Sunday Project: Operation Baby Rescue

Today was a very productive day.  We went to church, tidied up the house, played a family game, and I rescued a poor pathetic excuse for a baby doll.

 Yesterday our family went to this cute little shop down the street from us called "The Dam Garage Sale".  I have been dying to check this place out and finally my husband agreed to pull over and let us take a look around.  Josephine immediately was drawn to this metal shopping cart that was just her size and a baby doll that had definitely seen better days.  She was in LOVE with this baby and wouldn't give it up, even when we tried to show her a much nicer baby.  This was her baby.  So, we haggled a bit for the shopping cart and they threw the baby in for free.

Well, we left the store and headed home where immediately Josephine decided that the baby needed a blanket and clothes and let's just say, an attachment was formed.  Later in the day we had to head to a Fine Arts Festival for the boys.  Of course, baby had to come too.  Not only does baby have some seriously crazy hair, she also had a VERY short dress and no diaper or anything to cover up her obviously private areas!  I was embarrassed to drag this baby doll around!  Out of all the cute dolls she has, she had to take this one!

Finally after about the fifth comment from others I decided that baby was going to be my project!  I scoured Pinterest for ideas on how to fix baby's hair and clothing situation.  SUCCESS!  I used this tutorial to repair her hair.  I first wet it down with a squirt bottle and then combed it out.  She immediately looked better, but I decided to do the hair repair because she had a bit of a musty smell to her.

I only let her sit for about an hour in the solution because her hair wasn't in that bad of shape and mostly I was doing it to help with the smell. I used 1 cup of Downy and 1 cup of water...that was pretty strong, I think next time I could reduce it a bit. I used the medicine syringe to wet her roots with the solution so that her head wouldn't fill up with soapy water.

While she was enjoying her spa treatment I started to work on her outfit.  I used the diaper pattern found here.  I just saved the picture of the pattern and printed it in word so I wouldn't have to subscribe to Scribd.  Then I made her a dress from the patter and tutorial found here!  I am not a skilled seamstress and this entire process (including winding a bobbin after fighting with my bobbin winder, tucking kids into bed and hassling with my sewing machine) only took me about an hour and a half!  Not too shabby for a beginner!

After the clothes were sewn I rinsed baby's hair and dried it gently with a microfiber towel to get as much of the water out as possible.  Then I worked the comb through her hair and got it back into pigtails!  I gave her bangs a quick trim as they were a bit uneven from the tugging.  And she is ADORABLE!  I can't wait for Josephine to see her in the morning.  I hope she loves her.  I really enjoyed making the doll clothes!

My grandma told me that when she was little she would put her dolls out before Christmas and on Christmas morning they were back and fresh and clean and with new clothes.  Her mother worked to make each doll a new dress and freshened them up.  Maybe that tradition will have to continue.  I definitely felt like today was a productive and relaxing day.

A Week of Mummies!

For the month of October we decided to pick a spooky for each week leading up to Halloween.  This past week we studied mummies!  It was amazing!  We had a BLAST!

We started our week as we usually do, going to the library and checking out TONS of books (fiction and non-fiction) on our topic.  Then the fun really begins.  We spent the week reading our books and discussing a little bit about ancient Egypt (just so we could get some background as to why we even have mummies), the mummification process, and all the gross stuff boys like about mummies.  Let me tell ya, the boys think it is AWESOME that they pulled the brains out through the nose with a hook!  The BEST book we read was "You Wouldn't Want to be an Egyptian Mummy! Disgusting Things You'd Rather Now Know" by David Stewart.  There is a whole series of these books and they are GREAT!  They are simple, lots of pictures, fun facts, and not too daunting for a kid while also not being too simple for an adult.  You should definitely check them out.  

We also spent a day at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  The boys had their monthly classes and during our classroom breaks we checked out their AMAZING Egypt exhibit!  We could have spent an entire day in there, but with baby sister in tow, that wasn't possible.  The boys got to see real mummies, touch papyrus, look at hieroglyphs and see lots of artifacts.  

We used learning packets that I found at a website called 3 Dinosaurs (I picked through and only printed what I wanted) and also a packet that I found at Royal Baloo.  These were amazing assets to our learning unit.  I think we could have spent a whole month (or maybe even a year) on Egypt.  We ALL loved it.  

We also decided to conduct our first REAL science experiment.  We got the idea from a blog I follow and we carried out our own experiment.  We mummified apples!  It was REALLY REALLY cool!  The boys spent time drawing up observations and creating a hypothesis.  At the end of the week we unwrapped all of our apples and the results were pretty gross! (Perfect for boys)  Who would have known that vinegar was that good of a preservative!  

Preparing our experiment

The apples were ready to be stored

In their "tomb" for the week (guest room closet)

Time to unwrap!

Our Results

Control Group

Vinegar Group

Baking Soda Group (EWWWW!)

Salt Group

Sugar Group

Proud little scientists

The final write-up

Alex also had to write his very first book report this week!  He chose a book from the library, read it (we did some of it together because it was a bit daunting, but he handled it really well) and did a small write-up about the book and presented it to the family.  He did an amazing job.  The book he chose was "The Curse of King Tut's Mummy" by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.  I will definitely be looking for more of these books too.

We had a great time together and I really felt like we were learning alongside each other this week.  I know not all weeks can be this cool (I just don't have the energy for it) but I am grateful for the time we have together to have amazing weeks.   We all learned a ton this week, and I would say that this week was a total success.  

Why I Won't Be Washing My Mirror Any Time Soon

This school year we are trying very hard to create habits and schedules and sticking to them.  I truly feel that this is the only way that we will be able to function with all of our schooling, activities, clubs and other things that keep us going.  Since we have moved into our new home, this has been a whole lot easier.  Every morning the kids and I gather around the table for breakfast and scripture study.  Then, we adjourn to get ready for our day.  At this point the boys run upstairs and wash their hands and face, brush their teeth and get dressed.  Baby girl and I have a routine all our own.  First, I head up the stairs and call for her to follow me.  She then quickly makes her way up the stairs usually laughing the whole way.  Then we head to her room where she selects her clothes (or I give her a few choices and she picks).  After she is dressed she puts her clothes in the hamper and her diaper in the trash.  She then makes a quick stop by the boy's room to check in on their silliness and then we go down the stairs, step-by-step as she learns that climbing down stairs is a bit more complicated than going up.  Then we proceed to my bathroom, this is where the fun starts.

I swoop her up and plop her on the counter with her little toes in the sink.  I prep her toothbrush, which involves my turning on the water so that her toes get wet.  I brush her teeth, and then she takes over the brushing while I move on to brushing her hair.  We chatter back and forth as I tame her very short and thin red mane and place a bow on her head.  We always take a step back and admire ourselves in the mirror and then she toddles off for 30 minutes of TV.  This morning, she did something that took my breath away...

Once we were ready to step back and admire ourselves, she stood up in the sink and plopped the biggest slobbery kiss on the mirror!  She giggled and did it again and again, then looked at me and said "So Pretty!"  in her precious 16 month old voice.  Then, she left me to reflect on this moment as she toddled into the living room.  There I stood, facing myself in the mirror.  I am dressed for the gym, yoga pants and an old shirt with my hair pulled back.  Let me be honest, I rarely look in the mirror.  Mostly, just when I absolutely HAVE to.  I have always been terribly self conscious, and it has only gotten worse as I have gotten older.  I just don't like to see myself.  Here I have the most adorable baby girl who is rejoicing in her beauty!  She doesn't notice that her forehead has the biggest mosquito bite on it that it looks like she will turn into a unicorn at any moment, she doesn't notice a single flaw, she just knows that she is "So Pretty" and she is loved.  I want to be like her.  I want to rejoice in ME.  Today, I will rejoice in ME.  I will rejoice that I have a body that works hard to meet my daily demands.  I will enjoy my blue eyes and round cheeks.  I will smile because I am ME.

I will also leave those slobbery smudges on my mirror as a reminder that I am "So Pretty".  I will pray that I will be confident enough in myself so that my daughter will never be afraid to look in the mirror.  That she will know that she is loved, important and that she is worth more than gold in HIS eyes.  Today, my role model and hero is my baby girl.  She loves me for me, and doesn't see my flaws as flaws, but as part of who I am.  I am blessed.

My Little Leaders

I told you that I would post about Eric's Pre-K and my thoughts on it all so, here it is as I promised.

Three years ago I was looking for a Mother's Day Out program to put Alex in.  I checked at a number of places locally and wasn't having much luck finding something that felt right.  Then, a friend of mine mentioned that she had her son in a program at Woodland Place Baptist Church called Little Leaders.  Her exact words to me were, "If I didn't belong to our church, I would go there in a heartbeat."  Well, that is saying a whole lot, so I went and checked it out.  The price was definitely reasonable and the people were super kind.  So, I enrolled Alex for Pre-K.  There Alex blossomed!  He had two amazing teachers that I couldn't thank enough for how amazing and loving they were to my boy.  I was in love with these people and I wanted to continue to have them in my life and in my family's lives.  I had cried, laughed, smiled, cheered, and found so much joy when with these devoted women.  We became friends, good friends.

The next year I decided to enroll Eric in the three-year-old class.  I am not sure if I was doing it for him or for me...really I couldn't imagine missing a year with these people. Once the school year started they asked me to teach at the school in the Pre-K class.  I have NEVER loved a job the way I LOVED this job.  I was in an environment where the Spirit was always present and the support and love were never ending.  Each morning we prayed together.  We prayed for each other, friends, family, students, tests, teachers...anything that was brought to our meetings.  It is here that I learned what it meant to pray.  I saw miracles and witnessed mighty changes in heart.  I grew so much as a Christian.  I learned to fellowship and share the love of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father with any that were willing to hear.  I became friends with my co-teacher, not just pals on facebook, but sisters in the eyes of the Lord.  The year was amazing and as I get further and further along in my pregnancy with Josephine, they took care of me.  There were many times I often wondered what the heck I was doing bringing a child into such a tumultuous world, but then I would see the good that there is and all my fears would diminish.  THIS is what it felt like to raise your child in "a village".

Well, as baby girl came along and Alex left the public school system, I stepped away from my teaching roll and went back to being the Room Mom.  Eric was blessed to have Mrs. Fran and Mrs.Kristi, the same teachers Alex had for Pre-K.  What a year it was!  These teachers faced some serious issues as they stood up for what they believed and stood by their director as her job was brought to the attention of the church.  They dealt with budget issues and restrictions like they had never had before.  Still, they greeted every parent and student with a smile and a genuine kindness and compassion.  The love for their jobs shined through constantly.  My Eric struggles with his emotions and is a VERY tender-hearted boy.  They constantly made him feel loved.  When he had melt downs, they didn't scold him or ignore him.  They prayed with him, hugged him tight and told him he was loved.  Eric needed that very much.  He often would tell me that he had to tell his teachers something, or show them something, and each time that he talked to them, they focused on him and acted as if he was their entire world for that moment.

The last few weeks of school were hard.  News came down from the church that the Mother's Day Out program would be CLOSING.  I literally wept for days over this, and I still get a little misty eyed when I think about it.  After this year, it would be over.  OVER.  What would I do without this program?  I know the boys had outgrown it, but I had always just pictured Josephine going there too.  I don't know all of the details, so I don't want to point fingers or assign blame.  I do know that the teachers stood up for what they believed and didn't back down.  They had the students, parents, teachers, and church's best interest at heart.   They displayed true friendship and loyalty.  They are true examples of what it is to be an upstanding Christian woman.  The school year ended as it always did, class parties, graduation, the children singing and lots of hugs.  I wept as I drove to Eric's final Pre-K program.  I was a bit sad that my sweet baby boy was growing up, but I was heartbroken to watch the end of such an amazing program.  I didn't want it to end.

Now, a month later, I sit in my kitchen and I still cry.  I know that these women will go on and continue to touch the lives of others and to bless the world with their kind hearts.  I know that my children will look back on their years in Pre-K and remember all of the joy and giggles.  Most of all, I know that I learned a whole lot about myself, my children, my personal faith and how to be a Mommy in those short three years.  I learned what loving a child looks like and feels like.  I learned what it meant to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).  I want to carry on their legacy with my children.  I want them to know of God's love for them, no matter what.  I want the to see the good and be the good in the world.  I want to live so that when all is said and done, I will be counted among those women as noble and true Christians.

I honestly couldn't say it enough.  I love the friends I have made through this program.  I am grateful that we live in a small enough community that we will cross each other's paths every now and then and that technology allows us to keep in touch.  

There may not be a Little Leaders program any more, but in my heart, my boys will always be Little Leaders.

It's Been Rough

Let me be honest with you, and with myself.  It has been rough.  These last weeks have been like a roller coaster for me emotionally and I really just wanted to shut everything out and not even think about it.  I keep trying to decide if I am depressed and if I should talk to the doctor, or if it is just situational and I will work through it.  Most of the time I tell my hubby that I have issues with "other people".  Most of the things causing stress in my life are not within my control and I HATE IT!  I am a control freak, I will freely admit it.  When things are going on that affect me, but I can't do anything about it I get really frustrated.  I guess most people probably do, but it is really starting to wear on me.  I am working on letting go and letting things come as they may, but then when I do that I get bombarded with super sick baby, sick four year old, sprained ankle, moody seven year old and PMS!  And that is just TODAY!

Well first I had to deal with my baby boy graduating Pre-K.  It was EMOTIONAL for so many reasons.  I will do a separate post on that soon (not now because Josephine will be crying to get up any minute now).  Then our house being on the market is a roller coaster ride all on its own.  Part of me thinks that these emotions, anxiety and stress are normal, but another part of me says it can't be or nobody would ever sell their home twice.  Then we had to get through the last few weeks of homeschool, which really weren't bad and in fact, I am smiling as I think of all we have accomplished.  Then, my wallet was stolen.  This turned into a fiasco and has caused me to have an insane amount of anxiety to just go shopping.  I literally didn't go to a grocery store for two weeks because I was afraid of other people.  No, it wasn't a violent act or anything, but I trusted someone and was kind to someone and in return they chose to steal from me.  Grrrr....frustrations.  Frustration with the store it was taken from, with the police (well a specific officer that thought intimidation and threats would shut me up), with the DMV, with money, with banks....everything.  And I still need to get my temple recommend sorted out.  Then more frustration as our family deals with my husband's job that has been VERY demanding of his time and energy.  I know many don't have jobs and I need to be grateful for his work and pay, which I am.  However, it doesn't make home life any easier nor does it make us miss him less.  Then pile on any other daily stress that might come my way and I am just tired.  I know it will get better, it has to....IT HAS TO GET BETTER!

I also feel as if many people are down right now.  With the situation of our country and ALL the MANY MANY MANY issues that are flooding us, how can you not feel a bit discouraged and disheartened?  I am determined to make this a great summer.  I want to enjoy many moments with my kids as they are only getting bigger and I don't want to miss a thing.

I am not looking for sympathy or anything with this post, just need to get it off my chest and move on.  I CAN DO HARD THINGS.  I ask your forgiveness for my lack of posting lately and I will try to be better.  I know I already have two more posts that will come out hopefully this week.  We are under house arrest by doctor's orders until baby girl is feeling 100%.  Hopefully we will be able to get into the fresh air by the end of the week.

Houston, We Have a Reader!

I know it has been a while since I updated, but no, I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth, things are just...different right now.  However, I feel like writing today.

 I am literally doing the homeschool mom happy dance lately.  First of all because Alex and I BOTH survived this school year and I think we came out shining!  I am actually looking forward to next year!  The biggest milestone I think we have hit is Alex's LOVE of reading!  All of the sudden he is BLOSSOMING!  The boy always has a book in his hands...or a Lego.  He takes books in the car, to bed, to church, to the gym, to meetings....everywhere.  Last night we started a new Magic Treehouse book and he read me a chapter all by himself...only a few promptings needed.  Then he BEGGED me to read just one more chapter, but it was WAY past bedtime already so I told him he could read it in bed.  When I went to wake him up this morning, he was already awake and reading in his bed!  The boy read three chapters all by himself.  I'm a skeptic so I read the chapters over and then asked him about what had happened and he could almost recite every detail!  I am seriously down right giddy about this.  I honestly believe that knowing how to read and loving to read opens endless doors and opportunities.  You can do ANYTHING if you can and are willing to read.  I pray that I can continue to encourage his love for reading and that this will not end up being "just a phase".

I read this quote to Alex and he wants it on the wall in our school room when we move :-)  Just makes my mommy heart happy.

This is ME Monday (Hahahahaha! I am doing it on MONDAY!)

Week 12: When have you helped brighten someone's day, and how did it make you feel?

In all honesty I can't pinpoint when I have truly brightened someone's day, but latey I am trying to serve more and be mindful of others.  I know that when I do find a way ti serve someone and I follow through, I feel better about myself.  I often will forget the problems I was having or realize that it could be a whole lot worse, or I recognize the blessings I have.  I also feel as if I am helping to move the work of the Lord further, especially in the right direction.  I once gave a talk on the topic "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?"  I really enjoyed this topic and I spent a whole lot of time pondering this whole idea.  A lot of times we feel that we need to do something big to serve, but I honestly feel that it is in the everyday things that we do the most good in the world.  There is a song that I love by Steven Curtis Chapman that has a line that says:

Little stuff

Big stuff

In between stuff

God sees it all the same

While I may not know you

I bet I know you

Wonder sometimes, does it matter at all?

Well let me remind you, it all matters just as long

As you do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you, 

Cause he made you

To do

Every little thing that you do 

To bring a smile to His face

Tell the story of grace

With every move that you make

And everything you do

The song is "Do Everything" You can listen to it here

This reminds me that it is in the things that I do that matter.  I need to make sure that the world knows who I am and that I am a daughter of God through the things that I do and say.  I want everything I do to be in His name.  I made a covenant to stand as a witness to Him at all times and in all things and in all places.  I know that the days that I remember this principle, the better my day goes and the more empowered I feel as a woman and as a daughter of God.   

This is ME-Week 11

Week 11: What are Your Many Blessings?

Okay seriously!?!  How broad of a topic can we get here!?!  I am not going to sit and llist all of my blessing because I would be here all night, and as you can tell, I barely have enough time to write once a week for a few minutes.  I will tell you though that I have been working on turning my focus outward and trying to be a blessing to others.  I will admit that I get pretty negative about myself sometimes.  I will whine and complain about how things just aren't going the way that I think they should and it snowballs into this giant pity party!  It really is pathetic.  Well, I started thinking about how destructive this behavior really is.  I don't want to drag myself down, the world does a good enough job of that already and I don't want to add to it.  Anyway, I have been trying to look at how I can be a blessing to others.  I have been praying sincerely to know each day how I can bless someone that I come in contact with.  I have to admit that I have really been impressed by the answers to my prayers.  I have had more opportunities to serve, listen, honor, respect, cherish and value people than I have had in a while.  I also find increased capacity to be able to bless others.  I want to be the kind of person that emulates the love of the Savior.  I want to be His hands.  I want to build up the kingdom of God and not just worry about my own part, but help others along the path too.  This is my goal.  I know i am not perfect and I know that sometimes I serve because I am supposed to, and not because I really want to.  However, my reasoning is that I will serve until I feel like serving.  Like the saying 'If you don't feel like praying, pray until you do" well, this is my idea with serving others right now.  I may not always have the purest thoughts or intentions, but darn it, I will do it until I get it right.  I lead a very blessed life.  I have three wonderful children (I can say that because they are sleeping an no longer making me crazy) and the most amazing husband ever.  I don't know what I did to deserve them, but I want to make my Heavenly Father proud of me and I want Him to know that I am grateful for them and I will strive to keep my blessings.

This is ME-Week 10

Week 10: What is your favorite Book of Mormon scripture? Why?

I honestly can't think of ONE Book of Mormon scripture that I love above the rest.  I must admit that this reminds me of when I was a freshman in high school and attending seminary in Sparks, Nevada.  My boyfriend at the time always joked that his favorite scripture in the Book of Mormon was:

 1 Nephi 2:15: And my father dwelt in a tent.  

This was always funny to us and we would always giggle when he told our teacher this.  One day she asked him why he thought it was importatnt that Nephi told us that he dwelt in a tent.  Then, without missing a beat he gave and elaborate explanation of the insight he had received from this scripture.  pI can still remember this experience vividly...I wonder if he does.  Anyway, back on topic.  I can't really think of a specific scripture that is my favorite in the Book of Mormon, but I really love the book of Enos.  It is very short, but to me very powerful.  I have most of the book highlighted.  My favorite verse, I think, out of the book of Enos is:

 Enos 1:4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

I think that Enos is a perfect example of prayer.  In my patriarchal blessing I was told over 5 times to become a "Woman of Prayer".  I have strived to do so and I find myself leaning on the power of prayer more often than not.  I have a firm testimony of prayer.  I know my prayers are heard and I know they are answered.  I am definitely not pateint and I struggle at times waiting, but I have a firm faith that the answer will come.  I need communication with my Father in heaven.  I crave it, and without it, I am lost.  I pray endlessly at times and I feel that my burdens are lighter once I hand them to the Lord.

There is a scripture that echos through my mind lately.  It is in Doctrine and Covenants.  It reads:

D&C 84:88  And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

There is a song on the radio that I LOVE right now, and in all honesty, I sing it REALLY loud when it comes on.  You can listen to it here.  It is called "Whom Shall I Fear" by Chris Tomlin.  According to him, he got inspiration from a scripture in 2 Kings chapter 6.  Here is the interview with him on the writing of this song. 

I have told my husband lately that I am trying to put the Lord in control of my situation.  I am struggling with a whole lot of feelings of inadequacy.  I am desperate for our home to sell so that I can move forward in life with a new home and restore some normalcy back into my children's lives.  I have grown up with the teaching that if you aren't moving forward, then you are sliding backwards.  I have had to continually remember to give this to Him.  He knows what is before me, He knows where I have been, and He knows where I am now.  He loves me and He knows that I can do hard things as long as I hold on tight to Him and to my faith.  

Counting the Blessings (Even If I Don't Want To)

So, as I mentioned in my last post, the sickness has been running rampant in our household for the past two weeks.  It started with me catching this vicious virus that was like a sinus infection/head cold/flu thingy and it was TERRIBLE.  I hadn't been that sick in a VERY long time.  I ran a high fever and was literally useless.  Then my poor baby girl caught it!  Finally I get over it and she gets over it and not even a full two days later my oldest get s a stomach virus that was intense!  The poor kid threw up for days!  He is still not back up to 100%, but at least the puking stopped.  Then my baby caught that too!  Luckily she only had it for 24 hours...Thank you Heavenly Father.  So, you might be wondering why I am telling you all these disgusting details...really I do have a point to all of this.

On Monday we had been vomit free for 24 hours, so I decided that we would make it to the gym so that I could meet with my trainer and get a good workout in.  I hadn't been able to work out for over a week and a half and I was dying to get there.  Well, everything was going dandy.  We loaded into the car and off we went.  Then, my oldest started puking all over the car!  First of all, I really don't handle people throwing up.  It usually leads to me throwing up.  Well, after I convinced my stomach that it should really hold on to the breakfast I gave it and I opened the windows because the smell was beyond gross, I turned the car around.  I will admit I was MAD.  I was frustrated and irritated beyond belief!  I was mad that he hadn't said anything about feeling sick, even though I had asked him how he was feeling at least a dozen times that morning.  Each time he answered, "I'm good."  Well, apparently "good" is another term for "I am going to blow chunks all over the car".  I was also frustrated because I was missing an appointment.  I HATE missing appointments.  It is one of the biggest pet peeves I have and it was happening and there was nothing I could do about it.  When I got home I yelled at Alex (I know, really nice and compassionate Mom right?!?) to get in the house and to take a shower.  Once he was in the shower I calmed down long enough to get the baby situated with some toys and bribed (oh yes, bribed, with money) my middle child to play with her long enough so that I could figure out how to clean the car.  Alex got out of the shower and into his pajamas and I went out to the car armed with Clorox wipes, paper towels, a plastic bag, Lysol, Febreeze, a bucket of water with a towel...and any other cleaning supply I could get my hands on.  Like I said, I don't do throw up.    Well, as I was trying to figure out how I was going to do this and why this was happening to me and all these other unpleasant thoughts I started to think about what would happen if I posted what was going on in my life at this moment on Facebook.  Yes, I am that much into Facebook that I think of such things.  Then the thoughts of what the comments would be started to flow...this is how it looked in my mind...

Me: Cleaning up puke out of the car...not how I wanted to spend my Monday morning...kids!
Comment 1: Eww, I can sympathize
Comment 2: TMI
Comment 3: Poor kiddo, hope he feels better soon
Comment 4: Oh, I remember those days
Comment 5: It could be worse
Comment 6: Try to look at the bright side
etc, etc, etc...you see where I am going with this right?

So, here is what I started thinking.  People will want me to be thankful for what I have and probably make me feel like a really crappy mom for not being grateful and more nurturing, so fine, I will count my blessings...all of them...no matter how tongue and cheek they may be...here it goes.

*I am  thankful that I have a son (even if he does puke all over the car)
*I am thankful that I have a Chrysler Town and Country with Stow and Go seats so that I can fold the seats into the floor and wipe the disgusting puke off of the van that went between the seat and the window.
*I am thankful for cleaning supplies
*I am thankful to be able to afford good cleaning supplies
*I am thankful it is not raining even though it is 90 degrees and humid as heck!
*I am thankful for paper towels because man this is gross!
*I am thankful for the goldfish crackers crammed between the seats as it means that my kids get enough to eat that there are still some left to leave on the floor.
*I am thankful for the bee that came and chased me out of the van as I am now very well aware that my heart is beating
*I am thankful for the chihuahuas that my neighbors insist on letting roam free, without their barking at me I would be quite lonely out here.
*I am thankful for the trees that are literally pollinating on my head, without them I may question whether or not allergy season is a real thing.
*I am thankful for a washing machine as I would really not like to wash these towels by hand.
*I am thankful for having kids that kept me from eating a decent sized breakfast, had I eaten more, I am sure it would have come up by now.
*I am thankful for being young so that I can climb all over my van and sit in really awkward positions just to get the last bit of gunk out of that cup holder that is in the weirdest place.
*I am thankful that thoughts are only heard by me and my Heavenly Father, cause right now, they aren't the nicest things.
*I am thankful that Eric has come out for the third time asking fir a various food item, without that I may have wondered if he was still doing his job of watching his sister.
*I am thankful that carseats are easier to wash as kids get older.
*I am thankful that I have a lot of hair on my head, so that when I pull it out by the handfuls, nobody really notices.
*I am thankful for text messaging, without it my trainer would hear me crying over a pile of puke and realize that I am a highly emotional woman.
*I am thankful for a home, if I didn't have one I would have to be stuck inside a cardboard bow with three kids for the 5th day in a row, and that would be unbearable.
*I am thankful for second chances, as I know I need them a whole lot.
*I am just thankful.

I must admit, after saying these things to myself for over 30 minutes, I wasn't near as cranky as I went in the house.  I apologized to Alex for yelling at him.  I paid Eric for his job mostly done, I scooped up the baby and calmed her down as she was sure I had abandoned her.  I turned on the tv and sat and watched Phineas and Ferb with my kids.  Not once did I think about what I should have been doing, or could have been doing.  It was too late, and there was nothing I could do to change what had happened, so I sat back, ate a piece of chocolate and endured it.  No, I am not the perfect Mom, and most of the time I don't think I am even a very good Mom.  But this time, I am not sorry for a single thing I felt that morning.  I needed to feel those things and I needed to experience it.  I NEVER want to repeat such a series of events, but I will never regret it.

This is ME: Week 9 (I'm a bit behind)

Week 9: What are some of your favorite messages from the last General Conference and why?

Okay, so I am WAY behind.  I missed last week due to being sick and spring break.  I missed this week because I had sick kids and a REALLY rough Monday, so cut a girl some slack, I am getting to it now.

I think the last General Conference was amazing.  I am so excited for the one coming up it is ridiculous!  I have been planning a really fun sharing time activity revolving completely around getting the children excited about conference!  I literally rack my brain and have ideas floating all around.  I really hope the lesson is as big of a success as I am praying and planning it to be.

I had many favorite talks in the last conference, but the one that tops my list was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's "Of Regrets and Resolutions".  First of all, I seriously just love listening to this man!  His voice is so calming to me.  I figure it is because of my German heritage that I find the rough German accent soothing, but I really do!  Anyway, in this talk I really gave a lot of time for studying and reflecting.  I really needed the message and it is a message I wish all parents would listen to and take to heart.  I really try to not have any regrets.  I often think that if I could change something in the past, what would it be.  Most of the time I wouldn't change a thing.  However, I want to make sure that when that time does come that I am looking back on my entire life, I feel the same way.  I encourage you to take a minute or so and read this talk.  You can read it here.  Here are a few excerpts from his talk that really impacted me.

Declaring our testimony of the gospel is good, but being a living example of the restored gospel is better. Wishing to be more faithful to our covenants is good; actually being faithful to sacred covenants—including living a virtuous life, paying our tithes and offerings, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and serving those in need—is much better. Announcing that we will dedicate more time for family prayer, scripture study, and wholesome family activities is good; but actually doing all these things steadily will bring heavenly blessings to our lives.Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self.Let us resolve to follow the Savior and work with diligence to become the person we were designed to become. Let us listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, Heavenly Father will reveal to us things we never knew about ourselves. He will illuminate the path ahead and open our eyes to see our unknown and perhaps unimagined talents.

The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us.

We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.

I encourage you to go back and read over the previous conference talks before this upcoming conference. It is a great way to prepare yourself for the abundance of personal revelation you can receive through the mouths of the holy prophets. You can read through them here.
I also invite any of my readers who have never taken advantage of General Conference to come and hear a prophet's voice. General Conference will be held on Saturday, April 6th and Sunday April 7th. You can listen to a live stream on LDS.org and you can find more information about what General Conference is and what it means to us as latter day saints here. I know I will be listening intently and with an open heart.

Oh My Eric!

Many of you know that my boys are VERY different from each other.  I have no idea what is "normal" as both of them are like night and day and I often don't know which end is up.  Well, my grandma found this on facebook and shared it with me.  Often times when I am on the phone with her she hears at least one of my children yell out about something.  Nine times out of ten...it is Eric.  Often times we aren't sure why he is so upset, he just is.  I love my Eric with all my heart.  He is so full of joy and excitement about life, but with that comes great emotions on the other side of the spectrum.  I often refer to him as "highly emotional"...meaning that whatever emotion he is having, it is displayed at a high level.  He is never mildly irritated or content...he is either really excited and happy or really unhappy and frustrated.  I can't say much as I am often the same way.  Sometimes I struggle with Eric, but I think it is because we are so much alike.  We often joke around that it is a good thing that he is so darn cute, otherwise I might have lost my marbles completely by now.  Anyway, here is the list...and even though it says it is for 3 year olds...well, my Eric is 4 and this describes him to a T.  I have BOLDED the ones that we have experienced...

46 Reasons My Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out

DECEMBER 13, 2012

Some of these are total guesses. Educated guesses, but guesses nonetheless. Seems like it’s hard being a kid.

His sock is on wrong.

His lip tastes salty. (well, buttery after eating popcorn)

His shirt has a tag on it.

The car seat is weird.

He’s hungry, but can’t remember the word “hungry.”

Someone touched his knee.

He’s not allowed in the oven.

I picked out the wrong pants.

His brother looked at him.

His brother didn’t look at him.

His hair is heavy.

We don’t understand what he said.

He doesn’t want to get out of the car.

He wants to get out of the car by himself.

The iPad has a password.

His sleeve is touching his thumb.

He doesn’t understand how popsicles are made.

The inside of his nose stinks.

Chicken is gross.

A balloon he got six months ago is missing.

A puzzle piece won’t fit in upside down.

I gave him the wrong blue crayon.

The gummi vitamin is too firm.

Netflix is slow.

He jumped off the sofa and we weren’t watching.

He’s not allowed to touch fire.

Everything is wrong with his coat.

There’s a dog within a 70 mile radius.

A shoe should fit either foot.

I asked him a question.

His brother is talking.

He can’t lift a pumpkin.

He can’t have my keys.

The cat is in his way.

The cat won’t let him touch its eyeball.

The inside of his cheek feels rough.

Things take too long to cook.

He has too much food in his mouth.

He sneezed.

He doesn’t know how to type.

The DustBuster is going to eat him.

His mom is taking a shower.

Someone knocked over his tower.

He got powdered sugar on his pants.

The yogurt won’t stay on his spoon.

EVERYTHING IS TOO HOT.

Click here to view the original post.

Now when I say that I have heard these, I don't mean that he has mentioned them or even whined a bit about them...he has SCREAMED, CRIED, WAILED, and let the world be well aware of his despair and discomfort.  So, if you have a child as fun as my Eric, you have my sympathies...isn't it fun!  The good thing is when he is happy, the whole world seems happier.

This is ME-Week 8 (oh yeah, it is MONDAY!)

Week 8: How do you study your scriptures?

I seriously LOVE reading my scriptures.  I used to think of it as a chore, but now it has become something I NEED to do, or my day just doesn't start off right.  Monday-Friday I study my scriptures at the kitchen table with my boys over breakfast.  We read a chapter in the scriptures and discuss it as they slurp down their cereal.  I read while they listen.  We stop to discuss certain verses that I feel are important and if we are in the middle of a story, we do a little recap and start to guess what might happen next.  This has become a wonderful habit for us.

My husband goes to a religion class once a week.  When he gets home we discuss things that were talked about in his class.  We talk about the things we have learned from the scriptures that week and how they have helped us through our personal trials and questions.

My new goal is to be more regular when reading the Ensign.  I often only pick it up to read the Visiting Teaching Message.  I want to read it cover to cover as I do my fun magazines.  These are words from our prophet that I get in my mailbox every month and I need to take advantage of it.  Also, I want to make sure that I share the home teaching message with my kids since our home teachers don't come over to share the message with us.  These things are important to our family's spirituality and I want to make sure we fully utilize the Lord's blessings in our lives.

The scriptures have become an amazing tool in my life and I often find that I go to them for answers and I seek them out.

2 Nephi 31:20
     Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father:  Ye shall have eternal life.

A Sunday Smile

A friend of mine shared this on Facebook last week and it really made me smile.  Check it out.  It's worth the 5 minutes (at the most) to read it.

What Being Homeschooled is Actually Like

Have a happy Sabbath Day.

Valentine's Day Party

Can you tell it is nap time?  This is my third post!

I really am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day.  I was when I was younger and in school.  Then I married a man whose birthday is the day before Valentine's Day and it just became another day.  I try to make sure his birthday is special and not covered in hearts and chocolate.  Also, last year when Alex was in school I really got irritated at the push for romance on Valentine's Day.  I mean, he was in kindergarten and was being told to write little love notes to people.  Granted, most of them he wrote to me, but still it seemed excessive.  you should be showing love all year, not just when chocolate and flowers double in price and everyone else is doing it.  With that said I do have a slight Pinterest addiction and I do love kid's valentines.  I like the catchy little phrases that go with treats and, call me cheesy, but I can't get enough of them.  This year I let the boys pick out what they wanted to do off of my Pinterest board.  Eric had a class party on Valentine's Day and I organized a little party with our friends on Friday.  So Eric made 2 different sets of Valentines and Alex made one.  We had a blast putting them together.  I didn't get a picture of the ones Eric made for his class.  They were mini cereal boxes that said "I Cereals-ly Like You".

Eric's--"You Make My Heart Race

Alex's--"You Blow Me Away Valentine"

Friday's party was so much fun.  We had a HUGE turnout and everyone told me they enjoyed it, so I think it was a success.  We had the kids each bring Valentine's to exchange and a snack to share.  The kids decorated their bags first.  Then we had snacks.  Then we had a craft for them to do.  I am so grateful my mom gave me the idea.  I was really struggling to find something for ages 3-13 to do that wouldn't be to messy or involved.  We made "busy bottles".  We had the kids put glitter, confetti and other little things into their bottle.  Then we put about 2 Tbsp of oil in each bottle.  Then we place a few drops of food coloring in and filled them with water.  The kids loved watching them turn colorful when we added the water.  Everyone made one and they all enjoyed playing with them.  The girls thought they were pretty and the boys used them as light sabers.  Then we finished up with exchanging valentines and conversation heart graphing (gotta get a little education in there somewhere).  All in all it was a success and Alex loved having his friends over.  It even spawned off discussion of who was going to host an Easter activity!  I love our community and I have amazing friends.  We all support each other and work together to show our children that they are loved.

Here are a few pictures.  I don't want to post many as I don't think it is right to put pictures of other children all over my blog without their parents permission.

Decorating his bag

Graphing

Graphing

Silly boy

A Trip to the Museum

So if you look at my blog you may wonder if I am even still homeschooling.  Yes, yes I am and it is going well.  Alex is a self-teacher.  He just likes to go and get it done on his own.  Every once in a while I have to review some things with him and then we discuss things.  We are currently struggling with word problems.  I can't blame him, I can remember my own mom ready to pull out her hair because I could never understand them either.  Mixing English and Math is just wrong.

Anyway, I think I have mentioned before that as a family we love museums.  It is funny to people when we tell them we are going to the museum with all of our kids in tow, but really they want to go.  Well, for my husband's birthday he decided to take a day off of work and he wanted to go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science.  I had been DYING to go since I heard that they had gotten some new dinosaur fossils.  We loaded the kids into the car and off we went for the day.  We had planned on just doing the main exhibit hall and the planetarium.  I had told Alex that he didn't have any school work to do that day other than to write in his field guide.

I bought a notebook for Alex that is just for trips to museums and the zoo.  The pages are blank on top and lines to write on half of the page.  He was so excited to get it started.  It is all his, I don't tell him what to write, but I do help him with spelling.  The rule was that he had to take a picture of what he was writing about, title the page, and write at least three facts about that thing.  He was told that he had to make at least 5 entries.  At the end of the day he had ten!

We walked into the main hall and stopped at the first thing you see...a towering Diplodocus.  That dinosaur has been there forever!  I can remember seeing it as a very small child.  Alex immediately started writing down information when a museum employee waled up to us and asked if we had seen the new exhibit.  Of course we hadn't, so he led us to the WAY back of the hall, somewhere I didn't even know existed (hence it being NEW).  AWESOMENESS!  There are no other words to explain this exhibit.  It i set up chronologically and goes all the way up to modern man and mammals   We literally spent hours here!  We took a break for our planetarium show and lunch and then we went right back to where we left off.  I learned so much!  Oh, the kids learned a lot too.  When we were close to the end of the exhibit we were greeted by a paleontologist who answered EVERY question Alex threw his way and even Eric's silly questions too.  He was so patient with us.  I even had a question and he knew exactly what I was asking and he explained it in terms we could understand.  He did tell us that they offer group tours during the week for $30 for a group, or individualized tours...I forgot how much those were.  I really want to go back soon with some friends we homeschool with.  I know I could go endless times and not see everything.

Well, before we knew it, we were out of time and it was time to go home.  We didn't even see anything else in the museum!  We will be going back soon.  Alex and Eric still talk about it and ask when we are going back.  Alex learned a whole lot from the things he saw.  Since Alex likes to teach himself and take his learning into his own hands, I really tried to take a step back and let him make deductions and hypothesis on his own.  Towards the end we saw how the mammals changed and evolved into animals we see today.  We talked about the natural changing, adaptation and evolution of animals.  We also talked about what scientists believe were early man and how they looked different from us today.  He is a bright boy with a good head on his shoulders.  He had some amazing questions and when the answer was "I am not sure" to his questions, he nodded and said that we are still missing pieces to the puzzle.  He is 100% right and I couldn't have said it any better.  I am so grateful for children who want to learn and understand.  They aren't little geniuses and they are still 100% boy, but at the same time they appreciate knowledge and understand that without knowledge, there is nothing.

Eric liked this guy

This picture cracks me up!

Coprolites  Click the link and educate yourself.  The boys LOVED this

I love sloths... especially a GIANT one!

my boys