My Head is Spinning.....

I have been spending SO much time trying to figure out what method or curriculum to use with the girls. There are so many choices and resources out there for homeschooling. I feel very fortunate to have so many choices, but those who know me know that the more choices I have the less likely I am to make a decision. Just ask C! I absolutely drive him crazy when we go out to eat and can't pick a restaurant. It would be easier if I only had to pick between two choices rather than infinity.

I love the principles of the TJEd, and have come to understand that I can do some curriculum and still incorporate those principles. So for this fall, we will be doing Five In A Row for reading, geography, science, & social studies. We will incorporate some CM by doing copywork, memorization/narration, and nature walks/art. The math is the hardest decision for me. The girls have done Saxon at AHS, but both of them struggle with it and don't like it much and I am trying to find a way to make math more inviting, exciting and still learn. This is hard for me, because I don't like math, or at least I don't understand it very well. So this will be a journey for all of us. I found the website, Living Math, and I think that we will get lots of info from there and we will be reading about famous mathematicians to help us understand more about math and how certain formulas were developed. I think as we develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for math, we will be ready to move back into text and workbooks. We will also be playing lots of math games and trying to learn the concepts of math that are all around us.

I am going to a homeschool convention on the 18th and hope to be able to look at some more curriculum close up while there before solidifying my decisions. Then it's full steam ahead!

The Day I've Waited For............

It finally happened! I've been waiting for Soren to call me Mama for the longest time and last night when I got back from the store, he saw me and said, "Hey, Mama, Mama!" and ran to hug my legs. It nearly made me cry!

Then, when I was hugging all the kids as they went to bed, he came up to me, threw his arms around me and said, 'Nigh, nigh!'. So cute! and he proceeded to do this about 5 more times.

He has really caught on to this talking thing. For the longest time, he would babble and we could not understand a word of what he said, but lately he has been really trying to mimic what we say and he is now speaking in English! Yay!

Just one more sign that my baby is not a baby anymore!

I'm so done!

I am so DONE with family vacations.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE all those things, but we have overloaded ourselves this year and I really need some home time to balance it all out.
We just finished up a Yorgason family reunion and my in-laws outdid themselves in it's planning. There was a great turnout and it was so much fun. My kids got to go to Lagoon for the first time on Fri. I was surprised that my boys weren't too anxious to ride the 'scary' rides. I helped the youngest girls for a while, then the tweens for a while, then spent the evening riding all the big rides with the teenagers. That new ride, Wicked, is great. Unfortunately, it lived up to it's name, destroying J's new digital camera that flew out of his pocket on the upswing. Thank goodness for a warranty. Here are a few pics of the kids at Lagoon.

Taking a Flying Leap.........

of Faith. After much thought, study and prayer, I have decided to'bring home' my girls this year and home school them. I had wanted to bring all of the kids home, but have decided that this will be a good first step.

I have been pondering the wisdom and benefits of homeschooling for a few months now, especially after reading the blogs of Lara and Montse. They really inspired me to even contemplate this move. A few weeks ago as I was driving to AHS for the uniform swap I was noticing all the homes for sale on the way to school, like I usually do. As I did this I got to thinking that most of these homes were someone's dream home and that to achieve a dream like this, a plan has to be made and followed. I then asked myself what C's and my dream was. It's a pretty simple one, we want a place with a little more land, the ability to raise a few animals if we choose to and garden more. Just try to be as self-sufficient as we can. Unfortunately, we cannot have animals here, so for that dream to happen we have to look elsewhere. Financially, that dream was a long ways off. Later that day, C had me read an article in the newspaper about homeschooling and it was like a light went on in my head and bells started ringing. I thought, "Here is the key to making that dream a reality. If we pull the kids out of school and home school them, we can use what we had been putting out for tuition to finish our addition to our house, sell it and look for another place. And if the kids don't attend AHS, we don't have to try to move closer to the school and we can look anywhere for our 'dream' property. I have also been so unhappy with the way that school, be it public or private, robs my family of 'family-time'. There is so much homework that most of the time we have at home is spent trying to get the kids(nagging) to get it done or doing it and fulfilling Church responsibilities, that precious little time is left for us to do anything together as a family. I struggled with this issue all last year and was not looking forward to the coming year. This will really free up my evenings and the time can be spent doing things that will strengthen our family, which is also a dream of ours.

I approached the kids about it and tried to explain my reasonings and the girls were willing to try, but the boys were unhappy about it. After considering all the benefits they would have to continue at AHS, we decided that it would be fine for them to stay there for this year and we'll revisit the issue again next year. M is really excited about 9th grade there, the German and Ballroom classes and extra-curricular sports that will be offered. F wanted to finish up 8th grade and after going to the Shakespeare Festival with last year's 8th graders, I was loathe to deprive him of the opportunity to do the Shakespeare production. That is something that I cannot replicate at home.

So I've been studying and reading and praying and pondering if this truly is the right thing for us to do. I read a book I've had, entitled "Revealed Educational Principles and the Public Schools" by Jack Monnett. It is basically a historical book about Early Utah and how we came to have public schools. It is full of quotes from the prophets and apostles. They counseled the Saints over and over again not to vote for or utilize 'free' public education. They set up Church schools and tried all they could to educate in the Lord's way, but the Saints would not listen and failed to follow the counsel of the prophets. At the risk of sounding very naive I'm going to tell you that I NEVER knew that the prophets had said this. As I read this book, I gained an understanding that that counsel is still in effect and that it is displeasing to the Lord to abdicate the education of our children to strangers. It is part of my duty and responsibility as a parent to make sure that my children are educated properly. Who knows or understands or loves my children more than I do? Who can teach them better than I can? NO ONE! They are MY stewardship, and I now know that I have to retake the responsibility for that.

I have been pondering my own education, as well as my oldest son's, and I can see things that happened in each of our lives that were damaging to our love of learning. Things that were said or done that made us feel like our thoughts and efforts were worthless. I have been stuggling with having one of my daughters labeled. It hasn't happened yet, but I would not have been surprised to have it happen. She learns at a much slower pace than the teachers think is proper. But she does learn if she can do it in her own time and way. By bringing her home, hopefully I can allow her(and the others) to progress at her own rate and protect them from being labeled or degraded or made to feel worthless.

So, that's my big news. I have literally been consumed with trying to learn all I can so that I can make the best choice for my family and now I'm trying to determine which methodology I think will be most suitable. It's a huge undertaking, but the peace (and excitement) I feel, makes it worthwhile.


*edited to add: This post is merely a story of my own journey to this place. I do not presume to tell people that everyone should home school their kids and I hope that, in turn, others don't presume to tell me that I'm wrong for doing this. Thank goodness we live in a place where we actually have a choice!

JULY????????????????

Someone pick me up! I can't believe that June is gone! I got next to nothing done. Think it had anything to do with my crazy travel schedule and sick family when we were home? Well, I'm using that as my excuse anyway.

One last jaunt in my future, to my hometown to attend the sealing of my new adopted niece to my sister and her hubby. She's almost 4, so this will be a wonderful memory for her to have. I love attending sealings. It's so amazing to see those children all in white.....almost makes you wish you hadn't been married in the temple, or were adopting all your children. But I only said almost. I am so thankful for the blessings we receive from being eternally bonded together as a family. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

I've been doing lots of research on a particular subject lately and at some point I'll post my thoughts and conclusions, but I will say that yet again, Heavenly Father has allowed me time to grow and learn and I have been taught some things that you think would just be common sense, yet I didn't know. I find it amazing how conditioned we are by our society to believe in certain 'norms' and then to find out later what the Lord has said about it.....I only wish I had been ready for the 'truth' before now. But that's all for now, I'll leave it at that and you hanging.................

Have a good one!

Wyo, wyo, Wyoming?!

June is scheduled to be an absolutely frantic month for me. We got back from a whirlwind trip to Wyoming on Wednesday. Mom started talking about this trip a couple of years ago, to experience Martin's Cove and Rock Creek and honor our ancestors who were in the Martin and Willie Handcart Companies, and decided that it would be good to do before J left on his mission, so this summer was the one.

So, you take 2 parents + 4 daughters + 4 sons-in-law + 15 grandchildren and add to it:
3 days
3 hotels
5 cars
1 flat/blown out tire
2 purses/wallets left behind
1 abusive waitress
1 headache
1 throwing up kid
90 degree weather
1 'broken' swimming pool
4 handcarts
1 rickshaw
1 5-mile trek
and several new air matresses and what do you get?

Sore muscles and a trip to remember! After all the 'happenings' we were starting to think that this trip might rival our Canada trip in '84 (another story for another day) but it turned out wonderfully and I think our little 'happenings' will help us remember the trip with laughter to go with the tears shed for the ancestors we admire and love. I am blessed to have a great family who would make and take the time to go do this together and for parents who made it possible. Thanks Mom and Dad, and my dear sisters and families. I love you all very much and would do it again in a heartbeat!

But it's a Dry Heat! Thank Goodness!

Wow, lots has happened since I last posted here. We got through those last crazy days of school and got Montana graduated from 8th grade on May 23rd and Jordan graduated from high school on May 24th. Thanks Mom and Dad, for making and taking the time to come up for that. It meant a lot to him and to me, too.

Just got back from spending 10 days in the suburban Atlanta, GA, area. C's parents have lived there for about 14 years now. We have never had the funds to take all of our kids and just go visit. We have been there as a family once, but so were all of C's siblings and their families and it was chaos. Fun chaos, but crazy anyway! I told C that our kids need the experience of being the only people at their house, so that they can spend lots of time with their grandparents and build bonds and memories. We asked them back in the fall where they would choose to go if our family could take a big trip and hands down, their answer was to Grandma and Grandpa Welch's house. Over Disneyland! And SeaWorld! (For what it's worth, I was with them all the way!)

So for Christmas we gave them this trip, just had to wait til school was out to make it happen. We had wanted to go during Spring Break, but that's when N had her twins and Grandma was out here, so we just waited for June.

We really had a fantabulous time. We are not hard to please and don't have to be entertained, but I think Grandma and Grandpa wanted to make it extra fun so the kids would always remember it. We visited Stone Mt. and shopped and played in water, fed ducks, rode the tram to the top and back, rode the train, visited the plantation and watched the laser show. We went to C's sister's, B's, house one day to swim and have some southern BBQ pork and such. It was nice to see their home and now have a frame of reference for them. The little girls had so much fun with their cousin, E, and even got to spend a night at her house. We went to the GA aquarium. It's big and there were tons of people. But the exhibits were great and the favorite was the walk thru tunnel with rays and whale sharks and huge fish, and the Great Barrier Reef simulation with all the intensely colored fish that live there. We walked from there to Centennial Park, where the Olympic Ring Fountain is. It was super hot and H and her cousin, E, were the only ones brave enough to go run through the fountains as the water jets danced around. They were about the only white kids there, which might have been strange for my other kids.

We also drove up to TN to visit C's oldest brother and his family. They have recently bought a new home out in the country and are trying very hard to follow the Prophet's counsel to get out of debt, get storage and be as self sufficient as possible. I was amazed at what they have done. They sold their much larger home in the city and bought a very small home with some land and I believe they probably own it free and clear or are very close to it. They have chickens and are looking to get maybe some lambs and goats. C's SIL, C, is a great gardener and has a large garden now, but is expanding it again. They have a large shop building which has an air-conditioned workshop room for R and his tools. He is an engineer and always tinkering with stuff and designing and building stuff. There is also a food storage room in there that is air-conditioned and lots of other storage on top of the workshop room. I love how they have simplified their lives and are so happy with the choices they have made. I came away from there so inspired to get my life and home in order so I can feel peace regardless of what may come.

We were also able to take in an Atlanta Braves game. I wasn't sure how the kids would handle this, since they can go quite long, but time seemed to pass quickly, and I never once heard, "When will it be time to go?" Unfortunately, the Braves lost, but they had two home runs which were awfully fun to cheer for.

C and I and his parents drove up to see the Georgia Guidestones near Elberton on Tuesday. We had heard of them and wanted to see them. Strange story and strange place. Reinforced the knowledge that there are groups of people on this earth working to undermine God's plan. The things written on the stones may sound good, but if you really look at them in the context of 'evil designs of conspiring men' you can't help but know that there really are people working for the other side. If you're curious about them, check here

The kids travelled wonderfully. On every single flight people commented on how well behaved they are and how polite. It was truly gratifying to hear that, because most of the time C and S and I were not seated near the other kids. We assigned each of the boys to be a travel buddy to a younger sister. They were to keep track of them in the airports and such and it worked wonderfully. I will have no qualms about travelling with them again.

We got home on Wed and I had so much I wanted to get started on, but I think I must have found some water from Mexico somewhere. I ended up with upset insides and today is the first day that I've had any energy or felt able to do anything.

Plans in the the pipeline are to move J downstairs and the girls upstairs so we can cut the hole through to the new girls room and get the new furnace/AC unit in and move the water heater and frame the new girls room and yada, yada, yada. I wish I could just twitch my nose and have all this work done and my house perfectly finished. I'm tired of living in a half completed home. Samantha Stevens, where are you when you're needed????

Cheese, Gromit, Cheese!

One of the things I wanted to learn about and attempt this year was cheese making. Pretty easy cheese making, but cheese anyway. My chance to do it came today. Nina has been working on a county report for her Utah History studies and her county happens to be Cache. One of the requirements is to study up on one unique aspect of her county and present it to the class. She and I decided that since Cache Cty is known for Cache Valley Cheese we would attempt to make some cheese.

Using a recipe off the internet, we got out all our ingredients and tools.

No rennet! I was sure I had read that fresh lemon juice could be used instead.....nope, no lemon juice in the recipe so I bought those four lemons in vain.

OK, send C to the store for rennet and Citric Acid.

C gets back and WOW, for the price of the citric acid, this cheese better darn well turn out.

Pour milk in pan, put on stove, go to put thermometer in pan and notice that it starts measuring at 100 degrees and I need one that starts at about 80 degrees. Hhhhmmmm, what to do. Throw caution to the wind and go for it. I figure we'll use the one we have and if it registers on the thermometer we'll know it's getting too warm.

Things are going well, milk is warming, and starting to curdle. Put in the rennet and let it sit. Supposedly 3-5 minutes for the curd to form.

3 mintes-not forming yet...................


5 minutes-starting to thicken.........................





10 minutes-thicker........................................................................






15 minutes!- finally thick enough to cut and watch the whey drain out.
We scoop out the curd and put into a colander and let the whey drain.

Wow! Lots of whey! Anyone need some????

Finally get as much whey pressed out as possible by hand, so we start microwaving it and draining it again. After 3 rounds its ready to start kneading and stretching. That's what gives mozzarella its texture, the kneading like bread dough and stretching like taffy. Well, that's what its supposed to do....mine kneaded just fine, but didn't want to stretch much. I don't know if I over cooked it or undercooked it or didn't knead it long enough.

Whatever, we salted it and kneaded it into a smooth ball and ran cold water over it and voila', it's "Cheese, Gromit, Cheese!!"

It didn't really take very long and if it tastes good, we'll probably do it again. We have lots of rennet and citric acid left over!

Anyone know what to do with a gallon of whey?

Another first for Soren!

He got his first real spanking today. Oh, I've never been so upset with him. Being the baby he usually gets plenty of leniency on things, but today he just went too far...........

My oldest son is in an Architectural Rendering class and had completed a hand done rendering that won 2nd place in a contest at UVSC and got Honorable mention at the Timpview Art Show. I made the mistake of leaving his room door open this morning, and Soren somehow got a thin Sharpie pen and added to the drawing. I have no idea if there is anything that will take the pen off it or not. I feel sick to my stomach when I think about it. J spent so much time on that rendering and now it's all messed up. Most of the markings are at the top and not on J's drawing so I think they could be removed if there was anything that would remove them. Poor J! And poor Soren! He got put in his bed and cried himself to sleep.

This is just one of my bad-mama days. Actually, it's been a bad mama month........

An end...

I believe I have nursed Soren for the last time. I didn't nurse him at all yesterday or today and I think it's a good time to just let it go. He seems to be doing fine without it, in fact, I think I may miss it more than he does.

I have savored all those moments in the last 16 months that we spent together. I loved looking into his bright blue eyes when he was just a tiny baby and so dependent on me. I loved that it was time spent with just the two of us. In a busy household, it was a haven of quiet and peace. I still love looking into his bright blue eyes, but usually he is so eager to be off to new adventures that he rarely stares back.

I will miss this time with him.

However, I love watching him grow and achieve new things. Some of his latest tricks are walking(not scooting backwards) down the steps, climbing into his high chair alone, playing catch with anyone who will play, doing pattycake with his 'Tigey', jumping on the trampoline and wadding up any loose piece of paper he finds and throwing it in the trash. You can almost see the little wheels turning in his mind, it's so busy learning and comprehending new things. He is turning into quite a ham! Anything for a laugh, and with 3 giggly sisters, that is just about anything he does.

On to bigger and better things my little one. Love ya, Soren!

Ack! Where does the time go?

Wow, has it really been that long since I had anything to say? Oh, yeah, it's really been longer than that since I had anything WORTH saying! haha!

Just wanted to do a quick update. It's been nutso-rama around here. Lots of projects due in school and last week was Teacher Appreciation week. I was in charge of it for one of my kids, F's, teacher. I'm SO SO glad it's over. I think to celebrate I will take the room mom folder I was given at the first of the year and do a celebratory burning of the folder. The last big thing we have going is the Shakespeare play and celebration all next week. M is a sea captain in the play and we have been trying to finish up his costume. I hope that he has all his lines down. I have a couple of dresses to sew for the girls to wear, since the kids can dress in Shakespearean costume all week long. It is really the great culmination of a wonderful year at school. Each day the 8th graders do one act from the play for the other students. The older children are all assigned a younger student to be their "buddy" for all the festivities. They have a Shakespearean Feast and on Fri night the play is put on for all the parents and public. My kids couldn't stop talking about it last year. The play they are doing this year is "Twelfth Night"

So I again bombed on SHS and I figure that I will continue to bomb on that til school is out. I am trying to keep up with stuff but it seems like so many things that are out of my control are taking over my schedule and life.

Got the great experience today of attending my SIL's ward and being at the blessing of their new twin boys. There were so many people there to support them, probably added about 50 people to the congregation.Their father gave them beautiful blessings and they were absolute angels. The gospel of Christ is such a blessing in our lives. The knowledge of the importance of families was manifest today.

Hey, it's May!

Wow, time flies when you're having...............fun? Is that what I've been having? I wouldn't classify it as fun, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

For some reason the last two months of school always find me scrambling trying to keep up. There are so many projects due and papers due and activities to wrap up the year, and by the time the end of May comes I am WASTED, EXHAUSTED, DEAD!! This year is no exception. We've been pushing J to finish up his district packets and online course so he can graduate. I think he squeaked those in under the wire at the last minute. Then there were two required science fair projects this year. F has a big research paper type thing due tomorrow and I know he's not close to being done. I've been sewing and altering costumes for the Shakespeare play that the 8th graders are doing this year. They are doing 12th Night. M has the part of a sea captain, Antonio. He is supposed to have a sword fight, but there is talk of cutting that out and he is hoping they don't do that. That was what was most exciting for him. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and I have been in charge of that for F's class. I have one more thing to put together for tomorrow and then that will be done. Hooray! And last but not least, I had to make my VT calls. I am learning how important it is to call your VT supervisor after doing your visiting teaching, since I find I'm having to do lots of chasing down of people to get their report. This is a particularly hard time of year with all the students moving and not calling their report in before they go. But it's done too.

The next things on my to-do list are making a couple of costumes for the girls for Shakespeare week, F too I guess, and getting pictures of J so we can make some graduation announcements.

At this point I am just trying to keep my head above water. Anyone who knows me knows that I can't stand to get water up my nose, which is why I only learned to put my face in the water without nose plugs at the age of 28 and that was for about 2 seconds. Hate that drowning feeling and I hate this one too! But this will pass.

On a brighter note, my FIL came by yesterday, in town for a few days, and framed the wall between my new dining room and mud room for me. It is so fun to be able to step out into that room and really be able to visualize the space and how it's all going to fit. So nice of him.

C is in Monticello today for a picnit for George Wythe College. They are in the process of trying to move their campus from Cedar City to Monticello. The land they have has been donated and purchased and it's on land that my father used to own. It's really such a coincidence, because C has wanted to attend that school for over 2 years now and when my parents told me that it was moving to Monticello I just chuckled. They had no idea that we had any knowledge of it. I'm really hoping that now the possibility for him to attend will open up and for our kids too. I am amazed at the 'education' they offer. Hope they have good weather for the picnic today.

Back to the Grind!

Well, Spring Break is over. It went by just a bit too fast for my liking. I could so get used to not making that drive to A.F. every day. I'm really looking forward to the end of school this year.

We puttered around for the first two days of break, doing some yardwork for Great-Grandma Y and visiting with family. Grandma Welch was in town from GA to help Aunt N with her new twin boys. Tuesday we took most of the kids and went to the matinee of Meet the Robinson's in 3D. It was such a fun little movie with a good message and the 3D part made it extra fun! I'm sure we all looked so COOL(ie:dorky) in our 3D glasses. Wednesday I took the 5 youngest kiddos and headed south! Stayed at my parents house til yesterday and then reluctantly made the drive home. Unfortunately the weather really didn't cooperate with us for doing any out of doors activities while we were there. It was either too windy, cold or rainy/snowy. So we made the best of it and played with cousins and just hung out at Grandma's house. I always love going home even if we don't have anything 'special' planned. For me, just getting out of the city and being with my sisters and parents is a treat. I know that it can be overwhelming when my hoarde and I descend upon them all, but I appreciate how readily they take us in. Thanks, Mom and Dad! Love ya!

Due to the nature of my travels this week, I did not make much progress on my habits. So I'm rewinding to last week again. I really did take my exercise clothing with me and was hoping to walk there every day, but the weather just was not nice enough for me! What can I say, I'm a wimp!

I am also going to add a new habit this week that I thought of on my drive home last night. I have not taken the time to play the piano for such a long time. So I'm going to add playing the piano for at least 10 minutes a day. Practice up on the hymns again. I love playing the piano, and although I cannot play to accompany anyone(I freeze up!), I love to play for my own enjoyment and I find it very therapeutic. If I'm bothered by my kids, I can sit at the piano and before long the thumping and banging changes to lovely peaceful hymns. I can't believe I didn't think of this before.

Have a great week!

A Roof, We have a Roof!!!

Wow, it has finally happened. C and D(friend who knows construction) have been busy as little bees working up on our roof the last two days and finished putting in the large beam that will hold up the roof when we remove the kitchen wall, finished the trusses and got the sheathing done and I believe they are now putting down the tar paper stuff. I'm beyond excited. From here on out, with the exception of the plumbing and electrical stuff, C can do lots of the work himself. Next on the agenda are a door and windows and duct work for the new rooms so we can put in a new furnace and A/C. Wahoo!

Speaking of bees, we got a new batch today for our second hive! We are hoping to get lots more honey this year with a well established hive from last year and a new hive as well. Go girls!!!

We have been busy this week trying to get the yard looking better. Got a few more annuals for the raised flower bed, a garden hook for a hanging plant (still not sure what to plant in it) and also planted a few potatoes in the garden. The beans and corn I planted in a little started box last week are growing like crazy. Wish I dared put them out, but I need to wait a bit longer so they won't get frozen like the tomato C planted last week. Poor little thing. Still no peas or lettuce up yet.

Well, I ought to update my habits.....ok, it was a so-so week. Started out great, but as the week went on and I got busier with committments at school, ie; fitting costumes for the Shakespeare play and driving for the Kindergarten field trip as well as a dr. appt, I sort of forgot or was just too darn tired.
I'm going back over my list and the one that I see I've really slipped on is my exercise. So that's what I'm going to focus on this week again. So hard to get back into it after doing nothing for 3 weeks. Ugh! But I know it will help in all areas of my life. I love how I feel about myself when I am active and that it makes me want to eat more healthily. So that's my habit re-do! Check out Lara's blog for more info on Smart Habit Saturday's. Join in for a chance to win prizes!

I got two fun packages in the mail in the last week. The first was for getting my name drawn over at Wendy's blog and she was WAY generous. It was full of fun things like foam stamps, acrylic paint, rub-on's, charms, frames, ribbon and more. Then a couple of days later my name was drawn in a contest over at Christy's blog, and I just got that fun package today. She sent an adorable little felt covered notebook(red-one of my favorite colors) and some great papers and embellishments to go with it. I'm still trying to figure out a fun thing to do with it. Any suggestions? It's about 3x5 big. I'm still so amazed that I was lucky twice in a week's time. Thanks so much Wendy and Christy, 8-D!!

SHS Easter Version

Easter is not really a big deal at our house. Not that we don't love and appreciate the reason for the holiday, but the whole Easter bunny, basket, new dress stuff just isn't a big deal here. Sometimes I feel really bad about that.....but not too bad. We did run and pick up a few things for the baskets at WalMart tonight and I have a turkey thawing for Sunday dinner. I need to make rolls tomorrow and check the rest of the menu. This will be the first big Easter dinner we've done, but I think that's a tradition I'd rather have than the flagrant spending of more money. I know that I need to do a better job of helping the kids(and myself) remember why we really celebrate Easter. What traditions do you have that help you remember the real reason?

I'm trying to be the first to post on Lara's SHS this time. So I'll be brief. Had a so-so week. I don't think I did any of my habits every single day but everything has been worked on and I think that's a pretty good habit!

Going to add flossing to my face washing this week. I really should have this habit down, after all I am a trained dental assistant. I KNOW how important flossing is and how many problems it prevents, but for some reason I have never been in the habit of doing it on a regular basis. So that's my newbie for the week. Have a great one!

Need a new Vacuum?

Just a quick note about a contest over at Five Minutes for Mom.

You can win a Dyson Slim vacuum. More info about the vacuum and contest can be found here.
Good luck!

Friday Edition of SHS!

Since tomorrow is General Conference, I'm going to do this today so it doesn't get left til Monday again. We are so excited for Conference. My kids have learned to love this weekend. It could be because they don't have to dress up and go to church, or it could be the tons of Goldfish crackers they get to eat while watching Conference, but I'm hoping that it's because they get to listen to our prophet and apostles and feel the Spirit touch their hearts. As they get older I think they are learning to love it for those reasons. With the little ones, I am just happy that they will sit still and quietly for a bit.

Interesting week here, busy as usual, but it's been hard to be happy about that busyness. I think that has something to do with the weather. I am such a lover of sunshine. I would go absolutely ballistic if I lived in WA where the sun never really shines, at least not often. I NEED sunshine. Must be why I loved AZ, where it shines 360 days a year.

Had a nice lunch and visit with a friend this week. She used to live on our street but moved to Alpine about 4 years ago. It was fun to see her new home and her new daughter and just relax and talk. I need to do things like this more often.

On the SHS front:
-this weeks goal of limiting blog reading to 1/2 hour went fairly well. I have had a bored habit of checking my favorite blogs more than once a day and I decided that once a day was plenty and I can accomplish that in 1/2 hour. It paid off for me too, as I won a contest on one of those blogs and will be getting a little package in the mail shortly. Thanks, WendySue!

-recording transactions into the checkbook every night-went well, except for yesterday. Plan to get to that today. I'm liking this habit and it sure saves me a big job later down the road.
-reading to baby-slacked a bit and only read him a book twice.
-wash pots and pans before bed-did great here, and I love my clean sink area.
-getting to bed on time-this was better this week. Not quite a habit yet though.
-am prayers-still working for me to do them at breakfast time.
-exercise/weight loss-exercise was a bust this week, can't seem to find my motivation. Who took it????????????/
-organization-great week here. C and I went through the bookshelves and CD's and videos and took a load of stuff to DI. Nice to have that pile of extra boxes out of the family room finally. I also made a dent in my recipe pile. Need to get a 3-hole punch and make a binder for the ones I want to save that are off the internet or from Homemaking, etc.

Going to add this week: Washing my face every night. I'm so bad about just brushing my teeth and crawling in bed. It really doesn't take that long to wash my face as well and my skin needs the help. Gotta love hormones and the havoc they wreak on women, ugh!

Have a great weekend.

Spring has Sprung!

Oh, the sunshine is so glorious today and we have spent the day working on the yard and on the addition to the house. C has worked like a madman and the rest of us have put in a half hour of work or so to help......The flowerbeds are looking wonderful in their new coat of compost as are the garden boxes.

I got to go grocery shopping...my least favorite activity of all time. Or one of them, at least. Call it a light-bulb moment or an epiphany or what have you, but it finally dawned on me this week that because C puts all the household operating $$ in my account once a month, that it would be possible for me to make a month's worth of menus and shop once. Let's see, one big shopping trip on one hand and one small trip a day on the other......Which would you choose????
I spent Thursday evening making up a menu and a shopping list and did the lion's share of the shopping today. Still need to hit Sam's or Costco for the produce and cheese and Walmart for a few non-food things, but I'm feeling so pleased with having that icky chore done. I realize that we will still have to get more produce and dairy, but that's no biggie.

Add to this the fact that now I do not have to think every single day what to make for supper and this has been a huge boost for me. Hooray!

On the SHS front:
-last week's goal of recording transactions into the checkbook every night was a success and it's sure nice knowing where my account is sitting. Will keep this one going to make it a good habit.

-reading to baby-C helped me with this and we probably got in 4 or 7 days.
-wash pots and pans before bed-this one is a toughie for me, but I think I managed it twice.
-getting to bed on time-this was better this week. Not quite a habit yet though.
-am prayers-still working for me to do them at breakfast time.
-exercise/weight loss-exercise was a bust this week. Had a nice weight loss(8lbs) but that was due to barfing my guts up on Monday night/Tues morning. Still learning to stop eating when I'm full and honoring my hunger. I am amazed at how little I need to eat to feel satisfied when it's something I like.
-organization-went through the girls drawers and closets last night to pull out things that are too small or no longer used and took a load of things to D.I. Also rearranged the food room shelves to house all the groceries I bought today.

This week I'm going to work on another bad habit I'm developing. I'm going to limit my blog reading time to 1/2 hour per day. Yikes, I better learn to speed read.

That's all for now, have a wonderful week.

What did I do to deserve this?

I'm wondering why my house has been cursed for the last month with germs, bacteria and viruses. We have run the gamut from sinus infections to pinkeye to stomach flu. It's been an absolute nightmare in terms of missed days from school, church, and other activities. Every time I think we're done, something else turns up. And it's so unusual for our family. We have always been very healthy, the only time I see a dr is for my annual exam or for OB care. In fact, he asked me once who my kids saw. I was stumped and asked what he meant. He wondered who we were taking the kids to for medical care. I laughed and told him that he was definitely our doctor but that they just never get sick enough to see a doctor.

Whatever I've done, I repent of it right now. Now, all you GERMS, BACTERIA AND VIRUSES are banished. BEGONE, I say!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

New week, hopefully a healthy one!

Well, I sent all the kids off to school this morning. After nearly 4 weeks of having someone home sick, I'm hoping that we have gotten rid of the pinkeye and stomach flu bugs that have cursed our house. I need to go strip bedding and do a lot of washing today!

Got a new calling in church yesterday after not having had one for nearly 6 months. I am a Visiting Teaching Supervisor. I guess I'm up for another calling that mostly involves phone calls, even though I have phone-a-phobia. I guess it's Heavenly Father's way of helping me overcome that fear.

It has been absolutely gorgeous here lately, in fact, it's been almost too hot. But it is SO nice to see green again and to see my little daffodils and tulips pop open. The roses are rapidly putting on leaves and I see little purple buds on our plum tree. Won't be long before they all put forth their lovely flowers. I LOVE SPRING!! It is by far my favorite season of the year. I love to see things come back to life and to have it start to warm up. But the main reason that I like it more than summer or fall................LESS BUGS!! ;-p

I didn't do such a hot job at my habit-building last week. Could have been something to do with having my mom here, sick at that, and having H home from school for four days with pinkeye. Which isn't so bad, but we had lots of homework to get done, because Fri was the end of term. So I spent most of my days helping her and S get their work done. I feel like I should get a grade for all the time I put into homework.

For SHS I will add entering transactions into the checkbook each night to the mix. I have such a BAD habit of just tossing the receipts into my wallet and letting them pile up for months. I'd like to change that BAD habit for a GOOD one.

AM prayers-Found that if I do them at my Breakfast meal, I get them done.
Weight loss/Exercise 3 X-did exercise twice, but that's better than not at all, right? I'm almost finished with Intuitive Eating. I have really learned a lot from this book and I'm excited to see if it will help me have a better relationship with food and learn to like my body. We went to Brick Oven Pizza on Sat night with some of C's relatives who were in town and I kept myself to a good salad and I got some pasta, but didn't eat all of it, even though it was delicious. I realized that I was starting to feel way too full. I should not have had the soda to go with it! But it was nice to realize I felt full and that I could just take the rest home for another meal another day!
Getting to bed earlier-did pretty good this week. It's harder now that it stays light longer and I can't get the kids to go to bed. That really moves my quiet time back, but I'm still trying here.
Reading to baby-didn't get everyday. He still just likes to take the book from me and turn the pages as quickly as possible. We'll keep trying.
Wash the pots and pans before bed-stunk this one up royally. Must do better this week.
Organization-reorganized my stamping supplies to make room for the new pads I bought at the CTMH warehouse sale on Fri. Couldn't pass up CTMH inkpads for $2 each. I bought 14 of them. That's about all I got done in this area this week. I'm hoping to make a dent in my recipe/cookbook mess this month. It's something that has needed to be done for years, but I've never figured out the best way to organize my recipes. Any suggestions?????

Have a loverly week!

MORP

J got asked to MORP Tues night. SO FUN!

A girl left a stack of underT's on the step with a note that read, "I'd love to take you to MORP, but my name got lost in a crowd. You'll have to wash these shirts and the only name that remains is mine." All the tshirts were covered with names written in colorful marker. Most were kids from school, in his A Capella group, but there were some celebs mixed in. Some of the funnier ones were Queen Elizabeth, Brittany Spears, Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton, Mary Poppins, Hilary Clinton.

He thought they were so fun and didn't want to wash them. In fact, he wore one to school yesterday for fun. But he had an idea who had asked him, so he washed the one with her name on it and, of course, her name didn't wash off. So now he's trying to figure out how to reply in a fun fashion. I'll let you know what he does.

I did take pictures of the note and the fronts and backs of all the shirts. That girl has some great handwriting. I think I need to hire her to do my titles in my scrapbooks. Seriously, cool writing!

What a lllooooooooooooong Week!

Man, am I glad this one's over. Feels like Monday was about a month ago.

In relation to SHS, it was not a very productive week. My baby started with stomach flu type stuff on Sunday and it peaked on Wed when he absolutely could not keep anything down. Fortunately, C got home that night and we were able to give him a blessing(in our church we administer to the ill through the power of the priesthood for healing) and he's been on the mend since then. Then on Thursday, my oldest daughter came down with it and is only feeling better today. And today my youngest daughter woke up with pinkeye. I'm so tired of cranky, sick kids.

But, I did read to my baby this week. Or at least I tried. He is not very interested in letting me read the words on the page, so we mostly just looked at pictures very quickly as he turned the pages.

On the organizational front: I did something today that I've wanted/needed to do for years. I went through a huge container of old cards and letters and grouped them accordingly. I found a very large stack of letters from my mom to me from when I was first married and having kids. She doesn't write much now, but I'm going to put them in order by date and put them in sheet protectors and into an album. I think it will serve as a type of journal. Also going to do the same with the letters from my late grandmother. It was truly a trip down memory lane today.
I also cleared off a large stack of things that needed to be filed.

Prayer: Don't know why I still struggle so much with this one. Still keeping it on my list to do.

Weight loss: Ever since I put my foot down about counting points, nothing has seemed to be so necessary to eat that I just HAVE to HAVE IT RIGHT NOW. Thanks to Lara, I bought the book Intuitive Eating and I'm studying it. I really like many of the things I'm reading and it's amazing how many of the behaviors and thought patterns that they talk about fit me. I did exercise 3X this week, even if one was very short and sweet, I'm still counting it!

Earlier Bedtime: This is becoming easier for me, but still not quite a habit.

My new habit to work on for this week is to wash the pots and pans before going to bed each night so that my sink area is clean! I procrastinate this so badly, that usually they all sit there til there is absolutely not a clean pan to be used.

There, that's it for this week.

Sunny Saturday! (finally)

It was absolutely so wonderful to see the sun today, even though it wasn't very warm, it warmed my soul to have sunshine. I am a person who needs sunshine and craves it. Must be why I loved living in AZ and consider myself a desert rat.

This week was a bit better on habits than I have been doing. I wouldn't consider any of them a permanent habit yet, but I feel like I'm making progress.

*I remembered my a.m. prayers more days than not this week.
*I did exercise, just didn't get three in. ( I tried, but did not have the right equipment on that day to go along with what the instructor was doing and didn't have time to catch a different class)
*I decided to stop trying to count points on WW. It was really stressing me out and making me crave and eat things I didn't really want. What is it about 'dieting' that makes you crave whatever item is a no-no? And yes, I know that WW isn't really 'dieting', that you can eat what you want in moderation as long as you count it, but for some reason it makes me crave those really high point things and think about eating them until I just can't stand it anymore and go and eat it til I think I can't eat another thing. So I'm still trying to eat the healthy stuff and stop eating between meals unless it's a fruit or veggie and drink my 8 cups of water a day, but NO MORE POINT COUNTING.
*I was an organizing freak this week. I finished my scrapbook stuff reorganization by color and can I say that I love it already. I found things I knew I had but didn't know where they were and now they will be a cinch to find. I labeled all those color drawers and the bathroom drawer units I filled last week. I went through the kids books and got rid of ones that were falling apart and set aside ones that I think my baby would like to look at now to put in a basket on his dresser. I moved the kids school notebooks from various places around the house to the now empty spot on the bookshelves. I made further adjustments to the hanging organizer I have in the master bath to hold all my stuff. I love my pedestal sink, but miss having a place to store all the stuff I need every day. I have looked and looked for a wall cabinet for over the toilet but can't find one I like, so my solution was to get a hanging shoe organizer to hang on the wall. It has 12 pockets and holds my vitamins, lotions, nail and heel files, nail polish and stickers, brushes and combs, hair spray and gel, cotton wipes, and I took the stitching out from between two of the pockets so that my makeup bag would fit in that space. It cost me $1 at Dollar Tree and until I find a cabinet that I like, it will work for me.
*I did a bit better at getting to bed earlier but still need to work on that one.

**This week I would like to work on reading a book each day to my baby. I currently spend lots of time reading with my Kindergartner and 2ND grader and my baby gets lost in the shuffle, so that's my new thing to work on.

Have a great week, everyone.

Trying to post some pictures!

Hey, I'm just trying to figure out how to post more than one picture in my blog and also how to put text between them. Can anyone help me out?





Here is S on his first birthday. He was lots of fun that day.

Here he is getting his first haircut.

Here is our addition with the trusses hanging inside the room. They are now upright. Guess I need a new picture.

Wow, it looks like I might have figured this out. I have a couple more pictures to post regarding organization stuff I've been doing, but I'll do that another time.

**update: No, I don't have it figured out, cause I've tried and tried to line that third picture up and I can't get it to move. so this will have to do......tired of messing with it.

SMART Habit Saturday, a day late and a few goals short!

I wonder why I am bothering to even put this on the list. For the life of me I can't seem to remember to do anything. With the exception of eating, of course, which is the one thing I should forget to do.

Anyhoo here goes:

Exercise: only once this week. Just too many things that had to be done and exercise got pushed off.

Prayer: I think I need to invest in a boulder sized prayer rock so that I really stub my toe in the a.m. to remind me. What works for you???? I wonder if a large poster on my ceiling would help, or have my alarm play "Ere you left your room this morning".

Early to bed: stunk this one up well. C and I need to get on the same page on this one. He hasn't been feeling well and so is watching lots of TV and I have sort of either gotten stuck downstairs in front of the tube with him or upstairs on the computer waiting in vain for him to come up.

Oraganize 3 things: This is the only thing that I did do this week. I started organizing all my scrap embellishment stuff by color. Still need a couple of small drawer units to finish it up. But I did get rid of lots of stuff I'll never use.
I went through the hall/utility closet and organized it. Hung up a drawer unit, and separated out all the screws, nails, picture hanging stuff, outlet covers, etc. Then I put together a tool caddy, a gardening caddy and got rid of lots of cleaning supplies. I can actually get my vacuum in it easily now. I also finished up the bathroom closet, getting the 3 drawer unit in and getting it filled. Everything now has a designated spot and it will be so much easier to find what you're looking for there.

Hope this week is a better one for me and that its productive for you as well. I will be a work widow so this may sideline me again, since I will be doing all the school driving this week. But I'm not going to use that as an excuse to not even try.

What's a mother to do?

Well, it happened.

My first baby went and turned 18 yesterday. Without my permission.

What a strange thing to say and think about. I absolutely can't believe how quickly 18 years can go by. I don't feel much older than that myself. Of course, I am reminded of the fallacy of that thought every time I look in the mirror. I made him pick out what he wanted for supper and made him a cake. We got him some new clothes which of course weren't the right thing. I have hopes of him someday wearing his pants at the proper altitude.

We ate our supper of Chicken Parmigiana and salad, cleaned up and waited around for the party to begin. After my sis and her family and J's friend T came over, we lit the candles, sang to him and made him blow out the candles. I told him it was the last time we would make him do it. It was a very low key birthday, but it was so nice to have family and friends here to help celebrate this special day in a special young man's life. He is really a good young man, with great potential. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 18 years bring with him. Love ya, J!

SMART Saturday Holiday weekend version

I have been wracking my brain trying to remember if I followed through on any of my habits this week, and I honestly know I did something but can't remember what it was.

It has been such a crazy week with lots going on at the kids school and extra meetings and functions there, that required so much of my time. I think I got in about 8-10 extra volunteer hours this week and C got 5-6. I'm hoping to have a somewhat quieter week next week.

I didn't even get in all my exercising this week, just not home enough......

SO, this week, is just a renewal of all the same old things I'm trying to work on. I think I will have to go back and read what they were, since I'm having a hard time even remembering them.

I would like to get on here one week and report a perfect week...hahaha! Haven't failed til I quit trying.

*update: My brain finally kicked in and I remembered the one organizational thing I did this week. I spent a lot of time Sunday on the computer organizing and catergorizing my pictures. I then burned most of them onto cd's. This is a huge load off my mind. Now I'm not so worried about losing them if my computer crashes. I need to do a bit more 'clean-up' of pictures, deleting duplicates, etc., then delete the duplicates off my camera so I can take new pictures.

Whew, it's nearly over

Last school holiday party down for this year for me as the holiday room mother. Why, oh why, do I get myself into these things? Actually, it hasn't been bad being the room mom for an upper grade class. The kids are really easy to please and don't have to have tons of structured activities. They have always been really wonderful about participating in the activities and thankful for the treats. They are just plain fun, too!
C got to see that for himself today because they needed an additional driver for their field trip up to the Capitol to see the legislative process at work. He got to drive a carload of boys up and back. Good thing he's great with kids and is a Scoutmaster. He has no trouble having fun with them, but being firm, too.

So, after all the 'stuff' I've had on my mind for the past couple of days, I came home from school and literally crashed, taking a much needed nap, and I let 5 Buck Pizza cook for us tonight. Heart shaped pizzas, kind of fun! I think I am just mentally exhausted. I still have more to do, now it's on to the baby shower invites(70) for my SIL and I get to cut out 5 cardboard goats for H's class's Heidi celebration next week.

So, again, I say Whew! Just to catch my breath and dive back in!

I have to be the world's dumbest blogger....

I have been feeling really bad because no one ever left me any comments on my blog and wondering if I was such an incredibly boring blogger that no one had anything to say. Then today for some reason I had to go to my dashboard to change the language from Spanish back to English (don't ask how it got changed to Spanish, I have no idea) and saw that I had lots of comments that had to be moderated to be posted. And it was so fun to read them and realize that someone has actually read this silly blog.

So, thanks to all of you who left me comments and I promise to look for them more often.
There, now I feel better!

So I really sort of slacked off on SMART Habits. I think my brain only functions half the time and for some reason those things I've wanted to work on don't cross my mind like they should.

I am still trying to organize and I cleaned off the dresser in my room, hung up some pictures I've been meaning to do for years, moved the baby's crib and dresser to make more room in our room for them and put more clothes in the new tubs I bought getting rid of the old, raggedy cardboard boxes.

I did get three sessions of exercise in this week. That was great! That kick-boxing was killer-I'm still sore and I'm sure it was hilarious to watch.

I also did research online to gather information on some of the 'skills' I'm trying to 'store' up. I have added to my list and I've divided it into three areas:

Food:
*Cheese making-have recipes, need to practice
*canning-need to get a new pressure canner and gather more bottles, practice canning meat
*sourdough-found a place to get a free start from some 150 year old starter and will be sending for that this week so I can learn to make bread from it
*Honey Candy-(this is a family tradition that will die if I don't learn to do it. Of my grandma's 10 children only two currently make it; my mom and my uncle. I don't want to let this die, so I'm going to learn to make and stretch it properly)
*Dutch oven cooking-have oven and recipes now just need nice weather so we can practice
*Pickles-no info here but I want to try to make some this year

Yard/Garden:
*composting-lots of info, this week I found a good article on building compost bins
*Veggie gardening-Need more info on raising potatoes and onions and how to stake up tomatoes
*Fruit/vines-want to learn more about raising fruit and grapes and berries. Need to check with the extention office for info for Ut Co.
*Root cellar-Found a good website with info on all these 'old-fashioned' things that our forebears had to know to survive. The Old-Timer's Page. I would like to build a small one, if I thought we were going to be here at this house forever.....
*Harvesting and storing seed-found a good article about harvesting wildflower seed and how to clean and store them. Need to find info for vegetables.

Home:
*Pattern making-Found a neat system online called The Lutterloh System that I think would work well and for the price it would work for our entire family. Pondering purchasing this just for preparation's sake
*Hand stitching-need to practice my hand stitching. If I had to make clothing and stitch it by hand I'm not sure it would stay put together.
*Quilting-pretty much the same idea here. Maybe make a wall-hanging to practice piecing on.
*Knitting-I have learned many times, but can't ever remember how. Need to get needles and some stitch guides. I want to start this one right away.

And I finally downloaded some pictures and I'll post them here when I figure out how to get them from my photoshop album. Like I said, I AM the world's dumbest blogger.

Where did my baby go??

Well, it's official.....Soren is no longer a 'baby'. I took the buzzer to his lovely blonde hair today and he now looks like a little boy instead of a rugrat. It was hard to watch all that hair dropping away from his head, but it was time. I put him in his high chair, put my cape on him and proceeded to cut. He was amazingly still for me, I only had to distract him from the comb and scissors a couple of times. He looks so cute now, Jordan put a bit of hair goop in his hair and gave him a mini faux-hawk like his. I love how I can see his expressive eyes and eyebrows now.

He has also started saying 'Whoa!' all the time now. Whenever anything falls or he bumps into things or throws things, out it comes....."WHOA!"

And tonight he started winking his eyes at the girls at the dinner table unsolicited. SO ADORABLE!

I am amazed at how quickly a year in a child's life can fly by and how much I feel like I missed. I feel like the time is just literally slipping through my fingers like water. I try to hold on to it, but I can't. What a blessing this last year has been with Soren. I'm so thankful for the lessons I've learned along the way. I'm thankful to have had one more chance to enjoy the wonders of infancy and childhood, because I think I have a heightened sense of it's fleetingness and it's pricelessness. When I watch him I can't help but try to think back to all the other kids at his age and try to remember all the little details that are threatening to slip away. Hopefully I will find or make time to record these feelings and memories and emotions before they fly!

Midweek Madness

Whew, Wednesday's over. It has been a busy one. But a good one too. My friend Kristi, had an entry in her blog about good things. I thought it would be nice to try to really focus and come up with some good things that are happening in my life right now.

1-kids are doing well in school. Case in point, today C and M each came home from school with an engraved medal and a certificate for winning in their class spelling bees. C took 1st place and M took 2nd. They will now compete against each other and the other winners in the All School Spelling Bee. Happy Mom moment!

2-The window openings in our new dining room got framed in today. Just need to order windows now. We have picked them out, just have not put the order in for processing.

3-SJ is mostly sleeping through every night now. He's only 13 months old....it's about time. Now, I just need to make myself get to bed earlier and up earlier.

4-I have been pretty consistent in exercising. We updated our television service and we now have FitTV and I find that I like many of their workout programs and I can pick and choose so I don't get bored so quickly. And I like it better than going to a gym...Uck!

5-Got to have a nice quiet leisurely lunch by myself today. I got to spend 1 1/2 hours helping in SK's kindergarten class and then to wait til pick up time I went to Subway and ate. It was nearly 2 pm and the place was mostly empty. It was loverly.

6-Used my new Cricut machine to make a quick thank you note today. I love that little machine. I need to use it more often. Need to make some cute Valentine candy boxes for the kids to take to school.....

7-The inversion is gone for a day or two. It snowed last night and the gunk in the air is gone. It was absolutely heavenly today to see the blue sky, the mountains, the lake and sparkly snow everywhere.

8-J came home tonight and told me that he had just filled out his papers for his Eagle Scout project... I believe my jaw nearly hit the floor. I had given up on that one. I'm praying that his project gets approved.

9-Tried a new recipe tonight. I have never had chili Cincinnati style before. I had seen it before and thought it was strange, but for some reason when I saw it on the Betty Crocker website today it sounded like something to try. And I had all the ingredients. It was GOOD and I actually liked it and I'm happy to have another reason to make chili. Most of my kids liked it, even though it was just 'WEIRD' to them.

10-Used my new pressure cooker again. Got it for Christmas. Love that I can cook up a batch of beans in 1/2 hour. My mom always used her when I was growing up and I assumed I would have one when I grew up, but for some reason I have never had one til now. Guess that makes me a grown up now! LOL! But it is a really handy tool to have and so Thanks, MOM! I think it's one of the best gifts I've gotten.

That's it. Hope you had a GOOD day too!

SMART Habit Saturday

Just trying to figure out this goal tracking thing.

I had a fairly good week in most areas, but not in getting to bed on time. I just seem to crave that quiet time at the end of the day for myself. I think this week I will set bedtime at 11:00 which is more doable for me.

I exercised three times, once for 1/2 hour and twice for 45 minutes. We recently upgraded our TV service and I find I'm really liking the FitTV channel. I have lots of different workouts to choose from and I'm not getting bored as quickly.

I bought some containers this week for organizing and reorganized the main toiletry shelf in the bathroom closet (got rid of lots of old stuff), revamped the 'junk' drawer in the kitchen and fought my way through my stack of receipts to get the check book up to date.

This feels really good, to actually be making some progress.

This week I will continue to exercise, hopefully for an hour a day, 3x.
I will get to bed by 11:00 pm
I will do three more organizational jobs.
And I'll add......morning prayer. I have a hard time getting that one in and I NEED it.

SMART Saturday-a day or two late.....

Didn't get much done last week, can't even really remember what I was going to work on specifically, just organizing some more and my WW.

I had a few off days on WW and ate too many points, but I did exercise 2x. Trying for 3 times this week.

Didn't get anything organized either. Just trying to put out the fires that rage with homework and church etc. Going this week to get some more containers for the bathroom.

Our family's goal this week is to try to get to bed earlier and get a full night's sleep so that we aren't so tired every day.

So my goal/habit this week to work on is:
exercise 3x (already done 1)
buy containers for bathroom closet
get to bed by 10:30

Short weekend

I am really starting to dislike the weeks that my kids have school on Friday, it makes the weekend seem so much shorter and I actually forgot to wash their uniforms so they had to scrounge to find things this morning for school. Loser mom!

We did have a fun evening on Sat. My in-laws are in town and we all went bowling and then had pizza, salad, fruit and goodies afterwards. It's always nice to get together and catch up. I have never bowled so badly in my entire life.....not even when I was learning how. I just wasn't into it, I guess, so I'm not really bothered by my low score. It was just weird to see such a low score.

The other 8th grade teacher quit last week, so all his class will be joining Montana's class now. 27 students. I hope that things transition well. We also received notice that the school is planning to have a 9th grade class next year and we've been trying to determine whether we want to go that route or not. We need to get Montana's input....I'm leaning to not doing it because in Provo School district, 9th grade is in high school and I'd like him to start at Timpview with all the other kids his age.....that and having one less kid at AHS would help the budget. We'll see what he thinks.

Our family has started a push to work on being kinder and just improving all areas of our lives. So last night at FHE,(had early since C had to go to Elko)we decided to focus this week on getting to bed on time and getting enough good sleep so we can be in a better mood each day and feel better instead of so tired all the time...I understand the logic, but sometimes that's the only time I get any quiet time, and sometimes I really need that. Guess I'll give it a shot, though.

Saturday, again?

Where did the week go? I can't seem to keep up with time anymore, I always feel like I'm chasing after it and never quite catching up.

Time for a SMART Saturday check-in....
Today I got all the game boxes in the hall closet labeled so that the kids can see what game they are grabbing instead of getting it out and opening it and realizing it's not the one they wanted. Good idea, yes?

I also joined the online verson of WW this week and I'm really enjoying the features it offers, such as being able to enter our normal recipes and having it calculate the points per serving for me. I am pleased to report that I have been very good and have recorded everything for going on 4 days now, and I have not gone over on points on any of those days. Of, course, it helps to have the extra nursing points, but I haven't even used all of them. I'm hoping for a small loss this next week at weigh in.

I got my hair cut on Friday and it's wonderful to have that long stuff gone. I'm such a short hair person. I took in a picture of Heidi Swapp(scrapbook celeb) and had the stylist try to imitate her cute do. Hallelujah! C even got his cut,too. He probably shouldnt' have hair longer than mine.....LOL!

1/9

Well, I was supposed to check in on Sat and update on my SMART goals, but I had the stomach bug thing going on and I didn't even get dressed. Which is really sad considering that it was Soren's first birthday. Curtis, of course, stepped in and handled everything for the celebration along with feeding the kids and catching up the laundry. I don't know how I got so lucky to have him for a husband.

Soren's birthday was fun. He wasn't much interested in opening more presents, but had fun with the new toys once he saw them. He was not shy about digging right into his first taste of cake and ice cream. He really liked the cake and had it everywhere. He also had his first taste of rootbeer and his first rootbeer float at Great Grandma's for FHE last night. That was a hit. He is growing up so fast, I can't keep him little long enough. He has gotten his two top centrals in the last week. He is starting to assert his wishes and flops when he doesn't get what he thinks is necessary at the moment. He loves to sing and clap and play hide and seek with anyone who will play. Cambria and Sadie probably have the easiest time getting him to laugh. He goes in for his 12 mo dr visit on Thurs.

I called and made an appt to chop off my hair on Fri. I am so excited. I tried to grow it out to see what it would look like and I just feel frumpy when I look at myself in the mirror. I liked it short and sassy. So off it comes.

I am making small amounts of progress in my goals. I have organized the game closet, put all the tiny baby clothes and stuff in a labeled bin and put it in the storage room and out of my closet. I cleaned up the toy basket in the living room and made room for the toys in Soren's cupboard by his bed.....I joined WW online today and will attempt to get back to my 'goal' weight. I want to lose a few #s before starting to run again so that my knees won't hurt so bad. I have been thinking of other things to add to my list of 'life/survival skills' to learn. That's about the extent of it, but I feel like I've accomplished a lot already and I guess that if I can feel enthusiastic about it, for me, that's 90% of the battle.

New Year, and New Me, Hopefully!

Yah, it's Jan 2 and I'm still excited for this new year. I have so many plans and my major goal this year is to EXECUTE them. Not kill them (which is what I usually do), but actually put them into motion or practice.

So yesterday to start I ran to Kmart and bought some plastic containers and then revamped the game portion of the hall closet. Put all the game pieces into the containers and got rid of all the bozes that were falling apart and were different sizes. Now everthing stacks nicely and we went from 3 shelves to two. Job well done, I'd say. Now I just need to label the containers.

I'm going to jump in with Lara on the SMART Saturdays.
I loved the quote used by An Ordinary Mom on her blog(which link you can find on Lara's SMART Saturday post) and so I am going to break down the things I want to work on based on those same areas.

Intellectual/mental:My goal here this year is to learn new skills that would be useful in the case of major disaster and the collapse of our current way of life. Things I would need to know if we had to live off the land and totally provide for all our needs to survive. I had to give a talk in Sacrament meeting last month and that was the idea that really came to me. I need to 'store up' my skills as well as food. Some of the things I want to learn about and practice are: cheesemaking-ricotta and mozzarella, pressure canning, gardening(better) and I'm sure I will come up with more.

Physical: nothing new here, try to lose a few #s and exercise. But I have a plan and support now. My mom and sisters and I are doing WW together and we all want to do the 5K in Monticello on the 24th of July. I want to run it and I have time to train, but I will settle for walking it if that's all I can do.

Social/Creative: My goal here is to actually set aside time to work on my many scrapbook projects. Mostly I want to finish up my Ancestor album so my kids can actually look at it and start to make those connections. Other projects include my baby album, and my wedding album. I also want to find time to finish up the class I paid for from BPS that Stacy Julian taught.

Spiritual: Nothing new here either. I need to devote a specific time to read and study and pray. Now that Soren is a bit older I think I can find some consistent time to do this. Can't claim sleep deprivation any longer. I'm thinking 6:30 will be a good time for me to do this.

I also want to try to have a date with one of my children each month. And encourage their dad to do the same. They really need that one on one time since it's so hard to come by at home.

We had a really nice, lo-key Christmas. I didn't even take very many pictures and don't feel bad about that. It's nice to have it over with and get the living room back. Thanks to my DH for putting all that stuff away while the kids and I were at my moms. We had a fun time at my sister's for an early New Year's celebration on Fri. So fun to spend time with all of my sisters and their families. Thanks to my sister and her hubby for hosting again this year.

We also got the walls up on the addition and covered with plywood. We need to order windows and trusses. It's actually happening, almost can't believe it.

And we got the phone call today saying we can pick up our new living room furniture tomorrow. Hooray! It's only been 6 1/2 weeks since we ordered it. Yahoo! now I can put my room together and hang all the decor back up.....

FIVE!

Only five days til Christmas! Yikes! How did that happen?
Seriously, I love Christmas, but it seems that each year the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas gets shorter and shorter. Guess that indicates how old I'm getting to be! LOL!

I think we are mostly ready this year. Most of the gifts this year are intangibles, so there wasn't much running around and shopping to do. That was a nice break, but then I got to wondering what in the world will the kids do all day on Christmas if they don't have something to play with or to keep them occupied. So we might have to brave Wallyworld and get a game or two, or a puzzle or something of that nature.

I'm happy that we have Christmas Eve on Sunday because that really extends the time spent focusing on the Savior. We won't be shopping or running around after the 23rd this year and I like that idea. Hhhmmmm, probably ought to check my lists and make sure I'm prepared in the food department to go that long between store visits.

Soren is going to be so fun this year. He has been pretty good at leaving the tree and its decorations alone. A few years back I got a nice, pre-lit tree at Kmart for $12.50 during the after Christmas clearance. It also came with a stand that rotates, but since it's fairly big around and our living room is so small we've never had it rotate, cause it's usually smooshed up against a wall to make it fit. Well, since we are getting new furniture, which still isn't here and a whole nother story, we have already gotten rid of the old ones and now we have lots of room for a rotating tree. We have learned that that is a really good thing to have when you have a baby who wants to pull all the ornaments off. He can't hang on to them long enough to pull them off and he can't walk quickly enough to keep up with them once they move past him. I was also worried about him getting into the gifts, but he has yet to bother even one. I guess the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen are still entertaining and exciting enough for him.....He also really likes the lights in the window that we have up this year. We are not big decorators for Christmas, I think due to my desire to simplify everything, but we did find a working string of lights that work really well in the front window and Soren likes to stand on the couch and touch them one by one. His very first Christmas! Memories to keep close.

Oh, My! What a vision!

I just got to thinking of the newest, fanciest thing out in the world of kitchen appliances that I saw at Home Depot the other day. It was a lovely, stainless steel side-by-side refrigerater with a TV screen on the front of it.

My first reaction was "Hey, that's COOL! Expensive, but very cool."

The other night, for some reason I was thinking about it again and I had a startling vision come to mind of millions of Americans sitting in their recliners right in front of the refrigerator/TV and they were slowly, slowly growing larger and larger because........you no longer have to leave your chair to get a drink or treat from the fridge. You have the 'best?' of both worlds right there in your kitchen/living/family room.

As I type this I'm beginning to wonder which room you WOULD put it in.......Are we the laziest people in the world or what???

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I love Thanksgiving, don't you? My kids have this whole week off from school and I'm taking the time to catch up on some stuff that needed to be done, appts and such, and wishing I hadn't let things pile up so that I could stay home and just hang out with them. We are looking forward to spending time on Thursday with our Welch family....Nathan and Lori are hosting this year (again, that's what happens when you have the largest house). Curtis's parents flew in yesterday from GA and will be here a week. They asked me to bring rolls to dinner. Said that my rolls had been requested.????? What??? I don't make rolls except maybe once a year. I told them I would have to practice all week to make sure I had any that were edible.

Yesterday I got to go to the court building and sign myself up for traffic school. It was embarrassing. But I managed to make it through the ordeal and I get to go to traffic school on Dec 9. What a way to spend a Saturday.

I would much rather spend it like I spent last Saturday. Stacy and Stewart visited us and I went to the temple with them. I hadn't been in the longest time, it's hard when you are pregnant and then have a new baby. So I really enjoyed being there and the peace. Then Stacy and I did some shopping while Stewart went to the BYU game and then we got pizza for the kids and we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was a full day, but very enjoyable. Funny how it's so hard to get together with them when they only live 70 miles away. But they're busy and so are we. We'll just have to make it a priority.

Well, better go get my day started so I can be productive today. Got rolls to practice and Visiting Teaching and running to do......among other things.

Joists are in!

We have floor joists. Soon we will have subfloor and that will require that we quickly put up walls and roof to protect it from the rain/snow to keep it from warping. Hoorah!

Went to the library today for the first time in a long time. We have had another book disappear on us and I was dreading paying for it. I wonder how many other people have 'Bermuda Triangles' in their homes. Things just vanish.....POOF!
I raided the home organization section. Still collecting ideas. Last week I got to peek into Stacy Julian's life and home and was I ever inspired. I have always admired her, she is so dynamic, and it was so cool to see how she does all that she does. How she organizes her home, her family, her work and her life. I have so many ideas floating in my head. Now the trick is to put them into practice. As I have thought about it, I think that any system of organization only works as well as the people who use it. I can go about my house organizing to my heart's delight but if my kids won't participate, it won't do much good. But I am determined to try. I believe there are a few things I can personally do to help make our home and my life run a little more efficiently and allow me time to accomplish some of the 'fun' things I want to do, like scrapbook my kids/ancestors' histories and do some painting/home decor stuff. For me, the critical part is actually doing! I'm a great thinker of things and gatherer of information, but terrible when it comes to putting into practice those thoughts/ideas. It's my perfectionist tendencies. 'It might not look right!" Well anything would be better than nothing which is what we've got at the moment.

I CAN DO THIS!

Soren @ 10 months

Soren was 10 months old on Monday, Nov 6. He got his first tooth that day. At least that was the day I first felt it. Today, the 8th, he started to crawl in the normal manner for the first time. He still drops and army crawls if he has to get somewhere fast, but he's sure working hard to stay on his knees. Where, oh, where did my baby go???? He has started being very vocal and voicing his opinion on all sorts of matters. Yesterday Curtis and Soren and I went out to lunch at Jason's Deli and we could not put food into his mouth quickly enough for him. He kept yelling his dissatisfaction and the people around us kept looking at us to see why he was yelling....One older lady stopped by our table on her way out and dropped off a package of crackers for him. Little turkey!
He is sleeping through the night now with great consistency, which is such a blessing for Curtis and I. Now if he just had a bedroom other than ours....He calls me Mom-mom and knows that that means me. His favorite foods are bananas, beans, grapes, meat, peas, berries. He pretty much eats anything, but is not too fond of mashed potatoes. I'm not sure he can be mine if he doesn't like potatoes.

We are so thankful this year to have this sweet little boy as a part of our family. He daily brings joy to our home and a gentleness and softness in all of us. We are blessed!

HAUNTED!! That's how I've been feeling for a couple of days now. Not in the way that is obvious, but by some words I read the other day. I was working in Sadie's kindergarten class checking in the kids homework. Some of the kids were missing part of their work so I went to their backpacks to see if I could find any papers and in one of them I found a large pile of papers. I pulled them out to see if this child's homework was in there and as I glanced at one of them, obviously written by an adult, not a kindergartner, a line or two caught my eye. It said,"I'm sorry you don't like our house, or like our furniture. I wonder sometimes if you even like me. I guess that I haven't been the best husband, father or provider that you expected.... " I quickly put it away and didn't read any more, but I am haunted by those words because in truth, they could have been written by my own husband. I can't count the number of times that I have complained about those same things, either to him or to others. I realize now that by doing that I am essentially telling him that he is a lousy husband and provider. That is the last thing that I want to tell him. I know how hard he works to provide for this family, and what a wonderful father and husband he truly is. In my heart I know that no house, no amount of $$ and no other thing in this world would ever make up for having a poor marriage or a disinterested father for my children and that I am actually RICH beyond my wildest dreams. I feel badly that I read a part of some one's private conversation, but it was unintentional and I put it away as soon as I realized what it was. But I look at it as a wake-up call for myself. No more thoughtless comments will come from me on this subject. I want to be supportive and sustaining to my husband, even when he is not present, rather than saying and doing things that diminish him and his self-worth. He is priceless to me and I need to treat him as such. I hope that I am forever haunted by these words....so that I will never make that mistake again.

Whew! Countdown to Fall Festival is on!

The BIG fundraiser for the year for our school is the Fall Festival. It's a big dinner, dancing, games, fun family time kind of thing. They always have a silent auction that brings in lots of money and each family is asked to contribute at least one item to auction off. I don't know about anybody else, but for me that is a very stressful thing. They suggest going to businesses and getting products and services donated, but anyone who knows me knows I would rather cut my arm off than solicit donations. So for the last two months I have thought and thought and thought and tried to come up with a fun, unique idea that I think will be appealing and bring in $$ for the school. Thanks to my mom and her embroidery machine I usually have something fun.
This year I donated 12 Christmas ornaments that are covered with machine-embroidered lace which is embellished with Swarovski crystals. They are very pretty and I hope someone else thinks so too! I turned them in yesterday.

It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Whew!! Hopefully they'll get a day of rest before the next big stressful thing gets loaded onto them.....

Hasta!

Wacky Wednesday!

Whew! I get to sit for a moment. It has been one of those days. I'm really ready for Curtis to be home. I try to keep things together when he leaves town, but it truly wears me out. I was reading on Melody Ross's blog last night. She is the founder of Chatterbox, Inc. I learned that her husband had an accident a while ago and has suffered from a brain injury, so she has had to be the mom and the dad and the business owner and keep everything going at home and at work. I am amazed at her ability to keep going, and keep a positive attitude about it all. Very admirable.

Took Soren in to the dr. today for a 9 month checkup. He is one BIG boy. He clocked in at 22.2 lb, 31 inches long. He was 90% for his weight, 80% for his height and 75% for his head size. Dr. Berry teased me and told me that he will one day be a linebacker and that I ought to package and sell what I've been "feeding" him. But of course, he is all good. Everything about him is great. He was absolutely crazy there too. He sat on that crinkly paper on the exam table and kicked for all he was worth just to hear it. He was wanting to get into all the drawers and cupboards. Thankfully he fell asleep on the way to Aunt Nicole's so that she didn't have to put up with his antics while she watched him.

I spent an hour in Sadie's classroom today helping with the recording of homework. I am amazed at how much those cute little kids have learned in the 29 days they've been in school. Sadie is very business like in her schooling, comes right into the room, gets her things from her cubby, sits down and gets busy. Not much talking to the other kids or getting distracted by anything. She has made tremendous strides in her writing. So fun to see the progress.

Seeking organization!

I really shouldn't be up at this hour, but Soren got me up and of course now he's back asleep, but I'm not. I really look forward to the day when I can get a whole night's sleep.
I've been having lots of thoughts of ways to organize my home and my life so that it is more efficient. I think that organization is key to surviving being a mother of more than one child. I have gotten ideas from lots of places, including here. I was so inspired by what she has written and the challenges. I am trying to put some of those ideas into practice. Another idea I got was from my friend, Katie. While visiting at her house I noticed that her water cup had an elastic string with alphabet beads on it, spelling out her name. She had them for each member of her family. She said that it saves her washing those thousands of cups that seem to end up all over the house which no one will claim as theirs. I loved this idea, because I am forever washing cups, way more than necessary, even given the number of people who live in this household. So I ran right out to my trusty craft store and picked up the supplies to make name bands for our household. It has helped already, even though I haven't gotten all of them made yet. Who would have thought that such a simple idea could be so useful??

Weekend Survival

Aren't the weekends supposed to be somewhat more relaxing than the weekdays? Not so here at the Welch Compound.

I did so love listening to and watching conference this weekend though. The talks were all so good and I can't believe how amazing I think Pres Hinckley is. I think he could run circles around me. I really loved the phrase I heard, (not sure who said it): "Adult Onset Pessimism" I have suffered from this disease for most of my life and it's time to be cured.

Jordan went to homecoming on Sat with a friend he worked with at 7 Peaks. Her name is Coleen. Curtis and I took them to the rifle range to shoot early Sat morning. It was frigid and she came in flip-flops but she sure was a good sport. She was not afraid to try to shoot and she had a go with all four of the ones we had with us. I have to admit that I was really surprised that he had asked someone out and I think that he had a good time. It's so strange to watch your baby become a man!