Gratitude

The Brighter Side

2010-12-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

I solemnly swear to look at the brighter side of life (UNLESS a child spills milk ONE MORE TIME on my freshly mopped floors or a stack of important papers...I hold no responsibility for the not so bright side that may emerge). Oh, and if Bella asks me ONE MORE TIME for permission to eat another candy cane. I hold no responsibility for that response...either.

Today, I just woke up feeling like I wanted to hide in bed and not have to care for ANYTHING! Not even myself. Alas, the children must be fed, educated, disciplined, kept from running a MUCK. I did a lot of yelling, then a lot of apologizing, and finally did the fake mom happy thing. It goes something like this: OK, KIDS! LET'S FINISH GETTING OUR ROOMS CLEANED UP! CAN WE DO IT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU? YEAH! GO! GO! GO! (this was in all caps because that's what fake mom happy thing looks and feels like)

As usual, it significantly brightened my mood, and I think life just might be worth getting up for after all. *sigh* OH, and I also ate a LOT of chocolate. Wonder which one was the most helpful?

Room for Creativity

2010-07-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

How can I be more creative in my life? Research shows that creativity is declining in today's children. I personally took it as....it's declining in ME, and if I'm a dreadfully dull person, what kind of blobs of nothing are my children going to become? I am the first to tell people that I am not crafty or creative. Is this true? Or am I just not willing to put in the effort to BE crafty and creative? As a child, I was extremely creative. I loved to play pretend and played for hours in my own worlds. As an adult, I survive. I get by day to day the best I can without having a melt down. I do this by making things as simple as possible...and making LOTS of lists. Who finds joy in this? ME. How can I be more creative in my life? What kind of tasks, can I commit to using more creativity? Let's make a list, shall we? An evil chuckle and a rubbing of the hands..

1.The first and most obvious, how I educate my children.

2.The way in which I teach them the gospel

3.In my Primary calling

4.In my piano lessons

5.I can be more creative in my cooking. This one may sound silly, but this family EATS, and eats often. Putting more creativity in my cooking would definitely spice things up in our lives.

6.I can be more creative in decorating my home.

7.Getting the most for my dollar requires creativity :)

What kind of things am I already using creativity in?

1. Hmmmmm.......

I definitely have been exploring being creative when teaching my children. I also, often try to find ways to make my piano lessons more interesting for those who tend to struggle. Oh! Here's a few...

1. I am creative when I make green smoothies.

2. I am creative in my writing.

Yeah that's right...you're all jealous. I can think of other things, but they seem so silly to claim I am creative. Such as: “I am creative when I do my hair....” bleh. I want to think outside of the box, and really put some effort in. So let's look back at my "needs creativity list" and begin to brainstorm some ways to be more creative...with an outline (YAHOO!):

Educating my children:

1.Give them loose creativity items according to their interests during free time. Katrina could have some art supplies (and list making supplies). Payton, some Legos. Bella, some workbooks (she's the odd ball). Tyson, a box of action figures.

2.Don't be afraid to let loose. When doing school, and the children suddenly take interest in something, remember it is OK to occasionally drop everything and do some improv creativity. Don't be so rigid. “No child A, you MUST finish this math problem during math time, or you will forever break away from the assembly line society and live a happy life...”

3.Find creative ways to teach concepts. Use manipulative's, real life scenarios, and teaching as much as possible through actual experience.

4.Let them problem solve on their own. Don't provide all the answers, but rather encourage them to ask questions. Also, provide situations where the family gets together and brainstorms a problem.

Teaching them the gospel:

1.Use pictures and visuals rather than just always reading word for word.

2.Act out scenes and encourage the children to participate in “speaking rolls”.

3.Encourage the children to set up their own gospel study plan, complete with goals.

4.Do hands on activities that enforce that which you've been studying.

In my Primary Calling:

1.Think like a child....what are their interests? What would they find very exciting and fun, and how can you weave that into your lessons and activities?

2.Try to put your own spin on lesson suggestions. Don't always copy someone else's idea. Even better, ponder the weekly theme and come up with your own ideas, rather than immediately looking for someone elses.

3.Seek out inspiration from Heavenly Father. He's blessed me with so many gifts, he definitely knows the best ways I can use them.

In my piano teaching:

1.Ponder the needs of each individual child, and the ways they enjoy learning. Take into account their age, intelligence level, and interests.

2.Take that list, and brainstorm creative ways to help them learn.

3.Challenge them to push themselves. Don't always do what the teacher says...work ahead, and try to learn some things on their own.

4.Encourage them to write their own songs, by writing them down for them as they create them. Let them give them a name and make the “notation rules”.

5.Spend a portion of each lesson playing a game, or “jamming” if you have older students. Make sure they leave the lesson with positive thoughts and a smile on their face.

In my cooking:

1.No brainer here: Try new things, and don't be afraid of cooking new foods.

2.Pick a culture and study what they eat. As a family, plan a week of that “cultures” foods and learn something new each night about that culture as you sit down to eat.

3.Get artistic in the way I display our foods. Buy nicer dishes, and don't always serve everything out of a pot.

4.Give the kids “pretty things” to decorate the table with when they do their chore. Have pretty linens, glasses, plates, maybe even candles. Let them take joy in creating beauty. Don't stress about the extra laundry and dish washing.

5.Work hard on helping the family find joy in making food, and being together as a family. Not just eating it. Teach them to slow down, and savor the bites.

In decorating my home:

1.Finish painting the dang house already.

2.Learn how to sew simple things such as pillow covers and simple drapes. You can Do this...Deep Breath.

3.Study landscaping, pick ONE section of your yard and plant some pretty things. You can DO this.....use a paper bag to breathe in if you must.

4.Get rid of things that don't bring you joy, but you have been hanging on to them, simply because you've had them so long they are a growth on your.....never mind.

5.Let the kids get involved in decorating their rooms. Get them some home magazines and encourage them to make a portfolio of the things they like.

Getting the most for my dollar:

1.Shop Goodwill and DI.

2.Go to yard sales, but have a plan. Make a list of the types of items you are looking for, and try not to buy extra.

3.Don't be afraid to buy high quality if you know you'll use it A LOT. Such as towels. Why one earth do I insist on buying cheap, scratchy towels when I know I'm going to hang onto them FOREVER and try to pass them on to the next generation??

This has been fun! I see so many ways I can make improvements in my life, and I'm excited to give it a try. The next step is to make a plan. Because my non-creative self insists on having a plan, complete with lists, time frames, progress charts....and did I mention LISTS?

Ah! Je Veux Vivre

2010-03-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

I sang in another "Noon Recital" today at the college. The song was "Ah! Je Veux Vivre" from the opera "Roméo et Juliette" and it was a lot of fun. I've been working on the song since December so it was really nice to be done with it. Today Payton told me, "Mom, I'm glad you're done with that song because you've sang it so much it's stuck in my head all the time." Then he started to sing it....in French :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ4em6ydDIk

I am blessed

2009-12-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

I know I have been neglecting this blog and it is such a tragedy! I have so much to be grateful for, but am often too exhausted (or lazy) to post.

I am so grateful to live in a country and a state that allows me to homeschool my children. Not only homeschool them, but educate them how I see fit, with no one able to dictate what and how I teach. How blessed I am to live in my comfortable home, with healthy, beautiful children. How blessed I am to have a knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, to feel of his love and power in all the creations that I am surrounded by.

And as my children scream and tromp all over the house, practically tearing the walls right down around me, causing my blood pressure to rise and rise, while they could be in school and I could be snuggled up in my warm bed with a book, I keep repeating these words in my head: I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed.

I wanna be an opera star....

2009-04-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking a voice class at the college and being the dufus I am I accidentally signed up for an advanced voice class....as my FIRST lessons. Luckily, I have natural talent and am really good looking so, no suprise that I was allowed to continue on.

My instructor is awesome! She's this little Asian lady with the most powerful voice you've ever heard. When we started, I insisted I was a Mezzo-Soprano (Which is people that sing in lower ranges for the common man). She insisted I was a Soprano (High range singers). Since she plays the piano while I sing, I had no choice but to sing in the key she plays for me, so....I guess I'm a Soprano. I was talking to the band teacher and he said that all voice teachers want their students to be Sopranos.

I thought that I would sing some pop songs, maybe a jazz number or two, and next thing you know I'm learning songs in Italian and French and singing like an Opera singer! Apparently, that's what voice majors believe real music is. It's very different but she has taught me a lot and I am LOVING it! My kids either plug their ears or sing along in their best dog howling voices, depending on their moods :)

Heads Up....New Question at the OB/GYN

2009-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

*Disclaimer: This post will remain on top purely for the sake of ANNOYING Kimberly Cardon. Scroll down to see any new posts (when I have time to write something).

Nurse: Do you smoke?
Me: No
Nurse: Allergic to any medications?
Me: No
Nurse: Any history of breast cancer?
Me: Nope
Nurse: Sexually active?
Me: My husband might disagree, but yes (hahahaha)
Nurse: With male or female?
Me: -------
Me: ummmmm, come again?
Nurse: (embarrassed) Sorry, I have to ask
Me: Well that's a new question on the old questionnaire!

Gotta love this world of equality for all! Why in the world would they need to know male or female?? I'm sure some radical complained that no one asked her sexual preference. Gotta proclaim it to the roof...(positive Christ-like thoughts, positive Christ-like thoughts)

Best Friend

2009-01-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Top 10 reasons why it sucks when yet another best friend moves out of your life.

1.Who else is going to nod their head and say "totally" when you use words like "you know the crotch burning at the start of your period??" (All male readers just left the blog)

2. Who else is going to instinctively call the second your about to chase your child w/some sort of weapon and ask if they can come get them?

3. Who else will still think your children are great and snuggle them, even though they know which ones have a highly infectious rash, which ones pick their noses and eat it hungrily, and the current carrier of a parasite?

4. Who else will squeal with delight when they see how good your "gluten window" is while making bread?

5. Who else will say a resounding "YES" when you ask if your butt looks big in a pair of jeans or if your bloated gut looks like your having another baby?

6. Who else will meticulously examine all the limbs and parts of your newborn infant the first time they hold them, and find that he has adducted thumbs and some fingers that don't straighten like they should?

7. Who else will clean your fridge AND your microwave AND bring you dinner when your having an "I'm such a loser who can't get anything done" day, even though her own laundry is piled to the ceiling and her fridge smells like something died in it?

8. Who else will happen to be pregnant the same time as you and insist on calling each other every night from the bathtub to complain about each others aching pelvises? (If any male readers didn't leave, now's the time to exit...)

9. Who else will insist you take a hit off of their anti-depressant when your having one of those really blue weeks?

10. Who else will I sit on the couch with, doing absolutely nothing for hours but watch our kids trash the house, and feel complete bliss?

Sure do love ya sista and it's been some great memories. You'd better make every effort to come back to me when Trevor gets his facility (or I just might have to check-in my Grandma or something).

And one more thing.....

2008-11-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention I'm grateful that the Primary Program is finally over! It turned out wonderful of course despite all the crazy practices. And thank heavens the stomach flu waited to make an appearance until the primary program was over. 6 hours after it was over to be exact. (Enter sarcastic voice here)

Katrina asked me what I wanted for Christmas today and I told her "Peace on Earth".

And I meant it....

Grateful for Lysol

2008-11-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Yup; The stomach flu has hit the Huhtala household in full force. Since Sunday afternoon I have been cleaning barf, butts, bowls, tubs, toilets, and done about 10 loads of laundry. The big kids are great...except for a few accidents they keep it in the bowls. The baby however...he starts to barf, and then he freaks out, and he starts crawling around, and tossing his head back and forth when you try to direct him into a bowl and there is just barf flyin everywhere! Poor baby :( He hasn't eaten in over 2 days and finally was able to hold down 3 crackers for dinner tonight. It's going to take me 2 months to get the weight back onto him.

Bella and I are the only ones who it hasn't hit yet. I count my blessings that Bella was not sick the same time as Tyson cuz she is just as "bowl challenged" as a 1 year old. Usually she doesn't bother to get up but rather just turns her head to the side and barfs all over her hair and bed.

I'm so grateful to be healthy and strong so that I can spend every waking hour cleaning contagious, infectious, intestinal viruses. Usually I get sick when all the kids are better and no longer nap for 4 hours out of exhaustion but rather can't sleep because of all their new found energy! And since my husband has stayed home sick to take care of his weak immune system, there will be too much work to make-up to stay home when I get sick! (Can you tell I'm in that cranky/sarcastic mood?!)

Truly, although I want someone to baby and take care of me for awhile, I in no way desire to visit the porcelain facility face first. I'm going to hope that my trusty iron-clad immune system holds true. (That comes from being raised in a family of 9 kids...just you try and introduce a new strain into this body! It's had em' all!)

Kudos to my mother who I remember at one time had I think 8 throwing up children and was sick herself....now THAT is something to complain about!

Warning: Not a gratitude post

2008-10-19T23:48:00.001-07:00

No Bake Cookies SUCK! (Sorry for the profanities but see below)

I was CRAVING them today, and since I was sick and had sent Jay and the 3 oldest to stake conference...(Payback for my many sacrament meetings of complete horror while he sits smiling up on the stand.....muwaaahahaha), I decided to whip up a batch to feed my cravings. I wasn't feeling well and hence deserved to eat whatever sounded good. Stupid cookies....At the end of the day when I realized there were 2 left I asked Jay how many he had eaten:

Jay: Like 1 and a half
Me: How many did the kids eat? Besides Payton? (He hates PB due to his allergy as a baby and thinks it "burns")
Jay: Katrina had 3 total, Bella had 3 and Tyson had 2.
Me: (Doing the math in my head) Are you sure???
Jay: Yup
Me: (Hiding my head in shame) I am sooooo bad
Jay: How many did you eat?
Me: Are you sure you didn't eat more than 1.5?
Jay: Yup
Me: Positive??
Jay: How many....
Me: I believe approximately......11

Yes, that's right. 11 No Bake cookies. HEY! THEY HAVE OATMEAL IN THEM AND I CALCULATED THAT EACH COOKIE HAD 1 GRAM OF FIBER AND 1 GRAM OF PROTEIN EACH...AND THAT'S NOT INCLUDING WHAT I GOT FROM THE PEANUT BUTTER!!!

I have decided that No-Bake cookies need to be on my ban list. Anything that my family eats that little of and I eat that much of has no place in my home (or stomach). I've never felt so badly like I needed to go for a jog and if I wasn't completely certain that it would cause me to black out by the time I got to the corner due to my illness, I would wake up the dog and go right now. Probably all that sugar keeping me awake tonight. In my prayers tonight I had to ask forgiveness for being so glutenous...gluttenous? K, google confirms it's gluttonous. I didn't mean to say that I was a sticky plant protein. But if I was I'm SURE I would have more self-control!

Politics

2008-10-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

I have never been involved much in politics. I know it's bad but most of the time I just mark the "republicans" and rarely research who or what I am voting for. This year it has been different. Since the church is actively campaigning to get Proposition 8 passed, I have been actively involved, studying facts, reading the issues and talking to people about it. You can read about why I support Prop. 8 here at my family blog.

I've been trying to be more informed. I've been trying to watch the debates, follow the news, and all I see is a few very good liars...I mean politicians...who twist the others words so that they look good and the other person looks bad. I know who I need to vote for but I am not very happy with my only choice. Just sort of choosing the lesser of two evils...or was it weevils? (Ha ha, Jay will get that won't you sweetie?)

I get so sick of the bickering and finger pointing at the running mates. Don't they get that this annoys the crap out of people? The tactic must be proven to work or else I can't imagine that they would all submit to it. I swear though, if just 1 politician would stick to the issues and not stoop to slandering his opponent he would have a lot of votes.

Food from scratch

2008-09-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

I remember when the penny gumball machines disappeared from the local drugstore. I also remember when that drugstores ice cream was no longer sold for $.35/scoop. I remember when beef noticeably began to rise in cost due to the fad diets that promoted lots of red meat. However, I have never seen so many items rise in costs all at the same time as I have in this economic crisis. Maybe it's because I've always been a stickler about food costs. I'm the girl who reads the fine print, calculates the cost/oz. and never let's the supermarket pull one over my eyes with their "deals". So with my knowledge of what I pay for almost every item in my cart, it sickens me to see how much the cost of food is rising.

I'm grateful that before it turned bad, I had felt impressed to start learning to make a lot of things from scratch. From my bread, to my potstickers, I prefer to make the real deal instead of buying artificial nastiness. It doesn't save me a THAT much money since flour and fresh foods rises in costs with everything else, however, I feel good in knowing that I am feeding my family healthy, better for you food. It also feels good to know that I am making a stand against those companies that create "cancer in a box". K, there's no proof in that I just thought it had a cool ring to it.

I can't make everything from scratch, but I am resolved to keep trying. Lunchmeat is one I HATE, but have to have. Maybe I'll raise my own chickens and slaughter, pluck, and roast them for my kids sandwiches! Would you put it past me?

I'm Back

2008-08-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the long absence. I don't seem to have a lot of time anymore to sit and "play" on the computer. Kind of a good thing and a bad thing. Let's get the gratitude rolling again.

#1 I am grateful that school has started again
#2 I am grateful for the school bus that drops my children off a block away 10 minutes after they get out. In the time they get off the bus, I would still be trying to get out of the school parking lot! It's fabulous and they don't have enough time to get the "bad bus experience". (My first kiss was on a bus and let me tell you it is NOT a good memory. Ewwwwwww)
#3 I am grateful for a husband who works his buns off to provide for his family. He's the biggest, strongest provider I know (the smartest and cutest too).
#4 I am grateful for Mothers who give listening ears and offer their years of wisdom.
#5 Did I mention I'm grateful that school has started again?

K, of course there's a lot more but I have a lesson to prepare for and just wanted to recommit to my blog. I solemnly swear to do better.

Grateful for Yoga, NOT grateful for Yoga+Children

2008-06-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

For the past year I have been dabbling in Yoga. It all started with Priscilla Patrick on PBS. Her little 15 minute stretches every morning got me hooked! Then I started doing the Yoga that's on BYU channel in the mornings and began studying yoga and meditation on my own. I used to try to do it after I went jogging or walking but it was taking up too much of my day. I started to do it twice a week but my kids were making it near impossible. Can you imagine me in some weird contorted pose with a 3 year old directly next to (or underneath me) trying to do the same thing, and a 1 year old trying to sit on my head at the same time? Now imagine me trying to do 5 minutes of relaxation after my practice with someone crying in my ear, a high energy 8 year old yelling throughout the house while he chases his screaming sister, and a baby in his high chair making obvious sounds that he is done by the clattering sounds of his bowl on the floor. It usually involves me taking a deep cleansing breath and then yelling so hard my face hurts DO YOU MIND??!! I AM TRYING TO RELAX!!! Let's just say it's not pretty.

I realized that Yoga is scarily bringing more stress to my life. When I am trying to concentrate so hard for these poses and get distracted by these little buggers it raises my stress to levels I didn't know existed! I then decided if I wanted to continue my new hobby I needed to make sacrifices. So....on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have decided to get up at 5:45am to practice Yoga in peace. Wouldn't you know it, at least 2 of them have been getting up at 5:50am since I started this. They pitter patter out, say in loud non-morning voices "Doing your Yoga Mom?!" And then proceed to open all the squeakiest cupboards, or slurp cereal, or dump out legos. If I try to make them stay in their rooms they play which usually ends up in playful screaming (or not so playful) waking up the other half of the kids. Whatever....So much for R&R. I tell you they have some sort of Yoga radar! Anyways, I guess there is a time and a season for everything...I just really wanted this to be my season for Yoga! *Sigh* I'm not giving up yet. I may have to sacrifice some precious evening adult time for Yoga (sorry bout that Jay).

Namaste

The Lucky One

2008-05-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Listen, my life just isn't that exciting but I can still be grateful right??

Right now I'm grateful for Allison Krauss. I could listen to her for hours.... I'm also grateful for the Leinwebers. They made me laugh today when they shouted the words to "who let the dogs out" at me while sitting and waiting for Payton to come out of his class. I'm grateful for good friends who let me hang out at their homes and eat their food when my house is full of boring stuff. I'm grateful for Anne Wadman, she made me good soup yesterday :) I'm grateful for a good book, and sleeping children.

I'm grateful for my husband who blasts the Beastie Boys while doing robotic dances making us all laugh. I'm grateful for Bella who said to me at least 5 times today, "I love you mom, do you love me?" I'm grateful for Tyson who seems to be the only person in this house I never raise my voice to (unless I'm saying, "The Dude!" in my high baby talk voice). He's not just "A" Dude. He's "The" Dude. I'm grateful for Katrina and her beautiful art she makes for me at least twice a day. I'm grateful for Payton and his willingness to help all day long. I'm even grateful for Cody when he cleans the food off my floors so I don't have to sweep so much.

Guess I had a lot more to be grateful for than I thought :)

Proud to be an American

2008-04-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

K, sorry for the long absence. I solemnly swear to do better. Payton came home today from school and said "Mom, have you heard of the song, 'Proud to be an American?'" I said, "Ummm.....let me think...YEAH." Apparently they are practicing the song for a Spring Concert they are performing. So I start singing dramatically, and he joins in with me. But let me tell you when I heard that high little, non-pubescent voice sing
"There ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA"
it brought tears to my eyes. I told him about how I quoted that song in a talk I gave the weekend after 9-11 in Stake Conference (my talk was on the effects of music), and how my favorite line in the song was "The flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away." and what it means. He said, "Yeah, I like that line too. They think Betsy Ross made the flag." (Always Mr. Facts just like his Dad.)

Then we talked a little about 9-11 and why these men would want to kill themselves while killing others. Things I truly wish my son did not have to contemplate.

I love this land. I love my freedoms. I love that my son is singing "GOD bless the USA" in a public school performance. This country definitely has flaws but there is no other place I would rather be. Tonight I am giving thanks to my Father in Heaven for this country and all that it represents. I'm definitely proud to be an American.

Jack of all Trades, Master of None

2008-03-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some encouraging words from my mother it's my new motto. Aren't we all like this in some things? I have to say that being a mother, although I don't have time to perfect any one subject, I study many different things that interest me, or in order to educate myself about something. I am a pianist, a guitarist, a singer, a parenting expert (I know the skills, however I don't always use them), a baker, a dog trainer, a nurse, a counselor, a financial expert, a gardener, an organizer, a chef, a personal trainer, definitely a maid, most certainly a servant, unfortunately for my husband a comedian, a nutritionist, a beautician, a coach, a martial arts student (that's right...I've got a yellow belt!) a chauffeur, a decorator, a story teller, a writer, a yogi, a teacher, a mediator, an advocate, a scriptorian, a disciple, and best of all a daughter of god.

There is no time (for now) to become a master of any one of these things, and for now I am content with just "dabbling" and learning about anything that interests me. I love being a mom. I may not work in the "working world" but it gives me all the more time to study and refine talents and skills that benefit myself as well as my family. Lucky me!

What are your skills? I was surprised I could come up with so many. Make a post on your blog...I want some new skills! (You know like nunchuck skills....computer hacking skills)

Thoughtful Friends

2008-02-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

I'm so grateful for thoughtful friends who make me desire to be better. My friend Kristi Brausch asked me one day for the birthdays of all of our family members and since then has never failed to send a card. Not only to send a card but a card that arrives on TIME! My kids always get so excited to get mail (I have to admit so do I). My Dad and his wife are also very good about this.

Now me? I remember that I should have sent a card the day before their birthday, I then either throw my hands up and say "Oh, well! There's always next year!", I make excuses about how I've already done my weekly WalMart shopping (yeah, I don't get out much) and don't have a card, or I give them a lame phone call. So here's my plan of action:

1. Gather a few birthdays starting with your own children (I mean I need to start small or I'm going to fail..I know myself too well)

2. Buy your first real "your a grown-up now" planner to record such dates. I like this one from Franklin Covey

3. Quit being a scrooge and buy cards ahead of time so you already have them on hand (Note here: I personally am a little "anti-cards". I hate paying $3-$5 for something that someone will probably throw away within a week. HOWEVER, I have a Mother-in-law who LOVES receiving cards and always gushes over them. Point is: It's the thought that counts!)

4. Eventually become world famous for sending cards for the birthdays, weddings, graduations, losses, new jobs, new babies, new puppies, great haircuts and blemish free days of my family, friends, and that one really nice lady at the library. (Ask Kimberly Cardon why she'll stand in her line and wait for 10 minutes even though that OTHER librarian is totally available)

Wish me luck!

2008-02-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

Ok, so lately I've just been kinda a party pooper about life in general. This cold, miserable weather just makes me want to curl up in bed and never do anything. When I do have to do something I'm cranky and whiny about it. No more! I have decided that I am changing my thoughts and that I am going to try to have a positive outlook on whatever I am doing. Going to Wal-Mart to grocery shop for 2 hours? Woo-hoo! Changing my 4th diaper at 10am? Suh-weet! Going to the dentist? Can hardly WAIT!

Boyd K. Packer says that "our thoughts are the switchboard, the control panel governing our actions".

"I think therefore I am"

"Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples don't count on harvesting golden Delicious."

The thoughts that I think effect DRAMATICALLY my outlook on life and the way my day goes. There are enough people in this world that think negative thoughts. I for one am going to contribute more often to the ones who think positively.

Sushi

2008-01-21T20:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not a hard core sushi eater or anything but today I dusted off the old sushi maker we bought 10 years ago and made some rolls. Just avocado, cucumber and crab but man it hit the spot and filled the craving for a few days. If you like sushi you know what I'm talking about. Next I'm going to make some with tempura shrimp made w/panko. Mmmmmmm

It's funny how when I was a kid sushi just meant slimy raw fish. In todays world kids LOVE sushi. Payton devours it. My nephew brings his mom's leftover sushi in his lunch! Puh-leeze!

Interrupt this blog for a "back in my day" moment. Besides walking 3 miles home from the bus stop I had two sandwich choices: PB&J or Bologna (yack). What was in your brown bag?

Dot Com

2008-01-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

So grateful for the Internet. I know that everyone is already aware of it’s benefits and how fortunate we are to have this vast, unlimited river of information, but this is my gratitude blog so you have to read why I’m grateful for it. :)

I was talking to a friend today about how we, as Mothers with Internet access, have no excuse to be ignorant about how to care for a child. When I have a question as to whether or not my baby can eat yogurt yet, I type in a few words online and can search through thousands of pages where people have asked the same question. If my hand goes numb after I eat tuna salad…or I burp a lot when I’m pregnant, I can probably find a reason why on the Internet. Sometimes it’s a challenge to see if I can type in the right search terms to get the results I am seeking, and when I succeed it is like…..EUREKA!

When I realized that my baby kept his thumbs tucked into his palms I immediately, of course, turned to the Internet to see if there was a “condition” or something associated with this. After much “play” with search terms I found that he had what was called “adducted thumbs” and that it was often present in certain genetic disorders. Of course I did what any good Mother would do. I FREAKED out! However, the Internet eased my fears as I read more about the rarity of the disorders and the many other obvious symptoms usually present, that he was lacking. All this study, though, prepared me for the genetic counseling and testing we had to go through “just to be safe”.

I’m grateful to live in an age where I can grow in knowledge indefinitely. We have been given this gift and must use it to further our knowledge, our talents, (and try not to waste too much time on it). It saddens me that some choose to use it to the detriment of themselves and others. If you are reading this blog, thank you for taking up some of your Internet time to read my ramble. (Don’t you have anything better to read about?)

Good Times

2007-12-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

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?

2007-11-12T14:54:00.001-08:00

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!

2007-11-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

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......

2007-11-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-25T21:58:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-05T13:34:00.001-07:00

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!)

2007-08-29T15:50:00.001-07:00

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?

2007-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-06-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-28T22:34:00.001-07:00

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

2007-04-27T20:59:00.000-07:00

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)

2007-04-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

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.)