely grateful everything went so well and it was just what we both needed.

Cookies for breakfast

Last night I made chocolate chip cookies to sooth a friends emotional distress. And yes, it did work. This morning Ballerina saw the cookies and wanted it one. Right now she is eating it and making yummy sounds. I don't know if I am teaching her a bad habit or not. She did have to eat a bowl of cereal before she got the cookie.

Zero Tolerance

Well DH is gone for 4 days and 3 nights to a Education Technology Conference in Seattle. He told me that he is learning technology stuff. He has his own hotel room with a big flat screen tv and two beds. He gets a big allowance for food each day and he gets to hang out with the big wigs from the school district. It's a blessed life he lives.

I already miss him. I've been stressed about him leaving and dealing with our four children all on my own for a couple weeks now. I don't like sleeping alone. He has a cell phone but the battery is old and it keeps dying. So I didn't even know for sure that he made it there tonight until 10:30 pm and he left from work around four. I had to convince myself not to worry.

As for dealing with my kids I decided I could do it one of two ways. One way would be just let them do whatever they want and be layed back about the rules or enforce zero tolerance on misbehavior. When DH gets home late or is gone for maybe two days I go with the layed back approach and we have as much fun as possible. Which is what I think my older kids were expecting. But I decided I wouldn't last the four days if I did that. So I was more strict today than I usually am. I wanted them to be clear on what I would put up with right away. It was a long day. But by bedtime all whining had completely stopped and for the most part everyone was doing what they were asked the first time I asked and I didn't have to get after them. I should be more like this all the time but sometimes it's hard to see the line between being mean and being a stern disciplinarian. I feel like I am pretty consistent with my kids and that is why they noticed a difference in my attitude today.

DH told Cor that he is the man of the house while he is gone and once Cor remembered that he was happy to do whatever I asked him. He wants to be just like his Dad.

This I could do without

As I have mentioned before I volunteer at my kids school. It's fun but I went today and my oldest daughter's teacher once again had to make a joke about my height. This is a life long trial for me but my every interaction with her has a joke at my expense. She seems nice otherwise and my daughter loves her. So I will smile and take it, I guess. I am so non-confrontational.

The last two years Ballerina had a runny nose every two weeks and it would last two weeks. No runny noses for months now and I figured out it is because she stopped sucking her thumb. Like a normal kids she would touch everything everywhere we went and then stick her thumb or other fingers in her mouth. It took me a while to notice but she stopped sucking her thumb all on her own. The endless runny nose is something I could have done without last year but now I don't have to deal with it.

Sometimes I've got it and sometimes I don't

I don't really believe in fate and I try not to be superstitious but sometimes I think the universe is messing with my head.

Last month I had two weeks following my (.) that I didn't break out even a little bit. That was the longest I've gone with clear skin in as long as I can remember. It was heavenly and I wanted to tell people about it but I was so afraid that if I said something it would break the spell. This month a week had gone by and no breakouts. Since I am not superstitious I thought I would tell my husband how grateful I am that I haven't broken out. There can't be any harm in being grateful right? It couldn't have been more than six hours before two large and painful pimples started to emerge under my skin. Errr!

Yesterday I was in Freddy's and I hardly ever shop there but there was something I wanted to get there. I only had one kid and all the clothes in clearance were an additional 40% off. I looked through my size quickly and pulled out a couple pair of pants. The khaki/jean like pair I tried on first were so cute but slightly too big. Then I tried on a pair of jeans but they were slightly too small and when I checked the size on those and it was because they had been hung in the wrong section and were one size too small. I am pretty petite but this "Vanity Sizing" is getting seriously out of hand. Too the point, I was kind of bummed because I haven't much in the way of pants lately. I was just going to forget it because I didn't have a lot of time. Em was in the dressing room with me and she asked me why there were extra clothes in there. Indeed, someone had left some clothes in there. I looked through them quickly. There were the khaki pants in one size smaller and they fit perfectly. They ended up being $17. Too long, of course, but Dh says that's standard for me.

The other day at JoAnn's I got was going to buy a handbag that was made for holding sewing supplies. It was on sale from 19.99 to 9.99. They have a new computer system that wasn't letting the new price be entered manually. It took the woman more than ten minutes of arguing with the computer screen and somehow it gave the handbag to me for .99 cents. I asked her if she wanted me to pay the difference and she told me just to take it. I felt guilty for a few seconds.

People I meet when I walk down the street.

Right now my form of exercise is walking. I walk the kids to school in the morning and I walk to pick them up after school. The round trip is about 1 1/2 miles. Total I get in 3 miles a day maybe a little more. I like walking because I don't have to be awake or feeling coordinated to do it. I have a double stroller for Ballerina and Em to ride in. Mya and Cor ride their bikes or scooters. On Tuesdays I make them walk using their two feet because after school I have to drive to pick them up to take Mya to piano lessons. You'd think they were gonna die to have to walk. They think it's so boring and takes so much longer.

The majority of our walk is along one of the main roads in our little town. It's Lock... and it has the famous great wall. It's a long straight road and for quite a length there is a tall, ominous cement wall on both sides of the road. It separates the houses from the noise of the street. It was prettier when the vines and plants would grow over it but they cut those all down which I was grateful for because even though it's uglier there is less trash and fewer creatures living in the brush.

The best part of this walk is that I see something of interest almost every day. Nearly every day we pass a little old lady (lol) walking her little fluffy dog. But really the dog is walking her. It pulls her along nearly choking itself and then whenever they pass by any people it loses control and she has to lift it clear off it's front legs with the leash. If I were her I would eventually have to shoot that dog. That's what us country folk do with annoying, disobedient pets.

There is the crosswalk lady we will call Joy. She is probably in her fourties and she has been the crossing guard for many years. She is quirky but in a friendly sort of way. She is vigilant about the kids safety. This morning she told me that she saw two strange men (non-regulars) walking near the school with their dogs. She knows everyone so she keeps an eye out for the unusual. She was hoping it was the nice weather that brought them out. Today was cold and foggy. She is funny. I decided I was so grateful that she is always there watching out for our children.

Then there is the beautiful African woman who has very dark skin and a beautiful voice. Her kids are all gorgeous like herself. Everyone likes her but I think everyone, like myself, is enchanted with her accent. The majority of the population is caucasion or hispanic so that makes her fascinating.

Then there is another Mom who I see a lot. She has two girls and a boy. She walks as much as I do. Her older daughter has flaming red hair which is unusual for their family. I'll call her Terry. I really like her.

After school I walk home with some of my friends and neighbors kids who live closer to the school then we do. I just make sure they get going in the direction of home in a timely manner. On the days I drive they are left to figure it out for themselves. Everyday seems to be some kind of drama for one of the kids. I try to patiently help them work out their little problems. One of the youngest boys that is in Kindergarten has won my heart. He loves to tell me about his day. I want to hug him everyday but I haven't because I don't know how he would react but I think he needs it because he home life is kind of odd right now.

Everyday I pass by my BFF's house with the red door. Right now there is a Jolly Jack-o-lantern on the porch and two pair of cute rubber boots. One pair for Anth and one for her daughter that we call LB. This morning I saw black smoke coming out of their back yard but from what I could assess it was a controlled burn and I could see from the cars parked out front that her Dh was home.

There are several trees that hang over the Great Wall and one is a Walnut tree. Yesterday I saw an older Asian couple using a long pole with a hook on the end to pull walnuts out of the tree. They got a grocery sack full. I found it amusing and smiled as I passed them. They said some greeting that I couldn't understand because I only speak English. Too bad I wish I could have talked to them about their walnut pilfering.

I hope to share more exciting adventures of people I meet when I walk down the street with you until the weather gets too terrible that I don't dare go out.

Cozy Baby Quilts

Here are some baby blankets I made recently. This one was using the extra fabric from one of the other one that was jungle animals. I like these quilts that have cotton on one side, batting in the middle and flannel on the other side.























I am experimenting with different kinds of yarn to tie it but I am still not totally happy with the way it turns out. I was the quilts after they are done to see what it does to the yarns and trim them up if they get frayed. These were all for baby boys.

A Hiding Place. A True Story of Corrie Ten Boom

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book lived up to it's title. I (or my kids)lost it 3 times.



Well I kind of waited to read this book because I assumed it would be too sad in parts. It was but extremely inspiring. I felt like I could be a better person after reading it. I would recommend it to anyone. I have my own copy but plan to give it to a friend.


View all my reviews.

Volunteering at the School

Well my good intentions finally resulted in some action this year. I haven't been very active at being involved in my kids school only because I would have to find Ballerina and Em a place to go. Now that Grandma S is watching the girls on Tuesday mornings and Deena will watch them another day I can go to the school and be a Mommy Helper. Tuesday I went to Cor's class. The teacher had me test the kids on their sight words. The kids were each so cute and they immediately started calling me teacher. They were so impressed I was Cor's Mom. Total celeb status in no time.

Wednesday I went to Mya's class. The teacher had me take kids to the computer lab. The kids can't go without an adult so I just hang out with them and watched what they did. That was good because my kids will benefit from using this Math program called Whizz but I had to pay for it and that was the last day to pay. One of the boys in the group knows me from church so he gave me the low-down on everything. It was funny. It's interesting how capable most kids are on the computer and others had a really hard time and needed a lot of help.

Since I went to Cor's class in the morning I stayed for lunch after that. I ran over to Dairy Queen and got some gross chicken strips and fries and a Pumpkin blizzard. The blizzard was awesome but filling, I could only finish half. Because I was there Cor got to invite 2 friends to eat lunch with us in the pod. His friends were so funny. One boy was telling me all the bad words he is not allowed to say. Mostly he would just start the word but not finish it. And they were trying to guess how tall God is. I asked one boy what he was going to be for Halloween. He said his family didn't really celebrate Halloween but all the other holidays. He said that love holiday was his favorite (Valentine's Day).

Speaking of computer skills Ballerina is getting really good at clicking around on Starfall.com. I have to watch her because sometimes she right clicks and gets the computer really messed up. My kids mostly play Starfall and Webkinz but now Mya and Cor will have this math program they can play with at home too.

Other noteworthy accomplishments, I cleaned my bathroom today. My bathroom gets seriously neglected and it was nasty. It took me a couple hours. I washed the walls and baseboards, etc. I scrubbed the toilet and shower. I wiped down everything and washed the floor mat. I would have done a before and after picture but I'm too embarrassed about the before picture.

Here's my Sister St

Here's my sister St. and her Husband St. hanging out with Gavin Degraw. I had to look up who the heck Gavin Degraw was but they won this lunch with him ad tickets to his concert from a radio station.

Perspective

It's always fun to get another persons perspective and more fun when it makes you rethink the way you look at things.

My sister's husband is half Phillippino and one of his cousins from the Philippines was recently visiting them. My sister said this cousin (woman) thought it was so funny that everyone in America wants to be darker with all the sunless tanning lotions, sun bathing on the beach and tanning salons. Where she comes from everyone wants to be darker. They think white skin is beautiful. She said all the beauty products there claim to have a lightening agent in them. She said after trying several different kinds she discovered that it doesn't really work but everyone keeps using them. So it proves we always want what we can't have. Even though my brother-in-law grew up in America he thinks white skin, like my sister's, is beautiful and he doesn't understand why she uses the sunless tan lotion.

Next example was a conversation I had with a neighbor on my way home with my two little girls in the stroller. He was telling me that they reminded him of his grandkids. He said his youngest daughter just got married so they were officially empty nesters. I told him it felt like a long time until I would be doing that. I thought he would say something like I should appreciate my little ones while I have them at home but instead he said it did take a long time. He seemed releived to me. That made me laugh.

This morning Em was sitting on the floor asking me if I was serious. I asked her, "Serious about what?" She said if I was serious about making cup-o-noodle for lunch. Up to that moment I had not considered how strongly I felt about cup-o-noodle.

My "Beef" with Heroes

So far the new season of Heroes looks like it might be pretty good. It will be hard to beat the first season. The end of the last season left me with the feeling that the show could do without Mohinder and they could just find someone else to do the deeply powerful narrating. So here is my problem with the new seasons so far. Maya who just found out her old boyfriend was freak, woo hoo, big surprise and falls right into the arms of Mohinder. Mohinder who was our moral compass has become completely obsessed with himself and his new powers. Just like Sylar he is looking for something to conquer. In walks Maya in her newest slut apparel. She just snuck over the border but somehow has enough money to buy new skin tight, revealing clothes. "The company" must be taking good care of her. Mohinder looks her up and down like a piece of meat which is apparently all she requires to fall in love with a man. It's sad that she is being stereotyped this way. Yuck, Yuck, Yuck...couldn't they come up with something better than that. This has to be one of the reasons I don't watch much tv very often. They always bring in the ultra-cheesy sex icon (soap opera-esque) to keep people watching instead of just developing a really good story. Hopefully the story will improve in the coming episodes.

Get it "beef" and Maya is a piece of meat. I know it's kinda funny.

What I did today

Here's a list of the things I did today (Wednesday):

• Got up
• Dressed
• Woke up Mya and Cor
• Ate breakfast and checked email.
  
• Helped Ballerina and Em set up play-do
• Walked Mya and Cor to school, Em and Ballerina ride in the stroller.
• Dressed Em and Ballerina.
• Called a friend
  
• Paid bills
• Balanced check book and savings account.
• Checked rewards card and ordered some free gift cards.
  
• Labeled my tomato sauce that I canned yesterday.
• Switched the laundry and started a new load.
• Changed into stretchy pants and t-shirt (out of exercise clothes).
• Curled my hair and put on a little make-up.
• Made and ate lunch
• Cleaned up computer desktop
• Emailed my sister
• Switched laundry
• Empty, filled and started the dishwasher
• In the process of cleaning the kitchen-it is a huge mess from canning
• Talked to DH on the phone-very rare that I talk to him during the day while he is working but no emergency he just called to chat while he was Principal for the Day.
• Picked a bunch of tomatoes at varying degrees of readiness and put them on the counter to finish ripening.
  
• Emailed a friend.
• Printed October Calendar and taped it on the fridge.
  
• Talked to a friend on the phone.
• Got Em and Ballerina Otter pops.
• Walked to school to pick up Mya and Cor
• Drank a large glass of ice water
• Checked Mya and Cor's school papers.
• Signed up for kids Book It Program online
• Helped Ballerina get a snack.
• Emptied Dishwasher, refilled and turned it on.
• Switched the laundry
• Put the salsa and tomato sauce away.
• Handwashed the dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher
• Tried to untangle Em's necklace.
• Took some drugs for my lingering headache.
  
• Got a text from my brother that his wife is in labor, will deliver soon, sent a text back. Baby #4 for them-2 boys and 2 girls.
  
• DH came home and brought us a bunch of pencils and pens that they can't use at school and post-its shaped like light bulbs. Woo Hoo!
• Switched the laundry
• Trimmed the ties on 2 baby quilts
• Talked to my brother K. on the phone
• Talked to DH outside for a while
• Ate Stew for Dinner. DH was the winner of the bay leaf. Who ever gets the bay leaf in their stew is the winner. They don't win anything they just get to feel victorious.
• Cleaned up dinner
  
• My brother J. called to announce they had the baby. It was a girl, 8 lbs. 3 oz., 18 1/2 inches long. He said she is short and fat. She has had her eyes open for the last 2 hours. He just sent me a pic on the phone with her eyes and mouth wide open. So cute! They live in Utah and he said that they had 5 other babies born in the hospital right about the same time so it is pretty hectic there.
  
• Going to show DH and the kids the picture
• Read through grocery store ads till Ballerina came and rearranged them for me.
• Started folding laundry
• Paid DH's tuition
• Checked emails
• Finished folding the laundry and put some of it away
• Read scriptures with the kids, prayed and tucked everyone in. Usually I read to Mya and Cor but lately I won't if their room isn't clean. I thought this would be good motivation but it has not worked. I guess money is the biggest motivator right now.
• Switched another load of laundry
  
• Finished putting folded laundry away
• Ate a cup of yogurt
• Read my newest cooking blog that I co-write with Anth (I have yet to contribute anything) and someday it will be the greatest cooking blog in the world.
  
• Tried to figure out where that beeping sound was coming from
• Going to watch Jericho, Season 1, Disc 5
• Goodnight
  

The Sock Box

Prologue

I come from a family of eight kids. I never ever had to mow the lawn but my primary responsibility was doing laundry. I actually enjoy doing laundry of all the household chores I am required to do as the goddess of my home. I liked doing the laundry growing up because I could go into the laundry room and no one would bother me because I was doing laundry and clean clothes were gold in my house. In the laundry room we had two boxes that were never empty. There was the sock box and the ironing box. I am sure everyone knows that there are always the mystery unmatched socks that seem to go into some black hole somewhere. My mother and I decided that the dryer ate them. We would remember putting socks with their matches in the washer but by the time all the clothes came out of the dryer some were missing. I hated the sock box. I could never find a matching pair of socks. I never had any matching socks in my drawer and everyone in the house seemed to have the same problem but the sock box was always full of socks that did not match. I always felt trumphant when I could get the unmatched socks down to less than five. I would ask my Mom if I could just throw them away and she would never let me.

I am against having a sock box in my house. I think the sock box would make me crazy. When I do laundry I put all the socks in a pile then I match them and if there is an extra it just goes into the owners drawer where it waits for it's mate to appear. Sometimes it's mate is in the drawer waiting for it. About once a year I go to each child's drawer and pull out the socks that have had no mate that returned to them and I throw them in the trash. Inevitably the mate returns from it's sabbatical within a few weeks but I don't care because I tell myself it's just a sock and it really had a fair chance. Now that Mya and Cory are folding their own laundry I just give them all their socks and they have to match them up. Mya doesn't even bother matching them and I saw her wearing mis-matched socks this evening. I asked her what that was about. She said she couldn't find any matches so she just grabbed what was there. I told her that I know she has a lot of socks in her drawer and she just shrugged. That means she just didn't feel like going to the trouble of opening her drawer and really looking. I didn't really care because she is a kid and they are supposed to have unmatched socks, right?

*********************************

So here is the story that goes with the pictures. I know this story is only funny to me but it did trigger the memory of the sock box and well that was worth it for me. And for some odd reason I can't type before my pictures, it keeps kicking my type down below the pictures. Okay, so one Sunday I was putting on Ballerina's white lacy socks. I noticed that everything matched except the lace. Two different socks. I figured I must have matched wrong and other set of socks were most likely paired together in the drawer. I turned around to go get them and Em was standing there wearing the other set of unmatched socks. I showed DH and he thought I was crazy for even noticing and he wouldn't have noticed that in a million years. That's because he's a boy and I am a girl.

I know it's only funny to me. I apologize to anyone who waited for an exciting ending but really what can you expect from a story about socks. But please come back to my blog someday because I am going to post a picture of something absolutely disgusting. It will be off the hook.

a little catching up to do

So I spent a half hour loading a bunch of pictures on so that I could catch up on reporting all the fun things we did this summer then I realized I was still logged into my DH's school blog. Argh! So I am starting over but I am only going to load one or two pictures a day.

DH kept trying to get pictures of my in my bathing suit. I thought this one looked like one of those Tabloid pictures of someone famous. You see it and think, "ya she looks worse than me without makeup." Then you think you could look better if you had someone who did your hair and makeup for you. Well at least that's what I think.

I had to wear a hat almost the whole trip because it was always between 95 and 100 degrees. I enjoyed the dry heat but it was torture for my scalp.

The Magician's Nephew

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Right now I am reading this book to two of my kids. One is 8 and one is almost 10. The 10 year old has read it before. I read this book as a kid and it is my favorite of all the Chronicles. I enjoy Digory's character.


View all my reviews.

An exciting curly day

Actually today I did almost nothing. I have to give a talk at church on Sunday. I mean I get to. But today I decided to scrunch and curl my hair a little. I have done this several times since my major haircut. But today for some reason my kids actually looked at me. Em said I look like my sister Staci, Cory was shocked when I picked him up from school and DH told me I look nice. He only tells me that about twice a month. I really haven't looked at it since I fixed it this morning so I assume it's okay.

My Summer Project

Here's what I worked on this summer. My V-shaped tan. This is right after my pedicure. I got a pedicure after my very first bikini wax. OUCH! But totally worth it. I didn't have to shave down there during our two week vacation where we swam almost every day. This V-shape tan is courtesy of the my very cool and comfortable Havaianas flip flops.

The Eyre Affair

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I am still in the progress of reading this book but I have to say it's one of the few books that I decidedly like before I finish it. It's "zany" with all kinds of characters. The main character's name is Friday Next which gives you an idea of where it might head. It reminds me of an old movie which I love. I hope it stays interesting and I am glad it's part of series. If there is any swearing I don't remember so it's clean that way.



I own this copy and wouldn't mind lending it once I have finished.


View all my reviews.

Cookie Cutters

I collect cookie cutters and I found this out while searching for a cookie cutter online today.

TRIVIA: Before we begin, did you know that if you collect cookie cutters, the collectibles are referred to as "Cookie Silhouettes"?

10 Years!

I realized the other day and shared this little tidbit with DH last night. Mya will be ten years old soon and in ten years of raising our children we have never gone anywhere overnight together without our children. Individually we have each gone away for 3 days or more. I knew it but just thinking that ten years has passed and we've never taken a break made me a little sad. Something must be done about that.

Calgon take me away.

I took a bath tonight. I would love to brag that I have a clawfoot tub but I don't. It's a dream. We have really small bathrooms and in the 3 1/2 years we have lived in this house this is the 2nd bath I have taken.

My back, shoulders and neck were very stiff. So I thought maybe I might relieve some tension by taking a soak. I don't really enjoy baths very much. The only tub we have is in the kids/guest bathroom. It's small and I can't really get comfortable in there. I asked DH to clean it out so I could take a bath. I love my kids but they are dirty little creatures and I have to admit that cleaning the tub is low on the list of household chores. But the bath did help me to relax and even though I am still a little stiff I feel better than I did before.

Sick of LOL

Ok someone needs to come up with something better than LOL. Or just something different. It's so overused. And when I worked for the eye doctor LOL meant Little Old Lady so I have never transitioned well.

Please submit your ideas and lets spread it around.

Loved to Death

I have shared with my friend Anth before that I am just not sure how much love I can handle and can you truly be loved to death. Em and Ballerina want to be on me or wrapped around me any time I sit down. Ballerina likes to be right under my right arm when I am typing on the computer. Cor wants to have an in depth conversation when I am reading. But it's Em who may cause my eminent demise. She wants to be as close and attached to me as possible. She has to be laying on me or wrapped around me like a snake. She wants to touch my face and she wants me to be touching her skin, usually a back rub. A friend who had a daughter of similar needs told her daughter that they couldn't get any closer unless she put her back in the womb. I think if I must leave this earthly vessel being loved to death would be the best way to go.

It's a Filthy Filter...

I just found this website with a DVD player that filters out sex/nudity, profanity and violence. Wow, that sounds like it might be good for my kids. Oh ya, and me too. It also kind of makes me laugh because it's just like the filthy filter from the RM Movie.

Are You Ready For School?

People keep asking me this and I have asked a few people but I am not sure how to answer that. I have absolutely enjoyed having no set schedule and we have gone and done a lot of fun things. DH is going back to school for his Administrative License so that he can be a Principal someday and make tons of money. Hee hee. I don't know if it will be a ton but it will help considering we'll have a teenager in only 3 years and the others will soon follow. Bigger kids appear to cost more money. I seem to have avoided many expenses by not putting my kids in any organized sports. I have left that up to DH and he doesn't think they need to worry about that stuff yet. Mya has piano lessons and Cor really wants to do something.

Cor turns 8 in September and that means he will be baptized. We are all really excited about it. Although he has chosen the last few days of sevenhood to act like a toddler. We have discussed the ways in which he can remember to use his words and calm himself down instead of going into a raging fit every time he doesn't get his way. I suppose controlling his temper will be a life long process. As it is for most everyone. Cor is turning 8 years old and still wets the bed almost every night. The weird thing is when we were on vacation and he went to bed much later than usual he didn't wet the bed very often. He wears Overnight pullups so that we don't have a mess to clean up. But it still leaks a little sometimes and his room always smells. It's frustrating for him because he hates wearing the pullups.

I think Em and Ballerina will enjoy having the house to themselves. They play "very very very very" nicely together when they are left alone. The "very very..." thing is Ballerina's new saying. And I know I have to start potty training Ballerina once school starts again. I had to give it up this summer because it was getting to be a fight every day. Woo Hoo! Potty training.

I get used to having my DH around during the summer and I am already depressed he is going back to work. The old DH used to get really stressed out and grumpy at me during the months of September and October. But since he has realized he is doing it he has gotten much better. He has been very nice to me since he started working the last two weeks even though things are already stressful. This Saturday he is going to take the kids out all day so I can have the day to myself. And Saturday night some girlfriends are having a get together and I am excited to have a little break. He'll be gone every Monday night for his class and he'll have homework to do every night. So I will have to be an organized and thoughtful wife. Not too good at either of those but I plan to make an extra effort. I started yesterday by cleaning up my room. It took all morning.

I guess the answer is NO I am not ready for school to start but I am as ready as I ever will be and we made the most of the summer so I don't have any regrets.

Here are some of the fun things we did this summer.

• Swim lessons the whole month of July for Em, Cor, and Mya.
• Library almost once a week.
• Free movies at the theatre.
• A couple trips to the cabin.
  
• Big two week trip to Idaho and Utah to visit family.
• Great Wolf Lodge.
  
• Silver Creek Falls.
• Blueberry picking.
• Walks at the park down to the river.
• Playing with friends and family.
• Jumping on the trampoline.
• DH and I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Keller in Portland.
• Grandma S took Mya and Cor each out to buy clothes for school and went to lunch.
• Watching the Olympics in Beijing on TV.
  
• New Hair Cut for me and Mya.
• A little inheritance from DH's Grandma.
• Nice Weather for all of July and some of August.

SET by Candlight

Last night the power went out about 8:00 pm and didn't come back on until after 10:00. We had fun playing with the flashlights and brushing teeth by candlelight. We put the kids to bed then we played my new favorite game called SET. We played it at my brother's house while we were on vacation earlier this month. Last night I lost all but one game. It was pretty sad. But I think the lack of proper lighting was a crutch.

Stop eating my bikini.

Tonight for dinner I sauted some zucchini from my garden and some yummy sausage we just bought at Costco. We had it on top of Angel hair pasta. Yum.

Ballerina ate all her sausage but she left her zucchini on the side. I started eating it. In her cute 3 year old girly voice she said, "Mommy stop eating my bikini."

Sad News

Yesterday was a nice day for our family. We went to DH's family cabin and hauled and chopped wood for almost 3 hours. We didn't swim because of all the rain raised the river 8 to 10 inches. It was very cold. Mya jumped in twice then swam right back out. She is a fish. We took dinner to a family in our ward (church congregation) because they just had a new baby. Then we went to my brother's house for his son's birthday party. We had a really good time. His son just turned four. Recently he was left unattended outside for just a few minutes and he climbed up on the picnic table and got the knife out of the BBQ set and made at least 25 large gashes in the fairly new trampoline. My brother said to replace just that part is only about $20 less than what they paid for the entire trampoline. Funny to us because it's not our kid. They got him a kid size John Deere tractor that goes 4 miles an hour. He rode that thing around the yard for an hour. Smiling and driving.

Unfortunately, sad news overshadowed our day. One of my cousins who lives in Southern Utah died Friday night. The news report gives details but it didn't say her age for some reason. She was 22 and she was engaged to be married in December. I didn't know her super well but she was a really sweet girl. I am sad for her family and I know it will be hard for my Grandma who is still very sad about Grandpa passing away a year and a half ago.

Wherein I get Stupider...

My kids loooove Scooby Doo and usually I don't watch it but I have heard it from the next room over and over again. DH and I were tired the other day so we sat down to watch it with the kids and I could feel myself getting stupider by the second. I had to walk away before all my brain function ceased completely. DH sat and watched for at least another 30 minutes. After seeing this picture of Scooby my toddler started singing the theme song. What have I done to my children.

I'm A Princess

You Are Jasmine!

Independent and adventurous. You don't want much; just to break out of the guilded cage society has put you in and experience life to the fullest. Following orders isn't really one of your strong points, and you would rather live a life of poverty than being forced into something that you hate.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Adventures of Rubber Chicken, Part 4

Cor's Joke
Question: Why Did Rubber chicken cross the road?
Answer: To get run over.
Rubber Chicken is getting a piggy back ride to go to bed. Rubber chicken likes to take naps on Daddy's side of the bed.

Blueberry Heaven

Cor said it was Blueberry Heaven but Mya said it was Blueberry Mania. Deena told us about this blueberry field where we had a joyous time picking berries that were so bountiful they practically fell into our buckets. In all we picked 15 pounds of blueberries. Cor and Mya enjoyed it the most and worked very hard. Cory did eventually get distracted by some large holes in the ground that were everywhere and he and decided they need to watch for gophers.

Ballerina is such a good picker she can do it with her eyes closed.

Em worked hard for a while but eventually made friends with some other kids in the field and they were whisked away to imagination land.

We felt at one with nature and almost stayed too long. When Cory prayed over our lunch he asked that we wouldn't get diarrhea from eating so many berries.

A blog I love

This blog is by Betsy the Designer and I happened on her blog when searching for other blogs that discussed sewing. She shares her design and organization ideas designed for those on a budget. I really love her style and simplicity. But her latest post too much information was sweet and reminds us to love what we have and look forward to the future. I thought it was absolutely sincere. Sometimes it's fun to complain and gripe to help you feel better (i.e. my very last post). But sometimes you have to pick yourself up and be grateful for all you have.

And she cries...

Ballerina doesn't transition well from one activity to another. Here is an example.

• She cried when we left the house this morning because she didn't want to go to swim lessons (she doesn't even take swim lessons she just watches, eats snacks and runs around the pool).
• She cried when we left the pool.
• She cried to get the kid-size shopping cart at the grocery store.
• She cried when it was time to check out at the store but quickly got distracted by the candy.
• She cried because she didn't get a candy.
  
• She cried when we left the grocery store.
  
• She cried when she realized we were on the street that headed towards our house.
• When I took her out of her car seat she said she was upset because she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese. I loath Chuck E. Cheese and it's been over a year since we went last, I don't know how she remembers that stuff.
  
• She cried because her shoe fell off.
  
• She kept crying until about 2 minutes after we got into the house.

This all happened in about an hour and a half. She barely wimpered when she fell and scraped her knees at the pool. Apparently only emotional pain affects her.

As I finish this post that was supposed to help me release the stress from listening to her cry she is hanging on my arm CRYING.

I might be Envious but I am pretty smart???

Free-IQTest.net - Free IQ Test

Hey I wasn't expecting that...

Apparently I am more envious than I thought. I guess I better work on that.

Greed:	Very Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	High
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Medium

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

I got this from Anth's Blog.

Adventures of Rubber Chicken, Part 3

Rubber Chicken goes on vacation.

And becomes a Princess.

Then takes a nap.

Happiness is a Waffle Cone

I think everyone has a favorite food that makes them happy for me it's Waffle Cones. Thinking about or even saying waffle cone makes me happy.

Damprag Syndrome

Ballerina has an addiction to damp towels. She likes to carry them around with her and they are a soothing comfort. She will take a dry rag if that is the only option but prefers it to be wet. She is always stealing my dish rags. In this picture you can see she has one rag she is holding while she sucks her thumb and on the floor on either side of her are ones she used previously but had dried up.
Some of the effects of damprag syndrome.

This is her favorite thing to do with the damp towel. It is handy when we need to clean up her face after eating.

Apparently this is contagious.

Adventures of Rubber Chicken, Part 2

I know you have been waiting for the next installment of Where in the World is Rubber Chicken. And here it is. Sometimes Rubber Chicken gets thrown over the fence to neighbor kids. At times he is buried in the sand box. He occasionally gets to jump on the trampoline. Today he got to play in the waterfall of the pond. I am not sure what Em meant this to be but to me it looked like he was being cooked with some weed flowers, for taste. I didn't think Rubber Chicken could look any grosser but when he has been in sandbox for a while he just looks like poo.

Your 4 Year Old This Week

Em is an aspiring chef and she is showing off her new haircut. She is a natural beauty.

I get these weekly e-mails from a parenting website that are set to my child's age group. It's really weird because each one seams to describe my 4 year old perfectly. It's nice to know that Em is a normal kid but it doesn't make my patience with her any better.

This week she threw 2 major fits and locked herself in my room. One because she didn't want a haircut. I made her get the hair cut any way because I think she needs to learn that some times you have to do things you don't like and because I don't think it's right for her to get what she wants because threw fit. We had already talked about why she needed a hair cut and why she didn't want one. She even agreed that she needed it. But when my sister came over to do it she freaked out all over again. She sat in my lap for the whole thing and she loves her haircut. It really looks the same as it did before just trimmed up and not so wild looking.

Here's this weeks post:

Taming a Tiny Tyrant

"Get dressed. Brush your teeth. Pick up your toys." Imagine if someone bossed you around all day. You'd want to rise up and take charge occasionally, too. Four-year-olds often have flings with bossy behavior. In part they're copying you, and in part they're experimenting with their ability to get others to do things for them. In a way, handling bossiness is about teaching your child social graces — before she becomes a tyrant nobody enjoys being around.

The Time Traveler's Wife Review

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed read this book. I felt like I was going in circles the whole time keeping up with where the main character was and where he was going. I liked how he explained that all people have free will even though he knows what will happen in the future when he travels to the past. I actually got drawn to the book because of other reviews describing a beautiful love story. I enjoyed every aspect of the love between Henry and Clare. It was amazing that the story took you from the beginning to the end of both their lives.



A warning for those who do like like swearing or sex scenes this book contains both. I didn't like the frequent swearing but was able read around it. Those who are very conservative in both or one of these areas will not like this book.


View all my reviews.

Quilt Block #9 and othe such fun...

I haven't been very good about posting my quilt blocks but here is the one I finished today. Last time Anth and I skipped our class and drove around town instead. I really like this one and it was pretty simple. This weekend is our last class (which means I didn't make any mistakes).I still need to finish block #10 before class on Friday. They will give us our last 3 blocks to finish and we will have 13 blocks total. We had the option to buy the finishing kit to make a Queen size quilt but we are both too cheap for that. I think I will just be making a throw and using 2 blocks to recover my couch cushions that are hideously ugly.

Royal Star

This weekend I made banana mini-muffins. Do you like how they are so golden that the flash reflects off them. They were super yummy and I think I ate most of them. This is my third variety of mini muffins since I bought my mini-muffin tin.

Em enjoying a mini-muffin.

This last week DH took a day off and we tried to sleep in as long as possibly. I thought it was strange that no one was coming in asking for breakfast. When I finally got up I discovered that Cor had layed out the bowls and spoons the same way I do every morning and had served everyone who wanted cereal. He even made sure he gave his Dad the biggest bowl and a big spoon just how he likes it. What a good kid. Now I never have to get up in the morning.
We had a great weekend. Sunday we played Badminton in the back yard and had Anth's family over for dinner. Saturday DH went golfing all morning and in the afternoon his sister watched the kids and we saw Indiana Jones. I loved it and thought it was classic Indi. Plus we got to hold hands and pretend like we were teenagers which we like to do.

Sunday we decided that Mya could go on a road trip with my parents in a couple weeks for my Mom's family reunion in Southern Utah. At first we were too scared to let our baby go but she is 9 years old and all her girl cousins her age will be going. It just makes me worry having her go so far for so many days. I know she will have a great time and it makes me happy that she'll get to have an experience like I had when I was her age.