Costumes, School and Free Time!

So on my list of many things to do I can almost scratch off making Marryne's Halloween costume! With Kaleb gone at school for 3 hrs this morning I was able to get it cut out and pretty much put together, I ran out of red thread for hemming the cape and skirt and I also need some fabric glue for the "S" symbol that goes on the shirt. I will have to wait till tomorrow (cause it's PAYDAY) to finish, which stinks cause I was really excited about having it done today, but I figure that it's all well and good there are some other things I can work on that need to be done.

Kaleb started pre-school today!! Apparently his paper work for riding the bus (that I sent in over 2 weeks ago) got "misplaced", and I was told last night that the bus would NOT be picking him up for school this morning! They told me that if I could get him to school they would let him ride the bus home (since it's the same bus that picks up Ryne) FANTASTIC, but I had one problem I have no car and no way to get him to school! Luckily the very awesome Sister Holyoak took time out her day to drag me and my 3 kids down to the school to wait in the car (for 15 mins while I figured out the whole bus thing)with an unhappy baby and a chatter box THANK YOU so VERY VERY much!! Kaleb did better going to school than I thought he would considering that when I was getting him ready this morning he was very vocal about going to school these were his words "I am not going. NOT going I tell you NOT GOOOOOOIIIIIING!"followed by a tantrum. I was worried that he would pull the same thing as school and was gearing up to embarrassed, but he surprised me and touched my heart, when the time came to say goodbye and go to class he with big pouty eyes, a sad little pouty lip and a tiny wave bid me farewell, it made my heart sink I blew him a kiss he blew me one back then I had to turn my back and leave, If I kept watching I knew I would loose all control. As it turned out he had a FABULOUS day! When the bus pulled up to drop him off(and pick Ryne up) he was all smiles, he made it through the morning with out me and he LOVED every minute of it just like I thought he would!And I had a great morning with my girls just like I thought I would. Now I took some pictures of him all dressed and ready to go, and I got some when he got off the bus but I forgot my camera when I dropped him off this morning so no pictures of his sad little goodbye, but it's definitely a face a will never forget. I will post pictures later my computer is being temperamental at the moment and it is not allowing me to download any, but keep checkin.

Tomorrow Kaleb will be riding the bus, so that is a weight lifted off my shoulders. Marryne is just thrilled that Kaleb is now going to school, he is now an official "Big Boy" cause Marryne said so!It was very quiet without Kaleb here this morning, I was able to get quite a bit done. I was surprised though at how slow my day seemed to go cause when he is here I am always on my feet cleaning up messes, so I think I am definitely liking this whole "school thing". Even when he got home he was so tired he took a nap so I had more piece and quiet since Ellie was napping too, and surprisingly enough I wasn't cleaning, doing laundry or sewing Ryne's costume(cause I got it done in the morning) I actually sat on the couch with a Popsicle and watched something more enjoyable for me, and man was it nice!! YES! I definitely like this "school thing" and all the free time that comes with it!!

October

I love Halloween, not so much for decorating the house, or making Halloween costumes, or the trick or treating, but because I know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner along with my favorite times of year I love the fall and winter. I thought that October would be my last relaxing month before all the chaos begins, but I was wrong! I found out yesterday in Relief Society that I will be planning the ward party!! I wasn't expecting the whole responsibility to be handed over to me, but I am thrilled to have the experience, I just need to find out some details so I can make it happen. Anyway when I found out this news I was excited of course but a little nervous and perhaps after thinking about it for a few minutes a little stressed, but once I got home and jotted down all my ideas (Dana even had a few) I felt better about it and know that it really isn't that difficult to do, it's not the parents I really need to please it's the kids and kids are pretty easy to please when it comes to stuff like this as long as there is candy involved they are happy!:).

I don't think it's so much planning the ward party that has me a little stressed I think it's more the concern of having my kids costumes done in time and hoping they turn out as fabulous as I have them pictured in my head, and hoping that everyone else likes them as much as I do. I seem to always get a little anxious when I make clothes or costumed for my kids, wondering what other people are going to think about them? if I did a good job? or do I just really stink at sewing?are they original enough? all these questions come to mind when I sit down to sew, and this is going to sound a little funny but I think that that's why I like doing it so much I get a thrill out of wondering what others are gonna think, and sometimes I am pleasantly pleased with the results and comments and then I have those times when I feel like I have done a decent job and other's don't and even though that may bother me at first, I take the criticism and use it to help me (after griping about it for a minute) do a better job next time. I am also thinking that I should dress up but the question is what should I be? I know that stressing over this is ridiculous but never the less I am worried about it.

Besides planning the ward party, and making Halloween costumes, Kaleb starts school this week which has me a little on edge, school pictures are next week, sometime this month I'm not sure when both Ryne and Kaleb's classes are going to be having a "fall" party I wonder what I will volunteer myself to do for that!? We also want to get family pictures done this month, and who knows what else will creep up here and there. WOW this is going to be a busy month, but I'm not to worried cause I know one way or the other everything will get done, even if it's not they way I wanted or pictured, and I need to except help when it is offered, cause those offering need the experience just as much as I do :)

A little of this a little of that

There have been so many things that I have wanted to post about lately but then I forget! Not this time, ya better settle into you seat I think this post is going to be a doozy!

First let's start with some funny stuff, last week Ryne came into my room to wake me up, she was talking about our dog Hershey I have to admit I wasn't REALLY listening, that probably sounds bad but seriously this child never stops talking once she is awake!! Anyway i started listening when she said that she wanted to get a dog that "doesn't poop or bark" that's surprised me I just told her "well all dogs bark and poop, we just have to deal with it" she of course didn't miss a beat and said "yes there are mom, I want to get a chiwawa!! They don't poop or bark!!" After I stopped laughing I asked her were she heard that and she responded with"that's just the way things are mom!" Oh my goodness kids and there silly little ideas.

Kaleb wanted me to play hide and seek with him today, but I was right in the middle of folding laundry so I told him to give me a minute, he apparently didn't like this response cause he started counting to 3 once he got to 3 he spanked me!! Yup you heard right he spanked ME and let me tell you he is stronger than ya think! I had to do my best not to laugh cause he immediately looked at my face and smiled that smile that's says "she gonna laugh and I won't get in trouble", I had to sit and explain why that isn't wasn't ok for him to spank me,all the while holding in my laughter that just wanted to burst out!

Ok so onto the not so funny stuff Ryne gave a talk on Sunday and she did a great job, even though the kids were laughing. I know they weren't really laughing at her more at how she was speaking into the microphone you know were every other word blast's really loud. Usually when this happens the child giving the talk usually see's the humor in this and continues to do it just to me funny, but not Marryne she got really embarrassed and even stopped for a second, I had to reassure her that everything was ok and encouraged her to keep going. I actually cut her talk in half because of all the laughter coming from the other kids and the hesitance coming form Ryne. All the teachers were great to tell her what a good job she did and that really boosted her spirits, once she got a sticker she had forgotten about the whole thing, it makes me pose the question to myself if she can forget about it why can't I? I know the kids weren't really laughing at Ryne and I know that they weren't trying to be hurtful, but still for some reason it bothers me. I feel bad for Ryne even though she doesn't seem to pay any mind to it at all, I think part of it for me is that she struggles everyday with her speech trying to get people to understand her and that she gets made fun of and kids and even an occasionally adult will call her names yes adults can be just if not more heartless then children!! So maybe it's just the "mama bear" that kicks in whether my baby is being hurt or not, I just want to protect her from everything and everyone and I know that this is and impossible thing to do and that she has to have life experiences and I will have to learn to just be there for her and help her through her struggles. For now I am thankful that she is young enough that a hug, kiss, a sticker and words of encouragement make everything better.

Kaleb starts school next week and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet!? I am excited for him, I think that he will love to make new friends especially boys his age and I think a little structure will help him a lot! But on the other hand it's a little nerve racking for me to think that my 3 yr old is going to be riding the bus by himself WITHOUT me!! He is going to learn that he loves learning and playing and he will also learn that he likes being in a class were the majority are boys instead of being at home were he is in the minority. I will miss my little cuddle bug in the mornings that's when we do the majority of our cuddling! As I think about his I think it's silly the way I fell I mean really he's only gonna be gone 4 days a week for 4 hrs, it's not like he's movin away but I'm still gonna miss my little "handsome man" for the hrs he's gone.

Since I named the things that I WILL miss about"handsome man", I think I will balance it out with what I will NOT miss: I won't miss the constant screaming, or the stopping around to see how much noise he can make, or the fact that he know exactly what buttons to push to drive Ryne crazy (or me for that matter), or the crying because he missed his favorite T.V. show cause he was to busy playing, or the constant reminders for him to stop climbing on the entertainment center, corner shelf, and coffee table. I will however enjoy the nice quiet relaxing mornings were I can get most of my work done, and spend some girly time with my girls. I will enjoy being able to start some sewing projects without having to stop every 5 mins to stop him from doing something that he shouldn't be doing in the first place. I will also enjoy when he get's off the bus I will be the one to meet him, and hug him and ask about his day, I will be the first one to comfort him when he needs it, I will be the one he wants to cuddle with after a long day of school. I will enjoy that when he get's home from school Ryne will go to school and Ellie will be asleep giving me some one on one time with my "handsome man". So I think all and all I will be at peace with him going to school there are more good things about it than bad! So with all that said I am feeling much better about the matter!!!

Ellie Bell

My sweet little Ellie Bell(as I call her) hit some mile stones this week!! She started crawling on Friday although she prefers to scoot on her bellie, and she also started saying "mamama" and she has actually said "daddy" plain as day twice!! I can't believe she is already almost 8 months old. We just love her sweet spirit, and silly faces. My favorite thing is in the morning when the older kids and I go to get her out of bed we sing "good morning to you, good morning to you, good morning dear Eleanor good morning to you" to the tune of Happy Birthday, she gets all silly and shy and hides her face, after we sing that we sing "You are my sunshine" and again she gets shy, hides her face and giggles!! Marryne and Kaleb love singing to Ellie every morning and they love taking care of her through out the day. She really is such a sweet girl.

Blue and Brown

It's only taken me 3 years but I finally painted my front living room. I also hung some picture frames that I got for mother's day, even though I don't have any pictures in them yet!!

I've been toying with the idea of a family tree, I have thought of many ways to do it, but I got this idea from Kaleb when he dipped his hand in blue paint and put it on my dark brown square. The idea stuck with me but instead of painting it on I used fabric. I cut the tree out of some fabric and put it on the wall with starch (yes starch), then I cut out all of our hand prints out of different fabrics and put them on with starch, Ellie's prints aren't on there yet I can't get her to hold still on my own and when Dane's home I am distracted by to many things. Anyway we want to add our parents and brothers and sisters and their kids prints to the wall, when we get them all on I will post more pics. So that was my project last week, the next couple of weeks I will be busy makin Halloween decor and costumes.

The new me!

I got my hair cut on Monday!! It was exciting since it had been about 4 months since my last cut. The hair on the back of my neck was getting irritating, it's funny how I use to love my long hair but the older I get the more I can't stand longer hair! I also colored it again, I went with the same red I had before I really liked it and Dane LOVES the darker color on me.

I love this style it's easy and quick, I use to have natural curly hair well I guess I still do but it's not tight curl like it use to be, it's just wavy and very frizzy. I miss my curly hair it disappeared when I had Ellie, hopefully it will come back but in the mean time I flat iron my hair and this style and length cuts my time in half, that way I can spend more time with the kiddos than in the bathroom :) Best of all I think this will really help with all of the headaches I have, my hair is so darn thick and heavy that the longer it is the more headaches I get. Anyway I will stop talkin now and let ya look at the pictures, just a warning I took the pictures myself so they aren't the best, they don't do the style or color justice. Anyway enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Confusion

I love my life and I would never trade it for anything, all the good and bad has made me into the person I am today, it's made me strong and I have learned so many things, but despite that,the bad parts do really SUCK. I am struggling with some things right now, it's one of those on going struggles that just feels like it will never end, I know it will eventually end but right now I am just in a dark place and having a hard time with it. My thoughts today are a little confusing to me, I know things will be fine and this isn't something I haven't dealt with before but for some reason I am more bothered by it today, then I have ever been before. Whenever I think about the problem it brings on a fresh batch of tears, and even though my hubby reassures me that everything is going to be fine(and I truly know that it will) I can't seem to be able to shake of this looming sadness. I also think that maybe it isn't just THIS issue that I am struggling with,maybe there are some other things that are also playing into, but that makes me wonder what they are cause honestly I have no clue.

Today was suppose to be MY day, I was planning on doing a few things by myself with NO kids and hubby dragging behind me, this may sound selfish but every once in awhile you really do have to take some time out for yourself, to take a step back and relax and gain some confidence before jumping back into your life with both feet. I wasn't able to go do the things I wanted because of this ISSUE, I think that's why I am so sad not so much because I am missing out on the things that I wanted to do I can always do them later, but I was just looking forward to being alone, and having some time to think without someone needing my attention, and even though I plan on locking my self in the bathroom while I take a hot bath it just isn't the same, because I am not really escaping and taking a step back from everything, I will still hear the kids screaming and banging on the door for me to let them in, and my hubby gettin mad cause of all the things they are doing or not doing, I will still hear the baby crying on the baby monitor and I will be thinking about everything, but nothing that I want to think about. And even though I could still go out and spend some time a lone for some reason it just isn't the same and I lost that desire.

It's funny that even though I am sad about not being able to spend some much needed time alone, I got a new drive to deep clean my house, and even though it's not what I want to be doing right now it is making me feel better. I look at around and see some of the things I have completed and it makes me feel like all that hard work was well worth it and I feel so accomplished. I guess that's they way I need to look at my life's struggles, even though it's not something that I want to deal with or do because of all the hard work and tears it entails, I know once that it is handled and over I will feel accomplished once more and have more confidence in my self to handle future issues.

I am actually feeling much better already, I new that if I sat down and wrote down all the thoughts in my head that I would be able to look at it and go that's it that's my problem? Cause now as I look at all I have written the issue at hand seems silly, and it just puts everything in perspective for me, I know that I can handle it, it really is nothing compared to other things I have dealt with before, my heart already feels lighter. :)

Blind as a bat!

This morning while I was doin Ryne's hair my glasses fell off my face and into the sink, were both the lens and the screw popped out, luckily for me I found the screw. While I was (blindly)trying to put the screw back in I dropped the glasses, loosing the black screw in my black carpet FANTASTIC!!! I have no choice but to put in my 1 and only contact, seriously what choice did I have!? I spent more than half my day half blind, really I am legally blind without my glasses or contacts and let's face it I am the most uncoordinated person your ever gonna meet(I'm worse than an elephant wearin a tutu dancin ballet), add blurry vision on top of that and let's just say it isn't pretty!!

I called my Dr. office to see if I could get in today and as my luck would have it he was only workin till 2 today and I needed an appointment AFTER 2, I was holding back my tears, I didn't know what else to do, my attempts at rigging my glasses failed, and I was out of ideas, so I explained to this nice gal on the phone what the deal was she was very nice and very helpful, she said that she could give me a pair of trial contacts until I could get in to see the DR.!!!! HALLELUJAH!!I just wanted to go through that phone and give her a great big hug! Dane picked up the contacts on his way home from work and I am proud to say that I can SEE, and I am so grateful!!! My headache is almost gone now, and I was actually able to clean my house once I could see were all the messes were!! And the best part was that Dane figured I had a pretty rough day so he bought a pizza for dinner so I don't have to cook!! What a great guy. :) So that was my drama today, it was one of those" you have got to be kidding me" situations that you feel could only happen to you and all you can do is laugh!!

Labor day weekend

So how was your labor day weekend? Ours was pretty good. Saturday we took these little monsters(oh I mean angels that NEVER do anything wrong and ALWAYS listen and obey!) to dinner and a movie.

We had dinner at Mi Amigos and then we went and saw Night at the Museum 2 at the cheap $1 theatre. I thought the movie was good at least the parts that I actually got to see, I swear Ryne has the smallest bladder in the whole, she was going to the bathroom literally every 10 minutes!!! Kaleb did good for most of the movie, the last 20 mins were a sruggle though, he kept falling out of his seat cause he was goofing off he has quite a bruise collection. Ellie also did good for most of the movie she did struggle the last 10 mins or so. Over all it was an enjoyable night, I especially liked the part when we got home and all 3 kids were more than ready for bed!!

We went to church on Sunday it was very nice at least the parts that I actually got to listen too!! Ellie was being a little grumpy gus! Sunday night, Ryne Kaleb and I all laid on the air mattress and listened to Dana read Harry Potter, I was the only one that didn't fall asleep!

Monday we had planned on going to the zoo and then swimming, but this little monster (angel) tweaked our plans a little when she lost my last contact!!!

We ended up spending most of our day at America's Best were I couldn't get a prescription because my eyes were irritated and a little swollen(it could have been from the fact that I had been crying cause the contact was lost! I know I am such a baby!!) so I have to go back in 2 weeks, but I am actually going to go to my regular eye dr. this week for the contacts, I know why did I go to America's Best when I already have and eye dr and eye insurance? 1st cause America's Best was the only place open yesterday and 2 they have really good deals on their glasses and I REALLY need new glasses ,the ones I have are 6 yrs old and falling apart and I am blind as a bat without them(no joke, I am actually considered legally blind without my glasses or contacts!!). Once there we realized that getting contacts there would be stupid, it would be much better(and cheaper) to get the glasses there then use our eye insurance to get the contacts(since my insurance only covers one or the other), so there ya go. After America's best we walked the mall, then we went and got some lunch at McDonalds (we let the kids choose) and let the kids play, once we got home Dane took the older kids swimming while I stayed home with the sleeping baby!! Man what an exhausting weekend we had, it was fun spending time with the family, we had more ups than downs, it was great. ;)

Cookies

After Kaleb and I cleaned the house we decided we needed a treat so we made chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, sooooo YUMMY!! Kaleb enjoyed measuring and pouring in the ingedients, I enjoyed spending some one on one time with Kaleb.

Highs and lows of our camping trip.

Now that Ryne is at school and the younger kids are asleep I thought I would share some high and lows from our camping trip.

High- We all were so happy on Thursday to get out of AJ and the heat, especially since there were record high temperatures.

Low- We had no a/c in the car and the windows on the passenger side wouldn't roll up.

High-We set up camp easily and without incident(like last yr when Kaleb broke a tent poll)so we were done before it got dark.

Low- We were tired and ready for bed but all the kids took naps and were wired.

High-We went to bed by 9

Low- It got pretty cold and I was up most of the night with Ellie and Kaleb

High- We had a great day on Friday, we went for a hike, and flew kites and collected fire wood.

Low- Kaleb was confused about going potty in the woods, he thought if he went behind a tree he would get in trouble and so he resorted to peeing his pants, he went through all of the clothes I had taken for him so I had to do laundry see.....

High- We had a great lunch on Friday, chicken quesedillas and rice crispy treats.

Low-I had to cook!! LOL

High- A porta-potty was delivered Friday afternoon

Low- Kaleb was fascinated and wouldn't stay out of it. (he was even giving tours, and guarding it.)

High-Saturday morning we(I) got the camp all packed up early, so we could have the afternoon to hang out.

Low- I missed breakfast with the ward and had to eat my pancakes cold. :(

High- The kids had fun making bows and arrows, we took a couple of cute family pictures

Low- We had to go home, and endure the heat and windows that wouldn't roll up :(

So that was our trip in a nut shell, were there's highs there's lows and were there's lows there's highs.