The Hardy Family

October

2011-10-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

So far behind!!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with my blog! It is not intentional, but I neglect it for long periods! I should really not do that, since I get so far behind and don't know where to begin!

It's October, and the month is almost over. It has gone by very fast. The beginning of the month was General Conference, and we enjoyed watching it from home in our jammies. I made snacks and lots of food, and we just ate and watched all day. The speakers were amazing and we got many answered prayers. It was a good weekend. One prayer in particular was about Justin. We just did not know what to do with that boy anymore and putting him on medication seemed more and more important, even though we felt he did not need it. Well, we got an answer through General Conference to just be patient and things happen on God's time, not ours... That is a powerful and hard thought to go by, because I am stubborn and impatient! So, the very next day (Monday) was school and I held my breath. I talked to Justin as I have many other times and gave him a pep-talk... And wouldn't you know it, he has been a great kid at school ever since! No more issues with anything, just like that! He has earned his privileges back in the classroom and has been a good example all month! We are very excited for him and thank Heavenly Father every day for helping Justin to control himself. That prayer was answered immediately. I am very thankful for that, and the effort that Justin has showed!

The same answer came for moving.. in a little over a month we have had been in El Paso for 5 years and that is just a very long time. As it looks, we will go through a deployment which will push us to 7 years in El Paso, and by then, why would we want to move since retirement will be just around the corner??!! Anyway, the answer came to be patient and He will move us when we are ready... I had a problem with that at first, because we both really REALLY wanted to move, but we are where we are needed in this point in time and we need to be okay with that. Besides.. you know how kids ask for something and you tell them to be patient, only for them to ask a million times and you end up saying, NO! Well.... for the fear of hearing NO from Heavenly Father, we have backed off the subject and will continue on until He is ready. :)

Joseph has been crazy busy with work, and it will not slow down anytime soon. Not much else to say about that.

Kids are doing well in school. I am pleased to bring that god news from ALL of our kids. Seems like everyone is having a blast with their classes.

I am doing good enough. (as a very dear friend likes to say) I have been having issues all month with pain in my abdomen and found out it was Gall Stones. So, I have surgery set for November to remove the gall bladder and hopefully remove the problem permanently! I am a little nervous about having something taken out of my body, but I know it is the right thing to do, so I am sure it will be ok.

Thats all the big news here.. not much, but it is an update. I will try and be good and post things about Halloween early next week, including pictures.

See ya lata, until then!

Cross dresser??

2011-09-16T15:54:00.001-07:00

So on another note... Aaron has been stealing Savannah's under things.. and hiding them under his bed?pillow...

That is a head scratcher!

Pushed to the limit

2011-09-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

So, ya, by now I think you have noticed I am *Not* an avid blogger, as much as I would like to be, I just get lazy and find other things to do, or not do! So this post is going to be more of a rant, so that I do not bombard my loving husband as soon as he walks through the door! I hate to word vomit to you, but I even more-so hate to word vomit on him, especially because I know today is a rough one for him...

Well, I am so utterly done with El Paso, I cannot even describe it. I think we are all feeling the effects of being in one place too long, and a place we did not even ask to come to. I hate that I have no control over helping my children while at school when they need help. Case in point, Justin. He is struggling at school so much it is hard for me to deal with. I have zero clues as to what can do to help him, and it seems that the school also has that same attitude. We had a parent/teacher conference last week with his teacher and basically went well. She had her theories and we had ours. The thing that bothers me is that she told us to be firm on him at home so it co insides with firm at school.. Uhhhh we are very hard on our kids and I think he has been able to get away with so much at school he has learned this behavior. I feel bad for the teacher, that she has to deal with it (luckily she is a strict one) so she does not let him get away with much. It just tears me up inside (so much so that I might have an ulcer, or the beginnings of one!) that he is struggling. It is hard, very hard to watch your kids struggle.

So, a couple weeks ago we went to the commissary and picked up some "medicine" for Justin. We are all for tricking our kids so we thought we would tell him that the vitamins were for his focus and behavior and if he took one every day he would be better. It was an experiment. So last week, we heard nothing from the teacher! So, I figured it was a good week.. then this week we heard nothing again... that is until today.. here is her e-mail to me:

Justin's behavior is getting a little bit better.
His work habits continue to be a problem. He isn't doing work like he should, he's wasting time, continually playing around and I believe he is pretending not to know what to do. Keep in mind all of this is after I continually give him directions, re-direct him etc...
Today he missed computer lab math games because he wouldn't finish his writing.
He also is turning in very poor work, again after re-direction.
I am hoping that with his progress report next week Justin will realize that his having no privileges and getting poor scores on his report card will continue until he makes the choice to do his school work and behave like he should.
Sorry for the bad news but again, I am hoping Justin makes some progress soon, he is so smart and can do the work successfully if he chooses to.

I thought all was well, then 2 weeks later... 2 weeks.. she says he is not improving very much. Sigh. So, what is going on and how the heck do I figure it out and help!?! I am so fricking frustrated with everything I just don't know. I took him out of school last year a month before school let out to home school and it was not too bad, and he seemed to know what he was doing... So, what is happening at school? Does he really need medicine to make him focus? Does he need to be in 2nd grade again because 3rd grade is too hard for him? Ugh!

So I talked to Justin today after school and I got a little upset and yelled because what he was telling me and what his teacher was telling me seemed to be different things. Then he broke down after I asked him if he was struggling. He started to hyperventilate and sob that he was struggling and he did not know why. I suppose this will need serious prayer, because I just do not know what I can do anymore. We do have a referral to a mental health professional so I need to get that appointment date. I guess we will go from there.

Sorry for the rant! I just needed to get that off my chest!

I LOVE to surprise them like this

2011-07-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

So, I got called as Secretary for Relief Society. I am excited, and nervous! I was released from the enrichment committee, so I have 2 callings instead of 3! They are going to keep me pretty busy I think. I need to time manage really well, because I was talking to Rhonda S. from church and she was just called as the Scout Master (or leader) of the 8-11 yr olds. Justin has to get a bunch of stuff done for his wolf by his birthday in December and we need to work on a lot of it from home. Savannah will be in YW in January and she has personal progress that needs to get done as well! Good times, but busy I think. Not to mention I am trying to manage my families in the unit! hehe. Anyone out there with a good time management organization skill, please let me know what I can do to get on a good schedule!

Lately we have just been hanging out at home. We are trying to save some money for our trip to Idaho in just a few weeks. We are doing.... Okay. We could be doing better (or *I* could be doing better) but I also could be doing worse.

Monday was Joseph and my 13th wedding anniversary. He took half the day off and we saw the new Transformer movie. It is nice to go out with just him and I. We are enjoying some of our new freedoms! After that we came home and watched some movies we got at the PX. Joseph was called to give a blessing to a lady from church and he changed and went to the hospital. He didn't get back until about 12:30am and we went to bed.

Yesterday I cleaned like crazy. There is so much dirt that gets into the house, it needs a good clean a couple times a month. It has been about 2-3 months since I cleaned that deep, and it showed! I spent the day scrubbing and scrubbing. I finished at 5, took a shower and made dinner. As soon as dinner was done and cleaned up, it was time to take Savannah over to play with some friends. I was pooped from my day and when I got home from picking up Savannah I was done! Today I have a headache and some body aches from working hard. I know the headache is from all the dirt and dust I was cleaning up.

Now it is Friday. Today my Mom and Step-Dad are here. They flew in late last night and will be here sometime this morning. I do not know what we will be doing today since Joseph has to work and we won't go far.. but I am super excited they are here. Tomorrow is our trip to Carlsbad Caverns. We went a few years ago, when the kids were smaller and just after we moved here. So it'll be cool to go back! We did not stay to see the bats fly out of the cave, so maybe we will see it this time?!? Oh! Also, the kids do not know their Papa and Gramma are here! I LOVE to surprise them like this. 1) because they get a huge reaction and makes me smile and 2) by them NOT knowing I am not hearing "is it time yet" 100x a day! Like for instance, we are heading to Idaho in a couple weeks and every day someone is asking if we are leaving soon... lol. So it is good to keep secrets like this from them!

Well, I will post pictures and whatnot after this weekend. Hope you all have a fun safe one!

A crafting Fool!

2011-07-06T15:36:00.000-07:00

So, lately I have been a crafting fool! I will have to follow-up with some pictures of my latest projects. I am so glad I have started doing crafts again.. I just *LOVE* doing stuff like that and it is a stress reliever! I even got Joseph and Savannah into crafting lately and they are loving their projects! (I'll take pictures of those too!)

Other than that we are just hanging out and enjoying life.

2011-06-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks goes by pretty darn fast!

Today is the last day of school for the kids. There is mixed feelings about it from them. Savannah will be transferring to MIDDLE SCHOOL!! I know, right!?! She is excited about it, but also a little nervous since a lot of her friends are moving away and so she will be a little fish in a big pond. I told her that she can test it out for a year.. I have not heard great things about the school so we will see. I wish we got into the school we wanted! Dang it! Anyway, She will be taking a bus and wearing a uniform and all that jazz. Such a grown up kid! I am proud of her!

Aaron is sad about Pre-k being over. He said he does not want to go to kindergarten because all his friends wont be there. :( Being a military kid has to be hard because of all the change! I'll work on it this summer and get him excited!

Justin is excited school is over because the other two will be home with him now all day. Plus he begged me (they all did) to let them go to school next year and not be home schooled.. Whaaaaaaaat?! They must not want to be home with me 24-7.. little do they know the feeling is mutual! Muahahaha Just kidding... only slightly!

So, I am allowing all the kids to go to school next year to schools that I really am having a hard time liking... But it is what it is right?!

So I Started this post about 2-3 weeks ago... So again, time is going by fast! I need to remember to update more!

Life is just busy. There can be a lot I can say about this past month, but I honestly cannot remember every detail. Basically the kids are fighting a lot more, and are bored, as am I. Money is scarce for now as we are saving for our trip to Idaho. It leaves not much to "extra" things. Plus, wouldn't you know it, both pools here on Ft. Bliss happened to not be working right as soon as summer hit! We may have 1 pool back by tomorrow, but I am expecting to to be packed! However, that is a new option for us to do for the summer that requires zero money! Other than that, I have been staying in a lot. I go out here and there, but not as much as I was before school let out. Which reminds me, Savannah is becoming quite the little babysitter for me! Yay! I can go to the commissary or run a few errands while she stays home with the boys! Sometimes I get anxious and nervous when I leave them, but I know I am right around the corner. All they do is play the wii anyway, so it is like a 2nd babysitter! Ha!

Joseph has been crazy busy with work and church. Both are very demanding on his time and he has precious little of it to spare. I am ok with it for now, because I know the importance of both, but sometimes I do want to have my husband focused on me! I know that is selfish, but it is how I feel. So, right now when he comes home, he shuts off and I try very hard to let him decompress in his way. I am proud of him and all that he is doing for everyone. He was able to head to the hospital yesterday and give a blessing to a lady in our ward before she had her baby. So, the baby arrived like less than an hour later! I am grateful to have such a caring and worthy man!

Well, I guess I should get up from my computer chair and do some work around the house. I have been lazy today and dragging my feet because I do not want to clean! lol. Seems like with the kids home that is *ALL* I get to do.. Sigh..

Take care!

It is always how it goes but does not make it any easier

2011-05-25T07:33:00.000-07:00

What another busy, filled week! There seems to be a lot of those lately, and I am fine with that. I think I don't like to be NOT busy. I sit around the house and get very little done. I like to have things to do and to go places. Thanks Hilary for getting me out of the shell I hide in... Now that *you're* busy with other things I am restless to do something or go somewhere.. hehe! It is all good. I applied for a very cool job and if I get it, I will be plenty busy.

So, last week was busy with normal things. Karen and I went to Hobby Lobby and I held her hostage for about 3 hours! It was a great time and I really enjoyed it. She is a great person and always a joy to be with. I believe this was Monday... Tuesday was a steering committee meeting. We talked about an upcoming "Stryker Day" where the families can come out and learn about the new vehicles, and climb in them and such. We were also discussing a range as well and have a bus that would take some people out to the range so they can shoot a stryker. Way cool stuff. Wednesday was craft day and a birthday party. Basically all of us have no more crafts but we still get together for lunch and gab! It is a lot of fun and I enjoy these ladies very much. We are calling it quits since summer is coming and there will be kids home, so that is a bummer. We are just going to have to come up with other ways to hang out! Not too sure what Thursday and Friday were about. I really should blog more often so I know what I do! lol. I do remember Saturday!! Joseph and I were going to the bishops store house to help stock food and such and we were dropping the kids off at the Nouhan's... well, we were almost to the store house when a little baby puppy ran to our car. Ok, so I did make noises and talk all high pitched to it. I scooped it up and was going to bring it to the humane society so it would not get run over or something else tragic. Joseph thought I would bring it home to live with us, but honestly I am not ready to love another puppy at this time. Scout really messed me up with it, and I just can't seem to get past it. So anyway, the humane society was closed until 11am and this was at 7am.. so I told Hilary I was coming over with a puppy. She got excited and the kids were excited too. They even gave it a name, Dakota. Had something to do with Paul's work changing a name or something... Well, I left the puppy with them for the day. After discussing, they decided not to keep it, and I went to pick it up to take to the humane society because it was my responsibility since I found it! But the humane society was closed and so I brought it home with us for the night. She pee'd everywhere! LOL At least the poop was outside! I forgot how hard it can be to have a little puppy around... Sunday we went to church, and Joseph offered to take it since he knew how hard it was for me, emotionally. He is a sweetheart, and I love him! (just thought I'd throw that in here!)

Unfortunately he had the hardest time with the humane society and so I told him, I will NOT be picking up any puppy's anymore.. I just can't get involved and then drag my family into it. He dealt with the rude people at the humane society, and the kids were super sad to see her go.. Savannah came in crying! Poor kid.

Oh! On Saturday we went to the carnival that the young women were having as a fundraiser for camp. It looked like it went well and everyone had a good time. Poor Hilary got super sun burnt... I hope she feels better soon! It sucks to have burns.. I had plenty of them growing up and I still remember the really bad ones... Ouch!

Today is craft day again. It is our last one. We are losing some to moving this summer too so it is a bitter sweet time. Those who are moving on will be missed and thought of often. This is the hard stuff with military.. you finally get friends who you can trust and love and then they are called to go elsewhere. It is always how it goes but does not make it any easier.

Joseph is gone for the night as well. He has a spur ride he is doing and will be back tomorrow. It is very interesting how things have changed from even 10 years ago in the military. It is so much more calm, meaning no more yelling, name calling or hazing with things. I know they will still have a good time, but it is so different than when Joseph had to earn his spurs.

With that, I am off to get ready for my day. See ya!

Am I on, or off the fence...

2011-05-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

This week is over and a new week is starting.. Same 'ol, same 'ol! I left off from last week at craft day.. It was a good day! I did not bring over a craft, but I did bring my pictures to go through and sort. I got rid of a lot of duplicates or some that were not worth keeping. I think "craft day" has turned into "eat and gab" day. hehe! Which is fine with me! This Wednesday though is a birthday party too! I am attempting to make a southwestern egg roll with an avocado dipping sauce... from scratch!!! Eek!

Thursday was a home day as well. With all of us broke and such, we have not been getting together as much.. I was itching to go out all week, then towards the end of the week I was content with staying in! Friday was going to be our "BIG DAY OUT"... ya, Hilary and I pretty much got 5+ days worth of mischief into about 10 minutes! After about 2 hours we were ready to go home and rest! hehe. It was fun getting out with my homies, even if it was short lived!

Saturday Joseph had to go into work to open something so I brought his framed accomplishments and we *finally* decorated his office.... he has only been in there since January! hehe. I will have to remember to be faster with that for him. It looks good but there is still more to add. I am going to bring him some family pictures and maybe a hat tree for his stetson. After that we headed to village inn for some breakfast. We *CANNOT* take the kids out like that often as prices just continue to rise! For 5 of us, it is just too much to go out. It was a nice treat though, and we have not been out like that in a while. We came home and were about to rest and get us some warcraft time when his phone went off. Someone needed a blessing so off he went! He got Paul Nouhan to join him (thanks Paul and Hilary) for doing that. It is nice to have people you can call on for things like that! I don't know what I did while he was gone.. I think I worked on the Enrichment Night stuff for this week.. which reminds me, I need to e-mail the chair lady!! -- Don't let me forget! ha! I also baked some chocolate chip cookies and some homemade soft pretzels. I was finishing that up when Joseph walked in the door. He changed into his pj's and helped start dinner while I finished with the pretzels. Finally after dinner we sat down to play warcraft.

Today was a great day at church. It was just "one of those days" where you feel the spirit with such gusto. :) Joseph and I got our temple recommends renewed today and we are planning a trip to the temple in June! I am just so excited! We have not been in *SO* long! We have had our recommends, but been too far away or just never made the effort to go. So now we are and it feels incredible. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful worthy husband! Yesterday when he went to give a blessing to someone, all I could think of was how lucky and happy I was to be married to someone who can be able to do that! How fortunate I am to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home.

I love how Heavenly Father is always watching over us too. Lately I have been on the fence about modesty.. I will try to explain but it may come out not right, so bear with me. I got put in charge of the fashion show the young women are going to be doing on Thursday for enrichment night. So as a person in charge I needed to research and prepare not only for me, but for the young women. As I was reading about modesty, I kept feeling like I was being told *You cannot and WILL NOT wear this or that* and the rebellious side of me was thinking, "Ya right, then I *WILL* wear this and I *WILL* wear that"... It is sometimes hard to explain but being brought up not in the church and "Californian" I grew up not paying much attention to that area so sometimes the way I was brought up and the way I live my life now conflict and then I struggle. So anyway, I tried to talk to Joseph about it a couple days ago and fumbled over myself and it did not get very far.. then today, not once but twice it came up. Joseph brought it up first in Sunday school and we discussed it for almost the whole class. He finally said, "get off the fence, either you want to be modest or you don't" There was more to it, but I can't remember right now. So I thought about it, and what I wanted to do. Then during my interview, the Bishop read a paragraph on garments and why we wear them.. All I could do was cry and think that my Heavenly Father knows me and is showing me the way.. I know it sounds corny to some who are reading this, but it is how I feel.

So now we are home, Joseph is still at church because he had a big audit to take care of. I hope it goes well and it is easy, and they go through everything quickly. He will be home later and I believe we are going to start reading the scriptures as a family tonight! I look forward to that and all the discussions it will involve!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend, and has a fabulous week!

Planning.... while in the military..????!!!! That's just silly!

2011-05-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

Time sure does like to move quickly when no one is watching! Half the week is almost over! I don't know if that is a good thing or not..

Mother's Day was a nice relaxing day. Joseph did not have ward counsel in the a.m. so we slept in a bit. We made it to church rather early still, and secured us a pew... which rarely happens! After Sacrament, Bishop had the young men go into his office and bring out roses for the lady's in the ward. It was very sweet. Our classes were good, and the lessons taught always remind me of things we need to work on! Which I am sure is the reason for the lesson in the first place! hehe. Joseph d id have to stay after church because he is still the ward financial clerk. He made it home a couple hours after we did and he just hung out with me. We watched movies and he made dinner.

Monday I had a ton of energy.. from my relaxing mother's day perhaps!?! So I did a LOT of cleaning and tidying up. I worked from when I got up to when I went to bed.. I forgot to eat during the day because I was not hungry, so dinner was my only meal.. weird... lol. So that was uneventful.. Then today was not too eventful as well. I got up, got the kids/husband taken care of, went grocery shopping, and have been home ever since. I wanted to go to Chili's for dinner tonight, but that was a last minute plan and Joseph is still not home from work yet and it is 1930! So much for that idea! I made dinner and it was a little late, but it smells good. Crispy ranch chicken, baked beans and rice. YUM!

Tomorrow is craft day and we should have a more eventfull day! We are also getting our temple recommends done! WOOT. Haven't been current since 2008, so a little bit of time! Maybe we will get to go to the temple again?! Have not been since we were sealed in 2001! Way too long ago!

Alright, Joseph should be home soon, I hope. Off to eat my dinner. TTFN

Same 'ol, Same 'ol

2011-05-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

It is time for SAME THING DIFFERENT DAY! Although, I do LOVE hanging out with my friends and getting outta the house, no matter what it is!

This weekend was pretty busy. I had to get some things ready for Sunday and it took pretty much all day Saturday. In the morning I did head over to the Porter's house to rummage through some of their girl clothes they were selling/getting rid of and I walked away with almost all of it! Savannah is set on clothes for a long, long time! Yay!

Sunday was interesting. It was our first day with Joseph heading in early for his meetings. I got up around normal time, jumped in the shower and got ready. I got the kids moving when I got out of the shower and we were all pretty much done about 8:40. Just in time for church! We found Joseph and sat down. I enjoy fast and testimony meetings. It is nice to hear of people's faith and what stands out most for them. Sunday school and relief society was good and the kids and I made our way home. Joseph is still helping out with finances, and is not released from that calling so he is involved with that after church.

I got home made lunch and got into my pj's. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, Joseph was kissing my forehead.. I did not hear him come in. I don't remember what we did the rest of the day, played Warcraft maybe.. watched some movies.. I don't really recall.

Monday was, well, yesterday. Let's see.. ah yes.. I was not really doing much and was really lagging in the morning, until I got a text from Hilary asking what I was up to... Karen and she were heading to hobby lobby after 11, and wanted to know if I would join them. I said I would love to meet them, so that meant I had to hurry and get ready so I could go to the bank, and post office before I dropped off Aaron at school. All this happened in less than an hour! I had to stop at the commissary as well because I did not make the poor little guy a lunch, and he ate it on the way to school. I dropped him off at about 11:15 (15 minutes later than I usually do) and headed out to hobby lobby. Whew I was a mess. I do not do well with rushing and it was my own fault because I did not plan my day better. Hobby lobby was fun, as always. I love that place and wish I had more cash-ola! We stopped at chick-fil-a for lunch and then Wal-mart so I could get hangers for all of Savannah's new clothes. (Thanks Tiffany and Jessica!)

Last night I made beef stir fry and rice and we watched Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston. It was a cute movie and we enjoyed it. Joseph has been really tired lately, so we have been heading to bed between 9 and 10pm. I guess I have been tired too as I pass right out!

Today I knew I was going to hang with my homies because I texted last night to make sure! So I was prepared with my day! Although I did not have to do anything pre-outing. We did not do as much as we normally do. We headed to the west-Sieed to see a man about his avocado's, had lunch at Rudy's and walked around the Jewelry box at the outlet mall. It was nice because Karen's oldest daughter watched Justin for me, and I got to have a break! He is easy to have around, but sometimes I just need *alone time*. Ya know!?!

So after we were done I picked up Aaron and headed to the px to get some cream for Joseph and I wanted to get something to send Melissa and Tyler (and the kids) in their box. It is full, but I wanted to make sure I got everyone something. I think I have to go back one more time though just to make sure I got everyone something special! So tomorrow I am mailing it off to you guys, and I will let you know for sure after I done it! hehe. I know, I take my sweet time! :P My mom likes to joke that she gets Christmas stuff from us in February...

Since I have been home I have been glued to this darn computer! Well, I did take a boy scout of America quiz because I need the certificate to give to the scoutmaster dude. So it was somewhat productive. :) Now I need to get ready to take Savannah and the boys to school for an art show they are having.

DEUCES! :)
(I am seriously diggin this farewell, thanks Ariell! hehe I feel hip and young! haha!)

Not much to report

2011-04-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

There is not much to report on right now. This kids got sick with a flu bug that started last Thursday and 'ended' on Monday... but Savannah is complaining of a tummy ache, which is how the boys started with their sickness... ugh. No more barf, Please! She did go to school anyway because there is no fever... yet.. so we will see. I hope it is gone. I had a couple of sleepless nights last week and spent enough time cleaning puke. I am done.

Joseph had a four day weekend which was nice. We did not do too much because of the kids not feeling well, but staying home and relaxing was great. We did have to go in on Sunday because we were giving a talk in Sacrament. Justin was the only one that did not speak (even though he wanted to). So, I told Joseph that I did not think we should go to church because Justin and I had been up all night with him being sick. We were tired and he was puking. But we had an obligation, and he decided we needed to be there. So off to church we went. When we got there, I was afraid Justin would throw up on the pulpit... I was close, he threw up on the floor next to the pulpit! Great! lol. Made for a fun time! I'm glad we could share our "love" to everyone at church! hehe
Our talks went well, and apparently people liked my talk because a lot of people commented to me that it was good. I am glad because I do not remember what I said! I get so scared I "forget" my speech! hehe. I am glad it went so well though. We all did good together and it was fun having all of us talk.

Oh, Joseph got called as the elder quorum president. He was surprised, but accepted the calling. I know he will do fantastic in his calling and I know he will find the balance between work/calling/home. He does keep saying he can "do anything" and he sure is being handed a lot right now to prove that statement true. It is at times overwhelming for him, but I know I will be a supportive and strong wife just as I always have been and hope that it makes it easier for him to do his important jobs.

So, we did nothing on Monday. Tuesday was back to work/school. It was also Hilary's birthday and we totally celebrated ALL DAY! hehe. She is a good sport for letting us kidnap her twice. It was a ton of fun.

Alright, I was going to take a nap this morning since it was a late night, but I have spent my nap time on facebook and blogging and used up all of my time. Oh well. Time to get ready for the day.

I {Heart} netflix

2011-04-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ahhh this week has been like the others. It seems like there is not much to do, then *BAM* there are not enough hours in the day! Yesterday was actually a lazy day. I did nothing. I was still feeling like poop and did not want to move around too much and I didn't. Hilary text'd she was going to watch a movie, and invited me on over. We watched "Enchanted". I really like that movie too. It is cute with a nice story to it. I stayed until about 1:30~ish and headed out. Justin and I stopped at home real quick, and then off to pick up Aaron from school. I was suppose to pick up Savannah because she was going to have her hair cut by a friend, but my friend got busy and so I just came home. Savannah called me from her friends phone and wanted to know where I was. She was happy to walk home anyway. She said it has been nice to walk and talk with her friends without having her brother around! hehe.

Oh! While with Hilary, she gave me something for my allergies and it totally made me feel funky! I mean, my mouth was tingly and numb, and I felt like I was floating! Super weird but thank you for the pill! It helped the allergies and today I have not had any issues!!! :)

I made dinner while the kids watched some Inspector Gadget! Hehe. I {Heart} netflix! I introduced them to that cartoon the other day and they LOVED it! hehe. I made some baked chicken with ranch and herbs, mashed potato's and corn. It was yummy! Joseph made it home very late.. almost 7pm. He is busy with training and this week he has a few "long" days. Tonight isn't as long but there is a meeting at 6pm we both have to be at! By the time Joseph made it home we were watching "Problem Child 2". It is super funny and makes me giggle. The kids liked it and Joseph had not seen it before either. I'm not sure he liked it but it's all good.

After the kids went to bed we started up on Battlestar Galactica. O.M.G. we LOVE that show. It was 4 seasons in the early 2000's. We missed it because we were in Germany at the time, but we are catching it now. Again, I {heart} netflix! We are in season 3 and watched 2 episodes last night. It is a great dramatic and suspenseful show.

I think we made it to bed about 11:30 or so. As soon as our heads hit the pillows we were both out! I had some dreams that apparently scared me and I woke up to my alarm clock all sweaty and freaked out... Not sure what all I dreamt about, but I got in the shower to start my day. I got the kids up and had breakfast, made their lunches and then it was time to drop Savannah off. I came home and Joseph pulled in the same time as I did. I got Justin some homework printed off and chatted with Joseph before he left for the day. I was not planning on doing much, other than the laundry, and picking up a bit but Hilary text'd about going to Hobby Lobby later and it reminded me I needed to get some things from the commissary and px. She too, was heading that direction so we said we would meet up. The boys took their sweet time and we finally made it over there. I got some things from the commissary and decided to forgo the px until a later time. Ariell called Hilary and asked to be picked up, so we said our good-byes (we would see each other again in an hour anyway!) and headed in our separate directions. I went to get gas... sigh.... then dropped off groceries and took Aaron to school. We went to the hobby lobby on the west si-eed this time. I met everyone there and I got there first! Justin and I walked around for a bit admiring all the fun things that this store has. I wanted to buy it all! hehe. I picked up what I needed and the other's came in for their items. The kids were hungry and so we walked to the McDonald's that was right there. The kids loved it because they got to play in the play yard thing. Justin told me it was his greatest day! hehe. (insert eye roll) Once we were done there, we headed to the outlet mall and peeked around the jewelry box, but nothing jumped out at me. By that time it was 2pm and time to head back to pick up Aaron.

So we are home now. The boys are playing the wii and I decided to blog. I need to start dinner early tonight since we have a meeting at 6. Another friend of mine has a Tupperware party tonight too, and I said I would go, but now I am not sure I can make it, but I'll try.

And I'm off again.....

Alright Hilary, thanks for the "shout-out"

2011-04-14T08:31:00.001-07:00

Ya, Ya, Ya...... I know it has been a L-O-N-G time since I wrote on here. But at the DEMANDING nudge from Hilary on her blog I am posting today! hehe. Not too sure what has all happened since I last wrote... I guess that means I should write more so I know what is going on in my own life! hehe. To start off with, Hilary so *nicely* asked if I could post the recipe for the Mexicali chicken I made yesterday. It turned out really yummy this time.

Mexicali Chicken

3 good sized chicken breasts (depending on the size of your family/friends you can add more or less)
2 containers of Salsa (I use Rojo's fresh cut restaurant style)
1 can of corn 1 can of black beans
1-2 cans of chopped green chilies
2 packets of taco seasoning

Pour one container of salsa into the bottom of the crock pot and spread evenly. Next put the chicken breast on top of that layer. Pour in corn, beans, chilies and 2nd container of salsa on top of chicken breast. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. I usually start it around 9 or 10 in the morning for a 6pm dinner. When cooked, shred chicken. (it will be tender and fall apart easy for you) pour in the 2 packets of taco seasoning adding 1 packet full of water if desired. Stir. Serve over rice, tortilla chips or in a tortilla like a burrito.

It is pretty good all by itself, but I do like to put some shredded cheese on it with sour cream. And yesterday I had some with Hilary's super yummy guac!

Well, it is time for me to start my day. I will do my best to sit down tonight and keep you all up to speed on what is happening over here!

***Melissa, I do have your box ALMOST ready to ship. I am sorry it has taken so long. I hope to have it out by the beginning of next week at the latest! So if there is anything else you need from the states you can't get there, let me know and I'll run out this weekend and pick it up!

SIX, SIX, SIX!!!

2011-03-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very sleepy day! If I slowed down a bit, I would have passed out, so I made sure I kept moving. That is until I got to Karen's house! I was not working on a craft and just sat and chatted with everyone. Let's see, there was Andrea, Angie, Danielle, Karen (of course), Laurie, Hilary and myself. Not a bad group! Ariell was on a field trip with her son, so she was busy. It was an earring holder craft. It was made from an old frame and some mesh backing.. I do not know what it's called!! I am blanking on words lately.... :( Anyway, they all turned out super cute, and I thought about making one later on.. but we will see.

Before I went to Karen's I stopped at Lowes and Walmart. I got a 2x4 so I can make my sister-in-law Melissa, a name block thing, like ours. I did not post it on here, only on facebook, so I will see if I cant pull it from there and post it on here! I am not that savvy with the computer, so we will see! I headed to Walmart because I was in charge of drinks and grabbed some soda's. Next time I am going to have to remember to grab some water too! Whoopsie!

After the craft I picked up the kids and we all went home. Justin had a fabulous day and that was good news! I knew he could be a good boy! His excuse for his behavior was "you and dad are not at school watching me, so I get to do what I want"... LOL!!! Yea, that did not fly too well with us, and we corrected his thinking on that one! Hopefully today is a good day too! I look forward to the report!

After the kids were done with their homework, I told them to play in the back, and I got on the couch and was starting to pass out. I was almost asleep when my very best friend Hilary started texting me! hehe. So I texted with her and got up. I cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes. I puttered around for about an hour checking my facebook, e-mail and such until Joseph got home. We chatted for a little bit before I headed out to take Justin to scouts. Aaron joined me and I dropped Justin off, and headed to subway for dinner. I was way too tired to cook or anything so I got some sammiches and took them and Aaron home. I got everyone served up and then took off to pick up Justin. Oh! I brought Hilary a heart monitor/calorie counter watch that I had. I used it when I was doing p90x, but I havent used it since, and I do not think I will be using it any time soon, so I am glad she can use it. I gave that to her, said good-bye to people and headed home. We ate and watched some old skool cartoons like Heman (but it wasn't Heman) and some Samuri Jack. Joseph and I were in bed again by 9:30! It has been a long week and is catching up to us both! Next week we can sleep in, so hopefully we can relax and get ready for more!

Today I am heading to Hobby Lobby with Hilary and Karen. It is an adult time since today is dedicated to home preschool and we don't go to those! :) Should be fun. I am going to look for stuff to paint, and paper to match Melissa's decor. Something with a japanese-y feel.. reds, blacks, cherry blossoms... and stuff like that!

Have a great day!

Oh and by the way, since Sunday I have lost 6, yes 6 pounds! WOOT! This calorie counter thing really helps me out! It is very exciting to think I will hit my goal that I wanted by my birthday! WOOHOO!

Ok, now I am off.....

I'm too sleepy!

2011-03-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a whirlwind of emotions for me! I had a parent/teacher meeting early in the day for Justin and it was unexpected the things that were told to me. That was NOT the Justin I knew, so it took me a little bit to process things. Once everything sank in, I was so sad and frustrated. Justin needs to change his attitude today or else! Joseph and I will hear no more things like that again from his teachers. I would go into it, but I am just way to sleepy!

I asked if Joseph was getting a lunch, and he was not. He was incredibly busy yesterday and did not even get home until after 6:30. So I texted Hilary and asked is she and Paul were doing anything, or if she had plans with anyone else. She was free and I bolted to her house. She was still getting ready when I let myself in. I texted her to say I was sitting on her couch, and not to be scared, but what she texted back was way more important! She said it was good to know so she did not come out there naked! Yes, that would be a better reason!!! hehe. We just hung around her house and watched some comedy things to make us laugh. It helped a lot, and I appreciate her so much. She is a great friend and I am lucky to have her friendship!

After, I picked up the kids. It was really windy and so I thought it would be nice to pick them up. School gets out at 3:45 for the next month because of the ice storm that came in. They added 30 minutes to their schedule until April 1rst. It is nice for Mommy because I get 30 more play minutes! hehe. OOOooooooooOOoooo!!!! The kids felt it though and were pretty tired. On our way home I stopped and FINALLY knocked on this person's door to ask them if they were getting rid of this planter thing they had. She was happy to hear someone wanted it, and helped put it in the car. Her friend/neighbor was passing by and jumped out to help as well. They were really nice ladies and it was fun to chat with them. One asked for my number because they like to craft as well, and got my info just in case. I said my thanks and got the kids home so they could get their homework done.

I had made Mexicali chicken in the crockpot so dinner was easy. I made some Spanish rice grabbed the cheese and sour cream, then chopped some onions. I made them into burritos since I still had tortillas to use up. It was pretty yummy! There was a lot left over but I got caught up in the evening and left it all out! Whoops! After dinner is was already 8pm, so the kids got ready for bed. Savannah and Aaron went to bed, but Justin stayed up to have a chat with us. It was not fun, and heartbreaking at times, but I hope and pray that this is a step forward for him and he starts acting a lot better than he has been... only time will tell!

Joseph and I headed to bed around 9:30, since he was beat. Poor guy. It is so hard right now when we need him. The Army likes to horde his time 24-7 and when we need some time too, it is almost a guilty feeling that I have. It is not fair on so many levels.. He did not get a break at all yesterday. From 6am to 9:30pm-- no break or time out for himself. It is not like that all of the time, but I feel really bad when it does happen. Anyway, I could go on and on about this... so I will leave it at that.

We both fell asleep pretty quick, but I woke around 3 am with a sour tummy. I got up and took some tums and after 45 minutes it sort of went away. I crawled into bed at 4, and went right to sleep. My 7am alarm came too quickly, and I tried to fight it, but I have to get the kids up and moving, so I was up. I am very sleepy sitting here, and I will be like this all day. I need to keep moving around or I will fall asleep. Today may not be a good day for me, but I will certainly try to make it a good one! It is after all, craft day! hehe.

Blogging during the day time is much better!

2011-03-07T15:07:00.001-08:00

Ok, I love that my husband is home, but it sure does make it hard to keep up with my blogging!

Friday was a girls night out. Karen, Hilary, Ariell, her friend Aarika, and I had dinner and games at Ariell's house. It was nice to get out and just hang. We played curses and had a good time with it. I will have to get that game now! Way too fun. We had a yummy shredded pork burrito dinner thing, but I do not know the name or recipe! Ariell, I want it, please! It was so tasty and good! Thanks for letting us raid on your time and your house! :)

Saturday we wanted to go to Monster Jam were a lot of monster trucks do their crushing things, but they were SOLD OUT! Boo!! So we ended up doing nothing ALL DAY! It was very nice, but the day really did fly by for being not busy! Super weird.

Sunday we slept in a little and got up about 8:30... Ya, church starts at 9! Whoops.. so we got dressed and headed to church. We walked in during announcements, so we were not too late! It was good, we had great testimony's and good classes. Something one of the sisters said made me feel kinda bad and such. I accept and support ALL people no matter if they are gay, straight, black, white or whatever... there was a comment made about gay people, and religiousness. It made me feel conflicted and I suddenly felt like I wasn't following the gospel. It was more than that though too, but I can't explain it. I have a hard time with some things that the church teaches or the scriptures say, because it conflicts with who I am inside. I felt horrible and was reduced to tears for a second. I am still conflicted, but I will just go with what I have always thought.. I believe and feel that MOST things the Latter Day Saint religion has to offer is perfect for me, though SOME I do not agree with. It has always been that way, and this is just part of it. I will leave it as that.

The kids and I got home about 12:30 as Joseph stays to do the finance stuffs. That is his new calling, financial clerk. We take separate cars now, so it sucks, but oh well. He is usually home an hour or so after we get home, so it isn't too bad. Joseph and I played Warcraft a little bit, napped and watched movies. I guess I fell asleep early, around 9, and we went to bed around 10:30.

Our sprinklers came on yesterday (and were not suppose to, so housing is turning them off again) and they came on at 5 AM!!!!! Ya that is no good for me. They were hitting the kids' toy bin that is aluminum, and also the storm drain... Ya, LOUD NOISES!!!! Joseph went out there and moved the toy thing, but they stay on for about 35 minutes and I just could not sleep because of the drain! Finally at 6ish, I passed out again, and got up at 7. I was ready to take a nap, but my friend Hilary wanted to go shopping at Savers 99 cent day! I got 2 sweaters for myself, but did not really look around too much. I went to hang out with my peeps. After that I dropped Aaron off at school and headed to a meeting with Joseph the Cpt and his wife. It was for FRG and it went well. We covered a lot of things and I think we will do a good job. Found out we have about 66 soldiers and 23 wives, so it will be super easy! Not like being in HHC! Ha!! I like it!

Hilary texted and wanted to meet at wal-mart after, so I headed that way. We gabbed and walked around a little. Then hit up Sams next door. Good times, thanks for the talking! :) It is always nice to have adult interaction.

It was 2, so I headed to pick up Aaron, and the other two since it is so nasty outside. We are home and they are finally done with their homework. Hilary wanted to go take the kids swimming, but we could not today... SORRY! Maybe next time... MAYBE! lol.

Tonight I am going to attempt a family home evening.. not too sure on what I am going to do, but I'd like to get that started up again! The kids are finally old enough to pay attention and participate so it should be a good time. Maybe tonight will be a planning session as well, so we can know what we are doing and who is doing it before hand!

Now it is time for me to pick up a little, do some laundry and get things ready for tonight! Have a great afternoon!

An All Nighter.... I don't think so!

2011-03-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was a busy day, and went by very fast. Joseph headed into work today after being off for four days. (plus being gone for the month of February) He text'd me, 230 emails to go through and sort, back to back meetings and anything else that pops up in between to do! He had an extremely busy day.

I did not go workout because I woke with a horrible headache and my mouth was still hurting. I took some aspirin, but I figured by the time it would kick in, it would be too late to head over to Hilary's. I text'd with her instead and laughed at the stuff on damnyouautocorrect.com and awkwardfamilyphotos.com. (WARNING: The auto correct site has naughty words, so if you check it out, be prepared!) We laughed a LOT over this stuff for a good while. She had to go take a shower so not to be stinky for the craft today and I had to get Aaron ready for school.

While I was dropping Aaron off at school, I do not know how, but my pinky toe hit the stair, and immediately it was in pain. I hobbled into the school and said good bye to Aaron, hobbled back to the car, and let out a tear. I think I broke it. It puffed up right away, and the bruise came slowly but it is all over my toe. I cannot touch it because it hurts. I limp when I walk a little itty bitty bit, but Joseph made me look like Egor from Young Frankenstein! LOL. I can walk a little more normal today, but I cannot put any pressure on it or I am done!

Anyway, I headed over to Karen's for craft day. Today I was making my name blocks and grabbed another FHE board since the one I did before sucked and needed to be redone! I painted the blocks, but did not feel like doing much else. Lunch was yummy yet again! I brought soda because I feel like I never contribute to the food! (which I don't so... there ya go!) It was bbq pork sammiches, baked beans and salad and chips. Really tasty stuff!

At 2 I left to pick up Aaron at school. First, at the craft I noticed Bridget sketching a planter box and figuring out dimensions and all that. I remembered seeing a planter box at a house over here that they tried to get in the trash but no one ever took it, so then they moved it back by their wall. Well, I told her I would pick it up for her, and when I went to get it, I chickened out and drove away! I will go there today and knock on the door and ask for it! I felt like I was stealing it! lol. So I picked Aaron up and we headed home. I wanted to finish my crafts before the kids came home and we had to get to church for activities.

Savannah and Justin rolled in about 3:45 and started on their homework. Justin has a very hard time focusing and sometimes it takes him 2 or 3 times the amount of time to finish because of this. It gets super annoying! He finished his work, so that was good, and all of the homework is done for the week.

Joseph came home around 6, and jumped in the shower right away. We were heading to the blue and gold banquet and Savannah had achievement days. The banquet was my first, and it went well. The kids seemed to have a really good time. There was games to play like stick pull, tug of war and sack race. It was a bit rowdy and loud! LOL. We left around 8:30 and when we got home Savannah had a little something to eat and the boys went to bed. I asked if Hilary could take me to the ER just to get the toe checked out.. She came around 1o, and we headed over. There were a TON of people in there, and the wait was going to be until 7am! 10pm to 7am?!!!! I do not think so! I asked what they thought, and a nurse walked by and told me to ice it and elevate it. Because it is a toe, there is not much that can be done. So, I thanked them and headed home. THANK YOU HILARY! YOU ARE A GREAT FRIEND AND I APPRECIATE YOU!!!!

As soon as I got home it was time for bed. Joseph has early mornings now and so he is sleepy at the same time I am now! hehe. We went to bed, and I elevated my foot. I fell right to sleep and did not move all night!

Now it is time for a nap. I am still feeling sleepy and I think an hour would be a good refreshing thing! I do not know what I am doing today, but I will be hanging out with Hilary today, so that will always make for a fun day! hehe

Recap!

2011-03-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, well, I uh have not been very consistent this week! Whoopsies.

Saturday we took the kids to see Gnomeio and Juliet. It was cute. Kinda slow, but some of the jokes were pretty funny. Aaron didn't even fall asleep! He ususally does at the theater! The kids had their popcorn and drinks, and Joseph got a hot dog. I was not wanting anything because if I get their "food" I swell up for days! Joseph got me a diet coke, and I did not even notice until the movie was over! LOL. He said, "I got this for you".. but he never told me he got me a drink! hehe.

After that we played the wii... or Joseph played the wii while the kids and I watched him. He played Pirates. He loves that game. We used to have it on the computer, but then it stopped working for some reason and he was very happy to find it on the wii. We had chili for dinner and then watched more movies.

Sunday was church. I do not like the 9am time we have and look forward to the later time when we switch buildings later in the year. However, we will get like a 2pm time, which is so late! I wont mind because Iwill ALWAYS make it to church and on time! hehe. Classes were good. Relief Society was a little bit disruptive, as Hilary and I laughed and giggled at little things for the entire hour! -- Thanks for that Hilary! Instigater!!

Joseph had Monday and Tuesday off so on Monday I went to Hilary's to workout. It was ok, we did a carmen electra, but that woman likes to hurt me!! I had to stop because she was working her abs a bit more than I could at this point. One of the kids was getting sick with the poo-poo's and so we all just called it a day and left. I showered and after we got the kids to school we headed to the craft store so I could get some paper for craft wednesday! I think he liked that store too! There were some neato things in there that caught his attention. We did get into trouble when a sales lady caught us sword fighting with foam swords... hehe. After that we had chick-filet for lunch. I had a yummy chicken salad sammich and he got a delicious chicken burger. After that we headed to pick up the kids. On the Spur (freeway thing) I saw Hilary, so I texted her. She was fast, but we were in Joseph's car and caught up to her in just a few minutes... I am suprised Joseph put the peddle to the metal! Hehe, he did 85 in a 60! Whhhaaaaaattt????!!! hehe. When we got onto post, there was a car that was lost and one of the people in the car was sporting an Alliance hat! They followed us through housing. We would have stopped, but you know, Horde does not help Alliance... So we drove all over the place, and they followed... everywhere we went! We stopped at the school and they looked at us and drove off... weirdo people!

Monday was homework and such. I think we watched Joseph play Pirates again. We watched some TV and then headed to bed. Tuesday was busy. I got Joseph to work out with me to Just Dance 2! It was pretty funny. He beat my score a few times too! We did that for about an hour and then got showered and took Aaron to school. I had an orthodonist appointment at 11:30 so off we went to that! It was not fun! I was expecting to hear good news that they were ready to come off, but no.. there was still a gap.. so they put in a new wire with special things to close the gap and make sure no others open up.. ya I am STILL hurting with that! My mouth and head hurt, and I do not like eating although I get hungry! :( No fun. So after that we headed home and played an hour of warcraft. We picked up the kids and took Savannah ove to get her ID card. I was going to get one too, but we need his orders to do so, and so I will just wait.

I needed to go to the commissary for a couple things and so we stopped by there. I HATE going on paydays! I got a couple more things than I wanted, but it was ok. I grabbed some pizza too because by then I knew I did not feel like cooking anything. We got home, kids did homework and we played warcraft some more. In the evening we watched some military channel and I dozed off around 9! I am not sure when we actually went to bed, but I woke up feeling a bit more rested than I had in a few days!

Now it is time for me to take Aaron to school. I hope to be all caught up tonight, but who knows!
Have a great day!

Movie night!

2011-02-25T19:03:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I am not writing tonight, I think I will watch a movie with my most favorite man in the world! Have a great night!!

Nair-1 Teri-0

2011-02-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

OOOOOoooooooooo!!! Day three! Whaaaaaaaaaat??!! Hehe!

I am writing very early because I have a special delivery coming in later, and won't be able to write.

This morning I was woken up at about 6:30. I did not sleep well anyway, and I was sort of awake anyway. I got a text from Hilary, no workout at her house today because she has bad allergy/sinus crud going on. I hope you feel better soon! Don't be too hard on yourself for taking a day off... You deserve rest!

So, I rolled out of bed and threw my hair up in a ponytail, and put on some clothes. I had a few errands I needed to do so after I dropped off Savannah and Justin at school, I headed to my first stop, Wal-Mart. I needed to get a new trash can, and hoped they had water so I could fill my 5 gallon jug thing. No water, but I got 2 trash cans, 1 for, well, trash, and 1 for recycle stuff. I am getting tired of it piling on my counter!

After Wal-Mart it was off to the commissary to grocery shop. I was in and out in about an hour and got pretty much everything on my list. I totally forgot to debit out some cash for the bagger, and so I reached into my tithing, hoping there was a $5 in there.. no there was not, only $20's. I felt horrible about that, so I gave him a $20, but he gave me $15 in change back! Whew! So when I got home I grabbed $5 from a piggy bank and that way I still have 100% of my tithing! I have held onto it all month, I do not know why! But hooray for me for not spending it.

Aaron was going to stay home with me today because of his fever/barfing yesterday but he had no fever all day and he was acting normal, so I took him to school anyway. He is still feeling good and fever free, so that is good!

While the kids were at school I started a cleaning binge on the house. I got dishes, laundry, floors, counters, dusting, and bedding done! I know, I am awesome! At 1, I had to jump in the shower and get ready to pick up the kids. I had shaving and plucking to do, and that takes time! I totally tried to save time by using Nair on my legs, and ya, I totally burned them all up! Nair is now in the trash and will never be used by me again! This was at 1pm and it is after 6 and I am still hurting! Oh well, lesson learned, Nair-1 Teri-0...

I picked up the kids but I had only one eyebrow done, so I totally did the other one in the car waiting for them! It was awkward and weird, but oh well, I needed to get it done! We got home and I continued my cleaning since I wasn't quite done before my shower. The kids did their homework and have been glued to the tv for the past hour.

It is now dinner time and I have no idea what I wanna do! I am thinking since I cleaned everything, I want it to stay clean for at least a night, so I may just go grab something. My special delivery will be here about 9pm tonight, and so that gives me 3 more hours to get ready. I still need to put on my face (haha that made me laugh) and get pretty! Ok, well I got to feed the kids, and sitting down is making me sleepy! I have to keep moving!

No pictures were taken today.. :(

It's Day 2 Sucka's!!!!

2011-02-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

I can't figure out th picture thing just yet, so Uh, here they are from today, in the beginning of my post.. This is harder than I though!!!

What is this????? Two posts IN A ROW!!! Whaaaaaaat???!!

Today was good. I woke up at 6:50, 10 minutes before my alarm went off. I like getting up before my alarm, somehow I feel more rested.. I turned the alarm off, laid in bed for about 5 minutes, and got up. Threw on some workout clothes and headed out to wake up the kids. They were already up, so I got them breakfast and had them getting ready for the day. Aaron has been battling a fever for the past 2 days, and I thought it was nothing, but then tonight he barfed.. it could have been from eating doughnuts at church while running around with other kids, but I do not know. His fever is back so looks like tomorrow is going to be a home day for the both of us.. no playing with friends. *sad face*

So, once everyone was ready we headed out. I used Joseph's car today because mine was still in the shop being fixed up from my previous fight with the trash can. I dropped them off and headed to Hilary's. We did Carmen Electra's strip tease video thing today. It was so funny.. I cannot take that girl seriously. It was an ok workout, I did perspire a bit. I think I worked my mid section too much because when I got home to shower I was way more swollen than I have seen myself, so uh, maybe I should not strip anymore?! At least for now!

So I got ready, and took Aaron to school. Hilary was coming to pick me up because Wednesday's are craft days with the ladies. While she was on her way, the dealership called and said my car was ready, so we hit up the px first so Hilary could cash a check and then she dropped me off to pick up my car. I tried to see if the repairs and such were free, but they laughed at my request and charged me the normal fee's. Bummer, because I did not want to pay it! hehe.

I jumped into my car, which had a funny "man" smell, and drove off. I noticed right away a difference in the drive. I know my car thanks me for taking care of it! I was suppose to stop and get a refill for my cup, but I totally forgot, and headed to Karen's for the craft. I did not have a craft today, so I just watched others do theirs. Everyone is so crafty and their stuff comes out looking so good! Mine comes out and looks like my 5 year old did it!

I stayed there for about an hour and a half, and then it was time to pick up the kids. I was picking up Justin and Savannah today too because Savannah had a field trip to a symphony and was dressed up, so I thought it would be polite of me to not let her walk home. I'm such a nice mom! When we got home we sort of just hung out. Joseph and I were texting back and forth (finally, after not hearing from him for 1 week!) and we didn't do too much. At 6:30 it was time to head over to church. We were planning the blue and gold banquet thing for scouts, it was my first time, and it was not too bad. Although, just after it started one of the counselors in the bishopric called me into a room for a "meeting". I am getting a calling, but I will tell you on Sunday or whenever they do call me! Until then, just wait! It has been about a year and a half-ish since I had one. I liked not having one, but I can feel it is time to get back into something.

After that, I asked Danielle what I was doing for the banquet, and signed up for rope (tug of war), brownies and condiments. Interesting choices, but that was what was left over. They brought doughnuts to the meeting tonight, and the kids dove into them quick! After they had that, we headed home.

Joseph will be home tomorrow, so that means a bit of preparation is in order. No more cereal for dinners, I will have to get "real" food to cook! I will take that though over him being gone! Rather have him home!

Well, that brings us up-to-date AGAIN! I am on a roll! *insert happy dance here* Have a good night/day.

A Promise is a Promise

2011-02-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

On facebook today I got called out by my Sister-in-law that I need to blog more, with pictures! So, I said I would, and a promise is a promise.

I am way behind on writing, and there is no use in trying to catch up, so I will just start with today! I will try and write nightly, and stay with it, so that I keep my family and friends up-to-date and they won't have to peek on my friends blog to check up on me! (but you can certainly still peek in on my friends!)

I started out the day with my alarm at 6. See, I wanted to get up and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then get the kids up for the day... Ya, that did NOT happen! I turned off my alarm, reset it for 7, and went back to sleep. I got up, put my workout clothes on and started to get the kids up. Aaron was already up because he had a bad dream that Justin cut his throat. He even told me, "see, my throat is ok!". Poor kid, nightmares are no fun! I got the other 2 up, and got cereal out, and made their lunches. Usually we are done getting ready by 7:30, which gives them about 20-25 minutes to play DS or watch cartoons. I will check my e-mails, and facebook at this time as well.

We were out the door at 7:50 and I dropped off the older two at school. Aaron and I headed to Hilary's house for workout time! Today was Zumba on the wii. Today we had Karen, Ariell, Hilary, Laurie, Mikayla (sp?) and myself. It took a little while to get going because we wanted to work out to the lady zumba person and not the guy, but Hilary had a tough time figuring it out, so we went ahead and followed the dude. I wasn't too into it today.. after 4 days off (Friday-Monday) it was hard to get into it. I did a severely modified version! At least I did something!

OH! Okay, so I did forget one little thing... when we were on our way to Hilary's, I had an oops. I hit a trash can that was way too close to the street. It was a plastic green one, but it totally busted my passenger side mirror! Hmph! It was either the trash can or a cement truck, so I took a chance! $450 later.... that's right folks, four hundred and fifty dollars!! It's ok, it is the second time in 1 year that I have replaced it, and so I was prepared this time on how much it was going to be! I am just glad it was not a heated mirror or one with the blinker in it! Would have totally jacked up the price! Well, I took it in and I also got a LOT more maintained with it, so it will be a pretty penny.. Boo!!!

So, after my workout I stuck around for Hilary to show me some crazy dirty YouTube stuff. Have you seen the shake weight? It is so dirty and many people have offered their interpretation on the thing, and it was freakin hilarious! Thanks for that! When we got home, I had about an hour before Aaron had to be in school, so I showered and got ready for the day. I dropped him off and headed to the Chevy dealership. It was going to be a long wait because 1-- I was having a lot done to it, and 2-- there were many, many cars in front of me. So, I left the car there, and walked across the street to a shopping center. Hilary said she could come pick me up and take me home after her lunch with her husband. I walked the mall thing, had a salad and window shopped. Hilary showed up about an hour later and she shopped while I tagged along. She brought me to pick up Aaron and then took us home. THANKS HILARY!!!!!!!! YOU'RE AWESOME!

When we got home, I watered our plants in the backyard.. we are trying to grow 4 flower pots full of different types of flowers and 2 pots of blackberry's and raspberry's. Savannah and Justin got home rather fast today. They got their homework done and decided to play their DS's. Hilary was on her way to pick me up to get the car when the dealership called and said it would not be ready until tomorrow. So Thanks again Hilary! :D What would I do without you!?!

I ordered pizza for the kids and I tonight, but the kids were NOT into it, and so now I have a huge pizza that is going to the trash! What a waste! Aaron has a fever tonight and hopefully it will be gone tomorrow, but it is spiking at 101. If it is still around tomorrow I may not be able to workout or head to the craft day with the ladies. He had a fever last night, but it was gone this morning. Crossing fingers. Savannah is having a field trip to a youth symphony tomorrow and she is extremely excited.

Well, that catches up for today. Are you happy now Melissa? :D So, if I write on my blog, does that mean you should write on yours? Hmmmmm?????

Here are pictures from today, since she also said I do not post pictures enough! These are all for you! Today's picture of myself, and of the damage on the mirror!

There has GOT to be a better way to upload pictures!!! Wow that took forever!

It's ok because it is Justin's Birthday today!!!!!

2010-12-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving for us was good, how about yours? I made a turkey, that cleverly hid its gizzards and neck... and I surely DID look for that stuff only to have it found by my husband while he carved it! Yes, he would chuckle and pull something out, then chuckle again... you get the idea. Here is where I hang my head in shame because this has happened not once, but twice to me. But even though it is Teri 1 Turkey Bird's 2, I can still cook'em tasty! hehe.

Savannah helped with the pie, and the boys helped with the mashed potato's. We also had green beans, and corn. It was a lot of food for our little family of 5. So, Joseph and I were the only ones to eat anything really. After it was all done, each of the kids decided to opt out on some certain food. Savannah did not like her pie, although it was divine! The boys avoided the potato's, and they were so yummy! And the turkey, yea, a 9 pound turkey was all for Joseph and I.. Savannah and Justin asked for a turkey leg, but ended up not even touching them. So I packed everything and we finished everything off later that weekend.

The first week of December was a busy one for us. Joseph started his new job at 6-1 Cav.. Hooray for a CAV unit again! Let me tell you, it is like night and day between the infantry units and cav units! We are both ecstatic to be back in the cav! His first week was easy since the other 1SG was still there working. So Joseph would pop in every now and then to check up on things, but tried not to disturb the other guy too much. He sat in on meetings and started to get acquainted with his surroundings and his new soldiers. Everyone is very friendly there, and the BN Commander LOVES to give hugs! hehe. It is like a family already over there and Joseph and I both are excited to serve the soldiers and families! I am very excited to get involved with the FRG!

So Tuesday I had my ortho appointment and I was so sure they were going to say congrats and take these darn braces off, but alas, no, I have about another month or 2! Grrr! hehehe. Oh well, in the end it will be worth it!

Thursday was the hail and farewell. It was my first experience with the new 'team' and it was awesome. It was the best hail and farewell I have ever been to! I immediately felt welcome. You could just feel the friendships and bonds throughout everyone. I cannot wait to be in with them like that too!

Friday was Joseph's change of command ceremony. It was really cool, and I just love how the Army works. Everything looks so neat-o and reaffirms my lust for my husband! HA! Hehe. I just LOVE my man in uniform and it never fails when I see him working his thang at work! Hehe. Ok I will stop now, I think I am blushing!!!!

Saturday was the Ball for 1-36, Joseph's previous unit. I had promised Melissa that I would discuss this in more depth, and I will. It was the WORST ball I had been to! It was basically a circus of monkeys.. but I don't even want to give them that much credit! A circus is organized...

We arrived at a fancy hotel downtown, and it was beautiful! Think 1920's sheik. Chandelier's and high ceilings, mirrors, and just an old swanky vibe. As soon as we got inside, Joseph was summoned to the upstairs ballroom to practice for the grog bowl. We sat in there the whole 'social hour' and just waited. The CSM was like a chicken with his head cut off. He clearly had not prepared for this evening.. After 45 minutes it was time to start the receiving line and come inside. Joseph and I went to the photographer and snapped a picture real quick, and I wish we had more time to fix the photo because well, uh, I look like I have Jessica Rabbit boobs.. at least that is what I saw in the glimpse of the photo as I was walking away to get in line. lol.

ANYWAY! So we were seated and we started the ceremony. They forgot the order to things even though there was a program at every seat. We did the posting of the colors in the wrong place, and they completely left out the fallen soldier's table and toast! It was embarrassing. Many soldiers were already drunk from the "social hour" so they would not be quiet, and the CSM kept shushing everyone saying "sit down and shut up".. classy, I know. The BN commander also referenced that everyone was acting like kindergartners... sigh. So, the grog bowl was not forgotten, obviously! And Joseph went up with his commander when it was their turn to add to it. So, Joseph was totally dissed in the program, and he was NOT EVEN mentioned!!! He had been out of the unit for less than a week, and they already snubbed him! I was angry! Well, that pretty much was it. A lot of yelling and drunkards, and silly crap all evening. Joseph and I both came home with headaches and we were stunned, yet not because that is how this BN works... Dysfunctional! Blah!

It was interesting. So here we are now. It is Justin's birthday! 8 years old!!!!! And we can finally say good riddance to the old BN.. well, I take that back we have 2 hail and farewells coming up! One this Thursday and one next Thursday! Oh joy!!! hehe. I am sure I will have fun stories for those too!

Ok, it is a long enough rant! Have a great week!

PS. Melissa I will post pictures as soon as we get them.. Unless of course I just cannot bare to post my junk on here!!! lol

It's been so long!

2010-10-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well, So much has happened since I last "really" wrote anything! Whoopsie! I will try and be better about it. So, I should back up about 2 and a half months when Joseph got home. August 6, 2010 1-1 AD came home from Iraq with the presidential order that all but 50,000 troops come home! This was AWESOME because Joseph was scheduled to come home in November, so we got 3 months knocked off our tour! We were both thankful, and the kids were overjoyed having their dad home. Plus I did not tell them he was coming home so it was a total surprise when they saw him!

Of course Joseph had to go back to work right away for about 2 weeks, and then came leave which ended up being around 36 days off! Score! It was the longest time he had EVER taken off and was so much fun! We took the kids to school and picked them up together just about every day and he was available to the kids after school for homework and hanging out. We all LOVED it.

While Joseph was on leave, we took the kids out of school for a week and headed out to Orlando Florida for Walt Disney World. It was AWESOME! We had so much fun and it was just a great time. Let me tell you, Florida is H-U-M-I-D!!! Yuck! We would walk outside and it was as if you just got out of the shower! But we pushed through and by the 2nd or 3rd day, it was not as noticeable. We hit up Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Blizzard Beach. We could have hit Hollywood Studios, but figured the kids were too little for that still. We also walked Downtown Disney. I am really looking forward to our next family getaway... I wonder where we will go next?!

So, now Joseph is back to work and the kids are in school. I get three hours a day all to myself, which lately I have been spending time with a new friend, Hilary. So I should say, I get to play for 3 hours a day!! WOOHOO! Hehe. It has been so much fun having a friend again. I have missed that interaction, and it really does make a difference in how I act and feel. I have my husband home and I get a new friend! Life is so awesome when it wants to be! Also, sometimes Joseph and I get together for lunch and have a "day date". I am SO looking forward to having ALL day to do whatever I want/need!!!

Basically that brings us up-to-date and current. Now it is time for me to go clean a little more and then head over to the school because it is parent/teacher conferences today. That is not fun and I do not count this as my "play" time!

Mom is lazy and needs more work

2010-05-22T14:36:00.001-07:00

I think kids seriously do things because they think "Mom is not busy enough"... Just my thoughts on today!

Today is a New Day

2010-05-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

Ok I walked for 1 hour, had 2 shakeologies, 2 low carb broccoli and cheese weight watchers things, and lots of water.

Last night I slipped a little with 1 cup of ice cream and 2 100-calorie packs of pringles... yea. BUT today is a new day and I am ready! Bring it!

Day One Again....

2010-05-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Today is Day One of my diet/exercise plan! I have re-re-re-re-re-re-re started (you get the picture). To keep me from getting too discouraged I tell myself that I only fail when I give up and I will NOT give up! So here I go again.....

New Changes

2010-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

This year has been bringing about new changes for myself in many different ways. My husband deployed, my uncle (my dads brother) passed away at Christmas, and now two weeks ago my father passed away too. It brings me to think about how I live, and how I am with the people around me.

When my father passed away we were trying to go through his things and clean out the space for my grandparents so they would not be burdened with anything. It was painful to throw out things and give things away, but I know it was the best thing to do. That brought me to think about my house and the hoarding that I have been doing. lol. I just have tooooooo much stuff and it is un-necessary to have so much more than I need, so I am doing a lot of "spring cleaning".

When we got back from taking care of the services, I had a check up appointment. I had many concerns because my grandmother had a hysterectomy last week due to cancer, and my father passed away from heart disease and my grandfather just had a heart attack too. I had questions about my health, so it was good to get checked up on. I did get my cholesterol checked and it is on the high side, and with my dad having heart disease so I have had an awakening to my health.

Diet and exercise are starting up and I am determined more than ever to get my body healthy again. I know the risks were always there, but now it is basically in my face and I cannot look away. I choose to make this personal tragedy a positive nudge for me and recognize it as such.

It has also made me think of the people in my life and how I should make a better effort to connect with them and stay connected as much as possible because my relationships with my family and friends are very important to me. I have always thought this, but maybe not acted on it as much as I should. I will try and be better about that.

To my family and friends, I love you all, and I am truly grateful that you are in my life.

Holiday 2009

2010-01-05T10:34:00.001-08:00

This was an interesting end to 2009 for us. I will not go into details but it has truly been tough and emotional.

One great joy from the holidays was the kids and their innocence that they brought into the mix. To see their faces light up on Christmas morning warmed my heart and made me feel very special to have them in my life. I am grateful for my family and I love them with every inch of my soul. 2010 will bring frustration, gratitude, loneliness, hope, patience, love and appreciation. I look forward to the end of the year when I can be with my one and only again and continue our future together. I love you babe, and I am so proud of you and what you do for our family and our country.

Happy New Year everyone. Enjoy those who are in your lives and those you love most. Never take them for granted and appreciate every moment.

Pictures from Christmas: (We made the kids sit in front of their presents for about 10 minutes before the adults where ready for the madness to begin. I have to say I have some patient kids!)

October 31rst

2009-11-04T07:49:00.001-08:00

For Halloween we took the kids to white sands to go sledding. It was super sun and we had a blast. It was a perfect day with little wind, the weather was sitting about 70 degrees... perrrrffeect! The sand was surprisingly soft and we could let the kids climb a large dune and tumble down with little worry. They had so much fun and we were laughing most of the day. We were there for only about 3 hours and then had to head home for trick-or-treating but it was a good time.

Costumes for 2009 were megatron, skeleton chick, and an angry little garden gnome.. They wanted to be vampires this year but Dad convinced them to change to these scary and funny costumes instead. The little gnome was the hit of the night, he got extra candy because of how cute he was. lol.

Stories!

2009-09-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

You guys are too funny!

Ok, so the peanut butter story goes like this...

One day while I was getting the house cleaned and spiffy (Melissa is this an acceptable word? :P)

and I was in the back of my house cleaning my room, bathrooms, kids room etc. I had been in the back for about 15 minutes when I noticed that the house seemed a little too quiet. You ladies know that type of quiet... the type of quiet that is to loud you know something it up. So I start my rounds from room to room... Aaron is no where to be found. Not in my room, not in the bathrooms, kids room, living room, dining room, garage or backyard. I begin to panic a tad because I did not know if he left the house, or what was up. I turned off the music in the living room (I clean while I am Jammin' (how bout this word?))... When I notice a small sound coming from the kitchen.. I walk into our kitchen listening hard to where this is coming from. Well, I finally pinpoint a cupboard that is making the noise. I open the door and Aaron is sitting in the way back of it with his hand in the peanut butter jar with peanut butter smears on him, and the entire cupboard. I wish I took a picture, because it was messy!

This is not part of the peanut butter story, but he LOVES the cupboards for some weird reason! (Aaron, age 2)

Another time he got into peanut butter he was thoughtful and washed it off before he put it back. (I did not know he had it until...) I opened it and there was water inside.. NASTY! He told me he cleaned it after he ate some. lol

I do have pictures that go along with this story.. Right after we moved into our house here, about 3-5 months or so after the kids were playing in the back in their room. Nothing too crazy, because I can hear them playing so I think all is well. However, Aaron comes out (and he is about 1 and a half years old at the time) looking a bit "white". Him and his big brother Justin had decided they wanted to play with the baby powder... Oh yes, it was an entire bottle all over everything. This did not happen once, or twice, but three times in the span of about a month. Yes, I replaced the baby powder every time, until the last and just stopped buying it. Good times!!!
I wish I got the room too.. There was baby powder particles EVERYWHERE! And that stuff is hard to clean!!!!

Too much!

2009-09-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

So, this week is going to be an interesting one. Tonight was our FRG meeting, but we had a BN one, so yea, it was un-organized and sort of messy but we got it done. I do not think those are very good! I will have company level meetings from now on out! My voice is gone from all the talking, and I was not even speaking to the group, I was talking to everyone else, and I mean everyone. I feel so overwhelmed right now with stuff. Why am I doing this again? Because I care about the families? Yeah I do, but holy moly it can be ... I do not have a word right now.

While Joseph is gone, I may not have any time to miss him! I am going to be too busy and the time is just going to zip by! Good or bad, I have not decided.

I can probably ramble on and on at this point because I am so tired, I can just pass out, but I am waiting for the boys to fall asleep first. You know, so I know they are not into any food while I am not looking... If I havent shared the peanut butter story with you, I will have to some other time..

Ok, I lost my train-choo-choo of thought and that is never good. Uhhhhhhhhh...... drool........... I feel like patrick star right about now.

Well, on that note, I will say good night. I am going to take a moment and chillax before I end this day and start another busy one. -- I have decided-- I do not like being busy.

You got to Move-it, Move-it!

2009-09-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

Thank you Melissa for the great advice the other night!

I have been looking at things differently in the last 2 days. I was sort of getting down on myself, and felt so overwhelmed! I got it off my chest, got some much needed advice and picked myself up the next morning and took off! It was slow going as I had class in the morning and it sort of hindered my energy, so I did very little, more than normal, but not enough.

Today however, I have been a busy little bee and got tons done! I am not done yet, and sort of sad that the day is winding down and I have to do other things like make dinner, bathe the kids, and put them to bed, but HOPEFULLY I will get back to my stuff!

Yesterday I went out and bought a protein powder mix to replace my dinners and breakfasts. I hope this will help with my diet, because to tell the truth, I am out of control with bad eating habits. It has become so easy to say "lets pick something up for dinner" rather than cook it myself. (not to mention it costs a fortune to do that!! and I would rather spend money on something else than fast food!) I haven't tried it yet, I will tonight though, it is my dinner! I am nervous about the taste but more nervous if it will keep me full so I don't eat a snack right before bed. (another bad habit)

This month is flying by, and before I know it Joseph will be home and then not. :( I have classes all next week except Friday to keep me busy. Not to mention my college classes! This block is Sociology and Philosophy! Oye! A lot of brain power going into these 2 for sure!!!

I started a new chores/rewards system with the kids. So far things are going smooth. We will see how long it lasts! I think I picked some good rewards to keep them motivated like a night out alone with mom or dad... $$$, and computer time (which is REALLY big for them right about now.)

Well, this was therapeutic! I may have to come back to blog more often about the day!!! Off to continue my chores while this energy lasts!

And the count-down begins.....

2009-09-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

So, last night at 11pm we dropped off the Man of the house at work. He is at NTC for training, and will be back in about 4 weeks... Then we get about a month with him before he is in that big sandbox in the east.

So far things are ok. The kids seem to be ok for now.. Dad has been here and gone a lot lately, so I am hoping that when the big day arrives, they are troopers and will take it better than I expect.

I do have a headache though today. I did not get much sleep last night as you can imagine, and I have had about 1/2 liter of Dr. Pepper and I am sure I will polish it off before bed tonight, or it will be gone by tomorrow afternoon! No sleep and caffeine are a fun combination! Also, I was re-arranging furniture all day... Don't worry, Joseph knows.. it was planned! My forearms are killing me though! I guess I was using muscles I haven't used EVER before. I can hardly lift anything anymore.. looks like I will clean up my mess another day. I would say tomorrow, but I have to be realistic!

I think I am going to take a sewing class on post if they offer one. I have been wanting to learn to sew for YEARS and tried to teach myself, I even have sewing machine, but I do not know how to use it very well. I would like to add that to my hobby list! That could keep me busy during deployment and productive so I am not sitting around doing nothing.

Well, it is time to go relax, I hope. I have so much to get done around the house I feel overwhelmed. It is time to clean things out and re-organize but it is so much, I just do not know where to begin... Someone needs to come and help me!

It is 6pm, I think I will put the kids to bed at 7 tonight and have some quiet, or maybe I can pass out too! TTYL

Gila Cliff Dwellings

2009-07-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent a day in New Mexico to see some cliff dwellings from about 700 years ago. They are called the Gila Cliff Dwellings and are located just outside of Silver City New Mexico. It was a beautiful drive once we got into the mountain area. It took a lot longer than we anticipated, about 4.5 hours! But it was a great day. Here are some of the pictures we got on the digital. The kids had cameras too, but they are on film and we need to get them developed. (But they took all of their pictures before we hit the dwellings, umm like of the car, my rear end.. um and the car window.. I am sure we have about 45 pictures of those!!) We found some other cliff dwellings in southern Colorado that is about 8 hours away, and will try and take a long weekend to go there. Anyway, here are the pictures from this weekend....

Cruise to Mexico

2009-07-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Our trip was amazing. We had a great time and loved just about every minute of the cruise! This is our stateroom. We had a balcony, so we could go out and just sit outside and relax in our own space. On one of our "fun day at sea" days we spotted many flying fish, manta ray's, sea turtles, sharks and a bright blue fish that was huge! It was super fun!

This is a picture from our balcony of the Queen Mary. There was a concert going on over there so there was live music for our departure.

We went to 3 places in Mexico. Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Puerto Vallarta was super humid. I think it was 95* with humidity at 99%! It was all rain forest like. We walked a few miles trying to find a beach to relax on, but it took some time. When we finally found a beach, we jumped in the water and it was refreshing and warm! After swimming for about 5 minutes Joseph noticed an odd shaped and colored thing floating next to him (possible poop) and so we got out. We started our walk up the beach, and we were bombarded by people every 30 seconds trying to sell us things like hair braiding and pot! When we got to the end of the beach we started our way back to the ship and I felt like I was getting a sunburn so I started to walk faster... Big mistake when you are wearing new sandals and your feet are sweating! When we got to our room, I had bad blisters on the bottoms of each foot, and had a hard time walking for about 2 days! It was miserable, but it did not stop us. Later that night we had an excursion planned. We took a boat to a secluded island and had dinner and watched a very neat show. It was beautiful!

Our next stop was Mazatlan, but with my poor feet, we decided to stay on the boat and relax. We watched movies in our room and napped a lot. There is not much else we did other than that. When we docked in Mazatlan, we were next to a shipping yard, so it was not as pretty as we thought it would be.

My absolute, hands down favorite of the trip was Cabo. It is so beautiful there, and I would love to return sometime. We booked a snorkeling excursion later in the day so we went ahead and walked the shops for a couple of hours and looked around. It was not too bad, but it was fun looking at all the miscellaneous things people sell. Unfortunately the snorkeling is on another camera that we need to take to develop but we are not done with the film. Hopefully soon we will have those pictures. Our first stop was neat. There was many, many fish everywhere and they seemed to come right up to you. It was fun. Our second stop was not part of the snorkeling, but our guide told us that the other spot was very busy, so we could just stay in that spot so we did. (there was only about 10 of us on the boat). Our guide snorkeled too, and would dive down into the reef and find things to bring up. (oh and I dropped my mask on the 1rst stop and it went to the bottom of the ocean, but he dove down and got it!!! :)) I would have but I could not go far!! My ears hurt when I would dive.. must have been the salt? Anyway, so while we were there at our second stop, poor Joseph had been drinking a lot of sea water and made him sick, so he fed the fishes for a while... :( We had learned a LOT of lessons for the next time!! lol.

Here is a picture of a beach next to lovers beach. This one had no people on it and it looks beautiful. The next picture is from the famous arch at the very end of Baja California.

The water was so clear, warm and pretty!!!

Even with all of the "bad" things that went down, we still had a great time and are planning another trip when Joseph returns from deployment.

Been Very Busy!

2009-06-11T10:34:00.001-07:00

I really do not have any time to post right now, but I wanted to say that I have been really busy but I am still here!

Joseph got back from Ft. Irwin and it has been VERY nice to have him home. I missed him so much!! He will be off again though on Sunday...

Have been stuggling a little with school, but it is going well. It is getting into more information and it is sometimes hard to process with the kids in the background screaming and yelling... like right now.

I will try and write again soon ...

Small Update

2009-05-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Things are going well here in El Paso Texas. Summer is so close I can smell it and I am really looking forward to it. Usually it is a scary time with the kids getting out of school, but I am excited this year. I cannot wait to be able to go to the pool, bike ride, go to the park with all of them. I really do not know where this excitement is coming from, but I am happy it is here.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and I have had some interesting revelations to my questions. It has been a positive experience. I won't go into any of it right now, but possibly in future posts I may. I am still processing the information I am seeking and have gotten.

The kids are excited to be out of school as you can imagine. However, Aaron can hardly wait to get to school. He is still too young for pre-school so he has another year at home with me, but I am enjoying it since it goes by too fast.

My schooling is still going well. I have about 8 months left until I get my degree and it is amazing to me that I have accomplished that. I am looking forward to that time, and continuing my education past that!

Joseph is still gone. He has called me twice when he is in signal range. It seems like it is an easy time out there for him. I am glad it is not so jam packed with things to do, so hopefully when he gets back here he will be refreshed and ready to go. (they start training hard next month)

Ok, well that is it for now, take care and have a good weekend!

There is a Mom here???

2009-05-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

It is Monday and wow, today was L-O-N-G!!!!
Last week we found out Joseph had to go to Ft. Irwin for three and a half weeks for observing another unit's training. He left Sunday, which was yesterday and I swear the kids seem to think that since dad is gone, they can be however they want to be and drive mom crazy! It was like all of a sudden they had an over-flow of energy and would not/could not settle down. It took me 4 hours to get them to bed last night and I sure paid the price today! Justin did horrible in school because he was so tired. Aaron refused to take a nap only to finally pass out while Spongebob was on 15 minutes before we had to pick up the others from school! Then all night was fighting and figiting, and whining. It is so weird how they do that with me.

On another note, Savannah had these TAKS tests for school. It is a test that see's how much they have learned in the year, and keeps track of the school's teaching ability. Anyway, Savannah told me today that she scored the highest in reading and math in all of third grade! How cool is that? My little smarty there. That is so awesome, I am super proud of her.

Well, as for me I am POOP'd. I am headed to bed for the night, and hopefully will be charged up for tomorrow's adventures, whatever they may be. Take Care!

Is it an update or a book!?

2009-05-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

Finals are OVER!!! At least for those two classes Math, and Nutrition. I am finished with Math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That required many exclamation points. Math was so difficult for me, but it is over and I passed them both. Whew! I started my next block of classes Monday and I am taking a History class about the United States from 1945 to the present. It should be interesting. I am also taking psychology again! I missed it. I am diving deeper into the mind and behavior. It is so interesting to me, and helps me make sense of so much around me! :)

Savannah had a "me day" yesterday. The third, fourth and fifth grades got to walk to a near by park and spend the day out there doing all sorts of activities. She had such a good time. I forgot to get a camera for her, unfortunately but she was ok with that. Besides, when I give her a camera, she takes all the pictures as soon as she can, and runs out of film. So, I usually get 10-15 pictures of the same person, plant or car....

Justin is doing better. Last week he had an in school suspension!!! At 6!!!!!! He is still having problems with his behavior and has this "I don't have to listen to you" attitude. The principle had called me last week to come meet with her because Justin was in her office for 2 hours and still not listening. It was an embarrassing day, but Justin got his punishment. I did not know what to do with him, but my darling hubby did!!! As soon as Joseph got home, he had Justin outside in the backyard picking up dog poop, pulling weeds, sweeping etc. And in this 95 degree heat, it was NO fun for him at all. In the evening we had him writing sentences and by 9pm he was BEGGING to go to bed. We had never heard him ask to go to bed! Since then, he has come home with happy green faces (Green is good!) and no other bad things about behavior. We let him know that if he gets anything other than that green happy face, the outside chores are calling......

Aaron is still doing good. He drives me crazy (in a good way) with his cuteness!!! He says the cutest things lately and it melts me. He enjoys staying home with me but I can tell he is starting to get lonely. He is always excited when we pick the kids up from school because he cannot wait to play or hang out with his big bro. I am thinking of putting him in the pre-school program on main post, but it cost money. Or he will have to wait another year before he can start school over here. So I don't know. But he is good.

Joseph is well. He is super busy training up for war again. Unfortunately he has to go to California for 3 weeks on Sunday for some special observer thing for another unit. Then when he gets back he has to go out for 2 weeks to the field. At least we will have 10 days leave this summer, and can relax with each other. He will be very busy with training in the coming months.

Of course I am busy as well. With the kids, school, house, and FRG, I have literally no time for anything else right now. The FRG is taking a lot of time right now because I am tying to prepare families for the separations that are about to take place. It is time consuming, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

Well, that is about it for now. I need to write more often so that I am not writing a book every time I get on here.

Finals Again! (and other stuff)

2009-05-04T05:57:00.000-07:00

This week will be a busy one as I have finals due by Sunday. The GOOD thing about that is when I submit my math final I will be DONE with math!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am actually doing better in this class than I did in my last one, so I have the potential to pass with better than a 'D', but I am not expecting it. I will be content either way.

I am headed to the DMV today to register the car and get a new license. Mine expires next month on my birthday, and I need to get it done before so I do not have to take a test!!!! Our Califonia tags expire at the end of this month, and we have not recieved anything from the DMV in California. So, i will attempt to register it here hoping that it goes smooth and I do not need anything to do it. (other than the proper stuff)

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog lately. I have had so much going on that I just have been forgetting the smallest stuff, or putting it off. So much drama sometimes..

Two days ago Justin lost his first tooth, but the tooth behind it is so big that it really doesnt look like a hole. It took forever for that tooth to come out, and when it did we knew why. That sucker was freakin long! Of course Justin cryed for a moment, until he realized it was out, then got all excited and started flicking his tongue over the hole and laughed. Kids are funny!!!

Joseph has been busy with ranges and feild time. June will be his busiest month until they head to the NTC (Ft. Irwin). Time is slipping away fast and I know before I know it, the deployment will be here. We are preparing as best we can. Not much more I can say about that..

Well, I better go get the kids lunches made, and get ready to walk the dog. I will catch up more later on. TTYL!

......

2009-04-21T15:34:00.001-07:00

And Savannah and her boyfriend are back together..... and the drama saga continues........

Heart Broken and loose teeth...

2009-04-21T12:36:00.001-07:00

Savannah's boyfriend broke up with her after school yesterday. It was so sad, she came out with tears dropping all over the place! She said he broke up with her because everyone wanted them to, so he did. After we got home, she went to her room and was crying so hard. I asked if she was going to be ok, and she said, "No, I have a broken heart".... As a mother, how is that not suppose to make me feel a broken heart too.. I felt so bad for her, and had to tell her that she will have to 'kiss' many frogs before she finds her prince. That made her feel a little better knowing that her boyfriend is a frog.... Poor kid, hopefully today will be ok for her. I told her to just ignore him and that will make him crazy. (she liked that idea)

Justin has a loose tooth!! His very first one. The other tooth is coming in stong and fast, so we need to get it out asap, but when we try, he freaks out and starts crying. We will try again tonight to get that tooth out....

That is all for now. I am recovering from being sick AGAIN this past weekend. I at least have my voice back, for now.....

Is it a Big Boat or a Little Boat??

2009-04-08T14:39:00.000-07:00

We all know that kids will say the funniest, darnedest little things and it makes your eyebrow rise and thoughts roam.... Today was one of those days for me. We are in the potty training stage of the adventure with a toddler, and as I have been through this before with two other kids, I think this moment will stand out among any other bathroom day.

Aaron does not really like to poo in the potty. He will run around a corner for a couple seconds, do his business, then return and tell me that he pooped his underwear... So I ask him every morning around 10 (that is his pre-set 'poo' time) if he has to use the potty. Today was a good day, and he said yes! So off to the bathroom we go. I help him get up on the potty and get him situated, then I tell him to get his poopy out and I walk away, to give him his moment..

As I was walking away, Aaron said, "wait mommy.. stay right there". I told him I would be right back and did what I needed to do, then came to the door. I asked him if he was ok, and he said yes, and then he looked up at me, and said, "here comes the boat"...

Ups and Downs

2009-04-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have had my ups and downs this week. I started off great with the "diet", and lost 2 pounds, but then... ate fast food 2x this week! So, I am still standing at 223. It is amazing at how hard it is to change your diet. Oh well, I have not beat myself up about it, and plan to just take it a day at a time. I got on the treadmill about 2 times last week, and today. I am steadily increasing my speed and time. I'm not disappointed, but I know I can do better. Like I said, one day at a time!!!!

Other than that I have had a pretty uneventful week. I had a fever through the weekend, but it was strange. I would have a slight fever for about 2 hours, then it would go away for a few hours then come back. My face would be all red and I would be out of breath going from one room to another. Monday I had the fever 2 times during the day, and then it was gone, and today it was here in the morning for about 30 minutes, but now (11am) it is gone. I do not know if I am fighting something off, or what?!! Anybody know what this could be from?

Last night we planned our cruise! Well, we booked it anyway. It is official we are going on a cruise! I cannot believe it! A REAL vacation! 7 days, no kids, just my man and me! It seems like a dream still!!! I am super excited and do not know if it will hit me until we actually are on the boat. I know we both need to get away from regular life for a while, and this is just going to be fun!

Well, I am off to get some homework done and wait for the housing repair dude to come. We have a leak in our fridge and water is coming from under it... and has been getting worse by the minute! I hope they get here soon.. ( So HAPPY that we are in housing for something like this) :)

Finally doing it!

2009-04-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

I know about a month ago, I said that I was going to go low carb and detox.. Well, I haven't yet... Until today! It is 10:50am and I am doing fine so far. I guess it took me a while to "talk" myself into it. (shrug). Anyway, I have officially started this, and I will have positive results soon!

I still weigh the same, 223.4 with the same measurements. I will post weekly on my progress. This has always worked for me in the past, and I am sure it will work for me now. Just have to stay the course. I would like to post body shots to compare as the weeks go by. In July we are going on a cruise, and I would love to be about 20 pounds lighter. :)

Got to run, I have so much to do today! TTYL

Im Draggin'!!

2009-03-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have seem to just fly right past me. As a matter of fact, the whole month of March has been a blur. We went to California for the kids spring break and we had a good time. It was nice to see most of the family. I could not get to everyone because of one thing or another, but I will try and catch them next time.

Here are some pictures from our trip...

The first one is a picture of myself, my dad, and my brother. Please excuse the pink bra that is showing through my shirt... that shirt is now in the recycling bag!!! How did I become so miniature?

We went to the discovery science center, and had a blast. The kids were so into the stuff there, we will have to go back. Unfortunately when we were there, so was about 5 school buses full of students on a field trip! Bummer!! We are so going back!

At my Mom's, we were taking family photos, and this was the only one I got to get before the photographer told me to ditch the camera!! :( I cannot wait to see the professional shots, cause this one is too cute!

Aaron 3, Justin 6, Savannah 9.

Long Week!

2009-03-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last week was a L-O-N-G week. I had so much going on that much of it is a blur. Early in the week I completed my Psychology paper. I love those classes! They are too much fun!! So that was out of the way. Then I had a couple of FRG (Family Readiness Group) classes to attend. They were nice and informational. I worked on a few things with the FRG and got some things done. ( I still have WAY more to do with that... ) Aaron got to attend "school" a couple of days last week. He LOVES it. He always says, "ill miss you mommy", but once he is inside, it is all about the toys! He was there for two mornings and they wanted to try and get him used to the potty. I thought it was a lost cause because when he sits on the toilet, he tells me nothing is coming out, and wants out. So, I let them try and he did what I predicted. BUT, since last week, he has been going pee in the potty everyday and only wears a diaper when sleeping! Woot! So he is half way potty trained! Well, he still poops in his underwear, but we are working on that. I thought that it was going to be a nightmare to get him to use the potty, but it worked out on his time. Yea!

I really do not remember much about the rest of my week. I studied hard for my math final. It was a LOT of note taking and practice. I did not pass my test, I got 31.6 out of 56! However, I only needed to get 28 right to pass math class, and I DID IT! That stuff is so freakin hard, but I passed and do not have to re-take it! Today starts algebra 2.... so .. we will see. I sort of know what to expect now, so I am hoping to do better in this one. I am not as terrified as I was 9 weeks ago.

This past weekend, the boys got sick... again. Aaron has a nasty runny nose and cough, and Justin has the same with a fever. He is home with us today. Sunday we missed Church again... I think by now it is safe to say we have hit inactive stage? LOL. Not really, but it seems like that. I am catching that cold they have and I feel miserable, but it can be worse. I just have a head cold, and I am hoping it will be gone by next week for our trip.

Joseph has said that he had a surprise for me, and could only keep it a secret for 2 days, then he told me. He is just as bad as I am with holding secrets from me. I cannot do it either, I get too excited. Anyway, if he gets the time off that he thinks he is (no block leave this summer, only opportunity leave) then he wants to take me on a Cruise on the Pacific Coast down to Mexico! He said since we didn't have a honeymoon, and we did nothing for the two of us on our 10th anniversary, that he wanted to do something special for our 11th! I am excited and really hope that we can go, but I understand if we cant go. He will be gone for our 12th anniversary and be back around our 13th, so I can plan for then! :)

This week I am starting my new classes. I have algebra 2 and nutrition. Should be an interesting 9 weeks. I am sure I am going to learn a lot about my bad eating habits! Oh Joy! But I will learn more about how to change those habits for good ones.
Next week I am going home to California for spring break. Joseph has to work so he cannot come. He is starting to ask me how long I will be gone, and when I am coming back on a daily basis now. I think he is going to miss me? :P

Well, I better go. I have been hiding at the computer for a little while and the boys are fighting and crying and whining! Good Times.

Finals

2009-03-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

This week will be quite busy with my finals and other "regular" things I have to get done. I will post more next week. I have a TON of studying to do! TTYL

Low Carb Detox

2009-02-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

I am not looking forward to this but it HAS to be done. I am going low carb again. I did this a few times and had great results with it, and I know that I have to do it again if I want to drop this weight. I am not looking forward to the "detox" my body will be going through, but I am going to LOVE the results after. I am still going to exercise, because that is important, and because I know you feel great after!

It is time. My kids have been making comments the past couple days about me, and I just do not want to worry about that or embarrass them. This morning they saw a picture of me right around the time Joseph and I were married and had no kids. They both said, "Mom, you looked so pretty when you were not fat". Well, Justin said that, Savannah refuses to use the "fat" word because she does not want to hurt my feelings. Awwww.

But anyway, there have been other things, but I just don't want to say because it is embarrassing to me. So, I need to take charge and regain my body back! It is not going to be easy, and I am sure I will complain a lot, but the end result is worth it.

So, hold me accountable. You can even say motivating things! :) I would not mind that at all! hehe. So here it is... I am going to put it out there so I can read things changing, even if I don't "see" it in front of me.

2/24/2009- weight: 223.6
Measurements: 45";44";47"
I Would really like to be close to 150-160; 39";29"39" (the measurements were from when I was 18, so I would just like to be close :P)

I will weigh-in and measure once a week. Here I go....

Algebra-Smalgebra

2009-02-23T07:56:00.000-08:00

Seriously, in the profession I will eventually be going into (not exactly sure yet) but I am sure, I am VERY sure that it will not involve math, and absolutely NOT involve algebra. I have been pleased with my mad school skillz up until this class. The last 7 weeks have been, for the lack of a better word, hell. My personal one at that! Algebra is a twisted ploy to make a person feel inferior to numbers, and that person would be me! I am not alone in this, most of my classmates are feeling the same way I do, and are probably getting the same grades as I am... I won't go into them in detail but most have been the 4th letter of the alphabet.
My loving and supportive husband is pushing me to get a tutor. Maybe I do need one. Time has told me that the answer to that is a big fat yes. He wants me to get a high school student to teach me math, since this is 'high school' math. I don't know about it yet. I have two weeks left in this class, and then another 9 weeks of 'duh-duh-duh-duh' Algebra 2!!! As if I needed more time to feel like a dunce. Nice.
Enough about that monstrosity of school...

We had an OK week. After the 911 incident, the week kinda stayed at that same tone.. Justin started shoving, kicking and hitting again at school. I do not know what to do with that boy. I will forever get those notes from school about "Justin's behavior". People will say, "oh, your Justin's mom". I am going to search the Internet for things that I can do to help him and me.

Savannah is still going strong with her boy-toy Zac. The love notes have stopped so I guess the honeymoon is over? They don't even hold hands after school anymore, but I am told that they are still an item. She has not gushed over him in a while, but tells me she has a crush on his friend.... it is like a day time drama!!

Aaron is still doing well. He is so ready for school. I try to get him in the CDC (day care) as much as I can. Whenever I do something I try to put him in there. He loves it, and loves to get his 'backpack'. He does not care that his backpack contains an extra pair of clothes and diapers! LOL. Speaking of, I have been trying to potty train him. He loves his new undies, yet does not like the toilet. He has a baby toilet, but doesn't like that either. He is so content in staying in diapers. I know he is ready though because he will pee, or poo in his diaper and come to me right away for a change.
Mom- when we get there in a couple weeks, please potty train him for me!! :) Pretty Please....

Everything else is going well. Just busy. This week should be slower than last week, but who knows. I hope you all are doing well, take care.

911 Emergency

2009-02-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had a monthly FRG meeting. This is where the families of the soldiers get together and get information and all that jazz. The meeting was short and sweet, and I tried to make it not boring. It lasted about 45 minutes then everyone bolted to the door. I was cleaning up talking to a couple of people when all of a sudden Justin said, "I talked to someone on the phone!" I thought what phone, and there was Aaron talking on a phone that was on the floor. I prayed it was not plugged in, but as I got closer, yep the darn thing was. I looked at Justin and asked him who he talked to on the phone, and he simply replied, "I called 911 and talked to a real person!" I was MORTIFIED!!!!!! He thought it was all fun until the phone RANG!!!! I made the commander pick it up, and I heard him say, "yes there are kids in here, I am sorry for the calls made." CALLS MADE???!!!! Justin had called 911, 3 times while I was cleaning up. OMG!

You could tell that he knew that calling 911 was not a good thing, yet he smiled like it was a joke!! We got home and he got to go to bed. How embarrassing, but I am glad the commander picked up the phone! I am so grateful we do not have house phones, only cell phones. What a little booger he is.

Update:
We are better! YEAH! Joseph took the last of his meds last weekend he had the beginning stages of pneumonia, but we are well, and pretty much back to normal. I am SO HAPPY! It was rough for a while there. I have much to catch up on with pictures and stories. I thought you would enjoy the latest "Justin-fun".
I am going to be "spring cleaning" the next couple weeks to get rid of stuff we just do not need, or haven't used in a LONG while. I have been noticing we have a lot of little things all over the place with no place to go but cluttered in the corner. There has to be a better way of storing things in a neat manner. I enjoy the de-cluttering. It is soothing to me, weird... Thanks for that Mom, you clean freak! That rubbed off on me a little. I guess that is not a bad thing though.

Ugh, Still Sick!

2009-01-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

OMGosh, This has been a LONG and horrible month for me. As soon as we got back from vacation, and I mean the very next day, I started having body aches and massive headaches. About a week later, I lost my voice with a terrible sore throat, and a bad cough. Now I have a nasty runny nose and a slight cough, it is getting better. This month has been yucky for me. Just when I think I am getting better and start getting back into my normal routine, I get sicker for another day or two.. ridiculous!! I am starting to feel better now, but I am still taking it easy for fear that I will take one step forward but two steps back.

I just wanted to update you, and let you know why I am a slacker with the blog. Well, I also started an algebra class this month and well, it is kicking my rear! So I spend a LOT of time with that during the week as well.

I hope you are all well, and healthy. I will post pictures of the kids' birthdays and whatnot here in the next week or so. TTYL

Ok, Ok, I know!!!!! It has been too long....

2009-01-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, Yes, I know that I promised to write a while ago, but you see many things have happened when we got back. Ok, not much has happened, BUT I have been under the weather since we have been home. I am just now getting over a flu that had me couch bound for the weekend, and now I just have the lingering bronchitis.

Our trip to visit the family went well. Our drive was nice considering we had 3 kids and a stressed out dog with us. (Scout does not do well in the car)

Scout drools and sheds like crazy when we are traveling, poor thing. This time though she was drooling all over out traveling food! Yuck!

The scenery was BEAUTIFUL on the way up to Colorado, Idaho and through Utah!

The kids had a great time with cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles! It was nice to sit and enjoy everyone's company. I was VERY lazy and I forgot to get pictures with everyone, so there are no pictures that I personally have to post with the family or the visit.. I know.. shame on me!

When we got back Justin had a wrestling meet that we decided not to attend. I was feeling yucky, and getting back in the car for a couple hours did not seem appealing after driving almost 17 hours just 5 days prior. So we stayed home. However, this past weekend there was another wrestling meet that we did attend in New Mexico, and Justin did well. He won his first matchwith points 14 to 4. We were excited since this was his first victory.

The next kid he wrestled, pinned him in about 45 seconds and the third kid pinned him in 30 seconds. He did well though and tried his hardest. He was excited no matter what and did not cry when he lost.

Well, that catches us up. This weekend is another wrestling meet, and next week is my baby's birthday.. she will be 9. Technically not a baby... but you know. More posts with more pictures later on!

We are Back!

2009-01-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

We are back from our trip. It was nice to visit most of the family. We enjoyed every moment of it, and look forward to seeing them again soon. It was a l-o-n-g drive though and that is something I am not looking forward to.. lol. The kids were good in the car and really did not complain too much.. I think I was the complainer most of the time... I'm the Mom, I'm allowed to :).

I will post more about our trip in a couple days. Today is still a recovery day for us, and that means takin it easy.

Vacation

2008-12-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

We are going on Vacation for about a week and a half. I will probably not be posting anything to the blog until we get back.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your families, Love from the Hardy's

First Wrestling Meet

2008-12-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Justin had his first wrestling meet on Saturday. I think he had a good time. He lost both times he wrestled when the other kid pinned him. He gave the one kid his first pin!! LOL. It was exciting to watch and be a part of. I am going to be more prepared though for the long waits in between matches. Here are some pictures of his meet. They came out really dark, but it was all I could get. I also have a 20 or 30 second video, I will see how to upload that to the blog later. I should mention that Justin is the one in the red.... Under the kids... LOL

Justin's 6th Birthday

2008-12-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Justin had a great 6th birthday on Saturday. He had been counting down to his special day for at least a month! We took the kids to Peter Piper Pizza which is like Chuck-e-cheese, but a smaller scale. The kids enjoyed the games.. well, Joseph and I did too! I could not get enough of a game called Deal or No Deal! It was addicting!!

Overall it was a good day!

Thanksgiving and stuff

2008-12-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving week was nice! Joseph and the kids had Wednesday thru Sunday off, and we just hung out. Thursday I made my first turkey. It was ok. It was not over cooked or undercooked, but it did not taste like mom's! I will have to practice. We stayed in all week, playing games and watching movies. It was very restful.

This week everyone is back into the routine. This kids are counting down to Christmas break. I think they are more than excited! Joseph is out of town for a couple days out to a range. It is so chilly, I feel bad for him. I hope he gets rest, and stays warm!! He usually gets sick when this time a year when he has to go to the field.

I have 2 1/2 weeks left in my classes then I get a 2 week break! I am very excited. I am not excited however, that when we get back I start two 9 week classes for algebra!!! Yuck! I hope I do well, I do not want to mess with my gpa. Mom, I am going to be calling you a lot over those 18 weeks to get math help, fyi.

My camera is still not working.. I ordered a battery charger online and they sent me the wrong one.. so I am trying to figure out how to get the right one. I hope soon because I miss not having my camera. For the life of me I cannot find the charger we usually use.. Grrrr. Anyway, when we get back from vacation, in January I plan to get our family photo done so we can update.

Hope your week was fun and safe, and December has started off right for you!

Thanksgiving

2008-11-24T11:27:00.001-08:00

This week is busy when we are living around family, but this year we are not so there is nothing really big going on. Tomorrow Joseph has an organizational day for work. It is "mandatory fun" for the soldiers. Aaron and I are going to pop in for the morning, and if they are still having "fun" after I pick up Savannah and Justin, I will take them too.

The kids get out early on Wednesday, and have Thursday and Friday off. I am not sure if we are going to be doing anything. I do not even know if we are going to have turkey! LOL. Without being around family it does not feel like the holidays, and so it is just another day. I'm sure we will have a good time with the kids though.

I miss my family, and I love them very much. It is hard to be away sometimes especially when the time of the season is all about being with family. I am happy however, that my husband is home this year, and will surely enjoy that.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy the time with your family.

Date Night

2008-11-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

So, we went out last night as I stated in the previous post, and we had a really nice time. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant, but so did everyone else in El Paso!! The wait was over an hour, but we decided we could wait. That was a good time. We got to talk about everything while we were there. It was a very nice night. When we got the the theater for the movie, we were told that they were not playing Twilight!! So, my bad, I took us to the wrong place. We walked around the mini mall for a bit and came home early. Overall I am not disappointed that we missed the movie. We both had a relaxing and enjoyable time with each other. I cannot wait to do it again!

This cold that the boys had is still going around. This morning I woke up with a sore throat and headache. Joseph is still sick, and I am sure I got it from him! Boo! Oh well, hopefully we can kick this cold soon!

"Eat Fresh"

2008-11-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

My poor husband has a cold still. This morning he had to run five miles too! I would just die if that were me, but he is such a strong person, he said it was no big deal! He is getting a flu shot today too, so I am hoping that his immune system is not too weak and he will not get sicker!

Justin is having a GREAT week at school. He had a couple of rough weeks but this week, he is on top of everything! He is so excited because he has 4 greens this week and only one more day to get 5! (green means he is doing everything he needs to with his teacher, listening, working well with others, etc.) I hope that today after school he comes running out with the good news.

Savannah is anxious to start up gymnastics. We have told her she can start after the holidays, but that does not mean much to her right now. I think she will like the more active participation of gymnastics. Judo was good, but she was a little bored.

Aaron is still just hanging out. He is so funny lately. He cracks me up with something new just about everyday. I will have to write these down and post them for everyone to read. Right now it is every time we pass a fast food restaurant he says that he is hungry and wants to "eat fresh". (from the subway commercials) It has not gotten old yet, and always puts a smile on my face.

I am still doing well with school. I hate to brag but... I am pulling a 3.61 GPA! I am still amazed that I am doing so well. I guess I am loving school and it is showing in my work. School has been something in my life that I really needed for me. I enjoy it so much, and it is fun and nerve-racking all at the same time. I am half way through my block (9 weeks) and will finish just before Christmas break. Then I do not start up again until the 5th of January. I am dreading those 9 weeks, and the 9 weeks after because I will be in algebra!! I am horrible with math and it terrifies me to be in those classes. Oh well.

Tonight I am taking my husband out on a date! We have not had a real date in a while so we are excited. It will be a typical dinner and a movie, but I am looking forward to it. The babysitter that we have is AWESOME! Unfortunately her step dad is only here for the academy and will be leaving sometime early summer, but that is ok. I just hope that more awesome babysitters move in!

Time to get ready to run some errands. I will post again soon and comment on the movie we will see. Oh, the movie is called Twilight, fyi.

Monday!!

2008-11-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, wow, well today has been long, and it is only half over. This weekend was ... fun...! All my boys were sick. Aaron is still runny/crusty nose, and he has a cough. I can tell he is not feeling well because he is whiny and very sensitive to everything around him. Justin had thrown up in the middle of the night Saturday.. Why do kids always wait until the middle of the night to do things?? lol. Joseph was ill as well. He hardly ever gets sick, so for him to get this as well means it is aggressive. I have been feeling icky today. I hope it does not last. I have been sick enough these past couple months!!!

Justin has been having issues with school lately. We had to have a conference with the teacher last week. He has been hitting and not listening. It got really bad the end of October and the beginning of November. She is going to try some things in class for him, and we are working with him at home. I was worried about this.. but I hope it was just because he was not feeling well, and will be back to his good self soon.

We are getting ready to make a trip up to Colorado, and Idaho for Christmas time. We are all excited and looking forward to it.

That is about it for now. I think I am going to check out new cameras in the next couple of days because I cannot seem to find our battery charger for the other camera. I have been wanting a new, more professional camera, so we will see. I do not want to go on vacation without one. I miss taking pictures of the kiddos.

TTYL

Cancellation

2008-11-07T07:41:00.000-08:00

There has been a cancellation for Justin's wrestling tournament!!! :( So now his first one will not be until his birthday, December 6th. Oh well. That just means he will get to practice more, and be more prepared.

On a different tangent, The house is drowning me! I feel like I cannot keep up with three kids, a dog and a husband. Though the husband does not make that big of a mess.. thankfully! But I can not keep up with these mess-makers! It seems like every inch of the house is covered with something. Looks like I am going to be busy cleaning the house all day! Fun for me!!!!

November

2008-11-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today is November 5th! The year is almost over, and a new president is in sight. What will this mean for our country? I am very curious to find out what will happen in the coming years. I have no doubt Sen. Obama will be a good president, but he has a lot of work to do to better our economy and repair many things. I do not have more to say on the subject other than we need to give this man a chance, instead of judging him before he has even begun.

We are doing well here. I am taking my 2nd Psych class, and I have an elective this round too. I chose to learn about different cultures and ethnics. It is interesting. It has been a painful couple of weeks with it just with reading about the past. It makes me sad to know that many people have suffered, and are still suffering. It is an eye opening class, and I am glad I chose to do this. Both classes are going well, and I am looking forward to my small winter break!!

Joseph is doing well. He has been busy with work, of course. There is much to do, and he always has something going on.

Savannah is doing well. We took her out of Judo for now. She does not seem to mind. She said that it was not challenging for her. (I think she would be better at competition stuff than what she was learning) Anyway, after the winter break she said she would like to try gymnastics. We'll see how that goes.

Justin is doing.... okay. He has adjusted well to school and has found his groove. He still has issues with listening, but we are working on that. He never listens to me either... Wrestling is going good. He has his first takedown tournament this Saturday. We are excited to see what happens. This will be my first time for this as well, and it is very exciting. Justin keeps saying, "all i have to do is take someone down".

Aaron is hanging in there. He has lazy days with Mom, and we watch cartoons when I am not working on homework or something else. He is growing up too fast! I wish I could bottle him up right now and just keep him as he is forever. He is my little cuddle bug still, and I dread when that changes!

Thats about it for now. We are not as busy since we knocked out Judo, but I have been volunteering all over the place with the FRG (family readiness group) and that is busy, busy work.

Miss you all, talk to you all later!!

Last week for October

2008-10-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

What a week! The rest of last week went on. Savannah has been fighting a cold for about 3 weeks now. I had to keep her home AGAIN yesterday since Sunday evening she got sick to her stomach and well, I am sure you can guess what happened all over the living room floor.. Yeah... So she stayed home with me, and Aaron.

I got a lot done at the Halloween party. I know there is more to set up, but it looks amazing. We have a very creative person in the group and she is awesome. The party should be on Friday, so I think the kids are going to love it.

Saturday was the fundraiser yard sale. It went ok. We did not have much to work with, but we made about $80. I think that is good with what we had. We worked it for about 3 hours and decided it was time to pack up. We moved everything outside, and whatever was left over was going to be picked up by one of the teams coaches. I went to take a nap.. and a couple people came by and offered to buy the remaining stuff, so Joseph sold EVERYTHING! LOL. It was great. So there was nothing to pick up.

Sunday, Joseph stayed home with Aaron. He has a nasty cough that he got from Savannah, and he has crusty nose too. :( But, hopefully it will all be outta this house. I am ready for everyone to be healthy again.

Sunday I was called into the Bishops office. I always feel like I am going to the principals office at school! lol. He was just concerned since Joseph and I have missed so much Church lately. He asked how I was feeling and I well, I came to realize that the depression is back. :( Yea, so I am back on medicine and feeling 100% better. It is amazing how this stuff creeps into your life and you are completely unaware. I will keep you updated with it, but I plan on staying on my meds for a long time now. Oh yeah, and I think Joseph is getting a different calling and will be leaving me by myself in the Primary...

This week will be same Ole stuff. Tonight Savannah has Judo, and she is excited about that. I think we are going to let her do it until the year is over and then switch her to something else.. We are not too sure yet. Wednesday is Wrestling and Achievement Day, Thursday is Judo and Wrestling. Friday we have the Halloween party, and Saturday we are doing a 3 mile walk for wounded soldiers.

Busy, Busy. I am sure there is more to add in between it all, but I cannot remember it, so I will have to update as I go. I hope everyone is well, and doing great.

Crazy Week, and it is not over yet!

2008-10-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

This week is crazy! There has been so much going on, and my list keeps getting longer and longer!!

Monday was a typical day. I stayed home to clean and catch up from the weekend. I wanted to go grocery shopping, but decided I can go Tuesday. About 1pm I got a call to come get Savannah from school due to a bad cough and a slight fever. I had to pick her up early twice last week, and I kept her home twice too. So, Monday I repeated, and picked the kids up an hour early. Not much more happened Monday. I did however start a new block of classes, and so far they are very interesting. I will talk more about them later, I am sure.

Tuesday I had Savannah stay home with me, and at noon I decided I had to get some groceries, so off we went. Oh, and I was not feeling well Tuesday, I had a slight fever that would come and go all day. :( Tuesday continued and I ended up having to get one of Joseph's soldier's wife from the hospital. It was a surprise to me, but it worked out well. Then I finally got home, and was confined to the couch the rest of the evening.

Wednesday I went back to the commissary to get groceries for the couple I helped out. I made them dinners for the next 3 days, and had to get the stuff. I came back and started cooking. I was only in the kitchen for about an hour and a half and made 3 dinners.... Hmmm.. sounds like I should pick a day to cook, and make my weeks worth of meals, and freeze them! It would save a lot of money, time and well, sanity. So I took the meals over and dropped them off. Then headed over to the company's office to help decorate for a Halloween party for the families. I was there for about 2 or so hours and got nothing done, but I will be back today so hopefully I can be a better helper. After that I picked the kids up from school, and had about an hour before Justin had wrestling practice. Luckily Joseph called me and he got home in time to take the kids. I had a Primary meeting at 7 that I needed to attend, and was so grateful that he was able to take the kids with him, and give me a couple hours to relax. I went to the meeting and did not get back until after 9, and I was pooped!

Today will be like yesterday, but with a few little differences. I am not cooking this morning, but I do have a TON of dishes to wash. I am helping to decorate for the Halloween party, will hopefully be home to clean up and such, then pick the kids up from school, and Justin has wrestling tonight and Savannah has Judo. We also volunteered to help do a fundraiser yard sale at our house this Saturday for Justin's wrestling team. They are trying to raise some money to help offset the cost of uniforms, equipment, travel etc. So I am trying to get ready for that too.

Friday should be a pretty normal day. Just same Ole stuff, I do however need to clean, clean, clean!!! Savannah has a birthday party to go to, and she is excited.

I am sorry I have not set up recent pictures. I cannot find my camera charger anywhere! Hopefully I will find it soon.

AUSA Convention

2008-10-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

From October third to October ninth, Joseph was in Washington DC for an AUSA exposition. AUSA stands for Association of the United States Army. It is a great organization, and every year holds a convention to show up and coming military items and discussions. Since Joseph had won the Omar Bradley award last month, he was awarded a trip to this convention and was asked to talk about the FCS (Future Combat Systems) program that brought us here to Fort Bliss in late 2006. His talk is amazing! He did a fantastic job in informing others of what FCS can do for military members. I am very proud of him, and love him very much for what he has accomplished, and what he stands for. I am very proud that he got the chance to work with the FCS program, and that he can assist the future military with the equipment he has been testing. Here is the link to his speech, and he is the first speaker, so it will not be too hard to find. I do warn you it is 24 minutes long, so have some time to watch it or listen to it. He included videos of what he has done in the FCS program as well, so there is visual as well.

http://www.blueskybroadcast.com/client/AUSA/2008_review/

Happy October!

2008-10-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

Happy October everyone! I cannot believe it is the tenth month of the year, and the year is almost over. It has gone by in a blink. I just wanted to write a quick note today. I have been sick almost all the month of September, and did not get much done that I did not have to (ie Blog). I am feeling much better, and have a least a little extra energy to use up.

Things are still going good. The kids are doing well with school, and their after school sports. Justin has had a great outlet with wrestling for all his energy. Savannah is going to get her white belt on Thursday! She is so excited!

Joseph is still busy with his new unit. They have much to do still, but it will all come together soon. He is off to Washington DC on Friday. He will be gone a week, and is excited. As it gets closer he is finding out he will be busier than he thought, and hopes to have time to sight see.

I have nothing new to report. I am still enjoying school, and I am super happy about getting over this cold. It really knocked me on my tushie.

We hope you all are well and happy!

Judo & Wrestling

2008-09-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Savannah has been involved with Judo for 2 weeks, and she LOVES it. Her sensei says, she is really good at it already. He gave her some homework to know as soon as she can... Its Japanese! She has to know a few things in Japanese before she can get her white belt. She is so excited.

Justin starts wrestling tonight! He has been counting down everyday to it. I think he is really going to enjoy it too. It should help him expend all this energy he seems to have built up in his system. I will take some pictures and post them soon.

Everyone is doing well. Just getting busy with the kids' schedules. Hope you and your families are all doing well too.

Update

2008-09-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have gone by.. no, FLOWN by very fast. We had first week of school last week, and I got caught up in all that, and adjusting to 2 out of 3 kids gone all day. It is nice, but I am still adjusting. It is not as easy as I thought having all this time for myself. I am almost lost, even though I have a million and one things to do.

I need to recharge my camera battery to upload the pictures of the kids first day of school.
Justin is doing great. He LOVES school and has fun stories to tell me each day. It brings a smile to my face when he talks about the school rules with such enthusiasm!!!
Savannah is doing good too. She has been excited to see her friends again after summer break. She says that she does not do much in class, but has many stories about recess and lunch with her buddies.
Aaron gets sad when he cannot go to school with the kids. He loves to walk them in the morning, and loves to pick them up after school, but he always asks all day, "where is justin and savannah? at school?". He says the same about daddy when he leaves for work. I think Aaron likes the quiet time with mom though. (I know I like the quiet time with him)

Last night we had a little visitor. I had the kids take their shoes off outside because they were muddy, and Justin came out and said a dog was stealing his shoe.. Sure enough we went outside and a baby pug was trying to carry his shoe off to chew it. The puppy had no tags, and we didnt see anyone looking for him. We kept him over night, which was LONG for me. Just like a newborn, I was up with him ALL night. I am so tired today. Anyway, I took him to the vet on post and he was not micro chipped and they asked if we wanted to keep him.... LOL No! I kindly declined their offer and they reassured me that they would not put him down or give him to an organization that would. It was sad to say goodbye to our little friend, but there is just no way.... The kids will be sad when they come home and he is gone. (im not sad at all! It confirmed to me that I am not ready for another puppy, or baby) I am good with how big my family is right now. :)

That is all for now. Take care, and I will try and post some new pictures soon.

Re-Enlistment

2008-08-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

It is confirmed. We are indefinite in the Army... well, Joseph is, I just get to tag along. He made official Wednesday the 20th of August. I am so proud of him. He is finally ok with the decision of being a "lifer" and I am content with it too. (Personally I am scared of civilian life now :P) Anyway, he has many changes going on within his current unit, and will be switching over to a new unit sometime soon. Once he switches units, he will be on the deployment rotation again, and training his soldiers for war. We have been blessed to have him home and out of harms way for so long, it is his time again.

Awards, Finals and School... Oh My!

2008-08-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy couple weeks! First, Joseph was nominated for an award, which was very nice. However, Joseph found out that it was not simply a nomination, but he had a give his military biography, write an essay, get a sponsor and go to the board!!! (the board is a couple people that ask you questions) So, needless to say he was stressed out for a little while with this going on. The board was last week, and guess what?!!? He won!!! I knew that he was going to do well. He is an obvious choice when it comes to military awards and promotions... (I may be bias, but he is an awesome soldier!)
After that, it was my final week in my second block of classes, so I had two finals to turn in. I was not nearly as stressed out with them as I was the first block!!! I am still waiting on my grades, but I am confident that I did well. Monday (yesterday) I started my third block of classes. I am finally taking my core classes for psychology. That class has already started off with lots of information and lots of things to think about. My other class is research writing... and it is scary. I am sure there is going to be a ton of reading involved and lots of, well, research.
The kids are all registered and we got all the school supplies ready and waiting by the door. Savannah is excited that she is in the third grade. She is looking forward to finding out what friends she had last year, will be in her class this year. Justin is super excited about school. He asks about once a day when he will get to go. He has been super cute this last week as we get closer to the first day of school. He has a lot to learn when he gets there, but I think the transition will be easier than I am anticipating. Aaron is oblivious to anything outside his world, but I know that when he realizes that Justin will be gone all day, he is going to want to go to school with big brother.
Joseph will be re-enlisting (indefinitely... yikes!) tomorrow morning. He wanted to make sure he re-enlisted while his Lt. was still around and all his soldiers. I cannot believe that in September he will have 13 years in the Army. It is amazing how fast that time has flown by. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments with his military career. I feel honored that I am a part of his life and can experience all of this with him. He is such a wonderful man, soldier, father, friend and husband. I couldn't ask for anything more.

It's Friday already??!?

2008-08-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I cannot believe it is Friday!! Again! When you stay at home with the kids it seems like time just will not stand still and just fly away from you. This week we had a busy week. I had a doctors appointment for my asthma. I did a good deed a week ago... I mowed the lawn for the first time in my life! I know... i am spoiled, but I was glad to do it. Well, about two hours later, my asthma decided to show its ugly self, and it has been dormant (sp?) for about four years!! So I had to get myself an inhaler again. :( Then Thursday was a family trip to the dentist! Everyone had good check-ups and the kids are now obsessed with the dentist and cleaning their teeth! As soon as we got home they wanted to brush their teeth again, and again, and again! LOL. I am glad they had a good experience. This following week is my final week in my 2nd block of classes. Soooo, that means I am working on two finals! Pretty busy for right now.

Justin is excited to start kindergarten at the end of this month! If he does not listen to me, I can use the excuse, "well it will help you with school, or it will get you ready for school". I can only use that for so long, and you bet I am using it now! Savannah will be in the third grade! THIRD grade! She is getting so big! She loves school and cannot wait to go see her friends (whoever is left here and did not move!). Aaron is still my little baby! He likes to snuggle up and watch cartoons with Mom. He is such a sweetheart. He still takes a couple hours a day for naps, so i am looking forward to that alone time! I am sure I will be confused for a little while with no kids around... LOL.

Well, I better get going. I am still messing around with the site. I am very new to it, and finding out how to do a lot of stuff. Any advise would be great!!! :)

Vacation Pictures

2008-08-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our trip.. The kids really had a great time and enjoyed the out-doors. It was a great vacation. I got much enjoyment out of watching the kids have so much fun.

Back from Vacation?

2008-07-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

We are back from our trip out to California! We got back a week ago and I have still so much to catch up on! I do not know what happened but when we got back I became lethargic and tired. I slept a lot Monday and Tuesday. I was better Wednsday, but by Thursday I was wiped out again and it is Friday! I have not done much this week except be tired. What the heck??!

We were joking that on our trip Scout (our family pooch) was on alert all week watching the kids, making sure no strangers got to us, and when we would get home she would sleep for a week straight! Well, it appears that I was on alert for a couple weeks, and now I am finally relaxing! Going on vacation is hard work!

As I sit here I still cannot believe it is Friday, and it is in the mid afternoon too!!! Before I know it, the day will be over and I have not much to show for my week back home. Hopefully I will be rejuvinated again soon and have the energy that I am lacking because I need it, desperately.

Well, Off to try and get something, anything done for the day!

Our first post

2008-06-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is our first post! I hope to get this going weekly then possibly daily. It is just a place for family and friends to come and check up on the Hardy family. I will post pictures as often as I can as well, to keep you all updated with the ever growing weeds (kids hehe). Looking forward to it!