Daily Happenings/Great Book

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?????

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....

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

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

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!!!!

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!!

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

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....

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

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

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??

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

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

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

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

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.