Friday, April 24, 2009

Let the Good Times Roll....

This week has been one of those weeks that every second is scheduled, it's Friday morning and I'm exhausted, and in a terrible mood. I was trying to get the boys out the door for school and Wes yelled, "If you don't get in the car your going to stay home with your mom all day and work," I immediately yelled back....No They are Not!!!!



Here a little about our week......However this is just going to be bits and pieces because I'm not thinking of any cute or clever ways to do this.


Tye:



The normal for him, Scouts, baseball, getting his report card in which his teacher stated that he needs to work on being "less sarcastic" (Good luck, we all know who his Dad is) We also got him a new saddle in Madison last week so he's been riding a lot, and honestly is our best child when it comes to taking care of their horse. Wes took him golfing yesterday and so now that's all he wants to do. His registration for Pop Warner is tomorrow and he thinks he's pretty hot stuff. If anyone could give me some advice on teaching him how to not tease his brother, I'll willing to fork over some serious cash. He's gone through every pair of pants I bought last month (Holes in the knees) and this week I had to buy more pants, 12 Huskey's and new shoes, Men's size 6.....It's ridiculous, and men's shoes are so much more expensive than kids, it stinks.


Tate:




Don't let this picture fool you, Tate is sweet. But holy cow this kid is a scrapper. His new love is Hockey. He's been going to the games with one of his friends Dad who has a box at the Gamblers games. (The hockey team here) I hadn't been to a hockey game in years so we decided to go, we had great seats, and it was a lot of fun. Tate loves that they fight. All he wants to do is play hockey, so we move the cars out of the garage and they set up their goals and play for hours. This picture was taken when my parents were here visiting and my kids kept begging my Dad to play with them for hours.....good thing I have a great Dad!



Here are a few pictures from the Hockey game...



Note: Taylor took those pictures, she's getting better.


Tate is tough, and I don't doubt he'd be a great hockey player, but hopefully with Baseball starting he'll get his mind off hockey. He's already knocked Tye's two front teeth out, I can't afford to pay for many more. The other day the boys were rolling around in the front yard and I went out yelling telling them to quit fighting, the both stopped, looked at me like I was crazy and said....Uh, We're playing hockey....then went back to rolling all over the place.


Taylor:





She's addicted to the Saddle Club and sets up horse jumps all around the house practicing riding. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and ran into the wall, It bruised her up pretty bad but that's all we've heard about. She even called Wes a few minutes ago to tell him that her scratch is falling off so better "hurry home" .....so dramatic. She also started swim lessons this week and a cooking class. They cooked Hot Dogs last night, so maybe I just got ripped off.....hot dogs at a cooking class, even I can pull a hot dog off!


Taylor with her riding helmet, jumping with her horse....(I think she might be a hurdler)

Me: (No Picture, sorry Audra)
Today is going to be in the 60's so I've already bought a bunch of pansies to plant, but I need to spend the day weeding my flower gardens first. We also rented a tiller tomorrow to get our garden ready. It's been years since I planted a garden, (Mindy Tobler I wish you still lived next door) But we're going to give in a shot. My new love is Lemon Burst Bread from Great Harvest, seriously it's fabulous. I went to the grocery store late last night, bought tons of food because I've decided I need to start cooking more(Which the groceries are still laying on my kitchen floor because I was too tired to put them away). Invited a family over for dinner on Sunday. Volunteered to clean a walking path in the morning for a community project, enjoying my clean house until the weekend hits. Organized my calendar for the next few months and realized I have something planned almost every night for the next three months and got mad at myself for signing up for so much. Started thinking about how I should start exercising, and when to use my gift certificate for a back massage that Wes got me for my birthday. My Lexus broke down, which makes me irritated, and that I still need to get out the Thank you notes from Taylor's birthday party in Feb......the list could go on and on!!!!!


Wes:



All I can say is one thing. If you live by a Sportsman's Warehouse, and it's closing, you better be ready to throw down some bills. That store See's my husband coming and they smile. 6 Guns, 2 bows, new sun glasses, a spotting scope, a knife set and a few other items have made their way to our home. Can you tell he drew out on a Bull Elk license in Wyoming, he's loving life. Usually Wes doesn't spend a dime, he's very frugal, so I don't mind when he does go a little crazy, in fact I helped him a little!!!! But it's seriously few and far between when Wes actually spends money, and he got some awesome deals. He'll be ready for his big hunting trip in the Fall.

So that about sums it up, a busy weekend ahead and I've decided it's a great time to relax for a few hours catch up on all my DVR'd shows. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

4/25/09

A little update, as I was waiting for my pictures to upload yesterday I went out to put the horses in and got kicked in the hip by Wes's mare, Ginger...I have been in so much pain, laying in bed with ice bags and watching 16 episodes of Saddle Club & listening to Taylor sing & eat marshmallows, I can barely move......this is terrible. So much for planting flowers, I've even contemplated changing my playlist to Everyone Hurts by REM, but I'm trying to be a good sport about it....you should see my bruise - ridiculous! I decided to take a picture of this hoof print on my hip causing me so much grief!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Turning 35!

I have to admit, I wasn't really excited, or looking forward to my birthday this year. Usually birthdays are just another day but I just didn't like the sound of 35. I swear I'm still 23 1\2 but every time I look in the mirror I'm constantly reminded that I'm not. I was taking a bath and started reading the label on my shower gel and loved what it said....

Philosophy: How you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and so, it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word, grace. It's how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness, the light, the good and the bad.

All I can say, is that I've had a lot of both. I'm 35. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I've also made a lot of good decisions. I've won some, I've lost some. I've been hurt, I've hurt others. I've been so happy and at other moments so sad. At times I've wanted to give up, other times I felt I could conquer the world. I've really been all across the board and decided it's called life.

I do know 35 things......

1. The gospel is true, and I'm so blessed to have a true testimony. It's one of my greatest possessions.

2. My family is my true happiness.

3. On the flip side, being a Wife and Mother is 10,000 times harder than I ever imagined.

4. I have come to measure my success is moments, and I am still "Realizing the Moments", and accepting them.

5. I love to laugh, and since my kids should probably live at the zoo the majority of the time, I laugh often.

6. The things I thought I wanted in life are really not the things that make me happy.

7. I don't know when I learned how to yell, but I find myself yelling all the time and wish I could break that habit (maybe it goes back to the fact that my kids belong in the zoo!!!!)

8. I cry, and sometimes it's the best medicine.

9. I love having family prayer.

10. I was so blessed to be raised by my parents, and realize it more and more each day.

11. I need sunshine and warm weather, and miss it desperately.

12. I love movies that make me want to be better.

13. I need my sister.

14. Sometimes I am stronger than I think I am, other times I'm mad at myself for being so weak.

15. Listening to my children fight seriously gives me high blood pressure.

16. True friends are few and far between.

17. I hate shaving my legs, I'm a big fan of waxing. (Thank you Karen Haggard!!)

18. "Happily ever after" is a choice.

19. I have to have a clean house, I'm not even sure why, I'm just aggravated when my house is a mess and why I let stupid obsessions like this keep me from things that are really important bug me even more.

20. Some of my favorite memories are hanging out with my cousins & laughing about our family. I think of my cousins more like sisters than cousins, and you would laugh too if you knew certain members of our family.

21. You can't have Faith with Fear. You must choose.

22. Feeling loved is better than you can imagine. Being charitable is underrated.

22. It's ok to admit when your wrong, and ask for forgiveness.

23. I think I have the only kids on earth that pretend their horses or pretend their riding their horses. Imagination is a gift.

24. I express my love with gifts,however I get very uncomfortable receiving them.

25. I need to cook more and go out to eat less.

26. I'm better at giving advice than following it....(It's something I would like to change.)

27. I have to be busy, I can't stand to not have anything to do. I also enjoy working, feeling smart once in a while, but often feel guilty doing it. It's hard to find a balance.

28. Once I find something I like, I stick with it and rarely change.

29. I love to drive places my myself. 1. To have have total silence or 2. To rock out....depending on the day 3. Just to have a moment to dream, I still do that.

30. I hear "Mom" at least 35 times times a day, and wouldn't change it.

31. I like setting the table for dinner, especially when we have friends over or holidays. I like fancy table settings, set with fresh flowers and love entertaining. (minus the clean up)

32. My husband is my best friend, and still can't believe he's mine.

33. That sometimes my life stinks, sometimes I have crappy days, sometimes everything goes wrong and that's part of the process. I have no words of wisdom, sometimes it just sucks!

34. I've learned that holding on too tightly to the past isn't a good thing.

35. Being "35" is really no big deal . I think everyone has things about their life that they wish they could go back and change and do differently. I also think it's fine to admit that. Right now, I am who I am and it's ok, what matters most is that I'm happy. I'm still trying to become the person I want to be, but I think I'll be trying for years, I'm not even sure if I'll ever get there.....I'm sure not giving up at 35......maybe 36!!!!!

One thing is for sure, it's the smallest things in life that mean the most. To everyone who sent me Birthday wishes, I love you, I thank you, and it's you who make my life as great as it is.

PS..... Thank you Mary Jane for giving me this Idea!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

A Great Easter

I'm sure as ever one else, we had a great Easter (see the slideshow below). We started the day by finding this Awesome Easter Egg hunt. We live 20 minutes in the country surrounded by little "townships" (meaning each town population is under 300.....I know, nice) Anyway, in the middle is a really great park. I wasn't sure what to expect, but holy cow it was honestly the best Easter egg hunt we've ever been to! The best part is that they had all these eggs filled with tickets for prizes and money - we seriously made out like bandits!!! All the kids got a toy, Taylor won the grand prize for her age division, Tate collected the most money and at the end every child got another sack filled with candy, nice candy, expensive candy like lindt truffles & candy bars, it was crazy, fabulous and you can bet I'm going back next year. (Well if we live in Wisconsin - who knows!)

We came back ate a late breakfast, and invited some friends over for another round of hunting eggs. My kids never get tired of looking for eggs. Next we decorated Sugar Cookies and late afternoon, we let "The coloring begin" for some crazy reason, our family totally gets into the dying of the Easter eggs. (8 Dozen this year) We ordered pizza and colored eggs for hours, I found some really neat kits and we made some great eggs. Afterwards we made some homemade ice cream and finished the night by watching Marley & Me. But it was just fun day, so happy to celebrate with friends and especially having my family here. Holidays aren't the same if you don't celebrate with people you love!

I started a new tradition,

Sorry, had a little interruption. I had to teach Tye's friend how to do a flip on the trampoline, I'm probably going to be in pain for a few days recovering, but I can still flip at 34 (for a few more days!) I won't mention that I'm totally out of breath and when I played crack the egg for a few minutes afterwards Tye told his friends to jump harder because his mom is a little "chunky"...

O.K. so the new tradition is that the Easter Bunny does not bring presents. However Mom & Dad have a special present for you, but the Easter Bunny hides it and you have to search the house till you find your present. It actually worked really well. In the years past I've bought so much junk and crap that my kids have it for a few days and then within a few weeks I'm throwing everything away. No more wasting money on junk. We bought them each a new Easter outfit (That the boys were totally mad about) and one nice present each. Tye got a new DS, Tate a cross bow and Taylor a new riding helmet. It was perfect, Mom even got spoiled by getting 2 bouquets of flowers - nice job Wes, (I'll quit teasing the UPS Man - it's a great story for another day), well it's quick. The other day at work the UPS man came in, he's has zero personality, I've never seen the man smile, or say anything besides "Sign here Please", so I said to him, when are you going to bring me some flowers in one of those boxes? I said that because Wes was just sitting in the waiting room area just relaxing. However the UPS man had no idea Wes was my husband, I was sending a hint to Wes, not the UPS guy, but he didn't take it that way. He got all embarrassed turned all red, like I was hitting on him. I just started laughing, because I realized what that must have sounded like, so In the dead silence I hurry and said That's my husband over there, I was just sending HIM a hint, but it really didn't help the situation. Anyway Wes got the hint, Kim got flowers, a good laugh, but the UPS guy hasn't made eye contact with me since. Still, totally worth flowers.....

Back to Easter, I wasn't in the mood for the normal Easter Ham, so I bought two pork loin roasts and marinated them for 2 days - Holy Cow - they were awesome. It was such a great easy meal that I picked up two more at Costco yesterday. I love quick, good easy dinners that taste fancy, when there really not....

So that's it.....it's Spring, the weather is finally in the upper 40's, my kids are home from school all week, were heading on a little vacation at the end of the week to Madison, I wish my family lived closer, according to Tye I'm a little chunky, Wes earned some serious lovin, I'm getting worse at keeping up with this blog, my new favorite meal to cook is pork loin, the trampoline is up, just got done having a picnic with my kids, I'm totally into Amiercan Idol this season, Taylor's worn pajamas for two days straight, my raspberries are pruned (thanks to my great Dad) and my windows are open enjoying the fresh air......a great day to be alive!!!