Brighton Called my Guys

For Christmas, we told the boys that the Chief would take them skiing at least once this season, but we needed to wait a little while and get on our feet, with the Chief having spent most of 2011 sitting out of the workforce, along with 9.2% of all Americans! Noah has not let us forget this promise. So, today was the day we picked for them to head up to the Mountains. Seth decided he wanted to go too, and try it for the first time. So, today, while I am home on the couch with my stuffed up head, the Chief is with the three boys up at Brighton Ski Resort. I even got a fun video of Seth skiing in my inbox! Yeah, for daddy taking photos to share with mommy at home! I'll add some more later if he sends me some!

Noah is our snowboarder

Noah getting ready to go down the Mountain!

Seth with his instructor riding the lift

McKay on a beautiful Spring Day!

I hope they are having the day of their lives. They already called me and told me they want to get season passes for next year! We shall see! We shall see!

What I did yesterday

Yesterday, I stayed in bed later than usual.
I asked the Chief to drive carpool for me, so I could stay in my jammies a little longer.
I made Seth and myself a strawberry protein smoothie.
I took a longish shower, letting the water soothe my achy body.
I folded 3 loads of laundry. There were 5 to fold, but I was content to get three tackled. Then I put them all away.
I picked up the boys from school.
I laid on the couch.
I played a game on the computer with Noah.
I watched a lot of HGTV.
I slept on the couch.
I dozed on the couch.
I prayed that the Chief would come home sooner than later.
I went out and sat in the front so Seth could ride his motor scooter. It was a gorgeous day, despite being a little windy.
I got a splinter in my foot, as I went out without shoes.
I asked the Chief to please take the boys out to dinner. I didn't even care if he took them to McD's (which is a place that I do NOT eat, ever.) He did take them and let them play for 2 hours there.
I laid on the couch the whole time they were gone.
I read my book, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. I have never read a book by a Gretchen, so guess why I picked it up? I even bought it. It is really good.
I went to bed and the Chief and I talked a lot.
And through the whole day, I also blew my nose a lot and went through a box of kleenex!

And what will I do today?
I will call in sick to work, something I haven't done since Seth was born 6 weeks early 6 years ago.
I will lay on the couch.
I will blow my nose.
I will pray a lot.

And tomorrow?
Well, I am planning to wake up and be on the other side of this sinus infection or whatever it is.
I will be happy and energetic.
I will be attentive to my children.
I will be loving with my family.
I will be off the couch!

Stuffy and snotty

Those are the words of the day!

Ughh! Started with a sore throat on Tuesday, but I ignored it and hoped it would just go away! Wednesday came, and felt a bit worse. I swollowed some ibuprofen and went about my day. There was a long day of work ahead of me. I unfortunately felt progressively worse as the day went by. By the time I left work at 4:30, I was feeling awful. The night did not go well as my nose was runny and my head was stuffed up. I allowed myself to sleep in a little this morning and take it easy, but I stll needed to go into work for a few hours at least. So, I went in and finished up so I could leave and come home to veg.

So, now I've had a couple of hours where I've dosed on the couch. But now, I need to get moving and pick up kids at school. Also, tonight, the missionaries are coming for dinner. I am going to hang out in the bedroom to keep the germs from them. Plus, feeling cruddy, I haven't really felt like eating so it isn't a big deal.

I'm cancelling my plans for the evening, and just going to go to bed early and hope that my stuffy head and snotty nose will not be shared with my boys, and I will recover so I can enjoy my day off tomorrow!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm not Irish, but the Chief's family has some roots there! I still love St. Patrick's Day! We wll be having the traditional Corned Beef and cabbage tonight, with the untraditional pistachio jello salad!

Hope you all enjoy your days and don't forget to wear a little green!

Weekend Arrives

I like Fridays. For the first 15 years of my career, I didn't work on Fridays. Pretty sweet deal! However, last year when the Chief got laid off, I started working on Friday mornings. When he went back to work in January, I cut back to every other Friday, so I could be home with Seth on his day off from Kindergarten. Today was a day I was scheduled to work, but the first client called and cancelled so I dropped the boys at school, and came home for an hour and finished folding all the laundry and put it away. Then I headed in to see two clients. Except the second one didn't show up, so after an hour, I was done. I ran an errand, and then went to pick up the boys.

Homework is done, now they are playing with friends, and I am relaxing...taking it in...everyone is happy, and calm. The Chief is "working" late tonight as he is in charge of a 3 on 3 basketball tourni there at work. I'm sure he is in heaven this afternoon.

It's nice to be in this nice place in our lives...things are calm, and we are all happy. We have great friends, a comfy home, and stable jobs. We are planning an anniversary vacay for just the Chief and me. Life is good...life is happy! I just wanted to take a moment to put it down in writing...so if I need reminding in the future, I can recall that we have a good life, with much to be grateful for!

Funny nighttime happenings

The funniest thing happened last night. The boys were asleep and dh and I were watching a show, folding laundry. We hear Seth crying out. So, I run down there, and he is all caught up in his comforter (its a full comforter) so I unwrap him and he gets up and he's still moaning, crying, and I think he has growing pains. He goes up the stairs ahead of me, and goes through the family room, through the kitchen, to the laundry room, where the light was on, since I was doing laundy, and he pulls down his pants and pees right in the washer, which thankfully did not have clothes in it!) The Chief had followed him to try to offer comfort, but  was left dumbfounded. Seth was totally sleepwalking...eyes open, but not aware at all of what happened. He had no recollection of it at all this morning!

The Chief, totally grossed out by this, insisted on running the washer again empty to get it clean...before we put more dirty clothes in!!!

Happy President's Day!

Mt. Rushmore, Our Trip in 2010

Woo-hoo! A day off in the middle of winter! Sounds like a wonderful idea! The plan was to sleep in...that worked great til 7:15, when my 6 year old woke me up. Guess he didn't get the memo. Realized that the Chief was still in bed too, when he should have been on the road to work. His company doesn't honor its employees with a day off! Thankful for my company!

The boys and I are considering plans for the day. Up first, is to continue the massive amounts of laundry that need my attention. We're washing all the bedding this morning. My boys need to do their reading as they have book reports due in just a couple weeks, and many pages of their books to read.

After that, plans are open. I offered the boys an opportunity to go bowling or to go to the rec center and swim. Seeing that it snowed overnight, I'm leaning toward the bowling...don't really want to be wet and cold!

Tonight, we'll have family night, and then get the boys in bed at a reasonable hour. I have let them (and myself) stay up late all weekend, and it is time toget back on track!

Oh, I wanted to mention that my oldest bought a rose for a girl at school last week on Valentine's Day. I thought it was sweet and cute, but also worried a little since he is only 12. I asked what her response was to getting the rose. It was Nada! No thanks, no smile, no response at all. And my kid was alright with that. He didn't want her to feel embarrassed, so he expected nothing in return! Wow, that impressed my over-analytical, anxiety-driven self! He is definitely laid back and relaxed.

Well, off to play with my kids...here's to a fun filled day! 

Happy Birthday, George Washington

Edge of Glory

I just have to tell you about my crazy dream I had this week. I'm going to preface it with telling you that we watched Super Bowl 2012 on Sunday, where Madonna performed the Halftime Show...and was Awesome! Still love her almost 30 years later! After the Super Bowl, the Chief and I watched The Voice...which was the Season 2 Opener. The premise of that show is that there are 4 music judges (all famous singers), who sit in chairs with their backs to the stage. A singer will come out on stage and "blind" audition for the judges. If the judge likes the singer, they press a button, indicating they want that person to join their team, and if more than one judge presses their button, then the singer gets to choose which team they want to be on. It was our first time watching the show. So, there's the background on it.

So, in my dream...Madonna comes out on stage and sings Lady Gaga's song, "Edge of Glory". The audience goes wild, but none of the judges turn around for her. At the end of the song, the judges' chairs turn around, and Cee Lo (one of the judges) asks Madonna, "What's your name?" and she replies, "Madonna" and the judges don't believe and tell her she is a good look-a-like. It took the host, Carson Daly, coming out on stage and telling them, "None of you presses your button for Madonna!" The judges were stunned! I woke up chuckling about that one!

Crazy dreams where reality tv invades my dreams! Maybe I watched too much television on Sunday!

Letting go

My oldest is growing up too fast. So is the middle child, and my baby is too! How does this happen?

Each time, I have to go and drop McKay off to go on an overnight campout, I ask myself how he is old enough to go without me! And he does it so easily. Meanwhile, I have to hold back the tears until I'm back in the car, and around the corner. He would be too upset if he knew that I shed some tears, as I let him go.

He is going to the Klondike Campout tonight. That means the winter, frigid, cold campout. I had no problem spending lots of money to buy him warm clothes, boots, socks, and gloves. I also bought him a lined flannel shirt to contribute to his warmth. We bought him a new foam pad, to shelter him from the cold of the ground. I will bepray that avalanches won't be an issue they have to deal with, as they are up in the mountains.

But the reality is I have to trust him and God to protect him, and bring him home to me. How'd my first baby get so big???

 Come home safely, McKay!

Merry Christmas!

I am so thankful for Christmas, and the celebration of the birth of Jesus. My family has been so blessed this year. Friends, Family, Strangers have come into our lives and brought joy, through time, support, prayers, gifts, yummy food, and love. The Chief and I have been in awe and amazement for the past month. It has been difficult to be on the receiving end this year, but it has also shown us how important acts of kindness are, and how they touch us.

We were able to go to Idaho to visit my sister and her family. We drove up on Thursday. We were going to come home yesterday, but I was sick and did not feel well, so we decided to come home Friday late afternoon. Yesterday, we spent the day together, read Christmas stories, and the Chief and I made a wonderful German dinner for the boys: Wienerschnitzel, spaetzle with brown gravy, rotkohl, and potato balls. It was all so yummy. I also had tried my hand at making a caramel coconut flan. Yes, I realize it is not German! We were so full from dinner, we didn't even eat the dessert last night! We had it for "lunch" after church today!

We are headed to our friend's home today to have Christmas dinner with their family. We are all so happy and filled with the Spirit of Christmas!

Oh, I almost forgot...the best Christmas present of all came in the form of the Chief receiving a job offer this week as well. He will be working in his field, and it is something he is so excited about. The job comes with a longer commute, but that's fine...we'll be staying put, and I'll be able to cut back on hours soon at the second job.

Merry Christmas!

More photos will come soon!