Tuesday, September 30, 2008

He'll Huff and He'll Puff . . .

but I doubt that he will have enough air to blow anyone's house down. Lee has not been breathing well for the past couple of days. It got worse yesterday, so I finally broke down and took him to the hospital. We were lucky and were the only people in the waiting room and we got in without too much waiting. Once admitted, Lee ended up being pumped full of meds designed to help him breathe better. He was also given a dose of steroids to help his lungs. However, last night and this morning he has continued to have a hard time again.
It is always hard on me when one of my children are sick. I always wish that I could just take it away from them and that they could be healthy all of the time. But I know that once they get through it it only makes them stronger. I did have fun playing with Lee in the hospital all day yesterday, and it was really fun to watch him start to say "Mom" and shake his rattles for the first time!
Anyways, this one isn't very long, or very deep, but it is just an update for all of my family who are reading this.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Baking and Sweet Friendships

As I have been baking up some low fat desserts that I am trying out to include in my "lifestyle change", I have been thinking. I know that this is a dangerous feat, and I promise that I waited until no one was around to begin.
What was I thinking about?
Well funny you should ask. It just so happens that I was thinking about how blessed I have been to have such good friends throughout my life. It seems as though we don't really appreciate our friends until we are going through some major life altering trial. However, right now this is not happening to me **knock on wood**, but I have been thinking about my friends a lot.
I wouldn't classify myself as someone who has a lot of friends. I am actually quite shy and get intimidated quite easily which causes me to have quite a few "associates" but not tons of friendships. But, once I make a friend, I seem to have them for life. I love my friends very much and I would do anything for them and I know that they would do the same for me.
This whole thing of friendship started when I was young. My mother, of course, would encourage me to have lots of friends (I think that she did this so that I would get out of her hair and so that she could visit with her own friends) and I remember always hanging around with the neighbor kids and taking turns playing at each other's houses. This continued into my preteen years where I became friends with a certain Science Geek, and then by default, (and choice) with her sister. These two girls inspired me because they were born so close together and they had a relationship that I was jealous of with each other. It is actually one of the big reasons that I had my Abby and Anne so close together. My friendship with the Science Geek's little sister really seemed to blossom when I became her fearless leader at a certain Young Woman's camp. And, I believe, that my friendship with these two is still very strong today even though I don't get to see them very often.
Another friendship that has really shaped my life has been the one with my cousin. I was privileged enough to have the opportunity to grow up with my cousins in my ward. I believe that our parents were very smart to do this because my friendship with my cousin kept me on the straight and narrow as a teenager and it caused me to have LOTS of great memories that I often look back upon. We used to be part of a "posse" of kids who did almost everything together! This posse was probably the highlight of my teenage years, and I remember being devastated when my cousin went off to University and left me here to fend for myself. I have always looked up to her and even though our lives are very different, I always look forward to seeing her and chatting with her every chance that I get. I sure do love my cousin and I would do anything for her.
I also had a couple of friends in choir when I sang after my cousin abandoned me in Calgary. I was lucky again to become friends with another girl and her sister. It was the reason that I went back to choir and it was probably one of my most fun years singing in the choir. I still love checking on her through her blog and chatting with her on facebook. . . .and I am excited that she is finally going to be the mother of a boy. . . it is an experience that I think every mother needs to have!
Having friendships has been something that has continued into my adult years. Otto and I have made several friends over the years, some of them couples and some of them individuals. I feel as though we have been truly blessed to have had such good friends as adults. Most of the people that I consider to be my good friend I have made since being married 10 years ago.
The friendships that I know will last forever, even though sometimes things may get difficult, are the ones that I have been able to establish with my own family. Growing up, I often felt as though there was me and then there were the rest of my siblings. I felt as though I was like a second mother to them sometimes and it was hard not to have someone to relate to in my own family. However, I had a special grandmother and aunt who took interest in me. They watched me grow up and they took special care of me and I always felt as though they were (and continue) to be some of my best friends. I always tell people that my grandmother is my best friend. . . and it does help that I live about 5 minutes away from her (well, when she isn't off visiting her playhouse in St. George).
Things have changed as I have watched my brother and sisters grow up. They have become some of my best friends. And I have also been so lucky that my brother married such a wonderful girl who has also become one of my good friends. Whenever something scary, bad, or frightening happens to my own family, I know that my parents and brother and sisters and sister-in-law are the first people on the scene. They are always the ones (along with Otto's brother and his wife and my grandparents) who give me the strength to go on. I am so lucky to have them as siblings and I love spending so much time with them as we all continue to grow older.
And finally, I have been lucky to cultivate friendships with my husband's family over these past 10 years. It has been so fun to be married into such an interesting family. I have two sisters-in-law who are very different from each other, but who have become my friends and completely accepted me with no questions asked. My mother-in-law has shown me how deep a mother's love can run for her child as I simply look at the way that she looks at my husband. Otto's brother is one of my most favorite people in the whole world. I owe him a lot because he is the one that told Otto to stop fooling around and either marry me or break up with me (I don't think I would like him as much if Otto had chosen the second option). I love that Otto's brother and his wife have kids the same ages (or close to) as my own kids and I love seeing them every time we go to Cardston.
So you see, as my cake comes out of the oven (and smells heavenly) and I wait for it to cool, I have a lot of people to think about because each and every one of these friendships that I have written about have helped me become the woman that I am today. And I believe that that, my friends, is sweeter than any cake that I could ever bake.
Thanks for being such good friends!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fall changes

I love fall. To me it symbolizes change. The leaves are changing color and falling off of the trees, the kids are back in school and endless nights of lessons begin. I love the smell of the crisp fall mornings and the smell of the fall air in the evenings. I love to see the colorful array of leaves spread all over the grass. The girls and I have a fall tradition where we go for a walk one day and collect a whole bunch of leaves and pine cones and different things that remind us of this time of year and we make a wreath out of it to hang on our door. I started doing this with the girlies when Abby and Anne were 1 and 2 and for some reason it has lived on.
Things seem to change so much in the fall. For instance, Abby's feet grew 3 sizes and now I have to get her completely new shoes (oh well another reason to go shopping can't be all that bad). Anne is now reading and writing better than I ever could at that age. Caroline can now speak in complete sentences and almost everyone can understand her most of the time. Dustin . . . well. . . I would love to say that he has grown and changed, but honestly he is the same size as he has been all year and he is just as much trouble. And Lee . . . well. . . . he is twice the size that he was at the beginning of summer. He is only 6 months old and he fits 18 month clothes. . . HE IS HUGE! I think that this is also Kiera's (my cat) favorite time of year because this is when the mice try to sneak into my house. . . . they don't survive long once they cross the threshold of my door because Kiera is on them like . . . well . . . a cat on a mouse! She is awesome and I LOVE having her. . . especially at this time of year!!! And Zeke (my dog) . . . well . . . I know that he would love the fall more if his buddy Max (Jason's dog) could come over more often and play. It's funny, but even though Zeke is surrounded by people all day long, he is never as happy as when Maximus is over. Those two are great little friends!!!
So, while I sit here and reminisce about one of my 3 favorite seasons (yes, I don't like winter at all!!! The only thing good about it is that Christmas is in the winter, but I will save that for another post), my dryer is beeping, Lee is starting to cry, and I just had to get up to answer the door. . . . oh well, I guess that there are some things that never change!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

All it takes is faith and trust. . . . and a little bit of pixie dust!


Okay, so one of my most favorite things about being a mom is creating magical moments for my children. I know that some people think that they are helping their children by not letting them believe in mythical characters like Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy. However, I am a firm believer that childhood should have magical moments and that the saying "It is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all" applies here. Yes, my children may be sad when they find out that the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause aren't real, but they will have great memories of a time when they thought that they were!
So let me share with you Anne's little "run in" with the Tooth Fairy. Anne lost her tooth this past weekend while we were out of town and she was so excited to put her tooth under her pillow because she wanted the Tooth Fairy to come. Well, being completely forgetful, the Tooth Fairy forgot to exchange her tooth for a Loonie. Anne was really sad and disappointed that she hadn't come, so I told her to put the tooth under her pillow again and that the Tooth Fairy would come. Needless to say, the Tooth Fairy forgot again and I again had a disappointed daughter. I felt bad, but I did remember while she was at school that the Tooth Fairy needed to come. And she needed to apologize!
So, while Anne was at school yesterday, I wrote up a note all in purple for her (using fairy printing, of course and not my own printing) from the Tooth Fairy saying that she was sorry that she had forgotten to come and get Anne's tooth but that she had forgotten because right now was her busiest time of year because lots of children get their teeth knocked out on the school playgrounds and can Anne please forgive her? I then added some extra fine purple glitter swirls to the note and I put it on her pillow. I put a Toonie under her pillow, and because I knew that Anne would like it, I sprinkled some piles of purple glitter onto her pillow (it caused a bit of a mess, but Anne thought it was worth it).
When Anne came home, I pulled her aside and I told her that I needed her to go up to her room and check her bed to make sure that all of her stuffed animals were still there because earlier in the day I had heard a bit thump and it sounded like someone was moving around in Anne's room. She first asked me if it could have been Caroline or Dustin or the dog or the cat, and I assured her that they were all downstairs when I had heard the noise. Well, that scared Anne enough to go running upstairs to go check and see if everything was alright.
I stayed downstairs because I don't think that I could have hidden my huge grin as she found the note from the Tooth Fairy, but two seconds later she was running back downstairs. She found me in the den and she was so giddy. She was hopping up and down and giggling and smiling and dancing around and she told me that I needed to come upstairs quickly. When I asked her what was missing and pretended to sound really concerned, she assured me that everything was alright and that I needed to see something on her pillow. So I went upstairs to "check things out" and she climbed up to her bed (she is on the top bunk of the bunk bed now) and pointed to the note and the "fairy dust" and explained that the Tooth Fairy had finally come. I asked her to read me the note and she did. Then she proceeded to show me the fairy dust while speculating on how it got there. I asked her if she had checked to see if the Tooth Fairy had left her a Loonie, and she said that she hadn't even looked (she was too excited about the note and the fairy dust to even think about the money). So, I checked under her pillow for her and there was a Toonie instead of a Loonie. I explained to Anne that the Tooth Fairy had left her twice as much as she usually did and Anne was so excited. Then as we were getting ready to leave Anne's room, Abby found a quarter on the floor. (I have NO idea how that got there, I think that Anne's money jar must have gotten knocked over because I certainly didn't put it there) and both of the girls swore that it was from the Tooth Fairy. When I asked how the Tooth Fairy could have dropped a quarter, Anne's eyes opened wide and she explained to me her theory. You see, according to Anne the big Thump that I heard must have been the tooth fairy dropping her bag of money and so that was why there was fairy dust on her pillow and there was a quarter on the floor. To test that theory, the girls hunted all over Anne's room to see if there was more money, and they actually found about 3 more pennies (hooray for knocked over money jars).
So that was the talk of the entire evening. And this morning, before Anne went to school she made sure that she took her note from the Tooth Fairy to show to the other kids in her class.
Now, just try to tell me that there isn't something wonderful and exciting about believing in mythical characters. . . . .I won't believe you!!!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Busy

I feel as though I haven't written anything in a while. I think that it is because I have nothing interesting, witty or thought provoking to say. I feel as though I have been doing a whole lot of nothing. I mean, we did go out of town this past weekend to the farm, Cardston and Waterton, and I did teach piano and then teach a digital scrapbooking class at my mom's store, but I still feel as though I did nothing.
The funny thing is that people seem to think that I am constantly busy, but boy oh boy would they be surprised!! I am constantly looking for things to do, and believe it or not, my house is generally pretty clean right now because I seem to have TONS of time on my hands. Now this is a dangerous situation for me because it always seems that whenever I have an extra couple of hours in a day, I take on big projects that I don't really have the time to do. But I do hate this feeling of doing nothing. I get bored and antsy and grumpy. So I think that I had better go find something little to do so that I don't end up taking on a huge project and get overwhelmed. . . . any ideas????

Thursday, September 18, 2008

On a day much like this one, 10 years ago . . .

it started off overcast and a bit rainy and windy, but I hardly noticed it. All I could think about was "Today is the day!!!!" The drive down to Cardston seemed to stretch on FOREVER!! And I wasn't allowed to sit back in my seat because it would wreck my hair!! That was okay, a small sacrifice to make because today was MY WEDDING DAY!!! I'm sure that my mom was STRESSED, but I didn't have a care in the world. I didn't care that it was about to rain, or that the wind was blowing really hard or that we were on a tight timetable because we were having the reception in Calgary that night. I was getting married!! I was marrying my Big Guy!!!
The temple ceremony seemed to be really quick and when it was done I couldn't stop smiling. I remember coming down into the waiting room where all of my bridesmaids were waiting and my cousin Michelle came up to me and said, "That was quick! Did you say no or something?" I still laugh whenever I think about her saying that to me! I also remember my 8 year old little sister, Kristin just crying and crying and when I asked her what was wrong she said that she was sad because she was just starting to get to know me and now I wouldn't be living with her anymore. (4 days later she called me at my new place to ask me if she could go over to her neighbour's house and I had to tell her that it was okay with me, but that she should now probably ask my mom because I didn't live there anymore.) I remember endless pictures (which I now treasure!!) and I couldn't stop smiling because standing right beside me was my studly, big, handsome man who was now my husband. He was so tall and he was so cute and he had the bluest eyes I had ever seen and the whitest hair I had ever seen and the HUGEST (I know it's not a word) dimples!!! (I always tell him that I married him for his dimples. . . . it may be partially true!!)
After the endless pictures I got changed and Otto and I went through the Drive-Thru at Dairy Queen and then headed home to Calgary. No, we didn't stop for any "pitstops" on the way back to Calgary because I am kind of a stickler for schedules and we were on a tight one . . . and we were excited for that night (totally worth it WOOT WOOT!!!). Once in Calgary, it began to rain. And when I say rain, I mean RAIN!!!!! Wow!! I didn't think it could rain so much at once! Then it was off to the studio for more pictures and then onto the church for a quick dinner before the reception started.
I remember endless people coming through the line and seeing all of my friends and family and the people that I grew up with. I remember one lady coming through the line wearing sweatpants, which I kind of thought was a little bit strange, but hey gotta love it right?? My Dad had the privilege of standing next to my Mother-In-Law and he later told me that when there was a lull in the line she leaned over and asked him "Do you know why people have brown eyes?" As the next people started to get closer to them he replied, "No". And just before the people got to them to shake their hands she said, "Because they're so full of S***!" My dad said he had to contain himself from laughing because now he was shaking people's hands and introducing them to her. I remember holding my 2 year old nephew Spencer (he loved me, what can I say?) for most of the night and because we didn't have a wedding cake and the photographer wanted to get pictures of us eating dessert, we exchanged lemon tarts. . . . for my 50th Anniversary I will get a cake! I remember getting made fun of because the slideshow just had pictures of me in it, but there were (and still are) NO pictures of Otto from when he was a child. He is the baby and so I guess he just kind of got looked over. (Don't worry, my kids don't have the same problem!!)
After the reception we went to get into our car and Otto's brother had had some fun and completely decorated it! Otto was MAD!!! He just wanted to leave and so he started throwing Oreo cookies all over the parking lot (which my parents later told me they got the privilege of cleaning up!!). We then had to get gas at the gas station across the street and Otto had to tell everyone that he met that we had just gotten married! So we ended up being at the gas station for like 15 minutes because people had to keep congratulating us!
We stayed at the Sheraton Cavalier that night and then the next day we left for our lengthy 2 day honeymoon in . . . . wait for it . . . . wait for it . . . . yep, that's right. . . . Glenwood, AB. Where is that you ask? EXACTLY!!! That is where my Great-Grandparent's farm is and we stayed there all weekend and came home on Monday because Otto had school and let's face it, we were POOR!!! We had $0, but we were sure happy! That's okay though because I always said that we would take our real honeymoon on our 10 year anniversary when we would really need it. And well, this coming May we will be going to Chile so I will finally get the honeymoon that I have always wanted.
So fast-forward through 10 years and 5 babies and 1 still born, 1 basement suite, 6 months of living at my parent's house, University student housing, our first little house and now our nice house, 2 job lay offs, 1 year of post-partum depression, a dog and a cat later and we are still happily married, totally in love and best friends. Now what more can you ask for???
I love you honey!! Happy 10 year Anniversary!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

5 Years Ago Today . . . .


I was sitting in a hospital room with this beautiful black haired and blue eyed little girl on my lap. Otto and I named her Caroline Kay Comin; Carol(ine) after my Grandma Lee and my middle name and Kay after my Grandma Bennion. She weighed 7lbs, 3 oz and was 21" long. She was a perfect baby. I was feeling a whole mess of emotions because my labour had been especially hard with her. I was happy because she was finally here and I wouldn't have to be in labour any more and I would get to be a mom again to my other two little girlies whom I missed being with for the past few weeks. I was relieved to see that she was perfect and beautiful and soooooo sweet. I felt guilty because I had made the doctors induce me early so that she could be born because my body felt as though it was going to give out from being in labour for 4 weeks. I felt angry at the doctor who had yelled at me throughout my entire 4 day induction and accused me of holding my baby in so that I could have a C-Section. I felt confused as to why she would have treated me that way. I felt loved from having so much support from my family and ward. I felt scared because Otto had just lost his job and he didn't have a new one yet. And I also felt scared because there was a pedophile who lived a couple of condos down from us and he would stalk me and my two beautiful little girls (seriously, I didn't sleep soundly until we moved out of that place!!!!).
But I FINALLY had Caroline. She was so sweet. I used to just cuddle with her in my arms and cry because the doctor who had overseen my induction was the WORST doctor I have ever come across. She yelled at me the entire time that I was in labour and when it looked as though I was going to have to have a C-Section she was bad mouthing me on the operating table. It threw me into post-partum depression for about a year, but all through it I knew that I still had my sweet Caroline.
My life has been a much happier place because of Caroline. She has so much personality! She is always the first one to come up with a witty remark, or a practical joke. She LOVES to play with her big sister Anne and now that the two of them are sharing a room she is in HEAVEN!!!
Caroline has severe speech problems and so because of that she is extremely shy. That breaks my heart because once she finally does open up to you you wonder how you ever got along without her.
Caroline is my little chef. She can make a Caesar salad by herself, whip whipping cream and basically helps me make dinner every day. I couldn't ask for a better helper.
. . . . . Bwah ha ha ha ha while I was writing this post Dustin came down wearing about 2 of Caroline's outfits. I guess that she has been busy dressing him up again!!! Aaaaaaahhhh that little girl! I just don't know what I would have ever done without her in my family!!!
I sure do love that little monkey!!
(Oh and just for the record, her birthday was actually yesterday)

Monday, September 15, 2008

New Recipe

Okay, so I have never been one to refuse a recipe. So when I started subscribing to the cooking light blog and I saw this recipe I had to make it. It just so happened that I had all of the ingredients in my pantry!!
Summer House Bread
3 cups of WW flour
1 cup of sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
2 cups of coarsely grated summer squash
(or 1 ½ cups squash and 1 ½ cups grated sweet potato)
1 cup of applesauce
1 apples, coarsely grated
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons of light oil
1 tablespoon of vanilla
½ cup of chopped walnuts (my family hates nuts in bread and my doctor says that nuts are basically just fat so I didn't put these in the recipe)
½ cup of raisins
½ dark chocolate chips (dark chocolate chips have no fat in them. . . milk chocolate chips have TONS of fat in them. . . your choice!)
A couple handfuls of oats on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a favorite large bowl and whisk till well blended, set aside. Then mix everything else in another bowl till all mixed up and happy. Blend the two together till they are just mixed. Divide between two bread pans and sprinkle the top with oats. Tuck in the oven for a cozy bake and bake about 1 hour or till the room fills with the intoxicating sent and a knife comes out clean. As soon as you can handle it, turn the bread out on a cooling rack and try not to burn your tongue. You’ll be baking more of these dandies. Bon appetite!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hmmmmm. . . . has this ever been me?

I was visiting my parent's ward today because we had Stake Conference in our stake and going to that is pretty pointless with 5 little kids 8 years old and under. While I was in Relief Society the teacher taught a great lesson! I really enjoyed it! And it has been a long time since I have come out of Relief Society with something to think about. Here is the quotation that stuck with me throughout the meeting:
“There are a great many wise men and women too in our midst who are too wise to be taught; therefore they must die in their ignorance, and in the resurrection they will find their mistake.”
That quotation was from the prophet Joseph Smith.
It pierced right through to my heart.
It made me think about my life and the people that I have associated with over the years. I have known many people fall away from my church because they thought that they "knew" everything about it and they were too smart for the church. I have seen people who were "unshakable" in the gospel leave the church. I have looked back on my own life and realized that the times that I have been able to feel the Spirit were the times when I was humble. When I was taught about PRIDE I didn't realize why it was so important to be humble. . . . until today.
My dad once told me (when I was being obnoxious about winning something) that no matter how good you are at something, there is always someone who is better. At the time I know he was trying to deflate my head a bit, but I think that this is appropriate here, as well. I mean instead of always thinking we are the best at something, why not search out the ones who are better and learn from them? I mean isn't being teachable something that is applicable in all aspects of our lives and not just spiritually?
I don't know. . . . I was just thinking about it a lot today.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Try it out

Alright, so now that I have had all of my babies, I am ready to become 2/3 of the woman that I am now. Okay, I will settle for 3/4 of the woman that I am now. Size wise I mean. I knew when I was having babies that I was planning on having them really close together, and so in between pregnancies I worked on getting my body ready for the next baby and not necessarily losing the weight in between the babies. Well, fast forward to six babies later and here I am. . . 45 lbs heavier than I would like to be. So I decided to do something for myself!
One of my very bestest friends told me of a health clinic that she goes to to help her lose weight. This is a lifestyle clinic and it is run through Alberta Health Care. What they do is have a group of doctors, nurses and dietitians who help you change your lifestyle habits to get you to lose weight and stay healthy. You just have to get a referral from your family doctor in order to get into the clinic and the best part is that it is entirely covered by Alberta Health Care!!! YAY!
So, I went on Wednesday to check it out. . . and I LOVED it! The doctor that I had is also a certified dietitian and after doing some tests and talking to me a bit she helped me come up with a reasonable food plan. I told her that I was concerned about doing this meal plan because as a chef I am really into flavor. . . and the best and easiest way to get flavor is to use fats. She had had me keep a food diary for 3 days and she was impressed because I made all of the food from scratch and we don't eat a lot of processed foods. However, there was a lot of room for me to cut down on fats in our diet. She also told me that in her experience, chefs have an easier time of losing the weight because they get creative with their food and figure out ways to eat healthier.
So yesterday was my first full day with the new meal plan and it went surprisingly well. I am still trying to find a way to have yummy snacks (you can only eat so many carrots before you go crazy) and have flavor without the fats, but I am working on it. Hopefully by the time I go into the clinic next week I will have lost a couple of pounds so that I can feel as though this is worth it. I know that once I get into the swing of things it will become easier!! Here's hoping!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Not the Momma!!

Recently I have been having this little problem with Abby. . . . okay you caught me. . . it has been going on for years now. . . . and now that I think about it I have almost the same problem with Anne. The problem is this: the girls seem to think that they need to tell me how to be a mother. I don't know if they think that I am a bad mother or if they think that they are being helpful or what, but it drives me crazy!!!! I get constantly lectured on how to feed the baby, dress him, take care of the girls, do their hair, cook, clean and timing.
Now, before you think the worst of me let me reassure that I DO know how to properly feed and dress the baby; my girls ARE properly cared for and they have cute hair; and believe it or not I cook and clean every day AND I am RARELY late for anything. I apparently just don't do things the way that THEY think that I should. Okay, so let's be honest, what do you think that my life would be like if I ran our household the way that THEY think that it should be run???? I can just see it now:

6:30 - wake up and watch tv
6:35 - eat breakfast on the commercials (ice cream totally counts as breakfast)
7:30 - get dressed because your favorite show is now over
7:45 - go to the bathroom because you have already been about to explode for about an hour and there is just NO WAY that you can hold it anymore
8:00 - make the kids lunches that are consisted of only candy and pop. . . . okay maybe I can throw in the occasional lunchable (is that even really a lunch???)
8:01 - yep completely finished making lunch because, of course, when I go shopping the only things I buy are candy, ice cream and pop so the selection of lunches is enormous!!!
8:05 - let them walk the KILOMETER to their bus stop and never know whether or not they actually make it
8:15 - 12 pm - cook all sorts of cookies and treats and clean the house, but especially their room for them and put away all of their laundry
12:05 - call their school and check up on them to see how their day is going and if there is anything that I can get for them. . . .or better yet. . . be at the school every day to volunteer!
4:10 pm - let them walk home the KILOMETER from the bus stop because they are too cool for me to pick them up (ok, I have relented on this one because Abby has shown me that they ARE capable of making it home safe and sound)
4:15 - ice cream and candies for snacks . . . upstairs in the bonus room of course so that they can watch their favorite tv shows while enjoying their snacks (all the while reassuring Anne that candy is indeed healthy for you and that it is okay to eat it all of the time)
4:45 - let the play with their friends until 11 pm and serve the entire neighborhood dinner
11 pm - more ice cream, cookies and treats before bed
12 am - bed time, but only if they feel like it

You know, if I can swing it I want to actually try and run the house the way that they would have me do it for a week. I have a sneaking suspicion that they would think that they were in HEAVEN the first few days, but that after a couple of days of candies, and late nights that we would probably end up back to our normal routine. . . . at least I am HOPING that that would be the case!!! But until I muster up the courage to actually try that I will just have to stick to my good old trusty saying of "Abby, you're NOT THE MOMMA!!" and when she IS the momma she can do whatever she wants.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Chapped Knees

I have a feeling that I am going to get chapped knees this year. Why? Well because I have a feeling that I am going to be spending a great deal of time kneeling on them in prayer! I just got asked to serve in my church as a 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency in our ward. Yikes! I am very nervous! I have never been called into a presidency before! I have been a leader several times, but never in a presidency! I was both shocked and humbled by the calling when it was given to me.
As soon as I was called I thought about what would be the important things that I would want to teach the children. Here is what I have come up with:
I want to teach the children who they are
- I mean how important is it in this day and age to really know who you are and where you came from? When I was a teenager I know that knowing who I was kept me out of a lot of trouble. It also helped me deal with all of the pressures of teenagedom that I went through and I know that it has shaped me into the person that I am today.
I want to teach the children that they are loved
- Who doesn't want to feel loved? Isn't that something that we all need in our lives? I have always felt that children who feel that they are loved are happy children and happy children grow up to become happy, successful adults. I honestly think that this is something that is greatly underestimated in our society, and if I can just succeed in making one child feel as though there is someone out there who really and truly cares about them and what they are going through then I will have succeeded.
I want to teach the children to love the gospel
- I have always had a testimony of the gospel. I can honestly say that I have never had a huge bright light AHA moment, I have just always known that the gospel is true. This knowledge has lifted me from the depths of despair and it has strenghtened my shoulders when I have felt that my burden is too heavy to bear and it has kept me free from the bondages that come with addiction.
As I look around at the children that I see everywhere I always wonder to myself what they will be like when they are older. I wonder what I can do to help them to grow up to be happy and to be able to look back on their lives and to be proud of themselves. If I could help every child in the world, I would! But, alas, I do not have that opportunity. All I can do is help the children that I get the priviledge of knowing and if I can help them in some small way then I will be happy.
So, you see, I cannot bear this responsibility alone. I need help. And if I want to be able to help the children to learn to love the Lord then I will need His help so that I can know the best way possible. The Primary President that I am working under is someone who I have loved for a long time. She is an amazing and very talented person (who happens to be an elementary school teacher) and I know that she is going to do great things for these children. I hope that I will be able to help her with the things that she needs help with and that she knows that I would do anything for her. I am excited to work with her and I am excited to be able to spend tons of time with my own kiddies on Sundays as our whole family will now be in Primary together!
Tomorrow I will go out and buy myself some nice, thick lotion to rub on my knees, because I know that they will get chapped with all of the time that I will be spending on my knees in prayer. But if chapped knees are the sacrifice I will have to make. . . so be it!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

How do you . . . . . ???

How do you make people more comfortable with something that is new? How do you educate someone on something that you know that they will love and that will help them out but they are too scared to try? How do you say to people yes you are when they tell you that they aren't interested??? How do you get someone interested in digital and fusion scrapbooking????
Come on ladies!!! I need your help!!! I know that some of you are into scrapbooking (or want to be). How can I get you to try something like digital scrapbooking which is 1 - cheaper 2 - faster 3 - creates REALLY cute books 4 - still allows you to use the scrapbooking supplies that you own to create fusion pages and 5 - EASY!!!!! I need some ideas!!!! Anything will help!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

My Latest Digital Scrapbooking Adventure

This was a little experiment that I did. I have been working on this album using some digital software called Memory Mixer because I am going to be teaching a class on how to use it starting in October. The software allows you to add music to your album and even insert home videos and you can turn it into a digital album, or a digital movie as well as print it off as a scrapbook. So, I decided to try and create a digital movie out of my little scrapbook and I added some music to it. The album that you will see here is only the digital portion of what my album will look like when it is completely finished. I am going to be printing it out tomorrow and then adding some traditional scrapbooking embellishments and techniques to turn this album into a "Fusion Scrapbook" and hopefully add a bit of dimension to the album.

Feel free to let me know what you think, as I will be having this album on display in my mom's North store for other people to use as an example, and I don't want to be embarrassed!!!

Okay, now that I have had a chance to see what it looks like on my blog I just want to let you know that even though you can't see them, there are single words on every page that express how I feel about Lee. The movie is pretty small on the screen so you can't always see them, but they are there. . . . oh and don't give me credit for the beautiful pics. They were done by my very talented Aunt Judi.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Slipping Through my Fingers

I always have a hard time on the first day of school. I know that I should be counting down to the first day of school all summer long, but to me it is a really bittersweet day. I am always a whole mess of emotions on the first day of school. I am excited for the girls to go and see all of their many friends. I am excited to have a bit of a break from having 5 crazies around here all day long. I am excited for the girlies to start learning new things and progress in their studies. But, it always hits me that my time with them is so short. I sometimes feel as though they are slipping through my fingers. They are growing up. My Abby is in grade 3 and Anne is in grade 2 and Caroline is in kindergarten. Where did the time go??? Have I spent enough time with them? Am I teaching them the things that I SHOULD be teaching them? Am I savoring this time that I have with them???
Arrrrggggg the first day of school is so frustrating!! I hate having all of these feelings!!! After school, I am going to pick up the kiddies and drown all of my frustrations in a nice big Peanut Buster Parfait!! Because . . . .Hey! Everybody loves a parfait!!