Bring on the Adventure and Bring on the Progress

Well Christmas has come and gone and it's now almost a new year. I was thinking about trying to sum up this years happenings but it's been a really long year! I think if I try to sum it up everyone who even glances at this blog will be fast asleep in 2.3 minutes. It was a good year with a lot of good changes for my family. It's kind of a catch 22 when it comes to improvement because you first have to find out that something is wrong. That happened a couple of times this last year and it was painful each time. The good news is that after a day or two of coping, or crying action can be made and progress can take place. I am and my family is in the midst of progress and I hope that I can report that for the rest of my life. So I guess when it comes to things of true importance this year can be summed up by growth and everything that associates with that. Anyway perhaps the better thing to do is to think about the year ahead. I haven't yet sat down and contemplated deeply on my hopes and desires for the year coming. I know I want to do great things. I know I want to do better at teaching my children. I know I want to keep up on photography even though my year with the photo blog is coming to a close. I know I want to help the young women feel close to their Heavenly Father through the music at girls camp this summer. I know I want to be a good friend. Time can only say what types of curve-balls will come my way as I try to do these things. Right now, standing on the edge of a new beginning, I feel ready. Bring on the adventure and bring on the progress.

Burnt Pull-ups

"Mommy, Daddy! You've got to come see this!" These were the ecstatic words that Braden was shouting yesterday afternoon as he ran into our bedroom shortly after Spencer had gotten home form work. "Jade and I made a talent show for you!" His eyes were huge and sparkling (a very common look for Braden when he is excited about something). So, what were we as parents to do? We just HAD to go check out this awesome talent show. Spencer made it up the stairs in front of me. As I approached the room, I smelled something quite awful... like burnt toxins. The concerned look on my face was met by Spencer saying, "Yeah, I smell it too." He was sniffing around in the bathroom trying to locate the source. I went in the bedroom to check it out and then I saw it! Jades floor lamp was leaning against her bed. I could see through the frosted plastic that there were objects around the light bulb. I also noticed that the tiny beginnings of a smoke plume were starting to rise from the lamp like a tiki torch that had just been put out. "Get away from the lamp!," I yelled at Jade who was next to it. Spencer came in at the sound of the commotion. I grabbed the lamp and quickly looked inside. There was no actual flame. Instead I saw smoldering pull-ups. What on Earth?!!! The dancing fairy princesses that adorned the side had transformed into brown goop which was now melted all over the light bulb. I flung the contents of the lamp onto the floor. Spencer quickly grabbed the pull-ups and ran them downstairs and took them outside. They reeked! While he was downstairs I was upstairs with the kids. Braden, looking a bit terrified said, "We were trying to make a spotlight. I don't think we should have done that." I agreed and told him I was glad he had called us up there and that we were lucky that it hadn't caught the house on fire. I asked why on Earth they needed pull-ups in the lamp. Braden said, "I remember you said the light bulb was hot and could burn us, so we put the pull-ups in there to protect our hands." Well, that was a horrible plan, but I am at least relieved that there was some logic involved... although it was dangerously off. We got an opportunity to teach them that lights are never toys and that things burn when they get too hot. Jade got the opportunity to have a sleep-over in Braden's room to avoid the noxious fumes that lingered in hers. Her window stayed open all night. Nevertheless, her room still has the tiniest hint of that nasty aroma of burnt pull-ups.

Kids are Loud!

I'm writing a blog post! And what topic have a chosen to break my long writing hiatus with? Answer: the topic that came to me this morning as I was lying in bed at 6:00AM with two kids tucked in on either side... that kids are loud. I don't know if I thought about this fact before having children and I'm sure it would have made no difference regarding my decision to be a parent, it's a tiny sacrifice. However, I'm also pretty sure that when Spencer and I decided to expand our family we had unknowingly sentenced ourselves to a home operating at four times the decibel level than we had with the two of us. Think about it. Babies... they come to you with all these built in noises of which include: grunting, snorting, gagging, sighing and screaming at the top of their lungs. These noises persist whether the infant is awake or asleep, happy or sad, bored or entertained. Noise. Then they grow up a little and start learning to make lots more sounds in addition to the other ones. They're really cute additions to their noise making abilities and louder than their previous gruntings. Finally, after much coaching and naivety from the parents, the child learns to talk. As far as noisiness is concerned, this opens a whole new world of being loud. Of course, it's absolutely wonderful to hear your child learning to express themselves verbally. Once it starts it will never stop. At a very young age they become parrots copying everything they hear. As they get to be preschool age they have so much swimming around in those little heads that they have to be talking almost non-stop to let it out! This need doesn't discriminate against nighttime. I often hear Braden and Jade talking in their sleep while I'm working on my homework. Preschool age is also about the time that imaginative play starts coming to the forefront of their daytime entertainment and along with it comes car sounds, sword sounds, vacuum sounds, pretend crying sounds, pony sounds, dramatic bad-guy sounds and also shrill screeching sounds if you're lucky enough to have a girl. This is the stage that our children are at now. It's funny because the more excited they are, the louder things become. If something is particularly thrilling, they will report to me at such loud volumes that it seems as though they are yelling in my face. The volume switch is broken! So, at first I began thinking that when they mature things will quiet down and there will be peace once again in the land, but then it hit me it won't get quieter! Who am I kidding? I think about our house when I was a teenager... if we were home each bedroom had different music playing all at once. If we had friends over, we were talking loudly and laughing or making silly movies together or Jacob was wrestling with his buddies in the front room. Things weren't quiet at all! Jacob and I would practice swing dancing to Glen Miller turned up loudly. There were blow dryers and stereos and sub woofers and bass guitars, flutes, trombones, violas, and pianos going every day. All good, but noise noise noise. Anyway, I was thinking about this as I lay in bed trying to catch one last chance of sleep. Braden was awake and talking in a half whisper. I was feeling threatened that it would wake up the little loud one known as Jade. When he wasn't talking he was fidgeting and making clicking sounds with his tongue. And Jadelynn, fast asleep was wiggling around and every time she turned over she would sigh loudly and flop her arms dramatically wherever they wanted to land (usually on my face). Then, comfortable again, she would smack her lips in sleepy contentment. Ah well... sleep is overrated. I've been deprived of it for years now and I'm still functioning. I am sure there will be a time when I am older and starting to shrivel when I will want for nothing more than the noises that I get to hear daily from my lovely children. Until then, I stand behind my earlier statement and declare to all those who may not have noticed, "Kids are loud!"

Until Next Time...

I've been notified that my blog has been sluggish at best. I do realize that I haven't posted anything in a long time. The problem is that there are a lot of things I could write about, but my mind won't focus on just one. I've been thinking a lot lately about life and relationships and love. I've been thinking about my little family and the improvements that need to happen. I've been thinking about my friend who is now a widow and her newborn baby. On lighter topics, I've been thinking about the trip to San Diego that we just got back from , the talent show I got to sing at. I'm thinking about my school and preschool and or the fact that I still haven't posted pictures of our house. I'm thinking about my wedding anniversary that I still haven't mentioned even though it was weeks ago. My photo blog has suffered lately too. I don't have much explanation for these blog failings, but for some reason I'm not motivated anymore. This blog has always been a fun way to stay connected, but lately I've enjoyed reading everyone's blogs instead. My photo blog has been a good way to push myself forward in a hobby I enjoy. However, my goals have changed with that hobby and I'm now doing the photos simply to finish something that I started. I don't want to give up, but sometimes I begin to doubt it's importance. I'm sure there will be another season... maybe sooner or maybe later... when I will want to share more and write the happenings of my life. In the meantime, I enjoy reading your blogs and I'm inspired by all the wonderful strengthening experiences that we go through. Until next time...

Another "Snowflake" Another Time

This weekend the kids and I along with my mom and dad and uncle went up to Snowflake to my parents ranch. It was kind of a bitter sweet trip. The property is where my parents wanted to retire. They were starting to develop it and had a lot of awesome plans for it. They are in the final process of selling the property now due to economic hardship. It is a happy time because they are able to sell it and aren't upside down in it like their other properties in the Valley. It helps them to survive this hard time. But it's also sad because they had a lot of dreams and plans invested there and this place that has for awhile represented a new season in their life is now gone. I went up with them because it was the last chance for the kids to play there. They always love to go to the ranch to play in the dirt and to camp and roast marshmallow and see the lizards and bugs and rabbits. It's really fun for the kids and although I dislike being dirty I enjoyed seeing them so happy. Braden was pretty sad when I told him it would be the last time to play there. Jade didn't really seem to understand the magnitude of "never again". I think the best thing to do is just remember the good times our family has had there. Who knows, maybe something miraculous will happen and there with be another "Snowflake" another time.

Braden running to show me a grasshopper in his hand.

The swing set will be missed a lot.

Jadelynn making a water volcano in the dirt.

When School Starts

I realized that I haven't posted anything for a long time and that the old post I have no longer matches my playlist. I feel like there isn't much to post about... just everyday stuff. I've been really happy lately and I'm trying to be a more patient and warm mother. It's been very good. The kids are more patient with me and they have been wanting to spend time with me. Lately our focus has been to get things prepared for "school". I don't think I mentioned before that I've decided to run a school from our loft to help the kids be ready with the basics. Braden took Montessori school with the Arnetts last year and absolutely thrived with the challenges and social opportunities. By the year ended he was beginning to sound out words and, I felt like he was scholastically ready for kindergarten. I tried and tried to find a school that would let him in (he isn't 5 until the beginning of October), but with budgets the way they are this year, nobody would even test him. At first I was bummed and wondered what I would do with him for a whole year when he was on such a roll. I didn't want his momentum to wither away. I decided that I'd use the year to our benefit. If I could take care of the preschool and continue his education, then I could afford to put the kids in some activities like soccer to help with the social aspect. This will also help Jade to catch the fire of learning from her brother and feel confidence as her knowledge grows. I'm so excited for the school. I've decided to take elements from the Montessori system and also elements from traditional school. I've worked really hard to form an outline and so far I have units of study mapped out for the first semester. Many of the things are topics the kids suggested that they are curious about. We'll study the different classifications of animals, the human body, maps and globes, simple tools, environmental regions, rock formation and classification, the planets and space, time, calendar etc. These we will study as a group. We'll have work centers and independent learning to take care of the topics that Braden and Jade aren't at the same level... reading, writing, arithmetic, small motor skills. I still have a lot of work, but it'll be ready by the second week of August. It is hard to imagine me being a teacher. I'm not naturally patient. For me, waiting for a child to figure something out is very difficult. I know how important it is for them to discover on their own, though, so I will try my very best to relax and take things slowly; after all we do have a whole year. I'll talk more about it when school starts.

Ode to Cover Songs

I was just thinking last night about cover songs, so I thought I'd make a playlist of some of my favorite re-done songs. These are some cover songs that I would pick over the original any day. The song Time After Time by Quietdrive is so enjoyable that I could listen to it everyday and I don't think I'd get bored. I love it sooo much more than the original. Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the ode to cover songs.

My "Brilliant" Thought.

I mentioned yesterday that I was on the up and up and starting to feel better thanks to your support. Well, last night something awesome happened, I was able to talk to Spencer about some things that I really would like to see in our relationship and in our family life. And, he was able to be open and tell me the things that he would like. We both talked about changes we want to make and neither of us got frustrated or shut off. I realized that we've been neglecting our relationship in trade for other good, but less important things. We have some work to do to get things back to how we want to see them, but I feel glad that we are addressing things and starting that work. Anyway, I am starting to feel really good about things and this morning, those good feelings resulted in a desire to work and to improve my home. It's amazing how bogged down I was feeling physically as a result of my emotional unrest. So after my shower I was talking to the kids about what they watched while I was showering... Curious George. Today's was all about Mr Pasghetti's garden. Jade thought that it would be a good idea to plant our own garden. She was being a little me and grabbed a notebook and pen and said, "Now, we need to make a plan for our garden." (ha ha, I had to grin at this obvious learned behavior) So we made a list of steps we needed to take to plant a garden. The first step that Jade decided on was that we needed to get rid of the weeds in our yard (which, if you don't know consists of dirt and weeds). We got to work outside. Actually, I couldn't find the kids tools so I got to work while they played in the dirt. I raked up huge amounts of dead grass and weeds along with all the nasty chewed up cotton that clutters our yard (previous resident had an un-trained dog). I had raked up a very large amount from about half of the yard when I began wondering what I was going to do with it. I didn't want it to sit there and spread weed seeds, but it was too big for a trash can. I had a brilliant thought! Why not burn it? I thought of the risks, I analyzed what might happen. I cleared the area around the pile and turned on the hose so it would be ready. I lit the pile. Dry weeds burn pretty well. I did a couple things wrong:
1. I lit the pile on the side opposite of the wind source, slowing the progress of the burn and creating more smoke
2. I asked the kids to stand back in an area of the yard that had no foliage in case the fire started to creep onto other fuel sources. Unfortunately, this was down-wind.
3. I didn't pack the pile down which gave the fire a lot of oxygen and height.
4. I assumed the hose nozzle was in working condition without checking.
This brilliant thought of mine began to look much less intelligent when the weeds began putting off a whole lot of smoke. The flames were pretty well under control, but they started creeping a little and I wanted to not take any chances so I pointed the hose, pressed the handle... and nothing. No water came out! Baaah! So then I quickly unscrewed the nozzle (soaking myself) so I could do what needed to be done. A burst of water flew out on the fire. What I thought had been a lot of smoke before suddenly quadrupled. Simultaneously, the breeze picked up a little and I and the kids were right in it's path. I could barely see the kids through it (although it looked like they had run to the side yard to escape the smoke) and my mind was on two things: kill the fire; stop the smoke! That is what I did; dousing it with all my might. I called to the kids to stay away from the smoke. Finally when it was all done and soggy, I turned off the water and got the kids inside. We smelt like we had been IN the fire. It was awful and probably my worst idea in a very very long time. What was I thinking? Last time I checked, I didn't live on a ranch. I don't own land, I have a backyard that is measured in feet not acres! And did I think that all I needed to worry about was flames? Hello! Smoke can be worse. I'm never doing that again! For now, what remains is a slightly large pile of soggy, half-burnt weeds in the middle of my yard; evidence of my "brilliant" thought.

Feeling Better Already!

You know, I felt kind of ridiculous writing my problems for everyone to see, but now I'm really glad that I did. I appreciate the blessing it is to be associated with so many wise and caring people. You guys are so great and I want to thank you for the comments, advice, and phone calls. It's good to be reminded that I'm not alone in my feelings but even more that I can change them. Thanks for helping me to see this! I'm feeling better already!

My Mind

I don't really know what to blog about, but I feel the need to do it anyway in order to sort out some of my thoughts. Do you ever go through periods of time when you just feel blah? I've been feeling blah on and off for a couple of months now. The worst part is that I have no idea why! I should be happy. My life is great. But for some reason, I'm malcontent and I just don't feel like myself. This isn't to say that I never feel enjoyment, it's just that my thoughts seem to lean toward things I wish were different in my life, the lives of my friends and family, and the world. I'm sure it's my fault. I just need to snap out of it and be happy for all the blessings I am given. There are so many of them! One of the areas I have been struggling with is feeling my own worth. I look at all these amazing women around me that do home-based businesses or are super creative and crafty and are constantly making things to bless their families, or they are super moms and get their kids involved in classes and help them to develop in those ways, or who get out there and exercise and take care of themselves. I often wonder "What's wrong with me?" These women are in the same situation as I am and yet they seem to achieve so much more! If they can do it, I can do it, right? I know it's wrong to compare, but I'd really like to change myself and be more productive in doing the things that I dream to do. The other area that I've been blah about is just a general boredom. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do! It just gets boring to always be doing dishes, vacuuming, laundry, floors, bathrooms, cleaning up poop off Jades panties, and picking up after people. I don't do all these things alone, of course, but I am responsible for the majority of it. And it's NEVER done! By the time I'm done with one thing, the other things look awful again. Part of me feels like I would be much happier if I were a career woman... being appreciated, needed and doing something I'm good at, but I remember how wonderful it was to have a mother who was home for me, and it's the best gift I could possibly give to my children. So, basically, it's like I'm not super happy and consciously I know I should be. In my mind I know that I am in a situation that many people only dream about, but for some reason I'm not fulfilled. If you are reading this still, I apologize for such a downer blog and ask you not to worry. I'm sure if I work harder things will right themselves. In the meantime, it's nice to be able to just share these thoughts so they aren't sitting around taking up space in my mind.

My Computer is... Special

r .koobecaF ot sotohp gnidaolpu retfa resworb enilno na ni epyt ot yrt I nehw seod retupmoc ym tahwh si siht nosa emos roF

Allow me to translate:

"For some reason, this is what my computer does when I try to type in an online browser after uploading photos to Facebook."

It seriously happens every time. It's very mysterious and odd. It recovers when I restart Windows. I think my computer is... special.

Together

The wedding of Diana a Aaron was beautiful. It's good to see them sealed together forever. Ever since they got engaged and I got to know Aaron, I've thought that they complement each other very well. The events on Friday were really nice, although I have to admit that the kids were not holding up very well. They were both grouchy which resulted in Braden being rebellious and Jade being fragile. Also a well-meaning aunt at the luncheon stuffed Jade so full of cheesecake (she gave her two adult servings) that she promptly puked all over the place as we were leaving. The day was anything but dull. It made me wonder how old the kids have to be to happily endure a day of activities, photos, and fancy clothes. Maybe by the time Jennifer gets married they will be cooperative. Some of the beautiful parts of the day included the sealing, time spent with cousins, and getting to know Aaron's mother and sisters. They were a big help in putting the reception together and tying all the loose ends. It turned out very beautiful thanks to everyone's combined efforts. I wish the happy couple luck as they continue to move ahead in their life together.

Not to highlight the bad, I just had to put these two pictures on because it shows the kids "wedding dispositions" very well. This is Braden shouting "No more pictures!"

This is Jade trying not to burst into tears because she was "firsty" (thirsty)

Really Special Day

Last night around 11:30PM I got the news that my little sister was in labor. It was very unexpected and very welcomed news for me as her due date wasn't until the 27th. I was honored to be able to be there for about half of the labor and for the delivery. Special thanks goes to Spencer for taking a day with our kids. Baby Shea Adele Osborn was born at 10:36AM today and weighed 6 pounds and 15 ounces. She was 19.7 inches long. She has a full head of dark brown hair and cute chubby cheeks and little girlish lips. Her eyes don't really have a color yet, but I'm guessing they'll go blueish. She is a very sweet little thing. Not super demanding... so far, quite mild and not a loud crier. This all could change, of course, but for now she's perfect. This was a really special time for Darin and Chelsea as Shea is their first. They are going to be wonderful parents. I can't wait to see Shea growing up while also watching her mom and dad grow too. Families are wonderful inventions. As for me, I can't even describe how amazing it was to watch Shea's birth. The only births I've been present for have been my own two children which is obviously quite different. It's also a very cool feeling to be an aunt and I feel so much love for Shea already, a phenomenon I consider to be amazing since I don't instantly fall in love with most babies. I hope that I am a good aunt and that I am a good influence and good friend to Shea through her life. It's been a really special day.

Rest and Relaxation

Hello, my friends. Last weekend was a special treat for us. Spencer met the requirements to be considered a "top performer" at work and as such was invited to a summit. He was put up in a resort for two nights and the kids and I were invited to stay with him! We had a lot of fun. Even though we were still in the Phoenix metro area, it felt like we were on vacation. I just spent time with the kids all day while Spencer was in conferences and such. Thanks to a couple I photographed a while back, I didn't have to spend much money on the weekend... I just used my Visa gift card they had given me. It made it all the more enjoyable to know that as a family we were actually making money on a vacation (since Spencer was getting paid). So, what did I do? Well, on Thursday we took a shuttle to AZ Mills mall and did some shopping. I found an awesome rash guard for Braden that matches both of his swim trunks. Jade got a new skirt that is fabulous and some new white church shoes (that aren't from a thrift store!), and they both got some clearance slippers that Braden loved to wear around the hotel. We also stopped by Rain Forest Cafe and the kids enjoyed looking at all of the robotic animals and the large aquariums they have there. We wanted to eat there, but it was going to take more time than we had to get back for the shuttle. Instead, I bought them a couple coloring books to use during down times in the hotel. Ironically, the books were less than $2 for two of them, but the crayons cost like $6! We used hotel pens to color with ;) On Friday, I rented a movie for the kids to watch in the morning and then we went to the water park at the resort with Spencer during his 2 hour lunch break. It was pretty fun, but the kids didn't last in the water as long as I expected. Braden got really cold and all he wanted to do was go home. Jade is our little water baby and she did better, but they were both pretty done with it after an hour or so. It worked out since Spencer had to be back for more meetings. After we warmed up in the hotel room, I took the kids to IKEA and grabbed a few things there. Then we met Spencer at Tumbleweed park for a little power kiting and playground time. That evening, the kids stayed the night with the Lilly's so that I could attend the end-of-the-weekend party with Spencer that night. It was Mardi Gras themed, so there was a lot of gambling (with UOP bucks) and such. It was kinda fun, and also educational. I think you'd have to be crazy to think that you could make any money gambling. It was very clear that the odds were in the houses favor. There was also karaoke which was entertaining. Mostly it was just fun to be with Spencer. It was also enjoyable to sleep in, lazily check out, and get breakfast together. I was informed that the kids woke up around 4:30AM... sorry. Anyway, it was a good weekend and I'm glad we didn't have to drive far from home to experience a little rest and relaxation.

Playing in the room.

Braden was glad that the beds were spaced perfectly apart to do amazing tricks

On the balcony... ready to swim.

Paddle paddle paddle

The fossil dig at Tumbleweed Park

Spencer power kiting

Mardi Gras party decorations

No Doubt Concert

On Saturday night Spencer and I had the rare opportunity to go out to dinner together and then stay out as long as our aged bodies could handle. This was all thanks to Diana and Aaron who volunteered to give us a night out. It was so very fun! We went to Siam Orchid, one of the best little Thai place's I've tried around here. It was delicious as expected and we even went all out and tried some of the deserts. Thai desserts are interesting... not nearly as rich and sweet as American desserts, but they are refreshing and a good compliment to the extremely flavor-rich meals. After dinner we traveled across town to see Paramore and No Doubt play Cricket Pavilion. It was fantastic! I was impressed by Paramores live sound. Some bands (and especially the younger/ newer bands) sound horrible live. These guys were great! The lead singer was all over the stage and had a lot of energy. The only thing I think could have improved their show was more interaction between the band members and more focus on the whole band versus only the lead singer. No Doubt seriously rocked my socks. They did a very good job covering all the different sounds that they have played and in an order that really worked. Gwen Stefani did an excellent job sharing the spotlight, something that may be hard to do in her position... being far more famous as a solo artist than the other members of the band. She was also very gracious with the crowd and thanked everyone for coming so many times. She even took some time out to bring a girl up on the stage that had dressed like her and also to take a picture with a mom and daughter that was on the front row. She could have been faking, but she seemed very sincere and told us we were very inspiring to her several times. Apparently they are trying to get a new album together so they did a tour to be inspired and get a kick start. It was an extremely entertaining concert and Spencer, who was only mildly interested in No Doubt before, likes them so much after seeing them live. We had a lot of fun. After the concert, everyone was hungry, so we went to Denny's. Random... they now have menu items late at night that were created by rock bands... like the hoobaburrito created by Hoobastank ha ha ha. It's pretty cheesy. Anyway, we had a really excellent time and it really recharged my batteries to have some time to just have fun with my handsome husband. I would definitely do a repeat on a No Doubt concert.
to view more pictures check out this album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113654&id=534812618&l=deb60bd176

Thanks for Your Patience.

Thanks for participating in the poll. As you can see, many people think Jade looks quite similar to Dakota Fanning. The next majority would be "maybe a little" (which is what I would have voted on if I'd been participating). I agree with Fawn and Diana that Jade is much cuter! Moving right along, we have been up to a lot in the last 4 weeks during which I've completely neglected this blog. Braden finished up preschool the last Thursday in April (also the day we closed escrow) with a delightful preschool luau. We met at a park and had a delicious potluck dinner and then watched the kids perform their Hawaiian dances. They started with a cute one about pearly shells. I loved to hear all the children repeating the lines after Mrs. Camille. Then the girls did the Hukilau while Braden acted like a goof with his friend Max. Then it was the boys turn. They did the Haka and showed everyone how strong they are (between giggles). They were all so cute. Although Braden did a good job, he gets reeeeealy silly in front of an audience. I think it's a nervous reaction mixed with a genetically-passed-on desire to make people laugh and to get attention. I need to help him learn that when he does the performance without being silly he will get good attention and also share the attention with everyone else involved.
After the luau, the kids went with my parents and Spencer and I buckled down and proceeded to move. Thanks to all of the many friends and family members who helped us, we were able to get out new place adequately cleaned, painted, repaired and everything moved in by the end of Saturday. This was despite our water not being turned on until Monday. Let me tell you, cleaning is very hard without running water.

Friday was Jades birthday, but since she was away from us, we had a simple celebration when the kids got home. I hid her gift in the new house and let them explore the house while they searched for it. She loved her "newborn My Little Pony with a stroller". I also made her a cake and we enjoyed being together.
That next weekend was Chelsea's baby shower. It turned out really cute. My mom put most of it together and it was so beautiful! Chelsea's getting closer to the end of the pregnancy. I can't wait to meet little Shea! She's going to be the best dressed and best accessorized little baby I've ever been an aunt to :) Chelsea has many talented and generous friends. I was in awe at all the cute little homemade clothes and accessories that they gave.

After the shower, I did several photo shoots and that was fun. I'm at a crossroads where I need to decide what to do with that. I'm getting more interested people than before and Spencer is wondering if maybe it's time to get compensated for my time. I'm not sure if that's what I want to do since I don't feel like I serve very much, but I also understand that my time is also my families time.
So lately I've mostly been putting the house together and planning for the exciting bridal shower coming up. Braden and Jade got robot suits made out of boxes thanks to Spencer and they had fun with that. I still don't have pictures of the house because every time I think of doing it I'm either involved in a project or it's dark. Don't worry, if you've followed this blog before you know that I eventually get around to showing pictures of our new houses. This may be the last time we do that in a while, so I want to do it justice. Thanks for your patience.

Silly New Poll

Well, I am completely behind on this blog. A preschool luau, a new house, and a birthday girl are all in order, but I want to take adequate time for each of these posts, and time is something I have little of. In the meantime I thought I'd have a little fun. I have been told on many occasions that Jade looks like Dakota Fanning, a child actress. I thought it would be fun to hear your opinion on just how similar they look. I'm starting a poll that can be found on the side of the blog for you to vote. Send a link to your friends and family to have them vote too! I'm not going to poison the well with any of my thoughts on the matter. I want this to have un-swayed results. Hope you have fun with this silly new poll!

We Have a House!

I just found out... we have a house! (pictures and more news to come)

Girls Night!

What do the girls do when the boys go to a father and sons camp out? That is the question I asked myself last night around 7PM after Braden and Spencer headed out to the Mogollon Rim. Last time the guys did this, Jade was tiny, so we didn't really do anything different. Usually Jade goes to bed at 7, but it just didn't seem right to make her go to bed on such a rare night when it was just her and I at home. Besides, she knew her brother was having loads of fun with Dad. I asked Jade what we should do and her eyes got all bright and she said, "We should have a celebration of our own fun!" (At this point she jumped, with excitement, her awkward, uncoordinated, 2-year-old jump). "We should put beautiful flowers in every room of the whole house." Then she went to each room and said, "Flowers in here, flowers in here"... and so on. It seemed like a good idea, but I didn't know if it would work in application. So I suggested we should watch a girl movie with popcorn and paint nails. When I went to our DVD shelf, though all the girl movies were things like Pride and Prejudice which would totally bore Jade (at least until she is old enough to understand the amazing plot, characters, and agonizing romantic struggle). So off we went to Blockbuster and Jade had no problems choosing something girly. I took her to the kid section and she chose, "My Little Ponies: Princess Promenade". I normally gag at things like this, but it was her night and after reading the back I could see no quarrel with it's morals. So we watched the movie which featured the most pink and purple our TV has ever had to display. It wasn't horrible, though and I had fun watching Jade enjoying it so much. I painted her nails and after they dried I put her to bed. It was a late but fun girls night!

Keep Hoping

This just in: apparently we will be closing escrow in about two weeks. I know this sounds negative, but at this point I'm waiting for something to go wrong. I feel so blessed at even the prospect of what is happening right now. About a year ago if you would have asked me about getting a house we could live in forever, I would have told you that it was an impossible dream. It's still hard for me to believe. With God anything is possible and I can give Him all the credit for this blessing as well as so many other blessings we have had. Now we just go through the steps and keep hoping.

Hot Lava

More volcanoes! Hooray! Braden didn't have preschool yesterday, so I tried to think of something enriching that he and Jade could do. I'm not real savvy on projects, so I went with the ol' original science fair volcano project. I made some dough out of flour salt and water and then we built them up. It took a lot longer to bake it than I thought and the kids were very eager. "Are our volcanoes done yet? They're taking forever." Three hours later, they were ready to paint. Braden and Jade did such a good job on the painting. They were really careful to make it just how they wanted it. Oh, we also made little dinosaurs to add to the drama of the erupting volcanoes. We let them dry over night so Daddy could participate and got to work on them right after breakfast. We used baking soda and peroxide as the lava. The kids were so delighted when they saw it gushing out. Jadelynn's produced more lava than Braden's and she began to be concerned about her little dinosaur. She said something like, "Save my dinosaury from the hot lava!" By the end, both volcanoes were a soggy mess and their paint was beginning to come off, but I suppose it was worth a day of crafting for a few exciting moments of hot lava.

A House of the Lord

I've had a lot to think about lately. If you've read my last several posts, you'll know that a lot of my thoughts have revolved around finding and buying a house. Well, we've found one and now we wait. Along with this waiting comes the involuntary spinning of hamster wheels in the room of my brain labeled "Decorating Ideas". I don't know if maybe I have an overdeveloped lobe associated with this type of planning or what, but even though I'm trying not to get my hopes up until everything is said and done, I already have the downstairs of the house pretty well mapped out... OK, ACUTELY mapped out; I know the type of flower I'd like in the vase that will be on the imaginary side table which I'll know when I see. I won't bore you with the details of these plans... in reality they will take a year or more to accomplish to their exact design (since I don't furnish on credit), the main purpose of today's blog is to talk about something far more important. I was lounging around all weekend watching TV (not really, I was actively watching General Conference) and my day dreams of my future house were redirected down a less traveled, but far better path... the one which will take my family and I were we want to be. Elder Gary E Stevenson, a general leader in the church spoke about how we can make our homes a house of the Lord. He took us on a virtual tour of our houses and asked us to view our own home through the eyes of spirituality. I liked the questions he asked and thought I'd include them. They really made me think of how I want our house to be.
Imagine you are opening the door of your home:
What do you see and how do you feel?
Is there love, peace, and is your home a refuge from the world?
Is it clean and orderly?
Can uplifting images be seen including appropriate pictures of the temple and the Savior?
Is your bedroom a place for personal prayer?
Is the kitchen a place to eat wholesome food together and converse?
Are the scriptures available?
Do you have a personal gospel study space?
Is the music and entertainment you hear offensive to the Spirit?
And lastly are the conversations you hear uplifting and without contention?
Basically our homes are of equal spiritual importance to the temple.
He pointed out that we all might need a little home improvement, but that he hoped we didn't need an extreme home makeover. He also reminded me that when we put these things as a priority, we are building a spiritual mansion that cannot be corrupted by moths or storms or weather.

I thought about this virtual tour and the areas that I need to improve. So now as I'm planning our new house, I try to think of how I can make it a house of the Lord.

3 Faces of Bacon

I want to thank everyone's comments of support and excitement and good advice regarding the house. You guys are the best! I'm so excited about the house, but I also realize that if it doesn't work out as we plan, there are so many opportunities out there right now. Now on a completely different and embarrassingly random note, I want to blog today about bacon. For some reason, I was thinking about bacon and it's role in my life. It's an enemy, friend and comedian all wrapped into one and I can't imagine my life without it. OK, so that may be a little bit dramatic, but let me explain. I enjoy bacon probably about once a quarter or less (I prefer the turkey variety). If I eat it any more than that it becomes unappealing to me, but at this schedule it is like a special treat. Well, I was cooking some up this morning and I was reminded of how horrible that stuff is to prepare. I was simply trying to turn it over so it would cook evenly and it was violently spitting hot oil towards me. I feared for the skin on my hands and arms. I decided to make an attempt to protect myself after feeling several tiny but painful burns, so I put on an oven mitt. Feeling confident in my new armor, I turned the bacon over only to have it fling a bunch of oil on my eye. Yeah, so much for the oven mitt. Luckily, I have cat-like reflexes and my eye was closed so it just got my eyelid and the top of my cheekbone. No permanent damage done (don't worry, Celestia), but this is why bacon is my enemy. After I ate the bacon, it kept me full all morning long and I had no cravings for snacks. In this way, bacon is my friend. And now, I'd like to introduce bacon as the comedian it is. On Facebook, there are these buttons you can put on a bulletin board and I absolutely die laughing about the ones featuring bacon. Since it would be impossible to explain, I will provide pictures below. I just realized this is probably the most pointless blog post I've ever written, but hopefully you were amused by the 3 faces of bacon.

Freaking Out

I'm good now. After much deliberation, we are going with our original offer. Hopefully all will work out and we won't have to make real estate decisions for quite awhile. Sorry about the previous post... I was freaking out.

I Think My Head Might Explode

Ahhhh. So my last post is already out dated. Our original offer has been approved but with contingencies and the other offer is asking for our best and highest offer to compete with the other seven offers. Hopefully the original one will let us decide tomorrow so we can wait and see how the yesterday's offer plays out. We have the potential to get the one we want or lose them both. And they are so different that they are very hard to compare. I don't know which one I prefer for our family. I think my head might explode.

Update

I haven't written a blog in awhile. I've also been bad on my Photo blog. What's wrong with me? My life right now has been very full. I'm pretty blessed to have so many good things to do. Lately I've been contemplating kindergarten for Braden. It's fun to think about him going to school. I know it's registration time right now, so I'm busily getting his vaccination records together (since I was irresponsible and forgot his little book at every appointment). It is difficult for me to register him when I don't know where we will be living. He's also under age, and so I have to rely on him being taken as an exception. If he starts next year it won't be so bad. I just feel like he's probably ready for the curriculum now, so hopefully they'll take him this year.
Yesterday brought an unexpected change in our quest for a house. We still haven't heard from the bank about the house we've made an offer on. Then Tuesday night, Spencer saw a new house on the market over in an established and great neighborhood in Gilbert. It looked in decent shape and it was in the middle of our price range. So, yesterday Brian took us all to have a look. It is great! There are things I don't love about it, but is big enough for us to stay there for a long time and it's location is spectacular. It's right across the street from Houston Elementary school which is a public school I would be comfortable with. We decided that it would be a better investment with more potential than the house over here that we had put an offer on. Better still, it's bank owned instead of being a short sale equaling faster decision time. We slipped an offer in right as they were not accepting any more. So, ours in 1 of 8 offers on that house. We'll just have to see what goes down. If ours is accepted, we'll cancel our other offer. If not, we'll just keep waiting on it. I hardly can say which one I'd like the most. It's a difficult decision all things considered. I guess I'm kind of leaving part of the decision to divine guidance. I prayed that the house on Houston would work out if it would be the best one for our family.
Lately has also been enjoyable socially. I've gotten a chance to watch and participate in a couple band practices for G33K Empire, a band that several of my friends are in. It's been cool to watch them progress. They've got great chemistry and awesome songs and once they get the balance just right, they'll be amazing musically.
I've been pretty good with being active thanks to my sister-in-law, Diana. She is training to instruct Body Flow at the gym and has provided the opportunity to for me to be part of her practice class. Body Flow is basically a mix of Yoga, Pilates, and Tai Chi, and it is a good muscle toning work out. Now if I keep up with running, this will probably be a good combination of losing fat while gaining muscle strength. As far as eating well, I've been doing OK. I have to admit, our home teachers came over with a plate of perfectly soft chocolate chip cookies and I partook of two of them. I was surprised that they made me feel a little gross. Perhaps my body is getting used to this sugar separation.
On a more important note, I've been really blessed by the gospel in my life lately. We've been trying much harder to read scriptures as a family and the kids hardly ever let us forget now. Our favorite way to do this is to get the kids ready for bed and then let them snuggle with us in our bed while we turn on the audio (on LDS.org) for the chapter we are on. It's been working alright, but I think we might just start reading aloud instead of listening to the audio. Jade is very wiggly and it's difficult to hear. Braden is very inquisitive about the big words found in the scriptures and I think it would be better for him if we could stop and explain things. Sometimes I feel like it's not doing any good, but I suppose if for nothing else, it's instilling a good habit. This weekend is General Conference, a time when the general leaders of the church will deliver inspiring words to uplift and buoy us up in these troubled times. I look forward to it will much eagerness and I hope my children will be able to glean something from the messages as well. If you are interested in watching it, the local showings are on TV channel 6 (cable) or 61 Saturday and Sunday starting at 9:00AM and then also at 1:00PM. For people out of state check lds.org for ways to see it.
So life has been busy but good. Hopefully I'll have news about a house next time. Until then, enjoy this update.

Eating Healthfully and Being Active

I think I did this last year around this time. I'm gonna try to get in shape. I need to be serious about this, especially about eating better. As I see it, if I continue in the snacking habits I currently have, I will see an early grave and instill horrible habits in my children by my example. Not to mention, my teeth will end up rotten and I'll also be obese. Not a good potential future. My biggest weakness is sugar. I think I might actually be addicted to it. I don't buy a lot of sweets, but Spencer does buy some occasionally. I end up eating most of them... even if I don't really like them. If there are no sweets available, I raid my baking supplies. If there are chocolate chips, they get opened. I've even eaten chunks of brown sugar when a serious sugar craving hit. I read an article once that talked about sugar addictions and how when people come off of sugar, they have withdrawal symptoms similar to a drug addict. I see this in myself. I feel like I NEED sugar at least two times a day and it is a very powerful craving. If I don't get some, I get pretty grumpy, impatient, tired, and can't really think very well. It's just fantastic. I'm really sick of it and I'm ready to be done with being controlled by a substance... even one as innocent as sugar. So, I'm stocking up on raw fruits and vegetables. Whenever I get a severe craving, I'm going to stuff my face with those... especially celery since it seems to keep my hunger at bay. I hope that I'll be able to stick to this even when I feel like I'm starving. I'm also trying to exercise so that I can have more energy and less sugar cravings. So, does anyone know how to loose weight quickly? I think if I actually saw some results, it would be easier to continue eating healthfully and being active.

Going Through the Process

You may be wondering where the heck I've been for the last couple weeks. I have a hard time posting when there is unfinished business. In other words, I like to write things after the fact. It helps me make more sense of them I suppose. It's a psychological thing that I never would have known if it were not for this blog. But I shall try to update a bit so I don't make people think I've died or something. Lately I've been hunting. I've been house hunting. It is a lot of work, but more it's just a lot of emotional drain. It's not like horrible or anything, it's just I have a hard time trying to predict the future and finding something that will suit us best for that future. I'm glad to have prayer and inspiration to help in the process, but it is still hard. We've found a house that we really like and it's a steal at only $55 a square foot! However, it needs new carpet, so we're trying to get that wrapped into the mortgage, but we're running into issues. This is partially because it's a short sale and partially because we are going the FHA route. In the meantime, I know it's a good deal and feel like someone else is going to snatch it from under our noses before we can get everything straight. I've been on the phone and getting quotes and bids and talking to the loan guy and the Realtor (Brian J., who's been so great) non-stop for the last two days since we found the place. I'm not freaking out too much, it's just hard not knowing if all this effort will produce any results or if we'll have to start over and keep looking. Luckily, our housing situation affords us the flexibility that we need to do it right and relieves me of unnecessary pressure and stress regarding having a place to live. I know it will all work out. I'm glad to be working with such competent people. I'm sure we'll appreciate it more after going through the process.

Volcanoes Rock! Quite Literally

Braden has been making "subject books" at school and seems to love them. One of his teachers, Mrs Camille suggested them as an at-home activity to strengthen the kids letter writing abilities. So today I had time and I asked the kids what subject they'd want to do. It was decided that we would build volcano books. YAY! Basically I just found a simple volcano picture online. I then found definitions of some of the basic parts of a volcano. In a subject book, each page highlights a different part of the chosen subject. I used the same picture on each page, but a different part of the volcano was colored for each. Underneath the picture was a line where a label could be written to name the part of the volcano that was colored. Unfortunately, I spelled volcanoes wrong on the front. Ha ha. Oh well. I made an example book and let the kids go to work on theirs. Jade just colored mostly, but I did see some more uniform looking scribbles that I think represented letters. It was so awesome to watch Braden as he looked at the example book and then carefully tried to write the labels on his own book. He holds his mouth a certain way when he's concentrating. He did a pretty good job aside from starting on the wrong page (resulting in the labels not matching the pre-written text describing what each part was). He'll get it next time. We'll make more because he started asking me about parts of a flower at dinner. But for today, volcanoes rock! Quite literally.

I had to include this picture simply because I LOVE how Braden makes his "e". I love that it looks more like a tadpole than a letter. It won't always be that fantastic. It'll become small, sleek and boring like it's supposed to be soon enough.