My Teacher Blames the Government.

When I was in H.S. my insane Physics teacher claimed that the government was slowly shaving seconds off of minutes & one day it wouldn’t really be 365 days a year. I think he might be on to something. Lately I’ve been thinking about how fast time is going by & just how big my boys are getting. Sometimes I wish I could just stop time. I see it running in front of me & I keep trying to physically hold it in my arms.

JaJa,

My sweet 1st born. It seems like just yesterday that I thought that there was a possibility that I would never have children & the sadness that I always felt because of it. Now I look back & I can’t even remember that pain. I see you with your friends or sitting around listening to your MP3 player or talking to me about girls (yikes!) & I’m in awe of you. When did this happen? When did you grow up? But then I catch glimpses of my little boy when you run up & hug & kiss me or when you ask for a coo-kie. Or when you make sure your hair is styled just right, before school, as you drink your milk out of a sippie cup. I’m grateful that I have you & that you have been blessed with wonderful gifts & abilities. I’m thankful that you chose to get baptized this year & that you have chosen such a wonderful group of friends. I am extremely proud of you.

Combi or Corn Beef as I call you these days,

I will always remember your 1st day in Primary & how you sat in class with your head hung low because you were embarrassed to talk. My heart broke that day. 2 years of Speech Therapy & now your Kindergarten teacher complains that you sometimes talk too much. It’s definitely bitter-sweet. I can’t believe how smart & amazing you are! Are you even aware of your skills? The fact that you can read at a 3rd grade level & do math at a 2nd grade level amazes me! Especially since you didn’t really start speaking until you were 3 1/2 almost 4. You are filled with so much confidence & you are so sure of what you want. Your smile makes my day especially when it is followed with a “can I, my best buddy?” I’m so grateful for the love & compassion that you have for others. I’m grateful for your desire to make others happy. You are truly amazing my best buddy.

K.B.

I remember making a mental note of every milestone because I knew you would be my last. In fact, all this came about because of you. When you turned 4 this year, I realized that that was how old Ja-Ja was when you were born. I had 3 little ones under the age of 4. Yikes! I look at you & think that there is no way I could do that now. It’s been fun to have you as a preschool student but I especially love the days we spend together alone while your brothers are in school. Those are my favorite! You make such a good little shopping partner! I love holding you because you somehow mold into me. I always tell you that you are like a little creature. You have so much physical ability. You are destined to be a star on any field. I can’t believe the flips you are able to do! You are growing up so fast but I guess you have to so that you can keep with your brothers! Maybe that’s why I like being alone with you because you are my little boy again. I’m so grateful for your funniness that cracks us all up. I’m also grateful for your amazing observations that always make me think, “what did he just say?” (this week you asked, “mom, how do you make a ch? cause there’s no letter that makes that sound.) You always say things like that!

This has been a great year & we have been able to create so many memories! We have been on some fun trips & we were able to experience many new things.

Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me & giving me such an amazing family. Thank you for the reminder of time. These years go fast & I’m glad I enjoyed those years when you were little & at home with me.

I’m so grateful that you get to be children & that you get to do child-like things. That you have no real worries or fears. That you can go to bed & feel safe & protected. That you know EVERYDAY how much you are truly loved by us & your Heavenly Father.

Oh my little boys, please don’t grow.

I'’ll eat you up, I love you so.

HIGH SCHOOL TAG

So I wasn't actually tagged but I got it off Penquilla's blog & thought it looked like fun. Besides, who doesn't like some high school flashback?

1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? Sorta, I didn't date much. I "hung" out.

2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? It was called public transportation. You know, buses, trains, cabs.

3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? No, I think I took it twice. Hellooo? I didn't ever practice. Public transportation, remember?

4. WERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? Oh yeah! Which would explain my grades.

5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? I think I was considered difficult but I'd like to think I was flirting.

6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? Have you heard me sing? Uhhh... no.

7. WERE YOU A NERD? I should've been. Fortunately people thought I was cool.

8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? I was on the track team but I never ran a meet. Don't ask!

9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? Probably should've been but fortunately I was never caught. Close calls, though.

10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? Did we have a fight song? Don't know it. Or at least I can't remember.

11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? My gym teacher because he excused me from study hall for the whole year.

12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? I ate off campus everyday, all 4 years. Mainly Wendys.

13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FULL NAME? Lane Technical H.S.

14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL'S MASCOT AND COLORS? Indians, Green and Gold.

15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? None of my friends really went with dates. Pretty much everyone went in groups.

16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? No but thanks for asking.

17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? Graduation was held outside & I was dying of heat & I had to keep my hair down because of the giant hickie on my neck.

18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? I think we went to the beach.

19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? Aspira Club & .... I can't remember anything else. What a loser!

20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? I'm sure. Let's not ask for numbers.

21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? Aaron Byrnes.

22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? I missed it because I was 8 mos. pregnant & unable to fly.

23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? Junior yr I worked at some children's store. Senior yr I worked at Marshalls.

Now I tag EVERYONE! Ha-Ha! Don't forget to add a pic of your lovely H.S self.

Here I am with my 3 "escorts" at prom. The one on the left was my date.

Twilight Fans!

I know there's plenty of you out there that saw it already so I'm dying to know what you thought of it. I'm not seeing it until Tue.

So how many stars would you give it?

To Gym Or Not to Gym

So it's before 7am & I'm already back from the gym & showered. For those of you that know me, you're probably in shock right now since I'm never coherent before 10am.
I started going back to the gym last week just on a trial basis & I'm not sure if I want to keep this up.
Many moons ago, I was what you may call a "Gym Nazi". I went 2 hrs a day-5 days a week. When I moved to AZ I stopped going & then proceeded to gain some serious weight. After that I vowed I would NEVER step foot in a gym again. NEVA, NEVA, NEVA! Oh, people have tried but time after time I have refused (sorry Zhateal). I figured if I ever went back, I would have to commit for life.
Unfortunately, the days of eating chocolate for breakfast are catching up with me. People said this day would come but I didn't believe it. No more eating what I want when I want. So sad...
Alas, I have returned to the place that I swore I would never go.
Like the song says,
"Should I stay or should I go now?
If I stay it will be trouble &
if I go it will be double"

Furniture Frenzy!

It all started a couple of months ago when Culligula moved some chairs out of our study, sitting room , whatever you wanna call it! (any advice on what to call it?) Anyway, we decided to sell the chairs on KSL & that's where it all started.

Once the chairs were gone he posted our green sectional just for kicks. An hour later it was sold & we were without furniture. Luckily Culligula likes furniture, so the next day he spent his lunch break at the furniture store purchasing a new sectional.

We then sold our green couch that was in our study (sounds uncomfortable) & had to replace it. Well we didn't want to spend money for a couch in that room so we replaced it with our couch upstairs, which meant we would need all new furniture upstairs as well as a new floor. Did I mention we also ended up selling our book shelves & tables in the study & replacing them? Brother!

After 2 days of ripping out carpet & putting in new floor (thanks Ryan!) we got our new furniture & here are the results. We really love it! It's a little grown up but we're trying to evolve into that next stage of not having babies running around.

I wish I had pictures of what it used to look like.

This is our new entry. There used to be nothing there. We're learning to accessorize.

This was definitely a little nuts. We ended up replacing every piece of furniture in 3 living areas. If I had to do it all over again... well, we probably would've tried to recycle some items. That didn't occur to us until it was too late & when everyone kept telling us we should have just repainted our tables & bookcases instead of replacing them. Thanks a lot people!

Jump 4 Joy Preschool

As some you know I've decided to teach preschool from home this year. Today was our Jump Start Day & when the day was over, I realized why I love teaching so much. Everything I did this summer in preparation & every dime I spent made this day completely worth it. Anyway, here's some pictures of what my classroom looks like.

Oh so fresh & new...

So I'm completely new to the blogging world. Those who know me should have known better than to introduce me to such a thing. (Thanks Perla & Zhateal!) Have you any idea the countless hours I've have spent formatting, adding, deleting, etc.?! This can't be good for my health. How will I ever get my scrapbooking done? I'm certain this new hobby will consume me to no end. I'll have to purchase a laptop, perhaps quit my job.... I'm sure I can hire someone to clean my house & cook.... maybe I can even get a nanny. I thought this might be an impossible thing to do but if I cut back on showering daily, talking on the phone, eating 3 meals a day, & sleeping I'm sure I can do this.

I'm just so excited about this! Well I'm off to eat in the shower so I can return & tell you all about my Easter Sunday!