Nutmeg's a little Nuts!

Chad takes Myshel to seminary around 6AM and that's when I start my day, too. From the moment my feet touch the floor, Nutmeg is by my side. She'll follow me wherever I go throughout the house. When I go into the bathroom, she'll sit outside the door and scratch at it until I come out. If I sit down, she sits on my lap. You might think that it's because she loves me so much, but it's not. She's afraid I'm going to leave her when I go to get Myshel from seminary at 6:50AM. When I go out to warm up the car and leave her in the house, she runs upstairs to Vance's bedroom window and watches me until I come back in. She promptly meets me at the door and again is my shadow. When I tell her it's time to go, she'll run to the closet where we keep her leash and sit, her tail wagging, barely able to contain her excitement. Once you put on her leash and she hears it click shut, she's on her feet again and heading for the door. It's rather pathetic

Once we get in the car she settles down. Once we're there, though, she'll pace until I move my seat back and let her sit on my lap. Then she'll sit there and watch the church window and the the door and back to the window until Myshel comes out. Once Myshe is in the car she jumps over to her and covers her in all kinds of kisses and calmly sits down on her lap.

Once we get home , she runs off and does her thing and my shadow is gone until the next day.

(I don't know why my blog started underlining some things and not others, but it's very, very annoying!!!!! Is that because of Firefox???)

To Firefox or Not To Firefox???

I downloaded the Firefox browser yesterday and have been trying it out. I've heard some good things about it, but I'm not sure if I see enough of a difference to make me want to switch completely. My blogs and others look the same and I never had a problem with Internet Explorer freezing up on me. My daughter hates Firefox, my son loves it. So for all of you out there, I have some questions:
Which one do you like better, Firefox, or Internet Explorer? What do you like about them? What do you not like? Which one do you use and why? I would really love your opinions!

The 3 in Nevada.....

I love that you visited my blog and left a comment! I hope you come back. I sure love and miss you!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

This would not be my blog, if I didn't post about President Hinckley today....
Yesterday when I picked Myshel up from seminary she told me that President Hinckley had passed away. My heart and mind have been filled with so many thoughts and emotions since. What a wonderful man he was. I would think that he has touched every heart of everyone one who has heard him speak. Even his gaze through the TV screen could bring peace and love. He was a kind, humble, inspired man of God. We will miss him so much here and I'm sure that he continues his wonderful work and mission still.
Without a doubt, he returned with honor.

Mary Engelbreit Monday

The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.

--Nicholas de Chamfort

The Daily Dose

I told you that I love awards, and I really do. This one is especially nice because it means someone, Maine Mom, reads my blog regularly. I love that and I love her, too! Thank You!

Xandra from Heart of Service has created this fun award. Here is what she says: "It's for blogs that I must read every day without fail . . . They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected every time you read a post..."



So, I'm going to pass this on to my daily doses......
Mom2My6Kids
Katy
Life Ticks On
Marie
2 Kids and Tired

Honorable Mentions
Maine Mom--I read her blog everyday, but she gave the award to me
Wild Daisies--I also read her blgo everyday, but she gave the award to Maine Mom

Just 2 Things...

#1--I got a phone call yesterday from my mother-in-law. I haven't talked to her for awhile and it was really nice just to chat. (which reminds me, I need to email her) I really miss being closer to all my family and just having them around to talk to. I can always talk to them on the phone, which is great, but it's just not the same, is it!? Sometimes you just crave those conversations with your family, but everyone has such being lives, it's hard to make/take the time. I really appreciated her call and her time that she took to visit with me. When Chad came home I told him that she called. He asked if she had much to say. "I told him about 50 minutes worth." He looked at me a little surprised and said, "she doesn't even talk to me that long (which isn't true)." My answer, "I guess we know who she loves best!" Ha Ha

2--It's been brought to my attention that I haven't posted any pictures for awhile. That's true, but the fact is, I don't have any new pictures to post. So I figured I'd dig back in my files (before I take them off my computer) and post something for all of you picture-hungry-people. Here's what I found:

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Myshel's 8th grade graduation

4th of July sparklers

Vance and one of his many frog friends

My kids can roll their tongues--can yours???

Mckaylie swimming in the pool

Awww-the beach, we miss you!

Noah-a boy and his dog.....

Now that's a good shot!

And Nutmeg, the reindeer-dog

----That's it! Now they're off to the flash drive----

A thought from Gordon B. Hinckley...

Each day I try and add to my other blog, in the hopes that eventually I will get everything I've collected on it. I just grab a few out of my folder and don't pay attention to what I get. This morning this is one of the things I grabbed. I thought it was extremely fitting today, so I thought I'd add it to this blog, too.

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"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. "
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Gordon B. Hinckley

Maybe Everyday Should Be A School Day.....

Normally I like my kids having their days off from school. It's a break from all the running around and especially from the crazy mornings we seem to have. However.........this last long weekend is about to do me in. They not only had yesterday off, but they have today off, too, teacher's work day or something (except Noah, he's in school today). They're making me nuts!

It actually started last week. Myshel had her mid-terms last week and so the high school decided that they would let the kids go home after taking their tests. Which means, she was home by 10:45 on Thursday and Friday. Myshel was thrilled, Vance not so much. He was grumpy about it on Thursday, but it turned ugly by Friday.

We had a storm come through Friday morning that was a snowy/icy/rainy mix. Myshel was praying that it wouldn't cancel school (she wanted to be done with her mid-terms), Vance was praying that it would. Myshel's prayers won out. They had school. Vance was livid about it. It wasn't fair that Myshel didn't even have to go for 1/2 a day and he had to go all day. The whole thing totally set him off. To top it off, being the mean mother that I am, I made him wear his heavy coat and because of the weather I wouldn't let him walk. He jumped out of the car, slammed the door and didn't even say good-bye. His attitude was better when he got home from school and he did apologize. Although, through the weekend there's been a whole lot of acting up, maybe some pent up anger, I don't know.

McKaylie had a playdate on Saturday. She's been looking forward to it for a long time. I think she was just a little too excited about it, because Friday night into Saturday morning she was extremely hyper. She almost lost her playdate because of it. Her hyperness let to Noah's hyperness and it all was making me nuts and it lasted all weekend for both of them.

Myshel was sick all weekend with a bad cold, a little whiny, but all in all she wasn't too bad to handle. I did hear her say that she was dying a few times, but since I was pretty sure that wasn't true, I ignored it for the most part.

Chad also had a long weekend, which may have been my kids saving Grace. He was the buffer between them and me. Last night I finally told him that I didn't know why, but I was just so grumpy and that it wasn't taking much to set me off and begged him to just "deal" with them for awhile. He was very nice and distracted them for me. Personally I think he was just trying to keep me happy so that I wouldn't get grumpy with him, but whatever his reasons he helped me out and I'm grateful.

Today before I took Noah to school, I told the others that when I got back we'd have to pick up/clean for awhile. They didn't say much and I knew that it was not going to be fun. And it wasn't, at least not with Vance. The girls got to work without complaining, but Vance was mad. Apparently the chores he was given to do were not equal to the chores Myshel was given to do. So, now it's only 10AM and I'm extremely grumpy. On the bright side, Vance was given more chores because of his fit and so I've manged to get even more done around the house that I had originally planned! Kudos!

Looking back at this post I am realizing that this weekend's frustration has come a lot from Vance. There are other things I haven't added that the other kids did over the last 3 days, but I think that Vance has managed to infest our house with grumpiness. I guess I'll have to try and remedy that today.

I know my stress level the last couple weeks has been a little high and my tolerance and patience a little low. Maybe I've been infesting our house with grumpiness, too. You know the old saying, "when mom's not happy, nobody's happy". Maybe it's a combination of everything. I don't know but please tell me that I'm not the only one who has weekends like these!

Mary Engelbreit Monday

Happiness is a form of courage.

---Holbrook Jackson

Birthday MEME

Life Ticks On, tagged me with this MEME. I thought it sounded like lots of fun and then things got rather hectic. I know it's taking me awhile, but I'm going to do it now. The idea is to go through the list below, find your birthday month and then pick out the things that describe you best and why. I went through the list and picked out what I thought described me best, then I had Chad and Myshel go through it too. Our answers were actually quite similar. My birthday's in February, so here goes........

INTELLIGENT & CLEVER: I don't think I'm a rocket scientist or anything, but I do think that I'm an intelligent person and I can be clever when I want to be.
ATTRACTIVE: This one was from Chad, I don't think I'm scary or anything, but I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I'm attractive.
TEMPERAMENTAL: Chad wouldn't admit that he thinks I'm temperamental, but we all know that to at least a small degree I am.
QUIET: I know there are probably people out there that might not agree, but really I am a quiet person.
SHY & HUMBLE: I am definitely shy. I have to force myself out of that bubble sometimes, but I am shy. Humble, I guess, but it's not the first word that I'd think of to describe myself, though.
HONEST & LOYAL: I do always try to be honest and I think I am a loyal person, too.
GETS ANGRY REALLY EASILY BUT DOES NOT SHOW IT: I have found as I get older that I do tend to get angry more easily, but most of the time, I don't show it. My kids would probably disagree with the last part, but maybe if they knew how often I got angry then that would change their minds.
LOVES MAKING FRIENDS BUT RARELY SHOWS IT: I do love making friends, but like most things in my life I do keep it to myself.
DARING & STUBBORN: Well, I am not daring. Stubborn???? uhhh yeah I am. Ask me about it again, though and I'll deny it!
AMBITIOUS: I am ambitious, maybe I should say I can be ambitious. Well, I'm ambitious about certain things.
SHARP: Yea, that would probably describe me
LOVES ENTERTAINMENT & LEISURE: I do love entertainment and leisure. I don't think I get enough of them, though. Unfortunately, other things seem to take priority.
ROMANTIC ON THE INSIDE NOT OUTSIDE: I do tend to think romantically, but not usually act romantically.

Ok, I'd love for everyone that reads this blog to do this MEME if they want. Just let me know. I'd love to get to know you all better.

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.



FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.



MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.



APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.



MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.



JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.



JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.



AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.



SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.



OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.



NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.



DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Disney Trifecta

I made everyone take this quiz. Here's the scores: Cindy-95%, Chad-86%, Myshel-81%, and Vance-48%. I'm not sure if I should be proud of having the best score or not! You take the quiz and let me know how you do!

I SCORED A 95%

BFF-Blog Friend Forever

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I love getting awards, I really do! Mom2My6Kids was so sweet to give me this award. I really do think that she is a great friend that I've found through blogging! So now I get to pass it along too. So I am choosing:

Marie- Because blogging is how we keep up with each other now and I miss her

Life Ticks On- Because I found her through blogging and we seem to have so many similarities, she must be my kindred spirit

Holly- Even though she's the one who gave it to Mom2My6Kids, I'm going to give it back to her, because I just love her and her blog

Katy- Because she is just so inspiring to me and I love her beautiful spirit!

A Little Less Conversation......

Here's some conversations that I wanted to keep/share:

McKaylie: "Mom, why do you always put a different spoon in my lunch everyday?" (I send different colored, plastic spoons with animals on them)
Me: "Because they get dirty and I need to wash them."
McKaylie: "They're not dirty. I make sure I lick them clean before I put them back in my lunch box".

Noah: "Mom do you want to see my big muscles?"
Me: "Yes, show me." He pulls up his sleeve and shows me his muscle.
Noah: "Do you know where I got them?"
Me: "Where?"
Noah: "Milk, I drink it at school."

Chad was teasing Myshel by telling her that he was going to buy an old beat up truck and that's what she was going to be driving when she gets her license. She didnt' think he was funny. I told her that when I learned to drive, my parents had 2 vehicles, my mom's nice car, and my dad's huge three quarter ton truck. I was only allowed to drive the truck. It was huge and a stick shift. I could barely push in the clutch, even with the seat pulled all the way forward.
Chad to Myshel: " Yeah, it was a huge, yellow/gold truck. I loved seeing your mom driving it. She looked so hot!"
Myshel: "I serisouly doubt that mom ever looked hot."

While playing a hunting game on the PS2....
Vance: "Look there's 2 moose."
McKaylie: "Maybe they're a boy and a girl and they're married"
Vance: "Till death do they part" and then he shot one.

A Fun Few Weeks........NOT!

About 2 weeks ago, over the weekend, of course. I had a touch of the flu. It wasn't terrible, but when is the flu every good? McKaylie stayed home from school that Monday with the same thing, and Vance on Thursday.

During all this, we've had a little eye-opening experience (that I'm not going to get into details about) that pretty much knocked us for a loop, that is Chad and I and the one child that it involved. This little eye-opener made us question many things over the last few years and wonder how good of parents we really are. We've had to re-evaluate things, priorities, I suppose, and I guess that's a good thing. It's made us do some serious soul-searching and it's made the importance of other things much more clear. It's also caused us hurt, pain, and the loss of trust and respect, the things that take time to build up again. On the other hand, we've learned to love a little more and a little deeper. It hasn't been a fun experience, but as I said, it has definitely helped to "open our eyes". We're all good and there's nothing to worry about. But, I'm sure your minds are buzzing, and I guess they'll just have to keep on buzzing.

As if that wasn't enough to deal with. Last Friday I started getting a migraine. Which continued through the weekend and wouldn't respond to medication. Chad told me to go to the ER, but I couldn't bear the thought of driving there or sitting in the waiting room for hours, so I didn't go. The worst part of my migraines usually only lasts a day or so and then just lingers annoyingly for a few days more, so I kept telling myself that the worst of it would be over "today" and it would be better "tomorrow". Well, by Monday I'd had enough, unfortunately, the kids had a snow day and were home from school and Chad had duty. It was a seriously miserable day. Tuesday came and the migraine stayed.... I managed to get the kids off to school, except Noah, who stayed home and watched cartoons on my bed with me. I think he talked to me a lot, but I honestly don't know for sure. By Tuesday afternoon, the medicine finally started to help. Chad told me that night that he was glad I was starting to feel better and that he missed me......translation-I was miserable to be around and so everyone avoided me as much as possible. Yesterday was the first day that I had been up and around since last Friday. I hate that! Chad and the kids managed to keep up with the dishes and picked up the floors, but were so kind as to save ALL the laundry piled up for me in front of the washing machine! I hate that, too! I'm not 100 percent, but I am 100 times better, so maybe I'll slowly be able to get back into "life" again.

A New Look.......

As you can see I've changed the look of my blog. I like it. It's a little more "me". But, until I get everything back to where I really want/like it, I guess it will be a work in progress. I think I choice the flowers, because deep down (amid all this snow) I'm secretly, or not so secretly, wishing for spring (which is only about 4 months away-ugh)! So, I hope you like it and thanks to you guys who have already commented on it!

Surprise!!!!

Uh, Yeah........More Snow!

Now what would my blog be without snow pictures, huh. I know that the people living in the midwest have tons more snow than we do, but we still have a lot of snow!

In less than a week we had at least 2 feet of new snow fall. It's not snowing anymore right now, but the temperatures have been hanging around 0 degrees! It's crazy around here!
That's McKaylie sitting up there. This pile is at least 7 feet high!

But, by next Wednesday we're suppose to be in the high 40's. I'm hoping to get rid of most of this snow, before the next storm hits!
It was pretty to look at. I love it when there's snow on the trees. I'd just like a little less on the roads!