Monday, June 30, 2008

Thanks everybody

Thanks to everyone that called Lee Joe on his birthday. He acts like it is no big deal and gives me a hard time when I think my birthday is a big deal. But I think it means more to him that he even lets on. Last year I got him the fish tank and ran all over even though I was really sick trying to find the bast deal. I didn't have that in me this year. I didn't know what to do for him at all. So Saturday was quiet and low key. He worked for 2 hours in the morning. He was home after that. We watched 27 dresses. I liked it a lot and the main character is little like myself. A caretaker of all and loosing oneself in it. But it was a good movie. We Bar b qued some chicken for dinner. I made a bunch of jell-o then bought some cake-too lazy to make anything. I got him his 2 presents I was giving him that day. He asked if I was getting him a shirt or hat. I said no. He got basketball shorts and a tie. He did not think that was fun at all. So I gave him the present I was going to give him with Matt and David on their combo birthday we do. It was an electronic football game. It was a $100 game I got for $3 after Christmas. He liked that a lot. Then at 8:30 we went to Barnes and Noble with the 3 youngest. The 2 oldest were at the mall and target. So he also got himself a book he picked out. I got 3 books. It was buy 2 get one free. I got 2 Jane Austen and another book that takes place around the same time period in England. Sunday we read. The 3 youngest are reading like mad for the Library reading thing. Lee Joe was even amazed.
Summer school is out on Thursday! Hooray!
Dylan and David left for Texas today. I am bummed about that. Melissa will probably be gone next week. So sad. Manic Depressive moment.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

just AMAZING!

I didn't have a plan yesterday when I got up. I have not accomplished much all week long anyway and there is no excuse except it is summer and I don't feel like doing much. I am driving myself nuts.

I decided to tackle the new shed that was impassable. I bought some shelving stuff early last week and have not started anything. But trying to start this project took awhile. I could not find one of my 3 hammers I have bought for myself. Found one that wasn't mine and muddy from Lee Joe. Then I couldn't find my drill. Yes my drill that Lee Joe relocates and looses for me. I finally found that. I had to buy screws because all the ones I had wouldn't work for the brackets I bought. So after what amounted to maybe a two hour delay in finding lost things and required stuff I hung some shelving in the shed. Then all the rubbermaid containers full of holiday stuff, fabric, and stored hand me down clothes and shoes were neatly stacked inside. That emptied the back half of the garage. So in the process the back part of our garage, which was worse than the shed, became clean and orderly and spacious. I went to the next half of the garage and tackled our DI/garage sale pile. I filled up a rather large TV box of girls clothes to overflowing and the carpet shampooer box to overflowing with adult clothes and I am going through the rest. It is so spacious in the back that it might become a play area for the girls and a place to store their toys. All that is so amazing because it was awful. Everyone was astounded. But Lee Joe has to do his tools and the stuff he made a mess with the last time I made it possible for him to park in the garage to do a tune up during winter. All that stuff is still on the floor. And there are two engines in the front and a mess of stuff from the 3 he took apart and then had to junk. So basically there is a long way to go. I get so frustrated because everytime I clean something up or put something away or do something landscaping-ish in the yard, he thinks it is an invitation to mess it up within hours or soon after I have taken care of something and I am not kidding! I have watched the stuff on Oprah on hoarders and I try hard not to be one. But Lee Joe tries harder to be one and make me one by all the crap he is bringing home all the time when there is an empty space. He is in his own way starting to slowly see it. He is working on it. It took 2 days to clean his truck and he has plans for more. I am letting go of more and more because it is overwhelming. When the swing set that sits in the front of the garage that we had the first year we were here goes away he will have finally let go. I am proud of the shed because it is necessary and useful stuff in there only. There is pile of get rid of stuff in the gargage because I have been purging. It just hasn't left the house yet. I have yet to work it through the kids that they are even more ridiculous hoarders than me. I can't make them get rid of something they are attached to because of my own childhood demons and how many times I left everything behind maybe to see it again in a few years. That is the source of my issue but they don't have that excuse. BUT it is a work in progress and some of the progress is pretty happy stuff to see. Kelsea cleaned and reorganized her closet yesterday(Yes I have one that will do that!)She says she has 32 pairs of shoes! I have NEVER owned that many shoes. I did not buy all those shoes for her either.

Today is Lee Joe's birthday. I need to find the jell-o and make it.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Going for a walk

Our favorite street and where we would love to have our house or any of the bigger houses would do on this street. It is around two corners from our house. There is almost always baby ducks on this street in the spring.



A couple of things have come up this week for Lee Joe. My uncle wants my brother and him to come to Washington to help put in his new driveway. And the trip to Ely came with a job offer for Lee Joe to work in Mexico on a Ducks unlimited project there in two weeks. Things to think about and contemplate. Then if this guy gets the Ely job Lee Joe could work for him there too which would start after the Mexico job. They are offering some really good money and the jobs he is getting right now are small and now there are two people that owe him that are in default.

Wedding



My Sister and her real husband now. Melissa's son and their daughter.

Before and After

A puppy dog makeover



Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The latest

I told you my sister and I were very close. David and Melissa were finally going to get married this month and needed to do it before they move. I asked her on on Friday when they were going to get married. She says "Oh yeah, David made it for Monday at the courthouse" So I thought that was great and was trying to remember that. It took until Saturday night for me to put what Monday was for us. Monday was OUR anniversary. So we spent our anniversary watching my sister marry her man. Just with us it seemed like a big wedding party in the courthouse but it amounted to my mom, Lee Joe and I and our 5 girls and Melissa's 2 and of course Melissa and David. It was a woman judge that married them. We thought she looked familiar but when I look back at the pictures I took maybe she just looks like Martha Stewart. It was very nice and we all went out to Olive Garden afterwards with all the kids and my mom and brother. It was such a nice time. Then Melissa and David brought Dylan and Kailyn to our house so we could go to a movie together. We watched Get Smart and all of us laughed through the whole movie. So we had a very nice anniversary and I share it with my sister now. We thought that was funny too.

Yesterday I took family pictures of Melissa, David and the kids. The weather was so nice yesterday. The temperature was perfect with a little cloud cover. The California fires haven't touched us with smoke. I got some nice pictures. Kelsea went on a raft trip with friends and the police department yesterday. Amber and Kelsea went to birthday parties last night and Lee Joe went to Ely to get a bid package for a duck pond with Jared. I had the 3 little girls all day and evening. So once the ones that were off for their evening activities, I took the 3 youngest and their report cards to Chuck E Cheese and those 3 got an insane amount of tokens and had great time. Afterward I picked up Kailyn and Dylan to stay the night.

This afternoon and evening is our biggest obligations for the week. But I still consider it quite peaceful. But that doesn't mean I have gotten anywhere on the laundry or the house cleaning. But there will always be laundry and housecleaning no matter how hard you work at it. So there you go.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Not much-for once

I am going to say there isn't much going on. The most events we had were 3 basketball games thrown at us that we found out about just hours or the day before it happened. Kelsea was still having trouble between her cough and her sunburn. She blistered all over her stomach. That should teach her. Anyways, Weds was her best game. Sunburn was recovering and peeling and the cough was mild. She made 3 out of 4 free throws. She would have been high scorer because they count free throws differently in summer ball to save time so she made 6 points in a game with a high score of 30. The 4th free throw was the most critical, it would have tied the game and she missed it but it was a super high pressure moment. They lost by 3 even though the refs didn't count our last shot. The refs stunk really bad. I guess their summer season is over and we are both relieved.

Summer school has gone on, Amber says they have 9 more days. Lee Joe and Autumn are fighting their colds. We have been using record amounts of tissue. Kylee felt bad for bit but seems well today. I am still battling sinus issues like always. It got hot! I tackled some of the paper trail in my house and am trying to fight what could become a new anxiety disorder. What would you call a phobia of paper? I almost freaked out(not really) when I had to buy toilet paper, paper towels and tissue today and I realized I was bringing more paper into this already inundated house. I see newspapers, bills, junk mail, store receipts, coloring books and all of that and I calm myself down and tell myself not all paper is bad. If only I could figure out a way to make toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates and super soft tissues with all the paper that is already here! That would be the thing wouldn't it? Hmm something to contemplate. Apparantly I have had time to think lately.

I watched a movie today while I battled a headache and sorted and put laundry away.

Amber is playing clarinet with the Boise Institute college kids and some friends at the Morrison Center tomorrow. They are putting on "Joseph Smith the Prophet, a musical presentation by Rob Gardner with narrators soloists and a 100 + choir and orchestra" "Guest performance by soloist Linda Adams and pianist Del Parkinson" We are going because Amber is there. I don't know much about it. Amber's friend and her mom are going and they are Catholic so that is pretty cool.

I guess that is it. It was nice to look at this week on my purse calendar and have almost nothing on it. Even though we still had basketball, piano, YW, I went visiting teaching and a couple of playdates. I just didn't put anything on the calendar but it was refreshing. So really that is not much compared to usual.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Hey!

It is wonderful thing to have oxygen inhaled through the nose. Especially while sleeping. The neti pot had a struggle with the cold symptoms but helped me kick the sinus headache I had this morning. 3rd day in a row with that stupid headache. But I am gladly on the mend. I wish Kelsea was done with her crap though. I am thankful I didn't get that. I have been on my stationary bike 3 days in a row now.

Spot is beautiful now and smells so much better. We have been able to add new fish to both tanks. I got some little panda coris for the guppy tank to help the schizo lonely cori in their and i got another male. We were down to one and all the babies we are getting are female. I got another upside down catfish in the big tank to help the big shy one we have and I got 2 honey sunset gouramis. They are my favorite bigger fish. Our giant snail laid eggs on the lid of the filter box and they are hatching. That was weird. It sounds like we will be giving some giant snails to some fish stores soon.

It really feels like summer now. It hit 90 today. I like 80 better though. Of course I didn't get enough done when it was cooler.

Lee Joe took 3 girls to an air show in Nampa on Sat. The rest of us went to the pool with my sister and her kids. Kelsea was a dork and sat out in the sun for 30 minutes earlier that day. Got toasted and then went to the pool and toasted other parts of herself and Sunday and today she is a miserable flourescent pink red head. Big mistake. She has been lectured up one side and down the other. And she is paying a painful price for her silliness. She also had a basketball game today and it was tougher than just dealing with a puke inducing cough. So their team lost and we had like a 5 hour notice that they had a game. It is so stupid, BUT I saw Connie Skogrund again today-Health and the Volleyball and Basketball coach from Dayton.

Lee Joe spent 2 days cleaning out his work truck. You should have seen the piles and piles of stuff he pulled out of the truck. It was crazy. He is a Lay product. It makes me nuts.

We didn't do much for Father's day but we did Bar-B-Q and he got some shorts and a Father's day shirt and hat. We also have our anniversary in few days and his birthday so I kind have take all that into consideration when we hit Father's day.

This week is so calm compared to the the whole past school year! We actually cleaned house today. But even Kelsea noticed how fast things get messy when everyone is home. I got more laundry done. The dryer has decided it works today along with the blinker. We will see how long they last. I have enough hormonal females in this house. I don't need hormonal appliances and cars to go with it. Ugh
I thought this would be brief. Perhaps I don't know myself all that well yet.

Friday, June 13, 2008

More Pics

This is what took place from our trip to Eastern Idaho to the 1st week in June. I think that amounts to about 3 weeks.

Our butchered Lilac-poor tree. Our irises

Jared,3 of his and Sierra -----------------Sleepy Babies induce sleepy men


Monday after the trip to Eastern Idaho
Winning runner-up and the Kelsea(y) s at City Tennis
Poi and Marijana won 5th and The Kelsea(y)s won 2nd Kylee as Mary Todd Lincoln
Hannah is the blurry one-3rd in and in the next she is far right.



Hannah had two dances-two costumes
I know these are blurry and they were at the dress rehearsal but the camera decided it didn't like Kelsea during the performance so this is what I got of Kylee and Autumn's dance.
Fake before and after pics
My worst behaved heathens. Try sitting with them for a two hour dance recital. No wonder I prefer to go alone at times to these things. Kelsea was the dorky camera person.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I'm bummed

Besides the fact that you guys already know I feel like crap AGAIN. Irritating as, well, you know. My sister, my best bud since she has been here, is moving back to Texas. She will be going back to the outskirts of Houston. We are all sad and she will be moving at the beginning of July and I just found out 2 nights ago. It is a bummer. I will get to deal with my mom on my own again. It has been a huge help having Melissa here. My mom has not been telling me stuff. There are problems between her and my brother again. By the way, the cancer test came back negative but she didn't tell Melissa hardly anything. I guess that means they are still trying to figure out what is wrong(?)

Kelsea is going back to the doctor tomorrow. Her cough is still really bad. She threw up several times last night from coughing.

Other than that, it has been pretty peaceful. We got Mario Kart for the Wii. I have been playing it as much as the kids. That is a pretty good thing to do when you feel like crap and can't breathe. I am trying to convince myself of that as everything else around here stands still. But apparantly we have had a record 4 nights in a row of dinner being made! That was shocking to Lee Joe. I think I am going to make dinner again tonight. That might be record breaking.

We had the Mia Maids over last night for YW. We called it "fake sports" night because our other plan fell through and they played Mario Kart and Tennis.

I found Hannah a Junie B Jones chapter book on Tuesday and helped her start reading it. She finished it this morning and just loved it. She said last night that her life has changed since she started reading chapter books. That gave Lee Joe and I a good laugh. I looked it up today and found out that it is a 2nd grade level book.

And I believe our dryer and our left blinker in the van are afflicted with the electrical virus. Sometimes they work great and some days they don't want to work at all and you never know what you are going to get.

Spot is going to the groomer for the first time tomorrow to get beautiful. I should have some great before and after pics to share.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

pics from new camera

Seek and find-how many guppies can you find in these pictures? The red one is our fantastic male we raised.


Our bunny Pepper looking more like her name. A rose in our yard. I wish I could say the rest of our yard looked that good.

Sleeping Hannah and Socks while everyone except for Amber was in Burley. She is too old to sleep with mom anymore I guess. And Hannah is one wild sleeper. That hand was in my face at least 6 times during the night.
More pics to come.

What's new?

What's new-same old- guess who is getting sick now? I guess it is my turn to catch the cold thing. It is not that bad though. Hannah is acting droopy today. Kelsea is STILL hacking up a lung. I have been putting off the return visit to the doctor. I think I am pushing for a week rest from the Drs office in my hopes that the cough will pass. Hannah sees the eye doctor again this week. HAHA! Kylee needs to see an eye doctor too now. My fish have recovered! I lost one fish and a frog to the ich. Then they were getting some other illness due to how compromised they were from the ich. I saved the gourami and he looked horrible. Now they are acting healthier than they were before.

Needless to say, Summer hasn't been too bad. Kelsea, Kylee and Autumn and Lee Joe went to Twin. Kelsea's games were in Burley. 5 games in 2 days! They only won one game. Kelsea was so hammered and beat up after that much B-ball. I super cleaned our upstairs bathroom. It is reorganized and all the old stuff is gone. I cleaned out a hall closet and part of our room. I got a cheap desk for Lee Joe's work stuff and cleaned up the living room some. That is a great start! It seems like more than a year of neglect. I still have a monster paper trail to conquer. Amber and Kelsea each filled up a paper bag of paper from their own rooms. My goal is to finish all the little unfinished projects around the house this summer.

Anyway, Monday was slightly warm enough to send some kids to the pool. I had Amber take the 3 youngest. I was able to put more laundry away. So it is far different and very pleasant than the entire school year. Kylee Autumn are doing a basketball camp this week and that will be it for them. I decided not to do summer music due to my need for kindergarten chase recovery. Amber and Kelsea started their summer school today. Amber left this morning with 3 of her sisters so it was just Hannah and I until 12:30. We went to the cheap theatre last night and saw Horton Hears a Who for FHE. It is cooler today but I should be able to work on the backyard and get it healthier. It looks pretty bad.

I got a new camera. I love it but now there is hardly anything going on to take pictures of. Oh well. I took pictures of my guppies. I will post pictures soon, I promise. I haven't even loaded the software from new camera yet.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

They are free!

I have yet to determine if I like that news yet or not. But school is out. It doesn't feel like it because it has in the 60's and 70's for like two weeks now. I think Janika took the hot weather back home with her. It is not going to warm up so there is no swimming anytime soon. Bummer. But I am not complaining all that much because is very pleasant outside. I haven't run the air conditioner or the heater in two weeks. 97 was the record high a couple days ago and that happened last year. So it is lovely but the reality it is summer hasn't hit yet.

Kylee and Autumn have been at an advantage or disadvantage (depends on the perspective) being the 3rd and 4th children. Expectations for them aren't as rigid as say the first born and the struggles aren't a standout as our 2nd born. But they deserve some recognition. Autumn has had extreme difficulty getting her work done on time but her teacher has been wonderful and knows she will get it done and her perfectionism and complicated thinking processes get in the way. We call it Autumnism. She got straight A's!! And Kylee is so laid back she has a little bit of lazy streak in how laid back she is but she pulled up all her grades and made the honor roll as well. She only has 2 B's!! She is finally reading at grade level. She has been slower than they would like her to be. It is not about comprehension for some reason, it is all about speed in reading. So they have done very well. I won't know the official grades for Amber and Kelsea for a week or two but they both did very well. Lee Joe and Amber went to talk to the assistant principal and a teacher about her history grade. It was a B and she got a C on the final but she has pulled off A's in harder classes and he has been inconsistent I guess but I wasn't going to fight that kind of battle. If Amber has issues with her grades she needs to learn how to speak up with the teachers. Instead she tries to work harder in the class to avoid confrontation and then shrugs her shoulders when that doesn't work. Dad saved her grade this time again and now she will have an A after writing an essay in 30 minutes this morning for a missing grade in that class to bump it up.

At 8 o'clock tonight I could watch TV in my room(not that there was much on to watch but that didn't matter) with few distractions and just be there without an appointment or schedule first thing tomorrow either. No homework, no activities. Just AHHH! Yep, that's nice. I am blogging tons aren't I?

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Hmm

The dryer has been very tempermental. It reduced itself to only working on the timed cycle, after twitching the dial back and forth, around 40 minutes and half that was damp dry. After giving up on keeping up with the laundry due to obnoxious dryer, not enough time to do it and Lee Joe not having enough to time to even blink at it, it has decided it had enough rest and works on all settings today. Hmm. I have clean clothes in my room again and there are rags and towels for dishes and showers. Hooray!

I am going to have to do some serious picture posts of the last few months. Kylee and Autumn got their hair cut today and it is enough to donate. They look so cute. Then we topped it off with Autumn getting her ears pierced for the 2nd time. The first time at 8 they kept getting infected so we let them close up. 3 of my 4 girls with ears pierced have had to do that. I let them choose at 8-the age of accountability I thought-to get them pierced. They have been more successful at ear maintenance at least a year or more later. Kylee's were the only ones that stayed healthy the first year.

I went back to the Drs office AGAIN today. I have been there at least once a week for 3 or 4 weeks now. I was there 2 times on Weds last week. It was Hannah's turn and she has a UTI. poor thing. She is on antibiotics now along with Amber and Kelsea finishing theirs.

Thursday is our last day of school!! Then summer school starts for the two oldest on Monday. They have not had seminary or a zero hour class all week so Amber and Kelsea are getting some decent rest. Lee Joe is taking Kelsea to her basketball games in Burley on Friday and Saturday and taking Kylee and Autumn along to stay at Jared's house so they can play with Jaden and Tyler. I might have a real quiet weekend with Amber and Hannah. We'll see. I am ready for it.

So scary

So my anxiety and depression levels have been at a higher level the last couple of weeks then they have been for awhile. Then what happens is I get some news and I run away with it. But this would normal I guess before the first baby bird leaves the nest. Amber told me her science teacher nominated Amber for a full ride scholarship to a college in Ohio-Case Western Reserve University. We were checking things out and she is excited at the prospect. It is a nomination though and not a given. But I started to think about it. Before I haven't had big issues with where she was going to school. She was talking BSU and that is right here. I said if she went to school on the East coast all my family is there. But something hit me. Ohio is far away and she knows no one there and then all the little quirky things about Amber made me worry and then I went through it all again. It is going to be an interesting year next year. This year the baby is in school and next year is the last I am given for sure with my oldest.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Time for--

Ok, it is really late and I kind of messed myself up a little today due to too much sleep but this past week was frustrating along with crazy busy and I am behind on the laundry for it. The dryer is still not my friend right now. It is still grumpy.

Lee Joe and I went to see Indiana Jones Saturday night. After the little girls dance recital. It has been months and months since we have done anything together.

Kelsea's illness has mutated into an annoying cough. Annoying for her anyway. She is finally asleep. She was too sick for basketball summer league tryouts but made the JV2 team without tryouts. Her really good friend who is just awesome on the court made varsity but has the option to play for JV1 so she is not too intimidated. Kelsea had a tennis party this week and the 9th grade party-they are treated like the seniors leaving the jr high. She had the awards thing that day and then basketball practice Fri and sat.

Amber was not so busy for once in her life. She helped me pick up little girls when I wasn't already at the school, which I was for 3 days out of the 4 they were there this week.

Kylee had a basketball game where the 5th grade girls took on the 6th grade and the 5th grade either won by one or tied. I think they won. She had a thing on Friday where she dressed up like someone in history and did this project so Thursday night I was getting her costume together for Mary Todd Lincoln.

The 3 youngest had their dance recital on Saturday. Hannah's dance was rescheduled to Weds. Weds was an exhausting feat of super crazy scheduling all day long. Lee Joe had a class he had to go to after work so I was on my own. And I was to bring dinner to a family in our ward and forgot until the craziness began but I made it to the store and we had a hot dinner along with that family and I crashed and burned Thursday afternoon. I almost missed the basketball game for Kylee. I voluntered in Hannah's class on Friday and then came back for Kylee's thing in the afternoon. I am voluntering for field day on Monday afternoon. This is the last week of school and I am ready to be done now but it is another full week to end it all. I wish I could say summer will be restful. I am sure it is not. I spoke to another mom that has twins Kylee's age and they are her last of 6 I think. And she says every year when school starts she thinks she will get a lot done and then when summer starts she thinks the same thing and then it never happens. And she wondered why she always thinks that and I told her it would all be lost if it wasn't for the hope of getting somewhere even though it doesn't quite seem to happen. But that mirrored me completely and her youngest two are 11 and it hasn't changed for her even with several of them out of the house and the two youngest able to care for themselves.

So someday I hope that will happen, I will have an office I can walk in. And a garage that isn't booby trapped by things I put in there. My pictures will be printed and in their albums. I will have my camcorded events on videos and transferred to DVD. I will be able to find important papers in 30 seconds rather than an hour all stressed out over not finding whatever it is. I will have clean clothes in my room I don't have to hunt for. Someone else will groom my dog and she won't stink. My flower beds will have flowers in them and there won't be dead flowers on the rose bushes and the iris' and my van won't have popcorn on the seats and fast food garbage all over it and I will be at least a size 12 which is skinny enough for me because I will have time to exercise and be at home to do it. But you know all those things can wait because mommyhood is a temporary time I remind myself and when I can do all those things it will be because no one is left at home to share my time. And I will complain because it is too quiet. There will be no daughter to pound on the piano and play beautiful music even when you are trying to sleep. There will no goofy banter between a certain red head and every other person in the house. There will be no 3 little girls rolling around on the trampoline while their bedrooms should be condemned disaster areas. And when the laundry decreases, we can wlk on the floor of the bathroom/laundry room and there are not hundreds of socks to go through there will be no special moments looking at the small clothes that were passed down from sister to sister that remind me of special memories together when I can remember them wearing those things. It is hard when things go so fast to try to slow it down, to do more fun things, and to just sit as they do what they do and remember this time is so short. So I do complain. I am an extreme introvert forced into and an extroverts world everyday for the sake of my children. But I try to reflect later and tell myself I wouldn't want to change it, I just want to slow it down a little. Or learn how to cope with myself better. Or at least not have eveything explode on the same days of the week. But those things don't happen to just accomodate me. I take deep breathes and wish all I really had to do was enjoy them. When I do that, it all feels so much better. And it really is worth it. So I think I have reflected plenty.