Shocked

Today I ventured out to a local mall and struck gold when I hit the Disney store.  They had a little sale going on with their Princess/Prince dolls.  Since my children are in VERY short supply of boy dolls (they have torn the other "ken" dolls apart.... in their defense, they were older "ken" dolls) I decided I would buy each girls' favorite princess and her accompanying prince.  Then I couldn't be 100% sure I got #1's choice correct so I tried calling my hubby.  No luck, the kids were sleeping.  I made my purchase and hoped they would love it.  Ariel and Eric went to  #2 = she loved them!  Belle and Beauty went to #1 = not so grateful.   Off we went BACK to the mall (which was getting even more crowded than earlier in the day).  As we were walking through Macy's to get to the Disney store, my little girl clung to my hand and walked safely with me to our destination.  After we made the exchange and I allowed her to carry her dolls in her bag BY HERSELF, she didn't want to hold my hand for safety anymore.  (Maybe she saw all the other kids walking without holding their parent's hand)  I kept my hand on her coat as we made our way to the escalator to head back out to the parking garage.  She wanted to get on the escalator by herself too!  As we went up - I couldn't help but feel my heart tugging a little.  #1 is growing up SO fast, soon she will be making purchases with her own hard earned money and walking to school by herself.  Not too long after that, she will be driving!   I think I will break down and cry someday about it, but not today.  For now, I will just really try to make all those little moments into memories and to hold onto that little girl as long as I can. 

Oh yeah... for anyone wondering what her favorite Princess and Prince are:  Tiana and Naveen

CHRIST is the reason for the season

I really hope that everyone had the time to reflect on the reason for this wonderful season.  Christ was the perfect gift for all of us and has given us SO much - the LEAST we can do is to remember Him and all He has done for us this time of year especially.  I think it is most appropriate to remember that all year long, but at the very least this Christmas season.  I wish you all  a safe and blessed Christmas day surrounded by those you love and safety for those you love who can't be with you right now.  Our family has a few of those right now.  Some live too far away, others are serving our country in different parts of the world.  We love you all and pray that you are remembering Christ and his many gifts to you. 

Have you thought of what you are going to give CHRIST this new year?

Teacher Gifts

I always struggle to find a practical gift for #1's teachers.  This year I opted to go for ultra-practical and to take a chance on them being a little sentimental too!  I got a mug (dollar store) and took my cricut vinyl that I have had for what seems like forever and cut their names out of it.  Then I stuck each of their names on their mug and filled it with store bought (because of the silly rule with bringing food to school - I figured the teacher's might have the same standard) hot chocolate mixes in several different flavors with a candy cane to mix it with.  Then, I gave them a homemade ornament with #1's name and year on it so they could remember which year they taught her.  Then I printed out the CHRISTMAS card and had #1 sign her name.  It was SO cute to watch her take the bags up to school with her on the last day before CHRISTMAS break.  She is so grown up!

FHE

Maybe FHE should mean Family Hibernating Evening instead of Family Home Evening.  At least that is what #2 got out of it two weeks ago! Notice: Her right hand is on her bum. Poor girl was WIPED OUT!  She cracks me up......... sometimes.

First taste of Snow

Our first bit of snow (that stuck) hit a week or two ago.  It wasn't much, but it was all that was needed to cancel school for the day.  Hooray for snow days!  I let the girls go out (eventually) and we made a VERY small, pathetic looking snowman.  Go easy on me, I was wearing thin gloves and I was cold (the girls had to use my warm weather attire since they didn't have any in their size - now they have PLENTY).  Keela (dog) seemed to like the snow alright.  She kept licking it (crazy dog)!  
As for the yellow snow, I didn't see any.  =)

ANYWAY..... take a look at our handi-work.  We didn't have much to decorate a tiny snowman with.... so, it looks a little poverished. (is that a word???  probably not)  Don't ask about the name...... for some reason they seem to name everything that lately.  I have NO idea where in the world it came from!

Her name was Rihanna Sunday 

My Birthday Cupcakes

Well, my birthday this year was a disaster.  That is alright though, since I am rapidly getting used to the way people are treating me lately.  After coming home from work (late day) the night before my birthday I was informed that it was requested of me to bake some goodies for the people J works with.  Hmmm.... do I really want to be baking something on my birthday!?  Not really.  In lieu of it being my birthday, I wanted to make something special, so I wracked my brain about what I could possibly do and remembered this yummy recipe a friend gave me.  They have a cookie dough filling - Yummy!  Needless to say.... I ended up cooking these VERY late on the 8th and waking up early on the 9th to frost them instead of hitting the gym.  Ugh!  I also had to bake more stuff to ease the burden on some other people going through some challenges and then had to show up AGAIN to another activity as the only leader from our ward.  

Most of my day was spent doing stuff for everyone else.  It was really hard for me, because birthdays were a big thing in my family growing up.  My family always treated it as a special occasion. Thank Heaven my husband came home and gave me a few hours to go out and do something on my own.  Even though that time was also spent finalizing our Christmas shopping for the children.  I can't complain though - because I had these waiting for me, and at least it was time ALONE.

Rewind

Rewind about a month with me for a second.  Yeah, I guess I really need to do much better about loading my photos on the computer more often.  I just loaded them all on a couple days ago and have pictures from over a month ago on the memory card.  Hm... time flies I guess! 
A friend of ours had a First Birthday Nursery Rhyme themed party for her little girl.  We were invited to join in the fun.  There was a lot of hard work and creativity put into this shin-dig and I think all who were there had a wonderful time!  The little girl is so beautiful too!  Another friend of ours did the majority of the cake (serious cake decorating skills here) and momma made a bunch of different food for the guests to eat. 

The amazing cake (only really half of the decorations)

My daughter (2nd from left) beaming about the egg race)

And...... they're off!

Birthday Girl, blowing out the candle!

Flat Stanley

My eldest child has a flat stanley project.  For those of you who have not been introduced to flat stanley...... i will enlighten you to the best of my ability.  For starters, Flat Stanley is a book in which a boy named Stanley gets squashed like a pancake by a bulletin board.  He then learns some of the advantages of being flat.  Sending Stanley in the mail to different places instead of buying a plane ticket is one of them.  For this project they will be sending Flat Stanley to come visit for awhile with hopes that he will come back with some cool stuff from the area. 

So, in talking to my mother about stanley's upcoming visit, my first born said, "I think that Stanley likes eggs and ham...... and pancakes"  She went on to tell my mom that she would get in big trouble if she lost her Flat Stanley and that she had to be sure to send Stanley back.   It was too stinkin cute to hear her talk about Stanley and to realize how much she is growing up.  Unfortunately, she seems to have gotten a lot of her personality from me. =/  

December already?

I've been going full speed ahead all day today and have now decided that sitting down feels REALLY great.  My posts have become less and less frequent.  As I sit here and enjoy the relief it gives the rest of my body, I will fill you in on the last little bit. 

The Christmas decorations are up (minus the tree.... which I then realized is pretty much the ONLY Christmas decoration that I have!!  haha... we are working on that) and I am starting to bake already.  I truly do enjoy baking.  I have some crafting I hope to get to today as well in preparation for an ornament swap later this month.  I am very excited to see what others have thought of! I was cleaning my house and baking to the sound of Christmas music.... it's wonderful when I feel that I can break out the music and start feeling the warm fuzzies of the season. 

This Thanksgiving we decided to spend it with friends.  Unfortunately, we were unable to get out to see my parents this year (we alternate holiday's each year).  We hope to see them sometime after school gets out so that we can have a little more time to enjoy them.  I was looking forward to having a great time with friends, and overall.... that is what happened.  Unfortunately, I came away from the event feeling a little lonely.

Since that day, things have been trying.  I decided a little over a month ago that I was going to cancel my gym membership.  I made a plan to attend the gym on base (literally 2-3 minutes drive) in the morning before my hubby has to be at work.  That entails me getting up at 4:45am and to be home about 6:30 am everyday.  The early mornings have required me to get to bed early in the evenings and have taken away some of the "me" time I used to have after the kids are in bed.  I have found that it is perfect for me though.  I wake up, throw my clothes on, head to the gym, enjoy a great workout, and then come home to stretch and prepare for my day.  I am already losing weight!  The best part is, I don't have to pay any money to lose this weight!  Before I was going to the gym on a pretty regular basis (when I could) and could not lose a pound.  Now, everything has turned around!  I am not sure how long this will work, but for now it is great.  I find that I have less of an appetite when I go to the gym right after waking up.  I also feel a lot better after my workouts than I was at the Y.   I will always love the Y and the atmosphere that it upholds, I am just grateful that I listened to the spirit and decided to cancel my membership for now.  It truly is what was best for me.

Things with my calling at church have been trying for some time now.  There have been frustrations and misunderstandings.  Through all of this I have tried to understand each side of things.  I believe that is what Jesus Christ would do in this situation.  I try to be optimistic and to bring peace to the calling and the people it influences.  Unfortunately, I am exposed to a lot of criticism which makes this an especially difficult trial.  I have been wanting to get away from criticism and negativity for a long time now and have been looking for people with the same goals to surround me.  I have been praying about it and asking for guidance.  I feel that the Lord is helping me to do what is right and what is pleasing to Him.  These past few days I have found myself amidst all the mess and am enjoying life a lot more.  Much more than I have for a long time. 

I apologize for all of this being so cryptic, this is my blog for me to be able to look back at as a form of journal.  I hope to be able to gain inspiration and strength by seeing what lay in these posts.  I guess this post is more for me to document my feelings and hardships and to remind me that I know I will get past them and how I already have gotten past some. 

I would like to share a small part of my testimony with you.  Jesus Christ lives, He was resurrected and did indeed atone for our sins.  He loves us and wishes for us to be with Him again someday.  If there is ever anything you need help with or strength to get done, He will be there for you.  Amidst the world filled with flawed people, He is the perfect friend.   I love Him dearly and hope to one day hear Him say, "Well done".  In the mean time, I know I have a LOT of work to do!  I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thanksgiving Day

I can not even begin to explain how excited that I am it is finally Thanksgiving Day.  For some reason, having the end of the year full of holiday cheer is just great for me.  I really need that time to reflect on my many blessings and on why I do indeed need to be grateful for all that I have.  In talking to the girls about Thanksgiving, I told them we would be watching the parade on TV in the morning.  They weren't really sure what that was since most years we have been traveling in or somewhere other than our house and unable to watch.  I am VERY proud to say that we will get to see it this year!  WOOHOO!   Why I get so over-excited about some huge balloons and quick entertainment?  It's because of all the stinking AWESOME warm and fuzzies that overtake my body just thinking about the season!  Life really is good (even though I argue that point the other 10 months of the year).

  I have made a big change recently that I was pretty reluctant to make.  I quit the YMCA because I wasn't able to get there enough and I couldn't take part in the classes that I enjoyed.  My resolution?  I will be taking a more active role in my fitness and overall well-being.  I will get up in the morning to exercise before the hubby goes to work.  I will read my scriptures, ready the lunch for #1, get everyone dressed and fed to start our day, and most of all - get to bed EARLY.  That is right..... I will be aiming for 9 hours of sleep each night (obviously not tonight since it is already 1am) so I can wake rested and ready to go.  I know it is a bit much to bite off at this point, but I am going to use baby steps.  Anyway... getting to the THANKFUL part of this story anytime soon!?  Yeah, really.  Ok, so I am THANKFUL for the opportunity to be able to be a better homemaker and use my time more wisely.  I look forward to more time spent playing games with my children and teaching them the things they need to know.  I see the gym membership as a small sacrifice for the BIG change that will take part in our family - for the better. 

What's for........... DESSERT???

Ever been one of the poor souls that walk by the YW room on Sunday to see a bunch of teenage girls enjoying goodies?  Well, I have FINALLY taken the time to write down some of the recipes for those creations on my recipe blog.  Check it out.  I need to add a lot more and post my yummy spanish rice recipe that I found on allrecipes for last night's dinner. Check it out! Please ignore how long it has been since it has been updated, I have a lot of work to do to keep up with that blog.  I will do my best, and I am trying to do better about posting pictures with the post.  I do not like cook books that don't have pictures in them.... so I am not expecting you to! Feel free to send some of your favorite recipes so that I can try them and post them (with credit to you of course) on the blog.  Thanks!

Duel for Monday night dinner

 VS




Like the crazy people that we are, we decided to attempt a dinner at golden corral last night as part of our FHE.  It was going to be free for the hubby, plus.... we all could eat as much as we wanted.  Naturally, I cut back on what I ate that day to leave PLENTY O ROOM for the night's smorgasbord.  We attempted two different golden corrals only to find their lines way too long for children ready to eat.  After weighing our options, we decided on cracker barrel (because I hadn't ever been).  My thoughts on my first visit there?   DO NOT go there if you are ready to eat at a buffet!  By golly I think we scarfed up most of the girls fries (oh, and their kids meals were bigger portions than our adult meals) that they played "too full" to eat.

Hmm.... letter to the company?  I think so!
           Dear Golden Corral
    Why do you have a DAY to honor military members?  Most of them end up standing outside in the cold for an hour or so - for what?  To save 10.95???  Seriously?!  I think that allowing military members the weekend of Veteran's Day to redeem their free meal.  Perhaps creating an online coupon that can be printed after registering so that not every military member in town is eating free for a weekend.  My family was hoping to have a nice evening out at one of your restaurants, but were unable to stand in the lengthy lines at your business and eventually forced to give business to another competitor.   Every year, competitors praise your "military dinner" promotion because it gives them MORE customers.

                                                        sincerely,
                                                           A Navy Wife

disclaimer: logos borrowed from their respective websites. also, opinion expressed in this blog is that of the author and not an official statement from either restaurant.

more grateful for's

#9.  Hot Chocolate made with warm milk (favorite)
#10.  Alone moments (no, I didn't get one today, just reminiscing)
#11.  the idea of yard sales
#12.  My grandparents (both sets) - they are the most wonderful people that I know and I want my children to be able to know them.
#13.  warm, cozy blankets accompanied by GREAT books
#14. friends

Happy Veterans Day!

I am sending out a HUGE thank you to all of those who have served in the US military at any point throughout this country's history.  It is because of you that we have the freedoms that our forefather's wished us to have.  ( (Today) I am choosing to ignore the fact that the majority of this country's citizens are voluntarily giving up a lot of those rights)  Thanks to all the military members, (old and new) there is at least someone fighting for what is right.   Please, in honoring our military members, do not forget to also honor those families that go through many struggles to share their loved one(s) with this country.  It is most definitely not an easy task and many important milestones/anniversaries/birthdays are missed regularly to ensure your freedom.   As you sit down with your loved one every night for dinner, remember that someone is without their loved one tonight in order to defend our freedoms.  Everyday, there is a servicemember missing the birth of their child, 1st birthday, or anniversary. Each holiday season there are empty plates at the dinner table for Christmas and Thanksgiving.  Many miss the 1st day of school for their eldest child just to defend our country and our freedoms.  It is because of these remarkable people that you have the opportunity to be with your loved ones each and every day and to have them at every important day in your lives.  As long as there are ones willing to serve,  the rest of the country will be spared in having to protect their families and belongings on their own, or being forced to serve in the military themselves. 

THANK YOU VETERANS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL!!  AS WELL AS ALL EMERGENCY PERSONNEL!! 

Oh, and you're welcome for sharing my husband with all of you and going through a lot of important holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries (to name a few) without him.

Thanksgiving

#6.  Thankful for time with family
#7.  LOVE indoor plumbing (hot showers, flushing toilets, etc)
#8.  Thankful for phones, webcams (modern technology)

Contagious

I distinctly remember telling my husband yesterday that I was sick and that he probably shouldn't kiss me.  So, what does he do?  He says, "That's ok, I'll be alright."   Then imagine my surprise when he wakes up today and then later complains of a sore throat and achy body?!  Yup, I told him!  Sometimes boys are so silly. 

Next Project....

Ugly Dolls.  I want to make one for my little man and found a fleece throw at the thrift store today for $1.99 that I am going to use for the body.  Any ideas on how to stuff that thing without having a funny seam somewhere (proof of where I stuffed it)?   I think that these things are the PERFECT gift for little boys.  All the ward has to do now is supply the boys for me to make them for (that is if they turn out cute - the dolls, not the babies).   =)

Thankful List

Ok... since I am apparently, TRULY awful at updating this, I will play catch up with my Thankful list.

2.  Grateful that my children have their health, while I am sick.
 (makes things a little easier)
3.  Grateful that I have a husband who likes loves me and finds me attractive.
4.  Grateful my family supports me with crafting
5.  Grateful to have a roof over my head and a steady paycheck (not mine... my husband's)

Give Thanks

I really love this time of year.  I know that we most definitely should always be thankful, but it is easier to think that way when Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  The same goes for Christmas and the wonderful spirit that accompanies the last month of the year.   I would love it if we had these two holidays all year long - but I will settle for just trying to live these holidays in my heart year round. 

I would like to take a moment to say one thing that I am thankful for in my life.  I am going to try to do this each time that I post (since I am horrible about posting everyday).  

#1.  I am thankful for the scriptures and the Atonement. 

Happy Halloween

 #1 with her costume.  I am SO happy she was happy with it.  Even though it wasn't perfect by any means.

 #2 In her fairy outfit.  She decided she wanted her hair done like Fawn.  Well... you know how it goes.  =)

#3 in his Chicken Little outfit.  No hat with the red rooster stuff.  If you look close at his bum, you can see his rooster feathers on his outfit.  TOO CUTE!  Love him up!