Bienvenido!

I am "helping" my sister Dawn to get started on a blog. With 4 boys and 1 little princess I'm sure she has plenty to share with us all. If you know her (or think she might be as cool as me and so you want to get to know her) wander over to her BLOG and give her some encouragment.

Christmas Pictures

Every year I have a dream of this perfect little picture of my children sitting/standing by the Christmas tree. Every year I am slightly disappointed at my ability to capture what I have imagined in my mind. Here's this years slightly imperfect pictures. Aren't they cute? I love my kids more and more everyday and even if we aren't any where near perfect - we have fun trying!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Two of Three

Just 3 quick tid-bits to keep my loyal readers happy. Reading my blog does make you happy, right? I thought so.

Seth had a (1)birthday. He turned the big 3-0! So I decided he was finally old enough for big boy TV. That's right we finally bit the bullet and got (2)satellite TV. 100 channels of bliss. It was his birthday present. I kept it a secret and I think he was very pleasantly surprised. I was accused by more than one person of getting it more for me than for him but I don't think he cares. I promise to let him have full control of the remote for at least a week. That's a good birthday present in and of itself, right?

As we speak I am listening to SportsCenter and smiling. The sweet, sweet sound of sports updates!

Ok so that was actually 2 of the 3 tid-bits. Number 3 will have to wait. They're talking Suns basketball on espn and I need to devote my attention else where.

Oh and hi Chad - I know you're here and I am planning a way to get you to come out of hiding... just wait.

Santa Dilema

Help me out here. Our basic rule is that we spend about the same amount of money on each child for Christmas. Kimball asked for something and we got it... on a really good deal. It is a BIG present. As in physically it takes up a lot of space. And it comes in two parts so there are 2 big boxes. McKay's "wish" costs about the same amount but is relatively small. I didn't think about this but Seth is worried that when they see the two gifts McKay is going to feel bad and wonder why her gift is so much smaller. What do I do?

Three Miles

I'm about to walk out the door to go to the gym and I am kind of sort of a little bit committed to running three miles today. Self-motivation is NOT one of my strong suits. So with this little post I may (or may not) be more committed to actually running all three miles. I'll let you know how that goes. (or doesn't go.)

* And for those of you who are thinking "3 miles, what's the big deal?" Well it is a big deal. I am not a runner. I'm really bad at it. I do nothing but think of the fact that I'm running the whole time which makes it seems like an eternity. So cut me some slack, ok!

**UPDATE** Just in case you were all sitting around waiting to see if I did it, I DID! Just ask Rachel - she stood next to me (and probably got splattered with sweat) while i finished the last .03 miles. And I think I have officially decided to run a half-marathon in March. I think. Maybe.

Journal Entry

Does anyone even read this darn thing anymore? I write so sporadically I wouldn't/don't really expect that anyone does. But seeing as how I have come to see it as my personal journal and since I don't write stuff down anywhere else I guess I'll keep writing, even if it is only once every few weeks. So here's my hodgepodge of thoughts for today:

~I am loving the rain today. It's so fresh feeling and it's nice to put on a sweatshirt (I don't do coats unless it's below about 40) and not feel like I'm wanting to peel it off 10 minutes after I leave the house.

~We put up our Christmas lights on Saturday and it has left me wanting more. It looks nice but feels a little unfinished to me. My only problem is I am super CHEAP and I know that lights will go on sale after Christmas and I can't get myself to pay full price.

~My sister and her family are coming in February and I am SO excited. Not only do I get to spend a week with her and her adorable kids. But it also gives me an excuse to get some stuff done around the house. Spruce it up a bit. (aka spend money... shhh don't tell Seth.) I told Kimball that they were coming and she got all excited and in the sweetest little desperate voice she asked "will Emmett be back by then?" I was barely able to get out another explanation of how Emmett is not coming back and it will be a long time before we see him again. Then I went in the bedroom and had myself a little cry. I am so grateful to KNOW that we will see him again. At the same time I wonder as a mother how my sister can go through each day missing him so badly and wishing she could hold him again. I pray for her over and over again everyday.

~Have I not posted about our "new" car? We are officially a 2 car family and it is WONDERFUL! It isn't really new. It's actually 7 years old. But we love it. I just love waking up in the morning and knowing that I can go do what I need to without having to take Seth to work. I'm not sure I would appreciate it so much if we hadn't gone 5 1/2 years with just one car. I feel very blessed. Much thanks to my brother and sis-in-law who gave us a smokin' deal on it.

~I just yelled at the top of my lungs "GO POTTY!" Please tell me that I am not the only one who has to force my children to use the bathroom. McKay has been dancing around and holding herself for the past hour. I have nicely asked her 5 times if she needs to use the bathroom. Her last response was "no not yet." Ok so when, once it's dripping down your leg? Just go for goodness sakes. I promise you won't miss out on something that is more important than peeing! (I hope Seth doesn't happen upon this post, he will inevitably tell you all that my children have inherited this little habit from their mother... not entirely true. But he can be pretty convincing so let's just hope he's not reading this.)

~ One last thing. I finished my Christmas cards like 2 weeks ago. I was so impressed that I had them done so early. Too bad I haven't looked at them since I brought them home. They aren't the self-adressing, self-stamping, self-sending ones!

Thank You Very Much

I feel the need/want to do a gratitude post. So here's how it's going to work this time. I will list the first 3 things that come to my mind... and honestly the very first 3 and in the order they pop up. Then you do the same. Here goes:

1. My children - more specifically their good health.
2. Pizza Hut - any pizza/any size/any toppings - $10 (can you guess what's for dinner?)
3. My home.

Now no guilt. Notice I didn't happen to mention my husband this time. Does that mean I don't love him or I'm not grateful for him. No. I just happen to be really happy about the pizza he's about to go pick up for me. So share your top 3 with me. And I promise not to judge.

Right Now

Right now I'm sitting in the "office" listening to Luc watching High School Musical for the 3rd time today. He's playing with cars at the same time, I can't see him, I can just hear the little clank clank as he crashes them into each other and then says "OH!" Oh and he's naked by the way. He has a cold and along with his colds always comes a nasty diaper rash. So he's "airing" out. He slept naked last night and didn't even pee. What a good boy.

Kimball and McKay are playing house. Or doll house or something that McKay swears she doesn't want to play but I forced her to play with her little sister and last I heard she was telling Kimball that "all the children have to get flu shots now." She's always happiest when she's the boss. Kimball just loves to have someone play with her.

I'm sure there's a mess. Probably pee somewhere on the floor. And at one point there was a bucket of water being carried into the girls bedroom. I'm going to pay for this but I am really enjoying just sitting here listening to them entertain themselves. It doesn't happen very often or for very long so I'm relishing it.

Seth is on a flight home. He's been in Georgia for 3 days. I usually start missing him around the time he's supposed to be coming home on the first day but this time I was missing him about 10 minutes after he left and I haven't slept well since he's been gone so it will be nice to have him home. According to flight tracker he's flying over new mexico right now. Which means I should probably go see the damage that has been done during my little break. Plus, Luc is now crying at my feet and McKay says I promised her popcorn "hours ago."

I really do absolutely LOVE my life.

Where Oh Where Has My Memory Gone?

If you were a curious 21 month old and happened upon a memory card (that happened to have all of the last 2 months worth of pictures on it) and was carelessly left in the memory card reader... where would you put it? Just askin'.

Forward March

This is probably the 14th time in the past 3 weeks that I've gotten on here with every intention of posting "something." This is the first time I've actually started typing. I look at that last post with Emmett's sweet smile and I feel guilty "moving on." I know it sounds irrational and it's just a blog for heaven's sake but it's what I feel. Everything seems so trivial in comparison. And, I don't feel like anything I can say will do justice to who he was and is. So this is my buffer post. My moving forward but not without remembering this sweet little boy and not without realizing that I have a sister (and her family) who are still grieving in a very real way post. I still cry every other day or so. I ache for my sister more than anything. I know how her heart must break over and over again each new day and I just wish I were there with her to help ease the pain (if that's even possible.)




Go hug your kids. Tell them you love them. Show them you love them. Be patient with them (even though it's hard.)



Tomorrow I will post some Halloween pictures.

Funeral Information and Obituary

"Emmett Paul Anderson was struck suddenly last week by a very rare post-infective neurological disease, Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and his spirit returned to his Father in Heaven. Emmett passed away peacefully in the arms of his parents and with his family by his side Friday, October 9th, 2009.

Emmett was born the fifth child, and second son, to Loren and Dani Anderson on January 25th, 2009. During Emmett's short time here on earth he easily gained the love of all around him, even people he didn't know. He smiled from the time he woke up, to the time he fell asleep. He was known as the "Smiling-est Baby". He also looked like a tank, weighing in at 25 pounds and measuring 33 inches tall at just 8 months! Anyone who held Emmett thought he must have been eating steak and potatoes, but his mom would proudly reply, "No, he only eats breastmilk." Emmett was a perfectly healthy young boy who had just started crawling and pulling himself up on furniture. He spent much of the summer on the river and swimming and never complained about having to wear a life jacket! He was loved greatly by his four siblings: Calista (age 10), Spencer (age 8), Kaia (age 5), Bryn (almost 3). They loved taking turns playing with him and affectionately called him "little buddy". Emmett knew he was a perfect son and brother. Unfortunately for all of us, God chose to receive him back into his arms. Little Emmett is sorely missed!

Emmett is survived by his parents, Loren and Dani Anderson of Kennewick,WA; his 3 sisters and 1 brother; his grandparents, Craig and Laura Bisel, of Tucson, AZ, and Fred and Kathleen Anderson, of Sunnyside, WA, along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins.Viewing will be Thursday evening from 5-8pm at Mueller Funeral Home- 1401 S. Union. The Funeral will be Friday at the LDS Stake Center in Kennewick. 515 S. Union- 11am Family viewing from 10-10:45

Emmett Paul

Emmett Paul Anderson

January 25, 2009 - October 9, 2009

I don't have words. My heart just hurts so badly for my sister and her family. What a blessing to have the gospel and know that Emmett is once again with his Father in Heaven. We will miss him and ache to have him here but we know that he is at peace.

I pray for my sweet sister. I can't even begin to imagine how her heart is breaking right now. Oh to be by her side and comfort her.

Pleading for Prayers

My 8 month old nephew Emmett is in the ICU in a Seattle hospital and we could use all the extra prayers we can get. He's been diagnosed with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis. Which, as best I can understand, is a neurological disorder a lot like MS except that it is just a one time occurrence rather than a chronic disease. He has been in the hospital since Monday. He was nearly comotose for the first two day and then spent the past 20-24 hours without sleeping or being able to keep any food down. They just found out he had been having seizures for 20+ hours, thus the inability to sleep.

I can't even begin to tell you how heart-breaking it is to talk to my sister and hear how helpless she feels. She is so strong but I'm sure she is feeling like she's ready to break down at any moment.. Emmett is the youngest of 5 and they are three and half hours from home right now so you can imagine how hard it is on her family.

Anyway, just keep him in your prayers. He has a long road ahead of him and his poor little body is just exhausted I'm sure.

School Pictures...

I guilted myself into ordering McKay's school pictures. "It's her first year" I told myself. She HAS to have her first school pictures. So I ordered the smallest package and swore I would set up an appointment with JC Penney to get some cheaper one's taken where I can actually choose the one I like. I will be calling JC Penney today.

Now don't go thinking I'm a mean mom. I told McKay these pictures were adorable and kissed her sweetly on the cheek before I went in the other room and laughed hysterically. It doesn't even look like her. But it sure was worth the laugh.

Am I the only one that thinks this is a funny picture?

Kimball Pants

Happy Birthday to My Sweet-Little-Spitfire-Angel - Kimbalita!

FOUR!

Can you believe that? I can't. When did my little Kimball Pants get so big? I want her to stay little forever. She has such a fun personality. She's shy about 80% of the time. She hates unsolicited attention, especially from strangers and/or non-family members. But at home, she's the life of the party. She just walked in the room with a HelloKitty bandaid on her mouth and started wagging her finger at me. I started guessing what she was trying to tell me... "no talking?" NO. "No singing?" NO. What? I don't know what you're trying to tell me. She slowly peels back the bandaid and sings "No-thing to dis-cuss." Not sure what exactly that means but she made me laugh, which is what she's best at.

She's really good at what we like to call toilet humor. Her favorite time to use her "humor" is right before family prayer. And her laugh is absolutely contagious.

I think she is the definition of "cute" - with her untamed slightly curly hair and adorable little dimples. The irony in it is that she hates to be called cute. Pretty or beautiful she is completely fine with but please do not tell her she's cute. She frequently refuses to have pigtails because she doesn't want people to tell her she's "cute."

I just absolutely adore this little girl. LOVE YOU KIMBALL!!

Giving In

I just emailed this to my dear sweet husband:

I can't do it so she wins. Tonight she can sleep where ever the heck she wants. I don't care if she's in my bed or on my floor but I need sleep and so does she. If that means sleeping with her for a while then that's what's going to happen. She keeps me up all night and makes me tired and grumpy and then her poor siblings get the brunt of it because they're home all day. It's not fair to the family. So I am giving in. That's my final answer.


Any guesses on how he'll respond to that?

Onion Burgers

This is one of our favorite meals so I thought I'd share. It's not really a hamburger, don't be fooled by the name. When we were first married Seth's mom gave me a family recipe book and this was one of the first recipes Seth requested. I was reluctant 'cause it just didn't sound appetizing. But they are SO good. Give it try. Seth doesn't even like onions or mushrooms and it's one of his favorites.

Hamburger Patties (4-6)
2 Cans of French Onion Soup
1 Can of Mushrooms (pieces and stems)

1 Loaf of French Bread

Brown the burgers with a little salt in a deep frying pan. Drain the grease. Add the soup and mushrooms (do not drain water from them). Let simmer for 30 minutes or so.

Slice and butter the bread and toast it in the oven on broil until golden brown.

And that's it. Let everyone serve themselves, my girls eat them separate but it really tastes best with the burgers on top the toast and the juices dripping down into it.

Enjoy.

** If mine turn out pretty enough tonight I'll snap a few pics.

Things that Make Me Smile

I've been a bit of a negative-pants lately so I thought I should try and make up for by posting a few happy thoughts.

Our cute little house makes me very happy

The new color of my bathroom... It took a couple tries to get it right but now it's perfect.

This makes me happy to the point of giddiness... I love a cute little sleeping child.

My lime tree. I love limes. Mmmm. So yummy. But I do need some pruning tips, a few of the large branches are dying or dead. Do I just cut them off? Where do I cut them? Are they dying because I did something wrong?

Rain. Nothing like a few years in AZ to make you absolutely love the rain. And look at their faces... it might as well be raining lemon drops and gum drops...

And what's better than being able to laugh at your brother. So here's one to make you feel a little better about something stupid you've done lately. (I'm not calling my brother stupid, he's actually very smart, just not at the moment caught here.)

Bj's Not-So-Smart Moment

Kindergarten Woes!!

I know, I know, you've been checking my blog every hour all day just waiting to hear all about how kindergarten has turned our lives in to a living... well a stressful, non-peaceful, unenjoyable place to be. So here it is.

Kindergarten is crap. It's apparently not all naps, storytime and pretend play.

And for my little overly-anxious 5 year old it has turned out to be very difficult. She comes home tired and grumpy which makes the rest of us equally grumpy and then because she is so overly-tired and apparently stressed-out (kindergarten can be oh so stressful) she can't sleep.

Bedtime has become a living nightmare! That's the word I was looking for ;) After an hour or so of crying and getting out of bed and making absolutely no sense, she finally falls asleep. We enjoy an hour or two of peace until she wakes up and insists on sleeping with us. Which of course we DO NOT ALLOW but because we are too tired to really fight her (we did one night and we were all up for 3 hours in the middle of the night) she ends up sleeping on the floor next to my bed, which is better than in my bed but not by much because she wakes up periodically and stands next to my bed, right in my face and just waits until her presence jolts me out of my slumber and scares the living snot out of me.

In the morning I have to wake her up because she's gotten such a lousy night's sleep that she wants to sleep until noon (and so do I frankly) but she's forced to get up and get going which is also a pleasant experience. She usually perks up and is fine after a little oatmeal (because oatmeal makes everything better). The drama starts up again about the time the bus pulls up at which point she either clings to my legs and screams or she runs away and I have to chase her down and toss her on the bus. I spend the next 6-7 hours stressed out because my baby is presumably miserable. She gets off the bus and proceeds to tell me all about the naughty children at school that don't listen and get in trouble, she cannot comprehend this. She says "I wish they would just be good so I can learn, all I want to do is learn."

Ok so there it is. Now I have to be honest and say that not everyday is this bad, not everyday includes all aspects of this particular scenario. But it's still exhausting and not at all what I expected. I thought she would skip off to school with her blond little pigtails swaying in the breeze and I would go home and make chocolate chip cookies and peacefully wait for her to come smiling home to me. If I make cookies will she skip off to school and come home smiling? Will she go to bed without irrational fits of crying and screaming? HELP!! Or don't. Either way I really just needed to let it all out and get it down on paper so some day I can look back and realize "kindergarten was nothing compared to 7th grade!"

Gym Junky

My blog is so sad. I post a few consecutive times and then go 3 weeks with nothing. It's kind of my M.O. with most things.

I've started going to the gym. I love it. It's not really about the exercise. Mostly it's about "me time." There's child care which is what gets me there. Luc cried for the first 4-5 times but the last 2 times he's gone in just fine so now I can work out in peace.

I love watching people at the gym. My mother-in-law would hate that I do that. It's her whole reason for working out at home, she can't stand thinking that somebody might be watching her exercise. To which I always respond "nobody is watching you, they're there to workout not to watch you work out." (Unless of course you're at the gym at the same time as me.) But I'm not watching them workout really just noticing them. Last week there was a "Latin style" aerobics class going on while I was on the treadmill and there was one lady just doing her own thing. She was staring at herself in the mirror and making these sexy faces. I very nearly laughed out loud, but I didn't, for fear someone might start watching me. Most days there's a "silver sneakers" class while I'm there. Which is super entertaining. I think there's some sort of age limit, no one under, say 70. My favorite thing about these sweet little seniors is their outfits. Some are dressed like 20 year old trainers, spandex and all. Others look like they just finished up at the beauty salon where "Thelma" set their hair and used half a can of aquanet. There's one lady that seems to be a "regular" in the class and she works out with her little portable oxygen tank!!! She's my hero. Heaven knows if I had an oxygen tank that would be excuse enough to sit home and knit.

Oh and I do workout while I'm at the gym too.

So tomorrow I will tell you all about our "kindergarten woes" and ask for oodles of advice on how to deal with my overly-tired, stressed out 5 year old. I know, you can hardly wait, such excitement on the AveyFamily Blog!

Give Away!

My uber-talented sister in law is doing a little give away on her quilting blog.

Go check it out.

Kids' Quotes

Two quick quotes/conversations to start off your weekend.

Kimball called me a monster to which i responded, "well I guess you could call me worse." So she turned and yelled at me "WORSE!"

McKay telling me about her first day of school:
"There's a boy who sits by me and he's not very nice. He bonks me on the head. But don't worry mom there's a school nurse."

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Ugh

Just because I'm posting again doesn't mean you can ignore my bathroom post. Keep the ideas coming.

Now for my current predicament... We're going to Tucson on Friday to see my parents and siblings. We ALWAYS leave after Seth gets off work at around noon or 1pm. No traffic. We get to enjoy the evening with family. It's almost like an extra day. I just realized that McKay doesn't get home from school until 3:30!!! WHAT? This school thing is totally crimping my style.

Re-Bath

HELP! I need some input from my fashion-forward, design conscious friends out there. I really want to fix/update our main bathroom but can't even begin to think what color to paint it. Here are a few pictures of it's current state.

This is the wall color. Not only do I not like it but it doesn't match our shower curtain/towels/decor and it's got some mismatched spots where the previous owners tried to cover up the fact that they stole the fixtures.

I want to eventually re-stain or paint the vanity a darker brown but its an oak color for now.

I would paint the walls brown but my towels are brown and fairly new, I don't really want to buy all new towels.

So what do I do? Breanne? Anyone?

1000 Words

What's that saying? A picture says a thousand words. Well good because I don't have time for a thousand words and I really want to post some pictures.

First Day of Kindergarten

First Day of Pre-School

Luc Being Luc

This is the same look Seth gives me when he's trying to figure out where things go.

Well he was ready for church!

Steve and his donor Barbara

The difference between Kimball and McKay

Just happy to have our own lawn to mow!

Living Angel

I have a story to tell but I have a few concerns about my telling it. First and most overwhelming is that I won't do it justice. That I won't be able to express in words the magnitude of what we've felt and experienced. Second, I'm writing this mostly for me and my children (and possibly my children's children), I'm not sure why that concerns me, other than I don't know if this is the proper "medium" for putting it down on "paper" but it's what works for me. And lastly I'm quite sure it will end up being way too long.



So there are my disclaimers. And here is my story.



Ten years ago in a small town in Germany a little girl got very sick. I don't know the details of her illness, but as a mother I can imagine how horrifying it must have been. This special little girl needed a stem cell transplant. Her friends and family, along with numerous strangers set out to find her a donor. Stem cells are not easy to match. There are a number of criteria that have to be met in order to have a successful match. Radio and TV stations in the area began spreading the word of this little girl's need. A lot of people were tested in an effort to find a potential match. A generous young lady (Barbara) in a neighboring town thought nothing of her willingness to be tested. She sent in her sample and for the most part forgot about it. The sweet little girl in that town, unfortunately couldn't find a donor and lost her battle against cancer.



But that would not be the end of the story.



Six years later on the other side of the ocean a father of four and grandfather of six (Steve) started experiencing some health problems of his own. While training for a marathon he realized he couldn't keep up with his training partners and he just couldn't shake the "cold" he'd had for a few weeks. Then he noticed a lump on his neck. Shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Stage four. If, they could get him into remission and if they could get him a stem cell transplant then maybe he could beat this. But the prognosis was pretty grim. (We truly believed that his only hope was a miracle.) It took three different types of chemo and nearly a year before the doctors could get him to the point where a stem cell transplant was possible. The problem was his body was very weak and they just couldn't get him to produce enough of his own stem cells to harvest and do the transplant. Steve would have to find a donor. His family members were tested. No match. They searched the national donor bank. No match.

On the other side of the ocean in a small town in Germany Barbara got a letter. She was needed to help save some one's life. Without thinking twice this amazing young woman who was in the middle of preparing for her own wedding answered the call. After the initial blood work, she got another letter saying she wasn't a close enough match but thank you. A few weeks later she again received a letter, no she wasn't a perfect match but apparently she was as close as they could find. The tranplant process needed to be started as soon as possible.

Donating stem cells isn't a very difficult process. There is very little danger in it for the donor but it does take time and we now know it can also make you very sick for a few days. Barbara stopped her busy life and quite literally saved someone else's.

We got to meet Barbara this last week. She thinks nothing of what she did. She is so humble. My children know their grandpa because of her. My husband has a father that he can go to lunch with every week because of her. She gave so much by really doing something so small (in her mind). We will be eternally grateful for her selflessness.

I wonder about the family of that little girl. I wonder if they have any idea what has happened because of her. I am sure that they still grieve over their loss but I really wish they could know that a life was saved because of her. It certainly won't bring her back but I think it might just help the hurt just a little.

McKay's First Day

Today was McKay's first day of kindergarten. She made it super easy on us. She was itchin' to go from the moment she got up and had her backpack on for at least 45 minutes before we left. She even asked me to french braid her hair (usually I have to beg her to let me.) She left us in the dust as we followed her to her classroom and barely kissed us on the way out. I was feeling pretty darn good. No tears. I had a hint of guilt, which I expressed to Seth, when I realized that she was the only one in her class riding the bus. I've had people hint at the fact that they think kindergarten is too young to ride the bus but with only one car it's really our best option.

Seth and I went to lunch and I was relishing the thought of taking to Kimball to preschool tomorrow, knowing I'll only have one child for a few hours a day - 3 days a week.

Then I went to pick up McKay from the bus stop. The bus came. And went. Without stopping. I quickly followed in my mother-in-law's car. And when the bus finally stopped at the next stop - no McKay. And that's when I lost it.

It's all better now. I found her. She was completely unfazed and after a couple hours of unrelenting guilt, it relented. And I am now ready to go to bed and dream about how wonderful tomorrow will be when I take McKay to the bus, then drop Kimball off at preschool. Just me and Luc. And hopefully my sweet little McKay will come home to me without any problems. I got over the guilt today but if she doesn't make it home on the right bus at the right time tomorrow, Seth will be riding his bike to work.

Say Cheese!

I have been in serious need of some motivation to drop a few pounds. Last week my sister called and said "let's see if we can take off 10 lbs in the next month." Done. I'm in. Mostly. But now of course I need to gripe about my weight loss woes.

First off, having a skinny/eat-like-a-12-year-old-at-scout-camp-and-never-gain-a-pound husband is not easy. I tend to resent his eating habits. I watch him eat 12 otter pops in as many minutes and jealousy and envy well up inside me. I don't even like otter pops. They would be one of the last things I chose to eat if I had his metabolism but obviously that's not the point. I just wish I could eat without having thoughts about how it will effect me. Ugh.

I don't have much of a sweet tooth so that's not the issue. My issue is fat. Yep good ol' thick and greasy lard. I love lard. Ok that sounds a little gross but it's the truth. I would eat a block of cheese in one sitting if I could. And doesn't cheese make everything taste better? I'm pretty sure I could top off 90% of my meals with a nice slice of cheese and it would make it all that much better. Mmmmm. I love cheese.

So that brings me to exercise, or the lack there of. I am not a fan. I was really pretty active when I was younger but I don't love running and I abhor getting up any earlier than I have to, so those two "qualities" don't add up to me burning any extra calories. I really want a gym membership, mostly because I can appreciate the value of exercising if that means I get to drop the kids in the kidcare for an hour, for that I will exercise.

Regardless of my complaints, I do know that I need to get my butt in gear. Does this sound familiar? I'm pretty sure I could have pulled up a number of past posts and just re-posted one of them. C'est la vie. Here we go again.

Nevermind.

I should have a really good excuse for not blogging in a while but that would mean that all the boxes are completely unpacked and we're all settled in, which we aren't, so I don't really have an excuse. I just haven't had much to say or haven't had the motivation to sit down and make it sound "cute" or "funny" or "entertaining."

I was just about to say how much I love the age that Luc is at right now, when he wandered in and started whining at me and I completely forgot why I was so in love with him just a few moments ago. Whining has that effect on me.

Okay, now he's stopped. So let me tell you how cute he is before he starts whining again. He has very few words. Kimball was talking in sentances by this poi...

LUC JUST TURNED OFF THE COMPUTER! Maybe I'll try blogging about how cute he is while he's sleeping.

My Life in Boxes

We're in. We're still sorting through the loads of "stuff" that we will apparently tote around with us for the next 50 years yet never use but we're in and I LOVE IT. There is a very long to-do list but nothing that needs to be done before we can start enjoying the new space. I am loving the extra 500 square feet, the dishwasher, the tile floor in the kitchen and dinning room, the multi-purpose room*, the ceiling fans, the insulation, the extra closets and storage space, the shiny, clean, brand spankin' new refrigerator, the girls freshly painted bedroom, and the fact that it's permanent. This is our 6th move in just over 6 years of marriage! I'll snap some pictures as soon as it starts to look like a house and not a storage unit.

*Formerly known as the laundry room/den/guest room (too many slashes, thus the name change.)


One little gripe. Did you know it's illegal to take fixtures from a house you have sold? Yep, ILLEGAL! So, since it's illegal you probably shouldn't do it. But if you do, nothing will happen and you can keep that stuff because you already sold the house and left and if you just paint over the holes and say "oh it wasn't there before" then it's all good. The new owners will just have to buy new towel racks and medicine cabinets. Just thought you might want to know that.

Feeling Good

McKay just told me "I feel like you're the meanest mommy in the whole wide world!" Nothing like an honest little 5 year old to keep my "mommy ego" in check.

Words of Wisdom, Please.

I have NO time for this but I need a break so I will do this quickly and get back to the packing.

McKay starts kindergarten in 4 weeks. I haven't thought of it much except to notice the sales on school supplies and pick up the items I could remember off the top of my head. (Snagged a really cute backpack for 3.99!!!)

So as I was washing dishes just now (yes by hand and hopefully for one of the last times!) and I was thinking, should I be preparing her more for this? Are there things I need to be telling her? Good moms do things like that. Read books about starting school and stuff. I never think of things like that.

So warn me, advise me, prepare me. Bring it on ladies (and gents if you're reading.)

Thirty-Three

Happy Birthday To Me!

My Day... A good friend took the kids for 6+ hours. Seth took me to a delicious (quiet, stress-free) lunch. We went (without kids) to look at fridges. Then he bought me a new pair of shoes. What more could a girl ask for really?

Oh and we packed our house up... 'cause I'm getting a new house for my birthday!!!

Bullet Ponts

So much to blog, so little time. Bullet points will have to do.

• We close on our house in 10 days. I am excited and so ready to be in our own home but there is SO much to do in 10 days. I am trying to convince myself that it's ok if the house is a mess while I'm packing but it's not working, the mess is driving me nuts.

• We just got back from an amazing vacation in Utah. We ate too much, spent too much, slept too little and still missed out on seeing some people. The weather was perfect, we need to go in the winter next time to help remind us why we love it here. If only I could convince all our friends from up there to come down here... A great big THANKS to the Jensen's for putting us up for the week, it was SO much fun staying with them.

• Luc is a terror. I love him dearly but I just can't keep up. He's wearing me out. Is 17 months too young for preschool?

• McKay starts kindergarten in a month. I can't believe it. She'll be gone for 7+ hours a day. That sounds both like bliss and torture. She's my little helper and I will miss her but I'm excited for her too.

Ok so that's all I've got. I'll just post some pictures, maybe that will jog my memory of all the great things I had to say. Maybe.

That was a great idea BUT blogger won't finish uploading my pictures. Maybe next time. Maybe.

A Sneak Peak...

I'm still just a little nervous about jinxing us on this house but I'm excited so I'll give you just a sneak peak at our hopefully, soon-to-be, first home.

Status Update (not that you care but I do and this little blog acts as my journal so you'll have to just bear with me.):
We're in contract. We've had the (overwhelming/nerve-racking/stressful) inspection. We're waiting to hear back from the sellers on what they will/won't fix. Our closing date is set for 7/31.

200 POSTS AND A FEW TIDBITS

So I am sitting here trying to decide if I have any ONE thing that's worthy of it's very own blog post and knowing that my mind is just full of lots of little nonsensical tidbits (isn't nonsensical a great word?) when I decide I'll just start and something will come out. Then I see that this is my 200th post.

I think it's fitting that I have nothing to actually blog about. I blog because I need an outlet and because I need adult human interaction. Sadly, I get both of those through blogging. Mostly through reading other peoples' blogs. I don't feel quite as "at-home" alone with 3 kids.

So is that sad? Should it depress me that my "social life" consists of reading/commenting/writing blogs? I guess it doesn't really matter if it should, it doesn't.

I like that I can sit down at any (spare) moment and not feel like I'm intruding or bugging my friends. I like that I can keep up with friends that I don't get to see very often by clicking on their name. So that's that. I appreciate all my blogger friends. Thanks for blogging. I need you. And I love you. Ok that's getting a bit sappy but you get my point.

Oh and here are a few of TODAY'S TIDBITS:

I am done hand washing dishes. Not literally, I have a sink full waiting for me right now but mentally/emotionally I am done. I CANNOT wait for my dishwasher!

Which leads me to... 37 days until closing!!!

And of course... Who knew how much work/stress/phone calls/emails/signatures were involved in this home buying process? MY HECK!

Kimball is convinced that because we are buying another family's home they must be coming to live in this house when we leave. She's also rather worried about what will happen to their dog since dogs can't live in our house.

Did I say 37 days until closing? Does that mean I should start thinking about packing and stuff like that? Ugh. I'm not ready for that. I think I'll just have the city bring in a big dumpster and trash about 75% of our stuff. I feel like we have way too much stuff we never use.

I think that will do.

Robots

The difference between my two little angels:

McKay: Mom I wish you had a robot.

Me: Why?

McKay: So it could be your servant. It could do your dishes and clean the house.

Kimball: I wish I had a robot for a toy.

(not so) FUN MOM

I've decided of late that I should be a better mom. By better I really mean less cleaning and stressing over the little things and more time appreciating and enjoying my children. So with a house under contract and other such things put a side for the day I decided to be a "good mom" today. This is how it went:



Got up and gave them whatever kind of cereal they wanted with no pressure to make a healthier choice.



Sat outside with them while they played in the dirt and rocks in their pajamas. Even got down in the dirt with them and searched for rollie pollies.



Sat and watched a movie with them. (Ok, maybe not the WHOLE movie but I did sit with them until they were so engrossed they didn't notice me sneak away)



Tried to get some other things done, scheduled the home inspection, freaked out about the cost and then "let it go."



Made bread dough with the girls.



Read books to the girls (and didn't skip even one page!)



Made lunch (ok, heated up leftover mac n cheese but they ate lunch anyway.)



Put Luc down for a nap.



Took a shower.



Rolled out dough with the girls and let them make funny face rolls out of half the dough. I even let them cut out the rolls and butter them and put them on the pan. (Kimball loves cooking/baking and I'm working on letting her help more.)



Got quotes for homeowners insurance. (made the mistake of filling out a rates comparison thingy and ended up with about 6 consecutive phone calls from different companies)



Put the rolls in the oven and SET THE TIMER!



Got back on the phone/computer trying to understand what the heck we've gotten ourselves into with this whole home buying thing.

Smelled something almost burning... yelled at Kimball "did the timer go off?" "ya a while ago"

Nearly swore, as I grabbed the more brown than golden rolls out of the oven.

Played barbies with Kimball to make up for yelling at her for not telling me the timer went off.

Heard McKay say in response to a comercial on PBS, "that lady looks like a really fun mom!"

I GIVE UP!

Acceptance

Now I hope I'm not jinxing myself or speaking too soon but we are opening escrow tomorrow!! Meaning we had an offer accepted today. I jumped up and down like a little kid! It really was a miracle. And yes you were all right, when it was right it worked out perfectly, so far anyway. It's the best house we've looked at yet. So I just wanted to share my joy. Let's just hope the next 6-8 weeks go smoothly and it all works out.

1 Guess!

Ding - Ding - Ding - Ding!!

Yep the answer is a pregnancy test! Talk about breathing easy and feeling the stress fly off my shoulders.

And, Juliana, where the heck do you find one for $1.99?

**********************************

What costs at least $10, you use it once, throw it away and it's well worth the peace of mind you get from it?

Sad... Oh so sad.

I am sad.

A few days ago while at the store, after filling the cart with goodies for my children and husband, I grabbed a special treat just for me.

I came home and tucked it away where only I would find it. I've dreamed about. I've almost indulged a couple times and then thought "no save it, it will be so much better if you wait."

I finally decided it was time... (I bet you're thinking that someone found my hiding place and now I'm sad because it wasn't there. Not so.) When I went to have my special moment this is what I found:




DARK? Honestly? Why would I buy dark chocolate? Sad, very very sad.

Smile!

Why can't kids just look at the ding-dang camera and smile? McKay can. Kimball not so much. Luc, well he's learning but still not so good at it either. And attempting to get all of them to look at the camera at the same time is impossible. I give up. I think I'll start taking pictures of flowers or trees or buildings.