In 5 days I will officially have a child in high school, a child in junior high, a child in 5th grade, and a child in kindergarten.
I feel old. Really old. Where did the time go?
I love my boys. I really do. But now that I look back, they were so much easier to deal with 7 years ago. I thought it was so hard then and we had so many problems, but compared to what they are facing now and the temptations they have to deal with, I just wish I could go back in time and tell my old self to enjoy it while it lasts. But I can't, so I will tell you.
Enjoy your children while they are young. Yes, you are dealing with potty training and tantrums and so many things, but trust me, it's going to get easier and harder at the same time. I can leave them without getting a babysitter. In fact other than the 1 time I hired a babysitter for The Princess, I haven't paid a babysitter in over 6 years. But now we deal with girls and hair and eye rolling and yelling and fights over computer time and the many, many, many temptations that Satan is throwing at them.
So go cuddle them and hold them close. Let them be silly and crazy. They won't be small forever. And neither will their problems.
When I was pregnant with The Artist (child #2) I noticed that my blonde hair was going dark.  Well, I was born a blonde and I knew that I was going to die a blonde (no pun intended).  So I started looking to color my hair.
I knew that I wasn't going to go to a salon, because that cost way too much money.  So I went to Wal-Mart and looked at all the brands.  The brand I chose was Hydrience by Clairol.  Why?  Because the name suggested that it would keep my hair soft. 
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I used that brand faithfully for years.  I varied once in a while as to what shade I used, but I settled on Light Golden Blonde.  I loved how it looked, and my hair was so soft.  Even my hubby was surprised at how soft it was.  And I have colored my hair every 2 months since then (1996 to 2009 = 13 years!).
And then one day, it was gone.  I checked at other stores and it was no where to be seen.  I was quite upset.  I didn't know what to do.  I tried other brands, but they weren't right.  They made my hair too gray or too brassy.  I haven't been happy with my hair for about a year.
I finally decided to call Clairol and find out why they discontinued Hydrience.  I went to their website to find the phone number, and there on the homepage was a picture of a Hydrience box!  I was so excited!  I called them and it has become a low volume brand, so a lot of stores aren't carrying it, but you can still buy it online. 
I immediately went to drugstore.com and put 10 boxes in my shopping cart.  I got free shipping, no tax, and I used 3 different coupon codes to get discounts.  Honestly, I would have paid more and not cared. 
And when it came, I colored my hair that night.  It is so wonderful!  Soft and exactly the color I wanted.  I hope they don't ever discontinue it, or I am sunk!
I know I put a video up yesterday, but when I saw this this morning, I sat and cried. I know exactly what he is talking about.



Many times when The Doctor was out of work, I knelt before my Heavenly Father and cried. It didn't seem like there was any hope. And yet, during the last family crisis we were going through, I would have gone back to not having any money if we could have avoided what was happening.

Our trials are all relative, and they are for us to help us grow.

There can be no testimony without a test.
http://www.whatheavenseesinyou.com/

One dress down, two to go!
The Doctor passed his Praxis test!

The Praxis is the joke of a test that all educators have to take in order to get their teaching license. It is extremely hard and you have to know all about theroists and and how their theories apply to teaching, blah, blah, blah. Everyone hates it, but everyone has to take it. Many have to take it multiple times to pass.

He had to pass this test before the end of teaching 3 years. He did it before 1 year was up! And by passing this test, it means he now advances from a Level 1 to a Level 2 Professional Educator License.

I am so proud of him.
Whoo Hoo! I figured out how to upload from my digital video camera to my computer, converted the file, and then uploaded the movie to YouTube so I could post it here. I'm tired! LOL
Go in to 2:27 and see my son embarrass himself. And please ignore the cackling behind the camera. Someone forgets that she sounds like a shrew when recording!

I saw these posted on Pioneer Woman's website, and on Bakerella's site.  I thought they looked so cute that I wanted to try them. 
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You start with cooked cake.  Let it cool and then crumble it up into a bowl.  Dump in almost an entire tub of frosting and mix it all together.  Form them into balls and put them in the fridge for a couple hours to chill.  Melt white chocolate.  Put popsicle sticks into the cake ball so it becomes a sucker.  Dip into the white chocolate and let it harden.  I used chocolate cake, but you should try white.  I think it would coat better.  I needed 3 coats to cover the brown completely.
Then go crazy and decorate.  I was so tired by this time, that I had no motivation.  I did about 6 of each and then quit.  But the ones I did were really cute.  You should go to their websites and see the professional ones.  They are much cuter.
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This is the mess from all the decorations and crap.  It was driving me nuts.
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I doubt I will ever make them again because I don't like cake in the first place.  But come Christmas time, I think I might try to make them with my Oreo Truffles.  I just need to figure out how to make a Santa Claus.
Thanks to everyone who showed their love and concern.  But I am back and ready to share more meaningless junk with everyone!  Stay tuned...I have so much on my mind!
I will be gone for a while.  It's hard to have anything positive to say when you life is going down the crap chute.
What in the world? I am sure that is what you are thinking. Well, she is not an alien, but I have discovered the BEST CURLERS!!!!
They are called Curlformers. You buy them at Sally's. They are simple to put in, and simple to take out. The Princess even sleeps in them, and they don't fall out. I have put them in my hair and tugged and pulled hard and they won't fall out! You know how you use the foam curlers and in the morning, there is at least one that fell out during the night? Not with these!
And they dry super fast because the hair is not wrapped on top of itself. I did these the other day for her dance pictures. I soaked her hair, put them up in the Curlformers, let her eat lunch, used the hair dryer for 15 minutes, and I had perfect spiral curls. The difference in the colors? They spiral different directions...one clockwise, the other counterclockwise.
Here is a video showing how they work:
Now, I prefer them in the longer hair, like the Princess'. But they will work on any length. Following are pictures I took right after I took them out, without any styling.



I love, love, love these curlers. Now, they aren't cheap. I had to buy extra long curlers, and there were 6 in the package (3 pink and 3 yellow) for $12. I used 5 packages of curlers. But they are so worth the money! They have shorter curlers, and they have wider and narrower sizes as well. If you want to see them in person, come on over. I love to show them off!
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Here are pictures of her hair after I have separated the curls and styled it. Starting at the bottom, after I took each curler out, I separated it with my fingers, then hair sprayed it. It seriously took me about 10 minutes and her hair was done! I love it!

I refuse to turn Easter into Christmas. We need one holiday that is Christ-centered. When I was growing up, we didn't even do the Easter bunny. But The Doctor did. So we compromised. We color eggs on Friday, the Easter Bunny comes on Saturday, and Sunday we focus on Christ.

I gave up buying new church clothes for the boys for Easter years ago because with all the hand-me-downs, The Chocoholic had several shirts and pants! So now I just buy a new dress for The Princess (or 3 like I did this year), and the boys get a new tie. They don't care because they are boys.
How is it that in the space of 5 seconds, someone I love can say one sentence that breaks my heart? And they say it in a room full of people, so I have to swallow the tears and pretend that everything is okay?

One comment can change my self esteem drastically. 4 words. They can let me know exactly where I stand with that person. I have known, but they have never verbalized it.

And now everything is different. Only they don't know it because they probably don't even remember making the comment. But I will never forget.

And don't worry...it's not anyone who reads this blog. I am not going to say anything more. But take this plea...think before you talk. This is something I could do more of too. And I will. Because I hope to never hurt anyone like I was hurt.
Type in your first name and then the word "needs" or "wants" in the search bar. It then tells you what you 'need' or 'want'.
Camille needs:
...a duck to keep her company. (Really, I have 4 children.  I don't need a duck.)
...issues addressed on the level of feelings.
...a more sophisticated understanding of what kinds of relations may hold across a string or words than it currently has.  (Huh?)
...to be gentler and less of a perfectionist. (Now this one is true!)
...help for her family. (Don't we all!)
...dental emergency treatment. (I hope not!)
...some training on how to walk on a leash. (LOL)
...men. (No thanks, I got one!)
Camille wants:
...everyone to answer the phone. (Not always.  I don't mind leaving messages. It gets me off the hook.)
...Marks and Francs. (I am assuming this means money, and yes, I want some!)
...wants the evening to come. (Only if my hubby is going to be home!)
...to put God first. (True!)
...her fruit rollups! (Not so much.)
...to incorporate technology into her curriculum and classroom in a seamless fashion and make use of the ABEL model common place. (Huh?)
...to voyage. (Wouldn't that be nice!)
...Bill to "kill the boy...hehehe, kill the boy." (LMBO!)
I love all my relatives. We recently went up to Idaho Falls for a big family reunion, and got together with family on both sides.
This is my Aunt Connie, my mom's sister. She is such a down to earth person. She has a huge garden and it is always beautiful. For her 70th birthday, she went sky diving!

This is my Aunt Dixie, another of my mom's sisters. My mom and her sisters all laugh the same. When I am around them, I start to laugh that way too. It's very contagious!

This is my Grandpa. He is my Dad's dad. He is awesome! He is 91, and loves to go on 4-wheeling trips. Not jumping jumps, but out riding in the desert. He is struggling with not being allowed to drive anymore, though. It broke my heart when I heard they had to take his keys away. He was always such an independent person. He was the one always helping and doing for others.

My Grandma. She taught 2nd grade and when I was in 2nd grade, I was in her school, but I wasn't allowed to be in her class because she would favor me. I still remember the day it was raining and she let me use her umbrella to walk home so I wouldn't get wet. I am proud to say that I can make her potato salad perfectly!

I have more pictures, but I'm not going to bore you. Needless to say, I have a wonderful extended family and I am so grateful that I am sealed to all of them for eternity!