I'm Addicted!!

Okay...I have to admit it...I'm addicted to reading!!! I never thought that I would be again, but I am. When I was young, I remember sitting in my grandma's library downstairs with a pile of pillows, a blanket and a good book that I had searched for on her numerous shelves of books. I would stay down there for hours, neglecting my brother and his pleas to play with him. I would devour one book after another and in between I would wander upstairs for some Ramen Noodles or a PB&J sandwich. Otherwise, you wouldn't see me for the entire day. Well, it has started again. I spent the ENITRE weekend lost in stories. The first book that I read was A Stolen Life by Jaycee Duggard. It was a little graphic for me, but her optimistic attitude through her entire ordeal was remarkable. It was also so interesting to me how similar we were when we were young. We actually had a lot in common and I can remember reading her thoughts and thinking, "I felt the same way at that age." However, the events in her life and my life are drastically different! She still has hope though and that is remarkable given what she went through. After that bit of dramatic reading, I went on to read The Pioneer Woman by Ree Drummond. If you don't know who the Pioneer Woman is, you need to find out. She is so comical and interesting. The book is about the drastic changes that she made in her life so that she could be with her love. The way that she describes her husband makes me super envious!! I have a great husband, but her husband is pretty perfect!! It was a really good book and I found myself super entertained.
Even though I read a little over 600 pages over the course of the weekend, I still managed to clean the house a little bit, do the laundry, run some errands, get two papers done in addition to the other homework I had to do, and go to church. I did not have the time to make my fabric flowers or do some of the other crafts that I had planned on completing, but it was totally worth it. Now I have BIG plans to read Tim Tebow's book and Michael Oher's book. I don't know what's going on right now, but I'm really into biographies. I read the inside jackets of Tim Tebow's book and I was interested right away. I also have read a book by Leigh Ann Tuohy, Michael Oher's adopted mother, and I think that it would be interesting to hear the story from his side. That and The Blind Side is one of my favorite movies!! So, now I guess I'm off to the library to pick up some new books. Let's hope that I can fit in some homework into my busy reading schedule :)

Sources:
http://thenerdswife.com/2011/02/pioneer-woman-book-signing-dallas-texas.htmlis
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/07/dugard-a-stolen-life-review.html

Addy's First Birthday

Addy is now one year old and it is so amazing to see the little person that she is becoming!! She is such a joy and a blessing to our family. Right now, she is walking everywhere and opening drawers and pulling out EVERYTHING!! She loves her brother and sister very much and just wants to be a part of their lives and the party that they seem to constantly have going on. She points at everything and everyone. I can tell that she is going to be just as inquisitive and smart as her sister. Addy brings joy to my life everyday and she is one of the three reasons that I have become the person that I am. I could never imagine my life without her. I am so grateful that I am able to spend all day with her and watch her grow and learn. For your viewing enjoyment here are a few pictures of my sweet girl on her 1 year birthday






!

13 Things By 2013

Tis the season to make your resolutions. I was reading on one of my favorite blogs and I saw where she had a post about 12 things she wanted to accomplish by 2012, so I've decided that I'm going to try to do 13 things by 2013. Some of them may be able to be accomplished easily, but others will take a greater amount of effort and time. Hopefully I can accomplish them. I feel that it's important to always be setting goals and to always be learning something new, maybe that's why I've been in school for so long :) Anyway, here they are:

1. Purge and organize my house and my storage. I really don't know why I hang on to stuff, but some of it definitely needs to go!

2. Date my husband! We're on the cusp of extreme chaos in our house and it's more important now than ever for us to actually spend time together and reconnect so that we can be the best parents we can be.

3. Keep my car clean! I don't know about you, but with 3 kids our stuff just seems to multiply and take over any available space. Sometimes it's just my own junk, sometimes it's the kids' stuff and food wrappers, sometimes it's Jame's fishing or hunting stuff and sometimes it's all of them combined!

4. Drink more water!! I'm really bad at this. I am a Diet Pepsi junkie. I usually have one first thing in the morning and then again in the afternoon and then again maybe in the evening. I could totally use some more water in my life.

5. Re-vamp my wardrobe. I've become incredibly picky about what I buy. I have to LOVE it before I buy it. As a result, I have a lot of clothes that I've collected over the years, but not a lot that I absolutely love and wear frequently enough to justify having them. I want to try a wardrobe that I can be comfortable in and still look decent. It'll have to wait though, because right now I'm enduring living in maternity clothes until April.

6. Read to my kids more. The kids and I read a book almost every night, but lately we have been slacking. I'm just so tired that I'm having a hard time finding the energy to even tuck them in at night. So I would really like to be able to find the time to read more to them and spend time with them. I grew up reading with my Grandmother and there were nights when I would get in trouble for staying up reading too late. I just loved to read and I want to instill that same characteristic in my kids.

7. Buy less, make more. Ever since I've become addicted to Pintrest, I have found so many things that I would LOVE to make and that I actually think I could make. I made some fabric flowers the other day for a Christmas present and for my mom and I really enjoyed the process and the time I had to myself to be able to spend on it. It also wasn't that expensive which made it even better. I have big plans for my living room that involve recovering my pillows and introducing some homemade art projects. I can't wait!!

8. Continue to maintain my high GPA. Right now, my GPA is at 3.7 which is a pretty great feat considering that in the past few years that I've been in school, I worked, went to school and had kids. I hope that I can continue to maintain the momentum that I've built up so that I can set a good example for my kids academically.

9. Let my hair GROW!! I know that Jame will appreciate this one, but I have a feeling that I'll get the itch to chop either a little before or directly after this new baby arrives. It's just something that I do, I don't know why, I just do it. I haven't cut my hair since last April and so it's been about nine months since I've touched it which is a big deal for me. We'll see :)

10. Find some balance in my life. As I mentioned before, it's about to get really busy in my house and it's going to take more energy than what I feel I have right now, but if I am able to achieve some kind of balance I know that I'll be able to do it. I have to settle myself down thinking that I have to be perfect at everything, sometimes just being good is good enough.

11. Turn off the T.V. Sometimes I just have it on for background noise while I'm cleaning or doing schoolwork which doesn't make any sense because then I sometimes loose my focus and get completely distracted. Like right now :) So, I've decided that it just needs to be off. That and I don't want to waste the electricity.

12. Blog more. I know that I've said this in the past and that I've made this same promise before, but I really like my blog and I really like people being able to see my family grow and learn more about our lives. Lately, I've had a hard time thinking of what to write about and I've neglected it as a result. I promise to do better in the future.

13. Take more pictures. My kids are growing up before my eyes and I barely have any pictures of them. I haven't taken any first day of school pictures or monthly milestone pictures of Addy. I haven't been very good, but hopefully I'll be able to do better when I get a new phone (an Iphone, ha ha Jame!). Then I'll be able to actually have good quality pictures and I'll be able to load them on our computer. Either that, or I'll have to invest in a good quality camera.

Well, there it is. Lucky 13 things I plan to accomplish before the year is up. I'll let you all know how I'm doing because one of them is to blog more often. Good luck with your own "resolutions" and have a Happy New Year!! May 2012 be the best year EVER!!!

Right Now

Right now I am...

Watching: The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda, but I'm not really paying attention. I kind of feel that they are a little overrated and not really funny to anyone, but each other. How some people make such a great living gossiping and talking nonsense I will never understand. The channel is about to be changed, as soon as I find the remote.

Eating: Addy and I are both eating a candy cane. She has a bigger piece than I do and I really didn't think that she would like it because of the strong mint flavor, but she seems to be enjoying it. I see a stick mess to clean up in my future.

Drinking: Water and a Diet Pepsi, but I should just be drinking water.

Wearing: Jeans, a Long Sleeved Shirt and a Purple Short Sleeved Sweater. It's a lot colder outside than it looks and I just want to be comfortable and warm. I wish that I had some super warm socks on (they're just athletic socks, but they match) I could us some warm wool socks right about now. I just can't seem to keep my feet warm EVER!!

Avoiding: Dishes, Laundry and just cleaning anything in general. I am hoping that maybe one day, the cleaing fairy will show up at my house and it will all magically be done.

Feeling: Tired. I stayed up too late last night trying to solve some computer problems and then I had to check the status of my school financial aid and check into Facebook of course. I also stayed up reading, which I probably shouldn't have.

Missing: My mommy and daddy, but I won't be for long!!

Thankful: For a warm home, Addy's smile when she wakes up and her new walking skills, food in my tummy, the cookies my visiting teachers brought, my family, the place I live, so many things!!

Weather: Probably a little over 20* right now. I'm not looking forward to packing Addy back up in the car and going to pick Breckin up from preschool here shortly. I just have little motivation when it's cold outside. There is still a little snow on the ground, but not much.

Praying: For those that are lonely, hurting or having unbearable trials right now. I pray for them to have strength, comfort and love in their lives. There are too many people struggling out there and if the least I can do is pray for them, that's what I'll do.

Needing: Some fabric glue for some projects I'm working on. I also need Hobby Lobby to be closer because I love the fabric selection there, but I hate driving all the way to Billings and having to stay there all day to really get what I need and want.

Thinking: I really should make those peanut blossom cookies today s that Jame can take some to work tomorrow. I have also made a list of all the things that I need to do before next Tuesday. So much!!! I'm kicking Jame out of the house and I'm crafting, packing and cleaning ALL DAY!!!

Loving: Addy discovering things, the pictures that Ashlyn has been making lately, Breckin's complete obedience lately, my glue gun, the ornaments I made, the fact that I ordered my books for next semester on Tuesday and they got here today! The GREAT refund I got for the books I sold from last semester.

And you? What are you p to right now?

Randoms

So, the reason why I haven't been on here very much is because I have really been at a loss for anything to talk about. I know that many of you find that very hard to believe, especially those of you that know me very well, but it's true! So, I have decided to do a random post in the hopes that maybe I'll be inspired by something! Here are just a few random things that you may or may not know about me:

1. I HATE feet!! I can't stand feet, the smell, the look, the idea of feet. I love baby feet, but after the age of two they stop being cute and start becoming gross. When I was pregnant with Addy it was very difficult for me to get down and paint my toenails, so I would treat myself to pedicures. I have to say that I would rather work in fast food than do pedicures all day. I saw some pretty gross feet just from where I was sitting.

2. Sometimes I just let my house sit and be a mess. Right now is one of those times. I just don't have any motivation to clean. I know that this is unusual, but I just think about all of the stuff that I want to go through and get rid of and it is enough to exhast and deter me from getting any work done. So, my house is a mess.

3. I wish for a dishwasher. I went and looked at an apartment that we might move into in possibly January. The first thing that I noticed was a dishwasher!! I loved having a dishwasher in Laramie and it really saved me time and the headache of looking at a sink full of dishes. Hopefully we'll be able to move in and I'll get my dream dishwasher.

4. I am still obsessed with Veronica Mars. If you have never seen it, look it up on Hulu. It's got Kristen Bell as the title character and I just love how clever and snarky she is. I wish that I could have been that confident and clever in high school. Maybe that's why I like it so much.

5. I really wish that I was crafty. I see all of these projects on other blogs and on Pintrest and I wish that I had the time and patience to complete those things. I am going to put forth the effort next week to redo our Christmas decorations that will involve some fabric, a glue gun and perhaps some sewing. I will officially be done with my classes on December 9th and I plan on devoting much of the free time I'll have to doing some crafts.

6. I haven't cut my hair since last April. I went to a salon here in Cody and overpaied for a terrible hair cut. I decided that I would try to grow it out as long as I could stand it. It doesn't seem like it has grown that much, but it has. I like the fact that I can pull most of it back and out of my face, it's really nice when I actually do get the motivation to clean this house.

7. I actually like it when it snows. I like the big, fat snowflakes that just seem to float down gracefully. It's days like this when I just like to curl up on the couch and read a book or watch a movie. It's really nice.

8. In addition to a dishwasher, I really wish that I had a mantle. It would be great to decorate a mantle and fireplace this time of year. I also like the ambiance that a fire brings on winter nights when the big, fat snowflakes are falling.

9. I wear mismatched socks. Sometimes it's just fun to look down and laugh. It's also interesting when other people notice. They give you a weird look and then they might ask you if you know that your socks don't match. It's just good, clean fun.

10. I don't own a pair of sweatpants. I don't know what it is about sweatpants, but I just don't like them. My kids don't even own sweatpants. The closest they come are the fleece pants you can get at Old Navy. I don't think that I've always been this way, but they just remind me of my grandma.

11. Finally, for those of you who don't know already...We're expecting again. I'm about 21 weeks along and we have had two ultrasounds and all signs point to another little girl. Our new baby is due April 20, 2012. I know that many of you may be either thinking or even saying out loud-"Already!?!". It wasn't planned, but it is definently a gift that we are happy to recieve. All of the kids seem to be happy about it and Addy is just like Ashlyn was at her age. She has become more and more independent and obedient. I know she is only 10 months old, but I can tell. I feel that the Lord has blessed me with so many girls because he knows how good and obedient the girls that I already have are. He also knows that Breckin is my "Little Boy" and it needs to stay that way for a while.

So, there it is. A few random facts about me. Next time, maybe, it'll be less than a month between posts :)

My Life As A Stay At Home Mom

So a while ago I was talking to an old friend and he asked me what I was up to. I told him that I'd been married for 8 years, had three kids, went to school full time and stayed at home being a mommy. His reply: "So that's ALL you do? You just stay at home? Okay". WHAT!?! That's ALL I do!!! I will have you know that there is a lot to ALL of what I do. Here is a typical day in our house:

6:30am: Get up and say goodbye to Jame as he's going out the door to work. I don't usually know how long of a day it's going to be, so I do like to say goodbye to my husband before he leaves. Between now 7:00 I try to get myself ready to go for the day. My day can consist of a number of things, so I do actually try to get dressed. I am not a person that is comfortable going out of my house (unless it's just to run to the car) in my pajamas, so I try to look somewhat presentable.

7:00am: I get Ashlyn and Breckin up and going for the day. Usually Addy will wake up with them and I have yet another little person to get dressed for the day. I usually try to lay out the kids' clothes the night before, so I don't have to try to sift through clean laundry and try to find something that they can wear. I then proceed to get them some breakfast. This will be Breckin's first breakfast as he has breakfast again at school, but sometimes he doesn't like what they are having so I want to make sure that he has something in his tummy. Then I try to get the beds made and things picked up a little bit.

8:00am: We're out the door. All three kids with coats, hats, gloves and the two older ones with backpacks. Ashlyn has to be at school at 8:10, so I usually get there at about 5 after and walk her up to her door. Sometimes I'll stand there with her for a minute and some of her classmates will have me put on their gloves and zip their coats. So, I have another round of being a mom to other kids! Then Breckin has to be at school at 8:30. We usually wait in the car for a minute before we go in and then I drop him off and say goodbye to him. Addy and I then begin running errands for the day.

9:00am: Addy and I run some errands. On Tuesday's she stays with Grandma Kelley while I go volunteer in Ashlyn's class from 8:30 til about 10. We usually go to the grocery store or go to the library. Some days we'll just go home and start on chores for the day.

9:30am-12:00pm: I usually work on school work while I am doing laundry, giving Addy a nap, or paying bills online. Then I will wash the dishes, wipe the counters off and sweep the floor. I'll also start getting stuff ready for dinner that night. At least twice a week, I clean the bathroom. I have two boys in my house and one of them doesn't have very good aim. Then the other one makes a mess when he shaves. I am constantly picking up after one of them in the bathroom!! This includes, cleaning the counters, the toilet, the floor, and the shower. I then move on to the kids' rooms. I finish making beds and clean up toys that were left out before bedtime. Once a week I try to wash all of the bedding in the house. Finally, it's time to get Breckin.

12:00pm: I go pick Breckin up, talk to his teachers and find out what things are going on at the school that I need to be aware of. Once a month we have a parent meeting so that the parents can know about any upcoming activities or programs that they can help with. Then, if Jame's lunch isn't ready when he leaves, we usually go up there and drop it off and say hello to him because, again, we don't know how late of a day it could be.

1:00-3:00pm: I usually start on a snack for Ashlyn and Breckin to have when she comes home from school. Sometimes it's cookies, homemade bread, or something else that I've made. Other times it's just something like yogurt and fruit or popcorn or something simple, but I usually like to make something homemade. On Fridays she gets out at 1:30, so I go and pick her up then. Otherwise, I continue cleaning the house and trying to catch up on the never ending laundry!

3:00pm: We all load up again to go get Ashlyn from school. I go up to her door so that her teacher can see that she's with who she should be with and then we walk back to the car and I ask her about her day. After we get home, the kids get a snack and I try to put Addy down for another nap. Then the kids and I will read books or play or just relax and watch Spongebob.

4:00-7:00pm: Jame usually gets off of work within this time window, and since we only have one vehicle, we all go pick him up from work around now. Sometimes, we have to stop and do some errands for him, otherwise we just all go home. We relax and play together for a little while until it's time to make dinner. I usually like to try to have dinner at 6:30 at the very latest. The kids are very enthusiastic about being in the kitchen to help me when I make dinner, so sometimes it takes longer than if I were to just do it myself. We usually sit around the table together and talk about our day.

7:00pm: It's bath time for all of the kids, which means that Addy usually takes either a quick shower or a little bath. Then Ashlyn and Breckin have their bath and it's time to put on pajamas.

8:00pm: Now it's time to get the kids settled into their beds and get them thinking about getting sleepy. We usually read scriptures, say prayers and read a library book together. Sometimes I have to pat Breckin on the back for a little while, but he's usually pretty good about going to sleep. All of the kids are usually asleep by 8:30.

8:30-10:00pm: Now I'm just being generous to myself. I usually don't make it until 10:00. In fact, last night I started to drift off at 9. It was kind of amusing. Anyway, Jame and I try to catch up on things for the day and just enjoy some quiet time together. It's good for us because some people say that we have trouble communicating, you know who you are :) I have also been known to completely ignore him if I have a good book that I want to read, so sometimes he's left to his own devices and that usually includes the X-Box. Finally, I crash and think about doing it all over again tomorrow.

So for that ignorant (and yes, I'm getting THAT mean) individual that belittled my existence as a stay-at-home mom. I would like you to take a look at my day and see if you are able to accomplish even half of what I do. I would also like you to realize that on top of these things, I have a church calling, family obligations and every once in a while I've been known to help my neighbors and friends if they need it. I am very proud of what I do, even if you don't understand it. I am grateful for a hard-working husband who believes that the most important job that I can do is within the walls of my own home. And just for a little food for thought, if I did have a professional job title it would be this: chef, chauffeur, psychologist, housekeeper, nurse, teacher, bookkeeper, receptionist, personal assistant, and coach. On top of that, if you really need to have a monetary value on what I do, according to Fox News I'm worth $117,000 a year and according to MSN Money I'm worth $138,095 a year. But I'm willing to do this job for the satisfaction of being able to be with my children and make a house a home for my family.

Promises, Promises :)

Okay, I already know, at the beginning of the new school year I had the best intentions of being more faithful in my blogging. I grossly underestimated how busy I would be with Ashlyn in school, Breckin in preschool, me in school, Jame at work, laundry to do, dishes to wash, dinner to make, and everything else to do. I am finally getting around to the blog.
A lot has happened in the last month. First, Jame is working a lot more. He's also beginning to travel for his work more. Next month he goes to San Francisco, CA. In November, he goes to Casper. He also has some tenative plans for December and January. They must like him if they are spending all of this money sending him places.
Next, Grandpa Hawkins passed away on September 8th, 2011 and we had a funeral on September 13th. It was a beautiful and uplifting funeral and I am so grateful that we were able to be there. I am also grateful that we were able to be around Grandpa and get to know him. I felt so bad for him when he got toward the end because he was beginning to suffer the way that Grandma had been when she died. Fortunately his suffering didn't last as long as Grandma's and he passed peacefully, surrounded by those that loved him. Breckin was facinated at the viewing by Grandpa's body in his casket. Finally, on the third time going in there Lynette said, "Yup, he's dead." Breckin said, "He's dead!" He just needed to be told bluntly what was going on instead of all of the mechanics of his spirit not being in his body anymore. He also thought that one of the men helping to bury the casket was Jesus. He is developing quite the personality!
Grandpa left this world a much better place and he also left his family with some guidance that we should all learn from. He said, "Do the best you can. Serve the Lord every chance you get, and if Satan knocks you down, get back up, even if it takes a long time." He was such a wise man and again I am so very grateful that I was able to know him.
Life doesn't seem as though it is going to slow down anytime soon. I have a paper due this Friday that I haven't even started, I have Ashlyn's birthday coming up, I need to put in some volunteer hours at Breckin's school and I desperately need to clean my house :) We may also begin a search for a safer place to live. Last night, when I came back from class, I pulled up and there were two Cody PD patrol cars outside, and a DCI agent. They were searching the car of a couple of kids that frequent an apartment in our complex. They didn't make any arrests, but if DCI is involved it is usually only a matter of time. So, we are starting to look for a place in a better locale. We also need something bigger, because we are about to burst at the seams! Hopefully we can find something bigger and more cost effective for us because winter is upon us and our heating bill last year was outrageous! I am not looking forward to that.
I know I did a lot of rambling here, but I just thought that I would try to update everyone about what was going on and what we were up to. I also thought that I might give some excuses for my absence. I'm really good at excuses, but I promise to try better!