YEAH!!!

The Primary Program is over!!! It went really well. And I got to sit up on the stand with the kids and just watch it all. I love these kids sooo much! As I sat down in my seat just before it started, one of the little girls next to me, Lindsey, cuddled right up to my arm and smiled at me. Then Ethan and Reagan behind me tapped me and grinned real big.
I really felt the Spirit as I sat and listen to those little testimonies and songs. So sweet, so sweet!

18 and Life!!

Does anyone remember the old 90's song called "18 and Life" by Skid Row? Well, this was the story of my life last night!! :)

Some of you may remember that I offered to babysit for those in our Ward who wanted to attend the Memorial Services for Brad. I would have LOVED to have gone, but Bret worked late so I offered my babysitting.
At the start of the day I had 4 kids set up to come. And then within the next few hours more calls came in. The grand total at the end of it all - 18!!!! 18 kids and little old me. :)
It wasn't bad though. Nothing that a 2 ltr of Mt. Dew didn't help cure. LOL

So I've been walking around cleaning up the house singing this song:
18 and life you got it
18 and life you know
Your crime is time
And it's 18 and life to go........

The Start of the Puppy Costume!!

Livvy really wanted to be a puppy for Halloween. I have decided to make their costumes this year (to save money) and I am so proud of this shirt!!! It's a white shirt with cut felt circles handsewn onto it. Then we added some brown capri's and puppy ears made out of her hair. We still have to add a tail and the face paint. But isn't this such a cute start?! :)

I've been debating on whether or not I would post about something that has happened. And I've decided to go ahead and tell everyone something that our little church family has been dealing with.

News Coverage

Brad was a member of our Ward who worked with the Scouts along with his wife. His wife is a sweet, sweet girl. They have a little 18 month old boy and another one on the way. Her pregnancy has been difficult and risky. Brad was an amazing father and a caring husband!!

This has affected so many of us. Whether you knew the Gerrard's or not, when something like this happens it really hits your heart. It makes you re-evaluate everything in your life and tell everyone you love just how important they are.

I am trying to get together groceries items for their little family, and there is also an account opened for them at Desert Schools Credit Union (in Arizona). This news has even been shown in Utah. I think there is an account open in a Utah bank as well although I'm not sure where it is. If you'd like to make a donation, the account is under the names Susie and Brad Jay Gerrard. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. And please, if you know anything about the incident, contact the authorities. Everyone would really like some closure and justice in this case.

Fall Break is Over.

I have mixed emotions about this. My kids were getting restless, but it was so nice to be with them and to sleep in and to have such a relaxed schedule. But it was time.
Things are back to normal now and I have so much to do. Time to get busy again. :)

Things are ok here for us. A few hiccups in this crazy life of ours, but we're ok. I don't have much to say tonight. I'm pretty tired. So I'll sign off for now until something more fun comes along! :)

Hugs to you all!!!

I am officially - DONE!!!!

I am so sick and tired of being nice and kind and polite!!!! I am sick of getting walked on and not standing up for myself. I have reached my limit. From now on, expect me to tell you exactly how I feel!!! I won't be rude, but I WILL be straightforward. For example:
1. Do not send your children to me to ask me why we are giving out candy on Fast Sunday in Primary! It's passive agressive and judgemental. Unless you want to deal with trying to get 97 children to memorize their Program parts then leave me alone! Oh, and why are you casting the first stone?!!!
2. Facial hair does not determine a man's righteousness or willingness to serve the Lord. My husband is one of the most amazing men and if all Young Men could emulate him then they would be alot better off than they are now!!!
3. Friendship does not mean calling someone ONLY when you need them!!! It doesn't mean dumping your kids on them and crying on their shoulder and never returning the favor. It' doesn't mean dumping them when you find another new friend. I'm sick of being the doormat and it really hurts! And the phone goes both ways, in case you didn't know. If I don't call you and you want to talk - then CALL ME!!! Think of ME!!! Maybe I'm having extreme trials in my life and can barely even get out of bed much less try to call every single person in my life every single day. I LOVE YOU!!! Understand that!!! But I am also busy and have things in my life that affect me deeply. Maybe I need some attention too.
4. Don't ask me my opinion if you don't want it!! From now on, I am officially a brutally honest person. I'm sick of being sweet! It hurts!

That is all I can comment on right now. My awesome facial hair husband has a meeting (yes, he is righteous) to go to and needs the laptop. I have to say - you are all lucky because I could go on all day.
P.S. If I've offended anyone, then I'm only a bit sorry! I am so frustrated that I can't be truly sorry. But I know tomorrow I probably will be! Oh well, I'll deal.

Having Fun Making Backgrounds!!!

I can't believe how much fun I'm having making backgrounds! I took down the page for my sister to try this one out and I really like it!!! I think I'll keep it for a while. For those of you that missed my sisters' page you can check out her blog for the next little while. I'm not sure when she'll change hers (I did mine and hers the same).
If anyone is really wanting a background, let me know. I can try photos like the one on my sisters (it's harder to make it work). Or themes or just colors. This is fun! :)

Happy Birthday Jen!!

This background is dedicated to my sister. Today is her Birthday and she is such a special part of my life! The picture is of the 2 of us. I'm the one on the bike, she is the one pushing. I must have bribed her to push me. :)
Jen, thanks for being such an amazing sister, but mostly for being one of my bestestestest friends! I love you!

I Made This!!

I'm so proud of myself!! I made this background all by myself!! I have figured out how to do lots of different backgrounds! Want me to make one for you? :)

The New Face of WestPark Elementary

Yep, that's me! I HATE to have my picture taken!!! Last week I got a call and was asked to have my picture in a flyer that the School District will be mailing out to all the people in Buckeye (and surrounding areas). There is an OverRide vote coming up at voting time and it is VERY important for our school district. WestPark is a Performing School right now!! We have awesome teachers and average sized classes. BUT if the Override doesn't get voted through then our school district will not get the funding it needs to supply new teachers and staff (even buses and other things) for the new schools opening up. That means that they will have to take the resources from other schools to fill the need. WestPark will be the first affect by this. They will take 9 of our teachers for a new school to open next school year. This WILL affect our Performance! Also it will affect my kids! :)
Sooooooo, the guy is coming over this evening to take a picture of me and the kids doing homework or something like that to put on the flyer. Normally I would have said NO!! But there were 2 reasons for doing this - and I don't mean to sound Hoitty Toitty.
1. My kids will be in the picture and dang, those are some cute kids!!!
2. I am at the school a lot. The other parents know me and hopefully seeing someone that they know is a Mom at the school and supports this vote, will get them to think about it.
Other than that, I would NOT have done it!!! And I will probably not post the end result on my blog (unless it makes me look thin and sexy). :)

Yum-O

Well, I made a hit of a soup for the kiddos! Thanks Jen for the recipe! I even Sneakified it too. :)

The original recipe is Tortilla Soup, but I really don't have the time to make my own tortilla's into strips and then crisped up in the oven. I just added corn tortilla chips and the kids liked that!
Plus, I also used green taco sauce instead of the normal red salsa.
Sooooo...

Spicy Shamrock Soup :)
1-2 lbs of chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
2 cans of chicken broth
1 cup of green taco sauce
1 cup of corn

Cook the chicken breast and then cut into bitesized pieces. I cooked them with some salt and garlic. Then add the broth, taco sauce, and corn (we didn't use corn, but I put in about 1/2 cup of green puree*). Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of cheese and tortilla strips or tortilla chips. I was thinking it might need a little something more in the soup, but not sure what. Maybe some rice or hominy. If you have any advice, let me know. :)
*The green puree is from The Sneaky Chef and is basically a puree of brocolli.

The kids are on their 3rd bowl as we speak!!! It is a huge hit with them. I'm not sure if Bret will like it or not. We'll see later.
Oh, and Jen - I think I might try thickening it up for another meal and serving it over the Fry Bread.

The Nurse Won't Take Care of Your Child!

I got this call the other day. It was someone from the school, Wendi, telling me that if my son comes into the Nurses office with a belly ache then she isn't allowed to help him. What did Jake do?! Obviously it was something naughty to get him denied Nurse's assistance! And Jake has the abilityreally think that they check your child's lunch at school?! Well, when you are friends with the staff then they sure do. HaHaHa!!
We were OUT of lunch meat!!!! I guess that when I pack a butter sugar sandwich then I should also add an after lunch Tums mint! :)
By the way, don't judge me!!! You have all had bad Mommy moments! Just cause my moments are always a public display doesn't make me less of a bad Mommy. :)

Dude

Livvy and I were driving home from taking the kids to school today and there was a guy jogging along the side of the road who wasn't wearing a shirt. I hear a little 4 year old voice say, "You don't have to take your shirt off to impwess the girls, Dude!"
Man she cracks me up!!!!!

Wow... I am full up

I don't even know where to start! I've been thinking this morning. And I've had a lot on my mind about friendship and people in my life. I've had someone that has been a part of my life for almost 13ish years. We went through a REAL close phase of our friendship and then a real NOT close phase. There's been a lot of "stuff" involved and it's over the past few months that I feel that we are getting closer. I like this! And I've been thinking about this person today. Hugs!

Well, this afternoon I read my sister's blog and she had a post about hurting or offending someone. Something about a peanut allergy! At the end of her post she asks the question, What quality do you love to have in a friend? And I started thinking about my experiences and friends. Do you know what my #1 Quality is? Flexible! Odd response huh? Yep, I like the pretzel friends! :)
Truthfully I love a friend who will be what I need when I need it. Someone who will understadnd that I'm not perfect and I make mistakes. One who will also let me help and love them. One who will not just take and take and take from me but also willing to give too. Flexible! As we all go through stages in our lives we need certain people in our lives for certain reasons. To fill different needs. I have been blessed to have so many amazing friends to be what I needed when I needed it. I've learned so much from each one. I know it's a cheesy concept, but it's been on my mind lately.

You never know when you'll make a new friend or what they'll teach you. Jen, my advice - make up some real yummy peanut free cookies and take them to her. Nobody can resist sweets! If all else fails, I guess she'll be the one who fights against you in PTA - you know, the Peanut Gallery!!! LOL Did you get it - the Peanut Gallery.
(Ok, not my best material).

It's Getting Closer and I Can't Wait!!!

The Twilight Movie. I really can't wait to devle into the makebelieve word of Edward and Bella.

Today....

I am doing what I want and no one can stop me!!! After this past week of being sick and working my fingers to the bone on PTA stuff and Puppets (wait for the next post) I have decided that I get to do what I want to do today!
I have already gotten a Breakfast Jack and a Mt. Dew (only 1).
I've been blog stalking and a little bit of DigiScrapping.
Now I shall take a little doze on the couch while Pivvy plays with her toys on the floor next to me (she loves to play with her toys)!
Then while she's napping I'll do more of what I want. Who cares that there are 50 loads of laundry waiting to be cleaned, bathrooms that are growing mold, or carpets that have dog hair and chips ground in. This is a Stay-at-Home Mothers version of "me" time!!!
Don't call me during my nap or I might have to grab my shovel! LOL :)
Hugs to you all and remember to take a little of your own "me" time today. Jen, that's an order!!!!