Dinners are done for the rest of the week...thanks to dinner swap. It works great.

Laundry got washed, folded and put away all in one day. A miracle.

Nothing bothers me more than having the TV on during the day. It simply drives me bonkers.

I need to go grocery shopping.

I also need a long date with Pops.

I need to get the tires on the van rotated. Maybe tomorrow.

I need to start making my bed each day, it will make the master bedroom look better/cleaner.

I heard a friend is moving. Once again, wish I would have gotten to know her better. She seemed awesome.

Looking forward to cooler nights and mornings.

Parts of today made me want to climb in bed and sleep for four years.

Hoping Boss will take up bike riding again with no training wheels. Nothing beats an evening bike ride.

If I was good I would iron the boys white shirts tonight for Sunday. They are clean and just need a quick iron. Hummm, maybe I will.

If I was to go away this weekend, where would I go? I have a few ideas.

Two three days of no Internet. Finally it's back. That really puts a damper on my goal of blogging every day.

Sunday Jennifer invited us over for dinner. Can I just say that was by far the best tasting piece of meat I've had in a long time...actually in my entire life. Holy cow, I'll post the recipe when I get it from her. Actually the entire dinner was awesome. Yum, Yum. That is why I exercise so I can enjoy that part of life. I wouldn't want to go without great tasting food.

Monday the cousins left. My boys wanted them to stay longer, I wouldn't mind either but I have to admit it was nice only waking up once last night with one baby. Mom also invited us girls over to her house where she had a massage therapist waiting to give hour massages. HELLO HEAVEN. That was an awesome way to end a busy weekend.

Looking forward to Labor day coming up...hoping Pops isn't working. But if he is I'm defiantly taking the boys to do something fun. I really enjoy my kids (most of the time...OK maybe not so much at 8pm when they're tired and I'm tired) but they are fun to hang out with. I mostly enjoy sitting back and watching them interact with each other. It's pretty sweet.

Is it sad that my four year old seems to know his way around the itouch better than I do?

Last night wasn't as bad as I had thought it was going to be. Each baby woke up at their "usual" times and even though Brayden gets up much earlier than Crate I was thankful to have the swing to put him in and I fell back asleep on the couch til 6am.
By 6:30 everyone was awake so I took the two babies out walking for an hour while Pops and the older kids trimmed trees and mowed the lawn.

Once I got home the day really started and Pops was gone for the rest of the day.

I braved a mall trip by myself with all five and it actually wasn't bad. The three older had fun playing in the play area and as long as I kept the stroller moving the babies were fine and happy. Of course I had a fair share of snacks for everyone. Not a thing was purchased but 3.5 hours of our day was occupied and everyone was having fun. By dinner time Pops was done working and he met up with us at the mall for the last 45 minutes. It was nice to have an extra set of hands on hand. :) On the way home I sent him to the grocery store for four items and he called three times. No joke. There are things that he takes care of wonderfully and things that I take care of wonderfully and grocery shopping doesn't fall in his category. Actually four items, I wouldn't call grocery shopping. Thank goodness for cell phones.

Talked briefly with a friend online tonight. Someone I really, really admire. It's refreshing to know there are still people out there who have strong values and morals and don't apologize for them.

Let me just say what I believe since this is my blog and they are my thoughts:
I believe marriage is to be between a man and a woman.
I believe God had a hand in creating this country.
I believe times change but basic moral principles shouldn't.
I believe anyone who wants to live in America should and should do it legally.
I believe the area around ground zero is sacred.
I believe people should have as many or as little children as they want and should not be criticized.
I believe the majority of the peoples votes should count and hold true and not just one judges opinion.
I believe if a leader is asked to prove where he is born; out of respect and integrity to the people he is serving he should prove it.
I believe the government was originally set up to serve the people of the land, not the people of the land serving the government.

That is where I stand. I know God still watches over this country, but I know the further away the country moves from Him the harder it will be to have His spirit and guidance upon us and our leaders.

Call me old fashioned but this is who I am.

Pops just had me take a look at Crate...he fell asleep without a peep on the couch laying right next to his beloved Papi. His nickname is "Happiness" and he holds true to it 98% of the time.

Having two 10 month olds is busy but really fun to watch them interact. Can't say I'd wish for twins though. The house is still clean and I've tried to keep up on each of their messes. The boys built a fort in their bedroom again with Ash. Another lovely creation of theirs (read: a total mess for mom to clean up.) They're using their imagination though right?

It never rained today, it looked and smelt like it was but we never saw drops. Heard thunder and saw lightening so it was a real teaser. Bummer.

Double workout again. one hour of cardio and one hour of weights. Then a friend brought a piece of chocolate cake from Claim Jumper over...HELLO Tastiness. I tried really hard to not give in. OK, actually I took one look and indulged. I did share with the three kids so that did limit my calories to some degree. Then again, Bossman, my non-sugar eater took one tiny bite and walked away. Not sure where that kid came from...sweets are not his thing.

Tonight is family movie night. The kids are really looking forward to it and so am I.

I'm on the search for the perfect sippy cup. One that doesn't leak or come out so fast that it makes Crate choke or isn't so tight that he has to suck his guts out to make something come out. We seem to have not found the right one yet.

Oh, and I finally found the pictures from our California trip back in June.

So I figured out the problem with my email...OK actually Pops did. Fixing the problem required me rebooting the computer...go figure. I wasn't able to send emails for four days and a simple reboot is all it took? I'm thankful I didn't pay a computer tech to fix that one. Now all the emails that were sitting in my "out box" finally got sent today, just a few days late. The lesson learned for today is: When all else fails, reboot.

Boss was a mess today. He seriously can't handle late nights and early mornings. I tried to get him to take a nap on three different occasions today. I even laid down with him for 30 minutes and tickled his back the entire time and he didn't fall asleep. Pops literally walked in the door as I was walking out to go to enrichment. The kids were bathed, dinner was done and cleaned up and scriptures were read so all he had to do was put them to bed. I got home tonight to find out they went to bed 90 minutes past what I stated their bedtime should be. Pops' only excuse was that he hadn't seen them all day and wanted to spend time with them. I was irritated but couldn't argue with that. Now if Boss is a disaster again tomorrow, heaven help us.

Tomorrow we welcome cousins Ash and Brayden. The boys are very excited for them to come stay with us for four days. They've been counting down the days until they arrive. Considering Crate and Brayden are nine days apart I'll get a taste of what twins are like. Two 10 month old boys that love to crawl around and find "treasures"...Crates favorite treasures are found in the bathroom, the pantry or he seems to think if he pulls all the fake grass out of the fake trees around the house he might find a treat at the bottom. He has yet to find anything but that doesn't stop him from searching every day, 10 times a day.
These are the munchkins that I will see the the rear-view mirror of the shaggin' wagon for the next few days.


I'm hungry right now. To eat or go to bed...that is the question.

OK...I forgot to mention one more thing that was great about yesterday. I tried Nutella (If I was really good I'd post a picture...oh well) That stuff is GOOD, like REALLY GOOD. I can't decide if I should eat it on toast or eat it for an after dinner desert. Yum.

I had to take the boys with me to mutual tonight. We headed to the church to clean the nursery toys. Some of them were pretty nasty. Now they are germ free. Pops had to be at the stake court of honor, the boys were so hyper tonight. It was kind of embarrassing. Hopefully none of the girls noticed. Taking them doesn't really work out that good. I'm glad mutual is usually at our house so I can keep them contained easier.

I spent two hours working out today. I love and hate it all at the same time.

I also mopped the floors today. I cannot remember the last time I did a big mop job like today. This used to be Pops job but he's been a little busy lately.

Speaking of busy...Pops moved out about two months ago. Moved out during the day that is. He no longer works out of his office here at home. He's at a "real" office and we miss him everyday. It's been harder than I thought it would be, but it's the right move. His assistant is really good and I appreciate all she does to try to help out. The boys have been to the office a few times and they think it's so cool and so boring at the same time. It been along time coming, five years to be exact. I think he likes being at the office...he's says he rarely gets interrupted. I didn't think I interrupted him that often. :)

Somethings wrong with my email...it's not sending.

It's 11:07pm and tomorrow starts again at 5:10am. Time for bed.

How did I forget to do a post yesterday? I thought about it and the next thing I knew I was waking up at 3am to feed Crate. I was very beat last night and was asleep by 9pm. I didn't even wash my face before going to bed last night, and I skipped out on a girls only movie/get together at a friends house. I attribute the tiredness to Crate waking up six times to nurse the night before and then me pulling myself out of bed at 5:10am for exercise and running errands most the day yesterday in the blazing heat followed by fixing dinner for the family and the four guests we had also.

However as I was fixing dinner last night I stood over the kitchenAid in awe. It was one of those blissful moments. I heard the boys playing together in the playroom, Crate was asleep and I had a moment of gratitude that I had these three amazing boys, an awesome house to live in, money to purchase food for my family, the ability to give service that night, and the knowledge that I was fixing a dinner that my boys were going to be so excited to eat. I was overcome with gratitude and once again counted my blessings realizing all that I had. It's these small and simple moments that the spirit speaks to me, reminding me that I am a daughter of God and that he knows me and loves me and lets me feel his love. Truly, living your best life starts with making this apart of it.

Slow computers are annoying.

Today was very productive and now I'm very tired. The Miss USA pageant started again so I must return to the TV.

Nothing beats a Sunday nap on a Sunday afternoon.

Good lesson about Job in Sunday School today. I heard most of it from the hallway (Crates new favorite spot)but it was a good lesson.

FHE tonight. Buster taught the lesson. He taught about David and Goliath and did a great job. He even finished off with his testimony. Pops made brownies for the treat. Hello delicious calories.

Tomorrow starts early once again. Grateful to be alive.

Thought about writing a post entitled "Who am I?"

Also thought about writing a post titled "Who do I want to be?"

Can't figure out if I'm ready to admit my faults to the world when answering the question of "Who am I."

I have thought about starting a new blog about politics...or not-so-politically-correct-politics. It could be really funny and very true all at the same time.

I was an idiot today. I dropped five kids off (two of my own and three cousins) at the primary activity and took Crate walking. HELL-O. Walking from 9-11am while it's like a 100-bigillion degrees outside. What was I thinking? My face now looks like a lobster and I got so dehydrated that I puked on the side of the road and then had to walk to my friends house and get some water before I passed out. I'm sure her kind husband thought I was a total idiot for being outside. Oh well, I got about 7 miles of walking in. Sweet Crate slept most the time and woke up just in time for some ice cold water that I shared with him. I've never seen him drink so much water in one sitting. Poor guy was probably dehydrated too. I'm hoping I shed a few lb's worth of sweat. I finished just in time to be back at the park to pick up the kids and head home. I stunk all day long because of it.

I took the cousins home and we swam before the boys and I headed back home. Not a bad day.

Today didn't go as planned, but that's alright, it ended up being a good and productive day.

Marmie brought the cousins out tonight so they could spend the night and she stayed and babysat while Pops and I went out for dinner. It was a very nice evening and I was glad to have gone.

Crates got a ton of teeth now, seven to be exact. That little guy is a ball full of joy. I'm lucky to have all three of my boys. They are good kids. Couldn't imagine life without them. I wouldn't want to imagine life without them...they bring much joy & messes but usually more joy than messes.

thoughts

Thinking of what my bucket list would/should be.

Thinking about school politics.

Thinking about Crate as he laughed while throwing the ball tonight.

Thinking about adding apps on the itouch.

Thinking about how I never quite made it to the shower today.

Thinking about vacation.

Thinking about the young women in the ward.

Thinking about what I would pick to read.

Thinking about a date with Pops.

Thinking about my boys.

Thinking about how there have been people I've gotten to know a little bit since we moved out here and they have since moved and I regret not getting to know them better cause they seem to be really, really awesome people.

Thinking about my plan for tomorrow.

Thinking about people that are going through rough patches right now.

Thinking about how blogging every day makes me very vulnerable. Do I like the world knowing me thoughts, feelings and life?

Thinking about possibly adding comments again.

Thinking about bed.

Thinking about ice cream.

Thinking about not eating the ice cream.

Thinking about bed again.

Today was a busy yet productive day. Started the day off at 5:15am with a brisk walk, got two miles into the walk and received a phone call that Crate was awake and not to happy, headed back home, put him in the stroller and continued on for two more miles. Got home and pulled weeds out front, fed Crate then did a back and bicep workout with Pops. Then the boys were awake and Buster didn't have school today so I cut their hair. Even Crates hair. I was a little sad to cut off his cute red curls but when he got mistaken for a girl I decided it was time to have spiky boy hair. Lots of tears during the process from the two older boys, not Crate...go figure. Finished just in time to take a quick shower and get dressed (literally, just clothes on, no make up or hair done) and have my two counselors come over and help set up for out etiquette dinner for mutual tonight. Went grocery shopping, picked up the house, cleaned the very cluttered kitchen, prepared the salad for tonight, fixed dinner for my family, got make up on, did hair, then the counselors showed up again to continue the last minute details for tonight. Had the YW and YM here at our house for the special dinner and had a great time. All seemed to go well and hopefully they learned a thing or two about etiquette while enjoying a nice dinner. Did I mention I have the best presidency ever? They are all awesome. Now I have no energy and the day will start early again tomorrow. :)

I downloaded the pictures off the camera the other day and while they were downloading Boss pushed a button on my computer. Needless to say I can't find any of the pictures. They are no longer on the camera and I hope and pray they are somewhere on my computer. I'm still searching....this is not good.

Trying to remind myself why I committed to write every single day.

Every. Single. Day. What was I thinking?

This never happens...

Boss fell asleep on the couch at 10:45am while I was reading him books and then Crate fell asleep 10 minutes later while I was nursing him. Both boys are asleep, house is picked up for the most part, washer and dryer are going with the last loads for the day. I've already finished a double workout for the day and it's only 11:15am. I'm making a list of items for a quick Costco trip and then going to work on some YW stuff, and read my scriptures. I'm hoping they'll stay asleep for a good hour. Trying to decide if I should head to Costco before school is out or wait for Pops to get home and go tonight as a family. Decisions, decisions.

Now, if every day started off with double morning naps I wouldn't know what to do...OK wait, I would take a morning nap too. :)

After talking a little politics this morning with a friend while walking, and then seeing a bit of the news once I got home I again ask myself, "Where is this country headed?" I'm afraid if I pray to know how to help the constitution be supported my prayers will get answered by me getting involved somehow with some group. Am I ready for that? Would it be a big time constraint? Or is that a path in life I should take? Hmmm...local and national politics, very interesting. I do admire those who follow their passions. Trying to figure out if this is a passion on mine. Is it the right thing right now or something I hold off on? I'm not talking about running for office or anything like that...just finding candidates whose views I support and help them in their quest to be elected.

OK...I'm really going to down load the 600+ pictures I have on the camera so I can get a post about our summer vacation. I'm gonna do that right now. No interruptions. Now, where's that camera?

I honestly can't say this happens every Sunday, but it did happen today...it was the type of Sunday that church is good, really good. I felt touched by the sacrament speakers, touched by Boss's talk he gave in primary and touched by the YW's lesson. I left feeling uplifted. It was a great feeling.

Pops spoke in a different ward today but still made it home before us. I was thinking today that we haven't driven to church in the same car together more than a dozen times in the last seven years. Anyhow, he beat us home, we had lunch together and I said the "clean" word on Sunday. I told all the males in my house that before anybody does anything else, (meetings, naps, playtime, scriptures...) we were going to clean the house. I didn't mean scrub the toilets but I did mean pick up ALL THE C.R.A.P. that was scattered in every room of the house. Pops set the timer for 30 minutes and we were off. The boys (mainly Boss) complained the whole time as he did his chores but they got accomplished non-the-less. The beautiful part was that I didn't even feel guilty having us all clean considering it was Sunday. I knew the Lord would rather have a clutter free house on the sabbath than a house full of you know what. It was GREAT. We all worked together and got it under control. I thought "WOW, THEY CAN BE TAUGHT."

I even laid down for 40 minutes once we were done and it was great to wake up to a picked up house and a clean kitchen. I paid them all by making an awesome dinner, actually I think Pops said it was "one of the best dinners ever and that it really hit the spot." Curry chicken, parsley potatoes and rosemary rolls. OK, maybe it was a little bit of a carb overload but it was de-lish. And tomorrow is Monday, so for the 67th time I can use the words "my diet starts tomorrow."

Marmie made a brief visit. They kids always love seeing her and of course so do we. We even had a surprise ring of the door bell and found cookies left on the door step. HELLO HEAVEN! I love good cookies I didn't have to make. Can't figure out who left them though. Then we had a family over for games. Good times, good times.

A few busy days a head, I'm looking forward to Thursday cause by then it should slow down.

I almost forgot to do a post today. Sometimes I don't want to post everyday. Sometimes I have nothing to say and other times I have a lot to say but don't/can't say it.

Today was a fun day. We enjoyed a fun family date at Chandler pool, the boys love that place.

Off to bed.

Today I'm grateful my boys have brothers. We read a book the other day called "Brothers are for Making Mud Pies." It talks all about things brothers can do together. Having all boys is obviously something I have no control over but I'm thankful it happened the way it did. I do sometimes wonder if a little girl would "soften" the family dynamics but really I'm thankful for my boys. They play well together, watch out for each other and are for the most part always want to do everything together. Maybe one of these days I can convince them to like trips to the mall. :)

Last night I saw on the news about a meteor shower taking place through the night. I seriously contemplated waking the boys up at 2am since that would be the peak of the shower. I passed considering it was a school night. I'll check to see if it's happening again tonight. However, I told Pops about it and he and I went out in the back yard about 10:30pm and saw a few meteor's flying through the sky. It was pretty incredible. We then talked about space and the what's beyond our knowledge. It makes me excited to someday find out about other worlds.

Today a few friends and I got together for lunch. I have to say I really enjoyed myself. The food was really good and healthy, one of them made something I had never tried before (black bean cakes or something like that)and all the kids got along pretty good. I am grateful to friends who open up their homes for the rest of us to enjoy. It was a good afternoon.

Looking forward to the weekend. I love weekends. Like LOVE weekends. The boys are off to finish up cleaning the playroom, we'll see how long it stays clean...

I'm still recalling the short piece on forgiveness I posted yesterday. I have never had anything remotely that tragic happen in my life. However, for some reason I find it hard to not be irritated at someone because they don't think like I do, or not be upset at my boys because they didn't clean up the playroom tonight before bed like I asked them to, or not be upset at spouse because he didn't enforce the cleaning of the playroom while I was at a YW meeting tonight...go figure. Pathetic. Needless to say I quickly reminded myself to forgive and let go, I didn't say anything to the family because I noticed they had done their best to pick up the rest of the house and vacuum like I asked. However, tomorrow after school I know what those boys will be doing. I could go on a make a list of others I need to forgive and forget but I only have the rest of my life to write in this blog and that may not be enough time. (insert smile face)

While making cookies today I decided to add a large chocolate bar of unsweetened chocolate. That didn't go over to well. Note to self...make sure the chocolate is sweetened. I'm sure there is a reason I bought the unsweetened chocolate but I can't remember and I wanted to use it up. I'm still trying to figure out what you would make with unsweetened chocolate... it wasn't the best. Luckily I also added chocolate chips so some bites of a cookie are really good, others are pretty bitter. I told the boys these cookies are like life: "sometimes you have to experience the bitter to taste the sweet." I don't think they got it. Actually, come to think of it, that would make a really good YW lesson. I'll have to remember that one.

This week has had it's busy nights. Monday Pops was gone til 8:30pm working. Tuesday night was a PTA meeting, Wednesday night was mutual, tonight was a YW training meeting, I'm hoping nothing is on the schedule for tomorrow night. It's the third Sunday again and a new topic for Pops to speak on. That means no old talks to pull from and I'm begging him to write his talk before Saturday so can have some good 'ol family time.

School's only been in session for two weeks and I already miss summer.

I listened to Glenn Beck this afternoon as I drove to Scottsdale to take care of some business for Pops. I was hoping the boys would sleep on the drive but no such luck. That's beside the point, anyhow, as I was listening to Glenn I was getting very disturbed at where the world is today and where it it headed. Especially the United States. Frankly, we're not united, the federal government no longer seems to do their duty in being in a "supporting role" to the states and states no longer watch out for and support each other. The federal government is fighting the states and their laws and state constitutions. Hello, I live in AZ, I'm seeing it first hand. The older I become and the more I learn and read I think it's safe to say I'm a Conservative. Very conservative. I've learned if I don't stand up and support what I believe to be true or right, if I keep quiet I'm silently supporting the lefties. And they do not stand for what I believe in. Pops told me to watch a video of something that took place at USC-SD between a Jewish man and a Muslim woman. It was very interesting and quite scary honestly. I literally wanted to go get Buster from school pack up and move my family and I into a bubble. I'm still looking for that bubble that will protect us from the evils of the world. I felt down and frightened with the choice I had made to bring three precious spirits into this place. Then I happened to be cleaning out a draw and found this awesome quote by President Monson and really it turned my fear into faith. It was what I needed. It says:

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice and friends who help.
We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

I must be grateful to my Savior for his sacrifice and to all those who have sacrificed to restore this gospel back to the earth so that I can raise my family with faith, not fear.

I think this is the best 8 minutes I've ever spent watching something.

I'm speechless.

What to write about? I could write about...

`the weather
`boys
`spouse
`young women's
`goals
`fears
`things I'm grateful for
`people I admire
`people I only tolerate
`places to visit
`places I've visited
`food
`exercise
`make up
`summer activities
`politics
`SB 1070
`ruling in CA
`music
`cars
`hair products
`clothes
`shoes
`stores
`freezer meals
`grilled fresh fruit
`dangers of eating hot dogs, or any processed meats
`scriptures
`Christmas presents
`magazines
`public schools
`private schools
`desires
`dreams
`family members
`flowers
`kitchen appliances
`neighbors
`real estate
`clean sheets
`children's toys
`paint colors

but I've got nothin'. Just happy the boys are asleep and now I can finally read about Nephi and his experience with building the ship. Great lessons can be learned in those chapters, I must re-read them cause I know I missed something.

What did you do when cousins are in town? Pull the kid out of school and head to the mall! Buster didn't complain about only spending two hours at school before taking the rest of the day off and I didn't mind hanging out at the mall for a couple hours. I'm not sure if his teacher appreciated it, but you only live once!

First PTA meeting tonight, I guess that makes the start of the school year official.

Darn toe still hurts.

Wondering why people continue to read other peoples Blogs when they don't like the Blog...if it makes you mad, irritated or upset... quit looking!

Double workout today all done by 8:30am, that felt good. Late birthday lunch with a friend at Paradise Bakery, did I mention I love that place? And my two boys were near perfect during the 90 minutes we were there. Crate enjoyed an entire cookie, yes a HUGE ball of sugar for my 10 month old (I paid for it later with a REALLY bad diaper while in another store) and Boss was more than happy getting to play on my itouch. For all those that don't believe in video games for kids...they should try it sometime, it's awesome in situations like this. I knew that thing would come in handy sooner or later. After lunch I picked up Buster from school and we headed out east to take Aunt Abby shopping for new school clothes. I don't know what got into the boys but we were at Target for two hours in the girls clothing section and they were pretty darn good the entire time. (Minus Crate's nasty pants) We dropped Abby off and headed home just in time for a quick dinner, homework (that blessed thing is back) and bed. But before I left for the busy day I hit my toe on the weights and I about lost it. However, I didn't swear, I was quite proud of myself because I had real good reason too. The last thing I need is a my four-year-old repeating a chosen word he heard from his mother in his primary class and that would be just my luck. My toe is black and blue and hurts like h-e-double hockey sticks. If this stops me from exercising I think I will BURST. I had to take a week off last week and I've got to get back to it. It's what keeps me sane. Oh yeah, and on the way home from Mesa the boys and I rocked out to the song...tonight's gonna be a good night...you know that one? We had air guitars, air drums and air microphones going in the car. It was awesome and we were rockin'..."If this vans a rockin' you're defiantly gonna wanna come a knockin'!

OK...I'm getting loopy, I must be tired.

Another Sunday down in history. Another week coming up. Really bad diaper, one that required a bath. Fort is still up in the boys bedroom. Church, presidency meeting, visiting teaching, homemade dinner, family home evening and now bed.

Once again...

we tackled the play room this morning, the boys and I. And we did it! We beat it! It is now completely clean and organized. We moved things around, I threw away a lot of little misc. toys and things and we got all the millions of Lego pieces into one central box. Finally it is done. However, Crate is quite lost when he crawls in there. He can't seem to find anything to put in his mouth. The boys did however build a fort in their room today, will their bedroom and the playroom ever be picked up at the same time?

I loved waking up to rain, I opened the windows and felt a breeze and smelt the beauty of the earth. My back was strong enough today that I was able to do a treadmill workout and it felt great to be once again burning a calorie or two. Can wait to work out with good 'ol Tony Horton again. Maybe Monday I'll see him.

Sometimes I wish...

weeds grew in as flowers instead of themselves.
children had a volume button
and a sleep button
and an obedient button.
floors mopped themselves.
the body healed itself.
if it looks like rain than it always rains.
people really tried to walk in each others shoes
and not judge.
trees trimmed themselves.
there was a designated hour each day for uninterrupted scripture study.
careers paid money.
inexperienced real estate agents looked to their broker for help.
children were always grateful.
the Constitution of the United States was regarded as law as it should be.
the U.S. was still a true democracy.
peoples votes counted.
money was spent wisely.
blessings were recognized.
optimism was a character trait possessed by all.
freedom was found around the globe.
dinner always tasted good.
little boys always relieved of themselves directly in the porcelain throne and not the surrounding floor space.
people accepted and lived the gospel.
attending the temple wasn't such an ordeal.
we had a pool.

Just a few wishes for when that genie finally pops out of the bottle I rub everyday.

New recipe for dinner tonight...some kind of Indian chicken dish. It was OK, a little on the spicy side and defiantly an acquired taste but everyone ate it. I don't thing I'll fix it again. However I did make a delicious spinach salad along with amazing rolls. Next time I'll have to make more rolls, there wasn't enough to go around.

Boss helped me make more cookies today and we delivered little "back to school" packages with cookies in them for the young women. We had fun running (driving) around to each of their houses. I can't wait until it's cool enough outside to walk in the evening. While I was driving around at 7:30pm the van said it was 124 degrees outside. I don't think it was that hot but it wasn't cool by any means.

We've got an extra little girl spending the night with us for a couple of nights, it is very different having a curly haired three year old girl in the house. She loves to help out with Crate and boss the Boss-man around. It should make for some interesting times around here.

Well that is what is happening in our hot neck of the woods. Exciting, right?

Deals.

To cut Crate's hair or not to? That is the question. It's growing over his ears and getting pretty long in the back but sometimes I put gel in it and it curls up and looks cute, OK, maybe it looks a little like the old man "DOC" from back to the future just red but still cute non-the-less right?

Tonight for YW's we did service for a couple sisters in the ward. It was nice to help other out. It's also simply amazing what can get done in 60 minutes when twelve people are working together.

Tomorrow I have a follow up regarding my back. I can't wait.

Three successful days of school completed. Hooray!

The Walmart I went to today is having a killer deal right now. 50% off all clearance items. All CLEARANCE ITEMS!! Hello! I totally stocked up on baby clothes, toys and picked up some belts for the boys for $1. They are leather belts and were originally 8 bucks. Carters baby clothes were like $1.50 and they are cute top and bottom sets. They're not advertising it but if you mention it at the register they'll make sure and slice the price in half. I'm thankful for the Walmart worker for telling me as I was browsing the isle for PJ's for the boys. Although, she did answer her personal cell phone and had a 2 minute personal conversation while I was standing there waiting. But I wasn't about to complain considering the deal she scored me. The lady at the register wasn't sure how long they would continue marking all clearance 50% off. It's the Walmart on 75th if you're interested. If I didn't have the three boys with me I would have looked around a lot more. Walmart is defiantly not the store of choice but it's not a bad idea to stock up on toys for upcoming birthdays and Christmas and misc baby items.

I L.O.V.E. a good deal.

I also LOVE good food, speaking of which I made some awesome cookies today. Boss helped and we've been enjoying them all day. I even had to make a second batch before the YW came over tonight cause I was worried there wouldn't be enough to go around tonight. The kitchen is overflowing with de-lish cookies right now, come and get some before they're gone! Jane, I thought about sending you some but I think they'd arrive in crumbs. Next time your here I'll make some just for you.

I seriously need to download the pictures on the camera. The amount of pictures on there is ridiculous.

Oh man, I just had to sneeze and it hurt my back.

Boss must be in a growth spurt, lots of sleep Sunday night and just a few minutes go he went on the couch and laid down on his own and fell asleep. Why can't afternoon nap time be this easy every day? Crate on the other hand is wide awake but happily exploring the play room. For him, the messier the better because that means the more things he can get his hands on!

Went to the grocery store today for just a few things and ended up with a cart over flowing of groceries. I forgot how much we needed. The boys were both really good but it hurt my back to push the cart and load the groceries into the car so on the way home I called my neighbor and she came over and helped me get the groceries from the car to the house and put them away! Thanks so much Erin, I owe you!

As I made my bed this afternoon (didn't get to it this morning) I pondered about where I'm at in life right now. Really, I'm blessed and in a pretty darn good spot. Not much I would change. No, I'm not claiming the "perfect" word but over all life is good.

Not having exercised in the last two days is driving me crazy. I really feel like exercise is my "happy pill." It's something I do for myself and it is what gives me energy. I really miss being strong and healthy. However, not exercising has made me very conscience of what I'm eating. Now if I could put good eating and exercise together I might see some awesome results. To be honest I really like to eat...and I can eat a lot, thus the daily exercise is needed. I just wish my chubby thighs were as cute as Crates.

I totally freaked today...no workout. Major pain. Pain so intense I literally contemplated a trip to the ER at 2am. We're not huge doctor people and have never made a trip to the ER so once I told Pops we might be going he knew it was serious.
I've taken more Motrin and Tylenol in the last 24 hours than I usually take in a year. No joke.

Went to the Dr. today, go back in a few days. Hoping the pain will subside really soon. This makes me really super grateful for the very good health I usually enjoy. Pops has been a big help and I'm thankful to a good friend who took the two oldest boys while Pops drove me to the Dr. It hurts like you know what to drive. Very weird.

Praying tonight will be a much better night than last.

Oh, and Buster had a very successful first day at school! Yeah for 2nd grade! Really some day I'll download the 600+ pictures on the camera. Some of which are today's pics of the first day!

Buster got to pick the dinner tonight...his last dinner of the summer. His pick was German Pancakes. I was totally cool with that, easy and good. Pops on the other had wasn't so excited about it but he was a good sport.

Boss asked to be excused after he was done with his dinner and after about 5 minutes of not hearing from him I found him asleep on his bed. He must of been very tired. It was 6:15pm so I'm hoping he sleeps through the night and doesn't wake up at 11pm.

Buster got his fathers blessing tonight. Probably the best one yet. It comforted me also, and made me feel like he is at the right school and will be challenged and will excel this year. I know he'll be protected in more ways than one and make good choices. I'm a blessed mom to have him in my home. I got a blessing also. I needed one to heal my back because something happened to it (I think I pulled a muscle or have a rib totally out of place) and now I can't really do anything. I couldn't even open the oven tonight because it hurts so bad. I think I might freak if it's not better in the morning and I can't exercise. Ahhh...getting old is so not fun.

Now it's movie time for Pops and I. By the way I'm really not looking forward to the school schedule starting tomorrow. But I'm glad Buster is excited to return back. He's been waiting for this day for several weeks now!