Provident Mommy

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas came and went. I already have all the decorations taken down because I am nesting ; ) Christmas morning I woke up early and waited for the kids. Owen was the first up and I kept on asking Chad if we should wake up the girls (they slept in too long : ) I was excited! FINALLY they woke up and we started the present opening. I got them each one "big" present and some stocking stuffers and then a family present that I picked out and surprised Chad with (a BB gun). We don't typically do many presents for Christmas because that is not what we focus on, but this was a big year for us. We had a redneck Christmas. We each got guns and a BB rifle for the kids. I also got a Tibetan Singing Bowl. Then we had 1 hour of Church and then went to my Mom's for christmas lunch/dinner. It was a great time and great memories spent with family.

I had to add these of the kids. Avery did her own hair and then was posing.

Then the other kids wanted to get in on the action.

Our tree and the "big" presents.

My singing bowl

My new smith and wesson 38 (of course it is unloaded people)

Owen's bean bag chair that he asked for for months! Surprise!

Chad got the same 38

Avery's tent

The BB gun our 38's

Autumn's easel

Christmas at my Mom's.

The fun times continue.... yesterday we rescued a 4 year old dog from the shelter. Yes, we are nuts seeing that the baby is due in a few weeks. But I have been really wanting one and so has Owen. She is such a great fit for our family: completely calm, walks well on the leash, no accidents, sleeps through the kids' craziness... we will see how the rest of the week goes, but I think we got a keeper! She is super sweet and loves affection.

Baby Update

2011-12-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

I don't feel like Christmas is near. I guess being sick and the pregnancy has taken over my life. I am so excited for this baby. I am kind of nervous because my last three I had all natural with no medication and with this one I am going to try the epidural. I am a bit anxious about it, but not as much as thinking about having another all natural labor and birth! I just wish it were over and baby Ella was here with us. I had a Dr's appointment yesterday and I am 1 1/2 cm dilated, she is head down but I am not effaced yet. So, I guess things are getting ready. I am thinking she may come a little early....wouldn't that be a blessing : )

I went through all our baby storage clothes last night and I totally forgot I gave away almost all my 0-6 months clothes and I have NO 6-9 months! I almost had a heart attack, but after I got everything organized I think enough onesies and sleepers to get us thru the first 3 months, but I gave away all the cute stuff : ( Oh well, we have been so blessed I can not complain.

Here are some of the latest pics we have taken, I am 36 1/2 week here:

Autumn took the picture below:

Avery took this one with the help of Autumn:

December Trip 2011

2011-12-20T17:41:00.000-08:00

December has gone by fairly quickly so far. Unfortunately, I was sick with a stomach bug and it lingered for a week and a half and now I have a slight cold. I think being so far along in the pregnancy has made it difficult to recover. Chad had to step in and take care of the kids. He packed their lunches, got them ready for school, drove them to school, picked them up, cleaned the house, did the laundry, cooked meals and took care of me. I hate feeling so useless and that I can't do my "job". Finally, today I was feeling semi normal and was able to do some laundry and clean up.

This past weekend my Mom got tickets for me and Autumn to go to see the Rockettes with her and she got a hotel room at the Gaylord at Opryland. We kept on hoping I would be well enough to go. By the time Saturday came I figured I felt well enough and we left for the road. I did really well on Saturday, but by Saturday night I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it make to the hotel room. My ligaments and hips and pelvis were hurting so badly I could hardly pick up my legs. However, I am so grateful that I did so well up until the night time. Autumn really loved the Rockettes and the dancing. We made some wonderful memories with my Mom and I will never forget that trip. By Sunday morning my ligaments were really inflamed from all the walking the day before and I was really sick from my left over flu. We finally made it out of the room and got something to eat and then headed back home. We got some awesome pictures and next year I HAVE to go there with my whole family because they will love Opryland.

Health Update

2011-11-18T08:37:00.001-08:00

Well, I have about 8 weeks left of my pregnancy and for my records I wanted to write a health update. For those of you who don't know about my condition you can click on the link to the right that says "About my condition". I have been feeling really well with the occasional mild pelvic, hip pains and a sore lower back. The last few weeks, for some reason, my condition has worsened tremendously especially at night. Although it is nothing like with the last two pregnancies, it is still difficult. Luckily, I do alright during the day. I have to be careful how I move and lift my legs and some workouts (especially yoga) I can no longer due because of the amount of pain. I can't walk very far, but I am able to do the elliptical at the gym....YAY! Sleeping at night is a pure nightmare. That is the most awful part of the whole day. I can no longer sleep in the bed because of the pelvic pain. I have to move my body around with my hands and it takes me 10 minutes just to get out of the bed. I have been trying to sleep in a recliner, but I don't get a good night's sleep in that either. I think I may have to try being propped up on the sofa.
Other than that, I have been feeling really well. I can do everyday tasks with only mild pain and I can actually function.
I am thankful I am able to have children and that I never gave up looking for help and found some relief. I can not do any prolotherapy treatments until the baby is a few months old. I have it on my calendar, you can count on that!
I am so excited for this new chapter in my life. It will be a completely different experience. My first 3 children were born within 3 years and 4 months and this one will be born 3 years after my youngest. It will be totally different having older children with an infant and I am soooo ready to experience it! I can't wait to breast feed, hold, kiss and stare at my little Ella Bella! I can't wait to watch Ella's older siblings love on her and adore her like I know they will!

Day trip to Ikea!

2011-11-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

I have been saving money to get a few things for the house...

man money goes fast!

I went online to order a bookshelf from Ikea and they wanted $200 to ship

a $70 bookcase! No way, so we made a trip to Atlanta last Saturday.

Luckily Chad was able to come and we had a great mini

family trip.

Ikea was B.A.N.A.N.A.S.

I have never been, I was an Ikea virgin

and it blew my mind...

I kept on saying "Wow"

They had their own parking garage and showroom,

I was amazed!

Anyways, I got what I needed...

plus an easel for the kids for Christmas.

Before we went to Ikea we stopped at the Fernbank

Science Museum which is free.

We watched a planetarium show, walked around

and then headed outside where they had hiking

trails through their forest.

It was a beautiful day and we love to do anything

outside.

Here are some pictures of Avery posing for the camera.

Fernbank Science Museum.

They had some roosters and we stopped to say hi.

Avery wanted to keep her acorns so she was stuffing them into her boots.

Here I am today at 30 1/2 weeks pregnant with baby Ella Marie. The kids call her Baby Ella and I call her Ella Bella. She is already so loved and we can not WAIT for her to be here! And yes, I am the smallest with this pregnancy. Mostly due to me being able to workout because I am not dealing with my chronic pain like with the last two and I am not over eating.
For the record I have gained about 15 lbs much less than with Avery (on the day of delivery I had gained a whopping 65 lbs!) With this one I am hoping to keep it around 25 lbs total....which is what it SHOULD be.
(THis is the room I have been working on. I got a new plant in the back left, some new pillows, I set up a kids play area which is in front of me that is not in the picture {the pictures of Avery above is the play area}, my new Ikea bookcase is in the back right and I am working on sewing some curtains. I would like a new rug...but what I want is so expensive and a wingback chair. I will take pics when it is all finished probably minus the new rug and chair because I don't know when I will be able to afford that)

Life has been good and time has been going by fast!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

We had our church's Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat. Which I love doing because I know my kids are safe. Autumn and Owen were ghosts, Avery was a fairy and I was a pioneer woman. Pretty cheap and easy costumes; pillow cases with holes cut out, some wings and I had my costume from our pioneer trek.

We also went to a friends house who has a party every year. We carve pumpkins, have hay rides and hang out by a fire while enjoying some yummy food.

Then on Monday some friends invited us to go trick or treating in their neighborhood (we live in basically a retirement community, so not all the neighborhoods in here do trick or treating...which ours does not). I said yes, even though I am not a fan of trick or treating, because our kids get along really well and I am trying to create more positive memories for our children and do more fun stuff. I only got one random picture : (

FYI: My posts will most likely be short and sweet, not too much fluff because I am going to try to do 15 minute blog posts, which for those of you who blog know that blogging can take some time. I will have to do some fast typing and quick picture posting to make it in 15 minutes.

Video of Giggly Avery

2011-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

I heard some serious giggles coming out of the bathroom and since I pulled out my iron fist with the potty training with Avery (ie. put undies on her and tell her to go pee pee on the potty) she has been in there a lot today. I thought I would catch it on camera because she is so darn cute and I just love her laugh!

Sept and October 2011

2011-10-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I found I was spending way too much time online and not enough

living my homemaking life.

I was looking through blogs and senseless

stuff online.

I figured I would find another way to journal my family's

life without having to blog,

but you know what? I haven't been journaling, well I have

a personal journal I keep and a scripture journal.

I find the blog is the best way for me to keep up with my family's

activities and pictures.

So, I am back at it and I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Our yard is still a mess, but we are very slowing working on it.

Chad has been so busy with our business since the hail storms came through

in April. We have hired 2 employees and some salesmen.

Our backyard standing on the back lower deck looking out.

We have a trail that we cut out, we go for walks or ride the little dirt dike on it. I really love where we are, I just wish we had more land and lived in a non-restricted area.

Can not WAIT till we have grass and the trampoline set up!

Owen started soccer and he has 2 games left before he is finished. He has really been enjoying the time with other kids and learning soccer. At games he just runs with the crowd and might get a few kicks in, I think next year he will have a better idea of what's going on.

We have moved beds around to get ready for Ella (our baby girl that is on the way). So Chad and Owen rode one of the mattresses down the stairs.

Daddy with his kids.

Chad and I went out somewhere, but I can't remember where now? Hmmm, I guess that is why I should keep up with this more often.

Owen playing soccer.

Autumn loves arts and crafts. It was a beautiful fall day and it was just us two. So she painted while I finished the girls' curtains.

She also painted the rocks outside ; )

Then when Owen got home he painted his figurines too.

For a Relief Society activity we decided to do a dry canning session. We checked out the canner from the bishop's store house and canned at my house. It was a lot of fun and didn't take as long as expected.

We did our first Home Show. It was successful, but a lot of prep work. I am so proud of Chad for how he has built a business through a recession.

I took the kids to a Emergency Prep fair. They had a whole kid section and they had a blast on the bouncy houses while me and Avery ate funnel cake. And then they all did a kid friendly zip line.

Autumn turned 6! We had a great night. She wanted a strawberry cake. And I had to bake it all from scratch because it has to be dairy free for Avery. I bought a flower pan and my first trial was unsuccessful, luckily the second time turned out perfect!

We had my parents and my sister and her kids and my brother came in town from colorado! We had so much fun with him and he took them out and got them all presents which was like Christmas! These pictures are of Autumn's birthday party. I got her a purse with a wallet with $5 inside.

We went to the Elementary schoool's fall carnival. Autumn got her face painted and they played lots of games and won lots of prizes.

Chad and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary! It is so amazing when I think back about our story. We were definitely meant to be together. My Mom got us a gift certificate for O'Connor's and we stopped at Best Buy and got Chad a Mac Book Air and we pre-ordered the new iPhone 4s. Big anniversary. We would have done all that anyway (minus the dinner) it just happened to fall on our celebration of eternal marriage : ) (In this picture I am 26 weeks pregnant...this dress makes me look bigger : )

The kids had off from school for Fall Break and we finally made it over to Asheville, NC. The leaves were starting to change colors and it was cooler. It was just a great trip. We stopped at pumpkin patch and animal farm. The patch was a joke, I should have asked for our money back. There were NO pumpkins! Okay maybe a few, but they were all rotten. The kids were so disappointed! BUT.....

We got to chase around, catch and hold baby chicks.

Okay, so they may not be babies more like teenagers, but of course that was the highlight for me.

We had to stop and hi to the horses.

We also did our first corn maze! Autumn ran ahead and got lost. Silly girl! Luckily it was not very big.

And this was hotel we got. I am so glad we did this one and not another one we looked at. There was a kitchenette, a living room with a big bedroom with 2 queen beds. It was really reasonable for the price, plus we got free dinner, breakfast and movie rental!

Then we walked around the Biltmore Village and had lunch at a cute little restaurant.

On the way home we stopped at the Arboretum which was pretty awesome. We got a lot of good ideas of what we want to do with our yard and the kids got to run around. Best of all it was FREE! Yes, we do free pretty well.

All in all it has been a great couple of months and I can not wait for November and December! I love this time of year. Over the next couple of months I will be: working on my pregnancy ( I am almost 28 weeks!), getting the girls' room finished up (my goal is to have everything ready for the baby by Thanksgiving), finish sewing some more curtains, possibly visit some of Chad's family in Kentucky for Thanksgiving and just relax and live in the moment!

Saturday Family Fun

2011-08-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we actually did something together as a family.

I don't know how long it has been since Chad hasn't worked

on Saturday.

I told him we HAVE to do something....

and not yard work.

So, we walked around this place where they

have a short nature trail, some shops, etc.

It was a lot of fun. I wish we could

do something every Saturday together!

It was next to where there is an underground

lake.

We did not do that because it was too expensive.

Here they are mining for gold.

Slacker Mommy

2011-08-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I should change the name of my blog to "Slacker Mommy".

I am internet bombarded with Moms

that are so on top of it. They actually have pics

of their kids in school and with their new teachers

(I am too shy for that).

BUT, here is Owen's actual first day of school pic

I grabbed as we were running out the door.

He was so excited to start school and

he is doing great!

Here is Autumn and Owen starting their 3rd week.

I can't believe how big they are getting!

I am going to have teenagers on my hands before I know it!

I love to see them hug.

They are so sweet to each other,

most of the time.

Morning Hike

2011-08-11T07:01:00.000-07:00

I decided to take Owen and Avery on a morning hike after I dropped Autumn off at school. I have been feeling pretty well and it has been in the 70's in the early morning. Plus, I figured I could get some nice pictures with the lighting. Here are some shots I was able to get:

New Blog!

2011-08-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here I go again! I have decided to start another blog. This time I bought a custom domain.... you know I'm serious now! Ha, ha! I really want to keep this blog more journal-y about what we did that week. I feel like since my 2 out of 3 kids are in school I will have more time to dedicate to something for me without working outside the home or shopping.

My new blog, which I just started yesterday, For A Love Of... is going to be more of a creative outlet for this stay at home Mommy. I really want to get into photography and focus more on writing. I feel humbled when I read megatron blogs and wonder why am I even taking up any cyberspace? They are a much better photographer, writer....blah, blah, blah. Well, I don't care! I am going to learn and try and try some more. I am going to write and photog for myself. If people like it and want to follow that would be great! So, if you like this blog maybe you will like my new one. I also have a button for For A Love Of... as well. (Please be patient and check it often because I am still working on the layout, etc.)

Also, remember how I posted about my little boy's face meeting the jungle gym? Well, I finally uploaded a picture of when it was healing. Now we have matching scars...pretty cool, right?! So glad he was okay!

First Day of School

2011-08-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

First day of school for Autumn is a thing of the past now....until next year. She seemed to have a great day. Being such an awesome Mom that I am, I totally forgot to take a picture. She was dressed so cute! I think so anyway; her super skinny jeans with a navy striped shirt and pink flip flops. Nothing super special, but she looked so Autumn, I loved it! I will have to get her to wear it again and take a picture.

Last night was a 1st grade orientation. I was was pleasantly surprised with the new curriculum. A lot of the parents were not, but I think it is more up to par with where they should be and is more along the lines of classical homeschooling than I was expecting. I love, love, love her teacher! A great teacher makes all the difference!

As for today, she was beyond herself with excitement. I was so happy for her. I hope this lasts all year long. She will be riding the bus home and my stomach hurts a bit about that. I know she will be fine, but I feel like it is such a big step. She is super excited about it; she feels like a big girl with independence.

Owen starts pre-k next week and he can not wait to start. I am super (can you tell what my new favorite word is?) excited to be starting this new chapter in my life. I will have two kids in school and one at home until the 4th baby arrives in January. I will be able to do mommy and me classes with Avery this winter and I can not wait to have that special time. I had the first 3 kids in under 3 1/2 years, plus with my health issues I could hardly walk. It was the hardest and darkest time in my life. I feel grateful I get to have a different experience this time around and do the mommy things I wasn't able to do before.

Big changes this year, but I am so happy about them! I feel content and at peace.

Waiting for Fall

2011-08-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

I can not wait for fall! It is my favorite time of year and we will be married for 7 years! I can not believe how the time has flown by.

I love fall because I have fond memories. I love being cradled by jeans and a sweatshirt and enjoying cold mornings on the porch seat with a blanket. Fall around here means cool, crisp air and bright blue skies. Fall around here means Mama is in a good, frisky mood. Fall around here means hiking and lots of outdoor activities.

I. Can. Not. Wait.

Although it passes too quickly. Without warning winter creeps in, with it's damp cold air that hurts my bones and it's grey skies that belong in a Harry Potter movie. Like all good things Fall must pass, but until then I will abhor Summer and dream of Fall. I will take a look outside and think it's getting cooler and step out in jeans and a long sleeve shirt to find out, once again, I was wishfully thinking.

I took this picture last year when Chad and I had our first weekend getaway (since our honeymoon) together. Besides our honeymoon at Lake Tahoe and Yosemite, this is one of my favorite trips. We had so much fun! The drive was beautiful. The weather was beautiful. I don't usually do many traditions, but I would like to take the kids this year and go every year in the Fall. We stopped at a little town called Elijay, Ga where I perused the little shops without little hands that could break anything it touched. We also stopped in Dahlonega, Ga. where we walked around and had a lovely dinner. They both are so charming. We also stopped at a HUGE pumpkin place. I have never seen anything like it. The kids will freak out! I have also been wanting to go to Asheville, NC ever since we moved here 5 1/2 years ago! I am determined to go this year! Anyways, some things I am looking forward to!

Oh yeah, school starts Monday and I've got butterflies. I feel like I am going back to school. I don't know why I am so nervous! I know the kids will have tons of fun!

Hope

2011-08-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

I love this little child of mine. She is literal, highly intelligent and sees the world in a different perspective; and artist's perspective. She is loving and kind, but also requires some solitude. I worry about this little girl at times. I have watched her on the playground at school with a caring eye and I still see a bit of a loner standing at the fence by herself or having a standoff with a tree. I see her talking to herself while digging in the dirt. I know she inherited her gauche characteristics from me. I see so much of myself in her, but she is also extremely different where I don't understand her at all. I worry about her being made fun of and not having any friends. She is an artist at heart and I have been tenderly helping her to cultivate her talent. If someone compliments an art piece she has done they may say, "Oh, maybe you will be a painter!" Autumn will reply, "No, I am an artist." So, I guess I have engrained that into her impressionable mind.

Yesterday we went to the park around dinner time and no one was there except for an Asian lady and her daughter. This sweet little girl and Autumn got along so well. I have never seen Autumn take to someone so quickly. It may be maturity kicking in as she gets older, but it may have been the personalities. It was probably a combination of the two. They played like they were sisters. It was the sweetest sight. When we left they hugged each other. This is a big deal for Autumn! She is really affectionate, smothering at times, with family but with friends and others she doesn't know she is standoff-ish. This experience gave me hope. I realized, and I talked to Autumn about it as well, that she needs to pick the right people to be friends with. She needs to be friends with people who have calm and gentle personalities. She responded, "Yeah, most of my friends at school are rough." I told her she will find the friends that she likes.

I never had many friends growing up, but I always had a few really good ones. I have a feeling she will be the same way. She will find a group that she fits in with and who understands her and loves her for all her quirky traits. She may not be a social butterfly like my other 2 kids, but she is very special to those who know her and her golden heart.

Update- Dairy-free

2011-07-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Some tests are back in and so far they have found that Avery is allergic to all milk products. At first that didn't sound so bad and I was grateful it was not Celiac because a gluten-free diet is really difficult (I know, I did it for 6 months). As I am researching I am finding there is still a lot she can not have. Most processed breads, most sauces, gravies, chocolate (!), some cereals, crackers.... The list goes on and on. I have been praying that it is something simple and if this is all there is wrong then we can deal with that! This is going to be a lifestyle change for all of us and my cooking (no baking with butter!). If anyone knows of good websites or recipes that are dairy-free I would appreciate it!

ADD moment

2011-07-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have so much running through my head lately. I want to write about it, but I don't want to be patient and write a post about each thought. So, I am about to have an ADD moment, perhaps more like diarrhea of the mind, and spew it all out in no order of importance nor continuity. I am so excited for the kids to start school. It is going to be a totally new experience for me; 2 in school and 1 at home (until the latest....and last one arrives). I am so ready for this new chapter. I am so upset about our health insurance and upset about the bills racking up. I just want to know what is wrong with my darling little girl, who, by the way, calls me Mom at times - not Mommy. I am already planning out what I want to do in 4 years; go back to school, go into advertising or broadcasting, be a vet tech. I have my whole yard planned out, where the grass will go, the invisible fence for the chocolate labradoodle we will have, my "natural garden", the garden walkway down the back, my arbor with grapes growing on it and a vintage arched gate to welcome you. I also wish I could live in Utah for a year, just to see how I like it. I am freaking out about our country's financial stuff and what they are going to decide. Should I start burying money in the backyard? Also, what's up with this sun flare prediction in 2013 that might wipe out our satellites, electronics and banking? I worry too much. Life is good, really good. I constantly think about the labor and delivery and having an epidural for the first time... a bit nervous about that. I don't think we will be moving anytime soon so I really want to finish decorating the house; too bad that costs money. I could probably buy that rug I have been eyeing for a year with the money I do have saved, but then I need curtains and pillows to match. I would love to re-paint the house too. Well, first I need to get organized. I need to compile all my scribbled on pieces of paper into a binder. If I organize my life, I will organize my thoughts. Okay, I know I didn't get out everything, but I am having a girls night with the local MOPS group I belong too. So, see ya crazy mind, I am leaving you behind on this page!

My little Avery

2011-07-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Literally, my little Avery. She is small for her age, but extremely active and intelligent. I would not be worried if it weren't for her bowel movements. They have never been normal. CAUTION: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE! Her poops have been diarrhea-ish; either kind of greasy, grainy - where I can't wipe it off her butt, or watery - where it just pours out of the sides of the diaper. I have brought her in to the doctor, tried different diets, etc. We have finally decided she needs testing. She has had blood testing and it all came back normal. So the next step is a pediatric GI specialist. Chad thinks she doesn't need to go, that she is growing (although she's small) and is extremely active. I say I wouldn't be worried either if she had normal poops. That is telling me something is not right.

I am also very frustrated about the cost. We have catastrophic insurance. So, we have a high deductible, which means we have to pay out of pocket until we meet that. I get frustrated because we work our butts off and provide jobs in our company, but I have to pick and choose what medical attention my children get. While others are abusing the system, don't work, nor contribute to society and get rewarded for it. Anyways, it makes me angry. Chad and I keep saying we should either go poor and live off the government (which we will never do) or we need to get out of the middle class (which we are working on). In the mean time we are doing what we can. Also, we are taking prayers. We appreciate it and I will keep you posted on what happens. I have a feeling it is something simple to fix...

You know your pregnant when...

2011-07-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

You know your pregnant when:
1. You have to sleep with extra pillows
2. Actually, you can sleep during the day and TRY to sleep at night with the aid of pillows
3. Your blood pressure is 90/50 and the nurse does it twice because she says you should be dead
4. Doctor says you are dehydrated
5. Try to drink water, but it makes you sick
6. Have crazy dreams about your baby
7. Get lightheaded and dizzy and temporarily lose eye sight
8. Hyperventilate because your thinking about going through another labor and delivery
9. You become so weak you can't pick up your arms
10. Super hungry, but just can't eat much

Those are the main reasons I have not blogged in while. I can write many more, but I feel like they are mostly negative. {Oh, and just to throw it in there: it is awesome when people find out you are pregnant, before you want people to know, because you parked in the "expecting mothers" spot at Walmart.} No, I am not one of those women who love being pregnant, who feels so alive and beautiful. I feel nauseous, lightheaded, anxious, weak, tired and have poor digestion. Yes, I can't wait till the morning sickness part is over. I am also really anxious I am going to go through what I did with the last 2 pregnancies. {You can read about it on the right side of my blog under "About my condition".} I am feeling pretty good so far on that aspect. Every now and then I will get a twinge or will feel loose and it becomes emotional for me because it floods my present mind with horrible memories. I am being careful with what I do and how I sleep because I have this fear that one day I will wake up and be horribly out of alignment.

On a positive note: We are very excited and this pregnancy feels like it is going by fairly quickly. I think, along with my husband, son, mother and sister, that it is a girl. We should find out in September! I have already had a dream that she looks a bit like Autumn. In my dream she had thick black hair like Chad. I just can't wait to meet her (or him). I am trying to enjoy the pregnancy and remind myself this will be the last one and that I will not experience this again (horay!) Uh-hum, I mean so sad. We often take baths and have bonding time. I just can not wait till I can bond with her in my arms. I can not wait for the midnight feedings (no sarcasm- night time feedings are so special to me and I can't wait to do that again). I know I am incredibly blessed and I pray everyday that this little one is growing strong and healthy.

June Update

2011-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

First things first, my eggo is preggo! I know we were surprised too. We were trying to for a bit, then decided to stop and the next month.... bam, positive pregnancy test. We are very excited, I just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was missing. Now, I feel that we will all be together. Anyways, needless to say I have not been feeling well and I have had a very busy month so far. I am almost 11 weeks now so I hope I will start to feel better soon.

We went on our Pioneer Trek with our Church youth group. Chad and I were asked to be ma's and pa's. We had nine kids to watch over and push our own handcart 6 1/2 miles to our campsite which we slept at for 2 nights then walked with our handcarts 4 1/2 miles back. I felt nauseous and tired and almost passed out in the beginning. It was a great experience, I just wish I felt better so I could have gotten to know the kids better and been my normal silly self.

My mom, me and my kids also went on a vacation to Ocean City, NJ. On the way we stopped at the Washington D.C. visitor's center and temple. I felt awful most of the trip. I had to force myself to get up and do things. My mom helped a lot with the kids, taking them to the boardwalk so I could rest, etc. We also saw my cousins and my aunt. Which was great! My great aunt is very sick and in the hospital, so I got to see her too, but she was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her up.
We were supposed to go to Pa and visit more family and friends, but I picked up a major cold/sinus infection so with that coupled with the pregnancy I was just ready to get home. So, unfortunately we didn't do the last part of the trip. The kids had an awesome time at the beach and boardwalk. I wish I felt better to enjoy it more with them. Oh well, there will be next time!

P.S. I did have my hair done, but not as drastic as the pictures. Maybe it will lighten a little over the summer : )

Balayage

2011-06-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Have you ladies heard of balayage? Well, I have seen it with the celebrities, but never knew what it was called. I have saved up some money and I am getting my hair done! Yay! I can't go too long without doing something. I am letting it grow long again, but I want it lighter. So, basically balayage is the celebrity look of grown out highlights. You don't need as much maintenance and it looks more natural. Here are some pics I am bringing to the salon, my hair is not nearly this long, but you get the point:

I will post pictures after I get it done on Monday! Happy Weekend!

Kindergarten Graduation and the Dentist

2011-06-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Autumn has graduated kindergarten!

Congratulations Autumn!

We are so proud of you, you did such a great job this year especially for starting a new school when it was half way into it.

She is in the third row with her little head poking out and her big smile!

Receiving her "sweet tart" award from her teacher Ms. Newman because she is the sweetest girl. Darn, that basket was in the way.

She is a sweet and smart little girl. She just made the cut off for kindergarten and I know most parents with children the same age keep their kids back one more year, but I knew she was ready academically. She had mixed emotions about school. She just told me today that she would get diarrhea at school because she would be so nervous about peeing her pants. My heart hurt when I heard that. She will be going to the doctor as soon as I get our health insurance figured out because she can not hold her pee and wets her pants everyday. I feel there is something wrong. Anyways, she did really well and I am excited to homeschool 1st grade. It will be challenging, but we have joined an awesome co-op and I think the extra support and socialization will be just what we will need.

On another note, she had her dental appointment today for her 2 crowns and a filling. I had a stomach ache and she was so nervous she did some #2 in her underwear while we were in the waiting room so we had to throw those out. They were so busy today it took 2 1/2 hours and there were a ton of kids going in and out and all I could think about was how they were treating my little Autumn. Did they do one tooth and then worked on another kid and made her wait or did she get to play in the back until they could work on her all at once? I was so anxious. FINALLY, they called me back and she had a big gauze pad in her mouth, looked out of it, in pain and wet her pants while in the chair so she was wearing some boys short they had in the back. I felt so bad, poor girl has had quite a day.
I already can't wait till those darn silver crowns fall out and she gets her big teeth in. She still needs 2 more fillings and 1 more crown. I know, I feel terrible like I could have done better. But the truth is it's just the way her teeth are and no matter how much I brushed or flossed her teeth it would have been the same outcome...sucks, right?!

Sleeping Buddies

2011-05-26T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last night Autumn wanted Avery in her bed to cuddle. So, I lifted Avery into Autumn's bed with her blanket and MoMo (her monkey) and watched as Autumn gingerly put her arms around her. I walked out and half shut the door, so I could sneak peaks. When I came back this is what I saw:

Is that so sweet or what?! That just melts my heart! I love these girls! And of course Autumn is all wrapped up in a cocoon, so funny.

Fainting Spell

2011-05-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

So, today I brought Owen down to the Health Department to get a vaccination. He was so nervous about it and he did great. We walked out to the main lobby so I could pay the balance and the next thing I know I heard a thud behind me and then Owen making this really weird cry. I turn around and he is laying on the floor with his eyes rolling back and he couldn't get up. I yelled "HE FELL! HE NEEDS HELP" and I was by his side. By that time he was starting to come to and sat up. I was so confused as to what was going on. My first thought was he had a seizure from the vaccination. The nurses had me pick him up and I brought him to the back. He was clammy and sweaty and had a huge egg-size knot on his head. By that time we all realized he passed out from being nervous about the shot. Phew! I was still so upset and holding back tears, that was the scariest thing I have seen yet concerning my kids. He full on blacked out and hit the ground at dead weight. I feel so bad, like some how it is my fault. He is fine now and the knot has gone down about half the original size and he is acting totally normal. I am so grateful he is alright. It made me realize how much I love my kids and how much I take for granted.

Catch up

2011-05-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was good. Chad volunteered with our church down in Chattanooga cleaning up after the tornados, so he came over to my Mom's after we were finished eating; at least he got some food though! Since he knew he wouldn't get back till late on Mother's Day, on Saturday after he got home from work (yes, he usually works 6 days a week) he had a surprise for the kids. A home depot kit that they do on saturday's. He knows the people up there so they gave him 3 aprons for the kids and 4 planter kits. I forgot to pictures of the finished projects. So, we put them all together as a family and that was my present! It was fun to do it as a family. This is better than previous years because Chad used to think (until this year) that Mother's Day is for YOUR mother. We have been debating this for the past 6 years and it has finally dawned on him that he needs to celebrate ME on mother's day too because I am the mother of his children and it is to celebrate ALL mothers and all they do! DUH!! Oh, but I love him so : ) At least he gets it now!

We also went to the beach with some friends before the freaky cold weather hit us.

Autumn had a field trip to a children's museum and this was the first one I was actually able to make, which is a good thing because it was the last for the school year.

A "fake" coal mine. Pretty cool. We had lots of fun. She was excited just to have me all to herself. She kept on grabbing my hand and saying "let's go!" before moving on to the next. Which was really sweet to me because she had a friend that really wanted to hang out and run around with her but Autumn just wanted me....tear. I totally soaked it up because I know she won't feel like that for too much longer : (

She didn't really want to, but I made her dress up like a pioneer : D

For this week's family home evening we talked about eternal families, what it means and then looked at older photos for memories. It was really nice. Then we went outside and roasted marshmellows because we have had some cooler fall-like weather. Chad and I decided we need to not rush through FHE, but make real activities. He usually goes downstairs to work after about 5 minutes of reading scriptures. I told him that needs to change and I will do better at planning.

I am so happy and grateful I am able to stay at home with my kids, that I can teach, raise and discipline my children and not some one else. They are the greatest kids and I am very blessed!

What I like?

2011-05-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

I found something today that was lost in the crazy called my mind. I love to lay in the grass and watch the clouds pass by. I haven't done that in ages. How have I lost so much of me? I have even forgotten what I like. My new mission is to not be so busy and find pieces of me that I have lost so my children can know who I am.

Intentional

2011-05-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Intentional. That word is so powerful. It means "done with purpose, deliberate". I try to live an intentional life. I am busy, but I have chosen that. I also say "no" at times or just don't volunteer to help with certain activities although I would like to, but I know it would be too much. I am a planner. I have my life planned with different scenarios until I go on my senior mission at age 54.

My motherhood is intentional or at least I try my best. I have those days when I nit pick and yell at every stupid little thing and I HATE that. However, for the most part I try to be aware and conscious of my mothering techniques. And because of my superior mothering skills (sarcasm) I am raising very special children.

And because of my awesome example they know it is important to take of yourself and look your best.

They also have sincere affection and concern for each other...except for one takes another's beloved toy.

They know our bodies are a temple and we must take care of it.

(Okay, this a ROOT BEER bottle AND it was empty because I don't let the kids drink soda!)

Confession: they have taught me to love to cuddle

They are awesome helpers!

It is so nice to see all my hard work these past few years paying off now they are getting older. There are always new "difficult" habits to break. It seems like once we have gotten over one they start exhibiting another. It takes work to be intentional, but I don't want to just make it through life. I want to live it.

Picking Priorities

2011-05-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

I seem to write on this a bit and that is probably I am a "yes" woman who thinks she can do it all. It feels good to be busy. It is awesome having a part-time "nanny" (my Mom). That has taken a load (of guilt and frustration) off me. I am busy as the Relief Society President of our church and I work part-time for our business (why I needed a nanny), volunteer on a crisis hotline, studying for the GRE so I can get my Master's in Counseling (hopefully, if I get accepted), attempting very slowly to write a book, researching another business venture, plus my Mom's group I am involved with and my biking group whom I never get to see. In the meantime I still clean, cook, take care of the house and spend time with my family (Autumn is in Girl Scouts now, will be doing cheerleading in the fall and Owen will be doing soccer the end of summer) AND starting homeschooling after this year is out! Am I crazy? YES, I AM!!!

I fall short a lot (like the toilets are pretty dirty right now and the carpets need to be vacuumed) and I tend to worry, BUT Chad and I try to keep a balance. We get up early to get work done and we stay up late and work (albeit while watching some shows : ) Chad jokes with me and says successful entrepreneurs probably don't watch T.V, but I don't care I enjoy my Chuck and Real Housewives! I want my children to know we earn and work for what we have and we are not afraid to work hard, but Heavenly Father comes first. That is why our church callings come first and we have seen those blessings very evidently in our lives. When we start slacking we have a harder time in life. So, picking priorities is crucial. God, family, work. Sometimes, they get mixed up, but Heavenly Father knows what's in our hearts and where our treasure is laid up.

Easter Weekend 2011

2011-04-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

I started Easter Weekend with my birthday on Thursday!

31! Woo Hoo : )

It was not a great day. Autumn had a dentist appointment where the dentist came in and told me she has 6 cavities. I started crying in the office (totally embarrassing)and they gave me a heavy discount because we are self-pay. He told me her teeth are super clean and can tell we brush really well. It is just probably her genes and that kids who get a lot of cavities with their baby teeth tend to have better luck when their adult teeth come in. So, I feel better about it. I try to do all I can to take care of my children and when something like this happens I feel like it's all my fault. I should have brushed longer/better, flossed earlier. Well, I guess it is what it is. So, now she needs to have them fixed and will have a mouth full of metal : (
Anyways, then my parents, sister and kids came over and surprised me with presents and my favorite.... ice cream cake. Then Chad took me out for a vietnamese dinner, got me some Keen shoes and a smoothie. We just had a wonderful time together.

Then, the next day we packed up and picked up my parents and proceeded to head down to Atlanta for the temple open house. It is beautiful and we had such a wonderful time. My parents had a lot of questions and we had great conversations on the drive back.

We had a great time in the hotel room too. Owen calls hotels "vacation". Haha, I tried explaining it to him, but that is too cute.

On the Atlanta temple grounds.

My parents with the grandkids.

We had all three sitting in the back next to each other. Not the greatest set up, but it is what we needed to do to fit 4 adults comfortably. They quarreled a lot, yes my perfect kids were very loud in the back.

This was the first year I did Easter eggs with the kids. They did really well.. no spilling of artificially colored water, I consider it a huge success.

Easter baskets! No, I don't do the whole Easter bunny thing. They know it came from Mommy and Daddy.

Shaking their goodies.

Easter dinner. We had my parents and my sister come over. I took no pictures of people, just the table with the food : ( We had a great though, wonderful food, wonderful company!

What does Easter mean to you?

2011-04-18T16:57:00.000-07:00

Easter is coming up, so most of the family blog world is posting about it. I think spring is my new favorite season and that Easter is my new favorite holiday. (It used to be fall and Christmas) As my testimony has grown so has my love for Easter. As a convert, I have learned what Easter is. It is NOT about chocolate bunnies (although they are yummy), it is not about goodies in the Easter basket (although they are fun....and fun to put together), it is not about the Easter bunny (which I have never believed nor talk about with my children). It is about the atonement of Christ and His resurrection. My children are too little to understand what it means and I think most adults (including myself) don't truly understand or appreciate the magnitude of what that means. I am learning and understanding on a deeper level every year. As I teach my children I hope one day it will all click and they will say "Now, I know what Mom was taking about!"

So, on to traditions. I wish I were into traditions, but it depends on the year and how my energy level is. I know myself and I can't take on too many traditions. I have not made any traditions for Easter except for their Easter baskets and easter egg hunt, but I want a spiritual tradition. One that I have read is asking every year to each member of the family what Easter means to them. I thought this was a great idea. Some people do a "last supper" on Saturday. I have also read of preparing a week before Easter and talking throughout the week about how Jesus' love and different ways we can show our love. There are so many great ideas. As the years pass I am sure we will figure which traditions we like and work with our family. I am just so grateful for the gospel, that it has been restored and that the keys of the priesthood are on the earth again. I am thankful for Jesus' love, mercy and commitment. That He has made it possible to live with our Father in Heaven again if we can be righteous and endure to the end.

Busyness is Goodness

2011-04-15T10:52:00.000-07:00

I love being busy and I definitely have been lately. We found a nanny. I interviewed a few people and then I made a comment to Mom and she said she would like to do it. So, there it is. We hired my mom. We now call her Nanny Nana. In the future we may hire someone else, but for now it is just perfect.

We also walked the property of the land we were looking at and it is just perfect for us. We are going to see what we need to do to hold it until we sell our house. I am REALLY excited, but a little NERVOUS. We have such a beautiful and spacious home and we will move into a small camper while we are building our small house which we will live in until we build our dream home on the top of property (who knows how long that will take). So, it will be a shock to all of us, BUT we will have our land. What I have dreamed of since I was a little girl!

I am working on yard work (ha! there is a lot of it), de-cluttering, and I need to start packing to get the house "show" ready. I have also been working 12 hours a week, which leaves a lot less time for the house work and my calling keeps me busy AND I love it! Here are some pics that get me excited and remind me why I will be living in a camper (and this could be in a year or so, but I am really excited...can you tell?)

These are nigerian dwarf goats, what I think I will want (these are young ones)

Fresh goat milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, soap....

Chickens for fresh eggs.

I don't think Chad wants a rooster, but I want baby chicks!

I love American Paint horses, maybe I can have one of these too!

And of course the kids want a miniature horse.

Oh, what wonderful things to look forward to in the future (far future albeit : )

Get'n me some land!

2011-04-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hopefully we are going to sell our house and buy some land. Someone at our church has some land he is hoping to sell and we are hoping we will buy it.

But first we need to finish this:

(leveling out our backyard with the dirt from our basement we are finishing)

and this:

(horrible picture, I know) but you get the idea. Not only is my back yard all dirt now, but the front yard has a huge pile of dirt and the grass is tore up where the front loader was taking the dirt in the front yard to the back....yeah, I think our neighbors hate us! Plus, we need to finish what we started in the basement.

As far as the land, we still need to walk it and make sure it is really what we want, but so far it seems just what we want. It feels totally isolated, but it's not isolated. It is only10 minutes to town, but it is way far off the road. Partly wooded and partly pastured. Enough acreage (about 9.7) to have a horse or two, chickens, goats and pigs. I am so excited, it is all I think about. I am a country girl and love animals. I picture spending all day tending the land and caring for the animals, while teaching my children. We could have fresh goat milk, I'd like a pig because I love ham (but I may get too attached), chickens for eggs, and horses for pure enjoyment. Well, I keep you posted on this possible adventure!

FHE shooting night

2011-04-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

For family home evening a few weeks ago we went over to our Bishop's house and we were able to shoot our guns. I haven't shot in so long. It was a little hard having the kids there. I only shot a few rounds because I had to take turns watching the children. They had fun too! They jumped on a trampoline, rode their bikes, played golf, played kickball and played hide and seek tag (although they didn't totally get it). It was a great night of being outside and hanging out.

Funny Video!

2011-03-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

This is seriously so funny! I don't usually watch videos that are this long. Me and Owen watched it and were cracking up!

Day Date...Sort of

2011-03-31T05:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Chad and I went to a roofing seminar. We had to drive 3 hours to get there and find a sitter for the kids....thank goodness for friends and family : ) On the way there Chad was on the phone and working the entire time! Our business is starting to get swamped! At the seminar we got a free lunch, 2 $10 gift cards for subway (which we used on the way home for dinner) and a stuffed animal gorilla (which I had to jump and catch, yay!). They also gave away 3 richard petty nascar driving experiences, (which I was so bummed I did not win), 4 I Pads (which Chad was really bummed he did win) and a bunch of other roofing stuff. It was a lot of fun, even if it was for work. I did not have food to cut for 3 other people, have kids hanging on me, sitting on my lap, spilling their drinks, or saying they have to pee 3 times in a 1/2 hour. Don't get me wrong I love my kids and taking care of them, but every now and then it is nice to have some adult time. On the way home Chad didn't work as much and we were able to talk and catch up.

Since the business is growing so quickly I have been working more. I have found I can't do it all (what a surprise)! I can't take care of the kids and the house, which is a full time in itself, and then adding on work hours is just impossible. Something gets neglected. So what we have decided is to get a NANNY! I work at home so I will be there, but the kids and the house will not get neglected. It will only be part time. Right now I am in the process of trying to find someone. I am excited, but anxious because this is a huge change!

This is not my home

2011-03-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

During church yesterday I remembered a truth that sometimes gets "lost" in the files of our mind because we get so pre-occupied. This is not our home. Home is where the heart is and my heart is with my Heavenly Father. If you are not Mormon and don't know what I am talking about you can go here to learn more about our faith. The earth is given to us to be stewards over it, but my heart longs to be with my Heavenly Parents.

Before I was baptized, in 2003, I used to write poetry and I was reading some of my journals a few months ago and in them where many poems and thoughts about feeling like this earthly life was a transitional place, a temporary testing place. I had no idea about the Plan of Happiness, but I knew it from my pre-existence and my spirit was somehow trying to remind me. A lot of my poetry talked about home-sickness, I felt like I didn't quite belong and I wanted to get back home. Needless to say when the missionaries taught me the Plan of Happiness it put everything together for me. I knew right away this was the Lord's church. It wasn't like a light bulb going off because I already knew it, it was just putting the pieces together.

This life is "God's school", as my patriarchal blessing puts it, and we are to learn, grow and be in the refinement fire so we can become like Him. I love living here! Even though there is so much suffering going on, I feel there is so much good! I surround myself with good people, I read good things, I watch and listen to good things so my life is filled with goodness. I am keeping my eye on the prize and I pray everyday that I am pleasing unto my Heavenly Father, that I am helping to build my children's testimony and His kingdom. I hope my children will see me as the 2000 stripling warriors saw their mothers...they will not doubt that I knew it. (Alma 56:47-48)

Decisions, Decisions

2011-03-25T05:53:00.000-07:00

Autumn is in school now. We homeschooled the first 6 weeks and when she proved to be difficult I put her in public school. Now, she is a little older and after being in school she really wants to homeschool again. Every time we work on her homework or do our homeschool on breaks she tries really hard to be good. She is trying to prove to me she will be good if we homeschooled again. Homeschooling is what I would prefer, it is what I planned on doing ever since we started trying for kids and it broke my heart when I sent her to school. She is older now and hopefully will be more mature. We visited a co-op the other day and it was awesome! I am so excited and they exceeded my expectations (don't you love it when that happens?)!

Besides, if we homeschool we can make our own schedule, I get to have my kids with me (that's why we have them, right?), I get to teach and raise my children and we get to whole lot more of this:

I would rather have her learning at home and making deeper connections and memories with her siblings than dealing with other kids' bad behavior, teachers disciplining, standing in line, learning false education and learning things that are against our standards. I know I can't protect and shelter my children. I feel they will get enough adversity just living in the world, being so young they don't need to be around most of their life if I can help it. My psychic abilities tell me we will be homeschooling after this school year. I wish I could pull her out now, but she needs to finish kindergarten and do the graduation with her classmates!

New Suit

2011-03-23T05:42:00.000-07:00

Summer is quickly approaching and I have been "trying" to work out consistently to get a hot summer bod. HAHA...sorry, that made me laugh out loud as I typed it. I think my "hot" bod is over. Anyways, I have found out about hapari . Some of you may already buy from them, but I am saving my money so I can get a new suit like this one:

or this one:

And I think the prices are very reasonable for a bathing suit, they are about $40.

New Calling

2011-03-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got a new calling...Relief Society President! I am so humbled and excited....and a little nervous that the Lord has called ME to serve in this way. (I have also not been released as Young Women president yet). I conducted yesterday and we had our first presidency meeting! I am so excited about the future and the things we have planned. I am also so excited to be working with this group of ladies! I know I will be challenged as a leader and a disciple, but I also know that me and my family will have many blessings for our sacrifices.

House of the Rising Pets

2011-03-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

This has been Autumn's Spring Break off from school. Monday I was under the weather a tad and rested up although we made it to the food store and the kids got some "golf clubs".

Avery just pulled up chairs and sat and watched them.

Tuesday, we didn't do much either, but by Tuesday night I was ready to get out of the house. My idea was to run up to Kohl's and do some "window" shopping. You know, look at all the great new spring trends, but not be able to fashion any of them. When Chad got home around 6:00 we had dinner then I told him I needed to get out. To make a long story short, Autumn came. She was really good and got a new outfit with some Christmas money I had for her. We didn't get home till almost 9! I never do anything like that, but I think I may need to do that more.

That brings us to Wednesday. Our busy day. We went to a movie (Yogi Bear), it was cute. We go to the movies about twice a year. I think I am good for another 6 months. The kids were good, but Autumn was restless and Avery got cranky towards the end and kept on smacking my hair and cracking up, then standing up on my lap and then all of a sudden would power shoot backwards. By the end I was ready to leave. But it is a fun experience for the kids. Then we ate at Sonic (shared jumbo chicken and got their $1 ice cream), went to try on shoes (for me, although I didn't get anything), then we went to Pet Smart.

We left Pet Smart with 2 hermit crabs, whom we named Boom and Bang, a Betta fish (named Spit because when we feed him he spits his food right back out) complete with a bowl, water cleaner and food. The kids were so excited!
On the way home Owen asked, "What about a doggie?"
I answered, "You gotta talk to Daddy about that one!"

We are also dog sitting my sister's dog while she is in Florida soaking up the sunshine! He has been really good and is a good "test" to see if we really want one.

Owen though he might want to look at a book ; )

Owen loves dogs and wants one so bad. He has been feeding him and making sure he is ok. He will walk around the house calling Buster to check on him or see if he wants to play.

Today I decided we should go to the beach. We have a small man made beach on the lake in the community where we live. Some of my friends had the same idea, so when I got there there were three other moms and their kids. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and then eventually ventured into the water. The more wet they got, the more clothes came off. It was so cute to see these little kids running around in their underwear. I wish I got some pics. Owen had on his jimmy neutron's. Those are the memories they will remember! It has been a great week!

A lot of Crying

2011-03-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

Owen has been making faces like this a lot lately:

And with these faces come with lots of sounds; whining, crying, muffled words that are indecipherable and occasionally frustrated yells.

I don't know what his problem has been, but I remember Autumn going through something similar when she was around 4. So, I try to give him loves and tell myself this is just a stage and it will pass. (I don't do well with whining and "silly" crying, especially when it involves wanting a straw for a cup and Mommy thought you said you want to draw.)

Yeah.... sigh

This is Autumn making her her pouty face...

and no we are not making fun of Owen; we were trying to make him laugh,

which actually worked this time around.

If you don't have your health...

2011-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

If you don't have your health:

~ it's hard to take care of yourself and get better
~ it's hard to take care of your family
~ your mood is crappy
~ it makes other people's mood crappy

This is what I could think of in about 10 seconds. I know there are more consequences to not having your health. I am writing this because I don't feel well right now and I don't think my kids feel well. We are not totally sick, but sick enough. I think we would be way worse if we didn't watch what we eat most of the time. I was doing really well with my PH diet balancing, then I went off the deep end and ate cookies all day and honestly the next day I really didn't eat at all because I was so busy. The following day I started not feeling too well. It is hard to get out of the downward spiral. I have decided it is just easier to not get sick in the first place!

National Geographic Show for Battered Women!

2011-03-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

I volunteer at a women's domestic abuse shelter. I just received a phone call from National Geographic. They are doing a series on women who need facial reconstruction due to abuse. If anyone knows anyone who could benefit from this program please contact me at www.providentmommy@gmail.com.

I do not have details at this time, but as I get more I will send it along. Feel free to post this in your blog to help spread the word!

Where is my Laundry Elf?

2011-03-11T04:19:00.000-08:00

We got new a new washer and dryer! Our old washer was fine, but our dryer broke and we were borrowing someone's.

Over president's day we piled ourselves in the car and proceeded down to the good ol' Home Depot, after much searching online for the best deal.

They took 2 weeks to be delivered because of back order.

I was under the impression that when you purchase a new set then it will take less time and more laundry will get done. I guess I just assumed the purchase came with a laundry elf. So, to my dismay when it was delivered there was no elf!

My husband knew how upset I had been, so he has taken over the job as laundry elf. I don't think I have even started the washer machine yet! In actuality I think he is excited about using a new machine.

I just need an elf to fold and put away the laundry.

I have piles of fantastically, energy saved washed clothes sitting in baskets gracefully overflowing onto the floor.

I guess some things never change : )

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

This is how I found Owen one morning.

He had his favorite stuffed elephant stuffed up his shirt!

I guess he slept like that all night?!

My sleepy boy waking up...

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

2011-03-08T03:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted a recipe in a while. I made this spaghetti squash spaghetti a while back and forgot to post it! Whoops!

How to get 'er done:

1. Cut Squash in half and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes
2. Remove and let cool
3. Sautee the tomatoes and other veggies you would like in a skillet with some olive oil
4. Take a fork or spoon and start scraping out squash and put it in a medium bowl (it will come apart like strings of spaghetti)
5. You can toss the veggies and olive oil with cheese or sauce or what ever you like on top of squash in the bowl and eat it like that, BUT I like to put it in a baking dish pour red sauce and cheese on top and bake for another 10 minutes so it is all melted.

This is super easy and really fun and a healthier version of pasta spaghetti!

Changes

2011-03-07T03:57:00.001-08:00

Saturday turned out to be a good day. I have been having really good days lately and I was thinking about why. I realized I have been reading my scriptures more. I don't get as frustrated or irritated or feel rushed. I have also been praying that I will kick back and relax more. This is life; we are meant to work hard and have joy. SO, I told Chad I want to live by the motto "Work hard, Play hard". If I have work to do, I get it done first in the morning. By work I mean for our business. That way I am not stressing about it all day long until I get to it. I also do my blog posts in the morning before the kids are up.

I also have a goal of getting up at 4:30 am. I am at 6:30 right now. I am going to go to bed a little earlier and read and get up a little earlier until eventually I am at my goal. I want to get my work/ hobbies done in the morning. I feel bad taking time away from the kids for things that could be done while they are sleeping. That way I have all day to focus on them.

Also, I don't clean all day like I used to. The house isn't as sparkling, but it is still clean. I pick up toys, clean the kitchen, sweep the kitchen, and do laundry everyday (Chad helps with that in the morning before work he throws a load in). Our new routine is to do the dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, bathroom garbage, cleaning bathrooms on Saturday. It is a lot to do on one day so I may tweak it a little. Autumn and Avery do the dusting and Owen helps pick up toys and take out the bathroom garbage. I do everything else because Chad is usually working on Saturday. I may start doing some Friday because it took me a long to time to do all that.

I want to start doing more on Saturdays. In our household Saturday is like any other day. Chad works, we do our thing. Occasionally, he doesn't work or he comes home early, but then we work in the yard or in the garage. I want to go on hikes, go to museums, actually go out on family outings...not work ALL the time. I will go and do outings with the kids whether Chad can come or not because I wind up waiting for him and then it is too late and nobody gets to go.

We had friends over last night and we decided our branch needs to do more fun stuff with the active/young people. We came up with activities to do once a month and I am sooooo excited. We have some AWESOME things planned!!!! I am ready for 2011! This is going to be a great year and we are going to have some FUN!! A sneak peak of things planned: Dollywood, motorcyle ride on the Dragon, kayaking on the lake, virginia creeper trail.....

Lastly, we have been praying about our next step in our family and we have decided to go through the resource parent training to be foster parents or to adopt through the foster care system. As of now we are just going to go to the classes (which will take a few months) and through prayer to Heavenly Father I know we will know what the right thing is for our family.

Yesterday

2011-03-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started out as a calm, relaxed kind of day then got rushed and crazy with one phone call. In the morning I got the kids breakfast, got Autumn to school, played littlest pet shops, checked out some blogs and did some laundry. Then I put Avery down for a nap, I cleaned up the kitchen and told Owen to get dressed because it was beautiful out. So, me and Owen went outside and I swept the driveway because I busted out my roller skates from 1999 when I was in college. I loved rollerskating. I would skate along Pensacola Beach. Since health is so much better now, I don't have body parts falling apart, I figured I could skate again. I was a little shaky at first, but then I was starting to get it back. It was so much fun! Owen thought it was so cool!

Then I was tired, I sat down and my phone range. It was Autumn's school saying she had a fever and complaining of a headache and stomachache. I had to wake Avery up who was not happy, got Autumn and took her to a walk in clinic. She is 5 and has only gone in for being sick about 3 times. I was reluctant, but all the kids have been sick on and off for the last two weeks. I had a feeling that something was going on. Turns out she has an ear infection from the cold they have had and that was probably the culprit of the fever. Unfortunately she is on anti-biotics, ughh. By this time it is about 1:30 and I still need to shower and get ready to leave for the temple at 3:00 and I need to go to Walmart to get her prescription.

I got home at 2:15. I made chicken nuggets, showered, dried my hair, did my makeup, got my bag, double checked I had my temple recommend (which expires this month!) and said goodbye in 45 minutes. A friend of mine and I decided just to make a date and go to the temple. We drove the 3 hours there and back and had wonderful conversations. It turned out to be a great day (any day is great ending with the temple) even though it got unexpectedly rushed.

Warning: This post contains cheese!

2011-03-04T03:52:00.000-08:00

This post is a dedication to my husband and it will contain lots of cheese. We have been married for almost 6 1/2 years. We have had our ups and downs, just like anyone else, but we put a lot of effort to working through problems and we always end up coming out stronger and closer. I am so glad we found each other because we are perfect for each other on so many levels. I will say he is a man. He has shortcomings just like any other human (aside from Christ), but I think he is amazing because he recognizes them and tries to do better.

What makes this guy so special:

His strong testimony in the gospel (he is unwavering, strong fast and inmovable)

He is great with the kids. He loves them, plays with them and teaches them and they love him, which is shown by the attacks when he walks through the door.

He is inventive and solution oriented (he thinks of ideas that blow my mind)

He is resourceful and frugal

He is athletic (for those of you that know Chad knows he is a monkey man and is really strong)

He built our business from scratch

He is such a hard working and works long hours

He is great with people

He has a big heart and is willing to help anyone

He loves to have fun and be silly

He and Avery are very close, they have a special bond.

Some things he loves to do:
Rock climbing
Mountain biking
Camping
Being outside and active (pretty much anything extreme, but he has learned we need to tone it down with the kids : )
Spending time with the family
Going to church

He has taught me so much. I am a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were sealed in the Las Vegas Temple almost exactly 1 year from my baptismal date. Other than Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, he is my teacher. He has taught me so much about the Church organization and the gospel. I feel I have such a strong testimony because of him. I also have more knowledge of construction, roofing, physics, mechanics, etc than I would like. Our personalties are so similar, but yet so different. We are like yin and yang. I can see why Heavenly Father led us together and He definitely did...there were so many situations and a few people involved in order to bring us together. I can't imagine where I would be in life with out him. He kept me strong when I was weak, he took care of me when I couldn't, he takes care of the kids when I can't. He tries to live his life through being a good example, like I said he is not perfect, but he is doing pretty darn well!

I just love this person!

The Zoo and Animal Sounds

2011-03-03T03:26:00.000-08:00

If I remember correctly Autumn was out of school one day because of a snow day! Yay! So, I take them to the zoo. It was cold and desolate. We saw maybe two other families. Which for me is awesome because I don't like crowds and I didn't have to worry about the kids running around like maniacs. The upside to it being cold is that it makes the animals frisky! We saw some exciting stuff. Have I told you that I used to be a zookeeper? I loved it! They have some gibbons and one of them is super entertaining to watch. He will get right up to the glass and will swing right in front of you. I also do a lovely monkey call and I tend to get him excited! HAHA! I know when my kids are older I am going to embarrass them with my animal sounds...but for now they love it! I can also do a pretty sweet gorilla. Well, it was a wonderful day and I was so happy Autumn could be there with us!

This penguin came right up to the glass and then pecked at it,

so Autumn got close and starting talking to it : )

We were looking at the Macaws and they were being loud.

Owen loved the elephants this time.

This one would go inside then come back out.

This little baby chimp was so great to watch.

He swung on the tire, switched over to his hammock

where he was jumping around like crazy in which

he fell out (of course the kids were hysterical),

then he took his blanket, threw it over his

head and starting walking around bumping into things.

The kids could identify!

They just got a white bengal tiger and he was not happy.

He kept growling and swatting at his cage.

This is my crazy little friend who enjoys my monkey call!

A Family Home Evening

2011-03-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

Every Monday night we do a family night (what we call Family Home Evening),

it is recommended from our church.

I have been wanting to do this activity for a long time.

I first read about Lehi's Vision

from the Children's Book of Mormon.

Then we acted it out.

I had the kids chose if they wanted to hold to the "iron" rod

(the word of God)

which led them to the Tree of Life

where there was a picture of Christ and

they got the "fruit" of the tree-

an apple!

I think they had a lot of fun and Autumn

was so concerned when Avery let go

because then she would get lost in the darkness.

Owen was so excited to receive a treat

he actually ate the apple (one of the first!)

These Moments Pass

2011-02-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

This seems to be quite a topic this week, but it's a good one. As a mother with young children I have my moments when I wonder if I will ever get through this. Missing the days when I could wear a nice outfit and not worry about leaking baby poo (that actually happened... a few times)or little paw prints from sticky fingers. I see women I admire with extra-ordinary kids all grown and wonder if that will be me. Am I doing a good enough job of nurturing and guiding them, disciplining in love, teaching them to have faith in our Heavenly Father and planting the seeds for their own testimony.

Seeing other families who have "done it right" gives me hope and excitement for the future. Sometimes I feel stuck, like this is going to be my life for ever and ever. But as they have gotten older I have realized it doesn't and I need to savor all these moments. Owen won't be sneaking into my bed to cuddle in a few years, Avery won't want to sit on my lap when she eats and Autumn won't always look to me for approval. They will be self-sufficient and learn to make decisions on their own (hopefully through prayer and following the Spirit). Now that I feel it starting to slip away ever so slightly, I want to keep these moments a little longer.

It is a little out of my personality, but I do fantasize about when they are older and go to church dances. Autumn will be the shy one sitting down, Owen will be the popular one with a ton of people surrounding him and Avery will the louder than life, can't miss her come in the door type. I hope they will be there for each other, lift each other up and stick up for one another. I hope they don't forget or lose the closeness they have right now- how they are best friends.

Motivation

2011-02-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is my motivation! We are almost out of debt! Can I get a Hallelujah! We are hoping that by the end of spring/beginning of summer we will have everything paid off, but you know how that goes. At the very least it should be sometime this year. We have been working on this for 2 years now. I have been living on, at first a $5/ week slushie account, and now $10/week slushie money. So, I am soooo ready to be out of debt and contribute more to consumerism and the economy. Chad and I have been talking about going on a long weekend trip to somewhere (after we save the cash, of course). I would like to go to Costa Rica or someplace like that or even Northern California. This thought has been ever present in my mind. I have been reading so many blogs where people are going on cruises and going to tropical places.... I can't wait till it is my turn. And we will not go into debt for it.

Crazy Week

2011-02-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

I have had a crazy week. Between working at home with our business and being at home with my kids I have put blogging on the back burner. My oldest had a fever so I had her stay home one day. She has actually been really good the last couple of months and I am contemplating homeschooling next year because I think she may have actually grown up a little and is a acting more like a big girl, but that may be due to her going to school. She really wants to homeschool and I think she has been trying to prove to me she would be good this time. So that has been on my mind.

We have a huge job going on right now so that has been on my mind and keeping me in the office. All this busyness has me thinking about priorities. My dilemma is I am not sure what to do about my blogging. I want to continue, but I want to do more of a personal journal of my life sort of thing so I can print it out and voila I have my life record keeping along with pics all done. I don't know if I should keep it private (because I have one private) or to go public with it because I can't keep up with having 2. I have met so many amazing people and I would hate to cut them and future blogging friends out because of going private. On the other hand the thought of people I don't know that could be weirdos viewing intimate occasions of my family creeps me out a little. So that has been on my mind.

I have been working out everyday this week and I feel so much stronger and in less pain. That is really exciting. I have been doing body rock which has been awesome. If you are into working out I would check it!

And here are some random pics to keep this post exciting:

My Laundry Solution

2011-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Is this how your laundry room looks? I don't know about you, but I HATE laundry! Those of you that know me know I keep a clean house, but laundry is my weak point. I will get caught up then 2 days later it is pouring out my windows.

The problem:
-Too many laundry baskets (one in each room and one for clean clothes = 4 baskets)

-My little boy ripping down clean clothes, changing 4 times a day and then throwing the clean clothes into his dirty laundry basket.

The Solution:
- Using one basket. Now everyone needs to take their dirty clothes into my mommy and daddy's bathroom closet to put away their dirty clothes.

-My little boy now needs to hang up all his clothes. He doesn't want to do that so he his not ripping clothes down and changing all day long and he doesn't want to carry all of his clothes down to my room (plus I can see IF he does).

-I do a load a day. Either me or my husband will take the ONE laundry basket and start the load in the morning before we start our day. It is just one load so it is easy to put away. For those that have more than 5 per family you will probably need to do more loads than one.

This has been working great for us so I thought I would share. If you guys have found laundry solutions that work, please let me know....and I am sure I am not the first genius to figure this routine out ; P

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T07:38:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T14:35:00.000-08:00

Hope ya'll had a great Valentine's Day! I have never been a huge fan, but for some reason this year I was totally into it!

Okay, so this is NOT my house! But how fun would I be

if I got this crazy?!

Nope, all out for me is:

candles

a heart table cloth

spagetti dinner

valentine treats

And my hubby surprised me with flowers!

What I had for breakfast

2011-02-11T06:18:00.000-08:00

Alkaline Vegetable Smoothie!! YUM!!

Here is the recipe:

1 Avacado
1 Cucumber (peel if waxed)
1 cup of almond milk
2-3 leafy greans
1 lime or lemon pealed
Fresh mint to taste
1 apple or organic raw stevia to taste
1-2 tsp Super Greens
1T hemp seed or flax seed powder
1 T Udo's oil or coconut oil/butter
2 cups of ice cubes

Blend and voila!
You can adjust this recipe how you like with what you have. You don't have to do the full recipe because it makes 16 oz mason jars, which you can refrigerate up to 2 days.

ph balancing

2011-02-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have some different health issues that are going on, but I figured it would be best to get my body ph balanced. For those of you that haven't heard about this here it is simply:
Your body needs to balanced- the foods you eat are either alkaline or acidic. Our bodies tend to be more acidic so we need to eat more alkaline foods. Perfect balance is around 7.3-7.4 for our bodies. You can find a partial list of foods here

Really the only way to test your ph is to pee on litmus paper or pee in a cup and dip the paper in. I know, sounds gross but it is what it is. You can get some litmus paper in the pool section or at a pool store, maybe even home depot, I am not sure.

The idea behind being ph balanced is just like a pool. If the pool is off balance then bacteria and yucky stuff grows. It goes the same way with our bodies. If we are off balance (too acidic or too alkaline) then we get sick with colds, flus, arthritis...list goes on and on. One of the best ways to balance your ph is to drink ph balanced water (to balance quickly you can add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to a 1/2 cup of water). You can test your water with the litmus paper too. There are many expensive devices to balance your water, but we have a really good water filtration system and ours is ph balanced.

The basics to this and a healthy lifestyle are:

1. Cut out refined sugars
2. Cut out processed foods
3. Eat more alkaline foods
4. Drink water ONLY

I know it sounds hard, but it is really that simple!

What I did on Monday

2011-02-08T08:53:00.000-08:00

I usually clean out the fridge once a week

when I come home from food shopping,

but the pantry gets neglected.

So, I decided I have had enough

and I rolled up sleeves and

got to work.

Before:

After:

My little hoarder

2011-02-01T08:21:00.003-08:00

I found all this stuff under my 5 year old's pillow.

This is a little girl who hates to throw anything away,

including packaging for toys and used baggies.

She wants to keep everything.

So, now she has found a way to "hide" things

and keep them with her-

this place is under pillow!

Every morning I look under there and

there are different items.

It usually starts to pile up and I tell her she

needs to put them away.

She is definitely my "special" child (we all have

one in our family). This idiosyncrasy I find

cute, although worrisome because I hope

as she gets older and moves into her own place

we don't have to have an intervention.

Spartan Women

2011-01-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

Sparten Women. I don't know why but they popped into my head yesterday and I wanted to learn more. So, in the short time I had to learn more about them this is what I learned:

This info dates back to about the 10th century B.C.!

1. They were considered equals to men.

2. They were property owners, thought to be sole owners of 30% of the land in Sparta.

3. Their primary role was to become mothers of strong Spartan men. After their babies were born, if they appeared healthy after examination, the mother and baby were put in a wine bath and if the baby survived it was considered healthy. If the male babies seemed deformed or weak at birth they would be abandoned and left to die. Spartan women were ok with this because they only wanted to raise strong sons. Female babies were not inspected as harshly as males.

4.They were educated and trained in physical fitness from childhood so they could be mothers of strong men. They typically trained alongside the boys and were eventually a part of the Olympics as early as 396 B.C.

5. One women was asked, "Why is it that you Spartans are the only women who can rule men?" and she answered "Because we are the only ones who give birth to men."

6. They had strong pride for Sparta, their militia state, and trained their sons early to be brave and did not tolerate cowardice. They did not mourn their sons if they were killed in battle because they took pride that their sons defended Sparta.

There is so much more info, but I feel the points above touch on the most interesting.

You can do it!

2011-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

I volunteer my time to be on call for a domestic violence women's shelter and I get all kinds of phone calls. Most of them are homeless, but the rest of the women seem to keep themselves in the abusive cycle because they don't know how to make it on their own. I tell them that they have a decision to make. No one can make that decision for them, but when they decide to leave we are here to help.

Which has me thinking about myself. There are so many things I want to do and ideas I would like to pursue, but when I do the research and think about it in detail I get scared and think I can't do it. I feel not capable and that in turns into fear. When in reality I know I am smart and capable but I let that fear reside within me. The Lord says (paraphrasing) where there is fear there is no faith.

I guess my point is we can't let fear run our lives and our choices. We all have the potential of greatness inside us, it is our choice if we fulfill it!

Video of Kids

2011-01-26T07:42:00.000-08:00

So not feeling great today....really sore from the injections. But, good news, the doctor said because my back wasn't hurting all the time I should only need this one set and then possibly be done! YAY!! I think my body will always be slightly coming apart, but as long as I'm not in chronic pain that is okay. Life is good and I want to share this video that me and hubby did together because it makes me smile.

Prolo Therapy Treatment

2011-01-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

Today I am starting my next set of treatments of prolo therapy. I am not too excited because it is not fun. My last set of treatments helped sooooo much and took me out of that acute chronic pain state of life. Now, I am going in because occasionally I have sciatica pain and other pains in the region. All of my joints are loose, but I can't have them all done and most of them don't hurt- they just wiggle around in the joint. The only other joints that hurt are occasionally my ankles, knees and wrists. So, I may get my ankle worked on because it has been hurting. Now a series of treatments is usually every 4 weeks for a few months. So, here we go. This time shouldn't be as bad as before because I will probably only get 1/2 of the amount of injections I had before (on average I would have about 50 with less as areas are healed). If you are interested in learning more about my doctor (his website is VERY informative) you can click here or you can click on my link in the side about labeled "about my condition". Wish me luck!!!!

Easy Throw Pillows

2011-01-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Alright, I like to do crafty things, but I tend not to be very good at it. I have this awesome idea and picture in my head, but whenever I execute it it looks nothing like how I wanted it. Yesterday, at last minute, I got my craft on. I took some old pillow shams and made them in throw pillows. I try to use what I have since I don't have much moola to go buy stuff....besides I would rather re-use anyway. So here is what I did:

This was before

The pillow shams

And after

I just took out the filling in the old pillows

and stuffed it in the pillow shams about 3/4 of the way,

then folded the top part of the pillow sham over

and safety pinned it and tied the bows.

That's it, easy peasy!

Versatile Blog Award

2011-01-21T18:47:00.000-08:00

This was a total SURPRISE....

first let me say I was surprised to see a comment in my last post

and then when I saw that I was awarded

the versatile blogger AWARD

I let out a little squeal of happiness.

So Thank You Shantelle from

That Angels May Delight

I am so thrilled and happy

that you thought of me!

So here's how this award works:

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post
Tell 7 things about yourself
Award 15 recently discovered new bloggers
Contact them and let them know they've received the award:)

7 Things about me:

7. I LOVE re-arranging my furniture and re-decorating the house. I don't know what it is, but I get bored and then get ideas where things can be moved around and switched.

6. I love nature and watching the moon and I LOVE the smell of fresh dirt! I watch in wonder and awe the creativity it took to create this world.

5. I like riding my bike. It is my husband's passion and now it is turning into mine.

4. I would love to be a published author. I have been working on some books, but never seem to finish them. I lose confidence in my talent as a writer, but this year my goal is to finish one whether I get it published or not.

3. In high school and freshly out of school I used to model. I lived in Italy for a while and had a chance to live in L.A. when I came back, but decided to work in an assembly line soldering Harley Davidson spark plugs.....then I decided to go to college.

2. I love solitude. I like being by myself and doing my own thing, BUT...

1. I love my family more! I never thought I could love being around people as much as I love these people and most of the time I don't mind them being around ; )

Blogs I have chosen for this award are:

mormon girl in the bible belt

chasing the crown to chasing chickens

because i really cant get enough of myself

71 toes

hands full mom

but can she write

Lesson learned from spinning class

2011-01-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

I attended my first spinning class last night and it kicked my tooshie! What a workout. There is not much exercising I can do that doesn't mess up my alignment right now, but biking works for me. I am happy I have found something that I can do. I joined a women's biking club last year and started road biking. During the winter months they do a spinning class. I was finally feeling well enough so I decided to go.

I had a small epiphany last night. I kept wanting to quit, kept thinking I couldn't do it. I stuck in there and I got a second wind. I was thinking "Why am I here again?" "Do I really think this is fun?" And the thing is you feel like you can't quit as easily because you are in a group. If it were just me I would have stopped after 15 minutes....but I felt so proud I did the whole class and was able to keep up. This sounds so ridiculous, but I realized that you need to keep at things to get really good at it. I always expect to be good at something right away and when I am not I quit. I realized that physically you need to build up stamina and train your body, just like you need to build or train yourself in any other aspect in your life. And you actually need to DO it and stick with because I know next week when I go to class I will be stronger and be able to ride harder.

Grateful for this Time

2011-01-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

I was driving in the car today, running around doing errands and was thinking how grateful I am to live during this time in history. There were so many times when I was younger I wished I lived during a different time period, but now that I am older, wiser and more mature I am really grateful. I am reading a historical fiction about Leonardo Da Vinci's mother and it made me cry last night. At this moment we have more rights as women, more freedom, resources, opportunities, medical advances than ever before. Yes, we have our hardships as mankind, but I think overall this is a great time to live because of what is possible in the future and for all that we have right now. My heart was just full today with love, happiness and gratitude.

Ughh, new look for blog.

2011-01-19T06:01:00.000-08:00

Title says it people. I am trying to re-vamp the look of my blog and I was so frustrated last night. I had to re-do all my widgets, gidgets and wadzoodles.... that I accidentally erased. And now the background is not aligned right with the template I chose.....UGHHHHH!!! I love change, but sometimes I don't like changing bc then I mess things up and think I should have left it alone because, as it now turns out, it was better before. The computer to me seems like one big "do not push" button or it will detonate. I am afraid of experimenting and changing stuff on my blog because I don't really know what I am doing. I am learning as I go and if I change something it's like pushing that button and I wait for everything to be screwed up and that is exactly what happened. So, I did damage control and am still working on it.
Have any suggestions to what you like or what you want to see? I would LOVE some comments!

No More Babies

2011-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

So sad. Me and my husband have been going back and forth on this for a while. We actually were trying for a while and when it was not happening we stopped to pray and felt it wasn't right... for right now. Not to mention my physical complications from the previous pregnancies are creeping up on me. To make a very long story short the pregnancies ( I had 3 within 3 1/2 years) threw my hormones out of whack which in turn messed up my ligaments. My ligaments were overstretched and did not go back. Basically, my bones were not staying in alignment and it was extremely painful. My pelvis was the worst. I went through physical therapy and did pilates for years with no avail. Finally after almost 4 years I found a doctor that was able to help me. He does prolotherapy, a series of injections that jump starts your body's natural healing in ligaments and tendons. After years of doctors telling me there was nothing left to do, just deal with it, one day I said "NO". Me and my hubby started researching...again...but this time we found prolotherapy and a doctor only 3 hours away! When you are in acute chronic pain and trying to care for babies and toddlers you will try anything. I did what I felt was due diligence and went in for my first treatment. After 4 months I was about 90% better! Now, I am having problems with my back because I did not have him work on that as much as my pelvic area which was WAY worse. The pain is just a reminder that our bodies are only mortal. I don't know how well my body could handle another pregnancy, especially since I am not 100%. Some days are worse than others, on my best I think I can have another- on my worst I wonder what I am thinking. So, for now we are just taking life as it comes and enjoying our 3 little ones. Adoption is an option in the future, just because I can't shake the feeling that we are missing someone in our family. I think when we have our whole family together I will know it.
For more info on my condition you can visit pelvicpainresource.yolasite.com and please share the info with anyone who is pregnant and experiencing pelvic discomfort.

P.S. my little one in the picture above is now 2 years old! The provident mommy picture above it reminds me how far I have come... 6 months ago I would not have been able to sit on the ground and do a photo shoot like that!

Sick from both ends!

2011-01-16T19:36:00.000-08:00

Not that everyone wants to know this...but I have been soooo sick. I have been sick on and off the last few months! I am the one that hardly ever gets sick. Everyone around me will be violently puking and I take care of everyone! Not this year. Some reason my immune system is compromised and not doing its job. I am now fearful and anxious to leave the house or be around any people. Not to mention I am so over winter! Let me getta woop! woop! if you agree!!! I have spent the last few mornings dreaming about florida, wearing my beloved flip flops and getting sand out of the unmentionables. That would be WAY better than being this sick and this cold!

On a positive note:
We have had snow and Daddy and the kids made a snowman.
Had family visit for the holidays....when thankfully I was healthy.
The kids have not been as sick as Mommy and really, really good : )
Taking Probiotics so hopefully now I will be getting well and take hold of my life again!

No Book, No Rome, but a happy family

2010-11-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been on for a while and I wish I could say I have been working on something profound or astounding. I wish I could say that I have written a book, spent a month in Rome or helped with some world changing research.
Truth is I have just been living with little internet perusing and blog writing. I have been playing chutes and ladders, jenga and reading lots of books. I have been cooking good dinners, doing laundry and of course, sweeping the floor. Just life stuff. I have been volunteering at a women crisis shelter, my kids and I put together some "shoeboxes" for Operation Christmas child. You can find out how you can help here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org
My husband and I are entrepreneurs and I have been working on research for a new business I want to start. So, I have been very busy but have missed my blogging. I guess the best way to change the world is to raise good kids for the future and hopefully I am helping mankind in that way : )

Toe Cleavage

2010-08-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

We all have our pet peeves and one of mine is toe cleavage. I find it worse than nostril hair blowing in the wind like confetti. It is one of those things that when I see it I must overt my eyes or I may upchuck and it may very well wind up on the perpetrator's feet and all up in their toe crevices.

Now for my confession.... I have a pair of shoes that creates cleavage. Yes, yes I know. I am a total hypocrite, but in my defense I had been looking for 2 years for black pointy heals. I finally found a pair in my size and on sale that I could afford. So, I said the heck with it and bought them. Now, whenever I wear them I feel guilty and a little self-conscious.

Take it from me and resist the unbeatable sale price or fashionable style. Don't buy shoes that show off cleavage. And just because I am so nice I am including a picture of my very own toe cleavage!

Pickling Cucumbers!

2010-07-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, the title is as it sounds!

I decided to try pickling cucumbers

and they turned out delicious!

I didn't mean to make this much though.

Alright here's what happened,

I bought some bread n butter pickling mix

and on the back it said 28 cucumbers

will make 6 quarts of pickles.

I was like woah!

That's a lot of cucumbers,

but I already had some that friends

had given us from their garden.

So, I went to the store and bought

the rest.

I had 4 store bags full.

So, in the end to make the

six quarts it took about 8 cucumbers

(but they were big ones).

Needless to say, I had a lot left over.

20 to be exact!

So, the next day I pickled the rest

and the picture up top shows

how many I ended up with.

7 quarts and 11 pints!

It is soooo easy! Here's how you do it:

1. Wash jars and rings really well (in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher)

2. Wash and cut cucumbers

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (large enough to fit the jars and fill with water 1" above jars)

4. Make the seasoned mix (follow instructions on mix or find a recipe)

5. Sanitize lids in boiling water

6. Put cucumbers in jars

7. Pour hot mix into jars

8. Wipe top of jar with clean cloth (to get a good seal)

9. Put lid and ring on jar

10. Place jar in large boiling pot (make sure water is 1" above jars)

11. Put on pot lid and boil for 10 minutes

or as mix directions or pressure cookers says

You don't need a pressure cooker for pickles, it is considered a water bath.

Also, there are all kinds of pickles you can do:

dill, bread n butter, sweet and spicy!

Just pick the mix or recipe you want!

I personally LOVE sweet bread n butter pickles!

Envelope System

2010-07-12T04:34:00.000-07:00

I can write about random life moments that don't bring much
sustenance, but I like to throw around knowledge I have gained and
see who catches it like a bride's bouquet.

Many of you may already have heard of Dave Ramsey and his different
financial programs. Honestly, I haven't read any of his books or have
done any of his seminars, but we did read online about his idea of
creating an envelope system to help save and get out of debt.
We took the idea and implemented it into our life.

Here is the gist of it:
You create a budget (yes, you must do this and stick to it and be realistic)
For each category in your budget have a literal envelope
Each week take out the cash for your budget (in 20's, 10's and 5's, however much you need)
Put the budgeted amount into each envelope

Example- Your budget is:
Food- $100
Gas- $50
Medical- $10
Savings-$10
Slushie fund- $10
clothes-$10
Emergency- $10

You get the point. With the above example you are spending $200 a week. Now, this is a budget
people so you look at where in your expenses you can cut back. If you are spending $200 a week in food can you cut back to $150? We cut back significantly on everything.

My marriage is better because we know exactly where money is going. It takes more effort than just spending the money, but it is so worth it. We keep everything on QuickBooks, therefore we can pull up graphs and all kinds of neat stuff to make sure we are staying within our budget or see where we are going over.

The idea is that you use the money in the envelope for the corresponding purchase. So, if you only have $20 in your clothing envelope and want to buy a new pair of shoes then you have only 20 bucks to spend.

If you don't like keeping cash in the house you can set up a separate savings account and keep really good track of what you spend, like through a QuickBooks or on the old fashioned ledger line accounting book.

Using this idea for the past year and a half we have gotten out of about half our debt! I hope this helps!

On my knees with broom in hand

2010-07-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know about all of you, but I sweep my kitchen floor at least 3 times a day (and that is conservative). We live at home; we don't leave early in the morning for work and school and then come home at night. All of our snacks, meals, crafts, drinks, cartoon watching, playing and living is done at home everyday all day(for the most part). So, naturally my home becomes wrecked within several hours of the rising sun.
Yesterday, I was on my knees as usual with the small broom and dustpan spot sweeping the floor and I had a sense of de ja vue. I felt disgusted. This is my life... on my knees sweeping the floor. This is it, this is what I do with my days. I just lost it, tears were splashing on the cold tile and I felt ridiculous, crying because I choose to keep a clean floor. I began to pray and at the end I felt calm and reassured. I am doing a good job. I choose to keep a clean house for my family. I choose to stay home and raise my children. No, I don't have some high powered position in a corporate office (ugh) but I have the most powerful job of all....raising the future.

Getting Domestic

2010-06-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I got domestic a few weeks ago. I don't know about you, but sometimes

I look around my house and I have this

urge...no, compulsive drive totally re-vamp the whole house.

We don't have the money to replace furniture

or the time to re-paint rooms every few months.

What I do instead is rearrange furniture,

buy little room accents/candles etc.

My husband will come home and I will

have all the furniture in different places.

He will just shake his head and doesn't even

ask how I was able to move all the heavy pieces anymore.

Physics is good : )

Anyhoo, this is my latest. I was tired of my red apple country

curtains in the kitchen.

We drove around to about 4 fabric places until we stopped at

Hobby Lobby and I picked up this colorful number

for about $9. Luckily, I have friends that know how

to sew and helped me with my creation.

So, now I have a totally different look in the kitchen.

I also am repainting the table and chairs to go along with the pastel flair.

Paint and fabric is way cheaper than new curtains and new furniture!

Plus, it helps get out my compulsive need for change and

creativity.

Invisible Kitchen Destroyers

2010-06-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

Setting: in the kitchen
Action: cleaning

Standing over the kitchen sink with it practically clean after 40 minutes of slave labor I turn around to take the last sweeping glance over this room where we work out our taste buds and it looks like the Invisible Kitchen Destroyers have hit again.

They sneak in and do their damage everyday! I don't know how I don't see it coming. I will have a sparkling shine in my kitchen and then BAM I turn around and there are half eaten cookies on the table, smashed cheerios on the floor and spilt juice that my foot is now stuck to. Ahhh the loveliness of motherhood!

Should I be mad or laugh?

2010-06-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

In those situations when the kids do things really bad, but funny, should you laugh or be mad?

For instance, the other day I was sitting in the kitchen and heard the water on in the front bathroom. The kids were down there for about 15 minutes without supervision. I reluctantly stood up, pushed the chair back and strolled down the hallway. During my stroll I never would have guessed what I was walking into...water, all over...flooded. The front foyer, the bathroom and my son's room. I carefully peak around the wall and see my two oldest in their skivies on their bellies slip and sliding across the floor! When I first saw the water I was beyond having steam puffing out of my nostrils, but when I saw them slide across the floor with their bare naked bellies it was so hard to restrain my spreading smile. I could tell they were having so much fun they didn't care how much trouble they would get in. I walked backwards out of their doorway very carefully, as to not break my coccyx, and walked to the laundry room to grab a pile of towels. I handed them the towels and told them to wipe it up. I was still mad, but it was so funny.

Finding Self Again

2010-06-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Why does it seem that as we mothers bring babies into this world, we lose a little piece of our self? I have heard and read about so many women that have expressed "losing herself" after having children. Is it a medical phenomenon that as we go through 9 months of ruining our bodies, umf hours of labor and agony and then ripping open to let out a new life we push out bits of who we are through the process? Eww, I am not talking literally people. Not to be melodramatic, but the question "who am I?" seems to be a pandemic occurring among new stay at home mothers (I found women that are dealing with this ARE stay at home moms, not to say women who continue working do not experience this as well.)

There is a huge transition to go through. First, give up everything for our newborn. Second, give all our time. Third, spend our days cleaning up poop, spit up and vomit. Hooray! To look on the bright side they look so cute not matter what bodily fluid is coming out! Anyways, if you are anything like me you have given up all your life dreams when you had children (unless you are one of "those" whose life dream was to have children). Growing up I had so many different interests and I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but being a mother certainly was not one of them.

Now I have 3 and they are 4 years, 3 years and 16 months. I have been so busy the last few years I haven't even noticed that I was missing something. Now that life has become more living and less survival mode, I have noticed that "I" have gone MIA. How did this happen? I don't know at what point this happened, but now I am on a quest to find myself again. What do I like? What are my current dreams? Who am I? I need to have a self outside of being a "mom". Most importantly how do I balance what I want and what is best for the family. I know what I want, but those dreams are not realistic with where I am in life right now. I need to bring the "Susan" back to this mortal body.

Body Image of Women

2010-03-31T03:40:00.000-07:00

What has happened to the body image of women? Ever since the beginning of time I am sure the image of women has had some impact. It changes and fluctuates throughout time and all over the world. Look at the Greek statues of their goddesses and the paintings of the Romans and Egyptians. They are usually full-figured women with a soft plump belly.
I was telling my husband the other day that it seems odd, as I think about it, that the attractive thing for women now is to look like men. By this I mean, all the ads and images of fatless women with tight muscles, along with a tight muscled stomach. That is typically how men are. Most women naturally, especially after childbirth, do not naturally look that way. We look more like the depicted women in Roman paintings.
His response was that he loved me no matter how I looked. HAHA, I had to laugh because I was not fishing for a compliment, I wanted to have a stimulating conversation. I have little to no issues of my body image. Then he said it is more about the person being healthy and confident that was attractive.
It seems that the media is portraying thinner and toner as sexy and no doubt some men may find that attractive, but in a man's personal life I think he is looking for a woman comfortable in her own skin. When this happens she is confident and sexy.
As women we can be cruel to each other. We need to understand that genes come into play. I tend to naturally be taller and thinner. I have been the butt of every joke in the book growing up about being skinny and even have heard comments as a woman. I have had 3 children so I don't get as much grief since I still have some weight on me. When I was younger I envied the more full-figured women because they seem more, well, womanly. I am comfortable with the way I look and my goal is to be healthy. So, let's be nice to each other, no matter how we look!
We need embrace ourselves and love who we are and realize the men in our lives love us that way too!

To Homeschool or Not?

2010-03-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since before I was a mother I fantasized about homeschooling my children. I know it sounds like some corn hog of a dream, but I thought it would be the greatest thing to be the main teacher and trainer of my kids. I did not want to march them onto yellow transportation to be whisked off to some antipodal school. My worries of their education contradicting what I would teach at home took over my whole existence. I am already swamped to my eyebrows with responsibilities. I just repeated the mantra "I can do it all". I can homeschool. I can work for our business. I can start a support group. I can volunteer. I can do my church callings. I can take care of the house (along with the laundry overflowing out the windows). I can make 3 meals a day and keep the kitchen clean. I can start a blog. I can keep 3 kids under the age of 5 occupied for 14 hours with enriching activities.

Ummmm. yeah right?! Maybe some can do it, but I finally came to the realization that I can not. Actually, let me clarify: I am capable of doing it all, but not very well. At what point should you say my sanity is worth clearing some items off my plate? Well, at the point you start losing your sanity. Next come the priorities. What do I clear off my plate? This is a personal decision and in my case one of the items was homeschooling. Mainly because of me and my eldest daughter's relationship. We needed a break from each other. I was literally heartbroken for a while when I came to this conclusion. I cried, I was angry and I felt like a failure as a mother.
Then I visited the school and I felt reassured and excited. She is now in the pre-k program at her elementary school. She loves it and I love it! She doesn't take me for granted as much any more and we are way more loving and respectable to each other. I am a better mother because I feel like a ton of bricks have been lifted off me and I can breath again. After she started school I realized how much homeschooling was stressing me out. We still read a lot and I teach a lot and I am preschool homeschooling my son until he is ready for pre-k.
Life comes at you fast. Things change instantly and for right now my kids will go to school when they start kindergarten and I have gained back my soundness of mind.

Ginger Drink

2009-11-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and information I share is only through my own experience and reading. If you have any medical concerns you need to see your primary care physician!

I love a hot drink on a cold day.

I have come to love my ginger drink!

I am also into natural medicine

and ginger has so many medicinal uses.

It is known as a "universal medicine"

aiding in digestion, nausea, and inflammation.

It aids when you are sick with the flu and have a fever.

It has a warming effect on the body, so if you

have a fever it makes you perspire to break your fever.

On a cold day it will help warm you up and

increase circulation.

Directions:

Put about 4 cups of water into a pot and heat over medium.

Peel a small piece of ginger (I don't like the floaty pieces) then cut into slices (maybe 4 or so).

Add the ginger slices into pot and lower temperature, cover and simmer.

I then pour some of the ginger water into a cup and add honey.

Then ENJOY!

TIP: You can also enjoy ginger as a cooler in the summer.

That recipe will be coming during that season :D

*You never want to over heat foods and the longer you let simmer the more potent it will be.

Easy Halloween Crafts

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

I love doing crafts with my kids, but I don't like to spend a lot money

since we are focused on getting out debt and we are on a TIGHT budget.

Some may call me cheap and that is fine by me.

Just because I don't have a huge budget for crafts

doesn't mean we can't do any!

This craft includes construction paper, googly eyes and some glue.

I taught my oldest daughter, she is 4, about mosaics and arachnids.

Everything can be a learning opportunity.

My son did one too and he is 2 1/2.

He did a really good job and of course loved the glue!

For the Spider:

Fold paper in half and trace your little one's hand with the thumb along the folded edge.

Cut around it and open it up, add some eyes and you have a spider!

Voila, cheap and easy!

For the Pumpkin:

Draw an outline of a pumpkin, add a stem with some paper, cut up some orange pieces of paper and 2 triangles out of black paper and some squares. Then help your kids glue it on the pumpkin!

Of course these can be way more creative, but this is what we did this year!

Pumpkin Bread

2009-11-01T17:07:00.000-08:00

I successfully made some yummy pumpkin bread!

This loaf was gone that day!

I get a lot of my recipes from www.allrecipes.com

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Potty Training, Am I just Lazy?

2009-10-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

Potty Training. Just saying those words is enough to make an exhausted Mother even more exhausted! I have 3 children...they are 4 years old and under. My oldest is potty trained, she sort of just did it on her own when she was ready, around the age of 2. Not to say in least that she is perfect at always making it on time. I sometimes find those mysterious puddles on the floor, you know the ones. The ones that make you feel like you have no other choice but to get low to ground and take a whiff to see if it is water or something much grosser, something that needs extra disinfecting other than just a quick wipe with a rag. She is usually the culprit. But now I have moved onto the next in line - my son. He is now 2 1/2 years and can not make up his mind if he is a big boy or not. For a while he wore his Bat Mans and did well making it to the potty, but when he started to pull out Mr. Winkie and pee pee on the floor to make his sister laugh I decided I could not handle it and strapped a diaper back on him. Which surprisingly, he did not resist. So now, I get asked wether I am potty training and I realized I did not know exactly what that meant. Am I actively working on getting him to go on the potty? No. I help him if it seems he needs to go or I will ask if he wants to go on the potty.
I have seen shows where parents go crazy trying to get their kid potty trained. What's the big deal? They will go when they are ready. Am I just lazy? I would rather watch the clouds go by or insects marching on the deck with my children than spend my days around a stale smelling toilet and cleaning up urine and feces off the floor (because let's face boys are a little messier than girls in this respect). I understand that if your kids are in pre-school children usually need to be potty trained before 3, but seriously, so what if they are 3 years and 4 months before they are ready! Kick back, relax.... when they are ready to flush it, they will!

Whole Wheat Crackers

2009-10-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Homemade cooking is usually better tasting and better for your body. I am tired of reading the ingredient labels on grocery store food just to find it full of stuff I don't want to feed my family.

My kids snack on a lot of crackers so I have been searching and trying out different whole wheat cracker recipes, with no avail. The latest trial and error experience I had, was no doubt my fault, turned into a crash and burn. I found a recipe I think will be really tasty, but I did not have an ingredient in my kitchen so I substituted. That may have been the culprit. Plus I think I overcooked them.
Surprisingly, my kids and husband liked them, when I found myself unable to swallow the cardboard cutout of a cracker.
I have the original recipe below which I am sure will have better results. Try it out and let me know what you think!

2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of sesame seeds
1/4 cup of raw wheat germ
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of cold water water

Blend together the flour, salt, sesame seeds and wheat germ, then add the oil and mix well with a fork. Pour in the cold water, mix, and continue to add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft and workable. (Flours vary in their ability to absorb moisture, so I can't tell you exactly how much water to use.) Finally, turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for at least ten minutes. (The longer, the better.) Set the dough aside.

Now pull off a golf-ball-sized lump of paste and roll it into a ball. Then (using a floured rolling pin) roll the dough out until it's cardboard thin, as thin as it'll get without tearing. You should now have a cracker that's about 5 inches in diameter. (Or do as our staff recipe tester did and shape smaller, easier-to-handle crackers with a cookie cutter.—Mother.) Repeat this procedure untill you've used all the remaining dough.

Next, heat an ungreased cast-iron skillet as hot as you can get it. (If you cook on a wood stove, you don't need a skillet, just use the top of the stove.) Bake each cracker in the skillet (or on the stove top) until it's light-brown on the bottom, then flip it over and just barely brown the other side. (Again, our staff tester
tested another method with good results: Bake the Crackers on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 400-degrees-Fahrenheit oven, turning as described above to brown both sides. — Mother.) Allow the crackers to cool thoroughly on a rack before storing them in an airtight container,

Pick a Body Part...Any Body Part

2009-10-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

Today is me and my husband's Fifth Anniversary. After five years we have been through a lot, just like everyone else. We have grown apart and then grown back together. We have bickered and then cracked up laughing. We have shed tears together, especially him when we watch chick fliks... HaHa.
He has dealed lovingly with my insane flips of emotions, my crazy ever changing ideas, my hyper annoyingness and my weird fetishes.

Marriages need pick me ups and for men what is a better marriage pick me up than some affection coming from their wife.

Confession: My weird fetish is my husband's armpits.

Sounds weird I know and just to make it clear it is ONLY HIS armpits. ALL other armpits are just disturbing. I can't describe it, but he thinks it is funny and it lightens the mood when I get up in there.

My idea is that every woman reading this post should pick a body part on their husband and then tell him how much they like it. It will make them feel special and loved....and who knows where it will lead : D

Quit Saying Okay, Okay?

2009-10-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

My name is Susan and I am addicted to saying the word "okay?".

When you are a stay at home mom it is a constant struggle to get your children ( I have toddlers) to listen and then obey. I end up saying "Take your shoes off your hands and get out of the mud, okay?" (don't ask), "Sit down so you don't fall, okay?", "Stop poking your sister, Okay?". I think you get the point. Since when do we as parents need to ask our toddlers for their permission to do what we are so rightfully asking? We don't. It has become so habitual over time that my brain doesn't realize I am saying it until my own ears hear it!

I think the first step to quiting is to admit and realize that when we ask our children if they want to be obedient we are doing them a great injustice. When we add that little word on the end of a command with a slight increase into a soprano tone, it becomes a questionable request. One that does not need be attended to. Well, fellow mothers I think it time we claim back our stations and quit saying okay....okay?