A taste of the Thibodeaux's

what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

2010-08-29T21:56:00.003-05:00

Well, it certainly has been a while since i've updated my blog. so much of my time is being taken up, that i don't have much time to do anything more than what is absolutely necessary. that's ok. it won't be like this forever.

so it's been 2 weeks that i've gone through me and kathryn starting school, and me working full time. when i'm not at school or work, i'm obviously being mommy and homemaker... it's been pretty hectic. school has just begun for me, so i still haven't gotten to the "lots of studying to do " phase. i do know one thing tho, i miss my kids. i see them less now, and i know that's not how i really want it to be.

i know working full time (30-35 hrs a week) and going to school full time (12 hrs) and being a mom does not exactly spell success, and yes, it's a lot to take on...but honestly, done with 2 weeks, and i'm not dead. my body is still adjusting, but i think it's going well, all things considered. next semester may be a different story, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

daniel has been doing speech therapy for about 2 months or so now, and although the speech therapist doesn't do anything special with daniel (wow, i can do that) it made me really recognize those moments that daniel is ready to practice talking...and of course he really only does it for me (i suppose) but he'll come up to me when we are at home, and show me something and try to say the name, and then we'll discuss what the names of things are, and how to say them, and he repeats it back to me, or tries to. it's wonderful. be he has to initiate it. if i try to say "daniel say bear" when he didn't approach me, he'll just stare at me. but he can say quite a bit that is mostly understandable. words like: cup, up, dog, bag, doc, duck, please, thank you, run, go, bite, mine, no, yes, all done, more, milk, cookie, juice, team work, word world, etc...and the list keeps growing. yesterday he worked on saying "ice cream" it sounds like "ice peam" but close enough. he is doing really well with trying to say new words. and he has most of his letter sounds down. he just gets really shy around people. and he is not fond of strangers. he'll be very clear and tell them "back" for "stay back" while pointing. which i guess is a good thing? he recently has been hurting himself a lot. he busted his face open while jumping on our bed last week. he bounced right off and into the drawer pull. it healed really well though.

kathryn is very friendly. unfortunately not many people can understand her still, so when she says "wa u name" some people just ignore her. which, is fine. she doesn't seem bothered by it. but she sure gets upset when i get confused because she says "pau vop" and i don't know what she is talking about... apparently that is supposed to be "cough drop" "mimi said i could have one when i get to her house" ah, ok...i only figured this out after corine guessed what she was trying to say. haha. she has such a good memory, and she really understands alot more than i may give her credit for. she is always the one to remember the prayer before we eat. and she remembers the "should be" routines..."we have to brush our teeth before bed" fortunately she is great about going to bed. infact, she'll come find me and tell me she's tired and wants to go to bed. daniel is a different story. he likes to stay up and be right by me. she is doing ok in school. the teachers say that she isn't going well with "listening" and obeying orders...she didn't want to help pick up toys, and she didnt want to stop what she was doing when it was time to be done... so maybe we'll have to work on that some.

it sure is hard to try and find time to work on school work when the kids are up. i am the kind of person that has to focus (especially writing papers) and with kids, no interruptions is impossible. which is fine, but now i have very little time once they go to bed to focus and get the school work done before i fall asleep on myself. work really isn't the issue. even if i werent working, i still wouldnt be able to steal enough time to focus while the kids are up. my body has been sore the last 2 weeks, so i guess that means i'm building some muscles. that is the one thing this job has done for me for sure. i'm getting toned. my legs (inner and outer thighs) are shrinking and the muscles are much more defined now. my arms...i have defined biceps now! kinda crazy. and my stomach...well, of course the "baby pooch" is still there all nice and squishy, but it's shrunk as well. and i don't have much love to handle around my hips any more. my obliques are...acutally visible now. ok, well, i am just amazed, becuase i haven't looked this good since high school. and i feel better about myself. i don't have near the pressure on my feet anymore. my legs aren't in pain after being on them for an hour, and my energy level has risen, even though i suck it all up with everything i do. i've been working at FritoLay now for almost 5 months. and almost 1 month ago, i accepted a full time position. mainly for the paid vacation and holiday, and the fact that i was basically already working the same amount of hours. i am just called full time now. there is no minimum required number of hours you have to maintain, so if i don't hit 30 hrs (2 weeks ago i was at 27hrs) no big deal. and they have great benefits. i will sign up for dental and vision for sure and use it while i can. this full time job for me is definitely temporary. when it becomes too much, i can simply step down, no problems. i didn't commit to stay full time or anything like that, so i'm not worried about it. it's the one part of the equation that i have complete control over.

i am determined to be debt free by the end of the year, so any extra income i can muster...i will do so. i want to give the kids a nice christmas this year. i want to finally be free of credit cards and car notes (the car notes are gone already, but we'll never get another one!) and have a nice savings to fall back on in case something does happen. so that is why i have this job. and it has worked out so far. we have about $2800 left till we can scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!" and we can't wait. it doesn't stop there though, once we are debt free we have to build up a savings of 3-6 months worth of expenses, which is quite a bit. i think we settled on $5000. and of course we will be saving for retirement while building up the savings, and also putting money into an ESA or education savings account for both the kids, so they can go to college. ah, it's so nice to have a plan. and to feel successful. and we already have a family vacation planned, which we can pay cash for once it comes next summer. being able to enjoy life, instead of feeling tied down...

on a side note, we have been in our house for over a year now! it's crazy to think it's been that long. i'm trying to think of the things we've done/changed since we've moved in. we painted the living room, i have vegetable gardens now, we put curtains up, and hung pictures. we have so many plans, but one step at a time.

sadly, the house has certainly suffered since all my time has been taken up. i can hardly keep up with laundry and dishes, maybe some cooking, much less trying to keep the house clean! it's sad because i hate having a dirty house, but i just don't have as much time to clean. it's all about priorities. tomorrow i have a day off, so i'll get to vacuum, and maybe clean the kitchen. john and i tag teamed to mow the grass and clean the outside porch on saturday, so it's not looking terrible. we have however developed a bad spider problem...black/brown widows were numerous on the porch and we've spotted some in the garage. we need to move everything, clean and spray... sigh. time time time. we'll get to it eventually.

so if there is one thing i have learned during this busy time, it is to take the time to prepare the night before. so kathryn and i have school tomorrow, i will make her lunch and mine and get my books ready and lay out her uniform so everything is ready to go in the morning. if i have to go to work right after school, and maybe bring daniel to a babysitter while we are in school, then i will be sure he has a lunch and snacks, and he has a bag ready, and i have everything ill need for work...cup for water, lunch/dinner, clothes to change into, etc. all prepared the night before. it is so easy to wake up and know i've got everything together all we have to do is get dressed and get out the door with all the things i prepared. lately i've been forgetting my phone...ugh. so aggravating. but the preparation the night before has been a life saver. i can go to sleep knowing i have no pressure in the morning. except for hoping traffic isn't bad. so i'm glad i'm doing things the smart way. i'm sure i won't get to post another blog for a while, so until next time...

june 13th

2010-06-13T22:25:00.002-05:00

wow it's been a while since i've posted anything! I think i need to catch up!

well, working at Frito Lay has it's ups and downs... and that has taken up a good bit of my time in the 2 months i've worked there. It's a great job, the only drawback is having to work on sunday. i think they are fixing that (they just hired 4 new people) by having later shifts on sunday, that way i can still go to church. we shall see. i really miss going to church and having that constant spirit as a guide. i have noticed a change in my thoughts, and actions since i haven't been to church in 7 weeks. it suddenly becomes harder and harder to do the things that nourish the spirit like reading scriptures, praying frequently, FHE, etc. but i noticed, and now i am working to correct the problem... focusing on what is important, being more Christ like, remembering my family, and being pure.

today was a good day for me, it was a day that i decided i would work on cleansing the bad, and keeping focused. unfortunately i didn't get to go to church, but i the Lord heard my prayers. i was feeling friendly today and got to have a few conversations with some of the co-workers... Kevin is one guy i got to chat with. he's so nice. always says hi to me, asks me how i'm doing today, and has a unique taste in music...he introduced me to the "neon trees" a few days ago, and i just recently really got into their song "animal" and i mentioned that i had the song stuck in my head and that i really liked it! he mentioned that he had a dashboard confessional song stuck in his head at the moment... WHAT?!?! you listen to DASHBOARD! hahaha. only my all time favorite band! that is GREAT! who else has even heard of them? not many people. so that was cool to find out he was a fan of them like i was. that made me happy knowing that i wasn't alone in loving Dashboard. maybe i was too distracted, cuz i loaded a truck wrong after that, and had to go back and reload the whole thing! ugh!! it's always this one truck that is annoying to load, and i usually try to avoid filling the order for it, but today, that didn't happen. oh well, all that frustration did me good on my next and last order for the day...i sped through it! singing along to dashboard confessional on my ipod all along. i got to leave early (a 7 hr day vs a 12 hr day) and went to the store to get some groceries, and even struck up a conversation with the cashier at the store! haha.

but by far the biggest thing that made my day was selling my friend Amanda's cuddlebag! it has been sitting in our living room waiting to be sold for the longest time now, and i finally brought the price down on it and someone scooped it up in less than a day! woohoo! now my living room looks so much bigger! and now Amanda is that much closer to being able to afford to come get her stuff!

so i get home and the kitchen is a mess, dinner needs to be made, and John wants to spend the rest of the day playing video games now that i am home...haha. its great how he feels that way. that he can "check out" for the day. sigh. so i start the dishes a washin while i make some zucchini and mushroom spaghetti (still have the zucchini's from the garden to eat!) and even though negative thoughts are going through my mind (i tend to take a subject and "talk it through" in my head, i.e. have a made up conversation with someone that never actually took place) and so i "told john how i felt" about his attitude,(conversation in my head) and even with my snappy comments that were a "in your face" type response, i still had a good laugh about it all, knowing that i never actually talked to john about this issue. :::sigh::: i'm not going to let that ruin my day! i made a yummy meal, the kitchen started to get clean, and i feel like i did a heck of a lot today!

so i got to look back on this day in history, and June 13, 2004 was when my dad passed away. it's crazy to think it's been 6 years since i haven't had the privilege to hear his voice and his "goWAH"s at all crazy things i'd tell him... i miss him. he was a great man with a lot of spunk and he had many talents. i think i am of his blood for sure with how my interests are similar to his! every time i walk in my room i see the amazing furniture he built, and every time i build something i will think of him. with every picture i take i think of how much he loved capturing every memory in a picture. i wish i could see his reaction to my kids, my life. cuz i know he can see me and my family and my choices and my life. i'm sure he walks with me. when he first passed, i remember thinking about every choice i made, and that he was watching, and how i didn't want him to be disappointed. he was on my mind a lot, and i suddenly realized how Heavenly Father sees all our thoughts/actions. i sure did screw up since then, but i hope i can fix any future blunders so i can see him and walk with him again. i sure miss you Dad. i wish i had more time to learn so much more from you. but alas. i'm glad i got the 17 years i did get. (pause) wow that made me quite emotional. a flood of memories, and a gush of tears.

on to something less emotional. my garden. i've been meaning to post an update... i offically hate trying to garden in Louisiana. HAHA! key word is trying. i love gardening, but hate all the bugs that have since destroyed my plants...my zucchini was the first to go thanks to the squash vine borer, and then it was my broccoli and cauliflower thanks to the cabbage looper worm and another silvery caterpillar...never got to see the florets =(. now i think something is attacking my cucumber and honeydew plants, and i suspect the squash vine borer is the cause. my pea plants started dying off for no good reason, im not sure what the problem was there, but my bean plants have yet to produce anything, i suspect it's because of the bird population that hangs out in our yard...then there is the ants that attack the okra, and the beetles on my bell peppers...and it must have a bacterial problem cuz black moldy spots are popping up on peppers growing on the plants. but i have gotten to harvest 2 bell peppers and use them in my crawfish fettucinne last week. unfortunately my lettuce bolted as soon as the temperatures reached above 85... it became bitter and started growing as stalk to produce seed. my corn is doing well, although i only got about 2 ears per plant...i haven't taken them off yet. on the good side, my cherry tomato plants surprised the heck out of me with how big and bushy the got! i'm gonna have hundreds of tomatoes! they have started turning red so i am getting to enjoy that. i have a sunflower that made it's head and now it's full of seeds so much that it droops over! so i'll have lots of extra space in my garden for heat loving plants... and i'm thinking about doing lots of corn! and probably more sunflowers. things bugs can't seem t o harm. now i can't wait for fall/winter when the bugs are gone! haha.

well, last but not least, my weight!!

when i started on April 14 i weighed 143.
it is June 13th and last i weighed myself it said:

i just couldnt believe it! never in my wildest dreams did i ever think i would be below 130 after having 2 kids! it's craziness, and i am still loosing weight ever day i work! that is how strenuous it is! haha. but i am so glad for that cuz i feel great. i am glad that i get a work out at the same time i am getting paid. it really has toned a lot of areas! my arms are the most noticable! i've gained some muscle back in them!

WOOHOO! i can do things at work that guys think i can't do. that's just how i am. i hate feeling weak. so i'm glad i took the job.

an update on the kids:

kathryn is a constant talker now, and half the time i can understand her. i hope she grows out of the speech thing. she is getting smart. she always remembers to say prayers before we eat and go to sleep. she wants to help do everything now. one day i told her i had to go to work and she said "oh, well i will come and help you!" haha. she already knows how to work my iphone and play her little games on it. she knows when she is tired, and will put herself to sleep now. its great not having to fight with her (most of the time) she however has learned this annoying thing i have termed "flip flopping". i haven't seen any other kids do this, but maybe its a phase...she gets in these grumpy moods and suddenly nothing can make her happy. "i'm hungry!" i made a PBnJ for you "i'm not hungry!" ok, fine. "but i hungry mommy!!" then go eat your sandwhich! "but i not hungry!!!" and back and forth she goes until i finally just have enough...she does this with everything, what movies she wants to watch, what game she wants to play, puzzles, if she is tired, if she is thirsty, going outside, etc, etc. it is beyond me how to break her of this. and when i finally draw the line and say that was your final answer, you lost your chance to blah blah... she throws a tantrum. yeah, time out for her. but it doesn't change anything. ::sigh::

sadly enough, daniel knows how to work my iphone too! haha. he posted a comment on facebook the other day and i didn't even realize it! when he is done eating now, he announces it to everyone "all da" and he loves the suspense of movies...always saying "OHHH NOO" over and over at the appropriate times. haha. his motor skills are simply amazing! he jumps off the arm of the couch and straight onto the floor now...no more cuddle bag. he swims all by himself now, with arm floaties of course. he can jump off the side of the pool into the pool with no problem, and kathryn still is afraid to do this. he is very organized with what he wants to be...haha. he plays with his cars like he sees in the movie, and eats like a 6 yr old! haha. he loves stacking blocks and playing rough with his sister! kathryn hates that. haha. he even bullies on his almost 6 yr old nephew Zeke! he holds his own with the older kids...

i need a vent

2010-05-05T14:00:00.003-05:00

today has seriously not been my day. not that it has been bad? just annoyingly frustrating... and somewhat self-inflicted.

so kathryn has speech issues, and ever since she had her surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids, she has not been able to say the "p" sound and "b" sound. so her speech therapist really urged me (it being 5 months after surgery) to go back to the doc and make sure there isn't anything causing this speech issue.

so i scheduled an appt...we went today and of course the doc barely looked inside her mouth...(kathryn wasn't very cooperative, she was a bit scared) and said, "everything is fine, have you had her hearing tested?" "last year twice and everything was normal" "well, why don't we do it again?" i should have just said no...a 2 min test cost $125 for them to tell me what i already know..."it's fine" great... so all the doc could say is, she should grow out of it...give her time. which is what i kinda suspected, but, when you have ppl pressuring you to "make sure" there is nothing wrong... and you don't have a lot of money to begin with...well, there goes $250. geez.

so yeah, when we went to check out, somehow they said i only had to pay $75 for now, and they were billing the rest to the ins. company...works for me...but... i don't have $75 to my name... so i pull out the dreaded credit card... declined. WTH!(i know it had at least $75 available) pull out the OTHER dreaded credit card...it went through...ugh. see we have a health savings account through our insurance company...but for SOME reason, they want to be difficult, and the way OURS works is the bill goes to the ins company, they process it determine how much the patient is responsible for, then send the doc office the payment. the little twist is that we have a deductible to meet as well. so all the doc offices think we have to pay till we meet the deductible...but in actuality, we only pay towards the deductible when the HSA runs out. sigh...no office believes us and unless i pitch a fit, i usually have to pay and submit it to our FSA where we will get reimbersed from the money we have set aside... it's just annoying to spend this money you don't have and wait weeks to get reimbersed... when the health ins. should be billed and pay it from the HSA... ANYWAY!~

the other annoyance...i got a job with frito-lay, and they have the option to do direct deposit...but you have to get your first check to be able to do that...well, the checks get mailed to you, then you have to go online to set it up...i tried doing this after i got the first check and it said it couldn't process my request, the server was down...well, my brain isn't always remembering to try again soon, so i got the 2nd check mailed, and meant to go cash it then, but put it off till work the next day...then since my brain can't keep track of what i need to do (in 2 seconds it can forget why i headed down a certain road) so it never got deposited...yet. well, john and i were FINALLY sitting down to do the budget on sunday, and we found out somehow the van note came out twice...and i know i only clicked to pay it once...so i can't figure out how the 2nd payment happened (a day after the first) and i don't have time to check the account everyday, so i didn't notice it until we did the budget. well, almost $300 coming out of our account that shouldn't have REALLY threw everything off...and that is why we only have $2 in our account (when i get the check in the bank it will be better) and all our bills aren't even paid. as it stands, if we were to pay all our bills due (including tithing) we would over draw by $150! ugh!

so my goal after her appt was to get the check in the bank so we could buy groceries (we had no milk, no cereal, no oatmeal, no pancake mix that just requires water, no bread, no fruit, pretty much nothing quick) and so i go to the bank to put the check in our acct, and put on their to get some cash back, but they tell me, they can't give me $60 (what i asked for) since i don't have $60 in the acct. that i would have to wait till tomorrow for the check to clear, or cash it at the bank it is from (chase) i also had another check from my granny for dan's b-day, which i was trying to cash as well from hancocks...there was a hancocks right across the street, so pull in to the drive through, and no, i have to go inside to cash it...pulling the kids out and everything...UGH! why do they have to make it so difficult!!! just for a freakin thumb print! but what was cute is once she handed me the cash dan (who was in my arms) said in an excited voice "tan da" (thank you) so that made me smile... but we still had to go all the way to denham to cash my bigger check at chase...i pull into their drive through only for her to ask me for my acct # and i tell her i don't have one, she said "come on in and open one up" uh, no thanks, just want to cash it "well then since it's over $50 we charge a $6 fee for non-acct holders..." WTH! NO YOU MAY NOT TAKE $6 OF MY HARD EARNED DOLLARS!!! GIMME THE CHECK BACK" ok, at least that was how it went in my head. i told her forget that, i'd put it in my bank. and being as how i'm trying to conserve gas cuz our gas spending has been outrageous...it was really annoying that i had to make the trip all the way to chase in denham for nothing!! (that's about a gallon of gas right there!) so i was determined to not go home without milk and cereal (my staple for breakfast) and since all i had was the $20 from the check cashed at hancocks, i would see what that could get me at the walmart in denham. it was enough for a loaf of bread 2 boxes of cereal (gv brand), 2 gallons of milk (skim, 2%), a canister of oatmeal (the backup when cereal runs out), and a few bananas. that should hold us over till we can get the rest of the groceries... and what was sick to me was only having $20 and seeing how little it bought...the prices on even off brand cereal has jumped 50 cents or more. ugh.

well, i thought to myself, i was going to deposit the check in the capital one in denham, so i head there, and instead of pulling into the bank i was too busy looking at the walgreens on the corner and wondering when they were going to open it and when john was going to get out of that stupid store he's at now, that i passed up the bank and headed home! (the thought about walgreens was on my mind for a while) and i didn't realize my mistake until i was taking out the groceries to put inside! UGHHH and the kids were already quite done with being in the car for the last 2 hrs... and my poor garden needed watering bad... so i took a break and deposited the check after watering the garden.

and my garden....yesterday i went to water the broccoli...and there were little holes on some of the leaves... only one thing does that...besides grasshoppers, caterpillars... yep!!! all over the underside of the leaves! UGH!!! i hate bugs! so i cut the leaves that were badly damaged and plucked the rest of the stupid cabage loopers (thats the name of these caterpillars) off of my plants...took a while. well, i found more bugs today on other plants and it is really frustrating.

but i did get to harveest my first zucchini! it was 9 inches long! 2.5 in diameter! a huge one!

and this is how i found daniel this morning...keep in mind, we have no cereal oatmeal or pancake mix, so nothing quick and we didn't have much time to cook an elaborate breakfast (homemade) since we had to hurry to the doc office. so he decided to rip open a mox of mac n cheese and eat the raw noodles. wow.

the good news is, i fed the kids when we got home, and we have milk! yay. and i forgot about the GV ice cream i bought for dan's party, and so when they finished their lasagna, we all had some yummy ice cream cones.

sigh, i guess it all stems from our tax refund being delayed... see b/c we were going to claim the first home buyer tax credit, apparently this year they changed it to where you have to mail in your return. we didn't know, so we filled it out online, and we did electronic signatures but then it told us we made to print it and mail it. so we did. i was in such a hurry to get it in the mail that i forgot to sign the dumb things, and it took them 6 weeks to tell me that. so i send in the signature page, and now another 6 weeks later, we still have no refund. (it was going to be direct deposit) so if we would have gotten it 6 weeks ago, we could have paid the van off and not had to worry about the note coming out twice. ugh. we are supposed to finally have our refund by the end of may... wow, only 4 months after they recieved it.

and this weekend, my phone (which was being stupid before) suddenly decided to go wacko again, and every button pressed multiple keys or something. i would press the w and instead i would get wkt6rgt pop up...and now the track ball (i have a blackberry) doesn't work. it scrolls but doesn't press down to select anymore. ::sigh:: so it's been even harder to work with it. and i don't want to switch to a different phone cuz all the phones i have are just as bad with issues, and all my # are on the phone not the sim card. so i'm still holding out to get an iphone. i really think i have earned that much. ugh. maybe by the end of may i can have it (as a mothers day/bday gift).

oh yeah, and lets not forget the laptop that suddenly decides to not turn on. (long story short) and after trying to communicate that to the HP tech,(it WONT turn on no matter what i do) he tells me the motherboard is bad and that will be $440 to fix... ugh. its a DARN good thing i managed to figure out how to fix this pc and will know how to fix it in the future... but the laptop. i don't think it will be any cheaper to install the motherboard myself...so no biggie since i have my desktop, but still. a very expensive piece of electronics is not functioning. that's depressing.

to make a long venting short...i have decided i need to be uplifted today so i am going over to my MIL's house and we are gonna maybe talk about a conference talk or something...that's always the answer for me (the gospel/scriptures/prayer)

rambling. pictures.

2010-05-01T11:17:00.007-05:00

funny story, yesterday morning instead of coming to tell me she woke up, kathryn decided to do something different...so i was woken up by the sound of children shouting outside my window and the hose making it's whinning noise everytime it gets sprayed...wait, what day is it? what time is it? and why are the kids outside??? it's 7:30 am, friday, kathryn has school and WHY ARE THE KIDS OUTSIDE!!! i run outside to find them in their jammies playing in the water of the hose and all the toys dumped and scattered...the door to the house is wide open of course... ah geez...at least they were in the backyard and not the front right?? so i guess all the knobs really are going to have to be childproofed...

and so this morning i decided i would make pancakes, and of course they wanted to "help" and watch, so i add all the ingredients as kathryn argues that i need 2 eggs not just one... (she helped make cookies a week ago and remembers it needed 2 eggs) and daniel is munching on some cheese nips he found...i turn around to the fridge to grab some overripe bananas to mash them and add them...and when i turned back around bananas in hand i find daniel dipping his cheese nip in the batter! hahaha!!! ew! he got it in his mouth before i could tell him no... too funny. they both thought it was funny when i stirred the batter really fast.... and couldn't wait to taste the pancakes.

so they both are sick with runny noses and a cough...and primary had a little carnival today, but i thought since they just got this sickness it would be better that we didn't spread it. so we went outside and i admired my gardens while they played in their house (that got relocated to the porch...the grass was taking it over!) and i trimmed all the tall grass around th edges that the lawnmower didn't get (i mowed the grass yesterday yay! it was getting so tall that "you could loose one of your kids back there" according to Mr. Guy) and then i went to water the gardens...of course the kids wanted to help...so they got their watering cans (thanks aunt jenni) and i filled them up with the hose while they watered the plants...it was really cool for kathryn and I (she talks and dan doesnt) cuz i showed her what all the plants were and then would tell her "the corn plants are thirsty can you give them water?" and she remembered what the corn plants looked like...then i would ask her where the cucumber plants were and she could show me. I got to show her the zucchini's we were growing and she got to touch them and said "that's really tool mommy, but i don't like them" i said "well i do!" and she said "well then you can eat them all, that will be ok" HAHA she's hillarious. and daniel was of course right behind sissy doing everything she was...watering the same plants and being gentle. that was good. i want him to show the garden respect instead of trying to destroy everything.

oh! speaking of daniel, he was evaluated this week for his speech by the speech therapist, and she was amazed at his coordination, balance, motor skills, and cognitive levels... but his speech definitely lacked... she said he knows what he wants to say and he hears and understands what we say, he just can't verbalize it for some reason. he is very precise when he was stacking blocks and made a 16" tower which in a second was knocked down (no surprise there) he made sure the block he was placing was steady before he let go...i never noticed he was like that...probably cuz he was never the one stacking only the one destroying! he jumped off the chair with both feet and landed on both feet and stayed there....(stuck landing!!!) i am amazed at that! and he drank from a cup he showed me that he wanted water by saying "wawa" and grabbing my hand pulling me to the cup basket and then back to the fridge and pointed... smart cookie. he knows which button to press to get the tv on although we don't even have cable only movies... but i'm not going to let him load movies until he can value his dvds better. like age 8...lol. anyhow...basically he should qualify for speech for sure and when he starts that, they go until age 3 then at 3 the school system takes over... and apparently they work closely so that there are no gaps... nice.

oh, i also had kathryn's IEP meeting with her teacher yesterday to see what the goals are for this coming year and the rest of this school year... they said kathryn has done so well she reached most of her goals for this year...she still needs to work on articulation although she has good language (she knows how to form sentences she just isn't understandable). the speech therapist also told me that since her tonsils and adenoids were removed, she hasn't been able to make the P and B sounds (they require the pallet to block the nasal cavity to blow air out of the mouth) and apparently she hasn't improved. her issues now are different from before. the speech therapist has recommended that the doctor look and see if there is any issues that could be causing that, like a shortened pallet...anyhow, i will definitely schedule that and see what is going on...i sure hope the doc didn't cut out more than he should or something...

oh, and before i forget, i put a movie on for the kids yesterday and told kathryn i was going to be in the backyard to mow the grass and they were not to come outside (i locked the doors to be sure of it) and i would be done soon, they could watch from the windows, and i emphasized DON'T do anything you'd get in trouble for...be good watch the movie, cuz if you're bad and make a mess, i;m gonna find out and i'm not going to be happy. i was outside for maybe 45 mins mowing the back yard (i borrowed my FIL's mower which is self-propelled but i found myself not using it...and it was intentional...is that strange? lol. it's a workout ya know?) so when i get back inside i see that daniel has brown smudges on him and kathryn is being good watching the movie...i asked kathryn what daniel had and she said "chocolate" i thought where could he have gotten chocolate from, the pantry was closed...but i remember there was a chocolate pop tarton my side of the bed that i took a bite out of and never finished...i went to see if he found it...nope, still there. i finally ask kathryn "what chocolate?" and she said "the chocolate for milk" ahhhh, chocolate syrup...wonderful...she showed me where she put the bottle when she took it away and sure enough, it was a mess...so then she showed me where he had the syrup and it was all over one of the doors to the entertainment center and subsequently on the carpet too... great. well, looks like kathryn was good, maybe i need to lecture daniel now! so after i cleaned up the door and scrubbed the carpet (i'll still have to shampoo it to get it all out) i said i was yucky i needed to take a quick shower, BE GOOD! (i should've known better right? but i was covered in sweat and grass stuff...anyhow, when i got out, i went in the kitchen to find kathryn's "noise maker" she made at school ripped apart and the beans scattered all over the floor (beans were on the inside) and also pretzel sticks broken and scattered all over the kitchen as well...geez. can't win here... but alas, this was much easier to clean up...and i made daniel help...and sweet kathryn helped.

so my job has been going really well. my efficiency has increased from 43% my first day (doing just bags of chips) to 70%. and in the go-betweens (dips, salsa, nuts, cookies) i was clocking 103%!!! i had to take a picture to prove it!

the picture sucks cuz i had to block the flash from my phone... anyhow... i really like my job and my boss is very pleased with how i'm doing. i am slowly learning the product and where it goes, how many are in a box etc. this all matters cuz SOMEONE (i will assume it is the RSR's (route drivers) that get the wrong product on their truck from someone picking the wrong thing) puts boxes/bags randomly through the warehouse and they are in spots that aren't even close to where the rest of the product is located... and it clogs up the isles having boxes randomly laying around...so now that i am getting to know things, i can put it in the right spot! the numbers of how many bags come in each box matter cuz if the cart tells you to get 38 bags of location 182, and you know there are 34 to a box, you grab a box plus 4 and go! makes it quick versus grabbing a box, having it not be enough, going back to get more etc. it's all about getting the bags in the box as fast as you can and being accurate! lol.

so i found some funny pics on my phone and wanted to share other pics while i had the chance! (to sorta catch up!)

so back when kathryn had her b-day party, and once everyone left, i made the kids chicken nuggets for dinner (kathryn asked for them) and daniel, having not had a nap, was so hungry but so tired, that he fell asleep mid- nugget...HAHA! so classic.

one of kathryn's favorite things to do when we come to lowes is play on the tractors...and of course daniel wants to do everything sisssy does, so they get to go from one to the other to the other for about 10 mins...and if i don't have the time...i make sure i don't pass the tractor area! haha.

so last friday (4-23-10) kathryn's class went to the zoo! luckily it was paid for otherwise it would've been $15! and after 25 mins of running daniel got a big blister on his foot from his shoes rubbing (right over his arch) and it busted, so after that we didn't stay much longer...i'd say we were there for maybe an hour, so $15 is a bit expensive! lol. and the zoo is something like 35 miles away from our house! one way! ANYWAY! (don't mind my cheapo self, it was for the kids enjoyment!) the kids did enjoy seeing what animals they got to see, especially daniel. he had never been to the zoo. only saw videos of animals. but he got to see just how big everyting was! and they had a new tiger exhibit that was REALLY nice... the tigers were actually coming right up to the glass it was so cool! i think they were hungry tho, they kept circling seemingly trying to figure out how to get one of the kids behind the glass...

daniel liked this bird. lol.

i love giraffees! they had one walk up to the other and they turned to look at each other then put their facees together, then another giraffee came walking fast up to them and (the male) started walking away as this new one approached! it was hillarious! it was like the 2nd one was like "get away from my woman!"

this was the tiger that kept pacing around in cirlces around this lil pond of his...

he was walking toward all the kids...

then he turned around to do it all again! he was right next to the glass! so cool

kathryn was trying to get past the fence to see the fishes (Koi) better. this was a new area and it was beautiful!!!

so this past monday was daniel's birthday and i called a party together last minute...we had pizza and i made a lego cake...somehow my battery in my camera must have died cuz i didn't get to take a picture of the cake that i did, only daniel's personal cake that he was SOO not interested in! we opened presents first... grammie got him a cool car/truck wooden jigsaw puzzle...very nice!

auntie Jenn got him a bowling pin set and some cute Dr. suess board books of which kathryn wanted to read immediately. lol. (good thing kathryn was interested in everything daniel wasnt)

a few days later he and i (while kathryn was in school) had fun putting up the pins and rolling the ball to knock them all down...

mimi got him a Cars rug

and Filmore, Ramone, and Doc Hudson die cast cars from the movie Cars...that was what captured his attention!!

this is him taking his cars mimi got him and sitting down...he was done, he didn't care what was in any of the other presents...

until kathryn opened them and showed him they had cars in there too! lol. (mimi also got him a stuffed cookie monster, elmo and big bird, and he had no interest in it at all! kathryn however was soo excited!) so my battery died before i could get a picture of him with Aunt Mel's present...nothing but more cars from Cars...he was in heaven! but then i realized i hadn't done the cake thing...haha. wrong timing mommy! he barely blew out the candles before he was back on the floor with his cars...

this is his personal lego cake... i made a big one with 8 knobs on top... but managed to not get a pic... next time i will know to freeze the cakes before icing them! i am NOT anywhere close to being good at this...so this is what happens...
i tried.

so this was daniel today all dirty playing in the house, which is on the back porch now...i cleaned up the porch finally and i think i like it here...the cars park in the "driveway" and kathryn (in the corner of the pic) is about to pull the car into the driveway...

this is my first zucchini that is growing fast! this was 2 days ago, and it is much bigger now! can you see the other 3 soon to be zucchinis? you kinda have to know what you're looking for...

week 5 cucumbers...going crazy! note to self:only plant 1 plant per foot... or two at the most...and give them their own vertical frame...they are taking over all the space!

week 5 box 3 broccoli is huge!

week 5 box 2... the zucchini has literally taken up all 4 feet of the box... time to trim back some leaves... i cut 2 so my tomato could grow...

ahhh, much better.

last week i planted onion sets (mini onions that cut out seed sprout time drastically) and they are doing well! i stuck them in between the tomato and cucumber plants...they are supposed to wart away pests...nice. they don't need the trellis so it worked well. i also planted 48 carrot seeds in box 3, they just started coming out today. but are too small to see...

look how awesome the lettuce and spinach look! week 5

that's it for now! i am needed for a game of hide-and-seek!

picture overload

2010-04-24T13:35:00.025-05:00

as it took me the whole day to finish this, be aware that the title is accurate on this one!

since i have a few days off in a row and the kids were cooperating (for the most part) i decided to mix in blogging my most recent photos that i am so eagar to share, with all the house work that desperately needs to get done!!

Daniel's new thing is hitting... he loves to walk up to you (kathryn has been his favorite lately) wind his arm back and whap! smack the crap out of you! lol. sometimes its worse than others, but last saturday! oh geez, every time daniel disappeared in the back i would hear kathryn start to cry and yell "don't hit me!" (is this payback for all the times she was mean to him??) i felt sorry for her after witnessing his attacks on his sister, and since he is being REALLY stubborn and hard-headded lately, of course he doesn't listen, so i told kathryn to start hitting him back. maybe he would get the message? until right in front of me dan hits her on the head, she says "OOOOW" and hits him on his head and he pops her on the arm and back and forth! AAAA! how do you get boys to stop the hitting? he used to be so sweet, now he's becoming a monster! lol. i don't even know where he picked it up from... ah, oh well... i gotta think of something, cuz time outs have NO effect on him. he gladly sits and once he's done he goes right back to the bad behavior...so that is my trial as a mother at the moment... and this saturday (today) he has learned how to tackle kathryn...and if she doesn't go dow easily, he'll hang behind her and run forward or backward till she falls down...now this is really comical and hard not to laugh when kathryn is so annoyed by it...and half the time on the way down daniel ends up hurting himself! i tell him it's his own fault, brush it off! well, he has been doing this all day to her, so finally i taught kathryn a few tricks...keep a wide base (feet apart, and staggered) and if he's pulling her back, she has to learn forward...and so he went up to her to do it again, and i coached her in action...lol. and it worked! and she was so excited that she could defend herself against daniel's moments...hahaha!

kathryn is beginning the imaginative play now...it's so cute. she's playing with the beanie babies alot too. i haven't decided when i will get the rest of them down! but that's good. i'm trying to figure out what stuff she should be doing at this age...but it's hard to try new things when dan always wants to be involved. she's been saying funny things like "oh, well, thank you mommy that's so nice of you to let me play at the park!" and stuff like that. it just makes me giggle. her new thing is "you remember the rules?" she'll say that as i say something or suggest something that is "against" mommys rules...lol. "having a piece of candy for picking up toys is not ok, we have to eat our healthy food first mom! remember the rules!" i can't seem to think of the other cute things she says, but she is cute. and as we were about to say a prayer i asked daddy to say it and she says "i don't like how he says the prayer" but we tell her daddy needs a turn, and she says she wants to say it, so we tell her she can have a turn after daddy...so daddy says his prayer, and ends it with "in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, amen" and she says "no, i don't like how you say that, it's in the name of Jesus Christ" so i tell her there are many different ways to say a prayer, and they are all fine as long as we are making the effort to talk to Heavenly Father, he's ok with however we choose to say it. so she goes on to say her prayer, and she says in the middle "please bless daniel to not hit me anymore, and bless me not to hit daniel. bless us to be kind and love each other, in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, Amen" i just had to laugh...she always says how she doesn't like that daddy says it different, and then she goes and says it herself. funny little girl. and that she said a blessing for daniel to stop hitting her. she really understands what to pray for!

without further ado, here are my pictures, in no particular order...

so one morning i recall the kids coming in to wake me up around 7:20...it was a sat. morning, and i was still tired...so i told them to go play i would get up in a bit. they left alright... and when i got up by 8, and i didn't hear anything, i knew they were doing or had already done something wrong, and when i walk into the kitchen, i find this:

all 4 bananas split open, the 2 you can see were devoured the other two he didn't get all the way into...let me remind you that Kathryn doesn' like bananas... but being as how daniel is a monkey...yeah, he would've had all 4 gone if he'd had more time! haha...

so a few weeks ago John's grandparents from Utah were visiting and we went to Lafayette to go see them...i dressed kathryn up all cute in her new clothes, and even had hair bows to match... as soon as we got there she went down the slide head first and into the dirt she went...she thought it was hilarious, and all i saw was dirt stains... haha. this had to be me as a child.

so we were at Juniors house and they were BBQing...all the guys were congregated around the grill...haha. i had to catch this. oh, and at least our grill (behind Junior) found a new home besides the trash!

Daniel loves rolling cars all around on the ground. he is boy thru and thru!

kathryn gathering up leaves in a cute wheel barrow...i would get her one of these, but i feel it would encourage her to dig in the dirt! and we kind want our grass to fill in...

it took me a second to figure out why Mimi is so happy...notice Kathryn's hand...yeah, Mimi just got her to say the Pledge of Alliegence...that is Mimi's thing... and Daniel is checking out his new boe boes...

funny story behind this one...kathryn has a Sobe Life water in her hand in this pic, but just before i snapped it, she came to me with a can of sunkist...i told her she couldn't have any of that until she finished her food (she would drink til she threw up if you let her!) well, she decided to be clever and give the can to Pop who unknowingly opens it, and i catch her right before she takes a sip as she smiles at me (with that naughty "whatcha gonna do" grin) and i of course take it away telling her once again she has to eat her food...and if she is thirsty she can have the Sobe bottle...she was very upset and starting fussing back immediately, "but Pop opened it for me!!!" like Pop trumps what mommy says...heheh... she is clever, but i'm tha boss! of course Pop felt bad for making her sad, but it's not his fault...he had no idea what was going on and what i had told kathryn...lol. so kathryn is looking at him defeated...

this is a cute one of Lily (Kelly and Mickey's oldest) who just turned 4 and Zeke standing right next to her who is almost 6! and they are the same height! poor zeke! he'll shoot up there one day.

i love this one...kathryn and Dan riding bikes...Dan followin kathryn wherever she goes.

this is a cute one of Jake and his Mom...the way they are grinning at each other... precious.

Zeke was trying to eat his food but the wind was kicking up the table cloth so much that he gave up and slouched down to eat under the table cloth...

daniel staring at the target: cupcake. how many bites does it take to finish this thing off?

well, he's going for 1... shoving with all his mite to get it in there...

mission accomplished! WOW...that kid is serious about eating! and we couldn't stop laughing!

they are getting started on the expansion of our subdivision... yeah...waking up to construction work and beeping trucks at 6:30 isn't so exciting. but Daniel is certainly attracted like a magnet to all the scooper trucks... yeah, he just isn't allowed outside in the front yard anymore.

so Kathryn had an easter egg hunt at school, and her teachers were telling me about how lately she has been "performing" for them with this boom mic...she sings all kinds of crazy things! and dances too. haha!

taking the tape off after the hunt...wow, she wasn't supposed to get that off!

the cute bunny cake her teacher's mom made for them!

coloring on the dry erase board...

climbing through the tunnel! yay!

i just love this face. i could kiss that face all day!

so this is saturday before easter. we went on an egg hunt at Corine's and had a group of kids over. Daniel and Kathryn came to play outside before we had the hunt... daniel has tried this jungle gym thing in the past with no success...i mean his not even 2 he shouldn't be able to anyway right? not this time! he watched kathryn and soon he had it!

oh but that's not the farthest he got, no, not daniel...
but still. that's not all! and he figured this out all by himself! this freaked me out!
then he would jump through! WOOO, that is amazing. in this pic i think he looks just like Zeke...when he was 2.

now for the egg hunt! the first egg daniel found he wanted to stop and open it! he didn't understand that the more eggs you had, the more candy! lol.

this is how he put them in his bucket...its just funny

he did good with finding eggs, although he was the youngest in the group so, he may have gotten 10 eggs before the rest were found...

kathryn stretches out to reach an egg in a tree... haha. guess all those games of "hide the toy and find it" paid off... she is good at finding those hard eggs.

well, since Zeke and Jaiden were the older two and much more aggressive about getting all the eggs, they had to let the younger kids get a minute head start... and when the door finally opened...they were bookin it out the door!

kathryn finding eggs that Jaiden and Zeke passed right up!

finding eggs, zeke was telling Jaiden how he just found a bunch of eggs by the shed! (they compete with each other about everything)

group of kids...

and kathryn being the last one in the previous group...everyone passed up this egg! haha.

everyone climbing fast to be the first to get those eggs on top! i think Braleigh won...(wearing the dress)

daniel finding one really hidden...after some help of course.

and he said, i'm done, i just want to eat them now! i love the little squat!

yummy candy...(next year we'll only put candy in a few!)

the group of kids that enjoyed the easter egg hunt...(L to R) Braleigh, Nevaeh, Isaiah, Kathryn, Zeke, Daniel, Jaiden

eating pizza... Braleigh's pizza! lil food snatcher!

lining all the mini skateboards up... haha. too bad he can't be this meticulous about all his toys.. i.e. cleaning them up!

kathryn found this hat and took braleigh's purse and was walking around like a miss priss with her hand up that was holding the purse and the other on her waist! now she is drinking...someone else's caprisun...not unsual at all for kathryn!

Daniel and Jaiden climbing! he was even better this time than a few hours before! Jaiden says "how'd he get up here so fast!" as she was trying to make it through the hole before him...to her credit, he did zip right up there!

they went at the same time...AHHH!

and he survives!
i just like this pic of kathryn...the sun hits her just right...

daniel finally pooped out...while trying to finish his chicken nuggets! he is too funny!

on game night jake decided to bring Amanda's cuddlebag out of the garage and into the house... and it was an immediate attraction for the kids... Jake is tickling Daniel here.

and Kathryn tries to give Kourtney some of her water! haha.

After a long day, cuddling with Daddy is the best.

you'll have to excuse the diaper blow out seen on daniel's shorts! the pantry had no light when i saw him and i quickly snapped the picture before getting him down and noticing it... but this little boy never ceases to amaze me... he figured out where the candy was...on the fourth shelf! and he climbed up there to get it!

so we really needed to water our grass one saturday, and so we had a fun day outside... the kids going to investigate the sprinkler going around in circles....

kathryn aiming it at daniel...haha...he went running and giggling...

on Easter Sunday we went to Grammie's house and ate dinner...Daniel puckering up fishy lip style to give Grammie kisses

and a sweet kiss! i hope he stays that way!

we also visited Grannie later on Easter Sunday and the kids wanted to play outside, so we let them play. i bent down to smell Grannie's amarylis, and they actually smelled good! so daniel mimicking me, bent down to...but i didn't quite catch that picture...

grannie has a little bench that they love to sit on...i need to get one! that is so cute

we were sitting on the swing... Daniel has his hand on Jenn's leg...she thought that was precious.

my adorable little daniel. he could be a baby model for that shirt huh? haha.

i love how chesy this smile is...he reminds me of john at his age...

so now, i will show pictures of my projects... i am proud of what i accomplish and want to document it =) so a few weeks ago, i pulled the van into the garage, and didn't pull in all the way cuz i thought i'd be leaving soon, well, long story short, john went to close the garage door, and CRUNCH the opener ripped itself from the door... via this angle wire (or whatever it is called) since it wasn't attached very well to the door... which i suppose is a good thing? since our sensitivity settings weren't set right...otherwise it would have ruined our door which is $700 to replace...yeah. well, after fidgeting with it for a bit, john got it back on...but it was sure to come loose again...and it did... a few weeks later...

this is where it ripped itself from the door... our door is so cheap there isn't much to attach the angle wire to... so it was asking for trouble... but we don't have money to get a better door, so... how to fix it...i asked john and he wasn't in the mood to even think about it... so i got to figure it out... and i came up with a plan...

with no help from anyone except the informative retired contractor at Lowes (thanks!) i put my plan into action...i got the bolts, new angle wire, snips to cut the angle wire, and got to work...the guy said it would be hard to cut the angle wire since it was so thick... yeah well, it wasn't so hard when you're determined to get this done! here is my finished product! and the best part is... it was under $10 to fix! much better than $700 for a new door! and it works!!! look out John!

now for making my vertical garden frame... i used aluminum conduit 1/2" $1.87 for 10 ft and some rebar pounded into the ground to slip the trellis frame over... anyhow, i bent the top myself! WOO HOO! it was fun. i decided the next time i needed to bend this i would do it in the store...
that is the top ^^
and below is the pipe bender and the angle wire...
so the top attaches to pre-cut (i cut them to the size i needed ahead of time) conduit via little connectors that are 50 cents a piece... they screw into the pipes to tighten... and voila! vertical frames! i think i needed about 3 10ft pipes for these two frames that sit 5 ft and 6 ft tall... i ended up boosting the 5ft one to 7 ft cuz of what it was going to be supporting... so all and all... these two frames including the rebar (1/2" dia x 18" long, or 24" long...$1.18 ea) that the frames sit on top of to keep them in place... this was a $13 investment because they will last forever...and when you are done for the season, you slide them up off the rebar, and put them in the shed! HA! awesome! they are missing their trellis netting which i seem to not have taken a finished picture of, but the netting was $5 for 15 ft and i still have enough left for a 3rd frame... and the netting will also last for years! so i'm excited to see everything grow!

i also took down the "fence" around my old garden, took apart the 2x4's enclosing the garden and disposed of them! then mowed everything. now i just have to distribute the extra dirt to all the low spots in the yard.

now for my garden pictures!!! so this is week 2 box 1... i have beans in the far corner, snap peas next to them and tomatoes next to that... in the middle is bell pepper, left side is okra, and basil on the right...the other herbs have decided not to grow!
this is week 3 box 1... the vertical frame is up and the peas are trying to climb! everything looks a little bigger!

still week 3 just a better look at the trellis first of all, and the beans, peas, and tomatoes...

week 4! WOW! the beans a climbing now, and the peas are taking over everything! poor tomatoes! next time i will put them by themselves...(tomatoes and peas) now you can see that the ones in the middle are bell peppers, and okras in the back, basil at the bottom...

so this is week 2 box 2 (when i say week 2 i mean the seeds were started 2 weeks ago) this box has honeydew melon and cucumbers along side tomatoes (which i don't think sprouted yet) zucchini in its 2x2 ft square and corn in the back with a baby sunflower...

week 3 box 2...the zucchini is by far the fast growing plant i've ever seen!!! they suggest spacing them 3 ft...they were right!! a 2x2 square isn't enough space! (you'll see why in week 4) so now you see the corn at the bottom doing great, and the sunflower coming along nicely next to the corn... cucumber and honeydew at the top next to the trellis... the empty 2x2 was supposed to be a yellow squash but it didn't germinate...(good thing!) and the other tomato didn't germinate either (empty square at top) they didn't germinate b/c the wrath of daniel digging in the garden destroyed the chances...

just the zucchini! i love watching this thing grow!

the mammoth sunflower plant...i am anxious to see this bloom!

week 4 cucumbers and honeydew (cucumber taking over!) and starting to climb

sunflower... check out the leaf on the left side... (picture to come in a bit)
corn! (needed support from the WIND of this past weekend...)
and of course you can't miss this GIANT zucchini plant! look at how it is taking over the tomato and corn!!

week 2 box 3 broccoli, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower
i managed to forget to take a pic for week 3, so week 4 comes next! look at the growth!! amazing what 2 weeks can do! so broccoli is in the middle, lettuce at the top! (real sized this time!!!) and spinach...
apple trees...they grow slow.

i love the way broccoli leaves do this with water!

leaf defect on sunflower... two leaves grew together as one on top the other!

leaf size of zucchini compared to my hand...
a baby zucchini soon to come next week!!!

the stems of the zucchini leaves are as thick as my thumb!

real sized romaine lettuce!!!

spinach! this stuff is sooo good!

this is how big the broccoli leaves are! they are giant too! now i will know what size the plants get to!

this is the lil cauliflower plant. i have only one. the other one was getting eaten by bugs... i am anxious to see just how big the head turn out to be on the broccoli and cauliflower

so to sum up the garden venture...looks like this soil works great! i have had VERY few weeds i mean i've pulled maybe 10-15 total out of all 3 beds since i started. so that is a drastic improvement from my other garden that had so many weeds i couldn't keep up. i think it helps that the boxes are 10" tall, and it also helps that the plants are "crowded" in the box so there isn't much room for weed seeds to get started... but i am seeing these plants thrive and i haven't fertilized them at all. i do water them every morning...a good shower from my hose, no soaker hose...i think you really should put that in before your plants start to grow otherwise, you'll risk damaging the plants. i dont mind getting out there for 10 mins watering all 3 boxes and making sure they don't have bugs all over them etc. i have gotten into a routine and it seems to be working well. i water them before the sun is too hot and so they are sure to get through the day without wilting. i don't know about the location yet...i wanted the boxes to be close so i didn't have to walk so far to harvest and care for them... anyhow, till next time!

all in a day's work

2010-04-13T21:53:00.002-05:00

::sigh::

kids in bed, dishes loaded and started, clothes washing and drying, scriptures read, prayers said...

::sigh::

but john is still at work (he got to open and close today (BOOOO)), dinner still didn't get cooked, toys still scattered all over the floor, vacuuming neglected for another day and i'm tired. it seems i'll never quite catch up with my to do list.

but i did get a chance to read with kathryn one of my favorite books that has minimal words, but instead of just reading, we really dissected all the pictures. that little girl is smart! as we read and laugh together i simply let go of all the worries and enjoy my little girl. suddenly, i don't care about all the toys on the floor or pots and pans that need to be cleaned, i am glad i can make her happy. and of course daniel is looking on wanting to be a part of it, so once we finish the book and kathryn takes off to get another one, he sits and places it on his lap as he sweeps through the pages, coming to rest on one...i begin to name what i see on the page, and he so cute, returns my answers... (da for dog, ba for bird, fa for frog) he knows so much more than i realize. it's hard to believe he's only almost 2...seems like he should be 3 or something...i forget he's not as old as i imagine.

i love my kids. i'm so glad i got to take time to enjoy them today.

i've had alot on my mind lately. lots of plans.

i got a job! i had been thinking about working where my BIL works, cuz the hours seemed suitable...and he randomly tells me they are hiring. so i apply thinkin, i'm never gonna get a chance, i haven't worked in years! i was shocked when they said they wanted to interview me...and then a drug test, and now i'm hired! WHOO HOO!

i started training today and we got to see first hand how and what we will be doing. i'm an employee of Frito-Lay (the largest snack food company in the world) and i'll be working as a Warehouse Picker. i pick individual bags to fill an order put them in totes and send the cart full of boxes to the loader to be put on the truck. it looks fun...but maybe that's cuz it's something new and different. lol. i'm only part-time, working 3 days a week from about 4pm til 1am or so. but you don't go home till all the orders are filled. the pay is great and it will allow us to get out of debt really soon!

i also have been thinking about school again. it's a desire for me to finish while i still have the chance, and so with the funds to help pay for school now (new job) i am going to go to BRCC tomorrow and see what i need to do to enroll for the fall. why delay? lol. we'll just have to see. if i go back to school, Daniel will need to be watched by someone and that's always the unknown...although today he did great for Ms. Valerie! which is such a relief that he is getting over his separation anxiety!

and i finally got to set up an appointment for Daniel to be evaluated for his lack of speech. 1 week from today. i hope he can get approved for therapy.

oh, and i finished sorting through the last of the boxes of Amanda's this weekend. ::sigh:: now to organize it. see, my friend Amanda moved to Arizona last year in Oct. (husband lost his job, her fam had a rent free place for them there) but they couldn't afford to bring all their stuff, so they put it in a storage unit...well, they no longer could afford to pay it, and while they were current on it, after Amanda asked for my help, i went and moved all their stuff out of their storage unit and into my garage in time for them to not have to pay next months rent. a huge deal. and then came sorting through all of it figuring out what they wanted to keep and what goes to garage sale...and i'm done with that part now! so i just need to organize the stuff that goes and price it to sell at a garage sale. i'm an awesome friend what can i say? devoted and loyal.

and now i'm simply tired. i don't want to think about how i need to do the budget tomorrow and plan out some meals, make a grocery list and get groceries on top of going to BRCC and getting that straightened out... im sure i'll figure it out!

garden fever, daniel daniel daniel

2010-03-19T23:12:00.005-05:00

so every time spring comes around and i'm out getting groceries at grocery stores...i can't help but notice all the plants and pretty flowers for sale... the bulb sets, seeds, etc. i'm not even looking for it, but it's there. and i love gardening. i love plants and especially those that flower... and so every year, about this time (every year i say, because since we've been married we've had debt and no money to spend on plants) i start wanting to buy plants... but this year is different...why? WE OWN A HOUSE FOR ONCE!!! and all the pitiful "lanscaping" DR Horton put in needs a makeover...every time i look at it i shake my head and start thinking what i'd like to see instead... only, we are trying to get out of debt...dragging on and on. lol. so i must pass all the pretty flowers this year again! ::sigh:: for now i have resorted to carefully plotting and planning what i'd "love" to have my yard look like...i say that because i browse the nurseries online and fall in love with a bulb that is $10 a piece! WOOOW that's pricey. but most bulbs multiply... just give it time.

so far, i have in my mind what plants i must have, i just have to figure out how to arrange them...

here's a taste:

purple rose (lagerfeld i already have)

pretty pink rose

pretty red rose

new dawn climbing bush

liliac

first lady asiatic lily

purple iris (my favorite flower)

indian giver day lily

hydrangea bush

pink flowering dogwood tree (i actually found one at lowes!!!)

clematis vine

peonies - they look like roses!

delphiniums

alliums

agapanthus

so i don't have pictured...spider lilies (i remember these growing up!) fox gloves and various annuals...

i don't mind the maintenance of a nice lanscape, i love to be out in the yard, so i'm not going for just bushes...lol. i LOVE flowers. the more unique/beautiful the better. i also am gaga over scented flowers...love smelling roses, and infact i don't think i'll ever pick a rose unless it smells awesome! i hate flowers that stink. lol. of course, most of these i've never had before, so i don't know if they have a smell or not...but i love how beautiful they are!

so i guess i'll take a break from that to mention...i finished my garden boxes today! yay. minus the cage. seeds/transplants are in, so water, wait, and see...

oh, and daniel has hit the terrible two's phase. darn. that little boy was such a sweet baby...and now he's an abnoxious toddler who pitches these screaming crying fits when he doesn't get his way...ugh. i sure TRY my hardest not to let it phase me...just get done what i need to do so i can get to tending to daniel...

2 days ago i went to lowes to pick up some more humus and peat moss, and since we were in the garden section, after daniel became uninterested in the car part of the cart...i decided i would let him down to run (i promised he could if he put his shoes back on, and he did, so i had to reward him for following through) but since i had what i came for, i figured i'd follow him around and practice his obedience skills by calling him back when i stopped and making sure he listened... i was non chalantly browsing flowering trees, and that's when my eye spotted "dogwood" i looked at the tag more closely and the picture too...and YEP, pink flowering dogwood! this tree supposedly isn't sold here b/c it doesn't grow well blah blah, but they had it! then i jeked my head around to see where daniel was and.... that was all it took, he was no where in sight. i called his name, no sound...as i started briskly walking around looking for him, abandoning the cart...an associate stopped me and said "your looking for a little boy? i thought he was standing next to his parents, but he was...well he was over there" i was at the opposite corner of the garden center by this point where it meets the doors to go inside the store...and my heart is pumping fast...why why why did i let him out of the cart! so i'm running through the back of the store calling his name finding nothing while the associate was telling other associates she saw to look for him and call "code adam" (mising child) i'm just about to break down and cry at this point as i see no sign of him...it wasn't until i was by appliance/cabinets area that i see daniel running away from an associate that is following him... i run and grab him and she tells me he was back in recieving watching them operate the fork lifts..."we almost didn't see him" AAAAAAA....in recieving!!!! o that was enough for me... i didn't let go of him and he didn't fuss...it was a mutual feeling...glad to see him again...

well, i had to get groceries at sam's...i only had daniel with me since kat was still in school, so i wanted to get it done with just one kid... and he was staying in the cart.... oh, he was not happy about that! the ENTIRE time we were in that store he wanted me to carry him...well, holding a 30lb child and pushing a cart...it aint happening...daniel was gonna have to get over it. i would cuddle him but not carry him... he kept standing up and jumping on me, which was getting on my nerves so i strapped him in so he would sit...he quickly got out of that...so i just held his arm to make him stay sitting...yeah, that was all before i even got to pick up any groceries...so he proceeds to sream at the top of his lungs and cry and pitch a huge tantrum...for the rest of the time. i simply tried to shrug it off and keep telling him he had to sit in the cart, but by the time i went to check out...and he was dripping of drool and snot cuz he had worked himself up so much...i was done with it...i hugged him while in line (while he stood in the basket) and he finally shut up...and other customers were saying "ooo, he's happy now, he just needed a hug" and "he stopped crying! WOW" i just had to smile and laugh because that wasn't his problem...i tried hugging him and he would push me away simply because he was mad that i didn't want to carry/let him out of the cart...ugh. whatever. i am not the mom that gives their kids what they want just so they will hush... not happening. he needs to learn a lesson...kids sit in the cart for shopping trips...needless to say i had all my patience drained at that point... and he fell asleep shortly after he got in the car...figures. which is the reason i hate going shopping with kids. kathryn demands to be out of the cart and walking around, and she wanders off and touches everything, so i always have to be watching her every move, which slows down the process, all the while daniel is jumping on me to get out of the cart and be free like kathryn!!! and it's a big wonder why make my shopping trips as infrequent as possible. ah, missed getting cheese...too bad... ::sigh:: i've had a rough few days with handling daniel's tantrums...i still don't know the best way to handle him when he gets in the crying screaming foot stomping rages... i've taken to just sitting him in time out and putting him back everytime he starts fussing again until he stops...and trying to explain in a calm voice over his screams that this is not the way we behave. i don't even know how to word it...lol. "we don't do this" "we don't act this way" everything is so general. i guess a simple "no fussing" will do until he gets older. ::sigh::

on a positive note, i had daniel outside with me while i worked on my garden (in the side yard) and we heard big machinery noises...we went to check it out, and it was a big...scooper machine? idk the name of it, but the CAT machinery...it was knocking down parts of the fence where the road stops so it could get through...then it started tearing up some temp fencing DR Horton put along the sides of the road...then a big 18 wheeler came in with about 8 concrete sewer cylinder thingys....lol. the CAT machine hooked a chain to the concrete stuff and unloaded them off the truck...daniel just watched and watched. he even went a little closer and did his cute full hand wave to the men working. they got a kick out of him and the CAT machine man honked the tiny horn to say hi to daniel and it scared him so he ran away. teeheehee...but any time he is in the street and he sees a car coming, he books in toward the house/me screamin "uh no, uh no" all the while. i keep telling him GOOD JOB DANIEL! we run away from cars in the street! lol.

and he sure wishes he could do what i do to my garden...i only let him water the squares...he tries to dig...and rake...it's cute watching him try. the rake is so much taller than he is and heavy for him.

i'll be off to bed now.

always an obstacle to get past...

2010-03-17T09:38:00.006-05:00

i have been wanting to post for a while, but with kids there's no telling when you'll get the chance. i have been trying to put my garden together.

there sure is a lot of steps i guess i just never thought about them before. it was so obvious, i just never thought about how much time each step would take.

to build a raised bed 4x4 first you have to find a good spot in your yard. not too sunny, but one that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. also you want to make sure it is relatively flat. that helps to not complicate things.

so once you've found your location you'll need some boards 2x6 and up. i used 2x10's becuase i wanted to have an extra deep bed, but you really only need 6" of soil to work with...except for the root crops (potatoes, carrots) i got my 2x10x4' boards for free at a construction site...i had to do some cutting of course. so cut the boards to 4 ft or you could do a 4x8 box, but my boards were only 5ft, so without having to buy boards, i was stuck with building just 4x4 boxes. (can't be deeper than 4ft cuz you can't reach in further than 2ft on each side...trust me, i made my 1st garden 5ft and there was an ugly patch of weeds right down the middle that i couldn't reach...)

so your boards are cut, now predrill holes for screws on one side in each board. line them up and put your screws in...the box is done! it will be heavy tho, so put it together very close to where it will be going...

next you put down landscape fabric to keep weeds from coming up into your awesome dirt... i went a step further and stapled the fabric to the bottoms of the boxes...i would advise you to get 4ft wide landscape fabric...it will save time. i thought i had picked a 4ft roll, turns out it was only 3... oh well. (picture of stapled landscape fabric to box below)

flip the box over.... and next mix the awesome dirt...

lay out a tarp (mine was 8'x10')

and add the ingredients (1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite) if you do 6" of soil, you will need 8 cu ft of soil for a 4x4. or approx 3 cu ft of each ingredient. it doesnt have to be exact, but don't skimp on anyone of these! here's why:

compost is organic and the perfect natural fertilizer...fertilizing done, one less step to worry about. it's better to have home made compost, but if you get it from the store, get different kinds to have a better mix of nutrients. i suggest compost chicken manure, compost cow manure, and humus...composted peat moss or something like that. chicken manure can be found at Naylor's Hardware, the rest can be found at any big hardware store like Lowes, Home Depot, Stine's etc.

peat moss is great for keeping soil light and moist. this will never be added again as it is a non-renewable resource, and we don't want to waste it. it decomposes rather slowly, so it should last a while. get the bales of either 2.2 cu ft (expands to roughly 4 cu ft) or 3.8 cu ft (expands to roughly 8 cu ft) depending on how much you need.

vermiculite - what the heck is that you say? it is this amazing resource that holds water like a sponge...literally. it is made by heating up mica rock till it explodes (like popcorn) and what you get is chunks of light airy vermiculite. the water fills into all the open spaces, which the chunks are full of. so this is very necessary to keeping your soil loose but water retentive. the only place i've found that stocks this in the 4 cu ft bag you need (cheaper than buying all the 4 qt bags to equal 4 cu ft) is Naylor's Hardware off of Old Hammond right next to Millerville. it is 25.99, BUT you'll never have to buy it again, and you won't have to water as frequently!

so, add the ingredients in the tarp (i suggest doing 1 box at a time, the dirt gets rather heavy) take one side of the tarp (it helps if there are 2 people to do this) and pull towards the opposite side making sure none of the dirt spills. the do the same with the other side. i was doing this by myself, so this didn't work out too well for me, not to mention it was very windy (oh yeah, wet your ingredients well so they don't blow away -peat moss and vermiculite in particular) so i would recommend NOT doing it on a day that is super windy...but none the less.

i ended up shoveling the pile into the box and, using a rake, mixed the ingredients that way... whatever works for you. after you have your dirt, make sure it is moist, so give it a good water (any excess water will just run out - so no overwatering will take place!)

so what were the kids doing all the while as i was working?

kathryn loves to dig holes in the dirt...Grrrreeat....rock box coming soon!

did i mention this little boy is in love with cars? cuz this is what he does all day long. a car in each hand, right where mommy is.

next add grids. this is a very important part of SFG (square foot gardening) it helps you SEE where your spaces are so you know where to put your plants (in the middle of the square, or 4, 9, 16 per square, depending on what you are planting) once again, i wanted to use what i had on hand, so i screwed in 1/2 inch screws 3/4 of the way down (to give room to tie string to) 12" apart (approx. it was more like 11.5") and tied nylon string around the screws to make a grid. melt the ends btw or they will fray.

next...PLANTS YOUR SEEDS!!! FINALLY!!! sigh. i love watching things grow, and have been waiting to get this done since winter...and the time finally came...i'm glad i started earlier cuz it took me over the course of a week to get this done! and i only filled in 1 box of dirt! i am doing 3 4x4 boxes, the other 2 are waiting for their dirt and grids and SEEDS! but the wind was too much to finish, so i am waiting. today is a good day to get it done. i'm also gonna do 1 2x2 box 12" high for my carrots and potatoes. i'm interested to see what i get, since my carrots in my poor soil garden looked quite funny.

i covered my box with some fabric so the sun wouldn't zap the seeds to give them a chance to get established (and give me a chance to build that cage)

so why the title? well, before i built my boxes i was looking over at my previous garden that has sad small lettuce plants and bent down to find quite a few of the plants horribly infested with tiny black bugs!! i would say they look like aphids, but aphids aren't black. i have no idea what they were, but i took an empty spray bottle, filled a little soap and water and went to town spraying the plants...only, a few days later, the bugs weren't completely gone, and the plants leaves that had soapy water on them were dead. what's the big deal, right? i mean, that garden is done, i am no longer harvesting the lettuce (good thing) but to see bugs on plants only means i'm going to see bugs on the plants in my good gardens...bugs means...stunned plants, well, it's not good lets put it that way.

i was going to make a cage out of chicken wire to keep animals and birds out, but it won't keep out bugs... so what is the point? UGH! that was my problem last year...grasshoppers and leaf miners...and they ate away at the plants before the plants even had time to grow! so i came up with a conclusion...window screen...they sell it in 4 ft rolls (YES!) and so i will use that instead of chicken wire and follow the same steps outlined in the Square Foot Gardening book. it will be expensive, but i shouldn't have to make these cages again, they should last for years... so, to protect my plants, i think it is worth it. we'll have to see how it goes.

right after i had kathryn help me plant the seeds (she LOVED that) daniel decided to tramp through the garden! ::sigh:: i only saw the end of it, and disciplined him then, so hopefully that won't happen again. that's what the cages are good for!

anyhow, i can't wait to have this gardening thing complete so i can start growing plants, harvesting FOOD and feel complete. haha. j/k.

i also decided store bought compost is NOTHING compared to homemade compost...i had een wanting to start a compost for a while, but preferred to have something round to put it in to be able to roll it around for easy mixing...meaning faster composting...well. i can't afford to really buy anything being as we are trying to get out of debt and i just spent money on my garden soil... so back to the construction sites! i got some scrap plywood and 2x4's and after a bit of cutting and screwing the boards together, i had a box!!! it is HUGE! i did 3x3x3 and i'm not sure i'll ever fill that up on my own!

good thing there are tons of FREE things to add to it to make awesome compost full of nutrients for your plants!!!

starbucks...they save their coffee grinds and bag them for you!!! how awesome! i spent the last 2 days finding starbucks and CC's coffees to get all their free used coffee grinds....i got a bunch. lol.

spoiled produce from local grocery stores/fruit stands... not walmart...i didn't bother trying them cuz they can be so stupid about things...but win-dixie, any associated grocer stores...they all throw out spoiled produce (or stuff that is going to go bad soon) and will give it to you for free...or for $1...not so bad. there comes my question of...how do you get this stuff in small pieces without taking a ton of time doing it? (the smaller the pieces of things you add to the compost, the faster it decomposes and turns into compost) and when will it be done??

(all the produce i got from win dixie for $1)

i got creative. first i tried a shredder, but that took too long. so kathryn has been helping me tear newspaper and old phone books...

this is a shot of the cardboard layer at the bottom with the shredded paper on top...next we tore some newpaper and phone books... then produce...

as for the produce...i got a 5 gallon bucket, chunked a few things in there, got a 3 ft 2x4, and started pounding away! lol. it worked! it broke up the pieces even onions and garlic too. and it didn't take long. and i didn't have to get my hands dirty! just dump the bucket, add more, etc.

kathryn helping me add the bags of salad from windixie...she was a great helper!

and the coffee grinds just dump into the pile as well. my next step is finding a cow or horse pasture and with permission, scooping the manure and adding that. i know, how gross...but this is the main ingredient in gardening, and completely orgainic and FREE...so i am serious about it. i think it's fun figuring out how to spend no money on something (other than gas money) even if when it comes time to do it (scooping poop) i'm not as thrilled. it'll be worth it in the end (i hope) and i can teach my kids a valuable lesson. reduce, reuse, recycle... and of course, being self-reliant...growing their own veggies and making their own compost...

also, i will be looking for dried leaves to crunch up, and grass clippings and that is what will go in my pile. all free. yippee!

that's all the time i have for now. more to come tomorrow?

time for an update

2010-03-04T21:39:00.003-06:00

yeah, i have a few things to post about, so here it goes...

kathryn had a bday party on Feb. 20th and i think it went well... i have a few ideas for improving next years. i decided to plan out some games (i had pictures, but can't seem to find them) so i had managed to stuff a fun size pack of MMs in a balloon...not easy btw, in the future i'll stick to starburst or something. but i had some balloons blown up with candy and some not, and they were all scattered amongst the yard so the kids had to figure out which had candy by popping them. i think the kids loved that. but once again...a fun size pack is a lot of candy...

the next game was the "toy hunt" i hand picked out some toys (all different) and wrote groups of 3 on a piece of paper, and the mom's had to tell the kids what was on the list so they could find it. i simply scattered the toys in the grass in a small area so it wasnt too difficult. i'll do more with that next year.

and lastly, i took out my old parachute i made...if we had more parents, it might have worked better when doing the "dome" but it was fun and the kids loved it. i know i did when i was a kid.

kathryn was a bit grumpy at first cuz Mimi wasn't the first one to get there...and after each person not being mimi came through the door, she got more and more sad...and then mimi came and she got over it and started to have fun with her friends. they loved the trampoline.

with every gift kathryn opened, i tried to get her to hug the person that gave it to her and tell them thank you...when she went to hug Kaiden, he gave her the one handed hug with a funny look and split. it was funny. boys don't wanna touch girls i guess. but the funniest thing yet was when she opened Aunt Jenni's present, after removing all the clothes in a disappointed manner and chunking them to Mimi, she got to the toys...pulled out the watering can and took off outside to use it! haha, didn't even want to wait to see what else she got. the girl LOVES playing with water, so perfect gift for her. she also got a no spill bubble dispenser, which really works!!! i dunno how, but the kids can tip it and it doesn't spill and it had plenty of bubble juice left. YAY for this!! cuz i can't tell ya how many bottles of bubbles we've gone through from them accidentally knocking it over and spilling them all.

what amazes me, is kathryn has such a good memory. we'll be putting on clothes and she'll be telling me who gave it to her...like today she was saying "mimi gave me these (pants) for my buhday!" "she sure did, how do you remember that?" anyhow.

this past weekend, john's Uncle Danny's brother passed away. we went up to lafayette twice once on saturday and again on monday... and i've noticed for the last few months, daniel has stranger anxiety bad...when there are too many people he doesn't know around, he flips out and won't let me but him down...well saturday was no exception. poor Aunt Mel, daniel still won't let her hold him...but Uncle Danny...no problem...yeah, he has a thing for men apparently. on monday at the funeral, Daniel walked up to one younger guy and wanted to sit in his lap...so he pulled daniel up and he sat! WHAT??? that's never happened before! then he walks up to an older man and waves after staring at him...lol. well, we got to the funeral home about 2 hours before the funeral was scheduled, and after about 45 mins, the kids wanted to run and be crazy...but it was raining outside... but i had the van, and it had a dvd player...so yep, we trucked the kids into the van and turned the movie on... Corine was thoughful enough to get Aley's 2 kids and Dee's little girl (all 5 and under) and bring them in the van too...5 kids...but we all fit! woo hoo for vans!!! they did really good...but then came time for the funeral to start and i was dreading trying to get the kids to be reverent and quiet... so we decided to just stay in the van so the others could get a chance to pay attention and not be distracted. Corine and i decided to go to McDonalds after the kids were saying they wanted more food... so we got chicken nuggets, chocolate milk and fries,and daniel fell asleep! yay. but here's a funny story:

(we're in a town called Scott which is small and unfamilar to me) and so we are heading back to the funeral home which sits right on a main street with parking right on the street (so to speak) well as i approached where i was parked, i realized someone took my spot, but just as i was passing, i realized the spot next to it was free not handicapped, so i stopped, but realizing i was too far forward to pull in, i was about to...and suddenly the person behind me honks his horn...right in front of the funeral home... only, it wasn't just a honk, it was him laying on his horn not letting up...i drive forward and go to make a turn around and he's still honking even as he passes me, and when i pull into the spot i realize he's still honking, and i say to corine "what a jerk! he's still honking!" when she points out "no, i think something is wrong, he just pulled over and popped his hood...i think his horn is stuck!" "WHAT! HAHAHAHAHAHA, serves him right for being so rude to begin with!!!" unfortunately, everyone in the funeral heard it loud and clear...so much for keeping the peace.

besides that, this weekend i totally blew my "calorie budget" with all the good food that was around! i just hate passing up food that i know i won't get again for a long time!!! hahah. so i nearly gained all the weight i had lost...i was at 146.8 on sunday. by wednesday (i weigh myself each night before i go to bed) i was down to 143.6!!! i have been doing great this week staying under 1400 calories each day...and i everyday i've seen a drop of at least .5lbs!!! that is crazy! there is nothing like seeing the numbers fall daily to keep you motivated to keep at it! i've also made sure my sugar intake was minimal (obviously to stayunder 1400 calories!) i have had no dessert but have been trying to make sure i eat healthy things, like fruit and veggies for snacks. they are low cal and good nutrition. it is working for me! i haven't been working out everyday per se, but just the daily running around that mom's do seems to be good enough.

this is a funny thing for me. i've never weighed this much ever (besides being prego) so i've never really had to "watch" what i eat. i always ate whatever i wanted when ever. i also used to be a lot more active. with gymnatics that kept my muscle mass high and lots of energy burned. well, those days are over, and i finally am drawing a line. i don't want to be overweight. i want my body to feel good, not aching and heavy... and yeah, i've been saying i ned to loose weight for a good 2 years now, but never made any lifestyle changes...so nothing ever happened...except i got bigger...gain a little more weight and suddenly none of my clothes fit me (in the hips/waist) i can't afford to buy new clothes, so after a few attempts to exercise more that yielded no change in weight or body mass...i decided it was time to look at what i was eating...i always knew i was probably eating too much, but i love food. i also LOVE sweet stuff. just seeing a nice glistening donut makes my mouth water and i give in. i want it...i don't want to be without the sweet stuff... and that has been my biggest struggle. saying no only makes it harder to stay away... until you get something else on your mind...

i keep telling myself, i'll eat it another day, just not today. if i can just hold out till tomorrow, then i can eat those yummy millionaries (candy) and candy bars... well, i can't do that. i have to change my mind about wanting sweets and choose to not want them... the whole issue with sugar and articles and studies done on how it's addictive etc. i think it's got me good. but this week i've done great. even when my sweet cravings popped up, i ate an apple and another time a banana...and that seems fine. i have been keeping count of my calories and that really helps me to see how i'm doing, with what balance of nutrition i am getting. i read an article on yahoo about 5 foods you should eat everyday...

check it out

basically they say

1. dark leafy greens
2. nuts
3. onions
4. whole grains
5. yogurt

it has some good pointers there. i'm going to try that.

so today i feel like i got so much done! i feel like a strong woman! woohoo. i decided i was going to cut the plywood to make it fit in the attic and make space to store stuff up there... man, you don't realize how heavy a 3ftx8ft piece of plywood is until you are trying to get it through your attic around all the hanging wires and ductwork! it seems like the electrician could've done a better job with having the wires out of the way...ugh. i got a little bit done, but i ran out of 2x4's and i'm gonna go get some at the construction sites tomorrow...all free. besides that, i also cleaned out my garage...WOOHOO! it's so pretty! i was organizing all my boards i shanked from the houses being constructed down the street, and one board was a 3/4 in thick 12inx12ft MDF board...NICE~ just what i need for my bookcase i want to build! only it wasn't enough, so i'll have to go get some more... but i got an itch to cut the boards to size for the bookcase so i did! i have 3 shelves and 1 side. it's not so easy working with a hand saw trying to keep your lines straight holding the saw in one hand, and holding the board still with the other...that saw is a good 10 lbs! ...when i'm ready to finish i'm gonna see about borrowing FiL's miter saw. well, next post will have a ton! of pictures... for now, this will have to do.

i had to laugh...

2010-02-24T13:09:00.003-06:00

some times you do stupid things that simply make your life difficult...

it can only be funny after the fact right?

so i had a dentist appointment on monday, which has been scheduled for 3 months now, and i had the reminder card on the fridge..for some reason, even with my little reminders i never got around to getting someone to watch daniel...so on the morning of (the appt was for 9) realizing john had to work a mid and he wouldn't be able to watch him, i called to try to cancel, but they require 24 hour notice, otherwise you are penalized...so they said i could bring dan with me...to my teeth cleaning...

i know i know...am i CRAZY! bringing a 2 year old to My teeth cleaning! well, i said a prayer on the way that it wouldn't be a disaster hoping for the best...and when we got there, daniel's stranger anxiety kicked in...and he clung to me like a lil koala. when we got called back, he held on tighter. even for the x-rays he wouldn't let go, so he got to be under the apron...and he never said a word. it was really funny. he just laid there resting his chin on my chest watching everything being done, but no fussing, no trying to grab for things, no trying to run like a wild child...he just laid on mommy and watched and i wrapped my arms around him while they cleaned my teeth. i thought that was amazing, even though i will never do it again! haha.

so another stupid thing...something you just have to learn? lol. i recently swapped towers for my computer. after i did that i haven't gotten the sound to work, and tried everything aside from buying a sound card... and nothing worked. there were no errors any where, nothing muted, drivers updated, etc. well, just as i finally cave and bidded on a sound card (i had my old pc out recently cuz i was working on my sister's) i glanced over at the old tower kinda grimaced at it, when suddenly a light went off...on my old tower there were sound plug-ins in the front as well as the back...well the ones in the back are attached to the motherboard, so i figured i didn't need the ones in the front besides they had no spot in the new tower...but they had a plug that went into a spot on the motherboard, so i thought, i'll just hook it up and see...VOILA!!! the stupid sound works now!!! after all the time wasted researching and trying everything, all that needed to be done was to plug in the removable audio ports! ahhhhh!!!! and i already bidded on a sound card which i don't need and ended up winning....lovely. Laugh out loud. oh well, lesson learned?!?

i've really taken to "fixing" pc's, the only problem is...i do it the easy way and wipe it, rather than try to fix the problem... oh well!

with my eating goal...i started it about a week ago? and i have already lost 1.5 lbs. it's actually getting easier to avoid the annoying voices telling me to eat. i've found this super cool website called caloriecount.com that lets you log you calories and what you've eaten, and what your weight track is and activites too. i like this since i don't have an iphone! i like it becuase you can save the nutrition facts of foods you eat regularly (sandwich, cereal, milk, oatmeal) and all you do is add it to the day you ate it...anyway, it's easier than writing it down by hand and saves time and calculations! not to mention it has a great database of foods ready to be added. so supposedly, as long as i don't go over 1900 calories, i should be able to reach my weight goal in 3 1/2 months? or something like that. so we'll see.

well, i'm busy as usual, pictures next time?

victory tastes so much sweeter

2010-02-17T23:00:00.003-06:00

well, it's true, victory tastes so much sweeter than you could ever have imagined.

what am i referring to?

well, first off, i am attempting to be more healthy, so i want to eat healthy, and exercise more, which brings about weight loss... but the "eating healthy" part...food is my weakness by far. especially sweet foods... if my mind would wander to "candy bar" it wouldn't take me but a second to find one and start eating...i love sweets. i don't know how else to put it. do i eat junk all day? no, i attempt to balance everything, but i have had no problem rewarding myself for finishing lunch, with ice cream. lol.

so as i was reading in the New Testament, where Jesus went into the desert to fast for 40 days and nights, and after fasting, Satan comes to him and tempts him 3 times, and each time Jesus snapped a nice fitting answer to shut him up (so to speak) and finally the last time, Jesus is sick of him, so he says "get the hence Satan" anyway, as i was "pondering" these things, in the study manual, i found a quote from Elder Neal A Maxwell that talks about how Jesus "gave no heed" to Satan's temptations...meaning, as soon as he was tempted, he dismissed it with his reply, he did not stop to ponder it... Elder Maxwell says "we may not always be able to keep an evil thought from entering our minds, but we don't have to offer it a chair and invite it to sit down." bingo!

i must have just really not been with it, but i read this and went "ah ha!" and i thought back on the many temptations and the ones i gave into, and 9 times out of 10 it was becuase i thought about it instead of dismissing it imediately... point is...on some aspects of life, i guess i don't think of the "thoughts popping into my head" as temptations...like what food to put in my mouth! i have gotten so used to acting on the thought of food, i don't even give myself a chance to say no! and that is where my downfall was...WAS...

becuase i am going to change that! Satan wants me to be miserable, but i have power over him, if i let the spirit be my guide and choose the right...i can succeed.

so i decided, i was going to seriously focus on telling those thoughts no today...i prayed about it last night, and when i woke up in the morning to pack kathryn's lunch and walked in the pantry to the open pack of cookies waiting for me to eat them...i said NO! even though it felt like spam in my email...the thought came over and over and over, but finally i dismissed it and it felt great! i decided i was going to count my calorie intake and intake of other nutrients for the rest of the week... and see how much water i am drinking...

i am happy to report that i have had NOTHING ZERO ZITCH NADDA sweet to eat today. that is HUGE for me. and i after every meal i felt very full! i had no snacks (partly b/c i wasn't home to get some or wasn't hungry). i ate pancakes with syrup for breakfast 313 calories, chicken pot pie leftovers for lunch 346 calories, and tilapia fillet with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli and carrots for dinner 295 calories...for a total of 954 calories!!!!!
are you suprised? i am!!! and i drank 72 oz of water (9 cups)...so i am very proud of myself!!! i was oooo sooo tempted today several times, i had to wait 20 mins in the carpool line before i could get kathryn...and all i had sitting around in the van was candy! it would have all been gone normally, but i didn't even touch it! YAY!!!! i even went grocery shopping while i was hungry and came out with bare minimum... oooo, it feels so good! i will try to keep this up for a week and see how i do...my goal is to stay under 1300 calories a day...

so that is my first victory....my second victory...John got his bonus check in....and our bank actually cashed it instead of putting a hold on it like they normally do for checks this size....sooo..WE PAID OFF THE CAR!!!! WOOOOO HOOOO!!! ok, so we only owed $1950, but to have a $300 a month note gone....oooo, soooo sweet!!!! i made john watch as we transfered the money online, and waited to show balance of $0...then we both laughed. ahhh, we can't wait to get out of debt!

turn over a new leaf

2010-02-12T16:51:00.003-06:00

so i wanted to recap on this last week.

sunday was a great day. not only was it John's first sunday back in 3 months (thanks to his work schedule of having no sunday's off) but we actually made it on time, nay EARLY! we got to sit in the chapel as a family, and i got to listen to the testimonies and the kids were pretty good. i convinced kathryn to lay in my lap so i could rub/scratch her back like my mom always did with me...she loved it, and just laid there letting me run my fingers through her hair and across her back. that was special to me. cuz i remember when i was (slightly older) on the receiving end.

oh yeah, and let me not foget to mention the Bishop caught me before church and told me they were calling a new nursery leader and were going to release me. wow. i've been in there without any offical help for the last...9 months or so. and now they found someone to take the calling, and they are releasing me. the first thought was...i'll be able to go to relief society and hear the lessons! and to sunday school and study the scriptures!!! yay! but then i realized that the new nursery leader didn't have any help either, and i needed to stay for a few sundays to get her used to the routine to takeover. and then i remembered how Daniel has separation anxiety really bad...he's the kind of kid you don't want in nursery, i guess i'll have to try to phase him out of this. so looks like i'll still be in nursery and i won't be getting to attend class like i thought after all. that's ok.

of course the superbowl was also last sunday, and i watched it, that was an amazing game. who woulda thought the Saints would win? i'm so happy for them. they played really well. what a year to remember.

this past wednesday kathryn stayed at school for the whole day. we just wanted to see how she would do, since she turned 4 she can stay all day. Mrs. Katie was happy to report she did excellent, and would love for her to stay all day everyday. she mentioned that kathryn aside from her speech delay is one of the quickest learners in the class and they have seen a drastic improvement since she's been going. (i have seen this too!) i am so thankful for her teachers and their special ability to work with young kids. kathryn is my first child so i have nothing to compare her to, but i am amazed at the things she has memorized since she started school august 18... she knows her numbers and can count to 17 (as of yesterday, she did that out of the blue) she knows her alphabet upper and lower case and can identify what sound each letter makes either by replying to "what sound does the letter T make" or "what letter makes the "sssss" sound... she also has quite a few nursery rhymes memorized and a handful of words memorized... when she sees the written words dog, duck, shoe, kangaroo, hat, cat... she names the word. she's at the stage now where i can point out words and spell them out and she helps me sound them out... it's so exciting watching her learn! and one thing she drastically improved on was responding to questions with a proper answer... she used to just give you the blank stare, but she is conversational...if that is a word. i could go on about things she has learned from school but i have a hard time explaining things in few words, so...needless to say, she is definitely going to go full days. daniel will miss her terribly, but now i'll get time to teach him? he's a hard one.

i also got to go over to my sister Jenn's house on Wednesday night. i have been wanting some time away from the kids and John was off, so away i went. my intentions were to watch this DVD that my friend Amanda let me borrow... DNA evidence of the Book of Mormon... well, we didn't realize it was 4 hours long! we got started on it and both of us were interested in what the rest of it is about. between that and some testimonies i heard in church, i was re-energized to study the scriptures. not just read, but study. and so i started the next day (Thursday) but i decided to start on the new testament and study it (i failed to attend seminary the new testament year so i am lacking in that knowledge) i must say, before now, (except in seminary) i have never had the burning desire to read more and study more. i feel really connected this time, and can't wait to read more. obviously with the kids, i have to limit my time, but i'm taking time out of the middle of the day rather than waiting till before i go to bed where i never absorbed much because i was so exhausted. it's only been 2 days, but i can feel the difference. this is what i've needed for a long time!

i also looked back on my goals...

1. be more grateful -
once again, this week i had to realize that i was praying for the wrong reasons or with the wrong intent...i got to hear a talk last sunday on byu tv about praying to hear the Lord's counsel not praying to counsel the Lord on what He should do for you. at least i was receptive enough to receive the answer...and as i looked at what we had in that respect, compared to others, we were going to be just fine. have faith. and put your mind to work on something else. so i did. and if only i could choose to stay grateful (which puts me in a good mood) it's a mind game!

2. get organized -
well, i haven't really gotten to work on this so much, i feel like i am constantly trying to just keep up the regular chores of dishes, laundry, dinner, toys put away, vacuuming, that i don't have time for new projects. i have things i mind tho. i have found that i really should only have 1 main project aside from daily things (chores, scripture study) going on at a time, otherwise i get nothing acomplished. so the doing things weekly has changed.

3. working out -
i have been going about once a week to Foxy's, but since it will expire in April i am trying to do things at home, and that is where the trampoline has come in totally handy. it in itself is a full body workout, but with it's springyness, it is easy on the joints...so push ups, and other things are much easier to do. it also is a great cardio exercise and i have fun while i'm doing it!!! i have lost 1 pound since the new year (may not be much, but with the 2 king cakes, birthday cake and other junk, i think losing anything is awesome!)

4. read scriptures -
i've already touched on this one

5. take time to take care of me -
i should do better at this, but i am slowly improving. it's the little things.

6. FHE -
well, i haven't done it every week, i keep getting discouraged, but i think if i don't try to include daniel, (he seems to wreck the plan) and focus on Kathryn i'll see results? i just don't know how to handle Daniel. Kathryn can sit and take in more, but since Daniel is there, it seems like i have to cut it to a brief summary and fighwith him to get off the table etc. and nothing was really learned. it seems like if i focused on Kathryn, and let Daniel listen in on his own free will, it would be more successful.

7. focus on the kids happiness -
well, i still find myself with no new ideas sometimes, but i feel like i've gotten closer to kathryn (daniel was never the issue. lol)

8. forgive and forget -
lately i seem to be holding grudges against my hubby...i see myself getting aggravated when he's home and not helping with this or that, and really try to see it from his perspective and tell myself he needs a break or whatever, then i hear the words of my dear friend Amanda in my head "are you asking him to help? cuz men don't look for ways to help, they have to be told" or something like that, and realize, i never asked him to help me. so this week, i have been giving him chances to help, and he definitely has. yesterday was wonderful. i feel like i asked a lot of him, but he did it without the annoying sighs or delays...so that made me so happy. i have to remember to stop the silent frustration and ask for help

9 visiting with family -
well, i have done well with this, taking oppurtunities as they arise, and i'm glad. i'm trying to keep up the monthly game night with both sides of the family, and that is my favorite. we played "buzz word" and that turned out to be a fun game!

10. go to the temple at least once a month -
i went January, and hope to keep that going.

11. be debt free except the mortgage -
well, we took on new debt with buying the van...but soon will have both vehicles paid off...

12. work on scrapbooking -
so this is one of those things i have decided to put on the side...i decided first i want to go through my pictures (digital) and decide which to keep and what to delete...i have thousands...after i choose which to keep most will be printed (when the funds are available) for scrapbooking, then i can tackle all those scrapbooking pages and feel much more organized about it, knowing what pictures i have.

well, that is my update for February.

my big project for feb/march is going through digital pictures...hopefully it wont take forever.

trampoline and videos!

2010-02-10T12:15:00.002-06:00

so we have had lots of fun on the trampoline. i'm going to post some pictures of that fun mostly without captions, and i'll try to post a video of Daniel, he at 20 months, has learned how to do the "booty bounce" where you bounce on your butt and stand up...at first i thought this was just an acccident, but he kept doing it over and over! so he must know how! too crazy.

this video is me bouncing with daniel. notice at the end, he tries to count with me.

this video is daniel doing the booty bounce all by himself! woah, this kid has the talent of his uncles (jake and nick!)

this video is how daniel gets on the trampoline by himself and gets double bounced by mommy!

this video is daniel kissing the camera too cute!

this is how i workout my legs. woo, in just 30 short seconds my legs are about to collapse! (when i do it consecutively). it also works out my abs holding the pike and tuck positions.

this was one of the videos that daniel thought was funny. it's me having fun. doing some gymnastics again! i can't tell ya how good it feels!

this video is as close as i got to a layout (straight body during flip) but i piked at the end.

this video is me doing a front flip then back flip. i'll connect them one day.

so i have been wanting to try some stuff on the trampoline, but i have always liked to know how the skill is supposed to look and how your body is supposed to move throughout so i can be sure i'm doing it right...blah blah, since i don't have a spotter, i have been checking out some youtube videos of aerial's and barani's, and this was one video i stumbled across that i thought was amazing. it had some good tips for when you try something new (if you know what you're looking for) and i wanted to share how awesomely perfect this guy's form is. this trampoline must have really loose springs to be so bouncy. it's $10,000! anyhow, if you start the video at 3:10 you'll see a few mins worth of super cool trampolining. the first section is just talk so skip to 3:10

i was watching his videos and i saw this and decided to try it. and after 45 mins (lol) i taught myself the back kaboom (of course it doesn't look nearly as pretty as his. skip to 1:45 to see it.

Happy Birthday Kathryn!

2010-02-06T14:12:00.001-06:00

So i know i am a bit behind, it seems like i never get to finish a blog when i sit down and get started. so last friday (feb 5th) kathryn turned 4! this year she really understood the concept of it being her birthday, so i wanted to make it really special. since she had school i wanted to do a cupcake party, so i baked cupcakes the night before, and she saw them and wanted one when she woke up. well, unfortunately, only 12 survived the night (::wink wink::) and there are 9 kids and 3 teachers in her class and i wanted to make sure everybody got one, so i told her she had to wait till we could share with everybody. she didn't like that so much and was upset. i should've just let her have one...if only i knew what it would do... suddenly she didn't want to go to school, she wanted to go to mimi's house (where we were having her "party" and eating bday cake) i tried to explain that school would be fun, they were going on a field trip, and we can't have the party at mimi's until she gets home and she wasn't home yet... well, she pulled the whole "i tired" in the nearly in tears voice, which is the clue that she is in a super grumpy mood which is nearly impossible to break... somehow i got her to school. i hoped she would cheer up so we would have a better day.

well, she had a field trip at school (yay!) to the library that i figured would be super cool, and of course i signed up to go. well, since john had to work at 11 that meant i had to bring daniel with me. he never behaves when we are in public. for some reason, he feels like he has to act like a wild animal... anyway, since i signed up to go, kathryn was going to ride with me, instead of on the school bus (which she is in love with) so seeing all the other kids going on the bus and she didn't get to....only lead to more disaster. so we get to the library, they get started singing songs and reading stories, and the first 5 mins, daniel was paying attention, then he decided to be loud when i tried to get him to sit back down, and crawled under chairs and so when i got up to get him...kathryn got really sad and kept the sad sappy mood saying she wanted to go home, then she didn't, then she did, etc. so we are finally done and are taking a tour of the library, when she says she has to go pee, so i try to take her in the bathroom, then it's NO, i don't have to pee pee, so i walk away and NO i DO i DOO have to pee pee.... ok, well, lets go, NO i don't...etc. i was at breaking point, and took her hand while daniel was trying to wriggle free and run away and brought her in the bathroom and after going through the same yes no yes no, i finally went to find one of the teachers to tell them i can't do it, i'm taking her home, or leaving...either way i was done. and so they tried to talk to kathryn and she just started to cry about wanting to go home, so in the van we went...i took a good 10 mins clearing my head of the aggrvation so i could deal with kathryn's bad mood appropriately... i called mimi so kathryn could talk to her, but that didn't really help, so after talking to her about whatever (i don't remember) she started cheering up, and i decided we would go meet the kids at school and try to finish. well, when she got to school (and knew she would finally get to eat a cupcake (and there were only 5 kids there! i totally could have let her have one in the morning and there would have been enough)) she was jumping around all excited. so she was happy and it was so cute seeing her play in the individual centers... i had to keep a close watch on daniel...he is famous for dumping all the toys out and walking away to the next pile...he didn't like me so much for making him pick up toys before he got more out...but i am determined to get this little boy to understand he has to help pick up what he gets out... it took him 5 mins of fussing and pouting and sprawling on the floor to finally get up and pick up the few cars before he got blocks out in the next center. kathryn loves being in the kitchen center... pretending to wash clothes and switch them to the dryer, then walk over to the sink and scrub some dishes and load them in the dish washer, then over to the stove to take a pot out to add spices and veggies to and cook...it was so flippin cute. and she was doing the whole "do do do" singing and bouncing around. daniel took to the puzzles...he loves the wooden puzzles. and he is really good at them. he matches stuff really well, shapes and all. so we finally left and she was finally cheered up. i got to talkin about what my plans were for the day and she was talking to me about them too. lol.

toward the end of the day, we wen to mimi's ate rice and gumbo (she loves rice and sausage) we sang her happy birthday, she opened some presents, and had a good time. i got some good pictures and video, if only i could find my camera... i'll keep looking and post pics/vids later.

needless to say, i kept thinking of the song "it's my party" (i can cry if i want to)...maybe she'll do better at her party with friends.

lots of pics funny stories...

2010-02-02T10:32:00.011-06:00

what an evenful few weeks we had. funny stories and all.

i guess i'll start chronologically.

a few Friday's ago i was messing with my newly built PC (one of the reasons i was so encouraged to get the thing running) to get some programs on it that can make copies of my DVD's, well, i finally found what i wanted, it has a free trial, i tried it, and i love it! DVDFab...it's $50 regular, i dunno if i will buy it, but, all of the kids DVD's are so scratched they won't play, so i just wanted to see what would happen, popped one of the really scratched ones in, and it copied it fine, better yet, i put it in the player for the kids to watch...NO SKIPS! it copied a scratched disc perfect! i was so impressed! i thought for sure i'd have to buy another DVD, but that was a relief. so now i am copying the rest of them...this is so exciting!

a few Saturday's ago, after watching the Saints game at the in-laws (YAY! they won), i came home and put a sleeping kathryn to bed, and decided i would take a soak in the tub! Daniel was still up and not ready to sleep yet, so i told John i was locking the door so i could have some peace. well, i for some reason, decided to lock both bedroom and bathroom doors. 30 mins into it, (about 11pm) i hear the lock turning on the bedroom door, then the bathroom door, and then Daniel appears! what the! he had the real "pretend" keys in the slit of the lock and turned it to open the door... i got out of the tub to bring him back to John, still puzzled with how he got the keys in the first place...they were (i'm positive) in a dark kathryn's room...and that's when i figured it out.

the day before, i organized all the toys and sorted them in each individual basket, with the "purses, accessories" in one box and that's where the "pretend" real keys were(old keys we didn't use anymore) and that box was in kathryn's room, and earlier in the day, the kids had dumped all the baskets in kathryn's room and made a big mess (big surprise) but everything stayed in kathryn's room. so this little boy, went in her dark room, climbed up on her bed, crawled to the end where he flower wall light is (ikea) flipped the switch (the light was on when i checked) came back down, rummaged through the mess on the floor to find the keys, then came to open the lock...cuz somehow he knew that the keys opened the lock and he knew how...that is just too smart! i couldn't believe it! i had a good laugh. i guess he learned that from kathryn. a few times i have "locked" myself in the craft room to get something done, and kathryn has come banging on the door asking to come in i tell her no (daniel being right next to her) she says, "ill get the keys" goes to find these keys and voila, unlocks the door...haha. oh geez. i love how smart kids can be. but i guess this is one quality i won't complain about. it could come in handy when there is a crisis, so better they know how to unlock a door than not.

then a few sunday's ago i went to church, a bit late, but we got to sit in sacrament which never happens, of course John was working, so i was by myself, big surprise...(john hasn't had a sunday off since beginning of november) and i actually got a chance to "doll" myself up...makeup, hair fixed, perfume...it was nice to feel pretty. i stayed positive about a wild daniel wanting to run everywhere, and that made all the difference.

that same sunday i got to get a quick visit in with my sis Jenn and check out her awesome scrapbooks (that is one of my priorities this year) to get some ideas. then i went to pick John up from work and i had arranged to get Lydia and have her spend the night. (no school for MLK day) and so we went back home and the kids had fun. they all needed a bath, so they got to go in the master bath tub and they had fun in there. lol.

Daniel kept kicking around and got Lydia excited and he she is getting excited at kathryn. lol.
and of course they were feeding each other. it was so stinkin cute, kathryn would ask Lydia "what you makin" "some noodles and sauce" "oh, may i have some pleaseee" "oh yes," and she would feed her. it was so adorable. then they would get excited about how "yummy" it was.

and daniel meanwhile kept belly floppin in the tub splashin everywhere. here you see how happy he is to do it.

Daniel crawled under the covers and thought he was going to sleep with them. he was so upset when he had to go in his room and be alone. he wanted to be with the girls so bad. he's so cute. he wants to be included.

anyhow, the next morning...daniel woke me up at 9 by mumbling trying to climb in bed, then walking out. but 9 is really late for them, which could only mean one thing...

they had been up to something.

his hands are covered...which means it got EVERYWHERE! what is that you ask? oh, only the 3 CUPCAKES leftover from my Aunt Linda's birthday party, which were hidden in the pantry, and some how Kathryn remembered! shame on mommy for forgetting to close the pantry door the night before!
these pictures were taken with my blackberry hence the poor quality, and the lack of detail. they don't even do justice to what was really there. lol. Lydia appeared clean, but her sleeper is covered, and so is the back of her hair which i didn't get pictures of...i was trying to go quick so i could throw them in the tub!

the instigator that started it all...kathryn also had it in her hair, and i managed to get a shot of it...
since this is blue and daniel had purple hands...this must have been Lydia?? lol it's like solving a mystery in one of those word puzzles...

and it all took place in kathryn's closet. yes, that is a cupcake turned completely upside down...and no, they color didn't come out of the carpet...but oh well...like the burn marks on our linolieum floor growing up, it will be a reminder of what took place here. (HAHAHA) and no we don't keep a broom in kathryn's closet...dunno what they wanted with it! but it got all over her closet walls and walls in her bedroom, luckily the closet painters were lazy and instead of just spraying the shelves white gloss they sprayed the whole closet, so it wiped right off! yay! however, the flat paint we weren't so lucky!

yes, that's right, a tube of toothpaste amongst the rubble...and that would be kathryn. she has an obsession with sucking the toothpaste out of the tube, this was the one in their bathroom, once again, shame on mommy for not putting it up on the shelf where they can't reach...oh wait, i DID put it up on the shelf...and somehow with kathryn so determined to get to it, she got a stool, chair whatever, and reached it. this isn't the first time, it's only like the 3rd full tube she's gone through...hence why it's a travel size. lol. oh, thank goodness she doesn't know where i keep my stash of extra toothpaste!
they also decided to get on her bed with it, and so it was everywhere...
crumbs on the sheets and icing in places you don't even think to look...
and the best part...when daniel came in our room, this chair was in there and he stumbled on it, then left nice little hand prints on our...

sheets. lol. luckily most of it washed out, it was just time consuming trying to clean it all up! but i have taken the blame for this one

this little boy is so funny. he decided he wanted some french fries so he climbed on the table to reach over instead of walking around. lol.

so after cleaning up the mess, Jenni came over with Zeke and needless to say, the kids had SO much fun together, especially on the trampoline. and leave it to Zeke to teach the kids how to get up on the trampoline by themselves...

this was i am assuming Lydia's first time on a trampoline, and it took her a bit to figure out how to jump and keep her balance, but she did good, and she LOVED sitting and being bounced up high when i would jump next to them...the double bounce thing...
i was taking the picture while i was jumping so it didn't come out great, but this is kathryn and Lydia being bounced and as you can see they are so excited! check out lydia's legs together and pointed toes! perfect form lol!

this one is great! i love a good action picture! jenny looks like she's just floating on air. so cool

Zeke loves Daniel. he just has a thing for him, and Daniel loves his attention. they look so cute here.
Zeke was bouncing him around...and Daniel loves it.

Zeke's front flip! woo! luckily none of the other kids wanted to try it! haha.

and of course they loved playing ring around the rosie, and kathryn loves doing it bouncing around in a circle.
jenny was trying to bounce on her booty while holding zeke's hand and Daniel in her arm! lol. Zeke liked it

and i was bouncing with daniel, which is actually quite hard to do... as you can tell by my face, i'm trying to make sure he doesn't face plant into my shoulder...

i wanted a break but he didn't. lol.

and i taught kathryn how to do this^ so Lydia wanted to try it too...so i tried with both of them but it didn't work. basically i stand up hold kathryn's hand who is sitting, and on the count of 3 bounce on my booty and of course they bounce up while i'm down and they try to stand up when the come down, as i come back up...anyhow, kathryn has really figured it out, i'm proud of her! apparently it's harder than i thought.

the boy's attacking Aunt Jenni
more ring around the rosie. they loved it.
all fall down! check out daniel! he really fell back! lol.

so we had a lot of fun with all the kids, and when it was time for Jenni to take Zeke back home, i was telling her, on the next holiday i should take Zeke and let him spend the day with us and he replied "yeah, or in the summer, i could stay the whole year over here cuz i don't have school!" it was cute, like the summer lasted all year or like he would want to stay here for a whole year. lol. it was cute to see how much he wanted to come back and play. i love Zeke and really want him to come around more! so maybe Mardi Gras i can take him.

so another funny story... i was at Corine's house after kathryn got out of school to show her Mimi wasn't home...and while we were there i was fiddling with papers, and she comes up to me and says "i have to pee pee mommy" so i said, "ok gimme a second i'm almost done" and she replied "um, ha bout you give me fruit snacks and i give you a second" (in her kathryn language) i busted out laughing. o, that was is too cute to forget.

she is getting so smart. things she knows i didn't even know she knew...like identifying what letter a picture of a thing starts with! haha. and she sure has a mind of her own. when we pray she knows exactly what she wants to pray about. and she talks to me about what hurts her feelings. lol.

so we mailed our fed tax return off on Jan 29th! wooohoo! i'm glad i didn't do it sooner, cuz turns out we had more to claim than we thought. anyhow, i had done alot of thinkin, and i had decided we could use the tax return to find a 2nd vehicle. i wanted a van for my own reasons, so i started looking. i decided maybe we could look for a cheaper van than we had thought, and i stumbled upon this one van... 2004 Honda Odessey EX-L that was awesome, i mean it had sooo many features and looked clean and had leather seats! easy to clean...but the best part, was the price...i started thinking about it, and realized, if we liked it...we could get it! we would finance it and have it paid off before the first note was ever due. rather than wait for our taxes...they were offering 4000 less than kelly blue book value, so we got it!!!! January 30th! it all happened so fast i can still hardly believe it! it's soo nice. big spacious...i can park in a spot, get out of my seat and walk back to Dan and put his shoes on without ever getting out of the car! and it has a DVD player! perfect for those cross country trips! lol. oh it's great. still getting used to the automatic doors, they have their pros and cons. lol.

oh, and one last thing, i started some seeds. cuz i love to garden, and they are sprouting! yay. i love watching things grow.

YAY for me!

2010-01-14T09:07:00.002-06:00

so without a long boring story, i have a desktop PC that got a worm (virus) on it and the HD needed to be formatted so i could use it again. no way to do that, so i recently took the time to look more into it after being given 2 scrap PC's and with some advice from a friend to get me started and lots of research on the internet, i have learned quite a bit about the hardware on a PC and how things work. i was able to get my PC working, which is huge for me that i did it myself (with helpful advice from a friend). the power supply was bad on my PC but good on one of the PC's i was given, so i switched them out. i also switched out all the hardware of my PC into a bigger case (that came from one of the other PCs i was given) which was also a huge learning experience! i now have the ability to hook up 2 HDs instead of just 1. it took me a while to figure out that i had the jumper on the wrong pins to set the drives to Master/Slave correctly! that was annoying, but now i won't make that mistake again! and the PC works fine now! i was able to format my HD that had the worm on it, and now i can do the other HD's to the PCs i was given.

this is such an accomplishment for me. i mean, it wasn't hard to "learn" what i needed to know to put the PC back together, it simply took time, and now i have the hands on experience! but now this means i can help others with my new talent! or at least lend a helping hand wether i can actually help or not... and i enjoy helping others.

now i can move to the next step and build my own PC from scratch! of course that won't be any time soon...

so... i wanted to post my first update on my new years goals...that way they are always fresh on my mind. (bare with me)

1. being more grateful - complaining less

i think i've done pretty good with this one so far. as far as i can tell! i started a Grateful list and have been adding to it.

2. get organized

i haven't really gotten a chance to really start this one, but i have started to take notes on what i'd like to purchase to help stay organized etc. and i did get to fix the PC which was on my long term to do list!

3. working out

i weighed myself for the week and i'm 146.8. a loss of .2 lbs. i also went to Foxy's last week, and plan to go again tomorrow, and i am starting to do more at home (with the trampoline and all!) i started doing the basics, push ups, crunches (with kids), and some running in the yard!

4. read scriptures

i started in the new testament, and i am on Chap. 5 in Matthew (while studying the seminary manuals too) and i have started reading Ensign articles with my spare time. i generally read bits at least once a day, and i think that helps my mood quite a bit.

5. take the time to take care of me

i could have done better with this last week, i wanted to take a soak in the tub and have a night of relaxing, but didnt! this week i've done a little better. (don't need to get specific on this one...i'm the only one it matters to)

6. FHE

i had a lesson last week and working on the one for this week!

7. focus on the kids happiness

last week i gave them sweet massages, i wanted to teach them that they can calm down and relax too. they both sat stil and let me pamper them. it was cute. this week, i got the train tracks out and built that for them and taught Daniel how to turn on the battery operated train. i also went to the library with kathryn and we had some time to ourselves to read books and pick some to read at home. she loves books, and loved our trip.

8.forgive and forget

i've done good with this, talking with people i normally don't

9. visiting with family and extended family, friends

i have done pretty good with this one, i exceeded my goal for this month already! i know that sounds a bit...silly keeping track, but last year i went weeks without seeing my sisters, and i never noticed (i guess) and i feel like if i keep track, i can see if i'm spending too much time at home, and need to get out and visit. it's been fun, we had a sisters night at Nat's this week, and last week i visited with my granny with Natalie. we are planning a game night with my family, and i am thinking of doing the same for the in-laws. i need to work on the friends side of it now tho. i have made plans to participate in the church activities where my friends from church might be...so that's a start.

10. go to the temple at least once a month

i think i will go next week, so we'll see.

11.be debt free except the mortgage

ooooo, i am excited about this one! i did a "mock" version of our taxes (we haven't gotten our official W-2's in yet) and our tax return will be enough to get us out of debt and save for a van! ironically even tho we bought a house, we still don't have enough deductions to itemize, so it'll be a simple filing again this year, and hopefully soon!

12. work on scrapbooking my pictures/items

i have started on this but i realized, i didn't have any layout ideas... so i went online, and OH MY! tons and tons of ideas for layouts/ cards and that's what i needed to get my brain going again! i am so excited! i really want to keep this going!

so i am feeling pretty good. and since the weather has gotten a bit warmer and i've been going outside, i've been surveying the yard seeing what needs to be done... and of course checking the garden. i want to build it up. i saw some bricks at a house in the front of our neighborhood and i grabbed them before they got thrown away...136 bricks. that's a start! and they were free!

ooo, and has anyone gone to sams recently?! they are getting their spring bulbs and plants in! and they are such great prices! i dunno the quality per se, but i wanna get some and see!

good times

2010-01-12T09:14:00.008-06:00

well, we are finally catching a break for this weather huh?! it feels so nice to be able to let the kids play outside! i am grateful for nice weather!

i was looking through the pictures i recently took in an effort to calm Daniel down, and realized i have more pics to share! and i'll also post a video or two at the end, when Daniel watched these, he giggled and it was so stinkin cute what he gets a kick out of.

So Friday we got a visit from Auntie Jenn and the kids were loving her attention. Daniel especially liked her touch screen phone (iphone). Daniel was being cuddly with Auntie Jenn then decided to play the "workout game" with her. well, i call it that, because as you sit on the floor with your feet out in front of you and Daniel facing you is sitting in your lap, he lunges forward into you knocking you down to the floor, then tries to pull you back up, but once you get up, he pushes you over again. talk about an ab workout. but Daniel thinks it's funny. and so Jenn played his game for a bit, then Kathryn joined in, and well, it was just too cute to not get pictures of.

Daniel pushing Jenn down

He just loves it

and Kathryn didn't want to stop.

Auntie Jenn even read them their bedtime stories and Daniel actually sat and looked at the book being read! he never does that with me!
The kids were lovin their Auntie Jenn's attention, and they were very sad when she had to leave.

So mommy sat down and read them one more story, and then we put them to bed. and so since our heating costs were going way too high, starting the beginning of last week when it got super cold, we turned the heater off, used our firplace for a few hours to heat the living area during the day time (it uses less gas than the heater) and closed all the doors so that it stayed warm. then at night we had a small space heater (ceramic) on in our MBR and set up little pallets for the kids to sleep on the floor and we all stayed nice and cozy (about 75) while the rest of the house was 58 or so... i know it's not a good habit to get the kids into, but their bedrooms are on the very outside walls and they stay so cold... so it's cheaper to do it this way, and the kids sleep longer!

this is my broccoli that i cut before it went bad from all the freezing/thawing. i'm excited about it!

so since we were staying in the living room where it was nice and warm and we were keeping all the doors were closed, i got the train set from Dan's room and set it up for them. they had so much fun with it! here kathryn is playing with one of the train cars and making the "choo" sound can you tell? (check out her lips)

i loved watching Daniel follow the train (battery operated) around and turn his head and bend over to watch it go through the tunnels and over the hills. too cute. "i know you're in there"

and he decided it wasn't going fast enough by itself, so he was going to help it along. he's really bending over...nice balance.

and Daniel's new favorite thing to do is tackle Kathryn...he's so much smaller than her, but it's hilarious to watch. and at first Kathryn thought it was funny too. hence the happy smiling faces...

He got her now, and then he brings her down...
and victory is his! this is too cute, it reminds me of a picture of John and his brother Ben that were about this same age in this same position. maybe i'll find the pic and post it.

so there was a mess up on the last check we got where John didn't get paid for Christmas (holiday pay), which we weren't expecting so we had to cut out the extra we should have gotten from the budget somewhere, and groceries took the brunt of it...which was fine, we had stocked up on sales stuff last check, so we were set... but when i had burritos on the menu and no tortilla shells, i made my own! no refried beans, made my own! it was a very satisfying feeling knowing we didn't have to depend on the store for everything. and John really liked the soft taco shells (they didn't stretch quite big enough for burrito size) unfortunately, when i went to pick the lettuce, i waited to late, and it was already frozen again, so it didn't fare well getting defrosted but all in all, it was good. so i wanted to post a pic for the accomplishment. i now have a MUCH greater appreciation for how they HAD to do things back in the day...all from scratch, from your garden, very few things did you buy from someone else. wow. it was hard work and a lot of preparation trying to make this dinner, i can only imagine trying to do that for every meal. and we are supposed to be the strong ones facing harder times... they were troopers.

so a few nights ago, i decided the kids would take a bath in the master tub, so they would stay warm, and i got them some kids blueberry bubble bath a while back and so they got to use it...they had a blast with the bubbles. here Daniel has a bubble mohawk, and Kathryn can't stop laughing at him.

and Kathryn with her bubble crown. yeah, i had fun with them.

Daniel with a bubble hat, sideburns and mustache/goatee. Now i didn't put these bubbles on, he went to "dive" into the water like he always does, and got a mouthful of bubbles and coughing them out. but he thought it was funny and did it again.

and after he got out of the tub, i love his long wispy hair...so don't even ask me what i was thinking doing this:

so he's doing something with his hands...idk why. ALL HIS BLONDE IS GONE!! i'm so sad! i dunno why i thought his hair needed to be cut...and i'm not great at cutting hair, so it was bound to turn out bad...bad meaning, i liked him with his long hair better!! so, he gets to have long hair from now on. because i like it that way! he looks so different to me!

So yesterday our pipes froze again... even though we wrapped them...except for the small hose connector you see here. is this unwrapped part the reason our pipes froze? it did get down to 19º but do you really have to keep your water running to prevent pipes from freezing?

so this was the temperature the car read on the way to bring Kathryn to school. that's the coldest i remember ever seeing the temperature read, but John told me over the weekend when he went to work in the am, it read 20. wow.

oh, and before i forget, the other week Mr. Guy wanted to take the bike for a spin, goes to start the engine, and nothing... the battery is dead i'm sure, we haven't turned it on since...november. but there is just no tellin if that is the only thing wrong with it. good thing we have already had plans to not need it. and thankfully our car is still running with no problems yet.

and lastly, the videos that Daniel thought were funny, i'll post in the next blog.

100th post!

2010-01-06T22:51:00.007-06:00

so to catch up what has been happening in our world in the last week or so,

i've been meaning to post a pictures so here ya go:

this is the color the living room turned out to be, although it looks different in sunlight vs florescent light... i think i may end up changing it, but i'm not sure. it's kind of growing on me...

so Julie and Blase came with their girls to visit the family in lafayette and so i went with Corine and Guy to go see them. (they live in Houston) the girls are getting so big! Charlie is dancing with Kathryn in this picture above, and Kathryn is doing her new thing with her fingers (crossing them) and she put on Charlies clip on earrings! if you click the picture you can see the full size.

When it was time to go, Charlie was so cute, she went up to her mom and said "but mom, i am going to miss them" and got really sad. here's her sad face. in the next picture, Aunt Cindy is holding baby Brett. Brett is wearing her new hair bow Julie picked out. it's the least i can do for all the lil girlies in my family. Brett seems like such a good baby, easy going, carefree. and look at all her hair! she's 5 months here.

i tried to get the girls to take a picture together, but Charlie was still sad we were leaving. It's funny too because Kathryn didn't play much with her, Daniel did. Charlie was chasing Daniel around and they had a ball, it was so cute to watch. too bad they don't live close and the kids could have fun playing together.

this is the playhouse the kids got for Christmas too bad it's been too cold for us to play outside. but when it warms up, i can see them having a blast going from pool to house to...

the trampoline Corine got from a pharmacist she works with for FREE! and of course, she asked us if we wanted it. ever since i can remember i always said i wanted a trampoline when i got a house... so when it was offered for free, i said heck yeah. and it has a net which was a must. no bumper pad, but we've had it for almost 2 weeks and the kids don't go near the edge, so we'll get one eventually... but lets just say the kids LOVE it, and i LOVE it too. =) i know they can be dangerous, but with the kids young i don't see them trying a flip and busting their face open...at least not yet. not saying it won't happen...but we'll see how it goes. they love it so much they simply couldn't wait weeks before it warmed up again so, when the temperature was about 38º and the sun was out, we layered up and went out.

personally, i've seen a dramatic improvement in Kathryn's jumping. as Jaiden pointed out the first time Kathryn got on, she was skipping rather than jumping with both feet at the same time...not any more! she bounces the right way, and high too! i think this may help her balance.

and Daniel seemed to get the hang of it super quick...after he got over the face planting and whining, he really does good...and he loves it. in fact, he has figured out what our blue chair has in it...

so monday night as i was making a new meal calendar i decided i wanted to start making stuff homemade to use the recipes i have and try new things... and my mom just gave me a pizza recipe book, so on wednesday, i decided with the leftover ham, we would make a pizza. a hawaiian pizza. i was afraid it wouldn't turn out, but it was great! John ate 3 pieces which meant he liked it. i think i liked my crust better than papa murphy's, and the sauce was awesome. it's hard to mess up pineapple and ham, so i'll definitely make it again.

now a few nights ago, i came out of the craft room and saw Kathryn sleeping on the blue chair in the living room and asked John where Daniel was, i didn't hear him, and he said he didn't know, so i peeked in the dinning area, and saw this:

i thought...he's not moving...HE FELL ASLEEP HANGING OVER A CHAIR! AAAAA HAHAHAHA...just hilarious! so i had to get pictures.
sleepy baby.
it was priceless. his little feet just dangling.

and this is how he woke up one morning after i brought kathryn to school...crazy hair! haha. yeah, he needs a hair cut. so i tried to cut it a few days back, and he was jerking his head and batting his hands shooing me away from his hair. he would have nothing of it! so i guess i'll try again later.

he's trying to devour an entire musketeers fun size bar...it was just funny.

so the kids have been doing/saying some funny things so i'll share those before i forget.

one day kathryn came up to me and just started mumbling non stop and before i could stop her to tell her i couldn't understand any of it, i hear at the end "lity and jusis for all" i gasped, said "can you say it again" and she with a smile on her face replied "YES!" and repeats what i thought was just random mumbling...but it was the Pledge of Allegiance! She had memorized it from saying it at school, and she remembered every word too! it was so cute i teared up. she is amazing at this age. so many cute little phrases and her personality coming out. just before bed after we say prayers we tell Daniel to give sis kisses, and he climbs over to her and leans in for a kiss. recently he has done the "over and over" where he just keeps giving her kisses, well, she turned to me one time and said "dats enough Daniel" hehe.

and Daniel likes to investigate everything, so i noticed he had a ponytail holder and he was stretching it back and forth and he very intently says "ooooo" then "aaaaaa" it was really funny at the time. he also likes spray bottles, and i had him on the counter next to me so he could see me mix the pizza dough, and as i focus on fixing the dough, i keep hearing "ch ch ch ch ch" i finally look over at daniel when i snap out of it and realize that's not a good sound to find Daniel spraying Lysol kitchen spray all over his leg, and my phone...it was soaked...i just had to laugh. now my phone screen is blotchy and the buttons work when they want except the U...it doesn't ever work. oh well, that's what i get for not paying attention!

oh yeah, and before the first big frost this week, we were going to cover our bare pipes, but somehow completely forgot, and so monday morning, i wake up and go turn on the kitchen faucet to wash out a cup and...nothing. darn! our pipes froze. haha, once again, quite preventable, but we weren't prepared. i'm just glad they thawed out before it froze again the next night, and John was certainly out wrapping the pipes! luckily the pipes didn't burst. i guess we can thank the cheap plastic PVC tubing that connects all the water in our house.

after the second deep freeze this week, i gave up trying to protect my garden... surprisingly the lettuce isn't completely dead. but i did have to take my broccoli it was frozen solid. we'll see how they fare out through this cold spell.

speaking of how cold it's been since the new year started, i haven't wanted to get out to go to Foxy's so my goal isn't getting off to a good start...but with the trampoline... when Daniel goes down for a nap (usually the warmest time of the day) and they have already been outside to jump, i put a movie on for Kathryn or let her play on the PBS kids website, and i go out to jump on the trampoline. ah, it is awesome. it's a great cardio workout which is one of my least favorite things to do, unless it's something fun...and the trampoline is great fun! it boosts my self esteem when i can flip and flip... and jumping to L sits is a great ab work out. my legs are sore so it must be doing some good! it just puts me in a better mood altogether. it's like my few minutes in paradise... i just feel so weightless...

so this week i am incredibly grateful for:

trampolines!

tough technology that keeps going

space heater that keeps us all cozy and warm in the MBR.

oh yeah, and Walgreens had a 9 cent print special, and so i got 100 pictures to start scrapbooking with!

New Years Eve (LONG!)

2009-12-31T23:14:00.004-06:00

"After much deep and profound brain things inside my head" (king Julius from madagascar), i decided i would make some new years resolutions, and take a peak at the old ones. now, this is hard for me to admit how bad i am at some things, but hopefully by stating my weaknesses, i can begin to work on them.

last years resolutions:

be COMPLETELY debt free by the end of the year!!! (an ambitious goal, but i am determined)

well that obviously didn't happen. if we hadn't gotten the house we probably would be? but you just never know...and since that isn't the path we took...we are still in debt, but working on getting out of it.

-read scriptures daily (even if it's reciting some in my head)

yeah, this is one that i'm bad at. i'd (rather) pick up an Ensign and read an article or two on a specific topic, but i want to get more acquainted with the scriptures like i was in seminary! and i guess i always use the excuse of i need to focus to read and get something out of what i read, and with the kids it doesn't seem like i can get enough consecutive time, but anything is possible. this could be the year!

-get Kathryn in speech therapy

well at least i got one thing done! kathryn has been in speech therapy, and done well.

-go to Foxy's at LEAST once a week!

yeah, that so didn't happen, but i got close in december...

-have a part-time job (work from home)

well, i have been on again off again with this one... but then again, i don't think this is totally necessary, so i'm not concerned

-have daily family prayer

well, this was one thing we definitely improved on, towards the middle of the year, i snapped into place, and we prayed like we should (before meals, before bed, when we were hurt or sad) and we certainly said at least 1 prayer a day, and i am so glad! i have seen a difference with kathryn, now she can say her own prayers and even says them when she's playing "pretend" with her toys. even daniel has learned when to be reverent and usually does good during prayers.

-do at least one thing on my long term to do list per week

yeah, this happened more like once every month or every other month...only cuz i didn't have it written down anywhere, which i have changed. this has a lot to do with being more organized, so if i do this, the organization comes with it.

-read the entire Book of Mormon by the end of the year!

yeah, i got started, but once again, never finished... i wish i could keep it going, but when i don't read consecutively, i have a hard time remembering what happened, so i have to reread a few verses, and by that time, i am just about asleep!

well, enough about the past year...

on to some new resolutions:

1. being more grateful, complaining less

yeah i need to work on this quite a bit. i guess i really don't realize i am being so "ungrateful" until after the fact, and i look back on it or read what i wrote, and suddenly...i'm complaining about something so silly and stupid. i was telling John today how much i've changed since we moved into the house...before we moved in i had a list of all the things i wanted to change about the house, and now that we are in the house and money is tight...i look back at the list and think how trivial all those things were. and i am grateful that we even have a house! and i really don't think most of that stuff i had written down was worth spending money on.

so to accomplish this, i have in mind to, at least 1 to 3 times a week, look back on the current week and think of things that relate to what is happening that i am grateful for, and WRITE IT DOWN... i'll probably put the list where i can see it and remember to BE GRATEFUL.

2. get organized

well, this entails quite a bit. i seem to have a ton of "stuff "piled places that just keeps getting moved around, i also have things i forget i have because they aren't put somewhere where i will remember i have it. so, besides going through the piles of stuff, i want to have a better idea of what i have, so i want to go through most of it, and decide where it will go for good. we have a lot of things in temporary spots, and that needs to change. a long with getting organized and knowing what i have, is making and working on a long term to do list.

i plan to start in sections going through, cleaning deciding what we need/want to keep, make a list of things to add/change and how - add to my long term to do list, and accomplish 1 thing on the list per month.

3. working out

i really want to get back in shape and feel good again and have energy. and my problem is i don't work out enough. i am starting out at 147 lbs and my goal is 135.

so along with eating better, i am going to try to go to foxy's (while we still have the membership) at least 3 times a week and attempt to get some exercise at home in some way.

4. read scriptures: new testament, book of mormon seminary style.

well, i decided to assign myself specific sections to read and this year i want to use the seminary/institute manual along with it to get a good understanding of what i'm reading.

i'm going to try to keep up a daily study routine to make it happen. i have found that reading the scriptures on the church website (scriptures.lds.org) i get more out of it, because all the footnotes are highlighted and you just click and can cross-reference all the footnotes, so i get a better understanding of what the verse means. i really like reading this way.

5. take the time to take better care of ME (hygiene, health, spiritual)

as a mom and especially me, i seem to neglect myself all too often. so i am going to take that "me" time that focuses on just me, myself and i. no projects involved, or finishing this or that, just time to better myself.

in the hygiene area, i will work on taking care of my skin (lotion, face wash, toner, etc) and i want to get better at fixing my hair and putting on makeup (i have no talent in this area). i just want to feel pretty again, but that requires time, so this year i will work on that.

in the health area, i want to eat a good balanced diet, and i plan to accomplish this by having a meal calendar that stays on the fridge to reference, so i can cook healthy things. i also want to try new meals this year, we seem to be stuck in a dinner rut. along with eating right, i also will be getting more exercise, which was another separate goal.

in the spiritual area, i have already made a goal to read scriptures, and another goal is to go to the temple, but i also want to develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father through daily personal prayer.

6. FHE

in an effort to have a good spirit in our home and to reach our children right, i want to have weekly Family Home Evening. we had it going for a while, but it tapered off. i want to keep it going for the kids sake, so i am setting the goal this year.

7. focus on the kids happiness

sometimes i can get wrapped up in "getting things done" that i forget what is important...there is plenty of quotes out there that say something like "i'll put off the house work to play with the kids, they grow up fast, so the cleaning comes last" or something like that... and i want to enjoy the time i have with my kids a little bit more than i do now. i'd like to do something special with them at least 2 times a week, depending on how creative i am and how much my brain wants to think. i just love seeing my kids happy and having a good time, so i just want to see that more.

8. forgive and forget

i never really thought i had much of a problem with this, i always thought i was pretty forgiving, but recently a self-examination revealed i still have some forgiving to do. so in the new year, i'd like to dig deep, forgive those who i've not forgiven, and make amends. and the most important part of forgiving is forgetting. not letting something from the past come back up in a spiteful way.

9. spend more time with extended family, make time for friends

i can be bad about putting it off for another day, but without family and friends, you don't have much. so i'd like to stregthen my relationship with them all.

visit with family that lives in town at least twice a month, and those that live out of town, every other month. i'd like to have game nights with dinner so we can get together and have a good time. and i'd like to try to visit with the friends i have at least twice a month as well. after all, what's a friend that you don't see/talk to but once a month? i want to be more thoughtful and caring and remember what is important to those i care about.

10. go to the temple at least once a month

this is a big deal. i will set the goal to once a month just in case i can't find a babysitter for the kids, but this is so important for my "spiritual alignment". i want to be a better person, and can't do it without Christ. so going to the House of the Lord should help me stay in tune with the spirit.

11. be debt free except the mortgage

this year this is going to happen. and when it does, i'd love to be able to call in to the Dave Ramesy show and scream "WE'RE DEBT FREE!!!" i also want to make a list of "stats" and maybe frame it...but the most important thing about being debt free...NEVER CHOOSING TO GO INTO DEBT AGAIN! i recommend the "My Total Money Makeover" book by Dave Ramesy, but not for the light-hearted. i am serious about this debt thing, i even made vinyl lettering (thanks Jamie) with Dave's slogan "if you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else". i want to be able to live and give like no one else.

12. Work on scrapbooking my pictures

this is also huge. i am already behind, but i need to start now before i fall even more behind! i dunno where i will be at the end of the year, but i'd like to set a goal to finish 2 pages a week? we'll start there and see where it goes. i want to write down all the memories i still remember before i forget them!

that's it for now. maybe once a month i will give an update on how i am doing with each goal. i've set up a log so i can keep track. (that's just who i am =P) here's to being a better person and getting things done!

A little more quality time with the kids

2009-12-30T22:57:00.002-06:00

I suppose i sometimes get caught up in what i think needs to get done, that all day long the kids are left trailing after me trying to keep up and get my attention... and then i take a second to pause and realize my priorities are off yet again, and i see my two beautiful children and remember what my purpose is.

i ran errands earlier this morning, and i knew i wouldn't have the car, so i decided today i would catch up on the quality time with the kids. you know, playing with their toys with them, teaching them how to play, share, learn, etc. and catching those moments where you gasp for one of the kids did something you didn't think they could do (a good thing) and you think...when did they learn this??? where was i??

so i had 2 of those moments today. we have some chunky puzzles (wooden) and i saw daniel for the first time i noticed, put all the pieces in the right spot, the first try. he picked up a piece, studied it for a second, then put it where it went! i remember the last time we sat and did puzzles together (a few weeks ago) he had it all wrong and was trying to force pieces where they didn't belong...it made me so happy i cried a little! my little boy is growing up and he is getting so smart. he understands so much more than i give him credit for. he is such a blessing to me.

and the other moment was with kathryn. my mom came over to visit and spent the day with us at home, and the time came for kathryn to be done with movies and spend a little quality time with me . we put puzzles together (she is really good at it!) and we played matching games (she loves these, she is also very good at them). well, one of the matching games i created myself, is a "word" matching game. to help them get used to reading words. i wrote them out in my handwriting in an effort for her to get used to reading actual handwriting vs font type. well, anyway, i had good intentions...and granted we have only played this game 1 other time, (she has been watching a lot of Word World tho) when the word "duck" was revealed before my mom or i could say what the word was kathryn said "duck" my mouth dropped! wow! she has seen the Word World duck spell out so much that she remembered what it looked like? either way it was so exciting for me. then she started saying "lemme spell this word for you" as she proceeded to point and say each letter in order from left to right (after some guidance on where to start) what was even more cute was when she was spelling out "duck" (when i write fast my "c"s seem to curve up more than down) she said "D-U- (paused)-U-K" she thought my sloppy "c" was a "U" and it did kinda look that way! anyhow. she is developing her listening skills and comprehension quicker than i expected (i was bad at that as a kid) and it is so fun watching all this take place.

i love my little kiddos and they are my life, and i wouldn't have it any other way

get over it!

2009-12-29T22:39:00.003-06:00

so i had a very busy day. i really wanted to get some visiting in while i still could since John was off, and i had a list of things i wanted to get done.

we left the house at 11am and after depositing one of the reimbursement checks in the bank, we went to my mom's. we went to my sister Natalie's and Daniel took a nap so i got to play the Wii. we then headed to Khol's, Micheal's, and last to Best Buy for some specific shopping... well, on the way from Michael's i remembered i needed to call the stupid credit card company and find out what happened with the finance charges etc. i hate talking to these people, so i was dreading it...i guess for the fear that it was my fault and there was nothing they were going to do...

so i called them and talked to the customer service rep who didn't have any information i didn't already know, and said simply "the management team decides when to terminate the promotions" "ok, then i want to speak to a manager" "ok, let me transfer you" and by that time we had gotten to the last store and was in the parking lot waiting...kathryn asleep, daniel being good for once when the car is not on... i waited for 20 mins, which i expected, and i finally got someone who could give me a better clue. they started enforcing the promotion rules in the fall, and when we were late in september, that set us up to be terminated...apparently, there was a note on the september statement saying something along the lines that we were being given 60 days to opt out of the finance charges, "i never got anything in the mail" "well, you are signed up for e-statements, so you wouldn't have gotten anything via mail, you would have had to have looked at your september statement online to see it" "well that would explain why i didn't know" after i beat around the bush about any possiblilities of me getting out of this, the guy says, there is nothing we can do and says to have a good day...yeah, sure, easy for you to say. and it hit me...how did i not check and how did i not see this notice, i was given an opportunity to avoid it and let it pass! and so i cried. i bawled my eyes out for making such a stupid mistake. and just when i thought i pulled myself together, i would think back and cry some more. and then i finally decided i wanted to get into the store and out and be done with it and go home, and i wanted to call my best friend. so i got to talk to Amanda while i walked around best buy trying to find one thing that i was not seeing... and after talking to her about it she gave me an idea, and suddenly i felt better. there could be a solution to this problem. it was a mistake, i made it, and i needed to get over it! so i decided at the last minute while heading home (seeing the 5:00 traffic did it) that i would see if my Granny was home. so i went and visited with her for a while, and cheered up. on the way home i listened to the Dave Ramsey show and it got me to thinkin, so when i got home i checked something...

the september statement wasn't online to view and since i never got a hard copy i wouldn't know what it said, but on the Oct - Nov statements, it says nothing of the promotion being terminated and having 60 days to opt out...which i find odd, shouldn't they have that as a note until it no longer applies?? so i ordered a sept statement, and i'll see once and for all. after that, i'll take action and it will be over and done with. i have to keep telling myself "GET OVER IT!!"

and there were a lot of things on my mind recently that i just had to "get over" i think i'm over it.

i checked the mail after i put the kids in bed, and i was cheered up. my Gymnastics Coach at BRMHS (Kevin Nee) sent me a Christmas card with a picture of his crew and he said "it's so nice to hear from you!" (i sent him a Christmas card) and that made me happy. i miss him and the gymnastics days. i want to go visit but i'm not even sure if the old building is still open...

and we got a Christmas card from a lady back in Cali from John's mission so that was nice too.

and the last thing that put the icing on the cake saying "get over it"...we got the last big reimbursement check from Walgreens. it was as if the Lord was patting my shoulder saying "there there, there there, don't you know i've got you covered? now hush up and get over it" thank you.

on a positive note

2009-12-28T22:04:00.004-06:00

woo, so i guess i've got enough of the negative out to have a positive post.

i went to church Sunday, and somehow, i actually got to hear one of the talks in Sacrament while sitting in the foyer trying to keep the kids contained... the talk was about how we should stop measuring our lives and our success by our possesions, that we should not be of the world. and how easy it is to turn a want into coveting a certain item... and how we need to take a step back and see if our "needs" are really needs. none of our possessions will be taken with us when we die, so what's all the fuss about? and basically the lesson was, be aware of your spiritual needs and soon your temporal wants will fade.

anyhow, i am not really summarizing it correctly, but it was very powerful to me. it's easy to think about all that you don't have and how much you want, but we should take a step back to appreciate what we do have, and realize there are people who aren't so lucky living just a few miles away. i know i love to daydream myself, and i could go on and on about what i "want" or "dream" of doing/having, but then reality sets in, and i realize just how much of those wants will not happen, because they are not needs. and then i begin to think of how much money or time would go into something and is it even worth it? sometimes i can get wrapped up in what comes next and forget to take a moment and ask Heavenly Father what his plan is for me. i can get pretty off track sometimes, but i am glad that occasionally i can hear a talk or two that is "just what i needed to hear" to make me stop and turn back to the right path, doing the things i should be doing, not wasting time on the trival things that don't matter.

one thing that always helps me is hearing other people's predicaments that are worse than my own. one thing that will make you thankful for your problems is seeing some you are glad you don't have! oh yes, as much as i can hate the problems i do have, i am grateful for them. they have taught me valuable lessons, and made me a smarter person. so folks, be grateful for what you have for a second or two.

i am very fortunate to have found a hardworking husband, that the Lord blessed with a great job, and that we were able to get into a house so early. we really have it good amidst all the woes of financial stress, at the end of the day we really don't have anything to complain about. and far often than not, it's easier to look at the negative side of things (that's satan working on ya). so here's to being grateful for my trials and weaknesses!

beating myself up

2009-12-26T21:59:00.003-06:00

i really hate owing people money.

but what i hate more is owing money to the credit card companies...like Dave says they are snakes. Well, we have one card in particular we hate because the interest rates are 30% when you aren't in your promotional period, which is absolutely outrageous...but it's the card for fixing all my dental problems. i had work done in Jan 09 that i put on this card and it has a promotional period of no interest for 12 months, so obviously, in Jan 2010 it will expire, and when it does it will add the interest that was "deferred" over the whole year which for us would be $415 which is just ridiculous, but anyhow, supposedly if you are late on a payment you will forfeit the promotion and deferred finance charges will be added. well, for some reason, we were late in April paying them...i was not on top of things and we were late...but we didn't have the finance charges added to the bill... which i thought was odd... so we kept paying, and in Sept we were late by 2 days or something? which they also never added these deferred finance charges...well, we had a balance of $800 and since the deal would be expiring soon, i was going to pay off the balance as soon as we got paid this week... today i get on to see what needed to be paid with this check and see this bill was on it, so i go to the website, (which btw the billing cycle starts over on the 17th of every month, so it just rolled over a new cycle recently) and i see that they have added these deferred interest charges of $415 flippin dollars... at the bottom it says the promotion was terminated because minimum payment was not paid when due... i haven't been late the last 2 months, but i know i have been late...so, why did they wait till now??? ugh, i swear i'm fighting this one... i know i paid it late, but shouldn't they have acknowledged it by tacking on the interest then?? i am just so frustrated with this...we don't have freakin $400 dollars to dish out!!! with all these other bills that we have and all the sacrifices we are/were making it just feels like we have fallen down and now that we are down all the creditors and bills are just beating the crap out of us till there is nothing left.

i guess the part that i hate the most is, i should have been with it and paid it on time... and this could have been prevented... i have paid my share of stupid tax, but recently it feels like i should know better, and i slip up and man that was one costly mistake... and i can't get over it. we don't get to enjoy our income right now it seems. yes we have a house, but we aren't living a lavish lifestyle in the least... most of the things we have have been gifts... i can't tell you the last time i bought clothes for myself. cuz it was probably around my birthday and i spent all of 6 dollars at the thrift store on a new shirt and pants...well new to me anyway. we are barely living paycheck to paycheck and something like this comes up, and that valuable money is gone. and i constantly pray for a way out. when we get our income tax return (thanks to the $8000 tax credit we will get for buying the house) it will basically all go towards getting out of debt. and we will have almost nothing left after that. and even with that $375 a month that will be freed up from being out of debt save the mortgage, we will hardly feel it...car insurance is going up, with spring coming, that means the electric bill will be going up, we will actually be able to have a real grocery budget (we try to work with $160 a month for groceries (which is not just food but anything we need from the store)) and soon that savings is spent and it will be hard to find room for "savings" to get that second vehicle or to "splurge" and go to a movie theater or a restuarant. when will it turn around and we can start getting traction is the question... and that to a point is out of my control. with john's crazy work hours it's impossible for me to find a side job especially since we only have one car... so it's all up to john. he's doing great with impressing the DM, but will it be enough? i try to be understanding, and when he stays late to finish something, i know why. i've let him have his video games to relax him, and try not to pester him about what he's not doing. he's under a lot of pressure. he knows he needs to stand out, and that means putting in 200%, working those extra hours cleaning up someone else's' mess, and that is incredibly annoying and stressful. so i'm not going to hassle him.

i am just down. i want so badly to be free of this mess so i can feel happy, cuz it's hard to feel happy with so much stress about money... i just want to scream sometimes when i hear people talking about money and their version of "cutting back". and i know i am certainly not in the worst condition, there are people on the Dave Ramsey talk show that make you want to cry for them their problems are so much worse... but these people fussing because they feel like it's so hard to cut out the "luxuries" (shopping, restaurants, movie theaters, etc) you know what, maybe a little sacrifice is good for you...

anyway, blah blah blah, life just sucks to me right now. hopefully going to church tomorrow will cheer me up? if the kids decide to behave. sigh.... i am done being stressed. i just want a day to relax and release all this tension.

Christmas

2009-12-25T21:18:00.003-06:00

i left my camera at my in-laws, so i will have to post pictures of Christmas later...

i want to just state before anyone reads on, i am feeling not so nice, so i may offend someone, but i will be stating my opinion...

so this Christmas, John and I agreed like we have since we've been married, we won't be exchanging gifts again this year, we want to be out of debt more. See, this year it was ok, we got our house as an early Christmas gift so we were set. But this year would be different, we loathe our debt so much, that we got our kids 1 toy that John found on clearance in the summer, and they got some new clothes that i spent all of $10 total on. and that was our kids Christmas from us.

Now some people have in some way let me know that they think that is wrong and ridiculous to not have a ton of presents for the kids to open. Well i am so sorry that there are people that feel that way, but MY kids don't need presents from us to know we love them. besides Mimi & Pop and Grammie got them PLENTY of gifts so they certainly aren't lacking. (and i couldn't say thank you enough for all the wonderful gifts that were given. they are so appreciated. we can't wait till we can start "giving like no one else") and they aren't old enough to know "who" gave them what so they could care less who it came from. so we instead tried to center this holiday around Christ like it should be.

So Christmas with my sisters and mom was at my house, and yes, i wasn't as together as i would have liked, but how does anyone learn how to host without having the practice...now i know how to do things differently. anyhow, the food was great.

i made the ham and stuffing which was simple, Jenn made a yummy blueberry cobbler that stained everyone's teeth blue (haha) and rolls... Nats brought yummy green bean casserole and brownies, Angie brought yummy potato salad and peas, Mom (who has pneumonia, and almost didn't get to come, but i'm so glad she did!) brought Veggies to munch and Apple pie and yummy deviled eggs, and of course Steph made yummy sweet potato casserole, and cute little gingerbread cookies with a cream cheese dip.

so i didn't have any Christmas placemats and went to see how much they were, but it was far too expensive for me to buy any, so luckily, Corine had a Christmas table cloth and some green fabric that matched so i cut placemats out of the fabric and it looked great to me. i had to smile at the thriftiness of it all. and of course i thought of my friend Amanda, she is good at those kinds of things.

yes Nats, my chairs are horribly stained, and yes, seat covers are probably a good idea, but they cost money, and messes happen with kids so often that i don't even think about what mess they leave behind, it becomes part of life.

and yes Jenn, the curtains aren't sufficient enough to shield the light from shining in your eyes, nor does the light fixture above the table yield much light, but once again, we just deal with it.

so we played taboo because i LOVE games and that always puts me in a good mood, whether i am winning or losing...and Steph was soo good at Taboo! i had fun just listening to her come up with clues so fast and get her team to guess the words... but Jenn apparently didn't have so much fun because i didn't know the Kentucky Derby was known for the Mint Juleps everyone drinks while there (i mean, come on, who doesn't know that!?!) but oh well, i won't try to play that game with Jenn anymore. then we tried Apples to Apples, and somehow, Nats is SOOO dominant in that game every time she plays, she wins! i have to laugh. i just like to have fun. next game i need to get is scategories, cuz that is a fun game that makes you think... i'll have to get a group together again and have a game night. and i used to play Canasta with my mom all the time and i miss that too. i also really want to get a big enough group together to play cranium. somehow i don't know enough people that like to play games like me, so it seems to never work!

anyhow, my mom got me a salad spinner which was such a thoughtful gift, i love my lettuce but i have to rinse it every time, and i kept saying every time she was here that i wish i had a salad spinner to spin all the water off...thanks mom i love the gift. and Nats gave me some more of her african violet leaves, which was so awesome. i can't wait to see them sprout little babies. thanks Nats!

and i somehow thought it would be a good idea to paint before Christmas which turned out to be a lousy idea, it took so much longer than i had planned, but i had to finish, and now that i am, i'm so glad it's painted. it's a vibrant green and that's what i was going for, something to brighten up the room. now do i care what anyone's opinion is on the color? uh, no, so if you don't like it, good for you! like an old man told me by the deli counter, "it's a good thing we don't all like the same things, the world would be pretty boring" yep. and i like the color. i love green and brown together, i am a warm colors kind of person, so i can see (in the future) a brown couch with nice chocolate brown furniture that matches... it is so soothing to me. i can't wait to finish painting. i just love color.

and i will finish off with how thankful i am for all that we have. i am grateful that we have our house, and that we have such generous family members that will help in whatever way they can, for without them, we certainly wouldn't have much. i was realizing just how many things in our home were gifts from family, very appreciated gifts. and i thank all of you for your generosity. we are glad we decided to stay and be closer with the family that lives here. i love my in-laws and couldn't have asked for a better family to marry in to. i've strengthened the relationships with them and love them dearly. they are always there for me and i realize that i'm spoiled in that respect. thank you all. love you! Merry Christmas!

goals

2009-12-23T18:29:00.002-06:00

so i planned ahead... i wanted to paint the living room area last night that was my goal to get that started. i figured since i was going to be doing it alone, it'd be best to do it while the kids were sleeping... so i did my best to keep the kids up and they had no naps so they would go to bed earlier so i could have more time to paint. well, it was a success! daniel was a little trooper and made it till 7 when he finally passed out eating. so i began moving stuff away from the walls, getting everything prepared, while kathryn was constantly asking me what i was doing. it was cute tho, i'd tell her, i have to move the books off the bookcase so i can move the bookcase away from the wall, and she'd say "oh, ok. tan i help?" so she helped. oh, it's nice having her be at that age where she can ACTUALLY help instead of being in the way. i knew john wouldn't get home till about 8, and since i needed to get a paint roller stick and a drop cloth from MIL's i hoped i would start painting by 9. well, john didn't get home till 9 and i didn't get back from MIL's til about 9:40. so i was a bit behind, but oh well. i painted from 9:50 till 1:20am and i was done for the night. i had all the major walls painted except for the trim work and the very top that i couldn't reach.

the color is... a bit darker than i was aiming for, but that's only when it's dark outside. during the day it's great. so oh well, note to self in the future, pick a shade lighter than what you want, it seems to always turn out darker... but it is GREEN my very favorite color. and i am going to finish the trim work tonight. the rest of the house will wait until...we can afford it? lol.

kathryn has been doing great. she went all day today without any pain medicine, and she is eating pretty regularly, with the exception of chips and pretzels, they seem to be extra crunchy. i finally got a good look at her throat and it seems like the sores are healing, although i can't tell if the scabs have fallen off or not. it's day 8 and i think she will be able to eat normally for Christmas. yay for that!

oh, and we got our flex-pay reimbursement check today! although it doesn't do us much good until monday, but it's nice to know it came in. now we can wait for check #2, and we'll be much better.

pictures to come with the new paint. i have goals to finish!

venting

2009-12-22T12:55:00.003-06:00

i begin to lose patience when i am hungry and it only gets worse the longer i wait...

so it's lunch time, and we don't have any clean bowls for the kids to use because they are all dirty...my fault, so i need to do the dishes...

i fix them some leftover jambalaya in the smallest storage containers i could find, and Dan has peaches as well... i stick dan in his high chair, kathryn gets in her seat, i get them something to drink so i can do the dishes while they are eating with no interruptions...

oh, did i mention i hadn't had any breakfast and i'm getting hungry, but i know if i don't take the opportunity to do the dishes when the kids are occupied and daniel is contained, it will take forever to do them (too much help from kiddos, constant interruptions, etc) so i sacrifice eating right away, to get the dishes done. oh the things mom's have to do...

i also put a show on for them so they would stay occupied... well, i got the dishes almost done when i was hearing daniel throw his bowl and spoon on the floor, so i go clean him up and let him get down, quickly go back to doing the dishes so i can finish...kathryn wants to watch Word World on the PC, i tell her to go click it (the PBS kids site was already up, and in the right spot, she just had to click a character which she does all the time) she starts pitching a fit about how i HAVE to help her...so i go turn it on, come back...just a few more dishes... and done, i put soap in, close it, and turn it on...yay, clean dishes coming soon. and i am super hungry!

daniel is whining at my feet and following me around the kitchen as i pull out the last of the pulled pork, heat it up in the microwave, and proceed to make a sandwich...all the while dan is trying to push me away from the counter to pay attention to him..."it's mommy's turn to eat now daniel, i didn't get to eat while you and kathryn ate, mommy was doing the dishes...so now i need to eat, please let me sit down and eat" well, i get my sandwich together, get some water and sit...ahhh, so nice to sit... i take a bite and daniel is "unh unh" trying to climb onto my chair, saying "bie bie" he wants a bite of my sandwich... i give him a bite, he runs off kathryn comes in, "mommy mommy i wan watch elmo songs" so i take another bite, get up to change shows and see daniel running toward my chair, i turned and told him "don't you dare daniel, that is mommy's sandwich you leave it alone!" and hurried up switched the disk, and turn around to see daniel walking toward me with what appeared to be the sandwich in one hand... i said "NO DANIELLLLL" as i rushed toward him to realize he only had one slice of bread...the rest with all the pulled pork was mangled on the floor....the dirty floor... UUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'M FREAKIN HUNGRY AND YOU GO AND RUIN MY LUNCH YOU LITTLE MUNCHKIN!!!

i cannot tell you... i felt like... ugh, my hot yummy lunch was gone... now i had to take more time to figure out what i was going to do for lunch...we have nothing quick...except sweet stuff (candy, cookies) why do our kids have to drive us flippin nuts... why can't i just sit and eat in peace and not get up until i finish ::tears:: it's just not fair. daddy gets to do it all the time...i just want one meal where i can eat it HOT... i guess i'll have to go lock myself in a room for that to happen. it shouldn't be this way.

ok, i'm done, sorry i had to get that off my chest.

a new color, lots of bows

2009-12-22T10:16:00.005-06:00

yesterday - (i didn't get a chance to post)

so one of my goals was to finish my bows, and i did most of them, so i'm calling it good. i took pictures, so i'm including alot of them.

MY BOWS:

all of my big bows

all of my little bows

the bows with tails in better light

JENNI'S BOWS:
big bows
more big bows

LSU bows

Christmas bows

little bows

i also worked on finishing my christmas cards, which i didn't get to finish, but i will do that today.

and since Kathryn fell asleep at home with John while i had my "away" time, i left her with John, and took Daniel with me to my MIL's. i had volunteered to help her dye her hair, and she was ready to do it. since Daniel didn't have a nap all day and it was 7 when we got there...he had fallen asleep, which was fine with me. i had plans... i would color Corine's hair and she could help me color mine! so we had a hair coloring party. lol.

i didn't get to take a picture of it until this morning, so i don't have her in the picture, but we basically came out with the same hair color. which was my plan all along. (heheh) i thought i had told her in the past how much i loved her color, and asked her what it was called, she said dark auburn. well, i've never had luck getting the color to turn out right, so i went with medium auburn...PERFECT! hahah.

i'm busy so i'll be going.

i love my Kathryn

2009-12-20T11:05:00.005-06:00

the joy of running out of eggs and milk is you have to get creative with breakfast. i almost always eat cereal for breakfast because i don't like to wait to eat... but the last 2 mornings, i've made banana pancakes. they are sooo good. and pretty quick and easy. and the kids gobble them up. even without syrup! this morning kathryn was watching me pour batter and she looked at me and said "thank you mommy for making me pancakes, i love them" aw, that's so sweet. and i gave her a big hug and told her thanks for letting me know she's thankful. then she told me she loves my bows i make, "they pretty" she says. it's so cute that she comes up with these compliments on her own! she is so cute. oh, and one more story, when we went into the ditch, and the cop came, he went back in his car after talking to us to do the paper work, and she walks over to him, peeks in his car and tells him "you not wearing you seatbelt! you need you seatbelt on, put you seatbelt on" haha, too funny, telling a cop to put his seatbelt on. he told her he will as soon as he gets ready to drive again. and he told her "thank you for reminding me to be safe, will you keep your family safe too for me?" "yes" i forgot to mention that little exchange. it made me smile.

something that struck me as funny, this morning since we weren't going to church, i put on christmas music. kathryn kept telling me she loved the jingle bell songs. so when a song would come on that wasn't jingle bells, she'd say "i don't like that one" but i would tell her "no, listen, this is what it's about", and she would say "oooh" and so the next song that came on was barum bum bum bum bum, which i knew as "neil diamond" although there are many versions...and i said that to kathryn, and she got really upset, and i said "no kathryn, this is a really good song" by that time the words to "little drummer boy" came on and so i try to start telling her what the song is about, but suddenly i get a choked up and i can't talk... so i try to clear up and tell her it's about a little drummer boy, but i can hardly finish before my voice cuts off and i start crying... yeah, kinda random, i know...and if i didn't know any better, this would make me wonder... but anyhow, i can't seem to pull myself together, so i go ahead and tell her what the song is about while i'm in tears... "it's about this drummer boy who sees the King is born, and he wants to give the baby Jesus a present, but he has no money, he's just a poor boy, so he goes and plays his drum for the baby Jesus and the baby Jesus smiles, see it's a good song! because we don't have to bring Jesus lots of presents, he just wants us to love Him, and follow Him and be good and nice to everyone!" imagine what kathryn must be thinking! my voice was getting that high pitch and tears were rolling...and she says "you like dat song mommy" "yes, i do sweetie" and she gives me a hug.

and so we started talking about Jesus and she ended with "i love Him!" it's neat to see them developing their reasoning skills. she seems to be doing pretty good this morning.

A successful saturday

2009-12-20T00:17:00.003-06:00

so kathryn is on Day 5 and she is starting to want regular food again...pretzel sticks, gold fish, chicken nuggets, candy... you know, stuff that would hurt her throat. i've tried to get close to normal eating, but i'm not pushing our luck...but she wanted pickles, and she must've eaten 20 sliced pickles today...i didn't really think it would be bad, but looking back...it may have burned a bit. she was doing good right up until midnight when she started coughing and then crying and i could tell something wasn't right. i got her up and gave her some pain medicine as quick as i could, and she kept trying to cough like there was something to cough up...and i looked in her mouth, and i could see blood by her teeth...her scabs were starting to come off... i tried to convince her to spit the stuff out, but she kept trying to swallow it. she had something come out of her nose, maybe an adenoid scab and she spit up a small amount of blood but not much...from what i could see, the scabs at the top of her throat were still there, so looks like the next 2 days are going to be rough for her. i think we're going to have to stay home from church.

i bought paint! that makes it official! (i picked a color!) it really took me a while to decide on a color, and i'm wanting it to work. it was between two colors, and i can't wait to see what it looks like on the walls. i had a $50 gift card to Lowes that was given to us for the purpose of painting, and that was what i would use it for! i ended up getting 2 gallons to paint the living/breakfast/hall area...we'll have to see how far it goes. i also ran across a mis-tinted gallon that was clearanced for $5... valspar signature satin finish, which would work, and it was a nice green, not the right green, but i had imagined turning it to aqua and possibly painting the masterbath with it, well, she ran out of room in the can, so the color isn't exactly what i had in mind, but it's nice none the less, so i may stick with it and paint the craft room that color or i may dump some paint out and see if i can't get them to mess with it some more. either way, i got a $32 gallon of paint for $5! i couldn't pass it up. (the color worked)

i watched the Saints game at my in-laws, and man, that was a sad game. too bad they couldn't have a perfect season. i wonder if they'll make the superbowl. we'll have to see.

so i've been looking through some old pictures, and i came across quite a few that just made me smile. i'm working on a project to scan negatives from my printer to my pc, and my printer can do that! it is so completely awesome! i have begun to hate the thing, but now it has redeemed itself. maybe i'll keep it as a scanner and get a new printer, one that has cheaper ink!!!

this picture must be from 1995 or so, my sisters and me with my dad. from left to right: natalie, dad, me, jenn, steph. at my grandparents old house off of greenwell springs rd.

and i just love this one. what a classic of my dad with his brother Brent. they were pretty young! and handsome!

and i am working on those goals, getting closer...

getting stuff done

2009-12-18T19:12:00.003-06:00

so i have a fanklin covey planner that i got 4 years ago and it seemed like i would go through spurts of using it and not, but ever since i started delivering the meals back in april i decided my purse wasnt big enough for my wallet and planner, so i transferred the important things from my wallet into my planner and i have it everywhere i go... but i still wasnt utilizing the main feature of the planner which was PLANNING...i have the daily planning pages that gives you 2 pages for each day so you can jot down anything that comes to your mind and there is even a time line you can fill in with when to do what...it's a fantastic system, and i decided back in october i would find the time to write in it and use it to refer to...write down future goals, what i need to do, what should have been done yesterday, etc...(this time i found to do this has nothing to do with the fact that my best friend left btw)

so it is my record of how successful i have been with getting stuff done. as of lately i also have been jotting down john's work schedule on the day itself, and this has been very helpful. i feel like i can really manage my time better when i can see what i should be doing... i happen to love the timeline feature and love to see how much i can fit into one day...hence the motivation to fill the slots! it also helps me realize how long a given task may take... there is even a part that has you write down goals for personal, social, family, physical, etc to get you to see how you can accomplish the within that week... for ex. working out at the gym...i would see it and make plans to do that one day that week...anyway, the system has lots of neat tools and tracker pages etc to really keep you on track and i love it.

so i got all my errands done today thanks to keeping track of them in my planner. and i had made a note a while back to find a sunny day that isnt too cold to finish transplanting my lettuce in my garden... and today was the perfect day, just after all that rain earlier in the week and last night, the ground was stilly soggy so the holes dug easily, and the plants came out with more roots since the soil was so wet... i was out there from about 3:30 til 5:45 when it got so dark i could barely see my hands... haha... that sounds like something my mom would do, garden at night... i guess i am her daughter! i was determined to finish, and i did with the exception of about 5 plants, but it looks so nice and it's done! now i just have to sit back and harvest whenever i please! i will never plant so many seeds at once again! it was too dark to get a picture, so all the pictures to come tomorrow... and the final count of lettuce plants i ended up with! (i gave about 30 to my MIL and i'm glad cuz i ran out of room) now i just need to go plant the ones at my MIL's!

so back to the planner, i have about 5 major things i want to get done by Christmas, so we'll have to see if i can get them all done...

1. finish bows i started on and try to sell them,

2. send out Christmas cards (which involves printing family picture, writing newsletter, printing newsletter, and addressing all the envelopes...which means gathering addresses)

3. finish scanning some pictures and burn to CDs

4. pick out a paint color and paint the living room with the gift card Aunt Mel and Uncle Danny gave us

5. clean the house good for Christmas when my family comes for lunch.

that's all folks

i'm glad i don't have cable

2009-12-17T22:32:00.007-06:00

so i know that when your kid is not feeling well, you should give them what they want, but it just kills me to do this to an extent because it ruins the rules i've set up... now i want kathryn to be comfortable don't get me wrong, it's just, where do you draw the line? and when do you stop?

kathryn has been glued to the TV since her surgery...there have been a few "away" times, but the majority of the time has been spent in front of the TV. i'm not a stick-your-kids-in-front-of-a-movie-all-day kind of mom... so this has bugged me... but we don't have cable so tv for us is movies, and since all but 4 of her movies are scratched beyond playability, she doesn't usually watch tv. well, i knew she would want to be stuck in front of the tv, but i wasn't about to get stuck having to hear the stupid looney tunes cartoons over and over and over, so i asked Jamie if she would let us borrow some of their movies. she brought them over on monday, and kathryn has really taken to the Dora movies, she brought 3 Dora movies over. literally the last 2 days have been nothing but Dora and the occasional word world on pbskids.org... i at first thought Dora was a cute show. but after hearing it over and over and over... i realized, i can't stand some of the voices on there! and some of the phrases bug me too. i won't specify for the Dora lovers out there, but man am i glad we don't own these DVDs! and i am glad we don't have cable, because from watching the other cartoon shows for kids at friends houses, i realized there are a few shows that i can't stand... and since we don't have cable...there is no way for them to play in my house! whew! what's funny is that it isn't the repetitiveness that bothers me...stick almost any dreamworks movie in and play it all day, and i'll be reciting the lines and not minding at all... (we have over the hedge, madagascar, veggietales, and cinderella that play and i LOVE these movies no matter how many times i hear them) so i just kept thinking... what happens when they get older and they love a show that gets on my nerves! hopefully it won't be playing in the living room!

so at 1o:30 this morning i cut the Dora off, and decided no more Dora for the rest of the day. it was getting close to lunch time and i was asking kathryn what she wanted to eat while she kept mumbling over and over "i wa wa woh woh" which means "I want to watch Word World" but i had decided we weren't going to watch any show for a while. so she decides she wants to eat cereal for lunch...well, at this point (today she seemed totally herself, energy levels and all) i wasn't going to argue that cereal wasn't a lunch food, so i told her she had to wait till it got soggy, and i asked her if she still wanted it "yah" so i made it. "i nh wah cuol" ok, do you want oatmeal? "yah" "you sure?" "ya" so i made it, and took out rice for daniel to eat and warmed it up...suddenly, she wants the rice instead... i give her the rice, go to make daniel a sandwich and when i give it to him she doesn't want rice, she wants oatmeal... ok... whatever. daniel scarfs down his sandwich so i go to give him the rice, and kathryn wants it again..so i share it between the both of them till it's gone... then i pull the cereal over to see if daniel wants it, he does, so he eats all of kathryn's soggy cereal, and she wasn't touching her oatmeal, so i pull it over to see if Daniel wants some, and he ate some and kathryn finished some too... i just couldn't believe how much daniel ate!

so we ended up having a lot of fun. first we found all the balls and bean bag we could and we played toss it in the basket, then we took just the balls (a lot were golf balls) and i showed kathryn a game that my sisters and i used to play as kids all the time...rolling the golfballs back and forth to each other down the hall (we had a ton of golfballs growing up and we found interesting ways to have fun with them- i used to build pyramids!) it was so much fun, and it got me to thinking about back in the day when i was still a kid... anyway, i taught kathryn how to "roll" the ball by pushing it forward with your hand and we tried to see if we could hit the other golfballs that we already rolled...she had fun and she learned a bit of coordination, and maybe how to aim at a target... well daniel came along , and i showed him how to roll the balls too, and he had fun too, but it didn't last long after daniel joined...so i tickled that silly boy, and kathryn got in the way, so i tickled her too, and then i chased them around the house for some more tickling, and then we just started playing chase, daniel LOVES to be chased...i got a video of the boy, he is too hillarious the way screams when he sees you coming. so then i changed it up with kathryn and she started chasing me, and i ran ahead to "hide" to show her the fun of jumping out and saying "boo". i made her jump when she came where i was hiding...but she loved it...i tried to explain how you do it, you find a place to sit quiet and wait for the other person to come by you, and you jump out and yell boo...well, she didn't quite get it, but it was still fun. we played that until i was pooped out from all the running, then we sat and put a puzzle together, but when daniel comes along, he gets kahtyrn upset, and so puzzle time never lasts long...and then we played with some memory cards i made with words on them instead of pictures... so she can start learning how to identify words. and since she's been sick, i pulled out the "Your Baby Can Read" DVDs and her and daniel watched them all... so i figured we'd watch them again today... well i had passed about 1 1/2 hours of playtime but it sure seemed like 3 to me! i was shooting for 2 hours without tv, and with lunch i think i got that. so both kids were in a good mood, and it was time to wind down it was about 2pm, and i needed to fold about 7 loads of laundry, so i put on the movie of my choice "iron giant" and i folded laundry while they watched the movie. at one point daniel came and crawled in my lap, and so i took a pause to hold him...and i realized he fell asleep! lol. within 5 mins. so laid him down. finished laundry and kathryn even helped put the folded clothes away without me even asking! what a sweetie.

i even got a chance to fiddle with some ribbon while the kids played with stuff in the craft room (buttons on the printer powered off, all the gadgets on the sewing machine, spools of ribbon in a box) but that's ok, they weren't harming anything and at least i could see what they were doing. and i had put away all the things i didn't want them touching, so that was nice.

on a side note, i really don't remember it raining so much last december! and i remember now i am so glad i don't have Henry (the dog), every time it would rain he would always potty in the house almost never outside (it's raining, come on) and when he did go outside he'd get so filthy i'd practically need to bathe him every time! just thinking about how annoying that was makes me oh so glad i'm not going through that with all this rain.

another side note! i forgot to post it earlier, but Dec. 15 marked the 8 year anniversary since John and I started dating... i can hardly believe we've been together for that long, and wow have we changed...as everyone does. i laugh just thinking about how we declared we wanted to marry each other within the first week of being together... but look at us now...married with 2 kids. wow how the time flies. sometimes i look back at the letters we wrote to each other, and marvel at how much we loved each other even then, of course we were "in love" where the other can do no wrong and life is all butterflies and roses. lol. and oh how times change even love. our love is on a different level, and it's interesting looking back on how it evolved. the next few pics are within the first few months we were together...

too cute.

so i've caught kathryn telling daniel no and getting all upset about him doing something as trivial as climbing on her bed, and i try to tell her it's not a big deal, but how do you explain to toddlers that you want to "pick your battles" i don't want her following him around telling him no all the time, but if he is doing something he shouldn't that could hurt him, and i wasn't around to see it and she was, i'd want her to tell him no and stop him... but lately, when i tell her to stop bugging him she turns to me and says "tell daniel no!" (he was jumping on the recliner and i don't care, it's not likely he'll hurt himself bad enough to warrant keeping him from doing it...now if he was bouncing on a chair where he could fall on tile...different story) and suddenly it clicked. she must think it's not fair for me to not discipline him EVERY time he does something wrong or something like that... i don't know exactly the way she is associating it, but i'm pretty sure she's thinking i'm not being fair to her. man that's hard. she was my first kid, so yeah i had been hard on her in the past, but i feel like she's stepping out of "toddlerhood" and into whatever the next stage is...where she is being more obedient without me having to discipline her... so as she steps out, daniel is entering into the toddler stage where he pushes his luck and my patience. but i feel like i've developed a different way of correcting bad behavior or bad "choices" since i was there with kathryn...does she remember? bottom line, different forms of discipline work with different ages, and i don't think daniel is old enough to really start hammering out all the bad... or at least the success will be low...

A Break

2009-12-16T20:51:00.004-06:00

well kathryn got to go to her school christmas party today. it was fun to see her with the other kids enjoying herself. watching how they really let her do the crafts...like cutting on the line, glueing, and basically every step... she gets to do...i guess i'm too impatient but i always help her with whatever craft we are doing...so it was something to remember...

Mrs. Terri helping Kathryn string the jingle bell on the pipe cleaner to make a bell

Mrs. Katie drawing Kathryn's Santa face. Kathryn is sitting next to Zachary and in front of Kaeden...she is the only girl in her class there are 7 boys!

Mrs. Katie is holding the paper for kathryn to cut her hat out

Kathryn getting ready to glue Santa's beard on.

Kathryn pushing the beard on Santa

finished Santa's

Kathryn couldn't eat the Christmas tree like everyone else, so luckily they had some pudding.

i liked their schedule on the wall. so now i have a copy! lol.

kathryn did pretty good, but towards the end, i could tell she was zoning out...and suddenly she got really tired. we went home and got ready to go to Aunt Jenni's house and on the way, she kept saying how she was tired, and she wanted to sleep... we get to Aunt Jenni's and she had a permanent frown glued on her face, she just seemed so sad and miserable...but i had given her medicine... i dunno. she must've started to fall asleep and Daniel jumped on the couch and woke her up, cuz she flipped, and started crying and fussing about being tired... poor baby. i held her and sang to her to calm her down and she was fine, but said she was hungry. i made them mac n cheese (over cooked to be super soft for kathryn) and once she ate, it was like a switch was flipped...she was hyper and jumping and playing again.

while i was at Jenni's we made some bows while the kids played. i'll have to take some pictures...

Mimi came by once we got back home and we played with the kids...they got all hyped up but it was cute. i spun daniel around and watched him stumble from being dizzy. it was just funny to see and he laughed too...

so i started working on the bows at my house with a different glue gun that i had been given and i never tried it out...i noticed after i plugged it in, it was leaking glue really bad... so i took the glue stick out and it still leaked glue! well, i just left it, without thinking and about 15 mins later as i was working on another bow it sparked with a loud POP and cut all the lights out... it freaked me out! i unplugged the POC glue gun and threw that away and flipped the switch on the breaker box and it seemed to be ok.

i hope tomorrow goes ok...i can see myself running thin on patience with kathryn's slurred words and fussiness. i am going to try to work out some activities for us to do, and hope i make it. (john gets the car since kathryn isn't going to school and he works 7:30 - 5...the whole day stuck at home with bored kids...these are the times that my brain shuts down and boredom gets worse)

Day 2

2009-12-15T22:25:00.003-06:00

so i have found a few changes in kathryn since the surgery... her voice seems higher pitched...you can tell this especially when she gets upset it just gets higher... i don't remember her doing this before. and she is slurring her words really bad now. simple sounds like "b" and "d" get slurred together and you can tell what she is saying! it sounds like complete jibberish! and she gets frustrated cuz i keep asking her to say it again i didn't hear her clearly, and i'm frustrated cuz i don't know what she's asking me for...::deep breaths:: it was quite the battle today. she would mumble "i wa sa mi muy" HUH? or "dao eh beh mi" i don't remember the rest of them but the first was supposed to be "i want chocolate milk mommy" and the second was "daniel is being mean" or something like that...all day it was like this. like it hurt to annunciate her words... but i would ask her to say it after me the right way...and she would say it better... idk. i'm sure it's just temporary, but it took all i had to stay calm and not scream "ughhhhh".

other than that, she is doing well, she went to sleep at 9:15 last night and woke up at 6:50 not complaining of pain... but i gave her medicine anyway. i thought she would wake up through the night... well, she had mac n cheese for lunch and rice and cheese and broccoli casserole...never complained that it hurt. i asked the doc and he said if she wants it, let her try it. but nothing that has sharp edges...noodles and rice are ok... she must have drank, oh, 4 cups (10 oz each) of chocolate milk and 2 cups of juice...that girl never drinks that much...i guess cuz i limit her milk and juice so she will eat food... she was so hydrated her pee was practically clear. so that's good.

i gave her pain meds around 7am and wanted to wait til she seemed like she needed them again, and that time was at 4. she wasn't fussing, but she said she hurt. i was debating on giving her another dose of pain meds before she went to bed, but she fell asleep just after 8 which was just at 4 hours so i figured i'd wake her up when i go to bed to give her some more...man am i sorry i did that! she woke up at 10 shaking and crying holding her hands over her mouth her throat hurt so much! i felt so terrible. she barely could swallow the medicine she was so upset. but i gave her some water to sip and rocked her back to sleep. she's sleeping in my room again so i can hear her if she needs help. tomorrow, if she makes it through the night, i am giving her pain meds and every 4 hours continuing. better for her to be dizzy and sleepy than in pain!

daniel could tell something was wrong. he kept wanting to lay right next to kathryn all day, and when she started crying tonight and i gave her some water i put it on a little table while i rocked her...he came and brought her zizzy and bumblebee, and a blanket and held the cup of water up to her mouth with the straw so she could sip. what a sweet boy. i just love them both so much. they both can be so loving to each other. i hope that lasts. it sure brings tears to my eyes to see the love they show one another.

i convinced kathryn to share the blanket with daniel that all he wanted to do was get underneath it to be next to her. she wasn't in a playful mood
but daniel was not giving up... about an hour later he curled up to her again.
and kathryn loves dora now...lol. they were glued to those shows and still sitting right next to each other. too cute!

this was after kathryn fell asleep around 8:30, daniel was laying on her watching the show "iron giant" which was a really good show btw!

but i pulled them away from the tv for a little while when kathryn was in a good mood (afternoon-ish) and we played hide-and-seek (we hide a certain toy the other goes to find it) i chased her around the house and tickled her good, we read books and made "play" food, and i took down some new puzzles for them to put together but after about an hour and a half, she was saying she was tired and wanted to just lay down and watch movies again. lol. i tried.

john was super sweet to me before he went to work...we got some time to cuddle and he scratched/rubbed my back...it always feels nice to be pampered... he didn't want me to go (check on the kids cuz that all mom's think about!) and kathryn ended up coming in a few mins after i said i needed to check on them it had been 30 mins since i'd come to cuddle... and kathryn was fine she was saying she pressed play on the movie again. lol. so we got some more time and we talked...then i was trying to leave again, and we got in a tickle fight! we haven't done that in ages! oh, we used to do that all the time when we were dating...then it just stopped once we got married... we used to get bruises from them, but non stop laughter and joking throughout...it is just good fun. i must admit that 100% focused attention on me was really nice. even when the kids came in he still held me tight and looked into my eyes while he talked daniel into giving kathryn her blanket... i miss that from him. it's too bad we let life get in the way of finding the time to be in love again. like when we were dating. the cute infatuation... compliments left and right... constant embraces and never wanting to let go. i'll just have to remember how it used to be. i revlove around my kids lives and their needs and i forget to make a revolution around my husband ever now and then...

i'll end with this quote i found in my planner (franklin covey):

"Whenever you are asked if you can do a job tell them "certainly, i can!" then get busy and find out how to do it" Theodore Roosevelt

kathryn's surgery

2009-12-14T23:31:00.005-06:00

i woke up at 5:30 gathered everything up i could remember to bring, put it in the car, got kathryn out of bed around 5:45, put her in the car, and we were off. i was trying not to flip out from all the unknowns, and just take it as it came...i had prepared myself... got the finances in line, decided what time we needed to leave to get there on time, and planned what we might need to keep us entertained as we waited (books)...so we got there at 6:20 (5 mins late, but no biggie) signed papers, paid our $263 to the facility and waited for them to call us back. it wasn't a long wait, but we somehow ended up in seats right in front of the water fountain (kathryn couldn't have anything to eat or drink after 9) so that was frustrating for kathryn to be reminded she was thirsty but to hear she couldn't have any...

for some reason she said she wanted cake...i told her she could have whatever she wanted after surgery: popsicles, ice cream, juice, chocolate milk, yougurt "water" she interjected, "yes, if you want water, you can have water too" as i said that she jumped up and started for the water fountain, i had to laugh, "no sweetie, no water before your surgery, you'll have to wait til after" she is sneaky. i'm really bad at convincing anyone to do something they don't want to do... i was worried she'd suddenly stop cooperating and get really scared or uncomfortable...

we finally got called back, and they took her vitals, then she had to get her ankle braclet on and i got one that matched on my wrist...she didn't want it on. i told her if she didn't have it on, they wouldn't know who her mommy was, and they might give her to the wrong person! that's why mommy had one too, so they would see we matched. then she had to take her shirt off and get a gown on...she was not wanting that gown on...i pulled out the "present" (nemo book) i got her just for her surgery, and convinced her to put her gown on so we could look at the book... we were waiting for at least 20 mins (which with a kid who doesn't want to be there can be a LONG time) to have them do the next step... the doc finally came told us the anesthesiologist was going to come by and get kathryn after we sign the disclaimer and then the surgery would start. so the doc and his nurse came and told us she'd get the gas type of anesthesia which sometimes makes kids nauseous, and then they would put her IV in and begin the surgery... i signed papers, then watched them carry kathryn to "blow up balloons" and went back in the waiting room.

it was 15 mins max before the doc came out to let us know the surgery went well, and they were waking kathryn up to make sure she was fine then we could go see her. Corine got there (my mom had met me there too) just before we went back to see kathryn... this was the part i was bracing for...i was warned that they freak out and fuss... she was really wiggly, but no fussing or crying...i picked her up, sat in the rocking chair and held her tight so she'd feel secure (she was wanting her IV out of her hand) and she just kept rolling her eyes all around like she was drunk and rolling her head totally dazed and confused.

it was sad seeing her like that. she would open her eyes really big and just stare around... but no sound what so ever. we asked her how she felt and she sounded really horse, almost no sound but i could smell the anesthesia gas they gave her as she breathed. i rocked her and she fell asleep. she slept for about 10 mins and then her IV bag finished and the nurse wanted to take her IV out...so we woke her up and she seemed a bit more herself, just really drowsy. got the IV out, and grandma's got her some juice and helped her take some sips. she did really good with drinking! she downed an entire 12 oz of juice within the hour of her waking up and the nurse said whenever we are ready to take her home we can...wow...that was quick! it was only 9...so we decided to go ahead and take her home. she was talking to us and saying mimi was coming over and "bammie" too, and even told the nurse "buh bye, i dove u" too funny.

so we head back home...and on the way kathryn tells me she's tired... then i hear what sounded like a burp i look in the rear view, and kathryn starts throwing up all that juice she just drank...i was on the on ramp to the interstate, so i pull over immediately, help her feel comfortable, get the stuff off her face, and go home. she fell asleep on the way. poor lil thing. i guess the anesthesia did make her nauseous...

we gave her a bath as soon as we got home, and i headed out to pick up her pain meds and a few things from the store, mimi and bammie stayed with kathryn and daniel... i got back home and Corine had started a load of dishes and cleaned the counter and table! too nice too nice. (the dishes were John's responsibility) i tell ya, what would i do without all this help we get.

kathryn was pretty groggy all day and basically just slept or laid down and watched movies...she did do really well with eating and drinking tho. no problem there. i can't tell ya how thankful i am that she has done so well so far. (prayers were answered for sure)

my mom helped me fold the laundry that had built up over the last month (lol) and we played with daniel. we had a pretty good day. kathryn started getting upset closer to bedtime when she couldn't have rice casserole like daniel (she pitched a fit for this one, crying about wanting gumbo) and when i wasn't making her chocolate milk in the right cup... patience patience.

i had to take a picture of him with my glasses on. he looks so scholarly! haha

he actually was pulling mimi back on him...and she squished him. but he was loving it!

but the best part (for me) was when Jamie and Joe Hamilton came over with their girls Allison and Sarah. Daniel and Kathryn had friends to play with and Mommy had friends to talk to! yay! and what made it even better was Jamie brought over some of their kids movies for us to borrow! (i was SOOO done watching the daffy duck and speedy gonzales cartoons on dvd...) i really like the Hamilton's because both John and I get along with them! usually i make a friend but john doesn't always make friends with their husbands...but Joe is easy to get along with so yay for having couple friends! we'll have to have them over after the holidays.

oh, and kathryn only had 1 accident...on daddy's chair. since then, we put a diaper on her, but she has only gone through 1 today. that's pretty good.

this is it

2009-12-13T22:44:00.004-06:00

today went pretty well. i brought john to work in the morning and made out a to-do-list of what i wanted to get done...since we have been gone or busy all week the house was a total wreck and needed cleaning desperately...

so after church we came home and cleaned! it was great, i was in the "mood" (i get much more accomplished when i'm in the mood to clean) and the kids were really good about helping. first they helped pick up all the toys and put them in their room (usually they never help, maybe i asked them in the right way this time? or they knew how dirty the house was) then we rounded up all the dirty clothes and started a wash. then i let them go at it with the vacuum while i cleaned the kitchen counters off... i took over vacuuming after that and VOILA! suddenly the house looked so much cleaner! (minus the dishes in the sink which were John's responsibility) i felt so accomplished! and this was all in 2 1/2 hours... then we hurried off to pick up john from work...

they had the Wellness Tour Bus at his Walgreens store (seigen and perkins) that was giving free health screenings to whoever was interested...so i got one done. it had been awhile... overall, i am pretty healthy. my blood pressure was good, my cholesterol was 139...i have no idea how good that is, i just know it isn't bad...and my BMI and body fat percentage was within normal limits... my glucose level was even good... so that's nice to know...that made me feel good... and john got one done too...i hope his results made him realize he needs to exercise more and choose to eat healthier foods. his cholesterol level was 195 which is borderline too high.

anyhow, when we got home at 6:45 i made a good dinner (which i haven't been so good at lately) chicken and broccoli casserole...i wanted to make sure kathryn got a few bites of food before she couldnt have anything to eat (nothing after 9) so i was proud of myself for having a productive day.

kathryn's surgery is tomorrow...i'm trying not to get too anxious about it... we'll see how things go...

i have a few pictures to share...

so you might be wondering, what is so special about this picture... well if you look closely, you'll see 6 dead flies...i thought it was crazy to see 6 of the same kind of fly (pretty big and dumb ones) in the same window at once... well little did i know when i got back from church there would be 9 more at the same window! i killed 15 in all! stupid pesky flies! where did they come from???

and this is one of my roses...it is so awesome how it's scented and a pretty color!
this is a smaller bloom... it starts off really purple. it's called lagerfeld and it is one of my favorites.

and last, daniel climbed up in my lap one morning and just sat there while watching his movie. i really thought it was cute how he was staying so still so i snapped the picture.

that's it for now i'm fallin over tired!

Congrats Jake!

2009-12-12T22:39:00.003-06:00

so my brother in law Jake got his bachelors degree today! he is a college grad! that is awesome Jake! we are very proud of you! of course he is the first of his siblings to graduate college, so his mom went ALL out and threw him a party...well, it's just another excuse for inviting everyone over and having alot of food to eat! hehehe. but the food was WONDERFUL! it felt like a thanksgiving feast...or i was sure stuffed like i was on thanksgiving! well, Jake got his degree in Accounting, and he is going back for his Master's and should be done in a year and a half. that's really cool... (i would post pics but i forgot my camera at home!!! UGH!)

it got me to thinking about my college education...i need to finish. it seems so far away (me going back to school) that i don't even think about it right now. i guess that would be too much for me to try to coordinate right now. plus we have no extra money right now. but i'll set a goal. if i am not pregnant in a year i will go back to school. lol. (we AREN'T trying to have a baby right now people, but we may start trying sometime next year depending on how things go. if not, i'm hitting up school.

i wish i could fix my desktop pc...i haven't a clue why it won't turn on, but i've been fiddling with it trying to see what the problem is, and i'm having no luck. hoping it's not the motherboard... talked to a friend who knows a lot about pc's and he gave me some tips to try. it sure would be nice to get it working again.

we had the ward Christmas Party tonight and it was wonderful. the food was great and kathryn ate it up! she even took a picture with santa...it's nice that kathryn is old enough now to behave well...she stayed with me the whole time, no wandering or fussing. very stress free. i was able to enjoy the company of my friends while it lasted (we all have kids to chase) and i thought it went really well.

i've got a bunch of things on my to-do list so i'm cutting this short. hopefully tomorrow will be productive for me...lots of housework that needs doing!

tired tired

2009-12-11T21:49:00.001-06:00

well, i am certainly tired tonight. i can barely keep my eyes open and it isn't even 10PM. today was so busy.

kathryn had her physical to give her the thumbs up for the surgery and it went fine. the doctor noted that it will go much better if she isn't sick (she just got over whatever she had so yay!) and she will recover faster. she said that her throat will hurt horribly, but she will need to keep drinking fluids...whatever she wants. so hopefully kathryn will "want" to drink chocolate milk and juice. she doesn't have them all the time, so it's more of a treat. hopefully she will do well. i am getting nervous...my mom and my MIL asked if i wanted them to come with me... i don't know how things will go. i guess the more company is there the more distracted kathryn will be from what just happened...so that would be good?

traffic was a nightmare today. by the time i brought john home from work it was 6:45 (he was supposed to get off at 4 but i couldn't get to him until 5:20 b/c of all the traffic) and i didn't feel like being on the road anymore. it took every bit of energy out of me.

but before i went to pick up john, jenni was over at my house, and we started making up some bows. i finally got back into it. all it takes is some motivation by someone else that will do it with you! lol. so now i'm excited. before when i made bows they were pretty plain, and now since i taught jenni, she has come up with some of her own neat tricks and ideas, and so all the bows are so cute and colorful and i'm excited! we have been getting quite a few leads with selling them, so maybe with us both working together, we can make some extra money and keep finding some leads! (i'll post pictures of all the bows we made once they are done, before we sell them)

sharing time

2009-12-10T23:57:00.004-06:00

so i always put stuff off till the last minute, and i had the quiet book class i was teaching again tonight...it went well, but i will focus on prepping better for next time...so we can get more done.

and i brought john to work this morning...we left at 6:45... what a difference 20 mins makes! we got to his store at 7:25! early for once. that was nice. and kathryn was only 5 mins late to school cuz mommy didn't have it together. lol. well, it was kathryn's last day of school before the surgery. tomorrow she has her physical smack in the middle of school so she won't get to go, just not worth the few mins. i can't believe her surgery is almost here! i hope to see improvements really soon.

i wanted to share some pictures and video in an effort to catch up.... these are from july!

i would catch daniel like this occasionally...sometimes even with the doors to the cabinet closed.

he's just hanging on on the top shelf of the cabinet!

he acts as if nothing is wrong. what a little monkey.

so what could possibly be in the box! hmmmm kathryn has it closed good...
it's a daniel! and you can see kathryn is actively shoving him back in. lol.

at Mimi's house kathryn crawled up in here and decided to take a nap. lol.

after a bath kathryn is playing the guess which hand elmo is in game. she is too cute
so i came in to check on the babies after i heard the water running, and this is how i found them! water up to daniel's chest! WOW... that's a swimming pool.

and lastly, daniel is serious about his food. it's funny. if you ever get the chance to watch him eat a sandwich, you'll laugh. it never leaves his mouth he tries to take bites as he chews to cram every little bit in. kinda like a squirrel...

well that's all for now. more to come later.

pretty good

2009-12-09T22:38:00.007-06:00

so while i was at foxy's today a guy i swam laps next to was in the whirlpool and asked me so how was your day? pretty good i replied. isn't that the generic response? most people don't want to wait to hear the whole story, or they don't even care, they are just making small talk...but he then said...well, what was so good about your day? oh, so you actually care. well that's nice of you. a total stranger interested in how someone else's life is going. so i got to talk to him. i got to smile looking at all the things that are going pretty good in my life right now. hubby has a job, a good job with great benefits, kids are relatively healthy and doing great, and i get to stay home with them, have a garden and other hobbies, and occasionally go to Foxy's and have some me time. i really am feeling pretty good. that and i've lost 4 lbs since Friday.

so i finally got to go to Foxy's today, Monday i had to bring John to work at 11 so that blew my plans for going while kathryn was in school, and Tuesday we were running way late, so i couldn't go in the am, and i had to pick John up in the evening and wasn't getting back out after that (they only have childcare from 8-12 and 4-8) but since john was off today, i decided i was going! i went in the evening and weighed myself before i began and yay! 4 lbs lighter than when i came on friday! so that was nice.

a little weights (mainly abs and arms) a little cardio on the eliptical cause i forgot my headphones!!! (i always forget something every time!) and then i decided i would do cardio in the pool for a nice cool down, and to get some endurance built up... a little steam room (i love it) a little whirlpool and then a shower to finish it off. i didn't get the full 2 hours because i got there late, but it was nice nonetheless. i love it when i have sore muscles.

well, one of the reasons i didn't work out in the am was i went to hang out with Jenni (my SIL). Turns out she is really good and quick at making hair bows (i let her go at it with the overstock of ribbon i have after i showed her how i make my bows) and i got to talking about selling them... since she has the time to sit and make them (with no kids you can get a lot done!) so if anyone is interested in buying hairbows... i'm going to help her market them... here's some pictures

hopefully we will be able to sell some!

so before it got super flippin cold i went outside and picked some lettuce for my sandwich and i always spy on my other plants while i'm out in the garden, and this is what i found:

my broccoli is growing a head of florets!!! YAY!! i am sooo happy that my crappy soil didn't stop my broccoli! i only had 5 out of 13 plants survive and only 3 are doing really good. so this really made my day. i can't wait for all the success my spring garden will have (when i do it the right way this time) so here are all my romaine/bibb lettuce plants i still have a patch that i need to thin out, but all my transplants are in the ground now!
in the bottom left corner there are 2 carrots that are hanging on that Henry didn't dig up...

these are where my broccoli plants are... the lettuce plants look scattered...

the patch i still need to thin out.

the last of the transplants...hopefully i will have enough space to thin out the remaining lettuce...if not, i'll just cut the tops and use in a salad...the thing i like about leaf lettuce is you can harvest the leaves one at a time and stretch out the harvest season! i've been plucking lettuce leaves for almost 2 months now as i need them! no more lettuce going bad, and it's an endless supply! oh i am so grateful the Lord has allowed me to be successful with a few plants in my garden!

so one way to start cloth diapering again is to run out of disposable diapers and run out of money.

yep, i kinda quit cloth diapers for a month or so because daniel kept getting rashes and stuff and well, we have run out of diapers and money, and i'm giving it another shot... every little bit helps.

accomplishments

2009-12-08T18:06:00.003-06:00

so i've got to be positive today, and for that to happen, i've got to spill all my "goods" and "bads" so i can move on. lol.

i had to take john to work this morning. we are treating the motorcycle as if it is not there because the tires are bald and that is incredibly dangerous, and i kinda want john to stay in one piece. so, we only have one vehicle. you know, lots of families have done the "one vehicle" thing and so it can be done, and it's not permanent...

it's simply a bit more difficult to coordinate timing. especially when john works at seigen and perkins and we live in walker and have to battle interstate traffic and baton rouge traffic. you just never know what you're gonna get. and he had to be to work by 8 yesterday, but since kathryn has to be to school by 8:20, we were aiming for 7:30. we left at 7 which i knew wasn't going to be a good thing. traffic was horrible, john didn't make it to work til 8:15 and that obviously meant kathryn would be really late to school. we didn't make it home til 8:50. kathryn finally made it to school by 9:10. and that was rushing like crazy to get her dressed and lunch packed. but i guess i'm not too worried.. they eat breakfast til 9 and then start the morning routine, so she didn't miss much. she had her breafast on the way to bring dad to work. i keep telling myself (this is the 2nd time this has happened) we need to leave by 6:45 at the latest, but we are all so tired that getting up at 6:30 and getting everyone ready means we don't leave til 7. and i just hate waking the kids up when they arent up yet, b/c they are cranky and cry a good bit of the way...and crying and frustrating traffic and being late...make for a good headache. maybe next time we'll get it right.

i finally finished my wreath for my front door and i felt like sharing the picture. i'm so proud of myself. i never get to make pretty things much, because i never have the money to buy the supplies, not to mention the babies in the house that would destroy it. so i tend to but the arts and crafts on hold. it feels good to see it every time i come or go.

and i decided to take a picture of the top of the christmas tree the part that is decorated, although it's nothing spectacular. i didn't work on it very hard because of a little destroyer named daniel... it's our first tree in 2 years. (our apt was much too small for a tree)
so this morning when i got in the garage i noticed our roof was leaking again. i went to take a picture as proof and when i got back from dropping everyone off, i went in the attic to check it out...
i can't figure out where the water is coming from... i saw no holes in the roof above the puddle, so i don't get it. and it doesn't even happen every rain...only twice since we've been in.... for 3 1/2 months.
and our garage door has been acting stupid with not wanting to go up or down and now the wheel got off the track. POC cheap door!!

the leaking from the garage. at least it isn't in our house right?

and lastly, kathryn is having this surgery in 5 days or so... and we are supposed to pay for it the day of. well, i was expecting about $400 that would come out of our pocket (we pay 20% after the last $100 of our deductible is met ) turns out this is the run down of costs for each separate entity

Doctor - $650 we pay $250 deposit (we'll only owe about $225)

Facility - $1315 we pay $263

Anethesia - $360 we pay $72

Bloodwork - unknown (guessing $25)

Pathology - unknown (guessing $30)

Phsyical - $83 we pay $17

adding it all up...we have about $657 approximately...not including any follow up visits she may need. whew. that was a bit more than we expected...especially with these unexpected things coming up to zap our money...(speeding ticket of $230, pulling out of the ditch $85, initial ENT visit $150) so needless to say, i am very glad we have $1000 in savings (THANK YOU DAVE RAMESY!) and i'm even more glad we haven't touched it till now. so if only we can make it till February ::crossing fingers::

ahhh, that feels better. now i can have a better day.

great day

2009-12-08T09:56:00.006-06:00

so i missed a post yesterday...i'll just post twice today...

so you know those moments where you wish you had the foresight to see the effect of an action so you could prevent it from happening? and of course once it happens you replay the events to see how you could have done things differently...

kathryn's first broken glass object...(a vase- hurricane glass) she was throwing a beanie baby around in the kitchen and after the first throw i was telling her "kathryn, don't throw that, you're going to *CRASH* ...break something... lovely. guess she had to learn that every action has a reaction.

but of course that isn't the action i'm particularly focused on. yesterday after i picked kathryn up from school we went to the store and were headed home on walker south rd (and for those who know walker south rd, it is twisty and can be quite dangerous...there are frequent accidents, like in a previous post less than a week ago)

well, i was ironically just talking to kathryn about how great she has been since we switched her to a booster seat with the seat belt restraint...she has stayed in her seat and never had a single problem (this past summer she was VERY bad about getting out of her seat when we had to put her in the booster seat) she commented how Daniel wasn't good with staying in his seat belt (we had him in a seat belt harness for a few days while we cleaned the cover and harness straps. i put the cover back on and back in the car that very morning so i wouldn't have to worry about him getting up and not being safe.) and as i was in the curve just before the Head Start school, (going a little under the speed limit and not distracted at all) suddenly a car going the opposite direction took the curve to sharp and was half in my lane in a split second... i had to make the call, what do i do?!?! let him hit me? (NO! the kids were in the car and that's our ONLY vehicle!) so i decided to swerve to the right (the car was comming more in my lane every foot, and couldn't tell if he was going to swerve back into his lane so i went to the right where there was no cars...but no road either) well, i knew instantly i pulled too hard right, so i pulled left as the car whipped right and then now in the other lane fishtailing left, tried braking and pulling slightly right, then slightly left...but as all this was happening in seconds, i knew i blew it, i had never felt the car so out of control before, and i just begged not to flip the car, well, the car spun around while it drifted and slid off the road (NO NO NO!) into a ditch where it came to a stop... no flipping, LUCKILY no other cars were behind me or traveling in the other direction while this occurred...so i didn't hit anything! (THANK YOU LORD!!!) ::sigh:: "uh oh mommy" kathryn chimes in once we came to a stop. i busted out laughing... yeah "big uh oh" i told her. just before this i noticed Daniel had fallen asleep, so i looked back to check him, and he had opened his eyes, then slowly closed them back...wow. at least he wasn't crying and at least we weren't hurt. they were all buckled in and safe. whew.

so now what do i do i thought...we aren't hurt but i didn't have the number to walker police, so i just called 911 and told them what happened. i got out of the car to survey the damage... and some passersby stopped to make sure we were ok. what's frustrating is i have been thinking of that I-1o wreck all week thinking about how if i was ever in a situation like that, i needed to remember not to overcorrect and to keep the car steady.... ha, so much for that, when you are in the moment, it is just instinct to duck out of the way (or swerve)...

when the state trooper got there, and i told him what happened, the first thing he said was wow, you were really close to running into these cords that are holding up the electric pole (you can see them in the picture above) or you could have hit that tree or that fence or that sign all about 10 feet away from where i ended up... or a car coming in the opposite direction... yeah you didn't do too bad...just need to get you out of that ditch and you should be ok... so he wrote it up as a car in a ditch or something like that vs a crash that way it doesn't go on my record. thank you! it could have been so much worse. i'm just glad the car is ok and we can still drive it.
tow truck got here and he is trying to see where to hook it up to pull out the car

i had to sit in the car and steer while he pulled me out. that was the weirdest feeling, it almost didn't want to come out... but luckily it did after dragging the car through the rest of the ditch.

i took a picture of the front the only damage i saw after it was pulled out.

once i got home and the mud on the car dried up...it looked bad. lol.
i pulled a bunch of plants out of the wheels before i took the picture, but still lots left. it got all in the springs, the engine, everywhere. obviously.

i was hoping it wouldn't mess up the engine, there was plants everywhere. this is just one spot full.

and to get a good laugh, i had a feeling i might see some of these when i pulled off the wheel covers...

crawfish!!! only in louisiana would you "catch" crawfish by driving in a ditch... there were 5 when i took these pictures, then more just kept falling out. i circled them but you may want to click on the picture to get a good look. they were 1 inch to 3 inches in size. pretty funny.

it took a while to get the car looking ok again. but it only cost $85 to pull the car out...i think that was a better deal than totaling the car and having our insurance go up. but i'm just going to try and learn from this.

sunday football! fun pictures

2009-12-06T21:54:00.007-06:00

so i know football isn't the best thing to watch on sunday, but i had to know how the Saints did!! they've never done this good ever, and i really enjoy watching their games. i actually watch the game tho. it's one area that john and i can talk about together! lol. anyhow, that was a crazy game... but somehow, the Redskins screwed up and the Saints made it happen...they won 33 - 30! i do believe they will be going to the Super Bowl this year! 12-0 is exciting no matter what happens from here. i think they are accruing more fans now for sure tho.

F. Y. I. got a squeaky door? i did, and i sprayed some cooking oil (canola) and squeaking is gone!! didn't have to go buy anything at all.

on a side note, i have been going through my pictures and i thought i'd post and tell the stories.

so i was at my in-laws house and i walked in the kitchen to find Daniel totally chillin in the fridge with some cheerios.

then he decided he wanted the carrots

this is the sleeper i splurged on...when i saw it i couldn't pass it up. only $7...

he's been crawling in bed with us lately...in the middle of the night where we don't notice. then we wake up and realize he wedged himself between us...it's his super star pose. lol.

he was a bit groggy when he got woken up. funny cuz daniel almost never looks like this...he's usually smiling big and runing all over the place

i decided to make banana bread and kathryn loves to help/watch. well, then daniel came by and wanted to sit up there too...i had never let him before, so i didn't know how he would do, but he was great! he knew exactly how to turn on the mixer and that was his job. here you can see he was adjusting the speed. lol. he is so smart.visual learner for sure like me.

he was just so excited about watching all the ingredients blend to make the dough...

and kathryn had to watch the bread cook. lol. good thing for oven windows and lights

and then Daniel decided to join her they must have stared at that oven for 10 mins! lol then they gave up. so cute.