The Last Decade Countdown

Ten years ago, almost to the minute (if my memory's correct), I did the best thing of my life. I married Sam for time and all eternity in the house of the Lord. Here's my countdown of the last ten years:

10 - Years

9 - jobs

8 - years of schooling

7 - rain jackets

6 - bikes

5 - homes

4 - boys

3 - schools

2 - Subaru's (plus 2 other cars, I had a hard time with the 2's) and

1 - amazing spouse later,

I wouldn't change a thing.

I love you Sam and I can't wait for all the decades (and happily ever after that) to come!

The Chewy Saga

A couple of months ago Henry went to a friend's house for preschool. They have pet chickens and Henry fell in love. He begged for chickens. I am not ready for this whole pet thing to start, but I am really not ready to even consider chickens. So I told him if he could take care of all his responsibilities for 2 weeks (his room cleaned, toys picked up, and chores done daily) then he could get a fish. If he takes good care of the fish we could go from there, fully expecting him to not be able to (is that terrible? We are talking about giving Henry a living thing here, are we not?), but willing to follow through if he did.

A few days later a fly was caught between our window and screen and Henry decided that that was his cage and that he was our pet fly. He named him Chewy. Apparently Chewy likes to eat sprinkles; that is according to Henry and my niece who also recently (in a freaky coincidence) had her own pet fly named Anna. So I now have sprinkles in my window sills for whenever Chewy gets hungry.

Chewy has been lost a few times. The first time Chewy got lost Henry was so upset he was moaning Chewy's name and crying, calling for Chewy out the window. You'd have thought Chewy was a dog. About a half hour later Chewy "came back" and Henry was chasing him around the living room, beside himself with giddiness at the return of his beloved pet. Chewy has been lost several times since then. But Chewy always returns. A few times Chewy has brought along family members. He has brought over his dad, his son, his mom, and several friends. Once Henry brought up Chewy, caught between his thumb and forefinger and showed me that Chewy had lost a wing and 2 legs. I was wondering if Henry would start to suspect something when Chewy later returned with all his legs and wings. But Henry said something about there being lots of Chewy's, so that answers that. Here's the kicker for me though, that night in his bedtime prayers Henry asked Heavenly Father to bless Chewy to feel better. That's a new one in our house.

Chewy's popularity waxes and wanes, but Chewy seems impervious to this. He keeps returning; prancing around the living room waiting for Henry or Miles to chase him around, gloating at Sam and I that we have to be much more sneaky about our pest control methods. Meanwhile, the fishbowl complete with blue rocks and a tiki man statue still sits empty, but Henry is happy...

The just got home from vacation blues...

It seems its almost more work to recover from a vacation than to get ready for it. So we just had a great weekend away. Hot dogs, watermelon, peanut butter s'mores, crownies (cookie brownie combo), a ton of chips, BB guns, the beach, and lots of A-team episodes. We had fun. Yesterday I woke up ready to regain control of my house. Then about an hour later got back in bed and stayed there most of the morning. I think my weekend caught up with me. Little sleep and lots of junk food apparently don't go well in a 30 year-olds body. So yesterday I got a few loads of laundry done, enough to get everyone dressed yesterday and today, but none of it folded. I feel mostly better today, but I still have no food (a few eggs, half a cup of milk, no yogurt, no cereal, no fruit...), a ton of laundry, unpacked suitcases, and a bomb of a house. And what am I doing with my time? Blogging. Shame on me. Shame on me for "wasting" my time, for treating my body so badly in the name of vacation, and for complaining. Today I will fold all my laundry, and wash a significant amount more. I will go grocery shopping and I will unpack my suitcases. If I get the chance I will clean. Next time I go on vacation I will try to keep the motto "moderation in all things" and get more sleep.

How do you do it?

Okay all you fabulous, talented, hard-working ladies out there. And yes, I am talking to you, too. I want to know how you do it? You blog, sew, scrapbook, read, make jewelry/hair accessories, cook fabulous food, exercise, do photography, decorate your homes, do woodworking, paint, help other people, and many, many more things; and your kids are taken care of. Your houses are clean, your laundry is folded and put away (enough of the time). You check and reply to your emails and do your church callings, too. And I want to know how you do it? I am not looking for words of encouragement. I am not being hard on myself, and I do recognize I have a young needy baby at the moment. I want to know how you do it. Do you stay up late, get up early, neglect your housework on and off? Do you wait until your husband is home and let him take over the kids awhile, put them in front of the TV, drop them off at grandma's, get a babysitter, or trade with other moms? How organized are you to get all this done?

I am finally starting to feel like I might be able to handle life again, but that just means I can buy and prepare meals, stay caught up on the laundry (enough), and get everyone where they need to go. That doesn't cover all the other things on my to-do list. So again, I am not looking for affirmation, just how it works at your house.

I am waiting your juicy tidbits of wisdom or confession. (You can email me if you don't want your answer going public :)

Chocolate Cake vs. the Gym

First of all, no explanations or excuses about my blogging habits, I've said it all before.

I have 2 great goals/desires for myself. I want to bake delicious food. I love to bake, and always have. I just got a book recently (Bakewise by Shirley Corriher) and I have been reading it more intently than any textbook I have ever read. It fascinates me to discover what each ingredient in baking does and how it effects your final result and then use that to fine tune a recipe to get just what I want. I don't want to be the best (home)baker. I used to think I did, then I realized that I don't want to be compared to anyone else and their baked goods, I just want for me and those I serve to thoroughly enjoy what I bake.

My other desire for myself is to get in shape. I have a few goals and numbers I am working on specifically, but mostly I just want to be more active and healthier.

There is a conflict of interest here. How can I spend my time trying out new recipes for pound cake, from-scratch brownies and lime cream tortes when I am trying to be healthier and even lose a few lbs in the process? I can't give it all away (the food, that is), I don't have enough self-control to do that. After all, part of the reason for wanting to bake is to eat it, right? Maybe I need to get up earlier and burn more calories to make up for it... I don't know. I am too passionate about these goals to to give up on either one yet. Any ideas?

Waving the white flag and a good piece of pie

I surrender! I spent almost a week of my life in my kids bathroom singing songs, reading books and shouting the accolades of chocolate chips and dinosaur stickers for naught. Wednesday night Miles started showing signs of progress in potty training; but after Miles got up from his nap Thursday afternoon we went back to 0, zilch, nothing. I was back to "running to the potty" every 10 minutes, followed 3 minutes later with cleaning up the floor. Worn out, increasingly discouraged, and overwhelmed with all I had not accomplished that week, I gave up Saturday evening. I am not a quitter, but I know when to say uncle. I only decided to try potty training because he was showing signs that "the experts" claimed made him ready. He wasn't. So we gave up for now, we're friends again, and we'll resume it in a few months when conditions will hopefully be more ideal. I have been known to get on a soap box about potty training, but there's nothing like a good piece of humble pie to teach you to keep your trap shut and realize that no matter how much you've learned you will still be surprised.

Catching up - part 2: November

November began with Henry's birthday. I like to make creative cakes based on whatever my boys are into or request. Henry requested cupcakes with chocolate frosting and m&m's on top. I had to do something creative so this was it:

it says: : "Henry turns 5 today!"

Henry probably has the most personality crammed into one little body I know. He has a passion for living life to its fullest (for good or bad), that often proves to be contagious. He keeps things lively around here that's for sure. We love you Yanni!

On Henry's birthday we started a family round of swine flu, paired with a dead washing machine. Kincaid got sick first, then Henry, then me, then Miles, and finally Charlie (who was only about 5 weeks old at the time). Needless to say I was a mess by the time Charlie came down with it. Luckily, and miraculously, Sam was able to stay healthy and help me restore sanity. Thanks also to my wonderful friends for all their help and support during our rough time (Amber even came over to help fish a toy out of Miles' nose. That is true friendship right there!).

Later in the month we blessed Charlie at church. The day before Sam, all his brothers, his dad, and a few grandsons shaved their heads for and with Sam's mom, to support her and her battle with cancer. It was quite a sight to see so many balds heads around Charlie during the blessing. My dad and cousin with their full heads of black hair (or dark brown depending on who you ask) really stood out! It was great to have everyone's support, you guys are awesome and we love you all! We had not yet taken a family picture with Charlie, so I took advantage of the occasion. This is the best we could get, but at least we're all in it.

Here is mom and Charlie on blessing day.

Here is Charlie in his blessing outfit. What a handsome little man!

Next was Thanksgiving. I was a little busy celebrating (stuffing my face) to take many pictures, but I got a couple. Here is Charlie almost 2 months old wearing his Thanksgiving outfit.

My sister Kristy and her husband Aaron and their 2 girls came up for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to see them and hang out! I even got to get in a thrift store shopping trip with my mom and sister, just like the old days. It was great. Here is a picture of Caid, Miles, and Henry with my nieces on Thanksgiving. Do you see the resemblance? Poor Henry looks like the odd man out. The cousins had a blast together all week. Thanks for coming guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!