My raw insights to this season of my life

Oh, I can't believe this is really an update! I am just as surprised as some of you may feel. Having your last post be about a certain time period like a holiday...reads louder that it's been awhile.

I have a confession of sorts. I took a much needed break from most things in the category of modern technology. I found myself engulfed in the stuff, so much so that I was neglecting my responsibilities and wasting a lot of valuable time. Now, granted when Orange was deployed I used such things as a social outlet. Something I needed. But that became an excuse to allow myself this bit of addiction! What did it for me.... was when It was pointed out to me that after being involved in these things I most often come away from the computer as a moody, grouchy person. When looking back I recognized feelings of pressure to keep up with "the Jones", jealousy, questioning of relationships and hurt feelings at times. Realizing the negativity of all this that I was bringing to myself. I decided to look away for awhile and see what would happen if I left the blogging, facebook world. It was tough at first, but that only made me realize how addicted I really was. Now yes, there were a few times when I had a few minutes on the go I would check facebook on my phone or hop on a blog real fast. But I realized it was not something I needed. So now I'm here updating my blog and back on the computer. But I have set limits and boundaries for myself. I will only continue if the feelings I feel are positive and uplifting...which of coarse there ARE these and that's how blogging and facebook started out for me. But I have now also made myself aware of the negative and wonder if anyone else has felt this way at times too? No more pressures on myself to update and keep up with anyone else. I have priorities and this is pretty low on the list.

What have I been up to lately? The only answer I can come up with is "Living this season of my life in full swing". I am saturated in motherhood. I am going through the motions and trying my hardest to do a good job of it. In doing this I am just going to list off some VERY random thoughts and memories of my present life:

After recently having a baby and those hairs that break off around your ears. You know, the ones that take forever to grow and look really ugly growing out? Yeah, mine are really annoying me right now. Come to think of it....I don't think mine have ever fully grown out in between pregnancies.

I am getting excited about my babies becoming kids! Some of my babies have turned into kids and therefore old enough to help around the house a little. It's really crazy... I feel like I have been living in baby world for so long I didn't realize their capabilities until lately and man it's nice having some help with housework. My oldest three have "Chore charts " and are doing awesome completing them. I think it was more of me not allowing them to help because I thought I could do it better and faster. Now with a family of seven mom is officially worn too thin. The help has been wonderful. Bristol found her own job and is very consistent with doing it every night. She does a great job unloading the dishes while I'm trying to load them.

Having the laundry completely caught up and having clean sheets and bedspreads on all the beds in the house is a huge job. I mean HUGE!


I have found that if your wanting to lose baby weight. It is very helpful to keep a food journal. Having to write down 4 girl scout cookies and then go back and either cross off or erase the 4 and change it to an 8 is proof that you are not being very disciplined.

I made a playlist of "good morning songs". Yes you read that right. I have 50 and they all inspire me to get up, open the blinds, let in the sunshine and tell myself "this is a new day" and get it started with dancing and smiling. My kids will ask for it if I forget to start it up each day. Must be working.

Every year I set a BIG goal for myself. I only allow it to be 1 because I have set more in the past and end up feeling a little like a failure because I didn't get them completed. So now it's just 1. One big one that I can actually do but also one that challenges me. Last year I did a HUGE very personal one and it was so amazing!! So I decided to do it again. So my 1 big goal for 2010 is having all of our photos since Orange and I established this family (2001) printed off and organized. Yes, getting all those digital's printed off on actual paper. I'm exhausted just typing it. But it will be done.

This weekend Orange and I are running away. For the WHOLE weekend! I am so excited I sound like my kids...."Friday is FOREVER away!" I am not kidding. As a child I wanted to visit Charlies Chocolate Factory so bad. Yeah, I want this that bad.

I started an "Attitude of Gratitude journal" a present I got at my bridal shower. For some reason I held on to it all this time. Feeling inspired to open it. I did, and started to fill it in. For those of you who like me didn't understand the concept of keeping one of these. There's a spot for you to fill out everyday. Writing something you were grateful for that day. It has been a really awesome personal experience. I look forward to the rest of the year.

Something I tend to forget and wish I wouldn't. Taking the time to paint your daughters toes is magical to them. To see their faces light up is such a precious thing. I had so much fun painting Gabby and Natalie's toes bright green with white shamrocks and silver glitter. We all matched and they were so happy. I always have my toes painted. It's a must. But I often forget that I have little eyes watching and hoping to get in on the action.

Easter time. I normally LOVE to follow tradition and get new Easter clothes every year. For me the most fun part is getting the new Easter dresses. Because I was blessed with girls this is exciting for me. But I have this annoying desire to have the girls match!! With a daughter wearing size 8 and a baby wearing 24mo. This task has been difficult this year. I'm not giving up though. I hate my determination sometimes. Wish I could have it strong in other aspects of my life. I'm learning that IF I knew how to sew....this wouldn't be as hard.

Watching your kids meet different milestones is a good thing right? Well I'm torn a little with Adrik finally getting potty trained....my earliest yet :) But then there's Bristol who thinks she wants to start taking steps already :( I am pleading with her to wait until after our family vacation in April so she will still be willing to ride in the stroller. But Orange keeps trying to prepare me for the fact that she's not going to wait. I really dislike that early walking, I don't want to hold your hand, but constantly falling stage.

Things have changed a bit from when I remember being my own kids age. Where I remember well my first computer class in Junior high with the apple computers and playing "Oregon Trail" having a slightly green screen and all the graphics and text being that neon green. Now my kids start computer class in Kindergarten. With big screen Mac's and flat keyboards. My 1st grader not only can turn on, log on and maneuver the mouse like a pro. But she also types to include having her hands positioned correctly. I'm not writing this to brag, but just amazed at how quickly things have changed. On that note, I remember playing kiss tag in Kindergarten but not actually kissing (cause that was gross) but now that I have a kindergartner of my own I was a little taken back when a girl from his class rang our doorbell at dinner time and asked to talk to Kort. She then proceeded to say "my friends say your just pretending to like me. Are you pretending to like me or do you really like me?" Kort was a little confused (thank goodness!)

Did anyone else feel a bit old at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics? You know when they re-made the song "We are the World". I felt old because I remember the original when I was in first grade. I loved that song. We learned it in music class.

In living out this season of my life. I often rely on this awesome quote: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to accept the things I can and wisdom to know the difference."

With hints of Spring around the corner. I am being motivated to get outside and go for a walk with my kids. I don't think anyone longs for Spring weather like stay at home moms and kids. Coarse once it gets started I'm sure I'll go back to the boring mom that tells her kids to wait till dad gets home to go to the park or go for a walk. It's like when you actually CAN go out. It seems like too much work or it's never really a good time. Such a shame when its fresh air....and a free activity.

And one more, I remember the days when I had 2 small kids. And when they would act up at the grocery store I was completely humiliated! I then continued to add more children in my life and came to the point where it was no longer in me to get so worked up about that kind of thing. I learned how to tune it out and finish my task at hand. I guess after having 5 I have become an expert at tuning things out. I realized this as I was taking Kort to school and the kids were singing their "ABC's" not just the normal song. But each time in a different voice. After Robot mode and monster mode I was able to tune it out and get on with the thoughts in my head. I didn't realize just how good I was at tuning things out till I looked in my rear view mirror after dropping him off and seeing him run towards the school with his new Star Wars light saber in his hands! Really? I didn't notice it as I kissed his cheek and wished him a good day? :0
(Yes, I went back and brought it home with me)

Here's an update. A little long but a close up look into my thoughts and experiences.

Lots of Spooky fun

So the last couple of Fridays we have had a family fun night. We are having such a great time with this we have decided to make it a new family tradition. Orange and I put our heads together and came up with a list of fun scary movies that would get the kids in the spirit of Halloween. So what we do in our family is... during the day mom and the little kids go to the video store and pick out a movie. Then we go to the store to get what we need. We have been doing popcorn and a treat of some kind. The first night we went to a local gas station and everyone got to pick a treat. We have made rice krispy treats with Halloween m&m's. Both were fun so I think we will just switch off depending on how the day is going for mom. I can't tell you how much my kids look forward to this. It is so fun to see them laugh and cover their eyes and come crawling on our laps. Orange and I had a lot of fun putting together this list. It brought back such good memories. Here's our list: I haven't seen this movie, but I LOVED the book when I was a kid. So I'm looking forward to the movie.

This we have seen and was a hit with all the kids.

This one might wait a few years. I loved it when I was younger, but it scared the crap out of me. It's Disney and it's rated PG but I know it's too soon for my bunch.

Loved this movie. Orange came up with this one. I was a little confused at first but then he reminded me that the lady is a witch. This is next on our list to watch.

Have not seen this. Has anyone else? Should be safe for all ages. Rated PG

This is a classic Halloween movie. It's been a long time so I might have to watch again before the kids do. Anyone else remember it very well? Rated PG

This is new. Has anyone seen it yet? Rated PG


Another classic. It's a fun little adventure and scare for the kids. We did this a while ago. WARNING my 2yr old did have a bad dream that night:( But the other kids really enjoyed it.

Because there is a Big Foot on here it made this list. I really liked this one when it came out forever ago.

I barely remember watching this. Because of the title, it made our list.


This was the first one we watch. HUGE HIT! I couldn't think of a better show to get them excited for Halloween. Lots of covered eyes and jumping laps. No warnings on this from me though. So fun!

Classic. Fun for all ages. I have great memories of watching this from a really young age.

Great one for the little ones.Another one for the little kids.


This one is PG 13. I love this movie. It gets me in the mood for fall and Halloween. The music is really good. I showed this to my kids and fast forward a few parts. They liked it. Especially the very end when the all did their special Halloween magic trick.

I remember watching this with my family growing up. I don't remember it enough to recommend it to peoples children. This is one we will have to preview I think before we watch it as a family. It's gotta be on the Halloween movie list though.


Because of the wicked witch of the east. This movie made our list. Plus, my kids haven't seen it yet. Pretty sad.



Let me know if there are any that I am missing that you can think of. We are having a blast this Halloween season.

"That's a wrap"

It's officially OVER people. Summer is gone and the time has arrived. That being only my favorite time of year.....FALL!! This post is a recap of some of the many things that took place in our family this last summer. Just keep scrolling, we are covering a whole summer remember? It was a summer of berries. We harvested a ton of strawberries from our yard which I posted already. We also harvested TONS of raspberries from Grandma's yard. There were so many!

Here in Utah it is pretty uncommon to find fireflies or lightning bugs whichever you choose to call them. So apparently they can be found in Midway at a specific time of year. My sister-in-laws family invited us to come and join in the magical wonder of these insects. It was a lot of fun!

Here's the whole clan. My parents, brothers and sister and their families.

Of coarse whats a summer without a trip to the zoo? So here we are trying to enjoy the 20 second train ride in the hot summer air. Mom=:( Kids=:)

We did a couple of camping trips. It was a little difficult just having had a baby. But we managed to squeeze some in. Gone are the days of relaxing in nature and sleeping peacefully under the stars. Its a huge amount of work to go camping with a family of seven. It really is all about the kids and making fun memories for them now.

Kort had a couple of firsts this summer. Here is him losing his first tooth.

And we have success!

And then there's his first fish. He had gotten a fishing pole for his birthday back in March. So we tried to get him out where he could use it as often as he could.



We also had Bristols blessing.

Yet another HORRIBLE family picture for blessing day. I should do a post of all our children's blessing days. Each family picture is awful. I guess we couldn't break tradition!




We had a snow cone shack here where we lived. Our family provided lots of business this summer. The popular flavor for us was Strawberry colada......yum!! I love the stands that have the real snow and not the shaved ice. It is so much better I think.

We took a family trip up to Park City where we got a hotel with a full size hot tub in the room. That was a lot of fun.

We also visited a moon bounce park (which I despise!!) So ok.....maybe that is a little harsh. I hate how inviting they are to kids but horribly expensive. Gabby struggles with these because of her muscle tone. If another kid gets too close behind or in front of her she falls down in the hole they are making. So mom or dad has to go with to help her which is kinda annoying. But then there are the really strict owners from time to time that wont let you step foot to help your child if they need help....also annoying. Trying to make a fun trip we decided to pay for a half hour so the kids could have some fun. It didn't take long for me to start taking mental notes. Note to self: Always take kids to the bathroom before the short expensive time starts. Also, wear socks.....if they slide too fast it's like getting a rubber burn. AND.....Don't ever go in the middle of the day with no shady trees around. These things get smokin hot! my kids all came home with burnt feet. Fun times:)




This little guy turned the big 2 this summer. Hard to believe. He will seriously crack you up just by opening his mouth. He is a hilarious little thing that talks none stop.....hmm wonder where he gets that from?



Natalie started dance class this summer. She is doing ballet and Jazz. She really likes the twirling part of ballet.
School started for us like it did for many of you. Gabby started 1st grade.

Kort started the big Kindergarten. He insisted on holding up the sign for "K" to represent Kindergarten




And Natalie also started preschool.

We also celebrated another birthday. My little baby turned 7 this year! So very hard to believe and yet another reminder of how fast time flies!

We got to visit the Blackfoot fair. Grandpa was the vet for the horse races and we got an awesome deal on tickets. We went and took the kids to see all the fun stuff their dad did and saw when he was a kid.



The rides were a hit for the kids.




Here's me and my big sense of accomplishment. My first race after having my 5th child. Man it's tough to get back into physical activity after having a baby. But I survived and had a good time running with Brooke and Julia. Thanks guys for running with me! Oh, and for being such great sister-in-laws too. Love ya!!


Then Gabby decides she wants a little bit of the Tooth fairy action herself. She also loses her first tooth.


Success!



Last but not least is what our family calls "The princess of the pack". She is pure joy. Growing so fast, she is 4 mos old and now eligible for the wall of fame. We have a picture of each of the kids at 4mos old. We can compare and see how much they resemble each other. Hard to believe I couldn't wait for Spring to come to a close so I could no longer be pregnant with her. Now summer is over and here she is smiling, laughing (hard) grabbing things, putting everything in her mouth. Chattering none stop and keeping our days full of love and smiles. What a blessing she is!

So again....."That's a Wrap" Welcome Autumn!!
question? Do you say Fall or Autumn?

Today's date

A day to Reflect.
Some words that come to mind: Shock, fear, sacrifice, vulnerability, sadness, and one more....unity! I remember this day eight years ago as if it were only months ago....that is if I stop to think about it. I was working (as a nanny) and watching the morning kid shows. My mom called to tell me that a plane just flew into one of the world trade center buildings. So I quickly turned the channel to see the news footage in shock. I remember saying to my mom " We were just there 12 days ago"!! We had taken Orange's brothers up to New York and we all went to tour the buildings. Of coarse I continued to watch as then the second plane hit and then as everything else unfolded with the Pentagon and the plane in Pennsylvania. What a since of shock and fear I felt realizing.....our country was under attack! Both parents of the kids I worked for and my new husband were on military bases and I had every reason to believe that those bases would be targets as well. I remember waiting. I remember going outside to see fighter jets flying over head as we were only a short distance from D.C. and all the planes were still trying to land. I remember my drive home on I-95 as a lived 3 exits south from my employers. This normally bumper to bumper, rush hour free-way had minimal cars driving. It was a very eerie feeling. What I think about today as I am reflecting are the flags. Do you remember all the flags that you could find on so many cars, houses, buildings, fences, bridges and fire trucks? It was so amazing to see how united the people of this prosperous, self-indulged country became. Do you remember? What a shame to see how that has slowly faded away over time. I need to go find my flag.

Lets discuss

So I was looking for some pictures to add to our signing vocab. I have been diligently working on teaching ALL my children and my husband sign language. The goal that I set for myself this year was to have the whole family signing everything that they spoke verbally. In an effort to support Gabby and better communicate with her. All my kids have a basic knowledge of signs because Gabby our oldest communicates in sign language. She has been signing since she was ten months old. I realized that I wasn't consistent and disciplined with my other children though. The signs that they knew were words like (stop, no, don't touch, quiet, yes and no) words I would use to scold in public sadly. So I decided that we needed to be better and more consistent to really be able to help in our communication as a family. So I was looking through photos and I wished I had someone to discuss all the magnificent things I was seeing.

I want to talk about fears here. I know most people are afraid of Bears, snakes, sharks. These are big things people fear. I want to talk about the other....strange fears though.
So anyone who knows me...knows of my silly fear of two specific things. Scroll down with caution....









Frogs! Oh my...this is so completely disgusting looking to me. Those eyes and the way a frog moves his feet. It seriously gives me the creeps. Is that veins or bones on his back? I blame my fear of frogs on my brothers. Yes, if either of you are reading this post....I totally blame this fear on you. They used to chase me with them when I was younger. Traumatized I tell you. Still petrified as an adult. I was completely humiliated when I first met Orange. We were at a single adult activity playing croquet in the grass. Half way through the game I look down in HORROR as I realize there are millions of tiny frogs bouncing and dancing at my completely exposed feet. Taking long strides to get myself out of the grass asap, orange says "these little things.....and tosses one at me in "fun". Yeah, the frog lands on my foot and gets stuck in between my 1st and 2nd toe. All hell broke lose and I am not sure I have completely forgiven him of that to this day!


Then there is the:

WORM! My heart is honestly racing as I type this close to this picture. YUCK! The fact that these creatures don't have eyes is very disturbing to me. We will quickly move on as I don't want to discuss the worst part of this long slimy thing. The ring.......I wish I could photoshop like my good friend Harmony. I would draw you an arrow pointing to that thing and let you feast your eyes on it for a moment. I am talking Heeby Jeebies people. Moving on........

So those two are a given if you know me. But I now will discuss others that I am just not too keen on. Let me first start by telling a story. I was in the zoo back in my late teens (long, long ago) and I watched as these kids were sticking a stick in the fence to try and lure this ostrich over for a closer look. I then witnessed this ostrich charge that very fence in that very spot at full speed ahead. Did you know that Ostriches are ranked way up there in fastest moving animals. They are fast! And now I know they are also really mean and NASTY! So I have never been a fan after that. But look at this creature.....

The teeth speak for themselves people. A little freaky human like don't you think?

Then there is this next picture. I have always been a little weirded out by these. I seriously picture in my mind suction cups and the sound they make when you pull them off of glass. Now picture HUNDREDS at once on your skin!!!

Just a little worried about these :0

Now for my last discovery. Just look.....really it speaks for itself. I had to look into this further to see if it was really real. I mean, when I try to envision the lock ness monster....this comes very close.

look at the creepy spine and the flat, strange teeth! I am not sure I can now get this image out of my mind. Lovely!

Do you have any fears of animals that are not on the "common" list of scary animals?