I think I'll try...

I went to the specialty yarn store, again today. This time I bought a bamboo crochet hook, a 22 inch Tunisian hook and knitting cable stitch holders. I have done very little knitting, but this store has gotten me interested. I am going to try to do some simple cables. We'll see how it goes... I wish I could afford some yarn, but it is WAY too expensive at the moment. Plus, it is so much easier to see with generic yarn, when I'm not used to a certain pattern. I also don't want to practice on fancy yarn. Anyway, long story short, I'm going to try something new in knitting.

Whirlwind

We just made an unexpected, weekend trip to St. George, Utah. Aaron had a job interview and we all went along. It was really fun. It was nice to get away, too. The kids did really well on the trip there. They just ate snacks and watched movies. We got there on Sunday afternoon and we had no gas to wander around on, so we stayed in the hotel room. It was nice to have the downtime. Then, in the morning we drove around to see where we needed to drop him off and find a park for us. We also drove around to check things out a bit more. We have no idea if we want to live there or if we want to take the job. So, on the way back the kids were more restless. Belle did a lot of random screaming, even though she was watching Winnie the Pooh 3 1/2 times. I guess I should have changed the movie, but they kept enjoying it and it has "fast play". On the drive home we were assaulted by a huge rock. It looked the size of a bowling ball to me, but Aaron didn't agree. In the dark, it looked like there wasn't any damage. I hope that holds true in the light. Anyway, we don't know if we should take this new job. In some ways, it is perfect and would be great. In others it isn't what we want at all. It is a tricky one.

SMART Habit Saturday

Okay, so I exercised three times this week. I am not doing so well. I guess that I won't add anything new this week. I have been using Joes Goals and that has helped me a lot with my other goals. I just love the check marks everyday.

If you want to join in the fun of SMART habits, check out Lara's page!

Learning

If you are handed something and you don't have to work for it, you aren't going to learn anything from it (except maybe how to be lazy).

How often have you learned anything when you didn't have to do something for it. If you are given a book, but you don't read it, you won't have a clue what is inside. If you are taught a lesson, but you aren't prepared to hear it, or don't listen, you won't learn it either.

How many easy, laid back days have taught you anything?

How have you learned and grown? Did you learn the most when you were prepared to hear something? Did you learn when you went through a tough time? Did you learn when you worked, read, studied and pondered?

I think some of the times that I have learned the most were the times when I had to go through a really tough time. I grew and changed and came out a better person.

I think you have to work to improve and learn anything in life.

Peanut Butter Surprise

Don't you just LOVE it when, just after you give your sweet little girl a bath, she wants a sandwich (since of course, if big brother has a sandwich, she needs one as well). She eats the sandwich just fine, although messily. Then, when she is done, and you don't notice soon enough, the peanut butter has to get off of her hands. Does she come to you with outstretched hands and keep herself and everything else clean?...Oh, that would be too easy. She has to find her own way to remove it. She smears it into her newly-washed hair! Eww! Just one of the joys of motherhood.

Icicles

I grew up in Florida, so this cold weather is relatively new to me. We have had negative temperatures for a week or so, now. Icicles have been forming and it reminds me of "winter" in Florida. As a child, if we thought it might freeze overnight, we would turn a hose on and let it spray on a tree or something, hoping for icicles in the morning. We rarely got them, but when I see them, for real, I remember trying to create them ourselves.


I thought the ice surrounding the blades of grass was really cool! Luke wanted to stomp all over it. I made him stop until I could at least take a picture.

I also LOVE snow. I don't like driving on it, but I love to watch the snow. When it is floating through the air, I think of a song we used to sing in high school choir. I don't know what it was called, but it had a phrase that said, "Snow is falling, gently falling through the frosty air..." I didn't really understand that fully as a kid. Now, I have experienced it. I know it is a simple thing, but I just love to see snow. I wonder if I will ever lose that. I never saw snow until I was 21! I had been to places where it would snow, just not at the right time of year.

Joe's Goals & Rumplestiltskin

I just signed up on Joe's Goals. It is a free goal tracker. I don't know if I like it yet, but we'll see. I saw a post about it, but I don't know where...sorry. Go check it out!



Okay, so my goals look pretty sad, since I just started... I'll have to get busy!

I also found a new yarn shop here in town. It is called Rumplestiltskin. They have a lot of neat yarn as well as some books, etc. I found a Tunisian hook (afghan hook) that I want to buy when I have mad money again, next month! I am really excited to have more than craft yarn! The problem is, they are really expensive, so I feel like I'd have to have a really special project to spend that much money for yarn. I think I may buy some just for fun, to see if I like it. I also may eventually take a class there to learn how to actually knit, rather than just pretend like I do. So far, I strongly prefer crochet.

SMART Habit Saturday

I have really liked having the accountability and the thought to want to make these goals happen everyday! Here are some updates on all of my SMART goals:

Week #1--I set out to make all the beds every morning (the kids' beds always get made still, but mine isn't always), I also wanted to run the dishwasher every night and empty it every morning, so that the dishes were always done. (that happens a lot of the time and we have really liked having the kitchen so nice!) My third goal that week was to read my scriptures every day. (That went really well for the week and continued into the next week, but I haven't been doing so well lately) It looks like I need to bring those goals back, huh?

Week #2--I contiued on those goals to make them better habits.

Week #3--I added working on preschool everyday with Luke. (We didn't do every single day, but we did do a lot more than we have been)

I guess I started before Lara did the first official week, so my Week #1 wasn't a full week...whatever. I'll just be different, because this makes since to me.

Week #4--Obviously, I need to keep working on all my old goals, so I want to convince myself that I am working on those still!! I do want to add one thing for this week: I am going to do some form of exercise everyday (except Sunday)! My daily diet isn't too bad, but I don't get nearly enough exercise & and I really want to feel more healthy!

Well, wish me luck & good luck on all of your goals as well!

Ahh, Sleep...

I feel so much more like myself, today. After a good night sleep (Luke didn't wake up at all & Belle only woke up 20 minutes before the alarm), I feel normal!! I like normal, or what goes for normal around here, so much better!

I loved this article! It is by Lara, who's blog I love!

I find myself apologizing all the time for the way my home looks. I really shouldn't. I should never feel bad about the way it looks. Either I have been trying really hard and so have my children, or I have tried hard to keep it clean for too long and just need a break. Either way, I try and that is enough! I'd rather have a happy home, than an immaculate one!!!

Tired--Updated

This is the third post I have tried. I am a bit blocked as to what to say. I think I need to recharge my batteries. Since starting the horticulture class, I have been a lot more busy and I need to take the time at home to just relax. For some reason, a lot of the time, if I am away from home, even if I am doing something I like, I usually need some time at home to recharge. It doesn't help that Luke and Belle have been waking up in the night for some reason. They have a lot of good nights, but then they get into weird habits.

Update --- I think the reason I feel so drained at the moment, aside from the above-listed comments, is that I feel like I have been chasing myself around a bit. I have been going from one thing to another and I don't always do well when I go on that way for too long. Then there is the fact that yesterday was just weird and our schedules all got twisted around too much... What ever the reasons, I have decided to relax and be mostly lazy this afternoon!!

Class Tonight

Class went great tonight!! I was able to answer a lot of questions and I am working on others that I did not know. One is about canning seeds as a part of emergency preparedness. If anyone who may be reading this has ever done this and then used the seeds successfully, let me know!! I am having trouble finding anything. One problem with this class is that it is from 7 to 9 in the evening, and 9 is my bedtime. Aaron gets up at 5 am and I have to get up soon after that to make breakfast and help him get ready. I am so wired after teaching that late at night, that I have a horrible time getting to sleep. It is almost 10:30, now and I am starting to wind down and be ready to go to sleep. I think I want to do this again, in the spring, but I want to start at 6 pm instead!

Talks with Trees

Okay, so I was looking for a certain plant book on amazon.com and I ran into this: Talks with Trees. Just go look. Make sure to read the customer reviews. I love plants, but talking to them and telling them thank you when you put them in the refridgerator? Wow!!

Procrastination

In our lesson in church, today, there was a section on procrastination. President Kimball said, "One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, and unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities now." That really jumped out at me. I have really been learning that procrastination is a huge waste of time. I haven't thought about some of the habits that I have been creating lately, but I have really been working on procrastination, lately. I have been learning that if I just do most things when they come up, then they don't pile up, become late, or any other thing that I don't want to happen. It is so much easier, right now, to wait and do whatever it is that you want to do, but eventually I'll have to get to the stuff I may not want to. I think it is especially tragic when I put off the things that I don't have to do, but that I really need to do for me, my sanity and my spirituality. Anyway, I really want to get to more of the things that are sitting around needing to be done...

SMART Habit Saturday

Here is my SMART habit update and addition:
Well, I am doing pretty well with the bed making, dishes and scripture reading. I don't get all of them everyday, but I think they are all slowly becoming habits. It is also so nice to have a cleaner, more orderly home. Aaron likes it, too.

This week, I want to add two things. The first is for Luke. We didn't put him in a traditional preschool, so I was going to teach him the things he needs to know. I have really not been doing it, so my first new goal for the week is to work with him for at least 20 minutes. This is going to be easier since I just started doing a preschool tradeoff with Emily and her children. We started yesterday, and we'll do 3 days a week at each others' houses. I think the little girls will benefit as well.

So, number two is just to fold every load of laundry that is done. I always have a basket full of clean laundry and it is such a pain to have to search through it many times to find all the little things that you know are clean and probably in there somewhere. Then there is the dryer that has dry laundry in it even now. I even purposely only put clothes in there that didn't have to be folded or hung up right away, because I knew it needed to be cleaned. I also knew that I wouldn't get to it because it was pretty late in the day when I did it. I think I can greatly improve with this habit if I do it early in the day. I guess I'll have to start by folding a bunch of laundry...

TV & other Yucky things

Belle has discovered the TV. This morning, soon after waking up, she was requesting that we watch TV. She then went and played with turning it on and off. So much for the doctor's advice of NO TV for kids under 2 years old... Like that is possible with a 4 year old, anyway.

Yesterday, Belle had one of those horribly explosive diapers. I think I may have brought the curse on myself...I read and commented to this post and then Belle had an incident. It wasn't in the bathtub, but it did require a bath afterwards...

Gardening Class

Well, I taught my first community gardening class, last night! I think it went really well. It started off looking really bad. I wasn't familiar with the high school where it was being held, so I parked and went into what looked like part of the school. It was actually the parks and recreation building. I then had to walk over and try to find the door. I did find it and then I got lucky and saw some people that weren't high school kids and followed them. I finally made it there, but I was winded from all the running around and stairs. Plus, my bag was really heavy, since I packed it without testing its weight. Okay, so I got to the classroom and it was arranged really strangely. It is a photography room, so there were odd pictures all over the walls. At least for me, it wasn't really set up to teach. I had a hard time figuring out the best way to arrange myself so that I could teach effectively. I had to walk from one section of the room to another. I didn't really liike having to ignore a part of the class no matter what I did. Other than the weird classroom, I think things went quite well. I had a really good time and they asked lots of questions, which is what I was hoping for. I am looking forward to nest week!!

Happy Birthday, Little Brother!!

Today is my little brother's birthday. He is 27. (That makes me...Well, older than that!!) There is NO way that he is reading this post, but I just looked at the date and thought that I'd write just a little happy birthday for him! He is a smart and really funny guy who has made some REALLY bad choices with his life. I wish there was some way that I could reach him and help him to see that there are so many good things in life. There is so much good to be had, and he chose to bypass all of that.

I love you, Little Brother!!!

New Year's Habits Update

I have really been doing well. I have done the beds, dishes and scripture reading everyday. Sometimes the scriptures have been just a few verses, but I still did it! I usually don't do very well with New Year's resolutions, but I have been with these. I think it is mostly due to the fact that I chose small things and so it was so easy to get them done everyday! This was a great idea!! Thanks Lara!!

Great Sale

For $6.19 we got two hats, two scarves, and two pairs of gloves, for various members of our family. They all came from Old Navy. I was amazed when a neighbor told me that she got winter things for 97 cents a piece! It was such a good sale that we weren't able to get as much as we wanted because there wasn't much left. I was thinking of getting Aaron to take my picture wearing my new scarf, but then Luke started playing with it and I got him to pose for me:

Getting Home

I hate the time when I first get home with the kids. We only have to be gone for an hour or two and they are so needy! I have to get the dog out of her kennel (we don't trust her loose in the house, yet...too much puppy still in her.) and take her outside. Then, of course, Luke and Belle both want food, drinks and something do do RIGHT away! And all of it at once. And, oh yeah can you do this first?? As if I had 18 hands... When we just stay home, I can get needs taken care of as they happen, rather than everything "needing" to be done all at once.

Okay, so that is enough ranting.

Crochet Patterns

So, just when I was feeling a little bit in control of my crochet projects, I went and bought a Crochet-pattern-a-day calendar. There are some really cute patterns (and some really weird ones as well) that I'd like to make. I have to keep telling my self that I need to work on the stuff that has a deadline, first!! Then I can play around. Let's see what happens.

Mini-update:

I have been doing great on my New Year's habits!! I have done everything I wanted to everyday. This is day 3 and so far so good!

Nutrition and Fitness for Kids

In the middle of my crazy day, I found this website. I have hardly used it and I have learned things I had no clue about. I was looking for some fitness information for my activity days girls. If you've got kids, you should check it out!

Turn Your Thumb Green!

I am so excited!! The community class that I am teaching starts next week!! I have never done anything like this before. It is exciting, and a bit intimidating at the same time. I hope I do well. I hope that I enjoy it. It is a horticulture class. I have another blog devoted to putting all the notes, questions, and any other info I can think to put on there. I think it'll be a lot of fun. It has already been fun to set it all up. I even had to be fingerprinted, because I am working for the school district and will be in a school. That was an interesting experience. I don't think I've been finger printed since I was a kid---for security reasons. I was expecting the whole ink and paper thing. Well, she pushed my fingers on a wet paper towel and put my finger prints straight onto the computer with a little scanner. It was really cool.

New Year's Habit

I got the idea from Lara and I thought that it would be a great idea. I don't usually do the whole resolution thing. I thought if I made just a few things habits, that that would be good for me!

Here's my SMART list:

Run the dishwasher every night & empty it every morning
Read the scriptures every day
Make all the beds every day
Keep an idea notebook by my bed
Create a return box/bag/drawer

Okay. That is plenty. If I do too much, I'll get nothing done!

What is on your list?

Pictures of Christmas....A little late

We had a really nice Christmas! It started out on Christmas Eve with "Santa Dennis" paying us a visit. Aaron's uncle dresses up and has great time with the little kids! Luke was his normally shy self, but he was at least willing to talk to him...
Belle freaked out! I wasn't expecting that. She is usually very social and happy with whoever is paying attention to her. I had to just hold her next to him, and she was at least not screaming.

(We left the camera at my in laws, so we didn't get pics in the morning, but we snapped a few in the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house.)
Luke helped with the present giving.
(He's wearing one of the shirts we made. It has Link on it!)

Belle was being cute this morning in her Duckie t-shirt from my mom.