Monday, November 26, 2007

It's Good To Be Back In the Swing of Things

It's been very busy around the house for the last week or so. I honestly had no time to sit down and write. It's good to be back in the swing of things and have Thanksgiving and all of the food behind me. I was literally out of control with the food. I did make sure that I worked out every day through the holidays and for longer time. I don't think it helped. I have a few pounds to lose but am not getting on that scale until next week. I wouldn't torture myself like that. It felt good to throw away all leftovers yesterday. I don't want any sign of junk in the frige. I have this feeling of cleaning out this morning. I am going to hit the fridge and finish organizing some of the cupboards in the kitchen. We seemed to start too many projects this weekend and not finish all of them. UGH!! I hate that. On top of the holidays, Todd and I both had to speak in church yesterday so we were busy with writing talks last week.

Thanksgiving was great. The food was good, the kids loved being home and we had Nancy here to eat with us. I was trying to be so prepared and have things made ahead of time to alleviate any chaos for Thursday. So I made 2 pies and a pretzel/jello dessert the day before...a pumpkin pie and a creamy chocolate pie. They were very good! I have been trying to perfect a pie crust these last couple of months. They turned out good but needed to be rolled out a little bit thinner. I will try again for Christmas. Thursday was literally spent in the kitchen making homemade rolls, dressing, turkey, chips/dip, sandwiches for kids, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams. orange rolls, and a yummy salad(romaine lettuce, crumbled gorgonzola cheese, craisins and candied almonds with Girards champagne dressing). I had to ask myself if the 10 minutes of eating is worth 8 hours in the kitchen...it is!! I barely ate the dinner. I felt that since I had smelled it all day it was as if I had already eaten it many times. Am I strange or does anyone else feel that way too?

Friday morning I was up at 4:20 and felt awake so I got up and dressed to go work out and hit some stores. The line at Wal-Mart was ridiculous at 4:50 so I decided to work out first. I was back at Wal-Mart at 6:30 and the crowds had died down and it wasn't bad at all. I got a bunch of shopping done and was out of there by 8:30. It really feels good to have so much done this early. This was the first Black Friday that I have gone out early and shopped. It all depends on what you are getting to really say it is worth fighting a mass of people. We ended up hanging around the house, doing laundry and working out in the yard. Todd and Nancy hit the hardware store with some of the kids and bought some tools for tearing out some plants that have been driving me crazy for almost 2 years now. The kids were in heaven working in the yard and helping to put plants and other yard clippings in bags.

Saturday was more of the same...working in the yard and cleaning out cupboards in the kitchen. Todd put up our Christmas lights and it looks so good. I love Christmas lights and decorations! I will have to get a picture of them on tonight and post. I took a sawzall and cut away at a bunch of nasty plants. I love power tools!! It made life easy! I have many winter flowers to plant and hopefully some roses here in the next few weeks. I know it will be pretty come the spring when the roses will start to bloom.

Sunday was church and our talks. It all went really well. I don't get nervous anymore to speak. It used to be bad! I said that I would speak more often because it didn't seem to bother me at all. That is music to any bishopric members ears. I spoke on strengthening the family. I recommend Elder Hales article in the May 2004 Ensign. It is excellent. It was nice to have Todd come home with us right after church. He didn't have meetings yesterday. :D

Today is the start of a new week and the Christmas season for me. I want to get out all of my Christmas decorations and work on that this week. Todd busted out the Christmas cd's and so I'm sure it'll be decorating with hot choc. for Family Home Evening tonight. It is dang cold here today. The chill hit yesterday. It was 38 degrees when I left this morning at 5:20. It's good to have the sunshine out now. I better get going on my day. The boys are just getting up. It was a nice quiet morning...I'm ready for a nap :D. Pictures will be coming.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Weather Has Been Gorgeous/Random thoughts around the house



Random title...I know but I couldn't help but post a beautiful picture of where I live. The water was just gorgeous yesterday. The weather has been in the 80's and it's just so clear. I love it up here!! I took this picture out front of where Emily takes dance. The house up the street is asking $2 million. The view is worth every dime. It is so nice to come out and not have any obstructions to the view. I always feel like I am right there in the ocean when we go to dance.

It has been strange to still be wearing flip flops and skirts here in the middle of November. I am not complaining. I haved loved the weather this past week. It is sure to start cooling down....darn it!

I am happy to report that I have made myself at least read a chapter in my scriptures before I do anything else for the last 3 days. I will read on my own and then not for a time and then I think why am I not reading before I start my day. I have told myself to read before I start getting ready for the day and I have done it. I do notice a different feeling throughout the day when I have read. I think that I recognize more of the good things that are going on in my life rather than the negative. What a blessing that is. I can't stop reading!!! I am really trying to do better in that area of personal scripture reading/study. I am so grateful for the scriptures and the messages in them. So I better make this a habit that sticks!!

I am so dang tired tonight. Todd has meetings tonight. I should be changing laundry and such but I had to sit down and take a break. The job of keeping house and tending children never ends at my house. It feels like only minutes before my eyes close does the house shut down.

I have to report how cute it was to see how Emily sneaked off tonight into the bathroom to apparently wipe the entire bathroom down with clorox wipes. She is too much. The girl knows how to do everything. It is so cute to watch her clean. She doesn't miss a thing. I heard her telling the boys to get out because she was wiping the WHOLE bathroom down. I peeked in and she said, "Look mom, I cleaned the whole bathroom with clorox wipes." While she was telling me she was literally wiping the entire toilet from top to bottom and around the base of it on the tile. I love it! I have no worries about her being dirty. I love that she knows just how to clean up. Thanks Em for all of your help!

Ellie is just cruising around all over. I can't believe she is now 16 months old. She is very cute and knows how to do so much. She got out the plastic bowls and was playing with them but once she was done I asked her to put them away and she did. That is the best! She knows where to go to get her drink (walks me to the fridge and stands and waits), she will pick up things on the floor and bring them to me (coins), and she helps to put any toys away. She knows just where to put them. She is a very good baby and so fun to be with. We all love little precious Ellie Jayne girl. My head is nodding off. Time to go!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

It's Been 3 Days of Car Issues

This week has been spent at the dealership. Long story short, the ABS module went out on Sunday which caused the battery to die so no car on Monday. Good thing the kids had no school. A friend came and jumped the truck so that I could take it to the dealer. The damage at the dealer was $2100.00....OUCH!!!! It's been a fiasco and 3 days of going back and forth and changing out car seats and luggage that goes along with having a few kids in the car. The dealer just called to tell me that the last problem was fixed (rear air wasn't working)and that I can pick it up anytime. The computer in the car needed to be reset. He told me there would be no charge. AHHHH! Is that possible to ever hear that from the dealer? I guess we do get a break every once in awhile. I am just happy to have the truck running smoothly.

Mitty starts scouts today. He is so excited and just can't wait. We were reading through his book last night together. He was doing all of these things in the book. I'm happy for him and hope that he will have a positive experience. We will be meeting with the other wards scouts since Mitch is the only 8 year old in our ward. It is nice because it will be with the other boys that he goes to school with. We don't have any other kids in our ward going to the same school as ours. Of course the store where I get his scout stuff is waiting for his size shirt to come in. He will be so disappointed that he doesn't have a shirt.

I'm off to get kids from school. Am I really ready for the 3:00 hour to approach? I feel very sluggish this afternoon sitting here. I am fine as long as I don't ever sit down. Once I sit down then I am asleep. I guess that's what getting up at 4:45am does. I love working out at that hour though. I am very proud of myself that I have been getting up at 5:00am to work out since Feb./March. That is 5-6 days a week. I'm off!

Monday, November 12, 2007

More Halloween Pics..Emily's preschool/Todd's Halloween Office Lunch

Here is Todd showing off his "wanna be on stageness" for his work Halloween lunch. He was in his element for sure.


Emily and her teacher on Halloween...

Ellie was Mickey Mouse in the morning for Emily's parade and the Halloween lunch at Todd's office..

Halloween Pictures....just a little behind :D





These were cut outs from peanut butter/choc.chip sandwiches for the kids lunches on Halloween. I was feeling festive.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Friday, November 09, 2007

It's the Weekend Again :D/Catch Up

I'm happy to say that the sore throat was gone after a day. Totally amazing to me. It hurt so badly I thought for sure this was the start of a long week. It is gone and nobody else seems to have been bothered by it either. Phew!!

Last night Todd and I had the opportunity to go to a fundraiser dinner for our Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee. It was at a ranch just north of here. It was really nice. The food was great if you enjoy 2 lbs. of beef on a plate. :D Everything else was spectacular...asian slaw with tempura shrimp, a fabulous salad with gorgonzola cheese and toasted pine nuts, and a literal side of beef with potatoes. It was so nice to enjoy dinner out together by ourselves. The kids were home with a babysitter that they love. I love that they love her.

Today was a somewhat busy day. Todd was off today so we hung out at home for a bit this morning while Ellie napped and then Todd hit the dentist and I went and picked up Emily's new glasses. They look great. Sorry no pictures while we are trying to figure out this mess on the computer. We had our standard Loco lunch with the girls. They love to be out places. I then had a dr.'s appt. with the urologist. It was good news to me that my urine didn't show any blood in it today. I couldn't believe it. For the past 6 months it has shown blood in it. Nothing that I can detect but at the dr.'s office in the "spinner". The Urologist now wants me to take another x-ray of my kidneys and see if he can tell if I have passed any of the stones that showed on my scan back in June. And for the worst part of it....he wants me to collect my urine in a bottle for 24 hours. The bottle looks like a tall laundry detergent bottle. Big and orange just like Tide. I'm sure it will be interesting trying to collect it. :D That is where I am at with that and hopefully he will find out what is causing the stones and the blood.

My eyes are starting to close. It's my sign to get off and go lay down to watch The Office. :D It's just been stop and go around here. After my appt., I spent 2 hours in Target and then met the clan over at Trader Joes. I really do love that place. We were getting tasty pizza dough for our pizza tonight. It all turned out great. Kids are in bed and I'm off. Tomorrow should be a fun, mellow day. No big plans. I love that.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Feeling Sick Today...:(/Mitty's Baptism Weekend

I'm back but not in full swing today. I have a raging sore throat (that is exactly how it feels). My neck physically hurts and hurts to move/turn it around. My head is a little full with my ears not feeling great. Darn!! I hate this. I haven't been sick for awhile.
I sure hope it doesn't last long.

There was a lot of family here and something going on every minute. The last of our guests left Monday afternoon. It was a great weekend. My mom and dad came, my 3 sisters, 2 brothers, Grandma Carol, Aunt Nancy, Jeanne, and 7 cousins. It was a full house but so much fun. I enjoyed every minute being together with everyone. All of the kids got along just great! Most of our guests arrived Friday night and left Sunday afternoon. Friday night was spent getting last minute food items prepared and the house ready for Saturday. My mom was on potato salad detail late Friday night. Thanks mom, it was wonderful! I was up until 3 am....not good.

Saturday: It was a busy day but I think everyone enjoyed themselves. The kids played with their cousins and I ran last minute errands with my sisters, mom and Megan. It was a mad house trying to get everyone ready for the baptism. We managed with every one's help and were able to leave. Mitch was so excited to be wearing his new coat/slacks and being able to tie his own "real" tie. We caravaned down to the church...5 car loads worth and set up for the baptism. It was really nice. The program ran smoothly. Todd conducted the meeting which was neat. It was a special day for all of us. It was nice to have so many kids from our primary attend. Casey backed out of giving the talk literally at the last second. I knew that was a possibility. I ended up giving the talk. Todd had written it up so I had never even glanced at it. Oh well, it went well. The cousins sang and I think everyone enjoyed it. We had refreshments and it was so cute to see all of the kids belly up to the cookie table and not back away until the cookies were just about gone. I don't mind because I didn't want to have to carry anything back home.

Once we were done, we took some pictures outside of the church (sister's camera so I don't have the pictures yet). I can't believe my camera had died right after I took 2 pictures of Todd and Mitty in their white clothes. That is so how it works for me. I guess I couldn't remember everything. I thought the camera had charged, guess not. I will post pics later. I'm getting behind on my posting pictures, darn it.

We all came back to my house for a Mo's BBQ feast. I opted not to cook the food myself last minute. That really would have been too much for me and especially with how many people we had here. It worked out just great. Thanks Melinda for your pulled pork recipe. I made it the week before and we loved it. Easy recipe which I love!! We had a 7 layer mexican dip with tortilla chips/ Que Bueno nacho cheese heated in the crock pot and carrots/celery with ranch dip for appetizers. It was a crowd pleaser. That Que Bueno is so good. It comes in the big can from Costco. I stuck it in the crock pot at 2:00 before the baptism and it was hot and waiting once we got home 5:30-5:45. Christina, if you have a big group coming for your baptism that Queso was great and super easy. No prep for a tasty appetizer. Our dinner was shredded pork, shredded chicken and BBQ beef sandwiches with tasty BBQ sauce, coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad and rolls. We were pretty well covered with our spread. We had a really good punch too. The mix was Smuckers Strawberry Lemonade mix with 7-up and Rainbow Sherbet (Pineapple, Orange and Raspberry) in it. That was a knock out too. The big can of lemonade mix was from Costco. Dessert consisted of pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, chocolate chip cookies, the corn flake/butterscotch chips/choc.chips and peanut butter bars. We weren't short on food by any means. It all turned out great and I was really happy with all of the food. Thanks everyone for all of your help. I couldn't have done it without you.

I really enjoyed having everyone come to church with us on Sunday morning. Thanks to all of you for making Mitty's baptism a special event in his life. I know that he felt all of your support and appreciates it.

We gave Mitty his own set of scriptures for his baptism with his name on them. Oh, how he loves them. It has really been sweet to watch him read his scriptures every day and have such a strong desire to come home from school and read. His enthusiasm is so fun to watch. He told me the other night that he was reading his scriptures by himself and that when dad came in to read to both of them Mitty got a tingle in his nose and a funny feeling in his stomach when dad read the same ones that he had just read by himself. How sweet that is for him to have such a nice experience of feeling the spirit. I thought it was so cute of him to share that with me. I am proud of him and the right choices that he makes. It has really sparked a fire in the rest of the kids. They all grab their scriptures and want to read. I can't turn them down on that. I am very grateful for the example that Mitty has been to his entire family. I can only hope to keep the fire burning in him to keep reading his scriptures and to keep that desire to read them always. I have no idea if that sentence made any sense but am not going back to change it. I am too tired and not feeling good.

It was a wonderful weekend and I would love to go back and keep my family close by for a while longer. :D You guys are welcome back anytime!!

I will have to post pics once I get them. I am so behind on pics it's bad. Our photo program is having an issue so that is why I haven't posted any. I can't find where the pictures are. Long story, not good. Time to get Emily ready for dance.