Quick Note

Just a quick note to say that things are starting to slow down, but now I'm just playing catch up. It never seizes to amaze me how things pile up around your ears if left unchecked.
I'm half way through the mountain, and I mean mountain of laundry. I knew I left it to long when the kids ran out of clothes and Ethan had resorted to pulling out his summer shorts.
I have all my statements for work either sent or ready to print out as soon as I get paid. Which I should have been a week ago, but that is another story. I'm trying to have Christlike thoughts...
My bathroom is all painted I just have touch ups to do. I think I will wait to paint my bedroom once I have deep cleaned my house. Good idea, eh?
So now I am starting the deep cleaning of my house. With any luck it will only take me a week, that is if I don't get too much "help" the three sets of little hands. Well actually Ethan should help me but I'm not sure I'm up to the fight to get him to do the things I need. He always wants to do the big things he is still too little for like scrubbing the floors. But picking up the clothes in his room is like the worst thing I could ever ask him to do. Go figure...
Anyway that is just what I'm up to and I will post some new pictures of the kids soon. Ta

Roller Coaster that is Life

I don't know about anyone else but January is always a crazy month for me. Maybe because it is suppose to be a "new beginning" or whatever but it just always seems to be a crazy month, and so far it has been that for me. I have had too many things going on from church, house, kids, work (I have a home based business) and husband. So here is the recap of my life for the last two weeks.

I am the Enrichment leader in our ward and on top of the start of the year planning, they just called a new counselor to the RS Presidency that I get to work with. I think this is a good thing and I also feel like I'm the cause for the change. You see for the past two big quarterly activities that I have had the pleasure of putting together the RS Presidency has changed things on me over and over again during the whole process. They just seconded guessed every plan and decision that me and my committee has made. For the Christmas activity they changed EVERYTHING right out for under us 20 days before the event. At that point I told the RS President that if they did the same thing for our activity in March then I was going to quit. At first she thought I was joking, "surely you won't just quit", "no one just quits, at least not good active members". I laughed and said "you really don't know me too well, do you". I just can't and wont work like that. Well after many phone calls and promises things calmed down and next thing I know there is a new counselor. I guess the last one didn't want to work with someone who wanted to do her job. I'm happy to report that the new counselor sees things the same way I do about the process and I hope to enjoy my calling more in the coming year.

Now I don't know what got into me but for some reason I thought now was the time to paint more of my house. Ryan went to Driggs, ID again for work and so all last week while he was gone, I started painting. I finished painting my foyer, hall down the stairs and have started on my upstairs bathroom. I will post some pictures when I get it all done. But now I am starting to question my sanity.

The kids are so happy to be back at school but it seems like Ethan now has more homework than he did before. Thus bring on the fight to do his homework before he can play video games, etc.

He also went into the dentist on the 12th and had the other 3 front bottom teeth pulled to make way for his emerging permanent teeth and had 3 fillings put in. He did great through the whole thing. Now we are just having an even harder time trying to get him to brush his teeth because he says it hurts to brush where his teeth were pulled.

Holly is now to be called "Fairy Princess Holly Bug". My Dad sent the kids some money for Christmas and she spent hers on a new Princess bedside lamp and a new fairy dress with wings and all. I think she has worn it almost everyday and for all day on those days she doesn't have school.

Mason I think has conspired with his older siblings to drive me MAD. I know it is just part of being 17 months old but he is into EVERYTHING and climbing on EVERYTHING!! So on top of Ethan crying that he doesn't like doing homework and Holly jumping off of the coffee table trying to fly with her new wings and getting mad that they don't work, I now have a toddler trying to kill himself but climbing up on things ready to fall on his head at any moment.

Mason has also had major ear infections in both ears, which he just finished his antibiotics the end of last week. Now he has another one in his left ear and the start of one in his right. I just got back from taking him into the doctor (yes on Sunday) and he has to do a second round of a stronger antibiotic. Oh joy!!

Here are a couple of examples of Masons activities over the past two weeks.

He found and decided to taste a ink pad. Thank goodness it was water based!

He is climbing on my table at least 12 times a day and then can't get down so he screams at me until I come and get him down.
And finally I have been busy with work. I do the accounting for two condo associations and have had to finish their income statements for the year as well as help them get ready for their annual meetings. Let me just say that I am SO glad that we don't live in our condo anymore. Don't get me wrong I am happy that I was able to get the experience of serving on a condo homeowners committee, it has helped me to be able to earn some money for my family and still be at home with my kids. But listening to the struggles that these other homeowner associations go through just make me appreciate my home so much more.

Well that is it for now. Things are starting to slow down a little bit and hopefully I will be able to breath here soon.

Happy 2009!

As I said it would be a while till I posted anything and so it has been.

We had a very good Christmas and enjoyed our new home so much during the holidays. We did really well not to go overboard this year on gifts and I for one enjoyed the holiday more knowing we were not going to have to continue to pay for it into the New Year.

Although we were hit with a pretty big storm on Christmas day we were still able to go down to Ryan's parents house to have dinner and exchange family gifts. We had Katie & Mike's family this year and they had ours. They gave us each a really cool bean thing that you warm up in the microwave. They work like hot water bottles and keep your bed/toes warm with out the danger of leaking. That is just what they remind me of because I can remember being in my Grandparents house and all of us girls (me and my aunts) lining up at the stove to have our hot water bottle filled just before bed. Now it is Ethan and Holly lining up in front of the Microwave waiting for there "snuggy" as they have dubbed them, to be warmed up. They use them almost every night, as have I, Ryan being the only one not to. But then again he is usually the one trying to open the window or turning on the ceiling fan. I think he is just enjoying not having me stick my cold feet on him every night. ;)

Ryan got me a new camera for Christmas and I have loved it because it is just a step down from the professional ones and takes really good pictures. Although as you can tell from some of the pictures below it took me awhile to figure out how to use it. So please forgive some of them.

Anyway I am just going to put a bunch of pictures below so you can see our holiday and I hope you all had a great Christmas/New Years too.

Waiting to be able to come up and see what Santa brought.

The aftermath of present opening.

Ethan & Holly playing Holly's new "Dora the Explorer Saves the Snow Princess" Wii game.

Mason taking a "ba ba" break. Notice he won't take his had off his new Mono guitar.

Ethan and Holly waiting for the ball to drop at midnight (EST). We never told them it was really only 10 pm our time.