2 Years Ago

2 Years ago yesterday I saw this house.  I remember driving up to it and wondering what stores were by it, or what neighbors we'd have.  I'd left that ALL in God's hands.  I remember walking in and a wave of "this is your house" came over me.  If you'd ever told me I'd buy a house over the internet a few years prior I'd laugh in your face, but this one all came true.  Dreams do come true.  And I found that out on the road of the horses....

And now I'm just in this funk.  A funk like I have no friends, and people don't like me.  A funk like I wish I still had my friends from CA that I could go to the park with and reminisce about husbands with.

I'm not sure what it is.  I haven't been home this much with my kids in a long time during the summer.  I think I miss my PTO stuff, and seeing other moms.

But, the point of this is that I was willing to hand the big stuff to God.  Sure, get me a house and please let it be perfect.  And it was, but me with my sniveling worries (because I do have great friends here) can't get out of this.  I'm not used to being unhappy.  I don't like it.   It's not that I'm unhappy, I'm just down.  And unhappy with where I am at.

Anyway, I'm needing to perk up.  I actually went on Facebook and pare'd down my facebook list.  There are people whose posts drive me insane, and so I unfriended them.  There are people I just don't have "friend" feelings for in my heart, so I unfriended them.  Most of them I hardly even knew when I added them, so no biggie. 

Anyway, it didn't help, but it did make me feel like I had cleaned and organized it, and heavens knows I love organization. :)

Maybe I just need some youtube organization videos.

Do you get in stupid funks like this?  How do you pull yourself out?

Summer Favorites : Rubbermaid Mop

Summer is a hard time, I feel like I'm just following around tornadoes just trying to keep things in check as they just rip my "systems" apart.  It's hard for me.

But there are a few products out there that make it all work.

This is one of them.

I bought it when I moved here, and it's still going strong.

I've tried lots of different recipes in the spray bottle and they all seem to be great.  I found a few on pinterest.

Do you have a floor care product you love?  Comment below, I'd love to hear about it.  But, I kind of love my rubbermaid mop so, I doubt I'd step out on it. :)

Summer Schedule Under Attack

I knew it was going to be hard.

3 kids, 3 different lessons, all of them with questions.  All of them coming from my own womb, hence, each thinking their question is THE most important that anyone could ever produce.  And it needs to be answered NOW.

And in the meantime I feel like I am being pecked to death by ducks.

Add braces for El Presidante and I'm ready to wave the white flag.

But I won't.  Scout camp is next week, which knocks it down to just 2 kids wanting my attention.  And we all know that 3 kids is a world away from 2 kids.

So we sojourn on.

I'm a huge fan of summer work, and showing my kids how to think stuff out and being their teacher.  But I honestly have NO idea how homeschoolers do it.  Especially all year.  Especially once it gets into hard stuff.  I mean, I'm doing algebra with Conner and I'm having to use brain cells that haven't been used in a LONG time.  I actually preferred to let those brain cells hibernate another long while, possibly forever.

So, for any of you, what are some successful lesson tips.  We do a group activity at the end, and I do ask them to go on if they have a question and I will get back to them, but it just seems like it's neverending.

Thoughts?

My main tip is to get up early, and try to center yourself before it all starts.  Life gets crazy and in order to be on top of it I need a plan and be able to not lose my peanuts on anyone who says mom 42 times in a row.

I just need to say "yes sweetie", and smile.  I don't have to smile inside though, that's just too much to ask.

Blessings of Being LDS

This week I am teaching on "Blessings of Baptism"

I was left frustrated from this lesson.  I think that kids need to understand how LUCKY they are to be in this church.  Their mothers and fathers are constantly being taught how to be better parents and they take that role VERY seriously.

Beyond having the Holy Ghost, Being Forgiven and Being Able to be a Member of the Church, the third of those things offers a lot to people.

I know when I lived in California, I was nervous to share a gospel that required SO much of me, with someone else.  Who would want to spend hours and hours with youth, or prepare a lesson for rowdy four year olds, or create church parties, or do genealogy.  I only seemed to notice that our church was HARD to be a member of.  And it's true, membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not easy.  We are constantly asked to give more, and figure out our own boundaries in where that has to end.

But there are countless good things that I don't remember all the time.  Here's some of my favorites.

1.  It's nice to have the same thing everywhere you go.  When I go in Utah it will be pretty well the same, when I went in California it was pretty well the same.  Consistency is a big thing in our church, and it's nice to be able to count on that when you move.

2.  Genealogy -- although not currently my "thing" -- it is a huge blessing for people to research their family history.  I know this appeals to a lot of people.

3.  Ward Parties -- we have lived in wards that really have church parties to bring families together and have a good time.  It's fun for the kids and the parents.

4.  Primary -- We are so lucky to have people willing to teach our kids.  I have recently learned how much effort goes into this.  I think I didn't really know how much my kids primary teachers loved them.  The more people that love them, the better.

5.  Young Mens/Young Women -- speaking of people loving them.  I am SO grateful for people who spend time with Conner.  When he hears important things from other people it seems to stick more, then my constant rants.  I don't know of another youth program where the leaders work so hard (at no gain for themselves) to help the kids.  It is a HUGE blessing.

6.  Relief Society/Priesthood -- we split into men and women the third hour, and I am grateful that we do it.  It's nice to be with those of your own gender as that brings challenges of its own.

7.  Church-house.  We have lovely meeting halls which are meant for a variety of purposes, we are lucky.

8.  Friends -- the women of the church meet with other women in their homes monthly.  They check on you to make sure you're alright.  I have to say if more people in this world had visiting teachers the world would just be a happier place.  I am assigned to 4 sisters, and there are 2 sisters assigned to me (we call the women in our church sisters)

9.  It's a lovely culture.  I find fast and easier friendships with women who are LDS because we both usually come from the same place of a strong emphasis on family and community, and doing right.  It's nice to have that.

10.  The Spirit of it.  We've had many people walk into our home and just notice it's different.  When you spend your time doing things with the church and doing the things our leaders ask, the home just tends to be a more peaceful place.  Maybe not while I'm writing this, but in general.

Anyway, have you thought of all the blessings you have because of your religion?  They aren't always the "not going to hell" variety, there are plenty of them if you look for them.  I am lucky to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I hope you have many blessings because of religion in your life.

Step Away From the Facebook

It's graduation time back in California.  Plenty of pictures of smiling faces moving up a grade, or moving up to college.

Sometimes it's just too much for a person to take on her phone screen. 

I hate seeing kids that I have known since they were LITTLE move on.  I hate it.  I hate how kids grow up.  Isn't that awful.  Somehow I don't hate it (or notice it) as much in my own kids.  Sure, they growing up.  I hate parts of how the baby is shed from Princess P, but I do like how she's starting to make her own bed, we had a lovely date last night.  She's kind of a gem.

But, also watching from far away makes it all even worse.

Not that I'd want to be there, either.

While I was reminiscing/moping about it yesterday I got a text from a friend to go on a walk.  A friend who lives JUST. AROUND. the CORNER.

Which is amazing, better then I'd ever dreamed.  I'm so darn lucky.

I remember my last day of school in Santa Clara.  I don't know if I've ever lost so many fluids through tears since that day.  Such a miserable day -- selling the house, moving on to the great unknown.  I hated it.

Yet, look how great it turned out.

This is a bit of a windy blog entry that just wants to say that things are great all over.  The changes you hate will one day be the changes you embrace.  It just takes time.  I hate that. ;)

Running With Zombies: aka, laying in my bed and sleeping

It's not what you think.  Ok, maybe it is.

I have this weird hip pain.  I had it on Sunday and I tried to ignore it, I ran with Drew on Monday (we tried the Zombies, Run! app) and every time I'd hit the ground it would hurt worse.

So I took Wednesday off, and I want it to feel at least 85% by the time I run again.

I have no idea what it is.  It's not in the socket.  My main pains have been lower ab pains since I started running.  I am hopeful that this is cinching-in my hips and helping with all the pelvis issues I've had since P and S were born.  This pain is right on the same level as the ab pain, so I think it's all associated, but I have no idea.  Anatomy was never my strong point.

I am still doing weight watchers and rockin' my 29 points each day.  On the days I work out I tend to give myself up to 30 points, mostly because I really like that nice round number (seriously, stopping at 29 can be hard for me).  I'm hopeful the scale is good to me today, as it has been in the past.

This is a neverending story... I'm going to go ride a fuzzy bear.  Or whatever it was that kid rode in that movie.

Swimming Lessons: Money Well Spent

Newsflash, Hilary doesn't like to pay for things that she can do herself.  Hence, she does her own piano lessons, she tutors her own kids, she fixes her own drip system.  I'm just that kind of a gal.

And I swear I could teach my kids to swim.

But 3 kids later, I just can't.  They wine and beat me down until I want to cry, and they're obviously crying.  El Presidante does really well.  He learned strokes last year with our teacher.  Mr Middle isn't a fan of his face in the water.  It obvious that he doesn't swim as well as most of the kids his age at scouts.  We did have lessons last year, but she wasn't firm that they were going to swim.  Kept it so darn enjoyable for all of us...

{sigh}

Enter me with a fistful of money handing it a woman who'd had good references.

And it's one of my better choices.

We used Chris Parker's Swim school.  It was 4 days a week for 2 weeks (one hour each time).  And it was wonderful.  I have a whole new girl that I'm looking at.  Here's a little video footage (the Harlem Shake is because they were all shivering so much, I think it fit in well).

 

By the end, Princess P was able to

• Get dropped in off the edge, and swim to the edge and get out (fully clothed, shoes, socks -- the whole thing). 
• Jump from the diving board, and swim to the other edge, with just the teacher holding her hand to help her get her breath.
• She knows she still shouldn't go by the pool without a grown-up, she talked a LOT about this, and because my children are robots she tells this to me too.

 

Plus, she had a GIANT helping of self confidence.  This was a girl, who -- along with ever other kid in the class -- was crying like we'd ripped her arms off when we made her go down to get rings.  Last year she would barely put her face in the water to blow bubbles.  She knew she had done a HUGE thing by getting over her fears.  Mrs Parker is SO great with them, constant compliments and saying how amazing they are.  I love her.

 

Fast forward to yesterday, when I took them to the community pool.  Drew had taken them last Friday and said he'd had luck, but I was nervous about 3 kids on my own.  I had taken Mr Middle to the class a couple of times so he could see how putting his head in the water would make him a better swimmer.

 

He did it yesterday.  He swam all the way to the edge, even coming up for air.  I feel like he's a safe swimmer and ready to learn more strokes at this point.

 

Princess P even is started to learn how to come up for air on her own.  It's hard, because they feel like they're sinking when they pull their head up, but she's doing it.  Mrs Parker gave us some tools before we left to get her to breathe on her own when she swims.  We tap on her head to remind her to come up for air.  So far she's only doing it one or two times before she runs out of steam but I think if we swim a couple of times each week she'll have it down.

 

I think I'm going to put both P and S in the refresher course next year.

Here's a video from the week before...

 

So, maybe the money, every now and then is worth it.  Lesson learned.  By all of us. :)