TOP TEN Questions About Santa from the Huhtala Children

10. How does he get in when we don't have a fireplace?

9. Can we put a present for Santa under the tree?

8. Is that Santa? (a seemingly intoxicated santa holding a sign in front of a jewelry store...we assured her THAT was not Santa )

7. Has Santa ever been in a Turkish Prison? (Yes, that one was from my 5th and oldest child, a.k.a. my husband.)

6. Does he really watch me when I sleep? That’s kinda creepy!

5. Do reindeer like cookies or carrots?

4. Does Santa speak Spanish?

3. Santa is real just like Jesus...huh mommy? (Ouch that was a hard one)

2. Does Santa drink Soy Milk like me?

And the number one question asked about Santa by the Huhtala children this season is......

1. Is he coming NOW??? Then WHEN??? Can he come early?? How many more times do I have to go sleep before he's here?? Tonight??

Man, I wish the big man would just get here all ready...HE'LL GET HERE WHEN HE GET'S HERE! GO TO SLEEP!

Good Times

Tonight, Jay and I turned on the TV to snuggle down and watch LoTR for the googolplex time (Paytons favorite number) and we noticed a thin line going through our movie. Turned on regular TV, same thing. Our TV is going out!



We bought our little beauty back in 1999. I was pregnant with Payton and at the time all Jay could talk about was how our first official purchase of a TV HAD to be a Sony WEGA. I wanted to suprise him for his birthday so I bought it, and my sister and I tried to carry the thing up the flight of stairs to our apartment. Luckily, a gentlemen came by, noticed I was 7 months pregnant and carrying a 100lb. TV with my sister (who probably weighed about that much herself) and offered to help. I mean there's still chivalry out there! Needless to say, this TV has weirdly been kinda like a family pet. It has stood in our house through good memories and I'm sad to see it's getting old!

I secretly think Jason is trying to "pretend" he's disappointed, but deep down he's excited about the possibility of purchasing a new TV in the near future. I informed him, of course, as his financial advisor, banker, and manager that this TV had to have 15 such lines through it and be utterly and completely impossible to watch before we'd consider shopping for a new one. I mean even then we could knock out the glass, turn it into a fish tank and watch some pretty Siamese fighting fish duke it out. Or, I know! I know! How about putting a log in there and lighting it and pretending it's the Yule Log Channel?! Did anyone ever see that channel on TV at Christmas time? It was always on at my dad's house. It was just this log burning in a fireplace and every once in awhile a hand would reach out and throw another log on or poke it with a poker and we'd all squeal with delight. Man, those were good times. Good times.

Got Milk or Not Milk?

Ok, so just a little disclaimer first of all that I am the only member of my family (so far) with these liberal views on human consumption. My husband is in no part associated with this thinking and looks at me like I'm crazy every time I talk about this stuff.

I've been reading a little bit about this debate and it's quite interesting. We're the only animals on this earth who continue to consume milk after infancy. And we turn to another animal for the source. Is this natural? Then there's the nasty facts about growth hormones, possibility of spreading disease, and did you know that in every glass of milk your drinking pus? Disgusting, but do I want to give it up, AND do I want to just stop reading things that interest me so that I remain ignorant??

Half of my family drinks Soy Milk. The one child that doesn't has Asthma and behavioral problems. Would I be doing him a favor by eliminating dairy and anything else that contains casein from his diet? I'm not going vegan or anything (but I have researched it). I mean I love my meats in moderation, but do I really need milk? Can I train myself (and my son) to enjoy soy? Maybe I'll try it. Do a one week challenge and see how we feel. Nothing crazy like no ice cream or cheese, just milk. Maybe I'll create a new blog about it and have Payton post with me! That would be fun! K, just some thoughts today. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

P.S. Speaking of vegan..just for fun and to prove Lehi's teaching that all things must have an opposition I googled "vegetables bad for you" and of course got all sorts of articles on why we "shouldn't" eat vegetables. There's an argument for everything!

Celestia, Your embarrasing me!

http://celestialyman.blogspot.com/

Oh my gosh, who to thank. First of all my husband for his love and support...I mean puh-leeze! I'm so embarrassed! I'm in no way a super mom. I just feel like I should pay it forward for all those true Super Mom's who have gone out of their way to help me when in need. I've sooo had the days where I never want to cook again and I cry everytime someone spills milk! (Or juice, or pinesol, my box of baking soda, their stomach contents...) Thanks for your kind words and I'm glad I could help. Your really just so cool that I'm trying to find any way I can to socialize with you.

A day in the life of......

A homeschooling Mom once said to a non-homeschooling friend of mine "I don't know what mom's DO all day that send kids to school." At first, when I heard this it made me sit back and for a second think "What DO i do all day?? I'm such a loser!" I thought I was less than a mom because I send my kids to school. Then I realized, I DO A LOT! So here it is. A break down of what I did today (of course this was an extra busy day so don't think this is "the norm"). By the way, please just insert "Wipe a Butt" and "Clean up baby barf" every 30 minutes, on your own.

5:30am - Wake up and meditate for 10 minutes, get dressed for workout
6am - Work Out
6:40am - Scriptures, Nurse the baby
7am - Make Bed, Shower, Get kids making beds, getting dressed and picking up rooms before school
7:15am - Feed kids breakfast, Make lunches, Feed Baby Breakfast (try to run back and blowdry hair here)
7:45am - Get everyones teeth brushed, hair combed, out the door(without leaving shoes).
8am - Drop off kids, return home
8:05am - Pull out sourdough starter and give it a feeding to activate for rolls later (I mean you'd think I had enough things to feed)
8:15am - Clean up breakfast and "morning rush" mess
8:45am - Finish getting ready/Clean up bathroom/start laundry
9am - Breathe
9:15 am - Out the door for grocery shopping (After packing snack, water, diapers, burp cloths)

10:45am - Return home, put away perishables
11am - Nurse Baby
11:30am - Make lunch for self and toddler/Clean up
12pm - Put away more groceries/Start another load of laundry
12:15pm - Feed Baby Lunch
12:30pm - Finish putting away groceries
12:45pm - Read "Just one more...." book to toddler, snuggle baby, both go for nap
1:00pm - Blend frozen peaches and put in plastic baby food containers for freezing (Figured this one out after having to thaw out like 6 food ice cubes to make a full meal...I flash freeze the food in those plastic little Gerber stage 2 containers and once frozen, pop them into a freezer bag. Now I only need 2 for a meal! I'n so smart!!)
1:30pm - Start dough for rolls for dinner
2:00pm - Start Split Pea Soup (Yay! I had a ham bone!)
2:30pm - Pull babies from naps, pick up big kids
2:45pm - Make snack, talk about day
3:15pm - Homework, clean up from dinner making
4pm - Watch something I've DVR'd while I fold Laundry, listen to Katrina read for 20 minutes
5pm - Eat Dinner. Then the real madness begins
5:30pm - It's all a blur. Basically Cleaning bodies and household surfaces non-stop until 7pm.
7pm - Read/Prayer/Brush little teeth/books/bed
8pm - Crash on the couch, turn on the TV and eat a fudge pop
9pm - Brush Teeth/Wash Face, scriptures, bed

*Repeat Daily

I mean seriously. I know this day was a little extreme but I have a day like this at least ONCE a week. Some people like to homeschool their kids, Some mom's are crafty, (I certainly am not one of those), some do a lot of outdoors activities, some make babyfood, and some days (or weeks) we just try to keep our heads above water and stay afloat. The only reason I'm doing this post is because it wasn't one of those days for me. Otherwise it would have read as follows:

7:45am - Crawl out of bed, let kids dress themselves in shorts and t-shirts for the rainy day, give money for breakfast and lunch, take to school (w/out teeth or ha.ir brushed)
8:15am - Slump around the house in jammies and Count down the minutes till bedtime

My point is that we're all different but we're all great mom's trying to do the best we can. If your reading this maybe you could post on your blog what your day looked like today. You might be suprised and pleased to find that you accomplished more than you thought. I personally find it fascinating to know what occupies people's time so please let me know if you decide to do this :)

5 Years

I remember making clubs and forts with you and Scott when Amber wouldn't play with me anymore.

I remember catching you in the bathroom frequently raising your eyebrows and making kissy faces.

I remember your OBSESSION with your hair and how you'd always say "You wish you were this good looking."

I remember your crush on that Smith girl and how you and Scott would fight over who got to pass the sacrament to her family.

I remember your ability to make everyone laugh.

I remember you patiently standing next to the piano and singing over and over again for me because I couldn't hit the ranges of the songs I loved sung by male singers.

I remember you helping mom set up a picnic blanket dinner in our field for me and Jason on my 16th birthday. You rode this little bike out the 100 yards to deliver stuff to us making me laugh every time.

I remember you suddenly being a trouble maker

I remember you being withdrawn

I remember how confused I was when I found out you were sick.

I remember visiting you for the first time and not being able to hold back the tears.

I remember visiting you every Sunday that I could and wondering when you were going to "come out of it".

I remember playing card games and the disappointment when I didn't bring you Jack in the Box cuz it was Sunday.

I remember your obsession with eating.

I remember you shaving that beautiful hair and never taking care of it again.

I remember getting the phone call. Thanks to that morning and the morning of 9/11 my heart stops every time the phone rings in the early morning hours.

I remember walking into moms and seeing all our family and feeling closer to them than I have ever felt.

I remember the pain of having to all go visit Brandon as a family and tell him what had happened.

I remember singing at your funeral.

I remember laughing about the good times after your funeral.

I remember you, and I will never forget. Love ya Jon.

Television

I mean what else am I going to do with my husband gone? I know, I should read enlightening books, meditate, enrich my life...blah blah blah. All I want to do once these kids go to bed and the house is finally in order is veg out. Bless Dish Network for assisting a Mom with her desire to not have to "think" for a few hours. And bless DVR for not making her sit through a single irritating commercial.

I'm so exhausted and I really should get to bed but...hey what's that?
Oh look, another Oprah show about really "rich" people in debt up to their ears. I love those shows! Whats up with Dr. Phil? Does anyone else think he's heading to sort of "white trash" tv? Baseball (skip), Hunting channel (skip), Some war documentary (skip). There are some benefits to a husband being gone at night :)

Well, that's all for now. Fact: "The Office" is starting. Fact: I really need a life. Fact: If I see one more "Bee Movie" ad on NBC when attempting to skip through commercials at rapid speeds I'm gonna puke. Fact: This fact stuff is only funny to you if you watch the office.

My 2 year old

I'm grateful I get to hang out with such a cutie every day. I'm grateful that she's independent. She gets her own water out of the fridge now. This morning she had about 8 cups lined up on the kitchen floor with water in them. I'm grateful that she eats only the top of ANYTHING frosted and proceeds to completely annihilate the remaining portion into tiny microscopic pieces that even the vacuum can't seem to locate yet it is visible. Right now she is picking up a HUGE bucket of crayons and pens that she spilled on the floor saying "Did you REALLY do that??" Over and over again. These are just a few of our moments today. Just before writing this I was looking at her cute face deep in thought while she played pretend with her Barbie and she caught me. She said, "What?" I said, "Nothing." She said, "Then what are you looking at?" Well excuse me!

Thank you Tylenol Cold and Sinus

Feeling sick, like such a loser. What is it with illness that makes you feel like your never ever going to get better and that this is the new you for the rest of your life? I wish the baby had a switch on him. I’d just shut him down until I was feeling rested and well. Payton is suspended (again) and home and talking my ear off. He’s doing schoolwork and it’s such a struggle. I don’t know if I could home school this guy. He gets distracted so easily with something as simple as sharpening a pencil (the pencil sharpener ran out of batteries so he had to pull everything out of the cupboard to get to some new ones. And yes, there are 15 other sharpened pencils in the pencil cup, however he doesn't want those.) Or how about hanging an art picture on the fridge. He is currently doing that one. The magnet had to accidentally drop under the fridge…hmmm…better find something to fish it out with…lets dig through the junk drawer. Still no luck…even though there are 50 other magnets on this fridge, I’ll “borrow” a magnet from mom’s calendar that falls every time someone breathes on it. Whoops there goes the calendar and half the items hung on the fridge. Now he’s standing there with his arms full of pictures and magnets trying to hold the calendar onto the fridge and looking around for support. I mean all this to hang a picture!! I really need to try harder with him. I resolve to study how to behaviorally treat ADHD kids and see how he responds. I feel for his teachers who have to deal with getting him to accomplish things on a daily basis! I have noticed if I make him a “to do” list he does really well. (inserting foot in mouth as he is currently whining and throwing toys because I told him he had to do the items on his list in order, and could not pick which things he wanted to do first). Sigh……Someday I will have him figured out and by then he’ll probably have black fingernails, be piercing his tongue and calling me by my middle name “Lucille”.

My Family

Had one of those weekends where you wonder what the purpose of your existence is. You know the ones where the daily grind just rubs on you and you feel like throwing in the towel?

On Sunday afternoon my family (who I had not gotten together with for a long time) had a party for my Mom, my Niece Nikki, and my Nephew Jaidens birthdays. I dragged my feet going because I was feeling so...."blah". As I was walking to the park area where the party was, 2 of my sisters came running up to me and grabbed Tyson from me and were just squealing and ooooing and ahhhing over him. I instantly knew this was the place I needed to be. The entire party I didn't have to hold that baby unless I asked to (and I had been holding him a LOT that weekend). It felt soooo great. They made fun of Bella's bangs that I hacked, I did my best impression of Paytons Flag Football games (he just stands there and plays with his mouth guard the whole time) and I forced Katrina to "Sit on Uncle Deans lap for a picture!"

With Family, my children are thought of as amazing and beautiful and their children are equally amazing to me. With Family, I can pig out with out worrying about what anyone else thinks. With Family, I can laugh at the lamest things that non-family totally wouldn't get. With Family, I am just comfortable.

I come from a large Family of 9. One is no longer with us but I'm sure he was smiling and laughing right along with us on that beautiful day. As siblings we grew up fighting like cats and dogs, but as family we are fiercely loyal and never say anything we wouldn't say to someones face. We just don't have the jealousies, or competitions, or nit-picky (is that a word?) things that I hear about in a lot of other Families. I don't know if it's because we've been through so much together, but I don't want it to ever change. I truly want complete happiness for each and every one of them and their families.

I'm so grateful that I went to that party, returned to my roots and remembered why I love family so much.

Sadly, I'm not that creative

Ok people, that picture below of those waffles is a borrowed picture from the web. I did not create such a beautiful concoction. Mine are usually thinner around the edges then they are in the middle, and sometimes slightly burnt once the last batches are being made and I get sick of checking them....My husband saw this post from work and thought "Man! What are they doing at home??!!" I just needed to clear this up for the record, just so no one expects me to start moving mountains over here.

Waffles

I got NOTHING ok??? I am grateful for so much but nothing that anyone wants to waste their time reading about! Someone throw me a topic, cuz my life is just
d-u-l-l right now.

Katrina just told me she likes to draw waffles. I'm so grateful she likes to draw waffles, it gives me something to talk about.

I'm grateful for waffles because my kids love to eat them so much. Between the 4 of them (yes Jay is included in this group) they can probably eat about 14 waffles. So, including my one waffle, 15 waffles are consumed. Since my waffle maker only makes 2 at a time this gives me a lot of time to stand around all day cooking waffles and thinking about when I'm going to start preparing lunch.

What am I going to do when Tyson becomes a major contributor at the dinner table? I'll have to triple every recipe! Then in another 5 years Payton is going to be a teenager and....*shudder*. Celeste (who probably won't be compassionate services leader in 5 years but this is my bog ok??)will have to schedule 2 people to bring us meals each night when I have my mental breakdown because I'm ALWAYS feeding Something.

I forgot that I'm grateful

Ok, so I realized that I have started to forget about my promise to make this a "Gratitude Journal". If anyone missed my first original blog to this journal and the epiphany (sp?) I had, here it is: http://joalea.blogspot.com/2007_03_27_archive.html

And if anyone is annoyed with me right now for using a word like "Epiphany" click on it for the definition, see the 3rd definition....I definitely don't want people to think I'm claiming to see divine beings. Man I love the internet! There aint nuttin we can't know!

As I was contemplating what I am grateful for, I got up to answer the phone and as I shut the computer saw this exact face gazing at me:





















I ran and got my camera and tried to get him to do it again and kept getting this:


























I'm so grateful for his perpetual love for me. (How many of you clicked on it that time?!) If we could all have such perfect love and be so free of judgements towards others, what a spectacular place this world would be. Here's one more just to brighten your day like he does mine :)

Still Grateful (M&M's have rights too!)

Did I fail to mention in my last blog how grateful I am for m&m's? I definitely am. It may have sounded like I was cuttin on m&m's (when's the last time you used "cuttin"?) but I wasn't. I love m&m's so all of you m&m activists please don't send me e-mails telling me how wonderful they are. I'm already converted. I just don't love the consequences that come from my love of m&m's.
Just so we're all clear on this....

M&M's Anyone?

My friend Kristi Brausch blogged how she hasn't had any "crap food" cravings for a few weeks and it made me think about the weird signals my brain seems to send when I'm pregnant vs. when I'm nursing.

Ok, now for those who have seen me pregnant, you know that due to some weird gene I hardly gain any weight but still have healthy sized babies, yadda yadda yadda I diet and only eat celery cuz it's sooooo good for a growing fetus.

Seriously though, when I'm pregnant I think my mind goes into this nurturing mode of "eat all the right foods, help the little developing brain, bones, etc..." I mean I eat all my veggies, I make sure to get the right amount of iron rich foods, calicum, protein etc....Then the baby comes out, and once that colicky period is past my rebellion emerges.

I usually lose all my pregnancy weight the first month of having a baby, then I gain almost as much as I did when I was pregnant while I'm nursing. I eat everything in sight! Correction, I eat everything that is crap for my body in sight! Hungry in the morning? How about some chocolate cake! "No kids you may not have fruit snacks in your lunch they're full of sugar!" (quietly stuffing choc. chips in my mouth when they're not looking) Then I quit nursing somewhere around the 1st birthday and find a nice balance of 1/2 healthy/ 1/2 crap. I mean somebody just drive over here and take these M&M's from me already!!

P.S. The twizzlers are in the cookbook cupboard and the Oreos are in the back of the pantry (a special treat for the kids of course). Grab those while your at it.

A hunting he will go

So he's going. And the best word I can use to describe his mood as he left tonight for his Dad's is "Giddy". For the first time in our 10 1/2 years of marriage Jason is going hunting. He grew up hunting with his dad, raised eating everything from Venison to Rabbit to Squirrel to Roadkill (short pause to insert Jay's defense: It only got hit in the head!). Yes he is a born and raised redneck and I knew this day would come. There's always been great excuses...not enough money, time, etc...and then he got into this "compound bow obsession" with his Dad. He went out and bought himself a deer tag for his birthday behind my back and sentences like "What do you think about me going hunting this year?" Turned to sentences like "Deer season starts the end of August." "When I go hunting in August with Dad I'll only be gone for a Saturday." I've never discouraged him from going.....I've just never encouraged him :)

Payton is not quite old enough and was very upset that he couldn't go. (Tears and everything). He doesn't quite understand that he'll scare all the deer in a 20 mile radius with every "When do we eat?". Before Jay left he told me that he told Payton to say a prayer for him in the morning. I said, "That you'll be safe or that you'll kill a deer?" Slight pause...."Both". Oh geeze.

Quick Survey: Should you pray to kill? I mean even Nephi just asked for location.....

Mr. Fixit and the A/C

So Jay is kind of a Mr. Fixit. He's pretty good with things that involve wiring, car repair, computer repair, installing things, taking apart garbage disposals that someone clogged (twice) with potato peelings. (I mean what's a garbage disposal for anyway!) He even sews buttons back on my shirts! However, he has some sort of jinx going on with A/C units. His car's A/C has been having problems for a year now and he has taken it apart several times, ordered various parts, thinks he has it fixed and...it's still not working. Mr. Fixit can't fix it.

I came home from enrichment on Wednesday night to a really hot and stuffy house.

Me: It's hotter in here than it is outside!
Him: I was thinkin it was gettin kind of hot (hasn't looked up from psp game)
Me: How come the A/C isn't on?
Him: It's not? (Still no eye contact)

No, no it wasn't. The A/C bandit had struck again. For the first time in our marriage...Mr. Fixit called a repair man :)

Talk about something to be grateful for. Apparently air conditioning gives me energy and makes me think loving thoughts about my kids.
Heat and no A/C=the opposite. Go figure.....

Les Miserables

Ok, how fun is the music circus?? We've decided we want season tickets. We were a little skeptical when they said that there was no bad seat in the house but it was totally true! (With the exception of the big headed lady in front of me...I mean I ALWAYS get that seat!) The theatre is not very big and you could see the actors and their facial expressions so well! They also come running in and out through the exit rows on the aisles (don't try to get up for a bathroom break before intermission like this one little old lady did, we thought security was going to take her out.....if Eponine didn't first that is). The singers were all amazingly good and I'm still smiling about it. I've seen Les Mis 3 times and this one was my favorite by far.

Word of advice: If you plan on eating downtown on Les mis and "Earth, Wind and Fire" night, make sure you plan to arrive at least 2 hours before the play starts. Even if you have reservations. Apparently people come early and then just SIT in the restaurant until the play starts causing all sorts of problems with getting your table on time. We were there for our reservation at 6:30 and didn't sit down until 7:20. Our food got there around 7:40 Can you say indigestion? I've never eaten that much PF Changs in 5 minutes flat. We ran/limped (long story why) 3 blocks to the theatre just as they were starting to close the doors.

Once we caught our breath we enjoyed 3 hours of being totally mesmerized. Jay you are so welcome for the wonderful birthday gift!

Stuffed

Ok, so I've had sourdough pancakes, waffles, rolls, and today decided I was going to camp out at home and delve into the sourdough bread round. I must admit I was a bit skeptical. I've been studying the sourdough breadmaking process for a few weeks now and have been putting it off because it sounds like such a pain! I've made lots of bread from scratch but nothing requires this much babying. I feed the starter on my counter overnight, the rising for sourdough is double what it is for "bought yeast" bread, I egg washed the bread, I cornmealed the pan, I put a cup of water in the bottom of the oven, I sprayed the ovenwalls and floor with a fine mist of water while it baked (every 2 minutes for the first 10).....And all the while I'm thinking....is this worth it? See for yourself :) Picture #2 was taken 1-hour later.

My Hubby

Right now he's sick and driving me crazy (I mean don't I have enough kids?) but he really is amazing. When he's home, he matches me 100% in child care duties. I'm sure he'd rather be sitting (laying) on the couch, watching tv, getting snacks brought to him while he ignores the kids fighting in the next room. A lot of men call this their "wind down time" after work. What a buncha baloney.

Jay always gives me a break when I need it and is more than sympathetic to my "job". He truly respects the roll of a mother and is often heard to say "What do you need me to do?" It makes for one very happy momma.
Think I'll go lay on the couch with some bon-bons :)

My New Pet

Isn't she beautiful? I grew her myself. My little San Francisco sourdough yeasties are feeding beautifully and in a few days should be ready for breadmaking! (Or rolls, pizza dough, pancakes, waffles, biscuits). I'll post pics of my attempts at sourdough baking. Requires much patience.

Goin' back to the old school. There's no school like it :)

What do people do without Grandmas?

I'm so thankful for my mother and my mother-in-law. The past few Sundays have been INSANE for me for some reason. A certain spirited first-born has suddenly decided that he absolutely doesn't have to listen to ANYTHING I ask him to do and that he wants to see just how many buttons he can push before I'll drag him out of sacrament meeting. He's always been a little on the difficult side when his energy levels are high but he's not known for being defiant and.....just plain nasty. Needless to say, I haven't been really positive about Sundays and church these past few weeks and announced to Jason that I would no longer be attending sacrament meeting. Not only would my sanity remain intact but Bella would get a nap before church, Tyson could actually eat before we go and not in the middle of the meeting and I wouldn't have to pull a child (who's hanging onto a pew) out of sacrament meeting. I'm sure your now wondering what this has to do with mothers. Well my mom called me Sunday morning at just the perfect time (like she always does) when I feel like reality is slipping and I need to vent BAD (to someone who is non-male and doesn't say the words "I'm sorry" over and over again). So of course she listened, made me laugh, tried to help me come up with solutions and gave me some ideas to try (I mean she had 9 children to deal with all on her own during sacrament meeting). Then she called me and listened again at the end of the day and reassured me that I am a good mother and that I will get through this childs behavioral problems. She always seems to know when to call and I swear she stays up at night trying to solve all my problems. She never judges me and is always building me up. How blessed I am to have this kind of mother.

Now for the Mother-In-Law. What a selfless person she is. Anytime she is needed she drops everything to help. When I get sick she brings groceries and dinner (she lives over an hour away). She has been to more of Tysons doctor appointments than Jay has. Whenever she takes Payton and Katrina for the weekend she comes and gets them AND brings them back at the end. She just tries to help make our lives as stressless as possible. And man does she love her grandkids. I sometimes think that this woman is more in love with my children than I am. Seriously she goes through withdrawals if she goes a weekend without seeing them. So I had an appointment with a cardiologist today for Tysons murmur and she called this morning to say that she would come to the hospital to help with the kids. I informed her (through Jason) that it would be totally miserable and could be long and there was no way she needed to come all that way on her day off when I could make Jay do it ;) But come she did, and was I ever grateful. Tyson had to register at one station, get an e.k.g. at another one, and see a doctor at another one. It was a lot of waiting, walking and trying to calm an infant who was sick of being messed with. It would have been horrible with even 1 of my kids let alone all of them. She played with them outside, they walked around the hospital, and then she took us all to Red Lobster afterwards. What could have been a disaster was actually a good day.
I'm so thankful for Grandmas :)

Apology

Ok, so the last blog was a little sarcastic and I have to apologize. I really do have a LOT to be grateful for, it just doesn't always feel like it at the end of the day. Now if I would only post in the Morning I'm sure you would be annoyed at how fabulous and perfect my life sounds. Some things I am grateful for (in no particular order):

My Husband and his patience with a wannabe Princess
My Children and their patience with a nursing/hormonal mother
My true friends for always loving me no matter what
My Scriptures for filling me with inspiration and keeping my brain alert and active
My Heavenly Father (and his patience for a wannabe Princess)
My body that is free of impairments and lets me enjoy life
My ability to express myself through music
My children's healthy appetites
My priviledge to live in the promised land
My ability to laugh
My time spent with my brother
My little primary and their angel voices
My "scratch making" abilities. Some of my favorites are fresh bread, baked french fries, potstickers, and pizza crust (I make a mean whole wheat one that is sooooo yummy).

Which makes me think of another list to make. Things I would like to accomplish:

Making SF Sourdough bread from scratch (I've ordered a special yeast and am going to start "growing" my starter this week!)

Keeping in touch with my family more

Have just 1 day where I don't raise my voice to my children once.

To take Payton to see the Northern Lights someday (in Greenland of course since it's near Jay's Finnish roots). He read about them in a book and we researched them online. Now we're saving our pennies in a bucket to go :)

To smile as much as I did when I was 15. (No that's not when I married Jay to all you jokesters)

To read and study about every tiny thing that interests me and become more passionate about life

To not spend so much time making lists on the internet

Wish me luck! Make your own list and send me a copy....

I wish I had a rewind button

Cuz my life is just so dang peachy keen that I wish I could just rewind the day and do it over and over and over and over again!!!! Oh wait......I DO THAT. (and I'm so very grateful.)

Girls Night

Amen to Girls Night. Good food, lots of giggling, talk about things that would make the husbands sorry to be in the room and completely oblivious to everyone else in the restaurant around you. What other night do you go to Walgreens to get a....stapler? :) The next best part was coming home to a sweet baby who had not gone to sleep for Daddy and refused to eat until his momma came home. He couldn't stop gazing at me the entire time he nursed....I loved it...and I'm sure in a few months, I'm going to hate it.

It's Nap time!

Due to the presence of a tiny little peanut we've nick-named "Doo-doo", I am grateful for naps and the ability to cut off all modern technology. Turned off the ringer, the old AM (Kimmy's internet lingo for answering machine) and had a nice hour and a half of uninterrupted cozy nap time. Now, most of the time when I've woken up my caller ID shows that the entire world suddenly tried to call me right in the middle of my nap....and I slept right through it :)

Big Kids

Gotta love the big kids. I have come down with mastitis and I feel terrible. Laid awake all night feeling like I had been hit by a truck. Every muscle in my body hurts. It's even hard to pick up Tyson....he feels so heavy! This morning he woke up in the middle of getting the kids ready for school (as usual) and I had to drop everything and feed him (on an infected breast of course....ouch!) Bella decided she was done eating her third bowl of cereal right as I started feeding and she started yelling and thumping the spoon around (which means next the cereal and milk is going to start flying). Payton says, "I'll get her down." He gets a washcloth and washes her hands and face, takes off her bib, takes off her tray and pulls her out of her highchair. Then he proceeds to clear the table, putting the milk and cereals away and throwing away empty bags (in the recycling). I was so proud of him. Gotta love the big kids :)

Baby Barf

I am grateful for baby barf. Without it I would have much less laundry to do, my baby wouldn't get that neat cheese curd build-up in his neck, and I wouldn't have an excuse to put on a new outfit every couple of hours (actually to be honest I hardly ever even bother changing. Gross, I know).

Shutterfly

Today I am grateful for online digital photo printing. I just ordered my 2006 Huhtala Family Photo Album from shutterfly and I didn't have to buy any scrapbooking supplies, mess up my table, cut and glue things.....I just did a lot of mouse clicking and creative organizing and voila! a beautiful book of memories. I am sooo not crafty or in any way interested in scrapbooking so I am truly grateful for things like this. Now if only I could say "I'm grateful for naps".......(yawn)

Imagination

Today I am grateful for imagination. I LOVED my imagination growing up. I could often be seen if you looked out the kitchen window running around the yard back and forth, talking to myself and oblivious to the world around me. I can remember my older brother one time catching me in our family car pretending to drive and talking to myself. I was 13. How embarrasing.
Today Katrina was helping me fold the laundry on my bed and we were singing songs (of course the ones that fabulous song leader is currently teaching the primary). I suddenly remembered an article I had read on ways to help your child develop an imagination. Of course they are going to do it on their own but there are things that can be done to help them along. I started to tell a made-up story and then would pause and say, "and then...." and look at her. She had a little bit of a hard time with it as she would basically try to then end the story with the next sentence. For instance one of my stories started out with a Unicorn looking for a necklace she had lost, and then..."She found it." "No, no, no Katie let's try to add more to the story." Blank look... I know that after a few more tries at this game she'll start to get the hang of it. So then Payton enters the room and is playing our game for a little bit, then he says, "Mom tell us the story of Hansel and Gretel!"
Do you remember the story tellers that used to come to the schools? Our class would be led to the library where we would all sit down in front of an old lady who looked like she might kill over and die any second. She would smile and shake with age as we all settled down, and then, she would began to tell a story. I remember her telling "clash of the titans". I was mesmerized and enthralled as she talked about perseus, medusa, and pegasus. She was so animated and fascinating. I remember being extrememly disappointed when it was over and wanting to hear more.
Anyways, back to our laundry scene. I began to tell the story of Hansel and Gretel (with Payton butting in and correcting me every few minutes). "No mom, first he drops pebbles and they find their way back home and then the NEXT time he drops bread crumbs!" "No mom, Hansel is the only one in the cage! Gretel is doing all the chores for the witch!" Apparently I need a refresher course in twisted fairy tales... So when the story is done I say, "Let's play Hansel and Gretel. I will be the mean stepmom and the witch, you guys are Hansel and Gretel." They think that's awesome. "Can Dad be the dad?" "Of course he will." Says I. So we all head off to the living room to let Dad know his part. We do the pebbles (cheerios), breadcrumbs, walk into the woods (backyard), eating of the gingerbread house (the playset), which has been decorated with a sign identifying it as the gingerbread house and with various items scattered around from our play kitchen food symbolizing "the candy decorations". We fed Payton up fat, Katie pushed me into the fire and they loved it. So there....I've done my good mom deed. That one should be good for like a month right? :)

Today it's Television

Today I am grateful for Television. How else is a poor sick child supposed to pass the time away when mom has a dental appointment and grocery shopping to do and Dad has to work in his office? Although Payton loves school....if you gave him a choice of stay home and watch TV all day, that would be his choice. He's always been a bit of an addict. Probably my own fault. I feed his habit. I'm his supplier. Actually, in the school year he honestly only watches about 3 hours of Television a week and it's ALL done on the weekend. We'll make up lost time over summer vacation I'm sure :)
His asthma/allergies (or is it a cold?) are really bad today. We may need to take him to the doctor if his cough doesn't get under control soon. Has anyone ever had cough medicine actually work for their child?? I don't know if it just doesn't work on asthmatics but it's never cured a cough for any of my kids and I've tried a bazillion. I wonder how much a bazillion really is? Maybe I'll delve into that another day.

A ramble to all mothers (you'll get this)

So I guess our blog is a lot like our house...decorated mainly with pictures of family. Once I realized this I decided I needed my own blog to write (ramble) more about our daily life so people can get to know us better. Maybe we'll get more free pity dinners/babysitting??

Today was a long but really short day. I just barely accomplished all the things I try to accomplish every day and don't really love doing...yet I wish I had accomplished more. Does that make sense? Jay is out doing Elders Quorum stuff and, although I never want him to leave I have realized it's for the wrong reasons. I need him so that I can tell him all the things that need to be done around the house while my own two hands are busy. He's so good to me. He never complains and just takes one look at my face and says "What can I do?" Sometimes I wonder if he feels like my slave... Bought and Paid for!!! (I could get in trouble with comments like that on the internet). This Saturday he wants to go target shooting with his Dad. As he was asking permission (hee hee) I just sort of gave him a look like, "Do whatever you want, I don't care but know that I am NOT going to be happy about it". Then he says "I'll take Payton and even Katrina with me if you like." It's not at all that I don't want to be stuck home with the kids while he's having fun, it's that I'm stuck home with the kids while he's having fun! I don't have fun things to do! I could sit around and breastfeed for awhile, get pooped on, puked on, clean up spilled milk and bacon grease off my floor, wipe a snotty nose 50 times, administer allergy, asthma, and cold medicines, tell my kids to go outside and play or I'm gonna spank their buns and make some cornmuffins to go with a crock-pot bean soup. (that's just some of what I did today). I guess I'm not irritated that he's GOING to have fun, it's that he GETS to have fun. I wish I had some girlfriends that like to play Basketball, go for nightly jogs, jam on instruments, hmmm what else... Sadly that's all I can come up with without having to think really hard. I just want to do activities that don't involve children. I love them dearly but the less I take care of myself the more I resent them. I am so grateful for so many things and ungrateful for probably many more. I will try to be more positive. I resolve to write each day (If I'm able) about something I am grateful for. I'm gonna start a gratitude journal. If you read this blog, start one of your own and we'll link up and start a really fun trend. The rules? No whining/complaining/sarcastic/cranky buns people allowed (like myself) (starting right.....now) GET BACK IN YOUR BED AND QUIT CALLING MY NAME AND IF YOU SNORT WAY DEEP INTO YOUR NASAL CAVITIES ONE MORE TIME I'M GONNA POUND YOU OVER THE HEAD REPEATEDLY WITH YOUR INHALER!!! (Ok right....now.)