Catch Up!

Talk about being a little behind with my blogging!  I have been meaning to put pictures up of our family vacation for like a month….

One night Dave and I were watching TV and trying to think of something to do with the kids during our week off of work.  The Bay Bridge was closed so, that ruled out anything in the Bay Area since it would not only be harder to get the but the traffic would horrendous as well.  It was November but there wasn’t any snow yet in the mountains so that was out.  Pismo Beach seemed too far… So, we went with our old stand by: Monterey!  We had to leave the next morning but being the excellent packer that I am it all worked out and we were on the road by 10:00!

The weather was great and that meant that Dave had to take the kids in the ocean! We learned at the Aquarium that the water in Monterey is actually warmer in the winter than the summer, who knew?

Thomas and Dave had such a good time playing “chicken” with the waves and pretending they were secret agents while hunting for treasures on the beach.

Noelle was content to hang out with me and chase the birds!

We had a really GROSS dinner at a restaurant on the wharf!  If you ever see this statue do not go in!!!!

We had an awesome time at the Aquarium!  It was fun to watch Thomas sit quietly while the volunteers gave  presentations but even more fun when I realized later that he was actually listening and remembered what they said.

 

It was great fun and one of the best vacations we’ve taken as a family.  We were laid back and relaxed, we didn’t stress about a time schedule, we let the kids stay up late, we ate too many caramel apples, it was magical!

Epiphany, Part II

I hope that whomever is out there reading this is not expecting an incredible advancement in the theory of home economics because I simply don’t have one.  What I have discovered in the past few weeks is a system that works for our family.  The lists that I was so afraid of making are now not so scary.  I modified the system a little to meet my needs.  Here’s what I came up with:

At the beginning of each two week period I make a list of recipes that I want to make for dinner, a mix of old stand bys and new experiments.  I don’t assign the recipes a day that way I don’t feel too pressured to make that specific item if I don’t feel like it or someone’s sick or whatever.  Dinner time can still be a little hectic but I am feeling much better about it.

I have taken the same approach with the housework.  I make a mental list of all the things I want to accomplish and work on a few things a day until all of the chores are done for the week.  This has been working out really well and I don’t feel stressed or grumpy when cleaning.  And the house actually stays so much cleaner!   I grew up with the typical “clean the entire house on Saturday morning” routine and so I always thought I had to do everything all at once.  Now that I know I can’t do it all at once and I have to do a little at a time I am so much happier! 

I have reluctantly decided to stop doing the laundry every two weeks and start doing it every Monday.  The laundry is my least favorite chore so I always did it as least often as possible and no one needed it done more often than that anyway.  But, I thought  doing it more often would be less time consuming and less irritating.

So, there you have it!  Nothing even remotely fascinating or exciting.  Just some small changes in one mom’s life that have made a huge difference!  Here is a list of some of the things that I have learned since starting my journey:

-  Laundry, like people you don’t particularly care for, is better tolerated in small doses.

-  The vacuum cleaner handle that had been duct taped together for the past three years was not broken but just put together wrong!  It is now duct tape free and working great.

-  Recipes written for moms include way too much canned soup, Bisquick, and instant rice!

-  Simple Green really is awesome at taking the grease stains out of clothing!  This stuff is amazing!  It even takes out old stains that have been through the wash several times already.  A real clothing saver!

As a treat for another long post enjoy some pictures of our trip to Countryside Farms with Thomas’ preschool class.

My best attempt at getting a picture of the elusive Noelle!

Getting Ready

We’ve had lots of fun getting ready for Halloween!  Thomas and Noelle have both been enjoying the decorations in the house.

We had a great evening sharing dinner with friends last Thursday  My homemade pumpkin cupcakes with spider web decorations were a hit with the kids.

With the left over pumpkin I made some pumpkin pancakes for breakfast the next morning.

  

They were good but a little to “cakey” for me, I like a thinner pancake.   If anybody has a good recipe send it to me!

Epiphany

I hate to do the laundry.  I mostly just hate putting it away.  I hate hanging up all of Noelle’s little dresses and finding the little panties that go with each one to hang them up as a set.  I hate that there are always matchless socks.  I hate carrying mass amounts of laundry up and down the stairs.

I hate to clean the house.  I love for things to be clean and organized but I hate making it that way.  I hate that when I clean I feel angry at the people who made the messes.  I hate that I  always put everything off until the day before I go back to work so that I feel rushed and anxious about getting it all done.

I hate dinner.  I don’t hate cooking nor do I hate eating nor do I hate spending time with the family at the table, in fact I love all of those things.  I hate trying to figure out WHAT is for dinner.  What do we have time for, what I have the ingredients for, what will be creative and delicious.  I’m so sick of all of our staples and I have been staying away from all convenience and prepackaged foods in an attempt to not only teach our children about healthy eating but also in an attempt to give them a more refined palette. 

I thought and thought and thought about all of these things for a few months….

Then my good friend Beth put a post on Facebook about how she was having an epiphany and I decided that I would have one too!

I had heard of other people making menus for the week (like my awesome neighbors) or even the MONTH (like crazy Christina, miss you!), but I never thought that would fit my lifestyle.  I had also heard of people making schedules for their housekeeping, like Brandi, http://dillydabbler.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20keeping , who has inspired me several times even though I have never met her! 

If you know me you know ILOVE LISTS!  I am the listy-est person I know.  I was very hesitant about making these lists though because if I write it down it must be done!  I was very worried that if I started making weekly menus or chore lists and then didn’t complete them I would feel like a failure and then I would be worse off than I already was!!

After thinking about it forever I just decided to go for it, to let my epiphany take over my life.  I needed new direction and a purpose!  I work 72 hours in 6 consecutive days so that I can spend 8 full days at home with our children.  But I found that a lot of those days were wasted running around doing errands or other days just lounging around feeling bored.  I wanted to shake up my life!

I know you’re thinking, with a menu? 

This is the longest post ever!  So, I’ll finish by telling you I have been working my epiphany for a month or so and I’ll blog in a few days about how it’s going.

As a treat for sticking around this long, here’s Pismo!  She’s growing like a weed and contrary to what Dave might tell you she is not the most dimwitted dog on the planet!

Checking In

I’ve been 30 for almost six months now and it seems like the perfect time to revisit the goals I set for myself on my birthday.  I think I have made lots of progress on some and need to work harder on others…

I’m going to combine #1 and #2 (hee hee)

Get in shape and take up running

I have done a great job on these!  Until a few months ago I had not participated in a regular exercise program since high school P.E.  Now, I run a mile 5-6 times a week and occasionally two miles.  I am really enjoying getting outside and having a little “me time” each day.  I am running my first 5k on Thanksgiving and am planning a 10k in January.  I feel great and am in better shape than I have been in a long time.  Yea me!!

3.  Get married.  DONE!!

4.  Go to Church.

I was doing a great job of this until the end of June.  We missed a week because of the honeymoon, then another because we went to visit family out of town, then another because somebody was sick….  I have discovered again something I already knew-  once you don’t go it’s really easy not to go again.  I have to admit that I did have my feelings hurt a bit because it seemed like no one really cared that we weren’t there.  I thought that after attending consistently since we moved into the ward in January somebody might notice but it didn’t seem like it.  I also think it’s weird that I haven’t been assigned a visiting teacher or home teacher after all this time.  Even though the R.S. President has come and asked me for my name, address, and phone number like 4 times (seriously).  Anyway, after feeling sorry for myself for a while my dear friend Sister Welton’s voice comes into my head and tells me to stop it, to think about the reasons why I am there and what I have done to make it better.  Even from far away she is always close to my heart and in my mind.  I miss her so!!  So, I will start over and try to get back on track with this.  I do know how very important it is that I be an example for my children and it is because of them that I won’t give up.  It would be nice to have a friend in the ward though, to not feel like an outsider…

5.  Have daily prayer and read the scriptures.

I have very recently started a daily scripture reading schedule and have discovered that I can read a few pages while Noelle is napping or during a slow period at work.  I am hoping to make a habit out of this just as I did with running.   I know if I do it enough it will become second nature.  Wish me luck!!

Daily prayer is harder.  I can’t explain my feelings on this adequately so I will just leave it at that. 

 

On the lighter side here are a few pictures of what we’ve been up to…

Thomas’ first day of preschool.  This year he’s going 3 days a week.  We are one week in and he’s totally loving it!  Noelle asks each time if she can go too and even packs her lunch box for snack!

Andrew

Adam

Garrett 

Dave has been going down to visit the boys about once a month for a few days at a time.  They always spend some time at the hotel swimming pool.

Dog Days

So, after much debate both public and private, the puppy’s name is officially Pismo.  We named her after the town of Pismo Beach where Dave and I honeymooned.  We absolutely feel in love with Pismo and can’t wait to make a family tradition of heading to the beach each year.  It was nice to give her a name that had some meaning behind it.

She is finally gaining some weight back and being as naughty as a puppy should be after suffering from some kind of stomach ailment that included a lot of vomit and diarrhea all over our new carpet.  With that face how could you stay mad??  She was looking like skin and bones for a few days so it’s great to see her appetite back and she is looking a little rounder each day. 

We had the opportunity to go to Grandpa’s house tonight to celebrate Putter’s 6th birthday!  We had a blast swimming, swinging, eating barbeque, opening gifts, and having cake and ice cream!  My dad is so cute!

   The Birthday Boy

On another note, Noelle had so much fun watching Thomas’ swim lessons that she just had to join in the fun.  Britnie was nice enough to let Noelle play in the pool for a while this week.  She had a blast!  She is definitely our little dare devil!  She was jumping off the side and laughing the whole time!

Good Times

As always, the past few weeks have been full of activity!  Thomas started swim lessons at Dolphin Scuba.  I have been quite pleased with him so far.  He is somewhat afraid of the water and when we went on the first day I was expecting a crying meltdown but I got the exact opposite.  He got right in and at least attempted everything Brittnie asked him too.  He has been happy to go to each lesson and even though he is still a little timid has been excited to learn!

 

We got to have a quick lunch with Julie, Tyler, and Julie’s mom, Ellie, last week.  They were on their way through town headed to Lake Tahoe so we met in Sacramento for lunch at Fresh Choice and a ride on the carousel at the mall.  It was fun to see Tyler, he is getting so big!  I love that he looks so much like Troy and Julie!  I hate that we can’t visit more often!

Thomas  had his first soccer practice yesterday.  It was so cute to see all the little kids running around.  Some of the boys were only 3 so you can imagine the chaos that was called “practice”.  Thomas is going to be a busy and tired boy with swimming and soccer three times a week and soon school will start as well!  

Finally, after a lot of pleading and pestering, Dave let us get a dog.  We got this adorable little Boxer yesterday.   She is so sweet and playful.  So far she spends most of her time sleeping with small breaks to chew on the rugs, carry the phone book around, and poop on the carpet!  What’s not to love?  Poor baby doesn’t have a name yet, please send me your suggestions!  We have lots of ideas but none that we feel really strongly about yet.If you know Noelle you know that she loves animals, especially dogs.  She is having a great time with the puppy already.  

 

For Niko

On July 23rd Niko, a San Joaquin County Sheriff’s K-9, who belonged to our friend, Ryan Biedermann, was shot and killed while working in Lathrop.

It was a very sad day for all those who know and love both Ryan and Niko.  I have to admit that it was also a day full of pride.  I was so proud to hear that the nurses and medics at San Joaquin General Hospital, where I work, did their best to save Niko’s life before the medics rushed him to an animal hospital complete with a huge Sheriff’s escort.  Unfortunately, Niko passed away soon after he arrived there. 

My heart goes out to Ryan.  I can’t imagine the devastation and loss that he feels at this time. 

If you would like to attend Niko’s memorial service it is being held on Wednesday, August,5 2009 at 2:00 at the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office.

If you would like to make a donation to the K-9 pack in Niko’s name please send a check to:

San Joaquin Deputy Sheriff Canine Pack

P.O. Box 1464

French Camp, CA. 95231