You know they're excited...

This year the kids went to bed at about 8pm on Christmas Eve. Mr. Man and Noodle went to sleep super-fast. Princess stayed up for a long time- about 10pm. Before Mr. D and I hit the sack at midnight we said we were set up pretty well for the morning- Mr. Man and Noodle rarely wake up before 7 or 7:30 and Princess will be so tired from staying up late that we didn't need to worry about them waking up before us and going out to the tree.
Boy, were we wrong.
At 3:30am we heard Mr. Man running down the hall yelling "Santa got here, Santa got here!" He proceeded to wake up Princess, shaking her awake and yelling "Santa got here, he left presents!" That, of course, woke up Noodle as well.
So, there we were ALL awake at 3:30 in the morning. Needless to say, Mr. D and I were absolutely NOT getting up at that hour. So we spent the next hour helping everyone go back to sleep....
We ended up waking up around 7 or 7:30. What a night!

Christ-centered Christmas

This year I made a goal to finish all my Christmas shopping before the month of December. Last year I spent what felt like the entire month shopping, returning and wrapping. I did not enjoy it and I did not want to repeat that. It just didn't feel like Christmas. I am happy to report that I did indeed meet my goal.
However, today in sacrament meeting a sister in our ward bore her testimony of the increased blessing of the Spirit because she had been reading the Book of Mormon more. I realized then that what I was missing last year and what I am looking for this year is just that- a focus on the Savior and an increase of the Spirit in my home and life. I do think that having my shopping done is worthy and certainly can make it easier for me to feel that Spirit, but in itself will not bring about the feeling I am looking for. I need to fill my time that I have made with things that are of real importance.
What will bring about that feeling is an increase on my part of studying the scriptures, living more like the Savior and making His birth, life, death, and resurrection the focus of my Christmas season. It is the simple suggestion that I have heard so often, but I think hit home to me a little more fully today.

Here is a video I found on the lds.org website that I thought was very good about a Christ-centered Christmas.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxKas2Mcjg4&feature=player_embedded

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Some friends of ours came over and we enjoyed a gigantic feast and lots of fun. Here is the final menu for this year, some from us, some from our friends:

Apple Cider Brined Turkey
Savory Herb Gravy
Mashed Potatoes (a whopping 12lbs!)
Brown Sugar Glazed Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing (my own concoction from a few recipes)
Fruit Salad with fresh fruit and real whipped cream
Matt and Mandy's Famous Spinach Salad (From the Friend magazine)
Cranberry Jello Salad
Rolls
Relish Tray
Calico Cabbage Salad
Cheesy Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Mexican Corn


Pies:
Cheesecake
Brownies
Ginger Apple Cranberry
2 Pumpkin (from our own garden pumpkins)
Old Fashioned Apple
Cherry
Pecan
Honey Rhubarb
Coconut Cream
Chocolate Cream
Pear Streusel

We obviously are still eating leftovers and we have put a few of the pies in the freezer for a later date. Brett hurt his back on Thursday- so he sat and did all the peeling and prepping while I did the leg work. It worked out well and we ended up eating near the time we said (Okay, so it was 45 minutes late, but for me- that is pretty good for Thanksgiving). We had a fun time talking and semi-playing games afterward. It was a good day. We hope everyone else had a great holiday as well!

Our Half Marathon

Back in October, Mr. D and I ran a half- marathon together. We had been training all summer and it was an awesome, exhilarating experience to run the race together. It was Brett's first race of any length ever, and my second half-marathon. I am so proud of him! I was not having my greatest run and he kept me going the whole time. We finished in 1 hour 51 minutes. (About an 8.5 minute mile, I think)

The kids also got to run in a kids race, Princess and Mr.Man ran about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile and Noodle did the toddler race which was about two blocks. They all got medals and were incredible excited to have run their first "race."

Hamburger Helper

I made Hamburger Helper for the first time in my life last night. I was feeling pretty disgusted-
Number 1- it has hamburger in it (I loathe hamburger and maybe buy it 2 times a year)
Number 2. - let's face it, Hamburger Helper is a box meal... need I say more?

So here's the funny part. I cooked it up, (it was the Crunchy Mexican kind) and it made the whole house smell like fake tacos. The kids ran up the stairs and started commenting on how GOOD the house smelled. I was still trying to fathom that I was actually cooking this for dinner. Anyway, I served it up, held my breath and took a bite. It wasn't all that bad, a little bit soupy taco-y taste with fake cheese sauce.

The kids loved it. LOVED IT. The both told me that it was either number 2 or number 3 on their list of favorite foods. I mean this is right after homemade pot pie (for Princess) and pancakes and waffles for Mr. Man. They said they could eat it all the time. Ugh. Even Mr. D came home and said "Wow honey, the house smells great! What did you cook for dinner?" Needless to say, there weren't any leftovers.

So my question is: Should I be hurt or happy that they loved it so much?

Getting Back to Life

We went to my parents house this weekend, and somehow it seems when we do anything out of the ordinary or spontaneous, I have a hard time picking back up life. So, this week we have gotten off to a slow start. I am happy to say, however, that we have accomplished much in the way of homeschooling this week and I even canned some habanero jelly. I will be happy with my accomplishments and hopefully be back on track for next week.
I think there may be a lesson in this for me about advance preparation- if I didn't always fly by the seat of my pants, then I maybe could pick up a little easier!

On another note, I feel like I have been doing better at letting things go and not being so stressed out. I changed the schedule for the kids homeschooling, and I think that works better, too. I wish I could say I don't get angry or frustrated anymore, but I am working on it- and things are definitely better than they have been. (HeHe- My sisters may have something different to say, they hear more than enough of my rantings!)

I have a few makeup posts with pics- hopefully I will get them in soon!

Oh the Humidity!

We keep our windows open at night whenever possible to keep air-conditioning costs down. So the other night we thought nothing of going to bed with basically every window open. We had something that the weathermen call an "upper level low pressure system" come through Iowa. So whatever that means, it brought a lot of fog and water vapor close to the ground. At around 3am, our smoke detectors went off all through the house. (They are all connected to each other through our wiring). I guess all the water in the air had brought the particulate matter in the air to above normal levels causing the alarms to go off. Brett jumped out of bed -freaked me out- and then realizing that it was just the good old Midwestern humidity- I got up, closed all the windows, turned on the AC to dry out the house, and went back to bed.

The Atonement and Gratitude

Well, this week has been better than it's not-so-prodigious start. I have been able to let go and relax about more things. (I know, it's only been 3 days, but I have to start somewhere!) I really have been pondering this whole thing, and trying to change myself, my ways, and my thinking for the better.
As I have been pondering this, I was thinking about the Lord and how He sees me and my children. I realized that by trying to be "perfect", not attaining that and then getting completely [angry, frustrated, depressed- choose one] I was in fact, being very imperfect by not accepting the Lord's Atonement in my behalf. Instead of repenting and getting better, I was simply digging myself deeper into a non-Christlike attitude. I think the Lord loves me and my children. I just need to think that all the time, even when things are not perfect.
I also realized that by focusing on all the things that didn't go right, I didn't ever look at the things that did go right. Even on Monday- I got the grocery shopping done, we did do some school, and housework. That is not fancy or a ton of stuff- but hey, why not be happy about it? I have been taught this so often, I wonder how I have lived thus far and still have trouble seeing all my blessings- which when you look- makes me think of the scripture "My cup runneth over." My family and I have been blessed so abundantly, everyday, that if those were the things I focused on, I think even my worst days would take a drastic turn for the better. I really have been given so many blessings.

There was an interesting article in the Ensign that came in the mail yesterday titled "Truths and Lies" (Ensign, October 2009, pgs. 62-65) I think it was written for me. Here is one the things it said:

Lie: I need to prove that I'm worth loving by being perfect. Only when I'm perfect will I be able to experience love from God and others.
Truth: Even though I'm not perfect now, I can have constant access to divine love.

The author writes of some of the ways she fell into this trap and then ends with a quote from Bonnie D. Parkin, former Relief Society President. "Although we can make choices that enable us to experience a heightened or a lesser degree of Gods's love, we can and should be partaking of God's love now, even- and especially- in our imperfect state. We are worth loving because Christ thought we were of enough worth to atone for us individually."

I am grateful for the Lord who loves me and keeps going along with me as I learn and relearn all this.

Venus Fly Trap Mosquito Murder

Yesterday I bought Mr. Man a Venus Fly Trap on a whim while at the grocery store. He has been checking out carnivorous plant books at the library, looking at them in nurseries, etc. Needless to say, he was ecstatic.

I wanted to show the kids how the traps worked- when an insect touches the tiny hairs on the inside of the traps, it closes. So, when I hit and stunned a mosquito I thought "This is the perfect opportunity!"

I picked up the still-alive, but injured mosquito, and called the kids in. I dropped him into one of the traps. He didn't move enough at first to trigger the trap shut. We jiggled the jar and he crawled right out of the trap. So naturally, I picked him up again and set him back in the trap. He again crawled out- this time just in time not to be snapped up by the plant. This is not going well, I thought. So once more, I picked him up, put him in the trap, then used a knife to trigger the hairs and Snap! -mosquito trapped. The children were super excited - and me? I felt like I had committed mosquito murder!

A Really Bad Day, Perfectionism, and Me

Today was, in fact, a really bad day. I think it all started with my desire to get up and get out to a store really early and wondering and then being angry at my children for not jumping on my boat. Things just went downhill from there through grocery shopping to school work to sick Noodle. Anyway, after concluding furiously that the children needed to go to public school and that homeschool just wasn't working- I decided I needed to do some reevaluation.
I realized that I am not very good at starting again- meaning letting things go and moving forward. I also realized after talking with my sister that I expect my children and myself to be "perfect." I don't think that I even have a standard or a non-changing set of rules. I just don't want any of us to do anything loud, wrong, embarassing, etc. It is embarassing to say, but I think I have been judging our family (especially the kids) on what I think others are thinking of them- which then reflects directly back to me (in my idea). I think that I usually think the worst of them, even when others just look at them as kids doing kid things- I see them as MY kids being crazy, rude and obnoxious. It is unfair to them for sure, as I do not look at other children and think "Wow, they don't know how to stand still and hold onto the cart in a store, or write their name perfectly, or think their questions are crazy" I just think they are kids and most of the time they are cute and showing their personality. Why can't I do the same for my kids? Or even myself? Anyway, I know that my attitude needs to change for sure- why not give my own kids the same benefit of just being kids? It is a hard for me to admit that really it is my own perception of things that needs to change, not my children, as they really are cute, wonderful, intelligent kids. Sure they are not perfect, but (HA!) neither am I and I have had about 20 more years to work on "being perfect." All in all, I need to relax about a LOT of things. I think I need to realize that my days probably won't go exactly as planned and that those days can still be good, worthwhile days. I know things won't change overnight, but I am hoping realization will help me to calm down about how things go with them at school and otherwise. I sure hope so, I don't think I or they can take another "Monster Mom" day.

For Thy Bounteous Blessings

We have been very blessed this year with a bountiful, beautiful, garden both at our city garden plots and our raised beds at home. We love being able to eat the "fruits of our labors." Of course, my most bounteous blessings are my wonderful children, who also happen to love eating our garden produce (and I couldn't be prouder!).

Here are some of my recent canning adventures with local fruit and vegetables from my garden. I love the feeling of having all this in store for the winter. I know it isn't the most cost effective, but I love that I did it, and that it is homemade. There is nothing like opening a jar of salsa from your own garden when it is snowing outside!

This picture is of one of our harvest trips from our city plot garden. Mr. Man loves to bring home all the veggies.

These are carrots from our backyard garden. They are so tasty! They grew so much better and longer in the loose, composty soil here rather than the clay soil at the city garden plot.

If you have ever grown beans, you know that they are almost always plentiful, as you can see here. This was our second year growing onions- we have had a great harvest! (These were the early "thinnings")

Nauvoo

Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store, Nauvoo

Yesterday we went to Nauvoo. We drove down with the missionaries from our ward and another family. I always have reservations going- it takes a long time to get there and pretty much you block out an entire day for it. But, without fail, I always leave wishing I had taken more time to be there. We got to see a few of the sites and then the pageant. I will never cease to amaze me what the early Saints went through and sacrificed for their religion. Each time I think of building my home and city, not once, but sometimes 6 or 8 times, I think my life is so easy, and they are ultimate examples of sacrifice.Am I willing to make those sorts of sacrifices for my God and religion. It is definitely a question that I must ask after seeing all they did. I am also in awe of all the hard work they did each and every day, just to live. I think, here I am sitting at home in air conditioning, doing nothing but expressing. We haven't had dinner yet, but no worries, we can have something on the table in about 5 minutes. Those early Saints would have been working for several hours already for dinner, probably starting yesterday to have something on the Sabbath. It is just amazing.

We recently drove to Utah making the trip in about 18 hours. I can't imagine what it must have been like for the saints and pioneers- sometimes making only 1 mile a day. In some ways I think taking your time to get across the plains would be nice. No work to rush home to, no swimming lessons, no if we push it we can make it one day. You would be able to smell the smells, take in the landscape, actually see the places you were going through. But would I want that (or would they) with all the suffering, hardship and loss they faced? I don't know. Many pioneers have said that they knew the Lord was with them on those treks, that they wouldn't ever trade that experience for an easier one. It seems unthinkable to me to have that kind of perspective. Although, after thinking about it, the times that I have closest to the Lord is when I depended on Him and His perspective the most (duh). Many of those times have been when times were tough.

I think for me, the crowning experience of Nauvoo is the temple. It is so beautiful set up on that hill. I hope the Saints of Nauvoo can look down and see it there. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said that each person should at some point in their life experience Nauvoo. I couldn't agree more. It is a marvelous experience and I feel so blessed and priveleged that we can go often. I thank those early saints for their testimonies and sacrifice and example.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures of the pre-pageant fun. Here we all are waiting for our turn at the log saw. Below, we are playing a pioneer game with two stick and a ring. You put the ring on the two crossed sticks and pull the sticks apart- it sends the ring flying and the other person has to catch it on their sticks. Waiting outside the blacksmith shop- the kids are all sitting on the hitching post.This is Brett and Emilio doing the log saw. it took them less than 15 seconds- they were proud.

Noodle's Birthday, Working, and some other stuff

Today was Noodle's 2nd birthday. He is such a cutie! I can't believe that 2 years has already gone by. Mr. Man told me today that it feels like Noodle has always been around, and I have to agree with him. At least to the extent that I can't imagine life without him. Princess and Mr. Man I think were more excited than the rest of us for his birthday. They had a great time picking out presents, making the cake, making dinner, and singing to him all day. Mr. Man stuck up for him all day long- he wouldn't let us scold Noodle for anything!

On another note, this summer I tutored at a private school here in town. I think I discovered that "working" is a lot harder than I thought it was. I give kudos to all who do it. (Especially my husband!) It takes a lot of time and energy and being able to leave work at work is somewhat of a difficult task for me. Brett and I have kind of swapped roles, to much laughter and learning on both sides. Hopefully we will remember this when things get back to a normal routine.

Which brings me to homeschooling. I am still trying to figure out homeschool curriculum and supplies. I know I need to change from what I did last year, but to what? Is this how administrators feel in the public education system? It is scary to think so, and they can't change each year- they are locked into a decision for quite some time. Wow- what a responsibility.

We are going to Nauvoo tomorrow with a family from our ward and the missionaries. It will be both the missionary's and family's first time there. We are going to see the pageant- I hope it will be an enjoyable day.

New Job!

As many of you know, Brett took a new job at a local Middle School. So far this is the first job change that we haven't had to move out of state (or at all). So instead of moving to another house, I decided to rearrange our entire house here. (HaHa- it must be therapeutic for me.) He is excited about the job, and I am excited to have him home more often than he has been the last few years. Yahoo! I can't wait to go camping in the fall again!

Bella

We just watched a movie called "Bella." We checked it out from the library and were really surprised. It is an awesome movie. It won both the Toronto Film Festival and the Heartland Film Festival a few years ago. It is PG13 I think because it deals with some pretty strong subjects and emotions, but there is no sex, bad language, etc. The producers set out to make a movie that promoted strong families and clean living. It is definitely worth watching!

Addendum

I told my brother the story about Mr. Man and the highly aggressive males. He didn't think it was too funny. So I thought maybe a little more explanation was necessary. Mr. Man LOVES dinosaurs. He also LOVES watching "Walking with Dinosaurs" by the BBC. They are essentially like "Wild America" or "National Geographic" but with computer animated dinosaurs. Anyway, he got the notion from there, and I am figuring applied to the other males in his life.

Another addendum: I need to give kudos to my friend Mindy, she gave me the websites and info to get started blogging. She also has a great blog with FANTASTIC pictures. If you google YellowSun Studios, you can see some of them.

Highly Aggressive Males...

Today at lunch Mr. Man announced to us that there are not only males and females, but there are also "highly aggressive males." He told us that they were very difficult to handle and very hard to kill. We asked him if he knew any "highly aggressive males." "Yeah," he said, "Grandpa."

I've got sunshine...

It is glorious weather here and I am so happy about it! The kids played outside all afternoon. I love the spring in the Midwest! I downloaded some pictures from my camera, something I don't do often- and there were some really cute ones.

This picture isn't necessarily cute, but I thought it was hilarious. It is a pic of Noodle's handprint in our pumpkin pie. I love being a mom!

The picture on the left is of my two boys.

They are too cute!

This is a more recent picture of me reading to my kids and some of my nieces and nephews at Christmas time.

Noodle again, he ate something, I'm just not sure what.

I woke up one morning to the sound of running water. I came out to Noodle in the kitchen sink. He had gotten a chair and gotten into the sink. I guess he was ready for a bath?

Princess and Mr. Man with their gingerbread house. We found this after Christmas for $2! The kids loved making it and it was the perfect price.

My first blog

Okay, so I sort of feel like I am announcing my first kiss or something silly like that. But my sister has a really cute blog, so I decided to try it myself.
What do I write about?