Deep spinning class thoughts...

After wrestling with Henry all night and watching the clock tick on all night long, Ken and I rolled our very tired tushy's out of bed this morning at 4:45 to hit the gym for another very early workout. After taking 2 days off and eating a big bowl of ice cream last night for dinner (I know, but it was kind of a rough day) I jumped up on my bike ready to ride, ride, ride. The first 5 minutes of warm up were a little slow as I was trying to wake my sleepy self up. Then we headed into the workout and the instructor said "hand position two and up" (which means stand up and pedal) and my legs suddenly yelled out loud and strong in total protest. I knew right then, this workout was going to suck!!

The next 10 minutes were painful. Every turn on the pedals was mind over body.
Push! Pull!
Push! Pull!

Finally the clock said 5:30 and I thought, "Okay, I survived!"

The next 10 minutes my muscles relaxed and stopped fighting me and I actually got in a really good rhythm, my breathing relaxed and I figured out how to just maintain.

Finally, the clock said 5:40 and I knew I was going to make it to the end and that I would still be alive when it was all over. I stood up on that bike, turned up the resistance and pedaled hard, determined to cross the finish line strong but also get as much as I could out of what was left of the class.

A short cool down, stretching, 6:00, and I was done. It was over and I had conquered!

As I was on that bike pedaling and pedaling and pedaling, I started to entertain (or distract) myself with a few deep thoughts. I wanted to figure out how in the world this spinning class related life. If I could figure out something really good, it might make the class worth it. If not, at least I would have passed some time and I would be a few more minutes closer to the end of another really, great workout.

The first part of my life I lived at home with my parents. It was a pretty carefree time. I learned things but most of the time it was easy.

Then I hit those teenage years and things became rough. It was tough and I hurt alot. I even did my share of screaming out in protest. I had to work through those tight, sore muscles and I didn't like it at all. I wanted to quit. This was way harder than I thought it would be. But I survived.

Then I got married and moved on to motherhood and it didn't take long to get into a comfortable routine of babies, diapers, bottles, naps, laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. While there were definitely hard ups and downs, for the most part, the rhythm was the same and I learned to maintain.

Now that my babies are all here and most of my kids are not so needy anymore and I feel like I am headed into a new phase. This part of the workout is proving to be harder than the first, but my attitude has changed. I am determined to finish hard and strong and with a smile on my face. I have somehow managed to stick with it and make it this far. There's no way I'm quitting now! I am concentrating on my breathing being deep and controlled so that I remain focused and make it through each challenge the best that I can.

As I stand up again and face those hard climbs, I definitely feel the burn and I am hoping the current song ends soon so that I can sit down for a little break. There are still more songs to play and more pedaling to do but the sit down times are when I can relax and regroup, knowing another climb is up ahead. I know that my determination and commitment can overpower the pain of my physical muscles. And I've learned that even during the sitting times, if the resistance is still high, the burn is still there. It just gives you a second to catch your breath before you jump back up with renewed determination to pedal harder and faster and make it to the end.

And as fast as the work out has gone so far, I know the rest will fly by even faster and suddenly I'll be cooling down and then stretching. And I hope can I look back on my ride, and know that I gave it everything I had. I hope to not only have survived and maintained, but to have conquered and enjoyed!

To me, it's not only about crossing the finish line, but also about making the most out of my ride. In the end, it's the kind of person that I have been shaped into along the way that will matter the most. The only ones who will really know and care about how hard I worked and how it all turned out are me and my Maker. Everyone else will probably be worried about the results of their own workout.

Looking back, I can see how far I've come. I am much stronger now than I ever have been and I am more confident and determined to make it through to the end. I am trying to pedal harder and smile more. There really is an end to all of this, it won't last forever, and I have got to push harder now to get as much as I can out of what is left. I know I can do this because I have been doing it for a long time now. The ride isn't over yet, in fact, I hope it still has a long ways to go, but I am warmed up now and my muscles don't hurt. So, who's coming with me to the gym tomorrow?

This Week....

Ken and I started exercising 5 days a week at 5:00 in the morning. I do spinning 3 days a week with upper body weights afterwards and then lower body weights and running the other 2 days. Ken hates spinning so he has his own schedule (I don't see him so I have no idea what he does but he is always soaked from sweat and he's losing weight so he has a good thing going also) but it's fun to ride together and support each other in our efforts to get healthy. This means though that I am alot more strict about bedtime being early. I am NOT a morning person but I should be. I get alot more done and I'm happier (believe it or not) when I get up and start my day out the way I always plan that I should.

I'm still working on the evening routine but the morning is coming together good. The kids have chores and summer homework that they work on in the morning. If they get it all done, without making me crazy, then we do something fun in the afternoons.

We have been going to the park every day for the summer lunch program. I love this because I get to visit with so many neighbors and friends and the kids get to run and play in the park for an hour everyday so it's our social hour.

For our afternoon activities we choose from bowling, swimming, movie theater, library, or Dierkes Lake. Because they did so well this week, we went to the Drive-in Theater on Friday night. That was fun. Ken had to work, so I had to put on my "big girl pants" and do it alone. I have never been to a drive-in before in my whole life and I was taking all 6 of my kids alone. I was nervous how it would all come together and how the little ones would do but we went with some friends and it was a blast. We saw Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones. The younger 4 fell asleep in the back of the suburban so it was just me and the older boys for most of the night. I don't know if Indiana Jones was worth staying out until 2am but Kung Fu Panda is really, really cute. It was fun to be with my kids and watch them enjoy the whole experience. We will definately be doing that many more times this summer.

This morning I got up bright and early and went out with a friend to pick strawberries. I got 12 gallons. Then I spent the rest of the day washing them and freezing them so that I can make jam on a later date. We also hit a couple of garage sales and found some great deals.

My house is clean, my kids are all bathed and asleep, clothes are all ironed for tomorrow, Ken is still working and I'm way too tired to wait up any later so I'm off to bed now. This week is now officially over!

Have a great Sabbath!

It's time to PARTY!

Summer is one of my friends that I met online and she is having her one year blog anniversary party today. Summer is a wonderful writer, she is very talented and she has become a great friend to me. I missed out on promoting her party earlier this month but I want to give her party a plug today and send you all over there to play. She is having lots of games and giveaways. If this all sounds a little weird, go over and see what a blog party is like. And enter to win some of her prizes while you are there. And if you want to read some good stuff, go through her archives. She's got some great posts! Now, go on over to Summer's Nook and have some blog party fun!

Chores

In an attempt to regain some order around here, I have started giving the kids a list of chores each morning that must be done before they can play with friends or do fun activities for the day. Their personalities blare out loud and strong when they are asked to work.

Zach: He does his jobs immediately, as quickly as possible. He does a good, thorough job, I never have to check his work, but he will only do exactly what his list says. Nothing more. I have to list details and steps with him and if I forget something, oh well, it's not going to get done. Then he's off to do his own thing, usually read, and that's all I get out of him for the day.

Justyn: He will put his chores off as long as possible. Today he is about to puke so it really doesn't make sense to have him do his chores (rolling my eyes!). I have to keep an eye on him because he will do as little as possible and say the chore is complete. I usually have to check his work, tell him to do it again, and again, and then I usually have to redo it later anyways. If it's something outside, I can get more out of him but most of the time it's just exhausting to have him help out.

Shaelynne: She is my overachiever! I give her a list of 4 chores to do and she will do those 4 chores, plus everyone else's and then anything else she can find that needs to be done. She loves to clean! She is crazy! I have to tell her to stop and let someone else do something also. She does a really good job. My only complaint is that she is a surface cleaner. She makes things look clean on the surface but hidden in the cupboards, closets or under the beds is total chaos.

Alexys and Kate: These two usually work together--I don't know why because they fight and make each other cry all morning long. It's miserable for all of us. The reason is that neither of them like to do chores and they definitely don't want to do them alone. There is no way they are going to let the other one get away with not doing their share of the work. In the end, basically nothing gets done on their list. They are good at folding towels and washing windows. They get all the extra little jobs that don't really need done and they usually get sent outside long before they complete anything just because I need a break from all their whining and fighting. I have hope that they will someday grow out of it.

Henry: He just follows everyone around and helps out where ever he can. He usually gets the job of babysitting Justyn so that Justyn doesn't disappear during chore time. His favorite job is emptying the dishwasher, clean or dirty. He has recently figured out how to open the dishwasher so now the dishes are never finished washing and always all over the floor. He's a very good helper.

In my attempt to be a good mom, I'm finding myself exhausted. I keep telling myself, "they'll thank me for this someday" but honestly, I don't believe they ever will. I never have. I do like my clean house though, and they do too. And I find myself feeling very happy when I see my children working. Warped? Maybe.... Will they have chores again tomorrow? You betcha!

One year older.....

Alexys' birthday was on Sunday. She is 7. We went to church and then we went up into the mountains for a picnic and then home to have cupcakes and ice cream cones with some neighbor friends. It was a fun day.

Here's 7 things about my little Al:
1. She is very motherly to her younger sister and brother. She is very small though so they can pretty much take her down if she tries to force them to do something but she still tries to love them and take good care of them.

2. She is very happy! All the time. She is giggly and smiley and just very easy going. When she is around, she keeps things light and fun. She loves her family and friends. She is definitely my most social child.

3. She likes to read and write. She learned to read and went straight for chapter books. She is currently reading, A Little Princess. She has a journal/notebook that she carries with her everywhere and she writes and draws in it all the time. She is always leaving me little notes and pictures.

4. She wants to be and artist when she grows up. She also wants to be a teacher so maybe she will do both and be an art teacher. She is still thinking about that one.

5. She is very practical. She isn't into too much frill or fluff, just what's necessary. Shaelynne tries to doll her up but she isn't into the work or pain. She does like to wear dresses or skirts every day though.

6. She likes to try new things. She is naturally a little shy at first but that just turns the task into more of a challenge and she loves a challenge. She will work hard to accomplish her goals and then she is done. She doesn't need to do things over and over, just until perfect and then she is ready for a new challenge. She does this alot with sports and games.

7. She is a finisher. Any job or task she begins, she will stay with it until it is finished. Every coloring page, workbook page, art project always gets finished, clear down to the very smallest detail.

And that's a few things about Alexys. We're so glad she is part of our family!

BIG NEWS!

My little brother David is getting married!!!!!!! To Kimberly. HOORAY!!!!!! Aren't they so cute? Their big date is August 19th. Congratulations you two!

Wordless Wednesday

A super, fun day!

We went out playing on the water yesterday. This kids had so much fun. I don't think we have been on the water in over 5 years. They were all so excited but a little cautious at first. Once we got out on the lake and stopped to fill up the tub, the kids all decided to jump in.

Kate and Henry were still very upset at being caged in their life jackets.

Zach and Justyn were the first to ride the tube. They didn't last as long as I thought they would.

Shaelynne rode with her friend Logan.



Alexys rode with our friend Stacy.

And that was all that they did. They were happy to spend the rest of the day just playing in the boat and being with their friends.

Our friend Stacy asked if I wanted a turn. I overheard Justyn say, "My mom doesn't do those kinds of things. She's too afraid." HA! He doesn't know me very well. I'm up for a challenge. I rode the tube with Stacy and that was fun. A little too much jarring on my not-so-young body though. I did try surfing. That was very fun. Troy, Stacy's husband, called it a woosy sport. I'm okay with woosy.

I also tried the wake board (pictures are on my friends camera). After a couple of tries I figured out how to get up but I wasn't very good at staying up for more than about 5 seconds. It was fun to try though.

When Ken and I dated(the whole 2 months that we dated), we spent alot of time out on the water. Ken loved to waterski. Back then I was more worried about being embarrassed and always looking cute then actually learning to ski. Now that I'm a couple years older, I don't actually care how cute I look and I'm way past being embarrassed so it's more fun to actually try different things. Now I'm just really out of shape. My body gave out long before my determination did yesterday. Today I'm feeling it though. I didn't want to move at all last night when I crawled into bed. If I stop moving, I start hurting so I think it's time to be done on this post.

The best part of the whole day was just being out with my kids. It was a great tension breaker for us. Being on the water was relaxing and the company was fantastic. So, thanks Stacy and Troy and Amanda and Andy for letting letting us crash your party. Quoting Alexys's words, "We had the BEST day ever!"

Remind me again...

Little kids, Little kids, what are little kids good for?

We took the kids bowling for Justyn's birthday. I will just say it right up front, I AM NOT A GOOD BOWLER. But I think it's fun to do so as long as no one care what my score is, then I really enjoy playing. Ken put me on the little kids lane and he was on the big kids lane. It was perfect because my score made all the little kids feel like they were doing really well. In my defense, I had Henry in one arm, my camera in my other hand and Kate hanging on my legs so my balance and concentration level may have been slightly off. At one point, I threw the ball and it went in the gutter, again, and I turned to Kate and said, "Oh man, I'm just not a very good bowler." She wrapped her skinny little arms around my neck and said, "Listen, Mom, you are a great bowler, just like me. You just need to use my ball." "Really? You think that would help me?" "Sure," she says, "it's pink!" Then she lowers her voice and whispers in my ear, "and pink is magical." Believe it or not, using the pink ball on my next turn, I knocked most of them down. Kate came running as fast as she could to give me a hug, squealing and laughing and clapping all the way, "You did it! You did it!" That's why I have little ones, to remind me to look for magic everywhere and to be my own personal life-cheerleaders.


Bigger Kids, Bigger Kids, What are my bigger kids good for?

This morning, some friends called and invited us to go play on the lake with them in their boat. My kids have been eyeing this boat since we met them so this is the day all their dreams will come true. They are all ready to go right now and we don't even leave for 6 more hours. It's going to be a long morning. Anyways, Justyn just walked past me and he was laughing to himself. I called him back and asked him what was so funny. He said, "Well, at least you don't have to worry about wearing a swimsuit." I said, "What? I have a swimsuit." He laughed, "I know, but I know you and you will definitely be too embarrassed to wear it." "No I won't." His laughing stopped instantly and a look of sheer terror crossed his face. "You're not going to wear it,(pause) are you?" "Are you going to be embarrassed if I do?" He quickly nodded his head yes. Now I'm the one laughing, "Oh yes, my dear, your mother is definitely going to be wearing a swimsuit today, out in public. Don't worry, I'll be sure you get to hang out with me ALL DAY LONG." Desperately he said, "But,...your a....mom!" I put my arm around him, "Ah yes, my son, I'm often reminded of that small detail." He turned and walked away shaking his head and I heard him mumble under his breath, "Oh man, and I was hoping this was going to be a fun day." HeHeHe!!! This is so going to be a fun day!!! However, he is right. I'm not a big swimsuit person so I was already having doubts of my own. In his most gentle but totally honest way, Justyn has helped my feel even more self-conscious about my super white, slightly unfit, yes,-I-really-had-all-those-kids body. Yes,yes, my bigger kids do a great job at keeping me humble.

Teenagers, Teenagers, what can they possibly be good for?

I was visiting with my neighbor the other night, and she made the comment, "My husbands young men think I'm hotter than he does." Zach was sitting there with me and he chuckled out loud and said, "Oh yeah!" Since he just happens to be one of her husbands young men, I turned to him with a look of shock and disbelief on my face. He looked at me and quickly cleared his throat and added, "Umm, yeah, I've heard some of the other young men talking about that. We really love to hang out over here!" Then he looked at her and said, "S, you rock!" "See," she said, and then we continued on with our conversation while, behind my back, I'm frantically trying to shew Zach off to play someplace else. I am clueless when it comes to this teenage thing. I failed my own teenage years miserably. I've decided that the one thing that this age is definitely good for is the whole shock factor thing. I never have any clue what to expect next, and most of the time, what does come out, puts me into a mild state of shock and I often find myself gracefully trying to deal with my reactions, often times while surrounded by people in a public setting. It's really good for my stress level. I figure, I'll either learn to leave them all home, or I'll get better at lightening up and remembering how to enjoy life a little more, the way he does. After all, LIFE ROCKS!

So, the next time you need some no-fluff honestly in your life, get yourself a kid. If you need help finding one, depending on the day, I might have a few spares on hand. And mine are 100% guaranteed to keep it all real, all the time!

Wordless Wednesday

Crazy Eights

Okay, I've been tagged by Venita (and several others, I just can't remember now who)to do six things about me tag. I've done this one a couple times before and I always reveal things that make me seem a little OCD or strange. So, I am a little hesitant to do this one again but I found this tag over on Tanya's blog and it is sort of the same thing but different so I'm going to do this one and call it the same. It's called CRAZY EIGHTS...


Eight things I have a passion for...

Anything with my kids
My husband
My stay-at-home mommy career
My extended family
Love
Friendship
Knowledge
Art


Eight things I would like to do before I die...

Kiss my grandkids
Travel (I'm working on my list)
Get my degree
See all my children in the temple
Learn to swim
Get healthy
Laugh more
Stress less


Eight things I say a lot...

No! Don't ask me again!
I love you!
Clean up your rooms
I need your laundry
Shut the door
Do your chores
Why isn't anyone listening to me
Stop fighting


Eight books I have read recently...

The Horse and His Boys (Chronicles of Narnia)
Body for Life
Body for Life for Women
Natural Prozac
I was a really Good Mom before I had kids
Tending Roses
I am a Mother
1 Nephi (Book of Mormon)

Eight movies I have seen 8 times (more like 800 times)

Sound of Music
My Fair Lady
High School Musical 1 & 2
All the Barbie Princess movies
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Parent Trap (Haley Mills version)
Top Gun
Wizard of OZ

Justyn turns 11 today! He is such a fun kid. He is at an age where he is still such a little kid at heart but every now and then I get a glimpse of him trying to grow up and it kind of makes me sad. Here are 11 things that I love the most about my Justyn.

1. Justyn loves animals. He's scared to death of them but he has a huge heart for them. He especially loves dogs.
2. Justyn loves adventure books and movies that take place in mythical lands. He loves Chronicle's of Narnia, The Inheritance Series, and Harry Potter are top on his list although he has many, many more that he loves.
3. Justyn loves Lego's and small animals and figures. He likes to combine all his toys to create these amazing imaginary worlds that he lives in.
4. Justyn loves to have stories read to him. He is always listening to a book on CD and he begs to have me read to him at night. I'll probably be reading him bedtime stories until he leaves home.
5. Justyn loves history. He remembers everything he hears or reads. Any time I have questions, I just ask him. He knows everything and if he doesn't know it, he figures it out.
6. Justyn has an excellent memory. He can remember details about so many things. He also likes to annoy us by constantly repeating scenes from movies word for word, over and over and over.
7. Justyn loves to draw. I find his drawings everywhere. Most of them are of these complicated machines that do amazing things or of some detailed scene from a book or imaginary place he has created. Writing is very hard for him because he writes as though he is drawing.
8. Justyn loves to create things. He loves to design things on paper and then create them out of wood or clay or Lego's.
9. Justyn loves to have fun. He loves to laugh and has a strange sense of humor.
10. Justyn is very close to the spirit. His testimony is so strong. He had a talk to give a couple of weeks ago and he couldn't find what he was looking for so he wrote the story himself. He had us all in tears when he was finished.
11. Justyn loves his family and he has a strong sense of loyalty to all of us. He is very respectful to me. Ken teases him because he calls me Momma. I don't know why he does. He just always has and I like it.

I love watching my kids grow up. They are becoming these amazing little people and I am so honored to have the opportunity to be their mother. I just hope I don't blink. I might miss something. The time is going by way too quickly.

Happy Birthday Justyn!

Dodging a Memoir tag....for now

A long, long time ago, I was tagged by Carrie. I was to do my own 6 word memoir.

This has proven to be a really hard tag for me to do because it means that I have to think about myself and, while some of you may find this hard to believe, this is a really hard thing for me to do. I don't really like who I am right now. I still am not ready to do this tag, but I think about it often, and someday I will do it.

I have a lot of guilt. I feel guilty for the things I don't do. I feel guilty for the things I do do. My goal is to learn to live my life guilt-free.

This doesn't mean I want to ignore my conscience and not care about my choices. It just means that I want to be okay with who I am and not feel the need to justify or apologize for my actions and choices to anyone, especially to me. I really am my hardest critic and I want to change that around and become my biggest fan. I don't know how though.

When I was a child, I dreamed of all the wonderful things I would do when I grew up. I would be kind and spiritual and strong. I would be confident and brave and smart. If I get the chance to live a long life, then my life is almost half over. It not, then I have even less time and honestly, at this point in my life, I wouldn't use any of those words to describe myself.

Am I where I want to be right now?
Do I know where I want to go from here?
Am I even headed in the right direction?

I woke up the other night with the Serenity Prayer going through my head. OKAY, actually, I was dreaming about shopping and the poem went something more like this,
Grant me the serenity to buy what is needed,
the courage to not buy what is not needed,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
(Please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem!)

After I woke up enough to figure out that I was making that one up, my thoughts turned to the original serenity prayer, which I absolutely love. I think it gives me the hope that I can change and become better.

God grant me the Serenity to

accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

and Wisdom to know the difference.


I have often solved my problems by taking the Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind approach, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

Today, I am Marion Paroo, the Librarian from Music Man and Professor Harold Hill keeps telling me,

"You pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you have nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays."

So, tomorrow maybe my 6 word memoir will be something great and amazing, but as for today, well, I'm trying to figure out how to work out all my kinks. And when I stop looking at myself and look at all the good that surrounds me, I'm not in too bad of shape after all.

What about you? Do you have a 6 word memoir?

(Okay, what I'm really dying to know is: Do you have any old movie quotes taking over your brain?)

CAUTION!

Something stunk upstairs. Every time I went up there I about puked, it smelled so bad. I opened windows and turned on ceiling fans, hauled laundry downstairs and emptied garbage's. Finally, today, I decided it was time to stop putting off the inevitable and dive in and deep clean. This means that I ignore my kids all day, I cuss their messy habits and I throw away lots and lots and lots of things, but when I'm done, their rooms sparkle and they love it.

I had made it through all the bedrooms and the family room and I just had all the little piles of things that really have no place left to sort through when the kids brought Henry in from playing outside. He was screaming and his legs were stiff. Not a good sign. Upon inspection, I found burns all down his legs from his dirty diaper that should have been changed hours ago but apparently none of the kids watching him could smell it. I started to pour him some bath water when Zach came up stairs covering his eye and crying really hard. He's 12! He doesn't cry like that very often. I asked him what was wrong. He ignored me and cried louder. Henry was now in the tub also crying very loudly. Kate came in and tugged on my leg. I ignored her and shouted at Zach to tell me what was wrong and what in the heck was he doing with his eye. He told me that Justyn had poked it with his finger and that he couldn't see and it felt like it was bleeding. I pulled his hand away, no blood. I yelled for Justyn to come here immediately and told Zach to go lay down. Kate was still tugging on my leg. I told her to stop. Henry was throwing stuff everywhere in the bathroom and throwing a really loud fit. Zach was still crying really hard. Justyn came running. I yelled at him and asked him why he poked Zach in the eye. He said it was an accident and he was so sorry and that he would go to bed now. I was still yelling and told him to stop thinking about himself and to worry about Zach's eye. Then Justyn started to cry and I told him to stop crying and help me out by finishing Henry's bath while I checked out Zach's eye. Oh, and I added, still yelling, "what was he thinking and that he really needed to learn to control his temper." Ha! I obviously practice the "do what I say and not what I do" type of parenting. I stopped yelling for a moment and took a deep breath only to realize that Kate was still tugging on my leg. "Kate! What do you need?" "I need to tell you something. Listen to me!" she demanded. Another deep breath,"Okay, what?" "There is a lady downstairs that needs to talk to you. She is from my Primary class. Hurry! She's been waiting a long time."

If I didn't have time to breath before, now time stood still as I stood at the top of the stairs reviewing the last 5 minutes of total chaos. NICE! Nothing like having a really bad mommy moment and having someone, not family or even friend, there to witness it all. I thought, "How do I enter the room? What do I say? Where is the closest exit? And what happened to the rule of NOT opening the doors without Mom's permission?" I was dying!


I grabbed a handful of stuff, as much as I could carry. I might as well look really, really busy and hope that she is suddenly distracted by all the stuff in my arms and forgets that she had just heard me screaming my head off and saying really terrible things to my kids. I went downstairs.....and no one was there. I was hugely relieved and suddenly hoped that Kate had made it all up. No luck! Shaelynne said that, yes, Sister B had come over to talk to me and that Kate had let her in the house. She was in the house for a few minutes but then she quietly snuck out the door and said that it seemed like maybe I was a little busy and that she would just call me later.

GREAT! Not only did she witness it all but then she left before I could even defend myself.

Well, all I can say is "It's my house! Enter at your own risk!!!"

I think I'll go read a good parenting book now. Any suggestions? I have one called How To Behave So Your Children Will Too. Maybe I'll start with that one.



OH, P.S. The stinky smell was 2 old moldy, yucky lunch bags. One was Zach's and one was Justyn's. We have several lunch bags so these two were not missed. They couldn't even remember when they had packed these lunches. Justyn was happy though because he did find his lost, forgotten popcorn ball. And then just to prove how gross he really is, he ate it. Funny how my dinner's are too gross to eat but an ancient popcorn ball isn't.

Wordless Wednesday

Taking tests and setting goals

So I'm thinking I'll start back to school in the fall. My goal is to finish my degree by the time I am 40! My other deadline is to not be in college when my kids are in college. AHHH! Did I really just say that? It's not that far away.

In order to take classes, I had to go take the college entrance test, called the COMPASS test. It's a test to place you in the right core classes. Since I have been out of high school for 16 years and out of college for 15 years, I was very scared of how I would score. So was the lady I talked to on the phone before I got there. She wanted me to study and make sure I was prepared before I took it. I just wanted to get it done before I chickened out or thought of another excuse to put it off for another 15 years.

So, here's my scores: Mathematics
Pre-Algebra-57
Algebra -56
I was stressed over this test. I stared at those square root signs and couldn't find anything in my brain to help me out. I used to do okay in math. It was scarey that nothing came out. I placed in Intermediate Algebra which is equal to the college algebra class I took years ago at USU so I'm really not in too bad of shape. At least I don't have to go back and do the no-credit classes.

Reading
Standard Reading-98 (out of 99! SWEET!)

Writing
Standard Writing-90 (out of 99....I'll take it!)

The Advisor was so shocked. I was too. I credit my smarts to blogging. I may not come across as the brightest mom on the web but there is a little going on in my head and blogging keeps it moving. I haven't lost everything yet.

So, after that fun little outing, it was off to talk to the counselor for the 4 year program I'll transfer to after I get my associates degree. (CSI is just a two year college but BSU, ISU and U of I all bring in 4 year degrees so I can do it all here.) I was worried about my age. She reassured me that I would be the baby on the block. The average age in the program is 42 so I should do just fine. COOL! The good news is I can do almost ALL of my first two years at home here on the internet. Tomorrow I go back to finish up my financial aid and register for my classes. I'm a little scared....okay, ALOT scared!

I'm pretty excited to think that I may actually make it to this goal. I know, I haven't even started yet, BUT I'm closer now than I was last week, and I think I may have actually decided what I want to be when I grow up. Well, maybe. I guess I'm not holding my breath yet. I've been known to change my mind a time or two in the past. There's just so much I want to learn that I have no idea what to focus on. How did you pick your degree?

Fun Facts about Henry

Henry was tagged by Annika over at Momville. So, here's some fun things about Henry.

1. His latest love is wearing his sunglasses. He runs around and screams and acts so silly until he falls on the floor. I'm sure it doesn't help that we all sit around and laugh at him and encourage his goofy behavior.





2. Most days he can be found sporting the naked body, dirty face and saggy diaper look. He usually looks unloved but that is far from the truth. He just always manages to find a mess and then become the mess.



3. He loves to play rough. The rougher the better! and if it's with Dad or a brother, it doesn't get much better than that. He's as big as everyone else. Just try to convince him that he's not.

4. Sometimes the big boys do play a little too rough though. Don't you love his sweet baby look? And that tear?

5. He has to investigate everything and using a stick makes the life of a small boy so much more fun. The good thing is that he doesn't use the sticks to hit with....not yet, anyways.

6. He never stops from the moment he gets up until he finally falls asleep exhausted. Today, Ken pointed out that Henry was walking down the stairs all by himself. He's only 15 months old! I had to look away in order to control my gasps and not break his concentration. He was so fast that it actually looked like he was running. Yesterday I caught him on the piano keys trying to figure out how to get up on top of the piano. We have an upright so that is a long ways up. He's fearless and loves a challenge.

7. He loves his Daddy.



8. He always has a binky in his mouth and he's famous for staring people down with his interrogating big black eyes.

9. Give him a binky and lay him on the sheets in my bed and it doesn't take long for him to go out. He thinks he's in heaven. He still melts my heart when he sleeps. Snotty nose and all.

And that's my baby boy! He's growing up way too fast!!!!

Now, I tag your baby. Share some things that are fun about the little (or not so little) baby in your family.

And the winners are:

I had 4 helpers that wanted to draw names today and how do I pick only 3 so we have an extra winner! And since I know all of the winners (3 of them are my sisters and one is a close friend) I already know how to find you.


Thanks everyone for playing. I'm dying that not everyone could win.

Pay-it-forward's are always fun so feel free to host your own contest. If not, check out these 4's blogs in the near future for more chances to win!

Now, I'm off to figure out what you just won.....

Finally!!!

Today is the first day to go get your tickets for the Twin Falls temple Open House. Go here to request them. And if you need a place to stay, you're always welcome to stay here. We'll have a party! So, go get your tickets.