Resisting the urge

I have been reading books that I really enjoy lately, so all I want to do is sit down in my chair and read, read, read! I think about reading all the time. I have heard of people reading while doing everything else, and I think I am turning into one of those people. I was reading yesterday while I pushed Eleanor on the swing, I thought about reading my book this morning while Zach was taking his bath, but I read my scriptures instead, I read while eating lunch today...I had to tear myself away from my book to update you on what's going on in my life. I'm reading the Dakota Treasures series by Lauraine Snelling. I'm on the second book, "Pearl".
I was thinking about the movie "Sabrina" this morning and how Sabrina's father liked his job as a chaueffer because it gave him time to do what he loved, to read. As I was thinking about this, I found myself quite envious. My job gives me very little time to read. But I won't be trading my job for any other, so I guess I'm just going to have to continue what I'm doing, which is to resist the urge to plop down in my chair, ignore everyone and everything that needs to be done around me to read. I'll continue to wait until the girls are in bed, the chores are done, and THEN I'll get comfy in my chair and read. This may be why I hesitate to start another book after I finish one. I know the book will be on my mind until I finish it. I just may have to give myself a break after I finish this series!

A-Z's of Me

A - Age: 31
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: Dusting
D - Dessert you love: Strawberry Cheesecake
E - Essential start your day item: Prayer
F - Favorite actor(s): Topher Grace
G - Gold or Silver: Gold
H - Height: 5'3"
I - Instruments you play: Piano a little, I played the Saxophone in school
J - Job title: Full-Time Mother
K - Kids: Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, and Zachary
L - Living arrangements: 2 bedroom condemned trailer
M - Mom's name: Sharon
N - Nicknames: Mom, Hun, Jo
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Tonsils out when I was a child, delivery of my children
P - Phobia: Bees...I'm getting better around them, though!
Q - Quote you like: "Fifty was my favorite age. It takes about that long to learn to quit competing- to be yourself and settle down to living. It is the age I would like to be through all eternity!~Marjorie Pay Hinckley...I'm hoping to master this before 50!
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: Donna and Angela
T - Time you woke up today: 6 am
U - Unique habit: cracking fingers and toes...probably not unique, but it's the only habit I can think of right now.
V - Vegetable you hate: radishes
W - Worst habit: I spend too much time thinking about the past and future...which makes it hard to enjoy the present.
X-rays you've had: teeth, foot, lungs
Y - Yummy food you can make: pizza, lasagna, chicken casserole, fajitas, brownies, cookies, cheesecake to name a few...I like to cook.
Z - Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

In Memory of...

On this Memorial Day, I will be remembering my grandparents who have passed away. My Nana, who is my mom's mom, my Grampy, who is my mom's dad, and my grampie, who is my dad's dad. I know their spirits are still alive and they will be there to greet me when I pass on to the other side of the veil. What a happy reunion that will be!
Today, I will also be thinking about my older sister, Angela, who died shortly after birth. I look forward to meeting her and getting to know her. How special she must be!

Charlotte's Web

Zoe's class just recently finished reading Charlotte's Web together. All the kids received a copy of the book and they would read along in their books as their teacher read to them. So, this afternoon the 1st grade classes went to our local theater to watch the movie, and I went along. I don't know what it is with these fieldtrip bus rides and the subject of boys coming up... today one of Zoe's classmates, who is a girl, turned around to talk to Zoe and she mentioned to me that the boys in their class like Zoe. I inquired who exactly liked her and the girl named three boys, but then she said that Zoe didn't like any of them, she liked another boy. Later on I asked Zoe who this boy is she apparently likes and she claimed she didn't know the boy. Soon after, the movie started and we enjoyed our popcorn and the show.

Future Artist in the making

Zoe, Emily, and I went to Zoe's Portfolio Night at her school last night. Zoe showed us what she has been working on throughout the year, and we brought home the HUGE folder that held her work. Here are a few of my favorite pictures that she drew in art class. She definitely takes after her dad when it comes to drawing! I hate it when my kids ask me to draw something, expecting it to be better than what they would do, and then have them tell me that what I drew doesn't look anything like what they asked me to draw. I draw stick figures...bad stick figures...nothing like the fancy artwork here.
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Emily often eats bread and butter, and sometimes she wants one piece of bread with butter on it along with one piece of bread with no butter on it. She asked for this today. I asked her if she wanted me to cut the bread and she said she just wanted the piece of bread with butter on it cut, which is usually the case...weird huh?...so I told her it was ready and she says, "Let me see if you did it right...Great! YOU listened"...(here's me thinking) Yeah, I'M the one with the listening problems around here!
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While cleaning the kitchen floor this evening, Zach got into one of his climbing moods and climbed into the wooden high chair we use as a booster seat for Eleanor. I kept an eye on him and noticed him dozing off in the chair. Of course I had to snap a picture before putting him to bed...he was very close to the camera and I was quick, I promise. He is now safe in his bed and sound asleep as I write this.

Stranded

Matt's truck is having some problems with the steering so as of yesterday Matt has been taking the Yukon to work. That leaves me without a vehicle to get around. You don't realize how much you rely on your car until you don't have one around to take you where you want to go! I'm not sure when we're going to be able to get the truck fixed, so we'll just have to do with one vehicle for awhile. Is this a case of "Yesterday's pleasures are today's necessities" that President Monson talked about in General Conference? I think it might be.

Zach has some new moves. Check them out!

What matters most

Have you ever seen the movie "Message in a Bottle" or "A Walk to Remember" or "The Notebook"? The author of these books is Nicholas Sparks and he is one of my favorite authors. Matt will give me a look of "why are you torturing yourself" whenever I read one of his books because they usually have a sad ending, but I like the stories and I think Sparks is a good writer. I just read "Three Weeks with My Brother" A Memoir by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks and it explains a lot about the other books I have read. He draws upon his own experiences in his own life as inspiration for his books, and his life has not been an easy one. I really enjoyed this Memoir. The last chapter is where I really started to think about my own life. Am I enjoying what truly matters most to me...my family? I have been so blessed to have everyone close to me still living, my parents, my sister and her family, my husband, and my children, plus all of Matt's family who I love just as much as my own family. Here are some things I read last night that I am still pondering today:

"After our sister's death, Micah changed. It was as if he'd suddenly become intimately aware of the fragility of life and how precious time really was. As a result, he made a conscious effort to simplify his life, with the goal of eliminating unnecessary stress. No longer interested in society's definition of success, he began purging his life of material things. Life, he decided, was for living, not for having, and he wanted to experience every moment that he could. At the deepest level, he'd come to understand that life could end at any moment, and was better to be happy than busy."

However, Nicholas Sparks went in the opposite direction. He wanted to get things in order for his family in case anything happened to him. He kept a very busy schedule working and taking care of his family:

"I was taking care of all that I needed to. The schedule, though, had begun to control me. Little by little, I forgot how to relax. Even worse, I began to feel as if I didn't deserve to relax. Not until I finished ___________(fill in the blank).
But nothing was ever finished. There was always one more page to write, one more novel to finish, one more city to add to a tour, one more interview to give. My children continued to need my attention, no matter how much time I spent with them the day before. There was always another chore around the house...Where once I was doing all those things because I wanted to, it gradually came to feel as if I had to, as if I had no other choice."

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day living, that we forget to enjoy what we are doing, to enjoy the family and friends that are around us.
We think we can only be happy after __________(fill in the blank) gets done. Lately I have been focused, focused, focused on us getting out of debt. And I have found myself asking the question, why is it so important for me to be out of debt. Yes, getting out of debt will eliminate some stress and get our family into a nicer home, and we'll be able to go do fun things, but it's not going to change who I am and the family I have. I need to CHOOSE to be happy now living in a condemned trailer, living paycheck to paycheck, surrounded by the people I love. Because the people I love DO matter most.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Janet!

The letter k

I'm playing the letter game today. Rachelle gave me the letter k. She gave me a challenge with the letter, but since I'm in a bit of a fog this morning from being woken up about every hour last night from Emily, Zach, and Eleanor for different reasons, I'm going to write the first 10 words that come to my mind that begin with the letter k, and write how the word relates to me.

1. Kangaroo ~ A baby kangaroo is called a joey ~ just like me!

2. Kite ~ I love to watch people fly kites, but I don't feel the need to fly one myself. Our family went to a 1st annual kitefest last year where we watched different kites being flown, and the children made their own paper kites. It was a lot of fun and I hope we go again this year.

3. Kind ~ I have the kindest mother in the whole world...really I do. As a teenager, I used to accuse her of being TOO kind, but I was silly, I wouldn't want her to be any less kind than she is.

4. Kidnap ~ I hope I never have to deal with one of my children being taken away from me. It is always so sad to see pictures of children who are missing.

5. Kiss ~ I love the kisses I receive from my family! I also enjoy watching and reading romantic comedies...the first kiss is always the best part!

6. Kill ~ Not a very uplifting word, but it came to mind. My family was just talking the other day about a guy we know that was killed in an accident awhile ago. It's very sad, but we know his spirit is still alive and he is still learning, working, and progressing, we just can't see him right now.

7. Kilt ~ Matt and I enjoy listening to bagpipes. It's fun to watch men and women dressed in their outfits, playing the bagpipes in parades and other events. I could listen to them for hours.

8. Kip ~ If you watched Napoleon Dynamite as many times as my husband does, you would think of this name as one of your words too!

9. Kennel ~ We don't have any pets and we like it that way (at least Matt and I do.) Although this morning Matt did talk about getting a sheep to mow the lawn for us.

10. kids ~ We've got plenty of them around here...and I love it! I've always wanted to have a lot of kids and stay home with them. I am so happy that my dream has come true :-)

Well now that I have exercised my brain a little bit, I think I can muster up the energy to go take on the day.
If you have a blog and would like a letter, just let me know.

What's in a name?

My parents named me Joey because...they wanted to torture me. No that's not true, my dad just wanted a boy. My parents had the name Joey picked out for a boy when my mom was pregnant with my oldest sister, but she turned out to be a girl so she received a girl's name. Then my other older sister was born, but she only lived a short time after she was born, and she received a girl's name too. When my mom was pregnant with me, my dad asked her what they would name me and she said Joey, whether I was a boy or a girl.

I went to the temple this past Saturday and I met another lady named Joey (that doesn't happen very often!). We immediately connected as she asked me if I could relate to receiving boy mail, like from the boy scouts, and if I had problems at the bank. OH YES! It was wierd to think that someone else had experienced and is still experiencing the EXACT same annoyances of having a boy's name as me.
It is a rule I have that if I receive mail that is addressed to Mr. Joey ______ I immediately throw it in the trash without even looking to see who it is from. I am not a Mr. thank you very much!
It is a common occurence at the bank for the teller to ask me if I am Joey or to tell me that she will have to mail the receipt to Joey..."I'm Joey"...awkwardness then "oh... okay." I had one lady look at me so long and unconvinced one time that I asked her if she would like to see my license. She declined and I went on my way once again shaking my head at my parents who thought it was a good idea to give me a boy's name.

As a child, whenever I would complain about my name, my mom would always point out a few other girls I knew with boy names, Johnny Lynn and Bobby Jo. It WAS somewhat of a comfort to know that I wasn't the only girl being tortured with a boy's name, but at least they had girl middle names that automatically went with their boy names, so it was easier to tell they were girls.

I can remember my first gym class in high school. The teacher read through all the names, but my name wasn't called. As the teacher was talking to me, I heard my name being called on the boy's side of the gym...typical...I was more than willing to go join the boy's class, but they just switched my name to the girl's class instead.

I am used to people expecting to see a man when they hear my name. I have often made an appointment to have my hair cut and then have the hairdresser say "Oh I thought you were going to be a boy" when I would present myself. Sometimes these instances are fun, but most times they are just annoying. But I have grown used to them and I expect them. Now when someone apologizes for mistaking me for a man I say with a smile, "Don't worry about it, it happens all the time" But I'm thinking with a scowl, Yes it happens ALL.THE.TIME! I'm tempted these days to just write or say female after my name.

Now having said all this about my name, I can't picture myself with any other name. For better or worse, it's MY name. My life would be boring not having to explain that I am Joey, not having to repeat my name Joey for people who think I said Jody or Joy (although as a kid I did have our new neighbor convinced my name was Jody because I didn't correct her. It was fun having a girl's name...for about a week until my mom corrected the neighbor, and I would miss having a name that most other girls don't have.

More wildlife

I was enjoying the hummingbird yesterday when a female hummingbird came to join the male. Awesome! Emily came over to watch them. They were zipping all around chasing each other. We have a tree near the feeder and I saw the male hummingbird perched on a branch. I've never seen a hummingbird still before. More awesomeness! Emily was concerned that the noise of the movie she and Eleanor were watching would scare the hummingbirds away, so she tiptoed to the tv and turned it down. I think she enjoys watching the hummingbirds as much as I do. As we continued to watch, I happened to glance out the window behind us and I saw a deer walk by. I whispered to Emily about the deer and we went to watch her for awhile. I commented to Emily that the deer was eating our tree. She said, "He's hungry mom! Deer eat grass and leaves! I know it make's the trees sad, but the deer is hungry!" She was quite passionate about this. I like watching the deer, but I get concerned about them being close to the house and leaving tics behind, especially since we found one on Eleanor last fall. I'd rather watch them from a distance. It was fun to be surrounded by wildlife though. That's one of the things I love about living in the Maine woods.

Lovin' it!

I put our hummingbird feeder out a week or so ago and a hummingbird found it yesterday. I was worried that it was too close to the house and no hummingbird would find it. I was SO EXCITED when I saw the hummingbird. I have the perfect view of the feeder from my chair at the computer, so I saw it while I was blogging. I guess this gives me an excuse to blog more so I can do more hummingbird watching.

It's a male ruby throated hummingbird and it is beautiful! Here's a picture I got from hummingbirds.net.


The past few years I have had our feeder out, but I would only see a hummingbird occasionally. But this hummingbird that came yesterday seems to be sticking around. We saw him all afternoon yesterday, Matt saw him in the evening, and he is back again this morning. I am lovin' it!

Mother's Day

I had a very nice Mother's Day, so I need to tell you about it. It started at 5:29am when Eleanor woke up and wanted me to read her a book. So being the good mother I am I said..."NO! Go back to sleep!"...she did.
We went to church and during Sacrament meeting, the children sang "I often go walking". Eleanor marched right up to the front with her sisters. She didn't know the words to the song, but she enjoyed standing with the children as they sang. I love hearing the children sing, it was a highlight of my day.
The men sang the closing song, "Love at Home". They should sing to us more often. It was very nice.
Our family spent the afternoon with my parents at their home, which is where we usually are on Sunday afternoon. That is always nice.

I received nice homemade gifts from my children, the best kind right? In Primary, we took pictures of the children and had them make a paper frame to put their picture on. We put magnets on the back. Here are my two pictures from Zoe and Emily that are on my fridge.


In school, Zoe made me a bookmark. I used it yesterday and I LOVED looking at her picture as I read.



In nursery, Eleanor's teacher had made a card for me and she helped Eleanor sign it. Her teacher also gave me a couple of framed pictures. That was so sweet of her!

I love spending time with my children and family. That was the BEST present of all.

Happy Birthday Eleanor

I wanted Eleanor to stay two forever. She has been such a sweet, loving, fun 2 year old. But that day comes when we turn a year older. Eleanor turned 3 yesterday.


She woke up yesterday in a good mood. When I told her it was her birthday she replied excitedly, "it's my birthday? Wow! That's cool!" She has been looking forward to her birthday since Emily's birthday on May 3rd. It was a celebration throughout the day. She has been so anxious and excited for her birthday, I couldn't make her wait until the evening to open all of her presents. She opened a box full of Kelly Barbies in the morning and she had fun playing with them for awhile with Emily. She was very good about sharing her toys, even with her sisters that refused to let her touch anything on their birthdays. My dad came over later on in the morning to see Eleanor since he would be at work when we had her party. He brought over one of the gifts from him and my mom. A Dora magna doodle and book...here is Zach testing it out to see if it's worth keeping.


We went to pick up the cake in the afternoon. That was challenging since by that time, Emily was getting tired of the attention Eleanor was getting for her birthday. It wasn't easy getting Emily into the car and into the grocery store, but I did it... by making her think I was going to leave her at home and then in the car by herself. I knew she wouldn't like that.
When we got home, I checked the mail and there was a package from Matt's parents for Eleanor. She wanted to open it so I let her. She had so much fun opening the presents...Emily decided it was time to check out for awhile.


When Matt and my mom arrived from work, we ate dinner and then it was party time. You will notice a theme in the following pictures...DORA!





Eleanor joined in the singing to herself.


What fun we had celebrating with Eleanor! I hope year number 3 is as wonderful as year number 2 has been.
Now the birthday fun for our children has come to an end for another year.

Together Forever

The story of Matt and I getting together actually starts with my mom attending a Sunday school class. Matt was the new teacher and he was telling a little about himself. He said he had just recently moved to Bangor for a job, and he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing in Bangor, Maine. My mom thought to herself “I know why you’re here, you’re here for my daughter”. She thought that was weird since I was already married, so she dismissed the thought.
The day I called my mom to tell her I was leaving my husband, she said to me “Oh I have the perfect guy for you!”…what? Did I just hear her correctly…I hadn’t even left yet and she was already setting me up. I moved home a few months later and heard a lot about Matt from my mom. My mom pointed Matt out to me at church, but she never introduced us. My mom and I went to the mall one evening shortly after I had filed for divorce. I got my ears pierced for the second time…it was celebration time…do something wild and crazy! Matt happened to walk by, so my mom talked with him while I got two new holes punched into my ears. I hoped that my mom wouldn’t say anything that would embarrass me. I remember she did go into more detail about some things than I would have liked her to, and I’m sure I rolled my eyes at her a few times, but telling Matt that I had filed for divorce was the best thing she did. Matt decided that since I had filed for divorce, it was time to ask me out. He called me on October 9, 1996 to see if I would like to go see the movie “Emma” with him. I said yes. This is an easy date for me to remember because it is also my older sister’s birthday. I told Matt we were going to have dinner and celebrate my sister’s birthday, but he said he would rather pick me up for a late movie after the celebrating was over. Before Matt arrived to pick me up, I stressed over what I was going to wear, the joys of dating! I had noticed that Matt always wore khaki pants when I saw him (which was mostly at church) so I wore khaki pants thinking that I wouldn’t be overdressed or underdressed for our date. I was surprised when Matt showed up in jeans. He looked good in jeans…let the date begin! Matt called me a few days later for our second date. We drove to Bar Harbor (an hour and fifteen minutes from where I lived) to eat at a restaurant. We stayed up most of the night talking and enjoying each other’s company. We spent our third date looking at wedding rings…and we bought my ring. There was never a formal proposal, although Matt teases me that he had prepared a candlelight dinner, romantic music playing in the background, and he got down on one knee to propose, and I just don’t remember it …I don’t remember because it didn’t happen. It was more like, so we know we’re getting married, let’s pick a date. My divorce was final on November 27, 1996. We were married in our chapel on a Tuesday evening, December 10, 1996 with our families present. I was in college at the time and I had a class that morning. I was talking with a friend after class and she asked me, “so what are you doing this evening” and I replied, “getting married”. It’s not an answer you get to say everyday, especially on a Tuesday!, and this would be my last time to say it. Matt and I were sealed in the Salt Lake temple one year after we were married, and now 9 ½ years, and 4 children later, Matt and I are still living “happily ever after”…with a few minor bumps along the way. But that's what makes marriage fun, right?

Two for Togetherness tag

I ran as fast as I could, but I've been tagged by JD and Jen.

2 Things you compliment your husband on while in his presence.
1) I'm always telling him he's a great husband... because he is.
2) I try to thank him every time he helps around the house...because I really appreciate it.

2 compliments you make about your spouse to your friends
1) He irons his own clothes
2) He doesn't put work ahead of his family

2 traits you married him for.
1) Good looks of course
2) Fun sense of humor

2 Days you cherished the most with your husband being together.
1) Our wedding day
2) Being sealed in the Salt Lake Temple

2 Material things you could give your husband if you just inherited a fortune
1) Animals so he could start a farm and quit his job
2) Hummer

2 things you would miss the most if he left for 2 weeks.
1) Date night
2) Having him get the kidlets ready for bed

2 thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw your spouse.
1) Now I understand why several of the single adult girls are fighting over him
2) I will go out with him if he asks me

2 favorite dates
1) Going to Portland, Me to eat at Norm's Barbeque
2) Eating at Pizzeria Uno

2 funny odd things you love
1) His fast paced dancing moves
2) The things he says

2 places you have lived with your spouse
1) Bangor, Me
2) Bucksport, Me...so much for my childhood dreams of living anywhere BUT Maine...I'm glad

2 favorite vacations
1) Going to Utah for Christmas a few weeks after we got married
2) Going to Salt Lake City during the olympics

That was fun! I tag Rachelle, Cindy, Kristen, Lei (if you haven't gone into labor yet), and Sabra.

Observing

I went on a field trip with Zoe this afternoon to our local library and post office. I learned two things...Zoe's classmates call her ZoZo, and she has a boy classmate that has a girlfriend...the same boy who wanted to be Zoe's partner during the field trip. When Zoe said no to the boy, I felt kind of bad for the kid who was just rejected by my daughter, but my feelings quickly changed when I saw the same boy holding hands with another girl at the library. I couldn't believe it. They are in 1st grade...they are too young to start noticing the opposite sex, aren't they?
On the schoolbus heading back to the school, another boy was talking to the boyfriend/girlfriend pair and he was telling the boy that he was so lucky to have a girlfriend...what?! you guys are 7!!! The boy then asked the girl in the boyfriend/girlfriend pair why she was with a short boy like him(the boyfriend...who is a head shorter than Zoe) when she could be with a tall boy like him...oh brother...I guess the "you're not dating until you move out of the house and go to college" talk will be sooner than I thought.

It was only a matter of time

Zach was able to walk by our bookcase without touching it until a few days ago.



Eleanor decided to reward his naughty behavior with some stickers!

TV Turnoff Week

Zoe recently participated in TV Turnoff Week. She was required to watch 4 hours or less of tv, which earned her a certificate of achievement, a free deli roll at Subway, and the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal. This was pretty easy considering we don't have tv in our home. It was a decision that Matt and I made almost 7 years ago when we moved into our "new" home. We had a tv/vcr combo that we watched movies on occasionally, but when that broke, we didn't have a tv at all for a long time. Then a few years ago, I decided I wanted to start exercising again, which meant that I wanted a tv/dvd combo so I could workout doing aerobics at home. When we got the tv, we already had cable tv with our cable internet service, so we hooked it up for Thanksgiving day to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade...that was always something I missed doing on Thanksgiving without a tv. But I was disappointed when I watched the parade and saw half naked women and listened to some songs that thankfully my children couldn't understand the words to. I did however discover the PBS channel and my children enjoyed the programs and I enjoyed having a station that was kid-friendly with no commercials. I started watching some programs during the day, but it was always ruined when a commercial for a night-time drama would come on and my children's eyes would be glued to the tv watching someone get threatened by a gun or there would be a dead body shown. I didn't think my children needed to be exposed to that so I would end up turning the tv off. Plus, whenever the kids watched Nick Jr. they would come away wanting every toy that was advertized. Matt wasn't interested in the tv, so we got the cable tv part of our service disconnected. We didn't miss the tv...okay Matt and I did miss it in the fall when football was on, we like to watch the college games, but we liked the peaceful atmosphere without the tv better...at least I thought...this past fall Matt was tired of missing football, so we had our cable tv hooked up again for the football season. We got more channels this time because of course we needed ESPN to watch football so the children enjoyed watching animal planet, PBS, and Nick jr, and Matt and I got hooked on Dirty Jobs and some other shows. It was fun to watch tv, but it was those times that we would be watching football during the day on Saturday and commercials would come on that my children didn't need to see that I decided the tv needed to go again. We really didn't need the cost of the cable anyway. I like not having tv in our home. Matt wants to get our cable hooked up again in the fall, and maybe we'll look into tivo so we won't have to watch the commercials, but I really enjoy the atmosphere in our home when the tv stays off. So the reason I brought all of this up is because yesterday when I was listening to Dr. Laura she suggested a book to read ~ "Raising a G rated family in an X rated world: A survival guide from a family of nine." by Brent and Phelecia Hatch. As Dr. Laura was talking about the book, I realized that it is a lot easier to raise a G rated family when the tv is off. So I ask all of the moms out there, "What are your children watching?"...and a question for all my readers, "Could YOU go one week with 4 hours or less of tv?" Give it a try!

My Life Monday

I am participating in a new blog series called "My Life Monday" created by Rachelle. Today's topic is My Most Memorable Childhood Experience. For me, that would be running cross country in 5th grade and earning the right to wear the red gym suit.
As a kid I went to the same school from Kindergarten through 8th grade. When I got to 5th grade, I could participate in the cross-country program and I was so excited! I wanted to earn a red gym suit that the top 10 runners would wear to school on the day of the meets. They looked so comfortable and they let everyone know that you were good at running. At the meets, everyone who placed in the top 20 received a ribbon. All the runners would sit together and wait for the top 20 names to be called. I was so happy and surprised when I placed 18th during my first meet and got a ribbon. I got a ribbon at most of the meets and I really enjoyed running. I got better and better as the season went on. My best meet was when I came in 10th place. I was so excited to show off my 10th place ribbon... and I earned the red suit as a 5th grader. I was the happiest kid alive! I wore my red suit with pride to school the next time we had a meet. Not long after this though, I was running in a meet and I stepped on a rock. My foot hurt and I couldn't run fast, I came in 31st that day...my first meet without a ribbon. The coach and my dad looked at my foot, but it wasn't swollen, it looked fine. This is where my memory ends with running. I'm pretty sure I finished out the season. I complained often that my foot hurt when I walked on it, but it looked fine so my parents ignored my complaining. FINALLY, after about 6 months of talking about my foot hurting, my mom took me to see a doctor. I remember her saying something to the fact that we would go to the doctor, but they wouldn't find anything wrong with my foot. Well, to my parents' surprise, I had an extra bone in my foot...and I had broken it. I would have to have surgery to have the bone removed because it wouldn't heal on its own. My running days ended when the doctor said no more running because I had an extra bone in my other foot as well (still do) and if I broke it, I would be in another surgery. And my parents and I listened to him...which is one of my biggest regrets in life. I should have taken the chance...but then again I wasn't paying for these surgeries was I??? I loved running and I was good, but it was short-lived.

Oldest for the night

Zoe and Emily are staying at my parents' home tonight. That gives Eleanor free reign over her older sisters' toys! She has been in heaven. I could have skipped the Barbie play...actually I did because I needed to go water my newly planted wild flower seeds (that I have little faith will grow) so Matt played Barbies with Eleanor. That is one reason why Matt is the BEST husband ever.
Now it is 9:25pm and Eleanor has been to bed twice. The first time I got her out of bed because she was crying and said she wasn't tired, so I figured we could let her play a little longer and tire herself out. Well, I put her to bed at 9pm and she cried, but I said goodnight and left her bedroom. A few seconds later I hear a thump, and Eleanor comes walking into the living room. Hmmm...the crib confines her no more...I guess there is a positive side to this...we could put Zach in the crib now and move him out of our room :-)

Zach, Zach, and more Zach

In the past, Matt has accused me of not taking as many pictures of Zach as I have the girls. I admit we may not have as many baby pictures of Zach as we do Zoe, but I have taken pictures of Zach every month since he was born and during the holidays for his scrapbook. And it seems that lately we take a picture of him a couple of times a week. There are many pictures of him already on this blog, but here are a few more...

Here is Zach being his cute self, playing with daddy's palm pilot...


Zoe wanted to take a picture of Zach, so here is her contribution...


Here is Zach getting angry because his food isn't arriving fast enough...


Here he is done eating and he wants his bib off NOW!...


Here is Zach spending quality time with Zoe...


And here he is trying on Zoe's clothes that she has laid out for the next day...


And finally, here is Zach trying to remodel our living room wall...

Happy Birthday Emily!

We have another school-aged child in our house now. Emily turned 5 today and she will start Kindergarten in the fall. It's weird to think of only having Eleanor and Zach at home with me...well I can push that thought into the back of my mind for a few more months...
I took the kids to storytime today at our local library. Before it started, I told the librarian it was Emily's birthday. After she read a birthday book, we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Emily as she smiled shyly...I know she was lovin' it though!

The birthday princess received a new crown today.



We had a party at my parent's home this evening. A few friends of ours and their children came over to celebrate with us. Poor Eleanor had it in her head that it was her birthday. A few times she was on the verge of tears because she wanted the presents and she just insisted it was "MY birthday". An almost 3 year old just doesn't understand the concept of "12 more days and it will be YOUR birthday". Luckily for us though, Eleanor is very easy going and she would get over these moments quickly.



I have been reading some blogs lately where the moms have been showing some awesome cakes that they have made, but I prefer our local grocery store bakery to do the work for me. I ordered the princess figures through Birthday Express and added them to the cake.




Emily had a cake like this on her 3rd birthday when we were in Utah, and she loved her princess figures...but when she went through a hitting/biting/do anything to hurt Zoe stage awhile back(and Zoe went through the same stage at the same time wanting to hurt Emily)I started throwing toys away as a consequence to their madness and the princess figures were included. So today Emily informed my mother that she was going to hide these princesses so I wouldn't find them. Zoe and Emily either outgrew the "I'm going to hurt you!" phase or they got tired of losing their toys because they are very nice to each other now...the majority of the time.

Emily had a great time at her birthday party! I tried to make sure she got the presents she asked for that were similar to what Zoe received so she wouldn't get upset that Zoe got something better than she did,and I guess I succeded...whew!

New games

Zach discovered the fun of taking a sip of milk and then letting it pour out of his mouth...










The rest of us tried to stay away from the wet, sticky, milk-smelling Zach!

Multi-tasking

I am currently doing laundry, writing, and making our treat for Family Home Evening. I like to be doing something productive at all times, which sometimes is to my benefit, and sometimes not. I thought I would share the Quick Chocolate Sandwich Cookies recipe that I am making for my readers to try if they would like...the timer just beeped, be right back...okay here's what you need...

2 packages Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Eggs
8 Ounces Cream Cheese (Softened)
1/4 Cup Butter (Softened)
2 1/2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mixes, oil, and eggs; Mix well
Roll into 1 inch balls
Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets...Do not flatten
Bake at 350 Degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set
Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks...Cookies will flatten as they cool

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.
Spread on the bottom of half of the cookie; top with remaining cookies.
Store in the refrigerator.

I got this recipe from my sister, and Matt gives it a D-for DElICIOUS!
Eleanor just realized it is FHE night because I am making a treat.



Some random thoughts before I get back to my other chores ~
At church I serve in the Primary and we recently put all the Primary children's pictures on the bulletin board along with the adults who serve in Primary. My mom told me that yesterday Eleanor saw my picture and she said, "That's my beautiful Mom."...awwww so sweet!

Just recently I've been asking Zoe and Emily these two questions as I tuck them in at night, "What did you like about your day and What didn't you like about your day." Last night Emily said she liked the silly things Zoe was doing in Primary yesterday (I wasn't in there to see because the Young Women took over Primary so the Primary leaders and workers could attend the Relief Society/Priesthood meeting during the 3rd hour). From what Emily was imitating, it looked like Zoe was being silly when she raised her hand to participate in singing a song...and who knows what else she was doing???
Then Emily said she didn't like going to church. What am I going to do with this girl?!
I can't remember what Zoe said she liked, but she said she didn't like leaving grammie's house. It is always fun trying to get the girls to leave there! It's a lot easier when Matt is there to help, which he was last night.