What a week!

I wanted to title this post, "Ghetto fun week" but Jeramy insists that what we did wasn't ghetto. Tuesday night Maddie's school had Skate Night at ...Classic Fun Center. Many a Saturday night of my teenage years was spent there all decked out in my disco dress. It was so funny walking in - it smells the same, it looks the same, and hey, is that even the same DJ?? Who knows, all I know is that apparently YMCA and the HokeyPokey never go out of style, and neither does fluorescent carpet (Pretty sure that was there in the early 90's when I was). The girls had a BLAST, and we only had to pay $1 to rent Maddie some skates - skates that I probably wore when I was a kid.

They allow scooters now, so we took our little 3 wheeler. Jer and I took turns pushing Lindsay and Macie around. My back was killing by the end of the night! I was taking a break with the little girls while Jeramy was out with Maddie and Lindsay just says, "Mom, I'm going on my own." And she did! She got on the scooter and scooted away! This is odd because 1) you all know she never leaves my side 2) she just learned how to ride the scooter that night. She was pretty slow, but made it all the way around on her own!
We didn't get to stay long because Jer had a presidency meeting to go to, but it was long enough for me. Thursday nights I guess you can get in for $1 each person. I think it would be so fun to get a big group and go. Anyone interested??

Thursday night we went to Sticky Floor. If you live in Utah county, I think you all know where the sticky floor is. It's the $1.50 theater in AF. We had been promising the kids we'd go see Madagascar 2 for weeks, so we finally did it. (Yes, I know it comes out on video next week, but I'm a sucker for theater popcorn). I thought Macie did pretty well, Jeramy thought she was awful and will never take her again. How odd, since I held her the whole time and took her out. I guess the popcorn erases all evil to me. And hey - the floor wasn't even sticky!

And this morning we went to the church for service and breakfast. (this was not ghetto, by the way) I had written "ward party" on my calendar on the fridge. I should really start writing in pig latin now that Maddie can read. She saw it on the calendar and was SOOO excited! I had told her we would go if everyone was up and ready, so at 7:30, she took it upon herself to get us all up and ready. I'm glad we went, we cleaned all the chairs in the church and then had pancakes and some awesome egg/sausage/veggie stuff.

So all in all, we had a great, cheap week. (All right, so the dollar movie wasn't that cheap $6.00 to get us in, $11 on snacks). But it always amazes me the simple things that bring so much joy to my kids. We made 3 great memories this week, and didn't spend much doing it.

Heidi and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I can usually laugh life off. I try to look at the postive in things even when things go wrong. Today, it didn't work. Today just needs to end!

I had my whole morning plannned out

1)get Maddie off to school

2) get everyone else ready for the day

3) go to the bank

4) go to Old Navy

5) go to the library

6) quick run to Wal-mart

7) home for lunch

8) relaxing afternoon at home

#1 went pretty well. I got home and Jeramy called me from work

"Have you checked the window wells today?"

"No, I checked on Saturday though."

"You'd better go check."

Dang it. They are both full.

Grrrrr....why didn't we think about checking BEFORE Jer went to work? I get all bundled up and head out. Huh. It's been a while since we've had this problem. Where's the hose?? Where's the extension cord? Hose is at the neighbors, extension cord is downstairs giving life to our computer.

Dang it.

Get the hose, it's frozen. Find our other hose hibernating under all the summer toys. Dig it out. Go unplug the computer. Sigh, this is going to be a long day with no computer.

Plug in pump. Nothing.

Dang it.

Call and borrow another pump. Get it all hooked up. Drain window wells for the next hour. Did I mention that is was freezing cold outside?

To kill time, I tried to shovel the foot of snow that had drifted to my side of the driveway. I hate snow. I hate wind. I gave up, very upset knowing that there was no way I could get the van out over the drift and I would be stuck all day at home.
Dang it.

By now it is almost 11. No time to go anywhere before I have to get Maddie.

Dang it.

I decide to have a hot bath and get warm and calm my nerves.

Going well.

"Mom!' I hear from the other bathroom. Sigh.

"what, Lindsay?"

"Mom, I had an accident, but that's o.k, right?" Sigh.

"Yes, I'll be right out."

She had her "accident" all over my bathroom rug, floors, toilet and her clothes.

Dang it.

Add laundry to that list.

Enter: a small ray of sunshine...the plow guy plowed our driveway so he could back into it and push snow out. Yipee!

I decide that I should venture out. So what if it's Macie's naptime?

We pick Maddie up at the bus stop and I bribe them with McDonalds. We start our journey.

Library. Forgot one of the books that was due (not too bad 1 out of 16).

Next comes the bank. I fill out the slip, head to the drive thru...where's the check? Oh yeah, the check is still on the fridge at home.

Dang it.

Huh. The bag of stuff to go back to Old Navy didn't make it in the car, either.

What next??

Sigh. Wal-Mart. Do I really need to say more that Wal-Mart... 3 kids...nap time? It was not a pleasant shopping experience.

BUT, here's the positives for the day:

*at least Jeramy thought to check the window wells before the water got in the basement.

*at least my kids survived being alone in the house for an hour while I was outside.

*the plow guy plowed my driveway (and no that isn't because I'm a HOA board member).

*I probably saved money by not going to Old Navy.

*I didn't buy everything on my l ist at Wal-Mart because I gave up - I saved money!

*Macie took a 3 hour nap when we got home

*I rearranged the office so I could reach a plug for the computer

*I got to gripe to my sister and then I felt LOTS better

*Our afternoon went pretty smooth

*Jeramy taught FHE tonight

*Kids are all in bed.

I guess life isn't so bad.

"Oga"

Did you set a New Year's Resolution to exercise? Are you failing already? Well, here's some inspiration...if my 3 year old can do "oga" so can you! The top picture on the left is sun salutation (Must wear backpack for proper balance). The one next to it is half-moon. The bottom 2 are Lindsay attempting the tight rope - it didn't go so well.

I got the wii fit out yesterday for the first time in...67 days! Wow! I lied about what I was wearing so it wouldn't show the 2 pounds I've gained. Lindsay wanted to play and I was surprised how good she was at "oga." Macie wanted to play, too. I did the step aerobics holding her and MAN- it was so much harder! All 23 pounds of her. Jer recommended I start doing it holding our 10 pounds weights, but then it would be a -workout- not just for fun. Why would I do that??

What was I thinking??

Some of you might remember that we are suckers for the Junie B Jones books at our house. For Christmas, I picked this one up for Madison. Didn't think much of it. Us girls started to read it a few weeks ago, and suddenly I realized what I was doing to my kids. Let's just do a little excerpt from the first chapter for you all to preview...
Junie B is talking to her friend Paulie Allen Puffer and he tells her this:
"My brother is in 7th grade and he says that the monster waits till you're asleep, then he crawls up next to you and he lies down on your pillow. And he practices fitting your head in his mouth."
Junie covers her ears
"I can prove it" he says, "Didn't you ever wake up with a drool spot on your pillow?...Where do you think it comes from?...It came from the monster under your bed, it's monster drool."

Nice.

You may recall that Lindsay is afraid of the tooth monster, so I knew this was not going to be good. We teased about it - tried to make light of the situation, and I hid the book. Maddie asked today if we could read it, so I put Lindsay in front of good old wholesome PBS kids and read Maddie the whole book so we could move on. I thought she could handle it, but she was cuddled up next to me the whole time and very quiet. Very quiet. I should probably add that we recently switched rooms around and Maddie now for the first time in 2 years has her own room. Very quiet.
Bedtime rolls around and all is fine. She is allowed to put her baby sisters to bed now by reading them a story, then she goes to her room and goes to bed. 10 minutes later, she comes down stairs.
"Mom, I think there are spiders in my bed."
"Maddie, seriously, go to bed."
"Mom! I can't sleep in there!"
"Go sleep in my bed."
She goes upstairs and then right back down.
"Mom, there isn't a night light in there."
"Then make a choice, spiders or no nightlight."
She huffs and puffs and I take her up to check for spiders. All clear.
"But Mom, they can crawl back in, you know!"
Sigh. "You're right. You'd better just sleep on the floor."
So there she sleeps - on the floor. Please...no one tell her that spiders like the floor better than beds. And please, don't buy the Monster book. It's not that good, and not worth the trauma.

Long night

Last night, Jeramy had a boy's night out* (why does that not sound as cool as a "girls night out?"). He was giddy like a little school girl waiting to go though - it's like I never let him out or something...anyway, his friends came to get him at 9:30. I was already totally engrossed in my chic flick when he left. I heard him say from the door, "Don't lock it." And he leaves. My movie ends, I get up and walk to the front room. The door is unlocked. I remember him saying, "Don't lock it." and I go and check and sure enough, he had left his keys. Some of you might remember from a previous post that he is a little...nazi-ish about locking doors. I didn't realized that MAYBE it's rubbing off on me! I was bugged. I knew he was just a few houses away and I thought about running the keys to him, but I didn't.
I decided to run on the treadmill...but what if someone comes in and I don't hear them??? I decide to run, but when I am done, I check every corner of the house for the boogie man.
I decide I should do laundry...but what if someone comes in and I don't hear them???
Mabye I'll go have a bath...but what if someone comes in and I don't hear them??? But, if you know me, the bath won. The whole time I was in there I was a wreck...was that a noise?? Was that a shadow in the bedroom??
I get out and read the Ensign. I realize I am bored out of my mind and should just go to bed...but what if I fall asleep and I don't hear someone come in???
I lay down...what is that over in the corner? A person...no, just a shadow.
Did I check on the girls?? I get up. They are fine...Did something just move downstairs?? No.
I go back to bed. Can't sleep. Still stressing about the door being unlocked. Apparently I fell asleep because at 2:30, I did hear the door open and it was Jeramy. And I can guarantee he will not be going out again...without his keys!

*what is a 'boys night out' you might be asking yourself? A GIRLS night out usually involves dinner at a nice place, a movie, and lots of giggling. Well, apparently a boys night out involves "man food" such as potato chips, and pop. It requires an awesome media room with stadium seating, a 10 foot screen, HD projector, surround sound and recessed lighting and instead of giggling, there is the sound of aliens being shot down with big guns. Whatever. I'll take a girls night out any night over that!

Just call me Aunt Heidi...

For some reason today I can't stop thinking about my teenage nieces and nephews. I'm really bad about trying to decide if I'm being prompted by the Spirit, or just thinking a lot and I keep thinking that I should blog my feelings today. When in doubt, just do it, right?
So this is for T,A, J, M, A, R, C, A, D,J, C, S and D - did everyone figure out who they are??? Did I forget anyone?? And this is also for S, A, L, H, and K even though they are pre-teens.


I am so blessed to have all these guys love me! They make me feel young and cool - and let me know when I am "so last year" on things. Some have made my day lately by sending me random little texts, like the other night, I got one that just said, "Love you! Tell the girls I miss them." Just what I needed to hear while sitting in a boring meeting! Or the one that said, "David Archuleta is in my seminary class!!!"

I think ALL of them have chatted with me on facebook. I love that- even if one of them did start the conversation by saying, "I thought all old people went to bed after Matlock..."

They are always so willing to babysit for us and I know I can trust them all. I'll even forgive them for teaching my girls how to 'shake their bootie.'



As I said, my thoughts have been about them today and all they are going through. I remember being in Jr High and trying to fit in - how awkward it was. I remember the stress and pressure of High School - dating (or lack there of), keeeping grades up, and being mad at Mom and Dad for things that seem so silly now, but were earth shattering at the time. I remember going to college and hating being away from home, and trying to keep my grades up, and how hard it was trying to decide what to do with my life. I remember being a newlywed and all the silly little fights, trying to find balance between time with our families, and the drama of trying to figure out how to work, go to school, find time for each other, keep the house in order AND cook meals. (That one is never-ending, sorry guys).



I feel for each one of them in each and every situation they are in. I can't even imagine the tempations and struggles that are out there right now for them. I thought things were bad when I was there, wow. It was nothing compaired to today. I am so proud to see how strong each of them are. I love to see them rely on each other for comfort and advice. I love that I know that they rely on the Lord for that same comfort, and it was neat this past summer to find out so many of them have such awesome testimonies at our family testimony meeting.
And I love seeing them realize - one by one- that their mom and dad aren't that bad after all. Like I said before, I am so glad that they take time to send little messages to their aunt - that they take time to do something for someone else. So, to all my awesome nices and nephews: I know life is hard and it doesn't seem fair - but be strong! I love you all! Peace out. (Is that so last year or what??)

Sledding

Last Saturday Jeramy had to work...again - no candy bars this time. We ladies of the house decided to not let this ruin the day, so we grabbed our craziest cousins and went sledding. Maddie got a sled for Christmas and we have been sledding in the yard, but she had no idea about BIG hills - and BIG bruises. She learned about both pretty quick. Here are a few clips of the girls going down the hills at Murray Park. The jumps were so funny to watch!

In this second one, I love at the end when Maddie says, "That was awesome!" She had so much fun, until she went off the jump once and didn't land on the sled. Then we went home.

My mom came and walked around with the little girls so even I got to go down a few times. Lindsay went down once and was done. Macie went down with me once and whimpered the whole way, but then wouldn't get off the sled. Not sure if she liked it or hated it, but I know they both loved seeing the ducks - thanks Mom!

A Celstial Sunday

Today was the day we have been waiting 18 months for. Macie started nursery! Life is good. Last week was a bit overwhelming - our new class for the year is the 4 year olds - and there is 10 of them in our class, AND we are in the nursery classroom, so there are toys in the corner. Go ahead and try to convince 10 four year olds and an 18 month old that the toys are NOT to play with.

Macie gladly went to nursery this week, and Primary was surprisingly pleasant without her. Our class went well, too. I actually spent some extra time this week and cricutted little paper dolls to go with my stories and they LOVED it and LISTENED. It was amazing and well worth the 20 minutes it took to make them.

Also, have I mentioned that church is finally at the PERFECT time? No more 2:30 church. No more coming home in the dark. Yeah! I love Sundays!

Gracie

As a child, we never had real pets (that required anything other than water changing in a tank). Jeramy always had a dog growing up, so naturally, he thought we needed one a few years back. We were still without children, living in a 2 bedroom apartment and both working full-time and going to school - so a dog made perfect sense, right? We got Gracie, a Jack Russel Terrier puppy. We learned really quick that she was smarter than us.
The first day we left her home, she got out of her cage, opened the cupboard where we kept her food, spilled it all over the house and ate herself sick.
So I got all domestic and sewed a blanket on top of the cage. She chewed the blanket up and got out again.
We bought a wire net thing and used wire to get it on the top. She chewed that off, too.
She then learned to go under instead of over her cage, so more wire net stuff. She figured that out as well.
We started leaving her on her leash in our bedroom while we were gone.
She chewed my phone up.
She tore apart my feather pillow.
She hated to have a bath. Every time I would get her out, she would run around the house like a mad dog, then jump up on my bed and pee. Jeramy would just laugh.
She chewed up her "Perfect Puppy" training book.
We took her to Puppy kindergarten and she would never do her tricks for the teacher - making us look like the idiots that couldn't teach the smartest kind of dog.
She cost us a small fortune to buy, and to fix, and for hernia surgeries.
She was not allowed on the bed or couch - can't you tell? That lasted all of 2 days.
Along came Maddie.
Goodbye puppy.
In the first 5 minutes I was home from the hospital she jumped on my c-section incision.
She quickly realized that when I was feeding the baby, I couldn't take her out, so she'd look right at me and poo on the floor.
She also learned that I couldn't climb under the table to get things from her, so she'd grab things and hide out from me.
Final straw was nipping at Maddie.
Gracie went to stay with a friend for a few weeks. Gracie found a happy home with a big yard and 2 little boys to wrestle with her. She lasted a whole 5 months with us.

The reason for this post is for my 2 sisters that decided getting puppies was a good idea for Christmas. I know that Santa brought one, so Kerry had no idea what she was getting in to (ha ha), but Cindy, seriously - you should have known better. I wish you both the best of luck, and I will count my blessings that Maddie got Nintendogs for Christmas and is totally satisfied because she doesn't have to clean up a pretend dog's poop.

Sigh. All right, I do miss my dog. We only had her for 5 months, but we loved her and still talk about her all the time. She slept with us, curled up on my legs. I missed that a lot at first. So, I guess congrats on the new puppies. I know one day I will lose the battle and we will have another dog, but until then, I will just love your dogs and leave them!

Back to normal

Sigh. Life is good. We officially survived the holidays and life as we know it can resume again. Jeramy was off for the past 17 days. As nice as that was, it has been a pretty great day today with him back at work. Maddie went back to school today also, man I love school! It feels so good to get back into our little routine we call life. I feel like I have accomplished so much today- and still have time left over to cruise the net! I love Mondays.

New Year's Resolutions

I decided in November that this year, I would NOT have any New Year's Resolutions. I think it must be wired into our brains at birth and so for the last week or so, I've been trying to set some goals. I came up with a few - nothing too impressive or life altering - but then I decided on something much better.

Simplify

This is my motto for 2009.

And also, Happy 200th post to me. :) I have been a blogging fool for a year and 4 months now. I LOVE blogging and the creative outlet it is for me. I always loved writing in high school and college and it's fun to be able to sit down and roll my thoughts out again. Thanks to all my faithful followers and secret stalkers, you guys are the greatest! It wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!

And just as another side story. Remember the Ikea drama? I can't remember if I posted the follow up or not, but we have been to back 2 times now and she has 'made the cut.' (I did terrible at my boycott, but when a girl's gotta go, she's gotta go!) She even has her own little sticker card now to keep track of her visits and everything. So we went on Wednesday afternoon, and guess what? My daughter is magically too short again. I was so flippin mad. I could have made a scene, but this is how it went down:
"Have you been here before?"
"Oh yeah, lots of times."
"Oh, it looks like we'll need to measure her." I roll my eyes,
"That's fine." They drag out the big stick.
"Um, she's too short."
"You're kidding me, right?"
"No, she's too short."
"But she's been in before!"
"Sorry. Next please."
And here's my great comeback...
"You've just lost my business." And I storm off.
On my way out, I filled out a complaint card - but left my name and info blank - that'll show them. I am such a wimp.