Christmas 2011

I won’t lie.  We have been busy, and had lots of fun things going on here, but I just haven’t had the mind power to blog about them.   Nothing personal.  Just life.  :) 

Since today is Christmas Day, I will start there.   Hopefully I will be able to turn a new leaf and write more in the coming weeks, but let’s be honest.  I doubt I am very successful.  Haha    

Mike made a wish of mine come true for Christmas this year.  Actually, he gave me two wishes, but I only got pictures of one.  :)  After living in this house for 6 years, we were finally able to have a mantle for Christmas this year.  Of course, I already put away the Christmas stuff and didn’t want to mess with it on Christmas Eve, but that’s alright.  I have ALL year to use a mantle and then get it really pretty for Christmas next year.  No more “mantle envy” for me!  ;)

 Mike did a really good job, too!  That’s to be expected, though.  He is excellent at whatever he works on.  :)  He also fixed my dryer vent so I won’t have to go change the “filter” (my old pantyhose) every couple of weeks.  I didn’t expect him to fix it as well as he did.  He is always blowing my mind with how good he is at fixing things. 

The kids had a really good Christmas as well.  Jake hit the big time with most of the items on his list, which included a bolo tie, yin yang belt buckle, and a bow tie.  He has quite eccentric taste, if you ask me.  I love him dearly, though.  :)

Josh also enjoyed his Christmas.  He didn’t ask for much, so it was a bit difficult to find things he would like.  He is pretty excited, though because he got a HUGE box of chocolates along with lots of other fun goodies.  Santa also brought him a certificate for driving school.  I guess I might be getting a break from taxi duty soon!  :)

Emma is on cloud 9.  I worked on matching blankets for her and Elaina.  I think she likes hers.  Santa got her a new phone, which she has been begging us to get her for months, possibly years.  She has yet to set it down!

 

 

Elaina got a new doll, along with some Littlest Pet Shop toys.  Santa brought her some new roller blades since the ones she has been using are about 3-4 sizes too big, and WELL worn out.  The hard part is going to be making her ride outside and not inside too!  Haha  

All in all, it was a great Christmas!  We have enjoyed each others’ company and laughed much!  I am truly blessed! ~  Don't go getting upset about the lack of pictures of the boys.  We used a video camera this year and I didn't take pictures until the boys were knee deep into their video game.  I have enough pictures of that!  haha 

It's Friday, I'm in love!

There is a new man in my life!  I don't think Mike will get too jealous, but I am willing to take that chance right now.  :)  Have you heard of MR. Clean?  Well, he is the man of my dreams right now!  I kept seeing commercials for his new Magic Bathroom Eraser.

  

I usually put off scrubbing my shower, or better yet, get the kids to do it.  It takes me an hour to scrub all the grime away until it feels clean in there.   By the time I was finished, I was high from fumes and sore for days from all the scrubbing.  That's the main reason I have been making the kids do it lately.  They have more brain cells to kill off and they are in better shape than me.  At least, that's what I tell myself.  :)   

After seeing the commercial for this new eraser and having the realization that company is coming NEXT WEEK, I figured I should give it a try.  WOW!  I am still in shock!  It took me @ 10 minutes to clean my entire shower.  Top to bottom!  I didn't know what to do with all my extra time, so I took my little eraser to the sink.  After a couple of minutes there, my sink looks, feels, and more importantly, smells clean.   I wanted to make sure this wasn't just my imagination, so I then went to the kids bathroom.  That place scares me.  I know they "clean" it, but I'm not sure how much it actually gets clean, if you know what I mean.  To my disgust, I saw a tub that looked ready for a commercial.  Yep.  The ones where they scream at you that their product takes grime, soap scum and rust away with the swipe of your sponge.  I've tried those.  Most take a swipe of your sponge, along with a good scrubbing with a brush and AJAX!  Anyways, I digress.  So, I see this filthy bathtub and think to myself.  "I thought Jake cleaned this tub on Monday.  I guess his idea of clean and my idea of clean are different."  I will need to give a little intervention and instruction on the ins and outs of cleaning apparently. Oops.  I digressed again.  ;)  So, I took my new found love and went to work on that disgusting tub.  Holy!   Moly!  I almost took a picture of half a clean tub and half with what my children bathe in.  Then I decided that would be too embarrassing and perhaps used against me in a child protective services case.  I am thinking of going back to Wal-Mart and buying whatever they have in stock.  This little eraser is amazing!  My tub is white again!  My arms aren't sore and no toxic high.  YEAH!!!  I figure if I get the kids to clean with my new love then I won't have to worry about CPS...   as much.  haha

Our new car

Yep, you read that right.  We are the proud (some of us more than others) custodians of a Dodge Caliber.  Back in AUGUST, we were rear ended on the way to school.   The shop was backed up until October with cars left destroyed from a storm that swept thru here in the middle of August.   Let me tell you, I still don't drive the same.  I constantly look in the rear view mirror and cringe when people stop just short of my bumper on the way to school in the morning.  If I thought I was slow before, well, look out Ms. Daisy.  I give her a run for her money now! Well, "run" might be an exaggeration.   haha

I tried preparing the kids for Wednesday afternoon when I would be driving a rental to pick them up from school.  Each child asked why.  Of course some asked twice just to make sure the story wouldn't change, or at least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't realize just how little they listen to me.  ;)  So the big day finally arrived.  I reminded them when dropping them off, one by one that I would be in a different car and I didn't know what it would look like.  Of course, that brought up the whole "why" question again.  They are REALLY good at making sure I am telling the truth.  ;)  Once they each determined that I wasn't making up random stories, they would get out of the car and go to school.  Of course this happened 3 times due to the fact that I have 3 schools to drop kids off at in the morning.  Never fear.  My story never changed.  I am good at telling the truth!  However it was really tempting to make up random stories just to play with their heads.  :)

Each of the kids have enjoyed the new car.  Elaina likes it the best.  She has told me repeatedly that we need to let our car stay in the shop until after her birthday (3 weeks away) so her friends can see this new car of ours.  haha    She even picked me when given the choice to ride with me or Mike to and from church last night.  Usually she picks Mike, hands down.  I think he even got his feelings a little hurt.  I reassured him and let him know it had nothing to do with me.  It's the car she likes.  I just happened to be the one driving it.  I hope she's not too heartbroken when our car gets fixed and we have to give the rental back.  Oh the joys of young love!  haha

I know. I know.  I said I was going to try to keep this thing up and going.  I was just teasing apparently.  :)  This has been a rough summer for me.  Not as rough as last summer with Mother almost dying or anything, but still... rough.  I'm pretty sure life continues to go on around me, but unfortunately, I have missed most of it.  I won't go into details, mainly because of the level of self-denial that I cherish so dearly, but lets just say I haven't been myself much lately. 
 I was blessed with an extremely humbling, and spiritually uplifting experience this summer, but putting it into words for the world to read is a hard thing for me to write.  Yes, I know the "world" doesn't read my silly blog, but at least two people do and I like to keep emotional stuff hidden deep within me~ hence the deep level of self-denial.  :)
  I was able to go with Mike to Arizona and view his sister for the last time, on this earth anyway.  She was an incredibly strong spirit while here on earth and she continues to be one in the spirit world.  I guess that would just go to testify that I am a pain in the rear here on earth and I will continue to be one in the spirit world.  ;)  But this isn't about me...  well, maybe it is.  While in Arizona surrounded by loving family and friends, I was able to realize a few things.  The spirit world is so close.  The veil was very thin often during our visit.  I haven't experienced the veil being that thin very often. I don't like to admit this, but it has only been when death or near death has been involved that I have noticed the veil being so thin.  The reason I don't like to admit that is because I don't like death.  I guess no one really does.  The only good thing is that you grow so much spiritually stronger while going thru those times.  Maybe it's because we can't rely on ourselves and we HAVE to rely on our brother Jesus Christ and the knowledge that He knows what he is doing.  
  I also learned that change is possible.  I have seen light bulbs turn on that I thought were broken.  Big changes are coming due to these new replaced light bulbs.  I am thankful for the renewed vigor of my testimony.  Hopefully I will keep my self-denial in check and allow myself the opportunity to continue to learn and grow.  We shall see how this turns out soon enough.  :)
  I also realized the importance of family.  We all play such a pivotal role in the confines of a family.  What a great eye-opener to see that it's important to recognize the good in everyone and to call them on it frequently.  I have tried this with my kids and it's been amazing the way they have responded.  It's like they are more willing to talk to me and hang out with me now.  Sometimes I wish things were back the way they used to be.  I used to be able to take a nap without 4 kids coming and having a tickle fest.  Oh well.  I'd rather play with my kids than sleep my life away anyways ~ and NO.  don't quote me.  I will deny it!  ;)
  Hopefully I will be better at writing on this thing.  Maybe next time I will have something to say that is not so deep.  I guess I've had a bunch of hidden thoughts deep in the crevasses of my brain that have been waiting to make their escape.  All I can say is that I'm sorry to the two of you who read this.  You will just have to overlook this rampage of my inner thoughts and excuse me while my self control is on hiatus.  ;)

Emma and her first activity

Emma attended her first Young Woman's activity.  It was to be a makeover event helping the girls with make-up, nails, and hair.  Emma was a bit nervous.  It all worked out really well.  A friend of Jake's named Jessie has taken Emma under her wing so to speak.  She sat with Emma during YW opening exercises on Emma's first week.  I thought that was nice.  Then she called Tuesday (we meet on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays).  She asked if Emma would like a ride.  She and another girl were going to have dinner before the activity, and they thought Emma would have fun joining them.  I took Emma really quick to get a new shirt (most of hers are stained and not so nice looking anymore.  Why is it she is SO hard on clothes?).  We found her a new shirt and a pair of jeans that fit her really well.  No more saggy bottom for her!  haha  We made it home in just enough time for Emma to change.  Then Jessie showed up and off they went.  Emma got home and was super excited.  She had a great time!  She got her hair straightened, her toenails all sparkly blue and her face painted all purty like.  haha  We had to go out shopping Wednesday so Emma could spend her birthday money for a new straight iron.  My little girl is growing up!   I will forever be thankful to Jessie for helping this process be a little easier.  :)

Emma is a Young Woman!

Emma turned 12 on the 22nd (yesterday).  She is excited to be in Young Womans finally.  :)   She was a bit nervous about going into YW but, the YW president came and talked with Emma.  She gave Ems her Personal Progress book along with a ton of other goodies.  Emma has been wearing her YW necklace every time we go anywhere now.   I also told her now that she is in YW, she is allowed to wear make up.  Just not too thick of make up!  haha  I had found her some sparkle eyeshadow and she was excited to wear it yesterday.  It's not too sparkly and not too noticeable.  :)

She received a lot of gifts.  Mainly because I tend to wrap EVERYTHING!  haha  I know she likes opening gifts, so I wrap everything into as individualized packages as possible.  This year she was lucky enough to unwrap a few gifts that she picked out and was told to "forget about until her birthday".  She did a good job with her surprised face.  Mike didn't even know.  haha

 This was a particularly fun gift.  The boys helped with the wrapping and Jake was determined that this tiny gift should have a big bow.  Emma made a comment about it being small with a huge bow on it.  Mike then said something about "Emma, you never know.  There could be a huge diamond in there."  I shot him a "What are you doing" look.  Once Emma opened it, she found a big diamond heart necklace with a pair of diamond earrings.  They don't have to know that I found it on sale months ago.  haha  The look on Emma and Elaina's face was priceless!

Emma made out like a bandit.  She got a new church bag, the diamond set, some pendants for her necklace making (she has been making a lot of beautiful necklaces and bracelets lately), a sewing kit for a pillow case, new shoes, and some red sugar crystals for her cupcake making (she has enjoyed getting creative with making cupcakes as well).  

Then, being the super nice mom I am, I let Emma decorate her birthday cake.  :)  Actually, I was going to do it, but she really wanted to.  She is getting really creative lately.  I am not very creative, but I try to encourage her whenever I can.  She is a LOT more creative than I will every pretend to be.  :)

I am thinking I will have her make the cakes from now on.  ;)

We got new furniture!

So, it's not new to us, and we've had it for a couple of weeks, but we are SUPER happy!  Alright.  Josh isn't happy, but the rest of us are.  Josh says he doesn't like all the furniture (in the kitchen and living room) because we are taking care of it.  In other words, he isn't allowed to destroy it.  haha  Actually, I don't know why he is upset.  He isn't the one who usually destroys things in our house.  :)




 

Today marks a milestone

Tonight, Elaina was complaining about her feet.  They are peeling from all the swimming she has been doing.  I got her some water shoes today to help her not be as bothered.  :)  She put on my sandals and the were a little big on her.  Not a big deal.  They are a bit big on me because Emma wore them and stretched them out.  Then she compared her foot to mine.  That's when I noticed.  Today is my milestone.  Elaina and I wear the same size shoes.  Yes.  My 8 year old (yes, she turns 9 in OCTOBER...  too far to count for now)  and I wear the same shoe size.  I always thought I would be like my mom and sisters.  They shared shoes growing up.  I was always so jealous because they could share with each other when my sisters were in High School.  I thought it was just because I was still in Jr. High that my feet weren't fitting their shoes.  Then once in High School, I was proud of my small feet.  I didn't have to share shoes with anyone, but that also meant I couldn't share shoes with anyone!  :)   I hoped that I would get to share shoes with my girls.  Emma blew that one out of the water once she was 8.   She went from a size smaller than me to 2 sizes larger within a month!   Plus, it's just not fashionable for a 30 year old to share shoes with an 8 year old.  Ya know what I mean?  ;)  I held a glimmer of hope that Elaina would have my small feet gene.  That hope is gone.  As she was running around the living room boasting about how she can now wear my "high heels " (I'm wondering where I hide these high heels she is talking about) I was secretly crying inside.  Then the boys chirped in.  Oh how they love to let me know I'm shorter than they are.  Once they heard Elaina and I share shoes, it was a free for all.  Don't feel too bad for me, though.  I still hold a lot of power.  I get the pleasure of driving them around if and when I want.  They know to stop and be nice to me once I give them "the look".  haha

What I'm good at

I have found over the years that I am good at cutting things.   Maybe "things" is a bit too broad.  I try to cut fresh bread and it looks like I have attempted to make a pyramid.  I cut vegetables and they are all different shapes and sizes.  Kind of like if you drop a piece of glass and it shatters.  Lots of different sizes.  Yep.  That's what my veggies look like.  Mike, on the other hand, is a master at slicing bread and chopping vegetables.  He makes it look easy.  Everything perfect and professional looking.  Anyway, I have found that I have a talent for cutting myself.  I don't even require anything major to help me with this.  I have cut myself with steak knives, butcher knives, butter knives, and forks.  Yes.  You read that right.  Forks!  I know.  It's a talent.  Go ahead.  Take a moment to be jealous.  :)  My latest scar to be is from washing a butcher knife.  I usually don't use this knife because, well, it's sharp.  I don't have much feeling in my hands and that with my knack for slicing skin is not a good combination. Therefore, I don't use this particular knife very often.   I was trying to be nice though.  The boys (and Mike) were getting home from high adventure for scouts and I wanted them to have a special treat.  How was I to know it wouldn't work out so well.  haha

 

It doesn't look like much, but it is a very nice slice along the meaty part of my fourth finger.  Don't worry.  I didn't cut the whole thing off.  There is still skin keeping it attached like a bad hair toupee.   haha  Now if I were only as good at healing as I am at slicing! 

Our new kitchen furniture

With my friend Denise leaving, we were able to get a new table, chairs, china cabinet, a mirror, and two buffets.

Here is the table (with the leaf in it).  For our family, we put the leaf away and it still fits the whole family. 

Here is the china cabinet.  It fits a WHOLE lot of stuff! That makes me happy.   :)

Here is what the buffet tables look like.  We put one in the kitchen and one in the entryway with the mirror.  This is the one in the kitchen.

Here is the buffet in the entryway.  No.  We haven't attached the mirror yet.  It's only been a week. I wouldn't expect it to get hung until sometime next week.  haha  I did try to do it, and the mirror is heavy and it requires me to line up the nails and put in anchors so it doesn't fall down.  In other words, I'm waiting until Mike is available to help.  That hasn't happened yet.  That poor man works non-stop.  The mirror isn't life or death for me.

I'm actually more concerned about getting the old chairs and shelves out of the living room first.  ;)   

My favorite faces...

Happy, Silly, Wonderful Elaina

 

 

Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for MONDAY!

I discovered something really interesting last week.  I bought some sausage biscuits so the kids would have something more substantial than cereal for their TAKS tests.  Elaina ate one for breakfast, even though she didn't take the TAKS test.   I think she wanted to be like the others, I'm really not too sure.  Anyways, she really likes them.  I knew the other kids would, but I had no idea Elaina would as well.  She is EXTREMELY picky with her food.    So, tonight after dropping Jake off at his date, Mike and I went to the store.  I was talking to him about how the kids really like having the sausage biscuits for breakfast.  We decided it would be cheaper, as well as better for them, to make our own.

We used some yummy multi-grain bisquick we found at Costco to make some biscuits. 

 

 

 

Notice I said, "we", just like I helped with them or something.  haha  We also made some sausage and eggs.  We let the kids try one to make sure they liked them.  They all wanted more than than one. 

 

The best part is that we also only spent $4 to make 20 biscuits!    I consider that a complete win!  :)  

They're back

Yep, I'm late as usual.  The boys made it back from trek.  :)  They had a great time.  They really enjoyed the spirit of the trek.  Apparently the stake went all out to make sure that the kids were able to feel of the spirit, as well as know of the hardships the pioneers went through.   

And they're off

The boys left for trek today.  They are going to the grasslands up near Decatur.  It's supposed to rain  (thunderstorms tonight) most of the weekend.  I neglected to tell them this information.  I figured why ruin the surprise.  ;)   The boys were really excited about dressing up as pioneers (except for the hiking boots, of course).  Jake even wore his complete ensemble to school today.  haha  I know they will have a good time.   I am looking forward to picking them up Saturday evening and finding out all about their experiences.  :) 

Brings back memories

 

Elaina has decided she likes having a few more bumps in her bed.  Amazingly, she hasn't complained about these bumps, like I did as a child.   I still remember sleeping with curlers in my hair covered by the latest in fashion accessories,  my underwear.  Yes, that's right.  My mom would make us wear our underwear over these ever so stylish curlers.  That way when they would fall out in the night (more like get yanked out), they wouldn't get lost in the great abyss off the side of the bed.  Ahh...  Good times!

 

Actually, Elaina loves her hair curly.  It's fun to watch her.  She fluffs her hair and goes and looks in the mirror constantly.  haha  I think if my hair would turn out as good as Elaina's, I might think about withstanding the bumpy nights sleep once again.  :)  Unfortunately,  my hair gets extra excited when it has the opportunity to cuddle up to a squishy pink roller.   No matter how much I yank it, it still looses 2 inches due to the "curl" aka "fro"!  Plus, lets be honest.  My big girl panties aren't as pretty as they used to be!  ;)

Josh turned 15, little scamp!!!

Josh turned 15 on March 27^th.   We had a great time.  Mom and Dad were able to come and hang out with us.  That was nice. 

Josh decided to go with something non-traditional for his cake.  I showed him a cake I had seen on a blog and asked if it was something he was interested in having.  He got very excited.  All his hopes and dreams came true.  Haha   He got chocolate cake, with chocolate icing, with M&M’s and KitKat bars!  All on ONE cake!!!  He was super happy.  Mother and I  went to Braums and found some chocolate cheesecake ice cream for him as well.  He loves cheesecake and he had asked for chocolate in keeping with the chocolate theme with his birthday cake.  :)  

 We let dad blow out the candles as well since his birthday was the day after Josh's.  :)

He got lots of nice things.  One of his favorites came from Tom.  He sent some real alligator boots.  They are really nice and Josh wears them whenever he thinks it’s a special enough occasion to wear them.   

He also got a big jar of jelly beans.  He has been asking for a big jar of jelly beans for at least 3 months.   We put all of his gifts on the table and he checked them all over well.  Then he got a sad look on his face and said, “No jelly beans for my birthday, huh?  None of the packages are thick enough.”  Haha   I just let him think that until he opened the bag hiding his jar. 

He had a great time and even brings out his jelly beans every now and then and shares with the rest of us.  He is a super young man.  :)