One step forward.....

2011-08-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

So this summer we have been busy going and doing and having a good time. My favorite thing to do is take a leisurly float in the pool in the morning. It's very relaxing and gives me a little stress free time with the girls if I can get them out there with me. I actually got my garden to start, and things are growing. And we have more raspberries than we know what to do with. We have been to a couple of awesome family reunions. We are blessed to have amazing families to reunite with. I have to say, I am loving summer. One month from today, we go back to school and I am not looking forward to it. We are going to have to make the most of the next month and soak in every minute we can.

There is one thing we have done this summer I am wondering what in the world I was thinking (ok, so more than one, but this is the biggest). We let B take driver's ed. She got her permit on Saturday. She does ok. She has only made me react with the death grip once or maybe a dozen times, but who is counting. I do know she needs more practice and I hate that is has to be in my beloved car. I love my car. Not as much as I love my daughter, but man oh man she makes me nervous. And she wants to drive EVERYWHERE. I remember the good ol days when you got to skip the permit and go straight to the license. I will remember scaring my mom a time or two, but she didn't have to ride with me for 6 months. Wish me luck.

Blog illeterate

2011-07-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

So not so long ago I finally looked at my blog and it was a mess. The background was gone and in an attempt to fix it, as you can plainly see, my header doesn't match my background. B said she could "help" and now my header is not even in the center of my page. Kinda sums up my ability to design anything on a computer. If anyone has any suggestions on how in the word to fix it I am up for suggestions. One of these days, I will see if I can figure it all out.

2011-04-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Look how fun these projects are. Thanks again girls! (I told you I would post them) :)

Jackpot

2011-04-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

I just had to get on and share what I got last night at my stamping group. I always feel like I hit the jackpot when I get there. I am glad they let me stay in the group even though my projects don't quite measure up the theirs a lot of the time. Our theme for the month was recycled cardboard. We could use chipboard, cardboard, whatever we wanted to do. I used punches to create a bunny out of the cardboard that comes in the paper packets. I can't find where I got the idea, or I would give them credit. If you know. Since my camera battery just died, I will post the pics soon....I promise :)

Hello Summer

2010-07-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

To the very few readers I have I am pretty sure you might be thinking I have fallen off the face of the earth. Although it sounds very tempting, I have not. I have obviously taken the same attitude about blogging that I seem to have about writing in my journal. I have very good intentions, but the entries are few and far between.

Lots of fun things have happened since my last blog. Some birthdays, holidays, nervous breakdowns....ok maybe not, but that would be a good excuse to not be caught up. Anyway, we are enjoying the summer and it is going WAY too fast. The biggest "event" that has shaped our summer started the week before spring break. B decided she wanted to try out for cheer. I was SURE there was no chance she was going to make it and she tried out. This sweet girl who has never taken a dance class, struggled through every tumbling class she has ever taken, and bless her blondeness has a general lack of coordination (which she gets from her mother), pulled it off and made the team. I am now a cheer mom which is something I never thought I would say. I am very proud of her. She worked REALLY hard, and she seems to be having a good time. It did rearrange our summer, but that's turned out to be a very good thing.

M&M graduated from 5th grade and will be going to middle school next year. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact I have to throw her into the armpit of life so soon, and so small. I keep praying for a growth spurt, but it's not happening. She can't even reach the top shelf in the lockers. I will just have to have faith that B will take good care of her. I also need to remember what she lacks in size she makes up for in attitude. She will be just fine, I am a little worried about myself though.

Roo graduated from pre-school this spring. WHOOO-HOOO!!!! Hellooooo kindergarten. In an effort to save money our district has gone to full days every other day for the kindergarten, except two school, one of which happens to be our school, who will have the kindergarten go all day 4 days a week. (insert happy dance here) I am very excited, but secretly a little sad. No more entertainment during the day. No one bossing me around. I will miss it, but with a smile on my face. I have already wished her teacher good luck. Now I will just have to figure out who I want to be when I grow up...or if I want to grow up.

Summer is slipping away way too fast. Our vacation has come and gone. I will blog about it soon. I promise. I have to say I am loving sleeping in every day. Girls camp is almost here, and I get to go again. Yay me! I love those girls. And I love camp. I am going to enjoy every minute of summer I can.

I am thankful for....

2009-11-29T14:08:00.000-08:00

Lately I wish I could hook the computer up to my brain and share all the great blogging that goes on inside my head. Unfortunately that is where it stays. In my head. I would be ungrateful if I didn't take a minute this Thanksgiving week-end to write a few thoughts about what I am thankful for.

I have to say that this time of year was changed for our family two years ago when we lost my brother-in-law Bob to menengitis the day before Thanksgiving. I still remember eating Thanksgiving dinner in stunned silence wondering if there really were things to be thankful for. I think we were all still in shock not quite ready to accept that he had been taken from us way too soon. I think about him every day. He was a great "brother" and I still feel a little ripped off that Roo will never get the chance to know him. Then again, I think they would have gotten into way too much trouble together. They say time heals all wounds but I am not sure I agree with that. I still miss Bob as much today as the day he died. I can say that I think we learn how to deal with things over time and for that I am thankful.

I have to say I am thankful for my family. I couldn't have found a better husband for me. He puts up with an aweful lot being married to me. Then again, that goes both ways. Our family pics we had taken are a great example. The caption for this particular photo should be "He loves me not???"
This is the face he pulls when told to act like he likes me. He thought it was hilarious. I am glad he got a good laugh. I am also glad he has a good sense of humor. What good is life if you can't sit back and laugh every once is a while.
And to be able to laugh with him is a blessing indeed. He does things every day to show our family he loves them. He even went out with me for a while on Black Friday. We did NOT go early in the morning, but we went and had fun. I'm thinking that needs to be our new tradition, but I am sure he is hoping it was a one time thing. He also put the Christmas lights up outside this week-end. He does it every year and the girls and I love it. He even lets them help. He is a great dad and I am thankful for that too.

I am thankful for good girls. I watch them making good choices when it isn't very easy and am thankful I was sent these good, sweet spirits. They are an adventure and we don't always see eye to eye, but I need to take a little more time to let them know how proud I am of them. I missed B's birthday blog. I was probably trying to deny the fact that I am the mother of a teenager. Yep, the big 1-3. So far we are surviving, other than the fact that I am the meanest mom in the world and she gets nothing she wants. (and for the record, she gets plenty of things she wants and although she claims she will die without a cell phone, she seems to be doing just fine)

I also need to make sure my parents and my in-laws know I am thankful for them. Hubby and I would not be who we are today without them and I like who we are. Not only are they good parents, but both of our parents have stayed together. What a great example of marriage. I know it hasn't always been easy for them and I am thankful they have been the great examples that they are.

I am thankful for my amazing friends. What would we as women do without friends? I believe if I surround myself with great women, they will help me become who I want to be. And I hope that something good in me can help them in some small way. I do know I gain much more from them than they could possibly get from me.

I am thankful for my faith. What would life be without something to believe in? To be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is a great blessing. It brings me strength. It gives me a great support system, and I hope it makes me a better person. I know who I am, I know that I have a purpose. What more could I ask? There are people who don't know who they are and wonder what the purpose in life is, or if there is any purpose at all.

If you haven't already take a few minutes to be thankful for the good in your life.
I could go on and on but I won't. I will save that for the ongoing blog in my head. Hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving!

Back to School

2009-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

We are now well into the swing of things. We have a month of school under our belts. It has been good so far.

B started jr. high and was definately more ready for it than I am. I can't believe how well she is doing. I swear she has grown up since school started.

M&M is in 5th grade and thanks to the 6th grade moving to the jr high she and the other 5th graders are the big wigs at school. She is having a great time. She has some good friends and a good teacher and I think this is her best year yet.

Roo started pre-school two days a week. Can you hear the hallelujah choir in the background?.....I sure can. Four hours a week to do whatever I need or want to do is pure bliss. She is loving it too. She talks more about the boys playing pirates than what she is learning. I hope that is not a glimps into the future.

They all start school at a different time which means no more back to bed for me. That has been a little depressing. I am on morning car pool duty. It is nice to be out and done with all my errands so early in the morning but sure makes for a long day. I am ready for bed every night by 9. Makes me feel like an old lady. It's all good though. I am having a good time watching the girls. I am really proud of all three of them.

I have put stamping to the side lately to pursue my newest "hobby". I have discovered beaded watch bands. You know the ones inspired by the "Bumble" brand. I am loving it. Today I finished up on the few I was having trouble with. Who knew you could have beaders block. I am still trying to decide if I need to change one of the bands, but hopefully I am done for a while. One of these years I will have to post some pictures of what I have done. I think that I will get back to stamping.

For now I am off to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Vacation part 2

2009-09-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

The second half of our vacation is definitely we will never forget. We started off the day at the Applets and Cotlets factory. My great aunt used to buy them and it was fun to see where they were made. Not sure hubby appreciated it, but the girls and I had fun. The next stop we decided to make is to Lake Chelan. We got there without any excitement. We pulled up to buy tickets for the "Lady of the Lake" boat tour. The girls were very excited. We went thinking we were just in time. I went up to the desk. "We would like to buy tickets for the lake cruise" I said to the girl sitting behind the desk. She asked me when we would like to go. "Today" seemed like a good response. She looked at me funny....."yes, it would help me book your ticket if you told me today when you want to go." Hmmm. That was a strange response. So I tried "Right now." I am at that point thinking we are standing here with our whole family, jackets in hand, obviously ready to go. "Yes, I need to know right now if you want me to book your tickets." By that point I am thinking it is the blonde leading the blonde. I explained to her that we are not from the area and saw the cruise in a brochure and would like to go out for the afternoon. Oh.....we only have one cruise, it leaves in the morning and gets back in the afternoon. It would be nice if they said something about that in the brochure.

We headed back to the RV looking for something else to do. We drove around the lake for a while. It was beautiful. We decided to try and find a water slide park we read about. We finally found it on Water slide Road (who would have guessed)? It was a great. We all had a good time. I didn't have my camera so you will have to imagine the water park overlooking the lake. We stayed until closing time and headed over to the RV park we saw while we were driving around. There was a new sign out front. Full. Not good. We couldn't find anything in town so we headed on down the road. WAY down the road. I was starting to get worried. We finally found a spot in a rodeo ground rv park in Omak Washington. Have you ever been to Omak? I don't recommend going. We were thankful for the place to rest, but happy to get going again in the morning.

Up and going again we headed toward the Coulee Dam. Wanted to go on a dam tour. It was hot at the dam. Too hot. The ol' rv didn't like it there. Started lurching again. We pulled into the dam parking lot just in time to take the tour. We walked across the dam with the tour guide explaining it was probably over 110 degrees on top of the dam right now. No kidding.....let's get on with the tour. We went to a shelter on the edge of the dam and listened to the guide for a while. She got my attention when she said, "this is the point we usually go into the dam, but since the elevator is broken, we can head back now." So the tour existed of walking across the very hot dam, peering over the edge, and walking back. We went to the visitors center for a while and back to the rv. This was the worse day in the rv. She broke down about every 20 miles or so. The rolling hills and the heat were just too much for her. We limped her into Spokane that evening and stopped for dinner. After dinner I spotted a KOA sign and told Nate he had better follow that sign. When we got there, I ran in to see if we could get a spot. I got quite a scare. No spots left. I wanted to fling myself on the counter and cry, beg, bribe, anything to not have to get back into that motorhome. It had been a very long stressful day. Then suddenly they remembered they had just had a cancellation. Hooray! Kissing them would have been inappropriate, but I sure wanted to. We lurched around the parking lot a few times. Felt like the Griswald family pulling in. I am sure our neighbors were thrilled when we pulled up to the side of them. All we were lacking was a backfire. KOA was our refuge that night. Swimming in the cool pool, movie on the lawn, and to bed. I would have been happy staying there for a long, long, time. Unfortunately we only had reservations for one night.

The next day was Sat. I was ready to go home, but we weren't supposed to be home until Sunday. So we headed toward Cour D'alane. We wanted to see if maybe we could get that lake cruise in yet. We made it there with no lurching. Drove right into the middle of the biggest street fairs I have ever seen. We had to walk a LONG way to get to the lake. Saw lots of stuff in the booths lining the street. We grabbed some lunch and finally got tickets for a lake cruise. It was very relaxing. Roo instantly made a friend and didn't leave her side the whole time we were on the boat. She has the tendency to be a stalker that way. I am glad Zoe's mom humored her. Then we headed to Cataldo. It would be our last hurrah. A little Idaho history the next morning and then home. I didn't know the greatest adventure with the RV lay ahead that night. We pulled into the rv park and hubby says he is going to drop the fuel tank to see if he can figure out what the problem is. OK. I have no idea what that meant. Now I do. If you have never had that experience, I hope you never do. We couldn't get the plug out of the bottom of the tank so we had to drop it full. Right onto Nate's hand. Ouch. Then we had to figure how to get it into the 5 gallon buckets we had. Not enough buckets. Hubby couldn't see anything wrong so we had to try and lift the half full tank back into place. It involved a jack, and lots of language I didn't think the girls should hear, but we did it. That is a feeling of accomplishment. Don't know many people who can say they have done that. Then Hubby made friends with the rv park owner and got a tour of his garage. Turned out to be a drag racer and hubby was happy to have met him. Even stopped on the way out Sun. morning to say thank you.

Sunday I was ready to be headed home. We held out breath and hit the road. Only broke down once. Coasted into a little gas station that claimed to be running out of gas. Sold us $10 worth of gas. Thank goodness it was enough to get us to the next exit. Hubby didn't want to chance it so we came home with the windows open and the heat on. I was sooo happy to get home to my air condtioned house and my kitchen, and my full size bathroom......I could go on and on. We can laugh about most of the trip now. It was a good time. I might even want to do it again after hubby fixes the lurch. The girls have a story no one else will have. I would definately say we bonded. Maybe a little too much.

I left the Roo factor out of the vacation. She was something else the whole time we were gone. I was proud of hubby not killing her when she told him to just turn the key and get her out of there when we were broken down for the 6th or 7th time of the day. If it were only that simple. Or her repeated requests for fruit snacks and gum. If nothing else I learned patience. For now I will just be happy hanging out at home enjoying all those little luxuries we take for granted.

Oh the memories...

2009-08-30T18:02:00.001-07:00

OK. I promised to revisit our family reunion/vacation in the state of Washington. We have known about this for about a year so hubby dear decided to buy a motorhome in the salvage auction. It was soooo stinky and yucky. With a whole lot of work and tlc it is really nice. We were so excited. The girlies couldn't wait to get going bright and early the first morning. This is Roo the first day as we were happily driving down the road.
We were driving a long about 5 hours into our adventure when the motorhome started to lurch a bit. Hubby looked over and asked if he should pull off or take a chance. Hmmm.....stranded in a town where we can maybe figure out what's wrong or stranded on the side of the freeway. Tough choice. I think the look I shot his way made his decision easy. We pulled off the freeway and just at the end of the ramp the motorhome died. Once again, hubby came through. New fuel filter, new spark plugs and wires and only a few hours behind schedule we were back on the road. I have to say that being stranded in a motorhome is a much different experience than it is in a car. We had a bathroom, food, and a generator to run a tv. I have to say it wasn't horrible, just stressful.

Anyway, we arrived in Washington about midnight. The reunion was a lot of fun. My aunt and uncle live in paradise.
This is a picture of the waterslide they made. The kids would hit a bump on the way down that should have put their bottom end in their forehead, but they loved it.

My uncle took us out on the ocean in search of orca whales. It was AMAZING. He got us right in the middle of a pod that were coming right at us. The rules are pretty strict about getting up close and personal with the whales. You can't just drive up and see them. You can however cut your engine and hope they come to you and they did. There were whales everywhere. My camera was too slow to get a good picture, but I got what I could. I have to say it was a lot of fun and definately a highlight of the trip.

My aunt and uncle also have cherry trees. The girls had a blast picking cherries and we enjoyed them for the rest of the trip. .

On Monday we headed out on our own. We toured Widbey Island. We went to Fort Casey for a while. I have been there once, when I was a kid and it must have had quite and impact on me because it shows up in my dreams periodically. It was really fun to go back and visit.

We stayed at Deception Pass that night and this is where the adventure truely began. We drove under the bridge when my uncle took us out and it is really pretty. Here is the view from the boat.
There is a really nice state park there with rv hook-ups so we got settled in and decided to walk to the beach. We didnt' realize the beach was so far away.
One blister on M&M's foot and a lot of whining later we were there. On one side of the parking lot is the ocean. On the other a fresh water lake. It was very cool. The only problem is we forgot to have the girls change into their swimsuits. Oops. Roo made it known she did not like the ocean side. She walked around with her hand on her mouth screaming that is smelled and she was going to throw up. Nice. We let them play (Roo safely off the beach on the freshwater side) and then we walked back. M&M on her daddy's back and Roo on my back or B's back. I must say we slept very well that night.

The next day we headed down the road to Levenworth. Levenworth is a charming Bavarian town just at the bottom of Mt. Baker. I have always wanted to go and we were all excited to get there. One thing I havent' mentioned is that it was HOT the whole time we were there. Really hot....record breaking hot......and humid. we were headed up Mt Baker in the heat and just at the top, the lurch was back. Uh-Oh. The motorhome died at the top and we literally coasted all the way down the other side of Mt. Baker. Best gas mileage we got the whole trip. Hubby got it started at the bottom and we were off to explore the town.

We stayed at the Isicle River Rv park that night and got to camp backed up to the Icicle river. It was very pretty and the girls had a good time playing in the river.

That is the first little bit of our trip. Stay tuned for part two. It gets much better....or worse depending on your point of view. I can say that the adventure has just begun.

What ever happened to summer?

2009-08-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting here tonight straightening the house wondering where in the world summer has gone. I sent B to her first day of Jr. High. (I do not recommend to ANYONE to go in there....still wondering what kind of mother I am) Seems like just yesterday M&M walked home and dissolved in a puddle of tears because she was going to miss her teacher, and her friends, and the bus driver......she can be a little bit dramatic, but the girl loves school. I even took Roo to her pre-school open house. She was miffed she didn't get to stay longer, and wants to go back as soon as possible. I hope her teacher feels like that after a couple of days and Roo is comfortable in her class. I can say that we have had a very full and adventurous summer.

The first highlight that I missed is Roo turned 4. Poor thing was sick for her birthday, but she put on a good show. I can't say she didn't share anything from her birthday, because that night I got the same crud she had been trying to get rid of for a week. Thank goodness none of the party guests got sick. I always try and say a few things about my girls on their birthdays. I have to say Roo is giving us a good run for our money. She is the most determined 4 year old I have ever met. She is way too smart and does everything she puts her mind to. Life is a song for her. She is singing a medley of tunes all day ranging from her favorite primary songs from church to the Mama Mia sound track with a little radio Disney and some Christmas songs thrown in for balance. She is in trouble more than not, but always says something that breaks the tension and gets herself off the hook. I am sorry I missed it, but Happy Be-lated birthday Roo.

Roo also took swimming lessons this summer. I have never in my life sat and listened to anyone tell thier swim teacher no so many times in an hour. She was a stinker. Then she would come home and try to practice in the bathtub to prove she had been listening. Little stinker. Her swim teacher is a saint and I appreciate her patience with Roo. She said it was her last year teaching, and I feel some responsibility for that. Even if Roo did give her a hard time she surely does love you Lisa!

July flew way too fast this year. I got to go to girls camp and then we headed off to the beautiful state of Washington for my family reunion. Both were an adventure. I was so glad to get to go to girls camp with B. We had a great time. This year we had some people who generously offered to let us stay in their cabin for camp. It was heavenly. No coolers, real showers, flushing toilets, no camp stoves. I have never gone to girls camp without tents in the whole 15 or 20 years I have gone to camp. It was so nice. And to top it off we had a fabulous group of girls. There was no drama. Like I said, it was a heavenly year.

When we got home we left the next morning for the family reunion in the motorhome Hubby bought. May I suggest if you are going to buy a motorhome in a salvage auction and refurbish it, you may want to take it for a trial run. Just sayin'. I will leave that story for another day. It's a good one too. I will say after 10 days in our own personal version of the rolling turd, I was glad to come home, and I am never glad to come home. I am so glad we went and it's a trip we will always remember. Now if we can just get Hubby a real vacation maybe he will feel a little better.

Aug. has rushed by and spent recovering from July and trying to cram everything we were going to do this summer in. It didn't work. We didn't get it all done. But that is not because we didn't try. It has been a good summer but I have to say it does feel good to get back into a routine. My house did not get trashed today like it has been all summer. I now have three girls in three different schools with three different schedules. It will be much more exciting this year. I have taken full advantage of sleeping in this summer and the days of rolling out of bed at 9 am are gone for another school year. In fact I am thinking it is getting pretty late if I am going to survive my 6:30 alarm. I am very sadly wishing another summer goodbye and looking forward to all the adventures this new school year holds.

Belated Father's Day

2009-06-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last sunday I had very good intentions of getting on here and paying tribute to my father whom I adore. I also need to let the father of my girlies know how fabulous I think he is.....which is why I didn't get anything posted. I was busy making breakfast, lunch. homemade bread, and dinner for my hubby. They say the way to a man's heart is through he stomach, but I am not sure about that. Anyway, with all the time in the kitchen, I just didn't want to sit in there any longer and spend time on the computer. So I am taking the chance, almost a week late to make up for my laziness.

I have always considered myself a daddy's girl. I love my mom, don't get me wrong, but I would always rather be outside helping my dad than stuck in the house. I grew up mowing lawn, helping haul hay, working in the garden (that one was not something I did willingly), just about anything I could do to stay out of the house. I used to LOVE when my dad would drive us to "the lake" on hot afternoon's. We usually went in our old Willy's Jeep. It was a hoot to ride in. I think my girlies would rather walk than ride in that old Jeep, but I loved it. My dad would steak out a place in the sand and settle in for a siesta. Jeans, long sleeved button up shirt, cowboy boots and all. He would put his hat on his face and just hang out until it was time to go home. We could spot him from anywhere. I hope my kids can back and remember some of the things their dad does. Anyway, I love my dad and have always tried my hardest to make him proud of me. That respect for my dad kept me out of a lot of trouble. My dad waited up for me every time I went out. I knew that no matter what I did, he would be waiting up and I would have to face him when I got home. I am sure I did some things he would not approve of, but nothing that I regret, or that would surprise him if he found out. I am so glad that I got to have the dad that I have.

The other dad in my life is the father of my sweet girlies. He is an amazing dad. He lives in the estrogen ocean and nothing ruffles his feathers. He humors the girls with almost everything they want to do. He spoils them dang near rotten. Roo reminds me on a regular basis that her dad would do whatever I won't for her. He is an amazing man and I am so glad that we can be a family together. For Father's Day last year he told me all he wanted to do is go to Vegas for breakfast at a buffet. Since that wasn't going to happen, we made him his own buffet here at home. Now it seems to be a tradition. The girls love it and he fusses over them and makes them feel like a million dollars. I am so glad he is such a good dad.

This week has been another long one at our house. Roo has been sick most of the week. Poor thing hasn't kept much down. Hubby has been out of town so I have been on sick kid duty by myself. She was soooo glad to see him come in the door this afternoon. Then M&M had an alergy attack and her eyes started to swell. We ended up at the doctor with her. She was sure that she had pink eye, but she didn't. We did find out that she weighs 50 lbs. and is 50 inches tall. (she's 10....and a pip-squeek). Three years ago at her last visit she was 47 lbs. and 45 inches tall. I would love to have only gained three lbs. in three years. She didn't get that from me. Anyway, I am hoping for a quick recovery of Roo and spending some time as a family this week-end.

Catch up

2009-06-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I am quite a slacker these days. I have been up to my eyeballs in summer and not taken the chance to sit down and blog. Shame on me. I have been thoroughly enjoying NOT getting up at 6:30 a.m. In fact I should get up earlier than I am. Maybe next week. I have been very good about getting my exercise. It is so much fun to do with three little girls heckling me the entire time. This morning I was down on my elliptical machine with Roo (formerly known as my baby) telling me to get off because it was her turn the entire time. As soon as I was done, she wanted nothing to do with it. Go figure. Little stinker. So far summer has been good. Rainy, but good. The fighting amongst the natives is at a minimum most of the time. We have Movie Monday, library Weds. and they and trying to fit as many friends in between that as they can.

Roo started swim lessons this last week and it will be quite an adventure. Their poor teacher has three little stinkers in this class that do not want to do anything....including Roo. I do a lot of coaxing and a little bit of threatening. She is now much less afraid of the water and I am hoping by the end of lessons she will actually put her head under. She is cracking me up by randomly plugging her nose and sinking just up to her eyes in slow motion. I was glad I took my video camera the first day to catch her in action. Her sisters are feeling quite ripped off that they don't get lessons but have come along and cheered her on. They are such good big sisters.

Tues. night I had my card swap meeting. (can you hear the hallelujah choir in the background?) As always it was awesome. Cute cards, great time to wind down. I am loving it. I forgot to take a pic of my card before I gave them away. It wasn't my favorite card, so I didn't make one for myself. The project was a lot of fun. We made Father's Day card with clear scraps. It is this really cool clear plastic stuff you can cut on your cricut and then we colored it and it makes a very cute, quick card. Did I mention I just love to go to swap nights?

Now we need to figure out what to do for Hubby for Father's Day. He is so very hard to figure out when it comes to what he needs. Last year he wanted to go to Vegas and eat at a buffet for Father's day. Since that wasn't something we could do at the time, the girls and I made our own buffet and called it the "Lost Wages" buffet. I would love to do it again, but church is at 9 and in order to get that all done I would have to get up WAY too early. I will have to figure something else out. I will have plenty of help because the girls like to spoil their daddy.

Maybe I will take the time to play today. I haven't even taken time to do anything fun. Maybe I will just sit back and enjoy not having anything much to do.

Silence

2009-06-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

There is one thing I treasure in the middle of the day that I never even thought of before I had children. It is to sit in my house with silence surrounding me. No tv, no radio, just the sounds of the birds outside and the kitchen fan that is always running. I dropped the children off to spend the week-end at grandma's for the cousin slumber party and am now sitting at home thinking about all the things I could be doing. (it should not involve time on the computer, but it is way past time that I catch up my blog). I have not had much quiet at our house since school got out a week ago. My baby is not happy that her life has been interrupted and she has spent a good part of summer break so far "lelling" at her sisters for all the things she thinks they should, or should not be doing. They don't want to watch "her size" on tv and she doesn't like "thier size." They think they need to spend time alone in their rooms. She doesn't think that is very fair. They want to have their friends over and she wants to be involved in every possible second of what they are doing. It is a hard job being the baby, just ask her.

Anyway, since I haven't posted since before school got out I need to catch up just a bit. We had the end of school awards assembly. B just happened to get the Hope of America award. This is a big honor. It is sponsored by the local Kiwanis club. One girl and boy in each 6th grade class get this award. I asked B if she was surprised and she said, no. Humility is not her strong point. The qualifications are that the student must demonstrate leadership, ethical and moral character and outstanding academic accomplishment. B said she realized as they read the award, she fit all those catagories. I can't argue with her but the though that she and her blonde brain are the hope of America scares me just a little bit. I am proud of her for being a good girl and hope she continues on her course, blondeness and all.

M&M came home the last day of school broken hearted. She does this every year, and every year I forget until she comes in the house sobbing. She is going to miss her teacher. I think this year is especially bad. She had an amazing teacher that M&M loves. The fact that she will still see her next year doesn't matter to her. It just won't be the same. She's is right about that, but we all have to move on, it's part of life.

Now I get to wait for my dear hubby to come home. I hope he is not as late as he thinks he is going to be. On the other hand, if he is, I can get some stamping done and maybe have something to post. I do know that I am going to savor every bit of quiet until I go pick up the girls tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary/Memorial day week-end

2009-05-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Friday was Hubby and I's anniversary. It was a good one. We weren't lacking for adventure though. Thurs. afternoon the pump to the well went out. No water. Not a drizzle. So we were very glad we had made reservations for our anniversary and were headed out of town to a hotel with running water. Since we did not know how long we were going to be out of water, I ran to the laundra-mat before we left town. 6 loads of laundry in a little over an hour. That felt good. Major accomplishment. If it weren't so creepy there, I might consider doing that more often.

Friday afternoon we left our waterless abode and headed north. Dropped the girls off at grandma and pa's house and enjoyed the sweet silence. No one griping they were bored. No screaming because someone is doing something someone else didn't like. Just a nice quiet ride. The hotel was beautiful. First thing I did upon arrival was turn every faucet on and flush the toilet, just because I could. That should not have been the first thing on my mind, but the fact I could shower or bath anytime I wanted was very exciting. I definately wanted to stay one....or twelve more nights please. It was the perfect place to spend our anniversary.

Saturday we decided on a whim to go see if we could get a massage. This is way out of our comfort zone. I didn't think Nate would actually go through with it. When we made the appt. he made it VERY clear that he did not want the male massage therapist. He had visions of Seinfeld going through his head. Silly boy. I wasn't sure I wanted someone named Ben that up close and personal with me either, but we went for it anyway. It was a very wise move. I couldn't believe an hour had actually passed. Ben is very good at his job. I am thinking that needs to be a regular date night activity. Nate enjoyed it so much he asked the girl that worked on him if she was married. Very funny dear.

Time to go pick the girls up always rolls around way too fast. I love my girls, but I also love having a little break from them. Especially when I get to spend time alone with my hubby. The fact that when we got home there was still no water didn't help much. Thanks mom for doing the girl's laundry. I am not quite so far behind now.

As of today all is well. The water is back, they finished up about 15 minutes before we got home from church. I swear I have never been so thirsty, or needed to use the bathroom more than when we didn't have water. I have always been very good at wanting things I know I cannot have.

Today we are spending some time at home catching up. We need to go visit the cemetary, but don't look forward to that task. It is very daunting and it is still hard. It is a day to reflect those who have gone before us to a better place. Especially those who have given thier lives for the freedom we enjoy. Hope you take a moment to remember those in your lives who have gone before you too.

Now it is back to school tomorrow to finish up the year of school. Only three more days. That is a very good thing.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:34:00.000-07:00

To all those Mother's out there in the trenches I wish you Happy Mother's Day. This is a day of reflection for me. I think about my Mom and all the things she has taught me to do. She has helped shape me into the person I have become. I am so thankful for the great example that she has set for me. I hope I can be an example for my girls so they want to grow up and be Mom's too. I also have to give a shout our to my Mother-in-law. Without her, I would not have my hubby dear and who knows where I would be without him. I am in-debted to her for raising a son who spoils me rotten and is an amazing Dad.

Today in church we had several Mom's speak about mother-hood. I admire every woman who spoke today and think they did a great job. I will do well if I use them as examples. It makes me feel good to know this is a journey we, as mother's, take together. No one is perfect, no one has perfect children. We all have our ups and downs. I had to laugh as one of my friends reminded me of the first time one of her children lost their lunch all over the carpet and she realized she was now the mom and she had to clean it up. I am so glad I am done with dirty diapers, and only have one more kiddo left to help learn to ride a bike. I love the little every day things my kids do to let me know they need me.....and I know I need them.

Motherhood is definately a privelidge and a great adventure and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It isn't easy, and sometimes it is the hardest thing I have ever done. But no matter what these girlies throw at me, I am glad I am thier mom.

Blessed

2009-05-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

It has been one of "those" weeks at our house. One that I just want to sit in a corner and cry....perferably with a diet pepsi in one hand and some form of chocolate, or another diet pepsi in the other. I have shed more than a few tears (no, I was not it a corner, but I wanted to be) and now it is time to move on and just be thankful for all the things I have been blessed with. I even have a few examples...

This is a picture of my baby's latest form of tantrum.
She sure showed me. She gets mad, tells me off a little, or a lot depending on the mood and then puts her little self right to bed. She thinks it is a punishment to me, and by golly I will suck it up and take that punishment. It gives me a few moments of quiet which I will gladly accept.

I got to go to my stamp group Tues. night and it was amazing as always. I havent' taken a picture to show the treasures I got, but I will. I always feel better after our meeting. I should pay my sister-in-law who invited me go.....the therapy is good and I feel like I can conquer just a little bit more after I have spent some time playing.

My class supplies didn't show up in time for my class on Weds. morning. Yes, it is a blessing. My Monday and Tues (up until Tues night's meeting of course) were pretty rotten, and I couldn't have handled a class Weds. morning. By the time I got my supplies Weds. afternoon and I threw the kits together the world was looking better and it gave me something else to think about. Plus, I got my new paper in my order and love it. New scrapbook paper always makes me happy, even if I have enough to last probably the rest of my life.

My girls piano teacher picked up their gold cups they earned from festival. She rocks. I didn't know if we were going to get them or not. She has only been their piano teacher for a few months. Our previous teacher got them to festival, but has quit teaching piano due to other opportunities that have come up. We miss her, and wish her well, but it has been a positive change and the girls are loving the new teacher too. It made my day when she emailed me and told me she had their cups. It was just a very thoughtful thing to do.

I have had a great time with my classes the last two days. I have such good friends who are so patient with me. I hope I can return the kindness to them when they need it.

My biggest blessing is my sweet hubby. I do not think I would be able to acomplish the things I do without his love and support. He is always watching out for others and serving them even when it isn't necessary. He is a great example to me. He is an amazing Dad and I really hope that he knows how much I love him. (and no dear, it has nothing to do with the Mother's Day present you let me order myself)

Every once in a while I need to just take a step back and be thankful for what I have and it makes everything else just a little easier.

Hot Lava

2009-04-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight we decided to take the girls and head on down to Lave Hot Springs, or as the girls refer to it "hot lava". I forget that is not what it's real name is. I don't know why but it always intrigues me to sit and watch people at Hot Lava. LOTS of women wearing bikini's that probably shouldn't be, girls who are wearing board shorts and t-shirts, who could probably get away with a bikini, but I applaud their modesty. The teen's running around trying to get noticed. The mom's like me doing what ever they can not to get noticed, which is really hard to do when I hang with a 3 year old that stalks other children. (long story) I am always glad I am a woman when we go anywhere that swimwear is required. Thank goodness we didn't see any speedo's tonight. I always get a kick out of the girls when they see a guy in a speedo. I don't care how good looking you are.....no one looks good in one of those. And I would love to not know exactally what you are packin' if ya know what I mean. There is not a lot of variety in men's swimwear, and I am really glad to get to be a little bit more covered up.

Makes me think back to when my Dad used to take us swimming at the local watering hole. He would settle in on the beach in his jeans, button down the front long sleeve shirt, boots and then he would put his hat on his face and take a nap. There was no missing where he was. We just looked for the guy that was way overdressed for the beach. Back then I didn't even realize that he never came in with us. Now I am wondering what he would have done if we would have drowned.....or if he would have slept through the whole thing. All I know is we were just happy to be there and there is no way I would ever, ever let my kids get in that water. Ewwww.

But tonight was a good break. The girls watched a movie on the way there and back, and were ready to go to bed when we got home. I just hope I can pry their tired little selves out of bed at the crack of dawn to go to church. No matter how hard it is, Hot Lava was definately worth it.

Happy B-day M & M

2009-04-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

10 years ago today, right at this moment, I was in the hospital getting ready to welcome daughter number 2 into the world. I had just spent the evening before watching the news as the Columbine trajedy unfolded wondering what was going to become of my little ones in this world of ours. I was telling her just yesterday what Columbine is, and what happened there. I have always been thankful for a little bit of joy during the aftermath of such a terrible thing.

M & M hasn't changed much since she came into the world. She has always known what she wanted, and usually figures out a way to get it. When she was little people told me she should be the new gerber baby, or go to hollywood. She is definately dramatic enough to do that, but like her father, she does not like people telling her what to do. I don't know if hollywood could handle her or not.

I am proud of M and the person she has become in these short 10 years. At home she is a little trouble maker, always pushing buttons. (thus the reason for the large age gap between her and the baby) Away from home she is a sweet girl who is very aware of those around her. She tries to do what she thinks is right and spends a lot of time by herself because she is not willing to change her values to go along with the crowd. She is a great example to others. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world to have such a beautiful 10 year old today.

On the downside, that means I have 2 children in the "double digits" and means I am getting older. I do not like to be reminded of that fact even thought the image in the mirror is a constant reminder. The grey hair I try to hide, the wrinkles, and all the other loverly things that happen as we get older. I am thankful for my health, and my family.

Anyway.....we are going to enjoy the evening taking her to eat anywhere her heart desires and then home to watch Bigget Loser, her favorite show. And since it is her birthday, she will probably get to stay up and watch the whole thing. Then we will have to brace ourselves for her party with her friends over the week-end.

So M & M, have a great day and know your mom loves you and thinks you are fabulous.

Where does the time go?

2009-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

I logged on today and decided I should update a little bit since it's been a while again. I should change the name of my blog to Week to week life of a stay at home mom, but oh well. With Easter and a stampin' class this week I haven't taken the time to sit down and blog.

Easter was a good one. Same annual easter egg hung the neighbors have. It is awesome. No pushing or shoving. No crying kids. And everyone leaves happy. It is a very good thing. I appreciate all the hard work they put into it every year.

The Easter Bunny was a bit delayed coming to our house this year as we have 9:00 church and I really wanted my girls to focus on the true meaning of Easter. I showed the kids a movie in Primary about the life of Christ and it is always surprising the things they come up with. One scene of the movie shows Christ walking on the water and I hear a little voice in the back say "He's walking on water that is really deep. He must be magic." If only they could truely appreciate the magic. Anyway, Easter Bunny came during church and the rest of the day was spent bordering on a sugar coma. Dang jelly beans anyway. Due to a case of procrastination, the girls did not get their Easter dresses on time and I will have to post that picture another day.

My stampin' class was a tag class and it turned out pretty good. Attendance is down, but I am very thankful for those who come and support me. I have one more class next week and am really looking forward to it. I always feel lucky when I get to spend time with my friends. Here is a picture of the tags. I had a really hard time figuring them out, but am pleased with how they turned out.

I am really glad that tomorrow is Friday. I am looking forward to sleeping in on Sat. I really thought I would outgrow the desire to sleep till noon,or at least nine or ten, but I guess I still have some growing up to do. Hopefully it will be a little bit warmer and we will get to enjoy some time outside. I just don't know how much more snow I can take.

April Card Swap

2009-04-09T09:27:00.001-07:00

Well, it has happened once again. A fabulous night with my card swap group. I look forward to swap night every month. I feel a little spoiled to be able to spend some time with such a great group of women. This month's theme was You've been Cased. The challenge was to find a card we like and then make two changes to it to make it our own. I love the cards everyone did.

The tin in the picture is actually the project that I brought to make. It turned out pretty cute. I have to say I cased it off of splitcoaststampers. I had to change mine because I bought the wrong size tins...twice, so I just figured out how to make them work. The round card that my very talented sister-in-law did is a hinge card and it slides open when you pull on the ribbon. It is very cool. The green card has a beautiful glass embelishment on it that has a velcro closure attatched to it. The music card has actual music on it. How cool is that? And the card with the flowers on it has dimensionals under several of the flowers and the saying. These women are so talented. My card is the one with the big pink flower in the middle. I have wanted to try to make one and it was a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of the tin on the inside and my sister-in-law's card open so you can see how it works.

Next month we are doing a one sheet wonder template where you take one sheet of designer paper and cut it into 16 pieces to make 16 different cards. I tend to struggle with this challenge but I say bring it on. Gives me a chance to go play with my papercrafting toys and unwind.

Now I need to go cut tags for my tag class next week. Soon as I get them finalized and am happy with them I will post a picture. Hope you get a chance to do something you love to do today!

A Case of the Blah's

2009-04-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

This is definately one of those days I would like to have crawled back in bed. Mostly because it is still cold and snowy outside. I am so ready to be warm. I tried to get hubby to take me away this week-end, I thought about begging. I just want to be warm and somewhere quiet. I could use a break. I am sure we all could. I am sitting here blogging, instead of figuring out what in the world we should have for dinner on this lovely Friday evening. Hubby is on his way home from a meeting and will be arriving in about an hour. I also have to figure out exactally where M&M has wandered off to and get her home without a major break-down.

There are a lot of underlying issues going on, none of which I care to blog about. I am thinking my hubby has some of the same issues as I can see how I feel reflected in how he acts. I'm pretty sure he could use a long vacation in a warm place too. All we need is the time, and the money.

For now I will just be thankfull for the things I have. A beautiful home full of healthy, headstrong children. An amazing husband who give us his all every day just to provide for our needs and as many wants as he possibly can. The knowledge that all of this is worth it in the end if we can just endure. I read a plaque in a flier the other day that said something like: Sometimes the Lord calms the storm around us, and sometimes he calms his children while the storm rages around them. I am hoping for the latter, because apparently it is going to keep on storming and I can use all the help and support I can get.

Now on to dinner.......

Spring Break?????

2009-03-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

This week is our spring break. We were so excited to get things started. Oh the adventure that may lay ahead. Then things started going terribly wrong......first M&M came down with a fever of almost 105. Scary. Saturday night she started losing her lunch. Not good. She still isn't feeling better, but she doesn't have a scary fever anymore. I am hoping she is on the mend. I can hear her coughing upstairs right now. Poor kid.

Yesterday we woke up to Christmas. Two or three inches of snow on the ground, and a blizzard. Not what we had in mind. More snow today. Brrrr. I have been freezing since November. We almost hit 70 degrees last week and now snow again. We should expect this in our neck of the woods, and I am very thankful for the moisture that these spring storms bring, but I would prefer it in the form of rain, and warm. It is supposed to snow through tomorrow so I guess we will spend spring break hanging out in the house trying to keep warm.

We are hoping my hubby doesn't have to go in for Jury duty on Friday and maybe we can take a day trip somewhere. I know he is crossing his fingers and so am I.

Honda vs. Ferrari....

2009-03-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

This week-end our family stopped for dinner on the way to a birthday part for my nephew. My hubby thinks it is funny that I just can't get what happened out of my head. It's not even that big of a deal, other than I now know that my sweet hubby is respectful and not a slimeball.

Let me explain. We got seated in one of those horse shoe shaped booths with the full circus going on. The baby popping in and out of the bottom of the table, swinging on the nearby rail, anything but sitting quietly. I am always a little nervous about her tripping the unsuspecting servers on thier way by. The other two do pretty good, but it's always and experience to go eat with the kids in tow. As we were sitting there, a very pretty girl, I would say in her early/mid 20's walked by. She even got my attention and knowing that, I checked to see if she had gotten hubby's attention. She had (he later rated her a 9 1/2....which is not something I have ever heard him do outloud before, but I would probably agree). I made it very clear that I understand him taking one good look, but any more drooling would not be accepted. Then we entertained ourselves as we watched the reactions to several men in the restaraunt. One even left the side of his wife, to sit by his friend and get a better look. This guy wasn't even "sneakin" a look, it was an all out stare. Creepy. The manager was over there quite a bit too. Hmmmm.
Then I got to thinking. Because we are a car family I told hubby my analogy. He came into the restaurant with a perfectly good Honda (that would be me). Nothing out of the ordinary, just a good reliable Honda. He appreciates his Honda, but when a newer model Ferrari walks by, of course he is going to look, even though he knows he still has his Honda. Sure the Honda would LOVE to be that Ferrari, but without the $50,000 or more it would take to overhaul the Honda, he will just have to be happy with what he has. I was however very glad to get back to the car and away from the Ferrari. The conversation going on at that table was less than kid friendly. The Ferrari's friends talk like they came out of the county dump if ya know what I mean. Like I said, I don't know why I have been thinking about that, but it really made me appreciate my hubby and the love and respect he shows me on a daily basis. I will keep trying to be a little more like the Ferrari, but I will always be the Honda, a good reliable wife who may need a little tuning up every once in a while, but will always be there when he needs me.

On a side note, anyone who wants to take advantage of sale-a-bration, time is running out. I got some new stuff today and hope to get time to stamp so I can post some new stuff soon.

Have a good one, and don't forget to appreciate the ones you love.

Card swap, sweet card swap

2009-03-09T20:14:00.000-07:00

This has been a rough week at our house. I don't know why, just can't put my finger on it. I have been trying to get a minute to sit down and share my treasures I got at my monthly Paper Chain meeting (card swap). I look forward to this every month. I have even been known to dream about what I might create.....or recieve from our monthly swap. This month it was scheduled the same day as my older girls piano festival. I knew I would be late, but my dear sweet hubby saved the day and stayed in town to work so I would only be 15 minutes late instead of 35. The girls ARE more important than stamping even if at times they might feel otherwise. By the way, they both got superior's, earned the coveted "cup" and I am hoping we are done with festival. Now, back to paper chain,

The theme this month was "anything but a card". I decided to make a small scrapbook I saw Roxy make on splitcoaststampers. Although I have neve met Roxy, and probably never will due to the fact she lives in Canada, I think she is very talented. Here is what I came up with.
The top picture is picture of the book closed. The bottom picture is a poorly taken picture of half the inside open, and half closed. I just couldn't figure out how to make it look right.

Here are the pictures of what I got from the very talented group of women I swap with. I always feel like I hit the lottery.

One of the boxes is full of treats, the other has bath salts that have been colored with Stampin' Up! reinker's and scented with essential oils. The little white box has a beautifully embossed seashell scene on it and inside is a sand dollar and a poem about sand dollars that is amazing. I love the new way the notebook is covered. May have to be my new place to keep my scedule or something. The red square is actually a canvas that has been painted and then designer paper glued on top. They are meant to have a picture modge podged on top and used as a wall decoration. The project we made is the little book with all the ribbons. It is made from name badge holders and we decorated a front cover and back cover and the middle one's are meant for those store cards you can never find in your wallet but always need. I have to say the women out did themselves again and I have all my treasures still sitting on the table where I can enjoy them.

Now I need to start thinking on my next months project. Let the creativity begin :).

The new do's

2009-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went up north to see my sister and take the camcorder to Best Buy. I needed a haircut desperately and my sister is a saint and takes very good care of me and my family's hair care needs...thanks sis. B has been thinking about cutting her hair for quite some time. She has had really long hair for her whole life. She wanted to cut it for lock of love, which means so long to 10" of hair. She went back and forth all day. Yes, I am cutting it, well, I need to cut it, I don't want to cut it, I think I can cut it.....you get the idea. M&M has been wanting to chop hers again for a while. Silly girl. She loves her hair short. Daddy doesn't like short hair so much but was a really good sport yesterday. I told him it would grow fast if B didn't like it and by the time she starts jr. high in the fall, it will be pretty long again. So we took the plunge and chopped the main.....and she looks fabulous. I am hoping she will let me play with is a little bit today. We left it A line becaus it would have been really short in the front if we hadn't. Anyway, here are some pics of thier adventure,

I am hoping to get some better pics today or tomorrow, you know how freshly cut hair is less than cooperative, but I think they sure look cute. But then again, I am thier mom and I will always think that about my girlies!

2009-03-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

This week-end the hubby and I attended a Luau at the church. He was asked to be part of the "syncronized swimming" team. He said he wasn't real happy about it, but I know he was secretly excited about it. He has this hidden party boy inside. Not many have seen it, but it's in there. Anyway, he ended up leading the swim team....and did a fabulous job. I don't think I have ever seen a group of sync. swimmers do the "bicycle" so well. I took the video camera and got it all on tape. (I was secretly going to post it here.....but don't tell him that.) Just before the swimming, there was a hula hoop contest. I thought that would be fun to watch. A bunch of grown women up trying to hula hoop.....what a kick. Then I heard my name called. Who me???? I do not hula. I can not hula. Are you kidding me? Next thing I know there I am standing there wondering how I am going to pull this off. The music started, I took a breath and spun the hoop. Holy cow, I can hula hoop. Never have been able to keep a hula hoop up in my life. But I ROCKED. Never dropped the hula hoop. I had the contest in the bag....but due to the fact I was sort of hiding in the corner the MC didn't notice and the award was given to the woman who was right in front of him. I was robbed. But not really. I was more in shock that I had just hulla'd for that amount of time. Plus my friend had thought to pick up the video camera and get it on tape. Now I had proof.

After the swimmer's were done I went to watch the replay and the dang disk won't play. I know it recorded. It just won't play. What the?????? This is the second disk the camera has done this to. I went on line last night and the Sony peeps said I have to send it in. After much searching for a reciept and no success, I called Best Buy where my husband bought the camcorder for me. Not only do they have the reciept, but he bought the extended warranty. He is amazing. Now I just need to take it up north and see if they can fix it. Hopefully we will be able to prove to our girls that their mom and dad rock.....or that they should be really glad that they were not there to claim us. Did I mention Nate should have won the best leg contest? I am sure he definately had the best legs of all the swimmers. Either way it was a great night and we had a great time hanging out with our friends and neighbors.

Hmmmmm......

2009-02-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

This week is one that I am not sure how I feel about. We got to go for a ride with my hubby Monday. He had to work, we got to play. It was fun to spend the day strolling around Jackson Hole for the afternoon. Just wish he could have strolled with us. I think it is the best day we have had with the baby ever. Knock on wood, but the little sweetie just might be growing up.
Anyway..... Lots of time a school this week. Sat through another "girl" talk gone horribly wrong with B. Still not quite sure how to approach the school on that one. Very inappropriate....needs to be addressed. Don't want to throw the teachers under the bus so to speak, but that needs to never happen again. When someone who has been married 15 years comes home with new information about the more intimate details in life, that's a problem.
Weds. bread making with M&M's class at 8 am. Awesome classroom activity but I have made it clear how I feel about being anywhere at 8 am. I would be happy if there were legisation passed that makes it illegal to start any kind of activity before 9 am. 10 would be better, but then you are burning daylight and things tend to get away from me.
Teacher appreciation week planning meeting this morning. For some reason I just can't resist volunteering for a fun paper craft project. I get to make gift card holders and candy bar wrappers for teacher appreciation week. Since it is in May, and I have some time to think about it, I am thinking it will be a fun project.
I have also been elbow deep in a project for church. I got to make paper bag albums for the nine 8 year olds who are getting baptized this year. It was a lot of fun and they turned out really cute. I should have made one for me too, just to stick in my file. (not that I can fit much more in there....so many cute ideas out there, so little storage space).
My favorite part of the week so far was lunch with my hubby today. We haven't been to lunch without all three girls for a while. It was really nice. I am so thankful to have a hubby who will take time out of his day to take me and our baby to lunch. (not to mention the patience he has to have to take the two of us out in public). I enjoy the opportunity to chat with him and just connect a little bit in the middle of the day.
Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday. I don't know what it will bring, but I am hoping a little bit of peace and a quiet week-end.

The lipstick miracle

2009-02-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

I had the strangest, coolest thing happen to me today. Hubby came home this morning with Valentine flowers in hand and asked if we wanted to go out to lunch. (no...that is not the strange part, but it was very cool). We decided to go to the taco bus. This is a great little mexican restaraunt that used to be a bus, and after much community debate, had the opportunity to move into a permanent building. I did not have the privelige to go to the bus. I try not to eat places that may not be there the next time I have a hankerin for a good taco. But we do love the restaurant. I have to admit I don't even know how to pronounce the real name of this place, we jsut call it the taco bus, because that is what it was. I just know I love the #1 with an extra taco. The kids even love it there, and there are very few places that can make all of us happy.

Sooooo, we were sitting at the table and the owner's wife came to the table and held out a tube of lipstick. She asked if it was mine. I looked and it and, it looked familiar and then, HOLY COW! I have been looking for that lipstick since November. I LOVE that lipstick. I finally broke down and bought another one. Mary Kay couture pink. Love the star and the glitter on the side. I mourned the day I lost it. The miracle part is I lost it 2 or 3 months ago. I was baffled. How in the world did she figure out it was MY lipstick? This place is packed every day for lunch. Granted it is a lot of men, construction workers, business men you know the kind of place. But there are women like me who love to eat there. The owner's wife just smiled and said "I think I know you, and thought it might be yours." I was reunited with a long lost friend. Granted it did get a little hot sitting in the kitchen and the end is a little melted, but she's back. Taco bus now has a new best customer. What great customer service, not to mention honesty. Most places would have thrown it away without a thought. So if you are ever in my neck of the woods and you need a great place to eat, let me know and I will give you directions to the taco bus and I might even meet you there for lunch. Thank you taco bus for my lipstick miracle.

Who is that masked girl?

2009-02-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

I got the "opportunity" to go to school at the crack of dawn this morning to help B's class with the art mom program. I don't think I have kept it a secret how I feel about this program. It is great....as long as I don't have to do it. I do have to say my heart has been softened just a bit today. I am still not happy with having to be there at 8 A.M. How in the world to people get to thier jobs every day? Anyway, today was mask making day.
B has been talking about this day for a long time. It is a right of passage of the sixth grade at our school. Then reality set in and she wasn't sure she wanted to do it. I have to say, once they got settled in the kids were awesome. And the masks turned out really good. I am sure that the teachers would like them to have to stay on longer.....like most of the day. B thought she would have time to take a nap, but the plaster was pretty quick to dry and she may have been disappointed.
I was glad I thought to grab my camera to document the occasion. I wish I would have been thinking when there was a group of boys huddled around her and she was laying on the floor oblivious to the attention she was getting. Cracks me up to watch my little girl turning into a young woman.

After today I am thinking if they are still doing masks when M&M gets to 6th grade, I will go in for the day to help. Don't know if I want to be an art mom, but I would love to go help her class. It is fun to watch the excitement as they pull the masks off their faces, not quite sure what to expect.

Now I need to go clean up after my very sad open house I did for Stampin' Up! last night. I am grateful for my sister-in-law and one friend who came so I didn't feel like a total loser. On the bright side I am the proud owner of all but two of my door prizes. Score for me :).

Swap club treasures

2009-02-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

Last Weds. was my swap club meeting. I look forward to this evening every month. The talent in the group is amazing and so are the women who create the projects. This month the theme was ATC card. Here are the cute cards I recieved.

My very talented sister in law was in charge of the project for this month and taught us how to make this cute file box with 3 X 3 gift cards. She is amazing and always comes up with great cards and projects. I loved this one so much I came home and made some as door prizes for my open house tomorrow.

My favorite part of card swap is coming home feeling like I am a little bit of a better person than when I went. I am so thankful to belong to a great group of women who inspire me while we do what we love to do.

Let the Sale-a-bration begin

2009-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

Feb. and March are two of my favorite months in Stamp' Up! It's Sale-a-bration time. For those of you who aren't familiar with this phenomenon, it is the time of year that Stampin' Up! gives it's valued customers a free stamp set, ribbon bundle, or paper pack out of the sale-a-bration mini catalog for free. No strings attatched. That means no tax, no shipping, just your choice from the mini catalog. Plus there is no limit. Every $50 equals a free item. I will definately be taking advantage and ordering from my open house. I love being able to get free stuff. If any of you want to take advantage of this sale, check out my website, juliarice@stampinup.net. The other promotion that is going on is if you order through my online website in Feb. you also get a free catalog. That is another $10 value......for free. Makes me giddy just thinking about it. If you have any questions, go to my website and leave a message, or if you know me call me if you have questions. Otherwise, I hope you can take advantage of this great time of year!

2009-01-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

I read a blog today that pretty much summed up the way my day was going. It said "did you ever feel like everything you did had a little bit of poo poo on it?" My first thought was "How did you know?" Then she went on to tell how she was feeling just a little bit whiney. My first thought was "Me Too! Me Too!" It has been a rough one today. I am not sure how single mom's, or dad's do it. If you are a single mom or dad, kudo's to you. My hubby has only been gone since yesterday and I am falling apart at the seams. (Are ya feeling the whiney part yet?) Thank goodness he will be home tomorrow. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
Anyway we did have some good things happen. M&M was in charge of a project at church and we made bracelets. They turned out really cute.
The top bracelet is the sample and our first attempt. The bottom bracelet is the one M&M made while she was teaching the group. The other girls loved it. I am thinking I should have been wearing one of these to remind me to behave myself today. For those who don't know CTR stand for choose the right and is a reminder that we should always make good choices in our lives. Anyway, on with some other positive things....I found some very cute scrapbook paper at Costco....gotta love Costco and I still had Christmas $ to buy it. My baby told me she had a broken heart and couldn't sing because I wouldn't turn the tv on downstairs. If only that was why we get a broken heart. You have to give the girl credit for knowing how to try and get what she wanted. The broken heart mended quickly and she was off playing. It was really cute.
Now that the kids are in bed and the house is quiet I am hoping tomorrow will be a better day....in fact I know it will be. Hubby will be home and everything will be right in the universe, or at least in our universe.

The case of the missing knee pads.

2009-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Have you ever lost something you know you have but just can't seem to find? Well I have spent the last week trying to find my knee pads to go play volleyball tomorrow. Last week while I was playing, I didn't have enough self control, or knee pads and banged my knee up pretty good. Well this morning I had success, kind of. I found ONE knee pad. What the heck? I would have thought that I would store them together, but I only found one. I have gone through every box in this house, including removing the Christmas stuff from under the stairs.....twice. I can definately say I got my exercise lifting things today. Finally tonight I found the other one. I had just about given up. I hate when people say it was in the last place they looked. Of course it was, you found it and you don't keep looking, but this dang knee pad was in about the last place in the house it was possible to look. My brother thought it might be worth it to just go buy new ones, so I did, and I don't like them, They will be going back to the store tomorrow. I wanted my good ol' broken in knee pads. My hubby will appreciate the fact that the storage room got straightened up and I can now tell him where just about anything is in the house. I am just happy I was able to solve the case of the missing knee pad.

Happy Birthday Sis!

2009-01-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

Today I got to spend the day with my sister and my niece for her birthday. It was a really good day. Can't believe she is the big 4-0 (sorry, I just couldn't resist). The not so good thing is I am not that far behind her. Anyway, I love when they come to hang out and I hope she had a really good birthday. Her husband dropped her off on his way to the ag show that is in town and I took her back over this afternoon.
My kids were in heaven. Candy and free-bee's galore. Plus they could climb on all the giant tractors they wanted. Since they are pretty much city girls getting raised out of town (not quite the country) they had a good time. Anyway, I hope you had a good birthday Sis and I look forward to spending many more with you!

Road Trip

2009-01-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my hubby had a great idea that we hit the road and go to Salt Lake City. We had a pretty good day. We toured the conference center, watched the Joseph Smith movie in the Joseph Smith memorial building, ate lunch at the Lion House Pantry, walked around temple square and went to the Museum of Church History. We would have stayed longer but my baby decided she was done and decided to fall down the escalator along with B. They were at the bottom, but it scared all of us enough that I was ready to call it a day. I have always wanted to eat at the Lion House Pantry. I don't know that I would eat a whole meal there as it was pretty spendy to take the whole crew, but we will definately be back for desert. It has been a long time since we have done that and it was a quick trip, but we all had a good day together. I even got to stop at Tai Pan Trading Co. on the way home. Didn't buy much but I love to look. I just don't know what to do with it. Anyway, I did manage to take some pics. thanks to the handy new camera my hubby got me for Christmas. I love it when you take the family out for the day and everyone comes home happy.

One Cute Blog...

2009-01-14T06:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I wonder if I can get any blonder but apparently I can. I have this really good friend, Kris, who is the only one who ever comments on my blog, and she has the cutest dang blogs. I have always looked at it with addoration, but thought I could never be that talented.......until I discovered she designs them and shares them. Where have I been. Sorry it took me so long Kris. She mentioned in her blog she has been featured in a real book. How cool is that? So now if my blog is really cute, I give all the credit and thanks to Kris on One Cute Blog. Thanks for the inspiration.....sorry it took me so long :).

ATC cards and friends

2009-01-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I said Weds. I was going to stamp. Didn't happen. Ended up on the Wii a lot of the day. Anyway, for my swap group we are supposed to make ATC (artist trading cards) with a Valentine theme. I have never done any of these, so it was fun to try. You can put them on the front of a regular size card and have a quick card to give to someone, or leave them small and use it as a tag. It was good to get back in my "room" and create something fun again. I don't think my hubby likes it much because of the time and the lack of attention for him, but he puts up with it and is a good sport.

Anyway, yesterday I had a nice surprise. I walked around the corner and there stood a very dear friend of mine that I didnt' think I would see for another year. I was so glad to see her I started to cry. I am sure that surprised both of us! I got to have a good talk with her after church and before before she had to go again. I am looking forward to her coming home in a year. She is so wise and I always feel like I am a little bit better person after I spend time with her.

Today I got to go to lunch with another good friend. It is always so nice to get some girlfriend time to decompress and talk life through with out being judged in any way. I am so blessed to have several of these friends who I count as my "sister" friends. I hope they feel the same. I also hope my girls are learning the importance of having good friends who stand behind you and give you the support that only a friend can give. I know my baby enjoys our lunch dates as much as I do. I am not so sure I should be teaching her this young, but she just cracks me up trying to act like one of the girls.

Now I am back at home and facing the realities of life. Laundry, housecleaning, all the fun stuff. The joys of being a stay at home mom.....and I am so glad that I can stay at home.

Christmas morning 2008

2009-01-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

I have finally figured out how to post a slide show. Here are a few of the pics from Christmas morning. I mostly took video, but I just have to have a few snapshots to go with it. The pictures just don't show how spoiled the girls really were.

And a Happy New Year

2009-01-07T10:00:00.001-08:00

I am finally getting around to posting. I think Christmas break got me into some really bad habits, which is what lead to my New Year's resolutions. Do you make resolutions? My resolution this year was to not make any, and then I decided I really did need to make some changes. Here's what I came up with.

1. Change into exercise clothes when I get up....if I wait until the girls leave, and then go upstairs to change a really strange thing happens and I find myself back in bed snoozing for another hour or more. Not good for my waistline.

2. Try to be a little more patient with the three year old......or may I say very independent, very stubborn three year old that lives here. So far so good. I didn't say be perfect, just a little better.

3. Go to bed earlier. I am trying to get things done a little earlier, or just leave stuff for the next day so the urge to want to crawl into bed is not quite so strong.

4. Exercise most days a week. I know it's not going to happen EVERY day, I'm a mom and the schedule can be unpredictable, but the days I don't have anything before 10 am are days I just don't have an excuse.

I know they aren't anything new, but hopefully I can get through more than Jan. this year. I have to work on getting the extra Christmas pounds off. I think I inhaled every treat that came through my door this year.......and enjoyed every bit of it. I knew what the results were going to be, but I just didn't care. Now I do and am doing something about it. I would love to have some of the popcorn stuff my sister-in-law made. It was heavenly.....and probably worth about 5 pounds.

My other goal is to publish my stampin stuff at least once a week. Weds. is my stampin day so I am off to stamp and see what I can come up with. Hope everyone had a happy and safe new year.

Hide and seek shopping

2008-12-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a minute this morning to post a funny story that happened while I was Christmas shopping this year. In the past I have been able to sneak stuff in the cart and have been doing that a little this year. It has been pretty successful. I was shopping with a friend earlier in the month and spotted a Dora backpack that my baby thought she had to have for Christmas. Tis the time of year that if you find it, you better buy it so I hid it in the cart like I usually do. We continued shopping and I forgot about that backpack......until I hear a sweet voice filled with excitement say "oh thank you mamma, I lub it". Busted. She found the backpack while I was in a shopping frenzy and attatched herself to it. Literally. She put it on and wouldn't take it off. We told her it was for our friends 12 year old daughter. Good thing she doesn't realize Dora isn't exactally what 12 year old girls are asking for this year. We left with a broken heart and a promise she could come see it at Dani's house. I felt terrible, but I know that she will be very excited when she sees the backpack from Santa on Christmas morning. It is sad to know that gone are the days I can do my shopping with a toddler in tow. She is just too smart.

Now I need to get on with my Christmas goodies. A quick trip to the store in the snow and we are in business. The girls are out for Christmas break and the trick to keeping them from fighting is going to be keeping them busy. If I don't post again, Happy Holidays. Remember to tell the ones you love that you do love them and appreciate them for all they do. Merry Christmas!

Christmas break, here we come...

2008-12-19T06:59:00.000-08:00

I just sent the girls out the door for their last day of school for 2008. Where has the time gone? I now have exactally 6 hours and a few minutes to get all the wrapping of the presents done and be ready to have them home for two weeks. I am VERY excited to not have to get up at 6:30 every morning. Not so excited about the constant fighting I am anticipating. I am hoping that my kids aren't the only ones that fight more around Christmas just because they get so excited and just can't control their little selves. On the other hand, a Christmas miracle may happen and they might just get along. The whole two weeks. Wait

there I go daydreaming again.....but it is a nice

thought.

This morning as I was getting the girls ready for school M&M informed me she has three more friends who she wanted to give presents to. Nice. I wanted to ask her if she realized that it is 6:45 the morning of her last day of school before the break and she should have let me know before now, but being the good mom I want to be, I sucked it up and went in and got three more presents together. We made them a version on the ormanents in the picture above. Since I can't figure out how to get my pictures moved around, that's where they will be, but anyway, they are fun to make and really easy. The best part is the glitter is inside and doesnt' get all over the place. Anyway, I was not impressed when she left them sitting on the kitchen counter and I had to drive them to the bus stop. Kids.....what would we do to keep our lives exciting if we didnt' have them.

I better get wrappin'. Soon as we deliver presents I will post pictures of the jars we did for some of our friends and the boxes I made for hubbies bro's. They turned out really cute, but I probably shouldn't post them just yet....just in case. Have a happy day and for those of you who are like me, enjoy the last day of school before the kids are home!

Week in Review

2008-12-14T18:33:00.001-08:00

Something about the holidays makes me just a little slower to get things done. It isn't a bad thing, I just get a little behind. This last week was an interesting one. Monday I took the girls shopping for hubby's birthday. He turned the big 4-0 on Weds. Anyway, while we were shopping we saw Santa. My baby wanted to talk to him and the other two were pretty anxious to get their two cents in too. Unfortunately the baby stole the show and Santa didn't ask the other two what they might want. She decided she wants a pair of Dora sunglasses......in December. Nice. As we were shopping the baby started throwing fits. I finally made the mother of all threats. "If you don't stop this right now I am going to go talk to Santa and tell him not to bring you anything." Thought that would do the trick, but unfortunately she is smarter than me. She looked me square in the eye and said "Ok Mom, go talk to Santa. I want to see you talk to Santa." Dang, she called my bluff. They she threw a fit because I would not stand in line to tell Santa she was being naughty. Three year olds....

Tues. was our ward Christmas party at church. Dinner and dancing. Doesn't sound very Christmasey to me but what do I know. Hubby was going to be working late so I thought we would just sneak out before the dancing. He showed sooner than expected so we stayed. To my horror B and M & M spent the dancing time actually dancing.........with boys. I am not ready for that. They were quite proud of the fact that they had danced so much and are still talking about it. I am glad they had fun but I am not sure I am ready to see them flirting with the boys. They are just growing up too fast.

Weds. I realized how much I appreciate my dear hubby who had to be out of town on his birthday. It was a long night without him and I am so glad that we don't have to do the out of town thing very much anymore.

Thurs. hubby came home early which was awesome. I also got the chance to go to lunch with a friend. Then we did a little Christmas shopping. It just doesnt' get better than that. We also went to dinner for hubby's b-day. The day ended with a trip to the hospital to see that the neighbor really is going to be ok. He gave us quite a scare but is hanging in there.

Friday was the Christmas program from you know where. Two hours of sitting in a stuffy gym asking the parents to please stay for the whole program. I think they would have a better chance if it weren't two hours long. B sang in a small group and did a marvelous job. She had to try out and everything. Way to go B. M&M got to play a loverly piece on the recorder. B was first and M&M was last so we got to sit through the whole program whether we wanted to or not. Then came the really exciting part of the day. M&M earned the honor of taking the classroom hamsters home for the week-end. I affectionately call them cat food. They have been in heaven all week-end. I will be glad to see the rodents head back to school tomorrow.

Yesterday I took the girls to do their Christmas shopping which meant two trips to the mall. I forgot why we don't go to the mall that close to Christmas. It was mass caos. I was so happy to get to go to the mall....twice. Just glad to get it done.

Today I am happy to say I survived primary. We were missing teachers, piano players, choristers and to top it all off sharing time. What a fiasco. We made it though and only one more Sunday of craziness before Christmas. We put the bishopric in charge next week. Smart move on the primary president's part. Hopefully the kids will be good. If not I don't really have to worry about it.

I am glad to have survived another crazy week before the holidays. Hopefully I will be a little bit better about posting so you don't get the whole week in review. I am now going to go get the girls in bed and hopefully head there early myself.

December Stampin' class

2008-12-04T21:03:00.001-08:00

Tonight I wrapped up my December ornament/tag class. It was a good one. I love when my friends will come and play.......even if they have to pay me. If I could I would do if for free. It is good therapy to have someone to chat with and laugh with. I really appreciate everyone who supports me. I keep wondering if I want to continue as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and then I think of all the people it keeps me in touch with and it makes it all worth while. It has taught my baby how to be a good hostess. Now anyone who comes in the house has a good chance of getting offered a soda.....whether you want it or not. It is her way of feeling like part of the class. I am so thankful that my hubby will put up with my hours of class prep and then the classes themselves. It is something that I love and I hope that all the wonderful women who support me enjoy it too.

The pictures are of the projects we did. Some of them were cased from various places online. If I remembered I would give them credit. If they are yours let me know so I can post credit where it is due. The round ornament is actually a gift card holder. It has a gift card slot in the back.....much easier than the ones that the gift card pulls out of the midde. I do know the kraft color one is cased from Stampin' up! I had a lot of fun putting the class together and now I am done for the year. I will be excited to see what the new year brings with the new catty.

Now I need to get myself logged off and up to bed!

Let the festivities begin

2008-11-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving week is always the start of the Christmas madness. This year was a little different but ended up about the same. My hubby surprised me with a trip to a nearby town the day before Thanksgiving and we traded in my car. The new car is nice, with a new payment. Go figure....we just got the old one paid for. Anyway, after a mad scramble to get the house straightened up because I had spent the day buying a car, not getting ready for company, things actually ended up pretty good. The food was good, the company was great and I was very thankful to have them all go home happy. I did find out that my sweet potato casserole tastes like old gym socks according to my cousin, and I am still wondering how he would know that. (He just doesnt' like sweet potato's).

I did break my annual shopping the day after Thanksgiving tradition. After we lost Bob last year the shopping wasn't quite so important anymore. So I snuggled up in bed with my laptop and did my shopping online. It was fabulous. I got to sleep until I wanted to get up and didn't have to fight the crowds once. I don't know if I can ever go back to fighing the crowds and coming home bloodied.

Now the house is all decorated and looking festive thanks to my sweet hubby. I am not thrilled with the girls being introduced to how to get themselves on the roof, but it looks fabulous and we are ready to start this holiday season.

Thanksgiving circus in the making

2008-11-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

This morning when I woke up I still was not sure if we were having anyone coming to our house for Thanksgiving this year....yea, the one in three days. I have invited several of my family, but they were apparently holding out for a better offer. First my sister called. She would come, if no one else were coming but decided to stay home and have a quiet day this year. Smart move. Then came the call from my brother who wanted to know if I really wanted them to come or not. If I didn't want you to come, I probably wouldn't have invited you, but whatever.....didn't help with his decision. So I went to the grocery store to buy food for 5..... or 15 people. Take your pick. I chose somewhere in between. Then the call from mom came. We have decided to accept your invitation, and your brother and his boys are coming too. Ok, first I had to recover from the shock. I have invited them for at least 10 years. This year they must be desperate, because this is the first year they have ever come. Then came the question "What about aunt "B"?" My mom said she's a big girl and can figure it out. So being the good daughter that I am I called and invited aunt "B" who is now coming with one of my favorite cousins. I am very excited about that since I don't see him nearly as much as I should. So our usually quiet Thanksgiving has turned into somewhat or a fiasco. Good or bad I don't know. What I do know is the pressure is on. I have two days to get my house in order and prepare a thanksgiving dinner for my family. Granted the pies are in a box in the freezer with the rolls, and everything else is pretty simple too. That's just how I roll. It is a new adventure and I hope it comes out alright. If not we will go back to our quiet thanksgiving dinner we usually have and either way we will have a lot to be thankful for.

What about Bob?

2008-11-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

One year ago today our lives got turned upside down. My brother-in-law lost a four day battle with menangitis and everything seemed to fall apart. It all started with a head-ache. Don't ever think that a head-ache is not a big deal. It is. We had a three day vigil at the hospital and went home broken hearted the day before thanksgiving. Not exactally what we were expecting. I still think about him every day. He was the big brother I always wanted. He was my hubby's business partner and best friend. I think I called Bob more than my hubby because Bob carried his phone and my hubby was never far away. He was the kind of person that would do anything for you, no matter what you needed. I thought he would always be around. I have learned some valuable lessons, don't take those you love for granted and you never know how long you are going to be here on this earth. We were lucky enough to have a great time with Bob about a week before he went into the hospital. The company convention just happened to be in Orlando and we got to go with Bob. His family couldn't go so we got him all to ourselves. It was awesome. He spoiled our girls rotten. He and my baby pestered each other the whole trip, both of them loving every minute of it. I cannot express how blessed we were to have this time with him. This is a picture of him and B and M&M in the tea cups. He wasn't feeling very good that day but was a good sport anyway and rode anything they wanted him to. What a blessing it is that we got to spend that time with him. The last time I saw him before he endedup in the hospital he was headed out of the airport laughing hysterically about the poop incident on the plane. If you don't know what that is, I will have to share sometime. It's worth a laugh. It's a good way to remember him. I am a little bit bitter about the fact my baby will forget him. She is getting ripped off. If nothing else take a minute today and tell those you love that you love them. Don't take them for granted. Who knows when they won't be around anymore. And to Bob, we miss you and we love you. We are not enjoying your extended vacation, but know you are in a good place. Hug the ones you love. Now I am off to get ready to go to twilight.........

There is a crazy lady in my house....

2008-11-19T20:06:00.000-08:00

Do ya ever have those days where you think your children would rather you disappear into the wild blue yonder so they can just do what they want, and not have mommy dear yappin about everything I think they should be doing? Have they ever pushed you so far you feel like a stranger takes over your body and you lose any sense of reason? Well, today was one of those days. The crazy lady reared her ugly head and my kids all went to bed praying for a better day. I just don't understand some days what they are thinking. Yes, I expect you to clean up the bathroom floor EVERY night. Yes, I do want you to straighten your room and not lie to me about it. Since when did I say it was ok to leave candy wrappers all over the floor and the candy that should have been in them ground into the new carpet. I don't ask a lot out of them, but I do want them to do a few things around the house. The biggest question is why I don't get any response out of them until I lose my cool. "Please" doesn't seem to phase them, but a yelling maniac gets results. (it kind of resembles the tantrums my three year old throws.....how mature is that?) This all could have something to do with the fact that daddy is out of town on business and I have been a single mom all week. They are missing him as bad as I am. Cudo's to all you single mom's out there by the way, I don't know how you survive day to day and I have a lot of respect for you.
Anyway, I need to get my house in order so it feels better tomorrow, get some sleep and make sure I let my kids know tomorrow that I really do love them and think they are the most amazing bunch of girls in the whole world. (hopefully you think that about your kids too....it's just what a mom is supposed to think). Most of all I need to make sure the crazy lady is gone for a long, long time. Takes way more out of me and them than it is really worth.

One wild week-end

2008-11-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

I have to say I keep forgetting to take any pictures but I am hoping this blog will make me a little better at taking them. This week-end I was lucky to come out remembering anything. It all started Thurs with a surprise visit from the in-laws. I love my in-laws......especially when I can prepare myself when they come. They tend to pop in and out for anywhere from minutes to days when ever they feel the urge. This time was good, they were staying at another of my hubby's brothers, so they were just here for a little while. We also got a call from some friends of ours asking what we were doing for the week-end.....and maybe they would come visit. This is another one of those calls that makes me wonder just exactally what I am in for. Anyway, since there was no school Friday we got an early start to the week-end. Not thinking I got up and cleaned the house to get ready for the company that may be coming. The girls decided since there was not school they would make the most of the day by fighting with each other. Always makes for a long day with high pitched screaming floating through the house. Then the call came that the company was on it's way.....if only I had thought this through.

These friends of ours have three kids....his, hers and theirs. The two youngest are 2 and one. Cute kids, but messy kids. Their dad reminds me of a 14 year old boy who never really did grow up. My kids love it when he visits for the entertainment value. He operates on their level a lot of the time. He claims they came for breakfast Sat. morning which hubby took as, we are expecting a good one, don't let us down. I didn't think they would be staying long, so I didn't grocery shop for feeding 10 people all week-end. Ended up by the end of the day at one point we had Nate's cousins family, his mom, and my brother just happened to pop in for a while. The house was bulging at the seams with 13 small kids running through it. So much for cleaning it. We ended up going to dinner and since B had a birthday party we got a babysitter last minute. She had 5 kids and a huge mess, which she had all cleaned up before we got home. Awesome job Brit! We thought everyone would be going home, but the friends stayed until Sunday. They left while we were at church, we didn't even see Nate's friend before we left at 11. He was still sleeping so we left breakfast on the table and havent' heard a word since. My girls were so excited to come home to a quiet house. Hailey spread herself out on the couch and just laid there in the quiet for about 15 minutes. I don't mind company, but this time I was glad to see them go. Too many kids helping themselves to the fridge and the cupboard and then tracking it through the house and into the new carpet. Too many toys broken and left to be discovered by my baby who brought them to me heartbroken. I came away from the week-end very thankful for my kids and their manners. They are good girls, and they respect others for the most part. We have all been putting the house together and just enjoying each other since Sunday and that is the best thing that came out of our wild week-end.

Wildflower Blossoms bids farewell

2008-11-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today was a very exciting, yet sad day. I drove 45 minutes to a scrapbook sale and boy oh boy what a sale it was. I still get giddy thinking about it. That's the exciting part. The sad part it that this is the last sale this company is having. They have had this sale once or twice a year, only once in our town, but always in the neighboring town. It is well worth the drive. Since today was the last day ever, they had reduced all thier merchandise another 50%. What a great surprise. I got more brads than I will probably ever use, but can a girl ever have enough brads???? And paper, paper everywhere. Did I need it? Probably not. But I got it anyway. I love Stampin' Up! products dearly (I should if I sell it) but I just can't pass up a good sale. I took one of my friends with me and my sister met us there and thentook my baby to her house to play while my friend and I shopped. By the way I really owe her one. It was pure bliss. Shopping three year old free for over an hour. Then we went and got them both and went to lunch. It was a good day. Shopping, lunch and then a nap on the way home....for my baby, not for me.

Now I just need to get the stuff ready for my card swap group tomorrow. I am in charge of the project and need to figure out exactally how I am going to do it. Soon as I get it together, I will post the pictures. I think I will use it as a practice for the class I am going to have in Dec. I look forward to the swap every month and always feel like I am coming away with a stack of treasures. I think the little break makes me a happier mom, and that's always a good thing.

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere

2008-11-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Friday morning at our house was a relaxing kind of a day. I spent the morning getting myself ready for the day while my baby took a bubble bath. This is not the normal routine at our house. Usually she is scared to death of bubbles. She always tells me to make sure and not turn the "shets" aka jets on. In fact all I have to do to get her out is tell her she needs to pull the plug and get out or I am pushing the button to turn the "shets" on. This is one of the only times she listens to me. She's three....and very independant, I will do about anything to get her to listen to me. Anyway, Friday she was very amused by the bubbles. Then I showed her how to look like Santa. She loved it. She was so dissappointed when the bubbles all popped she even let me turn those scary "shets" on so they would come back. It was a good morning........if only it had lasted all day.

When B and M&M came home from school, it turned into party time at our house and the relaxation of the bubble bath was the farthest thing from my baby's mind. The older two girls each had a friend, my baby didn't, so it because her goal to let her sisters know she was not happy about the whole situation. If I had been smart, I would have filled the tub, turned the "shets" on and let her sink into oblivion again. Heaven only knows I wanted to!

The whole afternoon did lead to a very nice date night after hubby came home and I declared I needed to get out. I love going out and just enjoying hanging out with my hubby. Sometimes there is very little said, ok.....maybe not by me, but he is a good sport and we have a good time. As a reward for babysitting while we went out on Friday night, I took the girls to High School Musical 3 Saturday. It was a cute movie, not one hubby would have enjoyed, so it was good he stayed home. Next time I am leaving the baby with him so I don't have to try and coax her out of the isle, or buy her a $3.50 piece of licorice, or drag her cute little screaming behind through Walmart as we ran errands on the way home. I am sure we were a sight to behold. Too bad there isn't a mute button we can push in times like that. Wouldn't that look funny.

Anyway, I am always sad to see the week-end pass and start the new week all over again. There is just something magical about being able to take the time to enjoy life just a little more, spend a little more time with each other, and take the time to enjoy the bubbles.

Friends

2008-11-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

First of all, I am a little wierd about posting my kids names on my blog. I don't know why, I have very few readers, and yet after all the scary stories you hear, I just don't want to risk it. Those who know my girls will know who I am talking about when I talk about B (my oldest), M & M (the middle child), and "my baby", even though she is three years old now. For those who don't know my girls, it really doesn't matter who is how old, just that they are three amazing girls who keep me hopping. Silly I know, but makes me feel just a little bit better.

Anyway, today was supposed to be a major playdate day at our house. I am not good at arranging playdates. I forget how I used to spend every waking hour I could at my friend's houses. Anywhere was better than my house. Not that my house was a bad place, it just wasn't as fun as somewhere else. My children seem to have inherited the love of playing at thier friends houses. Today however, things just haven't worked out for them and here they sit waiting for the phone to ring. Takes me back to the good ol' days, except back then we could just hop on our bikes and see who was out and about. I also understand why my mom wanted us outside. More quiet, less mess. I am trying to get the nerve up to call one of "my baby's" friends for a playdate, but the thought of two three year olds running the house just makes me twitch.

I have also thought alot today about how lucky I am to have the great friends I have. Not all women are blessed with other women they can trust. I have old friends and new friends, all of whom I treasure. As I watch my girls wait for the phone to ring, I know I still get excited when my friends call to go to lunch, head to the mall, or just hang out. The playgroup we have belonged to still goes to lunch monthly even though I am the only one with children still at home. I know the past year I have relied on my friends a lot and am so thankful for the amazing circle of friends I have.

I wanted to share the fun ornament I made today while stampin with one of my friends. It is for my card swap next week. It is fairly simple to put together if you don't mind a glitter mess. I cut the snowflakes out of chipboard using the big shot and the large snowflake die. Then I used versamark to put heat and stick powder over the entire snowflake. Melt the heat and stick powder with a heat gun and sprinkle with the cosmo glitter from Stampin UP. Then I just put a ribbon through one of the hole and it makes a cute ornament with lots of sparkle. I hope the women in my group like them. They are very talented and I feel blessed to be able to be a part of thier group also.

Well M&M just got a call for a playdate tomorrow. The day is not lost and now we just need to figure out what to do for B. Looks like another day full of friends at our house tomorrow.......and that is always a good thing.

Home again, Home again....

2008-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

It is always nice to come home from a trip away from home, but this trip was a little different. First of all, I don't have any pictures of the trip because I left the camera home so the girls could take pictures of Halloween for me. (Don't they look amazing, except for little miss "I don't want to wear my pink cowgirl hat"). I am always excited for a little break away from home, and it's even better if I get to go on an airplane. Second, Who plans a convention over Halloween? Just about killed me to leave the girls. They have planned next years convention over Halloween too, so there is a good chance we won't be going. The third reason we were dragging our feet is this is the first time we have ever had to make our own travel arrangements. Pretty sad, but that was my brother-in-law Bob's job. Bob passed away almost a year ago and it was really hard to even think about convention without him, let alone do his job. He was on our mind all week-end, but we managed. It just wasn't the same without him.

When we got there, time just went too fast. This was my first time to Tucson. The hotel was amazing. (We stayed at the JW Marriot Resort and Spa) The weather was gorgeous. I had the opportunity to just sit back and relax for the whole week-end. I really could have stayed a few more days. Being pampered is something I could get used to. I don't think I would ever want to live there, but it was just the thing I needed. I got to experience things I never knew existed. For breakfast one morning we got to go to a sashet bar. We got to take a cute little bag and put aromatherapy stuff in it to make your purse smell gook. It was fun to put that together, although my hubby thought it looked like a bag of marajuana. He is such a man. For dinner that night I experienced my first "tasting menu." If you don't know what that is, you get three small portions of an appetizer, main menu and desert. The presentation was amazing. If you are ever in the Tucson area and have some extra $ to spend, I would highly recommend Acacia for dinner. The little protions were really cute, and a lot of fun. We don't have much of that kind of stuff where I live. I even got to taste the Arizona version of Kobe beef. It was delicious. Anyway, it was really hard to get on the plane and come home.

Now that I am home I have an adorable three year old who will not stray more than about a foot from me and she would really rather be on my lap. I am once again drowning in laundry, trying to figure out where grandma put stuff while we were gone, and getting everyone back on a schedule.

One really strange thing I found when we got home was a soaking wet roll of toilet paper on the counter in the laundry room. I really wondered if grandma was losing it. Then after a monster storm last night, I walked in the laundry room to find a bunch of soaking wet stuff on the counter again, right where the toilet paper had been. Apparently we have sprung a leak in the roof somewhere. Not exactally what I wanted to come home to, but at least I know grandma is not losing it, in fact that roll of toilet paper probably soaked up what would have been a big mess.

Anyway, happy voting today. We have gone and voted and now all we can do is hope for the best. Happy Tuesday!

Our "great" Pumpkins

2008-10-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have to say I am not a fan of Halloween. First my dear children pester me for the whole month of September about what their costume should consist of. Usually it is far from what they will end up with, but you can't blame a kid for dreaming. Then add to that the usual cold, candy and running them around town all dressed up, it just isn't my favorite thing to do.....until this year when we have to miss it. My mom is going to get to do all the dressing up and running around with my sugared up girls and I am surprised to say, I am pretty sad. So tonight we broke tradition on dragging our feet about carving pumpkins and did it a little bit early. The oldest opted to go on an outing and have her first and maybe only limo ride, but that is a whole different story. The other two were in pumpkin heaven. The three year old kept telling me she had to have an ah-choo on her pumpkin. What the heck is that......then I figured it out. She wanted something coming out of it's nose. I swear this is no normal three year old. The pumpkins got done, the mess didn't seem so bad this year and we had more fun than normal. Now I just have to come to terms with sending them out the door Friday and getting on a plane. Who plans a convention over Halloween? I am going to have a little chat with them about that when I get there. In the meantime, I be more willing to fix their costumes, buy them treats and get all the Halloweening in while I am here.

Card Swap card and Costco

2008-10-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

The theme for next months card swap is chipboard. I have never done a whole lot with chipboard, I thought the purpose of chipboard was to collect the cute stuff in the drawer to get out and look at every once in a while. That always makes me feel better, but anyway.......back to the swap card. I have a very talented sister-in-law who got me hooked on the carousel notes in the Stampin' Up! catty. Then she introduced me to the classy brass that co-ordinates with it. You would think she is the Stampin' Up! demonstrator, not me. I wanted a card that wasn't the same ol' thing so I decided I could make my own carousel notes with the classy brass template. This was quite a project, but I am excited about how it turned out. My 12 year old approves too and that is always a bonus. I just hope the gals in the swap like it. I have to say I LOVE the snowflake die from the big shot machine. I am going to have to spend a lot more time figuring out fun stuff to do with that.

The other exciting thing going on at our house, ok maybe just to me, is the opening of Costco last week. Wooo-hoooo! I wasn't going to go opening day, but when my hubby asked if I wanted to go I just couldnt' resist. It was WAY too crowded, and worth every minute, and every dollar we spent. This is monumental in our town. Most stores choose to locate about 45 minutes away, but not Costco. This could be a beautiful thing. Hopefully it will draw a few more businesses into our neck of the woods. I have been twice now, just because I could. This morning was much better than the madness last week, but to think I can go any time I want just makes me giddy. Now if only we could get a real craft store and a Target, my life here would be just about perfect.

Christmas card class

2008-10-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

These are the cards I made in my class last week. I enjoy the opportunity to spend time with my friends doing what I love to do. I do need to give credit to Gabby-Believes and mom4cuties on www.splitcoaststampers.com for their inspiration on the second and third card. I can take credit for the first card and have to say I had a lot of fun cutting all the snowflakes with my new Big Shot from Stampin' Up! You can't really see in in the pictures, but there is a lot of glitter on the Let It Snow card. I still have it all over my dining room.

I hope everyone who came had a good time and I am looking forward to my next class in November. Let me know what you think of the cards!

It's all about keeping them happy

2008-10-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today actually started several weeks ago with a phone call. It went something like.....
Hello?
Hi Julia. How bad do you not want to be an art mom for school?
I really don't want to be an art mom.
Ok, great. Which class do you want to be in?
I really don't want to be an art mom.
Good, I will put you in the 6th grade. I will get you the lesson plans and then you can coordinate a time to get with the teacher. Thanks so much.

End of conversation. I stood there thinking, "didn't I just say I don't want to be an art mom?" So I guess I am an art mom and after much dragging of my feet I scheduled with the teacher and went in and did my first lesson today. I almost hate to admit it was actually fun. I have an awesome person who has volunteered (by choice) to help me and the class is a great group of kids. They wanted to stay and do art instead of go to p.e. I think that is quite a compliment coming from a 6th grader. The best part of the whole thing was seeing my 6th grader happy to see me there. I even managed to get through the whole hour with out embarassing her. So after much agonizing I realized it is all about keeping them happy and knowing there are little things we can do for them so they will always remember mom loves them.