Aye yi yi!

 

 

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

 

(I haven't blogged in almost 2 years. Why today? I have no idea)



Mawage is what bwings us togever today!

I haven't posted in awhile but it is my 13th year of 

 being married to my best friend.

 (No honestly, he really is. I love the bum to death!!!)

 I came across this video the other day and I thought it was beautiful.

So I thought I would share it and dedicate it 

to my hottie of a husband.

I have been so blessed!

 This morning as Brett and I were lying in bed talking

(I swear it was only talking) he told me that he looked forward to the next 113 years.  My little cold heart grew 3 times it's size. 

The only question....who does he want to be with after that? ;)

Boo - Hiss

My laptop went

*Cah-Ploo-ee*

I am sad, and going through withdrawals!

Please Dell, fix my baby!

While your at it, please make sure nothing is lost.

Perty please???

If anyone feels sorry for me you can send me treats.

It is the only thing that will sooth my soul.

It's not just the chubby cheeks that keep me looking young!

So I have a post to share with you all soon; with pictures even.

For now, I will share with you one of my beauty secrets.

Consider yourselves lucky!

I actually stole this from Lindsey over at Better After.  Check her site out! She has all kinds of before and after projects. It's super cool!

Rock On!

M is for Murder

**Up-Date**

All but one froggy has croaked! (ha ha get it? Croaked? I crack myself up!)

I am with Kendra, I think he is an evil little froggy. I don't want to mess with him though, he scares me!  Luckily he leaves the fishies alone so we haved added more fishies.  It is a happy ending after all. More sweet fishies and no more guilt. That lone frog will have to deal with the blood on his little webbed hands!

Last fall our neighbor asked us if our kiddo's would like a little african dwarf frog they had. We thought that might be fun so we said yes.  He lived in a vase full of water. He seemed content enough, but I just felt like he needed a friend or two. We all should have friends right?  So recently we bought a larger bowl and picked up two more frogs.  We added some nice rocks and a pretty fake plant. We made it really homey for them.  One day we looked in the bowl and lo and behold we found a little dead froggy. Boo hoo, super sad. Good bye dear froggy.....flush!

Then a day or two later the original frog (Sorry Laurie if you are reading this) bit the big one too....flush!

My sweet husband was very perplexed by this and took it upon himself to do some research and figure out what we needed to do to make an even better life for the remaining frog. Preferably death free.

So we ended up buying a larger 10 gallon tank, a heater, a little cave for hiding (apparently they are very shy)  and some more plants.  Petco had the frogs on sale so we purchased 6 more bringing our grand total to 7 froggies.  We even picked up 6 little fishies too.  It has been 3 days since getting everyone situated into their new home. All looked great, Brett was testing the water and doing everything he could to make a lovely environment for these wretched sweet little things. 

For some reason today 3 of them have chosen it to be their day of reckoning! 3 dead froggies for a grand total of 5 dead froggies within 2 weeks.  (4 still remain, probably not for long though)

So will Brett and I be doomed for a life in Hell because of these 5 little froggy deaths? Or will they be held accountable for not being appreciative of the great life offered to them?

Either way, I refuse to give my heart to anymore froggies!

Super cute kids have I!

I don't want to make anyone feel bad....

but - yes - these are MY kids. 

Sorry yours are not as cute! 

By the by....

I just wanted to thank you for all the comments on my last post. I did feel like I really needed to share it. I just thought it was more for my own good, so I wouldn't forget. It brought me great joy to know that is was helpful to you as well.  It is nice when we can band together and realize we are all pretty amazing!

I am greatful for all my friends, both near and far.

You all inspire me!

Because I'm the Mom!

Did you know that "Because I'm the Mom!" is a perfectly legitimate reason for just about anything kid related? I didn't either. Not until Sunday that is.  I am going to give you a little insight into myself. It is not really pretty but it is true none the less.  I can be very insecure....super insecure.....paralyzingly (word?) insecure.  So 4 years ago when Brett and I decided to adopt 3 of the most beautiful and sweet little babies known to man, I had no idea the roller coaster ride I was about to embark on. 

Now anyone who is a Mom can relate that it is an extremely hard job; hardest job I have ever had. On the flip side, it is also the greatest job I have ever had, next to being a wife; which, funny enough, is also a very hard job. (Hmmmm. I will have to ponder that. Super hard = Super rewarding...whoduthunk!)  So here I am insecure. I have adopted 3 kiddo's who already have a mom to compare me to. I know what you are all thinking. "She obviously wasn't a great mom or she would still have her kids." Believe me I get that, but they are kids, they don't see the world the way we bitter old people do.  My thoughts were always in the direction of - my kids are going to hate me- they will leave me to find their birth mom when they are older- I'm sure they wish someone else had adopted them.  All of that "stinkin thinkin" went on and on and on.  This really affected my parenting.  I would let so many thing slide and then I would build up all these frustrations and then yell at them for the stupidest reasons.  That of course would happen in cycles. Round and round I would go. I felt sad, depressed, out of control and wondering why in the world did the Lord give me these 3 wonderful children. I just knew I was going to mess them up!

Now before I go on, I must clarify. There have been amazing moments too. It was not only sadness and frustration going on in my sad little mind. I love my kids and I have known from the beginning what a blessing they are to Brett and I.  All of my stress was stemming from what a piece of crap parent I believed myself to be.

In the past few months I have been trying to figure myself out, if you will.  Trying to fix the parts I don't love, and trying understand and embrace the fact that I have many great parts I should love.  Basically trying to be a better me.  During this time, I was stressing and worrying about all the dumb things I had done as a parent and how in the world was I going to make up for it all. How was I going to fix every stupid thing I have done concerning my kids?  A friend and I were talking and I was expressing these worries. I asked her "How do I make it all right?"  She told me "Just don't do it anymore."  She said it so matter of fact. I then said "But I need to fix it!" She then said "You can't. The only thing you can do is move forward.  Most likely your kids won't even remember all the dumb stuff you have done. If they do, when they are older you can tell them how sorry you are. You learned from your mistakes and have tried very hard to be better."  You mean don't beat yourself up everyday for something stupid you did a two years ago? Really? What an interesting concept.  So that is what I did. I can't change the past, I can only make the future better.  It does no one any good to sit around wishing and hoping you can change the past.  It was very freeing to realize that each new day is exactly that, new! 

So flash forward to this last week.  There has been a struggle I have been having with my middle child. I won't go into details because, really, it is super stupid. But I just didn't know how to handle it and so I just gave in and let her have her way. (I might mention that this was also influencing her younger sister and so I had both of them in my face about it)  So, like I said, I gave in. I gave up. I let them win. 

This did not sit well with me.  I was really allowing this to bother me. But I felt like I was being too controlling and I just needed to let it go.  On Sunday it all kind of came to a head. I lost my cool and I yelled at the girls about it all.  I felt terrible after and I knew I shouldn't have yelled. Why was I letting this bother me so much?  I went to church sad and concerned. I didn't know how to let it go and not care anymore.  I was sitting by my Mother-in-law in Relief Society and I mentioned that being a mom was too hard, and I didn't want to do it anymore. I said it jokingly but my MIL knew there was some truth to it.  I explained what was going on and how I was having a hard time letting go.  She then told me that I shouldn't let it go. If I let this small thing go now and just give up, that will set a precedence.  She then told me "The Lord made you their mom for a reason." That really hit me. I do know that they are my kids. That we found each other for a reason, and that it wasn't happen stance. So, if the Lord made me their mom, and he knows me and how I think and reason, then maybe I should trust my gut more and not worry so much about what my kids will think.  I'm the Mom! The Lord trusts me, so I have to learn to trust myself. Now I am not saying that I'm going to be a Nazi parent and lead with an iron fist. It all must be done with love and patience; but our house is not a democracy, it is a dictatorship. They are allowed to make suggestions but final word will always be Mom and Dad.  There is nothing wrong with this as long as we do it with love, patience and prayer. 

Brett and I spoke with the kids about this on Sunday. I let the girls know I was taking back their new found freedom that I too easily relinquished. And guess what???? They were totally ok and actually understood! Woohoo! I put my foot down and they still love me! It was an amazing feeling.

Now my kids and I like to do this chant together:

Me: Who am I?
Kids: The mom!
Me: What do I do?
Kids: Make the rules!
Me: What do you do?
Kids: We follow them!

Now granted, I might enjoy this chant more than they do, but they laugh and chant it along with me. 

There you have it folks! We can let things go and move forward, embracing each new day.  We also get to make the rules, enforce them with love and patience, and not feel guilty. Such obvious things and yet so far from what I was thinking.

I feel better, less stressed and I actually have been sleeping better the last few nights. I am so grateful for good friends and a MIL who listen to the spirit and are not afraid to share it.

Who am I?

I'm the MOM!!!

(and nothing could make me happier!)

Ps. Thanks for indulging me in this mega large post. I just felt I wanted/needed to share.

Ho ho ho.....Breakfast with Santa!

This last Saturday we went to Incredible Pizza and had Breakfast with Santa.  Well, we didn't really eat with Santa, but we did eat in the same building and then we got to go and see him.  After we played some games, miniature golfed, and did some racing.  It was a lot of fun for all of us.  Below are some pics from our fun activity.

The kids Santa letters are all written and sent. The house is decorated and the tree trimmed. Christmas music is being played and all kinds of activities planned. I just wish I was totally done with the gift thing. I am super close, so close I can taste it!  There is one thing alluding me! I can't say because I don't want a certain husband to know.  I hope I can make it work.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas!

School Pics

This year the kids school actually used a decent photographer. He isn't in the business of ripping people off. It was nice, like a breath of fresh air.  One of the packages you could choose included a cd so you could copy off whatever size and however many you'd like. Love it! So below are the different options included on the cd for each of my kiddo's.  So yeah....this is basically a grandparents post. Sorry.

Raul:











Ellie:

 



Jackie:

For some reason blogger's new format is not being very user friendly. I can't get Jackie's to line up the way I want. Oh well. So that's my cute little stinkies. They are growing too fast and getting too big. I keep telling them to stop but they don't listen to me. Bums!

Nerds Unite!

I can hardly wait!!!

Today is his birthday- na na na na na na!

Today is my sweethearts birthday. 

 I am super excited because he took the day off work 

and we get to goof off

ALL DAY LONG!

He is my best friend

One of the hardest workers I have ever known

He has the most dry sense of humor and he always keeps me laughing

He always knows how to pull me out of a funk

He can seem like a bear on the outside; but I know that he really is just a teddy bear

He is very naughty and I love that!

He is smart and knows all kinds of useless  very important facts

He is super cute and sex-ay

He is a great dad that would do anything for his kids

He is a great husband that would do anything for his wife

I feel blessed every day to have him as my husband.

I am just  not so sure what he did to deserve me. Poor guy!

I love you babe! I hope you have the best birthday ever!!! 



We're in trubba bubba!

See that sweet face.....don't let it fool you!

So today we were parking the van at the library and I realized I was crooked in my spot. So I proceeded to back out in order to pull in straight. At the same time I was pulling out another lady (and her van of kids) was pulling out to leave. I quickly pulled back into my space (straight this time) so I could get out of her way.  Apparently she was irked by the thought of me getting in her way and gave a dirty look as she was passing by.  Ellie saw this and proceeded to shout "What are you lookin at lady!".

That's my girl!

Good Bye Summer

I think this is the first summer I have been sorry to see it go. I think I feel this way because I basically lost one whole month due to the "palsy" and the ragingly infected leg wound Brett had. (He's ok now) 

We were able to do some fun things as a family.

We went to Bear Lake:

(sorry no pictures)

It rained the whole time, so we didn't get to play in the Lake.

(I think Alanis Morissette wrote something about our "ironic" trip)

We had a fun time eating, playing games and swimming at the indoor pool at the condo we stayed at.

 We went swimming often:

Grandma Allen bought us a pass to a local pool. The kiddo's learned how to swim and Raul and Ellie even dared to jump off the high dive.

We had a fun night at the drive-in. 

(again no pictures)

We saw Despicable Me and Karate Kid.

The kids now think they are black belts.

Yeah that is not annoying or anything.

We went to the Manti Pageant:

We had a lot of fun at the Pageant.  We were eaten alive by the mosquito's, but it was fun and spiritual (or sperrichal); and we even got to stay at a hotel.

We had a couple of birthdays:

Ellie's 9th                                                                      Raul's 10th

We celebrated our awesome daddy on Fathers Day:

We honored our country and pioneer ancestors

with some of our family:

We drove go-karts for the first time ever!

We went to a rodeo:

We ate tons of popsicles, pizza, and s'mores!

( fresh fruit  and veggies too - so don't judge me)

We are still planning a trip to Lagoon. The kids each won a day pass, because they read so much this summer.

They are pretty excited by that. 

So there you have it.

Good bye summer.....good bye palsy....good bye almost losing a leg....good bye fun times as a family.

Oh wait. I think we probably can still have fun as a family. 

My bad.

Can't read my, can't read my, no you can't read my black jack face!

Dad's are good for a lot of great things.

Especially teaching us things.

See below for proof.

 

See those smiles.

Happy husband + Happy Kids = Super Happy Mom

Hit me?  Stay?  21?

The agony of defeat!  Coupled with the joy of winning.

All of their expressions crack me up!

This game might, or might not, have been played on the Sabbath.

But it probably was.

Hey! Family time is family time.

We are heathens! Except it....we have.