Holiday Blues.

Anyone else get them? I am stepping out on a limb admitting this.

It is so frustrating and just doesn't make much logical sense (the holidays are supposed to be fun, memorable, and relaxing, right?) until I look at what I am doing. A lot of cleaning up of my families messes and making meals and cleaning again and again and again. And because I want my kids to have these great memories, we stay up late playing and at least someone gets up early and needs me so I probably am burning the candle at both ends. Plus I have a UTI and that doesn't help anything.

How come the Mom gets stuck with all the not fun work while everyone else relaxes and plays games and watches movies and plays in the snow?

Maybe I need a nap. Or vacation. Or both!!!

High on fumes.

I hate painting. I never want to do it again. I would SO SO SO barter services for it - things I enjoy doing and will do like sewing and baking and stuff like that. I so dislike it so much!!!!!

Maybe it is the time of year (who does home improvement projects right before Christmas anyway?) or the fumes or that nothing gets done in my house unless I am watching every move of every kid....

Ug!!!! I hope I will think it is worth it eventually....

GRRRRRRRR!!!

A lost treasure!

I just found this disk today while going through some stuff. It was unlabeled but I thought I would check it and look what I found! Rachael is 1 year old. We didn't have a video camera so this is one of the very few recordings I have of her voice. I recorded this using a web cam that came with a computer we bought.

Enjoy this holiday version of Jingle Bells!

The pictures - final results.

I was sick about the pictures. There was a big crease in the background behind us. We had some weird 25 dollar charge we didn't know where it came from and some of the pictures were so blurry. I made a call in the morning into their Customer Service who called their lab to try to fix them and then went back to the studio for well over an hour to finish having them fixed, all of them reprinted, and my extra mystery charge refunded. I am much happier. Here are the results. What do you think?






Just a note... they move the pictures around so you don't see the shoes and stuff in that first one and we are all as close as looks good in the rest.

Disappointment

Well, we got our family pictures taken tonight. I am not terribly pleased, but glad it is over. Next time, I will pay a real photographer to get the pictures done. I would like to find someone who will take a couple hundred pictures and then let me have the CD rights to them. Then I can do whatever I want.

It didn't help that Ryan and I had separate cars at the mall (he met me from work) and he took the kids home early so I could just get things ordered and done. At 9:00 - as the mall was closing and we had been there for 3 1/2 hours - I realized I didn't have my keys. I called Ryan and sure enough - they were in the diaper bag AT HOME!!!

So, Ryan had to drive all the way back into SLC to give me my keys. Brandon and I just got home tonight at almost midnight. Maybe I will feel better about things tomorrow and laugh. I am only chuckling tonight.

I should have followed that little voice in my head that said "check to make sure you have keys" as he and the kids were leaving. Things were a little stressful at the time so I ignored it twice. Serves me right I guess. :)

Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

Does anyone see anything wrong?

Neither did my kids. Thus they left the spilled smushed cake there and walked through it. Kristin even came running down the hall into my room yelling "Mom, Jacob dropped cake on the floor and I stepped in it!" (and I am thinking - "and then you trampled it down the hall into my room. Thanks!") I say "Why didn't you wipe it off your shoe before coming to tell me?" to which she responds "What? I didn't even spill it! Why do I have to clean it up?"

AMEN TO THAT!!!

Quote of the week.

"Look Mom! I'm a mermaid!"

(note the "shells" he calls them. Even while uploading these pictures a few minutes ago, he is saying - "There I am when I am a mermaid with my shells!"

Black Friday

For those who have never shopped Black Friday, this post is dedicated to you!

Black Friday I was all infected and pussing and stuff, but there was a couple things for my kids I couldn't pass up. I tried to get them on the internet at midnight, but Walmart kept saying that I couldn't buy them until Friday - which was frustrating because it WAS Friday! Target let me buy what I wanted and by 12:45 I gave up and set my alarm for 2:00 am. I got back up and tried Walmart.com again. They were letting me shop the deals and as I had my shopping cart ready to go, the two things I wanted the most were gone from my cart with a message that they were sold out!!! I was so irritated. I tried and tried to add them, wait a minute add them, just in case they became available again. By 3:00 I was irritated and gave up, got some shoes on, and headed out to the nearest Walmart to wait there. Although everything was wrapped up in black plastic and Walmart employees were standing guard - see pictures below - people who had been there much earlier than I wanted to know had already figured out what was in each bundle and would tell you where the thing was you were looking for. (notice in the second picture how eager a guy in the background is holding on to the television he wants. It wasn't even close to the time to get them!) These pictures were taken about 3:45 am.

Anyway, after standing by my black plastic bundle, a lady came up to us and said - hey you should check the aisles - they have the items (they have to remain unnamed) in the aisle still. I hadn't even thought to look where the item would normally be. However, there were like 5 still there so I got my 2 and a couple other things I was going to have Walmart price match from other ads and just had to wait until 5 to get the special pricing. It was crazy watching people. When the time got close enough, customers started ripping off plastic, trampling each other and grabbing stuff like crazy. I was over by the DVDs at the time and there was this family that had their kids there and they just grabbed armfuls of DVDs and were throwing them in a cart. They weren't even looking at what they were getting! There was this cart full of DVD's and I heard the mom say "we'll just go through them later".

I got right in line, paid for my stuff, and was back in bed by 5:25. Most pleasant Black Friday I had ever had! (well, except when I didn't shop on Black Friday - years ago).

Now doesn't that sound like fun?

Update: Day 8

Okay, so this hasn't been the worst experience of my life... but possibly an honorable mention. Day 2 wasn't too bad but day 3 was Thanksgiving and luckily no one made fun of what turkey looks like after being processed in a baby food grinder. I put the little pellets on top of the mashed potatoes I had processed (to make sure there was no lumps) and then covered it with gravy. MMMMM!!!!

I can say the pies I made (cherry and blueberry) processed up nicely though as did the yam apple casserole (my favorite thanksgiving dish). So, there were good things. But that night I started to have a lot of pain in my jaw. By the next day, the pain in my graft area surpassed the pain in the roof of my mouth. I could see what I now know was puss on the inside of my mouth. That evening (Friday) my good friend hydrocodone wasn't doing the trick anymore and I had swelling up the side of my face and down my jaw to my lymph node. I was hungry, tired, my family was eating pizza, and I felt like CRAP! I decided that I may be that lucky 2% that gets an infection in the graft area and that I should call my Periodontist, Dr. Skeene. Her cell phone was on the counter at home so my WONDERFUL neighbor ran over and gave it to me over the phone. (we were still in Sandy).

Dr. Skeene returned my call the next morning and said it sounded like I had got an infection (cellulitis since there is oh so much cellulite in my face :) ) and to get an antibiotic in me quick. Saturday morning we went to Walgreens on our way back to Tooele and I took a whole day's worth of medicine in one sitting (dr's order) and longed for the moment I would start feeling relief.

Looking back, I would have done things differently (like called the Dr. at the first sight of infection or not waited until my face looked like a baseball was coming out of my cheek to wonder if it was infected). But now that the infection is almost gone, things are better. I went to my one week appointment yesterday to have the stitches removed and she said things look great (from a periodontists point of view). I can even start brushing my teeth again! WooHoo!!!

Now I get to count down to the next graft... December 30th. I know what I'll be doing New Years Eve this year... I am dreading it, but now that I have gone through it once I want to get this over with already. The first graft site will not be healed enough to do the second graft on it, so I will start the graft on the top right hand side. Hopefully I will be able to have the rest of my mouth grafted before they get as bad as that first one. I was going to wait and do the grafts down the road but having each tooth done twice is a horror I don't want to think about.

If I were receiving some kind of sadistic surgical survival award I would say something like this.... (of course I would sniff a lot and dab my eyes first)

I would like to thank my visiting teachers for meals. I hope Emily doesn't mind that I signed my name on her credit card slip when the Pizza guy came and dropped off the pizza. He said I had to even if it wasn't my card.

The second night of food was the best tasting thing ever to me and I ate it every day until yesterday. It was the only thing I could eat that didn't feel like it was ripping the roof of my mouth apart. And I have to say the chocolate pudding was gone within two days. Thanks Janet and her daughters for fixing that!

Thanks to Julie for the Shake. The first real food I ate and YUM! It was incredible!

Thanks to Laurie Halladay for the Jamba Juice. She brought it all the way from Provo and didn't even buy herself one because they were too expensive. WOW! That's pretty awesome!

I have to thank Kim for giving me something to look forward to on Saturday and not making fun of my face. We saw Twilight and it was pretty good - since I haven't read the books!

Thanks to Ryan for being my slave. :)

Thanks to the kids for being so nice to me that first day- maybe day and a half.

Thanks to my Mom for coming and helping out on day 2 and then letting us sleep there for the next 3 nights. She even ground up my food for me over and over and got me ice packs and stuff. (That's what you need a Mom for... they know how to really take care of you. )

Thanks to Costco (and Ryan for picking it up) for making a great pumpkin pie. I ate the entire pumpkin part in 3 or 4 days. All that was left was the crust. Yum!!! It tasted awesome!

Thanks to all the people who called and emailed and expressed concern for me. It felt nice to know I had help if I needed it.

Thanks to everyone else I missed! (I know I missed someone out there. Don't feel bad. I'll remember you in the middle of the night and be in anguish about it until I post it... Sorry!)

I have awesome friends and family. :)

Update: Day 2.

Well, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. The first day was definitely the worst. Lots of pain medication! Anyway, the pain is manageable and as long as I don't try to chew, or as long as I keep any food type substance out of the clear retainer that covers the roof of my mouth, I am good. The few times that I have tried to eat something and a tiny bit gets under the retainer, it is extremely painful and takes awhile to calm down.
I tried to eat some real food tonight. It tasted good. I even tried using my baby food grinder to grind up some leftover mac and cheese. But the worst was grinding up some peaches and adding a jar of baby food sweet potatoes to it. Don't ask me why I did it. I was a little high on drugs at the time. Surprisingly, it didn't taste so good, but I hadn't eaten much all day and I was trying to get as much nutrition in the small amount I could get myself to eat as possible. I force fed myself a container of baby food carrots too. Something about texture of food that makes it taste better. Maybe I should have warmed it up first.

Thanks to everyone who has brought me food. That has been the best food I have had to eat!

And especially thanks to my honey who bought me beautiful pink roses. They are sitting by my bed for me to look at while I lay drugged out. They make me happy every time I see them.

If anyone else ever has to get this done, make sure you get the retainer that goes over the top of your mouth! That makes a huge huge difference!

Quick update...

I am home from my surgery. Everything went well. I just took some Loritab and I will be sleeping nicely in a few... which is nice since the numbness is starting to wear off pretty fast. Ryan is off getting me a frosty. :)

The tissue was grafted in great. The gum the tissue was grafted on to was so thin and in such poor condition that they will need to do another graft on top of that one. Good news though... It doesn't cost any more to get that one done! :)

I really like my periodontist. She was really fantastic. And she is now the best at numbing/giving shots of anyone I have ever had. She kind of stroked the outside of my cheek while the shot was going in which really overshadowed the pain of the Novocain. It made a huge difference. She just made me feel so comfortable and even gave me her cell phone number to call her if I have any questions or anything. Little things like that can be so huge to me!

Well, off to the land of the lullaby's! See you on the other side...

Gum Grafting.

Check out my toothy grin! (or growl)

I am so nervous! I wandered Walmart this evening (because if you want a nice relaxing place to go, it would be Walmart) looking for baby food type stuff that I might want to eat over and over again. My surgery on my gums is tomorrow morning at 9:30 am. I have several areas where my gums have been worn away and receded. One area is particularly severe though where I have worn away all my gum tissue and I am in need of a gum graft.

For those of you not familiar with the procedure, they will take some connective tissue from inside the roof of my mouth and graft that tissue into the gum surrounding the tooth that has no gum. There are some other particulars that you probably don't want to know about, but you can easily find them by googling gum graft if you are curious.

I think I am the most nervous because I am not quite sure what to expect. As fun as this procedure sounds, I am thinking it is really going to be quite painful. I will find out as time goes. I have been looking for some positive things about this upcoming event. Here are a few...

• I get to taste Matthew's baby food. YUM! I wonder how much salt and butter I will need to add to the peas and green beans to make them taste like real food.
• The weight loss prospect is there... I could loose a couple pounds if I don't eat too much ice cream or pudding.
• I can pretend I am on one of my favorite reality shows, Survivor. They eat very little and still make it just fine!
• Great excuse for ice cream, and slurpees, and icees. (Where is a Jamba Juice when I need one!!! I would kill for one now!)
• I get sympathy from my kids!
• I won't gain any weight over Thanksgiving!
• They say it will help 'remind' me not brush so hard or grind or clench my teeth as much.
• I don't have to brush my teeth for at least a week! (my kids would think this is one of the best ones.)
• I don't have to floss for a long time either.
  
• My wonderful visiting teachers will bring us dinner for two nights! (hey, I won't be able to eat it but I won't have to fix my family dinner either. Maybe I can blend it up with my little hand held baby food grinder and eat it that way.)

See there are lots of good things about this! The best one is probably that if I am lucky, I will get to do this all over again in 6 weeks, and then in another 6 weeks, and then in another 6 weeks! Sounds like about 6 months of fun to me!

I deal with stress a lot better when I can find humor in things. Here is a really funny blog about what someone else says his gum graft felt like. I really laughed... You may think it is funny too. (or you may think I need to find a better way to handle my stress) :)

http://mehling.org/archives/000045.html

Service and change.

"When you attempt to live life's experiences alone, you are not being true to yourself, nor to your basic mission in life. Individuals in difficulty often say: 'I'll do it alone,' 'Leave me alone,' 'I don't need you,' 'I can take care of myself.' It has been said that no one is so rich that he does not need another's help, no one so poor as not to be useful in some way to his fellowman. The disposition to ask assistance from others with confidence, and to grant it with kindness, should be part of our very nature."
Robert D. Hales

"[The] need today [for Christlike love] is as great as or perhaps even greater than when the Savior walked on this earth. As shepherds we must understand that we should nurture each one of our sheep to bring them to Christ, which is the purpose of all we do in this Church.

". . . As we stay in tune with the needs of the people, we can strengthen them and help them overcome their challenges, so they will remain steadfast in the way which will lead them back to our Heavenly Father's presence and help them endure to the end."
Ulisses Soares

I have a few thoughts I feel I need to post. Just bear with me for a moment. I am starting to see how change can be harder the older we get. I guess change is best and most often described as bittersweet. Many changes can be classified this way.

Today our Relief Society presidency was reorganized. We have a wonderful new Relief Society president now, Sister Janet Halliday. For those who don't live in my ward, I can describe her as the ideal person that many of us want to be at her age. She has served as Relief Society President a few times before. Her husband was released from being the Stake President a year or so ago. They are older (kids are mostly grown and moved out), and just the most wonderful examples to me of why I am doing what I am doing. They emanate joy. She has been my visiting teacher for awhile now and I have felt so blessed to have her visit me. I look forward to my VT's coming because they are so understanding, have been through similar challenges I've gone though, and have so much love and compassion for me. They were there during my hard pregnancy and would have done anything to help out. Janet will do an exceptional job. She is close to the Spirit and I am so glad she is in this leadership position.

With that said, our departing RS pres, Alesha Kolb, has been the right person at the right time in the right place for our ward. She has been wonderful. I have felt her love for me and the sisters of the ward even though I never was able to attend RS while she was president. I didn't ever hear her lessons or thoughts. But I had a testimony that she was what we needed at the time. I loved knowing that she had the ability to develop a relationship with individual sisters in our ward. A true testament was to hear sisters choose to call her with a problem to get support and advice. She has had such love for us.

I especially feel a deep appreciation for Alesha though because she was there to serve and arrange service for me with this last pregnancy. I was so resistant to letting anyone help and she was good to lovingly tell me what I needed and already knew but could not bring myself to ask for. Many many hours were spent in my behalf, not just from her and her wonderful counselors, but the ward members. I have been so blessed. I have felt that although I know she touched many other sisters, she was Relief Society President just for ME. She was what I needed at this time. I truly love and appreciate all the sacrifice she and her family gave. I am glad she can spend more time taking care of her family's' needs now. I hope she knows that she truly touched my life.

Years ago I dreaded being called into primary. I wanted to not be with my kids for those two hours. However, I have developed such a love for primary the past 3 years. I am finding that I feel a deep love for the individual children we work with. This is especially true with one of my primary friends. He can be such a challenge on many Sundays. I think many adults feel helpless and overwhelmed with him not knowing how to handle his behavior. I had an experience a couple years back where I was sitting on the floor during a primary activity with him and just felt for a moment this compassionate spirit that he had inside his energetic body. As I have taken the time to get to know him and talk to him and become his friend, I have developed such a love towards him. I got to sit by him in primary today and we had a great Sunday. He is a wonderful kid and I really truly enjoy the time I spend with him. I hope he knows how much this primary leader loves him.

It is funny how comfortable we get with things. I like my calling and my leaders. We have a wonderful ward and when things get changed up a little I think it takes some adjustment. Luckily though, we have the Spirit to guide us and help us learn to love and accept new assignments for us and for others.

Thank heavens we get to have the opportunity to learn new things and experience new challenges every once in a while. I just keep hoping it is a ways off for me. :) I like things the way they are!

Experiments to not try.

As parents, most of us can find small experiments we could try out at home, yielding less than fascinating results.
Here are a few I have thought of and I am sure you can come up with plenty more...

• How long can a toilet be clogged without a kid telling you, AND/OR how many times will kids use that toilet without telling you it is clogged?
• How many blobs of toothpaste can build up in a sink before kids think it is gross and decide to wipe them out?
• How many packages of fruit snacks can a kid eat in one sitting?
  
• How long would kids go without washing their hands?
• How long will a toilet paper roll sit empty without a kid changing it? (this one makes me sick!)
• How many times do kids ask the number of days until their birthday?
• How long would Christmas lists get before the kid would be satisfied?
• Would they ever choose to eat vegetables just because it's healthy?
• How many hours of TV/Nintendo/Computer could be played or watched in one sitting?
• Is life ever fair for a 10 year old?
• How many times can a kid say Mom in a one minute period without hesitating, taking a breath, or wondering why his/her Mom isn't responding?

Oh the fun of parenting... :)

The big game.

It is so much fun to have a rivalry going.

What team are you going for?

GO BYU!!!

I learned something new!

Well, I actually learned 2 new things.

First, in church, Cameron said "do you know that a trombone is called a trombone because it has bones in it?" Nope didn't know that.

Second, today I learned how to create a power point presentation and brought Ryan's laptop to church, borrowed one of the stake's projectors (did you know every stake has at least one?) and taught my sharing time from the power point. It was very fun to learn. I loved it most because my pictures could be big (really big) so that all the kids could see them instead of the small GAK ones you borrow from the library. I had to work out several kinks and get some help from some guys in primary, but after all is said and done, I would do it again. :)

Yea me!

A fun mess.

(now doesn't this look fun?)

Today was Kristin's birthday party. I got up early to start preparing and still have messes everywhere. Why am I posting instead of cleaning up a mess? Because it is becoming more and more apparent that in my house

MESS = FUN.

I have kids running in and out of my front and back door. They made chocolate molds, gumdrop and apple animals, and ate brownies and ice cream. There are streamers, balloons, wrapping paper and gift bags, and empty packages strewn around my living room and paper remnants from a game in my front yard next to some snow gloves, dice, a scarf and a hat. I have been working in the kitchen for over an hour now trying to get things cleaned up and the messes keep sneaking in. But,

THE KIDS ARE HAVING FUN!!!

Creativity is running wild. I love seeing the things they are creating with all the stuff out. I love that my front door and back door have been open more than closed. I love that everyone made so many chocolate things that they are sick of them. I love that I can cook a package of turkey corn dogs, half a package of hot dogs, and warm up the leftover cheese pizza from last night and kids will come and eat them between games.

Now, the thought crossed my mind to take some pictures to help spice up this blog, but anyone who frequents my house very much will wonder what, if anything, is different. That's because when it comes down to it, we have 8 people living in this house. Things get left out, eaten, played with, used, and even abused and that is life. A couple months ago, as I was being so frustrated with trying to keep my house clean, this inspired thought came into my mind....

In my house, a messy house is a happy house.

Now, that doesn't mean that I enjoy living in a barn. I would love to have my home squeaky clean. But this situation is that if I want to be happy and have my kids happy, the house is not going to be pristine. I was so miserable making my kids clean the house on Saturdays that I had to stop trying to get so much done. Now every Saturday I expect my kids to clean certain things and we spend time together deep cleaning. We also clean small areas during the week. But the entire house is not going to be spotless all at the same time.

It is not worth my sanity.

And with the happy sounds my kids and their friends are making, I don't care. There is not TV or playstation/nintendo on and they are using their creativity and playing and having a blast making messes. I am sitting here watching the time fly by and I am fine. These sounds are exactly what I envisioned my home to be like. I wanted to be the place kids would gather to play because there weren't severe restrictions on mess and noise and food and time. Today, that is what I am. That makes me happy. :)

Okay quick edit... there are definitely things I DON'T love about the messes... (like getting the kids to help clean them up). I am normal (in some people's eyes). Just wanted to post about what I have come to accept. What I don't love about messes will come in another post on another day... :)

Open mouth, insert foot - or feet.

As I get older or busier or have more kids or less sense, I am putting my foot or feet in my mouth more and more. I seldom have a week go by where I don't hide in my room or car in embarrassment thinking of something I have said. Usually these offenses occur on Sunday. Why Sunday, I don't know. Probably because I interact with the most people on Sunday.

Oh the things I can say... I am starting to think about all the times I have said stupid things. I relate to the comic Brian Regan when talking about himself and saying "oh no, words are coming out!". He talks about asking this lady "so when's the baby due?" and half way through the word 'baby' he realizes what he is saying and so the word baby comes out nice and loud and clear. The lady says "what baby?" and he tries to turn it into a conversation about the pandas at the zoo and how he heard they were trying to have one... okay, maybe you have to hear it to think it is funny.

If I were a public figure it would be even worse. I typed in "open mouth insert foot" into Google and got a bunch of funny things people have said. The only thing worse than my loose lips would be my loose lips on television. Here are a few people that have it worse than me.

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever."
-- Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and death and stuff."
-- Mariah Carey

"I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law."
-- David Dinkins, Former New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."
-- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body."
-- Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward

"Not only is he ambidextrous, but he can throw with either hand."
-- Duffy Daugherty , football coach and sports analyst

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
-- Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
-- Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents

"The private enterprise system indicates that some people have higher incomes than others."
-- Gerry Brown

Here is a YouTube video of our new Vice President, Joe Biden.
'Chuck' is in a wheelchair.

"It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another."
-- George Bush, US President

"I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them."
-- George Bush, US President

Oh poor President Bush. He has had more open mouth and insert foot moments in his 8 years as president than most of us will in our lifetime (possibly me being one of the exceptions of course). If I had cameras following me around, I would have my own segment on David Letterman each evening too.

So I hope all will forgive me for being the victims of my open mouth insert foot moments. I know I have said things or shown expressions to things I should not have. If only I can take back all the dumb stuff that comes out... But I can't so I just try to move on and try to forget about it and ask in my prayers each night that Heavenly Father will give my family and friends amnesia...

My new haircut.

I just found a terrific stylist. Well, she just moved to Tooele a few months ago and has started up at the Tangles salon here. I got my hair cut on Thursday and I am so happy with it! Sharon did such a great job. She posted before and after pictures on her blog - visit it at

http://warickfamily.blogspot.com/2008/11/im-working-girl.html

The only hard thing about getting your hair done by a great stylist is trying to make it look the same after. But at least you guys know what it should look like! I am going to keep trying though so it will get better. I am glad I have the after picture for reference.

Thanks again Sharon! I am so so happy with my hair!

Did my jean skirt shrink?

I had to throw on a skirt quickly today so that I could run and get my temple recommend interview. Apparently I had washed it because suddenly I was having to try to suck in to get the skirt zipped up.

Well, you could call it sucking in- sort of.

Just close your eyes and imagine - no wait - don't close your eyes and imagine. It will be too terrifying. Okay, lets start over again. Just think what my belly muscles must look like after having 6 kids and not really working them out since the birth of #4 or #5 (It's been too long to remember when I gave up).

I know I really should do sit ups or something, but whenever I have decided to lay on the floor to do it, I am reminded of the gross carpet I haven't vacuumed, the dust under the bed, the dirty socks on the floor next to the hamper, and the treasure of things that suddenly pop into view from down there. That pretty much kills any ambition I may have had for a moment. I quickly jump up screaming and vow never to lay down on the floor again.

It is funny because I am noticing that as my belly has grown, my waist gets higher and higher. Do you ever see little grandmas that have their pants pulled up to right below their bust? I can totally understand why now. My belly and buttocks grow upwards. Yes it not only happens in the front, but the back too.

You can tell your bottom is growing up when you still have to worry about your crack showing when you bend over or sit to fold clothes although your pants are pulled up to heaven. I think my crack has doubled in length in the past couple years.

I have heard some people say that their hind end droops as they get older. All that I can say is that if all that flesh starts going north and south, I am in trouble. I will need to invent some kind of bra for my bottom. (I'll call it a butt-zier instead of a brazier). It will have one portion for each cheek to hold them in place. I will make sure they aren't too pointy. That would be uncomfortable and dangerous. The buttzier will actually look like two small swings. You could probably carry an infant in each one.

Anyway, back to my original story. I was pulling on my jean skirt when I realized that I must have either put on about 15 pounds since last Sunday, or dried my skirt a little too long. I didn't have time to change though, and once my skirt was zipped up, it wasn't coming off very easily. I figured I may even have to peel it off or have Ryan pull on it while I hang on to the headboard of my bed. (Picture me holding on with all my might, Ryan pulling on my skirt, I am hanging in mid-air and we are both struggling. Then imagine the skirt flying off and Ryan flying through the closet wall and into the bathroom holding the skirt victoriously. he he he)

So, I put on a coat and hoped the church was cool enough I could have an excuse to leave the coat on so as to not embarrass myself or frighten the bishop.

I am back now and never fear... all is well. I am now sitting wearing my skirt, which is quite a feat. The blood stopped racing to my face is now able to circulate back to my feet. I hope nothing gets on the skirt for awhile. I like not washing it and disillusioning myself that it is getting looser because I am walking everyday and not because the fibers are being stretched out. Ignorance is truly bliss!

Fall pictures.

We are at my Mom's so I am going to post these Fall and Halloween pictures since I will be unable to again for awhile (still no computer at home). The above one is Ryan's 37th birthday.

Here are 4 trick or treating kids.

And Matthew who stayed home and ate squash.

Ryan, Brandon, and I playing in the leaves in the backyard.

Too much candy!

What does everyone do with all that Halloween candy?

I have a novel new idea... how about everyone give out nickles or dimes to the trick-or-treaters and then by the time they hit an entire neighborhood, they have a few dollars instead of all that candy!!!

So, do you take it from your kids, let them eat it to their hearts delight, buy it back? How much do you take for yourself (what do you glean from their bags?) I like taking anything caramel chocolate or caramel.

Happy too much sugar Halloween!

Yum!!!!

This dreaded post.

I have had this post stuck in my mind for several days now and I fear nothing else will come to me to post until I get this off my mind and into the world of blogging.

There are a few reasons I don't like politics.

First, it brings out the worst in many many people. Whether politicians or citizens, I think politics shows a lot about ourselves that we try - and in many times - successfully hide. Selfishness, greed, extremism, not having enough integrity to stand for what you believe in, cowardliness, complacency, and no desire to research things out for ourselves (believing the emails that get circulated around or what someone said that someone else said that they heard, or listening to certain radio stations and believeing everything said - I call this stupidity), and dishonesty.

Second, the only reason to get in a good debate with someone is to try to convince them they are wrong and you are right. I can't even convince my kids to put away the milk when they are done or close the door behind them or turn off the light when they leave a room. Like I am going to be able to convince someone to see issues the way I do. Sometimes, I feel a certain way and I can't convince or logically describe it besides saying- that it is just the way I feel.

Third, it shows me how corrupt many of our leaders are and gives me a sense of doom. Many people have felt this sense of frustration this election over not liking any candidate running for office and having to chose the best of what is there. Some chose not to pick one at all.

Many years back I would have called myself a conservative republican. As time has gone by though, I have found there are things that I like about democrats and their issues. Mostly for me, the perfect party is somewhere in between both and I like having both there to help balance the other party out. In recent years, I consider myself an independent. I vote depending on what the main issues are and character instead of party.

All I want to say about this years election - I am deeply disappointed and saddened by how selfish our nation is. I am disheartened to see many members of this church so far from living the law of consecration and the united order. For the first time in my short life, I am seeing how the more money you have the harder it really is to part with it. People inside and outside the church feel so entitled to their money and feel like they have earned it by working hard and being educated. To some extent, this is true. But not as much as people think.

I have a very strong opinion that everything we have and the money we are given is given to us from God and that we are only stewards to that money and to our possessions. I feel that we will be accountable to our Heavenly Father for how we spent our money and what we did with it. How much did we give and how much did we waste? Did we help the poor and needy even if we felt they didn't deserve it? Did we refuse to give any portion of what we have been blessed with to someone because we felt that they haven't worked hard enough or had enough education to deserve it? Did Christ go around healing people only if he felt like they had educated themselves enough or worked hard enough to deserve it? No, he loved the poor and needy. He blessed all and gave the ultimate sacrifice to everyone whether or not they deserved it. Since we live in an imperfect world where we can get taken advantage of, we can't always do that. But eventually we will all give all that we have and take all that we need and there will be plenty to go around.

I have had a lot of experience and training working with the welfare program of the church. I guess I learned early on that it is not up to me to decide who is worthy of receiving help and how much or how long we should help them- and I am SO SO SO grateful that I don't have that responsibility. Thank heavens we don't always know who our fast offerings go to and why. Many of us would go nuts!!! Responsibility of deciding who deserves what is not mine. I am satisfied knowing that I am giving through taxes or donation to those less fortunate and that someone else has the stewardship to disperse those things to people who need it most.

For me this holds true to the church and to our government. I don't have the ability or energy to track every single dollar I give to taxes to make sure they are going only to the best causes. So, I tell myself that my tax dollars this last year went to make sure I drive on safe roads with working traffic lights, and went to help my neighbors, friends, or relatives who can't afford health insurance for their kids, and to the teachers at my kids schools and supplies and heat and water for them. I have to tell myself that the money I am taxed goes to the causes I like best so that I don't get all bent out of shape over every government waste that happens. You can call that irresponsible or ignorant, but that is why researching and voting is so important to me. I get to chose who has the best plan and go with that.

So, I guess that is what I needed to get off my chest. I hope within the church we can get better at being charitable and giving to everyone and leave the judging to God or those who have been given that responsibility.

There... WHEW!!! Finally got that off my shoulders. Time to move on!

Helpful article.

I went by the USU extension office yesterday to ask some questions about canning applesauce. They had this Ball brand canning book (Blue Book of preserving) there they sell at cost ($5.00) and it has anything and everything you can imagine to bottle, can, dehydrate or otherwise preserve (watermelon rind jam anyone?)

This recipe was the most helpful however (pg 59 and then again on pg 95) and will remain highlighted in my book. I thought I would share it with the rest of you.

Squirrel (or Rabbit)

Soak fresh game meat for 1 hour in brine by dissolving 1 TB salt for each quart water. Rinse.

RAW PACK: Separate squirrel or rabbit at joints. Bones may be left in or removed. Pack meat into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Ladle hot water or broth over meat, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. For boned meat, process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour, and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam pressure canner.

HOT PACK: Boil, steam or bake squirrel or rabbit until about 2/3 done. Separate at joints. Bones may be left in or removed. Pack meat into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Ladle hot water or broth over meat, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece caps. For boned meat process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam pressure canner. for bone in meat process pints 1 hour and 5 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 15 inutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam pressure canner.

YUM YUM!!!


(I wonder if they taste like chicken or have a type of nutty flavor to them. How many could you fit in a quart jar? Do you think I should save the skin to make a hat or coat?)

The elusive mouse.

I know most don't ever admit to this - but we have a very tricky mouse in our house right now. I guess I can always blame the mice on that we live next to the field and they tend to sneak past our dog and run into our home. Usually we just have a couple of them visit during the winter.

So, anyway, the other night I was cleaning up the kitchen and I heard a chewing noise from under our fridge. I grabbed a flashlight and watched and eventually saw a cute little brown mouse hiding around the corner. I ran and grabbed a mousetrap and set it up with some peanut butter and laid it between the fridge and wall. I was sure any moment I would hear the dreaded 'snap' from the trap and I was 'on edge' ready all night.

Well, the next morning, the peanut butter had been eaten away and there were all these tiny paw and teeth marks on it on the trap - but the trap had not been set off.

So, I decided to try cheese. (After all, they can't stay away from cheese, right?). This morning, the cheese ball on the trap was gone - and the trap was still set.

I tested the trap TWICE. It snaps fine. I reset it with another cheese ball for tonight. It will be 'fascinating' in a not so fascinating way to see if it eats the cheese unscathed tonight.

If it does... I could use some advice. Like I said, most people don't like to admit that a mouse has ever been in their house, but hey - a dozen families of mice could live in our house off the food on the floor and under the fridge and crumbs in the carpet. I figure they won't even have to try to get into the cereal boxes or bags of noodles with the bounteous food left for them in plain sight.

WAIT!!! That might be a good plan - sweep and mop after every meal so that there isn't any food out and we can starve them into wanting to eat the cheese...

Hmmm. I'm not that desperate yet...

Home from school

Is anyone else starting to feel a little crazy with the kids home from school? Yesterday was a cleaning day to get ready for a little gathering I was having at my house. Today was supposed to be a play day... but the kids get so bored! I end up being the cause and solution to every problem. "Where did you put my shoes. Will you help me find my shoes? Why is my room such a mess? You said you would make me pancakes for breakfast and you didn't. How come you fixed pancakes for breakfast - I don't feel like them?!" etc...

One more full day of them being home! Will I survive?

Tagged twice.

Okay, so now two people have tagged me with this quirky tag. Since this is my first experience with being tagged, I am guessing at how to do this.

Six quirky things...

1. I am very self conscious about my feet and toes. I don't like my feet to begin with, but I think my toenails make them even uglier. I got my first pedicure this last summer. It was almost as embarasing as getting my yearly done. Since I keep my feet hidden from myself and the world, I keep forgetting to take off the last of the polish on my big toe from 6 months ago - so that gives me even more motivation to keep them hidden.

2. I am clumsy clumsy clumsy! I have been a clutz for pretty much my entire life. I have had numerous broken bones, stitches, fallen down a lot of stairs (oh the embarasing stories I can tell!), and countless falls, trips, bruises, and injuries. I have a hard time keeping my body in sync and I think a lot of the time I run into things or stub my toes or hit the end of the bed with the same part of my thigh just because my mind is on other things. I have a constant bruise on my thigh from my bed, and usually at least one cut or burn on my fingers or arms. I think one of the worst places to burn is you bicep. For some reason, that skin is really sensitive.

3. I get really bugged getting emailed forwards when the person emailing me hasn't taken the time to delete all 2786 previous people that it has been emailed to and all those little sideways v's at the beginning of each line. I don't mind a few of those v's or if I have to scroll a little bit down to find the message, but some emails I get are so huge and so long that I seriously can't find the beginning of the message. If a forward is good enough to forward, then you should delete all the previous addresses and all the v's from each line. This takes some time because you usually have to completely reformat the email. But it really helps me to limit the emails I am forwarding. And all those emails that say that I should forward the email to 6 people in the next 20 seconds or an anvil will fall on my head are crazy!

4. I always have a nervous twitch going. It can be tapping my teeth to a rhythym, moving my fingers to a song (like I am playing the piano), clicking a pen, tapping my foot, singing a tune in my head over and over again, the list goes on.

5. I can't help but to think things through over and over again trying to figure out the most logical and least time consuming way to accomplish tasks and organize myself. I go over things down to the minute to see how much I can put into a day, and run things together in the most logical way. I organize shopping lists by type and section of the store, and organize store by location, distance, and what I have to buy. There has always got to be a more efficient way to do things and I am going to figure it out. I will spend excessive time laying in bed musing about if I have organized myself good enough.

6. I really like reptiles (I get that from my Dad). I used to be just obsessed with turtles. But I probably like lizzards more now. I loved being the only kid on the playground willing to pick up a stray snake while everyone watched with amazement. I grew up with gardner snakes and I figured everyone else kept them as pets too. Once when I was about 8, I found a gardner snake outside by the street. I felt so bad that someone had lost their pet. So, I went around from house to house in my culdesac knocking on doors and asking my neighbors if they lost their pet snake. I think the worst part of it was when I got to one person's door, the snake bit me and I dropped it. But I had already rung the doorbell, so the person answered the door just as I dropped the snake. I told her that I was coming around to see if they happened to loose their snake but that the snake just bit me and so I dropped it and it went into their bushes and I couldn't find it. I'll bet that person was glad I stopped by!

So I guess I get to tag people now. I don't have that big of a list of people that blog, but if Teresa, Julie, Jenny L, or Esther want to do this, they are tagged!
(see how bad I am at this kind of stuff?)

Manly soap.

Ryan was washing his hands the other night with my Bath and Body works tropical smelling soap and said "Man, someday I am going to get myself some manly soap".

"Manly soap? Like what, it would smell like a bathroom smells? Would it smell like oil and car grease? How about like sweat and B.O.? What do you mean manly soap?"

Of course I knew what he meant, but I have a hard time understanding why a good smelling soap isn't a good smelling soap for everyone! It isn't like I buy flowery smelling soaps, or soaps that are obviously girly. Tropical or vanilla smelling soap is good for anyone in my opinion!

Ryan insisted that it wasn't just the smell though. It was that this soap made his hands all soft. I guess 'manly soap' would have dirt particles in it so it could roughen hands instead of making them smooth. Maybe some sand or small rocks. How about making the outside of the soap sandpaper so that it really roughens up those soft parts of mens hands?

I like it when I am holding hands with Ryan and his hands don't feel like they just were grated with a cheese grater. Don't get me wrong, I don't want him to have woman feeling greasy hands, but I don't see anything wrong with them being soft. He wouldn't put any lotion on them for anything anyway, so I don't think his hands being too soft is an issue for him.

So, if I were to make manly type soap, what scents and specialties should I put in it? Gasoline scent with small beads of oil? Armpit scent with dirt particles? Stinky sock scent with real sock pieces to add to the lasting essence of the smell?

Maybe you guys have some good ideas. Let's invent some manly soap!

And yes, I know they make soap for men too - like Lava soap. Just bear with me on this one. :)

What you shouldn't eat.

Well, looks like our computer may have been damaged by the car crash that took out the power in Tooele from 1:00 am until around 8:30 am. Maybe a power surge? Ryan was recently given a laptop at work to use so he brought it home this weekend and I am going to take a moment to insert a blog since who knows when we will have a computer again.

Yesterday I decided to clean out my closet floor and vacuum it. We have just a regular little closet that Ryan and I share. I have half (maybe a bit more :) ) and Ryan has the rest. We keep our hamper in the middle. Well, I noticed after digging my snow boots out yesterday morning so that I could go watch Kristin play a soccer game in the snow, that I hadn't vacuumed for awhile and it sure needed it!

I cleared out my shoes, the Costco size box of paper, the hamper, and my unorganized organized piles of clothes (maternity clothes I need to put away, clothing for DI, clothes that need to be repaired, etc). As I was clearing stuff out, I found a few jelly bellies on the floor. I have a big Costco thing of jelly bellies in my closet and so without much thought, I popped one in my mouth. It was pear flavored. Yum! Then I looked down again and noticed a whole bunch of mouse droppings that had been hiding under my shoes surrounding those loose jelly bellies. That pear jelly belly wasn't tasting so good anymore.

It reminded me of my sister. Her husband Josh got a job right out of college teaching English at an American university in Cairo, Egypt. So they moved their kid out to Egypt for a couple of years. That alone makes her pretty brave. I remember getting this email from her one day. I thought it was the funniest thing ever. She didn't at the time, but I hope she has found humor in it by now.

From what I remember, the pharmaceutical industry is a little less regulated there. She had a prescription for some medication she needed and went to go get it at the store. Apparently, some of these store guys will switch out expensive medications for cheaper ones. So, you may go in to get a type of medication and will come away after paying for the box of more expensive medication with the right box but the medication inside will be a totally different one.

So, my sister went and got some medication, went home and started taking it. She somehow realized it wasn't the right type and that her medication had been swapped out. Upon further review, she found out that she had been swallowing suppositories.

Like I said before, I found that hilarious at the time, but she didn't think it was so funny. Suppositories are definitely something you should not eat.

Brandon was my poison control kid, probably because he was the oldest. He ate half a huge caterpillar once, some Desitin, Tums, and Eucerin cream. Kristin is a close second with poision control experiences. She once bit a thermometer (one of those glass mercury ones) and broke it. She also drank an entire bottle of childrens Motrin. Recently she also confessed to finding a M&M in the car and popping it in her mouth. It was really an Excedrin and it tasted terrible and so she spit it out.

Those are good examples of other things you definitely should not eat.

So, we eat these not so great things and survive just fine. At least, most of us do. My sister is a pretty tough cookie. Brandon is pretty normal. Kristin is alright too. If I start squeaking or twitching my nose though...

Something I miss.

Did any of you guys ever have this book read to you when you were little?

I always thought it was funny when the mom would crawl in her son's window or go in his room and rock him although her son was obviously too big to rock, and rock and sing to him.
I am beginning to understand the book better.

I miss my kids problems being simple. I miss the extent of their troubles being eating too many noodles, having a tooth come in, bonking their head on a piece of furniture, or missing a nap. I could pick them up and hold them, take them in the stroller on a walk, rock them in a chair, sing or read to them, and it would solve the problem.

Problems get so complicated the older they get. I just had this image come into my mind this morning as I took Brandon to school that I wish I could just pick him up and rock him and make everything complicated go away. I wish I could take his problems and concerns away by snuggling him in his blanket and reading him a book.

But that just isn't life. I know they have to experience things to learn and make them tougher. I can only imagine how hard it is to be a parent the older your children get. It must be really hard to watch your kids experience life's problems and only be able to do so much. I think you must loose more power the older and more independent they are.

That's why I like the Matthew/baby stage. I have the power and control. I am the one that can solve all problems.

And that's something I miss.

Now that's what I call hot!

My oh my how time flies!

This is me in 1960

This is me in 1964

Check out my hair in 1982!

Yes, even I had big hair in 1990

And yes, I used to be a blonde in 2000

Now check out Ryan!

This is Ryan in 1956


This is Ryan in 1970


Pretty rockin in 1976


Awesome in 1988


Here he is in 1990


And finally in 2000

What a pair we make!

Check out www.yearbookyourself.com for more fun.

My fluffy blog.

Here is a picture of some fluff to make this blog somewhat interesting. I believe the title of the picture is "silky fluff".

So for those who missed my brother-in-law Josh's cynical comment on my peaches blog I am going to write happy fluffy things in this blog so that my blog doesn't emanate too much stress. These are a few of my favorite things...

1. Ryan is one of my favorite things. He is awesome. And he has wonderful eyes, and loves me and my sarcasm (mostly :) ).

2. A baby's hand is one of my favorite things. There is something about this age when babies nurse and they play with their hand and your hand that I love.

3. Bottled peaches are very good. In fact, I have to hold back eating the ones I just canned because if I just put all that work into bottling them, why would I just pop open a jar and eat the peaches? Plus we go through 2 jars in one sitting if we eat them as a family.

4. I love rain. I love the smell, the way it cleanses my car, the air, all the toys left outside, and waters the grass.

5. I love to hear my kids laughing. I love it especially when they are laughing at each other. (unless it is at the expense of another).

6. I wish I could read more because getting caught up in a good book is one of my favorite things. Children's fiction have always been my favorite. I like to borrow a lot of books from my kids after they have read them so I can read them. They are easy reading, not too long, and the good ones have profound messages that hit any age group.

7. I love baking and cooking is definitely one of my favorite things. I wish I had time and money to bake all the time. I get to it less and less nowadays and seem to need a reason to make time for it. But when I do it, I love it!

8. Fall and spring are my favorite seasons. Fall because I love apples and pumpkin and crunching through leaves. We went to Ophir this last weekend and drove as far up the canyon as we could and looked at all the colorful leaves. I love spring because of the way things start to green up and flowers bloom and I can kick the kids out of the house without feeling guilty.

9. Friends are very important to me. I live for moments that I get emails from friends or talk to them on the phone or at church. I am a pretty needy social person.

10. And of course I love my kids. When they are good they are so so good! In the things that matter, they are wonderful! They try hard at school, they are nice to their friends, they are obedient in church (for the most part), they love reading church magazines and scriptures, and they try to do what is right.

11. Of course I have to mention that the church is also one of my favorite things. It fulfills so many of my needs - spiritual and emotional. It provides an opportunity to forget myself and serve others and develop relationships that sustain me through tough times.

So there you go. See - there are lots of non stressful things in my life. Writing when I am stressed helps me cope, and it is fun to be cynical about everyday stuff - like canning peaches. But not all of life is stressful. (just a good portion) :)

* hey, have you ever tried a fluffer butter sandwich? Kids love it! It is peanut butter with marshmallow cream or fluff. Pretty sugary, but isn't most jam pretty sugary too? :)