Fat Tuesday

After our trip to Disneyland and looking at the photos, I have been forced to confront something about myself I've been trying to avoid.
I am fat.
I am not overweight, I do not just have extra preganancy weight. I am a bonfide non-exercising, over-eating fat person.
I need to deal with this issue. I know I eat when I'm bored, lonely, sad, happy, nervous... for any reason. I recognize I eat for emotional reasons. I assume my depression doesn't help in this issue, but I need to stop using it as my excuse. Both my parents have type II diabetes, I have high-blood pressure (and probably high cholesterol, but I refuse to go in and take that test from the doctor.) I am a ticking time-bomb.
So, I've decided that this will be my regular Tuesday feature. I call it Fat Tuesday because
a)that's funny to me and
b)it will be easier for me to remember.

I intend to discuss some of my emotional over-eating issues, confront myself about my laziness, and refer to information that I have found that hopefully will help me in my quest to improve my health.
I hope to find some form of exercise that is entertaining and interesting for me that I can do even with plantar fasciitis.
I hope to find a way to overcome my nighttime eating problem.
I hope that I will stick on this path until I find the health and happiness I am seeking.

don't mock me....(mock feis 2009)

Photos from this year's mock feis. Hopefully we are now prepared for June's competition! Wish us luck!

Before the wig:



This is my favorite photo of Lulu at the mock feis:



Panda, turn out your feet. Panda! Panda! Panda! Turn out your feet! How many times did I yell this (or signal this) to her this day? I was ready to pull my hair out! (notice her feet, just standing there?)


Even your baby sister can stand turned out, Panda!


Finally! She does it! Go, Panda! Go, Panda! Go, Panda! (notice the feet?! Success!)

Single man turns 40

My brother turned 40 this year! Holy stinkin' cow. That means my turn is right around the corner!


He's single ladies!


Hanging with Uncle Tim!


We won a lovely gumball in the game machine while waiting for the cousins to arrive!

The dinner party at Golden Corral. See, the smart girl takes the photos and doesn't have to be in them.

Friday Night Pizza and Pool

We have a standing date with our kids to go out to Pizza and go swimming at the community pool every friday night. Well, unless we have other things going on, but when we don't this is what we do.
Last night my girls had a "late over" with a friend from school. (Not a sleep over, the friend can stay until 10 pm, but we can all get some sleep that way!) That's too many girls for my son, so he slept over at Gramma's house and played Guitar Hero with Uncle Tim all night.

Anyone can grow zucchini?!?!

My friend Jan decided I needed to plant a garden. So she brought me these seeds she had planted. Well, it's been about a week now, and I've managed to keep them watered appropriately, and if you look closely....

you can see a little tiny shoot coming up in the top left hand corner of this one!
I just might see some zucchini yet!

Another day, another cupboard

Okay, so I figure it's time to get cracking on another cupboard. So, here's my before picture. (See, Erika, I do have messy cupboards!)


I spent my 10 minutes cleaning it out. Okay, I'll be honest this one took more like 12 minutes, because the timer went off and I wasn't quite done putting everything back. This is the end result of this cupboard:

Granted, this isn't as dramatic a change, but I DID manage to find all my measuring cups. I didn't know I had so many, but the benefit of having lost them all is that the kids do know that if you use 1/4 measuring cup 3x it does equal 3/4 cup! That is progress! I did find that I had two cheese graters. WHY?? I don't even buy block cheese, I buy it already grated!
I know you are dying to know whether or not I've managed to keep the other cupboard organized, so I took a picture of it. Keep in mind Sawyer is in charge of emptying the dishwasher:

Not bad! You'll notice all the bowls are together, all the plates are together, and all the cups are together. Perhaps not as neatly as I would have done it, but beggars (or mothers) can't be too choosy. At 2 cupboards a week, I am on a roll, baby!

Spring Cleaning

Several months ago I was watching an episode of Oprah and there was a show about organizing your life. This particular one struck me as plausible for my life, because it was about taking 10 minutes at a time to do something to get organized. Today I started because there is no time like the present (and a depression-less day)!
Open up a disorganized cupboard:


Spend 10 minutes throwing out unused items and grouping like items together.
When you are all done you have something like this:


and you end up throwing away or giving away a bunch of stuff like this:



Are you kidding me? Look at all those sippy cups, and a bottle? My youngest is 6 years old, and she was breast-fed exclusively??? Now, the reality is, I only have junky plastic cups, and need to get something nicer to drink out of. Even if they are plastic, it would be nice if they would all match!

Forgive me, for I have sinned

So after a week of snow, overcast and cloudy skies and a depression fog that wouldn't give up it's grip, along comes Sunday. Beautiful blue skies, warm weather that screams "SPRING" and the thought of going to church for 3 LOOONNNNGGG hours threatens to kill my budding good mood.
Forgive me, fellow mormons, but I couldn't resist a day in the sunshine having fun with my family. We took the kids to the Lagoon Amusement Park, and had a fabulous sun-filled, fun-filled day. And I don't even feel guilty about it. I can't help but think that the Lord understands when I need a break from the same-old same-old. I know, I know, I know, I just came home from vacation, but that's what reminded me that I need to loosen up and have some more fun. It's like President Hinckley said, "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

Enjoy these photos of our "day off" from church!

Spring has sprung!

What a glorious spring day it is!
I have thrown open the windows and embraced the sunshine. Goodbye, dark clouds of gloom that bring the snow and the cold and the depression. So far today has been a good day. Such a change from the days just prior to this one that kept me cold and asleep and lonely.
We got back our Panda's IEP information, and it's good to know that she's not too far behind in math, but they are going to give her some added support anyway. What a joy. Now, the decision whether or not to homeschool this sweet child looms. She wants to be homeschooled, but we are concerned about her being bored, because when Panda gets bored, Panda gets curious, and when Panda gets curious, Panda finds trouble. (I'm thinking this could be a book....)

Girl's Night Out

Yesterday my friend Jan and I went on our annual girl's night out at the the pasta plant. We went to dinner at Chili's and then, afterwards we went and worked at the Deseret Pasta Plant for 4 hours! Not only did we get a girl's night out, not have to cook dinner, but we got to buy our annual supply of pasta for our families AND do some good for the poor in our community. What a fun satisfying evening. Of course thanks to my Plantar fasciitis I won't be walking for a few days. It was worth it though!

Depression rears it's ugly head

It's been a while since I've had a "depressive episode." A day when all I want to do is sleep and eat and cry. It's about time I had one, isn't it? Well, guess what? I am! I have slept all day long, having woken up only to feed and clothe my children and drive them to school. I have slept since I got home, and all I want to do is take something to make me sleep even more.
What is particularly disconcerting to me is that I have all the safety nets in place to keep from having this episode. I have something to look forward to later in the day even, but I can't seem to shake it. That's when I know it's real. I can't reason myself out of my bad mood. My house is a mess. An absolute mess, and the clutter is draining me even more. I can't even set the timer for 15 minutes, Flylady! Blubber*sniff*cry.

Easter :)

Dying eggs, the arrival of the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy on the same night, new dresses for church, egg hunts with the cousins, dinner with Grandma...what a busy weekend we had. I don't generally spend much time with the extended family, it's just not our thing, nor their thing either. It is nice however when we all get together and enjoy each other's company. We don't get sick of each other, and can genuinely appreciate the time we do have because we don't have expectations. I really hate it when people have unexpressed expectations and think you should be able to read their minds. I am frustrated when people try to change you into what they think you should be. Can't we all just live and let live? I love that about my family. They accept you for what you are and what you can offer. Sure, they might hope for better things or different things in your life, but they take you at face value and don't try to change you. That's what family is to me. A place to love and be loved. We are all strange in our own ways, but we are what we are. I may whine and complain about them, but ultimately I know my family loves me the best way they can, and that means all the world to me.

Disneyland, We Love You!

We haven't been to California in 5 1/2 years! What a blast to go to Disneyland! Felicity's favorite ride:Splash Mountain, of course! We hit that one 3 times! Grace's favorite ride: She can't really decide, but it must be either Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain or Space Mountain! Sawyer's favorite ride: Space Mountain. Mark, as always, loves the Matterhorn, and me, well, I don't really have a favorite ride, but I LOVE all of Fantasyland. We are already talking about next year's spring break. Can you believe I've convinced Mark to take yet another vacation next year? Miracles do happen.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We've been home from sunny Southern California for about 1 1/2 hours now. Ahhh. A chance to return to my computer. (hugs)
My son is sitting on the sofa watching Return of the Jedi, hugging his custom-designed light saber and stuffed Ewok, souveniers of our vacation. I smiled at him, and he started to cry.
"What's wrong buddy?"
"I miss California."
"We had so much fun, didn't we?"
"Yes. I've never had so much fun, mom. I wanna go back."

How sweet it is. The simple joys of childhood. The emotional let-down of three fast and furious vacation days at the happiest place on earth. Tonight I feel satisfied as a mom. I gave my children one of the sweetest experiences of their lives. Not Disneyland, not Southern California, but the opportunity to make wonderful memories. My work here is done. At least for tonight.