One Day At A Time

Visions.........

2011-03-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have big hopes that I am able to get through a few rooms in my house and de junk them today. I was at a friends house yesterday and her house is so organized that it has motivated me to go through my own house as if I was moving and get rid of the crap that I am not using and make a place for everything I am using. I have visions of what I want it to look like. I just don't think I can achieve that all today. I'm going to try. I really need to live near an ikea right about now. Ready, get set, go....... I'm off and running!

Day 7

2011-03-09T10:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm still alive and with a much better attitude than on day 1. :) I slipped and had 2 small cookies out of 6 dozen cookies I had to make for Todd yesterday. I still feel like I'm doing well! I'm not letting that get me down. I've picked up and started this morning where I left off before I put those 2 cookies away. I can't be too hard on myself.

Some of the foods that I am eating and love are cottage cheese/cinnamon, Orowheat 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins, raw almonds, sweet italian chicken sausages and the spicy jalapeno chicken sausages from Trader Joes, salad with Feta cheese & Cilantro salad dressing from Trader Joes, snow peas, cucumber spears, turkey chili made from scratch (ground turkey (8% fat), black beans, cannellini beans, fresh chopped tomatoes, celery, carrots, minced garlic, green onions, red peppers, orange peppers, anaheim chiles, apple cider vinegar, chicken stock with 1 can of tomato paste and a plethora of spices; chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, salt & pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes & cumin. My family loves it - the kids devour it and some have 2 big bowls. Top it with guacamole made from scratch and cheese if you desire. 2-3 hard boiled egg whites sliced on top of a whole wheat sandwich thin with a little ground mustard & salt & pepper, apples, grapefruit & chicken on top of a bowl of salad greens with lots of chopped veggies are some of the foods that I am eating and loving.

I have to say that something I have noticed these last 7 days is that I am not as grouchy/irritable. I just wonder if the sugar has anything to do with that. I did have a couple of minor night sweat episodes and am sure that it doesn't have anything to do with sugar....it is my hormone levels. I was tested a few months ago and have really low estrogen, pretty much that of a person checking into menopause. Lucky me!! I think they are hot flashes. My grandma went through menopause at 35 so I guess there is a possibility that I head into it much sooner than others. The doctor told me to eat more soy to try and raise my estrogen.....oh how do people do that. It all tastes bad to me.

Here's to another 7 days!! Anyone else want to join my bandwagon?

I'm off to make lunches for my kids and deliver them to the school.

Feeling good

2011-03-03T08:31:00.001-08:00

After talking, well texting with a friend yesterday, I felt so much better and like I could really kick the sugar habit. Thanks Susie!! She gave me the pep talk that I needed. She has recently done it for health concerns and looks great. She feels so much better and is eating all kinds of food. It's nice to know another person who is doing the same thing.

I feel good today with a better attitude about the whole thing. I have one whole day under my belt of no sugar (simple carbs) and can now make it two.:). I am working one day at a time! I can make conscious choices that will help me to achieve my goal!

"I gotta feeling....that tonights gonna be a good night" .....or today! I love that song:). It's time for a run!

To do today:
Run
Laundry
Emily's softball practice
Mittys baseball practice
Casey's rugby practice
Work on primary picture
Work on sharing time
File taxes
Pay bills

Thank goodness no school tomorrow!

Tomorrow= another chance

2011-03-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Here it is, a new day. I feel good to be starting a new day with a good attitude about change. I am committing to eating better and listening to my doctor.:). Sugar is my enemy and I really need to look at it that way. I'm off for a long run which I love! My mind is able to run free and think about whatever I want. I know I can overcome my bad sugar habits with my Heavenly Fathers help. It never hurts to ask for help even if it is over something as silly as sugar. Anyone who has the problem or has had to overcome knows what I'm talking about. I'm off with a prayer in my heart to make good eating choices!! I can do hard things!!!!

Frustrated....Can't overcome the sugar addiction

2011-03-02T00:36:00.000-08:00

I'm totally out of control and it's very frustrating. I love to bake which then means I have to try what I make. I am not supposed to be eating sugar. How can I stop? Why do I have to stop doing what I love? I am feeling very frustrated and need an intervention! What to do with a sweet tooth at night? I am going to attempt for the millionth time to start over tomorrow. Tomorrow is such a beautiful thing:). The problem with tomorrow is that I keep saying that every day when I fail. My follow up dr. appt. is in 2 weeks. It's been 3 months since she told me to really cut out the sugar. I think the longest I went was 2 weeks straight and then I cave. I can do this, I can do this!!!! It's hard but what would life be like if everything was easy? How do you control sugar cravings?

I start to feel angry that I have this to deal with. I know life could be worse but this is definitely a challenge for me. I feel like this isn't any different than someone who can't stop smoking, drinking or has a drug addiction. I have sympathy for those who struggle. Feel free to leave any gimmicks that work for you.

I love.......

2011-02-28T09:31:00.000-08:00

My children, Mitty, Casey, Emily & Ellie
My husband, Todd
Bvlgari perfumes
My warm,perfect Red, North Face pullover
Little league baseball season
To run and run and run :)
Freshly changed sheets
The smell of the clean laundry drying
When Casey massages my feet
To eat popcorn at night with Todd while we watch TV
To wake up early and get lots of chores done by 9:00am
The windows open on a sunny day
To chew gum....it's a must. Extra, Mentos Pure
To see chores getting done
To BAKE
To hang out with my siblings & parents....we can have fun anywhere:)
To be in control of my eating
To lay out at the beach in the warm sun
HAWAII
To watch Emily play softball
To watch Ellie play Wii Just Dance
Walking into a clean house that isn't screaming for me to clean it
My good friends
My brothers & sisters
Serving the children in primary
Peanut butter & chocolate
Getting my hair done
Job stability
Going to the temple
Living on the central coast
Taking walks/hikes
When my kids get along
Sweet baby Mae & all other nieces & nephews
A cool crisp apple
To feel the Spirit ( there isn't a more peaceful feeling
A new car & the smell that goes with it
French country decor
When my children & Todd are happy
Thinking back on fun times/ memories of the river & Havasu
Summer
Good running shoes
A long back scratching session
When my mom comes to visit

Home

2010-10-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadow, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live not only influence the success of our earthly journey, they also mark the way to our eternal goals. --Thomas S. Monson

I came across this quote from our prophet and absolutely loved it. I don't want to forget it.

Cute things kids say....

2010-03-30T09:00:00.001-07:00

Ellie:

I was shopping for some shoes yesterday and trying on so many pairs. Ellie was right along side of me trying on shoes as well. She loves shoes! Anyway, she kept asking me, "well, how do you like this pair?" They were my size shoes :). I would tell her and then she would grab another pair. Pretty soon she came to me and put her head in my lap and said, "When are my feet going to get big?" I had to laugh. Of course, a little girl wants to be able to fit into her mom's size shoe.

Mitch:

Mitch put on his cup last Saturday for his first game and was having such a fit about how it was fitting. It is the same cup from last year and we never heard a complaint out of him. Anyway, he said, "Mom, look how huge it looks in my pants." I was trying not to laugh too hard because he was frustrated but pretty much couldn't help it. Todd and I both said that it would be fine...every boy on the team is having to wear one and they understand....it's no big deal. He came back with, "Everyone will just keep their thoughts to themselves but they will all be thinking how fat it looks." I cracked up! I can't imagine having to wear a hard cup in my underwear. He made it through the game without another complaint.

Way to go Mitch, Casey & Emily

2010-03-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

I was so happy to go to an awards assembly yesterday to watch Mitch and Casey receive awards for their hard work. Mitch was recognized for making honor roll and Casey received an award for his math skills. All 3 of the kids stepped it up and really improved in all areas this last trimester. I can't even express how happy it makes me to read such great comments from their teachers.
It makes all of the stress of getting the kids to do homework all worth it! It makes me happy to know that all of their teachers enjoy having them in class.

Oh the joy that comes from being a mother!

Home Alone

2010-03-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

A friend has picked up Ellie for a bit. Ellie loves to go to Costco so she is having fun on her outing. The house is quiet and there are so many things that I should be doing so why do I stall?

I was reading in a weight watcher magazine about changing habits. The example was to not eat meat for 3 days and load up on veggies instead. I thought about it and said to myself anyone can do anything for 3 days whether it is not eat sugar, eat less carbs, cut out the desserts or whatever it is that haunts each one of us in our diets. I took it a step further and thought spiritually I need to make better habits. So along with making a change in the kitchen/food, I will also make a change and read more scriptures each day for 3 days and then do it again for another 3 days and so on. The magazine article was talking about how we are more successful when we make mini challenges instead of huge ones that we almost set ourselves up for failure the minute we start. 3 day challenge is attainable!!

While the house is quiet, I have one more bed to change, walk on the treadmill, shower and get some laundry done. This afternoon is practice for one and a game for another. I guess I better think about dinner also. The busy-ness never goes away.

Side note...last night Casey gave a great FHE lesson on being kind. He printed off President Hinckley's talk "The Need for Greater Kindness" and read it to all of us. I have been asking the kids what they feel they need to work on and then let them find an article that fits. The girls sat on stools and put on their glasses and led the music. Too cute!!

Casey told me something really sweet the other day while I was playing the piano. The new song in Primary this year is "I Know My Savior Loves Me" Casey loves for me to play that song. He will sing along too. I love it. He told me that when I start to play the beginning, it makes him feel like crying. I was so happy for the opportunity to explain to him that he is feeling the spirit. I am so thankful that my children can feel the spirit and are recognizing what it feels like. Those comments make my heart swell! I am thankful for wonderful music that can bring that feeling into my home. The music "Hymns for a Peaceful Sabbath" is just wonderful. I love playing that while we are home on Sunday. I play it during the day with Ellie...(I'm not a TV watcher). It is peaceful and that is all I look for these days.

Life Just Doesn't Slow Down

2010-03-12T21:55:00.001-08:00

Life is just crazy busy. There is something major happening all of the time with 4 kids, 3 in sports and 2 in scouts. I wouldn't trade them for anything but wouldn't mind a little slowing down once in a while. I love to watch the kids play baseball...I really do. It's exciting!!

Miss Emily just started her first year of softball with the girls. The girls named their team The Pink Panthers. She is a slugger!! She loves it! Her pink/purple glove with her brand new purple bat and bright pink socks with paw prints all over them and she is set. :) I love that she knows what to do after she hits the ball. She knows to get the ball after it has been hit and throw it to 1st base. She is on the ball and has a great arm. Way to go miss Em Em!!

The boys are still busy with practices. They don't officially start games until Mar. 27th. I only have a couple of weeks before it will be 7-8 games a week until June. Oh boy! Mitch is on the Giants and Casey is on the Padres. Great uniforms and great colors. That's important around here. :)

Last week I painted the house. I have been living with white walls for almost 12 years. Some color was definitely overdue. My living room and parts of my family room are cranberry. The other color I used on some other walls is called Maple Sugar. It has made it so cozy. The neighborhood kids come in and look around and say, "We just love how your house looks." I have never heard that before. The nasty flat white paint that I have stared at for so many years is finally in the past. :) Thank goodness that a week of going to bed at 2:30 and 3:00 are over. I can't work on painting when the kids are around.

Last Saturday I held a primary teacher/leader breakfast at my house. It was a success. Very fun to have just the leaders come and chat with one another. We had sticky buns, french toast souffle, yogurt, granola & fruit, omellete bar, sausage, lemon scones with apricots and cranberries and juice. It was a spread and it was delicious. I love putting on a party. I can't wait for the next one.

Grandma Carol is coming to visit tomorrow. I haven't seen her for awhile and so this will be fun. The kids are excited! Hopefully the weather stays sunny and nice. The rain that I hear right now may be an indication of no sunny weather. Hopefully, I am surprised. I'm off to enjoy the beautiful fire that Todd has going in our nice, cozy house. I know I need to post pics of so many things. I barely have time to put the pics on the computer let alone pick through them and put them into my posts. It's crazy life right now. I really can't imagine not doing all that I do. What would life be like? Children teach adults so much!!! I am ever so thankful for the opportunity to have children and to learn so much about life through my children.... PATIENCE and even then I still have a long way to go on being patient. Goodnight.

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend

2010-02-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

I love Valentine's Day....hearts, red, pink, candy, chocolate, date (if we are lucky :)). What isn't there to love about it. I spent the entire day at school yesterday attending each child's Valentine party. So far it has been the only party day in our schooling career with children that they were at different times and I was able to go to each one. We served donuts, hot chocolate, fruit, gummy hearts, & fudge. Anyway, the whole room parent/parents/party topic is too much for me. It is so out of control here at our school. Don't even get me started. Oh well, the kids had fun. Ellie especially had a great day. She attended 3 parties and had so many goodies from each class.

I made big heart sugar cookies for my kids to frost and decorate with sprinkles. I ended up frosting them tonight and the girls shook all of the different kinds of sprinkles on the cookies. The sprinkles are so cute!! I love a cute frosted sugar cookie. I know I'm not alone on that one. :) The kids then walked the plates of yummy cookies around to their friends that live on our street. The funny thing was that I wasn't planning to give the cookies away to our neighbor friends and so wasn't prepared with a cute valentine plate. Instead, the neighbors got cute, pink/red sugar cookies on a CARS paper plate. Does it really matter? No, the boys probably loved getting a CARS plate. It just made me laugh because I normally would want a cute decorative plate to hand out. It just didn't matter at all! I could bake every day and deliver goodies to friends/neighbors. I absolutely love doing it. I make up excuses to bake. :)

I'm looking forward to 3 more days off. I love the carefree feeling of holidays/days off! Enjoy the weekend!!

For Posterity's Sake

2010-02-06T02:41:00.000-08:00

I have another blog that I started for all of my recipes. (buffysbakery.blogspot.com) I only have about 6 in there right now and of course they are all cookies except for a couple of bread recipes. :) I thought this would be an easy way for me to keep them all together. It donned on me that this would be perfect for me to make into a book at some point and have for my girls to take with them when they start their own homes. Slowly, but surely I will add all of the favorites. I would love to have had a book of mom's favorite recipes. You know some of those good 'ol recipes from home. :)

I'm up late tonight because I fell asleep on the couch from 7:30-12:45 and couldn't go back to sleep. I feel like I got a normal nights sleep. I better go add a few more hours to my night. I'm kind of excited that there isn't anything on the agenda for tomorrow. Another free Saturday to hang out with the family. It's looking like more rain tomorrow so even better...forced to stay in and I'm sure play many more games of UNO. Baseball tryouts were cancelled...bummer. The boys have been geared up for that.

Enjoy your weekend!
G'night

Grateful for the Gospel

2010-02-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

I hate coming up with a title. Why does it seem so hard? It almost makes me not want to post. I know it sounds silly but it's true.

I love my way of scripture reading lately. Throw on the headphones, get on the treadmill and read along in the big Book of Mormon for LDS Families. I love that I end up reading/listening to about 8 chapters. So much of what I'm reading(currently in Mosiah) is so much of what I see all around me in the world today. Wickedness in so many disguises. I wish that I could shake a few and convince them to wake up. I know everyone has their own timeline with the Lord. This is where I can start to feel impatient. I want others to feel the happiness that I feel by living the gospel. I was once one of those that I'm sure my mom and/or other family members wanted to shake and say wake up and come on back to what will make you the happiest. I honestly cannot imagine my life with children without the gospel that grounds us, teaches us, & is essential for our journey here on earth. I was recently reading about the resurrection in Mormon Doctrine and it is just fascinating to me. As I think about all of the different worlds with people, the question comes to mind...."Why was I chosen to live on Earth, why was I picked to live in a wonderful part of the world where I am free to choose, where everything is at our fingertips, where we having running water, food? And the list goes on. There are so many who suffer on a regular basis because of where they live and their circumstances. When I feel like I am having a hard time, I can quickly turn my mind to those women who are literally enduring through such hard situations and are doing it for their families. What an example they can be to us. What a role a woman has in this world! I totally believe we as women all over the world share some of the same feelings/frustrations no matter what our circumstances...home or no home, plenty of food and just enough to get by, etc. I sure hope & pray that those who are going through such hard times all over the world can know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and is watching over them. What peace that gives our soul in troubled times. My heart feels for those who struggle daily. We have it so easy in comparison. I am going to try and show more gratitude for what I do have and the ease of living life here in America. I am so thankful to have a living prophet here on earth that guides us. I hope that we are all listening intently to his messages and following his counsel. I hope that I am passing the love that I have for the gospel and all that it does for me into my children's hearts! I am so thankful for a strong priesthood leader in my home. Todd is a great example to me and our children. He puts a lot of time into our family. I love that he gets the big picture, his purpose and responsibility. I have enjoyed watching him grow in many ways over the last few years as he has served in the bishopric. What a blessing our callings have been to our family and continue to be. I love serving in Primary! These children are our future generations...mothers & fathers. :)

I had no intentions of writing all of that when I sat down. I guess I needed to write it out for some purpose unknown to me right now. My fingers were just typing and my feelings were just flowing.

I am thankful for all of you old friends & new (through blogging). I learn so much from all of you.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe....mmmmm good!

2010-02-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

Here is the whole wheat bread recipe that I use and it turns out beautiful every time. I have tried it with the hard red wheat and the white wheat flour. Both are fantastic! I bake the loaves for 30 minutes but I do have a really old oven which may make a difference. For those newer ovens that work really well :), check at 25 minutes. I wish I had a picture to post with this. Oh well, next time.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Just another Monday....not a "Manic Monday"

2010-02-01T21:44:00.000-08:00

My Monday's are always calm and pretty quiet. I never schedule anything for Monday morning. Are you kidding? After the weekend & a Sunday, I need to just hang out around the house with no appointments. Ellie and I hung around the house and did finally venture out to get a new pack of UNO cards. I wish I would have taken a picture of the old cards. I have never seen such worn out cards. You couldn't shuffle them.

We went and picked up some fruit & veggies also. I am on day 4 of really trying to eat less carbs (only a couple of servings a day) and am down 3 lbs. I love when my efforts pay off. :) I learn more and more about this body of mine as I get older. I can't eat bread like I used to or goodies....I can really pack it on if I'm not careful. It's called genetics!! Oh well, I am thankful for some healthy genes. Something I did read that made me feel good was that those who have larger thighs tend to have a healthier heart. Amen!! :)hahahaha

I made 3 loaves of wheat bread that my family just loves and devours. It taste so much better than store bought bread. My kids were so happy and the girls even helped pour in the flour. I have found a recipe that is so dang easy that I don't even need to look at it anymore. I love that it's been a "no fail" recipe for me. I have made 3 different batches and they all come out delicious. I would love to have a bakery without the pressure. :) Is there such a thing?

Family night was spent singing the new primary song this month and playing UNO...of course. We all have a good time. Casey served up the best brownies from scratch for dessert. He made the best brownies last night after church. He looked up the recipe on allrecipes by himself, copied it word for word on paper (I guess the word printer never occurred to him) and then busted out his masterpiece with dad overseeing the event. I don't know if they are the best because of the recipe or because we used all SEE'S chocolate to make them. Great job Casey!! I can't wait for your next batch of goodness.

I have to write this in public so that I have a little accountability....I making a huge effort to go to bed early....starting I guess tonight. :) I love to do things around the house at night when nobody is around to bother me or make more messes as I go. Did I mention that I love the little bit of quiet before bed? :) My kids are really pretty good and I'm not complaining. I do just love a little time in the house to think my own thoughts. More laundry to fold before I hit the sack.

Quote from Laurie's Blog.....Great quote!

2010-01-29T01:38:00.000-08:00

''May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others...May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.''

Recent Happenings

2010-01-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

The picture above was the kids eating some dinner/snacks when our power went out last Monday for about 10 hours. They were in heaven to be without power. To them, we were on a campout in our house. They loved carrying around lanterns to see. It was pretty dark in here. Not to mention how dark the street became without street lights. You can't see anything. I am happy to report we were prepared and did just fine without power. It helps that our stove is gas & that the water still worked. :) Once Todd got home, he started the fire going and we were happy campers. That really gave off a ton of light. The kids loved having family night in a camp type setting. I was really happy to see how well they did. I did wash the girls hair that night thinking the whole time that I would dry their hair. Duh...I totally forgot but was able to sit them up by the fire and their hair was dry in no time. I am so thankful for a prophet that guides us and counsels us to be prepared. I guess I am also thankful that I have followed his words and am constantly working on being more prepared. It was fun but was nice to see the power come back on later that night.
Miss Sweet Elle Belle. She is so cute. She did have to go potty at that moment. This was taken earlier this month at the beach. A friend and I took our kids and walked the trail at Oso Flaco Lake that ends at the beach. The weather was just beautiful!!! I love it here. I am so thankful to be able to see this scenery daily. I just love it when the colors are so crisp. The kids played all over those dunes....up and down and up down.

Today was sunny and warmer than recent days. I love the rain but it's nice to have a day to thaw out a bit. Ellie was my little partner around the house today. Uno was a favorite today....any day with Ellie. She is so good. She greeted Todd at the door tonight with the UNO cards telling him to play UNO. They plopped down and busted out a quick game. She loves it. I love playing with her. I know these fun times when she is 3 aren't going to last forever. I'm trying to stop and enjoy the cute moments more.

I am off to watch American Idol!

Here is a birthday shout out to my brother Mike!! Happy Birthday Mike!! I can't believe you are 32 today. We are all heading to 40. :)haha I will have to write a separate post about Mike. I am so lucky to have some really great brothers!!

I think I'm back......

2010-01-27T00:48:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking lately how much I need to be documenting our every day life around my house. Facebook doesn't accomplish that in any way. I am going to put forth the effort to write down the cute things that are said, the reality of life with 4 children and our day to day challenges here in the Smith household. This is something that I want to leave for my family.

Life is very busy as is everyone's. Mitch just completed his California Mission report a week ago and both Casey and Mitty made pinewood derby cars and raced this last Saturday. I love the pinewood derby. It is really fun for the boys! A few days ago I signed the boys up for baseball and Emily wanted "girls baseball". She is signed up for girls softball t-ball. She is so excited! It will be a fun season. Busy and probably crazy at times but well worth the fun and experience we will have. I have learned a life's lesson.....life is about work. Especially with children. Did I really think it wasn't going to be? Work is good! This is what I am telling my children all of the time. It helps you appreciate those days that there isn't too much going on.

New bit of advice/tip for parents....get your 3 year old a pack of UNO cards and she/he will know their colors and numbers in no time flat. I have never seen a set of UNO cards so worn out than ours. That is Ellie's favorite thing to do. She gets everyone in the house and/or visitors to play a game of UNO with her. She's good and doesn't need any help! She wins also. It is so fun to watch her. She is such a fun little partner to have around the house each day while the others are at school. She is so funny about what she likes...she will not watch any tv or videos other than the Baby Einstein collection. Fine by me. I hate kid tv/cartoons all day. I would go nuts at the sound of it. :) She loves her brothers & sister. She and Emily love to play real life baby. Emily carries her around like her own child. Too cute.

The boys are actively involved in Scouts. That keeps any family busy....to the max!! I can't imagine how Linda (for those of you who know her) does it with all of those boys. Way to go!!

It's late and my new goal is to go to bed earlier. Oh boy, why is it such a task?

Nuriche rocks!!

2009-09-22T23:56:00.000-07:00

www.choosenuriche.com

Check out my website and order your free 3 day sample of Live and ReVive. It has changed how I feel and has given me the energy that I need to get through the day with 4 kids and a million responsibilities. See for yourself!!!

Grattitude

2009-08-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

Five things that I am grateful for at this moment in my life:

* the ability to serve my Heavenly Father

* support from a wonderful husband

* a healthy family

* the desire to do right

* fun friends

Today was a good day. I started off the day again on the beach with friends. Ellie and I walked and then enjoyed a park day with friends from church. I am so thankful for the gospel. I am truly blessed! Goodnight

Back to School

2009-08-25T00:46:00.001-07:00

Summer is gone and school is back in....routines, lunches, homework, schedules, and deadlines are back in full swing. There are some things I miss about summer..a little more freedom to come and go.

Some cuteness that has been going on around here is Miss Elle Belle. The older kids set out their clothes the night before the first day of school with excitement. Ellie didn't want to be left out so in the morning she came into my room to wake me and ask me, "Mom, what matches with this so I can go to preschool?" She was holding a cute shirt. Ahhh, that was the cutest! I felt so bad for a moment to have to break the news that she wasn't going to be attending preschool but that we could do our own preschool at home. We went out first thing and picked out a small backpack and she also found some mini scented markers, pencils and a pencil pouch to hold it all for her to play school. It is the cutest thing to watch her go through her items and color on a jr. pad of paper that fits into her backpack. Once the older ones got home and the backpack pile was back in full swing Ellie had to find hers and put it right on top of the pile. She isn't a baby anymore....she is a big girl!! It is so fun to watch her develop and grow up. It is so nice because she loves to put her items all back into the backpack and put it away when she is done. She is not known to leave things out around here. Everything has a place and it should be put back is pretty much what she lives by.

She also loves to go through her flash cards and tell me the colors and count the items. She has a great attention span and sit and do it for awhile...(30 + minutes).

Mitch, Casey and Emily are enjoying school so far (yesterday was their 3rd day). Emily is now at school with the others all day. It is pretty nice to not have the kindergarten schedule. Those 3 hours were gobbled up so fast. I have 2 more years until we are doing that again. Mitch is in a 4th/5th combo, Casey is in 3rd grade and Emily is now in 1st. Thankfully they are having fun with each other. Casey and Emily play together at recess which I think is cute. I am so glad that they all look after each other. The first day of school Casey carried Emily's backpack and jacket down to the car for her. I just love to see my boys doing that for their sister. Mitch said today that he starts to worry a bit if he doesn't see anyone in Emily's classroom after school when he goes to pick her up. I like to hear that. He cares about her and I know that makes her feel good. :)

I have started walking/jogging with some friends at the beach in the morning after I drop off the kids at school. It is a beautiful thing. The beach is about 3.8 miles from my house and is so convenient to take the stroller and walk on the hard pack sand. The walk is 4 miles or so and then I like to do a 2 mile jog as well. I love to get out and run in the fresh air. Nothing like walking along the shore in the morning. Today we saw a family of dolphins swimming along as we walked pretty close to the shore. Very cute!!

it's late and way passed my bedtime. Ugh!!

Summer is Definitely Here.....Beach Days, Swim Lessons, Scout Camp

2009-07-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and how nice it is to not have to get the kids up and ready for school every day. The best part is that I don't have to make lunches every morning. Even better than that is that Ellie is potty trained and has been for a couple of months. We are a diaper free zone!!! First time in 9 years that we aren't having to buy diapers. She is the best potty trained child ever. It took 2 days and she was doing it all by herself. And she doesn't wet the bed. Ahhhhhhh!! Potty training with Ellie has been the best and easiest experience I have ever had. She is so dang cute in her big girl underwear. She loves it!! She feels like a big girl now & is just like her sissy.

So far summer has been full of activities. Mitch and Casey were able to go to Cub Scout Day Camp for a week. They had lots of fun and especially loved the archery and BB gun shooting. I heard for about a week how they want a bb gun for Christmas. That just reassures me how boy they really are. :) Gotta love it. I found out that they are dead aim at shooting. It seems they take after their mom. :) It was a fun experience for them and Casey mentioned that he wished it went for a whole month. I'm glad Casey is so excited about Scouts.

This past week we have been over at the High School for swim lessons every day. The kids are loving it and we have one more week left. Elle Belle loves the water and seems to be showing no fear of the water. She is the one I didn't sign up for lessons this year. Next year for sure.

We have been able to share many days with our friends at the beach this summer. I love it. I have found that with 4 kids at home during the summer, the beach is our best friend. They have plenty of room to run, get dirty, throw sand balls, get wet, roll in the sand and not hurt a thing. We were able to spend last Monday night at the beach with a few other families for a bonfire. It was so great and the kids had a blast. I can't wait for the next one. It was much easier than I thought. With the kids being older, they help more with carrying all that is required. The sunny days have just been so wonderful. I can't express how thankful I am to live where I live. I don't think the weather is better anywhere else. The water could definitely get warmer up here on the central coast. Uhhhh 55 degrees just doesn't cut it. Of course, the kids still get in. i don't know how they do it. The one thing that is driving me crazy about our beach days is that the truck is just full of sand. Boogie Boards, chairs, buckets, bags and 5 people that have sand in every crevice pretty much unload it all inside the truck. Every where I touch seems to have sand. Ahhhhh!!! If it means the kids fight less, bicker less, enjoy each other more than I will deal with the sand. It has been fun to see the boys really getting out into the water this year. Casey is loving his boogie board and really getting out there to ride the waves. It's great!! Another sign that the kids are growing up.

We have plans to join with some other families tomorrow and enjoy the 4th of July.

The countdown is on....8 days until we are on a plane heading to Aloha land. The kids are excited and I am ready for a vacation. This next week will be busy around here. We have swim lessons every day, laundry to get done and packed, primary activity that I'm involved with, Sharing Time that I'm handling, and hopefully the kids will be extra helpful. I've got to get some pics on here soon. I have 800 pics on my camera. i'm so bad about loading and printing my pics. It's just another project that needs to be done when I have a free minute.

HAPPY 4TH!!!!

Feeling A Bit Sluggish Today

2009-04-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

Just a short post to note my feelings today. I feel very sluggish and tired today. I am going to try and take a walk with Ellie to spark any energy that may be in me. Todd and I did our workout last night and maybe I'm feeling the effects from that. I am enjoying working out together. It has been fun! I am having a hard time sticking to the way of eating the program suggests. I'm trying again today. I have to look at each new day as a chance to start again and do my very best. I'm now really trying hard to cut out the sugars.....I know again. I do better with less sugar. Especially at night while I'm sleeping. I hate to sweat so badly in the night and be miserable in wet sheets. I know it is because of the way that I eat. Why is it so hard?!!!!

Ellie just ran up to me and hugged me around the legs and kissed my leg. Does it get any better than that? I love that about her!!! She is so dang sweet and loves to be held still.

I'm hoping to get all of loads of laundry folded and put away today. It was foreign to my ears to hear Todd's mom tell me that she does 1-2 loads of laundry a week. Wow!!! I can't even imagine. I'm sure when it is like that for Todd and I that I will be wishing there were kids clothes for me to wash. I guess that is what Grandma is for. :) I better get back to work. I have one hour before Emily gets home. On your mark, get set, GO!! Let's see if I can finish it all up.

300th Post/It's Been A Good Kind of Busy Week

2009-04-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday my mom came to visit. Yeah!! It was fun having her up here. She hadn't been up since Thanksgiving so it was nice. We shopped a little, ate way too many goodies, watched boys baseball games, and she helped me with singing time in Primary. She made a valance for the girls room with pillows for their beds. She played with the kids and had Emily laughing most of the day yesterday. Emily constantly had hiccups from laughing. I love to hear her laugh. We had a surprise visit from Todd's mom and aunt on Thursday night. They came down to visit for a few days. It was nice to have so many helping hands. :) We all went to church yesterday and my mom helped me with singing time. Just another Sunday that I was wearing multiple hats!! :)

Friday, we went to Avila Barn and let the girls feed the animals and then shopped in the market and found so many good items....green grapes, blueberries, breads, fruit spreads, salsa's, strawberries, dish towels, fudge, watermelon, fresh basil, etc. It is so fun in there. Lots of cookbooks, baked items and cutsie decorations too.

Saturday we watched the boys play baseball and have fun on the field. That night my mom and I worked on singing time for Primary the next morning. We all went to church together and it was really nice. I loved that there was someone to watch the kids while I went to my meeting. It is really great to have family around. Grandma Carol and Nancy left last night after Todd made a great batch of Chicken Chili for dinner. He did a great job and we loved every bite. :)

This morning, I changed sheets and took the girls comforters to the laundromat. My mom and I headed to Wal-Mart for a few items and then came back to hang the valance. Cute Mom!!!! She did a great job and it looks so cute in there. The girls love it! I took Emily to the dentist for a cleaning today and all checked out just great. That was music to my hears. Ellie just loved the dentist and can't wait until it is her turn. She wants her teeth cleaned too.

This post is so jumbled but that is about how I feel today. I need to finish up the clothes and vacumming. I'm pretty much falling asleep right now on the computer. I better get my buns off of the chair and get them moving before I face plant onto the keyboard. I'm slepy today! Time to make dinner and finish u

It's Friday!!

2009-04-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Today we have a birthday party to go to for our neighbors babysitter. She is turning 31 I think. She has planned a party with about 10 children for her b'day. She is so cute and so fun. Her theme is a garden party so the kids are going to plant their own plants in pots. She is making potstickers and I am making pb&j sandwiches for 15. It should be fun for everyone.

Spring break is coming to a close. It was a hard week for me. I love the freedom to come and go and not have to worry about schedules but I think I do better on a schedule. When I am forced to get up early, I do more and get going sooner. It has been nice to sleep in this week since I have been doing this new workout regimen...P90X. I should say both Todd and I are doing it. I think he has lost a couple of pounds this week. He really changed up his eating. He is doing really well! Me on the other hand, the scale hasn't changed. Oh well, I want to see inches change the most. I love the program and look forward to a new workout each day. I did Yoga last night for 1.5 hours. Oh boy, that is almost too slow for me. It is much harder than I ever imagined. All of the balancing is tough. The stretching is incredible though.

Yesterday was eventful....Ellie got hit in the head with a bat. It just about killed me. I can't stand to have those things happen. Emily was up to bat and Ellie came up too close. What kills me is that the boys who were pitching to her and could see Ellie getting closer didn't stop the game and move her. It got her right behind her ear. It just split the skin barely. The blood pretty much just stayed on the cut. She was fine thankfully and this morning is telling me that her owie is all better and not hurting. She then was trying to be so helpful and help me with laundry. She had me follow her to the washer so that she could show me how she helped. There was a big pile of the powder on the ground so I just knew what I was going to find. She went right to the dryer and opened the door..."see Mommy" She had put cupfuls of powder all over the clean, dry clothes. It was too cute. She had the right idea. How cute is that. All I could say was oh, thank you Ellie. Todd later told her to have Mommy help her when she wants to do laundry. :)

I'm off to get ready and make a boat load of sandwiches for the party this morning.

How Could I Forget to Document This......

2009-04-14T23:28:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, Ellie kept telling us she needed to go poopers and holding her diaper in the back. So we ran her to the potty which we have been trying to get her to do for awhile now. She has been telling us when she goes for a long time now. She will stop with whatever she is doing and hold her diaper and say "eee-eeee" That is wee wee. I know that she is aware of what is going on. Anyway, Todd ran her back while I was finishing some dinner and she went on the potty. YEAH!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I mean I knew it was coming but going poopers is usually the latter to click with the little ones. We were excited and made a big deal about it. For the last two days she is constantly telling me and we are running her back to the potty but no success. She is so funny!! It's like stage fright once she hits the seat. After she goes in her diaper she wants a new diaper. Ayyy!! It's coming I know. The light is almost completely turned on. :) She is a big girl and such a sweet girl. She is always hugging us and giving kisses. i love it. She loves to have a bear, a Barbie dog, a bunny and now a tiny baby in her bed at night to sleep with. So cute. Emily wasn't like that at all. When Ellie wakes up in the morning and comes into our bed, she is carrying her blanket and all of those friends to come lay with us. It's so precious!!! She still loves to sing Christmas songs at night and can sing Popcorn Popping and hums How Firm A Foundation. She is something else. Quite a pistol!! I love her and am so grateful to have her as my daughter. Both she and Emily are sweet and loving and I am thankful for each of them.

Day 2 of Spring Break/Day 2 of P90X

2009-04-14T23:18:00.001-07:00

It was another crazy day. The kids did seem to play ball outside and keep themselves busy for the most part. I did take the kids and a friend over to a park/field to let them practice ball and let the little ones play on the equipment. It was so dang windy/freezing. Thank goodness for the sun or else we would have been ice! I could only stay for an hour and that was pushing it.

We came home and Casey made a dessert all by himself...brownies with Strawberry frosting. They turned out to be delicious!! He served everyone a brownie after dinner tonight. Very cute. The kids were tuckered out and asleep by 8:20. I just wish that they would sleep in. They are up before 7am. Even if they go to bed late, they still wake up.

Todd and I are on day 2 of the P90X fitness program. It's awesome. I love it that we are doing it together. Having this to do together is my dream coming true. I have always wanted us to do workouts together or both be on the same mission...stay/get fit. We're doing it! Anyone interested... just let me know. Tomorrow is another busy day...BBQ lunch at Todd's office with the family, Costco, baseball practice and grocery shopping. It should be interesting and fun at the same time. Time for a shower and rest!!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Pics will have to follow on the next post. I don't have them loaded onto the computer and I have to write when I can.

It was a busy/nice weekend. Todd's aunt Nancy came to visit on Saturday and we had lunch at CPK...just a plug for the grilled veggie salad. It is very tasty!! Anyway, me and some of the kids ran some errands that of course had to be done before Sunday. Todd & Nancy made the See's candy run which is always a staple around here for Easter. It was a busy day with errands and putting my church stuff together (sharing time). I thought it was going to be somewhat of a "break" day since we didn't have baseball games...wrong! There really is no day of rest around here. The kids baskets were done and the easter bunny hid them all. I have to say that I think most of the chocolate/candy was gone before 8am on Sunday when we had to leave for church.Crazy I know. They behaved really well at church but then were going crazy at home later. The sugar had officially kicked in. We started right in with dinner when we got home and had halibut provencal, a little steak, baked potatoes, green beans and really good bread! We invited some friends over in our ward and Aunt Nancy was here to enjoy the tasty food. It turned out great. Our friends brought over a strawberry dessert that was excellent and of course we had the See's chocolate's to satisfy our sweet tooth. Before the kids went to bed we colored eggs. Todd had told Emily that we would do it for family night and she just about had a melt down...."you always tell me the next day and the next day isn't even Easter", is what she said. I felt bad and we both realized how bad is that to color eggs the day after Easter. We busted out about 16 eggs and they each did 4. It was perfect and they enjoyed admiring their own work. I was so busy with everything that I didn't even get a picture of all of us in our Sunday clothes. The boys ran in the house and literally were changed out of their clothes by the time I got all of our bags back into the house. The only pics I have are the kids coloring eggs. I hate that life seems that busy to not be able to get the camera at the right time and take a picture. I better slow things down or I'm going to miss too many special moments.

It's Monday and Spring Break for us this week. Casey has been asking me, "Mom, where are we going for Spring Break?" He did say last week, "We should just go to Hawaii for Spring Break." To be a kid again. :) Hopefully we can make the best of our week together and find something fun for everyone to do. I better get back to my normal routine...changing sheets and finishing laundry.

Daily Happenings....

2009-04-09T11:30:00.001-07:00

I got up early and was able to work out and be ready for the day before the kids were off to school. I love it when I can do that. Lately, I have been staying up too late to want to wake up that early and so I don't. I end up doing my workouts in the evening which I don't love. Anyway, I walked this morning on the Bob Jones Trail with a friend and that felt so good to get outside. The air was refreshing. Not a bad way to start out my day. I enjoyed the company/conversation with my friend.

Today and tomorrow are minimum days so I am enjoying the calm before the storm right now. :)haha Just stating the facts of life with 4 young ones. Later today we have 2 baseball games at the same time and a pack meeting that I have to bring a boat load of cookies to. Since I've taken care of the cookie making, let's see if I can finish the laundry and vacuum out the truck. It gets so bad so fast!!

I'm looking forward to the weekend and Spring Break next week. Not that I have anything planned but sometimes that is just how I like it. I have things planned all year long so when I'm not forced to I tend to enjoy not having a schedule. I am on for sharing time this Sunday so I need to finish up on that and make another boat load of Easter cookies for the kids.

I better get busy with the rest of my chores for today. I better set the timer and see how much I can get done. I love it when I stick to something like that.

Where Has The Time Gone??

2009-04-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last wrote. You can see by my last post what I have been busy with. I can't feel bad about not writing but can only start writing again. I miss documenting for my children's sake what our days are like around here. I will start fresh again...2009!

Baseball season is in full swing. Mitch is in Minors AAA on the Blue Jays and Casey is on the Angels. They are having a great time. Mitch was a bit intimidated playing with older boys but he is really coming around and doing well!! Casey is doing great and hits the ball so well. It is really fun to watch! It has been a juggling act on some days to get the boys where they need to be. Last Saturday I was in the car driving back and forth for about 5 hours. Thank goodness Mike was up here to watch the boys games and was able to watch the girls at one field while I took Casey to pictures at another field, his game at a different field and then back to watch the last of Mitty's game and then take the crew to watch Casey's game. Mike was great company and it was fun having him up.

Barbie and Jim came to visit on the weekend as well and we had a great time. I miss having family live closer. That is the biggest bummer about living away. When you want them to come hang out on the weekend they just live too far. Oh well, i enjoyed the time that we had to be together. Wish it could be every weekend.

We are approaching Spring break next week and I am hoping to do something with the kids. I'm not sure our weather is going to be good..it's a bit rainy outside right now. Where has the school year gone? The year is almost over and I can't believe Emily will be entering 1st grade next year. Why does that amaze me? It has been really fun watching her learn to read and spell on her own these last few months. She is doing a great job. I have to write down some of her words....they are just too cute. Meer (mirror), eastr (EASTER), woc (walk), flawr (flower). I am so happy with the kids progress this year.

Ellie is just too fun to watch. She is such a little mommy. She sets up her bears, bunnies and dolls in chairs and gets out her play dishes and serves them. Emily didn't play so much like that on her own. Emily was more interested in doing something with her brothers. Elle Belle has a bear and a bunny that have to get in bed with her at night. One is the mommy and one is the baby she tells us. She gets the wipes and diapers and then will change the bears diaper using a wipe. Very cute! She runs the household just like her sissy. I always say to myself that if something happened to me, Emily and Ellie could keep the place running as usual. They know where everything is, how to do it and keep their things picked up. Emily has been packing up the boys lunches in the morning. She wants to write their names on the bags and put the stuff in it and then deliver to their backpacks. IT's pretty cute. I can only hope I am still saying this when they are 14.

I'm off to clean up the house...make my bed, finish dishes, put in a load of laundry, fold 2 loads and watch the rain through the windows. :)

My New Church Calling......

2008-12-07T23:35:00.001-08:00

PRIMARY PRESIDENT.....Am I really qualified for this? Today was my first day in charge..I'll just say I wore many hats. :D I don't mind, it's good for me. I just look at it all as a huge learning experience and testimony builder. How can that be so bad? I am excited. The primary children are so special. They are the greatest. These are our future leaders!! I am excited to do so many of the things I learned in Primary as a child. I feel that I grew up in a wonderful stake with excellent leadership. I lived in a ward for 6 years before moving to where I am now that had such strong members and unbelievable leaders. It was a great place to learn how to be a leader. I love the ward I am in now. I told Todd the other day that I would have the hardest time leaving this ward if we had to move. I wasn't saying that when I first moved here. It's funny how attitudes change. I love the people in my ward, I love that they are "real" people. It has been a great experience living here. I look forward to many more wonderful experiences.

My thoughts today after I got home was that I am so happy to be serving the Lord and doing what I know is right. This is where He wants me to be right now for whatever reason. I feel touched that I was called out of inspiration to be the President. I have been in tears most of today. It is so wonderful to know that my Heavenly Father trusts me enough and my abilities to carry out the responsibilities of teaching the little children. I am thankful for the gospel and the happiness that it brings to my family. It makes me so happy to have so much service going on in my house for my children to witness as they watch their dad serve in the bishopric and me serve in the primary. I know my family is blessed by me accepting the call to serve. I sure hope I can come up to the call and fulfill my responsibilities. It's been a wonderful day. I am blessed to have Todd who supports me so much. I am so grateful for the priesthood in my home. It was so awesome being set apart today and just feeling the power of the priesthood in three great leaders of our ward(nice having one be my husband). The power of the priesthood is such an amazing thing. What comfort it brings. It is such a safe feeling being around such wonderful priesthood holders who honor their priesthood. I couldn't ask for anything more. Is there really anything better? Thanks Todd for being a wonderful example to your peers and to your family (children). You are a wonderful dad and husband. Love you!!

Miss Ellie

2008-11-21T23:43:00.001-08:00

I haven't written much about Miss Ellie and her little 2 yr. and 4 month old self these days. She is a character. To start out, she is OCD if I have ever seen it. She is so particular and obsessive about things, it cracks me up. She is so capable and can do so many things.

** Her most recent activity is to go and get the lunch size chip bags out of a box in the garage, come in and find the small pair of kid scissors in the drawer and cut the top off of the bag so that she can have a snack. She puts the scissors away, cleans up her trash and she is good to go. Her cutting is very neat...i was very surprised.

**She is obsessed with her hot pink pair of Crocs. She puts those shoes on with anything and everything. I'm surprised that I am able to put on something different for church. She will wear them around the house all Sunday morning with her dress and then I change them just before we go. She can get them on/off by herself and will not wear them if the strap is not around the back.

**When it's time to go pick up a child or just walk out front to get the kids from the bus, she has to turn off the tv (if it's on), get her Crocs on, and put the toys that she was just playing with away (as if we aren't coming right back). It is so funny.

**She has a blanket that cannot be replaced with any other. None of my other kids were attached to blankets or anything of that sort. She rubs the corner of the blanket with her left hand and sucks her right thumb while sitting with it or going to bed with it or riding in the car with it. She is now ok with me washing it. I would always have to sneak it to the wash the first thing in the morning without her seeing me or she would cry about it being in the wash until it was done. She now will get a stool, take it to the washer and put it in herself. Very cute.

**Last week, while in the restroom at church, she and I came out of the stall and while I was washing my hands, she was making sure every door was closed. She shut every one. She is that same way about drawers. They can't be left open. She goes around and makes sure everything is locked up tight. :D

**I have noticed that if I take my shoes off while in the house, she will take hers off and leave them right next to mine. It is pretty cute.

**She has to have her door shut once we lay her in her bed. She even says "door" when we lay her down. It's funny on some nights because Emily will be telling her I want it open and she is crying "no". They are both fine with it shut.

**Ellie likes us to lay down with her on her big girl bed first before we put her into her crib for the night. She cuddles so close when we lay down together. I love it. She is so cute and so lovable.

**She will get out a little plastic snack bowl, put some crackers or dry cereal in it(she has gotten them down out of the pantry by herself) and then come and show me. She sometimes puts the box of crackers/ceral back in the cupboard or else leaves the box right by where she gets out the bowls.

**She has a "safe zone"in the house where she will go and sit if she hears the trash truck coming down the street or the gardeners. It is where she can't be seen from any windows. It's the same spot every time. It's pretty funny. I have found that she takes her toys to play with them in this spot, or the Nintendo DS will be right there where she was laying down to play it.

**She can get out the Nintendo DS, put a game in and play with it. I watched her get it out, plug the charger into the DS and then into the wall. She knows just what to do...it's so amazing. I guess not so amazing when she is watching everyone else do these things everyday.

**When the other kids are taking showers and getting pj's on, she will go into her room, take off all of her clothes, take off her diaper and bring me out many pairs of her pajamas to put on. She is so funny!!

**I can ask her to go get me something out of the bathroom or anywhere and she knows just where to go, gets it and brings it back to me. She can be a great little helper.

**When she is finished eating her cereal at the table, she will carry the bowl and the spoon and drop them into the sink. It's funny because she is short and can barely make getting the bowl over and into the sink. She did it with my glass bowl and of course, it chipped. Oh well.

**She will only watch one thing on tv...(she calls it "BABY"). It's a movie from the Baby Einstein collection. She will watch any of them but it has to be one of those or else you will not hear the end of it until "Baby" is on. She asks for it multiple times a day. Thank goodness it isn't a ridiculous cartoon that you can't stand to have on.

We all love having her in our family. I can't imagine life without Miss Ellie. I just hope she doesn't start the "I can't step on the cracks in the sidewalk".

She is fun to be with and I enjoy the time spent with her. She is a happy baby but is loving to shout out "NO" when she doesn't like something. She did throw a fit the other day at Wal-Mart. She was going to literally eat the entire sack of goldfish that you can buy in the bags unless I put the bag away. She didn't like that at all. She let everyone know it too.

**She loves to jump all over the place. She will then fall down while cracking up all the while.

This is Miss Ellie in a nutshell right now. She is fun, loving, tender and feisty. She loves her Daddy and wants him to hold her while he is home at anytime. Todd is great with her and all of them.

Everything has its place in Ellie's mind and don't try to tell her otherwise. She is a fun little girl!

"MY EIGHT"

2008-11-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

8 Shows I watch: (I don't think I can come up with that many)

*Fox News
*The Office

8 Things I did yesterday:

*clean kitchen/washed dishes
*folded 3 loads of laundry
*grocery shopped with Miss Ellie
*went for a run and then later a walk
*made Todd cookies
*helped with homework
*read scriptures
*went to bed too late

8 Favorite places to eat:

*Taco Rico
*Grinder shop (here in SLO)
*D'Elias Grinders (in Riverside, CA)
*Mom's kitchen for New Mexico style enchiladas
*Fish Taco at Cracked Crab
*Taco Mesa (preferably the carrots and the blackened chicken tacos)
*CPK
*Max's (Stanford Mall)

What is sad is that only 3 out of the 8 are places that are close by me.

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

*Thanksgiving dinner and my family being here
*Having Todd home tomorrow (his Friday off)
*Not having to buy diapers for the first time in 9 years
*A date with Todd...or a weekend away.
*Watching my children go through the temple for themselves for the first time. :D What a day that will be!!
*When I don't have to get a babysitter to go somewhere
*Carefree summer days

8 Things on my Wish List:

*Digital SLR camera
*My own home :D
*A home gym
*Furniture in my living room
*To take Taekwondo or Karate with my children
*A housekeeper to come and help me do the work.
*To live closer to the temple. (2.5 hours each way makes for a looooonnnnngg day when you have little ones.)
*To not have bills to pay :D Wouldn't that be nice.

This was fun. I'm off to run some errands with Miss Ellie.

Fall is here.....or not quite yet

2008-11-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't know it here by the weather. It has been beautiful the last few weeks. Temperatures in the 80's. That is not typical for this time up here. I haven't had to turn on my heater yet this season. YEAH!! There is a bonus to the warmer weather. Less money out of my pocket. I love the weather here. There is no smog so the sky is so clear and the ocean is so big and beautiful. Eventhough I am completely terrified of any ocean activities, I love to look at it. A nice sunset isn't bad either. I was not scared at all of the ocean as a child. I have watched too many shows/documentaries that the people had such horrible experiences out in the water that I have no desire to do any activities out in the ocean.

Anyway, lots has been going on and yet I put too much time into Facebook and not into posting over here. I haven't written anything about Halloween or posted pics. I don't even think I wrote about Mitty's 9th birthday at the end of October. The problem with posting pics is that I can't find my camera. Not good!! I have a bunch of pics on it. I have been keeping busy with scout schedules, primary calling, visitors (my sister and her kids...we had 9 kids between the two of us here in the house. it was great!!), homework packets for each child weekly, cleaning, laundry, fixing food, etc. You all know the drill. There is never a dull moment around here. Now, I'm getting ready to have lots of family come for Thanksgiving next week. My parents, 2 brothers, one sister and her husband and Todd's aunt will be here with us. I have not had Thanksgiving with my side of the family for probably 4-5 years. The kids are excited to have it be more of a party than just a "bigger" dinner. I love the food that is prepared for Thanksgiving and can pretty much taste it everytime I think of the menu. I love it. I'm looking forward to the few days off that the kids will have.

Emily has been singing her Thanksgiving songs that she is learning for a show they are going to do at school for all of the parents. I love Kindergarten. They do so many fun things. They are having a feast and a little program next Tuesday. I look forward to all of those shows/events.

I made pumpkin bread yesterday for some friends and boy does the house smell good. I love that smell and taste. I'm trying hard to stay out of all of the good stuff. It's so hard at this time of year. I remember when I was pregnant during Thanksgiving that I gained 10lbs during the month of November and another 10lbs during the Easter months. It all worked out in the end. I never gained more than 35-40 lbs. I'm happy to have those days behind me.

Before the season gets away from me I do want to write down some things that I am thankful for at this time.....

-Todd's job
-Healthy family
-health insurance
-the Gospel in my life
-that Prop. 8 passed
-that I have food in the cupboards
-that I can go to the temple
-that gas is cheap for a moment. :D
-that I have nice neighbors
-that my children associate with good friends
-that Mitch loves scouts
-a wonderful, helpful and caring husband
-good parents/siblings
-a latter day prophet, Pres. Monson
-desire to do what is right
-that I understand the importance of family
-that I am grounded in who I am and that I'm aware of my purpose/role here on Earth.
-good friends
-sisters
-my calling in the Primary presidency-opportunity to teach the children
-primary children
-church music
-piano
-good kids
-good ward
-gift of faith
-my testimony
-
I have many things to be thankful for that I take for granted. I am thankful for my savior, Jesus Christ.

Life Is Just Busy....That's All There Is To It!!

2008-10-30T09:42:00.000-07:00

I need a nanny to do the cleaning. I don't mind doing the running around with the kids but boy a cleaning lady would be the ticket. It's a busy time of year and especially the day before Halloween. I am grateful for many things at this time also. I wouldn't trade doing these things for anything. It is a fun type of hustle and bustle. I love my calling and hope that I can make a difference for the children in our ward. The next couple of days are going to be busy busy!! I need to make a list of things to do right now and things that are going on so that I don't forget ....

Give Ellie a bath

Do the dishes (empty clean and put in dirty)

make beds

clean kids bathroom

finalize costumes (it keeps changing)

call surgery center (finalize time and date of minor procedure for Mitch)

make cookies for Casey's class tomorrow

put snacks together for Casey's game on Saturday that he won't be at(I have to give them to the coach tonight)

Go to Casey's class to watch there skit for parents today at 2:30

Find costumes for Todd and I (Bobby and Cindy Brady)

Attend all 3 children's Halloween parties tomorrow starting at 10:30-12:00, 1:00 and 2:00. Help set up at Trunk or Treat pretty much right after school.

Bring string cheese for Mitch's class party tomorrow

Make another Costco run (I'm getting all of the food for the Trunk or Treat tomorrow) We combined with another ward. :D

Laundry

Homework for all of the kids due tomorrow. Casey finished his homework packet on Monday for the entire week. Way to go Casey!!

Trying to do my part in Prop. 8.

How can I get some Visiting teaching done by tomorrow? I may end up going crazy by the end of the month. Ha ha :D

I know that it will all work out and be over in just 2 days. We will have fun on Halloween and I'm going to make sure of it.

Life just keeps getting busier as each day goes on. I am relieved that Sports is over after today. We are free again!!! I love sports but I then love knowing I don't have to be somewhere right after school a few days a week for the next few months. Ahhhh!

I'm off to check some of these things off of the list. It's getting cold again. Winter may be here to stay. It looks like rain tomorrow. Not on Halloween!!!

New Haircut....

2008-10-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

It feels good to get a new cut.

Happy 5th B'day Miss Emily (the 17th)

2008-09-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

I am way behind on posts. With school starting and fall sports in full swing, we have been very busy around this house.

A week ago Emily turned 5. Where does the time go? You would think she just turned 25 by some of the things she says. She definitely has an opinion and lets it be known. I wonder where she gets that?? Hmmmmmm. :D

We decorated with balloons and streamers in the house. Apparently, I had hung 4 streamers from her door which she quickly came and asked, "Why did you just hang 4 streamers up....I am 5, there should be 5 on my door." Excuse me little Miss, I wasn't even counting. She is so funny sometimes. She is very quick with comebacks and can have us laughing so hard.

Last Thursday, she didn't want to go to soccer. She said she didn't really like running all over with a ball. I told her that we had signed her up because she wanted to play so lets go have a good time. She replied with, "Well, can't you just sign me down?" I was cracking up. It was so cute and so realistic in her mind to just sign her down and she's off the hook. :D She ended up changing her mind and said she wanted to go. She has fun once she is there.

A couple of days ago she said, "Mom, I just want to have a baby in my tummy right now. I just want to be a mom." I thought that was so cute. I was painting her nails on her b'day and she asked, "Mom, am I going to have girls when I'm a mom?" She said she wants to paint her girls nails and make tacos for them for dinner. It's really cute to see her thinking so much about being a mom. It's just natural for girls to have those mother instincts. :D

For her b'day she chose to have me make her a strawberry cake. She added the candles and Mitty lit the candles. It was a family affair. :D She picked for us to go to Taco Loco for her b'day dinner. She loves that place. She orderd her standard steak taco, rice and beans. She was happy. I think all of the kids ordered that.

She requested chocolate chip cookies for her class. This house is always happy to make a batch of cookies. :D

After school I painted her fingers and toes with her new nail polish. It was so cute when Casey walked in he saw her cookie sitting on the table by her and asked if she wanted him to feed it to her. He could see that her nails were wet and she couldn't do it. I loved that and had to get a picture of it. So sweet!! I have to add another sweet thing that Casey did...at school he earns tickets for doing good things in class or for getting 100% on spelling tests. He earned 5 tickets which meant he got to pick out a prize out of the prize box. It was on Emily's b'day and he turned in his tickets for a pink head band for Emily. He said he knew she would just love it. And she does! I thought that was the best. As a mother, those moments make all that I have done to teach my children worth every hard moment.

I think she had a fun day. Mission Accomplished!! I didn't hear any complaints so I guess it was up to her standards. :D haha

Emily is such a fun little girl. She loves her family and loves to play with her brothers and sister. She loves kindergarten! She is so independent it's scary. Sometimes I really wonder if there is anything this girl can't do. She is so capable and loves to help. I appreciate all of her little hugs and squeezes throughout the day. I love to lay down with her each night and have her tell me things. We sing songs and then hug and kiss goodnight. She is so obedient when it comes to going to sleep. She loves to tease Ellie at times but boy howdy Ellie gets her back. She is a sweet daughter and I can't imagine our family without her. I love her little sweet face with her precious glasses and her beautiful curly brown hair. I love you Em Em!!

She told me the other day that a boy on the bus said that she was ugly with her glasses off. I thought to myself...is that really starting up already in kindergarten? I had to tell her that what he was probably thinking is that she looks different with her glasses off. Poor girl. I don't want the "4 eyes" comments that are bound to be heard at some point to haunt her.

Mitch's First Football Game

2008-09-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Isn't he so cute??!! I think all of the boys are just too cute out there on the field. I love how at certain times during the game, the coaches will tell them to lock up. Which means they hold hands. When they walk out for the coin toss, all 4 boys hold hands. It's a fun sport. I have really enjoyed watching the kids play. They won their first game last Saturday 12-0. Mitch plays center and is having fun. I chalked up our windows with Go Eagles for their game and Mitch thought that was awesome. As I was painting the windows, I was flooded with Cheer memories of making posters for the game and at school back in high school. I had fun. I had Go Ghostriders on one side for Casey and Go Eagles on the other with their # on it. The kids had smiles from ear to ear to see their team name and # on the car. Casey scored 2 goals on Saturday as well. This is all I have time for.....gotta run. The afternoon taxi is about to start. We'll be back in and done with running around at 7:15.

Random Post/Ran 47.5 Miles/First Week of School

2008-09-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

We loved the first week of school. No complaints from anyone. :D They have all wanted to go back. Phew!!! To start, Emily is loving Kindergarten. By her attitude and her matter of fact way, you would think she is running her own household. She could do it! I have no worries about this girl. She loves the bus and is so grown up about it. The neighbor boy is in her class at school and the oldest in his family and he cried all week getting on the bus. His mom had to meet him at the school a couple of times. Today, his mom asked if Emily would walk with him to class. I made my boys aware of the situation and asked that they walk him to the class with Emily. They did so I hope the neighbor boy will want to get on tomorrow. It's hard to be 5.

The bus is the best thing that has happened around here. I am so glad there haven't been any problems or issues that I'm aware of. Mitch and Casey are both loving their classrooms. I couldn't ask for more. Only Mitch had homework last week so we'll see how this week goes with both boys bringing home homework.

The long weekend was great. My sister Barbie and her husband came up and stayed a couple of nights. I have seen her twice in one month now. I love it. We BBQ'd and enjoyed some good food. We, of course, hit YC for a perfect treat to top off any day. We loaded up on the goods. :D They left Monday morning early to avoid any holiday traffic. They were good and didn't hit a bit of traffic. Ahhh! We went down to Santa Barbara to exchange some shoes at the mall. It was fun but somewhat crazy with 4 kids at a mall. It was a quick trip but nice to have the kids tennis shoes squared away.

I can't express how much I love the fact that I don't have to worry about the time during the day and if I'm late to pick up the boys from school. It's wonderful because I can lay Ellie down and not have to worry about waking her up to pick them up. The beauties of kids getting older. :D

I was on a real kick this last week. I realized today that in one week, I logged 47.7 miles on my own two feet running different routes around town. I amazed myself on Saturday and ran 8.5 miles. It felt good to do it. I am wanting to do a 1/2 marathon or even a 10k sometime soon. I better go....the boys should be walking in any minute. :D I'm so glad we are off to a great start at school. I couldn't ask for more.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL....Kindergarten, 2nd grade, & 3rd grade

2008-08-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

I know the pics aren't in order but I can't stay awake any longer or spend the time on putting them in order.

I am exhausted from this first day.....

The race was on this morning. I don't know why we were running behind. Oh maybe because I have one more that needs to be completely ready with the others. The kids were up and ready. I couldn't just have Emily jump in with her pajamas on like we had done many mornings last year. She needed to be ready with hair done and all. That alone can take some serious time. She had her outfit picked out and on and I did her hair and then she came out to the kitchen and acted all disgusted and told me that I didn't even get her a new red backpack for today. If looks could kill I tell you. I couldn't find a red one and then one that was a decent size for her small frame. Anyway, she sweetened up and was fine about it. She used her purple one and was just fine. Stupid me didn't account for the busloads of people at the school this morning so of course I can't find a place to park down any street even remotely close to the school. I felt bad but I had the boys jump out and go to class so that they wouldn't be late and so I could take off and find a street to park on and get Emily to class. Her class had just walked in and so i opened the door and she just went in like this was nothing new. She is so grown up...it scares me. :D I felt bad about the boys but I think they were fine to go to class without mom holding their hands.

Here is Ellie at the barn watching the animals. She was so cute. It was fun just having her alone. That doesn't happen too often around here.
I left and met some friends at Avila Barn. We were celebrating the first day of school and a little new found freedom we were feeling. It was fun. Ellie loved the animals after she warmed up a bit to them and played with some friends. I left from there and went back to the school to pick up Emily. I had to be early for the pick up at leat. It was so cute to see them all walk out. She loved it and is all of a sudden 25 around here. Now that she is in kindergarten she said that she isn't going to get in my bed tonight. She always comes in in the wee hours. She asked me why I didn't just drop her off today. Oh, she wants to be so grown up and do the same things as her brothers. She was also a bit mad when I told her that she wasn't riding the bus home today. I was going to do the first day or two and then she could ride. They are all geared up to ride it tomorrow. The bus only picks up 15 minutes earlier than we would be leaving so it isn't so bad. Emily told me that she could go to the bus stop all by herself. Mitch told me he didn't need me to walk him to the bus stop. They are big now. We'll see how it goes. I want to meet the driver of course and hope that Emily is not stuck on the back of the bus. Emily also told me that I didn't need to go meet the bus driver that I could just wave at him/her as they turned to go down our street. She has a reason/answer for everything. Her teacher painted her hand and she made a very cute hands picture of her first day of Kindergarten. She had a good time and is looking forward to going back tomorrow. The following pics are of her when I picked her up. She had a great day.

Casey had a great day and was so cute this morning. He told Mitty on the way to school..... "Mitty, I'm not nervous at all for today. It's because dad gave me a blessing. I love that! That's my boy Caser!! Todd gave each of them a blessing last night to start off the school year. It was very nice and the kids enjoyed receiving them.

Mitch enjoyed his day but I think he was tired tonight as he was getting ready for football. I think he is worn out.

After I picked up Emily, we met Todd and then I ran an errand and then I went home and literally only had about 25 minutes before I had to get back in the car and pick up the boys. It was fun being right up by their classrooms when they came out. So far so good with the teachers.

Once we got home, the kids were hungry, they did a couple of chores and then it was about time to get ready for football. The day just kept going. After practice, I ran to the store and then home to quickly whip out a dinner and get these children into bed. I topped off our night with Root beer floats for family home evening while we discussed the day. They were happy about the root beer floats. I thought they would love it.

Tomorrow the kids will take the bus to and from school. Let's hope this works out! Ellie has a dr.'s appt. in the morning. Darn it. I'm just sure there is going to be a shot involved. I need to get to bed. I am falling asleep here at the computer but made myself type out some of the funny things that were said and just the comments from today. They are all happy as of right now.

Emily's Kindergarten Tea/School Starting Soon :D

2008-08-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

We are 2 days until school starts. I am getting excited for my new schedule and the kids are very excited about starting. Yeah....we are all happy about something.

Emily had her Kindergarten Tea yesterday and that went really well. I love Kindergarten rooms and how fun they are. How could a child not love Kindergarten? :D That is a time of life that I will never forget. I remember everything about Kindergarten. I loved it and loved my teacher. I hope Emily will have a great experience this year. We saw many kids from the area that are starting Kindergarten as well. She has quite a few kids that we know in her class and in the neighbor class. She will have fun and feel right at home. I don't worry about Emily. She can totally handle everything on her own. Sometimes I can't believe she is only going to be 5 and not 15. I was commenting to a friend that it is so nice how the 3rd child going to Kindergarten is so easy. She knows the drill from her brothers experience(nothing is new) and she wants to be going because now she is big like her brothers.:D

I am hoping for a good year. It seems that the boys got teachers that are awesome. Everyone loves Mitty's teacher(Mr. Danielson) and I have only heard good things about the teacher Casey got (Mrs. O'Connell). Mitch is loving that his teacher is a man. So far we know of a couple friends that are in there with him. I can't believe I will be able to run errands with only 1 child in tow. This is a milestone for me. Sometimes when the kids were younger there were many days that I felt I would never see this day. Time flies and so much changes in such a short time. I can only hope that I have taught and am teaching them what they need to know for them to have happiness in their lives.

The house is going crazy this Saturday morning so I better go.

Football/School starting soon/random catch up...

2008-08-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am hoping that I will find a minute to blog more once school starts. I don't know why I think I will have more time but we'll see. This sports season and school starting is going to throw me into a spin I'm afraid.

Mitch is enjoying football. He is timid about getting in there and hitting hard with the pads. We keep telling him to pretend it is he and his brother. He never seems to shy away from Casey. He said he doesn't want to get hurt. I think it takes a bit for the new ones to get used to going for it and hitting hard/tackling like you mean it. We'll see how it goes. We're on our 4th week of football everyday for 2 hours and it just about put me over the edge last week. I had to boycott a practice. I dropped Mitch off but I had to go home and get dinner ready. I had to take a break from that field/juggling the kids with other kids and the wrong kind of kids, etc. I had Todd go over after work and watch for a bit and then bring him home. It felt good to stay home. Of course the first thing out of Mitty's mouth when he got home was that he missed me not being on the sidelines watching him. That pretty much has put me right back on the field. :D Hopefully he won't feel too nervous about playing and get in there and have some fun.

I can't believe school starting is fast approaching....Monday is the big day. This Friday Emily has a kindergarten tea to go to and meet her teacher and see the classroom. I was so excited to read that she got Casey's 1st grade teacher this last year. She had told me that she was teaching Kindergarten this year and that many of the kids siblings were starting kindergarten this year and so maybe we will get some of the same parents. I am hoping for Mitch to get his kindergarten teacher because she is teaching 3rd grade now. That would just be great. I love when teachers know you and you know them and there isn't anything new to get used to. It makes the year a bit easier.

Emily has been with my mom this week. My mom and sister, Barbie, came up last Thursday night and stayed the weekend with us. It was very fun and I always enjoy having visitors. We went to our ward beach party, had Yogurt Creations twice in a few days, hit Taco Rico, went on a walk through the village, watched many exciting races starring Michael Phelps (He is awesome!!!) and just relaxed. I loved every minute of them being here. My mom agreed to take Emily home with her on Sunday and let her stay this week. She has never been away this long. We are all sad and missing her here at home. THe house is so much more quiet when one child is away. It's amazing how it makes such a difference. The boys miss her and are anxious to have her back. They keep telling me how they love it when she is here and rides bikes with them. Mitch told me how he missed her getting up in the morning and coming out to say hi to he and Casey. Very cute. It is good for the kids to be away from each other so that they can appreciate how much they love their siblings. I will go and meet my mom in Camarillo on Thursday evening to pick her up. I am excited to see Miss Em Em!! She has told me that she misses me on the phone but I really think she is doing great and having a good time with grandma and grandpa. Thanks Mom!! It is so easy with just 3. It has been a real break for me.

Football rules our evenings these days and so it's about that time again to get going and pack up the bag for our stay on the field. Pictures will have to come later.

We Are Half Way Through Hell Week (Football) :D

2008-08-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

We made it half way through hell week or should I say Mitty has. :D He is doing so well and handling it like a champ. He is so cute to watch. It's so fun to really see him trying his hardest. All of the boys are so cute. They are truly being worked out.

On Monday, I was a bit worried because after his 2 hour practice Mitch's face wasn't looking so hot. He told me that the helmet was hurting his head so badly. He even went as fas as to say that he didn't want to go back and wear that helmet again. I felt really bad and reassured him that he just wasn't used to wearing a helmet and that it needed to be somewhat tight for his safety. Tuesday before practice we went and tried on different helmet but ended up keeping with what he had. A coach told him the same thing about it needing to be tight to be safe. I told him to try it out again and see if it was any better after Tuesday's practice. After Tuesday's practice, he came running to tell me that his helmet was fine and that he got used to it and it didn't bother him anymore. Oh blessed day!! He had a big smile on his face. Mitch told me that a coach told him that he couldn't tire Mitty out. Mitty just goes and goes and never acts a bit tired. Oh I wish I had the energy of an 8 year old. Mitch keeps telling me he likes it. They really are working these boys. It's 2 hours straight of doing lunges back and forth, running laps around the field, doing push ups, stomach exercises, running sprints and more drills. Today I thought some of these boys were going to die. Coach Mike (the tattoed guy) had the boys running 6 laps around the field before they even started the drills. The boys had to stay in a single file line without any gaps in the line as they ran their laps. If they didn't, they had to run another lap until they got it right. Mitch was just going around and around with a smile on his face. He is so excited to have his head sweating (that is a real sign of being an older boy I guess :D) After each session of drills the group would run another lap around. Mitch said that by the end of practice he had ran 10 laps around the field. That's my boy!! He said a coach today told him again, "we just can't seem to tire you out." Good job Mitty!! I just love that he gives it his all. That's all that I can ask for.

Friday we will know what team he is on and Saturday he gets his equipment (pads, etc.) I am so proud of MItty and his endurance. He really is working hard and I love to see that. Next week is going to be a new experience..hitting with pads on. Oh boy!

Today was a busy day for me in the kitchen. I made dinner/dessert for a friend who had surgery on her neck. I also planned ahead for my family and put some chicken in the crock pot with salsa, onions, and garlic to be ready for us tonight after practice. The chicken turned out great. Some had chicken enchiladas, some had chicken nachos, others had bean tostadas and one had a chicken soft taco. It was a circus at the table this evening. It's nice to hear the house quiet at this hour after a long day. Thanks to Todd for doing the dishes while I laid down with each child (nightly ritual). I ended up falling asleep with Casey and woke up an hour later. I can hardly stay awake with each child. They are usually asking me mom, mom, what did you say? I will be dreaming I guess. Mom, you know exactly what I am talking about. I was singing a song to Emily tonight and I guess faded before the end of the song. She woke me saying, Mom, you didn't finish the song. Too funny!

I'm off to bed so that I can get a bit of sleep before the alarm is going off so dang early.

We Survived the First Week of Football/New Church Calling

2008-08-04T07:24:00.001-07:00

Mitch started his first year of football a week ago. Oh boy is it different than any other sport we have been involved in. Casey's comments right off the bat after hearing this man yell so that all of the boy's could hear him was, "Mom, he is a very mean coach." It was the whole intimidation factor for sure. It worked with Casey the first day. After a couple of days of watching on the sidelines, Casey is wanting to play next year

The man really is a nice guy and handles the group well. I was a bit skeptical of the whole crowd that football brought out to the field. A bit rough around the edges to say the least. It was nice to see a bunch of family's from the other ward that I know out on the field. What I have learned so far is that there is no messing around in football that's for sure. Don't even think about getting there a minute late. Football is all about being there and ready to play/practice 15-20 minutes early. I have to admire anyone trying to teach kids to be on time. I try to do that everyday. Not always successful. It has been really good for MItty. He seems to love it so far but this week starts "Hell Week". Last week was Clinic Week where they learn about the basics of football, do different drills at different stations and soak it all in. We'll see if his attitude changes after tonight.

The hours have been a bit rough for us. It has been from 5-7pm every night and will continue to be that for the next few weeks. Oh boy! Talk about trying to plan dinner and be the super mom. It's been hard to get the kids to bed at a decent time since we are eating dinner so late. Good thing they don't have school to wake up for. We'll see if I can do better with dinner this week. It's called crock pot or make our dinner in the morning so that it is ready to bake when we get home.

It has been funny to see Mitty wanting to do so much exercising during the day. He takes his shirt off and wants to run on the treadmill. He and Casey ride their bikes and do laps around the block. How much is too much for an 8 year old on a treadmill. He doesn't seem to tire out. How can I not encourage good habits of exercising? The problem is that Emily and Casey then want to run on the treadmill. It's not such a big deal having Casey walk on it but Emily is just too young and little to be on it. I have tried to tell them to just get outside and run around and play. That is how kids exercise. If it's not one thing it's another.

This week should be a bit more exciting to watch. The boys got their helmets last Saturday and will be using them this week. Still no pads. That comes this weekend. We will find out his team this Friday as well. It's exciting to be in a new sport. I'm excited to watch the games.

It is so funny to have Todd ask me if I would serve in a new church calling. He called me to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary. I was released as Mitty's teacher and yesterday was my first Sunday in the new position. Not bad at all. I'm excited! I have sharing time in 2 weeks and feel good that I know what I'm going to do. Now, I just have to get to work on it. If any of you have any suggestions or ideas of what works in your ward, please pass them on.

Time to go, the kids are up and in full swing.

Ellie's 2nd Birthday

2008-07-29T06:54:00.001-07:00

Where do I begin with this precious little girl. She turned 2 on July 12th. We spent her 2nd b'day in Hawaii. She is so fun and already has such a personality. :D Did I mention how much I love her cute 2 year old body. I think it is so cute how she moves around and handles herself.

Last week she woke up two days in a row with a dry diaper. I got her on the potty so fast and she went first thing. She loved it! She likes to be a big girl. Really she likes to do and be what her siblings are doing. Monkey see, monkey do around this house.

Ellie has a mind of her own. She does not like to have a picture taken of her unless you really catch her off guard. She will not turn and smile big for any camera. She wants to be holding the camera. She is very good about eating (just discovered she loves broccoli) and sleeping. She loves to cuddle and be rocked. She sucks her right thumb and loves it. I'm so glad I have pictures of her sucking it. It will be fun to look back on in years to come. She loves her mom and dad. She is a great sleeper and so far has always been. She takes a big almost 3 hour nap during the day and still goes to bed very well at night. She has a favorite blankie and nothing can replace it. She pushes any other blanket away if we try. She is the only one that has done that. It's cute. She will lay on it and carry it all over the house. Everywhere if I let her take it. It stays in the car if it gets that far. I do have limits. She loves to get into my bathroom drawers and bring me things. Isn't everything cute when they are the last?!! :D

She is becoming more and more independent. She loves to sit up to the counter and color in a coloring book. She feels very big I'm sure. She can climb and buckle up in her seat at the table, she is talking more and more, she can drink out of a big girl cup very well, she gets mad when I say no to something and then will go and hit it or stomp on it, she loves to take a bath, is not afraid of the pool and loves the water, loves her car seat and doesn't give any hassle when she has to get in it, and loves shoes. She has to show everyone her shoes by lifting her foot to anyone she meets. It's very cute. Her feet are oh so small.

If Ellie gets hurt, she loves to say it was Casey who did it and then laughs. He did something one time and now when we ask her, "what happened" or "who did it" she will say Tatey (Casey). Casey thinks it's really funny that she can tell on him. Ellie tells for sure! She is a fun little gal to have in our family. We all love her and enjoy her 2 year old isms. She is by far the easiest one of the bunch. Ahhhh!

Her most recent thing was sticking a tic tac up her nose. It's been abut a month ago now. It went up so far that when she sniffed it went all the way up to where I couldn't see it anymore. Of course, I was worried and didn't know what to do. Her nose started running out of that one side and the smell was sooooo.....minty. :D I had tried getting it out but it is about the exact size of her nostril. I wasn't making progress and she was fussing so I decided to call Todd. He was in a bishopric meeting and they so kindly stopped to help me out. We have a couple of doctor's in our ward and one being a retired pediatric surgeon so the bishop said he would call him for me. In the meantime, she is sniffing and I'm just wishing I could easily ask her to blow her nose and the issue would be solved. All of sudden Casey said, Mom, it came out and as I turned to see, he was handing her the tic tac again to eat. She ate it. The dr. in our ward said it can be a very serious thing and you do want to make sure that it comes out (at some point either by taking her to the emergency or myself). The other dr. the bishop called said for me to call him in the future because he has so many tools for retrieving food or objects. It was pretty funny to think about after the fact. Some of the men who were in that meeting started calling her tic tac.

She loves her brothers and sister and will hug them. She is a precious daughter and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

Happy B'day Miss Ellie Jayne girl!!

We're Home & Not Loving Reality!!

2008-07-23T09:53:00.001-07:00

So much seems to have happened since I last wrote. We enjoyed 10 days in Kauai. You can't beat the awesome weather and the temperature of the water over there. It is so nice! What a beautiful view we had for 10 days. Getting back to reality has been a bit rough this week.

For those 10 days we enjoyed day after day of swimming in the pool, hitting the waves at the beach, boogie boarding, Coconut smoothies with chocolate swirl, strawberry smoothies, fruit galore (especially honey dew and pineapple), great tasting Opah (fish), salad bars, best tasting hummus, great fitness center, beautiful sunshine every day, laying by the pool in our cocoon( it was like a bed with pillows and cushions to lay on by the pool), getting a nice tan, a dinner out just Todd and I and the nice weather in the evening that allowed us to walk along the beach and see the gorgeous moon every night. Just writing this is making me sad that we still aren't over there.

Ellie had her 2nd b'day while we were there. It wasn't the typical b'day celebration that we are used to and so we will celebrate with candles and cupcakes this week some time. She had chocolate mousse with a strawberry on top for her b'day dessert. She is so dang cute. I will have to write a post all on it's own about Ellie turning 2.

Our flight to and from was much better than I thought it would be with all 4 kids. I was well stocked with all of the kids favorite snacks. The morning of our flight to Hawaii was a bit hectic. We stayed at the Marriott next to the airport the night before so we would be close. As we were loading the shuttle with all of our goods, I realized that the boarding passes were in the car so Todd ran to go get them. The shuttle driver then said we have to leave. I said well, my husband is getting our passes and I can't leave without them. Mind you all of my kids are sitting on the shuttle with our luggage in the there waiting to leave. I ended up having to get on with the 4 kids, all of the luggage and head to the airport without Todd. I was a bit nervous as to how well the kids would listen to me at the busy San Francisco Airport. It was quite interesting how I just went into survivor mode and got the job done somehow, someway. I knew Todd would be getting the next shuttle over so no big deal on meeting up with him. The problem was that I had six bags, 2-3 carry ons and each child had a back pack on that I had to manage getting from the shuttle drop off into the line for check in. It was interesting but we did it. I had to fill out little tags for every piece of luggage while the kids sat patiently. The kids were so good. I was so happy that I wasn't having to chase Ellie anywhere and that the older ones kept a watch out for me. Todd met up with us while waiting in line. My body was physically shaking once I got rid of all of the luggage, put Ellie down and was able to catch my breath. Everything was just too heavy to handle myself but I managed. The boys and Emily were a big help!!

We then were able to board the plane and get situated. We took Ellie's car seat which was the best thing we have ever done. She loves her seat and climbed right in. We were to leave at 9:30. The captain came on at 9:30 and said they were going to have to repair a seal on the engine and that it would be a while. Todd's face was priceless. He doesn't like the flying part of the trip and wasn't thrilled to say the least to hear that kind of information. Poor guy. It ended up being an hour and half sitting there in the plane waiting to take off. The kids did well. Ellie didn't want to get out of her seat. She stayed in for a long while and then got out. She does really well. Once we got into the air, we discovered that the boys had left all of their DS games in the truck. We happen to have one game that they could share. Another bummer was that the 2 dvd players that we brought that I so diligently charged the night before were dead and not able to play a movie. The power button got switched on and ran down the battery. I thought what in the world are we going to do with these 4 kids for 5 hours. Casey pretty much ate his bag of snacks in the first 30 minutes. The poor kid was bored stiff. Ellie did sleep for about 2 hours of the trip. She was manageable and did great. The kids love flying! It was a bit stressful for me because the people that were sitting in front of the boys were so not kid friendly. I could hardly stand the looks that they would give when the boys would put down the trays (it would move their seats and apparently they didn't like it one bit.) It was killing me.

We got there and enjoyed our stay at the Kauai Marriott. I was able to get a massage on the beach under the cabanna the day before we left. WOW!! I have never had a massage and this was the life. I can see why people get them often. It was so incredible. I was so relaxed and enjoyed it so much! I've got to figure how to get them here at home often. :D
The hardest part of the trip was dealing with the kids and the lack of sleep that they were getting. My kids don't sleep in and so they were up so dang early every day. It was a bit taxing to deal with the irrational little ones day in day out. It was nice to get out and go to dinner just Todd and I. We enjoyed a nice view of gorgeous trees, ocean, tiki torches lit up, and wonderful food. I realized how often I can't enjoy my dinner when the kids are with us. It's just too busy with all of them to really stop and enjoy my food. I can't complain. I had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back. :D

Here are some photos............The beach scenes were the view from our room. It was so nice to just sit and watch the waves. At night we would open the doors and listen to the waves crash as we laid in bed. It was a little bit of heaven and I loved it. One of these pictures was the view of our pool that we sat at and swam in every day.

Here is Emily and her friend that she met on the plane. It was so funny how Emily was so comfortable with this lady and pretty much acted like she was her grandma. What was funny is that this lady named Pat told us she had 3 grandsons and so she was having a ball with Emily. At one point, I looked over and Emily was putting Pat's glasses on Pat's head. I just about died. Emily was talking non stop but they had a great time. Emily would be up on her knees talking to Pat so up close and personal. Emily would come to my seat and make pictures that she told me were for her friend Pat. It was pretty cute. The lady wanted Emily to put her name on the picture. Pat switched seats so that Emily could look out the window at different times. She was awesome. Pat saved us!! She was great and so I had to ask if I could get a picture of her with Emily. She was more than happy to.

More photos........

Now back to reality.....scout camp is going on this week 8-3:30 every day for Mitty. It's been pretty brutal having to get the other kids out of bed to take him. Another issue is having to drive 80 miles a day to get him there and home. Oh boy. I hope he is really loving it and having a good time. :D We are just getting back on CA time. It's been a bit rough the last couple of mornings but oh well the vacation was well worth it.

This has taken so long that I have to end and get to work around here.

SPT-Sun

2008-07-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have done an SPT since school started. When I saw the subject for yesterday,"the Sun", I just couldn't resist. :D I love to be out in the sun during the summer. I will regret it in years to come when I see all of the nasty wrinkles but I really do try to use sunscreen and wear a hat. This has been my uniform for the past few days this week as I sit out by the pool and watch the kids at their swim lessons. Thank goodness it has been warm.

I remember laying out as a teenager using baby oil like crazy. If we didn't have any, that was a mandatory stop off at the store to get before heading down to the beach. NUTS I know. Fun times that will never be forgotten.

I am just getting ready to head off for a vacation in the sun next week. Kauai here we come!! :D

SWIM LESSONS HAVE BEGUN :D/Summer activities

2008-06-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I last posted. It is just too busy around here keeping up with all of my responsibilities to sit down and post here on the blog. I don't think I can go back and play catch up. Too many things to write about. I'm starting fresh.

The kids started swim lessons today and were so excited to go. I love that. It has been awhile since we were last in a pool. The kids did great. Mitch was complaining a bit afterward how tired he felt. He is in level 5 which has the kids swimming massive amounts of laps across the pool. Oh, it's good for him. Casey did great and Emily of course was a fish loving to be there. It was so fun to see them all up a level from last summer. I love to see improvement. I think what it really makes me feel is that these little kids are getting older. AhHhhhhh! For me, having 4 children close in age and all little at the same time, really appreciate the moments when I see/feel the children getting older and more independent. The sun came out and it was beautiful for their lesson. It stays foggy for most of the mornings here in the summer. I am excited for the next two weeks. Ellie was good for me at the pool which made it very nice. It was nice that Emily knows the 3 other children in her class and Casey has a few that he knows and Mitch has a few that he knows. That is what I love about small town stuff. I hope Mitch has a better attitude about swimming in the morning.

I'm off to make some bread. I made a couple of loaves of Honey Wheat bread last week and they turned out great. I love making bread.( No bread machine....all by the sweat of my brow. :D haha) I told the kids I would make some white bread so we'll see how it turns out.

Emily broke the arm of her glasses on Saturday night and so now I'm in a desperate rush to get her new glasses so that we will have them by the time we leave on our trip (10 days and counting). We are going to pick some out tomorrow. She is so excited.

Some other news is that we planted some veggies and made a little garden last week. I am so excited. Todd and I are so excited to see anything grow that we are out there every evening inspecting the plants for new growth. We planted green onions, serrano chili peppers, fresno chili, squash, cucumbers, 3 tomato plants, oregano, rosemary, and basil. I am in heaven with our garden. We have most of them in containers and the bigger plants (squash and cucumbers) in the ground. The oranges on our tree are getting bigger. It's so fun to watch. I can't wait to pick fruit and veggies in my own backyard and eat them.

I hope to post more often but no promises can be made on that.

Last Day of School/Preschool Graduation/Father's Day/Summer

2008-06-13T20:41:00.000-07:00

I started this post days ago. Let's see if I can really get it finished and posted... :D
Ahhhhhhhhhh!! We made it through the week. It was busy but manageable. Here is a pic of Mitty and Casey on their last day. I need to go back and look up their first day picture. Casey was being funny and then all smiles. He is a character that keeps this bunch on their toes.

The boys have had a fun last week.....bingo playing in the classroom, ice cream sundae party, pancake making party, auction (buy different items with money that they have earned in the last few months), watch the teachers/6th graders play softball, get their yearbooks, awards assembly, pizza party today, etc.

I went to the awards assembly to see MItty get a certificate for PE. He loves PE. It's too bad that the kids only have PE on 2 days out of the week. I remember having it everyday. :D You hear so much about childhood obesity....why do they cut out PE? It boggles my mind. It was a cute assembly. Ellie was all over me and fussing almost the entire time.

Emily's graduation was very cute and fun. She wore a cap and got her preschool diploma. We had a light lunch afterwards there at the school which is always fun to sit and chat with friends. The kids played on the playground and ran around. I really can't believe that Emily will be going to Kindergarten in the fall (2 months). This year went faster than I ever thought it would. Ellie is going to be 2 in about 3 weeks. That is just crazy. Emily is excited to be moving on. She had her shots last week and then asked on the way out if we were going to kindergarten now. She can't wait! She did great with her shots. I had no idea she needed 3 separate shots. OUCH. She didn't even shed one tear. Brave girl!

We finished the school year and celebrated by taking the kids to Yogurt Creations. They were happy and it seemed the thing to do because just as we were leaving so many kids from school were arriving.

Closing ceremonies for baseball were on Saturday and so we celebrated with their team at the park. It was so dang cold. Our weather is strange. We mingled with the other parents, kids played on the playground, the boys got their trophies, everyone ate pizza, chips and cupcakes, and we called it a year. The boys had a great year! Casey just told me the other day that he wishes they could have a 100 more games to play. He is cute. He was really rolling by the end of the season. He was doing really well. I had fun taking the girls to the games and watching them play. It turned out to be a fun season with great parents and a good coach. Go Dodgers!!!!

FATHER'S DAY!!

Father's Day turned out to be a nice day. I got up with the kids and made Todd breakfast. The boys wanted to make coffee cake and Emily wanted to give dad sausage so that is what we did. I threw in some cantaloupe and grapes which the boys put together. It is so nice to have the older ones help with real tasks. Mitch and Casey put the cantaloupe and grapes together. They had a blast. Here are some photos that they took.. They must have felt real proud of their fruit bowl to take a picture of it on the table.

Todd was free of any meetings and so he was home all morning. It is nice having him around on a Sunday. It's been a couple of years now that he has been gone most Sundays. He wanted lasagna for dinner and so he got to make his own sauce. Don't worry...he loves to do that kind of work. Veggie lasagna no less. Can you believe it?? Maybe I'm rubbing off on him just a tad. ha ha . :D I put it all together once we got home from church and threw a nice salad with gorgonzola cheese together. It was tasty. I pretty much drank 2 cups of the sauce. I love a good veggie red sauce. Todd knows just what to add to make it delish!

The kids gave him all of their gifts...pictures, key chains, clips and cards. He got a new pair of shoes from me. Of course, no picture but much better than what he was wearing. AHhhhhhh!

I am so thankful for Todd and the kind of father he is to our children. He plays and makes time for each one. He cares about them, wants the world for them, wants them to be happy, and loves them so much. He teaches them, helps them, reads to them, kisses and hugs them, etc. He shows it in many ways and the kids know it. They know that dad puts them and myself before other things. I'm so grateful for that.

Now, we are currently into the 3rd day of summer and it's going fine. I bombed Monday telling them that I would take them to the library and the library is closed on Mondays. Bummer. We did the library on Tuesday and the kids picked out many books and movies. Mitch was excited to use "his" card. Very fun for them. We stocked up on some really cool educational videos that the boys were familiar with from school. They are very interesting. Mitch is so into the TV show Most Extreme on Discovery or Animal Planet. He told me today while we were sitting on the beach that our toothpaste comes from kelp. Thanks for that.

I took the kids to the beach today. I knew it was a beach day when it was 60 degrees at 5:30 in the morning. It reached 102 at Avila beach today where we enjoyed ourselves. I found a great part of the beach that isn't packed, parking is free, easy and right next to the sand. It's 15 miles from our door step and takes 15 minutes. Does it get any better? Ellie had a good time. She is the best. She did take a short nap while we were there which helped. Mitty, Casey and Emily played for 3 hours in the water. They absolutely loved it. I wish I was going back tomorrow but our skin color is a bit pink tonight. I missed a few spots on Mitty and my body is a bit red. Not bad at all but definitely needs a day of rest from the sun. As we drove home the temp went down but not much. My car was reading 95 degrees here at 3:00. It was one of the warmest days since we have been here. I hate it when the bedrooms just won't cool down. We don't have AC which we don't need but for these few times throughout the year. I'm so mad that I didn't bring my camera of all things. I was so prepared to leave early with everything in the car, lunches made, snacks, fruit, drinks, licorice, chairs, towels, you name it except the darn camera. The boys were happy with our beach day and so now what next. Ayyyy.

Here are just some random shots. They are too cute of Ellie in her flip flops. She will wear them any way that she can just to have them on her feet. She hangs on the bread board and many other things just to swing. She is strong. I love her in my flip flops. She is a fun little girl. She has a lot of personaltiy and a lot of pistol in her. :D She and Emily will be quite a twosome. I am scared already.

I'm not sure how well next week will go but it's a change having them all home every day all day. There is no break. UGH.

So sorry to make this post so long but that is what happens when I wait 9 days to post.

I Made It Through Last Week... Now, I'm On to the Last Week of School :D

2008-06-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

I made it through my busy week. I really started feeling better on Friday and was able to go out for a run. I hate not being able to exercise. I really have to feel crappy to not get out and exercise.

Friday was the boys last baseball game. I can't believe how fast the season went. It was really nice having the boys on the same team. They enjoyed it and had a good time. Casey really improved by the end which is so fun to see. I think it was hard for the coach to throw the right pitches since Casey is so short. The balls would be so high and Casey would try at everything. For the last few weeks, Casey really was hitting well and running fast. Mitch did really well also and I saw much improvement from last year to this. He is a great hitter and fielder. He really had his head in the game. :D He will be on to the minors next year. He is excited. It was a great season! Go Dodgers! Closing ceremonies will be this Saturday.

Friday was also Mitty's pack meeting immediately after his game at the park. It was really fun. They had set up a bunch of obstacle courses for the kids to do in stations. The kids all looked like they had a great time. The hit was swinging over a pool of water. Mitty got so wet..of course on purpose. Casey followed suit along with many others. It was a great time for the family.

Mitch had his last class party with the parents on Friday as well. It was a Hawaiian theme party and so I brought cupcakes with coconut frosting. They were a hit and so easy. Everyone should try it. 6tbsp. butter, 4 c. powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring and 1/4 c. milk. I added flaked coconut to the top of each cupcake. Todd said they were really good. I left the ones for the kids plain (no coconut on top). The kids did the hula for the parents, sang songs, read facts about Hawaii and made us parents shed a tear. At least I did. The teacher had the kids sing us parents a song telling us how wonderful we are. I always get a bit sad at the end of the school year. I really can't believe it is over. It has been a good year. No issues that were too hard to get over. The boys are good students and I feel blessed.

Saturday was Casey's birthday party at the bowling alley. Wow! I think 15 kids was too many for at the bowling alley but we all had fun. I think the kids enjoyed it. Casey loved every minute of it. We had veggies/dip, rice krispy treats, licorice, bubble gum, cheetos, hot dogs/hamburgers and drinks. Casey loved his Spiderman cake. Vons did a great job. This was Casey's first "real" party. I didn't mind spending the money on him. To top off the day, I had a parking ticket on my car. Oh bummer! I was so excited when I got the spot because it was right in front of the bowling alley. This is down in Pismo beach by the pier which = crowded and many cars on a hot, sunny Saturday. You can imagine how elated I was when this spot opened up just as I pulled down the aisle. I never saw the sign that said "Paid Parking". There was no meter in front of me. Todd told me that they just passed an ordinance to have paid parking down there. Hells bells. $40.00 later, I was a bit ticked off. At least it wasn't far for me to carry my gigantic bag, cake, balloons, etc. It was a great time with his friends. I am so blessed to have such nice friends who stayed and helped with the kids and helped me organize this bunch. Fun times.

Todd and the kids all seem to have come down with this same nasty cold yesterday. Ellie started on Saturday with a runny nose, Todd was yesterday and Emily has a bit of it herself. Mitch seemed to have a headache and his stomach was bothering him yesterday. We went to church and then I ended up taking MItch and Ellie home after Sacrament. It worked out great that nobody in my class was there except for Mitty and so leaving was no big deal. I gave Mitty my lesson at home. I hate preparing it and then not giving it to someone. I love preparing my lessons because I learn so much!! My headache was in full swing yesterday. I could feel my face starting to hurt during Sacrament. UGH! The bishop told Todd that I looked pretty tired at church and that I was a real trooper. Todd took some sinus medication and he was asleep on the stand. He said he gave up fighting the drowsiness and went to sleep. Oh dear.

Today I felt good to get up and workout. Todd was not doing so well. We are going through kleenex like crazy. Casey is off on his fieldtrip to the lake to go on an insect hunt/picnic lunch. He was so excited to go. He said that he just loves to ride on a bus. Emily has to get shots today to catch her all up to date to start Kindergarten. We will go get a treat after which is always fun for her.

I took some pictures of the roses that are in bloom this morning. It looks so beautiful when the sun is first hitting them. I appreciate beautiful flowers to look at out of my windows. I have enjoyed watching them grow and now bloom with such beautiful colors.

This weeks assignments....

Emily's dr. appt. today
Costco today
Make a finger food for tomorrow
Preschool Graduation
Mitch's Award Assembly
Closing ceremonies
Last day of School/treats or gifts for teachers
Father's day this weekend :D

The list doesn't seem so crazy this week. Our summer schedule is about to begin. Our summer schedule seems as busy as we are throughout the year. It will give the kids stuff to look forward to and stay busy with. I'm off to do some clean up around the house and get Emily ready to go.

Sick Today....Ugh

2008-06-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

My throat started hurting so badly last night. I can honestly say that my throat has never hurt this badly. It is awful! The night was a bit rough but I did sleep. I woke up to my head pounding and my face is throbbing a bit. All around my teeth hurt. I hate this!!!!! Thankfully, I had a new package of Benadryl Cold which says it helps with sore throat, sinus congestion....the whole bit. My ears are driving me crazy as well. They keep plugging up. As you can tell, I hate to be sick. I have told myself that I am not doing anything today. Can I really do it? I am looking at so many things that I have to do between now and Saturday. Here is my list.....

Bake cookies for Emily's class tomorrow
Boys baseball game this evening
Boys baseball game on Friday evening
Mitty's Pack Meeting immediately following Friday's game
Family Party at Mitty's class on Friday afternoon (Need to make a hawaiian dessert for 15 people)
Casey's bowling party with 10 kids coming so far on Saturday
Need to get a cake ordered for the party
Need to put together goodie bags for party (Do I have to give out goodie bags if I'm providing these kids with lunch, cake and 1 1/2 hours of bowling?) If so, any cute practical ideas?
A birthday party to go to on Thursday after school with all of the kids

My energy level is going down quickly as I read through what all I have to do. I can only hope that I magically get well over night. I could manage with the cold if the horrible headache/pressure in my face would go away.

I'm off to make lunches for the boys. This post isn't very uplifting but it's not such a good day for me.

Everything Post...Another Catch Up

2008-06-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

So much has been happening and yet I don't sit down and write it all out. I read everyone else's blogs and then don't spend the time to write.

Memorial Day Weekend we headed north to finalize Todd's "problem" suit. I am hoping we settled the issue and won't have to mess with it again. He started over with a new suit completely. :D We enjoyed the many fruit shops that they have up there and got the best cherries and white nectarines. The kids and I devoured the cherries. :D We went to dinner at PF Changs and was so disappointed. It wasn't at all what I remember it being. It had been about 3-4 years since we had eaten there. I won't go back. The kids didn't enjoy the food either. We went out to breakfast at our standard spot...Brian's Restaurant. The kids love our little routine up there. After Brian's they always want to go next door and get hot chocolate at Starbucks. We shopped on Monday at the mall and the kids and Todd had to get a Haagen Dazs cone for an early b'day celebration for Casey. That was his request. Casey also was able to put the flag out at Nancy's house. The kids enjoyed that process and as you can see the girls just watched.

Nancy ended up being so sick on Monday and so that was a bit of a bummer. Thank goodness none of us got sick. :D Todd stresses on all of that.

We enjoyed having the missionaries over for dinner last week. The kids just thrive on it. Mitch and Casey dressed up in the missionaries shoes and had their own ties on and put the guys backpacks on. It was pretty cute. Why is it in the preparation that I catch myself saying I am not signing up for this again. I will gladly give them money and let them go eat what they would like. It always seems so hard with the kids and getting ready for them. Of course I will do it again many many times. That's just the way it goes.

We enjoyed a night out at the beach last week as well. The company Todd works for had a beach bonfire night. I love these little get together's with the families. It was nice weather and such a perfect spot. The fire was seriously the biggest bonfire I had experienced. It was just about too hot to sit and roast marshmallows. We managed and the kids enjoyed the tasty treats. They provided some sack races for the kids and adults (Todd participated :D), some other relay races, bowling on the sand, and dinner. It was a fun time and I realized that we need to do it more often. It's easier now that Ellie is older.

I am looking forward to school being out. With the gas prices the way they are I am done driving. Just 2 weeks ago the price was $3.98/gallon and now this morning it says $4.24/gallon. What is going on? I am really hating it! It cost's me $130 to fill up. Kids get on your bikes is going to be my new saying! :D I wish we could. I would walk more places but the little ones can't ride for too long. As Laurie said in her blog recently, a new way of thinking is definitely a must! I agree. All of the costs just add up so quickly.

Here are some cute pics I have to add of the girls. They play so cute together during the day. Ellie just loves playing dolls with Emily. She will carry the little doll carrier around with a baby in it. I saw her laying out a blanket flat and putting her little baby doll on it and then wrapping the blanket around the baby and carrying it around. Too cute! Emily is doing so well on her bike. She loves to ride it around and show me how she can do the brakes.

As for my sugar update. I have done really well. It has made a big difference for me. I have not had any night sweats for the last 2 weeks. I haven't measured but I can tell that I have lost inches and a couple of pounds by how my clothes fit. That is never a bad thing:D. It feels good to be in control of my eating. I know that I always feel better when I control the intake. It is so key to have tons of fruit/veggies available at your fingertips. When I want dessert, I just go eat some fruit. I will keep sticking to it since I know it has helped with the night sweats. The sugar doesn't do well with my body. When I say sugar I mean simple sugars. Everything converts to sugar but some foods faster than others. Those are the ones I have to keep my hands off of. I eat whole wheat toast/whole grains and if I wanted brown rice but no other types of breads. It works for me. I am happy with the change!

The kids are literally going crazy this morning. I can't even believe how loud they are. What did I feed them last night? :D Did someone raid the cookie jar? I better get them going in the right direction. Only 10 days left of school! I am excited for summer to start. We have many things planned so it should be fun filled.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, CASEY!

2008-05-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a fun filled day for Casey and the rest of us. Casey has been looking forward to his b'day for so long. The count down has been on for a while now. :D Of course I decorated with streamers and balloons for him to wake up to. It's a tradition around here for sure. His request was for me to make big cookies with M&M's in them to bring into his class for his big day. I did and the cookies were big. I should have taken a picture but of course wasn't thinking blog at the time. Casey took them to school today and shared them with his class. (The student teacher in his class told me they were really good.:D)

Tonight was the school's open house and so we had to celebrate around that but it all worked out great. Casey picked McDonald's for dinner on our way to the school so the kids enjoyed Chicken McNuggets. :D His first choice was for dad to bring home Klondike's pizza but time was an issue with the open house so McDonald's was it. It was short and sweet and then we moved on to the school. Casey just loves the student teacher in his class. It is so funny. She is really cute. Casey knows how to pick 'em. :D The classroom was so cute and full of fun things to look at. I wanted to be back in first grade again. :D I especially loved how the kids art work and different things throughout the year was bound into a big book for us to take home. It makes it much easier to save. The kids each have a box to put their favorite things in here at home. Mitty's class was fun too. The boys have had a really good year! I just found out that Casey's teacher will be teaching Kindergarten next year. I gave her a nudge and a wink. I can only hope Emily gets her. A bunch of Casey's friends younger siblings are starting kindergarten. It should be a fun year next year as well. Mitty's Kindergarten teacher is teaching 3rd grade so he has a chance for her again too. I love it.

Here are pics from dinner....

After Open House we celebrated by getting dessert at Yogurt Creations. Casey was in heaven making his masterpiece! On our way home, he had to have the window down and this is what the camera caught....very cute. He loves to put his two fingers up to say hi to anyone. Very funny kid!! He's got to be cool :D

I think he had a good day. His big bowling party will be next Saturday. He is so excited for it! One of Casey's friends mom told me that they wouldn't be able to make it and so she wants to take her son and Casey out for ice cream. How sweet is that. She said that they don't like to miss b'day parties. Casey can't wait to say the least.

Casey is such a fun boy. He keeps all of us on our toes. He loves to tease yet he can be tender with each child and parent. I love to watch him take such good care of his younger sisters. He really does watch over them. He was screaming and flicking something off of Ellie today outside. She had picked up a bee that they were all looking at. Casey said that he pulled out the stinger and the bee was dying but no signs of a sting on Ms. Ellie Jayne. She is tough as nails with all of her older siblings. He definitely keeps us on our game. He is a sweet boy! He is extremely observant and knows everything that is going on around him. He is so excited to be 7! A compliment to Casey and myself tonight was that his teacher wishes there were more Casey's around. His teachers at school and at church love him and say he is just the best. I'm glad he keeps his game playing and teasing for here at home. He is the best and is going to be a great young man! He knows how to step up and do the right thing. Way to go boy! I love Caser boy and hope that he has a great year. Happy B'day buddy!

New Kick....No Sugar/Emily's Kindergarten Round Up

2008-05-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

I'm on to something else again. I have been trying to up my protein and have found some different foods that are just hitting the spot for me. Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joes and Cowboy Caviar (black eye peas, tomatoes, gr. onions, cilantro, avocado, tabasco, red wine vinegar, garlic(optional), jalapeno (optional but good), red peppers (optional but good) are doing it for me. Yesterday I was definitely in the mood to try an experiment and take out the sugars in my daily eating. I'm not going too extreme but I am cutting out all desserts, crackers, white breads, pretzels, etc(mainly the white flour stuff). No added sugars also. I am allowing myself to have a Pria Mint Chocolate Chip Nutrition bar during the day if I need a little chocolate :D. Those taste like Girl Scout Cookie thin mints. I can do that. At 2 points a bar I am doing well!! I figure it is better for me than cookies or any other dessert. So yesterday was my first day on it and I didn't feel hungry at anytime. I am so proud of myself for sticking to it. I am trying to see how it makes a difference in how I feel and if I can cut down on the night sweats by cutting out the sugars. I have had trouble in the past with Hypoglycemia and know that by how I eat makes a difference in how I feel. I'll report back in a week on this.

Yesterday, Emily had her Kindergarten Round Up. She was so excited and did really well. It was me who was having a hard time with how they set this whole process up. The pressure was high as if the poor child was in a job interview. I had done this before with Casey and I don't remember feeling so disturbed by the process. For one, I was treated like a 5 year old by the school nurse. She was asking me if I had a dr.appt. set up for Emily to have her immunizations. I said I was aware that she needs them by the start of school and that we would get to our dr. for that. The nurse replied with, "You know school starts on August 25th." I said I was aware of the start date and that she would be immunized before she comes. I am familiar with the process." Oh boy, the nurse kept on with more and I just had to keep my mouth closed and say uh huh. The nurse told me of other parents who couldn't get in to see their dr. until September. Well, maybe they don't have the same dr. that I do and if that is the case I can see one of the others in his office. It just kills me how they treat you sometime. Another teacher had an interview with Emily sitting at a desk( she on one side and the teacher on the other...facing each other). Emily would back her head up when the teacher would move her face closer to Emily. I understood how Emily felt. She was invading her space a bit. It bugged me that they ask, "What does your daddy do?" Todd didn't like that one either. Emily stared at her like uh, uh, uh, ...Stuff was her answer. Then, what does your mommy do? Emily replied with, "she works." I just felt that if these teachers had asked all of the questions that they wanted answers for with the two of them out on a playground or in a more comfortable setting for a 4/5 year old they would have actually received answers. A few other kids after Emily acted the same way. 3 of the 5 year olds that I listened to didn't know their b'days or how old their siblings were. The whole event was comical to say the least. I was not so impressed. I have loved the school and the teachers that my kids have had but this just seemed a bit much for me and I can only imagine for the child. Emily didn't say anything about it except that she liked it. Good, I'm glad.

Also, on Saturday Mitty took off Emily's training wheels and wanted to help her learn how to ride her bike. I had no idea she would be riding all by herself within 20 minutes. She loves it and it is so cute to see her pedal her heart out. I will have to get a video of her riding.

This post has been sitting here since yesterday or maybe even Monday. I have been busy around here lately. Mitch has his big project due on Friday and so we have been working on that this week. It is so hard to work with a child one on one when you have 3 others that are awake and roaming. It has almost been impossible to help him after school when every one is home and in full swing. Someone needs me constantly! Anyway, we did a bunch of it yesterday while Ellie napped.

I am looking forward to the long weekend. A much needed break!

Happy 33rd B'day to Me...Yesterday!

2008-05-15T19:41:00.000-07:00

Well, why does 33 sound so dreadful. Nothing about it sounds upbeat and light. Oh well, I better enjoy my young years because before I know it they will be gone for sure.

The day was just ok. I don't know what my deal was....I didn't leave the house except to pick up the kids from school. I spent most of my time on the phone with my mom and sisters who had nice b'day wishes for me. Casey wondered why there weren't any streamers or balloons up for me. I said, you better check with dad. I always put up streamers and balloons for their b'days.

I tried to enjoy the day by not having to slave around the house. Todd picked up Taco Rico for dinner which is always good. I wasn't in the mood to take the whole group out to dinner. The kids had me make a white cake with chocolate frosting. I definitely ate way too many sweets yesterday. I was sweating all through the night because of it. I was very good today and have only had a bite of frosting. Anyway, Casey said to me before dinner yesterday, "Mom, your b'day hasn't been very fun. All we did was clean up and make a cake." I kind of felt the same way. After the cake and ice cream Casey said, oh this is the best b'day. He is so funny! It was nice but nothing special. I hate that. Thanks mom for the treat. I just got it in the mail today. I will find something fun for me to do with it.....a massage :D. The last time I had someone do a massage on me was 10 years ago. It was Shiatsu and I hated it. I was bruised all over. I want the swedish massage.

A friend of mine was taking Emily home from school today and so I only had Ellie from 9-3:00. The weather was so warm that I thought it was perfect to push Ellie in the jogger and so I did a 5.5 mile jog. Oh boy did it kick my rumpus seatus. Treadmill running and outdoor running are extremely different. The hills were a bit much for me and so I walked those but ran the rest. We met up with Todd for lunch and I had a great meal. It was a veggie sandwich (avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and lettuce on foccacia bread) and a salad. Ellie is so easy. She is so pleasant to take with us to lunch.

Todd is at a meeting tonight and so I better go to get this crew into bed. They are getting a bit restless.

Happy Mother's Day...the next day :D

2008-05-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Mother's day was a really nice day yesterday. It was even nicer that Todd didn't have meetings and was able to help with so much of the morning run around. I seemed to be working more yesterday morning to make sure that the sisters I visit teach had a bag of cookies for me to give them for Mother's Day and that the boys that I teach were able to give their moms a bag of cookies.
It all worked out since I had Todd home tending to the kids wants.

I heard Emily telling Aunt Nancy on the phone yesterday morning, "Mom, doesn't even eat breakfast." I had to laugh. I'm sure Nancy asked if they made me breakfast. I never eat cereal or Todd's fried eggs/hash brown breakfasts and so according to Emily I don't even eat breakfast.

I had a great fruit smoothie breakfast with toast. That is more my style. :D

Here are my pictures from Mother's Day. You can see how I remembered the picture of me with the kids once they were ready to be in bed. Oh well, does it really matter? No! Casey was so excited to give me his gift. It is the towel with his handprints on it as flowers. I love it! I want one with all of the kids hands on it as a flower. Cute idea from school. Mitch made me a salt design that is really pretty. Later in the day he asked, "Mom, what does salt have to do with anything for Mother's Day?" To be honest, I was wondering myself. He liked Casey's gift better than his salt design. Emily planted me a little flower at school on Thursday and so did Ellie in nursery. Very cute and I love it all. Todd gave me the flowers and a very nice card. His comment was I got you one of "your" cards. I'm a little more sappy and he is very humorous when it comes to card giving. I know he meant what it said. Thanks!! I picked the menu for dinner and it was New Mexico style enchiladas that I was raised on. I have had them since I can remember. My mom and Grandma and I'm sure many before them have made them forever. They are good every time. It's a taste I never get tired of. I'm not sure it was such a success with the kids but they picked through it and loved the egg on top. I made a fresh pot of pinto beans that cooked literally all day long. It was very tasty. The dinner could have been a bit more restful but Ellie seemed to be over tired and not wanting to sit with anyone other than me and moving all over my lap. I ate in a rush but it was good!

While I was making my bedtime rounds and laying in each child's bed, Casey was getting the coupon book he made me so that I could redeem one hug and one kiss when I got to his bed. It was very cute. I gave him a kiss on his cheek and he said, Mom, on the lips." So sorry Casey! He loves that I lay down in his bed with him. He thanked me in his Mother's Day card for telling him jokes in bed at night. He said I was special because I give him treats before bed, say good bye to him before school, and always hug him. That makes me feel so good. I am glad that he notices the good things that I do with him. Once the kids went to bed, Todd rubbed my back and neck while I sat there in our quiet house and it was just what the doctor ordered to end the nice day.

This is why I love being a mom to these 4 children. Aren't they just so cute? :D Of course, I think so!!!

It has been so fun watching each child grow and develop into their own person. It is definitely trying at times but so worth every hard time. There are more fun times and cute little things that I notice than hard times thus far. :D I can only hope and pray that my children will continue to have a love for their Savior and an understanding of the gospel as we teach them the principles. Oh boy do I ever understand what my mom meant when she would say she just wants to see all of her children happy. That is such an important thing to a mother/parents. I want them to have a love for the gospel and to serve others. I want them to enjoy the blessings that I enjoy every day for choosing the right. I love my children and really find joy in trying to teach them what is right. It is so great when you hear your child talking about what you taught him/her a few days ago with a sibling. My heart cheers for them. I want my children to understand the scriptures as best as they are capable of understanding at their young ages. Kids surprise me at how much they really know or are capable of. We have really enjoyed the Book of Mormon for LDS families. It helps the kids to know the big words and has a glossary of other words in the back. It is highly recommended for every Latter Day Saint family. What am I saying?? It's for me too! I love all of the explaining it does.

Here are some random pictures of the kids in the last couple of weeks. We were up at the Stanford Mall a couple of weeks ago and the flowers are just beautiful. The kids enjoyed ice cream and running around. It's an outdoor mall for those who didn't know.

I have so much appreciation for my own mother now that I am one myself. I appreciate everything that was done in my behalf. Thanks mom for helping me to be the mom that I am today. I try hard with my own kids and I hope they will grow up and thank me because it is hard work all across the board to be a mom. I love being a mom and playing that role. I hope I can show my children that more with a better attitude. I can't call myself a failure in something until I completely stop trying. IT is the best to hear your kids talking with another sibling about something we have tried to teach them. With prayer, I know that any mom can make it through this life. If we realize and understand that our hard times and challenges are to make us stronger than it makes it a lot easier to manage the rough spots. I hope every mother understands her divine worth and role here on this earth and in the eternities. I have been reading many books about this subject and just finished the book called Motherhood. (Thanks Mom!!) Brigham Young is so black and white....I love it! He's right and the truth hurts sometimes. I am truly grateful for the gospel in my life. I am blessed to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Thanks Mom for living the gospel in our home. Thanks for taking me to church every Sunday. All of your hard work was all worth it....as a mother I can appreciate it now.:D

I hope every mother had a wonderful day yesterday!

2008-05-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some random pictures lately. My mom wanted to see a picture of Emily's toes after we painted them. Emily requested different colors for each foot. I remember doing that. :D

Ahhh...the weekend. I really love the weekends. The boys had a game this morning at 11:00 and it was great. They played really well. The weather has been really nice.. shorts, skirts, and most importantly flip flops.

Ellie took a big nap this afternoon (3 hours) and so Todd and I worked on our budget/bills together. I really love doing it together. I love that we can be on the same page and have the same goals. It's great and I feel truly blessed to have a good husband.

I've been trying to find some bedding for Emily and Ellie's new beds. It is much harder than I thought. I want it to be right and look right with the style of beds. It's driving me crazy. I am on my 3rd try of bringing something home and hoping to love it on the beds. This will be tough for me since it takes so long to decide on something that I just love. Emily loves her new bed and Ellie's is just waiting for her to get a bit bigger. She likes to lay in it now but I wouldn't even try leaving her in it all night. I'm not that stupid! :D

The boys love their bunk beds and oh how much space it freed up in their room. I love it and so do they. They have done really well keeping their beds made. It's a bit tough to change sheets.

I tried a new chore list this week and it seems to have worked really well. I give the kids like 1 or maybe 2 jobs a day. Whoever is in charge of emptying all of the trash cans helps with dishes one day, one child vacuums the house, and another cleans the bathroom. Each child is in charge of making their own bed and putting their own clothes away each day. I do most of the cleaning on Monday and Friday or Saturday since those are my "free" days home. The kids were enthusiastic about completing their chores each day. It was nice. I was able to sit down and spend more time with them in a picked up house. It was nice. Then on the weekend we reward them with an outing. They picked getting slurpee's at 7-11 and got a few new baseballs. We'll see if works next week. I love how the kids will do their chores. I let them pick when they do them. It can be before school or after school but it has to be completed before dinner time. They usually pick to do them right after their snack after school. Great is all I can say. I really try to emphasize that a family is a team and we can all work together to make the load light. So far my kids do really well at helping around the house. I love it and appreciate them very much.

I think this post has been sitting here for 3 days now. I can't seem to finish and get it posted....

Yesterday, the kids and I played baseball out in the front yard. It is really fun. It's great because Ellie is so good that she just stays right with us or sits in an extra car seat that we have sitting in the garage facing out and watches us. It's pretty cute. She knows right where her spot is. :D She will mosey around the yard and throw us a few balls

Last night we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with getting some Mexican food. We love any excuse for some mexican food. :D I better get to some things before the kids wake up....oh well, too late.

I'm Still Here....Reading More Than I Am Writing :D

2008-04-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why do I pick such a busy time to sit down and try to write. Just a quick update. Pictures will have to come later....

I'm on a 14 day cycle of writing now. It is hard to justify the time spent on here when I have clothes starring at me to be folded. I always tell myself that there will always be clothes so why not take a few minutes and write down my thoughts or goings on. I am always on schedule mode. It can be a bit crazy in this head of mine. I am always trying to get as much done as I can while kids are in school, Ellie napping, Todd at meetings, kids in bed, etc. I never say ok that job is going to have to wait until tomorrow so that I can sit down and write some thoughts here. I feel like blogging/journaling is something for me to do after all of my work is done. The truth is that my work is never done. My work could go on 24/7.

I have been trying to play a bit more with the kids in any spare time. Memory game is always what Emily likes to play when Ellie goes to sleep. I played catch with Mitty, Casey and Emily today after school for an hour. It was fun. I kind of can't wait until we can do it again tomorrow after school. I had fun and it was fun to see the kids loving it too. Mitch kept saying with a smile, "Mom, we are doing a family activity." I am so happy that they all really love each other and get along. I love that they want to do family activities. It makes me feel like I am doing something right. I am truly blessed for sure. I have good kids and am so thankful for that.

I took Emily and Ellie down to the beach this morning after we dropped off the boys and let them run around on the sand. We were only there about 20 minutes. It was so perfect...cool and a bit windy but sunny and beautiful!! The air is so clear, the water so blue and the sand is so soft. The girls were climbing different sand hills. I love that the beach is under 4 miles from my house and the parking is so ideal. I park literally next to the sand and just walk on. There were so many walkers/joggers and older folk out walking on the packed sand. I would love to do that some time. The girls had fun and so did I! I am definitely going to do it more often. Why does it take 2 years to see how fun something can be? I guess really what it is is that Ellie and Emily are older and it's easier to do these type of activities. Ellie loved it!! We saw horses out on the water even. Too cool.

Ellie is tugging at me and needing dinner I guess. Just a quick check in. That is about all I ever have time for.

Blogging Slump.....Too busy to write

2008-04-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to go back and document the last 18 days. It would take too much time. I think that is what has kept me from writing. There is too much to write and I would rather read every one elses blogs than to write on my own. I better bite the bullet and document some of the activities we have done....

**Todd turned the big 4-0 on the 2nd of April. We didn't do anything big. He wants to combine it with our 10th anniversary this year and do something special. His dept. at work took him to CPK for lunch and then we did dinner. We got him a special cake that was delish. I still remember my dad's surprise 40th b'day. It's strange to think that my husband is already there. I am happy to say I am 7 years behind him. :D I'm not rubbing it in. Todd is so not bothered by age. I love that about him.

**Baseball games officially started on the 5th of April. I has so happy to get the schedule and see that we only have 4 games on Saturdays out of 16 games. I love having our Saturdays to do what we want as a family. The boys are having fun being on the same team and it is so nice for me as well. 2 games a week and the practices are 30 minutes before the game. I love this coach.

**Mom came into town on the 3rd and stayed for about 5-6 days. It is nice having mom around. She did my feet with lotion and scratched my back...I think every night. I love that. The kids love having her here too. She watched the kids on that Saturday evening while Todd and I attended an awards night for his company in Santa Barbara. We did get to do a little shopping/exchange items at Nordstrom while in Santa Barbara. I was reminded of how nice Santa Barbara is. I could live there for sure. We enjoyed mom's stay and are excited for the next visit. Ellie is so cute with her blanket. (She is the only one of my children who have really been attached to a "blankie".) She will get that blanket at any time of the day and just have to curl up in it or be held with it. I have to admire that she just likes to be comfy. She would get it and bring it to my mom. I found she and my mom most often like this. :D Very cute and just what Grandma's should do...hold and rock. :D

**Mom came with me to get my hair done. I was wanting to go drastic. I was in desperate need of a makeover. I didn't go as drastic as I had been thinking but did cut a bunch off and am so happy with it. I really can't let it get any longer than this. It has been so easy to do. That is what I was aiming for. I couldn't stand for another day to have my hair up in a ponytail because it takes to long to do. I am happy and could go a bit shorter. Probably next time! :D

**I have had sick kids off and on also during these last couple of weeks. Ellie had to run the course of the runny nose and bad cough. Casey has a recurring cough at night that has gone on for some time. We were at the doctor today for it. He came home from school yesterday and is face was so flushed (not uncommon for Casey) but he just didn't look well. His eyes were droopy and red and just looked like he was dying to go to sleep. He told me that he had coughed a lot and sneezed during the day. He also complained of his right leg hurting him when he walked. I was thinking maybe this is the flu but why not achy all over...hmmm. He fell asleep early..7:20 and then had a slight fever in the night. I could hear him moaning a bit in his sleep. Poor guy. It took me back to the days of living as youngsters with my brother Danny. He was the king of sounds/moans, coughs and colds that lasted 6 months. I called the dr. this morning and got him in at 11:00. He told me that it sounded like he has allergies because he really only has these gosh awful sounding cough attacks at night in his room. I stripped his bed this morning, got rid of the pillows and am on doctors orders to dust his room with a wet cloth, remove all books, stuffed animals and small toys out of his room. He is going to take an allergy medication to see if it will help as well. I can't tell you how excited I am to maybe think that he will not be coughing so badly at night. I won't know if it is the new pillows, new mattresses that we are getting or if the medicine is the answer. He has a different pillow tonight, freshly washed sheets, freshly washed comforter and he hasn't coughed for 3 hours. This is a break through for sure. It makes me so happy to see him sleeping peacefully. :D His leg on the other hand seems to have an infection in his hip joint which is caused by a virus. That must have been the fever in the night last night. He says it hurts to turn it. The dr. called it toxic synovitis. It should be gone within 7 days. The dr. told Casey to just rest and take it easy this weekend. Poor Caser boy. He is a good sport and can act so grown up about all of this. It gives me a glimpse of what he will be like in his adult years. He is a sweet boy and I have really enjoyed spending time with him alone. He is so different alone vs. when he and Mitty are together. He talks so much and tells me so many things. He is so cute about his observations about anything and anyone.

**Emily has had the same cough again this week. I kept her home from school on Tuesday and she missed dance on Wed. It has been crazy trying to keep everyone well.

**All of this and throw in Scouts, pack meetings and yard duties is what we have been up to around here.

I have been trying to spice up the meals around here or just do something different. One night this week I made pizza dough from scratch and let the kids build their own pizzas. They loved it and the dough was good!! I love allrecipes.com. I find a bunch of good ones on that site. I made chili last night and wanted to do something different instead of serve it with tortilla chips or french bread. I made bread bowls and served the chili in it. The bread was a knock out and very fun to do. The kids and Todd loved it. I loved doing and seeing something different. It took me 3 hours in the kitchen from start to finish but worth it. The recipe for the bread bowls is on allrecipes.com and very good. It was fun for me. I love to bake new recipes!!

This has turned out to be much longer than I had wanted it to but that is what happens when you don't write anything for weeks. I am off to bed. I am struggling with hardly a voice and a scratchy throat. I need the rest. Hopefully, I will post more often. I like to read everyone's more than I want to sit and write.

Happy Birthday April/Spring Break

2008-03-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

Happy B'day April!!

I sure hope you have a great day and year! It was so nice having April and her family up over the Easter weekend. My kids just loved having all of their cousins and their aunt and uncle here at their house. I hope you are able to get out and celebrate your day.

We just ended our week of Spring Break. It was much better than I thought it would be. We didn't do anything really exciting but enough to have a good time. The girls have had really bad coughs most of the week which kept us from doing a few different things. Mitty spent one day with a headache that just left him taking it easy most of the day. We did go to the movie with some friends to see Horton Hears A Who. That is when Emily's cough made itself known. She literally was coughing every few seconds. It was too much. I finally asked her if she wanted to go home and she said, "YES." Poor girl. I knew she didn't feel good if she was going to leave a box of popcorn, bag of candy and her little friend at the movies. My friend kept the boys so that they could finish the movie. The boys ended up going to the park after the movie and getting pizza with some friends in the ward. It was a nice diversion for the boys. Emily just came home and took it easy on the couch. Her cough was much better the next day but then Ellie picked it up and she has been coughing. You know the cough/runny nose thing. I'm constantly grabbing for kleenex. I took the kids to get yogurt one day too. They love to make their own creations. It's the best!! Todd took the kids to get donuts on Friday morning. They loved it.

The boys had baseball practice Saturday morning for 2 hours. I just couldn't sit out in the cold with Emily and Ellie still hanging onto their coughs. I ran up to Costco after dropping off the boys and made a return and picked up a few items and then made it back with a half hour to sit in the car and watch them practice. They love being on the same team. I just love that. Their baseball schedule is very nice this year. We only have 4 games on Saturdays between now and June 8th. That is so great. The earliest game on a Saturday is at 11:00. Most of their games are during the week. I can do this.

We ended our week with pizza and Yogurt Creations last night. I have really enjoyed the break this week not having to rush around in the morning. I don't have that much longer before these kids are out for the summer. We have a full summer planned already.

Too bad I don't have any pictures of this week. I think the only one is of the kids on Monday out in the hose.

It's late and I should be in bed. I ran on the treadmill too late tonight and so I feel awake. I fell asleep earlier on the couch and then woke up and felt wide awake so I did my daily jog. Happy Sunday!

March Recap....mainly through pictures /Gardening, Easter and Visitors :D

2008-03-25T06:41:00.001-07:00

I hate that so much time has gone by but there really hasn't been any time to sit down and write out posts or post pictures. Now there is too much to write so my pictures will have to tell a story.

Nancy came to visit and helped out with mass amounts of gardening. It was a ton of work but so worth what it all looks like now. I have planted so many flowers and dug up so many ugly looking bushes that now I feel I can say I may have a green thumb. It is addicting and very fun to watch everything grow and look beautiful. We planted 3 fruit trees (3 in 1 apple tree, clementine and a navel orange). The blossoms on the orange tree are so beautiful and smell so good. The roses will be beautiful in a couple of months. I have enjoyed going out in the yard and hoping to see some new leaves on any of the rose plants. I am just now starting to see buds for the leaves. YEAH :D!! Todd got the drip system working out front on Saturday and now just needs to finish the back. Oh it works just great!

Last Friday April called and asked if she and her family could come up and spend the weekend. I was happy to tell her that the weather was just beautiful and warm and that it would be really fun to spend Easter with them. They got up here late Friday night but came over on Saturday morning and spent the day with us. April did her famous Easter egg hunt/store. She has 80 plastic eggs with numbers inside. A few eggs had a gold star (for the grand prize winners). She hides the eggs and then the kids were able to each find 10 eggs. Once they are done, each child gathers all of the numbers that were inside and lines up to pick out gifts from "her" store. Depending on what the number is they get to pick a gift out of a bag. It was a real hit and my kids loved it. Mitty hasn't been able to stop talking about it. He really loved the hunt/store and the company. We then took all of the kids and tried a new Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was good and all of the kids were so well behaved. Everyone had fun together. It was really nice to be with them. We topped off our dinner with yogurt creations. That is always a hit with the kids and definitely for me. Here are some pictures of our Saturday

Here are some cute ones from the restaurant and yogurt outing. The pictures say it all. The kids were having fun for sure!

Easter Sunday....

We decided to do a brunch instead of dinner. I loved it. I made 2 breakfast casseroles the night before so that they were ready to go on Sunday morning, cut up fruit, cut up a raspberry danish, and made orange juice. It was really nice and the food was tasty. Todd sure loved it. He loved it so much that he had the leftovers for dinner last night. It was nice having April's family join us at church. Everyone looked so nice...they looked so nice that I forgot to get a picture of all of them. I had the girls put their dresses back on so that we could snap a few pictures. I love the picture of the 3 boys..Joey, Austin and Mitty playing video games before church. They all look so handsome! All in all it was a great weekend! I hope to do it again soon.

Now, the kids are home this week for Spring break. Yesterday was a good day. The weather was great as you can see in the pictures. Sunny, warm weather always helps when the kids are home all day. I am hoping the weather will be just as good today so that we can go to the beach.
The kids were having a blast yesterday in the hose. The weather was very warm and perfect for some playing in the water. Ellie goes for any water. She loves it. She isn't afraid to get wet, that's for sure.

We sure have had some fun these last couple of weeks. The kids always hate to have cousins and guests leave. Mitch had a hard time Sunday night. He really loves having everyone around. I'm off to get breakfast for some kiddies who are now up. Why so early when they don't have to get up??

A few more pictures of the girls. I thought they were so cute in bed. Ellie loves to climb in with Emily before bed. We all 3 will lay together for a bit before Ellie gets into her bed. They are really cute together. They play more and more together as each day goes on. Ellie loves to be right in the middle of all of the kids. She is one of them for sure. She can hold her own too. That's my girl. Todd and I get a kick out of watching her with other kids. She doesn't back down for anything. Oh no! :D

My Prayer Was Answered/This Week's Activities

2008-03-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

I want to document about an answer to my prayer yesterday. Mitch has been playing with a certain boy at school for sometime now and I can't stand this boy. I have never let him over and Mitch wouldn't even ask. Now that Casey started first grade, he plays with Mitch and this boy too. I was hoping that once Casey was on the playground, the boys would play together and it would end up that this other boy would be squeezed out. No such luck! Todd and I have really been talking to the boys about how the influence of kids who don't choose the right really bring us down and cause us to do wrong. I was a bit frustrated the other night when I heard some choice words that Casey then proceeded to tell me that this boy says. I really had the talking to with the boys and explained to Mitty that if he continues to play with this boy over time he will end up being in trouble with us or with teachers at the school. I said much more but I think they were getting it for the first time. The next day, Casey told me that he didn't play with this boy and that when the boy came around at recess he(Casey) just walked away and played with other kids. I was so proud of him. Casey told me that he whispered in Mitty's ear that they weren't to be playing with this boy. Mitty didn't really pay too much attention to that and kept playing. We rewarded Casey by taking him by himself to get Doc Burnstein's (ice cream store). I told Mitty that I would reward him as well for making the right choice and finding some other friends to play with. Yesterday morning my prayer was that Mitch would not have a difficult time finding someone else to play with and that the transition would be easy for him. Oh I was so happy when I picked the boys up from school and they were excited to tell me that they didn't play with this boy. I asked how it went and they told me, "Mom, we just played soccer with ________and ___________ and the boy played with some other kid." Mitty said, it was every recess too. Mitty acted better when he got in the car, he didn't act easily frustrated with anyone, and just was calm about everything. It was so nice and I know that by him not playing with this boy helped him to feel like he was doing the right thing. He later told us at the dinner table that he did feel better today. He got his own special trip to Yogurt Creations last night. I am more than happy to take them on special outings to reward them for good things that they do.

Going back to earlier this week, the kids had a minimum day on Monday and so I took them to McDonalds and then to the park. The weather has just been beautiful...mid to high 70's and sunny!! I love it. I can't help but sit outside and enjoy the warmth from the sun. I have some cute pictures of the kids playing together.

Yesterday, I attempted making a carnitas dinner and it was a success! It took half the day but it was sure good. I made pico de gallo, guacamole, beans and served with warm corn tortillas. We all loved it. I have been on a mission lately to make new dinners and try new things. It has been really fun and tasty! The same ol same ol starts to get boring and makes cooking not so fun. Last week it was a new recipe for meatballs/rice and another one for baby back ribs. Both were good and the kids loved it.

I found Ellie like this the other day on the couch. She had crawled up and layed behind Emily and opened up a book. Too cute. I love these shots.

My roses came yesterday and I am dying to get them planted. They will have to wait until Friday. Todd has Friday off. I better go and get the kids moving in the right direction this morning. The morning hustle can be a bit tiring if I don't get a head start.

A Trip To The Library

2008-03-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

I put out the effort and took the kids to the library on the way home from school. My last experience in the library with all 4 kids was not good and so we haven't been back. I feel bad that it has been awhile. Too long, really. It's funny how my head works overtime on thinking of things that we can do to help Mitty pass off items in his scout book. I thought this would be fun for him to learn how to get a library card for himself and see how the library works. I had him fill out the application and he did a great job. He knew all of the information and took it back to the man at the accounts desk. Mitch was so excited to put a card that has his name on it in his wallet. I was very surprised to see that the library had really changed since I had been there last. It is all self check out now with a lady supervising the area of about 7 computers. All of the books have a bar code and we just scan them in. It was pretty easy. The lady was kind enough to see that my hands were completely full....holding Ellie who wanted to get down or reach for everything, manage the other 3 children who were dying to scan the books themselves but not being patient to take turns and then the system bogging down because the kids kept scanning. We made it through just fine. Every child took their turn of scanning the books which was fun for them. It was just strange to not have the typical librarian workers checking out our books. Oh how my children's world is so different than when I was a child. Everything now is "do it yourself" or every company you call is has an automated system. You never talk to a "live" person. It got me thinking...my kids never see me go to a bank. Is there really a need to on a daily basis? I never go into a bank. My bank isn't even local. I can do everything I need to online or through the mail. I can get money at the grocery store. It's just a different world. I remember my mom taking my dad's pay checks to the bank all of the time. I remember lists that my mom would make of things to do and banking was always on there. Now we have direct deposit. Oh, it's a beautiful thing for sure!!

Anyway, we had fun and the kids were very good for me while looking for books. I found a book in the children's section about American Heroes that I got for myself to read. I am actually excited to read it and share with the kids about heroes in our country. They are sponges right now and want to know about everything so I'm going to give them the info. I thought about picking a subject each week and teaching them about it. We could turn it into a weekly library trip to find out what we can about that subject. We'll see how it goes. A mother's head is constantly going. Well, at least mine is. I find it hard to sit and relax. I really can't do it at night. I am constantly working on cleaning something, picking up the house, folding clothes, doing bills, or exercising on the treadmill. I feel guilty just watching a show without accomplishing something at the same time. Oh, it's a bit exhausting. Thank goodness I don't have any babies keeping me up in the night. I was blessed that the girls (last 2 children) slept through the night from early on (Emily was 6 weeks old and Ellie was around the same time). The boys were a bit different. Mitch was the hardest for sure. Oh the things that we learn from the first child.

Here is a cute picture of Ellie that I took today. I love that she was in action walking to me. She is so sweet and cute. I had to stick her in here somewhere. She was great at the library sitting at the little kid tables doing the puzzles. She would get up and down from the little chairs and get another book from the younger age bins. It was pretty cute. She is so careful when she turns the pages of a book. Is that normal?? I love it. She will lay on the floor here at home and page through each page of the Friend magazine being so careful each time she turns. That is a girl thing I think. Casey did a number on some books when he was her age.

I better go and get us ready for the Blue and Gold dinner tonight. The time is fast approaching and the kids are looking for food. Wish me luck! I love that Mitch gets so excited for these events. It helps me to be excited too.

Geesh, Another Week/More Random Happenings

2008-03-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

It seems like a week is just flying by lately. What is that?? I guess a busy life with 4 children can make life feel like a blur sometimes.

I'll start where I left off....Last Thursday when I was waiting to pick up Emily from preschool, I had so many mothers make comments about Ellie's new pair of shoes. I just love them and think they are the cutest shoe for a little girl. Emily got a pair similar without the red in them. I couldn't believe that each mom who came in spotted her shoes and had to say something. What is even cuter to me is her tiny little foot that sits in them. :D

The boys both had a clean bill of health from the dentist last week!! Oh, how I love to hear that their teeth look great and no cavities. Music to a mother's ears. :D

We headed up north again last Thursday night to finish up some errands that seem to be ongoing. (We don't live close to a mall.) We enjoyed a couple days up there and came back on Saturday night. We took the kids on a hike/park trip one afternoon and they had a blast. They found a stream and had the greatest time exploring. Emily had to go to the bathroom at one point and there wasn't a bathroom around so we tried to become one with nature but she wouldn't have it. (That's my girl :D) She had such stage fright. I got her all situated but she just kept telling me, "I just can't go." She held it and we made it back (1/2 mile) to the bathroom. Way to go Em's!!

Ellie tends to have this look on her face often.... She did well and actually fell asleep on our way back.

Sunday was a good day. It sure was nice not having to get up for early church since we rolled in the night before at 12:30am. Our ward meets at 1:00 and it does have it's benefits. Ellie is doing really well in nursery which makes me feel so much better. I haven't been taking her since I have primary to teach. My class meets right after Sacrament so I have kids waiting for me. Todd has taken that duty of dropping her off at nursery and it has been so nice not having to deal with that. She is liking it and does fine in there. Yeah!! My class is doing just fine. I only had 2 boys last week which is nice. Next year it will be a big class.

I really love how my Monday's are so calm. I don't have any obligations that day meaning, no preschool, no dance, no church meetings that night, etc. I love that I just clean and do laundry and don't have to be anywhere. I pretty much caught up the laundry from the weekend and picked up the house.

We have started a new routine around here..it's called Kitchen Manager. The kids rotate nights to be kitchen manager and they are loving it. Todd came up with the name. On 'their" night the kitchen manager picks the menu for dinner, sets the table and gets to pick where everyone sits( the normal fight of who is going to sit by dad is what instigated this kitchen manager). It has helped and now the kids have made a drink manager. Another child does the drinks (decides what drink and makes it for each person). They love it. I think it is pretty cool and it helps me a lot. I love to see the kids so excited to help. Last night Mitch picked meatballs/rice and I picked broccoli. It was so easy and the kids loved it. Mitch went on and on about the meatballs and was still talking about them today. The sauce was great...equal parts of grape jelly to chili sauce. It's easy to make a ton of that for a family.

Today has been beautiful with weather in the 70's, blue skies and such a nice breeze that crosses through the house. I love to feel a bit of a breeze in the house when it is warm. I wish I could say that this weather will stay but it never does for too long around here. The kids were so good when we got home from picking them up at school. Mitch is so self-motivated. I love to see him at work. He just digs in, gets busy and doesn't stop until it is finished. He did his room, organized all of he and Casey's shoes, made his bed, emptied out trash cans in the entire house, vacuumed his room, put his clothes away, took out the main kitchen trash outside, did his homework and organized his drawers. He did it all so fast. He totally can focus and get a job done. It's a wonderful gift!!! He also doesn't seem overwhelmed by a big job staring at him. He just digs in and does it. Casey and Emily followed after a bit and really helped me with the clothes and vacuuming. Casey vacuumed the family room, dining room and living room, and put clothes away. Emily helped with her clothes and putting away little toys back into place. Thank you kids for being so cooperative today. It was wonderful to have so many jobs done that I won't have to stay up late and do tonight.

Just some random thoughts. I had no idea that boys were just as picky as girls are. Mitch is so concerned about his look and if it looks cool or not. He just got a pair of plaid shorts and literally wants to wear them every day. He saw the Volcom symbol on the back and has fallen in love with them even more. Oh, we have created a monster. Everything has got to be just right....the shoes, the "no show" socks, the right shirt (he is loving some Quiksilver shirts he has), and the right kind of jacket with different outfits. I thought only girls cared this much about their appearance at 8 years old? Maybe it is just the genes and he just can't help it. I was very particular with how things looked and we know Todd was and is. :D Todd loves it. He is so funny. I just thought I had a few more years but I guess not. Mitty has been asking such funny questions lately like, "how will I know if the girl I'm dating or want to marry is a member of the church?" I'm thinking, good job for even thinking about making sure she is a member. :D haha He's got a girl at school that likes him and Casey told me that the girl went up behind him and kissed him on the back of the neck. Oh boy!!

I better go get dinner going before this crew is begging for food. Casey is the manager tonight and has picked tostadas for dinner! Yeah, my favorite and oh so easy to do.

Daily Happenings/Great Book

2008-02-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

I see that I'm on a role for posting once a week. I don't mean for it to happen that way....there just seems to be so many things that I feel I "should" be doing instead of blogging. I need to start out by saying that I am so grateful for beautiful weather. It has been gorgeous here yesterday and now this morning. The sun feels so dang good coming in the window. Here are a few pictures I took outside yesterday of the pretty flowers that are in my yard. The sun felt so good yesterday that I sat outside for a bit with the girls to enjoy it. I loved it that a skirt and flip flops were perfect.

Here is the book that I just read in a couple of days. My new thing is to read while running on the treadmill. The print was large enough that I wasn't having to strain to read while in motion. It is called Things I Wish I'd Known Sooner.....by Jaroldeen Edwards. Oh it is so good. i really enjoyed reading her insight. She is a mother of 12. It helped me to put some things into perspective. I highly recommend the book to anyone at any age.

This is how I found them the other night before bed. It was so classic. How cute is that that Ellie has to have one in her hand and she knows the DS vs. the older Game Boy. It is pretty cute! At least there was a bit of quiet time for a moment. :D

The week seems to be flying by again. We have one more Saturday to ourselves before baseball practices/games start. Except for Spring Break and Memorial Day Weekend we will be at the field on Saturdays. It does help Spring go by a bit quicker and then that means summer again. Oh, what will be the plans for summer.....I do already have swim lessons in mind, Scout Day Camp for a week, Hawaii(hopefully), and a trip to see the new baby cousin that will arrive sometime at the end of July. :D

Ellie has been up since 6:45 and doesn't seem to be getting along with today. She acts tired and fussy. Oh, it makes the morning bustle a little bit tougher. I'm off to finish lunches and change a diaper and get the kids to school. This post is everywhere. It's just a bunch of random information. Oh well, that is life for me right now.

Has It Already Been A Week?????

2008-02-21T21:07:00.001-08:00

Wow, the time really flies. I guess when I stay constantly busy there is no slow time around here. Valentines was nice. The kids all enjoyed their parties and the exchange of valentines is big around here. The kids are still looking through them. Todd brought me home a rose and a kiss which was nice. I don't need a big bouquet of roses. I hate to know how much was spent on flowers that will just die in a few days. I had one of our favorite desserts...apples from Rocky Mountain. I scored with an Apple Pie and Avalanche. They were delicious!! Todd picked up pizza from a place we love and we ate together alone after the kids were in bed. It is always nice to have a quiet dinner to ourselves. I don't care if it is just in my house. I love it that way!!

We traveled north for the long holiday weekend and spent it with Aunt Nancy. She just had surgery on her shoulder and really wanted us to come up. Grandma Carol was there and so we had a great time. The kids always love to play in her cul de sac and large back yard. It was nice to do some shopping at the mall. I had exchanges and gift cards for Nordstrom from Christmas that I hadn't used up. We don't live close to one so it makes it a bit hard to use them. I did get some great smelling lotion and some lipstick which is always fun. It all worked out and we had a fabulous weekend until Monday morning when Casey got sick in the night. He threw up a couple of times in the morning but was ok to drive home that evening. We were nervous to drive just thinking who might be next. They all slept the entire way which made it a bit peaceful. Casey stayed home from school Tuesday and Wednesday literally just laying on the couch. I felt so bad to see his big eyes drooping so. He would just sleep on and off all day. Both nights he went to bed at 6:30. That definitely shows that he was really sick. He got up today and said he wanted to go to school. He looked a 100 times better and so I was ok with it. He did fine at school. He does have a cough that really gets going at night. I hope the rest of us stay well....knock on wood. I did have a minor sore throat for the last couple of mornings. That can't stop a mom, right?

Mitch had scouts the other night and had to do a short report on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. It was interesting to see how he worded the information we talked about. He did a great job and read it to the other boys. At the end he told me that he really wanted to put that you couldn't live with Jesus if you do drugs. How cute is that. :D

I was so proud of what I got done today. I felt like I had really accomplished something. I went through rubbermaid boxes in the garage of kids clothes and maternity clothes. I made piles and actually freed up some containers to be put to use somewhere else. I have a huge trash bag full of maternity clothes/2-3 yr. old boy clothes for my sister, Marilyn. I can't wait for her to have them and they be off my hands. I made another bag of clothes for a friends little boy and gave them to her. I have made more room in the garage which makes me happy. I can't wait for Marilyn to have her baby so that I can get rid of my double stroller and more baby clothes. I cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed out the truck. I have stayed on top of the laundry and so I am feeling good. I have this itch to get rid of stuff. I am sick of seeing stuff everywhere. I love the simple life.

I just got a call tonight telling me that MItch and Casey are on the same team for baseball this season. That was my request. The boys wanted to be on the same team and so I am happy. That means an easy season for us this year. YEAH!!! :D They are on the Dodgers which will be really fun for them. There are 2 boys that I know so far that are on their team from last year. This will be fun. I am getting excited for baseball to start. I love watching their games. The boys were doing cartwheels about it when I told them.

I'm wiped out tonight. The almost 3 hours of catch up homework with Casey this afternoon has pretty much exhausted me. I can't even explain how it goes. It just isn't a walk in the park. I better go do a few more things around the house before I hit the sack and while Todd is away at meetings. I will have pictures next time. There is no time to download pics.

Valentine's Eve....

2008-02-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has really been over a week since I posted last. There is enough that goes on to keep me off of the computer for sure.

The kids were working on Valentines today. Casey and Emily finished there's last week which made today a bit easier on me. Mitch still needed to do his and so he whipped them out. There were leftovers so Emily and Casey were loving the fact that they get more candy. :D I have to say...the valentines that are boxes of candy or packages of candy that have a space for the child to write the names to/from on the outside are so great. It made valentine making so much easier this year. I have been busy mentally with the kids Valentine's day parties tomorrow. I am always involved with 3 parties to remember things for. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way but it makes for a busy few days leading up to it making sure I have everything that I agreed to bring ready. I went the easy route for Emily's class and put my name down for plates and napkins. She had fun picking out the festive heart plates and napkins for her party. Casey's was easy too. The room mom asked for any donations...she is bringing in donuts and hot chocolate with whipped cream for the party. His party is first thing in the morning so donuts are perfect. Too bad I can't make it since I have to take Emily to preschool. I'm not sure what Mitty's class is doing. I have been slashed off of the list of helping ever since Ellie had fits at the last party and refused to stop screaming in the classroom. Oh well, life with little ones. I have looked at it like they are helping me out and understand how rough it can be to have 3 kids with parties always at the same time, same day so they stopped telling me or asking me to bring anything.

I have sugar cookie dough chilling as I write. The kids are going to roll out the dough and frost the heart cookies. I may try and do some chocolate dipped cookies. Ellie is down for her nap so we are good to go. We are going to make some valentine notes for each one in the family. They thought that sounded fun. Now, where do I get all of the energy to do all of this?? I am sleepy. ****THIS IS FOR MY MOM**** I got back out this morning and bit the bullet. The street was free and clear of anyone lurking. At least for this morning :D

A little bit of new info in my life. I was just called to be the Valiant 9/10 primary teacher. Mitch and 2 other boys are in that class this year. It is a good group. I'm excited and really want to make a difference for these boys. Their lessons are out of the Book of Mormon this year. It is so great and will help me so much in my own reading. I'm slacking on my 97 day challenge but I am reading so that is a bonus! These lessons aren't something that I will be able to just throw together right before church. I hope I can be a good example to these boys and teach them something. My time is up. I can't use all of my free time on the computer....darn it. :D

I am so proud of myself. I told myself in January that I wanted to be better at sending cards to family for b'days and occassions this year. I always say that I will and then I don't stay on top of it. I am 3 for 3 so far. I sent b'day cards to my brothers in January and one to my sister today (her b'day is on Monday). That is impressive for me. I even have the b'day card for my sister whose b'day is in March.

Time to get the dough rolled out and to think about dinner. Ugh!! I wish something was cooking in a crock pot right about now.

Any Ideas???/Happenings this week

2008-02-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

I need some ideas for a 40th b'day. Todd turns 40 this April and I'm trying to get some ideas of something to surprise him with. My sister and I have gone over many ideas already. I just thought I would throw it out and see if any of you have some other ideas. He has said how he does not want a party. I told him that we were doing something. I'm fine with just the two of us getting away and celebrating also. I'm trying to keep it a surprise but who knows how that will pan out. If any of you have some great ideas, please leave them in your comment or email them to me.

On another note....I feel like I am constantly working around the house, making food for children, folding clothes, needing to clean something here or there, getting a snack, getting a drink, needing to water the plants, need to organize a stack of a million papers (kids school papers), need to read my scriptures, need to have a prayer....ALONE :D I guess I feel all of these things because that is what is going on right now. I am busy, busy, busy with so many different things. There is never a dull moment of down time around here until late into the night. I am not complaining just voicing my days.

We have been working on school projects, valentines for each child's class, and homework these last two days. It is always fun to get out the valentines and watch the kids sign there names on each one. I loved the Valentine's party at school as a child. It was so exciting to see what boy gave the heart candy with the cute saying on it to you. Maybe I'm alone on this one but I doubt it. :D I am lacking in my Valentine spirit this year. I haven't done much with decorating or getting the valentine's candy out in the dish. I guess because putting candy out with my children means you would need a bag for each day to keep some in the dish. The kids eat too much if I put it out. Ellie has even picked up on the goodie corner in our kitchen. She goes to the right corner of the kitchen, reaches upward and says "cookie". She is right because they are directly above her in the cupboard. She isn't dumb!

Mitch was home today with a sore throat/headache. I had a slight feeling he was pulling my leg but what do you do. He was really acting like he felt bad this morning. I kept telling him to go to school and call me later if it didn't go away. I gave him some postum this morning in hopes that the warm drink would help it to feel better enough to get him to school. You know how sometimes your throat is scratchy in the morning but give it an hour or two and it's fine. Anyway, he grumbled a bit today when we had to go back and forth to take Emily to school and then pick her up, go and vote and then go back and pick up Casey. I told him...you made the choice to stay home...you are now on my schedule. You are along for the ride today bud. He and Emily kept each other company and watched some movies. The funny thing came when we picked Casey up from school. As we pulled into the garage, Mitch said, "Mom, my throat is all better. My head doesn't hurt either." How convenient Mitty! I told him that he still wasn't going to be playing outside and that he was missing Scouts tonight. He came in and decided to put on his jammies again. That little stinker! I knew I was being had. Oh well, my kids never miss school.

I have taken on the Hinckley Challenge of reading the Book of Mormon in 97 days. I needed that boost to get me back into it. I amazingly was able to stay awake last night at 11:45 to read my first 5 pages. I'm off to read another 5. It feels good to be gung ho about it again.

My mom said that she may be coming up this weekend. I love that kind of news. The kids get so excited about grandma coming too. It will be fun. I'm ready for a Wii tournament. :D

The Storm is Back/Random Happenings

2008-02-03T09:10:00.001-08:00

This was my view from the back yard yesterday at some point. The storm is back and it rained through the night and is wet and cold this morning. I can't wait for Spring to show it's face. :D I love the rain but also love to see some sunny, blue skies. There is something exciting about a dark sky like this....

Here are just some random pictures this week. I had to document Mitty's agenda for FHE last week. It was just so cute how he wrote it all up and followed it for our lesson. He did a great job!!

It was so great to have the kids helping with chores. They do a great job and it helps me so much. I love that about the kids getting older. Casey and Emily had great fun sorting out the darks and lights. Thanks guys!! I appreciate all of their help.

I love pictures of the kids from behind. It was so cute to see the two of them at the piano playing. Ellie loves to climb up and sit up there. She feels so big when she does it. The backpack is her new thing. She loves to wear it around and run to hear the sound it is making from the toys inside. Very cute. I can remember when each of the kids loved to wear that very backpack. We've had it around awhile.

Here is Ellie last Sunday. She is so into climbing up on any chair that is not occupied. She got up there turned around and sat down. She is so cute and fun. That was her second Sunday going into Nursery. She is doing pretty well. I was teaching Primary and so Todd took her in. He said she was good and didn't cry. :D Oh, how happy that makes us. We'll see how today goes. She has a bit of a runny nose so I'm sure I will be with her in the halls for the duration. She is good through Sacrament meeting but then needs to let some energy out. It is hard for me to sit with her through Sunday School right after sitting through Sacrament. It's been awhile since I have heard a Gospel Doctrine lesson. :D Oh well, this time of life never lasts very long. I am truly enjoying our last baby and the stages. Why rush, Sunday School will always be there. Ellie will only be little for such a short time. I learned very early on that going to church with the little ones is to show them the example of going. It is all a learning experience for them even at the young ages. I didn't expect to hear much or learn much and when I did it was a bonus!!

Last Tuesday night was Family Night at Doc Burnstien's for the kids school. It is always a fun night. The kids teachers scoop the ice cream and clean up tables for the evening. My kids love to see their friends and teachers there. It is fun for all. Todd is always up for any excuse to get ice cream. :D

Todd was home last Friday which was fun. He hasn't had a Friday off for the last month. (He gets every other Friday off but has had to work his last two, so it was nice to have him around.) We took the girls to Target and stocked up on some stuff. I bought the movie Goonies for the kids. My boys had never seen it and it was $7.50. They loved it!! They had a movie night with popcorn in my bed on Friday. All three of them under the covers with just their heads peeking out. It was pretty cute. We also took Emily to lunch. (She loves to go on little errands with us, especially lunch with dad.) Friday night was of course Todd going to pick up YC (frozen yogurt). Oh, we love that place. We were happy to have it two nights in a row. :D

Saturday (yesterday) Mitch had baseball tryouts for the Minor's. Is he really that old already?? I remember my brothers playing in the minors. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago. Todd took him along with Emily and Casey to the field. It was a 2 1/2 hour process and we'll see how it all turned out soon. Mitch loved it and I think he is really excited. Casey was invited to a b'day party at the bowling alley. Oh, how excited Casey has been to go to a party (one that is just for him to attend). He had a great time and brought home some fun prizes. It was really neat that the boy whose party it was decided he wanted to give all of the presents to needy children and so we didn't have to wrap up a gift. It was kind of nice not having to worry about that. It was nice for so many kids to see another boy do that with his presents. What a good example. I loved talkiing about it with Casey.

Did I mention how nice it was that Todd did all of the running around with the kids yesterday. He took them to the field and then took the boys to get haircuts and then took Casey to his party and picked him up and picked up our yogurt. I loved hanging around the house with just Ellie. She napped and I ran the 6.5 miles that I said I would for President Hinckley on the treadmill in my front room. Did anyone see Kristi's blog on that? Very cute idea. I did laundry and vacuumed the entire house. It was nice to do it with all of the kids out of the way. :D It goes so much faster.

Todd helped with getting our papers organized yesterday. We shredded so many uncessary papers(old bills, etc.) I love when he gets into his organizing kick. He makes such a difference and we love it after it's all said and done. Thanks!!

Now we are back to Sunday. It's raining and cold. It's so nice to have a day that I know I am not going anywhere other than church. It's such a needed break during the week. I better get going to get things ready for the day. It's a process to have this group ready even for 1:00 church.

He Did It or Should I Say "We" Did It!!!!

2008-01-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to sit down and document this wonderful event in Mitty's life as a Cub Scout. The stress was building for me throughout the day thinking oh my gosh, did we do everything right, will his car get to race (there are many requirements and rules.

So sorry about the order of the pictures. I had them in order as I wanted to tell the story but it got all jumbled up and I am lacking the energy or the patience right now to go back through and rearrange them.

To start the evening Todd took Mitty over to weigh his car..it was too.heavy. He came back and started drilling holes(we live 2 minutes from the building). It was kind of sad but definitely necessary so that Mitty could race his car and be in it. We all drove back to the church for Mitty to weigh it...still too heavy, UGH!

Th drilling began and didn't stop. You will see the holes in the bottom of his car. Pretty funny! They were waiting on us to start the derby. It finally weighed in under 5 ounces...YEAH!! Literally the whole cultural hall is waiting and listening to Todd drill holes so that we could begin the racing. There were 28 boys who were entered into the race (combining both wards). It was very fun. It is great to watch all of the kids acting so nervous before the race. All of the scouts were hovering the track (they had it well marked off so the kids would stay behind the yellow tape). The racing began and the cars were off. THe track is so official with the coolest timer ever. IT times each lane with a digital read out above the finish line so that everyone can see what they placed. They had that projected through a lap top up onto the wall so that all of the spectators could see where each child placed. It was great fun. Mitty loved every minute and would get so excited when his car would place 1st, 2nd or 3rd. His eyes told me that he couldn't believe that his car was winning races. IT was so cute and so satisfying to see him so happy with his car

After all 28 kids had raced their cars 8 times each, it was time for the awards. The other ward went first with their awards. Then they finished with our ward. We only had 6 boys representing our ward that night. The announcer got up to 2nd place and still hadn't called Mitty's name. We were so excited to hear them say that Mitchell's car had won first place. I don't think he could believe it. He kept telling me that all night. What a moment for a new cub scout to feel so important and part of the group ! I am so happy for him and was so happy when they called it out. He needed that and it has been really fun to talk about the race with him. Overall (out of the 28 cars, his placed 6th which is still really good). Since he placed 1st, he gets a chance to race his car at the District Pinewood Derby at the end of February. He's all for it and excited to do that. It was a fun night that involved each one in our family. We had a great time together building his winning car. I can't wait for the next one. Actually, the other ward is hosting a 2nd Annual pinewood derby for everyone in March. I guess anyone can build a car and have it race. We thought this would be a perfect chance for Casey to build and design a car of his very own. How fun it will be...

I am literally falling asleep as I type. This is going to have to be it for now. I hate when I wait so long to document an event. I feel like I didn't capture what the real feeling was. I have no idea if what I just wrote really makes any sense. You can see the night through my pictures. It was fun and I can't wait to do it again.

On another note....Mitch planned our FHE last night and had an agenda all written up with who was doing what and the lesson that he prepared all by himself. I took a picture of the paper because I thought it was just so cute and so grown up. (I'm too tired to get the camera and wait to download the picture:() He knew just how to conduct and run "his" meeting. I actually encouraged him to teach our lesson since it is something he can pass off in the Faith In God book in Primary. He taught us about the First Vision and he did a great job. I now wish that I had videotaped our FHE with him standing in front of all us conducting and teaching our lesson. Way to go Mitty. He showed such leadership and did it in such a grown up manner. I am very proud of him.

I'm so so so so tired tonight. Goodnight!!

Pictures from this week/Brrrrr it's cold and wet here/Pinewood Derby Day is here!!

2008-01-25T08:55:00.001-08:00

It has been dang cold and wet for the past few days. 40 degrees during the day is dang cold for me. I tried capturing the rain in some of these pictures but some didn't turn out. You can just see how gray it has been. I also had to take a picture of my flowers. They AREN'T dead!! I am so happy that they have lived as long as they have. I love looking at colorful flowers. Mom, I thought you might like to see how some have really opened up.

Here are a couple of Mitty making his pot of beans a week ago. He and Emily enjoyed being home together for the entire day.

Here are some pictures of the kids cleaning before we went to the movie on Monday. I thought I better have a picture of this so that I can show them that at one time they loved it. :D They are good helpers and I so appreciate that. Just a couple of days ago they helped and did so well with their chores. Mitch cleaned the bathroom with cleaner and wiped the mirrors, Emily cleaned the toilet with Clorox wipes completely, Emily was folding and putting away towels and just about anything (she knows where everything goes and what to do with anything), and Casey helped with folding and emptying out the dishwasher. It was wonderful to have those jobs done while I made dinner and helped with the dishes. I love working as a team. I have been trying to really point that out to the kids that when we work together it makes the work a lighter load and we get it done much faster. It was so cute to see Mitch then go into his bedroom and tell me that he was "organizing". He got the gene to know how to organize from Todd. He pulled everything out of his closet and organized their shoes, hung up his clothes by "church clothes", "button down shirts in one section", "long sleeve shirts" and jackets. He is never overwhelmed by how much stuff he is getting out and just works until it is done. He is very good about all of that. I love it and appreciate his abilities. He let Emily help him which was fun for her.

I can't really believe it is already Friday. So much has been happening this week. The pinewood derby car has been occupying much of our time and thoughts. It is drying as we speak and I can only hope it all works out tonight. Mitch is excited and I'm happy for him. I am getting nervous for the race. Oh, the competitiveness in me is coming out. I want him to win. :D We are ready to cheer him on!! Good luck Mitty.

I am hoping to accomplish some visiting teaching today before the end of the month. I made some cranberry bread and will give my sisters some pomegranate jelly as well. I need to be a better visiting teacher and do it earlier in the month. I don't want my sisters to think that I put them off until the last minute. That really isn't how I feel. I do think about it often. I am doing the best that I can and definitely hope to improve this year.

I better get to my list of "to do's" for today or else I'm going to run out of time.

-Pick up part of Scout uniform today
-Visiting teaching/drop off bread and jelly
-Mail my brother's b'day cards
-Mail another package
-Mail some bills
-Finish laundry (3-4 loads)
-Spray another coat of paint on Mitch's car
-Read my scriptures (which by the way, I have done every day...yeah for me!)
-Make brownies for Pinewood Derby tonight
-Grocery store for veggies
-vacuum house
-Wal-Mart again (I was just there yesterday, ugh!)
-Help Emily in her room

I am off to accomplish as much as I can. Have a good weekend!

I Am Feeling 100% Again....Finally :D/Weekend Recap/Took the Kids to The Movie Today

2008-01-21T08:51:00.001-08:00

I got up this morning and went to go work out. I felt completely back to normal. I could do my normal routine with ease. I think I take for granted a healthy, well body most of the time. It feels so good to feel well with energy. :D

We had a fun weekend. Not really any major events but just a fun, relaxing weekend. Mitch stayed home on Friday because his stomach kept bothering him. It never developed into anything but we had a fun day. I took the opportunity to open up his Scout book and do some things with him. He, Emily and I played Eagle golf as a game together. He had fun keeping score,gathering the can and playing. I enjoyed spending the time with him. He brought it up that he wanted to make dinner so that he could sign off another requirement. He asked if I knew how to make a pot of beans from the dry beans. Sure, I do. That is what he picked and so we made it. I let him do it all. He washed the beans, put them in a pot of water, cut up the onion, the jalapeno and added some spices. He kept the water level high enough throughout the 5 hour process. He did a great job and even helped do the dishes after(that was part of the pass off). It was a fun time just spending the one on one time with him while Casey was at school. I was happy to have that time with Mitty. As I would with Casey when he is here alone.

He and Todd worked on his pinewood derby car all day Saturday. Emily and Ellie were invited to a little girls party this weekend so we spent time at the party on Saturday which was fun. Emily was so excited to go to a party that her brother's weren't invited to. :D The boys were here with Dad hitting the hardware store, the hobby shop store for all of the supplies needed to make this car win. Oh, it's so fun. I'm getting excited for the race. As the car's shape was taking shape it was fun for me to keep weighing it to see where we were at. Todd was out in the garage until 9:15 sanding and putting weights in it. Mitch had long gone to bed. Todd is having fun and getting into it. He just told me how nobody helped him when he was a scout doing his car. He was left to do it all by himself. His dad didn't help with any of that. Sore subject for me and I'm sure Todd. He has gotten over it but has made it a must to be involved with his children. Boy, he gets the gold medal for that. He is a wonderful help and so involved with each one. I am blessed to have him. He is really getting into the car and trying to make it so the car can be competitive for Mitty. I am happy that they are doing this project together. Mitty is excited and looking forward to dad getting home so that they can work on it some more. The boys keep saying in their prayers at night to help Mitty with his pinewood derby car and help him to have a good time at the race on Friday. It is pretty cute. I love that Casey remembers everyone in his prayer. They are excited!! This has been a fun experience.
:D

Today was a holiday and the kids were home. It was nice. It worked out perfectly for me to take dinner to a friend who just had her gallbladder removed. I took her sour cream/chicken enchilada casserole, salad, beans, bag of tortilla chips and some yummy dessert. I was happy to do it and it all worked out just great. We even were able to visit for an hour while her older son went out and played with my kids in the car. Thanks. Well, it did help that every child was equipped with their DS (Ninetendo DS) even her 16 year old boy. :D

I had promised the kids that I would take them to a movie today if they didn't fight with each other yesterday. They were good for me and even helped with chores this morning...folded clothes & put them away, vacuumed the dining, living and family room. I think they even did their own room. Mitch made his and Casey's bed. It was so nice to have the help. I was more than happy to take them to a movie. We saw Alvin & The Chipmunks. The kids loved it. It was cute. Thank goodness for all of the snacks/lunch that I brought for the kids to eat while watching. I had just enough to keep Ellie almost content. I was counting on her taking her nap. Yeah right. She did ok. It was squirmy wormy for sure. She had her fair helping of M&M's I'll say. :D Those clementine (Cuties) are so perfect for my kids. Ellie just gobbles those things up and they are so easy for me to have in my bag. The kids kept telling me how much fun they had. It was a good day!! Now, I am off to make dinner. I will post the pictures later since I don't have the time to sit and download them right now. I'll be back.

I'm Feeling The Pressure....

2008-01-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

Oh how I'm feeling the pressure of Scouts and this Pinewood Derby. Mitch just got his car on Tuesday night and the Pinewood Derby is next Friday. Todd has had meetings for church the last 2 nights and so we haven't been able to work on it. When I'm by myself at night there just isn't time for me to sit down with Mitch alone and work on his car. I have never done this before and really want it to be fun for Mitty. I am not the parent who feels the pressure to make it myself in hopes for it to take 1st place and have him win the big prize. I want him to learn and do most of it on his own. I want it to be "his car" not mine or Todd's. He is fine with that and very enthusiastic about doing it. Mitch and Todd will have to work overtime this weekend on it and get most of it done. It's just hard to do those extra projects during the week when I have all of the little ones and two of the four have homework each night.

I feel the pressure of needing to work on his passing off different requirements in his scout book all of the time. I want him to get his Eagle at an early age. I know what usually can happen after 15 years old....the hot topic isn't scouting. And then there is the Faith In God program at church that I feel we are needing to be working on. I guess I should just make that a Sunday deal. Oh a mother's work is never done. I feel it is me and my job to strike up his interest on all of these things and really have him working on it all. He really loves scouts and wants to do everything. I am thankful for that. I need to set time out each week that we work on the Faith in God and then another time to work on Scouts. I believe in these programs and know they are very good things for Mitch to be working on. There is really so much that is learned through Scouts. I am excited about doing it all with my boys. I just can't wait for this week to pass because then the car will be done and we will be on our way to the race.

Cute Conversations with the Kids

2008-01-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

The conversation I had with the kids on the way home from school yesterday was pretty funny to me. Emily has a music teacher that is a black woman and she teaches music at the boys elementary school as well. Emily doesn't seem to care for her because she plays the music soooooooo lllllloooooooouuuuuuuudddddddd. She does get a bit into it. All of my kids have been sensitive to noise. It's the darndest thing. Anyway, Casey proceeds to tell Emily that he doesn't think it is the same teacher that he has at his school. I said, "Oh, she is the same teacher." I went on to say that she has dark skin and is a black woman. Casey said, "Yes, she is African American." And Mitty added, "And she celebrates Kwanza." Emily ended it with, "She has realllllllllllllllyyyyyyy dark skin." I couldn't help but laugh as I looked the other way. They don't understand why that is funny to me.

At the dinner table last night Casey asked Todd, "Dad, did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in love with Rosa Parks?" I couldn't help but start cracking up along with Todd. They have been talking a lot about him this week and who knows how each child is interpreting the information. I thought that was cute. Todd told Casey about the situation with Rosa Parks and Casey said, "I know, we learned that story."

Today has been low key. I was able to get a bunch of things done around the house last night while Todd was at church meetings so this morning I didn't have too much to do. I watered some flowers and I read another few chapters in D&C (I'm sticking to my goal. :D It's only been 2 days. I worked out this morning and am feeling better. I'm still not completely back to feeling like what I was doing before I got sick. I folded and put away some laundry and straightened up the morning mess. Anyway, I think I am running to the store before I pick up the boys from school. 2 kids at the store is a lot easier than all 4. This isn't working to have Ellie climbing all over the chair by me and bringing me Nesquick and saying "drink". I gotta run. :D

Cute Pictures/Goals for 2008

2008-01-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

The boys were laughing so hard I had to capture their happiness. They were laughing because Ellie wouldn't move or change expressions. She had climbed up all by herself and was just sitting there. Ellie girl was in a trance. :D

She had climbed into the basket and looked pretty cute. She was quickly not appreciating my picture taking. I think she wanted out in a hurry.

I love to just capture a cute look or pose. I was trying. She looked so cute with her hands on her knees.

I love this shot of Ellie from behind looking out at the rain. Her cute little legs that are so dang short. She is such a fun little girl.

And for my goal.....I am going to read the Doctrine and Covenants. I started out this morning on a good note...worked out and read my scriptures. Have I mentioned how I just love the quiet house in the morning before the kids get up? :D I can think and get my day started on the right foot just having a few alone minutes in the morning in the house.

I really do hate making the list of goals at the beginning of the year. I always wonder why it takes the beginning of a new year to set a goal. I do have many things I would like to improve on this year. Here goes the list.....

-Spend more fun time with the kids
-Read the Doctrine & Covenants
-Read the Book of Mormon together with the family
-Personal prayer every day...(this is a hard one for me)
-Be patient with my family. Why is it so much easier with friends and strangers?
-Be more calm with the kids which means to be a bit more organized with my schedule
-Continue my early morning workout schedule
-Continue counting points (10 years and counting :D) I can't believe it. WW is the best and works!!!
-Read the book Mothers of the Prophets (I think I started last January and never finished)
-I want to give my children fun memories that they can look back on for years to come and enjoy. :D

My mind is drawing a blank on anything else but I know there is more that I would like to work on. I do hope for a good year. There are many things that I will engage in with the kids that will be fun....baseball season fast approaching, working with Mitty in Scouts, swim lessons, summer vacation, Emily will start Kindergarten, and I'm sure much much more.

Time is ticking away and I better get the kids up. The rush is about to start.......

What Was I Thinking??

2008-01-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

I got up bright and early this morning with big plans to workout and start off my day on the right foot. I was dying to get back to the gym since I stayed away for a week. I got over there and was doing my workout and definitely feeling weaker than usual. I could barely do 30 minutes of aerobic and had to leave. I was so dizzy and my stomach was feeling so upset like I was going to throw up. It was awful. I came back home earlier than usual to iron a pair of pants for Todd and then climb back into bed for another 45 minutes before the kids needed to get up. My body is not ready for a full workout yet as I found out. I guess I better stick to some easy walking.

I got the boys off to school this morning. Casey was excited to be going back. It will be nice to not hear some of the silly fights that go on when they are playing the Wii. I hope for today to be low key here with the girls. I do need to return some things from Christmas but not sure if that is on my agenda today or not.

Another bummer is that I washed Todd's cell phone. He put his jeans in a pile that I had ready to put in the laundry last night and without checking the pockets I threw them in. Sure enough when I went to change the loads this morning there it was sitting on the bottom. I'm going to try and dry it all out and see if it will work. Todd will be so happy if it doesn't work since he has been wanting a new phone.

The Sick Bug is Bugging Now

2008-01-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to feel 100% yet. I just feel sluggish and a bit swimmy in the head today. My eyes don 't want to concentrate on anything and I just seem to move slowly. Ellie has a bad cough and runny nose. Todd is just beginning to feel better....thank goodness. He was hit the hardest this week. He literally has been in bed for a week. I hate when we all don't feel good. Mitch complained again yesterday of his head hurting and his eyes aching. Poor kid. I hate for the kids to have to feel the achy stuff. He seems to be better today but just lounging around.

Emily did not want to miss church again today so a friend was willing to take her. She is the only one at church representing our family today. So cute. She looked so precious in her new dress. She is so excited about being in the CTR 5 class. The kids haven't been to church yet this year so she was really wanting to go. I am excited to hear how it went. She is a good girl and I never have to worry about her behavior. I'm just excited for her that she gets to go be in the big girl class. She told me last week that she just wanted to go to church. Too cute!! I love that the kids love their classes and want to go. Could I ask for anything more? :D

I have managed to keep the laundry going this week so it isn't a pile up today. I want things to be ready for the kids and myself to start school bright and early tomorrow morning. I think the kids are ready to go back. I don't know why the break is 3 weeks but it has been nice not to have to rush back into the school routine right after the Christmas rush. The vacation from all activities was totally needed. I sure enjoyed it. The computer is hurting my eyes so I'm off to go listen to some food network.

Ellie is 18 months old :D

2008-01-12T01:32:00.000-08:00

My baby is 18 months old. Where did the time go?? This is the age I would normally be saying ahhhh, we need to have another one. No, that is not how I feel this time. We are done and definitely feel complete with our 4 little ones.

I took Ellie to her well check today. She is growing like a sweet pea. She weighed in at 22 lbs. 13 oz. and is 301/2 " long. She stays right in the 25th percentile on the growth charts. That's generally where my kids stay. I think Casey is in the 10th percentile. I have small children. Anyway, Ellie isn't so fond of the dr. checking her out. She does not like it and shed a few tears over it as well. She did have to have one small shot...she didn't do too bad.

Ellie is on her 3rd cold since Thanksgiving. It's quite the bummer. Just when her runny nose clears up and seems to be gone, she comes down with another one. Poor wittle girl. With Todd and I being sick this week, she was bound to come down with another cold. She has a cough and a really bad runny nose. She wouldn't eat anything tonight and just wanted to lay on our shoulders. She is the best little trooper I will say. It doesn't matter how many colds or how stuffed up she is, she will always sleep through the night. I have definitely been blessed.

Ellie is such a sweet baby girl. She is such a mellow baby and goes with the flow. I always say well, she has to, she is the 4th baby. She has such a sweet personality. She loves to play with all of the kids. It's cute to find her in her room just playing with toys or sitting by the book shelf pulling them all off to look through each one. I'm not sure if it is just because she is the last baby but everything she does is cute. She never fusses or puts up a fight on anything. It's cute to watch her get out her glass and put it up to the frige to try and get water out just like the others. She just wants to be a big girl. :D I love the smile that she gives in the morning when she sees me getting her a banana. Her nose wrinkles up and her grin is ear to ear. Something funny about her is that she will always bite off the pointy end of the banana first before turning it back around and finishing it. It's pretty cute. Lately, she feels like such a big girl sitting on the piano bench playing all by herself. Also, it has been cute to find her climbing up into the chair of the kids desk playing with the "My First Leap Pad" by herself. Oh boy, does she feel like a big girl.

She isn't a huge talker but will say such cute words...doggie, baby, mommy, daddy, crackie (cracker), drink, cookie, biper (diaper), kitty and sockies. I love to hear her sweet voice. It's so cute to watch her try and say a new word. She might not say much but can understand everything that we are saying. If we ask her to put something in the trash, she takes it right to the trash. Same with asking her to get a diaper...she goes right to it. She is so precious.

She has the grandma Carol small feet gene. it's pretty cute. Grandma Carol laughs about it but feels bad for her. I guess she knows how hard it has been to find shoes. Todd's mom has the smallest feet. She wears a size 3 shoe. She can buy her shoes in the kids section at Nordstrom. Hey, there are a few perks...they are cheaper sometimes. Anyways, Ellie's feet don't grow too quickly. She is barely wearing a size 5. All of my kids wore a size 4 when they started walking at 11/12 months. Not this little one. At that age she could put on a size 2...isn't that a crib shoe pretty much? :D I just bought new shoes for Ellie and the 5's are a hare big but I couldn't go smaller because of the thickness in her foot. So precious. Her little feet are too cute. At least I think it's cute.

Ellie is a joy to have. She is such a fun little girl with a sweet personality. I have no complaints and I hope to keep it that way. :D All of the kids love playing with her and taking care of her. It's pretty cute to watch. Emily has had fun playing with her too. I am blessed to have such good children and healthy ones too. I am so happy to have her in our family. She brings a lot of joy to each one of us.

Feeling Better...I now have the cleaning bug :D

2008-01-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

Today I do feel better. My body is not so achy. Last night was pretty rough trying to get comfortable so that I could sleep. I think Todd and I both were up so much through the night. We both got sick on Sunday morning. Todd had the fever and a cough and I had the aches with a bad headache. Todd has been home yesterday and today. After being in bed for 12 hours last night I felt good enough to get out of bed this morning and start disinfecting the rooms and wash bedding. It feels good to see things getting cleaned. The boys have helped by cleaning their rooms.

I hope I don't pay this evening for all of my cleaning today. You know how it can be when you think you are well and then boom you feel awful come evening. It has been nice not having a school schedule to keep up with while feeling sick. The kids don't go back until the 14th. I better keep plugging away at the house and keep the laundry going.

Major Catch Up...Christmas, Mom's 60th B'day, New Years, Vacation, Rose Bowl

2008-01-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

More pictures I couldn't resist putting on. They were just too cute.

So sorry.....I wrote it all backwards. There is no changing it after all of that. Christmas Eve starts at the bottom of this post and then work your way up. I'm under the weather...that is my excuse. :Dhaha

We stayed on into New Year's and had a great time New Year's Eve with my family at Todd's parents house. His parents had gone up to San Francisco for New Year's so we had their house to ourselves. My parents, Barbie and Jim, Mike and Danny and Todd and I hung out and had Claim Jumper for dinner and snacked on dips, chips, guac, cookies and most importantly watched Robbie Madison make the big jump in Vegas ( kind of an inside joke). We had fun with all of the tv programs on that night. I love that Mike and Danny were up to hanging out with us. I had a great time with all of you.

The next day Todd and I went to the Rose Bowl game. USC played Illinois and cleaned their clock. It was an awesome game and we had a great time together. We don't get out by ourselves too often and so it was nice to be alone. ( I guess we weren't alone as we sat there with 95,000 other fans :D) Thanks to mom and dad for watching the kids and to Amy for helping too.

We left to come home on Wednesday evening and made it back in 3 hours. I love traveling at night. The kids just go to sleep and so did I. :D Casey had a bought of car sickness but after that we were good to go. He was watching a movie with his laying down sideways in his pillow. He is so sensitive to car sickness that it just did him in. Thank goodness I had a plastic container that we used just in case but he made it until we pulled off of the freeway and he was able to get out and throw up. Sorry for the details. He got back in and went right to sleep. Poor Casey. I feel bad when it happens. He at least knows to tell us now.

Carol and JIm were here on Friday and Saturday on their way back home. It was fun to be with them and visit. The kids love grandparents and visitors to come. This morning Todd and I woke up to being sick. Mine is the body aches and Todd has a fever. It's bad but I figured this was my chance to get all of this holiday documented while I wasn't up to doing much else. We were here on the couch today. Emily kept telling me how she wished she could have gone to church. How cute is that. She knows she is changing classes and going into the older class now. Which reminds me that Mitch will be in Senior primary now. Where has the time gone?? I can't belive that. Before I know it he will be passing the sacrament. I can only hope that tomorrow brings about better health. I am feeling better tonight. I hope the kids don't get sick. They had all of the colds/coughs so hopefully we're good. I better go get some rest. This post has taken me forever to write but I had to post about so many events.

My mom's 60th b'day was really fun. We traveled down to be with my mom for her b'day and to go to the USC game(Rose Bowl) on New Year's day. We had the party at Marilyn's house and had mexican food brought in. The food was great and the company was even better. Amie and her family, Dede and her family, and their dad came to celebrate with us. It was so much fun to see all of them. We missed you Peggy and Becca. The picture of the quilt is what Peggy gave to my mom. It is gorgeous and she loves it. It was a great evening and I think my mom had a wonderful time. It was great that even Grammy, my mom's mom, was able to come. She loved seeing everyone.

Here is a picture of our Christmas dinner. We made beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and topped it with a boat load supply of See's chocolate. I broke down and let the kids enjoy my crystal glasses. I want my kids to remember the fun of drinking out of mom's nice glasses. I figure what good are the glasses if we never get them out and use them. I usually get them out on holidays but I wanted the kids to be able to have a nice glass too. They loved the sparkling grape juice especially out of the "fancy" glasses. The day was filled with memories and fun times.

More Christmas pictures...Ellie was so adorable in Casey's beanie and her new red shoes. She loved her red shoes. Too bad they were just a bit too small and we couldn't get the right size so another pair worked out just fine. They are darn cute. Some hit items this year are the Wii, Razor Ripsticks, Barbie dolls, Ellie's laptop, darling dresses from Nancy, clothes for all, Nintendo DS lite, a purple Razor for Em, a ride on toy for Ellie (she absolutely won't get on it), jackets, beanies, and more toys. We have all enjoyed the Wii. It is the best!! I was sweating playing baseball with the kids. It is great for all ages. We even had Grandma Carol and Poppy playing bowling the other night. Jim even made a comment..."Carol, maybe we should get this." They had fun.

Here are pictures from Christmas day.... Grandma Carol made a quilt for each child. The kids loved it! We had a nice day together. All in all Santa was good to each of us.

These are pictures of Christmas Eve. We had fun together as a family. We read in Luke Chapter 2 and each of the boys took turns reading the scriptures. It was really cute to see them so excited about it. I let it be there little presentation for us. We sang Christmas songs and had hot chocolate. Nancy, Todd's aunt, came to stay for 5 days and spent Christmas with us. We had a nice evening. The kids enjoyed putting the gingerbread house together. I can't even remember what we did for dinner. I guess that wasn't important. :D

I hate when so much time has passed and I have to recap. I forget so many things.

SCHOOL IS OUT......AHHH FOR 3 WEEKS!

2007-12-21T16:02:00.001-08:00

Well, today was the last day of school before Christmas break. I did get a bunch done while Todd kept the girls at home. Oh boy, what do I do with the kids for 3 weeks. Thank goodness for our little trip that will help in entertaining them.

Casey enjoyed wearing his pajamas for Pajama day today. Mitch was a bit too worried and embarrassed to wear his pajamas. He said, how will I do PE in pajamas. He worries about things not being right. Casey, on the other hand, had his pajamas set out last night next to his bed to put on this morning. They both had fun at their holiday parties and came home with a bunch of loot. They made such cute ornaments for the tree. I love that each one made an ornament with their picture on it. These are the ornaments I will love to look at 20 years down the road when I am still putting them up on our tree. The kids are ready for Christmas, that's for sure. I think we will do the gingerbread house this evening or tomorrow.

I have a few more items to get but for the most part, I am done. It's nice to be done and know that I will not have to hit the post office another time before Christmas.

I better go and fold the mass amounts of laundry that have been screaming at me since earlier this week. UGH!!

Busy Week, Busy Month. Good Mail,December Activities

2007-12-18T05:48:00.000-08:00

I am still alive.......barely. This month has been a whirlwind for sure and it's not over yet. Here are a few photos to document life around here.

Here is the gift I came away with at our annual ward Christmas ornament exchange party. It is so fun and I just love the plate. It was so fitting for me and my house. I love to bake the cookies and the family loves to eat them :D.

Thanks Becca!! Here is some good mail that I got yesterday. How sweet of Becca to send me such cute surprises. It was so fun to open up a package before Christmas.

Here is our Christmas tree. I think Casey took this shot. We have many pictures of our tree this year :D. The kids love to take photos of it. It is still alive. I am happy about that. I love having a Christmas tree. There is just something about the soft glow of the lights on a tree at night that is just magical. I love Christmas time and all that goes with it. The hot chocolate, the music 24/7, the shopping, the secrets, the food, the treats and the anticipation that the kids all have.

Here is a picture of what we did on Sunday night. The bishop invited our family over to join in their annual Christmas sing along/ egg nog taste testing party. It was so much fun and such a nice party. Their tradition is to go around the room starting with youngest to oldest and pick a favorite Christmas song. We all sing the song and then the person gets to go light a candle. They told me this is a Scandanavian tradition. The bishop started by reading out of Luke which was nice and then the singing began. We had a great time and found a new tradition that we will do in our family. The kids enjoyed and sang right along with everyone. There was another family from our ward there as well so it was a good group. The egg nog taste testing was serious. They mean business. Very fun idea/tradition.

Here is what we did on Monday evening....went to see Santa at his house. I love it up here. There was no wait in line and all I had to spend was $5.00 to get a 5x7 picture of me and the kids with Santa. There are many bonuses to living in a smaller city.

Life has been extremely busy this month with so much going on and so much to get done that I feel I haven't been able to document my feelings of each activity the way I would have liked. Oh well, there will be a day when I have too much time on my hands I'm sure. Some of the activities this month that have kept me busy.......

-Relief Society Christmas Dinner - very nice. Todd joined me since the Bishopric was invited. It was really nice.
-Ward Christmas Dinner - made treats for.
-Emily's Preschool Singing Program
-Emily's Christmas party - made Sugar cookies
-Scouts
-Tithing Settlement
-Casey's party-Friday - bringing Orange Juice
-Christmas cards/Addressing and mailing
-Shopping, shopping and more shopping
-Making toffee and distributing to friends/teachers
-Trying to keep up on laundry. It's the folding/putting away that is killing me.
-Keeping Ellie from pulling down the ornaments that I thought she wouldn't reach.
-Helped a friend clean her house. It was an answer to my prayer. It was a really neat experience. I had asked in my morning prayer that if there was anyone that I could be of service to that I would know who and what I could do. My friend tried calling that day but wasn't able to get through to me. She called the following day and asked if I would come over and give her support and help her out in her house. I was so happy that she would call and ask and was more than happy to go and help her. In return, I was able to wash a huge blanket in her new front loading washer/dryer while I cleaned. It felt good to help another sister. :D
-Cleaning
-Working Out

I forgot to mention that our other addition to the house is a piano...not another baby. I have so enjoyed sitting down and playing. It is so fun to practice and practice and hear yourself get a little bit better each time.

THINGS I STILL HAVE TO DO IN DECEMBER:

-shopping - just a few more things. Does it ever end?? :D I love buying gifts.
-One more batch of toffee
-Dr.'s appt. tomorrow
-tons of wrapping
-clean house again and again and again
-pack up my family for our trip
-travel down South after Christmas to be with family for Mom's 60th b'day, New Years Eve and go to the USC game at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. I am looking forward to the little vacation.

I better post this since I started it a few days ago. I will try and post as I go so there isn't so much to catch up on. I have just refused to stay up way late to blog since I get up so early in the morning.

Christmas Tree Outing

2007-12-09T22:46:00.000-08:00

Why do I have the hardest time coming up with a cute title?? I hate that. Saturday night we put the kids in the car and were off to get a tree. Our drive to Home Depot is about 15 miles on the freeway and so naturally, Emily was out cold. It was nice for Todd and the boys to get out and pick out our tree. I think this is the first year since we have been married that I haven't walked on the tree lot and helped to pick out our tree. I was ok with it since the temp was reading 45 degrees. Em stayed asleep and the guys picked one out pretty quickly. We were off to run a couple of other errands and then stopped by Del Taco for dinner. It's great to feed a family of 6 for only $10.00. By the time we got home, the kids hit the sack and Todd brought in the tree. I love how much the kids get into picking out the tree and having to watch dad tie it on the top of the truck.

There was just enough time for Todd to go get YC (frozen yogurt) before they closed. :D I got on the treadmill while he made the run. It is so nice to have a treadmill right in the house. I will post about our newest additions to the home tomorrow....

This evening, once Todd got home from Sunday meetings, we had dinner and then decorated the tree. The kids just have a ball. I let them do it all. This year I didn't care how they were situated on the tree if it was even with one side or another. We all put ornaments on where we thought looked good and everyone was happy. They just love to put the ornaments on. I read the boys a Christmas story and then Mitch thanked me for such a fun night decorating the tree. I love that he is that way. He thanks us for things like that all of the time. I'm glad I am creating memories for them to remember forever. The ornaments are pretty much on the upper part of the tree. Miss Ellie Jayne girl loves to touch but has been pretty good about just looking and not pulling them off. I know it's coming. I'm sure tomorrow will be a different story. My eyes are tired and it's way passed my bedtime.

MY EMAIL :D

2007-12-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Here is my email address....stephiesmith@sbcglobal.net

Thanks for responding!! We are planning on getting out in the morning to attempt another photo shoot with the kids. Hopefully, while they are happy first thing in the morning. Emily and Ellie were in bed asleep by 7pm tonight so I can only hope Emily will be in good spirits for a picture.

I NEED ADDRESSES!!/Attempted pictures for our Christmas card...

2007-12-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESS FOR CHRISTMAS CARD PURPOSES!! THANK YOU!

I attempted to take pictures this afternoon for our Christmas card. Why do I even try?? It was awful as usual. I always walk away from the scene so frustrated and angry inside. I'm not sure I can attempt another day at it. I may have to make one of the 40 shots work. Ellie was so grumpy, Casey and Emily kept looking to the side or away from the camera, and Mitty was great. Oh, it was frustrating. Now, I have a blistering headache and I still have a pack meeting with these kids to endure this evening. Wish me luck. I'm off to start dinner and get the boys under control.

Recap of Times Gone By/ Good Times :D

2007-12-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind in posting my pics. There is so much going on and I have really kept busy pretty much for the last month. I will start with the most current and work my way back. My mom and dad came up last Thursday night to stay with us for a few days. They came to watch our kids while we attended a commemoration day for the temple on Saturday, Dec. 1st. Todd and I both went. Our Stake had been planning this day for a year. The temple extended the invitation to our stake since the 50th anniversary of the LA Temple was last year. It was about a 12 hour trip all said and done once we got back. It makes for a long day but worth every minute of being in the temple together. Thanks mom and dad for making it possible!!! Two of the wards in our stake did an endowment session together and then our entire Stake met together in the Solemn Assembly room for an hour. The temple president and his wife spoke and our Stake President. It was incredible to hear that many people singing The Spirit of God together in the temple. If your testimony was wavering at all, it sure wasn't after that. The stories the Temple President spoke of about the temple were so neat. Many facts about the dedication of the temple 51 years ago were spoke of. Many interesting bits of information that the different prophets of that time spoke of and prophesied. That temple is for us today in so many ways. The prophets knew that the LA temple had to be that big. It is the largest one of this dispensation. I wish I could get there more often. One of my 2008 goals will definitely be going to the temple more often. It is where I want to be as often as I can. The blessings that come from being there and doing the work of the Lord are tremendous. I don't want to miss out on any blessings. I know there are so many people on the other side just waiting for their work to be done. I don't want to make them wait any longer. It was a wonderful experience! I enjoyed being there with so many friends. It was so neat to see so many people that we knew in there with us. It was a little glimpse of heaven that really made me feel happy.

My mom and dad came up on Thursday night and so Friday we were able to do some work out in the yard. I had done a bunch of work prior to them getting there but my mom helped me plant the rest of the flowers that were waiting and some camilias trees/bushes that look so pretty. My dad broke up all of the nasty roots of some really ugly plants that were in our yard. It was so nice to get all of that bagged up and in the back of his truck. Our green waste bin is way too small for what all we had to put in. My dad hauled back the bags to his dumpster. Thanks Dad!! I sure hope your back isn't killing you. We made it look so much better and that makes me so happy when I look out the back windows.

I love this picture of Emily and Grandpa. She had to be right there with him helping with her shovel, rake and especially had to be wearing her gloves. That's my girl. She just loves Grandpa :D

My mom really did a number on the front but I haven't taken a picture yet. She did a wonderful job and I appreciate that so much!! It looks good. I sure hope I don't kill everything off.

We took a break from out in the yard with a good lunch at Taco Loco and a little ice cream from Doc Burnsteins. Emily was in heaven with it just being her and Ellie with me, grandma and grandpa.

Ellie was loving the ice cream and couldn't get enough.

While my mom was busy planting some tree/bushes, Emily and I did some housework. Well, more like laundry. I came out to the washer and dryer and found this little worker. She can do everything. She had the washer emptied and the clothes put into the dryer by the time I brought out another sorted load. Thanks Em for doing so much to help. There isn't anything that you can't do. She is so able. I love it!!

Here are some random pictures of Ellie in the refrigerator and the kids being goofy with Grandpa. Note: Emily's pajama's. She loves to wear her brothers jammies. I find it cute that she wants to do so much of what she sees them doing. When my dad comes to visit, Emily usually finds her perch right on his lap and can sit there for hours telling him stuff and playing games on his cell phone.

My parents went to leave on Sunday afternoon and there truck wouldn't start. Oh darn, they have to stay another night. That made Mitty's year. He was so excited. He kept saying, "this is the best day of my life" or this is the most awesome-ist day of my life." He was jumping up onto my dad hugging him. It was pretty cute. Mitty doesn't like good-byes and asks me all of the time why we have to live so far away from our family and cousins. It's sad since we lived so close at one time. The kids were happy and so was I. I love having family here. My brothers called later that night and said that they would come up and help my dad put in a new fuel pump since that is what they thought it was. They left right away and were up here by 10:00. It was so fun to have us all together again. The kids just love my brothers and were making sure they got their autographs before they left. Too funny!! Danny entertained us with the guitar. He is good. At one point, he had the kids sitting on the couch quietly, listening to him play some chords. Danny, I need you around more often. We had a great time with everyone. I had to bust out a batch of molasses cookies per their request before they left. I enjoyed having everyone here. Let's do it again soon!!

I better finish this post up in another post....it is getting too long. I need to get the kids ready for today. Emily is going on a fieldtrip to the tree farm today. She is so excited to ride the bus. How cute is that! Good day to all.