Think. Click. Succeed!

It had been a challenging autumn with my hubby gone.  It would be for anyone. But throw in sending off a missionary (so many emotions), my difficult 11 year old (who just started middle school which is change equals hard for him plus his dad being gone-more change) and my battle with depression/anxiety into the mix and life was very overwhelming for me at times to say the least.  It seemed like there was so much to do.  I was just so tired!

Somedays I went back to bed after I got the kids off to school.  I watched too much TV trying to reduce my stress level and "relax" but that only contributed because there was stuff not getting done that needed to be done.  It was so hard for me to "get going" and do what I needed to do.  If you have never had depression you probably can't really relate.  You may think "well, just do it!"  For some reason, it is just not easy.

But I have a little yellow friend--my CLICKER.  My friend helps me "Just Do It!" I have had it for a while but it has been gathering dust.  I posted about when our family all got clickers in May but we didn't go very far with them, darn it.  I was reminded about my clicker again and started using it while Scott was gone. Using it to count my positive thoughts. (ok--actually Hilary from billionclicks.org sent me another one and asked me to use it and blog about it to spread the word of how wonderful it is!)

It seems silly how a little thing can give me motivation but it does.  I can click when I complete a job, when I am doing a job, and even start a job.  I can click when I make a to-do list!  I click for all the times I say to myself "I can do this." "keep going, you can do it!" Which is a lot.  Positive self talk. Being my own cheerleader by clicking.  And mostly it is simple things that need done, like the breakfast dishes (with maybe last night's dinner dishes too!) or laundry to put away, or vacuuming.  sometimes even getting dressed.  Little things that are easy but I think "I don't want to do that. I will do it later" or "It seems too overwhelming.  I can't do that".  But with a little motivation from my clicker I do it!

When the kids are fighting, or whining at me, or not going to bed well and my thoughts are "I can't do this!" "I want to run away!" my clicker reminds me to take a deep breath and tell myself "Yes I can!" "I can handle it."  I wear it around my wrist as a reminder to tell myself positive things. 

During my husband's absence and I was maybe not dealing with it all too wonderfully, I felt the energy or morale in our home drop.  I was tired, the kids were fighting more, and we all seemed grumpy.  I began to use my clicker to try say positive things to my children, and about my children in an effort to change the attitude in our home.  I felt so much better!  They felt better!  We felt happier. Giving compliments is not a very natural thing for me but with my clicker I am working on it!

I made it through the long month with the help of my clicker and family and friends!

I get so much done using my clicker!  because it gives me  spark of motivation that I needed to start the day and to keep going- instead of going back to bed or something equally unproductive. However, some days the clicker gets forgotten and I think of it later in the day realizing I am not clicking.  And usually I realize that I am not having a great day.

The one thing we can never get enough of is POSITIVENESS.  And in this world we all need lots of positive.

What can drive away depression? Positiveness!!  Not to say that I am cured with a clicker because depression is not that simple. However when I can accomplish a task that I just don't feel I can face,  though simple it may be, and am able to do it, I am lifted up tremendously and my brain is reminded that Yes, I can TOO do it.  I am a winner!  And the more I use my clicker the more my brain is trained to push away the negative and open to and see the positive.

I click for things I am thankful for too. Beautiful autumn weather.  Yellow and orange leaves.  Kids' beds that are made.  The ability to go grocery shopping (though it's my least favorite task).  Dustin serving a mission.  Brennen.  Andy.  Janessa. Cameron.  Scott.  friends.  every little thing I click for helps my brain dwell on the positive.

So how do you get a clicker!?!  go to billionclicks.org.  BillionClicks.org is a website where people from everywhere can log their positive thoughts!  They are on a mission to change the world for good...one click at a time.  They have almost 3.5 millions clicks and hope to reach a billion!  Add yours!  Watch this short video to see how it all got started.  Then order a clicker kit of your very own! 

                            You can use the coupon code MELISSA834 through Nov 30. 

When you enter your clicks at BillionClicks.org, you can receive a free digital kit with downloadable quotes, wallpaper and more! plus read awesome uplifting blog posts and comments from others who are clicking.

 Okay!  You know all about it so give it a try! Change your life one click at a time!

Wallpaper

When I hear the word "wallpaper" I think of bedroom walls with decorated paper on them.  You can tell what generation I am from.  I don't think my kids even know what that kind of wallpaper is (we don't currently have any on walls in our house).

But they know about wallpaper on computers and phones.  My 7 year-old had my phone the other day and asked if he could change my wallpaper.  It was a beach.  When I looked at my phone next I found he changed it to this photo from his 7th birthday:

It's a Minecraft cake made my me!

It is amazing to me what kids know these days.  They learn to crawl, walk, talk, eat with a fork and work smart phones and tablets before the age of 2.

I get a kick out of seeing his smiling face whenever I pick up my phone, and consequently it makes me smile! If I decide to change it back to the beach, I might need his help.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home...

...Glad as I can be!

Our daddy has returned home at last!  Hooray.  He has been in Utah training for his new business for the past month and got home this past Saturday night.  Which means I have been a "single" parent.  Wow! It was harder than I thought. I sure salute all those single parents out there.  And I don't even have a job.

One of the hardest things about him being gone was timing--
A:  Dustin left for his mission during the month Scott was gone.  I was on an emotional roller coaster for the few days before and after D left, and had to remember I still had other kids to take care of.
    and
B:   it was soccer season.  Brennen started a job at Costa Vida, and also was busy with music practice (choir & orchestra) & concerts, and Dustin left on his mission, so all of the sudden I AM THE ONLY DRIVER around.  Soccer, piano lessons, soccer, scouts, soccer, achievement days, soccer, after school choir, soccer...  Three kids playing soccer = 6 practices per week and 3 games per week.  I have to admit we didn't make it to all the soccer practices. The last few years I have taken advantage of my teenage drivers and realized how much I appreciate them.

And of course there are the things that I never really do because my hubby takes care of them so I don't even think about them much til he is gone--like putting the garbage can to the curb on Wednesday mornings.  I only forgot once.  And I didn't forget it was garbage day, I was just going to do it later.  oops.  And taking care of the cars and making sure the gas tanks are full; and always locking up at night.  I even mowed the lawn once.  But the mower ran out of gas so I had to go fill up the little red gas tank.  I don't know if I have ever done that since I have been married.

Harder than the day to day tangible "stuff" to take care of is everything else--giving everyone enough attention, refereeing the arguments and bickering, the discipline, the homework, the emotions, getting everyone where they need to go (church is the hardest and I don't even have preschoolers anymore) and, well, just everything that goes with families.  It wore me out!  I am tired--more than usual.  (I think I need a 2 week nap).  There were some tears and calls to my sister and friends asking for help.  But I got through it.  We all got through it.

The mood in our house is happier now that Dad is home.  But I think it was a little rough on him coming home from work today to a houseful of happy noise instead the quiet of his parents' house.  We all might need a few days of adjustment, but it's good to be back together again.

Think Happy Thoughts

Last year I went to Time Out for Women and saw Hilary Weeks.  She gave a talk about positive thoughts and how using a clicker (counter) to keep track of every positive thought leads you to be happier and more productive and all that good stuff.  She has also made a website billionclicks.org where people all over are logging in their clicks to see if we can reach one billion happy thoughts.  It is a great website with positive blogs, quotes and stories, etc.  And you can buy clickers!

My sister bought me a clicker at Time Out for Women but I haven't really done anything with it.  I have visited the website often but haven't "clicked'.  I finally decided that I am going to join in and start clicking!  and I decided to include my family also.  I bought clickers for everyone.  I thought it will be a great way to start off our summer.  Last night I showed the video of Hilary Weeks http://www.billionclicks.org/page/videos to my family and we laughed.  (you should watch it because it is funny--and a bit inspiring).  Then I passed out the clickers.  Everyone seemed enthusiastic about it. We talked a bit about how to be more positive in our home and have less arguing, etc.

Then after a little bit my 6 year-old pipes in "What does 'positive' mean?"


so I guess the first lesson in teaching a lesson, is make sure your students know what the key word means! lol

I will (or might) keep you posted on how our "clicking" is going and if our home is becoming a happier more positive place. 

A "Ta Da" Moment

I read a great article a while ago about "moments of awesome."  We aren't perfect and make mistakes but once in a while we have moments of awesome and we need to celebrate and feel good about those moments instead of feeling bad that we have shortcomings.

Well, I don't know how awesome it was, but I did have a "Ta-Da moment" yesterday.  I actually remembered before 7:30 this morning that today was CRAZY HAT DAY at the elementary school to start off reading week.  Not only were the hats ready BEFORE this morning, but also BEFORE bedtime last night.  We did it in the evening and had plenty of time to be creative.  (cuz that is really not my strong point).  What made it even better is that I came across the K'nex set (with crazy eyes, etc) in the closet while looking for supplies and so it was easy. And because the hats were ready early we even got to Skype Grandma and Grandpa to show off the hats.

Here are the crazy hats.

  Janessa found hers at a yard sale on Saturday which was an added bonus!  

 I used tape and safety pins to hold everything on. Andy of course just wanted to cut holes in the hat.


Well I used the webcam so the pics aren't great.  Cameron has pipe cleaners and a balloon on his with the eyes and propeller.

Most importantly, I had happy kids.

My Sister's Mountain

My son gave me a Hilary Weeks CD for Christmas, and the words to the song Beautiful Heartbreak were continually going through my head the past few weeks.

       "I had it all mapped out in front of me, 
        Knew just where I wanted to go;
       But life decided to change my plans, 
       And I found a mountain in the middle of my road."

My sister and her family went to Idaho to her in-laws for Christmas, and on the way home the family stayed over at my Mom's here in Farmington.  They planned to spend  New Years here, then head home to Soccoro, 4 more hours south, later in the week.

However, my sister was admitted to the hospital here on Jan 2 because of high blood pressure and swelling in her legs and face.  Her kidneys had stopped working.  She had surgery 4 days later to insert a catheter for dialysis and began hemo-dialysis later that day.  When she was in the 4th grade she was diagnosed with Lupus which damaged her kidneys.  And apparently her kidneys finally did all they could do.

She definitely has a mountain in the middle of her road.

The hard part (well, there are many hard parts...) was that she was in the hospital here for almost 2 weeks but her kids needed to start school, as well as her husband who is getting an engineering degree at New Mexico Tech.  So it was decided the family would go home and my mom and other sister and I would take care of Holly at the hospital.

My mom's health didn't allow her to be there too much, and my sister works.  so I spent many hours at the hospital.  I didn't realize how emotionally draining it can be.  I decided that visitors are not only for the patient but immensely help out the person tending the patient also. 

I was glad I could be there for her but I felt helpless.  Wishing I could take it all away from my baby sister.  At one point I almost offered to go to Socorro and take care of the kids while her husband came to help her at the hospital because I thought she needed him and it would be easier for me.

She has been home almost a week.  Her ward is pitching in.  The dialysis center is 45 minutes away from her house. Three days per week she is away from her home for dialysis for about 6 hours.  That is a huge life changing thing for the whole family.  They need help and I am so grateful for ward families that take care of each other.  And I know that she and her family will grow from this experience.

I know she is going through a lot.  And her husband is too.  I can't do much, but I can pray for her and her family.

In a few months she will be able to do peritoneal dialysis with a machine at home while she sleeps.  The future holds a kidney transplant, but nobody knows how soon.  But we do know I have 2 brothers who are a match that were tested years ago.  My sister and I were never tested.  But we will be.  And there are so many people who have offered her one of their kidneys.

With faith she will be able to make it through these challenges in her life.  I know the Lord will carry her and hold her up.

She has a mountain, but as the song says, eventually she will find a beautiful heartbreak. Just like any of us going through a hard time.

"I knew there was no way to move it, so I searched for a way around; 
Brokenhearted I started climbing
And at the top I found...


Every fear, every doubt, 
All the pain I went through;
Was the price that I paid to see this view;

And now that I'm here I would never trade... 
The grace that I feel, and the faith that I find; 
Through the bitter-sweet tears and the sleepless nights; 


I used to pray he'd take it all away, 
But instead it became a beautiful heartbreak."

Nap Time?

We were supposed to be getting carpet installed today.  In the living room, hallway, and 4 bedrooms. However, we found out yesterday that it is back-ordered.  Which I suppose is okay but I wonder if the store was going to call and tell me that.  I called yesterday morning to ask some questions and that is when I learned that it won't be installed until next week.

So I didn't have to work quite as hard yesterday.  And today I think I am going to take a nap.  I already took one kid to the doctor, talked to a banker about a refinance (and you know how salesmen talk), made an appointment for the oral surgeon for my teenage son, made a grocery list, and texted a few times.  Isn't that enough to earn a morning nap?  Especially when it is minus 5 degrees outside?

Also--a very happy 'achievement' at our house, though its kind a 'secret' thing--My son has had FIVE dry nights in a row!  hooray hooray hooray.  (cuz he is almost 11, hence the reason he has been seeing the doc)

Post Holiday Ramblings

We had a very nice uneventful Holiday season, thank goodness!  (because last year's season was too eventful with stomach flu, lice, and a totaled family car).

I was a little bummed that the kids didn't get out of school until Friday the 21st.  and it wasn't even a half day.  There just seems to be fun things to do with the kids before Christmas like frosting cookies, crafting etc.  And that gave us only 3 days before the big day.  It's fine, but just sayin'-

However, now I am ready for them to go back to school and they don't go back until the 8th.  Two more full days of kids with lots of energy and cold cold weather outside.

Dustin is home for a few months and won't be going back to school.  He is waiting for his mission call!  His papers aren't quite submitted but will be within the week I think.

Brennen gets to drive himself to school now.  Hooray!  He got his license mid December.  The day he got his license I had him pick up Cam from piano lessons.  nice.

This morning as we had family prayer I looked around at my beautiful family and felt so blessed.  I thought how awesome it is that we get to start our day together as a family kneeling in prayer, quiet and away from the world.  Though I do enjoy the quiet house when they are away at school, it isn't easy to send them into the world everyday knowing (or not knowing) all that is waiting for them.  I am so grateful for my family, the birth of our Savior, and the knowledge and truth of the gospel, and that I have the ability to teach and influence my children in our home, and hopefully, keep them "unspotted from the world."

Christmas Time--already?

Amazing that a year has passed and it is Christmas time again!  We were very busy last week with holiday stuff.

Tuesday--pack meeting at the nursing home where we sang Christmas Carols and handed out ornaments the boys had made.

Thursday--Christmas parade.  I was not going to go this year.  J & A were invited to be on the gymnastics float, but I didn't tell them.  Its just so cold out there watching a parade in December (yes even in New Mexico).  And it's a pain to drop them off and pick them up in the parade mayhem etc. I know that doesn't get me "mommy" brownie points but ya, I didn't want to do the parade thing this year.

However, my husband came home one night and excitedly announced that he was in the parade with the college float! passing out candy (cuz you can't throw candy anymore, just pass it out you know).  So we went to the parade.  But I enjoyed it.  It was not very cold since we are having a warm winter so far.  My favorite moment was the look on Cam's face when he saw Santa Clause on the fire engine!  It was precious and I realized I only have this year and maybe next year left of "Christmas magic" at my house.

Friday--Festival of Trees at the Civic Center.  It is a fun activity that our family enjoys.  It is a charity event where you buy 'raffle' tickets and then put them the bucket of the tree you like to see if you win a tree! We have never won a tree but it is fun to see all the fun themed decorated trees and to hope...
              and
then we went to "Riverglo" where saw luminaries lining the Riverwalk and heard choirs and saw a live Nativity complete with donkeys and a goat.  

Saturday--The amazing luminaries display at the College and then across the street to the Nativity Display at our stake center.  There were lots and lots of different Nativity sets displayed throughout the building and a live Nativity outside, completed with hot chocolate and cookies.

now that all the activities are almost done--still have Janessa's 3rd grade musical thing, and the ward party--we can get busy with the 'work' of Christmas like decorating, shopping, making cookies, candy houses, etc etc etc.

And or course we will remember the have the Spirit of Christmas!

Swimming

 It is 8:00 p.m. I am worn out and ready for bed.  And not because I cleaned house or spent too much time with the kids.  Its because I went swimming--lap swimming you could say.  It is tiring.  This is the first time I have gone swimming for two days in a row.  And I played a 3-game volleyball match last night.  I think that may be way over my exercise limit for 24 hours.

One of my best friends in high school was a swimmer.  She was on the high school swim team.  We met because she was also on the volleyball team (of course).  I never thought much about swimming except it was a sport and she did it.  And I thought she was amazing for getting up so early in the mornings for swim practice before school.  I went to the state meet with her parents and watched her once. She swam with the Masters program in college and then her 2nd or 3rd year joined the university team.

I could swim well enough to pass the swim test at the pool in order to go off the diving board.  I loved to play in the water but didn't swim really, just played around.

Then in college I took a swimming class.  Wow.  I learned that swimming is hard.  I mean hard work.  It wears you out.  But I loved the class.  I learned how to swim the right way, with my face in the water, dive in without holding my nose, and do a few other strokes.  It was from that class that I gained appreciation for my friend's sport.  It is not for wimps.

Now over 20 years later (but who is counting really) I recently began going to the pool with my cousin for lap swimming.  We go with the seniors--as in senior citizens.  (The water is warmer at that pool than the more popular big pool in town and they haven't said we can't come).  I am so so amazed by these old women that swim lap after lap either freestyle, or backstroke or however.  And I don't mean disrespect by calling them old women because they are old!  And I am totally respecting them.  I can only freestyle like about 4 or 5 lengths of the pool (not in succession of course!) the duration we are there. I do some side stroke, or some sort of back float or whatever but mostly my cousin and I just amble up and down the pool so we are exercising but technically not "swimming."

It is good exercise and fun to "mingle" with the older ladies in the locker room and see their friendship and hear their conversations.  And to admire these aged bodies, some needing walkers, that are still wanting to get out and move.

Socks

I am copying the following from my friend's blog that she posted many years ago: (And I haven't seen her for many years as moves have taken us both to different parts of the country--but she is awesome and I miss her.)

"Where do all the dark church socks go? Is there a secret commune somewhere where missing socks can be found? We have 6 pair. I did ALL the laundry. Only one black sock. The rest are out partying somewhere, I guess...

So, I send a plea to the secret sock commune: Please send the socks home. We love them and miss them. We want them to be with us always. Socks, come home!"

Like Andrea, I wonder where all our dark socks go!  I don't know how many pair we have--a lot because I have hand-me downs from the older boys plus others that I have bought I know just for the little boys.  I have all sorts of mismatched dark socks of various sizes.  Of course nobody notices much if they wear mismatched socks, but it is amazing how many shades of "dark" there are.  I suppose I just need to throw them all away and buy about 10 new pair and see how long they last.  Hopefully they won't be persuaded to join the secret sock commune.  (buying new church socks has been on my 'list' for about a month now).

And speaking of church socks, the other day in church Andy was rubbing my leg which had nylons on it.  After a minute or so he asked "Why do you wear those kind of socks?"  "Well," I told him "because some person decided long ago for reasons unknown, that women were supposed to wear these kinds of socks."  I suppose I could look up the history of pantyhose, but I won't.  However, if you are interested you are welcome too.

Scott bought himself some new socks.  Dark ones and tan ones to go with some of the new clothes he bought.  He needed some slacks and dress shirts (but not necessarily white ones) because he GOT A JOB! He is not longer a stay at home worker.  He is the controller at the community college here--San Juan College.  This means that I have to do more ironing.  But it also means lots of other things, like health insurance (as opposed to the private health insurance we currently have that costs a whole lot), and a more traditional family schedule of Dad going to work 8-5.  We've had some adjustments but it is awesome.  And he usually doesn't lose his socks because they always make it to the laundry hamper (unlike my socks).  But only time will tell of course.

A Rough Start for 8th Grade

I could tell it was time for school to start because my supply of Ramen noodles, Mac & Cheese, and peanut butter dwindled considerably.  I actually ran out of creamy peanut butter this week--something I am usually abundantly stocked up on (though there are still 3 or 4 jars of crunchy on the shelf...).

Things were off to a good start last Monday.  Lots of papers to read and sign and the like.  Figuring out teacher's homework systems and such.  Dustin is playing on the high school soccer team so had to change his schedule to add soccer for the last class of the day, which meant dropping another class.  His coach voted for seminary (religion class), but we said no to that and instead he dropped pre-calculus (it's okay--he isn't going into engineering).  Brennen changed from percussion to saxophone in the band so we 'enjoyed' hearing the sounds of his first practice sessions.  ("What is that sound Mom?") 

But then Brennen was home sick on Wednesday.  Had a fever.  Tried to go back to school on Thursday but the nurse called me at 11:00 to come and get him.  Fever was back.  A visit to the doctor revealed pneumonia.  Took me by surprise, but okay, we can deal with that.  Got him on antibiotics and scheduled another appointment for Monday. 

However, I didn't know that pneumonia is so hard to fight off.  I assumed he would take antibiotics and be back to school by the begining of the week.  Wrong.  Had a fever Monday (though it was gone most of Saturday and Sunday).  He had developed a pretty bad cough over the weekend.  X-ray showed no improvement.  Oxygen level was down from Friday.  Doctor said he won't be going to school this week.  Drink lots of fluids, if he has trouble breathing, go to the ER.  We have to keep an eye on this.  Come back in two days.  Little more serious this time.

So today I am a little unfocused.  Brennen doesn't seem too sick.  I mean he is tired and laying around but still up and doing stuff too.  And coughing A LOT.  But I am anxious all day.  Not just about his illness but about all the school he is missing--the first two weeks of 8th grade.  And how do you 'take care' of a sick 13 year old? I mean what does he need from me?  (Its not like a little kid who you rock and hold all day).  A lot on my mind.  Just stuff.

And

Andy's progress report for the first week comes home yesterday.  Needs improvement on:  listening to the teacher, focusing, and a bunch of other stuff.  We already know that!  And that he needs to practice his handwriting every night at home.  Yes.  We know he can barely write.  But you see, the teachers love Andy and it will be alright.  It is only the first week.  Yet they say third grade is a hard transition.  Hmmm.  And the homework required is 40 minutes:  10 min math facts, 10 minutes spelling, 20 reading.  And she wants us to do handwriting too?  I realize that doesn't sound like too much for 3rd grade but for Andy and me, it is.
I am anxious about all that too.  (I meant to work on handwriting this summer and I did to some extent.  We did a lot of coloring and story writing at the beginning of the summer, and all through the summer we did crafts that focused on his fine motor skills like making bead animals, and cutting and tearing paper, painting).

I couldn't focus on anything today.  Sort of wondering aimlessly.  I did wash and fold two loads of laundry and I could have folded the third in the dryer, but...
I could have cleaned up the lunch dishes but the dishwasher wasn't unloaded.  I could do a lot of things but I don't really know what those things are...because I couldn't focus.  I was just like in a daze all day.
I played with Cameron.  We built a marble run and did some puzzles.  We read.  Finally I gave in and layed on my bed and fell asleep for about an hour.  Until Cam came in because he was hungry.  And then it was about time for the kids to come home.

But--Hooray Hooray--it is date night!  We are going for an early dinner because there is a band meeting at 6:00 at the high school.  My wonderful hubby and I leave at 4:30 with Brennen in charge (who has a fever of about 100) of the three younger ones knowing Dustin will be home soon from soccer practice.  We enjoy a great dinner at Olive Garden and true to their commercials witness lots of "we are family" in the form of other diners coming in and hugging each other--seriously.  (whatever their slogan is--I don't watch a lot of TV but I know it's something like that)

After dinner, Scott stays home to feed the kids and get them ready for bed and I take Dustin to the band meeting which we find out was rescheduled for next week.  We didn't get that email.  I drop Dustin off at home and head to the preschool open house for Cameron (which I wasn't planning on going to because of the band meeting).  It was nice to get out and meet his teacher who said she loves having him and she actually picked him for her class (ooh, how sweet).  And I talk to the speech pathologist who says he is wonderful and that he is gifted. (ahh).  One day we will be able to understand all his 'gifted' talk. I know I shouldn't look to the future and need to focus on the present, but I just can't believe he is going to leave me next year and go to kindergarten all day! (sniff sniff)

On my way home I stop at the grocery store for a few things, like peanut butter.  Skippy is on sale for $1 if you buy 4.  I was planning on buying 8.  They were all out.  I got a great deal on Kraft ranch dressing though.

After being unfocused all day, it was nice to finally get my head back and enjoy the evening.  And when I got home the little kids were in bed!  Thank you sweet hubby. 

I don't know the moral of this post.  I just keep typing.  But I couldn't sleep so you all get to read this very long post. 

I am most interested and anxious to see what the doctor says tomorrow.

Someone once said...

"School days are the best days of your life--provided your kids are old enough to go"

3 more days . . .

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime?

My kids have already had some sumer adventures, and school has not even been out for three weeks.  In fact, these adventures happened last week all in a two or three day period.

1) Scott was trimming our tree and Andy got the idea to make a jungle.  We have a cement pad (we have lots of cement in our yard...) at the side of our house with a clothes line.  Put the branches atop the clothes line and viola:  

Not a bad little jungle . . .

2) Andy was found in the garage spray painting his bike with his brother's spray paint.  Purple and green if you are wondering. 

3)Research.  Cups of water and dirt and rocks and grass and bits of cheese and some crackers . . . and who knows what else. . . Research. 
(I did say no to the food coloring and they don't know where it is...ha ha ha). (we have had food coloring adventures before.  In fact there is still green food coloring in my deep freezer and garage floor.  Hey, I just realized it matches the spray paint!)

4) What do you have when you get a big bowl, a hose with water, and a big bottle (all of it) of Dawn dishwasher soap?  Lots of bubble fun in the front yard. 

No, I wasn't supervising my children.  I was watching TV, which I rarely do, and hubby wasn't home.  Who knows where the big brothers were.  I should have had a hint about something when Janessa did tell me at one point to come and see their bubble cakes, but I sort of ignored her with something like "okay, in a minute." 

4) I got out some chalk for them to use on the sidewalk.  But it was hot outside.  So naturally they decided to get wet probably by the sprinkler or the little pool.  And the chalk got wet.  And one thing led to another and they decided to have a chalk 'fight' and smear wet chalk all over each other.  Only it wasn't sidewalk chalk, it was regular colored chalkboard chalk from probably the 1970's or something before things were washable that I picked up at an estate sale.  A big box of it.  I didn't know that it wouldn't wash off of them!  I didn't know that they would go to church with their arms and necks and legs looking bruised like they had gotten a good beating!  (Good thing the boys wear long pants). Janessa was the worst because she had been wearing her swimming suit.  They had a shower on Saturday and another good scrubbing on Sunday morning but were still stained).  Unfortunately, I did not get pictures. And for the record--Dustin was babysitting.

Good thing Andy had cub scout day camp most of this week.

New Blog

I have a new blog, Saving Today, Preparing for Tomorrow.  The blog address is savingtoday.net.

It is still under construction, but I will eventually have lots of tools and tips for building your family home storage and saving money at the grocery store.  I will post deals and great buys, whether local or for everyone.  I also want to add some fun items like recipes, family ideas, parenting stories and helps, household hints and things like that. 

So check it out.

Too Smart?

I was overly ambitious the other day and made cinnamon rolls.  My three-year old didn't eat his dinner (again) and I told him he couldn't have one (I'm so mean).  He responded "Daddy said 'Yes'".  Scott had just left to play raquetball.  I am pretty sure that Cameron knew that Daddy was not home.  Already trying to work the system! 

My other son, who is very bright but sometimes just not so smart, decided he wanted to lick the frosting off of the cinnamon rolls that I was icing.  But they were still in the pan and the pan was still hot.  Hmmm.  He burned his lip on the pan.  Silly kid!  It wasn't a bad burn or anything--no blister or red spot--just enough to realize that it wasn't a good idea.

Penn State--Undefeated

Today as most of the nation is touting the Alabama football team's national championship, I want to bring your attention to the NCAA Women's Volleyball Champion--the Penn State Nitany Lions who made history winning a third straight national title on Dec 12.  They have gone undefeated the past two seasons.

Penn State came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Texas in 5 games.  I was rooting for Texas, who made history in 1988 (while I was in high school) by becoming the first team outside of California or Hawaii to win a national title.  So I was reminiscing and pulling for Texas to upset Penn State, just as they upset an undefeated UCLA back in 88, and then stunned the defending champion Hawaii to win it all. 

It is amazing to watch these girls play.  Yes, they can hit the ball hard and put it down, but watching them dig those balls and the scrambling defense is so impressive and fun.  Of course, maybe I like the defensive part of the game because I am a setter and defensive player, not a big hitter and blocker.  Anyhow, it is fun to watch.  The men's game is a more offensive game but the women have more long rallys and keep the ball in play.  (In my opinion anyway).

My favorite team back in high school was Stanford and my favorite player was Wendy Rush (from Stanford).  In 1992 the Women's Volleyball Championship was in Albuquerque and so I was able to go to my first and only Final Four.  I had been married only month then, but I had planned to go to the tournment probably for a year or two, so I gave my hubby no choice!  Stanford won that year.  It was a lot of fun.

Happy New Year

Wow.  A New Year.  Like Janessa said yesterday "Tomorrow is January??!!"  Indeed it is.  A new decade.  I suppose I should write something profound.  But I won't. 

Dustin went to his first New Year's Eve Dance.  (Last year he could have gone but he didn't go to dances until we moved here).  He went out and bought a purple dress shirt and a new black tie.  He looked nice.  Of course the reason he did that was to match his good friend Sarah's purple dress.  Her dad picked up Dustin and I never saw Sarah's dress because she didn't come inside.  I wanted to to take pictures of them and all (because I am a mom and moms just want to do that) but it was not a date and she is not  his girlfriend (even though facebook says so).  So I didn't.  I just let him leave.  And instructed him to dance with at least two other girls and to hang out with his cousins too, not just Sarah! 

The rest of us played with party poppers (poppers, not poopers) and light sticks and ate brownies and ice cream.  Then the little ones went to bed and Scott and Brennen and I played Settlers of Catan and watched the Mentalist.  If you like board games, which I do and my kids do, Settlers is a great game!  It can be long but it is fun.  Last night's game wasn't very long.  Brennen won pretty quickly.  I think I have won only once.  But I still like it.  The other game we play often is Ticket to Ride.  And Ark of the Covenant is pretty cool too, though I have only played that one once.  Besides being fun, board games are a good way for Scott and I to connect with our older boys since so much time and energy and attention is spent on the little ones.  Often we play games with them after the little ones go to bed.
Anyway, our New Year's Eve was pretty low key but enjoyable. 

And of course the little kids don't know that you are supposed to sleep in on New Year's Day so they were up at 7:00 as usual.  But they quickly went to watch TV.  I cautioned them not to fight so Andy said that they will find something they all like to watch, like Sponge Bob (is that one word or two?).

We had a fun Christmas time too.  We had a few family parties, ate lots of good food (too much) including fondue (the kind with the hot oil and steak and shrimp), and had plenty of gifts.  We also did the Twelve Days of Christmas for a family down the block--where you leave something on their door step every day for 12 days before Christmas.  (We added one thing every night so by Christmas Eve there are 12 things). The kids had fun with that, but the family figured out it was us. 

On Christmas Eve we had the kids act out the Nativity.  Dustin was the photographer and Brennen was the donkey.  Janessa was Mary (of course) and Andy was Joseph (though under protest).  Cameron was a very cute shepard.  He was holding a stuffed lamb and asked what a lamb said.  I told him "baa" but he asked again.  I gave the same answer.  He is used to not being understood.  Exasperated he said "No!  A sheep says baa!  What does a lamb say?"  It was kind of funny.  We explained that a lamb is a baby sheep.  And last night after the playing with the glow sticks in the dark, the lights were turned back on and he asked me "How do you turn them on?"  I finally figured out he wanted to turn the glow sticks on because they weren't glowing in the light. 

Monday Morning

Here I am blogging in my pajamas.  It is just one of those Mondays.  Didn't want to get out of my nice warm bed, so I didn't until 7:00.  Which meant I had 45 minutes to get kids up and off to school.  But I did a great breakfast of french toast sticks (very easy because there is not cutting involved--great finger food, and of course from the freezer), yogurt and apples.  I literally dragged Andy out of bed and pulled his pajamas off and dressed him in the process.  Much easier that way.  Of course I was still making lunches as the kids needed to go out the door, and at about that time I found the science fair project paper that Andy needs to turn in today that wasn't filled out yet.  Scott filled out that paper,  and amazingly, teeth got brushed, backpacks found, and A and J managed to get out the door on time.  However, we did not get scripture reading done this morning, which we do pretty well about 95% of the time.  Communication between Dustin and his ride broke down so I ended up taking him to school because his ride didn't show up (which meant scraping windows--I miss my garage) and he was 10 minutes late.  But even though he woke up late (at 7:00) he managed to shower and blow dry and straighten his hair and all that.  I really did not know that boys could take so long to get ready for school!  But hey, he looks good (at least in his opinion--no so much in this mom's, though he did get a hair cut a few weeks ago).  Brennen is the last to leave for school and he is so independent and all that so smooth sailing there.  It is strange to me that my older boys go to school later than my younger kids.  In Utah my older kids left a good 45 minutes to 1/2 hour before my younger ones.

I have a load of laundry in, the dishwasher is running and Cameron is happily playing with a pirate ship and guys, or little people, or something--such an easy kid.  Can I go back to bed now? 

Referring to some past posts, I am happy to say that my laundry is caught up.  There is still some waiting to be folded and put away, but my laundry room is clean (or at least the slight organization is back) and it is under control enough that I don't feel so overwhelmed.  Now I just need to clean my room!
About Brennen's early morning basketball, I feel really bad about my attitude.  He did not make the team.  I am proud of him for getting up early everyday and trying, and not quitting even with all the running he had to do.  I was sort of thinking that maybe there wouldn't be a "cut" and everyone who showed up to practice would make it.  He is okay with it though.  He said "At least I don't have to get up so early now."  He is in a local league which we signed him up for a few months ago, so he will still get to play.  He starts practicing this week.  He can learn more and practice at the hoops across the street at the park (when it warms up), and be ready to try again next year.

In other news, it is 11 days until Christmas!  WOW!  My three-year old Cameron was very cute.  When I asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him he said "Presents".  Very easy!  I got him Little People play set thing.  So I asked him if he wanted Little People (because he loves them) and he said "I already have little people"  like, gosh Mom, don't you know?  Still so sweet and innocent.  Doesn't realize he can be "greedy" at Christmas. 

I better go get started on cleaning my room. . .cause you know Santa doesn't come if your bedroom isn't clean.

So Much To Write About . . .

Sadly I have been ignoring my blog. I have so so many blog entries in my head.

here are a few quick ones:

My 12 year old entrepreneur is at it again. He cut out some squares, sewed them together into a cube and filled it with sand--a hacky sack. (This from the top of his head, no pattern or directions--he just did it cuz he was bored one day, and I was sewing). He is selling them for $1 a school. The finished seam (the one he had to sew last after he put the sand in) isn't the prettiest, but then I don't think 7th grade boys care about pretty seams. Other things he has sold over the years include pony bead keychains and duct tape wallets. There are more but I can't think of them.

It took a few years longer than we anticipated but Andy finally broke his first window. Luckily it was in our house and not the neighbors. He threw a book at it. He "didn't know it would break." My mom is starting to get used to having Andy around. The other day when we were at her house she was on her way out. Before she left she told us "Andy is in the kitchen trying to help clean up. Go in there and supervise before he breaks something." (at that moment he was banging the salt and pepper shakers together).

Cameron is running around in a Batman cape almost 24/7. He runs around saying "Baht-mahn to a wes-kuu!!" (that would be "Batman to the rescue").

Why do teenagers need hormones so early in life? Marriage doesn't come for many more years! And as a teenager, I was just weird because I didn't 'like' boys in that way. I had lots of guy friends in high school and college. It was fun, but we were friends. I know some of them liked me in 'another way', but I just didn't fall 'in love'. I really didn't fit in with the crowd, the boys crazy girls, because my hormones were so slow. So, I am at a loss as how to deal with my girl-crazy teenager. And I know that kids are counseled not to date until age 16, and then in groups. I am not letting him date. Nonetheless, Dustin has a girl-friend and he is only 15 and she is only 14. Uhhgg! At least marching band is over so they aren't spending early morning practice and football games together. I keep telling him he needs to find some friends that are boys! It really annoys me that his facebook page says "In a relationship with Sarah!" And of course there are the occasional comments on his or her page "you guys are so cute together". Gag!! So do I have power to make him take that 'relationship' thing off his facebook page?

One last food for thought: How come kids are bored and need you when you want to read a book, watch TV, take a nap, etc, but have plenty to do when it is time for them to get ready for school or dressed for church?!?