a GOOD weekend

Craig took Friday off, so it was a really good weekend. We decided to get some Christmas shopping done. We got it all done! Friday night we just hung out. Saturday we took the kids to see "Tangled." It was such a cute movie. Caleb even came and didn't put up a fuss over seeing a princess movie. All the kids enjoyed it. We hit a pretty good milestone too. Adam sat through the entire movie and we didn't have to take him out!!! Wooohooo :D Now if we could just keep him from acting up in sacrament meeting so we don't have to take him out :p

***

Caleb got in trouble yesterday. At church he was supposed to write down what gift he would give Jesus. His answer: "nothing." Needless to say, we had a long conversation about his answer. That child is going to turn my hair gray! The problem with him is that some of the stuff he says is pretty funny, but at the same time it's not. It's hard trying to discipline him while trying not to laugh. He thinks he's pretty funny too. He sure can make himself laugh. He may have a career as a comedian!

Update

I got pretty busy with Thanksgiving so I did not finish my blog with things I am grateful for. So here's what's happened...

***

We had a really good Thanksgiving. We went to Darren's and Brydon and Nicole came up. So did Annelle and the kids. Dinner was YUMMY with everyone's help. The kids had fun playing with their cousins. Our kids, with the exception of Adam, spent the night at Darren's. They LOVED that. Friday Brydon and Nicole came over here and hung out. Later that night all the adults went to Carabba's and we saw "Unstoppable." Awesome dinner and intense movie. We're so glad Brydon and Nicole have moved to Oklahoma. Now they're only 5 hours away. We'll get the whole Skeem family here yet! Saturday the boys hung out at Darren's and Some of the girls went shopping. Got some Christmas shopping done, but haven't really made a dent! Craig took Wednesday off so it was a good long weekend spent with family. So grateful for family!!!

***

I made the Christmas glass blocks for the LMS holiday mart. It was today and unfortunately it didn't go as well as I had planned. I only sold about 10. But I took a gamble, which is rare for me. I have them on Craigslist and ebay so maybe I'll sell some there. Craig's sold some at work just by displaying one on his desk. Hopefully I can sell the rest next year. I plan on doing the craft fairs in Spring Hill and Gardner. We'll see how it goes.

***

We got out Christmas tree last Saturday. We started discussing possibly getting an artificial tree. But Craig and I don't think we can bring ourselves to do it. Maybe Craig will build me a platform to put the tree on so it can be taller since the fresh ones don't get as tall as we'd like. But for now, we are happy with what we got.

***

I love this time of year. My favorite holiday by far. I love the decorating, the music, the lights. The kids decorated the tree all by themselves this year. I remember growing up when we would decorate the tree what a pain it was because we weren't putting the ornaments in just the right place. So, I have decided that I let the kids do what they want. I try and tell them not to put 2 of the same ornaments right next to each other, but it happens. And I don't mind. I don't need it to look perfect.

***

I'm not in the writing mood. Or in a very creative mood. So that's all for now.

Day 14 & 15

I'm thankful for the Gospel. It's been the best thing to happen in my life. I know the church is true and I know that God lives. Sometimes I struggle with the many activities that are church related. But I don't doubt the Gospel.

***

I'm grateful for my Chunkers. I'm grateful for all my kids, of course. But Adam has a horrible sleeping schedule that keeps him up late at night after the kids have gone to bed. So we get to watch him all evening. He is such a sweet little guy. He loves the attention he gets when it's just him. Sometimes I wonder if he was meant to go to a single child family. I love his chunky hands and legs. Tonight he was playing the harmonica and dancing to it. It was pretty cute. He has really started speaking well too. He says "yeth," " I wuv you," "my moo cowth." I sure love my Chunckers.

Day 12 & 13

I'm thankful for Craig's job and work ethic. He has always been such a great provider for our family. He is such a hard worker and always does a good job. He has gotten many awards and recognitions at work. He has recently gotten a promotion that came with a raise. I am so thankful that we haven't had to deal with unemployment. It's a great blessing for our family.

***

I'm thankful to be a stay at home mom. Yes, it can be hard at times, but I would not want to be anywhere else. I'm so glad Craig has a steady job that allows me to stay home. I got a job at JCPenney, but decided I didn't want to take it. It didn't feel right. I couldn't imagine leaving the kids. Maybe in a few more years. But for now, I am happy to be home with them.

Day 11

I am thankful for all the different cultures. I am so glad that we have so many different types of food in the US. We can get Chinese, Mexican, Indian, Sushi, etc... I often wonder if other parts of the world have different types of food like that. I asked my penpal from Australia if they did. She said they used to have a Mexican restaurant but that it was no longer in business. Does Japan have Mexican restaurants? Does Mexico have Japanese food? When I lived in Mexico I only knew Mexican food. But maybe things are different now. So, I'm grateful that I can taste so many different foods.

Day 10

I'm thankful for lotion. I am obsessed with lotion. I bit OCD about it actually. I have to put it on after I wash my hands. EVERY time. I enjoy a good smelling lotion. My favorite right now is Nivea. It reminds me of an aunt in Mexico that used it. It brings back good memories.

Day 9

I'm grateful for laughter. I LOVE a good laugh. It's been a while since I had a great laugh. I need Yvonne here for that.

Day 8

I am grateful for peace and quiet. People have said that you miss the noise when the kids are older or out of the house. I know myself pretty well, and I can honestly say that I won't miss the noise. Maybe because the house is mostly noisy due to crying, fighting and screaming. There's some laughter, but it's mostly bad noise. So, I will NOT miss the noise at all. I like my peace and quiet. I don't mind having the house to myself and having complete silence. I don't need noise. So when I do get a moment of silence, I relish it! I don't mind being alone either. I took a trip to Arizona a couple of years ago by myself. Most friends couldn't understand why I would go alone. It was great. I didn't have to consult anybody else on what the plan for the day was. I could do whatever I wanted. I didn't mind eating alone either. I like the friends I have and hanging out with them, but being alone can be a good thing too.

Day 5-7

Keeping a thankful blog EVERYDAY is a challenge for me. I know, pathetic. So here's days 5-7:

***

I'm thankful for good friends. I have come to realize that people come into your life for a reason. I wish I had made more of an attempt to make more friends in Idaho. I should have reached out more. Recently, I was talking to a good friend about my roommates at Ricks. I really feel like Heavenly Father brought those girls into my life for a reason. They helped me grow and gain a strong testimony. I look at my friends I have made since Ricks and feel the same way. I think a good friend is somebody that leaves you feeling better than when you first came in contact with them. I hope I do that for my friends.

***

I am thankful for all the comforts I enjoy. My house, clothes, car, A/C, heat, phone, yes, even tv! We had so little in Mexico so I have come to really appreciate what I have. The house I live in now, I would have considered a mansion in Mexico!! Even though my financial needs are much better than they were in Mexico, I'm not a big frills person. When we build, we would like something modest. I don't have to have the best of anything. I don't need a fancy car with leather seats. I'm very content with what I have.

***

I'm thankful for the arts. Music, plays, dance, etc... When I was still living at home and my mom wasn't able to go to the symphony with my dad, he would take one of us kids, so that was my first exposure to classical music. I loved it. I loved seeing all the talented musicians and different instruments. When I went to Ricks there was a required class called Fine Arts that exposed me to even more music, plays and famous works of art. It was all the basic, most famous forms of art that everybody should know. It was one of my favorite classes. I have to admit that I wish I had one of those talents. But, I am still thankful that I can enjoy others' talents.

Day 3 & 4

I'm grateful for books. I LOVE reading. I like it more now than when I was younger. I like a lot of different books. Although, I must admit that the last 2 books that were selected for book club I could not get through. We started a book club in Louisburg and the firsr 2 books were hard for me to get into. I did start them though. But I do like fiction and non-fiction. I like biographies. I'm not a fan of kids' sci-fi though. Anyway, just thankful for books. My favorite time of day is when I climb in bed with a good book.

***

I am grateful for wide shoes. I recently found out that I have been wearing the wrong shoe size. I thought I was an 8 1/2 wide. Turns out I'm a 9 double wide. I was not happy to find that out. I ended up buying the most expensive pair of shoes I've ever bought. But it has been the best money I've ever spent on shoes. They are actually comfortable. My feet don't hurt. I'm grateful to live in a time where I can get comfortable shoes. Grateful that I can go online and ind them so easily. It's awesome!!

Day 2

I am grateful for the seasons. My favorite is fall and spring. The fall in Kansas is AMAZING!! The colors are beautiful. Tonight we went to a football game and it was cool and crisp. Just how football season should be.

Thankful

I decided I would write each day this month about things I'm grateful to have in my life.

***

Day 1: My kids. Yes, they drive me CRAZY at times. They do things that make me cry at times. But they also do things that melt my heart and make me smile.

Update

I got a bit frustrated because I was trying to post some pictures on here and it just wasn't going the way I wanted it to so that's why I haven't blogged in a while. I will try again this week.

***

Not much has happened. Cooper has started wrestling. I hope he has a good season. Audry has her first concert coming up. She has been practicing hard. Caleb wants to wrestle. They have a free clinic coming up so I will take him to see what he thinks. He still wants to do Tae Kwon Doe (sp?). We asked him why. "Because if there's ever any danger I'll be ready!" Dead serious when he said it too. Lauren is still enjoying dance. She continues to cry daily, several times a day. I don't know if she's not getting enough sleep or what. Craig took her on a date a little while ago and she was on cloud 9!!! They went to La Mesa and then to Alco for some shopping. He said she was beaming all night. She also wants to wrestle. Adam is... his usual self. So cute one minute that I want to squish him and so naughty the next that I want to strangle him. I have been taking him and Lauren to story time and they have really enjoyed it. I thought I'd have to chase Adam down but he actually sits there and listens to the story. He is quite naughty at the store though. He sure gives me grief!!!

***

Caleb had fore safety week about 2 weeks ago at school and came home wanting to do a fire drill. We finally got around to it last Monday. That was our family home evening. Caleb was very serious about the whole thing. He showed us what to do and was quite proud that he was the one teaching us. At one point, we looked over at Lauren who looked very worried. When we announced that we were going to go to our rooms to pretend there was a fire and practice getting out of the house, she started crying. We had to explain over and over that it was just pretend. She finally calmed down though. We tested the smoke alarms and I think we are set if there ever is a fire.

***

We have had beautiful weather lately. Fall is definitely here and it is stunning. My favorite season for sure. The leaves have changed color and the temperatures have been perfect. Chilly in the morning but just right in the afternoon.

***

Super Saturday is over. Wooooohooo! Even though I was only in charge of 2 crafts, it was still a lot of work. I think I'll just attend next time and not volunteer for crafts. It's always more work than I think it will be. It went well though. The glass blocks I did were a big hit. I'm actually going to sell them at the middle school Holiday Mart in December. I'm going to sell them for $25. I hope I do well. I haven't seen anything like that around here so I think people will buy it.

***

We still continue to be extremely busy. There's always something going on. It seems as if there's more church things than school things going on. We have decided to cut back on the amount of things we attend. It's just too much to go to everything. And even though some people may judge us for it, I don't care. I have decided that we need to do what's best for our family and there's no need to explain or justify it to anybody else. I have been trying really hard not to judge others since I don't want to be judged. We don't know what's going on in other people's lives so we don't know why they make the decisions they do. It may not be what we would do, but that doesn't mean they're wrong. It's just different. This was the message that President Monson gave at women's conference and I have really tried to follow his council.

***

Not so sweet: I found out I'm actually a 9 double wide in shoes. :p

Sweet: Craig has a lot of time off so he'll be taking this Friday off, plus some time over Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Powell Gardens & BIG bugs!

About 2 weeks ago we decided to take the kids to Powell Gardens. I had heard that they had a BIG bug exhibit. It was really cool and the kids had a lot of fun. Cooper decided to go to a friend's house so that's why he's missing from the pictures.

There was a silo with a spiral staircase. The kids were a little scared.

A ladybug!!

This was one of the first structures we came across. It was really cool!!

Small town

I love living in Louisburg. It's such a cute, small town. I like that I recognize most people when I'm doing errands here. I like the good schools. I like that the community knows the value of a good education. I like that it's small. Even though I grew up in LA, I have never been a big city girl. I have always preferred small, quaint towns. When we lived in Idaho, we lived in a small town named Kuna. Louisburg reminds me a lot of Kuna. Although, I think Kuna is much larger now and has a way bigger LDS population. A family member once asked where we find these weird towns. I don't think they're weird at all. It's all in how you look at it and what you prefer. I like that practically the entire town goes to the football games. Regardless if you have a kid playing or not. We like our football here!!! If it's game day, pretty much everybody wears purple. We went to the game Friday night. I had to take Cooper early because he was participating in the flag ceremony. We were there about an hour before. People were already arriving, saving seats, saving parking spots and tail gating. For a high school game!!! Quite something. We are currently undefeated so we are all very proud of our little team. I have to admit that when we found Louisburg and decided to live here I got pretty excited when I saw the stadium. I know it's lame, but I just wanted to see Cooper play football there. I wanted to hear his name being called over the loudspeaker. Not for the recognition, but just as part of the small town feel at a football game. Cooper Skeem just seems like a fun name to call over the loud speaker, to me anyway. He has decided to play next year after all. Wooohooo!

***

I got a job. I interviewed with JCPenney and I got the job. I haven't started yet. I start training in a couple of weeks. Now that I have gotten the jo I am uncertain about the whole thing. I am not sure if it's the right thing. I thought I would be happy and excited to have a break from the kids, but now that I have the opportunity, I don't know. I guess I can try it out and see how it goes.

***

Good: Finding a part time job. Getting a break, discounts and bringing in a little extra money.

Not so good: Finding a part time job.

Babies

Craig and I watched a movie called "Babies" this weekend. It was about 4 babies from around the world and how their lives differed. It was interesting, cute and funny. It made me a bit baby hungry. Just a bit though. It mostly made me sad to see how fast my babies have grown up. Cooper is already 13. A teenager. He'll be in high school next year. Yikes!! And my baby is 2. Talking in full sentences. We are at a good stage though.

***

Sweet: being blessed with 5 amazing, healthy kids.

***

Not so sweet: realizing how fast they grow up.

Sweet... Not so sweet

I am stealing this form of blogging from NieNie. I like that it's short and yet I am still blogging about something that's going on.

***

Sweet: Going to Powell Gardens (more on that later). And it was conference weekend.

***

Not so sweet: Tomorrow, is Monday :p

Fall is here!!!

Fall is finally here. I have been waiting for the fall weather and it has come. I LOVE it. The temperature is perfect. It's a little chilly in the mornings but the rest of the day is absolutely gorgeous.

***

We went to the park yesterday with some friends. I think it was the first time where I didn't have to run after Adam every few minutes. It was so nice. He played on the toys most of the time and he played with the mulch for a good amount of time. Again, it was SO nice.

***

We had parent/teacher conferences yesterday. I was a little worried what Caleb's teacher had to say. But it seems he has improved from last year. He is focusing a lot more and actually finishing his work. It's good to see that our little talks have helped. Audry is also doing really well. Even though she's in gifted, I wonder if the work that they do in there is really that challenging. Craig and I were able to squeeze in Cooper's conference in between Caleb's and Audry's. He's doing really well too. I'm so glad we got positive reports from the teachers. As a parent you always worry how your kids are doing school, academically and socially.

***

General Conference is this weekend. I am looking forward to NO Sunday meetings and just relaxing, listening to the speakers. I went to the RS general broadcast last Saturday night and it was really good. I loved Pres. Monson's message about not judging each other. I have been doing my best not to do that. I think what it ultimately comes down to is realizing that everybody does things differently than me. Everybody thinks differently than I do. Just because things are thought of or done differently does not mean the other person is wrong. That is something I keep in mind in my church callings. Also, I cannot judge anybody for what they do or don't do. I don't know everyone's story, what they are going through. Just like they don't know what I may be going through. I don't know why somebody didn't make it to church, or a meeting, or a Thursday night activity. We never know what is happening, so we should never judge.

***

Lovely: Going to an antique store that's going out of business and finding some sweet deals!

Awful: Knowing I have to change Chuckers (aka Adam) now because I can smell his stinky bum :p

2 days off!!!!

Our family had something rare happen this week. Last night we didn't have to be anywhere! Same thing tonight. It's so nice not having to run the kids to an activity. I was venting Sunday night to Craig about how many things we have to go to as members of the church. Our kids don't even have that many extra curricular activities, so it's not like we can cut back on any of those. We spend more time going to church things than anything else. So my question is, do we go to all things church related even though it takes time away from our family? Do we choose only a few things to go to? Which ones? Is this how the church is meant to be? Should callings feel like they are part time jobs? Sunday does not feel like a day of rest for me lately. Craig and I were saying how we didn't feel this worn out in Utah or Idaho. Is it because there's fewer members here to help carry the load? I know that every ward has certain families that do all the big callings, but in Utah or Idaho there were more families. It feels like the same families get shuffled around and always get the big callings. Does anybody else feel worn out by callings? So anyway, it was nice to be home last night and it will be nice to be home again tonight. Especially since the weekend will be busy.

***

That's all for now.

25 years ago...

25 years ago I lost my mom. 25 years ago I was living in Mexico City. I had just had my 9th birthday. I think I got a pair of shoes for my birthday. On September 19 I remember we were home with my dad. It was morning. My mom had gone to work as a cleaning lady for a building within walking distance from our home. I remember the house started shaking. I didn't know what was going on. I sat on a bed that was in the front room. The shaking just kept coming and getting stronger. I remember looking at the picture of the last supper hanging above me swinging back and forth, back and forth. After what seemed like minutes, the shaking stopped. My dad ran out to my mom's building, leaving my 3 sisters and me home. I don't know how long he was gone. When he came back I remember looking down at his feet. He had left so fast that he still had his slippers on. Brown ones. They were covered in dust. I remember I started wiping away the dust. I don't think in that moment I knew what the dust meant. But the more I have thought about it over the years, I think deep down I knew what had happened. The building my mom was working in had collapsed. My dad didn't tell us anything. Just said we were going to stay with some friends of his. Later we would find out that he was staying behind to help look for my mom in the rubble. I remember staying with family friends and family for a long time. I remember the aftershocks. So many, strong aftershocks. My dad would come visit but wouldn't say anything about our mom. I would hear things in converstaions that finally let me know that my mom had been trapped in the building and my dad was looking for her. I had even heard that some people that had been trapped had survived by eating rats that had smelled decomposing bodies. I don't know if that's true or not. Months passed. Then my dad finally came to visit and told us our mom had not been found. I remember him crying. I didn't cry then. I don't think I fully understood. I didn't understand that my mom had now left 4 daughters without a mom. That my dad had lost his wife. I didn't understand that she wasn't going to be around when I got married or had kids of my own. I cried at her funeral. But the realization of how her loss would impact me still hadn't hit me. How could it at 9 years old? I look at Audry who is only a year older than I was when I lost my mom and I don't know if she would understand what losing a mom really means. I know Audry and Lauren need me. I know little girls need their moms to do their hair. To paint their nails. To buy them their first bra. But big girls need their mom so much more I think. I have needed my mom so much and it has been harder every year since she's been gone. I miss her now more than ever. She wasn't here for my wedding. For my kids. For me to talk to. I only had her for 9 short years. It just doesn't seem fair. I envy friends that still have their moms around. Especially those that have a good relationship with their moms. That talk to them about everything. I try so hard to remember her, but there are so few memories. I pray that I will have a dream about her, but that has yet to happen. I do have something to look forward to though. Since her temple work (and my dad's) has been done, I know I will see her again. What a great day that will be.

***

This post is for my sisters and me in memory of our mom. We love you and I think you would be proud of us.

9/11

I know I'm a few days past 9/11 but I still wanted to share what I remember.

***

We were living in Idaho at the time. My friend was dropping off her son and asked where in NY my brother lived. I thought it was kind of a random question. Then she told me what had happened. I turned the tv on and watched. I was stunned. All 4 planes had already crashed so I watched trying to figure out what was going on. I'm sure everyone was trying to make sense of it all. I finally called my mom to see if my brother Christopher was ok. He was living in NY at the time. Yes, he was fine. He was getting married that weekend. His fiance had boarded a flight from NY. There were a few scary hours when nobody could get in touch with her. She finally got through to my dad. Her plane had been rerouted to Michigan somewhere but she was fine. Craig was out of town that day. I think he was in California for training. I finally got a hold of him. I believe the rest of training was cancelled. He was going to see when he could come home. I was scared to have him traveling. But eventually he made it home, safely. I remember I went to the grocery store a couple of days after this happened and there was such a weird feeling in the air. It was a somber feeling.

***

I know I should have turned the tv off and not watched as much coverage as I did. But I just couldn't help it. It brought back a lot of memories of how my mom had passed away. I couldn't help thinking of children that would be left without their mom. And their dad. I cried a lot. My brother ended up driving from LA to get his fiance. They didn't know when flights would be available again, so they decided to drive and make it to Boise in time for their wedding. They went ahead with the wedding which was a good thing for everybody involved.

***

Even though it has been 9 years, it's still hard to believe something like that could happen. Every year I think of those that lost their lives and those that serve our country. I have great respect for anybody that is in the military. What a sacrifice. Definitely grateful to live in such a great country.

***

Never forget.

a GREAT weekend!

We had an AMAZING weekend. It was Labor Day yesterday so just having an extra day off from school and work makes the weekend better in itself. Friday night Cooper went to the football game. Wildcats won!! Craig and I stayed home with the rest of the kids and had a movie night. We watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Cute and funny movie. Saturday we didn't do much. Cleaned around the house mostly. Sunday we went to church. I got released as YW secretary and put right back in the same calling. Marianne Warner was released and Jennifer Zimmerman was put in as president. The only change was the addition of Ann Hull as 1st counselor. I think the girls were happy with the change even though they will miss Marianne.

***

Sunday evening we had Darren and Steph and the kids over for dinner. Grilled pork loin, funeral potatoes, green beans and orange rolls. Ohhh soooo good!!! Then we had Dajin, Brianne, Savannah and Kael spend the night. They had a lot of fun together. Monday morning we went to the scout breakfast fundraiser and then to the Louisburg parade. I think the kids had fun. We wished those in the parade had been a little more generous with the candy throwing, but I guess when you put together all the candy, there's more than enough!

***

Craig took the kids into town to do some birthday shopping so I got a little peace and quiet.

Last night Craig and I went over to the Allen's to watch the Boise State/Virginia Tech football game. What a game!!! Boise ended up winning after making us sweat a little. They are a great couple to hang out with ;)

***

Tonight I'm going to see "Rain" A Tribute to the Beatles at Starlight with Jill, Jen and Melanie. Looking forward to rocking out out to the Beatles :)

***

Now that's my kind of weekend. Got a little work done but also got to play a little. Too bad every weekend can't be like that! I'll take what I can get though. Now that means that this is a short school and work week. Wooohoo!

***

That's all for now.

Misc.

My 3 goofballs off to school. 3 down 2 to go!!!

My Super Cooper ready to tackle 8th grade.

My Audry ready for 5th grade. She's walking to school with Drew again this year. They enjoy their walks a lot. Sometimes forgetting that they need to make it to school in a timely fashion.

This is my Bear on the first day of school. His smile has been awkward for about 2 years now. Picture day should be interesting this year.

We got a new table this weekend. Well, new to us but it's the Minster's old table. We needed to get something bigger and she's getting one built. Adam was not sitting in his high chair any more, so Lauren was sitting in it. And somebody had to sit on a step stool at the table. It was hard to get all the food on the table. We were pretty crammed. Now we have plenty of room.

As you can see the munchkins are all on one side of the table. On a bench. We are thinking we may have to change the seating arrangement.

***

That's all for now.

My FAVORITE day of the week!

Friday... My favorite day of the week. As a Mormon, I consider Friday part of my weekend. Because if I don't, then Saturday is my only free day due to church on Sunday. Sometimes Sunday feels like a work day. Whatever happened to a day of rest?

***

This was a much better week for me. I made myself go to enrichment on Tuesday night. It's amazing what a little girl time will do for me. Thursday we had a play date at Jill's. Lauren really enjoyed playing with Claire.

***

We got Adam's biopsy results back. Normal! *Sigh!* He has a post-op appointment with the doctor in September so we will find out what's causing the lump and if there's a chance it will come back.

***

Pretty boring week actually, so that's all for now.

It's Monday already?

I can't believe this weekend is over already. It went by too quickly. Nothing exciting happened. Saturday I spent most of the day watching the YW in the basketball tournament. They improved with each game they played. I was so proud of them.

***

We did not make it to church today. The morning started off ok. Then Adam decided to throw a fit just because he didn't want to get dressed for church. He knew getting ready for church meant he would have to go to nursery. He has not been a fan of nursery for a while now. Not sure what his problem is with it, but I wish he'd get over it. His tantrum threw me over the edge. Craig came home and took care of me the rest of the day. It was nice to be taken care of.

***

It's these days that I wish I could fast forward about 3 years. I hope that by then I won't have kids crying every day. Adam and Lauren still cry every day. Several times a day. You would think Lauren would have outgrown that by now. She will be in kindergarten next year. Maybe I need to fast forward to 5 years from now. I would like to be able to have 1 day of no crying. And not having to watch Adam every single second to make sure he's not getting into things he shouldn't be playing with. Someday...

***

Here's hoping this is a better week.

Aaaahhh-Better

Feeling much better. More like myself. Just needed a good cry I guess.

***

Adam had his biopsy today. He did really well. Never cried or anything. With all the prodding and poking they did, he was perfect. Try and change his diaper with a cold wipe and it turns into wrestling match. Go figure! We get the results Monday. Craig and I aren't too worried about it. The doctor said the lump looked like a vascular malformation and he didn't seem too concerned about it.

***

Audry and Caleb started school today. I was a little disappointed that couldn't take Caleb in but he had no worries. When we went to back to school night he was able to meet his teacher. I asked him what he thought. A middle thumb (not thumbs up or thumbs down, just in the middle). I asked him today after school: an almost thumbs up! Maybe by Friday she will have a full thumbs up! That's my bear!

***

All 3 kids start tomorrow. It will be weird to have them gone again during the day. I'm looking forward to spending time with just Adam and Lauren though.

***

That's all for now.

May I have this weekend back please?

This was a crappy weekend!! :( I mean, really bad. Wish I could have it back and do it over. Friday started off with what I thought was going to be a fun evening. We took the YW to see Beauty and the Beast at Starlight Theatre and ended up only seeing the first half due to rain. The girls still had fun and the storm we had was pretty amazing. Saturday was just blah. Ever have one of those? Things just weren't going quite right and I wasn't myself. Saturday's feeling dragged into Sunday. It didn't help that I had to teach in YW. I was actually nervous about teaching in there because I had all the YW, not just our usual small group. My lesson was THE worst lesson I've EVER taught. And I am not exaggerating. But, new day tomorrow, right?

***

So far, I have liked keeping a blog. But sometimes I feel as if I need a separate, private blog for myself. If I wrote EVERYTHING I felt in this blog, I probably wouldn't have it be a public one. I guess that's what a journal is for. But then that's just more writing I have to do. *Sigh* Off to vent in my journal. Here's hoping that this week is a better one.

***

Have you fed my fish lately? Click in the rectangle where they swim around and watch them eat!

Looking at Adam's big, squishy bum as I write this!

That's right, I am looking at Adam's BIG, white bum while writing this. I would like to squish it. In fact, I often do and he's not a fan of it! ;) It's so cute though!!

***

Since I commented on my last post that I don't take very many pictures, I have decided that I will have to do that more often. I recently read somewhere that as a mom, I should not shy away from the camera and instead take more pictures WITH my kids not just of the kids. I realized how often I am the one taking the pictures. I am not in a lot of them. I did however, decide this past Mother's Day that I wanted pictures taken with the kids. I wanted just ONE decent picture with them. Did that happen? No. But then I thought that was ok. It was ok because the kids were just being themselves. I will look back at that picture someday and remember their personalities at that time. So tomorrow I will be taking the camera to the pool since this is the last week it's open. And if I am brave enough I will have somebody take a picture of me with the kids. In my swimsuit. Aaahhh!

***

We got a piano today! Cooper had expressed interest in taking lessons a little while ago. So I had been keeping my eye out for anything that was affordable. I found one from the library community board. We paid $175.00 and needs a tune up but I;m sure it will serve it's purpose in our home just great! I'm still a bit surprised that Cooper wants to take lessons. I'm glad. Lately we have been talking to him about playing football. He played last year and liked it but didn't care for the coach. So we're trying to make him see that just because he didn't like the coach he should shy away from football all together. Ever since we moved him, I just pictured him playing at the stadium. Lame, I know. But it just sounded so fun. Well, I don't think it's going to happen. I'm a little disappointed but really, I can't be too upset about it. How many 12 year old boys want to take piano? Willingly? He likes wrestling and baseball. And he does want to get his Eagle. So I am not too worried that he doesn't have any other interests.

***

School starts next week. I am planning on working with Lauren at home. I found a bunch of materials at Target. The dollar section. LOVE that place!!! Anyway. I would like to get a schedule so we have a structured little program. I will also attempt to go to story time again at the library. I haven't gone in quite a while. I attempted when Adam was younger and he just wasn't quite ready to sit there and listen to books being read. But he LOVES reading now so I think he'll do much better. Between those two things, it should keep me from losing my sanity, right? ;)

***

Still looking for a job. I'm trying to find something that's part time so I won't have to have somebody watch the kids too long or at all. That could be tricky. I got the kids school fees paid this week. Around $150.00 for that. Then I had to get the van's window fixed. $380.00. So a part time job to pay a few extra expenses would be great. Maybe I could find something over the holidays. We'll see how it goes. That's all for now.

Bug-Eyed

Craig has been into running for a while. He's really working hard at staying in shape. I wish I was more motivated. Well, he went running last night. He got caught in a HUGE thunderstorm. Thunder, lightning, rain, the works. He finally got home and was soaked. A few minutes after he got home he wanted me to look in his eye because he thought there was a bug in there. I couldn't see anything. Throughout the night he kept putting eye solution in his eye to hopefully wash out whatever was irritating it. Nothing. We went to bed. After brushing our teeth and I climbed in bed he said he had spotted the bug in his eye. Here's what was in there:

Ewww! It was pretty gross to see that in his eye. I about reached into his eye with my bare finger but quickly thought to get a Q-tip. After I got it out we examined it very closely to figure out what kind of bug it was. After careful inspection we think was an ant. But how would an ant get in his eye? While running? We're not sure, but it was quite something.

***

As a side note to this post I have to admit how I came to take the picture. I don't take as many pictures as I used to when we just had Cooper or even Audry. I know I need to, but I just forget. So of course last night I didn't think to take a picture. Why would I? It was something gross. Who wants to take pictures of gross things? I do! I thought this morning: " I should have taken a picture of the bug last night...Wait! I bet the Q-tip is still in the trash can where Craig threw it in." So yes, I was even more gross than the actual bug and dug through the bathroom trash to get the bug. Have you ever had to get something out of the bathroom trash? It's nasty. I'll spare you the details, but I'm sure you have a lot of the same disgusting things in your trash as I do. Thankfully, the bugged Q-tip was on top. So that's my bug-eyed story.

Summer is coming to an end :(

Summer is almost over as far as school goes. I am sad about that. It has been a good summer. We've been going o the pool more than any other year that I can remember. I am sort of ready for the kids to go back to school but not ready at the same time. Not sure if I'm ready for the mountain of papers that come home when school first starts. Not sure if I'm ready for homework. If I had another kid going to school then maybe I'd be a little more excited. I will still have 2 at home. Jen Fields will have all of hers at school. I envy her. I know I should just enjoy the time I have left with my little ones, but some days are tough.

***

Since we have been going to the pool a lot we have gotten pretty dark. Cooper is the darkest. The rest of the kids are pretty dark as well except for Caleb. He's my white baby. He does have a nice little white bum though! I got the 3 little monkeys some floaties this year after I had a scare with Lauren earlier this summer. At first they were leary of trusting that the floaties would indeed keep them from drowning. Caleb was the first to figure out it was pretty fun to be able to go out in the deep end with the big kids. Then Adam realized he was able to wander a little farther from me than before. Lauren was not sure at all that she trusted them. Then one day Craig went swimming with us, told her to lift her legs up and that she'd float and that was her big "Aha" moment. It has been a lit easier to take the kids to the pool this year and probably the reason we've gone a lot more. Adam has done really well playing in the water. Every once in a while he forgets that he can't swim and tries to follow the big kids around. He likes to take off towards the bathroom and concessions too I found out. Stinker!

***

When Adam was a baby he had a lump on one side of his chest. We didn't think much about it and it went away on it's own before too long. About 2 months ago, it returned. We have take him to 2 doctors and they didn't know what it was. So that led us to a pediatric surgeon today. He wants to do a biopsy on it. He wasn't sure what it was and felt another small lump on his other nipple. He also said he thought he heard a heart murmur so because of that we have to meet with the anesthesia department before surgery to make sure his heart is okay. The heart murmur was something no other doctor had mentioned before so then I got even more worried. I'm nervous about the whole thing, but I think things will be okay. Adam was great during his appointment. He's been really good while I've taken to the different doctors. Doesn't do or say much. He just lays there while they examine him. What a little trooper.

***

Craig talked to Anita Sunday night and found out that the reunion will be here next year!! Woooohooo!! I'm so excited we won't have to travel anywhere. I'm so grateful that other families are willing to travel. We'll be nice and cozy but I don't mind at all.

***

We had an interesting conversation with Cooper tonight. We asked him to put the new furnace filter in and he came up and said that he couldn't move a box out of the way. We told him to figure something out. Not to be mean, but to show and teach him that he could do it. He kept insisting that he had tried everything and there was no way to do it. No matter what we said, he was convinced that it couldn't be done. Long story short... I gave him a tip, he finally admitted than given enough time, yes, he would have figured it out. We were trying to teach him that he needed to be able to figure things out. That there was more than one way of doing things. When will he realize that we're not trying to pick on him? That we're trying to get him to think for himself? Sooner than later I hope.

***

That's all for now.

Cooper's talk

I forgot to write about Cooper's talk that he gave in church. Not this past Sunday but the one before that. That was his second time speaking in sacrament meeting. He's done a great job writing his own talks. Craig and I do not write his talks for him. We've heard some youth speakers who have obviously had the talk written by the parents. Anyway...

His topic was on how he's experienced the Lord's love in his life. He was talking about how we had traveled to Utah and nobody was injured. He really meant it as how we had traveled in safety, but people took it as a joke, as in Craig and I didn't injure any of the kids during the drive. We've had people comment on that quite a bit.

Just thought I'd write about it before I forgot.

That's all for now.

Good weekend

We had a pretty good weekend. Pretty uneventful. Craig and I have been going to town with just Adam the last few weeks to run errands. It's been nice to spend that time together. It's been extremely hot the last 2 times we've gone. I swear Adam was supposed to be born into a single-child family. He's great when he's with just Craig and me. He's also really good when we let him stay up after the other kids have gone to bed. He likes his attention!

***

We tried going to the pool but a thunderstorm came in. It was an AWESOME thunderstorm. We've had some good ones this summer. The power went out right as I had started the program. Good thing I have gotten fast at doing the program so it wasn't that big a deal. Wish I had saved it before the power went out though.

***

I was thinking the other day that weekends as a member of the church are shot. Friday night is really the only we weekend we get. Saturday night you can't stay up too late, especially if there's early morning church. And Sunday night you can't stay up late because there's work Monday. That's why long holiday weekends are sweeeeet!

***

I have been thinking about possibly getting a part time job. I want to get out of debt so bad. I need to talk to a couple of people in the ward about some jobs. If I could find something close that would be great. Even though I wouldn't be crazy about working, it wouldn't be bad because I would know it was temporary. If I could work long enough to pay all the credit cards and Craig's car then all we would have would be the house and student loans. Then we could start making some serious progress on the student loans. We'll see what happens.

***

I'm stealing the 3 star things in between paragraphs from Stephanie Nielson. I think they're cute! That's all for now.

Proud & glad to be a HOMEMAKER!!

Lately I've been thinking that even though I struggle with the kids being home. And dealing with the fighting and crying. And just being home with them in general. And wanting them to hurry and do things for themselves, I am so glad I can be home with them. I'm especially grateful when we're at the pool. Or Monday when we went to the movies. I have no work schedule. I'm free all the time. Except for the few appointments here and there, I can do whatever we want. Even when the kids are in school, I'm free to do whatever with the kids at home. It's great. When Carolyn Beattie was working she saw how free she used to be. It's so nice.
***
I'm so glad Craig is able to provide for us so I can stay home. I am truly blessed :D

No title

Nothing major to report. Just thought I should write.

I guess one BIG event that happened was that Caleb lost his first tooth! He was pretty excited. He came running in and said he had bitten a ball and the tooth just came out. He kept saying how he couldn't wait until bed time so the tooth fairy could come. She did indeed remember and left a whole dollar!

This past Saturday was pretty good. It was hotter than heck so we didn't do any work outside. We ran a couple of errands and then went to the pool in the evening. The water was quite warm! We continue to have an excessive heat advisory. The humidity id unbearable!

I took the kids to the movies today. Cooper, Audry and Caleb went to see Despicable Me and I took Lauren and Adam to Toy Story 3. It was pretty cute. Adam watched the majority of it. We're getting to the point where he will sit through a movie now! Woohoo :)

I gave all the kids hair cuts Saturday. I think these were my best yet! Adam did much better getting his buzzed. Didn't scream as bad as he usually does. Lauren got a trim. Caleb's looks pretty good. It's his that I tend to mess up on, but I think I've figured how to make it look good. Audry wanted hers pretty short. It looks cute on her. Cooper wanted a trim. I didn't cut it as short as last time but he still thought it was too short. At least he didn't cry this time!

Oh my!!! I am having a good moment so I better record it. Audry is cleaning the kitchen, her turn to do so. Cooper is on the computer. Caleb and Lauren are playing. Adam was playing the toy computer and it was peaceful. And... the moment is gone. Adam decided to join Caleb and Lauren. She started smacking him and he began to cry. Now Caleb and Lauren have been sent away to their rooms. It was good for the few seconds it lasted but not nearly long enough. Wish I had more of these moments.

The other day during dinner I wished I could have fast forwarded to about 5 years or so from now. It seems like I couldn't take a bite without somebody asking me to pour something or get them another serving. I can't wait until they can pour their own drinks, and serve their own food. I WILL NOT MISS THAT!! I don't care what people say. I am looking forward to the day we can all feed ourselves, wipe our own mouths, clear our own plates. Someday...

That's all for now.

Unusual 4th of July

Our 4th of July this year wasn't a typical one. It fell on a Sunday this year so it threw us off a bit. When we got home from church we just grabbed whatever was around to eat since it was also fast Sunday and we were all starving. No meat was grilled. Audry thought it wasn't the 4th until we had some kind of meat grilled. We did head out that night to go see the city's fireworks but upon arriving saw all the cars driving out of the park. It had started to rain right as we left so the fireworks were cancelled. :( The kids were pretty disappointed. Bishop Sample was planning on having his own fireworks Monday night though. Those ended up having to be re-scheduled! Tuesday night we finally had fireworks! In my opinion, it just doesn't feel like the 4th until I see fireworks. He did an AMAZING job.

Even though I am not a US citizen, I can't help but feel like one. I am so proud to be living here. I love my freedoms and privileges I enjoy as a resident of this country. Even with all the flaws I see in how the country is being run, I LOVE living here. I feel proud of my country.

Is it bad that I don't feel the same about Mexico? I like being Mexican but I guess I just don't feel the same about being a Mexican citizen. I know that if I lived there I wouldn't have the same advantages as I do here. I have lived in the US longer than I did in Mexico so I don't even feel a strong connection to that part of my life. Should I? Am I betraying my heritage because of it? In some ways I think I am. I wish I remembered more of Mexico, more of my parents, more traditions. Am I a bad mother because I have nothing to pass on to my kids? I feel like I have nothing to offer them. I can make rice and flan and that's about it! Pathetic, I know. I don't know what to do though. In talking to Claudia and listening to what she remembers, most of it I don't remember. I guess all I can do is tell my kids all I do remember an instill in them all the good my parents instilled in me. I can teach them to be responsible, contributing members of society. If I can do that, I'll be happy.

Today is Caleb's 6th birthday! My bear is getting so big. He is such a sweet little guy. He always seems to know just when I need a hug. I'll be sitting there having a bad moment and out of the blue he'll come over, give me a hug and a kiss. What a sweetheart! He just had his teeth cleaned and found out that his two bottom teeth are loose. He was pretty excited. We're hoping the weather cooperates and we can go swimming.

That's all for now.

More details of our trip

I thought I would write a few more details from our trip. I was pretty tired and out of it when I wrote about it earlier this week and just wanted to hurry and get something put down.

It was really good to see Claudia, Danny and the girls. The kids were very excited to see each other. Arcelia and Cerina hung out a lot with Cooper and Audry at Lagoon. They also had a ton of fun in their back yard. Jenny, Spencer and their boys had a good time too. They wore each other pretty good playing together. It was good to finally see Trace. The kids were very happy to see Yvonne. Lauren kept asking when we were getting to where Yvonne lives.

I've got to be honest and say that I was pretty much ready to come after Lagoon. That was a tiring day. It didn't help that Adam wasn't sleeping well, which meant Craig and I weren't sleeping well. But we did leave and drove straight to Idaho without stopping! It was good to not have such a long drive up there. I LOVE Rhonda's house. She has such great taste and it was good to see them all. We finally got to see Sadler. That is one cute, spoiled baby. Just as it should be right? ;) That Brown family is just so dang awesome!!! We were also very happy to see Brydon, Nicole and their kids. We hadn't seen Presley and were glad to meet her. What a great little family they are. The kids just played with each other right away like they had just seen each other. Cooper hung out with Kolton a little bit. Lauren was in heaven with all those babies around. She wasnted to pet Sadler all the time. She was also in heaven with all the cats that were around. There was one kitten that she particularly liked. Caleb was happy to have other kids to be goofy with. Adam loved going outside but kept his distance from ALL animals. Towards the end he got a little closer to the dogs than when we first arrived. Audry was pretty happy to just go along eith whatever was going on.

Oh yeah. We also got to see Teedy, Margot and Tom while in Utah. it was really good to see them too. They hadn't seen Lauren or Adam. They kids bahaved pretty well while at Margot's. Teedy looked great and it was to good see her living with Margot and Tom who treat her very well.

I got some goos shopping in too. Went to Wood Connections in Utah and got a cute shelf and knick knacks to put outside. Rhonda took me and Nicole to a realyl cute place there. I could have spent a lot more but I controlled myself. Somewhat! ;)

The drive out wan't too bad. Adam stayed glued to the DVD player. I hated to have sit there hour after hour watching it, but it did help a lot. The older kids didn't watch it as much as I thought they would, but they were pretty good. The drive back was what almost did me in. Adam wasn't feeling well, so he was much worse than he normally is. He cried a lot no matter what we tried to do for him. We gave him some Benadryl and it hep for a little bit, but not as much as I would have liked. Lauren was a mess too, crying for every little thing. Glad that's over with and we don't have have anywhere else to drive this summer.

Baseball is over and now we have nothing planned. The only activities we'll have going on are church things. We had combined YM/YW last night and I felt really out of it. It's hard to get into the swing of things after being gone so long. At least we have about a month and a half before school starts so we still have time to relax.

Glad this was a short week for Craig since he had Monday off and this next week will also be a short week because July 4th is on a Sunday, so Craig gets Monday off. Woooohooo!! Love those long weekends. We don't have anything major planned. Just hanging around here. The ward is doing fireworks Monday night so we'll go to that.

That's all for now.

Pictures from this Spring and Summer

Audry and her friends on her 10th birthday! She had a slumber party this year.

One of many gifts Audry got. This has been fun for all of us!

Adam getting ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. What a BIG 2 year old!

Adam opening presents. He LOVES Dora and got many Dora gifts.

Lauren opening gifts on her birthday. What a sweet girl!

Lauren very excited to be turning 4!

She got a pink, princess cake. Perfect for her!

Mother's Day 2010

One of MANY attempts at getting a decent picture with my kids. Unfortunately, the rest aren't much better thant his one, so I will only post the one. Cooper looks thrilled, Audry not so pleased, Caleb... I don't even know what to say about that smile. Lauren is trying. Chunckers... well what's there to say? It was a great day though!

Still working on trying to get her to smile as naturally as possible!

This is Lauren in her dance costume for her dance recital. She took dance during the school year and really enjoyed it. The recital was really cute!

Caleb and Lauren enjoying the view. Caleb wanted to stay and explore some more.

Chunckers was VERY happy to get out of the car. When we went back to the van to drive the last 30 minutes or so he slumped his body and did NOT want to get back in. Poor littleg guy!

Last pit stop before FINALLY arriving at Claudia's. The kids wanted to get up close to the big rock behind them.

Audry enjoying the pool. She was pretty easy going during this trip!

Poor Craig couldn't get away from these two monkeys!

At Yvonne's pool in her apartment complex. Caleb getting a ride from Spencer.

All the cousins at Lagoon. It was a long day but a fun one.

Adam found some trucks and dirt. Enough said!

Adam was finally comfortable around all the animals. He was really leary about all the moving, furry creatures but was coming to terms with them by the end of the trip.

Lauren was very excited to ride the ponies. SHe kept saying they weren't ponies because they weren't quite as small as she had expected. She still had fun.

Caleb taking his turn. He kept kicking the horse to get it to go faster.

Audry having fun on the horse all by herself.

Cooper looking COOL!!

Cooper and Adam taking a ride. Adam didn't want to get off the horse at all and didn't want anybody to have a turn. Stinker! Adam, Presley and Logan getting wet!

Caleb and his t-ball team. Their coach is one BRAVE man!

Caleb is playing t-ball this year. He has a hard time staying focused and not playing with the dirt or goofing off but he's having fun.

Home again, home again

We made it home from Utah and Idaho. It was quite the trip. The drive out to Utah actually wasn't too bad. We stopped in Wyoming and spent the night at a really nice Days Inn. It was 1 room that had plenty of room for all of us. Adam slept horribly the entire trip. So Craig and I are pretty tired. Claudia was pretty surprised when we showed up. We went to Lagoon, swimming, BYU, Diego's and our old apartments. The kids had a lot of fun playing with cousins. We arrived in Idaho Wednesday night. Adam woke up in the middle of the night with a temperature and cough. He was sick the rest of the trip! Had a really bad runny nose and his nose was extremely raw from being wiped. We had a lot of fun there too. The kids got to ride ponies and play with their cousins. We hardly ever saw them. Cooper got to drive a 4-wheeler and thought that was pretty cool. Adam particularly liked feeding the goat and horses. We also went to Ricks and walked around campus. It has changed so much. It's not my little Ricks campus I used to know!! It was good to see it though. We also saw the Rexburg temple. The kids asked if they could touch it. It was so nice to see all those temples in UT and ID. It really made me miss having a temple close by. 2 more years and we'll have ours!!! So even though it was an exhausting trip, it was a lot of fun. I am glad we were able to see a lot of family. The drive home was pretty bad. Adam wasn't feeling well so he cried a lot.

We are hoping to have a reunion next year with Craig's family. It would be nice to find someplace in Colorado so it's closer for those who decide to drive. Having it in WA would be too long of a drive, 3 days there and back. I am looking for somewhere to stay in CO.

So now it's back to the everyday stuff. we really don't have much going on now though. Cooper and Caleb each have 1 baseball game left. That's about it. Kind of nice not having to be anywhere. I think the rest of summer will be spent at the pool.

That's all for now.