Simple Women's Daybook, Sept. 29th.

Outside my window...

It's very "froggy".  When I go walking it makes my hair go all curly and looks like I'm working up a sweat.  

I am thinking...

about the creepy old man that hugged me this morning while I was walking.  Then I was told it was my fault because I was so pretty.  Thanks for the compliment?? Don't worry dad it's under control, he won't be hugging me again. (I just have to put that to ease your worries).

I am thankful...

for the internet.  I love that I can keep in touch with family and friends even though I'm not a telephone person.

From the kitchen...

I am working on being a more organized cooker.  I remember a day, a long time ago, when I would have a bi-monthly menu for dinners.  It really helped the budget.  I need to start doing that again.

I am wearing...

scrubs for the third day in a row. I know... gross. YOU can come do the laundry.

I am creating...

necklaces and bracelets.  I'm trying to organize my Super Saturday workshop.

I am reading...

Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer (I'm actually done with it, I finished it last night). It's on the internet here. It's from Edward's perspective and I loved it. Too bad she's not going to finish it right now. You can also read the drama behind it on the link.  Wait: finish reading my blog before you start the book.

  

I am hoping...

that my eyesight adjusts.  After reading 264 pages on the computer in 6 hours, your eyes do funny things.

I am hearing...

iTunes. A little bit of this and a lot of that.

Around the house...

I have a lot of cleaning to catch up on.  You'd think I'd left the country for a week instead of just reading a (partial) book for a day.

One of my favorite things...

is going on adventures with my little family.  The kids are just starting to get old enough to be independent and have their little own humor.  We really laugh together.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

A little bit of soccer, football, PTA, baby shower (not mine), and General Conference.  I need to get a cable to hook the computer up to the TV so we can watch it on the flat screen and feel like Utah and Idaho members.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

This was our adventure.  We really look forward to going back when the colors start to change more.  This picture was taken before Paige slipped and kissed a rock (the rock left a hickey on her chin) and I was attacked by falling acorns (actually being thrown) on my head.  It hurts more than you'd imagine.  Even though Nature was a little rough on us we still had a great day together.

About Mommy...

Do you ever wonder what your kids think of you?  I send them off to school and watch them develop their own little personalities and I wonder what goes on in their heads. Well, I asked my kids a few insightful questions.  And these are their responses.  It's nice to see that they think my world revolves around them.  It does (when I'm not sleeping all day, chopping leaves, or shopping)

1. What is something mom always says to you?

L- Stop being mean to your sister.

P- If I want to get a toy you say, "NO, NO, NO, NO".

2. What makes mommy happy?

L- Me hugging and kissing you.

P- When I hug you real tight.

3. What makes mom sad?

L- Not being able to find us.

P- When I break one of your things.

4. How does mom make you laugh?

L- By telling me funny things.

P- When you tickle me

5. What was mom like as a child?

L- You like to play Chutes-n-Ladders.

P- Little

6. How old is your mom?

L- 34 yrs.

P- 52 yrs.

7. How tall is your mom?

L- I don't know. How stupid is that.

P- (shrug) Let's go see.

8. What is mom's favorite thing to do?

L- Play with her kids.

P- Helping me.

9. What does mom do when you're not around?

L- Get's peace and quiet.

P- Sleeps all day.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

L- Singing.

P- Writing.

11. What is your mom really good at?

L- Playing games.

P- Reading.

12. What is your mom not very good at?

L- Football.

P- Chopping leaves.

13. What does your mom do for her job?

L- Clean House.

P- Go shopping.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

L- Chinese.

P- Pepperoni Pizza.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

L- She comes to lunch with me.

P- When you hug me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character who would she be?

L- Jerry of 'Tom and Jerry'

P- SpongeBob

17. What do you and your mom do together?

L- Play games.

P- Play dolls.

18. How are you and your mom the same?

L- We love each other.

P- We have the same kind of skin.

19. How are you and your mom different?

L- Mom doesn't play football.

P- Different hair.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

L- You worship me and feed me.

P- You give me hugs and kisses.

New Babysitter!

We have done it.  We've found a babysitter that everyone can be happy with.  It's free and it's called SCHOOL. I had an epiphany while walking this morning.  Blake and I could do afternoon dates when he is post call.  So that is what we did today.  After dropping the kids off for school I went walking and he went running (it was nice to chit-chat during our warm-up and cool-down) then I went off to my religion class and we met for lunch to discuss all the things we can do during our "day-dates".  Kind of like "play-dates" minus the kids.  We're thinking tennis, frisbee, uncrowded movies, guitar hero battles, and on and on.  I think I could get used to having my husband home during the day if we still didn't need his income.  So until retirement, this weekly date thing will be a blast. 

Food, Glorious Food

I've been spending my morning getting caught up on things around the house today. Lane has had strep and has spent the last two day dramatically telling me how sore his throat is.  Well, today he had the green light from the doctor to go back to school so now the house is quiet and I'm trying to be productive.  In the process of being more productive I was going through my emails and came across a lot of new recipes I have bookmarked to try.  One of my favorite websites is the Kraft Foods site.  They give great easy recipes that seem pretty kid friendly. You can also sign up for the FREE magazine (sign up for the weekly newsletter, it rocks).  Yes, free.  And it always has great ideas and even helps get my mind thinking so I can tweek it for my own family.  I've been spending at least 3 nights a week at the soccer/football fields and we have to be there by 5:30.  That is normally when we eat dinner so I need fast, healthy meals. Needless to say, going through my emails has help re motivate me to be better prepared.  Here are a few recipes that caught my attention. Warning: this website can be addicting. 


I hope this helps motivate someone else to have family dinners.  Like I mentioned, between soccer, football, and Blake being on call, we've not been as good sitting down eating as a family and I can tell the difference in not having as much "talking time" with each other.  So even though Blake is on call today and we have soccer and football tonight--we will be eating dinner at the table with no TV on and we will not forget to bless the food.  This will be a good night. Now, what should we eat? :)

Things to do...

without the kids at home.  I'll start with the obvious. 

1. Run around the house naked.

2. Eat real lunches.  No mac-n-cheese (with hot dogs) here.

3. Eat the hidden stash of chocolate ...without sharing.

4. Shower without having to listen for dying children choking on their spit.

5. Walk three miles without having to stop for cracker refills or dropped toys.

I'm sure I'll add to this list but these we're the things I noticed on the first, quiet, day.  I'm enjoying the free time.  I've realized I get so much more accomplished.  But I only enjoy it because the kids are happy and I get to pick them up after school and give them sweet hugs and tell them how I missed them.  Distance does make the heart grow fonder in this case.  

Treasure Hunt Tuesday

I have a friend who takes great pictures and has a treasure hunt every Tuesday where I can share pictures based on the theme. This last week was "Plants, flowers, and trees, oh my". I knew I had to get with it on this theme. Because we have plenty of all that here at home.

This is where I go walking every morning and I love the fresh air and all the trees.  (sorry they're late Jenee).  

My necklace.

In the previous post I mentioned a great necklace that I was wearing.  So now I will share. HomeStudio  is an etsy shop I was introduced to through another great blog, Make and Takes. Mark and Stefani at HomeStudio have great designs and great customer service.  I had to get the kitty cat tile for Paige.  It has a mommy kitty and a little girl kitty.  Paige can't wait to wear it.  I want to get silk cording to go with it and tie the adjustable knots on it (I don't like the chain for her).  I'm not a very good picture-taker so if you go to their website you'll see it better.  Sometimes they run great specials like 'buy two get one free'. I thought these were super cute so I wanted to share. Perfect for Christmas presents. HomeStudio also shares their directions of how they make them.  (I want to point out that this was another reason why I like HomeStudio. They are willing to share their ideas.)   Well, I need to go shower and put on one of my necklaces because I have a lunch date with a second grader.  He wants me to experience Pizza pockets at the cafeteria. Yippie, I can't wait. I should just be grateful that he still wants me around. I think I'm pretty cool but it's nice that he does too.

Simple Women's Daybook, Sept. 5th

Outside My Window...

it is sunny and 85 degrees. The rain is coming in tomorrow.

I am thinking...

about special friends.  I'm missing them. Especially the ones that make me laugh out loud when you least expect it.

I am thankful...

for hair straighteners.  They give me another day of not having to wash my hair. 

From the kitchen...

I came.  Once I saw (and smelt) all the dirty dishes I decided to blog first.

I am wearing...

a great new necklace (with clothes as well). I'll include a picture eventually.

I am creating...

memories.  If I can ever figure out what camcorder to buy I might actually be able to retain the memories.  I have a bad memory. Will that be fixed in the resurrection?

I am reading...

a lot of kids homework and all the school papers they send home.  Seriously, save a tree or two.

I am hoping...

for my vertigo to go away and never return.  There is always hope.

I am hearing...

Nothing, nothing, nothing. 

Around the house...

are legos.  It's funny how you find little planes, trains, and automobiles in every cubby possible.

One of my favorite things...

are kisses from my kids.  Paige gives me kitty cat kisses/licks and Lane tries to give me soap opera kisses. He smashes my face and I try to tell him that girls don't like that.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

a little bit of this, a little bit of that.  The world is my oyster (without kids in tow). And I have a hot date tonight with a man that I've known for 13 years.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Nice clean school shoes.  Once they hit the playground they never look like this again.

10 years of something resembling pure bliss

Today marks the day that 10 years ago Blake complained of the heat, pictures being taken of him, and all the attention that he was getting.  Otherwise know to me as our wedding day.  Thank heavens he had no complaints about his bride.  (I was pretty perfect)  It's been a wonderful 10 years and relatively painless.  He still makes me laugh and I smile when I see him across the room.  Ten years into it all, I now know what a great dad he is and how supportive, easy-going, and hard-working he is.  I am always first on his list.  Thanks for a great 10 years and I'm excited to see what the next 10 bring us.

His gift will be something to keep him young at heart.  Stay tuned...

(Hurry and read this. Blake may delete it at any time because of the sappiness.)

1st day of school (or 5th)

This is Paige's first day of school but actually Lane's 5th day of school. I got Lane's original pictures on the new camcorder but we ended up taking it back because of Mac compatibility. So in the process we lost the pictures and 1st football game. And that is the quick story of how Lane's "very special 1st day of school pictures with new clothes" turns into the "very un-special 5th day of school pictures with last years clothes ('cause Mom forgot to do the laundry)".

(Paige's teacher didn't recognize her at first.  Probably because her hair was pulled out of her face.)

Paige's first day seemed to go very well for her. Mine on the other hand was a little rough. I went exercising right after and could barely see were I was going. For once I was very grateful to Blake for poisoning my ipod with horrible loud rock music.  It made it very hard for me to focus on my babies.  That was until a Taylor Swift song came on and all I could see was Paige as a 16 year old.  See how my day was going?  I did enjoy the rest of the afternoon after I got past how quiet is was at home.  It made it even sweeter when I picked the kids up and Paige was smiling and having a great day.  She met 2 new friends but can't remember their names.  She was really excited that her teacher didn't give any homework.  Really, what Kindergarten teacher would give homework on the first day of school?  She enjoyed it all even with a double ear infection (found that out tonight. Sorry babe, I guess your ear really does hurt).  Lane capped off his evening with a football game and scoring the final touchdown (they don't keep score and he is normally an offensive lineman) so it was kind of sweet for him.  Coming up next: all the things you can do at home without kids.  I'm trying to keep positive about all this change.