pictures from my day...

our family binder... it's a good thing

So, you know how i'm in this ORGANIZING mode.  Here's one thing I started that I LOVE!

 A FAMILY BINDER...

-weekly schedule 

we just write appointments, practices, and what time dinner is, etc.  i'll usually say, anna-dance 4:30-5:30 (i include travel time) mom-drop off, dad pick-up. i also love the part where i can say what we're studying for scripture time that week, what we're doing for family night, and any special expenses.  the kids love to see what is happening.

-meal plan

i stick the recipes i'm going to try right in the binder

-chore charts 

(i call them responsibility charts)

nope.  i don't give allowance, we're poor.  this is just a tool i use when they say "can I go outside? or can i go on the computer?"  i say, "go get the binder and show me what you've done."  it's SOOO nice not to have to ask them every single thing.

-personal goals 

(LOVE THIS... everyone knows what everyone else is working on... like Dad- find a job, Mom- organize the cupboards, Lily- learn to say 3 new words, Jakob- personal prayer, etc.  love it!!)

-family moments

this is where i write down all the funny, spiritual, horrible moments that i know i want to remember later... i also hole punch stuff, like cute pictures they draw or notes they write and just stick em in.

-family budget 

just a copy of my two week plan and the professor's excel spreadsheet

I keep ours in the basket, on our coffee table, with our scriptures.

In the morning, when we have scripture time, I take a few minutes and go over our family business...

i LOVE it.

i feel organized,

also that we're involving the kids in our planning

it is easier to have the binder than it was not to have it.

so.  it's a good thing.

what's for breakfast? spinach smoothies

yup.  spinach.  fresh spinach leaves.

and real carrots

and frozen mixed berries

and protein powder

and sometimes yogurt

and water or juice

maybe some frozen juice concentrate

and my kids drink them up.

a friend from church told me about adding spinach... 

i was sure that they would be all green and stuff

nope.  they're still pretty.

(just don't let your kids see the mixer BEFORE you blend)

50's day

[can you see the extra head?]

i love that my kids love dress-up

i love that drew is in 4th grade and he's confidant enough to wear a mom tattoo...

i love baby heads popping in the picture.

mom Agenda... love it

So, at the beginning of the school year I was trying to find myself a planner... to be my brain.

I had just learned the phrase-- Use your brain for solving problems and PAPER for remembering.

But, i kept putting my remembering on paper and then not remembering where my paper was.

Not so good.

So, I used my brain for problem solving and decided I need a good, brain worthy, planner.

My favorite up till that point was a folded in half piece of computer paper or an index cards.

(I still often stick a piece of computer paper in my planner and I still love index cards.)

I looked and looked for a planner.  I wanted MONTHLY and WEEKLY, and I wanted space to write my flimsy stuff as well as my fixed stuff.  And, I don't like specific times, cause my life works best when I write down an ORDER not a SCHEDULE.  I can do broad times, not specific.

NOTHING.  I was surprised how many stores I looked through and how many dumb planners I found.  Until I found MomAgenda.  I thought it was HORRIBLY EXPENSIVE, I debated, and finally I bought one... I think I spent around $60 when I added the pockets for the front and back, shopping lists, and to do list stuff.  (To me it was like $600.)

Honestly....  IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

Now they're on sale for $31!!!   Here is the link if you're interested.

Anyway.  
I love it.
And, it NEVER forgets. 

(note:: i don't think you need the extra stuff... like the pockets... if i need to i just stick a paper inside and it's fine.  And, I like printing out a meal  plan/shopping list from the computer that way you don't have to re-write it every single week.)

hmmm... how about indiana?

What do you know about

Muncie, Indiana?

Ball??

i like to can stuff...

with ball canning jars...

does that mean i would like

Ball State?

Obama seems to be enjoying his Muncie, Indiana hamburger...

there's this stuff downtown...

and, THIS GUY!!!
everyone loves big green frogs (not to mention old guys with a fo-hawk and go-tee)!!

i'm sure we would LOVE Muncie...  i hope...

do you know ANYTHING about Indiana?

halloween 2009- Wizard of Oz

may your days be filled with SUGAR

and your nights full of SWEET dreams

and your carpet full of chewed up BUBBLEGUM

tis the season!

Thru the Years...

 

What a Treat!

creepy things going on...

isn't this picture funny?
i've been trying to make a blog header forever and i couldn't figure it out.
this time i just imported a picture into www.picnik.com and played with it... it's all free and it's FABULOUS!
when i went to SAVE the picture it has a place where it says the size... if i changed the pixels to 1175 width it automatically converted the height and when i entered it into my blog it was the right size.
(i didn't click shrink to fit and i did click use my picture instead of the blog title.)
seriously, i really don't know what i'm doing i do a lot of trial and error... but, give it a try.

i converted my blog to minima stretch.
it didn't mess up my past blogs at all, the only thing it messed up was my blog header and my background didn't work any more.
but... it's fun trying new things.
so, go ahead and give it a try.

and, enjoy our new halloween header.
(the extra kid is Justin, my nephew who spend the summer with us.  he's not with us anymore, but the picture was from the summer...)
happy days!

ODD NOTE- so, if I have my blog header 1175, it fits the box, when I see my blog with Mozilla Firefox search engine.  If I use internet explorer, my picture seems too big, unless it's at 1000.  So, now i have it at 1000... when you look at my blog header, does it fit the box, or can you see white spaces on the side?
weird...

sweet notes from my kids...

ellie is the queen of sweet notes. and the professor is very funy. especially when he sings Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus songs.

this letter was delivered to me during scripture time in the morning. drew was being a stink and i warned him that he would be grounded if he said one more sassy word. one more word... he, being the smart child that he is, wrote me this sweet note. "I'm not grounded and I'm not going to listin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" lovely. ps. he was grounded that afternoon. (grounded at our house usually means grounded from screens - wii, computer, tv, game boy, etc.- so, our 'grounded kids' are most often the ones who are outside.) drew, he's smart... but, his momma is smarter.

things i've learned...

how about a lunch-time bath? this is what happens when I ignore the laughing... um. it was TONS of water. from the faucet. but, a good excuse to mop the kitchen. oh... i'm remembering the joy of toddlers. one is not so bad, but one that is mobile with one that laughs... that can be MESSY.

step-aerobics, carpet cleaning and water skiing... UPDATED

today i am humble.
Because, this morning i took a step-aerobics class, and i am HORRIBLE.
like, stopping, tripping, laughing, horrible.
and, even though i couldn't even do what they did, i was still exhausted.
honestly, i'm an aerobic instructor's nightmare.
i was dying and then my friend said, "Good job, you made it through the warm-up."

i FAILED aerobics in college.
for real.
I got an E. isn't that worse than an F?
I took aerobics 6am, everyday, my first semester at BYU.
grand intentions... the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak.
and, we were graded on skill... like, how far past your toes you could touch.
um. E.

So, it's like i'm getting a second chance.
And, part of me wants to stick with it and see if i can pick it up.

i'll tell you one of my regrets in life. you see, i never really tried when i was in school. things came easy to me, and i skated through. i was ok with ok grades. i took a lot of credits, graduated early and had over a 3.0 GPA... but I know that I never really tried. i NEVER read my text books. i slept through many of my lectures. i used cliff notes. i crammed and then did pretty good on my test. as a young child, i never stuck with anything. i dropped violin, i dropped track, i was on the swim team and i took gymnastics for a few years, then stopped. (i could never do a cartwheel.) i asked my mom once why she didn't make me stick with anything when i was growing up. she said, "Well honey, you weren't good."

so... this is my current delima.
do i stick with this step class that is TOTALLY not in my talent area... hoping that i will improve. or, do i accept my lack of coordination and stick with the tredmill?

i've always wondered what i could have been IF i tried.

i HAVE tried hard at being a good mom and wife and a homemaker. the mother part came naturally to me, but the wife and homemaker part has taken my best effort.
i try hard EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY.
and now, i want to try to be good at exercising. i've never had to exercise before, so now, i'm 32 and my metabolism is changing, and i really want to figure out how to loose a few pounds.

i decided to give up sugar... treats and stuff. and so i started today. i didn't even take a treat that my new step-aerobics teacher offered at the end of class. but, when i was cooking dinner, i had this whole pan of apple bars just sitting on the counter, and i ate a small, small piece. And then, i ate another small, small piece. And now, i'm 0 for 1 on my new No Sugar Diet.
See... i'm a dropout. (but, i DIDN'T eat oreos after my kids went to bed tonight.... and it was hard, very hard not to.)

i've been wanting to clean my carperts for a couple of weeks now.
but,
by the time i get them all picked up and vacuumed, it's time for the kids to get home from school and i always talk myself out of it... planning of course to just do it tomorrow. And that has happened for 2 weeks now. So, this afternoon it was seriously 30 minutes before the kids came home and i was determined to clean my carpets. i picked up, vacuumed and filled my little bissel with water and went to work. only, it didn't work. the cleaner would spray out water, but it wasn't sucking anything up. i turned it over, i used a screwdriver to open up the belt part and i couldn't figure it out. by now, all the kids were home, the carpets were all wet and messy, and i was SOO frustrated. i called the professor and he asked me dumb questions like is it plugged in and is the button switched for carpets. i was snotty. finally, he asked what i would like him to do. and, i told him, i want you to come home and RESCUE me from my mess.

he came home and with a sweet smile told me i just needed to put the lid on the water container and then it would work. seriously.
i wish that i could have just figured that out on my own.
but, if i can't ride on my own yet... i choose the professor for my tandem partner.
or lifeguard, whatever analogy you prefer.
[i'll tell you, when i saw him washing my carpets i loved him 100 times more than i did the day i married him...]
so, if i'm trying to find a theme for this post, i'd go with...
if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

here's my new life analogy (i came up with this while i was vacuuming...)

life is like Water Skiing...
There are times that you are up and looking good, and times that you are in the water.
Getting up is the hardest.
When you look around you, everyone else seems to be skiing beautifully.
But, no one can ski forever... Everyone spends time in the water with a wedgie.

So, now, i don't think i'm a looser during the times i'm struggling to get my skis underneath me.
And, i'll try to enjoy the moments that i'm skiing.
And... today, I'm going to remember that practice makes perfect.
and that
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier. Not that the task itself has become easier, But that our ability to perform it has improved." Ralf Waldo Emmerson
and tomorrow,
i may just be an step-aerobic, water skiing, carpet cleaning, bull-riding, wonder of a woman!!
(or, i may just decide to forget about step-aerobics and eat another dang apple bar.
either way, life is good.)

UPDATE-- So, I did the Step Class again this Friday.  And... I FELL!!!  Huge, wipeout, on my back.  Just so you know.  Really, I'm awful at step.  But... maybe I'm getting better... maybe next week I'll have a break-thru.

what's for breakfast? crepes

Crepes… ohhhh Crepes!!

If you don’t have crepes on your list of REGULAR meals, you really need to try them out.

SUPER easy, HEALTHY, and SOOOO good!

This is the recipe that I use… (always doubled)

1 cup flour (I use whole wheat)

2 eggs

½ cup milk

½ cup water

Salt

2 Tb melted butter

Powdered sugar (optional if you want to make them sweeter).

Mix it all together.

Heat up your frying pan and spray it with non-stick cooking spray.

(Don’t use butter because it burns really fast and makes the crepes blackish on the bottom.)

Put about ¼ cup of the batter in the pan and tilt the pan a bit to make the crepe larger.

Then just wait, the edges will get all cooked and they are VERY EASY to flip.

I usually chop up some apples and fry them in a different frying pan with some juice or concentrate, cinnamon, nutmeg and powdered sugar.

And, I cut up some fresh strawberries, if we have them, at drizzle them with sugar so they get saucy. MMMMMM.

And, we LOVE whip cream. Either homemade or from the spray bottle.

This is probably our FAVORITE Sunday morning tradition.

Try em… You’ll be changed forever.

a lubbock day...

just another lubbock Saturday...