30 March 2014

I had a marvelous week!  It is amazing how an adjustment in your focus and attitude can make gray skies turn blue.  I started a six week health challenge with a few of my friends and its been very motivating.  Part of the challenge is to try and get in as many steps as possible, so I've worn a pedometer all week and have tried to make a conscience effort to take more steps.   So far this has included parking in the furthest possible parking spot from the entrance of my building, walking to a further bathroom, and being less lazy about running back upstairs to get something I forgot.  We're also counting the number of minutes exercised which really helped me to get off the couch in the evening and do something.  Those things combined with eating appropriately meant that I lost 7.2 pounds this week.  I'm so excited to get heading toward goal again instead of just gaining and losing the same three pounds week after week.  I'm so very close!

 After a long day of work, I picked the kids up from the babysitters and we had FHE at McDonalds on Monday night.  I won't lie to you, there was no lesson this week, just McNuggets and running and jumping and playing.  And sometimes, that's good enough!

We had a pretty standard week.  We did a lot of laughing and cuddling on the couch.  I stayed home on Wednesday with Arlo and we watched "Olaf" (a.k.a Frozen) together while I crocheted a blanket for a friend's NICU project.  We went to WalMart in the afternoon and had lunch at Subway. Its days like that that I miss most; its dreams of doing that full time that sit on the back burner now.  Its almost impossible to imagine that less than a year ago I had finished the arduous process of becoming a licensed foster parent in hopes of adopting.  That being said there are many, many, wonderful aspects to my life and numerous things that I am grateful for, and I try and keep those at the forefront of my mind.  I'm so very blessed and I know good things will continue to come our way to bless our lives.

We did some evening walks and bike rides as a family after dinner this week.  On Thursday the girls rode their bikes and I ran with Arlo in the jogging stroller up to the park.  We had a great time and I was so proud of the girls, especially Helen.  Although, we had to have a talk about paying attention to our surroundings when we got home. Helen ran right over a snake in the road with her bike and didn't even realize it!  Luckily it was just a small gopher snake, but had it been venomous, she could have been bitten, that and we really shouldn't be needlessly killing animals...even snakes, I suppose.  Oh the joys of living in the desert, and yet I love it!

Friday evening it was pizza and a movie, you guessed it "Frozen".  We also made a quick trip to a friend's to get Arlo's haircut, he was looking pretty shabby!  After the kids went to bed, I did most of my cleaning and started the laundry.  Saturday morning I went grocery shopping, all three kids in tow of course.  It breaks my heart that they pointed out that we always have to clean and go grocery shopping on Saturdays.  I need to do a better job of managing my time so that more Saturdays than not, we can do fun things too.  I'm not sure where that time's going to come from, but I'll find it.  Jan and I planned to make freezer meals in the afternoon, so she sent me a list of things to get at Fry's which I picked up in addition to my regular shopping.  It meant we took a little longer than usual which left ample time for fighting and tomfoolery in the store.  Jan and I got together and prepared ten different recipes in duplicate for each of our families.  That meant that when we were done, several hours later, we each had 20 complete meals in the freezer.  I'm excited at the possibility that this may take some of the strain of getting a good meal on the table as soon as I get home from work.  We'll see if the kids will actually eat them!  I also may need to invest in a crock pot with a timer since I'm away from home for 10 hours and none of the recipes required that much cooking.

Because we were up to our elbows in chopping and measuring, we totally missed the General Women's Meeting.  I'm disappointed about that, because it was something Felicity and I were going to do together, but I think that we'll watch it, or at least portions of it, online for Family Home Evening (FHE) tomorrow night.  We did end up ordering a pizza and the kids had a blast playing together all day.

Here's to hoping that next week is as good as this week was!  As a side note, I felt a bit badly as I combed through this weeks photos for good blog candidates.  They say you take far fewer pictures of the third child, I find that I take just as many pictures of Arlo as I did of Felicity and Helen at that age, what I find instead, is I'm not taking as many of the girls now!  I'll try and repent and do better next week!

23 March 2014

I had a rough week.  Is it OK to admit that?  Is it OK to say that some days I don’t feel bright and cheerful?  Those days are few and far between, but they happen.  I think it’s been the culmination of stress at work, stress over not having enough time with kids, the stress of everyday life.  I’m excited for a fresh start on Monday morning.  I’m going to focus on myself a little more this week and do the things I know bring peace and happiness with greater dedication and determination.

The kids were on spring break this week, but I had to work.  They spent a few days with the babysitter and then a day at Nana and Papa’s.  I had Friday off, so they were home with me all day.   They helped me clean up and we played and colored together before their dad came to get them.  I love my kids so much.  I want to be able to give them all the things they need and deserve.  I hate that I can’t and it’s outside of my control.  I hate that they have to divide their time between two homes, it’s not what I wanted for them, but I can do my best to see them through it happy and healthy.

Friday evening I went grocery shopping and to run errands.  I got together with Jan and made some decisions about the upcoming girl’s camp certification day.  On Saturday morning I went to the Gilbert temple to enjoy some peace and look for direction.  I was concerned that it would be very busy, but it wasn’t.  It was a beautiful morning and I was so grateful to be in the temple.  I felt very strongly that I needed to refocus on strengthening myself and doing the things I know I should be doing to increase my sensitivity to spiritual feelings an d promptings. 

I spent some time in the garden when I got home and doing some chores around the house.  In the afternoon Jan and I went and had a manicure/pedicure which was a nice treat.  I was invited over to their house for dinner which was also nice.  I worry a lot about my kids when they’re gone on the weekends.  I worry about what and who they’re being exposed to; I worry that they’ll be safe.  Don’t get me wrong, I know their dad loves them, but it’s still hard, so I try and distract myself as much as possible.

I picked up the kids Sunday morning and was happy to have them home and hear about all the fun they had over the weekend.  We enjoyed our church meetings and had breakfast for dinner when we got home.  They were disappointed they had to go to bed on time since they actually have to go to school in the morning.

 I’m hoping this week goes more smoothly.  I’m hoping I have more peace and hopefulness.  I have been managing stress by eating things I shouldn’t have, so I have started a challenge with some of my friends on Facebook to get myself motivated to lose that last little bit of weight to get to my goal.  I bought three $50 gift cards and we’re all going to keep track of how many steps we take, how many minutes we exercise, and what percentage of weight we lose over a six week period.  Whoever does the best in each category wins the gift cards.  I’m hoping since I put the money up, I’ll be that much more driven to win them.  Either way, if it gets me to my goal it will be worth it.

I have a trip to Montana planned for the first weekend in April, so I am looking forward to that too.  It’s going to be a great week, I have a positive attitude and I know that carries us far.  Have a happy week everyone!

16 March 2014

Hasn’t the weather been just beautiful?  I mean besides a few windy, dusty, days, it has been just lovely here in the desert.  We had a nice week that was a little less hectic than last week, which is nice.   The kids are anxiously awaiting a week off for spring break starting Monday.  I spent the week preparing for my friend’s visit to Arizona.  I had to make sure that I got everything I normally do on the weekend done so that we would have time to get out and enjoy ourselves.

I worked a little extra this week and last so that I could have Friday off.  Thursday afternoons when I leave work for a long weekend is my favorite part of the week!  I’m always happy to turn my phone off of vibrate and enjoy being at home and doing the things I want to do.  Thursday night I went grocery shopping with the kids and in the evening after they went to bed I made lunches for the week and all that jazz.  I also did prep work for Friday’s dinner.  I ended up staying up way too late, I was able to purchase a new computer from work for $50, and decided that it would be quick and easy to replace my old one and set it up.  Well it wasn’t!  I was in a dusty tangle of chords for quite a long time!

So as I’ve alluded to before, I’ve been doing a little dating online.  Several months ago I met Jeremy and we’ve developed a very nice relationship through emails, texts, and phone calls.  We have quite a bit in common, and I personally have really enjoyed getting to know him.  He planned a trip to visit this weekend and I was excited to actually meet him in person.  He was attending a conference in Tucson, so on Friday afternoon after picking up lunch for us, I met him in Tucson and we drove out Kinney Road for a picnic.  After lunch we went to the Sonoran Desert Museum.  I figured since he was visiting from Montana I’d expose him to some Arizona uniqueness, and being at the museum makes me feel like a fish in water…or maybe a rattlesnake in the desert is a more appropriate metaphor.

After the museum we came back to my house and I made dinner for him and me and the kids.  He brought them each a very thoughtful gift and they enjoyed getting to meet him as well.  After dinner we had our usual game night with the Bryson’s and I only remembered to bring out the snacks I had planned two hours into the evening!  We played cards, but mostly just talked and visited.  It was a late night when everyone left and I felt it went really well.

Saturday morning Jeremy came back over and we dropped the kids off at my Moms and then headed into Tucson for breakfast at The Good Egg.  Then we went out to Sabino Canyon.  I’ve attempted to make the 8 mile round trip hike out to 7 Falls a few times in my life, unsuccessfully, but that was the plan for Saturday.  It was really busy out there, as expected because of the nice weather, so we had to park on the street.  It took a bit of deductive reasoning to actually find the trail head, but once we got going it was a great hike; a little challenging, but a lot of fun, and really pretty.  We actually made it up to the falls (yes, water falls in Arizona) in a couple of hours.  It was a really pretty site, and even though there wasn’t a ton of water, I was really pleased with myself for accomplishing it!  The hike back was easier as it was more downhill and we knew the way.  I didn’t start to feel tired until probably the last mile, which by that point was on the road again, so it wasn’t so bad.  We didn’t see too many critters; a hawk, a prairie dog, and a few lizards.

We had an Eegee on the way back to Sahuarita and decided to stay close instead of going back into Tucson for dinner.  I had planned for us to go to Trail Dust town and Pinnacle Peak for dinner, but it had gotten pretty late by that point so we decided on Red Lobster for dinner instead.  It was great; you know I love Red Lobster!  I felt like such a grown-up eating dinner at 8 o’clock at night.  Since I’ve had kids, we eat around 5:30/6:00.  Since Jeremy had to fly out of Phoenix around 4:30 we went to the Madera ward’s sacrament meeting on Sunday morning instead of my ward.  It was pretty sparse, I was surprised!  It was a very nice visit, but not entirely what I had expected.  We know each other really well through hours of conversation and sharing, but there was still some “first date” awkwardness to actually meeting in person.  I was happy to find that he was exactly who he had described himself to be and I hope that he felt the same about me.  It’s a bit of a unique experience, and can I also admit that it was a little weird actually going on dates?!  It was fun and we decided that we would like to continue to date.

My mom dropped the kids off Sunday afternoon and we went to church and enjoyed our meetings.  We had breakfast for dinner and I made some fabulous French toast if I do say so myself!  I was exhausted and I will admit that I went to bed at 7:30.  I had a very nice week and have a lot to think over and pray about.  I’m looking forward to spending time in my garden this week and possibly taking a trip to the temple this coming weekend. 

09 March 2014

It was such a busy week!  On Tuesday, Felicity had her 2nd grad performance and it was really cute.  It was space-themed and she did a great job.  All the pictures I have of her she's just beaming.  Because our afternoons are so short anyway, I picked the kids up after work and we had dinner at McDonald's before heading to the auditorium which the kids loved.  It was a nice evening.

Thursday evening I had a Relief Society weekday activity, a progressive dinner.  I had made four dozen forget-me-not cupcakes for the event and really enjoyed myself.  The kids seemed to enjoy roaming the Primary room with a handful of other kids.

I had a really nice off-Friday and drove into Tucson in the morning to get my hair done.  It was in need of some touch ups and I am very happy with the results.  I have bangs again, this time a little more substantial and updated my highlights and cut.  Its so nice to treat myself to that every now and again.  After the salon, I met my mom for lunch at Chipotle until I had to leave to beat the bus home.  The girls and I made bracelets in the afternoon until their dad came to pick them up.

Friday evening I went out shopping with my mom.  We went to the mall so I could buy some perfume.  While we were there we stopped by the Hallmark store and perused the Valentines and, believe it or not, Christmas left overs.  I bought Arlo a little interactive Jingle the dog toy and book for only $8.  I also got the girls' ornaments for a couple of dollars.  I love to get a deal, even if I have to put it away until next Christmas.  We did some window shopping and then went to dinner.  After a quick stop at WalMart for some necessities we headed home.

I missed the kids terribly and worry about them when they're gone, but try to distract myself by staying busy.  I did some gardening, planting two Roma tomatoes and pulling up the extra sprouts in the vegetable bed.  This week I have spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, peas, beans, cucumber, broccoli, pumpkin, cantaloupe, corn, and sunflower sprouts.  I also have cilantro and basil and am waiting for a few other things to start to come up.  I do love spring time.

I cleaned out the chicken coop next.  I cleaned out the truck, vacuumed it, and took it to the drive through car wash after a trip to the grocery store.  I made the kids' lunches for the week and then started on the laundry and general cleaning.  I did some junk purging or spring cleaning if you will, which always makes me happy.  It was a productive day and I was exhausted when it came to an end, but I was able to relax in a very clean house!

I slept in on Sunday and prepared my Sunday School lesson.  Church was nice, as usual, but I actually missed managing my little beasts in the pew next to me.  I was excited to go pick them up when my meetings were done and hear how their weekend went.  We came home and got settled in for the evening with a bath and a Sunday movie.

I'll be off this coming Friday, so I'm looking forward to a shortened work week and a weekend of fun plans.  I hope everyone has an opportunity to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and regardless of your circumstances find joy and happiness in your life now.  It's made all the difference to me!

2 March 2014

I can't believe it's Sunday already.  We had a marvelous week. For Family Home Evening this week, we read the First Presidency message from The Friend entitled Challenges Help Us Grow about adversity.  It's something we know a bit about around here!  We also guessed the riddles on the opposite page about people who experienced and overcame challenges in the scriptures.   The kids were able to figure out all but one of them.

It appears that my youngest child, my little boy, who should be the hardest to potty train, is going to potty train himself.  I haven’t pressed the issue at all.  With the girls, they were both a couple months shy of three before they were solid—good and potty trained.  And it was a lot of work, Felicity especially.  So I figured I’d start to work with Arlo as he approached three years old, reasoning that I just didn’t have time to mess with it until I knew he was ready.  Well, he’s initiated the process himself.  He’s gone a few times when at his dad’s and a couple times for me.  Monday night, when I was pulling him out of the bathtub he said “potty”.  So I put him on the potty, and he pooped!  Pooped! Who poops right out the gate?!  I ask if he was done and he said, “more potty”.  Then he peed.  I was elated.  He acted like it was no big deal.  Thursday morning when I got him up, his diaper was dry so I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty.  He said he did and then proceeded to pee and has done so every morning since.  I’m so proud of him.  I’m not going to get my hopes up, but I will encourage him more often.  I think this counts as a tender mercy for a tired mamma!

We made a concerted effort to keep the house extra clean this week so that we would be free to do fun things on Saturday.  We did a great job and the girls have been so good this week, that I treated them to dinner out on Thursday night.  We had a nice time and all of the kids were so good.  Arlo is getting to the point where he's bearable to take to a restaurant so it was a reward for a lot of hard work this week.

Our afternoons were a bit odd.  Felicity earned a free homework pass this week, so she didn't have to do homework in the evenings.  We spent more time in the backyard, especially as it's starting to stay light longer.  The garden is coming along nicely and I have some early sprouts, namely: broccoli, spinach, corn, and lots of marigolds.  The grass is starting to green and I noticed the other day that the chickens seem larger too.  We're getting about half a dozen eggs each day.  Spring is my favorite time of year and I feel its just around the corner!

Saturday morning we met with many people over at the church building to help clean in preparation for the Gilbert temple dedication that was going to be broadcast there.  Since we all can't be at the actual temple for the dedication, they broadcast it in the church buildings which, for that specific purpose, become like an extention of the temple.  The girls helped me sweep and mop and were actually very helpful.  Arlo did a combination of "helping" and running off.

So the plan was to go out and do something fun on Saturday after cleaning the church building, but it was cold and rainy.  The girls chose to stay in rather than get out and about.  I was a little surprised and disappointed, but I obliged them.  I think because they get so little time to play with their toys during the week and I don't allow screen time on weekdays, they just needed a day to stay home and play.  We ended up doing more of a craft day than a play day.  We put on a movie and Arlo watched that while the girls and I made magnets out of melty Hama beads, we also made bracelets using the loom Felicity got for Christmas.  It was a lot of fun.  I also crocheted a bit as well.

We did go out to lunch on Saturday as a treat since we were rained in.  Saturday afternoon I went in search of a police officer to sign my citation.  I got pulled over in Tucson for a burned out headlight a few weeks ago.  I wasn't ticketed, the office said fix it, get an officer to sign off that it was fixed, and send it in.  No fine, no ticket.  Well, I stopped at the Sahuarita police station on my way home Friday.  The receptionist at the desk listend to three words and decided she knew what I wanted.  That is super annoying to me.  So she kept cutting me off and talking over me.  Then she treated me as if I was escalating the situation as I continued to try and actually explain what I needed.  She didn't bother to listen and said that it was a Tucson Police matter and they, the Sahuarita station, couldn't do anything about it, I should just pay it.  I waited till I was outside to roll my eyes, but I was really preturbed!  I called the number on the bottom of the citation to verify that I did in fact understand what I was suppose to do.  After being on hold for literally 36 minutes, someone picked up and verified in less than a minute that it was not a ticket, I just needed to get a police officier to sign that I had fixed the burned out bulb.

Long story...but anyway I went into Tucson to find a police sub-station to get my signiture and when I finally found one, it was closed.  Feeling a little discouraged I noticed a police car parked at a convenience store on my way home.  I went in, found the officer, and she very politely signed and dated the citation, advised me to make a copy before I sent it in.  What an ordeal!  I then proceeded to my parents where I was dropping off the kids.  They spent the night Saturday night so that I could attend the Gilbert temple dedication Sunday morning.  On my way home from dropping the kids off, I stopped at Wal-Mart for chicken feed and some other necessities.  Then I went grocery shopping.  When I got home I made lunches for the week and picked up.  I spent the rest of the evening crocheting and watching TV.  It was very peaceful.

I got up early and got ready for the temple dedication Sunday morning.  It was such a blessing that while yesterday it rained, literally all day, this morning it was bright and clear and sunny.  I went to the first session at 9AM which was broadcast in our church building.  We got special dedication recommends and it was so nice.  The chapel was peaceful and quiet for the most part and I felt the Spirit very strongly throughout the dedication, it was like the chapel was an extension of the actual temple.  I'm grateful to have another temple in Arizona, we are very blessed.  We will have six when the Tucson temple is completed in a few years.  I will probably attend the Gilbert temple the next time that I go and mark it off my ever-growing list of US temples.  After the dedication, I picked up the kids from my parents and we came home and enjoyed a nice quiet Sabbath together.  I'm so very blessed and happy.  While its true that thus far my life has not always been what I had expected or hoped, there are certainly aspects that are better than I had anticipated.  I'm looking forward to a shortened week and I think that I'm going to make a hair appointment for later in the week.  I'm ready for an update.  I hope that everyone has a great week and we can all appreciate how amazing life is.