Today's Update

So, yesterday I woke up with a plan. Do you want to know what it was? OF COURSE YOU DO!

1. Get up 5am - read scriptures
2. 5:30am - study for online exam until 6:30 when I wake kids up
3. 6:30 make breakfast for aformentioned children
4. 7:15 hustle children out of door to bus after family prayer and kisses (picture June Cleaver?)
5. Continue to study and then take exam @ about 9am
6. Leave at 10:30am to go pick up my patient's information for tomorrow's clinical day
7. Get home from Hospital with paperwork information in hand and finish paperwork before children get off bus.
8. Make yummy dinner and then watch "Dancing With the Stars"after putting children to bed.

Now, lets all let out a wonderfully, relaxing, refreshing, "ahh..." Right?

OK now do you want to know how it actually went? Do you really? :)

1. 5:15am I am crawling out of bed - HOWEVER, JP is up...
2. 5:30am I have R's landscape plan spread out over the bed going over what plants need to be gotten today so that we can finish R's house this week - BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!
3. 6am - it's decided, I am going to leave as soon as the children get on the bus to head to our plant supplier 1.25 hours away to pick up plants for the R's job. JP is supposed to go to the R's town to pick up a concrete mixer and bring it back for another job he is doing in this beautiful week. As well as go to another two suppliers to get irrigation supplies that he needs for two other jobs he has.
6:45am - 7:15am kids are crying because they cannot find shoes, shirts (I am sure someone hid it mom! I know I put it in my drawer! - later found in the clean laundry basket), homework, etc...Cannot shove them out the door fast enough, the bus driver is waiting but not happy about it!
7:20 I am leaving for supply land to pick up all sorts of materials - I think it ended up to be three stops on that trip.
10:25am pull back into home...run inside, change into clinical scrubs, print my paperwork, grab a sandwich for "breakfast" and leave again back to the town I just came from.
11am - stop to pick up the irrigation supplies JP needs - he's probably not going to make it this direction today.
12:15-1:20pm gets patient information
1:30 pick up another plant for job and stop by Sam's for some milk.
2:00 Target to get a shirt for Ralphie for pictures today - oh and Audry really would like to try on some skinny jeans...
3:00pm - rushing home to get there in time to get kids ready for already mentioned pictures.
5pm pictures completed - now what for dinner?
7pm - sit down to take exam that I have not sufficiently studied for.
9pm - finished exam 83% :(
9-11:40pm preplanning paperwork...interesting read but so very tired!
12AM bed - just to get up at 5 again...

I think I am exhausted just thinking about it!

I know somehow this can work...I WILL BE ORGANIZED... I think I am going to have to make that my new mantra!

Today...

Do you know what day it is? It's Monday, November 8, 2010. NOVEMBER 8th! Do you know what that means? That means, in four weeks I am done with another semester of school! BUT, that also means that IN ONLY FOUR WEEKS, I have two more quizes, two more exams, two finals, a 15 minute presentation, a Funeral Paper, a "Reflective Journal" and two "HESI" exams...oh, and did I mention....those two little things called Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Now, any sane woman would be bonkers at this point, right? However, if you know me, I am not sane, and so while washing dishes tonight, listening to my Ella Fitzgerald Station on Pandora, I decided...I am going to be organized. That's it. I am done being the crazy lady mom that my children know and love. I AM GOING TO BE ORGANIZED!!!

Last year, I was so busy with school that I didn't decorate until the 18th of December, and I have some awesome christmas decorations! This year? I never even broke out the Halloween Decorations. Who has time?

Magically, I do now - right?

I am making a plan...I will let you know when it is done...there is no time for that now.

Step One: Go to bed on time...wake up early and figure out step two...

Pretty Good Day

It is 11:20pm where I live...right now.

JP and I just got home from a very long day working...

I get the mail and find a letter from my college of nursing - another bill?? :(

NO!!! :)

I got notice of a FAT scholarship that I was awarded for the coming school year that will enable me to NOT have to take extra classes to be full time and NOT have to get student loan money!!!

YEAH ME!!!

Thank you TT for your FANTASTIC letter of reference! You are my FAVORITE person for tomorrow.

Sorry but today it is reserved for the person who saw so wonderfully to award me that money.

TODAY, was a good day.

I feel so blessed!

On a side note...I LOVE THIS PICTURE OF JP and the Kids!

The View From Daddy's Truck

This is the view from the driver's seat of JP's truck - to the backseat.

Can you even tell that they were wearing their seatbelts?

Family Shots...

A few weeks (month?) ago was my mother's birthday and so we gathered at our childhood home from all over the country....heat, humidity, bugs and all! We had great fun...

The Sisters: M, H, ME!!! and C

The siblings...(L to R) baby sister H; little sister M; ME!!!; little brother S, baby brother D and older sister C.

Isn't this amazing...we were only missing three people, my JP, my sister M's hubby S, and my nephew C. who belongs to my older sister...

My Children

Have I ever told you how much I love my children?
I do.
I am sure you already know that.
Have I ever told you how sometimes I get to remind myself how much I love them?
Usually with the mantra, "I love my children, I love my children, I love my children..."
You get the idea right?
Today I found this and it made me feel really good.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Ever Hear This From Your Five Year Old?

"I AM SWEATING LIKE A SINNER IN CHURCH!"

Overheard from the back seat of the van on a hot day...
Thank you Princess and the Frog!

Have You Ever Had A Day...

Have you ever had a day when you found yourself making pancakes at 10:30 pm for dinner...

Then only to find that instead of batter being on the perfectly warmed skillet...

It is in your hair...
All down the front of your clothes...
Dripping from the ceiling (equaling new painting project~YEAH!?!)...

And on the floor in the kitchen...
And the floor in the dining room...
AND THE FLOOR IN THE LIVING ROOM?

Yep, that was me...

Sorry, no pictures - I couldn't see through my glasses which were covered in batter...

Sunshine OUT!

Simple Abundance

I was so excited...


After last year's disaster with the field rats and my garden, I was so tickled to see that some of my plants from last year were growing.



I have a roma and some other kind of tomatoes growing from the seeds of fruit that I tossed to the side after the stupid rats ate half of it.



And I have the greatest crop of basil EVER. It grew back from last year....right?





SO...


Then I called a friend to ask what kind of herb I had and did she want some because my harvest was huge!!!

R. came over and said, "Uh, thats a weed..."

Can you hear my heart break?

I was so very excited - only to have it dashed....



Time to go pull some weeds.



On a more positive note...she did say that I looked different somehow...did I lose some weight? So, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER FOREVER - espicially since the weight is all still there! :) OH, and apparently Basil doesn't grow back - go figure! :)

Sunshine Out!

A Lesson in Economics (At Least Inflation!)

Audry: "Ralphie, what would it take for you to give me your hamburger?"

Ralphie: "Um, $100.00"

Audry: "But I don't have $100.00"

Ralphie: "Then I guess you don't have a hamburger..."

Happy Spring!

This is the first day of spring from my front porch...how is YOUR day?

You Just have to watch it...

You just have to watch this...
Ralphie summed it up...
"That would DEFINATELY hurt if I tried that! And that...and that...and that...but the end was funny!"

He spent the rest of the day singing the beginning of the song!

Here's something you don't hear everyday....

Ralphie: Dad, where are you going? Poopy pants world?

Daddy was going out to the trucks...

Hope you have a great week!

The "Some of the Family" Curse

Can you tell me what happens when you have a family lineage of French and Italian? Besides the fun obvious, you have a HUGE chance of being just a little more hairy then other women... NOT ME OF COURSE, but I am sure there is someone out there...
Anyway, when my little Audry was born, she was so very hairy, I knew she was taking after my side of the family. She even had this sweet little patch on her lower back that a friend mistook for "an explosion" in Sacrament when she saw her dress up.
But why do I tell you this...will Audry hate me later?
Probably, but she is so beautiful she will let it slide right?
Goodness, I am digressing. This is my conversation with sweet 8 1/2 year old Audry...

Audry: "Mom, I really need to get these fixed"

Mom: "What fixed?"

Audry: "My unibrow"

Mom: "Who told you that you have a unibrow?" (Mom getting a little miffed at the kids at school...HOW DARE THEY!?)

Audry: "Can you not see it? I told my self I have one!"

Mom: "Where did you learn about unibrow's?"

Audry: "On TV, when can I get it fixed?"

So what do you think? Should I. I want to. I always swore that when she noticed her unibrow that I would help her get rid of it. NOT THAT IT BOTHERS ME...SHE IS GEORGEOUS and I tell her all the time. But I don't want her feeling self conscious. But then, where does it stop? I don't want my 8 1/2 year old shaving her legs...Oh the humanity!

New Background

I know that this background is a little too...not quite me, but this is Audry down to the very last swirl and since I am already tired of the winter scene...to a degree, I thought that I would honour Audry. Did you know that she sits in the front of the bus each day just so she can help the "little kids" from the Primary School (Early elementary) get to their seats ok with no problems? I didn't, but I am not suprized by it. Matilda was telling me about it today in passing while telling me how empty their bus was with all the snow...She is a very thoughtful little girl when she doesn't think about it.
Don't you just LOVE HER!

I know I do.

Grandma

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my family took a trip to California to see my Grandma Lasard. She was my dad's mom and she was so cool! She had an ice cream shop of some sort out there somethere - I think it was called something like "Frostys." Two days into the trip, I got sick...really sick. I can remember just coughing and coughing and coughing (something I am sure I inherited from my wonderful mother). I also remember my Grandma making me the most wonderful concoction to stop my horrible, raw throat coughing. It had the most wonderful smell! It was made of honey (1/2 cup I think), the juice of one lemon, and a tsp (or TBSP?) of glycerine. She would warm up the honey to a wonderfully runny consistency then add in the lemon and glycerine. It was HEAVEN! All of a sudden, I didn't mind being sick on my trip, I was drinking of the most wonderful medicine known to man! As I sipped the liquid gold, it's warmth would glide down my throat, soothing the soreness. Pure bliss....



Tonight, I noticed that my extra large bottle of honey was no longer squeezable and decided to warm it up so that I could transfer some to my little bottle of honey that the kids love to put on just about everything. I put it in a small pan of water and allowed it to warm itself through on low heat.

Then something happened...as I was pouring the honey into the small bear shaped bottle, I remembered my grandma, my trip to California, and her cough suppressing liquid heaven. Then all of my other memories all of a sudden came rushing back.

She passed away back in 1993. I love my Grandma dearly and am so very glad to know that families can be together forever and that she is just on the other side of the veil, waiting to see me. I cannot describe the peace that that knowledge gives me.

Don't you just love those little memories that bring such joy rushing back to your mind?

Happy New 2010!

"And now let us welcome the New Year

Full of things that have never been."

-Rainer Maria Rilke

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This morning my little Audry said, "What's the big deal about New Years Day? It's kind of boring."

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I tried to explain that it was cool. A new year, new opportunities, new goals...but she is eight, her life is cool already.

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So, with that in mind, I have been spending a little time trying to figure out how I am going to make this a special year.

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What am I going to do with 2010 to make it stand out? What are you going to do to make it stand out? How can we make this a special time for our children? Set goals, make resolutions...hmmm

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Let's think on it and I will get back to you. How about that?