I was looking through my archives to find an old post when I discovered that today is my 1 year blogiversary! It totally doesn't feel like it's been a year.

So in honor of me sticking with this for an entire year, I am going to post my favorite blog post from each month. Enjoy!

March - I Love My Hubby I started out with a bang by posting once in February and once in March. Thank goodness I got better at this!

April - Pink I should post this every month, just to remind you (as if you could ever forget!).

May - The Poopie List I laugh and laugh and laugh every time I read this. I guess that is why I was blessed with 3 boys!

June - Natural Birth I still am grateful I did it my way. I loved giving birth.

July - Naps Still one of my favorite things to do!

August - Lice It felt so good to get this out in the open and say, "Yes, just because my child got lice doesn't mean we have a filthy home! Good people get it too!"

September - Awesome sisters I love my family. We are there for each other and still laugh at each other too. It's great!

October - My Schedule I thought typing it up would be easy. I had no idea how busy I was. And how much busier I would get!

November - Snow It's days like this that get me through the rest of them!

December - Nutcracker Who knew my brother and his wife were so talented? I love watching this.

January 2009 - Things That Make Me Laugh Who knew I would own not one, but two blogs!

February - Self Esteem I was feeling so down and so many people commented and really helped lift my spirits. I am so grateful to all of them!


So here's to another year of random babbling!
I have to say that I am enjoying the stage of life we are in right now. I have been through the baby stage and as much as I loved my babies (and would love to hold and snuggle one right now), I am really loving having my children be older. If The Doctor and I want to go out on a date, we tell The Teenager to make supper and The Chocoholic to watch The Princess and we leave. They know the rules, bedtimes and such, and we just leave. They are also instructed NOT to call us unless someone is bleeding. And they don't! It's wonderful.

Tuesday morning I took the Princess to preschool and came home to get in the shower. As I was getting ready to get in, I stopped and took notice of a funny noise in the house. I listened carefully and guess what it was?

It was silence.

Quiet.

Peace.

Heaven.

No one bugging me, no one asking me to put on a Polly Pocket dress, no Wii or computer games filling the house with pointless music.

I took my shower and when I got out, I walked around the house in my towel, marveling at the fact that after 10 years, I could do that again. Once my oldest got about 5, I quit going around in a towel. Heck, I even have to wear a bra to go out of my bedroom! LOL

As I was doing my hair and makeup, I listened to the quiet and enjoyed being alone. And I marveled at the fact that these days will become more and more frequent. And I will be alone more and more.

And more.

Suddenly, I was sad. So I went and picked up The Princess from preschool and hugged her a little longer before I let her go.
So my husband turns 40 in April.

He hates parties, he hates surprises, and he hates celebrating his birthday.

So I thought I would have a big surprise party for him! LOL

Put April 11th, a Saturday night...which is his actual birthday, on your calendars. And keep it a secret.

Now I just have to figure out how to get him out of the house. Any ideas?
Thanks for being such a great example to my sons. And daughter. And my husband. And me.

We love you.
I have not sat down with The Princess and taught her about guilt. I have not taught her how to say things that will stick a knife in my heart and twist until I bawl. And yet...she has mastered it. Whether intentional or not, she is a pro.

On Mondays, I work in the office, so she gets to go to her cousin's house to play. This morning she was coughing a little tiny bit.

She said to me, "Mommy, I am sick. I can't go."

I said, "The Princess, you are just fine. You are going."

She said, "Okay. Maybe they will take care of me."

Ouch.
Owning a house is a privilege, NOT a right.

We waited until we could afford a house before we bought one. And we bought a house we could afford at the moment. It was small, but it was adequate.

I did not do an interest only loan in order to get into a bigger house than I could really afford.

I did not get a variable rate so I could get a smaller rate in the hopes that in a few years I would be able to refinance before the rate changed.

So why should I have to bail out all those people who to were too greedy and stupid to buy a house they couldn't afford?

I understand that situations happen, people loose jobs, etc. But we are in our current crisis because people bought houses they couldn't afford. I am not going to blame the banks because they were all just trying to make a buck. That is their job. It isn't their job to be the moral compass.

Maybe I should stop paying on my mortgage for a few months and then I can get my loan refinanced for free, or I can get the government to force my lender to lower what I owe on my house.

I am ticked off.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/05/real_estate/bail_outs_fair_or_foul/index.htm
I love to say tutu. I love all sing-song words. But I digress.

Miss Priss Tutus has created a new tutu out of organza and it is gorgeous! The princess would look so cute in it!

Go to her website here to see it and to enter her contest to win it.

Oh wait. Don't go. Then I will have a better chance at winning!
I have been thinking about posting about this for a while, and now JustRandi beat me to the punch.

I don't get it. Yeah, it's been great because I have been able to reconnect with two friends from high school and college. But then we exchanged emails and there is no need for Facebook anymore.

Practically everyone in my ward are on it, and more are joining all the time. We sisters have discussed Facebook etiquette and how if we are going to be "friends" with the husband, we must become "friends" with the wife first. You know, to avoid any misunderstanding! LOL

However, I don't understand when people send me "stuff" requesting stuff back. Why? What's the point? And becoming fans of things? And honestly, I don't care to know what you are thinking or doing right now. It seems kind of silly. If I want to know, I will call you. What, you haven't gotten a call from asking what you are doing right at this very moment? It's because I don't care! LOL

I'm not trying to be rude, and if you enjoy all this stuff, more power to you. I just don't get it.

P.S. I do love the flair! There are some really funny ones out there!
I snagged this meme from Jean @ Working Momma 247. It’s one of those ipod shuffle memes where you shuffle for a song title to be the answer for each question. Except this one is all parenting related, which makes it cute, fun and different. I don't have an ipod shuffle, so I just used my Windows Media player. 
HOW DID YOU BECOME A MOM?
Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid soundrack. 
WHAT DID YOU THINK THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BABY?
Mother, When I See You Smile by Janice Kapp Perry.
WHAT DID YOU DO THE FIRST MORNING AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT?
Press Forward Saints from the LDS hymnbook. 
WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE COLORS ON THE WALL?
The Monkey's Uncle by Annette Funicello and The Beach Boys.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A TODDLER’S BODILY FLUID ISSUES?
Perpetual Emotion by The Nylons.
IF SOMEONE SAYS “Can I have a snack?” YOU SAY?
Right Here Waiting by Clay Aiken.
IF SOMEONE LEAVES THEIR STUFF ON THE FLOOR, YOU SAY?
The Scriptures Tell Me I Can Too.  Hee, hee!
IF SOMEONE ISN’T SICK TODAY, YOU SAY?
Breaking Free from High School Musical.
HOW DO YOUR KIDS ENJOY YOUR COOKING?
I Love You by Janeen Brady.
HOW DID YOUR KIDS DO IN SCHOOL TODAY?
The Oxcart from The Children's Songbook.
HOMESCHOOLERS, WHAT IS THE FIRST SUBJECT TAUGHT OF THE DAY?
Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious from Mary Poppins.
WHAT DO YOUR KIDS WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP?
Hurts So Good by John Mellancamp from the Footloose soundtrack.
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY AS A MOM?
Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime? from the Children's Songobook.
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE AS A MOM?
When I Go To Church from the Children's Songbook.
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO AS A MOM?
Sabbath Prayer from Fiddler on the Roof.
HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE REALLY A MOM?
Too Much Fun by The Forester Sisters.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MOST OFTEN AS A MOM?
Sleigh Ride by Billy Gilman.
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY AS A MOM?
Remember the Child by Brett Raymond.
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET AS A MOM?
Simon Says by Janeen Brady.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE AS A MOM?
In the Hollow of Thy Hand by Janice Kapp Perry.
WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
The Hunt from the Star Child soundtrack
WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU CRY?
I Can't Go For That by Donny Osmond.
WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
A Life So Changed from the Titanic soundtrack.
HOW DO YOUR KIDS DESCRIBE YOU AS THEIR MOM?
Tears Flowing Fast by Kenneth Cope.  LOL
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Master and Servant by Depeche Mode.
WHAT WILL YOUR MOM OF THE YEAR CERTIFICATE SAY?
I Pledge Myself to Love the Right from The Children's Songbook.

So after doing that, I realized that I have a very pathetic song collection!  LOL  But it was fun to do!
The Hero Factory
I had so much fun doing this!  And so did my kids!  Below is my hero.
MyHero
1. Was your pregnancy planned? Yes, we tried for 3 1/2 years. Yes, that says years. It wasn't until I lost 36 pounds that I was able to get pregnant.
2. Were you married at the time? Yes.
3. What were your reactions? We were in shock. We had decided we were done because #3 was 5 years old. She slipped in just under the wire!
4. Was abortion an option for you? Never.
5. How old were you? 31
6. How did you find out you were pregnant? Home pregnancy test.
7. Who did you tell first? My hubby's mom. She was so excited for us. My mom and dad were gone on a trip, and I wanted to tell them before anyone else on my side of the family, so we waited a whole week before we could tell anyone on my side!
8. Did you want to find out the sex? Absolutely! And when the technician said it was a girl, I started laughing and crying. I was laughing so hard, my belly was shaking and she couldn't keep the wand on! It was funny!
9. What was your due date? August 20.
10. Did you have morning sickness? No.
11. What did you crave? ?
12. What irritated you? Everything!
13. What was the sex of your fourth child? A girl.
14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? I felt guilty for being so happy that I was having a girl. If I had had another boy, I would have been happy too, and we even had a name picked out for him!
15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25
16. Did you have a baby shower? Yes. My mom and my aunt gave me one. It was so nice. They are classy women. Because she came early, the baby shower was 5 days after her birth. So of course I got to put on maternity clothes to go! LOL But it was nice because everyone held the baby and I just got to open presents without being the center of attention!
17. Were they a surprise? No.
18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nope.
19. Where did you give birth? At the hospital I had to give birth at because our insurance wouldn't cover the other hospital or my doctor that I loved!
20. How many hours were you in labor? My water broke in the shower that morning, and my hubby was teaching his last day of classes, so I called and told him. He taught his class (his students thought he was insane for not rushing home, but when it's your fourth, you kind of know what is going to happen!), and then came home. We got to the hospital at 11:00 and it was 1:30 when the doctor decided to start me on Pit. I didn't hardly even feel the contractions until 4:55. Then it was only 2 hours and 15 minutes of labor before she was born.
21. Who drove you to the hospital? My hubby, after he got home from teaching.
22. Who watched you give birth? My hubby and my mom.
23. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
24. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Nope. I started asking for an epidural and my hubby wouldn't let me. I am so glad too because it was only 15 minutes later that she was born.
25. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 1 oz. My smallest baby!
28. When was your child actually born? August 13, 2004 at 7:12 p.m.
30. What did you name him/her? The Princess.

1. Was your pregnancy planned? Kind of. With #1, Ihad been on the pill for 4 months, and it took us 4 months to get pregnant. With #2, I had been on the pill for 7 months, and it took us 7 months to get pregnant. I had just started going back to school when we decided to start trying. I had been on the pill for 12 months, so we figured it would take us at least that long to get pregnant, and then with the pregnancy, I would almost be done with school when I was due. Well, Heavenly Father had other things in mind. I went off the pill and didn't even have a period before I got pregnant!
2. Were you married at the time? Yes.
3. What were your reactions? We were stunned. Yes, we were trying, but really weren't expecting it that quickly. And then the doctor said that when you get pregnant right off the pill, there is an increased chance for twins. He immediately took me to the ultrasound room and checked. Thank goodness there was only one!
4. Was abortion an option for you? Never
5. How old were you? 25
6. How did you find out you were pregnant? Home pregnancy test. I always get really cranky and mean and one night I was at my wit's end and I jokingly said, "I wonder if I am pregnant." Well, I had a test, so the next morning I peed on it and it was positive!
7. Who did you tell first? I don't know. We never kept them a surprise, so I am sure our parents.
8. Did you want to find out the sex? Definitely! I wanted a girl so badly. The pregnancy was so different from the other two that I just knew we were having a girl. I even went and bought girl clothes. The night before the ultrasound, I had The Doctor give me a blessing and I was blessed with peace. So the next day when they said it was a boy, I was okay. I did cry some, but I thought I was handling it. The day after that, I was watching Oprah and she had on a woman who had 10 children, all boys. I lost it! I sobbed for 2 hours! But by the time he was born, I was ready for him and wouldn't have traded him in!
9. What was your due date? December 13.
10. Did you have morning sickness? Just slightly nauseous.
11. What did you crave? Fruit.
12. What irritated you? Don't remember.
13. What was the sex of your third child? A boy.
14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? See #8.
15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 25
16. Did you have a baby shower? Nope.
17. Were they a surprise?
18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I didn't, but the baby had Hydronephrosis. That is on my list of things to blog about. So stay tuned!
19. Where did you give birth? In the same hospital as #2.
20. How many hours were you in labor? I was induced, so from the time the needle finally got in my arm to the delivery was about 8 hours. But the first 3 hours don't count because the contractions didn't even hurt. It wasn't until the doctor broke my water that I started feeling them.
21. Who drove you to the hospital? My hubby. We had an appointment that morning to see if we should go ahead and do the induction, and when he said yes, we casually walked down the hall to the women's center. Much different than with #2!
22. Who watched you give birth? My hubby and my mom. I loved having her there.
23. Was it natural or c-section? Natural.
24. Did you take medication to ease the pain? At the end, I asked, no begged for an epidural. While it was going in, I started pushing. The nurse pushed my legs together and said I had to wait! But as soon as it was in, I flipped over and 2 minutes later he was born. So I still felt everything. We have figured out that when I start asking for an epidural, I am in transition!
25. How much did your child weigh? 8lbs exactly.
28. When was your child actually born? December 4, 1998 at 5:27 p.m.
30. What did you name him/her? The Chocoholic.

1. Was your pregnancy planned? Yes, we tried for 9 months
2. Were you married at the time? Yes.
3. What were your reactions? We were so excited!
4. Was abortion an option for you? Never.
5. How old were you? 23
6. How did you find out you were pregnant? Free pregnancy test at the hospital.
7. Who did you tell first? We told his mom first this time, then my mom.
8. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes. I had to know whether we needed to buy clothes or not.
9. What was your due date? October 24th.
10. Did you have morning sickness? Hardly at all.
11. What did you crave? Salty things. I ate a lot of Saltines.
12. What irritated you? I don't remember.
13. What was the sex of your second child? A boy.
14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? Yes, I had my boy, now I wanted a girl.
15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 40.
16. Did you have a baby shower? Nope.
17. Were they a surprise?
18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nope.
19. Where did you give birth? Almost at home or on the road, but we made it to the hospital, and I gave birth 6 minutes after arriving.
20. How many hours were you in labor? 3 1/2 hours.
21. Who drove you to the hospital? My hubby.
22. Who watched you give birth? My hubby. My mom was going to come, but I delivered too fast! The nurse delivered him because he wouldn't even wait for the doctor on call to arrive.
23. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
24. Did you take medication to ease the pain? No, it went too fast. I wasn't going to anyway.
25. How much did your child weigh? 8 lbs. 7 1/2 oz.
28. When was your child actually born? October 24th, 1996 at 7:03 a.m.
30. What did you name him/her? The Artist.


1. Was your pregnancy planned? Oh yes, we tried for 3 1/2 months.
2. Were you married at the time? Yes.
3. What were your reactions? We were so excited. We cried and hugged.
4. Was abortion an option for you? Why would this questions even be here?
5. How old were you? 20 (by one month!)
6. How did you find out you were pregnant? We suspected, and used a pregnancy test.
7. Who did you tell first? My mom, then his mom. Then everyone else we could tell!
8. Did you want to find out the sex? Kind of, but we didn't.
9. What was your due date? October 11th.
10. Did you have morning sickness? I was nauseous, but I only threw up if I ate my breakfast too fast.
11. What did you crave? Sweets.
12. What irritated you? No clue.
13. What was the sex of your first child? A boy.
14. Did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? I really wanted a girl, but I was so happy to have a baby.
15. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 50. I took the whole "eating for two" very seriously!
16. Did you have a baby shower? Yes, the place I was working for gave me one.
17. Was it a surprise? No.
18. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Just too much weight gain!
19. Where did you give birth? At the hospital.
20. How many hours were you in labor? My water broke at 3:30 a.m. and we immediately went to the hospital. 3 hours later, they put me on Pit because I hadn't started contractions yet. 6 hours and 43 minutes later, he was born.
21. Who drove you to the hospital? The Doctor (meaning my husband, not the person who did the delivery! LOL).
22. Who watched you give birth? Just my hubby. I didn't want any family in with me.
23. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
24. Did you take medication to ease the pain? We had taken Lamaze, so I was able to work through most of the pain. I did end up taking two 1/2 doses of pain killer, and wish I hadn't because all it did was put me to sleep in between the contractions, so I couldn't get on top of them.
25. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 8 1/2 oz.
28. When was your child actually born? October 5, 1993 at 1:12 p.m.
30. What did you name him/her? The Teenager. LOL Not really, but if you know me, you know his real name!

...but I did it!

40 days without sugar.

I honestly had no idea how hard it would be. I was talking to my mom, and she asked me why I was still doing it if it was so hard. I replied that I wanted to do it for myself. I don't have much willpower, and for me to be able to say that I did it feels really good.

I mean, I had all the sugar still in the house, we just bagged it up and put it under my bed. I even had some in my purse. So I knew where it was. And I could have easily eaten some and not told anyone.

But I didn't.

And that feels really, really good.
...and I have 7 posts in various stages of completeness. I will post soon. And it will be interesting. I promise!
Here we go. Should this really be part of the economic stimulus plan?
After I published my last post, I realized that I should have put that one in my journal instead of my blog. And I did not put it out there in an attempt to get praise and acclaim.

But you were all there. And you loved me, and you helped me. And I feel better.

That is what sisterhood is about. We lift each other up and help each other up when we are down.

Thank you.

What makes a person have good self esteem? Because I don't have it. I have lousy self esteem.

I am constantly putting myself down. I'm fat, I need a hair cut, my house isn't as clean as I want it, I not pretty enough, I have a zit, I'm eating too much, I'm a fat cow, etc. I say it in my head all the time.

I know that I shouldn't. But how do I stop? I can't look in the mirror and say, "I am beautiful." Because I will just laugh out loud. I don't believe it.

I want to be one of those women who can walk with their heads up and look people in the eye.

So how do I increase my self esteem? I don't know how.

But I am tired of hating myself.

Tired.