Family Day

DH took yesterday off! If you don't know us (since we opened the clinic, at least), this is a rare event and we all love it. We went hiking in a local nature preserve. It was the perfect weather. It had rained over night, but wasn't too muddy. It was cloudy, but not too muggy. It was cool, but not freezing. We hiked about four miles then had a picnic lunch by the lake. It was really fun. DH and I were talking about how perfect it was: free (since we have a pass), the whole family together, nature, exercise, and close to home. It was a really nice time. I can't wait to go again.

Some kids don't look good with....

Short hair. I gave my boys haircuts last night. It is only the third time that I've cut LD's hair. C looks super cute in an almost buzz. It looks so springy/summery and he's always looked cute with it. So, last night, I decided to cut LD's hair the same way. Big Mistake. It does not look good on him at all. Maybe it is that his hair is lighter or his head is shaped funnier...I don't know the reason. I just know I don't like it and I can't wait for it to grow out. DH doesn't really like it on LD either, but likes it on C. Oh well. Thank goodness it grows back. But never again.

Speaking of LD, he is either sick, has allergies, or is teething (or all three). I know his molars are coming in, but his nose is runny like a fountain. It is all clear, but the poor dude can't breathe, which means he doesn't sleep well, which means...guess who else didn't sleep well!?!

Another Funeral

I am in charge of another funeral luncheon for 100 people. Crazy. How awesome, though, to see all the service people are willing to do on a moment's notice. That is the blessing of my calling.

This one sure has touched me as it is another untimely death and she was a woman so close to my age. The worst part is that she leaves a beautiful 10-year-old motherless. This also strikes close to home, as K will turn 9 in a couple of months. My heart aches for the little girl. I know that Heavenly Father will comfort her and that time will lessen the pain, but, oh, how it must hurt right now.

One thing it has done is make me really want to have my "houses" in order. I want to be spiritually on the right path when called home. I want to have the finances for both our business and our home neatly organized with explanations so that DH or someone else could take over if needed. I want my home to be organized so that someone else doesn't have to sort out all my junk. I want the kids' to be fully aware of how much I love them...that if anything happened to me that they'd have many fond memories of a mom that loved them, not a mom that was so busy with the home, the business, the yard, church, etc...that she didn't have time for them.

The fragility of life has just been so evident lately. Besides this funeral, we have another sister that could've potentially had a fatal illness (preliminary tests are good, though! :) ). It reminds me that I am not invincible and I need to be ready at any time. Good lessons to learn.

Happy Easter!

Ever since K was a baby, we've politely asked the Easter Bunny not to make an appearance at our house. Neither of us grew up with the Easter Bunny--our parents had made the same request--and we didn't feel it necessary for our children. I do, however, ALWAYS buy them a new Easter dress / shirt & tie. It has been very important to me. I think originally it came from always feeling so bad that I didn't even want to go to church when all the other little girls had brand new pretty dresses and I got to wear the same one that I'd been wearing every week to church for months. I don't ever want my kids to feel that. So, even when we were in school and had no money, I found gorgeous dresses at thrift stores or super dirt cheap sales or yard sales, but they always have had a new outfit.

This year is no exception. K has a new dress and both my boys have new shirts with matching ties. Yet, this year, I pondered what in the world this tradition has to do with Easter. I realized that it actually has a lot to do with it. New clothing is like a new beginning. With Easter and the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we are afforded a new beginning. We can repent. It is like being able to take off our old clothes and put on nice clean new ones. How grateful I am for my Savior. I know He lives. I know he died and was resurrected for you, me, and all mankind. I

Happy Easter everyone!

Sorry. So Sorry.

I HATE the verifications on commenting on blogs. What a waste of time and energy. So, that said, I have been the target of two spams (or whatever they are called) on my comments in the last week and thus I must turn on the verification to prevent this from occurring. So, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Truly, I am so sorry! :(

Spring Break - Day 5

We had a fun way to wrap up the break. We went and picked up breakfast and took it to the park to eat. Then we played and played and played. I didn't put a time limit on it...we just played and played. The weather was gorgeous, although still a little chilly since it was morning. Then we went to the library and to buy groceries. Just as we got home, DH called and said that he'd like to go to lunch with all of us....so out we went again. The food wasn't that good, but it was so fun to be all together in the middle of the day. (Oh, and the kids bought themselves drinks and Popsicles to use up the remainder of their money while grocery shopping).

Budget Summary: $20ish- $16ish - $4ish = $0 (ish!)

Spring Break 2008 - Day 4, Part B

So, after getting up at 5:45 am, showering, working, and cleaning until 9, putt-putting, etc. until 1:30....AFTER all that, we left for Jumping Party at 2:30. CRAZY. I am one tired Mama. But, my kids had a great time and we had budgeted $10.50 (using a coupon, of course) and had to pay nothing but a birthday present (I already had it...so it didn't come out of the budget). I am thinking that tomorrow will be much more laid back! :)

Budget Summary: $20.59 - $0 = $20.59

Spring Break 2008 - Day 4, Part A

What do you get when you let your kids all stay up past 11 pm and then get up early for a huge day of fun? These lovely sleeping beauties:Yep, they are currently all three asleep (forced naps for all). (Note to self: sleep when the kids sleep! Hint. Hint.) So, this morning started bright and early with "Done Before Fun" services. They whipped those babies out as they were so excited for today. Since we didn't get to have friends a couple of days ago, we worked into the budget having friends AND Putt-Putt together. K's friend got here at 9 and then we immediately went to pick up C's friend.

We headed out to a different Putt-Putt course. I was hoping it wouldn't be as crowded as last year's. We were the only ones on any of the three mini-golf courses, so I guess I made the right choice. It ended up being much older and kind of rinky-dink, but also so much calmer that I guess it was worth it. With us being the only ones outside and LD in the stroller, we couldn't follow them around very well....I guess there weren't any ADA requirements when they built this one! But, no one else was out there, so the boys played by themselves and the girls played by themselves and I just observed, taking pictures now and again. LD sat there so good. I am glad I trapped him in the stroller or he would have been torture to keep track of.

Oh, and a budget blessing happened there. We chose Putt-Putt since both K and C had gotten free passes for doing well in school. C's friend, G, had brought a pass of his own. When we got there they said that C didn't have to pay since he was still 6 and they used his pass for K's friend. I didn't golf...so that meant we were all free! We'd allotted $14.00 for this part! What a blessing.

After golf, we came inside to the video game part. I always get a little nervous since it is hard to watch all four of them at once, but I found a spot where I could see almost the whole floor and LD still stayed in his stroller. Since we had money, we used $10 to buy 80 more tokens (we still had a bunch from last year that we'd divided.). They had a blast and (imagine the coincidence) C and K ended up with the EXACT same amount of tickets: 165.

When we left from there, we stopped at a McDonald's on the way home, technically for ice cream, but there was a lot more playing in the playland than eating. The four of them had a blast together and LD wasn't too bad here, either. (cost: $5.41)

We came home and I made lunch of bagel pizzas, chips, carrots, apples, and water. Then, they played outside briefly and the friends went home.

But....our plan tomorrow was to go to Jumping Party. However, my good friend, JK's, little boy is having a birthday party there today. They can have up to 20 people, but only think 10 or so are going so they invited us along....this will save us even more on our budget, but will make for even more tired kids. I'll have to post part B when we get home.

Budget Summary: $36.00 - $0 -$10.00 - $5.41 = $20.59

Spring Break 2008 - Day 3

Today was such a fun day. I just had no idea how much I would love having my sister this close to me. We haven't lived this close since I went away to college and I was 17 and she was 11 1/2. I love it. Well, today, the kids planned to go to their house (30 minutes away) and play and teach them "school."

On a side note, I actually prompted them to eliminate this outing as we see them all the time and they might want to use their spring break days for other things. Both of them were VERY adament that this is what they wanted to do. Well, it turns out that my sister is not feeling well, her hubby is out of town, her baby was up a lot of the night, her bigger kids were being crazy and there couldn't have been a more perfect day for us to come up there! My big kids entertain her big kids and LD is also pretty happy so we just get to sit and visit and hold the baby. It was so fun. Anyhow, when I mentioned to C and K that perhaps Heavenly Father was prompting them to keep this day at their house, Little C's eyes welled up with tears. I mentioned that the feeling he was feeling was the spirit and he just grinned from ear to ear. It was such a nice experience.

We had such a great time. They played "school." We all played wii. I hadn't ever played before. Loved the concept, but I'd never tried it out. It rocked! Sis and I talked. We ate lunch. It was just a perfect time. I'm so glad that we went up there.

Budget Summary: $36.00 - $0 = $36.00

Spring Break 2008- Day 2

Well, amidst all the rain...we planned and planned and planned. I love how the kids have to figure things out on their own with just a little help from me. It is so fun. We knew it was supposed to rain...that's why today was library and friends day...but no such luck. So, we ended up waiting until after LD's nap when the rain let up a little (off and on). We then went to the library (free, of course!) and to McDonald's for dessert and playland time. I was bummed, though, since my memory card was still in my computer from this morning's post and so I couldn't take many pictures as my internal memory is full! UGH. They spent an extra $0.50 to play air hockey, and they had a wonderful time doing it. It turned out really fun. They loved both and they loved watching the flooded streets and yards that we drove by, especially since we had to take a different route to avoid the worst of the flooding. It was just so nice to be out of the house. They had been playing so happily together in the morning, that it was also so nice to be forced home as well.

Budget Summary: $39.75 - $3.25 -$0.50 = $36.00

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It is Day 2 of Spring Break and it is POURING! It was supposed to be library and friends day...but C's friend is sick and K's friend can't come. So, we have been trying to decide what to replace today with. It is so frustrating. Most of what we'd like to do is outdoors or pretty far away (I don't like driving in downpours unless it is urgent....we've treated too many car accident patients and see the pain they are in...so why risk it?). So...we are so bummed. And, we've wasted the last hour trying to figure it out. UGH! Why couldn't it be light rain? Or Sun? Oh well...our grass will sure be green. Maybe we can hang out here making cookies and playing games. There has to be some way to make it fun, right?

Spring Break 2008-Day 1

It's back! Spring Break! And...it is another year without any huge going away plans. But, the kids have been sooooo excited to repeat our Spring Break Budget from last year. They have actually already been planning for weeks. This year their budget is $50 for the week. They get to decide what we do, where we go, etc. They can use it all at once on a big outing or have 5 littler outings. It is so neat to see them deciding how to save money (coupons, discount days, gift certificates). It really is a great way to teach them about budgeting and they LOVE being in control. It is sometimes an eye opener what they choose to do and what they find the most enjoyable.

So, for Day 1: First they had to get their "Done Before Fun" services completed (commonly known as chores). They got up bright and early and were done before 9 am, I think.

1. Then, it was off to GameStop to buy a new DS game (they paid for it...so it didn't come out of the budget).
2. Next, we went to Barnes and Noble. My friend had given them gift cards to there for Christmas since they are such readers. (They actually earned $0.50 since I bought LD a book in the same transaction and ended up spending less than the book cost since each of them had about $0.25 left on their cards.)


3. Next we went to Wendy's for lunch ($8.75). The plan had been to go to Chili's since they had coupons, but we were worried that we'd miss the movie (see below).
4. Then we went to the dollar theater to see Enchanted. (Surprise! It was family Monday and the tickets were only $0.50 each instead of $1.25! So, we only spent $2.) They skipped popcorn and drinks and stuff so that they could save their money. The movie was good. It was pretty long, however, and LD didn't like the last 45 minutes or so. Oh well...the kids loved it! :)

Budget summary: $50.00 + $0.50 -$8.75 - $2.00 = $39.75

Taxi Mom

Some days it is more rewarding than others to be Taxi Mom. Today is one of those days. C had his third karate lesson. He LOVES it! He got his "gi" today (I hope that is spelled right) and he already has the kem sah down. His teacher didn't even start teaching him it until last lesson. She says that he is the faster learner she has ever had. Kids in his age group usually take six months to learn it and he has taken two weeks. Wow! :)

Then, right after karate, I had to take K to go sailing with her Activity Days leader (from church). How fun! I was jealous. They had such a good time. I love her leader. I love the other girls and I love the independence that I see her growing into. As much as I would love to keep her my little girl forever, it is very rewarding to see her maturing and some of the decisions that she is making now.

Some days...even amid the hecticness...it is awesome to be a mom!

He knows who I am

Isn't it awesome how sometimes there are just too many "coincidences" in this life to ignore! It has been a busy week. It will continue to be a busy week. I was just sitting here, feeling overwhelmed by all I must do, need to do, and want to do. It was just one of those moments. Minutes before, however, I had been watching this DVR'd Women's Conference broadcast while exercising. I had left it going in the background...and listen to what I heard, words of President Hinckley, quoted by Sister Ardeth G. Kapp, "I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass" What an answer to an unspoken prayer--especially the not setting goals far beyond my capacity to achieve. It was one of those moments that I realize that I am not alone, just one in billions of humans on this planet, but that my Heavenly Father knows who I am. :)

ABC tag

One of my roommates from BYU tagged me! And, since I haven't done a MEME in a very long time, I decided to play along. I don't think it will surprise anyone...but, fun nonetheless. And, when I finally get around to publishing this blog, my kids, grandkids, etc. might be able to have a good chuckle as they get to know me better. Let's begin:

A: Attached or single? Attached
B: Best friend? Too many to choose from. They all have a special place in my life. If I had to choose one and only one, it would be my sister!
C: Cake or pie? Yuck. I don't like either. Give me something loaded with chocolate, though...I love that!
D: Day? Sunday. I love going to church. I love the feeling of preparing for and being on top of the week. Seriously. I feel so enpowered after my spiritual boost combined with a day of rest.
E: Essential Item? Cell phone. Actually, (don't laugh) my weekly list of things to do (printed weekly from Total Mom.com) is probably my most essential item.
F: Favorite Color? blue
G: Gum or mints? gum
H: Home Town? Somewhere in the Denver metro area (I'm not big on disclosing everything on the Internet, but that gets you close enough)
I: Indulgences? Nutella, reading Eclipse, sewing my first quilt
J: January or July? Tough question. Probably July...it is usually unbareably hot, but we get to swim and celebrate the fourth of July, which is my very favorite holiday. And, the kids are out of school so I get to see them more! :)
K: Kids? Three of 'em. K will be 9 in June, C will be 7 in July, and LD is almost 18 months (nursery-here we come!)
L: Life is incomplete without? Family
M: Mexican or Italian food? Mexican, but nothing too greasy
N: Number of siblings? 3 brothers and 1 sister
O: One word that describes you? Grateful
P: Phobia? Dying while my children are young and leaving DH to raise them and run the clinic alone.
Q: Quote? So many to choose. Right now my favorite is "What matters is if there's love in your home at the end of the day, not perfection."
R: Reason to smile? LD's giggle, C's dimples, K's Hannah Montana voice, DH's kiss
S: Season? Fall. Leaves, cool weather, college football, school starting. What could be better?
T: Tag? Whoever is inspired to. It actually has been kind of fun! :)
U: Unknown fact about you? I must be boring. I can't think of any odd fact about me. I used to be a middle school math teacher. How's that for loving to be tortured? Just kidding. I love the kiddos and I love math even more! LOVE it!
V: Vegetable you love? Broccoli, particularly steamed in the new frozen veggies bags. Yummo!
W: Worst Habit? Being defensive. I don't know why, but it is so hard to admit to being wrong (just ask DH).
X: X-ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound...I get to see my babies!
Y: Your favorite food? Salad, but not just the healthy kind: load it up with nuts, cheese, bacon, avocado. Yummy!
Z: Zodiac Sign? Pisces

SNOW!

Today was the second time in a week for SNOW! I actually went out this afternoon and took a picture...it is the South afterall...it might melt before the kids got home from school. But...it kept on snowing and snowing and snowing. LD didn't quite know what to do with it. It is his first experience with it. How different from me growing up in Utah and Colorado where snow was much more common in the winter. My kids thought the light dusting on Monday night was a huge amount. I think I have about 2-3 inches out there right now and it is still coming down! This is probably the second-most snow we've seen since moving here more than six years ago. How fun. Now...if my kids' (and kids all around the area's) prayers are answered...there will be no school tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see about that one. For now, it is frozen fingers, hot chocolate, warm soup, crazy, wild kids, and the peaceful feeling that comes from having the lovely white blanket over our neighborhood.

Basketball is over!

The basketball season has ended. It was a sad day on Saturday as both C and K played their last games of the season.

For K, this year was a struggle. She was the shortest, youngest, and least experienced on her team. But, she learned many new things and was a defensive star. She developed such good friendships with her teammates. She had both the fortune and misfortune of playing on a team with only six kids. Everyone else we played had at least 8. Some had 10-11. This meant that she was greatly involved in every game and that their team really gelled together, but it also meant that they were always more tired than their opponents. I am really, really proud of her for finishing the season. She is actually considering playing next year.

C, on the other hand, LOVED basketball. He was also the shortest and youngest on his team and this was sometimes a big disadvantage (when his defender was twice his size!). He had the same fortune/misfortune of being on a team with only six. He had a couple of stellar games where he was zipping around the floor and driving to the basket. Sometimes, though, he was very timid and didn't risk it. Confidence is the issue, I think. Next year will be better.

As for this "Soccer" (or Basketball) Mom, I am so relieved to have my Saturdays back, not to mention relief from all the practices during the week. At the same time, I will so miss the kids and parents that have been such a part of my kids' lives during the last few months. Now it's on to gymnastics for K and Karate for C...neither of which take up my Saturdays! :)

You Know Your Family Is Sick When....

• You count down the hours, not the days since the last time you cleaned up vomit.
• No one in your family likes saltine crackers and yet your brand new box is already 3/4 done.
• You drink soda with your breakfast.
• All of you stay home sick from church, not just one or two of you.
• Lunch consists of 1/2 banana and 1/2 an English muffin.

Yes, we have been sick...BUT...I think maybe we are done with it all! :) It has been the strangest bug ever. I sure hope we didn't share the germies with anyone since it has not been fun.