See ya later alligator

2010 Planner Inside Pages
Originally uploaded by Didee's Art Cupboard

I don't know what it is about seeing a clean fresh calendar on the wall that makes it feel as though my life has a rebirth of sorts. Maybe its that the little boxes have yet to be filled in, planned and organized. Maybe it because this year I really truly am starting over. Not that tomorrow will be miraculously different from today but I do have a sneaking suspicion that 2010 will far surpass the prior year in hopes and expectations.

There were so many things that happened in 2009 that I am ready to let go of. All the hurt and pain is behind me and gone~ never to be revisited again. Put them in my past and just let them lie. I handed them over to Christ and he has taken care of everything else. Now I am just waiting for the future to unfold and be sculpted through the creators hands.

I look forward with anticipation.

Welcome 2010!

Insensitive

You would think that people would be a bit more sensitive when it comes down to sharing children. While I never wanted to have to "share" my kids with someone outside of my immediate family, that is not where life has led me.  

That being said, I try to "share" my children with a smile on my face despite miscommunications and often downright rude comments.  My kids are happy spending time with both parents.  The way I try to look at it is spending time with their Dad or Step-mom or Grandparents or even if they spent the night at a friends house will give them an experience that they couldn't have had with me.  One more tally on the board preparing them for their future. Why not try to turn it into something positive?

Yet, when I hear negative talk about the other parent being "crazy" or wishing that they had the kids "all" the time, it really comes across as a bit insensitive. Insensitive to the kids. Certainly insensitive to the other parent and full-heartedly insensitive to Heavenly Father's eternal plan.  Heavenly Father's plan is not to greedily "keep" each of his children for his own. It is to send them into the world for them to prepare their own way to return unto him. Shouldn't parenting on this earth reflect some of that same ideology?  Granted, I have the kids realistically 95% of the time but when it comes my turn to "share", I don't let the kids think that I "share" unwillingly. I chose that other parent when I married them to be the father of my children. To belittle the time my kids have with him would be to belittle my children. They are part of him just as they are part of me~ and eternally they are part of Heavenly Father.  I certainly wouldn't want to belittle Heavenly Father either.

Hopefully I will be on to more pleasant topics tomorrow but I just had to speak my mind.

The kids are home and we will be having our Christmas tomorrow morning! Then I will get to share our Christmas story.

Technical difficulties.

While revamping for the new year, I have lost bits and pieces of my mind blog. Hopefully it can be corrected and figured out before I go INSANE!!

What-Shall-We-Give?

What-Shall-We-Give?

Merry Christmas Everyone! Love you all!

Brought to you today by the letter W.

letter W

Over the period of the next month I will be transitioning back to a W name. Nothing against the G name.

It's just that majority rules in my house and when put to the family vote, well- the vote was 3-1. I being the Chairperson did not cast a vote in the decision.

It also happens that I never changed my drivers license or my social security card over to G and I am all for not having to pay, stand in line, or otherwise find extra documentation.

Direction:

I am trying to figure out which way to head with my life... but I think I have the matter resolved.

I am going back to school. Granted I have to get a few things in order first but that is the decision I feel most comfortable with.

I am going to continue school to become a marriage and family counselor. Specializing in Play Therapy for children.

Goals on paper are supposed to be more powerful. I wonder what goals on a blog do?

Hand me down

I go and visit my Grandma everyday at lunchtime. During one of our visits she noticed I was wearing a strand of pearls. This opened up a conversation about her jewlery and how she should just give it to me since I am the only one to wear jewlery in the family (which isn't entirely true!)

I remember her allowing us to look at her jewlery when we were kids. That is where I got my affinity for pearls in the first place.

I left that day with memories of a good conversation and a lovely brooch.

I promptly used it for new hair apparel. Thanks Grandma!

A day out with the boys.

A week or so ago I had the boys home from school while the kidlets were at pre-school. Since I rarely have just the boys by themselves. I took full advantage of the situation.

We went to Rupes. A local burger place that we all love.






My favorite beverage of all time. Known as the Scotch & Soda.
Really ~ sprite w/ a touch of vanilla and a lemon :)





It was fun and yummy!

Christmas festivities.

Remember I said I had the Christmas Fizzles and underwent Operation Christmas to get rid of them... well, here are some of the pictures :) Enjoy!!

Bedtime

Being a single parent is ALOT of work.

Last night I was working until 2:30am. Combine this with the fact that two little children ended up in my bed and I got up at 6:30~ well, lets just say that I have angry eyebrows today.

The day did not go all poorly though. In fact I have realized that as long as we have family prayer and scripture in the morning than my angry eyebrows at least furrow less.

The true problem comes at bedtime.

While I am left longing for the comfort of my toasty warm electric blanketed bed... my children fight sleep with every tactic that their little minds can conjur.

Isaac "Mom, I have to do my homework!"
Seth "I can smell oranges... it's making me hungry."
Eli "I want to snuggle with you."
Sophie "I have to do my barbie's hair."

These of course are met with screaming, whining and crying after the mean Mom tells them "No" with a desperate plea in her voice.

While I commend their creativity... all I really want is for them to fall into fitfull slumber so that I can take a nice long shower without the sound of "MOM" being yelled from the doorway followed by a nice~ long~ uninterrupted nap.

Sometimes I think how nice it might be to fall into a coma. Just a small one. Where I could be fed by an IV and just sleep for a week or so. I realize that there would be a downside to this... but right now... it just looks lovely. I guess instead I could opt for a decent man that would be willing to manage the household, keeping everything tidy and in order while feeding the children and getting them to their appropriate appointments on time, while I take a much needed respite. Truly, I think a coma is more likely than the latter.

I love my children~ but they really need to learn to appreciate sleep a little bit more.

Sophie's dresses

My grandma gave me a few of the old dresses that I wore when I was in Kindergarten last week. I must have been much shorter than Sophie.

The black and white dress I remember wearing to Kindergarten on my birthday. It was my most favorite dress ever. It looks very cute on Sophie but I also think that it could pass for a pirate costume. Sophie is just full of sass in the purple!

This red one was by far too short to wear as a dress, but with some jeans underneath she was very stylin.

and then....

I got a big suprise in the mail.

A while back I came across Susan's etsy shop (when it was operational) and fell in love with some retro beach fabric that she had made a dress out of. I talked with Susan about it... and she created this.... for Sophie!!! Susan~ you are amazingly talented and even more kind hearted. Thankyou so much for sending us such a treasure.

While I fondly remember that wonderful black and white dress up there as my favorite dress of all time. I think that Miss Sophie will remember this dress as her most favorite!

The Christmas Program

It's fun to think that my boys are going to the same grade school that I went to... and the same grade school that my Mom went to. The school programs always take me back to when I did square dancing in the school gym for our program. I had the floofiest pink dress.

Enough reminiscing. The boys did great!! I went to the dress rehearsal at 1:00 as well as the actual Program that night at 7.

Isaac made for a very handsome rudolph.

Before the show.

Seth is there in the middle with the red shirt on. Behind him in the yellow is his cousing Peyton.

Seth takes singing VERY seriously.

As a matter of fact. He took it so seriously that he made himself ill. I checked him out of school early to see if we could try to calm his nerved before the big show that night.

When it came time for Seth to be on stage~ I watched as all the other children filed onto the stage. No Seth. My eyes scanned the stage to see where he was at. Still nothing. They were about to begin when I spot him off stage right standing with the school principle. He sees me and gingerly steps up onto the risers. He looks at me and raises one finger. This is the signal that he will only be singing one song. The 4th graders are supposed to sing two. So I watch as Seth stands tight lipped for the entirety of the first song~ save be for the chorus when he just couldn't help himself! Then came song number two and he sang full gusto. Gotta love that kid. He did great.

Isaac was nothing more than the top half of a head with antlers. He was put in the very back of the risers because he is so tall. I had a very hard time getting any recognizable photos of him singing~ but I could hear him. He did fantastic!!

O' Christmas Tree

I put up the tree a few days before Thanksgiving. I usually don't but I figure with the kids being gone for the week of Christmas it would be perfectly acceptable to put the Christmas tree up a week early. I don't know why I hold my self to such ridiculous protocols anyways. Who says you can't put up a Christmas tree whenever you want.

Of course we all know that his backfired on me because I ran low on Christmas enthusiasm and the top half of the Christmas tree unlit itself.

Nevertheless~ we put up the Christmas tree and we had a very festive time doing it.

As a side note, I collect one christmas tree ornament for the kids each year. When they start a family of their own, they will get their Christmas ornaments from me. It will hopefully be a good way to remember each Christmas we have had.

For example, for Seth's first Christmas we bought a blue sail boat. Isaac's first Christmas was cookie monster. Sophie's first was a snowbaby. Eli's was Elmo. The sad news is that through the years of moving~ many of our items were misplaced, lost or destroyed... I am not sure which it was. So our years of precious ornaments are gone. Our tree is pretty this year but does not hold the usual memory treasures- so it lacks a bit. We will start over again with our collection this year.

photo courtesy of Eli.

The vacation

The drive

The condo

Snuggling with Grandpa
Chillaxin with Sophie.

My Mom (she doesn't have internet at home... so she uses it when she can)

Grilling the steaks.
It was snowing and I was wearing layers... brrr. The view from the balcony.

It was a lovely time.