My Kids Are So Brave!

All kids are for that matter! Just think about it. They have to do so many new things in their little lives and they really can't control much of it. My kids have been to so many new schools and new classes that it isn't funny. And each change is a big adjustment. They don't get to say, "I'm a little extra tired today, I think I'll stay home." Or, "I really don't want to move." They don't get to pick who comes to the house to play or even what they want to do today.
Every day my 3 little ones give me this "look" as they trot off to school. They glance back at me with their hearts in their eyes; "Mommy, I'd really like to just stay home with you." They are so Brave and Strong.

Pic's of Kids

Well, the other day we all went to the park. We LOVE this park! It even has a little splash pad for the summer. Anyway, I decided to share some of my favorite photos from that day!

Remember....

To my Siblings, do you guys remember the silly imaginary games that we used to play? Especially Greg and Jen. Remember making up random things to play - The Dark Crystal?! :) Remember jumping from beds to chairs to in our room because the ground was lava! (Sorry Mom)
Well, my kids do the same thing! I've always been worried that letting them watch TV would warp their creativity - I guess not.
Yesterday morning, they were super heros with different powers. I just sat at the kitchen table watching them playing in the living room. It really made me grateful for having 4 kids close in age. It also made me grateful for my Brothers and Sister. We had a lot of fun times together! I miss you guys. :(

Added note: I don't want anyone thinking that I actually let my kids jump around on the furniture here! I'm not that nice! AND honestly, my mom didn't let us either! :)

8 Kids

Well, we got 8 kids again tonight. Date night for our Babysitting group and its our turn with the Spazes! :)

So far so good. One of the little girls was a little fussy at first, but now she's doing fine.
We've got a 9 yr old., 8, 7, 4, 3, 2 two yr olds, and a 3 month old. The most difficult one is one of the 2 yr olds. But she's only come over twice now. The others are so comfortable here that it's a piece of cake! :)

Dinner tonight? Couldn't I just crumble up a bunch of chips and throw them on the floor under the table? That's were it all ends up anyway. :) I think we'll do mac and cheese and hot dogs. Plus, I got some chips for REAL cheap yesterday so we'll have some of that too.

OH, that reminds me - wanna hear my good deals?! Good, I'll share!
Darn it - hold on!

Well, I'll have to post my great deals tomorrow. We got busy and now it's time for bed.
Good night all!

Random Update!

Ok, there is something wrong with my tummy! I've been sick.

Today it's a little rainy out - I LOVE the rain! :) In fact, I think that this evening after the kids get their homework done, that I might cuddle up with them in blankets and watch some Cartoons! :)

Life is really good though. Bret has started up his new schedule for work. Last week was the first week for this next semester. It is always a little bit of an adjustment when it changes. The main trial this time round is going to be Wednesday nights. But other than that, hopefully it won't be too bad. The kids and I have gotten a nice schedule down for ourselves so that helps a LOT!

The kids are all doing really well. I haven't posted about them recently so I thought a nice update for Grandparents would be nice. :)

Elizabeth is such a wonderful girl! It has really hit me lately what a joy she is in my life! Yeah, we have our issues - but she tries so hard to be kind.
I was talking to someone the other day and she mentioned a mutual friends' daughter who is the same age as Elizabeth and I was amazed at how "worldly" the other girl sounded. I can't even imagine Liz being like this other girl. My Angel Baby is sweet and kind. She likes to look pretty, but she isn't obsessed with clothes or hair. She still wants to be with Mom and Dad and she is wonderful at school! And Elizabeth is a real classic beauty. She doesn't try to be popular, but she has friends and enjoys being around them.

Elijah is Elijah - can I put it any other way! :) Those of you who know him, understand this. He is still a tenderheart and still LOVES video games. He only gets to play them on the weekend, but would love to play them everyday if he could.
Elijah is also very much a spacey kid! Bret and I joke that if we ask him to bring us something, it would take 20 trys for him to find it. :) He is oblivious to the world sometimes. It can be a little frustrating, but he's such a good kid that I really can't complain.

Jake is really a sweet kid. He is always concerned about others. He's almost Jeykl and Hyde at times. He teases the crap out of everyone, but he is also the peacemaker when there are problems. Jake is also very concerned about his apperance. He changes his clothes often (if I let him) and makes sure things match. He still likes to cuddle with me and has his tender side, but he doesn't like others to know. :)

Livvy, Livvy, Livvy! There is a country song that makes me think of her (just the chorus). It goes, "my little darlin' is a Firecracker!" That's Livvy! 90% of the time she's the sweetest little 3 year old you'll ever know. Then that other 10%, she's a full blown Firecracker!
Livvy is the little popular girl right now. She has a lot of little friends, but she is still a reserved little girl. I'm not sure why, but other children LOVE her. It's a little odd. :) Only because she's not a social little girl. She's shy, and quiet (until she gets to know you), and she doesn't really NEED to play with other kids. But it's often @ church that 3 or more little kids are crying to sit with her. I have to say that she does love her friends, and she seems to have a special bond with Andrew. There's just something about those 2! He can't live without her and she really lights up when he's around him. Things that make you go Hurm?!!! (wink, wink)

A Week's Worth of Posts

It has been a VERY busy week for me! I've been at the school again this week helping with Hearing and Vision Screening. It's been fun - I love being at the school. But it has kept me busy - my house is a mess!
Tonight is Date Night but Bret is teaching a Seminar and I decided to have some time alone. I can't decide what to do though. Maybe clean my messy house! :(

Lets see what else has happened this week?! I had a couple of friends with B-Day's! I had another friend who needed a meal taken to her. I took 4 kids to the Church on Wed. for our activites (5pm - 9pm). That was HARD! I better get used to it because Bret has to work on Wed. nights until 10pm. That means I'm the one who has to take them to Scouts and Achievement Days and then I have YW too.
Oh, Jake made a model of the Solar System. I'll post a picture of it. It turned out REALLY nice!!! All the kids helped and had a lot of fun.

As for my Weight Watchers - don't ask!!!

Here's that pic of Jake.



I had to cut this blog short, I just got a call and I need to take care of a couple of things. I need to hurry and get them done. But I will post again in the next couple of days! :)

More Than Yesterday....

Less Than Tomorrow! I love you My Dear Sweet Husband! Thank you for spending Eternity with me. :)

SCRAPBLOG!!!!

I absolutely LOVE this site!!! I don't like Paper Scrapbooking because it's too much stuff and energy for me. This is a WONDERFUL site to do digital scrapbooking. Look at the bottom of my page for my first page I did on the site. It's a pretty simple page. I hope to get better at it! :)

Added Note: I just did up a 2nd page - only took 35 minutes! LOVIN THIS - Jen, you have to check it out!!!
Also a big Thanks to my brother, Mike for finding this for me! :)

God Wants Powerful People...

That is the name of a book I'm reading - a Christmas gift from my Mom. I wanted to post a few things from it occasionally because it is an amazing book!
The book is by Sister Dew who used to be the General Relief Society President. She is a wonderful speaker (and writer).
At the beginning of the book she shares an experience that she had just before she was released as the President.

Just before the 2002 Winter Olympic games, they implemented some new security measures on Temple Square and the surrounding buildings. All the employees, general officers, and others had to wear new security badges. Sister Dew didn't develop the habit of wearing hers although she usually carried it with her.
In the Saturday session of April 2002 general conference, the General Relief Society Presidency was released. They went to and from the different sessions of that conference through the series of tunnels connecting the various Church buildings.
Sunday morning Sister Dew was to speak at an early-morning devotional. As she drove to the Conference Center, she realized that the doors along the tunnels might not be open that early.
Sure enough, when she arrived, they were locked. Sister Dew rang a buzzer and a security officer came to let her in.
"Sister Dew, do you have your ID badge with you?" he said.
When she rummaged through her binder and found it, the officer responded, "Your badge gives you access to all of these doors. Didn't you know that?"
"No. How do I use it?"
"Just hold it in front of the sensor, and the doors will open," the security officer instructed. Sure enough - Voila - the heavy security doors opened.
Sister Dew replied, "You mean, I've been carrying with me all this time a badge that would give me entrance to all of these places on the Church campus, and I didn't even know it?"
"Yes," he said, "And didn't you just get released, Sister Dew?"
When she replied yes, he said, "Well, enjoy the badge today, because tomorrow it will be deactivated."
In her book, she goes on...
(and I quote) "The irony was unmistakable. For months I had carried with me a badge that had given me privileges I hadn't understood or, worse, taken advantage of. I had not understood that badge's power."

My thoughts =
This morning I was looking at old mission photos and remembering how amazing it was to serve the Lord and others! I miss it. I have never been so close to Christ and felt such sweet love for me and His children. It wasn't because I wore a skirt and rode a bike (yes, I DID ride a bike on my mission. I have photos to prove it) But it was because of the "badge." :) Literally and figuratively. I was taking full advantage of the blessings of the Gospel.

How much do I have in my life that I haven't understood, or worse, taken advantage of?! There is SO much! When I read Sister Dew's words, I realized that I don't have the time or energy to waste on "fluff" in this life. The unimportant things.
I'm walking around with the "badge" so to speak, but do I wear it and do I understand it's full importance? Nope!
Will I stand before my Savior at the end and hear him say, "Your badge has been deactivated today - I hope you enjoyed it!"?
I want to "enjoy" it! I want to "understand" it! I want to "use" it! And I also want to "wear" it!

Mommy, You Love Rainy Days!

Yesterday while I was in the kitchen and the kids were at the table eating lunch, I started to do what I have dubbed the "School Tomorrow" dance. All Mom's know this dance (OK, maybe only the cool Moms)! This is a Universal dance that NEVER goes out of style (unlike The Twist, The Mashed Potato, etc. - yes, Mom, they ARE out of style) :)
The kids were laughing at me and rolling their eyes - they've seen this dance before. And because I was really in the mood, I started singing the "School Tomorrow" song with my dance. This is also a Universal thing - but the words are different depending on the Mom. But a quick version is:
Guess what tomorrow is?
The best day ever!
It's Back to School day!!
I LOOOOOOOVE Back to School day - don't you?! (the kids usually scream NO at this point)

Again, you make up your own words. You make up your own tune. The point is to make it really, really silly!

So ANYWAY, I'm doing my dance and my song and Livvy looks at me and says:
"Mommy, you love Rainy Days too!"
Yes, I do.
What a funny little girl!

So my point to all this is that I am having one AMAZING day!!! Here is why:

Bret went back to work today (3 weeks off - he teaches).
The kids are at school.
I got 6 coupon inserts in the newspaper yesterday.
I took a little nap cuddling with Livvy while she watched cartoons this morning. (2 things with this one - nap and cuddling)
AND it's raining!!!
What a great day!
Now each of you Mom's out there - stop what you are doing right now. Stand up and do the dance with me! Ready? Go!

We need to celebrate each others' "moments."
And yes, I really DID get up and dance - did you?! :)
I hope you all have a Danceable day!

What Will Tomorrow Hold For The Littles?

NOT football!!!! YEE-HAW!!!!! Bret is done with Fantasy Football. I really hope that we (and by "we" I mean "Bret") don't need to watch 10 hours of Football on Sunday. But then again - if it's still on... then he'll watch it. :(

Tomorrow will also be the changing of the guard. :) Its the time of year when all the little ones shift up in Primary. Livvy will now be in Sunbeams! And in honor of her being in Sunbeams I will post a funny story (at the end of this post).

Tomorrow will also mean that the Little family is NOT having to get up and be @ church by 8am. That was our time this past year. Maybe we will finally be on time! :) Probably not.

Tomorrow is the day before Monday which in this case is also the day before the first day back at school! Lets give up another YEE-HAW!!!!!

I feel like Little Orphan Annie:
The sun'll come out tomorrow........

And here is the funny little story that I promised:
I am adding this little blurb to let everyone know that it isn't actually me who wrote this little story. My loved ones pointed out to me that the way I put this story in here makes it sound like I am the one who works with doctors at some clinic. I do not work part-time as a teacher of family doctors - I could someday be the patient, but that's beside the point. :) I just typed up the story from my files of quotes and stuck it in here. I'm too lazy to change it to sound better, so I'm just adding this blurb! :)

I work part-time as a teacher of family doctors. The program provides training on psychiatric disorders and emphasizes the importance of emotional support. The new doctors are given plenty of time in clinic to visit with their patients and learn about their challenges. One of our interns who has never lived in Utah and knows nothing about Mormons is still struggling to understand the cultural climate here. Last week he was interviewing a new patient and stumbled on what he thought was raging psychosis.
Dr: "Well, Mrs. Olsen, we've talked about your high blood pressure and your medications. Are you experiencing any particular stress in your life?"
Patient: "Oh, yes! It's the Sunbeams. They're driving me crazy."
Dr: (very surprised) "The sun beams?"
Pt: "Yes. I've never had trouble with them before, but this group won't sit still. They bounce all over the room, and run out the door and down the hall."
Dr: (reaching for a pen) "Have you told anyone about this?"
Pt: "Of course. I told the president."
Dr: "Really! What did the president tell you?"
Pt: "She said Sunbeams are like that. I'm just going to have to learn to deal with them."
Dr: (concerned that he may be missing something) "I know people who are sensitive to sun beams. Do they cause you a rash or anything?"
Pt: (confused) "A rash? No."
Dr: "What's the biggest problem they're creating?"
Pt: "It's the noise. They just won't quite talking."
Dr: (astonished) "The sun beams are talking to you?"
Pt: "Well, yes. But mostly they talk to each other."
Dr: (scribbling furiously in the chart) "I see. Can anyone else hear them talking?"
Pt: (after a moment of stunned silence) "You're not LDS, are you?"

3 Tags in One

Well, my sweet friend, Mela, tagged me. So here goes!

Tag #1
1. Where did you meet your husband?
Brisbane, Australia
More specifically - Camp Hill

2. What was the first thing you said to your husband?
I don't remember - I do remember that he was a real sour-puss!
I also remember the most memorable words that I said to him! :) "You have a bug on the side of your face." *SPLAT!*
Background:
He really was grumpy when I met him! I decided that I wasn't going to let him continue to be grumpy, so while we were all painting a neighbors fence, I had a handful of paint in my hand behind my back. Then I told him that he had a real big bug on his head and I went to "shoo" it away. But instead, I slapped all that paint onto the side of his head and RAN!

3. Where was your first date?
Training Table in Ogden

4. Where was your first kiss?
Weber State Stadium in the middle of the football field with all the lights out. VERY romantic!
He asked me if he could kiss me - I think he was reading my mind. :)

5. Did you have a long or short courtship/engagement?
Both!
We wrote letters for 10 months and then dated for a week and got engaged. We were married 3 months later.

6. Where did you get engaged?
Outside the Logan temple on that little stone bench that looks over the city.
We had actually gotten the ring that morning and I was BEGGING him to let me put the ring on. He said, "I haven't exactly asked you to marry me yet!"
So as we passed the temple, he parked the car and we walked up to the bench. He asked me there. :)

7. Where were you married?
Logan Temple

8. How did your reception go?
Beautiful!!!
A huge memory for us and our families!
Background:
January 11th 1997. The biggest blizzard and coldest temperature in 10 years. The reception was at my parents' home in Logan on the evening of the 11th. It was SO cold that the doors on our car froze. And the blizzard was so bad that we had to call and cancel our Honeymoon reservations (a gorgeous little hotel in the canyon). My Dad says, "Honey, you guys can just stay here tonight."
I started crying!
I had the sweetest people in my life who tried lighters, matches, hair dryers, you-name-it, to get our car doors open. And they finally succeeded. We climbed into the passenger side of the car :) and headed to this tiny little hotel in Logan.
I got sick that night. :( I remember, Bret went out to get a hamburger for me the next day and he wasn't able to go through the drive through because the window was still frozen shut. :)
We just went home a couple of days later.
I wasn't hung up on needing a big honeymoon or anything. I'm a very simple person. And now its kindof fun to remember.

9. How was your honeymoon?
See previous question!

Tag #2
Four Places I've lived....
1. New York
2. California
3. Wyoming
4. Australia
Lots more to choose from - my Dad was Military and we moved all over the place.

Four jobs I've had....
1. McD's quite a lot
2. Skippers
3. Golden Swirl
4. Cindy's Cinnamon Rolls

Five things I'd like to do before I die....
I really have to think about this one! There's not a lot that I WANT to do! No Bunging Jumping, Sky Diving, etc.
The only think that comes to mind is:
Go back to Australia!

Four favorite desserts....
1. The Mother Load :)
2. Right now, Weight Watchers cookie crumble ice cream thing. Or Skinny Cow sandwiches.
3. Mt. Dew (had to put it in there)
4. A handful of Semi-Sweet chocolate morsels.

Four facts about me....
1. I went on a mission.
2. I love organization!
3. I like Sudoku.
4. I like to write.

Four favorite TV shows....
not in any certain order
1. Biggest Loser
2. What Not to Wear
3. Survivor
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Chuck
6. Studio 60 (when will it be back on)
7. Lost
8. Avatar
9. The Office
10. 4400
Is that too many?! :)

Tag #3
6 facts/habits about myself...here's the good and the ugly!

1. I LOVE kids video games (almost more than my kids do)!
2. I really enjoy working on my computer (blogging, digital scrapbooking, coupons)
3. I count things! I can't help myself - its a bit OCD huh? I have 17 steps on my stairs - 6, then a landing, 1, then a landing, then 10 to the top.
4. I get very frustrated with narrow-minded people. Sometimes that does include myself and yes, I get frustrated with myself. I don't AGREE with everyone, but I respect that they have their own ideas about things and I genuinely like to listen their ideas.
5. I don't really like food. Certain foods - YES! But general foods overall - Nope. It's hard for me to find something to eat a lot of times. I used to get almost all my caloric intake from my Mt. Dew. :(
6. I had a police record at the ripe old age of 10. :)


So there it is! I tried to answer some of the questions different than I have in the past so you all get to know me a little more. :)
Tag your it - Amie (H.), Jen, Lisa, and Haylie! :)

Manly Metabolism - ARGH!!!

Ok, so Bret and I have been serious about losing weight. I've done Weight Watchers before, but only for a few weeks (and a few years ago). I'm not the best about exercising (who has the time?!). And we ALL know about my Mt. Dew addiction! So when Bret told me he wanted to try Weight Watchers I jumped on the wagon with him. :) We've been doing it for a week now (me - a couple of days behind) and guess what. Bret has lost a total of 6.5 pounds!!!!!!!! In just one week. Do you know how much I've lost - a GRAND total of .6 pounds. In case you didn't see that correctly, that was point 6 NOT plain old 6. Bitter?! Who me?! YES!
To make matters worse - my back is still sore, and I'm going on 4 days without my Mt. Dew! The last time I went that long without soda was before LIvvy was born (she's 3). This is TOUGH!!!
I know that I need to workout more (I'm doing stretches and abs right now), but my body just hurts all the time! And after taking care of kids, hubby, house and now fixing and prepping healthy meals; I ache! I"m sure as I drink more water and get to a healthier place, my body will feel better. But its a little frustrating getting to that point.
I AM happy for my Dear Hubby though. He would have been even more frustrated than I am if he hadn't seen any progress. He is SO good! He went to a friends house on Saturday night and they had homemade deep fried chicken wings, pizza, and ice cream there. Those are 3 of his MOST favorite things to eat and he didn't have a bite! He just chewed his sugar free gum and drank water. My strong willed man! He's amazing. I'm glad he lost so much - he deserves it. :)
Wish me well on my frustrating battle of the bulge :)
Hey Amie, any great WW recipes to share? Especially things I can eat that are quick and easy for me for lunches? :) Or for Bret to take for meals to work?