We Got Through Christmas!

Wow. That was a really busy Christmas. Phew. So glad it's over. The kids had a wonderful time and got everything they wanted. That Santa is awesome!

I was able to do everything on my list except go and see the temple lights. Maybe next year. Now it's time for me to take down all 6 of my decorations that I actually put out and begin working on the new house.

We were there all day yesterday and got one room done. It's a little depressing, but it's progress. I really need about 6 more hands to make an even 8 and then maybe I'll be able to see some more progress. The exterior rock is going on and we are currently sanding and painting the molding. It's very tedious and laborious work and I HATE doing it. Anyone looking for a service project to do? j/k

We hope to be in by the end of January. Ummmm. Maybe? The nice thing is, is that we don't have to be out of our old house any time soon so we can take our sweet time getting the new one ready. Thank heavens.

We watched 17 miracles the other day and all I could think about was the fact that they didn't have homes to shelter them from the cold. What a blessing it is to have 4 walls and roof surrounding you and your children protecting them from the elements.

So in honor of 17 miracles I am going to name 17 miracles that have happened to us during our 12 years of wedded bliss.

1. We bought our first house
2.We had Dillon
3.Dillon escaped out the front door when he was 2 years old. I was asleep on the couch with a newborn when he escaped. A nice lady brought him home.
4.We had Shane
5. We found the Vallejo house and bought it.
6. We sold our old house 2 weeks before we were supposed to move.
7.We had Ty.
8. We had 5 years of plenty with our company  and could pay for everything we needed.
9.We have received work when we need it.
10. Ty got tubes in his ears and decided to start talking.
11. We were able to purchase property to build a new house.
12. We were able to build the new house for $50 a square foot.
13.We don't have to move out of the old house yet.
14.Our cars are working.
15.After my last miscarriage I was blessed to have an amazing experience.
16. They caught my ectopic pregnancy in time before my tube ruptured.
17. We are happy and healthy and together.

I am so grateful for all of the wonderful blessings that we have received this year and every year that we have been a family. I know that next year will be even better!

Merry Christmas to All and Hopefully You Get A Good Night's Rest!

I really hope everyone is having an amazing holiday season with tons of parties and cookies and plenty of snuggle time with your kids.

Our little family has not officially kicked off the holiday season yet. We have been busy with other things and the Christmas spirit has not made it to our house yet. I'm hoping that will change soon. We put up a few of our decorations that were not packed up too tightly and we are not getting a tree this year due to budget cuts and lack of space to properly display one. We chose instead to decorate a lit garland placed in front of the T.V. with a few ornaments that were given to us by Grandma Fuller.

So here are the things that I would like to do before Christmas:
1. See the Mesa Temple lights
2. Go to a Christmas party
3. Bake all of the pies I need to for neighbors and friends
4.Watch the Nativity movie
5.Go out with some friends for a fun night out
6. Make some Christmas cookies


And at the end of all of that fun we can all settle into our cozy beds and finally get a good night's rest! Merry Christmas!

Patience Is a Virtue! And I don't have it!

Ok. The straw has officially broken the camel's back. My new visiting teachers gave me 5 minutes notice before showing up at my disgusting house filled with boxes. So with my hair disheveled, clothes stained, and burning smell permiating from the kitchen I opened the door and welcomed them in. They were very sweet about the whole scene but between clenched teeth I silently vowed to myself that I was not going to let another living soul into this house until we've moved into the new one.

I originally wanted to be moved in by Thanksgiving. Didn't happen. Then I wanted to be in before Christmas so I could have it all decorated and festive. Not going to happen. Now I think I've been pretty patient and understanding but it's getting a little ridiculous at this point. It doesn't feel like the holidays and that is getting me a little down. I love Christmas. I want to decorate, buy a tree, burn cinnamon candles, bake amazing desserts and give them to my neighbors. I want to feel like it's Christmas.

So do you have any ideas on how I can make this season feel a little more festive and not so depressing? Please keep in mind that I can't really decorate because everything is packed.

Ok. My little pity party is over. I am convinced that patience is not something that you are born with. I think it's something that is developed over years of diappointments and frustration. So if that last statement is true then I should have the patience of Job by now. So I am choosing to have it during this frustrating point in our lives. We are blessed and healthy and we will have a great house to live in.  So There. I feel better already. Merry Christmas to all and I hope that you are able to feel the Spirit of Christmas during this holiday season no matter what situation you may find yourself in.

Mrs. Perfect

I want to make it perfectly clear that not all LDS women are Mrs. Perfect. It's amazing to me how many misconceptions there are that LDS women are so amazingly perfect. Perfect hair, teeth, makeup, houses, children, and husbands. Ha ha ha ha. If they only knew what happened behind closed doors.

It's really not like the Stepford Wives. I promise. If you came into my house right now you would see:
1. Food on the floor from last nights dinner
2.Dirty dishes in the sink from last night and this morning. (We have to mix it up a little bit)
3.Dirty clothes piled up in my laundry room making a funky aroma. We leave that door shut.
4.Little bits of things in my carpet that won't come up when I vacuum and I'm too lazy to pick them out.
5. My office filled to the brim with papers, boxes, garbage, and Cd's.
6. Every single bed in the house unmade.

Does that make anyone feel better? I hope so. Every time someone invites me over to their homes they feel the need to apologize for the way their houses look. Uh, here's a little newsflash. Your house is probably cleaner than mine on any given day. And....... I could care less how clean your house is. If you take baths regularly and your clothes don't smell funky, I'll be your friend. :)

I have officially given myself a little permission to be less than perfect. I don't put makeup on everyday because it's expensive and I hate wearing it. I do get dressed in the morning, but whether or not it is fashionable is questionable. It's usually t-shirts and jeans. Not gonna lie.  Sometimes I don't even get my teeth brushed. That one's a little nasty but that's what gum is for, right?

Here's how I know that I'm doing alright:
1. My kids are bathed and fed
2.They get to school on time
3. They are happy
4. I made dinner
5. We all have something clean to wear
6.There is food in the refrigerator
7. The toilets are clean
8.I don't smell
9. I read my scriptures (Not a daily occurrence, but I'm working on it)
10.Everyone that I love, knows that I love them.

So to all of the wonderful LDS moms out there who have it all figured out, I say BRAVO! To the rest of us I say, you are awesome and perfection is not to be achieved in this lifetime. That comes later down the road after wrinkles, weight gain from babies, and bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep and crying. So here's to all of the amazing mom's out there that don't fit the mold and in fact make their own.

It's been a hard day's night! And I've been working like a dog!

Wow. This was a crazy week filled with lots of stress, adrenaline, and amazing highs! Catering is something that I LOVE to do, but I can't cater more than 4 x a year. That's seems to be my limit. I hired a new girl to help me on Friday night and I told her about my 4 x a year rule and she laughed. By the end of the night, she totally understood.

Catering for people's big events in life is a wonderful job. You are a major component to their event and it's a huge high for me to be apart of that. But the prep work that it takes to pull it off is killer. 2 days before the event it is nothing but constant running around, food prep, and my house being filled to the brim with catering items and food. I didn't have a spare inch in any of my refrigerators. My sweet Mr. D sat at the kitchen counter chopping tomatoes and grilling chicken all night long. And then he ran to Sam's club for me to pick up some more supplies. I am a lucky girl.

Once you're at the location though and everything is humming, it's awesome. I had a lot of sweet guests come into the kitchen on Fri. night and tell me how good the food was. Sigh. It was bliss for me.

To make things just a little more hectic I got a call on Thurs. night from a member of R.S. presidency asking if I could teach a lesson on Sunday for R.S. Huh? You mean my other two callings isn't enough? Then she informed me that the ward we moved into is not a sit on the sidelines kind of ward. Once your records are transferred in, you are used. So Sat. night I was sitting at my computer trying to make a lesson on the Millennium a personal touching experience for the women. I always try to do that when I teach. If you make them cry they will remember it because it touches their heart. I think it went well. I got compliments and quite a few of them were crying, so that spells success to me!

As I sit at my computer tonight, writing this post, I can't help but think about how in the heck I made it through this week and how I am still awake right now. It was Heavenly Father all the way. I literally felt Him helping me this week and I am so humbled and grateful for the tender mercies I have felt this week. I couldn't have done it without Him.

The older I get, the more I experience His hand in everything that I do and accomplish. I don't think I'm anything special or unique, but when I want to do something, I know I can because I'm not doing it on my own. My soul is filled to the brim with gratitude for the love, support, generosity, and kindness that I have felt this week from family members, ward members, employees, friends, and my Heavenly Father. That's all for tonight! Ladies and Gentlemen, Elise has left the building!

Tis' The Season To Be Exhausted!

First and foremost I LOVE Christmas. It my absolute favorite holiday. Always has been. The weather finally changes, you get to bake and eat like crazy, and I get to see the magic of the season in my kid's faces. My 9 year old still believes in Santa. I love it.

We are only giving 3 presents each. It not only reminds us of the Savior, but it's economical as well. They get something they want, something they need, and something from their siblings. The kids have a lot of fun picking out something for the brothers. It takes forever to pick the gift out, but they are so excited to watch them open it.

Every year though it seems like things are getting crazier and crazier. Before I I know it it's already January and I can't think of one thing that I did that I will remember later on. It's depressing. I started making treats to sell to people and that has taken up a huge chunk of my time! It's fun and the extra money is definitely nice but I don't want to remember that I worked during the holidays. Ugh. Besides that the gift giving was horrible. We had way too many presents under the tree and the kids only ended up playing with one or two.

So this year is going to go back to the basics. We are going to tour the temple lights (if it kills me, we will get there), read the nativity story, watch the nativity story, and spend a lot of time with family. I love the smells, sounds, smiles, and sentimental feeling I get at Christmas time. Love it!

Where did October go?

I woke up this morning and looked at the calendar and could NOT believe that October is already over! Where in the crap did that month go? It seems like yesterday that Mr.D and I were discussing what we needed to get done on the house for this month. We accomplished 85% of it. Kind of a bummer but when you only have 2 hands, 3 kids, and a perfectionist for a husband that's kind of what you get.

It's frightening in a way that a month could literally just slip by without being noticed. It makes me feel a little out of control at the moment and I'm not liking that feeling. I feel like my time is not being spent very well or importantly and that bothers me. I am usually the type that has everything organized, neat, and clean. Lately I'm doing really well if the laundry is at least washed and dried. The home we are living in currently is pretty bad and I can't seem to get a handle on much of anything lately.

I am praying that we will be moved in and settled before Thanksgiving. If we are not please forgive me if I seem a bit rattled and am mumbling nonsense. I think that may be the final straw for me. The holiday's are so crazy and I haven't even Christmas shopped yet. Usually I'm done by now. So if you can't get ahold of me after Thanksgiving and we haven't moved yet, then you'll know why I'm not answering the phone. I may be a little frazzled.

P.S.- I just got called to be the ward canning specialist, the den leader for the wolf pack, and a ma on the next trek in March. Help Me!

Really?

So our ward's trunk or treat is tonight and I am scrambling to get costumes pulled together at the last minute. Ugh. I had a few from previous years stashed in a tote in the garage. I was seriously counting on them to save the day and then my boys informed me that they already wore them and that they are NOT "cool" anymore. Really? Because that's what you're gonna wear whether you like it or not.! No, I didn't really say that. I felt bad. They have worn those costumes every year for the last 3 years. Crap. Now I've got to get seriously creative.

#1's Costume- A cereal killer
T-Shirt
opened boxes of mini cereal's
fake blood
large spoon covered in blood

#2's costume-Construction worker
$1 construction workers hat from target
flannel plaid shirt
holy jeans
lace up work boots
toy hammer hanging out of his belt

#3's costume- Skeletor
Recycled costume from brothers
white face paint
black face paint

Phew. Crisis averted. Everyone is happy and I had to do minimal work. Now all I have to do is make an amazing batch of chili to win the chili making contest and some bread for my mother in law. Really?

Let the Type A personality step forward please!

This past week has marked the beginning of the most progress that has happened on our new house since it was framed. Our amazing cabinets are being installed and I am so Thrilled!!!! It's not just because they look amazing, but now I'm organizing things before I can even put them away! I have so much storage that I don't think that all of the drawers are even going to be filled.

Everything has a place and the workspace I have now is incredible!!!! I have enough room  to have 4 workstations for my catering company! That's a lot of employees people!!! I can't sleep right now!!!! My mind is a mess of organizing and planning right now. Where do I put my Bosch so it's the most functional location? Where do I put everything? It's pretty sick that I am already worrying about where to put things when I can't move in for at least another month. It's just sooooo exciting though!!!! I am excited that everything will be put away and won't be stuck on my counter tops! It's going to look to clean and pretty. I will definitely take picture of the entire kitchen when it's done!!!!!

P.S.- We got those cabinets off of Craigslist! A lady had ordered them for her house and had changed her mind about the stain color after they had already stained them. So the guy was left with all of these cabinets. There was enough for our kitchen, laundry room, office, and two bathrooms. Besides that her plan for her kitchen was identical to ours! We got a great price and I LOVE them!!!!! We have been so blessed through building this house and I am truly grateful.

Lunch

I know that I have mentioned this before, but, I LOVE FOOD. I was able to go to lunch with a good friend of mine at the Olive Mill today. It was LOV-E-LY!!! The company was fun, the food was good, and we got there before everyone else did. I ALWAYS get the Arbequina sandwich. It's roast beef with a mild horse radish sauce, sautee'd peppers and onions, with homemade potato chips. OMG. My mouth is watering again. I really shouldn't be hungry, but I would drive over there and get another one in a second!

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Do you make it from scratch? Or do you go somewhere to pick it up? Let me know!

Just Call Me Ma!

Mr. D and I have lived in our new ward for 3 months and we were asked to be a Ma and Pa on the next trek for our youth in the ward. OMG!!!!! I am so freakin' out right now. Why you may ask? Because I am not the hiking type. I don't even like to go shopping because my feet start to hurt. Ugh.

I know this will probably be an amazing experience. One that I will never forget. At least that's what I've heard. I just I hope that I won't forget this experience because it was so awful! I am not an outdoorsy girl. I am allergic to a lot of outdoorsy things and prefer to sleep inside with all of the many comforts that I have been blessed with. Example: My sleep number bed. I never sleep well in other places anymore.

My shower. I can't sleep when I'm dirty. I know that I will probably be so tired that I won't care, but I still can't fall asleep. I feel like I'm itchy when I go to bed dirty. It's disgusting! I know that my pioneer ancestors did it, but they kind of had to. They had to get to somewhere better where they would be safe. I don't have to do this. I'm not going to die if I don't do this.

In lots of ways my parents kind of did a disservice to me by never taking me camping or hiking. The only camping I did was in the back of my dad's truck for one night for Father's and Daughters. My mom was NOT the nature type. She can appreciate nature, but it's from her front porch of her cabin/house in the mountains.

Mr. D could not be more thrilled. This is right up his outdoor lovin' alley. Heaven help us. The first thing he asked was if he could bring his mule on the trek. Show off. He is so excited to see if these kids can actually hack it. They might have a harder time pulling the handcart with me sitting in it. :)

Well here's to being ripped out of your comfort zone, forced to dress in period clothing and sleeping under the stars with 8 teenagers and a handcart. Oh my, what fun.

Lucky

I am incredibly lucky. Just wanted you to know. The man I married, the children I have been blessed to have, the situations that I find myself in, and the blessings that I enjoy. I am incredibly lucky. Nothing happens by chance. Everything is for a reason.

I always know that when I'm having a rough time, that a better time is waiting just around the corner. How? Because there is opposition in all things.  When things are not easy, there will come a time when they will be easier. Be patient and grateful at the time.

I have a brother that is helping me install our closet organizers. He used to work for a closet company and learned all of the tricks!!! I am so lucky! Our closets are going to be awesome!!!! I can't believe that we are on the home stretch!!!! Hopefully it will be a few more weeks and we will be almost done! Lucky girl!!!!

Making It Up As We Go

Do you ever feel like you have absolutely NO idea what you are doing ? Yeah, me too. It's called making it up as you go along. My middle son likes to do this frequently with his music. He is constantly making up songs all by himself and yelling them at the top of his lungs and making up the words as he does so. It's hilarious. And yet he takes himself totally serious and really feels that someday these songs will be heard on the radio for everyone to enjoy. I love it.

My other son is the fountain of knowledge. His brothers are constantly asking him for the answers to their major questions in life like, "Where does Santa live?", and "Are we going to shoot a big elk on the next hunting trip", or How come mom and dad like to yell?". And believe me if he doesn't know the answer, he will make one up that actually makes sense to the other boys. What fun!!!

I don't feel like I have all of the answers on a daily basis. My oldest child likes to ask me questions about space, dinosaurs, science, biology, math, and the speed that a bullet leaves a gun. I rely heavily on the Internet for my answers. It's annoying to not know the answers to seemingly easy questions.

My children want to know when the new house is going to be done. They want to know what we are having for dinner at 6 a.m. in the morning. They want to know why they can't have friends over to our house all of the time. My answer? I don't know or I don't want to. That's it. And unfortunately that is not a good enough answer. So they pester me until I have to stop whatever it is that I'm doing at the moment and tell them to LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!! Yep, Making it up as we go.

I am amazed

Building this new house has taught me a lot about myself. Go figure. When we first started this project I was scared to death because I am not handy at all. I bake, clean, and sew. Not drill, screw, and hang doors. It just goes to show you that you may not know yourself as well as you thought.

Here is what I've learned about myself
1. I can unload an entire 4 tons of roof tile and drywall from a trailer at the dump.
2.I can spend an entire day sweeping up drywall dust.
3. I can I can dig a trench.
4. I can wear the same clothes 2 days in a row.
5. I can eat sandwiches for dinner all week long and be okay with that.
6.I can handle my husband on a daily basis.
7. I am an amazing multi tasker.
8.I don't want to build another house for as long as I live.
9. I am going to be more attached to this house when it's finished than I ever have to anything in my life.
10.I know how to recognize Heavenly Father's hand in every step of building this house. It never would have happened without His help.

What does He want me to do?

Here is a question for you today. This may be easy for some to answer and harder for others. What does Heavenly Father want you to do with the life he has given you? It's not just a simple... stay faithful to the gospel, or raise your kids to be faithful members of the church. There is so much more to it than that for me. We were all given talents, gifts, and strengths to be used somehow. So what do you feel Heavenly Father wants you to do with your life?

Lately I have felt like I wasn't living up to my full potential....whatever it is. I've just felt like I could do so much more creating, cooking, serving, and loving. It just isn't happening.  So the list below (I LOVE lists) consists of all of the things I want to do before I leave this earth. What is your list?

1. I want to Know that my children have an amazing self esteem, love of the gospel, attend the temple, serve missions, have happy marriages, and are kind parents.

2.Travel somewhere outside of the U.S. Just one place would be fine. Doesn't matter where.

3.Write my life history as it's happening. I want my posterity to see me as I really am. Emotions and everything.

4.Spend amazing time with my husband. I want us to be best friends. I guess that means being a little more patient with him.

5.Have a well known catering company. I always grew up with talented women who knew there craft. I would like to be one of them.

6.Find something to be happy about every day. Even if it's small and insignificant, like having toilet paper in the bathroom!

7.Help someone once a week. Phone calls to people do count!!!!

8.Have one space in my house decorated just the way I want it.

9.Read as many books as I can get my hands on.

10. Finish my family scrapbooks....once and for all.

11.Learn to love my curly hair, freckles on my arms, and my junk in the trunk.

12.Visit the temple at least once a month and increase that as I get older.

13.Throw lots and lots of party's!

14.Make one good life long friend.

15.Tell my boys every day that I love them and that they have made my life amazing.

16.Own our house free and clear.

17. Be as self sufficient as possible.

18.Have my year supply of food storage done.

19.Celebrate one anniversary in Hawaii for a week by ourselves.

20.Express gratitude quietly to my Heavenly Father everytime I am blessed.

It's hard to be 4

My poor little four year old. He wants to be as tall as an adult, as smart as Albert Einstein, as fast as an Olympic runner, and as bossy as his ..........father. :) He is the most frustrated little boy I have ever met. All he says is I wish I was......

He's really ready for Kindergarten but he just missed the age cut off because of a winter birthday. Sigh. He's in a great little preschool but he is still incredibly bored all of the time. Poor baby.

He asks me all day long when we are going to go get his brothers from school. Next should be better, right?

Clean Living!!!!

I have started a new program called clean eating. Ever heard of it? It's when you eat and drink items that are all natural and haven't been tampered with. AKA preservatives. Also no white flour or white sugar. I feel so much better. I've been doing this for about a week and I've already worked out 3 days in a row. That is unheard of at our house.

Ever since I started my catering company I have seriously become a food snob. I used to be able to go to any restaurant and find something that I would like. Not so anymore. Either the food is too salty, too greasy, too breaded, or disgusting. I find myself thinking about what I would do to change the food to make it more edible. Food Snob. We went to a "Famous" barbecue place on Sat. and I was less than impressed. I ordered the beer battered fish with spiced apples, and some kind of potato thing. I peeled all of the batter off of the fish and dipped it into a tarter sauce that had too much dill. The apples were disgusting. They were drenched in a cornstarch based sauce and had too much allspice on them. The potato thing was pretty good. Then there was corn too. Not a salad in sight, and that was all I really wanted in order to break up the meal.
Batter=starch
Corn=starch
Potatoes=starch
Cornstarch on apples=starch
I walked out of there feeling like a grained cow. Nasty. Good thing the eating company was good. I think our group was the loudest in the restaurant. :)

Whatever happened to having balanced meals? You know a protein, 2 vegetables, fruit? Corn and potatoes are vegetables but they are also starches and can be incredibly heavy. You need to also have vegetables that are acidic, leafy, and water based to help your body digest your food. Eating out has almost become less than exciting. Almost.

I found a place out where I live called the Olive Mill. They have locally grown food and prepare it in an Italian style bistro way. Lovely. The gelato is the perfect way to end a meal there. The food is not heavy, it's prepared cleanly with little to no grease, and the ingredients are fresh. Yay!!!!!!

I have taken to preparing my foods with freshly ground whole wheat flour, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, low fat meats. I hope those of you that order from my business can tell the difference in the quality of food and are excited about that!

Food!!!!!!!

I have food on the brain. I scored some nice lobsters from Fry's on Friday and have wanted to eat them all weekend. The day has finally arrived that I can cook those delicious little sea creatures.
Here is the recipe I am using below:

2 c. broccoli
8 oz. lightly steamed green beans
1 minced garlic clove
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of basil, parsley, and chives
12 oz. penne pasta
12 oz. lobster cut into bite size chunks
1/3 c. cream
Sea salt and pepper
Parmigiano-reggiano for serving
Diced tomato (however much you want)

Steam broccoli and green beans. In a saute' pan, heat olive oil, cook garlic, broccoli and green beans. Have water in a separate pot boiling and cook penne'. Add vegetables,chunk lobster, cream,  herbs, and salt and pepper to pasta and stir rapidly. Top with cheese and serve!!!!

Peace

Yesterday I had the most amazing day. I spent 3 hours just cleaning and accomplishing. What a great feeling. Then Mr. D calls up and says he's feeling like chicken wings for dinner. I said okay, where are we going? So we went to Native New Yorker for dinner and had an early birthday celebration for #1. Ahhhhh. Lovely.

I also love the fact that I know at least 5 people right now that are pregnant or just had a baby. I have a lovely peaceful feeling about that. I love the fact that new life is coming into the world. I also love the fact that I'm not the one doing it yet. Lovely peaceful feeling.

Our new house is going to have the taping and texturing done on it starting today. It's all moving forward. Wonderful! The house already looks amazing with just the drywall up. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all finished. Peace. Sigh.

My kids start sports on Sat. Finally a place they can go to get rid of some of that energy. They are wild animals right now running around the house hootin' and hollering. I think loud noises bother me. Just saying.

Mr. D's foot is getting better. He's been on it all day for the last 3 days. He comes home and it hurts, but at least he can go to work with it. Amazing peace. I was afraid that he was going to be home with me all week. Relief.

Here's Yer Sign!

I have officially had it. Call them oblivious, careless, thoughtless, whatever you want, but I choose to call them stupid. There is an epidemic in the world today. It's stupidity. Scientists need to find a cure for this disease before every wife on the planet kills her husband, every teacher kills themselves, and every pregnant woman that is told to toughen up by her doctor, actually kills that doctor.

If I had a quarter for every time I had something stupid said to me, I would be richer than Walt Disney. Here are a few of my favorites.

1.) I am sitting in the hospital ready to have #2. My doctor comes in to check my progression and informs me that I have at least another 2 hours before I'll be ready to deliver. I tell him that I feel a lot of pressure down there and I feel ready now. He dismisses me and leaves to go back to his office. 5 minutes later the nurse comes in and checks and immediately calls the doctor back in. I delivered 10 minutes later. Stupid doctor.

2.) We are in front of our new house currently under construction and someone drives up and says, "So. Are you building a house?" Here's Yer Sign. Idiot.

3.)I was at the mall with my youngest who is a boy. He has a blue outfit on, a blue blanket, and is in a navy blue stroller. A lady comes up to me and says," What a cute baby! Is it a boy or girl?" Oh My Gosh!

4.)My two youngest boys were walking with us in Home Depot. A man behind us yells out,"Are those two twins?" No. They aren't even the same height moron! Here's Yer Sign.

5.)I had just had my 4th miscarriage and a friend calls to see how I'm doing. I tell her I'm having a hard time and she says,"Well, it's not like this is the first time that this has happened. "You'll be fine."
 We aren't friends anymore. Brat.

My All Time Favorite
I have a newborn baby in a stroller walking along. I have someone come up to me and ask me when I'm due. I get to tell her that I just had one and it takes awhile to not look like it. Then I got to ask her when she was due. She tells me she's not pregnant. Then I say, oops. :)

Advice Corner:
1.If you regularly say stupid things then shut up.

2.If people don't like you and you can't figure out why, it's probably because you say stupid things.

3.If people always seem offended when you say something, shut up.

4.If you say something mean to someone, they probably aren't going to like you anymore.

Good Luck stupid people!

Blessings Galore!!!!

My heart is full at the moment. The past week has been chock full of amazing blessings that I am so grateful for. It's amazing how aware Heavenly Father is of me and my family and our needs and I am humbled.

We were not able to go to church yesterday. I really hate missing church. I always feel like I'm missing out on something really good. And no, it's not the gossip. I hate that part the most. It's like I don't get my batteries recharged spiritually. When I go to church I feel like I get that extra fortification for the next week. It helps me be more patient with the kids, I have a better attitude about my circumstances, and I'm more willing to help others.

We couldn't go because Mr. D dropped a fridge on his foot. It had swollen 3 x it's normal size. I was so exhausted that I couldn't keep my eyes open once I woke up on Sunday. It was a blessing to be able to stay home and I am grateful. I caught up on my laundry, we played Mexican Train with the kids, and Mr. D and I were able to rest. Grateful.

We got 98% of the sound proofing insulation up, thanks to my wonderful bro-in-law Brad. And the drywall is almost done being hung.

We still have a lot to do but I am praying for another week of amazing energy so we can keep the ball rolling. If we could move in by the end of September, I think that would be heaven on earth. It might wishful thinking though.

I am a thankful woman today. Thankful for health, a new house, family, the ability to take care of our family, and so much more. To all of those out there who are suffering from the 9/11 tragedies, my heart and prayers are with you and your loved ones.

Silently Screaming in my head!

For the last 2 days I have been installing insulation in the new house in order to "sound proof" certain areas. Mr. D felt like we needed to have our master bedroom sound proofed. He always laughs when he tells me this. I think you can guess why. :) Our master bedroom butts up to a laundry room and a playroom where we will have a surround sound system thumping the walls and rattling the house. He was very concerned about the possibility of hearing this at night that I have been by myself the last 2 days curing this problem on my own.

The fiberglass insulation that we used is awful. A little warning to any of you out there that are contemplating remodeling.........Pay the money and have a professional come in and put spray foam insulation in your house. We had the spray foam used in all of our exterior walls on the house and it is awesome!!! It really wouldn't have been hard to just have them do it on a few interior walls too, but we were trying to save some money. :(
So I ended feeling like my arms, lungs, eyes, and basically my entire body were itching to death.

Mr. D dropped a refrigerator on his foot on Fri. He is currently on crutches hobbling around everywhere, getting everyone to feel sorry for him. I love hearing how sad it is, and how everyone wonders how he's going to get everything done. I'll tell you how, me. 

I need a little sympathy myself right now. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed too. Am I not allowed? I haven't been home for a week. I haven't done laundry in a week. Who is going to feel sorry for me?? Who is going to help me? No one. That's who. So I keep shuffling along not getting anything done. I hate looking lazy or incompetent. I'm not any of those things. I'm actually quite opposite. I love to have everything organized, clean, and smelling awesome. So needless to say this adventure that we are having right now is slowly driving me NUTS! My kids look disheveled when they go to school. I have to smell laundry before they put it on. We are entirely too creative when it comes to making lunches in the morning. No bread? Use a bagel. No sandwich fixings? Take a bag of cereal. Ugh. My poor kids.

#1's birthday is coming up and I don't think we can do anything for him. I hope we can at least take him out to dinner and a movie. He is telling me daily about all of the cool presents that he wants. Each of them are at least $50. Uh......... I have no idea how I am going to make that happen right now. That makes me sad. Birthdays were always a big deal at my house growing up. We never had "friend parties" but a family one after church. We had a Baskin Robbin ice cream cake and my mom would make whatever we wanted for dinner. It was small but special. I wish I could do that for my kids. Baskin Robbin's cake's are expensive now!!!!!

So here's to making it look like I've got it together when I really don't. Sigh.

Yesterday was Great!

Wow! Yesterday went incredibly smoothly. Amazing. My adorable nephew was a dream (except for the car rides). He was so adorable running around the house chasing a soft ball. He was incredibly coordinated for a one year old and should be put into soccer as soon as possible.

The house is coming along nicely. The foam insulators are finishing up today and the drywall should be started on Friday. We have 4 weeks to go people and the house will hopefully be done by the end of September. Here's hoping.

Today is another run around day which Truth be told, I am NOT super excited about. I really need to stay home and mop, do laundry, clean bathrooms, make bread, and finish my book. Oh well. My new house has new ever pressing needs as well. I feel a bit torn lately. The house we are currently living in is falling into disrepair. I am rarely home of late and the new house NEEDS to be finished so we can move on with our lives. Slow and steady wins the race, right? We shall see. At this rate we will win a medal for the "slow and steady part".

Packing is another task I have been putting off. Sheer exhaustion and dread have been the culprits for this particular delay. There just isn't enough time and energy to go around right now.

So as it stands, we have these things left to do on the house.
1. Get an insulation inspection
2. Hang, tape and texture drywall
3. Lay roof tiles
4.Have stucco done on exterior
5.Place insulation on porch ceiling
6. Place tongue and groove under porches on front and back
7. Have plumbing fixtures installed inside and outside
8. Have interior painted
9. Have cabinets and counter tops installed
10. Buy toilets and install them
11. Have tile and carpet installed
12. Have closet organizers installed and painted
13.Fill in existing trenches
14. move dirt around
15. Install horse fencing to keep the animals in
16. Paint all doors and trim
17. Install lighting fixtures inside and out.
18.Install door knobs and locks everywhere
19.Buy and install a water heater
(Not done in that particular order)

*IF you know of someone in need of a service project please let me know. There is plenty of work to go around and we are going to need all of the help we can get!

We're Back!

Ahhhhhhhh! Can I tell you how much I love vacations? It really makes a big difference to actually leave your house for the said vacation. Mr. D and I usually stay home and farm the kids out to lovely angelic people who are as patient as Job, but this time we needed to get away too.

We went to my favorite place in the world. Prescott. That place is amazing. The weather is cooler, I don't have to cook, the kids can be kicked outside to play with no guilt involved, and I get to spend time with my family. Lovely!

We are back though. I am thoroughly ready to tackle my ever expanding list of to do's and am hoping for an amazing burst of energy in order to complete everything. So far the list is looking at little like this:

1. Catch up on laundry
2.Take kids to school with everything in backpacks
3. Take #3 for first day of preschool
4. Watch my 1 year old nephew for the day
5.Pick #3 up from preschool
6. Return books to library
7. Clean bathrooms
8. Make something for dinner
9.Drive by new house and check on progress
10.Go over exterior paint colors with my mom
11. Pick up contacts
12. Get tires rotated on Excursion
13.Hang insulation on interior walls for sound proofing before drywall goes up
14.Take #1 to scouts
15.Pick kids up from school
16.Pack a box every day

I am in serious need of an energy boost. That is going to be my prayer all week long along with a prayer of thankfulness for all of the blessings we have received already! Hope everyone has a great week!!!!!

Hurry Up!!!

My poor kids. Hurry Up is just about the only thing they've heard from me for the last 3 months. It's very stressful around here. Whether it's getting ready for school in the morning. Or feeding the animals. Or cleaning up their rooms. Or finding their shoes. The only thing I have to say to them is, "Hurry Up!"

We are constantly running somewhere. Yesterday it was to the bank, library, Sam's Club, Costco, and to school. Last night it was back to Costco to buy a garbage disposal for the new house. They are on sale for $80 by the way. Really good price. Not to mention that Mr. D was excited by the fact that it was a 1 1/4 HP. That's the most powerful one you can buy. I'm a little excited too. I also found some pretty drink canisters for receptions that I cater. That was a nice score.

Then we had to race home because the kiddos had to get into bed because they have school. I thought I would be happy when the kids were back in that wonderful institution called school, but it's turning out to be a hassle. Maybe I can take them out until we're moved into the new place and then re enroll them then. Can you do that? Probably not. Bummer.

It all just boils down to the fact that there aren't enough hours in the day. I seriously have no idea where the last 3 months of my life went to. It's all flown by incredibly fast. The house still has another month to go and that's if we have someone there everyday working on it in some way, shape, or form. Ugh. I want to tell all of them to HURRY UP too!

Food

Isn't food amazing? What a powerful object that we have been given here on earth. Food can help you feel special on your birthday or wedding, it can help you feel better if you're sick. It can be fun and enjoyable to eat. It nourishes our bodies so we can do amazing things every day. Or most every day. It can make us sick if we are pregnant. It can pick us up if we've had a bad day. It's truly amazing.

I love my job so much. Catering for people is truly the funnest job ever made. I get to be a part of people's memories. I remember exactly what was served at my wedding reception and it wasn't that great. It was nice, but not spectacular. I want people to remember what they ate and be impressed with it. Food is a big deal.

I've been working on the catering blog lately to try and revamp what I offer. I think it's lovely. If I were a client I would love everything on this menu. I tried to keep it simple with not too many options because it might get a little overwhelming. I hope it gets a lot of attention!

If my sweet little catering company could get a little bit busier I would be ever so grateful. I'm already thankful for the work I've gotten so far, but a little more would be fabulous.

Can It Get Any Better?

The only thing that could possibly make this day better would be for my husband to take me out on a date tonight. No kids. Just us. We all know that isn't going to happen so I think I will take a long shower and get into bed early. We'll see if that will even happen.

The last few days have been hectic but good. We got the paint color changed on the outside trim and we got an arch put in above the master tub. I got everything swept out of the construction zone and even got some laundry done while I was at it. Not too Shabby.

Tomorrow, if I can lay around a little bit I think it would be heaven. I feel bone tired. Literally bone tired. Isn't that something you hear elderly women say? I feel a little elderly lately.

This house is a wonderful opportunity for us. I am really grateful. I would be even more grateful though if I could live in it and enjoy it. Living out of boxes is frustrating and messy. No one can find anything and we are constantly taping and untaping things. I can't wait to have my organized life back.

What do you do When.......

1.What do you do when your 8 year old wakes up crying saying that he never fell asleep last night?
A. Send him to school anyway
B.Let him stay home for a little while for a nap and then take him to school
C.Let him have a sick day at home

I choose A.

2.What do you do when your husband starts to complain that he's sick?
A.Tell him that your sorry that he doesn't feel good
B. Ignore his complaints because he doesn't care about you when you're sick
C. Sleep in a different room so you don't catch it.

I choose C. Not interested in being sick right now.

3.What do you do when you need to go grocery shopping,but have no money
A. Cash in your change
B.Wait to go until your husband gives you money
C. Beg your parents for money that you will pay back

I choose A. and B. If you really need to, you can always cash in the change stash. Or if you can wait, I love to hear Mr. D. whine about how he already gave me money for groceries and where did it go? It's awesome.

4.What do you do when your kids run out of clean clothes for school?
A. Febreze the clothes to death
B. Send them to school in dirty clothes
C. Spray perfume or cologne all over them

I choose A. I feel a little bit better about sending my kids to school smelly when I know the odor will disappear when the Febreze finally dries.

5.What do you do when you run out breakfast making items?
A. Feed them a bologna sandwich
B. Feed them a Go Gurt and granola bar
C.Feed them leftovers from last night

I choose B. These two options are portable and easy to eat on the run. Which we are doing quite often these days. I have to admit that I have done all of these options before.

6.What do you do when your children won't stop fighting?
A. Lose it and start screaming
B. Send them all to their rooms
C. Send them outside because you can't stand the noise level anymore

All of the Friggin' above.

Trash Collectors

It's amazing to me how much garbage can collect on one property in such a short amount of time. Yuck. It looks like we are hoarders. :) So me and the kiddies are heading over there in our best work clothes and are picking up garbage today. Yes.

I have a neato Chinese looking landscaping hat that I wear to protect my fragile pasty skin and my green and navy blue plaid shirt that has 3/4 length sleeves. Let me tell you, I rock it! My husband laughs so hard when I come driving up to the house looking like that. Wearing it is worth it just to see him laugh.

So I'm off to play garbage fairy and deliver wonderful garbage to the nearest and dearest dump. Hope you all have a wonderfully fun weekend.

Exhausted

I'm not sure if it's because I am never home, or if it's because if my allergies, or if it's because we are constantly scared to death about our finances, but..........I'm having a BAD day.

I try so hard to shake the discouraging feelings that slowly creep into my day, but today I'm just going to let it happen. I am too exhausted to be positive. I'm not going to complain, I just need to acknowledge the fact that I'm not very optomistic today and that I feel crummy.

We need to find another way to make a living. The fence company is dead and the property management company only generates enough income to carry our partner's family. They have their own struggles. What to do?  I wanted to start a preschool once we got into the house, but I have no extra income to finance it and we won't be in until Oct. Bummer. A little frustrated right now.

#3 is supposed to start preschool next month and now I'm not sure if we can afford the $75 a month. I need some faith right now. I've gotten pretty good at being positive and telling myself that everything is going to work out, but I'm just not feeling it today.  I need a boost. Maybe a little nap?

Wipe out

So yesterday we were at the new house and we have a trench running from the house out to our water spicket. My boys love to play in this trench. They put boards over it for a bridge, they play chicken on the boards to see who can stay on them, and they have contests to see who can jump over the trench.

This particular time they were having a trench jumping contest. #2 made it over fine. #3 made it over okay. Then #1 makes his jumps and falls short. He landed face first into the trench and got a nice big mouthfull of dirt. It was hilarious. He jumped right up because the afore mentioned trench was being used as a ................... Bathroom. I have told them numerous times not to play in that area but for some reason they gravitate to it. I was then forced to book it home and get him into the shower pronto. Nasty.

The idea I had about putting vinyl quotes all over #1's room is starting to take shape. I spent an hour or two online yesterday looking for just the right quotes and I think I found some pretty good one's. Do you have any good quotes that you would like to donate? Nothing too long. I'm paying for the vinyl by the letter. My favorite quote is,"You may find that your best friend or your worst enemy is yourself. English Proverb."
Does anyone know which prophet said,"Do it, Do it Right, Do It Right Now."? Can't find anything on it. Love that one too. Very straightforward.
Another one I like is,"Live your life now as if you are 80 looking back on it later."

Please share any quotes you like!!!!

Is it true?

I just took my boys to meet the teacher last night and I can't believe this day has finally come! Wow! I think we are all ready for this. Their teachers seem adorable and sweet and the boys classrooms are right next to eachother.  That is so nice. They can see eachother everyday, a few times a day.

My mom and I went Christmas shopping yesterday too. We had a fun filled day of store hopping for the best prices and we found some awesome deals. My mom is an organized machine. She knew she wouldn't have time to get everything wrapped around the holiday's, so she's doing it all right now. Smart lady. I'm thinking gift cards for all of the kiddies this year. I know. That's not very fun to open up on Christmas morning, but I'm going to have a lot going on then too. My oldest is getting to a point where he wants to pick out his own presents now anyway. Mom never gets him anything cool.  Even my 4 year old asked me to get him something cool this time. That one made me feel soooooo good.

We found bedding for #1's room. Colors: Black, cream, and tan striped quilt with matching shams. Now all I have to do is sand his headboard and footboard and paint them black. Is there anyone out there that just absolutely loves to do that and wants to do it for free for me? :) We are very over budget on building our house and I have nothing extra to spare. We are doing a ton of work ourselves on the house in order to save money. Oh, and did I mention that we are extremely stupid for doing this during summer? I can't be at the place for more than 4 hours or I start to get heat stroke.

For #1's room I was thinking about having vinyl quotes from the prophets and primary song lyrics all over his room. What do you think? I want to decorate his room with colors and things that he can grow with. Not a fan of having to change the theme every few years. I need to figure out a window treatment though. I used to do this for a living so I'm sure I can do it again. I'm thinking cornice box with striped fabric and black buttons. Should be fun! Gotta get the house finished first!

Oh Blah Di, Oh Blah Dah, Life goes on. Even though we feel stuck, everything around us keeps moving along. That is the only constant. Change. Thank heavens. That means that even the bad times can't last forever!

What An Incredible Weekend!

Wow! I had an incredible weekend all by myself. The house was completely quiet and now that everyone is back I find that I am getting headaches frequently.  I was able to spend time with my momma, clean my hubbies truck out for him, and actually watch a movie all the way through without screaming kids. Then I got to speak in sacrament meeting in order to say goodbye to our old ward and I got extremely positive feedback. That was a loverly suprise.

I am a wierdo because I love to speak in public. At least that's what everyone tells me. :) I like to speak because I feel like I have had so many amazing experiences and life lessons and I like to tell it like it is. No sugar coating it. I think people (especially women) appreciate that. So many times women won't share just how hard it was for them to go through something so they come off as this perfect saint who was barely scathed by this horrible event in their lives. It's a travesty. For the life of me, I can't understand why women can't just say," This was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through and I hated every minute of it?" Then tell everyone what you learned and how it helped you grow spiritually and as a human being.

You can be grateful for your trials but it's important for you to be honest with yourself and admit that it was hard and possibly unpleasant at the time. I'm not saying dwell on it or even feel sorry for yourself (which I have been guilty of a time or two). What I am saying is acknowledge that you survived it and came out a better person. I am just full of wisdom lately. J/k

Another fun thing I did was talk to a really good friend of mine that I haven't seen for a long time. She is amazing. We have known her and her husband for 7 years and they are seriously the best people. They have 4 children ages 5 and under. She is crafty, the couponing queen, and a photographer. She is truly amazing. I appreciate her friendship so much because she is honest and celebrates with me when things go well. Her and her husband even came to my ward to hear me speak. Then she texts me and says," We came to hear you speak. Yes we were there." :)  Like I said before we don't see eachother very often, but when we do we just pick up right where we left off. I love it. Thank you Delanie!

Amazing weekend. And I am looking forward to an even more amazing week! Cheers!

I was tricked!

      Mr. D and the kids are off to a family reunion this weekend. I was planning on staying home and going to a baptism for a good friend of mine and maybe doing a little shopping too. Well, the baptism got pushed back another week, I have to feed all of the animals, teach our Sunday school class on Sunday, and speak in sacrament meeting because technically it's our last Sunday in this particular ward. I was definitely dooped.
      So much for that relaxing weekend. I really need to start packing my house up. At least the things I can live without. But I have to drive into Mesa to meet with the guy making our marble bathtub. Then I get to rush back and feed the animals before they moo and bray the whole neighborhood to death. Fun.
     When did my life get so crazy? I remember a good stretch of time where I did nothing but take care of my house and the food portion of our lives. Now I am living out of my car all day and falling into bed at 6:00 p.m. exhausted. Thank heavens this isn't going to last forever. I am really counting on that. Should we say 2 months from now, it being back to normal? We'll see.      

Move Along People. Nothing to see here.

I feel a little like a fish in a fishbowl. Everyone is stopping to stare as they go by. I don't understand why though. Our life is not that interesting. Believe me.

I have people calling me everyday asking me how things are going, what's new, and how the house is coming. I almost want to say," It's the same as it was yesterday." Exciting, I know.  And then we get the people who are blunt and say, "You're still here? When are you moving?". We want to move! You have no idea how badly. We have neighbors that are watching our front yard like hawks. They notice how long it's been since we've mowed and they definitley let us know how irritated they are that we haven't kept it up.

I feel stuck. I can't pack. The progress on the house has slowed to a screeching halt, and I have no money to get out and do things. I sit at home in my wreck of a house and stare at it for a few hours thinking about how I don't want to be here anymore. My life is chaos and I'm not happy about it. I have the same routine every day and it's really boring.

I wish I could just go to Sam's Club and stock up on everything, bring it home, and actually have a place to store it. Right now everything is out in the open where you can trip on it, kick it out of the way, or simply ignore after 2 weeks of seeing it. It's unsettling. I have never lived like this in my entire life and it's getting on my nerves. I miss the cleanliness and order of a well put together house. I can't wait for that.

I'm so excited!!!!!

I think it's important to be grateful for the little things in life. Like getting your stinking braces off finally. My husband says he's gonna miss them. Uh huh. He said it with sarcasm dripping from his words. Stinker. I think the thing I am most excited about is getting my teeth bleached. I have always wanted to have a gorgeous white smile and now I get to. I am a lucky girl.

Another great thing is my hubby found a stainless steel refrigerator. The only problem is someone left a turkey inside of it with it turned off.  Yummy. But I'm not one to complain so we'll bust out the bleach and the cleaning gloves and start scrubbing. Hopefully it's a keeper. That would save us a lot of money. Although, the new Kitchenaid refrigerator's are lovely. Hmmmmm. I can dream right?

Bring It On!!!!!!

I am dead tired these days. My speech is slurred, my thoughts are extremely random, and I can still sleep all night and wake up exhausted. So since I can't get any more tired, I say BRING IT ON! I will handle whatever comes my way.

My days are blurring together. I had to sit down today and really try hard to remember what I did this week. What did I do that was even important? This is what I can remember. 1. Spent a lot of time at the new house. 2. Talked to the electrician. 3. Got a guy fired for being rude to me and laughing at my rubberbands on my braces. Serves him right. You don't make fun of the lady paying you. 3. Took the kids to McDonald's twice in one day because I didn't have time to go home and cook. 4. Cleaned the bathrooms. They were a little scary. 5. Took a shower somewhere in there.  This is all I can remember right now and they didn't even necessarily happen in that order. Yikes.

I get my braces off on July 20. Now that I have written it on cyberspace it must be really happening. Now the orthodontist can't change his mind and keep them on longer. :) Let's hope. There is nothing more pitiful than a 30 year old woman  that looks like she's trying to be 13. I can't wait to smile and not have to worry about something from lunch being stuck in my braces. That will be amazing. And I know MR. D can't wait to smooch me without all of the hardware in there.

I have 2 weeks to get my kids school shopping done. I don't know how that is going to happen considering that I have 0 energy left. Maybe I can snag one of those motorized carts at the store. That would help. Just the thought of taking 3 boys shopping is enough to make me sick. They hate it. They whine about trying on clothes, they whine about the uniforms, and they whine about being tired. By the end of the day I am ready to give them to the next person that walks by. Unfortunately I have put it off for as long as I can and it has to be done. A necessary evil.

So bring it on.

Here We Gooooo!!!!!!!!!

It feels a little bit like summer. It registered at 119 degrees in my car yesterday. That was the exterior temperature in case your wondering.

I finally got the kids signed up for swimming lessons and they loved it. I am glad that they can have some normal kid time this summer. They have been at the land with the Mr. and I cleaning up garbage and palm prongs pretty much all summer long. So it's nice to see them having some fun too.

Things are progressing quickly on the house. Everyone says that beginning a house is like pushing a car up a hill. Once the house is framed, it's like the car going downhill. So I'm trying to gear up for all of the stuff that needs to happen now. The framer's should be done by Fri. this week. Then the electrician, plumber, insulation, air conditioning, sheetrock, closets, painting, stucco, cabinets, trim, and doors all have to happen. Oh....... My........ Goodness.

It seems a little overwhelming when you look at the laundry list of things to accomplish. But when it's all happening, it's actually not too bad. You just get it done and it all magically comes together. Well not magically. We've had a lot of help from Heavenly Father. I just hope and pray that when everything is done and we have finally moved in, that we won't look around and wish that we had done things differently. We were walking around the place last night and were pretty grateful and excited about what we had done. But everyone I know that has built a custom home says that there are things that they would have changed. Uggg. I really hope not.

What a labor of love. I have never been so attached to a THING in my entire life. So much energy and emotion has been put into this THING. I think I understand why my Grandpa Standage loved building houses so much. My Grandma told Mr. the other night that if my Grandpa were still here he would have strapped on his tool belt and headed over to our place to work on it. At 85 no less. Crying. I miss that dear man. It would have been amazing to know that his hands were helping to build my dream. Mr. says he feels him sometimes there and at family parties. That's tall cotton right there. (My Gandpa's words)

I can't fully explain my gratitude for these blessings. The last couple of years were so hard fo our little family and I wasn't sure how we were going to get out of it. Heavenly Father has blessed us immensely. I don't know why he has blessed us so greatly,  because I feel inadequate and undeserving, but I am incredibly grateful and humbled nonetheless. We have tried to do our best to do what he has asked us to do, but we aren't perfect. Every step of us getting to this point has been guided and inspired and I am in awe of His love for us. This truly is a special home and I will never forget that fact. Thank you Father in Heaven.

Why oh Why?

Building a house is one of the hardest things your marriage could ever go through. Or so people say. I happen to think they are absolutely correct in this statement. Unless you have unlimited funds and no timeline whatsoever, it is a horrible process. I am chomping at the bit to get this house done. School starts August 8th. We have no idea when we are going to have to move out of our current house and we would really like to avoid moving twice if possible.

Our framers were supposed to start last Wed. and got held up because of our lumber package. So now we are behind schedule. Awesome. My hubby and I can't agree on anything. He likes dark colors on just about everything while I am more in the middle. We fight about everything at this point. If you would like to truly test your relationship with someone before you get married....... build a house together. Then you will know what that person is like under extreme circumstances.

Here are the educational lessons my children have picked up this month:
Stress. That is the word for the month. The number of the month is $9,000. That is how much we are OVER budget at this point. The color of the month is Ebony. This is the color my husband picks out for everything. Anyone with half of a brain knows that ebony is black. But he swears it's not that dark. Whatever.
The jetted tub has disappeared also and maybe my hidden laundry baskets in the laundry room. I don't know if I can tile the master bathroom shower or if I have to settle for a hideous vinyl shower surround. I love that crackling sound it makes when you get into the shower. Not really.

So if anyone is seriously thinking about building a house, rethink it. It's difficult, time consuming, mentally and physically exhausting, and before you know it you're in the poorhouse.You will be sitting at Taco Bell getting lunch and suddenly realize that the money you are spending at Taco Bell, could pay for light switch covers. It's ridiculous.

I now dream about paint colors and furniture placement. I used to like to do that. Now I could care less. I think that is the point you ultimately get to. Sad but true. I just want a house that doesn't leak when it rains, won't fall down when the wind blows, and keeps us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Not too complicated. Right?
We'll see.

We Hear What We Want To Hear!

Isn't it funny how we can have a full blown conversation with someone and walk away from it hearing something totally different than the other person? This happens to me frequently. I'm trying to really listen to what the people are saying, but the meaning of the conversation is what I come away with. And to make matters worse, the meaning that I got may not be what they meant or really what they said at all. It was what I perceived. Yikes. I'm really preoccupied with watching that person's body language, facial expressions, and if inflections in their voices. They may say one thing, but I don't believe them because everything else is telling me something different.

So now I've decided to just take everything at face value. If you tell me that you're alright, then I'm going to believe you and back off. If you tell me that you don't need any help or don't want dinner that night, I won't do anything. So be careful. Because I'm tired of trying to read people's minds. When you say something, mean it! Don' try to be brave, tough, or macho. If you need help, say so. If you want to be alone, say so. Don't be something that you're not, and don't say things that you don't really mean. They should teach that in church because Mormon's are the worst at this. Especially the women.

A woman could have literally just had a baby and have 3 little kids at home and a husband that works crazy hours, and you could ask her if she would like some dinner, and she would say no. Even though you know that she desperately needs that meal and a million other things too. Why do we do that? Is it a sign of weakness. Like we can't take care of our own responsiblities or something? Or is it because we are so used to serving others that we don't want to be served ourselves? Rubbish. That's what I think.

We need to be served once in awhile. And for those of us with husbands that don't understand that, we need our friends to be there for us. To say ,"Too Bad", and break down our door and bring us dinner's, take our children for the afternoon, and maybe do a load of laundry or two. Let those sweet people into your disgusting house and let them see you in your nursing top and filthy pajamas and let them lift the stress off of you for just a little while. Believe me you can get back to reality soon enough.

Poor Little Guy

My oldest has been sick for 2 weeks now with a mystery illness. At first I thought he was faking it just to get out of doing his chores, but now I believe him. I took him to the E.R. with bad stomach pains and vomiting. They ran every test they could on him and came up with NOTHING. They said he may have a virus, but that there was nothing that they could do for him. So we came home and the next day he was fine all day until 4:00 pm. This seems to be the pattern now. He will be perfectly fine all day long until late afternoon. Then the stomach pain starts up and he won't eat anything and just lays on the couch in the fetal position. Poor kid.

I picked up Zofran, stool softener, and Tylenol yesterday. We'll see if that helps at all. Hopefully it's not like this for much longer. We are currently trying to get a referral to a G.I. doctor. I'm not sure if they will be able to find anything either, but it's worth a shot. I hope and pray that he can get back to feeling better soon. It's summer for pete's sake. That will be fun for him to tell all of his friends at school when they ask what he did during summer break." I laid on my couch and threw up all summer". Yay!

If anyone has ever had anything like this before and got over, could you let me know what you did to help it along? Thanks.

Wow.

Wow. Is my life really just about yelling at my kids all of time? I literally feel like that is all I do in a day. I have tried to calmly talk to them and help them understand why I need them to do something but it doesn't work. They just keep on doing whatever it is that they want to do, and completely ignore me. Or they say," Okay mom." and then never do what I asked them to do. The only time I get results is when I'm am in their faces yelling, threatening, and taking away every possible thing that they love in this world. Sigh.

It's exhausting. Take today for example. We have not been home for a week and the house is nasty. I designated today and clean up day. I told the kids that they were not allowed to play with friends until their chores are done. I asked them to begin by dumping their toys out and organizing them. What are they doing? Playing with their toys. There is no organizing happening. I just told them that they were going to have extra chores now. They don't care. I am super afraid that the day is going to end with spankings and groundings. I have tried the reward charts, praising, taking away privileges, yelling, telling them that I am going to give them away to the next person that comes to the door, and nothing works.I am exhausted.

I have tried to teach my children to take care of their things so we don't have a messy house. But since we have been basically living out of boxes for the last 4 months it's pretty hard to keep everything neat and tidy. They have definitely developed some bad habits. They don't clean up after themselves anymore. They can't even understand that when the laundry is clean and folded it needs to make it's journey to their drawers. Strange idea, I know.  It's really getting out of hand.

I'm really afraid that when we move into the new house that they are going to trash the place. We have worked so hard on it and I am not willing to let them ruin it.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Recently a family member has been having some pretty horrific trials in their life. They have had an amazing life though. Filled with marriage, children, traveling the globe, serving their country, loving and caring for others.But within the last 6 weeks has been dealt a horrendous blow. Without being specific about the nature of the trial because I would like to respect their privacy, I will explain how this person has affected me.

I don't have many members of family on my father's side. The people that I have been privileged to know on this side are incredible, amazing people. They are tough, strong, fighters who don't know the word quit. They are giving and selfless. They love people. They have traveled the globe being exposed to all different kinds of cultures and have embraced each one. They are truly one of a kind.

We see eachother only a few times a year, but when we get together it's home to me. They hug you, genuinely want to know how you are doing, and don't want you to leave too soon. So why do bad things have to happen to them?

I know that none of us are exempt from trials, unfortunately. We all knew exactly what we were getting into when we agreed to come to this earth. The saddest part is that we don't remember. I believe that our merciful Heavenly Father showed us exactly what trials we would be given here before we came. We agreed to the terms and were sent to earth with the veil drawn over our memories so we would all be tested equally. It gives a tiny bit of comfort to know that our Heavenly Father loved us and didn't assign us anything that we couldn't handle. Although at times it seems unbearable.

This time it is overwhelmingly hard to bear. Even with the knowledge that we have. We want the people we love to be with us always. Near us, cheering us on in the flesh, and hugging us when we need it the most. It's selfish really. I guess that's why we have funerals. It's for those that are left behind so we can remember that person and say goodbye. When in reality the person that has moved on is free from illness, deformed bodies that don't do what they want them to do, and emotional pain.What a merciful Father in Heaven.

Sometimes it's hard to take the knowledge that we have and translate it to our hearts. To convince our hearts that it's okay even though that person is leaving or gone. To convince it that we will be able to carry on and that it won't hurt so much, someday. I know time lessens pain. I have had experience with that. But it never fully goes away. It leaves it's imprint on your heart and forever changes how you view life, death, and love. I am forever grateful for the family that I was blessed to be born into. They have been incredible examples of kindness, love, gratitude, and strength of character. They stood firm in doing what was right, even when no one was looking. They never sought praise or recognition. They quietly went about doing good.

I love this person dearly. As they begin this journey, I want to take the burden from them so badly. I know that they wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I don't want to see them suffer. I pray that the Lord will grant them this tender mercy as they continue on this path. I feel helpless to do anything to help them. They have a good support system of loving family members surrounding them, but I wish I could do something. Anything.
May the Lord grant me the peace to accept the things I can't change.
The strength to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Blogging the Journey

I know that I will look back on this time in my life and think," How did we make it through?" My husband is working a full time job, running a property management and real estate company, and being a general contractor on our new house. He leaves at 5:00 am, and doesn't come home until 8:00 pm every night. Wow. I have 3 rambunctious boys at home, run a catering business, run errands for the new house, cook clean, do laundry, entertain the kiddos, and am now on the Relief Society committee. Needless to say, a slowdown will be a welcome change in a few months.

So blogging about this journey I think will be important to future posterity. They can see that Grandma and Grandpa didn't always have it so easy. Good thing we are young while all of this is happening.

So we got our building permit approved May 30, 2011. We worked on our house pad for 2 weeks and had the rough plumb put in June 4, 2011. We passed the inspection and are now digging footer trenches around the interior perimeter of the house to pour concrete for our monolythig pour. We also hired someone to put down gravel and rebar over the rough plumb. We ordered our vinyl windows yesterday and they should arrive on June 23rd. Our tile hasn't come in yet, but should be sometime today or tomorrow.

We should be able to start framing the place in 2 weeks and the framer's said it should only take 3 days to finish that. The we have a drywall guy lined up and ready to go. The only thing we need is an electrician and we already have 3 bids to look over.

It's all happening pretty fast. If we're lucky we might be able to be in by August. School starts August 8th so if we could be in there by then, we would be so blessed.

We have already been blessed more than we could ever imagine! We got over that ilness in record time and I got a new church calling that was tailor made for me. Chad's work is going pretty well, and we will have a place to live in 3-4 months!

I Can't Believe This Really Happened!!!!

So I just spent a marvelous weekend with my children and parents! It was really more like 6 days and 5 nights at my favorite place in the whole wide world. Prescott. I love that place! It's got the old charm of the 1800's, mixed with the more new malls and cute little shops. I bought my wedding china there, I met the man of my dreams there, I honeymooned there, and I've been there for my birthday for the last 14 years. Yeah, it's a pretty special place.

This vacation was wonderful. I read 4 books, went on 2 quad rides, went shopping, cooked, ate, and totally relaxed. It was the best. I am so grateful that I am not hard to please. It makes it so much better when people do nice things for you. Thank you everybody! It was the best birthday ever! Even if I'm no longer a 20 something anymore.

When I got home from my hiadous, I found our new dirt pad surrounded by wooden forms ready and waiting to have concrete poured on it. Oh my! I was so excited! I honestly can't believe that I am going to have the house of my dreams and my amazing husband is making it all happen. I love him soooooo much! What a harrowing experience though. I don't think I have ever run this many errands in my whole married life! We are literally living off of pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and gatorade. Awesome.

Just got a catering job for a reception of 200. An old customer of mine (she bought my dinner's) called me up and asked me if i could do her daughter's reception! Isn't that awesome? I am decorating and doing food so it should be fun! I met her and he fiancee' last night and they were very fun to get to know. I love doing this for a job. I get to make people's special day yummy and pretty! It's the best. My cousin Adele is doing the flowers. http://www.adeleheslingtonphotography.blogspot.com/. Once I move in and get settled into the new house I will update my catering blog. Hopefully I can get more catering jobs. http://www.eventdesserts.blogspot.com/

That's all for now. I need to go make a nutritious lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Gatorade. Maybe I'll branch out and make chicken nuggets instead. Gourmet, I know.

Vacation? Yes Please!

Next week I am planning on taking my family to one of my favorite placesin the world. Prescott. I love that place because so many good memories have happened there. It's where I met my husband almost 12 years ago. It's where we took our engagement pictures. It's where we had our honeymoon. It's where I've celebrated my birthday for the last 14 years. It's where I can go to relax and unwind and remember how to enjoy my kids. It's a great place.

Speaking of celebrating my birthday, it's coming up! #30! For my husband's 30th birthday I threw him a huge suprise party at his favorite restaurant. I even had a Baskin Robbin's ice cream cake there. For mine though he's building me a house. Not as fun but still very nice. He's been working so hard on getting things going on this house, plus working a full time job. He's a little tuckered out. Rightly so.

If I could have my dream 30th birthday it would include:
1.A fancy romantic dinner with my husband.
2.A sleepover at a nice hotel.
3.A cleaning crew to come and clean my house and pack it.
4.Flowers.
5.Money to go shopping with
6.A trip just me and my mom in Prescott.
7.A massage
8.A full day of beauty.
9.Going to an amusement park with the kids.
10.Being able to sleep as much as I want.
11.Buying new furniture for our new house.
12.Having an amazing Pied Piper Photography shoot with my family.
13.Having all of my food storage purchased.
14.Getting a pedicure.
15.Getting new contacts and glasses.
Now this is just a wish list. Not realistic in the least. I'm happy with what is happening for my birthday already. It will be nice to get away for a few days.

Where are all of my nighttime elves?

Ok Elves! In case you didn't get the memo, you are seriously slacking in your duties around my house. I woke up this morning to dirty bathrooms and a butt load of laundry! Now I understand that the work load can be a little overwhelming but you do have magic to help you. Now I don't want to have to speak to you about this again. It's very disheartening to wake up in the morning after a rough night with the little's and have a dirty bathroom stare you in the face. So please keep that in mind when you are debating whether or not to do your work. Also if you should choose to not complete the tasks left for you, there will not be any shoes left in the house for you to sleep in. I mean it!

Thank you,
The Management

What do you stand for?

I love that country song that says ,"You've Got To Stand For Something, Or You'll Fall For Anything." "You've Got To Be Your Own Man, Not A Puppet On A String." So true.

I want to know what you stand for? Is it human rights? Is it your right to breast feed in public? Let me know. The things that I believe in defending are listed. They are near and dear to my heart because of my life experiences.

1. Nursing home care. Abuse happens most often in these places because family member do not regularly visit their loved ones to look for signs. Bed sores, filthiness, bruising, infections,etc.
2. My children's privacy. I HATE it when random strangers take pictures of my kids. I have no idea what they are going to do with those images. There are a lot of sickos out there.
3. Tolerance. I may not like or agree with how you choose to live your life, but I don't agree with you being treated badly. No one deserves that. I will never treat you badly, but I may choose not to associate with you.
4.Marriage between a man and woman. There is no other way. I will teach my children this principle and their children.
5. My rights as a homeowner. We live next to a large amusement farm and they started to infringe on my family's safety and our ability to enjoy our home. I fought them with a petition and by going to the town meetings. It worked.
6.Child Abuse. The weakest and most vulnerable are the first to experience this. If your child tells you that they are being abused, believe them. Don't blame, or tell them that they don't know what they are talking about. Listen and help them.
7. The Child Crisis Center. They are an amazing organization that help abused children. They are located in the East Valley. There are donation bins all around the valley for them. Please donate.
8. Early breast cancer detection. My aunt just found out that she has aggressive breast cancer in her right breast and has to get a mastectomy. Horrible. Save the ta ta's!
9.Good, safe schools. The public school that my children were attending was horrible. How does a Kindergartner get through school without learning to read? Well he does if his teacher is absent for 3/4 of the school year due to a nasty divorce. Poor woman. He had a new substitute every 2 days. Charter schools can be a great option. Do your homework!
10.Homeopathic and traditional medicine. Most people say it's either one or the other but I am a huge believer in both.
11. Teaching your children to work. You are doing your children a serious disservice if you are not making them get outside and teaching them to work with their hands. They sweat, stink, get dirty, and learn that they can do hard things. Quitting is not an option until the job is done. Even for girls.
12.Eating your meals at home together. Eating out is nice sometimes. But nothing will ever compare to a meal that you made with your own two hands. Besides your children are more likely to talk to you about their day in the privacy of your own home then they are at a restaurant. Plus it's healthier.
13.My faith. Is it right? Is it True? I have that saying in my Book of Mormon and it reminds me to always seek what is right and true. I have. I have been given answers to my questions and no matter what anyone says to me about what I believe, it will not change my views. How strong are you in your faith? Are you wishy washy? Does it depend on who you are talking to?
14. Medical research. Why do innocent good people have to suffer because we don't know how to help them?

I know that most of us stay current with the news. It's impossible not to feel a little jaded about what is happening in the world. The economy is horrible, there are wars and rumors of wars happening everywhere. There are natural disasters occurring all over the country. For me, now is the time to stop and reflect on what means the most to me and what I am willing to stand for. What are you willing to stand for?

Can't Sleep!

Wow! It' s 3 A.M. on a Monday morning and I can't sleep. I have bouts with this from time to time. Too much on my mind and can't manage to relax. Trying to type quietly so I don't wake the little's. I think I just need to get it written down and then I will be able to file it away.

I have an aunt who just found out that she has breast cancer. I have an uncle who has prostate cancer. They are married. I need to call my handicapped sister who lives in an assisted living home tomorrow. My brother didn't want my family to join his family yesterday for mother's day at his house. Ouch. Hopefully it was a misunderstanding. One of my dear friends is struggling right now and I can't help her. Makes me sad. We have 2 weeks to finish cleaning up our property before the dirt work has to be done for the house pad. I need to work on packing up my house again.Overwhelming. My cousin's little boy is in the hospital with a heart condition and I'm so sad for them. Another friend is struggling financially and she is scared and overwhelmed.

I need to keep working out. My body is getting very stiff and it hurts if I don't make myself exercise everyday. I have to pick a paint color for the exterior and the interior of the new house. I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. Trying to make a mental grocery shopping list included with coupons. Sick, I know.

Have to go to the orthodontist this week. Haven't been for awhile and my braces are killing! Wish they were open more than one day a week out here. My car is almost out of gas and can't afford to put more than $20 in it. It takes about $140 to fill it up.Yay. My littlest is having a rough time being obedient and nice. Trying not to spank him, but our little talks have not been working. Made him hug his brother and tell him that he loves him.

My 30th birthday is just around the corner and I'm not very excited. Sad. I feel like I have to adjust my look now. T-shirts and jeans aren't very cute anymore. Kind of frumpy if you ask me.Not a skirt or dress fan outside of church either. Feel like I need to grow up a little bit though. I don't have anymore babies at home so that excuse is gone. We'll see. I think a trip to Rue 21 is in order. They have pretty cute clothes. Need to lose some weight first.

My Mother's Day was lovely. Friday night we made dinner for my mother-in-law and I made chocolate covered strawberries for her and chocolate cupcakes with a strawberry cream filling for everyone else. Saturday we cleaned up the land and I made vegetarian lasagna, salad, rosemary garlic french bread, and the chocolate cupcakes for my parents. Sunday we went to church and my hubby made me ribs, salad, baked potato's, and corn on the cob. I made a chocolate mousse cake. Yum. He got me roses, a new work hat so I don't burn, and some goat leather work gloves so my hands to hurt. Sweet man. A very nice Mother's day indeed.

Need to text my friend tomorrow and check on her. Her hubby said she wasn't doing very well yesterday. Not happy to hear that. I'm a little protective of her. Don't know why. But I worry.
Have to get the kids into the dentist for cleaning's before we move. Need to get Dillon's eyes checked. He says they hurt at school and he has to let them rest.

Need to get the laundry done today. We run out of clean clothes way too fast around here. The kids never seem to have clean jeans or uniforms shirts. The two items they always need. Go figure.

Want to run away for awhile. Want to jump in my car and drive to somewhere relaxing for a week and then drive home and have everything be done for me. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Mom

So since this is the time of year to express our love to our mother's (which I think is down right hilarious that we only choose to do this once a year) I am going to pay tribute to my outstanding mom.

My mom is my best friend. She is an incredibly talented, motivated, caring, best friend. She has so many gifts that she has cultivated over the years that it might take awhile to go through every one of them. But I'll recognize a few. She is an amazing listener. I know that if I need to talk, vent, or cry, I can call her and she will drop whatever it is that she's doing and listen. She is amazing at creating things. She is the original Martha Stewart. She can walk into a room and completely recreate it. She can put a party together like no one. And she can sew and create clothing that is gorgeous. She is fair. This is not an easy attribute to have when you are the mother of a handicapped child, 3 boys, and a blond hair blue eyed youngest that are all vying for your attention. But we all feel special when we are with her. She  is tough and soft at the same time. When things need to be done she is the first one to do it. She doesn't feel sorry for herself, or complain when no one notices, she just does it. She loves everyone. Honestly. When she meets someone for the first time, she is always looking for the good in them. She always has something nice to say about everyone she knows. My mom has not had a fairytale life. But if you ask her, she will say she has had a very good life. She was the oldest of 8 kids and was asked to tend, clean, cook, etc. from an early age. She sewed her own clothes, did well in school, attended college, and married in the temple. She has always done what was asked of her and then some. She raised 5 children. One of them being handicapped. She has run a successful interior design company for 18 years and still managed to be a stay at home mom. I never understood the sacrifices that my mom made until I became a mom myself. Somehow the house was clean, the laundry done, dinner made, and we always had what we needed. And all I can say is my mom is amazing and thank you to her. I love you dearly mom. Thank you for making my memories so wonderful and for giving me an amazing example to aspire to.

Inspired

Wow! My last post must have been inspired because stake conference yesterday was all about being better and doing better. Amazing. Lately I have really felt this urgency to improve myself. I don't know why but it's been hanging around me and won't go away.

I have a friend that has been going through a rough time (enough said) and my mom told me that maybe we are staying in our house for awhile so I can be there for her. Huh. I think my mom was inspired because I never thought of that possiblity.

My car stopped working. It starts up fine, but once I press the gas it stops moving and the power steering cuts out. My husband said we should wait to take it in until the code comes on. I needed my car really bad last week and it worked all week. This week I don't really need it so now I can take it in. I think my husband was inspired. Plus I have enough money now to rent a car until mine is fixed. Blessed.

I have a good feeling that this week is going to be awesome.

I Want To Be Better

I want to be a better person. A simple statement that so many of us say every day because somehow by just saying it, it makes us feel a little better about ourselves. It shows that we at least have the desire to be better people. Right?  But do we actually work at being better?

Unfortunately lately I have found that being a Mormon is not a well liked think to be. Now this isn't the case everywhere thank heavens, but a lot of people I have come in contact with have not had good experiences with those of our faith. They felt snubbed, looked down on, excluded, and judged. I do understand that a lot of that has to do with insecurities on the offended's part, but perception is reality. I actually feel like I am defending my faith everytime I meet someone who had a bad experience with our church. It makes me sad.  I have met the most amazing people that are not members of my faith. They are good people who are doing the best that they can. Just like I am. I am no better than they are and am no more special than they are in Heavenly Father's eye's.

How can I be a better person? I want to find more ways to show my husband just how much I love him. I want my children to know without a doubt that I love them. I want to do more to show my friend that is struggling right now, that I will do whatever I can to help ease her burdens. I want the stranger that I meet tomorrow to know that I want to get to know them, not what they've done in the past.  I just wish that we could see everyone the way that we want to be seen. As good, friendly, smart, pretty, kind, handsome, generous, thoughtful, loving, considerate, selfless, motivated people. We all have something amazing about us. I am learning this truth as I get out of my safe little bubble. It's amazing out here!

When I was little, I used to see homeless people asking for money. Someone told me not to give them any money because they would just buy drugs or alcohol with it and it wouldn't help them. Now I know that it doesn't matter what they do with the money because it isn't my job to judge them. It's my job to serve and give, not to judge.

I want to be a better person. And I am going to look for opportunities to do so. One of my hubbies favorite sayings is: I may not agree with what you are saying, but I would fight to the death for your right to say it.  We don't always have to agree with everyone. We don't have to have something in common for us to be kind to someone. We don't have to judge someone on  their appearance before deciding to talk to them. And we don't have to politely ignore someone because we are afraid of what people will say if they see us talking to them.

So instead of saying that I want to be a better person, I am going to say I WILL be a better person.