Halloween Preview

So here it is, the costumes we've been planning for the last year, and we didn't even get a close-up!
We'll it was just for trunk or treat at the church, so we'll get a better one on Halloween. I promise!For those of you that can't tell, from left to right we have: Princess Leia, Padme, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader

Deflated

This morning my son said to me, "We certainly can't spell words without you, mama." Strange, but ok I'll take the compliment.
"Thanks honey, that is so sweet!"
"No mom. Not You, the letter U."
Oh.

6 Things About Me

1. I get excited about food. When my husband and I were first dating he said to me, "I've realized something about you...You're all about food." It's true. I will go to an event/party/get-together specifically because of what kind of food is going to be there. I love it when a new kind of fruit comes into season. I have to buy pomegranates and clementines during their peak every year. And I'm tickled when I see Hass Avocados on sale, I plan my whole dinner around the avocado. If something has mushrooms in it stand back, I'll order a steak if it comes with sauteed mushrooms. One time I was fortunate enough to be taken to Three Forks (en expensive Dallas restaurant), the steak was really good, but oh, the creamed corn........

2. To continue on with the obsession, I love dessert. For 6 of my last 7 birthdays I have gone to Mac Grill for dinner. Not because of the entrees, but because if it is your birthday you get a free chocolate cake. The yummiest, moistest, most delicious chocolate cake ever! Ice cream, cheesecake, cake, cookies, tarts, anything Emily makes etc.... I love dessert!

3. I'm a big spender at heart, but cheap on the outside. If I had a lot of money...Oh the things I would do. But long ago I swore to myself I would never get into debt (aside from house/education/car) and I have been successful so far, and I want to keep it that way. Part of it just comes with having faith. There have been months when I thought we weren't going to be able to eat if we didn't put it on the credit card, but the Lord has provided. He always does. I've come to realize the reason why I've been successful with this goal is because the Lord doesn't want me to go into debt either. As long as I meet my obligations to Him, He provides.

4. I have the hardest full-time job on the planet! I'm a stay-at-home mom of two very active, amazing children. I love my job. But it is HARD! I try every day to do better at it. I am a work in progress. My goal: To wake up before the kids wake me up. Exercise, read my scriptures, and shower before the kids get up.
I'll get there some day, I know I will. In the mean time, I'm thankful for PBS quality programming that takes care of my kids until 7:30am. And I'm thankful for my husband that feeds the kids before he leaves for work at 7:00am. PS I'm still in my pajamas and it's noon. The kids are dressed.

5. I love to quilt. It is very therapeutic to finish something so time consuming. I'm not the best at seeing something through to the end, so when I finish something like a quilt, I feel accomplished. It's good for my self-esteem. I also love to create. Unlike Janette, I do have some of my works of art hanging in my home. And I would love to have some of Janette's works of art in my home! I don't have my art hanging up because it is good, just because I like creating it and I'm too cheap to buy the real stuff. Truthfully, if I could afford it, I'd probably just buy my quilts from Pottery Barn and forget the whole quilting past time. Just kidding.

6. I want to travel sans children. Sorry kids, I love you, but I just want a get away with your dad. A cruise would be my first choice. All inclusive! The Caribbean or even Alaska. I'd like to go to a few places in Europe: Belgium, Germany, Italy and Greece. I would love to visit Nicaragua and see all the places from my husband's mission. I don't even have to go far to be happy, in fact I'd love to go to Connecticut in the fall. Someday.


Sorry my 6 things are weird, they kinda don't flow. But that's me I'm weird, and I never do something the same way twice!

Halloween Pictures

I love the fall, the crisp air, my birthday, the colors and the Holidays. I was just thinking about how much I love Halloween. It's such a kid holiday. Candy, candy and more candy, and you get the candy by being silly or scary. You get to ring everybody's door bell and you don't get in trouble and you get to eat candy until you want to puke! You get to stay up late, hang out with your family and friends and did I mention the candy.
Adults love it because it makes them feel like a kid again. And, we get to throw parties!
Last year my sister-in-law threw a great party. Of course we all had to dress up...


From left to right: David and Victoria Beckham, Fortune Teller, Gangsta, Bloody Mary, Dolly Pardon, and White & Nerdy

I'm tagging everyone that reads this to post some past memories or pictures from Halloween

Crazy Bug Lady

This is my son's preschool class. I do a co-op with some other mothers. It is great fun. The kids are so sweet. I think it is really cute that it ended up being four boys. They are good friends and they do the funniest things.
When it was my turn to teach them we learned about dirt. You can probably guess that I had their rapt attention. I "buried" some things in a big bowl of dirt and we all had shovels (spoons) to dig them out with. When I told the boys that this is what we were about to do one boy said, "But we'll get our hands dirty!" He wore gardeners gloves. Some of the bugs (squishy plastic bugs) looked quite real and when the boys would dig them out they would kind of freak out and chuck them across the room. I laughed myself silly. At the end I gave them all a fake worm. The same boy who didn't want to get his hands dirty refused to touch the worm. Then we ate mud and bees (chocolate pudding and honey maid graham cracker bees). I am quite convinced that by the time they left my house the boys all thought I was crazy, and that they were OK with that.

I get by with a little help...

I was out and about on the internet, reading all the blogs of my friends and thinking man I'm lucky. I've got a fantastic network of friends that I love and admire. I sure am thankful for you guys!
This week there have been multiple times when help from family and friends has gotten me through some rough spots. I just hope that I can be there when someone needs me. Don't hesitate to call, if I can do it, I will.
Love you!

Have a laugh

Uh, Geronimo or bombs away?

Sometimes there are funny moments in our lives that we are lucky enough to get on camera. Here are a few of mine from September:Are my glasses on straight or is the house a little crooked?

Quality Daddy time.

Already too cool to smile for pictures

Yet another cool idea...

If you've never visited my link to momadvice.com then you are missing out. She has the best ideas and advice, and a never ending list of links to help you out on your budget, finances, hobbies, children.... Anyway, here are some fun bathtub concoctions:

Bubble Bath Finger Paints
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt,
Food coloring
Bubble bath (not the foamy type)
Water

Directions: Mix water with the flour until you get a paste. Add food coloring and bubble bath until you get the thickness you like. This works well in the bath tub. They can paint themselves or the walls and it washes right off. It may turn the water the color of the food coloring but it won't stain the child.

Bathtub Crayons

1 Cup grated Ivory soap
¼ cup warm water
Food Coloring Plastic cookie cutters or hard candy molds

Directions: Mix water, soap and food coloring together in bowl. Remove the mixture from bowl and knead it until it’s the consistency of thick dough. Spoon mixture into plastic cookie cutters or candy molds. Place the cookie cutters or molds in the freezer for 10 minutes or longer. Pop the crayons out of the cookie cutters and allow them to dry overnight.


Enjoy!

Grocery Shopping

If you have kids and have ever gone grocery shopping with them then you have to read this eBay listing.

I laughed myself silly. Honestly you'll enjoy it...

Title of the eBay listing: Lot of Pokemon cards that my kids tried to sneak by me

Vacation

We just had a fantastic vacation traveling and camping across 3 states (Utah, Idaho and Oregon). It was so beautiful and exciting. The kids had a wonderful time, I just wish they would have slept at night. My son got sick while we were in Oregon, but he doesn't remember being sick. All he remembers is the camping, hiking, swimming, playing, and fun that we had. He asks me almost once a day since we've been back, "When can we go back to the cabin?" So despite needing sleep desperately by the time we got home, the trip was a huge success and worth all the hard work.

Quilts

I love to quilt. Well, I must admit, I love to have a quilt I made. The process is tedious and time-consuming, and I fret the entire time. But in the end I'm always glad I stuck to it, and I can't wait to have an excuse to start another one.

Here are some pictures of quilts I've made...

Rain, Rain Don't Go Away!

I know it has been raining, A LOT. But I love it! Some days the kids get a bit ancie, but we've found some fun things to do. AMC theaters have free movies at 10am on Wednesdays, but you have to get your tickets a week in advance. Otherwise they are all sold out. I learned that lesson today... Also, they are not doing it on the 4th of July. We've also been doing the local library's summer reading program. The kids love to be read to. We've been trying to turn off the TV as much as possible, the kiddos are much happier when we play. Also, all this rain is really feeding our little garden that we planted earlier this year. Home-grown veggies, Woo-hoo! I always love suggestions for things to do on a rainy day, so I would love to hear your COMMENTS...

Happiest Day

I'm overcome with joy at the moment. For the past 8 months of our lives, my husband has been studying for the GMAT. That is the standardized test you take to get into a graduate business program. It has consumed our lives. My husband took the test this morning. I think it was the longest morning of my life. When the phone rang I thought my heart was going to come right out of my chest. My skin immediately got goose bumps, and when I heard his voice on the other end I froze. He said, "I got a 6....(already good) a 620!!!" Eight months of energy, worry and anxiety poured out of my body. I just started sobbing and blubbering out how proud I was of him and how hard he had worked. I was elated. We cried together and said a prayer of thanks to God. Now we actually have to apply to business school, but the hard part is over. What a happy day!!!

Berry Fun!

My son and I went to a blueberry patch with some friends and picked a gallon bucket of blueberries. We had so much fun. That's right, you can grow blueberries in Texas. The farm we went to is The Bailey's Berry Patch. The berries are huge and delicious. Unfortunately the first one my son chose to eat was not ripe and he refused to eat anymore. But he happily accompanied me for an hour and a half while I filled my bucket. I think this is a fantastic summer activity to do with the kids. Not only did I spend quality time with my son doing work, we came out of it with a great reward. Then, we went home and made muffins. He had no problem eating those. My son even took this picture of the Berry Patch and me peeking through the berries. It was a great day.

No TV

My son has been locking doors. That includes locking my daughter and I outside for about an hour. I was, to put it mildly, mad. So I took away TV for a week. The week is over, thank goodness, I missed using the TV while showering or making dinner. Oh wait, he locked me out again this weekend, so we have started over. Sometimes I think his punishments are worse for me than for him.

Preschool

In the fall I'll be doing a co-op preschool. I'm really excited about this. It will be about 6 kids and their moms. Each mom will take a turn teaching a week. So I'll only teach about every 6 weeks. I've been researching preschool curriculum online. There is a wide variety.
Including:

Letter of the Week
PreschoolCurriculum.com
Preschool Express
First School

You can also find a lot of neat curriculum ideas on Ebay. Most of them are just sent by pdf after you win the auction (they have buy it nows for next to nothing).

I like the idea of being part of teaching my child when he is still very young. I also like the idea that I know the other people who will be molding my son's mind, and the other children he will be associating with. I promise I'm not over protective! I think.

I got a break

So I got my much needed rest. It was bitter-sweet for many reasons. I went and stayed with my sister, but the reason I went was because she had a miscarriage. It makes me reflect back on my whole reason for wanting to get a "break" in the first place. It was pretty selfish. Sure motherhood is tiring and hard, it has it's ups and downs, but at the end of the day, I thank God I have my two little angels. So the bitter part was going to see my sister after she miscarried a much wanted and hoped for pregnancy. It broke my heart, and hers and her husbands. This wasn't the kind of break I wanted... I held her and loved her, but there wasn't much I could do but say I was sorry and that I loved her. I prayed a lot too. I think that is the thing that got me through. When I prayed I had an overwhelming sense of peace and reassurance that God was very aware of them and that I didn't need to worry. The sweet moments were being there for my sis, hanging out with her and being able to give her 100% of my time and attention. We stayed up until 3am watching pointless TV and talking, and then I slept in until 10:30 am. I went home missing her, and returned home to a family I missed. I'm going to try harder to not take things for granted.

A Really Long Time!

My husband and I have been VERY busy lately. So I haven't had a chance to post for a while. I'm ready to reclaim my life! But first I need to catch up on all the stuff that I have to do... I need a break too. I've had no energy lately, I'm so very tired. Since my son was born, I've never had a single night without one of the kids. I've decided when my daughter turns one and stops breastfeeding, that I'm going to take a little break. I'm going to let my hubby have the kiddos for a night and I'm going to go to my sisters, watch chick-flicks and HGTV, and sleep-in til noon or so, and then I'm going to do nothing the next day, absolutely nothing! We'll see... But it sounds nice doesn't it? Now don't get me wrong, I love my family so very much, and when I am away from the kids for a few hours I miss them terribly. But one night wouldn't hurt.

Educational Website

I LOVE educational websites! My sister just informed me of a new one www.sheppardsoftware.com. It is so fun and addicting! It has all different catagories like chemistry, vocabulary, geography etc... With quizzes and online games that start with beginner and go to expert. This site is for the school age kid (but fun for adults too).

If you want a great site for your little ones, starfall.com is the best!

Coming to a close

As the month is nearing its end, and the experiment is coming to a close, I've realized a few things.

First, no matter how hard you try, you cannot have a rigid schedule for young children. Illnesses, teething, phone calls, weather, visitors, car problems, and so much more make it impossible.

Second, having a flexible schedule really does work! Not only has it given the kids some balance and repetition in their ever changing world, but it is also comforting to them, like their favorite blanket that is always waiting for them when they go to bed. It is also good for me, because I know when I will have time to do certain things. It gives me a bit more drive to get chores done, because if I don't get them done when they're scheduled, there is nowhere else on the schedule where they fit in. I also enjoy that I set aside meditative time and personal scripture time. I have to make time for these things, they are essential.

I would say that so far the experiment has been very successful.