I'm only doing this because I feel like I'm in a secure place here. I happen to have come across our cruise pictures from last year. We took the cruise on my birthday so it has been exactly a year. Don't laugh or judge, but here are the then and now pictures of Glade and me:
Happy Birthday to me! Ok, so it's not my birthday yet, but on Tuesday when it is, there won't be a whole lot going on. I decided to throw myself a party. Not much of one, but at least I can say I had one. A small group of us went out to dinner to Red Robin then off to laser tag. No, I'm not too old! I did pretty well actually. Out of 41 people, I came in #13. Glade was #6. If I were being totally honest I would also admit that there were probably 15 little boys in there under the age of 12. Whatever. It was a really nice night. After Stratum, we went to Nielson's for some frozen custard. Yummy in my tummy! Of course the conversation is always the best part. Thanks to all my friends. It's actually been really great because on Thursday I got to spend the evening with all my bunko friends, on Friday my old friends, Saturday my new friends and tomorrow with my family. I think I just about covered it. Who could ask for anything more?? It's great to be 38!
Glade and me on my 38th birthday.
Matt and Shelli Allen, Jake and Jenny Johnson, Laurie and Glade, Julia and Jason Stolworthy
This is totally out of place, but I took this today just messing around. She just finished eating pizza and saw me with the camera so she immediately climbed up and started posing. Even dirty she is darling! 
Tonight we went to dinner with some friends and then needed to waste some time before we picked Chelsey up from work. Glade needed some new goggles for in the morning so we went to Sports Authority. I was looking at some shirts and Glade yelled to me to come here. I thought it was kind of weird that he would yell like that. I looked over and just saw a head and heard a voice say "what was your name?" to Glade. I thought "who is he wanting me to meet that doesn't even know his name?" As I heard his voice, I totally knew - Blaine Cotter from the Biggest Loser! He was so nice. We stood and talked with him for almost an hour. We grilled him about how the show really worked and how he was doing and what the people were really like. He was great about it and never once did I feel like he was trying to get away or end the conversation. Glade even asked him to do a fireside for our ward and he said he would. He has already done a few and used to teach seminary in CA. Glade invited him to ride and train with him and a few other guys. He acted like he totally would. He told Glade how to contact him so we will see what actually happens. It was really fun and a great way to end the night. I considered listing all the interesting things he told us, but that would make for a really long post. He did say though, that the Tongans and the yellow team are both LDS. The yellow girls are not active though. What a neat experience to hear things straight from the horse's mouth. He is really tall, six eight! Neat neat guy.
Bo woke up this morning with no fever..woohoo! Let's hope it stays away. Yesterday it stayed down as long as he was on medication. As soon as that wore off, it went right back up to 104.8. Too scary for me. I had Bunko at my house last night so it was a little stressful not knowing if I should take him to be seen and cancel Bunko or let him ride it out and go on as scheduled. Lucky for me I have great friends. A girl in my ward is a nurse and she assured me that as long as the fever was coming down, I shouldn't worry too much. I also had a friend agree to have Bunko at her house if I needed to. See how blessed I am!
Bunko was fun. We were missing 4 girls which is stinky, but we had a nice time. Katy was a pain in the rear. Glade had to go the the big girls choir concert so he wasn't home to take her. Dinner was great, I ate wayyyy too much. I made a jello cake that needed more jello, but I LOVE jello cake. Everyone stayed till about 10:30 or 11 then I headed to bed. Glade gave up his spot for Bo again. He slept through the night and I never needed to give him more medicine. It was nice to wake up to a clean house too! Hopefully Bo's fever will stay down because Costco is calling me. Plum out of milk. I have one more birthday party to throw tomorrow for Rhett along with his last soccer game then I'm free and clear for a while. Beautiful!
104.2, that's how high Bo's fever was when I got home last night. He has had a fever off and on for about 4 days now. Nothing too serious. I had taken Stephen to get stuff for baseball and when I got home Bo was sleeping on the floor. I decided to check him before I had Stephen carry him up to his bed and he was burning up. We had prayer and sent the other kids to bed then took his temp under his arm. It climbed so fast! It hit 103 and it really started freaking me out since you have to add a degree if it's under the arm. He was shaking and crying. Very hard for a mother to watch. I really just wanted to wrap him in a blanket and hold him, but I knew that wasn't good. We made a few calls and had Bro. Allen come help Glade give him a blessing. We gave him a dose of both Tylenol and Advil then I laid with him and put a cool cloth on his head, neck and belly. It took about an hour, but it finally came down to a normal fever. I stopped worrying when he went from asking for the blankets to sweating on me. Whew! He slept great through the night. I woke him up at 3 am to give him more medicine. I didn't take his temp but he was really hot again. He went right back to sleep and about an hour later, he was sweating again. Glade forfeited his side of the bed and slept on the couch so I could take care of Bo. I really appreciated that because it's much easier to reach across the bed to feel his head than walk down the hall several times a night. He hasn't woken up yet this morning, but he head is still fairly cool. I hope he feels better today. I love that kid.
There are few things that feel as satisfying as getting a good deal. OK, there are a lot, but in the venue of shopping....I took Whitley out to lunch to In and Out. Not my fav but we had a gift card and she had never been. She sided with me in "it's just a hamburger". After, we skipped on over to the mall. It was too hot to be walking around the outside mall, by the way. She is great to shop with. Not too picky and very price conscientious. The deals of the day went like this:
Aeropostale - $10 jeans for Nick and Whitley (except she didn't get any because she didn't LOVE the way the fit). See how great she is!
Wet Seal - $10 jeans for Whitley that she did love!
Pumpkin Patch - (possibly my new favorite store) I can't afford anything here, but the clearance items are great. I got two "hunter/wilderness" themed onesies and some really cute little shoes all for $12. A gift for a neighbor.
Bath and Body - $3 hand soap (I missed the 4/$10) I might have also found my new favorite scent, Wild Honeysuckle.
Payless - really cute shoes that were NOT a great deal, but I love! Happy Birthday to me! We also found a really cute pair of flip flops for Whitley and since they didn't have the size we needed, they sent us to a different store with a $3 off coupon. Nice!
I even got to have a short half hour nap before I went and got the kids. Pretty good day!
Yesterday went fairly smoothly, although very busy. My big girls had a half day which was fabulous! Whitley helped me set up for the Blue and Gold banquet and helped get the babies ready while I was gone. I owe her a shopping trip today. Poor us! The banquet went OK. Chaotic and we forgot some of the most important things, but whatever. I just wish that parents would take more responsibility for their kids. I didn't have anyone there to help with mine so they were a little up and down, but plenty of parents just sat around while their kids went crazy. It's just hard to have any sort of structure to the event if there is that much chaos. Next time we probably won't plan so much, but we definitely need to work on both our parents and leaders helping to keep things orderly. Other than that it was fine. We had just about the right amount of food and lots of help cleaning up. By the time I got home, my back was killing me and I just wanted to go to bed. I left the entire mess for this morning. I really thought I would dread waking up to it and getting it done, but it was actually quite therapeutic. My kitchen is very clean!
Tomorrow is my last major hurdle for a while. I have Bunko at my house. Part of me wanted to cancel or pawn it off to someone else but then I thought how silly that was. These girls have been my friends for a good many years. I'm not going to stress myself out trying to make everything perfect. They understand and care enough about each other that no one would want me to stress myself over Bunko. If my Bunko girls are reading, I truly believe this. So on with Bunko!!
Katy needs a tie-down for her bed. That stinkin girl will come in my bed 2 -3 times a night. Last night I didn't have the energy to fight with her so I just moved over. Not too long later when she whacked with with her arm, I thought to myself "here I am - pillowless and squished way over while Queen B is stretched out across my pillow and whacking me in the face" What is wrong with this picture??? Out she went. That lasted about and hour and a half. She came back. I seriously need some uninterrupted sleep.
Next week is my birthday and it's going to come and go without me getting to be excited about it. I know, I'm old and I shouldn't care, but I do. I like birthdays! With so much else going on, I haven't had a chance to think about it and remind everyone that it's coming! The great thing is that I've been calling myself 38 for so long now that it doesn't even seem like I'm older. I'm sure just having all these activities out of the way and some time out with my sweetheart will be exactly what I need. Off to the mall with no babies!! Wooohooo!
Someone asked me today "how was your weekend?" I had to think. I don't know. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Saturday I had great hopes for productivity but with half my family missing we pretty much lounged around. Got into a little tift with Whitley about her excessive lounging, but we got it all figured out! I did some running of kids around and then decided I needed to get my nails done. I made an appointment, and I say that loosely. I always call and suggest a time and they say "sure" and hang up. Never ask my name..hmmm. Anyway, I had the BEST pedicure. I have yet to experience a really great one. Usually they dig their thumbs into my calf or rub the same place till it hurts. I get them because it helps my toenails not get sore and ingrown. But today, the girl actually massaged my feet! Really good massaging. I asked her name cuz now I have to make appointments with two specific girls!
Glade had gotten home while I was gone and left for conference before I got back. A group of us went to dinner before the adult session so the girls all went early to save a table. We are very fortunate to have great people around us. Dinner was good and conference was great! I went home to a clean house and sleeping children. Perfect.
Sunday we got to sleep in a little then head out for Stake Conference. We only take kids 12 and older so we can actually get something out of it. I know not everyone approves of our method, but as I sit and watch parents wrestling with kids and hauling in armloads of activities to keep their younger ones quiet for 2 hours, I remember why we do it and reassure myself it's a good thing. Both babies had fevers on Sunday so we canceled Sunday dinner. It worked out pretty well. I was able to get some bread made and we had a nice casual dinner of homemade pizza. Shelli had brought some cookies by so that was a nice treat to end the day with.
Rhett had a great time on his first camp out and came home filthy with a backpack full of railroad nails, eighteen to be exact. Not sure what we are going to do with those!
Yesterday was MORP for Chelsey. Prom spelled backwards, a girl ask guy dance at school. The theme was Disney something or other. She started the day out with track, then she had to come home, do her chores, get ready for the day date and leave by noon. Her and two other couples spent the day at the park. I haven't really seen her since yesterday so I don't know a whole lot of details. Our paths kept NOT crossing..lol. She came home,had a nap then got ready for the actual dance. I guess at some point she had told me that they wanted to use our van since there would be 5 couples for the night. I wasn't opposed to this because her date, who would be driving, is the oldest of 7 and drives his family's 12 passenger all the time. The only problem was that I went to dinner before stake conference and I had the key. One of her other friends had to drive her to the restaurant to pick up the keys then go back and get the van to pick everyone up. I actually kind of liked this because it was the only time I got to see her that day. Each girl picked a Disney princess and made them and their date matching T-shirts. Chelsey's shirt said Belle on the back and her dates said Beast. They were cute. Hopefully I can get some pictures from a friend. The girls all wore little tiaras. She really did look cute. So they went to a friend's house and had dinner then went to the dance. After the dance they went back to her house and had root beer floats and watched a Disney movie. The only picture I have of the entire night is this:
Friday is always date night. This weekend Glade had an out of town camp out to attend. He and Nick went there and Rhett went on his first 11 year old camp out. This left me without a date. That's no good! I had one option left. OK, so he's 12.....is that wrong??
Of course I had to go check out all the kid stores. It was important, a friend of mine is having her first baby girl so I HAD to look for something cute. That was not a hard task. So Tammy, you better invite me to your shower! I just can't figure out why all the cute stuff is so expensive. The colors shouldn't make things cost more but let me tell ya.... Cute Cute Cute!!! Stephen was a trooper through all the baby shopping.
After that torture (I'm training him young), we went to Costco to finish shopping for scout stuff. We shared a yogurt then just waited for Chelsey to get off work so we could go home. It was a nice night. I should do that more often with my boys, and girls actually. Stephen hung out in my room with me and watch Everybody Loves Raymond with me when we got come. (Thankfully both episodes were completely appropriate.) Finally about 11 I shewed him out and told him to go to bed. As nice as the evening was, I missed my sweetheart.
This is just a small note on how great it is to love. As I was taking Brooklyn and Rhett to the orchestra concert, they were telling me about something that happened at school today. The story really wasn't what I'm blogging about, but it's what stuck out to me. It seems that every day when Rhett and Brooklyn cross paths in the lunch room, they give each other a hug. How great is that? One day Rhett accidentally spilled his lunch on her while trying to hug her. They were saying how today they had the same meal so he was extra careful to not do it again. They hug at school!! In front of their friends!!
We have been struggling with Rhett and orchestra. He has begged to quit, intentionally forgotten his instrument day after day, treated it horribly on the school grounds, etc. I finally made an agreement with him that if he would be cheerful and faithful in taking his instrument, he could quit after this concert. He has been outstanding. In the car he says "I think I'm going to stay in orchestra." Of course I'm thrilled. I mistakenly as "why" and he says "because the girl I like will be in it next year!" Sigh. See what love can do? I told him that was not a good reason and that if he chose to stay, we weren't going to have the drama we have been having all year. I told him he could think about it over the weekend. We'll see what happens.
Lastly, I LOVE the fun comments and insights that are shared here in "blogworld". Just small thoughts or comments can make my day. I love knowing that we are all so much the same. I love hearing your solutions to some of my problems. It seems like most everything has it's negative points, but I can't think of any in the great network of friends here at blogger. For that I say...Thanks!
Is it Tuesday, Friday...Thursday?? When we have a day off, it totally throws me. What day is it and where did the week go, yet why isn't it Saturday yet? This week has been much less stressful, just blurry. Yesterday I was going to go to the gym as soon as my VTers left, but my kids didn't want to and that was good enough for me! By the way, I have the BEST Visiting Teachers. Such a nice hour every time they come.
Basically we just hung out all day and when my last trip of picking up kids was done, I went to the gym. Did 4.5 miles and decided that was enough for today. Went home to fix dinner and take Whitley to practice. I decided to try a new recipe. (This is pathetic) My kids looked at it, complained, said it looked gross, made all the stupid faces. I got agitated and not very nice about how they were all going to eat it. Well, I'm pretty sure they all went for thirds. This is the pathetic part, the EXACT same ingredients as my spaghetti except with penne pasta. How stupid is that. We really go out on a limb here!!
After dinner, Glade and I went to Wal Mart to shop for our healthy food. He is trying a new approach to eating and it's rather time consuming. The whole day is planned out, partitioned and measured. We will get the hang of it, but it's not how we are used to eating.
Today I spent the morning on the phone with my mom. I like those days. I was supposed to meet Shelli at Costco right at 10, but we were late. The kids like shopping together and of course Pizza! I'm pretty sure that was not supposed to be my scheduled lunch. After lunch we went to the park and then home. It's always fun to share stories with friends.
Katy started coughing as soon as I laid her down and just wouldn't go to sleep. She cried and cried, so when Bo fell asleep, I slid him over to the far side of the bed and brought Katy in. She was asleep in minutes. Not me. Now it was too crowded!
Tonight is the kids orchestra concert. It's not making me so happy because tonight is our Enrichment and I can actually go, or not. It's even one for couples and I'm stuck going to an orchestra concert instead. It doesn't help that I really don't like the orchestra leader. Now I can just be mad at her for making me miss it. Childish, I know.
The washing machine guy finally comes tomorrow. It better be right this time. I have refused to do laundry while water is still pouring out so Glade rigged it to drain into a bucket and he has been doing the laundry. What a guy.
Sometimes a busy day makes for a good one. Tuesdays are always busy so no surprise there. I was going to go to the gym, but needed to go to the bank and pick up a few things as well (HSM3) so I opted out of the gym. I'm trying to stick to healthier eating, so I was shopping for food I was unfamiliar with . That makes for a long trip when you are trying to find things not on your normal route. My kids were a handful as usual. Katy is a no win. Either I keep her in the cart and listen to her whine and cry the whole way or I let her out and chase her. Some days I choose one and some days the other! Either way she is not the fun shopping buddy Bo used to be.
We got home just in time for naps except this week is early release so I needed to get my kids at 2. How is that supposed to work for naps?? Thanks to my great carpooling friend, we switched pickups so now my kids can have naps this week. Thank Heaven! Today was my day for Parent/Teacher conferences. I'm always nervous for that. Turned out good though. Rhett had excellent grades as always. His lowest was a 94. Now if only he would be nice to his teacher. She is fabulous and has been better with him than just about any other teacher he has had. He really is doing well for the most part. Brooklyn's grades were a little better, but not as good as she is capable of. Just needs to work on her reading skills. Dalin did really well, but cries a lot in class. He melts down really easily so if she asks him to redo something, it's over. We are working on that. He is also doing better at not talking ALL the time. Stephen and Nick are JH now so they don't have conferences. I got back just in time to head to scouts!
That's a redundant scenario. In the car, out, in the car, out. It all ends with a peaceful night of the Biggest Loser so that's just fine with me. I didn't even cry this week. I was amazed at how well she did at home though, good for her.
Brooklyn is playing softball. This is just plain weird. She played 2 years ago, but not since. I keep getting emails about upcoming tryouts and what not. I assumed that somehow my email got back on the list and have ignored them. Yesterday someone called and asked what size shirt she needed. I told them we didn't register her and they told me that she was. Very strange. I told her we didn't go to tryouts or anything and she told me that she was on a team already. So I said....."medium". Is that wrong??? I have no idea how it happened, but I did tell her we didn't do it. So anyway, now she is playing. She is a Sun Devil.
Still up bright and early for 8 am church. I had a hard time staying awake. The babies were extra hard in church today. Bo just wanted on me and of course Katy doesn't like to share so it was a struggle the whole time. My allergies went berserk for some reason and I sneezed all through the next two hours. Came home, make a quick lunch, gave some stern warnings and headed for my bed! My bed and I have not spent enough time together this last week. We were having Sunday dinner at ViEtta's today so I had no need to tidy my house or make any preparations so I took a 4 hour nap! Beautiful. My kids were mostly quiet and let me sleep, the warnings must have worked. We got up went to dinner, had fabulous homemade chicken noodle soup and played games till it was time to go.
I thought maybe I should have a shirt made that says something like "I survived this Week!" I still have a lot going on this month, but nothing like what this last week brought me.
PS, thanks to all my good friends and family who put up with my whining, grouchiness, total lack of organization and probably downright flakiness this last week. I love you all!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! This is what I woke up to this morning. Glade's got it down. My balloon even sings "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You". Not pictured is the chocolate, I have no idea what happened to it!!
We were up bright and early to head off to the race. It was so cold. I even wore running pants instead of shorts. Stephen didn't end up coming because of the camp out and no one ran in his place so he was just out his money. This race was for a set of conjoined twins in our area. It was called Two Sisters, One Heart. Once we started running, it seemed like it warmed right up! I was sweating and wishing I was in shorts and a T-shirt. I was very not prepared for this race and was more nervous than I think any of the rest. I started in the back this time so I wouldn't get frustrated with so many people passing me. I think we figured that the course was not quite 6 .2 miles, but more like 5.9. Hence the reason my time was about 4 minutes faster than my last one! Most everyone with us had the same increase in results. In trying to figure it out, I think I may have beaten my last time by less than a minute. That doesn't even really make sense to me because of how unprepared I was, but I'm attributing it to nice flat surfaces to run on instead of bumpy dirt roads. Either way, it's always fun to finish. We didn't stay too long due to our very full schedule.
When we got home, mom took Rhett for his birthday lunch and we started showering everyone and getting Sunday clothes around. There was a baptism right before Dalin's that I wanted to make it to, but I was about half an hour late. More family came than I thought was going to show up so that was nice. It was a little chaotic, but I have learned to be OK with that. At this age, baptisms are more of a happy occasion than a serious, spiritual one. Rhett, Brooklyn and Bo sang "I Lived in Heaven" as the special musical number. Katy decided she wanted in on it so she went up there and tried to sing any words she could understand. It was really distracting, but kinda cute.
My day ended much better than it began. Right after school I headed all the boys over for haircuts. I don't know why, but I get easily agitated when people need haircuts. It's a weird thing but I always get along better when their hair is cut. After haircuts, we rushed around and headed out to get Chelsey to Krew practice and Rhett to his soccer game. We were so rushed that I forgot I was in my slippers and wore them to Rhett's game. Rhett's game was COLD!!! Even with jackets and blankets, we were freezing (me and mom). While I was leaving home, Katy was having a rough time so I kept yelling for Whitley to come down stairs to get her. On my way out the door, I told Brooklyn to go upstairs and get her so Katy would be happy. Not too far into the game Nick calls and says they can't find Whitley. Not possible. I saw her there. I knew she was tired so I told him to really check her bed and closet and the tub. He did and called back and said she wasn't anywhere. I gave him a few ideas and still nothing. Strange. Now I'm worried. Whitley doesn't do much and she would never just leave, never. Now I'm torn with do I leave the game to go home and look for her? What if she isn't there? They had called a few friends and no one knew anything. I was talking to my mom about the possibilities and decided I should probably head home. Then Nick called again "did she go babysitting?" He was going through the caller ID to find a number and noticed Bro. Allen's cell phone number. I totally forgot she was doing that. They had come to get her while I was getting hair cuts. Weird and Scary.
To end the night HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHETT!! He didn't get much of a birthday unfortunately. He did get exactly what he asked for and then some, but no big fuss made. We didn't even have cake or sing to him. He said it was OK since he is having a party next weekend. I still felt bad.
Well I'm trying this "one day at a time" , "don't let life get you" crap and I'm struggling just a little. Today I was going to head into town to get scriptures for Dalin. Then a wonderful friend said she was going into town and did I want her to get them for me. I was going to call her to take her up on it when Chelsey's school called. We got her physical, but she didn't bring home the packet and she can't practice until it's filled out and will I please come do it today! Now I have to get out anyway so I might as well go get the scriptures. I took my two sweet children who terrorized me the whole time we were there. It should have been a short trip, but they only had one color in which the Book of Mormon and the Bible matched. Not the color he wanted. Do I wait, do I get the blue ones anyway? He's getting the blue ones. Next, scripture case. They have about 3 to choose from and 2 are totally for girls and the other is ugly and expensive. Now what? He got none. In the meantime, they have pulled many books off the shelves and keep yelling "mommy!" about every exciting thing they see. I don't mind too much about the books because that's easy to put back. They each wanted a book and they were on clearance for $2 so I let them each get one. They carried them around and when we finally were checking out, Katy hands me a different book. This one is $6. Whatever, let's get the heck out of here. Me, being stupid, asks a woman about a picture I would like to order. It takes longer than I had planned and when we were actually leaving, Katy had the first book we had picked out in her hand. I tell her no, to put it back and the fit begins. Luckily it was short, but I ended up carrying her out by the arm with her hanging there. Actually, that only lasted a minute. I sat her down, grabbed the back of her hair and "nicely" walked her out.
A short trip to walmart for Rhett's last birthday present. Katy cried pretty much the whole time because she didn't want in the cart. Then when we left, she cried cuz she didn't want to leave. She was really pushing her luck at this point. I wanted to stop by Costco to exchange something, but at this point..... I asked the kids if they wanted to eat at Costco, thinking this would distract her. They said no, Bo said Taco Bell, Katy cried "NO" to that. I suggested McDonald's cuz there was one right in the wal mart. They both said no. OK, whatever, we will go to Taco Bell. As soon as we got in the car, Bo asks where we are going. Taco Bell, I say. He yells "No, McDonald's!" Someone is really gonna get it! I said some things to myself really loudly that probably weren't very nice. We drove through a McDonald's and everyone was happy after that. Not me, Yuck.
We got to Chelsey's school right about the time Katy was falling asleep. We went in, they called her out of class and I signed a few papers. While we were waiting for her, the athletic director was making small talk and asked me how many kids I have. Here we go. I said 'nine'. His face was priceless. He repeated "nine" and then asked if I actually said "nine". Then he tells me I should probably sit down or something and is there anything I need. People are funny. He then asks how I feed them all. I told him I live at Costco and he asks if I take a trailer with me. Seriously??
We came home, laid down for naps, and I clock watched. The washing machine guy was supposed to be here to fix it, finally, and I couldn't sleep because I didn't want to be asleep when he got here. What a waste. He finally came and guess what...wrong part. They had ordered a newer version of the part I needed. Early next week, that's when I will get it. That means another whole weekend with water dripping all over my floor. Serious dripping, even with a towel in front of it, my wood floor is starting to buckle. Lovely.
Tonight I have to take Rhett to a soccer game, which I'm really ready for it to be over. I haven't worked on the song my kids are supposed to sing in 2 days and I'm pretty sure Valentine's Day is going to suck. How's that for not letting life get you????
This weekend has turned out to be quite busy. One of my children forgot that he was supposed to go on a camp out so I figured, if he doesn't remember, no big deal missing it. He has already paid to do the run and I don't want to have to worry about him getting back in time for the baptism. I even quizzed him on his weekend activities and he couldn't come up with a camp out so I really figured- no big deal! Big deal. Kind of as a joke, I threw it out there and how I couldn't believe he didn't remember, but that he already had so much going on it was no big deal. The tears began to flow. I reminded him of all the thing I just mentioned and he had a comeback for each one and why I should let him go. He tried to bury his head and not let me know that he was crying, but it was obvious.
When I got home I called his Scout Leader to get the details. He assured me they would be home in time and that it wasn't just a regular camp out, but a hike on the Mormon Battalion Trail. We also have a friend who wanted us to take his little boy to the race with us since he wasn't going to be able to run. This kid could run as my child and take care of that commitment. I didn't tell him he could go till much later in the night. Obviously he was very excited. When I went to bed, I picked up the book I'm reading and in with my bookmark was a folder green paper. I didn't remember that being in there so I unfolded it. There was one of the sweetest, most heartfelt thank you notes. Of course there were the "i love you so x5 much" and all that, but also a thank you for my comfort and support that I give him in his "adventures". It was very sweet and just the thing a mom loves to hear.
Revision: Now that your heart is all warm and fuzzy, when I thanked Stephen, he said he wrote it in Sunday school as part of the lesson. I should have just kept my mouth shut and had my little fairy tale world. It really was a sweet note, but not quite as meaningful when someone sits you down and tells you to write it!
Because I had New Beginnings last night, I didn't get to watch the Biggest Loser till later. How many times can one cry during a single episode? Didn't sleep well and Katy came in about 5 am so I was awake after that. I love this time though. One of my favorite things is to cuddle for that hour with my little ones. Bo doesn't come in any more, but I get him at nap time!
Had a nice productive morning with a trip to Costco and lunch with my babies. I was so tired by the time we got home I was ready for a nap, but they weren't. When it was finally a respectable time for them to go down, my phone started ringing. I hate that. It always happens right as I'm about to fall asleep then I'm just awake. I know, poor me.
After school I had to take Whitley to play practice and Chelsey to get a physical. We are at the "if you don't have one, you can't practice" point. I took her to the urgent care close to us and what do you know, swamped. Thankfully they let us register quickly and leave to go run some errands. I really wanted to leave Chelsey there and go the the gym which was right next door. I figured it would be better to go find something to give Rhett for his birthday which is TOMORROW. The only bad thing about this one day at a time thing I have going is that I forgot to look ahead so I could be prepared for that. Woops. Having Dalin's baptism and Nick's birthday party doesn't make it seem like Rhett's birthday. I couldn't find a single thing he asked for so I broke down and called him to see if a certain thing would do. Exciting, huh? He doesn't really care as long as he gets what he likes. It will be a very uneventful birthday for him since he has school, then a soccer game. We will have his party next weekend.
Chelsey and I got back just as they were calling her name..nice! Got home and the kitchen was cleaned up and the babies were all jammie'd. I just finished tucking in one of the cutest 2 year olds ever and now I'm ready to hit the sack. Katy always insists on saying her prayers, even at nap time. But she always asks by saying "Jesus.....safe". Then she folds her arms and repeats whatever I say. You can tell our family is a little preoccupied with "being safe"...lol.
Tomorrow needs to be a bread day. We have been living off store bought bread, can you believe that?? I have been out of yeast. I also need to get Dalin his new scriptures before Saturday, but it's clear in town! Anyone laughing at me about that?
Because I'm nice - Albertson's has Skippy PB, the little jars, for 88 cents and walmart will ad match it. PB hasn't been on sale like that for a really long time! Did you know there is no "cents" symbol on the keyboard???
Right now I have so many things I want to get accomplished and most of them take time and business hours. That's really hard to sit on. I did get all the Valentine's day crap, I mean stuff, gotten today so that post-it is removed from my brain. That's always a relief. What's really got me going is that I finally got approval to start a humanitarian "group". I have been asking and asking and everyone just says "we don't know". I decided to start something not church sponsored, but as friends and neighbors. Ironically, tonight, a member of the RS presidency asked me if I had been interested in starting a quilting group. Ugh! So I explained what I wanted to do and she gave me her full support and said I could make announcements and such on Sundays. WooHoo! Now my mind is swirling with all the possibilities. So many directions and I need to do what works best for the time of year and the current needs and the abilities of the women around me. It's very exciting!
Today I finally got my hiney to the gym for some running. Another 10K on Saturday and I'm really not very prepared. It's supposed to rain so I guess I could hope for a delay or postponement. Also, Dalin's baptism is on Saturday so I still need to make arrangements for that. So back to swirling, I need to take this one event at a time. So I will list, then print so I can look and focus on a few at a time.
W - get Chelsey's physical, Activity Days
Th- get to the Temple, Rhett's birthday
F - Dr. apt, Nick's birthday party, Half day
S - Run, soccer game, baptism, game's night
Su - Eight is great
M - Family pictures, no school
Next week -
VTing, Rhett's party, Stake conference, Morp date, Orchestra concert, boys campouts
Following -
Blue and Gold Banquet, Bunko at my house, then it's almost my Birthday!
I heard a song today that was a true A-Ha! moment for me. It's called Sounds Like Life. A guy is complaining about all the things stressing him out and his friend says, sound like life. Really, we all have our woes, some far more serious than others, but out attitude about them changes everything. Having a leaky washing machine shouldn't make me grouchy, ruin my day or make me impatient. Having a child not do well at school or make poor choices should concern me, but not take all my attention and zap my energy. It's just life. Deal with it, move on, and enjoy what you have that's good. How sad to miss all the little, positive things from dwelling on the things that aren't quite right. Do what you can to solve them, then let it go! Probably easier said than done, but definitely do-able. Just because I have a lot on my plate right now shouldn't stress me out, just accomplish one at a time and enjoy them while their happening. I can do that.
Just a thought - I was really saddened by the Chris Brown story. Chelsey and I were just talking about how we felt like he was pretty wholesome and maybe taking a stand and not needing to be that foul, young, black musician that we see so much of. I really enjoyed his music, that of which I have heard. My heart hurt when I heard what he had done and wondered how a 19 yr old kid can already have that abusive nature. Where does that come from? Is that curable? All his talent and charm just wasted. I don't know, it's just really bothered me. I feel like we teach our boys about respect and all that, but maybe we need to talk about it more. What does Chris's mom think right now? Just sad.
I haven't put much "cute stuff" from my kids recently so I thought I would just do some random quotes.
Glade would kill me if I put the entire conversation on here, but I'll give you the jist of it. Glade was in the shower and I'm terrible about closing the door to the bathroom if I've gone in and then left again. He was getting out when Bo walked in. This is torturous to Glade. Anyway, the conversation ended with Glade giving Bo a little shove out of the bathroom while closing the door. As the door closes, Bo yells "you have a lot of hair on your head too, Dad!" I'm giggling just thinking about it right now! I got a gentle reprimand about closing the door.
I was getting Bo out of the tub and he asks "why do we have Christmas all the time?" I told him it was fun to celebrate Jesus' birthday. He then asks why Jesus has birthdays and I told him for the same reason YOU do. He thought for a minute and says "Jesus has long hair....just like me! You need to take me over to Sis. Stolworthy's house!" (She cuts their hair) Just a note, his hair is NOT just like Jesus'.
I was getting Katy dressed and she just kept saying "jackess". I kept asking her to repeat it and wondering what in the heck she was saying. You can imagine what it sounded like. Finally we do the "show me" and she runs to get her JACKET. We worked on that word for the next little while.
In the car, Bo asked if I went to Sis. Allen's house for playgroup when I was little. I tried to explain that Sis. Allen wasn't even born yet when I was little. That she was still up in Heaven just like he was. (She's younger than I) I said "Did you know you live in Heaven before you were born?" His eyes got big and he burst out singing "I lived in Heaven a long time ago it is true..." It clicked!
Dalin is funny as always and I wish I documented more of the very serious and strange things he says but I don't. This morning he told me very loudly "I was out conscious by 8:10!" He rarely forgets little sayings he has heard. This one he mixed up just a little.
It truly is a wonder to watch their little minds work and grow and figure things out.
What a wonderful cold, windy, rainy day! I could live somewhere where this was a regular occurrence without any problem. Other than my stupid muddy street, it makes my day. I had every intention of going to the gym this morning, I haven't done ANYTHING since the 10k last Saturday. Not good. But I didn't. I tried to justify myself by thinking - if I stay busy at home, that's a good reason to not go. I did stay busy, very busy. That actually was a great thing. After a house full two days in a row, my home needed some serious attention. Feels good to get things done. Still have laundry, of course, that NEVER ENDS! But my kitchen looks great and my floors are clean and most the laundry is clean. I spent a big chunk of the morning upstairs looking for the lost $40 from Rhett's birthday. Stinkin kid laid it on a couch Saturday night and now he can't find it. It really bugs me that I couldn't find it. I went through everything. Now the question is, who took it - or - what stupid place did he stash it and not remember? I really think it's the first, but I tore apart all their rooms and couldn't find it so I just don't know. Very frustrating that that is even an option.
Bo and Katy are in the tub for the second time today. It's really kind of like playing puzzles or toys or something, they just like to play in the tub. But today I decided to put Katy in undies and work on that. I kind of forgot and after dinner she says "pooh" but I knew she had peed. I asked her where she went and she said on the couch. Sure enough. Lucky for leather couches, but Whitley's school notebook was soaked! Sorry Whit. Not sure what to do about that, she has lots of notes in there. Well, gotta go watch the Bachelor. It's supposed to be family night, but that hasn't been working so well on Monday's so we have tried to on Wednesdays but that is sketchy as well. Just waiting out soccer season. Tomorrow I SO am going to the gym!
After the craziness of taxi day, we had a very relaxing night at home. The baby shower was a great hour or so of girl talk and cupcakes. Watching her open all the cute baby clothes was a little hard, but so fun. It was a great break in the middle of the day. I'm kind of a brat about staying home on the weekends. The thought of doing nothing on a Saturday night wasn't that great to me so we invited some friends over for dinner. It was very casual, but a fun time. The kids all played well together which is huge and we got to just sit and chat. We kind of tried for games, but the one we chose didn't work out so well which was OK by me cuz I love just sitting around talking. You find out some great things about people. When the babies started getting cranky (Katy), we decided to call it a night. They gathered their kids and things and we walked them out still chatting. After they left, I went to the kitchen to start cleaning up when Nick says "Why is (their baby) still here?" I said "seriously?" Sure enough, there she was crawling on the floor. We got a great laugh about that. I took her outside just as they were about to pull away. I'm sure they would have noticed within seconds, but still funny. We have totally done that, so it's great when someone else does!
Today was a good day at church. Always hectic getting there, but nice once we are all settled. During church, the man who was giving the talk told a little story about driving his scouts home from a campout. He had heard a not-so-appropriate word from the back and yelled back to see who had said it. After much finger pointing, someone mentions a certain kids name. Another kid chimes in and says "No, he would never say that". The man telling the story got all choked up and mentioned how proud he was of that scout and how he hoped that boy took it as a compliment that another boy would say that about him. Can I just say that I was really proud of that (my) scout as well!
During Sunday school Glade and I went in and taught Dalin's class. He has a fun class and Glade is a really good teacher. He didn't even have a lesson, he just picked a principle and went with it. In Relief Society, she taught about temples. She had three women who recently went to the temple tell their stories and how it was, etc. Made me cry. I really need to go more. I also learned that the girl I visit teach is getting baptized next Saturday. Very exciting. What's even more exciting, is that the Bishop is letting us do Dalin's baptism that same day since his scheduled day is so crazy. What a relief. So it looks like Valentine's Day will be a busy one as well, but delightfully busy!
It's a good thing that Sunday is a day of rest, because Saturday is like this:
9 am - Soccer game
10 am - Play practice
11 am - Chelsey to work
10 - 12pm - pick up food for scouts
1 pm - baby shower
2 pm - retrieve from play practice
4 pm - retrieve Chelsey
Some where in there I had to get the baby gift and plan a last minute Sunday dinner at my house. Thank goodness for cell phones!
Last night we went out with some friends and saw "New in Town". FUNNY! Would not put it under chick flick. It's a comedy. It's only rated PG and mostly for some swearing, but can I just say - funny swearing! Where you don't expect it and with descriptions that might make soda come out your nose. It really wasn't foul at all, seriously. I don't even like Rene Z. but it was a fun movie, I recommend it.
The last few days I have been in a little bit of a rut. I think I mentioned the Ice cream run. So today I woke up and convinced myself that it was a good day to not get out of my PJ's but I would stay busy around the house (uh-huh). A good friend called and suggested we meet at Costco and have lunch. Man, now I gotta get dressed. I was planning on going to Costco tomorrow anyway. So I did a little work around the house, made a few long overdue phone calls and then got myself dressed. Katy had been up since 5 am and very grouchy so I wasn't really looking forward to getting her dressed either.
We made it there by 10:30 and boy was I glad. Katy got a short nap on the way there and was much more pleasant after that. My kids were so happy to see their friends, as was I. It really was just what I needed. After pizza and smoothies (blech!) we stopped by the park. The kids came home and crashed for nice long naps, as did I! Sometimes you just need someone to tell you to get over yourself. That's not what she said...lol...but getting out did it for me and I'm so happy she thought of me...thanks Shelli!
After a long morning of "inside", I was trying to think of what to do with my little ones "outside". I hate being outside FYI. They are really too little to ride bikes and the dirt road makes it hard to pull them in the wagon. So after about 3 minutes of walking around the yard, I broke into the 72 hr "fun kit". The next hour went by really fast. A few bouncy balls, bubbles and some little containers of play dough and we were set. The staples of every toddlers toy collection. I even decided to break out the ladder and take down our Christmas lights, pathetic, I know. I got what I could reach and the rest are for Glade. The boys worked really hard on the lawn on Saturday and it looks so good. Our residence was not at it's most glorious these past few weeks. Now it's back to cute and manicured and fun to drive up to (except the remaining lights).
Yesterday was Chelsey's first day at her NEW JOB. Yes, she no longer works for McDonald's. She absolutely hated it and only got about 3 hrs a week. Now she is a sandwich artist at Subway. So far, first day, she loves it. She is also getting like 15 hours a week. It's a little far so I'm pushing her to get her license, but she needs to be able to afford insurance. Kind of a catch 22. Anyone want to tell me exactly what is a "catch 22" not in the metaphor sense?
I also had to run around yesterday getting kids everywhere which has totally screwed up our family nights. While Rhett was at soccer practice I went and did some ad matching at Wal Mart. That's always fun. After I got him home I had to go pick up Chelsey from work. I was starting to feel a little anxiety and honestly, just a little PMS-y. Her lucky day, we stopped for a super chocolaty ice cream, brownie and hot fudge mixture....just what I needed! Not so good for my diet but tomorrow's another day.
Because of all my running around, I totally missed the Bachelor and for some reason I didn't set my DVR for it. This morning I watched it online, I don't love that. But anyway, I loved Stephanie. I knew there was NO connection there, but I thought she was kind and classy and just genuinely nice. I was so impressed with her departure and that she hadn't fooled herself into thinking "she was the one". I hope some great guy scoops her up. I still don't know who I want him to pick. I like all of them but Naomi, she needs to go. Just can't quite call it yet. Yahoo for the Biggest Loser tonight. I'm due for a good cry!
Katy turned two today. I couldn't find a single picture on my computer of when she was tiny. It was a perfect day for her Abby Cadabby party. Most of the family came over for Sunday dinner so we took that opportunity to sing to her and let her open her presents with her cousins there. Katy is truly a blessing to our family. She is happy and loving and her dimples will just melt your heart. All my kids are softer when Katy is around. I knew she was supposed to be part of my family and I'm so glad I listened. She brings joy to every day.
She sang to herself (along with us of course) and knew just what to do : Blow! She got them out in one try.
I really miss her being a baby and yet she is so fun and there is such satisfaction to watching them grow and learn and become their own person. She is definitely on her way to that! We love you Katelyn!
