Trying to get it together!

Where to start? It is 1:30am and I have been sitting here at the computer for about 1 1/2 hours staring at the screen wondering what I should write about or if I should even write at all. I have been so overwhelmed with everything lately... house work, projects, being mom, the list could go on. I have been so caught up in what everyone else is doing and doing it so much better than I think I could, so I just haven't done much of anything! Poor Eric, he has totally picked up the slack for a long time, I am so grateful to have such an awesome husband!

Being a "stay at home mom" is hard. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have the job and don't want to be doing anything else right now. But my shoulders are definitely heavy from all the worrying you do as a mom. Am I doing a good job raising them? Do I worry too much or not enough? How much info do you give and at what age should you give it when you children are 1)being taught about sexual abuse at school 2)wanting to know just how all of them came out of my belly exactly and 3) why you can't spend all day in your panties running through the house.
How do you help a child focus on getting simple tasks done when you yourself still (after medication, resource and 20 years later) struggle with the same thing!
How are we supposed to keep up on all the laundry, dishes, toys, yard, the latest home decor, grocery shopping, car pools, school volunteering, etc. and still have time for FHE and home work, reading with kids, bike rides, play dates, etc. And still find time for ourselves? I feel like life is a big juggling act and I never learned how to juggle! I feel like a total whiner complaining about such simple little tasks that should be so easy to complete, but if it is so easy why can't I seem to get it all done?

I like to blame the keeping the house clean part on one thing... our house! It has no storage (we use our upstairs bathroom as a walk-in closet that you really can't walk into.) No hall closet, no coat closet, no linen closet, no pantry! We have seriously out grown our little home, I have sent so many boxes to the DI that I don't have much to get rid of, however our house is still over flowing with "stuff". How do you organize and compile food storage when you have no where to put it? But is it really the house that is the problem or me? Why can't I just seem to get things done?

And for all of my "projects". First of all the house that we purchased, we purchased as a "project". It was totally a fixer upper, but when we moved in Eric was going to school and it was all we could afford. So besides making hair bows for the girls, and all the other crafty things I TRY to do, our house has been a work in progress constantly for the 6 years that we have lived here. I'm not talking paint and new carpet construction, but plaster falling off the walls behind layers of wood paneling and wall paper which had required us to gut and start over in every room in the house (except for the living room and our bedroom, they are last on the list). So I never really hung anything on the walls when we moved in because I thought then that it would all be coming down in a few months anyway so we could paint, little did I realize that 6 years later some rooms still need to be painted! Over those 6 years I have lost any kind of "home decor" knowledge that I thought I had. So now when I walk into Tai Pan I am completely overwhelmed and have no idea where to even start.

BUT how can I complain when I really have so much to be thankful for? We have a job! Thank goodness that the Fire Chief refused to do layoffs and worked out other budget cuts with the Mayor. We have a roof over our heads! We have food on our table, and for the first time the start of our 2 year supply. We have cars that are both running, finally! And we have 3 wonderful kids that bring a smile to our face constantly (or at least 90% of the time!)

So my goals are:
1- to make a "to do" list so I have something to help keep me focused.
2- pray and read my scriptures more, so I can receive the help and guidance I need to raise good and righteous kids.
3-try to be more grateful for the house that we do have despite it's size.
and
4-slowly work on one room at a time to get stuff hanging on the wall to it feels like a family really lives here and not just a weird cat lady who can' t keep her house clean.

I have a vinyl sticky thing that is supposed to be on a wood board hanging on my wall that says: "The greatest work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home". So true, and such a nice reminder of just how important being a mom is! That is going to be one of the first projects that I tackle... now if I can just figure out where to hang it!

Dancing Snowflakes

Here is Katelyn dancing as a snow flake at fundraiser for the Valley Dance Ensemble. She is the cute blond in the white skirt and white long sleeved shirt. The girls had not practiced, my friend Tessa is the teacher and was showing the people with the $$ some style of interpretive dance that the girls are doing as she talks them through the motions of the snow flakes. That probably doesn't make sense, so Tessa you might want to leave a comment explaining what is really going on. All I know is that I am a computer idiot who couldn't figure out how to pull this up and post it as a video until now. So hip hip hurray for me!! And thanks again Tessa for asking Katelyn to participate, she is still asking when she get to go do her ballet with Tessa again!! I guess I better sign her up!

This Ward has Talent!

So I have found another funny youtube video! It is an entry at a Ward Talent Show. I wish our ward had this much talent...Enjoy!

Goodbye Chemo!! Hello Radiation!!

I just wanted to post a little update about my mom. She started Chemo in November, from what info she shared with us she seemed to have handled it pretty well. She started loosing her hair and decided to shave it the week of Christmas, I think that was pretty hard for her. I was with her the day that she had it shaved and Katelyn kept asking her to take of her wig so she could see that her hair was gone, my mom wasn't quit ready for that, I felt really bad. But since has gotten use to it enough to take a bald picture with my little bro Scott who chooses to shave his head.
She had her last chemo treatment about 2 weeks ago and meets with the Dr's this week to check everything out and get ready for radiation. If I remember right she will receive radiation for 6-8 weeks and hopefully be done for good. All of the treatments have seemed to go by pretty fast, my mom has been really strong with everything (or she has a great poker face!). Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and support!

Winter Fun...

We were so excited when the parks baseball diamond suddenly turned into an ice skating rink! It was the first time in about 9 years that we had the "perfect" winter to make this happen. The past couple of years the city has done the "prep" work only to have January warm-up just enough to make the foundation for the rink melt. So you can imagine all our excitment when we realized for the first time that it was ice! (It takes many weeks of city employees working through the night to compact the "base" down with trucks and then many more nights of spraying it down with water from a fire hose.) I think we pulled off the road and just stared at the big slab of ice in a state of shock and disbelief that it was really there! That started our race to find ice skates (since the city no longer rents them), we called everywhere in the valley and nobody sold them or rented them, we were totally bummed. After no luck at our local DI, Eric stopped at every DI between our home and SLC on his way home from work. He was able to find skates for me and the kids (and plenty to share with friends) but none for himself. I feel so bad, I think he was the most excited about the rink, and the only one who hasn't had a chance to skate. He has taken Riley down everyday that he is home, and boy has Riley loved it! He has gone from being a little nervous and a little wobbly to racing anyone willing around the rink. Katelyn has enjoyed doing her "ballet" on the ice... I think that she would really enjoy figure skating lessons. Hailey thought that it was fun for the first minute and was then ready to head home where it was warm, if she would have agreed to wear gloves and a hat maybe she would have lasted longer. The ice rink in the park has definatly brought a little magical winter fun for our family this year!

Our Copycat!

Every day Riley comes home from school with a new book to read that night for his "reading group" homework. He reads the book to us and then our job is to sign a paper that tells the teacher that he read the book, if he doesn't return the paper with parent signature on it then he has to stay in from first recess and read the book. So last night I was on my own, Eric was at work, and oops I forgot to sign his paper before I went to bed! Riley noticed that is wasn't signed when he was handing it in. He didn't want to stay in from recess because he knew he had read the book, so he decided to sign Erics name for him, hoping it would fool his teacher. Well it worked (notice the smiley face) he was very happy to tell us that he went to first recess. The top signature is really Erics, the second one is Rileys... He told us tonight after he was done reading, so we wouldn't get mad when we noticed what he had done. Riley said that he chose Erics signature because mine was too hard, he knew that he could copy Erics! Though he is right... anyone could forge Erics name. The ironic thing about it is the name of the book he read that night was The Copycat! We better watch out, or he is going to be writting his own excuse notes for skipping school by the fourth grade!

A little about me!

Hello everyone... I am back!
Okay, so I really got this as an e-mail but I figured that if I took and hour to fill it out then I needed to make it a blog post too! Besides I have too many friends that I only keep in touch with on my blog... So I am going to TAG: Angie B., Christina U., Danielle A., Melody R., Sarah S., Brandi B., Tessa E., and Kim B. I hope to see your answers on your blogs soon! And sorry Suzie that this is a repeat for you but I hope to make a post with photos soon!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:45, that is with my alarm... I am not a morning person!
2. Diamonds or pearls
Diamonds!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Bolt
4. What is your favorite TV show?
Lost, The Bachelor (only the past few seasons, I suprised myself with this one!), CSI Vegas & New York, Law & Order, Medium, Cold Case, With out a Trace... can you see a trend here? Pretty much anything with a morg or a court room!
5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
usually nothing, sometimes an instant Breakfast or cereal
6. What is your middle name?
I don't have one! Neither does my mom or grandmothers
7 . What food do you dislike?
I hate coconut! Most chinese food and most seafood!
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Mine or the kids? I rarely get to listen to "my" music anymore... If I do I turn on itunes on the computer and listen to anything catagorized as "90's music". Suz, who are the ting tings?
9. What kind of car do you drive?
My AWESOME Mini Van... It has allwheel drive and I don't know how we would ever make it through Sardine Canyon with out it!
10. Favorite sandwich?
I LOVE the Turkey Bacon Guacamole at Quiznos or the Bridge Hampton at Gandolfos (Turkey, bacon & Avacado) or just a good old homemade Turkey Sandwhich.
11. What characteristic do you despise?
liars, and people who think that they are better than everyone else!
12. Favorite item of clothing?
Shoes, a good pair of jeans and a great jacket.
3. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Europe, Caribean, Australia, Hawaii, or anywhere historical on the east coast!
14. Favorite brand of clothing?
I don't know, I guess anything on sale... I havn't shopped much but Target and OldNavy's clearance racks since the kids started coming. But I have always loved anything I bought at GAP.
15. Where would you retire to?
I have no idea! warm would be nice though!
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday?
I can't think of just one, but it has been really fun with the kids getting older because they get so darn excited to celebrate. They always act suprised that parents have birthdays too!
17. Favorite sport to watch?
Anything little league!
18. Farthest place you are sending this?
Australia
19. Person you expect to send it back first?
Monica, Olivia and Suzie (don't let me down girls!) I do want to see it on everyones blog or e-mail that I read! Including Linda and Diana!
20. When is your birthday?
July 22 - I turn 30 this year
21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
NIGHT! I am filling this out at midnight! I have a terrible habit of hitting the snooze button, but I am trying to get better! But why get up if the house is cold and the kids are asleep? It drives Eric crazy because he is totally a morning person.
22. What is your shoe size?
a 7.5 - 8 depending on the shoe.
23. Pets?
A dog who has a serious case of old age GAS! Yuck, and he won't stay outside!
24. Anything new and exciting you'd like to share with us?
Riley made the only basket at his Jr. Jazz game on saturday! And may I add that it was a 3-point shot... I think he does have a little of his dad in him! And after years of the girls sleeping in Rileys old blue room, I finally bought some "almost amethyst" purple paint to transform it into a "princess" room. I hope to have it done in the next week or so, I will blog photos when it is done!
25. What did you want to be when you were little?
a mom, and then a school teacher so I could be home when my kids were home. I had some pretty awesome elementary teachers!
26. What are you doing today?
I took down the crib! It's the first time it has been down since Katelyn was born, And it was only down for a few months between Riley and Katelyn... It made me sad.
27. What is your favorite candy?
Mini Snickers, that's my dad shining through!
28. What is your favorite flower?
Gerber Daisies if they are in a vase, black eyed susans & African Daisies if they are in the ground.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Any day that doesn't have "A" platoon scheduled and the kids are home. March 9th for Brett & Jen. And the month of May will be great, thats when my mom ends her cancer treatments!
30. What is your full name?
Anyone reading this should know... I am not listing it for privacy reasons.
31. What are you listening to right now?
Hailey crying... she just woke up! The poor thing just can't make it through the night anymore!
32. What was the last thing you ate?
a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie
33. Do you wish on stars?
Sometimes... when it's a really dark night and we are driving through Sardine Canyon or on the trampoline in the back yard.
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Dandelion... it was the only one in the box with a cool name besides yellow-green or green-yellow.
35. How is the weather right now?
In the single didgets, and snowing!
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
Brady Garrick, our neighbor/friend, he wanted me to watch their kids.
37. Favorite soft drink?
Dr. Pepper! A bad habit I am trying to stop... I once cracked open a can at 10am and Eric looked at me and said "it's a good thing you don't drink alcohol!"
38. Favorite restaurant?
Chilis, but only for their Queso dip!
39. Real hair color?
Brown, but I am afraid that grey is taking over quickly!
40. What was your favorite toy as a child?
My kitchen and my "Jenny" doll... she had her own roller skates!
41. Summer or winter?
Both, however I do wish winter was shorter!
42. Hugs or kisses?
Both
43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Both, it depends on my mood and if it has toppings!
44. Coffee or tea?
Neither
45. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Yes, all of you!
46. When was the last time you cried?
After Christmas... when my mother in-law got back from Australia. But not meant the way it sounds, I wans't crying because she returned. Did I just put my foot right in my mouth or what?
47. What is under your bed?
Pictures frames that broke when we moved to Logan that have never been fixed. And usually Erics dirty socks get lost under there too.
48. What did you do last night?
Totally put the kids to bed early and watched TV with Eric. We had been up late the night before preparing talks for sacrament meeting, and we were happy it was over!
49. What are you afraid of?
Spiders, the crawl space under our house, snakes, mean dogs, scary old men and the fact that Hailey might forever be our baby!
52. How many years at your current job?
almost 8 years, and I never want it to end!
53. Favorite day of the week?
Anyday that Eric doens't work!
54. How many towns have you lived in?
1. West Valley 2. Riverton 3. Salt Lake 4. Murray 5. Taylorsville 6. Logan
55. Do you make friends easily?
It depends, I think I do but some people just really intimidate me and I don't know why.
56. How many people will you send this to?
maybe 12?