Help!

This is to all you ladies who have more makeup sense than I. As you recall back in July I got a Mac makeover. Well, having said that I bought the foundation (liquid) and moisturizer as well to go with it. I have never bought these products or any other brand of base that is. Normally, I just put the same lotion on my face as the rest of my body (like bath and body works or something). Anyways, this may sound so VAIN, but as I was brushing my teeth tonight I couldn't get over how broken out my face has gotten over the past month. Normally, I will get a zit here or there but never to this extreme! We are talking connect the dots PEOPLE!!!


So my question is this.....do I take it back to Nordstroms explaining my issue about the moisterizer? Does anyone know Mac makeups return policy (I have no receipt mind you). Could it be the moisterizer or am I insane? I know that chocolate and periods can cause this, but I am not eating any differently than normal. I also have no sense in skin care. You are looking at a person who washes their face with the hand sanitizer soap you use to wash your hands with. How lazy is that? I guess I have never been a person who got into the whole makeup taking care of your skin. I am sure that I will be paying for it down the road, but in the mean time. Also, keep in mind you are talking to a girl who didn't start wearing makeup until she was married. So it has really been a trial and error process for me...hence very naive in the face department.


Mom, I am sure you are cringing at the soap issue.... since you work in a Plastic Surgeons office, are constantly telling me about botox, creams and other stuff. Any advice on MAC, polices, zits??

Girls with our Grillz

Laura & Brandon

Angie and I have been wanting to go to lunch and have a pedicure without kids for about a month. So we called up Laura & Brandon (the newlyweds) and they were willing to come over and watch Weston and Maryn so we could have an afternoon just as girls. They were married last Friday in the S.A. temple. It was so fun!! I am glad we did this because we only have about a week before they leave back up to school and then we will be high and dry without any babysitting.

Luke absolutely adores Brandon!
He wants him to babysit all the time.

Our first stop was to get a pedicure. We finally found a place near our house that was reasonable, they rub your feet/legs for about 15-20 minutes and the polish stays on for about a month. That is hard to come by! And always a bonus if they rub your feet extra long for the same price. Anyways, I could not stop laughing when the lady finished our toes. I simply just asked for a couple of rhinestones on my feet and this is what I ended up with. My immediate thought was I had Grillz on our toes!

Angie's Grillz
(interesting flower arrangement)

My Grillz

If you aren't familar with the term you can click on it. I am not really too sure what Angie's gal put on hers. She spent some extra time using some whiteout and other stuff. Maybe she was shooting for a firework image, but not too sure. At any rate it was pretty funny. We ate at Chipotles and browsed around the outdoor mall. I can't believe the stores are already putting out their fall fashions. I mean, really if you live in a hot climate can't they keep the shorts on the shelves a little bit longer? I was sweating just looking at all of the jackets, jeans and sweatshirts in all the stores. Don't get me wrong they are really cute, but I can't even imagine when my kids or I would wear them.

I am happy to say that we don't have any extra activities today, so I can relax, make dinner and stay put. Also another added bonus for the day was Doug got home at 3pm today!!

Rundown

I'll I have to say is today started off with a bang! Last night I had gotten out the children's motrin and got lost into doing others things. The bottle was left open on the counter and I went to bed not thinking anything about it since I normally am the one who gets Weston out of his crib in the morning. Long story short, I was making my bed and heard some noise in the kitchen. I went in there to see what was going on and all I heard was a "ahahhh" (much like when you take a good drink from a glass that is refreshing) My first thought was oh, crap he drank the entire (well what was left from the bottle) thing all gone! I immediately called Doug and he gave me the number to poison control. I felt like such a terrible mother. Who leaves a bottle of medicine open on the counter?? Duhh!! I am happy to say that the girl at poison control said, it is pretty safe and he would of had to drink almost the entire thing (about 18tsp.) in order for any harm to be done. She also said that he may just be fussy due to an upset stomach from it. That was a big relief. Well, with that said Weston also got some of his 12-18 month shots today three in the thigh. Poor guy! At least I didn't have to worry about giving him any medication I think he already had enough on board to last him a while.

After our doctor appt. I was on to V.T. Yes, I said visiting teaching. I think that it is a miracle since I haven't been since May! I do have to make sure I visit this one in particular she happens to be our Relief Society President and babysitter Laura's mom. I told her she assigned me to her for that reason. She just said, well I have to have someone fun visit me. Yeah right! Despite my grumbling, I was glad I went in the long run. I had forgotten how nice it is to chit chat with people you really don't see that often. I also went to a R.S. lunch in today at the church and was pretty enjoyable. It reminded me that I really should attend more enrichment activities. I have really taken a hiatus since being released from enrichment leader.

Today flew by and I felt like I didn't have time to really accomplish much. I did however get some case logs done for Doug when the boys were sleeping. I have to say I am exhausted because once the kids got home it was non-stop. Taylor had achievement days and then she started her tumbling class. So I was a taxi today and well, I guess will be from here on out. As long as my kids are having fun doing their extra activities I can't complain.

I had to post this picture which was actually taken yesterday. I tried to get an action photo of them playing, but it didn't quite turn out. It's moments like this that I love being a mom! They were being so cute playing in the laundry basket. Priceless!!

Bitter Sweet

Our breakfast 7am chef!

Well, its the first day of school. How's that for suspense?? My kids were so excited I didn't even have to wake them up this morning. They were up with their beds made and already dressed before breakfast. The morning actually went rather smoothly. Doug skipped out his morning grand rounds and went into work a little later to help send the kids off. We made pancakes and boy did they scarf them down! Kind of interesting since both of them claimed they had stomach aches before bed last night. I know it was their nerves and not the other. Remember getting those butterflies before starting a new year?

Luke too was excited and had his backpack in tow while taking the older ones to school. I dropped them off since they didn't want me to walk them to class. I respected their wishes because they said adamently, "mom I know where to go." Right after dropping them off, Luke assumed it was his turn to go.

I had to explain to him that he wasn't going to his school until 9am. Needless to say, it was a bit difficult for him to comprehend that fact. I decided it would be easiest to take him after my morning walk since it was on my way home. Once we got to his school he became a bit more timid and asked if I was going to stay with him. I said no, but I would pick him up after lunch. He proceeded cautiously into school with his head down. It made me so sad to see him like this. I put his backpack in the cubby and he really didn't say much. He was constantly rubbing his eyes, but tears never came out. I asked him if he was okay and he said yes very shyly. I assured him that I would be back to pick him up and away I went. I walked away feeling so sad and guilty inside. All I could think was will he be okay? I can only imagine the thoughts running through his little mind, a strange place, new faces and mom gone.

Isn't this the saddest face?

It was definitely bitter sweet for me. On one hand Luke is such a difficult child and is very trying for me at times. But times like this I miss him so much and wish that he could remain with me. Weird I know, but that is how I felt. I guess that is part of being a mother and loving your children unconditionally. Once Luke was at school it was just me and Weston. Again, bitter sweet. The house was now silent, empty and no voices of fighting or complaints of being bored. Funny how you miss stuff like that when its not around. I picked up the house, did some laundry and ventured out to the mall with Angie. I really wasn't planning on buying anything but the dumb Gap sucked me in to their polo shirt sale for boys! And since there really isn't all too much to buy for boys like girls. I bought some shirts and church pants for Jared. I knew I should of not set foot in there!

I picked him up and asked him how his day went. He still was very quiet about it, but acted like he liked it (at least he was willing to go again). I guess I will get a better feel of it on Wednesday.
My older kids got home around 3pm. They got off the bus and ran with speed to the house due to the heat from the "hot" bus. I was reminded that they needed water bottles. In which I promised not to forget this important object tomorrow!

100 degree weather= hot bus ride!

Thanks Ang!

You know how much I love pink and brown!

I went and got the mail and these two "great pieces" showed up. It was a very thoughtful letter from Liz along with a great conference talk to cheer me up. I am so excited to read it. Along with that I got some hand delivered scrapbooking stuff from Angie! Is that suppose to be my motivator? Probably, since her card read "thought you could use this on Mon, and Wed. when the house was a bit more quiet." Okay, now I really have to get going on my good mail. I have been thinking about it and now need to act upon it. Thanks so much to both of you! Very thoughtful indeed and hit the spot.

Thanks Liz!

Jared has soccer at 6:30pm and I am happy to say Doug will be around to take him. It's so nice to have a rotation at work where he is able to help take the kids to their activities and not have to drag the rest of the crew. Thats all for now since it took FOREVER for these dang pictures to upload on blogger today. Anyone else having troubles?

Traditions- Traditions- Traditions

I can't believe after the last two weeks of complaining. It's the night before school! Anyways, today was a day of annual traditions. I love getting into the "groove" of things again and I am happy to say we are back on a busy, but good schedule.

We had stake conference today and on the way we listened to Jordan's cd mix that she sent in the mail. My kids, I and Doug included all love love loved it! Loved it so much we shared it with our good friends down the street. And yes, Jordan it definitely got the kids yelling turn it up mommy!! So, thank you for sharing your great kid music with us. P.S. Jordan I can't seem to get I love chocolate milk out of my head!! Any suggestions??

Once we got home we started our tradition of making school lunches. Every Sunday after church we make lunch and double it up by making the kids lunches for school as well. This works out so well and we don't have to worry about making them later. It initially kills two birds with one stone. We ate, were full and decided to do our father's blessings. This is my favorite part of starting a new school year. This year Luke was included because he starts pre-school tomorrow. It was so cute to see him sitting in the chair with his big brown eyes and dimples. (I think he was just glad to be a part of it as well). Of course being the mom and all I got a little emotional. The end is always the best as well big hugs and kisses from dad!

Doug went on to do hometeaching and I took on the task of trimming up the boys hair. It didn't take all that long since they only needed a few touchups. Again no pictures to show since Luke threw a HUGE tantrum about this. He cried so hard he fell asleep on my bed.

Later this afternoon we had a back to school barbaque at the Gordon's .You can always guarantee a lot of good grub there. We had hamburgers and "beaumont hotdogs" which are saugage links from their hometown (hence the name Beaumont) I was never much of a sausage eater until I tried these things 4 years ago. Soo yummy! We then followed our dinner and had a little FHE. We have been meaning to have a joint one in a while and due to scheduling this was the day we could do it. We talked about being good examples and to let your light shine. Since our kids are practically the only LDS ones in school.... we taught them how important it was to set good examples and always remember who they are!

Greg giving us a power point presentation on pioneers and "watching" out for others.

The kids also did a skit showing what to do and to do in a situation at school.
They had three different scenarios. It was pretty funny how much they got into the acting thing.

Finally taking a bow for a job well done! Notice these girls are once again wearing the exact same outfit. And you can bet it is never a coinidence. We later learned they planned it in the bathroom during stake conference at church. So silly!! I am off to bed since I am back getting up early each day. I am just amazed that it is 9pm and the house is DEAD silent.

Orthopaedics 101

Look how young he looks? I guess 4 years of nasty hours will age you a bit.
I love that I took a picture next to the clock, kind of funny.

This is Doug's very first day as an intern in 2002. Little did we know what we were getting into. Looking back what we thought was hard in medical school was a breeze to us now. We often chuckle how good we had it back then. Residency has definitely been a big challenge for our family. Juggling such harsh hours and a family of 6. But, hey were almost done and the light is coming soon! (at least I hope)

I have been wanting to write this down for a while and am finally getting around to doing it. I thought I would describe what exactly my husband does. We have had several friends in the past who aren't familar with the medical school/residency thing and are a lot of times confused as to why we are still in school. The funny thing is I often talk to one of my good friends from highschool and she always replies "remind me again when you guys are going to be done with this." I always laugh and tell her we are in the lifetime student category. I am just glad he didn't choose something like a heart surgeon or general surgery (sorry lara). That's just a few added more years that we would have had to tack on. The ironic thing is before medical school he was going to become a physical therapist. One of his mentors strongly suggested if he was interested in that he might as well go to medical school since he had the grades to apply. So that is exactly what he did.

Anyways, his career of choice began back during his third year of medical school at Tulane. They really don't get to rotate that much on different fields of medicine you kind of just pick what you think you would like. After doing some rotations he knew of certainty that he wasn't doing Peds, Psych, OB, or ER. He narrowed it down to a surgical specialty and has always loved working with athletes and physical rehab stuff. So it wasn't long after that he choose to study orthopedics. I was glad when he came to this conclusion of what he wanted to be when he grew up. It was an even bigger relief when we "matched" in the field of his choice. There are so many people who graduate from medical school each year (at least 150 per school) which means there isn't always a spot in a residency program. So you can imagine how thrilled we were to match in San Antonio. The weird thing is we both had forgotten that he applied there and were focusing more on our top three choices. Looking back I am so glad we didn't match in those schools. I guess we were blessed with this place for a reason!

These are just one of the 3 stacks of books that Doug has to read. It amazes me how much this guy can read and retain. I have to reread something in a book about 3 times before I can even comprehend it. Each year he has to take an annual exam OITE. It is coming up in November so he usually starts studying for it in August. Every night he will come home on top of his hard, hectic day and study for about 2 hours. (mind you this is after he helps me with dinner, bath and bedtime with the kids). What a guy!

This is Doug's "case log" book. Or the little black book is what I call it. As a resident you have to log in every surgical case that you assist another physician with or do yourself. This book contains EVERY case he has ever done since his 1st year of residency. As you can see from the little white pieces of paper he is a bit behind in logging them in. (that is where I am trying to come in a help him out a little). We had a scare one time and misplaced this book. That was a terrible thing because its almost as golden as your wallet is, luckily we found it.

I had to picture this and I know Doug will think I am weird. But on top of the books that take up our whole bookshelf....this is the corner of my room. He currently has three bags! Yes, and he is not a woman or carries a baby around. Well, maybe to him he does. He has a bag of books, one with his computer and the last one is his over night call bag with all of his tolietries and extra clothes. You would think they would give the residents a place to put this stuff, but they don't! I really should have taken a picture of his trunk because that is his other closet of junk.

Okay, this may gross so many of you out. So don't look if you have an uneasy stomach. I had to post this picture because it has a funny story behind it. Don't worry I am not violating any HEPPA rules because I don't even know the patients name or anything about them. This case came into the ER when Doug was working one time. As you can see this person had a dead foot. He said the smell was horrific and stuff was ooozing everywhere. You would think if this was starting to occur the patient would have gone in. Most of the time these patients he works on wait until something like this occurs. The grossest part was they saw a fly come out from the deadened area. Yes, I said a fly!! Isn't that soooo sick?

The last picture I had to post because Doug actually was so excited about this case. He was on trauma when this took place. A little boy about 21 months old got his finger stuck on the escalator at the bottom. Somehow it sucked his finger underneath at the bottom. Can you imagine the screams and pain this poor child went through?? It gives me chills thinking about it. They couldn't get his finger out from the escalator so they had to take the metal plate off and air vac him to the hospital with it. (this is where Doug comes in) As you can see the metal went through is finger. (gross i know) They were actually able to sew the child's finger back on. He was so excited about this because he was able to help! A pretty gross story, but they little kid at least will have a finger.

This is why my husband went into Orthopedics. He loves this stuff. I can't even believe that I wanted to be a nurse. I had all of my prereq's done when I met Doug. I was acutally ready to apply. Ironically, I can't even stand the thought of blood or anything anymore. Not only that but I hated school. I just was never good at it.



Overall, I am so dang proud of him. He amazes me each day with all the stuff that he does and accomplishes on top of dealing with my complaining and being a great dad! I love you honey!

Exciting!

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe

Taylor with Mr. Cuda. Ironically my first "man" teacher was in 4th grade as well.
He (Mr. Rinaldo) was my favorite teacher in elementary school.

Jared was a little embarrased as you can see,
but this is his teacher Mrs. Browning. She has
a rep for being one of the best teachers in 1st grade!

Wow! This is the second post in one day. Tonight the kids had what they call "Howdy Night" at school. It is where they post the teachers and you get to go in and meet them. I had to express how excited I was when I learned that my kids got both teachers that I requested for school this year. We have had our ups and downs in the past but I am thrilled to learn that they both got AWESOME teachers for school. Another big bonus for Taylor is that Mackenzi ended up in her class this year. I just hope she listens and doesn't get M into trouble! She tends to be more of a chatty cathy like me, whereas Mackenzi obeys the rules. The funny part is before going up to meet their teacher (they had no idea they would be in the same class) they picked out the same outfit. These little girls crack me up! Hopefully it will be a good successful year. I know that Jared is very happy with the teacher he got as well.

9-year-old twinners

After uploading this, I was a bit freaked out how old my daughter looks! I don't know if it is because her hair was down, but man I have a little teenager on my hands! Aren't these girls just goofy?? They did look pretty cute though. Do you remember trying to wear the same things as your friends?



Ummm.......... what's in the mail box today? When I got home..............

"Here's the mail it never fails, it makes me want to wag my tail and then I give a big fat yell..........M--A--I--L!!" Cheesy I know but you gotta love Blues Clues. I received this thoughtful belated birthday gift in the mail from Amy h. Thanks so much Amy--I love the note pads. They both are decorated so cute!! You girls out in Utah are so crafty. We don't have that many fun stores with embellishments like that! I also got a thankyou card from my sister. I love getting her cards because she always loads the envelope with stickers. Fun- fun mail for me!!

Rosie

Do you ever feel like you wake up everyday and find yourself doing the same things? When I woke up this morning I almost felt like Bill Murray in GroundHog day to a certain extent. I normally have the same routine each day.....make my bed, make breakfast, laundry, go for a walk, well you see the point. On one hand I want the week to fly by so that Friday is here, but on the other hand it seems to creep up on me so fast. For example, usually I try and do things on certain days in my house to break up the monotony of housework. Thursdays I change all of the beds in our house. I really felt this morning as though I just did this painful task. I normally don't mind doing it, at least my bed, Taylor's or Weston's crib. It's those darn bunkbeds I had to have at Costco two years ago that are extremely painful. My mom warned me never to get those because of the issue of making them and changing them. Afterall she should know cleaning houses for 15+ years! I really didn't have a choice in the matter because I had to bunk three kids in one room due to lack of space. That is really the only thing I dislike about them. They do look pretty cute in the room and save us quite a bit of space.

I don't mean this at all in a negative way. I just think its interesting from a mom's perspective that we run our lives much like "robots." Luckily church brings be out of my Rosie mode & gives me the bigger eternal perspective outlook on life.

Synopsis our Day

Today we went to Fiesta Texas. It was the second time this week. So, I must say that I have been an okay mom over the past couple of days. Woo hoo for happy mom!! Yesterday when we went Luke actually ventured out and went on some tube slides with me. It was pretty fun until the tube flipped around and we ended up going backwards the whole way. Needless to say, he wasn't to thrilled about getting on it after that. But it was fun while it lasted, since my two older ones really don't try anything that is unfamiliar or new to them. And speaking of being brave...Mackenzi will go on just about anything she is tall enough for! So opposite than my kids. Her and I went on the Torando water ride today. It even made my stomach in knots!! She just laughed at me and said, "hey that was fun, wanna ride again?" I thought to myself no, for one I didn't want to get drenched again and number two carry that HUGE tube up those stairs. (I think there are at least 5 flights) Quite a workout I must say!!

Weston has been getting more and more fun in the water. We have spent so much time in the water this year, he has been getting really brave. He actually was sticking his head under the water today and it didn't even phase him. Luke on the other hand still keeps his head above claiming he is "swimming." It's so nice to pack up the kids, have a waterpark 6 miles from home, have the Gordon as playmates, and Ang to chat with while the kids are swimming. The older kids basically go off ride some slides and come back to check in with us. Things went pretty smoothly for the most part. Except when Jared got a little to carried away and left Maci twice behind (sorry Maci). I felt so bad because she came back crying and he was already at the top of some slides. Boys just have no courteousy sometimes.

The sun was a little intense,
so Maryn and Luke couldn't open their eyes!

Weston having so much fun in the water!

After our adventures I came home and decided to mow the lawn. I figured I was already gross, I stunk, so what the heck. I finally came in around 4 pm showered and started dinner. Wednesday nights are usually the night Doug moonlights, so the minute he gets in the door he eats and is off back to work. Poor guy he really didn't want to work tonight and was so tired....thanks honey for your hard efforts.

Anyways, I bathed the kids and I decided to go wash the car. On Wednesdays you can get a $1 off at this drive thru car wash. Knowing that Luke was extra sleepy...I brushed his teeth, gave him his blanket and like I planned he was ASLEEP within minutes. Perfect! I stopped off next door to the carwash and grabbed a 2nd Diet Coke for the day. I couldn't resist the tempation being so close and all. The kids actually enjoy this car wash because they like sitting in the car watching the machine go to work.

We got home and I laid Luke into bed for the night. I am happy to say it was successful he was out like a light. The kids went to bed around 8pm. I then went out for my daily ritual of therapeutic lawn watering. Tonight I had a buddy since Weston didn't wake up until 4:30 pm from his nap I knew he wouldn't go to bed as early as normal. It was nice just to watch him run around. He loved helping me water, but we were both drenched because of it. But the bummer part is, I came into get my drink I had just gotten and it was gone! What the @#$%*&@!! I finally got a confession from Taylor and Jared and I was so mad I immediately said you are going to give me one of your dollars! (you know one of those moments you regret saying something mean). A few minutes later they both came in with some money. I immediately told them to put it back felt like a jerk of a mom, hugged them and told them to please not take something without asking. Problem was resolved and I went on to bathe Weston. During this time I was able to give myself a much needed pedicure. I couldn't stand the bare white of my toenails. I had forgotten how pleasant and peaceful it is just to have one child around. It was kind of fun just to have him up and hang out with me. I finally put him to bed since he was yawning in the bathtub. And now, well I am blogging of course. Now I am going to log in some cases for my husband. He has to log in all of his surgeries he does in residency. And do to his busy schedule he hasn't had the time lately, so therefore I am the nice wife and am helping him out. Okay that was a little winded and very detailed, but over all I had a good day and had to document it. Until tomorrow.....

Therapeutic

After my not so "well" day yesterday. My sweet husband came home from work after I had fed the kids and bathed them. This was about 7:30pm so I was SOOO ready for them to go to bed. I asked him if he was going to go on his daily run since he hadn't exercised for the day. I think it is so good and important for him to do this. Not just for healthy purposes, but dealing with patients and staff at work can be just as grueling and painful as me staying home with the kids. So, sometimes a run can relieve daily stress, etc. He sincerely replied and said "I don't want to just leave you alone again." By this time I had calmed down significantly and told him to go on and that the kids were going to bed anyways. The kids went to bed (well kinda). Thats another blog in itself. I then went outside and proceeded to hand water my yard. As I have said in earlier posts we are currently in a severe drought. Which means we are only allowed to water on certain days with a sprinkler. Mine happens to be Friday. They do say that you can hand water any day of the week during certain times or use a soaker hose which doesn't do anything. Oddly, when I was out doing it--it was very therapeutic for me. I am not sure if it was just being alone to reflect on my day. Or being outside when the sun was setting. It was just nice to hear the sound of water. Kind of bliss to me. Overall, it was a GOOD thing. Our grass has gotten to be so dead looking and makes me sad. I tend to take a lot of pride in my yard and try to tend and care for it as much as I can. (much like my father n' law is with his yard) I guess you would call me a yard natzi if there was a name for it. I love driving up to my house with a pretty green lawn. Howerver, since our vacation and many weeks without rain it hasn't looked very well. Doug actually compared it to the top of Luke's head. Kind of funny. Luke has a odd blonde patch on top of his head like a skunk. This picture doesn't really give it justice. Its much more noticable in person. But you get the picture.




Our yard is green around our tree and the rest is brown. So, I am hoping a little "grass whispering" will cause it to grow back and not be so dry and crunchy. I did this ritual again tonight after my kids went to bed, so only time will tell.

Screaming my way through the day..............

I am not proud to admit this, but its true. I thought by jotting it down it would remind me of the person I hate being. I did this ALL day today in my house and by the time dinner hit....well I lost it and broke down crying. Although crying made it a little better, the guilt of it all still lies inside. I have decided its time to reevaluate, take deep breaths and let the little things slide off my back. I did apologize to my kids for this behavior and feel just awful about it. The question is I hate it that when one of them (my kids) do something they aren't suppose to I REACT immediately instead of standing back and evaluating the situation. The parenting book that I have picked up and read on and off. Talks about this very issue. I think what I need is to set aside personal time instead of worrying about everything else. I NEED to pick up those scriptures that are screaming my name in the corner or actually kneel down when I am thinking or feeling like screaming at my kids. Although, I have said it...Taylor, Jared, Luke and Weston I am sorry for this behavior! I love you guys and sorry I wasn't the mom I should be. I know all of this......I just need to act upon it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
JORDAN LINDSAY!!!

Taylor wanted you to know how much she misses her most favorite cousin in the world! Wish we could be there to eat some cake and open presents. Maybe one of these birthdays we will finally be around. Hope you had a great day as well as first day of school! Bummer you had to spend you day in a classroom! Love and miss you lots!!!

Well, if you haven't had enough of my complaining lately.... this is the inside of our garage. Normally it wouldn't be such a bad picture, however if you look closely at the spring at the top it is broke in half. We have been without it for a couple of days now. Which our cars were sitting out in the drive way. I think this weekend was the first time I had to actually used the key to my front door. I didn't realize what an inconvience it would be without having an automatic door. I am happy to say this morning it was fixed and we are back in business.





On a random side note when I called this morning I spoke to a woman on the phone about setting up an appointment. She said she had some jobs lined up and would be at my house between 9-11am, but would call before. Well, I called around 11am to see if they were coming anytime soon. She told me they were out at a sight, and would be there in a bit. So, I got into my car and decided to run to Sam's club to pick up pictures since it was close and after all they said they would call before getting to my house. About 15 minutes into my errands they called me and asked if anyone was at my residence and that they were sitting in my driveway. What? @#$%%? (remember I thought they were going to call) I said no, but would be there in about five minutes. Okay I am getting to the point.....I showed up expecting a couple of guys to fix my garage. When low and behold it was the same woman and (I think) her daughter ready to fix my door. I would have taken a picture, but I think that would of been a bit too weird. It's funny what how you envision something and it turns out totally different. I must say I was impressed, they fixed the spring within 30 minutes and were gone! I kinda wish I would have watched them to see how they did it, but I didn't want to bother them.

**Have you ever envisioned something & have it turn out completely different??**

Getting back our groove

This is our little peanut Weston. Today was his first day in nursery. I say "peanut" not only because it doesn't look of age to me to be in there. But, I weighed him this morning and he is still only 19lbs! He has thus far been my smallest child. The funny thing is by this stage (18 months) in their life I am usually REALLY ready for them to be in nursery. But his seemed to come up extra fast and I admit am a little saddened by this event. My baby has entered into a new phase in life and is a baby no more!


Today was the first time we have gone to church in over a month. I can't remember the last time we have missed that many Sundays in a row. With all our vacationing and traveling we have been gone on every Sunday. So now, I am proud to say our family is back active once again. It felt good to be back on our regular schedule. I was able to finally pay a HUGE stack of tithing checks that I have forgotten about for months. Not that I forgot to pay, I just usually write the check immediately after we get paid and stick it on the side of my fridge.

Weston's new word for everything is "doggy"
He immediately found this horse and had to show me his "doggy"

9th Ward nursery
We have 10 kids currently in our nursery!

Hopefully, next week will run a little smoother. The normal Nursery Leader in charge wasn't there on Sunday, so they were scrambling for volunteers. I stayed in to help, so I am not sure I could officially count this as his first time. It was a little chaotic since the "normal" routine didn't occur. My kids always are worse if I am in there with them, meaning Luke doesn't listen and Weston was a bit clingy when I was trying to help out other kids. Will just have to see how next week goes.

Delightful

I posted this picture of Jared because we got some "delightful" news about his teeth when I took him to the dentist the other day. (well I thought it was). We found out that his snaggle tooth in the front was actually an extra tooth! Yes, my son is a shark!! When they showed me the x-rays you could see the two permanent teeth on the x-ray which were perfectly straight. I was so thrilled with this because I was fearing that he would have that terrible twisted tooth until his late adolescence. We have been so spoiled with Taylor's straight teeth and now Jared's. Hurray! I can only hope the other two are just as lucky. Doug was born with naturally straight teeth and has never had to wear braces. Really not fair!

At the last minute I decided to take a "delightful" trip up to Austin, TX with Doug. We also tagged along with the Gordon's to this Orthopedic seminar. It was held at a really nice resort. Should have taken a picture. You may ask why in the world would I want to go?? It was actually a very informative, interesting meeting. They discussed how to choose a good practice and the business side of things. I must say, I know what we will be doing over the next few months. Fasting and praying for the right job! It was good information and I am glad that I went.

I love that we are always both pictured in brown.
We are both so original.

Angie and I were the only wives there along with all the residents. I don't think we would have passed off as orthopods very well. We went to lunch before it started at a little mexican grill. It was mighty tasty. Once we got there, I was craving something sweet so I ran into the giftshop to grab a package of m&m's. We got seated and I looked behind me to find nothing but a "delightful" STASH of goodies. What was I thinking??? I wasted a perfectly good $2.00 for nothing. Oh, well I still ate that as well.

check out this stash of candy bars, soda and cookies

I had to drive home early since my babysitter had to be somewhere. Before getting home I checked the mail and found this "delightful" package. Ironically I recognized the handwriting before looking at the label. And was so excited. Low and behold Amy W. send me this great package! It truely uplifted my spirits and was so cute and colorful. Thanks Amy for thinking of me. I especially love the smell of my new candle. Yummy! I always remember your house smelling sooo good. I actually needed one since mine are now all gone. Love the darling ribbon, notepad and fabric as well.

Oh, and another note. Thanks for all the fun "delightful" comments on Doug's celebrity look alike. It was fun to see what y'all thought. (kristi I did do that celebrity look alike website and it came up with people that looked nothing like him--& when I put my photo in I didn't even get a match).

Boys & Dates

The other night it was just me and the boys. Doug had to work downtown and Taylor slept down at MacKenzi's, which left me and the trio. It actually turned out to be a good evening. Luke and Weston went down around 7:30pm and Jared went to be without a fight. Probably because he was the king of the house for once. I have forgotten how much I can accomplish when my kids go to bed at a decent hour. I feel myself more motivated to tackle projects, etc. I actually painted this magnetic board that Allison had gotten me from her enrichment night. I was so tired of looking at it in the corner of my bedroom, I broke down and painted and hung it. I must say I think it turned out pretty good. I was happy with the results.

Love the new vinyl stickers!!

It makes me want to just pick them up and hug them when they look this sweet and innocent. The best part was Weston sleeping with this dog book. He has become obsessed lately with Taylor's stuffed animal dog along with his blanket. I love when they identify and find something they can snuggle with. So sweet. All of my kids have done this. Taylor used to have a bear she called "baby" which I still have. I had to sew the head back on about 6 or 7 times. Jared and Luke both have their "special" blankets they cuddle with, which are now pretty much just batting.

Cheesecake Factory

We ended the night going out on a double date. Of course it was with our best buds... whats better than that? Its so funny to listen to Greg and go off about jobs or just misc. orth. Angie and I always ask them if they have anything better to talk about. Guess not...at least they enjoy it right?? Sorry Greg, you do look like you have had a bit much to drink. Maybe it was that regular coke that got you on the first round! Or our waitress spiked your drink. Anyways, we ate until we were sick at Cheesecake Factory. And of course finished off the evening with a Dolce de Leche slice of cheesecake! The best part of the evening was coming home to a house full of sleeping children. Hurray for early bedtimes!! Alright I am off to sleep.........chow for now.

We have entered into a new phase with Luke. This seems to be his expression most of the time since he has out grown his naps. A sad day for mom, but if I make him nap he refuses to sleep at night. So, I am sacrificing my peaceful afternoons to deal with my grumpy child from about 3-7pm. Aren't you jealous???

 

Too Close To Home

Due to my early to bed early to rise motto lately...I have been actually able to turn on the morning news. Has anyone been following this story in the paper? My family actually were the ones who brought this to my attention a couple of weeks ago. The reason I think it captured my attention most because they found these men literally about 5 miles from where I grew up in Arizona. Ironically, they lived in some apartments just 3 miles from the AZ temple. It really makes you think that serial shooters, and murder could really happen anywhere. It seems we have to be on a constant watch for us and our families. I guess even when you think you live in a "safe" place you still have to be careful. I couldn't believe how willing the guy was to talk to the press about the shootings that him and his friend had done. And so calmly at that. Kinda freaky. I think long over are the days of letting your kids ride your bike freely where ever with friends. I remember doing this as a kid not even thinking twice about it. Now, I won't even let my kids in the front yard without someone around.

The reason I bring this up is because Doug and I got on the internet and started job searching. You always want to search for a place you will feel safe. We searched of course the Phx area first since our entire family lives there. Nothing to serious just googled a few here and there. I was surprised to find out that there weren't as many opportunities in the valley. There are so many details that you have to take into account when finding a place to live. Like the call schedule, the $$$, how long it takes to pay into a practice, loan repayment programs, schools, church, etc. I know that Greg & Angie are currently doing this and have been so overwhelmed by so many different offers. The weird thing is for the past 8 years we have been told where to go and now the tables are turned and we can choose. I think I would rather have someone put it into a match into a ranking order (much like residency) and they pick it for us. This probably contradicts what I said yesterday about being ready to just move somewhere and stay put. I guess I am saying I want it to be a perfect fit for our family. What is worrisome is you want to choose a place that best suits your family. And looking at any job offers I have come to the realization that you aren't going to have it all. In the meantime, we'll still keep searching.

WHINE WHINE WHINE without the CHEESE!

I will admit I am PMSing right now. It's the time where I am a negative "Nelly" (doug's nickname he has given me) and just not a nice person to be around. I feel so bad for my kids and husband during this time. I was completely a wicked witch yesterday. By the end of the day I felt so guilty looking back as to how I treated my own sweet family. But, seriously sometimes Luke just knows what to do to push my buttons!! The Gordon girls were over playing nicely. (A huge bonus to me because I was able to make jam). Anyways, Luke decided to go in and disturb Jared and Maci playing legos. He not only destroyed what they were making, but proceeded to throw legos around the room like it was raining or something. And of course I went in to see what all the ruckus was and he just gave me a huge grin with those dimples!! That was the straw that broke the camels back. I was sooooooo angry when he did that. Later that evening when I told Doug about it. He kind of chuckled and said, "thats what kids do" By then it was kind of funny, but boy I was boiling at the time he did it.

Lets just say if I were trapped in a desert, on a beach or some sort of island...... I truely don't think I would survive. Sadly, I have come to realize that I rely on modern things to get me through each day. Especially since I have had children. Don't get me wrong I love my children dearly and wouldn't change anything about any of them. However, it sure is nice to have the convience of x-box, television, computers, cell-phones, water parks, dvd players..well you get the picture. The question I have is what did we do without these modern things? It was only about 6 years ago when they started getting cell phones. Crazy!!

We decided (Angie & I) at the last minute to take the kids to the water park to kill some much needed time. I was bummed when the girl who cuts my hair cancelled my 12pm appointment. I figured she might because she was moving tomorrow. Shesz can you believe she did such a thing? I figured what the heck since I didn't have anything going today after the cancellation and all. Remember I am in survival mode for the next two weeks. So the more plans I have to keep the kids entertained the better. Thank goodness for Angie and her kids down the street! So we loaded up the 7 kids, with packed lunches, sunscreen, and strollers and we went to Fiesta Texas.


I almost feel as though I have been living in a "pretend fantasy" world over the past month. I have been traveling like crazy and having so much fun. When we were in California at the condo I really didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay longer and soak up the sun, eat out, and just hang with family. I guess I am partially feeling a little resentment over living the "student" life for so long. It has become increasingly frustrating to me that our student loans are much more than a mortgage and cars combined. I'll spare you the personal details with all of our other dreadful I owe yous.... I am ready for the "real" world and ready for annual family vacations, being with family, and my kids to be settled into a place they can call "home" until they move out for college. To be in an established ward and not have so many "move ins and outs" Maybe part of me feels this way because when I went to Utah to visit Steph I saw what life could be like when we are done. I guess the bottom line is I have hit the burnout mark of residency. I have supported and continue to support my husbands choice of career. I am so glad that he has found a career that he loves. I think it is so important to love what you do. And I wouldn't change the people we have met over the time doing it for anything. We have made so many wonderful friends and lived in great places. I also don't think I would be where I am as a person if I didn't get to experience these things in my life. Okay I feel a bit better that I have vented some of my frustration. After all thats what blogs are for right?

Good ending

After my whining post.... I got three "Happy" things in the mail today. I wish I could have posted this earlier, but my mailman doesn't get to our house until about 3pm. Doug's moonlighting check--yeah can now pay the bills! A darling belated birthday card from non-blogging Pam, whom I have never met. Who do you know that sends you stuff you have yet to meet?? So sweet of her. Thanks Pam you made my day and its even in my most favorite colors! Lastly, a post card from Luke's new teacher. He starts preschool the same day my older ones do. How cute is that! Just another reason I love blogging and Jill's contagious "good mail" A great ending to a melancholy day.