Ear Infections, Again!!!

Poor little Alex. He has his fourth ear infection in four months, the second one that has preforated. We now have a referral to the ENT on its way. He just can't seem to catch a break. He gets high fevers and sometimes even throws up when he gets these infections and has seemed sick all the time lately! He wanted me to put a bandaid on his ear last night because he thought that would make him feel better. Then, this morning, it ruptured and so off to the Doc again. We are becoming pretty well acquainted with the Doc's office!!!

These are pictures of Alex during happier times!!

Still Trying!

Ok, I walked yesterday, too!! I won't be able to today tho. I am babysitting two of my nephews and my stroller is not big enough for them and Alex. We are excited to babysit. Alex gets to play with Jacob and I get to hold that cute baby all day!! The best thing about that is I have so much fun with Luke, but I still don't want any more babies of my own!!! 5 is definitely enough!!

Also, a quick note: The girls room is still spotless!! It had been messy for about 9 months. I can't believe I actually admitted that! It was the very last place in my house I wanted to touch! I think they love it clean and are making their beds and putting their clothes away all by themselves. I guess I will not be adopting out any of my girl in the near future!!

I have been meaning to post about my kids, their pics and the things they are interested in and I want to get to that today. Maybe during Luke's nap. I am going to start with Connor- he is our middle child and never seems to be able to go first, so that will be later!

Bye!

Morning jog

Alright, my hubby will be home from work in a few minutes, yes, I know our life is a bit screwed up! I am going to go on a walk/jog and he has agreed to go. In fact, he has been suggesting that we get out and exercise for a while now. We have been trying to drop a few pounds and we are both stuck in a rut. It is time to add/increase our exercise. I am going to start today!! (Lets hope I go out and do it tomorrow, too!) Hopefully I can show some results in the scale soon, I am tired of this slump! I am two to three pounds from my first weight loss goal and I want to get there! Anyway, wish me luck!

I can see the carpet!!

I am in the process of cleaning the girls room!! As anyone who knows us (really well) can tell you, my girls room is the worst room in the house, possibly in everyone's house!! It is so bad that you can't walk without stepping on something. Usually followed by the sound of something breaking. I don't even check what broke anymore! How sad is that. But, I have been working all day in there and I am almost done! I am taking out all of the toys and putting them in their new places in the playroom. I did this in the boys room and it helped out a lot! (Now there are only clothes, papers and sports equipment on the floor!) Actually, the boys room is so much better that it can be quickly cleaned in a matter of minutes. The same goes for the playroom. It can look like a whirlwind hit it, but everything has a place, so cleanup is a snap. Assuming, of course, that someone gets around to cleaning it up! I will have to see if I can find a before photo and then take an after photo. Sometimes you have to see to believe!

Well, I should probably get back to the grindstone. My back was killing me from sitting on the floor all day, but my break is over. I will be so happy when it is done! And if those girls trash it, I may have to put them up for adoption!

Bye, y'all!

Strawberry Jam!!!

I love when I can find fresh strawberries for cheap! Then I can make the best homemade jam! My mil taught me how to make jam a few years ago and have been hooked on it since. It is so much better than the store bought stuff! I was able to purchase the strawberries at the Superstition Ranch Market for $1.99 a half flat!! 3 of those made 18 jars of jam! Soooo good. I am wishing I made some bread to go along with it.

My mom and two of my sisters came over and we got to work. We washed and pureed the strawberries and cooked for about 5 hours today. Felt like forever! We have a good time together, tho. In all, we made about 70 jars of jam today!! We went through so much sugar. Each batch takes 7 cups of sugar and 4 cups of berries and ends up with about 4 1/2 jars of jam. That's 15 batches and 105 cups of sugar. That's why I have a headache, too much sugar! Anyway, thanks to my mil for teaching me so much in the kitchen and thanks to my mom and sisters for coming over, cooking and cleaning up the disaster that was my kitchen when we finished!

Happy day to you all!!

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today started out feeling like the title of a funny children's book called "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Things do not go well for little Alexander all day and so he thinks about moving to Australia where everything is upside down. He figures that if things are upside down, then they might be good instead of bad. I wouldn't mind a fresh start myself. I am feeling so sorry for myself today and would love a fresh start!!!!! So here is my fresh start for the day (so what if it is almost night time!!). I am going to list 10 things that are good, if not great in my life. Not necessarily in order, but here goes:



1. My Savior- I would not have a chance without His love and His eternal sacrifice.

2. My husband- He has been kind and sweet today, even tho I have been a pain.

3. My children- So fun and happy. They do not let life get in the way of a good time!

4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints- I really do enjoy the freedom that living the gospel allows.

5. My friends- I have been blessed with good friends who support me when I am feeling down. You know who you are!!

6. My parents- I can always count on my mom to be on my side, she is sweet and has a good heart. She is a loving and thoughtful person and the grandkids adore her! And my dad, who always works so hard, is generous and good and always tries to be loving and supportive.

7. My sisters (and brothers)- I can go to them and cry, laugh, scream, whine or whatever I need that day! I hope they know how much I love them and need them!

8. My extended family- I am truly grateful for in-laws that I consider friends. I have a sweet mil who has taught me so much (my family is forever grateful for the cooking skills she passed on), my fil has become the world's greatest grandpa and has made us feel so comfortable when we come over and his house has become our favorite place to watch movies (so much better than going to the movies!!) My sil's and bil's(I like to think) have become our friends and not just family you are stuck with. That is HUGE!!

9. As cliche as it sounds- my health. I am happy to run and play with my kids. When I can no longer keep up, I will be so sad!

10. Distractions- reading (I read too fast!!) I started a book by my favorite author, Mary Higgins Clark, yesterday during my son and nephew's b-ball practice and finished it this morning. I wish I had another one to dive into. Even this blog is fun (thanks Les!), it is kinda therapeutic to throw this all down!!



Well there you go, I already feel a bunch better. Almost everything on my list has nothing to do with money. I didn't even realize that until the end. Don't get me wrong, a bit more of that would probably help my day! Anyway, until another time, I am going to go play with my son.



C ya!

This is me!!!

Hi Everyone,
I have really enjoyed reading my sil's blog and check it everyday. Her blogs are so fun and really give a glimpse into who she is as a person, she is my inspiration for this blog. I don't know if I can put myself out there as well as she can, but I will at least try.

So, here goes. I am in my 30's and have been married to by best friend for over 15 years. I got married very young and love and appreciate my husband more now than I did then. He is such a good man and a great father. I know he wants to be home with us more than anywhere else. I am so grateful that his heart is always with us. He is a bit shy and quiet, but once you bust through that shell, he is funny and smart, kind and generous, loyal and honest. Sounds pretty close to perfect, huh? He's close but not quite, but I never wanted perfect. How dull that would be!!

I find it very easy to talk about him, and a lot harder to talk about myself, so I will force myself to do it now! My family is the most important part of my life. We have 5 great kids, more on them later, tho. I am sitting here trying to think of what to say--drawing blanks!! Everything I am thinking of sounds phony. Oh well, here it is. I grew up in Mesa, with a Brady bunch style family of 7 kids. My parents did a great job with that and we are all as close as if we were "real" brothers and sisters. My parents were married when I had just turned 3, so my Dad is the only Dad I have really known. But he is a good man and always made me feel like I was his favorite child, so I am grateful for him! The only times I felt like I didn't quite belong was when I occasionaly wonder where I came from! I have some interesting features like my naturally curly hair, my funny feet, my terribly vision and my slightly fuller than my sisters figure. (I hate being physically compared to stick skinny sisters, even tho they are sweet to me!!!) I was the only one growing up with these "issues" so it has been nice to get to know my "real" grandmother. I look so much like her!! I met her and knew that I was not acutally switched at birth!! I love to read, esp mysteries, thrillers, funny stories, etc. A perfect day for me would be lying in a hammock in the pine covered mountains with a good book and a cool breeze! Love it! I love to cook and bake, just not the cleaning up part! I enjoy dining out- minus the kids! I like to play racquetball with my hubby, I love to scrapbook but it is very time consuming and my toddler loves to wreak havoc on my supplies, so it is hard to actually sit down and scrapbook. I like to learn and have taken classes on and off thru the years. My hubby is to start a Master's program at the end of the month, and when he is finished next Apr or May, then it is my turn to go back to school. I have been taking classes online in prep for a Nursing degree. I would like to work part time as an RN when my kids are all in school.

I love my ward and the callings that I have had there. I have served in the Primary for over 12 years and have recently been serving in the Relief Society. That terrified me at first!! The idea of working with people my age and older was so scary. These people will know when I screw up and remember my mistakes!! I loved the Primary, but I am very happy with RS. The sisters are more forgiving than I first thought! They are kind and gracious and fun. I find myself looking forward to the 3rd hour of church and I love the feeling of belonging and acceptance.

Well, that is a little about me. I will write about my cute kids later, I have to go get some work done around this house. It is starting to fall apart around here!!

C ya later!!