Attitude follow up

So I wont go into the drama but thank you all for the calls and emails in regards to my last post. I felt like I should at least post that we are all fine. Eric has his job, and we are all in good health, sleep deprived, but healthy. Sometime life just throws you huge curve balls that you didn't see coming... you know? So anyway, thanks for caring but no need to worry about us, plus did you see all the good things I got going for me? What more could I want out of life?

An Attitude of Gratitude

Oh what a world and what a time we live in. It is hard on so many levels for so many people. We too have felt the effects of the changing of the times within our little family and it's has made us realize the importance of staying close together and keeping true to ourselves, our faith and our God. Normally I wouldn't even post about something like this, but the result of it is the reason for my blubbering. Yesterday Eric and I got hit with a blow that knocked the wind out of us. Nothing that we can't recover from, but just a good hard kick to the gut. My immediate reaction was tears, lots and lots of tears. Then I had an adrenaline rush as I tried to scrape together the last of the shattered pieces. I went to bed feeling almost satisfied with my work until this morning when I woke up, the adrenaline was gone an the reality had set in once again. I spent my morning rather bummed out coupled with some more tears, but tried to distract myself with cleaning and work. That only seemed to work a little. I knew that my feeling where having a direct effect on the kid's behavior so I did my best to bottle it.

Now they are napping and I am having my time to ponder and reflect. I was feeling undone so I pulled LDS.org up for some up lifting stories. I came across one of my favorite talks by Thomas S. Monson called 'An Attitude of Gratitude.' I particularly liked these paragraphs:

"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" (Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude,"

This is exactly what I needed. While the time is hard, there are so many wonderful things all around and I just need to remember those things and focus on the positive and life will run it's course the way it was designed to.

So that brings me to the meat of the post, my list of things that are a blessing to me in my life.
These of course are just some of the things, let's see what comes up...

• The sun. I walked outside at one point during my cleaning and felt the warmth of the sun on my face and a cool breeze blew by and I stopped for a moment to enjoy the fresh air. There is something about being outside that is so refreshing that I just love.
  
• A comfortable chair. When we moved into our current house Eric and I bought a desk for our computer since we had been using a plastic picnic table before and it had seen better days. After we plunked down the cash we realized we really didn't have a chair to put in front of it. Eric surprised me with a very nice office chair. I told him that it was too much and not necessary. Guess what, it was. I love this chair and I am in it soooo much. It is my place to sit and work on photos, email friends, just dabble around on the computer, and of course... blog.
  
• A husband. But not just any husband. A husband who loves being apart of this family. He loves his kids, even when they are bad and he is much better at being patient with them than I am. He is stellar at his job. Clients love him, co-workers love him, bosses love him, and he can beat anyone in a selling competition (except his wife, but that's a story for another time.) He is in charge of the dishes 100%. That's right, I don't do dishes. Well, that's not totally true, I help out here and there, but in general, it's all Eric. He never gives me grief about GNO in fact he suggests that I plan one half the time. I could go on and on but to wrap it up, he is so funny. I hate being mad at him, because I try so hard to be firm and make my case or tell him how I'm right in my most serious tone that I can, and he'll say or do something that will make me laugh. Now how can you take me seriously if I'm laughing? But I'd rather laugh than be serious.
• Fires. I love a sitting by the fire. It is so warm and comforting. I even love the smell. I use my fire place all winter long, and a few years ago I got an outdoor fire pit which is so nice in the spring and fall months.
  
• My little Austin. Oh how I love this baby. We have a special connection and his smile just warms my heart. I can't remember my life without him, or get mad when it's 2am and he's just sitting there, wide awake, with the biggest toothless grin you've ever seen. I never knew a helpless little one could bring so much joy and fulfillment into my life.
• Sunday night dinners. An evening with the family at my parents house. The food is always five star quality. The mood is peaceful, most of the time ;) and I always leaving excited for the next week to come. It's a good close to one week and start to the next.
• Vacuums. That's all, just vacuums.
• No pain. You know how they always say you never realize how much you use some part of your body unless you hurt it. Well, in the past I've understood that saying very well, but today, nothing hurts, and that's nice. Well, my abs are a little sore from a workout I did this week, but that's a good thing too. Getting back into shape, whoo-hoo!
• Ty and Tanner. This one is pulling from memories not from today. Did you know I have the cutest boys on earth. Tanner is so out going and can be the sweetest most obedient little one (when he wants of course). Lately he likes to hold my hand when we walk somewhere. I love the way his little hand feels holding onto my fingers so tightly. He's so curious about the world, and it's nice to see things from such a pure point of view. And Ty, oh my he's growing up. He is such a help in cleaning up and taking care of Austin and taking pride in the good things he does. He wants to be a pilot when he grows up, and never stops learning new things. What an amazing little crew I have.
• A good pair of shoes. While this is a little vain, it's true. I love a good pair of shoes. I have some running shoes that fit me so well and are so comfortable I could have them on 24/7 and not care. And this smokin' hot pair of boots that I have had for a few years. Every time I put them on my inner diva comes out and I can conquer the world (ha, not really, but you know what I mean). And flip-flops, or flop flops as I now call them due to my boys. I live in those all spring, summer and fall long. Sometimes even in the winter if my toe nails are painted and not too scary.
  
• My Mom and Dad. What awesome people - obviously, look what they produced. Just kidding (can you tell my mood is lightening by the bullet point?) But seriously. My mom can do it all. Cook, clean, sew, heal, laugh, play, console, shop, talk and listen. I find myself apologizing to her regularly for using her for everything; Dr. Mom, Chef Mom, Therapist Mom, she is my partner in crime. And Pop, is there anything you can't fix? Anything I need done I always call him first. And he is a wonderful boss, and the best grandpa my kids could ask for. I am grateful I live so close to them and they are apart of my life.
• Food. Food is good. Any kind really. I just love food. It really makes my day.
  
• My car. Even though I can't wait to get something bigger, that will fit my kids without me making sure all fingers are out of the way before I slam the door shut, or it isn't needing to be fixed again. It works, almost, and I have one and we have been able to go to some really fun events in that car.
  
• Danica. DOUBLE D, you-know! When I am with my sister, we get a little 'ghetto' in our slang, which has to be the funniest thing to see since we are two of the whitest girls from GB that you'll ever know. But she is my sister who I can call at 11:30 at night to help me with ideas for a presentation the next morning. Gotta love her!

The more I write the more things I find to give thanks for, but kids are waking up and I must get back to life. I know better than to wallow in my misery and I think this post was exactly what the doctor prescribed. How truly blessed I am.

'Count your many blessings;
name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
what the Lord has done. … '

all photos taken by my dad

Blog block

I am stuck. Nothing to blog about. Ahhhhhh. My brain is fried. Last nigh in the middle of the night. Can’t sleep. Checking email. Wondering if I should fire up my other computer and do some real work since I’m awake anyhow. Wishing I could sleep. Too late now since I have to be up in 2 hours anyway and the baby will be back up in 1 hour.

No naps today, Kindergarten sign ups at one, client calls at two, bread making somewhere in there because I'm out. Clean-up the 5 projects I started yesterday but never finished. Play with Tanner, gives loves to Austin. Ty's out with Dad for the afternoon, so that is one kid down.

Finish editing my friends photos and upload last weekends shoot, edit those, post them. Plant the seeds I started a month ago before they die. Laundry, laundry, never ending laundry - I HATE LAUNDRY!!

Taxes, taxes, can't forget those taxes. Refunds, filing, scanning, correcting, calling, calling again, please don't call me again.

No more room in my brain for creative or fun posts. I'm saving a good one for Saturday, but until then. Sleepy. Awake. Gonna do some real work. Or sleep. dunno.

Is he three yet?

Tanner is 2.5 and so good at being the typical 2.5 year old kid. I can only hope that it all changes in May when he turns 3. It will change right? It does get better... right?!?

I love him to death and I know he's ALL BOY, but oh man, this kid is something else. Good ways too, he is the cutest little guy you'll ever meet, and very out going. He loves to ask what your name is, what you are doing and if he can pet your dog. He is a wonderful help with the baby and loves his little brother and gets so excited with our daily plans even though most of the time it's the same old stuff. He does not like to share a new toy with his brother, be told to get off the chair, counter, or whatever structure he has climbed onto (he has no fear of heights) and he wont stay on the timeout chair for all 3 minutes. He normally makes it to about two minutes and then he "slips" off. This week was a particular challenge due to some major lack of sleep which never helps anything. I'm hoping tonight will bring good sleep and a fresh week. We are 66 days away from 3 hopefully we can make it!

Sunny CA

I am loving today. The sun is shinning, it's actually warm outside and life is good. Normally rain doesn't bother me, but for some reason this last storm did. It was, as Tanner called it, 'a yuck rain'. It really was. Big rain drops that came at you sideways most the time, and it was COLD. The kind of cold that you have to get under the covers with your sweats still on to get warm kind of cold. It made me realize, that even though I think it is stunningly beautiful up north, I could never live in Washington. But today is lovely. After school this morning, we had lunch outside. Because the back yard is still totally flooded from the rain the boys sat on the trampoline and soaked in the sun. Austin and I sat in the door way and enjoyed the sights.





Whoo-hoo for the sun!!

Take My Picture and Call Me Martha

Martha Stewart that is. Just kidding. But check out this jacket I made for Austin yesterday. Yes, I am so proud of myself. Snaps for me :)

About two weeks ago I got this cute jacket for him that looked like a cow. I liked it so much that the next week at the store I saw this cute giraffe fabric so I thought why not. Then yesterday I used the first jacket as my guide and I came up with this creation. It's lined and has buttons and is so soft and too cute on Austin. It looks better in person. What can I make next.

V.Day with the Family

As many of you know I am not a fan of Valentines Day. I vented about how silly I think the whole thing is last year but felt my feeling might change as the kids got older and more into it. Well one year later, I still think the day is silly, but I am having fun with the kids making stuff for their friends and school and family. So on Saturday Eric had to work so the boys and I made him a giant heart cookie and took it into his office. T and t where so proud of the work they had done. My favorite part though was Tanner's outfit that day as we wore a normal shirt and pants, but then added a clip on tie and a cowboy hat. It was one of those outfits you feel you need to pin a note on the back of the kid saying 'I dressed myself'.


When we were visiting Dad we took some time outside in the parking lot. It was the local fireman's fill the boot day, where they stand on the corner and collect money. They set up home base in the parking lot outside Eric's work and had fire trucks and ambulance and they even had a helicopter. Ty was sooooo excited about the helicopter because his latest obsession is flying and wanting to be a pilot when he gets taller. Unfortunately I didn't bring their coats with me because it was actually sunny that day, but I didn't count on how cold the wind was going to be, so we only stayed for a second. I let the boys jump in to the helicopter which made their whole day.





Then we came home to make a giant heart cookie for Grandpa. Again, they really enjoyed the work they had done. Tanner was a little bummed he couldn't eat the cookie right then, but he assured himself that Grandpa would share. After naps we went to the grandparents to give them their presents. I'd tell you the cute thing we made for Grandma, but we made on for Great-Grandma too and she couldn't make it this weekend, so we have to give it to her later, but it's amazing:) Hurry up and come visit GG so you can get your gift!

Finally as kids went to bed Eric went out and got our Panda Express for the 8th year in a row. Then we ate our food, watched a movie and hit the sack.

Overall, for a day that I use to roll my eyes at, it was a great day.

A Run Around Day

I've recently had, 'One of those days' and my Grandma suggested I write about it so I can laugh about it later. So no laughing right now, but maybe soon, today I'm just trying to catch up.

It all started the other day around 5 am when we gave up trying to get Ty to go back to sleep so Eric took him out to get some food. From 5 until 9 Ty went to the bathroom about 10 times. Just pee, but it was 10 times. Then he was off to school and I went home to do the daily to do list. Things went pretty well during the morning with only minor annoyance but nothing too big. Tanner pooped in his underwear, again. Why can't he figure out how to do that in the potty? Austin spit up all over my fresh outfit, and I dropped a can of peaches on my foot. That always hurts soooo bad. When I picked Ty up from school his teacher told me that Ty had continued to go potty all morning during school. That sent my mind racing. I rushed home to get on the phone with the doctor and set an appointment for after nap time.

Then I got the older two down for their naps and Austin was resting in my arms and almost out. I got on the phone with the kindergarten Ty is going to be at next year (KINDERGARTEN, YEAAAAAAA) and I couldn't find his birth certificate. Dang, it's going to be a long trip down to Sac. to get that next week. Anyway, so I was getting the last few details on the sign-up day and I was looking out the window and noticed a beautiful dog walking down the street. I thought to myself, 'what a pretty dog, (slight pause) that looks like my dog, (even slighter pause) THAT IS MY DOG.... ANYA!! I quickly but politely hung up on the lady from school, put Austin in his bed, open the door and yelled to a kid walking home from school to grab that dog. Anya waited until the boy was within an arms reach then she took off running. I started running after her until I was about 5 houses down and realize, 1- I can not catch that dog on foot, she is that fast, and 2- I have three kids in my house alone right now, I don't think that's a good thing. So I run back home, I grab, gently grab, all three kids and put them into the car. They couldn't figure out why I had them out of bed when I had just put them down for naps 30 minutes before. Poor kids. I drive after her for oh, about 15 minutes until she gives up. Just as I throw her in the car a gal from church drives up and makes sure I'm okay. I joked that I was just out for a little exercise, but how embarrassing as I am winded and barefoot. I get everyone home, all three kids and a dog and put Tanner and Austin back down for naps. Unfortunately Ty was wide awake and there was no talking him back to sleep. There goes my two hours of quiet time. Oh well.

After Tanner woke up we ran over to the doctors. After waiting to check in for the appointment in a line 7 people long we get up to the desk. Just as I give the nice lady our name Tanner starts jumping up and down grabbing himself yelling, 'I have to go potty!' Did you know a two year old CAN NOT hold it? I do, so I told the nice lady at the desk we'll be right back. After our little side trip we got back in line, only 5 people back this time. Not bad. Gratefully my mom showed up right then to help with Tanner during the appointment. Oh how lucky I am to have my mom to help me out. I seriously couldn't do it without her.

After an hour in with the Dr. we ruled out anything immediate dangerous or concerning and figured it's just muscle spasm in his bladder we top off his day with 5, count them, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 shots in his legs so he'd be ready for Kindergarten in the fall. Poor kid. I did my best to prep him for it, and he started out really well, but by shot 3 he was holding his breath and the crying came shortly there after. Poor kid. Then he had to pee again, twice.

So we ended the long day at Wendy's. The boys needed a frosty and I NEEDED a burger. A big, juicy, fattening burger... yum! By the time we got home Eric was there and the day was coming to a close. So I still don't see the humor, but maybe looking back on this will make the next day not seem so bad :)

Little Austin

Here are some cute picture of the other little Austin. He's so little, and too cute.





Now I just need to take some pictures of my little guy. I'll put it on my to do list.

Maternity Collage

My friend Noel just came over and we put together this super cute collage of some maternity shots I took of her and her husband a few months ago. I think it turned out really well and it helps that my subjects are beautiful. We just took pictures of her little Austin last night and he obviously inherited his parents good looks. I'll get those edited really soon... I hope.

So many things to do... so much fun

So now that life is what it is and I am beginning to adjust, so starts the list of things I want to do and make, so here are a few of them. Not that I have a bunch of free time, and these projects are typically the cause of my melt downs due to over load, but lets face it, I'm never going to stop doing little projects, so I might as well enjoy the ones I am doing.

I would love to spend an afternoon and make some activity baskets for the kids. Sometimes I find and have great craft ideas, but the pre-time that is involved with getting them together is a lot and by the time I am done the kids have found something else and I am done with the project that we haven't even started. So if I can have stuff pre-made that would be great!

Next is a task I've been dreading just as much as I've been wanting to tackle. I have this beautiful gold fabric, that I've had for almost two years now, and I'd love to get it onto my couches, but I'm scared. On all the home improvement shows that I've watched, they make it look so easy to recover furniture... but looking at this project, I'm now not so sure. Some day I'll get brave, maybe.

I am creating a website to sell custom photo card and greeting cards. It's called Vida Dolce right now unless I can think of anything else before I go live. Now I just have to create a bunch of templates which is the super fun part. I'll need every one's help marketing it though so be prepared for an email in the near future.

I am in the middle of starting a fairly ambitious garden this year. I will be turning my entire side yard into a planting area, so in a few months if you are wanting some fresh veggies, stop on by. Right now I have broccoli, spinach and card growing and seedlings of peas, beans and squash sprouting in my windowsill. Hopefully it tastes good.

I really want to start working out again. Not so much to loose weight, but to tone up and get my strength back. I've cancelled my gym membership because it was proving to be a HUGE waist of money, oh yeah, and I never went, so it's all me now. Some friends and I talked about doing a Sat. morning boot camp together, so that would be fun. If I could wake up in the morning I would start running again, but it's sooooo early. Eric is on a total kick with this P90X program, so if he does it when I'm home maybe I'll try to keep up with him and gain a six pack that way. Who knows what will work, but something has got to happen.

And lastly bread. I LOVE BREAD, and now I'm going to make some. My friend Michal gave me a great recipe for wheat bread and I've found a couple online that I am working with. By summer I want to be a pro at making bread. I've successfully made a few loaves this week, and a few not so good ones, but I'm making progress and they are so yummy. The only problem is I don't think this will help me out at all with the whole toning up thing. Carbs are healthy... right?

So in all my free time I'll be working on these things. Life is fun!

Hip Shaking Pop

Last week my dad was in a lip sync and wrapped up the adult act by dancing to Thriller. Here is a clip I took from the wings.