Today I got my newest BUZZ agent assignment. It's for the new Schick Hydro Silk razor.
I'm excited to try it out and see the great results. I love the new design of the handle, it's so it sits up out of the water. It also has a moisturizing strip to help keep your legs smoother. Can't wait to see how it compares to my quarto. I also have several coupons to share so let me know if you would like to try it out. I would love to share.
When I was growing up we would practice earthquake drills at school. We all knew to get under our desks or tables or in a doorway to protect us from the possible falling debris in case of the BIG earthquake that was due any day.
Well here in the South we have different drills at school. But today the girls didn't practice the drill. They were doing the usual school things. One was in the computer lab and the other was doing science when the siren started. All of the kids knew what that particular siren meant. Line up single file and head into the hallway. Face the wall, get on your knees, and crouch down with your head between your legs. 30 minutes later they were able to go back to class. A few hours later, repeat. Except this time it was 45 minutes and lunch time.
Until today, whenever there was a Tornado warning (weather conditions are right, be on alert) and more importantly a Tornado watch (one has been sighted, take cover now) we have all been together as a family. We all head to the basement together, make sure our phones are plugged in and charging, watch the weather and follow the path of the storm, and pray, all together as a family.
Today was different. I was all by myself in the basement.
The good thing (if there is a good thing) about a Tornado vs an Earthquake is that you can see them coming. The weather men can predict that conditions will be right several days before the weather actually hits. So we began the day knowing we needed to be careful. We went about the morning as usual. I kept the radar up on the computer as I went about my routine. It looked like the worst of the storm was going to head north of us and we would just get bad rain. Well when my phone started buzzing and the text said EXTREME DANGER TAKE COVER NOW, and kept going off I knew that wasn't the case and headed downstairs. Then I came back up and used the bathroom (because no one wants to be in a disaster and be preoccupied with needing to go :) ), put on my shoes, grabbed my purse, jacket, computer and the girls favorite stuffed animals. (They made me promise to take them down there so they would be "safe" if there was a Tornado :))
I was a mess. I knew they were all safe. That more than likely we wouldn't see any damage and the storm would pass, but I still felt helpless. As a mom/dad you want to protect your kids. And I couldn't. I wanted to drive to the school and pick them up. But the threat was too great and the wind/rain was too crazy. All I could to was pray. Pray that they would be safe, but more importantly they would be brave. That they would have faith that Heavenly Father would protect them until I could get there. We had talked about being brave if they needed to that morning as I dropped them off. (They were pretty nervous to go to school and had a hard time getting out of the van.)
When the watch was downgraded to a severe thunderstorm warning I headed out. This is what it looked like as I pulled down our driveway. It was raining SO hard. We had our own waterfall, (on the upper left side, coming off of the retaining wall) a few fast flowing rivers and small pond at the bottom of the driveway where the water was pooling.
As I drove to the school I understood a little bit more about the flash floods our cousins get in Texas. Usually we just stay inside and don't have to go anywhere so we don't see that part of these storms. But today I got to see a tiny glimps of that part of mother nature and it was scary as I had to drive through large bodies of standing water, with more coming down every minute, to get to my babies.
As the girls climbed into the van I knew the plea of a worried mom had been heard . They were all smiles and said, "Mom we were so brave when we had to go in the hall 2 times today. We even got to eat lunch in our classrooms because we had to miss lunch time."
So today I give thanks. Thanks for our safety, thanks for the power of prayers answered, and thanks for the glue board that caught another mouse my nose found as I was passing my time alone in the basement. :)
PS, here is a video of the twister that passed about 20 miles north of us today and did quite the damage. 16 dead and 5 in critical condition.
As I was backing out of the driveway this morning, I had to stop and take this picture. It was the view to the right of the house looking back up the hill to the edge of the property. It was a little bit foggy and the trees were beautiful, but spooky. It reminded me of the original cover King J drew for his brothers first book, Eye of the Moonrat. All it was missing were the big, creepy, yellow eyes.
On the radio after I had dropped the girls off at school they were talking about some of the lies/fibs we as parents tell our kids. In whatever poll they were reading from they said the top 3 were;
3-If you don't stop crying, that person over there will be upset with you (never done this one) 2-We will come back and buy it next time for you. (I just always say maybe next time, they have figured... out that means NO) 1-If you don't come with me right now you are going to be left here. (SOOO guilty of this one)
So I am curious, what are some of the "fibs" you have told to your kids?
I think the best one we ever did that had my girls convinced for YEARS of was that when the ice cream truck is playing music that was just to let everyone know they are out of ice cream.
We went and visited the puppies today. They are 3 weeks old. I don't think we have ever taken a more beautiful, natural picture of Princess E. She is in love. Good thing she can go visit, at least until they are adopted.
I love that you now come in little single serving packs. I love how yummy you are with celery and apples and I don't have to feel too guilty when I get the afternoon munchies and I grab you to satisfy my cravings.
But I probably need to let you go after I finish my serving and not go for an extra scoop on a spoon from the big jar. You are so hard to resist, you are delicious.
Maybe we need to take some time apart, or at least limit our time together.
I dumped out all of the girls clothes that had just been shoved in any drawer they wanted, even dirty clothes, in a big pile in the middle of the floor and made them sort and fold it all as I sat and watched.
I didn't yell, much, and was proud that I just sat there calmly and without a hanger in my hand to keep them in line.
I felt like I had finally made it to official Mom status. :)
Like most Americans, our paychecks have recently gotten smaller. Thanks to more taxes being taken out. And like most Americans, even though it is just under 100, we use every penny to survive so loosing that money is a big deal. But we wern't too worried because the lord always provides.
We are full tithe/fast offering payers and have a firm testimony ofthe blessings that come from paying the lord his share.
Today we got the yearly escrow review letter from the mortgage company. Our monthly payment is going down almost the exact difference that we lost from the taxes. We cant stop smiling and offering prayers of gratitude. And the big check for the surplus amount is pretty much the cherry on top.
I literally spent the whole day in the car today. I had good intentions of going to the temple bit once I got there realized it was closed for cleaning. Dang it! Well I had planned on going to lunch with King J and I had already spent the gas driving down there so I drove over to his office and waited. 2.5 hours. Caught up on some shows on my phone. We had packed a lunch and drove to his usual church parking lot lunch spot and ate. Then I drove to pick the girls up in car pool and more waiting. It was a LONG day in the car.
We went to feed the ducks on Monday. On our way into the neighborhood where we were going we saw a few of the girls friends from church. So we invited them along. Well when we got to the pond there was only 1 duck. He was a little frightened by all the kids that he didn't last very long. But the kids on the other hand...They were a hoot.
We had 3 bags of hot dog buns and English muffins. They broke up 1 bag into pieces and I heard 1 girl shout "There, the ducks will have a FEAST when they are ready to eat."
They decided it would be a good idea to construct fishing rods instead so they gathered up long sticks and some soggy vines in the water and went to work. Some decided it was just easier to jam a hot dog bun on the tip of a stick and others just used the empty bread bags as nets. I thought it was rather comical just listening to their little minds at work and as they all worked together.
Well no fish were caught. But they didn't care. They had a ball and I was happy no one fell in. :)
Princess M. "I'm going to invent a stink alarm. It would be going off like crazy right now!" (They thought the smoked turkey lunch meat I just bought smelled pretty bad.) "Oh and it will tell me who does the stinky farts too and says they didn't do it!"
We Cooleyville-ites have been trying extra hard for the last 18 months or so to eat better/more natural/less meat and just live a healthier lifestyle over all. Well that takes trying out lots of new things and recipes. We have found some great ones and some that were not so great.
Well we had one of our favorites this last week and I thought what a great blog post. (I go throughout my days now looking for things I can blog about that day. :) )
Black bean and guacamole burritos are eaten at least every other week, if not more often around these parts. Here is the recipe;
1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can rotel (or chopped tomatoes with green chilies)
2 ripe avocados
1 small container plain greek yogurt
Garlic salt
Flour tortillas
First you mix the beans and the rotel in a bowl and set aside to marinate together. Then mix up the smashed avocados, yogurt and garlic salt in another bowl. Then do a layer of the guacamole and the black bean mixture (I use a slotted spoon so it isn't too juicy). Roll it up into a burrito. We have added rice if we want to stretch it further and a little cheese from time to time. But we like it best with just the ing. listed above. If you add rice then you have to add more salt and other spices to flavor it up more.
Then on a griddle pan (I'm sure a large frying pan would work too) on med-low heat, you grill the burritos, I put a heavy pan on top to flatten them out a bit. You don't want the heat to hot or you will just burn the shell and the insides will still be cold. When it is browned on one side flip it and put the pan back on top.
I failed to get a cross cut picture to show how delicious it is but trust me, they are yummy and a great healthy, inexpensive dinner. You won't be disappointed. :)
This girl LOVES science. So it wasn't even a question if she would do the extra credit assignment that was given to make a weather instrument.
We looked up on pinterest lots of idea's for projects she could do. She decided on the barometer. Now she gets to track how much the water rises and falls over the next few days and tracks her results.
Princess M, "is it true that it once was 2001?"
Queen M, "yep"
Princess M, "were you even alive then? "
Queen M, "yep"
Princess M, "oh my gosh! I cant believe it! That is SOO scary! You are so old mom! Seriously that is scary!"
I got to experience something pretty cool today. Princess E told me she has an assignment to write a story for the Young Authors contest. That it isn't optional this year. I said well when we get home I'll get in my cedar chest and get out the story I did when I was your age that won at the school level, and maybe district, but I got to go to a conference at BYU and meet a famous author Dean Hughes.
So I dug down in and pulled out several stories I had written when I was their ages as well as a little older. I even had done the illustrations. They were VERY impressed with their old mom.
They also had been asking for a few days to see my old journals so I pulled those out too. Upon reading a few entries we all learned a few things. My very first entry was when I was 6. Well my mom kept it for me until then, and I told about my first time baring my testimony in sacrament meeting. The next entry was from my baptism, Princess M was pretty stoked because it was April 12. Lots of other fun things were discovered. It was also fun to realize It didn't matter that there was only 1 or 2 entries per year as I was growing up. Or that the entries were pictures. It was the fact that I kept it and it was a part of my history and my kids could see me when I was their ages. How similar we are.
It was pretty fun to share that with them and hopefully they will see the importance of preserving some of those memories for their children.
Today was Princess E's first time at volleyball practice.
2 sisters in our ward who LOVE volleyball started teaching all of the girls ages 8-12 how to play. They both have daughters that age and started, several months ago actually but princess E wasn't interested until they learned in PE and she didn't have a choice, to hold a class each week before YM/YW at the church to teach who ever wanted to come. There were so many girls there last night. Princess E did a pretty good job keeping up with the other girls. I'm glad she found something she likes and can be a part of, and the best part...It is free! :)
I wish play dates with my kids and a friend were as easy as they were when King J and I were kids. Where there were lots of kids in the neighborhood and you just had to say "Mom, I'm going outside to play!" And she would respond, "Ok be home by....." Now days you have to set it all up like a date pretty much. Set a day, a time, how long, who is picking up, who is dropping off. If they are just going home from school with them (which is the easiest way) make sure to send in the transportation form.
Ahhhh, I hate it.
Today both girls are having play dates. I'm really happy they have friends. But man I wish it were simpler.
Princess E has been learning how to do more cooking. Tonight we had spaghetti and a fresh garden salad. The only thing I did was make the sauce and strain the noodles. Princess E did all the rest including using her knife skills (with the huge knife) to make the entire salad and get the pot of water boiling. When we were done she asked me if she gets all of her homework done early each night (I usually make dinner while they are doing homework at the table) if she can help me. :) Love that girl!
As the girls climb into the van every day after school I have a little routine. I always say "Well hello beautiful girls. I missed you." To which they reply "Hi mom, we missed you too." Then I always ask about their day as we are driving off. Usually I get the normal 'fine'.
Well Friday Princess E burst into tears. She began to tell us about how her closest friends were shutting her out that day. They kept telling her to go away or stop asking so many questions or just whispering to each other and not including her and it really hurt her feelings. That her other friends were telling her that she should break up with those friends. She said in a new burst of tears, "but that would just break my heart mom! They have been my friends for the longest time and I just can't break up with them even if they are mean to me." I told her that maybe her other friends were right. That maybe it was time to look at the friends who WERE treating her right and who were kind.
It was about this point that Princess M piped up. In a tender loving voice she said "Maybe you can try what I did yester day when Piper came over. You know how she always just wants to go home and we don't know why? Well she was doing that again yesterday an I just said, I wish I knew what it was like to be you. And she turned around and said to me, Why? And I just said because I just wonder what your life is like? And you know what she turned around and stayed and we talked all about it. So maybe you can say something like that to your friends and they will want to talk to you."
Of course I was in the front seat beaming ear to ear and wondering where this sage advise had come from deep inside her little self. And that she was SO sincere in wanting to help her very sad big sister.
Princess E didn't take the advise very well, but I reaffirmed what a great suggestion it was and how great I thought it was that she had thought of it all by herself and used it the day before. I was so proud of her.
As we were walking up the stairs into the house I said "Hey girls, if you didn't have any other friends in this life, who is the 1 best friend you will always have??" They both looked at me and said, "um I don't know." I stopped them and made them face each other and give each other a hug. "Each other. Your sister will always be your bestest friend even when no one else is."
There are lots of things that make being a parent hard.
One that we seem to face over and over again at our house is saying NO to pets and breaking their little hearts.
Our kids are very much pet lovers. But unfortunately their parents are not. Not that we don't like animals, but we don't love the physical or financial responsibilities that go along with pet ownership. We would love more than anything to make our girls dreams come true if it were a perfect world. But we don't have it in us to add all that is required to have a dog or cat, which are the pets of choice.
We have gotten pretty good friends with a couple in the ward that has 3 teen aged boys. A really great family. King J and I both work closely with them in our callings at church. They have helped us out the last few months watching the girls for us so we can attend the temple.
This family is a pet family. So much that they raise and breed German shepherds. We thought it would be a match made in heaven. The girls would LOVE going to their home, and we wouldn't have to pay a babysitter. :) Last night King J and I went to the temple so the girls were pretty darn excited because one of the dogs had a litter this week, 11 puppies. When I got there to pick them up they were sitting in the basement in the puppy cage. (it was huge, an indoor dog run) Each girl had a puppy in her lap and they were in love. I was in trouble.
Princess E informs me that she has bonded with her little girl and that Sister T said she would sell her to us at half price and make payments because she knows me! Oy. Sister T, who I'm good friends with, comes down and tells me the same thing. That both girls have been so good with the puppies and that the mama is super protective of them, as German shepherds are to their people and puppies, but let the girls get right in there without as much as a bark. That the puppies generally go back to being with their brothers and sisters, but that night preferred to sit in the girls laps.
Of course they did. I wish it was a perfect world.
They both plead their case. A great deal, half price, at $350 each. They would be our back up if we needed to go out of town. They are loyal to their owners and very protective of their people.
I couldn't say yes for so many reasons. In front of me, this dear sister, who I adore, turns to princess E and says,"It's not all lost. When I was a little girl I really really wanted a little brother. My mom said no, that she was done having kids. But I prayed really really hard and a few years later she had my little brother. So you need to pray that your mom's heart will be softened and maybe next year when we have more puppies your mom will say yes."
Ok, great advise, BUT isn't it kinda parent code of conduct/respect that you support the parents decisions for their kids? I was pretty upset. Both because of how it happened, and because I knew I was crushing their little hearts because they were SO in love with these puppies that they had already named and planned how it was all going to work. The crocodile tears came on the way home and didn't stop. It was even said on the ride home that something in them died. That they had a dream that they would get a pet, a dog, when they were kids and not when they were grown up and on their own.
There have been lots of tears today, and prayers offered that we would change our minds.
Oy, its so hard being a parent and not letting them have something that they want SO badly.
I am hesitant to write this post because I don't want to offend anyone or lead them to think that I don't respect their thoughts, feelings and where ever they may be with their own beliefs.
But I feel I need to share what has been weighing heavily on my mind this morning. I also realize my little blog doesn't get much traffic and the friends who I refer to in this post may not ever see what I have to say anyway. But my hope if they do, is that we can continue to be friends and continue to respect each other despite our differing views on the Mormon Church.
This morning as I was doing my usual routine of viewing face book and seeing what my friends on the west coast had posted while I was sleeping, I came across one of the posts that says your friend has posted a comment on someone or a group page comment. You know the one's I'm talking about right? Anyway it was a comment on a page that was not really anti Mormon, but a group that exposes the "real" history of Mormonism. And it made me sad.
I have read some of these blogs before. In fact I found myself following a few of the links this morning. I have struggled with my testimony before. I have questioned things. I have prayed my guts out for answers. I have stayed home from church because I just couldn't put on the happy church going face that day. I have been there wondering where God was in my hour of need. I understand wanting to know if it's all true or if we are just blindly following?
As I have stewed about what I read from this friend this morning and thought about other times I have seen or read posts from other friends who have decided Mormonism isn't for them any more, I felt I needed to share my testimony of what I, Queen M, believe.
I KNOW God lives!! I KNOW his son, Jesus Christ, lives too and died for each and every one of us. I know that the church isn't perfect. I know everything in the church doesn't always seem balanced and fair. But I still believe. I believe in a perfect God with a perfect plan. But that we as mortals, screw it up sometimes. I KNOW the Book of Mormon is true. Just as I know the other books of scripture to be true. I believe in trials. Gut wrenching, wish you could die trials of the spirit so you didn't have to keep enduring, trials that in turn cause us to look to the Savior and turn the burden over to him and in turn become more like him. I believe in tithing. I have seen the blessings in my life over and over again of being a full tithe payer. I know the power of prayer, and I also know I should use it more than I do. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. I also know he was a man, who wasn't perfect, just as I'm not, but who tried his very best to do what the lord wanted him to. I know we have a living prophet today and living apostles who give us divine guidance and council. But most importantly I believe in the power and influence of the Holy Ghost and that it is up to me to be living the kind of life that allows me to have it as my constant companion. And then act when I am given impressions. Because when I listen, it is Heavenly Father speaking only to me and giving me the guidance or testimony that I seek.
I know I am a Daughter of God, who is pleased with me, my life, and can't wait to have me back home someday.
I think everyone has a favorite type of entertainment. For some it is listening to classical music. Others playing video games. I also think we all have a favorite type of movie.
It may be comedies or action and don't forget drama's.
Well ever since this little sweetheart was a toddler she has had a favorite too.
She loves musicals! Can't get enough of them.
This is her today watching the original Bye Bye Birdie from the 1950's.
I had downloaded a bunch of music to my phone and some of the songs from this were on there and she asked if she could watch it on Netflix. Unfortunately it wasn't in their streaming section so she had to wait a week for it to come in the mail. It was a little bit strange for her that all these girls were so in love with this one guy who dressed up in a gold jump suit. (It's loosely based on Elvis being drafted) I explained to her it would be like if Zac Efferon or Justin Bieber were drafted to go to war today how so many young girls would go crazy over him. She agreed. It also made me think someone should do a current version. The music is so catchy and I'm sure it would be good.
What are some of your favorite musicals? I need more options for her to see. I'm getting a little tired of Hairspray, Grease and the High School Musicals :)
So it is now 5:50 pm and I have just a few minutes before King J gets home and we have to run out the door to cub scouts. (wolf den leaders)
I have been thinking all day long what I should blog about and I got nothing. I knew my window for writing was getting smaller since we usually get home late from scouts and then rush to get the girls in bed followed by ourselves.
So I just looked up journaling prompts and liked this one.......
Imagine you opened your own restaurant. Tell the name of your restaurant. Explain what the restaurant looks like, who works there, and what you serve
Several months ago I made tomato soup from a can to go with our grilled cheese. I was feeling rather uncreative in the dinner department and we were low on funds. Well you would have thought we had taken the girls to a 5 star restaurant. They had so many compliments. Including, "this soup is our most favorite soup mom. You are the best soup maker! You should open a restaurant that only sells grilled cheese and tomato soup. People would love it and we would make lots and lots of money!"
So I think it would be called the Grilled Tomato, the staff would be small since the menu would be simple. It would be a homey place with a big fireplace, because I love having a fire, and people from all around for the worlds best grilled cheese and tomato soup from a can. :)
Every afternoon the girls have spelling homework. Every day they complain.
I am so glad they are normal kids.
Well today we got creative with the sidewalk chalk.
Our little neighbor friend, who is the same age as princess M, even got in on it too. And they didn't complain, much, about doing their homework today.
We have done other creative things like;
Writing them on the mirror with dry erase
Finger in a pan of dry rice
Finger with a sealed ziplock baggie filled with paint
Word pyramids
Sand in a pencil box and a pencil eraser (this one was NOT a good idea) :)
Rainbow letters
What are some creative ways you have practiced spelling with your kids?
King J has a favorite little toy. The original 6 sided, 9 square rubiks cube.
Looking at his desk you would see he has quite the collection. He has a 12 square, a 3 square, a Homer Simpson head and many other versions. But nothing comes close to his favorite.
It's the first one he got right after he started working with Hanjin. He wanted something to do with his hands while he was on the phone with customers. So as you can imagine. It has seen better days since he has been working there for almost 12 years.
Well he brought it home a few weeks ago and said he had been looking online for ways to lube it up so it would turn easier. (who knew there were forums for such a thing, apparently it's made up of people who compete in tournaments) Also how to fix the stickers because they were all curling up and sticky around the edges.
I suggested we just splurge the 6-7 bucks and get a new one. But it just wouldn't be the same for King J. He has a history with this little guy. So he found the store that sold the particular type of lubricant suggested and it turns like a charm. He asked if I could modge podge all the stickers down like many of the pro's suggest. I thought that might cause more of a problem than be very helpful.
This post is going to be kind a vague. But it's what is on my mind today as it was fast and testimony meeting and King J and I were fasting for something that may drastically change our future, but aren't quite ready to share what it is yet.
There have been many times in my life when I have sought an answer or direction for my/family life. I am grateful for parents who taught us the power of prayer along with fasting to unleash the blessings and guidance from our Father in Heaven. It is amazing how he always answers. For me it is usually through the testimony or actions of others around me.
Today those answers came through 2 separate sisters sharing their simple testimonies. One talked about how when we exercise true faith and let Heavenly Father know exactly what we need, even if it seems impossible, he will answer. And she said while looking directly at me. The Holy Ghost spoke directly to my heart and testified that it was truth.
The second was a sister who had just returned from serving a mission with her husband and had gone to the sacrament service at the stake center this morning as they had to report to the high council. She shared part of a testimony she had heard that morning.
There had been a house fire on the 23rd of December and the house was gone. The sister that shared said she was amazed at the miracles their family had witnessed amid the trials. The morning after the fire they went back to the house and everything was gone. Then had to leave in the night with only the pj's on their backs. She realized they her purse had been left in their bedroom and it had all of their id's and keys and everything that said who they were. They were devastated. They turned to leave and the purse was sitting in the truck.
This sister shared how God is always willing to give us miracles. He continues to make seemingly impossible things possible through our trust and faith in him.
I am excited for the future and I KNOW Heavenly Father will take care of our family.
I am ready to exercise faith in him and his power to bless us even when it seems we need to take a leap into the darkness and allow him to show his hand.
On a daily basis I get asked if she/they can play Minecraft. We have had to start using it as a reward at the end of the week for good behavior. Princess M can't get enough of the game.
She was over the moon last week when the xbox edition caught up to the computer and had all the updates. She LOVES being able to make baby animals.
I love listening to her talk to herself when she is playing with her dad and big sister. I get told all the time how quiet she is. But if anyone could just hear her play mine craft. lol
This is what I am hearing right now as I type this, it's a constant stream of words and thoughts.....
"Home!!!! I need to finish breaking up the cactus's. SHOO pig...go to your natural home, in the forest!......Daddy I found another village!!! Look at that its a pretty house...Is the villager home? Oh hi guys, do you want to lay down? Don't you dare go in! (she has a nasty habit of going in and killing the occupants instead of building her own. Thanks Link. ;) ) Ok now I'm going to collect villagers." I ask why are you collecting villagers? She replies with a sinister laugh "so they are in prison and I can take their house. I'm not killing them mom. Ahhh now I can make myself at home!"
We got her another xbox game, epic mickey, to help break it up for King J since she doesn't ever want to play alone or just with Princess E. But it didn't hold her attention for very long.
Its funny what little things really get us excited.
Well I stumbled upon this little gem yesterday and I am in LOVE!!
I have always preferred the radio over listening to albums. Mainly for variety. I get bored with the same sound over and over again. So I have listened to Pandora and Iheart radio for years with my different playlists of exactly the stuff I want to listen to. 90's, kids stuff, and Sunday stuff mostly. :)
Well I would get frustrated in the car because my phone was always buffering and looking for a signal. I prefer listening to my mix, especially since the girls are getting older and paying attention to lyrics more, over just the regular radio stations.
Now you may ask, well you could always purchase the stuff you like for an ipod or something. Yeah, but that requires disposable money, which we never have nor could I justify it when I could just listen to stuff for free.
It is like Pandora, iheart and Pinterest all in one. You can follow your friends (who also have accounts) and watch their playlists as well as create your own. And here's the best part, you can then download your playlists so you don't have to have an internet connection to listen to your favorite tunes. And, its FREE. Like Pandora it has adds (which makes it free) or you can pay $9.99 a month for add free. I am in the initial 48 hour trial period so I have been downloading like crazy, don't know if adds will show up in the downloaded playlists once the trial is over. I'll have to return and report in a day or two. But for now, it is the greatest thing ever.
Nothing makes a mom happier than her kids getting along and playing quietly.
I love that our girls are now at a great age where they can pretty much take care of them selves so I can sleep in, make phone calls setting up doctors/dentist appointments, or work on a very neglected blog. Which just happens to be how I have spent my morning.
Well they both kept yelling to me as I was working in my own little world asking me how to spell certain words. Finally I had to take a bathroom break and I stopped in to see what they were working on and why they were getting along without any fighting or name calling.
As I approached the bedroom Princess M yells, "how do you spell Upon???" I replied, "what do
you mean? I swam in a pond? Or upon completing the jobs?" (it's just what came to mind lol) She came back with, "Like Whence Upon?" I said, " Whence upon?? What are you doing writing a Fancy Nancy book in there??"
They have been quietly playing with all of their Christmas loot and writing books. :)
Despite their room looking like this 90% of the time, I couldn't ask for better kids. I truly am blessed to have them call me their mom.
I have seen over the years and again in the last few days on Face book many people doing what they call project 365. In essence, they are documenting something good in their life for each day of the year.
So along with my gift of just being a better record keeper here on the new and improved Cooleyville blog, I am going to have the goal of keeping record every day of this year. But I am not going to promise that each entry will have a picture. That should make it a little bit easier to keep up.
The Christmas of 2011 King J gave me a gift that was more thoughtful than anything he had ever given (well not ever, it was up there though) He made this here blog into a bound book for me. I LOVED it and will cherish it forever. It gave me a new resolve to do better, but as those of you who have tried to follow up with us. I was worse at keeping up than ever before. I lost a whole year of our lives.
So I am determined to have a year worthy of being bound in print this year. :)
One of my very favorite family traditions that we have that has carried over from child hood is our birthday party for Jesus. It really isn't much, other than either telling the nativity story or acting it out. Singing Happy Birthday and then giving a gift to the savior.
That is my favorite part. Giving a gift just like the wise men did. And it isn't just any gift. It is something we are going to lay at the feet of the Savior. Something we are going to do in the coming year to be more like him. I will admit, this has become more precious to me in more recent years as I have really taken it serious and not just lip service.
Last year I gave the gift of forgiveness. I worked really, really hard to forgive others as Jesus has forgiven me. It was amazing to watch myself transform and grow closer to him as I continued to give that gift all year long.
I thought for a few weeks before our little party as to what I wanted to give for 2013 and I kept coming back to wanting to be a better record keeper. But I knew how great I have been with it in the past and I kept brushing it off and thinking I should do something that I could actually follow through with. But as I already said, I kept coming back to it. We also did the gift giving a little different this year. Normally we just say it out loud and move on to the next person. But I wanted us to be a little more accountable.
Several years ago my big brother came home from his mission to Russia. Along with it he brought us all beautiful hand painted/crafted gifts. One of the gifts he brought for me was this beautiful treasure box. It hasn't ever really had a purpose other than to look pretty. Well I thought it looked a lot like what I imagined the treasure boxes the wise men might have given to the Christ child. It finally had a purpose. To hold our gifts to the Savior.
We each wrote what we are going to work on this year and put them inside. We will pull them out next year at the party, see how we did and then replace them with our new gifts. I thought it would help us be a little more accountable.
So, along with what I wrote in the pretty box, I am putting it here as well. I am going to be a better record keeper for myself and our family in 2013.
