A day in my life. . .

Some days I'm pretty lazy and other days I work all day long.  Today was a working day.  I like those better because I don't feel guilty at the end of them.  . .

Things I did today:

*Took a shower. I know, it's pitiful, but this is an accomplishment.

*Did three loads of laundry and made sure they were put away- also a big deal. Sad. 

*Put the collapsed shelves back up in the linen closet and refolded the stuff that had fallen down.

*Helped Audrey sort her shoes, took away the too small ones, found some for Clara in the basement

* put extra shoes away in basement

*straightened the living room twice

*vacuumed the living room

*swept the dining room and wiped the table

*unloaded the dw, loaded it and started it

*cleaned up the kitchen and hand washed big dishes

*took R to the ortho, got a present ready and took Audrey to a party, fed lunch to little people, cleaned up after them

*deep cleaned my room. This was a long project.  Who knew there was that much dust under my bed?

*vacuumed my room, the hallway, the spare room, and the family room

*straightened the spare room

*got girls to clean the very messy family room

*cut holes in an ice cream bucket and put the bathtub toys in it to make showering in there easier

*went through Emmeline’s clothes and put away the ones that are too small so that the rest will fit in her dresser, hung up the dresses.

*found a basket for E’s shoes and put them in it.  Her dresser looks much better.

*worked on putting away the misc. from the car and the floor that I had shoved into two laundry baskets. Almost done with that.

*renewed Judd’s library stuff. Let him know the one that wouldn’t renew.  Renewed mine too.

*found several missing socks, Amy’s library card, and some pillowcases I had been looking for

*researched how to make my own dishwashing liquid so I can save more money

*spent 20 minutes brushing, flossing , mouthwashing , and water picking. SO MUCH FUN!

*pulled out Valentine’s decorations- a little late, and put them up. The kids were thrilled

* walked 3 miles

*hot glued Amy's Valentine's box from last year to make it presentable for this year.

* And most importantly, made the groundhog feel like she can fit in for Valentine’s Day

2011- Where did you go?

It's gone. It actually happened. And, if you believe the Mayan Calendar, it may never happen again.  A New Year has come! I love the idea of a New Year and a fresh start, endless possibilities ahead. I don't love training myself to write a different year on my checks and documents.  I'm sure I'll get used to it.

In the meantime, I'm reminiscing a little about the year we've just left behind.  My mom was telling me all the great things she accomplished last year, despite being in pain from various physical ailments the entire year and not being able to drive her car due to pain.  At first I though to myself, " I haven't done anything of that magnitude." But, then I stopped and thought some more and realized that I did have a pretty eventful 2011.

Here is my list of personal accomplishments, interesting experiences, and highlights this year:

*E.R., O.R. for Emmeline's swallowed wire, followed by the baby cage and a few months of severe paranoia
* Took 80 dollars, lots of volunteers and donations and threw the Buckaroo Banquet (Blue and Gold Banquet) and cake auction
* Entered and won the Provo Freedom Festival Baby Contest. Okay, the baby won, but I did all the work.
*Dug up my parking strip, much to the alarm of my neighbors.  Planted lots of flowers and won over the neighbors by the end of the summer.  I can't wait to see the 160 bulbs come up in the Spring!
*Suffered broken glasses in February and December.
*Went to the Shakespeare Festival for the first time
*Visited my beloved Texas
*"Encouraged" my children to enter 11 Reflections entries without employing any form of violence.
*Council Reflections Chair- ongoing- award ceremony this week.  Why did I sign up for this?
*Started a co-op preschool with my friend for our 4 year olds and found out that I love it!
*Got braces.  Didn't chew anything harder than a banana for the first two months. Doing better now.
*Read about a gazillion books. Okay, I don't know how many books I have read, but it is probably more than 50 and less than 200.
*Joined a quilt block class in September. We make one block a month.  So far I've made about 12.  I don't even own a sewing machine, so this is a big stretch for me.
* Swept the floor at least 365 times.
* Ran the dishwasher approximately 700 times. I love you Kitchenaid!
* Baked a lot.  A whole lot.  A really big and seriously whole lot of bread product.
*Personally washed and dried something like 400 loads of laundry. Even typing that makes me feel tired.
* Wrote a lot of really cool blog entries.  If you are reading this, you probably know what I mean.
*got released as Cubmaster and put in as Activity Days Leader.
*Did a lot of driving to voice lessons, dance lessons, soccer stuff.  Also got out of a lot of driving to choir and soccer and voice thanks to sweet carpooling!
*Didn't gain any weight.  I might have lost some weight. Thank you "Jaw Problem".
* Welcomed 2 new nieces and one new nephew into the world.  I now have 31 nieces and nephews.
*continued the good habit of walking most M-F's for 3 miles with my friend
*coined a new phrased- Juddunk.  It means Junk belonging to Judd.  Do not forget this important word.
*went to church almost every week.  I think I missed one time.  I think I deserve a prize for taking all those kids to sacrament that many times.  I think you owe me a prize.  There is no logic in me assigning this to you- I just want a prize.

And I even petted a Sting Ray

Well, those are the main things that come to mind.  It was a pretty good year.  I'm excited to see what 2012 brings!

Happy Home Preschool

I majored in Elementary Education.  I didn't do it because it's easy or because it makes for a good job should I need to work.  I did it because I always wanted to be a teacher.  If I look back on my saved school assignments, when asked what I wanted to be, I always wrote "Teacher."
 I love teaching people of all ages. I torture my children with Mommy summer school every summer. They love me for it!  But, before this year, I NEVER considered teaching preschool to my own children.  Not once. I very happily paid someone else to take my child for several hours each week and educate them.  I never really worried about my kids learning the alphabet.  I just wanted them to have a good time and learn how to behave and socialize properly.  I also usually wanted a break from them.  This might sound horrible, but before you judge me too harshly, remember I have 6 kids and for the first 13 years of our marriage I can count on my digits how many dates my husband and I went on after Reuben was born. We just couldn't afford the babysitter, let alone any activities for dates that cost money.  Remember that I had most of my kids about 2 years apart, so I had 3 little ones not in school when it came time to enroll a 4 year old in preschool.  A girl has to find a way to go to the grocery store without wanting to beat her children! I needed a break.

 Reuben, Tim, Amy, and Clara all loved the different preschools they attended. When it came time to enroll Audrey I decided I was done with the preschool run at the local elementary - where the teacher couldn't remember my kid's name or which parents belonged to her.  I signed Audrey up for a great preschool that our neighbor's daughter was going to attend.  Her older kids had gone there and she said they loved it.  It was a little pricey for our budget, but all of the other kids had gone to preschool, so I felt like we had to find a way to afford it for Audrey.  I paid the registration fee and then we enjoyed our summer.  But as the time drew near to start preschool, I started to have second thoughts.  The truth is that I started to acknowledge the feelings I had felt all along- the prompting that I had made the wrong choice for my child.  I knew I needed to consider other options.  Some of my friends with 4 year olds hadn't yet enrolled their children in a preschool and one friend was definitely wanting to do a co-op preschool.  I had NEVER wanted to do that-Ever.  But, all of a sudden, I decided to consider it, try the idea on for size and see how I felt.

It felt right.

But, only one other person felt that way too.  All of our other friends ended up finding preschools that were right for their kids.  I had to make a final decision one way or the other- to let the preschool know that I was pulling Audrey out before the final day to get a refund of my $75 registration fee.  So, I made the decision in my heart. I called and withdrew her. Then I knew it was right.  When I decided initially to look into other options, the feelings of anxiety and discord that I had been feeling all summer went away. And when I committed to doing a co-op preschool the feeling of peace intensified and I just KNEW that I was making a decision that mattered very much in my daughter's life and that was in line with my Heavenly Father's plans for her.

I don't know why she wasn't supposed to go to a traditional preschool.  I don't know what happened to change my heart, to make me not even desire the time away from her, time with only one child, time to go shopping with ease.  I don't feel any resentment or frustration.  My friend Autumn and I have been teaching preschool to our daughter's Summer and Audrey since the beginning of September. We switch off teaching every other week.  It's a lot of work.  And I am stunned at how much I love it! I knew I would like it, but I didn't know that I would cherish practically every moment.  These little girls are sponges for the attention we are able to give to them.  Summer tells me almost every time I teach, "I love you teacher! You are the best teacher ever!"  I just love every single moment.  It is worth all of the time that I put into it.  It's worth more.

I'm so grateful that I listened to the whispers of the Holy Ghost guiding me in my life.  They continue to come and guide me in my teaching.  I sat with Autumn earlier this week and we talked about how things are going and discussed whether we needed to change anything.  And I was blown away again by the amazing gift of the Holy Ghost when Autumn made one suggestion that had come into my own mind just that morning.  It was very specific and not something that we had ever talked about or that would be part of a typical preschool.

Summer finger painting her salt dough Utah ornament

Audrey finger painting her Utah

Emmeline always has to be part of the action

Family Tree

Painting is serious business when you are 4

For Fairy Day we made Fairy headbands.  Here Summer is making F's out of ribbon.

These girls love to color.

On Sand day we made the letter S in the sand using shell shaped noodles. The girls also made their own sandwiches, played with Aqua sand, and played in our new sand box.

This is milk toast.  Really.  You dye the milk, paint it on, and toast it. We were learning about colors.

Audrey painted a C for colors

They even ate it!

Yummy!

This is a C, sidweways. 

I may not know definitively why this was the right path for Audrey and me this year, but the joy that it brings is reason enough.  Having an 18 month old who is starting to learn to count to 20 is kind of fun too! Our Happy Home Preschool time is definitely going to be the thing I remember with the fondest memories from this school year.

Reflecting on Reflections and Other Musings

Okay, so I haven't blogged since I got my braces on.  I guess there are a few reasons:
 1. Braces are awesome. Seriously, I'm having a wicked hard time adjusting to them, probably worse than any grown up you have ever known to get braces.  It's been something like 8 weeks and I still can't chew anything harder than a banana. I had lettuce today.  That was huge!
2. School started.  Homework started.  Someone kill me please.
3. I went to Texas for a week, so the week before and the week after were pretty busy too.
4. My kids school has Reflections and Science Fair getting worked on at the same time! This is a really bad idea, and if you are ever a powerful school official, learn from this and swear on all that you value to never NEVER NEVER have them both at the same time.

The kids turned in Reflections today, and after 4 hours of typical Monday morning cleaning, I felt Audrey's head, after listening to her complain for a couple of days about a sore throat, and, whoops, it was hot.  101.7 to be exact.  Dang! So, before we head off to the Dr. for a strep test, I have about 15 minutes to complain about my life, and I intend to do it wholeheartedly and with a complete lack of seriousness.  My kids turned in 11 entries today. That is a LOT OF WORK.  Don't imitate it unless you are a professional idiot.  We've been working feverishly for a few weeks now, every spare minute between soccer, voice, choir, scouts, activity days, family nights, and homework, to help them complete their projects.  And I'm so glad it's over.  At least, sort of over.  I'm kind of in charge of the next level- Council.  Which means it is only over for the kids, and it probably is mostly over for them because most of their projects are NOTHING SPECIAL.  Don't tell them I wrote that! Seriously, some of their entries are darling and others belong in the dumpster, but they had fun, well mostly had fun, creating them.  There might have been some threats involved.  And all the while they busily worked on their science fair projects that are due in 9 days, complete with log books, research, and amazing display boards (we have plenty of time to get those done! :) ha!)

It was a big relief to take them to school and turn those entries in, lovingly placing them in my very own Rubbermaid tote permanently labeled "Reflections Entries" that I have loaned to the school for the last few years to collect entries.  And then it was mildly annoying when the librarian, who was collecting them, told me my kids were missing " the paper". Okay, maybe more than mild annoyance bubbled in my chest. She meant the entry form, and didn't believe me when I told her that my kids forms, in their manila envelopes containing photos and picture cds with sheet protectors, taped on with masking tape, housing the 3 forms necessary for entry, were the right papers etc.  She wanted to argue with me.  Normally I'm very patient and kind, but I just told her I was not only on the Reflections committee at the school, but I was also in charge of the next level up and I was very certain that my children had their entries in order, and those other kids had filled them out wrong and would have to fix them should they win.  She pretty much just stared at me, but still had enough spunk to argue with me when I asked for the blue tub to turn in their entries.  It's aqua.  You know, the one that belongs to me. She said, "What? Do you mean the green tub?"  "Sure, the green one. Thank you.  See you back at home you lovely blue green tub.  Don't mess with me today lady!" Okay, I didn't say that last part, but the little evil demon in me wanted to come out, after spending every spare waking moment for WEEKS AND WEEKS helping my kids, it was just too much for someone to infer that their forms were not in order.  Especially since she was wrong.  The PTA president had just asked me to clarify a rule because I think she has picked up on me knowing these things because my kids do so many entries each year and once Amy even advanced to Nationals.  Okay, I'm done being a psycho Reflections mom.  I can't be a rabid soccer or football mom because I don't care about those things. I'd like to stop being a psycho Reflections mom.  I wonder if they have meetings for this? My husband already faced my wrath and was actually hung up on this week for saying that I thought Monday was close on a Wednesday and for worrying when I misplaced all 33 forms that needed to be turned in.  He didn't know not to mock me that day, in which I had spent 5 hours taking my mom to the doctor, mixed with lunch, and losing my credit cards and ID and almost running out of gas with no way to buy any more.  Poor man.  Anyway, I seriously feel the biggest sense of relief ever. I might even enjoy the rest of my day, doctor and all, not having those projects looming over me, and looking forward to dinner out for Tim's 11th birthday.  And I'll reflect on how lucky I am to have these great kids with their wacky, creative minds, and their sweet hearts.  Like Clara, who shares her neck pillow with Grandma who really needs it and with Audrey to keep the scary movie she watched from making her hurt in her sleep. And Tim who thinks a $4 playground ball is the best birthday present ever.  And Reuben who, at 13, loves his baby sister more than anything and wants to see her first upon waking and coming home.  And Amy, who wants to be the official babysitter for ward choir, and at 8 years old is printing up coloring pages from the Friend website for her little charges.  And Audrey who loves her mommy run preschool so much that she wants to do it every day. And Emmeline who brightens every day with her exploding grin and irresistable huggability.  They are worth it all!

Modern Torture- Midlife Braces

I think it will be fun to document my braces, especially since the first time I had braces I did everything in my power to avoid ever having my photo taken with any metal showing.  Those were dark years.  I hated my braces.  I hated my orthodontist. He was mean.  I hated my retainer. 
But, now my tune has changed.  A week ago I had 12 spacers put in.  It was ridiculously painful and took me 6 days to work myself up to eating scrambled eggs. Today, even though I could still barely chew at all, I got top and bottom braces put on today.  And I'm so grateful for them, despite the many metal parts digging into my tongue and cheeks.  I know I'll get used to those and find a way to deal with them.  I hope and pray that by the time I'm done in 18 months to 2 years, that my mouth will no longer hurt every moment like it has since July of 2010.  So, from this point on for this entry, I'm just going to post pictures after my visits, perhaps with a little commentary.  Here are the first ones.  I wasn't feeling so great right after the braces and somehow my nose looks especially huge, but SAY LAH VEE!

First Day of School- 2011-2012

It happened.  I willed it not to happen.  I declared a day of mourning.  I voiced my opinion about the ultimate wrongness, but still it happened.  With me  unwilling to take the leap to homeschooling, my children had to go back to school today.
 There are some nice things about having them gone.  Audrey has a completely different personality when she is the oldest kid home. She is calm and sweet and agreeable.  When the rest are here, she can be defiant and wild at times. Go figure! Anyway, that part is nice.  I'm also looking forward to some things I have planned, like a co-op preschool for Audrey ( if we can find enough people!), computer school for her, a sewing class for me, and of course the beauty of the fall and the wonderful holidays that come along for the ride.  And my mother in law keeping her mondays free for tending means I can volunteer in the schools for the first time! I'm so excited about that!

And there are stressful things about school starting.  HOMEWORK! and homework and homework and homework.  Soccer season is starting up again, so are voice lessons, and the children's choir.  We'll also have scouts for the boys, activity days for Amy, and dance for the 3 older girls.  Timothy is starting the violin and wants private lessons.  Reuben is continuing with the trumpet and should get private lessons.  Has anyone seen a money tree anywhere lately? :)  But, these stressful things will bless my children, increase their skills, and maginify their talents.  It's time to buckle down and work.  These look like kids who want to work, right?

We got all ready yesterday.  I succesfully convinced Clara not to wear a leopard skirt with a striped melon sweater.  I also convinced Reuben not to wear silky shorts the first day.  I packed a sack lunch for Clara, who declared that chicken sandwiches from school are gross, even though they don't know the menu today.  She is easy to make lunch for though, with her love of almost all fruits and veggies, she was thrilled to have peppers and cucumbers in her lunch bag.  We tucked the 5 oldest children into bed and finally settled down for a little rest around 9 p.m. when Judd started to yell,"Emmeline, Oh no!" I ran in the room, wondering what she could have done since I last saw her 10 seconds before, in time to witness her throwing up all over the carpet, and again, and again, and again.  Poor baby.  This is her first bout with the stomach flu, and she is miserable.  One of the most heartbreaking pleas is a sick baby begging for a drink  that has to be denied.  The only positive thing about her being sick is that it gave me the extra ammo to decide to cancel my dentist appt. to have a cavity filled.  My teeth still hurt so much from the 12 spacers I had put in on Thursday that I cannot even brush my teeth without pain.  I cannot chew anything at all.  So, I'm going to wait on getting that cavity filled until I can tolerate some pressure.  And I'm going to hold my sick baby and clean my house instead of going under the drill.
Anyway, I just can't believe that it's here.  I really dropped the ball on getting the kids ready for school this year.  I barely managed to buy new sneakers for the boys.  Amy had a new t-shirt. Her shoes was okay and Clara is wearing some pretty trashy looking shoes.  Hopefully, her sparkling personality will overwhelm people and they won't notice her year old tennis shoes.  I did buy my kids new clothes, but they were ordered online and haven't even shipped yet. At least everyone is starting the year with a backpack that works.  So, I might deserve a small loser award, but I'm not going to beat myself up.  I've had a hard year.  I had a busy week last week. I threw three parties at my house.  Two of them had more than 50 people in attendance. There is no law that says children must wear brand new clothes the first day of school. 
Here are some photos of this morning.  They were happy little children!

1 piece, 2 piece . . . .

Today we attended the Fire, Water, and Ice Festival at the Kearns Fitness Center.  We haven't taken the kids swimming yet this year since we don't have a pass anywhere and it's a lot of work with 3 little ones who can't swim yet. So they were all chomping at the bit for weeks to get to a pool.  Not only is it a lot of work, but to take my family to the pool would normally cost us about $30-$35.  And I'm cheap, so, that's a no.  This was $21 and that included wrist bands for the blow up bounce house thingies and crafts. 

The kids had a great time! Sorry, no photos.  I need to buy a new memory card.  Be glad though, because there are images seared in my mind that may never disappear.  The swimming pool is a dangerous place to take your eyeballs.  Where do I start?  WHAT ARE PEOPLE THINKING?  I mean, if you are fat, and you ought to know if you are fat, please COVER UP! At least wear a one piece! And if you are really skinny and have a perfect body, I still do not want to see your overly brown bosom squeezed into something the size of my baby's sock! I also didn't really need the chance to study so many tattoos.  Ew! I'm not a tattoo person to start with, but not only did I have to look at scantily clad women, I had to see a tattoo on one man's back of a woman in a bikini.  Who does that?  Why?
 I know that people have imperfections.  I try to shield people from experiencing the gag reflex by wearing swim shorts over my swimsuit, a suit that fully encloses the parts of me up top that identify me as female. 
And this is what really brings me to my point. A new type of swimsuit has emerged in the last few years.  I'm not sure when, but it was pretty dang popular today.  I don't think I saw any skinny people wearing it and so I fear that I might be correct in thinking that it FALSELY gives off the impression to the wearer that they look GOOD, when in fact the women wearing this style of suit did NOT look good! I think I might set a record for exclamation marks in this particular post.  Anyway, this suit, what dare I call it?  It's not a two piece, not technically.  And I guess if you were very strict you might define it as a one piece, but like a mullet, it changes personality depending on whether your view is from the front or back. From the back- bikini.  From the front- one piece with the sides missing.  From the side- UGLYORAMA TO THE EXTREME! The people wearing this suit were trying to cover up fat stomachs, but you could still see them. In fact, you could see them very well since the suit kind of gaped in the front and the belly was fully visible from the side.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?  This is ugly! This is super, nasty, mega, cover up your belly rolls UGLY! I do not want to see belly roll fat.  I can look at my own fat any time for free!
And please let me point out that this is not a rant against overweight people.  It is a rant against immodesty exercised by people who are not models.  Nobody who has ever had a child and has a normal body would look good in this style of swimming suit.  Many of the people wearing this style were young girls and teenagers who are overweight.  What happened to the one piece? Is it dead? Or even a tankini with a long top that doesn't ride up? Can we not put on something flattering and modest that allows us to go swimming without constantly adjusting to cover up our bare essentials, or, even worse, no adjusting and the resulting mental scarring of not only my mind, but my innocent boys' minds? 
And how about the little girl in the bikini with a butterfly on the back? Well, a mutilated butterfly.  The top half was on her top and the bottom half was on her, well, bottom.  Who cuts a butterfly in half so that a child can mimic adults and wear a bikini?  You might be able to tell by now that I am not a fan of bikinis. I think little girl's should be little girls in sweet one piece swimming suits and not have their bellies hanging out for all to see.  I think grown up women should behave the same way.  Put something on ladies! Pick something that you can wear down the slide and actually enjoy yourself instead of holding on to your suit! And get rid of the mullet suits- they don't suit anyone!