Deck camping

Our ward's camp out is this weekend, but we have a bunch to do tomorrow so we had to stick close to home.

The kids were sad until we told them we would camp on the deck.

They are still awake. Who knows if we will ever get to sleep. Everything is too exciting to sleep when you are camping on the deck.

No jobs = no fun and something smells fishy

Today we had plans to meet with my cousins and their kids at a splash pad and have a picnic. I excitedly told the kids this and reminded them that we had to have jobs completed before we could go.

Beckham had a nana night scheduled and wouldn't be joining us, but I told him the same rule applied to him. No jobs = no fun.

It was so surprising to me that we still had the same battles over jobs we have every day. EVEN with the added incentive of something extra fun at the end.

We were an hour late to our play date.

I'm glad we went. They had a wonderful time.

We came home and just hung out reading and playing the Wii for awhile.

Then one of the school board members, Larry Smith, called me and talked for 45 mins about reasons behind the board's decision, well the maintenance manager's decision, to take out all the permanent goal posts at the schools...except for the ones on the soccer fields that the soccer club, Forza, doesn't use...because they claim they were safety hazards...except for on those fields Forza doesn't use. Apparently, those goals they are willing to take a risk with. OH and the board also claims they don't care about the soccer clubs. They only care about the kid's safety during school hours. Except, what about those permanent posts they've left remaining?

Right. I smell something fishy too.

I've sent a number of emails and keep chipping. They keep trying to cover something up. Thankfully, I don't get intimidated easily. They have sure tried.  Still, being lied to is exhausting.

 I'm grateful for Larry. He thinks they are hiding things as much as I do. It's nice to have an ally on the inside.

Kevin took Karaia to a baseball game. She had a great time and got a few signatures.

Tennyson and Sanders and I watched the movie "Elosie". Tennyson's pick. They were both so tired though that by the end they were wiggling everywhere just to stay awake.

It was really fun to just be me and the littles tonight. It reminded me of when it was just me and Karaia and Beckham at those ages.

One day at a time

I had a few calming thoughts these past few days amongst the stress that I'm starting to believe I don't know how to live without.

The Lord has a time line for me. Whether or not I try and micromanage it or not. I noticed it last week too. What I didn't share is that on my end, things seemed to keep getting in the way of progress, but it was also happening on the production end. The printer threw a hissy fit for two whole days. So even if my part had been able to be completed it would have just sat as a file, waiting for the printer to show up for work again.

Interesting.

Also, I finished all my files done before May even started so I would have time to get yardage out to the helpers (oh my goodness, how I LOVE the helpers!). But today, two days before June, I just barely got the fabric to them.

But I'm ok with that. For some reason, I very much feel like things are happening as they should. Which is weird, but cause technically every last thing is late.

Are deck is taking a bit longer. OH, but it's going to be gorgeous. I'd show you a picture but our hard drive died on our desk top and this lap top doesn't play well with the SD card. But trust. It's a beautiful space.

Still, not stressed about it. We are working on it when we can and when life demands to be lived we break from the deck and know that we will get back to it.

I did post a few pictures of my new line :) I am loving how it inspires me to create with it. I keep having moments where I think, "I love this fabric! ....wait...I made this!" It's surreal to have those experiences and I am so grateful for them.

June is going to be FUN!

Mind blogging

I go through out me day cataloging memories as if I were blogging. They are always very well writen and witty. Then I sit down and barely non-boring comes out. Sigh.

I went visiting teaching today. That has never felt like a chore to me. I always really look forward to it.

Still working on finishing up the design files.

Made my kids laugh because I jokingly told Beckham I was going to wrestle him by his eyebrows when he was dragging his feet to do something that was asked of him.

I told the to remember I am hilarious.

All. the. time.

They thought that was hilarious.

Went to Young Women's. Man, I love those girls! Can't wait for girls camp!

Home stretch

Stretch is an understatement around here.

We are stretched to our limit and are so looking forward to summer.

We've been enjoying the last few soccer games, and performances. We are also getting the last little bit done on the deck before we can start installing Trex!

I'm busy finalizing my new fabric line and feel the deadline breathing down my back.

The weather has been beautiful and I can't wait to get this line put to bed and enjoy it.

So close! 

Drops

I am choosing to focus on the drops of awesome today.

Even though I was late and  un-showered for two days (don't judge),I made it to the school to volunteer in Beckham's class.

Drop. of. awesome.

Had dinner ready for my family and my friend's family.

Drop.

Folded Tennyson's laundry and didn't hate all the seconds I was doing it.

Drop.

Took both little boys to the grocery store and didn't once feel like leaving them there.

Drop.

I actually enjoyed their company at the grocery store.

Two Drops.

Let Beckham face his own consequences and realized they don't necessarily reflect on me without feeling controlling about his choices.

TEN  Drops of awesome!

Arrived at the baseball game late because of said choices, and didn't even feel one bit bad. His choices. His game. He's old enough for me not to be in control of those things.

Drop.

Blogging early.

Drop.

You (All 16 of you---Hi family!) may have noticed I've missed a few posts recently.  I'm trying really hard to let go of the unneeded stress in my life. If writing felt more stressful than necessary I gave myself permission to let it go without guilt.

It's been very freeing.

Pictureless day

There were two, not the usual three, soccer games today from 5:00pm to 6:00pm.

Good thing, because Karaia and Beckham had a choir concert starting at 6:30pm.

Their mother did not take one single picture of any of the three events.

You really can't be too mad at her. Sanders was really patient attending all these events that he doesn't get to participate in until the last 10 minutes of each event. She tries very hard to keep him entertained while watching and supporting the other kids. Throwing picture taking into that mix felt like too much of a challenge tonight. Thank goodness for Kevin and her mom at the choir concert! Mom's entertainment was starting to lose it's effect.

The kids did great and we feel really blessed they get to have so many fun things in their life.

After the concert I took Tennyson out for ice cream because he scored a goal during his soccer game. This is a very big deal for him seeing that last year he thought watching his shadow as he ran around on the field was a much more productive use of his time that paying any attention to the ball.

He is getting to be a very good player. He can anticipate where the ball will be headed and try to position himself accordingly.

We had a wonderful time and ate our dessert before out dinner! I tried to get him to open up to me when it was just the two of us. We have a unique relationship and his choices don't always allow for a lot of positive bonding. Something we are both working on. We adore each other and I think this little rough patch makes both our hearts ache a lot.

I asked him what he thought of the new chore chart.

"I like it!"

"What do you like best about it?"

"Well, see, I really like jobs more than I like playing."

Believe me when I tell you, It's a good thing he told me!

Changes

Now that life has slowed down to a normal rush as opposed to crazy break neck speed, I've noticed changes.

My house is cleaner because of the new chore chart. Thank goodness! I am calmer for the same reason.

I've also thought about this little blog. My voice has changed over the years. I'm not sure I like that much. Then again, growing and changing aren't bad things as long as they are for the better.

I wonder if my voice has changed for the better.

I'm more guarded than when I first started. I don't like that part at all, but growing up means learning when and when not to spill your guts...I suppose.

Relationships have changed. Some for the better and some I wish I could turn back the clock.

We are doing a whole lot of this these days.

Karaia, Beckham, and Tennyson all have soccer on Thursdays at three different schools. Kevin is the coach of Beckham's team and Tennyson is too little to be left alone which means we try hard to enlist the help of a grandparent to cheer Karaia on, but often that little love of ours plays her games without family watching. It's very heart breaking for me. Thankfully, all of her friend's parents cheer for everyone on the team. It's something, but it's not what I would choose.

We got to help out a friend today which means having friends for the boys over. Usually when these particular boys get together with my particular boys you have to be on your A Game or your house or one of the boys will be destroyed. They are very well behaved as brothers, but the 4 of them together feed off  of the little boy energy oozing from their pores.

Today they were amazing. Still energetic and full of life and light, but it wasn't out of control energy. We would have loved to have them all day.

Simple

Today was simple.

Thank goodness for that.

No rushing. No stress. Calm and peace.

I'd forgotten how nice all that is.

Vanity will get you every time

On Wednesday night I put some eye cream around my eyes because I am getting old :)

Sad thing is my skin had an allergic reaction and the skin around my eyes puffed up. It wasn't super noticeable, I just looked a little tired, except when I smiled. THEN the skin in between the wrinkles I was trying to less was extra puffy which made the wrinkles even deeper.

I couldn't do anything except laugh at myself and try my best not to scratch my itchy eyes. 

That's what I get for being vain.

I will just embrace my laugh lines from now on.

Routines are best

While my personality shies away from routine, the more years I live the more I accept that routines help my life run smoothly.

Today had anything but a routine. I got a TON done. PYP will be part of SNAP, a blogger conference, and I've been getting everything gathered and ready for that. But the every day stuff got crammed into corners and I could tell it was harder for me to maintain the atmosphere I wanted.

I was so thankful for the new chore chart! It helped the kids stay on task. Although there was whining, they still got it done. Karaia and Beckham even set their alarms early so they would have more time to get to level 2!

Sunday bliss

Had a great lesson in Young Women's on the restoration of the gospel. I love being with the Beehives.

We got to go to our niece's blessing. We sure love Nate and Brianna and always take advantage of any excuse we get to spend time with them. Nate offered a beautiful blessing and Aydrie was the model of perfection.

I even got a nap in today!

This next week is a busy one...I know...no one is surprised. ;)

I'm most excited to start our new job chart! Happily, so are the kids.

Made Good

Sanders turned 4 on March 2. We had his friend party today.

Yes, a whole month and a half late. However, I am going to focus on the part one which he did, in fact, have a friend party to celebrate turning 4.

It was a balloon party with balloon type games and 9 three, four, and five year olds. I think they had fun.

This cold has really impeded my life the last three days. I'm quite useless by the time Kevin gets home. It's all I could do to be "the mom" when he's not.

My sweet friend, Nicki, brought dinner over last night because we were all as soccer games until about 7pm. She new I wasn't feeling well. I told Kevin she was bringing something over. His immediate reply, "You have really good friends." I completely agree with him.

I'm willing any illness to be gone by tomorrow. Too much to do.

Improvement

Thankfully things went much better today.

Nobody got left out of anything and I heard a bit of conference. I think I'll still have to watch most of it again, but it was an improvement.

Decisions

I made a lot of decisions today.

I decided once and for all how to do our railing on the deck. Well...more of how to do the posts on the railing. The actual railing part is still elusive.

I ordered the slide for the deck! I know! I barely feel like an adult when I think about it!

Chrissy came over and we talked patterns.

Then, Chrissy helped me peg down some new color combinations for my next line.

It's a nearly impossible task with so many choices available.

What are your favorite color combinations?

I have many, but currently, I like this one, but it didn't have the same feeling when I tried to implement it into my design.

bummer.

Fluffy, smooth, fluffy

I didn't post last night. Mostly by choice. Fatigue played a bit into it as well. I like to be involved in a lot of things. My plate is rather full at the moment. I have expressed multiple times lately about feeling unbalanced and giving a little attention to everything, but not enough attention to anything. So last night I gave myself permission to let the blog slide.

It's not that I was doing anything else in particular, but it felt good to not stress about not meeting that expectation. I've always suspected there's a bit of perfectionist in me. It's a talent in some areas, a hindrance in others.

That seems like a good segway into talking about my cat's tail. What? You didn't see it? Believe me, it's perfect.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago Ferb got something stuck in his tail. Or so we thought. It kind of felt like a barb, but was at a weird angle. We decided to just sit back and see if he could work it out seeing as any attempts made by us where met with extreme resistance.

On Monday I noticed that he had removed all the hair from one spot on his tail and there was an open wound. Time to take him to the vet.

Turns out he had been knawed on by another cat and the barbs that we had felt were actually dried blood in his fur. To get a good look at the wound the vet shaved a band in the middle of his tail.

It is doing much better now. We have to give Ferb an atibiotic, a pill, by mouth twice a day. He loves it as much as you can imagine a cat loving a pill shoved in his mouth.



The kids think Ferb's new tail is hilarious.

Everyday normal

Not much to speak of tonight.

Daylight savings time brought about the cheerful attitudes you would expect when one has 9:00am church.

I hope you all know me well enough by now to read the full sarcasm of that sentence.

I actually woke up quite rested. Which is weird for me. But, I suppose it was just the blessing this family needed. All families should have at least one person in a good mood. It is usually NOT me in the mornings. ;)

Church was fine.

The afternoon went smooth.

We went to my dad's for dinner. The theme today was Mexican food. One of my favorites.

Then we came home and put the kids to bed.

I'm reading the second book in the Beyonders series. Thank goodness the third book comes out this month!

That's it. Everyday normals are so nice.

Digging out and confessions of a non-hoarder

I sent an SOS to my mom.

I needed help digging out my unorganized home. Too many fun projects and far to much of a lazy (in house work) personality and I was feeling caved in.

I knew she was the right person for the job and I knew that she lives for this kind of thing, helping me and organizing. She loves them both. She is awesome at both!

But organizing is SO much not my thing that it took a few years for mom and I to work out a system. She now asks before she tosses things and I try super, super hard to remember that my end goal is to have an organized spot which usually leads to tossing things.

So it's good.

Sanders, my baby, turns 4 on Saturday.

I know!

Family is coming over and when that happens I wake up from my sheltered little life and realize that they all live in more organized homes than I do, and all the projects that I had planned on doing since they last came over 3 months ago still remain untouched, and I panic. I know they love me regardless, but still, I panic.

In my brain my home is all Pottery Barn and Real Simple, or it has potential to be. But in my reality I haven't had time to decorate how I'd like much less put things back where they belong...or find a home for them to belong to.

Great. Now I sound like a hoarder.

I'm not a hoarder. My halls and kitchen table are clear and we always sit down for a family dinner every night. Except two night ago because it would be better for the children if we watched a show while we ate rather than having to work so hard ignoring me while I correct their utensil holding for the hundredth gazillionth time.

Anyway.

Organizing. Not a skill I have although I dream about it being mine someday.

ALSO, I have been eating like a cow. Seriously. What is my problem? It's such an entitlement thing for me. I WANT to eat that so I should be able to. End of story. Meanwhile come summer, when it's a health risk to hide under sweat shirts, I will be cursing my lack of control.

Get. a. grip. Em!

I feel like I need a month break from real life to get my pretend, what I wish for life, in order.

Yes, I see the irony.

Life is good though. Busy. But good.

AND my office is 95% organized! Woot!Thank you, Mom!

Great day

I got to help in Tennyson's class. His teacher is one of my really good friends. It's always good to talk with her.

I got a nap!!!

I didn't feel tired and grumpy when the kids came home from school. 

I wasn't rushed getting ready for new beginnings tonight.

Everyone enjoyed the hot chocolate bar at New Beginnings.

AND, now it's over. It went well.

It was a really great day.

New Schedule

I want, no NEED to be more organized with my life. I am juggling so many balls in the air, none of which I am wanting to part with at the moment, that how I want to live my life and how I need to live my life are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

I want to live my life with a general idea of what I'd like to do and get done during the day. No real schedule, but fitting it all in. In reality, when I do that nearly nothing gets done because I am worrying about the things I am not doing whenever I am doing something. I know. I'm a bit crazy.

So, I sat down and wrote out my whole day. I even scheduled play time with the kids, free time for me, and time with Kevin. It stunk. I am not looking forward to this much.

I took it for a small test run today. I wasn't strict because it's a holiday and the kids are home at times they wouldn't normally be. But it wasn't too bad. I actually got a lot done.

We will see how long I stick to it though. To fit everything in I need to wake up at 5:45am and go to bed at 10:30pm. Both decent, good for you times, but it requires completely rewriting my internal clock.