Being a momma and lovin' it!

Wow!

2012-02-25T21:50:00.000-06:00

I had started doing a little cleaning after a somewhat long night (I woke up in the middle of the night with a pain in my right side that came and went, it was strange)! I took a break and got on facebook to find there was a free "webinar" on Babies and Bellies put on by Sandy Puc. I had no idea who she was, but a free workshop that I could watch from home? Yeah, I was here! I managed to get my review post done in time, but after that, most of my time was spent in awe of this AWESOME photographer! I now can better take babies pictures, mama's belly pictures and sell my work for what it's worth! Great stuff! I felt bad for my kiddos, because they only had my partial attention, except for the breaks. Thank goodness for the breaks! Seriously, it was amazing! I'm sad that I missed yesterday's, but I can't afford $100 to pay for the whole workshop, so oh well! I'm super glad I saw today's!
I convinced Scott to let me "try out" cloth diapers on Cecilia to see if it's a possibility for the next baby and he agreed to let me buy a few, so I did! They came in the mail today and it's two outsides and four insides. Cecilia looked a little concerned when I first put it on, but was walking around super happy about it soon after! The first change was poopy (of course), but I was able to use the clean part of the insert to wash her off, so it didn't take any wipes (strange, so I doubt it will happen again), and it was very easy to get it off in the toilet. I washed it immediately and IT'S CLEAN! You have to change it every couple of hours, so I did and I put her in a disposable for the night, because I don't have any cool boosters or anything to keep her from being soaked overnight! I really like them so far, and won't have a problem washing them daily, since I should probably do laundry every day, anyway! It's expensive to start it up (buying a ton of outsides and inserts), but nothing compared to how much disposables cost! If you get the super expensive ones and buy ten outsides and forty insides, it'll probably cost about $250, which is about what you would pay for one size of disposable diapers! And there's some cloth diapers that have the option of disposable inserts, so if you want to keep the cute outside when you're travelling, you can use the disposable inserts! Super cool! These are not your mom's cloth diapers either with the diaper pins and such. These are one-size fits-all (up to 35 pounds) with snaps that are easily adjusted. Now, to save up enough money for lots of them-once we find out what we're having on Wednesday!
Ben was cracking me up. I'm not sure what he was looking at on the computer, but he said, "That would lower our electricity bill and solve all of our problems!" Now I'm super curious, but I'm assuming it's the solar panels thing that Scott likes to look at. We aren't extremists or anything, but we would like to be better stewards, and we're working slowly (very slowly) to trying to do all we can with renewable resources! Ben (our little greenie) loves it! I just like being prepared and in all reality, saving money!

Little Crazy

2012-02-24T12:47:00.000-06:00

Scott got 2 emails yesterday from Garmin, saying they weren't interested. Bummer! So, Scott went crazy applying to jobs online last night (I got to bed before he did)! The phone started ringing at about 7:45ish and went for a while. Now Scott's returning emails and making job interviews. He has one interview per day Monday through Wednesday. My ultrasound is on Wednesday and my Block II interview is on Thursday! Sounds like it's going to be a little crazy next week! I'm not complaining though, he NEEDS a job! Because Olathe isn't cheap and there's no way I can work during Block II! But, I did just "apply" for the chance to design tutorials! Woohoo! That's certainly something I can always find time to do! Now, for a picture update of my adorable children!

One week more

2012-02-19T17:29:00.000-06:00

About a week and a half until the ultrasound! I hope we can tell what the baby is, so we can figure out a name and so I can buy all I need to (and sell stuff I don't need) at the upcoming sale! What great timing! I think I'll go ahead and wash and fold everything, so it's ready to be sold (or stored)! I'm so excited! Now to make it through the craziness that is the prep for midterms and getting over my teacher that I am convinced I do not want a reference from! Scott is healing well, but driven crazy by the staples. Poor guy! He is already weaning off of the pain meds (which is great) and he made it all the way through church! Woohoo for Scott! Tomorrow is his phone interview for Garmin! I hope, I hope he gets it! He needs a job and between Farmer's and Garmin, he will hopefully get one! Farmer's sent him a listing for him to apply to, which is a good sign too. Here's hoping I have really good news to share in the next couple of weeks (as Cecilia pours juice out on my dress).

One of those days

2012-02-18T22:50:00.000-06:00

I really didn't want to do much today, so I didn't! I played with my kids, read books, did the dishes and some laundry and mainly just vegged. The kids are loving this staycation! I bought good snacks to prepare, so far, so good! I love being able to snuggle with my girls and see Scott and Ben sharing a blanket on the couch! So sweet! I even got to read a few books with my girls and yesterday we started an "I love Emma" club! Part of our "dues" were reading her books. I love it! I always make her read one word everytime we read a book together in order to work on sight words now. I still have a year and a half before she goes to Kindergarten, so maybe she'll know a lot of the sight words by then! I can hope! Cecilia is cracking me up with her constant chatter! So far, the only recognizable things are "Dada" and "Ish." She loves fish!
I had a good time looking at houses to rent/buy. We'll see what's available come April! I can hope to get a place in our old school area, but we'll have to see!

Ember Gods (#2) by Andrea Pearson review

2012-02-17T11:21:00.000-06:00

Wow! I hadn't read the first one (The Key to Kilenya) in months and yet had no problem jumping right into the second one! Jacob does a fantastic job being a "regular" teenager, while trying to save Aloren from the Lorkons, in his spare time. I love that his parents are so understanding (for a reason) and that he puts his homework first. It's great to read about someone who is in both worlds, instead of having to choose between worlds (like most do). I was super involved in the book, so I'm glad it was a fast read! I think this is a great book for ages 9 and up. My son was trying to read over my shoulder, poor kiddo! I guess now that I've finished, I can let him read it! No doubt he'll love it too! The only thing I don't like is the constant references to Gallus as the "black man." Maybe once to let us know and then move on, because we already know! Very cool series and once again, I'm looking forward to the next one! Maybe a movie would be in order too... I can hope!
Now on to the Kilenya Romance. I LOVE free Kindle books! Although I should probably get ready for the day and start some more laundry first. And maybe make lunch.

Book Review: Olivia by Julie Wright

2012-02-15T21:02:00.000-06:00

This is a new series called The Newport Ladies Book Club from some of my favorite authors, so I jumped at the chance to review it!
From the back cover:
The Robbins household looks perfect from the outside: no dust, no stains, no wrinkles. Yet a glimpse into its heart reveals no laughter, no closeness, no joy. Olivia thinks that if she keeps everything tidy and serves delicious meals on time, family life is bound to get better. But when her husband, Nick, misses their anniversary, she realizes no amount of domestic success will compensate for failure in their marriage, or for her own failure to develop her identity--always busy as a mother, wife, and neighbor, she had forgotten how to be a unique and vibrant individual. Determined to make a change, Olivia joins a local book club, where she nurtures new friendships and explores new ideas. But her growing confidence falters when Nick declares his independence--and while her new friends lovingly encircle her with support, only Olivia can reach into the depths of her fledgling self to find the faith, hope, and love her troubled family needs.

My thoughts
This was a fantastic book! I laughed, I cried and I really want to join a book club! Poor Livvy really gets put through the ringer, when she thinks that she is doing everything for everyone. Her house is always clean, she always does service for others when they ask, and has no idea why her husband is acting so strange. She knows he would never cheat on her, which is one less worry. But, she has no idea why he left. Luckily, she joins a book club that helps her by letting her serve others and seeing that she isn't the only one who has problems! She gets "Heaven reminders" that help her know when to help people and usually she feels better too. I love it! I especially love the happy ending. I was really wondering about that Nick. I didn't think it was nearly as bad as he made it out to be! I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Feels like a long day

2012-02-13T18:40:00.000-06:00

Although it's been a pretty fantastic day, for being so long!
I went to bed a little after 11 last night and Cecilia woke me up screaming at 12:30 and stayed awake until 1:30 or so. I was wide awake, so I read some and finished a book (On a Whim). By two, I was asleep again and woke up a little after 6 to get everyone up and ready to get Scott to the hospital on time. The kids were all thrilled about the snow! I was just glad that we were able to travel safely! I had grabbed some snacks and juice boxes to keep Cecilia happy. Scott went back pretty fast after we got there at seven. We got to go back with him at 7:30ish and talked and had family prayer (we had forgotten before we left). Then we left him, because I couldn't remember what time Kira's Dentist Appointment was, and we went to find out. It was at 4:30, so after school. Oh well! I dropped them off at school super early, so they were able to get breakfast, since they hadn't eaten much. I shared an orange with Kira and Cecilia for my breakfast! Anyway, I went by the house to get Scott's phone, since mine is completely dead. I still need to charge it. Then I went back to the hospital and they had taken him back into a holding room. So, Cecilia and I were back to hanging out in the waiting room. Fun times. Every time Cecilia had some stranger say hi or wave, she went running to me. Which is a good thing! They let us know that everything went well and an hour later, we got to go back. Cecilia didn't like the little room, so I got to walk around after her, over and over. But, Scott is doing well (considering)! After he drank a ton of water and choked down some crackers and walked around, they let us go! We went to Walgreen's to make sure they were filling the prescription for him, to Walmart to get a few groceries and back to Walgreen's to pick up the pain med. Poor Scott was hurting when we got home, but he made it up the stairs safely! Phew! I put Cecilia down for her nap and we ate lunch, so Scott could nap too. I managed to get most of the lesson plan written up before I had to go to class. I dropped Cecilia off at Chanda's (she's so awesome) and got to class with a few minutes to spare! After class I picked her up and Chanda gave me some of her fantastic bread and spaghetti sauce. We went home for me to work more on the lesson plan and start on the hailstones. I got Cecilia back into the van and we picked up Ben and Kira. We came home for long enough for me to finish the lesson plan and send it off! Hurray! Ben stayed with Scott and I took the girls with me to Kira's Dentist Appointment. There was a very happy little girl there that loved Cecilia and kept hugging her and sitting on my lap. It was pretty funny! She got mad at me when I would only let her have one squirt of the hand sanitizer. She told me that she was going to tell my dad on me. Hhmmm... I don't think I'd get into trouble! Kira's appointment wasn't too long and we scheduled the next two and headed back home. I finished off the dinner prep (I had to cook noodles and heat the sauce back up), which wasn't bad at all! We ate and now we're taking a break as Kira and Ben watch the new Jake and the Neverland Pirates. What a day! I'm sick of driving! Now back to the hailstones and Valentines! Fun stuff!

Feelin' the Love

2012-02-12T18:07:00.000-06:00

It's interesting to see how hard people work to help you out when you just ask! My family is watching Emma and Leah for a couple of days to help us out, because Scott is actually getting his surgery tomorrow. My visiting teacher is also helping us by watching Cecilia during my class tomorrow! Phew! It's nice to have help!
Speaking of love... Valentine's Pictures (in case I'm too busy to think about it on Tuesday, I have no idea how this week is going to go and don't feel like preplanning it out)!

Before his haircut

Posing

I have a hard time getting her to keep her eyes open!

I LOVE this one of Leah!

This is a pretty good smile too!

My adorable kiddos and I are wishing you a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Sick and tired of Scott being sick

2012-02-10T10:48:00.000-06:00

Poor Scott! He's needed to have this surgery for weeks, and had to have it put off last time for strep throat and now he's sick again and is coughing and sounds gross! I definitely want him to get the surgery, so he can have that not hanging over his head. He needs to be able to get a job and can't while he has to have it, since he'll be out of work for at least two weeks. Ggrrr! In the meantime, I have lots of school stuff going on and I'm worried about taking care of him and the little girls, when I have to be in school. I guess we'll find out what's going to happen at his pre-op appointment today. Fun times!
I have groceries though and my kiddos are having a great time spinning in circles and such. They're so much fun to watch dance around!

Hhhmmm...

2012-02-05T17:32:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to figure out my thought processes. (One of those problems with being so very interested in Psychology.) I don't understand why I like reading so much. Is it because I don't like my life and want to "put it on hold" while I live someone else's? That doesn't compute for me, because my life is fine! But, I do love to read. I was super excited when I found out an LDS author had full books on the Kindle for $3-4! So, I bought three. I read all of them and only one was good. The other ones were obviously written for the national market, so it just irritated me. I don't ever want to read about a girl's chest or someone looking at it. No thanks! So, now I'm trying to figure out the nicest ways to review books that I thought stunk based on the badness of them. Both of them even had awesome plots, but horrible follow through. Gggrrr!
In the meantime, I sold most of my Wii stuff yesterday (since our Wii completely broke and we aren't interested in investing in a new one). I was oh-so-very excited, because some people are swapping me for baby clothes! Success! Of course, it's all baby boy stuff, but even if I find out I'm not having a baby boy, I can sell it or give it to someone else having a boy. Like my cousin! I seriously love to trade and would gladly live in a barter system! Getting rid of stuff to get stuff, that would be a wonderful world! Aaahhhhh....
And now Scott is back home. He went up to Olathe to work for his mom for the day and ended up staying the night, because it was so late when he was going to leave. He got home in time to eat breakfast and get ready for church and we were only a few minutes late! Hurray! It might have had something to do with the fact that all four girls took a bath together. If only I could have taken pictures! I was busy keeping Cecilia's head above water. Deep bath water scares me and she loves a bath! If there is water in the bathtub, I have to be close by. Yes, I am one of those moms.
Here's some pictures I downloaded yesterday of my fun kids.

She's actually sleeping on the couch right now too!

Ben makes playing computer games active!

Kira dancing

Emma too

And Cecilia is pretty good at falling asleep once she's full!

So, that sums us up lately. We're either sleeping, eating, dancing or on the computer. Yep.

Emma

2012-02-04T19:21:00.000-06:00

I'm working hard with little Emma (though don't tell her I said she was little)! She has a hard time controlling herself and for some reason really likes to get people mad at her. Then she wonders why they are mad at her. It's really hard being a kiddo. Just now she came up to me and told me that she hit Ben with her bowl, so he would be hurt. So, she is in time out and asked why. Because you hurt your brother and you need to think about not hurting people. (Crying) I can't think about THAT! Ohhh, Emma.

Book Tour: Retirement Quest by John Hauserman, CFP

2012-02-04T00:00:00.050-06:00

I was asked (almost begged) to review this book and thought, "Why not?" Here I am, thirty years old, with five and a third kiddos, in my last year of school, so now is the best time to get my act together!

About the Book

RetirementQuest: Make Better Decisions was written by a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner who has been counseling clients since 1992. Drawing from his twenty years of experience, John Hauserman has developed a unique ability to communicate complex financial subject matter in easy to understand terms. Readers are guided through the basics of financial planning, while threads of politics, history, and psychology are woven together to create a tapestry of deeper understanding into the financial planning world. Complete with hard hitting insight into the practices and sometimes abuses of the financial services industry, John has created a masterpiece designed to help those responsible-minded investors who are seeking to avoid common planning mistakes.

About the Author
John Hauserman, CFP, is the chief executive officer of Retirement Journey, LLC. He oversees the details of the RetirementQuest planning experience. Baltimore Magazine named John a five-star wealth manager, based on nine criteria, including customer service, integrity, knowledge and expertise, communication, value for fee charged, and overall satisfaction (see more info here). In 2011 John was named the Baltimore area regional ambassador serving on behalf of the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Board of Standards.

My Thoughts
Wow! There is a lot of information in this little book! It starts off with a lot of scares (if you think that Social Security is still going to be around when you retire). I personally have thought that the only way I am getting any help after I stop working is if my husband or I get a fantastic job that gives retirement. The likelihood is slim, so I am pretty much counting on saving money like crazy, once we both get real jobs and can afford to put away more money. I like the examples used to show that it doesn't have to cost a lot! Especially the example of the young man who put $100 each into a whole life (for $100,000 benefit), term life ($1 million benefit), and a 401K. No matter what happened, he was covered by something, but the term life can expire or premiums get huge, the whole life isn't worth nearly as much (He is fully opposed to Whole-life, as am I), and the 401K was great! I never thought of comparing prices to see how much life insureance I should really get, but am now rethinking my amount, because I'm worth way more than the initial amount I signed up for five years ago.
I also like the information about different investments and different investment "counselors." I LOVE the political commentary! It's obvious that our government doesn't know what it is doing, and is not likely to figure out the debt situation anytime soon. On page 94, it says (in bold print): "The reckless trend of political leadership to continually pander for votes by promising everincreasing benefits while refusing to pay for them represents the single most significant threat to our economy (and way of life) over the long term." It also reminds us that we need to stop blaming others, and be held personally responsible for our own future! Yes! We need to have a "well thought out systematic approach to financial planning..." As you can tell, I think this book is great and will be keeping it in my bookshelf!

Buy it!
You can buy your own on Amazon for only $14.99!

Got a lot done

2012-02-03T20:13:00.000-06:00

I was able to write up two reviews, plus get a good start on my humongous thematic unit that is due next Thursday! I also got two kids to their appointments on time this morning which made them late for school, but we got it done! I made Steak and eggs for brunch to reward myself for making it through this week. I am so tired of the gross runny nose! It's gotten a tiny bit better, but still annoying! Oh well! Scott went to a job interview and they told him to call them next Thursday. Strange. He applied to a lot of jobs online this morning while he was up early. So that was pretty awesome too. I'm getting frustrated with the Sleep Test Doctor though. He had to stay the night and the whole next day, and you don't call to let us know anything? Really? That just seems very rude. Maybe it's just because I'm exhausted and have no chance of going to bed anytime soon. No, I still think it's rude. My girls were so excited to get my latest review item in the mail! Even Cecilia wanted to hold the Cody Simpson doll! She was crying and I handed it to her and she immediately stopped crying, while looking at it in amazement! It was awesome! Kira just wanted the guitar pick, so she got that. Now to decide who gets the doll. They'll have to prove themselves tomorrow! I'm guessing Emma. It was great though when I told them they had to do two chores to get it! Ben said, "Do I have to?" Well, no, you've already done your chore and I doubt you want this doll. "Phew!" And he happily went back upstairs. He cracks me up! He's using a plastic knife and fork to eat canned ravioli right now and he keeps licking his plasticware in between bites. Silly boy!

Cuz I'm having a bad day...

2012-02-01T11:31:00.000-06:00

Scott went in for a sleep study last night and then had the nerve to not do everything the doctor wanted, so he's stuck there for the day. So, the job interview was postponed to Friday. He gets to go down for a nap at four. That cracks me up! They are letting him fall asleep every two hours, and then as soon as he falls asleep they wake him up. So, he is there in his pjs with little things plastered all over him. I would feel bad for him if it weren't for the facts that our house is a mess, me and two of the girls have nasty noses (mine is runny), I had an IEP meeting for Ben at 8am, so I had to get everyone up and dressed nicely (that's the kicker) to get there on time, and class at 2. We'll see how that goes. The good news is that I won a book for my girls yesterday "Too Princessy." I have a feeling they are going to LOVE it! And the workbooks I got off ebay to work on my thematic unit are fabulous! They have pictures, worksheets, lesson ideas, science fair project ideas, and activities (So Exciting)! Now that Cecilia is down for a nap, I need to clean some, so I feel better!

Next Book Review

2012-01-30T20:32:00.000-06:00

I got Family by Design by Heather Justesen in the mail today and already finished it, so that should tell you something! I LOVED it! I'm so glad that I paid full price for it (even though I love a good sale)! Luckily I got the companion novella for free and that helped my bargain-conscious mind. Anyway, on to the book! Rena is the epitome of the older than 30 Single Adult who is dying to have a family and desperately wants to find Mr. Right. She is dating someone, but there's no spark. She still considers him, because she is starting to feel desperate. On the other hand, Tucker is her best friend and has a LOT going on! His brother and sister-in-law die in a car accident, telling him that they want him to get their two kiddos, but as a Marine and businessman, it is a concern to the Social worker. Tucker comes up with a great plan to propose marriage to Rena, since they are best friends, get along great, and obviously they are both sadly single. Rena starts to consider it, but when he kisses her, her doubts fade pretty fast. So, she says yes and they have about two weeks to plan a small wedding. In the midst of it all, the kids and their Great Aunt get into a car accident and the kids are fine, but she's stuck in the hospital for awhile. Then they have to work, plan a wedding and take care of two kids. Chaos ensues. Poor Rena is suffering through all of these random mistakes at work (turns out they aren't her mistakes), and has to fix things in the midst of the hurried preparations. They get married in the Temple (Aaahhhhh...) and start working on progressing from friends to spouses to find...Du duh dum...To be continued when you read the book. It's great! I promise! You will laugh, cry, and feel their pain and joy! P.S. Heather if you read this, I want to know what happens next! I read the novella to hear about Chelsea, but what about what happens in ten years. How does she handle mommydom with her awesome interior design work? I'm curious!

Contention

2012-01-29T18:26:00.000-06:00

I don't do well with it. At all. When my kids fight, it makes me feel all antsy inside. When someone frowns or says something sarcastic to me, I start to shut down a little. You know that "Fight or Flight" reflex? It totally kicks in for me whenever there is contention. I want to fly and then when I'm away, I seriously shut down.
Explanation: I was talking to my mom late last night (after ten), and she was letting me know that Mamaw isn't doing well. I love my Mamaw, but don't call her near as much as I would like to! So, I already felt like I wasn't doing enough, and then to find out she wasn't doing well hit me pretty hard! I posted on Facebook that I was worried about her, and things went crazily downhill from there! People started asking what was going on and my Aunt was able to tell them. I didn't see anything until this morning. Craziness! Then after church one of my cousins had commented that she was mad that no one had told her. Commence the shutting down... I understand that people don't want to be notified about big things on the Internet (I learned that from announcing a pregnancy on there and my sister-in-law getting upset, for good reason). I knew that Jan and my mom were likely the only ones that knew, since my Mamaw was hiding it, but why do I feel like I'm the one who's being attacked? It makes me want to not write on Facebook. Which is silly. I have feelings and I shared them. Is that bad?
So, now I'm somewhat shut down and Ben keeps picking on Emma. I don't understand it! Why do people fight over completely STUPID things? Why don't we just work together and be nice? All of us should have learned about that growing up, so WHY DON'T WE DO IT??? As a parent, I tell my children all the time to be nice and not fight and try my very best to model that as a parent and future teacher! So, what is the deal? Aren't we adults? Shouldn't we be able to talk things out nicely? Anyone know and can help me out here?

Fun kiddos

2012-01-27T20:16:00.000-06:00

Because it's Friday, I finally get to spend quality time with my lil' girls! It's always fun to play with these girls that have such interesting ideas! Emma is trying so hard to become Kira, which is no bueno. Very much no bueno! She is trying so hard to be helpful though! She was worried about Leah going down the stairs the wrong way, so she helped her. She also took stuff away from Leah, because it was Kira's stuff and we all know that taking Kira's stuff is bad news! Emma helped me add the flower to her shirt. So, she was able to sew for the first time. She did pretty well!
I love that Leah girl, she can be so sweet! She walks up and says she wants to comb my hair and so I asked her if she had a comb (which she didn't) and I grabbed a brush for her. She's been a lot nicer lately (as opposed to the head banging and/or hair rolling/tangling)! Phew! She even brushed longer than four times. She loves having her hair brushed too, so usually she brushes my hair to get her hair brushed. So sweet! She'll give me big hugs and tell me: "I love you too mom!" Of course I tell her I love her too!
Cecilia is in the adorable toddler stage, which sadly includes the accidents stage. She climbs up the bench a lot! Sometimes on top of the table. I keep a pretty close eye on her, although I'm still not fast enough every time! I'm working on it! I keep hoping she learns to stop climbing the bench! Poor baby was so tired, so I put her in bed and I love how usually she settles down pretty fast after snuggling up to Violet and listening to the classical music she plays at "bedtime," but tonight not so much. She was too tired. She went to sleep pretty fast though! Phew!

In the flower shirts that I adorned.

In their Valentine Dresses from Old Navy (I LOVE Old Navy)

Ben is catching on to the times tables and can add pretty well, it's subtraction that is harder for him. I'm trying to help him as much as I can! He's prepping me very well for my future Masters in Special Ed.
Kira was thrilled to get a 100 on her Spelling test! I'm pretty excited too! She's getting better! I like to think the glasses are the reason she's doing so much better! And today Emma accidentally pushed her and Kira was hurt, but she stayed calm! Hurray! Scott and I immediately complimented her ability to stay calm! Positive reinforcement immediately!
Fun times at the Westhoffs, even if Scott didn't get a call back about the job. Bummer! But, I'm still hoping for the Bilingual Teacher Aide job for him! I think it would be awesome! We have to figure out something! The daycare I checked out seems pretty fantastic, but expensive ($160 for my three girls for two days a week). So, if Scott did get the Para job, he'd be making maybe $100 more than what we would pay for the two full days I go to school. Stink! We're also thinking hard about what we're doing in the Fall. I'm having a baby in July, and school starts in August. This will also be the Semester where relationships die (from what I hear), and I won't know what school I'm assigned to until right before. So, either I find someone awesome to watch my baby (MY BABY!!!) plus my other babies and get Emma and Leah into school in Olathe. Or we figure out how to make a ton of money, because it will cost about $5000 for daycare for the Semester. And my student loans aren't anywhere close to that. So, lots of prayers and thinking going on here! LOTS!

Day 2 of Weaning

2012-01-23T05:51:00.000-06:00

Why do I always forget how hard this is? I made it through yesterday okay, but last night she drank hardly any of her milk (strawberry flavored, of course). So, this morning I had the opportunity to wake up at 4:30 to go downstairs and get her milk out of the fridge. In the meantime, I'm hurting! Luckily on only one side, because I weaned her from the other side last week. Yikes! I sure love this adorable little girl, but I wasn't producing anymore. The baby in my belly was getting everything, so Cecilia was just hurting me and still hungry. Poor kiddo! She seems pretty happy about her milk, and we're hoping to wean off the strawberry relatively quickly!

Rodent bones

2012-01-20T09:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was my looooong day at school! Luckily I was no longer contagious by lunch (from the Strep Throat) and I felt fantastic! Woohoo! Either way, I dropped the kids off and went to school. My first class I'm working on a Pecha Kuchua (Not postive on the spelling) Presentation about me. I only got 8 slides done! Yikes! In an hour and a half. That's not a good sign. So, I have to go back and work on it some more. My next class (still across campus) I didn't manage to finish drawing my cacti. It's looking cool though! I came home for Scott to make a salad and me to feed Cecilia. I had to take the salad with me. Though the teacher doesn't mind! We spent the next two hours going over the huge project we need to work on (although I'm not completely worried). Then we rolled our cans and mine EVEN ROLLED UPHILL! Woohoo! So, I had to show him! We hung around for our next class and managed to make it through. I wanted to work on my owl pellet while I was still there. I worked on it the next hour! And the bones are still in my head, I was seriously concentrating on it. I still need to finish getting out the hair (YUCK) and separate the bones out into skeletons to glue onto paper. Um, yeah. Fun times. I called Scott to let him know what was up and found out that he had called Sears to fix our dishwasher and a guy had come and fixed the dishwasher. The bad news was that it just wasn't plugged in well enough and cost us $130. Then as he was working on it, Scott had to get Ben and the van wouldn't start, so he had to bring the girls in the stroller to get Ben, in the cold! Ben had a Think Sheet. Which I didn't find out about until later that night. He pointed his fingers like a gun at his Resource Room Teacher to get out of the classroom! Gggrrr! So, we had a talk! Anyway, I left the bones to get Kira. No problem there. Phew! Scott had cleaned rather nicely, but cancelled the babysitter (since fixing the dishwasher was so expensive). So, I used my free Redbox code for a movie and we put the kids to bed a little early and watched Monte Carlo. We really liked it! We laughed, which was great! I LOVE clean shows! I had to work hard to find a show that was PG and not a cartoon! Ridiculous!
Either way, we made it through yesterday and I'm praying that Scott gets this job at the Middle School that he's interviewing for right now! Even if I have to figure out a sitter!

Tenth Review

2012-01-18T17:03:00.000-06:00

Phew! I'll be all caught up and can start reading again! This is the sequel to Timeless Moments-Forget Me Not by Michele Ashman Bell, although technically it can be read alone. This is when they decide to go to Vietnam to help heal them. The husband-Dalton wants to go and get past his PTSD from being a POW. The daughter Skyler wants to get to know her mom's side of the family and why her mom was so depressed and committed suicide. At first Skyler doesn't want her stepmom to be there (although she loves her), but changes her mind once she realizes her dad needs her help! Crazy things happen as they try and get answers! Wow! Seriously, I can't give it away, but Skyler does get to meet her extended family and finds love on the journey. There are some loose ends tied up in this book from the last book-so we find out what happens to her best friend and how her son does on his mission and how his life is going.

Ninth Book review

2012-01-18T16:57:00.000-06:00

In case you're wondering why I am able to do these lots of reviews, it's because I'm contagious and can't leave my house. Fun times. So, I'm finally able to write up all these reviews of books I've read this past couple of weeks! Since I started in the Michele Ashman Bell part of my bookshelf, I went on to Timeless Moments by her. This one is absolutely gripping! It's about Paige, who got breast cancer and her selfish husband couldn't handle it, so he divorced her! Leaving her to fend for herself and her son (who was in high school)! Mad craziness! Luckily, she had her best friend who gave her a MIA/POW bracelet when she was 16, which leads her to write to the soldier's family and when her son finds out about it as they're going through stuff before he leaves for college, he makes her promise to write them and see if he was found. She does and gets an immediate response, which she brings with her to visit her son and best friend who live close to him (what a coincidence)! They end up spending lots of time together and he has lots of flashbacks to the Vietnam War. He has a daughter who is a teenager and Paige is able to understand her pretty well! So, she helps him out with his daughter who acts out. Her son starts doing crazy things thanks to his "friend" and who helps him out is quite the surprise! A very great story! Especially for those who are dealing with or have dealt with cancer (her best friend gets it and she tries to help her out).

Eighth Book Review

2012-01-18T16:48:00.000-06:00

I started picking some of my old favorites out of my bookshelf and picked up Finding Paradise by Michele Ashman Bell. I really enjoy her writing. This is about a librarian Morgan who goes out of her box to Cancun to her best friend's beach wedding and how her life completely changes because of it! She hangs out with the groom's best man and he helps her do things she was too scared to try. The largest part of the book is her trying to figure out if it's really love or if she should just go for the guy who's there (her on-off boyfriend). Because the other guy, yes she felt a connection but they hadn't seen in each other and he hardly ever talked to her, so she just wasn't sure. I'm super glad that she figured things out, because the boyfriend was BORING! Great dialogue and certainly encourages going out and doing fun things-especially karaoke!

Seventh Book Review

2012-01-18T16:40:00.000-06:00

Back to Love Inspired Suspense-this one is The Last Target by Christy Barritt. This one has a single mom and her young son who are suddenly shot at while at a public playground! The good guys swoop in and save her and continue trying to do so while being attacked at every turn in super sneaky ways. I suspected who was the ultimate leak, but was super surprised as to the why (although it was good news for her)! And everything turns out alright at the end. Phew!

Sixth Book Review

2012-01-18T16:36:00.000-06:00

A Love Inspired Book called Rocky Mountain Hero by Audra Harders. This one is about a single mom and her son who are on their way to her job interview when her truck goes off the road and crashes big time! She needs help, but doesn't have the money to fix her truck and start life in a new place, so when her rescuer offers to fix her truck if she just takes over helping with a barbecue, she gives in! Talk about a run-on sentence! She learns to love the town, the people, and of course, her rescuer. Very cute story! I can't imagine anything like that happening in real life, but it's not meant to be real, right? I especially like the ending, very nicely done!

Fifth Review

2012-01-18T16:31:00.000-06:00

This one I read on my Kindle on my husband's laptop. It is Dusty Britches by Marcia Lynn McClure. If you've never read any of her books, SHAME ON YOU! She is fantastic! Her writing is clean with some very good kisses and the romance is outstanding! She has written a ton of books and of the many I have read, I've enjoyed every one! I find I prefer the historic ones, but I love all of them! Anyway, this one actually has three romances in it! I know, a three-for-one, fantastic! It is how a whole family finds love! The main female character Angelina (known as Dusty) and her sister Becca and her Dad all manage to end the book happily in love. It's interesting that all of the female characters fell in love with their men when they were young, and they have to deal with those feelings until old enough to act on them. I really enjoyed the backstories that were put in, so we could see them younger! And the ending-totally wasn't expecting that! Talk about a conflict! I could have done without the imagery of skin being torn though.

Fourth Book review

2012-01-18T16:20:00.000-06:00

So, I'm about to start a slew of these, so be prepared! This one is Princess in Peril by Rachelle McCalla. This is one from the Love Inspired Suspense Line which is fantastic! Reclaiming the Crown is the series and I really enjoyed this one! It's about Princess Isabelle from a made up country Lydia, that is saved by her bodyguard when insurgents attack their motorcade. It progresses to the point that she figures out who the bad guys are and she has to figure out how to save herself and her family from their evil clutches. I LOVED IT! I was actually upset that the next one isn't out yet (even though I know it's hard for authors to churn them out)! I assumed that the whole series had already been written and was just being printed. I'm looking very much forward to seeing how the rest of the family survived the attack and who they end up with (since they are all romances)!

To add something else

2012-01-18T11:05:00.000-06:00

So, I felt HORRIBLE yesterday and could not figure out why! I wasn't able to eat much of my cereal before going out into the horrible cold world to drop my kids off at school and walk across campus (because I refuse to pay for parking unless absolutely necessary). I just felt weird (lightheaded, achy, just not well), so I splurged and bought a bacon and egg biscuit and Naked juice (that name cracks me up) to eat in the hopes that that would help me make it through my long day. It made the nauseousness fade (which was TERRIFIC) and I managed to make it through my first class with a minimum of antsiness. Then another walk across campus to my next class (so then I was by my car) and did okay there (have I mentioned how much I LOVE one hour classes?). I really wasn't feeling well, but was able to get past it. But after I came home and fed Cecilia and had to hightail it back to school (I have 40 minutes to feed myself and Cecilia and go to and from class, so usually Cecilia eats and I don't). I had managed to microwave some frozen mixed vegetables to eat during class. It took forever for me to eat them! That was my first sign. Then I felt super light headed going up and down the stairs and standing there. After that I felt sick at having to pull apart an owl pellet. I was having a super hard time by the time my next class started. I could not sit still and it was an hour and a half class where you just sit there the whole time. UGH! If nothing else, it's helping me feel for those kids that are told to sit still for long periods of time. Poor kiddos! I can't do it, so I can't imagine forcing kiddos to! We'll have a very active class I'm thinking! We'll see, I still have awhile and I have to make it through the next 3 semesters!
Either way, I wasn't feeling well! I was feeling very overwhelmed with all the work I have to do in the next week and was just feeling it. I have to make a can roll forward and backward and can't google it! By tomorrow! Plus we have to finish taking the owl pellet apart, putting all of the bones into a skeleton(s) and write a story about the crime committed. (Ours are going to be traitors that are punished by being eaten.) So, after I finally got out of class (I'm in class from 9:30-11:50 and 12:30 to 4:20), I went to the grocery store, because the only thing that sounded good was fruit and fresh bread. So I got lots of fruit, OJ and frozen pizza. Yum! I was able to eat a whole slice! Scott gave me a long blessing and I really felt Heavenly Father's love and concern for me! My headache immediately went away and I was able to function that much better! After I got the girls in bed I got to take a break! Then I ate cherries while watching Storm Riders. I was able to straighten up some and went to bed at 9:30 (which is unusually early for me).
Due to the early bedtime, I was wide awake at 5:17, but refused to get out of bed until 5:30, so I got my full 8 hours of shut eye. Then I was able to separate some clothes before Cecilia woke up. She really enjoyed mommy and Cecilia time! She was so cute and oh-so-funny! She walked over with Kira's hula hoop and set it down around her and looked down at it like: "Hey! Why aren't you circling around me?" She was very confused! Then Scott got up and she had both parents to herself! Talk about excitement! I very impatiently waited to call into the nurse to inform her of the possibility of having strep throat. Scott thought he had it again too. I brought the kids to school and then Scott took his turn getting swabbed and then I went in. There was no way I was going to get these girls dressed and out for us to have stuff gag us. No thanks! So we took turns. Scott was negative and I was postitive. Hurray. I do feel much better today! My throat hurts, but not horrible. Mainly feels clogged. My body doesn't hurt all over. So, all in all, I think my blessing REALLY helped. I'm so grateful for the Priesthood in my house!

Some of my new creations

2012-01-15T18:03:00.000-06:00

To share some of the fun things I made this weekend!

Three leaf clover clippies for March

A Heart clippie for Valentine's Day

And check out the adorable little girl I did a photo session of yesterday!

I cut out the heart rug, plus the I and U (and a little heart). So cute!

I might do Valentine's Day minisessions!

My creativity just left!

2012-01-13T15:36:00.000-06:00

Not that I blame it! It has been a rough week! I fell down the stairs on Friday night and have still been feeling it! My poor tailbone! I'm feeling much better now, but am sitting on a pillow, so that might not count. I'm just excited to be able to get up and down without concentrating! I was very happy the first few times I did it! I managed to get through Nursery on Sunday with no thanks to my fellow worker (who didn't show or call) or my husband who was sick and stayed home. Speaking of said husband (mainly because I LOVE tangents), he has been falling to pieces lately. The only good news that he has gotten is that his heart is good (which is TERRIFIC news)! He had strep throat (he thought it was just a cold). And he will be having surgery on his umbilical hernia in a little more than a week and then he has a sleep study to see what is wrong with him! I'm alternately praying that he gets a job, but not until February, so we can get through all of this first! Then I have to figure out the whole babysitter thing, but I'm taking things one step at a time!
I started school this week and had the blessed opportunity to get a TB test and my blood taken, all within two days. I feel incredibly lucky though, because my test was negative! One of the girls wasn't, and I can't imagine how she feels! I had to spend over $600 on books! YIKES!!! I seriously wonder about how they really feel about teachers. Are we supposed to be privately funded, because those books cost a fifth of what I got, and we still have to make it to August! There's no year-round Pell grants anymore. Thank you wise government. I appreciate the opportunity to vacation and not go anywhere, because I have no money. Especially when I start school in August and have no time for work or my family. We were told that if we had family or fiances to let them go. Say what? I say NO WAY! Especially with a new baby coming (I heard the baby's heartbeat on Wednesday)!
Sorry, off the soap box. Either way, I'm excited for the chance to become a teacher and help children learn! I am really looking forward to all of the teaches I get to do this semester that will better prepare me for the craziness that is Block 2!
Now if I can just get my photography business off the ground, Leah potty trained, Cecilia weaned, and Scott just trained, I will feel like I am going the right way!
I sure had fun this morning after a very early night (I had my version of a migraine-black spots, so I can do much of anything and went to bed early)! I woke up early with my little bit and got to having fun! I straightened up some, cut out a heart and I heart u out of a pinkish shag rug. I was using the wrong scissors and felt rather silly when Scott pointed out that the Cutco scissors weren't for material. They can cut through pennies, but not fabric. Weird! Then I made a cute little Valentine onesie for the baby coming on Wednesday for pictures. I also made more of the cute heart hair clippies. Adorable! Then I wanted to work on March hair clippies too, so I made some three leaf clover clippies too! So, now I have two months taken care of in my year assortment (I want to make bows for a whole year to sell)! I think I'm going to do flowers and rainbows next. Or butterflies.
Either way, that is why my creativity is gone. I used it all up this morning in between my girls making each other scream. While asking if I was making bows for them (of course). Hurray for Fridays! Bring on Saturday!

Third book review

2012-01-05T22:48:00.000-06:00

Yes, I did read two books in one day. Mainly because my tooth hurt and I had to wait for almost three hours at the dentist's office waiting to get squeezed it, but they did and I'm very grateful! I found out about this book last night when my friend (who's the author) mentioned she had a book out and it was FREE on the Kindle on Amazon. Score! I have been wanting to read it since I heard she was working on it, but wasn't one of the lucky few. Oh well, I am now! The book is called On Little Wings and it's by Regina Sirois (who is completely amazing)! Now, for the book review:

	Oh how I loved this book! It was great writing! It was long enough to make me sit down and read for more than a couple of hours! Hurray! I desperately wanted to read, even when I was supposed to be cleaning right before the babysitter came, but I had to know what would happen before I could clean! (Don't worry the 45 minutes we had after I finished gave us time to clean the main floor) I loved the ending, I didn't feel like it was abrupt or left us hanging (too much). I also liked that there wasn't an epilogue, but a list of where we could find all of the awesome poems used in the book! I love, love, love the characters! They were all very real, with understandable hopes, dreams, frustrations... There were a lot of laugh-out-loud parts that I HAD to read to my husband! I only got tears in my eyes once, so I'm a happy camper! As for Jennifer, I hope to convince my kids that they shouldn't be interested in the opposite sex until they're at least 16! That sounds like a really good plan to me! I'm really looking forward to more books from her! This one made for a very enjoyable read during a somewhat sad day! If you want to get a free one for YOUR kindle before the 8th, go here. I considered not posting this until after the 8th, so she would get some money for it, but it's too good to not share! If you do read this after, it's only $3! For an awesome, long book! It's worth it!

Oh how I loved this book! It was great writing! It was long enough to make me sit down and read for more than a couple of hours! Hurray! I desperately wanted to read, even when I was supposed to be cleaning right before the babysitter came, but I had to know what would happen before I could clean! (Don't worry the 45 minutes we had after I finished gave us time to clean the main floor) I loved the ending, I didn't feel like it was abrupt or left us hanging (too much). I also liked that there wasn't an epilogue, but a list of where we could find all of the awesome poems used in the book! I love, love, love the characters! They were all very real, with understandable hopes, dreams, frustrations... There were a lot of laugh-out-loud parts that I HAD to read to my husband! I only got tears in my eyes once, so I'm a happy camper! As for Jennifer, I hope to convince my kids that they shouldn't be interested in the opposite sex until they're at least 16! That sounds like a really good plan to me!
I'm really looking forward to more books from her! This one made for a very enjoyable read during a somewhat sad day! If you want to get a free one for YOUR kindle before the 8th, go here. I considered not posting this until after the 8th, so she would get some money for it, but it's too good to not share! If you do read this after, it's only $3! For an awesome, long book! It's worth it!

Book Review #2

2012-01-05T22:41:00.000-06:00

I read Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and LOVED it! Wow! I wasn't expecting to like a werewolf book, but I really enjoyed this one! I was completely surpised by the conflict and the outcome! Amazing! The characters are very interesting, especially: Bryn, Chase, Devon, Lake, Callum and Ali. There is something there for everyone, all different skill levels and gifts can all be a part of a family (pack). Fantastic! And the romance was very nicely done as well! I can't wait for more books from her! PS Bryn is a strong female character, so if you prefer the boring wimpy girls, you might not like this! I personally disliked the Twilight books strictly for the lack of a real female lead, so I loved this one! You can check it out on Goodreads here. It's a great read, but be prepared to finish it that day!

First Book Review

2012-01-04T09:39:00.000-06:00

Since part of the 100 book challenge is reviewing those books on my blog, I'm going to review the one I finished right before yesterday. It is Seers-book 1 of the Seers trilogy by Heather Frost. Since I'm just reviewing it for fun, I won't be including the blurb or pictures or anything. If you just have to see those, you can go here. The good news is that is definitely worth $5 for your Kindle! I thought it was a very interesting idea, but I'm already getting very tired of all the paranormal books out there. Become, No Angel and this one. It's probably because I've read all of them lately, otherwise it would be fine! I believe that Satan exists, so the whole Demon thing wasn't too much of a stretch. But, the needing people who can see auras to find the demons? Huh? And the guardians eat, sleep, kiss? That was going too far for me. That and the constant reference to pizza! Aaahhhh!!! Eat something else! Not that I don't love pizza, I do. I just expect to not have constant references to pizza. That can't possibly be healthy! I liked it, but didn't love it.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The premise is that this poor girl loses her parents in a car accident, and she lives, so she becomes a "seer" and can see auras around people and knows what they're feeling. She sees/meets two guys who don't have auras and it freaks her out and then almost right after she finds about black auras, she sees one (what a happy coincidence). Then it gets completely unbelievable for me. She pretty much dumps her alive boyfriend to hang out with a guy who's been dead for over 200 years. Yeah... She goes to be with the Guardians when they know a big demon that wants her is in the area. Because every novice should be allowed to hang out in the car by herself. Always a good idea. Then her sisters get kidnapped by the demon (which they had told her was going to happen) and she doesn't tell her boyfriend why she's skipping out on Dance Fun? I mean, really, her sisters were missing. Then her grandpa helps with the getting the girls back and she manages to escape from the car that was taking her away and they let her? I just thought it was too easy. Way too easy. I'll probably read the next ones to see if the series can be redeemed. There are lots of fun parts, because her best friend is awesome! But the whole lying lots, cheating on her boyfriend, and such makes it hard to like her.

Speaking of babies...

2012-01-03T22:23:00.000-06:00

I'm pregnant! I'm due July 17th, but we'll see what the first ultrasound says! Here's my first look at my rapidly expanding belly!

Yes, it looks like rolls. For some reason the top of my belly is hard and the bottom is just now starting to, so it looks strange! I'm looking forward to my first appointment on the 11th!

My baby is one!

2012-01-03T22:20:00.000-06:00

Today is Cecilia's First Birthday! So, of course she had to eat at four in the morning! But went back to sleep very nicely after. Then she woke up at an okay time (eight)! The kids were desperately wanting me to give her her presents and have cake, but I made them wait. Kira, Ben and Cecilia all had appointments this morning! So, we did the divide and conquer thing. That went well. Cecilia only cried a little when her blood was taken and Emma had her eyes squeezed shut with her hand over them, so she didn't have to see it! Leah just wanted a sticker, but got a book instead. I had to keep Cecilia's coat on once we got home to keep her from ripping the bandaid off. Funny kiddo!
Then I got the backdrop all set up and grabbed her presents for some photo session fun! Hurray! Scott was my baby wrangler and I could tell he was getting pretty tired of grabbing her and bringing her back to the spot. Then Ben worked to help her smile, so I got a lot of cute profile shots! In about the middle of the photoshoot, I realized my lens was covered in dust! So, the second half are way better! If you want to see the whole set they are here.
Cecilia has only had 2 baths today, which is fine because she loves baths! She really enjoyed her cupcakes and small piece of cake! She was covered in blue! She looked like a smurf! Great times! Great kids!

Nice Day

2011-12-30T17:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was fantastic! It was 60 degrees out and so we got to play outside! Hurray! Because it was cloudy too, it was perfect for taking pictures, so I did some photos of my kiddos (especially Cecilia, since her first birthday is next week)! I LOVE them (the kids and the pictures)!

Foreman Christmas

2011-12-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

On Christmas Eve, before my parents fed the Missionaries, we opened presents. That way we don't have the craziness of opening presents on Sunday and the kids had time to play with their presents before bed! So, here are some pictures from that wild unwrapping fest!

Westhoff Christmas

2011-12-30T17:28:00.000-06:00

Today we got to head over to Jenn's house for a little Westhoff gathering. I desperately tried to finish the DVD copies for the family! I worked on it straight for four days (as soon as I got them on Monday)! Everyone seemed to like them, so I was thrilled! I love, Love, LOVE giving presents! (No, seriously, I do!) But, sometimes when I give presents that I have worked super hard on, I never know if they like them or not, because either the gift isn't acknowledged or it is and then I never see it being used. I know it's silly of me, but it's how it is. So, I was super worried about how they would take it. I was glad that they like the home video DVDs (I also made an ABC book of my husband's dad-who passed away almost seven years ago-so all of our kids got a chance to get to know him)! Maybe it will make next year less nerve-wracking! We got to let our kids run around together which was interesting to see. Cecilia kept going to hang out with Chase and Hailey (the other babies) and Kira bossed the girls around (since she's so much bigger). The other boys kept playing together and would occasionally play with Ben, but Ben had no idea how to take that, so it didn't turn out well! He's way older than the boys (five years or so)! Either way, we had good food, good talks, made a fun craft together and had a sweet Nativity! Then the presents were opened! We all love our games from Mom. She gave us all a church game, so now we have lots of fun games to play on Sundays! And other times! Hurray!

During lunch

The three babies

Some of the Nativity characters

Admiring the baby

Working on the Family Trees

Reading together

Present madness

Adults with a few stray kiddos

Tenth Anniversary

2011-12-30T17:03:00.000-06:00

The 22nd was our 10th Anniversary! I decided to make it a Service Anniversary, because the kids were still in school! So, I got to help with popcorn at the kids' school. They were watching Aladdin. I even got to sit with Kira for a little while! Then I had to go home, so I could pack! As soon as we got the kids and finished packing, we headed North! We hung out for a little bit (and unpacked the car), so Scott and I could go out! My parents are so great for watching our kiddos! Apparently Cecilia was sad, so she got an early birthday present (a doll stroller)! Meanwhile, Scott and I went to Jason's Deli to eat. Yummy food, but I was very disappointed that they didn't have the yummy barbecue potato! Then we went to Petsmart, always fun! Then we went to Hyvee to pick up some groceries (I LOVE Hyvee), but they didn't have the baby cups we needed for a reasonable price, so we went to CVS. It wasn't much better! I'm not sure why sippy cups are so expensive, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have to do with how much it costs to make them! So, that was our Anniversary Date! I was excited to get out with Scott, since our babysitters haven't been able to come in about a month! Anywhere is fun with Scott!

OOhhhhh...A challenge!

2011-12-24T11:04:00.000-06:00

I was reading my friend Danyelle's blog and saw that she is participating in a challenge to read over 100 books next year. I can do that easy! Especially with access to Danyelle's bookshelves occassionally! That helps considerably! I love, love, love to read! It's a great way for me to unwind and gives me something to do while I'm feeding a baby! I'm super excited to take this challenge! I think the hardest part will be taking the time to review each book I read, because I do read a lot! We'll see how it goes! Bring on the good books (I think I'm getting some for Christmas that I might have to wait to read until the new year (which would be a HUGE bummer)!
Anyway, I'm enjoying all of the fun with family! I've got to talk to my sisters and some of my sisters-in-law! We hung out with Scott's family yesterday to celebrate Christmas together and we're celebrating with my family today! My kids are absolutely geting a ton! They're going to be oh-so-excited! Seriously, my family's Christmas tree is way smaller than the pile of presents! Of course, there's kids, grandkids and parents' presents, so there are a ridiculous amount of presents! Luckily, we're drawing names for next year, so there won't be near as many! Phew! It gets expensive!
Either way, I love giving presents, so I'm excited! Hurray for giving gifts! I'm so glad that Heavenly father was willing to send His son to the Earth and let him die for us, so that we can celebrate his birth and Resurrection! I know I appreciate second (and third and fourth and fifth...) chances! Happy "Birthday" Jesus!

Grades!

2011-12-20T19:43:00.000-06:00

I probably checked ten times to see if the grades were up yet, and while Kira was entertaining the Elders, it was finally up! I got As in everything, but Basic Drawing. I got a B+ in that. I thought I did pretty awesome! I am always thrilled at the end of the Semester, because here I am with five kids and I'm still getting good grades! Phew! I'm also thrilled, because I'm that much closer to being finished with my Bachelor's! Only a year and a half more! I also love the long break, because it gives me a chance to catch up on cleaning, deep clean, declutter, potty train, play more and read more with my kiddos! I love them and want to make sure they remember all of this fun, quality time when the quantity is low during the semester. I'm so glad I'm working toward a job where I do have the opportunity to be home on weekends, holidays and evenings! I may be doing other things (lesson plans and grading), but I can be home while I work on it! Hurray for teaching and Hip hip Hurray for Great Teachers! (You know who you are!)

Phew! Finals week is over!

2011-12-18T23:30:00.000-06:00

We made it through last week! Hurray! I only had three classes to go to (and two had tests). But Scott needed lots of help to get everything done and it must have worked, because HE GRADUATED YESTERDAY! There is absolutely no way I can convey in words what this means to me! He has been in college off and on since '97! And now he finally has a Degree! I am so incredibly proud of him! We've got some applications in and are really hoping for the Bilingual Teacher Aide job! He is fantastic at speaking Spanish and will tell anyone that asks that it is the Celestial Language! Either way, it is fantastic! I am so excited for him!

My girls have loved having me home! We have been able to get a ton of cleaning done! The basement is now my craft zone and storage! I have a whole shelf for Photo props and accessories! Bring on the babies! I was even able to make a new t-shirt design!

I still need to make more for my other girls! I got to make food from scratch and even some cookies! The cookies were devoured within a day! We got to make some fun stuff!

I got to hang out with a friend, which was great fun! I'm so glad she's a night owl like me, since we hung out after my husband got home from Teamups! And then on Saturday I got to take a ton of pictures at Church for the Christmas Party (which I was thrilled about)! I even edited them and got them online before Sunday! Woohoo!

Today we managed to get to church during the opening song! And then I had the Nursery kids all by myself, but it went just fine! We only had one crier at the end and her dad heard her and picked her up. She was just exhausted! Poor kiddo! I was very impressed with my kiddos! I think I'll miss them in a couple of weeks when half of them move up to Primary!
Now, on to this week! I am so excited! I get to take a newborn baby girl's pictures (she'll be born tomorrow)! Scott and I are celebrating our TENTH wedding anniversary! We get to go up to Olathe and give presents (I LOVE giving presents)! The kids are still in school until Thursday, but I get to help with my son's class party and the big school event of watching a movie! I get to pop popcorn! And I get to do some deep cleaning! It has been desperately needed! It will be a fantastic week!

How could it not be with cute kids like I have?

Christmas is coming!

2011-12-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

With all of the tests I had to pass in order to start Block I next semester, I was crazy busy until Friday (I passed all of them!)! So, we finally got our Living Room situated for the Christmas tree, had some little photo sessions and put the tree up! Hurray! The kids love it! And Cecilia hasn't tried to take it down! Fantastic! Here's some pictures!

In a Paige Lauren outfit (that I was reviewing and get to keep!)

Being all cute in between outfits!

In her Christmas dress from The Polka Dot Alligator! She does great work!

Playing in her dress!

Leah had to wear the pink bow, even if it didn't match!

She did a pretty good job smiling so well and keeping her thumb out of her mouth!

My pretty Emma! She did so well, but I couldn't get her to put her head like I wanted!

It still worked out though!

She kept blinking with the flash, so this is without it!

Kira is such a pretty girl!

Ooohhhh, my Ben! You can see his love for drawing, since he didn't want to leave his pen and paper!

And this shirt was not a white shirt like I asked, but this was not a battle I chose to fight!

All together!

Almost everyone working on the Christmas tree!

A message of love

2011-12-06T14:45:00.000-06:00

I just saw a link on facebook and clicked on it, because the message was one I genuinely want to read. "I'm a Christian, unless you're gay." I am a full believer in Christ and I think that as a follower of Christ, who wants to be like HIm, why wouldn't we love everyone? We are all sinners and doing the best we can, so why do we look at others for their shortcomings? Does it really make us better to point out someone else's flaws? I was bullied a LOT when I was a kid (and so was my husband). I have a very low tolerance or understanding of bullies! Does that mean I don't love them? No! Will I correct them? YES! I will do it in a loving way, so they understand that I love them even if they're making mistakes. Isn't that what Heavenly Father does for us? He loves us, even when we make dumb mistakes! He loves us, even when we are hurting someone else. How easy is it for us to get on our little soap box, saying that we know such and such is a sin, so we shouldn't hang out with someone. How horrible! I want to say that I love all of you! I love that you are all Children of God! You are all beautiful/handsome! There is nothing wrong with loving someone even if they sin! I know I'm not perfect and whenever my husband apologizes to me when he sins, I just have to remind him that I'm not perfect either.
I would be the first to admit that there are some things that make me uncomfortable-immodesty, smoking, people who are drunk, etc. But, that doesn't make me love them any less. I'll repeat it again, WE'RE NOT PERFECT! I'm not perfect, no one that I know is perfect and THAT IS OKAY! If you are feeling down, because you have sinned, repent and try to do better. I know that I feel very blessed that I don't have different trials, because I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to fight feelings for the same sex! I may not like the behavior, but I can still love the person! One of my best friends while I was dating my husband was gay (I say "was," because "is" doesn't make sense in a past-tense sentence). He was fantastic and easy to get along with! There is nothing wrong with loving someone even in their sins! NOTHING!
I worry all the time about my kids and what is going on at schools! Will they be bullied? My son has Autism, and my brother that has Aspergers was picked on and picked on and picked on. I don't want that for my son! I don't want my kids growing up in a world that doesn't love those that aren't "perfect!" I don't want my kids to get shot in a school, because some other kids picked on someone who decided to take matters into their own hands!
So, please, don't be a bully! Love others, no matter what! You don't have to love what they're doing to love them! Don't hurt someone else to make you feel better! Be a good example for your kids and make sure that they aren't bullies either. That pain NEVER goes away! I will forever have a voice in the back of my head telling me that I'm not smart enough, pretty enough, or just enough-because of thsoe who bullied me. I have to work hard everyday to remember that I am a Child of God and am worthy of His love! I will not allow anyone to bully anyone I see either, because they are doing the best they can and they're people! (Although I feel animals shouldn't be bullied either) It's okay to be different! Be peculiar! Love one another! Celebrate life, friends and family!

Christmases past...

2011-12-05T17:46:00.000-06:00

Since I had teh opportunity to go through tons of pictures to find old Christmas pictures, I thought I'd put the ones I found on here! Fun, right? By the way, thanks a TON Mom for putting pictures in by date, that made it SOOOOOOO much easier!

Mandy and I. Aren't we adorable?

Look at that stack! Huge!

See how happy Kim is?

With Ben at Wymount

With Ben and Kira at my parents' house

Sam holding Ben and Leah

The best Wal-mart picture I have ever seen!

Ben opening a huge present!

Scott, Emma, Ben and Kira

This one never fails to crack me up!

Ben and Kira at the Ridgeview "house"

Ben with his daddy

2009 at the Westerfield Townhouse

2010 here

When we were the live nativity in Olathe (Leah was baby Jesus)

When Ben was baby Jesus.
Thanks for visiting the past with me!

One of a kind

2011-12-01T21:37:00.000-06:00

I love that everyone in my family is (without a doubt) one-of-a-kind! Right now Ben is running around telling himself jokes and laughing! It's great! Then he noticed me watching him and calmed down for (maybe) two seconds!
Kira is so excited to get glasses! We went in yesterday to have her eyes checked, because she's having such a hard time with reading and spelling. She is farsighted, so we were right that she needed glasses! I was checked as well and I'm a tiny bit farsighted, so I get glasses to wear when I'm reading close or on the computer for a long time, so my eyes don't stress out. Kira and I both picked pretty cool glasses! Now we just have to wait to get them. We were told they would be done today, but no dice. Kira was so bummed! She's been talking up her glasses at school, so everyone is excited to see them! The lady helping us pick our glasses loved how excited Kira was to wear glasses! Kira was thrilled that she got to eat candy on our way home, because she turned in her reading calendar and couldn't have the chocolate sandwich, so she got to pick 3 pieces of candy! Woohoo!
Emma says she can do everything by herself, except chores. She can only turn on the sink and flush the toilet (according to her). No matter what chore she is assigned, she is convinced that another chore would be easier! So, yesterday she did someone else's chore to be tricky. What a silly goose!
Leah desperately needs her nap daily! Whenever she falls asleep right before the kids get out of school, it does not go well for us! Especially since she doesn't like wearing warm clothing! She will wear a shirt and shoes, no problem, but pants... Big problem! Poor kiddo having to wake up to getting covered up. Then as I put Cecilia in the stroller, she took her pants off. Sheesh! Not many kids would be willing to freeze for the joy of not wearing pants. Well, at least kids that aren't 2! I still made her put on pants and Emma's coat (since Emma took her coat). Poor kid cried at least half of the way to the school, but we made it! She cracks me up at least once a day though! Today she said something that sounded like, "I don't like you." So, I was sad and asked her why. She just laughed and ran away, but about a minute later, "I DO like you mommy!" Phew! I was worried! She keeps telling me that she likes my hair too. What she really likes is having her hair brushed! She will sometimes brush my hair three times or so, tell me how pretty it is and then have me brush her hair. Which I gladly do, because I understand the motivation! I love having my hair brushed too!
Cecilia, oh that adorable baby girl. Who woke me up at 4 this morning, starving to death (obviously). She ate out of both sides and was sobbing, because she was still hungry, but didn't want the right side again, oh no, she needed the left side. Okay! So I fed her again on that side and finally got her calmed down and asleep again! Woohoo! She's such a great baby! She is always so excited to see me, especially when I have been at school and I go up to check and see if she's awake yet, and she wakes up to see me. Oh! How it warms my heart! I love that baby girl! She snuggles with me, fights for lap rights with Leah, and walks so very well! I'm so excited to do her 1st birthday pictures!
And Scott, he's so willing to work hard! He had me apply him to a job at Dillon's stocking overnight, so we would never have to worry about a babysitter! How sweet! He worked super hard and had his Senior Capstone Presentation today and talked for the whole 30 minutes! I wish I could have been there, but it sounded like he did a great job! He was working so hard on that while I was at school that he didn't notice the girls trailing food and stomping it into the carpet until it was too late! So, he apologized to me about the condition of the house before I came in. What a sweetheart! (I'm still working on getting it all cleaned up though!) He's such a great husband and I love him lots and lots! We're coming up on our 10th Anniversary! I can't say that it feels like no time, because it absolutely feels like we've been married at least ten years! And we get to be married forever! Hurray!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T19:53:00.000-06:00

Last Monday I was able to fix my dryer-with help from Scott. Hurray! That made me super happy! So, I was able to pay $30 and had a working dryer again! I only had one class on Tuesday, and did pretty well. My art teacher seems to like what I'm doing lately. Strange. I'm not used to having my stuff pointed out to the whole class, so it's really awkward for me. Either way, Emma was thrilled that she had me at home! My girls have missed me a lot lately while I am school. It makes it hard for me to be on time to school, because of all the kisses, hugs and reassurances I give on my way out. I'd rather be late than have my girls sad!
Wednesday we got some cleaning done and lots of laundry!
Thursday was Ben, Kira and my first Turkey Dash. We had to be there at 7:30 and ran late (of course). So, it had started as we were running up. Ben stayed with us for a little while and I gave him my car keys, because he had pockets. Then he ran off once he realized this was a race and there was a winner! We didn't see him for the rest of the race. I was super worried, because Kira was not able to run very often, so we had to walk a lot. I had her run downhill everytime though. I knew there was no way that we could catch up to Ben, so I called Scott to have him meet him at the Finish Line. We were at the First Mile at that point and Ben was done when Scott go there. He was just sitting on the sidewalk. When Kira and I were near the end (the last two blocks), I wanted to run in, but Kira's side was hurting her from her skipping. Poor kiddo! I could hear Ben yelling and screaming, but Kira cried whenever I went off without her. We finally finished our 5K in about 52 minutes. The good news is that we weren't last! There was another ten people or so behind us! Ben was mad, because he didn't win! There were Cross Country kids that won and got trophies. I thought it was sad that the elementary school that put this on, wouldn't think of having age or grade rewards, not just the first three people. Personal opinion and all. Ben refused to get his picture taken and everything. So, the only picture I have is of him running away at the beginning of the race! Yeah.

He's in the white shirt in front of Kira in the pink.

Kira and the sunrise

After the finish.
We went home and finished the packing to head up to Olathe. We enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch! Later that afternoon I got some sales at Old Navy, Michael's and K-Mart. We had leftovers and put the kids to bed. Once Cecilia was asleep, I headed out again. I went to Old Navy and waited in line for an hour and a half to get a free Kodak waterproof camera! I got it! Then I went to Target and only had to wait in line for a little while before getting the sales there. The line to buy took about half an hour. I tried Kohl's next, but it was so packed, I said nevermind and left. I got to Toys R Us about one and left at two with my sales. At that point I was exhausted, so I went back to my parents' house to finally sleep!

Taken with my new underwater camera
Saturday was Ben's birthday, so he got his presents first thing in the morning. I had bought Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast and he loved them! We had Burger King for lunch and it was the worst Burger King ever! They didn't have ketchup (but gave us the little packets), barbecue sauce, apple juice, carbonation, Sprite or toilet paper. Ben only gets Sprite, so declared it, "The Worst Birthday ever!" And Emma is the worst sister ever, because she didn't want to swap toys with him. Oh well! We had cake and ice cream sandwiches at dinner time. And food when we got home. I gave Ben his presents from us and he LOVES his Leapster (that I got super cheap)! So much so that he had a hard time sleeping. But he's learning! I ordered a couple more games to focus on Math and they'll be here next week. Fun!

Huffing and puffing and blowing the cakes down!

With his Leapster

As for today I tied some loose ends together for my talk and luckily I prepared a lot, since I was the last speaker! I was told that I was the middle speaker! Scott was sick, so he stayed home. Luckily I had some people help me out with my kiddos. They probably got tired of seeing Emma and Leah going up and down and up and down. Either way, I made it though and only cried a little at the end when I talked about how grateful I was for all of the people that have helped us out! Nursery went pretty well. Cecilia did fantastic! And our usual crier made it all the way through! I was THRILLED! Leah didn't terrorize too many people. Phew! And Scott even let me take a nap after lunch! Woohoo!

What a day!

2011-11-18T16:36:00.000-06:00

And it's not over yet! I stayed up late last night watching some Westhoff movies to decide which 24 I wanted to send off to be professionally done (it was super expensive, so I could only do 24)! My favorite one was when my family came to carol Scott's family. It's funny to think that I was technically one of their kin before the next Christmas! Yep! My next favorite was watching the Utah Westhoffs with the "baby" back in 93 (I think). Super cute baby, so I was sad that there was no sound!
I had the opportunity to wake up early and do math problems, because that's what Scott's alarm clock makes you do to turn it off or snooze. Very nice! Too bad it didn't wake him up.
Anyway. I got the kids to school. I even dropped them off early! Hurray! I got to work on washing some clothes, so we have clothes to wear over the weekend. I was ready to go to the Laundromat when Scott announces his wallet disappeared! Aaahhhh!!!! He has this test he had to take at 4 in Topeka and had to have a photo id. The test cost $80 and he has to take and pass it to graduate next month, so very important! We spent the next hour, if not longer, trying to find his wallet. I found all kinds of other lost stuff though, so that was happy! We now have a DVD player remote again. I can Zumba again! We have 2 cordless phones again! And I was able to turn in a library book that was due today! Since I've already paid $25 in late fines for this book, the last thing I wanted to have to do was buy it! Either way, it turned up in a super simple place! I felt bad, because I prayed and all I got was that it was dark where it was. And it was. It was up under Ben's dirty clothes! We found it with enough time for me to dry our clothes at the Laundromat. Phew!
So, I brought our washed clothes and dried them at the Laundromat. It only cot $3.25. Not too bad! As I waited I cut out everything to make 6 Turkey shirts. So, now all I have to do is iron them on! Bring on Thanksgiving!
Scott got to leave with plenty of time to take his test and in about an hour and a half he should be done! After he left I got the girls ready to go and went to return the book to the library and send off the box with the 24 videos. I went to the UPS and it turns out that they're only open from 4:30-6:30 pm. Yeah. So, that was a no-go. I went to Staples and sent it off there and picked up some more DVDs, so when I get the DVDs back, I can make copies. While waiting in the line, Leah put Mentos in her jacket pocket. Luckily the lady behind me pointed it out, so I could put them back. She said she was "hungee." I explain to my children a lot that hungry is not real if you want candy. Hungry is for real food. My opinion. I really don't like my kids having candy! We checked out and went to get Ben and Kira from school. Since Leah is obviously starving to death, she proceeded to scream and cry and refuse to walk. It's a good thing this is a small school and people know us! Two-year-olds! I get everyone home safely and maybe five minutes later (I put her on the stairs until she calmed down), she's fine and apologizes. I'm convinced all 2 year olds are bipolar! Maybe I'll do a Master's Thesis on that someday!
Yep. It's been a day of highs and lows, so I'll settle for some middle this evening! Yeah, here's hoping!

Goofy Pictures

2011-11-15T21:36:00.000-06:00

I felt bad for just putting a tutorial, so here's some fun pictures!

Make a Snowman the warm way!

2011-11-15T21:21:00.000-06:00

A Tuesday Tutorial of sorts.
I made this, because I wanted to sell some of the shirts I had made, so I posted them online and got a response of: Can you make this? Really? I'm trying to sell stuff and you want me to make something else instead? Of course, I took her up on the challenge and spent money to buy all of the necessary items. Which only works out okay if MORE THAN ONE PERSON BUYS ONE! So, to make myself feel better, I'm posting it here, so you all can make it!

Materials needed: Shirt/Onesie (or whatever clothing you want to add a snowman to), Wonder Under-Lite, Scarf material, White felt/flannel, and a little bit of orange material, the template which consists of a large circle, a small circle, a long neck piece, two large triangles and a small carrot triangle; Some tiny black buttons, scissors, an iron and ironing board, clear and black thread and a needle-I got everything at Wal-mart).

Technically, before this point, you were supposed to wash all of the fabric, but surely you already did that, right? And you ironed out the material, yes? Now you iron the Wonder-Under (or whatever it's called) to the WRONG side of the fabric!

After it's cooled, you cut out the pieces and place them how you like them!

Then you iron the clothing you're putting it on (which you've already washed, of course)!

Now, figure out where you want to place it!

Iron the bottom scarf part first!

Then the head and carrot nose.

Then the body-I did mention that you take the little paper off and you follow package directions, didn't I?

Now iron on the top scarf parts.

Sew on the little buttons wherever you would like with black thread. Make sure they don't go anywhere!

Now sew all around every edge! I edged the snowman with clear first, then the scarf with a matching color.

Tada! Now you can make your very own Snowman! Or if you still want me to make it, I have a few shirts in 12-24 monthsm and 24 months that are just waiting for adornments! But, it'll cost you ten bucks! Hahahaha!

Fun long weekend

2011-11-13T09:12:00.000-06:00

On Friday (Veteran's Day), Ben and I got to be in the parade with all of the other Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts! Ben and I were in the back of a Hummer (which is incredibly uncomfortable, in case you were wondering) with a tank right behind us! The pictures are all on the laptop which is with Scott in Olathe, so I'll add pictures at some point. Scott was kind enough to stand with the kids where I could see them! Hurray! Last year I was incredibly sad that I didn't see them! It's really nice to have our own cell phones, so we can communicate!
After the parade, we went to the Park, where I did Desiree's Senior Photoshoot and the kids got to play for a couple of hours! They were happy campers! I would have been happier if I hadn't needed to hold the lens on, because one of the screw on pieces broke. But the pictures still turned out fantastic!
We packed and headed to Olathe. In separate cars, so Scott, Emma and Leah can stay for a few more days. It was nice to be able to wake up in the morning and go take my test. I had to take the PPST at a special testing center. I got 183 and 185 on the Reading and Math parts (out of 190). That makes me very happy! I also did it in in less than half of the time needed. Which is fantastic considering I would have gone crazy spending four and a half hours taking a test! Now I just have to retake a Handwriting test (and finish this semester out) and I'll be ready for Block I. Then I'll "only" have a year and a half till I graduate! Hip hip hurray!
We hung out with family until I had to head out with Ben, Kira and Cecilia. We came home and Ben and Kira went straight to bed, at six pm. That should have been my first hint! Cecilia kept me up a little later than I would have liked. Pretty soon after I went to sleep I heard one of my least favorite sounds ever! Ben was SICK! And I got to clean it up. Yuck! Usually that's Scott's job. So, he lucked out this time! I didn't feel well either, but I didn't throw up, so I consider it a SUCCESS! And Ben's feeling fine this morning. At least that's what I assume after watching him eat an apple, orange, strawberries and some Lemonade cookies. Kira is fine, so she's been "helping out." She made Ben some toaster strudels and me two "I love you" cards!

I've started my "diet"

2011-11-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

And by diet, I mean actually eating the right amount of calories, not eating junk, and not eating at all after nine. Although I did eat some carrots thirty minutes ago, at least it wasn't junk. Right? I'm not reading as much (probably because I have a ton of homework) and I am trying to exercise, but I'm stinking bad at scheduling time. In the meantime, Time Out for Women was awesome last weekend! I really do think they should expand it to be two days, instead of just a day. Here's some of my pics from it!

Michael McLain

Jericho Road

Cecilia walking around as Anthony Sweat talked. We liked the big open lobby that was perfect for toddlers to walk in!

I loved the Spirit that was there. I was really hoping to keep that for awhile! Not so much. The kids had a HARD time while I was gone! Poor kiddos! The good news is that I bought the DVD from last year (for $10, a LOT cheaper than the $50 to go). So, I can try to get that Spirit back! As often as I need to!

I'm getting busy with school, and haven't been able to craft much, but since I still need to get all of my super-cute appliqued shirts on Etsy, I am not too worried! I am looking forward to getting my photography business off the ground. I have backdrops, props, a great camera and a LOT of posing guides. I'm ready!

Application in!

2011-11-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

After working super hard yesterday and today, I got my Block I Application in (which means I'll only have 3 semesters left)! Woohoo! I've felt completely unorganized lately (imagine, having five kids and not being organized) and time has been flying! So, I'm just taking things a day at a time and to get things figured out and paperwork turned in is HUGE! It makes me happy! I rewarded my Cub Scouts for their hard work and let them watch half of Cars 2, which went over very well! Ben went ahead and finished it and was walking around with the laptop until he finished! He was super excited and told me the ending (grrrr), but he can't wait for Cars 3 (maybe in five years?)!
On another subject, this whole going to school for a ton of hours isn't good for my psyche. My girls have been crying when I leave to go to school and need tons of hugs and kisses and when I get home, Cecilia doesn't want to let go of me at all! It's so hard leaving them and I'm leaving them with their dad! They get to stay at home and play! I wonder how they're going to do this weekend when I go to Time Out for Women without them (my husband doesn't want everyone to go up)! I hope all goes well! It's so hard knowing I have to go to school in order to support them! I'm teaching them that education is important, but hope I'm not teaching them that it's more important than they are, because they are the first on my list! I LOVE my kids! I just need to go to school to be a better mom, and I hope they understand as they get older!

The Eve Before Halloween Eve

2011-10-31T23:16:00.000-05:00

Starting the pumpkin carving

Kira obviously thought it stunk!

My cute Panda and husband

They loved going to stores and getting candy on Saturday!

The start of the Costume Parade

Kira

Emma with our babysitter

Ben bobbed for apples and got one!

I LOVED watching Leah dance in the cupcake walk!

Part of my group next to our decorated Trunk

Ben and Kira on the Hayride

Seriously, an adorable Panda!

Yeah, that's it. We had lots of fun the day before yesterday! What a full day!

Fantastic FHE

2011-10-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after my third class, I got home for Scott to announce that we were going to the Park. Okay... So, I put Cecilia in her seat on my bike and Kira hopped onto the Bike extension thingy on the back. Ben and Emma were in Scott's trailer with Leah in the little seat behind Scott and we headed out. We made quite the crew going down the road and did pretty well! We had fun at the Park and I took a lot of pictures. The lighting was fantastic! Leah got dirty. No surprise there! They did so well that we decided to go to Braum's for our FHE snack and got ice cream. The kids were thrilled! We had our ice cream and bought a few groceried to head out and be waylaid by some interesting people. The guy was smoking and the lady was in my personal space asking if we planned on having more kids and I was not a happy camper! Grumble, grumble...
I am absolutely sick of people asking me personal questions because we have five kids! I am working my tail off to get a degree and be able to provide well for our children (and really to be a better mom)! Scott's going to graduate in December and we are doing the best we can for our five kids! I understand that in a few places people think that many children is leading to overpopulation, but we're in a small town and THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM!!! So, I just don't understand why people are so nosy and just plain rude! I can just smile and laugh when they say we have a handful, because we do! We have five kids and five fingers on each hand-so technically five is a hand full. But, enough of the questions! I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and know that Heavenly Father wants us to help children come into the world. We are not trying to "populate it ourselves" nor are we planning to have more than six. I'm not trying to have a TV show, because of my family. It really is no one else's business, but ours and Heavenly Father's. I love being a mom and I love my children. There is nothing wrong with that! So, in case you're tempted to do something without thinking and ask a COMPLETE STRANGER how many kids they are planning on having-please refrain yourself! Thank you!
Now off my soap box (I think it's sufficiently crushed)! We did have fun, even with the interesting people and our lesson was on family and how we should be kind. We repeated our little motto-"We are Westhoffs! We are a family! We love each other! We help each other! And we don't fight!"
Hurray for family! Now onto the pictures!

It says: "My Dad is a Superhero!"

She took a step!

Our green transportation

I let Cecilia have the last bit of my cone, because it looks like a baby cone! She loved it!

Great day trip!

2011-10-16T18:01:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday we found out about the Ward Temple Trip yesterday and signed up to go. I decided we should all go, because I really want to get the peace of the Temple in my kiddos' heads. It's really hard to explain it, unless they are there. That and I desperately wanted a Temple picture with my family for my 10th Anniversary and really didn't want to do it in the snow (Our anniversary is in December)! So, I worked incredibly hard to get a little ahead on homework, stayed up late on Friday night to make sure we were mostly ready to go when we got up in the morning. Scott woke me up at about a quarter to five and so the day began! We got everyone dressed and Scott packed up the car for me (what a sweetheart)! Then we were out of here about a quarter to six. We had to go to the store to get the rest of the stuff we needed (a car plugin for the laptop, snacks, and Redbox movies)! And then we were off! For some reason I thought it was a five hour trip and it was only 4 hours, so we got there a little after ten-with no stops! Our kids did fantastic! They just watched movies and were fine! Cecilia slept most of the way and was only sad the last bit, but was fine after some juice. We went to the Visitor's Center to: watch a movie, let the kids dress up as pioneers, and learn more about pioneers (because somehow after watching "Legacy" a ton of times, they still just don't get it)! Ben and Kira pushed the handcart, and all of the kids saw the tiny cabin that would house two families and I think it really helped them to "get it" better! We had lunch and Scott went to his Session.
I took the kids to a park. There were a ton of HUGE leaves, so I took some pictures of Cecilia in them! Awesome! We were having so much fun, until I needed to push Emma in her swing. Then I heard this kid swearing like crazy (I mean there would be one word in a sentence that wasn't a bad word)! Yikes! So, I hightailed my kids out of there and asked if they had heard what he was saying. Kira just thought he was singing and she didn't understand a word he said. I informed them to never say any words that they had heard him say! So, in order to help them be happy again, we went to Walgreen's and swapped out the Redbox DVDs (I'm telling you, whomever came up with that idea-GENIUS!)! Then they were happy again! Phew!
Then I got to go to my session! I had to hurry, because there wasn't much time for Scott to get out there (Poor guy)! I was super tired, but I really enjoyed it and learned something new! When I got into the Celestial Room, tears filled my eyes, because-FINALLY-the peace was there that I really, really needed! This was one of the main reasons that I drove four hours with my husband and all of my children! Then I left, because I knew there were a ton of people in the Session, and not many seats. I looked into the Sealing Room where Scott and I were sealed for all eternity! How lucky I am to have this church, the True Church of Jesus Christ to help me! To seal my family together forever! I feel very blessed!
I changed and went outside to see Leni Hester-a family friend and fantastic photographer! She did our Wedding pictures and I asked if she could come take a family picture for me, and she did! Although she was super busy (she has her own studio), she and her husband did what they needed, so she could come take our family picture. Seriously, what an awesome person! She dealt very well with Ben, who had decided that now was not the time for family pictures and he wasb't interested in behaving. Bummer! I still think she did a fantastic job and I'm looking forward to seeing how it came out!
After that we walked around and I took individual pictures of the kids and the Temple and a few of just the Temple and the kids together. It was quite the ordeal! They did so well though, we ate Taco Bell on the Park lawn before we headed back on that long trip!
We only had one long stop and then Scott took over driving! I was able to take some scenic pictures and watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2! A great movie! We got into town, returned the Redbox DVDs, got a few groceries and were home! Hurray! We made it through! Then Cecilia was wired, so it took her awhile to go to sleep! It gave me time to download pictures, but I'm still pretty tired. As usual, I will continue to eat to stay awake and hopefully I can go to bed earlier tonight! I hope, I hope!

My little Pioneers

Pulling for all they're worth!

Cecilia and Emma

I liked both of these!

Oh this face! She cracks me up!

Emma climbed the Giraffe!

Kira climbed the web!

Ben reading in the middle of the web!

After the family pictures. So, Ben was still throwing a fit and Leah refused to sit by her siblings! I kept having to drag her back over!

Our picnic before leaving Omaha.

Watching the new Barbie movie for the Second time!

I was very excited to get this picture!

Emma is touching this butterfly. This was at the Visitor's Center, but for some reason won't let me move it up to those pictures. Oh well!

Another one of these too, I love this stained glass! Beautiful!

October!

2011-10-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

So, although it's been October for almost a week, I've been frantically trying to keep up. Some days my five kiddos really are a "handful!" Other days aren't a problem at all! We got to go up to Olathe on Friday evening. I made four shirts for birthday kiddos on Thursday night to prepare for all of the fun. (Although two shirts went to a friend's kiddo). I made a whole Birthday outfit for my niece, because I refuse to buy her toys (she has plenty)! It turned out very well! Hurray!

She really liked it! She even wore it to IHOP later! I hope it washes well!

I also made a tractor shirt for my nephew and he loved his too, see?

I love family! We're so lucky to have big families that want to share celebrations with us!
This week I had a midterm almost everyday this week, except Monday when I had to teach (with a partner) our class about the Skeletal System, as they acted like first-graders. There are some very good actors in our class... But they liked all of the activities! We did the Skeleton Dance, made Skeletoni and had a Skeleton Relay using the felt bones I velcroed to fabric! Fun times! I'm really looking forward to teaching the actual class! On Friday I had lots of fun taking out my new backdrops and taking pictures after velcroing them up. Woohoo! I should probably upload those pictures. Maybe later. Today I got to shop for my kiddos and got a super awesome present for me-a triple jogging stroller! Hurray! I'm going to start running with my kiddos in the morning as I drop Ben and Kira off at school. I can do it! I need to lose a lot of weight and I desperately miss running! Kira went with me to help close up the sale (it was one of those consignment sales)! Poor kiddo had no idea what she was signing up for! I was incredibly sore when I got home, but not so much anymore. Phew! If I get my bottom in gear, I'm going to make a healthy menu and actually plan before grocery shopping. Ben has to do it for his Wolf, so I'm thinking that that will help! I'm going to "Keep Moving Forward!"

The Outer Edge of Heaven Book Review

2011-09-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

The Outer Edge of Heaven by Jaclyn Hawkes is a sweet contemporary romance and I was very excited to read and review it!

About the book-

When Charlie’s parents become overbearing and want to arrange her entire life for her, including the man she’ll marry, she decides she needs a breather. What better place to clear your mind than Montana, with all those wide open spaces and blue skies? She accepts a job working on a ranch belonging to her best friend’s family and soon feels like a member of that family herself. And meeting handsome rancher Luke Langston just might be the best part of it all …if only they weren’t so incredibly different.

My Thoughts

Wow! I absolutely LOVED this book. I could not put it down, not to do homework, not to sleep, not to clean house, nada! So, my poor family had to live without a lot of my help for the few hours it took me to read it! I couldn't help, but to feel sorry for poor Charlie. She's been bossed around her whole life, because she's not willing to fight her parents and her best friend is a guy who completely understands her and is a great big brother character! Who else would encourage you to go off to a place you've never been before to live with his relatives for a summer? Then you add in the gorgeous cousin of her friend, the creepy guy and a lot of interesting family members and you have quite a lot going on. I happen to love that, because it seems like I get bored easily when I don't get enough sleep, so hurray! Fantastic book! I would encourage everyone to buy a copy and luckily it's only $7.95 to get in on the Kindle (which I also love)! Go here to buy it, you know you want to!

The Best Day Ever (if you ask Kira)

2011-09-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

So, this week I realized that we drive by Pome on the Range everytime we go to and from Olathe and I have always wanted to stop and pick something (peaches, apples, berries...). Scott and I decided it was doable and planned to go today (Saturday)! We told the kids and invited my parents (it is the halfway point) on Friday. I had to get the excitement level up to encourage them to get their chores done before we left. Getting my kiddos to do their chores is like pulling teeth. Not just any teeth either. Molars. The big ones. In the very back. This caused us to leave when I planned on being there. It still worked out okay though! Phew! My niece was even able to come with my parents! Hurray! It was incredibly fun/funny watching my kids! Cecilia had a blast trying to eat the straw out of the bottom of the wagon. Leah and Emma were content to pick up nasty apples off the ground (which I nixed immediately). Then Emma discovered that she could climb some of the trees and she was excited! Kira wanted to take millions of apples off the trees using the cool picking tool. Ben wanted to jump, jump to get his apples. The concentration on his face was awesome! We got started picking apples and then I found a nice spot for pictures. You know how I love pictures! I even brought two cameras. Scott took pictures and I took pictures. After I write this up, I will put Scott's pictures on the computer. He probably got some really good ones! Sometimes it's a matter of luck with kiddos! Then my parents and Alexis came and my kids were thrilled! They went running down the aisle/lane/whatever it's called to be with them! We went to the very back of the row, yes, that's it! There the apple trees were the perfect size for little girls and their helping adults (mainly my Husband and Dad)! Between all of us, we picked over 30 pounds of apples. Yum! I managed to "lose" my purse which of course I didn't notice until it was time to pay at the counter. Whoops! Scott got to pay, while I went searching down the rows and found it! I'm super glad that I brought the bright orange and yellow purse. It was very easy to find! All-in-all, I took a TON of pictures! Plus my mom and dad took some family pictures! I love family pictures! We came home and put my pictures ont he computer and I probably drove my husband crazy with the which one do you like better...how about this one...questions. Poor guy! Then I went to the RS Broadcast. I agree with Emma, not the best day ever (which Kira said), but still a good day.

Kira was the first one to pick an apple!

My first kiddo photoshoot in the apples

Cecilia next to a good apple, no she didn't pick it. I think she was too scared!

Lexi's first apple picked. You can't tell, but she's still in the tree!

Leah loved having Papaw help her!

Cecilia with some straw in her hand!

See how hard Ben's concentrating?

Kira picked this super cute little apple and I just wanted to get a picture of Cecilia with it. THis is what she did immediately! How funny! We took it away right after the picture!

See Kira has a ton!

So did Emma! I love how she posed everytime she got some! What a great kid!

Behind the kids are 30 pounds of apples!

Cecilia swinging in the little playground

Our family by the little duck/geese pond

Our family tree!

Winner of the Blog Hop

2011-09-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

Because I want to close it a little early (tomorrow is Sunday after all), I went ahead and visited random.org and we have a Winner! Lucky #15 won!

Maria Hoagland said...

New follower and liked your FB page. Such cute shirts :)

September 23, 2011 9:40 AM

So, I will try and find your email via your Google account or you can comment with your email lettling me know what you would like! Thanks to all!

Another Blog Hop Giveaway!

2011-09-22T04:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the September Blog Hop! Celebrate the beginning of fall with me and my blogger friends by hopping around, visiting our sites, and entering our contests! There are no limits - you can enter the contest on every blog. With over 40 blogs participating, that's over 40 prizes you could win. Just click on the links below to move on to the next blog.

On my blog, you can win …

Anything from my new Facebook page-My Five Silly Geese Boutique, or if you don't have kids or want a custom appliqued shirt, then I will let you pick something from Amazon under $20.

Would you like to win this prize? You just need to do two things.

1. Become a follower of this blog and a fan of my store (so you can see the wall to pick something).

2. Leave me a comment in the trail and tell me why you'd like to win this prize.

That's it! You are now entered. The contest ends on Saturday night, September 24th, at midnight MST, and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter. Please either leave your e-mail address in the comment trail or make sure it's visible through your profile so I can contact you to tell you that you're the lucky winner.

Now go visit my other friends ...

September Blog Hop Participants

1. Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author

2. Joyce DiPastena

3. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

4. Mandi Slack

5. Michael D. Young

6. Six Mixed Reviews

7. Pam Williams

8. Laurie Lewis

9. Kristy Tate

10. Marilyn Yarbrough

11. Stacy Coles

12. Kristie Ballard

13. Lynn Parsons

14. Pushing Past the Pounds

15. Sheila Staley

16. cindy Hogan

17. Jamie Thompson

18. Jaclyn Weist

19. Cathy Witbeck

20. Secret Sisters Mysteries

21. Tamera Westhoff

22. Tina Scott

23. Lynnea Mortensen

24. Danyelle Ferguson aka Queen of the Clan

25. Jeanette A. Fratto

26. Bonnie Harris

27. Melissa Lemon

28. Mary Ann Dennis

29. Stephanie Black

30. Jane Still

31. Janice

32. Laura Bastian

33. Tamara Bordon

34. Betsy Love

35. Maria Hoagland

36. Amber Robertson

37. Debbie Davis

38.

39. Christy Monson

40. Carolyn Frank

41. Rebecca Birkin

42. Melissa Cunningham

43. Emily L. Moir

44. Ronda Hinrichsen

45. Lisa Asanuma

46. Joan Sowards

47. Jordan McCollum

48. Diane Stringam Tolley

Learn more about September Blog Hop here.

Get The Code

My new niece

2011-09-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

My family and I were able to come up North to attend my brother's baby's blessing! She is so little still (she's about two weeks old already)! It's crazy to look at my big baby versus this little newborn! I just got a new camera, in the hopes of getting a Photo business going. I have a ton of props, and some super cute stuff to get started! Anyway, on to the cute pictures of my niece (I took them all with my new camera)!

With her daddy

With her great-grandma!

A "break" with one of Cecilia. I LOVE it!

"Great" American Market

2011-09-11T19:50:00.000-05:00

I should have known better. I gave myself three weeks to make a huge stash of things to sell. With being a mom of five kids, a Den mom and a full-time student, I'm not sure what I was thinking! I got a few things done before Friday and then worked liked crazy on Friday, without going to sleep. Yeah. Second bad idea. So, I quickly fed Cecilia before six in the morning, got everything in the car and parked a couple blocks away to tote my items for sale and the table in two trips. That actually kept me warm for the first little while, which was great because I was freezing for the first few hours (I forgot my jacket)! My back kept seizing up and I'm pretty sure the bucket I was sitting on wasn't very helpful! Oh well! I managed to make a couple tutus while waiting for more customers! I didn't make much in the morning at all. Scott came and brought the kids for a little bit and we had tacos and fruit for lunch. I fed Cecilia again, enough to last her to the end! I actually had a couple people ask me to make things and sign up to be in my crafts class that I'm starting. Hurray! I have wanted to teach craft classes for awhile. My sister-in-law was kind enough to initially teach me to make bows and it led to me loving it and learning to make lots of different new things! So, I would like to do the same thing for others! That and I love teaching (hence the reason I'm in school to become a Teacher)! Either way I learned people really like John Deere everything and my cute Turkey shirts! I love the Turkey shirts too, so I don't blame them! Fun times... I was by myself so I had to run to a booth to get drinks when I ran out of water in both of my water bottles. I had to do that twice. So, I got enough to drink, but forgot suntan lotion and burned. Luckily only a little! I had great deals at the end, and ended up "making" $100. That doesn't include what I spent making it (by any means), so I will be selling items in my WePay Store, as soon as I get them on there! If I'm smart I will put the hyperlink in here once I do! Danyelle, in case you read this, I sold at least one of your books! I'm going to talk to people at RS on Tuesday too! I was exhausted, but got everything packed back up and managed to get a few groceries, make dinner and was out a little after nine. So out that I didn't turn off the light and when I woke up at five I was pretty surprised! I'm glad I tried it out, but I doubt I'll do it again. Here's some pics!

My setup

I also have the opposite (K-State crushing KU) and a regular green one.

The Turkey shirt

John Deere tractor and I also did a plain green tractor

Tie shirt

K-State one and I have KU and Chiefs

The John Deere Diaper Cake

Another Diaper Cake

The Pink Zebra Diaper Cake (also has swim diapers)

The boy's tool diaper cake

Thursday Tutorial-How to make a Cupcake Shirt Part 1

2011-09-08T00:00:00.001-05:00

I had to make one of these for Emma, because her birthday is coming up and I refuse to pay $30 for a birthday shirt. I won't tell you how much I paid for everything, but I will be making a considerable amount more than one shirt, so it's okay!

Supplies need: Pretty fabric or two (at least 1 foot), Tulle in a coordinating color(s) to the fabric(s), scissors, heat n bond (single sheet should be fine), needle and thread. You also need the pattern, which I will try to remember to include a pdf file for you to click on. If I don't though, just draw out a cupcake bottom, trace the bottom of a big cup for the tulle circles and the bottom of a smaller cup for the fabric circles.

Now we can begin. First pick the "cupcake" fabric. For this one I used actual cupcake fabric. I am also doing zebra print ones. I may show those in part 2.

Turn fabric wrong side up and iron on the heat n bond (following the package instructions).

Trace (or freehand) the cupcake wrappers.

Cut them out!

Cut out the large tulle circles. You need at least 4 per icing circle and three icing circles per shirt, so 12 tulle circles.

Cut 12 smaller fabric circles too.

Go ahead and iron on the cupcake wrapper (so you don't lose it), following the package instructions.

Now comes the super hard part! Making these fun little icing circles. You want to follow this tutorial here to figure out that part and then come back. JUST DO NOT GLUE ANYTHING! I chose to simply layer one set of tulle circles and then one set of fabric circles, but you can do it whatever way you would like! I sewed the sides together which seemed to work to keep them in their spots as I wanted.

Here they are with all three icing circles gently sewn on. When I add the centers, I'll sew a LOT more! I want those to stay on!

This tutorial is super long, so to be continued...

New niece!

2011-09-07T21:28:00.000-05:00

Because my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) had her first baby today (she's adorable and I'm looking very much forward to doing her baby pictures when I go back up), I thought I would do a little walk down memory lane. And then I thought of all the people who do cool posts about their kiddos on their birthdays, so I'll wait! What can I say? I'm seriously wanting a root beer float, because of the sample (only one scoop in a little cup of root beer) we got after Cub Scouts. Although we made little teepees in Cub Scouts tonight. Fun! Mine turned out pretty well! Maybe I'll post a picture later. Ben kept asking me what hieroglyphs made up the Egyptian gods' names. I'm not that cool Ben. Sorry!

Thursday Tutorial (late)

2011-09-02T23:55:00.001-05:00

While I wait for my awesome video to download on Facebook, I'll post one of my tutorials that I made. This is for you Danyelle (since I wasn't sure which headbands you were talking about)!

Supplies needed: Hot glue gun with extra sticks (they get used fast in this project), fake flowers, desired hair clip and coordinating ribbon if you want to cover the clip.

Directions:

First you start out with a silk flower or group of flowers. These were on clearance at Wal-mart.

Then you pull it off by its top (or head)

Here's the group of flowers ready to be made into bows/headbands!

Then you pull off the ugly green part on the back.

You take off all the petals startig from the bottom.

Line them up in order and decide whether you want to keep that middle or not (I usually don't).

Start from the bottom layer

and put a glue circle around the center hole.

Repeat until out of layers.

Hot glue whatever you're putting in the middle on top.

Place it and voila! The top is done!

Then you put a hot glue line in the center of the back and stick the top part of the clip (the one that sticks up) to it! You're all done if you want a clip! If you want a headband you'll have to wait for that tutorial! Sorry, but it's been a loooong day!

Crying...

2011-09-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

I now remember why I stink so much at making dentist appointments. Today I had to have two teeth roots removed. The dentist and hygienist did an awesome job (don't get me wrong). I was in and out of there in about an hour! But the whole mouth bleeding thing is not my favorite! I don't like the taste of gauze, I really don't like the metallic taste of blood, and I forgot to eat before the appointment. Ugh! To add to that, I have kiddos. While I was getting my teeth pulled Scott had them in the waiting room and after I was done, the two littlest got more shots (we are dreadfully behind). So, they're needy and I'm needy and Scott has work. I am so glad he has a job though! That is what is helping me get through this. I'm usually at school for almost all of quiet time and obviously Scott hasn't been keeping it going, so it's not going so well. Bummer! I need a nap. Somehow. If my kids would stop fighting and screaming at each other would be fantastic too! I know, I ask too much! I can hear Leah sobbing upstairs right now. Probably because Emma took something and put it somewhere. I love my kids.

WINNER!

2011-09-01T00:14:00.000-05:00

Lucky #3 was picked by my very own random number picker (my son, who really should have been in bed)! So, congratulations: MDYBYU said...

thecanticlekingdom at gmail dot com

I'm a new follower. I have a three year old, so I'd love to see things that could be used to decorate a little boy's room.
August 29, 2011 1:04 PM

I will be emailing you shortly! And because I love to "give things away" I will be slowly posting tutorials to everything I can that you asked for! Enjoy!

Blog Hop and win!

2011-08-28T22:11:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the Awesome August Blog Hop, where bloggers from all over the Internet have come together to throw a summertime party!

Every blog on this hop is offering a fun prize, and entering is quick and easy. Simply follow the instructions on each blog, leave a comment, and bop right along to the next blog. You can win multiple times, so be sure to check out all the participating blogs!

On my blog, you can win one book from Amazon under $20! Yes, any book! You can readome of my reviews or favorite authors if you need suggestions!

To enter:
1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Tell me what craft you would like to see made!

3. Leave me a comment and tell me that you've done both things. If your e-mail isn't available through your profile, I'll need you to leave that, too - I can't tell you if you've won if I can't contact you!

This blog hop runs through Wednesday night at midnight, so be sure to enter before then! The winner will be notified by e-mail.

Now that you've entered my contest, come meet all my other blog friends and see what fun things they are offering!

Awesome August Blog Hop Participants

1. Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author
2. Karen Hoover
3. Michael Young
4. Kristy Tate
5. cindy Hogan
6. Julie Bellon
7. Margot Hovley
8. Laurie Lewis
9. Mandi Slack
10. Melanie Jacobson
11. Joyce DiPastena
12. Renae Mackley

13. Debbi Weitzell
14. Donna Hatch
15. Carolyn Frank
16. Marsha Ward
17. Stacy Coles
18. Bonnie Harris
19. Danyelle Ferguson aka Queen of the Clan
20. Diony George
21. Lisa Asanuma
22. Susan Dayley
23. Christine Bryant @ Day Dreamer
24. Stephanie Humphreys

25. Ranee` Clark
26. Tamera Westhoff
27. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
28. Heather Justesen
29. Rebecca Talley
30. Jennifer Hurst
31. Aimee Brown
32. Cheryl Christensen
33. Rachelle Christensen
34. Imaginary Reads
35. Andrea Pearson

Learn more about Awesome August Blog Hop here.
View More Awesome August Blog Hop Participants
Get The Code

Tuesdays

2011-08-23T21:40:00.001-05:00

Oh, Tuesdays... Why do you have to be so busy? Here's my day:
6:26-We hear Cecilia crying in the hall. What! Save the baby! Scott brings her to me to eat.
6:27-Scott turns to me and asks if I set the alarm. Yes, to go off in three minutes. I try to go back to sleep.
7:30-I wake up and make sure Ben got his medicine and we have family prayer before Scott leaves.
8:20-Scott comes home (he had to drop a class that he didn't want to take) and I manage to scarf down some food as I top Cecilia off. I check my email to find I have a review/giveaway due today, so quickly throw that online while Kira keeps telling me that we need to go. I know!
8:40-AAhhhhh!!! Hurry to get out of the house. Why are Ben's pants on backwards?? Make the kids run as Ben yells about having to hurry to school. It doesn't make me happy! (I couldn't tell.) I let them walk the last block and take off on my bike.
8:55-Get to school and get my big ol' Art packet out of a locker to head up to my Basic Drawing class.
9:00-Basic Drawing begins. We had to bring a unique item, so I brought my "Pregnant Pitcher," which manages to fall off my bench and breaks its arm off. It's almost ten years old and I manage to break it in Art class. Sheesh.
11:40-After repeatedly drawing my now broken pitcher and a group of items(mailbox, luggage, wine bottle and water container) over and over in squeaky charcoal, we can leave! I put the stuff back in the locker and bike home.
12:00-I feed the baby as fast as I can and drink at least half a bottle of water.
12:20-Oh no! Bike back to school for my IT class. I get there right on the dot!
12:30-IT class and I'm thirsty and starving! I drink water and chew gum until she lets us go, ten minutes early too!
1:50-Bike home in the 102 degree heat. Bad car drivers! Aaahhhh!!!!
2:05-get home. Feed the baby and Scott helps me make my "lunch." I finally got to eat!
3:15-drive Scott to school, because we can't pull five kids in a bike trailer. Go straight home, because I forgot to make Kira a paper Zoey in my Cricut. Work fast, but still only get half done! Leah is asleep, so I have to bring the stroller too!
3:45-try to leave to get Ben and Kira from school, but it takes me another five minutes to even get out of the house! So, I'm late picking them up.
4:00-get back home with a very whiney Kira (Why do we have to ride in the car, it's so hot, I wish I could walk...) and have to finish Zoey FAST, so I work on that instead of figuring out things!
4:35-leave with the kids to go to school and swap out with Scott. Luckily he carries around a schedule, so he could tell me where I needed to go!
5:00-go to Music Teacher class, see two women from church, FUN! I like this class a lot, but am glad it's only once a week!
6:40-class ends and I wait for Scott and the kids to get me. I call to let them know we got out early and Kira tells me to wait where they dropped me off. A seven-year-old bossing me around. Yeah.
6:50sh-They show up and we go to the nearest grocery store. It's expensive, but I'm Stah-ving! So, I get food and we came home.
7:30-make French bread pizza, so I can eat dinner. Have to put the kids to bed after a couple bites. Bummer! I sing to the girls and Leah gives me a very sweet peck on my cheek! She loves her hug and kiss! So, do the other girls, but it's new for Leah.
8:00-Watch "What not to wear" as I finish my whole half of the french bread. I was so hungry!
9:00-finally feed Cecilia enough, so she goes to sleep. Phew! Ben is still awake, so I can finally trim his nails. He was proud of me for being careful. Good news!
Now, exhausted, Ben is still wide awake and I'm still super thirsty. Good times at the Westhoffs! This may seem kinda crazy, but oh so much better that my friend's day! She had to have surgery for a very sad reason and I was super worried about her! I'm so glad that she's okay and that the Relief Society steps up with no problem, so she was well taken care of! I still want to send them a pizza though. Their Pizza Hut is online, so I can order it from here... I did send her a present via Amazon, so hopefully she gets that soon. It shipped today. I figure she needs something after going through all that she has! That and I love buying presents and her birthday is coming up...

Remembering

2011-08-21T15:51:00.000-05:00

Because I don't feel like writing about something new, I'm going to write about my favorite thing on earth: my family. So, enjoy old family pictures!

So, we're going to go backwards in time, starting from now.

Our family in 2009

When Emma was the newbie

I still LOVE this picture! When we had an "average" size family. Ha!

When I was pregnant with Kira

Ben's first Christmas

And one of my favorite Wedding pictures. The snowflake fell just right, so it looks like I have a blindingly white smile. Nice!

There you have it, a little family trip back in time. I might do this more often, since I have a TON of pictures!

Another week

2011-08-14T16:11:00.000-05:00

I should probably accept the fact that I'm super busy and won't plan out my time well enough to blog more often, but that's okay! In the meantime, here's the pile of catchup pictures:

Our family

My sisters and I (Yes, we're all pretty, and they're all single...)

The Foreman clan

Melissa cut Leah's hair and it looks great!

A blast from my past-Nata came to visit and we got to hang out for a day!

The applique I made for Ben's shirt

The appliques and matching hair clip I made for Kira. She only wore the hair clip. Gggrrr...

Goofing off before school. See how Ben is actually wearing the shirt I decorated?

After school and before Kira started crying about getting into trouble on the first day of school.

The special snacks I made that made the school day better. Phew! I really need them to go to school daily! I also made snacks for me! White chocolate cherries, YUM!

Emma fell asleep. What a crackup!

Okay, to fill in the blanks now. I finished Summer school and ended up with 2 A's and an A- (in Math, so I was THRILLED)! I read some fantastic books! I will be reviewing them soon. We "vacationed" in Olathe for almost a week. We got Foreman pictures done. Mainly mom had a friend come and an old family friend was there and just snapped pictures! Nice! We're such a huge crew it takes alot to get a good picture!

We came home on Tuesday and got everything for school on Wednesday and then I stayed up till 3 am working on the kids' shirts, because I wanted them to have something special for their first day of school (and I wanted to use my new sewing machine). Kira said she would wear her shirt the next day (she didn't). Ben wasn't sure about his shirt until I reminded him that he picked it with mamaw. Oh, okay. I was glad he wore it! Kira, on the other hand, is not a very grateful child and will be a lot less likely to get me to make her anything else. I think I'll stick to my baby and preschoolers! They're a lot more fun! Although in all reality we're having Kira tested to see if she has something else going on and she does, but still don't know for sure what. They want to see her a few times before labelling her, which is fine by me! She cried on the way home from school because she had five minutes of recess taken away and they only get 15 minutes! I'm still upset about that. I understand the whole punishing a kiddo for talking (because Kira absolutely has a hard time listening), but taking away recess is a no-go for me. I think she should have had to do something to help the teacher instead. Personal opinion.

Leah is talking a ton now! And today before her bath, she said she had to go potty! She needed the soft potty seat and a book, but she went! Woohoo! I'm very proud!
Meanwhile, Cecilia started crawling! She does a little hop and may launch herself forward, and then military crawl, but she gets around!
Scott got a job at school which thrills me! He'll be doing maintenance on Wednesdays and Fridays. I have a very full class schedule and am very excited to start into more real classes. Especially my basic drawing class! I have been very impatiently waiting to take this class and made sure that I put it first and then added the other ones! I really am excited! I also just ordered a Cricut on ebay, plus bought some crafty stuff and will hopefully be able to make things occassionally in the hopes of opening a store online by December. That's the plan. We'll see how it goes!

The Key of Kilenya

2011-08-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

Book Summary

When two vicious wolves chase fourteen-year-old Jacob Clark down a path from our world into another, his life is forever changed. He has no idea they have been sent by the Lorkon—evil, immortal beings who are jealous of powers he doesn't know he possesses, powers they desire to control.

The inhabitants of the new world desperately need Jacob's help in recovering a magical key that was stolen by the Lorkon and is somehow linked to him. If he helps them, his life will be at risk. But if he chooses not to help them, both our world and theirs will be in danger. The Lorkon will stop at nothing to unleash the power of the key--and Jacob's special abilities.

About the Author

Andrea is an avid reader and outdoor-er, who loves traveling. She and her husband (AKA Mr. Darcy) were married only a few months ago, and have settled near a river that someday will probably overflow and flood their house.

It took her nearly a lifetime to do so (nine years), but she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in Communications Disorders from Brigham Young University. She plans to open a flying bicycle shop eventually, but for the time being, she is happy teaching orchestra to elementary students.

My Thoughts

Wow! This was an awesome book! Here I am in the last week of summer school drowning in school work, and I didn't want to do any homework in order to read this book! I fell asleep a couple times while reading, because I had a hard time stopping. You know how it is, "I'll stop reading before the next chapter...Maybe when it slows down..." It starts off with action and never slows down! I was very sad when it ended! I hope there are a LOT of books in this series and even a pre-book that gives more info than the journal entries! I love all the different creatures that I can imagine how they look! She "illustrates" her characters and the places they are in an incredible way, but still leaves enough room to imagine the rest (especially the Lorkons). Andrea is a fantastic writer and I'm thoroughly looking forward to more of her books!
If you like action and/or Sci-Fi books, then this book is for you! It is about a teenager, but could be good for pre-teens and up! Matter-of-fact Ill let my (advanced) 8-year-old read it and see what he thinks too! I have a feeling that he won't be too happy when he finds out it is just the one in the series so far!

Buy it!
You can buy this fantastic book here for $13.95 or the ebook version for .99!
Do it, you know you want to!

This book is on tour!

August 1st: Jenni James
August 3rd: Nichole Giles
August 5th: Me!
August 8th: Gail Zuniga
August 10th: Cindy Hogan
August 12th: Canda Mortensen
August 13th: Lynn Parsons
August 19th: Heather Justesen
August 25th: John Waverly

*I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes, and was not paid for my opinions (maybe someday I will be)!

Tristi Pinkston's upcoming book!

2011-07-31T00:00:00.002-05:00

Author Tristi Pinkston is excited to announce the release of the third novel in her Secret Sisters Mysteries series.

Titled Hang ‘em High, this novel takes place on a dude ranch in Montana. When Ida Mae’s son invites her to come for a visit, of course she brings Arlette and Tansy along with her. They are expecting to spend the week looking at horses, avoiding the cows, and making amends in Ida Mae’s relationship with her son. What they don’t expect is to be stuck on the ranch in the middle of a blizzard and to be thrust headlong into the middle of a mystery.

***

Help Tristi celebrate her new novel in two ways. First, come participate in the two-week-long blog contest, where you can win a book nearly every single day! All the details are up on Tristi’s blog.

Second, come to the book launch!

You are invited to an

August Authorama!

Saturday, August 13th

Pioneer Book, 858 S. State, Orem

12 – 4 pm

Games, prizes, balloons, face painting,

and Dutch oven cobbler

prepared by world champion cook

Keith Fisher.

Authors Tristi Pinkston, J. Lloyd Morgan, Cindy Hogan,

Nichole Giles, and Heather Justesen

will all be there to sign books.

This is one book launch event

you will not want to miss!

One more day in my 20s

2011-07-20T17:24:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow starts my first day in the 30s. I've been "living it up" this month to end my 20s strong! In all reality I've accomplished a lot in my 20s! For instance,
I found my very own Mr. Right.

I got married.

I've had 5 kids

and gone to three colleges (BYU, JCCC, and now ESU). (I will be graduating in my 30s, obviously.)
I have moved nine times.
I learned how to take pictures professionally at Target. I got my CDL and drove a school bus for two years. I have started to try and help our neighborhood park and we've raised $1000 so far! I learned how to make awesome stuff and am now working on my very own logo and website. I originally wanted to do a From the Heart thing, then changed it to The Creative Side of Things and now I'm liking "My Five Little Turkeys." What do you think?
I've gained a ton of weight plus 40 pounds, and lost a ton of weight. (I still need to lose 40 pounds, if only ice cream wasn't so yummy and Braum's so close!)
I've started biking regularly (everywhere but the other side of town).
I review for another blog (see sidebar button) and review books here. I LOVE getting free things and letting others know what I think, so they save their time!
So, yeah, a lot for a ten year span and I am proud! Tired, but proud!

Review: All that was Promised by Vickie Hall

2011-07-15T00:01:00.002-05:00

In All that was Promised by Vickie Hall, we get to read a different kind of LDS novel, one that puts you into the early Welsh Saints' shoes! There is romance, mystery, some history, and more!

From Vickie Hall's website
In 1847 Wales Methodist Minister Richard Kenyon converts to Mormonism. Richard’s newfound faith is put to the test when he faces the anger of his former congregation, his wife’s indecisiveness, his brother’s betrayal, and the murderous intentions of misinformed villagers.
In her blog she tells some of the background information for her book:
My Welsh great-great grandparents, James and Ann Ellis, wrote in their journals of a love spoon carved by James and given to Ann prior to their marriage. Their journals became a great resource to me in writing All That Was Promised and provided me with a real sense of life in 19th century Wales.
She also has recipes here!

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was very well-written and gave me a feeling of what their life had been like! It was amazing reading of the conversion of the once prostitute! It was sad to think of how many people were disinherited from their family due to joining the church. I liked hearing the places people were from! My father-in-law served his mission in Cardiff, Pontypridd and another place that was mentioned. Since he is now gone from this world and can't read this book (which I'm sure he would have loved), I thought I'd add a picture of him on his mission!

I can't remember what area this is, but he served in Wales! Back to the book. I would have loved to find out what happened to the characters. Is there going to be another book that has the Saints crossing the ocean and making it to Utah? How much of this book is based on fact? I would love to read some of the journal entries that she used to write this book, because you really feel like you are in the story and one of the Saints that is being bullied for greed. Those poor Saints! A great read for everyone, but especially those who know what it's like to be a new convert and those who don't, so you can better sympathize!

Buy it!
You can buy it here on Amazon for $11.99 for the real copy and $9.99 for the Kindle version!

*These are my opinions. I was sent a book in order to facilitate my review, but not paid for my thoughts!*

Mad craziness and Peace

2011-07-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

Last week we dropped Scott off up north for the week and came home to fireworks. He worked for his mom and I started a new Summer class. A friend so kindly watched my children while I went to class for two days and then Kira was contagious, so that was an all-day horribleness. I really missed Scott! I got all teary talking to him on the phone. We don't do separation much, so it was a little sad. But, everyone was good by Friday afternoon, so we went back up north! We went swimming (Cecilia's first time), ate pizza, and spent time with family.
We were up super late, but got up in the morning to do what I've been wanting to do for awhile, a Kansas City Temple visit. I hadn't been since the Groundbreaking over a year ago! When all of the family was rocking our pink zebra stripes, we headed out! The kids were so excited when they saw the Temple! "The Temple, the Temple!" They wanted to go see it up close, so weren't too happy about all of the picture stops on the way! The Temple still has some work to be done, but I am super excited to have Temple pictures to remind my kids what our goal is! I want us to be able to go into the Temple for the Open House and help my children understand why Temples are so important! They are the best place to get married, and the only place to be sealed forever! Hurray for Temples! So, here are a few of my favorites. I didn't take the family ones, but did take all the rest! As Leah said, "Bye Temple, bye."

So, now we're back, back to the "rat race." Back to the craziness of a 16-week course condensed into 4 weeks. Back to a messy house that I can't seem to keep as clean as I would like. Back to regular life and the craziness that it is. But, I will be going back to the Temple and will once again forget time and be at peace!
While we were up there I got to play games with family! We played Settlers of Zarahemla (which I sorely lost) and Fruit Basket (like Hearts). I also got to hang out with Danyelle! She's so fun! She let me pick a place for dinner and we got to eat at Oklahoma Joe's! Yum! Then we went back to her house and played Settlers. She beat me, but barely! I had 11 points! Next time, Danyelle, next time!

My pretties...

2011-06-29T00:21:00.001-05:00

So, last week I spent a ton of time on this here diaper cake. I LOVE my brother and sister-in-law (and had lots of size 2 Pampers diapers that Cecilia has long since grown out of), so I wanted to make a diaper cake. They aren't cheap, even if you make your own. I used this tutorial and this is what I came up with.

I even personalized the wipes box! It was my first time with that as well, so I think I did a pretty good job!
They seemed to like it!
I was beyond excited when my mom said I could borrow her sewing machine while she looks at mine to see if she can fix it! I got it on Saturday, and couldn't do anything with it on Sunday (but look at it longingly). Monday we went to Wal-mart and got the material I wanted (pink zebra stripes satin). I let the girls pick and luckily they picked the one I picked. Phew! It was $4 a yard and I got about three yards. I had already bought the girls' shirts, so I was ready! As soon as the kids went to sleep, I got to work! I made t-shirt dresses using this tutorial, and then used the leftover t-shirt material to add flowers using this tutorial. Mainly all you do is cut out at least six hearts, sew loosely up the middle, pull it tight and sew onto the fabric. I came up with these dresses from those two! I think they turned out amazing (especially considering what a novice I am at sewing)!

This is Cecilia's dress, although it's made a little different, because I had a SUPER hard time figuring out how to sew them together. Um, yeah. I'm very excited about using the different colored hearts on each and I saved enough to put on a shirt for me, so I can match too! I have some satin left, but not quite enough to make a skirt. Bummer! So, I'll be thinking. We'll see what I come up with!
I also made matching flowers! I'm going to put Cecilia's on a headband, of course!

Here's the result:

That's what I've been up to lately. And I do mean late! Need more sleep...

The Roller Coaster of Life

2011-06-17T21:06:00.000-05:00

So, I keep being proven right (which is very nice). I like to say that I handle big things/problems a lot better than small things. And I can! The past two days (and tomorrow) are Cub Scout Day Camp. I had the opportunity to be one of the walk-in leaders (I am the Wolf Den Leader) for our boys. They are some fun boys! Each one is fantastic at something (if not more than one thing) and it has been a lot of fun getting to know our boys' personalities a little better! Don't get me wrong, they are completely 8-11 year old boys and as such you can't take everything they do at face value, but they're all great kids! I actually had a few of the boys fighting to push the stroller for me! The look of extreme excitement on each boy's face the first time they caught a fish, got the bullseye with their arrow, popped a balloon, got a good score with the beebee gun, didn't break their egg in the egg drop and/or blew up a bottle rocket! If only I could have caught every one of those expressions... Here are some of my favorites:

As for the "big" things around here... We've got the whole having to cancel our only debit cards, because of the thief. It might take another week for us to get our new cards. We have the kids waking up in the middle of the night and Leah falling down the stairs and bleeding (as Emma told us at about 3 this morning). Scott took her to the ER and she ended up with only one stitch. Scott says she did really well!

And the third thing is Cecilia has busted out her first tooth! No wonder she's been having such a hard time sleeping (which is why I haven't gotten a full night's rest in a...while)!
And I'm doing fine with all of that and Day Camp. But, I really need the day off tomorrow and Scott says he'll fill in! I hope he can wake up in the morning! I hope, I hope!

So fast, life is good again!

2011-06-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

So, the bank very kindly put the money back in while they investigate! Cecilia took a good nap. I won a book! I made a ton of hair clips for my new blog. Yes, I'm beginning to sell my fun stuff that I make! I really enjoy making things and if I want to be able to afford more supplies, I have to sell some. Feel free to comment on prices, because I guesstimate using the cost of materials and the time it takes for me to make them. Let me know if there's something you're wanting to see and I'll let you know if I can do it!
Yes, life is good!

More catching up

2011-06-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

Once again, I have at least a week to catch up on! Last weekend we were camping in Lee's Summit. It was lots of fun (especially after we had the air mattresses aired up)! It wasn't windy at all and was super hot, but completely worth it for the company and being able to be at Hailey's blessing! Some pics from that:

I took a lot more pictures, but for some reason they're not showing up. You'll just have to go to my June folder on Facebook. Good times! We came back on Monday with just enough time for me to do my homework and go straight to class. But, we did it! I made it through the last week of class and ended it with a 98% (too bad there are no A+s here)! I also got good news that I won a $600 scholarship! Then the next day I got an email that led to me finding out that my credit card number had been stolen. And we had $578.40 taken. So, the good news just barely outweighs the bad, but still good! Kira is at my parents' house, so we are drama-less, but Leah stepped up her mess-making. She's great at making messes! I feel a new nickname coming on...

(dis)Abilities and the Gospel review!

2011-06-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

My son has Autism and I have been waiting very impatiently for this book! Since Danyelle and I have been friends for awhile, I knew about the book and could not wait for it to get published and get my own hard copy! Hurray for two great coauthors and Cedar Fort!

About the book

Each day, parents and church leaders struggle to teach individuals with special needs. Using helpful information, real-life stories, and a touch of humor, (dis)Abilities and the Gospel provides ways for you to effectively teach people of all ages with autism, Down syndrome, bipolar disorder, memory loss, and other disabilities.

Inside this useful guide, you’ll find:

• Guidance for building strong family relationships

• Steps to teaching prayer and scripture study

• Practical and creative teaching tips

• Programs to help with transitions, communication barriers, and behaviors

• Techniques to help others feel welcome and valued

Find the answers you need and overcome the challenges of teaching the gospel. (dis)Abilities and the Gospel will help you develop each person’s ability to learn and grow as you build peace in your home or classroom.

My Thoughts
I completely LOVE this book! I think there should be at least one in every stake and ward building to have as a reference! It's perfect for parents, teachers, leaders equally! It even helps for not only those with (dis)abilities but those that are "typical." Fantastic! I like the short chapters with tons of information and the way the coauthors work together to talk in their forte. They even have PECS pictures that you can access on their websites! This book covers Church classes, Cub and Boy Scouts, Baptism, Youth Conference and Activities, Priesthood, Seminary, Temple Trips, Going on a mission, Church callings, Home and Visiting Teaching, Mental Illness, Sunday prep for families, Prayer, Scripture study, Family Home Evening, Finding humor, Time outs for Adults, Strengthening your marriage, building parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, holidays, and includes stories to put things into perspective! Seriously, the gamut is in this book! These are some knowledgeable women and I am so glad I got this book!

About the Authors

Danyelle Ferguson and Lynn Parsons, M.S. are the coauthors of this awesome book!

Danyelle Ferguson is a wife, mom, book editor, reviewer, and writer. She keeps busy raising four angels-in-training, the oldest of which has Autism. She and her husband, John, co-founded a non-profit organization, called Friends of GIANT Steps, which raises money to supplement an Autism preschool in Orem, UT. Danyelle has been active in the Autism community for over eight years, during which time she learned that prayer and a sense of humor are the keys to not only enduring but enjoying the special needs journey.

Danyelle discovered her love for the written word in elementary school. Her first article was published in the Lock Haven Express when she was in 6th grade. During high school, she placed runner up in the Pennsylvania School of Excellence for Arts program, specializing in creative writing. Since then, she's won several awards for her poetry, short stories, articles, and other writings. Her work has been published in newspapers, school journals, and online. Some of her short stories appear in the book Mormon Mishaps and Mischief: Hilarious Stories for Saints by Cindy Beck and Nichole Giles. Her book, (dis)Abilities and the Gospel, will be published in May 2011 through Cedar Fort Publishing. Danyelle served as Treasurer for the League of Utah Writers - Utah Valley Chapter. She's a member of AuthorsIncognito, Super Edits critique group, and meets weekly with her local writers group. She is also a member of the Whitney Awards Committee.
Danyelle grew up surrounded by the beautiful Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania. Then she lived for ten years among the majestic Wasatch Mountains. She is currently experiencing mountain-withdrawal while living in Kansas with her husband and family. She enjoys reading, writing, dancing and singing in the kitchen, and the occasional long bubble bath to relax from the everyday stress of being “Mommy.”

Lynn Parsons, M.S., is a wife, mother, grandmother, educational diagnostician, and writer. She entered the field of special education because two of her four children have special needs. Lynn grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area but now calls Texas home. She enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and needlework. Lynn continues to seek out and develop innovative methods for teaching children with special needs.

Where can you get this book?

I knew you would ask! Because even if you're not buying one for yourself, you should absolutely encourage your Bishop to find money in his budget. You can buy them at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Deseret Book, and on Goodreads. Awesome, right?

Win!

Enter to win one of two $25 Amazon gift cards and a free 20 minute consultation with Danyelle! You can ask her about parenting, church surivival, adapting lessons - or even about writing and publishing. Two names will be drawn on June 30th & July 22nd. Each drawing will include 1 winner of a $25 Amazon gift card and free consultation; and a second winner of a free consultation. Winners will be announced on www.QueenOfTheClan.com There are many ways to enter. You must leave a comment on the reviewer’s blog letting us know what you’ve done. Please include your email address.

1 Point Each:
- Leave a thoughtful comment about the blogger’s review.
- Add the book to your “to-read” list on GoodReads
- Follow the reviewer’s blog
- Follow Danyelle’s blog
- Follow Lynn’s blog
- Follow Danyelle on FB
- Follow Lynn on FB
- Follow Danyelle on Twitter @DanyelleTweets
- Follow Lynn on Twitter @ParsonsLynn

2 Points Each:
- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Facebook with a person links to Danyelle Ferguson & Lynn Parsons
- Tell your friends about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel on Twitter with links to @DanyelleTweets

5 Points:
- Interview Danyelle or Lynn for your blog or write a blog post about why you’re excited about (dis)Abilities and the Gospel. Be sure to leave a direct link to your post in your comment so we can visit and say hello!

See the other stops on the Blog Tour!
June 2nd - Christine Bryant @ Day Dreamer
June 7th - Tristi Pinkston
June 9th - Tamera Westhoff (me)
June 14th - Ashlee @ Topsy Turvy Cakes
June 17th - Heather Justesen
June 23rd - Rebecca Talley
June 27th - Don Carey
July 6th - Danette @ Everyday Adventures
July 8th - Sheila Staley @ LDS Women's Book Review
Sheila Staley @ Why Not? Because I Said So!
July 11th - Kathy @ I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
July 13th - Jessica @ Fringies
July 15th - Heather @ Fire and Ice by Little Red Reads
July 18th - Nichole Giles @ Star Crossed Book Reviews

*This review is solely my own opinion. I bought this book and was not compensated in ANY way for this review!*

Going pretty well!

2011-06-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

The chore game is going fantastic! Kira and Emma actually "cleaned" the fridge. It looks better, but I will finish cleaning it after bed! Now Kira's vacuuming the floors (although I had already done it, when she was cleaning she made a huge mess)! Ben "washed" the mirrors (so now they have a nice film to them). I really appreciate the effort, they're good kids! I've got Ben reading a few small books for me to review for this Saturday. I'll read them after him, so technically we're both reviewing! Fun times!
On another front, I lost another two pounds! Woohoo! I've lost five pounds in a week and a half! If only that could keep up, I would be down to my goal weight in no time (about 12 weeks)! I'm already feeling a lot more energy and looking a little thinner. Hurray for Myfitnesspal! I even bumped my Zumba up to 45 minutes today! And I have plans to bike to class.
And also, I entered a Mormonad contest. I made 8 (they were better, but when I exported them as Jpegs, they came out without the adjustments I made. Oh well. You can vote for them here on facebook. Here is what they look like and the number so you can vote on the poll.

#29

#28

#27

#20

#19

This is #17.

This is #16.

I took all of the pictures myself and I think for the most part, they turned out pretty well! If you don't like them, that's fine too! No worries! If you do like them, and want to copy them for your own personal use, go for it!

Not drowning, really

2011-05-31T22:47:00.000-05:00

So, it has been mad craziness here! I finished the winter/spring semester well, woohoo! I had a whole week off before summer school started. They mean business! We're covering a week's worth everyday! The good news is that I get to bike to school almost everyday and have lost three pounds! We ahve to work on one fitness goal and mine was exercising thirty minutes a day five days a week. I did six days last week and most days more than 30 minutes! Hurray! I love myfitnesspal.com! Fantastic! I get to keep track of my food intake and exercise. So, it (sometimes) keeps me from eating the oh-so-very-yummy Light ice cream flavor-Key Lime Pie (it's a new one from Braum's)! I really should stop buying it. Though I have stopped buying any and all fatty snack foods, so I'm on my way to doing better. The only problem is we can spend $30 on fruit and it's gone in less than 2 days. I can't afford to spend $100 on fruits and veggies a week! Yikes! Here's hoping my husband's aquaponics works well, because we just got another $40 in plants for him to add to his kiddie pool. I LOVE berries, so we also got some blueberry plants too. We already had a few, but at that price ($7.49), I didn't mind getting more! Now if I can figure out how to not drown between School, Cub Scouts (which isn't too bad at all), Family and keeping my house clean, that will be fantastic! Though the chore game board is working pretty well (their goal is to get to the end and then they get a movie ticket to one of the kids' summer movies)! I really do have great kids! I keep forgetting that theya re just kids! I was a strangely mature kid, so I really shouldn't put that on my kids! Either way, I only have another week after this week and then I have three weeks off! But, then I have two hard classes at once, on my birthday. I'm glad I chose not to celebrate this year! I don't think I'm ready to turn 30. Maybe next year! On my break I had planned to have a garage sale, but decided I would rather give it away to those who need it! Save myself time and hassle and help others-WIN-WIN-WIN!

Laura's Baptism

2011-05-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law, Laura got baptized Saturday night, so the kids and I went up to Olathe Saturday morning! We got to spend time with family, which was fantastic! I am very excited that Laura made this choice, all on her own, so that they could have an eternal family! That's a great goal! It was a very spiritual service, and we all cried as we sang, "Families Can Be Together Forever," because we can! We can all be sealed together as a family! What great news! Here's one of the pictures I took beforehand.

With all the Missionaries that taught her

And here's my other sister-in-law, Melissa, multi-tasking (holding onto my cute little chunker).

We had a very interesting Saturday night. Scott called as we were eating cookies and cupcakes after the baptism. He let me know a tornado had touched down in Emporia and he was in the basement. I can say that my heart was beating pretty fast at that! Yikes! So, I told him to call me when the sirens stopped going off. About 30 minutes later he called back and all was well! Phew! I had decided to stay the night, because the bad weather was going right up I-35, and I really didn't want to risk my or my children's lives. Chris and Melissa took Ben to their house, because "Sometimes you have to adapt to things." I ended up having to take my girls all to the Basement one at a time. There was just a little bit of hail, thankfully! And everyone (Mandy and Kim) arrived home safely from the Singles dance! Ben did great at Chris' house! He slept all night and ate almost all of the bacon Chris cooked! Wow!

We went to Laura's ward to be with her as she received the gift of the Holy Ghost and go to class with her. That was fun, since I am in Nursery and haven't been able to go to class in awhile (which is fine)! I love my Nursery kiddos, so I don't mind. I just enjoyed the break from normal. I really enjoyed seeing friends again! I miss my friends in Olathe! I hope we can move back there for my student teaching!

We were able to spend time with most of the family (Sam's in Idaho), which was great! We did VZo Sam. So we got to see her too!

We headed home after bedtime, so the kids slept. I talked to Scott most of the way. It helps keep me entertained! And we made it home to start the craziness that is the kids' last days of school and me starting school today! Aaahhh!!!!

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2011-05-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

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Spring Semester

2011-05-17T23:08:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! I got my grades back for today and I managed to get an A, an A-, 2 B's and a Pass. Hurray! The fact that I did so well with having just had a baby says a few things: My husband and Ashli are awesome! Usually Scott and I swap off, but there were a few times when he scheduled his appointments wrong, and Ashli helped us out! That and the weekly Wednesday visits at her place helped me cope when I was stressed! Thank you Ashli, you're awesome! Scott passed all of his classes with at least a C too! So, we should have celebrated tonight and didn't. Maybe tomorrow (nope, Cub Scouts). Hhhmmm... Scott is also all signed up for BIS, so he'll be graduating in December. I am so excited for him! He's been in school off an on for a long time (as have I) and he's done. I'm actually going to start working on my Master's now, so I can have my Special Ed certification (which is half of the Special Ed Master's). Then I'll only have to do the other half after I finally get my Elementary Ed undergrad. Then I teach for two years and I can start on my School Psych Master's or PhD. I have a goal in sight, it's just far away! I hope to finish that before Ben graduates high school! Fun times!

Bows, bows, I love bows

2011-05-17T00:07:00.000-05:00

I'm working on making some new ones. I love this website! It has a free tutorial every week and they're usually fantastic! The awesome burned flowers, yep, there. See the ones I made?

Hurray! Now to figure out how to better these new ones I'm making. Preferably without getting lots of callouses!

A little this and a little that

2011-05-10T00:09:00.000-05:00

WoW! It's been crazy at my house! With it being the last couple weeks of school for us and the last month of school for the older kiddos, sheer madness is reigning! Scott and I have had tons of big stuff due and then FINALS (duh duh dun)!!! No matter what I do to destress, it's not working. So, I'm just going with the flow as much as I can and trying to ignore the small things my kids do to irritate me (and/or everyone else in this house), the fact that this house's foundation is scary, and the miniscule budget we have to work with until the Summer semester starts. So, barring all of those from my mind, I will skip ahead to how much I love my family (especially when they're asleep)!

At my parents' house

So sweet!

I have felt lucky, because I won a pair of zebra bloomers and a SUPER CUTE sock money hat! Oh my goodness do I love that hat! I got it in the mail on Saturday afternoon and almost immediately grabbed Cecilia and we went for a photo session in the park. This is what I got from that!

Seriously, how cute is my baby?

This blanket that was made for her, matches pretty well too!

The nesting angel

The shirt I made to match her cute zebra pants. It says, "Cecilia." I love it too!

Anyway, that hat makes me smile a lot! I can't wait to use it as a prop someday when I start my photography business. I keep entering contests, because if I get enough props, I can convince my husband to help me fund the rest. I'm dreaming big! My little girl will be well documented if nothing else! And now she's crying. Another reason it's been so long. She's so hungry! I feel like I feed her lots and lots. I do. Really! Not that you can tell by looking at her, the poor baby! It takes a lot of calories to keep that up, you know! Skipping over the bad stuff that happened yesterday morning/afternoon and this afternoon. Grumble, grumble. The good news is that I LOVE being a contributor for 3 boys and a dog! I get to review great stuff that I get to keep! Check it out, it's pretty cool! We have giveaways sometimes too! I'm also happy thanks to Danyelle letting me borrow books! Talk about saving me money! A good book, some strawberry ice cream (preferably with a banana in it), and a good night's rest and I feel a lot better about life and my resident needy children! Phew!

Easter

2011-04-24T17:24:00.000-05:00

At church

Before church

Emma can never be far from Cecilia

Her First Easter and first bunny!

Yes, I know, three blog posts in one day. But, so many pictures were taken it was ridiculous! Sorry. This morning I slept in some, because Cecilia kept me up until 10 and then Leah was up until after midnight. Sheesh! I'm still tired! Not as tired as my poor Nursery Co-Leader. She works as a nurse and got off at 7 this morning. So, she'd been up 30 hours! I feel blessed to have gotten my seven! We were late to church, but we made it! Leah was quite the character today. I'm glad she's in "my" class! That way I could try to keep her away from people. We took some kiddo pictures before leaving. The first picture was taken in the hall at church. We came home, had lunch and I took the Cecilia's pictures. Then I made 2 loaves of banana nut bread, 24 cupcakes (that Kira frosted) and 24 cookies. Can you tell I have a sweet tooth? Obviously I'm trying to keep fat in my bones! I have plans for a very yummy dinner tonight. I will just make it a little later than usual, since Scott's going hometeaching and he just ate a bunch of snacks after his nap. I'm excited for dinner!

Easter Eve

2011-04-24T17:10:00.000-05:00

So, we do the fun Easter baskets (that my sister Mandy so kindly provided) on Saturday, because the candy sickness that usually follows isn't Sunday-appropriate. Among other reasons... The kids woke me up at 6:30 for this fun. Hurray. Here's some pics of that mess! Although they loved it!

After our huge cleanup effort yesterday, the main floor is looking great! So, as a reward, the kids got to get one of the butterflies out of its habitat. We had one with a crippled wing (it had a hard time coming out of the coccoon), so the kids got to look at that one.

We did this while Scott was enjoying the 20% off everything at Sutherland's! He got mulch, some hanging plants, screens for our decrepit back porch and more! Fun stuff! So, once again our front landscape is looking better! Now, for the roses to grow and spread beautifully! Then I'll be posting pictures again!

A fun Easter weekend

2011-04-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

I love that the Elementary school was out on Friday and on Monday, so 4 day weekend for them. Too bad we still had school! Oh well! We didn't do much on Friday, but Kira had a playdate with a friend from church. The super cool thing about this friend is that we have known her since she was a baby! And we were at her parents' wedding reception! A very fun thing in this small town that we moved to almost a year ago! Technically, we're in-law in-laws, because her dad's twin brother is my brother-in-law (he married my husband's sister). Anyway, that was fun, because I got to hang out and talk with her mom who is awesome! She likes my Temple hairclip idea, so I'm going to do it (in the next couple of weeks). I wanted to work on it on Friday night, but Scott wanted me to go to bed earlier. I'm a night owl, especially on weekends when I have a possibility of "sleeping in!" So, instead I made something else, that wouldn't take long or special equipment. See? I personally think it turned out pretty well, since I didn't have instructions!

Nice, huh? You put the amount of "eggs" as children. So, this one is for someone with 6 kids. Anyway. I had to include this picture from Cub Scouts last Wednesday.

Funny kiddo. He couldn't find his shoes quickly and my "All lost items locator" wasn't functioning up-to-par, so he wore these. It's hard to lose them!

The Road Show by Braden Bell

2011-04-13T13:19:00.000-05:00

I just finished this book and had to review it, so that everyone gets their own copy (I'm not letting mine out of my house)! Wow! I love, love, love it! People from all different walks of life and how they come together and are healed through the Savior, Awesome! This is one of those books that gets you so deeply involved that you want to cry when it ends! What happens next? Yes, they are healed, but do they stay healed? Do they forget the next day what an awesome experience they had? Do they become better people? After having read this book, I want to be a better person! I should talk more to others in the Ward and really get to know them, so I can maybe be the person that is a real friend and helps someone feel Our Savior's Love. It is a fantastic book, but you might want to get 2, so you can keep yours and give one away. What a helpful way to remember His love! I hope someone makes it into a movie! That would be awesome! It's only $6 new on Amazon and is completely worth the price! It certainly opened my eyes to what it is like for those suffering from postpartum depression, a pornography addiction, loneliness, pride and complacency! I can't say enough how awesome this book is! Here's the link to buy it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599553562/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img.