LDS Prom

Jake attended the LDS prom this year.  I'm quite jealous that they even have an LDS prom.  :)  We were stuck going to our school prom which wasn't quite church standards, if you know what I mean.  haha
 

Anyways, Jake went this year with a friend.  He said it was "the best date of his life".  Don't go getting all excited.  The boy hangs out with his friends every chance he can, but doesn't date very much.  ;)  I'm just glad he had a good time.  Josh, of course, wasn't up to finding a date (now that he's 16) and putting forth any effort for this sort of frivolity.  haha  We are doing good to get him to go to the stake dances.  One hurdle at a time I guess.  : D

My twisted sense of humor

I find things occasionally on the internet that really crack me up.  This little video did just that.  It reminds me of my kids.  haha  Thought you might enjoy as well.

Valentine's Day

For Valentines Day this year, I decided to make the kids a special after-school snack.  I actually had a little energy today (which was uncommon, but way nice).  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  Pinterest is the greatest and worste site in the world, but that's another story.  :) 

The recipe is quite simple.  HERE is the recipe if you want to try the recipe yourself.  I didn't add as much food coloring and I'm not as good at the marbled effect.  They still taste yummy, though.  I put the scaps in the freezer and I'm sure most of these will be joining them soon.  That way, I won't have to make snacks again for at least a day or two.  ;)

Since Mike is out of town this week, I told the kids they would have to make me a card.  Yep.  This is the card Josh made for me.  Sometimes I think he was blessed with a wacky sense of humor just so I will have someone who understands me.  :)  He's a pretty good artist, too. 

I am one lucky lady to have the family I have!  :)

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.  ;)