A Christmas Letter

... or something like it?

Have you ever had one of those years where you kind of wish everything would have gone away?

Before Christmas, I sat down and wrote out our Christmas Letter.   It was NOT good, well most of it.  But here it is... stick with me.

We were going to go on vacation in August, but then had to cancel because Curt couldn't get time off.  

I was going to have surgery, but at the last minute was inspired not to follow through.

Aaron was trying to be a good student?  Oh wait, that's true.  Didn't do too bad either.

Alyssa has inspired me to start to play the violin again?  That's true, too!  She's so awesome!

I had surgery twice... avoided one more (previously mentioned) and spent a lot of time recovering.

I have Hayden potty trained, but not all the way... poops haven't found their way to the bowl.

Curt has found a way to make a living at flying airplanes... not true.  But he sure practices a lot.

Our medical insurance deductible was paid by mid-February.  Scary, but true.

Dental insurance is a blessing.  Medical Insurance is a blessing.  Vision coverage is a blessing.   Having these things even when we feel healthy is a blessing.

I have decided that I have the best calling in the ward.   I get to sit behind the piano and watch children and watch teachers try to deal with children.   My favorite is the 4-5 yr old teacher's pained look anytime a certain child jumps onto his lap.  It's pretty funny.   I also can't stop laughing when this one little boy talks.   It's really bad.   I'm grateful for my chorister.   She's so easy going and is so funny to watch.   I'm glad she's there!

I'm grateful that I have talents:
I have recently begun to sew again and have found joy in this.   I made my sister a diaper bag, my son got a cape and I have gotten around to all those repairs that were in a pile.   Now, if I could just keep my machine out all the time!

I starting giving piano lessons... to one little wonderful boy.  He's awesome.

I  started singing with the ward choir and have fun with that.   I also took Curt to the EVMCO Concert and he said that he would support me if I wanted to audition.  We'll see.  I'm sick right now, maybe I'll get my voice back before then.

This has been a rough year, but I'm so grateful for my trials.   I feel that I have grown and finally know where I am headed.   I'm grateful for the strength that will come out of this year and help me in the next.  
I'm grateful for my friends that have been there and helped me even though they probably have no idea what an inspiration they are to me. 

It's been a year that the Lord has been highly involved in and we are grateful to Him for his guidance and His protective and watchful care.

Most of all:  I'm grateful that 2009 is over... on to 2010!!!!

~Happy New Year~

Merry Christmas

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WE WISH YOU A
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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It is finished

Yay!  

I took this ordinary glass cabinet door...

Sanded the shiny out of it...

Painted it this most delicious color...

Sprayed the back of the glass with a matte black finish...

Distressed it a little...

Sanded it a little more...

Cleaned up my mess...

Added a few knobs and hanging gear...

C'est Fini...  (It is finished!)

Not to bad for a few years of french in high school

and some patience to watch paint dry!

What an odd day.

I had a pretty great morning, running around.   I went to Stardust where the guy at the front counter refers to me as  "Crafty Lady".    He told me that he sees women come and go all day long, but I'm the ony one who tells him what craft I'm making, he told me that I'm approachable (whatever that means).   He asked me if I would be willing to come back and bring this project and my calendar board in so that he could see them.    He's pretty funny and asked if I had anything in mind that he should set aside for when I come back in next week.   He asked one of his workers to show me what they had in the back.  While we were out there, the guy asked me if there was anything easy that he could make for his mom.  I showed him a simple project and he took it aside and wrote down everything I said.   He said he'll take a picture of it when it's done and show it to me.  He was so excited! 

Here's a hint of my next project.   The color is Ralph Lauren Red Delicious... it is truly delicious. 

Yesterday morning as I was taking Curt to work, I felt a weird feeling and I commented to him, "I feel like I'm going to see a car accident today."   All he said was, "Make sure you're not in one."

I was heading towards Bashas' on McClintock and was turning into the shopping center by Nello's pizza... and witnessed an accident.    I really don't think that I would have noticed if I hadn't been very cautious about my driving and those around me. (Because after all, the only idiot  on the road you can control is yourself.)

Anyway, I saw the entire thing and had the best view of it!  If I've learned anything from accidents, it's to ALWAYS stick around and give a statement.  If you can't, leave your name and number with the person that YOU think is not at fault.   ( In Curt's accident, the lady who did this was key in convincing the judge that Curt didn't run a red light.)   

I'm glad I did, because there were three people in the car that hit the first one and they came up with a totally false story and the lady that was hit was going to recieve a ticket.  NO!  It wasn't her fault and that was SO unfair of them to hit her and then say that it was because she was doing something she wasn't.

I'm supposed to be subpoenaed so that they can figure it all out.  Since I'm the only one that stopped and I'm a total stranger to these people, they trust me the most.  I'm grateful that I was aware because of a prompting that I had that morning.

So many projects.

Curt and I decided that this year, we would put a lot of effort into making gifts instead of just buying them.   So, I am making gifts.  (See how that works?  We BOTH decide one thing, yet I get to carry that out?  Yep, that's how our marriage works.  ☺ )

Anyway, I have started on a few things, but I won't post those until later because... um... Christmas hasn't happened yet.  Duh.

Anyway, I made a calendar for me.   I am thrilled how it turned out.   I went to a store by our home called Stardust.  They have all kinds of home-stuff.  It's all been ripped out of remodeled homes or it's extras from construction jobs.   

This is made out of glass doors from an office cabinet or something.  I don't know, I don't care; but I paid $5 for it.   I bought 3 of them.     I sketched the layout on the back and traced over it with a Sharpie.   It's worked so well, that Curt's even using it.   I LOVE IT.  It hangs behind our bedroom door and that way we see it every morning and know what's going on that day. 

This is our December and notes for January are off on the side.   Alyssa graced us with a smiley faceon the bottom to remind us to be happy.

Anyway, if you happen to stop by and hear the sewing machine going or it's super quiet... I'm in Crafty-land finishing everything up!!! 

"Thank you...

For letting me keep him."

December 14th is always and forever going to be a hard night for me.

 It was this night, 2 years ago that Curt in his car accident.  (<--- click to view the post)

I keep a copy of the voicemail that he sent me when he was in the ER.
He called me, but didn't remember that he called me.  It's about 45 seconds of nothing but beeping until I hear Curt say, "What happened?"  Followed by a nurse saying, "You were in an accident."

I keep it so that I can remember how I felt almost losing him.  I can't even fathom what my life would be like if he had forgotten to put his seatbelt on, if he'd been in a smaller car, if the airbags hadn't have worked, if... if...if...

The title and opening sentence is the prayer of thanks that I give to my Heavenly Father.

Don't stop believ'n.

Yes,  Aaron there is a Santa Claus.

I loved that Aaron walked right up,

sat on his lap,

and said...

"Hey, Brother Holden, got some candy?"

Hayden on the other hand,

Believes in Santa

and is afraid.

Don't you know that Santa just wants to chat with you?

My odd child.

Well, they are all a little odd.

The child that I'm talking about happens to be my littlest one.

Two Words:

Potty

Training

You would think that he'd be fine with it.

He threw a tantrum in the store when we were buying "Cars" underwear.  He kept throwing them out.  I was really concerned at first.  But after a while of the LOUD debate we were having, he finally relented.

I had read an article about how we really need to focus on him being ready and understanding the signs.

He passed the "signs" part of it with flying colors.

Is my child the only one who wets himself in the middle of the day, but stays absolutely dry the entire night and during naptime?

He hasn't had a accident outside of the home. He holds it, or he lets me know!  He's very good at the whole, "Mom, I gotta pee!" and "Mom, I gotta go to the bathroom, now!"    Yet, when he's at home, he marks his territory?  (This kid must have a lot of territory.)

This article mentioned going in the bathtub and focusing on the feeling rather than the aiming.  Yeah, that stops tomorrow.  I can't clean up the tub every 1/2 hour.   So much for that.  I'm gonna teach him to aim.

Aaron and Alyssa potty trained without much effort, why is this one SO different.   Gotta love the little blonde kid.  He's just a little weird.

Any ideas?

Laughter? Priceless.

We had the funniest thing happen to us tonight.

Our ward was doing a babysitting fundraiser and we ♥love♥ not searching for a babysitter, so we went out to dinner.

Appetizer was so yummy.  Salads came and were quickly eaten.  Then... sourdough bread. (We LOVE sourdough bread!).   Then we heard a crash by the kitchen.  I started laughing because I was so glad that I hadn't been involved in that mishap (because I had been in so many before).   We waited... and waited... and waited.   Curt and I started joking that the reason our waiter came by a few times to tell us that our food would be there shortly, was because it was our food that had been dropped.

Our waiter came by and I ordered more sourdough bread.  Then I kind-of joked to him that maybe our food had been dropped.  He looked so guilty and he nodded his head so little that we could hardly tell he'd actually nodded.   His face looked like that stupid kid in high school that always tells you to, "Punch me in the stomach... I can take it..."  

We laughed; and we laughed hard. The timing of this was just so funny.  

I had never seen a guy look so relieved.   Curt and I didn't stop laughing until around the time our food got there.

He bent over and with a relieved look in his face said, "Whew, I actually made it this time."  So, of course, Curt and I started laughing again.   

As we were walking out, I told him that his reaction was priceless.   He told me that as a waiter, he gets yelled at mostly for things that he has no control over.  He was so grateful to us for really making his night by laughing instead of yelling.   Curt and I both told him that we had been servers before, so we can understand his hesitancy in telling us that our food had been dropped.   

He told us that it wasn't his reaction of relief that was priceless to him; it was our reaction, our laughter.

THE Question!!!

Please!  Answer the poll at the left hand side of the screen.

Here's a little story.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful couple who were married.

They lived in an apartment together and were so happy. They were both raised in very different families and therefore, each had their own idea of who needed to do which cleaning jobs in their home.

They agreed that if you needed to clean the bathroom, you also sweep and mop.

Also, agreed upon was that if you clean the front room, you really should do the dusting and the vaccuuming.

But then there came a point that a small disagreement ensued.

The Kitchen.

Now, one was raised that if you did the dishes, as long as all the dishes were clean and put away, you were done. The counters and cupboards belonged to the being that was assigned to do the floors.

Another was raised that having the dishes clean and put away was glorious, but the counters and cupboards were to be wiped free of goo too!

So, here's the question that I put before you, a jury of our very own peers.

Who's job is it to clean the counters? Is it an entirely separate job from the rest of the lineup?

Please let us know, it's time to settle this. It's been 15 years. 

The counters are getting really bad!

An unusual Christmas Song

When I was a little girl, I thought this was a Christmas song.

I have never seen it more beautifully performed than on Glee.

This is the only version I could find and it's "not-so-great" but it does the job.

Three

There's just something wonderful about spending all my time with a three year old.

He's the funniest kid I know.

Here's a few conversations:

Me: Hayden, are you ready for lunch?
Hayden: Yep, I want food. Gimme food.
M: Okay, do you want honey or jelly?
H: I don't want a sandwich.
M: Oh? What would you like.
H: Steak... with ice cream sauce. (Magic Shell Chocolate)
M: Well, I don't think we have steak.
H: Then just that ice cream sauce... please.


Me: Hey, Tate, Whatcha up to?
H: I'm trying to lick my elbow.
M: Why are you trying to do that?
H: Because Aaron said I can't. Mom, can you lick your elbow?
M: Nope.
H: *licks my elbow* I can. See, Aaron was wrong.

Me: Hey, Bud, are you ready to wash your hands?
H: Nope, I gotta see what they smell like first.
M: Why?
H: 'Cause sometimes they smell like chocolate.
M: Okay, but smell them and we'll go wash them.
H: Mom, you smell them.
M: Nope. That's your thing.
*smells fingers*
H: We gotta wash them now. They smell like poop.

*Going to sleep for naptime*
H: Mom, why do we have to take naps?
M: So we aren't grouchy when Daddy comes home.
H: Why doesn't Daddytake naps, he's always grouchy.

H: I want my binky.
M: Why do you want your binky?
H: Because I need it.
M: You lost them all. They are gone.
H: Dang, I sucked them to death.

Gosh, I love this kid.

Black Friday

...was a little too much for me.

I know I'm supposed to be recovering, but I didn't overdo it too much. WE went to bed at 2:30 and woke up at 5:30 to get to Target (yes, we were a little late).

Curt dropped my off at the front doors and went to park the car, I went in and grabbed the one thing that we wanted. Curt came in and we looked for a few more gifts. It was wonderful. People were nice and nobody shoved. This is the reason we shop Target rather than WalMart. (We hate Walmart.)

As we walked out of Target, a lady handed us 4 coupons for Chick-Fil-A for free breakfast sandwiches. We went to Best Buy and then headed home. I needed my pain pills by then from the walking, so we were forced to get breakfast and go home.

Later, we headed back to JC Pennys to get shoes for Curt. That was all, just shoes, we checked out at the shoe counter and were lucky to avoid the horrible lines at the front of the store!!!

The best part of black Friday is that we didn't have to even go to stores to get most of the deals. My wonderful SIL, Lindsey, called me the night before and told me to check things out online. I did and we bought about half of out things at Black Friday prices with no shipping fees.(Target.com ROCKS!)

Needless to say, we are ready in the gifting area for Christmas!

Now I need to get better and hurry to put up these Christmas lights and tree.

Ahhhhhh.... Black Friday was nice.

So... I'm extra Luscious?!? Sweet!

What Shellee Means: S is for Silly

S is for Silly H is for Hilarious E is for Enlightened L is for Luscious L is for Luscious E is for Extraordinary E is for Enchanting

What Does Your Name Mean?

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Mmmmm. Pecan Pie.

You Are Pecan Pie

You have always been a little bit nutty! You're not big on being responsible, and you prefer to indulge yourself whenever you can. During the holidays, you let your personality shine through. Whether you're getting wacky gifts for people or decorating silly cookies, you keep things unpredictable. Your ideal holiday would be whimsical and fun. You like to keep things light and even a little kooky. You love nothing more than laughing with close friends and family members. Being happy together makes you feel warm and cozy.

What Holiday Pie Are You?

Blogthings: Discover the Parts of Your Personality that Have Been Hiding

I'd still take big, fluffy rolls over cornbread.

You Are Cornbread

While some people may find Thanksgiving to be stressful, you are able to kick back and soak it all in. You have a high threshold for stress, and you prefer to just focus on the parts of Thanksgiving that you love the best. You may go unnoticed at times, but you are often the glue that holds everything together. People would be unsatisfied if you weren't around. You are easy going and easy to love. And a lot more interesting than boring old dinner rolls!

What Thanksgiving Side Dish Are You?

Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet

Laughter is the best medicine...

until I saw this photo and laughed until it really hurt!

How Pumpkin Pie is made.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, too!!!

Again...

I'm in pain.   Thankfully, it comes and goes.  But when it comes, it is sharp and excruciating.  When it goes, it's still there, but more of a dull throb. 

(Monica, will you come play Lord of the Rings with me? That always makes me feel better.)

I get to have my gall bladder removed on Tuesday... at 6am.  

I was supposed to get it out today, but I can deal with it until next Tues. with the assistance of my friend, percoset.   We are so happy together.

I was so worried that because of Thanksgiving I would end up gaining weight.  I'm not worried now.  I consider this a blessing in a weird way. 

A wonderful friend told me yesterday to: "Smile through the pain, you'll end up being a good example for other that are hurting."   I plan on it.  

Growing like weeds, Falling out of a tree

Hayden's 3rd Birthday was this last weekend!

He's a happy 3!

For breakfast, he had 2 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and a tall drink of Hot Chocolate.

He was on  the Ultimate Sugar High during Sacrament Meeting!

My sister, Julie, and her family were visiting and were laughing at his

"lack-of-sitting-still-ability"!

He cracked me up!

We told him to sit on the couch and smile for the camera.  He quickly went into "prayer mode".  He sat on the couch folded his arms and squinted out his eyes to see what was going on.  He's a little weird, like the rest of us.

He loved this gift. We got him a Mr. Potatohead.

It has 4 other heads in side and a ton of stuff!

We got him a "V-Smile" and he thought it was cool that he

now has his "own Wii". 

We hooked it up to a TV that he's had in his room for a while

but we didn't know what we'd do with it.

We finally got him to smile at the camera.

I can't believe that I forgot to document Alyssa's Birthday

It was in October.

In our home, we get to celebrate 2x in 2 days.

Curt's B'day is the day before Alyssa's

We have to make 2 cakes.

Curtis is Chocolate with Chocolate Frosting...

Alyssa's is the rainbow cake.

It's the coolest cake.

1 cake mix + 12 oz can of soda + coloring + 5 extra minutes baking=

A great cake!!!!

(It was so good, we made it again for Hayden's Bday)

Here are photos.

And falling out of tree...

Yes, I know I'm 35.

Yes, I know I'm too old to climb trees.

Yes, I did it in the name of Love

Curtis had flown a plane into a tree and I decided to try to get it out

I tried to climb the tree.

I didn't get far.

I fell and grabbed a branch on the way down.

(of course, I'm the primary pianist with the program the next day.

It seems as though everytime I've had to play in church,

I find someway stupid to injure myself.

But, I had to play and I did with a lot of ibuprophen!)

I didn't break anything, but it sure is bruised and swollen.

I hope it gets better soon.

4 videos...

that NEVER fail to make my kids crack up. Turn the music on the left off.



... and a classic.



the sequel:



SuperCute: watch his little arms at the end. It's so funny!

Bring on the Holidays

As I'm sitting here thinking of the holidays... I get such a happy, giddy, warm feeling.   I'm SO looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.   MY REASON??? 

Curt took a few days off. (As most of you know, he works SO many hours and usually we don't get to see him. So, we are thrilled that he's taking some breaks!)

He's agreed with me that we need to do more with the kids this year and go out of town a little more often.

What I'm looking forward to:

~ the movie "A Christmas Carol". 

(I'm a lover of this wonderful story, therefore, it makes sense that:)   

~ reading "A Christmas Carol" is next on my list.

~ Going to the Temple Lights with my family

~ Date night/Santa runs with Curt

~ making crafts for my family

~ making crafts with family

~ Hot Chocolate

~ going to different towns during their celebrations

~ going to the mall to see Santa
~ Listening to Christmas Music
~ Getting tired of Christmas Music ☺
~ Hot Chocolate

~ wandering around neighborhoods looking at lights

~ Cooler Temperatures

~ visiting with my siblings during Thanksgiving.

~ going to the in-laws home the day after

~ Hot Chocolate

~ spending time with Curt for a few days before each holiday.
~ Putting lights up on the house
~ Making a GINORMOUS wreath for my home

~ going to see "Polar Express" and drinking cocoa.

~ Hot Chocolate

~ heading up north to do some sledding.

~ wearing sweaters

~ seeing all my friends at various parties
~Putting up the Christmas Tree

~ Hot Chocolate

~ wrapping presents, making sure the right name gets on the right package.

~ making soup, a lot of soup.

~ sleeping under a ton of blankets, especially  "MY FUZZY!"

~ Cooking those "special gifts" that I hand out to friends. 

~ Hot Chocolate

~ Reading all the Christmas books that I can get my hands on
~Taking down the Christmas Tree

~ the "not quite teenager" New Year's eve party that we have started planning. 

We'll be celebrating the New Year a few hours early with pizza, games, and all sorts of misadventures.
~ Did I mention Hot Chocolate?

SO, What are you looking forward to this year?

Here's a story, of a lovely lady...

According to my friend, Brandy, I should post the story of the night of our engagement.

Okay:  "THE STORY"!

It was a dark and spooky night...  Nah, just kidding.   But it was Friday, October 28th.  I was working for my Dad and had left the office about 5 to go get ready for a date with Curt at 6.   My Dad said that he had to work on something first before he'd come home.   Well, 6 came around and Dad wasn't home.  Curt didn't come either.  I tried to call him, but couldn't get a hold of him at his house (pre-cell-phone era).  Around 6:30 Dad came home and Curt got there at 7.  (He's been late for everything ever since.)   We went to go ice skating and ran into a guy, B, that I had dated for a little while.   He was with his girlfriend, it was fun, and we all got to talking and skating.  Then, B excused them from us and got in the middle of the skating arena and propsed to his girl.  It was so awesome!!  I was so happy for them!  (Curt later told me that's what he was going to do.)
He asked me where I wanted to go next and I told him that I was really in the mood for some Nielson's Frozen Custard.  (I remember that I got a Strawberry/CrunchBerry Concrete.  It was super good.)  As we were standing in line, we ran into Curt's friend from EAC and he introduced us to his fiancee.  As we were talking, Curt reached in his pocket and pulled out some change.  (Backstory: I had a ring that I always wore.  A sapphire ring that had gone missing for the last week.  I had taken it off and put it in Curt's pocket for safe keeping and I had thought he'd lost it.)  
So... he pulls out change and I glance down and say, "There's my ri...".  He shoved his hand back in his pocket and said that he'll give it to me later.
After we get done eating, we go back to my parents' house and head downstairs.  We were looking for something to watch so that I could just relax because I'd been at school super early that morning and was a little tired.   So we turned it to MTV and there was a Beavis and Butthead Marathon.  We sat and watched it for at least 4 hours!  It was seriously the funniest episodes!
So, I say to Curt, "It's 1, you need to get going before your roommates freak out. (there's a story there,too) and I'm super tired, can we finish our date tomorrow?"
We head on upstairs and outside.  There's the smell of manure in the air from the dairy nearby and the neighbors' yards.  He said, "Oh, yeah.  Your ring."  Then he proceeds like this, "Here's your old ring." (Holding it out in front of him) "and here's your new one."   (Holding out my engagement ring).  I didn't even let him have a chance to ask me before I started crying.  I grabbed that ring and put it on my finger and we kissed.  I asked how many kids we were going to have and we both answered at the same time, "five".  Then we laughed and he told me that he'd tried to propose at least 5 times during the date and there was always someone or something that stopped him.   I still remember when he told me that B stole his idea or he was going to put it in my ice cream, but we ended up sitting with his friends, or that during a B&B Marathon was just NOT the right time.  It's a pretty funny story and I always laugh when I tell it.

The Fuzzy Blanket

I have been going through a sewing phase and was trying to thing of a project just for me.

As I was in my own personal "lala land", the newscaster came on and was talking about a cold front moving through.

I reached over and grabbed a hold of Alyssa's "fuzzy" and had the genius idea that I WANT ONE!

I have always had a bunch of blankets that were the family ones.

Each child has their own fuzzy and I WANT one...for me...no one else!

I have made them for a lot of babies.

I have made them for friends.

I have always stolen my children's blankets. (Yes, I am that kind of mom.)

So without much further adieu... MY FUZZY!

It's a beautiful, red, fluffy chenile-ish fabric on one side and a plaid navy fleece on the other.  

As expected... my daughter stole it from me. 

Hallelujah!!!!

This is my new favorite video. Not only because Christmas is coming and I have to think of Christmas whenever I hear this.

This is SO creative!

How is this my kid?!?

He's WAAAAAAYY too cute!!!

Stuck on The Middle

I don't think that I have laughed SO hard at a TV show.   My first reaction, "Hahahaha.... I love this.   'Imperative'...  what could be any funnier?"  Second reaction?  Well, it went something like this:  "Ohhhhhh nooooooo.  Wait, they have a 15 yr old, a 13 yr old and a 7 yr old?!?!?!   Maaaaaaannnnn, that's where we are going to be in 4 years.   *sob, sob*  I'm a failure!  I have to prevent my family from turning out like this!"

I do realize that this is just a show, but it also could be a reality.  (Except, my husband's not that funny.)

The Diaper Bag

So, I LOVE Conference Weekend for a TON of reasons. One of them is that I can sew for hours on end and not get bugged! The kids leave me alone and I get to be spiritually lifted and get my project done!!

I made a Wipie Holder, Changing pad

and Burp Cloth also!

Beautiful Alyssa modeling the bag!

A close-up of the design!  I loved this... it was so shiny!

Birthday Time?!? HELP!

Alyssa's 10th Birthday is coming up and I am LOST!
I don't know what she wants; she doesn't know what she wants.

Here's the query of the day:

What do you get a 10 year old girl who has grown out of Barbies, and all the little toys? She's gotten into reading lately, but that's not enough to go on. So... help... please.

Seriously...

If you guys haven't checked out this site, you are missing out on something great.

Mormon Mommy Bloggers is awesome. They discuss serious topics as well as seriously cute and funny articles. There's also a giveaway right now too!

Loving this show!!!

You all know I am a music addict; and I love this show. Curt even likes it, which is rare, because he's not much of a TV person! If you want to watch this song performed, you can find it at Hulu and it's from the first episode around the 43 minute mark. LOVE IT!!!

For Kimmie:

This is for you, my Chik-Fil-A Lovin' Friend.

Love Languages from MMB

This was an article posted at this address:

I loved it! It made so much sense to me.  I am a commenter.   What are you?

Zucchini Bread!!!

I have finally found a zucchini bread recipe that I love!

(The kids love it, too)

This morning as I was "getting ready for the day",

I heard silence... dead silence.

Now, if you have a two year old, you know this means only one thing:

T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

I found Hayden sitting on the couch with 1/2 my loaf of zucchini bread.

He had taken it out of the bag and cut it with a butter knife.

(AND he ate it all, too!)

Here's the recipe:

6 eggs

1-2 cup sugar

1 T. vanilla extract

3 shredded granny apples, cored-unpeeled

3 shredded zucchini, unpeeled

6 c. flour

(if you use all-wheat, add 1 tbsp vinegar)

2 t. baking soda

1 t. baking powder

2 t. salt

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

2 t. cinnamon

2/3 package of Mini Chocolate Chips

Mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla,  (and vinegar). 

Add zucchini and apples.  Mix well.

Sift in 3 c. flour. Mix it up!

In another bowl:

Blend remaining flour, baking powder and soda, salt, spices.

Sift this mixture into zucchini/apples.

Add in Chocolate Chips.

Pour into muffin tins (Bake 35 min)

or into loaf pans (Bake for 55 min-turning after 30 min).

Let cool before slicing or you'll get chocolate all over.

Private Kitchen

For those who didn't know yet, I am going private with my Kitchen Sink blogpage.
It's for personal reasons.
Please email me your address @ spm2774@cox.net.
This will be starting Sept. 7th.

Just one can change the world.

I think people should be more free with their hugs.

I live the "hug" lifestyle.

I believe that just one can change a "rainy, grumbly day" into a cozy one where you want to stay home and snuggle with someone.

I believe that even the most angry person can change to a warm, friendly one with just one hug.

I believe that my children will have a better day, no... LIFE, if I hug them everyday.

I believe that the human touch is the most important thing that you can ever give another person, or living thing.

I believe that the act of someone opening their arms to you can change your life for the better.

I KNOW that hugs have changed my life. I give them to others as a gift to myself.

My New Favorite Site

It's called "There, I Fixed It".

Here's some real jewels from the site.



Because sometimes you just can't find a bra...
undies should do. So wrong, in so many ways.

Niiiiiiice. Bet your wheelchair is going to be
more expensive than a real diving board.



Come-on. PVC pipes aren't that expensive.
Isn't that a snowcone syrup bottle?
I'm not eating snowcones anymore.



This is what happens when a tired Mom BBQs.
There IS a reason men are in charge of it.

I was wrong.

I previously posted that Curt and I had the best date night ever, but I was wrong.

We had the best date night while celebrating a friend's birthday last night. It may be that it was just a different type of date night.

Curt and I played paintball with a large group of friends. There were a few moments in a couple of games that we found each other and were backing each other up. It felt good to support my "Eternal Sidekick" and while he was shooting around a corner, I was kneeling down by his side shooting those who were aiming at him. The best moment was when I was guarding his back and I saw someone sneak around a corner to get him from behind and I shot them. There was such joy in knowing that I'd just saved him from getting hit.

We also related it to marriage. Even though we are on the same side and trying to protect our family and each other from the pains of this life; bruises and welt will happen, we need to forgive and with the Lord's help, we can heal. Curt and I have been "healing" lately and this night is what we needed. We have truly become grateful for one another and our little family.

Curt was also telling me last night about how much respect he has now for those who are fighting for this country. Can you imagine being in this situation knowing that the bullets were real and could take your life? If you ever forget what they are up against, go play some paintball and I think you may get a small idea.

I know that Curt and I would love to and probably will go again.

Thanks Kimmie and Happy Birthday.

Schooooooooool

Ah! That wonderful, magical word. Let it roll off your tongue. Schooooooooooooool. So lovely.

Sadly, I don't have any photos of the first day of school. Aaron had been playing with the Wii and left the SD card inside. He also left my camera somewhere and doesn't remember where that "somewhere" is!

The kids both have male teachers and that's something that I'm grateful for.
Alyssa is in 5th grade. She said that her teacher is patient with her and is encouraging her to talk. (see my other blogpage)

Aaron is in 6th grade! (I know... already?!?!?) Aaron really likes his teacher and says that he is nice. He has already told them of the expectations he has for them. Aaron's planning ahead for next year. He has told me that he wants to go to a public junior high and not to Heritage or a charter school. He wants to be where they have a sports program so he can play football, basketball and run track. (YES!!!) I've always dreamed of having a sporty kid.

Hayden's doing great without them. He's running around the house, playing the XBox (because Aaron's not telling him to get off.) and loves playing with Aaron's LEGOs. He is just too fun to watch because he always wants to know when the kids are coming home.

I'm grateful the kids are back in school because it means that my grocery bill gets cut by half! YAY! We are on the reduced lunch program, so the kids eat for $.40 a meal. So much cheaper than having them here.

They both start next week catching the early bus at 6:45-50 so they can get to orchestra and band! Aaron's playing the drums again. He told me that he likes the drums so he'll never have to be part of a musical number in church. Little does he know that piano starts soon and I'll be giving him voice lessons. (What... the boy has perfect pitch!)

Alyssa is playing the violin for the second year and excited to be in the intermediate orchestra. She's more than willing to play for anyone who'll listen. She'll be starting piano with Aaron. We'll also have to work on Alyssa's singing, she's a little off. I'll get her back on.

Mud Mania 2009

I realized that I never posted the pictures from Mighty Mud Mania 2009.

Doesn't he look like such a happy boy?

This was the fire truck that was spraying the kids down after the "Mud Pit".

Alyssa, Aaron and B. after the Mudpit on the way to get sprayed by the Fire Truck.

Alyssa and L. in the Mud Pit.

This was the end of the obstacle course.

The guy is helping L. out of the water bath.

Smile, B, you're done with the course!

Aaron was always just one step ahead of B in the obstacle course.

Aaron is the one on the left. B is behind the guy's head.

Coming out to of the innertube pit.

This was the "Mudman",

every chance he got, he jumped into the mud,

wallowed around and rubbed it into his face and body.

He looked like he had dreadlocks when he took of his hat.

Look at the little piggies wallowing in the mud.

I now have proof that B always picks on Alyssa.

He's putting mud on her back.

Then he put mud down her shirt and pants.

What a nice guy.

I am trying to figure out if we want to attempt this next year,

or rather than wait in line in the heat, if we could just find

someone that will let us dig up their yard and make a pit for ourselves.

Feeling better.

Last Friday, after I took the kids to Mud Mania, I came down with something. When I say something, I mean a virus with fever.
My body doesn't get fevers unless there is something completely wrong. I don't remember much of Saturday, Sunday or Monday. I had a fever of 103. I would spike up and my muscles would start "seizing". It was like shivering, except more vicious. Curt said it looked more like a full blown siezure, then the ibuprophen would kick in and break the fever so then I was fine for about 4 hours. I would stay in my bed under a few blankets, the house would be at 78 degrees and I'd still be cold. Finally on Monday, the Dr perscribed to me some muscles relaxers. That stopped the tremors but not the fever. On Sunday night, I recieved a blessing and that seemed to help me emotionally to have hope that this would soon be over.
Finally on Thursday morning, I woke up without a fever and have been pretty weak but am recovering little by little. I still have a headache and hopefully that will ease too.

Hayden's Favorite Commercial

You've gotta watch this.

'Nuf said.

Soooo Big.

I'm sure most of you have seen this commercial, but I find it extremely funny.
Everytime I watch it, I want to pull out all of Aaron's old clothes and have him stand in the crib and say "so big", but I love the end tub scene the best.



The end line of the commercial is "One call and I'd have my dignity". I love it!!!

and Finally...

the last post of the day, I promise.

I was selected for a Mom's Meeting for Arizona MidDay and so we met at Metrocenter and chatted about all sorts of things. After that, we went upstairs to the Kid's Club.

Webster the Warthog kept pointing at Aaron to come dance with him, and...

Aaron kept sliding further and further under the tables.

We got a coupon for a free HotDog on a Steeeeeeek.
"Moose" is kind of a family joke, so I can see why he did it here.

Hayden loved the hat!

Oh yeah, Hayden and I were on TV. I didn't expect that they would tape the mom's group.