Sunday Stuff

Yesterday was a busy day. My little Aussie was B.eing R.eally A.ggravating T.oday!! He would NOT smile for any of my pictures. Which of course made it a challenge for me.

He is pretending to sleep.

Mason was being a little ham! As you can see he is wearing my shoes. It would have been funny if someone got a picture of me trying to walk in his shoes.

I tried all kinds of tricks to get Aussie to smile for me. I would put the camera down by my side and try to click a shot when he didn't realize, but he caught on soon enough and would give me a face or look away.

I tried telling him if he didn't smile we would go to some resteraunt that only serves liver and onions and he would have to eat 6 bites. Nothing was working!

Ashley had fallen down and hurt her knee so Daddy carries her to the car.

We went to the Green Hills YMCA today, because it is so close to our church that I thought this might be a good alternative on Sundays. I didn't care for it for several reasons, even though I did have a good work out. 1. I couldn't find Greg. We can usually be in the same room while working out. 2. They didn't have a 30 min. cafe. 3. They didn't have Kid's club for ages 6 and up so the kids had to go into the nursery. 4. The locker room isn't as nice. 5. AND for the BIG one... Money was stolen out of my purse! UGH! They didn't have any locks left. So I was weary about leaving my purse in a locker. They did have some tiny lockers with locks available. So I took my camera, phone, licence, debit card and put it into one of those lockers. I had about $8 cash stuffed into one of the pockets in my purse. I didn't grab it, it was way down in there and I risked it. I put my purse on the bottom of the locker, put my clothes on top of it and my shoes on top of that.

After going to the YMCA we walked over to whole foods across the street so Greg could get some tea. He asked me if I had a $1. I knew I did because I had just seen it an hour ago. I looked in my purse and NO MONEY! NONE! It was definitely stolen. When I got home I phoned the Y and told them what happened and they said, unfortunately a purse was stolen earlier in the day. I'm glad it was only $8, but that is really frustrating! They took my name. I don't expect anything to ever come of it, but they needed to know. ANYWAY- I don't think we will be going back to that Y.

While Greg was getting tea, I SAW my opportunity and quickly grabbed my camera. HA! CAUGHT with a SMILE! Too bad it was blurry, so I quickly took another one.

Yah- back to normal little brat!

But Ashley was happy to pose for me.

And since we were so close to Trader Joe's I really wanted to go in it. I had heard so many good things about it. So we went there. There was a woman there holding a "?" sign on a pole up in the air. I asked her what that was all about and she said she was the question lady, if we had any questions we could ask her. So the next 20 minutes was following her around the store and asking questions. (real questions- not trying to be annoying.) The store was just another over priced organic store to me. Not somewhere I would make an extra trip over to get groceries. We did by some cookies, bread, tortillas and tea. I bought some cookies, I'm trying to remember the name, divinity maybe? Anyway they are mainly made out of egg whites and sugar. They are only 1/2 point each in Weight Watchers and they are yummy.

On our way out I snapped a few more pictures of them playing with the ship wheel at the entrance to the store.

And of course... He is such a stinker!!

I need to get moving. I have a few more things to say, so I may make another post later today.

A date night out on the town

I am finding it very difficult to find the time to post here. I hope it is just a phase I'm going through. I have so much to say. The problem with waiting several days to post is I can't remember all the really cute things my kids have said.

Anyway, let's start with my date on Saturday. A couple weeks ago, Greg emailed me and said, Get a babysitter for this Saturday, we need to be downtown by 4:30, have a nice dress clean. He has never done anything like this. I was SO excited! I didn't want to know. I wanted to be surprised. Our regular babysitter couldn't babysit because she was going to the Grammy's (how exciting is that!). So I got Laura (Ricky's daughter) to babysit.

Greg had won tickets to a little play, I can't remember the name. AND to a dinner before hand at the top of a tall building to "hob knob" (how do you spell that) with some of the VIPs.

It was a lot of fun. A lot of people loved the asian meal, I didn't so much (probably because I'm allergic to Iodine and couldn't eat half of the meal.) But I had such a great time! Here are some pictures from the deck at the top of the building.

Our state capital building.

After the dinner we walked across the street to TPAC. I enjoyed the play. I was confused a bit by it, but Greg filled me in on the way home. It was just a very pleasant evening. And I hope he surprises me again like that! {HINT}

Then when we got home the house was not in shambles. Laura had the kids clean up their mess and the house was neat. I love her!!!

Ashley's Date

Today Greg took the kids to the Chinese Spring festival, while I went to search out History curriculum. I have to admit it's nice to be away on my own for a little bit. Then tonight Ashley and Greg went to the Father /Daughter dance with her Girl Scouts.

Since it was a special date. We let her have a little bit of makeup.

She was so excited!

I tried my best to give her a french braid.

And now my little Cinderella is ready for her date.

Even Greg dressed up in a tux for this special occasion. They had lots of fun. Ashley was asleep when they got home, so I look forward to hearing all about it from her tomorrow.

Catching you up to speed

Where have I been? Good question! I've been busy!

Last week we were talking about who is going to teach what in our co-op and I volunteered to teach History for the 3rd and 4th graders. I really think this is a God thing. Because if you would have asked me last year I would have said, "no way!" But I'm excited about this. I have something in mind for the curriculum, but tomorrow I will go look at more.

Last Saturday, we took the kids to a friend's birthday party. It was so cute! The boy's Mom made a dinosaur cake, Jello dinosaur eggs, dinosaur jelly sandwiches. They each made a dinosaur hat. Aussie was a bit embarassed by it, so we made Greg wear it.

Then they played this really cute relay game where they put on these dinosaur shoes and ran/slid across the room holding a plastic egg on a spoon. It was really fun watching them. Then they played a game where they dug in a sandbox to find a dinosaur to keep. I was taking lots of pictures, because I know how much I like pictures and I also know that when you are the hostess it is hard to take pictures and hostess at the same time. So I was busy doing that and I guess I wasn't keeping a good enough eye on my children, because when I was editing the pictures to give to the birthday boy's Mom I noticed that my kids were standing on her couch. UGH! So I made a note to tell the kids that just because they are allowed to stand on our couch doesn't mean they can stand on someone elses. I apologised to the Mom when I handed her the disk of pictures.

So after the party we rushed out of there to meet my Mom for dinner. She was in town with her girlfriends to go to a conference/lecture about Heaven. So she had a couple hours free and we were able to pick her up and go out to eat. We went to Logan's and that was one of the best meals I had in a long time!

On our way home we stopped by a friend's house to pick up an outfit for Ashley. I was so excited! Ashley and I get giddy over getting clothes. So my friend said she bought this gorgeous outfit for her daughter and her daughter refuses to wear it. So she said she wanted to see it on someone. We were happy to oblige! The outfit is brand new from Gymboree and it is GORGEOUS. Ashley wore it Sunday to church. You would not believe how many compliments she got. I mean everywhere we went someone stopped her and said you look beautiful. I tried to get a good picture, but I wasn't able to get a good one. The sweater has a cupcake on it.

This is a good picture, but she didn't have the sweater on. Just the turtleneck, skirt and tights. Oh but that's not all. She didn't just give us that outfit, but several more as well. And the boys clothes that they have on in the picture are also from this friend. I really love having a clothes "benefactor".

Alrighty then, on Monday it was laundry time! I asked the kids if they wanted to make a clothes waterfall. They LOVE this. It's when they gather up all the dirty clothes and throw them down the stairs. But that's not all they like. They like to slide down the stairs until all the clothes are at the bottom. I don't mind. They have fun and it gets all the clothes downstairs for me to wash.

So that's all the good stuff, now onto the not so good stuff. Thursday night we were getting out of the van and it was cold and somehow 2 of my children didn't have their coats. So I was wrapping Ashley and Aussie in my coat. I thought Aussie's hand was down by his side and I reached in front of him and slammed the van door. Aussie's fingers were stuck in the door. I had to open the door to get them out. I was SO upset. When Mason and Ashley started crying too, I had a meltdown. I ran in to the church yelling is there a first aid kit. No one seemed to be in a rush but me. I grabbed the church phone and called Greg. Greg was coming as fast as he could. I couldn't stop crying. Someone helped to get ice on his fingers and some bandaids. I felt sick to my stomach. The lady very calmly said that I was making things worse by crying. I understood, but it was really hard to quit. If you have never been in a situation like this you can't imagine the guilt I felt. Someone said some harsh words to me and got me crying all over again. Greg took the kids home and I went to get gas in his car incase we needed to take Aussie to the hospital. I was so hysterical I could hardly drive home. I think the harsh words hurt me more that the accident itself. I can't believe this happened but suicide actually entered my mind. I would NEVER commit suicide- don't worry! The thought came into my mind and just as quickly as it came in my mind I dismissed it. Why am I telling you this? I'm not sure. Maybe I shouldn't be so honest. But that's how I felt. I was so sick to my stomach. I know in my head it was an accident and things like this happens, but in my heart it hurts deeply. When I got home the sweetest thing happened. From his heart Aussie said, "Mom, I'm not mad at you, I know it was an accident." He is so grown up and so precious to me!

Anyway, to make a long story longer we decided to wait and take him to the doctor today.

We went to school today. It was a special day. (Pajama and Pizza day) Many people asked him what happened. I was relieved to hear him say his fingers got shut in the van door instead of My MOM shut the door on them. He seems to be very sensitive to my feelings. Although when anyone would ask me what happened the guilt set in even more as I told them what I did.

I had a few people look at it. A lady at co-op works in the ER and she took a look at it and said, we probably ought to get it x-rayed. 3 others looked at it and said it was definitely broken. So I took him to the doctor, and we got his fingers x-rayed. He was such a good boy! And the good news is there are NO fractures!!!!! So he is wearing a little splint. He will wear this for 3 days and then he can take it off and go back to his artistic endeavors.

Since it was late and we finally had some money in the bank, we took the kids to McDonalds. I am so relieved they are not broken! But I started crying again tonight. When will this guilt go away? Aussie has forgiven me, why can't I forgive myself?

Anyway- I'm praying for a better day tomorrow.

My conscience.

Yesterday, I made chocolate chip muffins for the boys. I was so tempted. I wanted one and I said out loud, "Oh man I want one, but I know I shouldn't."

Ashley said, "Yah- it will probably make you more overweighted."
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The kids know about my journey to lose weight. Ashley is usually helpful. Mason likes me to eat what he is eating. "Here Mom have a bite." He doesn't like it when I say No thank you. It's like I am hurting his feelings.
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Ashley is truly my conscience. I don't think I blogged about this. Right after Christmas, Ashley and I went to Hobby Lobby. All the Christmas stuff was marked down at least 70%. I saw some Christmas peanut M&Ms (Probably my favorite candy.) I picked it up and said, "I wonder if this is on sale." Ashley said with disgust, "Why do you need it?" I said, "Well I don't NEED it, I just wanted it. I guess I should put it back." Ashley said, "Yah put it back you don't NEED it. It's just JUNK." You could see the people in line in front of me smirking.
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Here is a cute little story I got from the DWLZ newsletter:


HE WAS ONLY A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE...

I LOVED HIM
I met him at a party. There he was at the end of the buffet....a loner; the last one on the plate. He had a certain something...a sweetness, a sensuality. He was one hot cookie. I felt as if I'd always known him...hungered for him. When he looked at me with those warm brown eyes, I melted. Before I knew it, I had my hands on him, my mouth on him...in public. After that night, we were inseparable. With him I could be myself; he didn't seem to care what mood I was in, how I looked or even if I gained weight. Together we had the recipe for happiness. No one satisfied me like Chip.

THEN THINGS CHANGED My friends said he was no good for me. He started to give me heartburn. I felt crummy, but it had to end. Now we've gone our separate ways. I hardly think of him anymore. Oh, if I see a certain TV commercial, a particular magazine ad, a coupon for cents off...that old longing returns. And when we run into each other in the supermarket, we nod. We're friendly. But it's OVER.

Copyright © DWLZ, Inc. - 2009, all rights reserved. This document may be reproduced freely as long as it is always reproduced in its entirety, including this copyright message, and the disclaimer below, and as long as it is always distributed free of charge.

not off to a good start here

Well President Obama didn't get off to a good start in our house.

Aussie screamed, "Mom, Mom, I need help, there is something wrong with our TV! I can't get PBS kids! All I'm getting is Obama everywhere!" "I don't like Obama."

Oh President Obama don't you know not to mess with Aussie and PBS kids?

This lead to the conversation of how he was not my choice, but today is an important day...and he is now our president and we need to respect him and how this country is making history...and blah blah blah.

OK- I better make some dinner. Catch ya later.

Lots of stuff

Well it has been quite awhile since I've blogged.

I'm feeling better. It took about a week for the pleurisy to clear up.

I took the kids to the dentist the other day. Aussie has 2 cavities that need to be crowned and Mason has to have a little bit of skin snipped on his gums. He will be given one stitch. I take them on Wednesday to have this done. They will be sedated and I really don't look forward to this! Please pray for them and me. While at the dentist office they played on this horse.

This month I have been taking the kids to karate lessons. Mason and Ashley really enjoy it. I think Aussie does too, but he has to complain about it. They are all doing a great job. I won the lessons in a silent auction. I think for $40 for the whole family for a month. I wish we could keep it up, because it is really good discipline and Aussie needs that. But times are rough! Greg's company announced that they wouldn't be giving out merit raises this year. That's a bummer, but we are very happy he still has a job! Anyway, we won't be continuing the lessons. Here are a couple pictures of them practicing. The lighting was bad and I couldn't get very close.

Over the weekend I had the BEST time. I went to a crop and worked on my December Daily. I have it pretty much done, but I need to go back and journal in it. I didn't know that I could stay up all night, but I did. I used to be the first one to bed, but I have been turning into a night person. Anyway, I was at a hotel and I called Greg at 6:00AM on his cell phone. I thought he would have it turned off and would check his messages when he turned it on, but he had it on. So he stumbled to his phone and answered it. I told him I was going to sleep now and I wouldn't be meeting them for lunch.

Jann got to meet Treyton for the first time.

And I got to cuddle with him a little bit too. I had on a red bandana and he kept following me around the room with his eyes. He is such a precious little fellow!

I got home around 2:30 and then Greg and I went out to see the Wizard of Oz musical. I really enjoyed it, but I was so sleepy I was falling a sleep in it. It was a full house and there were many little kids there. Some of the little girls were dressed up like Dorothy with her dress and red slippers. It was SO SO cute! I wish I could have gotten a picture of some of them. I talked to a little girl who was probably just turning 3. I asked her if she liked the show and her eyes were so big and said, "UH huh!" I asked her who her favorite person was and she said, "Toto".

I could hardly stay awake on the way home. I had to eat some dinner and unpack my stuff so I could get ready for bed. I went to sleep around 10:30 but didn't sleep all that great- so it made for a really tiring day today.

Mason was so funny today. (Well he always is.) He got this BIG serving fork to eat his lunch.

Well Greg needs to use the computer, so I need to get off. Hopefully I'll be keeping up with the blog more often.

Have a good day!

Just a little pain

I was having a little pain in my chest and a slight numbness down my left arm. I didn't want to over-react. It wasn't bad, but it worried me enough to call Dana and ask her what the symptoms of a heart attack was in women. I knew she would know or know exactly where to look to find out. After talking to her, I thought I better be safe than sorry and go get checked out. It's probably nothing, but the risks of it being something is too great.

So on our way back from the YMCA, I had Greg drop me off at the hospital. He took the kids to Dana's house and came back. Thank you, Thank you ,Thank you Dana for taking my kids! They were very fast at the hospital. I had never had that happen before! Just as I filled out the sign in card and sat down they called me back.

Everybody was so nice and helpful. And I didn't feel stupid for coming in over a little pain. They gave me an EKG. My heart was fine. Then they gave me an x-ray. The doctor told me it was pleurisy. I've had that before and it was severely painful in a different area, nothing like what I had tonight, but at least it made sense.

Anyway, they gave me a shot in the tush for the pain. I think the shot hurt worse than the pain itself and I don't think it has helped anyway.

So that's my exciting news. I'm fine and now I'm going to go to bed.

The Tooth Fairy is going to be broke!

On November 27, 2008 my little girl announced to us and to the grandparents that she FINALLY had a loose tooth. Since that time Mason has lost at least 2 teeth, but probally more. Well guess what...MASON lost his 5th tooth today. Guess who got extremely jealous? We have been trying to get Ashley's tooth out with no such luck. Twice I tied dental floss around it and pulled. And I mean pulled! It did not come out. I tried today and hurt her, but it moved and bled some. She cried and cried. One because she hurt and also because Mason loses him teeth so easily and he has lost five and she hasn't lost ANY and she was scared.

When Daddy came home she met him at the door and said, "Just do it!"

I told Greg, that I loosened it quite a bit, so just grab it and pull hard but do it tonight.

So introducing my little girl who has FINALLY lost a tooth!

(You can see her new tooth coming in behind.)


She cried a bit, but she is excited to get a visit from the tooth fairy!

FINALLY!!!!

Today

I so wanted to start the year off wonderfully, but Ashley gave me her sickness.

Now wait a minute. Let's see how I can make this positive....


I'm starting out the year with a cleanse of my system. There! That sounds better.

I think I'll go back to bed.