Let it Snow... Reprise

This week started off normal enough.  School for the kids, laundry and shopping for groceries, plus some getting ready for Easter.  Aaron had a dentist appointment in the afternoon and did well.  Mostly just a normal day with my sweet wonderful kids and my amazing hubby!  We also had the Elders over for dinner that night and had a great lesson from them for FHE and the kids got to have a cookie for dessert.  

Tuesday was preschool for James and school as normal for the older kids.  Payton came over to play in the afternoon as usual and after school was the normal piano practicing, and homework and such.  Anna was going to have trumpet lessons, but she wasn't feeling good, so we sent her to bed early.  

Wednesday morning, we woke up to snow, lots of snow.  A snow day had already been called and it was projected to snow most of the day - we finally ended up with nearly a foot and a half of snow.  It was enough that even after shoveling the driveway, Dan wasn't able to get past the driveway and get over to the church to help shovel.  We were grateful that we didn't need to go anywhere, because we would have needed 4-wheel drive to get out of our neighborhood.  

Just for reference - in the picture above, that is our picnic table covered in snow. and below is Evie trying to walk through snow that is nearly up to her waist.  The kids had fun trying to walk through snow that was so deep, but otherwise, they didn't spent much time playing in it until the snow stopped.  All activities had been cancelled, so we just snuggled up and home together.  Even Dan didn't have to go in to work.  

Thursday was also a snow day - roads were still too bad the next morning to really be able to get anywhere.  The kids were starting to go a bit stir crazy by the second snow day, and regretting missing school.  They spent a lot more time playing outside and getting wet and cold as the snow melted.  To help mitigate the kids going a bit crazy, we started letting the older kids hold the chicks, and the younger ones got to pet them.  The kids were so excited and the chicks are getting so big!! 

After Dan got home from work, we all headed outside to build a snow man and play in the snow.  The kids had fun having a snowball fight with Daddy and building a huge snowman.  (He has since toppled over and is getting smaller by the Day.)  

Thursday night, I still got to go to Institute and had a great time.
Friday, the kids had to go back to school for one day before starting spring break.  It seemed kinda silly, but the kids enjoyed it and then Anna had Trumpet lessons in the evening, Piano lessons were moved to Friday afternoon, so we were kept busy.

Saturday was our cleaning day.  We spent some time getting the house ready for Easter and playing together.  Eileen wanted to play Killer Bunnies for her hour up and we had an unusual game where so many improbably things happened, it seems unlikely that another game will ever really be like that one.

Sunday was wonderful!  We started off with heading to church early for choir practice.  The choir sang during the program and it was beautiful!  When we got there, I was chatting with Christina for a few minutes and they had just gotten back in town, and since Newell and Becky had cancelled on us for Easter dinner since the kids were all sick, I invited Christina and her family over to join us.  Church was wonderful with some amazing talks and lessons given.  After, Dan and I started getting things ready and then our home teachers stopped by for a bit.  Then everyone started arriving.  The kids had tons of fun playing together and everyone seemed to get along well.  The food was great and we had a great time.  We let Eileen sit at the adult table since the kid table was a bit crowded.  She was so excited by that!  And loved feeling included.  After dinner, we did a little Easter egg hunt before dessert.  After, Becca stayed for a bit to play games with Dan, Eileen and I.  And she creamed us all soundly....twice.  :)

My parents were so smitten with Koopa that they have now gotten their own little Yorkie!  He's a cute little puppy, less than 3 months old and mom is going to bring him with her when she comes out to visit and help out in April!

Cheep Cheep

This week has been fun!  Monday started off with our usual watching Payton, school, and family home evening.  We had fun together and played a game together.  I did the grocery shopping and Dan folded laundry and we went to bed exhausted.  

Tuesday, James had preschool and I got some breakfast and worked on some crafts in the car while he had fun with his friends.  After preschool, we picked up Payton, then we ate lunch and played outside, then headed to the school to drop off Payton and pick up Evie and Aaron.  Then we went back home until it was time to get Eileen and Anna.  Then in the evening, I had a Chorale concert and after, I did a quick work out, then to bed!  

Wednesday, I drove some friends to their appointment, then stayed and helped out a bit at their home when I dropped them off.  Then the usual pick up kids from school followed by some piano practice and homework then we took off for Ortho appointments for Anna and Aaron.  We got appointments set up to get them some actual work done.  Anna will be getting a retainer type thing to help straighten things out a bit and Aaron will be getting a spacer and some braces plus some baby teeth pulled.  It's starting to look like only Eileen so far will need a full set.  Then I headed off for another concert.  It has been a lot of fun to see some friends at the concerts and chat with them.  I've also been carpooling with 2 ladies from choir who are both awesome and I enjoy chatting with.  

Thursday we had preschool here, we had a lot of fun playing games together and the time went quickly.  Then after school, the kids had piano lessons and I had my final concert of the season before collapsing exhausted to bed!  While I was at my concert, Dan took the kids to get chicks.  Eileen texted me a picture (not this one - the heat lamp made all our cell phone pictures turn out red - I took this one later) They got 6 chicks that night.  

Friday, James and I went to do my allergy shot and then headed down to Murdoch's again for more chicks (they hadn't had many the day before) So James and I came home with 12 more, and we now have 18 baby chicks running around our storage room with looking fluffy and adorable!  They are already getting some feathers on their wings and the kids have been loving watching them.  In the evening, we spent the time together for once and rested.  We let Eileen and Anna and Aaron stay up and watch Harry Potter (the first one) and we had a great time, but Daddy got worn out and went to bed after 45 minutes or so.  

Saturday morning, my mom arrived for Uncle Doug's birthday party.  We picked her up from the airport, Eileen had flute lessons at 9, I had a girls camp meeting at 10, Anna had trumpet lessons at 11, then we had lunch before running some errands and getting some stuff ready for the party that night.  Then we headed over to Grandpa's for birthday fun.  After the party, we headed home for bed! I thought this picture of my mom with Koopa was so fun!  Koopa remembered her right away and loved having her visit.  

We've gotten a bit of snow over the weekend and Koopa loves licking it and when he does the snow sticks to his hair and he looks so funny!

This has been a big exciting weekend for Evie.  She finally managed to wiggle her tooth out and was so excited to put her tooth in the tooth box for the tooth fairy to come.  Here she is with her gap-toothed smile!  Evie also finally got to change her earrings for the first time this weekend.  She has had so much fun and has wanted to change them multiple times today.  

Church today was wonderful, but I woke up with a sore throat and so I've been trying to take it easy... but that's easier said than done.  We had some fun cooking adventures and chatted with Dan's parents and played some games.

Tired, but good tired

If life is crazy and busy when Dan is here, it's even more so when he's gone - both because it's just harder to do everything my self, and Dan is such a good husband that he helps a lot around the house and with taking care of the kids, but also because events seem to conspire to make the busiest weeks the ones that he's gone.  Monday was the usual Payton coming over and the boys had tons of fun together.  After school and piano lessons and FHE and getting the kids to bed, I finished up the laundry before heading to bed. 

Tuesday, James had preschool, while he was a preschool, I went and helped my friend's son out with his homeschooling so she could get some other stuff done.  Then I picked up James, picked up Payton.  Picked up Evie and Aaron, dropped Payton off, picked up Eileen and Anna from choir and headed home to try and get all the piano and homework and such done.  

Wednesday was crazy as usual.  The kids had late start, so I dropped them off, picked up Tayanna and Nicole and we went to the library, then I took them home and James and I headed to my doctor for a doctor's appointment to get some anti-biotics for my sinus infection.  Then James and I went to pick up the medicine and headed home for lunch before going to pick the kids up from school.  After getting a rushed Mac N Cheese on the table, I headed out for choir practice - our tech rehearsal at the first venue with orchestra and soloists, running until 9:30.  Then I headed home and tried to get some cleaning done before collapsing for bed.  

Thursday the preschool group went on a field trip to the Zoo.  James had a ton of fun!  The kids each got cute little zoo passports where they could check off the animals that they saw.  James loved it!  The weather was beautiful and it was a great day to be there.  After walking around all morning, James and I were both rather tired out.  We got back just in time to pick the kids up from school.  Then we headed home for the kids to have piano lessons.  Those got done just in time for us to grab a quick dinner and head to Skate City.  

The kids all love going to Skate City. James is so funny - he just shuffles around the rink - sometimes he wants me with him, but other times, he would tell me to go away while he skated on his own.  We had a lot of fun and by the time we got home we were all totally exhausted!

The kids had Friday off school, so Anna had trumpet lessons in the morning, then we came back and packed lunches and headed to the museum of Nature and Science.  I took the kids to an IMAX movie which they loved and we checked out the new Chocolate Exhibit - i thought it was cool, but the kids were disappointed that there were no samples :)  We checked had fun and stayed most of the day, but we had to head home to get me ready for my concert.

After the museum, Nicole came over to watch James and Evie, while I took Eileen, Anna and Aaron to my concert.  Aaron got to meet the percussionist and loved it.  Eileen told me that "She could see that over and over and never get tired of it!"  Then after we got some dinner and dessert at Chili's.
The concert went well, it's such a powerful thing to be a part of!

Saturday morning, we almost overslept through Eileen's flute solo competition time! Thankfully we woke up just in time to throw some clothes on and rush over.  Eileen didn't get much time to warm up or even wake up, but she still did well, and she got a superior ranking (the highest possible) as a 5th grader and the youngest person there.  She got a medal and she has been proudly wearing it ever since!  She did such a good job and I'm so proud of her!

After the kids were so good for all that craziness, I took them to Walmart and let them pick out donuts for dessert and we got some chocolate milk and went home for breakfast.  We spent the day playing and enjoying the wonderful weather and played some games and mostly relaxed at home.  Then in the evening, I took Eileen again to my concert.  We didn't go out for dessert again because we had church the next day and it was late, but she was great and we both got to see some friends there.  I chatted a bit with Bonnie's daughters and when I mentioned that I was in their mom's ward they both said "Ooooo you must be Deanna!"  It really lifts my heart to be valued by such an amazing person!

Today was Stake Conference.  We got up and walked to the church so we could be there on time to practice with the choir.  A sweet sister from our ward and another sweet sister from our stake helped out with the younger kids while Eileen and I sat with the choir.  Dan got there part way though the meeting having come straight from the airport and then I walked home with Eileen and Anna while he drove the other 3 home.  We spent the afternoon playing games and trading off naps.

I'm so glad to have Dan home.  Now, I just need to get through this week - it will be fun, but exhausting!!

Bye Bye Bye :(

This week was crazy as usual.  Monday was the usual laundry and grocery shopping and Family Home Evening.  We had a lesson on how our choices have consequences and when we choose to do something, we have to accept the consequences that go with that choice.  

Tuesday James had preschool, and I took a nap.  I'm still feeling sick - I think I have a sinus infection and it doesn't seem to want to go away.  

Wednesday was the usual craziness.  We had late start day for the kids, library with Nicole and Tayanna and then after school, we met the kids and Brinton and headed into the library for the Dr. Seuss Birthday Party.  The kids had tons of fun reading and eating cake.  It was totally packed, but the kids had fun.  After, we headed home and tried to get all the practicing done and homework done, then in the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, Dan had YM and I had choir.  

Thursday was preschool for James again and then piano lessons after school.  The kids love piano lessons and Evie and James especially love that Rose comes over and plays with them.  After, we put the kids to bed and I went to Institute.  

Friday I spent my morning over at my friends house.  James played with her kids, and I helped out with some stuff around the house since she got injured last weekend and was having a hard time getting some things done.  It was fun to get to sit and chat with her and the kids were great.  After school, we were going to try to get Anna's passport, but realized that we would have to wait the rest of the day and still might not get done.... so we put it off until Saturday with a plan to go an hour early.  Friday afternoon, Anna had her trumpet lessons.  After the kids went to bed, Dan and I watched Star Wars: Episode II.  (Well Eileen and I watched it, Dan watched the first half, then dozed off.)

Saturday was busy, Dan went early to the passport place and got us at the front of the line.  Then Anna and I met up with him and 8:45 and we were done by 9:15.  By the time the place was open, there were at least 50 people in line behind us.  After that, Eileen had flute lessons at 11, and I had a Relief Society activity at 11:30 and got a surprise when we got a lovely fashion show put on by some of the men in the ward... including Dan!  Here he is in his fashionable new outfit with his alligator handbag.  After that, Dan spent some time cleaning the garage with the kids and Eileen and I went to the grocery store to get groceries for next week.  In the evening, we had Becca, Natasha and her boyfriend and the sister missionaries over for dinner.  The food was really yummy and we had lots of fun.  After the sisters left for their next appointment, we watched "The Martian" Then Dan packed up for his trip and we headed to bed.  

Today went pretty well.  James was decently behaved during church, then we went home for a early dinner/late lunch, followed by stake choir and then we all headed over to Stuart and Rebecca's for a birthday party for Grandpa, Rebecca and Sarah Jean.  We had fun, then headed home and now I need sleep... :)

Icky Sickies

James and I have been sick all week.  Mostly it's just made him tired and cranky, well I guess that's mostly what it's done to me too...  He's been coughing alot, Dan's been coughing and a bit congested, Aaron's been a bit coughy and congested and I've been so congested that my whole head is throbbing, my teeth ache and I've got a sinus headache....  Monday morning, I took my friend and her son down for a doctor's appointment in Colorado Springs, her car had broken down and she needed to get to this appointment for her son.  She was really sweet and took us to lunch after.  We got back just in time to drop her and her sweet son off, then head over to pick up Evie and Aaron from school.  Eileen and Anna got picked up after needle arts club, then I had to try and get as much laundry done as possible.  FHE with an awesome lesson by Anna and grocery shopping finished the day off.  

Tuesday was supposed to be preschool, but with 2 sick people here, we cancelled it, and James and I rested most of the morning, I let him play on my tablet to help him rest a bit.  :)  Payton still came over in the afternoon before we picked up the kids from school.  Mostly we just tried to take it easy.  

Wednesday mostly ended up being the same.  James and I just rested and watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.  In the evening, Dan didn't have YM again on Wednesday, so he took Aaron to cub scouts and Eileen and Anna to activity days while I went to choir.  I sat out in the pews though, instead of with the choir so I didn't infect everyone.  It was really neat to sit out there and hear from a different perspective.  

Thursday James and I met up with the other preschool kids and their parents for a field trip to Chick-fil-A.  The kids had a blast playing on the kids play area and hanging out with friends.  James was especially happy to get out of the house after being cooped up for 2 days straight.  After we walked over to Hobby Lobby to look around and have fun.  James picked out some fabric for me to make use to make things for him.  After picking the kids up from school, they had piano lessons and then we had to rush over to the school for the 4th and 5th grade music performances for the girls.  Eileen and Anna did well - Eileen played her flute very well, and Anna did an awesome job on her recorder.  They are so talented!  After, we headed home, did scriptures, then I headed to the church building for Institute.  I think the lesson went well.  I love studying the Old Testament!  

Friday we had the twin 2 year olds of some friends over.  They have a new baby and I thought they might like to have a few hours of time with just the new baby.  They were good little kids, mellow and willing to eat anything.  Thankfully weather was nice, because they were happy to roam the back yard all day, I just had to watch them carefully since they were both a bit prone to putting things in their mouth - things like dirt and sand and chalk and dirty snow.... :)  James was so good and helpful and sweet until about 11 at which point he got sent to his room, then fell fast asleep.  He slept until the twins went home and I had to wake him up to get the kids from school.  After school, the kids had to clean up and get everything done so that they could watch a movie with the sitter.  They got a babysitter and Dan and I got to go to the local high school's production of "Ragtime"  The musical was really well done.  The orchestra was almost as good as some professional groups I've sung with, and the actors/singers all did an amazing job.  After, Dan and I stopped at Village Inn for dinner/dessert.  

Sunday was crazy.  The kids and I walked to church in the morning (and home again after) church was wonderful!  After, was ward choir and stake choir, followed by dinner and bedtime.  Dan is so sweet and supportive of all my music insanity.  My sinus headache hit a high point today, I spent most of the day with a pounding headache and sinus pressure so bad that my teeth hurt, now I'm ready for bed!  

Here's a pic of my silly boys wanting a silly picture.  :) 

Keeping Busy

This week I've been running around like crazy just trying to keep up with everything.  Monday was laundry and groceries as usual, James' friend Payton over in the morning and afternoon, and Eileen and Anna starting up with Needle Arts Club.

Tuesday was preschool for James.  It is at our house right now.  The kids were great, we talked about water safety and the kids were great, but it's always rather exhausting!  Then Payton came over, the girls had choir after school and then the usual homework and piano practicing.

Wednesday was crazy.  After dropping the kids off for late start, I headed over to my friend's house to take her and her son to the hospital for his surgery, then James and I headed home.  After picking the kids up from school, I headed home and Crystal came over to practice our musical number.  She sounded wonderful and didn't need extra practice, but it was probably good that she wanted it, because I'm not the best piano player and it was good for Eileen to practice her flute part.  In the evening, Aaron had his Blue and Gold and got some awards!  He just LOVES cub scouts!

I had choir, but Dan didn't have YM since their activity was on Thursday this week.

Thursday was preschool again, then in the afternoon, the kids had piano lessons and Dan went with the Young Men to the Ward Temple Night.  I spent the evening at home with the kids cooking!  I was trying to get as much ready as possible for my Pride and Prejudice Party on Saturday.

Friday I spent more time getting things ready and Dan helped get things set up.  Dan took the day off to help too.  In the afternoon, I went to the Temple with Crystal and then we grabbed some dinner at CPK on the way home.  After I got home, Dan and I had one of his friends from work over with his wife for games.  We had fun playing and chatting with them.

Saturday was totally nuts.  Eileen had a meeting at school in the morning, then Dan went to Brother Braun's viewing for a bit, then I had a girls camp meeting at 10, then Eileen had flute lessons at 11, then I met up with Crystal at 1 to rehearse again for the baptism at 2.  The musical number went well.  I didn't mess up too bad, Crystal sang beautifully, Eileen played well and the only problem was the Eileen was polishing her flute and mouthing the words during the song....  Dan and I had a talk with her after about proper etiquette for that situation, then Dan asked her why she thought she was supposed to look at the singer.  Eileen's response?   "To make them feel uncomfortable?"  Then we headed home and began setting up and finishing food prep for the party!  Dan got the projector ready and helped me get the food out and set up, then took the kids and the puppy and headed for Dwayne and Nicole's house.  We had around 15 people here.  Tina came and Becky and Becca came along with a bunch of friends from the ward.  We had a great spread of food and we all had a blast watching Pride and Prejudice for 6 hours and eating lots of yummy food!  Turns out we had just the right amount of food - not too many left overs, but plenty for everyone!  Now I just need to plan another one!  :)

Sunday was the usual crazy, church, choir, stake choir and fun with kids and then to bed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This has been a week full of Valentine's Day fun.  Monday when I did the grocery shopping, I got the kids their Valentines for school.  Tuesday, after telling them that they had to do their piano lessons and homework first, they divided up their valentines and got them ready for their school parties.  Anna had trumpet in the evening - she's really doing great!  

Wednesday, James and I went to the library with Tayanna and Nicole.  Storytime was a lot of fun and James even listened to some of it.  I think he mostly likes going so he can sit in my lap and boss me around for an hour....  After, we had our normal after school craziness followed by our even crazier Wednesday evening schedule.  

Thursday, I got a text from my institute teacher that she was sick and was hoping I could sub for her.  Of course, I said yes!  I spent most of the day studying about King David in 2 Samuel and enjoyed really diving into it.  Subbing also gave me a new respect for Sara and what an awesome teacher she is.  The kids had piano lessons in the afternoon.  Evie has been really excited about walking Koopa lately, and with the nice weather I've been willing to let her, but Thursday evening, James and Rose tried to go find Evie, except she wasn't out walking, she was having her lessons.  Thankfully they both made it home safe, but we had some major talks with James after that.  Thursday was also James' preschool Valentine's Day party.  The kids had so much fun exchanging candy and playing together.  

Friday was the Valentine's Day parties for all the school kids.  So they all came home loaded down with junk.  But they had a great time.  Dan and I went out for dinner with Jeremiah and Becca to Outback.  After, we came back to our place and watched Men In Black.  

Saturday we headed to the park, we had hoped to watch one of the youth play in a rugby game, but got mixed up on the time.  Eileen had flute lessons, and we finally managed to get Anna's trumpet mouthpiece pulled out.  In the afternoon, Dan ran a couple errands and I rested (aka - I sat down and dozed off...) 

Sunday morning was our traditional Valentine's breakfast of heart shaped biscuits.  The kids always love this fun tradition and the fun Valentine's candy they get.  Church was wonderful, lessons were wonderful and for once, James stayed in Primary the whole time.  I got to go in and talk to Aaron's class for a few minutes which was fun too.

After church, I got together with a few others to practice for a musical number next week, then headed home to find cinnamon rolls with pink frosting and scrambled eggs and fresh fruit for dinner :)  

I am so blessed to have a wonderful, sweet, humble, kind and thoughtful friend in our ward.   She is our ward choir director and an amazingly dedicated woman.  I have always felt that as a singer, I am responsible to support her and sustain her in her calling as best I can and have often subbed for her when she was out of town and done musical numbers with her and today I got an AMAZING thank you gift.  This incredible book with autographs in the front cover and beautiful music and beautiful artwork along with a sweet note that brought tears to my eyes!  What an amazing gift!

YEY!

Well, it's been a long and crazy week.  Monday was the usual craziness.  Payton and James had tons of fun together and Koopa is mostly getting used to the two of them and figuring out how to stay away from them :)  In the evening, we had the Elder Missionaries over for dinner, and had yummy food followed by a great lesson.  Then we had laundry and grocery shopping.

Tuesday was a snow day - a rather expected one.  After doing their practicing, I conned some clean-up out of the kids, then let them play video games most of the afternoon. I totally messed up dinner though, so after spending another 45 minutes fixing it, we finally ate at nearly 7pm.  Then got the kids to bed.

Wednesday started out with the kids starting late.  And then we were running a bit late getting out of the house, and I was stressed out about it, so I didn't do a head count, and Aaron wasn't in the car, so I had to go back and get him.  Then we headed up to pick up Nicole and Tayanna, but shortly after leaving, we had to turn around and drop them back off.  By the time James and I got to the library, we had totally missed story time.  But we returned our books and picked out a couple of new ones, then we headed home for lunch.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, I had choir and Dan had Young Men's.  We had our first try at Eileen as babysitter.  In order to make sure she could easily contact us, we got her a cell phone.  She has to keep it at the house right now and it's functioning as a home phone while she is in charge, but it will be her's outright when she turns 12.  She is rather excited about it.  She loved getting to carry it around while she was babysitting and feeling like a grown-up.  She did a great job and we felt ok about it since it was only for an hour and a half and Dan was only a 5 minute drive away.

Thursday the kids had off school, so we had a full crazy day.  We started with James and preschool in the morning, then we picked him up from preschool and headed straight to piano lessons, followed by an orthodontist appointment for Anna, then we finally got to go home and start dinner.  After, we put the kids to bed, and I headed to the institute class.

Friday morning, James was supposed to have a doctors appointment and we were running late again ( I really HATE being late...) and were told when we got there that because we were 10 minutes late, they couldn't see us and we had to reschedule.  So feeling rather annoyed, I then dragged them all to my allergy clinic so I could get my allergy shot, then we headed home for lunch and packed up.  When Dan got home we packed up the car and headed up to Wyoming to visit Steve and Claire.  (well actually we ran a couple errands first, but then we headed out)  We got there just in time for dinner, the the kids watched a movie while we chatted.  Elise is very excited about doing hair recently, but since her only sister doesn't have much hair, I was more than happy to play guinea pig!  I love having my hair played with and done!  This was just one of her fancy creations.  After seeing me get my hair done, the girls also wanted theirs done.  After putting the kids to bed, we played games and chatted.

The next morning, the kids wanted to play games too, so we played killer bunnies and dominion, which is a bit of an adventure when you are trying to play with a 6 year old.  :)   In the afternoon, we headed back home to get ready for church.  Eileen had flute lessons, I had some butter to pick up and We had some grocery shopping to do to get through the rest of the weekend.

Today was wonderful.  We are still working on getting James and Evie to sit still during Sacrament meeting, but I do think they are getting better, slowly but surely.  Classes were wonderful and after church, we headed home for an early dinner.  Evie, Anna and Aaron all bore their testimonies today!  After dinner, I took a little nap and Dan and the kids made peach cobbler.  They the kids had some and went to bed and we had some friends over to eat cobbler and play games.  It was a lot of fun!

Koopa is doing well, we are still working on the house breaking and he still has some problems, but as long as we keep him out of certain areas of the house.  He really likes to have accidents in the boys room....

Oh and the title of the post is a yey for the Broncos winning the Superbowl... not that we watched, but still, glad they won.  :)

I need more sleep!

This week has been rather crazy.  Mostly because, I am still more tired that usual, but I don't want to be - I want to be back to normal so I keep trying to do the usual stuff and then find that I'm exhausted.  We had a friend  who ended up in the ER in a lot of pain, so we were watching her little boy while she was there with her husband, but he was feeling a bit under the weather too, so he was kinda tired and really just wanted to be home with his mom and dad.  Otherwise, Monday was the usual crazy.  I told the kids that I would only do their laundry if they put their dirty clothes in their hampers. So I did me and Dan's laundry and the kids attempted to do theirs.  I helped them sort it and showed those that didn't know how to work the machines to start them, so they got the clothes mostly clean, but they didn't get any of them folded, so they spent the whole week complaining about not having clean clothes.

The girls are having fun at choir after school and it's fun to listen to them sing when they get home.  Otherwise, Tuesday was a long exhausting day!

Wednesday was eventful!  We went to the library as usual with Tayanna and Nicole.  After the library, we went home and my friend Debbie and her daughter Brynleigh came over for lunch, it was so nice getting to see her and chat with her again!  Then we picked up the kids from school and got through all the after school stuff.  In the evening, Aaron had cub scouts, Anna had activity days, and Eileen had new beginnings.  Since she will be going in to young women's this year, she was invited to go to new beginnings and they did a cute little get to know you activity with the two new girls for this year.  After, I headed over as fast as I could for the last 45 minutes of choir.

Thursday was crazy.  Preschool was cancelled for James so he and I spent the morning snuggled up on the couch, then the craziness began.  After school, the kids had piano lessons, and then in the evening Anna had trumpet lessons, finally I had institute in the evening.  Institute was wonderful!  I finally finished the fingerless gloves for Anna and she has worn them everyday since.

Friday was fun, but busy.  James and I went to my allergy shot, then stopped by Costco on my way home.  We got the kids from school and went through all the post school craziness.  Dan went to play Dungeons and Dragons with Becca and Jeremiah.  The kids and I had dinner, then I sent the younger kids went to bed while Eileen and I watched Star Wars: Episode VII.  Eileen was so cute!  She loved the Ewoks and loved the ending - she told me after "I'm actually so happy, I'm crying!"  Dan ended up getting home really late, but he had a lot of fun!

Saturday was mostly a cleaning day.  I helped the kids clean up their rooms, and I spent some time cleaning up my craft room.  In the evening, Dan and I played a game together and then took it easy.

Today was great!  Dan didn't have any early morning meetings so he got to be with us before church and during Sacrament meeting!  Which was good, because James and Evie were determined to be a handful today.  Sunday school went well, then I made camp announcements in young women's.  While I was headed to Relief Society, I saw James throwing a fit in the hall way, he was refusing to go to class.  So I took him in and stayed with him for the rest of church.  In the afternoon, Dan taught the older kids to play scrabble before bed time.  After we put the kids to bed, Dan creamed me at Suburbia.

We are still having problems with Koopa and house breaking.  Part of the problem is that it's cold outside and neither the dog nor I really want to be out there, the other part is that I'm supposed to keep a close eye on him and that's kinda difficult when I've also got kids at the house that need my supervision.

Another Birthday Boy

This week was mostly recovery for me.  Tina stayed Monday to help, but had to go Tuesday after dropping the kids off.  Thankfully, I was mostly feeling good by then.  Tired easily, but otherwise good.  I hardly used any of the pain meds they sent me home with, and what I did use was the ibproufin, not the stronger stuff.  I was grateful that James had preschool on Tuesday and Thursday though since that meant I could take a nap during the morning!  The kids were mostly a big help too.  I tried to get laundry done on Monday, but I didn't get all the loads washed and I really didn't get much folding done at all.  

Wednesday was late start (yey for sleeping in a little!)  Then James and I went to the library for a little bit.  The afternoon was filled with the usual busies, then Dwayne came over to baby sit and I went to choir.  It was a great rehearsal, but I spent a lot more time sitting than usual.  

Thursday was a normal school day and preschool day for the kids.  Dan got to come home a day early and got in Thursday afternoon.  The kids had piano lessons and we got some cleaning up done. 

Friday Dan stayed home, and we spent the day trying to get the house in order.  I am still needing to slow down and rest more often than I would like, but it's getting better.  Friday night, Dan and Eileen and I watched Star Wars Episode V.  It's been fun watching them with her and seeing them again - it's been awhile.  

Saturday was more get the house in order fun, followed by get ready for James' birthday fun and then of course, birthday fun!  James was so excited - he spent so much of the day asking when he could have cake and when he could open presents.  He wanted a pizza party for his birthday dinner, so Dan and the kids made pizza and then we all ate downstairs while watching James' choice of movies - Wild Kratts.  After we came up for cupcakes and ice cream and presents.  Anna was so cute helping him - he sat on her lap the whole time he was opening presents.   He was so cute and so excited about his presents.  

And a picture of Koopa just cuz he's cute.  We are still struggling a bit with housebreaking.  Any time the kids leave pieces of paper on the floor, he thinks it's a piddle pad....  We're getting there though, today was better.  Church was wonderful!  Such great talks and lessons!  Dan was released today - he's got a new calling coming up soon.  Dan made sure that Bishop knew that he couldn't release me as girls camp director though!  We spent the afternoon playing and talking on the phone and having fun together.

Recovery...

Bright and early Monday morning, my family headed back to Texas.  We miss having them, but it's also nice to get our house back.  Gene and Ann came over from the hotel and spent most of the day with us cleaning up and getting our house back to normal.  They had family home evening with us, played a game with Dan and I and then Dan and I finished the day with our usual laundry and grocery shopping for the week.  

Tuesday was normal, we had Payton over in the afternoon.  He just loves our new little puppy and was following Koopa around the whole time he was here.  The girls had choir after school.  Anna used her own money to buy a recorder from her teacher and has been playing it ever since.  The first day, she just played a couple notes, after that, she started learning some songs.  :)  Anna also had her Trumpet lessons again - stuff got so mixed up and forgotten over the holidays!  

Wednesday James and I headed to the library with Nicole and Tayanna after dropping the kids at school.  James had fun during story time and we had fun picking out books.  Then in the evening, Aaron had his first cub scouts activity and the girls had activity days.  Aaron was so funny.  He was reminding me all week about having cub scouts this week.  He was so excited and had such a fun time!  I had choir too, we are getting started preparing for the Lamb of God again.  It's going to be so amazing! 

Thursday was piano lessons for the kids after school again.  It's so neat to watch and listen to them get better and especially fun to watch them learn songs from the Children's Song Book and the Hymn Book.  

Friday was normal busy.  School, homework, puppy fun, games.  James had a bit of a cold so he and I cuddled and rested most of the morning, which was really nice.  We snuggled up together with blankets and books and took it easy!  Eileen and Dan and I watched Star Wars Episode IV together for Eileen's hour up.  It was so fun to watch it with her!  She's so cute! 

Saturday morning, Eileen had a meeting at the school.  The school is working to put in a garden, and wanted student input and invited her to come to their meetings.  She was so excited!  Excited enough to get up for an 8 AM meeting on a Saturday morning!  After, she had flute lessons, then she came home.  Dan and I had been hoping to go to the temple Saturday since it would be closing for cleaning next week, but we were having a hard time finding a babysitter.  In desperation, I had prayed that we would find a way to be able to go.  Finally at about 10:00, Valerie called wanting to know if we still needed a baby sitter!  She came over at 11 and Dan and I left!  We first headed over so I could audition for the Lamb of God solo part, and then headed down to the temple for a session.  It was so wonderful to be in the temple and to start our year off right!  After, we stopped by Kneaders on the way home for a lunch/dinner type meal thingy.... :)  Then we took the kids home and tried to con them into cleaning up.  I had told Evie we could get her ears pierced, so I took her out and we got her ears pierced!  She was SO EXCITED!  She was so brave - she didn't cry at all (and was so proud that she hadn't cried at all like her big sister Eileen!)  She has been so eager in taking care of the piercings and so excited to have her cute little pink flower earrings.  We finally got the kids to bed and Dan got his run in, then made a trip to the grocery store to get us ready for this coming week with him gone.  

While he was gone I noticed that I had started bleeding for real and that it looked like my body was taking charge and getting things done.  Then I realized that I was bleeding a lot.  Around 9:30 I called Sandi and Jon to ask what I should do.  Jon advised calling my doctor to get in touch with an off-hours nurse who told me that if it kept bleeding this heavily for another hour, that I needed to go in to the ER.  An hour later, it had gotten worse, not better.  I headed in to the ER.  Dan called Tina to come help out with the kids and he came in to be with me later.  After deciding that I was bleeding way too much and was becoming anemic, they decided to do an emergency D&C (about 4 in the morning.) I sent Dan home to get a little rest.  Then they put me under and got things fixed up.  I woke up, was moved in to recovery, and I was released in time to get home and see Dan off for his trip.  I told him to go.  Thus far recovery is going well.  I'm tired, but that's expected.  There's been little to no pain and I think really all I need now is to take it easy and let my body do it's job. Speaking of which. it's time for bed!  

Tonight, I am truly grateful for the outpouring of love from family and friends.  I am also grateful for the amazing, friendly, kind and understanding staff at the ER.  They made what could have been a miserable experience bearable.

Busy and Amazing Week!

Monday morning, I had a doctor's appointment to try and figure out what steps to take concerning my miscarriage, and what steps to take to try and keep this from happening anymore.  It was a necessary, but depressing way to spend the morning.  The rest of the day was uneventful.  Tuesday was the usual.  School and preschool, choir for Eileen and Anna and then in the evening, my parents, sister and niece and nephew arrived.  We sent all the kids downstairs, then surprised them with their main Christmas present - an adorable little yorkie terrier named Koopa.  The kids were all excited - though at first they didn't realize that the dog was for our family and would stay with us after Grandma and Grandpa went home.  James would say "wait... so he's going to live with us forever??"  

Eileen was especially excited.  She has wanted a pet so badly for so long that this is her dream come true and she has excitedly tried to do as much puppy care as she can.  So much so that Anna has grumped a bit about not getting to do anything because Eileen does it all.

Anna got her suitcase for her trip to Scotland with Grandpa, she also got to have a lot of fun talking about their plans.  Anna's suitcase had come in a big box that the kids had a blast playing in until they broke it - then they kept having fun playing with it until mommy made them clean up all the little pieces.  I called them my "3 boys in a tub" which they thought was pretty funny.  

Wednesday we spent a little time at the library with Sandi and Grandpa and the kids - it was fun and the kids enjoyed it.  Sandi doesn't like to stay home with the kids because they get a bit crazy with out something to do. We had some fun there before heading home for lunch.

Thursday we got snow and Sandi took the kids out to play in the snow and shovel snow.  I went and took a friends daughter to her doctor's appointment and then after, I met Dan for lunch before heading to pick up the kids from school.

Friday while the kids were at school, we all tried to go to Walmart so my parents could get some birthday presents for the boys, we could get some food items, and I could refill a prescription.  I was done and ready to go home after about 25 minutes.  We left about 2 hours later....  Sandi really likes being out, but James and I would mostly rather be at home.  The kids have been having tons of fun together.  Kai has really been loving hanging out with the big girls.  Friday night, after dinner, Dan and I left the kids with Sandi and my parents and went to see the new Star Wars movie.  We really enjoyed it and really enjoyed getting out of the house with no kids and just us.

Saturday, Dan and I had meetings in the morning, (mine was for girls camp!!)  and then in the afternoon, we headed for the museum.  The kids spent most of their time in the Space Odessey, (which James adores - he loves the sand and he loves dressing up as an astronaut) and in the Discovery Zone getting wet and digging up dinosaur bones and banging on drums.  Finally, Grandpa Cox and I took the Eileen, Anna and Aaron up to the Sherlock Holmes exhibit.  It was so much fun!  It was really well put together and we all had a blast!

Saturday evening, we waited for Grandma and Grandpa Jones to get in (unfortunatly they had all sorts of trouble with flights and car rentals and were late) then we had a birthday party for Aaron.  We did cake and Ice Cream, then he got to open his presents.  He got all his cub scout stuff from Grandma and Grandpa Jones and some new Skylanders from Grandma and Grandpa Cox.  He got some new clothes from Great Grandma Penny and some new scriptures and a book from mom and dad.  

Church today was wonderful.  The talks were wonderful and the lessons were wonderful!  After, we all (all = our family, my parents, sister and her family, Dan's parents, Steve and Claire and their family) gathered at our house for pancakes and bacon and eggs and fruit.  Then we played some games, chatted, I finished Kai's quilt and then we headed to the church.  It was so amazing getting to be there with so much family and so many friends.   I was surprised by the turn out, and grateful for the wonderful people who helped bring refreshments.  There are few feelings better than sitting with your son while he is preparing to make his first covenant with God, surrounded by people I care about!  My heart is so full!

Here is my amazing oldest son - choosing to follow his Savior!  I am so proud of this boy and the choices he is making and the person his is becoming!

After, we went home and tried to put the kids to bed.  Some of Steve and Claire's boys stayed with us and so we let Eileen stay up to play Killer Bunnies with us.  Tomorrow, my family heads home.  I will be sad to see them go, but it will be nice to have my house back!

And a Happy New Year!

This weeks collection of pictures is mostly a hodge podge of fun stuff from our week together.  

Monday morning, Dan headed back into work - he had a project that needed doing and it kept him busy for most of the week.  Thankfully he got Thursday and Friday off for the holiday.  Tuesday morning, I had a doctors appointment - Dan hung around to watch the kids until I got back.  I was having a second ultrasound, only to find out that there was no heart beat and no growth since the last one.  This is my 3rd known miscarriage in a year and a half.  Got another appointment tomorrow to try and figure out what is going on.  

Wednesday was a normal everyday, hangout and go try and convince the kids to play outside and enjoy the sunny (if not exactly warm) days.  Wednesday night, Dan took Aaron out to spend his gift card on the new Skylanders game.  He has wanted to play it every minute since....  Dan took Evie and James and Eileen out on Thursday and after, I took Anna to Michael's where she got a grownup coloring book and nice colored pencils, plus a sand bottle craft kit.  Dan took some time to put up some shelves in the girls rooms under their beds.  Eileen and Anna both have some stuff that they don't want shared around and they need someplace to keep it.  Dan let them have fun painting them shelves - mommy just tried to keep James out of the acrylic paints....  Aaron's friend Isaac came over on Thursday morning, and the boys spent the whole time playing Skylanders and having a blast together.  

Thursday night, we let Eileen stay up with us to celebrate the new year, we ate pie, drank sparkling cider, did a puzzle (well I did the puzzle, Eileen got distracted by the movie) watched "The Princess Bride" and then played a game of 7 Wonders.  (picture below is my piece of pie after Dan got done putting whipped cream on it.... no I did not eat all of the whipped cream.)

Friday we tried to go to the museum with the kids, but it was so packed that we gave up and just went and played in the snow and threw snowballs at each other instead.  In the evening, Dan's brother Steve came by.  He had dropped his oldest daughter at the airport and wanted to wait in town to make sure she got off ok, so he came and had dinner with us and played a game of Dominion and creamed Dan and I.  

Saturday was mostly spent cleaning.  The kids HAD to clean up their bathrooms to get ready for guests next week and I spent some time cleaning and organizing the craft room and working through a few clothes and stuffed animal repairs to get it ready for family coming into town on Monday.

Church today was wonderful!  Eileen and Anna chose to fast with us for President Monson and they were so amazing to watch their faithfulness even though they were really hungry!  After church, Aaron had his baptism interview.  I can't believe he's getting baptized in just 1 week!  I put some fun glow sticks in the kids stockings and tonight the kids had fun breaking them and running around in the dark basement.
Here's Eileen and Evie with their glow glasses

Aaron being a robot.

James throwing a tantrum (probably because I said no to something or other)

And the only pic I managed to get of Anna while we were out playing in the snow.