In Good Company

Mixed emotions for me today.  I went to a dinner party for Citrine.  It was a farewell dinner.  Anne-Marie and Family are moving away......far away.    To New York.  I am so excited for her because this will be a good thing for her family but I am also sad that Citrine is over.  I have truly loved every single minute of it.  We did get to sing some tonight. 

So today I will be grateful for an amazing year filled with amazing music!

Here we go.....

So I finally have three days off, in a row.  I have worked the the last 10 days in a row.  So I am extra tired.  Go figure. 
But there is no rest for the wicked  weary.
We have so much work to do at home this weekend.   So I am going to use this frightful little blog of mine to get my to do list in order, or at least written down so I don't forget all the crap stuff I have to do this
weekend.
so in no particular order:

- write ward newsletter
-write the middle school newsletter
-clean out basement storage room - the cold one under the porch
-paint said storage room to prevent further leakage from the outside world
-add shelves to the storage room from my mother's house
-bring over all of my mom's food storage and put it in the icy cold storage room
-now that I have emptied the storage room, throw away a ton of crap and organize the rest
-put together shelf for the garage...
          - oh wait, the landing for the new shelf is one inch too short so David has to add a ledge
          - one little inch is causing me grief and stres - grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-clean out Ally's room - the whole room - not a thing left in that messy little hole
-take down the boarder in Ally's room
-cover up all the marker artwork scribbles all over the wall.  What covers up black sharpie marks?
-take down the rotted door jam in Ally's room
-paint, paint, paint.   It is a pretty sahde of lavendarish lilac purple.  We also have glitter paint to add a fun top coat layer to the Diva's room
-steam clean the carpet since the room is empty......hopefully this won't be too gross.
-put Ally's new room together.....new bed, bigger bookcase, less toys, get rid of the clothes that don't fit or that she refuses to wear because they are ugly not cool not her style.
-put the new door jam up in Divas room
-find a small section of baseboard at my mother's house to replace a three foot section in Ally's room.
-fix the truck - okay David has to do this one
-fix the van - and he gets to do this one too
-get a load ready to take There are days when I love getting rid of stuff we don't use or ever need.
-get crap ready for bulk pick up.  Only two weeks away....
-clean out laundry room storage
-clean up a bit of the disaster in the downstairs bathroom
-add the plumbing and wiring for a second washer and dryer - yup, that is David's job as well
-put up sheet rock
-paint the laundry room
-put up a shelf in the laundry room
-pretend my laundry is done
-so much more to do in the bathroom downstairs that I can't even think about it or write it down.  too depressing
-listen to conference
-be spiritually enlightened
-try not to have massive allergy attacks from stirring up all this dust
-sleep - at some point this weekend......
-do my homework
-try not to panic because the kids are home for the next five days

But there is one major fun activity this weekend.


My first performance with Citrine is this Saturday. i will blog more about it later. so excited that I can hardly wait!!!!!!!

So today I will be grateful for making lists.  I am a cumpulsive list maker.  I have lists for everything, scribbled on everything.  I think it is an ADD coping mechanism.  Helps me out a little bit anyway.

Declaring War against Germs!

I really hate being sick.  It just thows off my whole groove! 

Makes me want to the Emperor's New Groove just so I can hear them say "You've thrown off the Emperor's Groove" and watch them throw that guy out the window.  That is what I want to do with this stomach bug!
Everyone but Jonathon has come down with it.  Don't know how he got to be so lucky.  But I am not complaining about that.

I just live a very crazy- choatic- busy is an understatment sort of life.  I like having good things to do.
But being sick makes it so all I have the energy to do is sleep.

and sleep.

and sleep.

I don't have time to sleep.

So here is to Lysol and Bleach and scrubbing away to germs.....just gotta get out of bed to do it.

So I am trying to think through the fog and be grateful for something.  Oh I know, I am grateful for a very comfy bed to sleep/recover in.  And also grateful for heavy duty ckleaners that clean up the smell of being sick (you alll know what I am talking about - the vomit, the poop, the sweat....ewww. I know!)

November 11

Today is Veteran's Day, for my U.S. friends, or Rememberance Day, for my Canadian friends.  Anyone who has ever seen my house knows that we are a tiny bit Patriotic.  Okay, so everything is decorated Americana style.  But my favorite Veteran's Day poem was written by a Canadian soldier during World War 1.  Here it is:

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

I remember memorizing this poem in grade 9 for a special play.  I still remember every word. 
I found a little bit of history about this poem as well.  It makes it even more meaningful for me. I found it on the Arlington Cemetery website.  Here it is.....

Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.


As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient.


It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."


One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.

A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:


"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."

In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.



Canadians celebrate today by wearing poppies.  I wish American's would do that too.  It was always so fun to see all those red poppies on everyone's lapels. 
 

My Gratitude List:

1. Soldiers - who else is so willing to give their lives for all the freedoms I take for granted?  Saying Thank you just doens't seem like enough.

2. Freedom - something else I take for granted but what would we do without it?

3. Those who are left behind - the families of soldiers.  your sacrifice is greater than the rest of us can understand, and am grateful for you.

4. Holidays- like the one we are celebrating today.  It is great to have a reminder of all we hold dear.

5. Two Countries - I am grateful today to have lived in two amazing, FREE countries.  What a blessing.

Fall Fun

My favorite season is Fall.  I hate that it is the shortest season here in Utah.  I love the colors - hey they are the ones that flatter us redheads!  I love the clear, crisp air and chilly nights.  I love wearing long sleeves and boots.  Fall is the best!
The only part I am not really fond of is raking leaves.  We have a lot of trees on our property, and a lot of trees mean a lot of leaves.  I had my kids out raking last week.  All 5 of them helped and they got a lot done!  Here are some pics to show what I mean when I say we have a lot of leaves.

D.J. worked so hard!

Jon helped too

Ally even helped - instead of directing.  (-:

Ryan was smart and wore his dad'safety glasses

Cole was the smartest though, she used the leaf blower!

So many leaves that it was easier to shovel them!

Then the real fun began - Jumping in the leaves. D.J. took this picture

Jon took this picture of him and Al

Cute 12 year old!

Brothers are the best!

We ended up with 19 bags full of leaves. 

And there are still leaves on the trees.................

I talked to my supervisor this morning.  Half of the balloons are gone.  He doesn't think they are going to take down the rest of the balloons until the gas leaves and the start to deflate.  So, he is going to move all the balloon bridges to the North side of the theatre since the employee entrance is on the South side.  So hopefully I can go to work tonight - although - it has been nice to have a few days off.  He also said that if my allergies start to act up that I can leave.  He has no problem with that at all.  Thankfully I have tried to be a good employee.  I try not to ever be late, I don't call in sick, I have only ever taken 5 days off in 6 months and I gave plenty of notice each time.  So I hope they know that I am not flaking out on them, just a victim of my own body.  Dang Allergies!

MY GRATITUDE LIST:

1. kids who like rake leaves - selfish, I know!

2. music - makes any job go faster!

3. socks - my feet are always cold, so I love my socks

4. games - I love playing 'em

5. hugs - they work more miracles than anything I know of!

The rest of the Halloween pictures

Here are the rest of the Halloween pics.  Our kids had a lot of fun!

Jon dressed as a snow tiger for trick or treating.  D.J. was the tooth fairy and Ryan was a knight!

Ally was the cutest lil pirate!

She even had a pirate tattoo!

The girls went trick or treating with our friend Emme and her friend Nicole.

They all had a lot of fun.  I could hear them laughing from half a block away!

My GRATITUDE LIST

1. rain - love the smell, love the feel, love the rain!

2. movies - love em!  what's your favourite?

3. garlic - makes food taste so much better, love it on bread!

4. down comforters - if you have one, you know.

5. Ikea - I just really love, LOVE, LOVE IKEA!  I am so glad we have one here now!

Burnt toast

Ahh......the joys of parenthood. The sights, the sounds, the smells????
I was in my bedroom this afternoon listening to my Ry-guy read. He is improving so much and will hopefully be at grade level by the end of the year. Ally-bug comes running in my room, calm as can be, and says, "Hey mom, there is smoke in the kitchen, I think something is on fire."

This can't be good.

I run to the kitchen and the whole room is filled with smoke. Jonny-fish had decided to make toast and put the toaster setting to the highest setting, and then walked away.

I hurried to unplug the toaster and dropped what now resembled charcoal out the back door. We had to leave the door open and put all the fans in the kitchen to blow the smoke out.

But the smell lingers on.....




My Gratitude List


1. the PTA - yes, I am serious about this one. I love the PTA. I have met so many amazing people through the PTA.

2. good painkillers.

3. flannel pajamas

4. online schooling- I get to work at my own pace - sort of- and on my own time.

5. mascara. I have white eyelashes without it! The joys of being a redhead.

oops!

Almost forgot my list for today:

My Gratitude List:

1. My BFF Cyndi - need I say more......

2. Rain. I actually really like the rain. It makes the air smell better, kinda like giving the earth a bath.

3. Blue jeans. Everyone looks good in a pair of blue jeans. Thank you Levi Strauss!

4. Long Weekends. We are making our own this weekend. I will let you know how it goes..... if we survive!

5. Contact lenses. I wore my glasses yesterday, the are 2 perscriptions old, have a slightly broken piece and slide off my nose every time I look down. Makes me grateful for contacts because I also get to pretend to have periferal vision with my contacts in.

Derby's, Dentists, and Dishevelement

So I promised my SIL a few pictures of this week's Pinewood Derby. David and Jon created a fun car and designed the stickers for it. He did not place in the top three this year but he had a great time racing. He won the "fastest looking car" award though!

Ryan had a bit of a rough week. He had a filling fall out a while ago. We do not have dental insurance so it is really frustrating when things like happen. The tooth was hurting him and even keeping him up at night. We ended up taking him to the Dentist and we had him pull out the tooth. Ryan was amazing at the dentist's office. He sat still! He even smiled when it was all done!

My mom has had a small setback in her recovery from knee surgery. She is allergic to the pain meds the doctor gave her. She has not been able to stop the itching and scratching. She also developed a low fever. Top that all off with her knee starting to really hurt as the muscles try to heal. She got a new painkiller from the doctor but it makes her really nauseated. I am pretty worried about her. I wish her house had allready sold and she was here with us. I could take better care of her that way. Her house is back up for sale and we are constantly praying that it will sell soon. It would make life easier for all of us.

The twin pops had a really incredible experience at school this week. They have participated in a prgram called RAD KIDS. It is a personal safety and empowerment program. It is sorta like an anti-bullying program as well. They learned so much and learned how to protect themselves if they feel like they are in danger. The "graduation" included a demonstration for the parents. The simulation was put on by a police officer who was all dressed up in full protective padding. the kids were able to practice their RAD KIDS moves using their full force to get away from this potential kidnapper. The officer really made them work to get away from him. It was so cool to see our kids escape from this would-be-kidnapper.

I have not had much sleep this week, feels like even less than normal. I have had a lot of homework and had to work an extra shift on top of the surgery, dentist visit, and derby. I am so looking forward to getting away for a few days in October. Just keep praying that my supervisor gives the time off.

So this week has been more than a little crazy, but I guess that crazy is normal for our house.

My Gratitude List for today:

1. Chocolate covered strawberries - someone gave my mom a giant edible fruit arrangement as a recovery gift. She couldn't eat all the fruit and we were lucky enough to get more than half the basket. There were several chocolate covered strawberries in the mix and I enjoyed a few of them.

2. My church calling - I currently am the ward newsletter editor. This is probably the only calling you can do at home in your p.j.'s, on your own time frame. I am grateful that this calling does not require me to be anywhere or awake at any specific time. I don't think my life could handle anything else at this point.

3. No kids in diapers - I just glad my kids are a little older now. Silly thing to be grateful for, but I am grateful nontheless.

4. Facebook - with my hectic schedule I can rarely find time to talk to everyone I want too. Facebook allows me to know what is going on with everyone and keeps me a little bit connected and keeps me from feeling too isolated.

5. Good GREAT neighbours! I live in a truly wonderful neighbourhood. We are a corner house. Both the neighbour beside us and behind us want to install a new fence. This is soooo not in our budget right now. So they are letting David work off our portion by removing the old fence and posts. We are truly blessed that they would let us do that.

September

If I believed in past lives, I was probably the Grinch from Dr. Suess's books, before the whole Christmas thing. I have been very cranky lately with no real reason why. I have a deecnt life, awesome family, great friends......
So I am trying to not be so grouchy. Life is a *little* stressful and when I am grouchy, things seem worse. Who thinks clearly or rationally when they are grumpy? So here is my lame attempt at being optimistic today.
I love fall. It is finally here. I love the cooler air. I love that pollen is not so abundant now. I LOVE the colors, they are the colors I look good in....greens, oranges, yellow, browns. I love that the sun is not nearly so dang hot! That is a very important thing for us redheads. I love having the kids back in school. I love sleeping more during the day. This is very important for those of us who work all night.

I remember hearing about gratitude journals before so in another lame attempt at staying positive, I am adding a new section to this blog.

My Gratitutde List

Everytime I post I am going to add five things I am grateful for.

So here is today's list:

1. My mother's sucessful surgery. Modern science is amazing. They have given her a whole new knee.
2. My job. - My job is a pretty crappy job. I spend four hours every night cleaning up everyone else's %#$! stuff at the movie theatre. But it is an easy, mindless job that gives me the flexibility to do what I still have to do get to do during the day.
3. My hubby. No one works harder than he does. He deserves so much more than he gets.
4. Good shoes. I don't need, or even want, anyting fancy, just a good support shoe will do for me.
5. Scrapbook paper. This is a small taste of heaven for me. So many colors, so many sizes, so many patterns, so many projects. I LOVE paper.

So that is it for my attempt at being optimistic today. Think I will go make a snarly face at someone now.