Rushing Relaxation

I have been trying to live a less stressful life lately, achieve more peace and make time for relaxation in each day. I even downloaded an app for that onto my smart phone! Problem is this ... I was feeling stressed after putting the kids down for bed so I reached for my phone and laid back on my bed for some relaxation. It had nice soothing music that took me back to my monthly 'Spa Days' :). Then the program asked me if I was a beginner. Umm... I guess so? I reasoned that I am definitely not good at relaxing or I wouldn't have downloaded the application for help, lol. So I selected beginner and was shown a circle, inside the circle were the words "inhale" and "exhale". I inhaled while it was highlighted, and exhaled when it was highlighted. This went on for a few minutes, I'd say three. By minute four I was searching for a way to skip to "the good part". I was done with this breathing exercise and ready to relax. Then it dawned on me that I was trying to rush my relaxation! I chuckled to myself when I couldn't find a fast foward button, and then turned my phone off-- I had things to get done ya know. :)

Bad sign? I think yes. lol. If you need an app to teach you how to relax, you are too "connected" and secondly, if you skip ahead and try to rush through relaxation you are missing the whole point.

My next attempt will involve a very hot bubble bath, a trashy gossip magazine, candles, some good music .... and ice cream (of course!). Just thinking about it makes me "ahhhhh".

 

via

Such a Foolish Day

Yesterday I felt so busy. I was constantly on-the-go, being way too busy for my own good. Which should mean I accomplished a ton, right? Sadly no, I accomplished very little. Which reminded me of this:

"The foolish expend a great deal of energy and time trying to do everything and end up achieving nothing." -- Lao Tzu

Looking back on my day I was literally running in circles. Cleaning then cooking, then cleaning again... and then more cooking -- follow that up with a little more cleaning. Circles I tell ya, circles. It doesn't stop there either; puppies, work, errands, play time, preschool, laundry, discipline, reading, couponing, spending time with my husband. BUT! Trying to accomplish everything left me achieving nothing. I need focus. If I directed all of my energy on one task until that task was complete I could have done a lot more. So I am going to spend the next few days trying something new. I will make a list of things (cuz, ya know...lists make me giddy!) that need to be done, and I will do them in order completing each task before moving on to the next one. I am excited to see how it goes. :) 

Incessantly Overcooking

I don't mean burning my food, I mean preparing way too much! But let me explain why:

1.) Unknown Numbers

I never know who will be home for dinner.

 If friends will be staying for dinner.

If girlfriends will be coming over for dinner.

Or who will show up during dinner time hungry. 

2.) Hungry Hungry Hippos

Some days the kids are starving, they eat plate after plate of food. Other days, not so much. But we have 4 teenage boys in this house (5 if you count Dylan) ...  can you imagine if all of them were super hungry at once?!

3.) Leftover Lovin'
I love leftovers, always have. They make the perfect lunch, quick snack or lazy day meal.

I have always overcooked, always. Lately, to appease my husband I have been trying to cut back. Yesterday, I made Spaghetti. I made just enough to feed the people that I thought were going to be there and hungry. Then we had company- I no longer had enough food. I didn't eat any dinner so there would be enough for everyone else. There still wasn't going to be (Jabali was bring J2 home from Ellensburg and they were sure to be hungry)... so I had to make more. More meat, more sauce, more noodles, more bread, more veggies, more dessert. More time out of my day. Instead of "over cooking" like I am accustomed to and personally prefer to do, I had to re-cook a second spaghetti dinner. Not my idea of a good time. Plus, I am a firm believer that spaghetti is always better the second day, it's the perfect left over food.

Needless to say, I have now fully embraced my incessant overcooking. In fact I think I will invest in some nice shiny new Tupperware to feed my addiction. :)

Excited

My husband is working at Twigs, a fancy new Bistro and Martini Bar that opens next week in the  Tri-Cities. He came home with a big cheesy grin on his face and showed me a picture, it was Creme Brulee!!! I couldn't be more excited! Few things in life can make me this happy. It's probably the one thing I miss most about living in Seattle. There were so many places to go that served this perfect desert.

Funny story: one time while he and I were on a little trip, Jabali ran into 3 different resturants to ask if they had it on their menu or could make it for me before deciding if we would be eating there or not. I love it that much, well -- that,  and I'm slightly silly when it comes to Creme Brulee. :)

I am excited for the new resturant to open, it has a great food and drink menu too, but of course my number one interest is this. Mmmm. Bring on the extra calories, cuz I tell you what... it's going to be worth it!!

Creme Brulee

(Thank you google images, seriously. Thank. You.)

Puppy Love

Today the cutest thing happened. Quinn and Marley were out playing in the dirt when the sprinklers in the yard came on. Which wouldn't have been such a big deal except the puppies happened to be sleeping in the grass where the sprinklers were spraying. The kids ran over to save them. Quinn held the closest sprinkler so that it sprayed away from the puppies while Marley ran them to safety. They were both soaking wet but the puppies were all safe. I got them some towels but instead of wrapping up in them they took the towels and started drying off the puppies. How sweet is that? :)  

Funny Marley

I was changing laundry today and Marley came running in the room and proclaimed "Mommy I'm a girl!!" I laughed so hard, and told her "Yes, you are." She smiled, did a ballerina spin and ran back out.

Last night, when I was trying to get her to finally go to sleep... after an hour of trying... I laid down next to her pretending to be asleep but I accidently did fall asleep. (It was hard to stay awake because I was so tired.) I woke up about 20 minutes later to her brushing my hair. She had a pretty princess dress on over top of her pjs and a tiara on her head.

Such a funny girl! :)

For Whitney

I know this isn't uplifting or inspiring -- they aren't necessarily positive either; but who said that was the only way to show your love and support for someone? Darling Whitney, I love you and I know that my worst day doesn't hold a candle to your most recent best day. I know your birthday wasn't what it should have been, and I wish so many things for you. Health and happiness being number one, of course! :) But, since I can't do that I hope this helps you somehow... to let you know that yeah, sometimes life sucks and it's ok to feel that way.

 via

 via

 via



Inept

This weekend the boys are suppose to be with their mothers in Seattle. This happens every other weekend. It's not a difficult or confusing schedule, pretty simple really. If you didn't see your child last weekend it means you will see him this weekend.

Corrin forgot it was her weekend to see her son, again. This is the second time in a row. Not the second time ever mind you. This happens constantly. When X called to talk to her about their weekend together, she decided she wasn't going to be able to take him "on such short notice". Apparently forgetting you haven't seen your child in a month is a good enough excuse to absolve her responsibilities as a mother.

Jabali called her to find out what was going on, why she decided to repudiate her child this time. She was appalled that we thought she didn't want to see her son, because oh my gosh, she did want to see him, she really misses him. Her exact words were: "You don't think I want to see him? I do, I really want to see him. I want him to be with me all the time. I hate that he lives so far away from me." She went on and on about how desperately she misses him and how she's so depressed she can't see him play football and blah, blah, blah... then she started making excuses for herself, "I forgot." "You don't know what's going on in my life". "I would do anything to see him"..... Hmmm. I call bullshit. 

1) If my child didn't live with me and I was so heart-broken without him I wouldn't forget when it was my weekend to have him. Never, not ever. If you are genuinely looking forward to something you don't forget. You don't.

2) You'd do anything to see him? Really? Yeah, well obviously not, or you'd see him. The distance isn't an issue, don't lie. We lived 20 minutes from her and she'd still never see him. And she doesn't even drive to get him, Hannah takes him from us and drops him off to her... then picks him back up again.

3) Thinking excuses excuse your behavior is juvenile. You are an adult, act like it. Just because your life is hard you think it gives you a pass on any spending time with your child? It doesn't. Who's life isn't hard? I still take care of my children, including her son regardless of whatever my current issues are. And I don't need to know about what's going on in her life. It's none of my business. What is my business is that she refuses to see her son the 4 days a month she's scheduled to. The last time he went to see his mom he ended up spending the entire weekend with his aunt, his mom didn't even come visit him.

In the mandatory parenting class they discuss how important it is that children spend time with each parent and if the child doesn't want to go you have to make them, otherwise they have emotional issues later in life. I never thought you'd have to force a mother to see her child.

Jabali asked if  a reminder email would help her remember her weekends... she said, "Umm, I guess you could try that. It might help." OH MY GOSH. It "might help"?! Wow. Pitiful. Just thinking about the pain she's caused Xavior makes me sick to my stomach. And I have been dealing with this miserable situation for 5 years now, and it doesn't get any easier. I wish I could just get over it, but every time she does this to him the memories of a heartbroken little boy sobbing in my arms because his mom was too busy for him again prevents me from getting over it. Thankfully he's starting to see the light, I don't make up excuses for her anymore and he knows what a mom should be like. He doesn't even want to go there most of the time. He has more fun here at home with us. What kills me is that she won't change and she's too selfish to realize she's hurting him. Or maybe she does and she doesn't care. Such a pathetic human being and an even worse mother. Oh well, no one's life is perfect and everyone has trials... hopefully it will help him to be an amazing father to his own children. Plus, his father and I love him, at least he has us! :)

Surveys

I miss surveys. Do you remember MySpace surveys? Oh I do! Honestly, I loved MySpace and the only reason I switched to Facebook was peer pressure. The majority of my friends deleted their profiles on MySpace for the more popular Facebook. I refused for a very long time, but what's the use of a social website with no friends? So I switched, but I still don't like Facebook. I digress... Surveys. I miss them. So I am going to start posting surveys on my blog. :)

Deodorant

Jake has only asked me to send him one thing. Deodorant. Apparently Brazil doesn't have "the good stuff", so I got some Old Spice and put it in his package, along with tons of other stuff. He told me he got his package, so I asked him if that was a good deodorant to send or if he wanted something else. His reply?

"There was no deodorant in my box, someone must have taken it before giving it to me."

Say WHAT?! Are you serious? I know first hand how frustrating it can be to get anything into Brazil without jumping through hoops or paying a "tax". Twice they wanted him to pay more than $100 to get a package I sent!! Nothing I send is worth $100, mostly its candy and American comforts like good toothpaste and peanut butter. He refused to pay so they are required to mail it back to me, and 1 of the 3 returned to me actually made it to me.... and everything in the box was crushed, opened or looked questionable at best. I threw it out. So not only did I pay for the things to put in the boxes, I paid $55 to get nothing in return. Annoying.

I just can't believe that someone would steal from a missionary! That sin probably counts as two... or ten. Makes me wonder what else those customs people have taken from my packages to him??

Well, I sent him the smallest box available and only put deodorant inside hopefully that gets to him. They generally don't open and check the littlest ones, at least that is what I have found to be true so far. We'll see if he gets it. 

Right now I am working on his Halloween/Thanksgiving package and I'm thinking I will write a list of the items included inside the box and tape a picture of Jesus next to it... that way when they go through it Jesus will be looking at them the whole time, maybe that will discourage theft. haha.

If that doesn't work he might be getting a mac and cheese box with a surprise deodorant in the middle! Who doesn't love surprises?! I know I do.

Not every day can be a great day.

what I did today:
woke up earlier than I wanted to
made eggs and bacon for breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen
fed Kenzie, then fed the puppies and took them to out to play in the yard
fold and put away 6 loads of towels, blankets and kids' clothes
played with kids
tried to cheer up Brad, failed.
worked for 2 hours
re-sorted dirty clothes in the laundry room
changed and started more laundry
made lunch, cleaned up lunch
went to an appointment ... at a welfare office - because we are that poor for the next few weeks
picked up a couple of things at the grocery store
unloaded groceries and put them away
changed and started more laundry
made snacks, cleaned up snacks
sang songs with Marley
watched Quinn play a video game
put Kenzie in the puppy house to feed puppies, realize she won't
feed the puppies again, played with them in the yard with the kids again
worked for 2 more hours
loaded kids into the car to take J2 to the farm to do horse chores with grandpa
drove over to the school to pick up Xie from football practice
made snacks, cleaned up snacks
changed and started even more laundry
took out the garbage
redirected Xie (new meds.not my idea.not going well.)
unloaded the dishwasher
loaded the dishwasher
redirected Xie, stopped him from throwing pillows at people
cut up chicken and packed it into ziplocks for the freezer
hung out with Jesse, talked about life
feed Kenzie
redirected Xie, took toy sword from him
set up playdoh for the kids so I could make dinner
redirected Xie, took playdoh knife from him
made dinner: kickin' chicken salad and hamburger helper
started chore time with kids
packed snacks/foods/drinks for Brad's trip to Idaho
tried again to cheer up Brad, he laughed this time, win.
dished up some wheat thins and read books to the kids before bedtime
Pjs and Teeth for littles
sent boys to bed at 9:30, scolded them about not finishing chores.
changed and started one more load of laundry
2 more hours of work then bed.

... all while experiencing constant, debilitating cramps and bleeding from this fetching IUD (it's suppose to be helping fix my issues, not make them worse... apparently it didn't get the memo.)

Now, these were all important (and I really did enjoy doing some of them) things to get done in my day but :

what I wanted to do today:

go for a jog

organize the pantry

preschool

cut coupons

watch True Blood with my handsome, hardworking husband

read my book

shower and do my hair, something other than a pony-tail.

(insert long, sad sigh here)

There is always tomorrow, but I feel cranky because lately tomorrow never comes. People all around me are doing the things that make them happy. And the things I want to do most rarely make the cut in my almost always over-booked days. Perhaps I don't make myself feel important enough, but if I keep sacrificing the things that make me happy I will start resenting people and put on my cranky pants ... and then no one will be happy. Tomorrow, I am going to start with my 'want to do' list THEN go on to my responsibilities. Other than the necessities of course, like feeding people and animals and handling disasters including Marley's daily "I don't want to poop in the potty, but I refuse to wear a diaper" drama. :)

Long story short: tomorrow I am going to put me first for a bit and see how it goes.

MIA

I have been in dire need to just sit down and blog a little (actually a lot) about everything that is going on in my life lately, but I can't find the time. Not that the time isn't there, it's just more important things seem to be demanding my attention these days.

Like even now, I just put on a Netflix show so I could have some "me time" but the timer on the dryer just beeped, and when I looked at the clock just now I realized it's time to make lunch and do quiet time. Ah life, you are good... but you are not always easy. :)

to be continued ...  

Shhhh.....

Is it possible that some people have no quiet voice?

X can't help but be loud all.the.time. I am not even exaggerating on this one, his whisper is louder than my normal voice. It's so bad that I've had his pediatrician test his hearing and check his ears (twice) because I was convinced something was seriously amiss. But much to my dismay, his ears and his hearing are all normal. So why can't he keep regulate the volume of his voice? Who knows!?
Here's how it usually goes:

X: I am really hungry, it's weird how its late and now I am hungry.
Me: Shhh... the kids just went to bed, I need to you to talk quietly.
X: (In the same very loud voice) I am being quiet.
Me: Well, then I need you to whisper, because that is not quiet.
X: (In the same very loud voice) Ok. I will, can I go get a snack?
Me: Yes, you may. Please just practice talking as quietly as possible.
X: (In the same very loud voice) I really am being as quiet as I can be you know.
Me: Yeah, I know...

lol. No matter how I try. No matter what we practice. He can not be quiet.

What can ya do?! lol.

I just LOVE these types of beds!!

My Birthday Wish List

My birthday is coming up and usually I don't ask for anything, but this year I am making a list so my husband can pick a few things and know I will be happy!  lol. :)

Gift Card to Lowe's (for bathroom remodel)
$100 in ten dollar bills
Subscription to Tri-City Herald
A case of paper and ink for my printer
Tanning package at Illusions
Hot pink or lime green bicycle
Mani and pedi
New bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths
More baseball card holders for my binder
Facial and/or 60 minute massage
One year paid membership to Gold's Gym
Subscription to All You magazine
Lime Green running shoes (tounge-less)
Coupon for a "free day", so I can relax
Dinner at Outback
Tickets to a Comedy Club
New tupperware and Pyrex collections

...surely there will be more added to this list!! :)

Super Hide n Seek

We really love this game. The kids play it for hours. I want to make a special item (as soon as I fix my sewing machine) that can be the special hiding item. Something wierd and random in a filled with something in a bean bag sorta fashion. :) 

This game may seem like nothing more than a slightly tweaked version of "Hide and Go Seek", but don't be fooled. Sure it's fun, but in between all that play, it reinforces verbal instructions and listening skills. Plus, it gives kids practice with positional words and number concepts. In this version of the game instead of hiding yourself you'll hide a very small item, such as a penny, for your child to find.

(Stolen from Education.com, one of my fave websites ever!)

What You Need:

•A small object, anything from a coin to a toy car

What to Do:

1.Begin by having your child close her eyes until you've placed the item in a well-hidden location.

2.Give simple but very specific directions to guide your child in finding the object. A typical game might include: "Walk three steps forward." "Turn toward the window." "Walk five steps forward." "Walk two more steps forward." "Look up on the second shelf." "Look behind the plant." At first, allow her to finish each step before moving on to the next direction. **

3.But once she's gotten the hang of it, challenge her memory and her listening skills, by giving multiple-step instructions: "Walk three steps forward and then turn toward the window."

4.Don't be a "Hide and Seek" hog! After playing the game a number of times, allow your child to hide the object for you to find. In the beginning, it may be difficult for her to give specific instructions, but as long as you don't gloss over her mistakes, she'll improve quickly. Be sure to follow her instructions exactly, so that she can learn from any errors that are made. For example, if your child tells you to look beside a cup but really means for you to look behind it, she will quickly understand when she sees your actions that she used the incorrect word. Give suggestions as needed.

The great thing about this game is that it's portable! It can be played just about anywhere, from the park, to your own living room, to a doctor's waiting room. The skills of giving and following directions are an important part of every young child's life. When presented in a game format, they can be fun too!

** I don't give out any directions until they ask for it. Usually they can find it on their own!!

Marley's future bed? Umm... yes please!!

Today

Today has been a good day. :) Here are some fun pictures I *LOVE* today.

Living the OCD life. :)

Yeah, me to!! But not just because the pencil is out of place. ;)

1. The pencil with no eraser has no place in my collection, it would go in the garbage. Or on a good day get an eraser top attached and placed in the kids arts and crafts bucket.

2. The pencils would all be sharpened to the same length.

3. There should be one more or one less pen, I love even numbers.

Finally!! :) Competition Videos!

Here are the routine's from the 2011 Washington State Open. Enjoy... :)

Kayla's Morning Show Routine:

Couples Morning Show Routine:

Top 2 Couples Pose Down:



Brad's Night Show Routine:



Kayla's Night Show Routine:





Couples Night Show Routine:



Feel free to watch them over and over, we do! :)