13 More Credits

I had a difficult time last quarter. I had three classes totaling 13 credits. Every week I had to write out my assignments by the day they were due so that I could keep track and not fall behind. I have to admit that I let my house fall to the wayside and my kids were watching way too much TV. But.....I got a 4.0 again last quarter! Insert Happy Dance!! I was pretty sure that I was getting all A's, but had to wait until grades were posted today. While I am proud of myself for this accomplishment, I have been very frustrated the last two weeks. I found out from the college that one of my classes that I took 13 years ago doesn't count, and I have to take an extra class spring quarter if I want to graduate. So here I go again, 13 credits. I am not looking forward to it because I know how hard it was for me last quarter. So pray for me. Pray for my hubby that he will give me grace when I tell him that I didn't fix dinner. Pray that my children will not be scarred by the massive amounts of TV that they will be watching. I just have to tell myself that it's only 12 weeks, and then I will be done, FOREVER!

5 Questions, and no tagging

My sister in law Tiffani over at Still Seeking Sanity posted this little questionnaire and DIDN'T tag anyone, but asked people to play along. I understand that people get mad when you tag them, so I will play along and if you want, post your answers on your blog.

What gets you up in the morning?

My alarm clock, if Lily hasn't already come in to shove something in my face. Last week I woke up before 7am to Lily shoving tights in my face, asking for help. I knew what she wanted to wear that day (a new shirt) and told her to go find some pants and leave me alone.

What scares you and how often do you think about it?

I am scared of something happening to my kids. Predators, accidents, you name it, it scares me. Also, something happening to Dan while he is at work. He has many dangers at work and I'm always afraid when he is gone.

How important is making a home to you?

This is very important to me. I want my home to be a place where everyone feels welcome and my kids feel safe. I like to have cookies baked and home cooked meals. I'm really a home body and I like to have my house feel cozy. I don't need fancy things (they will just get broken), and I would rather have a warm comfortable feel to the house. And of course I love it to smell good and I love my Scentsy!!!

Where in the world would you like to travel next?

We really want to go to California and take the kids to Lego Land. We had planned to do it last year, but after our trip to Silverwood in Idaho, we realized that Lily was just not big enough to ride the big roller coaster. (She was crushed!). Since college took over this year, we might still try for fall or next spring. Dan really wants just him and I to go to Las Vegas, since both of us have never been. I have been dreaming of a cruise, but my sailor hubby isn't excited about going back on a boat during his time off.

For fun, what's your favorite anti aging skin product?

Me, I'm too young for that stuff! Just kidding, I really like dove pro age night cream that I put under my eyes at night.

Too cute

My new computer is set up so that my screen saver is all of my pictures on the computer. I have been enjoying seeing all the old pictures, and realizing how fast the kids are growing up. So here is my soap box today. Enjoy every stage of life. I know that the diaper stage sucks, but enjoy the moments with your kids at every stage. Know that every stage will go away, and you will miss it. (Well, maybe not the diapers, but maybe the cute way they waddle with diapers on). Remember that you will not be driving a mini van forever. (This is my daily chant). Remember that some day they will not need you for everything, and you will miss feeling needed. Ok, I'm off my soap box now......and going to tackle the mountain of laundry. You know it's bad when the kids are complaining that they don't have any socks!

Oops!

I was messing around with the blog and totally messed everything up. I will keep working on it until I can get it all back. Sorry!

Ballet Pictures

Amy gave me a direct link to the ballet pictures on her website, click HERE to see them. She took pictures of most of the groups. They all did great last night and were super cute!

My little ballerina

Lily did great at the recital last night. She knew her moves, and was only ahead of the group a couple times. Here's the first picture. She is with her friend Sierra. My sister Amy took some great shots last night and she will have them on her website by later today. You can click on my family picture on the right of the blog to get to her website. Lily has one more recital today, and then we are done with ballet for the year. Right now Lily says she wants to do soccer next year, but I won't count on it until later.I think she would do great at tap or jazz classes, where she can move a bit faster!

Ballet Weekend

We have three straight days of Ballet. Lily had her rehersal for the recital last night. Tonight and tomorrow are the actual performances. She is pretty excited, and I just know that we will all get a good laugh. See Lily is not a graceful ballerina. She knows all the moves, and what comes next, she just does it all double time. Lily is always about 3 seconds ahead of everyone. Oh well, she's cute and it will be a very entertaining show tonight. I have a short video clip of her at lessons last month, click HERE to check it out. I went to town today to get flowers for her for both performances. She like pink flowers (that's what she always wants from Hawaii), so I found baby pink roses for tonight and pink calla lilies for tomorrow. Stay tuned for pictures!

My safe driving record

I have a great track record as a safe driver. In the 16 years I have been driving I have never hit anything. I have never been in an accident (putting my truck in the ditch doesn't count because I didn't do any damage). That all ended today. I was hurrying out the door with the kids, rushing to ballet rehearsal. I was heading out of the garage when I saw my neighbor coming up the driveway. It caught me off guard and I just threw the van in reverse, totally forgetting that I had just hit the button to close the garage. CRUNCH! I bent the garage door, but I didn't do any damage to the van. So now my garage door won't close all the way. My dear neighbor told her husband who came by tonight offering to help fix the door. I turned him away with a thank you, knowing that Dan will be home next week and can fix it. I guess if this is the worst I have done so far, I am doing pretty good. Dan finally has dirt on me when I give him a bad time about damaging his truck.

Quiet House

It's a little creepy here this morning. I am officially on spring break, and the kids are in school. (They have spring break in two weeks, when I start spring quarter of course!) While I enjoy having the time to myself without homework to keep me busy, I have to say the quiet is getting to me! I have lists of things I want to get done, but everyday things keep popping up to keep me busy. Yesterday I had an appointment with my tax gal. She found some more write offs, but I needed to get her some numbers. She told me I had homework for the week. Seriously, I'm on spring break, I don't need homework!!! Oh well, I know that by doing it we will get more money back, whoo hoo!

On another note, today is my sister's birthday. Congrats to all the family members on Amy Jo's birthday!!! Amy is a very talented photographer, you can check out her website by clicking on my family picture on the right of the blog. Happy Birthday Amy Jo!!

Recession Proof Toys

I have learned that my kids don't care for coloring books. Don't get me wrong, they love to color, and paint, and most artsy, crafty things. They prefer to have a blank canvas when using their artistic ability. So, I don't buy coloring books anymore. When we are going on a road trip, I give them a new spiral bound notebook and some new pens or crayons. Other times we pull out the big roll of paper (roll end from the local newspaper) and they roll out a long strip on the laminate floor. We tape the ends down, and they draw roads and parking lots and other things for Hot Wheels. (This was great entertainment for my twin nephews last time they stayed the night.) Another recession proof toy at our house is cardboard boxes. The kids fight over the big ones to make cars. Right now Lily has a banana box that she drew on and taped paper on to make her car. She sits in it while watching TV. So just remember that these kind of things are great for bringing out the creativity in your house.....and for keeping costs low!

Mom's making me look bad

My Mom and Step-Dad just got back from Maui (I'm soooo jealous!). Before they left, Mom asked my kids what they wanted from Hawaii. The kids repeated the same requests as last year when Dan and I went. Nate wanted a small Transformer and Lily wanted a pink flower. Seriously! Well, last year Dan and I had a hard time with that request. We looked all over the Island, and all the airports, and never found a Transformer. And a pink flower? We ended up buying a plumeria plant (I love the smell of plumeria). The plumeria plant was a thick stick that looked like an adult bedroom toy. Anyways, I still put that thick stick in a pot. It grew a few leaves then died this winter. Ok, so back to when we got home from Maui, we had to tell Nate that there were no Transformers on the whole Island. And Lily was not impressed with the thick stick (what does that have to do with pink flowers Mom?). So, my Mom comes home from Maui and what does she have for the kids? A small Transformer for Nate (sure, make a liar out of me!) and a postcard with pink flowers on it. Nate turns to me and says, "See Mom, I told you there were Transformers in Hawaii!!". Grandma gets to be the hero and I look like a liar. Thanks Mom!

Girls Night Fun

Girls Night was a blast last night. We sat around and ate a ton of junk food and chatted until the wee hours of the morning. I feel bad for Jessica (my brother's girlfriend) who was new to the group this year. She really got her eyes opened up about married life! Memories were made and stories were told. We laughed until we cried. I can't share many details because what is said or done at girls night, stays at girls night. But here are a few things that cracked me up. I had gotten two rooms this year because there were 9 of us and baby Drew. When Tracie and Erin went to check out the other room, they came back with one of the big stuffed chairs. Thinking they were so smart, Tracie went back with Tarah and came back with another chair and a silk tree. Why the tree? I don't know. But Tracie put the tree in the bedroom her and I were sharing and when I woke up this morning (without contacts in) I about ran into the tree at the end of the bed. Thanks again girls for a great night, can't wait for next year!!

Girls Night

You know that I am all about traditions. I started a tradition 4 years ago that my friends will not let me give up. We do Girls Night once a year. I book our condo out at Birch Bay and us girls go out and spend the night. We sit around and chat (gossip), giggle and laugh all night while we munch of food and make 6 pounds of gummy bears disappear. We have a couple drinks and make fun of the one in the group that is pregnant or nursing, because they can't drink. (Seriously, there is always one). We all look forward to this night all year long. It is so hard for us to get together with busy schedules, work, kids and hubbys. We make Girls Night a priority every year so that we can get caught up on each others lives. As Moms, life can get lonely and we loose touch with friends. It's important to make time for your friends, and time for yourself to get away. Sorry in advance to the people in the room next to us tonight, we will try to keep it to a mild roar!
Oh, and Tiffani, Happy Birthday, you are old!!!

When all you can do is laugh

My sister in law Tiffani (who will be old on Saturday!!!) and I have been talking this week about how when the kids do something that's wrong and funny, the first thing we do is grab the camera. For me this is a big problem. I can never keep a straight face, and always laugh when I should be scolding. The picture here shows Lily when she was 2 years old. I had hosted a bridal shower (or maybe baby shower, who knows, I host too many to count!) and had finally sat down for the first time all day. I realized after a little bit that Lily was very quiet. I walked into the kitchen to find her finger painting on the wall with chocolate cake. Did I get mad? No, I grabbed the video camera, and then the camera to make sure it was documented well. Seriously, all I could do was laugh. Well, then of course throw her in the bathtub to clean her up before she touched anything else.

Things I have learned this winter quarter

At the end of last quarter I made of list of things I have learned. Of course this is brought on my my reflective journey in my ED classes. So I will add on to the list, and incorporate the other classes, Music Appreciation and Geology.

• The label of romantic music, does not nessisarily mean that it will feel romantic. Some Romantic period composers were way out in left field.
• "It is my daily mood that make the weather." -Haim Ginott
  
• Earthquakes, tsunami's and volcano's scare me.
• I like right under an active volcano that has been active in the last 40 years!! By the way, if it does go boom again, we are more likely to be hurt from lahars (mud flow) than by flying debris.
  
• The moon has moonquakes!
• Chanting "I love rocks" does not help in identifying rocks!
• When Mozart lived in Vienna, there were very few piano's and he had to borrow one. Then he would push, pull and drag that piano around the streets of Vienna for his performances. That visual in my head cracks me up!
• We have our own Magic Mountain in our backyard! Off Vancouver Island, there are underwater hydrothermal vents (called Magic Mountain), some 50 hot springs. That would make one exciting submarine tour!
• We live on the Ring of Fire.....and it burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire.
• I'm not great at finding the age of rocks, the identity of rocks, or about anything that has to do with rocks!
• I do know that God created an amazing Earth that no scientist will ever fully understand!
  

Top Ten Things I'm Taking From Behavior Management

My final this week for my Behavior Management class was to be reflective and list the top then things we learned. I'm proud of my list, so I thought I would share.

The ten most important things I will take with me from this class are:

1. Structure is important for all children. I have known this for years with my own children, and feel that these management models have reinforced that concept.

2. Purpose-it is vital that we know why we are doing what we are doing. In life, in work, in learning.

3. Consistency in routines and discipline is key. If you are not consistent with rules and follow through with set consequences, you might as well not have rules at all.

4. Validating feelings is huge in every relationship. You don't always have to fix the problem or understand the issue, but by validating the feelings of another person, you will build a stronger relationship.

5. Classroom management is just as important as the lessons you are teaching. Having a plan, and being the backbone is essential to a classroom.

6. Preventative procedures reduce the likelihood of most problems. For example, we went to hear an author speak about his new book about World War II. I knew my kids were not going to be interested in this, and to prevent them acting out in boredom, I brought them each a new notebook and glittery pen to keep them busy during the speech.

7. Steal good ideas! All teachers and parents need to remember this one.

8. Discipline needs to be a concept, planned in advance, but used in a manner that is specific to the problem at hand. You need to have the right tools in your toolbox to do the job.

9. Relationships and Respect need to be built in a classroom.

10. When you have a problem, you need to find a solution. Thank you Barbra Coloroso for that great idea.

You give love a bad name

Most of the time I'm pretty good about giving straight, common sense answers to questions from the kids. But yesterday Nate stumped me. We were in the van, listening to music, and he heard the song "You give love a bad name". Nate asked me what that meant. I really could not come up with a logical answer for an 8 year old. Any ideas? People help me out!

Captain Underpants and other embarrassing stories

Nate is such a boy! Lately he likes to run around the house in his underwear and a cape. He thinks he's Captain Underpants. I would love to take a picture and post it, but then I would have CPS at my door. So I am blogging about it so that someday I will remember this and tease him about it, like when he brings girlfriends home. Because that is what parents do!
For example, the first time I brought a boy home for dinner (in High School) my mom preceded to tell a very embarrassing story from my childhood. I guess when I was young (2years old?) I would take showers with Dad. Can you tell where this is going? So one day while in the shower I looked up at Dad, pulled his penis and said "Ding Ding". From that point on that is what a penis was called in our house, a ding ding. I seriously had no idea about that story and was completely humiliated in front of my boyfriend. I laugh now because I never questioned where the nickname came from, it's just what was said in our house. Us girls were told by Dad that we were not allowed to touch the boys ding dings because we already broke ours off. (I tried that story with Lily and it didn't work) Click here to read that post.
Moral of the story, write these things down. They are priceless and humiliating!

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who came out to my Scentsy Launch Party last night. We had fun smelling all the scents. I had to laugh when I put the orders together, because I don't think I doubled up on any scents. That means everyone had a different preference on scents. If you didn't make it to the party and are interested in what all this Scentsy stuff is, give me a call or click on my link to check out my website. Thanks again, it was fun to "play" Scentsy last night!

Beach

My week of Maui pictures is at it's end. It really was fun to go through the pictures and tell you about our trip. This picture cracks me up every time I see it. Dan was in the water trying to boogie board, and I was sitting on the beach watching. Dark clouds were coming in and it was just such a pretty site down the beach. Later when we were looking at the pictures I noticed the girls in bikini's running down the beach. Someone later asked us who took the picture and Dan answered, "If I took the picture, the girls in bikini's would have been centered!". Just a matter of perspective!

Scentsy Launch Party

With all this blogging about Maui, I almost forgot to invite everyone to my Scentsy Launch Party. I started a new business with Scentsy and am loving all the products. If you are free on Friday night, please stop by from 5-8pm to check out all the fabulous Scentsy scents. If you need my address or want to check out the Scentsy products, just click on the Scentsy picture on the right of the blog. Hope to see some friendly faces on Friday the 13th......oh boy!

Zip line tour

This dorky picture of Dan and I was taken while on a zip line tour on Maui. I'm afraid of heights, but loved the zip lines. It takes a bit of courage to take that first run off the platform, and I was not brave enough to hang upside down, but it really wasn't scary. We were zipping over a ravine that wasn't that deep, and I felt secure in my harness. I think the ride up the hill in the van on rough roads was the worst part of the day. (It's so bad they make you wear your helmets on the ride up!) I liked the zip line tour and would do one again, maybe the jungle one next time.

The random smoke alarm

When I got home from class today, I walked in the back door to find my smoke alarm blaring. I didn't smell smoke, and looked around for a problem, and didn't find one. I grabbed the stool and pushed the button to make it be quiet. I had a message on my machine from the UPS man. He had been by to drop off a package, and heard the smoke alarm. He didn't see smoke, but checked in with my neighbor lady to have her keep an eye on the house. He then called the house to leave a message for me, letting me know the package was in the garage, and the smoke alarm was going off. I thought that was very nice of him to make sure everything was ok. I called him back to tell him we were fine, and to thank him for his thoughtfulness. Since then, the smoke alarm has gone off 5 times. I changed the battery, turned on fans, opened the door, and still it keeps going off. I know that the smoke alarm is only 5 years old, because we put it there when we moved in. So, does anyone know why it's possessed? Why is it tormenting me? What can I do beside rip it down and throw it away? Because yelling at it hasn't worked so far!

The beatings will continue until moral improves!

Dan is holding up a shirt we found in a shop in Lahina. What's funny about this is that Dan has a black eye. Why does Dan have a black eye on our wonderful vacation? He was trying to tun on the air conditioner in the bedroom of our condo one night. It was dark, and the AC was above the closet. He couldn't see it well, so he stepped up on the bed. He still couldn't get it turned on, so he went to step off the bed and got smacked in the eye by the ceiling fan. It got him right on his eye brow, and blood was pooring out. I was worried that I would have to take him to the ER for stiches, and in the back of my mind I was freaking out because I had no idea where the ER would be! The bleeding stopped and we didn't have to go to the ER, thank goodness. He did get a great shiner that got darker as the week went on. He just told everyone that I beat him. So that is why this shirt is so funny. We didn't buy it, and kicked ourselves later for not getting it. This past November when we went to Astoria, we saw the same shirt, and of course couldn't pass it up this time.

Bring Me Some Of That Sun!

As the snow falls out my window, and the biting wind blows, I try to warm myself up by this picture. This was another picture from the North Shore of Maui. It was a very warm day, and there were wind surfers in the distance. It was our last day on the island, and we were driving around the North Shore to kill time before our evening flight. After seeing this, it was really hard to get on that plane and go home! Dan was trying to convince me to move to Maui. With his job, we could live anywhere, as long as he could get to an airport every 40 days. I would be lonely over there without my family and friends, so I told him no. But if I can convince you all to move with, we are going! Look our your window right now and tell me that it isn't tempting!

Submarine Tour

While on Maui we went on a submarine tour. We took a boat out to the submarine, watched it come to the surface, then got on for our little tour. As you can see from the picture, the water is beautiful, and it was fun to see all the different fish. They even took us to a sunken ship. The one thing that was surprised me while on our trip was that all the tour guides were very entertaining. Of course they are working for tips, but they had me cracking up everywhere we went. Someday when we take the kids to Maui, I would love to do the submarine tour again, they would love it.

Boys and their toys

When we arrived on Maui, it was late at night, and we were worried that we wouldn't get to the rental car place before they closed. We got there just in time, and they were giving us the options of what we had reserved. Dan wasn't impressed, so they asked if he wanted to upgrade to a brand new, shiny red H3. I could care less what we drove, and Dan gave me the puppy dog eyes, so we ended up with the H3. It was fun to ride around on the island for the week, and Dan had a blast driving it. Next time I'll reserve a mustang convertible, and I'll drive!

Missing Maui

One year ago today Dan and I were on a plane to Maui.....ok, 3 planes, 2 layovers and a delay....but we were on our way to Maui. We didn't get a real honeymoon when we got married, so I always said that we would go to Maui for our ten year anniversary. Even though our anniversary is in May, I wanted to go while it was cold at home, so I picked March. I booked our condo 13 months before hand, and went to the tanning booth the whole month before the trip. I was just a little excited. We had a great trip, and I wish we could go every year. So, for the next week, I'll tease everyone with pictures from our trip....and maybe I'll just have to start planning the next trip!
Oh, and this picture was taken in front of Mamma's Fish House on the North Shore of Maui......Mom and Wayne, you really have to go there next week while on the Island!

Lily is a star

Lily had a field trip today to the Mt. Baker Theater. They watched a performance by Circo Comedio. It was a pair of comedians that did physical comedy, and they were hilarious. At one point in the program they asked for a new assistant, and choose Lily. Click here to see. This is her performance on stage....she had us all rolling on the floor. You can tell she has no fear, and was in front of a couple hundred people. You can also tell that her Daddy and Uncles toss her around and hang her upside down, because she has no issues with that. Afterwards she was told that she was the star of the show, and now believes that she is the star. Oh boy, she has been bitten by the show biz bug!

Working myself out of a job

My wonderful hairdresser and friend Stephana, and I were talking today as she was doing a fabulous job on my hair. I was telling her that our goal as moms is to work ourselves out of a job. We are to raise our children with the intention that they won't need us after they are grown. That doesn't mean that they won't want our help, but the point is they won't need our help. I see too many kids that have learned helplessness. They want their parents to do everything for them. Or they want someone else to take care of them. I want to work hard at teaching my kids to help themselves and give them the tools they need to be successful. Yes, sometimes it's easier to do things for your kids, because you know that it will get done faster, the right way. I'm guilty of that one! I keep reminding myself to look at the big picture and see what I can use as a teaching tool.

What Nate says about me

What Nate (age 8) says about me!



1. What is something mom always says to you?
Go to bed.

2. What makes mom happy?
me obeying rules

3. What makes mom sad?
not obeying the rules, or tackling her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
tickling me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
a nice person

6. How old is your mom?
32

7. How tall is your mom?
how tall? um......5 ft tall

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Clean house (LOL)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Do homework

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
hum.....cooking

11. What is your mom really good at?
cooking

12. What is your mom not very good at?
homework

13. What does your mom do for a job?
nothing

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
pasta

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
she makes me food

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Lady violet peddle foot (my toon on toon town)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
homework

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Our eye color

19. How are you and your mom different?
one's a boy, one's a girl

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because she hugs me.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
he makes money (ROFL)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Grandpa's House

What Lily says about me

Here is a little quiz that is floating around facebook, and I copied it and asked Lily the questions.

What Lily (age 5) says about me.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I love you.

2. What makes mom happy?
Doing my chores.

3. What makes mom sad?
When I call my brother a name.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When I tell jokes.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
You got a Holly Hobbie.

6. How old is your mom?
32

7. How tall is your mom?
This tall (holding up hand to my head)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Play....I mean do homework (Yah right!)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

um...homework

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Dressing up

11. What is your mom really good at?
making cookies!!!

12. What is your mom not very good at?
balancing (she knows me well)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
homework

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
mac and cheese (yuck)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
hugging me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
a monkey

17. What do you and your mom do together?
laundry

18. How are you and your mom the same?
we both have short hair

19. How are you and your mom different?
different color eyes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you love me and I love you.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
sleeping together (LOL)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Walmart (NO)

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

You know we love Dr. Seuss in this house. When the PTO announced that they wanted to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, I was on the bandwagon. So right now I am making cupcakes for Nate's class tomorrow, and they will have red gummy fish on them......One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish! Mom, the creative one, thought I should try to put green eggs and ham on them. My thoughts were that I want the kids to actually eat them! Lily tried to sneak in a birthday for her stuffed dog today, so I told her we would save a cupcake for the dog. Oh the reasons for cupcakes!