Long time no talk...

Hey all, still here. Just been crazy lately.

We survived Mason's first day of Kindergarten, Addi's first day of pre-school, getting used to Addi going to dance class gain, and working around Mason's tball schedule. We also survived Addi's birthday party...barely.

It was fun. We had 13 little boys and girls over here for Addi's Princess Ball. We decorated crowns, wands and shields, broke a princess and fought a dragon pinata and ate snacks. It was overwhelming, but I would (and probably will) do it again.

Mason was having a hard time at tball, but he's doing so much better now. He is being more aggresive about going after the ball. He is hitting every time he's up to bat. He can even almost throw the ball where he's aiming at. :) Chris and I almost die every game watching those 5 and 6 year olds playing. It's so hard to remember how young they are and that they are still learning. Mason usually plays center field. It's not uncommon to see him out there twirling around, playing in the dirt and/or messing with his hat.

That's our update for now!

First day of school

Well, we made it. I was totally in denial that he was going to Kindergarten. I didn't even take the tag off his backpack or write his name on his supplies until 11:30 the night before. I kept breaking down in tears, so I went into his room, sat by his bed and held his little hand until I could stop crying. Then I went back to packing until I started crying again and repeat the process. I think I just needed to mourn that he's growing up. That I am not going to be with him all day every day any more. That he is going to have relationships away from me. That another person will be in charge of him for a large portion of the day. That I am leaving him in the care of that person, who I really don't even know. That I have to have a TON of faith in the school system. So I am trying to stay mellow and just trust that God is watching out for him.

He was so brave! He walked right into his classroom, sat down where Mrs. Wade told him to and said, "Bye Mom!" So cute! Then I didn't even cry...ok maybe just a tear or tow, but I think they were tears of joy because I was so proud of what a big boy he was.

Next week he has a full day (7:30-2:30) on Tuesday with part of his class then starts forever on Thursday. sniff...sniff

School starts when?

Holy cow...when does school start? My kids are making me crazy. Sure they are super cute but they are making me insane! We went shopping this weekend (TN had a tax free weekend)are all ready (well a few things left to get for Addi's school supplies) but socks...check, undies...check, new backpack for my kindergartener...check. Bring it on!!! Oh sure, I know I am going to sob my eyes out on the actual day he goes to K but right now it sounds so sweet!!!

Our goings on this week:
*Tomorrow I have to have a root canal done....looking forward to it (actually I am because my tooth is killing me! Just not looking forward to the $400 out of pocket expense I have, ug!)
Mason also has a test to see which T-ball team he will be on
*Tuesday we are going to a pool party
Addi registers for dance class
*Wednesday I am hoping to finish my dining room (touch up the paint, paint my old chairs and table to match the new chairs I just got and finish the shelf I just built)
*The rest of the week will entail entertaining the kids so we all don't kill each other while trying to stay cool in the hell we call summer in Tennessee (95 degrees with 80% humidity)

A little over a month

...that's how long until my mil comes and then my mom comes a week later. I am hoping to have lost a little weight by then. Think I can? Yea, me neither. haha But wait, this week, I have drank a ton more water then usual, I have managed to stop eating after dinner (ok so I've eaten a few pretzels, but they don't count right?) and I've been to the gym THREE days in a row!!! I even went to a killer class last night, was still super sore today but went back to the gym today and walked on the treadmill for 30 min at a 10-12% incline...go me! I've been trying to get myself under control so the deadline of family visiting is a great motivator.

*sidenote* I left my headphones in a cubby at the gym yesterday. They were very crappy, cheap Walmart ones so I figured they would be there or would be in the lost and found. But nope, someone took them. How shameful. I don't think that $2 headphones are worth going to hell for but whatever. Anyway, I left my other headphones and my ipod in the car so I went to go get it. But I'd already checked my kids into the childcare and I have to turn in my keys. So I broke into my own car. I usually leave my hatch open in my Passport. So I climbed in the back and over the seat to open the door. So I got my stuff, got in and got onto a treadmill and everyone in the gym had a view of my car, so they all saw me break into my car. How embarrassing!

So tute!

Man, she is funny! Tonight she is sitting by me, trying to go to sleep. Of course she usually can't sleep or stay asleep if she isn't touching me. Silly mama's girl! Anyway, she looks so cute, with crazy hair, just sitting here, so tired, with sleepy eyes. But still so cute! So I said to her, "Babe, you're so cute, I could just eat you." She looks all concerned and says, "But mama, then I neber see you dain. I be so sad." Seriously, could you just eat her up!!












These pictures are from a few nights ago. She had taken a late nap so she wasn't interested in going to sleep. So while I played in my scrapbook room, she played in the playroom. She found this scarf, put it around her eyes and proceeded to do karate moves. Then she said, "Mama, take pictures. I so tute." What could I do but take 30 pictures. Both her and Mason call doing karate moves "whitcha" because thats the noise I make (like an old kung fu movie) when we are play fighting. .

July 4

Ok, so the next time I say that I want to host a party, please tell me that I can't!!!!

We tried to have a nice simple ice cream social. Just a few friends and neighbors. We were going to have ice cream, hang out and chat outside, then watch fireworks. Well, about an hour and a half before the start of the party it started pouring down rain! So we had to stay inside. The kids were all nuts!!! Running and jumping around, wrestling etc. My house feels really big normally. But with all those kids and thir parents here, man...not near enough room!! So then we head outside to start the fireworks. Chris and a few of the dads lit them about 6 feet into the road in front of our driveway. A bunch of the kids and moms sat about 10 feet down the driveway. So they were about 16 feet away from the fireworks. Then I asked the men to slide back and they were about 12 feet away from the driveway. So were at around 18 feet. (Can you see where I'm going with this??) We had a ton of fireworks and enjoyed them for quite a while. Then "the incident" happened. Chris lit one that malfunctioned and cut into the group. Luckily most of the kids were running around the yard by then and weren't around, but it almost landed on my pregnant neighbor, so my other neighbor jumped in front of it. Thankfully the only injuries were a scraped foot for the pg neighbor and a bruised thigh on the other. I almost died I was so stressed. I dispensed bandaids and neopsorin. The rescuing neighbor just would not stop talking about it. How she would have had to "kick Chris's a$$ for burning her." She just kept repeating that over and over. OK seriously, it sucks that anyone got hurt but it was an ACCIDENT!!!!!! I probably apologized 100 times to everyone (like it was my fault) but that girl just kept talking about kicking Chris's butt. Seriously!! I don't know why it bugs me so much. Probably because I was already stressed out. And I didn't want anyone to get hurt. So today I was going to call my pg neighbor to make sure she was ok. But before I did, the big mouth neighbor called to get pg neighbor's phone #. She only did that to torture me. We all have each other's phone #'s. Man...NO MORE PARTIES!!!!!!


I have been having some issues this summer. I just don't want to do anything with anyone. I love just being with my kids. I love going to the sprinkler park with my kids. I love watching them and also reading a book or mag. I don't want to have to always make small talk with other moms. Is that so wrong? I don't need playdates for my kids every day. Or even every week. My kids play very well together, although they fight too. We play games, play computer, do art projects, play Leapster, and yes watch tv, eat snacks, play in the pool, go to the library, ride bikes, play with the slip n slide, play barbies and little people, play super heros...etc. I was starting to be comfortable with just being home. I used to have to run all over the place, but this summer, I am just trying to take it easy. Now some of my friends think I'm anti social because I don't want playdates. hmmmm...I feel like I can't win.

Sorry about the whine! I'll be better tomorrow!

No news

Ok, so I really don't have much to say except, how many days until school starts????? Just last week I was talking about how much fun we were having here this summer. Just last week I was so happy to have my kids home. Just last week I was looking forward to all the fun stuff we were going to do. Fast forward to this week...I have done more yelling, pouting, crying, time out putting then I have in a long time. It's a freakin' war zone! Me against them. Whew!!!!

Been having some health issues too. I hate feeling so rotten...THAT could have something to do with why I'm so grumpy too.

If you have any spare prayers please send them my way!

Not much...

to say. Just wanted to let you know that we're still alive. We are in the 2nd week of summer vacation and doing great. We are trying to stay busy to keep us all out of trouble. Mason and Addi are at summer camp at the MDO today and were totally pumped to go. We have been swimming, to the fun stuff at the library, on a few playdates, to a couple of fun birthday parties and more. Here's what else we have planned to do:

*go see the movie "Cars"
*go swimming some more at the YMCA
*have playdates at least once a week with friends
*Summer camp again next week at MDO
*Vacation Bible school in July
*Addi's dance recital
*a visit to the new water park in our town (if it ever opens)
*a trip to the kiddie pool at Don Fox Park(it's an awesome public park with a 18 inch deep pool that totally rocks)
*lots of art projects (painting letters, bead necklaces, treasure boxes, tooth fairy boxes, fuzzy pictures and more...thank you craft dept at Walmart!)
*a few birthday parties
*possible an Ice Cream social for our neighbors and friends for July 4th

I am turning into one of those moms that is excited to have my kids home for the summer! I'm sure by the end of August I'll be more then ready for them to go back to school though.

That's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Graduation

My baby graduated from preschool today. He's so big and has brown up so much, sniff sniff!

At the ceremony the director asked each of the graduates what they wanted to be when they grew up. Mason said that he wanted to be a construction worker. I thought he said a circus worker. I about died of laughter! My kid the "carni". OH my, I was so disruptive, my shoulders were shaking with laughter during the prayer, I am so bad. But dang, it was funny! Anyway, he's all done with pre-school. Kindergarten here we come!

We're baaaack!

Man, I need a vacation from my vacation.

We had lots of fun, but it was waaaaay busy. Here is a synopsis:
Thursday: flew in, checked into the Nickelodeon hotel (it rocked) and hung out by the cool pool.

Friday: relaxed by the pool all day, it was awesome! The pool is made for kids around 5-6 years old. They can go on all the slides, they just have to wear one of the provided life jackets. We had a blast!

Saturday: We checked out of the Nick hotel (it was terribly expensive) and into our other hotel. It wasn't ready yet so we had to just walk around for 4 hours. The kids were miserable and complained the entire time. We hung out for a an hour or so at the nicest McDonald's on the planet. Seriously, flat screen tv's, waterfalls, pretty trees inside the playarea, the booths looked life furniture...way nice! We got back, settled into our room and went swimming in the pool.

Sunday: We went to Magic Kingdom. It was fun, but VERY HOT! The highlight of Mason's day was going on the Buzz Lightyear ride, then actually seeing Buzz. We went on the Stitch ride that everyone hated. Addi actually started crying and wanted to leave. We refused to wait in any long lines to see the characters so we didn't get photos with Mickey, Minnie or Donald. Bummer! We rode a few other rides and saw the Princesses in the Cinderellabration show.

Monday: We went to MGM. It was way hot then too. We went on the backstage tour that was awesome. We also went to a stunt car show that was great! Met the Power Rangers of course! Addi was quite bent that we didn't see the Pink one.

Tuesday: We woke up to a thunderstorm. The power went out in our hotel room and stayed off for 2 hours. We went to Animal Kingdom. It was COLD! I did bring sweatshirts for the kids but not for me so I complained until I got one there. We all wore our ponchos and ended up having a pretty good time. We went on a African Safari that was my favorite part! There were elephants, crocodiles, giraffes, gazelles, a lion, a warthog and even zebras that came right up to the van. Super cool! Oh wait, my other favorite part was "The Festival of the Lion King." It was like a broadway show. The people were in full make up and costume, it was the closest thing to broadway I've ever seen. I loved every second of it!

Wednesday: We got up, caught out shuttle to the airport and came home.

It was a great time, but I am so happy to be home! Now to just get caught up on all my projects:
end of year scrapbooks for my kids' pre-school teachers, planning a first aid program for a church activity, getting caught up on laundry and house stuff and getting used to the idea that my kids are going to be out of school FOR THE SUMMER IN LESS THAN A WEEK! aaaaaaaahhh! That is scary! Anyway, better go get some of my projects done!

Disney

We went to Disney today. We are all so exhausted. It was fun though!



more to come...

Florida, here we come

I don't really have much to say tonight, except WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA IN 2DAYS! I don't know who is more excited, me or my kids. OK, yes, Mason is way more excited then me, as evidenced by his literally bouncing off the walls today. No joke, the kid was nuts. But super cute! I'm thinking Benadryl might become our friend in the next few days. He just can't relax. I'm taking Betty (my laptop) with me so hopefully I'll have internet access at the $200 a night hotel we are staying at...ouch! As long as the kids have fun- that's all that matters. That's all for now! See ya in a week!

just for laughs

Ok, SERIOUSLY, you have to check this out! It is THE funniest thing I have read for a long time. Tonight the whole "Tom Cruise flowbee" comment had me snorting, laughing loudly and brought tears to my eyes for a good 5 minutes. I even woke Chris up from his narcolepsy slumber. So dang funny!

CKC Nashville

Was lots of fun. Bought tons of great stuff...yet I stayed on budget-go me!!! I met and took classes from Michelle Hill and Donna Downey. They are just as great in person as they seem in cyberspace. Donna totally cracked me up and I would pay lots to take more classes from her. Check out her blog, there is a pic of my class. I didn't make it to the lss she taught at in the area ( I really don't like that store) because I doubt Chris would have been too happy about that after

















I was gone for 12 hrs on Saturday. It looks like she did cute projects though.




Michelle's Lil Davis class was awesome. We used all their new stuff that hasn't shipped yet. It's all glittery and lots of fun. Even the rub ons have glitter in them. Fun!! The page was super cute.

Michelle then had a thing at my scrapbook store. Lil Davis did a cross country RV trip and made a stop at my lss. She did a great make n take, taught a class and had a page contest (that I didn't win AGAIN!).

All in all it was a great day!

Oh the trauma

Look what happened today...


Addi cut her own hair. Oh, I was so pathetic. I just started bawling my eyes out. Of course then Addi started crying. Then Mason came into the room and joined in on the cry-a-thon. There was hair everywhere. Every time I looked at it, I just started crying again. So sad. I was upstairs putting stuff away and when I came downstairs Addi had pushed her chair over to the counter, climbed up on top of it, opened the upper cabinet and got the scissors out. So after I calmed down a bit we went to Supercuts to get her hair fixed.







Now she looks like this:


It turned out a lot better then I thought it would. Luckily her hair is curly so the "layers" blend in pretty well. Those bangs...oh those bangs....well there wasn't a whole lot one could do to fix them. I had the stylist cut some of her grown out bangs to sort of disguise the 1 inchers. The shorter do does look really cute and it was SOOO much easier to come out tonight after her bath.

She keeps saying that she'll never "tut her own haiw adain." And that she's sad because she wants "way, long, big, big haiw" but I keep reassuring her that it will grow. Dang she is so cute!

Nothing too exciting

I always plan things for "when things slow down." Well, that never happens. Life just seems to get busier. That's why I have such a hard time posting to my blog. I wait until I'm not busy. hahaha!

My poor little Mason. I guess I wouldn't be a mom if I didn't worry, but he can be so difficult. There has to be a more effective way to discipline him. He is such a sweet, sweet kid but it so stubborn. Man, it's so hard. I need an instruction manual.

I've been reading a really good book that I recommend. It's called, "If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy" by Lindsay O'Conner. It's a book for Christian women, especially mothers. It explains exactly how I feel. I know I am blessed to be able to have kids and stay at home, but sometimes that doesn't make my job any easier. She gives some really good insight in how to deal with our emotions and find the joy in every day. It really helped me to know that I'm not alone in my struggles and I got some great advice to make me and my family happy. So good!

I don't know if I'll ever get used to living here in Tennessee. It's already so hot and humid. Yes, it's only 80 degrees but it's so humid that it necessitates running our air conditioner. Today I can actually see the moisture in the air. So crazy. Last night I had a meeting for church(at our stake center that is 1.5 hours away) that got out after dark. I walked outside and expected to feel a crisp breeze. I almost chocked. Yes, it was cooler, but still soooo humid. And the bugs, oh the bugs. We were coming home, after our meeting, on the interstate. The hugest, biggest most disgusting bug hit the windshield. We all thought it was a rock or something because it was so big and so loud. But it left a big gross smoosh mark so it must have been a bug. ewwwwwww! Crazy Tennessee. But on the upside, it is absolutely gorgeous here! The trees are so thick and so green. It's so pretty.

That's it for now!

Happy Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend.

*we had an egg hunt with our neighbors.
















*we colored Easter eggs (yes, Mason is in his underwear!)















*we got lots of great prizes from the Easter bunny. Addi: Polly Pocket, princess playset. Mason: leapster game, matchbox cars. Chris: speakers for his mp3 player, electronic chess. me: new camera bag, new sd card from my d50








*Mason learned to ride his bike without training wheels!

technology and other stuff

So I finally came into the 21st century (that is what century we are in, right?) and got an ipod. I am so not good with technology. It actually scares me. But I bit the bullet. Ok, so I love it! Yeah! I can't wait to take it to the Y to work out!


*I did my first photo shoot ( a REAL one) over the weekend. They chose 3pm, so the sun was way bright, but I think they turned out ok. Here is my fave. My goal is not to just do "school picture" cheese photos, I want photograph relationships too. That is why I love this picture, because it shows the little boy, holding his dad's hand. I am trying to come up with a name. It will probably be candice schenk photography unless someone can come up with something better.

*Mason lost another tooth for a total of 2.

*We've still been going to the Y doing rally well at going. It's worth it just for the childcare. And all of the treadmills have tv's in them, with cable, so all you have to do is plug your ear phones in and go. Fabulous! I actually get to watch the shows I want, have someone else watch my kids and exercise all at the same time. Couldn't be better!!!

*It's official-Chris got a promotion. He is the manager over the "tech refresh" project. It's a team that will go through all of the HCA facilities to update their computers. He's been working a ton of course, nothing has changed there. But supposedly he's supposed to be traveling less. Yea, he's only going to Florida tomorrow for 1 day in stead of a week.

*Addi has been so funny lately. She talks with her hands a lot and is sooooooooooo dramatic! Cracks me up. Her and her babies have made many imaginary trips to Ootah lately to see Gramma and Papa and Gramma Sylv.

*As for the blog, I think I have decided to keep doing it. But I am not going to go too nuts with posting. I'll try to do so at least once a week. Hope that's ok with all of ya!

to be or not to be

So in the spirit of evaluation, which I have been doing A LOT of this year, I have been evaluting this whole blog thing. I totally get why people do it and I think it's great. I don't know if I'm doing it for the right reasons though. I don't like that when something great happens in my life and I can't wait to blog it. Not tell my family or write it in my journal. That is a bit messed up for me. Not to mention, it takes up a fair bit of time. Time that could be better spent writing in my journal. To me, the hand written books are so, oh I don't know, authentic. I don't print out my posts from my blog and I don't know of any of my family that actually reads it so whats the point??!! So I am going to go on a hiatus and think about this for a little while! If anyone does read this (I know K and Angie do but I will still keep in touch with them of course) and wants me to keep updating, please comment. Thanks!!

Vacation

Orlando, here we come! I booked our air fare to Orlando...so it's official. We are going on our first family vacation! I can so not wait!!!!!!!! May 11-17. woo hoo!!!!

My Kristi talked me into posting my layouts from HOF. So here is the first one. It was the fave photo asignment.

Mason

Oh my sweet boy! I just want to put him in a bubble. I don't want to let him get his feelings hurt or figure out that some people in this world really aren't all that nice.

*at the pool today he kept trying to talk to the lifeguard, even though she was busy giving a swim lesson. He just wanted to tell her that he was learning how to swim too. He also kept trying to talk to all of the kids there. They just looked at him like he was nuts. Then when he went down the slide the wrong way another lifeguard tried to tell him not to do that but Mason didn't hear him because he was playing so hard. The lifeguard just rolled his eyes and acted like Mason was crazy. So I asked him nicely to go down the slide correctly.

*last night we went out to dinner. While Addi was in the potty, Mason and I stood there and waited for her. A couple of girls walked in and Mason couldn't wait to tell them that he had a loose tooth. I tried to tell him not to talk to strangers but he said that they were his friends.

*yesterday at the park there were some big boys, around 8 years old playing with a soccer ball going down the slide. Mason kept retrieving the ball for them when it would bounce away. He tried as hard as he could to throw it nicely back to them. He even apologized when he didn't throw it right to them. When they left to go play somewhere else, Mason didn't understand why they didn't ask him to go with them. He kept saying that his friends left him.

Oh, the pain in my heart. He is the sweetest, friendliest kid. All of those kids should be so lucky to have a friend like him. Man, I hate this. The thought of my baby suffering is more then I can bare. Can't I just lock him in the house for the rest of his childhood? I don't want him to suffer because of his naivity

Time Off

Ok, so Chris is coming home a day earlier than I thought. I know those 2 of you that read this and know me will have a hard time believing this, but my house is a disaster. I haven't made beds in 4 days. That must be a record or something for me. I haven't vaccuumed (I think that's spelled wrong but my spell check isn't working) in a week. So tonight I changed sheets, cleaned the bathroom, did a load of laundry. Tomorrow I'll just have to vaccuum the house and actually make the beds.

We've been so busy. Our time off this week has really flown. We joined the YMCA and have been going there. I worked out 2 days (pathetic huh) in a row and today am feeling it. My mucles don't just hurt, I ache...like crazy!!!! Apparently I need to start a little slower. My initial plan was to just take my kids to the child care there, then go in the locker room and read a magazine. ;) But, the thought of swimwear this season has spurned my desire to stop the giggling (nice mental image huh) and get some tone!! So we've been going to the gym, we went to Chuck E Cheese's, the mall to play in the play area, out to dinner, the park, the movie store, and more. It's been lots of fun, but I'm pretty tired. I think we're just going to take it easy tomorrow, after cleaning of course.

While blog surfing today I found this awesome quote: "True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." Such great words to live by. Marriage is hard, wishing that your mate was perfect makes it even harder. I know I'm certainly not perfect and I hate that I expect others to be so. This is something that I am going to work on!

Spring Break

I haven't ever been a partier so Spring Break hasn't ever really been that big of deal to me. (although I did like to live vicariously through those MTV babes). Now that I have kids, spring break means one thing...they are OUT OF SCHOOL. And no that is not good yelling. I am used to having 10 hours a week to do errands, rest, watch Martha, shop etc. Ya know, important stuff. But now they are out of school. On top of that, Chris is in Utah. (I don't envy him though because he is saying goodbye to his 85 yr old surrogate grandmother who is suffering horrible effects from a stroke and is rapidly declining.Prayers please!) Bottom line, my kids are home all week and no one is here to save me. :)

So today, we started our spring break celebration. We went to Opry Mills mall. It's HUGE. It has a full size Bass Pro Shops, Old Navy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, Saks, Macaroni Grill, Chilli's, Friday's, Tony Romas, Rainforrest Cafe, Aquarium Restaurant, a 10 screen movie theater with an IMAX plus a bunch of outlet stores and a food court. It ROCKS!!!!! The mall is a destination all by itself. We ate pizza, then shopped for a little while, getting swim suits, sunglasses, some Crocs and some clothes. Then we visited the fish at the Bass Pro shop, went to the Disney Store outlet and then ate at The Rainforrest Cafe. It was fun. I wish I could have relaxed a little more. I put so much pressure on myself for us all to look our best and of course I want the kids to be perfect so I get quite testy with them. But we made it and had a decent time.

I have lots of other fun stuff planned in the next few days. So hopefully we'll have lots of fun and make some great memories this Spring Break.

In other news, we heard that Mason did not get accepted to Thurman Francis. I am so bummed out! I only received a form letter, so I don't know the results of his test. Chris offered to call the school to find out since I am a little too emtional about it. I have total faith that God knows what is best for our family, I am just sad. I think part of my sadness is that I have to tell Mason that he won't be able to go to "his Kindergarten school." That is what he calls it. Hopefully he'll be excited about the school we are zoned for. Another part of my sadness is that the teachers who tested him couldn't see how special my babe is. He is a difficult child, but he is amazing. I hate when people can't see that! I hate that they think of him as just another kid who didn't have the right stuff. He's freaking special dang it! The last part of my sadness is that I feel like I haven't done my job in teaching him what he needs to know. I worry that I haven't prepared him. Yet, he is doing fine in Mothers Day Out. Hmmmmm...this mommy guilt is something that I am all too familiar with.

I guess that's if for now!

May and Ad

Look at those sweet babes! Mwah!
No other 2 people:

make my heart overflow with love
make me want to pull every single hair out of my head
make me laugh until my belly hurts
make me lock myself in the bathroom for 5 minutes of peace
make me want to buy them everything at the store for their 5 minutes of joy

make me wish for a mute button
make me yell in one breath and laugh in the next
make me watch the same Disney movies over and over...and like it!

make me love more than I ever thought possible!

HOF

Ok, I am trying to be gracious and be happy for those ladies that won. I mean, they are talented and deserve to win. But darn it, I feel like I did my best work this year and I didn't get anything. I have entered before and haven't ever heard anything. My past entries weren't all that great, but THIS year was different...I felt so good about what I did. What a bummer! Today is the last day I can feel sorry for myself. Then I am moving on. I know I just need to keep trying and all that jazz, and that is what I am going to do.

So in the spirit of trying, here is a layout for Robyn Werlich's 3 product challenge. (floral paper, a shape and writing on a photo)














this is one of my favorite photos of my kids. The journaling is about how they find such joy in simple things such as playing in the sink and how I could learn a lot from them to find joy in the simple things.

Happy St. Patricks Day and other ramblings

I am a little bit crazy about holidays. I love decorating...I love celebrating...I love going all out! We had shamrocks up in our windows, a leprachaun dressed bear candy dish and various shamrocks around the house. My kids really enjoy it, but even if they didn't, I would still do it! Today we took down our St. Patty's day stuff and put up our Easter stuff. My biggest problem is not being able to find the cute, boutiquey type stuff here in Tennessee that I could find in Utah. Any on-line places I can find stuf like that?

Yesterday my kids and I went to the local children's museum (The Discovery Center) with some friends. We had lots of fun and all the kids looked so cute all dolled up in their green. TDC has so much stuff to do, my biggest problem was keeping up with where each of my kids took off. All in all a great day spend with friends.

Today Chris and I were talking about the kinds of things we want to instill in our kids. The things I find most important and want to teach my kids are:

manners-not only please and thank you, but writing thank you cards, etc
being true to your word-doing what you say you'll do
budgeting
unconditional love
the importance of balancing having fun with responsiblities
personal hygiene-hahaha! I may be a little bit of a clean freak, but sheesh, it's important to be clean
washyour hands and brush your teeth. yes I have issues with this :)

There is plenty of other things to teach my kids, but those are the things that are most important to me. Chris has things that are most important to him that he is working on. I am so grateful that my kids have 2 parents to teach and raise them and help prepare them for the world.

Boo Hoo

Not a good day today

-Went to McD's but it was FILTHY! We should have left but we ate our lunch anyway. The kids had a blast. I threw their socks away when we left and made them take their clothes off when we got home so I could immediately wash them. Have to think of somewhere else to go next week.

-Watched Ethan, Mason's friend from school, like I always do onWednesdays. It's not bad at all usually. Usually the 3 of them play so well together. Usually I can even get in my scrapbook room. Not today. They all got in a fight about 2 minutes after Ethan walked in the door. After the fight they proceeded up the stairs to dump out every basket of toys we had in the play room and in Mason's room. Ug!

-We played outside with the neighbors for a while, which was great, but we got in so late that I didn't even start dinner until 6:15. Of course the kids were starving so not only did I make dinner, I had to put in some noodles for Addi and pizza for Mason. Nothing like making 3 different meals at one meal time. Double Ug!

-We were all ornery at bedtime. Chris and Mason got in a big, fat fight. I don't know which one of them is more stubborn.

-I tried to figure out how to scan and stich my 12x12 pages so I can submit more. My scanner isn't working and I have no idea how to stitch. Bummer! Going to have to stick with taking photos for a while.

-Didn't get a call today either. I told myself I wasn't going to get so uptight about it this year. I didn't look up when the date was so I wouldn't agonize about it. Well, unfortunately I found out that calls are going on right now. I am sick. I truly do feel that I did my absolute best work this year. So that should be good enough. I just wanna feel a little love. I think I'll stop and pick up some brownies tomorrow!

Tomorrow should be a better day. M and A will be in MDO (God bless that program!) and I am going to lunch with some of the mommies from MDO. Maybe I'll run to the scrapbook store, a little emotional shopping!

What a day!

Wow, this day has been crazy! Look what I did this morning...yeah me. It was so fun. I went in to get a pedi, with a gift certificate and ended up getting my nails done. Those little ladies are so persuasive. Ok, so maybe it had something to do with the fact that I couldn't understand what she was saying. Either way, they are so pwetty (Addi speak) and I love them. Chris just shook his head!



When I picked my kids up from school, we stopped by the grocery store for snacks before going to the park to play. Well, Mason and Addi BOTH proceeded to throw a fit and scream as loud as they could because I wouldn't let them have Mountain Dew. I'm sure all of the people in Kroger could tell how unhappy we were. I was so proud that I held my ground and didn't give in. Neither of them got a soda and we went home, not to the park. I didn't yell or spank, I just dragged them kicking and screaming to the car and ignored their protests the entire way home. I even expained to them how much I loved them, even though I didn't like their behavior. So proud of my self control! :)


After a cooling off period, we went outside to play. Even though it was only 50 degrees out, the kids just had to turn the hose and a make a mud puddle. I knew where that was headed, but I just let them go. They were both froze to death (Addi was playing in the water coming off the faucet but I didn't get a pic of that...oops.) but they had so much fun. It's a good thing Chris wasn't home, he would have lost his mind!










In other news, Mason lost his first tooth. I can't believe it! He's big now. His tooth had been loose for quite a while so I nudged it while I was brushing his teeth and out it came. He is seriously SO excited and can't wait to check his tooth fairy box (thanks Aunt Mel) in the morning for the money she'll leave him. I am thinking of leaving a note in there with this cutest little tooth fairy bag saying that since it was his first tooth, the tooth fairy thought Mason's mommy wanted to keep it to put in his remembrance box so she left it in this bag.(Oh, his interview at the magnet school was today too, but I have no idea how he did since they wouldn't let me in there. He said it was fun though. fingers crossed)

I guess that's it for now.

ps I didn't get "the call" today. boo hoo!!! I am thinking a big fat batch of brownies are in my near future. :(

I'm back!

I got my new laptop today! WOOOO HOOOOO! It's been a long, l o n g few weeks without a computer! My kids' old puter just wasn't cutting it. I am so happy! I am beat tonight so I can't think of anything too interesting to write, but tomorrow I'll be back with some photos!

Update on me

My laptop died so I've been using my son's puter to catch up on everything. Well, it is old and didn't have the latest and greatest internet explorer so I couldn't update my blog. Now, Chris installed ie so I can blog and he's wiping the hard drive on my laptop so I'll have it soon too (minus my favorites and my photos from January). Whew, how I've missed him, my lap top, I call him my boyfriend. I'll have to come up with a name for him. Hmmmm...

Chris went to Dallas last week on a business trip. We were ok, excpet no one really slept well. I guess we all hate when he's gone. I get so jealous of him traveling. It sounds like such a vacation to stay in a hotel, ALONE, have nice dinners (paid for by someone else) and not have to clean up after myself. I know he has to work really hard when he goes though.

I did go to the scrapbook store last week. I don't really like this time of year in the stores though. There isn't a lot of new stuff because they are waiting on their orders from CHA. I was hoping to get really inspired, but I'm just not. Maybe March CK will help.

We actually got some snow. And it's been here for 2 days. It is SOOOO cold right now that the snow isn't pretty it's just a frozen mess. My church even got cancelled this morning. I didn't know they cancelled for such things. Oh well. We've actually had a nice relaxing day...made cookies, painted wooden airplanes, went outside for a bit, Chris fixed the reverse light in my car, I did a little cleaning and now I'm getting ready to make calzones for dinner.

That's it for now. I am so boring!

Update

So sad...my laptop crashed. Luckily I backed up my July through Dec photos the day before. Not so luckily, my January photos are still on there. At least Mason's birthday ones are on the scrapbookpictures.com website. Thank goodness. I HATE not having my laptop. I feel so out of the loop. I haven't been on the puter for ever! So I guess I won't be downloading any photos for a while until I either get a new one (pretty please Chris) or he gets my broken one fixed. Yes he is a computer guy, but he's not a magician.

Enough rambling....now an update:
*Saturday we went to Dora the Explorer live. It was soo fun. I think I had as much fun as Mason and Addi had. We keep singing all of the songs from the show. So fun! I was bummed out not to be able to take my camera for some photos, but I really got to sit and enjoy it not think about how to photograph it.
*A fire has been lit in Mason's head. He is learning his letters so fast. His desire is so big. I love hearing him making letter sounds. Whoever came up with "Leap" products is brilliant. Just this week I have bought Mason a new Leapster game, a Leap DVD and a fridge magnet thing that makes the letter sounds. He thinks he's playing, but I know he's learning. I love it. We sing the alphabet sounds all day. It's great. How did kids learn the alphabet before leap? :)

I had a bunch more very important stuff to say, but now that I'm on here, I can't think of what it was...so I guess that's it for now!

My little buddy is FIVE!! I can't believe he turned five today! We had such a great day. He is such a good kid. He was so excited for his birthday. We did the countdown all week to today. He got to choose which of his friends came over for his Carnival party, 11 kids in all. Both of his Grandma's were here from Utah. Wow...what fun! I am exhausted!

OK, so I really am alive.

I don't remember being this busy before. I have a million things going on. I am almost finished with my HOF entry and am working on another sb project. Plus I have been on a crazy cleaning spree! I have thrown away so much stuff and need to take half of my garage to Goodwill. That mixed in with trying to be more involved with my kids, so they'll watch less tv, my church calling and this weekend my in laws and my mom are coming for Mason's birthday....whew! Busy busy busy! I am so stinkin' excited for Mason's party. He is too. We are having a Carnival. It should be tons of fun! More about that later!

I've actually been tagged!

4 places I've worked:
-ORMC, a hospital in Utah, in the pharmacy
-OWATC, a technology school, teaching the pharmacy technican class
-Kent's Pharmacy
-SAHM

4 movies you would watch over and over:
-any Harry Potter movie
-Office Space
-The Notebook
-My Big, Fat Greet Wedding

4 places you have lived:
-Tremonton, UT
-Ogden, UT
-Smyrna, TN
that's all

4 tv shows you love to watch:
-Grey's Anatomy
-ER
-Decorating Cents
-Lost

4 places you've been on vacation:
-Oklahoma
-Chatanooga, TN
-Utah
-Texas to see my Kristi
(isn't that list exciting!)

4 websites I visit daily:
-blogs
-yahoo
-airline websites (to bring my mommy here)
-nick jr (for my kids)

4 of my favorite foods:
-candy
-mexican
-chips and queso
-my mom's roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy

4 places I would rather be right now:
-in my scrapbook foom working on my HOF entry
-in bed sleeping so I could kick this virus
-anywhere on vacation that didn't require me cooking or cleaning
-?

Update

We're home from Oklahoma and what a trip it was. Here is our trip in a nutshell:
*our car broke down on the way there-needed a new battery
*Addi got sick-visited the rotten ER and diagnosed with a virus
*I got sick-visited the rotten ER and diagnosed with influenza
*Mason, Chris and Melissa visited the zoo while Addi and I hung out on the couch being sick
*We did have fun on NYE playing games and eating junk food with Melissa, Scott and some other friends
*Our car broke down on the way home too (new fuel filter) but it's still not fixed

We are all still trying to recover. Mason now has influenza too. We haven't left the house except to go to the doctor. Chris had to go do all the grocery shopping. He took 2 days off to take care of all of us and I'm sure he couldn't wait to get out of the house of sickness to get back to work.

I haven't even had a chance to really play with my new camera. I am still trying to get my stuff done for CK HOF, but I haven't been in my scrapbook room since before Chrsitmas. I can't get my sorry self off the couch. So that's about it for now. Pretty Sad! I'm hoping to be about back to normal by Monday!