Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Morning Walk

Alissa still has pink eye, so I thought since it is a sunny day we could go for a walk at a Metro-park by our house. So I loaded the kids, the stroller and back pack and we drove there. I put Alissa in the back pack and Broden in the stroller and Remi walked. The sun was really bright so Remi told Broden,"Here pull this sunbrella down to block the sun." I guess is what the visors are on the stroller, a unbrella for the sun. That makes sense.

On our walk we saw a male and female cardinal, a tree cut down by a beaver, a plant that is going to be possibly a lilly, some woodpeckers, bluebirds, miniature pine cones and lots of other birds. It was nice to be out of the house and just enjoying doing something with the kids. Then they played outside for another 3 hours when we got home. I LOVE nice weather.

Diego

The other day Remi and Broden were watching Diego. This was the conversation we had when I walked into the room
Remi,"Mom, I don't want to be inside."
Me,"Ok, You can go outside."
Remi,"I don't want to be outside either."
Me,"Ok where do you want to be?"
Remi"In there with Diego." (Pointing to the TV)
Me,"You can't be in there with Diego."
Remi,"I want to be in there with Diego so I can help rescue animals"

Then I left them to watch their movie while I showered. When I got out of the shower this is what I heard

Remi,"We have to throw it harder, it didn't break yet."
Broden,"Throw this one."

I came down the stairs and asked what they were doing.
Remi,"We are throwing our toys at the TV so we can get inside with Diego and rescue animals"

I explained that you can't get into the TV and if you could that isn't where Diego lives.
Funny kids.

Crazy Monday

So yesterday was a crazy day. Alissa got up at like 5:00am so I brought her into our bed and she fell back to sleep on Blake's chest. When we all finally got up we took one look at her and knew she had pink eye. Both eyes were glued shut with nasty green goop. Luckily we had some leftover eye drops from the last round of pink eye. I was going to go to "boot camp" at the gym, but couldn't take the kids to the gym with Alissa's eyes like that. So I hurried and went running, coming in the door just as Blake was leaving. He said,"Keep your phone by you I need to talk to you while I drive."
He called me a few minutes later and we were discussing our upcoming temple trip and babysitters. Then I could hear his car beeping like he was getting out of it. He said," Hold on something just happened to the car, I'll call you back."
Then a few minutes later our realtor called and told me we had an offer on our house. She was going over the details with me while Broden was also trying to talk to me. And when Broden is trying to talk to you he has to have 100% undivided attention, You have to look at him the whole time and nod your head and repeat everything he says, or he throws a fit. So I didn't hear everything the realtor said, but I was super excited about the offer.
I got off the phone with the realtor and our home phone rang. I picked it up and it was Blake. He said all the doors in the car were locking and unlocking, the lights were flashing so he pulled over. He got out to see what was up and the door locked behind him. So he is halfway to school, locked out of his car with it running and his phone inside. He used the car wash's phone and called me. So I tried to find our spare key and couldn't find it anywhere! He ended up calling the police to come unlock it for him. Then he came home and we washed off the battery pack and it has been fine since then.
After he left for school things were simi normal for most of the day. We got an email with the offer in it so I could read the details, as much as I could understand. I talked to the bank and got a Roth IRA set up and discussed life insurance stuff. Then we got another email saying Blake needed to get in some paperwork to the Air Force as soon as possible, or he would be in trouble pretty much. So as soon as he got home from school he started working on paperwork while I was doing dinner.
Dinner was crazy by itself! I was going to make fish and Blake wanted crepes. So I started making crepes. Blake got me a recipe box for Christmas so I could organize all my recipes that were just thrown into a cupboard. So I mixed the crepes and got out 2 of our frying pans. I poured the batter in and then tried to flip them and the just were mush. So I got out our pancake griddle, thinking the frying pans just were too old and scratched. Same thing happened on the pancake griddle. In the middle of this the realtor is calling to see if we got the other papers she sent us about how much we will get out of the sale. We hadn't gotten it, I thought. But then found it in junk mail. So I called her back and told her that.
Then I tried getting ahold of my sister to get the crepe recipe again, apparently I must have written it down wrong. I got ahold of her, but she wasn't home, so she gave me her husband's number because he has it memorized. He gives me the recipe- 1/2 a cup flour is WAY different than 2 cups flour! So I dump the old batter an mushy crepes and start over. FINALLY it works. So after an hour and a half of making dinner while talking to people we sit down to eat. The realtor calls to see what we think of the offer. We haven't had a chance to look at it yet. We eat dinner, have a quick FHE and it is 7:30 by this time. So I take Remi and Broden upstairs to lay by them and my phone rings again, realtor wondeing what we think so she can come sign papers with us and get moving on the offer. We still haven't looked at it so I say I'll call her in 10 minutes.
Meanwhile Blake is on the phone getting help with the Air Force paperwork. I lay by the kids for a few minutes(they are SO highper) Then I left them saying they need to go to sleep. I went downstairs and could hear them jumping around and laughing. Blake and I look at the offer and decide we have to accept even though it in't ideal. We aren't getting up as much as we hoped and the move out date is April 27th, graduation isn't until May 16th.
So anyway, the realtor comes, we sign paperwork and discuss moving options a little bit. She is going to check and see if we can change the move out date. After she leaves we bring Remi and Broden down stairs and let them watch a movie while we talk about what all we need to do. Finally at 10:00 they are tired, so we put them to bed then eventually made it to bed too. And after all of that, neither Blake or I could sleep. Eventually we fell asleep though and today so far seems pretty normal:)

Monday, March 15, 2010

Funny Alissa

So Alissa REALLY likes to put on Broden's underwear. The other day she wanted her diaper off then she put on Broden's underwear. Another time she walked into the bathroom fully clothed, walked into the bathroom, lifted up her shirt and leaned over the toilet like she was going to the bathroom(like a boy). It was so funny. I just caught her doing it again. Maybe I need her to watch Remi going to the bathroom so she realizes how girls do it.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Project

The crib set I made for my sister Kristi's baby. I was way excited to see how it turned out. It is a bumper pad, mobile, banket, skirt, changing pad, and diaper holder. I don't know how to use a pattern, so this is my own.

It took me about 3 weeks I think. I don't remember exactly. It was a lot of fun though. I was excited to see the finished project over Christmas. I finished it in pieces and sent them with different people going out that way, so I didn't see it all together until Christmas.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Winter Blues

So this post is just about me and some of the things I have gone through in the last year. Nothing major, just some thoughts.

Last year I watched a show on obesity and about how dangerous it is to be addicted to food. It talked about how alcoholics can recover because they don't have to have alcohol to survive, but people who are addicted to food have a hard time because they have to eat. Then a few weeks later I had a dream I was diabetic. It really scared me. I was healthy, but worried about my future health.

I didn't eat etremely healthy. Sometimes I would make cookies and eat the whole batch, except a few that I would leave for Blake. This happened with most things I baked, pumpkin bread, cookies, cakes everything. I didn't have control. If I ate one bite, then I would eat the whole thing.

Something else I struggled with was getting really down and overwhelmed during the winter. I would just be sad and not accomplish anything. So I decided to start eating healthier. I first tried cutting out as much sugar as possible, eating more whole grains and drinking more water. I felt like I had so much more control. I had to move all of Blake's food to the basement. The granola bars, chocolate, cookies, icecream and other treats. I kept trail mix in the cupboard and tried to buy lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I usually ate a parfait or cereal with Blueberries for breakfast and only ate dessert if we were at someone else's house. I even made chocolate chip cookies and froze them. I think I only had a few and everone else ate them this time.

Then over the summer I started exercising more. Walking, going for hikes and bike rides. Then at the end of the summer I trained for and participated in a triathlon. This was the best I had felt in a long time. I have continued exercising and eating healthier. I am constantly trying to find healthier ways of eating and even though it drives Blake crazy sometimes I know now that it is necessary for me.

Some days, mostly in the winter I get really down and depressed. Sometimes I wonder if I really have depression and I think I do. I have realized though that the atonement can work for me with this disease. I know it can't for everyone, but for me it can. I know that if I do all that I can then Christ can make up for the rest. If I am doing all that I can and I am still struggling then I may need medicine and maybe someday I will need something more, but for now I am trying my hardest to do my part so that Christ can make up the difference.

Some of the things I have noticed that I need to do are to read my scriptures and say my prayers. The days I do these things life isn't so overwhelming, I accomplish so much more and I have more love and patience for the people around me. Another thing I need is to exercise. This helps me feel so much better about myself and gives me more energy. The days I take the time to go and exercise are the days I feel like I have more time to accomplish what I need to do. The third thing I need is to eat healthy. When Blake got home from the Dominican Republic I let go a little bit on eating healthy. I ate what I wanted for a few weeks and the week before Valentine's day I crashed. I hadn't had a crash like that for a long time. It was like I had a sugar high, then one night I just crashed. I just felt very blah and like my body was moving in slow motion. It felt so heavy and I didn't have the motivation to keep going. So I layed in bed and didn't even try. I thought it might be what I was eating, but I didn't change anything. Then on Valentine's Day it happened again. So now I realize how important it is to eat healthy. I don't know why I didn't pay attention before, it is in the scriptures. It is sad how often I need to have these experiences that humble me and remind me how much I need Jesus Christ in my life and how the scriptures really do have the answers to our problems.

So now I am feeling much better. I still have good and bad days, but I know that when I do all I can that Jesus Christ is there for me to help me with my weeknesses. I know I wouldn't be able to do it without this knowledge and his help.

Sorry for the venting. I just wanted to write this all down and maybe it can help someone else.

January and February


Kids watching TV in the hotel












Valentine's decor












Alissa blowing on the window stickers then putting them in the window.














When Blake got home!!!
















New fish



















In January Blake went to the Dominican Republic for 11 days to do service. The day before he left he gave the kids a fish. They were so excited! While he was gone I finished mudding our basement and painted the walls and the stair way. It looks SO much better. We don't have real before pictures, but we do have some of before he left and when he came home. The kids were good while he was gone. They didn't take naps, so they were in bed by 7:30 every night and I got to read some books, watch chick flicks and enjoy some girly time. It was definitely nice to have Blake home though. The kids were dressed in I love daddy shirts when he came home. They were SOOOOO excited to see him.

The kids also enjoyed making and hanging Valentine's Day decorations. The weekend of Valentine's we drove to Columbus and stayed in a hotel. I got to go to the temple then Blake did then we got to go to a sealing of some of our good friends from our ward. It is amazing the spirit that is present when two people are sealed for time and eternity and even more powerful when you get to see a child sealed to his parents. We have seen it 2 times now and both times it is such a great feeling that fills the room. I know that when we were sealed our children and probably grand children were there, but to actually have a child present and feel of the importance of what is happening is amazing. We were so lucky to be a part of this.

Valentine's day was a laid back day for relaxing. We went to church then came home and relaxed. We took naps then fed the kids dinner. They went to bed and we watched Fireproof and went to bed. Blake and the kids game me some yummy lotion and the kids each got a little gift. Blake got hugs and kisses. That's all he wanted. Hopefully I can be more creative in the future.

Christmas Break- in a nutshell

So I realize I am 3 months late with this post, but better late than never, right? We went to Idaho for Christmas and had a blast! I don't even know if I can remember everything we did, but I'll try.

Some of the enjoyable things we did were visiting Chez(Blake's brother) and his family in Ogden, going Christmas tree hunting with Kristi(my sister) and her family, making Gingerbread houses with Julie(my other sister), playing volleyball, going hunting, playing games, cooking, watching the kids play with their cousins, playing the Wii, exercising at 6am!, swimming, cross country skiing, ice fishing, going to the movies, eating, watching movies, visiting Grandma Great, Christmas Caroling, going to church, going to the temple, making gifts, riding the 4-wheeler, sledding, watching basketball, going to Christmas parties, watching the kids act out the Nativity, watching everyone open Christmas presents, opening presents, and one of the most enjoyable was watching my grandpa be baptized. We had so much fun doing all of these things, but being able to speak at my own grandpa's baptism and see him make that commitment was such an amazing Christmas present to all of us. It felt so right to see him take that step in his life.

We did have some less enjoyable times while we were there too. Remi told me one night she didn't feel good, a couple minutes later I was doing her hair in the bathroom and she threw up. She proceeded to do so every 30 minutes from 7:00 until 12:30. Blake saw her once and lost it himself. So he was up every little bit from like 11:00 until 3. Then the next day we went cross country skiiing. Remi was fine, but that night Broden got sick. He only threw up twice. Eventually I got it too and only Alissa escaped the nasty bug. It was so hard staying with family while we were sick. We couldn't shut ourselves off from everyone, so I think it spread through lots of the family. We felt so bad:(

Other than the sickness we were so glad to be surrounded by our families at Christmas time. Blake and I talk often about how lucky we are that we both love eachother's families so much. We both get along with the "in-laws" and feel just a much a part of eachother's families as we do our own. We are so grateful to our parent and brothers and sisters for making this possible. We love all of you and miss you!















Christmas tree hunting


This picture has a funny story behind it. The Jones' have always opened presents in their front room, but we didn't think there would be enough room for everyone in there. So we moved the presents out from under that tree and put them down in the basement under a different tree. When Santa came he also put the presents in the basement. So in the morning when the kids woke up they went running into the front room to see the presents and there weren't any. They were looking all over to see where Santa had put them. It was so funny. They didn't seem upset that there weren't any presents. They just looked and looked until we told them they were in the basement.














Blake hunting(he couldn't legally shoot, but took a sweet picture)














kids makeing presents for Grandma and Grandpa







Ice fishing



















Ice fishing














Kids ready to open presents






























o































All my family and the sister missionaries












Playing with cousins

















Christmas tree hunting