Theory of relativity strikes again....

I don't really k now newton's theory of relativity...  but I know how I use the term... that everything is life is relative.  FOR EXAMPLE - in the spring, when you are used to winter temperatures, 60 degrees feels warm /hot ], you work outside wearing t-shirts and are feeling warm and comfortable... (and the kids want to turn on the sprinkles  and play in the water and don't understand why you tell them no...)  In the fall, when you are used to the  hot temps of summer, when it hits 60 degrees I feel cold, pull out the sweatshirts and jackets, and the kids want to drink  hot cocoa.

Today I experience another verification of the all t hings being relative.  We woke up to the first "real" snow of the season.  (we have had an unseasonably warm fall,  only one other day that dropped a few flakes,  but nothing really stuck...)  The kids woke up and were shouting  for joy.  They were all ready for school early and out playing the snow.  Caleb has  been out sledding in the front yard all  morning - they are all THRILLED!  

Me? not so much.  I am COLD.  Dread driving on the slick roads.  Hate going outside at all, for any reason...

I expect that when I was younger, I was the same  as my kids, loving the wonder and fun that snow play brought - but as an adult, don't really remember that AT ALL - and can't seem to conjure up any feelings of love for the white cold stuff!  OK - I do  love the way it LOOKS.  If I could just sit inside the warm house, curled up w ith a cup of hot chocolate  and a good book, with my little space heater running right in front of me - then it would   be great.  unfortunately, that isn't quite how life works  most of  the time...

I did convince Tim that it was a good  idea to stay off  the roads today, and he is working from home, so  one less thing to worry about.  I'll have to go out 3 different times to run to the school - once  to take caleb to kindergarten  at noon, then 3:00 after school pickup for carpool, then 4:00 pick up Aaron  (he stays after school most days for play practice, or extra help  on the trumpet, or stuff like that...) 

 fun fun fun.  

world's worst mom?

(or maybe the "best" if  not freaking out in times of crisis is a good thing...)

So today I was down at the Lea's for our primary presidency meeting.  About 20 minutes into the meeting, my cell phone rang.  I saw it was a call from  home.  it was Aaron,

"Hey mom.  are you busy?"  Um, yes Aaron, I am in the middle of my meeting, what do you need?

"Well, .....  I don't know exactly what happened....  but Bryan and Caleb were doing something, ...  I  don't know what.... but then Bryan was screaming and everything..."

(i  interrupt here,  "Aaron, you need to get dad and let him handle it.")

"I know, Dad is with Bryan, he's taking him to the doctor."

WHAT???  why is he taking Bryan to the doctor???

"well, I don't know what happened...   but Bryan had a hole in his head and it was bleeding and everything..."

at that point I figured there was nothing I could do - so my 'mother of the year' response was something like this, "OK, thanks for telling me.  I have to finish my meeting.  Choir practice is at our house right when I get home, so if  there is any blood, please clean it up."  (the Mclaughlin's  have sick kids at their house, so she had asked this morning if I would host & lead sectionals for the women)

About 45 minutes into choir, Tim & Bryan got home.  3 stitches right across the bridge of his nose!  Apparently he and Caleb had been playing the"telephone game" with the vacuum  hose, then started whipping it, and Bryan whipped it so hard Caleb let go of his end - it whipped up and took a chunk out of Bryan's nose.  OUCH!

Aaron was still claiming bragging rights to having the most stitches, (his 13 at one time from when  he was 5) but Bryan is catching up - slowly  but surely...

Thursday -

still on an emotional roller coaster.  Was having a pretty good day,  did some productive things, had some "me  time"    (had a massage, it was great)  got some shopping done,  and planned dinner.  All was well  until about 6 pm, when I started to melt down.  Things started to frustrate me, I started to feel like I was having a panic/anxiety attack... hand shaking, trouble breathing, etc...  Trying to get the kids to finish up their homework  ,  then only to find out Aaron had  two MAJOR assignments  due tomorrow that he hadn't started...  I was frustrated to say the least!   the anxiety had it's  usual affect on me -  I wanted to eat (chocolate, of course) and escaped to my  room to turn on the tv as my method  of blocking out reality.  

I calmed  down enough to help Aaron with his English assignment.  he finally went to bed  at  about  10:30...   now I'm  working on calming down enough to sleep.                

mediocrity

A very mediocre day...  not good, not bad.  Katrina woke  up sick, and spent the day at  home, throwing up...   poor  kiddo!  I hope  the rest of us can skip the sickness,  but only time will tell if we get lucky.  (i'm really not holding  my breath,  we'd have to be SUPER lucky for that to happen.

I volunteered in Caleb's class today, (I do it  every wednesday)    I am  thinking about seeing if  there  is another mom  who wants  an every other week kind of schedule so I can lighten my load a little,  but  we'll see.   Tomorrow  is my day to volunteer  in Bryan's class...  

Damon was offered  a job down  in  Moroni, Ut.  I'd love to  have them  move back  to Utah.  They are trying to decide if it is a good move for them.  It doesn't pay much, so it would be tough to live on fo rthem, but I'm still hoping they take it.  We'll see what happens.

i'm trying

today was a little better.  I know that when I feel in the dumps I tend to do nothing - just lie in bed, (usually eating) watching  TV or reading  or whatever,  but then I just end up feeling more guilty because  I'm not doing what I'm "supposed" to be doing...  Today I took a walk with Caleb,  it was a beautiful day, and we hiked up on the mountain for about 45 minutes, then after he left for Kindergarten, I set the timer and worked hard for a full hour.  I know it isn't much,  but it was  good for me.  then  I got to turn  on t he tv and  watch while I tried to dig  into t he piles in the master bedroom.  (AKA family dumping  ground)  The kitchen got clean, and I made great progress on my room (about 90% done - should be able to finish tomorrow)

I did a tiny bit towards my calling - helping introduce our new activity leader, Sister Settle, to the girls and other leaders.  I think that will  be a good fit.  Then I made dinner and after dinner we took the kids to the rec center -  not to swim (wrong time of the month for me) but they played racquetball (after a manner of speaking...)  pool, shuffleboard, rock climbing, and on the indoor playground.  we stayed longer t han we planned, and the kids got to bed later, but t hey had fun.  I want to do more things for "fun" as a family - but I find I often  ruin the experiences by being so uptight and  ...  I  don't even know...  Tonight I  blew it by losing my temper at Aaron - he tends to push my buttons the most, (might have something to do with  being a  teenager)  and I totally over-reacted.  I snapped at him (in front of his friend  Luke, who came  with us) after  Caleb got hurt - trying to "race" aaron while jumping from these cement rings in front  on the rec.  Caleb missed a  jump and  fell, hitting his elbow and crotch hard - and narrowly missed hitting  his head on the cement wall.  I apologized, and hope he  forgave me, but it makes me feel like  I negated  any good done by having "family fun time."  It is just hard.

In a tiny piece of good news.  I've been using the free calorie counting site - myfitnesspal, and have logged in for 31 days in a row.  (a new record for me, and an accomplishment I am proud of.   I have dropped  a few lbs,  from 177 down to 173.  It is SLOW going, and I sure wish the weight would drop faster, but  I am trying to be content  with the knowledge that I am making progress and making lifestyle changes...

Mission accomplished... then crash and burn

Yesterday (Sunday) was a FANTASTIC  day!  It was the day of the primary program, and the program went GREAT.   Several months  back when we started planning the program,  I was going to write it the same way they have  the past several years, where as a presidency they divide  up the  monthly themes and classes, and they each write a portion.  We  started in t hat direction,  but it  didn't feel  right,  so I ended up taking  it on my own responsibility.   I had an idea of what I wanted,  and decided I would rather do it  myself  than not have it be what I wanted.

The theme for the year has  been  "I am a child of God,"  and the vision I had was that I wanted the theme to carry through the program.   I didn't want people to get to the end and not really know what our focus was.   The way I planned it was that for each  monthly theme, the children in the assigned class presented the basic doctrines,  with a lot of personalize parts (Like the CTR 5 class talked  about how Jesus created the earth,  under  the direction of Heavenly Father, and several of the kids told what their favorite creation was and why.)  Then they final child would introduce  themselves by name, say a few t hings about themselves, like things they like to do, then tie in the monthly theme,  and end with "but the most  important thing about me is that I am a child of  God and He loves me."  and example  of this was  one girl who's class had  the topic of  the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Her part was, "My name is Sadie, I am 10 years old and I love to swim and read. I always try to choose the right, but sometimes I make mistakes. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, I can repent and be forgiven. The most important thing about me, is that I am a child of God and He loves me."

The children sang beautifully, and even though the music didn't have some elements that I would have wanted if I had been the music leader, it was still good. I had a spot a the end for bishop Hickman to make a few remarks. He didn't say much, but he DID add in his remarks that just like the children, HE was a child of God and that God loves him. It was perfect - (i had suggested that he was free to use the line to tie it all together) because that was my goal - to have them hear t he line repeated over and over, and for the spirit to confirm that regardless of our differences, including age, likes and dislikes, etc... we are all children of God.

I was thrilled that so many people made comments about how they felt the spirit, not just "oh that was so cute. I just love to see the little children, etc..." All but about 5 kids had their parts memorized, and it really was a great experience. I started the day pretty stressed out, but ended on a total high! I felt that I followed the promptings of the spirit in the writing of the program, and I feel we accomplished what the Lord wanted us to do.

The crash and burn part? that would be today. for whatever reason (PMS, Bi-polar???) today I just felt let down, depressed, unmotivated, etc... I feel like I am so BI-POLAR... I feel like I was on such a high yesterday, so then today I crashed back down to earth. It is just ridiculous - there is absolutely no logical reason for me to feel down, and yet I couldn't shake the feeling. what's up with that????? Hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.

blog changes and updates

I feel  badly that I have let my blog become non-existent...  My hope/plan is to backtrack through some  of  the highlights of  the past year and get events and such recorded.  Tonight I  changed  the settings on my blog too, making it a private blog.    I did this  so I can  be more open and  free in w hat I say.  Rather than treating this as a blog, I want to use it  as my journal.  We'll see how it  works.   I will try to back date the entries, so they will still b e in chronological order,  but I will probably make  some notation that it was written late - or may be  not...  I'll see  how it goes.

Where oh where has the school year gone???

I was just adding a few more "end of year" things to my google calendar (that is filling up fast) and I was honestly SHOCKED to see that the kids only have 7 days of school left????  Where has the time gone?  I'm not ready for summer, but I guess I'd better hurry and GET ready.  (planning out summer job charts, family fun time, daily routines, etc...)  Yes, I realize that if my past track record holds true, the amazing summer schedules I come up with will only be followed for a short time, because I usually get tired of enforcing them, but who knows, maybe this year will be different.

I've got the two older children signed up for summer swim team.  We have our family pass to the new and fabulous rec center...  We have a family vacation to Montana in the beginning planning stages, and Tim and I will be going on our cruise to Alaska.  Tim will be taking the 11 year old scouts on a camp out or two, Aaron will have some weekend camp-outs plus a week long camp, plus maybe youth conference (not sure if they are going with the 12 - 18 ages  or the 14 - 18yr olds....)  Aaron is also working on his hiking merit badge right now, in which he must do 5, 10 mile hikes, plus a twenty miler.  To date he has completed two of his 10 milers.

It should be a busy fun summer, and I expect in just a few months I will be sitting here, in shock again, wondering where my summer went and how it can possibly be time to go back to school...    

mother's day poem

Katrina wrote this poem for me for Mother's Day.  (types just as she typed it)

MOTHERS by Katrina Mellor for my mom

Mothers are special in all that they do - 
they cook and they clean and they buy us new shoes
Mothers they love us in rain and in shine - 
they're loving and pretty and always kind
Mothers smell like roses and sweets
like lilacs and lilies and candy treats
EVEN THOUGH ALL MOTHERS ARE DEAR -
MY MOMS THE BEST THE ONE WHOSE RIGHT HERE!

Swimming?? or just all wet??

My friend Bambi (and "adopted" grandma to our kids) is staying at a hotel nearby, and she invited us to come swimming tonight for FHE.  The kids were all excited, got their homework done quickly, and by 7 were all dressed and ready to go.  Tim went downstairs on his way to the car and heard dripping sounds.  SURPRISE... we had a broken pipe and a bunch of wet carpet.

We postponed our swimming activity to tomorrow night, and Tim is downstairs replacing the broken section of pipe and outdoor water spigot.  Fun stuff eh?

I suppose I should go down and see if he needs any help....  Oh wait - I think I hear water re-filling the pipes.  I think I'll stay here in my nice warm bed instead.

Yummy AND low Calorie

last night for dinner I tried a new recipe that I got from "deals to meals."  (that is a paid subscription site where each week she sees what's on sale, compares the ads to find you the best prices, and plans meals that incorporate the sale items.)  I don't always love all of her meal suggestions, in fact his past week, I only chose to follow 3 of the 7, and this particular recipe, I wasn't sure I would like, but I am so glad I tried it. When I figured out the general calorie count, I went from "ya, this is pretty good" to "THIS IS AWESOME!"

So I'll share the recipe (plus then I'll be able to find it again should I need it:

credit for picture also goes to dealstomeals.com

 Mediterranean Chicken Pita Pockets (or wraps)

1 pkg. pita bread with pockets or tortilla wraps
2 1/2 t. white vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 T. oregano
1 1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. black pepper & 1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tomatoes, diced/sliced to go in pita
1/2 head lettuce, shopped fine
3/4 c. feta cheese
Sauce:
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 T. cucumber, grated
1 T. lemon juice
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
2 t. dill


Combine 2 ½ t. vinegar, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper.  Slowly whisk in oil. Pour mixture over chicken breasts in a crock pot. Let chicken cook on low-medium heat until chicken is tender and you can break it into large pieces.
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
Chop the lettuce.
For the sauce, combine yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, dill, salt, pepper, and lemon juice together. Place
some of the chicken mixture, tomatoes, feta, lettuce and sauce in each pita. (If you do not want to crock pot your chicken you can just cut the chicken into cubes and sauté until cooked through with lemon
and seasonings).

When I plugged in the ingredients into My Fitness Pal (as close as I could with it's semi-flawed recipe system) it came out to roughly: per serving - 181 (cal) 8 (carbs) 11 (fat) 16 (protein) 2 (fiber) 4 (sugar) 

My kids didn't love the meal.  they ate it, but only because they couldn't have any chips until they had eaten 1/2 of their sandwich. (that earned them 1/2 of their bag (single serving size) to get the rest of the bag, they had to finish the sandwich.)  Tim and I each had 2 sandwiches.  I would guess that this recipe should make 8 servings, at least it did for us and that's what I figured the nutritional values on.  I used a quart size bottle of chicken, and just heated it up in a little oil (to prevent sticking) with the seasonings.  I also cut an extra tomato, since we all like them.  the kid's big hang up was the Feta cheese.  Apparently they all don't care for the flavor of it.

there you go - ENJOY!