Grateful #4

I am SO grateful for my beautiful children! Sure, they can be annoying at times, but they make my life so much better! I love them so much!!! Children are such a blessing in our lives, and I am grateful to have three, healthy kids!!!

Hopping on the Band Wagon

Okay, I'm totally hopping on the band wagon today, and yes, I know I'm a little late. It is nice to be reminded of the things that we are grateful for, so I'll post one thing that I'm thankful for every day in November (or at least try to). Since I'm starting late, I guess I need to make up for Nov. 1 and 2. I already posted one for today. First, I'm grateful for my wonderful husband who sacrifices so much to provide for our family!! His job isn't easy, and the drive is long, but he does it out of love for his family. We have both learned to appreciate our time together as a family since he started this job!!! I'm also grateful for my job. I don't have to work to make ends meet for our family, but without my job, we wouldn't have an emergency fund, or any financial security. I love my students and I think I have the best job ever! It's been a huge challenge this year, though. I've been struggling with a crazy schedule, and trying to balance my time with Eddie. He goes to kindergarden next year, and I really want to spend as much time as I can with him this year before he goes to school!

Grateful

I am SO grateful that I got hired to judge Middle School All-Region Band auditions this Saturday!! It's good money, but it just so happens that Saturday is Anna's last game, and I'm actually glad I'll miss it! If they win, they can clinch 3rd place in their division, if they lose, they have to wait on the outcomes of 2 games to see if they will place. I can't handle high-stress soccer! The games make me so nervous!!! So, I'll let Danny go to the game, while I keep myself occupied by judging, and wait for the text. Everyone say a prayer for the Panthers this Saturday! They need this win!!

Soccer Season!!

I love this time of year! Soccer season is in full swing, and although we're super busy, we have a lot of fun! Anna has practice twice a week, and that means that the boys and I get at least three hours of park play time each week! It's been SO much more fun since the weather has cooled down, although the girls played much better in 100+ degree temps! This season the team hired a professional photographer to take their pics, since our last photographer/coach retired and moved out of state. We really miss Coach Chief, but this photographer gave us nearly 300 photos on a disk for only $20! I've posted some of Anna's best pictures, although I had dozens to choose from! The season ends in 2.5 weeks, and while I will enjoy having a free Saturday, the boys and I will miss our scheduled park play dates!

Random Update

It looks like Anna's trying to strangle Eddie, but she's just giving him some love! Eddie loves to climb into bed with Anna and snuggle before I put him in his bed. He always begs to sleep with her! Anna is now taking piano lessons and loves to play the piano and practice her recorder for school!
Tommy is doing well in school, and his reading has improved drastically, but he has some major organizational problems! We're working on that. He's already grown an inch taller in the past 5 months!

Eddie went through a pajama phase back in winter and spring. He would wear them ALL DAY LONG! He even wore them to the baby-sitter's house a couple of times! I swear, I couldn't get him out of his jammas to save his life! He's now the complete opposite! If he could be naked all day he would! Now that he's potty-trained he actually sleeps better, and prefers his bed as opposed to the couch! He sleeps right through Tommy talking in his sleep! Yay!!!

Potty Training

I hate potty training. I really, REALLY do. During spring break, Danny and I decided to just get it over with. Eddie is 3 1/2, so he's definitely old enough, but he just didn't want to even look at the toilet. Well, we took away the diapers right after Julie's wedding, and MADE him sit on that darn toilet! I definitely have to say this was my least favorite spring break of all time. It's time consuming to potty train a kid who's not that into it, and I nearly gave up at least 5 different times. There might have been some crying and hysteria involved, but we won't get into that. After dozens of accidents though, Eddie finally "got it" last Friday and he hasn't looked back!! He even gave up his night time diapers!! I have been so blessed with my kids and night-time potty issues! I wet the bed FOREVER, but NONE of my children have! Eddie even woke me up a couple of days ago at 1am so I could take him to the potty! Wow. He has been accident-free for 5 days, 6 if you include today! Yay Eddie!!!

Day 30

My hopes, plans, and dreams for this year:

Well, this is the last of the 30-day blog thing. I hope that I continue to blog more and share what my family is up to. It's not been easy for me, but I've just got to suck it up and make time for it!

This year Danny and I plan to lose weight. It's our number one goal. We need to get in shape and become healthy role models for our children, especially Tommy!

We also need to get our roof and fence fixed, and re-seed our front lawn. We have been dreaming of getting new flooring for the living areas and re-painting the walls, but we'll see if that's in our budget this year. We would like to have our home in "for sale" condition by the end of the year. Not because we're planning on moving, but we'd like to be ready just in case. You never know.

That's about it. There's other stuff like: attending the temple more often, going on a family vacation this summer (ideas of where to go anyone?), helping Anna pass the TAKS, Tommy work on his organizational skills, and Eddie graduate from speech.

Day 29

My Testimony:

I know the church is true and I know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I know that Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today. I know that I will be with my family forever, and I will see my loved ones again in heaven.

Day 28

A person I love:

Duh. Danny!

Day 27

A Place I Love:

Home.

Day 26

A child I love:

I didn't post yesterday because of a sick kid, so you guys get two today!

I would be accused of favortism if I posted just one kid on here, so I'm posting about all three of my amazing kids! I love them SO much! Some days, one is easier to love than the others, but these kiddos totally rock my world. They each have their special talents and their own personalities.

Anna is artsy, loves to read, and can be really helpful when she's in the right frame of mind. She's also amazingly photogenic. This picture was taken by Mandie last fall.

Tommy is my videogame-aholic, but he's super sensitive and gives the best hugs! I discovered that I don't have many recent pictures of Tommy, mainly because he's in his "I'm a boy, so I'm going to make strange faces at the camera" phase. Oh well. I'll just have to work harder to get a good shot of him!

Eddie is my baby and always will be! He's such a great snuggler, but he's very independent-minded and strong willed! As I looked through the pictures I have of him, ALL of them had him with a runny nose!!! Good grief!

Day 25

A funny (true) story:

When I was in high school, my sisters and mom volunteered at Concerts in Garden with the Fort Worth Symphony. We did it so we could see free concerts! It was pretty awesome. Anyway, these concerts are outdoors, so there are no bathrooms, just port-a-potties. There was one concert that we went to without fail: the super hero-themed concert with fireworks. It was always really good, but there were always lots of kids there! After my duties during intermission, I ran to the bathroom before the concert continued. I finished what I needed to do in the port-a-potty and went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge!! I pounded on the door and shoved it really hard thinking that it was just stuck, but the movement caused the port-a-potty to rock! For a moment I thought it was going to tip!! I panicked. Then I started pounding on the door yelling for help. A security guy opened to door with a scowl on his face. He told me that he found some boys putting sticks through the deadlock slots in the doors locking people in. He was going around taking the sticks out and chasing the boys away. I was really shaken and rushed back to my family. When I got back they asked me what took me so long, and when I started telling my scary story, I discovered that it was actually quite funny and ended up laughing hysterically with everyone else!

Day 24

Something that makes me feel better:

Chocolate!

I love it! It makes me so happy sometimes! I know, it's not good for the diet, but I've found that one small piece of Dove Dark Chocolate can change my day!

Day 23

A Travel Story:

Hmmm....I don't have anything super interesting. The most recent traveling that my family has done was to Austin and San Antonio last summer. Danny had a performance at UT with his trombone choir and the kids and I decided to tag along and go to Sea World after the conference. Well, the day we got to Austin was the day of the World Cup Final. We couldn't check into our hotel until 4pm, and the final was at 1pm. Danny had rehearsal and check-in that morning, and the kids and I had gone on a tour of the capital. We were tired and hungry and decided to look for a place to eat when Danny was done at noon. Danny called and drove around looking for a place that would broadcast the final, but he couldn't find anything. We finally decided a Burger King for the kids and went in. As soon as we walked in Danny saw that one of the eating areas had a large TV in it! He asked the manager if they could switch the channel to the World Cup and she was more than happy to oblige. After all, the entire staff at Burger King was hispanic! So, we spent more than 2 hours that day at Burger King watching the World Cup Final!

Day 22

A Favorite Youtube video:

Well, since I spend zero time on youtube, I have no favorite! Yeah, I'm lame. Oh well.

Day 21

Nicknames I have and why I have them:

I'm a few days behind, so here's two for you today!

My first nickname was Meme. Apparently, I said "me! me!" all the time, and it stuck. When I was around 8 or 9 I changed the spelling to Mimi, so it would be more mature. Nobody outside of my family called me that, though.

I was always Melinda at school, until 9th grade. There was a Belinda in the band at that time, and it started to get confusing, so one of my friends (I honestly don't remember who) started calling me Melly. Well, some people thought my nickname should be Millie instead of Melly, so I had a group of friends calling me Melly and another group calling me Millie!! It was crazy. By the time I graduated, I was back to plain old Melinda. Now and again, people will call me Mel, which I really don't mind at all, but for the most part, I'm Melinda.

My sister started calling me Milk at one time because I was the palest of all my sisters and I can't seem to tan like they can! So, she called me Milk, and I called her Dead Leaf for some reason.

Of course, I'm Mommy now to my kids and actually for a long time they called me MaMa. The Mommy thing took over after a while, and now Anna is calling me Mom, because Mommy is getting too baby-ish for her.

Danny just calls me Melinda. We don't have nicknames for each other and never have. No particular reason.

I know. Pretty boring, but there you have it!

Day 20

A Favorite Recipe:

I don't like to cook. I REALLY don't. I have to be in a special mood to want to cook. There are days at a time where I refuse to cook and we eat frozen pizza or go out to eat. Seriously. But, I do have some recipes that are super easy, don't take much time at all, and I love! My kids LOVE this one! When I make it they run to the table and eat like they haven't eaten for days! You should see Tommy eat this! He seriously lowers his head to his plate and shovels the noodles into his mouth!

Alfredo

1 (12 ounce) package of your favorite fettuccine noodles
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A pinch or shake of nutmeg
1 pint heavy cream
3 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese

Boil enough water in a medium-large stock pot for a package of noodles. Add noodles and bring the noodles back to a boil. When boiling, again turn off the burner and cover the pot. Noodles will be done in about 12 minutes (or a little earlier if you like them al dente).

While the noodles are cooking, melt the butter in a deep saute pan over medium heat. Add seasonings and whisk gently to mix. Add the heavy cream and heat thoroughly. Sprinkly in about an ounce of cheese to the mixture stir to incorporate before adding more cheese. Repeat two more times.

Drain the noodles and gently toss them in the Alfredo sauce until coated. Transfer pasta to a warm serving bowl. Top with more grated cheese and serve immediately.

*My additions: I usually add garlic and herb seasoned chicken to the alfredo at the end. It's really yummy!

Day 19

A Hobby of Mine:

READING! I love to read! I have a favorite spot in my house that I love to curl up on and just read! Now, I'm ALWAYS getting interupted when I read, but it's a great way to relax!

Day 18

Put your iPod on Shuffle and Write 10 songs that Pop Up:

1. Monkey - Bush

2. She Is - The Fray

3. Super Mario 64: Slider - Super Mario Soundtrack

4. Queen Of Mars - Candace - Phineas and Ferb Soundtrack

5. Right Here - Miley Cyrus

6. Talk Show Host - Radiohead

7. Lady Marmalade - Moulin Rougue Soundtrack

8. Amor, Amor, Amor - Luis Miguel

9. Come, Thou Fount Of Every Blessing - Mormon Tabernacle Choir

10. Something Bad - Wicked Soundtrack

Day 17

A Habit I Wish I didn't Have:



Well, I have many. Here are some that I'm working on this year:


Yelling when I get frustrated, and major impatience. Yikes. Not sure if it's technically a habit, but I think it is.

Eating when I'm bored. I'm really working on it, and hopefully it will lead to some weight loss this year!

Day 16

A Photo of my Family:



I think this is the 3rd time this pic has been posted on the blog! Thanks Mandie!

Day 15

The Next 3 Things on my Bucket List (not necessarily in this order):


1. Take the kids to Disney World.


2. Visit New York City!


3. Buy a new van or SUV! My current van is functional, but I need something with more than 4 cylinders, something that's NOT red (not a fan), and perhaps an SUV. I'm not really a van type of girl, but we'll see.

Day 14

My Dream House:


When Danny and I were in Costa Rica we had lunch at the Los Suenos Resort right outside of Jaco, and just fell in love with the area. There's a large hill that overlooks the bay and there were these beautiful homes on it, and we always joke that if we won the lottery we would move there. So, we're dreaming, right? We found this one and it's beautiful! It has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, and 3600 square feet for a cool $2.5 mil.

Day 13

What I did today:

Well, this landed on a school holiday, so it's going to be way more exciting than a regular school day!

4am-ish - Eddie crawled into bed with me and Danny.

5:35am - My arm is killing me where Eddie is sleeping on it, so I scoop him up and take him to the couch. I get him something to drink, then rub his back until he goes back to sleep.

7:25am - Danny gives me a kiss and leaves for school while I am still snuggled in bed. The boys are already up and playing Gamecube in the office, and looking at Transformers online.

8:20am - Wake up and help the boys with their Wii game, then go back to my room and read my Joseph Smith book for 15 minutes.

8:50am - Go to the kitchen and fix breakfast for everyone, and break up a fight between Eddie and Tommy.

9:15am - Head to the office to check my e-mail and listen to Anna practice her recorder. Resist the urge to correct every little mistake. We work on reading notes and rhythms.

9:45am - Gather laundry from various corners of the house and start a load of darks. Do the breakfast dishes and start the dishwasher.

10am - Change Eddie's diaper and take him out of his pj's.

10:30am - Explain to Tommy that we can't make Eddie disappear and have him come back only when Tommy wants him to, and no we can't trade him in for a Wii game. Tell Anna for the 1000th time to get started on cleaning her room.

10:45am - Order Tommy's book order online. Yay for not having to write a check!

10:55am - Go into the living room to find that Eddie has taken off his poopy diaper and sat on the couch with his poopy butt. He also wiped his poopy hands on his shirt and carpet. I clean the couch and carpet and seriously consider running to Ikea for a new couch and Lumber Liquidators for new floors. Move the clothes from the washer into the dryer and start a new load so I can wash Eddie's poopy clothes. He has NEVER done this before!

11:05am - Listen to Anna cry about a missing charm bracelet. She screams and won't listen to me, and runs into her room still crying.

11:10am - Anna is still crying. Charm bracelet still missing.

11:20am - The boys pick out a movie to watch and I straighten the living room.

11:30am - Help Anna look for her bracelet and help her clean her room for a little while. She has stopped crying.

Noon - I make lunch for the kids, and start reading "More Perfect than the Moon".

12:30 - Switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and make lunch for myself.

12:45 - Anna practices her recorder again and yells at me and says the recorder is stupid. I only said her recorder is not broken, even though she swears it is. She's getting frustrated with her practicing. The movie is over and now the boys are playing Super Mario Brothers Wii.

1:15 - Put away some laundry and finally take a shower.

2:20 - Finished reading "More Perfect Than the Moon." and started watching the lat 2 episodes of the Sing-Off that I haven't gotten to.

3:00 - Anna played for me again and got mad and stormed off. She argued with me and is now being punished.

3:12 - Changed another poopy diaper, but this time he didn't get it all over the place.

4 - Just finished watching my shows (I really wanted Street Corner Symphony to win, oh well), and got the kids a snack.

4:30 - Call Danny and make dinner plans while the Eddie and Anna play in her room and Tommy plays outside.

5 - Meet Danny at Chick-Fil-A for dinner! Yum!

7 - Get home from Chick-Fil-A before Danny, and the kids bombarded Danny's car with snowballs when he got to the driveway. Yep. We still have some snow left! Crazy. Then let the kids watch Ninjago before bed. It's their new favorite cartoon.

Okay, so I'm going to end here. If I don't, I won't remember to post this tonight! Did any of you make it to the end?

Day 12

A Favorite Quote:

Hmmm...I really don't have a favorite quote. There are several that I like, such as:

"Wagner's music is better than it sounds." Samuel Clemens

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." Bill Cosby

I was reading "A Little Princess" last year and this passage jumped right out at me:

"Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temperwhen she was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. The temptation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage. 'It makes me feel as if someone had hit me.'"

Day 11

A Favorite Book:

Another tough one. I LOVE to read, but the book I keep going back to is Pride and Predjudice. I can read it over and over and not get tired of it!

Day 10

A Favorite Food:

Hamburgers used to be my #1 favorite food, but that has been replaced by Chili's grilled chicken sandwich. It's SO good, especially with bacon, cheese, and honey mustard! Give me a good chicken sandwich anyday and I'll be happy!

SNOW!!!

It snowed 5 inches yesterday, but before it snowed, it rained, then sleeted! Yikes! The roads were a little slippery this morning, so school was cancelled! I was actually really excited for a snow day!

Tommy made the best snowballs, but it just took too long for them to be perfect! He finally abandoned his dreams of perfection and pummelled us all with arm fulls of snow!

Anna gave Eddie this sled to play with and he put his doggy on it and dragged him all around the yard! He loved it until he discovered how to pull icicles off of the house!

We had a great time today! We didn't build a snowman, though. We tried but the snow just wasn't sticky enough! I was grateful for this snowday today, but I can't wait for the kids to go to school tomorrow!

Day 9

A Favorite Movie:



Hmm....this is a tough one. I really don't have an all-time favorite movie, but I really love Emma, Ever After, and A Little Princess.

Day 8

A Favorite Song:



My favorite songs change now and then, but one of my all-time faves is Green Day's Brain Stew. I love it! I think it's the guitars. A more recent favorite is Katy Perry's Firework. Her songs are really catchy, but most of her lyrics are trash. This one is WAY better than her others!

Day 7

Something I Want to Buy:

New floors for my house!!!! The carpet in my home is only 7 years old, and most of it looks great except for the stuff in my living room! I would love to replace all the carpet in the living areas with a wood-type flooring!

Day 6

Something I Bought Recently:


An iPhone. I love it!

Day 5

Top 10 Pet Peeves:

1. I CAN NOT stand it when people say "me likey." You sound stupid when you say it, and I will forever think you're a moron.

2. Stupid drivers. I was stuck behind a driver who was going too slow, shifting a bit too far right or left, and tapping randomly on their brakes! I finally got around them to find that it was an older woman with a puppy ON HER SHOULDER, and she was petting it and giving it kisses! Grrr.....

3. My children cocking an attitude.

4. Students who don't pay, and parents who won't call me back!

5. Pee on the floor of my bathroom. Tommy is my number one offender in my house, and I hate the smell of urine! Blech.

6. School politics. They SUCK.

7. Stupid teenagers at the community pool who don't know how to follow simple rules.

8. Teenage fashion on 10-year-olds and younger. It's just wrong.

9. Gum smacking. I can't stand it.

10. Tom's shoes. I just don't get why they are so expensive and popular! I understand that he has a great cause and everything, but seriously, most of the shoes are UGLY.

Day 4

Something I Crave:



Chocolate Chip Cookies! I LOVE them!