Our Year in Review

After careful consideration, and help from a friend, I'm going to try doing our review by month. Since this is the first time trying anything like this, wish me the best :)

January - February: Well, this was the first of the year and none of us can remember anything. The only thing I do know is that we finally recovered from our cold from hell and got all the Christmas decorations put away. February always consists of Valentines day, but we had decided to boycott it this year. I felt as though we didn't need a specific date that we have to tell each other we love each other and if it doesn't come with diamonds then it's not good enough. We had a family Valentines day and I made us a fancy dinner and we played games.

March: I had my first Latte from Starbucks (I was good, there was no coffee). I also got to have a girls night out with my sister, the first of only two. Not much else happened this month. I think this might have been when Kenny was put on insulin but I could be wrong. Just know that at some point this year Kenny had to add insulin to his list of medications.

April: Kelton turned 13 and is now a teenager. Kenny and I celebrated our 16th Anniversary. I still can't believe we have been together that long. It still feels like yesterday that we got married. Easter was also in April this year and we were even nice parents this year and bought dye to dye the eggs. Funny thing is, the Grandma's did most of the dyeing while Kelton, Chris, and Kenny were downstairs playing with Kelton's new stereo.

May: We had several strong storms come and they had knocked down our neighbors fence, silly side note, as soon as it hit the ground it was our fence. Since we were renting, it really wasn't our responsibility, but Kenny and the boys spent their nights and a whole Saturday rebuilding the fence. It was amazing to see them out working together. We also got this crazy notion to buy another vehicle, number 28. We found our Ford Exhibition and have loved it ever since.

June: Taylor turned 11 and we officially have another tween in the house. We also went on our first vacation in years. We rented a cabin at Moon Lake and had the most amazing week there. We also learned that "fruit snack leaches" are nocturnal and live in wood paneling. We had so much fun playing on the beach and playing board games.

July: We went out to Grantsville and watched the parade and spent the day with Kenny's family. We then went to the drive in movies with Jessie and her family and saw The Last Airbender. I don't care what other people think, we liked that movie. I also got this crazy idea to bring home a kitten. I was told that it was a girl and she is so cute, I had to name her Bella (yes, I am that big of a twerd). Just a couple months ago I found out that Bella is not a girl and so to stick with the Italian theme, Kenny suggested we name him Tony (like from the Sopranos). So, Bella is now Tony. None of us can believe how fast he has grown and he is still so handsome.

August: This is the month when all of our medical fun started. My body finally said enough was enough and I woke up one morning not able to use my left arm and was in tons of pain. Went to instacare and they said I was fine and sent me home with pain pills. I then found a wonderful doctor who was able to help me and let me know that one of my ribs was out of place, he gently put it back in place and suggested that I be tested for Fibromyalgia. He also informed me that my anxiety was out of control. I don't even remember telling him that I have anxiety. I took the boys to my new doctor and they loved him. He did their annual exam and signed all their paperwork so they could go to scout camp. Both boys went to Scout camp for the first time (they let T go a year early). Kenny was one of the adults that went and they all had so much fun. Both boys were able to pass off so much. The also started school at the end of the month; Taylor started 6th grade and Kelton started 8th grade and was on the peer leadership team.

September: My family had a little intervention and informed me that I needed to stop working. I was in so much pain and my anxiety was so out of control that I needed to slow down and get everything under control. My mom let me know, very nicely, that she truly felt that I was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Kenny later told me that he really thinks that I was having a breakdown. I quite my job and we quickly realized that we couldn't afford our house and that we needed to find someplace that was more affordable. We began apartment shopping and was able to find the perfect place for us.

October: We moved into our cute little apartment and put most of our stuff in storage (thank you Chris). Both boys decided that they wanted to change over to their new schools, so we switched them to a whole new school district. So far it has been a very good move. Both boys are doing wonderful in school and are making some good friends. Toward the end of the month we found out that I needed to have a little procedure done and that Taylor needed surgery. So, for Halloween, we rented movies and had a scary night movie fest. It was so much fun, I had a ball watching movies with our family and having that bonding time together.

November: This month started with me having an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. The next week Taylor went in for surgery number 6 to put plates on his growth plates to stop the growth in his long leg. He will need 2 more surgeries to take out the hardware and we find out in January when his next surgery will be. We also had Thanksgiving this month, obviously, and it was wonderful. This was our year with my family and everyone was there. The food was great and it was fun to visit with everyone.

December: We hit our deductible!!!!!! I got to have my second girls day out with my sister. I really don't think 2 is enough. Christmas was wonderful. We spent lots of time with family and the boys were completely spoiled. I joined the ward choir and sang in the Christmas program. We got to put tires on the Ford for the second time this year. Oh, and did I mention that we hit our deductible!! Now that we've had to pay cash for everything, I can go get a few of our prescriptions filled and not have to pay for them.

We had such a crazy (sometimes literally) year. It was good and our family has grown so close to each other. I have seen my boys care for each other when I couldn't. I have had both of them take care of me when I've had really bad days. Kenny and I have also grown closer and I've watched our marriage grow more meaningful. I have been amazed at how much help and love we've been shown by our neighbors and by our family. I hope everyone had a wonderful year as well and I wish us all an amazing 2011.

Are we moving backward?

I took my boys to see a movie and then go shopping so they could spend some of their Christmas money. We all needed a day out to just have some fun. I had 2 very important realizations that day. One, don't go to the movie theater during Christmas break on a Tuesday when they have $1 drinks and popcorn. You find out quickly that every day care in the area is there as well. We were able to buy our tickets to get in (and heard behind us 3 adults and 18 children). As for the concession stand, forget about it! The line to get drinks was wound through the lobby. I went down later to get us a drink and still had to wait 15 min. It was absolute craziness and there was children everywhere.

That was the silly part of the day. The real reason I'm writing is because of my realization number two. We went shopping at Target so the boys could get a couple things. I am such a worry wort of a mother that I never let us split up and shop separately, but this time I did. I am so happy that they weren't with me when I encountered a couple that made my mouth drop open. Here is how their conversation went:

wife, "you're stupid."

husband, tried to respond but I don't think he actually got a complete word out.

wife, "that's right, because you're stupid."

husband, hunched over and speechless.

wife, "see you are stupid."

My first thought was to walk over and tell that wife that she is a cow. I stopped myself and thought how this might impact that husband and the words never left my mouth. I did however tell her in my head that she was a cow several times.

We all know that there is still a lot of abuse out there and that most of the time the shelters for battered woman and their children are full. But, to see abuse in Target while shopping left me stunned. It also left me with my mouth hanging open because it was the wife that was the abuser. I always thought this was rare because up until a couple Oprah shows that I've seen recently, the only person that I knew of that was a man and was abused was Kelsey Grammer. My heart instantly went out to this man and couldn't help but think what it must be like at home if this is what it is like in a public place.

I stopped for a couple seconds to look around and see if anyone else had noticed what I had just noticed. No one looked in their direction or stopped what they were doing at all. Was it because she was "just" calling a man stupid? Was it because we are so accustomed to hearing people speak this way to each other that no one thought anything of it. I'm still sitting here wondering what the real story is between these two people and wondering how someone could speak to someone else that they are supposed to love the way she did. I know that right now when it should be a happy time for most families that in reality it ends up being the most stressful time of the year and that this is when the most abuse occurs. In this particular circumstance, I don't know their whole situation and I could be jumping to conclusions. My heart still goes out to that man and I hope he is doing okay.

People have been trying for years to raise awareness of abuse and that it can happen to anyone. I have been watching it in my family for years and am always amazed that anyone would allow themselves to be controlled (yes, that is a form of abuse). I'm amazed that with all the help out there people still allow themselves to be hit and belittled. I was completely amazed to see it on TV when one of the teen moms went after her husband and began hitting him. I know that it raised some concerns and that instance is being investigated, but as far as I know, it's only because she acted that way in front of her children.

Does anyone else out there wonder if our society is moving backward? Are we all really so desensitized that we barely blink twice when we see violence? I'm beginning to think that I have just been naive to think that things could be getting better when they're not. All I do know is that there are three men out there that are being controlled by their wives and forced to give up things that they enjoy and some of the things that make them happy. For a couple of these men I have watched them go from being happy and lively to functioning and just going through their daily routine. I have also watched as some of the women in our family have gone through the same things. Some have left and improved their situation and others are still hurting. They have gone from trying to occasionally stand up for themselves to now not even liking holidays and sounding more depressed then ever.

I know exactly why all of this has bothered me and I guess I'm wondering if I'm the only one out here that would allow this to bother me. I have thought for a couple of days how to try to express my thoughts on this and still feel that I've missed it somehow. I also feel that if I had just written what I heard and then used a bunch of statistics that people stop listening. Now, I'm just rambling, so it's time for me to stop. I do hope that this has made some of us think and be more mindful of those around us that are suffering.

Christmas Morning

All creativity has left me today. I think the hussle and bussel of getting ready for Christmas morning has temporarily left me unable to come up with anything to creative. I hope quickly labeling each of the pictures is good enough.

I hope everyone out there has had a wonderful Christmas and has been able to enjoy your traditions. We had a blast last night having our Christmas Eve dinner of Spaghetti, Meatballs and Sausage. We were blessed to have Helen with us again this year and Naloni has also joined our Christmas eve tradition. Naloni works with my mom and I'm glad that she was able to come and be a part of our family for the evening.

This Morning the boys woke up early, but was willing to wait until 6:00 am, they shut their bedroom door and played. The did give us a ten minute and five minute warning though. All their patience ran out at 5:59 am, so we all got up.

Kelton is opening his stocking and amazingly enough he is smiling that he got socks and underwear.

Taylor also emptied his stocking quickly and was just as excited to have socks and underwear. They also both got some candy and soap that matched their stockings.

They got one present to share and here they are opening it. They got 007 Golden eye. They are back in their room playing it right now.

Kelton with his Black Eye Peas CD. It was the only one we didn't have.

Taylor with one of his transformers.

Kelton got his Halo "Legos"

Taylor with both of his Decepticons.

Kelton with his Harry Potter Lego's, he wanted the train and it was first on his Christmas list.

Taylor with his Nerf gun. He also got one from his Grandma's. We are getting to the point where we might need a Nerf gun case.

Taylor with his special Green Goblin. Someone special found this for him and he loves it.

Just another picture of Kelton with his loot.

Tony had fun playing with all the wrapping paper and boxes. He was in Kitty heaven.

By this time Kelton had most of his Lego sets put together, here he is working on the Harry Potter train. Very serious business!

Charlie received a stocking from his Aunt Maggie for Christmas. I gave him this cute reighndeer and usually we have a timer running at to how long it will take for Charlie to gut it. I feel asleep so I'm not sure but when I woke up there were reighndeer guts all over the floor.

Taylor was done by about 10 am. I think we were all feeling the same way :)

YUUUUUUMMMMMM

I'm really not sure what came over me today, but I actually baked something. I haven't been able to do much baking for the last couple years and now that I'm at home I have the time to make a few goodies.

So, when that strange baking feeling came over me, I broke out the box of cake mix, the eggs and the oil. Sorry to disappoint anyone out there, but this was not homemade in any way. There aren't any layers to these cupcakes and I don't think I'm going to attempt the 12 layer cake right now. I did have fun though when I opened up the can of cream cheese frosting and starting playing with piping it on instead of just spreading it. Sadly, that was as creative as I got today.

I had so much fun adding and adding cream cheese frosting to this cupcake. It was the last one I did and was curious to see if I could anything different and to see how much frosting I could get on this baby. It may not look like it, but there is a ton of frosting. I enjoyed eating every bite of it too.

Here are the rest of the cupcakes that I made. Half are frosted with the cream cheese frosting and the other ones are covered with carmel frosting. It was the perfect combination to go with the devils food cake. It's the same thing here, I'm not sure if you can tell, but there is a ton of frosting on these babies. I'm pretty sure Kenny will have to get out his insulin if he just gets near these.

It was fun to be a little creative for a minute. Tomorrow I'll be making Strawberry cake with chocolate frosting. We'll have to see how creative I can get with that cake mix and a can of frosting.

A Weekend In A Nutshell

I have had so many random things happen the last few days that I'm not even sure how to share them with you.

I think I'll start with this picture which is the most important to me. It was 17 years ago this last week that Kenny proposed to me. I remember sitting on my brown couch at my mom's house and talking. We were waiting for some friends to come meet up with us and then we were going to the opera. Yes, Kenny went to the opera. And bless his soul, he sat through the whole thing, I even sat through the whole thing. I like a lot of opera's but this one was bad. It's been 17 years and it hasn't even dimmed how bad it was. When we were dating we spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted in a family and how we would want our marriage. Every time we talked about this I knew we were getting serious, but it was so nice to know that he really did want to spend his life with me. I had my sister-in-law take this picture last night and I was shocked to see how much we are the same and how much we have changed. Kenny, thank you for taking that chance on me so many years ago. I look forward to what is going to come.

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Last night we had our family Christmas dinner with Kenny's family. It turned out so nice! Carrie and Herri were nice enough to open their home to all of us nuts and somehow we all survived the noise level with all the kids playing. I think we could have given any Jazz crowd a run for their money when it came to decibel level. The guys were yelling at the TV while they watched the football game. The kids were running wild and yelling as they played hide and seek and whatever else they played. The food was so good, everyone did a wonderful job. I love this side of my family so much and am so very grateful to have had that time with them.

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I was so worried when I joined my church choir, but it ended up being such a wonderful experience. We have been practicing so much over the last couple of weeks (everyone else started a while ago, I came in late). I loved the songs that we learned and even started to make some friends in our new ward. I asked Kenny after we were done with our Christmas program and he said that we sounded really good. I hope that we were able to inspire and help our neighbors who might have been having a hard time at this time of year. I know participating in the choir helped to get me in the right frame of mind to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas an I hope that we were able to give that others as well.

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I was able to spend Saturday with my sister, Becca. We have so much fun shopping and even just visiting. I just love being able to have some girl time with her. She is such an amazing sister! We were able to get so much done on Saturday. I finished up my Christmas shopping, Becca was able to see her eye doctor, we got our hair cut and without talking about it we ended up with the same haircut. I can't believe I made it clear through the day and we didn't even get back to my home until 10 pm. It was so worth it!

Good Day, REVOKED!

Yesterday was Monday, as we all know. It even started out as a good Monday. I was starting to feel better and for one second thought I might be over this stupid cold. I had my dishes done and the dishwasher running. Before noon I had all but three loads of my laundry done, for a family of 4 that almost constitutes a miracle. I was even ready and left on time to get Kenny so we could have lunch together. Then, and I'm not sure what it was, but the universe decided that my good day was done. No notice, not even a little warning that my good day was being revoked. There was no reason given, it was just gone!

The only thing I can think of is when Taylor called and wanted to come home from school because his knee was still hurting. I asked him to try something for me and told him if it didn't work to call me again and I would come and get him. I even took my phone with me when I went in to shower and get ready to leave so I wouldn't miss his call. He never called, so I assumed he was okay. I think thats what did it. However, I will never be certain of this because like I just said, there was no reason given.

I even did something nice after I left Kenny from having lunch. I didn't get irritated when the lady in her little beamer had to back up at the DI because she was in to much of a hurry to wait the 2 seconds for the car in front of her to leave. I saw this and stayed back so she could back up and leave, then I pulled up to drop off my donations. I stayed back and even smiled at her when she drove by, I was nice. I also let someone cut in front of me because he didn't realize that the lane he was in turned into a right turn only lane. I was only slightly irritated, but I was nice and I didn't even say anything to mean and I didn't tail gate him. See, nice again.

I guess being on top of dishes and laundry and the few nice things that I did, did not out weigh whatever I did wrong because once I got home with Taylor my good day went swirling down the drain. Actually, it started while I was waiting to pick up Taylor. I was reading my book while I was waiting and both of my hands kept going numb. I thought it was weird, but whatever, sometimes my body just does weird things. I knew we wanted to watch a movie that we had rented, so instead of taking a nap (I was exhausted!) I played bejeweled to stay awake so I would start dinner on time and have it ready early. I had timed it perfectly for when Kenny got home. My only mistake at this point was trying a new recipe. One should never try a new recipe when you know you have plans for the evening. Never!

This recipe was reported to be a good one, so I took this persons word and attempted making it. I followed the directions perfectly, I promise. But, I noticed that it was starting to get really brown on the bottom of the pan. I really thought that when I added the chicken stock it would deglaze the pan and everything would be okay. So, I moved forward with all the chopping and cooking and following the directions but the bottom of the pan kept getting darker. I was already cooking with the heat lower than what it said to use, I even turned the heat down a little more. No good, It had burned on the bottom. The recipe said to let the chicken and potatoes simmer for 45 min...I only let it go about 15 min because I could smell a little bit of a burning smell. It was ruined! What was supposed to be Chicken with Glazed Pears turned into garbage. It was so bad that when I tasted it I must have pulled a horrible face because Taylor pulled Kenny aside and asked if I was going to throw up.

I had been prepping and cooking this meal for almost two hours and now I had to go to the store to get something that we could actually eat. All my other meals would take to much time to make and I didn't have what I needed to just have sandwiches. I ended up at WalMart with Kenny and we got the few things we needed. I then remembered that I had taken the last of the Mucinex that morning. We split up and I went to the Pharmacy and Kenny went to a check stand. He even went to one where the lady in front of him had three separate WIC purchases and gladly waited because he had seen the line at the pharmacy. It took forever and it involved more standing. I was in so much pain by the time I got to the counter to get my stupid Mucinex. Kenny was waiting for me, so much for trying to split up and make things faster.

In the end, we finally did get dinner but there was no movie. Taylor went to bed with his knee still hurting (I did give him some medicine, but nothing seems to be touching it). Kelton went to bed upset because he didn't get to watch his movie and I had to take it back today. Kenny gladly brought me ALL of my medications last night. I guess he thought I was getting a little anxious :)

Now it's Tuesday and my hands and part of my arms keep going numb while I'm trying to type this. I don't think it's going to get any better today even though I have my laundry going and the dishwasher is running. After I take a nap, I'm sure I'll be able to look forward to tomorrow.

I just realized how long this is and I didn't even tell you about the stupid cat. All I'm going to say is, if he jumps at the Christmas tree and knocks over the nativity again so he can chew on the branch I am going to plug the tree in and have my own version of "Christmas Vacation"!!!

Cousin Sleepover

Look at these four boys, from the time Chase and Jackson got to our house to the time that we made all of them get dressed, this is about what they looked like. They were glued to the Wii and had so much fun playing the games that we had rented for them. I am very proud to say that all four of them were wonderful, imagine that, four boys together and our building is still standing.

It's hard to find times when our schedules line up, so this was a rare treat for all four of them to be able to spend so much time together. Thank you Jess for letting the boys come over and trusting us with your boys. We had so much fun!!!

One would think that there would be more to write about a sleepover, but it was a really quiet night. We didn't do a ton of stuff, but they had fun, I could tell by all the laughing coming from the bedroom.

Like Hi!

Last night Kenny was enjoying box seats at the Jazz game and was getting completely pampered while the boys and I were at home. I was feeling a little mopey because I am sick and have no energy, so we didn't go rent any movies and we couldn't go see Becca's new car. Then Taylor walks in and wants to watch Godzilla! I am so glad that he did because then Kelton came and joined us and then it just got silly around here.

I am just going to be brutally honest here when I say that I can only take so much Godzilla and then it gets annoying. Especially the whiny helpless girls and the completely cheesy comments. So, instead of turning into Momzilla, I started making stupid comments along with the movie. The boys starting laughing so hard and Taylor even said that my, "comments make the movie better because you make it funny." Yay, I was doing something right!

My boys don't usually open up to much and be goofy with me, they just give me that look like it's time to put me in a home if I try to be silly with them. But last night they actually had fun. I started making comments about the whiny girl in the movie and Kelton had to tell me how much he can't stand the "valley girls" at school. They like bug him so much because he got stuck behind one in the lunch line and had to listen to her talk about how she just like got a perm and her pedi and like..... It was hilarious listening to Kelton do his best valley girl while telling me this story. I'm not sure if I should have encouraged this, but I kept telling him to say it higher and showed him how to toss his head (the head/hair flip is an important part of being a good valley girl). Both boys just laughed and then Taylor tried to do a valley girl type story. I was laughing so hard. At one point I told Kelton that now when he wants something he has to ask for it with his best valley girl voice. That time I did get the eye roll. I really thought that the whole valley girl thing was just an 80's thing, but I guess just like fashion that has come back as well.

I think that my ears were really plugged last night from my cold because I couldn't hear anything right that the boys said. At one point Kelton asked if Godzilla was green and I heard, "is Godzilla's pee green?" I was so shocked and wondered for a minute why that would matter, turns out it didn't. Then they boys started saying that they wanted to turn those sissy sparkly vampires over to Godzilla and let him take care of them. Somehow in that part of the conversation they moved over to Sesame Street and said that the count from sesame street was sucking big birds blood. That is not what I heard, I heard, "The count is sucking big birds butt." Once again the boys were laughing and had to explain to me that was not what they said. Whew, that was a relief.

It ended up being a wonderful Friday night for all of us!

My Last Night

I was in a cooking mood and well, I had to bake the cookie dough so it wouldn't go bad. I was supposed to bake these amazing Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies and take them to a cookie swap, but I slept through the swap. I got this recipe from "Good things Utah" and it turned out so good. In fact I had them for breakfast and have eaten at least 2 every chance I get.

Once the cookies were done and that mess cleaned up, I decided to make bean and cheese burritos. Do you see that oil below? I have this knack to take something that could be healthy and make it incredibly unhealthy. And, that same oil burned my finger! I'm still embarrassed that I put my finger into the oil with the burrito.

mmmmmmm, those look so good! Now all I need to do is melt some cheese over the top and add a little sour cream. See, what'd I say about making it unhealthy.

What was the rest of my family doing while I was burning myself and cooking dinner and cookies for them? They had found the old Star Wars commercials from the 70's and 80's. Kenny had so much fun saying, "I had that....I had that one too....Oh that one could do this..." The boys were enthralled, when they weren't making fun of how old the commercials were.

Provo, UT Girls - BYU Divine Comedy

I know, I already added this to my Facebook page. But, I just love how we can have fun with our differences. This is just too funny not to add it here as well. I love it when someone can look at their life and make fun of it, I do it all the time. Maybe I should record one of our family dinners so everyone can see how we have fun making fun of ourselves.

I also don't know if it's sad or funny that I didn't go to the Y and I fit into most of what they are making fun of in the song. Not the tree part though! Seventeen years ago I was lined up on a blind date with an RM. I was 18 and finally not baby hungry. That whole baby hungry part came back quickly after we were married though. I still have the ticket stubs to the Jazz game that we went to and remember that first date like it was yesterday (I'm pretty sure Michele and Adrian remember it well also, sorry). I also remember our second date when he told me the only way he would get married was in the Temple and I told him, "well, it's been nice to know you. Goodbye." We made it past that second date and have almost been together for 17 years. Miracles still do happen :)

Happy Birthday Grandma Susie!

Here is the Birthday Girl, Grandma Susie's birthday was this weekend and she was able to enjoy a nice quiet birthday. Not because we all forgot her, everyone ended up sick and we had to cancel. She was able to do what she wanted on her birthday though, she was able to be with her sister and make Carrie the most beautiful wreath for her new home.

Christy and her kidos were able to go over on Sunday and help get her Christmas tree set up and it turned out great. Kenny and I were able to drive out and see her and of course give her a hard time. She loves Alan Jackson and in one of his songs she mixed up the words and was singing, "pour me something tall and lean." Now we just call Alan Jackson her "tall and lean". We got her the new greatest hits CD of Alan Jackson and it was so much fun to see her dancing with her grandkids to her new CD. It was the best!

Along with putting up the tree, Christy also helped get the Snowman Shrine up. I think there are a few missing because I can still see parts of the entertainment center. My boys talk about Grandma Susie's snowman shrine and they are always on the lookout for new snowman to add to it. I actually have a feeling that all the grandkids love it when all the snowmen come out.

We had so much fun getting to visit with Grandma and wish her a happy birthday. We also had tons of fun seeing Christy and her kids and Karen and her kids. I did take pictures of the boys wrestling in the hallway, but decided to leave that picture out and let you all think that we had a very respectable visit at Grandma's.

Happy Birthday Grandma Susie, we hope you have a wonderful year as double quarters and a dime!

Gravity

Now that I'm over 30, I have decided that gravity is not my friend anymore! Now gravity is just here to hold me to the ground, nothing more. This idea came to me this weekend when I got this crazy notion to pluck my eyebrows. I'm glad that I did take care of my long neglected eyebrows, they get the least amount of attention than any other area on my face. However, once I was about halfway through my right eye I discovered that I only have half an eyebrow. How do you end up with half an eyebrow? I'm being serious here, the back half is only blond hair.

It was at that moment that gravity stopped being my friend. I was patient when my arms changed. Still more patience when my butt fell and went flat. Even more patience when I noticed varicose veins. But these things can be covered up, I can wear longer sleeves and longer shirts and pants. I can't just grow hair! Especially when I have a feeling that gravity pulled that part of my eyebrow down to my chin. It's a good thing I had my Aunt Diane show me how to fill in my eyebrows before this happened. At least now I can draw on the rest of my eyebrow.

But, really my chin? Did you have to pull my eyebrow down to my chin? You couldn't have pulled it to a place that I can hide? You couldn't put it next to those varicose veins? I'm trying to find something positive in this and after much thought I finally decided that it will just help me to be an even scarier, uglier witch for Halloween. Now, I'll just feel bad for everyone around me while I let my chin "eyebrow" grow during October. I bet your jealous now, aren't ya? I can just get a costume and I won't even need makeup to become transformed into my character. See, now I have not only found something positive in losing half an eyebrow; I already have my Halloween costume planned for next year.

I know that I won't be able to have the final word in this, I've learned that gravity usually will get the last word. Even though I know this, I still want gravity to know that I'm not going down without a fight. And, I will keep fighting until you pull me six feet under!

December, Snow, & Giving

YEAH!!! It's December and now I feel like I can officially put a winter border on my blog. I love this one, it makes me go for a walk and enjoy the cold crisp air. I used to go walking every morning when it was 19 degrees and loved every moment. I hope my walking partner enjoyed it as well :)

I will add in pictures of Thanksgiving soon, but with over 15 inches of snow sitting outside and below freezing temps, I feel like focusing on winter and Christmas.

My friend Kim let me borrow some books and one of them was called "Christmas Jars". It is a short book, but has more meaning than some books that are hundreds of pages. I was immediately sucked into the story and before I was done I was trying to figure out how to better implement my own Christmas jars into my life. I was taught early, through watching my parents, that helping others is an important part of life. I love helping as long no one knows it came from me. That is what makes it fun, watching people try to figure out where things could have come from. Giving also means a lot to me because I was the recipient of Sub for Santa and Quarters for Christmas and other groups that help families in need. The year after my parents got divorced we had Sub for Santa and received some amazing gifts that we wouldn't have had if it wasn't for the love of others. We also received certificates from Quarters for Christmas so we could get some new shoes. Going to the Ballet and seeing the "Nutcracker" was the cherry on top that year. I still love going to the Ballet and will always remember that Christmas when my family was spoiled by other people's love. That Christmas helped to plant more than one seed, a love of the arts and a love of giving.

T's Humor

We are trying to pick up the house right now and get ready to leave to see their grandma's. I asked both boys to do a few certain things and even though they are doing them, they are being so silly.

One of the things that I asked them to do was take out the garbage and the dog. Taylor said that he was going to wear his flip flops (mind you it is 15 degrees outside). I tried to persuade him to put on shoes and then in my best mother voice said, "I don't want to hear you crying if you lose a toe from the cold." Taylor's response, "whatever, I already lost a toe." I almost died laughing that he would come back and burn me so fast.

For those of you who don't know, when Taylor was 3 we had to amputate one of his toes in one of his biggest surgeries that he has had to have. He was really upset when he found out that we had taken one of his toes away and was angry with me for a long time. I'm glad that he has finally found a way to be okay with what has happened and who he is. In that same surgery they had to break his leg and turn it so that it was straight since it was turning in.

While we were all laughing about Taylor's wit, Kelton said, "well then break a leg." Taylor's response, "that has already been done too." He then informed us that there's not much that hasn't already been done to him. I love it when our sick hospital/funeral humor kicks in.

Taylor just informed me that there better be a grave for his toe somewhere (even if it was imaginary), Los Angeles would be preferable. He said that he wants the gravestone to read, "Taylor's toe, lost in surgery."

I think I've subjected you to enough of our weird humor for today :)

Budget?

Dear Son,

It has been brought to my attention that you think we have a never ending money tree on our balcony. I'm pretty sure where this misconception has come from, however, I do feel as your mother that I need to set this straight. As much as you love having video games to play with and Lego's to build, those things cost money. I know that you enjoy having a home to live in, food to eat and heat and hot water, but those things cost money as well. Just thought I should point out the obvious.

Being a normal 13 year old, I understand that you feel as though everything is about you. I remember that age and I'm pretty sure I much like you and I had to have the same obvious things pointed out to me. One of the things that I had to realize was that I was part of a family and that sometimes other people in the family need things also. I know how much you enjoy your ice cream every day, but dang it, your mother also needs her Diet Coke! I think that if we can sit down and talk we can find a compromise where we can both have our treats.

Your dad's mountain dew is another story, we'll worry about that later :)

I have spent some time lately wondering where I may have gone wrong? How is it that I missed this important lesson in life? And then it came to me, I can't teach you what I haven't learned yet. I feel so much better knowing that it isn't my fault, it's my parents*. Whew, dodged that bullet. Before I come down on you again for spending 2 months of lunch money in one month, I will learn how to follow a budget so I can help you understand that strange new word in our vocabulary, budget. I just ask that you be patient while I learn what this new word means before you start asking to many questions and trying to understand it before me.

I love ya, Son! I will always love you, even when you go wild with your lunch money and spend 2 months of money in less than 1 month.

Love,

Mom

*I feel as though I should add a disclaimer here; mom, I hope you know that I'm kidding. Did you read the sarcasm in that sentence? It is really important that you did, I really don't want another blog misunderstanding :)

Brotherly Love

I am always saying that I have the best kids in the world and something happened over the past two days that has confirmed that once again. I had a really bad day yesterday that started with me not able to wake up. I remember Kenny saying good by in the morning and then both boys coming in to wake me up and I just couldn't, I was so tired. Kelton still got ready for school, said bye and left for the bus. I am so proud of him for being so responsible. At 13 I would have been tempted to just go back to bed and say that I had accidentally slept in also, oh wait, I'm pretty sure I did that. Later in the day, Taylor was so excited to go spend some money that he had earned from his Grandma Chris that he made me lunch and was helping to do anything he could so he could go shopping. He is so strong and willing to help, even being one week out of surgery and still limping around. I am constantly amazed at what my boys do. They are so caring, helpful, and responsible.

Today was another hard one to wake up to, but I did wake up and talk to Kelton a little before he left for his bus. Not to long after he left I heard Taylor's cell phone ring and since it was so early I checked it to make sure nothing was wrong. I had left my phone on vibrate from last night and wanted to make sure someone wasn't trying to get a hold of us on one of the boys phones. I never look at my boys text messages, I promise, I will ask them about who just texted them and what is going on but I have never opened a text to them until this morning. I saw that the text was from Kelton and was nervous that something was wrong, my first thought was that he had missed his bus. That was not it, it was a text for Taylor that told T to have a good day and have fun. Once again I am so impressed with my oldest son. I mean, what 13 year old just does that?

I love both of my boys and am so glad to have them in my life. They bring such a joy to both me and Kenny. It is weird when they fight or bicker because it is so rare; although now that we're heading into this whole teenage thing it is happening a little more. It really doesn't happen that often and I know there is something wrong when they act like "normal" siblings and get mad or frustrated with each other. I am so happy that I snooped this time so I could give Kelton the kudos for being such a wonderful brother. This act of kindness would have gone by unknown if I hadn't been worried that something was wrong. It makes me wonder how many other times each of them have done something nice like this for the other and none of us knew.

Sister-in-Laws and Bling

Carrie hosted a jewelry party on Saturday night and it was so much fun! I was amazed at how nice the jewelry was and that they had such good prices. It was also fun to get together with Susan, Carrie, and Karen and just have fun.

This is Alicia, the lady from Premier Jewelry. This picture doesn't even do her justice, she was so energetic and gorgeous. And look at all the jewelry that she brought for us to try on and see if we liked most of what they offer. We even played a fun party game and Karen and Susan both won cute little pocket mirrors. I still can't believe all that jewelry, I'm looking at it and wishing I could try it on again. I'm pretty sure there is a necklace there that I missed.

Carrie was our hostess and part of being the hostess is being able to wear the princess crown and boa. She looked so cute!! Her daughter kept trying to steal the boa, she is such a little princess in training.

Here is the shocker of the evening, Susan in jewelry!!!!!! She never wears jewelry and so I had to get proof that she can wear it, I had to hurry and get a picture. The ring she is wearing is so cool, unfortunately I moved or she did or maybe it was both of us from laughing because her hand is all blurry and you can't really see the bracelet or ring to well. She looked amazing in everything she tried on. I think we were all like kids in a candy store.

Karen tried on several necklaces and they all looked amazing on her. I had to sneak this shot of her looking at the necklace that she has on. She ended up getting the cutest pair of earrings.

I tried to get pictures of what we bought off the internet, but they don't have an online catalog like some of the other companies that sell jewelry by having parties. We all picked out some cute stuff and even found some good Christmas presents. I found this amazing pearl ring and am counting the days until I can wear it.

Thank you, Carrie for hosting such a fun party! I had so much fun with everyone, even though I did get home way past my bedtime :)

Veterans Day

There are so many people from the very beginning of this nation that need to always be remembered. I am so thankful for our founding fathers and their strength to start this new nation. I am so thankful that they had the foresight to know that we needed to not have a ruler but a president. We have been blessed to be able to grow up in this land and to have the freedoms that we enjoy everyday. I am blessed to have a long line of men (and a woman) who have served honorably in different branches of our armed forces. They have been willing to keep us safe not only on the battlefront but also here at home.

I am so thankful to the military personnel that are out fighting today! I hope they know that, that they do have support here at home. Every time I see someone in uniform I want to thank them and then I chicken out because I don't want to seem dorky to the people that are keeping me safe. Just know that if any of you out there are reading this and you see me in public, know that as we pass I am saying "Thank You" over and over in my head.

I want all the families out there who have lost a loved one in battle how much I appreciated them. For the most part I have never met any of these people, but I am very proud of their courage. Your loved ones are missed by all, whether we knew them or not, because each of them had an impact on so many peoples lives. I also appreciate and am in awe at your courage as family members. You give so much of yourselves into being part of a military family and do so much behind the scenes to help and encourage everyone around you.

In my own family there have been several who have willingly and during the draft, not so willingly, serve our Country. I'm sorry to say that my scanner is still on vacation, I really wanted to add more pictures. So, instead of being able to see who I'm talking about you'll have to just read about them only.

On my mom's side of the family I think almost everyone has served in the Navy. I know that one of her Uncle's died when Pearl Harbor was bombed. All of her Uncle's were in the Navy. I know that my Grandpa McCleery was in the military but I'm not sure which branch. That is horrible and I really should have found out before writing this. If anyone wants to add that to the comments I would appreciate it. Thank You Grandpa!!

This is my Uncle Ron, my mom's brother. He served in the Navy during Vietnam and has courageously carried that with him everyday since being there. He is an amazing man who has stayed strong for his family and has been a wonderful example for me. Thank You Ron!!

This is Ron with his daughter Jessie, my cousin. Jessie also served in the Navy and was blessed to be able to serve between the two Gulf Wars so she didn't have to be in battle. I know she was on a boat (understatement I'm sure) that did mine sweeps. I think she is amazing and courageous to be out on those ships for months at a time. On facebook today she wrote,

I am a Veteran. A Veteran is someone, who at one

point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of

America for an amount up to, and including, their life. Regardless of

personal political views, that is an honor, and there are way too many

people in this country who no longer remember that fact...

I couldn't have said it better, Thank You Jessie!!

This is Jason, Jessie's husband. He also served in the Navy, that is where they met. I am thankful that he was also blessed to have his active time end before he had to be in the war that is currently going on and did not have to be in battle. He was able to come home and be a wonderful husband, father, and member of our family. Thank You Jason!!

This is of course, my Kenny. He served in the Utah National Guard Army. He has so much love for this Country and has missed being a part of the military. I'm sure he would sign up right now if he could. He was called a few times over the years and told to be ready to leave at any moment and then luckily they wouldn't need his unit. I know he would have gone and I would have supported him, but I'm glad that he has been able to be home with his family. Thank You Kenny!!

Christopher, Kenny's sister's husband, was an Army Ranger. He has also been an amazing example of patriotism and honorably served his country. He is one of the few who made it through Ranger School the first time through. Once again, I know he was on stand by and somehow he didn't have to go and see war. We were all thankful when Christy let us know that he wasn't leaving. Christopher's Dad was also in the military and is an amazing man. Thank You Christopher and Larry!!

My Dad was in the Army and was stationed in Germany during Vietnam. I'm so glad that he didn't have to be in Vietnam and in the middle of the ugliest parts of the fighting. I know that whatever he did do while in Germany had an impact on the rest of his life. He was an amazing dad and example for me. Thank You Dad!!

I know that my Grandpa Shiflett was also in the armed forces and was active duty but once again I'm not sure which branch he was in. Thank You Grandpa!!

Last, but not least, is the newest member of the family to join the military. Austin, Kenny's cousin, is in the Air Force and is stationed in Afghanistan right now. He still seems to young to be able to be gone and serving our Country in our current war. I still remember taking him to kindergarten. He is now such an amazing man and has already shown much courage and strength during his training and now his time in Afghanistan. Thank You Austin!!

Surgery #6

Taylor did really well yesterday for his surgery. We had to wait for about 3 or 4 hours before they took him into surgery and Taylor was so quiet and anxious. He was able to have both Grandma Shauna and Grandma Susie there with him and I am sure it helped him to have so much love and support around him. This is the first time I have ever seen him not talk to people, he wouldn't answer one question from anyone. When they get him ready for surgery they have him get into his hospital gown, they put cream on his hand to numb it for the IV, and they give him Valium to calm him before they take him back. It seems to affect him a little different each time and this time it gave him the giggles. He couldn't stop laughing. There was a couple times we thought that he was laughing at something on the TV but he was just looking around and laughing.

Before surgery they take Taylor from his room to a holding room where we met with the doctor and the anesthesiologist. The sensation he felt on the ride from his room must have been pretty crazy for him because he kept looking around with big eyes and then would just start laughing. He kept laughing while we were in the holding room and kept setting off one of his alarms because he wasn't breathing deep enough. He was so cute and to see him laughing made it a little easier to leave him and watch him go into the operating room. I think that was the first time that I didn't cry when I left him. I also think it helped having so much support there to be with me while he was in surgery. When we came out from the holding room, Carrie was there with Audrey. That was such a nice surprise and it was fun to have lunch with everyone and to be able to have such good people to visit with while we waited.

His surgery lasted forever (just over 2 hours). Usually when we're just having hardware put in it doesn't take that long. As we got closer to 2:00 pm, I started to get more and more anxious. His doctor finally came out and said that everything went really well and that because we had done so much to his knee that he was going to be really sore. Taylor didn't come back to his room until 3:00 pm and he was wide awake and feeling pain. The more I talked to him and his nurse, I think the pain was more a weird uncomfortable feeling than ouchy pain. I was surprised to see that they must have had a hard time starting an IV on him because his IV was in his foot. That kind of freaked me out, especially when they wanted Taylor to get up and start walking. They were able to remove his IV before he had to walk. Taylor was able to keep a popcicle down and then he was ready for soup and crackers and pain pills. Luckily, Grandma Shauna was able to take a couple pictures of Taylor once he was feeling good enough to eat.

Taylor was so excited for that chicken noodle soup! I tried to feed him with my left hand and was making a mess and even though this looks awkward, I was able to feed him and actually get the soup in his mouth.

This is only about two hours after surgery. We were working with the physical therapist to either fit Taylor with a walker or crutches. He didn't do so well with the crutches and so he came home with a walker. He did so well that we were able to leave the hospital by 6:00 pm. He even did wonderful walking from the car to the stairs, Kenny carried him up the stairs and then he walked to our door and into our home. He is so amazing!!

Taylor not only did wonderful getting through his surgery, he also survived having his mom and grandma's talking and visiting. We had so much fun telling stories and I always love hearing stories from mine and Kenny's mom's childhood. He survived me telling his nurse his banana costume story. And, most importantly, the staff and our room mate survived our hospital humor!

Thank you to Dr. Hennessey for doing such an amazing job and taking care of my little boy!

Thank you to Dr. Carroll for finding us and coming in to check on "her patient"!

Thank you to everyone out there who was thinking of Taylor and praying for him!

Fist Bump Update

Now that I'm thinking clearly after being scoped I can say that everything went great. They didn't find much of anything, only a little inflammation somewhere and took a "bibopsy" of it. I sure hope you have all seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" now that I just referred to it. Anyway, I have the pictures and if my scanner was working I could have added them to this post and grossed you all out. Even, then the pictures aren't that bad. The only picture that made me kind of gross out was the one of the inside of my rectum, no one should have to see that. No One!!

Once the scoping was done, I was informed that because they force air into all my little passageways that I would need to pass a lot of gas and that it was okay and the nurse told me not to apologize for doing it. I was still pretty asleep when she said this, but I do remember answering her that I live in a house full of boys and that is pretty much how it is everyday around here. This is where everyone will be completely and utterly shocked...ya ready for it...I did not say sorry one time that day! I know right, I think I should get a gold star (or something gold) at least.

However, I do need to say sorry now for mentioning my rectum. I know for immediate family this will not shock anyone, but for others of you out there who may be sensitive and not speak of these things, I am sorry if I have offended your sensibilities.

I also need to add that now I am guarding my heart and the 100 feet of small intestine I have, they are the only things left that have not been completely exposed. A woman needs to have some secrets, even if they are just on the inside :)

HP ePrint "Happy Baby" Commercial Spot

I just can't help it, I love this commercial!!

I don't know where they found this cute baby, but I love his cheeks. I just want to squeeze them.

I can just watch this over and over. I also figured you would enjoy watching the commercial I like than having to hear me rant about the one that I can't stand. Yes, I'm a commercial watcher. I love seeing how creative people can be. And, yes, I have cried during a commercial almost as many times as I have laughed through them. I tried to blame the crying on age, but I think the Ad Executives are really just that good.

Enjoy watching and please try to limit to only 2 viewing per visit (it gets addictive).

The only possible thing I could ever say negative about this commercial is his outfit. It's okay, but, out of all the baby clothes out there this is what they chose? Have they not heard of Baby Gap or the Kids Place? No offence, just a suggestion.

Election Day

Did You Vote Today?

Gratitude

What a better way to start November than to take a few minutes to remember all that I have in my life to be grateful for. My family is truly blessed every day and I would like to say thank you for those blessings.

*I am thankful for all of my extended family! I have a wonderful Mom who raised me and instilled all that I am into me. It was both my Mom and Dad that showed me how to serve others. My Step-Mom who is also one of the greatest examples of love and service I can think of. She has also helped me to know that it's okay to take down some of my walls and allow her into my life and come to love her. I have an amazing Mother-in-Law that has shown and taught me how to have great strength in the face of overwhelming odds. She is also an incredible example of service to others. Last, but not least, are my sister and my 3 sister-in-laws; all of you bring a strength all your own and teach me something that improves my life just about every day.

*I am thankful for my Husband! He has been such an amazing example to me ever since we met. I have learned so many things from him; some good examples are to never be afraid to stand up for yourself and to say what is right even if it means not being the most popular. He is such a hard worker and has always made sure that his family is taken care of, not just me and the boys, but all of our family.

*I am thankful for my boys! They have each brought so much to our family. I love how different they are and yet how similar they can be. It's always interesting to see how they can fight and then 2 seconds later be ready to protect each other from some bully at school. I can't even imagine how boring our lives would be without them.

*I am thankful to have a home! I know it's not a big show house, but it is perfect for us and we love not having to do yard work or shovel. We also don't miss "Lake Lee" :)

*I am thankful to have food for my family! It might not always be a masterpiece and there are times like tonight when we have Hamburger Helper, but there is always something to eat.

*I am thankful for my faith! There are so many times that I rely on my faith and my testimony of our Saviour. I am so thankful to be able to turn my problems over to him and know that I can rely on Him to help me through. I also am thankful that my family will be together for all eternity.

There are lots of other things to be thankful for, like, modern medicine, epidural, reliable cars, education, friends, clothes, shoes, air freshener, microwave oven, and fast food (for when you burn dinner). The list could go on forever, right down to toe nail clippers.

One of the things that I have learned is that when I'm having a bad day and start to focus on the negative (and I can do that well), if I will stop and start to realize what I have been blessed with my day always goes better.

I challenge each of us to try this and share our blessings with others this month. Maybe, if we can do this for a month it will become a part of us and we will want to continue to do it everyday.

Halloween Movie Fest

This year for Halloween I bought the boys their costumes and then found out Taylor has to have surgery and that it was going to be raining. When Taylor is scheduled for surgery, I automatically put out home into lock down. Taylor can only go out to the things that he has to, like school. When we found out that it was going to be raining we planned a fun evening in with suspense movies and treats.

I did take pictures of the boys in their costumes because we went trick or treating at their Grandma's work. However, Kelton has been dead set on me not showing those pictures to anyone and they are not for the blog!! I just felt as though I should explain that so no body out there thinks that I was a complete loser of a mom for Halloween this year :)

I love the movie "The Others", it is such a good movie that keeps you guessing clear to the end. Well, at least it did for me. I had only seen this movie one other time and thought this would be a good one for the boys. It was so fun to watch them jump and cover their eyes with their blankets. They kept asking us questions about the movie and what was going to happen next, but since we had only watched this once, we honestly couldn't remember. We all had to watch and figure it out. I guess I shouldn't enjoy scaring my boys, but it was fun to watch them get into it and try to figure out the plot.

With "Angels and Demons" I wasn't completely sure if they were old enough to watch this one. There are some yucky parts! I have to look away on some of the scenes because I can't handle seeing them. Then we figured if they can handle "Lord of The Rings" and the violence in all those movies, they could handle this. Besides, if it gets to bad we start talking about how they would make someone look that way or what kind of make up do you think they used on that person.

The boys loved this movie and had fun guessing at who the bad guy was.

Everyone said how good "The Karate Kid" was, so we had to rent this one. Kenny said it was okay but that it was a little slow. The boys it was okay but that it was slow also. Kelton said that it took forever to get to the good part. What did I think? I don't know, I watched it through my eyelids. I think I'll take their word on it though.

We saw "Transformers Revenge of the Fallen" in the movie theaters and was not happy with some of the scenes in this movie. But, Taylor LOVES transformers and Kelton knows exactly where to skip through the movie and miss the questionable parts. I think it's funny that Taylor really doesn't care and that Kelton mother's him and tries to protect him from anything that could "corrupt" him. We can all agree that we love the action in this movie. I can't believe that we don't own this one.

Overall, I think we have had a wonderful Halloween weekend. I know I had fun spending time at home with my family. I'm not sure if you can really call it a bonding moment when I was scaring my kids, but it was fun!

UMMMM, I Don't Think You're A Girl!

Remember this cute picture? When I first brought "Bella" home and added her to our family. She was so cute and sweet.

Well our Kitten has grown fast and now is this big furry cat that likes to lounge around the house and take naps with me. However, something weird happened yesterday. While Bella was cleaning herself I saw something that I was pretty sure did not belong to a girl. I was quit surprised and looked a little further to find our that our little Bella is indeed not a girl.

The boys decided that we needed to find a new name for our cat and that he must be suffering with low self esteem from being called a girl for so many months. I looked up boy names on the internet and found nothing I liked. The boys suggested several names that were fun but still didn't seem right. My favorite name that Kelton suggested was Prince Poppycock (from "America's Got Talent"). That one had us all laughing.

Later on, after the boys were in bed, Kenny suggested that we name him Tony, like from the "Sopranos". I know here I am again referring to the "Sopranos". It has stuck and our cat now has a new name. Now I just hope he learns it quickly. Now I hope I can begin to remember it quickly as well :)

It is official, our cat is now named Tony. We now have two male pets and I am back to being the only girl in the house.

Here is a picture of our four legged kids wrestling, its their favorite thing to do.

Charlie is at a slight disadvantage with his little legs, but Tony comes away pretty wet from Charlie licking him so much and trying to fit Ton'y whole head into his mouth. They are so funny to watch and like any paranoid mother would do, when it gets to rough I break them up.

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!