time flies..........

i have been a slacker at blogging!! so, i'm back! gotta get on top of this and stay current!

a wonderful time............

last night a group of ladies from church got together for a birthday bash out on the town to celebrate two wonderful women turning 40 yrs old!

gracie..........

today is gracie's 8th birthday. it is so hard to believe that our baby girl is 8 yrs old. i remember the day she was born and how beautiful she was. i couldn't have imagined looking at her 8 years later and thinking that she is just as beautiful as she was the day she was born.

our gracie is such a blessing in our lives. she is so kind and generous. she is patient and happy. she is spunky and creative. she is sensitive and caring!

i am so glad she chose to be in our home! we love her so much!

happy birthday gracie!

maxwell...........

this morning max joined jackson, ela, and olivia in the "tubes" club! we got him up bright and early and took him to the ent. the dr said he had pus packed in his little canals that had to be sucked out! nasty i know! since he has gotten home he hasn't stopped! he acts like nothing happened today, which makes me happy! the only thing that i can see is different is that he can hear sounds he didn't hear before.......he turns his head and looks around! he is happy!

i credit the small ear canals to joseph........just so you know! :)

this past week..............

this past week was one of the hardest weeks of my mommy life! joseph was out of town from monday to wednesday and so that left me on my own with the kids..............that means, i did all of the running plus some! why that seems new to me at this moment, i don't know.

monday, was the slowest day. i got all of the kids up and loaded them in and took gracie and jackson to school at 8:00 am. went back and picked jackson up at 11:00am and then back to school to get gracie at 2:45pm, loading and unloading the kids up and out each time! that can where a momma out!

tuesday, was my kicker day! i got up at 6:00 that morning and then got all of the kids up and dressed and fed and loaded..........gracie and jackson to school at 8:00 am and then i dropped the twins and olivia off at a friends house at 9:00am so i could go and volunteer at ela's pre-school. off to pre-school for parent helping at 9:30am. one of my friends picked jackson up at 11:00 and took him to where the twins and livey were (thank you amy)! left pre-school at 11:30am and went to get the other kids and change ela for tap. she had to be at tap at 12:30pm, but i got to talking and ran late! ran to wal-mart to get jackson cupcakes for his birthday to take to school on wednesday and the twins and olivia fell asleep..................and then ela started screaming she had to use the potty! now when ela start screaming that, it is seconds before it comes and she has an accident! i thought i would take the back way home so she could go potty.........i'm going 25 in a 20 and low and behold, i see red lights behind me! the officer comes up and asks me why he pulled me........i told him i was going 25 and i had to get home so my child could use the potty! i did put the accent on a little thicker as well. he gave me a ticket for $140! i haven't had a ticket in YEARS! i should have turned around and had the kids pinch each other so they would all be screaming at the top of their lungs so the officer could get the full effect of the wrath of 6 kids in a bad mood...............needless to say, ela had an accident in the car! lovely! came home for an hour and then loaded everyone back up and ran to basketball practice at 5:30pm. jackson practiced till 6:30 and then we loaded back up and went and got the kids dinner (at jacksons place of choice since it was his birthday) and then back to basketball practice at 7:30 pm for gracie! 8:30 we all head home and everyone has a bath and then all are in bed by 10:00! i had had it!

my baby boy, jackson, turned 6 on tuesday! he is such a good boy! he is patient and kind to his sisters and brother and is very helpful! he tries to do his best in all that he does! we are so lucky to have him with us! it is hard to believe that he is already 6 yrs old!!

wednesday, i took gracie and jackson to school at 8:00 and then ela to school at 9:30 and then the twins and olivia and i went back to jacksons school to have cupcakes with his class! it was so much fun to be in class with him and he was really excited! we stayed with him for a bit and then left and went to get ela from pre-school at 11:30 and then back to get gracie and jackson from school at 12:00 (early release day)!

life gets me tired sometimes especially when joseph is traveling!

here are some random pictures i thought i would share!

max and cardin hanging out in the playroom!

max with yet another ear infection! poor baby!

cardin getting a lift from dad at the drs office!

olivia and ela playing dress up!

closeup of olivia!

ela after her pet parade at pre-school! her favorite mouse received an award for "the quietest pet!"

gracie in her baptism dress before she had her pictures done and olivia wanted to dress up just like her!

kids say the darnest things............

as i was tucking gracie in tonight, she said, "mom, i'm so glad i didn't get strep eye this week!"

ela has informed joseph and i that she is so glad that we went to the hospital and bought the babies, a boy and a girl, to be in our family!

here she comes........

cardin has decided that she is going to start walking. she is something! she stands up and bends one leg to step and the other leg remains straight! her legs are so chunky and round, i don't know how she does it! she gets so excited and we get excited with her........max on the other hand, just watches her. he is content to sit and watch! they are as different as night and day!

my babies are almost 14 1/2 months old. i will never have another 14 month old of my own. makes me sad! they grow up way to fast! (how old am i??)

go get'm cardin! we are so proud of you!

airing my dirty laundry........

LiTeRaLlY!!!! i don't think that anyone can understand the shear volume of laundry that i have in my house on any given day!! i recently went on a laundry hiatus....................for about 4 weeks (no kidding)! i pulled all of it out of my laundry room 2 days ago and decided it was time to catch up!

sadly, my family still has drawers/closets full of clothing!

brace yourself, all of my OCD sisters! it is FrIgHtEnInG!!!

i can assure you that my laundry room does not look like this now! it was utter MaDnEsS!!

the first week results are in...........

so, the official pounds lost for week one are 3 pounds......not to bad but not what i was expecting. as of yesterday, i had lost 4.6 pounds and then went and shot that by eating steak for dinner later than i should have, thus, 1.6 pound gain! i really wanted to report that i had lost 4.6 pounds for the week and pray that i made up for it next week, but, what does that say about me?? so, i didn't lie....i told the sad truth....on a good note, i am 3 pounds lighter!!!! tomorrow is a new week and i am committed, right?

i am going through a dilemma right now though........this weight thing is really quit tricky. as we all do, i want this stuff gone and quick. my history is such that i have never had to worry about my weight.........i graduated high school weighing 113 pounds....i left for my mission weighing 119 pounds.........my heaviest was 255 pounds on the day i had the twins (november 3, 2008). needless to say right now i am between 113 pounds and 255 pounds :) !!! anyway, getting back to the subject, am i doing the right thing "diet" for me and my body?? is what i'm doing the best to maximize the total weight lost? DILEMMA!!!

regardless of what i do, i have to do something! i want to show you what i saw in the mirror of our expidition while i was waiting to pick up a prescription..............
lets get a closer view, shall we?
anyone see that horrible quadruple chin?? (don't mind the water spots on the mirror.....we do live in washington state!!) further motivation to stay on track!

i have been on the hunt for a treadmill. one of my friends had one and donated it to the cause and i parked that bad boy in my living room facing the tv. talking about an elephant in the room! my thought was that it would make me feel bad to sit on my rump when i could actually be doing something if the tv is on later at night. the downside of the treadmill is that it shorts out whenever it feels like it, which puts a damper on continuity!! i had joseph look at it today and while i was working out on it, the thing started sparking and the smell of smoke was in the air. not good! on to plan two..........i'm trying to figure that out!

anyway, i went to the baby shower of a friend last night. she had her 5th baby and she is beautiful! there is something about a new baby that brings me to my knee's! it was so good to spend a little bit of "away from church time" with so many great ladies! our ward (aka. church or congregation) is SO big and there are SO many people there that it is sometimes hard to associate and get to know everyone. i have been here for 2 1/2 years and feel like i have barely scratched the surface with getting to really KNOW people here. it's exciting to me! i wish that we had the chance to have downtime more often. time to talk and to get to know one another! the baby shower was a sweet celebration for my friend and her newest princess and a perfect time to visit with those i don't see very often! i had to leave before the shower was over but wish that i could have stayed.......maybe i will host a girls night and invite all to come.....my fear is no one would come because people don't know me! might as well try and see!

it's a new day....

i must say that i am literally starving right now! i didn't eat all day today nor did i drink until about 9:30 tonight...............as any experienced dieting person would know, that is not very effective when you are trying to lose weight!

so, i have learned some very valuable lessons lately. i realize that we have experiences to make us grow as a person in one way or the other. i, my friends, have been internalizing all that has transpired over the last week and have learned that i am just 1 person. my friends will be my friends. otherwise, it is not all about me and i need to let it go. so, i think i will. enough said.

on a "lighter" note, i'm on a hunt for a treadmill....i could go and buy one but i tend not to have much luck with spur of the moment decisions (anybody remember the puppy??)! i don't want to put a lot into it until i am "committed"! i have a vision...........we will see how it turns out!

less than loved.....

i'm feeling a little less than loved the past couple of days. had a misunderstanding with a couple of my girlfriends a couple of days ago...............

so what's bothering me? i guess it's the fact that it even happened. i know that a bunch of girls together are normally considered "catty" among other things.......i have felt since i have been in washington that the people who i have become friends with have been honest, up front, strong, independent, trustworthy "sisters".....and that is what i consider each one of my friends.

bottom line is the whole "girlfriend" thing can be a little overwhelming at times. part of true friendship involves growing and bouncing off of one another, in good times and bad. true friendships go through those ups and downs and come out stronger in the end. i have never been in an area with such strong woman around me......there are those who can have a perfect home, the hardest church calling, a husband who walks on water, a handful of well-dressed children who have manners, be completely presentable 100% of the time, and deliver nothing but excellence......now don't get me wrong.....i know that is not entirely true and that everyone has an issue or two but denial is bliss sometimes to those looking in!!! on the other hand, i have felt uplifted and buoyed by said women. i have the desire to be better because of those around me.................................

i promised myself a long time ago that i would not hold my feelings in when something needs to be said, good or bad. i can't afford to have my insides eaten up with worry and "what if's" racing through my never ending thoughts. it's just one of those things.

anyway, my mood the last couple of days has been less then exciting to say the least. maybe it's my innate self torture that is pulling me down for the misunderstanding even happening. at times like this i feel very secluded even though i'm not.

let me just put it out there for you......whoever you are. a peak into my heart and soul. it is raw and exposed! nevertheless, i love my girlfriends. i read in "the" magazine the other day that there are three apecific things that a woman has to have in her life to keep her stress level down and the #1 asset was girlfriends. i agree!

so there you have it.....if i weren't on a diet i would go and get ice cream with m&m's and reeses peanut butter cup, but alas.....that is all!!!!!

january 1, 2010

first day back on the diet hasn't been to bad! i created my profile on my 2 wii programs (according to wii fit, my wii age is 31... ;0) ) and created a new goal on my bodybugg program. i got 5 out of 6 meals in today......and i found my floor in my bedroom! not to bad for the first day of 2010~and i only have 57 pounds to lose instead of 60! i feel lighter already!

on a sad note, i have 3 kids who are not feeling very well! max has a double ear infection and cardin and olivia are having some major breathing issues! it's so hard when they struggle!