Gibson Family

Much Obliged Monday

2011-09-19T17:28:00.000-06:00

Ok I always see people doing their "Thankful Thursdays" and I like the idea, but I figured since it occurred to me on a Monday, I probably will have forgotten by Thursday. There aren't any other synonyms to thankful that start with the letter "M". So Much Obliged Monday will have to do.

I really do have much to be thankful for, and I really need to focus on the good things in life rather than worrying about the issues. We all know what a lot of good worrying does for us, right?

I am thankful for my health, and my gym membership. For some reason, I just work out a lot harder at the gym than I do at home. Probably seeing all those other fit people in real life gives me that extra motivation to work harder.

I'm thankful for work. I am so thankful I have the job I do with the wonderful free health insurance for my whole family. As much as I gripe about the early hours and the truly hard work, I am blessed. How many people only have to work part time, and get full benefits (medical, dental, behavioral, retirement, vacation) 100% paid for the whole family and get raises every 6 months? I'm also thankful that Ira was able to get his CDL and has a full time job. That year and a half that he was unemployed was one of the hardest times in our lives. I don't ever want to repeat that again.

I'm thankful for my husband and how hard he is working right now to help us get ahead. I know he makes a huge sacrifice to be gone for weeks at a time, and it's not easy to be alone and living on the road day in and day out. I may have to deal with the kids and handle everything at home on my own, but at the end of the day, I get to sleep in my own bed, I can make myself something to eat whenever I feel like it, I can veg on the couch and watch tv for hours if I like, I can run to the store or go to the gym, or whatever I want. He is pretty much confined to his truck 24/7. I think I would go crazy. I am thankful that after he gets his first year of driving in, he will have a lot more options available and be able to be home more.

I am thankful for my kids, even though they drive me crazy sometimes.

I am thankful for my dogs, Bella and Chico, cuz they help keep me sane when the kids are driving me crazy :) I never considered myself a dog person, but now that I have them, I can't imagine my life without them. They just add so much, and are so full of personality. They too, drive me crazy sometimes, but then they just give me those puppy dog eyes and nuzzle up against me and all is forgiven...I wish kids were that easy!

I am thankful my kids are back in school, I love a quiet house in the mornings.

I am thankful for my home...even though it needs a lot of work and is most definitely not my dream home, I am grateful to have it. We came awfully close to losing it when Ira was unemployed, and that was scary.

I am thankful for the internet and cell phones and texting capabilities. It all just makes life so much easier and more interesting. I can't imagine Ira being an OTR trucker without having a cell phone or internet to post facebook updates. I would be worried sick all the time. I am especially thankful for google..I love having so much information at my fingertips. I am definitely a google freak.

I could easily get lost in google and spend hours just looking random stuff up.

I am sure I could keep going, but it's time to make dinner. I am much obliged to have you read this! ;-)

Adrie Got the Job

2011-04-02T12:51:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to say thanks for your prayers. It must have been the Lords doing, because He knew how stressed I was about her working at Lagoon again. With Ira being gone all the time and my work hours I just didn't have a clue how it would work out trying to get her to and from Lagoon every day. In years past she has had friends who live nearby who worked with her and because she was under 16 she worked the day shift and could take the bus/frontrunner. Now she has no local friends who work with her and she is 16 so she will work the night shift, and the lagoon shuttles and frontrunner don't run after the park closes. She doesn't yet have her license, we are working on that...hopefully soon. And even if she has her license she is afraid of driving the stick shift, which gets good gas mileage and would have to drive the gas hog.
With gas prices right now and 12 mpg, she would be looking at 4 gallons of gas per day, or around $13-$14 per day, just driving to and from lagoon. That adds up fast when you are only making minimum wage!

So one day when she was at Lagoon training I hopped online and was looking for online applications at places she could work. I went to the Newgate Mall website, found a few places hiring, but they were all just printable applications. Then because of being there being disappointed Cinemark wasn't hiring I decided to see if the Megaplex was hiring. The website didn't say if they were hiring, but there was an online application. I decided to go ahead a fill it out for her. A little tricky and I almost quit as there was like a 20 minute questioneer I had to answer as her, good thing I know her pretty well :) It turns out they were hiring and my timing was perfect. They had 6 positions to fill for concessions and during the week they were accepting applications, they recieved over 300. The Director told them she went through those apps with a fine tooth comb and narrowed it down to only a few who were then interviewed and only 6 of those were hired, including Adrie.

Now I realize the Megaplex isn't exactly a dream job, but Adrie has been applying for jobs regularly ever since last September when she turned 16! The economy is getting better but jobs are still hard to come by, even low paying jobs only teenagers would want.

She is super excited. She had an orientation on Wednesday, which she probably should have rescheduled because she was ill and ended up throwing up while she was there (because she thought she was better and ate real food for the first time since Sunday). She needs to get her food handlers permit on monday and she starts work on Wednesday.

If you all are really really nice to Adrie, she might just take you to a movie ;) She can take a guest to see a movie with her on Sundays- Thursdays for free as long as it's not brand new (over 10 days in the theater) She also gets 30% off the concessions. She can also attend some of the prescreenings for free, but she has to earn points in order to be able to bring guests. I have a feeling I'm gonna be seeing a lot of movies in the near future!

Job interview for Adrie

2011-03-16T17:21:00.000-06:00

At the Megaplex 13 movie theater in downtown Ogden. Her interview is on saturday afternoon. Pray she gets it!!! I really don't want her to work at lagoon again, this would be sooo much better.

And its so pretty, too! lol

Junior Prom

2011-03-16T16:26:00.000-06:00

I know most of you have seen Adrie's junior prom pics that I posted on facebook, but I figured I could post them again and tell you how her day went :)

I will start with how she was asked, about 2 weeks before prom:

She was in class when a girl came to her class asking for Audrianna (everyone calls her Audri or Audrianna so she figured it was for her, and it was) The girl had a fish bowl filled with Gold fish crackers and a note that said: "If wishes were fishes and you had 3. I hope that one would be to go to prom with me" Then also something to the effect that she would have to search thru the goldfish to find out who was asking. He had written the letters of his name on the back of a few goldfish so she had to find those and unscramble it. It was a good friend of hers, Devan. <><

She responded by baking him a giant chocolate chip fish cookie, making a tinfoil hook in it's mouth and wrote in frosting "I'll Bite!" She was going to have it delivered it his classroom, but he wasn't at school and it was a friday so she just took it to his house later that day. <><

Fast forward a couple days, I suggested Adrie try on her dress (which we had bought back in September) to make sure it still fit. It didn't!! And she only had a week till prom. Not good at all! First she checked with her friends. None of her friends are the same size as her. Her best friend, Malin, is a twig...5'10 and wears a size 0! Most of her other friends are at least a couple of sizes larger than Adrie, so no one had a dress that would fit :( Then we went to all the dress stores and I about had a heart attack. For prom dresses they start around $300. Not gonna happen!! We also were looking at a few home based businesses that rent dresses. With less than a week till prom, pickings were very very slim. I had messaged a couple of girls who were selling their dresses on ksl and one finally got back to me. We called and went straight over there, she had been a student body officer in high school and went to every dance. No joke, she probably had 20 dresses in that room, all either for sale or for rent and they were gorgeous! Adrie was set on red, black or white, and the girl only had one dress that fit those requirements- it was red. She tried it on and it fit perfectly!! Yay!! And for only $75, only a little more than it would have cost us to rent a dress for her elsewhere, and it's hers to keep or sell down the road.

Finding the dress was a huge relief...I think we found it on tuesday. Phew!!! Prom was Saturday, cutting it way too close!

Fast forward to Saturday, the day of the prom. For their day day they got together and went downtown to the Union Station in Ogden. One of the moms planned a scavenger hunt for them, so they first had to solve the riddles and figure out what they were looking for and then go into the various businesses on 25th street and ask for the items, silly things like toilet paper rolls and stuff. And some of the items on the list were to take pictures of themselves doing silly things. Adrie and Devan got the most items on the list and won the scavenger hunt :) Probably cuz they are just friends and didn't have to bicker and fight over stuff like the other "couples" lol.

The scavenger hunt went from 11-2ish then they rushed home, grabbed their dresses and makeup and tuxes and everything. The girls went to Kelsi's to get ready and the boys headed to one of the guys homes.

Malin, Adrie, Kelsi & Azhia getting beautiful!

The plan was to be ready and at Olive Garden by 4:45. Parents could come to Olive Garden then if they wanted to take pics. Didn't work out quite that way, they were running behind and didn't make it to the restaurant until about 6pm and it was getting cold and windy but I was able to snap a few pics.

My favorite pic of Adrie

Adrie & Malin

Their little group (they were part of a bigger group)

They had a wonderful dinner at Olive garden and 4 other couples joined them there also then they went back to Kelsi's house where the Limo picked them all up (in 2 groups, I guess 16 kids was a bit much for one limo to handle, lol). The prom was held at WSU's ballroom. Adrie said it was really pretty and they had a blast. They took some pics there, which I will post below and got group pics taken, can't wait to see those! Then they danced the night away. Adrie says the boys hardly danced, but the girls danced all night long. It went until midnight and they stayed the entire time and had a fabulous night! I am so happy Adrie was able to go to her junior prom and other dances too. She has had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories <3<3<3

Adrie was worn out after dancing so much and had to sit for a bit

Random Shot

The whole group: And the girls of Adries smaller

group showing off their shoe choice- Vans :)

Silly snapshot

HCG friendly Italian Chicken Soup

2011-03-16T15:27:00.000-06:00

Since half the family was sick (myself included) I decided chicken soup would be a good dinner. Normally I would make homemade chicken noodle soup with veggies, the whole family loves it and it's super easy. But because Ira is on the HCG diet and can't eat noodles I decided to do something different. I googled italian chicken soup and found one by Paula Deen but I changed a bunch of things and ended up with a super easy and yummy soup that everyone loved and was begging for more. Now I wish I'd doubled it so there were leftovers.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 12 oz cans chicken
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups sliced yellow squash
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
1-2 cups fresh spinach chopped
1 28 oz can petited diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth (4 cups water, 4 tsp chicken boullion)
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 pinch of Thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

In a large saucepan heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in yellow squash, spinach, cucumber and cook for several minutes. Add diced tomatoes, cans of chicken (don't drain) and chicken broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Top each serving with grated parmesan**, if desired.

**Not HCG friendly.

You could make any number of variations with this recipe and it would still be super yummy, so just have fun with it!

Change is in the air :)

2011-03-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

It seems as though things are finally looking up again. It's nearly spring, although it doesn't seem like it at the moment. It was a decent day, drizzly and cool and then it decided to snow some more :p I for one, am more than ready for warm days, flip flops, tank tops and bbq's with the neighbors.
Ira has been working for a few months now, so things have been getting better financially, but the stress caused by his job and trying to figure out his next move and transportation and lodging all the time was not good for us. We were fighting all the time over it and we finally decided something needed to change. So we started looking at other options, other jobs, and finally settled on the best option being him getting his class A CDL and becoming an over the road driver. Then I spent hours and hours researching trucking companies and trucking schools and financing options...some of these places are making a killing on these poor folks trying to better themselves. Charging upwards of 5-6 thousand for a 3 or 4 week course, expecting it all up front and not even guaranteeing them a job!
I was able to find a company based in Salt Lake City, Central Refridgerated, that offered classes with almost no out of pocket and as long as you pass the class and get your license, you are guaranteed a job with them. Ira called them on thursday afternoon and the gentleman sent him an application via email. Ira filled it out, scanned it in and sent it back in on Friday morning. Within an hour he had a call back saying he had been accepted to the school and he could start training on monday!
Today was his first day of training, it went pretty well. Mostly just paperwork, physicals, and such today. The class is 14 days here in Salt Lake City and then he will head out over the road with a trainer for 5 weeks of paid training. After that he will be assigned his own truck and will be a real trucker!!
Part of me is excited for him and part of me scared...I've done alright with him being away most of the time for the past 3 months. But I worry about if something big happens or about maintenance around the house and yard...he has always handled all of that stuff. Also he will miss out on so much of the kids' lives. It makes me sad, but I know we will be ok. I keep hoping some amazing job will pop up that will allow him to be home, but it just doesn't seem to be in the plan right now. So we will make the best of the situation and hopefully after he has a couple years under his belt he will be able to move to a company that allows him to be home every night.

Other random/exciting news:
1) Ira is doing the HCG diet. He is on day 3 of the very low calorie part of the diet and has already lost several pounds :) Yay Ira!! Now I just need to get my butt in gear and lose my winter fat as well.

2)Adrie is going to her junior prom on this coming Saturday, March 12th. We were freaking out for a minute because the dresses we had bought her back in September don't fit her any longer. So I've been scouring the net looking for affordable and pretty dresses. Today Adrie and I checked out like 4 dress stores and about died when we saw the price tags. For the dresses she likes (long, sparkly and very fluffy) they started around $400!! We had a couple of appointments with people who rent dresses out but pickings were very slim less than a week before prom, so no luck there. Finally as we were heading home, resigned to giving it another shot the next day, I got a call from someone on KSL classifieds that I had texted earlier saying we could come look at her dresses. She had been a SBO for her school and literally had an entire room full of fluffy dresses. Adrie only tried on one and it was the one! It is red and super fluffy, truly a princess dress, exactly what she was hoping for. And for only $75 I was ecstatic to be able to buy it for her. Tomorrow she is getting her nails done and on saturday they have a friend who goes to beauty school who is going to help them with hair/makeup. She said they would be somehow putting feathers and stuff in their hair and sparkly stuff on their skin. Can't wait to see them and take pics!! She is going with her friends Malin, Kelsi, and Azhia and their dates. Rumor has it there will be a limo and a scavenger hunt before the dance. Should be a blast!!

i cant sleep

2010-09-23T00:22:00.000-06:00

I can't sleep because Caleb had a freakout and now my adrenaline is pumping. He's had so many freakouts in the past month that I have lost count. He is getting strong and very hard to restrain. He's only 7.... we are trying him on new meds but its only been a week and we can only hope and pray they will kick in soon. Otherwise we may have to put him in inpatient therapy. His freakouts are downright scary...sometimes it takes both Ira and I to restrain him. He makes terrible threats and screams and swears and lashes out with whatever he can...trying to kick and bite and scratch and hit. Last time he got a leg free and I ended up with a bloody lip. I'm at my wits end and I've no clue what to do. We have taken him to the ER a couple of times and Adrie has called the police before.
I feel like I have no where to turn. No one understands this enough to be truly supportive. My family acts like they understand but I don't think they really do, they know in their heads he is bipolar but they are angry with him for all the pain this has caused us. Friends and extended family don't know what to say, they just apologize and offer prayers. I know I can't expect more than that but some days I feel like I'm the only person in the world who knows he's not just a terribly spoiled child.
Enough of my ranting.... These fits are the equivalent of a mental seizure in his brain. Amazingly enough seizure meds work wonders in some bipolar patients. He doesn't remember anything that happens when he is raging. Once in a great while we can talk him calm but usually he has to rage for almost an hour till he is too exhausted to continue and his head feels like its going to explode.
I am getting sleepy now...have to get up in 3 hours. And to think, I was in bed at 9 pm tonight falling asleep when this started. So much for a good nights sleep. Thanks for listening.

Random update

2010-06-12T12:45:00.000-06:00

Ira is nearly finished with school and looking for a job like mad. Unemployment ran out some time ago, thankfully because of my accident we had some extra money to help us get by, but it's running out too, so something has to come through soon!! He has been making some really cool things in composites...the possibilities are virtually endless. It's really crazy what he is able to do!! And he is so good at it, his instructors are consistently impressed and amazed at the quality of work he creates. He will definitely go places with it once he actually gets hired.

I have been trying to sell some clothing I bought wholesale. After a month of hardly any sales, I finally broke down and listed some of them on ebay. The other online auctions and websites just weren't working. Not even a week on ebay and they are selling like hotcakes :) I just mailed 5 packages today!! What is interesting is that the largest sizes are selling the quickest...so maybe I need to focus on plus size stuff primarily.

Thats all for the moment, I know there was more, but the twins are distracting me and I can't think of it, lol!

Fitness update 6-12-2010

2010-06-12T12:31:00.000-06:00

I promised to update weekly, but I forgot last week, so here are 2 weeks worth..
I made it to the gym 5 times last week, and was able to meet my goal of running 1.25 miles (with no walking) on 3 of those days.

This week I have made it to the gym 4 days so far, hopefully will go today also. I ran a total of 2.2 miles yesterday, but I did have to take a break for a bit and walk after the first 1/2 mile. After a short break I was able to run another 1.5 miles :)

I will keep pushing myself this week to run 1.5 miles, and bump it up to 1.75 in the next week or 2.

This may be premature...

2010-05-28T23:45:00.000-06:00

But better safe than sorry. I want to get this out there, in case something happens to any of us.

Some of you know our recent plight of dealing with a "friend" who had a great deal on a laptop. We have previously bought a printer from him and nearly bought a used laptop from him that he had on hand. So when he told us he could get brand new stuff wholesale at these amazing prices, we believed him. We scrounged up all of our savings and even borrowed a little to buy a few laptops to resell for a little profit.

Well this person fabricated lie after lie and kept us going for several weeks. Finally we got sick of it and started digging and found that he was for sure lying. He told us that one shipment didn't get delivered because fedex won't deliver pallets to residents. This was early on, we didn't know fedex's policy, but it seemed to make sense, so we didn't question it. Then he told us they returned it to the shipper as undeliverable. We asked why he didn't have them put a hold on it so that he could just go and pick it up and he said they said they were unable to do that with pallets. We contacted fedex and found out that they do in fact deliver pallets to residents on a regular basis. The only requirement is that they have appointments set up so that someone is there to accept the pallet and sign for it. They also allow people to pick up packages at their facilities, pallets included. They would never tell a customer they couldn't put something on hold for them. When Ira talked to this person about the lies, he asked if we would believe fedex or believe him? to stop "chasing ghosts," and that Ira should go into espionage because of the crazy accusations he was making. I then messaged this guy and told him what he'd done was screwed up, that Ira wasn't crazy and that anyone would feel the same way when being lied to so much. Next thing we know, he is messaging Ira, all apologetic, making up more lies about how everything he told us was coming from his "middleman" and that he too lost so much in this deal, and how can he make it up, oh he'll let us hold all of his inventory until he pays us back, and he'll start making payments, and so on. Never saw any inventory. Well he promised us 3 different days to give us money, last week and we never saw a dime. Ira messaged him a couple days ago and said enough is enough...we need to get something, all your inventory, or payments or we are going to start playing hardball. We will take him to court and he could end up back in jail.
Fast forward to tonight, we just went to the dollar theater o n12th street and watched Clash of the Titans. Winco just opened up a block away, so we decide to check it out after the movie. (great store, btw). We were having a great time, loving all the great deals and Ira noticed these two guys keep showing up by us. One is Italian, one is mexican. Both short, but hefty tough looking guys. The Italian on his cell phone every time we see him. No shopping cart, not buying a thing, just showing up wherever we are. Now if you've been there, you know that the layout doesn't really make any sense, no real rhyme or reason, it's not like you start at one and and work your way evenly to the other. No reason these 2 would be everywhere we are. At one point we were in the back corner at the dairy case, all alone. Suddenly those 2 showed up and 2 or 3 more scary looking guys too. All walking toward us, looking right at us, nothing in their hands, no shopping carts...practically on top of us, Ira grabbed me and said lets take a walk and we booked it away from there pretty fast. We did see them again a bit later, this time one of them had a shopping cart, go figure? They were walking slowly down the middle aisle looking up and down each aisle. The Italian did see us again, and I saw the recognition in his eyes when he saw us, but he quickly masked it and pretended like he didn't notice us.
I am not generally a paranoid person, but this was weird...
Needless to say, we were super freaked out. And because of everything going on with this so call friend is that this person doesn't like our threats and is trying to handle us somehow. What do we do? What do you think? I know if we happen to see them again while we are out, we will not hesitate to call the cops. I just don't know if it was coincidence or if there was really something there. My other thought is that maybe store security for some reason decided we were a good fit to be shoplifters? I can't find a phone number to call them, though...

I love this cookbook!!

2010-05-28T10:43:00.000-06:00

I was searching through the books at Savers, a local thrift store, because Adrie needed a book (1984) for one of her classes a few weeks ago. I didn't find that book there, I ended up finding it at a used bookstore for a couple bucks though. I am always looking for new recipes and love love love cookbooks. But I don't like weird stuff or complicated meals. I am a busy person and I generally don't even think about dinner until 5 or 6 pm, so I need to whip up something quick! I also am always on the lookout for healthy recipes, especially now that we get so much produce from Bountiful Baskets Co-op every week. I really don't like making things from boxes, I prefer whole foods.
What I did find was a gem! It's called Cooking to be Lean by Dana Thornock. She was from Orem, I looked her up and apparently she passed away from a rare autoimmune disease back in 2005 :( She did however leave behind a legacy of great books on healthy eating and living.
What I love about this book is that her menus are normal, easy, quick and affordable. They are doable for a lifetime. I like her term "healthification" rather that modification. She takes normal meals and tells you how to make them healthier. Her plan is simple: Vegetables, fruit, whole grains, protein and water with every meal (except breakfast you can skip the veggies). She's not anti junk food either, just suggests moderation or healthier versions (like baked chips versus regular). My kids even love it, especially they love sitting down to a table with plates full of fresh veggies and fruits every night. They are generally too stuffed to ask for seconds of the main course :) or are just enjoying all the fresh finger foods too much!
Anyways I love it, and plan to share some of the recipes and tips I've learned here from time to time.

Determined to get in the best shape of my life...

2010-05-28T10:17:00.000-06:00

Sooo...I am going to TRY to post here weekly to keep track of my progress! Come over and kick my butt into gear if I slack, ok??? ;)

For the past couple months I have been faithfully going to the gym again...I kind of slacked off there for a few months. I have been going 4-6 days per week, sometimes twice a day because I go with my friend after work and then later in the day with Ira. I have been super sore and the steam-room/hot tub have become my new best friends!! No pain no gain, though, right?

Right now we (my friend and I) are running a mile a day, working up to more gradually (but I HATE running, lol, so this is hard for me! She is a natural born runner, and can easily run a lot more, so we run on treadmills so we can go at our own pace) I want to be able to run a 5k this year, so 3 miles nonstop.

Then we do weight training for 45 minutes to an hour, alternating daily between arms/shoulders/chest, legs, and abs. I have found that I LOVE weight training. If I could permanently skip the cardio I would, cuz its no fun, but I know it's necessary and my body needs a break from the weights. Maybe someday I can look like this:

haha, no I will NEVER let that happen!! Ewwww!!

I haven't lost much weight, only about 4 lbs, but I have dropped a size :) I'm not worried about losing any more weight, I just want to tone everything up now.

So my goal between now and the next post is to up my running to 1.25 miles a day (babysteps, lol!)

Wish me luck!!

Cream of Shrek Soup

2010-03-29T16:45:00.001-06:00

Kecia and mom, here is my cream of asparagus/veggies soup recipe, I found a couple of recipes I liked and then kind of combined them into my own, so sorry if it's hard to read! I told the kids it was Cream of Shrek Soup cuz of the swampy green color :) They all loved it and none of them had any clue it was full of asparagus.

4 teaspoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup flour
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1/2 head of cauliflower
2 cups milk
5 cups chicken broth (i use chicken boullion, vegetable boullion would also be good)
2 potatoes, quartered
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2- 1 cup fat free sour cream
Garlic powder (to taste)
Directions
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Boil Asparagus, potatoes and cauliflower about 10 minutes, or till tender.
While veggies are cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan, add onion and cook over medium heat till tender. Add flour to the onions and stir to coat them. Continue stirring till thick and bubbly.
After boiling the veggies, reserve 5 cups of the hot water and add 5 tsp of chicken boullion to make chicken broth (canned broth would be even easier). Pour broth and the veggies into the blender* and puree them. At this point you can puree the cooked onion/flour/oil mixture (roux) with the rest of the veggies and then pour it all back into the saucepan and add milk, salt, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Cook on medium high heat till thick and bubbling, stirring often.
Add cheese and sour cream and simmer till cheese is melted.
This makes quite a bit, probably enough for 10-12 servings.

* I had to puree half the broth and veggies at a time, as my blender was not big enough for all of it.

Only 2 months between posts

2010-03-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Man, I really need to work on keeping my blog updated! I will try to do better, I promise!!
This is just a random update of whats going on with us these days.

Still no job for Ira, it's getting very disheartening. He thought he had some good possibilities, but haven't heard a thing. He is going to school at the OWATC now. He is taking machining courses for the time being, although he should be taking Composites technology. It isn't Pell grant approved yet, they keep saying "next month!" but nothing changes, so now he is waiting to find out if he gets a scholarship through the school, we should know soon.

Me? Not much is new. Still working at UPS. Looking forward to more and more warm days...I tend to be a recluse in the winter, warmer months make me happy.

Adrie is on the Bonneville Laker Track and Field team. She has been killing herself at practices all week, but she loves it. Grandpa Ed took her shoe shopping to get some nice shoes. A huge surprise and help to me, and a lot of fun for her and grandpa. It was the first time they'd ever done anything just the two of them. He took her to dinner and spoiled her thoroughly :) She is pretty sure she wants to run sprints and hurdles. Thanks to her long legs the hurdles are no problem for her.

I know Adrie posted about this on her blog, but I want to post it for those who don't read hers: In February Adrie went to her first high school dance. It was a group date with her friends Drew and Cassidy and the guys they asked. She asked her friend Stuart in a really cute way, she left a basket on his porch filled with a bottle of sparkling apple juice, a rose and a bunch of hershey's hugs and kisses. The note with it said "I'm not expecting kisses or hugs, just a sparkling night out with one of my buds. I hope that you will take a chance and join me at the Sweethearts Dance" Then we wrote her name on a few of the hershey's tags so he'd know who it was from. They had a fun night and looked great. They went to Applebees for dinner, then to the dance, and finished off the night at the theater watching the movie "Valentines Day." The only bad thing is that her friend Stuart decided he liked her and thought that cuz she asked him to the dance that she liked him...then he started treating her badly when she made it clear they were just friends.

I'm sure most of you know by now, but she recently changed her hair :)

Last, Adrie is gonna be working at Lagoon again this summer. She is switching from the games department to rides. She isn't old enough yet to run a ride, but she can be a ride attendant (who checks peoples stamps, etc).

Jerod is all registered to be a big 7th grader next fall. I can't believe I will have 2 teenagers soon! He has had several laser treatments on his birthmark. Each time they go a little stronger to find the best setting for him. There has been some fading, but not as much as we'd hoped. They do between 1/4 and 1/3 of his birthmark each session, and he goes in once a month. It's not a pleasant experience, but he is tough. We tried using numbing cream, it helps a little but it causes the laser to be less effective. They have a cooling device that basically ices the skin with super cold air right before they laser him. That helps a lot!! Some areas, he can't feel the laser at all, but other areas are more sensitive even with the cooling.
He made me so proud the other day. The school called to tell me that he found some money a while back and he was honest and turned it in to the office. No one ever claimed the money, and their policy is that if no one claims it within a certain amount of time, that the person who turned it in gets the money. So Jerod got to keep the $30 he found. What a great lesson in honesty!

Josh and Caleb are busy 1st graders. They have several friends nearby and are always playing at someones house or having friends over. Caleb rides his bike every chance he can get, and is thrilled that the snow is gone (for the most part) and the weather is warming up. They will be starting their second year of soccer with our city later this month. Every day they are asking me, how many days till soccer?? Needless to say, they are a little bit excited about it. Josh is such a sweet kid, always funny and good for a laugh. He does great in school, and is faithful about doing his homework, chores and reading every day without question. Caleb needs a few reminders and a little help, but eventually gets it done. Caleb has been begging me to dye his hair black for several months...so when I dyed my hair dark brown I used the excess on him. It's not black but apparently it was dark enough for him cuz he hasn't complained. I think it looks really good on him. His other fascinations of late have been skateboards, piercings and tattoos!! He has been begging for all three. The other day he ran in all excited "mom I decided what my tattoo will be!! It's gonna be a rockstar guitar!!" I think I convinced him that he can wait until he is 18, at least for the moment. The piercings are another story, apparently there are a couple boys at school with earrings and he can't understand why we won't let him have one. Only 7 years old...I can't wait to see 14.

Phew, long post...that should be good until May? haha just kidding, hopefully sooner :)

Christmas Eve

2010-01-02T14:13:00.012-07:00

Our Christmas Eve started out with a little get together at my parents home. We enjoyed a yummy fondue dinner and visited with the family. We exchanged gifts with our siblings/spouses as well. My sister Kecia and her husband Glenn had Ira and I this year. They gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores and they gave Ira a box of coal...of course it was chocolate coal, and and nice chunk of cash as well ;)
We left there and headed to our church for a beautiful Christmas Eve Candle-lighting service...one of my favorite things about Christmas. We sang songs, listened to a small sermon about Jesus' birth and then watched and joined in as the congregation lit one anothers candles...I love watching it start as one little candle burning and spreading to hundreds in a matter of seconds, it is so beautiful and a great picture of what it means to let our light shine and share it with others.
From there we went home and opened presents, played with them for a bit and then headed off to bed. The kids got their big gifts on Christmas Eve, but still look forward to waking to a stocking full of goodies and small gifts on Christmas morning.
It was a lean year with Ira out of work for so long, but thank heavens for grandparents on both sides that made it possible for us to give the kids a nice Christmas.

Kids anxiously await the OK to open their gifts.

Testing out the new sled

Adrie's hot pink flat iron, she is in love with it!!

Jerod showing off his new video game.

Ira love his Cowboys...he got a new hat and a shirt. He also got equipment and software to convert record albums to mp3. He is super excited about it and has already converted a few of his favorite old albums...songs that haven't existed in digital format before and he hasn't heard in many years.

Jerod got me a cute little keychain light that says "Mom" from the santa shop at school. I don't have pics but Josh and Caleb both gave me cute rings. They all bought each other and Ira little gifts from the santa shop as well.

Caleb is such a sweetheart...he had to give me a hug cuz he loved his gifts.

Caleb is super excited about his glow in the dark stars from Grama Lindie...I think he kinda likes the $2 bill taped to the front as well ;)

My new purse! From Ira, but Adrie and my friend Rachael spent a whole day shopping with me to help me find the perfect purse and jacket for me :)

Caleb Loves his little snowboard :)

More to come...stay tuned for Christmas Day!!

My Journey to the Truth

2009-11-20T22:21:00.009-07:00

Mom, You asked for my testimony of why I left the LDS faith and became a christian, so here it is. I am guessing others may be curious to hear my side as well, so I am posting it here for all who are interested to see.

I was born into a very strong and loving LDS family. I grew up knowing without a doubt the mormon church was true. I received my testimony and was baptized when I was 8. We practically always went to church, I was involved in the Young Women's, went to the temple and did baptisms for the dead, and was just waiting for my LDS prince charming to come along and take me to the temple where I could be sealed for time and all eternity.

I had made some poor choices in my life, typical rebellious teenager. But despite the sin in my life, I still believed without any doubts that the church was true...I had been taught it was very dangerous to ever question the validity of the mormon gospel. I could freely doubt the bible and its teachings, because it hadn't been translated correctly (according to Joseph Smith and subsequent prophets), but to question the Book of Mormon or any of the church doctrines was blasphemous, and could put me in danger of outer darkness. (on a side note...I have learned since then, from talking to LDS friends, that most, if not all, mormons, if they are honest about it, have met with doubts about their beliefs on multiple occasions. But when they honestly seek wisdom from others in the church about it, those doubts are shut down quickly and pushed down very very deeply within, hopefully to never re-emerge.)

Then I met Ira. He was a pentecostal christian and had a lot to say about how mormonism was wrong, even though at the time, he didn't know too much...I didn't care though. I just ignored what he said and tried to have fun. When we started to get serious we realized we couldn't make it work if we were unequally yoked. I wanted him to convert to mormonism so he grudgingly agreed to take missionary discussions. He wanted me to see that mormonism didn't necessarily have all the truth it claimed to have and I agreed to study the bible. But we ultimately agreed we were searching for the TRUTH, God's truth...we prayed together that God would show us the truth. We didn't pray "is the mormon church true?" or "is the pentecostal church true?" Just, "God show us your truth."
For a time I studied the bible, Ira studied mormonism. He went to my church and I went with him. But still there was no agreement or change in either of us. Until one evening, I was home alone, thumbing through the bible when a verse jumped out at me: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35). Just a simple verse, but God used it to open my eyes. My entire life I was taught the bible was correct as far as it was translated correctly and that through the generations the bible had been changed so much that it was obviously faulty. (no one actually could tell us which parts were faulty, but generally anything that doesn't line up with mormon beliefs, must have been wrongly translated or changed) God used this verse to show me that despite the years and the translations and those who would seek to corrupt the bible, that the meaning and intent in the bible was still there, on paper, and through his holy spirit. Even if the exact words can't be translated, the basic message has survived.
Now as a mormon, I had read the Book of Mormon and often had the "burning in the bosom" that is the test of truth in the LDS faith. When God showed me this verse I had the most amazing spiritual experience of my life. So much more than a "burning in the bosom." It was like a dream, I felt like I was floating, I was filled with the most indescribable joy and peace, like nothing I have ever felt before. I was tingly all over and just felt like laughing and crying at the same time. In the midst of the joy, I had a vision of sorts, it was as though God laid it open for me like a book... one with a list of all basic mormon foundational beliefs, and another was blank. As I read through them, they were being crossed out or actually burned out and a biblical belief was burnt onto the opposite page. I knew it was truth...even though some of the stuff I had never even heard of before or had no concept of what it was. Suddenly I knew what was truth and what was false. It was like the song, Amazing Grace- I once was blind, but now I see. The blinders were ripped away from my eyes and I could see clearly for the first time.
As the vision came to an end, and I was weeping with joy and utter amazement, the last thing I felt the holy spirit say was, basically,"you have seen, now you must choose, your family and life as you know it, or Me, the way, the truth and the life." I was faced with a very big choice...I could very possibly lose my family and friends if I made the choice to abandon mormonism...I didn't know how they would react. That was a very hard time for me, but ultimately I knew what I had to do. I asked for forgiveness, and accepted Christ Jesus as my savior.

Sin separates me (and Everyone) from God, and without Jesus dying on the cross for me I would go to hell when I die. It was only through a relationship with HIM that I had any chance of salvation, that no matter how good I was in this life, nor how many good works I did, I was still and would always be a sinner. And I also learned that once I was saved, there was nothing more required. Jesus' gift of eternal life is a free gift, and there is nothing to attain beyond that, no levels or degrees. No eternal progression, working towards Godhood. That doesn't mean I should stop there and just start living like Hell...when I accepted Jesus, I promised to live for HIM and do as HE asks me to do, and as a christian there is a strong desire to please him and do whatever I can to share the gospel and help those in need (works) but I do those works because I love HIM, not because it is required of me by a religion. I am not perfect and never will be, but I have been set free, the blinders removed from my eyes, I am not bound by religious rules or ideals. He is my judge and when I mess up, He gently reminds me and nudges me back towards His path. I now belong to the One True Church. And it's not found within the structure of a religion. It is in Christ Jesus. He is the Head of the church. His people (a mix of true believers from all christian faiths) make up the Body (Church). Narrow is the way that leads to eternal life, and few find it. There are many who profess to be Christians and go to church, are water baptized and faithful tithers. And yet they never truly let go of themselves and join into a relationship with God. Most are so tied up in "religion" that they lose sight of the One it's all about.

This is my testimony of how I left mormonism and became a born-again christian... I am not angry or bitter or vindictive, even though you will probably consider this anti-mormon. I am not a hater. I love you all, and I am more than anything, just sad that you can't experience the freedom in Christ Jesus that I have. I hate that Ira's words were upsetting to you, but I can understand why they would be. He is not a hater either, he is just frustrated and saddened as well.

If LDS people would really really take a good look at it, they would have to admit that there are many very fallible past and current church leaders who've made a lot of statements that were way off base and very unscriptural. Unfortunately, still to this day, so much of the underlying doctrine is based on their flawed words and ideas.

I do challenge you, if you have read this far, to please humble yourself, admit to yourself and to God that maybe the church doesn't have it all together and pray that God would show you His truth, and nothing more and see where He leads you.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

7 years of pictures

2009-11-01T21:48:00.030-07:00

7 years ago today our lives were completely turned upside down by the addition of our twinners, Joshua and Caleb. Going from 2 kids to 4 in one day is no easy feat, but we managed and our lives have been blessed in so many ways because of them.
Josh and Caleb were born on November 1st, 2002. I was 35 weeks, so they were just over a month early. They were healthy as could be. Josh, pink and chubby, came first at a whopping 5lbs 10oz and 24 minutes later Caleb moseyed on out weighing 5lbs 3oz and looking like a wrinkly (and grumpy) old man. We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and they came home with me. No oxygen or incubator or NICU necessary, thank Heavens!
Here are some of my favorite pics over the years :)

Happy Birthday Josh & Caleb! Just hours old, my first time holding them.

2 days old, getting ready to leave the hospital. Little Caleb on the right.

Welcome home babies! I can't tell you which ones which here.

Skip ahead a few months. Josh on the left. About 4 months old.

First time in the pool. Caleb is on the left.

So cute in hats, about 7 months. Josh in the red.

Look at the size difference here. Little Caleb sticking his tongue out on the right.

Playing with grandma in the backyard. Josh on the right.

Check it out Caleb, I can balance my bottle on the ball!

Get me out of this freakin ladybug costume, mom!!

Caleb, K-bug Gibson, cutest bumblebee ever!! 1 year old tomorrow!!

Not too happy at aunt Kecias wedding reception, about 18 months old. Josh on left. Look how blonde they were!

One of my favorite pics, taken at Target. Josh in the tub. About 2 years old.

Big 2 year olds.

At Chuck E. Cheese, 3 1/2 years old.

I just love this face!! Almost 5 here.

This ones pretty cute too :)

All grown up and dressed up for 50's day at school a couple months ago.

This was last week, Caleb just got glasses, ain't he cute?!?

Last night, Caleb was a police officer, Adrie the Queen of Hearts, Chico was a devil dog and Josh was Bumblebee from transformers. My babies are sure growing up!! They are as different as night and day...they quit dressing alike as soon as they could dress themselves :(. Caleb is an athlete and an artist, Josh is a comedian and a mathematician. It's hard to believe they are so big!!

If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed this little journey down memory lane, and thank you!! XOXOX

Random stuff...

2009-08-31T10:11:00.003-06:00

I know i haven't posted for awhile...life has been kind of depressing with Ira still not able to find a job after 5 months :( Thank goodness for the emergency unemployment, but we just really want him to find a good job.
We are really hopeful about 2 interviews he has next week in Montana, one with the Livingston Police Department as a police officer and the other with Bresnan Cable as an in house cable technician. If he can get on with the police department, he will move to Missoula for training. We will stay in Utah till his training is finished, around 3 months. I will transfer to the Bozeman UPS and we will hopefully find a nice home to rent in Bozeman or Belgrade. He is really close to where he needs to be to join the military, but it's taking longer than expected, so maybe it wasn't meant to be. We ultimately want to go where God leads us...this has been a very trying time and has been super stressful, but it finally feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Adrie wanted me to add a link to her blog, for anyone who may have missed it before, she just added a few new posts, including some really great poetry she wrote :)

The Healing Fields

2009-07-30T18:44:00.005-06:00

Adrie and I had the opportunity to help with setting this up last week. It is a tribute to the soldiers who have died in the Afghanistan/Iraq wars after 9-11. Adrie and I spent hours tying yellow ribbons onto cards that listed the soldiers names, info and date of death. Some were so young, and some only died within the past couple weeks. It was such an eye opener. If you haven't heard of it or visited it yet and you live close enough, you should check it out this weekend. We are going to go back as well, we only saw it before it was finished. It is at the Weber County Fairgrounds. It continues through this weekend.
Here is a link to some beautiful photos of the tribute by a professional photographer:
healing fields

Have bus pass, will travel

2009-06-12T15:42:00.002-06:00

So Adrie and 2 of her friends have jobs at lagoon for the summer and there was no way in heck we were going to be driving them to and from all the time, so we made them get a bus/frontrunner pass for the summer. Adrie and her friend Sonja both got their passes yesterday. You would think she had a car now, the way she is just taking off. Yesterday she and Sonja took the frontrunner to Layton, hopped on a bus to the mall there and hung out for a while, then caught the bus back to the station, and managed to find their way home even though it required a couple of bus transfers. Today she and Sonja are off again, they walked to the bus stop, got on the right bus, made their transfer to another bus that took them to the frontrunner and are heading first to Lagoon to pick up something Sonja left and then to the Gateway in SLC.
I however am semi freaking out with worry, but I know she is smart and very mature and she generally makes good decisions in everything she does. (and for those who are thinking, well, what about the nose piercing? I agree with Love and Logic parenting...sometimes you have to let them make some decisions that you might not like, they have to live with their choices. Better to let them make a few bad choices and learn from them than to control everything they do or they will ultimately resent you and make even worse choices behind your back.)
It's hard to believe she could be driving in a few months (with her learners permit) and only 3 years, she'll be done with highschool and off to college. I don't know if I'm ready for all this!! Can I go back in time now? She just called to let me know she is on the train headed for Farmington now, maybe one of these days, she'll head south and end up at your place Kecia!!

Our other new addition...

2009-06-05T15:30:00.005-06:00

Need I say more? (yes, it's a real piercing, not a stick on)

Our New Baby :)

2009-06-04T17:49:00.005-06:00

Meet the newest addition to our family, Chico.

We adopted him from the Ogden City Animal Shelter yesterday. He is the sweetest little guy, so well behaved.

Caleb has been begging for a dog forever. I havent wanted one cuz of the poop factor and having to deal with house training and all that AND that Ira only wanted big dogs like Rotties and Pinchers. A few weeks ago Caleb found a little chihuahua wandering around and he brought it in the house without telling us, he was carrying it around and playing with it and even talking about his dog, but cuz it was so little Ira thought he just had a stuffed animal. Finally we realized it was real and it was so dang sweet. Unfortunately we had to let him go (it was the neighbors down the street) and he has been sad ever since and everyone, even Ira, decided maybe a little chihuahua would be a nice addition to our family. So we have been watching KSL and craigslist and local shelters online postings hoping to find an adult chihuahua that would be right for us. Yesterday this little guy showed up online on the shelters website so we decided to go look at him and just fell in love. He is absolutely perfect for us. So far, he is very laid back, doesn't bark much, isn't hyperactive. He is a huge cuddlebug, very obedient, housetrained (we are working on litter training as well).

He is an interesting looking dog...the shelter thought he was half whipple or italian greyhound. He looks like a chihuahua, and he's teeny tiny (weighs 9 lbs), but he has a body shape of a grey hound with super long legs and a big chest. He is super skinny right now, he was very malnourished when the shelter found him, and its been only 2 weeks since then, so he hasn't had much time to put on weight, so we are going to try to fatten him up a bit. The vet said that he thinks he may be half chinese hairless rather than greyhound or whipple, because he has no hair on the underside of his body.

Last night he was asleep in his little bed (the shelter had a bed someone had just donated that was the perfect size for him, which he LOVES) and so Ira and I snuck off to bed. Not a minute later he was in our room, on our bed and burrowed underneath the covers between us, at our feet. He stayed under the covers like that for over an hour before he finally decided it was safe to sleep on top of the covers.

We are in love and I think its safe to say he loves us right back :) Can't wait for you all to meet him.

Memorable Memorial day

2009-05-27T16:14:00.009-06:00

We decided to make a family day out of Memorial day this year since we weren't able to travel to Beaver with mom and dad.
We (mostly) had a fun morning at the Aerospace museum at Hill Air Force Base. The boys loved it of course and Adrie was bored out of her skull.

somebody didn't want her picture took....

Its been probably 4-5 years since we've been there, so the twins were too little to remember it. My only complaint was that they closed off all the exhibits so you couldn't look in the jets and planes anymore. It used to be that you could even walk through some of them, but now it's all look, but don't touch.

Some of the outside planes weren't roped off, so we just had to touch ;o)

I do understand why they had to make the planes off limits, I'm sure all the tourists coming through caused a lot of wear and tear on them and some of them are one of a kind and irriplaceable.

This was at the back corner...Caleb says it was his favorite cuz he was able to play with stuff in it.

After the museum we went to Rancheritos for lunch ( a VERY rare treat now that Ira is getting fit for the military). Then we went home and got changed to go swimming at the club. It was a fairly cool day, so we were surprised to learn that the outdoor pool was open, but it was heated and it felt wonderful. We kind of invented a new game in the pool. We got the kids these cheap water squirter things from the dollar store. It looks like a giant pencil, you stick the tip in the water and pull the handle back like a syringe to fill it with water. They shoot pretty far but unlike a water gun, they require a constant water source for refilling after every shot. Anyways, we were playing frisbee and Ira decided to try shooting the frisbee down with the squirter and it worked so I grabbed one too. We ended up playing that for nearly an hour, and the kids all wanted to play too, so now we have to get more squirters. The only bad thing was that we kept inadvertantly squirting the lifeguards, but they swore that they didn't mind it and actually it felt good (since they have to stay out of the water), but we tried really hard not to squirt them or anyone else.
When we were getting ready to leave, Caleb opened the pool door on his toe and cut it really badly. So we ended up spending a good portion of our holiday in the ER getting Mr. Caleb fixed up. He ended up with 3 stitches. He was such a trooper. He didn't wiggle or scream or cry or anything when the Dr. gave him the shot to numb the wound. He is great now, but he is really bothered that he can't play soccer or get his foot wet, especially cuz tomorrow is field day and the firetrucks are coming to hose everyone down.

I didn't get before pic, but here are his stitches

Hard to believe there are only 2 days left of school, and only 1 day left for Adrie (the 9th graders don't have to come to school on Friday). Oh and by the way, Adrie actually posted a new blog if you want to check it out here.

My "Awwwww" moment

2009-05-09T16:45:00.003-06:00

I have to blog this before I forget.
Yesterday we (the whole family) were on our way to the gym and for some reason we were all singing the song 1,2,3,4 by the Plain White Tee's. This is what the original says: Theres only one thing two say 3 words four you. I love you.
Josh made up his own little version and it just totally caught us off guard...just one of those "awwwww" moments.
He sang it like this: Theres only Four words Two say, I Love you Mom.

There was a time when these silly little sweet things were the norm, and I wish I'd written more of them down...now my kiddos are all growing up, and moments like this are far and few between, but even more precious than ever.

Pee wee soccer

2009-05-03T17:14:00.010-06:00

I don't know what they were doing here, but it was cute. It kinda looks like they are working on their game strategy.

The twins are playing soccer this year, and I promised mom some pics :) Thank goodness Ira has been able to come to all the games and take tons of pics... I almost always forget my camera, or if i bring it I forget to take pics!!
Caleb absolutely loves it and totally dominates the game, to the point that the coach is always getting after him and reminding him it's a team sport. He does need to work on that a bit, but I am really not minding it too much, it makes for a fun game when your kid scores every point for his team. It may be too early to tell, but he seems to be a natural. Josh is finally starting to get in the game, the first few games he was unsure of himself, but this last game he did a lot better. He and Caleb made a pretty good team, passing the ball back and forth and Josh even came close to scoring a couple times! They only have 2 or 3 games left, so hopefully he'll just keep getting better and better.

Josh just before he got the ball away from this boy.

Twin power

Josh has the ball, with Caleb on his heels.

Caleb showing off his soccer skills.

This little girl was the most competition Caleb has had this season, she is equally aggressive, so it made for a great game.

Caleb just scored a goal, he followed this with a funky dance and the peace sign, but the pics didn't turn out.

Living the Life...

2009-04-08T22:34:00.003-06:00

...er something like that...actually the unemployed life...For those of you who don't know, Ira was let go from his job 2 weeks ago. We kinda saw it coming when the direct deposits started becoming hit and miss...we never new, would there be a paycheck this week? Or would it be a few days till the owners could scrounge up the money to pay him? And suddenly overtime, which we had depended on each week, was suddenly cut off 100%. He had already started sending in applications and resumes, probably a month before he was let go, because he could see the company was unraveling quickly.
Fast forward to the present...2 weeks and a tiny unemployment check later, and absolutely no luck on the job front. We hear it on the news all the time...the unemployment rate is rising, jobs are very hard to find, people asking for unemployment extensions and so on, but until you are actually in the midst of it, you don't realize just how true it is. The few businesses that are hiring are paying beans and getting the cream of the crop. They can require a 4 year degree for a $10 per hour job. They can pay master electricians practically nothing to do jobs that previously were held by cable installers. Anyways, you get the idea. I am not blogging about this to complain or whine...we are fine, we will be fine. I feel it. I still have my job, my health insurance, thank the Lord! I don't make a ton, but with my income, the unemployment checks and a little ingenuity, we will survive this.
Now, for me, this has been heaven on earth!! I get to come home to my wonderful hubby who makes me a hot breakfast every morning, and cleans it up too!! Besides looking for jobs, he helps out around the house, sends me to bed, picks the twins up from kindergarten, feeds them lunch, and entertains them quietly until I feel like waking up. Then once I'm up and the kids are home from school we get ready and go to the gym for an hour or so. We have gone to the gym every single day since he got laid off, at least once a day, sometimes twice, with the exception of 1 day when I was sick. That is huge for us!! We are generally lucky to make it 2 or 3 times a week. But we are determined. Ira wants to join the army, so we are trying to get him in shape so he can. He needs to lose a few pounds and he needs to train so that he can run an 8.75 minute mile, among other things. He even did this crazy lemonade diet for a week, where he drank nothing but an organic homemade lemonade...its a detox thing, harder than heck, I tried it and I only lasted 3 days. I would have kept going, but I was so sick and had no energy and in my job, I have to be able to lift boxes regularly that weigh 25-85 lbs on my own. On day three, I could barely lift a bag of groceries that weighed 20 lbs. So I had to eat again. And Ira wanted to go longer than a week on it, he was going for 10-14 days, but I just felt like it couldn't be good for a person to stay on that for so long, so I talked him out of finishing. I am so proud of him for staying with it as long as he did, it takes enormous self control to stick with it for any amount of time. Especially when you still have to feed your kids and be around food all the time.
So anyways, back to the army thing...it seems to be one of the few stable jobs out there and the sign on bonus and benefits are decent. Originally he wanted to just join the reserves, but after talking with the recruiter, he wants to go active duty. Its scary, but exciting. I like the idea of moving to new places...maybe even overseas eventually (I would LOVE that!!) I don't like the idea of him having to be deployed and leave us for months or even a year at a time, but I know we can do it. I managed as a single mom with him gone for nearly 4 months one time when he was working in the midwest, so I know I could handle longer if necessary. And he survived too, although it wasn't easy for either of us.
Who knows what adventures await us. We know ultimately it's in God's hands, and maybe this isn't the path He has for us, but a big part of me hopes it is. God Willing our lives will be taking an exciting turn in the very near future.

Twilight....

2009-03-26T18:16:00.004-06:00

Ok so I am hopelessly addicted to anything Twilight these days...to the point that I drove my daughter and 2 of her friends to Sandy for a twilight dvd release party on Friday night!!
There were twilight parties all over, but we went to Sandy because it sounded like it had the most going on...it started around 6 pm and went till midnight and we were there from 7pm on. They had a blood drive, a "Twilight Prom", lots of activities, food, and they showed the movie at 10 pm. It was in a Maceys grocery store of all places, but it was really fun. The girls got wrist corsages for showing up in their prom dresses, they were doing free up-do's, prom pictures, we got vampire bites painted on our necks and hands, there were trivia questions, a live band and dancing. But the best part of the whole night was the Robert Pattinson look a like, he didnt look exactly like him, but he was pretty close and the girls were in love (they all think he is hotter than Rob Pattinson...i have to disagree). We were really hoping one of the real actors would show up...as they were making surprise appearances across the country, but no such luck. We figured if they were coming to Utah, they'd show up in SLC...and since this was the biggest, most advertised twilight party on the net and the radio, there was a good chance. We found out later that Rachel LeFevre, the actress who played the evil vampire, Victoria, showed up at a wal-mart about 15 minutes away from us. But oh well, we had fun, got to see the movie again, and even won some prizes (a twilight pin, some ice cream bars, a water bottle and a gallon of milk/box of frosted flakes).
Here are a couple pics...the pic with the girls turned out great, mine not so great but it was fun anyways ;o)

Cassie, some hot guy, Drew and Adrie

Hmmm....he bit too high, notice the fake blood is painted on below my choker.

Dirks Homecoming

2009-02-28T09:54:00.006-07:00

Yay!! Dirk made it home safe and sound, and it was really nice to be there even if we all had to miss his actual homecoming, at least we got to see what we missed when the next group of soldiers also showed up early. Now we know, in the future, we will be a half hour early and that we should all call each other to make sure we are all awake!!
Dirk looked great and seemed ecstatic to be back. Everyone was surprisingly alert and alive considering the early hour. Kelly and I are used to being up at 3 am, but I don't know about everyone else ;o)
Here are a few pics from the big event.

The kids didn't want to look at the camera, and apparantly Kelly decided to take a nap.

Ok well now Kelly is awake, but still the issue of the kids.

I think by this pic we were all ready to be done, lol.

Dirk gettting ready to go.

The next group of soldiers coming home. Too bad they didn't have it lit up a little better.

I got a job :D

2009-02-16T11:32:00.002-07:00

Last week, i went to Lagoon with my friends Drew, Autumn, and Sonja, to get a job there :) After filling out tons of papers, and calling my mom twice to get my security number thingy, i got interviewed! I was a little bit nervous when i first sat down to get interviewed. But i lost the nervousness and did great! :) And at the very end, Krystal, the girl i was getting interviewed by, told me that i got the job!! :) I thanked her and ran out into the waiting room where my friends were and we all started screaming and jumping up and down! :) it was way exciting. And we all got jobs, which made it that much more exciting. So yeah, i have a job. I am beyond excited. Oh and i will be working in the games department. And i am pretty sure my first day is April 4 :) But before that, i have tons of little class things to go to, and a park orientation thing! But i can't wait till summer!! :) Wa-hoo!! :)

I ♥ Abilify

2009-02-05T14:02:00.003-07:00

I am hooked on Abilify. It is the best thing since sliced bread in this house. Caleb has been seeing a new psychiatrist since December and has been trying a new drug called Abilify for his bipolar disorder. We have tried other drugs and they seemed to take the edge off of his tantrums, and slow him down a little, but the results were only temporary at best and after a good week or 2, he reverted back to his pre-drug rages.

I haven't wanted to say anything, afraid to jinx it. I haven't wanted to let my hopes get too high, but we have had a wonderful month and I am really really hopeful that we may have found the right meds for him.

If you read my post a few months ago about his disorder and how it affects our daily lives then you know the stress it puts on the whole family, we have literally had to walk on egg shells around Caleb for fear he might blow at any moment. The episodes of rage and violence were almost daily, often multiple times per day, over the most insignificant things you could imagine.

For nearly an entire month now, Caleb has been almost perfect. He has had 2 or 3 freakouts in that time, only a fraction of his usual episodes. We were concerned the meds might make him sleepy all the time or that he might lose some of his amazing personality, but he is still his crazy, silly, cute self...full of energy, always busy, and super creative. Just without the dark ugly side. He still upsets easily, but instead of ending in a huge freakout, he cries for a few minutes and even puts himself in timeout or goes and lays down till he feels better.

The mood in our home is lighter and more loving for sure and it seems all the kids are getting along so much better these days.

Oh and lately homework is a breeze too. He is learning to read and will actually sit with me for 20-30 minutes and read his books without any problems or tantrums, same with writing...I have long dreaded the weeks he has brought home the "letter practice" sheets. We were lucky to get 1 row done without a meltdown and an hour or more worth of work...Now he will do an entire page in 10 minutes with no complaints.

My only complaint about Abilify is the price...its new so there are no generic substitutions. Thank goodness for insurance. Its still a little pricey for us, but without insurance, it would be nearly $500 for a monthly supply, ouch!! Actually when i really think about it, its not expensive...but before this drug, my average prescriptions cost me around 50 cents. The $4 wal-mart prescriptions cost us a whopping 20 cents. So $60 for 30 pills was a big surprise for me, but its more than worth it.

Life is good, really good. My son is happy, and so my family is happy. What more could I ask for?

Weekend in Vegas

2009-01-21T12:51:00.006-07:00

On January 15th, Ira and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary!! Its been a while since we got away from the kids and the craziness so we decided to take off for the weekend and go to Vegas. Kecia and Glenn were brave and daring souls and took on 3 of our kids thinking it would be a breeze (NOT!!) Adrie, Josh and Caleb hung out with them for the weekend, and it couldn't end quickly enough for Kecia and Glenn (although they loved having Adrie, since Emma just loves her for some reason). Jerod was smart and realized it was gonna be close quarters and opted to stay with his best buddy, Carson, for the weekend instead and had a great time.

Ira and I have not been to Vegas together since we got married, we went there for our honeymoon and it was terrible...lol...I had just found out i was pregnant a couple days earlier and my morning sickness decided to kick in the morning after the wedding. And it wouldn't stop...i was sick 24/7 for 5 months straight. So our honeymoon in Vegas was more like torture by toilet bowl. The smell of cigarettes, cigars, cigarette smoke, cigarette butts, the old smell of stagnant cigarette ashes in parking lots, they all made me instantly sick. So you can imagine why me and Vegas didn't get along so well. Just try to find a place in Vegas that doesn't smell at least faintly of old cigarettes. Just thinking about it is making me nauseated, lol.

So we took the plunge after 15 years...to the day actually! We went to Vegas the day after we got married, on January 16th.

Thanks to my dad, we had a fabulous king suite at the Homewood Hilton, thank you dad!! It was beautiful!! And the full hot breakfast each morning was really nice. The first night we visited Fremont street, it was pretty cool, with the giant screen covering the whole street and the movies they played on it. We didn't stay out too late that night as i'd been up since 3am with no nap...and i dont do good with no nap, lol (oh and i cannot sleep in the car for some reason). The next day we went to a timeshare presentation, just so we could get free stuff, lol...we ended up with 2 tickets to the top of the stratosphere, 2 dinner buffets and 2 tickets to see Lance Burton. We visited some of the casinos, i LOVED New York New York, did some shopping, a little (very little) gambling.

Oh we ate at In-N-Out burger for lunch, omg, that was the best burger ever, why don't we have those here?? We did go up in the stratosphere but opted not to ride the rides up there...they didn't look that fun for the price...i realize its the novelty of being so high, but i think they looked lame and they were charging $12-$13 a piece. Then we saw the Lance Burton show, very cool!! He is one of Iras favorite magicians, so he was stoked to get to see him live. We went and watched the beautiful fountain show at the Bellagio. We went to the Coyote Ugly bar in NY NY...wasn't nearly as cool as the movie. Then it was time to head back, i think it was around 2 am at this point.

i thought these dessert plates were so cute!

Sunday morning was here, time to go, the weekend went way too fast. Next time we come we are gonna come for a whole week. We had such a great time, and it was very much needed get away for us as well.

View from the outer deck on the stratosphere

Now the bad part...we checked out of our hotel room at 11 am and came out to our car to find glass all over the place and the drivers side window smashed out. They stole our crappy old gps, but somehow left the really nice satellite radio. It was such a bummer to have our great weekend end that way. We didn't want to wait around for hours, so the hotel helped us clean it up and we covered the window with plastic and headed home. It was noisy, but it worked and it kept the cold out.

Unfortunately I forgot that I set the deductibles high on the honda becuz its so old, so the insurance won't cover the window. We were going to report it to the police there in LV before we left until we found out the insurance wouldnt cover any of it. The hotel management says this happens all the time in Vegas...i guess we just thought cuz our hotel was so quiet and away from the strip and pretty much everything that we would be ok. Live and learn.
Overall it was a great weekend and i can't wait to go back again.

Happy Anniversary honey!!

who knew my boys could dance so well?

2008-12-31T13:57:00.001-07:00

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Twilight :)

2008-11-23T17:57:00.001-07:00

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Nick Joynt

2008-10-27T15:49:00.002-06:00

On Sunday October 19, 2008 my friend Nick Joynt was shot and killed by a stray bullet while hunting with his dad and a few other family members. Nick was like my best friend from church. And i am sooo sad that he is gone. I just can't believe it. He was such a good person, and he loved god so much. I know he is in heaven.
Me and Nick had been friends for months. Every time i went to church he was always there. We always argued about whose football team was better. His Texas Rangers, or my Dallas Cowboys (cowboys are better!)
I miss him so very much. And i wish i could have said good bye or something. I did not even get to go to his funeral. I did not know about it until Friday afternoon when my mom called and asked me if i knew him. I was already upset about one of my friends getting hurt at a football game that day. And when she told me, i just about died. I still can't believe that he is really really gone. Anyways i just felt like sharing and posting something. Sadly about this. But still. :( i miss him tons.

My journey through Bipolar-land

2008-10-12T12:11:00.003-06:00

I've been mulling over whether i should post this for quite a while...I mean who really wants to hear about my families' problems, right? But I think I need to get this down on paper and share it with those closest to me. I know I have shared tidbits with mom and Kecia, but I don't think anyone really understands what our family goes through on a daily basis.
First of all let me explain what Bipolar disorder is. The word itself refers to the polar regions of the earth, being on either end of the world, and the opposite extremes. The Highs of manic euphoria and the lows of depression. In children, early onset bipolar disorder is more of a mix of mania and depression, usually resulting in extreme irritability and a very short fuse.
Caleb was diagnosed as bipolar several months ago when his rages intensified dramatically to the point that he threatened to stab me with a knife and started telling me how he wished he had never been born.
Caleb has always been a difficult child at best. From the moment he was born he had inconsolable fits and demanded constant attention. Poor Josh, being Calebs twin meant being stuck in a swing or a seat most of the time while mom took care of Caleb. Luckily for me, Josh was an angel and a very easy baby/toddler.
As soon as Caleb had fists and legs he started trying to hurt with them. We intended to keep the twins in one crib for the first few months, for the "twin bonding" thing, but for Josh's safety we had to separate them within a few short weeks.
We also noticed early on that Caleb seemed ultra sensitive to noises. A vacuum in another room could send him into an hour long screaming fit. For the first couple years of their lives we avoided fireworks and struggled with parades because of Calebs inability to handle the sounds. We worked and worked with him, by forcing him to face the noises and by the time he was 2 he was no longer afraid of the vacuum and eventually learned to love the fireworks and parades.
When Caleb was 2 1/2 he saw his first psychologist at the U of U. After several sessions he recieved the diagnosis of Anxiety NOS (Not Otherwise Specified- which basically means he didn't quite fit the usual criteria, but it was the closest thing they could find, especially at his young age) They just gave us some tips on how to deal with him and sent us on our way saying he'd probably just grow out of it. I have no doubt they thought it was just the terrible twos and I was overreacting.
The terrible twos turned into the more terrible threes and the formidible fours and then the downright frightening fives.
We talked to his doctor about it...he said, he'll grow out of it. We saw other therapists and were told he was just an extremely bright child and while he was very close to fitting the clinical requirements for mood disorders, he just didn't quite fit, so he'd probably grow out of it. Meanwhile I am pulling my hair out day in and day out wondering what to do with this child. This child who can be absolutely amazing. Outside of our home he is generally obedient, sweet and charming. A regular Cassanova with the ladies, the little girls just dote on him and he's best buds with all the guys. He is aware of the smallest details that other kids his age miss entirely. Rather that cars and robots and transformers he is fascinated with music and art and cameras. Give him some water or sand to play in and he is in a wonderland all his own for hours. Sometimes the key to stopping a meltdown before it starts is to hand him my phone/mp3 player and turn on the music. He loves to be held and cuddled and have his back tickled...actually he requires this kind of attention very regularly. But this smart, darling, amazing child has another side entirely. One minute he can be content and happy as a lark. Then something might happen, something that would not even matter to most children or at worst cause them to mope a little...for instance, me telling him "honey, you can't have a snack right now, I am making lunch and it will be ready in just a minute" could induce a full on meltdown involving headbutting, kicking hitting, throwing things, breaking stuff, etc. This meltdown could last anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes, and occasionally longer. It requires, for my own safety and the safety of those around us, that I restrain him. You'd think since he is only 5 that this would be fairly easy. Just sit down, indian style and put my leg over his legs and use my arms to hold down his arms and head. HaHA, this method will not work with him, he is very strong and very very wiggly and small and with him pushing up with his legs and clawing and hitting with his arms and trying to headbutt with his (duh) head it is virtually impossible to contain him. I instead have to sit on his legs (gently) and hold his arms down. He still manages to hurt me somewhat with his flailing head, but serious injury is avoided. Imagine what it would feel like to hold your child like this, while you are talking gently lovingly to them to help them calm down. Knowing if you let go you will probably have bruises to show for it. And all the while your child is screaming at you that you are a monster, that parents don't do this to their kids, that they hate you and want to move away. Sometimes I just hold him down and weep. He is vicious during these tantrums and has no empathy, my crying doesnt phaze him. But when its over and he realizes what has happened, he cries cuz he knows he hurt me or Adrie or whoever took the brunt of his rage this time.
Certain well meaning people try to tell us we are not hard enough on him, that he just needs a good beating (believe me, we have tried spanking and other discipline and motivational methods, to no avail, we do not spank him anymore as he becomes more violent, more often if we do so), that we are not being consistent with him, or worse of all, that he may have a demon in him or with him that controls him.
We are doing everything we can, he is unfortunately on medication, and it does help a lot. Instead of 3, 5 or 10 meltdowns a day, its more like 1 or 2. More often then not we are able to talk him out of it before it turns ugly. It doesnt fix him though, while bipolar disorder is treatable, there is no 100% cure. Luckily for him, we caught it early and can do a lot to help him lead a successful, virtually bipolar-free life. I am so relieved we have the diagnosis now while we can still help him...especially considering the completed suicide rate for bipolar individuals is 15%.
Caleb has so much to offer, so much life and joy and excitement to share. Such a unique view of the world. I am really only beginning this journey with him and we have a long long way to go. I hope you will share it with us, he needs all the help he can get.

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-09-02T17:09:00.007-06:00

Josh and Caleb started kindergarten today. It was a bit of an emotional morning for me...this year more so than with my other children. I think because they are my babies, and they are growing up so very quickly.
After a lot of thought, i decided to put them in separate classes. I want them to be able to function independent of one another. So far so good! They both seem to love their teachers and had a fun day. When I asked them what they learned or did today, neither of them could remember anything except recess, typical 5 year old boys, lol!
I was able to leave work early enough today so that I could walk to school with them and snap a few pics.

The Big 1-4!!!!

2008-09-01T17:46:00.004-06:00

14 years ago today I gave birth to to my one and only baby girl...hard to believe she is a 9th grader already!!
Because we are having both her family and her friend parties next weekend I didn't worry about getting a cake for her today. I did however make pancakes for breakfast and decided to surprise her with a birthday pancake, complete with chocolate frosting! She was less then amused at our singing at that early hour (of 10:30 am) and being forced from bed, but that is what parents are for, right? Here are the lovely shots Jerod captured of Adries birthday morn.

She was a little happier after getting to make a wish ;o)

Happy Birthday Sweety, We LOVE YOU!!!

Yearbookyourself.com

2008-08-30T12:12:00.006-06:00

How I might look in the 50's

The 60's

The 70's

Early 80's- Dirty Dancing anyone??

The 90's, I have pics similar to this one, but never had QUITE such big hair!

This was too much fun, I am totally gonna get a fro! So now its your turn, go to yearbookyourself.com some of the pics look really wierd, but you can adjust your pic to fit it better, unfortunately you can only make one at a time, so can be a little time consuming.

Weekend with Gramps

2008-07-31T13:53:00.012-06:00

We had a wonderful time with Ira's dad Jerry and Carol (Jerry's girlfriend) this past weekend. This was the first time Josh and Caleb got to meet grandpa Jerry. Jerry flew in on friday from Washington, and Carol drove in from North Carolina. They took us out to dinner on friday at our favorite place, Cafe Rio. On Saturday we got up early and went to Lagoon. It was fun, but it was way too crowded, I think all of Utah was at Lagoon that day.

All 4 kids riding the new Oddysea

An old married couple out for an afternoon drive

Um...do you think Caleb liked this ride?

The twins hadn't been to lagoon since they were 2, so to them, this was the time of their lives. They spent a good part of the day in kiddieland. Adrie, Jerod and I took off to go ride some big kid rides. An hour later we had made it onto the Cliffhanger (good Lord, NEVER AGAIN!! I don't like feeling like I am going to fall and die the entire ride and get completely soaked at the same time) Jerod and Adrie loved it, I must be getting old, cuz it was a bit much for me. Then we went on the terroride...I remember when that ride used to seem so scary. The only scary part of the whole ride was the loud honk at the end, oh and the lagoon employee that jumped out in front of us halfway through the ride. Then we met up with Ira and the rest again to take a ride on the train. It was actually not a long line and the twins loved it. When we passed the tiger, he was laying on his bench with a ball in his mouth. Suddenly he dropped the ball, looked right at ME and snarled/roared. I thought it was my imagination that he was looking at me, but Adrie, who was sharing my train bench, said "OMG mom, He was looking right at you!!" And everyone else seemed to agree.
Said tiger as he was snarling at me, Ira was taking the pic a couple rows ahead of me.

So after looking death in the face twice already in the same day, I was ready for a break, so we went and grabbed some lunch and headed to Lagoon-a-beach to cool off. (Apparently everyone in lagoon had this same idea, because the line to get in was a mile long due to it being at capacity). Carol and Jerry diligently guarded our tubes for 2 hours while we alternated waterslides and floating the lazy river, I don't think Carol even got wet. Jerry did go down a waterslide one time, he made quite a splash (we were comparing splashes, don't ask me why). Josh and Caleb LOVED the waterslides and weren't the least bit scared.
After lagoon-a-beach, we went on bumper cars and the big ferris wheel...we wanted to go on the rocket and the samurai, but weren't willing to wait in hour+ long lines for those :o( Then we played a few games and left around 7 (this is by far the earliest I have ever left lagoon- it was just so crowded, it wasn't even fun anymore).
Sunday we took it easy, Ira made breakfast for everyone and then we hung out for a while. After lunch we headed over to their motel and swam for a couple hours. Carol sent Ira to buy a squishy ball thingy to play with and it turned into 2 hours of boys against girls (5 against 3!!) with this silly squish ball. It was fun, but soooo not fair playing against these 2 huge guys who would resort to guerrilla tactics to steal the ball from us poor little women!! Jerod got in on it too and Carol actually had bruises from Jerod holding onto her. Josh and Caleb helped the guys from the sidelines, they mostly stayed out of the pool and would get the ball anytime it landed out of bounds. We tried bribing the twins with candy to give it to us, but they were loyal to the bitter end and were often seen doing victory dances on the side of the pool and chanting "boys rule." After the beat down, err I mean, leisurely afternoon of swimming, we headed back home and grilled some burgers, kicked back a brewski or 2 and watched a movie.
Monday we took them to see Park City, we walked around the old town for a bit, took a trolley ride, had a fabulous lunch at a pizza place there in town and then hit the outlet stores. Jerry and Carol did some school shopping for the kids, totally unexpected, but extremely appreciated!! Adrie especially got spoiled with several new outfits and was tickled pink (girls are just more fun to shop for!! the boys could barely stay in one spot long enough to ask if they liked something, lol). After Park City we picked up some quiznos and went home. We visited for a little while but Jerry and Carol had to leave the next morning so they needed to get packed and rested for their trip to Boise to visit Ira's brother for a few days. My mom stopped in for a few before they left as she hadn't seen Jerry for years and wanted to catch up.
Before they left, Jerry gave us the kids' birthday money so he wouldn't forget and get it to them late. So we decided to let them get their birthday present a month early. They have been waiting to get Rock band ever since we got the ps3 for Christmas. We've been telling them to wait till their birthday, and since their birthdays aren't until right after school starts, I figured it would be better to get it now and let them get it out of their system before school starts.
It was a great weekend, we will miss them dearly and hope and pray its not another 7 or 8 years till we see them again.

The color on this pic was really bad for some reason, so we messed around with it and like how it turned out in sepia.

The big kids were thrilled and had a wonderful time with Grampa and Carol again, and Josh and Caleb loved them both had no problems calling this lovable stranger grandpa and have already asked me multiple times if we can go visit him at his house.

Sweet Picture of grandpa with his reading glasses.

Adrie LOVED Carols mini cooper

Personality test

2008-07-17T18:03:00.003-06:00

I took this a while ago, actually i took it twice because there were a couple of answers that could go either way and I wanted to see if it changed the outcome. It did, but not much and the two types are very similar and complimentary so I posted both of them. I love stuff like this and it seems pretty accurate :) It just takes a few minutes and I look forward to seeing your results!!
To take the test, click here: Ipersonic

Here are my results:
Dreamy Idealist
Analytical Thinker

Our Summer so far

2008-06-14T13:14:00.002-06:00

The kids have been out of school for 3 weeks now and somehow we have survived! Of course they now realize the vacation part of summer vacation is practically non existent since they have LOTS and LOTS of extra chores, hehe. But isn't that what kids are for? ;o) This summer things are going much more smoothly though, cuz instead of rotating chores and arguments about who does what, they all 4 have assigned chores they have to do every day, whether they need to be done or not. And then if they want money for ANYTHING they have extra chores they can do. It's working out quite nicely for me, since Adrie went to lagoon last week and needed a good chunk of change and has been doing ALL the laundry for the past week to pay me back.
It finally feels like summer today and it looks like it might stick around for a bit. Thats a good thing cuz the twins start swimming lessons in an outdoor pool on tuesday. I was really starting to worry with all this crazy winterish weather. I am really hoping they pick up on the swimming thing better with the lessons. We go swimming a lot, Caleb swims pretty well, but only in short quick spurts. Like letting him go from the middle of the pool to the side. I want them to be able to float and get around better so I can actually enjoy myself without watching them both every second and trying to keep them both within arms length- HA! Josh can jump off the side of the pool and barely doggy paddle back without drowning, lol...so more often then not I end up putting a life jacket on him just for my peace of mind.
Thanks to soaring gas (and everything else) prices, our summer fun budget has been severely limited, so we haven't been able to go do a lot. Thank goodness for the club membership so we can swim whenever and for the treehouse membership- THANKS GRAMA!! We also go to the park (love the new south ogden splash pad!) and take walks, play outside (when it's warm) or do a lot of art to kill the time. Of course I have to get some shut eye for a couple hours a day, so then the rule is, kids have to stay inside and be quiet...so they get computer/xbox/ps3, reading or art time and so far it works out pretty well.
Today is our towns Terrace Days, so we went to the parade this morning. It was a fun parade, both Adrie and Jerod got to see lots of their friends in the parade. Adries BFF Drew is a cheerleader so she made sure to throw us tons of candy. A local plumber was throwing rolls of toilet paper and we got one, lol. That was definitely a first. It wasn't a water parade but a couple of the firetrucks were randomly spraying people and Ira made sure I got soaked. Can I just add...this is the first time in 5 years of Terrace Day parades that Ira hasn't been working and been able to come. It was soo nice!! Oh and the UPS flame truck (just a UPS truck painted with flames) was in the parade driven by one of my favorite supervisors, so that was cool. I have never seen UPS in a parade b4 either, lol. They tried to throw us a frisbee but it went the wrong way (to the other side of the street) and someone else grabbed it.
Ha ha, well thats about it, not much excitement lately. Just life as usual.

How rare is your personality?

2008-06-14T12:58:00.000-06:00

Your Personality is Very Rare (INTP)

Your personality type is goofy, imaginative, relaxed, and brilliant.

Only about 4% of all people have your personality, including 2% of all women and 6% of all men

You are Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Put your money where your mouth is

2008-05-29T09:07:00.005-06:00

And thats exactly what Josh did yesterday. The boys heard the ice cream truck coming and I told them i had no money, if they wanted anything, they would have to pay for it themselves. So out came the penny banks and they quickly dug through the change to find a golden dollar. Unfortunately the ice cream man decided to skip our street and they were unable to catch him so they sadly marched back home, sans frozen treats. Josh, once home had the bright idea to keep his money in his mouth instead of his pocket or putting it back in the bank. Bad idea...one funny joke too many and down the throat it went. Luckily it went down his esophogus and not his windpipe! But it got lodged in his throat, near the base of his neck. Poor kid...he was not a happy camper. He was gagging and trying to throw it up but it wouldn't budge so we took him to the Emergency Room, crying, unable to speak more than a raspy word or two at a time, having a hard time swallowing, and gagging and throwing up a little every couple minutes :( I had no idea what to expect at the ER, I was hoping and praying we wouldn't have to sit in the waiting room for hours like you see on tv. Thankfully, although the waiting room was full, I barely had time to give them my card and sign a paper before they whisked Josh away to a room. They did an xray to find out where the coin was and then were waiting on the specialist to come and remove it. In the mean time, Josh was worn out and decided to try to take a nap. After sleeping for about 10 minutes, he suddenly sat up, grabbed his barf bag and threw up. Then he handed it to me and laid back down. Not 20 seconds later he sat back up and said it felt like it was gone now and his throat didn't hurt. Then he said "I feel great mom!" So the doctor checked and sure enough, he'd thrown it up. So no nasty scope down the throat or else having to wait for it to pass (ewwww!). The doctor was such a sweety, she even dug the gold dollar out of the bag and cleaned it and sanitized it for Josh. I told her just to throw the barf bag, coin and all away, that I could get him a new dollar, but she insisted. Shortly after he was discharged and of course we had to stop at the gift shop and get him a treat for his troubles and for being such a trooper. He pulled out his coin in the gift shop and had to show the nice ladies there. He said "Look I have a gold dollar. My grandpa gave it too me" and held it out, the lady took it and was looking at it then he says, "it got stuck in my throat, and i puked it out." The look on her face was priceless! I explained what happened and let her know it was ok, that it had been cleaned and sanitized. She laughed and handed it back rather quickly, lol.
So that was our exciting day. Hopefully everyone has learned not to put their money in their mouths!! Never a dull moment with these two. :)

Two

2008-05-22T08:06:00.002-06:00

Two Names You Go By: Marz, Mommy (and NO, I do not go by Morris (Dirk), Woo Woo (dad), Mauri Woo (uncle Allen), or Sorry Moo (Jeff)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) ;o)

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Grubby UPS t shirt and jeans (just got off work and haven't changed yet)

Two Of Your Favorite Things To Do: Hang out with my family, read

Two Things You Want To Do Very Badly At This Moment: buy a little car and repaint the house

Two Favorite Pets: Zoey and CJ

Two People Who Will Fill This Out: Well I'm not going to tag anyone, so your guess is as good as mine

Two Things You Did Last Night: Watched American Idol, cleaned the house

Two Things You Ate Today: Pop tart and granola bar

Two Last People You Talked To: Steve and Brenda (at work this morning)

Two Longest Car Rides: Hmmm....I know it took 2 days last time we drove to Washington (near Seattle, though)...and it took a long time when we drove to Estes Park, Colorado too.

Two Favorite Holidays: Christmas and Christmas

Two Favorite Vacations: Vacations?? what r those?? lol... Well a couple years ago i flew out to Chicago for a week while Ira was working out there for the summer, that wasn't a vacation for him, but I had a blast!! Visiting family in Washington state.

Two Favorite Drinks: Pepsi and strawberry limeades from Sonic

I tag whoever wants to play.

I am Cinderella

2008-05-16T22:13:00.000-06:00

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Hot Morning in the Terrace

2008-05-06T08:36:00.009-06:00

Or at least in our backyard!!
I was at work this morning at about 6:25 am when Adrie called. She said, "MOM! I am standing in the backyard and the house behind us is totally on fire!" I just happened to be standing next to my supervisor and repeated it and my super looked at me and said you can GO!! So of course I bolted. I work about 5 miles away but as soon as I got a clear view, I could see the flames...from 31st street in Ogden, clear as could be.
I came home to droves of cars all around my home and lots of unfamiliar faces in my backyard and a roaring fire...the entire home was engulfed. I was standing on the patio and the heat was incredible. The house burned up completely, just a burnt frame left behind. No one was hurt in the fire thank goodness. I didn't know these neighbors at all, we occasionally saw their grandchildren playing in the back, but only saw the neighbors themselves a couple of times it the 5 years we have lived here.
Adrie said she was sleeping and got woken by the house shaking and what sounded like bombs going off. It was the propane tanks/and or gas lines exploding. The fire started around 6:15 am and got home at 6:40, the firemen had the fire out within 10 minutes after I got there...It was very fast and very powerful :(
Anyways, here are a couple pics and hopefully videos if I can figure it out!

*KSL.com also has this pic below and one of the videos.

Ok Ok, I'll post a new blog

2008-04-14T15:01:00.004-06:00

Since some people have been asking I'll give a little update ;)

Sorry its been so long, I just haven't been in a blogging mood lately. Takes too much brainpower, lol. I have been trying to NOT think too much lately, lifes just so stressful around here.

We are loving the weather the past couple days, it is such a nice change. I LOVE being able to wear flip flops and shorts/capris...hopefully it stays this way.
Still no news on when we are moving. I can't believe its been 9 months since we quit making house payments, 6 months since the bankruptcy and still haven't gotten foreclosure notice of any kind. We are still waiting on the short sale, but with the new laws they are working on to stop foreclosure, who knows whats going to happen. Maybe we won't be moving after all. As much as I don't love my house, I do like the neighborhood and love that all 3 schools are within walking distance. So I guess we'll just keep waiting, at least a little longer.

The Dave Ramsey budget is still working great for us. At least for me, lol. Ira likes that we're saving so much money, but hates that he can't spend any now. The kids don't like that we almost never go out to eat any more and we only do homemade pizza. But it feels so good to know that we have a cushion to fall back on now and don't have to stress out every time something unexpected happens and we need money.

Adrie had to make a tough decision...not knowing whether we would be here next year she decided to not go out for the cheerleading team :( I thought she still should try, but she didn't want to leave a hole in the team if she moved and she said it would be harder to have made the team and then moved than to just not try out. She is really good at cheer too, she has worked so hard this year, I am very proud of her. She most likely would have made the team, so she is having a hard time with it, especially since her best friend made the team.

Jerod has loved being a member of the student counsel this year at school and they just wrapped up their year with a big party- a Chocolate Fountain party. He was so excited to bring cinnamon bears to dip (thanks to a certain somebodys wedding) and all his friends loved it. He is doing so good in school and his teacher just loves him.

Josh and Caleb are growing up. Every day they do or say something that makes us chuckle. Josh's new favorite thing to say when he tastes something he likes is "That takes my tastebuds on a journey!" lol, thanks to good ol' Spongebob Squarepants. They are almost done with preschool for the year, they have really enjoyed it. Especially Caleb. I was so worried about how he would do with his issues but he has absolutely thrived. He has made tons of friends and has really learned to control his temper. Josh, who I thought would be the one with all the friends hasn't fared as well. He has a couple friends, but he is surprisingly dependent on Caleb. Caleb missed a couple days of school cuz he was sick and Josh had a terrible time both days because of it. On the other hand, Caleb wasn't bothered the days Josh was absent. There is one little girl in particular that I think Caleb is fond of and every day her grandma tells me what a good kid he is. I just have to laugh, cuz he has been my difficult one. Of all my kids I thought he was going to be the death of me. And now I am getting compliments on what a little gentlemen he is. She just told me today that he told her (as he was getting Baileys bookbag and jacket for her and giving them to her grandma) that he "likes to help old people." LOL. If nothing else he is a constant source of entertainment.
Ira took a quick trip to Spokane for his job last week. He was going up there to get the shredder in his shred truck fixed. Someone accidently or otherwise put a huge bolt in with their documents and it totally jacked up the shredder. $4K worth of damage because of some customers carelessness. He had to take it to the manufacturer to get it repaired and it ended up taking a lot longer than they expected. So he had to stay a day and a half longer and ended up spending his birthday (wednesday) on the road, he made it home about 1 am thursday morning. He is still enjoying his job very much and loves that he gets to utilize his CDL at last.
Well thats about all the thinking I can handle for today. Love ya all. Thnx for reading!

The sweetest poem...

2008-03-28T17:40:00.011-06:00

Adrie wrote this darling poem in English recently and I just wanted to share it.

The theme of the poem was "What is most Precious to you"
Click on the picture so you can see it enlarged.

Random Update

2008-03-08T17:01:00.004-07:00

1. It looks like we are not moving out of state at this time. Ira LOVES his new job and its going wonderfully. He works for Certified Shred, a document shredding company. They are so happy with him, he's making decent money, better than we expected thanks to the overtime and cuz they are paying him more than they orinally told him. He only works monday through friday, NO WEEKENDS! And he is off by 6 pm at the latest. He was just promoted and as of monday will be driving the big shred truck (on his own with no training, because they trust him that much) that requires a CDL to operate, thank goodness he has one! He has been driving a truck about the same size as an RC Willey delivery truck, taking in bins to pick up the documents and then bringing them back to the shop to be shredded. Now he will be driving the on site shredder truck. Its a small company, the owner loves Ira, which is such a nice change from the mean cable world where it didn't matter if he was the best tech in the company, he was still treated like dirt from day one. He is happy and that makes me happy, and I don't want that to change, so why change anything? We will stay in Utah and want to move a little farther south, maybe Clearfield or Roy.
2. The Dave Ramsey budget is awesome. I highly recommend it if you aren't already on a budget. It is amazing how much less I spend when i have a budget and cash in hand rather than just guesstimating and swiping my debit card. I really think we will be successful with this. We have a plan and we are sticking to it. And it feels really really good.
3. I love facebook.com - Thank you Kecia for introducing me to it. Adrie, Ira and I all have accounts and having lots of fun with them. I have found a couple of high school friends on it as well as quite a few family members. If you have a facebook account, add me to your friends. And if you don't have one, well get crackin! I can't wait to throw a sheep at you! ;-) Plus I need more friends so I can expand my Knighthood realm. OH, btw, Kecia, you do realize I was stolen from you by some evil Lord? I am no longer your vassal, but I will rebel as soon as I am able.
4. This is totally random, but really cool, I think. While in the middle of a battle on Heavenly Sword on the PS3, the wireless controller died. Instead of getting slaughtered or just having the game stop, Ira's character turned and ran away from the battle so he wouldn't get killed. It took a minute to figure out what was wrong, but once he did he had to tell me, cuz its so clever!
I think thats it for now, I have to go make pizzas for supper.

Everyone needs a little spice in their life

2008-03-06T18:42:00.001-07:00

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by post people.

You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive.

You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

Condo Living, Redneck Style

2008-03-02T10:56:00.002-07:00

A friend sent me this and I laughed my butt off so I had to post it here.

Pet Peeves

2008-03-01T18:03:00.004-07:00

I just found a cool website called www.mypetpeeves.com where there is an extensive list of peoples pet peeves you can browse by subject. What are your pet peeves? If you are reading this, you are it next!

My pet peeves:

1. Parents who ignore their children's misbehavior or their screaming children who need attention in public.
2. Slow drivers in the passing lane, or else taking up all the lanes of traffic.
3. When I am focused on something (like blogging or email or reading) and someone keeps trying to talk to me or saying hey you have to watch this, its sooo funny!
4. People who smoke in their cars with their kids IN the car.
5. People who allow their children to climb all over the car WHILE they are driving (NO SEATBELTS or CARSEATS!)
6. Cashiers who hand you the cash first, then drop the change on top of the cash, so you have to work really hard not to spill your change. I ALWAYS made sure to give people their change first, and then the cash as I counted it back.
7. People who make a mistake while driving and instead of acknowledging their mistake, they flip ME off or give Me dirty looks like I screwed up.
8. People who regularly read my blog, but NEVER leave comments. To me, that is like coming to my house, eating my food, watching my tv and leaving without saying a word.
9. People who stop and chat with friends in the middle of the walkway.
10. People who wear too much cologne or perfume.

I could probably go on and on...but ten is a good number. Your turn!

Another question thingy

2008-02-29T16:53:00.004-07:00

What were you doing 20 years ago?
I was thirteen, in the 7th grade I think. Probably loving Michael Jackson and Kirk Cameron, lol. We were living in Layton, my best friend was Sherry McAtee.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was a stay at home mom to a 3 year old Adrie and a 6 month old Jerod. We lived in a townhouse in Layton that we just loved. It was a little community built in a circle with a playground in the middle. Everyone had kids so Adrie had tons of friends, and all the neighbors were friends as well- we miss that kind of community. Jerod was pretty much exactly 6 months old (so 10 years ago) when he had to have mris done to find out if his birthmark continued into his brain. That was so scary to watch my baby be put to sleep, especially after signing all types of forms stating that a small percentage of people won't wake up. Of course he made it through and Thank the Lord, the birthmark was not on his brain, so no worry of seizures and brain damage.

What were you doing 5 years ago?
Lets see, I had 4 month old twins, so I was the equivalent of a milk cow. They were getting easier at this point, sleeping through the night (thanks to the cry it out method) and were so stinkin cute. I stayed home with them and avoided going anywhere unless Ira was with me as it was so hard to take 2 babies and their carseats and all their stuff anywhere by myself.

5 things on my "to-do" list today:
1-Go grocery shopping- done
2-Clean the house- done (thats what kids are for, right?)
3- Start planning a menu and work on my budget
4- Go to redbox and pick up the movie I rented online
5- Go and see a car we are thinking about buying.

6 Snacks that I enjoy:
1- smoothies, homemade, usually Strawberry banana, yum!
2- rice cakes with peanut butter and honey
3- chocolate
4- popcorn, especially mixed with sweetened cereal
5- bananas

3 bad habits:
1- Spending way too much time on the computer.
2- Procrastinating.
3- Being too hard on myself.
4. picking my nose and eating it.
Just kidding! Threw that in to see if you were really reading. I did use to do this as a kid until I had a dream that made me stop cold turkey. Maybe I'll blog about it ;)

5 Places I've lived:
1-Vernal, UT
2-Ft Hood, TX
3-Sunset, UT
4-Kaysville, UT
5- Layton, UT
6- Livingston, MT
7- Washington Terrace, UT

5 Jobs I've had:
1- Newspaper Route
2- Arbys
3- Lifetime Products
4- Comfort Inn, desk clerk
5- Housekeeper
6- Clerk, UPS

5 Things people don't know about me:
1-I use to love country music. Now my favorite is Rap and hip/hop.
2- I somehow managed to fail PE one term in 11th grade
3- I was 3rd place in my school spelling bee when I was in the 4th grade, the 1st place was a 6th grader, 2nd was a 5th, then me. I probably could have won, but I didn't want to, I misspelled a word on purpose.
4. When I am quiet (which is usually the case) I am not angry or stuck up or even shy really...I just don't talk much, I don't have much to say...I guess my brain works differently then others, but socializing has always been very difficult and stressful for me. I would like to talk more, but I just can't. I know I probably should see a psychologist, but I don't know what good it would do at this point in my life. Because of the way others respond to my quiet nature, I would prefer to just avoid them most of the time :(
5. I am a dreamer...I want to travel the world, be an artist, learn everything I possibly can, but am limited because right now I am raising my kids and too poor, lol.

Tag to those of you who haven't done this yet! :)

Orchestra Festival!!!!

2008-02-29T09:19:00.002-07:00

Ok everyone,
yesterday i had a orchestra festival, all the schools got together in the district, and we tryed to prove our skills to two amazing judges! And we came in second place!!! It was very fun, and we did way better than our rivals "SOUTH OGDEN"!! Anyways i need to go.... got to practice for the next one!

Great big talking horn in the sky

2008-02-26T16:12:00.005-07:00

Today after school the twins went outside to ride their scooters. After about 10 minutes Caleb came running in yelling (I thought) "MOM mom!! This guy was talking to me." Of course I start lecturing on talking to strangers and he looks at me weird and says "no, not a guy! The SKY was talking to me." Me- "HUH?" Caleb- "The sky was talking to me and was telling me to be good." Me, "hmmm, what does the sky sound like?" Caleb rolls his eyes, sighs and starts to walk away. I explained, "Caleb, the sky has never talked to me before, so I don't know what it sounds like? Did it have a big deep voice, like this (in biggest, deepest voice I can muster) CALEB, YOU NEED TO BE GOOD....?" At this point Caleb is frustrated with me because I didn't say it like the sky did. He just about walked out the door when I asked him very nicely again and he looked at me with an "are you really that stupid, mom?" expression and answered, "The sky sounded like horns," and then he made this weird high pitched horn like noise and walked out the door. During this time, Josh had wandered in and heard the conversation and piped up, "I didn't hear it, only Caleb could...maybe it was God?"

Josiah Leming, we love you!!

2008-02-20T10:54:00.005-07:00

If you have watched American Idol this season, you know who Josiah Leming is. The kid who lived in his car for a year, who made ends meet by doing gigs whenever he could as well as temporary, odds and end jobs. He tried out for AI on a whim and flew through to Hollywood and breezed through the first round of cuts there too. He amazed Paula, Simon & Randy as well as America with his Grace Kelly performance. Then he made a boo boo. He dismissed the background singers and messed up "Stand by me." In my opinion he was one of the most talented individuals on AI this season and this little mess up should have been overlooked. But he didn't make it into the final 24. A big mistake for American Idol. People loved him, he was fresh, amazingly talented, had a big heart and an incredible story. He was perfect for AI and for their ratings. But Simon got it in his head that Josiah was a little too cocky, and was annoyed by his seeming over confidence, and that was that. If it wasn't for my daughter (and her crush on David Archuleta) we probably wouldn't even be watching the rest of the season because of this. Every season I have watched it has been because of one or two people who really stand out and I have wanted to support them. This year, it was Josiah.
Josiah, I hope you do amazingly well in life. I love your music and I know many others do as well. I hope someone is smart enough to sign you to a record label and I hope you blow the other "American Idol's" out of the water. You have a gift, not just a great voice, but to be able to write your own music, lyrics and play your own music at your age is incredible. God knows you are better than AI. Don't give up sweety. All of America is rooting for you!

Check out Josiahs original music on his myspace page

Grace Kelly auditon below

Josiah was on the Ellen show yesterday, if you have a few minutes, this is really cool

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

2008-02-15T16:03:00.003-07:00

Valentines day is one of those holidays that normally bug me, I get the V-day cards for the kids to send to school and get a little treat for my kids and dh, but thats about it. While it means well, ultimately its purpose is to get us to spend more money!!
I wasn't planning on anything different or special this year, but I guess the V-day bug bit me (or maybe cupid shot me) but I decided I wanted to make it special.
First of all I made Valentines day cookies. I have attempted this only once or twice before with not so great results and had pretty much given up on the possibility of finding a homemade sugar cookie recipe that I liked. Well I decided if I wanted a good recipe, I should look for the best, so I googled "best sugar cookie recipe" and what do you know? It worked! I found a recipe that is so good and doesn't turn hard as a rock! Then I found a recipe for a yummy icing to top it off. Josh helped me make the dough and then fell asleep by the time it was ready (had to refrigerate it). Caleb quickly jumped in and became "flour boy" he said he was helping, but really I think he just like playing in the flour while I rolled the dough. Every so often he would dump a handful on top of my already rolled out dough or already cut cookies, what a helper! Adrie and I iced the cookies and Jerod, Caleb and Adrie decorated them with crystal sugar sprinkles. Well, mainly Caleb decorated them with sprinkles. He really got into it! He made some pretty cool designs and I was very impressed. At least until the last tray when he went a little bit sprinkle happy. I made the mistake of leaving the room for a few minutes and came back to find a a good quarter inch of sprinkles on each of the cookies. When I asked him what happened, he played dumb- "I don't know....maybe Josh did it" (he is saying this while still sprinkling, mind you!).

Adrie and the finished product, they were so yummy!

Ira and I decided to go out for some Cafe Rio so we bought the kids a heart shaped pizza from papa murphys. They had never seen such a thing before and absolutely loved it.

Heart shaped pizza

We delivered cookies to some friends and neighbors and then when Ira and I left for Cafe Rio, we snuck back and left V-day gifts on the porch for the kids. They were so excited. They each got a gift bag with a valentine cup full of candy, a heart straw, and these little gooey hearts (with arms and legs) that stretch and stick to the wall when you throw them). Not too bad for someone who doesn't like Valentines day, eh?

Hope you all had a wonderful day.

BLOG ADVISORY

2008-02-15T15:26:00.001-07:00

I have just given Adrie a profile and permission to add to the blog, so just wanted to warn you all. I can't be held responsible for the crazy stuff she posts. ;)

The art of Nicoletta Ceccoli

2008-02-13T14:34:00.007-07:00

I stumbled across this artist on another artists website. She is an italian childrens book illustrator and artist. Very fun and whimsical, and a little bit dark, just my style.

a collage of some of Nicolettas paintings

One of her childrens book covers

Injuries and Ice Cream

2008-02-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today was a rather eventful day, so I guess it's blogworthy.

First thing this morning, when I was finishing up at work, I heard my phone beep with a voicemail. So I checked it and it was a school number so I figured it was Adrie or Jerod saying they were sick. I called the voicemail and Adrie was crying, saying she had been tripped in PE and had hurt her arm bad. She said that her teacher thought it was broken. So I hauled out of there as fast as I could and went straight to school in my filthy, smelly UPS grubbies. I am sure I was quite a sore site for previously unhurt eyes ;-)
When I got there she was waiting in the office with an icepack on her arm, it looked pretty bad, it was really swollen and red. We went to the insta-care thinking that would be the best bet, it was 9:30 am, how busy could it be? It only opened 30 minutes before. Ha! It was a 2 hour wait there, so I called my regular doctors office and they could get her in at 10:30 am, so of course we took it. We had time to kill so we went to Betos and shared a mixed breakfast burrito while we waited- yum!
We got in to see the doctor right on time and after lots of poking and prodding (poor Adrie) he was confident that it wasn't broken, but he did an x-ray just to be certain. He was right, no broken bones, just what he called an "arm contusion". Basically she just bruised it pretty good and it can be super painful. She was relieved (and maybe a little disappointed, she had gotten excited about getting a pink cast all her friends could write on) and we went home. I let her stay home the rest of the day, even though she could have gone back for the last 3 periods.

Adrie's boo-boo

Jerod is the student council member for his class. Normally that just means he has to go to school early once a week for a meeting, but not much beyond that.

Jerod in his Student Council T-shirt, they got the tees specifically for this field trip.

Well today the student council got to visit the newly remodeled Capitol building. They attended a legislative session, got a tour of the Capitol, got to see the governor, take a tour of the Beehive house, and last but not least got a tour of the Farrs factory in SLC and got a FREE ICE CREAM CONE!!! I emphasize the free ice cream cone, because after that amazing opportunity that most children don't get (the capitol, legislature, etc) I ask him about his trip and his response- "I got ICE CREAM!!! Chocolate, vanilla double scoop" Not what I was expecting. I was thinking more along the lines of "the capitol was beautiful, the legislators were fascinating, I learned so much about how our government works, etc." but no. Ice cream. I guess when you're 10 you understand what is really important in life.

Global cooling??

2008-02-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

I came across this article on a friends blog, the first i've heard anything of the sort. If this is true, I am moving to Mexico! I already dislike winter with a passion, I really don't like the idea of cold summers too.

Solar activity fluctuates in an 11-year cycle. But so far in this cycle, the sun has been disturbingly quiet. The lack of increased activity could signal the beginning of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event which occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century.

Such an event occurred in the 17th century. The observation of sunspots showed extraordinarily low levels of magnetism on the sun, with little or no 11-year cycle.

This solar hibernation corresponded with a period of bitter cold that began around 1650 and lasted, with intermittent spikes of warming, until 1715. Frigid winters and cold summers during that period led to massive crop failures, famine and death in Northern Europe.

Tapping reports no change in the sun’s magnetic field so far this cycle and warns that if the sun remains quiet for another year or two, it may indicate a repeat of that period of drastic cooling of the Earth, bringing massive snowfall and severe weather to the Northern Hemisphere.

Full article here

What do you think?

Kecia, this ones for you

2008-02-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks to your friend Jenna's blog, I have become addicted finding new art that I love. I decided I am going to showcase an artist or piece of art on my blog on a regular basis. That way I have a record of all the stuff I like so that I can find it later on, lol. I find I am really drawn to the dark and whimsical art. After reading your blog about your favorite color, I remembered this artist I was particularly fond of, Anne Julie. She has some incredible work and these few reminded me of you and your love of red.

This is one of my favorites by Anne Julie, it is titled "Spring Snowflakes."

This one is kind of neat, it has some french name I won't attempt to type, but it translates to "Girl at Poppies."

I really like this one too, it's called "The Tea"

This ones not red, but it is one of my favorites. It is called "Queen of Sorrow." It is dark and sad, yet ethereally beautiful.

This is another favorite, it's hard to choose, I love so much of her work. This is "Little Jackalope Baby." I love how she uses the weather in most of her art, wind blowing hair and leaves and falling snow. It just adds something extra to an already beautiful piece.

My perspective

2008-02-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

I know the rest of the family has already said their peace about the funeral on their individual blogs, but i figured I'd throw in my thoughts as well.
I still can't get over the turnout and the outpouring of love and support. Maybe its a small town thing, but I think its a testimony to the kind and wonderful people Randy and Colleen were. It was as beautiful as a funeral could be, with the sanctuary, hallways and viewing room all overflowing with beautiful flower arrangements.
Randy and Colleens 6 children planned the funeral and gave beautiful eulogies. The daughters read Colleens eulogy and the sons read Randys. I would be amazed if there were any dry eyes in the congregation during those readings. And then there were the little girls playing "I Know My Redeemer Lives." They played amazingly well and touched my heart. I lost it when Randys friend sang "Daddy's Hands." So many good stories and memories shared, many light and cheerful moments to brighten up the sad occasion.
The thing I can't stop thinking about was Colleens oft repeated statement the times Randy had close calls with death- "You aren't going anywhere without me!" I guess maybe there is some power in the spoken word. She said it, she believed it. They left this world together. Even though we didn't like the way they left it, and especially the timing, they left the way the wanted to.
This was by far the saddest funeral I have ever been to. I hope and pray I don't have to see many more like this. My heart goes out to my grandma Bea, my dad and all my uncles who have lost their only sister, all the other family members on both sides, and especially to my precious cousins (and their children), who lost both their parents (& grandparents) in the blink of an eye. My heart aches for them all and the great pain they are experiencing right now. Before we left to head back home I talked to one of Colleen and Randy's daughters and she said something that will probably stay with me forever. She said to me, "I never really knew what it meant when someone said they had a broken heart. For the first time in my life, I think understand what it is to have a broken heart."
My heart is broken, but probably only a little. I don't want to know the kind of pain that rips your heart in half, of course none of us do. But I have no doubt, knowing these amazing cousins of mine that although they will hurt for a time, and their will always be some pain, they will rise above and will be stronger than ever.

Feeling Blue

2008-02-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Another friends blog gave me an idea to google my favorite color and see what images show up. My favorite color is cobalt blue, so lets google and see what turns up!

This is real- a Cobalt Blue Tarantula, ewww! I think this is one cobalt that won't be added to my collection.

A baby top milk bottle. I have one of these!

A funky glass Jellyfish??

Beautiful blue sari.

If I was a biker, this would be my dream bike.

A comic book villain aptly named "Cobalt Blue". I am not big on comic books, but I guess this guy is the twin brother of "The Flash", fueled by jealousy and hatred for his brother, devoted all his energy to trying to destroy him.

I want this window!!

The soon to be released (in less then a week) Cobalt Nintendo DS

There are so many more cool pictures but I just had to pick a few.
If you read this, then you are tagged! I want to "see" your favorite colors too!

Beautiful news report regarding the accident

2008-01-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Getting to know you

2008-01-30T13:40:00.001-07:00

Tag, You're it! If you read this, its your turn to answer next.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I was named after a student my dad used to teach. Apparently she was from Australia and Mauri is the australian pronunciation of Mary. Although I asked some australians I used to be friends with and they said Mary with a long "a" and disagreed. Maybe it is the australian pronunciation of Marie, that made more sense to them.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Yesterday at work
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING
It's alright, but not great.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Not a big lunchmeat person.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes, 4.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Hmmm...I don't know, I might think I'm weird ;) JK, yes I would be friends with me.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Who me? NEVER!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
As far as I know, yes. Unless the aliens took them in my sleep.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Maybe, but someone would have to push me.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Granola
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Depends on the shoe. If there is any way to take them off without untying them, then heck ya! My work boots will not come off unless I untie them, sigh.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE strong?
Hee hee, should I insert a picture of my biceps here? I think I am strong and my kids and hubby say wow every time I flex. One more benefit of busting my butt at a crazy job like UPS.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Pralines and cream
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
I would have to say their eyes.
15. RED OR PINK?
Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Being quiet and reserved. I wish I could be wild and crazy and loud, but its just not me.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
Randy and Colleen :(
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Yes, but I know that won't happen
19. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING NOW?
fleece pj bottoms, white t-shirt.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Cheese quesadilla
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
The twins arguing over a game.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Cobalt blue
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Apple pie, cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, forest in the morning.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My mom
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I don't know whose blog I saw it on first, but I really really like everyone who posted it.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Ice skating
27. HAIR COLOR?
Dark brown
28. EYE COLOR?
Brown
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Sometimes, but only if I have too.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Oh man. I LOVE Café Rio’s chicken enchilada with mild sauce, and their lime-cilantro rice. YUM!
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings for sure. But I enjoy a good scary movie too.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW?
Cloverfield
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
White
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer for sure!
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Cafe Rios fresh lime pie
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Lindie
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
Shawn
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Babylon Rising: the Edge of Darkness, and some book about Caleb , oh I mean raising a strong willed child
40. What did you watch on TV last night?
We watched american idol.
41. Your favorite method of relaxation?
SLEEP, although a hot bath is a close second
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Crickets chirping on a warm summer night, wind rustling through the trees, wood crackling in a fireplace, burbling streams.
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES
Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Chicago
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can bend my elbows back more than most, its really funny to watch people get grossed out by it.

New job!

2008-01-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ira started his new job today! On tuesday I emailed his resume to this paper shredding company in SLC. About an hour later, he got a phone call from the owner. He was ecstatic that Ira had a class B CDL, since this is what is needed to drive their big shredder truck. He all but offered him the job right over the phone. They set up an appointment for an interview on Wednesday at noon and by 12:30 he had the job. He was going to wait till after the funeral to start but they told him he could take whatever time off that he needed, so we made a couple phone calls to make sure we had daycare for the twins in the morning (they have no school on wednesdays) and he started today.
It doesn't pay super great to start out with, but after a 3 month probation, it will go up. The best part for Ira though, is it monday - friday. 8 am to 5 pm. No weekend or holidays. He will get vacation time, paid holidays and sick leave. He is still applying for other jobs, in case this one doesn't pan out or in case there is something better. But I am just happy he is working!

Heartbreaking News

2008-01-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

My beloved aunt Colleen and uncle Randy have gone to be with the Lord.

"Home at Last"

They were on vacation with two other couples, traveling through California at the time when they were in a tragic car accident with a big rig. I don't know the exact details of how or why, but one report said a stop sign had been knocked or blown down, so the 18 wheeler didn't stop when he was supposed to.

Of the 6 in the pick up, 3 were killed. The other 3 were seriously injured, one requiring life flight to San Diego. The driver and passenger of the semi were injured, but not seriously.

This came as such a shock to everyone. We all loved Colleen and Randy. They were such an integral part of our family. Colleen was a gifted and talented woman who excelled at everything she tried her hand at. She made my beautiful wedding cake as well as most (if not all) of my siblings and cousins cakes. She was my wedding photographer as well. Randy, well he was just Randy. A big loveable teddy bear of an uncle. I remember when he was a dairy farmer and him giving me a tour of the lovely dairy facilities. He didn't understand why I was gagging the whole time (if you've ever smelled a dairy farm, you know what I'm talking about!).

Colleen and Randy left behind 6 amazing children and many beautiful grandchildren. They were awesome people who blessed the lives of everyone around them and they will be so missed.
It just shouldn't be this way, it's not fair. No one wants this kind of news, and certainly never expects this sort of thing would happen to someone they love.

If there is a bright spot in this dark tragedy, it is that they left this world together and are watching over us all from a much better place.

Colleen and Randy, may you rest in peace.

Answer to prayers, a Christmas miracle

2008-01-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

My mother in law shared this true story tonight.  Ira was
3 years old when she was working at Safeway and
helped this family out.  I just had to share it because
we never know how the Lord can use us to bless
another's life and just what an impact it can have.

I was a young 24 year old single working mother,
and was a meat wrapper for Safeways, and my
boss came in to the meat department and
asked us if anyone knew a family that could use
a Christmas basket from the
Elks. I said yes, I knew a family that could,
and I told Mr Stoltz where they lived.

That next week, Mr Stoltz came back in to the meat
department again and told me that when I told him
about a family with 7 kids living in a trailer at the
Campground, he said he pictured unruley and
unclean kids, with a messy house, and how when
he and another man went to their trailer - they
were invited in, and he was very impressed
with how clean they all were and how well behaved
the kids were..... That made me feel good.

So - anyway, this week after the family concert,
I went over to the father of
this family ( who was working the sound
control board near me)  and asked him
if he knew Bud and Katie Waddington and he
smiled at me and said yes; they
were his parents. And I said 'really.....' and he
said yes, and I began to tell
them how I was a young mother of 24, single
and raising a son on my own; how I
went to the Assembly of God church here at
that time, and how impressed I was
with their family. I told him over the years, the
impact their lives had had
on mine, and how I had never forgotten them
and that I had come to the concert
that night - just to see if they were related
to the Waddingtons I knew 30
years ago. Then I told him how I'd arranged
for them to get a Christmas box 30
years back when they lived here, and later -
how impressed my boss was with
their family, and Caleb (the father) just
smiled and said ' just a minute - let
me go get my wife.....' and when he brought
her back, he looked at me and said
'Tell my wife what you just told me' and
I relayed to her the story of Bud and
Katie and their family at church and how
I'd told my boss about a family that
could probably use a Christmas box, and
later how impressed my boss was when
he met the family. When I was done retelling
the story, Caleb said, "I have to
tell you something......" We had very little
food in the cupboards and our
parents had already prepared us that there
wasn't going to be a Christmas dinner
that year, and yet my mom said we should
ask God to provide, and so we all
prayed. And then there was a knock at the
door, and there stood two men with a
big box of a complete Christmas dinner and more.....

Caleb is 43 now, and he told me that night -
that this answer to prayer is a
story that had a tremendous impact on his life
and how he has told that story
over and over - of how they prayed and a
stranger showed up at their door with
a box of groceries, and now here he was -
meeting the woman who was a vital
link in that prayer being answered. The joy
of it all made me cry. I had no
idea how needy they really were..... We
never know how we are used of the Lord
in small every day ways.... and what a blessing
to meet one of the children
after all these years; a product of a couple
that never realized either - how their
lives impacted mine. I had never forgotten them.....

The TRUE definition of a Vegetarian.

2008-01-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

The other day, Josh & Caleb's teachers stopped by our house for a little home visit. Teacher Barbara shared the cutest story about Caleb. She said that earlier this week the kids were having a discussion in class. Someone brought up the word "Vegetarian."
Caleb piped up and said, (very seriously):

"Oh, Vegetarian is Spanish for dinosaurs who don't eat meat."

Who knew? I'm going right over to wikepedia.com to straighten them out!

Kids, lol!

Husband Tag

2008-01-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, my sister, Kecia tagged me, so here goes!

What is his name?Ira Mitchell Gibson

How long have you been together? Married 14 years this month.
How long did you date? We dated for 8 months. We met the middle of May and were married on the 15th of January.

How old his he? 32

Who eats more? He does.

Who said I love you first? He did

Who is taller? He is about 4 inches taller.

Who can sing better? Him, definitely.

Who is smarter? It depends on the subject. I am more book smart, he is more common sense smart. When it comes to music, he has an amazing memory.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who pays the bills?Me
Who sleeps in the right side? He sleeps on the right.

Who mows the lawn? Usually me, because he is always working till after dark.

Who cooks dinner? Me. But he cooks breakfast on sundays and days off. He is a better cook for sure, just never has the time.

Who drives? Usually he does, because I drive too slow and cautious for his liking.

Who is more stubborn? Me, hands down.

Who kissed who first? I don't remember. I think it was mutual.

Who asked who out first? He did.

Who proposed? He did.

Who has more friends? I think we both have about the same amount of friends, but he is more social and better at keeping in touch with them.

Who is more sensitive? Me.

Who has more siblings? I do. I have 4 siblings. He is an only child. (although he has 2 half siblings that he wasn't raised with)

Who wears the pants? Hmmmm...he would say he does, but I think I make most of the decisions, mainly cuz I'm the one here all the time.

I will have to tag others via email, since most of my friends don't read this blog regularly.

Today

2008-01-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know whether to start with the happy stuff or the bad. Here is just a little of what happened today:

Well, might as well get the bad out of the way first-Ira lost his job.
Apparently comcast took a customer complaint and ran with it. Even though it was investigated and disproved, they had already decided that Paradigm had to fire him. His supervisor was absolutely sick to have to fire him. He is the best tech they have, with the best record, the most compliments from customers and the least complaints and trouble calls. I am upset, but not terribly. He has wanted out of this biz for a long time, but hasn't had the time or motivation to try anything else.
So your prayers are appreciated. He has a few leads already and tomorrow we are going to sit down an make a game plan. Figure out where to apply, get his resume ready, etc. On the bright side, at least right now we don't have to worry about a mortgage payment to keep up with. But no job will make it a little harder to keep saving up for when we move.

On a brighter note, we went to the Timbermine for dinner. You know how we were supposed to go last weekend? Well, Ira got kind of sick and ended up crashing instead of getting ready to go. I was onery about it and threw a royal tantrum, but eventually realized he was really not well. So no Timbermine, and no movie.

So tonight tonight to get our mind off of the job situation, we used the giftcard and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Timbermine. It was pretty good. I think I got stuffed b4 the main course came. After the yummy bread basket and the appetizer (breaded deep fried mushrooms) Oh, and a salad, I was only able to eat 2 bites of my chicken. Ira has half his food leftover too, so we will have a yummy lunch tomorrow.
Then, because I was awake and we got done eating in time to make it to the 8:10 showing, we splurged (I know, bad considering the situation) and went to see Cloverfield. Omigosh, I loved it. Although the camera shake and constant motion did get to me a little. It was so intense, never a dull moment. When it was over we had lots of questions which will probably never be answered, but I guess that was the beauty of the film. It was all about the moment, what it would be like to be in the middle of a horrific event with your video camera.

I am exhausted and gonna hit the hay. Don't let me forget to post about the cutest thing Caleb said at school, I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Hair to stay

2008-01-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

It was time for a haircut again, well actually it was long overdue. I have been thinking about it for the last month, trying to decide what to do. But putting it off because I couldn't make up my mind. I was thinking of doing something rather extreme again (in other words- hacking it all off again). But luckily rationality set in and I just stayed with the basic. Although this time I had it cut in choppy layers (but I can't really tell a difference from regular layers) and I added full bangs. Something I haven't had in quite a while. I have had a little bit of long, tapered bangs, but they have always been long enough I could tuck them behind my ears and keep them out of my face. So now I am trying to get used to bangs always on my forehead. Its a weird feeling, but I am sure I'll get used to it soon.

I finally made it to the gym!!

2008-01-24T09:42:00.000-07:00

Remember my New Years resolution to go to the gym more often?? HA!! I finally went today, for the first time this year. I have been soooo bad! When I have to load package cars (which is more often than not lately) I am completely wiped out by the time work is over, so the gym is out of the question those days. During the holidays and for a while after, I was clerking, which kept me there till around 9 or later every day. By the time I got home and cleaned up (I don't like smelling of diesel fuel and grime) it was 10:30 or so and I had only 2 hours to sleep b4 I had to go pick the twins up from school. And then the evenings. I always say, well I'll just go later, put the twins in daycare, send the big kids to the kids lounge or to play Wii sports and go work out. When it finally gets to be that time, of course there are always a million and one things to do. Like making dinner, helping with homework, blogging ;), cleaning, endless loads of laundry, addictive shows like American Idol, and just being plain tired. So this is why my gym membership sits virtually untouched lately. I thought when the kids went to school, it would give me more time for the gym, but it didn't work out that way. I actually was forced to stay up all day when they didn't have school, so we went to the gym as an energy boost for me and to give the twins something fun to do. Of course it was no fun for poor Adrie, cuz the minute she walked in the door from school, I'd hand her the twins and crash. She had no life on the weekdays cuz mom had to get some sleep after working half the night and staying up all day with the twins.
Well today there were no excuses. I didn't have to load cars, YAY!! I didn't have to clerk. I had a leisurely day up in smalls with all my pals I hardly get to see any more, sorting packages. I was done by 8 am and on my way home. Luckily, back when I made my "resolution" I put a bag in the Tacoma with workout clothes, shoes, towel, etc., so that there would be no excuses. Because once I get home, don't want to leave again, especially when its freezing outside.
So today after work I went straight to the gym. It felt great, and I am hoping I can have the time for it more often.

Saturday night

2008-01-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be out on a date with my husband right now. A date to celebrate 14 years of marriage (our anniversary was on the 15th). But instead I am working on my blog. Why, you might ask? Because Iras boss didn't care that we had plans and gave him way too much work to be able to get done early. So he just got home and has to get cleaned up. So I wait patiently and dream of mouth watering steak, soft buttery rolls, and baked potatoes that always taste so much better than ones baked at home. We are going to the Timbermine Steak house, thanks to a gift card we got for Christmas. On the bright side, I tried to make a reservation there and they said NO RESERVATIONS. So by the time we get there the dinner rush should have slowed down a bit and hopefully we won't have a long wait.
Earlier today the kids and I visited grandma Susan, she seems to be on the mend, and is feeling a lot better. The boys had fun playing in the 4 wheeler tracks in their back yard for part of the afternoon. When they finally got too worn out or too cold they played in grandmas playroom. We brought some soup and bread for lunch and had a nice chat before we headed up to great-grandpa Nielsons house for a few. We had a nice visit and got to hear all about growing up in the great depression. I can't even imagine what it must have been like, but I know that we are blessed, spoiled even with all we have. Our idea of going without is not having enough money to go out to eat or shopping with friends. But we always have plenty to eat, clean clothes to wear, cars to drive and gas for those cars. He spoke of not having a car, and his dad only had a horse. Christmas was coming and there was no money at all, so his dad sold the horse for $35 so that his family could have a Christmas. Talk about love. Talk about sacrifice.
Well it is time for me to go, and now I'm gonna feel guilty all night, lol.

Moms house

2008-01-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

My sweet mom had to have surgery a couple days ago and is at home recovering so I wanted to stop by to see how she was doing. My little sister, Kecia and her sweet baby girl, Emma, just happened (wink wink) to be visiting too. Oh and I just happened (wink wink) to have my camera in my pocket too. What are the odds? ;)

Of course I had to take a few pictures (25 is a few, right? I was only there for an hour) of the little dolly. She is so pink, chubby and as cute as can be. She is just over 2 months old and is getting really good at smiling (except when you want her to smile for a picture, she won't, silly girl!)

Oh and even though I took a million pics of Emma, I still managed to have a nice visit with mom and Kecia and my dad too.

I did manage to get this one smile out of her though!!

I thought she had such a peaceful, serene look on her face

I couldn't have asked for a sweeter picture of Grandma and Emma.

You can click on any of the pictures to see the entire album of Emma.

I'm Bored!!

2008-01-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

And need something to do (besides housework) so here is an overview of the last few days.

On Friday night Adrie had her almost last victim awareness class. It would have been her last, but she and I were sick the Friday before. So one more to go and then she is free and clear!! As always, this class takes up a huge chunk of our friday nights, so we loaded up the whole family (minus dad, who was still working)and headed to Clinton for class. We dropped her off and went to BK, spent way too long too order 3 simple kids meals and then had to explain to the cashier how to make an icee (using the dome lids, not the flat ones!!). We barely got sat down and the kids started eating (I wasn't eating cuz Ira and I would be grabbing a bite later for our Friday date night), when Adrie called saying her class was over more than a 1/2 hour early. We picked Adrie up and then picked up her fave- a bean and cheese burrito from Rancheritos (formerly Betos, which I am still baffled by- why would you change the name and ABSOLUTELY nothing else? And why from such a great little name like Betos to a big tongue twister like Rancheritos?).

Ira got home pretty late, like 8:30, so I was starved when he got home and we rushed out the door and after much discussion decided we would go to the same place we ALWAYS go, lol. We just can't get enough of Cafe Rio. I could live on their rice and beans (as long as it had the green enchilada sauce and the pico de gallo) -YUM, now I am getting hungry just typing about it. I always get the chicken enchilada as well. Ira gets either an enchilada or the chicken fideo -a weird "traditional mexican pasta, it tastes pretty good, but for some reason, the words "Mexican" & "Pasta" just don't go together. If I want pasta, I will go to Olive Garden. We also adore Cafe Rios Fresh Lime Pie, and get one to share or if we are feeling selfish we splurge and each get our own.

On Saturday, I finally got my Christmas tree down!! And all the other decorations too. It's nice to have my livingroom back to normal. I love Christmas trees but after a while it starts to feel a bit cramped. I love the soft glow of christmas lights all year round too, thats why I have a lovely pine garland over my window with christmas lights in it.

Saturday, after taking down the decorations and getting the house cleaned the kids and I went to the Library and the Treehouse museum. I have a bunch of new pics from the treehouse, I'll have to post some, but I'll do that later.

Ohh, I forgot to mention, Adrie has had to do a LOT of cooking the past couple weeks. She had to cook 7 things at home this term for her FACS class (basically home ec) and of course didn't tell me till almost the end of the term. Also she had missed a couple labs, so she had to make them up by preparing them at home. It has been so nice to have a little help in the kitchen, she has made the following:
Navajo Tacos
Calzones
Spaghetti
Roast Chicken
Smoothies
Muffins
Of course I have had to help a little, but she has done really well. I told her she did so good that she can start cooking a whole meal every week. I don't understand why but she wasn't too enthusiastic about that idea.

Anyways back to our weekend. Drew spent the night on Saturday and she and Adrie wanted to come to work with me at the club.

Adrie & bff, Drew.

So I let them tag along and they ended up being a great help, they worked their butts off! Adrie comes with me a lot, but she has never brought a friend and I was a little worried that they would goof around the whole night. But they were vacuuming and wiping things down, sweeping and mopping and changing garbages without any complaints! Of course, they couldn't wait till "break time" so they could have all the free soda they wanted.

Sunday we did absolutely nothing. Both Josh and Caleb were sick. Josh with a stomach bug and Caleb with a croupy cough. Today (monday) Caleb woke up with the stomach bug and Josh is all better.

Today I went to work at UPS (very grudgingly I might add, mondays are always difficult since I can hardly sleep on sunday nights- its hard to get up at 3 am after sleeping all night long for 2 nights). Apparently it was a difficult day for everyone else too since it seemed half the people were not there. We normally have only one clerk, one dock manager (who does all the running for the clerk as well as some minor clerking), and two D.A. clerks who do simple address corrections so that I don't get bombarded at the clerk station. Well the Clerk, the dock manager, and both the D.A. clerks called in sick today. That left me and a backup d.a. clerk who is not very experienced and sends a lot of stuff to me that should be simple fixes. I did have someone helping to run docks (run the carts full of packages that we have corrected around the building to the correct belts) thank goodness, or it would have been a lot worse. So needless to say, today was not fun. I was so stressed and I was there an hour after all the drivers left trying to finish everything up. I am hoping and praying everyone is well and back to work tomorrow so that we don't have a repeat of today!
So there you have it! Thanks for letting me waste my time!

Cleaning Tips

2008-01-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

I posted this on my twins club over 2 years ago. A lot of people there have appreciated it and it keeps popping back up, so I thought I might post it here as well. I don't clean houses anymore but I still use a lot of these tips on my own house (which doesn't get cleaned enough these days, but thats another story (^; ).

Here are the tips:

Pumice stone for the toilet, tub and porcelain sinks. It takes off the impossible to remove hard water stains. People were always amazed that I was able to remove what they thought were permanent water marks.

Ice scraper for scraping things off walls, floors, cabinets, etc. Don't waste an hour trying to scrub it off, the ice scraper will usually take it right off.

Barkeepers friend- (a powder cleaner like comet, but won't scratch) Fabulous on ceramic stove tops, ceramic sinks, copper or metals that have tarnished, etc.

Aerosol Window cleaner, works much better than windex, leaves no film or streaking. You can buy this in the auto department of any store.

For stainless steel appliances, don't waste your time with pain in the butt creams and powders, buy the aerosol kind. It is also good on ceramic stove tops, glass, and just about anything you want to sparkle.

Pledge is wonderful on leather!! Don't buy the expensive leather care kits, just spray on the multi surface pledge instead and wipe off.

Lambswool dusters- work so much better than the feather and synthetic dusters. Just wash with soap and water when it gets too dirty and let it air dry...I comb mine after its dry to keep it nice and fluffy.

I haven't had a chance to try this one yet, but I was told if you have candle wax in your carpet or stuck on furniture, you can get it out with a hot iron and a cold wet towel. Heat your iron, get a terry cloth (at least as big as the iron) wet with very cold water. Place the cloth over the wax and set the hot iron on it for a short time. When you lift it up, the wax should be on the cloth. Don't reuse the cloth, toss it afterwards.

If you have cats and have a problem with cat hair sticking to upholstery, latex gloves (the kind drs & nurses wear) will take it off really well. Just snap on a pair and rub your hands over the furniture in a circular motion, the hair will start to ball up in no time. I had to do this for a lady every week because her kitties loved to sit in one chair in particular and it was always covered with kitty hair.

It helps to have a vacuum, broom and supplies stored on each floor of your home. Easier access means less excuses ;) Also store supplies for bathrooms in each bathroom. If the supplies are right there, its easy to do a quick wipedown every day. This is also a big plus if you have kids. Less complaints and arguments if everything they need is right there.

Another tip- if you have grimy buildup on your cabinets (in the corners and grooves) spray pledge on it, let soak for a minute, then use your ice scraper or some other tool and scrape off easily, then wipe with a clean soft cloth.

Snow more, please!!

2008-01-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know how the rest of you Utahn's fared but from the reports I've seen, we got the brunt of the storm in our neck of the woods. The midday standard examiner report said we had 9 inches as of 10 am, and then it continued to snow for another 6 hours or so. I know we had over a foot. And we are supposed to get another 10-17 inches in the next 48 hours.

Here is a pic of our grill, it had no snow on it yesterday, so this is all new.

Snow day!!

2008-01-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

We (Josh, Caleb & mommy) got all bundled up in snowpants, coats and boots and headed out to the fort (the huge mound of snow the snowplows left behind in the church parking lot) yesterday afternoon.

Caleb practicing his boarding skills

Sliding down the hill.

King of the hill

Josh looking cool

Headfirst

Caleb looking cute

Goofy Gibsons

2008-01-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

Now that we have a camera again we are back to our favorite pastime of making weird faces for the camera. These were taken during our annual New Years Day breakfast.

My tongue is burning, my tongue is burning!

Hmmm...I wonder what kind of trouble i can get in today??

Jerod just found out Adrie took the last waffle.

Of course Zoey had to get in on it too!

Amazed by Amazing Grace

2008-01-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

I rented this movie tonite because the redbox had nothing else than looked remotely interesting. I remembered seeing a preview or two about "Amazing Grace" but never really gave it a second thought.
I had no idea what a treat we were in for, and how blessed we would be by this movie previously unbeknown to us.
It was about William Wilberforce, a member of British Parliament who devoted his life to abolishing the slave trade. It was powerful, thought provoking and beautifully done. If you want a good, no, EXCELLENT movie that is only PG (I didn't think they still made those for adults, lol) this is the one. I don't often buy movies these days, but this is one I plan to add to the collection.

Best Roast Chicken Recipe

2008-01-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe a while back and have fallen in love with it. It is a new family favorite in the Gibson house. I remember Jerods expression the first time I made it. After finishing up we were talking about the chicken and how I made it, he stopped and gave me the most surprised look when he asked "You made that chicken?? It was so good I thought you bought it somewhere." lol

Here it is:

This recipe is for a 2-3 lb bird, so if you are using a larger bird, adjust cooking time accordingly.

Preheat oven to 450°F

Rinse the chicken well and then PAT COMPLETELY DRY, inside and out with paper towels. This is key to the chicken turning out moist and delicious.

When completely dried, take about 1-2 TBSP of sea salt or kosher salt and a little fresh ground pepper and salt the cavity of the chicken (rub all over the inside of the chicken). Then take 1 TBSP of salt and sprinkle all over the chicken, top and bottom. I also sprinkle fresh ground pepper over the bird.

Truss up the bird (also very important to help the bird roast evenly) using twine and place in a pan, I just use a 9x13 pan, and leave it uncovered.

Roast chicken for 50-60 minutes or till internal temp reaches 180°F. Don't add anything or baste while cooking, just leave it alone. Apparently adding moisture at this point would create steam which would actually dry out the chicken. Remove from oven, stir 1 tsp of dried thyme into the juices. Baste chicken using the juices and thyme and let sit for 15 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Supernanny Shenanigans

2008-01-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have loved watching Jo Frost work her magic on Supernanny since the first episode. I have many a time used her "naughty spot" techniques and bedtime routines. I even have her book, although, truth be told, it wasn't nearly as helpful as the show.
But after the Chapman family show on Wednesday night, I don't know that I'll ever watch it again. Not only was it a horrifying episode, it was doubly horrifying for me because I consider myself an online friend to Sara (the mother). We are both mothers of twins and are a part of an online twins group. We have shared in one anothers joys, challenges, laughter and tears for the past few years.
She let us know nearly a year ago that her daughters had called supernanny and they were being seriously considered for the show. A few months later it was set in stone and in June the crew showed up on their doorstep and their whole life changed. The whole ordeal was a trying experience for Sara and her family. She new it was going to be ugly, but she had no idea until wednesday when the show aired. Across the nation message boards lit up with discussion of these horrible neglectful parents, calling for child protection services to come in and rescue the children. Others were saying the parents deserved to be strung up, calling them selfish, abusive and cruel.
Sara saw this coming and told us as much. She saw the angle they were taking while filming, she was very confused when on the first day, when Jo came to observe (the most important day) Sara was basically kicked out of the house for 10 hours, even though she would have been home for most of that time. They wanted to show that her teenage daughters were forced to care for 3 young siblings all day every day (not true!) while trying to do their online school (it was summer and the girls took some charter school classes online to make up classes failed during the regular school year).
My friend Sara and her family did in fact learn a lot from Supernanny, but we never saw that on the show. We didn't see the techniques and routines Jo taught mom and dad how to utilize to help the twins and Quinn get to bed or to deal with behavioral issues. We never saw the naughty spot or reward charts or any of those things that are such an integral part of Supernanny. They left it out entirely (even though these things were taught) and instead focused their cameras on Brittany and Moriah. Making them out to be martyrs who sacrificed their teenage lives to raise their younger siblings.
Sara, Glen and family are now living in fear. They are getting harrassed over the phone, the net, articles have been written about this in multiple newspapers. People are taking it upon themselves to call CPS and trying to turn the parents in for abuse.
I don't know if I like reality tv anymore. I always knew they manipulated things, but I didn't know just how much until now. I never thought a reality show could cause such devastation to a family.
I know many will read this and question how well I could really know Sara, I am just an online friend, but its not just me. In forums and websites and newspapers all over, the people who know the Chapmans the best are standing up and saying it is an inaccurate and very warped portrayal. ABC and Supernanny picked this family and manipulated and twisted words and situations and put them in the series opening night in order to sacrifice them for the sake of RATINGS!!! I can only hope and pray the Chapmans will come through this thing intact and somehow get their reputation back. ABC, Supernanny, sponsors of Supernanny- Listen up! Open your eyes and see what you have done and make this right for the Chapman family. Stop burying your head in the sand and pointing the finger elsewhere and do something about this.

Before I hit the hay...

2008-01-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wish you all a wonderful 2008.

Happy New Years Eve!!

2007-12-31T20:55:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe another year is almost ending. Where does the time go? When I was little it seemed to take forever for me to grow up, and now that I'm grown up, the days and years just zip by.
We were going to go to First Night in SLC, I am so glad we didn't go after seeing the forecast. Standing outside in 10 degree weather for hours is not my idea of a good time. So instead, here I am in my warm cozy house, in my warm cozy aeropostale fleece pj bottoms I got on sale and playing on the laptop. My kind of night. I know Ira would probably rather be freezing in Salt Lake, but he has, as my mom put it this afternoon, Montana in his blood. He loves the cold, he loves the snow, he even likes to drive in it. I on the other hand hate the cold and the snow and was not meant to be born in Utah, no I should have been born in Florida or California or mom and dad should have stayed in Texas when we were little ;).
Anyway, back to tonight. Instead of going out and hitting the town, we are staying in with gobs of junk food and soda and a couple of dvds. I must be getting old. My daughter would have no problem babysitting, in fact she even told me we should get a room somewhere and let her babysit all night. And I would rather just hang out with my hubby and kiddos and stuff my face. But I have to stuff my face tonight and finish off all the christmas goodies, for tomorrow is the start of my resolution to get healthy once again. Between crazy UPS Christmas peak work schedule, tons of christmas goodies, and just plain laziness, I have only been to the gym ONCE in the entire last month, other that to work there once a week to PAY for the membership I am currently not using. So tomorrow I resolve to going to the gym again and to stop pigging out on junkfood like I was a teenager. Wish me luck, and maybe just maybe because I posted it here for you all to see, I will actually follow through.

The many faces of Adrie

2007-12-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

So, my daughter LOVES to take pictures. She borrows the camera every chance she gets. Now she has learned how to upload them to the pc herself. I just came across her file and out of 16 pictures, 8 of them were of Adrie herself. I guess this is modern day teenage-hood. When I was a teenager, I had to buy something called film for my camera...and it wasn't cheap, so I used it sparingly. Adrie has no such concerns, so thinks of every possible way she can to get her own face on camera.

This pic below is an upside down shot.

I have to admit, if I was this cute i'd probably want to take pics of myself all the time too.

Look at those puppy dog eyes.

My turn my turn!!

2007-12-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

I just had to get in on the whole family blogging thing. But now after I have spent over an hour on this dang thing and hardly gotten anywhere, I am starting to wonder if it is a good idea. But at least I have a long weekend- 4 whole days off, woo hoo!! So here is my first post, it was gonna be longer but the twins are beating the crap out of each other.