2 or 22

You know when you reach that point in life where your kids seem to be at a good age, they can get themselves up, they can do their own hair, they can cook small meals, they can go to a swimming pool and you don't even worry about them drowning, all these little thing that seem to make you think; WOW, my kids don't even need me............sad times!!!

And that is why the Lord sent me Kennadee 

She is so grown up in some many ways and in others she is like a 2 year old.  And yesterday was a prime example of both.  She is heading off to Jr. High this school year and although she looks like an 8 year old in stature she indeed is old enough.  As we all know when we enter our kids in school, there are 2 years the kids dread for the same reason; kindergarten and 7th grade, why; because of immunizations.  And this was the year for Kennadee's 7th grade shots YAY!!!  So let me give you a little back story if you will.  I was in Maryland in April and that just happened to be the time that K, needed her shots so I so smartly told her Dad to take her.  I loved that he agreed because I knew what was in store for him and I just got to sit back and wait for the story of how everything turned out.  He called me after it was all done and said "yeah, I will never be doing that again."  I asked in my most sympathetic voice "why, dear?"  and here is what he said;

First off I made the mistake of telling her "before" we got in the car where we were going, so I had to practically drag her to the car, then she started crying and didn't want to get out of the car, once I convinced her to get out of the car she decided that she would hold tightly to the railing out front, when I finally peeled her off the railing, she held onto the door, when I finally got her into the building and sat down to fill out the paper work she just cried and cried and then when it was finally her turn, I practically had to drag her down the hall and basically sat on her while the nurse gave her the shots.  It was not fun Melanie!!!

I smiled big!!!  I have been with Kennadee since birth and have been there for allllllll immunizations and so I knew what he was getting into and even though I gave him suggestions of what to do and what to avoid doing, he made the mistake of thinking "she's old enough not to do stuff like that".  Little did he know, and thus the big smile on my face :D  The bad part came when Scott told me that one of the shots was a 3 part series, ugh, So yesterday I took her in for the 2nd part and she was for the most part okay, she was still nervous, pouty and had water-filled eyes but I just had to keep telling her why it was important that we get immunizations and how she would be just fine.  When she was finally called back, she let the waterworks loose and started panicking so I tried to help her breathe and realize that she would live, it came to the point where I had to say to her, "either you can sit here and I can just hold your hand or I have to hold you down while you get the shot."  She looks at me and says "you are going to have to hold me down!!!"  I started laughing and she look at me with these bewildered eyes and asked why I was laughing, I told her I was sure she was the only child ever who had made the request to be held down while getting a shot.  So I sat down on the chair grabbed her and with my arms holding her arms down to her side and my leg crossed over hers, she got her shot and it really only stung for a minute but she had to milk it for all it was worth, as we were walking out of the building I told her to quit crying so that she wouldn't scare all the little Kindergartners who were there to get shots and she just shot me a look of unbelief and cried "they need to know that it hurts"   Oh my, she really needs to get into Drama!!!

  

Her grown up alter came out that night as we were helping out at a wedding reception for a ward member, she was such a huge help to me, she was quick to do what was asked of her and she went above and beyond what I or anyone else asked her to do, I was truly grateful for her help.  I always get a kick out of watching her at weddings, she just is so enthralled with all that happens, at one point the whole wedding party was dancing and she just couldn't hold still, so I sent her out to go and watch and dance if she wanted, the Mother of the Bride just smiled and laughed as she said to me, Holy Cow I can't believe little shy Kennadee is just out there watching and enjoying herself without you glued to her side, made me think of how grown up she has become this last year. 

They may not need me for every second of the day, but I do like knowing that if all I am needed for is to hold them down for a shot, that they can still count on me!  :)

Dream Weaver

The other night Scott and I were just about ready to doze off when we (mostly I) were frantically awaken by a voice saying "HOLY COW, HOLY COW, HOLY COW" along with some other non-discernible words, I sat up and started hitting Scott "Go find out what that is!" I said. "It's Zach talking in his sleep again" he said not moving, so I made him get up and go in his room.  When he came back he was laughing and said that when he went into Zach's room he was sitting on his knees on his bed, Scott asked him if he was okay and he just waved him off with a "yeah-yeah" then Scott asked him what he was dreaming about and Zach said "I was fighting Zombies and killing them with my nerf gun!!!!"  I am so glad to know that Zach will be ready for when the Zombie Apocalypse comes and that with all his nerf arsenal we will be safe!!

Then this morning I was telling Scott about my weird dream, I was pregnant but I didn't know it until the baby was pushing so hard on my belly that you could literally see the feet imprint and count toes, so in my dream I had to keep pushing the feet back in, so I started wondering if I was pregnant with an alien and right before I found out, I heard this voice "Are you going to wake up now???"  Augh, Scott ruined it, now I will never know if I was pregnant with an alien baby, Scott said that when he was asking me this, it looked like I pushing on my belly, which he thought was weird until I told him my dream!!

So needless to say we, Zach and I, must be two peas in a pod, our dreams are very 3D, don't you wish you lived in our heads at night!!!!

SSC w/ Z&Z

Zachary has been attending Science Summer Camp this week with his friend Zane and, wow; they are on a roll, this week I have found:

*matches on the front porch
*water droplets all over the kitchen floor (and I mean allllll over)
*many plastic cups filled with all sorts of colorful goo
*lists of potions he wants to concoct 
*lots of whispering and laughing (never a good sign)


Other than dealing with all that while I am filling my time with painting and getting some home improvements done, he has been so funny and quick witted (just like his Dad *sigh*)

-One morning I was asking him to unload the dishwasher and he said to me, insert a whiny voice "but that isn't my job." So I tell him "well, nothing is your job this week!" meaning we are not doing our usual weekly job chart since the girls are not here and Bradley is gone for a couple days, he quickly piped in with "well then, I will do nothing and I will do it well!!!" "ha-ha, smarty pants, now take out the garbage as well...!"

-I was getting ready to take the boys to SSC and Zach pipes up with "Mom, start the car while I go brush my teeth", "yes sir, Zach" when he finishes getting ready he comes in and says; "andele, andele, let's get going!!!"  As I am grabbing my keys and purse, I am saying, "I just have to grab my............." when he so suddenly interrupts me with "That can wait, let's go!!!"  Do you kind of understand why I call him Zac-man aka Boss-man?!?!?!?

-We were listening to the radio before SSC one morning and I break out in song and pretty soon Zach is joining in with me, but the cutest thing ever is that, as I am dancing (ever so awesomely, mind you) into the kitchen, I look over and Zach is dancing as well, but he is facing away from me so he can't see that I am watching him, it was so cute, I loved it!!!!!!!!  (and he is going to be so embarrassed that I am telling you all this but I don't care, it was adorable) I love having memories like this :)

-He has made a list of ingredients for some stuff he wants to make and on his list is Mouth Wash, here is his list of ingredients for that:
     *water
     *spring mint flavoring
     *hand sanitizer

Do not, I repeat, do not put anything Zachary has "made" in your mouth, unless it is his secret ingredient fry sauce (do not worry, I know what the secret ingredient is), I know he will be a genius one day, it is just surviving until that day that I worry about!!

Baseboads

38 years

456 months

1,985 weeks

13,893 days

333,432 hours

20,005,935 minutes

1,200,356,148 seconds

have passed in the life of Scott King, all this time has gone by with nary more than a bump or bruise and if you heard the stories he tells of his childhood this would almost seem like a miracle.  But Sat. June 23, 2012 it all came to a screeching halt.  Scott was in Bradley's bedroom trying to rip out baseboard and he was using this tool:

I was in the kitchen and I heard Scott holler out "Mel, oh crap, I cut myself really bad, oh crap, it is really bad, get me something to help stop the bleeding!"

My heart just sank, I didn't want to go in because I knew for Scott to say it was bad, I knew it was probably worse than I could imagine, but I grabbed some paper towels, took a deep breath and ran into the room. Thankfully, because of Scott's quick thinking, he grabbed his leg and put so much pressure on his cut that when I got to him he was not even bleeding, quite the miracle since you can see how deep the cut is:

The only good thing about this is that; Scott can now stop saying that he has never had stitches in his life, it kind of made me happy,  especially since he narrowly escaped getting them twice in the period of about 8 days last October.  I told him that he needs to stop thinking he is invincible, he is getting old and he needs to be more careful, he looked at me and said "okay", but he said it with his "I love you, but I am not listening to you" grin!!!  

$25 co-pay, 9 stitches on the inside, 11 stitches on the outside and 1 green apple sucker (to help with not passing out) later, Dr. Darren declared him; put back together again!!!

Week with no kids pt. 5

Day 5 of no children and I am a little lonely :(

You know how at the end of Day 4 I put that I went to bed @ 12:56 am, well I did, but my mind would not shut off; I was trying to pull together a talk for church on Sun. and it just wasn't coming together like I wanted, soooooooooo no sleep for me, I like to worry that way.

5:00 am - finally fell asleep :D
9:30 am - woke up in a panic, my phone beeped with a reminder about piano lessons, I couldn't for the life of me remember what time I was suppose to be there though.  So I jumped in and out of the shower then had to find a past text message telling me the time of my lessons......sheesh, talk about a heart attack.
10:30 am - piano lessons - Lainee will be proud to know I passed off my songs!!!
11:15 am - worked on special project
12:00 pm - stopped to have a very special lunch  - A Zacky lunch (only with good bread)!!!

12:30 - 10:30 pm - worked on special project, it is hard work so someone had better appreciate it A LOT!!

2 more days until I can be with my kids again!!!

Week with no Kids pt.4

Thursday - getting closer to my kids coming home!!!

7:30 am - woke up, wanted to snuggle with my Lainee :(
8:00 am - finally round up enough dishes to actually have a full dishwasher!
8:30 am - walk/ran only 1.43 mi. today, got new shoes, need to break them in.
9:15 am - got text from Cassie, she was ready to switch cars, now Kennadee will no longer be embarrassed to be in such a small car!!!
10:15 am - left house, went to get gas, and realized I forgot stuff at home.
10:28 am - left house for the 2nd time!
11:10 am - Met Cassie and girls @ Sam's Club, bought some fun things and got something that Grandma Robin bought for camping that I decided I had to have!!!

12:00 pm - lunch with Cassie and girls @ Rumbi Grill, loved that B seemed more comfortable with me and was being playful and fun!!!  Although she only wanted to talk about "pup" aka Sophie, her 2 favorite things about us King's are Sophie, the pup and bossing Zach around (she tells him to sit, only she adds an "h", can you guess where....)
2:00 pm - back home again, swinging in the hammock, but it was too hot to enjoy, wishing I had someone to fan me, swing me and feed me grapes.....where is Kennadee when I need her!
3:30 pm - had to postpone a pedi with a friend (because of kids, go figure) until tomorrow, at least it will be  something to look forward to!
4:00 pm - hmm, what to do when you can't have a pedi, take a nap!!!
5:30 pm - Dad came home and dinner is served
6:30 pm - Dad leaves for Bow Club and I water plants, what do I notice....the grass needs mowed, missing Bradley and Zach!!
7:00 pm - Start to catch up on computer stuff, grocery smarts, blog, e-mails, looking up articles to write talk on Sunday........oh yeah and Pinterest :)
8:40 pm - called and talked to Lainee, Grandma and Bradley, all others were out riding 4-wheelers.
11:00 pm - Dad goes to bed, Mom still on computer......no surprise, huh Bradley :p
12:25 am - I go to bed!!!
12:56 am - correction, now I go to bed........yay!!!

Saw cute pics of my kids today, missing them all the more!!!

Week with no kids pt. 3

Wednesday, Wednesday, oh man why is it Wednesday!!!

9:00 am - woke up (Scott stayed home from work so no alarm clock, YAY!!!)
9:15 am - called and talked with Lainee and Zach (they were the only ones up)
9:30 am - got ready to go into SL with Scott

10:30 am - Went to Downtown SL to the new City Creek, beautiful!!!
12:00 pm - ate Lunch @ the Blue Lemon (yum, yum, yum)

(talked about all the cool stores each kid would like to go into, missing them)
2:00 pm - left City Creek (Scott bought me a present.....sadly it didn't come from Tiffany & Co. he wouldn't even let me go near that store)
3:00 pm - Couples Massage <3 <3
5:30 pm - Came home, ate dinner and had Movie Night (we even watched chick flicks)
11:00 pm - went to bed.........love, love day dates with Scott!!!

Missing you guys, but somehow I am surviving :)

Week with no Kids pt.2

Here was my Tuesday routine because I know my kids are just dying to keep up with what I have been doing!!!

8:00 am - woke up

8:30 am - finally got outside and walk/ran 1.88 mi.

9:15 am - showered and did my hair

10:00 am - watched some TV, started laundry

10:15 am - saw that Bradley got back online and told me he loved me too :)

11:00 am - started a secret project (that may or may not be done this week!!)

12:00 pm - had lunch outside, sat on the tramp all alone

12:15 pm - started to read a book in my hammock!!!

2:00 pm - woke up from a nap, guess being in a hammock on a beautiful day will do that to you!!

3:00 pm - talked to Grandma Merkley on the phone!

3:30 pm - played Bubble Witch on Facebook, thought of my kids playing it on Grandma Robins computer.

5:30 pm - finished the laundry, YAY!!!

5:35 pm - talked to Dad on the phone

5:45 pm - Dad got home from work, started Dinner

7:00 pm - Dad left to go help out at YM

7:30 pm - had a mini primary meeting (phone call)

9:00 pm - watched Dance Moms, thought of my cute girls dancing

10:00 pm - went to bed

Week with no kids!!!

Yay, it is summer and the best thing about summer is 

Week with no Parents!!!

My kids and Sophie, get to go stay at their Grandma and Pappy's house and get to enjoy time away from their parents and Scott and I get to enjoy a "stay"cation, we get to stay home and enjoy having a clean house, no noise, no fighting, no whining, peaceful week.  So this week I thought I would clue my kids in on what I get to enjoy while they are gone, because I know they are dying to know what I do and I know that they think about me all the time, only because that is what I do when they are gone.  So here is a run down of what I did on Monday

8:00 am - got up
8:15 am - walk/ran - 1.88 miles
9:00 am - ate breakfast
9:30 am - practiced piano
10:00 am - shower/did my hair
10:30 am - wondered what my kids were doing
11:30 am - went to lunch with my friends
3:00 pm - got home from lunch and practiced piano
3:30 pm - Visiting Teachers came over
4:00 pm - took my friend to pick up car
4:15 pm - went to the grocery store
5:00 pm - put groceries away and thought "Wow, when the kids are gone I hardly buy anything."
5:30 pm - talked to Scott on the phone
5:45 pm - Scott got home from work, we talked about the kids
6:00 pm - Scott took me out to dinner, ran into a couple we hadn't seen for a while, they were pregnant with    their 10th child.
7:15 pm - came home watched some TV, got on facebook and chatted with Bradley for a while, he said they are all having fun and getting along.  I said I love you, he logged off......
10:00 pm - went to bed

So far, so good, I miss my kids but not so much I want them to come home yet!!!

I should write comics

Picture it in cartoon form :)

This morning Zach comes into the front room where I am sitting on the floor folding socks and he says "Mom, are you in here?" to which I sarcastically reply, "bbbbeeeeep, I am sorry but the party you are trying to reach is no longer available, please leave a message and they will return your call as soon as possible."  So just as Zach starts to leave his message, I cut him off with a "bbbeeeeeeeep, sorry mailbox full!!"

* eye-roll*   "Mom.........."

Dribble, Shoot, SCORE!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Bradley just got a call he has been waiting for, he spent Fri. and Sat. night trying out for the Division 1 competitive soccer team in the Tooele area, and as you may know because of my heading, he MADE it!!!  Scott and I are beyond excited for him.  He has always had such a talent and has had many people comment on his abilities, but to make this team is an extreme accomplishment in and of itself.  So excited for this next chapter in his life.  Congratulations Bradley it is well deserved you have worked hard!!!  

The Help

I know I may regret this later on, but I just had to share!!!

My sister Erin and her husband Drew were heading out of the country and they needed someone to take care of their kids', so off to Maryland I flew, although they were not leaving until Tues. afternoon, I flew out Sun. night so I could kind of get a idea of what to expect with the kids and most importantly make sure that they were okay with me!!

Mon. morning brought some cute excitement from my little 'Lesa who acted as if we were next door neighbors instead of someone she sees only twice a year, she just started chatting and I don't know that she ever stopped, except to sleep, she even told me that we had the same hair and she had to put a lock of her hair on top of mine to prove to me we were the same!  And much to my delight Baby Van took an instant liking to me, he just snuggled me and laid his little head in my lap and didn't shy away from me at all, phew, I was set!!!  Later that same night Aunt CiCi (Taci) came up and with Erin, myself and 'Lesa in tow we headed into town to go out to Dinner.  I really do enjoy spending time with my sisters and we were having so much fun just chatting it up.  A while into dinner, 'Lesa proclaimed that she needed to go potty, she being only 3 and still needing a little supervision asked if Aunt CiCi would take her, but I quickly offered to take her since I knew this was not Taci's favorite thing to do.  After 'Lesa sat on the potty for a while she said to me "Nope, I guess I don't need to go", so she hopped down.  I on the other hand now had to tinkle myself, so I asked 'Lesa if she would just stand right inside the stall and wait for me, we were in the handicap stall since they are bigger and perfect for more than 1 person.  As I sat down, my cute little niece asked for some toilet paper so I gave her some and watched as she started to kind of roll it around in her palm, I had finished so as I went to grab some toilet paper for myself, I heard 'Lesa ask for me to scoot up, I didn't even think about how odd of a request that was, simply since I had to lean forward anyway to get my own toilet paper, and before I knew what was happening, I felt this little swish up my bum and heard in 'Lesa's sing-song voice "front to back", which is what Erin hollers out to her every time she goes potty.  Oh my gosh, I nearly came up off the toilet in surprise, but I didn't want to scare Alesa by shouting and shooting off the potty, so I simply finished myself and proceeded out the stall (I am sure beet red) washed our hands, and headed back out to Erin and Taci.  As soon as I sat down and there was a break in their conversation I jumped right in and proceeded to tell them what had just happened, I don't think we could have laughed harder, we were all in tears from the hilarity of it, and at this point I was just really glad I had actually gone to the bathroom because I swear I would have peed my pants from laughing.  I know that the whole restaurant thought we must be crazy, but we just couldn't stop, and even when we would semi-calm down all it took was for one of us to say in a little sing-song voice "front to back" and we would start all over again.  Once we left the restaurant we headed over to Kohl's to do a little shopping and Erin was telling us how much Alesa loves to help out, to which Alesa quickly responds with "I help Aunt Mellaly tonight", so Aunt Melanie said, "tell your Mom how you helped me tonight, Lesa!" and without hesitation she states proudly "I wipe her bum, front to back!!!"  Oh gosh, I am laughing hysterically just writing this and reliving that moment, I know I cannot even begin to put enough comedy into my writing as what we felt that night, it was seriously one of those experiences that embarrass you to death to admit, but it is truly so funny that you can't keep it to yourself!!!

Thank you Alesa for being such a big Helper for Aunt Mellaly!!!

and remember Happy Hiney's say "Front to Back"  :)


(p.s. the title picture is of Alesa and Bradley, roadtrip 2010)

Heavenly Alarm

So Scott has been saying lately that I am a snorer, I really don't know if I believe him yet, due to the fact that I am still waiting for evidence of this fact.  But, whatever!!  The other morning though, Scott was telling me that my snoring actually saved him from being late to work.  He said that I rolled over and started snoring right into his ear, he was a "little" annoyed at this gesture of snuggling and rolled me over, as he was laying there annoyed he looked at the window and noticed it was light outside, to which he then looked at his alarm clock and only noticed then that his alarm had not only not gone off, but that it wasn't even set and it was time for him to get up and get out the door.  So my thinking is, how cool am I, that I can not only act as an alarm clock but that I get to stay asleep while doing so!!!

I do think that if (and that is a big if) I do actually snore, I owe it all to my Dad and the Merkley in me.  Besides growing up and hearing my Dad almost bring down our house with his nightly snoring, I also remember one night a long time ago when there was a Merkley Chorus of sorts.  It was I think my Grandma Merkley's 80th birthday party and there was a multitude of Merkley's around, we were all at Grandpa and Grandma's house in Tridell and of course when all the cousins are around there are many pleas of "can I spend the night" heard from many children to their parents.  I remember that I was lucky (or so I thought at the time) enough to get to spend the night at Grandma's house, after talking, laughing and visiting with my cousins until late in the night, I found a spot for my sleeping bag and settled in for the night.  Just as I felt the peace of slumber knocking on my door, I heard a sound that brought me right out of my reverie; someone was snoring.  After getting used to the idea of listening to this, I again settled in and was awaiting the sandman.  Just as I felt my body starting to relax, I was again startled by the sound of another snorer, Augh!.....  The next moments seemed like a nightmare to me, the bad thing about this type of nightmare was that; I was awake and therefor had to live through it, for you see one Merkley after another started snoring, they filled the house with snore after snore, they were coming from upstairs, downstairs, back bedroom, master bedroom, front room and I am sure down the lane at Uncle Errol's house too.  I at one point started waving my hand as if to conduct a symphony, the only thing was I was not enjoying this musical rendition, at all!  When it was time to get up (for those who actually slept) I was so grateful, but sadly for me and my mom, I was a little ornery the next day for my Grandma's actual birthday party celebration, but being with family is always a plus, so we had a great day anyway, and the next night I did not ask my mom if I could spend the night because I was too tired to go through that ever again!!!

Example it!!!

So today is my Dear OLD Dad's birthday, yes I remembered it, because there was a little birdy (a little 6 year old birdy who I talked to yesterday) that told me I had better remember Grandpa's birthday tomorrow.

Lainee went out to Grandma and Pappy's with her cousin Katie to spend some of their spring break together without us :(  So as I was on the phone with her she was telling me all about her day and how Grandma Robin had taken them to get kid's meals at McDonalds and she got apples in her meal.  She also said that Grandma took them to Jubilee's and she knows that Grandpa Merkley works there, so she went to see if he was there and try to surprise him, which it turns out that she and Katie were able to scare him, of course you can't go see Grandpa without getting a treat and knowing how much Lainee loves Grandpa's jerky; that is the treat she got from him, she then proceeded to tell me that he gave her special jerky at that she is suppose to "example it" for him, and let him know if she liked it or not.  You know what I get a kick out of; that even as Lainee is telling me this story I can see the twinkle in my Dad's eye, and the surprise he felt seeing my little Lainee and how excited she gets to spend time with any of her grandparents.  

So from all of us here in Tooele,

(that is until Tomorrow when we see you)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA

(aka Dad)

WE LOVE YOU!!!

p.s. Thank you for being an example to me, for showing me how to work hard and dream big!!!

a big GRACIAS!!

It will be 10 years ago this December that it happened.  The first time I left this Country and traveled abroad, leaving my children to be cared for by my Mother-in-law Robin.  I only had 3 kids back then, Bradley who was 4, Kennadee who was 2 weeks away from turning 3 and Baby Zach who had just had his 1st birthday.  I was traveling to Sweden with my parents, my sister Kari and my brother Galen, to support my other sister Erin as she was going through the Temple for the first time in the Stockholm, Sweden temple.  I was a little paranoid about leaving my kids mostly because I was leaving the country.  I survived (although I think my brother Galen has a different take), my kids survived, and when I finally got to see my kids after being gone for so long it was a very sweet moment, especially since Zach just kept looking at me like I had been raised from the dead.  He would hug me then push back and look at my face, making sure it was still me and then hug me again and repeat the process over and over again.

Last summer Scott and I took our first out of country trip to Mexico and again left our children in the care of Robin, I had no qualms about going on our vacation and leaving them and worried only about coming home to my spoiled children, which if you know Robin you know why I say that!!  Scott and I were having so much fun on our vacation that I really didn't have a lot of time to miss my kids, we didn't have cell reception, we didn't text and told Robin to only contact us only if there was an emergency.  The friends we went with had internet in their room and so one night (close to the end of our vacation) I checked Facebook to see if Robin had posted anything and to my delight she did, she had some pictures of the kids on the camping trip they took with their Grandma and Pappy (Robin & Everett) to the family reunion.  I was fine looking at the pictures until I saw this one:

I don't know why it struck me the way it did, but I literally fell to pieces, I kind of felt like Zachary back when I got home from Sweden, I would look at Kennadee and then have to look at her again and again just to make sure it was really her.  She looked so grown up and I felt a deep pang of regret and loss, she had grown up in the week I was gone and I had missed it.  I cried and cried and tried to take deep breaths to cover up the fact that all I wanted to do at that point was jump on a plane and go get my kids and not miss another second of being with them, even though most of the time I am with them I dream of going on vacation, touche!

So this last Feb. when Scott and I again had the opportunity to go back to Mexico, we chose to do things a little different, we decided that we would pay for the internet in the hotel room and keep in better contact with the kids so hopefully I didn't feel so distant from them.  It is funny how your mind works sometimes.  I was so apprehensive about leaving this time, I think it was because of how much that one little picture affected me, I don't like the feeling of missing out on so much with my kids.  But all my worrying went out the window when I knew that I could connect with my kids daily.  Robin was so good about sending me e-mails and keeping me updated on everything the kids were doing and saying.  Our internet connection sucked and I couldn't check it as often as I wanted but nonetheless I had the connection I needed and craved being so far away from them.  I have been very blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law who loves the "challenge" my four kids provide for her!!  She is ever so willing to drive them all over, she made sure they got to dance, karate, scouts, ym, yw, and even attended the Blue and Gold Banquet in my place and when I forgot about a PTA project I was suppose to have done before I left the country, she just took charge made an assembly line out of my kids and all the friends that were over and cranked out 100 read-a-thon packets, Way to go Grandma!!!  I am so appreciative of all that Robin does to ensure that my kids are taken care of in my absence, she goes above and beyond (sometimes way beyond) what my kids need and I love that about her.  I love hearing all the grand stories when I get home, although I do not appreciate being called Grandma for 3 days after being home, but I guess it is the price I pay to have a little peace while on vacation.  Robin - thank you, thank you, thank you for all you do for me and the kids, it is really appreciated and also thank you Everett for letting Robin come out and take care of these hoodlems leaving you to fend for yourself.  I consider myself very lucky to have such wonderful in-laws and don't worry I am sure there will be more vacations for me to go on after all I think I am getting better at being able to leave my kids with out freaking out ;)

okay, maybe not, but practice makes perfect right!!!

A Newborn.....

Well people, I am starting to believe I have the lung capacity of a newborn.  I have been trying really hard to do something about my health (*cough*weight*cough*) and so I have been trying to use the things around me to help out with getting my body healthier.  I have been walking on the treadmill, doing push-ups, planks and I even have been working a little on arm exercises whenever I am sitting.  I was thinking about something I could do to help streghthen my legs a little more than just walk/jogging on the treadmill and I thought about stuff they do on the Biggest Loser which they do a lot of stairs, easy enough right, I have stairs right in my very own home, YAY me!!!  14 is the number of stairs I have, you know, not to many, not to little, just right.  I figured I could do 50 reps of going up and down the stairs No Problem, sounds a little "under-achiever" if I do say so myself, phssh, I got this is the bag!!  I seriously could not have been more W.R.O.N.G., as if my ego hasn't suffered a lot lately as it is, I only did 7 reps, yes you read it right 7 measley times of going up and down.......my heart hurts, my ego is shattered and my lungs I swear are filling up with blood as I am writing this because I over worked them, pathetic :(  I am thinking there is only one explanation for this and it is not that I need to exercise more.....it must be that my lungs are the size of a newborns, I would google my symptons but the last time I did that I found out I had leprosy, so before I go to the dr. with my ailments, could all of you go do some stairs and let me know that I am not a loser, that I am just one of you, and that maybe with a little more hard work I can make my goal of being more Healthy a reality.........please!!!

The Wrong Way

So as I was driving home from work tonight, on the slushy, crappy, snowy roads, it conjured up a long lost forgotten memory, and so I must share;

Scott and I had been married only a week or so and with me being a country small city girl, I was slowly learning how to navigate my way through Salt Lake, I however did not like to drive anywhere by myself, in the dark or without being told in "countryfied" directions; ie. go down the street turn left at the blue house, past the field of cows, turn right at the big rock....you get it right, and Scott being the newly married, wanting to keep his new bride happy, was soooo good at helping me even though he got (still gets) frustrated with my being seriously directionally challenged.  Scott at this time was working out by the Airport and since we only had one car it was my responsibility to make sure he was picked up from work if I needed to use the car while he was away.  Oh the days before Cell phones, I know most of you cannot even remember such a time and my kids ask me if grew up with the dinosaurs, since I was around BEFORE cells, Ipods, internet, and such.  But I just tell them, No, your grandparents grew up with the dinosaurs so I am way Modern :)  On this particular night I headed off to pick up Scott at around 11:30 pm, his shift ended at midnight and I wanted to give myself a little cushion.  I remember seeing all the signs that pointed me in the right direction and I was getting so excited to show Scott just how big I was and that I could find places on my own (now remember this is even before GPS), I only had one more exit to take and then I would be at the International Center by the Airport, but somehow I missed seeing that exit, as I was driving I thought that I had gone to far but I couldn't remember exactly, so I kept driving hoping that I would recognize something that either told me I was still on the right road or that I had gone too far, now looking back and remembering this, I realized that I didn't know what was past that exit because I had never been past, so everything should have looked foreign, but it was dark and I knew I wouldn't be able to tell if it was familiar or not.  I found myself alone, in the dark, on the wrong road and scared because I didn't know where to go from there.  I was getting so stressed because it was well past midnight and I started getting a migraine from the thoughts of disappointing my husband and feeling completely stupid that I couldn't find where I needed to be even though I had been there multiple times.  I pulled over to the side of the road and prayed, I prayed hard that I would be able to get to home safely and that my headache would stay at bay long enough to get me back home, I also prayed that Scott would find a way home and that he wouldn't be mad at me when he did.  When I was done with my prayer I remembered "oh yeah, Scott works by the airport" the airport is all lit up so it was very easy to navigate my way back towards it, and once I made it back there I was able to finally see the signs that would take me back to the safety of my apartment and Scott.  I finally got home around 1 ish and Scott was not there but I had the feeling that he was okay and that he would soon be home, he came bursting through the door about 15 min. later, frantic and happy that I was home, he then asked what had happened and I just commenced to crying, I was so grateful that he was home, I was happy that he wasn't mad and I was so thankful that the Lord had answered my prayers and brought us both back home safely.  I think the really funny part in all this is that the wrong turn I made actually had me heading out to Tooele, maybe subconsciously I was already heading home I just didn't know it then......  I hate to admit it but I am still so directionally challenged but thankfully for Scott's sanity, I now have a cell phone, with a car charger :), I have a GPS system in my van and on my phone and I have 17 years of living out here under my belt, so I can drive anywhere with confidence, okay maybe that was too strong  a word, but I am getting better!!!  And I have driven across the country with my Mom and Sister, so I think I am pretty awesome!!! I am pretty lucky that my husband has stuck with me and is very mindful on my "one" flaw and I love it when my Dad is giving me directions, using words like east and west, Scott is right behind him saying, left and right and turn by the big rock.   I so Love him!!!

Home Lunch....

I am having a raging debate, mostly with myself, about the pros and cons of home lunch.  Most everyday this school year, Zachary has been taking a home lunch which he gets up and makes himself, my job in this whole thing is to make sure he has what he needs and never run out.  But this week he has taken it to a whole new level, let me explain; his lunch consists of:

PB & J sandwich (PB has to be a certain brand, jam has to be my freezer strawberry jam and his white bread is that cheap sandwich bread, that makes me shudder each time I put it in my cart.)

Chips (doesn't matter what kind as long as there is an extensive selection)

Grapes (he doesn't care how much they cost in the winter)

Capri Sun

There really isn't much to complain about there except for the fact that he is so specific and I can rarely get him to see that substitutions are okay, oh and did I mention that at promptly 7:45 am every morning he calls Zane to verify the lunch plans and they pack their lunches while on the phone with each other, so keep in mind I am making sure that not only 1 but 2 kids are satisfied with their lunch requirements, and I always have to keep spares of everything on the off chance that Zane's Mom has run out of something and she does the same for Zach.

So this past week as I have been weighing the cost of groceries vs. school lunch, Zach kindly reminded me that he has a field trip on Thurs. which of course requires a Lunchable (I refuse to let them eat them any other time), and also since Zane's mom has now purhased Twinkies for Zane's lunch I had to get them too, so for his lunch tomorrow he will pack his disgusting lunchable, chips, a twinkie and a Kool-aid Jammer (they were cheaper than Capri-Sun), so as I am buying this stuff keeping in mind that I am also trying so hard to eat better and healthier I find myself thinking, "what in the heck kind of lunch is this, there is absolutely no nutritional value in it whatsoever, yet I am buying this stuff and then I am saying to my son, go ahead pack the lunch that is suppose to sustain you through school hours and have a great day!!!  I feel like a great mom!!!

Despite my knowledge of good vs. evil foods, I have to say that for whatever reason his making his own lunch empowers him and so for that reason and that reason alone, I will still continue to let him pack his lunches and hopefully my buying a box of twinkies doesn't come back to bite me in the butt!!!

(I really must love them!!!)

the Big 1-0

3 of my 4 kids have now entered double digits.....................................aughhhhhh!!!

Okay well he did actually have his birthday in Nov. but hey, I am a mom and a busy mom at that so sometimes you have to celebrate the birthday in Nov. and then blog about it in Jan.

I usually let my kids decide what they want their birthday cake to be but this year for Zach I decided for him, only because my idea was so super fantastic and I knew he would love it!!!  Zach is such an artist, he loves to draw, color, paint and doodle, so I thought it would be so fun to have him decorate his own cake!!  I rolled out some white fondant for him and then let him use some edible markers to color his cake with.  And although the markers were really hard to work with he still had fun and his cake turned out cute!!!

I love that he had to sign his cake!!

One year older and wiser too, Happy Birthday..to you!!

(what a bunch of posers!!)



A Birthday Girl!!

You have to fight for the right to

PaRtY!!!

Or at least turn "12" so you can have an awesome party!!! 

What could be better than lots of girls, getting their hair done, nails done, playing games, playing Just Dance on the Wii, giggling uncontrollably at nothing, making their own cupcakes, watching the series ending of Wizards of Waverly Place and then giggling more.............Nothing!!!

I asked Kennadee how she thought her party had gone and with the biggest, brightest smile she said, "Best. party. EVER!!!  And I think that says it all...............well except for maybe these:

(Apples to Apples Jr. one of K's faves)

Our Stylists, McKenna H., Bailey M. & Elysa M., they were awesome and so fun to have there, Kennadee did not want her haircut until after her party because she wanted Elysa to do it!!!

She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake Cake AND cupcakes to decorate, the cake was Delish!!

she was Dared to put her face in her cupcake and hard to believe but she did it!!!

Yay, she finally got her I-pod, she asked for it for Christmas and when she didn't get it she said, "Well good thing my birthday is soon, so I have another chance!!!"

Kennadee is such a JOY to have as a daughter, I love seeing her grow up and even though she is small in stature she is huge in love and kindness.  I love everything about this young woman and I cannot wait for all the wonderful things that are just around the corner for her.  It seems so hard to believe that it has been 12 years since the Dr. placed this little girl in my arms, and I feel so lucky that I get to be her Mom.