Holy Smokes!

This weekend was a very, very busy one....also very fun albeit but very busy! Friday we went to a Halloween party that my friend was putting on for the kids. The boys had soo much fun and they ended up with some prizes and Ry won best costume! They had  ball. But we didn't get home until 10ish pm and desperately needed showers....so the heads didn't hit the bed until around 11 pm. Very late night indeed.

The next morning, Ty and Ryder were all sorts of excited to go to the Sheep Parade and get our day started. Nate...not so much. He decided he wanted to sleep instead so...we left him home. We were about 15 minutes late but we still got to see some fantastic tractors and sheep of course!



Awesome steam tractor thing



After the parade, we picked up Nate and went to the tailgating party that was going on at the university. The boys got their faces painted and were all set for the game. The boys ended up only lasting until about 10 minutes before half time before they were bored and tired and hungry, so we ended up leaving. But SUU was up by 14 when we left...so I'm hoping they ended up winning. Go SUU!



Not sure what Nate was thinking...but ok

Sunday was our fun family Halloween party. We ate some yummy philly cheesesteak sandwiches and then it was time for some games. We played a tossing game, pin the nose on the pumpkin, ring toss and got to break a pinata! I have tons of pictures...but for some reason they aren't wanting to get off my phone and on to my email....so I will have to post them later if I remember. However the few that did transfer over were great (and coincidentally...my favorite pics of the night).

*Not sure if the movie will work...so if not I'll youtube it then add it again*



All the kids dressed up

 


Grandpa and Grandma enjoying the festivities

 Tonight....we have alot of options. The office girls and I are meeting up to take the kids to our elderly/disabled tenants after work, sometime tonight we are going to go trick or treating with our friends Tyler, Mande and Emma, and the possibility of seeing Paranormal Activity 4 (thats not going to include the kids...for obvious reasons....).



via google images

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Big decisions

So I really wish that before you start your schooling career, you would be required to take the Academic Probation course. Why? Because I had some insight yesterday that I thought I'd share. As many may know (since I talk about it on here a lot) the only  two classes I find I'm struggling in are the only two classes I'm taking this semester that go towards my major. At first I figured I was just out of touch with going to school...which I still believe to an extent....but the thought of taking more accounting classes and econ classes makes me kind of want to puke. Mostly because I know I will struggle with them. Well in the Academic Probation class I have, we had a counselor from the Career Cafe give a guest presentation yesterday on why it's important you find your purpose. The counselor was in Corporate America for like 26 years. He got paid bank, got to travel to 21 different countries, lived the life of luxury....all that great stuff. But he hated it. To the point it made him physically ill. So that made me think about why I decided to choose what I did. I think the reason I chose Business Management is because I like the status that gives and the wages. Not because I'd enjoy the work. The more I think about a career in Business, the less and less I think I'm in the right major. However...registration for classes starts soon, and I've been stressing because another semester of business classes that I know I will struggle in and possibly not pass means that I could possibly be on academic probation AGAIN and could possibly be kicked out of school and forced to take a year break before coming back. I REALLY don't want that to happen. So, I've made an appointment with the career counselor for a session that I'm sure will be enlightening. It will be 1 1/2 hrs of I'm assuming self assessments, looks into careers that could happen with different majors and where I would fit in best. I do have to say I'm rather excited for this, as I'm hoping I can find a major that will fit me and what I want to accomplish in my life. And the plus side... some of the majors don't require any classes over 1030 which is Quantitative Reasoning. I'd be happy for that, since math isn't my strongest trait.

I also am having big time stress over what to do about jobs. The way it looks, I will not have a job after Dec 31. Funding just isn't there and that's that. Its life. In my experience, most jobs don't provide much flexibility for school, so this has made me wonder what I should do. Should I find a full time job and quit school...or keep going to school and pray something comes up that will work with schedules and live off of my grants/tax returns until I do find something? If I was single and had no kids, it would be an obvious choice. But my number one concern is being able to support my kids. However in the long run, getting my degree will give me a career...which just hopping from job to job won't do. So I don't know. I'm hoping some divine inspiration will come to me and tell me what to do. As of right now... I plan on staying in school and praying like no other that I'm able to make it. Cross your fingers for me and send good mojo....now is definitely a time when I will need it.

FHE

Yesterday was a good goal day. I ate awesome the entire day and only went over by 100ish calories....but even that didn't matter at the end of the day. We had fish and rice for dinner at the boys gobbled it up. Then I decided we would get a jump start on FHE. I didn't realize (yes I'm a slacker) that Nate is old enough to work on his Faith in God. So last night was the first installment of getting the basics down. We all have charts we get to check off every time we accomplish one of the basics. Ty was being a stinker so I got distracted and wasn't able to go over the charts as well as I wanted, but I'm thinking we will do that tonight. And get a prize for whomever does the best on their charts. Afterwards, we made some witches hats (thanks for the inspiration Mom!) and the boys loved it.

Group shot...sorry Nate I thought you were in it more...

Nates finished product



Ryder working on it




Ty eating more frosting than decorating...


And I didn't eat any at that time. I was super proud of myself. It was very messy, so after everyone was done eating their hats they jumped in the shower and got jammies on. We have started a new bedtime routine where we shower, get jammies on, choose two books to read then read a chapter out of the scriptures. We are making a goal to finish the Book of Mormon. I have no idea if this will be beneficial to them or not, and they seem bored most the time, but we are going to finish it anyway.

After everyone was in bed, I busted out 2 miles on the treadmill (woot woot!) and ended up with a surplus of 77 cals for the day.... so what do I do? Grab a couple Hersheys Kisses. Mmmm. But even then I still ended up with 17 extra cals. I would call that a great day.

I even got some studying done. I read Part A of my accounting chapter. Tonight, I need to dedicate myself to a whole chapter. Because my next test opens up this Friday....so I better get on it. I feel better about this one though because I'm actually understanding the concepts better.

So I say the day was a WIN! Amazing what happens when you stop worrying about what you don't have and focus on the awesomeness that you do have....

Some {Worthy} Insight

This weekend was filled with good things. On Saturday I got determined and decided I was going to find a way to get my treadmill in my apartment and put somewhere where I could use it. I'm sure Dad was probably thinking "Oh boy here we go again..." but I promise that is the last time I move that treadmill until I buy a house or get married. I fully intend on staying where I am at until that time. Moving that thing is quite the feat, it is not "light weight and easy to move!" as the sales rep pitched me. Anyway...we got it torn apart and moved up into my apartment. It has a new home in my dining room right by the windows. And I will be using it. Every day.
Sunday I had a hard day in church. Sacrament meeting was full of constant fights and bickering between the boys, Ryder disobeying me and then LAUGHING when I'd scowl at him or tell him to be quiet. It was horrid. Then the sweet relief of Sunday School and kids going to Primary relieved me. In Relief Society the lesson was on the April 2011 Priesthood Power talk given by President Monson in the Priesthood session. I dunno if it was just the day, or the fact that the teacher is this amazing girl...but it struck a cord. She told a story of a girl who, despite her best efforts, was having a really hard time finding a good man. She dated a string of return missionaries who she thought would be spiritually sound, however that couldn't have been farther from the truth. She was at her darkest point and figured there were no worthy priesthood holders left. They were kinda like the Easter Bunny, you've heard of him but he's non-existent.
So the teacher left the story there for a moment and got into the talk.
Some points that really stood out for me were some quotes that were given. The first being:

"Choose a companion carefully and prayerfully; and when you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Priceless advice comes from a small framed plaque I once saw in the home of an uncle and aunt. It read, “Choose your love; love your choice.” There is great wisdom in those few words. Commitment in marriage is absolutely essential."


How true is that? Choose your love; love your choice. Even in the hard times, realize you chose to marry that person for a reason. And another:
President Howard W. Hunter said this about marriage: “Being happily and successfully married is generally not so much a matter of marrying the right person as it is being the right person.” I like that. “The conscious effort to do one’s part fully is the greatest element contributing to success.”

Another wise saying. Instead of focusing on the other persons faults and whats making you mad...focus on changing something in yourself to make the other person feel a little more special.
At the end of the talk she let us know that she was the girl from the story. She was the one who thought it was a hopeless cause. But, she didn't waiver in her beliefs and she got rewarded with a fantastic husband who loves and cares for her. I guess that's a sure fire sign. It also makes me realize that I need to make sure I am worthy to support the man I hopefully eventually end up marrying. And I'm not quite there yet. But I'm getting closer.
The talk is a fantastic one for both men and women, so I highly advise reading it if you have the chance. You can find it here. It gives sound advice on ways to improve your marriage as well if you find things are getting a little volatile.
So....here is to a good week ya'll. And happy marriages to those of you who have one. :)

Good times....

After a bit of a whiney butt day.....it was brightened up a bit when we were able to go swimming after work yesterday. Ryder for some reason had anxiety which is odd, because he's been there about a billion times so I dunno why the big bucket of water dumping caused him soo much grief. But it did...whatever. And it was all fun and games until someone pooped in the pool. So we really only got like 30-45 minutes swim time, but that was plenty for me. Then Grandma invited us to go to McDonalds for dinner and it was a welcome invitation as I really wasn't feeling up to cooking...even if I looked like a hot mess.

I have missed my friend D terribly the last while and haven't gotten to see her since going to her house in July (totally my fault since I've been hermiting myself a bit) so when I got her text asking if we could come visit for a minute since they had something for me...I was all over it. We had a good talk and the boys got to play with the kids there. I got to see her very adorable prego daughter and sis in law, both of whom I love to death and also haven't seen in ages....and we got our invites to their Halloween party and Baby Shower. The thing I like about D...and my other two lovies I got to see tonight....is that we are those special kinds of friends who can go for months without talking then pick right up again when we see each other. I always know they've got my back and I hope they know I've got theirs too.

So we were a bit tired and got home a bit later than I'd hoped....but it was totally worth it for the fun evening we had of spending
time with family and friends.

I've been coming across some blogs of friends from high school and it's been neat to see how their lives are going. Its also given me a bit of the green eyed monster of jealousy for those that have escaped Utah and are having all sorts of adventures in places like New York City. But...I am thankful for what I have and for having my family close by. So I will just live vicariously through them for awhile.

And its almost the weekend. I'm looking forward to being able to lounge around and get some laundry done. Weird...I think I'm getting old. I'm also planning on hitting the books so that I can possibly not fail this semester. Accounting is starting to make a bit more sense, but my Econ math is completely throwing me off. Practice practice practice I suppose....


Have a good weekend ya'll!

Randomness

I'm not entirely sure what to write today. I'm being a bit bi-polar at the moment. Obviously...cause its not noticable or anything...anyway. I want change, I'm just unsure about how to go about getting it to happen. Silly huh? I'm having a hard time implementing because I am a person who doesn't like to wait to see results. I want to know for sure SOMETHING needs to change though because I'm stuck in a rut. I'm thinking this weekend is going to be used as a planning weekend.

In other news....I wrote up a guest column for my friend Derek Morton who runs the Cedar City Real Estate 411 site. You can read it here. I think it turned out okay....we shall see how the community responds.

One more tangent.....
Have you guys heard of the series The Second City Network? I recently found them on Youtube and the videos crack me up. They ring true sadly....but still funny. The series I watched was about what Disney Princess characters are teaching young girls. Some of the videos leaned towards the more vulgar side....so just know that going into it. They have other stuff too, but I've yet to watch them.

Ok I guess thats all for today. Check out my post...let me know what you think. Thanks :)

Countdowns....

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN.........12 DAYS

COUNTDOWN TO THANKSGIVING..........36 DAYS

COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS........61 DAYS












COUNTDOWN TO NEW YEARS.............68 DAYS



















Just sayin........ :)

Halloweeny

So its time for a little positive. I'm still feeling weighed down and bummed with my life, but I also need to focus on the fun happy times. This weekend...it was getting ready for Halloween time! The boys and I went shopping for costumes and we found some great ones if I do say so myself. But they are a secret. I'll take lots of pictures I promise :)
We then decided it was pumpkin carving time. We have been growing pumpkins and Grandpa and Grandmas house, and they were ready to go so the boys picked out the ones they wanted and off we went. This year I splurged and got a pumpkin carving kit and it was the best thing I could've done. The boys were super crafty and of course chose some of the hardest designs. But I think they turned out cute.


Nate jabbing his punkin




Ty cutting the top off




Ry just kinda staring.....he "helped" me




The boys all working on their pumpkins




The finished product...my Ryder's cat, Nate's spider and Tyler's ghost.

They are already starting to shrivel, so we might have to get bigger pumkins that we can space the designs out on so they don't get all wrinkley so fast.

Tonight we are going to go participate in the ward service project. My boys need to learn to serve I think. And there are donuts and hot chocolate being served afterwards. Thats always a bonus I think. We will see how much the boys gripe...but hopefully they enjoy it more so than think its a pain.
 

I know I know...I'm being all EMO

I'm sorry...this is more blah blah I'm having issues and such that you've already heard about a million times so bear with me, but writing is very theraputic so you get to hear all about it.

I've been having a struggle as to whether or not my life is headed down the right path or not. Previously, life was easy. I obviously had some of the worries that every person has...money, screwing kids up for life, etc. But beyond the normal stuff I was fine. I felt hope that I'd find someone nice to be with because my choices weren't super limited, I just needed to sift through the losers to find a good one. However I was a crappy mom, daughter, sister, family member, friend, etc. I know this...and thats what prompted me to make changes. I was tired of constantly feeling like I was a let down.

Now...I have made the changes that I feel needed to be made in order for me to feel like I'm becoming a better person, but I guess I'm starting to feel the consequences maybe? I feel better as a person, but I realize that I have given a HUGE disservce to my kids and I've been a crappy mom. I want my kids to be respectful, honest little gentlemen. But I don't know what to do to teach them those principles. I can lecture and lecture....but how do you teach them? Don't get me wrong, I love my boys with all my heart and I do feel like they are good kids. However they are all exhibiting signs of naughty deeds that I know are directly related to the fact that I've been a crappy mom in some areas. The most recent....Tyler sending a not nice text to his cousin then lying straight to my face (and everyone elses) about it up until the time when his cousin let me know it was him. Seriously? How do I teach him that lying is not okay? I've told him numerous times...and ironically they had learned about it in primary that day too. Yet he still did it. What do I do?

The other area I'm struggling in is the man thing. I know I know....ya'll are tired of hearing about it. But seriously....things like the kids being naughty makes me realize even more that they need a man in their lives. They need someone to show them how they need to treat women. They need a strong hand. Beyond that, I'm lonely. And seriously? I feel hopeless that there is anyone out there for me. I'm having to be more selective. If I want to get married in the temple, then the person has to be LDS. 90% of LDS guys get married directly off their mission, and the divorce rate within the religion is pretty low. So the guys left who are my age or older are generally either very odd and quirky, two faced, complete jerks, or get swiped up as soon as they hit the market again. But...there are several very good guys out there who are of different religions who are awesome awesome people. I've met loads of them that I would love to date. However...they are not LDS. And really? Who is really gonna want to take on this emo mess girl and her 3 emo mess boys who are wanting a loving, kind dad soo much that they can barely contain themselves?

So...is this particular religious path I'm on worth it? I'm not sure anymore. My life is a daily struggle now. There isn't a day goes by that I'm not fighting off something...whether it be a craving, a desire to go hang out with my old friends who I miss like crazy, taking up offers of a date with guys not LDS, struggling with my kids and how to raise them since I'm not doing a great job and truly don't know how to improve....the daily bouts of loneliness and feelings of inadequecy in every aspect of my life right now just add to that battle. Is this really how I'm going to choose to live the rest of my life, struggling EVERY DAY to find some sort of peace or happiness...or something? Anything? Sigh....lets hope now that its all off my chest I can have a good week yeah?

*And as I'm finishing this post....Come Thou Fount starts playing on my Pandora and makes me want to cry (filled with spirit cry)....that helps me know that I think I'm headed the right direction maybe I just need to pray for some reassurance....

Yay for the weekend!

Its been a minute....hello! The last couple days have been a whirlwind of fun and excitement. Ok not really....but still. The trip to Salt Lake really jumped my creative juices into overdrive. I'm thinking when I finish school...I'm going to start my own business. I have a lot of ideas. I would kind of like to do a non-profit for financial literacy or maybe credit counseling. Or I could totally go on the opposite direction and go after my passion of photography. My dream job would be to have a successful photography business. I LOVE taking pictures and playing with their colors and such. Its my favorite. I've been highly considering minoring in photography. We shall see where life takes me.

This weekend there are soooo many options of fun and entertainment. There is a pumpkin festival at the university sponsored by Women in Business (woot woot and high five for the women in business) and Fall Fest which is at a nursery close by. They are having some closeout sales and a pumpkin patch. Sometime this month I'd like to go to the corn maze (soo much fun last year!) and also hit up one of the haunted houses. Did I mention I absolutely LOVE this time of year? I love it. We also get to tend a sweetheart of a little girl while her parents sneak away to the temple.

The boys and I are going to shop for Halloween costumes this weekend. I hope we find stuff thats cheap and likable. I also have a couple gifts I need to make for some soon to be arriving little darlings. I'm hoping to get that done this weekend as well. I've started buying Christmas early which is a big deal to me, seeing as how I usually wait until the last paycheck before Christmas. But this year, I really wanted to get the boys the best gifts I could and to do that, I have to budget everything out. I'm starting to feel a little proud of myself for being a grown up.

My mom texted me a conversation between Nate and one of his friends yesterday that I have to share. Some probably already saw it on facebook, but its made me smile.

Friend: Do you have a dad?
Nate: Yeah. My mom's divorced.
Friend: Why?
Nate: {thinking....} My mom wanted to go bowling & my dad wanted to go fishing so they had an argument and got divorced.
Friend: Is she going to find a man and get married?
Nate: {thinking...} Yeah. She wants to find a husband who will play with us and be nice to us.

I'm happy that my kids don't have negative thoughts about their dad. I also think its a pretty accurate analogy of bowling and fishing. I wanted to have a romantic, loving relationship (bowling) and he wanted to go spend his time with other women (fishing). I am very happy that he knows I'm waiting for the right person who can also be a good dad to them. I think of the whole conversation, that is the most important part to me. And the part that makes me smile the biggest. Now I hope that the man of my dreams is out there. I've about given up on ice cream boy. So the search continues.

Anyway...its Friday and I'm happy for it. Hope ya'll have a great weekend!

Goals....check!

Yesterday was a pretty good day for completely goals. I REALLY wanted to go out to a new Chinese place here in town even though I didn't have the money. I resisted and instead had some delish Shepards Pie that was totally worth making. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunch.
Healthy (or healthier than fast food) meal....check! 
After dinner, we went for a walk with some good friends. I'm looking forward to starting this new habit of walking every night with them...it helps the boys and I get out of the house and gives us exercise. We ended up walking 1.71 miles but didn't even seem like that long.
So exercise every night....check!
After some play time, the boys got jammies on and we read stories. I've been really wanting to get into a good bedtime routine. I give that half a check since we didn't get our nightly shower in....
but still...half check!
And when they went to bed....I read the accounting chapter that I knew I needed to read. I really didn't want to....but I did. And I get it now. And the chapter was insanely long...but I get it now.
Homework every night....check!
I've also made a goal to read two different books. The first is Daughters In My Kingdom which was given to me at church and we were encouraged to incorporate it with our normal study. The second is When Times Are Tough by John Bytheway. I have the goal of reading a chapter of each every night. Last night I did it.
Reading nightly....check!
The only thing I faltered on last night was FHE. By the time dinner was made and eaten, it was getting dark so we needed to go walking before it was too dark to go very far. Next week though.
I'm looking forward to tonight and seeing how far I get on my goals. Tomorrow I will be in Salt Lake for a meeting, so tonight and tomorrow will be a bit skewed....but we will try our best as always.

OH! In other news....
Have ya'll heard that your bank could most likely be charging you a fee every time you use a debit card? Yep. I've seen them as low as $2 and as high as $5 FOR EVERY TRANSACTION you making using a debit card! Call me crazy...but I'm going to start using  cash for absolutely everything if this is what its going to be like. I take that back...I'll strictly use bill pay for my bills (since no fees are being charged for that service......yet) and cash for everything else. I refuse to have my bank take my hard earned money because they feel I owe them for the honor of using their institution for my banking needs. Ludicrous ya'll....ludicrous. I know that so far, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and Regions Financial are on board and some have already started charging. Is your bank next?

Flat tires and ball fights

I have decided that cars are no bueno. I am soo irritated at my car. It was definitely not my smartest investment ever. I'm almost wishing I would've kept the gas guzzling monster 'burb, it at least ran well. Argh. Anyway...this weekend the horrible demon car had two flat tires. Same tire, albeit, but still. twice. So I'm rollin with a donut right now. And the donut is actually in better shape than the tires. However it is a bigger than the rest. Really...this car is horrible. So anyway. Nate learned how to change a tire. Grandpa was very patient and let him learn how which was great...I think its important to know how. And he loved it.
 And I was in a dress so its good he did it and got dirty instead of me....cause I'm girly like that.

Something that I think will go down in Carlile memorial history was the ball fight that took part after family dinner on Sunday. It was hilarious. The kids loved it and the adults had even more fun I think!

The whizzing blurs are balls flying. I'm sure that the neighbors were thinking we were crazy...but it was soo much fun! And funny enough a great workout. We had a great time.

And...those were the highlights of the weekend. Hooray.

Failing



You FAIL!

 There are moments in my life when I wonder if I've made the right decision. And this is one of those days. It is mid-term and time to check in with grades. In my easy 1 credit classes I'm passing no problem. In the two classes that are required for my Advanced Standing to the Business Program, I am getting Fs. Well, I know in the one class I absolutely love to pieces (Microeconomics) I am getting an F. Why? The test went bad. I think I need to appeal some of the wrong answers though, because I'm positive I got them right. The math though? I know I failed miserably. The class I despise (Accounting) I haven't checked my grade in but I can tell you without a doubt its an F since I bombed the test. Why do classes focus so much of the grade on tests? Don't they realize a lot of people are not very good test takers? Blasted. Its my own fault. I could've studied harder.
But it still makes me wonder if I'm really supposed to go to school. Is this a road block that I need to conquer and overcome? Or am I not ready for such a time intensive responsibility? School has proven difficult for me in ways I never imagined. Finding time to study has been difficult, finding time to do homework (since I don't have internet at home and the majority of the homework has to be submitted online) has been difficult, with the possibility of losing my job soon and finding new employment has proven difficult because anyone paying high enough wages for me to support my family don't want to work with school schedules. All I can do is hope and pray that this will all work out. I felt like I needed to go back to school for a reason, I just need to figure out why, because this is the most frustrating thing I've encountered (besides the divorce) in a VERY long time.

Hair-tastic

I really want long hair if/when I get married again, so I am determined to grow it out. Anyone who knows well me knows I get really tired of my hair really fast. I cut it or color it more than anyone I know. I've been trying to give it a break though. So I've been searching for cute and inventive ways to do my hair. I found a blog of a girl I went to high school with, Reagan, who is now a pretty successful hairdresser in New York City. She has also had an incredible (and sad but very inspirational) life after high school. I highly suggest you read her story. Seriously...you will cry but want to give her a high five. Anyway. She does tutorials and I've been trying to follow them so I can put up with my hair. The weather here has been windy and cold so up-dos have been my friend. Today...is this.



the back-ish



One side

Since the pictures are absolutely fantastic (hinting sarcasm...just in case you didn't get that) I parted my hair on the side where my natural part is and french braided each side until they met in the back. Then I pulled them together with any loose hair and created a messy bun. I also realized in taking these pictures that I have a short neck. Hmmm. Thats not very pretty.
Have a good weekend ya'll!

Where Did Fall Go?

The one thing I really hate about the weather here is that we never cycle through normal seasons. On Monday it was like 90 degrees and we had our A/C on. Last night it was raining so hard it kept the boys up. This morning it has snowed. Not a ton...and it's not sticking. But its still there and its still cold. I don't think we've broke 40 degrees yet. Ugh. The plus side...its perfect soup weather! I love a crockpot corn chowder recipe that I found in one of my many books, so that was on the docket. I got all the ingredients in there and we were out othe door yesterday morning. I came home to cold soup. The stupid crockpot hadn't been plugged in. Argh. But I just ended up cooking a batch by stove top and it was absolutely delish. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunch today.

So I'm happy its starting to cool down, but I'm not so happy that fall got passed over. The snow can wait at least one more month and I'll be happy.
In other news, I had the kids' SEP meetings this week. Tyler is doing fantastic. On his Dibels tests (some great academic test) he scored 20-30 points over the average in all categories. I'm pretty positive she said he was the highest in the class on one of the tests if not all of them. He is also a very good student and listens well. He has lots of friends and everyone likes him. Makes me happy he is doing soo well.
Nate is also doing great. They test the Dibels alittle differently for him and its clumped in one score instead of 4 like Tylers, but he was about 20 points over the average as well. He was struggling with getting his homework turned in...he would do it but not turn it in. So he has started working with his teacher in the homework club at school and has improved significantly. He was also having a hard time remembering to write down his reading, but that is also getting better. So the two places he was struggling have been improved since his teacher and I talked about it.
I'm sure proud of those kiddos...as much as they hate when I push them to do homework and reading, they are smarty pants and doing well. I completely attribute that to daycare though...they should be taking credit for always doing a great job at making sure my kids are on track. I'm guessing that Ry will be the same way. I hope.

Random

Yesterday was a good day. Work was good, and I learned some good stuff. After work I jog/walked a mile and felt amazing for it. Then we went home and I made some healthy HG Alfredo with some additions of my own...namely a steamable package of broccoli and cheese.

The boys weren't too fond of it, but I thought it was absolutely delightful. It made 5 servings and each serving is 220 cal. Not too shabby I say. After eating and getting the boys' homework done (see? good on my goals today!) I got a text from friend (we shall refer to my ice cream guy as this from now on) wondering if he could stop by and say hello. And he did. I got kiddos put to bed and we had a good talk about school, politics, religion...all the stuff you probably shouldn't talk about but we actually share the same views on for the most part. He also asked alittle about my history and ended up learning probably more than he would've liked, but he kept asking questions. So he officially knows my past and is okay with it. Thats probably a good sign, since my past has been a rough one with lots of ups and downs. He also asked about Grayson. And was understanding. That meant alot. So it was an all around good night I think. And it felt soo good to run again...that is something I'm going to definitely keep up. Hopefully I can get my butt back in shape soon enough. This is good...Life is good....

And now some random kids pics I found :)



Ty and Ry like to sit out on the balcony...and I thought it was soo cute they squeezed into the same camp chair :)




Yes thats called child labor...wierdly they love cleaning their bathroom.



I love this pic...they were bored while we were waiting for Grandpa to come save us from a flat tire. And of course Ry refused to pose. Thats my boys!

Yesterday...

...was a good day. For the most part. When I woke up I found a monster spider, seriously...like the size of a baby kangaroo. It was huge. And it was up in the corner of my vaulted ceiling in my kitchen, obviously not easily reached. I hate spiders. Hate them with a passion and have a bit of a phobia about them. I prayed it would still be in that spot when I got home so I could try to catch it or smoosh it or something. I didn't want to have to wonder if I would wake up to it crawling on my face.


seriously...look at this bad boy!

So we got home and it was indeed still there. As a tangent....we did good on our goals yesterday. The boys got out their homework and finished it up, cleaned out backpacks, and got everything organized for today while I made dinner. Then we ate as a family at the table. My planned dinner (Shepards Pie) didn't happen because I realized I was out of hamburger so we just had a wierd assortment of leftovers. But it was relatively healthy all the same. After dinner, we cleaned up and had FHE. We are learning about the 6 bees from President Gordon B Hinckley. The 3 we focused on last night were Be Grateful, Be Smart, and Be Clean. I have told the boys that if they really try to work on these this week, they can get a prize.
Then came one of the most shocking experiences I've had in awhile. We needed to return some Redbox movies, so Nate when to go turn them in and I parked in the parking lot. The lady parked next to me door dinged me not once...not twice...4 TIMES. She almost knocked my mirror off with her door and left 3 visible dings on my door. And I was sitting RIGHT THERE. She didn't apologize, didn't acknowledge I was even there...just went on her merry way. Wow. I was shocked.
Ok back to the spider. We get done with all this side stuff and the spider is gone. And then scared the crap outta me because he'd hauled butt to the opposite wall and when I turned around I swear I could see his eyeballs. So I tried to get one of the boys to smash him, but they wouldn't. They told me to quit being a scaredy momma. So I got the vacuum and tried to suck it up but he resisted. That thing was strong. It finally got sucked up, but I made Tyler look in the vacuum attachment to make sure it went down and we both swear it was climbing up so I left the vacuum running and took it outside. Needless to say...the vacuum slept outside last night. And my neighbors probably think I'm a tard from all the dancing around and squeeling that was going on. Oy. Anyway. Let's hope the spider doesn't crawl in again. Too much trauma.

October Goals....I know.....

I cannot believe it is already October. This year seems to have sped by right before my eyes. As I have looked back at some of my long term goals...I'm making progress. Very slight progress, but progress all the same. This month I want to challenge myself. I mean really challenge myself. I need to get kickstarted. So here goes. What made this kickstart happen you may ask? Struggling on 2 of the 3 tests I had last week, and blow drying my hair this morning. What does blow drying have to do with anything? When I lifted my arms up...I saw how fat they've gotten. Like beyond the normal relief society flap...ugh. So come on October....show me the money.

Health and Wellness Goals

Goal 1: Plan and execute menus every week
Goal 2: Track all food every day on my calorie count app
Goal 3: Run 3 times a week and do weights the other 3 (1 rest day)

School Goals

Goal 4: Read out of one of my textbooks every night (this has been especially hard with my accounting book)
Goal 5: Study (having issues figuring out how I study best)
Goal 6: Attend class every day unless there is sickness or death in the family

Family Goals

Goal 7: Do homework as a family every night
Goal 8: Eat dinner at the table as a family
Goal 9: Work on sticking to bedtime routine

Religious Goals

Goal 10: Have FHE every Monday night
Goal 11: Read the Book of Mormon every night (long term goal is to have it read before the end of the year)
Goal 12: Have family prayer every day

Financial Goals

Goal 13: No using the overdraft account
Goal 14: Put money aside in savings
Goal 15: Get Christmas bought ahead of time while I still have money


This seems like alot....but these are all aspects that I'm aware I need to improve on. I'm also fully aware that I probably will not accomplish every single one of these goals in entirety by the end of the month. However I want to improve on them. I can't remember if it was a talk or a lesson that I got this from...but some words of wisdom I haven't forgotten are this.

No one expects you to change your life all in one day. You make improvements one step at a time. Make yourself aware of the things you would like to improve and then take one of them and work on it. Conquer it...then move on to the next. 

Alot of these are things I've just gotten lazy with and simply need to get in the habit of doing again, so it won't be hard to adjust. Others...I have true struggles with and they will need to be conquered one at a time. But that is what this life is about, right? Live, Love and Learn.