Busy Month

I can't believe January is almost over. I love the Month of February because it seems like it goes by so fast and then it's March and we start feeling some spring weather. Although looking out my window today it looks like spring with the sun shining away.

Looking ahead at next month, here are some things that will be keeping us busy:

*February 3rd is Riley's birthday. We don't have any big plans, maybe just go out to dinner or something like that. I am really lame when it comes to having good birthday plans. Every year I say that I am going to plan far ahead of time something really cool, and then I never do. I think it is because I always think I have more time than I do, but February really sneaks up on you.

*February 14th is of course Valentine's Day. I got really spoiled last year, I think this year will be a bit more low-key. I don't know about anyone else, but I pretty much leave Valentine's Day up to my husband to plan. I told Kendle that she could have a little Valentine's Day party a few days before with a few friends from school and she is really excited about that. They can decorate cookies, make some Valentine's, and be silly girls.

*February 18th is my little sis's birthday. She's going to be 19 which is so crazy to me. She can't be turning 19 because that would mean that I am going to turn...................gasp.................29 this year! I still picture her running around with her little rug-rat neighborhood friends and getting into my makeup. Just kidding Tam. I will always remember what a cute little girl she was with her chubby cheeks and glossy, curly black hair. Oh wait, until she chopped it off and had to have it cut like a boy all because she wanted bangs. Ha! OK, I will stop razzing her now - but it is so fun.

*February 20th is my awesome sister-in-law Debbie's birthday. She is one cool chick and lots of fun to be around. As a girl in a family with lots of boys growing up, I always wanted more sisters. I'm so glad to have two fantastic sister-in-laws now that help balance out the testosterone in the family. A few great things about Debbie - She's a wonderful listener, great cook, and a great mom.

*February 24th is the Blue and Gold Banquet for scouts. I have no idea what that entails, I just know I'm helping plan it - so hopefully that all works out. I don't think they could have found another person less knowledgeable to be over scouts in primary. I'm definitely learning a lot.

*February 27th - March 1st we will be here. Our anniversary is on March 2nd, and since that is a Tuesday, we decided to go before that. I am really looking forward to a relaxing weekend away. We have not been back to Coeur d’Alene since our honeymoon almost seven years ago. It should be fun and since I'm ever the list maker, I've already mapped out some fun places to go-see-do.

So if next month I'm running around like a chicken with their head cut off you'll know the reasons why.

Quick Rant

Oh, I have to get this out of my system. I'm so tired of hearing about the dire straits our country is in and how in debt we are and then be forced to choke down the government's version of a quick fix.

I'm so disgusted with the whole stimulus package situation. It is so counterproductive - you can't fix money problems with more money. Is anyone else out there paying attention to where this money is going? It's sick and wrong. I'm happy to say not a single Republican supported the bill and eleven Democrats voted no, but that wasn't enough to stop it. If you want a break down of what the nearly trillion dollar Stimulus Package consists of you can read about it here.

If our government is so worried about the real people of this country, how about no income tax for a year? It's like if you have 300 dollars to feed your family for a month or else they will starve, you don't go out and buy the most expensive items you can live without. You start with the basics that you need to get buy. That's why not for a moment do I believe that this is meant to help you or I. There are too many personal interest groups involved.

My personal favorite on the list is the 600 million dollars allotted to the government to replace older vehicles with alternative fuel automobiles. I think we could survive another year without that. Think those will be American made?

Random Picture Day

Sunday night we watched "Harry and the Henderson's". We all just laughed and laughed, Kendle thought it was hilarious. I have not watched that movie in forever and it happened to be on TV. We were talking about Sasquatches and we almost had our own Sasquatch siting:

Morgan didn't like it too much, but Riley and I couldn't stop laughing at Kendle. I don't know why all kids seem to like to do the peace sign in pictures. She looks more like a hippie Sasquatch or Chewbacca.

Here is Kendle without the Sasquatch hair:

Morgan likes this version of Kendle much better.

Yesterday I helped Kendle build a fort because she was "so bored and there was nothing to do". As a mom that is probably one of my least favorite phrases. We got the bar stools from the kitchen and lots of blankets and made an instant cool hangout for reading some books and writing some secret stories:
















It lasted quite a while until Morgan woke up and pulled all of the blankets down. Kendle does not think little brothers are so fun at the moment.

Journaling

*For Today January 26th 2009*

Outside my window...

Sunshine! It looks like a beautiful (but still cold) day. What a great thing to see, sunlight streaming through the windows and it's giving me a lift in my step.

I am thinking...

About SO many things, the least of which always seems to be the case on Monday mornings - that I need to get my house back in order after a crazy day yesterday. Why are Sundays so crazy? I always try and be extra organized, I even had Sunday dinner all ready to go before we left for church. Still, I feel like if I'm constantly cleaning on Sunday and picking up the house, I do not get any rest. So - I usually leave it until Monday morning.

I am thankful for...

DVR. If I'm being honest, I'll just say that it keeps me happy. I don't have to worry about what time I put the kids to bed, or missing something important because I'm gone or Riley watching his millionth soccer game of the week.

From the kitchen...

I need to go grocery shopping, but I was just at Costco and Walmart on Saturday grabbing a few quick things and I'm not excited to go back. Grocery shopping has become one of my least favorite things to do. Especially if Morgan is with me. Sorry Morgster, I love ya but you're not a good shopping companion buddy. At least we have all of the important staples: cereal, fruit snacks, peanut butter.

I am wearing...

My pj's. Kendle had no school today and we all managed to sleep in a little and laze around a bit. I feel like I can't get anything productive done in my pj's though, so as soon as I'm done journaling I need to go get dressed.

I am creating...

Nothing. Zilch, nada, zip, zero. My creative juices are permanently on hold. Well, I am planning sharing time for this week, but I'm not sure if that counts for creating something.

I am going...

To do something fun with the kids today while we are all home together. I was hoping some more of our snow would stick around because I found a cool idea for a neat activity to do with it. No such luck though. Maybe we'll build a fort. That used to be what my brother and I would do for a go-to activity on days with nothing to do.

I am reading...

I finished "Before Green Gables" and it was pretty good. I think the author painted a pretty close picture of what you could have imagined Anne's life being like from some of the details she shared in "Anne of Green Gables". I didn't LOVE it, but it was still good. Now, I'm just reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" with Kendle. We are almost done and then we are going to watch the first movie again and have a little Harry Potter party.

I am hoping...

We can get our garage back in order this week. Since our little mice scare, we have had our garage in total disarray because Riley pulled everything away from the walls and set out a ton of traps and poison. I think they were attracted to the dog food and we need to get a big garbage can to put it in with a tight lid. We just have too much stuff packed into our little garage and we need to get rid of a lot of it.

I am hearing...

Kendle playing with her My Little Ponies and Morgan riding his little bike around the kitchen. It's not quiet at all, but at least they are both happy and entertained.

Around the house...

Some serious disaster control is on the agenda.

Sweeping, Laundry, Clean off kitchen counter.

One of my favorite things...

Glenn Beck. I love his humor and his view on politics. Probably one of my favorite shows on TV to DVR.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

My grandma Katie turns 80 this Saturday and we're having a party for her. Should be fun.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

I wish they could always be this sweet with each other.

*If you'd like to start your own journaling posts, see The Simple Woman's Daybook for these great journaling prompts.

Baking Powder Biscuits and other Ramblings

Back in my college/younger years I dated a guy who's grandmother made the BEST baking powder biscuits that were so flaky and light and melted in your mouth practically. The family all called her NeeNee and she was from New Orleans. She had the best accent and stories and would tell me about all of the great food to be found in Louisiana, specifically one instance where she had the best "Poor Boy Sandwich" down in the French Quarter - which is New Orleans oldest neighborhood. She also made us eat a spoonful of black eyed peas on New Year's Day which is supposed to bring you good luck through the year. She was a bit on the eccentric side, but boy she could really cook.

What got me thinking about NeeNee and her biscuits, was that I happened to stumble upon a really good baking powder biscuits recipe that I've used about three times in the last two weeks (not so good for the old waistline) that is very yummy. It's the best recipe I've found yet for them and VERY easy to make. So if you're in the mood for making something homey and cozy this weekend, try these out:


Baking Powder Biscuits
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder (you can add a bit more depending on your preference)
3/4 tsp. salt
5 T shortening
3/4 cup milk


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl mix dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly and in little pea sized pieces. Add milk a little at a time until a ball forms and dough pulls away from the sides (not too sticky). Roll out on floured surface and cut into biscuits ( I would err on the thick side depending on your preference). If desired brush tops with butter, and then bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

I like that it uses ingredients I always have on hand and they come together in minutes. Leftovers are great reheated for breakfast and topped with scrambled eggs and cheese.


I am looking forward to having a somewhat relaxing weekend. Something to celebrate - Saturday is the last day of hunting season for Riley. Hurray! No more dead birds in our driveway, huge loads of hunting clothes to wash, boring recounts of the days hunt that I somewhat pretend to listen to, and getting woken up at 4:00 in the morning when Riley leaves. He was pretty stoked that today he was getting to go hunting with some famous guys. They are going to be on a hunting video. One of the guys invented the "Final Approach Blind", if any of you don't know what that is , I'll just tell you that is a VERY big deal. He would be like the Bill Gates of the hunting world. Riley has shot three banded geese this year (which is pretty much unheard of I guess?) so I think he is quite content for hunting season to come to an end. Now we will have a few slow weeks of nothingness until soccer starts up.

That's all for today - have a great weekend!

Routine

It is amazing how quickly little ones pick up on routine. If you do the same thing more than once or twice it becomes almost set in stone to them. For example these are things my 19 month old does:

*If we put on a movie for the kids, Morgan grabs his pillow or blanket to sit on and wants some popcorn. He will not sit still until he has his little dish of popcorn, never mind that half of it ends up on the floor.

*When I put Kendle to bed at night, Morgan has the ritual down pat. He comes in her room while I read to her, we say prayers, he rushes over to her CD player to turn her music on, and then he blows her a kiss just like I do.

*If Kendle is brushing her teeth he runs to the bathroom and grabs his little tooth brush and points at his little tube of toothpaste until I squeeze some out for him so he can brush away.

*When he has a dirty diaper he helps me get a bag to throw it away in, and then runs to his room so I can change him.

*If I'm unloading the dishwasher he is there in two seconds flat to try and "help" me put things away.

*When Riley is outside working or taking care of our dog, Morgan will rush to his room and get his boots, coat, and usually a hat and stand at the door begging to go out.

*When it is time to clean up the toys, I will sing the clean up song and he always knows to help and sings with me.

*When I take him shopping with me I usually have suckers in my purse for him so we can make it through the store without any fits. So now, the second we walk in the store he starts pawing at my purse. This is not such a good one. Ditto on church snacks. It's a necessary evil.

What I've learned from this is that it is never to early to start teaching my children good things, and also I need to be more careful about the not so good routines we can get into. I was just reading an article the other day that talked about the small window of time we have to teach our children good habits. We have to start when they are young enough to be teachable so that those things become part of their everyday lives. This year I'm all about trying to improve in areas just like this and do things to make our family's foundation a strong one because there are many areas that I'm lacking in and can do better at.

*On a random funny note this morning, Morgan is putting dish towels over his head and walking around bumping into things pretending like he can't see. He thinks he is so hilarious, when I laugh it just encourages him even more. If only he could always be this easily entertained!

Free Valentine's Day Cards

Link over to this post on Freebies 4 Mom and learn how you can get 6 Valentine's photo cards for free including shipping. I just ordered mine and there are some really cute choices. It was very simple to do and they will be perfect to send to my family. They got the wheels turning in my head for other cute Valentine's Day things to do. Take a looksie if you get a chance, I think the deadline for the offer is Feb. 1st.

On the Radio

Last night as I was driving home from the Pine Wood Derby, I heard a commercial on the radio that caught my attention. Now usually I'm either:

A.) Listening to talk radio

B.) Listening to my iPod through my car adapter
or

C.)Listening to the radio, but will channel hop when commercials come on. I can't stand commercials on the radio.

So as I went to push another channel button, I heard this commercial and I stopped to listen to what it was about. I think it was from Catholic Family Services or something similar to that. Anywho - What caught my attention was a man talking and saying how he made the bed for his wife and even put the pillows how she wanted them. He really wanted to make her happy.

"That would be nice", I thought to myself. The commercial went on to ask:

"What have you done for your marriage today?"

Wow - if I would have been walking I think that would have stopped me in my tracks. I thought about if I had done anything nice for Riley that day and all I could come up with was that I let him order a pizza because I had to be at the church by five o'clock to help set up.

This year the church wide theme for primary is "My Eternal Family" and I do not think it is coincidence that as the world and society try to break down and tear apart the family unit and come up with new definitions for it, that our church is choosing to emphasize this important topic this year. The significance of a mother and father who love each other, and are working together to raise their children is more important than ever before.

I think most couples experience rough spots and have their grouchy days/weeks/months depending on your situation or relationship (maybe you don't which is fantastic), but I think most couples do and I'm speaking from personal experience. But it seems like the couples who serve each other (most likely on a daily basis) are the happiest, and I think that was the point that the commercial was trying to drive home. Little acts of service.

So many times we get wrapped up in trying to do service for those outside of our home - which is great and we must do it- but does the thought cross our mind to do it for our spouses and children? I know that usually I feel like I'm doing enough already by keeping the house clean, cooking meals, doing laundry -that those are my acts of service and sometimes I even get really selfish and wonder "Where are my acts of service, who's serving me?"

But honestly, that question from the commercial "What have you done for your marriage today?" stayed with me all night, and I woke up this morning with a different attitude.

*Sometimes we are sent a message that we really need to hear.*

*photo via

Journaling

Monday journal post, little later than usual.

*For January 19th 2009*


Outside my window...
It's a cold and dreary day. Just one of those miserable days where you don't want to go out if you don't have to.

I am thinking...
About how people who can only say things or write things under an "anonymous" cover are cowards. My own dear, sweet mother, who doesn't have an enemy in the world received just such a letter this weekend from a poor pathetic person who didn't even have the guts to sign their name. I don't appreciate it in the media either - how many times have we heard the term "an anonymous source" claims that so and so did this and that. When it happens to you personally, you feel under attack - yet you cannot confront the attacker.

I am thankful for...
All of the positive examples I have had in my life. The class that Nancie and I taught on Saturday went really well and all weekend I've been thinking about the people that have always been stalwarts in my life. Never wavering, never losing sight of the bigger picture. I think everyone needs at least one person in their life that they can look up to.

From the kitchen...
Since it is such a cold day and I've been freezing, I decided to make a big pot of
home made beans and some cornbread muffins. They are making the house smell sooo good simmering away on the stove and are so easy peasy to make. I'm also going to bake some chocolate chip cookie pan bars for FHE tonight. Yummo!

I am wearing...
My typical mom uniform - jeans, long sleeve t-shirt, and Nike's. Hair pulled back -apron on because I was in the kitchen.

I am creating...
Some fun things with Kendle. Our latest and greatest:

We made this little sign to hang by her bedroom door, I'll try and find a cheap frame to put it in.

I am going...

To go to bed early tonight. I have been so tired lately and feel like I can't quite catch up on my zzzz's.

I am reading...

Still reading "Before Green Gables". It is pretty good so far, I just have not had time to completely dedicate myself to this book for the last week. It is starting to get more interesting though, and I love that Anne Shirley reminds me of another little girl I know.

I am hoping...

The Pine Wood Derby is a success tomorrow and not too crazy.

I am hearing...

Kendle and her little friend from next door pretending to have a picnic. I love to hear the things little girls discuss with one another. They are too cute. This particular little girl wrote Kendle the nicest card at Christmas time telling her she is glad to have a friend that is "the right kind" of person she should be hanging out with. I actually got tears in my eyes when I read that. I'm glad our home is a place she wants to be.

Around the house...

The fireplace is warming things up in the family room. My hands and feet have been freezing all day - they usually don't get warm until May. The kids were eating some goldfish crackers and a few have been smushed into the carpet so I'll probably need to get the little hand vac out and do a quick clean up. Kendle's been helping me fold laundry today - she's good at matching the socks for me.

One of my favorite things...

Days like today that are lazy and slow with no place to go. The kids actually slept in and we had a leisurely morning with a late breakfast and no lunches to pack. They've been entertaining themselves pretty well and we've been having a good day. It feels like the calm before a storm.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Pine Wood Derby

Primary Meeting

Lunch with a friend

Shopping

Buy new cell phone

The Bane of My Existence

There are two things in our home that drive me absolutely batty because they are so hard to keep clean.

The first is our soaker tub/shower combo. I scrubbed that thing like nobody's business yesterday and swore up and down last night to Riley that we would never put one of those in another house ever again. The tub is so large I have to actually climb inside of it it to clean it and then scrub all of the walls while I'm inside of it too. If I choose not to do that, I have to kneel down outside of the tub and stretch and strain to reach all of the corners and ledges and it is physically painful. It is probably my LEAST favorite thing to do ever.

The second thing that drives me crazy is our piano. It's pretty and it sounds beautiful, but it is black and has a high gloss finish which shows everything. It's constantly covered in fingerprints and smudges galore. It is impossible to keep clean. I want my kids to grow up having the freedom to sit down and play anytime they want, but this is not the piano for practicality purposes. Hopefully someday we can have a music room or a den so we can put it somewhere that it won't be in a such a high traffic area and tempt the kids to wipe their grimy little hands all over it. A shiny surface to the under 8 crowd is too hard to handle.

*Mouse update: As of this morning - still no mouse to be found. Maybe he heard the words "poison" and "trap" and high tailed it out of here.

There's a Mouse in our House

About 1:00 in the morning Riley woke me up with our bedroom door opening and a flashlight in hand. I asked him what he was doing, and he replied that he had opened our closet by the front door and a mouse had run out and he wasn't sure where it went. He said he was about 90% sure it had gone under the laundry room door, but he was still checking the other rooms. I was freaked out! I hate rodents, spiders, and anything else that isn't supposed to be making itself at home in my house. I could not go back to sleep after that. I kept imagining that I heard little mouse scratching noises. I had horrible thoughts of getting up to go to the bathroom at night and stepping on it. Finally after drifting off, I was awakened again by Kendle - she had a bad dream. She woke me up two different times last night. Apparently there was something spooky looking on one of the top shelves of her closet. (this has got to stop, she wakes me up almost every night - it is worse than a newborn baby) We closed the closet doors and I tried to go back to sleep, so tired by this time that I wouldn't have cared if there was a mouse in my room or not. Riley put one of his sticky traps from work in our laundry room and as of 8:00 this morning it still had no mouse. I asked Riley how he thought it had gotten in the house, and he said he had found some signs of some mice in our garage and that mice can squeeze under a quarter of an inch opening or something like that. He's going to bring some heavy duty poison home from work and hopefully we can kill them all.

Moral of the story - I am one tired and grouchy lady today.

Grab before it's gone

Don't miss getting a free bottle of Sauve today.

Go to Suave.com, click on "Suavenomics" at the top of the page, and then click the button at the bottom to sign up for your coupon for a free Suave product to be mailed to you.

This coupon is good for any shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, styling aid, body wash, or body lotion up to $3.00!!

Hurry, it ends tonight!

*Thanks BeCentsAble for the tip.

19 months

At this age Morgan is really fun.

Journaling

I just noticed that on my last journaling post, I inadvertently wrote 2008 - clearly I am having a hard time adjusting to 2009! No one mentioned that in the comments section, did anyone else catch that, or were you all just feeling to sorry for me to say anything? Ha. I'll go back and edit it so I don't feel so silly.

*For January 12, 2009*

Outside my window...
It's about 33 degrees and the sun is somewhat shining. It is a really quiet morning. There seems to be none of the nasty wind we experienced last week.

I am thinking...
About brownies or rice crispy treats for our FHE treat tonight. I'm also keeping my grandma Tovey in my thoughts today as she had some scary things happen this weekend and was in the hospital.

I am thankful for...
Kind words. Sometimes you feel like there are days when you can't get anything right, and then someone can change all that with a simple phrase of kindness. I'm also thankful for Riley not minding that we had no Sunday dinner yesterday because I was gone all afternoon. It was a sandwich Sunday.

From the kitchen...
I made banana bread on Saturday and it is almost gone - it is one Kendle's favorite things for me to make. I need to toss all of the newspaper and adds from yesterdays paper laying on the counter. I'm going to make the Morgster and I some yummy cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast.

I am wearing...
Work-out clothes, hopefully this is going to be a routine I can keep up. It's nice to get it done in the mornings.

I am creating...
A class along with this gal for a stake activity in Hermiston this weekend. My mother is the Stake YW's president, and needed some extra help for their combined activity. What will the youth of that Stake think of us wild and crazy gals, I have no idea. Hopefully it will all come together. (If anyone has any ideas on the new theme "Be Thou An Example" send them my way)

I am going...
To clean, clean, clean today. Scrub-a-dub-dub. Got to whip this house into shape for our busy week ahead. I really need to mop the kitchen floors today, but I cringe at how they will look by the time I go to bed tonight.

I am reading...
My mom lent me her copy of "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks on Thursday and it was a quick read -typical Nicholas Sparks- but I liked the storyline about the soldier from Iraq. I heard they might be making a movie out of it. On Saturday I picked up the book, "Before Green Gables" by Budge Wilson from the library. "Anne of Green Gables" is probably one of my top 5 favorite books of all time, and this is an authorized prequel that tells what happened to Anne prior to arriving at the train station at the beginning of A.O.G.G's and about her parents before they died. I love L. M. Montgomery, so it will be interesting to see if Wilson's story can measure up.

I am hoping...
Kendle has a good day at school today. I bought her a new little coat this Saturday that I thought she would like and she has been in love with it all weekend. She wanted to wear it to church and even to bed, and was really sad I wouldn't let her do either. But she got to wear it to school today and she was as pleased as punch.

I am hearing...
Cartoons that were left on from when Kendle was eating breakfast, that's about it. It is soooo very quiet today. Morgan is still sleeping, I kept him up a little later last night because he took a very long nap after church.

Around the house...
I need to take down all of my Christmas card pictures that are hanging on my closet door in the entry way. What to do with them?

One of my favorite things...
Sleeping in - which pretty much never happens except for Saturday morning I got lucky. Even Kendle slept until 8:00, so that was nice. I have a hard time sleeping when I hear her feet pattering all over the house in the morning. Actually I just like being able to lay in bed and know there is nothing pressing that you have to jump out of bed and spring into action for.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
Get working on before mentioned class for youth activity, get furniture cleaned (might be getting a new couch too - fingers crossed), get some birthday goodies put together for my little brother, look at paint swatches, and keep this three-ring-circus running smoothly.

Why I Love Fridays

It's the last day of the week to:

Pack lunches

Find library books

Gather homework

Fill out book orders

Debate over school clothes

Find lost shoes

Fix breakfast while I'm half asleep

Send child running off to the bus

Feel like I've survived a tornado by 8:00 a.m.

Hurray!

*photo via

That's Good Customer Service

Back in December I took advantage of some good sales Bath & Body Works had online. I purchased some gifts and saved quite a bit thanks to their markdowns. I was totally happy with my purchase and received my order in a timely fashion.

Last week I received a letter from their customer service department saying their system had some glitches charging some patron accounts twice for their order (luckily that did not happen to me) and to make up for that, they were giving anyone who had made an online order in that time frame $25 dollars towards their online store with free shipping. Are you kidding me, how generous is that? I was so excited because they still have some great sales going on and here is what I was able to score for FREE thanks to their willingness to make sure their customers were happy:


Slatkin & Co. Vanilla Coconut Room Spray

Fekkai Haircare Glossing Cream

Sweet Pea Body Lotion

Goldie Lip Gloss in Whip It

They also threw in a free Fekkai hair mask.

This was a great opportunity for me to try out a few things that I would not normally buy. The room spray smells wonderful and the lip gloss not only smells good enough to eat, but is a very pretty pink and not sticky.

I felt like sharing this because I feel that companies who are good to their customers deserve the recognition. I'm totally loyal to places that I've had good experiences with and that offer products that I love.

*Have you had any good customer service experiences lately?

Thank you very much Mr. Wind

What is up with this crazy wind? On my way home from a church meeting last night, I was sitting at a stoplight and it was literally rocking my car back and forth and I thought the streetlights were going to come flying out of the ground and fall on me as I drove past. It is so loud - like movie theater loud. My whole family pretty much got zero sleep last night because of everything blowing around outside. Kendle was totally positive that her windows in her room were going to break open and she was going to be sucked out. It was horrible. Only in Eastern Washington can we have freezing cold and snow one day, and the next be submitted to melting snow and huge gusts of winds threatening to blow us all away the next. And my crazy husband is out hunting in this weather too if you can believe it, he's a die hard.

So don't go outside if you don't have to, you might be blown all the way across the state.

Journaling

There is a blog page called the Simple Woman's Daybook that inspired me to record some details of my life each week that might seem menial to me, but would perhaps be valuable to look back on. I'm going to try and start doing this every week to help me remember the every day things.

*For today January 6, 2009*

Outside my window...
The snow is melting and the streets are slushy. The tarp over our dogs kennel was supporting a huge 30 pound block of ice. Bye, bye snow.

I am thinking...
About all that I need to accomplish this week and some fun things that I can do with Morgan today to keep him entertained. What to make for dinner?

I am thankful for...
My little family and our warm little home. This morning while Kendle was eating breakfast I wrapped myself up in a blanket, turned the fire place on, and felt really grateful to have those comforts.

From the kitchen...
I smell the lingering scents of breakfast and yesterdays homemade bread that is tempting me on the counter. I see mail that needs to be sorted and school work that needs to be filed or thrown away. In our fruit bowl some bananas are ripening and I'll have to make some banana bread with them before too long. The sink is empty with no dishes. Yay!

I am wearing...
Workout clothes. Grey athletic pants, a red and white Adidas top, and my Nike's. My hair's in a ponytail like usual.

I am creating...
Plans to redo a couple of rooms in my house. Kendle wants to repaint her room and do it more "girly" she says. She loves Paris for some reason, so I found some pictures of the Eiffel Tower and some other cute things, just need to get that ball rolling.

I am going...
To get on the treadmill and break a sweat and hopefully do some free weights after that. Also, throw in a couple of loads of laundry later. Tonight I'll be attending a Stake leadership meeting at the church.

I am reading...
I just finished "World Without End" by Ken Follet, and last night I started the Alex Hawke series by Ted Bell. I bought the whole series for Riley for Christmas, but I was also buying them because I wanted to read them as well (he, he). They are very James Bond meets Jason Bourne but a lot more exciting.

I am hoping...
That Morgan takes a good nap today. He is nearing the age where the naps start to get shorter and shorter and I really need those few quiet hours.

I am hearing...
The drip, drip of snow melting and a few cars driving past with a swish through the slush on the road. Morgan is asking for more raisins - "mooooooorrreeee, tank choo".

Around the house...
There are a few toys strewn about the living room, some socks, the newspaper is still by the front door, and I see a little toy person's head peeking out from underneath the piano. I feel like I've been doing pretty good making sure the kitchen is pretty clean before I go to bed at night. It makes everything so much easier in the morning. Ditto on packing Kendle's lunches. If I'm feeling really industrious, I make all of her sandwiches for the week and put them in the freezer until I need them each morning.

One of my favorite things...
Riley bought me some new pajama pants for Christmas and they are the most comfortable, cozy, cute things ever. Usually I have a hard time finding pants that are long enough for my legs - I hate wearing pajama pants that come up to my ankles. These ones are the perfect fit.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Getting back in the regular school routine, attending a primary meeting, continuing to work out everyday, do something fun with the kids, maybe go to a movie. Saturday attend a baptism, Sunday I have a baby shower for my sister-in-law after church and then a cub scout meeting after that. Busy, busy. Riley's boys start indoor soccer this week so he'll be gone Wednesday night at 8:30. One thing I really need to do this week is take a big load of stuff to Goodwill.

That's all for today!

Reason #578 Kendle Keeps Us In Check

On New Year's Eve, we sat around our kitchen counter eating some snacks and drinking some sparkling cider and discussing our goals for our family for the new year. We talked about eating healthier and exercising more. We discussed our family vacations and other fun things we wanted to do together this year. Then Kendle said that she had a family goal she wanted to achieve - she wanted us to try and have family home evening every week the whole year long. We were like - ya of course, umm why didn't we think of that one? So I put her in charge of reminding us and making sure we follow through. She already reminded me last night, and again this morning before she left for school. This is something I want to try really hard to do. For us, FHE's are sporadic or not very well planned, but the challenge is that as soon as Riley starts coaching soccer we don't have many (pretty much zero) evenings together. However, I'm committed to making this happen, whether we have to do it on a different night or whatever. This article gave me some extra oomph to stay committed to our goal.

Thanks again Kendle for keeping your slacker parents on the straight and narrow.

*Extra Credit: How do you make sure your FHE's happen at your house?