Expectations

We have certain expectations of our children:

• We expect them to go to church.  There have been times in their lives when they were younger that they have said they don’t want to go.  We just say, “I understand, but that’s what we do.”  So when they became teenagers, they know they are going. 
• We expect them to be respectful.  We don’t let them talk bad about people, especially their dad and me.  We are not their friends, we are their parents and deserve respect.  They say Mr. and Mrs. and Brother and Sister.  We try very hard not to let them call adults by their first name.
• We expect them to be present and on time for family prayer and scripture study every morning.  We believe this is a very important commandment which bonds our family together.  If they miss family prayer, they don’t get use of their cell phone that day. It’s great motivation to get them going every morning.
• We expect them to get good grades.  They are very fortunate to all be extremely smart, and there is no excuse for bad grades.  If they are really struggling in a class and not understanding, that is one thing.  But if they are getting bad grades because they are lazy, that is a problem.  I check their grades several times a week, and if they fall below a B-, they lose their electronics until the grades go back up.
• We expect them to fast on Fast Sunday.  This starts when they are little.  When they turn 6, they start fasting one meal, usually lunch.  When they turn 8, they fast both breakfast and lunch.  We talk a lot during they day about what they are fasting for (are they fasting, or are they going hungry).  This may seem a little young, but it gives them a good foundation to stand on when they get older. 
• Basically, we expect them to obey the commandments.  We do work with them and help them understand why, and help them to develop their testimonies.
• We expect them to practice their music instruments.  Thanks to my mother, I play they piano, so I have been able to teach them piano.  They will never be classical pianists, but if they can play the hymns, that is all I want.  They each also play another instrument, thanks to the music program at the schools.  The Teenager played the trumpet for 4 years, and now plays the guitar.  The Artist plays the drums, and is trying to learn the guitar.  The Chocoholic plays the flute.  And when The Princess is old enough, she will get to chose an instrument as well.
• We expect them to help out around the house, including daily chores.  We have a chore chart which lists who has which chores that week, so they know when I say, for example, the table needs to be set, who is responsible for that.  It eliminates a lot of arguing.

What expectations do you have for your children?

Thankful #13

I am thankful for my family.  We are a pretty unique family.  We have always been close, and still are as adults.  We all live in this valley, and we get together every Fast Sunday for ice cream and good conversation.  We are sarcastic and snarky, but it’s all done in fun.  I love being around them. 

Zeek

My sister’s dog, Zeek, had to be put to sleep today.  She got him 17 years ago, which is 119 in human years.  He was such a good dog to both my sisters.  I am so sad for both of them.  I hope they know how much I love them and I am thinking about them.  In case they don’t…

I love you Aprill and Ashlee.  We all do, and we have been praying for you today.

This is The Teenager and Zeek, 16 years ago. 

5

If I only had 5 people in my family, it would be cheaper.

When we had to buy a new car, we had to buy a mini van or SUV because 6 people don’t fit in a sedan.  There are 2 seats in the front and 3 in the back.  They frown on the 6th person riding on others laps.

And when we went to Disneyland, in the hotel, we had to get a suite because we had 6 people.  If we had only had 5, we could have gotten a single, smaller room.  They tried to tell us that we would enjoy the bigger room, but not really.  We were in the hotel so little.  It was just a place to crash at night!

But I wouldn’t trade any of my children, so I guess we just pay more!

6

There are 6 people in my family…The Doctor, The Teenager, The Artist, The Chocoholic, The Princess, and me (The Mom).  I like that it’s a nice round number.  We fit around our kitchen table perfectly!

Joy

The alarm rings at 5:25, waking me from my slumber. My back aches, as it does every morning. I sit up and pause in the dark while saying my prayers. Finally, I stumble into the bathroom, squinting in the bright light and saying good morning to my sweet husband, who gets up at 5:00.

I go downstairs, and the house is dark and quiet. I turn on lights and music to help wake the children up. I start making lunches while singing “Puppy Love” with Donny Osmond. My youngest two are off track, so I only have 2 lunches to make this morning. And it’s even easier because we have leftovers from supper last night. My teenagers love leftovers. They love cold lunch in general because they get more food and more time to eat than when they have hot lunch. The Doctor makes his own lunch because he likes to make a salad.

Lunches are done, and we have all made our way to the living room. It’s 5:50, time for family prayer. My heart swells with joy as I look around at my family kneeling in a circle. When we are finished, we kiss each other and hug. How I love this time of the morning.

The Doctor leaves, taking The Teenager with him and dropping him off at early morning Seminary, then going on his 50 minute commute to teach high school. How he does it every day is beyond me, but how grateful I am for his willingness.

The rest of the children sit down at the table and we begin reading from the Book of Mormon while I make breakfast. We finished reading it yesterday, so today we begin on 1 Nephi again. “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents…” There is something comforting about that verse. This begins the 9^th time of reading through The Book of Mormon since I started keeping track in 2005. It gives me sense of fulfillment knowing that I am teaching my children to read the scriptures. The Princess can now read a verse nearly by herself. Joy fills my heart again.

When scriptures and breakfast are over, The Artist goes to shower while The Chocoholic and The Princess go crawl back into bed. I sit on the couch and do my personal scripture reading. I am in Isaiah and struggling. I want to understand, but why so many metaphors? But I know that by reading, someday I will move on to understanding.

The Artist is back, ready for school. It is sprinkling outside, so I offer to give him a ride, but he declines. He enjoys being alone, always has, and even the rain doesn’t bother him. I send him off, and then I get in the shower. The hot water relaxes my back and I feel ready for the day.

I dress and come downstairs. The house is quiet as I walk around opening the blinds, letting the sunlight fill the dark corners. It is supposed to rain most of the day, but for now the sun is shining and I thank my Heavenly Father for my blessings. Joy fills my heart to overflowing as I thank Him for all that I have been given. It is 8:15 and what a wonderful start to my day.

Relatives

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!

Scanning Pictures

For my screensaver on my computer, I have it scroll through all my pictures randomly. I have all my digital pictures on my computer. ALL of them. I have 92 folders, and each folder has probably 300-400 pictures at least. I love watching the screen saver scroll through them all. I love pictures of my kids.
However, I didn't get my first digital camera until December of 2001. By then The Teenager was 8, so I had taken a lot of pictures. I have the negatives in a box...in the garage...somewhere. But those aren't fun to look at. And they don't scroll by on my computer. And it appears that my boys weren't ever babies! LOL
So I have started scanning in all my pictures. I don't even want to know how many I have to do. I can scan 3-4 at a time, but it still takes time. Pull them out of the scrapbook, put them on the scanner, pre-scan, make sure all the borders are correct, scan, take them off the scanner, put them back in the scrapbook, and start over again with a new group. Then I am going to have to go in and rename them so they are in the right order because I am just that OCD.
But I don't care how long it takes. I am going to keep plugging away. Because I want to have them all digitalized. I have one binder done, which is The Doctor's and mine from 1991-1995. As I was scanning, I came across this picture of the cutest little girl.

Yes, that just happens to be me. Aren't I cute? On the left is my Aunt Judy, holding me is my grandma (Mom's mom) and on the right is my other grandma (Dad's mom). I love that I have a picture with me and my grandmas.
So now that my boys have childhood pictures, I will be posting more of them, mainly on the days when I don't have time to write. So enjoy!

Pictures

Did you notice my new picture on my header?
My friend Tia is taking photography classes and needed volunteers to get their pictures taken. Um, free family pictures? I'm in! We went yesterday afternoon to Wheeler Farm and spent about 45 minutes posing. At 8:30 Tia called and had the pictures ready for us! I was amazed at how awesome they are!
Thanks Tia! Anytime you need more practice, you can call me!

My Grandma

I love my grandparents so much. But this post is about my Grandma. She married my Grandpa in the temple and then watched him leave for World War 2. She raised 5 children who are all active in the gospel. She taught 2nd grade for years and I even got to be in the school where she taught for 4 years. I loved the attention I got from her. She taught me to crochet. She taught me to make her potato salad. When The Doctor was going to school, he lived with them that summer and she made sure he always had plenty to eat. I love her.

And now she is dying. That is what the doctor said. She has cancer. Pancreatic cancer. Which has a median life span after diagnosis of 3-6 months. I can't even talk about it because I am so sad.

I know she has to die sometime. But why cancer? I hate this. I want her to live forever. And I know that after she goes, my Grandpa won't be far behind.

But I am so grateful for the gospel, and the knowledge that we will all be together after we die. I will only have to say goodbye for a short time.

I love you Grandma. Thank you for being such a wonderful example to me and to my husband and my children.

Secret Quiet Time

So I was asked what I do in my secret quiet time when the kids are all gone to school.

LOL

LOL

LOL

LOL

LOL

Sigh

I work. I am very blessed to be able to work at home, but that means that I am working when the kids are gone so when they are home, I can give them attention.

I love my job. I don't love working, but I love what I do. I cannot imagine having to work at a job that I hate. I have a hard enough time leaving for work! When I get there, I enjoy what I do and I am happy. Next year will be easier because The Princess will be in kindergarten and I won't have to get a babysitter. I am really looking forward to that.

When I work at home and The Princess is here, she has learned to entertain herself because I can't play with her. I just can't. Work has to be done. My clients aren't going to understand that they didn't get their payroll because I was playing Barbie's!

So on Monday's, my sil watches The Princess. She has a little girl that is only 1 1/2 months younger that The Princess, so they play together. They have their moments, but they do well together. I drop her off at 8:15 and pick her up at 2:30.

Tuesdays' she is in preschool in the morning, so I work here while she is gone. We have lunch, then she goes down for a nap while I work some more.

Wednesday my sil brings her daughter here and I watch them while I work.

Thursday and Friday is preschool, so same schedule as Tuesday. However, I try to have my work for the week done on Thursday so I can play on Friday. That doesn't always happen, though.

All in all, it is a pretty good schedule. Except in the afternoons I get really sleepy! I sometimes end up taking a nap instead. Have I mentioned how much I love naps? LOL

So there you go. More info than anyone wanted to know.

Happy Anniversary to my parents!

Today is my Mom and Dad's 39th wedding anniversary. They are amazing people who have taught me so much. They have had financial trials up the wazoo, and it was my Mom who gave me strength through the last 3 1/2 years. I could call her and cry and she knew exactly how I was feeling because she had been there, and worse. I love them both so much and I want them to know that.



Happy Anniversary!

My schedule

We'll see how this post goes. As I was typing the title, I misspelled "schedule" 6 times!

I thought I would give you an idea as to my typical week.

Monday:

4:55: The Doctor's alarm goes off. I try to go to back to sleep.
5:25: My alarm goes off. Get up and shower.
5:45: Wake the boys up and say family prayer. The Doctor leaves for work.
6:00: Scripture reading for 1/2 hour. We also sing a hymn at the end. We tried singing it at the beginning, but it always wakes up The Princess, and I need that extra 25 minutes before dealing with her!
6:30: Make breakfast. Monday is pancakes.
7:00: The Teenager leaves for school. I am getting ready for work and getting The Princess ready, and "encouraging" The Artist and The Chocoholic to get ready, do their chores and get their piano practicing done.
7:45: The Artist and The Chocoholic leave for school.
8:10: I drive The Princess to her cousin's house to play while I am at work.
8:50: Arrive at work.
12:00: Leave office, go to a client's office to work there.
About 1:00: Work done, go pick up The Princess. When we get home, I put her down for a nap, and usually have to finish up some work (I get on a computer remotely and work from home).
3:30: The Teenager gets home. Does chores and piano.
3:45: The Artist and The Chocoholic get home. The Princess gets up from nap. We all have a snack.
About 5:30: The Doctor comes home from work. We eat supper, then have Family Home Evening.
7:00: The Princess goes to bed, The Artist and The Chocoholic go to their rooms for reading time.
8:00: The Artist and The Chocoholic go to bed, The Teenager goes to his room for reading time. The Doctor and I finally get some alone time.
9:00: The Teenager goes to bed.
Somewhere between 9:30 and 11:00: The Doctor and I go to bed.

Tuesday:
Breakfast is oatmeal.
The Princess doesn't have to be to preschool until 9:30, so I usually get an hour of work done before we leave.
9:10: Leave for preschool.
9:30: Drop The Princess off at preschool, go to client's office and work.
11:30: Finish work, go pick up The Princess at preschool, go home.
1:00: Lunch, then naps. I work while she is sleeping.
The rest of the day, same as yesterday, only no Family Home Evening.

Wednesday:
Breakfast is egg sandwiches.
This is the one day that I don't have to go anywhere. But I work at home, so I am on the computer by 8:00. I try to wait until The Artist and The Chocoholic are gone to school. The Princess pulls out her Polly Pockets. She LOVES Polly Pockets, especially the Princess ones (go figure!).
10:00: The cousin who played with The Princess on Monday comes to our house today while her mom gets to go play by herself.
12:00: Lunch
1:00: Quiet time with a movie while I work.
2:30: The cousin goes home.
The rest of the day is pretty much the same as yesterday.

Thursday:
Breakfast is Cream of Wheat.
8:00: Work on the computer.
9:10: Take The Princess to preschool.
9:50: Get home. Work.
11:10: Leave to pick up The Princess from school.
11:50: Get home. Lunch.
1:00: Nap time, but I get to work!
The rest of the afternoon is the same.
5:50: Take The Chocoholic and The Artist to Scouts.
6:50: Take The Teenager to Mutual, pick up The Chocoholic and The Artist.
The rest is the same.

Friday:
Breakfast is hot chocolate and toast.
The rest of the morning is the same as yesterday.
1:30: The Teenager gets home from school, parks in front of the PlayStation.
1:45: The Artist and The Chocoholic get home from school, park in front of the computer. I go up to my bedroom and take a much needed nap!
6:00: The Doctor and I try to go out tonight and catch up with each other. Sometimes it's just going grocery shopping. But we are together, and we are alone, and that is what matters!

Saturday:
The Doctor and I sleep in. The kids have strict instructions to be quiet and pretty much give The Princess whatever she wants so we don't get woken up. Now, when I say I sleep in, that means I don't get up until 7:30. It's so lovely!
Breakfast is cold cereal.
The rest of the day we just play it by ear. Nothing scheduled if we can help it. I try and have the kids do yard work on Friday so we can just play today.

Sunday:
Everyone sleeps in since there is no TV allowed. I get up around 7:00 and shower and enjoy and nice quiet morning. The Princess usually gets up around 7:30, but we have snuggles and just enjoy the peace. The Artist and The Chocoholic usually get up around 8:00, and I wake The Teenager and The Doctor up at 9:00.
Breakfast is cold cereal, unless it's Fast Sunday. Then only The Princess gets to eat!
11:00-2:00: Church, but we have to get there by 10:30 so The Teenager can prepare the sacrament.
When we get home, we have a quick light lunch, and then The Princess, The Doctor and I go nap while the others play games or read the funnies or play outside.
Sunday evening is supper and family time.

I have started to hate Sunday evening because that means I have to go to work Monday. I just keep telling myself that I could have a much worse job.

Mother of the Year! Totally!

So I have redeemed myself. On my way home from work Monday, I heard on the radio that the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point was only $2 admission for the month of August. So we decided to surprise the kids and go there. We haven't done anything this year, due to lack of money. I figured I could splurge and spend $12 on them.


So we picked up The Artist and The Chocoholic after school and took off. They all knew something was up because we wouldn't let them ride their bikes to school. But I kept quiet! I did give them one hint without them knowing it was hint...I put on the DVD of "Dinosaurs" for them to watch on the way down.
So we arrived and as we pulled into the parking lot, they all saw where we were and got so excited! Well, with the exception of The Teenager, who is too cool to get excited about anything anymore.


It was so fun to go through the museum again. The last time we were there was about 5 years ago.

The Teenager loved reading the labels for each dinosaur and learning more about them.


The Artist and The Chocoholic just ran from one display to another.

The Princess just loved everything about it, mostly when we walked in outer space. She thought that was too cool!


It was very cool and fun to go. They want to go every Tuesday for the rest of the month now! LOL
The only bad thing was that there were soooooo many people there! It was hot and after 2 hours of walking around, I was tired and ready to go home.
But I am so glad we went, and I am off the black list again (I think...The Teenager hasn't gotten out of bed yet)!

New names

So I am tired of just putting first letters for my family's names. Everyone uses such cute pseudonym's for their kids. So I have come up with fun names.

T is the doctor **edited T is The Doctor

t is the teenager **edited t is The Teenager
n is the artist **edited n is The Artist
c is the chocoholic **edited c is The Chocoholic
k is the princess **k is The Princess

Me? I'm the mom. **edited I'm The Mom

My Daddy

This is my Dad.

He loves to take pictures. We teased him so much that for a while, he quit taking them. But we convinced him that we were teasing him out of love. Plus we realized that we had all quit bringing our cameras when we got together because we knew he would take them, and suddenly no one had pictures! LOL

He is a work horse. I remember growing up and working in the yard on Saturdays and working until 9:00 at night. I hated it then, and have completely rebelled against it as an adult, but I am so grateful that he taught me to work hard. Because when I do have a huge project to do (sod from their yard to ours) and I am hurting and sore and crying, I keep going because I know I will be so glad that I did.

He makes the BEST cheese-egg sandwiches. My kids love to sleep over there because they know they will get his world famous cheese-egg sandwiches for breakfast, and possibly lunch! They are so good. And no matter how hard I try, I just can't make them the same as he does. Or maybe it's just because I had to make them, and didn't have someone serve me!

My dad has a firm testimony of the church. He knows the gospel is true, and I know he knows. I love that. I love that he holds and honors his priesthood. I never doubted that growing up. I knew (and still know) that if I ever needed a blessing, I could ask him and he would be willing.

So Daddy, I love you. Thank you for everything. You are my hero.