Happy Sixth Birthday Nicole!!!

My firstborn is SIX today! That went fast....I think I blinked a few too many times and missed that! I literally seems like maybe three years ago that I had her. What a LONG day that was...Nine days overdue; from start of induction to end, 28 hours; about 2 hours of sleep total during that time; an epidural that only worked on one side (niiiice), and 2 hours of pushing her VERY LARGE head. But worth it. Oh, so worth it!

Nicole is so excited to be six. She must think she's all grown up now! She woke up wonderfully early this morning...too early for me! So she ended up in bed with me, and after I finally came to, I did wish her a happy birthday!

She went to school and was greeted with a balloon and crown at her seat that she wore all day, even in PE! The class all made her cards, and she was very excited to show them all to me. I was actually quite surprised at how well some of these kindergartners write!

Nicole is such a special kid. She has a huge spirit in her six year old body that is just so excited to be on this earth and wants to learn and experience everything NOW! She is described, by me, as "high-spirited". Others may see her as difficult, as do I many times! But that strong desire and stubbornness that she possesses will someday be one of her best qualities. It will keep her strong in a world that will not be easy to deal with, and will hopefully help her cultivate a strong testimony. It will help her be a leader.

I'm so happy I'm her mommy. She fulfilled my fondest desire to create, carry, and give birth to a child. I still remember the exhilaration of my first look at her. And although there are days that her choices of behavior make me want to throw in the towel, I never will. Thank goodness there are those few hours of her precious sleep that help me firm my resolve to help this daughter of God feel loved, learn who she is, and what she is capable of.

Happy Birthday Nicole, and may this next year be a fabulous one!

I Tackled Tuesday!

Well, I might do this all week just to decompress and make me feel like I'm accomplishing something more than just running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Today started bright and early at school helping the kindergartners play "listening bingo" for an hour. It was fun, but especially fun to see that Nicole is quiet and attentive in class. I'm so glad(?) she saves her not so attentive and disruptive behavior for home...

Then I had to copy off the question booklets for the Geography Bee. While at the school, one of the teachers asked me to come to their inservice that afternoon to give an overview of the bee....sure, I have nothing else to do! So I got all the packets ready and went back to the school, AGAIN, to hand out the packets and do the inservice. Holy schmoly, I'm sort-of getting sick of the school.

The best of the day was when I discovered last night that I needed to get the Spelling Bee registration done by Friday....nice! I almost seriously dropped the ball on that one. So just add more time to me at school taking care of that. Nothing like getting all my hours done!

Tonight, after getting the monkey's to bed, I headed out to get Nicole a bday outfit (found a cute ensemble at Old Navy), and a couple more small gifts for the siblings to give her.

When I got home I found the bishop here talking to Ron...the kitchen was nice and clean, so obviously the bishop did give Ron a little notice before coming over! Phew! It's great to have a hubby that cleans!

I'm thinking about wrapping Nicole's gifts tonight....but I think the desire for bed is about to win!

G'night all!

Monday Checklist....

Just so you all think I do stuff around here....
Laundry: 3 loads folded and put away...well, almost put away! 2 loads washed and dried
Dinner: I made the yummiest Chicken Soup with Dumplings. I should post the recipe, and perhaps I will, later. Even the little kids told me it was yummy and ate it....That's a freaking miracle!
Geography Bee: Info letters and answer sheets printed and ready to be xeroxed tomorrow when I hand out the question booklets.
Nicole's BDay: Cake ordered. Grandparents informed of Chuck E. Cheese plan.
"Star of the Week" stuff: Tuesday's questionnaire done, Wednesday's BDay treat will be a small candy treat for Nicole to take herself, and Friday's activity will be sharing two of Nicole's favorite books. Her choice! (Thank you Nicole!)

Extra junk piled on me today....Got a desperate phone call from a room mom for a volunteer to come help with "5 senses Centers" tomorrow. So after finagling my mom into coming and watching the other two, I agreed to go help. I have to go anyway to take care of Geo. Bee stuff...so oh well.

And a little fun from Nurse Heidi:

NameThatDisease.com - The disease test

Holiday Craziness

So, how many of you love this time of year? All the family togetherness, celebrations, feelings of love and contentment?

Let's see a raise of hands....

Do you see me raising my hand?

NO! You do not!

Now, don't get me wrong. It is very fun for me to watch my kids celebrate the holidays, feelings of love abound for my family, life, health, and blessings.

But the absolute stress I start feeling the week before Halloween(because I don't have costumes done), does not end until, oh, the end of January.

Here we go:

• Halloween.
  
• Two weeks later, Nicole's birthday. (I, um, talked her out of a friend party this year because I have totally dropped the ball and didn't plan anything. Nice mom.) This year, add on to her birthday her "Star of the Week" status at school. I just finished her photo poster, but still need to come up with a bday treat for Wednesday and an 20 minute activity with the class on Friday. I need to order her cake and get her a new bday outfit. The day after her bday, Ron goes out of town. Thhppppttt.
  
• A mere 1 week and 1 day later, Thanksgiving. It's at my house. Again. This time of year is when I start feeling somewhat grumpy about my dad dying, and my mom getting old. I don't like being in charge of holiday celebrations. I don't want to cook the turkey, or make food assignments. I can be such a brat sometimes! ;) I miss my daddy. I'm always worried that the food won't turn out, the preparation is always so crazy, and the kids are dying to eat before it's time, so it is just a stressful day. I guess I'm getting a taste of what my mom went through for years, and now she can finally sit back and relax! Someday I'll get my chance again.
  
• The week after Thanksgiving, Ron goes out of town...again!
• Then begins the craziness of Christmas. Getting the decor up. Will we find a Wii? Finding all the presents for the kids. The desire to find something awesome for and surprising Ron with a great gift, and it still hasn't happened. Ellie is almost 2....will I finish her stocking this year?! (I do get 1 point for having all the supplies for the stocking....now to start cross-stitching it. Yes, I KNOW it is November.)
• FOUR DAYS after Christmas, Ellie's birthday. Poor thing. Why did I choose to be induced then? Oh yeah....I didn't want to wait for the tax deduction. I'd had heartburn for just about the entire year, so I wanted an added bonus of a quicker deduction. Have you ever tried to figure out what to get a little kid for her bday four days after she gets everything she could possibly need?! It's fun I tell ya!
• Two weeks after Christmas, trying to avoid my bday. I absolutely don't remember getting this old. Therefore I choose to celebrate my 29th bday over and over again. If you really want to get technical though, this year I will be turning twenty-seventeen. snif. snif. snif....WAHHHHH! HOW did that happen?!?! I know that I have some serious memory loss from working, what, 8 years(?!) of night shifts. I have lost years of my life's memories from that!
• End of January, Riley's bday. She will be 14 this time around. Going into Miamaids. She starts HIGH SCHOOL next year! I swear we just took her to her 1st day of Kindergarten 3 years ago. Freaky, freaky.

And to top all the holiday/birthday fun off, ALL of my Academic Committee responsibilities take place during this 3 month time span. I have Geography Bee this month, then the Spelling Bee and Presidential Pageant Essay Contest in January. Can I go to sleep and wake up in February?!

I'm kidding.....I've now vented. Now you are all bored, and I feel a bit better. Now if you see me anytime in the next 3 months, and I seem preoccupied, frazzled, and wild-eyed, you'll understand why! ;)

(I'll post pictures tomorrow of Nicole with her poster, so check back!)

Things that make you say, "Hmmm..."

I'll try my best not to sound like a horrible mother right now...

Why is it that as new parents, we can't wait for the day when our baby starts making those sweet cooing noises, laugh out loud, and the blessed first word?

I guess we don't realize that in a few very short years, there are days that all we want our children to do is shut their mouths and not utter another sound. The sounds that emanate from them become like fingernails on a chalkboard. And no matter how we beg, plead, and cajole them to just be quiet, for two minutes, they are literally physically unable to be quiet. It's like they will actually explode or spontaneously combust if they have to not make a sound. I'm serious.

I'm having one of those days....

If you were at Costco around noon, I was the freak show trying to keep the monkey's from climbing the displays, yelling at the tops of their lungs, and running around like maniacs. And then when I told the boy that because of his behavior choices we were going home for lunch instead of pizza, he was the hysterical mass writhing on the floor.

I just need a little quiet time....but I guess I'll take some Excedrin and wait a few more hours! ;)

PS- WOW! Three posts in one day?! I better stop or my husband will ask me what I didn't do all day.

Here's Trouble....

Yesterday, Ellie decided that she was ready for a snack. So she opened the pantry door and helped herself to an apple...BITE! Apparently Ellie is a little like Goldilocks, and decided there was something wrong with the 1st apple(too crisp?), so she bit into a 2nd apple....too juicy...so on to the third...JUST RIGHT! Then she put them all back in the box. I have to give her a little credit for two things though:

1. She came and got me, led me into the pantry, and showed me her apple...s.
2. She performed this little apple tasting fest while I was putting a load of clothes in the washer...in all of, oh, TWO minutes?!!

I'm so excited that she's almost 2.....

Election Day!

Everybody, do your civic duty, and go vote. Your voice needs to be heard. Honor our forefathers by taking advantage of the opportunity they created for us in this country. But most importantly, if you don't vote, don't whine about what our government does that you don't like! ;)

Yesterday's Hallo-fun!

I did it, I finished Nicole's costume. Next year, I VOW to find out what they are going to be in September and if any sewing is required, I'll do it then. I did better this year though, as I bought Jared's costume at the end of AUGUST! Mainly because I found the costume he wanted in the correct size at Costco in AZ....they hadn't had the right size in UT, and I was a little worried I might miss out.











The kids had fun at their respective school activities. Jared came home telling about how he went "caroling" for treats to some of his preschool teachers neighbors. He then sang his little song about a witch with a pointy chin, broom, and cat, and then yells BOO as loud as possible at the end.





Thankfully my sister-in-law had the BYU cheer outfit and it fit Ellie. Much easier to borrow it than have to drive to the BYU bookstore and hope they had the right size! By the end of the night, Ellie was pretty understandable in her wants. We kept trying to get her to say "Trick or treat", but she'd just shorten it to "TREAT!" She knew what she wanted and told them. None of this trick garbage for her!




She got "thank you!" down pretty well, although it sounds more like "dee-doo!" most of the time. She refused to go home after a few houses, and had to stick it out and go the whole time. Poor Jared and Nicole had to slow down for her. She wouldn't let us hold her either, SHE had to do it! So sad to see my baby demanding to be a big kid....









It was a fun night, and the kids are now alternating between sugar crash meltdowns and "I need a nap" fights! Hopefully things will even out tomorrow!


**Edited to add: I forgot to write that Riley, again, refused a picture...She just wore her Jack Skellington hoodie, and did her face up like a zombie. She didn't go trick or treating, because we got her a huge bag of candy! So she stayed home and handed out candy for a while, then watched a movie. Oh, the tragedies of growing older!**

Thursday, NOVEMBER 1st, and I've been tagged...for a while!

Well, I believe it was more than a week ago that Crazymama tagged me, and I'm finally getting around to it! It's been busy around here. I should be doing other things today as well, but I'm giving myself some down time! ;)

So, 7 random things about me....

1. I love Dr. Pepper and drink way too much of it. Enough that I get headaches from lack of caffeine if I skip it for a day. At least I have switched to Diet recently, to try and avoid making myself diabetic from all the sugar. I hate most diet drinks, but diet DP seems to have less of an aftertaste, especially the cherry vanilla variety.
2. I met my husband on the internet. LDS Singles online. Yeah, kinda nerdy, but if we hadn't met that way, we would have never met since I was in Utah and he in Texas!
3. I went to Israel 12 years ago and LOVED it. I would adore to go back....when it's a bit safer...but that may not happen! It was an amazing place.
4. I have never been to Hawaii but would love to go. Now. With no children in tow.
5. I once said "no" to a church calling...scout den mother...I had a 5 week old baby, a 2 year old, a 4 year old, was teaching coop preschool in my home twice every 3rd week, and still had 25 hours of volunteer hours to put in at Riley's school. After I declined, the counselor said they questioned themselves if this was a good calling for me...my first thought, although I kept it to myself, was, "If you wondered that, why did you extend the calling at all?"
6. I used to snow ski. I don't anymore. I decided I don't really like being cold, and find myself that way when I ski. I am also afraid of getting hurt and not being able to take care of my kids. It has also become way too expensive!
7. Waaayyyy back when I was a kid, Donny Osmond moved in two houses down from us while his "big" house was being finished. His little boy, Donald, would come down and watch my dad mow our lawn. Apparently a dad that actually mowed their own lawn was fascinating to him! Later, Jimmy moved into the house, but was usually not around. He had a cool Back to The Future Delorean (sp?) in the garage though!

I don't know who to tag...how about I just do one...I tag Nurse Heidi!

Where HAVE I been?!?

Yes, I'm still alive....barely!

This last week I have been the poster child of what happens when you let procrastination rule your life....as I do. It is my absolute worst habit. Well, aside from swearing, but that mostly happens in my head so people don't know about it. (Until now! Thanks to my tattletale fingers!) But the putting things off....it is obvious to everyone!

#1 put off item: Nicole's costume. Poor kid wasn't able to be Dorothy at Saturday's party at her cousins. Good thing her witch costume from last year still fit. But as of this morning at 12:30AM, I snipped the last threads of her costume and ironed it so she is the best-pressed Dorothy around. She was very excited to put it on this morning. She is now at school having fun with her friends.

#2 put off item: Card group and all that goes with it. It was at my house this time, so I was triply stressed, as I not only had to get cards done, but my house decluttered and cleaned, and a dessert made. Amazingly, it happened, although I now have a box of papers and junk to go through, since the method I employed of decluttering my countertop "hot spot" involved my dumping it all into a box. I'm sure there are some important things in the pile somewhere, like bills, that need to be taken care of! I even finished my cards, although I am still one set behind...sigh!

My poor husband had to listen to my emotional breakdown Monday morning. Those are always nice! But I'm feeling a bit better now....that two things are off my list!

Time to get Jared in his costume and off to preschool, and then I guess I should help Ellie carve her pumpkin! Umm....yeah, we're still working on that too!

Pictures later....

Julie.....I'll get that 7 random things up later as well....maybe next month! (tomorrow;)!)