A Hatful of Nothing Revisited

It's February!

2012-02-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

What have I been up too? Off to a good start for the year I guess. I've been doing some projects Some have turned out, some not so much. It's ok though if at first you don't succeed...well I typically don't do it again. Been running a lot. Or jogging... I'm not sure what to call it because I know I'm slow, but I really don't care. It makes me feel good. Last week I went a total of 20 miles! This week Kenneth and I have been working on one of the bathrooms. It's been fun seeing my Moms creative ideas come together under my hands. It's turning out really cool and I can't wait to post some before and after pictures of it. Hopefully tomorrow or early next week I will get started painting the upstairs. It's nice to have something productive to do. What else keeps me busy?

Kynzie just got done playing a fabulous season of basketball. Love watching her get better and better. Ty is taking his driving test today. Strange to have 2 kids driving. Wyatt will be done with High school in the middle of March. It's crazy, and I'm not ready for him to be that old. Kasey is doing great here in this small school. I honestly think it's been so good for her. As for me after several months, this town does grow on you. Not so much the people, because I can go days and days without even talking to another person that isn't family. But being out here in the middle of nowhere is so peaceful, and I love the simplicity of it all.

And this my friends is what I look like after a nice run!

Nice and Not So Nice!

2012-01-11T16:23:00.000-08:00

It's funny how hateful of a people we are, how we always look for ways to fight, to correct others, to make ourselves feel more important. I have recently become a huge fan of Pinterest. It's an awesome site full of great ideas, sayings, recipes ect. It wasn't until I started to read some of the comments that I found the one thing I didn't like about the site, ugliness. I guess somewhere along the line, people forgot what Thumpers father taught him, and that's "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all." I guess in some catch 22 type way I am breaking this rule by stating that I find it sad that people think it necessary to comment every mean or disagreeing thought they have. Sure there are things posted that I don't agree with. I don't love every idea, or think every pin is a real winner, but forgive me if I have better things to do with my time than comment on a pin I don't care for. It's a fun bulletin board, why do some take it all so seriously? I think I would have a huge ulcer if I cared so much about others misspelling (because heaven forbid we aren't all the best spellers), or if I didn't think a brother kissing a sister on the forehead for a picture every year is inappropriate-by the way I think it's sweet! Yes I realize we all have pet peeves, Like the lady that couldn't stand the pregnancy announcement that said "We are Pregnant!", but seriously it's just to share ideas, not make people irritated, or to give people a platform to display their super smarti-pants-ness! So that's just my opinion, on my own blog. If you are someone who comments negatively on others pins or blogs or facebook posts... well so be it! I'm really no better, but I feel sad that we all can't look for the good, humor, or simplicity in things. I am going to stick to just looking at the pins from now on.

Okay now that being said, maybe I'm feeling a little encouraged to be kinder by something that happened yesterday, I call this story THE SIMPLE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS!
So as you all know I have been running lately. Somedays it's very hard! Yesterday was one of those days. I got my running stuff on, and headed out, but not even a mile into it my lungs and hips were aching. I pushed myself forward, but it was seriously a battle most of the way. When I reached the flat right before the hill, which I will lovingly call THE HILL OF DEATH, I was seriously thinking of just turning around early. It's then that I noticed an older couple sitting outside their house in lawn chairs. It was a cold morning and they were bundled up in their carhartt coats and beanies. It is right as I passed, that I could hear over my Ipod the old woman yell , "You're doing great! Keep it up," I glanced her way and then the man stood up and started to cheer and clap for me. I was truly touched by their kind gesture to me, some lady they don't even know. I want to be that way, a little kinder, a little more thoughtful, and a little more aware of the people around me. I know it won't come over night, because I'm not always this way, but I would love to be those older folks someday, cheering on those around me, just because!

Don't Make Permanent Decisions on Temporary Emotions

2012-01-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

I'm the worst about this! The Worst! So my New Years goal is to think things through a little better. If I'm having a bad day then I need to wait until a better day comes along to make a decision that may change my life. Of course if I'm having a bad day and choose to eat a Strawberry Cheesecake blizzard, that would be ok. Or if I choose to watch sad movies and cry it out... once again a fine thing to do. But if I make a choice to get a really cute puppy.... well maybe not such a good choice. Then there is buying something for myself, certainly not a cure all. Not that buying something is a permanent decision, but I may get stuck with something I didn't really need at all. So the big goal is to think things through a little better, think about the big picture. If I'm having temporary emotions, I should not make decisions that could make me worse off in the long run. Lesson hopefully learned.

Just Waiting!

2011-12-22T08:59:00.000-08:00

Baked all the goodies, goody trays delivered, Presents wrapped and under the tree. Now it's just a waiting game. And man are these kids excited and on the verge of making me crazy. I may have to sneak off somewhere alone for awhile.

Run run run fast as you can!

2011-12-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." -John Bingham

The last time I played an organized sport was 8th grade. The last time before all this, I attempted to run a mile was as a freshman in PE. I flunked PE. And have never attempted again. Until a couple years ago. It's been a slow process for me, learning to run. Making myself pass that next milestone. Then I had a stomach issue, and took a break. Then my ankles hurt so I took a longer break. I think I kept looking for excuses to not do it. I just kept thinking I'm not made for this I am not a runner.

But recently my sister put a new fire under my feet. And I started trying again. In the last 2 1/2 months I have ran. I have ran and ran and ran. I've lost some pounds (a bonus of actually getting off my butt and doing something.) And today I hit a milestone that I feel good about. I ran 5 miles. I never thought I could do it, but today I did, and now all things seem possible. I can keep pushing myself to get better and better.

Funky Christmas Funk

2011-12-13T16:28:00.000-08:00

So for the last few days I have fallen ill with a crazy funk. And as much as I want to be in the Holly Jolly Christmas spirit. I find myself full of irritation at the people I shouldn't be irritated at at all.
I've kind of pinpointed some of the reasons that I may be filling this way and I've put these 3 things on the top of my list:
Wyatt. Let me go into a little detail here, because he is not causing me any irritation and I wouldn't want anyone to be confused. It's going by to fast. Here we are on the doorstep of adulthood, and adventures that don't involve me. All I keep thinking is how wonderful I want Christmas to be because I want him full of great memories so that once he is out and about on his own, he will want to come home. I'm so afraid of loosing him.
Then there is Family. This is the time of year that everything should be about family and love and all of that. But just like everything else it feels like there is just not enough time. And I hate that, because there should always be enough time, and it should always be the priority. I never thought of myself as the type that wouldn't make sure there was time. So it bugs me that I can't make it easier.
And speaking of Family, I miss my Mom and Dad. We used to spend a lot of holidays with them. Thanksgiving Easter and Christmas, were with them most years. I can't wait til they live here, so I can spend more time with them again.

So, you've heard my complaints..... What are your suggestions any home remedies that I could try? I would love to be Funk free for the rest of the month.

The Countdown Frenzy has Begun

2011-12-09T15:08:00.001-08:00

It's been fun counting down the days til Christmas. I decided this year I would make a large countdown. Everyday the kids take a bag down and open it. Its not much a piece of candy or small prize, but they are all excited to open it every day. Goes to show that Christmas is for kids, and we are all pretty childlike around here.

I'm proud to say that I've gotten all my shopping done, it feels good. I love this time of year, and it's nice when the shopping is done, so I can really reflect on the reason for the season.

Today we got to attend Kynzie and Kaseys School Christmas program. It's good to see that some schools still have one. The classes all sang a couple songs. Kynzie sang a solo. I feel lucky to have both of these girls in my life. They are such sweeties and full of Christmas spirit.

Little Crafting.... Lotsa Snow

2011-12-05T06:30:00.001-08:00

So this is what I've made:

A magnet board for my Mother in Law. The magnets have the names of all her grandchildren.

An Apron and Skirt for both of the girls. I also made blankets for the boys but I wrapped them before I got a picture.

Friday we had a snow day. It was the thick wet snow that is so fun to play in. So we bundled up and ventured out into the White World.

Just can't seem to keep Ty out of this tree!

Kaseys Frog Man!

Kynzies Snowman?

Trying to catch a snowflake on her tongue!

The Grand Finale of Thankfulness!

2011-11-29T17:09:00.001-08:00

My month has kind of dwindled down. Now I'm ready for December and Christmas. I just wish it would slow down and let me enjoy the anticipation of it all. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my inlaws. It was full of food and my first true Black Friday experience (which I don't really want to experience again, but I won't say never, because you just never know.) Also got to meet one of Kenneth's cousins for the first time, which was really neat. It was a go go weekend, and I was happy to be home. This week so far has been quite, and I Love That. I've been working on a couple projects for Christmas. They are turning out cute, and hopefully I will get pictures of them soon. I'm also trying to make my MIL a magnet board for Christmas with all the grand kids for magnets. My original idea turned out CRAPTASTIC. It made me feel pretty unartistic to say the least. So hopefully I can get that figured out soon. (If anyone has any ideas, send them my way). But other than that just happy to be me. Thankful for all the many blessings I have in my life, and the love that I feel everyday.

Full of Thanks for my Hubby

2011-11-21T11:58:00.001-08:00

18- Today I'm thankful that he is such a hard worker. Not only does he work super hard on the job, so that we can have money and other material necessities. But when he's home he works hard around the house. He took the time today to chop down some dead trees around the house, and mow the back, back yard so it would be free of weeds. He also is so good at supporting the kids in there activities, today we went to Kynzies basketball game.

19- Wowzers for the patience he has. I'm so thankful for that. We went shopping, and any one that's ever been shopping with me, knows how indecisive I am. But he went store to store, and even back to one store, to return something I bought earlier. We got 87% of the Christmas shopping done, and had a lovely lunch out.

20- 18 years together today. I'm thankful for every day of it. Whether good or bad, boring, exciting, every moment has been a blessing in my life. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful Husband!

Five Golden Rrrriiiiinnnnggggsss!

2011-11-18T06:48:00.001-08:00

I'm really slacking on this Thankful thing. Not that I'm not extremely thankful, because I am, I just forget to write about it. So a weeks worth of opportunity passed me by. I'm here to make up for it, and hopefully plus some.
On the 15 day of thankfulness I'm very thankful for an extra day with my Hubby.
     For the month of October and the first part of November He has been on outage. That means they work lots of overtime. Which is great for the paycheck. But as the time goes by he gets worn out, and I kind of miss having weekends with him. So when he had Tuesday off and we had time to be around one another it was nice.

On the 16 day of thankfulness I'm very thankful for my sisters Darcey and Penny
     I'm fortunate to have two sisters that have been so good to me, my whole life. But more specifically and recently I'm grateful to Darcey for encouraging me to run. And though my body fights it every step of the way, when I'm done I feel good. I look forward to the day I can run further, and not feel like I'm going to fall over dead! And for Penny. I'm so glad to have her, to have long phone call conversations with and vent too, I don't know what I would do without these moments. I love them both for so many other reasons too, but I need to get through the week.

On the 17 day of thankfulness I'm very thankful for my Brother Clint
     How could I say I'm thankful for my sisters and leave my Brother out? Well I couldn't! This guy is pretty incredible. Mostly I'm thankful that over the last year plus, he has taken the time to communicate with my son, and do kind things for him, when he really needed a friend. I know he had his own things to deal with, but he still took the time. I love him very much!

On the 18 day of thankfulness I'm very thankful for.....
     By golly that's today, that wasn't so hard to get caught up. I am thankful for the smelly good candle I have lit right now, that reminds me of holidays and pine trees.
I'm thankful that last night I could go out to eat with my family, spur of the moment, and have such a wonderful time. As we chatted and laughed I realized how special they all are, and how incomplete our family would be without each and every one of them. After months of hectic dinners, it was so nice to sit at a table and eat and talk. I couldn't be more blessed.

Weekend Worth of Thanks

2011-11-14T10:35:00.001-08:00

Wowzers, I let to many days without acknowledging my thankfulness. And thankful I am! I am thankful for a lazy weekend. I am thankful that I could decorate for Christmas (as sick as it may seem, it was so fun). I am thankful for holiday flavored ice cream (eggnog, Christmas cookie, and pumpkin pecan) soo yummy.
Even though the girls are home with a cold today, I'm thankful for our health, We are a pretty healthy family, and that"s something to be happy about. I'm thankful that Wyatt, Kasey, and I could spend some time playing a board game (something we don't do nearly enough) and I wasn't even a poor sport when I lost.
I'm thankful that I could get a little more shopping done!
This is a fun wonderful and exciting time of year, and I'm trying to enjoy every moment in it!

Ten

2011-11-10T15:00:00.001-08:00

I grateful that today I had nothing more pending to do than sit around and craft a bit. I decided it would be fun to make Kasey and two of her girl cousins matching holiday barrettes. I didn't have any Halloween material but I thought the other holidays turned out pretty cute. Kasey loved hers, I hope her cousins like them too!

Number Nine

2011-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

Think think think! Luckily I don't have to think to long to come up with things I'm thankful for. First I'm thankful for phone conversations with my mom. I love that we always laugh and talk frankly about whatever is going on. I love that she's always just a phone call away.
I'm thankful that Wyatt would spend an hour with me in Alco just browsing. I'm happy that he doesn't mind spending time with me.
I'm thankful that I have gotten a little Christmas shopping done .
And I'm thankful for craftiness, and the ability that I have to make some handmade (not homemade... right Mom?) gifts for Christmas. It's been fun to make things that I feel good about.

Day 8

2011-11-08T19:59:00.000-08:00

As much as I hate grocery shopping, I am so Thankful for the fact that we always have enough to eat around here. I think sometimes I take for granted the fact that we have all we need. I guess it's human nature for me to feel sad that I don't have the stuff I want... but I have always had everything I need. I've always had a roof over my head, a full belly, and plenty of clothes to wear. I'm a pretty happy girl.

7

2011-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for friends.
The ones that have been around since I was a kid.
The ones that I have met along the way.
The ones that listened to me vent.
The ones who ignored my flaws.
The ones who took the time.
The ones who called to chat.
The ones that have touched my life.
The ones that even if I don't talk to for ages can pick right up where we left off.
The ones that I haven't talked to in ages but hold a place in my heart.
The ones that have heard me cry, made me laugh, and loved me despite everything I do.

Day 6

2011-11-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

Music. Especially Christmas music. I love listening to it, makes me want to decorate for Christmas right now. Wait whats stopping me. Any day now I'm going to break down and get out the boxes of decor. But for the moment I will just be happy listening to the 289 Christmas songs I loaded on my Ipod!

Day 5

2011-11-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for Kasey and her excited squeal when she saw we had gotten the first snow this season. I'm also grateful that it stuck around long enough for her to enjoy it for awhile. And then I'm thankful that it melted away, So I can enjoy fall weather a little longer.

Day 4

2011-11-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

I'm thankful for
cooler weather
baggy sweatshirts
warm oatmeal
cozy blankets
thick socks

Day 3

2011-11-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today I'm thankful for the wonderfulness that we like to call Kynzie. She is becoming quite the young woman and I'm so lucky to have her as part of my life. Today I had to drive Ty to school, and the alarm was set to the wrong time, putting me about 20 minutes behind. So I turned over all the home responsibilities over to Kynzie. And the nicest thing about it is I knew when I pulled into the driveway they would be completely ready to go.

Thankful For- Day 2

2011-11-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

These two, they are the Best. My only complaint is that they live so far away right now. Can't wait til they are closer, so we can be together more often. I love them so much!

Thankful for- Day 1

2011-11-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Lets start at the top of the list....FAMILY! Where would I be without these gals and guys! They are awesome, kind, funny, outgoing, and most of all mine!

Last day of October... creepy isn't it?

2011-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

That was a busy weekend, as they all are anymore. Between watching Kynzie kick butt on the basketball court on Friday, running to Flagstaff to get our car maintenance (and meeting a nephew and his lovely wife for lunch) on Saturday, and church. Yesterday afternoon came as a nice break, so me and the ol' man ran to a neighboring town to go house window shopping. We aren't quite ready to actually go look at houses with a realtor, so we drove around just to see whats out there. Someday we will buy again, and when we do we want to know whats out there. We've pinpointed some houses that we would really like to see the inside of. So maybe in a few months we will go looking for real. It's kind of unfamiliar this feeling of hope that I have again. It still makes me very nervous just the financial process alone, is scary, but I do feel hopeful that someday we will have our very own home again.
Now on to today. Still not exactly sure what we are going to do with the girls tonight, but it should be fun.
Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Children of the Corn, and A Hunting We Will Go!

2011-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I got to go on a field trip with Kasey, back to the ol' Pumpkin patch.

We had to make our way through the corn maze and answer questions about farming. She had to pretend she was a bull.

Dance for rain

and pretend she was a chicken.

In the end she picked out a lovely little pumpkin.

Saturday we raked up some leaves at home. I'm pretty sure I will be raking up leaves for the next 2 months.

This is Ty's idea of helping rake leaves... or maybe he is pretending he is a leaf.

We also went out so Kenneth and Ty could sight in their hunting rifles for deer season.

Of course I had to get in a little shooting too.

We saw this bad boy on the way home, lucky for him their hunt isn't in this area, and it's not until November.

Tired Tired Tired

2011-10-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

I shouldn't feel as tired as I do. I had all of last week to lounge around.... But then this weekend came and I spent 2 days sitting out in the dreadful heat. I mean seriously its October, it shouldn't be 100 degrees anywhere. The first day it made me so sick, I spent half the night in the bathroom. I am so grateful to live in the cooler part of the state. So maybe that has something to do with me feeling tired. Maybe I'm tired because I am having a real hard time watching my son get treated like crap on the football team. He has worked so hard for the last 5 months, and he has not gotten one bit of recognition. If I didn't think he deserved it I wouldn't even bring it up. But I do think he's pretty awesome, and it would be nice if someone would see his hard work. Only 2 more weeks and I won't have to think about it anymore. I worry about Kynz who seems to not really like it here at all, and is so moody. It makes me tired to deal with her, because I don't know how. She is doing well in school, but maybe not socially, and she really just wants to go back to RV. Today she tried out for the basketball team, hopefully she will make it, and that will cheer her up. Plus her teacher is kind of creepy so I worry about that too. I told her if he ever is inappropriate in any way, he will be meeting a baseball bat in the face... yeah I'm pretty bad-A. Well maybe not so much but I can have some words with him. And of course I worry about the other two too. Maybe they don't have as much going on right now, but I still worry about them all. So that's me venting, I feel better already. Still just a tired but maybe a little lighter.

Side note: This weekend while driving west on 10 taking the exit on Estrella the boys (Ty and 2 other baseball players) noticed a huge sign, that made me wish I had stopped and taken a picture. There was a big banner hanging on the back of a home store that said "SALE 0% Off" The boys thought it was hilarious. Wow that's some sale!

Birthday Road Trip

2011-10-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Friday was my birthday, that makes me 36 years old. I made plans for a couple months to take a trip down South to Duncan to visit my BFF from the time I was a little lassie.

First I met my sister for a little visiting at the county fair. I couldn't help but ride my favorite carnival ride the Sizzler. It was just like I remembered it, FUN. Although being the biggest one and getting squished wasn't quite as fun. It still was fun. After having fun (WOW I just said Fun a lot!) watching the girls ride, I was off to Amanda's.

I had dinner with my birthday buddy Vicki (Amanda's Mom) we both turned 29.

The next day we went and took a few pictures and explored a cotton gin. ( My smile was not working so gracefully that day, but oh well)

Yee-haw

Saturday afternoon it was time to pick up my girls and head home. Thanks to my sister for watching them so I could have a break. And thanks to Amanda for all the fun!

Mostly odds.

2011-10-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Strange Coincidence.... I think not.... Well yeah never mind. My sisters have names you don't hear every day so I thought it a bit funny when Kasey brought home her seat work for the week.

What else is news this week, not a whole lot. For the month of October I'm doing a 30 day challenge over on my PHOTO BLOG- A HATFUL OF PICTURES. Kind of excited about it. I love having an excuse to take pictures of random things.

Also it is now October so don't forget make an appointment to have your annual woman check. Have them boobies checked!

How to get rid of belly fat!

2011-09-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

I don't really know, do you? I would love to know the answer to that one. Along with about a million other questions. Somethings I may never know. What I do know, is I have been feeling so much better lately. I'm not sure if it's the change of seasons, or the fact that I've been venting in a personal journal, but I don't feel nearly as out of control as I had been feeling. It seems to be easier to let things go lately, and not get stressed out by the things that I can't change. Life isn't perfect, it never will be, but it's so much nicer when you can look forward to things with a positive outlook. There are so many things to be happy about, sometimes you just have to look a little harder. So maybe while I'm being positive, some of my belly fat will melt away on its own... probably not, but one can always hope.

Post Surgery

2011-09-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Wyatts tonsillectomy went went well today. This time around he looks like a much happier camper than he did back when he was tiny getting his ear tubes in. I think if he knew how crappy he would be feeling right now he wouldn't have been smiling this morning. No matter how big your kids get it's hard to watch them be in pain, and it's hard to let them go into that operating room.

Wow What a Weekend!

2011-09-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

I think we traveled the entire State of AZ this weekend. Well probably not the whole state, but it was pretty crazy. Thursday-we left at noon to head to Morenci (Four hour drive) to watch Ty play a little football. I say a little football because in the second quarter he twisted his knee and was out for the rest of the game. It was fun anyway, got to visit with my friend. On the way home we made the mistake of stopping at Sonic in Safford.... it took forever and we didn't get home until way after 1:00am. Friday we took the kids out of school and headed down to SanManuel for Homecoming (3 and a half hours away). It was Kenneth's 20 year reunion weekend. It was a little weird to be there, brings back a ton of memories. Saw a lot of familiar faces, that part was awesome. Saturday we headed from there down to the Valley of the Sun to catch a D-backs game. FUN! except the part where the lights went out in the 7th inning. Then on our way out we got caught in a dusty dust storm, the kind where you can't see, and I started having a major anxiety attack, to which Ty said "I've never heard you breath like that Mom." But we lived, and we were fine, to wake up on Sunday to travel the 3 hours home. Took a short breather and headed back to the Laundromat to do a ton of laundry. Today I'm so worn out and ready for a long nap, but instead I have to take Kynzie in for an ortho app., go grocery shopping, and tomorrow is Wyatts tonsil surgery!

Laundry Day, Saw You There, Underthings, Tumbling...

2011-09-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

I had never done laundry in a Laundromat before. Now I can cross it off my list of things I'd never done. I've been fortunate enough to always have a washer and dryer. Or the couple times I've had washer issues I've been fortunate to have a neighbor to let me borrow from. But last week when my washer broke.. wah wah wah... I didn't. So when Laundry day rolled around on Monday I felt a little lost. It threw off my groove tremendously. I have to admit I was a little nervous about using a laundry mat, so I put it off until Tuesday afternoon. I even made Wyatt go with me, because recently I've had strange encounters when I'm alone (Strange older business man says, "What size of shoe do you where?", Yikes). Anyhow so Wyatt and I loaded up the Expi and headed off to the local, 30 miles away, laundromat. I have to say WONDERFUL experience. Not joking at all. It was AMAZING. I did six loads of laundry at one time. At one time!!! Normally it takes me most of the day to do laundry. I now believe my dream home would come equipped with a Laundromat, without the quarter slots of course. And as Wyatt pointed out, it gives you a good excuse to sit and read awhile. Me time and getting the laundry done all at once... what could be better.

Good Weekend

2011-09-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

We spent Saturday at an D-Backs game. It was the first time that we've taken all the kids. They had so much fun. Kasey really got into cheering for her team, so much so she must have caught the camera mans eye, because we found out later she was on tv 8 times. Luckily we had recorded the game at home. Sunday we ran to visit quick with my inlaws. All in all an great weekend.

2011-09-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY PHOTO BLOG!!!

This week is whizzing on by

2011-09-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

or taking a whizz all over me. If this were a ball game the score would be WEEK 3-Me 0. I've gotten absolutely nothing done this week. Well unless you count reading a book on Tuesday (The Help, very good) And having an all day Switched at Birth marathon yesterday, man I love Netflix when I get a turn to enjoy it. But due to a clogged nose, and having some wicked crazy dreams lately, I've had uneasy sleep and wake up feeling like a zombie. Last night I dreamt I was 16 again, and I was crying to my mom about no boys asking me out on a date. I think it was a nightmare... to be 16 again would be horrible. I watch my boys struggle to be teenagers and I don't want to go back to that part of my life ever again. Today I need to at the very least clean out my car, so this weekend we can head down to a D-backs game. First time we've taken all the kids, it should be.... fun, interesting, or something in between.

And for anybody interested don't forget to check out my Photo Blog. Hopefully I'll get more photos posted soon.

Short and Sweet

2011-09-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

Today was photo Friday. We couldn't go very far today so we just drove around our own area. We drove back up to the local cemetery. It's down a long dirt road. On our way back we noticed large piles of old burn piles. So being the trash pickers we are we stopped and walked around. We found a few old unbroken bottles. I love that kind of stuff.
This weekend should be a good one. Ty has baseball tournament that I will go watch tomorrow. Sunday my in laws will come for a visit. And it's always nice to have an extra day off with family. There's a lot of things I could think to complain about today, but for now I'm just going to enjoy the good moments.

Wonderful Wednesday

2011-08-31T07:32:00.001-07:00

I enjoy the idea of being alone for a little while on Wednesdays. To celebrate this grand day, I ate Brownie Crunch Cereal for Breakfast. I have big plans how to spend my day ALONE!
1. Mow the lawn. (Both exercise and therapeutic)
2. Make a reinforced area for Kody to live in, because he thinks its real funny to escape the yard on an hourly basis. (I know he thinks it's funny, I've heard him laughing when I turn my back)
3. Make phone calls...if I could skip this part believe me I would. I hate making phone calls, it's just to "official" for me.
4. Long Shower
5. Make red chili for dinner
6. When all this is said and done I will pick something on TV that I want to watch. ahhh so nice

How is this any different than the things I do when I'm not here by myself, well they aren't but it's nice to be ALONE!

Where Did You Go?

2011-08-30T21:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during a little meltdown it occurred to me as I yelled it (or really spoke loudly) to my husband that "EVERYTHING STRESSES ME OUT, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO PUT ME IN A BUBBLE TO PROTECT ME FROM IT???" It occurred to me that I need to step back a little bit from my life and stop carrying the weight of the world around with me constantly. I'm just not sure how to go about it. I know I haven't always been this person, this worrier. I used to walk with blind faith that things always worked out, and all that. Back in ancient times (or around 3-4 years ago), when I truly believed that nothing that bad would ever happen in my life, and the worst things going on really weren't that bad at all. Boy, has my perspective changed, but unfortunately it has taken it's tole on me. I've become angry, anxiety prone, and I let every thing bother me so much. I don't know why, maybe because I don't want to be caught off guard ever again. So how to I stop this very addictive cycle of anger and worry. How do I become the silly, happy person I used to be? I miss that gal, she was fun! I'm tired of sitting and waiting for the next bad thing... missing all the good things around me every day.
Today was a better day than yesterday... lets hope its a sign of things to come.

Just a little venting!

2011-08-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to check out my photo blog.

I had a great weekend. It always goes by way to fast though. I love being around my family even when it's crazy packed with people. They make me laugh. I'm glad there is more of the family get together stuff in the upcoming month. Unfortunatly the weekend had to come to an end and I am back home, and oh so tired, and that usually means I'm taking something out on someone. Which isn't fair. I totally could understand where Leaner was coming from in her post when she talked about taking things out on her oldest daughter, because I tend to do that to my older daughter as well. Today was one of those days, she rolled her eyes at me and I lost my control and yelled at her, which of course made her cry. Makes me feel pretty crappy. On top of it later at her bed time, she just layed in her bed and cried about missing her friends. So I made her crappy day worse when I lost my temper with her. Somedays it just feels like I can't get anything right. Then when I'm feeling like this, and I complain about something, it's not so that someone will come in (mostly my husband) and fix it all.... I really would like it if he would just say You are a great Mom, or I feel so grateful that you can take care of the bills, or even -thanks for keeping the household stuff going the way you do. I can't totally blame him, he's not very good at reading minds, but it would be nice... just saying!
So now it's bedtime, and I'm more tired, so I'm going to go to sleep and hope that tomorow can be a more positive day.

The People.... They are Nice!

2011-08-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

You never know the importance of adult human contact until you don't have it. I love being a mom, and a wife, but sometimes you just need to have a conversation with another person that is outside of your family. I miss the days when I needed to talk to someone, I would call or drop by my friend Christy's, or run over to my neighbor Pam's. I haven't had much of that kind of interaction since I moved back to the big AZ. And now that I live out here, it's even rarer. So last night at Kasey's soccer game, when not one but two ladies stopped to chat with me, it was soooo nice. As an adult it's sometimes very hard to find friends, people to relate to, to do things with. Not to slight my family at all, I have sisters and a super Mom that I rely on a lot. I also am fortunate enough to still call and chat with my high school best friend. But sometimes you need people around you that think your worth talking too, so when your at sporting events, or school functions, or church stuff, you don't feel like some weird outcast. So it felt nice to chat it up with some fellow soccer moms. Maybe this area isn't so bad after all.

Kaseys First Soccer Game!

2011-08-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

Final Score 0-0, Kasey seemed very pleased with a tie. Because no one loosed!

Go go go!!!

Some kids were a little bored with the action!

Pretty Spectator!

Determined

2011-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of sitting around feeling like a sad lazy lady all the time. Well I don't really sit around much. But I do feel like my mind has been in a funk, and I'm tired of it. I am determined to start feeling good again, I'm determined to feel happy and good about myself. Instead of wallowing in self pity, which I didn't even rightfully earn. I guess it's mostly the aftermath of a pretty crazy year, but honestly what good does it do to feel this way? I can't look in the mirror anymore and see a fat, worthless, older... ect. Instead I need to look in that mirror and embrace the person I've become. I need to be grateful for the big strides in the right direction my family has made in the last 6 months. I need to be thankful for health, and although its slightly overweight a body that still can do all the things I need it to do. I need to feel like I'm awesome, whether I'm ever told I'm awesome or not. Really what do I have to feel so crappy about? So here's to being positive, here's to looking in the mirror and liking the person I am, inside and out!

On a totally different subject from now on I will post all Photo Friday submissions and other photo stuff on A Hatful of Pictures, including some wonderful shots Wyatt took.

Photo Friday- Desolate

2011-08-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Photo Friday was not meant to be Photo Thursday. Yesterday Wyatt and I took a drive to Heber/Overguard area to take pictures a day early due to time constraints today. Unfortunately it was a bust. I just wasn't in the mood to take pictures at all. It was nice to get out of the house and eat a little DQ with my eldest boy, but I didn't take one picture. So this morning I woke up and got showered and decided to find something to take pictures of all alone.... which seemed to fit the word desolate a little better.

Photo Friday (An Adventure in Photography)

2011-08-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

Since this is a new type of post let me explain. Wyatt and I decided that every Friday would be dubbed photo friday, and as long as he has his school work done, we will go somewhere and take pictures. To add an element of fun we also draw a word from a jar and have to take one picture that we think represents that word. This weeks word was hard for both of us. These are some of the pictures I took. Hopefully Wyatt will let me post some of his too at some point.

This weeks word was Wonder, so I took a picture of a pile of Geodes.

Somewhere Strange

2011-08-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone somewhere so different then what your used to it feels like you've gone to another country?
I feel that way every time I go somewhere here in the town I live in.... but rather than another country, I feel like I've landed on the Island of Misfit Toys. And I'm desperately trying not to become one of them. For the most part this is a nice little place, and will be a lovely retirement area for my parents. But I think that some of the more, lets say, eccentric people of the State have come here to hide away from judgement. That or maybe they have lived here their entire lives and that's what has made them eccentric. I can see how easily it would to be sucked in by this way of life. If half the people around you don't have teeth, well maybe I shouldn't care either. Let's just say for someone like me who is just left of crazy, this may be a perfect match, because suddenly I feel very very sane!

While I've got a minute

2011-08-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

I feel like I don't have any private time to use the computer, I miss the olden days when the kids were in bed by 8 so I would have time at night to wind down. I don't have that time anymore, because a certain child doesn't go to bed until late. So I go to bed with to much on my mind, and I just think and think and think, and make mountains out of mole hills, and make problems where there isn't, and stress about things that aren't worth stressing about. And to this I blame my recent dizzy spells, and migraines, and over eating. I need my time back!!! Just breathing time, or reading time, or vegging time, computer time, TV time, some bit of time that's just for me.

Girl Talk

2011-08-08T15:40:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune of going with Kynzie to a sports physical last week. I say good fortune because normally she and I don't talk about the iffy stuff. And by iffy I mean that girly stuff that sometimes is hard to bring up. You hear so much contradicting information when it comes to talking to your kids. Some people say teach 'em while they are young, others teach them when they are old, let the schools do it, or wait until they come to you. Well I figure I would always put the word out there that "I am here if you ever want to talk, or ask anything." With Wyatt this was a good way to go, because he doesn't always ask but in a round a bout way we have had wonderful conversations just because we are watching a commercial or movie. I strayed a little, back to Kynzie. Kynzie has never approached me with any questions or comments in the girl department at all. She went to my mom. ("Mema, when do get to wear a bra" "Mema, when do you get to shave your legs." "Mema, whats the difference between a bull and a steer) This is great, don't get me wrong, I love that there is a person in Kynzies life that she trusts and feels comfortable around to ask questions. But unfortunately my mom doesn't live quite as close now, and so they don't spend all the time together that they used to. So that leaves me..... and the silence. And then I get preoccupied and don't bring it up at all. Woops, bad mom! So back to the sports physical, she's as healthy as a horse (a healthy horse that is). But better yet as the Dr. asked her some mostly personal questions, I was there to hear the answers. Then on the way home we talked and talked and talked, which opened a whole new comment from me which went something like this "You know Kynzie I am here when you have questions, and I will answer them the best I know how, It doesn't embarrass me to talk to you, I just never wanted to bombard you with information you weren't ready to hear." I don't know if I put this the wrong way or the right way, but hopefully it opened some doors to future conversations.

The World is spinning, spinning, spinning...

2011-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Literally! There must have been more than water in my water yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling uncomfortably warm. I sat up to head to the little ladies room, and I felt ....well.... not right. You know that feeling that you get when you stand up to fast, that dizzy, light headed, feeling. Well I had that but I hadn't actually stood up. So I staggered to the bathroom and back and went back to sleep. When the alarm went off, I started to get out of bed, and the same thing happened. I felt extremely dizzy, I took a quick shower, leaning against the wall the whole time. I told Kynz that I wasn't feeling well and she took over, like the nice kid she is. She helped Kasey get ready, and did her hair. Then I very slowly drove them to school. I got home and slept most of the day. Meanwhile my head was twirling. I'm sure life could be worse, but its truly a horrible sensation... Like I spun on the merry-go-round for a minute to long. I do feel a little better today. I only get dizzy when I bend down... lets hope it was just a weird fluke thing.

3 things/ 3 things

2011-08-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Irritating:
1. At least once a day I have to scoop a half eaten rodent that my hunter cat has killed and the dogs think is tasty out of the yard. I should be happy that I have such a good cat, but it's really really gross.

2. The Urgent care that I took Ty to yesterday still have not called in with the results of his xray.

3. I was soooo excited to get a couple new bras this last weekend. I tried them on and they seemed to fit but now that I've removed the tags and am wearing them, I've noticed they don't fit as well as I thought.... can you say Boob Spillage? I don't even know what size to try.

Wonderfulish:
1. For 6 hours today, I've been alone... the first time in months I have the house all to myself. SOOOO nice!

2. I have a super handy husband, when my washing machine went haywire the other day He fixed it. I know I know he's a stud.

3. I live in the best place ever right now. I watch the news... heat waves and all that. I don't have an air conditioner, and it has been so nice everyday since the beginning of July. And the daily monsoons cool it down even more. I love listening to the thunder. It really is perfect.

Girls first day.

2011-08-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of school for the Girls. They should have a good year.... but then part of me goes "Oh Crap, what have I done to my kids" It's hard to start over, and you could see it in Kynzies face this morning. The school is very small, only about 20 kids per grade. Which defiantly has its advantages, but I'm still a bit freaked about it. I have to say there are some super nice people, even the lunch guy came out and introduced himself. I can see it having a very family feel to it. We will see when they get home today.

On another story, Ty hurt his hand the other day at football practice, remind me once again why we encourage sports???? In the last year and a half he has broke 2 collar bones, fractured his wrist, bruised his ribs, not to mention the many many cuts, scrapes, bruises that he comes home with. It's crazy! Crazy I tell ya!

What happens when you try to get a good picture around here?

2011-07-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

My Furry Family (Oh yeah, I am a pet hoarder!)

2011-07-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce or reintroduce you to our furry pack of animals that call our house home. They are a fun bunch: This handsome fellow is Indiana Jones Junior. He is our inside/outside cat, hunter superb. When not prowling the neighborhood, his favorite place to nap is Kasey's bed. He has been a part of our family since April 09.

Mickey the Cat
Mickey has been around for 9 years this fall. I love him, He is sweet, and lazy, and super big. He is by far the largest pet we have. He mostly can be found laying here and there and everywhere. He doesn't pay any of us much mind. He knows how to say "hello", and knows what the word no means. Such a smart cat!

Ringo (the damn-eranian)
Ringo came to live with us last Fall. My Mom brought him to me. His nick name is Whizzer, because he's got a bit of a pee problem, most days it is completely under control. Ringo is very obedient, he sits, and stays, and goes to bed when he's told. He barks like crrraaaazzzzy though, at everything that passes. Once he is barking it's hard to get him to stop.
Cody (the other Damn-eranian, or possibly part Dingo)
Cody is Ringo's brother. He originally was my moms dog, but after a lengthy stay at our house, he became part of the family. He and his brother love each other very much. They are constantly playing and jumping and running together, it would really be sad to break them up. Cody likes Kenneth better, and doesn't listen to me very well. He doesn't like to go outside when I tell him, and he doesn't go to bed when I tell him, but unlike his brother he rarely has a pee problem. He is very funny, and he likes to talk by making weird dog noises when he disapproves. He doesn't bark nearly as much as his goofy brother.

Diesel (Swap Meet Dog)

Have you ever had a total impulse buy, well Diesel is one of those. I already have two dogs under 2 years old. But a couple of weeks ago when having an extremely emotional day, Kenneth and I found ourselves at a swap meet. In the corner of the lot there was a box, with this cute little face staring up at us. I don't know whether it was fate, or a crazy decision but we brought him home. He is a sweet little baby min-chin. He gets along with the older dogs very well, when he's not trying to eat them.

So that's the Furry Family. All 5 boys!

And in the words of Bob Barker "Spay and Neuter your Pets!"

Time for me???

2011-07-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

(Who are these guys?)

Whats going on? I got on awhile ago to post... or vent mostly. But then I changed my mind. So my blog has mostly become an updater of my kids doings, which is fine I suppose, but what happened to it being my creative outlet? I miss it. But it's hard to think of things to write about because much like everything else in my life, I am spent, once I run here there and everywhere taking care of 4 crazy kids. So if it interests you at all, here's whats going on in my life:

This month has been full of running back and forth to RV, because although its 45 minutes away it is where Ty will be going to school, so he's been there almost every day for football. But lets not get ahead of myself... In a more organized way let me start with the oldest and work our way down.

Last week I took Wyatt to the nose throat guy = in Sept he will have his tonsils removed, which should of been removed years ago as they harbor infection. Fun stuff! He also started a volunteer (community service) job at the local thrift store. He once again is doing online school in the fall.

Ty is as previously stated going to Football everyday. He is also involved with a traveling baseball team and will start tournaments in August. He will still go to school in RV so that means I never see him, I miss the kid, and I will definitely miss him when he doesn't come home for lunch everyday. Sad day for me. This week he is at football camp. Funny story that, the coach wanted to take them somewhere secluded where they could bond as a team and all that, They are seriously less than a mile from my house. My son is at football camp right down the street.

Kynzie is at round 2 of church camp this week. She went with our stake last month, and our old stake this month. She will start school next week. She's seems to be excited about it. Her new class will have about 20 students. She is also hoping to play Volleyball.

Kasey is going to start soccer soon. She is also excited to start school next week. She spends hours playing outside here. She never has been that way before, I guess she feels safe here. She is insistent that we ride bikes to school, but she is such a crazy bike rider I don't know if that's such a good idea. We will see.

The cats are good too, Mickey is fat as ever! Then of course there is the 3 dogs... yeah I said 3.

So that's it, summer is winding down to an end.... which is good and bad. I'm kind of sad about it because it means another summer has passed with little fan fair.... but I'm also happy because this school year should be very productive.

Fabulous 4th

2011-07-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

What would the 4th be like without?

Fireworks
Swimming (this may have been the smartest purchase this year, the kids have been out there non stop)

Chair Roping

Parade

And more swimming!

Never to old for LEGOS

2011-06-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

A plus of living in the middle of nowhere is that you have to be very creative with your use of time, or you would easily become a couch potato.

One Day More

2011-06-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

I had a lot on my mind, but when I just got done reading my sisters blog most of it left my mind. There has been so much going on in my family, and in my community, and in my head. So you know what, here it is I'm going to lay it all out there in hopes to clear some of it out of my thoughts:
I hate doing bills, because for the last two years we have had no extra money and although at the moment we have this super opportunity to live rent free, I live with this constant nagging feeling that we never have enough. I need to let this go, learn how to save, learn how to relax a little bit.
I once again was confused... well I'm often confused, but about the meaning of a questionnaire. A month or more ago I was asked on a OB/GYN a question about whether I was a planned baby or not, I neglected to ever ask the office why that was important. But last week as I was sitting at a probation meeting for my eldest child.... a story saved for a better day... or never... anyway one of the questions the lady asked me was if He was planned. Well Crap, is this some sort of study I'm unaware of ( the effects of not being planned????) That must be where his problems stem from. I answered "No, But loved every minute." So weird! Its bothered me ever since, honestly can I see a raise of hands out there, how many of you have only planned children.... yep just what I thought.
Speaking of children for the second time in the last couple of months I had a dream about Kenneth getting his vasectomy reversed. So I wake up thinking "what the HECK?" So Sunday morning I told him about my dream to which he replied, "You know I would if you wanted me to." I honestly don't even know what to think about that one. I have always had so many emotions about not having any more babies, and I would of kept having babies just to have babies, like a hoarder with 27 cats, but now that I see what it's like to raise the babies when they are not so little anymore.... well I just don't know. And chances are Kenneth just said that because he knew that I probably wouldn't take him up on the offer.
I have had Les Miserables songs stuck in my head in an eery sick way since Saturday. It was good don't get me wrong, but parts of it left me feel a bit haunted.
Kynzie is off to church girls camp, I have such a hard time letting her go. Once again it brings up feelings of my own church camp experiences, so I just hope she has a good time, with good memories to show for it. She is much braver than I could ever be because she went with our new branch (very small group of the LDS church) There is only 3 other young women from our branch, and they are all much older than her. Hopefully she has a great time.
I guess that's that. I'm sure I could go on for days, but I will limit myself.

2011-06-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

Its been a crazy couple of weeks, and we are still without Internet. luckily my phone has Internet so I can blog a little about our goings on. On May 26th we became official residents of Concho. If you have never heard of Concho its because there is not a whole lot here. But for at least 2 years we will call it home, until my Dad retires and they move here. Ive felt very blessed as of late. My mom also came on the 26th and stayed for about 9 days. It was so good to have her here, just spendin time with her and seeing how healthy she is made me feel so much better. Then today I feel extremely blessed, if you haven't heard there is a huge fire on the mountain near our home. For the last week it has burned acres and acres of beautiful forest. Last night many of my friends were evacuated from their homes. Today the house we called home for the last year was evacuated. I am sure it will be safe and I pray that my friends will not loose their homes. Its just very eery to know how close that fire is to a place we called home just a week anda half ago, and homes that many have lived in for years.

Sand, Sun and Fun.... 12 years old

2011-05-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Kynzies birthday party was a huge success. I used a little of everyones suggestions, including doing just a touch of spa night. We started by going door to door delivering invited that were tied to leis. We started party night by filling a baby pool with water and foot soak, so as the girls arrived they soaked their feet and then painted their nails. Then it was time for beach ball volleyball and a lei relay. Then it was dinner time, we had pizza, a fruit platter and some tropical punch. The girls then made sand in a bottles and starfish pins. Cake and Icecream came next. And as a grand finale a little Karaoke. Kynzie had a great time!

Made it to my annual!

2011-05-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

I honestly think the world was against me getting to my gyno visit. First of all on Monday it was cancelled. And today when I woke up the ground was looking a lot like Christmas. But the roads were clear, so I ventured on my way to the big ol' city to get my lady parts checked up. I got there with fifteen minutes to spare. Once in the exam room, dressed in nothing but a paper outfit made to make you feel ugly and uncomfortable I began to exam the circle of life. In the room next door I could hear laughter, and the "thud thud thud" of a new life. I tell you these walls were paper thin, I'm glad I didn't pass gas or anything. In the room on the other side of me, was an older grandmotherly type. At this point the lights flickered off... and on... and off again, which made me highly uncomfortable. But it was this moment I realized how the ob/gyn is a two sided coin. On one side you have the OB. I went to them OBs, I went while expecting, before expecting, right after expecting... it was a happy time, an exciting time, and although no one likes having their lady parts examined it was a time that even that was ok, because it was for the greater good. I listened to that heartbeat, I was encouraged to take good care of myself, I was asked questions about name choices. By the time I was pregnant with my fourth child, I was a pro at these visits.... and somehow I looked forward to each visit, knowing it brought me that much closer to meeting my new little one. The other side the GYN.... where the OB is life... is the GYN any thing other than the opposite. Every test every exam is just to rule out some disease that could ultimately kill you. I'm all about preventative medicine, but it really hit home with me today, I would never be at the OB again, only to the GYN and so onto the next stage of a life I didn't know I was in yet. So with requests for Mammogram and blood tests in hand, I left the GYN feeling a little deflated and sad.

Would you want to know?

2011-05-18T10:40:00.001-07:00

Today as I was driving home from dropping the kids off to school the man on the radio was talking about a new study that they have done. He said that it may be available in the next few years to have your blood studied and checked for certain markers, and then they would be able to tell you approximately how long you would live. He said the procedure would cost about 700 dollars. And then rolled in the big question, would you want to know, yes or no and why?
I didn't call in my thoughts but I do have some. Would I want to know.... NO.
Even if the test said I would live to until I'm 104, which is my full intention, I would never want that looming over me.... a countdown.... always ticking away. Plus when I have a deadline... get it deadline.... I often procrastinate until the very last minute. I don't want an excuse to procrastinate my life away (I can do that later, maybe some other time, I have plenty of time left.) And what if you had the test and your spouse had the test, and his time was much less than yours, and you have that dread for the rest of his time about what your going to do after he is gone. For me, no, I would rather not know. Just live each day to the best!

Yucky day!

2011-05-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

It is yucky to have an appointment to see the woman doctor.
It is yucky to have an appointment to see the woman doctor and you have to pull your kid out of school because you wont be there in time to pick her up.
It is yucky to have an appointment to see the woman doctor and you pull your kid out of school, and you have to drive an hour to get there.
It is yucky to have an appointment to see the woman doc and you pull your kid out of school, and you drive an hour, and you have to pay $45 dollars for half a tank of gas.
It is yucky to have an app, pull your kid out of school, drive an hour, and spend your grocery money on gas, just to have your cell phone ring explaining that your Doctor was called in to an emergency operation.
It is yucky to have an app, pull your kid, drive an hour, $$$$ on gas, cancelled app, and have to run into walmart with limited funds just to wonder if you've entered the twilight zone because there are some seriously weird people in walmart.
It is yucky to have an app, pull your kid, drive an hour, $$$$ on gas, cancelled app, walmart weirdos, and you start feeling woozy because you skipped lunch because you were nervous about your appointment.
It is yucky to have an app, pull your kid, drive an hour, $$$ on gas, cancelled app, walmart weirdos, feeling woozy, and you skipped sexy time the night before all because you thought you were going to have an appointment with a the woman doctor that got cancelled.
It is yucky to have an app, pull your kid, drive an hour there, $$$ on gas, cancelled app, walmart weirdos, feeling woozy, skipped sexy time.... all so you can turn around and drive an hour back and do it all again on Thursday. THE END

Motherhood- Or nothing about Parenthood is Planned

2011-05-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was filling out my medical history for a doctors appointment (the yearly hoooraaay.... not!) I have in a couple of weeks. It was a very detailed history and I'm not sure how some of the questions even relate to the kind of visit I'm going in for, but I have to say I was a little entertained by some of it, and a little embarrassed by most of it. So as I'm answering question after question... I kid you not one of the questions said Adopted- yes or no, and then directly under that it said Accident- yes or no. Now maybe you all can figure out a different meaning to that but in reference to it asking me whether I was adopted I can only assume it meant whether I was a planned or accidental baby.??? Not only am I now curious how this affects my reproductive health, but what in the world does it have to do with anything? I'm the baby of my family, so I'm pretty sure that by the time my parents got to making me they knew dang well where babies were made. But even if they didn't and I was not a planned baby, I was loved, cared for, and pretty much spoiled rotten my whole life. Then onto my next thought: whether your child is planned or not... is any of it really planned, I mean seriously think about it. Did you really sit down and plan it all out, and if you were crazy enough to think of every blasted detail the good the bad and the plain ugly... don't all children have a way of changing every plan you ever made! Nothing and no amount of planning prepares you for what parenthood means. It doesn't prepare you for sleepless nights of worrying, or how you would feel when your child takes the road less traveled by. If I was the "said" planned child did it prepare my parents for the fact that I was a total pain in the ASS when I was a teenager? And further more just when you think you've got this parenting thing all figured out, life throws you a curve ball and you have to readjust to a life you never thought of. And is it all worth it... the pain, the worry, the heartache? OF COURSE... it's worth it every minute, of every day. I honestly can say I've never regretted having my children. For years I've thought, due to societies pressure to have more, to know more, to be successful, maybe I should make plans to be something. But in all reality I am exactly what I've always planned on being , a Mother.

Science in the front yard

2011-05-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

When you spend all day with your 17 year old sometimes you feel a little... well insane. Luckily today was beautiful outside and I spent most of my time out there enjoying. I realized some of our bushes were looking a little sad. So under some investigation I found out that they weren't getting water. What to do what to do? I don't know much about the sprinkler system other than sometimes the green boxes on the ground may hold the answer. I opened two of them up and fixed the problem.... well not exactly I didn't fix anything at all, but I did find some fun creatures hiding inside them. The best part was showing the kids... even the 17 year old who immediately researched them on the internet, possibly to find out if they would make good pets- absolutely not- thank you very much! Anyway so a bit of a science lesson right there in the front yard.

Please don't say Spa Night!

2011-04-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

May 23rd Kynzie will turn 12 years old. It's been ages since she has had anything remotely close to a Birthday party. I really don't like birthday parties but don't get me started on that... I'm not a big fan of even having friends over.... see don't get me started. So Kenneth (yes Kenneth, but guess who will do all the work) thought it would be nice to have a party for her, 1 because 12 is a big deal? and 2 we will be moving soon and she once again will have to start making new friends (it sucks I know, seems kinda mean doesn't it... selfish us for wanting to save money) OK..... so onto the party, I'm not feeling so confident in this department right now. Kenneth says we can start a fire and roast marshmallows, but what do you do for the other 90 minutes or so.... What should I theme it? What are her party options? She's going to be 12... not a little girl, not a teenager yet. ANY IDEAS ALL YOU CREATIVE PEOPLE OUT THERE?

A Little Easter

2011-04-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow my kids make decorating eggs look so fun! (said with a tinge of sarcasm!)

As always, according to family tradition we made our fancy Easter baskets this year. Here's the girls baskets, I didn't take pictures of the boys last minute, grab a paper bag and call it good baskets.

Kasey fashioned her basket to look like a woven basket with strips of paper. She used a shoe box, paper, ribbon and some princess stickers for flair. Good job Kasey!

Kynzie got into the Springtime spirit by decorating her basket to look like a cow. (Although the boys kept harassing her by telling her it looked like a pig.) She fashioned it out of a used milk jug, construction paper and a little ribbon. I think this basket is very Moooovalous!

Tiffaney's Easter basket stole the show....hahaha. Using an empty garbage bag box, she made a lovely purple shark. If you look closely you can see the the shark has recently devoured the Little Mermaid!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Have you done it???

2011-04-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

Highlight the things you've done and experienced. Try it you'll like it! (Glad you posted this Amie)
1. Started a blog

2.Slept under the stars.

3. Played in a band (darn I've always wanted to be the tambourine girl)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower (with my boyfriend at the time, now my husband, how romantic!)

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland (vacation top spot for my family)

8. Climbed a mountain (I'm not sure what this means, I guess I haven't climbed a mountain but maybe hiked up one.

9. Held a praying mantis

10.Sang a solo (part)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning (so glad to say no to this one, knockin on wood)

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch Hiked

23. Taken a sick day when your not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dippin

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Seen an Amish community... (I've bought things from Amish people)

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung Karaoke

42. Seen the Old Faithful Geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported by moonlight.... whoops I mean by ambulance... if it had been moonlight I would have highlighted it.

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (riding the finding nemo ride a Disneyland was enough for me)

52. Kissed in the Rain

53. Played in the Mud (good times huh leaner!)

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the great wall of china

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold girl scout cookies, no.... ate girl scout cookies YES!

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check... oh the good ol' days

68. Flown in a Helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Cavier

72.Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80 Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saves someones life

90. Sat on jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby... or 4

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee (I have been stung by a wasp)

100. Read an entire book in one day.

Does anything Johnny Depp make your heart go pitter patter, and other questions?

2011-04-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

If someone says "Your hair looks great, I could never pull that off!" is it a compliment or not so much?

If a drama teacher yells at your child's drama group and tells them they "suck" should you get involved?

Is it normal to tear up a little when your 17 year old son says "thank you so much for the wonderful birthday?"

Did you know 2 puppies make twice the pee as 1 puppy? and that even though both said puppies are fixed they like to hump... and hump... and hump!

If you go through life looking for disappointments your almost sure to find them (not really a question, but more of an observation)

Why can you feel alone in a crowd? and did you know that, that is an oxymoron? (the things you learn while homeschooling)

Who stole all the fruit roll ups?

How?

Seven Years full of this Sweet Girl!

2011-04-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today is my babys 7th birthday! She is such a blessing in my life, and brings me so much happiness... whether she is being honery (for example telling her dad "I'll hit your face, I'll kick you in the balls", and although this is not nice, at the time it was so shocking that I had to hold in a laugh.) To being the sweetest girl around, this morning I was making her pancakes, and I decided last minute to add some blue sprinkles she said "I love you mom, this is the best ever, I am going to ask for this breakfast every year." Then I asked her what she wanted to wear for her birthday, she didn't know, so I brought out an outfit I had gotten her for her birthday... she seemed happy with it, and as I walked out of the room, I heard her say to herself, "This is going to be the best day ever!" I love that she is still young enough that she can say nice things, not because she has been trained to, but because it is really what she thinks... totally unsolicited.

Unfortunatly, I had to go to school early and pick her up today, because she has a bit of a stomach bug. They hadn't even passed out the cupcakes yet, but she didn't seem upset about it at all. I went and rented her a movie, and she's just hanging out, waiting for Dad to get home so she can open presents.

1 Party...2 Party

2011-04-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

(Me, cuzin Valerie, Penny, Darcey)

Saturday my family headed through the HORRIBLE WINTER STORM OF 2011 (really it wasn't bad at all, just a little rain, sleet, and snow.... but the roads were good), to go to my Grandma C's 90th birthday party. I have to admit, I have a super hard time at these sort of functions, just because I don't feel like its quality time, you just don't get to visit with anyone very well. That being said it was good to see so many relatives alive and doing well. After a few hours of all that family, we headed to my sisters house, for a little smaller of a family get together. We had a small, brief birthday type party for Kaseys 7th birthday. I love my family and I am so glad that we had the chance to spend some time together. It was good, to have a reminder of how lucky I am to have such wonderful parents, sisters, brother in laws, and nieces and nephews.... phew!

Kasey's Sassy Seven Shoot

2011-04-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

Some Disneyland Fun!

2011-03-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Man, my kids are getting big! Goofy Family Shot

I love Mater!

Fun Fun Ride

Girls

Found the Booty!

I know I know I'm pretty hot!

Cute Boys

My Boyfriend BOB!

Bus adventure, the time we took the wrong bus and how to ride the loop!

Library Time (otherwise known as BLAH!)

2011-03-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at the library. Our computer at home is ill, hopefully he will be up and running soon, because blogging at the library is not so cool... but needless to say I have all these feelings bubbling inside me and thought I needed to vent them out somehow. First of all, had a super spring break. We had 3 days in Disneyland. It seemed like for a few days there wasn't a care in the world. We rode rides, ate good food, and spent some much needed quality time together as a family. Even one day in the rain, we sported our ponchos and caught some shows that we never have took the time to enjoy before. One of my favorites was the one that you talked with Crush the turtle from Nemo. Now we are back home... Wyatt needs to do school work, but the computer is down (hence the library). Back to driving kids here there and everywhere, back to baseball, homework, and whats for dinner? Anxiously waiting for summer and warmth and time to do fun things. I went and picked up my last paycheck this morning (Figured with all the irons on the fire I wasn't going to be around enough to sub anymore). My full time job is open, and part of me thought for a minute, I could go back. But that's not the road for me at this time, and that's ok with me, later on something will come up when it's better timing for me and my family. I also spent some time packing a few things up, maybe I'll get a load moved this weekend. I'd like to paint a wall or two this weekend as well. Had a great chat with a friend this morning, talking to her made things seem normal, and comfortable. Most of all, the majority of my thoughts have been focused on all the craziness that's happening in my family right now. You know all those things, that when you hide under your security blanket, can't happen to you, don't happen to your family, happen to other people. I've realized that my security blanket is about as thick as a pair of pantyhose. But so much of it is out of my control, and I've got to come to terms with all of it.... and focus on the things that I can do. I can pray- pray for my mom, my sister (and Gilbert) and my brother. I can be there, if anyone needs to talk, visit, or whatever. I can stop taking for granted the blessings that I do have in my life, and the people that I have in my life.

Thems fighting words!

2011-03-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

My mom found out this week she has cancer. Scary word, huh? I'm not going to lie and say its not scary. But I know my mom, she's a fighter, she's one of the toughest ladies I know, and I've never seen her give up on anything. I know that she can beat this, black and blue, and into next week. So send some prayers our way, thanks!

2011-03-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

I worked briefly in the toddler room today.... as I sat at a tiny table with tiny chairs (I mean seriously I'm not the tallest gal on the block, but my knees come to my chest in these chairs) and the toddlers got up and down and down and up... eating each others food, pulling each others hair and basically making a mess of everything they touch, I made a mental note of what chaos looks like. But then as I sat there one of the freshly into the toddler room toddlers, came to me with his blanket and sat in my lap. He sat very very still in my lap until his eyelids slowly fell and he was sound asleep despite the chaos of the rest of the room. I made a mental note again, but this was an example of peace. This is what peace looks like. It's a good reminder that no matter what chaos this world brings, peace can be found somewhere... sometimes you just have to find it.

The Good

2011-02-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

I've been talking a lot of crap lately... so today I'm going to focus on the GOOD. I'm going to try anyway. Because despite all the trash I feel like I've had to deal with, I have to admit that some good stuff is going our way too, and for that I need to be thankful, and honestly get back in the swing of things before I loose myself completely.

Some good stuff:
After a wintry hiatus my chickens are laying eggs again.
Kasey very excitedly pulled out another tooth Tuesday night.
24 days til Disneyland
I finally after a year and a half of trying sold my piano, to a classical playing rancher dude.
Wyatt got a job at Safeway.
I got to meet my nephew Gilbert, and can't wait to spend some more time with him.
We are going to move into my mom and dads house in June, saving us money, so that in the future we will be able to buy our own house again (save save save for 2 years)
I get to help paint and fancy up their new house, I love a good project.
Ty is full swing into Baseball, I can't wait til games start.
Even though I don't really have friends here, I do have some great friends long distance- thanks to some wonderful people who chat with me, visit me, and even lend me books via snail mail, it defiantly brightens my life.
A hubby that despite my best efforts to make his life misarable (yeah I can be a real b-word) sticks with me, understands me, and refuses to fight with me over trivial things. LOVE YA!
The ability that even though things seem kind of dark right now... I see a light at the end of the tunnel, for the first time in a very long time.
Kynzie got a great part in the upcoming Spring play.
Spring is just around the corner???
And did I mention Disneyland in 24 days!!!

Talkin' Trash

2011-02-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

I know its strange, or maybe not, but I love Tuesday for yet another reason.... other than it's terrificness. I love that every Tuesday is a fresh start, because it's trash day. I feel a parallel between trash day and my life, or what I would like my life to be. Through out the week the garbage piles up, icky things, old things broken things, sometimes wasted things. It piles up and bag after bag the dumpster gets more and more full. Sometimes its overflowing with things. Then the garbage truck comes rolling down the drive, and with little effort it's all gone, and forgotten, leaving a fresh start. Then there is me... filling up with garbage, some icky feelings(times when I just feel angry and mean when I shouldn't) old feelings (still feeling homesick and out of place in this town), broken feelings (a life that has spun out of what I ever thought I was able to handle).... wasted feelings (time wasted worrying about things I can't change). Unfortunately I have no trash truck to take it all away, no clean slate, because although I'm very good at acting my way through life, sometimes it all sneaks up on me and I feel full of all that trash again. Where's my trash Tuesday? But what would we be without our memories and experiences, an empty dumpster!

In Due Time

2011-02-16T07:31:00.000-08:00

Kasey requires slightly more patience than my other 3 children. She definitely lives in a world that runs at a different pace. Before kindergarten I worked and worked with the other kids to learn to tie their shoes, when Kasey was going into kindergarten I bought her shoes that didn't have laces. Does she know how to tie shoes now, Yes, but it was when she decided she wanted to learn. When she learns something new, I know that it's because she totally wants to do it, not because I made her, because making her do anything is difficult. There has been a few attempts in the past to slay the 2 wheeled beast, flustered she would say she didn't want to and would go on her way..... until yesterday. Yesterday was a warm day, and when we got home from school she said, "I want to ride my bike today." I got her bike out and wiped the cobwebs off of it. She climbed on and I helped her balance down the sidewalk a few times. She got nervous with me trying to help so I ended up inside while Kynzie watched her outside. In about a half hour Kynzie came in and told me Kasey needed me. When I got out there, she was riding around the drive way, with only assistance to get started. I praised her and went back inside. Pretty soon Kynzie came back in and told me Kasey was starting all by herself. I went back out and sure enough she was. I couldn't help but get a little teary, she did it, and she did it almost all by herself. She was determined and figured it out all alone. I can't make her be who she isn't, and I'm so glad.

Yesterday..... all my troubles seemed so far away!

2011-02-08T07:44:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I spent my day consoling Sing-a-ma-thing, he was really broken up about his team not winning the super bowl. And despite the the outcome it was a good game, and I had a good time with my family watching. Yesterday I also took Wyatt to the public library, and came home with some books I hope to read this week. I have gotten really lazy about reading and would like some of that spark back. I have a very hard time going to the library, because to me it's very much like going to a grocery store if none of the cans were labeled. I just wish the books were classified a little differently. Our library is small, and doesn't have a lot to offer, so it's all just alphabetical fiction or nonfiction. And so unless I know an author I enjoy or see a book that someone else suggested, it's a lost cause for me. I need everyone I know to leave a comment on this post telling me an author they enjoy. Then we came home, and when Wyatt was done with his school work we watched several episodes of Ugly Betty season 1. (Oh I do enjoy Netflix instant on my Wii). Yesterday I felt a bit lazy and started several things but never finished anything, including dinner, so Kenneth bought pizza. Yesterday it felt like spring, today it feels like windy cold crud.....blah! Yesterday I vowed I would do more today than I did yesterday....
Oh I believe in Yesterday!

Theres nothing like a laugh-a-thon with your BFF!

2011-02-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

I cant even explain it, but from day one of our friendship we are full of laughs, so glad we had a little time together, it was good for my soul! Although it seems we laughed so much we couldn't get one descent picture together.

Don't even ask what was up with my hair!

2 days in solitary!

2011-02-03T07:50:00.001-08:00

Well not really, but I did spend the last 2 days in the baby room filling in as a sub. Its kind of dark and dreary in there.... no windows. But I made it and actually enjoyed it a little. Whats not to love about rocking babies all day, but I can see how it would get a little depressing day after day after day. Things here on the home front are going alright. I'm pretty darn excited because I bought tickets to Disneyland for Springbreak. Something to look forward too is always a good thing. We have been talking about it non-stop around here. 46 days!!!!
And other than someone left heavens freezer door opened, and its blasted cold.... I gots nothing else to say right now.

Terrific Tuesday with My friend Sing-a-ma-thing! (otherwise known as I need a hobby)

2011-01-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

This is Sing-a-ma-thing! He quite possibly is the cutest or most annoying thing ever, depending on who you ask!He joined our family at Christmas time, and he is a pure joy to spend your day with.

Back in August of 09

I did a post about terrific Tuesday with self portraits of how I spent my day... Today I thought it would be fun to do that again. Except I didn't really feel like getting dolled up just to take pictures of myself... I'd rather stay in my sweats thank you very much... Bedsides Sing-a-ma-thing is so Handsome!
Wakey wakey eggs and bacey! Sing-a-ma-thing is so good at waking up right on time... His eyes wide open and ready for the day. He doesn't look tired at all. He promptly said "Howdy Doo!" and I knew it was time to start our day!

First thing we did is head downstairs to wake up the kids... Ty Ty time to wake up. Sing-a-ma- thing woke Ty with his version of "Oh my Darling, Clementine" I'm sure it made Ty's day!

Kasey starts her day with a song... Life is always a song with Sing-a-ma-thing!
(Kynzie not pictured was awake before I got my lazy butt going, she's a go getter that one)

Oral hygiene is very important to Sing-a-ma-thing.... a healthy mouth is a happy mouth!

Singing in the shower! Save some hot water for me!

Buckle up for safety, and after we drop off the kiddos, it's time for Sing-a-ma-thing to experience the breakfast of champions- Coke from Short Stop.... THE BOMB! Now he really is ready to go.

Wakey Wakey Sleepy head! You guessed it, time to wake up Wyatt!
He takes a little time to admire Wyatts decorating abilities.
I think he wishes he had a tree on his wall too!

Sing-a-ma-thing loves to help with the chores, feeding the chickens is his favorite.
Here chicky chicky chicky!

Spent lunch with the boys. They had burros!
I'm not sure who has more photos in this shoot... Sing-a-ma-thing or short stop soda!

Sing-a-ma-thing had time to declare his favorite in the upcoming Superbowl game!

GO STEELERS!

In his spare time he played hide and seek with his friend Ringo. Ringo found him easily every time, it must be his keen sense of smell.

Sing-a-ma-thing and I had some fun singing together.
But someone really needs to teach this guy something other than Clementine!

Sing- a- ma-thing found Frank... Lucky, he's been lost for weeks

He had a good time listening to Ty practice "Stairway to Heaven"

There's always time for a cuddle with Kasey.

I'm pretty sure Thing-a-ma-thing really enjoyed his dinner... but shame on him for getting another Coke, I'm pretty sure he'll be up all night!

A quick kiss goodnight to all the kiddos, and then our day is over as quickly as it started. How time flies when you spend your day with Sing-a-ma-thing.

Night Night!

What a downer.... and other crappy thoughts by Tiffaney

2011-01-24T14:09:00.000-08:00

There is a fine line between the sane and insane. I've decided it doesn't take much to slip to the other side now and then. The nice thing about working with small children for 5 months was they never seem to notice your moments of insanity... they just think your fun and silly.... the other nice thing about working with small children is usually the other large people that work with small children, have odd quirks of there own. But now that I am home once again, mostly alone with my own madness... the little moments aren't brushed off as silliness, and suddenly I feel, a bit crazy. Maybe it's just stir crazy, the kind of crazy you get when you could be doing a ton of chores but none seem to fit your mood, and you'd rather be outside but the weather isn't warm enough to really enjoy it. Stir crazy could also be that kind of crazy that you would love to just hop in a car and drive far far away from your troubles or cares, and relax, truly put your guard down and relax for a couple of days. Crazy could mean foolish... Foolish for thinking its ever going to be back to normal, because that normal that you once thought existed is but a faint memory. Or maybe just Crazy about something... like I'm crazy about.... well nothing at the moment, which leads me to another thought all together, because if I felt normal in the head wouldn't I be happy about the things that are good, or fun, or worth looking forward too.... but instead I feel like a gray cloud is going to come and rain on my parade so why by happy about it anyway. And when those around you start to notice that "you don't sound normal" Or "what can I do to make you happy again?" Then you even begin to doubt your own capabilities of pretending that your ok....

Which leads me to my point if I had one at all, and maybe I just needed to vent it all out there:
I'm tired of fighting, with my spouse, with my kids, with myself
I'm tired of feeling like I'm being judged for something that it is so out of my control
I'm tired of things being so hard, and I'm afraid that even when it starts getting easier I won't recognize it because I've been stressed for so long.
I hate that sometimes it just seems easier to be sad, becuase it's just to much work to be happy.
I hate that this world just seems to get uglier and uglier.... things that you never thought would happen, happen in your neck of the woods, and its sad.

Or maybe just maybe I'm the crazy that is defined as Bizarre and Fantastic!

2011-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

The first day of the old/new life wasn't so bad. I got quite a bit done. First I got Wyatts home school enrollment almost taken care of. Now I just need to get his immunization records from the school and fax them and he will be all ready to take some online courses. (hopefully they didn't burn up in the fire this summer) Then I ran to the store to get some light bulbs... I don't know if it's me or my imagination but it seems I'm changing them constantly around here. I made Kynzie an appointment for the dentist. Picked up Ty for lunch.... took him back to school. Then Wyatt, Kasey and I headed over the hills to do a final walk through on the house my mom and dad will retire in....Super excited about this, because in a couple of years they will be close again. Took care of some other errands and came home. Tomorrow I've dedicated to cleaning, because it has been months since I've really deep cleaned this house. I'm actually pretty stoked... I love a clean house!

another new beginning

2011-01-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow I embark on a new/old life. I'm going to be staying home again. This time not to stay home with little ones, but instead to stay home with a very big one (a story for another day perhaps). So once again I will have time to get some things done around here, because honestly lately it's been a lost cause to even try to get anything done at home. I made a list of things to do this week, and in a way its exciting to think I will have time to do things again. I will however still be subbing at the daycare. I really fell in love with some of the kiddos down there, and I had a super group of people to work with it. On Friday even though I'm not leaving completely the kids surprised me with tissue paper flowers and cards. They came in, in a line and told me they loved me and hugged me. (One of the little girls told me Happy Birthday, come to find out that when she was making her card and someone said it was because I was leaving, she said "she's leaving?" and got teary so the teacher said "no its her birthday, just tell her you love her.") I couldn't help but cry.... I really did enjoy being around them. But there is a time and place for everything, and right now I need to be home.
*and a whole other story*
This weekend I got to go see WICKED for the first time. It was awesome.... I mean really awesome. I want to go again... NOW! I loved it and listened to the soundtrack all the way home. The bad part of my trip was it was to Tucson on Saturday, only a few hours after the shooting. The streets were still closed down, and as the news flooded the radio, it left a sick feeling in my stomach that something so awful could happen in the little city that two of my kids were born in, on a street that we've traveled hundreds of time. It really is sad, and my prayers go out to all of those whose lives have been forever changed because of it.

2011-01-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

3 more days of full time employment... to be explained later!

Christmas Time!!!! (a little late)

2011-01-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas dinner

Opening presents
Santa found Kynzie

Santa found Ty

Santa found Wyatt

Santa found Kasey and she said "I must of been sooooooo good!"

Say "Cheese?

I know they are wierd!

Thanksgiving down! Let the countdown to Christmas begin.

2010-11-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well golly I hate working, I never seem to have time to post anymore. Thanksgiving was a packed full of people day. We had my parent inlaws, grandparent in laws, sister in law (with her spouse and 2 kids), my sister in laws -in laws, my sister and family and her husbands sister. To top is all off, we also had 4 small dogs running around the house. Can you say crazy. It was nice.... well I lie it was stressful for me. But I was so glad that my sis came, because she is always so organized at these things, and it took a lot off my mind to know she was in control. After dinner while some decided to head to the casino (not a tradition I'm very fond of) I made tee-pees with the younger crowd. They seemed to enjoy that, and then the older of the younger crowd and I played Phase 10, I really enjoyed playing with them. All in all it was a successful yet no what I'm used to at all, Thanksgiving.

Now on to Christmas. I've been making a few new decorations, that hopefully I will get pictures of soon. So I was super excited to get my casa decorated for that. I can also say happily I have 80% of my shopping done, and the stuff that I have left is really just little stuff. We don't have much going on for the month of December. Wyatt is working at NPX so he doesn't have many weekends free, and so that keeps the rest of us pretty close to home as well. But I'm looking forward to a quiet family Christmas.

2010-11-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Usually when I least expect it, something happens that really makes me question everything I ever knew. The thing I question most is the fact that I really have tried to be a good mom. I know I've made mistakes. But for the most part I love my kids, I support them, and I have fun with them. But for the last 7 months or so I've been watching one of my children make mistake after mistake, and I've really began to think I must have really screwed up somewhere. I have tried to rationalize with myself that some people are just born with different personalities, but I can't help but fall back into thinking "where did I go wrong?" "what could I have done differently?" It honestly breaks my heart that "said" child seems to be in self destruct mode, and I have no control over what happens next. I just wish that something will click inside of him and he will know what a great person he is, and that he is loved no matter what, and he doesn't need to do all of this crap. I'm at a total loss on this one.

~I totally forgot my birthday~

2010-10-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Well I didn't really forget it, but I never posted about it. So like 10 days or so ago I turned 35. Really doesn't make much a difference. I have been so busy the last few months I haven't even had time to think much of it at all. But it was a good Birthday week. Kids made me some lovely cards. Work had a nice lunch and lovely presents. And hubby took me to dinner and gave me some beautiful flowers. And now I'm 35.
I gave away all 3 bunnies today, they were eating hay, so I decided they could go. They were very cute, but you can't keep them all, and in about 2 or 3 months I'm sure we will have more.
Ty broke his other collar bone today. If you recall he broke his left one last year at school, today he broke the right one at football practice. Just ad it to my tab!
Kynzie is performing in a play this coming weekend. She is very excited. I know she will do wonderfully.
So busy busy and a little more busy...... along with the rest of the world.

Any idea how old these guys are????

2010-10-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

Then there were 5 (the bunny saga continues)

2010-10-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

So you all know Hopper ..... and then we met Foo Foo Bunny. So this evening I went out to feed and water the flock - which by the way will soon be decreased by 7 because, 5 of my chickens are going to live with a new family and my noisy loud ugly geese are going to live with my father in law. Anyhow as I was saying I was out feeding the flock and I caught a furry something in the corner of the coup. So of course I had to investigate... and there hiding behind some boards were 3 baby bunnies. They are way cute cute cute... and fuzzy... and need homes. And hopefully I will get some pictures posted soon.

Girls

2010-10-03T15:17:00.001-07:00

Where the heck did all the Tylenol go?

2010-09-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

After a nice 3 day weekend, yesterday evening Kasey came down with a fever. Poor kid, because I really don't know what is wrong with her. Last night it was 101. By this morning it was 102, and by this afternoon if was 103. The Ibuprofen I was giving her seemed to help, but because it wasn't knocking the fever completely down I decided to give her Tylenol as well. But as it often goes, we didn't have any. Meanwhile, I am feeling a little under the weather myself. My eyes are itchy and watery and my nose is drip drip dripping, so even though I called in sick for Kasey, I am appreciative of the day off. I also called in to the Dr. for her and couldn't get her in until tomorrow afternoon. So back to the Tylenol, I decided to go to the store and pick some up. I went to the closest store, no Tylenol... I went to the next store.... NO Tylenol... WHAT THE Heck? So I went to the next store, and what did I find hooray TYLENOL! By this point my eyes are running out of their sockets and my nose is sniff sniff snif-ful-ing! So I go to the one register to check out. I'm behind one couple, who are admittedly arguing the sale price of a pair of shoes. The cashier calls up her manager, who then runs back to the back to see if she can find the sale sign the man is talking about. She comes back saying she can't find it.... sniff sniff.... and the man insists that he saw one. Meanwhile cashier calls someone to come check people out. Then Toothless Poophead (name changed to protect the innocent) pulls her cart in behind me. She's got a cart full of crap, including a TV she's trying to return for a broken button on the remote, and I am suddenly taken to a weird episode of hoarders. So the second cashier comes to her post and says "I can help the next person in line" which clearly would be me, with my one little bottle of Tylenol... But no, Toothless Poophead literally runs in her large blue moo-moo over to the aisle. And being the person I am, I rolled my eyes and said absolutely nada.... sniff sniff. A few seconds later man and manager come back with retrieved sign that clearly states that the shoes were not on sale, and they leave irritated... and I check out irritated, with Tylenol in hand. So let me tell you, I'm a grumpy mom, taking care of a grumpy kid that hopefully feels better tomorrow!

Off to a slow start!

2010-08-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well all the summer of taking care of my little flock is about to pay off. This week they have started laying. So far we have gotten 4 eggs, which is not a huge amount but I'm so happy. Then I read an article on raising chickens the other day, and it said that for a family 3-4 chickens are enough. When my chickens start laying regularly I could have up to 15 eggs a day, that is an average of 105 eggs a week! What the heck am I going to do with all them eggs. I think I might be having some chicken and dumplings soon. Or be making a bunch of neighbors happy with free eggs. We will see when they all start laying.
On the gardening front most of my pot garden has not done to well... I do however have a ton of tomatoes if they will just ripen already.

Can't keep my eyes open much longer....

2010-08-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

This has been a long week, and I'm pretty glad it's almost over. But let me give you a little break down of it all before I fall asleep.....
Monday was normal enough.
Tuesday I took Ty to the ER to make sure his ribs weren't broke due to a helmet in the ribcage.
Wednesday the Dr. said that Ty needed an ultrasound to make sure his spleen wasn't injured. Wyatt got his drivers licence and Kasey had her 1st grade meet your teacher. Plus running in circles round and round. Then Kynzie had her open house at the middle school.
Thursday= today, which means school started and the kids all seemed to have a great day, and I had a good day because the school age kids at the daycare weren't their until 3:15 which makes a huge difference in the atmosphere in our classroom.
Tomorrow is Friday... Ty has his Ultrasound, and I have work, and Wyatt only has half day, and would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to drive to school in the afternoon, we will see how it all plays out!

Another week down

2010-08-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

A week down of work. I feel like I'm getting the hang of it, and once the kids go back to school (1 and 1/2 weeks) I will be happier to go, knowing I'm not missing out on life at home. Other than the new job, not a whole lot exciting going on this week. It has been raining like crazy up here. I love it, I think I was born to live in a rainier climate. The only downfall is the weeds that have grown waist high in my yard, but I bribed Ty with some $$$$ to mow it, and he said he would have it done in the next couple days, as long as it stops raining long enough for him to go out. Wyatt starts college this week... I'm so happy for him. He will be splitting time between the high school and college this year, so that when he graduates he will have an associates degree. I know it will be a ton of work, but I also know he can do it. Ty was away to football camp this last week, and he returned with bumps and bruises, but he really enjoyed himself. So onto this week, eventually I hope to get the hang of this work stuff, and not feel like I have absolutely no time for anything else. I've never done this full time stuff before, so I just need to learn how to juggle my time better. Also this week my work is starting a weight loss challenge... we will see how I do with $ motivation.

First Day of Forever?

2010-07-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

Well today was my first day at my new job. I am working at the local hospital in the (ok here's the part that if you've known me for very long you can't laugh), for the daycare. I guess when desperate for a job that fits your life you do what you know. The nice thing is Kasey can come after school, and the pay is ok, and there is good benefits one being free access to their wellness center (gym type equipment). Right now I'm in the preschool/after school room. I will take turns with the other teacher doing curriculum and circle time. And unlike in home daycare, I work with quite a few other women, so I can't go crazy from being locked up all day alone with littles. The other plus is I get an hour lunch every day, so I can come home to my quite house and take a breather. So my first day went ok. Its always a tad stressful starting something new, but the kids seem fun, and they are a pretty accepting bunch... as for the women I hope I didn't give them the wrong impression as I often do on a first day, the boss lady asked me if I ever smiled and I kind of worried after that. We will see!

2010-07-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

I had to buy new pants
Because at my new JOB
You can't wear jeans.

I'm very nervous about starting a full time job. It's not at all something I planned for, but I know it will be a good thing for our family to be able to save some money back for things. So as of Monday I will be a working lady!!!

The Rabbit Whisperer (the saga continues)

2010-07-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

Back in January a cute little floppy rabbit hopped its way into our lives. Although we looked for his owners, we ended up being his home. He pretty much hangs out with our chickens, and is a sweet addition to our family. His name is Hopper. So you wonder how often domestic rabbits wander around town, hoping to find a new family to take care of them. I would think the chance of a rabbit wandering into your yard would be pretty rare. We've had plenty of cats wander through the yard, in fact the other day we even fed one particular kitten for 24 hours until it's owner came looking for it. But I never imagined ever finding a stray bunny.... or finding 2 stray bunnies, which leads me to my story. I was getting ready for a trip to my sisters house, and Kynzie came running inside the house..."mom there is a rabbit outside" -well we do have a rabbit! "no mom another rabbit" -Like a cottontail? "no mom its gray" So I went out to investigate, and sure enough there was a cute little gray bunny sitting outside our chicken pen. Kasey has named it Foo Foo Bunny!

2010-07-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

It's strange you know... for years I was full of words (thoughts, ramblings, complaints, stories) But as of late I've had nothing. Just a blank page over and over and over. I've been busy yes, but even in the moments of quiet, I have nothing. My life has been full, but still when I try to blog, the things that I want to write about aren't for here. So I save them all to myself, and my page goes untouched for days and days. So know that I'm still here.... life still goes on all around me, I just don't know how to express it right now.

Bragworthy!

2010-06-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

My eldest son has taken up a new hobby. And I must say I'm quite impressed, so impressed I wanted to share just a sampling of the pictures he's been taking.