It is my duty to provide entertainment here right?

Well this has provided a good hour of entertainment for me today so I thought I would share.

Check this out! Here my family has been elfed! Here is an even funnier one! And a big thanks to the big elf and his family! Here is his elfed family! And while we are at it we might as well elf the entire neighborhood!


I can't stop laughing!

What do you do when your 4 year old needs to burn off energy?

You give him a hammer and tell him "Here knock down this wall. K? When your done take out the floor too." No really! I have the photographic evidence to prove it! See...

The best part is that he got the whole wall down and really did start on the floor in less than 30 minutes! HE LOVED IT!

Oh yea, we are remodeling our bathroom so his daddy won't even be mad when he gets home from work. Well, maybe a little sad that there is less for him to hit out. :)

What are the kids up to?

Little Dude has really been trying to control himself and his temper. He still has his moments, but he is doing SO much better. I have been VERY proud of him lately. We have started giving the kids 5 chores to do every day. Dude has been very good at trying to accomplish these things. The other day he did a handful of things that I told him that I wanted him to help me with ALL BY HIMSELF WITHOUT ME ASKING TWICE! Amazing! Really! He unloaded and then loaded the dishwasher. He washed the mirror in the bathroom, he cleaned his brother's room and his own room. Then yesterday I was doing laundry all day and he took it upon himself to change the laundry over. He unloaded the dryer then put the wet clothes in. He even put the two dryer sheets in and started it. I knew what he was up to but stood in the other room and just listened. He was so proud of himself that he knew what to do and was even showing his sister how to do it. When I walked in I noticed he even had another load of dirty clothes waiting to load into the washer. I was so touched that he did this and I hadn't even expected him to do it. More importantly I was shocked that he knew how to do it correctly. It is amazing what they really do pay attention to and learn from just watching me. Then to top off the day he helped his sister get scrubbed, out of the bath, dried off, dressed, and even combed out her hair while I was gone to Young Women's and Daddy was super sick on the couch. I can't express to him enough how proud I am of him!!!

Princess has been busy learning her routine for her gymnastics show in a few weeks. She absolutely LOVES gymnastics! She dances, hops, and rolls all over the house. Not to mention the handstands she does next to EVERYTHING. I think it is very funny to watch her! She is super flexible! She has always loved to sing, but after we went and saw a play at the High School, she has been performing. She tells me that when she gets big she wants to be on stage and she wants to sing and dance. No surprise to me, she loves to be loud and the center of attention. She makes up her own songs and will make sure that I sit and listen to all 5 minutes of it. She makes me laugh!

The baby is getting so big! He is 8 months old today! He has 1 tooth and 1 more almost in. He can roll over FINALLY and will probably learn to crawl once the other two learn to leave him alone when he is playing on the floor. He LOVES to eat his least favorite is peaches. He will eat anything else though. His favorite toy is the remote control. We had to give him his own because he will do everything he can to get one in his hand. We are working on him going to sleep in his bed instead of being rocked to sleep. Yesterday he cried in his crib for about 45 minutes while I rubbed his back and his face and tried to get him to sleep. I felt really bad for him. He is VERY MUCH a mamma's boy and I knew that he just wanted to cuddle. So I got the idea to take my t-shirt that I wore to bed the night before and put it next to him so he could maybe feel like I was next to him. Wouldn't you know that he put both arms around that old dang t-shirt and fell right to sleep! Mamma's Boy FOR SURE! It was cute though, and he took the longest nap he has had in over a week!

Well that is about it for what the kids are up to! Things have been much better around here and I am really proud of all of my kids! I love them dearly and I am so happy that I have the opportunity to learn and grow with them.

My new workout routine.

Arms: Other than lugging around a heavy baby and car seat all the time I have found a great new workout for my arms. It has started off by a few hours (I will not say exactly how many hours) playing Guitar Hero III for my new Wii. Then a little while of boxing and baseball and topping it off with Donkey Kong.

Leggs: Dance Dance Revolution of course! Rockin' on Guitar Hero for long amounts of time does good for the calves too!

Every workout needs cardio right? Well Dance Dance revolution has a workout mode on it....nuf said.

So as you can see our Christmas presents came early and we are LOVING our new Wii! Talk to me in a few months to see if this routine actually works! I guess that I will have lay off the Christmas goodies though. OR I can add a few more hours of Guitar Hero each day!

I miss him....

Life in the past few weeks have been really rough, I am not going to lie. I realized what everyone was saying to me about setting too many goals was right. I still want to work on all those things, but a bigger and more important issue came up.

See my little dude? He has been a big trial of mine in the last couple of weeks. There really isn't a need to get into all that has been the problem because we could be here all night. It isn't important because he is four and we are just alike, bad tempers and all. What is important though is that he has been at his at his grandma's and grandpa's house all weekend (because they thought that we needed a break from each other) and all that I have been able to think about today is how much I love him.

Four and a half years ago I could look into his eyes and make him smile. We slept in "our" chair every night because he just wanted to be held. I would sing to him to calm him down and every touch was so soft and so sweet. It hurt SO bad to leave him every day and go to work. I couldn't ever bare to be away from him for very long.

Today the quiet and sweet moments almost never happen. Lately it has been nothing but a battle of wills between us. But in the moments that he will sit next to me and twist my hair, or climb into my bed in the middle of the night. The times that he comes to me when he is sad and wants to talk, or wants me to help him build a bigger and better fort with ALL the blankets in the house I want to cherish them. I miss him right now. I want to give him a big hug and let him know how much I love him and how I am trying so hard to be a better mommy, and that no matter what he will always be my little dude.

While he has been gone I have been able to reflect on the last little bit and be able to really see what has been happening. I hurt. There are so many things that I wish I could take back. The future is bright for us now though. The entire family received a blessing and that has made the world of difference. It has truly helped me to remember that he is a gift to me from my Heavenly Father. He has such a strong spirit, and I can see that he is trying.

I love him dearly. I am happy with the progress that we have made. I hope that we can just learn from this and be able to become better. Although I am grateful for my parents for helping out, and the time that we have spent apart, I miss him like crazy (even though he is less than 3 miles away).

I take that back...

They turned out better than I thought!

The baby is getting two bottom teeth. It was no wonder that he was grumpy. He wouldn't let my take his picture in his cute hat. Oh well, he can look cute no matter what!

Well there is just one.

Oh boy!

I know that it isn't Monday yet, but I have done a crappy job at my goals already. I feel really bad about it. I want so bad to accomplish these things and I feel that I am falling off the wagon only after a few days.

I tried to take my kids pictures tonight for our Christmas card and I really think that all of Gardner Village now knows how impatient I am. My poor kids tried at points, but they really weren't being very good. I tried to be patient, I really did. But then we were there longer than 20 minutes and I think with every step I lost it even more. I was determined though. I had purchased new clothes and hats for them to wear. I had a vision and they looked so cute! Well, as any good photographer knows that the more you push a kid the less willing they are. (Maybe this is why I feel that I am not so good.) My vision never happened. I got some ok poses in just ok lighting and left with a crappy attitude.

The goal of keeping the house clean, getting the kids to bed on time and eating better has been going a little better, but no one would know it. My house is still a mess. I have tried to keep it clean but I just can't keep on it. The kids fell asleep before dinner so they are passed out on the couch. The will wake up in an hour or so and be hyper I just know it. Then there is eating better, well I can say that I have MADE every meal. I even made something in the crock pot today. I guess that is a big step.

A little depressing, I know. I am open for suggestions, and thoughts. I know I need to give my self some credit, but I hate the feeling of failing just as I am getting started.

Goals

I have been thinking lately that I need to set some goals for myself. I have had so many things going on and time management has never been one of my strong points. I am feeling overwhelmed with all that needs to be done, so maybe a few goals are my solution.

Any time that I have made a few goals for myself all I have ever done is made a mental note of them and a few weeks later tried to evaluate how I have been doing. Then shortly after I give up. This time I will be different. Some of these goals will really make life easier for me so I really want to stick to them. I thought that posting them will make it fresh on my mind every time I think about my blog. So here they are:

I got out of the shower the other morning to my little princess trying to burn down a tree in the back yard with some matches she found. This gave me an idea for two goals.

#1 I want to be dressed and ready for the day every morning before the kids wake up. That way we will not have any catastrophes while I try to shower. And I will hopefully feel better about my appearance and not be caught in any embarrassing moments in my jammies anymore.

#2 Guess it is time to clean out all closets and drawers and organize a bit. I didn't even know there were matches in the drawer for princess to find. It is always nice to be able to find what your looking for anyway.

I have realized that my little dude has inherited his bad temper from me. I am so bad at not resorting to the same fits as him when he is in trouble. This totally needs to stop on my side and on his. So my goals here are:

#3 I need to be a better example to my family. Trying to control my temper, and being slow to anger is a must around here.

#4 Praying to have guidance with my parenting skills and patience. More personal prayers as well.

#5 Spending more time with the family instead of worrying about all the things that need to be done and making sure that no matter what my kids and husband know that I love them.

My house has been an out of control mess. I feel that I just have so much work to do and cleaning the house is always last to get done. We have been eating crappy and we haven't been getting enough sleep. So the normal stuff like:

#6 Trying to clean the house and have dinner ready for when Daddy comes home, then getting the kids to bed at a decent time every night might help so I can work for an hour or so each night.


Well there they are. I think that each Monday for a month or so I am going to give myself a report card and post it here. If you know me or see me each day, or feel that you need to comment, please do. I am so hard on myself that I end up missing the little things that might help me feel better. Any ideas will help too!

Man, Do I LOVE Halloween!

We were off to our ward Halloween party and I made everyone take a quick second and let me take their pictures, so these really are not the best pictures, but they are still fun!






I have always loved Halloween! I have had some pretty interesting costumes like a Q- Tip and Cereal Killer. I was even baptized on Halloween, I think I was a devil that year. What are some of your best costumes?

October 26, 2007

On the Hebrew calendar says that this date is 15 Cheshvan 5768.

On the Baha'i calendar says that this date is 11th day of Knowledge, B.E. 164 (don't ask me what that means, I just thought that it sounded cool.)

It's even supposed to be a full moon this year on October 26th.

182 years ago the Erie Canal opened.

146 years ago telegraph services began in the US.

126 years ago the Shootout at the OK Coral happened.

In 1954 Chevrolet introduces the V-8 engine.

In 1970 the comic "Doonesbury" debuted in 28 newspapers.

Topping the Music charts:
1950- All my Love by Patti Page
1958- Rock-in Robin by Bobby Day
1966- Reach Out I'll Be There by Four Tops
1974- You Aint Seen Nothin' Yet by Bachman- Turner Overdrive
1982- Jack & Diane by John Cougar
1990- Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

Pat Sajak, Hillary Clinton, Jaclyn Smith, and "Hot Rod" Hudley are just a few people that were born on this day.

Gasoline prices were somewhere around .80 a gallon in 1979.

Interesting huh? Well, I bet if you ask my mom, she would say that the most important thing that happened on this day in history is that a crazy haired, blue eyed little girl joined their family. Yup today is my birthday! :)

For those that asked...

Some of my friends from my old neighborhood have asked to see more pictures of my house. You can see some older posts here, here, here, and here of pictures of some of the rooms and get info on what we did to them. But the outside was a big project all in itself, so this is a good time to actually post the before and after pictures of the outside.

As some of you know, my house was pink when I bought it. Yes, really pink! No, this picture doesn't do the color justice. I really hated it, but along with the rest of the house, I knew it had potential. So as soon as the weather got warm we took care of that! Here is the before picture.


So here is the after. I actually forgot to take the after until today, so forgive my crafty Halloween decorations. It looks SOOOO much better now, and I love it!


We ripped everything out of the flowerbeds and started all over. The lawn in the front needed some extra love and care, but the entire back yard which is somewhere in the range of 6500 square feet or so had to be dug up, ripped out, bulldozed, and many many more things. Early this summer we redid it all and laid new sod, put in a trampoline, and a swing set. Next spring we will start on the garden and the patio. It has been a HUGE project, but it was REALLY needed.

Our Family Room Addition

We went to Idaho last week and came home with this. We have lived in this house for almost a year now, and we have talked about what type of mantel we were going to build and how to do it forever now. I am very happy with the final look! It was made by my hubby and my father in law (with a little help from little dude too). They did an awesome job! I love they way that it just completes my room. I have been dreaming of what I am going to put on it now, but all I can think of is Christmas stuff. Can't wait for Christmas now! Hopefully Santa won't hit is head!

"...words as hard as cannonballs."

I found this little thought today and I loved it so much I thought that I would share it. Rumors are something that are so hurtful to so many people. Once you say something without knowing truth, damage is done, and is really hard to repair.

Sir Walter Scott suggested a subject in a well-phrased couplet:

“Thoughts from the tongue that slowly part,Glance quick as lightening through the heart.”
Whether slowly or quickly, what comes from the tongue ought to be thought through before being let loose. “Be careful of your thoughts,” said one observer. “They may break into words at any time.” People often hurt both themselves and others with unwise words, and then they say they didn’t think what they were saying, or didn’t mean what they said. But as someone has expressed it: “The person who says just what he thinks should think.” The processes of thought are difficult to follow or define, but speaking or acting before we have taken time to think, often gets us into trouble. Words are among our greatest tools and among our most dangerous weapons. We can endear ourselves to others or destroy friendship; we can encourage and comfort, or cause heartaches and do cruel damage—with words. It would be terrible not to be able to communicate. But it is also terrible to talk without discretion, without truth or kindness or consideration. It would be terrible if all our talk were negative, sarcastic, critical. But when we encourage others, when we teach truth, when we bring comfort, when we help men to be better, words are wonderful. We are in a sense as much responsible for what we do to others with our words as we could be with weapons. In a sense, you can hit a man with words—“words as hard as cannon balls” as Emerson said it. In any case, words somehow come from our thoughts, and saying that we didn’t think doesn’t help much after the damage is done. Falsehoods spread, rumors fly, hearts are hurt, all with unwise words. “The person who says just what he thinks, should think.” “Be careful of your thoughts. They may break into words at any time.”

So much like her mom

Yes, she is like me because of her love of chocolate, and getting it all over her face (as you can see) but this picture shows much more too. When I was a kid I knocked out all 4 of my front teeth. They were missing forever! Well, little princess was running through my bathroom to hurry and go potty, and she tripped over the cord to the iron. She fell face first on the tile floor and got pretty beat up. This picture was taken a few days after it happened, so it doesn't look too bad. She loosened her tooth, and got a bloody nose, a bruise on her chin, a chip in her tooth, bruise gums, cuts on her lips, and her gums and her lips were pretty swollen for a few days. She seems fine now, but we are still unsure if she is going to loose her tooth. It is still a little loose but we are hoping that it will just tighten and not turn black.

I felt so bad for her though. She was so sad, and I can't imagine how painful that was. I guess if she looses just one tooth it will be ok. It is still better than 4!

I can't stop laughing!

My sweet dad sent me this link, and since I saw it I can't stop laughing about it! ALL you moms out there have to go check it out! It is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

Hands

Some of you may have heard this poem before, but I really wanted to share it. It was read at a Young Women activity that we had the other night, and it really touched me. It is such a good reminder to put or trust in the Lord so he can bless us, and use us as an instrument in his hands.

Hands
A basketball in my hands is worth about $19.
A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands
is worth about $33 million.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6.
A baseball in mark McGwire's hands
is worth $19 million.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A golf club is useless in my hands.
A golf club in Tiger Woods' hands
is a Major Golf Championship.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal.
A rod in Moses' hands
will part a mighty sea.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A sling shot in my hands is a toy.
A slingshot in David's hands
is a mighty weapon.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

Two fish and five loaves in my hands
is a couple of fish sandwiches.
Two fish and fives loaves in Jesus' hands
will feed thousands.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse.
Nails in Christ Jesus' hands
will produce salvation for the entire world.
It depends on whose hands they're in...

As you see now it depends on whose hands it's in
So put your concerns, your worries, your fears,
your hopes, your dreams, your families and your
relationships in God's Hands because,
It depends on whose hands they're in.

A few thoughts from Mommy Going Crazy

#1 It is a little sad and slightly embarrassing when my little dude went and got his friends from down the street to bring them home and show that his mom finally went grocery shopping. I walked into the kitchen to hear "Look, there is food in here, and even here. There is just so much food."

#2 Next time I prepare a little slide show for the young women I need to make sure that ALL the pictures and even the music is saved on my laptop, and not try to run it off the network. I didn't even think about it since I had saved the project on my laptop.

#3 Always be prepared and looking my best for every trip to the library. I couldn't have picked a worse day to take my kids to the library in my pj's still. I saw 4 people that I knew in the 15 minutes we were there. Including a friend that I haven't seen in years.

#4 Never eat two pieces of really yummy wedding cake before dinner. I have a really bad headache now.

#5 When the kids are bugging me to get in the bath at 6:00 they really are tired and they don't just want to play. I can't remember the last time they were ready for bed and asleep this early.

#6 When my baby is constipated try faster to put a diaper on after cleaning the small attempts at pooping.

#7 Daddy really would look funny as a sandwich for Halloween just like the little princess thinks.

#8 Now that we have so much food in the house, maybe the princess will stop walking to the neighbor's house and asking for a bag of marshmallows.

#9 Getting the heater fixed might actually make it easier to get out of bed in the morning. As it stands I poke one foot out and pull it right back in and hide farther under the blankets.

#10 Now that my hubby thinks that I have painted a nice picture of our white trash lifestyle of not showering, not grocery shopping, a broken heater, and such you can send donations here.


Just Kidding don't! (Notice that really isn't a link. It was just a joke!)

It's about time!

Since the baby was born we have had some MAJOR problems with our insurance company. They said that we didn't add him within the 31 days after his birth, when in fact it was only two weeks after his birth. My hubby went online to add him and there was a computer glitch that we didn't find out about until all the claims had been denied. Since then we have sent in TWO appeals, and have spent the last several months stressed about it all.

Well I got a letter in the mail today saying that they did see the attempt to add him shortly after his birth. So they are now changing the effective date to his birth date, and all the claims should no longer be denied! HOORAY! I have to say that I took one big deep breath after I read that letter! What a relief!

6 Months Old! Already!

I have been meaning to post this since Friday, but some things came up (I will explain in a little bit) so I am just getting to it now. The little man turned 6 months old the other day. He even had a doctor's appointment that day and got his shots. Two in each leg. What a trooper he was. He weighs 17 lds and 3 oz. which is the 34% for his age. He is also 26 inches and that puts him in the 23%. The doctor says that he looks great, but we do have a little concern. The other day I was feeding him then all of the sudden he tensed up his entire body and started to shake. He didn't seem like he even knew that he was doing it, but it sure scared me. I thought at first that he was having a seizure. I wasn't sure what to think about it though after that until it happened two more times in the last week. So at the doctor's appointment I was told to time it next time it happens and if he keeps doing it a couple of times a week we have to take him in to see a Neurologist. I really hope that it is nothing and that we don't have to worry about it anymore. I will keep you posted though.

He still isn't rolling over. I really don't mind though. I can still put him on the couch and on the bed and not worry too much. He likes his food finally. He really likes sweet potatoes and squash, not peaches though. Just like his big sister, I couldn't get her to eat peaches either. There is a little problem with that too, he hasn't pooped in almost 2 weeks. Just in the last few days it seems to bother him. I have tried almost everything. Hopefully he will get over this soon too.

I totally love to just sit and hold him. He loves to cuddle and loves to smile. Man, that kid can smile! He can really make my day. He is a tough kid when his big brother comes around, he gets squished, pulled, sat on, and anything else that little dude can think of. He only cries some times.

Well, I tried to get some cute pictures of him on Friday, but he was so busy watching the other two play. So here are some funny pictures of him watching the world around him.

It is so hard to get a cute picture of the three of them, but this one makes me laugh so hard every time I see it! I love it! It is so real!

So there you have it. 6 months! Wow that time has flown by!

Just a little update on what is going on with me.... I got an early birthday present, my hubby got me a laptop. I love it, now that things are set up and working right on it! It is so fun! It will be so much better for me to get things done. Happy way early birthday present to me!