Behind the Scenes: April 2009

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Proud Mom

Nathan had to write a "passion poem" for his honors english class. He brought it home to show me. His teacher gave him 15 points out of 10 possible. Her comments written on the poem were this: "Can I have a copy? Powerful imagery and message! Great job! Wonderful!"

So as a mom- of course I have to share his poem.

Never stopping;
Moving;
Flowing forever in an eternal cycle.
Water, ice, rain;
The beginning of life.
Bringing joy and pain.
Sleet, hail, snow.
Falling;
Rising to bring life to the world.
Oceans, lakes, streams;
Glaciers, frost;
Water.

~By Nathan McDonald

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

"Dirty" Little Secrets

So- I am airing out my "dirty" little secrets- all of the clutter in my house! I have been making a "spring cleaning" list in the back of my mind. It seems to be getting longer and more overwhelming the more I look around my house.

How does THIS happen??

This is the top drawer of our TV stand in the front room. It is crammed so full of books that I swear one of these times it's going to break when opened because it is so heavy. And I know I've cleaned it out a million times...

Below is my kitchen closet/pantry. The mess and disorganization of it is all consuming.
"Just shut the door and walk away..."

Here is below my bathroom sink. Open doors and throw it in. I'm sure there's some body sprays and half used lotions and soaps buried in there from Y2K.

Aahh...the neverending ironing pile. Some day I will get all those clothes ironed. Problem is- then I have to find room to hang them in my closet.

Speaking of closets....this is Logan's closet. I swear a Tazmanian Devil attacked it. I bought nice containers to sort out the different types of toys. At one time (about a year ago) it was nice and neat. Now there are legos, army guys, Happy Meal toys, crap, crap and more crap thrown everywhere. Once again...shut the door and walk away.

Now could anyone tell me how it is possible to find anything in this drawer? It's Claire's sock/tights/swimsuit drawer. Ugh- totally disgusting.

This is the cupboard I hate the most in my kitchen. If I need anything out of it- it's a 10 minute process because EVERYTHING falls out.

Now that I've gotten some of my clutter out in the open I'm sure that some of you are shaking your heads in disgust. (And I didn't even share a photo of our "junk drawer.") I wouldn't blame you- I shake my own head in disgust- and then I take a valium and turn on the TV. :-)

Question: Do any of you "spring clean" every year- if so, what do you do? Any time consuming tips and tips on how not to get overwhelmed? And if you don't- then please tell me so I don't feel so alone.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Go Figure...

It's been about 3 weeks I think since I started back on my anti-depressant. I am feeling so much better. I think they are really helping. And go figure this- one of the reasons I was depressed was because of my weight. But naturally wasn't going to do anything about it- that would take too much energy. Since I've been on my "happy pills" I have lost 7 pounds! (Which is only noticeable on the scale...) And I still haven't exercised (except for volleyball twice a week) and I still eat chocolate cake and cookies. I should've started on those pills a long time ago....

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Important Life Questions

Driving home from school yesterday with Logan and Claire in the car...

Claire: "Mom, when will we see Grandpa Dee again?"
Me: "When Jesus comes again, but nobody knows when that will be. We will all be resurrected though."
Claire: "Then we will live forever?"
Me: "Yep, that's right.
Logan: "I wonder if there will be Star Wars videos and games? I sure hope so."
Me: "Hmm.. I don't know about that."
Logan: "Does Santa Claus die?"
Me: "Umm...probably."
Logan: "Well, then who would be Santa?"
Me: "I guess he just finds someone else to do it."
Logan: "No, I think he just lives forever because he wouldn't be able to find another magic man."

So my conclusion from this is that Santa Claus must be one of the 3 Nephites. :-)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Modern Day Seamstress

Tera Brown- just go ahead and skip reading this post....

Meet my new sewing machine....

Did you know that the Iron paired up with this:

can do AMAZING things! Need a patch put on a scout uniform? Need pants shortened? Need drapes brought up a bit? Viola! You can do it without a needle and thread! If I can do it- anyone can do it. The possibilities are endless. It has become my new best friend. :-)

3/10: Nathan has worked hard in school this year and has received straight A's all year. He worked hard to get back into honors classes next year also. I am so proud of him.

I was putting Logan in his bed late at night because he fell asleep in our bed. Nathan was sound asleep in his bed. He talks in his sleep quite a bit. This was the conversation he had with me while his eyes were closed.
"Mom!"
"What Nathan?"
"What's there to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm bored!"
"Well, why don't you read?"
"Cuz that's BORING!"
"Why don't you just go to sleep?"
"mumble mumble mumble" (couldn't understand)

My crimany- even when they're sound asleep they still ask me what there is to do because they're bored! Does it never end? LOL

3/10: Logan was visiting some cousins and they weren't treating him very well. He hadn't been feeling well besides. When we picked him up he began to tell us all the "naughty" things that were said and done by them. He continued to say that these cousins liked to play violent computer games and that they watch R rated movies. (which I don't think is true...) At the end he sighed and said "Those kids need to get their life straight."

11/09: Our computer has had a virus and Nathan (our computer whiz) hasn't taken the time to fix it. Logan wanted to play a computer game on Spence's laptop. Spence told him no. Logan shouts at the top of his lungs "Then tell Nathan to fix the DAMN computer!" Needless to say, he went straight to his room for time out. I don't know where he learns those words!

2/09: I was playing a Memory Game with Logan and Claire. They teamed up against me. I HATE that game. They were of course, winning. Logan says with so much excitement "Mom! We're kicking your ass off!" I said "What?" Naturally, he repeated it for me. I don't know where he has learned that word because I swear- I have never used it.

-We were at the drive up at Wendy's and Spence gave his debit card to the cashier. Logan asked "Is there never ending money on dad's card?" Boy, I sure wish there was!

-Claire decided to suck her thumb in the car the other day. I told her that she is too old to do that and that there are so many germs on her hands that go in her mouth. Logan's response: "At least it keeps her from talking mom."

-We were coming home from Sunday dinner at the in-laws and were playing around with the GPS navigator we got for Christmas. The lady was telling us instructions on where to turn to get home. When we were almost home Logan (in sarcastic voice) says "Uh, we know how to get home. We don't need any stupid instructions!"

-Last night Logan was laying in bed. I was putting Claire to bed. It was all quiet, then Logan says "Mom!" I said "What Logan?" He then replies "I can hear my brain banging in my head!" I didn't even know how to respond to that one.

3/10: I got out some Sun Chips for Claire for lunch the other day. She was excited about the flavor of them and said "Oh I love this kind! This kind is made with weed!" (They are the plain kind that have wheat...)
1/10: Claire got the movie "Hannah Montana" for Christmas. She loves that movie and I cannot count how many times she has seen it. She turns it up and dances during the songs. She was going downstairs to watch it and said she couldn't take Simon (our new dog) down with her cuz she was going to be "rockin and rollin." I guess it was going to get a bit too wild and crazy in the basement for the new puppy... :-)

5/11/09: Claire brought home a "Sight Word Fishing Game" from preschool. You write different sight words on the back of the cards and fish for them with a magnent. I helped her to read the words. We came to the one that said "you." I told her the word and told her it was like "I love you." She then replied "Or like yooo gross!"

2/26/09: Claire went to the dentist today for the first time. She was nervous so watched while Logan had his teeth cleaned. She saw the "blue napkin" laying on him and asked what it was for. I told her it was to wipe stuff on. She said "Like your boogers." Hmmm- let's hope you can keep your finger out of your nose while the dentist is here. :-)

-I put Claire to bed and came down and sat on the couch to read. After about five minutes Claire got out of bed and came down. She pulled out the Friend magazine to sit by me and read. I kept telling her she needed to get back into bed. She refused. She ignored all of my threats and I didn't have energy to deal with it. She said "Mom, I'll do everything you tell me to do...tomorrow!" Ugh!

-We were in the car the other night and it was a bright full moon. I said to the kids "Look at the full moon!" Claire looked then asked "What does the moon eat? Cheese?" I laughed and said the moon doesn't eat anything. It's not alive. Then she goes "Well then how come it's so fat?"

-Claire came running up to talk to me and said "Mom! I need to tell you something. I need to talk to you FOREVER!"

-Claire has been a little stinker lately and really testing my patience. She has an "attitude." I was laying in bed with her last night and asked her if she was going to please start minding mommy and daddy. She just looked at me and shook her head and said "Noooo."

-When Grandpa Dee passed away we explained to the kids that when Jesus comes again he will be back "alive" and his spirit will enter into his body again. Spence later found a picture of his dog, Shasta, that died a long time ago. He was talking to Claire about the dog. She brought the picture up to me and said "Mom! Here is Shasta! He is dead, but when Jesus comes again he will come back alive. Jesus will bring her to us in his car!" Hmm, I wonder what kind of car Jesus drives. Definitely a Mercedes...

9/1/10- Samuel rolled over from his belly to his back today! He is smiling so much now and discovering his voice and hands more. He definitely loves to be held and especially likes to sit outside. He brings so much joy to our home!
9/12/11- Samuel is climbing everything now. He loves to climb up on the cupboard and kitchen table. He loves his bottle and blankie. His favorite things to play with are any kitchen utensil (spatulas, wooden spoons, etc), and the mop and broom. He dances when he hears music and has the BEST smile ever.