Brain Fog?

Our washer and dryer have been acting funny lately. Sometimes the water won't spin out of the clothes and some days I find a little puddle of water in front of the machine. It takes 2-3 dry cycles to get one load of laundry dry. My machines are 7 years old and with a family of 8, I estimate that they have washed and dried about a million loads of laundry, give or take a few loads. But I seriously need them to last forever! Yesterday, I couldn't get any of the clothes to dry and there was a puddle of water after load of wash. When K got home I showed him my problem. He asked if I had called the repair guy like we had discussed the night before. I just stared at him blankly. I did not remember having that conversation until he mentioned it again. All day I kept dealing with this problem and trying to figure out what to do and not once did I think about calling the repair guy. What is wrong with my brain? It seems like I forget alot of things since H was born. I think he took my last brain cell.


So when I got up this morning, K had left me a little reminder note. (I can't remember what is wrong with the stove or I would have told you about it. Don't tell K though! I'll fake it!)

And where is the best place to leave a note for me so that I won't miss it?







On the ceiling! I have this habit of walking around and throwing away loose papers so I'm assuming he put it up there so that I could not reach it to throw it away with the hopes that it will bug me enough that I will remember to make the phone call.


K is very thoughtful like that!





On a more serious note, Do you have any suggestions on what to do when your brain shuts off? My doctor suggested puzzles or memorizing things. I thought he was joking with me but he was really serious. I thought I was just spacing but he said my brain will turn into an old ladies brain if I don't exercise it and get that memory back. I have a house full of kids and the blank look of "I have no clue what you're talking about" is getting old. What happens when I forget something important...like a child? I'm a little scared!

I'm bored!

The kids all went back to school today and I have 30 loads of laundry to do, things to put away from the weekend and my house really needs to be cleaned and yet, I feel very bored! What should I do with my extra time? So, I'm taking some more internet surveys. These are way too addicting!

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

(This seems like a no brainer, since Thanksgiving was just last week.)

You Will Not Be a Cool Parent

And that's pretty okay. While your kids may not think of you as a friend, they will respect you. You know that kids need discipline and structure, and you're not afraid to give it to them. Just be careful that your strictness doesn't lead to rebellion. It's good to have standards and rules, but you don't need to have an iron fist when enforcing them.

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

(Darn! Oh well!)

You Should Rule Venus

Venus is a mysterious, stormy planet - shrouded in a thick layer of clouds. You are perfect to rule Venus, because you are quite emotional and volatile yourself. Your emotions change as rapidly as the weather on Venus, and both you and the planet are incomprehensible to others. While you are not a logical thinker, you are quite empathetic. You can care for and understand others, but your emotions swirl too quickly to truly understand yourself.

What Planet Should You Rule?

(Stormy and mysterious...Sounds like I'm a little scarey!)

What silly internet tests have you wasted your time and brain cells on lately?

Thanksgiving at our house!

We had Thanksgiving at our house this year. K's sister J and her husband M and their 3 children, R, W, and A, joined us. It was a fun weekend! We loved having them stay with us. J was a little sick but she loaded up on the medicine and she was off and running...sort of. I worked her! (I'm not that great of a cook and she is a really good cook so I kind of couldn't do it without her.) I thought it all turned out perfect! K did two birds, one in the oven and one in the turkey fryer (Don't let the black scare you. It was the best tasting meat!) He did a GREAT job! The rest was pretty traditional and it was yummy. We tried a new recipe for yams that was a keeper and we won't be doing the cranberries next time, at least not this years recipe. We had a cranberry/apple drink that was very good so maybe we'll get our cranberries that way. The kids played croquet all morning (It was a little cold outside at 20 degrees but the sun was shining so it was hard to keep them in the house all day.) And H was happy to be on clean up duty. Every time the dishwasher opened (which was alot in order to keep up with all the cooking) he would come crawling as fast as he could to get right in there and help. At least he was excited to help, unlike the older kids.Then it was off for some great shopping and leftovers on Friday! It was sad to see it all end so soon!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It was nice to have a short, sweet weekend to slow down and take the time to remember all the things that I am thankful for because now that it is over, we are racing towards Christmas. Hang on tight! It's my favorite time of year!

Thank You Lord!

Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes;
We have plenty of food to eat.

Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry;
We have plenty of nice clothes to wear.

And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds;
They were so warm and comfortable last night.
I know that many have no bed.

My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom,
Complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory;
They are so convenient.

Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly;
It has served us faithfully for many years.
It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.

Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today.
It has baked so many things over the years.

The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing,
The lawn that needs raking;
We all enjoy the yard.

Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door.
My kids are healthy and able to run and play.

Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says
You have richly blessed my family.
I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.

Author: Unknown

My moment of PANIC!

Last week I sent A off to school on the school bus. She goes to kindergarten in the afternoons and the school only has one half day kindergarten class (the others are full day) so when she goes to school, there are only kids in her class on the bus. After many tears and weeks of working through some of her fears, she is finally okay with riding the bus to school by herself.

The bus ride home is different. It is a different bus and driver and their are kids from k-12 on the bus with her. She has has a hard time because she is so little and her best friend is the little boy down the street named T so they get teased alot. Up until S switched schools, she was on the bus with A and she could "protect" her and help her deal with the different situations on the bus. When S switched schools, we decided that A would be okay still because she would just walk home with T and his older sister L and another neighbor girl named K.

Last week A's bus driver on the way home from school decided to move the bus stop. It is actually now about a block from my house so I am really happy with the switch. Before, the bus wouldn't come into our subdivision so it was dropping the kids off on the busy main street and then my kids were having to walk 1/2 mile home. Now she makes 3 stops in our subdivision and the kids can get off at the one that is closest to their house. Sounds great, right?

Well, on Wednesday, L and T did not ride the bus home and K walked to her mom's work after school, so A rode the bus home alone. She got very nervous that the driver would forget to drop her off, so she got off at the first stop in our subdivision. Then she walked all the way home alone and cried the whole way because she was so scared. Of course, I didn't know that she was doing this. I had no idea where she was when the bus came by and she didn't get off. But, a couple minutes later, she came walking down the street, so it all worked out okay. We talked about it and she agreed to stay on the bus next time until her correct stop. I reassured her that the bus driver would not forget her and if she did to just speak up and ask her to stop and let her off. Problem solved!

So, on Thursday, T's mother called and asked if they were at my house. I told her no. I hadn't seen the bus yet so I didn't think they were home yet. A couple minutes later I saw K's older sister, K, outside with her dad and so I asked her if she had riden the bus. She said that she had. Then I asked her if T and A had gotten of with her. She said no. She had not even seen them on the bus. I called T's mother and she had already contacted the bus and the bus driver confirmed that they had not gotten on the bus. They quickly checked the other 2 buses and they were not on those buses either. She called the school and their teacher said that they had left with the bus kids and so as far as she knew, they were on the bus. They checked the school grounds though, and no A and T. Okay, now what? They are 6 years old! Where could they have gone? and who was responsible for them?

Before I had much more time to panic, K's mother pulled into the driveway and out jumped A and K. She had just dropped T off at his house. I guess that as A and T were getting on the bus, K had grabbed them and told them that they were suppose to walk with her to her mother's work. They told her that they didn't know that but she said that she had called me and that I had given them permission to walk with her. So they did! K is 10 years old. The 3 of them walked 10+ blocks to K's mothers work. Our elementary school is not in the safest neighborhood to begin with and her mother works down town on Main Street which is NOT where I want any of my children to be, especially if I'm not with them. It's a little scarey down town. Her mother said that K had called her at lunch and asked if she could bring A to her work with her. Her mother told her that she had to call me first and get my permission. But when they walked in and had T with them, she panicked. She doesn't even know T's family and she knew that there was probably no way that his mother knew where he was so she brought them immediately home. It all worked out okay and the timing was perfect. A few more minutes and I would have had the cops looking for 2 missing children. I NEVER would have thought to check at K's mothers work. I don't even know her name or where she works. And if T hadn't gone with them, her mother would have assumed that I had given her permission to walk and she wouldn't have brought her home until after work, which would have been 6 o'clock. I can't even imagine not knowing where she was for 2 1/2 hours.

So, since it all worked out okay and nothing bad happened, I am trying to figure out how to protect my child. This was the neighbor girl, who meant no harm, but she convinced my child that she had my permission to take her somewhere. No one knew where she was, not the school, not the bus driver, not me!

Does this scare anyone else?

My solution: I did not send her to school on Friday and today I will take her to school, drop her off at her classroom door and pick her up myself from her classroom door.

What would you do?

Did you know?

So, because internet test are so accurate and inspiring, I thought I'd share a little about myself.

You Belong in 1956

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

You Are 26 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

You Sometimes Don't Get Enough Sleep

You're often more tired than you'd like, and you're probably not getting enough quality sleep. Sleeping a little more could make you a lot more energetic and happy. Try having a bedtime, keep your bedroom cool, and only eat fruit before bed.

Do You Get Enough Sleep?

Your Brain's Pattern

Your mind is a firestorm - full of intensity and drama. Your thoughts may seem scattered to you most of the time... But they often seem strong and passionate to those around you. You are a natural influencer. The thoughts you share are very powerful and persuading.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

You Are 49% Real

You're pretty real with people, but you can't help hiding a good part of yourself. You're not truly happy with who you are at times... and believe it or not, it shows. Try not to hide parts of your life from the people who matter to you. Your friends and family are probably a lot more accepting than you realize!

How Real Are You?

Your Inner Child Is Sad

You're a very sensitive soul. You haven't grown that thick skin that most adults have. Easily hurt, you tend to retreat to your comfort zone. You don't let many people in - unless you've trusted them for a long time.

How Is Your Inner Child?

You Should Own a Beagle

Low maintenance, very friendly, and sturdy.

What Kind of Dog Should You Have?

What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means

Your eating style is gluttonous. If you like something, you're going back for seconds... no matter how full you are! You have a total sweet tooth. When you can get away with it, you like to have dessert before dinner! Your taste in food tends to be conservative and traditional. It's likely that you prefer "All American" favorites like mac and cheese or hamburgers. You are probably a fairly normal, upper middle class person. You don't rock the boat too often. You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you. You are a pretty easy person to please, but you do have your own little personal quirks. You're far from neurotic, but you can be a little picky at times.

What Does Your Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Say About You?

So, I guess that's about all there is to know about me.

Have a great weekend and thanks to all of you who sent me your emails. I have a wonderful family and really great friends (old and new!!!)

From Trash to Treasure?

I found this cabinet at the D.I. I loved it! I brought it home and after it sat in my garage for 2 weeks, I decided that it really did look like someones garbage. I hate to waste my money but K really hates me to waste it on silly projects that don't work out or get finished.

I decided to just go for it and see what I could do with it. I had already spent the money so what more could I loose.

It looked much better after it was primed.

I had a good time painting it. K was very unsure about it last night when I showed it to him and told him my plan for it though.

J is home sick today so he helped me put it in the living room. Now that it's all finished, I'm really happy with it.

I hope that K likes it because it's kind of stuck there! (He secretly really does like all my brilliant ideas!)

Good Books!

I just finished reading:

"Tending Roses" by Lisa Wingate

AND

"I am a Mother" by Jane Clayson Johnson

I LOVED them both! Great "Mom" books!

I'm now looking for something new to read. Have you read anything lately that you would recommend?

Brainwashing my children?

Yesterday I took my older boys to the dentist. No Cavities!! Yeah!! The dentist, who is a family friend, mentioned to me that he had asked Z if he brushed his teeth twice a day. Z had hesitated in giving him an answer. I said, "Maybe you should ask him if he brushes once a day." He turned to Z and Z proudly says, "Well, I brush on Sunday mornings before church because my mom won't let me pass the sacrement unless my teeth are white!" The dentist has a moment of shock and then kindly tries to remind Z that he is a big boy now and that means that he shouldn't have to wait for his mom to remind him to brush. J pipes up and says, "Well, I only brush when mom says my breath stinks!" They were both told they had room for improvement in the teeth brushing area. Twice a day! Our dentist then turned to me and asked me if I had my hands full with these two. I smiled proudly! Yep. Those are my boys!!!

During my 2 hour wait, the receptionist started asking me about the school that the kids go to. She is interested in putting her "genius" daughter into a school that is more challenging. Her biggest concern was the schools policy on celebrating holidays. She said that her and her husband grew up in different religions and in their own family, they have agreed that no religion would be practiced. She said that so much brainwashing is done to children through religion. That children don't even know that the things they believe and do daily come from religious beliefs. She said that they do not celebrate any holidays because all holidays are religious. She went on to explain that if we teach our children to be thankful at Thanksgiving time, that we are teaching them to be thankful to a god.



Tagworld Thanksgiving Pictures
That then brainwashes them into believing or not believing in a god before they are old enough to have a choice. I asked her if she was atheist. She said no, that she believed in God but that she would not force her children one way or the other. Besides, atheists believe that there is no god, which then makes that a form of religion. My understanding is that "God" is just non-existant in their home and in her children's lives.

I had never thought of it that way. (I guess my parents did a good job of brainwashing me!) I tried to imagine having no belief in anything. No holidays to look forward to, no hope, nothing.

I listened my children sing "I am a Child of God" for Family Home Evening. I listened to their simple, sincere prayers on the food and for our family. One of my children was approached by a friend at school with some pornography so we discussed choices and consequences. I realized that in every conversation, every act, every thought, the center is our belief in God! From the receptionists perspective, I have totally brainwashed my children.

As I have thought more about this, my goal is not to "brainwash" my children. My hope is to give them tools to use to find out answers for themselves. I want them to trust their own feelings. I want them to be happy and to find purpose in their lives. I want them to have confidence in their decisions. I want them to know that every choice has a consequence, good or bad. I teach them the things that I believe but I want them to believe for themselves, not because I do.

Is this "brainwashing?"



What do you think?

Another Sunday

After being up with H all night, we headed out early this morning for what has become our every other month visit to the E.R. with him. Not a big deal this time...just croup.

H...a little bit of medicine and he's out for a long winters nap! Poor sick baby!

After a couple hours of quality bonding time in the hospital, K and I were anxious to get home and go back to bed. We needed to go to Target to get H's medicine. While we were in the store, I suddenly felt very ill. (Probably because I was shopping on Sunday!) I headed off to the bathroom while K bought our stuff. I totally hated that feeling of being sick in a public restroom. There was a lady in the stall next to me, and an employee cleaning, and I had the stall that had the air freshener right above the toilet. Too Many Smells!! I hate sitting on a public toilet but the thought of putting my face down there to puke was more than I could handle. I JUST WANTED TO GO HOME!!!! I somehow convinced myself I was okay and quckly got out of there. I came home and slept for several hours. When I woke up, the house was clean! The dishes were done, the kids were all quietly playing and K was making lunch.

Z..He wouldn't tell me what he was up to. Hum...suspicious!

J...a little too happy to be cleaning his room? Hum...very suspicious!

Girls....Coloring turkey's for my fridge. Love them! Thanks girls!

I thought I was dreaming! K is a better mom than I am! So, here's my big question of the day...WHY AM I THE MOM? It comes so natural to him. Is this a joke? (I am in no way complaining. I just wish I could pull it all together effortlessly like he does. He definately learned that from his mother!)

K ended the day with Hot Chocolate and Brownies.

This is K's solution to not spilling on the table and still being able to hold the hot cup.

Thanks K for all your hard work today! I love you!

Can you feel the love?

A and K were fighting this morning. I made them sit down and play the "I love you game". They have sit on the floor, facing each other and take turns telling each other "I love you" while giving something (ie. fish crackers or m&m's) to the other person until the food is gone or they are no longer mad. They usually end up laughing and it really turns into alot of fun. This morning I didn't have any treat to share so I told them to give a kiss on the cheek each time they said "I love you". Seems easy enough. This is how it went.

Me: A you go first.
A: I'm not kissing her.
K: You better kiss me or I'm going to kick you in the face!
Me: O.K. Let's look one more time for a treat. I'm sure we can find something.

A's 2007 school picture

S's 2007 school picture

Report Card: Parenting 101=F!

Lesson on how to build self esteem
OR
The right way to correct bad behavior:

Conversation with Z when he got home from school yesterday:
Z: Hey mom, my neck hurts!
Me: Why?
Z: I was head banging with my friends on the bus.
Me: Huh?
Z: I was the best! I did it three times. They said that I did it the best of anyone so they wanted me to do it one more time. My neck popped that last time and now it really hurts. I think my head might fall off.
Me: Hey Z, why don't you go over there and hit your head against the brick wall. I bet you'll do it the best.
Z: Mom, do you know what head banging is? It's not hitting heads against something. It's, like, listening to really loud music and shaking you head really hard.
Me: Yea, I know what it is. Druggies do it!(thinking to myself: Are you retarded?)
Z: Mom, I'm not retarded! and my friends aren't on drugs!
Me: Did I say that out loud?
Z: Mom, be serious here. My neck really hurts. What should I do?
Me: The next time they tell you to do something that may hurt your body, say "No thanks, I'd rather not."
Z: I'd get beat up if I talked like that. Seriously, I need you to act like the mom and tell me what I should really do.
Me: Well, I don't care how you say it, just don't do it again. Go take some Tylenol and lay down for a while.

This morning before school:
Z: Mom, I'm not going to head bang anymore.
Me: Good!
Z: Do you care if I still pop balloons?
Me: What are you talking about?
Z: Watch. I need some of your ziploc baggies though.
(Z blows up a baggie with air and them attempts to pop it.)
K: Z, stop being a dork!
Z: I'm not a dork! Why am I a dork?
K: Cuz you're doing dorky things lately!
Z: Like what?
K: Head banging and popping plastic bags!
Z: That doesn't make me a dork!
Me: The bus is here! BEHAVE!
Z: FINE!!
Me to K: (sarcastically) I think we handled that pretty well!

Poor kid! I hope the rest of his day goes better! I'm sorry that he has to be our first child. I hope he survives his parents immaturity.

The longest day of the year!

What do you get when you combine Daylight Savings Time and Fast Sunday?

In my before-kids-life: An extra hour for me to sleep or play out late with my friends.

In my dream-mommy-world: An extra hour to clean or study or bake or do something wonderful for my family or myself.

In my this-is-the-real-world-life: Just a REALLY LONG DAY!!!


H was up all night. I kept looking at the clock thinking, okay it's almost time to get up. He gets up every morning at 6:30 because that's when he hears the kids getting ready for school. So, on Sunday morning he was up at 6:30 ready to play, only it was 5:30. We don't have church until 12:00 so no one wanted to be up that early! The rest of the day just seemed to drag. We were ready for church, really early. I teach in the Primary and we are practicing for our program so for 2 hours the kids just sang the same songs over and over. It was a lot of work because they don't really know them. I thought it would never end. I kept asking if we could do another wiggle song. I felt like a tortured little kid. Then we had to sit through Sacrement meeting. The little ones were hungry because the time change messed up their lunch time, the big ones were hungry because they were fasting. Everyone was really tired! I thought that the meeting would never end. I kept watching the clock. The hands never moved! That night, I was so excited to put the kids to bed. I had the BIGGEST headache! I called everyone in for family prayer. K said, "It's only 6:30. You can't send them to bed this early." Oh yeah? So we read out of the Friend magazine for a little while and then I sent them all to bed at 7:00. I have no idea what time every one fell asleep. I do know that H was up again at 5:30 ready to play on Monday and again today! Some of our clocks have been changed, some of them have not. We have no idea what time it is around here.


A 25 hour day sounds wonderful....or does it?

Be careful what you wish for. It may not go quite the way you had planned.

I really wish that President Bush would plan the time changes on the same weekends at General Conference! That would really help me out alot. Maybe if Mitt Romney becomes president, someone could suggest it to him. Wait! He has kids. His wife has probably already thought of it!


P.S. I do have something new to be happy about. We finally got the bus to pick the kids up and drop them off in front of our house! Now I don't have to drive them to the bus stop in the morning and they don't have to walk home after school. It was a 1/2 mile away. Not too bad of a walk but when the bus pulled up right in front of our house this morning and I was bare foot and still in my pajamas with my car still in the garage and I didn't have to worry about leaving the 3 little ones home alone for 15-30 minutes, I was really thankful!

What would you do if you found some treasure?

Here is a paragraph that J had to write for class today.

J 10/31/07

If I found some treasure, I would save some and donate the rest to animal rescue shelters, children’s hospitals and orphanages. I think this showing respect for others and self-discipline. I have been taught to help others who have less than I do. It makes me sad to see animals and children who need help and a home. I hope that someday I can really donate some money and time to others who are in need and make them happy.

My children always continue to amaze me. I feel very lucky to be able to enjoy them as their mother. I am very blessed.

Happy Halloween!!!

K took the kids out Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. It was REALLY cold so they had to come home a couple of times to warm up. Even Z dressed up and went along for the free candy. They had a really great time and all went to bed coughing, but smiling!








H dressed up as a sick baby so he and I stayed home and passed out candy. After I sent the kids to bed, I went through their bags and took out all the gum and small hard candy that they could choke on and set it in a bowl outside on the front steps for any "late" Trick or Treaters. This morning, most of the "unwanted" candy and gum was gone. Yes!!!

This is the night we've waited for...

We had a friend give us some pumpkins out of her garden. For Family Home Evening, we decided to carve pumpkins and have caramel apples. Sounds festive, right?




K trying to pick out a pumpkin from our kitchen table pumpkin patch.










Z, J and S working hard at designing the perfect face. J held his up and asked, "Can you tell which one is the pumpkin?" NOPE!

H checking his pumpkin out. He kept licking it. It probably tasted like dirt. Yum!























The best part was cleaning out the insides. I decided that Halloween was thought up while someone was carving a pumpkin. The insides felt like spider webs. The kids thought they were digging out guts. They had a hard time getting the heart out. It was scarey and slimey and yucky!

It's alot of work to carve 6 pumpkins. We got the tops off of all of them and they all got cleaned out but we only got 2 carved. Then Ken and I were both tired and my house and kids were a mess. The pumpkins all went out to the front porch, carved or not, the kids went to the bathtub, K went to bed, and I cleaned up the kitchen.

We did end the night with family prayer and K's version of caramel apples. The kids were slightly disappointed that they didn't get to melt the caramels and then put it on the apples but in the end it all tasted pretty much the same. Plus, it was one less mess I had to clean up.





Next year we will only carve one pumpkin per adult, not one pumpkin per child. The rest will be decorated with markers!