Eggciting Weekend and Spring Break Monday

We had a terrific time this past weekend. We enjoyed General Conference with my in-laws, niece, and nephew. Saturday was extremely busy day! My first grader woke us up around six o'clock in the morning. Grrrr! We watched conference, my girls went four wheeling with their cousins, we dyed easter eggs, made a birthday cake for Manoel, we had lunch with Matt and Chiaki's family and went shopping. We ate the traditional easter weekend lunch: ham, cheesy funeral potatoes, green beans, bread, and a Waldorf salad. My mother in-law made an amazing cheese cake for dessert! While the guys were at priesthood session, we went to Cedar City to Walmart. Audrey and Savannah got to pick out their birthday presents from Granny. Nani got Manoel some missionary essentials for his birthday. Then we went to Ladies Night at Desert Book. We were all entered in a drawing to win books. We all got a free stationary set for coming to the store that night as well as some light refreshments. My mother in-law had us pick out some books since there was a major sale. I got The Remarkable Soul of a Woman by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The other book was a Jack Wayland book which I read over the weekend. Days later my niece found out that she won a free book from the drawing during Ladies night! After priesthood session, we celebrated Manoel's birthday. We are eagerly waiting for his mission call to show up in the mailbox any day now!







On Easter morning, we went across the street to the park for the Easter Egg Hunt. The girls found a lot of goodies and met the Easter Bunny. Audrey was hesitant to sit on the Easter bunny's lap. She rolled her eyes at me when I told her to do it, lol! I suppose she is too big for the Easter bunny's lap! We continued our spritual feast by listening/watching general conference. I made Audrey's fruit pizza which is a sugar cookie base, cream cheese frosting/cool whip for frosting, and fruit toppings. We had lunch and celebrated Audrey's birthday. She opened her presents and ate her cake! After conference, John requested a father's blessing and I got one as well from John. We both have been discouraged lately and was glad we decided to receive a blessing.











As for the first day of Spring break, it was a dark rainy day on Monday. Mother nature is not ready for spring yet. It was my oldest daughter's birthday on Monday. She was disappointed that we had no plans since we celebrated it a day early. So her Aunt Karen (my sister) called me and we all decided to do a "girly" movie together. Karen surprised Audrey with some Sweet Pea Bath and Body lotion and body wash for her birthday present! Since Audrey and I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, we decided that would be the perfect chick movie. So I stuffed my big purse with water bottles and candy. We bought a huge popcorn to share among us. The movie was amazing! We absolutely loved it. Both of my daughters were crying during it as well as Karen. I was touched by it too but I didn't cry even though I wanted to due to the fact I hate showing emotions in a public place. I was impressed how it touched my daughters though. It is an example how sensitive my girls are and they are not afraid to show it. I would have to say The Last Song is one of Nicholas Sparks best book of all time. It is a beautiful story about love, forgiveness, and heartbreaks. My daughter and I totally recommend the book and movie.

The Book and DVD

Happy 11th Birthday to My Fifth Grader!

Dear Daughter,

I cannot hardly believe that you turned eleven years old yesterday. We celebrated your birthday at Grandpa and Grandma Free's house over the weekend with your cousins Manoel and Eliane Silva. Manoel and you both share the same birthday. I recall him being very upset when you came on his birthday but years later he has enjoyed sharing that special day with you. You requested fruit pizza for your birthday "cake." We got you a few things such as jeans, earrings, a peace book bag, a ken Barbie, a shirt, and jacket. Granny Free got you some bras and a beautiful blue flower shirt!





Fruit Pizza

Crust:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening, add milk, egg, and almond flavoring. Knead flour enough for a rolling consistency. Grease pan very lightly and press down onto it evenly. Be sure there are no thin spots. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Set aside to cool.

Frosting:
4 oz of cream cheese
1/2 cup of whipped topping

Combine the cream cheese with the whipped topping. Spread onto cool cookie crust. Top with fruits (strawberries, grapes, kiwis, bananas, mandarin oranges, pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, apples, peaches, and so forth).



I cannot believe you are growing up into a young woman already! I wish there is a rewind and pause button in life so that I can cherish my moments of you longer when you were a baby, toddler, child, etc. You are growing up too fast and before you know it you will be experiencing life on your own.

I would like to share with you some of my favorite memories of your life. The doctor induced me a week early due to me feeling so uncomfortable during the last couple weeks of pregnancy. I went to the hospital in the morning and was in labor with you all day long. I remember watching Law and Order during the last few minutes of labor and when the news was on at 10:16 PM on April 5,1999 I finally got to meet you. You were 7lbs. 13oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. To our surprise, you had dark hair like your daddy but months later you hair fell out and light brown came in.












You are a mirror image of me, your mother. It amazes how similar we look alike but our personalities are the opposite. You changed my life the moment you entered the world! I could no longer be selfish after you came into my life. Your needs came first before mine. I loved kissing your cheeks when you were a baby. You blessed my life with joy! Having you taught me patience, love, and the important responsibility of being a mother. I loved you the first moment I held you in my arms. I recall you having a difficult time sleeping as a newborn baby. Daddy and I took you on rides in the car to help you fall asleep. Also we figured out that placing your car seat on the dryer while it was going helped you fall asleep. You were a happy and curious baby. I found you under couch all of the time. You had a large collection of pacifiers in your crib at night. Daddy and I could hear you (through the child monitor) throwing them on the floor and yelled "daddy" to come in a get you up out of bed in the morning. You fell asleep many times while eating in your high chair. You were loved by many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends of our family. As a toddler, you loved painting, playing dress up, house, and baby dolls. Your favorite movies/shows were Veggie Tales, Barney, Strawberry Shortcake, and all the Disney princess movies. I loved it when you fell asleep in your doll cradle! One of my favorite memories of you when you were two years old is when I was having a difficult day. I recall feeling overwhelmed about something (crying) and you comforted me by saying "Jesus Mommy"! You reminded me to pray and ask for help from Heavenly Father and Jesus. You were always sensitive to the holy spirit at a very young age and still today you carry on that strength and desire to do what is right.










As you grew up, your fun outgoing personality blossomed. You had many friends when you were a young girl. It was hard for me to keep up with your social gatherings. You were invited to so many birthday parties, play dates, sleepovers, etc. You loved being a big sister and were excited to meet her on April 15, 2003. You loved nature, animals, and playing outdoors. One day after a early morning rainstorm, I found you making mud pies in the driveway. You were not afraid of getting dirty. You collected so many stuffed animals and had a hard time letting go of some of them during spring cleaning. For a couple years, you were a tomboy playing with boys, wearing your hair short or back in a pony tail. I recall you enjoying the fishing trips with daddy.









You were full of questions! You once asked me: "Mommy how can you tell which snail is a boy or girl?" Once you brought a worm in the house and made a bed for it by using Barbie furniture and a blanket. I kindly asked you to take it back outside before it died. Also, you brought tiny lady bugs inside the house to watch. You were even a lady bug for Halloween when you were two years old. We got some gold fish when you were five years old, which I gave you the responsibility of feeding them everyday and you did a wonderful job helping daddy and me clean the fish tank out too. Unfortunately, on accident you feed the fish too much tank cleaner (you thought it was food) and they died the next day. That was the first time you experienced death. You were very sad that they died and we decided to not have any more fish after that experience.



You have many TALENTS! You love to SING I often hear you singing in the shower or bath tub! You took a couple years of piano lessons as a young girl from your aunt Marilee. You signed up for choir every chance you could get. I recall you singing a small solo during a primary program. You absolutely love music and for years you loved watching American Idol with me.



You have the wonderful talent to LOVE ONE ANOTHER. You are friends with everyone even if some people are unkind to you. I like how you don't sweat the small stuff especially when someone teases you at school. You try very hard to not let it bug you. You remain confident in believing in yourself and associate with those that uplift you.You are the best big sister in the world. I appreciate how kind you are to your little sister. I am so impressed how well you and little sister get along. I see amazing qualities in you! I love the way you nurture your sister and play well with your younger cousins. I bet you will be a great babysitter!



I was so HAPPY and PROUD of you on May 5, 2007. You were baptized that day and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Your daddy baptized you and your grandfather Free gave you the gift of the Holy Ghost. Many friends and family was there to celebrate your great accomplishment! Granny and Grandpa Free gave you your first scriptures with Grandma Free's testimony written down on the front two pages.



You are an INTELLIGENT girl. Last quarter you made the honor roll for the first time in your life. You didn't believe you could do it but you worked very hard and did it! You love to read. We often find your light on late at night and you buried in a book. You love learning new things.



You love to SERVE. You like to help me around the house with simple duties such as dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, changing the laundry, and taking the garbage out. In addition, you love to help me or daddy cook. You are an excellent babysitter to your sister! Outside the home you have participated in serving others too. You enjoyed having a secret grandma when you were nine years old. You and two other girls in our ward did special acts of service to this sweet lady. She was so happy to receive your treats and cards. You recently helped tie quilts which were donated to the Ronald McDonald House in SLC. I hope you will continue serving others.



You are an OBEDIENT child! I appreciate how you listen and do what you are told. You strive to keep the commandments of God! You enjoy going to church, having family scripture study, and family home evening! You are a beautiful child of God and He loves you! Never forget that! I have been truly blessed to have you apart of my life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your mother. I love you very much.

Love, Mom

Past Due Blog Entry

Wow, February came and went so quickly! It could be that there are only 28 days and now March is done and over. Ack! Time is just going by so quickly and I have failed to update my blog due to life being a roller coaster for me the last couple months! We had some highs and lows. First of all, I will share some of our highlights!

Yesterday was my fifth grader's state report. She did her state on Vermont since we have some family who live there. I wanted her to do Massachusetts but it was spoken for by another student. We had a lot of fun researching together and gathering pictures. We put a lot of hours into it mainly me who is more organized. We found some maple syrup from Vermont at our local grocery store. We were surprised to find out that Ben and Jerry's Ice cream headquarters is located in Vermont. So we had a great excuse to buy some ice cream so she could use the empty container for her visual aid. In this past week, we probably put 12 hours into finishing it. She was assigned this project back in January and procrastinated to the last minute (like me we work better under pressure apparently).




The best memory we had in February 2010 is when we went down to Paragonah, Utah to visit my in-laws on Valentines Day and President's Day weekend. The girls were out of school and John didn't have to work on President's Day. We had a lot of fun spending time with granny and grandpa. We watched a couple Olympic events together, went to eat at Apple-bees, went sledding in the foothills, went four wheeling, and enjoyed the quiet small town away from city life. I was able to read a Nicholas Sparks book The Choice. It is always an adventure at their house!








On the way home from my in-laws (my first low for the month), my brother called and told me some bad news. My mother was in the hospital again! Her health has been slowly deteriorating these past few years (diabetes, mental illness, and congestive heart failure), but to our surprise this time she may have had a small stroke. On Friday February 13th, she was weak and could not move off the couch at all. She felt paralyzed on one side which concerned her and my step dad Dennis very much. She was sent to the hospital by ambulance and they ran all sorts of tests to determine or prove that she had a stroke as well as evaluated her condition. Dennis contacted me three days after she was admitted in the hospital. GRRRRR! It concerns me that nobody contacted us until days later!!! Luckily my brother Nate was able to get a hold of my step dad to find out what was going on because he and Karen were planning to see her on Monday (President's Day)afternoon and were getting worried because they could not get a hold of her. Thankfully, she was discharged later in the week. They didn't find anything wrong with her. Her brain scans were clean and there was no proof that she had a stroke. It is the strangest thing unless it was a small one that cannot be detected. She received physical therapy and was visited by a nurse a couple weeks after she was discharged from the hospital. What a scare! She is fine now but I fear her time on this earth is almost up.

Another great high for me was doing a girls night with my niece Stacy. We went to see a "girly" movie When in Rome and we went to eat at Iggy's Sport Restaurant. We had a lot of fun talking and girl bonding! It was fun to get all gussied up and go out on the town. That is something I don't do enough or at all lately. The following weekend my family went to my niece and nephew's house (Stacy and Ryan)for dinner. Stacy's little boy loves playing with my girls. In addition, Stacy is a hair stylist so I got a haircut. My hair is now a "mom's hair do" about shoulder length with lots of layers! I absolutely love it! My hair is so much healthier as well as easy to style. There are photos of my new hair below! :)

The big low hit us a couple days after the trip to southern Utah. John's company was cutting down in each department. Since he was the last one hired, he was the first one on the chopping list. It was devastating to me especially since he has been through a couple lay off these past couple years. In his field of work (real estate and tax liens), these jobs have struggled in this economy. Thankfully, Heavenly Father answered our prayers. He was able to interview and start a new job a week after he was laid off from the previous job. Thanks to my brother who put in a good word for John. My brother's friends are the owners of the new company John works for which is an installation company. John is a salesman. There are rebates from the electric company etc that people can take advantage of if they upgrade their installation. At this point with encouragement from my mother-law, I got some blood work done and talked to a doctor about my anxiety and depression. I have been struggling with the following symptoms lack of concentration, memory loss, weight gain, moodiness, headaches, anxiousness, depression, tiredness, etc. The doctor prescribed me on antidepressants right away since I was feeling worse than ever due to the major stress of John loosing his job AGAIN. I am not sure if the pills are working yet these past five weeks but it may take a couple months to notice the difference. I truly hope to feel peace and joy again. I also had my thyroid checked, blood sugar checked, and iron levels checked. I anxiously waited for the results a day later. What they found out is my blood sugar was elevated. So I went in to have a Ac1 blood test done. The results were 5.7 a pre-diabetes. I am at risk of developing it in the future but I want to avoid that by being careful with my eating and exercising.

As for March, on St Patrick's Day we went roller skating at Classic Skating. It was free family skate night for Grovecrest Elementary students. We each got a meal for $2.00. It has been over 15 years since I last put on a pair of roller skates! I never forgot how to do it and didn't fall at all! We had a great time (the girls and I but John is not a fan of skating after falling down three times). Poor guy! He took some pictures and enjoyed watching us. The kids liked the scooters better than the skates. I loved skating when I was a young girl. I went to Classic skating a couple times a month when I was a teenager. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. FUN TIMES!








Lastly, today is crazy hair day at the girl's school! We had fun doing some groovy hair do's this morning! After school today we are packing our bags and heading down to see Granny and Grandpa in Southern Utah for the Easter weekend! We look forward to watching General Conference and relaxing with our loved ones! The girls are out of school next week for Spring break although it doesn't feel like spring because Mother Nature won't stop snowing! Grrrr! I cannot wait for warmer days to come! :D

Busy January!

We had a busy month! At the beginning of January, my fifth grader was assigned a couple big projects at school that were due at the end of January. She had to do a state report(Vermont) and did an American hero report as well as her regular homework such as math, reading, and spelling, assignments. ACK! In addition, she signed up for a couple choir groups this past month. She is singing in the Hope of America Choir which she will perform in May at BYU and she also signed up for the school choir, which they are learning some Disney songs to perform for the parents in a couple months! She goes to school early twice a week to practice the songs. She absolutely loves to sing! As for her research, I helped her collect resources on her American Hero project via internet. John took her to the library to get some books on her person. Her assignment was hefty! She had to not only write a report in first person about her hero, she has to do a speech (under a minute) which had to be MEMORIZED! Then she got to dress up like her hero and present her speech "Wax Museum" style for parents, students, and friends. It was way cool! They had their desks lined up in the cafeteria with a open or closed sign as well as a home made button to push. They brought props as well as dressed up as their American hero! Oh, I suppose you want to know who she picked out? Well, she chose drum roll please.... Laura Ingalls Wilder! In the past, she has read a couple of her books and loved them as well as watched the TV series Little House and the Prairie. She has enjoyed reading her biography these past couple weeks. I even learned a lot from helping her research. A couple of my favorite quotes by Laura Ingalls Wilder are the following: "It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." She wrote a letter to a fan that said, "Remember, it is not the things you have that make you happy. It is love and kindness and helping each other and just plain being good." Laura Ingalls lived a challenging and amazing life. Life was not simple back then and she knew how to work! She went through some hard trails such as a her house burning down, loosing a child after birth, and her husband was partially paralyzed. I am so impressed that Laura was able to fulfill her dream of being a famous author at age 64! Wow, it is never too late to accomplish things in life! As for fifth grader's costume, we were so lucky to borrow some pioneer clothing (a red skirt, cream apron, red bonnet, and black lace up boots) from Aunt Marilee and Cousin Holly. Our quest was to find some cream button up shirt at some thrift store to wear as her top but we had a cream shirt in her closet that worked out perfectly. I braided her hair like Laura although it is hard to tell since her hair is still short. We are so glad to get those projects done! I am so proud of her in putting in the effort!




Is she the the cutest prairie girl? I am so glad we had the props and costume! Yay!


As for younger sister, my little first grader, she brought home a penguin stuffed animal last week. His name is Ponko. For her assignment, she had to play with him and write about it in a book. She had a lot of fun playing hide and seek with older sister and Ponko as well as playing other games. She has quite the imagination! She is such a cutie! She is an amazing reader! I just discovered yesterday that she jumped a whole level in reading. She is now on level F when she started on Level B at the beginning of the school year. I suppose reading scriptures with her has helped her sufficiently become a better reader! Her two front teeth are almost completely in. She is looking forward to her birthday in a couple months. We promised her that she could have a friend's birthday party. She has never had one yet, which surprised me because Audrey has had quite a few. My youngest daughter is very shy and has made a couple friends at school finally! She has already came up with a list of girls, cousins, and boys to invite to her birthday party.





I love her smile! She is a sweet girl and very sensitive like her parents were at her age!


I am enjoying my church calling. I am a activity day leader. I plan and do activities for a couple girls in my neighborhood. This past month we did a lesson on budgeting (we used M&M's to represent money one M&M was $20). My partner that helps me came up with some ideas and amounts to teach the kids how to budget effectively. I learned some great ideas from her and hopefully the girls understood the importance of staying within a budget and not using credit cards. I usually do the fun activities like something crafty! So this month I decided to try teaching the girls how to make friendship bracelets. It was tough! I forgot how to do them and had to practice making them a couple days before the activity. I cannot think when the last time I made a friendship bracelet. I was probably in middle school or junior high. Anyway, I found an easy method on the internet http://www.makingfriends.com/jewelry/bracelet_klutz.htm and the activity didn't go as well as I planned. I had to do a lot of one on one with each girl and the hour goes by quick! My daughter was not interested as well as my activity day leader partner's daughter. We were trying to focus on the other girls. So I did a one on with my oldest daughter after the activity to show her how to do it.

As for my weight loss goals, I wasn't very successful or 100% committed to my exercise routine last month. I didn't even go jogging due to snow storms and I was just not in the mood to freeze to death! I am not a fan of running in the cold weather but I need to change my attitude and just do it anyway! On average, I worked out maybe 3 times a week at most. So my husband and I started the dreadful cabbage diet this week. http://www.cabbage-soup-diet.com/index.php He has a lot of weight to loose as well as me! I hate the holidays because I always gain weight and it is not a couple pounds either! We decided that if we do it together, we can support each other better on our weight loss goals. We are currently on day two, which is probably the worst day! We basically eat cabbage soup all day and fresh veggies. NO FRUIT, DAIRY, GRAINS, OR MEAT! We are suffering with headaches (due to sugar withdrawals) grumpiness, and hunger, lol! Hubby and I are very determined to make it through this diet until Sunday night. It is only recommended to do it no more than seven days straight. Then start a different diet afterwards. We will probably do the South Beach Diet. We were successful on that a couple years ago. Although, the reason for quitting the diet on Sunday night is we have a super-bowl party to attend at a friend's house and more than likely be faced with a lot of junk food temptation. We will be fasting that day too due to it being fast Sunday! I suppose it will be our reward after this week to partake some of the party food but we have to get back on track on Monday with the South Beach Diet Phase One! I am so proud of myself! I ran today for the first time in a long time (a couple months since I last ran) and did some strength training yesterday. The funny thing that happened today is I got lost running in the foothills (surrounding neighborhoods) near my house. I normally take the canal trail which is a couple blocks from my house but due to snow and mud, I decided to stay on the roads. The problem with my jogging route is I kept running into dead end streets so my jogging time was 1 hour and 20 minutes instead of one hour! Duh! I was so tired and sore afterwards and starving to death! I was ready to chow down that cabbage soup! I have no idea how many miles I ran due to running in circles and there were a couple times I had to walk due to the hills being too steep and I was totally out of breath! I cannot wait to run again on Thursday and hopefully won't get lost again, lol! I miss running and enjoy the time listening to music on my iPod as well as doing some thinking while I jog. I am looking forward to making great healthy changes this month! I hope to accomplish my goals by the end of the month as well as continue to make a commitment to a healthier lifestyle!

Technologic

Here is a photo of my girls taken in 2008. They were "borrowing my Ipod" while on a road trip. The interesting thing to this photo is what my oldest daughter's T-shirt says,"Can you say no to this face?"



What is going on in this world? It is going way too fast for me and I wish it would slow down or stop for a while. What happened to the simple good old days when we would hand write letters, play night games, make friendship bracelets, listen to the radio, and go bike riding for hours? I don't understand why my almost eleven year old daughter feels the pressure to own a cell phone, iPod, have a Facebook account, wear skinny jeans, see You Tube videos, etc?

Last week Daughter One(a fifth grader) came home from school last Friday all bent out of shape!

Daughter One: "Mom, I hate my friends!"

Me: "Why do you hate your friends?"

Daughter One: "Because they all have cell phones and iPods and I will never own one of those!"

Okay, calling all parents out there? Hello, how is a ten or eleven year old mature enough to own a cell phone or iPod? Sure, she or he is old enough to babysit a small child and can make Mac and Cheese, but is she or he ready for the responsibility of taking care of electronics. There are a lot of things to do to maintain a cellphone/iPod. I cannot imagine my ten year old doing the following things IF she had a cell phone:

1. Charging her own cellphone on a regular basis and not loosing the charger in her cluttered room.

2. Updating personal contacts home, cell, and work numbers(Mom and Dad).

2. Remembering to delete text messages before it it reaches its maxed storage limit.

3. Setting the phone to silence before she enters the school building everyday and remembering to turn the ringer on after school in case Mom or Dad tries to call her.

4. Being prepared or on alert for the unexpected weirdo strangers calling or texting her because the previous owner of her phone number forgot to update his or her's new phone number change.

5. Dropping the phone in the toilet ewwwww(it happens not to me yet, gross, but it is a possible scenario that her phone could drop out of her pocket into the loo!

6. Having the risk of loosing, damaging, or her phone getting stolen by another kid.

I consider myself a mature grown up, however, I am prone to loosing my own cell phone, keys, or iPod Nano sometimes if I am not careful. Nobody is prefect! While observing Daughter One's behaviors, she is already having a hard time keeping track of her Nintendo DS games, Barbie stuff, hair pretties, books, etc. I have explained to her several times the trouble that my niece (Lou Lou) had owning a couple expensive electronics. Lou Lou has this tendency to leave her iPod in her pant's pocket and her mother is like me never checks the pockets before starting a load of laundry. Imagine all the money, notes, and treasures we find in the washer! Anyway, over the past couple years Lou Lou has replaced her iPod shuffle or iPod nano at least four times! OUCH! By the way, Lou Lou's parents didn't replace the iPods she earned the money by babysitting, doing jobs, and saving birthday money to purchase them and still neglected to take the devices out before she put her clothes in the dirty laundry bin. I wonder when she will ever learn her lesson? This same niece also had a cell phone when she was eleven or twelve years old and lost it. I can imagine it is hard to find a phone when the battery is dead or the ringer is set to silence. The idea of Lou Lou having a cell phone didn't last very long after that. Why would any parent want to replace a child's lost, damaged, or stolen electronic? It is terrible enough to have to risk loosing and damaging our own electronics but to add a child to the master list of all electronics (cell phone and some kind of mp3 player device), is just too much at stake! Furthermore, how can you trust your child to not go over their minutes or text messaging? Yes, I am aware of the pre-paid minutes and unlimited text messaging options, which are great, but one of my biggest issues with the cell phone is the camera feature. We cannot control the incoming videos or images that show up on our cell phone screens. How can I protect my child from the inappropriate material that could be circulating by a stranger on accident or from a contact she knows with different standards? Technology can be a very scary thing these days for some people who don't have good intentions!

Thinking back when I was around my daughter's age, my family didn't own a computer, CD player, or DVD player. When the new technology devices first came out, we usually waited a couple years. I remember having a VHS player, records, or cassettes, for a several years before we upgraded to higher technology. In junior high or high school, I went to the library to use a computer or I typed on my mother's old typewriter that usually had a couple letters not working. As for the telephone, my phone was hooked up to the wall and during most of my childhood we didn't own a cordless phone. Because I grew up with step siblings as well as my brother and sister, we had phone rules and if we broke them we were punished by having the phone privilege taken away. We were restricted to fifteen minute phone calls because like most pre-teen or teenager girls they tend to be chatty with their girl friends about boys, etc! Oh, now I wonder how do parent's these days monitor how long their ten year olds or teenagers are on the cellphone before they get the phone bill. I suppose you can just log on your cellphone account and check it but what parent wants to add that to their "to do list" every day?

Something just occurred to me, the radio is still free to listen although the material may not be so good anymore, but nonetheless, it is FREE no need to download onto a device which is another additional charge to having an iPod. There are websites like Pandora that will play music based on your genre preferece of music and guess what it is FREE! Yes, I buy music on iTunes for my iPod, which I take with me to go jogging, but do I really want to buy my ten year old Selena Gomez, The Jonas Brothers, and Miley Cyrus with our money? I suppose she could buy her own music with her own money, but why the hassle. It boils down to this and I maybe considered not a cool Mom! No, I don't think she is ready for an Ipod and cellphone!

My point to blogging my rants about telephone and music technology, is my daughter is growing up too fast! I wish she would just stop and enjoy the beauty of being a kid like playing dolls and pretending instead of trying to fit in the grown up world. I really hope she can try not to give into peer pressure at school. I seriously don't understand why those parents at school allow their ten year olds to have expensive electronics. The thing is Daughter One has only a few more precious years left of childhood before she becomes a teenager, which I am not prepared nor ready to face yet. Is there an accurate handbook on how to raise a pre-teen or teenager because it is creeping up on me very fast and I don't know how to stop it?

Busy Busy Monday (read it like the ABBA "Money Money" tune)

So far today, I have been very productive this morning and it isn't even ten o'clock yet, while I write this! I did some cleaning (weekend messes), laundry, and worked out for one hour. For my exercise today, I picked Kenpo (P90X) kick boxing! It was a lot of fun and I was sweating like crazy! I am thinking about doing strength training or one aerobic work out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I would like to jog 3-5 miles on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (optional) after the girls leave for school in the morning otherwise I won't do it. I know myself well enough that the only way to accomplish exercise in a day is to do it in the mornings. If I get called into work that means I need to get myself out of bed around 5:00 AM. Yes, 5:00 AM seems like a crazy hour to workout but for some reason I have no energy or motivation by the early afternoons or in the evenings to workout. Later today, we scheduled a fun family night with the Nelson family! We are in charge of the lesson, which I need to start preparing soon! The Nelsons are doing games and treats. Hopefully we get to see Holly who is now living in a college dorm on BYU campus! We also would like to see Ryan, Stacy, and Avery! Since we moved to Pleasant Grove, it seems like we don't see many family members lately. We are looking forward to it!

Speaking of work, I got a job a couple months ago! Out of the blue, one of John's old companies REIS (a real estate seminar company), which I did some data entry a couple years ago called and asked me if I would like to work for them again. I am scheduled to work part time on call basis. My hours are usually (9AM-4PM). They let me pick my hours which is a huge blessing since my kids won't be home alone too long after school. My oldest daughter is now old enough to babysit her little sister, which means we don't need a babysitter anymore! My schedule is so random. My boss calls or texts me when they need help with data entry or answering costumer service calls. It is an easy job! I don't necessary enjoy answering calls (ugh) because some people are just rude, but it keeps me busy during the day while the kids are at school. It is nice to earn some extra money especially during the holidays last year (November-December). I haven't been called in to work this month yet. It has slowed down but should be picking up in a few weeks. So on my days off, I want to make the best of it by doing constructive projects and scrapbooking pages!

Lastly, I would like to share a couple of my scrapbook pages!

These pictures were taken while we were renting Matt's house (my brother in-law), 2006. Aren't they the cutest snow Angels? Credits: "Winter Chic" by Shabby Princess.

Snow Angels, 2006



I loved these precious memories of my in-laws reading with my girls. Reading is a Hoot! Credits "It's Elementary" kit By Dani Mogstad, template by Yin, and kids font.

Reading is a Hoot, 2009

A Fresh New Start!

It cracks me up to see the first post on this blog. Apparently, I created this blog almost four years ago. I have forgotten about it until I registered for a new blog today. I was very surprised that I already had an account, lol! I am sure I had good intentions and was probably too busy in school. I think it was an assignment for one of my classes to create a blog but not write anything. How lame is that college assignment? I bet I would have blogged more if I was forced back then! I suppose it is better to get back on track now than never!

Since it is the start of the new year, I have been thinking about some goals that I should work on to improve my well being (blogging is one of them too).

1. As like most people, weight loss is on the top of my list! I am having the worst body image lately. As a result of suffering with depression, I have seriously gotten lazy on my workout routines and eating healthy. I have been gaining the weight back that I worked so dog gone hard to get rid of these past few years! Ugh! Another issue that distracts me from working out is Facebook! There are so many darn applications that consume my time! I seriously need to change my routine in the mornings by not logging on the computer to check email or Facebook until AFTER I work out! It frustrates me that I am a Facebook application junkie! I need to cut down on the silly games and get focused on more important things in life!

2. I would like to get caught up on my family scrapbooks. For my daughter's birthdays this year, I would like to create them each a scrapbook. Their birthdays are in April! It is overwhelming to think about all the many pages I need to complete in the next couple months. However, I know that they will cherish their scrapbooks forever. I will add some more goals later. I really should end my ramblings now since I have been up all night with the worst insomnia. My hubby has been out of town on a business trip for ACN his part time job. He is doing a training. I cannot sleep very well when he is gone.

So I will leave you with some photos of my darling girls that I took yesterday! They were looking very stylist in their pink outfits! I could not resist a mini photo shoot! Ha ha ha! :)