Brain Declutter...Because my brain is overflowing with clutter...

Clutter is putting it mildly....There is some guilt mixed in too, so i (a lower case i because that is all i deserve at the moment) will start with that and get it over with...

*i will not be winning any mother of the year awards any time soon i am sorry to say...We got an invitation to attend an awards ceremony for awesome kiddos (Jake of course was one of them) and i...forgot.  Totally and completely forgot...i was in school on Tuesday morning and the saw the principal and she said "I gave Jake his medal and award.  Sorry you weren't able to come on Friday night."...To this my reply was come to what?  i didn't even remember it then!!!  My child could have walked across a stage and gotten his medal and award for being a smarty pants (at the local High School, because it was that big of a deal and i could have cried like a baby clapped and cheered....but i forgot....i stink.  i am also really bummer because they changed the words to apply to the kiddos getting good grades and sang "Firework" originally by Katy Perry.  i really love that song and wish we could have heard it. i would have cried for sure...
Here is Jake with his medal and certificate.  Sadie had couldn't resist being in the picture.

*Jake's way of trying to make me not feel so bad (he forgot too, but he is 9 after all and i am the mom) is to remind me that he feels bad about getting into our mini pool and playing in it with Sadie...with my cell phone in his pocket.  We are talking submerged fully for enough time that they couldn't even retrieve my phone numbers or photos from it when i went to Verizon...i really can't be mad at him and i'm not.  He was carrying my keys and phone in his pocket when we went on a walk with Sadie, because I had on yoga pants that didn't have pockets.  So, if you are a close friend or family member that didn't receive and email from me here is what it said: "Please send me a text (or email) and tell me who you are if you would ever like me to call you again."  There are some people i expected to hear from but haven't...i wonder if they didn't get it, or if they are not responding deliberately...This mishap made me realize:  i don't even know my mom and dad's cell phone or my in-law's...And I thought I knew Aaron's (my husband, for those of you who may have stumbled upon my random blog), but I was off by one number.  This is my wake up call to get organized.  It would be pretty bad to not be able to call...well anyone, if there was an emergency.

*i went to Jake's school today to help with a field day of sorts.  The 4th grade was playing "A Minute To Win It" and it was a lot of fun.  It was 9,000 degrees out so i was lucky that i got to be in the hall way.  You see i had "defying gravity" that required balloons which popped as soon as they hit the 9,000 degree ground.  They were supposed to keep 3 balloons up in the air for 1 minute...We ended up modifying it all the way done to 1 because the longest anyone could go with 3 balloons was not quite 4 seconds, and with 2 they made it to almost 30 seconds...Try it-it is harder than it sounds.  We are talking 1 person trying to keep 3 in the air with out holding them. It was fun but again no mother of the year award because i forgot my camera!!! But i did remember it on Tuesday when the 4th graders did the NC Living History Museum.  They all had to pick a person linked to NC in some way and dress up like them and give a speech.  It was so neat, but for whatever reason it was 7,000 degrees in the hallway Jake's class was standing in (the rest of the 4th grade was in the nicely air conditioned gym...)  and by the end of the hour, costumes were being peeled off and parents had abandoned their children and were standing in the gym chatting... Not all parents. i I only went in to hear a couple of kiddos in the gym do their speeches and then went back out to suffer with my child's class.  After that we had a picnic and an ice cream party and i I took Jake home early. Jake was Sir Walter Raleigh.  Have you heard of him?  He is pretty interesting, you should Google him.

By the end of the hour Jake had shed his fancy neck ruffles and cape...

At the picnic with his best buds in his 4th grade class.  From left to right:  Kayla, Sophia, Maddie, and Connor.  Jake/Sir Walter Raleigh in the front. :)

*i  (back to lower case because this is not nice...) am thrilled that i am done being a room mom!!!!  i will just say what is on my mind right now (don't judge me people):  it is really hard to be the room mom for a teacher you are not a fan of.  i had to go and buy her an end of the year gift with the $165 people sent in (how much do people send in for awesome teachers???).  i have to admit a tiny part of me wanted to put the money in Jake's savings account to compensate him for his pain and suffering of being in her class all year...(i told you not to judge me...).  i didn't of course.  YIPPPEE that my duties as room mom are over!!!

*i have to go and check on a baby bird Sadie almost stepped on this morning when we were on our walk. I called the vet and they said don't pick it up because this time of year baby birds are learning to fly and the chances are good that the parents were nearby waiting for me to leave so they could go on teaching their baby.  Part of my hopes it isn't there because i don't want a pet bird...but I can't leave it there to die...

*Sadie threw up in the car 2 times yesterday as we drover around trying to find the park we went to a couple of months ago to play in the pond...Awesome.  The great thing is I have this car cleaner that works amazing and the car doesn't even smell like puke-not even in 10,000 degree weather.

*Don't let the fun activities fool you.  Jake's school has done more this week than they have done the whole year.

*While waiting in the car rider line today, a mom carrying a toddler, wearing a huge t-shirt with words on it walked by.  i got as far as: As* (rhymes with bass...) and Bit#@ (a term when used correctly means "female dog") and stopped reading.  i watched her (judging her very harshly, i must admit) as her daughter (i am guessing a kindergartner) ran up to her wearing a pretty pink princess dress...Oh the irony.  This after talking to one of Jake's classmates moms, who kept dropping the F bomb.  Lovely.  It did make me feel better that she dropped the F bomb while sober, because Jake went to a pool party at her house (i thought is was safe to leave him under her care because i have known her since 3rd grade...) and when I came back from going to the grocery store to pick him up, i found all the adults drinking on the porch while the children were in the pool...She was dropping the F bomb while i was talking to her at the pool party so i assumed she had to be drunk.  Apparently she wasn't, she just talks like that all the time children aren't close by.  So, as far as the pool party goes if she wasn't drunk, she could have jumped in the pool and rescued a drowning child.  I am trying to look at the bright side of our decaying society....

*Random picture of Jake in one of the trees in the front yard.

That's enough decluttering for now...Hopefully my next post won't be a picture of our new pet baby bird...

Just because I can't stop talking about it!!!!

It's my blog so I can ramble on about this (AGAIN) if I want to right? :)
Tomorrow we are telling Jake we are going to homeschool next year..Oh yeah, I have mentioned that 3,249 times already right? I can't help it I AM SO EXCITED!!!

I went to a Homeschooling bookstore yesterday and found myself wanting to buy all sorts of curriculum.  It is a consignment store where you can bring the stuff you have already used and get other stuff you may need.  It was wonderful!  There were kids sitting on the floor reading while their mom's were searching the store.  There was a girl taking a piano lesson in a little "classroom" office.  There were birds chirping sweetly in a big glass cage.  There were A Beka (and every other one under the sun!) curriculum-the books and teachers answer guides.  There were educational games and DVD's.  I looked at everything and almost spent a small fortune (not really I just could have).  Then I remembered that we aren't going to do it that way.   We are going to be making our own curriculum...Yikes, that sounds so scary...And it is a little, but also, not so much.  I have the list of all the things Jake "has" to learn in the 5th grade.  We will learn those of course...but we are really going to study all the things that Jake wants to learn all about.  In fact that will be our first task starting Monday...That's right the poor boy isn't even going to get a break. :)  We are going to jump right in-but it isn't going to be like school AT ALL.  We are going to create Jake's "compass"-the list of what he wants to learn about.  The guide we will use on Jake's path to self education... How awesome is that?  Learning what you are interested in.  Going into that wonderful bookstore made me realize (again...) that stepping off the conveyor belt of public school education is going to be an ongoing process.  It is in grained in my brain that you must follow the norm.  Take the easy path.  Go page by page in the workbook and that is learning. Right?  It works, but Jake needs more than that.  He deserves more than that. He deserves an education.  He is smart enough to learn how to love learning.  All children are...I am not drinking the Kool Aid, I swear.  I am just excited because I have learned so much preparing to help Jake.  I know he will LOVE it!!!

Farewell to my 2nd home: Bi-Lo (not forever just for now...)

I am a stay-at-home mom. :)  Yesterday was my last day of 5 days a week at Bi-Lo.  (I am going to go in to help with the sales tags so to be kept on the payroll so I can go back if I need too, but that will only be once a month.)  Picture me jumping for joy!  I admit I will miss all my regulars.  The sweet deaf lady that writes me notes on receipt paper to tell me what is going on in her life.  All my coupon ladies that came through U-Scan just to chat.  New grandmother that gives me an update on her precious grand daughters when she comes in.  My favorite fake grumpy guy who is upset if I let anyone else use his U-Scan check out #4.  Free thermometer  lady. "You doing any work today?" guy.  The Yankee Sisters.  Chocolate milk man.  The lovely Queen Redfern (is that not the BEST name you have ever heard?).  Back brace and visor wearing lady. Parents of one of the most beautiful little girls I have ever seen who toddles over and lets me hold her and talk to her :). Mr. Blessings who owns a cafe in town called "Blessings Cafe" and tells me what is on the menu everyday (and I WILL go and eat there one day I swear!!!).  Cute purse lady. My Norman Rockwell couple. The guy who calls everybody "buddy" (male or female). "Paper bag only" lady.  The lottery ticket family.  My favorite redneck, down-to-earth family.  The VFW men that sell hot dogs on Friday to raise money.  The lady that comes through U-Scan and always gets the same kind of tobacco every time she comes in and I was only able to remember one time what it is called-I remember it now-"Society".  Scamming the system lady  (she uses her Food stamps and coupons to buy all sorts of stuff and sells it out of her garage...Not to mention she knows how to use her coupons so that she gets money back from her food stamps at the U-Scan...a big no-no that is a glich in the system that no one seems to know how to fix), and who claims to be a very strong Christian. My mom regulars who I love to chat with.  The girls that work at the day care right down the road.  All the homeschooling families.  I could go on and on!  I do know a lot of these peoples names but it is much more fun to give them nicknames.

I will also miss all our vendors: the Doritos Lady, the smelly Pepsi guy, The Sun Drop guy, Magazine man, Hershey's lady,  The beer guys...again the list could go on and on.  I will miss my co-workers that became great friends.  I will miss running the register-not U-Scan...I won't miss that at all.  I will miss the beep the registers make when you scan groceries.  I will miss the buttons-how I love to push buttons!!! I won't miss the annoying commercials that come on in the middle of the best songs we play.  I will and will not miss all the drama that small town people like to create to make their lives more interesting. :)  I will miss Senior discount Wednesday when all the sweet old people come in and buy their small amounts of food and stand around to chat and give hugs. If you ever want to feel like your are part of your community than you should be a cashier for a little while.  I have loved it (and hated it)!  I am so looking forward to eating food that isn't warmed up rather than cooked.  I am looking forward to having matching socks because the laundry will be done.  I am looking forward to having a clean house again.  I am looking forward to not feeling guilty this summer that Jake will just be sitting around by himself while I am at work and Aaron has to sleep because he just got off from working 3rd shift.  I look forward to starting homeschooling and getting on a schedule.  I look forward to exercising more.  I look forward to my old and most favorite job in the world (EVER): being a stay-at-home mom.  I look forward to it because I know without a shadow of a doubt that home is where I am supposed and want to be...But I will miss my Bi-Lo...But not for long!  I have to go by there on the way to Jake's school and pick up some ice cream for his party today. :) 

Five Minute Friday: Everyday

I am not a writer-I am a rambler, so this really works for me. :)  If you need to just write without thinking.  If you need to just let out your thoughts and not worry about what people think-just release...Then you need to link up to The Gypsy Mama and have some fun with 5 minute Friday.

Here is my 5 minute Friday Starting now:

Everyday I want to take a step forward, instead of two steps back...I didn't accomplish my to do list...Let's be honest-have I ever really finished my to do list?  No, because in everyday life there is something always something to add.  Send the email to remind parents to send in $ for the end of the year class gift to the parents?  Check!  Figure out when I am actually going to have time to use the $ they send to get the gift for the teacher....Laundry done? Check!  No...wait...My dog just jumped on my freshly washed capri's and left 2 cute (sarcasm)  muddy foot prints...Add laundry back to the list.  My to do list never says Ta Da!-your done!  But that is okay...I am embracing the gift that my Heavenly Father has sent me.  I am a woman.  That makes me the mommy.  The center of our home for nurturing, preparing, and maintaining our home.  The To Do list is my reminder that everyday I am taking steps to lead my family back to our home above.  The EVERYDAY things I do to make our house a home are my way to take a step forward, instead of two steps back.  I will always look forward, because everyday is a gift...

STOP

I saw this on a blog I love and decided this would be my new mantra:

Now it's your turn...It is so fun you have to try it!!!  Come on everyone has 5 minutes.  Consider it a mini brain declutter.

Embracing 35...

That's right I said it, I am 35.  I was going to redo 34 but driving home from Virginia on Sunday something clicked in my brain and I realized no matter what spin I put on it I am still 35...and that is okay. I earned that year, even though on a  personal level I feel like I have accomplished...well nothing this past year!  I know if I really thought about it I probably have but on the surface I feel like it was kind of a flop.  I sound so pitiful and depressed don't I?  I'm not really.  I am just going to look ahead to what this year will bring.  Here are a few things I plan on accomplishing this year.  This year is going to be my year.  My wonderful husband reminded me that I say that every year on my b-day...but I am pretty sure this really is my year...My year to:

*Lose a whole bunch of weight and you won't even know it (because I am so done talking, crying, whining, complaining, dwelling, murmuring, and rationalizing it) until I post a picture of myself and you will all look at my blog and leave me comments saying "You look great!", "How much weight have you lost?", "Great job!".  And I will love myself and actually be able to recognize the person I see in the mirror as the person I have been hiding a way under layers of fat for the past almost decade. :)  This is all I will say about that subject so don't even mention it...until you see a picture that you can say "WOW!" too...I guess I should post a picture of the "wow..." that is me right now so you will have something to compare it too.

*Not make long lists of things that I WANT to do but don't really have TIME to do or Need to do. I will stop adding more pressure to myself.  I did accomplish some of the things on my list that I made the beginning of May.  I read my scriptures ever day except one and I just plan forgot that day.  I did read a few other books (on my Kindle that ROCKS), not all of which are on the original list but things I just plan wanted to read.  I finished my puzzle, but not any of the other projects (that I will do this summer...whenever I decide I have time and really want, rather than feel like I need, to them).  I never got up at 5:30am and I am totally okay with that.  I am not a morning person and I don't think that is ever going to change.  I have done better with exercising-wait I said I wasn't going to talk about it!  I can't even remember what else was on the list...Oh yeah Spring cleaning-negative on that, but it will happen because next week I am done working 5 days a week and we are going to get on an AWESOME schedule immediately after school gets out..Okay-rambling!  You get it-the list was not completed-surprise, surprise.  Moving on...

*Continue to strengthen my testimony.  I will serve more.  I will set a better example to those around me.  I will remember who I am-"at all times, in all things, and in all places".  I will stop neglecting my spiritual needs.

* Take time for me.

*Follow through rather than giving up in all areas of my life that this applies to.

*Be less grumpy.  I will not take my stress out on my family.  I will try not to stress about things out of my control.

*Do better at keeping in touch and reach out and reconnect with people that have touched my life for the better.

*Remember what is important and stop worrying about things that aren't.

*Be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc....

 *Doing other things that I see I need to do as the year goes on.

That list is much better than the one I did the beginning of May.  I guess I am already older and wiser.  35 may not be so bad after all....

Picture a day in May, Day 9: A trip down Memory Lane to when laundry was fun.

This is my little helper at the ripe old age of 3 (2004).  His laundry was still little and cute...Now I can only tell which socks are mine because there is pink on the toe.  And a pair of b-ball shorts that look similar to Aaron's (they are both burgundy.  They aren't the same size yet, but closer than they were back in 2004), have made it in to our clean laundry basket on more than one occasion.  I need some little socks, that aren't stinky and sweaty. :)
The only thing I like about laundry is the way clean clothes smell (and I LOVE that smell.  I will go with out food rather than switch from my very favorite detergent!  Now so more than ever since I know my nephew thinks of me when he smells it!!) and the fact that, for an instant, the laundry baskets (or floor) is empty of stinky and dirty clothes.  I am an awesome stain getter-outer, but for today the stains are going to have to wait.  I have got to go and Zumba dance!  

The month of May and my do over of 34.

I love May. I used to love the little mayflowers in our back yard when I grew up in New Hampshire, and thought for sure they were there for me since my birthday was the last day of the month...And since I am a mom I feel more sure that the month of May really is mine in our little family.

Since May is my month, I have also made a decision about this years birthday. I am calling a do over. I am going to redo 34. I am supposed to turn 35 on May 31st but I am really not feeling 35ish, so I am going to go for round 2 of 34. I will gladly be 36 next year, but I am pretty much refusing to be 35. Aaron told me I can't do that. I however feel differently. As a kick off of sorts for my 34 redo I have some plans. Here they are:

1. I am going to start waking up on the week days at 5:30 so I can Zumba and start the day off with exercise. This is a big deal for me...I am not a morning person. I will also actually write down my Weight Watchers points since I have scientifically proven that it only helps you lose weight if you actually do the program. I will actually get on my other blog and post all this stuff to keep on track...like I was planning on doing when I started it a couple of months ago...I have really bad follow through.

2. I will read my scriptures EVERY day. I am slack in this department. I admit it. Don't judge me. No one's perfect-and some of us are further from it than others...I will be better at planning actual Family Home Evenings, instead of forgetting and saying "Well, we are spending time together so this must count right?"....

3. I will read the following books in the month of May as home schooling prep: Little Britches by Ralph Moody, Laddie by Jeanne Straton-Porter, The Lonesome Gods by Louis L'Amour, Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning by Oliver and Rachel DeMille, and reread the Declaration of Independence (and study it).

4. I will read Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery, because I absolutely love Anne Shirley and after just having finished Anne of Avonlea I have to know what happens next...I feel sure she will marry Gilbert Blythe and live even more happily ever after...I will also read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (...if there is time left in the month, because although I love to read this list seems to be getting really long....). I have never read it *GASP!* I know I am pitiful and I really want to because all versions of the movie I have seen have been amazing. It is also on the list I need to read for home school prep, so I will be killing to birds with one stone!

5. I will finish the following projects: my daisy painting (I have it hanging up and although it isn't done...I still don't know what I want to do to it...), 2 aprons that I bought a pattern, fabric, and all the other stuff I would need to sew them back in January and have been too chicken to start sewing; and my 1000 piece puzzle.

6. I will take and post "A Picture A Day In May". I have been wanting to do a picture a day all year but keep feeling like that is something you start January first...But picture a day in May rhymes so it works out perfectly! :) I am hoping Jake will do it with me since he has his own camera now (in case you missed it, it is an old one that wasn't being used-we didn't go out and buy him one!) and likes to take pictures of random things like I do.

7. I will completely Spring Clean and organize the whole house...Well the part of it we live in. Once school is out we will begin the "switching rooms around project" to prepare for Nee and Papa's return. Yes, I will probably bribe Jake to help me get it all done, I have no shame in telling you this.

8. I will try 2 new recipes a week.

9. I will actually call a babysitter and go on a date with Aaron. That NEVER happens. The last time we did was last June when we went to the John Mayer concert. That is sad I know...

10. I will...think of something else because ending on 9 just seems weird...

In need of some serious brain declutter...

*I am supposed to be at work right now...instead I decided to take a mental health day...which translates into: my sleeping the last 3 nights has been not so good, I had food left over from YAD (I will tell you what that is in a minute...) and didn't want it to go bad in the car, I am slack, I just didn't want to go, I realized a couple of hours in the house by myself sounded heavenly, and since I was going in late I am only missing a whopping $32.46-before taxes. I can live without that $32.46 for a few hours of peace.

*I still haven't watched all of General Conference. I think I will go do that in my remaining time in a quiet, empty house. I need a spiritual uplift...and an easy one that I can just listen to and feel it sinking in. I don't have the energy to have to work at it today.

*I feel guilty talking about not having energy when Aaron works 3rd shift full time and goes to school full time. I am glad one of us is not a big baby.

*Yesterday I was taking a picture of a bell (you will see why in a minute) and Jake said "when are you going to take my picture?" I responded that he never wants me to so I wasn't going to bug him. To this he said: "Now that I have a camera I understand why you want to take pictures." I hope this lasts! I gave him Aaron's old work camera that never gets used and he is loving it! All this leads up to why I took the next picture...This is a new Lego set he got with the Easter money he got. Yes, he got enough Easter money to buy a $20 Lego set...I call it "guilt money". I thought I was going to feel guilty that we told Jake there is no Easter bunny, but I don't...I still need to post about our awesome conversation and coloring Easter eggs....
*Remember the 1000 piece puzzle I started...weeks ago? I am still not done with it. I have only really sat down about 4 times and worked on it. I ended up moving it to a small table so I didn't have to put it away. I WILL FINISH IT. Aaron said one day I am going to come home and it is all going to be in the box because he is sick of picking pieces off the floor. I will do it Aaron I swear. In fact I am going to do it tonight! I like doing it, I just don't make the time. For example I could be doing it right now, but instead I am blogging! Priorities people. :) I keep dusting it carefully so I don't lose any pieces. It is amazing how you can stare at the pieces and all the sudden your mind just spots one and knows right where it goes. I think that is the closet I will ever get to feeling like a genius.

*Jake is really not a great sneaker-picker-outer. His sneakers are pitiful and needed to be demoted to play shoes. After school yesterday we went to look for shoes. We found the "perfect pair" that was on sale and it was BOGO 1/2 off so he got a pair of nice flip flop sandals for 1/2...Both pairs together were still less than the sneakers were full price. I love a bargain. Long story short: he has a field trip tomorrow and want to wear his old sneaks...This after he put on his new ones this morning and then decided to wear his flip flops...Finally he admitted they aren't as comfy as he thought....He just like the way they look, I think...UGH! I told him today after school, indoors, he needed to wear them a few hours and see if they are going to be keepers or not. You can exchange shoes after one day of very light wear right?...

*I realized on Sunday how out of practice I am on so many domestic things. Yes, I only work part time...But that means my home making skills are lacking for that part of the time, which adds up to 20-25 hours a week. That is enough to get me behind... a lot. Not to mention I am a slacker to begin with! On Sunday while I was trying to get the Easter meal all finished, Jake reminded me, oh so sweetly "If Nee was here (we always have Easter dinner with Nee and Papa Graves but they are on a mission) we would already have eaten on the fancy table by now."...Thanks for reminding me dude. We have gotten so used to quick meals served from the counter (not in serving dishes on the table. We still eat at the table...after we move the half done projects to the side...Seriously...help me please...), that it makes we wish for the "normal life" again. I will be the best home maker ever when I am at home full time again. I will never take it for granted again!

*The mom of a friend of Jake's from school called me the other day to ask if Jake is going on the field trip tomorrow. (He didn't go on the over night field trip last year...that's right an over night field trip in the 3rd grade...?...I didn't get it. I think that is why she was wondering if he was going) I told her he was and that wasn't the answer she was looking for. She is not feeling good about sending her son and was hoping I wasn't sending Jake so she could convince her son it was a good idea not to go. Two things went through my mind: I kind of take it as a compliment...and does it mean I am a bad mom that I feel okay about him going on the trip? Isn't it strange where your mind goes?

*I cooked down the ham bone from Easter dinner and made what I like to call a "poor mans meal", that was straight from my childhood. We are calling it ham bone soup. It smelled just like when I was little and my mom made it. It tasted just like it did when I was little...all except that part where the noodles absorbed so much of the juice the were totally mushy and gross...and no one like it except me. And I didn't like it enough to eat it again. Can you imagine how mushy the noodles would be after reheating it again?..

*Sadie may be smarter than I thought...We once saw a video on America's Funniest Video that showed a little lap dog dinging one of these bells to let her family know she needed to go out. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and since we have a puppy I thought we would try it out. Long story short, when Sadie has to go potty we bring her to the back door, ding the bell with our foot and say "Potty?" and then open the door. We started on Saturday and she is already catching on. Last night Jake and I were sitting at the table and Aaron was at his desk, when we notice Sadie sliding the bell on the floor. Aaron was like, "I think she needs to go out." I asked her if she had to go potty, she wagged her tail and jumped around, I opened the door and she went right outside. She is a little doggy genius. Now we are going to take her paw and show her how to tap it (instead of us tapping it) and see if it will really work. (Ignore the messy floor and spots on the door that need to be painted please.)
*I need to be cleaning right now....
*YAD-Young Authors Day. Today I got up at 5:00 am (I am not a morning person...) to cook the 2 breakfast casseroles that I needed to bring in to Jake's class today. I am the class parent and I am counting down the days until it is all over...Today parents were invited to come in and hear the stories their children have been working on. I came home loving Jake's stories, having 1 1/2 casserole's left (the kids really just wanted the doughnuts...No surprise there. That is what I thought would happen, but that is what Jake's teach wanted...), and frazzled because I really am not a fan (at all) of Jake's teacher (she is mean. picture me saying that period rather than typing it...). I am so glad it is almost over....

Old Fashioned: Part 1.

I feel like there should be meetings for us "old fashioned" folks. We are a dying bred. The more I am in the world (not of the world!) and dealing with the public, the more I realize that I am in the worlds eyes EXTREMELY old fashioned. A fact that makes me smile. In high school I wasn't a rebel at all, but one of my friends mom's called me a "free spirit". One of my aunts used to tell me, when I was little, that if I had been born a generation earlier, I would have been a hippie. I have a testimony that we are born when Heavenly Father needs us on this earth. If I had been born and raised in the 60's would I have been a hippie? Maybe...That could be why I was reserved for this time. :) I am glad I am not a hippie. I am happy to be an EXTREMELY conservative and old fashioned person.

A young women (she is planning on being a teacher. She is a great girl, but she thinks she knows EVERYTHING, and she is EXTREMELY opinionated...in the way that everyone else is an idiot if they think differently than she does...) that I work with asked me if I could ever be a stay at home mom and how she didn't think she could. I listened to her say that she thought she would go crazy-not because of her kids, because there wouldn't be anything to do...?...She has a lot to learn. I then went on to tell her that until this past year, I had in fact been a stay at home mom and that was my profession of choice. We talked about a LOT more than that. I told her that I feel very strongly that the moral decline in this country is directly related to the fact that mothers aren't embracing their divine roles any more. I told her that mothers that choose to work outside the home, not because it is a necessity (because in this world it is for a necessity for a lot of families), but in order to have a higher level of luxury are just being selfish. I told her the world is focused on "things"and "stuff" more than they are on their children and that is the problem with our country. I did this all nicely I promise...She thinks I am old fashioned.

Another co-worker lives with his girlfriend, who is a pastor...?...He had to spend a couple of days in the hospital because for his birthday they went to a club to celebrate and someone slipped something into his drink...This is a very nice guy, who is a Christian...Just not an old fashioned one...

Another girl at work (who is so nice and we are great work friends), is coming out of a rough patch in her relationship. She just found out her fiance of 3 years, who she lives with and is the father of one of her children, has a nine month old baby with a one night stand. She has prayed about it and is turning it over to the Lord and it looks like they are going to be able to work through this hurdle in their relationship. I am so happy that her "modern family" is going to be able to stay together.

These are all really nice people that I enjoy working with. Their lives are normal to the world. I however am old fashioned and feel so blessed for it. My co-workers can't believe Aaron is going to school full time and working 3rd shift. They don't understand (even though I try to tell them) that he feels it is his responsibility to support our family and he takes that responsibility very seriously. They think he is old fashioned too, and they are right. I am thankful to be old fashioned. My struggles and stresses in life are SO much easier to handle than all the worldly ones I could be going through. Thank you Mom and Dad for bringing our family into the Gospel. Thank you for raising me to be "old fashioned". My name is Carrie, and I am PROUD to be old fashioned.

Brain Declutter: A bad day, lessons you wish you didn't have to teach, a snake hunter, and a Glog..

*I watched House Hunters International last night and a women said she didn't want to do any remodeling...She was talking about having to paint. Am I the only one that doesn't consider paint remodeling? (And she was American, it wasn't a matter of not understanding the language...)
*I am washing the car today to get the Robin blood off of it. A suicidal Robin flew right into the front of the car on Wednesday on the way to work. Why does stuff like that always seem to be in slow motion? I swear that bird looked me in the eye when it bounced off the front of the hood before the poof of feathers that brought it back into regular motion...I was in shock and about in tears when I clocked in. The head book keeper asked what was wrong. She laughed when I told her...
*I am officially a slack class parent and I don't even feel the need to work any harder at it. Don't get me wrong I am doing what I am supposed, but that is it. Bear minimum people. I am just waiting for this school year to be O-V-E-R...
*Speaking of school...Jake came home yesterday after a bad day at school. As he told me about it he was in tears (and I was too...). Jake has had a "friend" (I use the term loosely) all year that really seems to be a bully. Jake is like me-if you want to be friends with him, he will be your friend. This boy...lets call him Ken (to protect the innocent...), is best friends with Jake one day and treats him like crap the next. If Jake decides to play with anyone else Ken starts calling him stupid and other mean things. Yesterday Ken was mad at Jake (keep in mind Ken doesn't just treat Jake like this, he works his way around the classroom with several of the kids that are nice enough to keep giving him chances), but Jake had 4 other good friends on his side who helped him through the bullying and stood up for him. Long story short, Ken was saying mean things to Jake (and his 4 other friends) and Jake finally told him that he was acting immature and maybe he should just go do something else and let them enjoy their recess. Sounds like a good way to handle the situation. Ken then says to Jake: "I am acting immature because I am black right?! "...Jake was surprised and told Ken no and that he didn't know what that had to do with anything. Jake asked me why he would even say that. My child has no idea why that would even be said, but Ken's parents have obviously taught him that he would be treated differently because of his skin color. Who is perpetuating racism here? I am sure that Ken's parents are just trying to prepare him for hardships that he may encounter-but it sounds like it did more harm than good. I believe you need to have an open line of communication with your child. Yes, you need to prepare them for the world, but you don't need to teach them to be on the defensive because of your skin color. That, in my opinion, is teaching them that there is in fact a difference-WHEN THERE ISN'T! Would you ever treat someone different because they had red hair? No. What if they were really tall? Of course not! So why even teach your child that they may get treated differently because of the way they look?!!!! To me that is one of the lessons you teach when it comes up. Why would you put those thoughts into your child's head!?!?! I blame the parents in this situation...I was so sad for him that he had to deal with this at 9 1/2 years old. I explained what Ken meant and told him that Ken's parents have probably taught him that. I then went on to tell him that the chances are pretty good that Ken's parents are really the ones that have issues with the color of peoples skin, because of situations that they may have encountered. I told him that some people do treat people differently based on their skin color and how wrong that is. (He knew they used to from learning about slavery in history, but he had know idea that people still felt that way ever! He is so good...). That is my only explanation why a 9 or 10 year old would even know to bring it up. I am so sad that he has to learn this lesson. Parents need to think about what they are teaching their children. I would NEVER teach Jake to treat people differently based on ANYTHING that may be different about them. UGGGHHH! Why does the world make it so hard to think of everyone as children of our Heavenly Father. We prayed this morning that Jake would be able to continue to handle the situation by respecting every one's feelings and having peace that that is the best we can do. Please say a prayer for my sweet Jake today. (sorry for the rambling, but this is REALLY bothering me...I am so sad that Jake EVER had to deal with this. I am so sad that Ken's parents have probably been treated differently and that is why they most likely felt the need to pass it on to their child...) I let him have ice cream for a snack to try and cheer him up a little. How could you be mean to this face?..with the hair on top that needs to be cut...I am trying to lighten things up and make myself feel better...

It also cheered him up watching Sadie go crazy and try to bite the water when he was filling up her water bowl. That dog is a mess!!!!

*On a lighter note...Jake and I had a GREAT time the other day finishing a "Glog" (it is like a blog for kids to do projects on...we WILL be using this in home schooling! Nee and Nana: I will send you a link so you can check out his project and leave him a comment, which he is REALLY hoping for!) project the other day on jobs in France. He had such a great time researching. He LOVES researching. We will be researching a lot when we home school....I have already come up with a game for researching different countries (more on that later!). I need to start making a list of things he talks about wanting to research and learn more about. So far he wants to research Mozart, Impressionism, Pointillism, black holes and blue holes, Einstein....and so many more I should have written down! He is such a smart kiddo!
Jake loves this ghost buster shirt we found. I loved it because that means I can put up another one of his beloved T-shirts that doesn't fit but he can't part with because it is so awesome (example: Empire Strikes back t-shirt, that Aaron says is so cool we need to frame it...)

*Speaking of smart, Aaron is doing so AWESOME in school! He made a 92 on a test that he didn't even study for...?...He is not taking easy classes people! Great job Aaron, you are going to be an amazing math teacher! And thank you for not making me feel like an idiot last night (Thursdays are one of the days we go 24 hours without seeing him), when I had to text and call to help with Jake's math homework...Fractions and decimals must be where I started my hate for math, because I felt it all coming back last night. But, I do have to say, Jake and I did about a million high 5's when we came up with the same answer. How sad is it I was so proud of myself when I could do the problem faster than him?...Jake is a math genius, like Aaron. I have to admit it was fun to do the problems once I finally had Aaron remind that it really isn't that tough...
*I got Zumba (I won't go into it too much on this blog, since I already mentioned it on my weight lose journal blog, but I wanted to let you know!!!) and it ROCKS!!!! Seriously! I am so excited to exercise. It goes by so quickly and I can feel it working muscles that don't usually get worked. If you love to dance and want a great work out you should seriously try this out!!!!
*Sadie is a snake hunter...I was blowing bubbles for her yesterday morning after dropping Jake off at school, sitting on the back step. I looked down (after sitting there for about 5 minutes) and saw a dead (stiff) snake. It was little (it could have been 10 feel long...it makes no difference to me. A snake is a snake.), maybe 5 or 6 inches (I looked at it through the French doors, after I screamed, ran inside, and shut the door, leaving Sadie outside with it.). I made Aaron take care of it because I wasn't about to get near it again. I told him I was worried about Sadie with the snakes, and he said "Who do you think brought it to the door? It didn't just die right there." AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I am going to go back to Walmart and buy the huge rubber boots I saw and I am going to rack up every last leaf there is in our yard. Jake will have to be standing there with the shovel because I will not be able to kill a snake if I see one....I want it dead don't get me wrong...I just don't want to stay close enough to kill it. I will let my child do that. I really am an amazing mother aren't I? I can't wait until Aaron's ankle is better....I am warning you all now, I love my dog, but I will not rescue her from a snake! AHHHHHH! I am creeped out just talking about it.
*Jake has never eat bologna. (Have I mentioned that before?...I can't remember because the dialogue in my head is exactly what I type here, so it is hard to remember what are just thoughts or actual things I have blogged...I could go back and look but I am already taking up WAY too much time to do that!) There is no reason why he hasn't. People at work were shocked when I told them that. I realized it one day while bagging someone's bologna. I know you didn't need to know that but I am just dusting out the extra clutter that gets caught in my brain and that is one fact that won't get out. Maybe I will just buy some bologna and get it out once and for all!
*Talking about buying bologna made me think about what seems to be a LARGE amount of food we throw away...Do you throw a way food? Well, obviously you do...But does it seem like a lot sometimes? When I clean out the fridge I think of all the people starving in the world and it makes me sick to my stomach that I just forgot about that left over piece of chicken...or the lettuce that went bad before we used it...I need to work on that, big time.
*Okay, one more thing before I stop my rambling!!! I am sorry I haven't responded by email to those of you who asked about the hair product sent straight from Heaven into my hands. I actually got two and they cost...gasp! $32 combined...(I started out with one for $15 and then decided to really splurge.) BUT!!! (I NEVER spend that much on hair anything!) They will literally last at the very least 6 months and I was able (for the first time EVER) to actually recreate what my hair dresser did to my hair. You know how you leave the shop loving your hair and then want to cry the next day when nothing you do makes it look like that again? I did it, and it looked AWESOME! I felt so sassy with my new hair cut and I love my new products....All that just to tell you: DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND IMMEDIATELY GO AND BUY "AQUAGE" (transforming paste-you use the size of a pea at the most and it is the BEST!), AND KENRA VOLUME SPRAY. You will not be disappointed and you will love your hair. I also traded in my cheap and not worth owning flat iron, for one my hairdresser (and new best friend) told me about. It is this tiny little thing and it is AWESOME...I need to wrap this up so if you want to know about that one I will tell you next time....I have to go accomplish something now!
*Have a great weekend!!!!

Things I have learned this week...

*Never start a puzzle with your son, the same week that a long anticipated Wii game finally comes out. You will be doing it by yourself.

*1,000 piece puzzles are hard. It isn't done yet. Mostly because I have really only had 3 times to sit down and work on it...I will finish it, but I am slightly worried that one or two pieces may have been eaten by Sadie.

*If we don't wake her up, Sadie will sleep in. This makes me very happy. I enjoy (a lot) sleeping in on Saturday. I don't really get too because Jake always wakes me up to say good morning at around 6:30. I don't tell him not to, because in a couple of years he will be sleeping in and never want to give me my morning hug and kiss. He then asks if I want to sleep on the couch, while he watches cartoons or plays the Wii. I always do and then right as I fall asleep again he has to show me something funny on his favorite show or the new space cruiser vehicle thing he just purchased (on the Wii game). This goes on for a while until I just give up and join him. This morning however I slept though his comments (I did a lot of the puzzle last night...and stayed up late. For me at least. Is 12:30 late for anyone else or am I just a wimp?), but kept thinking I heard Sadie whining to get out of her crate. Jake would check and she would be fast asleep. Lucky girl!!! So, now I know if I can sleep through Jake talking to me, I can sleep in peacefully because the puppy likes to too. That's my girl. :)

*If you are focusing on a puzzle it is very easy to forget about the laundry and dishes...and the Spring cleaning I had planned for the day.

*Rainy days are perfect days for puzzles.

*I get excited when I find a piece that fits...I think I may have chosen one of the hardest puzzles ever, for an amateur at least. It has a lot of water and sky...Dumb I know but it was cute and it was only $4.04 at Target. The easier looking ones were more money...

*Aaron asked me if puzzles are going to be my new thing...I am still deciding. But I have learned that I really like painting my nails a different shade every couple of days (that is as long as it usually lasts.)

*I learned that even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on manicures. It would be a waste of money because I wouldn't want to keep the same color on. Pedicures...I would pay for though-at least the part when they massage your feet. :)

*Soaking dry, cracked feet in warm water and lemon juice is a miracle worker. (Papa Harmon told me this trick and it is a WINNER! You may want to go buy stock in lemon juice because I will be buying a ton of it from now on!) Seriously! I have no photographic proof of the miracle that took place on my feet because I don't want to scare your children if they walk by your computer while you looked at the horror that my heels were before. After taking my feet out of the soak (about 15 minutes) I thought I would have to scrub off the dead skin. I didn't have to. It literally feel off my feet with just a little rubbing and itching. Is this TMI? Sorry, but if this helps just one person with cracked dry heels like mine than it is worth it. :) If you have this problem try the lemon juice soak. It will blow your mind!!!!

*I stink at painting my toe nails and Aaron thinks it is hilarious. He won't even paint my toe nails for me because he would rather laugh at how pitifully they turn out when I do them. At least I can make him laugh! :)

For anyone interested in trying the Lemon juice soak I used one of those plastic lemon shaped bottles filled with lemon juice-the whole thing! I don't know if I needed to use that much but I wanted to make sure it worked...and it is still way cheaper than a pedicure! I used about a gallon of warm water and soaked for 15 minutes. Hope it works for you too! :)

Wordful Wednesday: Myths about Women

This will be short and sweet today...and actually fits in perfectly with the myth I want to talk about. The world believes that women can have both a career and a family. I am here to tell you that if you have both, something will be lacking. I only work part time and there is a lot lacking in the house work department. I know it will be there tomorrow. But, you do have to wash the dishes when there are no more forks. And you do have to do the laundry when there is no more clean underwear. There are also things lacking in the family department. Date night, movie night, game night, making it to all the basketball games & field trips, when Jake is sick and I go to work because Daddy is home (but sleeping because he worked 3rd shift.), time to play, dinners that aren't out of a box, traditions crashing and burning...You get the picture. No these things aren't going to scar my family and we are blessed...but it is hard and I feel guilty EVERY day for something I could do better or more if I wasn't always busy trying to juggle it all. Yes, it is a reality in the world today that women have to work outside the home. I know my time working outside the home is temporary and I am happy that I have been able to be home for so long. I am so lucky that I was able to get a job that works so well with my schedule. I am extremely blessed for that reason. But as I talk to people at work and watch the news, it is evident that families are suffering in this country and I believe that mom's having to work is a big part of that. I hope I am not offending anyone. We all do what we have to do, but it is true. Families suffer when mom's have to work. Don't hate me for keeping it really people...If I weren't tired I would think of a better way to put all this, but you get it right? Now I have to go and open up a can of hot dog chill and pears for our awesome dinner, since my guys just finished their level on Lego Star Wars III.... (I had to work a longer shift than usual so that is the best I can do...)

Check out other ladies feeling on this very topic over at Chocolate on my Cranium.

It's 8:47 on Saturday night...What are you doing?...

...I am getting ready to get our clothes ready for church. I am going to pack up my bag tonight with everything I need for sharing time. I am going to get our Sunday meal all prepped. In other words I am going to be ready for Sunday! On Saturdays I should be singing the Primary song (Primary is kind of like Sunday School for the children at our church), "Saturday is a special day, it's the day we get ready for Sunday!" I am actually ready (or I am about to be) this week. You remember that song from the 80's that says:"just another manic Monday. Ohhhhh. Wish it were Sunday..." I have to admit I don't always feel that way about Sunday. Not because I don't like going to church-because I do! Just because I always forget to prepare and we end up running out the door after a crazy 30 minutes of trying to pull it all together. Sometimes we play too long with Lego's or sleep in too long... :) But not this week! I am going to be ready!!! The house is clean (ish...you know what I mean...There is always room for improvement! We did pick up, dust, sweep, and all that jazz today.) and we are ready to go...Except one thing I literally just remembered. Jake is going to give a talk in Primary and he never did write it. No problem he can write it in the morning when we would normally be running around trying to find his other church shoe...which, by the way, is where it is supposed to be with the other one ready for Sunday. I even have the Primary CD in the CD player to set the mood...I am excited to start the week off right. Here's to non-manic Sunday's and starting the week off in the right frame of mind. Have a great Sunday whatever you and your family will be doing!

Simple Pleasures: #1- Nice People & #2- A Clean House

I was so excited to have the day off yesterday...until I didn't...I had a plan to tackle every room. Then the phone rang and I looked at it and it said Bi-Lo...I knew what answering the phone would mean. That I would have to flush my wonderful cleaning plan down the toilet, when I all I really wanted to do was clean the toilet!...What did I do? I answered it and my glorious day off was vaporized...I was talking to a friend at work (...maybe murmuring a little that I had to be working...) and I said "Why did I have to answer the phone and say yes?!". To this she said: "Because that is who you are. You are nice. You want to make people happy." Why was she saying nice things to me?! I was trying to be grumpy and she was making it very difficult. Then I remembered it was Wednesday and at Bi-Lo that is Senior Citizen discount day. That means all the sweetest and nicest old people come in to shop and talk. I joked with my friend by saying: "Geez! I wish they would all stop being so sweet and nice! Don't they know they are ruining my bad mood?!?" :) We laughed. I felt better. So, my #1 simple pleasure is: Nice people...As I sit here thinking of nice people Marjorie Pay Hinckley popped into my head, so I went to the book shelf and took out "Small and Simple Things" by this sweet lady. I flipped through it and came upon this very smart thing she said: "Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." My battle was being grumpy yesterday. I am thankful for all the nice people that were kind to me yesterday-even when I wasn't really deserving of it. :)

AND...I am happy to report: If you were to knock on my front door I would let you in! I would let you go in any room you wanted...I may not let you open all the closets, but I only had half a day people!!! My #2 simple pleasure today is a clean and tidy home! YIPPEEEE!!!! No it is not perfect, it is so much better than it was. I could feel the stress leaving all of us. I am a happy camper.

Check out other peoples simple pleasure's over at Cocoa's blog.

This is a long one...Puppy pictures and other things I have forgotten to blog about...

****WARNING: If you don't like puppies avert your eyes****
(If you don't like puppies there is something wrong with you... :) )
We have had this little ball of fluff in our house for 2 weeks now, and she has totally stolen our hearts. We, for whatever reason, always give our dogs middle names. We are going back in forth between May and Monster. Sadie May sounds so sweet and was our first dog, Daisy's (a crazy basset hound) middle name. But, I have to say that Monster may be more fitting. Don't get me wrong she is as sweet as can be, but in case you didn't know, puppies can be a bit like monsters. They have razor sharp teeth that they use on you! They of course don't realize how much it hurts-but IT DOES. I have many battle wounds on my hands to show for it. They happen when you are playing and they can't get the toy so they get you instead...So, I will let you know which middle name sticks, but I am rooting for Monster. Sadie had her first Vet visit on Monday and they said she was perfect-something I already knew. :) The vet kept saying she is going to a BIG dog. Emily (our last black lab) was 100 pounds so we are ready. The phase when your puppy is still a puppy mentally but not physically is always fun, but we have been there and done that, so we will survive. Sadie is pretty smart. If her water is empty and she needs some she puts her paw in the bowl and makes a racket until you fill it. If she has to go #2...sorry this is my journal too, so I have to document it...She whines, chases her tail and runs for the front door. She could have just gone #1 outside (or on occasion inside...) in the back yard, but she will come in the house and run for the front door. And Mom, contrary to what Jake was telling you on the phone she is doing really well in potty training. He made it sound like she pee's all over the place and we don't even pay attention. Puppies are like toddlers that just learned how to walk-you have to always keep your eye on them. The vet was impressed at how well she walks on a leash and the fact that I brought two chew toys with me. What can I say? I am a mom, I like to be prepared...Sadie is 13 pounds and 9 weeks old. She feels like a feather so I am surprised she weighs that much already! Okay...Okay, enough rambling about Sadie. Here are the puppy pic's:

How can you resist that little face?!
Who knew they had mini tennis balls!?

Sadie stuck between the screen and the door...She really is smart I swear...Look at all those toys!...and Jake's flip flop...Greedy little thing. Her toys are never good enough! :) She loves her "house" she goes in and out all day long. (She peed on her other blanket so Jake agreed to temporarily let her borrow this blanket until the other one is clean.)
I couldn't resist this one...This is the day we got Sadie, on the ride home. She was pretty tired, so she took a snooze.
Seeing this picture of her little self makes me realize how much she has grown already...
The new place we keep our shoes since we have a puppy.
...and our garbage cans.
She doesn't like to go outside with out us. I was cleaning the sun room and the weather was beautiful so I left the door open. She stood in the door and looked around forever before she finally ventured out on her own.

And on to the other things I have forgotten to post:

Just to make you feel better if you are having a "I am a horrible mother" day:
In music at school they are learning to play the recorder. Jake is a recorder rock star...When we remember to put it in his backpack...We forgot it 2 weeks and got this fun little note saying if he forgets one more time he will get a "N"...Not one of my "Mom of the Year" moments...

We had fun making Valentine's to send to Nee and Papa on their mission...I am sad to day the is the last letter we wrote them...Sorry we are so slack!!!! Jake's love bug:

Aaron was there for moral support. We cut him a lot of slack since the poor guy is either working, studying, humoring us, or in very small amounts of time sleeping. :) He has also just gotten his Kindle so I don't blame him. :)
A couple of Upward b-ball pic's



And one more Sadie shot. She sleeps on the tile or hardwood floor 99.9% of the time. I guess she decided when I used the huge dog bed as a gate from the rest of the house, that this would be a good time to try to sleep on it...
Picture me grumpy right now. I was supposed to have the day off but they screwed up the schedule and asked if I would come in.... and because I am an IDIOT, I said yes. Awesome. I get to work for 3 little hours (that will mess up my whole day because those were hours Jake is at school and I wouldn't feel guilty I was neglecting him...) just to make about $20 after taxes and still have a messy house....I was going to clean the whole house today. I have been spending the morning blogging and reading (I deserve a little break on my day off right?), and being quiet to let Aaron sleep and THEN I was going to clean the house...boo, hiss, hiss...(that is me murmuring....)

TGIF and Note to self.

Thank goodness it is Friday (...that is if the girl at work that needed more hours, so I gladly gave her my Saturday shift, shows up tomorrow when she is supposed to...Why is my manager all the sudden giving me weekend shifts? I am a Mon.-Fri. girl!)! I need a day at home (besides Jake's last b-ball game, the awards dinner that evening to wrap up the b-ball season, and of course grocery shopping) to catch up. Bedrooms are highest on the list of an overhaul...And then the rest of the house will follow.

This has been a week to remember! I need to remember that when my child is sick and I miss church it really throws the whole week out of whack. I don't think I could go inactive because this past week has been a real stinker and I am blaming it all on Satan. He realized we didn't get our Sunday uplift and really focused in on us all week long...Every morning was rush, argue, guilt. Every afternoon was...well, exactly the same as the morning! The house is still partially a mess. I clean one room and then the next one is back to a disaster zone, because I have been to lazy to keep it up. I will admit to the fact that I have not cracked my scriptures this week-except at Primary training on Wednesday night. How sad is that? And my prayers at night have been laying in bed half asleep apologizes to the Lord as I am slipping into dream land and not making any sense. My morning prayers were an after thought. After I have been a screeching, mean mom...Sorry about that Jake. Not to mention poor Aaron-even when he was calling on the phone on the way from school to work I was only half listening...Sadie was no where to be found, (which is never a good thing) and I was yelling from another room to have Jake find her...all while talking to Aaron on the phone for a few minutes of the 24 hours we exist at home with out him. Nice job Carrie!...Sorry Aaron...(that talking in 3rd person was a joke, I swear.)

What is the point of this post? Why am I rambling on about this? This is a note to self. "It" all does make a BIG difference. "It"being: reading scriptures, praying, homemaking, and going to Church on Sunday. I have been one big ball of grumpiness and I know exactly why. I will read my scriptures and say my prayers. I will get this house in order. I will be nice and not grumpy. And I will be ready and waiting to go to Church on Sunday so I can start the week off on the right foot!

The story of my life...Rambling and Venting on just a few of today's highlights...

Today went something like this:

Wake up, hurry let Sadie out before she pees!...Can't resist playing with her...OH NO! We have 10 minutes to get ready for school!!!! Get dressed while I pack your lunch, Carnation instant breakfast on the way, bye Daddy/Aaron see you tomorrow (guilt set in)...AHHH! We forgot to pick out your favorite poem to bring to school...grab the Feb. Ensign (after leaving the house and coming back to figure something out...) and rip out the awesome poem (which is now Jake's favorite) about the Atonement and call it good (and it is really good, so go read it if you haven't already...I have some catching up to do on that too...Haven't finished Feb. -what I have read really made me think...more on that another time.. and March came in the mail today!...Is it really March next week?!?) . Back to the car, Jake-I really hope you aren't tardy (luckily I thought of that before leaving the house the first time and put a bra on just in case I had to sign him in...)! Sweet we made it (barley)! As much as I love that you blow me kisses, do the sign language "I love you", and wave I am really hoping you will walk quickly to the door!!!! I didn't say that to him...I just quickly returned all 3 and motioned for him to hurry...Phew...Now back to the messy house and the first day Sadie will have to stay in the crate for the whole 5 hours I will be at work...And this after she slept in it all night! Guilt sets in. Take her on a quick walk, 1 loop tires out an 8 week old puppy (she is 8 weeks today!), and play with her until she is tired. Jump in the shower and pull a head full of wet hair into a pony tail and go to work...

Needless to say I didn't walk into work my normal bubbly self. It was a break to walk in the door and wait for customers! I told the other cashiers I was grumpy and mean today and they laughed and told me that they didn't believe I could be grumpy and mean. That made me feel better until I realized how sad it is that acquaintances get my best behavior and I save grumpy for my family...Guilt sets in...

After work (where I thought all day about how much our house looked like someone either broke in or a tornado went through...I dreaded going home...), and picking up Jake from school we came home and rescued Pee-Paw (one of Sadie's nicknames since she walked through her own pee once and I told Jake "Grab her quick! She just peed on the floor and has Pee-Paw!!!) and we decided to stay outside...Jake did his homework on the table on the patio (for the second day in a row) and I read Anne of Green Gables from Aaron's Kindle (I want one...some day...). We watched Sadie play and played with her...We enjoyed the beautiful weather and for a little while I didn't care that the house is in complete disarray...Until I walked back in it (guilt sets in)
...Maybe if I close my eyes I can navigate to the kitchen with out burning the vision of stuff every where into my brain...To the library, back home to make ramen noodles (this is my single mom day-Aaron is gone to school/work and we won't see him for 24 hours so noodle ramen it is!) to eat on the way to b-ball practice, run to Bi-Lo during his practice (I told another mom there and she has my cell #...) because I forgot to bring my coupons to work that would enable me to get 2 jugs of laundry detergent (on a BOGO sale that ends today of course) for a mere $2.99. Not a piece-for both of them...AWESOME deal!...Back to practice, chat, home and get Jake in bed, make sure we focus in the morning so that Jake can do his response, on the new book he got from the library, before leaving for school in the morning...And the house is still horrible. Oh well, it will still be there tomorrow and I have the day off! Overhaul tomorrow will be a piece of cake. Instead of cleaning tonight I need to check in on the blog world-I haven't even thought about it since Thursday...You miss a lot of good posts in 5 days! ....I just got pee-foot...Awesome (sarcasm, in case you didn't know)...Sadie is sleeping soundly but not before she could pee with out me noticing it. And why did I get up in the middle of a post? Because I heard them say on the TV (the mom from b-ball practice said they only have 4 TV's...huh?...only?) that is on in the other room, that Justin Beiber cut his hair and for some reason I had to see it...Why? I am not sure, and he looks the same to me (I don't have Beiber fever or anything but the previews for his movie actually look good... What does that say about me?...). And that is the story of my life! Rushing, being unprepared and puppy pee (by the way not complaining here-she is so worth the pee)....Awesome. Tomorrow will be better and I will now stop venting and rambling and go to bed. I will put my blinders on and not look at the counter where there are all sorts of things needing to be taken care of. One of which is the pepper I spilled, but didn't have time to clean up before basketball. Guilt sets in...It will be there tomorrow. The mess and the guilt, but it will be better. :) Aaron will be home...