Saturday, February 28, 2009

My Best Friend!

1. Allan has lost 28 pounds since the first of January. His brother called us up and was starting a biggest loser competition. Everyone put in $100 and any one who lost 10% of their body weight got half back. There were also 4 weigh-ins and the winner of each got $50. Well anyway, after a lot of hard work (including being pretty careful on a 12 day Disney vacation) He lost almost 14% of his body weight and won one of the weigh-ins! Unfortunately this was all only enough to get him 5th place overall, but I am so proud of him and also so grateful that he is healthier.

2. Allan has a good job. He is working for Indian Health Services at a reservation about 45min. from our house. There are the pro's and con's about his job but right now, in an unsteady economy, it is a steady income with great benefits including health care, paid time off, retirement savings, and hopefully loan repayment kicking in soon.

3. Allan is a wonderful husband and father. He works hard to provide for our family. He is always willing to help me with the kids and put my needs first. He is my best friend and I love him so much.

Friday, February 27, 2009

More Gratitude

1. The sound of my children laughing. Today Lilly was just sitting at the table having a snack and laughing, it was very cute. Then tonight Allan and the girls were having sock wars and laughing, it was music to my ears.

2. Being able to work on my education, slow as it may be, I have been taking one class a semester. I will get my associates degree in general studdies this summer. I am also grateful for my major, home and family education. I get to take classes for cooking and budgeting and sewing; all very useful things for a stay-at-home mom.

3. Books. To be totally honest, I have not been reading anything exciting lately, mostly because the class that I am taking this semester is a Literature class and I barely have time to read the assigned reading, but I have really come to appreciate books in the last 5 or so years. When we lived in Florida I was in a book club, mostly for the social aspect of it, but the more I read the more I enjoy it.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

On the bright side....

Today I thought I would look on the bright side of some of the things that were stressing me out.

1. I am grateful that we have plenty of clothes to wear and sheets and blankets to keep us warm. (Lots of laundry)

2. I am grateful that my children are creative and love doing little projects. (Scraps of paper, crayons, sissors, etc. cluttering my dining room everyday)

3. I am grateful that when I bake my house smells yummy. (making treats for the school bake sale tonight)

There you go, lemonade anyone?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Me, Myself and I

1. I am grateful for Girls Night Out. This includes all of the fun Relief Society activities that I go to. I just need a little girl time once in awhile and I am glad to get it.

2. I am grateful to be healthy and also that I am able to get pregnant and deliver healthy babies, and then breastfeed those babies. I do not take this for granted one moment because I know so many close friends and family who this does not come easily for.

3. I am grateful that I can go and help out in my children's school. I help in the classroom weekly, and also with parties and field trips and all sorts of other activities, and I am glad that I have that opportunity, can be there for my kids, and get to see who their friends are too.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

It takes a village

1. I am grateful for Hailey and Ally's Teachers-past, curent, and future. I think it is great for all of those friends of mine and others who home school, but it is just not for me. When I try to teach my kids I get frustrated when they don't understand what I want them to, they get upset, and it just doesn't work out for anyone.

2. I am grateful for the most awesome bus driver, Robin. She has been my kid's bus driver for two years, and she is great. She drops them off right at my door in the afternoon, and she cares about the kids so much. One day she even waited while Hailey slowly trudged down the street to the bus when she was late.

3. I am grateful for all of the cute girls in my neighborhood who I have come over and babysit for me. My girls LOVE to have babysitters, and it makes it so much easier to leave them knowing that they are happy. They all do such a great job playing with the girls and taking care of them.

Monday, February 23, 2009

This is getting trickier

1. I am grateful for the United States of America. It may not be perfect, but it is a pretty great place to live.

2. I am grateful that today it is warm enough that I can hear the snow melting.

3. I am grateful that Robin (my sister-in-law that lives on my street) lets me come over to her house every morning, with my kids, to do step aerobics with her.

It's My Birthday

Today is my 28th birthday. Allan surprised me by taking the day off and bringing me breakfast in bed. He also took me to lunch and a movie, and got me a pearl necklace that I was wanting. It was really sweet of him to make this day special for me. I also noticed when I came to post that he tried posting on my blog, but I don't think he quite figured it out. It was a sweet thought.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Back in Action

Ooops, I already missed a day, I always get thrown off on the weekend, oh well.

1. Modern conveniences, I am so happy for my washer and dryer, and my dishwasher, and for a car, and for diapers, and for so many other things that make my life easier.

2. My kids love eachother! My girls are such good friends, they play together, laugh together, and watch out for eachother. I am not saying we wouldn't love to add a boy in there someday, but I love having girls.

3. This is going to be a long one because I am going to write it down, and I hope you will take the time to read it, especially if you don't know what I believe, and because I don't share it enough. I am grateful for my testimony: I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and who sent His Son, Jesus Christ to be an example of how I should live. I know that he atoned for all of the sins of the world, and that He would have done this even if it was just for me. I know that because of this I can be forgiven when I repent, and can return to live with my Heavenly Father and Jesus again. I know that because Allan and I were sealed(married) together in the Temple, our family will be together forever, and we can be like our Heavenly Father. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that he saw a vision, and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth in it's fullness, including translating the Book of Mormon. I know that we have a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, on this earth today who leads the church through continuing divine revelation. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are divine scripture and work together to teach me and bring me closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus as I read and study them. I know that motherhood is a divine calling and that it is my responsibility to teach my children correct principles and to live as an example to them. I know that I can always pray to my Heavenly Father and he will listen and answer my prayers. I have prayed about all of these things, and have felt in my heart that they are true. This knowledge blesses my life everyday. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Friday, February 20, 2009

BOWS!!

I started last week making hair bows for my girls. This is something I have not wanted to do for a long time, I don't know if I was afraid of the time or money commitment or what but now that I have started it is addicting, I wish I was doing it right now! My friends Zoe and Arin pretty much showed me how to make all of these bows, they are the creative ones! Yesterday I went to The Ribbon Retreat and got new ribbon. This store is online and people from everywhere buy ribbon, but it is about 20 minutes away from my house so I went in and it is amazing. I ended up getting a convenience pack with a bunch of basic colors, and a couple of grab bags that are stuffed with pieces of ribbon. Anyway, I have plenty of ribbon to last me for a while. I made doubles of some, but I made all these bows in about 4 hours. Not too much time and not too much money either!



Gratitude Day 2

1. My parents who took me to the ER at 4:00 in the morning on Monday, and who fed my children and let them tear appart their house for two days while I was not feeling well, even though they had to leave for CA (work) on Tuesday afternoon. And for Allan taking off two days of work to take care of me and our kids once we got back home.

2. Being a stay at home mom, and having all day to clean my messy house after I have been sick without having to worry about getting ready for work.

3. My wonderful in-laws who call us up and ask to take us to a movie on Friday night, yeah for date night!

By the way, I think it is working because even though I spent most of the day cleaning my house, I feel lucky and loved! I have a lot to be grateful for!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

My 2/3 of the way through February Resolution

Lately I have been thinking that I am not as positive as I used to be. So I was thinking about ways to be more positive, and one thing I thought of was to write down 3 things that I am grateful for each day. I don't know how long this resolution is actually for, but for now, I am going to try and write 3 new things on here each day.

Day 1:
1. Our home to keep us warm and safe
2. My husband who hugs and kisses me before he goes to work
3. Friends who care that I was sick and that I am getting better

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Power Packing

Allan took Ally, Natalie, and Lilly in for check-ups today. (I have been sick with food poisoning since Sunday night and so he stayed home to help me with the kids)

Allyson was in for her 5 year old visit, she had her birthday last month. She weighs 36 pounds and is 41 inches tall. Natalie went in for her 3 year old visit, also having her birthday last month, she weighs 26 pounds and is 35 1/2 inches tall. The doctor also mentioned that she is a little behind on her speech and that we he could refer us to a speech pathologist if we wanted. Lilly weighs 15 pounds 3 ounces, and is 26 inches tall. She also has an appointment to get her tear ducts opened next week. Also, the doctor said that Lilly is under weight and that we need to feed her more calories....

Okay, anyone who knows my kids knows that they are bottomless pits, and that I am constantly feeding Lilly, HELLO, breastfeeding every two hours day and night for 8 months and on top of that giving fruits, veggies, and cereal since she was 4 months old.

So anyway, he gave us a paper on "Power Packing" basically adding butter, sugar, karo syrup, and mayonaise to add calories to their diet. I kind of have a problem with this. I don't think adding these empty calories to her diet is going to help her. All of my kids are small. I am also pretty serious about having my children eat healthy things. I make sure they get plenty of fruits and vegetables and the other things that they need in their diet. I watch the ammount of sweets I give them, but I let them have cookies and cake and other snacks and desserts too.

How is it beneficial to give Lilly bad habbits of adding butter and sugar to everything just so she can weigh a few more pounds? There are some suggestions that I don't mind, like giving her high calorie foods like peanut butter, cheese, and eggs, but really I am already doing that and it doesn't make a difference. So I want to know what you all think about this, do I need to start loading on the butter and sugar or not?

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Disney World Pictures

DISCLAIMER: Do not read unless you want to be mad with jealousy

Hello long lost friends, I am still alive. Since I last posted, things just got crazy with Christmas and then our BIG trip to DISNEY!!! So anyway, I will try to catch up my blog here and there, but for now, I thought I would write a little about our trip.

We flew to Orlando on Thursday January 15th. It took us all day to make the flight, we had a layover in Chicago, and then our flight was delayed so we were there almost 4 hours I think. Once we finally arrived it was awesome. Disney sent us luggage tags so we didn't even have to get our bags at the airport, we just hopped on the bus and we were off. We stayed at the Polenesian Resort, it was beautiful and very nice. We got settled in, gave everyone a bath and went right to bed!

Our first day at the parks we went to Epcot. It was FREEZING and I was not impressed by that, but we still had a lot of fun. We went on every ride in the park, walked around the World Showcase, had dinner with Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, and Alice, and then we went back to the hotel and dropped the 3 little ones and took Hailey back to Epcot for Extra Magic Hours from 8-11pm! Hailey's favorite ride that night was Test Track, a high speed car testing demo.

The next morning (still cold) we got up and had breakfast at our hotel with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. Then we went to Magic Kingdom for the day. We once again went on all of the rides, had lunch with Pooh and friends, saw the parade and fireworks, and stayed out until 11 pm, this time with all of the kids.


Sunday morning started our 4 night cruise. Disney really puts together a fabulous cruise for families. There is, of course, food all the time, and kid classes going on from early morning till late at night, and broadway-like shows and movies to go and see. We stopped at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, the first day. It was windy and a little cool for a day at the beach, but we still had a lot of fun. We went on a bike ride around the island, Allan went snorkeling, and we just hung out while the kids went and played at their activities. The next day we were in Nassau in the Bahamas. Allan and I left the kids on the ship with my parents and we went to the Atlantis Resort Aquarium and Water Park. It was a lot of fun to spend a whole day not worrying about the kids or anything. It was probably the nicest day of our cruise, it was still cool and a little windy, but the water was nice, and they have some amazing slides. The last day of the cruise was a day at sea. The only bad thing was it was cold and windy again so we mostly stayed inside. All of the days on the ship there were characters to go and see and plenty of activities inside to keep us busy.

Thursday (one week into our vacation) we got off of the ship after breakfast at 6:30 a.m. (yuck) and went back to Disney World. This time we were staying at the All Sports Resort. Our great friend Shaunna and her kids came down from Jacksonville to see us. We went over to Downtown Disney for a little bit, and then Shaunna and I took Ally, Natalie, Joe, Pryia, and Auralee to Magic Kingdom for a few hours with after 4 p.m. tickets. It was so much fun seeing our friends.

The next morning it was back to the parks bright and early. We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was a lot of fun because they have a lot of pre-school and younger kid activities, plus a few big rides. Allan took Hailey and Ally on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, they were not impressed, and then I went on it alone because they did not want to go again. The great thing about all of the parks is Fast Pass, and Parent Swap. With Fast Pass you get a ticket to come back at a certain time for a shorter line, and then if you have kids not big enough you can get a parent swap card for 3 people to go through the short line again so we ended up getting to ride the rides at least 2 times each and the kids 4 times each if they liked the ride. We also had lunch with The Little Einsteins and JoJo and Goliath. After the parade, we took the kids back to the hotel, where my parents were, and Allan and I went to dinner at the Polenesian Resort. It was fun to have a date, plus the fireworks were going on during our dinner and we had an awesome view of them. After that we went to Epcot for the late hours again, but I ended up going back to the hotel because my dad called and Natalie had an ear ache so Allan stayed with some of our neices and nephews until 11:00 again!

Our last day at the parks we went to Animal Kingdom. We got to go into the park an hour before it opened and have a Character breakfast with Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Mickey. Then we were in the back of the park when all of the rides opened so we were on the very first safari of the day. We spent most of that day with Allan's parents, Scott and Robin, and Dave, and all of their kids (except Justin and Jared who were off with older cousins) The Animal Kingdom closes early, so when it closed most of the family who had early flights went home to get ready to leave and go to bed early, but our flight wasn't until the afternoon, so we went over to Magic Kingdom. We had a really great time, but I think the highlight was that we were on Dumbo durring the fireworks. It just happened to work out perfectly that we got on the ride for most of the show. The fireworks were coming from all directions and it was beautiful.

The next morning we had breakfast and packed up. We then flew straight to Salt Lake City, and drove all the way home. It was snowing pretty bad, and we didn't get home until after midnight. Overall, it was the most amazing vacation and we are so grateful to Allan's parents for taking us and also to my parents for coming along to help us out with 4 small children. I decided, if it wasn't so expensive, I could live at Disney World. 12 days of no cooking, very little cleaning, and playing all day long with my family was the best.

Now I am going to publish this, but then I am going to go ahead and start downloading some pictures to go along with it.