Latest Trick

One of my favorite tricks these days when I know the boys are exhausted but refuse to go to sleep because it isn't 7:45 is to change the clock an hour ahead.  With the sun going down earlier they don't know the difference and usually will fall asleep fast.  In theory this should get me to bed an hour earlier too, but alas I only day dream about dreaming.

Tonight's late night project is finishing up Halloween costumes.  Quinten will be a skeleton - done just bought the glow in the dark pajamas at Old Navy and white face paint.  Kaden wants to be a scuba diver - have all the parts just waiting on the spray paint to dry so I can assemble it all together.  Hyrum wants to be a ninja - everything is almost ready to be put together. It is fun finding little outlets for my creative side to show again as I have been so wrapped up in studying.

Crazy Days & Long Nights

There are days when I wonder how I am going to get all of my school work done. I am not a huge procrastinator and yet it seems like there are new group assignments or new homework assignments that need to be turned in on top of the already crazy work load I have. Then to add to the mix there are days when my boys decide it would be great to turn on the hose and "wash" the living room - thus putting a good inch or so of water in it. Last night they decided that the shampoo bottle needed to be dumped out to make a bubble storm. They tried to clean it up with a tube of brand new toothpaste. You might ask where I am during all of these adventures. I am there, but I seem to be a step behind in cleaning up the messes. I am trying to figure out how to be present in my children's lives without being a slave to their imaginative ways? 

Last week when Heidi was in town we took the boys to Chuck E Cheese and this is how Quinten's creative brain worked.  He would put the token in the carriage and instead of riding in the pumpkin part he decided he wanted to ride the horse as it was moving too.  Kaden saw and thought it was a fun idea as well though he was a little bit more uncomfortable as he is bigger.  There was a little girl who was loving all the free rides she was able to take in Cinderella's carriage thanks to him.  It seemed to be a win-win situation for all.

These are my favorite 3 boys in the entire world!!  Heidi was able to capture this picture thanks to a sucker bribe.  Even though there are days that are crazy and I wish things would be a little bit easier, I try to remember that one day I will miss the days of them being little and so much work.  I love watching them learn and be the active little boys that they are.  One perk to being constantly on the move, today I was able to cinch in my belt another notch!  Soon enough this semester will be over and I should hopefully have straight A's.  Then the nights of little sleep and studying will be worth it.

Goals

Setting goals is important in life.  Not only serious practical goals, but fun ones as well.  I made a goal to go on 30 trips while I was 30.  This weekend I completed my goal!  Some were huge trips, others were short day trips, but it was fun and I surprised myself with how quickly I completed this goal.  Last night as I was driving home from my friend's house I set a new goal for myself.  It is a strange yet fun goal....

I want to eat at 30 hole in the wall places/stands while I am 30.  It shouldn't be too hard to complete this but I am going to make sure and take a  picture of each place and post it on the side to make the tally a little more interesting.  If you ever finda place you think I should try, let me know!

**Changing this goal to just 30 new places to eat, I am sure there will be some random places, but just making it 30 new places.

Life's Lessons Learned

I have learned some important life lessons over the last few years.  

There is never an opportune time for a relationship.  You can't know what you are truly ready for if you don't try and give it your 100%.  That 100% might change based on the other demands you have going on in your life, but it is better to give all you've got than to be left wondering in a few weeks, months, years what if?

I have been trying to think of an analogy of what dating is like, my friend today explained it best like this.  When you take a kid to the Children's Museum there are so many things that capture their attention in each room.  Every child has different likes and dislikes, but you are in this amazing place why would you want to sit stuck in the same room the entire day when there is the rest of the museum out there to explore.  So as parents we guide our children into the next room, the kids don't always go willingly to the next room, sometimes they kick and scream or run back into the room where they were playing because it is just so much fun and they don't know what awaits them in the next room.  Once the kid gets into the next room they realize that there is in fact something just as wonderful and grand, if not even better waiting for them there.  Once again, we don't know if we allow our fear to take over or we are waiting for the perfect circumstances.

Having trust in people is an issue for me.  It is hard for me to know when what I'm being told is in fact what is really going on in relationships.  I am thankful for loving counselors and friends who help me figure out life and to continue having faith in the greater good.

In school I've been learning about classical conditioning.  I feel that I'm currently fighting tooth and nail against many of the conditioned responses that I have learned through out my life.  I'm hoping to help my boys learn and know that there are people in their lives who will be there no matter what.  I am grateful to know that no matter what though I have a loving Heavenly Father who is only a prayer away.

Dating

All weekend I have been lost in thoughts of dating.  No one tells you that you will make a new best friend after you date for awhile, they also don't tell you that you might fall in love (which is terrifying to me) and that it still might end....

Here are some of my quotes I have found interesting on dating.

In its purest form, dating is auditioning for mating (and auditioning means we may or may not get the part).

JOY BROWNE, Dating for Dummies

Successful dating is not a destination, but rather it is a journey. This journey can either continue as marriage or friendship.

NOAH MITCHELL, The Nitty Gritt

Dating isn't fun. It's not always awful, mind you, and sometimes your date will do something unexpected and lovely, like open the door for you and pretend that he likes cats. But the most valuable reason to embark upon a dating spree is for the wisdom--and the great stories.

LAURIE PERRY, Crazy Aunt Purl's Home Is Where the Wine Is

From the minute we're born, boys and girls stare at each other, trying to figure out if they like what they see. Like parade lines, passing each other for mutual inspection. You march, you look. You march, you look. If you're interested, you stop and talk, and if it doesn't work out, you just get back in the parade. You keep marching, and you keep looking.

PAUL REISER, Couplehood

Always remember this: 'A kiss will never miss, and after many kisses a miss becomes a misses'.”

JOHN LENNON

Every great love starts with a great story

NICHOLAS SPARKS

And with because of honesty and no secrets, I am thrown back into the dating pool one less friend in this world.  It seems as though it is impossible to still be friends when both people are still attracted to one another - I learned this the last time.  I am grateful for all that I have learned and for keeping my priorities in check.  My boys mean the world to me and I am glad to have them to focus on and take care of.  I am also grateful for the distraction of school.  What has surprised me out of all of this is that I am not hurting like I thought I would.  I had already done my own internal assessment of the situation and was at peace with where things stood.  And so yet again I have lost someone who has become an integral part of my life, but I am grateful for the time I got and the important life lessons that I learned.  Life must go on!  The last 6 months have been some of the most fun experiences I have had in years.  I don't feel I have truly found myself still post divorce, but I am well on my way!

Ft. Sam Houston

Saturday we were able to go see my cousin who is down here for training in the Army. I haven't seen her in years, but she figured out a few parks on post that we were able to go to and it was Octoberfest so the boys were able to pay some carnival games and ride a few rides.  Hyrum was thrilled to be able to play football with a few of the soldiers and surprised them with his strong arm.

Driving past this cemetery was very humbling. There were rows upon rows of headstones with nothing but numbers engraved on them.  The spirit there was very neat.

Hyrum enjoys a good game of tag, he talked Sierra into playing with him even though it was burning hot and had a great time.

One of the 2 formations we watched that day, the soldiers are not allowed to go off post during this training yet so they call roll twice a day to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be.

We all had a wonderful, relaxing day and enjoyed all the time that we got to spend with Sierra.  I remember being in 11th grade watching her play in the ball pits when she was in kindergarten.  Now here I am all these years later with my own little kids.  I feel old.   :)  Sierra will finish up her training here on Halloween then will go home for 2 weeks before she is deployed to Korea for a year.  As we were driving away the boys kept asking when we would get to go back and see her again.  Today as well they asked when we could see her.  I am sure if we could figure out a way they would love to eat dinner with her nightly.  Thanks Sierra for supporting our freedom and being a positive role model to my boys!!

Motherhood

The last few weeks a lot of interesting things have been happening in my life.  All of them have impressed upon my the importance of being a responsible parent and of loving my boys even more.  I am grateful for their blunt honesty and their ability to bounce back from setbacks.  They are a great strength to me.  I never imagined being a mother would feel like this, it is a definite adventure, but I love it!

Make Your Bed

My Grandpa JD has told me from the time I was a little girl that I should make my bed, as the years have gone on, I have noticed the difference that it makes in my life.  Here is a quote from an article that I read tonight, and I can honestly say after a few years of making my bed, I would have to agree!

"the state of your bed is the state of your head." I think she is on to something. When I leave my bed in a heap, I leave the bedroom feeling defeated by my bed, my alarm clock, and my general sleepy mood. I'm groggy and reluctant to get the day started. My internal voice sounds a bit like the strewn covers, "Noooooo morning! Gooooo awaaaaaay!" 

But when I look at my freshly made bed, I have to admit it: I smile a little. I feel just a bit more motivated. Productive, even. I leave the room saying, "Goodbye beautiful little den of tranquility that I have created with my bare hands!" And I'm ready to tackle the day — crush it, even.

to read the rest of the article, click here

Kidney Stones

Tales of my Kidneys, round 20+

I am blessed to be born with 2 kidneys, however they do not work properly.  They enjoy producing kidney stones and have for the last 12 plus years.  I have been battling this latest round of kidney stones for 3 weeks.  Finally, Saturday after going paint balling (never been before and it was awesome!) and ending up with some pretty amazing welts but my kidney's still being the main cause of my pain, I decided it was time to go in.  Mind you, I am not puking my guts out like I was when all of this began. I look and am acting normal, my right back just has some major flank pains going on.  I drove myself to the ER because I am stubborn like that, I even had an offer for a ride.  Long story short, 15 1/2 hours of waiting later and then 4 1/2 hours of being pumped full of IVs and pain meds I am on the mend and hoping to get this pesky little guy unstuck for the last time and out of my body.  Moral of the story, do not go to University Hospital unless you arrive on an ambulance of life flight and if you look normal, you are going to have a LONG LONG wait.  It might have been better to make myself throw up to get seen sooner, though there were many others who waited even longer than I did.  One guy had gun shot wounds and still had to wait longer than me!!

The ordinary

Being a single parent has it's days when you just want to throw your hands up and scream, I can't do this anymore!  You are overwhelmed with everything that needs to get done around you....  Then you pray for strength to get through bed time and enjoy your kids for the time that you have them, because what else can you really do?  Then something amazing happens, a random solicitor knocks on your door and it turns out they belong to your church and you talk for awhile and they tell you about National Night Out around the corner and it is just what you and your kids need to make it through the night and finish the day on a strong, positive note.  Welcome to my night tonight.  This is exactly what happened, and now the dirt is washed off, and the boys are tucked under the covers and sound asleep.

 I found this quote on another blog, I think it's true. Enjoy!


The extraordinary, the amazing, the phenomena are daily glorified in the movies, the news, and on television. Our senses become bombarded. We become addicted to drama. The only things that get our attention are the big, catastrophic, knee-jerking events.

Take a closer look at your life, your everyday world, and the people and activities in it. If it were all taken from you in one moment, what would you miss? What sights, what sounds, what smells? Would you miss the view from your kitchen window? If you were never to see that scene again, would you nostalgically reminisce about it, wishing you could see it one more time, remembering how beautiful it was, and how much that familiar sight comforted you in your daily life?

What about those toys strewn about or the baby crying because he's hungry or wet? What about the sounds of the city you live in as it comes to life each morning? Or how about how your child smells after her bath? Or when she comes in cold from playing in the snow?

What about the way your friend smiles, or that little thing he says all the time that's not funny but he thinks it is, so you laugh?

Look closely at the ordinary in your life. While you're being grateful, don't forget to express pure, sheer gratitude for how beautiful the ordinary really is. We can easily overlook the ordinary, take it for granted. The sun rises and sets, the seasons come and go, and we forget how beautiful and sensational the familiar really is.

God thank you for every detail of my ordinary, everyday world.